Disqus - Latest Comments for hagen

Re: Revisiting the MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive

hagen — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:38:29 -0000

What if you plug an overdrive into an overdrive into an overdrive?

Re: Revisiting the MXR Custom Badass ’78 Distortion

hagen — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:24:40 -0000

In the band, I use a little, just to give a bit of punch. When I'm practicing, the temptation is too great to resist, and the distortion goes way up. Can't be helped.

Re: Announcing the Dunlop / MXR 12 Days of Custom Badassmas

hagen — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 19:08:52 -0000

Sounds good to me.

Re: Here’s Something Else!: We’re Buying A Stairway To Led Zeppelin

hagen — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:52:59 -0000

Sorry to be the fanboy, but the fourth album ends with When the Levee Breaks. The first side of the album ends with Stairway to Heaven.

Carry on, gents...

Re: The Very Guest Of… Brian May

hagen — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:12:18 -0000

Also, the Foo Fighters' version of Have a Cigar featured Brian May. He's also on some singles of his wife, Anita Dobson. And something else I can't remember.

Re: Popdose Tribute: Michael Been (1950-2010)

hagen — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:38:21 -0000

Michael Been... what a voice. What a band. What a shame. If only the pop-buying public were given a real chance to hear The Call, but MCA screwed that up. It seems the people who really knew their music quite often worked in record stores or radio stations, where it was easy to stay ahead of the curve. The Call was operating ahead of that curve, working on a wavelength that came from someplace deep and true, and now we only have artifacts to embrace. Thanks for this, DW.

Re: Live Music: Asia in Cleveland, Ohio, 8/13/10

hagen — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:24:24 -0000

"There are girls here at this show, but I’m not quite sure how they got here." One of the greatest lines I have ever read on Popdose. Well done, Mr. Wardlaw.

Re: CD Review: Billy Squier, “Don’t Say No: 30th Anniversary Edition”

hagen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:45:19 -0000

But how's the remaster?

Re: Whoops!: Wilson Pickett, “American Soul Man”

hagen — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:31:40 -0000

Sweet Charity on a biscuit, this is why I gave up on the 80s.

Re: http://iamyourcanadianboyfriend.com/post/371032200

hagen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:25:55 -0000

You could celebrate my birthday without me on April 10. You know, raise a glass to ol' hagen and say nice things that sound made up but sincere while you wonder why I'm not there to hear them.

Because I'm not invited, that's why.

Re: Book Review: “And Another Thing… – The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy part Six”

hagen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:04:06 -0000

Hm... maybe. I meant by 'gets Adams' that an author ought to at least try to be witty, random, and somewhat British. Also, true to the characters. Sure, Random was a little shrew in "Mostly Harmless," but she wasn't shrill like Coifer's version. It'll be quite a task to produce another Douglas Adams, but I'd be happy to read another adventure that was, as you say, "funny and entertaining," Mr. Plant. The chances of that happening are probably better if the author can somehow get into the mindset of Douglas N. Adams.

Re: Book Review: “And Another Thing… – The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy part Six”

hagen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:37:09 -0000

Oh, what a stinker of a book. And I had the displeasure of hearing Simon Jones (THE Simon Jones) read it, and he sounded like a stern disciplinarian throughout the book... not that I think it's entirely Jones' fault. Eoin Coifer, whose other work I've never read, robs the characters of their character and the series of its humor. Granted, "Mostly Harmless" wasn't the funnest book in the series, either, but it didn't feel like a homework assignment that was neglected until the last minute and then worked on all night until the first bell of class. By Coifer's tale, Random is now a horrid little twerp with no redeeming values, Trillian is a sucker mom who has no link to the strong, smart Trillian of the other books, Zaphod is stupid, stupid, stupid (and only sly when it's obvious), Ford is like that uncle you never really want to call because he won't say anything worth hearing and you don't really care much about him, and Arthur is ineffectual and impotent, except for the times when he's not, which make me wonder if Coifer wrote certain chapters in different seasons and forgot to check them against each other for continuity. The plot, which was never one of Adams' strongest points, is tepid, which somehow makes the book all the worse. Coifer doesn't quite get the idea of the asides (Guide Notes, or whatever it was he called them in this book) and how to use them for comedic effect instead of obvious blitherings. "And Another Thing..." came across like a network sitcom from the past ten years, and it was agony. I tried reading some of it to see if it was somehow all Simon Jones' fault, but when I finally found a bookstore that would stock it, Simon Jones was redeemed, and Eoin Coifer was not.

If it is decided that a seventh book of the trilogy is necessary (and I really hope it is), hopefully it will be written by somebody who gets Adams.

Re: Rock 'n Roller Coaster Queue Changes

hagen — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:43:38 -0000

Maybe if Aerosmith would put aside their goofy squabbles and perform hourly?
Just a thought...

Re: Rock 'n Roller Coaster Queue Changes

hagen — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:54:21 -0000

Looks peculiar, but the hardest part of a new system is usually teaching people how to use it. I wonder if that area has enough things to do for the people waiting for their group number to be called, though. Rock Band? Toilet paper snowmen? Was anyone enjoying themselves?

