New Model Army 30th Anniversary Wishlist

Wow, been awhile. Anyway, New Model Army are celebrating their 30th anniversary with two shows at Nottingham Rock City (other music venues are available). The deal being they're going to play 4 songs from each of their 13 albums (the 11 studio ones, and the 2 rarity collection ones). Here's my wishlist:

Vengeance

• Vengeance
• Christian Militia
• Great Expectations
• Notice Me

No Rest for the Wicked

• Better Then Them
• No Rest
• Drag it Down
• My Country

The Ghost of Cain

• 51st State
• Poison Street
• Heroes
• Master Race

Thunder and Consolation

• I Love the World
• Green and Grey
• Vagabonds
• Family

Impurity

• Get me Out
• Lurhstaap
• Before I Get Old
• Vanity

The Love of Hopeless Causes

• Here Comes the War
• Fate
• My People
• Bad Old World

B-Sides & Abandoned Tracks

• Ten Commandments
• Adrenalin
• Courage
• Drummy B

Strange Brotherhood

• Wonderful Way to Go
• Over the Wire
• No Pain
• Long Goodbye

Eight

• Flying Through the Smoke
• You Weren't There
• R&R
• Someone Like Jesus

Lost Songs

• Higher Wall
• If You Can't Save Me
• Far Better Thing
• Freedom

Carnival

• Water
• Another Imperial Day
• Island
• Fireworks Night

High

• One of the Chosen
• High
• Nothing Dies Easy
• Curse

Today is a Good Day

• Today is a Good Day
• God Save Me
• Mambo Queen of the Sandstone City
• Arm Yourselves and Run

May Comics

This months comic subscription package contained:

Brightest Day #1 & #2

"Second Chances" & "Nuclear Options"

At the start we see Hal, Carol and Sinestro investigating the White Lantern left over from Blackest Night. Honestly I prefered it when the heroes beat the snot out of Sinestro rather than chatted to him.
Not so Deadman (Aliveman?) continues to be the main segment that has the most ties to the white light.
Aquaman is one of the more interesting segments. His calling up of dead animals is intriguing. Strange with the awesome cover to #2 that Aquaman didn't feature more in the issue. Such a shame Aquaman's return interupts Black Manta's dream job of being a butcher and sends him over the edge.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl sections are interesting, the death masks in #2 is a nice call back to Johns run on Hawkman.
Martian Manhunter not a big fan so his spotlight in #2 wasn't great.
Firestorm and old new Firestorm still don't get on. This is really getting tiresome.
Despite the multitude of artists on each issue I don't really notice the switches, which is pretty cool.

Ted Kord Watch: Still dead.

The Flash v3 #2

"Case One: The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues"

Reasonable enough, tho I'm not sure about the laws in the DCU but here you need all sorts of permits to put up a building, even if you do it super fast. I don't know if I'd live in a building put up that fast. The art is gorgeous Manapul is on fire in this series. The twist at the end of the issue is interesting, more so than last months.

Wally Watch (or Where's Wally?): Nothing to see here.

Green Lantern #43

"The New Guardians, Chapter One"

The next big mystery is who is collecting the various colour entities as we see where Parallax went to. Back to Green Lantern, it was refreshing to see Hal back on Earth doing normal things, even if it is only for awhile. Plus we get the first mention of his girlfriend, Cowgirl for like the first time in months. Sinestro arrives and takes us to the start of Brightest Day #1. I really hope that this isn't how it's going to be for the coming months with Green Lantern acting like a point-five for the Brightest Day book. We also get a whistlestop tour of Saint Walker, Larfleeze and Atrocitus, the later of which serves as an intro to Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors which is coming soon, staring the greatest Green Lantern of them all - Guy Gardner. Decent enough, needs more green.

Green Lantern Corps #47

"Goodbye Darkness"

Farewell Tomasi, you will be missed.. but not for too long as you're on the upcoming Emerald Warriors. Hurrah! This was a good swansong to his run on corps. One of the controversial laws of OA is revoked and the little blue meanies, get a slap from someone who isn't Guy. I hope they rebuild the bar soon. Guy, Kyle cheers guys it's been a fun ride. Looking towards the future there's a double page splash for Emerald Warriors which shows that series probably isn't going to be all roses. Maybe we get a Hal / Guy rematch? It would be the first since Guy Gardner: Warrior #21 I believe.

Justice League: Generation Lost #1

"Gone But Not Forgotten"

So the blacked out figure on the cover was Max Lord. Speaking of that, thank goodness the interior art is better than that cover. What is up wth Ice? Fire's face? Booster? Seriously, the further up the cover you go the worse it gets. The actual issue itself is all set up, revealing why Captain "Monarch" Atom, Fire, Ice and Booster remember Max. Plus Booster gets a beating from Max, I can't wait for that to reverse later in the series. Max Lord has always annoyed me.

Zatanna #1

(Untitled)

I took a punt on Dini writing Zatana based on the quality of his handling of her in his run on Detective Comics. Good move so far, one of the best books of the week. The balance of Zatanna the stage magician and Zatanna the superhero is very well done. It helps that it's (near enough) a done in one issue, though seeds are certainly planted for later on.
The art is kick-ass and consistant all the way through too.

Overall Conclusions

Much better, the two new additions more than hold their own.

Next month, more of the same please! Tho John Stewart joins the Green Lantern Corps book, so that's bound to be fun. Not.

April Comics

This months comic subscription package contained:

Green Lantern v4 #52

"Life Blood"

Hmm... a bit of filler on this one I think. So many splash pages, and I didn't really care too much about Xanshi Black Lanterns. Possibly because of the core four human Green Lanterns (Guy, Kyle, Hal and John) John Stewart is my least favourite. The Katma Tui cameo didn't do much. The bulk of the story was a between the panels (or between Blackest Night #7 and #8, perhaps) tale about what happened to Sinestro after he absorbed the White Light, something that wasn't referenced in Blackest Night #8. Man, I miss the days when things would interlink and you'd get a [* See so and so issue for details] box.

Sadly my hopes for a more vanilla Green Lantern title are probably not going to be fulfilled as we launch straight into Brightest Night tie ins.

The Flash - Secret Files & Origins 2010

"Running to the Past"

So Barry Allen is back. Grand. Maybe this will enlighten me on why Barry is the quintesential Flash. Or not. And seriously, what was the point of the Captain Boomerang profile with everything blacked out? And if Barry is the ultimate Flash, why the need to give him a retuned origin with a dead mother killed by a time travelling Professor Zoom I?

The main story drawn by Scott Kolins is pretty as usual and gives a little insight into what is coming up in the main series. The profile pages by Francis Manapul are nice and give hope for the main series.

