#soviet anthem is playing in the background

[tosxah]

"Tovarish" she repeats slowly. "Such a commie."

He thinks about that for a second... "I mean technically you're not wrong."

#one tsarista to rule them all one tsarista to find them one tsarista to bring them all and in the darkness bind them IN THE LAND OF #SNEZHNAYA WHERE THE SHADOWS LIE #i need the communist flag waving behind him with the state anthem of the soviet union playing in the background #nagareboshiko

[echho]

(all from the not-american ask game bc i love playing ask games w people! no pressure ofc :) )

3. does your country have access to sea?

5. favourite song in your native language?

6. most hated song in your native language?

7. three words from your native language that you like the most?

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

20. which sport is The Sport in your country?

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

27. favourite national celebrity?

i picked the ones i'd have the most fun answering, so i hope you have fun w these!!! :D

thank you so much for asking!! and sorry it took a while :) (i had to edit this to add a cut because boy did it get long. brace for some history bullshit)

3. does your country have access to sea?

unfortunately, it doesn't, so we usually travel to maritime countries (especially croatia, bulgaria...) in summer. however, we have dams, reservoirs and lakes that we often choose instead of the sea!

5. favourite song in your native language?

i am not THAT involved in our music scene, but strmá voda by billy barman is pretty cool, za sklom (from the kam ideme album though!!) by korben dallas too. and i have a deep history with the whole na skle maľované (originally na szkle malowane in polish, "painted on the glass") musical. do batôžka by katka knechtová shaped my childhood as well AND i know it basically said one song so i'll stop now, i promise.

6. most hated song in your native language?

our rap is... not my favourite thing. it sounds silly to me, to be honest, so most rap songs. and the radio ones are annoying too. hi to pomaranče z kuby, if i hear you one more time i'm gonna cry <3

7. three words from your native language that you like the most?

okay, this is not be based on their meaning, but the way it feels to pronounce them-

krémový (creamy), žblnkať (to make the plopping sound of water (?)), holubienka (help how do i translate the ✨vibe✨ of this,, it's an outdated pet name, basically. an old-sounding diminutive for dove)

but the one i use the most is a non-literary word: ✨oné✨, aka "that thing", aka a word you use for everything you forgot the word for.

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

love me some good do piče (stolen from my friend @hyperobsession because he has a way with words that i don't: "the meaning is basically the vulgar designation of vagina"). jebať (to fuck) is fun too, use some prefixes and you get some brand new swearwords with different meanings. BUT i also love some outdated ones like papľuh, ej ci bisťu, kulifaj... the list goes on.

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

the anthem slaps, mainly historically speaking (reverse pink floyd basically: hey, kids, leave our teacher alone), nowadays there are no lighting bolts to wake us up however, and our flag...

listen. i have Opinions about our flag. not about the similarity with the russian one (correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe the russian tricolor is basically a modification of the dutch one, while ours was a red-white bicolor at first and then adopted a blue stripe to symbolize our croatian "brother nation" in austria-hungary and our "patrons" russians in 1848, making the slavic tricolor, modeled after the russians? and we basically had to add the emblem as to not clash with the russian flag after the dissolution of the soviet union. anyway. the revolutionary year of 1848 will forever haunt me). where my amusement peaks (no pun intended), however, is the said emblem. noticed it's basically the right (left for the heraldists out there) part of the hungarian coat of arms?

yada yada the double cross from cyril and methodius, the red background because ✨emblems✨, everything is basically connected to the hungarians through austria-hungary... that's where the triple peak, my favourite part, comes in. it symbolizes the three mountains of matra, tatra and fatra, formerly on the hungarian soil, right? and it had many colours over the years, ending with green, until slovaks said nah, fuck this, we don't like it here in austria-hungary, yoinked the emblem (but said fuck your crown too and, of course, changed the colours, don't let the teacher know i let you copy my homework, slovakia) and eventually took tatra and fatra too. the funny thing (to me) is that the blue triple peak feels like a fuck you, we took your mountains to hungarians now.

(no offense to hungary, of course. i'm part hungarian. it just feels funny)

also- god, who let me speak. sorry for the history lesson. maybe it's not even correct. don't quote me on this info.

20. which sport is The Sport in your country?

i guess most kids play football (soccer) in their childhood, but the most promoted one during championships might be hockey...? not sure, actually. i wouldn't consider us a big sports nation, but it might be because i'm not involved in the scene (except for hockey, kinda).

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

the hungarians and the czechs, for sure. i won't get into why it's like that because peace and love blah blah blah. but it's definitely them. also the poles, but not the whole nation i think, mostly just the language.

