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It’s the 30th anniversary of “Hackers!”
It’s silly, dated, and full of the kind of fakety-fake techno-cheese found in “hacker” and “cyberpunk” movies of the 1990s, but the 1995 film Hackers is still one of my guilty pleasures. It turned 30 today!
I will always say this about Hackers:
I find myself willing to suspend my disbelief about their depiction of the tech scene of that era, the motivations of some of the characters, Penn Jillette as a pushover cybersecurity specialist, and the way the movie shows computers in general.
However, there’s one thing where my suspension of disbelief comes to a crashing halt: The way the film tries oh-so-hard to portray rollerblading as cool.
And of course there’s a 30th anniversary release of the film, but it’s not available until September 22.
For more, check out Polygon’s article on the anniversary.
And in the meantime, enjoy the original trailer for the film:
Damn, do I feel old now. On September 15th, 1989, Nine Inch Nails released their first single, Down In It, which serious fans also know as “HALO 1.” Today is its 36th anniversary.
(Trent Reznor assigns HALO numbers, to Nine Inch Nails releases in chronological order. It makes one’s Nine Inch Nails collection simpler to organize. He took the idea from Depeche Mode, who use a similar system called BONG numbers.)
Down In It would become the third track on Nine Inch Nails’ debut album, Pretty Hate Machine, which came out in October 1989. This album is one of my all time favorites, and those of you who were at my DJ sessions at Crazy Go Nuts University’s pub run by the engineering students, Clark Hall Pub, know that I often played tracks from this album, including Down In It.
There are a few versions of Down In It, but my particular favorite wasn’t the heavyily-produced album version, but the more raw-sounding demo version, which was released on the Head Like a Hole maxi-single, also known as HALO 3, featured in the video below:
Here’s the official music video, which features some very oh-so-1990 alt-rock visuals and the album version of the song:
I’ve always loved the synth riff in this song — the “dee doo doo doo dee doo deedley-doo” bit — and here’s how you play it:
Down In It came out at a time when I was, well, “down in it,” and while it may be a cliché to say that it (along with the rest of the Pretty Hate Machine album) got me through some hard times, it actually did. And to this day, this track, along with the rest of the album, still holds a special place in my heart.
Happy 36th anniversary, Down In It!
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Bonus picdump for Sunday, September 14
In my opinion, posting more than one pic makes it a “picdump,” and these two pics were just too relevant and good to wait another week for.
First, an important message from John Carpenter’s classic 1980s film, They Live…
…and then, this:
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Sticker of the day
I just may have to place an order for this one.
I’m a firm believer in the notion that “prescribed times for everyday things” don’t exist at airports. In my opinion, breakfast-for-dinner or an early morning beer are perfectly fine when you’re waiting for a flight.
The social media team at MCO (Orlando International Airport) agree with me, and being the consistently entertaining people they are, they managed to get Tampa Bay’s own John Cena to put on his Peacemaker costume and pose for this shot, which is oh-so-Florida.
Here’s the link to the Facebook post featuring this photo, and do yourself a favor and follow MCO on Facebook to stay informed and entertained.