Wow! Reading everyone's biography really makes me feel young. Im 14 and love movies, music, theatre, and writing. I am described within my circle of friends as being the independant, or original one (all of my friends are film lovers, but only I am an avid indie watcher). I reside in Auburn, Alabama, which could be known as one of the most boring and conformist towns on the planet. The one thing that keeps me alive is a small-ish independant record/film rental store that lies within walking distance of my house.

My favorite film is constantly changing as I watch more and more movies so my favorite directors are as follows:
Jim Jarmusch, John Landis, Harmony Korine, Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky, Coen Brothers, and Sofia Coppalla.

Genres of music I enjoy:
indie/alt. rock- Flaming Lips, New Pornographers, Modest Mouse, white Stripes.
"underground" (i use the term loosely) hip-hop- Dizzee Rascal, Tech N9NE.
Country- Lorretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris.
punk- Nirvana, Sex Pistols, Ramones.

Authors I love:
Roger, Ebert, Harry Knowles, Hubert Selby jr., Melvin Burgess.

Game systems possessed by me:
Xbox and Game Boy Advance

Eh, besides exposing myself to various films and music I enjoy writing prose, poetry etc.

In my English class we were asked to give a description of ourselves via poetry using, what could possibly be the worst teaching tool ever thought up, "poetry formulas".

I think mine turned out well. I will share it, because I think it portrays myself and my sensibility accurately and this is a great venue to shamelessly plug my poetry

My mind is the axis in which I revolve around.
My eyes are deep oceans ofthoughts and passions.
My hands are molders--creators--construction workers
My heart is the holder of vehement denial--
--that is as vacant as a sea of wilderness
I live within myself and eat at my unfulfilled dreams

OK, well I think I have shared just every conceivable thing---so I guess I shall wrap this up.

~Eccentro

I'm 16, which puts me at a few years below the average age of the forumgoers here (which, by this thread, seems to be a smidge above 19) but older than Eccentro. I'm more or less planning to study some form of composition in college (writing, journalism maybe), but I'm not sure- I might be doing psychology/law/political science instead. I live in New Jersey, which is a fantastic place to live if you really love roads.

In terms of the arts, I'm pretty typical for a Metacritic visitor avid enough to write in the forums- an obsessee of film/music/literature. I probably see 50-60 movies a year, and listen to 300-400 albums. Pretty high on consumption, though obviously school and work provide a certain constraints.

My favourite genre of music is drone (recent examples: Keith Fullerton Whitman, the Disintegration Loops to some extent, Deathprod, etc.).

I think Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections is the finest work of modern literature.

That's all for now, I suppose. Bit low on creativity today.

I'm 19, and was going to Michigan Tech University to study engineering. Fortunately (if you know how remote the college is, you know why it's fortunate), I will not be attending that school next fall. Whenever and wherever I continue my schooling, it will probably continue to be engineering.

I used to be way into politics and whatnot. I was one of those awkward pro-drug-legalization pro-abortion pro-free-market people known as libertarians. I still believe this is the best ideology, but I no longer think politics is a worthwhile hobby.

Because I wanted to fill the hole left by politics, I started listening to more music. I have 700 albums on my computer, and I buy albums often. My tastes are not defined by genre, but by quality. There are good and bad albums in every genre.

I call myself an "indie" music fan, even though my tastes are much more diverse than just stereotypically "indie" music.

Favorites:

Albums:
(#1) Mclusky - Mclusky Do Dallas
(in no order)
Adult. - Anxiety Always
Bardo Pond - Lapsed
El-P - Fantastic Damage
Giddy Motors - Make It Pop
Miles Davis - On the Corner
Basement Jaxx - Rooty
Skid Row - Skid Row
Hood - Cold House
I could go on for pages and pages

Movies:
(#1) The Big Lebowski
Buffalo 66
High Fidelity
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Kill Bill

TV Shows:
Family Guy
South Park
Futurama
Newsradio
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Strangers With Candy

My official website

Wow, you guys make me feel old. Many of you are the same age (or younger) than the students I teach at Wash U...

18, rockist-turned hip-hop head (sorta) and starting to indulge in jazz (usual suspects of Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis). I just graduated high school and will be attending University of North Texas in Denton in the fall.

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
Wow, you guys make me feel old. Many of you are the same age (or younger) than the students I teach at Wash U...

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LOL Don't worry...you're not the only one being "over the hill" around here. I was bying vinyl records around the time most of these other posters were born.
However, I'm happy to see us spanning decades here.....that makes for a more interesting board with more varied opinions and wievs upon the stuff being debated.

Gday people, Im 18 years old and from Sydney. I currently work part time at a cafe/deli/gourmet food store while I study full time at the Univiersity of New South Wales (dirty crap hole that it is) so I can teach High School English and History in a couple of years time.

Basically all of my income goes towards music, movies, video/computer games, alcohol/going out and ridiculously expensive clothes. Despite my nerdy lifestyle I manage to stay pretty fit. I jog 10km a night (about 6 miles) and do about an hour of aerobics and weights.

