Why, of course you can repeat the past... (GE DCC)

[Shining Raichu]

Not at all! I started watching 90210 and Gossip Girl and for one reason or another couldn't get into them, but The O.C. and One Tree Hill I've watched fairly religiously! I have all 4 seasons of The O.C. on DVD, though I stopped watching One Tree Hill when Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton left at the end of Season 6.

Also, not sure if Buffy the Vampire Slayer counts, but I maintain that it is to this day the most amazing show of all time.

[Melves]

The exact same thing with One Tree Hill! Lucas and Peyton were my favorite characters and after a friend spoiled the ending of season 6, I stopped watching the series all together not wanting to imaging the show without the two. The O.C is just pure awesomeness, yet the last season was a little boring;

Spoiler:

Marissa death was too surprising for me and I almost stopped watching the show. But, considering my favorite character was Seth (Why? I don't remember, lol), I had to continue for just that sake. >.<

Gossip Girl's first season and the beginning of the second one were pretty good, but then..disastrous, in terms of character development, events, and plot. 90210 is just something I perpetuate to fill the boredom gap.

I want to start watching it! Is it that good? The ratings seem high and the characters look interesting. Might give it try some day.

[Shining Raichu]

There was just no point continuing to watch after Lucas and Peyton left lol - I did watch the first episode of the next Season but it sucked without them. The characters aren't interesting anymore.

Which show are you referring to in your last line?

[Vendak]

Originally Posted by BinaryPeaches

Also, I'm trying to listen to more English music in general, so if anyone can mention some of their favorite bands/songs that I could check out would be wonderful.

I'mma assume you mean bands from the UK and not just English language music.

There's old school popular rock like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Jam, David Bowie, The Smiths, The Cure. Then there's Britpop from the 90s with bands like Pulp, Oasis, Blur, and Suede. Radiohead, Placebo and Muse have all been significant through the 00s.

If you like metal you might like punk rock, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Stranglers.
Siouxsie & the Banshees have a really good female vocalist.


I'm not familiar with Within Temptation, but I hear them categorized with Epica and After Forever a lot, in case you haven't heard of them.

[Razor Leaf]

BinaryPeaches, try Stream of Passion. I imagine them being similar to what you're after. Passion, Deceiver and The Scarlet Mark are probably decent starting points.

As for the English music thing, there's quite a lot to work with. I agree with other people in that Gorillaz are a good starting point. I'll just list random stuff.

• Gorillaz - Check out some of the stuff from this album, then get Demon Days imo.
• Jamie T - Quite hard to get into for some people I guess. Check out some of his more popular stuff like If You Got The Money, Sticks 'n' Stones and The Man's Machine. If you're into that then have a look at Kings & Queens then Panic Prevention.
• Chase & Status - Massive electronic / DnB / occasional rap from London. Check out Let You Go, Time, Against All Odds and Hitz (strong language). They cover loads of stuff so this is hardly representative, though. Most of those are from No More Idols.
• Nero - London house and dubstep. See if you like Guilt, Promises, Me And You and Act Like You Know. They have one full album, it's called Welcome Reality.
• Pendulum - Australian DnB relocated to the UK for the majority of their musical career. One of my favourites. They have a load of good stuff so rather than just listing things, I think you can take a look at their last.fm page for ideas.
• Pink Floyd - I don't know much about them, but they're absolute giants. Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall are both great.
• The Stone Roses - Love Fool's Gold by them.
• Ed Sheeran - Pretty big acoustic pop stuff right now. The A Team and You Need Me I Don't Need You are both pretty big right now.

I... went a bit overboard there. I'll let you get through those and if you want more then I have loads.


I've thanked a few of you already, but thanks to everyone who rec'd me stuff! I'll get to it asap.

[BinaryPeaches]

Originally Posted by Vendak

I'mma assume you mean bands from the UK and not just English language music.

There's old school popular rock like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Jam, David Bowie, The Smiths, The Cure. Then there's Britpop from the 90s with bands like Pulp, Oasis, Blur, and Suede. Radiohead, Placebo and Muse have all been significant through the 00s.

If you like metal you might like punk rock, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Stranglers.
Siouxsie & the Banshees have a really good female vocalist.


I'm not familiar with Within Temptation, but I hear them categorized with Epica and After Forever a lot, in case you haven't heard of them.

I actually mean music in the English Language in general, since I have so much Japanese in my folders and not enough English and apart from what I hear on the radio, I don't hear/know much. I'll be sure to give these bands a shot! I've heard of some of these (like the Beatles, which I basically grew up with) so yeah. Thanks!

@Team Fail (Because I'm too lazy to quote): The more recommendations the merrier! I'll be sure to give your recommendations a shot as well! Thanks!

[Scarf]

I sort of know what Within Temptation sounds like so let me recommend my current obsession Florence and the Machine to you. I know on their faces they shouldn't be anything alike, but they are both female-fronted acts that have some dramatic, powerful, sometimes dark songs.