27. favourite national celebrity?

eh- good question? i have some actors that i like to see in theatre/tv, but apart from their roles, i know nothing about them, so... i don't think i have one.

(i googled "slovak celebrities". i didn't know those people existed. i'll leave it at this)

thank you again for this ask, i did have a lot of fun!! especially with the history part, which i'm, again, sorry for :D (but not really. only like. half sorry)

#slovakia #echho asks

[tittyinfinity]

So my 8 year old heard the USSR Anthem in the background of a gaming video and now he is OBSESSED with the Soviet Union?? It's a full-blown hyperfixation now. He's playing the anthem all day. Watching people play it on the piano. Watching animal crossing villagers sing it. He told me about how the Soviet union was formed and everything.

I'm not gonna stop him lmao

#dani

[clehame]

i’m having munchkin do a presentation on british imperialism in india. this is his header slide.

[image description: a laptop turned towards the camera to show a google slides intro slide reading “You’re invited/Colonialism/Everywhere that isn’t Europe or North America/For more info, ask that Malicious Brit with a Rifle.” the border of the slide is a cheery coral pink. from the right of the screen, munchkin, an 11 year old boy, is just visible, grinning]

#😬 this ID isnt great im sorry i dont have any experience #but we trying to be more accessible #hes also. playing the soviet national anthem in the background as he types #personal

[mauerfrau]

Finish this sentence: I came, I saw, I...

"Collectivized the infrastructure and agriculture."

#Moles In Our Midst || Anon #soviet anthem plays in the background XD

[pokemon-ash-aus]

Reads about KGB Delilah

Now all i can see is the three mewtwo kids all lined up in Soviet gear, saluting, the Soviet flag behind them, and the russian national anthem playing in the background

Lmao XD

#Ask

[dame-chat-blanc]

Marinette: Kagami , you are a good person, you deserve Adrien to be your boyfriend. Kagami: Mari but what if he becomes OUR boyfriend. (Soviet anthem starts playing in the background)

#peakmemequality lol love it

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #incorrect quotes #incorrect miraculous ladybug quotes #tales of ladybug and cat noir #marinette dupain cheng #incorrect miraculous quotes #anon submission #marinette and kagami #tsurugi kagami #ask dame chat blanc

[dailyhistorymemes]

Soviet anthem plays in the background(via)

#dailyhistorymemes #historymemes #historymeme #history #meme #memes #fun #funny

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | The Decline of Western Civilization series (Spheeris, 1981-98)

Many years ago, before I sold out to the man, I have to admit I felt a certain attraction to punk music. No, I was never anywhere close to a full on punk (I was, and still am, extremely lame), but I have to admit the anti-establishment streak definitely resonated with me at a certain point of time. (Not that it still doesn’t, but in addition to selling out, I’ve softened with old age.) Like many people I’ve found appealing the political conscience and mix of influences of the Clash, or the boneheaded energy of the Ramones, but I also found my interest straying to hardcore punk. I remember the first time I listened to “Damaged II” by Black Flag and finding it unbelievably abrasive and foreign to my ears, yet it was something I couldn’t get out of my head, and returned to the song and the album it was from a few years later and appreciated it as one of the most forceful expressions of angst ever recorded. I remember first learning of bands like X and Fear, and seeing performance footage on YouTube and being thrilled by the rawness and danger, especially when they had to fight off their fans. This footage was from Penelope Spheeris’ cult classic documentary, The Decline of Western Civlization, which for years was not easily available but I have now finally seen in its entirety.

The movie is structured simply, moving from one band in the L.A. punk scene to another, interviewing them in their natural habitats and punctuating this with footage of their performances. Songs are presented in full so we can get the complete experience. The first band we see is Black Flag, then with frontman Ron Reyes. They are lively on stage but it’s interesting to note how different the energy was prior to the arrival of Henry Rollins, who brought a certain discipline and muscularity to their music. (One of the songs featured here, “Depression”, pops up again in Damaged, and the impact in the latter is noticeably more forceful.) The guys here come across as aimless and destitute, living in a decrepit church where they’ve turned the closets into makeshift bedrooms, seemingly losing money with every gig. But they are also quite affable (you can tell the lyrics of “TV Party” sprang from these minds) and do not have illusions about their situation, especially their difficulty in getting gags thanks to their rowdy fans. These scenes play like a moment frozen in time, right before the band’s most significant period would begin. We move next to the Germs, and these scenes play like a car accident in slow motion, with Darby Crash’s self-destructive tendencies on full display. This was a short time before his death, which occurred between completion of filming and the theatrical release (his image was featured heavily on the promotional materials), once again giving this a lost in time quality.

