Begin Again - Measure

Song of The Month!

Begin Again
by Measure

Considering the new year, I thought sharing this song would be appropriate. I actually stumbled upon it while I was listening to completely different music, but I'm really glad that I did. 

The band, Measure, are an electro-pop band from New York. Until I heard this song I had never listened to Measure before, but this song is absolutely beautiful and I just had to share it with you, especially considering what a great message this song sends. It's quite slow and emotional, but it's also very inspirational.

This song is all about not getting stuck in the past and moving forward with your life, instead of waiting on other people, which I think is a message a lot of people need. Sometimes it's hard to move on after terrible, or emotionally draining things happen, so sometimes people need to be reminded that you aren't defined by your hardships and that there are still better days to come. All you have to do is move on and let it happen, instead of focusing on the things that make you sad.

Since stumbling upon this song, I've been listening to more of Measure's songs and I would definitely recommend checking them out! They have some really inspiring songs, so check them out if you've got the chance. I will hopefully be putting up a band review with more information on them soon, but until then, here's a link to their Bandcamp page.

~The Elf

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Movie Information:

Warning: This may contain spoilers.

Parents' Guide: Generally rated PG for some action violence, mild language, and sensuality.

For four years, the sci-fi adventure series known as "Galaxy Quest" took place aboard the spaceship the NSEA Protector, with a courageous crew who set out on dangerous missions in space. The series starred Jason Nesmith as suave Commander Peter Quincy Taggert, Gwen DeMarco as sexy communications person Lt. Tawny Madison (a role which consisted solely of repeating what the computer stated, much to Gwen's annoyance), Shakespearean trained Sir Alexander Dane as alien Dr. Lazarus, Fred Kwan as engineer Tech Sgt. Chen, and Tommy Webber as child gunner Laredo.

But then the series was cancelled.

Eighteen years pass, and the cast is still donning their costumes and signing autographs at sci-fi conventions for all their many dedicated fans. Unfortunately for the cast, the series is a bittersweet memory, since they have been unable to find any significant acting work since. Only Jason seems to enjoy how things turned out for them all - until he finds out that his co-stars detest him for his superior attitude, and much of the public considers him a laughing-stock.

Disheartened and upset, Jason is approached by a group of what he believes to be convention attendees who want his help, but he does not take them very seriously or even really listen to what they have to say. He believes that they want him to reprise his role for a brief gig, a job which he does not take very seriously, but he quickly discovers that things aren't quite what they seem.

In reality, the group who approached him were a real-life alien species, known as the Thermians. These aliens intercepted the television broadcast of Galaxy Quest, which they mistook as historical documents. This leads them to believe that the series was real, with the cast truly being the brave crew they portrayed in the series. 

Excited by the prospect of working on a real alien spaceship, Jason finds his co-stars (accompanied by Guy Fleegman, who was killed off before the opening credits of a single episode) and convinces them to join him for what they believe to be a paying gig. Things quickly begin to get out of hand, as the cast discover that it is all set in reality, and they are tasked to help the Thermians in their war against their nemesis, General Sarris. Without a script or director to tell them what to do, the cast is thrown into chaos as they try to pull off the performances of their lives, while they attempt to win the war.

My Review:

A science fiction comedy poking a little fun at Star Trek (and sci-fi shows in general) is always appreciated, though I do not usually go for comedies all that much myself. I almost always find comedies hard to watch a second time around, since the jokes rarely have the same impact twice, but I genuinely think that Galaxy Quest managed to nail all the elements that make up a winning comedy.

The cast was amazing throughout the movie, whether they were playing cynical former sci-fi stars, or wide-eyed and naive aliens. The whole cast gave solid performances, which makes me wonder why more people do not know about this movie. I am not even sure where I heard of the movie, but I can tell you it probably from somewhere obscure.

Tim Allen, who plays Jason, is put in a role that I do not think I have ever seen him portray before, but he pulls it off well in his own version of a William Shatner-like captain. Sigourney Weaver, who plays Gwen, is an absolute delight, as she pokes fun at her role as Ripley in the Alien movies and brings in a level of exasperation I can appreciate. Alan Rickman, who plays Alex, brilliantly portrays an actor stuck in a never-ending Spock-like role, all because he played it too well. His facial expressions alone make it worth it. Darryl Mitchell, who plays Laredo, is a great portrayal of an out-of-his-depth pilot. Enrico Colantoni, who plays Commander Mathesar, plays his character with such earnestness that you want to believe everything he is saying.

