This is topic Backstreet Boys or U2: Which is better? in forum Officers' Lounge at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.


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Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
Okay, my girlfriend and I have just had a "heated" discussion on whether Backstreet Boys are better than U2, and vice versa. So, I've decided to settle the matter here once and for all. Perhaps you guys can help me out here.

My arguments (U2 is better than Backstreet Boys)
- They've been here for 20 years plus, and they're still making music.
- They've actually won Grammys.
- The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Enough said.
- Backstreet Boys only concentrate on sappy and very repetitive, meaningless songs. U2's songs have more variety (though they're quite political)
- Backstreet boys are basically a teenybopper group, focusing only on an audience full of screaming girls.
- U2's lyrics are considered to be great poetry ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is standard reading at my high school, believe it or not)

GF's arguments (Backstreet Boys are better than U2)
- U2 is nothing more than a Guy group (I dispute this 100%)
- Since when was the last time that U2 was nominated for the Grammys? And who just got nominated for the Grammys this year?
- The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby came out WHEN?
- The Backstreet Boys have best selling albums right now. Does U2 have any at this very moment?
- GF loves romantic songs. U2 probably has only 5 of them. Backstreet Boys? Well.........
- Backstreet Boys are considered to be part of today's generation of music (Dance, R&B, etc). U2 is nothing more than a mere fossil (get with the times, guys.......)
- U2 is old (the members are in their FORTIES now!! Too old!!). Backstreet boys are young. And they look cuter too.
- U2's concert in Toronto sold out within 2 hours. Backstreet Boys concert sold out within 20 minutes.

So, does anyone want to dispute the above facts?

Of course GF maintains that the Backstreet Boys have sold more albums than all of U2 combined. I say she's wrong, that U2 sell alot of albums, and some of their best albums are being sold to this very day. But of course, she asks the question "Did they sell a million copies last year?"

Help Here? Thanks.

------------------
"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

[This message has been edited by Tahna Los (edited February 27, 2000).]
 


Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :
 
Tell your GF to wait until the Backstreet Boys have been in business for over 20 years and see how they compare to U-2 today. Until then there's no comparison. U-2 has staying power. 20 years from now, I doubt that any Backstreet Boys lyrics will be required reading in any high school.

--Baloo

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"Any teenager in a deserted, adult-free location who has sex will be hacked to red glistening teen tartare before the evening�s out."
--James Lileks
[URL=http://www.geocities.com/cyrano_jones.geo/[/URL]

 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
Um... Okay, your girlfriend's entire argument seems based upon the fact that U2 is older than the BS Boys. There wasn't a single point made regarding the quality of their music. The closest that came was that they write "romantic songs" and U2 didn't. That's like saying Tupac Shakur was batter than the Grateful Dead because he wrote (c)rap, while the Dead didn't. It makes no sense whatsoever.

I'm sure your girlfriend is a lovely person, but I'm afraid she's certifiably insane. :-)

------------------
Jackson: "Basically, he was the original Satan."
O'Neill: "Well, isn't that special?"
-Stargate SG-1: "Serpent's Song"
 


Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
 
U2 has been parodied by Weird Al Yankovich (Cavity Search : Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me, Kill me).

That in and of itself says that U2 is a great band.

Does anyone else notice some congruities with New Kids on the Block?

New "Kids" on the "Block"
Back"Street" "Boys"

Ok, its stretching a bit, but we'll see how long they actually last.

------------------
"I object to all this sex on the television. I mean, I keep falling off!"
 


Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
 
My arguments for U2 vs the Boys are simple. U2 writes their own songs and plays their own instruments. There are songs that they have writen that transend i.e. Pride, Angel of Harlem, MLK.

Until the Boys can do that then they will remain a group that can look good, dance in synchronization, and sing sappy songs.

------------------
Ohh, so Mother Nature needs a favor? Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts, and plagues and poison monkeys. Nature started the fight for survival and now she wants to quit because she's losing...well I say "Hard Cheese"!
~C. Montgomery Burns


 


Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
 
Okay, Tahna, you mention U2, I'm here!

I agree with all you've said. Plus, I add that Bono can write good lyrics if all of U2's songs have more than one meaning.

For the Grammys U2 was nominated this year for best long-form video with PopMart Mexico City, but unfortunately lost to Jimi Hendrix. But you already know that.

U2 has no album out right now, but the soundtrack for "The Million Dollar Hotel" is due out shortly, which heavilly features U2. Many radio sations play "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", from the soundtrack. Other U2 songs are getting heavy airplay as well. The promo single for "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" is already selling for high prices on eBay. The entire soundtrack has already been leaked out and mp3s for all the tracks have already been made and many fans have them.

U2 has way more than 5 love songs as many can be intepreted as a love song. People still listen to U2 and they will still be making music, say 5 or 10 years from now. Doubtful if Backstreet Boys can say the same. Remember Hanson or the Spice Girls? NKOTB?

Age has nothing to do with it. I'm on the largest U2 internet mailing list and we know of fans as young as 13, maybe even younger. Hell, there are even babies or even like U2. U2 has fans of all ages and of all nationalities.

U2 has sold a million albums last year. There was the 1st installment of a 3-set best of. "Sweetest Thing" received massive airplay.

