American Jedi

EXPERIMENT #42
"AMERICAN JEDI"

FILM

Return of the Jedi (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Green Day's American Idiot, which I've already determined synchs up with Star Wars in thirty-five significant ways (click here to see how) and The Empire Strikes Back in fourteen significant ways (click here or scroll down to yesterday's post to see how).

As usual, I started this sucker right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alienation" in "American Idiot" is heard as the Star Wars logo is fading away. I heard it as "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alien nation," which makes slightly more sense (this happened on the other two movies as well, 'cause they all start the same way).

- The line "at the end of another lost highway" in "City of the Damned" is heard as we see the droids walking down the path to towards Jabba's palace.

- "Tales of Another Broken Home" ends with Billie Joe saying, "you're leaving" three or four times. On the last time, Threepio is taken away from the robot dungeon by a Gamorrean guard.

- In "Holiday," the line "another protester has crossed the line to find the money's on the other side" is heard as Oola argues with Jabba and meets her fate by being dropped into the Rancor pit.

- The phrase "lost and found" is heard in "St. Jimmy" as Han and Chewie reunite in Jabba's dungeon.

- The slow part of "St. Jimmy" starts as the door opens to reveal the Rancor.

- During the line "it's comedy and tragedy" in "St. Jimmy": the camera is on Jabba, who is laughing, during the "comedy" part, and it then cuts to the Rancor for the "tragedy" bit.

- The line "this sensation's overwhelming" in "Give Me Novacaine" coincides with a shot of the distraught Rancor keeper, who is crying because his pet is dead.

- We hear the line "I am standing all alone" in "The Death of St. Jimmy" as the camera is on Luke, who has just watched Yoda die.

- The line "he taught me how to live" is heard in "The Death of St. Jimmy" as we see Yoda's body fade away.

- Luke spots Obi-Wan's glowing ghost as the line "there's a glow of light" is heard in "The Death of St. Jimmy."

- The line "you can't tell anyone" is heard in "Nobody Likes You" right before the Death Star plans are shown.

NOTES

Yoda's lip movements almost matched up with one of the choruses in "Wake Me Up When September Ends." He got the "wake me up" part and "September," but everything else was off. I will accept the possibility that I may have been hallucinating.

So what's the deal with Frank Oz? Can anyone confirm or deny the fact that his normal speaking voice is exactly the same as Fozzie Bear's? I caught An American Werewolf in London last night before bed, and I refuse to believe he would do Fozzie's voice on purpose in a major film appearance. Was that a joke, ot what? Does he really talk like that? Someone help me out here. Thanks.

Imperial Idiot

EXPERIMENT #41
"IMPERIAL IDIOT"

FILM

The Empire Strikes Back (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

American Idiot by Green Day, the multi-platinum Grammy-winning punk rock opera that also synchs up with the original Star Wars in numerous significant ways (click here to see how).

As usual, I started this sucker right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alienation" in "American Idiot" is heard as the Star Wars logo is fading away. I heard it as "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alien nation," which makes slightly more sense.

- The drum breakdown toward the end of "American Idiot" coincides with the film cutting to the underside of the Star Destroyer. A few seconds later, the music cuts out exactly when the film cuts to the shot of the probot shooting towards Hoth (as Billie Joe sings, "Calling out to Idiot America."). Not terribly significant, but cool to see.

- The line "so it seems to confess it didn't say much" is heard in "City of the Damned" at the same time Han Solo tries to say goodbye to Princess Leia with getting "all mushy" (when he starts to bid Leia farewell, Han seems he is about to confess something, but then he doesn't say much).

- The line "signs misleading to nowhere" in "City of the Damned" is heard as Han and Leia argue in the corridor over how Leia has possibly mislead Han to believe she is in love with him.

- The Wampa dies as the line "to die in tragedy" is heard in "Tales of Another Broken Home."

- Luke is seen running out of the Wampa's cave as the line "to run, to run away" is heard in "Tales of Another Broken Home."

- The line "this is the dawning of the rest of our lives" in "Holiday" is heard seconds before Obi-Wan's first ghostly appearance (actually at the point where we hear Obi calling to Luke but do not see him).

- Han appears out of nowhere to rescue Luke as the line "can I get another amen?" is heard in "Holiday."

- "Are We The Waiting" plays during the scenes we see the Rebels preparing/waiting for the pending Imperial attack.

- At one point, we see Luke conversing with his co-pilot Dak, who says he feels like he could take on the whole Empire himself. During this exchange, the line "welcome to the club and give me some blood" is heard in "St. Jimmy."

- The line "his life on the line with anxiety now" is heard in "East 12th St." as Luke is nervously looking around his Dagobah camp site.

- The camera is on R2-D2, who is covered in all sorts of disgusting crap from being on Dagobah, when we hear the line "somebody get me out of here" in "East 12th St."

- That part of "Whatsername" where it gets real quiet and then real noisy coincides with Yoda dropping the goofball act and Luke realizing that this little green annoyance is the Jedi master he's been seeking.

- "Whatsername" fades out as Yoda tells Luke he will be afraid (concerning the Jedi training).

NOTES

I think there are a couple ways you could interpret that whole Dak/"Welcome to the club and give me some blood" thing. Since this is Dak's first appearance in the Star Wars trilogy, we can assume he's a new recruit. Therefore, he's "welcome to the club." Based on his gung-ho dialogue, I think it's safe to say his mantra is "give me some blood." Unfortunately for poor Dak, his quest for Imperial blood was short-lived; he bites it less than five minutes after we are introduced to him.

Another way to look at it could be that "welcome to the club" applies to Luke, who is on the left side of the screen during the conversation, and the "give me some blood" part applies to Dak, who is on the right. Like, "here's two guys: welcome to the club and give me some blood." Although we don't know for sure that Dak is a more seasoned pilot than Luke, we do know that Luke is pretty green. The only previous combat experience he has is the assault on the Death Star (where, by all accounts, he got very lucky and blew the damn thing up). He didn't even go to the Academy!

As for the experiment on the whole, I'd categorize it as "pretty neat." Not gangbusters, not a complete washout. That's all I can really ask for.

Bantha in the Rain

EXPERIMENT #40
"BANTHA IN THE RAIN"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Disc Four of the Led Zeppelin box set. According to the storyteller theory (a term I totally just made up), this last disc finds the three surviving members of Zep coming to terms with their legacy years after the group's breakup. Features one of my absolute least favorite songs of all time - "Fool in the Rain." There's also "Houses of the Holy," "In The Light," and a bunch of other tunes you've heard on the radio a bajillion times (it's amazing how much stuff from Led's late period makes the rounds on FM).

As usual, I started this sucker right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The weird guitar noise right before the solo in "In the Evening," which kind of sounds like an explosion, coincides with the Stormtroopers blasting through the door and opening fire on the crew of the Tantive IV.

- The lyric "got to have" in "In the Evening" is repeated as Darth Vader crushes that guy's neck aboard the Tantive IV. Vader was choking that guy because he "got to have" the intercepted Death Star plans.

- We see the Tusken Raiders crouched behind a rock, scoping out Luke and Threepio riding by in the landspeeder, as we hear the line "what's that creeping up behind a-you?" in "Wearing and Tearing" (okay, technically, they're not behind Luke and Threepio, they're more to the side of them, but they are creeping...or at least being creepy).

- In "Poor Tom," the line "there ain't nothin' you can hide from Tom" is heard right as Obi-Wan makes the Krayt dragon noise to scare the Tusken Raiders away from Luke's landspeeder.

- The line "my heart, it sinks to the ground" is heard in "Fool in the Rain" as Luke spots the charred remains of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

- Han Solo slides slowly into view for the first time as we hear the line "you'll find the road" in "In the Light" (Han Solo is the "road" Obi-Wan and Luke find to take them to Alderaan).

- As Obi-Wan leaves Luke to deactivate the Death Star's tractor beam, the line "is this to end or just begin?" is heard in "All of My Love." The answer? Both! Obi-Wan's life is to end a few minutes later, but Luke's journey to becoming a Jedi is just beginning.

