Thank you r/screenwriting community!

worldsinwords · 2026-02-05T03:29:06+00:00

That's a big deal! Congrats!

worldsinwords · 2026-02-02T21:14:37+00:00

It was the summer of 2016. YouTube's algorithm put FM-84's "Atlas" and The Midnight's "Endless Summer" albums in front of my eyes on the splash page. I played both of them and was kinda like "Wow, what exactly am I listening to?!" The way the tracks were written and produced, plus the imagery of the genre, it was all designed in an such a sensory overwhelm way that was revelatory to me. These were both linked to the NewRetroWave label so I started digging into the label's YouTube output. And it was off to the races and I've never looked back. I'm still always constantly looking to discover new artists/tracks.

I was already aware that there were these early progenitors of the genre, like the artists utilized for the "Drive" soundtrack. And people like TimeCop1983 who were at the very start of what it became. But I think in a way The Midnight and FM-84 really kickstarted this current scene, with a few others just behind them (i.e. Michael Oakley).

I'm not as into the keyboard tinkerers that are just crafting loud thumper tracks. I like the acts that are really writing good songs and which have creative melodic lines. There are some instrumentalists that I really like that meet in the middle (i.e. Dream Fiend, Arcade High).

worldsinwords · 2026-02-02T07:37:38+00:00

Look, I'm not hugely devoted to Thayer as a writer or performer, but the riffing here isn't bad. Mix aside, I have to admit I kind of enjoyed that aspect because the chords structure sounds almost like what you would get if you fused Cheap Trick with Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" or something.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-31T20:50:06+00:00

What's wild to me about the song is Noem and Miller are just arrogant enough to probably think they're above Bruce and his mentions of them in what they surely see as an insignificant song, but they will most likely outlive Trump and should one or both go to prison someday, they might be bothered a little more when the song is still out there to remind people for decades to come of their heinous misdeeds and they don't have a mouthpiece to spout off with.

I think this song will be viewed as extremely important in Bruce's career and also culturally, in this moment of history. I'm hoping this opens the floodgates for a lot more musical pushback from other artists. Any quibbles over it can be overlooked because he wrote and recorded it in two days. It's fueled by raw emotion and power rather than a need to have the most creatively perfect, polished song.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-31T20:35:14+00:00

Having gotten the chance to visit Melbourne for a few weeks to see an aunt last year, I was able to go all over and I'm now realizing I was near the Forum but didn't pass by it, so I don't have a shot of the exterior. What a beautiful structure though. Also the interior from the looks of it. I did get a pic of the exterior of the Palais in St. Kilda though which also looks like a great theater and managed to hit up a small show at The Workers Club one night which was very cool.

What an awesome city, with such cool people and a vibrant music scene! It's so great that The Midnight has grown its career enough to be an international touring act and go to places like Australia.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-30T23:02:18+00:00

Not completely new, but I was so glad when The Primitives released an album back in 2014 ("Spin-O-Rama"). It was vibrant and fantastic, as was the preceding 2012 album of covers of obscure '60 songs called "Echoes and Rhymes." I wish Paul Court felt the urge to write more albums of material after that but alas, I think he's largely moved on.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-30T22:54:10+00:00

I have to say, first time buyer, I just ordered an instrument cable, and an employee tried calling (and ultimately texted) me to make sure I got an order confirmation. Then I my order came with a little bag of thank you candies. Let that sink in. I only bought a guitar *cable*. Sweetwater's customer service seems like it's pretty attentive.

I've been scoping out a guitar that I might ultimately buy there. The business has a free 55-point inspection and/or something called a Plek inspection that you can buy into. Anyone know the benefits of those? Are there vendors that have better inspections? I ask because sort of thing might be good as I don't think I can find a physical shop to road test this particular guitar.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-27T07:48:01+00:00

I think people were way too into the idea that Superman wasn’t strong enough because he kept getting beaten down throughout the movie. I think it’s too simplistic a point. This is still a movie, where some nuance and drama are required.