Cosmic Treadmill? really? Plus, the amount of time that Barry spends awake at that night is nonsense, I don't care how fast you are you can't go around having conversations, drinking water from the tap and reading books in under a minute.

Wally Watch (or Where's Wally?): Outside Barry's house in the magical minute.

The Flash v3 #1

"Case One: The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues"

OK, here we go... New Flash ongoing, after the stop start nature of Rebirth did nothing to excite me about this, let's give it a fresh chance. 

Well here we go... the good.

The art is awesome. Francis Manapul really knocks it out of the park on this one. He's even better suited to a Flash book than he was on the short lived Superboy in Adventure Comics series. We get a tour of Central City and introduced to the characters in CSI: Flash. The murder of someone in a Mirror Master outfit was interesting, until (* see "The bad" below). It's a better start than Bart's Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, and Wally's returning Flash series that replaced that, but that's more to do with the talent on offer and lack of annoying superaged children than it being Barry Flash, by now with Bart's series they could have gotten him to the role that Barry has in CSI: Flash.

The bad.

We all need to get some of the anti-aging product that Iris Allen uses, she's deaged considerably with no logical explination.

The rogues from the future led by Commander Cold seems to be a recycling of the Titans of Tomorrow storyline from Teen Titans v3 and wasn't a great ending more of a "*shrug* really?" response.

The Ugly.

The price. Are all new titles coming in at $3.99 then? Jesus. It didn't seem that long and didn't have a Second Feature like Detective has. Brightest Day #0 was at the same price point and seemed a lot better value for money.

Wally Watch (or Where's Wally?): In the preview section for 2011's Flashpoint storyline, looking in some pain. Great.

Blackest Night #8

"Conclusion"

Not to say it isn't good, but things get a tad predictable as the storyline reaches it's conclusion and there are some inevitable ressurections (tho not the ones that this reader would have liked.). The fold out splash page was good, I thought at first the pages had stuck together and was a little annoyed. I really hoped that this storyline wasn't going to go down a White Lantern Corps direction but it did. I miss the days when an event was done in a month and didn't last forever (especially when you consider the "Blackest Night prelude" banner that Corps and the main GL book have been sporting for ages).

Ted Kord Watch: Still dead.

Brightest Day #0

"Carpe Diem"

Not so Deadman[1] (Aliveman?) takes a tour of the latest characters to fall through DC's revolving door of death courtesy of the White Light in the above Blackest Night #8.

Aquaman[2] seems to have a fear of water. That's probably not good considering what his main power is.

Professor Zoom I[3] is still in prison, where he was left after Flash: Rebirth.

Captain Boomerang[4] is likewise incarcerated.

Hawkman[5] and Hawkgirl[6] reminince about their past lives, I'm still slightly peeved that Hawkgirl is no longer Kendra. No one in the DCU seems to care, however.

Maxwell Lord[7] makes everyone forget who he is and gets a huge nose bleed for his trouble.

Martian Manhunter[8] gets a visit from Guy and Hal on mars. Guy brings cookies and milk.

Jade[9] continues to be pointless post-resurection. Leave Kyle alone, him and Natu make a good couple.

Firestorm[10] and old new Firestorm don't get on.

Osiris[11] does something involving a statue that didn't really stand out.

Hawk[12] goes back to being a crime fighter, has everyone forgotten his crimes as Extant? Hopefully Atom Smasher hasn't. This was inane, especially in the same month that Green Arrow spends time on trail for putting an arrow through Prometheus' head with good reason. Tho I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. Captain Atom destroyed an entire universe and no one really talks about that anymore.

Ted Kord Watch: Still dead.

The cover to the new Green Arrow looks great too, but I doubt I'll be picking it up. The cover art for Justice League: Generation Lost looks terrible, but I am picking it up. Go figure. Also, I like the star shaped crater in Star City, but don't recommend a bomb as a way of giving a town an identity.

Detective Comics #863

"Cutter, part 3"

I think part of the appeal of the Batwoman run in Detective has been JH Williams III's art, which has been sadly missing from this arc. Also I'm not well enough versed in DC history for the last page reveal to mean anything to me. Along with the news that Rucka isn't writing the Batwoman ongoing has given me second thoughts about getting that title. At least JHW III is back on art for a bit.

Overall Conclusions

Hmm... Not a great month, but not bad. At least Blackest Night is gone, I really want to get back to the sort of Green Lantern stories we were getting before Sinestro Corps War. I'm sure Hal should have been fired by now.

Next month, Detective is dropped, Blackest Night has ended and there is no Secret Files. So we have some new arrivals to the long boxes: Zatana is looked at and Justice League: Generation Lost joins the party, hopefully with better interior art and Ted Kord.

Favourite Albums - Z

Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie (1972)

It seems such a shame to end this series with a stub of a post, but I only have two albums that begin with Z. One is Zeitgiest by the Smashing Pumpkins and the other is this, "Ziggy Stardust" by David Bowie. I've got nothing really special to say about it. It's got Ziggy Stardust, Starman and Rock 'N' Roll Suicide on it. It's pretty pleasant but I've no real memory atatched to it, or an anicdote to share.

Favourite Tracks
"Ziggy Stardust","Starman"

Favourite Albums - Y

Honourable Mentions

• Yield - Pearl Jam
• You Could Have it So Much better - Franz Ferdinand
• Youth and Young Manhood - Kings of Leon

Youthanasia - Megadeth (1994)

A top quality Megadeth album, packed full of classics such as Reckoning Day, Train of Consequences and A Tout Le Monde. A Tout Le Monde is a song that I want played at my funeral, tho it's probably heresy to say this I do prefer the rereleased version with Cristina Scabbia that was on United Abominations in 2007. Please note that this superseeds any previous instruction for Wrestlemania VIII to be shown.

Aside from the famous tracks, there is some real quality here such as Elysian Fields, with its chorus of Elysian Fields... / We are storming the heavens / To raise the swords and shields / We ascend to our destiny / To the Elysian fields and Blood of Heroes with Still alive / Blood of heroes / Never die / They never die which both get spins when I'm plotting anything D&D related.

Also, I didn't realise it when I first heard it many moons ago, there is the song Victory which uses other Megadeth song titles heavily in it's lyrics.

Favourite Tracks
"Reckoning Day","Train of Consequences","A Tout Le Monde"

Favourite Albums - X

The X Factor - Iron Maiden (1995)

The tenth studio album from the mighty Maiden, was the first to feature Blaze Bailey on vocals. I've no special attachment to it, it's the only album I own that fits in the X category. It does have "Sign of the Cross","Man on the Edge" which are pretty good tracks.

