Beatlemania: Intro/John’s Fav Beatles Songs

In honor of the upcoming Beatles: Rock Band video game, we here at DaMorgue wanted to do a Beatles themed week. Though this week seemed to creep on us, so it’s hard to say if this will all come together…. Hey I said “Come Together” that’s funny, it’s like the song. Anyways here’s how I envisioned the week, hopefully the whole crew will be willing to participate.

Sunday – Intro/John’s favorite Beatles songs
Monday – Sean’s favorite Beatles songs
Tuesday – Colin’s favorite Beatles songs
Wednesday – Nancy’s favorite Beatles songs
Thursday – Beatles Album Retrospective or Beatles Filmography Retrospective
Friday – Beatles Album Retrospective or Beatles Filmography Retrospective
Saturday – Comments about the game (if no one has it by then we’ll just have to phone that one in.)

It seems like everyone has been pretty busy around here so I’m not sure how this will turn out. I’ll start things of with my favorite Beatles tunes (complete with Beatles related pictures). “Something” was originally my number ten until I realized I had too many songs, damn what a great catalog.

10. Julia – A bare arrangement that’s both beautiful and hauntingly sad, Lennon’s unaccompanied ode to his mother is in my opinion one of the most emotional Beatle songs out there. Lennon weaves poetic lyrics swimming in pleasant imagery and the bittersweet guitar part, based upon a style of picking known as “Travis picking” completes the experience.

9. I Should Have Known Better – One of my favorite scenes from A Hard Day’s Night is when the fab four play this while playing cards on a train. You just got to love that blend of Lennon’s bluesy harmonica along with the acoustic guitars, not to mention George’s quaint little solo. It seems like such a simple song but it’s probably my favorite from that album and film.

8. Across the Universe – Wow, a lot of Lennon on here so far. (perhaps I should rethink my choice for favorite Beatle) I’ve been a big fan of this introspective ballad ever since I heard Fiona Apple cover it for the movie Pleasantville. And it’ll always hold a place in my heart after playing it with the gang A.K.A “Big Bill and the Sexybacks” at our high school graduation. I love how it grows into such an optimistic and joyous song on the choruses… If only I could decide which version was my favorite.

7. With a Little Help From My Friends – Ringo’s friendly vocals along with a jaunty piano and nice little drum shuffle is always a recipe for fun. Songs featuring Ringo as vocalist often put me in a good mood and with such an innocent lyrical hook I’ve really grown to love this upbeat pop tune.

6. There’s a Place – Had to go back and add in this early, short but somehow beautiful song. I don’t know why this one reaches me on a deeper level but you got to love the harmonies and that sweet harmonica part, awesome.

5. You Never Give Me Your Money – Perhaps my favorite track on Abbey Road this song is epic. Shifting from part to part, I’m amazed by the masterful complexity of this McCartney tune. I love how it builds from a laid back classical intro, to an almost big band section, to rock perfection ending with a nursery rhyme like vocal pattern. Plus all those guitars just sound amazing (thank all the heavy use of Leslie speakers.)

4. I Am the Walrus – Trippy hippie nirvana, just try and wrap your mind around some of those lyrics (my favorite lyrics in a Beatles song as a matter of fact.) There’s something mysteriously dark about the the heavy strings and that freaky electric piano. All the strange sound effects only add to the atmosphere. There’s so many layers here I feel like I hear something new every time I hear it.

3. Hello, Goodbye – John didn’t think much of it but that didn’t stop it from being another number one hit. McCartney’s peppy little romp is a catchy and joyous pop masterpiece. The pianos, guitars, drums… It’s all perfect, a great melody and a great song.

2. Hey Jude – One of the band’s most heralded numbers, McCartney’s piano driven number paved the way for longer songs on the radio. Written about John’s son Julian, “Hey Jude” is an incredible piece ending with a great sing-along chrous.

