428 of 1001 Albums: Tom Waits' Bone Machine

Tom Waits is one of the most interesting artists that you'll listen to. There were songs that were great, and others that I just didn't care for all that much. His voice is consistently unforgettable though. This album though is very well acclaimed, and one of Waits more popular works. It definitely breaks the mold of music.

History: Tom Waits had been releasing albums way earlier on, but Bone Machine would mark his return from a long break. The album is known as one of the best of 90's and charts several lists. The album would win a Grammy. The album features many guest appearances as well including The Rolling Stones musician, Keith Richards. The songs from the album have appeared in numerous places including movies like Fight Club. The experimental sounds and rock mix would garner it a lot of attention, and make it a classic over time.

232 of 1001 Movies: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Quentin Tarantino has created some classics in Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds, and Django Unchained is destined to be one as well. One of his other popular movies is Reservoir Dogs, which is basically the beginning of Tarantino movies as we know it. There is plenty of gore, foul language, and oddly dark humor thrown into the surrounding death at the moment. It's also quite short at around an hour and a thirty minute run. It builds though with good character development, and a lot of twists by the end.

Summary: Six criminals are chosen for a heist, and they are assigned undercover names that are colors to go by. Joe Cabot doesn't want them to grow attached to each other, and feels hiding their identities will help. He wants them to complete a jewelry heist, but things go really bad when the police are there upon their arrival. now the remaining guys who have survived are trying to figure out who set them up to get caught, and they determine that the guy who did was probably working with them the entire time.

421 of 1001 Albums: The Pharcyde's Bizzare Ride II

The Pharcyde is a hip hop band like one of the first of it's kind at the time. There is a lot more rhythm and beats that sound well arranged into the tunes. I think the lyrical content will still keep me from listening though. Otherwise I do prefer their style of rapping, and I like how they seem to be using a lot more real instruments in their songs.

History: This is the debut album The Pharcyde, released in 1992. At first the album wasn't popular among the audience. Over time the album has been much better well received even making the best of album lists. The album at the time did meet with reviewers who enjoyed the sound, but that couldn't help the sales. The album's lyrics was much the appeal for some people with the content ranging from being about sexual encounters, to drug use, to violent acts.

409 of 1001 Albums: R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People

It's difficult to believe that R.E.M. was releasing their eighth album in the 90's. I forget the band had been performing way before the decade it seems they are commonly associated with. As someone who isn't located far from Athens, GA. I grew up being familiar with the band. I had honestly never been able to pinpoint their music though when I heard it on television or radio though.

History: Automatic for the People is one of R.E.M.'s more popular records. It's considered one of the best rock records from the 90's and it has sold 18 million copies. It spawned quite a few singles from the album as well including the popular, "Everybody Hurts." The album deals with some interesting themes including the idea of loss. The guitarist, Peter Buck, was also turning 30 at this time and guided much of the albums tone in the dread of hitting the age.

170 of 1001 Movies: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

So since so many movies are unavailable to watch because they aren't available in certain countries or formats, you will find movies like Dracula that appeared on the original list, but not the updated list on my blog. Anyways, I think Dracula should have been left on the list. It is what I think is the most terrifying movie I've watched. Francis Ford Coppola also highlights what seems to be the workings of years of practice to finally make a movie that shows his artistic eye. It's the ultimate color fest.

Summary: Jonathon is assigned to assist a mysterious man, Dracula, in a dark village after his former assistant, Renfield, went mad. Dracula discovers that Jonathon's fiancee looks a lot like his former love who he became cursed over. He traps Jonathon at his mansion in order to escape away to find his fiancee, Mina. Dracula has powers that are really difficult to resist, so when he does arrive he begins causing chaos in Mina's household. Van Helsing arrives to help Jonathon and the family get rid of the horrors that Dracula is causing in his hopes of gaining Mina's affection.

380 of 1001 Albums: Pantera's A Vulgar Display of Power

Pantera is a band I heard a lot about in high school. Any guy who had long hair, and wore all black seemed to think they were all the rage. Pantera though is one of those bands that never quite hit me at the stage I probably would have even considered liking their genre though. Nu metal was something I got into a bit, but never was I a Pantera fan. I guess just all the angry charged music never hit me right.

History: Pantera's sixth album is an interesting mix of inspiration. Terry Glaze was the vocalist for three albums that stemmed more from a Van Halen and Kiss influence. I'm sure that definitely doesn't scream Pantera. Their next vocalist, Phil Anselmo, took them more in the direction they are known for though. The album gained inspiration though from how former friends treated them upon returning from a successful tour. The album has been very positively appreciated, mostly for Darrell Abbot's talent on the guitar.

100 of 1001 Movies: Center Stage (1992)

This is quite a unique movie within a movie directed by Stanley Kwan. It might take a specific interest in the actress, Ruan Lingyu though to fully gain an interest in it as it chronicles her life as an actress mixing interviews with those that knew her, a director making a film about her, and old clips of her movies. For the viewer this can seem scrambled, but I've never watched anything else done like this before, so it's a very creative approach in trying to do a documentary style movie.

Ruan Lingyu is notably one of the staples of Chinese cinema. She is one of the faces that still plays a prominent influence today. In this movie her life is featured as it unravels after she begins living with a man, Tang Jishan, a tea tycoon. She is still married when doing this, and so is he. This brings a lawsuit from her husband, Zhang Damin, who she met when her family worked for his when she was young. The tabloids also latched on to this, and while still trying to maintain her very active career she is ripped into by gossip. Not only that, but Shanghai, where was from was facing a lot scrutiny during the 1930s as well.