NOTES

Not exactly one for the record books. Better than yesterday's experiment, though. More synchs and slightly less boring songs. Yeah, I said it. Meet me on the playground if you've got something to say.

You know, I once had a discussion with an older rock fan who informed me, quite firmly, "if you want to get laid, listen to Led Zeppelin." I just spent four days listening to Led Zeppelin, I didn't get laid once. Another myth busted.

The Led done been got out. Hope you enjoyed it. Next week, I'm trying American Idiot, The Chronic, and Dark Side of the Moon with Empire and Jedi. Here's the breakdown:

2/27: American Idiot with The Empire Strikes Back
2/28: American Idiot with Return of the Jedi
3/01: The Chronic with The Empire Strikes Back
3/02: The Chronic with Return of the Jedi
3/03: Dark Side of the Moon with The Empire Strikes Back

If I have time, I'll do Dark Side of the Moon with Jedi and post it on 3/04. Double true.

The Droid Remains the Same

EXPERIMENT #39
"THE DROID REMAINS THE SAME"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Disc Three of the Led Zeppelin box set, allegedly detailing the band's decline in popularity and eventual demise. Includes "Kashmir," "No Quarter," "Dancing Days," and "The Song Remains the Same," as well as a few other six to eight minute romps.

As usual, I started this disc right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "oh, I been flyin'" in "Kashmir" is heard as we see the Tantive IV flying through space, attempting to evade the Star Destroyer.

- One of the many times Robert Plant says, "it's alright" in "Dancing Days" coincides with the moment Luke comes to in the Jundland Wastes after the Tusken Raider attack.

- The line "don't it make you feel bad" in "When the Levee Breaks" is heard as Obi-Wan is telling Luke how his father died.

NOTES

Another hour plus of Zeppelin with dismal results. Thank God I only have one more day of this. I can't take any more slide guitar.

Going to Yavin 4

EXPERIMENT #38
"GOING TO YAVIN 4"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Disc Two of the Led Zeppelin box set. Culls tracks from the group's middle period (Led Zeppelin III through Physical Graffiti), a.k.a. when Zep ruled the world. "Black Dog," "Misty Mountain Hop," and "Rock and Roll" are among the classics here. Also contains the mother of all monster ballads - "Stairway to Heaven." If we are to believe the theory I touched upon yesterday concerning the box set's track listing as Zeppelin's story, then Disc Two relays all the decadence and debauchery the Leds saw while they were at the top.

As usual, I started this disc right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "come on now, well let me tell you what you're missing" in "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is heard as Princess Leia's hologram appears to Luke.

- The distant screaming at the end of "Going To California" begins at the same moment the Tusken Raider pops up and starts screaming at Luke.

- As Darth Vader applies the Force choke to Admiral Motti aboard the Death Star, the line "you hurt me to my soul" is heard in "D'yer Mak'er."

- The line "tell me that I'm free to ride" in "Gallows Pole" coincides with a shot of the Jedi mind tricked Stormtrooper waving Luke's landspeeder through Mos Eisley.

- Alderaan blows up during the break in "Rock and Roll" where Jimmy Page plays that hammer-on part.

- "Stairway to Heaven" starts as we see two Stormtroopers walking up the platform into the Millennium Falcon, where they are ultimately shot and (presumably) killed.

- The real heavy part of "Stairway" ends and slows down for that last refrain at the same moment Luke opens Princess Leia's cell door and she comes into view.

NOTES

Not much went on here, as you can see. It was hard to stay focused towards the end there. "The Rain Song" and "Stairway," back to back? That's two eight minute epics in a row! Come on, Jimmy! You're killing me! I ain't got time for this nonsense!

Darth I'm Gonna Leave You

EXPERIMENT #37
"DARTH I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Disc One of the Led Zeppelin box set. Contains numerous cuts from Zep's first three albums, including "Whole Lotta Love," "Communication Breakdown," "Dazed and Confused," and "Ramble On." Supposedly guitarist Jimmy Page arranged all the tracks in this box set to tell the story of the band itself (or so the crazier die-hard Zepheads would have you believe). If that's true, Disc One covers the band's formation, initial friction, and sudden fame.

As usual, I started this disc right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "you've been learnin', baby, I been learnin'" in "Whole Lotta Love" is heard as the opening crawl scrolls by (in which we learn what the hell the movie is about).

- The escape pod carrying the droids is shown shooting through space as we hear the line "people talkin' all around 'bout the way you left me flat" in "Heartbreaker."

- "Communication Breakdown" starts the moment the droids decide to go separate ways on the surface of Tatooine.

- In "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," there's a line where Robert Plant says, "it's callin' me...back." While we hear this line, Luke is walking away from the robot auction; he turns around, however, after he hears R5-D4 explode. The moment Luke turns around coincides with Plant saying, "back."

- Right before the fade from the robot auction to the interior of Luke's room, C-3PO is half turned around, waiting for R2-D2 to catch up to him. At this moment, the line "take my hand, child, come with me" is heard in "What Is And What Should Never Be." It looks like Threepio is saying this to Artoo.

- The line "I'm gonna put you down for a while" is heard "I Can't Quit You Babe" as the Tusken Raiders put Luke down on the ground so they can pillage his landspeeder.

- The line "take it easy, baby, let them say what they will" in "Dazed and Confused" is heard as Tarkin orders Darth Vader to release Admiral Motti from the Force choke (Motti had been mouthing off about Vader's failings in locating the stolen data tapes).

- "Your Time Is Gonna Come" starts at around the same moment Luke realizes the Empire murdered the Jawas because they were looking for Threepio and Artoo.

- The line "made up my mind" in "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is heard as Luke tells Obi-Wan he wants to go to Alderaan with him.

NOTES

I'm pretty sure this is the longest CD I've done so far. This sucker took me all the way past Luke and Han's argument about rescuing the Princess aboard the Death Star on the first playthrough. I think it said the length was seventy-seven minutes when I loaded the disc into my stereo, but that doesn't seem right. Could CDs hold more than seventy-five minutes of music in 1990? I didn't think they could.

Then again, this is Led Zeppelin we're talking about. I wouldn't be surprised to find out Jimmy Page employed the world's top scientific minds in the months leading up to this box set's release, forcing them to work around the clock until they could figure out a way to squeeze an extra three minutes onto the CD format specifically so he wouldn't have to scratch "Hey Hey What Can I Do" from the first disc. That would be so like him.

Change of Plans

I'm taking tomorrow off from the synch project. Choose the answer below that you feel best explains this decision:

A. Tomorrow is President's Day, and I want to devote all my time and energy to celebrating the legacies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

B. I've fallen ill, and I must seek medical attention as soon as I wake up tomorrow.

C. The idea of spinning one of the four box set discs again on Friday with The Empire Strikes Back seemed superfluous; I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I just pushed everything back a day.

D. Both B and C.

The correct answer is D.

Gettin' the Led Out

Alright, this coming week is Led Zeppelin, and this is how it's going down. I have now in my possession the four discs that make up the box set with the crop circles on it (Boxed Set, as I believe it is officially known). Would I have preferred regular Zep albums? Certainly, but I was at the mercy of the public library system. Everything else was checked out. However, these box set discs are, on average, about twice the length of a regular Zep album. That means I'm subjecting myself to two times the normal amount of drugged-out riffs and shrieked lyrics about Hobbits - just for you!!! I hope you can appreciate that.

But I digress. I'm gonna try Star Wars with all four discs, posting the results chronologically Monday through Thursday. For Friday, I'll pick a disc at random and spin it with The Empire Strikes Back - unless, of course, during the week I happen to acquire a Zep oddity, such as Jim Nabors Sings Physical Graffiti or A Banjo Tribute to Led Zeppelin. In that case, I'll spin the oddity with Star Wars.

So there you have it. Starting Monday we will officially be "Gettin' the Led Out." Ready your trouser snakes. I can't wait.

Me & My Droid

EXPERIMENT #36
"ME & MY DROID"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Ready to Die by the Notorious B.I.G. Released in 1994. Everyone and their grandmother will tell you this is the album that revitalized East Coast rap. Contains the hit single "Big Poppa," not to mention several other songs about robbery, sex, and how things are better/worse than they used to be.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "all this walking is hurting my feet" in "Gimme The Loot" is heard as Threepio is walking through the desert.