The next album is due out in September or so. The 2nd installement of the best of is also near ready status.

U2 has done terrific covers of other people's songs. They've done The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presely, Lou Reed, Johhny Cash, Joy Division, INXS, The Talking Heads, etc.

They've worked with many people as well. Such as Johhny Cash, Michael Hutchence, Lou Reed, Tina Turner, Boyzone, The Rolling Stones, Sinead O'Connor, Lucciano Pavovatti (sp?), Wyclef Jean, Jewel, Lauryn Hill, etc.

Many people have covered them. Such as, Cher, The Smashing Pumpkins, Collective Soul, etc.

Many current musicians are fans of U2. There's 3rd Eye Blind, Collective Soul, the lead singer of the Backstreet Boys...or was it the lead singer of Savage Garden, the Smashing Pumpkins, Tal Bachman, etc.

Plus, U2 has had two tribute albums. One is from other artists covering some U2 songs, the other being the London Philharmonic covering U2.

Many songs have been featured in a movie or a televion show. Many of those songs have also been included on whatever soundtrack there was. Can say that with other musical artists, let alone the Backstreet Boys?

U2 is one of the most bootlegged artists out there. Does Backstreet Boys come close? U2 can have well over 10 different boots just for one concert. Imagine a whole tour! And there are also many boots for studio recordings, mixes, remixes and outtakes.

U2 has met the president of the US, as well as other national leaders. Bono has met the pope.

They don't care about wealth and they don't brag about it. U2 has been involved with making our world a much better place to live. They are politically involed.

I can probably say much more.

There is no way to compare U2 and the Backstreet Boys and say Backstreet Boys are better.

Look at that...I get so excited talking about U2, that I make so many mistakes in writing.
------------------
7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me."
Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?"
7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."

[This message has been edited by PopMaze (edited February 27, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by PopMaze (edited February 27, 2000).]
 


Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
 
And it's a good sign when you have good albums that were released 10-15 years ago and people still remember them, play them often, and still sell for high prices at stores or online auctions.

------------------
7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me."
Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?"
7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."
 


Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
 
And it's not just albums, but singles and EPs as well. Plus some stuff released only on older media formats such as vinyl. They really sell!

I could probaby go on and on.

------------------
7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me."
Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?"
7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
I know several girls, none of which I am currently sleeping with (damnit), that, when presented with this question, burst out laughing and asked me if I was (quote) taking the piss, or what (unquote).

And they weren't siding with the Backstreet Boys, let me tell ya.

------------------
"I'd give anything to be able to turn invisible. I wouldn't use my powers to beat people up, but use them to protect the girl's locker room."
Xander Harris


 


Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
First things first: no character assassination here........ well, the discussion wasn't heated in any way, it was nothing more than mere sarcasm......

Well, I've gone through most of your replies, and I can honestly say that she can shoot most of them straight through with an arrow........

- Many Radio Stations play more Backstreet Boys than U2 (10 BSB songs to 1 U2). Which means that even THEY are with the times, and shows how Backstreet Boys are more popular than U2...... "The Ground beneath her feet"? None of the radio stations she listens to play it at ALL......
- How can U2 can be considered popular if she never heard of them before she even met me? She knew about the Backstreet Boys before she has even heard of U2. And if U2 was here for 20 plus years, surely she would have heard of their music, that's why she says Backstreet Boys are better.......
- She will also maintain that the Backstreet Boys write their own songs as well.
- She can probably find many people who have heard of the Backstreet Boys and Diddlysquat about U2.

My brother has jumped into this argument. He too is a Backstreet Boys fan *oh dear god!!!* His argument? U2 is nothing more than a Disco Group. Especially after "Discotheque"....... He still bugs me about that..... *GROAN*

I once checked out a Record store and I noticed that many of U2's earlier albums are now selling for $25 Canadian. The Average price for a CD is around $18....... Amazing, isn't it?

------------------
"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

[This message has been edited by Tahna Los (edited February 27, 2000).]
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
How old is your girlfriend? I'm just amazed that someone can get so far through their life without having heard of U2.

And her counter arguments are now based on popularity. Which isn't a measure of quality in any case. Did you SEE The Phantom Menace?

Besides, most of my mates haven't heard of 90% of the music in the US charts. Which autmoatically makes it crap according to her.

(granted, it is crap, but logical arguments have never seemed necessary to me)

------------------
"I'd give anything to be able to turn invisible. I wouldn't use my powers to beat people up, but use them to protect the girl's locker room."
Xander Harris


 


Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
 
Well, certainly the Backstreet Boys represent a growing trend in American pop culture and that is record companies and film studios are trying to reach out to young girls. Rather, that should be record companies and film studios are reaching out to young girls and their money.

The Backstreet Boys represent a safe, comparatively unintellectual approach to both music and sex. Afterall, I don't think that anyone can really deny that they are selling more records for sex appeal than for musical talent.

I would imagine that they have more personal trainers to their collective credit than lyrics written. Which I think is a travesty of the higest order. Does anyone really "listen" to music anymore? Not with the injection of video culture into the main artery of American pop life.

However, the paths to stardom in both the recording and film industries are strewn with pretty boys and girls who had no staying power and lost it all after their 21st birthday (or second Hollywood divorce) and could no longer play a high school nark or appeal to the 10-14 year old crowd of kiddies. Leif Garret anyone? Although he is said to be making a more hard-edged comback.