Next we go to the headquarters of Slash Magazine, the staff of which moonlights as a band called Catholic Discipline. The frontman complains about New Wave, claiming it doesn’t actually exist, yet they come across as downmarket New Wavers who are slumming it in the punk scene. Yet their love of music and their work is obvious and the frontman does possess a certain charisma. Much of what we see of the punk lifestyle is squalid and dismal, yet the music of X manages to poeticize this condition. Their unassuming demeanours during their interview contrast sharply with their vigour in their performances, during which they do their share of batting off overeager fans. We get a burst of political conviction when the Circle Jerks launch into the libertarian anthem “Red Tape”, but this dissipates by the time they start playing “I Just Want a Skank”. We spend some time with the Alice Bag Band and then are treated to a montage of interviews with punk fans. These are shot in monochrome with stark backgrounds and a single bulb providing the lighting, which has the effect of bringing them and their words into sharp relief. We hear similar stories again and again, of aimlessness and aggression, the subjects using the music both as an outlet for their frustrations and inspiration for violence.

Spheeris’ camera has been largely nonjudgmental, yet there’s an undeniable sadness in this sequence. But lest I make it sound that the movie makes punk seem uniformly depressing, the closing sequence provides a potent antidote. The electrifying final minutes of the film feature a performance by Fear (who are not interviewed). The atmosphere here is hostile, with the band riling up the audience with homophobic and misogynistic taunting and having to physically fight them off throughout their set list. It might be tempting to liken their shtick to cheap alt-rightish provocation, but I think that robs their music of the proper context. When almost all their peers and fans adopt an attitude of “everything sucks”, Fear’s ability to find the humour in that mentality is kind of refreshing. It also would ignore the sheer muscularity of the delivery, which almost turns the music into a form of violence. The film is undeniably a fascinating document, but while Spheeris may have had the good fortune of turning on her camera in the right place and right time (even if she had to pay to rent soundstages to film some of the performances), it’s moments like this of pure exhilaration that cement the film’s greatness.

Part II: The Metal Years takes place almost a decade later, with a drastically new context and perspective. This time the focus is on the L.A. metal scene, which was a dominant cultural force unlike hardcore punk ever was. And this time around Spheeris’ POV is less of impartial observation and more satirical condescension. Taken journalistically, the movie is obviously compromised, particularly in an interview of Ozzy Osbourne that’s misleadingly edited to make it look like he has the shakes. I wish the movie hadn’t done this, as Ozzy is a flamboyant enough presence that he’s already funny without needing to frame him into gags, something Spheeris acknowledged in an interview years after the fact. Ozzy and a few other veterans of the scene are not immune to metal culture’s innate ridiculousness (the movie’s biggest laugh for me was Spheeris’ deadpan reaction to Steven Tyler’s extended masturbation metaphor to describe the rock’n’roll lifestyle). It’s worth noting that Spheeris asked her subjects how they wanted to be filmed, leading to such choice setups as Gene Simmons in a lingerie store and Paul Stanley in a bed full of scantily clad models. (Lemmy allegedly took offense to how he was portrayed, claiming Spheeris shot him from afar to make him look stupid, but I don’t think he comes across badly. He’s low key and unassuming in a way that contrasts him from the other participants, at the very least in terms of appearance).

The structure of this entry is tighter, using snippets of different interviews to flesh out different ideas, exploring the decadence and excess of the music and the surrounding culture. We even hear from the anti-metal folks, particularly in one amusing scene where a woman describes the dangerous potential of metal fashion with the solemnity of a cop or anti-gun advocate describing illegal firearms. Performance footage is limited to brief excerpts, usually for comic relief (assless chaps and a limp attempt to set fire to a Soviet flag are highlights), although we do get an extended look at a sleazy stripping context. (The club owners featured seem as much into the metal lifestyle as some of the musicians and fans, in sharp contrast to the genial working class types featured in the first and third entries.) The most notorious segment of the film is the interview with Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P., who lounges in a pool in alcoholic self loathing, which probably went farther in deflating the excitement around the metal scene than any single moment. Yet like the first film, this one refuses to lock into too narrow view of its subject and rebounds with a Megadeth performance that goes a long way in showing that yes, this music can in fact be good. (I should say that I enjoy my share of hair metal, which Megadeth is decidedly not, but the songs earlier in the film don’t do the best job of selling the genre. Although anything would look lame with assless chaps.) This movie is more obviously flawed than the original, but I can’t help but kind of love it. The fact is that the metal musicians and fans, despite being somewhat boneheaded, are also full of good vibes and fun to hang around (more so than the self-serious punk fans in the original), and the movie is quite slick and stylish by documentary standards, which makes the film true to its subject matter in a a way. I mean, you open the movie with Motorhead and I’m half won over already, and I haven’t stopped thinking (and smiling) about it since I’ve seen it.

