Final Thoughts on Lost

I was planning to post a long rant on why I didn't like the series finale of Lost. Truth is, I no longer care, and I've decided to move on with my life.

The day after the finale, I posted this on Facebook: "I think I would like to travel to a parallel universe and see a different #Lost ending." I've changed my mind. I would rather use a time machine, travel back in time, and tell myself not to start watching the show in the first place! Of course, I can't be sure if this will affect my timeline or create an alternate timeline in which I never watched Lost. Will I exist in the alternate timeline or the original one? Perhaps I will forego time travel and interdimensional travel, and instead have all memory of season 6 wiped from my mind.....

Several other interesting posts relating to the series finale, before I forget about it and move on:

Never Raise a Question that You Can't Answer by Andy Inahtko

What Anime Can Teach You About Ending a Story by Madeline Ashby (io9)

Someone from Bad Robots take on the Lost finale (Lostpedia)

I would like to make one comment on that last post, by "Someone from Bad Robot." He or she claims that the writers knew how the show was going to end all along. However, check out this quote from James Parriott, creator of the short-lived sci-fi series "Defying Gravity:"

“I love the show [Lost], and Damon [Lindelof] and Carlton [Cuse]. I did a lot with Grey’s Anatomy during the first couple of years of Grey’s, and that first year of Grey’s was the first year of Lost, and I did a lot of dinners with ABC buyers with those two guys and Shonda Rhimes from Grey’s. Carlton is a really bright and funny guy, and he gets up, and the first question out of the foreign buyers’ mouths is ‘where’s it going to go? Do you know where it’s going to go?’, and he said ‘I haven’t a clue.’ And then he sits down across from me at the dinner table, and I remember saying ‘Damon, come on, that’s bullshit, right? I mean, you know where it’s going to go.’ And he says, ‘Jim, I haven’t a clue. I’m four episodes out; that’s all I know.’

Source: "How Defying Gravity would have progressed, straight from the creator" by Keith McDuffee (cliqueclack.com)

'Nuff said!

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NPR on "Lost" and Alternate Universes

I am probably going to rant about this in the next couple of days, but I wanted to share this article that my friend Dexter Edge shared with me. It hits the nail on the head for me with regard to my biggest pet peeve about the series finale of "Lost." (Warning: Spoilers)

'Lost' And The Science of Alternate Universes : NPR

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Theories on the Lost Season Finale

*Spoiler Alert: If you haven't yet seen the season 5 finale of Lost, don't read any further!*

I personally enjoyed the season finale of Lost. I thought it answered quite a few questions, yet, in true Lost fashion, brought up just as many new questions.

One of the biggest questions, of course, is the identity of Jacob's enemy. I've seen a few theories on the internet, and one of the most prominent is that he is the Smoke Monster ("Smoky.") I think that is a credible one, and even if he isn't Smoky, it could be that Smoky is an ally. One thing that I think is pretty obvious is that he is the personage of Christian Shepherd seen on the island since the crash of 815, and he may well have been many of the other ghosts that have appeared to people throughout the show. Another theory floating around is that Jacob's enemy 

(some people are calling him Anti-Jacob, some Esau, from the Biblical story) can only appear as people who have died, and the corpse has to be on the island, which is why Locke died and his corpse was put on the plane.

Anti-Jacob obviously went through some elaborate measures to orchestrate this "loophole," and it's interesting to go back and look at some of the things that could possibly be attributed to him.

I have another theory that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else. It is evident that Jacob knew at some point that Anti-Jacob was orchestrating these things. Otherwise, I don't think he would have asked Ilana to help him. I originally assumed that when Bram and several other people kidnapped Miles and tried to persuade him not to go to the island, this was Ben's doing. However, seeing him with Ilana convinced me that this was Jacob's doing.

If Jacob knew anti-Jacob was orchestrating something and suspected the connection with Locke, it's possible that he sent some of the losties back to 1977 in hopes that they would, in fact, change history, so that Locke would never even go to the island in the first place. Of course, we won't know if it even worked until early 2010! Anyway, it seems logical that this could be Jacob's failsafe, in case Anti-Jacob moved against him. He would basically be able to get a "do-over."

I know some of my readers are also Lost fans, and I would love it if you would post some of your theories on the episode here.

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Dr. Horrible Soundtrack Is Available!

Sorry to be a fawning fan-boy, but the Dr. Horrible soundtrack is finally available on iTunes!

iTunes link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=289601562&s=143455

Liner notes: http://www.drhorrible.com/linernotes.html  

I just bought it, and it sounds great! An actual physical CD is forthcoming, if you want to buy the actual physical product, but I'm too impatient to wait. I've been walking around the house singing these songs for weeks!

