Panflute

As I have said earlier, all this virus does is revert countries to their basic essence.

• Holland has reverted to finding compromises for everything (polder model)
• The US has reverted to its usual dose of crazy paired with societal division
• France has reverted to its leader getting to roleplay as a firm Napoleonic statesman over the backs of his countrymen
• Italy and Spain have reverted to criticizing us for 'mishandling' the crisis and then asking us for free hand-outs as the bodies pile up and their entire economies inevitably collapse at the slightest setback

It's depressing.

21 hours ago, Bluebird Hewitt said:

That sucks. I'm not clued up on other countries but how are the Netherlands generally coping (ie. is the full lockdown required, is it an over reaction etc)? 

It's pretty fucked now. We have had rising infection rates, but people have pretty much gone into panic mode, where like 3 days after new measures, everyone starts calling for more measures even though it's impossible to notice the effect of the original measures within that timespan.

If we were to go into full lockdown, it would be the first time this happens in the country, as the previous 'lockdown' and the current one have both been partial lockdowns, where much of the measures were based on advice rather than strict legislation. Still, I don't think it will ever be in countries like France and Italy where you basically have martial law.

However, as it looks now, it seems as if the full lockdown is not being considered by our government, which, to its credit, doesn't often cave to the pressure of taking extra measures just because people are panicking. The issue with a full lockdown now is that it would just postpone the problem a few months at best, and wreck tons of businesses in the process. The past months have shown that our testing has not proven adequate enough to be able to handle subsequent infections locally, so this would mean having to lock the country down periodically until there is a vaccine, which is obviously bonkers.

I dunno about this shit anymore. When I see people out there walking by themselves in parks while wearing mouth masks, I get the idea that a lot of this is just about giving ourselves the illusion that we're able to control the virus.

We might go into full lockdown as well seeing as journos have been pushing for it in the past weeks by aSkiNg QuEsTiOnS. Critics say such a measure will only be effective if it is kept up for months, possibly until the spring.

Fun times ahead in any case.

On 22/09/2020 at 19:56, Batard said:

I honestly don't believe there will be another single player Fallout, everything points towards online. Starfield is the IP Bethesda are mostly behind now (and more Elder Scrolls)

I believe we will see it, but I also think future instalments of Fallout and Elder Scrolls will have vastly different business models that focus heavily on microtransactions (thinly veiled or not).

Our minister of justice saw fit to call everyone who didn't comply with corona rules lowlifes and then had a wedding with like a hundred guests where he hugged and shook hands with everyone. There is tons of photographic evidence of this. Take a wild guess as to whether he got fined and/or was relieved of his responsibilities.

Finished Life is Strange 2, which I'd gotten a few months ago on Steam. (MINOR SPOILERS)

Honestly disappointing. The writing ranged from decent to very poor. Especially the political commentary seemed shoehorned. You can really tell that the main writers are Europeans with a limited understanding of American culture (sovereign citizens working together with cops?!).

The entire premise of the game does not make much sense either. Without giving away too much, for the entire game I kept thinking "Wait, why are we running? This is just going to make things worse."

It was interesting to see the road trip formula play out. It's a big contrast with the smalltown/high school setting of the original arc, but it also made it obvious why the latter worked better. Due to the surroundings constantly changing, there's very little going on in terms of character bonding and emotional development. That a chapter that sorts of mimicks the 'staying in one place' concept is by far the most enjoyable episode of the game is very telling.

In the end there was enough good stuff in the game to enjoy a single playthrough, but honestly it doesn't hold a candle to the original game (which had its own share of issues), let alone the prequel to the original.

16 hours ago, Carnivore Chris said:

 

There's actually spots I've never been in Amsterdam to be honest, so I will go on a mad explore. I've never been to the Windmills that Lucas went to for example.

 

What about Haarlem and Utrecht? @Panflute @SirBalon 69 They aren't far and look quite nice with much less tourism than Amsterdam, although the locals may all run away scared when an Englishman appears given current events . I might check one of those instead as they are a very short train journey anyway.

 

They're nice for a day. Haarlem has some nice spots but it might get boring if you spend a whole weekend there. Utrecht is basically a smaller and slightly quieter version of Amsterdam.

Rotterdam can be interesting if you're way into modern art and architecture but I personally hate it. The Hague is decent.

Personally I prefer the eastern part of the country, particularly the Gelderland and Drenthe provinces, but it's more rural there so not exactly city trip material.