Let's look at some of the actual music shall we? Off of a disc called simply Backstreet Boys

"Let's have a party"

But all I wanna know is where to party at

Let's have a party, let's have a party
But all I wanna know is where to party at
Everybody, let's have a party

I've been watching you
You've been watching me
Let's stop playing games girl
come and dance with me
don't you hear the music
don't you feel the groove yeah
come on girl get on the floor
I wanna dance with you . . .

Heartwrenching.

Something tells me that if the Boys were onstage and sang the ingredient list to a Captain Crunch ceral box there would still be girls screaming and saying it was the best song they had ever heard. Which, considering their collective limited experience may be sad but true.

And yet, as soon as the Backstreet Boys become Backstreet Men, i.e. that first real wrinkle or perhaps too much middle aged paunch on those washboad abs, the trash heap that is yesterdays news waits with arms spread wide.

By that time, we'll have a new, sexxy, dancy groups to compare to bands like U2.

------------------
Ohh, so Mother Nature needs a favor? Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts, and plagues and poison monkeys. Nature started the fight for survival and now she wants to quit because she's losing...well I say "Hard Cheese"!
~C. Montgomery Burns

[This message has been edited by Jay (edited February 28, 2000).]
 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
*reads the girlfriend's arguements*

*falls over, laughing uncontrollably*

*gets back up about fiteen minutes later and reads it again*

Oh my... She serious believes that, doesn't she? Shoot her now, and put her out of her misery...

She thinks that the radio and adolescent popular opinion is an indication of greatness? For one thing, the radio arguement doesn't even make sense! Of course there will be stations that play more BS Boys than U2! There are also stations that play more U2 than BS Boys. There are also stations that play Beethoven and Mozart and don't play either of those other two!

And just because she hadn't heard of U2 doesn't mean squat. All it means is that she's probably been living in a hole someplace. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that she's heard of Bill Clinton, but not of James Polk. Does that make the former a better president than the latter? Not by a long shot.

BTW, no offense to your girlfriend was intended, so don't go killing me or anything. :-)

------------------
Jackson: "Basically, he was the original Satan."
O'Neill: "Well, isn't that special?"
-Stargate SG-1: "Serpent's Song"
 


Posted by Dane Simri (Member # 272) on :
 
Have you considered the possibility, Tahna, that your GF might actually be an alien spy or something? That would definitely explain a lot of this...

(Just kidding, just kidding! Please don't kill me!)

BTW, the Backstreets don't have a documentary film made about them either. (If you look real close, you can see ME in the part of "Rattle and Hum" that was filmed at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona... during the song, "Where the Streets Have No Name.")

------------------
Dane

"Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in even greater extent and depth, and the human mind widen itself as much as it desires: beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go."
Goethe

 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
I haven't got a BSB CD, so I can't check this, but someone who has, could they look in the inlay to see who it says has written the songs? If it lists some unknown names, with "additional material" by the Backstreet Boys, you can be pretty sure that their contribution was to turn up to the mixing session, and say
"ooh, that drum bit sounds nice. Can you make it a bit...y'know..drummier."
*mixer cahnges nothing* "you mean like this?"
"yeah man. Drumming. Cool".

------------------
"I'd give anything to be able to turn invisible. I wouldn't use my powers to beat people up, but use them to protect the girl's locker room."
Xander Harris


 


Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
 
Backstreet Boys are nothing more than the late 90's version of the New Kids on the Block. Same dancing, same rhythm, same everything. They also rank with the Spice Girls. Same number, same dancing, same rhythm, only boys instead of girls. Their Music all sounds the same. You can always tell a BSB song. The girl in question has probably heard U2 before, but probably didn't know it. U2 has so many different sounds, it's probably hard to know who U2 is to the untrained ear.
There will always be a teenie-bopper group to capture the hearts of young teens, but when they grow up, they will always listen to a group with more QUALITY!!!!!!
Let's see who will be in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame after 25 years in the business (Come 2024, who will remember Backstreet boys with anything more than a laugh at how stupid you were for buying the BSB sheet set. Your mom paid so much for it, she forced you to sleep on it for the next ten years, long after you began to hate them. This happened to my sister with the New Kids bed set. She just finally got rid of it when she got a bigger Bed.)

However the sounds of U2 will last.
-For political-Sunday Bloody Sunday
-Gospel-I still haven't found what I'm looking for
-Rap-Numb
-Dance-Mysterious Ways
-Tribute-MLK, Angel of Harlem
-Covers-Some of the best covers not done by G & R.
-Retro-Discotheque(Everyone hated it, but it was a fun song not to be taken seriously!)
-Movie songs-All I want is you, and If God will send his Angels.

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Man it's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that.


 


Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
 
The Backstreet boys will follow the same path as New Kids and Menudo( and Brittiny Spears and Debbie Gibson). Obscurity! If they are still playing Backstreet songs on the radio in twenty years, as they do U2, I'll eat my hat. I'm not the biggest U2 fan in the world, but I do recognize their place in rock history, and I own The Joshua Tree, a classic album.

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Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf


 


Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
 
Maybe a life in obscurity is a good thing, especially for bands like BSB.