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Artist 2.0

Over the past few years, there has been chatter about new media developments, for instance "Web 2.0," "Music 2.0," etc. I believe we are witnessing the emergence of a new type of artist, "Artist 2.0," who will cross traditional borders of media and incorporate old and new media in order to get his/her ideas across. Here are two recent examples:

1. Joss Whedon, during the writers strike, decided to produce an internet musical webseries (his brother actually coined the term "mushortio" to describe it) outside the traditional studio system. "Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog" turned out to be such a huge success that it crashed their server during the first day of it's release. It was streamed free for one week, but offered for sale on iTunes as well, and it continues to be in the top ten TV seasons now, 3 weeks later. It is currently streaming ad-supported on Hulu.com, and will be released on DVD in a few months. The soundtrack will also be released soon, presumably on iTunes. Whedon and company spent no money on promotion for the series. Instead, they used MySpace and Facebook, obviously to great effect!
   
2. Trent Reznor is in talks with HBO for a television adaptation of "The Year Zero" (see my earlier post.) This will reportedly be accompanied by another album, as well as an Alternate Reality Game (they also did an ARG for the original record.)
   

Now, just in case you think I'm grasping at straws, I Googled "Artist 2.0" and found an NY Times article published more than a year ago where they used the term. I guess I can't get credit for coining the term...

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Trent Reznor Announces More "Year Zero" Plans

Trent Reznor is now in negotiations with HBO to present a two-season "maxiseries" based on "The Year Zero." I have a feeling we will be seeing more of artists crossing traditional media boundaries to get their ideas out there, especially as they begin to untether themselves from traditional media conglomerates. I'm definitely interested to see how this proceeds!

Link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/08/trent-reznor.html

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Krofft Supershow!

If you grew up with any of the campy creations of Syd and Marty Krofft, such as "Land of the Lost," "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Sigmund & The Sea Monsters," or "Lidsville," you will appreciate the new MySpace TV channel they have just created for them:

MySpace.com - Sid and Marty - 39 - Male - - www.myspace.com/krofft

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Guess I Picked a Good Year to Not Get Cable!

I panicked when the Fall TV season started and I still didn't have cable. However, I kept dragging my feet for some reason. Now that the writer's strike is happening (on Monday) I guess there's no reason to rush. Early 2008 is probably going to be a sad time for TV watchers!

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I'm in Geek Heaven!

I've heard some exiting news in the last several days! First, I heard that Joss Whedon has unexpectedly decided to return to television. He is developing a new series starring Eliza Dushku, called "Dollhouse." There's been all kinds of buzz about this, and another rabid Whedon fan has already created this website, which has quite a bit of info.

The second bit of exciting and surprising news: X-Files 2 is coming out next year! Chris Carter is directing, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are both in it!! If the rumor I've heard is correct, we may see it in theaters next July.

There's not much more I can say - I'm too overwhelmed with joy. Since some of my geek wishes have been granted, if anyone is listening, here is what will make my life complete:
1. The Star Trek remake doesn't suck
2. "Fray" gets made into a movie
3. Marvel does an "Avengers" movie and DC does a "Green Lantern" movie (no cartoons, though, they should both be live action.)
4. Bruce Campbell does "Bubba Ho-Tep 2," and "They Call Me Bruce" actually gets a theatrical release!

These are a few of my favorite things!

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Stan Lee Strikes Again!

Did anyone else notice the cameo appearance by (Marvel Comics legend) Stan Lee in tonight's episode of "Heroes?"

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Grammys

OK, so we all know it's lame...It's an inbred popularity contest, and many of the nominations inspire a "Wha...?" from musically educated people. However, just like an roadside accident you can't look away from, I always have to watch the Grammys. Every year, without fail, there are great moments, and there are cringe-inducing moments.

Here are some of my favorite great moments:

• The Police!! (Need I say more?)
• Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend, and John Mayer performing together!
• Classy survivor Mary J. Blige getting some recognition!
• Jazz legend Ornette Coleman honored with a lifetime achievement award, and actually allowed to appear on the program. I was laughing at how many idiots in the audience had no clue who he was!
• Lifetime achievement awards for the Doors, the Grateful Dead, and Booker T and The MG's. Shouldn't they have been honored many years ago?
• Realizing that Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is married to Adrian Pasdar, who plays Nathan Petrelli in my favorite TV show "Heroes."
• I especially loved the Grammy in the Schools segment, having been involved in that program in the past. It's too bad that the message often falls on deaf ears! The arts will never be a priority in our schools!
• On a personal note: seeing my old friend and one-time "Fish This Big" bandmate Brendan Buckley (very vaguely on the edge of the screen) playing drums for Shakira.

