MP's "Hero of the Day"

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:00:11 GMT

THE COMEBACK

It took me years to get around to it, but I'm finally watching HBO's underrated and forgotten reality TV mockumentary.

Lisa Kudrow's character is as hopelessly sad (and hilarious) as David Brent, Andy Millman and Kenny Powers...

Like The Office (UK), Extras and Eastbound & Down, its a compact run of 13 classic episodes...

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:04:21 GMT

MP's Best Of 2009 Year-End Wrap Up

CDs:
1. Bigelf - Cheat The Gallows
2. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
3. Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
4. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
5. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
6. Them Crooked Vultures
7. Megadeth - Endgame
8. The Devin Townsend Project - Ki/Addicted
9. Heart Of Cygnus - Over Mountain Under Hill
10. Animals As Leaders

Honorable Mentions:
Lazarus AD - The Onslaught, Muse - The Resistance, Porcupine Tree - The Incident, Baroness - Blue Record and Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition

And of course:
Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind

-------------------------

Films:
1. A Serious Man
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. Broken Embraces
4. Thirst
5. In The Loop
6. Time Crimes
7. Martyrs
8. (500) Days Of Summer
9. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
10. Paranormal Activity

** The last few spots are still subject to change for late 2009 releases I haven't seen yet (still waiting to see the new ones from Jarmusch, Solendz, Linklater and Haneke)

-----------------------------

TV:
1. Lost
2. Sons Of Anarchy
3. Rescue Me
4. Breaking Bad
5. Mad Men
6. Eastbound And Down
7. Dexter
8. True Blood
9. Curb Your Enthusiasm
10. Modern Family

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MP's Best Of 00's Decade-End Wrap Up

CDs:

Top 10:
1. Muse - Absolution
2. Bigelf - Cheat The Gallows
3. Opeth - Blackwater Park *
4. Spock's Beard - Snow
5. The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
6. Endochine - Day Two
7. Beardfish - Sleeping In Traffic Pts 1&2
8. Metallica - Death Magnetic
9. Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
10. Peter Gabriel - Up

Top 20:
11. Between The Buried & Me - Colors
12. Machine Head - The Blackening
13. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
14. Slipknot - Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses
15. Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane
16. Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
17. King Crimson - The Power To Believe
18. Weezer - Green Album
19. Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
20. Mastodon - Crack The Skye

* A special mention must be made declaring Opeth as my "Band of the Decade" as I could have easily listed Deliverance, Damnation, Ghost Reveries and Watershed all in my top 10 as well, but I had a self-imposed rule of only one album per band...

(I had similar issues picking a definitive album from Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, Mastodon, Lamb Of God and The Flaming Lips who all put out very consistant, quality releases all decade)

And of course the 5 Dream Theater, 3 Transatlantic, 6 Neal Morse, 1 John Arch & 2 OSI albums I released this decade! (not counting any live stuff!)

-------------------------

Films:

Top 10:
1. City Of God (Fernando Meirelles)
2. Children Of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
3. Oldboy (Chan-Wook Park)
4. Mullholland Drive (David Lynch)
5. Memento (Christopher Nolan)
6. Irreversible (Gasper Noe)
7. Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe)
8. Requiem For A Dream (Darren Aronofsky)
9. Once (John Carney)
10. The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola)

Top 20:
11. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
12. Funny Games (Michael Haneke)
13. Dig! (Ondi Timoner)
14. Lost In Translation (Sofia Coppola)
15. Kill Bill Vol 1&2 (Quentin Tarantino)
16. Match Point (Woody Allen)
17. Traffic (Steven Soderbergh)
18. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
19. No Country For Old Men (Joel & Ethan Coen)
20. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)

* Honorable mention goes to Christopher Guest as I couldn't pick just one film between Best In Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration

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TV:

Top 10:
1. Lost
2. The Sopranos
3. Six Feet Under
4. The Office (UK)
5. Curb Your Enthusiasm
6. The Wire
7. Rescue Me
8. Sons Of Anarchy
9. The Shield
10. Extras