------------------
"I object to all this sex on the television. I mean, I keep falling off!"
 


Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
 
"Creation" conventions used to set Trek video clips to popular music, for the entertainment of conventioneers. such as a "Heroes of Star trek" video set to "Holdin' out for a Hero."

I was at a convention in Pittsburgh once where they played a video showcasing Spock, set to the music of "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

It was, perhaps, the coolest of that type of video, or, really, ANY type of video I've ever seen.

I can pretty much bet that nothing similar will ever happen to BSB.

(The following is simply my personal opinion, without any numerical factual data to back it up. It is largely a matter of taste (good).

The BSB's music is pap, plain and simple. Homogenized, lowest-common denominator, easy-to-sing, drivel. It means what it says, but it says VERY LITTLE.

And the whole 'popularity' angle is garbage. If a billion people do a stupid thing, it is STILL a stupid thing. 'Pop' bands like BSB are DESIGNED to draw in the mindless or immature masses, who are looking for something to make them 'popular' with the 'crowd' instead of committing the unforgivable sin of being individuals. It's a sad thing, and I see it every day.

I have a standard by which I judge music. I listen to the radio during my 25 minutes to and from work every day. I have 12 stations programmed in, which I skip between. Any song I hear at over 4 times a day , or a dozen times in the course of a week, on the various stations, automatically goes in my 'slush bin,' as a SF editor would call it. (Alternate names: File 13, the Circular File, The OUT Out basket.)

BSB is one of the most overplayed groups on the air today.

I rarely hear U2.

That is how I know U2 is better. They HAVE to play BSB a billion times, to get you to listen to it. To give you no CHOICE but to hear that drivel. But I SEARCH the radio for U2 songs.

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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi


 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
At the risk of getting two knifes in my back for bringing back bad memories, I have to mention that Page's Bar did something similar with Spice Girls songs.

They played "Who do you think you are" to a sequence of shots of Kosh, and "Wannabe" (lyrics like "tell me what you want, what you really really want") to a Morden montage.

At that point I think Lee's head exploded. A remarkable sight to be sure.

------------------
"I'd give anything to be able to turn invisible. I wouldn't use my powers to beat people up, but use them to protect the girl's locker room."
Xander Harris


 


Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
Can we have some BSB fans here on the discussion. Seems that this whole topic has been totally one-sided.

------------------
"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

 


Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
 
That's because everyone here knows that U2 has better music and can probably give better points about U2 in a debate or argument.

------------------
7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me."
Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?"
7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."
 


Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :
 
To illustrate the staying power of the "appeal to the youthful masses" type of group I need say only two words:

  1. Milly
  2. Vanilly

I need say no more.

--Baloo

------------------
"Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonalds's makes you a hamburger."
--[Source unknown.]
http://www.geocities.com/cyrano_jones.geo/



 


Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
 
Ah, yes. But Mr. Milly and Mr. Vanilly, their choreographer, their studio band, the guys who actually sang the songs, the fellows who made the music "drummier," (I loved that phrase ) and their personal trainers, as a collective won a Grammy.

Milly Vanilly, like the BSB now, were produced out of whole cloth. They were a fabrication. An invention of producers who picked a look and fit the faces to what they wanted to that look. They then had someone else write songs that would appeal to a segment of the population and then had someone else play the actual music.

All of which I think fans the flames of the gf's general "the BSB were up for a Grammy" argument.

Which in and of itself leads to another agrument. The Grammys the last few years have been about record sales and not about music. Which is why the BSB were even up for one in the first place. The Grammys have given in to the evil that is Soundscan. A place where an album's sales somehow equates to inherent excellence. While the two are not exclusive, it is certainly a incorrect to say that simple sales equate to greatness.

------------------
Ohh, so Mother Nature needs a favor? Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts, and plagues and poison monkeys. Nature started the fight for survival and now she wants to quit because she's losing...well I say "Hard Cheese"!
~C. Montgomery Burns


 


Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :
 
Just because a song is popular does not mean it's great.

"Disco duck" (Rick Dees) was popular.

"The Streak" (Ray Stevens) was popular.

"Convoy" (C.W. McCall) was popular.

"Mairzy Dotes" (I dunno the performer/composer) was popular.

One of the above is now a children's song. I'll bet most of you responded "Huh? Wuzzat?" to all or most of the above titles. Popularity is no measure of greatness. Beethoven had many contemporary competitors, but unless you're a music historian, you probably can't name a single one of them. Beethoven was great. The rest were popular (and not all of them, either).

Just because something is popular NOW has no bearing upon whether it's truly important in the scheme of things. Even when it's important, it isn't always a good idea. Being a Nazi made you important in Germany from around 1933 to early 1945, but it didn't mean you were one of the "good guys", especially if you had Jewish friends and/or relatives.

"Popular" is overrated.

--Baloo

------------------
"Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonalds's makes you a hamburger."
--[Source unknown.]
http://www.geocities.com/cyrano_jones.geo/



 


Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
 
I have an MP3 of Disco Duck. I'm listening to it right now.

