Lurker > TheCodeisBosco

Great Dweezil write-up, thanks for sharing. "Brown Moses" going into "I'm a Beautiful Guy" is just beautiful sequencing.

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The music was thud-like.
The music was... thud-like.

Lasa's list is excellent. I'll add that Bongo Fury, Philly '76 and You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6 are perfection in my eyes, as well. In fact, Bongo Fury is my favorite album outright - by anyone!
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The music was thud-like.
The music was... thud-like.

Mr Lasastryke posted...

Funny, I recently decided that I want to buy the original LP of The Man from Utopia. Reason being that it's the only way to hear the original Vinnie Colaiuta drum tracks - they've been replaced with Chad Wackerman drum tracks on every single CD version of the album.

It seems to be one of the cheaper Zappa LPs, perhaps due to its polarizing nature. So, it has that going for it too.

I love the album, personally. The punching an eclair line from "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats" made me gasp with my jaw dropped when I first heard it. Classic.
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Over the past couple months, I've lucked into more (relatively) cheap Japanese Zappa LPs. Someone on eBay has been auctioning a bunch off; super nice guy, too.

Unlike Apostrophe ('), I haven't owned any of these on vinyl prior, so I can't compare them specifically to other pressings. Nonetheless, here are some thoughts.

The Man From Utopia (CBS) - Sounds great all around. The Obi strip complements the cover art well, too.

Zoot Allures (Warner Bros.) - I'm not crazy about the mixes for the uptempo tracks. "Wonderful Wino" is hit especially hard; the bridge, normally the song's highlight, sounds oddly limp on this pressing. "Ms. Pinky" also sounds neutered. The slower tracks fare much better - "The Torture Never Stops" and "Friendly Little Finger" are downright excellent here, with mixes that really let the details flourish.

Them or Us (EMI) - OUTSTANDING. There are no words for how phenomenal this pressing sounds; it may be the best-sounding LP I own. I believe this is the only Zappa record that EMI pressed/distributed in Japan, and that's a damn shame.

I also won a Japanese copy of Zappa in New York, but haven't listened to it yet. It'll be my first time listening to ZINY in full, so I'm excited!
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I recently lucked into a very reasonably-priced Japanese pressing of Apostrophe ('). This morning, I decided to spin it back-to-back with my faithful old US copy.

The difference is pretty astounding! The Japanese pressing is treble-heavy and carries a brighter sound, fitting for the mostly silly lyrics within. The drums are really pushed to the forefront on this copy, as well as the piano on "Uncle Remus," and the guitar on "Excentrifugal Forz" and "Apostrophe (')" sounds particularly crisp.

By comparison, the US copy keeps the instruments more even with one another, and has a bluesier/hazier atmosphere as a result. I prefer the US copy's mix of "Cosmik Debris," since the bridge feels somewhat muted on the Japanese copy, but I otherwise feel like the Japanese pressing is the clear winner. "Uncle Remus," "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Apostrophe (')" show the biggest improvements - especially "Uncle Remus." It's mind-blowing on the JPN copy.
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Broadway the Hard Way is a polarizing album, but man, I love it. It's over-the-top in the best kind of way.

I only have it on vinyl, though, so I need to listen to the extra tracks at some point.
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My vinyl copy of The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa arrived in time for me to spin it before heading out of town. It's well worth it! The pressing sounds excellent and the packaging reflects the release's previously cassette-only status in a cheeky fashion.
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Nooo more credit from the liquor stooore...
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My curiosity is finally getting the best of me. At some point this weekend, I'm going to listen to "Thing-Fish" front-to-back for the first time. Should be a good time lmao.

If nothing else, I already know "Brown Moses" is fucking outstanding.
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Stink-Foot is wonderful. Another dark horse contender for funniest Zappa song is "Jelly Roll Gum Drop." It's so over-the-top that it gets me every time. I also love singing it to my girlfriend, to her chagrin.

I have an LP copy of "Cruising with Ruben and the Jets" arriving in the mail any day now. Can't wait to own this one!
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I just set up my U-Turn Orbit turntable, after eyeing it for months. You bet your ass "Hot Rats" and "Sheik Yerbouti" were among the first records to get played.

Few things in life are funnier than singing along to "Willie the Pimp".
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Ngl, a Flintstones party at a hotel sounds kinda awesome.

I'm going to a "girlfriend's friends' party". Hooray. Fortunately, while many of her friends are annoying af, the ones hosting this party are great folks. So it balances out.
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Yes
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I dislike toilet humor as much as the next guy, but Wario's games are just so damn good that it becomes a non-issue. At least two of the Wario Land games (II + Shake It) and two of the WarioWare titles (Twisted and Smooth Moves) are genuine masterpieces IMO. I would even include WarioWare Twisted in my top ten ever - that's how much I love that game.

I also emphatically recommend Cuphead and Octopath Traveler, those are two of my favorite games of this gen.
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Kamekguy posted...

Always nice to hear raw emotion, though. Even if I disagree, it's always good to hear another perspective.

I agree with this. Considering how reductive, conformist and anti-intellectual so much of the Internet has become, I can't help but enjoy these Archie Bunker-esque diatribes Ulti goes on. They're a nice change of pace even when they're the size of a peer-reviewed journal article, like this one.

I also fucking died laughing at the 12 Years a Slave joke. Classic.
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If we do get a Game of the Decade contest, I could see Pokemon Switch (the "real" one) bringing POKEFEAR back. It wouldn't be able to touch BotW, don't get me wrong, but I expect that game to be a huge deal. People have been waiting for a full-fledged console Pokemon game since dinosaurs roamed the earth, it feels like.
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Mario 64 vs. Halo, who ya got?
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Never change, Full Throttle. You're a mensch.
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First one is easily the best tbh, I really wish we could get an Arms character.
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My personal favorites are Undertale, Splatoon, Cuphead and Super Mario Odyssey. All four would make it into my personal top ten, and I truly feel like each one pushed the envelope in a meaningful way.

All in all, I think it's been a good decade for gaming, and better than the 2000s by leaps and bounds. 90s are still the best decade though.
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I fell in love with the coffee brand "Raven's Brew" earlier this year, so I did a bulk order on their website. Gave away quite a few bags as gifts, and kept several for myself. Awesome coffee and great packaging too!
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Count me in on the "all four are great" train, but yeah. Kramer > George > Jerry > Elaine.

Ross is absolutely worse than the female Friends though.
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Parks is better by orders of magnitude.
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Seeing Shepard on this list is so surreal lmfao
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May I suggest including The Lady Vanishes (1938)? It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I loved it when I did.
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bowser
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bowser
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bowser
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bowser
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bowser
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dog
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dog
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votes Magus
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ivysaur
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dog
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dog
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ivysaur
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dog
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ivysaur
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dog
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bowser
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dog
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dog
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ok - Lil B
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dog
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ivysaur
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dog
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ddd
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I don't think any amount of mockery and/or booze could make "Transformers 2" tolerable...
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Also, I think games that truly push the envelope and surprise with their creativity/wealth of new content are commendable, relatively rare, and deserve particular praise for it even as the years pass and sequels follow.

I think the Splatoon games are a really good example. Splatoon 2 pretty much has everything the original did in a sleeker package. But Splatoon 1 knocked me square on my ass. I don't think a Nintendo game impressed and surprised me to that extent since, like... Pikmin? Super Mario 64?

From a practical standpoint, Splatoon 2 is the one you'd play in December 2018, but to claim that it's 100% better sells Splatoon 1 short of the sheer magic it made out of thin air. I can't not love it more, I'm only human.
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