Repent, anti-Star Wars Prequel-ers, For Darkness Looms

I grow weary of oft-repeated opinions and claims lacking sufficient support. It is common to see the riot mentality propel a loose-footed idea into the public sphere with the intention of making it a universal truth. Some are designed as pre-packaged quips for one to utter in order to feel accepted and credible in the standing of their relevant society. Cheap tricks, I say!

Here is a list of such cheap tricks, in no particular order:

- Nickelback is a terrible, awful musical group.
- Nintendo is dead and irrelevant in the video game industry.
- The National Basketball Association lacks true defensive play.
- Cheaters. That is who the New England Patriots are.
- The Star Wars prequel trilogy was forgettable.

The last item strikes drives me anger; the second comes in a close second-place but will not be discussed here.

Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III indeed were lesser of films compared to their original counterparts, but who is to say that each of these films hold no value? Truly, there are issues and shames abound in them. Uncomfortably stilted dialogue, lethargic pacing, and an over-abundance of CGI mar the movies. I hold these complaints suitable regarding the filmmaking aspect. However, these hold no merit when it comes to the story building and the lore of Star Wars.

My annoyance with people scoffing and dismissing the Prequels with ease has been compounded with the equal of ease people have accepted Episode VII. Suddenly, planet Earth is a Star Wars enthusiast again! While this should be a joyous moment, I curmudgeonly grit against this.

I cry, "Where were you when times were difficult for Star Wars? What had you said when the Prequels were easy targets? How flimsy is your loyalty to Star Wars?"

I will cease digressing after this: those who joined in the stoning and mocking of the Prequels but now lavish in the thrills of The Force Awakens are not true Star Wars fans.

There, it is done; what was just said and written is therapeutic for me.

I understand how Trekkies must feel today. Patrons of Star Trek have the rights to a bigger gripe than mine. For years, even decades, Star Trek was derided as dorky, boring, campy and wrought with peculiarities. All of these were washed away when JJ Abrams revived the series with a shiny, fast, and mass-appealing movie entry.

Suddenly, Trekkies were cool, at least tolerated; in a flash, Star Trek was relevant. (Perhaps Abrams is to blame for all this. He is the necessary evil Star Wars and Star Trek needed?)

Admittedly, I was one such viewer gushed by the bells and whistles of the 2007 Star Trek film and its follow-ups. I saw the light of what Star Trek was, is, and could yet become. Since then, I have gone back to the source of the light and indulged in the original series. Well, mostly The Next Generation.

I am not here to cast a force field around the Prequels. It would be un-American to disallow any sort of criticism lobbed towards it. Freedom of speech is a beautiful, wonderful thing. Say what you want and hold to it, be that what you say is defensible and reasoned.

If you are to embrace Star Wars, embrace it all. Cherish what has been given to us. Like salt to a wound, endure the pain of its failures. Lo, I foresee a shroud of darkness over the future of Star Wars.

In the beginning, each Marvel film was an event, a spectacle. Now, we are bombarded with sequels, spin-offs, reboots and crossovers. A superhero movie comes and goes.

I caution against a yearly - or worse, a bi-yearly - entry into the Star Wars franchise. First was Rogue One: exciting, gritty, but misfired on human emotion. Will the Han Solo film do the same? And what of the next spinoff? When we wanted to dive deeper in the expanses of the galaxy far, far away, literature and video games assisted our Star Wars hunger. That canon has been shredded.

They will come, and they will go - an over-saturation of the greatness of Star Wars.

Less is more. More will not make the Prequels go away. Each of them served a purpose. I fear Disney dishing out new Star Wars films every year will diminish its wonder.

The video game which defined my musical tastes

I recently told someone that my only access to what is current and relevant within the music industry is what Weird Al Yankovic parodies. His albums are time capsules of the previous three to five years between his latest releases. Whenever the original song begins to play somewhere, I immediately think they are playing Weird Al’s version. Without Al, I would not have the slightest clue of who’s who and what’s coo(l).

Classical, minimalism, and video game and movie soundtracks are roughly seventy-five percent of my music collection. What fills in between the remaining 25-percent are classic rock, German metal, and lesser-known folk rock groups. 

Playing through what “regular” songs I do have a few days ago, I noticed a connection between them. Between Rollins Band, Motörhead, Del the Funky Homosapien, The Ramones, and a few others, it occurred to me that most of my favourite bands all appeared in one collection: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. To this day, I continue to jam with Motörhead; Del, and his alternative performance moniker Deltron 3030, remains one of the three rap artists I enjoy; and Henry Rollins belongs to a list of people I would like to meet.

A few other songs and artists were sprinkled into the THPS3’s soundtrack have stuck with me. In my rare dark and angry moments, CKY’s ’96 QuiteBitter Beings’ alleviates the aggression.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are famed for a number of their funk rock hits, but ‘Fight Like a Brave’ is my favourite. In fact, it is the only Chilli Peppers song in my collection.

Rollins Band

'What's the Matter Man' propelled my fandom of Rollins Band and further piqued my appreciation for the 90s grunge music scene. Understanding that Rollins Band was not a grunge group, their repository of hard-hitting rock songs led me to find Alice in Chains. 

The first time I heard Motörhead’s 'Ace of Spades' welcome me to the next stage, I was mesmerised; I had never heard an opening guitar riff like that. My Dad overheard the track while I was playing. “Hey, I remember those guys,” he said.

“You do?” I asked, thinking how could he know of such a new and hardcore rock group?

“Yeah, Motörhead. They were big in the 70s.” Shortly thereafter, I went to my local Hastings (may you rest in peace) and bought 'Aces.' Lemmy Kilmister (may you also rest in peace) remains my only rock and roll icon.

Thanks to my cousins, I knew about The Ramones during camping trips. Being older, they were more astute and in-tune to what was cool. The Ramones was a top pick of theirs, making 'Blitzkrieg Bop' the only song I knew before playing THPS3 for the first time.

Del the Funky Homosapien

The biggest wildcard of the track list was Del’s ‘If YouMust.’ This song proved to me that hip-hop and rap was not always as it’s generally portrayed. Rap could be funny and amusing, albeit often bizarre. Del opened the door to a very small room of rap artists whom I enjoy. Mos Def shares the couch with the Del here.


While THPS3 was fun, it was not the game itself that impacted me. There are plenty of other video game titles which made a stronger impact in that department. Rather, the skateboarding title's song list defined my musical tastes for the years to come.