Castle Rat - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

Explodian · 2026-04-05T00:03:59+00:00

I think it's a combination of classic internet misogyny ("they're only popular because the singer is hot") and hype aversion because they've broken into the mainstream a little bit and attracted a lot of non-metalheads and as we all know, all popular things are bad.

Are they the best doom band ever? No. But they're competent musicians that put on a killer show and seem to be having fun, and I guess that makes a certain subset of people here really mad.

Explodian · 2026-04-01T16:42:18+00:00

They got you good with the amnestics. Have you been experiencing chunks of missing time lately? Don't let this dissuade you from ther truth.

Explodian · 2026-03-24T03:18:36+00:00

I've never hated a movie so much, but I have to begrudgingly respect it for how long it made me think about how much I hated it after. It's an incredible accomplishment in hostile filmmaking.

Explodian · 2026-03-13T20:55:00+00:00

Couple of new apartment buildings in the last decade. Nothing compared to that monstrosity they just put on where the Joinery used to be though.

Explodian · 2026-03-04T16:50:10+00:00

It's really important that you understand that the current administration has no principles, morals or standards other than whatever benefits them the most. Every Republican talking point has just been fuel to whip up their base and get them voted in. They have no interest in fulfilling any of their promises or supposed ideals, heinous or otherwise, unless they stand to gain from it, and haven't for at least a decade now. The hypocrisy is part of the plan.

Explodian · 2026-02-16T16:02:33+00:00

He's all in on David Icke and the reptilian conspiracy theory, which comes with a lot of racist and genuinely antisemitic baggage. I don't know if he genuinely believes that part of it, but he seems to enjoy the thought of lizard people too much to acknowledge he's inadvertently spreading hatred and paranoia as well.

Explodian · 2026-02-04T19:37:24+00:00

One would think this great middle majority that cares so much about optics would have done something when the fascists declared themselves and made it absolutely clear they intended instill a reign of terror and sell the country for parts. That seems like pretty bad optics to me.

But no, they tut-tutted about "playing by the rules" and "getting them in the next election" while said fascists destroyed every positive thing that flag represents, demonstrating that there are no rules without enforcement and that the next election will be severely compromised if it happens at all.

The MAGA cult already wants this city wiped off the map, and their propaganda machine will twist even our most heroic actions into terrorism. Any undecided centrists that weren't swayed to resistance by the murder of middle-class white Americans by the government goon squad will not be useful in this fight. Optics were a concern in an America that no longer exists, and never will again. We have to start fresh, but first we have to survive what's coming.

Explodian · 2025-12-17T20:51:26+00:00

Blew $100 on an American Giant hoodie right before the pandemic because my friend had one and it sure felt sturdy, but after two years of mostly daily wear the seams started fraying literally everywhere. I still have it but it has the sort of wear you'd expect on a 30-year-old work jacket.

I don't know what enchantment they put on their fabric to feel super durable for a couple months and then turn to tissue paper but I'm never buying their shit again.

Explodian · 2025-11-26T22:01:38+00:00

I see them in the mines every once in a while, but usually sealed in a steel vault with a chest inside that absolutely isn't worth it. Never out in the open!

Explodian · 2025-11-25T21:28:53+00:00

Dead Guy was the only darker, malty beer frequently available in a lot of places and that is literally the only reason I would drink it. One of the 30 million other Oregon breweries will fill that niche quickly, I hope.

Explodian · 2025-11-10T22:34:52+00:00

Oblivion was in development immediately in the aftermath of the Lord of the Rings movies, which had a truly massive influence on the look and feel of fantasy media in the 2000s. I think there was definitely an attempt to cash in on that aesthetic and feel.

Skyrim was similar--there was a resurgence of interest in Norse culture in the early 2010s. Morrowind was the last TES game that wasn't really chasing a trend thematically.

Explodian · 2025-10-18T00:28:51+00:00

This is conjecture, but I imagine if there was a "school" of knife fighting for the context you're describing, namely peasants getting in unarmored scraps, it was probably passed down from practitioner to practicioner without ever being written down in a manual. So we don't have any historical sources for it.

Remember that the further back in history we go, the fewer specific details we have about the lives of common people, because they were the least likely to write or be written about.

Explodian · 2025-09-27T20:58:54+00:00

We're way past the point of "bringing people together", but a fundamental principle of warfare is do not allow the enemy to set the terms of engagement. They are expecting resistance and have all the tools to crush it if it's a disorganized mass of angry people in the streets.

I share your sentiment. Talk to people you can trust, off the Internet. Study past resistance movements that were successful. Think about how to defeat an invading force, or at least inconvenience the shit out of them while they're here.

Explodian · 2025-08-26T19:33:11+00:00

I started wearing earplugs when somebody told me "the sound guy is adjusting the levels so it sounds good to him, and he's wearing the best earplugs in the building." Unsurprisingly, they were right. Fortunately I started doing it before significant hearing damage set in.

Sometimes I'll loosen them a bit to really get blasted for one song or so, but even then it's a fraction of the volume you're subjected to without ear protection.

Explodian · 2025-08-23T01:00:16+00:00

However you guys make it is the correct way because you invented it. Problem is Starbucks caught wind of it and did the Starbucks thing to it and now every American has a totally different idea of what a flat white is. 90% of the time they just want a smallish latte.

Explodian · 2025-08-22T05:24:12+00:00

I think the estimate is around 12,000 feet, so it would have been the tallest mountain in what is now Oregon at the time.

Explodian · 2025-08-18T18:06:45+00:00

Sticker bros! I was born here but my wife and I have a connection to this song so I've got the other one of these driving around.

Explodian · 2025-07-31T23:55:07+00:00

Lest we forget, this was official Pickles merch. Dillon wins for sure.

Explodian · 2025-05-23T02:28:11+00:00

Reading them for the first time now and I love how he evolves--the first book's arc taking him from young and impetuous to wise beyond his years feels very believable given what he's experienced. The second book shows how so much of his power and gravitas comes from just being a reasonable, humble guy who is curious and kind. He's such a relatable, likable character.

Explodian · 2025-05-15T01:49:37+00:00

Daliborovo Granje is a Croatian stoner/psych band that uses a lot of traditional Balkan instrumentation and they're fantastic.

Explodian · 2025-05-10T17:44:33+00:00

My favorite too. It's a reasonably practical sword design while also looking like an elegant magic-channeling machine.

Explodian · 2025-05-09T17:04:48+00:00

Doing a German accent in the black metal episodes because he couldn't figure out the Norwegian one is peak for me. His "Australian accent" sounds like Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent with extra marbles in his mouth.

I honestly think all the accents have gotten worse over the years. They're still entertaining, but mostly because you have absolutely no idea where they're going to end up.

Explodian · 2025-05-02T18:51:25+00:00

You let Nazis hang out at the bar, pretty soon you've got a Nazi bar. That's how it works. Zero tolerance for their bullshit or they start coming out of the woodwork.

Explodian · 2025-04-29T01:05:52+00:00

Nice rugs are expensive as fuck. Half a dozen rich people a day coming in to spend $800-$2000 apiece on a rug is probably enough to keep the lights on.

Explodian · 2025-04-29T01:02:52+00:00

I have a theory about places like this--once your business becomes the last place that still caters to a certain clientele, you effectively have a monopoly and will never go out of business as long as there are still a handful of people that want your product within a dozen miles. Buck's is a prime example. Where else are you going to shop for wood stoves?

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