1. A Day In the Life – I’ve used “epic” in a lot my descriptions but this song takes the cake. Definitely one of George Martin’s greatest feats as a producer, built around a great Lennon song and part of fun McCartney tune. It was tough to narrow down my number one but I’m completely satisfied with this pick for my top spot.

That was tiring, let’s see what else… My favorite Beatles album is tough one I’ve always been torn between Abbey Road and The White Album. I think that’s all the energy I have for now, see you on that long and winding road.

Sean’s Top Tens of 2004

Don’t wanna be a pretender. I started out all excited to do this, then I lost some steam. Ah well. I feel like when I tell people stuff is good, they’re like, “Yeah, but only by Sean’s loose standards.”

Top 10 Films of 2004

10. The Incredibles
You can tell 2004 was a hell of a year when one of my Pixar films barely makes it onto the list. The Incredibles had a lot of fun with super hero mythos; I can never look at a cape again without remembering that one guy getting sucked into the airplane engine. If you haven’t seen it yet, man up and get all over that shit.

9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
My first exposure to the cinema of Michel Gondry was an interesting experience that put my mom to sleep but I found thoroughly engrossing. A bizarre, yet dangerously relatable look at the highs and lows of a relationship.

8. Spider-Man 2
Many swear by this film as the high mark for comic book movies. Well, at least that was true until The Dark Knight came out. Still, this is the best of the Spider-Man series and inspired my favorite game in the franchise too.

7. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Speaking of comedy it’s Anchorman, the first and only movie I can remember my mom walking out of. Sure, it’s raunchy, but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the funniest, quotable movies of the decade.

6. House of Flying Daggers
Much like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers is full of supernatural martial arts filmed in an incredibly beautiful way. A real feast for the eyes. One of two films by Zhang Yimou released in ’04, this is a tighter, more visually arresting picture that should be enjoyed on a big ass, high definition screen.

5. The Aviator
Ohh Scorsese, uhh blah blah blah.

4. Sideways
One of those movies that is just a lot of fun to watch. A delightful blend of poignant romance and laugh-out-loud comedy that absolutely should not be missed. Who would have guessed that whine snobs would make for such a comedic goldmine?

3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
My first dose of Wes Anderson was a delicious one, despite what many of my contemporaries say. Sure, when I went back to his other films it became clear that this is not Anderson’s defining work, but it still is one of my favorite movies.

2. Shaun of the Dead
This is just an outrageously good movie. The defining zombie romantic comedy of our time.

1. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
What can I say, I like me some Kill Bill. While the first film was a glorious action fest, this sequel relies heavily on the dialogue, which, coming from a master like Tarantino, is fine with me.

Top 10 Albums of 2004

10. Citizen Cope – The Clarence Greenwood Recordings
It’s just kind of interesting. Not really amazing. The best song is called “Sideways,” coincidence?

9. The Hives – Tyrannosaurus Hives
The Hives are crazy fast. How long is this album, like 20 minutes? But those are some good minutes.

8. Keane – Hopes and Fears
Sort of embarrassed to have this on my list. I just think its nice to hear some pop music that doesn’t depend on the guitar from time to time.

7. Green Day – American Idiot
This was pretty good. Pretty huge too, those old sellouts. They should do another album, I’d probably like that.

6. U2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
One, two, three, fourteen (or something like that).

5. Kasabian – Kasabian
Boosh, I tell you I want you.

4. Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Did you know Franz Ferdinand was a real guy? True story.

3. The Killers – Hot Fuss
The title sounds yucky. The music doesn’t, though.

2. Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Oh my God Becky, look at that big album title. They didn’t sell out! They just started making more consistent awesome music.

1. Arcade Fire – Funeral
Well, I’m white, so… You know. It’s pretty much required.

Sean’s Top 10s of 2003

Well, I started this post a while ago, but it kind of got away from me. It’s not even July any more, so I figured I’d rush through this so you could at least see my pics. Did I do my research? No, I didn’t. Am I very tired? Yes, I am.