------------------
Frank's Home Page
"We were leaving New York this morning and we were checking in at the gate at the airport and the attendant said, 'You must be musicians,' and I said, 'Yes,' and she asked, 'What's the name of your band?,' and I said, 'We're called the Statesmen,' and she said, 'Oh, I've heard of you!'. I think if we'd said, you know, 'We're the Green Egg,' or something, she would have said the same thing." - John Linnell
 


Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :
 
I agree. I am a big U2 fan and I have most of their albums. But I don't listen to them as much now because I would rather listen to newer music and not the same collection of songs over and over. Once BSB dies down and the next teenage heart-throb group comes along, I bet your gf would say that band X is better than BSB because they are 'now'.
 
Posted by Dane Simri (Member # 272) on :
 
It suddenly occurs to me that the reason we haven't heard from any BSB fans is that enjoying Star Trek and enjoying BSB music are genetically incompatible traits. This is yet another piece of evidence that the BSB are losers.

*Is only half kidding around*

------------------
Dane

"Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in even greater extent and depth, and the human mind widen itself as much as it desires: beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go."
Goethe

 


Posted by JP/Nuts on :
 
I've played music for a number of years, classical viola and will say that U-2 is a band of musicians, BSB is a band of synths. The sound that they have is typical process bass dance rhythms. They are aimed at the young teenage girl crowd who are concerned with image not quality of the musical expertise. Time will tell who is was the greater musical group.


-------------------------------------------------------
Pain is your best friend, it never lies to you.
 


Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
 
The only member here that I can think of, that said he liked the BSB, was Justin.

------------------
Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf


 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
And since he's going out with one of the ugliest girls ever, I wouldn't judge anything based upon his sense of taste.

------------------
"I'd give anything to be able to turn invisible. I wouldn't use my powers to beat people up, but use them to protect the girl's locker room."
Xander Harris


 


Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
 
Good LORD! That was incredibly tasteless, and perhaps the funniest thing I've read in days. Days, mind you. Days that I've been without a computer. Days in which no one seems to have cared about me, because obviously I suck, or something. And then there is a music thread where nobody says anything involving me? My ego is crushed and battered and whipped and spewed, and made mincemeat out of. Which is probably a good thing, in the long run. Who the hell do I think I am?

But, I cannot be silent. U2 is a lot more like the Backstreet Boys than some of you seem comfortable in admiting. Dare I utter the word "Popmart"? Then we have Bono who compares only with Sting in the catagory of musicians who make more "gutsy political statements" than music. Er...and Adam, uh, guy, of the Beastie Boys. Er, and all of Rage Against the Machine. Though the latter combine both, and make something that is, at the very least, interesting.

But that isn't the point. There is no point. There is every point. But U2 lyrics are not poetry. Soul Coughing lyrics are poetry with a capital OET. I prove it to you thusly.

An excerpt from Screenwriter's Blues

Gone savage
For teenagers with automatic weapons and boundless love
Gone savage
For teenagers who are aesthetically pleasing
In other words
Fly
Los Angeles beckons the teenagers to come to her on buses;
Los Angeles loves love

Of course, this stems from the fact that M. Doughty, singer and songwriter for Soul Coughing is a poet himself. And Soul Coughing references are fifty thousand times cooler than U2 references. What does U2 have to compare to "I absorb trust like a love rhombus" or "I ride the fader and I ride it low, I'm going to slip into the field like Han Solo and". Or has a song that mentions Josie and the Pussycats and the inner processes of atoms? In the same song, mind you. Well?

They Might Be Giants, of course, reference Gigantor, which is of course ninety-nine thousand times cooler than U2, but in a Japanese financial empire cool.

(I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself.)

------------------
"You are stupid and evil and do not know you are stupid and evil."
--
Gene Ray, Cubic
 


Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
 
My great aunt, now just past 80, sand "Mairzy Dotes" when she babysat me when I was in elementary school, so I just always assumed it was an old folk song (like everything else she sang).

It took me YEARS to figure out "Mairzy Dotes" was really Mares Eat Oats.
and does eat oats
and little lambs eat ivy
a kid'll eat ivy, too,
wouldn't you?

ARRGH! Now that song'll be in my head for the next two days...

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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi


 


Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
 
Bob Dylan is a poet. Jim Morrison was a poet. Jimmy Hendrix was a poet. Again, what is the point? As discussed in chapter 2, there is no point other than there are plenty of fine poet songwriters out there. None of which encompase any of the Backstreet Boys.

T.S. Eliot was a poet, but he couldn't dance.
e.e. cummings was a poet, but he couldn't (s)
*i

N


G.

------------------
Ohh, so Mother Nature needs a favor? Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts, and plagues and poison monkeys. Nature started the fight for survival and now she wants to quit because she's losing...well I say "Hard Cheese"!
~C. Montgomery Burns

[This message has been edited by Jay (edited March 01, 2000).]
 


Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
 
The point, rather obviously, is that Doughty is impossibly cool.

A side point, one that is worth mining in another thread, is that I am incredibly not happy.

------------------
"You are stupid and evil and do not know you are stupid and evil."
--
Gene Ray, Cubic
 


Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
 
Well, if you want to talk cool, let me just mention Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Yes, come with me to the wonderful world of Jazz. A place where one doesn't even necessarily need words to write poetry.
------------------
Ohh, so Mother Nature needs a favor? Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts, and plagues and poison monkeys. Nature started the fight for survival and now she wants to quit because she's losing...well I say "Hard Cheese"!
~C. Montgomery Burns

[This message has been edited by Jay (edited March 01, 2000).]
 


Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
 
Jazz is the king of all music.

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Man it's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that.


 


Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
 
Oh, besides the fact that U2 actually play their own instruments (including Bono, though his guitar needs improving), they still have three of the highest attended tours in rock history, Rock's hotest ticket- the Rattle and Hum tour, Zoo TV- the hottest tour in the nineties, and PopMart (Not as high as the other two, but a twenty foot tall lemon and a TV almost twice the size of a basketball court are cooler than five faggoty guys dancing in sync)

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Man it's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that.


 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
How can anybody be cooler than a band with guys named 'Bono' and 'The Edge'?

I like Joe Satriani. I doubt anybody's heard of him here. He's a guitar virtuoso. He's got more talent in his finger than the Backdoor Boys have put together.

You can't say otherwise, or you haven't heard his music. But nobody's heard of him.

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"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-Mark Twain
 


Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
 
If he were really talented, he might have tried something besides the guitar.

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Frank's Home Page
"This is a brand new song...we haven't recorded it yet, but we're going to now." - John Flansburgh
 


Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
 
Unfortunately, some idiots still pronounce Bono (Bah-No) as (Boh-No) as in Sonny Bono. And those are the idiots who like BSB, N'Sync, Spice Girls, Hanson, and so on!

------------------
7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me."
Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?"
7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."

[This message has been edited by PopMaze (edited March 01, 2000).]
 


Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
 
Presumably, they speak the English language, too.

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Frank's Home Page
"This is a brand new song...we haven't recorded it yet, but we're going to now." - John Flansburgh
 


Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :
 
I've heard of Joe Satriani and he's quite talented. I don't listen to his music, but trust me, from what I have heard, he's good. And what's wrong with the guitar? It's an instrument. I can't play it, so I respect anyone who can play with at least some talent. No offense Shadow.

Another thing about image. U2 got popular with their music and then got an image. BSB was molded to the image that would make them popular. Take away their image and they are just another group of paid vocalists.

On a side note, I don't think anyone ever argued who was the cutest out of U2.

[This message has been edited by fructose1 (edited March 01, 2000).]
 


Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
 
Yes, but everyone plays the guitar these days. It's just not a very original or interesting choice of instrument.

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Frank's Home Page
"This is a brand new song...we haven't recorded it yet, but we're going to now." - John Flansburgh
 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
But it's also one of the hardest to master. I can't even think of 100 people who have truly mastered it.

The Edge is obviously the cutest member of U2. You can't argue over that.

------------------
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-Mark Twain
 


Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
Cute? My gf saw a pic of U2 quite a while ago and said that Larry Mullen Jr (the drummer) was quite cute. Bono to her is just plain ugly.

So Dane, you were at Tempe? Do you remember this quote?

"..... her Lover's turnin' on the Television. And I can't tell the difference between ABC News, Hill Street Blues, and the Preacher on the Old Time Gospel Hour, stealing money from the sick and the old. For the God I believe in isn't short of Cash, Mister."

That's one of my fave quotes and it's currently used as my sig over at TrekBBS.

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"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

 


Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
 
Well for that matter, Tori Amos references a lot of stuff, particularly the Sandman comics.

This is doubly cool because the Sandman comics referenced her BACK.

I don't know of any other times this has happened.

And the chick's got an entire song that consists of names of FLOWERS! o_0

Also, as I understand it a lot of bands in the 60's and later referenced the writer William S. Burroughs.

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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi


 


Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
 
Well, if obscureness is a virtue, I could name a few groups...

------------------
"You are stupid and evil and do not know you are stupid and evil."
--
Gene Ray, Cubic
 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
While I'm not a big Satriani fan (personally, I like words in most of the songs I listen to), I've got friends who are, and the man definitely knows how to play a guitar.

Oh, and I pronounce "Bono" w/ a long 'o'. If he wanted a short 'o', he should have spelled it "Bonno". :-)

------------------
Jackson: "Basically, he was the original Satan."
O'Neill: "Well, isn't that special?"
-Stargate SG-1: "Serpent's Song"
 


Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :
 
In the english language, you can mix up the slepping some. Anyone know how to say ghoti?
 
Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
 
Cen lic jeid xane frag brisp zentala Gruim.

------------------
Frank's Home Page
"This is a brand new song...we haven't recorded it yet, but we're going to now." - John Flansburgh
 


Posted by Justin_Timberland (Member # 236) on :
 
I'm not the only one who likes BSB, ask Michael. He's as obsessed with them as any girl on TV...

But seriously, did your girlfriend really think why she likes BSB? I know Michael and I have only three reasons we like the group.

1. The members are cute to us (Hey, Michael and I are gay, so sue us!)

2. They are currently the "it" band, but I think N'Sync will dethrone them soon though

3. It's the only music to put Michael and I in the mood to..ahhh..."exercise"

We both listen to what's popular in music, not just BSB. We both know the reason we like their music, and it's pretty superficial. We listen to Ricky Martin and to Marc Anthony when we both are in the mood to dance salsa, we listen to the Foo Fighters when we feel like driving like maniacs on the road, and we listen to certain rap songs like the song with Dr. Dre and that annoying white guy whenever we feel b*t@hy.