There is, of course, dozens of other brilliant actors and actresses in this cast, but I would like to talk about two that stood out to me; Tony Shalhoub, who plays Fred, and Sam Rockwell, who plays Guy.

From the first moment, these two characters were on screen, I was amused. 

Shalhoub portrays the lackadaisical technician, whose only reaction to the terrifying process that was being covered in goo and transported at impossible speeds through space, was; "Hmm. That was a hell of a thing." With that sort of understated humour, mixed in with a laid-back approach to suddenly being faced with an alien war, I absolutely loved this character.

Rockwell, on the other hand, plays as the terrified hack actor who pretty much only gets dragged along because he has nothing better to do. While everyone else goes about things (for the most part) as if it's just another gig, Rockwell is the one that continually shows the panic that most people would feel if they were ever thrust into this situation. He even has a bit of an existential crisis when the rest of the crew do not know his last name, stating; "Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in!"

All in all, this movie was very entertaining and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to check it out. The humour never turns cruel or even crude, but rather stays in the genuinely amusing territory of commenting on nonsensical equipment or making references to other cult series or movies.

~The Elf

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Movie Information: 

Warning: This may contain spoilers.

Parents' Guide: Usually PG-13 for irreverent humour, profanity, sexual reference, nudity and violence.

After an incident pollutes Lake Springfield, Lisa Simpson convinces the town to help clean up and protect the water. In the meantime, Homer Simpson saves and adopts a pig (Spider Pig), who had been about to be slaughtered for food at the Krusty Burger. After two days, Spider Pig manages to fill up a silo with waste. When Homer realizes he doesn't have enough time to go to the dump to safely get rid of the silo, he decides to throw the silo into the lake instead, polluting it once more.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Russ Cargill, decides that Springfield is too dangerous and convinces the president to put a dome of Springfield, trapping the residents inside. Soon after the dome is put in place, everyone finds out that it had been Homer that polluted the lake, so the Simpsons are hunted down. Luckily, they escape through a sinkhole and move to Alaska.

Not long after that, it is decided that Springfield must be destroyed. After hearing the news, the Simpsons decide to head back to Springfield in order to attempt to save the town.

My Review:

The Simpsons, an American satirical, animated sitcom, has been around since 1989. It began as a parody of what an average middle-class American family life looked like, but slowly became a cultural phenomenon, that pretty much took over the world. I don't even live in America, but I can tell you right now, I'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that hasn't watched the Simpsons. 

For all of those who grew up watching the show, it was pretty much been unanimously agreed upon that the show began to decline in quality over the years, but it still has a few episodes here and there that throwback to the good old days. Due to this decline, a lot of people believed that the chance for a Simpsons movie to actually be good, had already come and gone long before the movie was even announced.  

Thankfully, for anyone who doesn't take these things too seriously, the movie actually had slicker animation than the episodes ever did, as well as the same humour and biting satire that made many people fall in love with the show, to begin with. The whole eighty-seven-minute creation was filled with exactly the kind of sly cultural references and non-stop irreverent humour that you would expect from the Simpsons, which a lot of true fans were (and mostly still are) very appreciative of after so many years of waiting for a movie to be made. It was met with mostly positive reviews, won four awards, and it was the highest grossing animated TV adaption of all time.

In saying that, the movie was pretty much just like watching a really long Simpsons episode. There wasn't really anything about it that made it any more special than what you'd see if you just stayed home and watched an episode, and for many fans, eighty-seven minutes wasn't long enough after such a long wait. Although the film had some of the better qualities of the earlier TV episodes, it still felt like an episode. When you've had to go to the cinema to watch it, then you want something epic and unique, which the movie fell short of.

Still, if you like the Simpsons, now or in the past, then you'll most likely enjoy the movie! And if for some strange reason you've never watched the Simpsons, then watching the movie is a great way to see if you'd like the type of humour that's usually seen in the TV series, so I would recommend watching it at least once.