Top 20:
11. Family Guy
12. Mad Men
13. Dexter
14. Brotherhood
15. Entourage
16. Californication
17. Breaking Bad
18. Eastbound & Down
19. Damages
20. True Blood

-----------

Songs:
1. Opeth - The Baying Of The Hounds
2. Spock's Beard - The Great Nothing
3. Beck - Lonesome Tears
4. The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?
5. Sixx AM - Accidents Can Happen
6. Keane - Bedshaped
7. Mastodon - Capillarian Crest
8. Muse - Stockholm Syndrome
9. Dillinger Escape Plan - When Good Dogs Do Bad Things
10. Bigelf - Counting Sheep

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:56:07 GMT

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM / SEINFELD

What a PERFECT Curb season finale and Seinfeld reunion!!

That could not have been more pitch perfect....

As much as I am glad L.D. is doing more seasons, how the hell do you top that???

ICON...NO-CON!
There's no John, Paul, George and Larry!!
Classic stuff.... : )

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:17:14 GMT

LARS ULRICH

Went to see Metallica last night at Madison Square Garden with my family and my bro Chris Jericho...

I need to say that Lars Ulrich is one of the classiest guys in the business...
After the first song of their set, he sent his assistant to our seats to get us so Melody and Max could watch the show from the stage.

We watched the whole show from "his world" (with his son sitting with us playing air drums along with his dad all night!) and he would come over to hi-five Max and Melody and chat with me between songs....

Meanwhile, Metallica played the most ridiculously awesome setlist I've ever seen them play...rarely played stuff like Shortest Straw, Dyers Eve, Trapped Under Ice...some of the more obscure new tunes like My Apocalypse and Judas Kiss...and of course all the classics. Me and Jericho were buggin the whole time like 2 little kids!!!

Not only was Lars a great host, but Kirk, James and Rob were also incredibly cool hanging out with us afterwards...

Regardless of being one of the biggest bands in the world, Lars is still a true class act...you rule dude!

MP

PS - Sayid from Lost was sitting with us the whole time too....No, really!!!!
Bummed I didn't snap a picture with him....

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:00:49 GMT

A SERIOUS MAN

The new Coen Brothers film is another masterpiece!

Set in a Jewish community in 1967 (the year I was born BTW), this film nails it all on the head!!

Easily Joel and Ethan's most personal film to date and is surely in my Top 5 of their body of work (which is saying a lot!)

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:11:09 GMT

SONS OF ANARCHY
(again....2nd HOTD on one page...this may be a first!)

The Fall & Rise of SAMCRO....
Tonight's episode RULED!

Hands down the best show on TV at the moment....

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:56:58 GMT

MODERN FAMILY

Been lovin this new show...
Probably my favorite network comedy since The Office.

This is a must see for fans of Arrested Development!

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:18:55 GMT

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

HO......LY......SH*T......
That was INTENSE!!!

It's The Blair Witch meets The Exorcist...

Absolutely Top 5 scariest movie I've ever seen!!

I probably won't get a good night sleep for a few weeks after this one...

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:21:01 GMT

HARPER'S ISLAND

Missed this when it was on TV this past summer, so am now finally catching up with the DVD that just came out...

I'm halfway through the 13 episodes and it keeps getting better and better...shame it never caught on....

MP

Re: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:26:36 GMT

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Finally got out to see this!!! (maybe the longest I've gone before seeing a Tarantino flim upon release...)

QT is back baby!!!
This was phenominal!!!
Perhaps his best film since Pulp Fiction??

The thing I love about seeing a Tarantino film the first time is that incredible suspense of not knowing what the f*ck can happen at any moment....of course, this makes the 2nd viewing perhaps NOT as enjoyable, but man the first time is always intense!

Hands down, best film of 2009 so far....
MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:55:53 GMT

SONS OF ANARCHY

Just whipped through the whole first season and FX does it again!
Awesome show and I cant wait for Season Two in the Fall....

SAMCRO!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 14 May 2009 01:03:11 GMT

LOST

Best
.
.
.
Show
.
.
.
Ever

'Nuff Said......