[Razor Leaf]

Originally Posted by BinaryPeaches

I actually mean music in the English Language in general, since I have so much Japanese in my folders and not enough English and apart from what I hear on the radio, I don't hear/know much. I'll be sure to give these bands a shot! I've heard of some of these (like the Beatles, which I basically grew up with) so yeah. Thanks!

whooooops I misinterpreted you completely. All the stuff I listed was from the UK specifically. Still check it out though!

[Scarf]

Can anyone recommend some good dystopian-themed books? I just read The Handmaid's Tale and am going through The Hunger Games (which I already read, but forgot all the plot of). I've read 1984 and know of the some of the bigger name ones like Fahrenheit 451, but I'm hoping there's some gem of a book someone knows about that I've never heard of.

[Scarf]

I have a question. Is Vampire Diaries worth watching? A friend showed me the first episode (which was pretty bad), but insists it's still a really good show. The vibe I get from it is that it's a vampire love triangle drama (hello there True Blood, Twilight, Buffy), and if that's the main selling point I'd like to know if there's anything else in it that might appeal to someone who doesn't necessarily think vampire love triangles make the best drama.

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Scarf

I have a question. Is Vampire Diaries worth watching? A friend showed me the first episode (which was pretty bad), but insists it's still a really good show. The vibe I get from it is that it's a vampire love triangle drama (hello there True Blood, Twilight, Buffy), and if that's the main selling point I'd like to know if there's anything else in it that might appeal to someone who doesn't necessarily think vampire love triangles make the best drama.

Vampire Diaries (along with the rest of the vampire spawn that was created because of the popularity of Twilight) should die the way vampires are supposed to die, with a stake through the heart. The plot is terrible, the actors are even worse and do not even get me started on the fact that the only reason people watch it is because the actors are all attractive. If I were you, I would steer clear of this show and even carry around garlic to ward off it's presence.

[Mr Cat Dog]

I'd completely disagree with Harlequin, actually. If you like ridiculously plot-heavy stuff, then there's nothing quite like Vampire Diaries, which has the ability to get through about 4 seasons' worth of plot in the space of a quarter of that time. And while some of the cast leave a lot to be desired in the charisma department, I happen to think that Nina Dobrev's (the main character) one of the best actresses working on television. There's obviously a massive amount of suspension of disbelief (but considering your taste for stuff of a Whovian nature, I'm guessing that won't be a problem) and it is quite vampire-y... but unlike True Blood it actually has plotlines that make cogent sense and has characters that you actually have empathy towards.

If you do decide to watch it, I'd start from the beginning of season 2. I'd heard bad things about season 1, so started at #2 and caught up in the space of an episode.

[Scarf]

Originally Posted by Mr Cat Dog

I'd completely disagree with Harlequin, actually. If you like ridiculously plot-heavy stuff, then there's nothing quite like Vampire Diaries, which has the ability to get through about 4 seasons' worth of plot in the space of a quarter of that time. And while some of the cast leave a lot to be desired in the charisma department, I happen to think that Nina Dobrev's (the main character) one of the best actresses working on television. There's obviously a massive amount of suspension of disbelief (but considering your taste for stuff of a Whovian nature, I'm guessing that won't be a problem) and it is quite vampire-y... but unlike True Blood it actually has plotlines that make cogent sense and has characters that you actually have empathy towards.

If you do decide to watch it, I'd start from the beginning of season 2. I'd heard bad things about season 1, so started at #2 and caught up in the space of an episode.

Oh, I like this suggestion. I'll have to do it behind my friend's back because she would throttle me if I watched something out of order, but if it gets me to a place where the show is actually good then I don't think I'll need to bother with any of the bad stuff.

I just hope it is good. I really like vampire stories, but most of the popular ones have been bad. And, like, bad in a way that isn't enjoyable.

[Mr Cat Dog]

I've been looking at loads of year-in-review lists over the past couple of days, and it's always the music ones that seem to inspire me the most. I've seen (or will see in the near future) nearly everything on the film/TV lists, but the music ones are a real eye-opener to new stuff. More specifically, I never really take an effort to find new music throughout the year, so things like this are really good for me.

This year, I think the best discovery I've found so far has been tUnE-yArDs, whose 2011 album w h o k i l l a is all sorts of brilliant. Here's the lead track off of it. If you like it, I encourage you to check out the rest of the album; if you don't... well, you probs won't like it!

[Scarf]

It's unfortunate that the music video you posted starts out with children. I feel like I could have given it a better chance if I didn't want to stop it after 10 seconds.

So anyone looking to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows should enjoy it if they enjoyed the first one. It's one of those movies where everything fits together and nothing seems wasted. And speaking of the great detective, the miniseries Sherlock (which is great and everyone should see it) is going to have new episodes very soon and I'm super excited for that. It'll be fun to have them so close together so I can compare.

