The sound of Doom

Yesterday I stumbled into retro alley. More specifically the corner where Doom lives.

Back in the day I played DOOM and DOOM 2 like crazy. They were great games by all standards, but today we're taking a short look at the soundtracks.

The soundtrack in both games always stood out to me. They were just magnificent, and remember, back in those days, a PC's sound card wasn't exactly what it is today. But the melodies were both haunting and exciting at the same time. They gave you a foreboding feeling of well, doom, and at the same time pumped you up for the fights ahead. What more could you ask of a games music?

The creator of the soundtracks is Robert (Bobby) Prince, a former lawyer turned composer. What really blew my mind is that apparently most – if not all – songs on the Doom and Doom 2 soundtracks were based heavily on famous metal songs. I've heard these songs countless times but I had no idea. The video below might contain some inaccuracies but most entries are more than close enough. Take a look.

That's this weeks eccentricity. I'll put some links below and until I see you again, have a great week!

Doom music sources
Doom 1 & 2 OST

Narcos

I am no fan of commercials, and I'll cheerfully admit to using adblocker in my browser, but these days I have it disabled on Youtube.

The reason for this is the fact that I subscribe to a couple of gaming channels, and since the owners of these channels get ad money, and indeed live on this money, I can't in good conscience deny them their hard earned cash.

Last week however, I actually found an ad that benefited me. I discovered a new Netflix show called Narcos.

Narcos chronicles the life and exploits of Pablo Escobar, the late Medellin Cartel king of Colombia.

Now in all fairness I have to point out that I've only watched the four first episodes, so this is not a review, merely an impression. However, I can' wait to finish it. Narcos is a really good show.

If you care about scores, Narcos has a 9.1 on IMDb and it really deserves it. It's unflinching in the face of drugs, murder and other assorted nastiness. But at the same time, it doesn't wallow in it either. It shows you just enough, and that to me is a good sign. A show that laps up all the filth and gleefully shows it to you, usually tries too hard. Narcos doesn't try, it merely does.

So far I have no complaints what so ever. Even the fact that easily half the show is in Spanish is enjoyable. It adds so much to the authenticity, and since those parts have subtitles, you can still follow the story, even without knowing Spanish, which I don't.

Since I haven't seen all of the show, I can't guarantee that the rest is any good, but I'd be very surprised if the quality dips in any way. Time will tell.

So for what it's worth so far, I heartily recommend this show if you want something hard hitting and realistic. You might even learn something of South American history, I have at any rate.

Until next time, have yourself a great week, I'm off to watch more Narcos. And remember, say no to drugs.

Is it a conspiracy?

Hello and welcome back to another edition of Eccentric Spheres.

I've written before about conspiracy theories, since it's one of my favourite subjects. Not that I believe in almost any of them, but they are essentially the modern myth. We don't believe in giant sea monsters sucking down ships anymore, but JFK's shooter(s) is another matter.

Today I want to show you a presentation by a man called Andy Thomas, and what he does is look at some of the more common conspiracies and how they work. He also discusses historical conspiracy theories, like emperor Nero and the burning of Rome.

If you are interested in conspiracy theories on a more intellectual level, do watch this video.  So until next time, Have a great week!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kFmZFgGJug

Burn After Reading

A few days ago I saw a clip from the Coen brothers movie; Burn After Reading (2008). I thought it looked pretty good, so I sat down and watched it.

The cast is well loaded with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and more, so no problem there.

Being a Coen film, it is very well made. It is absolutely beautiful on all fronts. But where I think it fails is in the balance.

On the surface it's a comedy, but it also tries to be a crime film with strong elements of relationship drama. And in my opinion it kind of fails to be any of those. Many scenes that I guess were ment to be funny felt more tragic, but to be fair there were some genuinely funny moments. I suppose I'd say it felt fragmented and chaotic when it wasn't supposed to be. It's hard to explain.

Now I've seen several Coen brothers films before; Millers Crossing, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men to name a few, and they always leave me feeling conflicted. I've never finished one of their films and thought to myself Now that was a great movie. Never. Some times it's taken a few days to digest the film in order to “get it”, other times it's taken a second viewing to understand it. They don't make easy movies, that's for sure.

Even though I might have gotten the films, I've not always liked them. I like Millers Crossing and Fargo but I don't like Lebowski and No Country. (I'm about to get stoned soon, I know). Burn after reading is in the second category more than the first. I liked a few of the scenes, but over all the movie depressed me. Particularly since the one character I really felt deserved a comeuppance didn't get one. I won't say more than that. You might feel differently.

Should you watch this film? Absolutely. It is good, I just really didn't like it. I can even say I've never seen a movie like it, but it still didn't appeal to me. Like American Hustle, this is a movie I can recommend, but you are going to have to make up your own mind about.

That's the load-out for today, so until next Monday, have great week!