The good vibes don’t carry over to Part III, which follows a group of homeless gutter punks in L.A. around another decade later. Once again there’s a change in context and perspective, with Spheeris coming across as more compassionate and maternal. The musicians here offer a more sobering, grounded presence. The veterans here, Keith Morris and Rick Wilder, come across as survivors more than anything, particularly the latter with his skeletal, emaciated appearance. The music this time around is almost beside the point, although we do get the sense that it offers the main subjects one of their only sources of relief. Their stories are similar. Broken homes. Forced onto the streets. Substance abuse. The movie feels like extended versions of the Darby Crash scenes and the interviews from the original, but with the grim consequences covered in the final moments, and the film’s sense of despair is alleviated only by the compassion Spheeris brings to the material. I can’t see myself returning to this as readily as it’s more downbeat and less dynamic than the previous movies, but it is undeniably moving, and had a profound effect on Spheeris as well, who decided to become a foster parent after her experience making this movie.

#film #movie review #the decline of western civilization #the decline of western civilization part ii: the metal years #the decline of western civilization part iii #penelope spheeris

[genderqueerwizard]

there really is no experience like being asked if being nonbinary is fun while the soviet unions national anthem is being played in the background on the piano is there

[viniter]

So I haven't listened to Spotify much this year, which in result made my Wrapped pretty wild.

Some of the highlights:

That One Day I decided to play sea shanties all day made Shanty as one of my top 5 genres... I guess Spotify now thinks I'm fuckin' pirate... shout out to The Longest Johns and their Moby Duck, it's fuckin' hillarious this is my number 1 artist

The one time we decided to play Soviet Kitchen Unleashed with Russian anthem in the background made goddamn Red Army Choir my number 5

La Roux's Bulletproof very deservedly number 1, my go to get pumped song this year

Out of Touch Thursday

K.Flay and Von Bondies up there as always

Bitch by Meredith Brooks as number 69

Birds of Prey OST still represented (when was it released even? cinemas were a thing back then) - Smile by Maisie Peters which is an absolute bop

[jongdaedreamer]

Nct Dream: My Page

Shinee: no, Our Page

*soviet communist anthem plays in background*

#what even is this? #i saw the teaser and couldn't help myself #i wanna know what these pages are tho #my page #nct dream #nct #nct meme #shinee #our page

[wrenmustdie]

YO MOMMA'S watching the super bowl -party poison

OUR momma’s watching the super bowl

*soviet anthem begins playing in the background*

#asks🍭

[rainydawgradioblog]

10000 Lépés:Omega

During the early 1960s in Budapest, Hungary Gábor Presser brought together his close friends to start the rock band Omega. After five years of playing cover music the band started composing their own songs. Their first record, Trombitás Frédi és a Rettenetes Emberek in 1967 ended up being a wonderful combination of psychedelic rock, early British rock, and Hungarian folk music. This album gained the band a large following in their home country despite the large Soviet anti-western music sentiments at the time. Although their first album danced around the influence of American and western music their next album 10000 Lépés dove straight into the purest forms of the blues, rock and roll, and jazz. Omega fills this album with epic vocal screeches, powerfully sung choruses, and lyrics that protest against the Soviet rule. 10000 Lépés has turned into a progressive rock classic.