Now for just a few of the "Cringe-Inducers":

• James Blunt...I'm glad he didn't win anything
• Rascall Flats butchering the Eagles! The guitar player messed up twice during the "Hotel California" solo. You can't play such a recognized solo and make a mistake!
• The ridiculous attempt to seem relevant by staging an "American Idol" type of contest, where the winner gets to perform onstage with Justin Timberlake. Who cares?
• Justin Timberlake

Of course, there are always a few tearjerkers, especially when they remind you of who we lost in the last year. Is it me, or did we lose quite a few important ones this year? I still can't believe JB is gone, as well as Syd Barrett and Arthur Lee!

It always seems like only about 50% of the music nominated is actually cutting-edge or even remotely relevant, and I'm probably being generous with that number. Next year is the 50th Grammy Award Ceremony. Perhaps to mark the occasion they will actually try to get somewhere near 70%!

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What Are Your Non-Musical Influences?

I just finished watching a documentary on the SciFi channel called "The Sci Fi Boys." It brought back quite a few memories. I had forgotten how, as a boy who was an avid scifi and horror fan, some of these people seemed like rock stars to me. Names like Forrest J. Ackerman, Ray Harryhausen, George Pal, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Heinlein seemed like household names to me, while most of my classmates did not know who these people were at all. I, however, was an avid reader of "Forry" Ackerman's magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland." "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The Time Machine" were probably my two favorite movies as a kid. By the time I was in high school, I had read most of Ray Bradbury's books, and I did indeed read every book ever written by Robert Heinlein!

The documentary was, of course, about how the early directors, writers, animators, makeup/effects artists, and one magazine publisher influenced the next generation of scifi/horror filmmakers. Interestingly, though, these people were also an influence on me, and I did not go into the film business. Of course, if I think about it, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Frank Miller, and many other Marvel Comics writers and artists from the 1960's-1980's held rock-star-like status for me, but I never went into the comic business. I chose to go into music. And yet, comics, scifi and horror were a big part of my life, so they must have had an influence on my later work, even though I went into a different creative field.

When you read an interview of a band, artist, or songwriter, they are usually asked about their musical influences. Just last night in my singer/songwriter class, I asked several songwriters who they listened to. However, you rarely hear musicians asked about what they read, what kind of movies they watch, or who their favorite (visual) artists are. So, I would like to ask any of my blog readers who are musicians right now: What are your non-musical influences? I want to hear from you!

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Is "Smallville" Running Out Of Original Ideas?

If you saw tonight's episode, and were also familiar with "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" Season 6, Episode 17, entitled "Normal Again," you might think so! Maybe it's just me, but the plots are strikingly similar!

I'm reading: Is "Smallville" Running Out Of Original Ideas?

My 2007 Predictions

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and offer my own predictions for the coming year. Some of these are probably more wishful thinking than predictions. Here they are, in no particular order:

• We will see at least one more merger of two of the remaining four major record labels.
• Several major artists will sue the RIAA for a cut of the action from all the lawsuits they have been engaging in.
• Digidesign will finally realize that the track limits on LE systems are hurting their business, and they will remove them.
• Digidesign will also finally add MIDI notation editing to Pro Tools, due to their recent aquisition of Sibelius.
• Several unsigned artists will break into the Billboard Top 100 (I'm not even sure this is possible yet, but if it is, it will happen this year.)
• Movies will be even worse than they were in 2006.
• Reality TV shows will begin to decline in popularity, because they have run out of ideas.
• The Police reunion tour will happen, but get cancelled halfway through when Sting and Stewart Copeland get in a huge fight and they both quit.
• Millions (okay, maybe thousands) of Windows users will switch to the Mac.
• The music industry will begin moving away from DRM, finally realizing that it doesn't really work. Amazon's upcoming DRM-free digital download service will be a big hit! However, iTunes either won't remove their DRM implementation, or they will do it too late, and they will lose a significant market share. iPod Sales will not suffer as a result, however.
• Nine Inch Nails will release a new studio album, only two years after their last one, finally breaking their pattern of a new album every 5 years (ok, I actually know for a fact this will happen, so I suppose it's cheating.)

That's all I can think of for now. If you have any predictions, feel free to comment!

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