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:47:29 GMT

The last 3 DVD's I watched were easily 3 of the best films of last year....

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

True Blood meets My Bodyguard?
The Lost Boys go to Sweden?
Twilight in Fargo?

Surely one of the most stylized (and sweet!) vampire/horror films I've ever seen....

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

This was every bit as brilliant and bizarre as I expected.
Another knockout performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman and another completely off the wall, original story by Charlie Kaufman....
This was kind of like Stardust Memories meets Brazil!

TELL NO ONE

A top notch, incredibly well written, French suspense mystery....ala classic Hitchcock....
With more twists and turns than a Coney Island roller-coaster and touches of The Usual Suspects and Memento...
Definitely one that will require repeat viewings...

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:09:32 GMT

BREAKING BAD

Just watched all 7 episodes of Season 1 which were awesome and am all set for Season 2 which premiered this week.

This is surely one of the best new shows on TV (along with Damages and Mad Men)....

Kinda like if the Coen Brothers had a weekly show!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:54:15 GMT

ANVIL
Having done Eddie Trunk's Metal Summit together this past weekend, director Sacha Gervasi hooked me up with an advance screener DVD of his upcoming brilliant rockumentary "Anvil: The Story Of Anvil"

This is an absolutely heartbreaking (but ultimately bittersweet) look at the ups and downs (well, mainly downs) of the 30 year career of Canadian Metal veterans Anvil.

Somebody recently described it to me as "This Is Spinal Tap" meets "The Wrestler" and I cannot think of a better description.

The thought of what this film is inevitably going to do for Lips and Robb Reiner (give them the comeback of a lifetime), is what put the biggest smile on my face at the end of the film.

At the end of the day, this is ultimately a love story between two Canadian Metalheads and their love for making music and the challenges that failed to break them apart against all odds.

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:24:28 GMT

BIGELF

Holy shit....
These guys totally rule!!

I just got turned onto em (thanks Ray!) and downloaded their latest one "Cheat The Gallows" from iTunes which is an absolute masterpiece.

It's the type of album that completely blew my mind upon first listen and had an immediate impact on me (very similar to the first times I heard Jellyfish's Spilt Milk, Muse's Absolution, Radiohead's OK Computer and Spock's Beard's The Light)....every song is just absolute pure perfection!

This is like all my favorite classic rock / prog rock bands from the 60's & 70's all wrapped in one!
Picture the bastard love-child of Black Sabbath, Queen, The Beatles, Deep Purple, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and King Crimson.....

I think I have a favorite new band!
WOW....

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:01:38 GMT

DAMAGES

In order to jump into Season 2 which just began, I caught up with the entire first season of this absolutely brilliant show.

Season 1 was 13 PERFECT hours that unfolded like an epic film or a classic novel with more twists and turns than a Six Flags roller coaster.

The writing is absolutely top notch with a masterfully executed story told through use of flashbacks and flashfowards which kept me on the edge of my seat for all 13 hours....

And the cast is surely the best on TV with incredible peformances by Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Ted Danson.

FX is starting to rival HBO and Showtime for the best roster of shows at the moment between this, The Shield (RIP), Rescue Me (can't wait for the next season) and Sons Of Anarchy which I am just getting into....(sorry Nip/Tuck fans, I gave up after Season 3...)

Damages is easily one of the best shows on the air right now....and I'm sorry I missed having it on my year-end list of 2008....but I already have the top spot reserved for it in 2009!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:07:24 GMT

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Danny Boyle is back with his best film since Trainspotting......

This is "City Of God" meets "Quiz Show" set in India with a romantic twist!

I need to now add this one to my top 10 of 2008.