The album opens up with “Petróleum Lámpa(Kerosene Lamp)” a light hearted song that sounds like a carnival. The song is chock full of cheesy, potent bass lines, a stringy sounding guitar, and chanting vocals. This is accompanied by a piano and harmonica poking out blues lines with a powerful drum set punching out cartoon-like rhythms. Even though I can not understand a single word “Petróleum Lámpa” is still a fun, and danceable song. The proceeding song “Gyöngyhajú lány(Pearl-haired girl) is lyrically a folk song about the life of a random girl, but is musically so much more. It opens with these eerie guitar licks that plunge straight into a fantastic chorus that opens up with thunderous drums that cascade across your ears. Then the epic guitar riff comes in and at first can be mistaken as the sound of violins. Then during the riff the band members all chant together in harmony and are just infectiously great. The song follows a pattern between loud, high energy chorus and these quiet lows filled with a subtle blues guitar. The song goes out with a bang when during the final chorus the lead singer yells and howls over the band chanting and gives the mythical song a perfect send off. The next track “Tűzvihar(Firestorm)” is a perfect rendition of the blues. There are thunderous, constant drums providing a punk beat and a deep bass keeping the band in check. Over that the guitar and the vocals shine, lead guitarist Gyorgy Molnar rips out crisp, sustained power chords while occasionally throwing in a blues bend and even gives an amazing short solo that sounds like a solo Eric Clapton would play in his Derek and the Dominos years. The choruses are filled with more amazing vocals that sound like two men chanting, it gives me such an urge to sing along even though I don’t speak the language. The next track “Udvari bolond kenyere(Court fool bread)” is this basic yet fun song that feels like the Hungarian version of the late Beatles and a campfire song. Then “Kérgeskezű favágók(hardwood lumberjacks)” is a complete change of pace. It starts off with nature noises in the background and flows into what sounds like a Frank Zappa inspired blues jam with a flute. It also flows into this amazing jazz drums solo and is overall an amazing song. “Tékozló fiúk(prodigal sons)” is another clearly Frank Zappa inspired song. It has a full sounding blues guitar with unique vocal squeals and cries that all flow into an awkward, yet rockable sound which is extremely fun to rock along to. Then “Tízezer lépés(ten thousand steps)” starts and this amazing rock anthem starts with shuffling drums, growing humms, raspy vocals, and eventually a fiery electric guitar comes in and just shreds out the most amazing licks. It is followed by “Az 1958-as boogie-woogie klubban(at the 1958 boogie-woogie club) which sounds so much like a classic Ray Charles song. It is so light hearted and bluesy it just makes me want to dance along. Then the next track “Spanyolgitár legenda(spanish guitar legend)” contains a consonant, melancholy acoustic guitar backed up by a steady drumbeat and violins which brings a fullness to the tune. Finally the album ends with “Félbeszakadt koncert(interrupted concert)” a dynamic and truly unique song. With a sharp lead guitar leading the charge the band flows between dirty blues, hard rock, punk feel, and gospel blues at an alarmingly fast rate. Anytime I start to feel the groove of the song the groove completely changes but that is exactly what makes this song so lovable.

Omega is a band that oozes with American influence. It is so obvious and apparent throughout the whole album. They don’t imitate the music though, they add to it and make it better in their own way. Whether it is providing their unique vocal harmonies, constantly moving guitar, or their own Hungarian rock and roll spirit they clearly create something worth listening to. 10000 Lépés is a unique rock album that is an experience to listen to for the first time.

-Adam Kazden

[aion-rsa]

Does Cyberpunk 2077’s PlayStation Store Removal Make it The Worst Launch Ever?

https://ift.tt/3h8eYRS

Late last night, Sony revealed via the PlayStation website that they have decided to honor refund requests for those who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via the PlayStation Store. More importantly, they have decided to remove Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store “until further notice.”

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red was quick to respond to this decision with one of their “yellow background tweets of doom” that have come to define the year in Cyberpunk 2077 updates. In it, the team noted they were aware of Sony’s decision and are still working to improve the game and get it back on the PlayStation Store as soon as possible.

Important Update for @PlayStation Users pic.twitter.com/fCB4z74M3z

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 18, 2020

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The word you want to use at times like this is “surprising.” Yet, nothing about this is surprising to anyone who has been following Cyberpunk 2077 since the game launched last week. Not only did Cyberpunk 2077‘s PS4 and Xbox One versions launch with a shocking amount of serious technical issues that surpassed even the most cynical expectations of the game’s performance, but CD Projekt Red previously encouraged players to pursue refunds for those versions of the game. At that time, though, no special refund policy had officially been implemented by Sony or Microsoft. Sony has obviously now done just that, while Microsoft just announced that they’re instituting an expanded refund policy for all Microsoft Store purchases of the game.

What we’re left with now are unanswered questions. While “When will Cyberpunk 2077 return to the PlayStation Store?” and “What happened to this game?” are near the top of that list, the one I keep coming back to most has to be “Is Cyberpunk 2077‘s debut the worst game launch ever?”

While the subject of anything being the “worst,” is inherently subjective, you can start having a productive conversation about Cyberpunk 2077‘s historical standing by taking a look at some of the other worst debuts in video game history while trying to be as objective as possible about how Cyberpunk 2077 compares.

For instance, there have been countless smaller games that launched either entirely broken or as barely disguised phishing attempts. Obviously, Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t quite at that level. There have also been games that were essentially doomed to fail for eternity due to a variety of bad decisions. The War Z‘s developers, for instance, starting banning players for criticizing their broken game full of empty promises. There’s also the strange case of the MMO ArcheAge which made it nearly impossible to access the game’s land ownership feature due to the fact that hackers had pretty bought all the land hours after the game launched. Cyberpunk 2077 has its problems, but at least there have been some PC players who have been able to get some kind of enjoyment out of it.