------------------
We did it on the floor,
We did it by the door,
We did it all night,
We did it under a light,
So how about for tonight we do it some more...

 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
Now, call me a crazy old pice of fruit, but did any of those three reasons make a reference to their musical ability? No...

Then I stand by my comment made earlier about Justin's sense of taste.

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"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
Superficial???

BINGO!!!!

------------------
"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

 


Posted by Dane Simri (Member # 272) on :
 
Okay, Psy, whatever you want... you're a crazy old piece of fruit.

And Tahna, I definitely remember that quote! That concert was far and away the best I've ever seen (and I'm a Rush fan, too, so that's saying something).

------------------
Dane

"Mathematicians have long held that a million monkeys banging on a million keyboards would eventually reproduce the collected wisdom of the human race. Now, thanks to the internet, we know this is not true." -- Robert Silensky
 


Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
 
Dane!! You are the man!!! I saw the Permenant Waves tour, Moving Pictures, Signals, then they didn't come here for a long while, then I went to Pittsburg to see, (can't recall for sure) either Roll the Bones or the next tour after that.

I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Satriani on MTV unpluged one night. I had always liked Joe, but Stevie made him look like a beginer that night. Joe needs to be pluged in to sound right, all his music is for electric.

I got my first Miles Davis disc a couple of months ago. I may have to get another soon, the man could play!!

Try Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, for some more great jazz, their bass player, Victor Wooten is the best in the business.
( small correction. I did not see the Rush, Hemispheres tour. I heard most of the music at the Permenant Waves tour)
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Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf

[This message has been edited by Kosh (edited March 03, 2000).]
 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
Well, obviously Stevie Ray Vaughan was better. He was a God.

I'd give my hands to be able to play like he did.

------------------
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-Mark Twain
 


Posted by Jay the Obscure (Member # 19) on :
 
Miles Davis? Did someone say Miles? Cool.

Which disc did you get? I could recommend others depending on what your tastes are.

------------------
Ohh, so Mother Nature needs a favor? Well maybe she should have thought of that when she was besetting us with droughts, and plagues and poison monkeys. Nature started the fight for survival and now she wants to quit because she's losing...well I say "Hard Cheese"!
~C. Montgomery Burns


 


Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :
 
Of course the reason why Justin and I like the Backstreet Boys is superficial. What did you expect? We like them for their talent?

------------------
"Life's a bitch, then you die"
-USS Vanderbilt, Vanderbuilt Class starship

 


Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :
 
If that didn't just answer what this whole thing was about, then I don't know what will.
 
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
Justin/Michael: My brother thinks the BSB HAVE talent, compared to U2, who have so much of a lack of talent, they're forced to sing Disco.

I really don't know how the world works these days.....

------------------
"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
"I really don't know how the world works..."

I'll give you a hint: It doesn't. :-)

------------------
"Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding."
-They Might Be Giants, "Your Racist Friend"
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
BTW, I'm gald that Justin felt the need to "hide" the word b*t@hy. Hearing the word "bitch" would no doubt destroy my fragile little mind, while hearing that the BSB puts two men in the mood to do each others up the arse is perfectly fine.

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"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
Yet another reason to listen to the Backstreet Boys, eh Liam?
 
Posted by Justin_Timberland (Member # 236) on :
 
I'm sure that Liam does not what to partake in what Michael and I do...

------------------
We did it on the floor,
We did it by the door,
We did it all night,
We did it under a light,
So how about for tonight we do it some more...

 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
You're damn right I don't want to participate in listening to the BSB's.

------------------
"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
Oh, and good old Daniel "I don't piss anyone of on purpose, honest" Tyman has this to say:

"Not all teeny bop idols are neccessarily shitty musicians. Jim Morrison and John Lennon were both poets, for instance.
Anyone who makes their musical tastes based solely on doability is an idiot. As much as I wanna bang Jewel or Sheryl Crow, I feel both have artistic ability
And I don't trust the musical taste of any man who does not appreciate muffy"

------------------
"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by Justin_Timberland (Member # 236) on :
 
Liam, that's not what I was reffering to...

Anyone up for a menage a trois?

------------------
We did it on the floor,
We did it by the door,
We did it all night,
We did it under a light,
So how about for tonight we do it some more...

 


Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
 
I can barely manage one.

Ha HA! Oh my.

------------------
"You are stupid and evil and do not know you are stupid and evil."
--
Gene Ray, Cubic
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
I know what you mean Sol. It's hard enough listening to one BSB song. There's no way I could listen to three, so I'm afrad I'll have to turn down your proposition Justin.

------------------
"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
How could anyone listen to three at once? Wouldn't that be a sensory overload? That's got to disturb the equillibrium.

I'm surprised there aren't more disgruntled DJ's from 'cool music' radio station in water towers with high powered sniper rifles.

Listening to the Backdoor Boys 90,000 times a day surely would make one go ravenously murderous.

------------------
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-Mark Twain
 


Posted by Justin_Timberland (Member # 236) on :
 
Well, Michael listens to all the songs of the Backstreet Boys on both albums everyday. And then he listens to everything else after 9 hours of BSB time.

I'd say he needs theraphy, but our sex life would then suffer...

------------------
We did it on the floor,
We did it by the door,
We did it all night,
We did it under a light,
So how about for tonight we do it some more...

