The HU

I've always had a very eclectic taste in music.  On any given day you might find me listening to anything from classical to heavy metal, folk to classic rock.  Now imagine a group combining elements from all of those genres - along with a central focus on Mongolian throat-singing - and you get The Hu.

"Wolf Totem" - This was the group's debut single.  I'm not sure what made me finally click the link when appeared on my Youtube suggestions, but I'm definitely glad I did!  The video grabs your attention from the start with the haunting call of a bird of prey as a traditional Mongolian warrior rides a horse through a barren field.  It's foreboding imagery, but then things get weird...  A gang of motorcyclists joins the horseman?  And yet, this is a perfect encapsulation of the group's sound.  They combine traditional Mongolian music with a modern, undeniably metal influence.  And the throat-singing?  Memorizing!  I'm not sure how many times I watched this video...  I was hooked!

Take moment to appreciate the incredible craftsmanship behind the group's instruments.

"Yuve Yuve Yu"- Then along came this little ditty...  It's still The Hu, but this time around I get the classic rock vibe.  This song - to me - could easily be a Mongolian cover of a ZZ-Top number.  It's catchy as can be!  Thankfully this video was accompanied with subtitles.  The lyrics are about forgotten heritage and disrespecting the wisdom of those who have come before.  The producers of this music video took a very literal path with its intro, the video is a straightforward representation of the song's meaning.  We start off in the lazy modern age before being swept away into the epic, picturesque Mongolian landscape.  I adore the cinematography for this video, by the way... the sweeping drone shots and slick editing are a visual treat.

"Sugaan Essena" - As if I couldn't love this band anymore...  Imagine my surprise as I'm playing the opening minutes of the latest Star Wars game, only to discover the main character enjoying their music as he works dismantling a starship!  Yes, The Hu managed to find their way into the Star Wars universe by recording an all-new track for Jedi: Fallen Order!  If you're as ignorant of world languages as I am, you could be forgiven for thinking they're singing in Mongolian as they usually do.  Interestingly enough, however, the band created an alien language especially for this song!  With this one, they've definitely crossed over into full-on metal, the closing minutes of the track are pure riffage and I love it!

The Hu's debut album - "The Gereg" was released last year.  Check it out!  It's a good listen!

The group's official website:  https://www.thehuofficial.com/

Galactic Empire!

Yes, there is now Star Wars themed metal band. I shouldn't have to explain why this is awesome...  But I will anyway!

Not much is known about the group calling themselves Galactic Empire besides their allegiance to the Dark Side and affinity for heavy music.  The band specializes in covering John Williams' various themes from the Star Wars films which work surprisingly well as metal compositions.  The group is comprised of lead guitarist Dark Vader, Boba Sett on drums, Bass Commander on bass, and Shadow Ranger and Red Guard on guitar.  The group play their shows in-character while fully costumed.

Galactic Empire's self-titled first album is scheduled to be released on February 3rd.  You can pre-order the album here.

In Memory of Carrie Fisher

Sadly, 2016 has taken yet another icon...  Carrie Fisher, most famous for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films has passed away.

Immortalized here in artwork by Alex Ross and in music by John Williams.

Star Wars: "Adventures in ABC"

The Star Wars franchise is infamous for its licensed merchandising.  With the release of the latest film, it's nearly impossible to go to a store and not see at least one product emblazoned with the Star Wars logo.  The way I understand it, the market was similarly saturated when the original movies came out.

Discussions on rampant capitalism aside, sometimes the charm is simply irresistible.  Take for example another one of my great yard sale finds from years and years ago: a Star Wars themed alphabet book!

How this book survived my childhood intact is beyond me, but it remains a prized piece of my collection to this day in spite of its poor condition.  The book is a part of the old "Read-Along" series published by Buena Vista back in 1984.  Accompanying the release of Return of the Jedi, the book originally came with a 33 1/3 RPM vinyl record featuring word-for-word narration.  It even featured character voices and sound effects from the films!  Sadly, I was only able to find the book as the record was apparently long since lost.  However, if you're interested you can listen to the audio here.

I read this book many times growing up.  I mostly remember being fascinated with the drawings and how detailed they were, being almost perfect likenesses of the characters and creatures from the films.

Apologies to alphabet book authors - as I'm sure it's more difficult than it looks - but even as a kid I thought it was fairly obvious that the uncredited author of this book probably struggled coming up with characters to accompany each letter.  There are definitely some unusual choices at various points, with obscure characters (see letters U and Z) and sort-of Star Wars related subject matter (see letter Q) being utilized to complete the alphabet.

Then there are the rhymes...  Oh, the rhymes.  These range from the hilarious - the Bantha named Samantha and stormtroopers as party poopers - to the groan-inducing - the entirety of page 22 featuring X-Wing Fighters.  It's so bad at times that the author actually breaks the fourth wall on a few occasions to openly lament the decision to make this a rhyming book!

Anyway...  Enjoy the scans below!

The Force Is Strong With This One!

I may post a full review sometime in the near future, but for now I'm pleased to simply report that, as a long-time Star Wars fan, I'm pretty thrilled with how Episode VII turned out!

Walker Ruins

This AT-AT has seen better days...

Unfortunately, this is image sums up my performance on the Star Wars Battlefront Beta.

Awe-inspiring artwork by Tysen Johnson.

This is another piece that deserves to be seen in full-screen!

The Art of Noriyoshi Ohrai

Noriyoshi Ohrai is a Japanese artist who has worked as an illustrator for over 50 years, creating amazing posters for movies and covers for Manga.

A self-portrait

Unlike most artists I've featured on here, I can't find much information on Mr. Ohrai.  All for the better I suppose, we'll just let his work speak for itself.

I have no idea what any of these illustrations are for so far, but they are certainly trippy and striking!

Of course I was delighted to find that Ohrai has painted great Godzilla poster illustrations, including some of my favorite posters from the Heisei series.

I was also thrilled to discover that Ohrai has produced some excellent Star Wars artwork as well!  

My wife will be happy to know that Ohrai was also responsible for a Goonies poster.

You can find some additional information about the artist here.