Top 10 Films of 2003

10. Elf
Edging out the haunting Elephant and somewhat amusing Old School is one of the better Christmas movies, Elf. In fact, this seems to be the go-to Christmas movie in my family these days.

9. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Just a grand adventure on the high seas. It all hinges on the strength of the relationship between Russel Crowe and Paul Bettany, and those guys nail it.

8. Finding Nemo
Another great movie from Pixar. Not my favorite, but certainly enjoyable for all ages.

7. X2: X-Men United
This sequel gave us more of everything we wanted, but in a cohesive, enjoyable story, unlike The Last Stand, which was content to throw as many characters and action set pieces at you as it could.

6. A Mighty Wind
What I found surprising about this film was just how much heart it had. Sure, it has that great Christopher Guest humor, but there are also a few tender moments too, I guess. I don’t really know, because I’m so tough.

5. Big Fish
Definitely one of my favorites from Tim Burton. Just a really neat film.

4. The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
So here was a movie that was just a lot of fun. A simple enough story, wonderful characters, some tasty special effects. Why’d the sequels have to get so convoluted?

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
A movie just as epic as it predecessors, and a damn satisfying conclusion to the franchise, but it loses points for being really long.

2. Lost in Translation
Sometimes it seems like this movie was just made for me, it play on a lot of my favorite things. I understand if it wouldn’t make your list, or if you even straight up don’t like it, but Lost in Translation really works for me.

1. Kill Bill, Vol. I
The first Quentin Tarantino movie I saw in theaters did not disappoint.

Top 10 Albums of 2003

10. The Darkness – Permission to Land
I guess I just find this album to be amusing. It rocks, but it also gets a lot of charm from lead singer Justin Hawkins. It’s a shame he left the band, because he’s what made it all work.

9. Rooney – Rooney
One for the ages. Well, no, definitely not. But it was pretty catchy. These guys kind of fell off the radar too.

8. Jet – Get Born
Oh man was I about this album back in the day. Jet were the shit. What happened to those times?

7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
Finally, an album I still listen too today. Funny story, once I was listening to this on my iPod in the car on a family trip and my dad asked me to put in on the car speakers. We didn’t even make it through the first track before they requested I change to another band.

6. The Kings of Leon – Youth & Young Manhood
A lot of great KoL rockin’ is on display here, with some of my absolute songs in their library making their debut, such as “California Waiting” and “Holy Roller Novocaine” (by the way, I hate hidden tracks that are attached to other songs with several minutes of silence, that’s annoying).

5. The Strokes – Room on Fire
Honestly, I’m kind of lukewarm when it comes to The Strokes. Except for this masterpiece. So damn rockin’ you might just forget that your driving a semi and make a turn a little too sharp and cause a major accident.

4. The White Stripes – Elephant
The best White Stripes album? Maybe. If you asked me right now, I’d probably say it is.

3. My Morning Jacket – It Still Moves
Conan O’Brien said he’d buy it. Have you?

2. Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
The album that made me about Death Cab. I have since checked out their earlier stuff, but if you ask me, it gets really good right here.

1. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
Oh God damn you, Radiohead. Your music is so good.

T3: Top Ten (Mariner) Baseball Blogs

I thought I’d celebrate the opening of Da Morgue.org with a Classic Top Ten Thursday. This is one I’ve been meaning to do for a while after I found out that Sean had been reading ussmariner.com. Here is a collection the best websites that I read on a daily basis.

10. Major League Baseball Trade Rumors- MLBTR.com
Your one stop shop for any rumors going on throughout the mainstream baseball media. They basically scour all of the daily newspapers, websites like ESPN and FOX Sports, and smaller blogs and weed out the nonsense and give you the rumors. The one drawback is sometimes things can be misinterpereted by the sites authors and rumors are created rather than reported. But as long as you’re careful this is a great place to get the quick and dirty news of the day.