 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
It's true. Being homosexual does turn your brain to cabbage.

Oh, and *sign*. Not to call everyone here a complete tit, but...you're all a bunch of complete tits.

Justin said "anyone up for a menage a trois?"

He was asking if anyone wanted to have sex with him and Michael. Since I would rather have my ball ripped off and fed to me in a sandwhich, I deceided to humoursly misunderstand what he meant, and pretend he meant listening to three BSB songs at once.

Straight over your heads people. Tsk.

------------------
"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
I, being from the highly industrialised country of Canada, North America, did indeed get your humorous response to Justin's wonderful homosexual question.
Canadians, being derived from the wonderful monarchy of Great Britain, do indeed share similarities in sense of humor.
Alas, though, ours is not as highly developed, because the cold has numbed our humor receptors.

Postscript -

quote:
Since I would rather have my ball ripped off and fed to me in a sandwich

That's all? I think having your entire genitalia system shredded off by a combine harvester and force-fed to you while a steel harpoon is driven up your ass would be a viable alternative to a gay threesome.

------------------
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-Mark Twain
 


Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :
 
It's the cold. He was shivering so hard he hit "submit" twice.

------------------
"Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonalds's makes you a hamburger."
--[Source unknown.]
http://www.geocities.com/cyrano_jones.geo/



 


Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :
 
We went from U2 vs. Backstreet Boys to gay bashing? And I thought I went off on tangents at times. Scarry.

------------------
It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

[This message has been edited by fructose1 (edited March 05, 2000).]
 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
The thing I'm wondering about is why Liam only has one ball...

Wait... Nevermind. I'd rather not wonder about that...

------------------
"Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding."
-They Might Be Giants, "Your Racist Friend"
 


Posted by Justin_Timberland (Member # 236) on :
 
Perhaps he had a gardening accident...

That or he sat on a bicycle the wrong way...

As for my comments earlier, I was kidding about having a threesome. That would defeat the purpose of a monogamous relationship.

And a harpoon is an interesting substitute for a dildo though, but Michael and I are not into S/M, just light bondage.

------------------
"Life is like a dick, sometimes you just wanna f**k it"
-Yun Zhu
USS Vanderbilt NCC-73121, Vanderbilt Class Starship
 


Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :
 
Dude (If I can call you that), Bondage is S&M.

And S&M is an album by Metallica, who are ninety billion times better than the Backdoor Boys.

(Just trying to bring this topic back on topic)

------------------
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-Mark Twain

[This message has been edited by Ultra Magnus (edited March 05, 2000).]
 


Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
 
DUDE!

I just bought that album and listened to it over the weekend. That is the coolest thing I have ever heard. I was dubious as to what Metallica would sound like backed up by a full symphony orchestra, but... WHEE!

MAN, it's really GOOD!

------------------
"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi


 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
I've only heard a couple of the songs from it. And the only one I'm really familiar w/ is "No Leaf Clover". It's pretty good, but I did think that the orchestra made it sound... this is going to seem odd, but... "large". I don't know if anyone knows what I mean here... The song just sounded too open and expansive to me. I'd like to hear what it would sound like if they did a regular studio recording of it w/o the orchestra...

------------------
Homer: "I can see what's happening. They did it to Jesus, and now they're doing it to me."
Marge: "Are you comparing yourself to our lord?!"
Homer: "Well, in bowling ability..."
-The Simpsons
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
Don't you use "ball" to mean "Adam's Apple" is America? We do all the time in the UK. I can't believe that you didn't know that.

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"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
*nudges Liam and whispers "Nice save..."*

------------------
Homer: "I can see what's happening. They did it to Jesus, and now they're doing it to me."
Marge: "Are you comparing yourself to our lord?!"
Homer: "Well, in bowling ability..."
-The Simpsons
 


Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
 
Cheers. I think I got it by them, don't you?

Now, if I could only find my other testicle, we'd be back in business.

------------------
"Sometimes I wish the planet would be scoured with cleansing fire. Other times I just wish Frank would be."
Sol System
 


Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
 
I think it should also be mentioned that U2 has appeared as themselves on at least one episode of "The Simpsons" and are thusly forever ensconced in a second cultural phenomenon.

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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi


 


Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
 
Only one appearance by U2 on the Simpsons, but a few references to them. Chief Wiggums has said, "Okay, Achtung Babies"

Ah, the Simpsons...and Star Trek: whatever number. Klingons approaching once again, Kirk and everybody with arthritis and Scotty in Engineering who can't raise shields because he's so fat he can't reach the console even if he's at his station. Okay that's enough from me.

------------------
7 alarm clock: "Do not touch me."
Dilbert: "Then how do I turn you off?"
7: "Believe me, I am plenty turned off."
 


Posted by Mikey T (Member # 144) on :
 
How about the Star Trek and Animaniacs? Anyone from the US remember when the Warner Brothers and the Warner sister visited the Enterprise? That was funny. It also explained in a Non-Canon way why Scotty became "Larger than Life," Yakko replicated him doughnuts.

------------------
"Life's a bitch, then you die"
-USS Vanderbilt, Vanderbuilt Class starship

 


Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
 
That was a fabulous episode of Animaniacs, if I do say so myself.

------------------
Man it's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that.


 




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