- The coughing at the end of "Gimme The Loot" starts the moment Artoo is shot by the Jawa.

- Uncle Owen is onscreen when we hear the lyric "I don't want no cryin' at my funeral" in "Ready to Die." When Luke discovers Owen's charred remains later in the movie, he doesn't cry.

- We hear the line "I don't want to live no more" in "Everyday Struggles" as Luke is looking upon the charred remains of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

- The line "I had the master plan, I'm in the caravan on my way to Maryland" in "Everyday Struggles" is heard as Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids are seen cruising in the landspeeder towards Mos Eisley.

- The line "throw the keys to Lil' Cease" in "Big Poppa" is heard as we see Luke handing something to the alien he sells his landspeeder to.

NOTES

Wow, another one for the history books, huh? I'm gonna go call P. Diddy right now!

Bantha's Gonna Work It Out

EXPERIMENT #35
"BANTHA'S GONNA WORK IT OUT"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy. The apex of PE's recorded output. Gritty and unrelenting. Contains the comical lambast "911 is a Joke" and the landmark call to arms "Fight the Power." Cover features the title written in that familiar Star Wars crawl style.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- A voice is heard saying, "There's something changing in the climate..." as the opening crawl is fading away.

- A "let's go!" is heard in "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" as the stormtroopers blast through the door of the Tantive IV.

- The line "gonna be a victim of his own circumstance" in "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" is heard as we see Darth Vader for the first time.

- The "hit me!" that starts "911 is a Joke" coincides with the explosion that convinces C-3PO to get in the escape pod.

- Flava Flav says, "Going, going, gone!" in "911" as we see the escape pod floating down to Tatooine.

- "Welcome to the Terrordome" starts as we see R2-D2 rolling through the cavern where the Jawas capture him.

- Uncle Owen tells Luke to take Threepio and R5-D4 inside and clean them up at the same time Flava Flav says, "Yo Terminator, meet the G that killed me" in "Meet The G That Killed Me." It looks like Owen is introducing Threepio to Luke as the G that killed him, which makes total sense. Threepio is the G that killed Owen, indirectly. After R5-D4 blows up, Threepio suggests they take R2-D2 in his place. R2-D2 is carrying the Death Star plans, which the Empire is searching for. Later on, the Empire figures out who bought Artoo from the Jawas (Owen), and they kill him after they arrive at his house to find the droid missing.

- The line "there should not be any hatred for a brother or a sister" is heard in "Pollywanacraka" as Luke sees Princess Leia's hologram for the first time.

- Luke tells his Uncle he thinks the droids they purchased may have been stolen at the same time Flava Flav says, "Yo, check this out!" in "Anti-Nigger Machine."

- The line about some of "our best-equipped" refusing to fight in the speech clip preceding "Fight the Power" coincides with a shot of Han Solo. Later in the film, Han refuses to fight in the Death Star assault.

NOTES

There was some pretty bomb stuff in this one (especially that Uncle Owen/"Meet The G That Killed Me" thing). Too bad it maxed out at ten. Oh well. As Flava Flav himself has said, that's the way the ball bounces, G. Bass fo' yo' face!

Insane in the Motivator

EXPERIMENT #34
"INSANE IN THE MOTIVATOR"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Black Sunday, the 1993 pro-hemp hip-hop masterpiece from Cypress Hill. Best remembered for the massive hit "Insane in the Brain." Contains more than one chicken impression (and by that I mean, literally, one of the members of Cypress Hill impersonating a chicken).

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- After the large explosion rocks the Tantive IV, the music from "I Want To Get High" fades out and all we can hear is a siren-like noise as the Rebels are preparing for the Imperial invasion.

- The first chorus of "We Ain't Goin' Out Like That" is heard as we see the droids attempting to escape certain death aboard the Tantive IV.

- Darth Vader makes his first appearance as we hear the line "now that's how I come with the static" in "We Ain't Goin' Out Like That."

- "We Ain't Goin' Out Like That" begins to fade out as the escape pod launches from the Tantive IV.

- The chorus of "What Goes Around Comes Around, Kid" is heard as Luke is presented with his father's lightsaber.

- The phrase "self-defense turns to the offense" is repeated in "Hand on the Glock" as Luke stares at his dead relatives.

NOTES

Another disappointment. They all can't be winners, folks.

Hey, does anyone else remember that episode of "Saturday Night Live" Cypress Hill appeared on? Shannen Doherty was the host. Supposedly that performance got them banned from the show, because B-Real sparked up a j during "We Ain't Goin' Out Like That." I don't know how true that is. There are all sorts of unfounded rumors floating around the Net concerning people being banned from that show.

When you think about all the pot jokes they've made on "SNL" over the years, that's kind of weak, if true. On the other hand, it's one thing to make a pot joke, and another thing entirely to start hittin' that shit for real. But like I said, it could just be a rumor. Maybe Cypress Hill never appeared on "SNL" again because their popularity declined rapidly after Black Sunday. Who knows, you know? Maybe they accidentally used Lorne Michaels' private bathroom.

I guess I could call NBC and try to find out, but I have better things to do right now.

Gin and Carbon Scoring

EXPERIMENT #33
"GIN AND CARBON SCORING"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Doggystyle, the 1993 debut album from Snoop Doggy Dogg. Entered the Billboard Charts at #1, the first debut album to do so. Features the hits "Gin and Juice," "Who An I (What's My Name)," and "Doggy Dogg World." Also features numerous spoken interludes dealing with balls, guns, and weed.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- Snoop says "Damn!" in "Bathtub" at the exact same moment the Star Wars logo appears onscreen.

- As the opening crawl fades away, Dr. Dre says, "It's time to get busy in this motherfucker, like we always do about this time!" at the end of "Bathtub."

- The opening line of "Gin and Juice" ("with so much drama in the L-B-C...") coincides with the shot of Darth Vader looking at the dead Rebel soldiers aboard the Tantive IV.

- The line "some of these niggas is so deceptive" is heard in "Doggy Dogg World" as Obi-Wan and Luke come upon the Jawa massacre, which was perpetrated by the Empire but made to look like the work of Tusken Raiders.

- The phrase "don't make me grab my gat" is heard in "Pump Pump" as Han Solo slowly reaches for his gun to shoot Greedo.

NOTES

Not much to say about this one, except it was weaker than Clark Kent after trippin' on some Kryptonite. Word.

Nuthin But A Droid Thang

Before we get started here, I'd like to announce the schedule for the week. I would have done this yesterday, but my computer was crippled for most of the day with some sort of virus.

2/13: Dr. Dre - The Chronic
2/14: Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
2/15: Cypress Hill - Black Sunday
2/16: Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
2/17: Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die

Again, it's all Star Wars this week. I think the week after next, I'm going to take a few of the records that have been successful with Star Wars and try them with Empire and Jedi. Otherwise I'm going to just keep trying new records with Star Wars, and that's not fair to the other two movies. I gotta set some time aside for them.

Okay, that's outta the way. Now, on to today's experiment!

EXPERIMENT #32
"NUTHIN BUT A DROID THANG"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

The Chronic, Dr. Dre's classic solo debut. Changed the hip-hop landscape forever. Simultaneously launched the careers of Snoop Doggy Dogg, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, and the Lady of Rage. Established Dre's reputation as a miracle producer. Made me wonder what the hell "endo" was.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- "Fuck Wit Dre Day" starts right after the opening crawl disappears.

- The line "it's time for the doctor to check yo' ass" in "Fuck Wit Dre Day" is heard right before the major explosion that rocks the Tantive IV.

- In the middle of "Fuck With Dre Day," someone is heard laughing. When this person starts laughing, C-3PO looks up, as if he can hear it.

- The line "step on up" in "Fuck Wit Dre Day" is heard as Darth Vader steps aboard the Tantive IV.

- As Vader is choking the Rebel soldier aboard the Tantive IV, the line "punishing punk motherfuckers real quick-like" is heard in "Fuck Wit Dre Day."