I figure that I wont bother writing a whole lot on my tastes in the arts since you will probably pick up on that in my other posts around the joint.

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Originally posted by K-Bee:
LOL Don't worry...you're not the only one being "over the hill" around here. I was bying vinyl records around the time most of these other posters were born.
However, I'm happy to see us spanning decades here.....that makes for a more interesting board with more varied opinions and wievs upon the stuff being debated.

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I'm with you there, K-Bee. I always kept up on what was going on in "youth culture" by working in a cool record store. Now, teaching college students, I have to keep my references current. Being here, I can see what the open minded youth of the world are into. It's nice, though, that everyone here, regardless of age, seems pretty well accepting of other's tastes and opinions. And everyone seems to have a nice grasp of the history of music in general, which is cool.

quote:

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
Being here, I can see what the open minded youth of the world are into. It's nice, though, that everyone here, regardless of age, seems pretty well accepting of other's tastes and opinions. And everyone seems to have a nice grasp of the history of music in general, which is cool.

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I'll second that, PE. The general mood of acceptance here is refreshing.

I'll also add that I was surprised at some of the posters relative youth since they are so articulate. I fear my exposure to Big 10 undergrads these past five years has made me a bit cynical about the writing skills of the writing skills of the next generation. I'm glad to be proven wrong.

It's funny you mention, too, about keeping your references current with your students, PE. My father in law is a history professor at another Big 10 school. Several years ago my wife and went to see Moxy Fruvous when we were visiting her folks, who decided to tag along. He asked me if his students would think he was cool for going to see Moxy Fruvous and I had to break the news that only the ones who tended toward being a bit geeky themselves.

Now Playing: "The Orange Billboard" Moonbabies _The Orange Billboard_ (Parasol)

quote:

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It's nice, though, that everyone here, regardless of age, seems pretty well accepting of other's tastes and opinions.

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Yeah, Ive noticed that as well. I think it's because these boards have a suprisingly low amount of flamers or fanboys (people whose love for a band/movie/game turns into anger whenever they read a post saying something negative about their beloved game/band/movie etc.). I also think this is a very tightly knit community which is nice because you really get to know the various posters.

What's up all.
I am a 30 year old writer of poetry and lyrics. I've fronted a couple of bands and am currently doing a lot of solo production. Some of my favorite artists include Radiohead, Bjork, Beastie Boys, Oasis, The Strokes, The Doors, DJ Shadow, and so many many others. I am always looking for new or old bands to dig so it's good to see the diversity in ages of some of the members here. I look forward to you guys reffering some bands, songs, albums, movies, books and anything else. I hope to be posting often and hope the board continues to grow because I love the metacritic site. See you all soon.

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate


I'll also add that I was surprised at some of the posters relative youth since they are so articulate. I fear my exposure to Big 10 undergrads these past five years has made me a bit cynical about the writing skills of the writing skills of the next generation. I'm glad to be proven wrong.

It's funny you mention, too, about keeping your references current with your students, PE. My father in law is a history professor at another Big 10 school. Several years ago my wife and went to see Moxy Fruvous when we were visiting her folks, who decided to tag along. He asked me if his students would think he was cool for going to see Moxy Fruvous and I had to break the news that only the ones who tended toward being a bit geeky themselves.

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Having taught undergrads at a top 10 private school, I can identify with the concerns about the writing skills of the youth of today. I am continually shocked at how hard it is for students from all over the country to string together a sentence that makes sense and comforms to basic rules of grammar. And don't even get me started on saying "like" every three words...

I run into my students at a lot of the more "hip" shows I go to...they always seem happy to know they've got a "cool" prof who likes Sigur Ros, Radiohead, or whatever. But I wear my heart on my sleeve...I teach class wearing ratty concert tees, so they ought to expect it.

The good news: the young folks on this site provide hope that people under twenty can still write.

Hey, I'm a 33 year old former laywer, former teacher and current music/movie/games fan. I'm into all kinds of music, but generally harder stuff (see Desert Island). I play the 5-string Banjo (bluegrass) and electric guitar (mostly hard rock/metal). Because it's my opinion that mainstream music is now dominated by crappy boy-band, Brittney, and Justin type of crap, along with an unusual saturation of crappy modern hip-hop, I'm saddened that free Napster is gone and it's not so easy to experiement. So I'm looking to you people for sources of good new bands.

Recently discovered: KaitO, Mission of Burma, Unwound. Thought would be good but sucked = Velvet Revolver.

I love seeing midnight movies, especially cult classics like "Repo Man," "Donnie Darko," "Hedwig," and "Army of Darkness."

I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of discussion in these forums. Let's keep it solid.