[Mew~]

Scarf, if your thinking of watching/reading The Vampire Diaries, you should totally check out "The Secret Circle" first, it's only 10 ten episodes in, which is great since it'll be easy to catch up with time, but basically it's about a group a witches. It's based on the books that were written by the same author of the Vampire Diaries, but yeah - it's seriously good stuff, it's gets really dark soon too, so even if you start and think of giving up on it, at least try and watch up to at least episode 4/5.

Harlequin, if you haven't already listened to this, you should check it out, I think you'd like it;

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Mew~

Harlequin, if you haven't already listened to this, you should check it out, I think you'd like it;

Oh my god, I've seen her all over Tumblr the last few days and I didn't think to try her out because I thought she was just a fad, y'know? But damn, now that I've given her a try I am very impressed with this Lana Del Ray.

[Mr Cat Dog]

Everyone needs to go see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (and to forgive the crappy punctuation in the title) like, nownownow. If you can see it in IMAX, it's even better. Just go see it. The Dubai stuff alone would make one hell of a film, but it's bookended by some amazing schizz in Moscow and Mumbai, and features a lot of Tom Cruise running, which is always good.

[Scarf]

I have a hard time believing any movie with Tom Cruise in it can be good. Call me prejudiced, but how many of these movies can they keep making?

[Saitou]

True, to an extent but I wouldn't debase the movies Tom Cruise starred in, just some of the formulaic, generically approached ones such as Knight and Day; has anyone watched A Few Good Men or Magnolia? Those are masterpieces.

Lately, I've taken a certain drift from my usual dose of movies. I began watching relatively old movies such as Se7en, Snatch, The Shawshank Redemption, and 12 Angry Men, all of which I recommend.

[deku]

Originally Posted by Scarf

Can anyone recommend some good dystopian-themed books? I just read The Handmaid's Tale and am going through The Hunger Games (which I already read, but forgot all the plot of). I've read 1984 and know of the some of the bigger name ones like Fahrenheit 451, but I'm hoping there's some gem of a book someone knows about that I've never heard of.

Dystopian books are my favorite genre. I'm always looking for a new one to read, so maybe we can swap titles. Currently I'm reading 1984, and it is one of the best books that I have read in a while. Anyways, here are some of the ones I've read. None of them were bad, but I wouldn't go as far as to call them gems, if you know what I mean.

I'm pretty sure that The Maze Runner series of books by James Dashner is dystopian themed, but I never read past the first book. I really enjoyed the first one (titled The Maze Runner), but it wasn't dystopian. I assume the second and third ones are dystopian because of the first one ended though. I never finished the series because I really disliked the way that the first book ended; it would have been way better as a stand-alone book.

Some of the best dystopian books that I have read are The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger, all written by Lois Lowry. They aren't a series, but they are sister books. They were amazing, and if you haven't read them I strongly suggest that you do.

Another amazing set of books, by Susan Beth Pfeffer are Life As We Knew It, The Dead and the Gone, and This World We Live In. They aren't one-hundred percent dystopian, but they have many of the themes in most dystopian books.

A book that I read recently is Divergent by Veronica Roth is also pretty good, though not as good as the books by Lowry and Pfeffer. There is also Unwind by Neil Shusterman which is amazingly written that I really enjoyed.

There are also some dystopian books that I have but haven't had time to read yet:
Feed by M.T. Anderson, the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, and The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch.
I hope that I mentioned something that you haven't read yet, and if you have any good dystopian books please suggest them for me!

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Saitou

, I've taken a certain drift from my usual dose of movies. I began watching relatively old movies such as Se7en, Snatch, The Shawshank Redemption, and 12 Angry Men, all of which I recommend.

hi i love you

Jumping on the Tom Cruise bandwagon, I enjoy him. His acting is... sub-par mostly, but I agree with Saitou's statement that Magnolia is a masterpiece. Most of Tom Cruise's movies should be taken with a grain of salt and not to be taken too seriously (Top Gun being the prime example, that movie was a barely disguised recruitment film for the air force) in order to really enjoy it. Chances are, if the movie has Tom Cruise, it's either going to be really average or utterly amazing.

[Mr Cat Dog]

Knight and Day was all kinds of horrible. M:I-GP is leagues ahead of it. While you still need to suspend your disbelief with the Mission: Impossible series, the newest one has some of the most amazing stunts I've ever seen captured on film. And it's in IMAX which makes it even more awesome!

[Vendak]

Tom Cruise doesn't act as a character, he acts as Tom Cruise. But he's still quite good at being Tom Cruise. Rain Main, Jerry Maguire, Collateral, The Last Samurai, Eyes Wide Shut, Vanilla Sky, Minority Report (although many disagree with those last two) are all good films he's been in. Some roles just work well with Cruise in them.

[Harlequin]

God, that reminds me, I still need to watch Jerry Maguire in full. Cuba Gooding Jr just bored me to death idk