Daytona, Florida
Author Archives: Bradley Konkol
Rock In Rio Lisbon 2018
Lisbon, Portugal
Rock In Rio Lisbon 2018
Lisbon, Portugal
Montreux Jazz Festival 2018
Montreux, Switzerland
Global Dance Festival 2018
Denver, Colorado
Paléo Festival de Nyon 2018
Nyon, Switzerland
It is Official: Bill and Ted 3 Is Coming!
After years of delays and budgeting issues, it looks like Alex Winter (Bill S. Preston Esq.) and Keanu Reeves (Ted Theodore Logan) are finally going to make a third Bill & Ted movie. At this moment, the film is "Bill & Ted Face the Music," and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.
Okay I sense the raised eyebrows and perplexed faces. You’re asking “but Aidan, how is this metal?”
Look, in the grand world of cinema, there are only a few films that I consider staples of rock/metal movie pantheon. And yes, this list includes both Bill & Ted films. And before you argue with me on this, I just want to point out that in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey alone, the duo: die, escape from hell, best Death himself, and save the day by shredding a KISS song. If that’s not a metal movie, then what — I demand — is?
Back to the story at hand, which is Bill & Ted 3! The film was written by the original creators, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, with Dean Parisot set to direct. The script is eight years in the making with both Keanu and Alex happy with its final version. It has been picked up by MGM to be released in the U.S. under their Orion Pictures brand, and the film is currently being shopped internationally at the Cannes Festival.
The Hollywood Reporter also dropped a synopsis of what to expect for the film:
“Currently in preproduction, Bill & Ted Face the Music will see the duo long past their days as time-traveling teenagers and now weighed down by middle age and the responsibilities of family. They’ve written thousands of tunes, but they have yet to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written. With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns our heroes that only their song can save life as we know it. Out of luck and fresh out of inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on a time travel adventure to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe as we know it.”
That’s all I need to know!
I get it. The last film was 27 years ago, so there is a high chance that the magic won’t work on Adult Aiden like it did on impressionable Young Aiden. However, whether this film proves to be excellent or bogus, I know I will be in the theater on day one, ready for maximum air guitaring should the event prove worthy.
Look, in the grand world of cinema, there are only a few films that I consider staples of rock/metal movie pantheon. And yes, this list includes both Bill & Ted films. And before you argue with me on this, I just want to point out that in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey alone, the duo: die, escape from hell, best Death himself, and save the day by shredding a KISS song. If that’s not a metal movie, then what — I demand — is?
Back to the story at hand, which is Bill & Ted 3! The film was written by the original creators, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, with Dean Parisot set to direct. The script is eight years in the making with both Keanu and Alex happy with its final version. It has been picked up by MGM to be released in the U.S. under their Orion Pictures brand, and the film is currently being shopped internationally at the Cannes Festival.
The Hollywood Reporter also dropped a synopsis of what to expect for the film:
“Currently in preproduction, Bill & Ted Face the Music will see the duo long past their days as time-traveling teenagers and now weighed down by middle age and the responsibilities of family. They’ve written thousands of tunes, but they have yet to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written. With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns our heroes that only their song can save life as we know it. Out of luck and fresh out of inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on a time travel adventure to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe as we know it.”
That’s all I need to know!
I get it. The last film was 27 years ago, so there is a high chance that the magic won’t work on Adult Aiden like it did on impressionable Young Aiden. However, whether this film proves to be excellent or bogus, I know I will be in the theater on day one, ready for maximum air guitaring should the event prove worthy.
P.S. I am told that “air-guitaring” is not a word.
P.P.S. I don’t care.
My Sad Family Values Tour Story
Let’s go back to 2006. For my birthday, my sisters got me a ticket to the Family Values Tour. If you are unfamiliar with that notorious tour, let me catch you up:
The Family Values Tour was created by one of my favorites bands, Korn, in 1998 to be an annual rock and hip hop tour. Korn enlisted the likes of Rammstein, Ice Cube, Linkin Park, DMX, Stone Temple Pilots, Mobb Deep, and Limp Bizkit join them on these tours. As you might imagine, crazy combination of bands equals crazy stories coming from the Family Values Tour. For instance, crazy-weird like Rammstein celebrating Halloween by coming out on stage naked and getting arrested… AFTER the show. Or crazy-awesome, like when Korn and Limp Bizkit were on a rotating stage and performed the track "All in the Family."
With that knowledge now in you’re head, you can understand what fueled my excitement to attend the next available Family Values Tour. Lo and behold, that opportunity would become reality when my aforementioned sisters purchase the three of us tickets for the Family Values Tour 06. The lineup consisted of 10 Years, Dir en grey, Stone Sour, Deftones, and Korn.
I was beyond ready.
On the day of the concert, my sisters picked me up and we began the journey from San Diego to San Bernardino. After 2 hours of going through literal wasteland to reach the amphitheater, my excitement reached peak level. Not only was I going to see my favorite band Korn, but I could say that I was there… I was at the Family Values Tour! However, as we approached the amphitheater, we were welcomed with... nothing. I said it. Nothing.
Empty. No show. No Bands. Just a dusty marque reading:
“THE FAMILY VALUE TOUR
Korn
Deftones
Stone Sour
Flyleaf
10 Years
Deadsy
Bury Your Dead
Dir En Grey
Aug 19, 2006”
The day we arrived was August 20th. We had missed the show by one day. I had missed the Family Values Tour.
So take this as a lesson, if you take someone to a show… make sure you take them on the right damn day. Or else they may point the finger at you rather publicly at some point in the ensuing 10-12 years.
Let Us Talk About Aggretsuko
It's rare to see any metal in pop culture and — let’s be honest — it's not hard to see why. The raw aggressive energy behind it doesn't always hit the average person unrefined ears as smoothly as we metalheads. But, I think there may finally, at long last be a solution. Please allow me to introduce you to Aggretsuko!
Who is Aggretsuko? Well I'm glad you asked!
Aggretsuko, or Aggressive Retsuko, is a Japanese anime franchise based on the eponymous character created by "Yeti" for the mascot company Sanrio (the same guys who created the slightly less metal Hello Kitty).
Here is how Sanrio describes the Aggretsuko:
“She is a cute Red Panda, working as an office associate in the accounting department of a highly respected trading company. She works in one of the biggest metropolitan areas of Tokyo. It's always been a dream of hers to work in this field, especially in this part of the city. But in reality, her bosses are unsympathetic and give her harsh deadlines.
She ultimately has become a pushover within the company. When she gets pushed to the limit, she goes out after work and takes out her frustration and stress with heavy metal Karaoke sessions!”
The strange combination of relatability, comedy, & death metal has already won over much of the internet and has even spawned a Netflix series that has dropped this April.
So. If you are the type who hates your job, can't stand your annoying co-workers, and has either embraced or repressed the need to scream it all out... don't worry, Aggretsuko is there to help you out. And by extension, further infect the unassuming masses with the most awesome disease of all: heavy metal fever.