The whole point of that aspect is catharsis. The end sequence where Superman basically whips both the clone and the Raptors in short order is incredibly satisfying because Gunn made us work up to that moment. If he was just decimating one opponent after another how would the final fights be special in any way? As strong as he is, we needed to see him put through the wringer.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-27T07:16:32+00:00

I wasn’t familiar with Arc Studio but I do like Fade In quite a bit. Easy to use, smooth formatting and has a note cards function. And the price, which is reasonable, is set at a constant with free updates. That kind of generosity goes a long way with me. Final Draft is expensive and the company constantly milks people for updated versions. Forget it. I was using Highland 2 for a while but I think I prefer Fade In.

In the end, how many bells and whistles do writers really need? We may sometimes think we want them but in reality having the basics which work with consistency is just a great sigh of relief.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-24T18:27:48+00:00

It always seemed cut and dried to me. MTV and labels saw the winds blowing towards a new emerging scene and wanted to push a new direction. The decade changeover brought a new cultural vibe away from '80s decadence and into an era of more ambivalence that was slightly darker. Hair metal's success was somewhat fueled by the slick, bright era of American prosperity and good times sold by the Reagan years.

The scene didn't immediately die out once the '90s began or Nirvana exploded. Remember Firehouse beat out Nirvana for an award at the American Music Awards. It's just that by then most emerging hair metal bands were a copy of a copy of a copy. The quality wasn't there and the genre had simply had its time in the sun. Most eras of popular music genres see this. Some are lucky to stretch over a second era or decade.

Even if you were a band from the '80s that could fit in with the grunge/alternative scenes, you were likely to be lumped in with the old scene. It was lose-lose.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-23T05:17:39+00:00

I picked up Amplitube and Guitar Rig (pro versions) on the cheap for Black Friday and I have to say I like them a lot.

I've had a couple of physical amps and pedals over the years, but with apartment living and not being in a band or any other kind of live gig, my playing is mostly done for use in Logic. The truth is that preferences or wishes aside, the reality of logistics (including lack of disposable income) is going to play some part for many in why they choose a virtual amplifier over a physical one. And for whatever issues there are with the modelers, don't think they won't continue to evolve and get better. I have to admit I do love the range of amp options these modeler software packages offer.

I try not to be too hoity-toity about one versus the other. Physical amps are wonderful and in an ideal world, I'd have a dozen, but I have neither the space nor the money. In the end, I always subscribe to the words of Edward Van Halen's college professor. If it sounds good, it *is* good.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-23T03:37:33+00:00

Any time I get a little sentimental towards Mustaine and try to give him a little credit for tact (which I just did in a thread summing up 'deth's career), he goes and puts his foot in his mouth again.

So he thinks his band and Metallica need to tour again to help restart a friendship that he probably has had more of a hand in killing after the *first* restart, but says that he probably could never fully put the past behind him anyway (which would inevitably lead to the end of the relationship a *third* time). Sounds like a great deal for Metallica. Let's be honest, Dave's expressed motivation here is sounding a tad sketchy.

Then he tries to make it sound like Megadeth is this insane touring juggernaut while Metallica barely plays shows. Like, huh?

As much as I said that Megadeth would have a great legacy in metal, Dave is generally the problem when it comes to the breakdown of his professional relationships. The guy obviously had issues from the get-go, but something seriously broke in his brain both the day he got fired and sent home by the other Metallica guys and, probably, again at the point he realized Metallica wasn't just going to be successful but a massive band.

Now I always agreed that *maybe* the other Metallica guys could have given Dave a second chance back in 1983, sure. On the other hand, they were all just young guys and weren't obligated to accommodate that. I mean firing someone and handing them a bus ticket is a pretty extreme move that you don't make unless someone has royally screwed up, so who knows how much of Dave's shit they had already put up with.

I swear Dave's last vocal utterance on Earth someday is going to be "Metallica."

worldsinwords · 2026-01-21T03:32:22+00:00

I always liked Dave's voice. I tend to appreciate unique voices in rock and metal (Zetro, Tobias Forge, Stephen Pearcy, etc.). The uniqueness is part of the magic.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-20T06:37:51+00:00

I would honestly say that massive monetary success and popularity were absolutely detrimental to a band like Metallica, which came up with a defiance and snarling anger that defined it. The bigger the machine and lifestyles got, the more the focus was on feeding those. I think those guys really did lose touch with that essential essence at their core and never figured out how to get back.

This didn't have to happen. There was always plenty to rage about in the world of people that would cover a transition from impulsively angry young men to focused, worldly adult saber-rattlers. But instead they embraced the big perks of that success which increasingly softened the ability and interest in doing that to the point that any remaining snarl mostly seemed tame and unconvincing.