At the same time, Cyberpunk 2077 is clearly in worse shape than titles like World of Warcraft or GTA Online which just couldn’t support the number of people that tried to play them at launch. We’re far beyond a simple case of not anticipating demand.

No Man’s Sky is another game that’s being referenced quite a lot lately, but that comparison isn’t entirely accurate. No Man’s Sky was a much smaller game that ultimately fell victim to official and unofficial hype. It came from a largely unproven studio that really only made a name for itself during the game’s marketing period. It ultimately proved to be a lesson in expectation management rather than a technological nightmare that represented some of the worst elements of Triple-A gaming.

By comparison, Cyberpunk 2077 is a high-profile game from a respected developer that launched with a variety of technical problems and design shortcomings that resulted in drastic measures being taken in an attempt to salvage whatever hope the game has left. It’s when you compare the game to the other titles in that category that you start to appreciate its qualifications for the dubious title of “worst launch ever.”

While I’ve heard Cyberpunk 2077 be compared to two of its more immediate and recent peers (Anthem and Fallout 76), it’s important to remember that the hype for those games was muted somewhat by loud cries from those who felt that those developers and franchises shouldn’t go in those directions in the first place. The hype for Cyberpunk 2077 was rarely muted despite attempts to point out some of the red flags that had emerged.

Cyberpunk 2077 certainly shares disappointment DNA with Batman: Arkham Knight. They are, after all, two high-profile seemingly “can’t miss” games from established developers that launched on certain platforms in a nearly unplayable state and were eventually pulled from storefronts. At least that game’s problems were limited to PC, though, whereas even Cyberpunk 2077‘s ideal platforms suffer from notable issues.

What about Diablo 3 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection? Again, they were both seemingly can’t miss titles from major studios that launched with a variety of controversial design decisions and technical issues. In both cases, though, I feel like the heated discussions around both of those games would have been cooled somewhat if their online services had been more reliable.

When I really look at it, Cyberpunk 2077 reminds me more of games like Too Human, Daikatana, and Assassin’s Creed: Unity. All of those single-player focused titles were hyped to death, developed by notable names, attracted quite a bit of controversy, and launched in nearly unplayable states. Cyberpunk 2077 even shares some design concepts with Daikatana, and Assassin’s Creed: Unity forced Ubisoft to embrace desperate measures by giving away free games in an attempt to calm everyone down.

Yet, when you get right down to it, there are factors that separate Cyberpunk 2077 from its peers.

Read more

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How the Cyberpunk 2077 Soundtrack Found Its Dystopian Sound in a Soviet-Era Synthesizer

By Bernard Boo

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Cyberpunk 2077: Every Ending Explained

By Matthew Byrd

We’ve already talked about Cyberpunk 2077‘s controversial road to release, but it’s very much worth reminding everyone that CD Projekt Red’s reputation was already being chipped away at by those who had legitimate concerns about the company’s culture. While that reputation was defended by the studio’s passionate fanbase, even some of those supporters are starting to question whether CD Projekt Red’s customer-friendly image is a crumbling facade.

There’s also the issue of the game’s development. CD Projekt has delayed Cyberpunk 2077‘s release three times in 2020 as part of their attempt to optimize the game. After one of those delays, it was revealed that the company had instituted a “crunch” schedule. So not only is Cyberpunk 2077 a bug-ridden nightmare, but it’s a bug-ridden nightmare that’s long development cycle must now be measured in financial and human costs along with the concerns regarding inherent problems with the game’s direction.

Do you know what really separates Cyberpunk 2077 from its fellow disappointments, though? It’s the fact that the versions of the game that perform the worst are the ones that really needed to work the most.

While it seems that many (or even most) of the Cyberpunk 2077 pre-orders came from PC players, all reports indicate that the game was set to be a hit among console gamers as well. Some early projections suggested that the game could eventually sell over 30 million units, and CD Projekt Red had previously indicated that Cyberpunk 2077 recouped its budget shortly after the game’s launch. It was clear that a wide variety of gamers were looking forward to this game as a way to end what has been a truly miserable year on something of a high note.

Instead, CD Projekt Red turned in frankly embarrassing ports at a time when many console gamers are unable to find the next-gen consoles which can at least run the game somewhat respectfully. As an added twist, Cyberpunk 2077‘s PS4 version was so bad that it now prevents PS5 gamers from being able to download it digitally. It’s important to also remember that Cyberpunk 2077 began its life as a PS4/Xbox One game. That only furthered the assumption that the game would at least run respectfully on those platforms even if the next-gen and PC versions would obviously be the “optimal” ways to experience it.