Favourite Tracks
"Sign of the Cross","Man on the Edge"

Favourite Albums - W

Honourable Mentions

• Wages of Sin - Arch Enemy
• Whatever & Ever Amen - Ben Folds Five
• Who Killed... - The Zutons
• White Blood Cells - The White Stripes
• Welcome to the North - The Music

We'll Live and Die in These Towns - The Enemy (2007)

To get the negative out the way with first, I don't like the last track Happy Birthday Jane, not that I have anything against people called Jane having birthdays you understand. I just don't think that it's very good. Right, with that out of the way on to the positives...

Any album that shows a bit of bollocks with the guitar and it's first lyrics are Call the police, / cos things are getting ugly (on Aggro is on to a pretty damn good start in my opinion. Throw in a ridiculously good sing-a-longable chorus in ahhhhh we'll set the streets on fire / and when it comes on top / we'll give it lots of aggro / were giving it lots of aggro and you're onto a winner straight away.

The album is full of really good lyrics designed to be sang in a field on a summer's day. The refrain of Awayaway oh oh oh away from here on Away from Here, Hey hey / What's the matter with your face, face? on Had Enough and 40 Days And 40 Nights Ohhh on er.. 40 Days And 40 Nights. Which was pretty handy, to be honest, when I saw them in a field in Leeds whilst waiting for Rage Against the Machine to come on.

A common theme in some songs is the pointless of a nine to five existance Stop living your life for the alarm / that wakes you up every day at eight / leave your Peugeot on the forecourt / it's all too much for you to take / ... / now you're not so young it's too easy / to be a dreamer, wake up and be free / your clock is ticking fast friend, believe me / you only get one chance, can you hear me / it's not OK to be this way / it's not OK to be a slave on It's Not Ok and and you wonder / why you cant get no sleep / when you've got nothing to do, / and you've had nothing to eat / your life's slipping / and sliding right out of view / and there's absolutely nothing / that you can do well / we'll live and die, / we'll live and die in these towns / don't let it drag you down / don't let it drag you down now on We'll Live and Die in These Towns. Good stuff.

Favourite Tracks
"Aggro","It's Not OK","Had Enough"

Favourite Albums - V

Honourable Mentions

• Vs by Pearl Jam
• Vinland Saga by Leaves' Eyes
• The Varangian Way by Turisas
• Versus the World by Amon Amarth
• Virtual XI by Iron Maiden

Visual Audio Sensory Theatre - VAST (1980)

VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theatre (or Eye, Ear, Hand, TV as Gav insisted on interpretating it as.) so this is almost an eponymously titled album. For the first few years, and certainly the first two albums (of which Visual Audio Sensory Theatre is the first) VAST was essentially the solo project of Jon Crosby, although I understand nowdays they are more of a standard four peice band. I got into them when someone on IRC sent me a few tracks to listen to, I was hooked and told pretty much anyone who would listen about them. They've appeared on soundtracks a bit, most notably on a few episodes of Angel. "Touched" was featured in Lonely Hearts and either "Here" was used on the trailer here. I think some other songs featured in the series also.

They toured the UK in the winter of 2000 (that was a proper winter, none of this snow nonsense, just dark and a bit chilly) and I ended up going to a couple of shows. On the 12th November I went to a show at Manchester Academy 3, but I think that it was called Hop & Grape back then. It was a quality gig, I remember that the music inbetween the support and VAST was some sort of best of the Doors music on a loop which was pretty cool. The support was My Vitriol, who I didn't really like so the Doors was a nice break, well first time through the loop at least. One thing that I remember about the support, which in itself is unusual as I don't normally remember supports but this was pretty ludicrous - the lead singer / guitarist guy during their final number threw his guitar off stage. "Hey, that's pretty rock and roll" thinks I. At least until a roadie carries a guitar back on, fully intact a few seconds later whilst packing their gear away. Anyway, a good time was had by all and we went outside to meet the band. Not as rock 'n' roll as it sounds, as meeting the band isn't as hard as you would think, especially for small scale gigs. Essentially the theory is that the band has to get from the venue to the tour bus, so if you hang out around there you should bump into them. It worked quite well while I was at uni, Type O Negative, Fear Factory and Justin Sullivan among those whom I met, but I digress slightly. That's a young me with Jon above there, and a time faded signature on the cover to this album. As everyone was getting Jon to sign stuff and whatnot we had a chat with the guitarist for a bit, my mate got his ticket signed saying something along the lines of "No food until guitar practice." A top end to a top night

A few days later on the 15th I went to see them again at Nottingham Rock City, in the basement room there. We got there fairly early and as such were reasonably close to the front, but not making a play to get to the barrier or anything pretty happy with our position, besides a couple of guys ahead of us seemed to be clutching onto the barrier and not paying much attention to the support which was again My Vitriol , who were not any better the second time around, but at least this time I had some idea of when they would finish. He didn't try the guitar trick again tho, I don't think the Rock City basement room was set up for that sort of con, there was a little walkway from the door to the stage which sort of elongated the front where the band would walk past to get to the stage. Anyway, I figured that those guys were VAST fans, just waiting for the main event like us. To our surprise as the familliar sounds of the Doors loop tape kicked in again they vacated there spot, and I noticed that they had been wearing My Vitriol shirts. So we slid in and ended up right near the front without trying. Now for the really cool bit - as Jon was coming to the stage, he spots me as he walks past turns back a couple of steps and shakes my hand recognising me from a few nights previous. A wicked memory and this album always reminds me of this pair of gigs.

Favourite Tracks
"Here","Touched","Flames","Temptation","I'm Dying"

Favourite Albums - U

Honourable Mentions

• United Abominations by Megadeth
• Up The Bracket by The Libertines
• Use Your Illusion I by Guns N' Roses
• Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses
• Ultra Beatdown by Dragonforce

Uppers & Downers - The Yo Yo's (2000)

It's impossible to mention The Yo Yo's without mentioning The Wildhearts. The Yo Yo's were formed by former Wildhearts bassist Danny McCormack whilst the Wildhearts were on hiatus between 1998 and 2001 (aka the years I was at university). This came out in 2000 and it is very similar britrock to the Wildhearts, along the lines of the Earth vs album (which I wrote about back in December) that Danny McCormack also played on.

The album is very rooted in my university years, Time of Your Life was something of an anthem that I always had on in halls, paired with the track before it Home From Home which conjured up images of that pub where everybody knows you. I never got to see them live, but the track Head Over Heels with it's multilayered 'Help Me' chorus suggests it would have been a riot of a gig.