- "Let Me Ride" starts as the droids are getting into the escape pod.

- R2-D2 is rolling away from C-3PO on the surface of Tatooine when we hear the line "my deez keep spinnin'" in "Let Me Ride."

- "The Day The Niggaz Took Over" starts as we begin to see shots of the Jawas sneaking up on Artoo.

- When the one Jawa shoots Artoo, the line "start to shoot" is heard in "The Day The Niggaz Took Over."

- As the Jawas are stealing Artoo, the newscaster who is talking about looting is heard in "The Day The Niggaz Took Over."

- The line "we 'bout had to rip shit up" in "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang" coincides with a shot of a Jawa pointing a gun at Threepio.

- Uncle Owen is looking at Threepio during the robot auction when the line "to add to my collection, the selection" is heard in "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang."

- R5-D4 explodes at the same time the line "it's like a cookie, they all crumble" is heard in "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang."

- Luke asks Threepio about the Rebellion against the Empire at the same time the male voice at the beginning of "Deeez Nuuuts" is heard saying, "I wanna ask you one question..."

- "Lil' Ghetto Boy" begins right as Luke walks out of the family meal after arguing with Uncle Owen.

- A male voice is heard at the beginning of "Lil' Ghetto Boy" repeating the phrase "new generation" as Luke is staring at the sunset.

- The lyric "Dear God, can you save me?" is heard in "Lil' Ghetto Boy" as Luke stares at the sunset.

- The camera is close-up on Obi-Wan in the Jundland Wastes when the phrase "who is the man with the masterplan?" is heard in "Nigga Witta Gun."

- The line "it's strange how I rearrange and change the business by droppin' shit like this" in "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat" coincides with Moff Tarkin walking into the Death Star conference room to announce the end of the Imperial Senate.

- The two characters in "The Twenty Dollar Sack Pyramid" win the game at the same time Luke sees his dead relatives.

- We see a shot of Obi-Wan brandishing his lightsaber after the cantina fracas as the line "I have no remorse 'cause I'm the fuckin' murderer" is heard in "High Powered."

- The lyrics "adapt to this, but you need to adapter/this is just the first chapter" in "High Powered" coincide with a shot of Luke looking dazed after the cantina fracas.

- Han Solo is talking about how great the Millennium Falcon is when we hear the line "fool, you better recognize!" in "High Powered."

- Right after Han shoots Greedo, the lyric "pumpin' slugs in motherfuckers" is heard (not sure what song this is in).

- The camera is on Tarkin when we hear "I'm the presenter and the inventor and the tormentor" in "Stranded On Death Row."

- The Millennium Falcon jumps into hyperspace as the line "gotsta fire it up" is heard in "The Roach."

- The Death Star fires as we hear another "gotsta fire it up" in "The Roach."

- The line "not to be fucked with" is heard in "Bitches Ain't Shit" (I think) as Chewbacca is shown playing chess.

NOTES

Twenty-eight synchs. Can you believe it? There would have been more, but George Lucas ultimately decided to cut the scene where Han Solo passes a joint around after the Rebels escape from the Death Star. It ate up too much time, and test audiences had a tough time believing Luke could navigate the Death Star trench with such ease while heartily baked.

But I kid. Hearing the two guys in "The Twenty Dollar Sack Pyramid" celebrating their victory while Luke was staring at his dead relatives was probably the most disturbing moment I've experienced during all of this experimenting so far. The one guy in that skit has the sickest-sounding voice ever. That's the voice I hear in my nightmares.

By the by, this officially kicks Pink Floyd down to third place. Not that this is a contest or anything. I'm just sayin', Pink Floyd's gettin' served on a weekly basis.

Alderaan Idiot: Second Playthrough

I did a second playthrough of American Idiot with Star Wars last night, and it yielded twenty-one more synchs. That's the most I've ever gotten on a second playthrough. I started the album right after Obi-Wan says, "You'd better get on with your exercises" to Luke aboard the Millennium Falcon. Here's what I saw:

- The line "welcome to a new kind of tension" in "American Idiot" is heard during the heated chess match between the droids and Chewbacca.

- The line "for that's enough to argue" in "American Idiot" is heard as Luke and Han discuss the plausibility of the Force.

- As the Millennium Falcon is approaching the Death Star, the phrase "city of the dead" is repeated in "City of the Damned."

- The phrase "I leave behind" is heard in "Tales From Another Broken Home" as Obi-Wan leaves the Death Star control room to deactivate the tractor beam.

- Immediately after Chewbacca growls at Luke regarding the handcuff situation, the line "hear the dogs howling out of key" is heard in "Holiday."

- The line "just 'cause, just 'cause because we're outlaws, yeah!" in "Holiday" is heard as Luke and Han, disguised as stormtroopers, are shooting all the Imperial soldiers in the detention block.

- As Luke is jogging down the detention block corridor, looking a little unsure of where he's going, the line "don't know where it goes" in "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is heard.

- "Are We The Waiting" starts right after Han says, "it's worse" when the Rebels are trapped in the trash compactor; "St. Jimmy" starts the second Artoo shuts down all the trash compactors on the detention level.

- The line "and screaming" in "Are We The Waiting" coincides with a shot of Chewbacca screaming.

- We see Princess Leia arguing with Han as the line "I can't take this feeling anymore" is heard in "Give Me Novacaine."

- There are at least two instances where a shot of a stormtrooper dying coincides with the lyric "give me novacaine."

- We see Luke looking depressed aboard the Millennium Falcon after Obi-Wan has died the same time we hear the line "somedays he feels like dying" in "Extraordinary Girl."

- Kathleen Hanna intones the first "nobody likes you" as the TIE fighters descend upon the Millennium Falcon.

- When we hear the line "you're not the Jesus of Suburbia" in "Letterbomb," Han is pointing at Leia and talking, and it looks like this is exactly what he's saying to her.

- The line "there's a glow of light" in "Homecoming" coincides with a shot of the X-Wings taking off from Yavin 4. All you can see in this shot are the glowing lights of the X-Wings' engines.

- A shot of Darth Vader aboard the Death Star right before the Rebel attack coincides with the line "his life on the line with anxiety now" in "East 12th St."

- We see a shot of the X-Wings flying through the Death Star trench as we hear the line "here they come marching down the street" in "We're Coming Home Again."

- The shot of the first Rebel pilot firing his proton torpedos at the exhaust port and missing the target coincides with a "nobody likes you" in "We're Coming Home Again."

- Right after Biggs, the last pilot aside from Luke in the Death Star trench, is killed, we hear a very quiet part in "Whatsername," which segues into a very noisy part.

- The really noisy part towards the end of "Whatsername" ceases right as Han shows up and blasts Vader out of the trench.

- The album ends at exactly the same moment Luke fires his proton torpedos into the exhaust port, blowing up the Death Star.

So that's fifty-six synchs in all. Exciting stuff. I'll find a few spare hours this week to spin American Idiot with Empire and Jedi, and I'll post the results next weekend (or sooner, if something monumental happens).

I hate to harp on this, but it just blows my mind that this album is about fifteen minutes longer than Dark Side of the Moon and I had to spin it twice with Star Wars to get a number that was a few digits less that what you get with one spin of DSOTM and Oz. I'm beginning to think Pink Floyd planned that junk.

Phil Brown: 1916 - 2006

Phil Brown, the actor best known for portraying Uncle Owen in Star Wars, passed away today. He as 90. Brown had a long and distinguished career, appearing in upwards of sixty films, including The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Superman.

Brown also helped found the Actors' Laboratory, a group that unfortunately felt the cold wrath of the HUAC during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Blacklisted, Brown moved his family to England where he continued acting on stage and on film.

After returning to the States in the 1990s, Phil decided to capitalize on his turn as Luke Skywalker's cantankerous uncle and hit the autograph circuit. One of his last major film appearances was in the award-winning 1992 biopic Chaplin.

Rest in peace, Phil. Can't tell ya what you meant to me. You were top notch.