~The Elf

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

Bohemian Rhapsody 

by Queen

Don't even pretend like you don't know this song, it's legendary. It was originally released on October 31st, 1975 for the band's album A Night at the Opera and was initially met by some mixed reviews. Many critics believed that Bohemian Rhapsody was far too long and was too much of a mash-up to become successful. At six minutes long, with five sections that were in completely different styles with no real chorus, the song was like nothing that had ever come before it. Because of this, there was a lot of doubt surrounding its release, but soon after being released, the song became number one in the UK and remained that way for nine weeks straight.

Despite the doubts, in the beginning, Bohemian Rhapsody became one of the most successful songs ever and continues to be popular now. It was number one on the UK singles charts twice, 15 years apart. It even became the UK's third-best-selling single of all time, and one of the best-selling singles worldwide, with 6.7 million sales.

Personally, it's not a song I would listen to too often, but I gotta say; it's pretty darn catchy. Whenever it comes on, I can't bring myself to skip it because it's just such an up-beat and fun song, that everyone can get into. It's also one of those songs you can recognize anywhere, just because of how unique and distinct it is. Freddie Mercury definitely knew what he was doing when he wrote this masterpiece, even if neither he nor anyone else could have predicted it's eventual prosperity.

Another thing I love about this song is just how many people know it, no matter where they come from or what sort of music they would normally listen to. It's a song that everyone recognizes, even if they don't recall how they learnt it.
Does anyone actually remember when they first heard Bohemian Rhapsody? 

~The Elf

Update!!

Update!!

Hello again everyone, long time no see. Happy New Year to you all, and I hope that 2018 will be better to you all than 2017 was. Hopefully, everyone is having a great start to their year, hangovers and all.

This year I will not be going to school, which means that until about February, I should have time to keep up with projects and that throughout the year I should be able to post more regularly. On that note, I already have quite a few of the upcoming posts written up and in the queue, and I am busy writing up some more. So for at least the next couple of months, posts should be coming in as scheduled.

In my year off from posting, I've seen and learnt quite a few new things that I would love to share with you all, which I am excited about. Hopefully, you will all enjoy the next posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

Thank you to anyone who has stuck around to check out the posts that we have put up, I hope you are not disappointed. New year, new me, right?

~The Elf

Update!!

Update!!

Hey everyone,

Happy New Year! I hope everyone's having a good year so far. I just wanted to write up a quick update concerning posting this year, as well as wishing everyone a good holiday season.

First of all, I know posts have been sporadic at best in the few years that we've been posting, but I am trying to continue writing up posts so that they can be uploaded on a regular basis, instead of every now and then. I can't promise anything yet, but I'm hoping this year it will be easier to keep up with everything.

Second of all, I won't be posting this year, though I will be queuing up posts for next year. This way I'll be able to focus on school, but still be able to write up posts whenever I have the time.

That's all I have to say right now. Thank you to everyone who has continued to read our posts when they come up, it's much appreciated and I hope that you'll still stick around for next year!

~The Elf

Update!!

Update!!

Hey everyone,

I have a couple of announcements to make concerning the blog and what's going to be happening to it this year.

The first is that the Dwarf is unlikely to begin posting again any time soon. This is because she's very busy with work, school and so on. She also doesn't have a computer for the time being, so I'm not sure when she'll be able to post again, or if she will at all. If anything changes, I'll be sure to update.

The second is that due to personal problems, as well as my very busy schedule, it's unlikely that I will be posting this year, either. If I find the time, I will try to write some posts up, but I'm not sure I will be able to. I am keeping the blog up and I will be returning to posting, as often as possible, next year.

Thank you to everyone who has kept reading the blog, despite how turbulent the last few years have been. I wasn't expecting this year to be as busy or as stressful as it has been, so I apologize for not being able to keep up with posts, but I hope that in the future I will be able to post again. 

Until then, I bid you adieu.

~The Elf

One Love - Marianas Trench

Song of The Month!

One Love
by Marianas Trench

For the last month or so I've been listening to Marianas Trench nonstop, so I decided to put up one of my favourite songs from their newest album Astoria, as the Song of The Month. This song is called One Love, which was the first single released from the new album. I love Josh Ramsay's voice and this song is a great example of why. It's a really beautiful song and if you haven't already, I definitely recommend it! This is a slightly slower, sadder song than a lot of the other songs on the album, but it's really good.