A cracking fun rock album, well worth tracking down.

Favourite Tracks
"Time of Your Life","Home From Home","Too Lazy to Bleed"

Favourite Albums - T

Honourable Mentions

• Ten by Pearl Jam
• This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours by Manic Street Preachers
• Thunder and Consolation by New Model Army
• Transylvania 90210 by Wednesday 13
• Through the Ashes of Empires by Machine Head

Troublegum - Therapy? (1994)

This album is like a time machine. No song on it is longer than 4 minutes, including Brainsaw which ends with You are My Sunshine skipping like a stuck record. You listen to it, everything is a short sharp punch. Before you know it has run it's 45 minute course. What better way to kill time?

You start with Knives which clocks in just under two minutes, with it's whispered opening and it's screamed promise to 'get drunk and fuck you up.' and it's refrain that 'all people are shit', long before a masked behemoth from Iowa coined it for the next disenchanted generation. Before you know it, you are Going Nowhere and about to Die Laughing 'Lost in a world with no reality'.

Along the way to this midpoint you have been told that 'Your beauty makes me feel alone / I look inside but no one's home' on the immense Screamager (surely one of the best rock tracks to break Top 10 in the charts). Hellbelly has told you that 'I'm not afraid to die, / I'm just scared of going to Hell / Your car salesman smile says it all, / you just wanna be / Jesus without the suffering, Jesus without the suffering ...' as it seemlessly picks up where Screamager leaves off (My personal favourite transition between two tracks on any album, tho Stop It Your're Killing Me to Going Nowhere is a damn close second). You know that 'The world is fucked, and so am I / Maybe it's the other way round, I can't seem to decide' (from Stop It You're Killing Me) and you've had a great time getting there.

The middle section has Unbeliever telling you that I 'Don't belong in this world or the next one / Wasting every day to my own end / Feeling awkward, feeling clumsy, hating / Everything I've ever done before'. Trigger Inside with 'I was awkward as a child / Blueprint for my wretched life / Confidence I've been denied / Lonely, lonely'. Through a Lunacy Booth to one of my all time favourite covers, Isolation (originally by Joy Division).

The album brings it home with Turn's suggestion that we should Turn and face the strange, the door is open, you're awake / You're storming Heaven without thought, you're storming Heaven without God. Followed by the revelation that 'Masturbation saved my life' on Femtex. 'Don't wake me, I'm so empty / I, I, I tried, I'm sorry on Unrequited'. Ending with the (IT workers) refrain of 'User, user, you sucked it all from me / User, user, your bullshit I believed / I'm in Hell and I'm alone'. Ok, ok, so it's not about a life in IT, but it could be!

Pure brilliance. I told you it was a time machine, I've not noticed the time go by whilst listening to this album writing this.

Favourite Tracks
I'm ducking this one this time as there is barely anything between the tracks and not a week link in sight.

Favourite Albums - S

Honourable Mentions

• Scars by Soil
• Scream Aim Fire by Bullet for My Valentine
• Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden
• Silver Spoons and Broken Bones by Stone Gods
• Silver by Moist

Superunknown - Soundgarden (1992)

At school, everyone had a band. Not in the sense of performing in one you understand, but you had a band that you liked and defended to the ends of the earth, particularly in the big 3 of grunge, namely Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden. Soundgarden were mind, and this was there best album.

Black Hole Sun was one of the first tracks I got into as a teen. I don't know why, I always associated it with a light orange colour. Probably the word sun in the title I guess!

The album itself is a fusion of styles, much like some of Faith No More's albums. You have the straight out thrash of Kickstand and the eastern influences of Half (for me the worst track on the album). And then there's spoons. Spoons! In a rock track - how cool is that?

I think at times it's quite a desolate album. She lived like a murder / But she died / Just like suicide from Like Suicide, Words you say never seem / To live up to the ones / Inside your head / The lives we make / Never seem to ever get us anywhere / But dead from The Day I Tried to Live, I know I'm headed for the bottom / But I'm riding you all the way from Mailman and I'm only faking / When I get it right / Cause I fell on / Black days / How would I know / That this could be my fate from Fell on Black Days. But with Chris Cornell's voice it is the uplifiting kind of desolation. I hope that makes sense.

Just remembered when I tried to find out the lyrics to Mailman while I was at school. Good times.

We've also spoken about bands that got away previously, I have something that ties into that - a mental list of must see bands. Soundgarden were a band that got away, but since they've reformed they've moved to my mental list of must see bands. Currently that's Rob Zombie, Weezer and Soundgarden. This list is how I end up in fields with Dizzee Rascal.

I'll always be alive in the superunknown...

Favourite Tracks
"Black Hole Sun", "The Day I Tried to Live", "Like Suicide", "My Wave"

Favourite Albums - R

Honourable Mentions

• The Real Thing by Faith No More
• Regular Urban Survivors by Terrorvision
• Rust in Peace by Megadeth
• Ride the Lightning by Metallica
• Rise of the Tyrant by Arch Enemy

Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1992)

Seriously, the article for Nevermind could almost be cut and pasted for this one. Tho I'd have to mention the power of the cover too... With a little tweeking it would read something like this:

First off, what a powerful cover to an album, then there is that opening to the album... the instantly recognisable sound of Bombtrack. What can you say about "Killing in the Name" that hasn't already been said? Not a lot, but I'll try anyway. It was one of the songs of being a teenager in the nineties, completely defining. Around the millenium when I was a student in Manchester, no matter what nightclub you stumbled into it was always a possibility "Killing in the Name" would be played as one of the token rock track.

The rest of the album is quality too, for me the only slightly iffy track is "Settle for Nothing" but that's only slightly.

But that would be cheating and I wouldn't do that to you. I could talk about the fact "Killing in the Name" was christmas number one, but that topic has been well covered elsewhere. Instead we'll have another "amusing" anicdote:

For years, Rage were the band that got away. I never got around to seeing them live and they split, so it wasn't going to happen. It was like Soundgarden all over again. Sure, I could go and see Audioslave, but it wouldn't be the same. It would be like when I saw Chris Cornell solo, no matter how good his first solo album was (and it was very good) I'd much rather have been watching Soundgarden. It never helped that Bec had been to Reading when they headlined back in 2000 or '99 and could always end music gig discussions with ".. but I've seen Rage live." Happy ending, they reformed and after much hassle I managed to get day tickets to leeds, they were great (it was awesome to see Tom Morello's guitar work live) and all was right in the world.

Hmm... looks like the bit talking about the album was the cut and paste job from Nevermind. I'd ask for my money back if I were you. See you next time.