Alderaan Idiot

EXPERIMENT #31
"ALDERAAN IDIOT"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

American Idiot, the quasi-political rock opera Green Day dropped on an unsuspecting public in 2004. Easily the Big Green's biggest success to date. It was their first #1 album (both in the U.S. and in England). It won a Grammy. The title track was featured in Madden NFL 2005. Who knew ten years after Dookie, Green Day would A) still be around and B) contribute something of relevance to the world of pop music? I sure as hell didn't.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alienation" in "American Idiot" is heard as the Star Wars logo is fading away. I heard it as "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alien nation," which makes slightly more sense.

- The big explosion that rocks the Tantive IV occurs immediately after the line "everything isn't meant to be okay" in "American Idiot."

- During the line "to fall in love and fall in debt" in "Jesus of Suburbia," a Rebel soldier is seen falling down.

- The lyric "and so it seemed to confess it didn't say much" in "City of the Damned" is heard as Vader is choking the Rebel soldier who won't admit to harboring any secret plans.

- As R2-D2 is hobbling into the escape pod and C-3PO is questioning his actions, the words "I don't care if you don't" are repeated in "I Don't Care" (it seems as if Artoo is saying this to Threepio, like, "I don't care if you don't come with me").

- Right after the line "hearts recycled but never saved" is heard in "I Don't Care," Darth Vader walks into view.

- "Tales of Another Broken Home" starts the moment it becomes apparent that Artoo and Threepio are going separate ways on the surface of Tatooine.

- The line "to run, to run away to find what you believe" in "Tales of Another Broken Home" is heard as we see a wide shot of Artoo rolling away from Threepio.

- Threepio is wandering around in the middle of nowhere and is beginning to scorn Artoo for tricking him into getting lost when we hear the line "I lost my faith to this, this town that don't exist" in "Tales of Another Broken Home."

- The film cuts to Artoo rolling through the canyon right when the quiet part in "Tales of Another Broken Home" starts, where Billie Joe sings, "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize" (presumably this is what Artoo is thinking after abandoning Threepio).

- Billie Joe shouts, "Say, hey!" the moment Artoo is shot by the Jawa.

- As Artoo falls over after being shot, the line "hear the sound of the falling rain" in "Holiday" is heard.

- Artoo and Threepio are shown inside the sandcrawler right before the robot auction when the line "this is the dawning of the rest of our lives" in "Holiday" is heard.

- As Uncle Owen is walking down the line of droids in front of the sandcrawler, the lyric "I'm walking down the line" is heard in "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

- Uncle Owen starts to walk away from Threepio when the lyric "on the borderline" is heard in "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (Owen is on the borderline in regard to purchasing Threepio).

- The Jawa zaps Artoo to keep him from moving at the same moment the silent break comes in "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

- The camera is on Luke at least twice when we hear the line "I wish someone out there will find me" in "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

- In "St. Jimmy," there's a part where Bille Joe says, "coming at you on the count of 1,2,3,4!" Luke enters the dining area of the Lars homestead as we hear this lyric.

- There's another line in "St. Jimmy" that goes "I'm the one that's from the way outside." The moment we hear "outside," the film cuts to the exterior of the Lars homestead, when Luke walks outside to stare at the setting suns.

- The line "it's like a throbbing toothache of the mind" in "Give Me Novacaine" is heard as Luke bitches about Artoo having wandered away at dusk.

- "She's A Rebel" starts as Obi-Wan Kenobi makes his first appearance.

- The last refrain of "Extraordinary Girl" is heard as Princess Leia's hologram materializes in Obi-Wan's homestead.

- "Letterbomb" starts as Leia's hologram delivers her message (the female voice at the start of that song is Kathleen Hanna, by the way - I didn't know that!).

- The lyric "there is nothing left to analyze" in "Letterbomb" is heard as Grand Moff Tarkin walks into the Death Star conference room, breaking up the argument over the distribution of power in the Empire by announcing the end of the Senate.

- "Letterbomb" ends the moment the film cuts to the Jawa massacre, and the somber tones of "Wake Me Up When Semptember Ends" begin.

- Luke pulls up to the burning remains of the Lars homestead as we hear the lyric "here comes the rain again" in "Wake Me Up When Spetember Ends."

- As Luke stares at his dead relatives, the line "but never forgets what I lost" is heard in "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

- The guy with the pig face in the cantina starts messing with Luke around the time we hear the line "St. Jimmy comes without any shame" in "Homecoming."

- As we see the patrons of the cantina resuming their conversations immediately after the fracas with Luke and Obi-Wan, the words "nobody cares" are repeated in "East 12th St."

- The camera is on Obi-Wan, who is negotiating with Han Solo for a flight to Alderaan, when the hear the line "somebody get me out of here" in "East 12th St."

- As the stormtroopers investigating the cantina fracas walk over to Han and Chewie's table, the phrase "where'd you go?" in "Nobody Likes You" is heard. The stormtroopers want to know where Obi-Wan and Luke went.

- The lyric "get off of my case" is heard in "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" as Han argues with Greedo regarding the Jabba situation.

- As the stormtroopers begin firing on the Millennium Falcon in Docking Bay 94, the lyric "nobody likes you" in "We're Coming Home Again" is heard.

- A guitar harmonic is heard in "Whatsername" as the Millennium Falcon enters hyperspace.

- The word "go" is repeated in "Whatsername" as we see shots of Imperials gearing up the Death Star to fire on Alderaan.

NOTES

THIRTY-FIVE!!!!!!

Eat it, Pink Floyd!! I told you your days were numbered, but you didn't listen. Now, you got served.

Wow. The craziest thing about this synch is, in addition to all the lyrical coincidences, nearly every song frames a particular sequence of events. I noted a few of these instances above, but it wasn't until the experiment was over that I realized how much relation there was between the song structure and the flow of the movie. Here's how it breaks down:

1. "American Idiot" (plays through initial attack/capture of Tantive IV)
2. "Jesus of Suburbia" (starts about the time the stormtroopers bust through the door on the Tantive IV, plays through Rebel defeat and droid escape)
> V. "Tales of Another Broken Home" (begins as droids separate on Tatooine)
3. "Holiday" (starts right before the Jawas capture Artoo)
4. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (starts right before the droid auction, plays through introduction to Luke)
5. "Are We The Waiting" (begins around the time Luke takes the droids, plays through discovery of Leia's message)
6. "St. Jimmy" (begins right before and plays through Luke's argument with Uncle Owen)
7. "Give Me Novacaine" (begins as Artoo goes missing, plays through Luke's search and the Tusken Raider attack)
8. "She's A Rebel" (begins when Obi-Wan appears)
9. "Extraordinary Girl" (plays as Obi-Wan talks to Luke about his dad and the Force)
10. "Letterbomb" (starts when Princess Leia's full message is uncovered)
11. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (begins at discovery of Jawa massacre, plays through discovery of Luke's dead family)
12. "Homecoming" (begins as Obi-Wan and Luke enter cantina, plays through scenes in Docking Bay 94)
> I. "The Death of St. Jimmy" (plays during cantina fracas)
> IV. "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" (beings right after Greedo confronts Han)
13. "Whatsername" (starts around the time the Millennium Falcon takes off)

This right here? This is some straight-up Oz shit, and I don't mind telling you, I'm pretty freaked. A second playthrough will be done later today, provided my head doesn't explode. Look for results this weekend.

Someone get Green Day's publicist on the phone. They must be alerted that they are the new Star Wars synch kings.

[Click here for the second playthrough of American Idiot]

Warning (Darth Vader's Coming)

EXPERIMENT #30
"WARNING (DARTH VADER'S COMING)"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Warning, the 2000 effort that showcased Green Day at their most relaxed. Slower tempos, less distortion, and tons of harmonica. Very Pogues-ish. Not my cup of tea.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The air raid siren in "Warning" can be heard around the time the Tantive IV gets hit by the Star Destroyer.

- The line "you know I will obey" in "Blood, Sex, and Booze" can be heard as Darth Vader makes his entrance.

- The weird space sound at the end of "Blood, Sex and Booze" coincides with the escape pod launching.