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:34:30 GMT

MP's Favorite Albums of 2008:(in no particular order)

1. Metallica - Death Magnetic
2. Protest The Hero - Fortress
3. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath
4. Beardfish - Sleeping In Traffic Part 2
5. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
6. Opeth - Watershed
7. Bloodbath - Unblessing The Purity / The Fathomless Mastery
8. Frost - Experiments In Mass Appeal
9. Trivium - Shogun
10. Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

A few honorable mentions:
Dir En Grey - Uroboros
Cynic - Traced In Air
Extreme - Saudades de Roc
Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

MP's Favorite Films of 2008:(in no particular order)
1. The Wrestler
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Milk
4. Rachel Getting Married
5. Cloverfield
6. Tell No One
7. Synecdoche, New York
8. Slumdog Millionaire
9. Towelhead
10. Let The Right One In

MP's Favorite TV of 2008:(in no particular order)
1. True Blood
2. Brotherhood
3. The Shield
4. Californication
5. Mad Men
6. Dexter
7. Tim & Eric Awesome Show
8. Entourage
9. Z Rock
10. In Treatment

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 23:13:49 GMT

BROTHERHOOD

What a year for Series finales...
In the wake of the ends of both "The Wire" and "The Shield", comes the end of another great cable crime/drama series (and I may have to say my favorite of the three...)
Although the end of this show came quite abrupty and surprisingly due to poor ratings....

It's sad to see that this brilliant show never caught on because it really was a perfect cross between "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" and was just as well made...

Hopefully time will give this great series the acclaim it deserved after 3 short, but brilliant seasons....

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:13:18 GMT

THE WRESTLER

Darren Aronofsky is back on track after the (IMO) overblown disappointment of The Fountain.

Although stylistically The Wrestler is worlds apart from the flashy technique of his previous films like Requiem From A Dream, he's created a great, small indie film more in the vein of his debut Pi (actually this feels more like a John Cassevettes character study piece....)

Mickey Rourke gets the John Travolta comeback of the decade award for this one as well with a knockout performance (no pun intended!)

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:53:52 GMT

ROADRUNNER UNITED - THE CONCERT

I just watched this great DVD that documents THE metal event of the millennium....
Its great to finally have a document of this historic show from 2005 celebrating Roadrunner's 25th Anniversary concert.

It's a who's who of metal past and present with members of Sepultura, Machine Head, Slipknot, Fear Factory, Anthrax, Biohazard, Trivium, Stone Sour, Killswitch Engage, etc, etc. all mixing it up into different lineups and covering everybody else's songs...what an awesome, unique idea!
So many great players and good friends....everybody kicked ass and sound totally tight and powerful...

To me the highlight was the Mercyful Fate/King Diamond stuff (some of my favorite metal albums ever!) perfectly sung by Ripper Owens (and backed by Joey Jordison, Roy Mayorga, Andreas Kisser, James Murphy, Jeff Waters, Adam Duce and Paul Gray)
This whole thing is like a Metal "We Are The World"!!!!

My only complaint is that I wasnt involved! (we werent on the label yet at that point...)
Maybe for the 30th Anniversary...?? : )

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:05:28 GMT

THAT METAL SHOW

Call it a shameless plug for my episode next week, but really...even if I wasnt next week's guest, I'd still be giving major props and plugs for this awesome new show on VH1 Classic for all things metal.

It's a show about metalheads, for metalheads, by metalheads....

Essentially Eddie Trunk has taken the concept of some of the metal summits we've done together on his radio show and put it on TV.

Where else on TV can you see metal artists and fans gather to debate Led Zeppelin vs. Black Sabbath, Kiss fans vs. Rush fans, etc.

After my episode next week, future guests include Ace Frehley and Alex Lifeson & Geddy Lee.
Don't just tune in next week....tune in every week!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:41:01 GMT

THE SHIELD

WOW!!!

What a tremendous ending to a truly great show....
Quite possibly one of the best series finales I've ever seen (close only to Six Feet Under)...
This is how to wrap up a series!

Shane and Ronnie's fate were absolutely heartbreaking (Shane's final scene was devastating)....and Michael Chiklis' final scene was an acting tour de force and surely Emmy-worthy.

I'm gonna miss this one...