9. Pro Ball North West (formerly Bleeding Blue and Teal)-proballnw.com
At first glance just a normal fanblog but as I kept reading the author Jon Shields who resides in Vancouver, WA has a great feel for baseball writing and gives his unique opinions on Mariner happenings.

8. The Hardball Times/ShysterBall–hardballtimes.com
The Hardball Times is a great sabermetric analysis website that has a collection of statistics and articles. Most of the articles are a little above the normal readers head, but their resident blogger Craig Calcaterra discusses all aspects of baseball. Calcaterra’s a lawyer by day and also blogs for NBCsports.com. He discusses everything from stadium politics, to baseball business, to wierd happenings around the MLB.

7. The Hot Stone League-seattletimes.com/hotstoneleague
Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone uses this venue to discuss more national topics, usually with some sort of local connection. Since it is a newspaper blog you usually get stuff that does not make it into the print articles like miscellaneous quotes.

6. Shannon Drayer 710 ESPN-mynorthwest.com
Shannon Drayer is the only beat writer that actually travels and is employed with the team. She has a truly unique perspective and her blog usually focuses more around clubhouse happenings and really interesting stories. It is much more personal than some of the other sites and is really the only place that lets you peek into the lives of the Seattle Mariners.

5. Fangraphs-fangraphs.com
Fangraphs is another sabermetric analysis website that provides a plethora of statistics and even has a search plug in for firefox. I visit this site at least a dozen times to day as a quick reference to advanced metrics such as Win Values or Ultimate Zone Rating. It really is a one stop shop for everything in advanced baseball statistics.

4.Prospect Insider-prospectinsider.com
Jason Churchill is a local blogger who’s site grew and now he writes for ESPN with BBWAA writer Keith Law. Churchill’s focus is almost exclusively about the Mariner’s minor leagues. He has many sources including scouts from all over the league and is the place to go if you want to learn about minor leaguers coming back in trades that the M’s have recently made.

3. Geoff Baker-seattletimes.com/marinersblog
We are truly lucky to have a beat writer as good as Baker for our local newspaper. Along with writing great articles in the print editions, he goes above and beyond on the internet providing podcasts, video tours of stadiums, extensive spring training coverage. I don’t always agree with his opinions but what he is doing for the newspaper industry is great.

2. Lookout Landing-lookoutlanding.com
Lookout Landing is run by Jeff Sullivan who is a biochemist that lives in San Diego who loves the Mariners. I’ve talked to him via email and on the phone on a couple of occasions for my articles at school and I’ve got to say for someone who isn’t involved with baseball for a living he knows a lot about it. Like ussmariner, lookout landing has a lot analysis articles, but what I like about it is reading Sullivans personal post game thoughts. He is frequently hilarious and extremely entertaining to read.

1. Uss Mariner-ussmariner.com
Run by Dave Cameron, who also writes for fangraphs and the Wall Street Journal, and Derek Zumsteg, USS Mariner is packed full of analysis, ideas, criticisms and praise for the Mariners. My brother introduced me a couple years ago and I never stopped going. It is one of the most nationally recognized local sports blogs out there and for good reason. If you only read one of these websites ever, this is the one.

Sean’s Top 10s of 2002

Another year, another shameful list of how out of touch I was with good media just a little while ago.

Top 10 Films of 2002

10. Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones
This is in the ten spot because I can’t really defend it. I know, in my heart of heats, this is not a good movie. It might even be the worst Star Wars movie. But I’m a Star Wars guy, and there’s no way I could not have this on the list. I’ve seen Attack of the Clones plenty of times, and I’m sure I’ll be watching it more in the years to come.

9. Bubba Ho-Tep
I think everyone like Bruce Campbell. This funny horror flick is about the supernatural murders taking place in an old folks home, and a couple senile old men who try to get to the bottom of the mystery. Props to Ossie Davis for his turn as JFK.