- Billie Joe (or somebody) says, "Alright! Hey!" in "Fashion Victim" when the Jawa pops up and shoots R2-D2.

- The lyric "riding on the night train" in "Castaway" is heard as the droids are seen aboard the sandcrawler, which is rolling over the desert plains of Tatooine at dusk.

- The camera is on Luke, who is lying on the ground after the Tusken Raider attack, when we hear the line "I'm not the one that's gonna die" in "Jackass."

- Luke is reacting to the news that Darth Vader killed his father when the music drops out in "Waiting" and we hear the line "I've been waiting a lifetime for this moment to come."

- The Imperial guy on the Death Star Vader chokes is gasping for air when we hear the line "give me something that I need" in "Macy's Day Parade."

- Obi-Wan is explaining to Luke that the sandcrawler was attacked by stormtroopers and not Tusken Raiders as we hear the line "then I realized what it took to tell the difference between thieves and crooks" in "Macy's Day Parade."

NOTES

I can't think straight after all that harmonica. I was half expecting Darth Vader to sit down at that table on the Death Star and whip out a mouth harp. God, harmonicas drive me nuts. Except when I'm playing one.

Nice Gonks Finish Last

EXPERIMENT #29
"NICE GONKS FINISH LAST"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Nimrod, the album that proved there was more to Green Day than barre chords and fart jokes. Best known for the tender acoustic hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," which was featured in the next-to-last episode of "Seinfeld," the 1997 World Series, and your senior prom.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The line "hey mister, where ya headed?" is heard in "Hitchin' A Ride" as we see C-3PO shuffling down the hallway of the Tantive IV.

- During the part of "Hitchin' A Ride" where Billie Joe sings, "one, two, one, two, three, four!" there is a shot of a few stormtroopers, and you cannot see that there are four of them until Billie Joe sings, "four!"

- Darth Vader makes his entrance during the violin break in the middle of "Hitchin' A Ride."

- The phrase "hitchin' a ride" is repeated after Princess Leia has placed the Death Star plans in Artoo; the plans are "hitchin' a ride" on Artoo.

- "The Grouch" starts as Darth Vader is choking that guy on the Tantive IV, and we hear the lines "I was a young boy that had big plans, now I'm just another shitty old man/I don't have fun and I hate everything, the world owes me, so fuck you."

- Vader throws his choking victim into the wall as we hear the lyric "life's a bitch and so am I" in "The Grouch."

- "Scattered" starts as Artoo is wheeling through the canyon on Tatooine, where the Jawas are scattered around the rocks, about to catch him (or, you could look at it like Artoo and Threepio are scattered across the Tatooine desert).

- The line "I don't know where the hell it'll go" in "All The Time" is heard as Threepio and Artoo are shown riding inside the sandcrawler.

- Luke is bitching about going to the Toschi Station as Billie Joe sings the line "another wasted night" (I'm not sure what song this is in; I think it's at the end of "All The Time")

- After Uncle Owen orders Luke to clean the droids after his Toschi Station outburst, the line "another sentinmental argument and bitter love" is heard at the beginning of "Worry Rock."

- When Billie Joe lets loose his line of swears in "Platypus (I Hate You)," Luke jerks his head back to look at Threepio, as if he has said all these swears.

- We see Luke sitting on the floor of his home staring at Princess Leia's hologram when we hear the lyric "the future just ain't what it used to be" in "Uptight."

- It looks like Artoo can hear "Jinx," because after the "one, two, three, four!" he starts wobbling really fast to the insane punk rock.

- During the scene where the Tusken Raider attacks Luke, the lyrics "slap me on the wrist, stab me in the back/torture me, I've been a bad boy" are heard in "Jinx."

- Ben Kenobi is contemplating the name Obi-Wan as the lyric "Haushinka is a girl with a peculiar name" is heard in "Haushinka."

- The buzzing at the end of "Haushinka," which sounds like a lightsaber, is heard as Luke is whoosing his dad's lightsaber around.

- As the guys on the Death Star are talking, the following lines are heard in "Reject": "What's the difference between you and me? I do what I want, and you do what you're told/so listen up and shut the hell up." It looks like the one Imperial officer with the Ceasar haircut is saying this to Moff Tarkin, who makes a foul face during the line "shut the hell up."

- "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" starts as the stormtrooper in Mos Eisley waves Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids to "move along, move along."

- We hear the line "it's something unpredictable, but in the end is right" in "Good Riddance" as Luke turns to Threepio to tell him it's probably best to abide by the bartender's rule of no droids.

- We see a shot of a couple stormtroopers interrogating a local as the lyric "hey you, where did you come from?" is heard in "Prosthetic Head)".

- The phrase "red-blooded American" is heard in "Prosthetic Head" as Han Solo makes his first appearance.

- The chorus of "Prosthetic Head" is "you don't know, you don't say." At one point, the camera is on the stormtroopers searching for Obi-Wan and Luke as we hear "you don't know." It then cuts to Han and Chewbacca for "you don't say." The stormtroopers don't know where Obi-Wan and Luke are; Han and Chewie know, but don't say, where they are.

NOTES

Holy flerking snit, Nimrod just tied Dark Side of the Moon. One more synch and Pink Floyd would have been dethroned only a week after taking the Star Wars synch crown. Luckily for Waters and Co., I had to strike one or two questionable synchs from this Nimrod experiment. Sometimes, this stuff can be too convoluted even for my tastes.

That doesn't mean you can rest easy, Dark Side of the Moon - there are plenty of albums poised to knock you from your lofty position. Your days are numbered! I will go medeival on your ass! My defense is impregnable! I want to eat your children! Praise Allah!

Ahem.

That "red-blooded American"/Han Solo thing seriously cracked me up. It's so true. Han Solo is the personification of red-blooded American. Always carries a gun, clumsy with his emotions, bad with money, hangs around a big hairy guy, wears the same shit all the time...the only thing missing is a borderline psychotic obsession with sports.

Gonk Stink Breath

EXPERIMENT #28
"GONK STINK BREATH"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Insomniac, Green Day's frantic follow-up to the multi-platinum Dookie. Features the hits "Geek Stink Breath" and "Brain Stew," as well as some tripped-out artwork by Winston Smith.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The phrase "time is running out" in "Brat" is heard as C-3PO and R2-D2 are trying to escape the Imperial invasion of the Tantive IV.

- The lyric "struck down, forcing me to fall" in "Stuck With Me" is heard as Darth Vader chokes the guy aboard the Tantive IV.

- As Artoo is hobbling towards the escape pod, the lyric "I'm on a mission, I made my decision" in "Geek Stink Breath" is heard.

- Billie Joe Armstrong sings, "To hell with unity" in "No Pride" as Artoo and Threepio go their separate ways on Tatooine.

- During the scene where you can see part of Kenny Baker's head inside the R2-D2 costume, the lyric "never show your head around here again" is heard in "86."

- The camera is on Threepio at the Jawa's auction when we hear the line "ready for a cheap escape" in "Panic Song."

- Luke pours himself some blue milk as Billie Joe says, "my mouth is dry" in "Brain Stew."

- Luke gets up from the table and walks out on his ersatz family as "Jaded" starts.

- The lyric "escape from discontent" in "Westbound Sign" is heard as Luke pilots his landspeeder across the Jundland Wastes.


NOTES

I was torn as what to title this experiment. Originally, I was going to call it "Brain Stew/Jawa," in reference to the fact that major rock radio stations sometimes play "Brain Stew" and "Jaded" together, as if they're one song. The fact that I used "Jawa" in yesterday's title deterred me, though, and I went with "Gonk Stink Breath." A nerdier reference, but I stand by it.

Jawa Dookie

Before we get started here, I have to mention two things:

1. All the experiments this week will be with Star Wars. I forgot to mention that before.

2. I'm pushing Zeppelin back another week so I can do "Rap Attack" next week. I'm sorry, but I'm jonesin' to do some Snoop, some Biggie, and some Dre. I promise you, oh worshippers of the mighty Zepp, from 2/20/06 - 2/24/06, we will get the Led out. Scout's honor.

Now, on with the show.

