In order to really get a feel for where I’m coming from in terms of artistic and literary influence, I guess it makes sense to let people know — and myself recall — what exactly led me to where I am now, and my choice of career. I’m expanding my horizons wider and wider all the time, but these influential works of art are my very foundation.
Favorite Films
Minority Report — Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise
Inception — Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio
The Shawshank Redemption — Frank Darabont, Tim Robbins/Morgan Freeman
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood
Mission: Impossible — Brian DePalma, Tom Cruise
Raiders of the Lost Ark — Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford
Blade Runner — Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford
Aliens — James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver
The Abyss — James Cameron, Ed Harris
Fight Club — David Fincher, Brad Pitt/Ed Norton
The Island — Michael Bay, Ewan McGregor
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – George Lucas, Hayden Christensen
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones — George Lucas, Ewan McGregor
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace — George Lucas, Liam Neesan
Return of the Jedi — Richard Marquand, Mark Hamill
The Empire Strikes Back — Irvin Kershner, James Earl Jones/Frank Oz
War of the Worlds — Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise
Batman Begins — Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale
The Dark Knight — Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger
…So, basically, anything noir, cyberpunk, space opera, sci-fi, comic book-based, or pulp adventure.
Favorite Books
Stephen King
Under the Dome
The Stand
Night Shift
The Gunslinger
Just After Sunset
Dreamcatcher
The Green Mile
Different Seasons
Philip K. Dick
The Man in the High Castle
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
A Scanner Darkly
Tobias S. Buckell
Crystal Rain
Ragamuffin
Sly Mongoose
Arthur C. Clarke
2001: A Space Odyssey
Frank Herbert
Dune
Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert
Dune: The Battle of Corrin
Chuck Palahniuk
Fight Club
Matthew Stover
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
…And I’m sure that there’s plenty more I forget; those were the ones that I’ll never forget.
Favorite Short Stories
“Beyond Lies the Wub” by Philip K. Dick
“The Hanging Stranger” by Philip K. Dick
“The Golden Man” by Philip K. Dick
“The Skull” by Philip K. Dick
“The Gun” by Philip K. Dick
“The Defenders” by Philip K. Dick
“Fair Game” by Philip K. Dick
“The Minority Report” by Philip K. Dick
“The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King
“N.” by Stephen King
“The End of the Whole Mess” by Stephen King
“Mute” by Stephen King
“Morality” by Stephen King
“An Ordinary Day, With Peanuts” by Shirley Jackson
“She Unnames Them” by Ursula K. Le Guin
“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
“A Jar of Goodwill” by Tobias S. Buckell
“The Shackles of Freedom” by Tobias S. Buckell and Mike Reznick
“The Fish Merchant” by Tobias S. Buckell
“Aerophilia” by Tobias S. Buckell
“Four Eyes” by Tobias S. Buckell
“Smooth Talking” by Tobias S. Buckell
“Trinkets” by Tobias S. Buckell
“Manumission” by Tobias S. Buckell
…Again, those are the ones that stick with me.
Favorite Albums
The Joshua Tree, U2 — “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” “In God’s Country”
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2 — “City of Blinding Lights,” “Love and Peace or Else,” “Miracle Drug”
Trial by Fire, Journey — “Can’t Tame the Lion,” “Message of Love,” “If He Should Break Your Heart,” “One More”
Greatest Hits, Styx — “Long Nights (Blue Collar Man),” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Come Sail Away”
Snakes & Arrows, Rush — “Armor and Sword,” “Far Cry,” “The Larger Bowl,” “The Main Monkey Business”
Reggatta de Blanc, The Police — “Message In a Bottle,” “Reggatta de Blanc,” “Walking On the Moon”
Synchronicity, The Police — “Synchronicity II,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “King of Pain,” “Every Breath You Take”
In Rainbows, Radiohead — “Nude,” “Reckoner,” “Faust Arp”
O.K. Computer, Radiohead — “Paranoid Android,” “Karma Police,” “Subterranean Homesick Alien”
Black Holes and Revelations, Muse — “Starlight,” “Map of the Problematique,” “Supermassive Black Hole”
The Resistance, Muse — “Uprising,” “Resistance,” “Undisclosed Desires”
Continuum, John Mayer — “Belief,” “Gravity,” “In Repair,” “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room,” “Vultures”
