“Empire of the Clouds” on “The Book of Souls” by Iron Maiden – 2015
“Iron Maiden has been the soundtrack to my life since I first heard their music in 1986. What I appreciate about the band is that most of its songs are about history, literature, and film. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson, a pilot himself, penned this ode to the doomed R-101, the largest airship of its time. At a length of 18:01, Dickinson captures the epic scope present in the tragedy, and the song compares favorably to classics like Rush’s ‘2112’ and Maiden’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner.’ Piano music is rarely featured in heavy metal, and it frames the song, showing Iron Maiden could find new directions after 40 years. Doctors discovered a cancerous tumor on Bruce’s tongue in 2015 and the band waited to release the album and tour until Bruce was healthy. Maiden has never played this song in concert, but I dream of hearing it someday. Up the Irons!”
“A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess – 1962
“I could have recommended Kubrick’s 1971 film, but the book is better. On its surface, the story is about the chaos of misspent youth, the overreach of government, and the presence of good and evil. What sets the book apart from the film is, ultimately, the possibility for humanity to outgrow mistakes of the past. Burgess’ expressionistic style means we are forced to view the world through the eyes of the protagonist. Alex is a deranged sociopath who just happens to love the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, and he speaks in a language known as Nadsat. Nadsat is a polyglot language consisting of London street slang and Russian. The reader is thrown into this with no context, and thus has to work to figure it all out. In this process, the reader is virtually forced to think like Alex. The book is horrifically violent, so read with care!”
“Red Dawn” – 1984
“In this delightful and crowd-pleasing relic of the Cold War, John Milius appropriates decades of Soviet movies about revolution and resistance, and turns the tables. Here the dirty commies invade ’Merica, and a bunch of high school kids take to the mountains and form a resistance. A gaggle of young 1980s heartthrobs (Patrick Swayze! Charlie Sheen! Jennifer Grey!) are balanced out by brilliant performances from Powers Boothe, Ron O’Neal, and Harry Dean Stanton. You may think that you are dramatic, but you’ll NEVER be as dramatic as Stanton screaming “AVENGE ME!” from behind the gates of a Soviet re-education camp to his two sons. SPOILER ALERT, this movie is basically Generation X’s version of “Star Wars: Rogue One,” so don’t get too attached to any of the characters! Also, NO ONE SHOULD EVER WATCH THE 2012 REMAKE. It’s so bad that it almost made the Mayan prophecy come true. Wolverines!”