God, the worst thing (well, after the death, disease and damage to people's livelihoods) must be the myriad of celebrities trying to cash in on a vague sense of brotherhood, recording horrible, soppy songs and other crap to 'help keep people motivated'.

I guess it's a fair trade-off, though, as at least Eurovision was cancelled.

Megadeth just posted this to their official channels to help combat the lockdown boredom.

Here's my answers:

On 19/03/2020 at 20:01, Carnivore Chris said:

What's Amsterdam looking like at the moment? @Panna King, @Panflute

 

I haven't been there since Tuesday 10, before people started taking it seriously. If you go around my hometown you wouldn't really notice anything was wrong, except it's a bit more packed in the supermarkets and a bit quieter in the streets.

I can imagine Amsterdam being a lot less busy as all the musea, restaurants and bars are closed.

1 hour ago, True Blue said:

Knowing how easy it is transmitted there could be millions infected already, no way it is only 160k with all the travels and people in general being dicks and being careless.

I've heard countless stories of people here who are at home with severe symptoms who cannot get tested. At this point I just assume the number of infected is many times higher than the official government numbers.

Things are starting to go down in Holland, with restrictions on events of more than 100 people, urging people to work from home when they can, and to avoid contact with the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Curiously, unlike France and Belgium they haven't yet closed the schools as they fear it would put too much pressure on parents who cannot work from home, against too little benefit as children seem largely unaffected by it. The latter seems a bit odd to me as children themselves may not be affected much, but from what I understand they can still easily spread the disease to more vulnerable groups. In any case, I expect them to carry it over the weekend and close the schools by Monday.

On another note, I have a friend who lives in Beijing and he says things are relatively good there now. The virus seems to be on the retreat again, and he said he made it through the lockdown just fine. He also said all the reports in Western media about 'China imprisoning its own population' made him laugh, as you can easily still move about the city. There are guards around, but they mainly just sleep by open gates and you only wake them up when you need his help because you lost your keys. 

Well, our country is slowly going into lockdown. People are being urged to work from home, and events are being cancelled all over the country. Luckily I have a shitload of food, medicine and booze, so I can lock myself inside for quite a while and also work from home.

4 hours ago, Azeem said:

Isolation is the most effective method. If you have enough contact, you will get it no matter how hygienic your are take pre-emptive steps and minimizing outside time.

I can't exactly isolate myself from my mother if she relies on me for groceries and a bunch of other tasks, though.

At this point the thing that makes me anxious more than the disease itself is the panic-mongering surrounding it. Not that measures shouldn't be taken, but when there's reports on the news every day of people hogging toilet paper in other countries, it was only a matter of time before it started happening here. I suppose there's less logical combinations than cans of beans and tp but it's like journos are trying to bait people into panicking so they can crank up the coverage of this shit even more.

Apart from that I'm mainly worried about the older members of my family. I'd probably be fine if I got it but having a mother with a history of respiratory issues does not make me sleep well at night.

Listened to Exodus - Tempo of the Damned. Some of the lyrics are cringy and the vocals aren't my cup of tea, but you can't argue with that riffage. Very solid album.

48 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Well I've spent a lot more money than I was planning on this week after getting the record player - had to order some classics; ordered Carcass's brilliant albums Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrius & Heartwork… two albums I absolutely fucking love. And on Saturday I'm going to head back to that record store I went to on Monday to pick up a Death album (probably the Sound of Perserverance album or Symbolic... but Sound of Perserverance is probably my favourite Death album) and a Megadeth album. I'm sort of relying on me hoping that no other metalheads with record players come into that shop to buy the albums I want though 

So I was wondering, @Panflute… which Megadeth record should I be looking to pick up. On Monday they had: Rust in Peace, Peace Sells, Countdown, and So Far So Good... So What. Assuming those are all still there on Saturday... which of these brilliant albums is the one I should be taking home as my first vinyl Megadeth? I'm leaning towards Rust in Peace or So Far So Good etc., but a part of me really really wants to get the Peace Sells record.

Well, first off I am by now the type of fanboy who will defend just about any Megadeth record, and my general tastes differ from the consensus in a lot of areas; I consider Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings to both be top 3 Megadeth albums, and while I like Countdown to Extinction, I don't really understand the hype around it.