Anyways, check out the song! Are there any Marianas Trench fans out there? I'd love to hear what you think of the new album!

~The Elf

Update!!

Update!!

Hey everyone,

This year's been pretty awful, in all honesty, but we've posted about ten more posts this year than last year, so I think it's progress. Hopefully 2016 is going to be a much more fun and relaxing year for us. 

Either way, thank you to everyone who keeps tuning into our blog and for reading our posts, no matter how irregular they are.

Merry Christmas from everyone here and we wish you all a happy New Year!

~The Elf

Flashback Friday

Deacon Blue (1985)

Formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1985, Deacon Blue are a pop-rock band that really began their climb to fame in 1987, after releasing their debut album Raintown. They've released a total of seven studio albums and a studio/compilation album, many of which have been at the top of the UK album charts. 
Their first album peaked at No. 14 on the UK album charts and even managed to stay on the charts for a year and a half. After that, the band only seemed to become more successful. Their next album When the World Knows Your Name was their most successful album, reaching the No. 1 spot in the UK albums chart. The album after that, Fellow Hoodlums, managed to reach the No. 2 spot. The one after that, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, reached No. 4. 
Although the band began to work part-time after that, they have still released and continue to release some amazing albums.

(Note: I've decided not to include their Compilation albums, their Live album or any of their Greatest Hits albums, just because that would take forever to write out.)

Studio Albums;
Raintown (1987)
1. "Born in a Storm" - 1:33
2. "Raintown" - 3:50
3. "Ragman" - 3:08
4. "He Looks Like Spencer Tracy Now" - 3:50
5. "Loaded" - 4:29
6. "When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)?" - 5:05
7. "Chocolate Girl" - 3:18
8. "Dignity" - 4:00
9. "The Very Thing" - 3:34
10. "Love's Great Fears" - 3:42
11. "Town to Be Blamed" - 5:19

Bonus Tracks;
12. "Riches" - 2:39
13. "Kings of the Western World" - 2:39

The 2012 reissue of the album included songs such as;
14. "Which Side Are You On?" - 2:58
15. "Angeliou" - 6:18
16. "Just Like Boys" - 3:15
17. "Church" - 3:16
18. "Shifting Sand" - 3:18
19. "Suffering" - 2:43
20. "Ribbons and Bows" - 4:16
21. "Long Distance from Just Across the Road" - 2:54
22. "Ronnie Spector" - 3:33
23. "That Brilliant Feeling No.1" - 3:17
24. "Punch and Judy Man" - 3:52
25. "Disneyworld" - 2:58
26. "S.H.A.R.O.N" - 4:16

The legacy edition also included;
27. "Souvenirs" - 2:41
28. "Don't Let the Teardrops Start" - 3:22

When the World Knows Your Name (1989)
1. "Queen of the New Year" -3:36
2. "Wages Day" - 3:09
3. "Real Gone Kid" - 4:03
4. "Love and Regret" - 4:48
5. "Circus Lights" - 4:59
6. "This Changing Light" - 5:02
7. "Sad Loved Girl" - 1:11
8. "Fergus Sings the Blues" - 3:54
9. "The World Is Lit By Lightning" - 4:57
10. "Silhouette" - 3:18
11. "One Hundred Things" - 3:53
12. "Your Constant Heart" - 4:10
13. "Orphans" - 3:33

The 2012 reissue of the album included;
14. "Little Lincoln" - 3:06
15. "Born Again" - 3:23
16. "It's Not Funny Anymore" - 3:10
17. "Take Me to the Place" - 3:12
18. "Take the Saints Away" - 2:50
19. "Trampoline" - 3:40
20. "Long Window to Love" - 3:16
21. "London A to Z" - 3:35
22. "Back Here in Beanoland" - 3:04
23. "Down in the Flood" - 4:33
24. "Undeveloped Heart" - 3:38
25. "Dark End of the Street" - 2:06
26. "My America" - 4:11
27. "Las Vegas" - 3:56
28. "Love You Say" - 5:34
29. "Let Your Hearts Be Troubled" - 6:30
30. "Is It Cold Beneath the Hill?" - 4:04
31. "Killing the Blues" - 3:49
32. "Gentle Teardrops" - 3:14
33. "That Country" - 3:41
34. "Christine" -2:28