EXPERIMENT #27
"JAWA DOOKIE"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Dookie, the 1994 breakthrough album that made Green Day a household name. Introduced an entire generation to punk rock - including yours truly. Also introduced me to a bevvy of pot and masturbation references it would take years to comprehend.

As usual, I started the album right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- We see a shot of the Rebel troops mobilizing aboard the Tantive IV when the lyric "soon you'll be dead anyway" in "Having A Blast" is heard.

- The camera is on the Rebel troops awaiting the Imperial invasion during the lines "no one is getting out alive" and "kiss your ass goodbye" in "Having A Blast."

- As Darth Vader is surveying the fallen Rebel troops aboard the Tantive IV, the words "to me it's nothing" are repeated in "Having A Blast."

- Vader is choking that Rebel dude aboard the Tantive IV as we hear the lyric "magic man, ego-centric plastic man" in "Chump."

- The Jawa who shoots R2-D2 pops up after the line "this sudden fear has left me trembling" in "Welcome to Paradise."

- One of the guitar squeals during the breakdown in "Welcome to Paradise" coincides with Artoo waking up aboard the sandcrawler.

- The lyric "sometimes my mind plays tricks on me" in "Basketcase" is heard as R5-D4's head blows up.

- Luke puts down his model T-16 Skyhopper and starts bitching about being stuck on Tatooine as we hear the lyric "I think I'm cracking up" in "Basketcase."

- As Luke is searching the horizen for Artoo, the lyric "you been searching for that someone" in "When I Come Around" is heard.

- The lyric "no time to search the world around" in "When I Come Around" is heard as Uncle Owen is looking around the homestead for Luke.

- As Obi-Wan is revealing who he is to Luke, the phrase "it's been so long" in "Emenius Sleepus" is heard.

- Luke picks up Threepio's loose arm after the Tusken Raider attack as we hear the line "did you lose it in a hateful fight?" in "Emenius Sleepus."

- The camera is on Obi-Wan in his home when we hear the line "how long will he last before he's a creep in the past?" in "In The End."

- Obi-Wan is lying to Luke about his father having been killed by Darth Vader when the lyric "I hope I won't be there in the end when if you come around" in "In The End," which I assume means he hopes he won't be around when Luke finds out Darth Vader IS his father.

- Right before Obi-Wan says to Luke, "You must learn the ways of the Force, if you are to come with me to Alderaan," Billie Joe Armstrong says, "my belly's aching now to say" in "F.O.D."

- The noodling at the beginning of the secret song starts right as Vader Force-chokes that guy on the Death Star. The actual song starts when the victim is released from the Force-choke.

NOTES

One of the greatest near-misses of all-time happened in this synch. The opening line of "Basketcase" ("do you have the time to listen to me whine?") almost coincided with Luke's infamous complaint about going to the Toschi Station to pick up some power converters. It was seriously just a few seconds off. Had I started Dookie after the entire 20th Century Fox fanfare, it may have synched.

There was another moment like this that was just a few seconds off, but I'll be damned if I can remember it.

You know, I'm pretty sure it's spelled "Toschi," but I did see a t-shirt the other day that spelled it "Tosche." Could have been a bootleg. Maybe both spellings are accepted. Maybe it's an alien language that no one's sure how to translate. Yet another mystery of the Star Wars universe.

Dark Side of the Space Station

EXPERIMENT #26
"DARK SIDE OF THE SPACE STATION"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd's 1973 magnum opus. One of the best-selling records of all-time. Considered a staple of suburban teenage life. Found new fame around the turn of the century after rumors began circulating concerning the album's alleged synchronicity with The Wizard of Oz. Band members claim the sixty-odd coincidences between the 1939 MGM classic and their record are purely coincidental.

On the first playthrough, I started DSOTM right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare. Second time around was a little tricky; I hit "play" right after Threepio says, "I can't abide these Jawas."

SYNCHS

FIRST PLAYTHROUGH:

- The lyrics to "Breathe" start at the same moment the large explosion rocks the Tantive IV.

- The camera is on C-3PO, who is hoping to escape the pending Imperial attack, when we hear the lyric "don't leave me" in "Breathe."

- The lyric "choose your own ground" is heard in "Breathe" as the Rebel soldiers take their positions in the Tantive IV hallway.

- Darth Vader's first appearance coincides with the female voice on the intercom we hear at the beginning of "On the Run."

- As the escape pod zooms by the camera, a plane noise is heard in "On the Run."

- We hear the phrase "waiting for someone or something to show you the way" in "Time" as C-3PO wanders through the desert.

- As Threepio continues to wander through the scorching Tatooine desert, we hear the phrase "tired of lying in the sunshine" in "Time."

- During the reprise of "Breathe," we see the Jawas entering the sandcrawler as the lyric "home, home again" is heard.

- The woman's screaming in "The Great Gig in the Sky" intensifies as Luke hears Aunt Beru calling him; once Luke and Beru have spoken, the woman's screaming subsides.

- The aforementioned woman screams, "Oh, oh, OH-HO!" right after R5-D4 explodes.

- The woman finally stops screaming as Luke and the droids leave the Jawa auction.

- After Luke has his argument with Uncle Owen about staying on another season, he goes to stare into the Tatooine sunset. As he's doing this, a female voice at the end of "Time" says, "That geezer's cruisin' for a bruisin'" (obviously what Luke was thinking as he gazed into those two giant fireballs setting over the desert horizen).

- The first line of "Us and Them" is "us (us, us, us)....and them (them, them, them)." During the "us" part, the camera is on Luke and Threepio in the landspeeder. By the time it gets to the "them" part, Luke and Threepio are in the distance, and in the foreground we see two Tusken Raiders.

- At one point in "Us and Them," the word "you" is said, and it echoes a bit. During these echoes, Luke and Threepio look around as if they can hear them.

- The Tusken Raider attack coincides with the first heavy part of "Us and Them," the lyrics to which are "forward he cried from the rear/and the front rank died." As I have mentioned before, I have a sneaking suspicion Luke actually does die during the Tusken Raider attack, only to be resurrected by Obi-Wan later on.

- As Obi-Wan revives Luke, the word "up" is heard in "Us and Them."

- When Luke comes to, the lyric "in the end, it's only round and round and round" in "Us and Them" is heard, vaguely suggesting that Luke cheated death.

- In yet another moment during "Us and Them," the lyric "with...without" is heard. The camera is on Luke during "with," but it switches to Obi-Wan for "without." One could interpret this several ways; personally, I think it has something to do with the fact that "with" Luke is the power to defeat the Empire, and Obi-Wan is "without" it. Perhaps it means that the mantle of being part of Darth Vader's bloodline is "with" Luke and not Obi-Wan. Hell, it could mean that Luke isn't circumcised and Obi-Wan is "without" a foreskin. I don't know.

- As Obi-Wan is explaining to Luke that the Jawas were attacked by the Empire and not Tusken Raiders, the line "you rearrange me 'til I'm sane" is heard in "Brain Damage."

- The moment Luke realizes the Empire may have visited his Aunt and Uncle, the line "if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear" is heard in "Brain Damage."

- Someone says "I can't think of anything to say" as Luke looks upon his dead relatives.

- The closing heartbeat of the album is playing as Luke and Obi-Wan are stopped by the stormtroopers in Mos Eisley regarding their droids.

SECOND PLAYTHROUGH:

- We hear the line "waiting for someone or something to show you the way" in "Time" as Han Solo is trying to figure out the hyperspace coordinates.

- The solo in "Time" begins right as the Millennium Falcon jumps into hyperspace.

- We hear the words "lear jet" in "Money" as we see the Millennium Falcon flying across the screen.

- The first heavy part in "Us and Them" begins as the fight in the detention block breaks out; an Imperial guard is shot and killed as we hear the phrase "he died."

- The line "out of the way" is heard in "Us and Them" as Han jumps into the garbage chute.

- As R2-D2 sticks his little metal thingy into the socket to save the Rebels from the trash compactor, we hear the phrase "got to keep the loonies on the path" in "Brain Damage."

- The album's closing heartbeat is heard as Luke and Leia become trapped on that ledge, eventually having to swing across.