Favourite Tracks
"Take the Power Back", "Bullet in the Head", "Wake Up"

Favourite Albums - Q

Astarte - Quod Superius, Sicut Inferius (2002)

Erm... I only own one album that matches the rules beginning with Q. So what to say, well, I'm reliably informed by online translators that the title means "That above, so below". It's a black metal album that I got because I liked their later release Demonized (2007). This isn't as good.

See you next time.

Favourite Albums - P

Honourable Mentions

• Parklife by Blur
• Psychobabble by Violet Ultra
• Peace Sells... But Whose Buying? by Megadeth
• Portrait of an American Family by Marilyn Manson
• Powertrippin' by The Almighty

Monster Magnet - Powertrip (1998)

Here's a story for you... I ended up going to Big Day Out 1999 at the MK bowl on my todd, I can't remember exactly why but it had to do with there being an Ozzfest that year that got cancelled and most of us being poor students.
Anyway, not knowing what the stage times were like and what not, my mate suggested that I check out this band "Monster Magent" who he was into, I said I'd see what I could do. Long story short, I was blown away by their set of awesome tracks, which included setting fire to the stage in protest at how long they had and I came back not only having seen them live, but getting their t-shirt as well!

The t-shirt had the lyrics from Powertrip on the back "never gonna work another day in my life". That was worn often to work.

Favourite Tracks
"See You In Hell", "Powertrip", "Spacelord", "Bummer"

Stabs in the Dark

This post concerns my theories on the questions posed last week. This contains spoilers up to and including Dr. Linus.

A.1 What is the origin of the Jacob / MIB conflict?
Jailer and Prisoner. MIB has been Jacob's prisoner, forced into protecting the island.

A.2 What have been Widmore's motives?
Even tho this is A.2, it's the one I left to last to try and answer. I think it's because his motives are so beautifully ambiguous.
Theory 1: Widmore is on Team Jacob
Everything he has done he has done for the good of the island, including sending the crew of the Kahana in season 4. Widmore genuinly believed that Ben needed to be removed from power for the good of the island. In a way, he was right as Ben killed Jacob at the end of season 5.
Counter: Bram, who is definitley Team Jacob thought he was on the wrong team.
Counter Counter: This could be evidence of infighting on Team Jacob, all working towards the same ends, but using different means.

Theory 2: Widmore is on Team MIB
Since his exile, he has been in contact with MIB or his followers. Evidence for this is that Miles was warned by Bram and Ilana (who are definitley Team Jacob) that in working for Widmore he was working for the wrong team.
Counter: He was exiled for having a child with an outsider and leaving the island regularly, not for being in MIBs thrall. If MIB end goal is to leave the island, it implies he hasn't left, then how could he recruit Charles?
Counter Counter: Widmore could have allied himself with Team MIB without MIBs consent, aiming to get the Island Protector job that MIB offered Ben in Dr. Linus.

Theory 3: Widmore is Team Widmore
Counter: This goes against the black and white duology that the show has been using, all the way back to the backgammon game in the pilot.

I'm leaning towards a combination of Theory 2 and 3, I thinking about 1 more, whilst it is possible it would spoil the Ben vs Widmore angle that has been building up nicely since Season 4. I think Ben and Widmore are two classic cases of power corrupts / absolute power corrupts absolutely. Furthermore, I think Ben is the redeemed and Widmore is the irredeemable.

A.3 Why can't Ben and Widmore kill each other?
They have both been baptised in the temple and are forbidden to break that rule. Much like Immortals in Highlander can't fight on holy ground.

A.4 What were the rules in The Shape of Things to Come? How did Widmore change them?
In addition to being unable to kill each other, they cannot kill candidates. Alex Rousseau was a candidate.

A.5 What is the significance of the flash sideways timeline?
The flash sideways timeline is what would have happened had the plane not crashed. This includes the consequences of the time flashes in season 5, like Sayid shooting Ben and his healing by Richard.

A.6 What is Richard's origin?
Richard came on the Black Rock. Just say it already!

A.7 Who sent the periodic resupply drops?
The Others pretended to the outside DHARMA Iniative that the purge never happened and they continued to supply the island. DHARMA was informed of an outbreak of something, that prevented them from sending new recruits. This is the reason for all the quaraneteen signs all over the hatches.

A.8 Who said "Help me" in the Cabin when Locke visited it first?
This seems like a push from the MIB to send Locke along the route he went down. In addition the things flying around require a very similar power to what MIB used to free Ben in Dr. Linus. We already know that he can be very very small, e.g. Medusa Spider in Expose.

A.9 Who has been using the cabin and was it ever Jacob's?
I got nothing.

A.10 Who were Adam and Eve? How and when did they die?
MIB and Jacob's original forms. Seems unlikely as Jacob was killed by a knife.

A.11 Why couldn't MIB kill Jacob? What was the loophole he found?
The loophole was Jacob could only die if someone killed him of their own free will. It could be stronger than that tho, it may have needed to have been Ben as he was leader of the Others.

A.12 What are the whispers?
Whispers are related to the Other's method of movement around the Island. See B.9. This is why Ben told Danielle Rousseau to run if she heard them.

A.13 Who was the boy in The Substitute?
I got nothing.

A.14 Why does Ilana state that the Man in Black is now locked in Locke's form?
Idea 1: Because Jacob is dead.
Idea 2: Because he stood in the water on the Hydra island.

A.15 What is Christian and what happened to his body?
Christian is a representation of the Island itself.

A.16 What is the sickness / infection that has Sayid (and probably Claire)?
As Dogen said, it's the internal scale being out of balance. See also C.4.

B.1 How did Jughead blow the survivors from 1977 to 2007?
Maybe it was the will of Jacob? Gah, I got nothing.

B.2 What is Aaron's supposed significance?
I got nothing.

B.3 How did the Black Rock get in the middle of the island?
Not sure, maybe MIB threw it there when it landed. He did seem kinda annoyed that it was there in The Incident.

B.4 How did the statue break?
I got nothing. The same reason the black rock ends up in the middle of the jungle?

B.5 Who shot at the boat during the time flashes?
I got nothing.

B.6 Why is Jacob bringing people to the island, and what is the 'end product' he is seeking?
To prove that people can change. To find a candidate to replace himself.

B.7 Why did killing Dogen allow MIB to enter the temple?
He was the guardian of the temple, with him dead the temple was just a place.

B.8 Why did Adam and Eve have black and white stones in their pockets?
The stones represent MIB and Jacob, as seen in the cliffside cave scale.

B.9 How did Harper suddenly appear and disappear into the jungle in The Other Woman?
The Others have a special way of moving around the island. This is referenced by Richard in Dr. Linus.