Fellow Hoodlums (1991)
1. "James Joyce Soles" - 3:50
2. "Fellow Hoodlums" - 3:20
3. "Your Swaying Arms" - 4:10
4. "Cover from the Sky" - 3:34
5. "The Day that Jackie Jumped the Jail" - 3:42
6. "The Wildness" - 5:42
7. "A Brighter Star Than You Will Shine" - 4:32
8. "Twist and Shout" - 3:34
9. "Closing Time" - 6:10
10. "Goodnight Jamsie" - 1:47
11. "I Will See You Tomorrow" - 3:20
12. "One Day I'll Go Walking" - 5:00

The 2012 reissue of the album included;
13. "Fourteen Years" - 2:44
14. "Faifley" - 1:41
15. "Good" - 3:08
16. "Golden Bells" - 2:27
17. "I Was Like That" - 4:29
18. "The Friends of Billy Bear" - 2:40
19. "Into the Good Night" - 3:43
20. "What Do You Want the Girl to Do?" - 5:04
21. "Wild Mountain Thyme" - 3:45
22. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" - 2:46
23. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - 4:16
24. "I'm Down" - 2:36

Whatever You Say, Say Nothing (1993)
1. "Your Town" - 5:21
2. "Only Tender Love" - 5:10
3. "Peace & Jobs & Freedom" - 4:52
4. "Hang Your Head" - 4:05
5. "Bethlehem's Gate" - 4:47
6. "Last Night I Dreamed of Henry Thomas" - 3:45
7. "Will We Be Lovers?" - 3:56
8. "Fall So Freely Down" - 4:17
9. "Cut Lip" - 3:36
10. "All Over the World" - 3:26

The 2012 reissue of the album included;
11. "Almost Beautiful" - 4:15
12. "I've Been Making Such a Fool" - 2:23
13. "Sleeper" - 3:49
14. "Paint It Red" - 3:15
15. "Pimp Talking" - 2:48
16. "Cracks You Up" - 3:32
17. "Freedom Train" - 2:54
18. "Here on the Wind" - 5:04
19. "Indigo Sky" - 2:50

Homesick (2001)
1. "Rae" - 4:46
2. "Out There" - 3:46
3. "This Train Will Take You Anywhere" - 4:48
4. "Every Time You Sleep" - 4:06
5. "Now That You're Here" - 4:00
6. "Silverlake" - 4:36
7. "A is for Astronaut" - 3:03
8. "Beautifully Still" - 4:12
9. "Homesick" - 4:14
10. "Even Higher Ground" - 3:52
11. "I Am Born" - 4:22

The 2012 reissue of the album included;
12. "Hey Craig" - 3:52
13. "When You Were a Boy, You Were a Beautiful Boy" - 4:16

The Hipsters (2012)

1. "Here I Am in London Town" - 2:59
2. "The Hipsters" - 3:19
3. "Stars" - 3:42
4. "Turn" - 3:19
5. "The Rest" - 3:37
6. "The Outsiders" - 4:05
7. "That's What We Can Do" - 3:53
8. "She'll Understand" - 3:38
9. "Laura From Memory" - 3:25
10. "It Will in Tears" - 3:39

11. "Is There No Way Back to You?" - 4:22

A New House (2014)

1. "Bethlehem Begins" - 4:06
2. "For John Muir" - 3:07

3. "A New House" - 3:37

4. "An Ocean" - 3:19

5. "The Living" - 3:53

6. "I Wish I Was a Girl Like You" - 3:34

7. "Win" - 3:18

8. "Wild" - 3:04

9. "March" - 3:20

10. "Our New Land" - 3:57
11. "I Remember Every Single Kiss" - 4:15

I guess you can see why I decided not to write out every single song on every single album, considering how many are on these. Either way, if you want to listen to or find any more of their songs, they're relatively easy to find online. I personally haven't heard that many of their songs, mostly just the hits, but they're a good band with a good sound and I would certainly recommend checking them out for yourself!
~The Elf