Re: Letter from the Editor: My Favorite Songs of 2009

hagen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:17:54 -0000

Glad to see the inclusion of the Living Colour track. It's a standout on a pretty good album, and in concert it was tremendous. Good ear, Señor Giles.

Re: Soundtrack Saturday Rewind: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

hagen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:04:22 -0000

That the Griswold kids are never played by the same actors was the reason the fourth movie (Vegas Vacation) had a single funny line, instead of no funny lines at all. The kids come into the kitchen, and Clark W. Griswold looks at them and says something along the lines of "You kids are growing up so fast, I hardly recognize you."

After that, it went downhill, steered into a crowded grocery store, ran over several dozen pedestrians before crashing to a stop in a freezer full of low-fat yogurt, where it stayed and gorged on a few pints of It's Broke And You're Not Fixing It Caramel Crunch while it cried its way through the rest of the movie.

Re: Soundtrack Saturday Rewind: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

hagen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:57:47 -0000

Yep, that's the band. The back of the cd is a misprint. It's not a very remarkable cover of a pretty catchy song. I'm not sure why it was included on the soundtrack... maybe the bass player had a cousin who worked for WB.

Re: Soundtrack Saturday Rewind: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

hagen — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:44:41 -0000

It's my understanding that Limp Bizkit is not the responsible party for the Holiday Road cover. Apparently, it's a band called Limp that I've not heard of before or since, and that's not a bad thing, considering the noisy crap they made for this soundtrack. The rest of the soundtrack is so very fine. Mine came from one of those Warner Bros. stores way back in the day, and I'm surprised WB didn't include a copy of it in the Blu-ray. Sort of. Those cheap bastards.

Re: CD Review: Norah Jones, “The Fall”

hagen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:12:58 -0000

Man, I can't stop listening to The Fall. It's a diversion, sure, and it's not going to change the world, but it's tasty enough, and according to iTunes I've played it 19 times over the past week... apparently it's a hit in my ears. The album has plenty of that sound that makes Norah Jones popular, even if most of it's not coming from a piano. And you're right about the textures and atmosphere; the band lends itself well to whatever her point is. Look, I've given up on ever seeing a new Exile on Main Street, London Calling, or Dark Side of the Moon from anybody. That said, Norah Jones' new album is pretty sweet stuff. Then again, so is Chuck Prophet's. And Them Crooked Vultures.

Re: CD Review: Lou Reed, “Legendary Hearts” and “New Sensations”

hagen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:50:27 -0000

Maybe it's a sentimental favorite since it was my first Lou Reed album, but I can listen to New Sensations anytime. It's a weird album compared to most of his catalog, although it makes sense when compared with Mistrial. I used to play Fly Into the Sun at acoustic shows, to the consternation of the audience. The album is fine stuff all the way through, especially side two, and I Love You Suzanne is the most insanely addictive thing he ever wrote. Legendary Hearts took a while to find back in the time of Reagan, but when I did find it, I listened a few times to make sure it was the same Lou. Then again, I did the same thing with Berlin.

Re: CD Review: Marillion, “Less Is More”

hagen — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:01:40 -0000

Less Is More is not going to be an ending. From the videos they've been showing on marillion.com and from other interviews, this is a low-key affair, designed to be a low-key affair and nothing more. They've often said their albums are a reaction to the previous album, so this hour of acoustic revisions is their way of reacting to the 106 minutes of Happiness Is the Road. Also, I think they just wanted to have an excuse to buy a pipe organ and glockenspiel. The album is good (read: not as brilliant as that which came before), although I prefer the Piss-Up in a Brewery acoustic version of Cannibal Surf Babe to the hidden track. I appreciate the fact that they really reworked a lot of the songs, and while it does remove some of the aggressive power from a few numbers, it also gives some songs a new feel, like Quartz and Hard as Love. But I definitely wouldn't read Less Is More as a finale, since they're about to tour with it and they've made mention of songs that didn't make it on Happiness Is the Road. No need to start a panic, Friar Dunphy.

Re: The Producers: Rebuilding Elektra, Missing Whitney, and the Crue

hagen — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:41:13 -0000

This is a fantastic series. Thanks for writing this, Tom.

Re: The Friday Mixtape: 6/12/09

hagen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:06:27 -0000

Marillion and Fish... nice touch. Might want to take something for the prog blockage, though.

Re: Letter From the Editor: Does This Design Make Us Look Fat?

hagen — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:56:16 -0000

Also, I miss Terje and into the Ear of Madness. Seal's got a set of videos with Foster on iTunes, and nobody to defend them.

Re: Popdose Flashback: Jazzy David Foster With a Snappy Beat

hagen — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:55:36 -0000

Holy crap, I just found this. The new site redesign has been pestering me. Anyway, it's been a while since I made a snarky comment, so let's see...

Benoit is to jazz what sweaters are to metal.

I'm out of practice, I guess. Good to see you're back, Terje.