All that being said, even with all my snowflakeyness I can't deny that Rust in Peace is the best record they ever did. In terms of style, themes and execution, I consider it the perfect thrash record. So if it were up to me, I'd definitely get that one before any others. Of course, any of those albums will do fine, but I'm considering getting Rust in Peace on vinyl even though I don't even have a working record player at the moment.

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Nice, good pick! What were the other options?

Death Angel - 'The Dream Calls For Blood' and Destruction - 'Under Attack'. I don't really like what I've heard of Destruction (not a big fan of German thrash), and seeing as I am quite unfamiliar with Death Angel, listening to one of their latest albums as my introduction to them seemed odd. So Exodus it was!

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Sidenote: finding Carcass records at the local record shops here is proving to be impossible. And I'm pretty surprised at how expensive records are generally (even second hand). But it's a pretty cool listening experience with actual records, so I feel compelled to hunt down all of my favourite albums.

I just use discogs for most physical music these days. I do prefer picking things up from a store, but it's almost impossible to find anything more obscure than Metallica and Rammstein these days. I haven't even seen Megadeth in a record store in years.

I spent like 2009-2019 buying nearly all physical media online, so when I finally set foot in a record store again a few months back, I felt like Rip van Winkle. When I was growing up, you had shit like Dimmu Borgir and even Mortician being sold in regular, big chain record stores. I remember getting Iron Maiden, Cradle of Filth and Megadeth records in the most mainstream entertainment store chain out there. Just goes to show how much metal has disappeared from the public eye.

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Yeah what's not pictured is that I also had to buy a record featuring yodeling and have that be the first record I heard through my new turntable 

I like Tempo of the Damned a lot. Imo it's a return to form from them... although their last album before that was a very very long time before 2004 (but that album, Force of Habit, is probably the weakest Exodus album - at least in my eyes). Some of Gary Holt's best riffs, especially the main riff from Scar Spangled Banner, are on the album.

I'd probably put it as my 3rd favourite Exodus album - behind 1.) Bonded by Blood & 2.) Fabulous Disaster.

Oh wow, then I made the right choice. I got to pick 1 of 3 options and picked this one just because it was Exodus.

14 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Just bought my first record player after losing a bet. Had to purchase my favourite thrash album to go along with it

Looks like it’s uploaded onto the forums upside down. Weird.

In any case, not a bad bet to lose.

Wait, you LOST that bet?

Also, how is Tempo of the Damned by Exodus? I got it as a freeby with another order to compensate for high shipping costs. I know Exodus is great but I also remember the early 2000s being the period when thrash bands started doing weird shit.

I can't stand Napalm Death purely based on the fact that all the sanctimonious NY hardcore scenesters who discovered metal journalism in 2012 wouldn't shut up about that band.

23 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The 2002 remaster also is very quiet compared to the original recording. It's weird, I definitely prefer the originals for Megadeth recordings... whereas with bands like Pantera, I'm a bigger fan of the remasters.

I don't know who handled the Pantera remaster, but I've noticed that musicians being in charge of their own band's production tends to lead to... unsatisfactory results. I imagine that when Mustaine remastered his albums, he, being a guitarist, brought the guitar work to the forefront. It's pretty much the same as when Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield had the biggest say in the production of And Justice For All and completely murdered the production (although AFJA is much, much worse than the worst Megadeth remaster).

22 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The remasters are terrible. I especially hate the most recent remaster of Killing is my Business... And Business is Good - they took all the fucking bass out off that album. Which is mental because possibly my favourite song on the album, Chosen Ones, has exquisite bass work.

But yeah, I found the originals for Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia are so much better than the remasters... blows my mind really.

I actually like that remaster as it showcases what a brilliant drummer Gar was. The bass sound was not too bad from what I remember but I only have the 2002 remaster to compare it to.

Youthanasia especially is such a world of difference, though. Like most of the remasters of the 90s albums, the drums really suffered on the 2004 remaster of that album. I'm not a big audiophile, but this trend of removing reverb from music in general is what sucks the life out of music for me.

38 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

@Panflute

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51457787

Is it weird that my first thought was "I wonder if I've heard of his band..."? 

I went ahead and got the original versions of Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia, and boy does it make a difference with the remasters. A much more juicy drum sound, plenty of reverb, and a greater dynamic range. After already getting the superior original mixes of Rust in Peace and Cryptic Writings, it really makes me wonder what Mustaine was thinking with the 2004 remasters.