B.10 Who listed the Candidates in the Lighthouse?
The Lighthouse is Jacob's list. Everything so far has associated Jacob with white and light.

B.11 Who listed the Candidates in the cliffside cave?
This is MIBs copy of the list. Everything so far has associated him with black.

B.12 How was Sayid ressurected? Was that the intended result?
It wasn't the intended result. If Jacob was still alive the baptism would have healed him, as it had young Ben back in the 1970s.

B.13 Whose eye did Hurley see in the cabin?
Maybe Locke, Christian, MIB... not sure. Hedging my bets on this one.

C.1 How did Jacob / MIB get their powers?
Prolonged exposure to the island? Aliens? Who knows...

C.2 Why was Walt so special?
I don't think we will see Walt again. Perhaps his powers were similar to the ones exhibited by Jacob or MIB in their youth.

C.3 What is the origin and power of the Numbers?
The numbers relate to important candidates. I think that is all we are getting.

C.4 Is the sickness/infection that has Sayid the same that affected Rousseau's science team?
I think so, yes.

C.5 What's the reasoning behind the Other's burial rituals?
Something to do with the MIBs use of dead bodies.

C.6 What was that giant bird?
Erm... the island is wierd?

C.7 Why did Richard Malkin insist that Claire must raise her child by herself?
He really was psychic and saw the consequences of Kate raising Aaron.

C.8 Why did some survivors go to 1977 after the Ajira flight and others like Sun and Ben stay in 2007?
Theory 1: Only the candidates went back to 1977. This contradicts Ilana's claim that Frank is a candidate tho.
Theory 2: People went where they needed to be.

C.9 Why were there pregnancy issues on the island?
Theory 1: A side effect of the gas used in the Purge.
Theory 2: The statue is of a fertility god, when it broke something happened.

Favourite Albums - O

Honourable Mentions

• Obsolete by Fear Factory
• Once by Nightwish
• Outland by Spear of Destiny
• Over the Counter Culture by The Ordinary Boys
• Overkill by Motörhead

October Rust - Type O Negative (1996)

Some albums open with a bang, some build up to an creshendo. This album opens with microphone / speaker feedback and a message from the band. The fun doesn't stop there, some tracks like Green Man stop abruptly with no warning, causing me to wonder at the time if there was something wrong with the CD. Also there is quite possibly the longest track name in my collection in "The Glorious Liberation of the People's Technocratic Republic of Vinnland by the Combined Forces of the United Territories of Europa".

The standout moment on the album and a staple of rock clubs of the late 90s is the synth intro to "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend". Great stuff.

Favourite Tracks
"Be My Druidess", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Cinnamon Girl"

Favourite Albums - N

Honourable Mentions

• Never Mind the Bollocks by Sex Pistols
• Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending by Die So Fluid
• Nine Destinies and a Downfall by Sirenia
• Now, Diabolical by Satyricon
• Number of The Beast by Iron Maiden

Nevermind - Nirvana (1991)

First off, there is that opening to the album...What can you say about "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that hasn't already been said? Not a lot, but I'll try anyway. It was one of the songs of being a teenager in the nineties, completely defining. Around the millenium when I was a student in Manchester, no matter what nightclub you stumbled into it was pretty much a given that "Teen Spirit" would be played as the token rock track.

The rest of the album is quality too, for me the only slightly iffy track is "Lounge Act" but that's only slightly. I think I've mentioned this before, but in this age of mp3 and cds ripped to iPods and the like, hidden tracks can really ruin the last song on albums and "Something in the Way" doesn't get the plays it deserves due to "Endlesss, Nameless" causing it to clock in at 20 minutes+.

Favourite Tracks
"Drain You", "Territorial Pissings", "Breed"

Hopefully to be found...

This post concerns LOST and it's final season. These are the questions I would like answers to before the end of the show at the end of May.

A - Please Answer...

Things I really want to know before LOST ends

1. What is the origin of the Jacob / MIB conflict?
2. What have been Widmore's motives?
3. Why can't Ben and Widmore kill each other?
4. What were the rules in The Shape of Things to Come? How did Widmore change them?
5. What is the significance of the flash sideways timeline?
6. What is Richard's origin?
7. Who sent the periodic resupply drops?
8. Who said "Help me" in the Cabin when Locke visited it first?
9. Who has been using the cabin and was it ever Jacob's?
10. Who were Adam and Eve? How and when did they die?
11. Why couldn't MIB kill Jacob? What was the loophole he found?
12. What are the whispers?
13. Who was the boy in The Substitute?
14. Why does Ilana state that the Man in Black is now locked in Locke's form?
15. What is Christian and what happened to his body?
16. What is the sickness / infection that has Sayid (and probably Claire)?

B - Would Be Nice To Know...

Things it would be nice to have answered before LOST ends, but can live without.

1. How did Jughead blow the survivors from 1977 to 2007?
2. What is Aaron's supposed significance?
3. How did the Black Rock get in the middle of the island?
4. How did the statue break?
5. Who shot at the boat during the time flashes?
6. Why is Jacob bringing people to the island, and what is the 'end product' he is seeking?
7. Why did killing Dogen allow MIB to enter the temple?
8. Why did Adam and Eve have black and white stones in their pockets?
9. How did Harper suddenly appear and disappear into the jungle in The Other Woman?
10. Who listed the Candidates in the Lighthouse?
11. Who listed the Candidates in the cliffside cave?
12. How was Sayid ressurected? Was that the intended result?
13. Whose eye did Hurley see in the cabin?

C - Erm... I Think You'll Be Left Hanging There Mate.

Closure desired on these, but don't think the show will get to them before the end.

1. How did Jacob / MIB get their powers?
2. Why was Walt so special?
3. What is the origin and power of the Numbers?
4. Is the sickness/infection that has Sayid the same that affected Rousseau's science team?
5. What's the reasoning behind the Other's burial rituals?
6. What was that giant bird?
7. Why did Richard Malkin insist that Claire must raise her child by herself?
8. Why did some survivors go to 1977 after the Ajira flight and others like Sun and Ben stay in 2007?
9. Why were there pregnancy issues on the island?

Comic Musings III - 2000!

In which we reach 2000 US floppies

I knew from my database that I was approaching the 2000 mark. Note: This doesn't count all the Transformers, M.A.S.K, Real Ghostbusters, Battle, Eagle etc... that are in my parents loft. (Assuming they haven't been eaten by mice and rats that is.) It also doesn't include trades or collected editions. I figured I should do something a bit special to mark the event.

