Toys, Tunes and Beer

DarthDre758 said:
It’s still spooky season here at Toys, Tunes and Beer. I got the @gijoe Cobra Island Major Bludd back when people were trading TP do him. I got him at retail though. He is essentially the same figure as that CI version, with an update body. Off the top of my head I don’t know which one the new body is. The addition of the red highlights is nice. It makes him stand out a bit more now. Still the same head sculpt, but there was nothing wrong with that one to begin with. I’m at the end of my @treehousebrewco stash (for now). Brewster Hut is a New Zealand hopped IPA. Rakau and Nelson are the big ones. Gives some grape and plum flavors with a little pineapple at the end. My next round of beers will be local finds for a little bit. Nothing says Spooky Season more than @officialmisfits . A band I discovered late, but somehow know most of the lyrics. Songs like Mommy and Where Eagles Dare are the popular ones, but I’ve had Die My Darling, Death Comes Ripping and Earth AD creep in to my top five. This is a “best of” album, so of course it’s all banger after banger. They are a band that are on my bucket list of bands to see live.

Overall ratings. Figure 4.25:5. Beer 4:5. Album 4.5:5

https://imgur.com/a/UYK5D1V
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I've seen them twice (not counting all the times I've seen the various solo bands of members, which I cannot even keep track of how many I've seen). Saw them in Denver in 2019...flew out with my best friend and stayed with my brother. That was amazing, as I never thought I'd get to see them. Saw them again when they came to Dallas on the weekend before Halloween in 2022. They had Fear and Alice Cooper (another favorite of mine I've seen too many times to count) open, which was incredible. If you get the chance to see them live, I definitely recommend it.
 
I drove down to Jersey to see them however many years ago that was. Sounded like shit, but it’s The Misfits so what could I have realistically expected? Never thought I’d see them so it was like a reward for the 13 year old I used to be.
 
I'll never forget driving all the way to Providence to see Type O' Negative with my mom. They sounded fucking terrible. Even young 'I like loud music' me recognized that they were WAY too loud for the size of the venue. So much feedback you couldn't hear any of the songs. The only thing anyone sang along to was Black No. 1.
 
Damien said:
I'll never forget driving all the way to Providence to see Type O' Negative with my mom. They sounded fucking terrible. Even young 'I like loud music' me recognized that they were WAY too loud for the size of the venue. So much feedback you couldn't hear any of the songs.
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I saw Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds a few years ago. The sound guy at the venue was fucking up the audio. For half the show it sounded like someone autotuning a dairy farm.
 
Your eyes are not deceiving you. That’s only 2/3 of my normal postings. Tonight we’re doing Tunes and Beer. I received (finally) the new album from Dropkick Murphys. I’ve been listening to this album digitally since July, but this will be my official review. It starts with two of my favorite songs on it, “Who’ll Stand With Us” and “Longshot.” The latter has some vocal help from The Scratch. Both songs have a poignant political lean towards them. They get their point across, and get you fired up. You don’t get a chance to settle though as “The Big Man” comes on hard. A tribute song to the Pennywise guitarist, Fletcher. From what I’ve seen of Fletcher, the song is tame in comparison. It slows down a bit for “Chesterfields and Aftershave” a love letter to Ken Casey’s deceased grandfather, John Kelly. A very sweet, and personal song. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of my own grandfather when I hear it. “Bury the Bones” and “Kids Games” follow that. The former has vocals from The Mary Wallopers. “Sooner Kill ‘em First” made me laugh when I first heard it because of the chorus, but after reading the lyrics it’s a lot more serious, and makes me wonder if it’s semi-autobiographical to Ken. “Fiending for the Lies” is another song that doesn’t sugar coat its point. “Streetlights” comes off as an escape from reality for someone who doesn’t want to face what’s going on in the real life. “School Days are Over” harkens back to that time when hit a certain age and you started your career…whether you liked it or not. We then get to the most anticipated song on the album “The Vultures Circle High” with Al Barrs return. It doesn’t disappoint at all. I’ve missed those back and forth vocals of Al and Ken. I’ve listened to this song on repeat a lot. Finally we have the finale. “One Last Goodbye”. Their tribute song to the late, great, Shane MacGowan.
That’s the core album. The songs all seem to flow well from one to the next. The music is on point as usual, and Ken’s vocals really dig in and hold on to you. I say that was the core album, because there is an additional record with four unreleased songs. The last (and 5th) song, “Sirens” was released in 2024 on its own. They are all great songs, and I’ll take new DKM stuff any day. The second to last song though “A Hero Among Many” is a tribute to Welles Crowther, the “Red Bandana Guy” on 9/11. Welles is credited with saving at least ten people that day, going up and down the stairs leading people to safety with his red bandana around his face, before he was killed when the South Tower collapsed.
With all that being said, I really like this album. It is very much the bands “new” sound, a much more polished version of their old days. The song topics are still the same as they used to be. Working man woes, hanging with your friends, and remembering those you’ve lost. Of their 13 studio albums, it’s a top five album for me. It hits all the right notes (so to say) and very much is a product of the current climate. They released the album in many different colors. White, Blue, Red, Silver, Jade (the same as the cover color) and the standard black. As you can see, I got the white version. It’s a beautiful album, and the D side is etched with the cover rose and title.
5:5. No notes.