Battle Studies, John Mayer — “Half of My Heart,” “Heartbreak Warfare,” “Perfectly Lonely,” “Assassin,” “Edge of Desire”
Axis: Bold As Love, Jimi Hendrix — “Wait Until Tomorrow,” “Bold As Love,” “Little Wing”
10,000 Days, Tool — “Jambi,” “The Pot,” “Vicarious”
The Battle for Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine — “Testify,” “Born of a Broken Man,” “Sleep Now In the Fire,” “Calm Like a Bomb,” “Guerilla Radio”
Audioslave, Audioslave — “I Am the Highway,” “Cochise,” “Show Me How to Live,” “Exploder,” “Shadow On the Sun,” “Getaway Car”
Out of Exile, Audioslave — “Doesn’t Remind Me,” “Be Yourself,” “Out of Exile,” “The Curse,” “Number One Zero,” “Yesterday to Tomorrow”
Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers — “Snow (Hey Oh),” “Dani California,” “Tell Me Baby,” “Desecration Smile”
Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Red Hot Chili Peppers — “Under the Bridge,” “Give It Away,” “Suck My Kiss”
Unknown Pleasures, Joy Divison — “Shadowplay,” “Disorder,” “New Dawn Fades,” “She’s Lost Control”
Ten, Pearl Jam — “Alive,” “Black,” “Jeremy,” “Even Flow”
Black Gives Way to Blue, Alice In Chains — “Last of My Kind,” “A Looking In View,” “Check My Brain”
Dirt, Alice In Chains — “Would?,” “Rooster,” “Them Bones,” “Angry Chair”
I remember in the seventh or eight grade picking up “The Battle of Los Angeles” during an HMV binge because the cover art attracted me. Now I’ve got all the RATM albums, and I doubt anything can come along to knock them free of their perch near the top of my all-time musical favorites.
-bn
How is there no Metallica in that eclectic mix of albums? And the original Star Wars (Ep. IV) was conspicuously missing from the film list.
I am tempted now to make my own similar list. I like lists. I’ll need to rewatch Inception to rank it. It was excellent, though. I am fast becoming a Nolan fan, placing him on a short list of directors I seek out.
Scott, while I’m what I’d call a “casual” Metallica fan, I admittedly own none of their albums. If I were to buy one, it would probably be Death Magnetic, ’cause I really dig pretty much everything I’ve heard from that recent disc. I’ve got nothing against them, musically, but all that speed-rhythm stuff, from a guitarist’s perspective, is a bit tiresome and repetitive. Artistically, I really enjoy a lot of their work. Just not with the sort of geekdom as, say, Rage Against the Machine, who level whole cities with the power of their rock.
Episode IV is a great film, and I hold a dear place for it in my heart — I must, however, admit that at age seven it was Empire Strikes Back that I saw first (the ‘Special Edition,’ at the Rivoli Theater in my hometown). I enjoyed it so much I mandated that my father take me to see Return of the Jedi soon thereafter, and of course Episode I in 1999. A New Hope, though, has always been a ho-hum experience in comparison. Don’t slay me; it’s just a matter of nostalgia, probably. Return of the Jedi will probably always be my favorite, and I’m ‘that guy’ who loves the entire Prequel Trilogy, even though that’s uncool as hell. Hehe.
Ben, yeah, I own three of the four RAGE albums (never bothered to pick up ‘Renegades’ for some reason), and they’re definitely one of my all-time favorite bands. I was introduced to them sometime around 2005, when Audioslave released their second album, which prompted me buy their 2002 self-titled debut, and then discover Soundgarden and RATM. And then, eventually, a third album — the surprisingly underrated ‘Revelations’ — was released, and they immediately parted ways. The good that came of it was that RATM occasionally reunites for shows, the bad is that Chris Cornell’s solo career is lackluster by comparison to Audioslave and Soundgarden. But now Soundgarden’s reunited and Tom Morello has formed ‘Street Sweeper Social Club,’ so I’ve really not got a damn thing to complain about, except the loss of Audioslave. Which I’m pretty sure was the best band of all time.
You saw the Special Edition in theaters when you were seven? Uh…I guess I’m old.
The only difference that age makes, generally, is that of experience. That’s why I’m a n00b with a somewhat spiffy blog, whereas you…well, you’re a Writers of the Future winner. With years comes practice, with practice comes quality writing. Unless one pulls a Hemingway. Firearms do little in the way of beneficial experience.
Wow, I could DRIVE a car legally when you were 7? Scary.
I should put down the keyboard and go to sleep. Seriously. Stupid Starcraft 2…