In a year that saw many studios make hard decisions and further delay their projects in order to best serve the people making them and the people who would eventually play them, CD Projekt Red pulled off the bad development trifecta with delay frustrations, crunch scheduling, and an ultimately broken game most readily available on platforms utterly incapable of handling it. Suddenly, that massive Halo Infinite delay makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?

Worst launch ever? At this point, it’s all semantics. What matters is that Cyberpunk 2077‘s removal from the PlayStation store puts it in rare company at a time when CD Projekt Red had every opportunity and every advantage needed to prevent exactly this kind of scenario from ever happening.

The post Does Cyberpunk 2077’s PlayStation Store Removal Make it The Worst Launch Ever? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[oscopelabs]

Ignite the Light: How Katy Perry’s “Firework” Brings Scenes From Three Very Different Movies to Life by Josh Bell

When Katy Perry’s “Firework” begins playing for the first time in Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone, it’s not especially noticeable. The song is part of the background music at Marineland, the aquatic park where Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) works as an orca trainer, one of several upbeat pop songs that serve to get the crowd excited during the routine animal performances in the outdoor amphitheater. It’s only after the minute-long section of the song has ended, and the soundtrack has shifted to tense orchestral music, that it becomes clear how indelibly “Firework” will be seared into Stephanie’s psyche, probably for the rest of her life.

The presence of contemporary pop songs like “Firework,” especially in mainstream Hollywood movies, is usually unremarkable and often little more than an afterthought, with songs just as likely chosen for marketing purposes as for artistic ones. But filmmakers with strong visions can harness the undeniable power of a huge pop hit like “Firework” and transform it into an essential storytelling tool, as Audiard does in Rust and Bone and as the directors of the far more multiplex-friendly movies The Interview and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted do as well. It may be a coincidence that the filmmakers behind all three movies chose “Firework” for the most pivotal and memorable moments in their films, but it’s no coincidence that Perry’s empowerment anthem has the ability to speak to artists with very different creative goals.

Written by Perry along with Ester Dean, StarGate, and Sandy Vee and taken from Perry’s 2010 album Teenage Dream, “Firework” is one of Perry’s biggest hits, and it seems tailor-made for the movies, with its soaring earworm chorus and its inspirational lyrics that are specific enough to stick in your mind (the singular use of “firework” is especially uncommon) but generic enough to apply to almost any situation involving believing in yourself and pursuing your dreams. It’s not necessarily a great song, but it’s the right song for what each of these films is aiming to convey at a particular moment.

The second time that “Firework” surfaces in Rust and Bone, about 50 minutes after the first, its significance is clear: Stephanie is now in a wheelchair, following an accident that left her legs severed below the knee. The choreographed performance between orcas and trainers, set to “Firework,” was the last thing she experienced before her terrible injury, and the song is now a symbol of the life she’s lost and has struggled to rebuild. Much of that rebuilding has come from her burgeoning relationship with Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts), an underground mixed martial-arts fighter and itinerant laborer who has shown her more compassion and patience than anyone else in her life. The two have just had sex for the first time, in a scene that is sweet and passionate and a little awkward, and Ali has left Stephanie’s apartment with a casual farewell that doesn’t match her clearly stronger feelings of attachment.

Vulnerable yet undaunted, Stephanie sits on her balcony, Audiard’s camera first capturing her from behind. As Audiard cuts to a side view of Stephanie, she slowly starts miming the hand motions from her aquatic performance, first in silence and then as “Firework” gradually fades in on the soundtrack. As it does in most instances in all three of these movies, the song begins here with the line “Ignite the light and let it shine,” sparking the light in Stephanie’s eyes as her hands are outstretched and open. The song builds to its chorus as her motions become more confident, forceful. Her expression goes from wistful to triumphant, her hands poised and powerful, pumping to the beat. As the song continues to play, Audiard cuts to Stephanie, using a cane and her new prosthetic legs, walking for the first time into the empty amphitheater where she used to perform. She’s finally found the inner strength to confront her trauma, and while a lot of that came from Ali, plenty of it came from Katy Perry, too.

There’s a surprising amount of emotional power to the use of “Firework” in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s The Interview as well, even if it first appears as the target of a somewhat obvious joke. Vain talk show host Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his more pragmatic producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) have traveled to North Korea to interview dictator Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), an apparent superfan of Dave’s vapid celebrity-interview show. They’ve also been tasked by a CIA agent (Lizzy Caplan) with secretly assassinating Kim, although Dave has started to bond with the lonely despot, who has a secret fondness for cheesy American culture.