8. Catch Me If You Can
Certainly this is minor Spielberg, and if I was a real man, I’m sure this would have been bumped for a film like City of God or Rodger Dodger. But I didn’t see those movies. If I remember correctly, however, this action comedy did have a certain charm to it that is hard to beat.

7. Punch-Drunk Love
This is an interesting film, like everything else by P.T. Anderson. Adam Sandler turns in a great performance in this bizarre, almost heart-warming romantic motion picture.

6. Signs
My favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie. Signs may sound really stupid when you talk about it later, but that first time through it’s one hell of a ride. Great score too, I mean the damn opening credits were unsettling.

5. Spider-Man
A great super hero origin movie from the master Sam Raimi. This is a comic book movie that even someone like my mom could enjoy, and just seeing Spider-Man brought to life so vividly totally blew my mind back in 2002. The first and only movie I ever downloaded while it was still in theaters, I even bought the gigantic special edition DVD.

4. Minority Report
I know a lot of people straight up hate Tom Cruise, but this movie is bad ass. I’m not going to spoil anything, but just trust me, it’s awesome. Did Steven Spielberg really direct two movies on this list? This is madness!

3. Gangs of New York
A movie so great it took me years to finish it. Scorsese paints a New York unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in this violent masterpiece. Plus, come on, D. Day’s in it.

2. Adaptation.
You’re going to hard pressed to find a movie that’s more of a trip than Adaptation. There’s a lot of stuff going on on a lot of different levels and amazingly enough it all works. I guess that’s just Charlie Kaufman’s M.O.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Fellowship‘s successor is, if you ask me, the superior film. Just think about it, the movie starts with arguably the coolest sequence ever put to film, and concludes with the most epic battle of the entire franchise. If you didn’t give this movie 5 stars, you’re broken. I bet even Richard “this movie just sucks” Roeper did. And that guy’s cold as ice.

Top 10 Albums of 2002

10. Foo Fighters – One by One
I kind of miss being all about the Foo Fighters. Great, rockin’ tunes like “All My Life” and “Times Like These” used to be some of my favorites. That’s why I’m glad they went on hiatus, maybe they can come back and totally rock my socks off one more time.

9. Muse – Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Maybe I shouldn’t count this album, since it’s a combo compilation of B-side tracks and a live performance. But I want to, since I’m not the kind of guy who usually gets singles, EPs or any of that nonsense.

8. Spoon – Kill the Moonlight
Just got into this album a little while ago. If you like the soundtrack to the movie Stranger Than Fiction, you’ll probably like this album.

7. Sigur Rós – ( )
Probably one of the top albums from these Icelandic rockers. Hell, Kevin evenly likes one of the songs off of it. It’s just so cold in Iceland.

6. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
God damn, I’m one cool motherfucker, aren’t I? I like freakin’ Interpol. I should live in New York and go to Yankee games and ask people, “hey, is Derek Jeter a pitcher?” I’m that cool.

5. Nada Surf – Let Go
Nada Surf goes from ’90s band I hardly remember to awesome early 2000s band with this freaking sweet album. Let it turn your dreams into magical pillows on the stairway to intergalactic travel.

4. Red Hot Chili Peppers – By the Way
As if Californication wasn’t cool enough already, RHCP dropped another totally sweet album with By the Way. Toast my goats.

3. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Ah, now here’s something I never expected. We were watching 3 South and Colin was all, “that album’s pretty good, too.” I was shocked, how would Colin know such a thing? Maybe he was lying to show off? Then I downloaded it and I was like, oh, yeah, this is pretty good. Pretty damn good.

2. Beck – Sea Change
Beck’s all depressed, but that just gives this album more resonance. It’s even got a CAT

1. Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
Did you guys forget I like Coldplay? I didn’t think so, I mean I freaking write about them all the time. It’s kind of weird, don’t ya think. Maybe I shouldn’t write about myself so much.

Sean’s Top 10s of 2001

Remember this? 2001 was a messy year, and I guess I didn’t get out much, because these lists are not very impressive. I guess I know what year to revisit now. I think I’m going to see how quickly I can write this post, so expect brevity!