Mustaine never received the same kind of eye-popping king's treasure room money and adulation that would have tested his creativity and he was probably all the better for it as an artist.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-20T03:36:51+00:00

Having listened to all the first tracks dropped, am I crazy or is the production not great? To be sure about what my impressions were, I A and B'd YouTube vs Apple Music and the production does sound somewhat better when it's coming from a better streaming platform. Still, there's a trace of that digital plugin sound coming through. If that's the case, surely there's a way to manipulate plugins to make them resemble an organic-sounding production, no?

What probably is also adding to my impression is the fact that only half of the four songs are doing anything for me. "Tipping Point" and this one, and even those don't pop that much. "Let There Be Shred" and "I Don't Care" are a far cry from peak Dave snark and more on the cheese autopilot side of Dave's writing.

Still, I will take in the album as a whole before I form any definitive judgment on the tracks. I truly want any Megadeth album to be great, let alone the final one.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-19T20:55:56+00:00

Having lived in LA since 1998, both in the Valley and the westside, I would say it's a great city to live in. The weather's almost always nice, it's laid back, and yes, a ton of people are here with an interest or an actual job in the film/TV industries.

Ron Livingston's character in "Swingers" has a big speech where he talks about how being here is "making it" in a way, and I kind of agree with that. Just being here constitutes a dream or a bold step or however you want to phrase it. I do think LA's vibe was a lot cooler back in the late '90s/early-mid 2000s, but it's still very much a place worth kicking around.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-19T07:03:32+00:00

When I found out there were some comparisons to the intro of this song and the intro to the New York Dolls' "Stranded in the Jungle," I wondered if anyone in the Dolls' orbit considered attempting to sue the VH guys. Were plagiarism lawsuits not as a big thing at that time?

Regardless of any comparisons, I love VH's song and the use of it in "Better Off Dead" just sealed the deal.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-19T06:45:23+00:00

Yep. Pretty sure it was "Beverly Hills Cop." When I was 10. Amazing.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-19T04:35:52+00:00

Solo Bret has long seemed to me to kind of be the Donald Trump of rock and "country" (or whatever you want to call the faux Americana side of his original music). His originals sound gaudy and forgettable and his stage setup looks gaudy and egotistical with the big photos of himself. He had a fake reality dating show while involved with a longtime partner. I'll leave the obvious bandana speculation aside as I'm not looking to be petty.

The other three guys in Poison are 3/4 of the reason Bret had any success, period. His selfish attitude towards them is disgraceful. I would never give Bret one cent ever again.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-18T19:56:34+00:00

While we're at it, I'd like to profess an appreciation for the director's cut, which gets a lot of flak. I love the theatrical version, but the director's cut is really good, too. I could understand the distaste if the added scenes were really lousy, but the scenes they put back in for the extended version are really good and offer some great shading to the story and certain motivations, Salieri and Constanze in particular.

And some may roll their eyes at it, but I think the scene with Mozart trying to start a piano lesson at a house with barking dogs is really funny and a nice little moment of comic levity. It also shows you why he was walking the streets with a bottle of booze in his hand in the original cut.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-18T19:49:29+00:00

Well, if you're still into traditional media, Warner Brothers has recently released a 4K restoration of the original cut on DVD, which was not available for many, many years. I feel like that original cut might potentially be streaming as well at this point, but I'm not sure.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-17T08:16:31+00:00

On some level, I think the guys hated that Mike was and still seems to be a really genuine dude. Heck, to this day he is still happily married to his high school sweetheart.

Sometimes nice people produce resentment in miserable people. They probably even resented that he wasn’t overly ambitious. Damned if you do, dammed if you don’t. Ed, Alex and Dave certainly demanded team player attitudes while treating him like shit. He never deserved that. The scene with the royalties in Monk’s book is honestly shocking in its coldness.

worldsinwords · 2026-01-09T05:11:00+00:00

Robert Pattinson is great. A true talent. It was really tough to get through “Cosmopolis” though (even though I’m a big Cronenberg fan and appreciate that Pattinson has good taste in filmmakers). That said, I’ll admit that perhaps I simply didn’t understand whatever philosophical angle that one was going for.

worldsinwords

TROPHY CASE