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:13:24 GMT

There's been an incredible slew of great Live Concert DVD's released in the past month or so...so here's a collective HOTD entry to pay tribute to some of the great ones I've recently checked out:

THE WHO
Two classic shows from two drastically different eras have finally been released from the Who archives: Live at the London Coliseum 1969 is The Who at their live best...filmed between Woodstock and Live At Leeds, this is closest we'll ever get to seeing a Leeds DVD and is the earliest filmed performance of Tommy (an album which is very dear to me...)And Keith is just mesmerizing to watch....what a huge influence on me. Live at Kilburn 1977 is a legendary and much sought out show for us Who fanatics (but for all the wrong reasons!). This is essentially The Who (as I loved them) on their last legs. The band is loose and sloppy and Keith is a completely different player and person from the Coliseum footage which is unbelievably only 8 years earlier...(and this was his second to last live show ever...)Yet this is a fascinating watch and I'm so glad this has finally been released...only because it is indeed history that deserved to be seen by us Who fanatics, regardless of the warts...

FOO FIGHTERS Live at Wembley Stadum is a great document of a historic show that shows why these guys deserve to be where they are today....they are the best band of their kind and it's obvious how incredibly emotional this performance was for Dave.And oh yeah....those two "special guests" for the encore was pretty cool too! : )

OPETH 2 years in the waiting, we finally get the Roundhouse DVD....an amazing set of progressive epic classics. Even after spending 5 weeks on the road with them this past spring, I still can never get enough Opeth!!!!

ZEBRA Even though this DVD is about 20 years late (it's pretty low budget & cheesy at times, and the band is pretty loose), I still really enjoyed this trip down memory lane! Back in the mid-80's I used to go see them live all the time and DT opening for them back in 1988 was a huge career highlight for me at that point. Their 1st album is still an all-time classic and one of my favorites from that decade...every song is a classic!

TENACIOUS D The Complete Masterworks Vol.2 not only contains an amazing concert (kind of a cross between a concert and a broadway show!), but a fascinating documentary that for the first time ever shows JB and KG as "normal" people....(the controversy at their Letterman appearance was so incredibly uncomfortable and sad....)

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:00:21 GMT

LIFE ON MARS

Time travel.....the 70's....serial killers....Michael Imperioli and Harvey Keitel....and named after one of my favorite songs of all time.....

How on earth can I possibly NOT love this new show????

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:44:11 GMT

RICK WRIGHT

This is a sad day for us Progressive/Classic Rock fans.....
I'm gutted over this news.

Pink Floyd is one of my "Big 4" bands (that are tattooed on my leg)
And now 3 of the 4 bands have 2 dead members....very sad.

Thank god we got to see him at the reunion at Live 8 and on the last Gilmour tour.

Time to go listen to Echoes....

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:07:32 GMT

GET THRASHED

Holy shit....this awesome new documentary is MY LIFE from 1984 to 1986!!!!

I was totally and completely part of this scene during that time (not as a musician, but as a fan in the moshpits of L'Amour and Sundance) Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, Overkill, Death Angel, Testament, Nuclear Assault, Violence, S.O.D., Crumbsuckers, Carnivore, Ludichrist, Metal Church, Raven, King Diamond, Flotsam and Jetsam, Agnostic Front, D.R.I., Cro Mags, Leeway, etc etc I saw em all during that time....had em all on my denim and leather jackets....and even have the pix to prove it!

MP at Exodus In-Store Appearance '85:

MP at Flotsam & Jetsam In-Store Appearance '86:

MP (with the old school Slayer shirt) & JP (with the nice Prog-guy shirt!) '86:

MP & ex-Fates Warning Vocalist John Arch '86:(note MP's Crumbsucker shirt and Murphy's Law sticker on the jacket!)

When I left for Berklee and met JP & JM, we had the common love for Rush/Yes/Floyd and Maiden/Priest/Sabbath, so that redirected the musical path I ended up taking in my career.....
but I was and will ALWAYS be an old-school thrasher at heart!!! (You can take MP out of the thrash scene, but you cant take the thrash scene out of MP!)