Well, I am 27 and live with my girlfriend and spend all my money on music. I don't make much money because I continue to work for the evil megacorporation that all of you here have used the services of at some point in order to see a live show. Our C.E.O. made a few mil last year though so I should be happy all my hard work has helped someone out! I am sarcastic, and a megalomaniac. That might explain some of my posts and opinions. I enjoy ancient history and science fiction, of which I often find parallels between. My favorite writers are Robert E. Howard, Philip K. Dick and Nietzche. I love weird movies, martial arts/samurai films, and things that push the boundaries and go over the top. I think Stanley Kubrick is the greatest director of all time but my favorite movies of all time are Conan the Barbarian and They Live! My favorite bands when I was growing up were Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Suicidal Tendencies. All three bands put out crappy albums within a year or two and I was off to exploring other music. I bought N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton when it came out and once got pulled over by a cop on my way back from basketball in Grade 7 for playing F**k the Police too loud on my "ghetto" blaster! I love non-mainstream rap like Antipop, Buck 65, Kool Keith and Ramm Ell Zee,. Went through a phase of loving grindcore/death metal, but that genre has become quite stagnant(still love Nile though). I compulsively buy CD's at least once a month, and I go to tons of live shows. Genre doesn't matter to me, unless it's New Country. I have seen great live shows in Jazz, Blues, Folk, Rap, Metal, Rock, World and many more. I try not to limit myself! Apparantly I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, yet there are so many places I want to travel to. I recommend everyone should read Zecharia Sitchin's book "The 12th Planet", whether you find answers or not, at least it should bring up some important questions! Oh yeah, I haven't cut my hair in over a decade! Nice to meet you all!

quote:

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Originally posted by Smenkharon:
My favorite writers are Robert E. Howard, Philip K. Dick and Nietzche...I think Stanley Kubrick is the greatest director of all time but my favorite movies of all time are Conan the Barbarian and They Live!...Oh yeah, I haven't cut my hair in over a decade!

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So, S, does this mean that you're going to star in a new "Conan" film series?

Hi. I'm 21, from the DC metro/Maryland area and have just graduated from college with a degree in Women Studies with a focus on women's diversity and History focusing on women. I'm known to rant on and on about the plight of race relations that are still prevalent in the U.S. as well as many other nations, women and where the feminist movement has gone wrong and how "third wave" feminism/feminist must strive to focus on issues and not just an issue (obviously not going into detail about that) and the American government.

I'm unemployed in the sense that I haven't found that "dream" job yet, and overall just basically conflicted on my future goals.

My favorite movies are Amelie and Run Lola Run

My favorite artists are A.C. Newman, Neko Case, New Pornographers, The Cardigans, Flunk, Kosheen, Metric, Ilya (who have released one of the best albums this year in my opinion), massive attack, lamb and etc. I'm always looking for new music though.

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Originally posted by mark f:
So, _S_, does this mean that you're going to star in a new "Conan" film series?

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Mark, I would love to! I'd need about 40 more pounds of muscle and then I could do it! I am 6'2 210, and took drama courses for 4 years when I was younger, so I am sure I could improve on Arnie's verbal performance, physical is another story though! I have also read all of Howard's Conan stories and could bring the reverence to his work that was obviously missing in the Destroyer and to a lesser extent Milius's Barbarian. So, Mark, think you could direct it for me!?

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Originally posted by Smenkharon:

So, Mark, think you could direct it for me!?

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If anyone entrusted me with the money, hell, yes! I haven't read the stories, but I definitely would and I'd have an expert with you. Does Howard write in a very-visual style because I get the idea he does. Oh, by the way, I didn't see that flick about Howard with D'Onofrio and Zellwegger, but was it any good? Also, my brother and I really liked the Milius "Conan"; we saw a sneak preview which had about 10 extra minutes which I'm not sure has ever been restored. Anyway, if you want to buff up while I read and study up, then all we need is a Vancouver or O.C. entrepreneur who wants to bankroll two unknowns! Sincerity does count for a lot, at least sometimes.

Wow... I feel so young.

I'm a 15 year old male from Milton, Ontario, Canada. I listen to rock that's primarily described as "alternative" or "indie," but I try not to limit myself to genres. I'm always willing to give new genres a shot, and I very rarely hate anything unless it goes out of its way to offend my meager intelligence (Three Days Grace, for example).

My favorite bands are Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Radiohead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, My Bloody Valentine, Air, The Talking Heads, The Beatles, Opeth and ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, among many others. I'd list more electronica, rap and metal, but I don't have much of any because I don't have the money to get all that I want. Hell, I don't even have every Beatles album yet. Also, I tend to have a soft spot for '80s pop (my first two childhood records were Look Sharp! by Roxette and Different Light by The Bangles) and am very much interested in pop music in general, even if I find a lot of mainstream rock to be very stale and generic.

Besides listening to music, I write music reviews for Music Underwater (the link is in my signature, although it's hardly good enough to be a part of this site yet), watch movies, write and read. I'm currently reading Aztec by Gary Jennings, after which I plan on reading The Crying Lot of 49 by Thomas Pynchon.

Yeah... that was fun.

I am resurrecting this topic here. Does everyone understand that the General Movie and General Music have TWO pages of topics, and as time goes on, most topics will have multiple pages? There may be some interesting topics which people haven't seen because they don't know that they exist. I think that this is one of the most-interesting, so I'm bringing it up to the front. This may help temporarily satisfy some newer members' curiosity, so I hope you jump in and share with us "old-timers."