https://imgur.com/a/zGWIoSO
 
A side note. The song "School Days are Over" featured Billy Bragg, who DKM had with them for the 2023 St Paddy's day show. Also that song was originally written by Ewan MacColl, whose daughter was Kristy MacColl of "Fairytale of New York" fame.
 
I’ll apologize for the lack of updates, but you guys probably didn’t even notice. I pulled out @starwars TBS Lt Galle. I picked him up just because Clone. I really like this new Clone body we’ve gotten. This leads to my first gripe, but not with this figure. We need a new Commander Bly. We need some other commanders too though (Neyo, Faie…). If you’re familiar with this clone body, you’ll know how nice it works overall. I risked catastrophe to get my Bly out of the display, and had to go hunt for Aayla in a bin. You’re welcome. I picked up a four pack of @fatorangecatbrewco (when I call our cat fat I get yelled at. What’s up with that) Chonky. A simple, easy drinking double IPA. Citra and Mosaic hops make one a great tasting beer. Great color, some citrus and tropical fruits. It tastes good, good beer is good. I decided to go with another @dropkickmurphys album tonight. If you don’t know, yes I like them. The Meanest of Times came out in 2007, and was guitarist Marc Orrell’s last album. This one probably has the most songs they do live on it, the opener Famous for Nothing, State of Massachusetts, Flannigans Ball and Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya. Fun fact, former guitarist Rick Barton plays on State of Mass as well. If I’m ranking their albums (don’t worry, once we get closer to Paddy’s day I will be doing just that) I’d put this one in the middle, maybe 7 or 8, but I’ll have a more comprehensive ranking next year. This was also the album that made me realize they tell a story across their albums.

Overall rankings. Figure 4:5. Beer 3.75:5

https://imgur.com/a/0c4i43l
 
I forgot to post this one here the other day. My bad.

I had to dig deep, but here we are. Toys, Tunes and Beer. As I said, I had to go digging for this figure. I wanted something still kind of Spooky Season-ish. Talos fills that for two reasons. He can change his look, like a costume….get it?! And Secret Invasion was so bad it’s scary. That doesn’t take away from this figure though. Simple, but pretty good actually. Shares a lot with WandaVision Jimmy Woo, but makes it his own thing. Great likeness to Ben Mendelsohn. The Talos head is pretty good too. I might put him in my display. I know. I know. But Dre! That isn’t your normal glass! I’m sure it was the first thing you noticed. This is one of my favorite glasses I own. I figured Fidens beer, required a Fidens glass. Hatchet (spoooooky) is an IPA from them. Galaxy and Citra hops give it a nice citrusy taste, with a bit of bitterness at the end (nerd, I know). Fidens is stocked in my fridge right now, so buckle up! @dead_kennedys is a band we need more today than ever. Jello Biafra is a lyrical genius, and sharp as a tack too when it comes to his words. This is just a “Best of” (minus one other best) album, and it rips from start to finish. Opening with Police Truck (which a lot of you know because of Tony Hawk) and closing with Buzzbomb From Pasadena just feels right. Everything in between is killer. Too Drunk to Fuck is one of my favorites, and always makes me think of the movie Glory Daze (see TT&B IV).

Overall ratings. Figure 4.5:5. Beer 4.25:5. Album 4.75:5

https://imgur.com/a/iLTQg7B
 
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