One of my saved ebay searches threw up a comic I'd been trying to track down for awhile. Well technically it came with some more (#298,#302,#313,#314 & #317 fact fans) and any of those could have been 2000, but I got the batch for Batman #308.

The first thing that strikes me about it is that they did covers a bit differently back then. Mr Freeze gloats over a frozen Batman awakening from a coffin. Mr Freeze says "This is the moment of my greatest triumph!" and the word baloon is all frosty. As a further call to action the cover asks "Now that he is the frozen slave of Mr Freeze, what chilling fate awaits the Batan and the World?". Well he get's his back broken in just under two hundred issues but I doubt that's what it means.

Onwards! The indica says it's from February 1979, which makes it older than me. Hurrah! The story is officially titled "There'll be a cold time in the old town tonight!". It's written by Len Wein and illustrated by John Calman and Dick Giordano. Giordano I'm familliar with as he did some work on the classic Denny O'Neil / Neal Adams Green Lantern / Green Arrow run that I read recently. A man watches Batman swing past his window and thinks about calling out for help but decides against it.

Thought baloons, that's another thing that is sadly missing from today's comics. As Mr Freeze bursts in with what I can only call Ice Zombies, we learn that this guy is called Jakob Riker and he's made some sort of deal with Mr Freeze and tried to double cross him. Bad move pal!

Elsewhere, Selina Kyle aka Catwoman comes to visit Bruce in Wayne Enterprises tower. Apparently she's given up being Catwoman. I doubt that'll last. As an aside, I love the old adverts in comics. "Pick up a crossman. You won't believe it's an airgun!" Indeed. She convinces Bruce to take a donation of an old inheritance as he can't discriminate against her for her criminal past. I imagine she's been through the revolving door of the local prison recently then. Bruce goes too see Lucius Fox and orders a full background check on her. Just to be sure. We also meeet Lucius' daughter who is involved in some sort of anti drugs program.

Later, Batman reflects on his relationship with Catwoman, also thinking about some woman called Silver St. Cloud, whoever she is. Gordan summons Batman to the frozen remains of Jakob Riker who Mr Freeze iced earlier. (Sorry for the Batman & Robin esque pun).

Elsewhere, a Mr McVee visits Mr Freeze in his icey lair, he's helping him make money somehow. In return he's being promised Immortality by Mr Freeze. I'm not sure that's in Freeze's MO, McVee, I'd check the small print of this agreement if I were you.

Mr Freeze leads McVee to another toom with a futuristic coffin in it, abley modeled by his assistant. Seriously, how do supervillians attract woman. It's not like there was an internet site they could use back then. NcVee is turned into a frozen zombie, apparently Freeze was planning something else. It seems he can't get the brain to remain past the freezing process. Ah, the lass is only after immortality too. That makes more sense I guess.

Now we're at S.T.A.R. labs, who are performing some experiment on a subject that they got from Wayne Enterprises. He doesn't survive. I guess that this came from an earlier issue, as I don't really get what's going on or rather why it's going on. Maybe this bit was cut from the edition I read as I don't remember it.

Off panel, Batman has done some world's greatest detecting to find Mr Freeze's lair and is about to bust in. Disastor! He can't punch the Ice Zombies as they're like punching solid ice! Not even a good old WHAM or a WUMP seems to have an effect on them. He should have tried a Caf-pow. After a bit more fighting Freeze shows some intelligence and freezes Batman's feet. Job done. He's led to the same chamber that McVee ended up in and we know how well that went. Holy frozen Batman!

Now we're at the bit promised by the cover with an Ice Batman Zombie. Mr Freeze's current squeeze, Hildy, is still plotting against him tho. Freeze goes off to the adjacent room and leaves her with the Ice Zombies, she laments on what could have been between her and Batman, but realises that the frosting on his cheek is fake. Before she can do anything with that revelation Freeze bursts in calling here a traitor. As he's about to shoot her with his ice gun (no innuendo intended) Batman stops faking and leaps at Freeze. That ticksy Bats!

It's Batman vs the Ice Zombies round two, and it seems to be going the same way as the first round. Batman realises that Freeze himself is the weak spot as the Ice Zombies are mindless and need Freeze's orders to do anything so he chucks a block of ice and Freeze's helmet. Problem solved.

It's a quick fight and Batman rips Freeze's gun away from him. Hildy picks it up to ice Freeze (sorry), but despite Freezes warnings shoots him anyway. As it's disconencted it backfires and she is frozen dead. It's left to Batman to sum it up. "Let's go Freeze, it's over! Your Hildy wanted to stay young and beautiful forver, and it looks like she's finally got her wish.

We finish with a page dealing with the burial of the body from S.T.A.R. labs earlier, but wait! It's not dead as hands burst out of the grave, presumably coming for Batman next issue.

So finally, that was as good as I remembered it, it's held up very well, considering it's age. Mr Freeze doesn't have the depth that Dini gave him in the animated series, but is still a decent villain here, but it's really Hildy's story. There's a lot more text in it that in modern comics, which imo is a good thing. Thought balloons whilst cheesy are missed nowdays. In the current days of month long arcs, it's nice to read a story that's done in one. I guess if it was written now, Batman tracking down Freeze would probably take at least an issue rather than happening off panel. Until next time...

Favourite Albums - M

Honourable Mentions

• Master of Reality by Black Sabbath
• Mezmerize by System of a Down
• The Music by The Music
• Mutter by Rammstein
• Midian by Cradle of Filth

Master of Puppets - Metallica (1986)

M is the halfway point and for once, an album I don't have to sell you. If you like metal you own it. It's that simple.

So, funny story. I borrowed it on tape when I was at sixth form, and my tape player ate it, so I had to send my dad to Andy's Records in the waterside to buy a new copy. He did notice that it wasn't his original due to it not being old and played to death, but it's the thought that counts. Hmm... not that funny I guess.

This is another album that reminds me of 6th form and in particular playing d&d.

#	Title	Length
1	Battery	5.10
2	Master of Puppets	8.36
3	The Thing That Should Not Be	6.33
4	Welcome Home (Sanitarium)	6.27
5	Disposable Heroes	8.15
6	Leper Messiah	5.42
7	Orion	8.25
8	Damage, Inc	5.31
		54:45

Favourite Albums - L

Honourable Mentions

• The Last Kind Words by Devildriver
• Legend by Clannad
• London Calling by The Clash
• Love of Hopeless Causes by New Model Army
• Light from Above by Black Tide

Levelling the Land - Levellers (1991)

For L we have a bit of modern folk, from highlighting the battle of the beanfield, in the song of the same name to inspiring uplifting songs for life such as One Way.