This DVD is a must see if you were there at the time....or even if you weren't so you can see where it all began!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:27:27 GMT

METALLICA

Death Magnetic is HANDS DOWN the best Metallica album in 20 years.
This is the CD I've been waiting for them to make since "And Justice For All"

And thumbs up to them for doing the 1st REAL Metallica instrumental in 20 years since "To Live Is To Die".
(If you don't count DT's "Stream Of Consciousness")

Welcome back boys....

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:22:56 GMT

TRUE BLOOD

I loved the Series Premiere of this new HBO series from Alan Ball (writer of American Beauty and creator of Six Feet Under)
It's kinda like "From Dusk Til Dawn" meets "The Lost Boys".

The opening credits in itself have to be the most visually intense I've ever seen (up there with the opening credits of "Seven" and "Natural Born Killers")

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:57:50 GMT

SIGUR ROS

Their latest DVD "Heima" is an absolutely gorgeous, hypnotic piece of film.

As beautiful and simplistic as their music is, the images and landscapes in this film are just as beautiful to watch and is a must-see for all filmmakers, musicians and artists.

This is very much this generation's version of "Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii"

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:51:43 GMT

OK....
After the DT tour finished in June, I did the LTE shows, wrapped up work on the DT DVD and then took some long-needed, much-deserved ACTUAL TIME OFF! Which meant alot of sitting by the pool with the wife and kids, BBQ-ing, going to concerts, watching DVD's and trying to spend as little time as possible on the computer.Which meant no HOTD posts....

That's not to say I haven't been inspired by some great music, film, TV and books all summer long....I've just been too consumed doing NOTHING to write about it! So here's a kind of one-stop-shopping, end-of-summer, special edition HOTD recap:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KEVIN SMITH

I've been reading his "My Boring Ass Life" book/journal and I can totally relate to his walking the fine line between the extremes of workaholic, control-freak to lazy, DVD watching home sloath....And you gotta love somebody who is willing to write about his anal fissures and how often (and in what position) he has sex with his wife!

VERONICA MARS

As a result of reading Kevin Smith's book (which is almost like his version of HOTD at times), I got turned onto the wonderfully entertaining Veronica Mars which is like a cross between Twin Peaks and Beverly Hills 90125 (wait, is that the Yes album or the TV show? I can never remember....)

WILCO
I re-watched "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" (a previous HOTD entry from years ago) and re-confirmed this as one of the greatest Rock and Roll Documentaries of all time. Showing everything that is wrong with the music industry (but luckily seems to be turning around as of late as the labels are all going down and the artists are all finally getting to take their music back...)

SLIPKNOT

Totally digging the latest CD which is incorporating even more of Corey's singing and the more mainstream Stone Sour elements....(but yet they're still incredibly heavy). Caught the Mayhem show in Philly and they put on an amazing show. Joey was my hero of the day that evening as I met up with him and hung out before the show where he couldn't even walk as he had just broken his ankle, not knowing how the hell he was gonna play, and he went up there and kicked total ass!

INTO ETERNITY

Their new CD "The Incurable Tragedy" take their brand of extreme progressive metal to a whole new level of intensity with some great playing, killer riffs, insane vocals and an intense lyrical concept. Should they continue to build on all of the touring they did the past 2 years (some of which with yours truly), they should have another great album cycle ahead of them. LAMB OF GOD Their latest home DVD "Walk With Me In Hell" was a great watch for a very cool, inside look at their past 2 years on the road as well and all of the great progress they have made and the success that they truly deserve.

BEARDFISH

They made one of my favorite albums of 2007 with "Sleeping in Traffic Part 1" and have now easily secured a placed at the top of my 2008 list as well with "Part 2". They are probably my favorite pure prog band to come around since I discovered Spock's Beard 12 years ago....Great musicianship, great songwriters, great stuff!!

MATS/MORGAN Speaking of great Swedish musicians, I continute to be blown away by this duo and more specifically with drummer Morgan Agren. Their latest release contains an amazing compilation of Morgan's work which includes some awesome footage with Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal.

