Everything Is The Same

Those who know me know I spend a likely unhealthy amount of my time consuming various forms of media. Be it books, movies, music, or television shows, I have devoted so much of my time to the consumption of the many stories told through various popular media that I find references and similarities everywhere (one of the many reasons I love the cartoon Phineas and Ferb).

The use of the same four or so chords in pop music has been well documented by several sources such as the Axis of Awesome and Rob Paravonian, and I won't be addressing this issue in this post while there are others who do so in a far more entertaining fashion.

I will instead focus my attention on the use of sound and music in television and film in this post. To provide some context, I have recently begun watching the BBC series Sherlock (a re-telling of the story set in modern times, one of three Sherlock Holmes projects produced in the past few years that I know of. And by far the best), and have spent the past several days convinced there must be some overlap between the sound/music team for Sherlock and the sound/music team of Dexter (a show about a serial killer. Seasons one and four are two of the greatest pieces of television I have ever seen. The rest of the series, not as much). After some research, I have found this to be extremely unlikely, but I still cannot make it through an episode of Sherlock without thinking of Dexter's theme song.

The second "wait a minute, isn't that what they did in (insert song/album/book/TV show/movie)" moment I had recently came when I watched Who's That Knocking At My Door, Martin Scorcese's first film. If you do not know who Martin Scorsese is, look him up. Then, you should lock yourself in a room for several hours familiarizing yourself with his work.

While watching this film, I realized that American filmmakers of Italian heritage really like using The Doors' "The End" in their films. This song makes an appearance in the middle of Who's That Knocking At My Door, and the beginning of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, a film heavily based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. If you are unfamiliar with Apocalypse Now or Francis Ford Coppola, stop reading this immediately and watch Apocalypse Now. And the Godfather. If you are unfamiliar with Joseph Conrad, it is highly unlikely you have completed high school in any public institution in the United States. If you are unfamiliar with The Doors, please never talk to me. You've clearly dedicated your life to worthy or productive pursuits such as feeding the poor or curing cancer, and probably shouldn't be reading this blog. Believe me when I say it is unlikely we have much in common.

That's all for now.

New Timeslot

Hey readers/listeners! Our new timeslot is 7-8pm on Mondays, courtesy of my having class so freaking late every day. While this will most assuredly interfere with my ability to watch How I Met Your Mother, sacrifices must be made. For the people. Be sure to listen at wmuc.umd.edu

Also, for those of you who are as of yet unaware, my co-host is recently engaged. Congratulate when able.

What I Learned Over New Years Break

Welcome back to Hostile Takeover, your friendly neighborhood blog. If you are anything like us, you spent the holiday season surrounded by friends and loved ones far, FAR away from Times Square, celebrating the death throes of 2012 in various states of inebriation. You have since likely spent the following week recuperating, and getting used to the new reality of 2013. I sincerely hope the young year has been as instructive for all of you out there in Reader-land as it has been for you.

Here are 3 things I learned over the very end of 2012 and very beginning of 2013:

1) The New York Giants don't always make the playoffs, but when they do, they win the Super Bowl. And they can only make the playoffs if their division and/or conference stinks. Because as great as they are in the postseason, they are a very mediocre regular-season team.

2) White Plains, NY is a sketchy, sketchy place. This is where I spent my New Year's Eve, and what I at first thought was a really corny event (complete with older cover band) took a dark turn for the city and participants later in the night, with broken glass littering the sidewalk, some stored robbed, some bars and restaurants locking their doors, and several drunken altercations.

3) The similarities between our political leaders in DC and the key players in the NHL lockout are terrifying. Both in the "fiscal cliff" situation and the lockout, everybody waited to the very last minute to get anything done. Common sense and consideration for the average fan/citizen were completely ignored. There are a number of people who believe this country should be run more like a business, but I really, really hope this is not what they had in mind.

Well, that's it for now. Stay classy, internet.