What better representative for bubblegum American pop in the early ’10s than “Firework”? When Dave and Kim are sitting in a Soviet tank that Kim says was a gift to his father from Joseph Stalin, Dave turns on the internal sound system, to Kim’s protests, and soon “Firework” starts playing softly (beginning, of course, with “Ignite the light and let it shine”). Kim stammers that he’s never heard the song before, but Dave the ugly American loves Katy Perry, and immediately starts singing along. That opens the flood gates for Kim, who admits to loving margaritas and identifying with the opening line of “Firework.” “You know Dave, sometimes I feel like a plastic bag …” he begins, and Dave finishes: “Drifting through the wind?” Kim does a little dance, and their bond is solidified.

Rogen and Goldberg cap the joke by turning the volume up on “Firework,” shifting it from the tinny diegetic sounds of the tank’s internal speakers to blaring and pulsing on the soundtrack, over a montage of Dave and Kim triumphantly riding the tank through the adjacent woods, and then blowing up a bunch of trees as they sing along to Perry’s “Boom, boom, boom!” “Firework” goes from a secret guilty pleasure to the anthem of their friendship and their glee over wanton destruction.

It’s a silly, fun bit in a movie that mostly exists to turn serious geopolitics into silly fun, but that fun takes a dark (if still comedic) turn when “Firework” comes back near the end of the movie. Now disillusioned about their alleged friendship, Dave wants to expose Kim as a fraud, during the internationally televised interview. Pressing Kim to reveal his emotional weaknesses, Dave pulls out the one thing he knows will get a response: “I just have one more question for you: Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?” As Dave sings the lyrics, Kim breaks down crying, revealing to the world that he’s a scared little boy inside. If it’s possible to feel sympathy for a cartoonish version of Kim Jong-un in a gross-out comedy, then this is the point at which that happens.

Directors Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath don’t have nearly as much on their minds for their use of “Firework” in the third Madagascar animated movie, but the song nevertheless provides the backbone for the movie’s most visually inventive sequence, probably the most memorable moment in the entire Madagascar series. For reasons that are far too convoluted to get into, the series’ main zoo-animal characters—lion Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller), zebra Marty (Chris Rock), hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) and giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer)—are hiding out with the animals of a circus traveling through Europe, and they need to wow an American promoter in order to get a contract to perform in New York City (which will bring the zoo animals home).

After witnessing the sad state of the circus acts, the main characters take it upon themselves to overhaul the entire show, despite their complete lack of circus knowledge. There certainly isn’t a lot of realism in the Madagascar movies, but Europe’s Most Wanted takes things in an especially absurdist and surreal direction, even before the trippy “Firework” sequence, which is entirely divorced from physics or logic. The make-or-break performance opens with surly Russian tiger Vitaly (Bryan Cranston) attempting to re-create a legendary stunt that went wrong, as he jumps through a flaming hoop that looks about the size of a wedding ring. After he somehow manages that feat, the crowd goes wild, and Vitaly extinguishes the tiny ring of fire, picks up the baton that was holding the ring and places it in the ground—and the movie transforms into a kaleidoscopic dreamscape.

There’s no gradual fade-in as “Firework” starts here; this is not a movie interested in subtlety. Once again, it begins with “Ignite the light and let it shine,” and the light here is literal: There’s an explosion of color as Vitaly’s baton activates a swirling, multi-colored platform like something out of a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, only reaching impossibly high, taller than even the tallest circus tent. There’s no sense of physical limitations as the movie presents a bear on a motorcycle riding perpendicular to the crowd in the stands; dogs on rocket-powered skates shooting out what look like actual fireworks; Alex and sultry jaguar Gia flinging themselves about on rings of pure colored lights (which then become cannons to shoot other animals into the air); Melman and Gloria walking tightropes that are simply beams of light; and elephants shooting multi-hued flames from their trunks. The crowd goes wild, but it’s impossible to tell where the crowd even is, in relation to the performers.

On the Europe’s Most Wanted DVD commentary track, the directors note that editor Nick Fletcher specifically cut the circus sequence to “Firework,” demonstrating how important the song was to the movie’s development. Rogen, too, notes the importance of “Firework” to The Interview’s creative process in his DVD commentary: “Katy Perry is fucking cool as shit, and the fact that she let us do this is cool as shit,” he enthuses in his typical blunt manner. For his part, Audiard is more reserved about Rust and Bone’s wheelchair “Firework” scene, although it’s easily the movie’s most emotionally powerful moment, and a distillation of Cotillard’s masterful performance, as she conveys Stephanie’s difficult journey in just a few looks and hand movements. It was Cotillard, Audiard says on the movie’s commentary track, who convinced him to shoot the scene, which was initially just two lines in the script that he wasn’t sure he wanted to include. He ignited the light, and then she let it shine.

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