Tag: Rush

Mar172011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Platters that matter: 20 albums that changed my life (#10—#1)

Platters that matter: 20 albums that changed my life (#10—#1)

Listcruft, Music
At long last, I present the conclusion of my list of 20 albums that have had the most impact on me and my love of music. For a brief refresher, you can check the back half of the top 20 here. But for your convenience, here's the list: #20 — Queen, The Game #19 — Seals & Crofts, Summer Breeze #18 — Kiss, Creatures of the Night #17 — Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast #16 — Run-D.M.C., Raising Hell #15 — Kiss, Alive! #14 — Rush, A Farewell to Kings #13 — Miles Davis, Kind of Blue #12 — Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pictures at an Exhibition #11 — various artists, Jazz Master Files OK, now that we're all caught up, let's finish this thing already. As a reminder, this is no particular order but I know people love countdowns so there you go. #10 — Genesis, Duke If Rus
Read More
Jan172011 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
Album cover of the week: Moving Pictures

Album cover of the week: Moving Pictures

Album Cover of the Week, Music
Next month marks the 30th anniversary of Moving Pictures, one of the great albums of the '80s and - according to many fans - Rush's greatest achievement.  In addition to being packed from start to finish with all-time classics like "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight", Moving Pictures is best remembered for its covert art.  It's visually striking and showcases the band's dry sense of humor (sorry Canadians, humour). Art direction and graphic design credits go to Hugh Syme, longtime Rush collaborator.  Syme has designed the cover for every Rush album since 1975's Caress of Steel, and this is one of his high water marks.  On the most obvious level we've got movers carrying three pictures - Joan of Arc on the left, one of C.M. Coolidge's Dogs Playing Poker paintings in the middle, and of cours
Read More
Dec202010 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
2010: The Gray Flannel Suit Year That Was

2010: The Gray Flannel Suit Year That Was

Blogstuff
It's been another fun year for me in running this site, and I'd like to thank all of you who visit regularly, irregularly, or even once.  I'd also like to thank everyone who has helped by contributing comments and post ideas.  It's good to know there's at least a few people out there who enjoy my little corner of the intertubes.  Since we're in the midst of year-end review season, let's take a quick look back at the posting year that was 2010 for The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. Most Popular Posts This is really what it's all about right?  It's always interesting to me to see what content takes off and what content gets largely ignored.  Since I want to stay positive I'll focus on the former.  So here are the eleven most-popular posts on the site for 2010. #11. Happy Hoff-Day! - Davi
Read More
Oct182010 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Venture Bros. wrapup: “Assisted Suicide”

Venture Bros. wrapup: “Assisted Suicide”

TV & Radio
For those who follow these episode recaps, apologies for missing last week's of "Bright Lights, Dean's City".  Real life got in the way for the first few days and by the time it got to Wednesday it seemed a bit pointless to write a recap.  But real quickly - it was probably a B-, if for no other reason than it felt like the lesser companion to "Everybody Comes to Hank's".  It was goofy but I think I'm done with the whole Phantom Limb/Prof. Incredible duo for a bit. So on to "Assisted Suicide", in which Dr. Orpheus returns and the show hits a high mark.  As self-contained episodes go, this was one of the best over the past few years.  The dialogue was crisp and funny, and there was just enough emotional depth to make it more than fluff.  And did I mention Dr. Orpheus?  Because he never g
Read More
Aug162010 by Chris Holmes2 Comments
Platters that matter: 20 albums that changed my life (#20-#11)

Platters that matter: 20 albums that changed my life (#20-#11)

Listcruft, Music
Music is - or at least used to be - at once a very shared and a very personal thing.  And truth be told the only thing I've spent more time doing in my life than listening to music is sleeping.  Music has informed my life since I was a kid and continues to do so, although to a lesser degree now that I'm a family man.  So it's time for me to give credit where credit is due, and list the 20 albums that had a bigger impact on me than any others. Some of these records opened my eyes to a new style of music.  Some of them resonated on a deep, emotional level.  Some were just too good to be ignored.  Some are wrapped in nostalgia now and nothing more.  But they are all critical to my development as a music lover in one way or another. #20 - Queen, The Game Memory is a tricky thing, espe
Read More
Mar12010 by Chris Holmes6 Comments
A brief recap of my Olympics experience

A brief recap of my Olympics experience

Sports
I didn't have the gumption to post on a daily basis during the 2010 Winter Olympics, but I did watch a lot of them.  As I get older I find that I enjoy the Olympics more and more, although I think I prefer the Summer games more.  So here's some random observations on the 17-day spectacle that was the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics... • First off, I know I'm not the only one who thought NBC's coverage sucked hard.  I don't even care about the tape delays so much (since I'm not around to watch during the day anyway), but there was so much else to hate.  Look, I get that television networks are businesses, and the primary goal of a business is to make money.  But really, could NBC have been any more clumsy about the unending barrage of commercials?  After awhile it felt like I was watching
Read More
Nov32009 by Chris Holmes6 Comments
Venture Bros. Wrapup: “Perchance to Dean” (S04E03)

Venture Bros. Wrapup: “Perchance to Dean” (S04E03)

TV & Radio
Stupid real life is really putting a crimp in my ability to review this season of The Venture Bros.  As a result, you may have noticed that last week's episode - "Handsome Ransom" - was skipped.  I'll get around to it at some point, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.  And now on to newer business. I don't know about you, but Season 4 of VB is clicking in a way that Season 3 seldom did.  Maybe it's the more character-driven storylines, but it doesn't feel as if Jackson and Doc are trying so hard this year.  "Perchance to Dean" is a perfect example.  It's got the feel of an early episode, but with the comedic and storytelling sophistication of more recent efforts.  It really is a neat hybrid, just like Dean's creepy, Phantom of the Opera-esque clone brother. We ge
Read More
Mar22009 by Chris Holmes5 Comments
Gray Flannel Mixtape: The mellow side of prog

Gray Flannel Mixtape: The mellow side of prog

Music
To no one's surprise, last year's round of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees included not one progressive rock act.  This despite the millions of albums sold, the countless musicians inspired, and the long-lasting impact of the genre's best.  Hell, can anyone under 50 even name two Dave Clark Five songs?  Yeah, me neither. But to be fair, I can understand why someone not very familiar with prog rock might be inclined to write it off as so much boring instrumental wankery and bastardized classical music pastiches.  But to paint an endlessly rich style of music with such a broad brush is not only lazy, it's downright inaccurate.  So to show that prog ain't all clinical sweep arpeggios and no heart, I've put together a mixtape to showcase the gentler side of the genre. What we've got
Read More