If you only do one thing with this post, watch the last video.

The Boatman, with it's "if I could choose the life I lead..." lyric reminds me of bus journeys to and from De Aston. (For the record, I'd be a free man.) The whole album was on the jukebox at Harry's Bar when I was a student and always used to get a couple of plays. And later, to more recent years, One Way is used as a kick out tune at a manchester nightclub. So it's an album that's always been around me and probably always will be.

#	Title	Length
1	One Way	4.08
2	The Game	3.28
3	The Boatman	5.57
4	Liberty Song	4.29
5	Far From Home	3.47
6	Sell Out	4.17
7	Another Man's Cause	4.34
8	The Road	4.00
9	The Riverflow	3.02
10	Battle of the Beanfield	3.41
11	Fifteen Years	3.08
		44:24

Singles
The singles were "One Way", "Far From Home" and "Fifteen Years"

Favourite Tracks
One Way, Battle of the Beanfield, Liberty Song

When There's Nowhere Else to Run (or Turning 30)

"After thirty years I've become my fears I've become the kind of man I always hated"

A bit strong that, but I didn't write it (James - "Come Home"). I guess I am a corprate "suit" now so it sort of applies. So thirty tomorrow then*, how did we get here then? Ah yes, the relentless march of age. That'd do it.
So how do I feel about it? Well I'd rather not be 30, but to be honest (and to roll out a cliche) it is just a number. Far bigger and more life changing events occured in my 20s such as:

• Met Bec
• Graduated Uni
• Emigrated from Lincoln
• Bought a house
• Got a Mortgage and now owe the bank lots of money
• Got engaged
• Sold a house
• Got another mortgage and owe the bank even more money
• Married Bec
• Became a Father
• That one, yeah that one you're thinking of, how could I miss that one? Sorry.

See what I mean? Just a number. Regrets? Yeah I've had a few, but then again to few to menshun (Sid Vicious - "My Way"). Maybe I doth protest too much, we'll see on Friday when it stops being theory and starts being practice.

In summary "I am so much older than I can take" (The Killers - "All These Things That I've Done") but I'm OK with it.

"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -- Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!"

(Rudyard Kipling - "If")

So, who is for Jelly + Ice Cream?

* Unless we don't count birthdays in 2000 as that number is mainly zeros so it's pretty much not a number, ergo not a year, ergo not a valid birthday! Which makes me still 29. (courtesy of @Rickleton)

Comic Musings II - Death

Death

Mild spoilers, for things gone by are ahead I guess...

Looking at the silouette in the preview for Justice League: Generation Lost, I found myself hoping that it would be revealed to be Ted Kord, aka Blue Beetle. No disrespect to Jamie Reyes and his fans, but I would love to see Ted Kord back as Blue Beetle.
Stop.

Let's do some text replacements on that last sentence. If we do:
"Jamie Reyes" => "Wally West"
"Ted Kord" => "Barry Allen"
"Blue Beetle" => "The Flash"
we get a sentence that I wouldn't agree with.
I think it comes down to who your interpretation of the character is. Equally we could have used "Kyle Raynor", "Hal Jordan" and "Green Lantern" above. (Or "Bucky", "Steve Rogers", "Captain America" if we put our Marvel hats on.)

In comics death, isn't that big a barrier to continuing stories, you only have to look at the cover to Blackest Night #5 to see some of the DCU characters that have died and returned.

A lot of how the return of a character is percieved is down to the manner of their death. Was it satisfying? Did the character go out well? If so, then the return is a harder sell. If it was unjust then a return is generally better recieved.
The other factor is how well the return was handled. It's perfectly possible to bring back the deadest of the dead in a satisfying, fan pleasing way. Bucky in Captain America for example, was one of the great unbringabackables. Hal Jordan was brought back via a very good story. For every Bucky and Hal Jordan however, there is a Jason Todd (Superboy's reality punch™), or a Kilowog (still not sure what happened there.).

Going back to Ted Kord, there is the arguement that bringing a character who died a "good" death (and Ted's was the best of deaths, in the Countdown to Infinite Crisis special) that it somehow cheapens the death story.

I haven't read Final Night since Hal Jordan came back, so I'm not sure how that sacrifice reads now with the Parallax retcons in place and I'm not old enough to have experienced Bucky's death, however around the weekend I was reading some X-Men comics. If you're interested I got through:

• New X-Men: E is for Extinction by Grant Morrison
• New X-Men: Imperial by Grant Morrison
• New X-Men: New Worlds by Grant Morrison
• New X-Men: Riot at Xavier's by Grant Morrison
• New X-Men: Assault on Weapon Plus by Grant Morrison
• New X-Men: Planet X by Grant Morrison
• New X-Men: Here Comes Tomorrow by Grant Morrison
• X-Men: Phoenix Endsong by Greg Pak
• X-Men: Phoenix Warsong by Greg Pak
• Astonishing X-Men: Gifted by Joss Whedon
• Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous by Joss Whedon
• Astonishing X-Men: Town by Joss Whedon
• Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable by Joss Whedon
• X-Men: Dream's End by Chris Claremont et al.

I've bolded the ones that are pertinent to our discusion. In Gifted Colossus returns from a pretty final death, returned by some unspecified Breakworld technology. That "pretty final death" is in Dream's End he dies: In "The Cure" (Uncanny #390) he sacrifices himself to cure the Legacy virus that threatened to wipe out mutantkind. As death's go, that's pretty meaningful. The final page is a splash page with text from his first appearance in Giant Size X-Men #1. Nice. In "One Tin Soldier Rides Away" (X-Men #110), Kitty Pride takes his ashes back to his native Russia in a touching tale.

You'll note that in the order I read them this time through, Colossus returned, before he died. Now did the fact he returned make his death any less satisfying or meaningful? In my opinion, no, as both were done well and that's the key.
I guess this has been a really long way of saying I want the Blue and the Gold back together without anytime travel nonsense like last time and that I still think Ted's death will be as good afterwards.

Personally, I think that this will be the return of Martian Manhunter as the cast for James Robinson's Justice League of America seems pretty nailed down for the foreseeable future, and if he's kicking around after Blackest Night, you can't see J'onn not being on a Justice League book.

Moving away from death, (a rule to live life by) more news from the upcoming Green Lantern movie reports that Sinestro may not be the villian of the piece in the first film, rather being set up for a possible sequel. Sort of how the Spider-man movies tried to do with Dr Connors aka The Lizard, until that franchise got a reboot (Yay another Spidey at school film :o\ ). Plus we get Tomar-Re, Kilowog. In Green Lantern that is, not Spider-man.