Monday, June 20, 2011

Post Vacation (NSFW art)

So after 4 years, I finally had some time off. And apparently I missed Carcosa the Sequel. Well damn. Can't say I missed seeing the drama, because I had a blast exploring the East Coast, seeing whales and looking at the beauty of wild lands.

But I did have a great Father's Day... and beer... and a cigar... and I got to watch a movie that took me back to my glory days of just discovering D&D and sex... Heavy Metal.

I think part of my brain permanently lives in a world that Den or Taarna exist in... I was surprised how many concepts and ideas from the movie live in my mental pictures that I use as I'm playing D&D.

And not just the adolescent glee of seeing sex and tits and ass and hirsute women, but the utter violence and juxtaposition of whimsical fantasy, lots of illegal intoxicants and just crazy gonzo stuff. Lately, I find myself walking a line between Jeff Rients and Alexis in terms of how I see my worlds. And I'm OK with that.

The sad thing is that I'm spoiled today by the glut of porn, erotic images, extremely violent action movies and advanced CGI/animation, so I found myself at times looking at Heavy Metal as dated and worn... but then I opened that whimsical 16 year old up and found myself enchanted again. There are a lot of people that take our little niche quite seriously - hell, myself included sometimes - and there are people who can just switch on the kid-like wonder and enjoy a world where Den can have sex twice in one day, including with the baddie! (Gotta remember that as a viable option there...)

Anyway, enjoy the music and personally...? I'm not worried about the children. Fuck, we were exposed to some crazy shit at our young teenage years and look how we turned out.

Wait, that didn't help any. Fuck...

15 comments:

James said...

I picked up Heavy Metal at Wal-mart last year, for about $7. I've resolved to watch it at least once a year. It is, indeed, good for the soul!

E.G.Palmer said...

I've got Don Felder's, Heavy Metal,(take that ride) on my Ipoid. Sometimes I just sit back in the big chair and put it on repeat. Dig it man.

Aaron E. Steele said...

Picked up Heavy Metal, along with Fire and Ice. Ah the mammories.

x said...

Wow, I just watched it last night.

And I hope the air clears over this whole affair and people know that it wasn't about product content, but one person deciding that suddenly they spoke for all of the gaming community and how we should self-censor ourselves so that non-gaming adults wouldn't be (supposedly) offended.

Michael S/Chgowiz said...

Funny! I watched it to.

I'm sorry, your transmission is breaking up, that last paragraph was all static and I didn't hear it. ;)

I've got HM2k on my DVD queue - I'm a bit apprehensive about it, funny enough, although one song from the soundtrack - Green Iron Fist - has spawned a recurring NPC figure that I try to use in all my campaigns.

Michael S/Chgowiz said...

(That should have been, "funny, I watched it last night too (or as well.))

Timeshadows said...

[opinion]HM2K isn't on par with the original, but it has some Dragon's Lair/Space-Ace style animation which is pretty cool -- but it is also a confusing mix of CGI and standard animation.[/opinion]

faoladh said...

Fuck yeah! Get your one-way ticket to midnight, baby!

Den, Taarna, Captain Sternn, Harry Canyon… so much fodder for gaming in that film. So many of my ideas of fantasy and science fantasy come from there.

Cygnus said...

Can't forget the OSR connections, there, too: Michael Moorcock (he of the Law versus Chaos...) co-wrote the lyrics to the Blue Oyster Cult song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" from the soundtrack.

@James: a once yearly pilgramage... not a bad idea!

Unknown said...

Wait Veterans is in Heavy Metal? Crap I guess it has been too long since Ive watched it - time to bump it to the top of must buy list

RobChandler said...

Heavy Metal is one of my all-time favorite movies. Back in the day when me and my friends were playing DnD in the mid to late 90's, this film finally hit VHS after years of not being available. In a way that only male teenage adolescents can, we ate this film up. Just as DnD and Lord of the Rings were, Heavy Metal was just as important in shaping who we were as a group of friends. We still quote this film regularly when we meet. And the soundtrack is simply amazing.

Christopher B said...

Ah, yes - Heavy Metal. There are some things that are irrevocably linked to my adolescence, and that movie is likely at the top of that list. I would gladly descend my gaming to adolescent levels on par with the Den segment - at least occasionally - but I just don't think my fellow gamers would be able to enjoy it. In fact, the character I most enjoyed playing in recent memory was a half-orc fighter that was a combination of Den of Earth and Korgoth of Barbaria. (Oh, wait, I almost forgot: I don't even play RPG's with my game group anymore because they've become so uptight and disagreeable...) /sigh/

BTW, anybody who's a real fan of this movie - especially the Taarna segment - absolutely must watch the "Major Boobage" episode of South Park. It was brilliant, IMO.

Michael S/Chgowiz said...

Major Boobage was awesome! I wish that whole segment was somehow plugged into the original :)

BTW, just saw HM2k last night. A resounding "meh" - parts were good, parts were just forced. Overall, wasn't that impressed.

Christopher B said...

Oh, yeah, regarding HM2K: I was so disappointed with it that I turned it off after 20 minutes. I wouldn't even give it a "meh."

(BTW, Mike, sorry I missed your notice about your trip east. You quite literally drove right by me, if you took route 20. In fact, you drove through my hometown. Go figure. :P)

faoladh said...

You can watch Major Boobage online. I love the future.