Top 10 Films of 2001

10. Zoolander
Sure, it’s stupid. But it is also very quotable, so you can just Dere-lick my balls, capitan.

9. Monsters, Inc.
You know, I’m not even sure if I’ve seen this movie since theaters. If I remember, it’s like an Aah Real Monsters! knock-off, but with that Pixar charm. I remember liking it.

8. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
It’s just so sad. So sad. Don’t watch it. Sure, this is a damn fine film, but you’ll regret all the heartache later.

7. Donnie Darko
The film that inspired a generation of teenagers to be hella lame. This movie is kind of a trip and that song at the end is neat, but chill out people. It’s just one confusing film, all right?

6. Ocean’s Eleven
You don’t often get to see movies this cool. With an all-star cast and a great sense of style, this may not be high art, but it is fun.

5. Black Hawk Down
Why? Because it was cool. Orlando Bloom died like a bitch… Or did he die? Maybe he survived the fall, I don’t remember. Yep.

4. A Beautiful Mind
The legendary duo of Russel Crowe and Paul Bettany lead us through this incredible mind-trip of a film. I like it, even in full screen.

3. Spirited Away
That Miyazaki guy sure knows what he’s doing. I had the privelege of seeing this picture in some theater in Seattle, and the whole family enjoyed it. Doesn’t happen too often, you know.

2. The Royal Tenenbaums
Oh man, I’m such a sucker for Wes Anderson. It’s just a real treat to watch his work, I love his style. I’m so white.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Why? Well, because back then I was like “that was the coolest thing I ever saw.” But I’d be eating those words after the opening sequence of its sequel. But that was a year later, let’s just remember how much of the early 2000s was dedicated to this immortal series of films.

Top 10 Albums of 2001

10. Gorillaz – Gorillaz
Oh man, this album really brings me back. Remember “Clint Eastwood”? That song was the shit. Oddly enough, my favorite song was the bonus track “19-2000 (Soul Child Remix),” which is one of the band’s most popular tunes. Catchy stuff.

9. Daft Punk – Discovery
I would have never heard of this album if it wasn’t for Cartoon Network airing like an anime movie to a bunch of these tracks. Daft Punk remains the only house/electronic band I would go as far as to say I like, and this album is the main reason for that.

8. Tenacious D – Tenacious D
Ha, ha, ha. Funny.

7. Weezer – Weezer (The Green Album)
I’m still trying my best to really get into Weezer. Maybe someday it will happen for me.

6. Death Cab for Cutie – The Photo Album
Death Cab does what they do once again and once again I enjoy it. I’m definitely a bigger fan of their later stuff, but I can’t come up with a real reason for that. Just am. Maybe I’ve just listened to that stuff more.

5. Muse – Origin of Symmetry
Muse gets out there and starts creating a real identity for itself. They are successful. There is much celebration. Nestle illegally uses the song “Feeling Good.” Muse sues them. They win. They donate the money to charity. Much celebration.

4. Radiohead – Amnesiac
This album is treated as Kid A‘s retarded little brother. While that isn’t fair, I do see where that criticism comes from, since I have listened to this album and thought to myself “Hey, why don’t I just listen to Kid A?” Still good though.

3. The Shins – Oh, Inverted World
Floaty, melodic good times. Especially “New Slang,” everybody loves that song.

2. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
Like many people (I assume), I came to this album after hearing the tremendous “Fell in Love with a Girl.” The good news is that the rest of the album rocks too.

1. My Morning Jacket – At Dawn
You know, I’m not sure how everyone else feels about this album, but I am all about it. It was the first My Morning Jacket album I heard, and I continue to find it one of my most played.

Top 10 GameCube Games

I’ve been playing Resident Evil 5 lately, which reminds me a lot of Resident Evil 4. Which made me think of Nintedo’s last console. Well, I’ve done SuperNES and N64, and the GameCube has been dead for a while, so why don’t we dust off that old handled box and look back at the games that defined Nintendo’s worse console generation.