NOTES

Wow. This is the new king. Twenty-two synchs on the first go. Some real freaky stuff, too. Again, we aren't seeing Oz numbers, but even so, it begs the question: what is it about this album? Why is it so...synch-tastic, for lack of a better word? What else does it synch up with?

There's a whoe 'nother project - watching a different movie every day with Dark Side of the Moon. That ain't gonna be me, though. I felt drowsy after one spin. No way I could listen to this record five days a week. Uck. I'll leave that to someone else.

I am intrigued, though, certainly enough to try other Pink Floyd albums. I'm sure I could bang out a week of PF. Watch for that in the coming months.

Green Daze

I'll be posting the Dark Side of the Moon results in a little bit, but first I wanted to clue you in to next week's theme: Green Day. Here's the albums I'm gonna use:

Dookie
Insomniac
Nimrod
Warning
American Idiot

I apologize to all the Zeppelin fans who thought we were gonna get the Led out next week. I promise you, Zepp is on deck.

Independent Worm Cantina

EXPERIMENT #24
"INDEPENDENT WORM CANTINA"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Independent Worm Saloon by the Butthole Surfers. 'Twas their major label debut, produced by none other than John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame. Spawned the college radio hit "Who Was in My Room Last Night?" Per usual, I started the album immediately following the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- The loud guitar squeal and subsequent smoldering sounds at the end of "Who Was in My Room Last Night?" coincide with the door exploding on the Tantive IV and the stormtroopers busting through.

- The solo in "The Wooden Song" coincides with Darth Vader choking that guy aboard the Tantive IV; as the guitar goes up a scale, Vader lifts his choking victim up off the ground.

- The phrase "take me" in "The Wooden Song" is heard as Princess Leia is shot by the stormtrooper.

- A female voice is heard saying, "You're gonna die up there" as C-3PO walks away from R2-D2 on the surface of Tatooine (one can presume Threepio is thinking this about Artoo, as Artoo has chosen to go a different way).

- Gibby Haynes lets out a scream in "Goofy's Concern" right after Artoo is shot by the Jawas.

- The lyric "why don't you tell me something I don't know?" in "Strawberry" is heard as Luke is asking his Uncle about Ben Kenobi and his alleged relative, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

- A weird scanner-type noise is heard in "Dancing Fool" as Luke uses his binoculars to search the horizen for Artoo.

- "You Don't Know Me" starts as Obi-Wan revives Luke.

- The palm muting in the beginning of "Dust Devil" coincides with the beat Obi-Wan takes after viewing Princess Leia's hologram before saying that junk to Luke about going to Alderaan.

NOTES

Of course, nothing happened during "Chewin' George Lucas' Chocolate," the hilarious skit in which the Buttholes are pulled over by the cops. The one Star Wars reference on the album, and nothing happens! Thanks, Buttholes.

Interesting side note: for some reason, the Surfers went out of their way to note on the back cover that "Chewin' George Lucas' Chocolate" was produced by the Butthole Surfers AND John Paul Jones. I guess that's just another Butthole joke I don't get.

Weezer (the Blue Star Destroyer)

EXPERIMENT #25
"WEEZER (THE BLUE STAR DESTROYER)"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Weezer, a.k.a. "the Blue Album," Weezer's 1994 debut (not to be confused with their 2001 effort, Weezer, a.k.a. "the Green Album"). At the time of its release, this CD seemed like a simple, refreshing record that was somewhere between the angst of Nirvana and the silliness of Green Day. Today, we all solemnly recognize Weezer as a cornerstone of the emo/nerd rock genre. Hail Rivers.

Oh yeah, I started it right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare. Rad.

SYNCHS

- "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" begins as Princess Leia is laying on the ground, stunned from the stormtrooper's stun gun.

- The voices in the beginning and middle parts of "Undone" coincide with shots of the droids inside the sandcrawler. The second conversation, between a girl and a guy, looks as if it's taking place between C-3PO and R2-D2 (surprisingly, I'd cast R2 as the female speaker).

- We see Threepio in the tub as Rivers Cuomo sings the lyric "I'm still afloat" in "Surf Wax America."

- Threepio hits Artoo on the dome as we hear the lyric "wrestle with Jimmy" in "Say It Ain't So." During the very next line, "something is a-bubalahahin' behind my back," Luke and Threepio turn around and look in the direction Aunt Beru is calling from (which is directly behind them).

- "Holiday" begins as Luke comes to; the first lines are "let's go away for a while, you and me, to a strange and distant place," which is just what Luke and Obi-Wan do later on in the film.

- As Obi-Wan explains to Luke about the Force, the line "she's in your bones" is heard in "Only in Dreams."

- The line "she's in the air" is heard as Leia's hologram appears.

- The build-up near the end of "Only in Dreams" coincides with Luke's discovery that his Aunt and Uncle are dead. The drums pound slowly as he figures out where the Empire may have gone and runs to his landspeeder, and the guitars come in as soon as the camera pans across the smoldering remains of the Lars homestead.

NOTES

A mere eight, but all were fairly significant. This makes me want to do Pinkerton real bad, but I can only take so much Weezer in one working week.

SPECIAL REPORT

Last week I borrowed Dark Side of the Moon from Angela with the sole intent of using it for a synch experiment. I was going to wait and include it in a "Monsters of Boring Seventies Rock" theme week, but then I thought better of myself. This was Dark Side of the Moon, the record that kicked off the whole synchronicity hullabaloo. I had to bust this one out post haste, as I like to say, and do a special report, as I'm doing right now.

Welp, I was blessed with an extra forty-two minutes this afternoon after filing my taxes, so I took a deep breath and threw down on some Pink Floyd/Star Wars action.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

On the first playthrough, I got twenty-two synchs. Twenty-two. That beats my original experiment, La Star Wars Cisto, by one. White Zombie has officially been dethroned, you guys. As of 3:32 P.M., February 1, 2006, Pink Floyd are the new Star Wars synch masters. Somewhere, Rob Zombie is shedding a cold tear (or his cell phone just briefly lost reception).

Although this is still nowhere near the sixty-some odd synchs The Wizard of Oz gets with Dark Side of the Moon on its first playthrough, it's still very exciting. I'm going to do a second playthrough either tonight or tomorrow, and I'll post the results Friday evening (after the final Monster of Alternative Nineties Rock has been posted).

Pork Jawa

EXPERIMENT #23
"PORK JAWA"

FILM

Star Wars (1995 "Faces" VHS).

ALBUM

Pork Soda by Primus. Dark, creepy, bass-heavy dirges featuring the occasional banjo break. Unbelievably, this record debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts in 1993. I fired 'er up right after the second drumroll in the 20th Century Fox fanfare.

SYNCHS

- Darth Vader's first appearance coincides with the bass-only ending of "My Name is Mud."

- While Vader is choking that guy aboard the Tantive IV, the line "we don't need feebleness in this proximity" is heard in "Welcome to This World."

- The slow part of "Welcome to This World" coincides with the escape pod shooting into space.

- The tension builds in "Nature Boy" as Luke discovers that R2-D2 is missing; the song quiets back down as the film cuts to the Lars homestead the next day.

- The camera is on Obi-Wan as we hear the line "don't see the sun much these days" in "Pressman."

- Right before Obi-Wan reveals to Luke that he wants him to come to Alderaan, we hear the line "I've got something to say" (I'm not entirely sure what song this occurred in).

- As Luke is piloting his landspeeder towards the Lars homestead, the lyric "let's cruise the bastard boat" in "Mr. Krinkle" is heard.

- Luke is looking upon his dead Aunt and Uncle when we hear the lyric "C'mon, Mr. Krinkle, tell me why" in "Mr. Krinkle."

- We hear "tell me why" again as Vader is about to torture Princess Leia.

- The lyric "it's incredibly hot in here" in "The Air is Getting Slippery" is heard as Luke and C-3PO enter the cantina.

- During Luke's scuffle with Walrus Man, the lyric "the boy ain't worth a..." in "The Air is Getting Slippery" is heard.

NOTES

If Jawas were real, I think they'd listen to Primus.