S.M. Douglas

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Month: February 2015

Leonard Nimoy Passes Away at Age 83

Horrible news – Leonard Nimoy passed away earlier today at the age of 83. It is being reported that he died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Though Nimoy was sometimes at pains to point out he was not in fact “Spock” he will always be remembered for his iconic role in the Star Trek TV series (1966 to 1969) and the ensuing films. Nimoy would not only become Spock to legions of his fans (myself included) but even shaped the character. He created the Vulcan salute from memories he had of Jewish blessings during his childhood.

Beyond Spock, I would also like to point out Nimoy’s role presenting the TV show “In Search of” which would prove to be one of the better looks at strange myths, monsters, and the paranormal. The show managed to achieve a fittingly eerie and creepy tone that for a young child such as myself was often quite scary. The “Bigfoot” themed episodes were particularly disturbing as I recall.

Nimoy was a multi-talented individual and will be greatly missed, but fondly remembered. He truly lived long and prospered.

Spock

I’m back. Sorry about the break but had a baby in January and things have been hectic. Anyway, I thought I would kick things off with a look at one of my all time favorite bands: The Beastie Boys.

beastie-boys

In 2012 Adam Yauch died at age 47. He will be missed. For purely selfish reasons I feel cursed. My favorite bands/musicians have now all ended with premature deaths; Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin (Jon Bonham’s death), and of course the Beastie Boys.

In 2012 Rolling Stone asked it’s readers to rate the best Beastie Boy’s songs ever. This is what they came up with:

10. “Get it Together”

9. “Shake Your Rump”

8. “Sure Shot”

7. “Brass Monkey”

6. “Intergalactic”

5. “No Sleep till Brooklyn”

4. “Fight for Your Right” (to party)

3. “So What’cha Want”

2. “Paul Revere”

1.  “Sabotage”

Not bad but a little heavy on the frat boy hits from their first album, and way too thin on selections from “Paul’s Boutique” – in my opinion the Beastie Boys best work.

BeastieBoysPaul'sBoutique

I would have swapped out “Intergalactic” and “No Sleep till Brooklyn” (for that matter “Fight for Your Right” is not one of my favorites but I understand it’s place on the list as their first big hit) and replaced them with “Hey Ladies”, “Car Thief”, “Sure Shot”, “Skills to Pay the Bills”,  and “Alive.”  Whoops that would blow up my list past a top ten, but like I said they are one of my all time fav’s.

One more aside, I know “Sabotage” gets all the props for being a kick ass music video (and it should):

But “Hey Ladies” was pretty cool as well:

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