I Want to Believe

Although I am in the process of marathoning my way through Season 1 of "The X Files", this blog is not about that show. I just wanted to borrow its tagline, which is arguably the most iconic of them all in TV-land. This is not about alien lifeforms, or paranormal activities in rural America either. This is about my restored faith in all things metal.

I have just finished listening to Megadeth's new album, Endgame. Dave Mustaine claims it to be their best since 1990's seminal Rust in Peace (in my opinion the greatest and the best heavy metal album ever. Word.). The latest issue of Classic Rock claims it to be their best since Youthanasia - the pop metal classic from 1994. I don't agree with either statement, but it is by far the best album they've made this decade. Bands like Mastodon and Opeth have been making outstanding albums of late and the old-school thrash bands are gaining new momentum: last year's Death Magnetic by Metallica kicked some serious ass, despite the poor audio quality; Testament's "come-back album", The Formation of Damnation is as good a thrash record as you can get, Slayer is releasing a new album this year. Only Anthrax seem to be unable to rid themselves of an ongoing soap opera involving their vocalists. Megadeth, or more particularly Dave Mustaine, have been churning out decent albums every few years and the results are always a tad disappointing, knowing how good they can be.

The latest from 'Deth restores my faith in metal and in Megadeth in particular. It is an aural blast that not only manages to be relevant, both musically and lyrically, but also harks back to the olden golden days of metal. It starts off with "Dialectic Chaos", their first instrumental since "Into the Lungs of Hell", with which it shares the grrove. Mustaine and Chris Broderick, the new recruit, spar off in shred heaven for two and a half minutes. By the end of it, you are already exhausted - in a good way! The following tracks, "This Day We Fight!", "44 Minutes" and "1320'" are classic Megadeth up-tempo blasts. It prepares us for a handful of songs that would stand proud next to any of their 80s or 90s classics: "Ride the Hand" with its subtle(!) political lyrics rocks and rolls naturally, "Bodies" has some of the cleverest lyrics Mustaine ever wrote, "Endgame" with its anti-Patriot Act lyrics and insane solos is a classic-in-the-making, "Head Crusher" starts off with a bruising shred solo by Mustaine and never lets up, "How the Story Goes" and "The Right to Go Insane" wouldn't have been out of place on Youthanasia. One dud is the proto-ballad "The Hardest Part of Letting Go ... Sealed with a Kiss". Megadeth dabbled in ballad territory twice before with mixed results. For every sublime "In My darkest Hour", there is the cringe-inducing "Promises". "The Hardest Part ..." oscillates between the two, but leans more towards the latter.

Will Endgame earn new fans to Megadeth? No. Will it go number one like Death Magnetic? Sadly, no. But will it stand the test of time and be regarded as one of their best albums in a decade or so? Oh, yeah. They were never really gone away, but somehow this album marks their comeback. Welcome back, boys. And thank you for restoring my faith in metal.

Pecae.

Superciliousness and Unprofessionalism on Both Ends

In Response To Kevin's Facebook Post
(and the ensuing series of comments which Kevin
just removed from his facebook page)
regarding Josh Olson's blog rant: "I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script"
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/09/i_will_not_read.php

I see both perspectives: I can actually empathize with where Olson is coming from (to a certain degree), despite his superciliousness. It’s a Catch 22 for anyone (regardless of how successful they are in the industry) because if someone asks to read your stuff and they a). don’t send you a polished piece, and b). they say they want honest feedback but in reality can’t handle blunt criticism, you either look like an asshole for saying no in the first place or an asshole when you give honest feedback that the person can’t handle. The problem isn’t just in how much time it takes to read the piece, it’s also in the time that is spent trying to formulate just the right notes because you don’t want to offend the author.

What really annoys me is when Wheeler tells someone he’s an aspiring screenwriter and inevitably Joe Schmo’s response is: “Oh yeah, I’ve always wanted to write a screenplay. That would be cool.” Talk about ignorant and disrespectful! You wouldn’t say to an architect “Yeah, I’ve always wanted to design a house. I think I could do it as well as you can.” You guys have spent your entire careers working your ASSES off to get to the point you’re at, and it’s not about merely “writing a story”; this is part of who you ARE. These idiots who think they can do it without the proper training are what give the true screenwriters a bad name. I think one of the key statements that Olson makes is “Which brings us to an ugly truth about many aspiring screenwriters: They think that screenwriting doesn't actually require the ability to write, just the ability to come up with a cool story that would make a cool movie.” THIS, my friends, is what makes you stand out amongst the rest (by the way, if this guy had been working on it for a freaking year why the hell did he only have a 2 page synopsis?!?).

HOWEVER, I do not believe this gives Olson the right to act so high-and-mighty that he can make such broad generalizations and say that he will only help friends and not any of the young, aspiring talent out there. Like Bru pointed out, he was once in that position, and not everyone is blessed to be born into “the industry” or automatically have the “friends” necessary to get your stuff read. I agree with Wheeler that as screenwriters, one of the best philanthropic things you can do is to help other young talent (and I will qualify this by saying ones who are qualified to have their stuff read—not just some guy off the street with a story, but for example, someone who has their MASTERS IN SCREENWRITING). When you get to the point where you think you’re too good or too busy to give back to society in any small way possible, it’s time to reevaluate your life.