10. Soul Calibur II
While this game was released on all three consoles, the GameCube version was the one to get. Why? Because Namco decided to give each version of the game an exclusive character. XBox got Spawn (for reasons unknown), PS2 got Heihachi (since Tekken was a PlayStation game) and GameCube got Link. That was so cool! They then went on to make Soul Calibur III a PS2 exclusive that was focused on character creation and then Soul Calibur 4 came out for PS3 and 360 with Darth Vader and Yoda as console exclusives. But lightsaber vs. sword doesn’t really make sense, does it?

9. Viewtiful Joe
Now this was a neat little game. You play as the plucky, comic book-style super hero who goes through movies to save (what else) his lady. What set Viewtiful Joe apart was its time-control gameplay, where you could beat up dudes in fast forward or slow down to dodge attacks. It was pretty sweet. It was also crazy hard. It eventually got a sequel and a Smash Bros.-ish game, then the series faded away. But we’ll always has that first game.

8. Super Mario Sunshine
Frankly, I was never too big on this game. I mean, when I’m rolling Mario, I wanna smash some fellas, not clean up their mess. But a Mario game is still a Mario game, and this title does not disappoint. Well, it kind of does. That camera was a little tricky. But the platforming was strong and the game was pretty to look at. Good times.

7. Pikmin 2
Wouldn’t it be nice if they made another Pikmin game? They were so fun. You play as Captain Olimar, a little astronaut dude who crash lands on a strange planet inhabited by weird creatures called pikmin. He exploits those colorful, little plant people to repair his ship or something. I can’t really remember. Oh, and the reason I chose Pikmin 2 over the first game was because that’s the one that I owned.

6. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Gotta have some Star Wars up on this bitch. I remember going over to Remy’s house and playing this game and being blown away by the graphics. It still looks pretty good. The only problem is those damn tie fighters are fucking hard to see in space. You need to use that targeting computer like the whole time. No wonder it was such a big deal when Luke switched it off in the Death Star trench. The sequel technically is better, since, I mean, it includes all of Rogue Leader as multiplayer. But it just didn’t make the impact this game did.

5. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
This is the cult classic of the console. The one no one played. The one the people who did play it treat like its the best thing ever. This game is all about creeping you out, and it does a pretty dman good job of it. Nothing will be as legendary as when it pranks you into thinking your memory card is corrupted. That’s messed up, dude. If you get the chance, check this one out.

4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Link’s a kid again! He’s also a cartoon. And remember that sweet ocarina you had a couple games ago. Gone. Now you get to conduct the wind. And ride around on a talking lion ship. Wind Waker looked great, played great, and got grately confusing when you had to go exploring. The sea is big!

3. Super Smash Bros. Melee
One of those games that I can’t even imagine how many hours of my life I spent on. That first Smash game was so fun, and this game fucking kicked everything into overdrive. A much bigger roster. A sweet adventure mode. Tons of challenges to complete. Awesome. This game was so much fun, when the sequel came out a year ago my friends realised they didn’t like video games anymore.

2. Metroid Prime
To date the only Metroid game I’ve beaten. I had to buy a GameCube so I could play this game. First-person action quite unlike anything I’ve ever played. Now, sure, the backtracking might wear you out, but that’s what GameFAQs is for. The second game was probably better, but, like Rogue Leader, it would be impossible to match the impact this first title made. I mean, before this, Metroid was an exclusively side scrolling series. What a revolution!

1. Resident Evil 4
Remember that chainsaw controller I talked about a while ago? This is the game that goes with it. RE4 pretty much revolutionized how third-person shooters are played. It is the one responsible for putting the player on the side of the screen like that. It invented pressing a button to zoom in and aim. It had quick time events back when it was still cool. Seriously, RE4 is an incredible game, whether you play it on the Cube, PS2 or Wii. Just get it.