PLASTIC ONO BAND

Watched the amazing "Classic Album" DVD of the making of this classic John Lennon album.(an all time favorite of mine) This also contained one of my favorite Ringo interviews of all time as it was great to see some fresh questions and insight from the man that has probably answered the same Beatles questions a million time over by now.

SIXX AM

I am blown away by how surprisingly good this Nikki Sixx album is. I read his book as well which was pretty incredible in itself, but this CD really contains some unbelievably hooky, melodic stuff (and some great vocals!) and a very inspiring message of sobriety and recovery from addition.

CELEBRITY REHAB

Speak of sobriety and recovery, the closet reality TV-junkie in me finally caught up with this series from earlier in the year. Looking foward to season 2 next month....I'm such a sucker for this shit!

TIM & ERIC AWESOME SHOW GREAT JOB

Not only am I stoked for this all-time whacked out show to be back on the air with new episodes (the return of Spaghet!!!), I cannot get enough of the CD they released as well....(getcha poke on!)

Alright, that's enough for now....you get the idea of what I've been checkin out....Time to get back to poolside before we enter the studio next month! MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Mon, 19 May 2008 16:55:57 GMT

CALIFORNICATION

I finally got around to watching Showtime's latest great new show.
It's kind of a cross between Entourage and Rescue Me (without the fires!)

David Duchovny is pitch perfect and has done what I thought would be seemingly impossible:
Created a character that will redefine his career in a way that he will no longer forever be in the shadows of Fox Mulder!

I can't wait for season 2!!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 04:32:37 GMT

INTO THE WILD

An absolutely inspiring road film with a 1,2,3 punch of a powerhouse performance by Emile Hirsch (in a career-making role), beautiful direction by Sean Penn and a haunting score by Eddie Vedder.
(not to mention ahandful of great supporting performances as well...)

This was The Straight Story meets Jesus' Son meets Easy Rider meets Neil Peart's Ghost Rider.

Truly awe-inspiring!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:39:06 GMT

NEVER BEEN THAWED

This mockumentary is an absolute classic!

It's Spinal Tap & the Christopher Guest films meets Clerks, Slacker & Trailer Park Boys...

A must-see if you're a fan of this type of stuff...

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:32:03 GMT

ONCE

I finally got around to seeing this absolute JEM of a movie!

What an absolutely great film....
Kinda like Extras, Lost in Translation, Before Sunrise/Sunset and Juno all rolled up into one!

Surely one of the best films of last year and one that will probably become an all-time favorite as time goes on....

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:20:35 GMT

JENS HANNEMANN

Pick up his "Complicated Drumming Technique" DVD....you wont be sorry!
He is my new drum hero!

'nuff said....

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:17:52 GMT

PROTEST THE HERO

Between The Buried And Me's latest CD was my album of the year in 2007 and it landed them a spot from me on our Progressive Nation '08 tour....

Well if you loved that album as much as I did, and you need a new fix of some avant garde, over the top, progessive, metalcore - look no further than Protest The Hero's new CD "Fortress"...

Wow...this is some amazing stuff!!

Totally amazing playing by the band and while it has the usual metalcore screaming, the vocals are also very melodic as well...(wow, what a concept!)

Fans of BTBAM, Dillinger Escape Plan, Watchtower/Spastic Ink/Blotted Science (and some DT thrown in for good measure) - RUN to get this album immediately!!!
You're in for a TREAT!!!

Only a month into the new year and this one's a shoe-in for one of my top CD's of 2008!

MP

RE: MP's "Hero of the Day" (Portnoy)

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:22:32 GMT

CHOPPER

In keeping with the Australian spirit of DT's first tour Down Under, I finally watched this DVD that I've read about for many years now and has been sitting in my collection waiting to be watched...

I'm sorry I waited this long as I've been missing a real Indie classic all this time!
Think a cross between "Man Bites Dog", "Natural Born Killers" and "Sexy Beast".

Eric Bana's performance is absolutely brilliant and this being the debut of Director Andrew Dominik now has me really excited to see his follow-up from this past yeat ("The Assassination of Jessie James.....")

MP