Author Archives: Jedadiah Leland

Scenes I Love: The Opening of Detroit: Become Human

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The opening of David Cage’s video game, Detroit: Become Human, always gets me in the mood to either put down the machines or overthrow the humans.  When I first played this game, my decisions led to Connor going over the roof with the deviant android. I was worried that the game had ended before it had even began but luckily, it turned out there was always a replacement Connor.

As for Kara being purchased by Todd and being driven to her new home, it is one of the strongest cut-scenes that I’ve ever seen.  I know some players who have decided not to kill Todd while escaping his home because they think he’ll turn over a new leaf if and when he shows up in the game later.  Don’t count on it.

 

4 Shots From 4 David Cage Games

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

Today is the birthday of video game director, David Cage.  Though Cage is a controversial figure, I’ve always enjoyed his games.  Detroit: Become Human is one of the most replayable films that I’ve ever come across.  (During the COVID lockdowns, I discovered how much fun it was to overthrow human society.)  Heavy Rain’s mystery was intriguing and any player who says he didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment after winning the sex scene minigame is lying.

Here are four shots from four games!

Fahrenheit (2005, directed by David Cage)

Heavy Rain (2010, directed by David Cage)

Beyond: Two Souls (2013, directed by David Cage)

Detroit: Become Human (2018, directed by David Cage)

 

 

 

Music Video Of The Day: You’re so Vain by Faster Pussycat (1990, directed by Rocky Schenck)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This cover of Carly Simon’s best-known song comes from Faster Pussycat.  The song was recorded for a compilation album celebrating Elektra’s 40-year anniversary.

Director Rocky Schenck is still active today.  He has directed videos for Adele, Robert Plant, Allison Krause, Van Halen, Alice In Chains, and many others.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Your Love by The Outfield (1986, directed by John Jopson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This is a song that I will always associate with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.  Your Love is on the Flash FM playlist.  It’s not a great song to listen to when you’re in the middle of a police chase but it is nice when you’re just stealing cars on a rainy night.

The video was shot, over the course of a day, on a soundstage in Astoria.  While the band is playing, an artist played by JoAnne Willette finger paints the cover of The Outfield’s first album, Play Deep.  Willette would later co-star on the Growing Pains spin-off, Just The Ten Of Us.  She also appeared in episodes of The Facts of Life, T. J. Hooker, Santa Barbara, Growing Pains, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, Becker, ER, The Young and the Restless, My Sister Sam, Private Practice, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.  Among her film credits are small roles in both Welcome to 18 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.

Even though The Outfield was a British band, they never found much success in the UK.  Their popularity was almost solely centered in the U.S., where Your Love reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Mainstream Rock chart in 1986.

Music Video Of The Day: Shout By Tears For Fears (1984, directed by Nigel Dick)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Tears For Fears frontman Roland Orzabal and keyboardist Ian Stanley were both practitioners of primal scream therapy, in which people confronted their fears and insecurities by shouting.  This song was inspired by both the treatment and political protest.

The video, which was put in heavy rotation on MTV and become one of the defining videos and songs of the 1980s, features Orazbal and Curt Smith letting it all out on the cliffside at Durdle Door in Dorset.  The video was one of the 300-something videos to have been directed by Nigel Dick, who has done videos for almost everyone.

Shout spend three weeks as the number one single in the US and has since become Tears for Fears signature song, along with Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

Music Video of the Day: Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House (1986, directed by Alex Proyas)

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This video was directed by a familiar name.  Alex Proyas got his start directing music videos for groups like INXS and this one but he is today better-remembered for directing such influential films as The Crow and Dark City.

The music video was a hit, picking up the award for Best New Artist at the MTV Music Video awards.  Don’t Dream It’s Over has gone on to become one of those songs that epitomizes an era.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: I Hate Kissing You Goodbye by Tuff (1991, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

You have to feel bad for Tuff, an American glam metal band that was formed in 1985, featured in the seminal documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II, and who were signed by Atlantic Records in 1990.  They released their first studio album, What Comes Around Go Around, in 1991.  The video for I Hate Kissing You Goodbye received heavy rotation on MTV.  And then, just a few months later, a band named Nirvana came along and changed the entire musical landscape.

Despite the Grunge Revolution, Tuff is still together.  Lead singer Steve Rachelle has also had a solo career and has fronted a few other bands as well.  Tuff survived.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: I Won’t Forget You by Poison (1987, directed by John Jopson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

It’s the sensitive side of Poison.

I’ve been reading Nothin’ But A Good Time, an oral history of the 80s “hair metal” scene.  Poison emerges as unlikely heroes in the narrative, a band that worked hard to put on a good show and managed to avoid a lot of the excesses that plagued other bands of the era.  Before he landed his spot with Guns ‘N’ Roses, Slash reluctantly auditioned out for Poison.  Bret Michaels wanted to hire him but the rest of the band preferred CC Deville.  It turned out to be the right choice for both the band and Slash.

This video was directed by John Jopson, who also directed videos for The Hooters, Icehouse, and everyone’s favorite, Air Supply.