Boom!

Boom! is a slot machine produced by WMS Gaming, (the gambling branch of Williams the arcade game manufacturer). This is an electronic slot machine, with a monitor instead of actual reels. The theme of this particluar machine is that of a 4th of July picnic. This is a five line machine with a total of 5 reels, and different versions will accept anywhere from 1 to 90 coins. This machine is usually takes 5 cent tokens, but some casinos have 25 cent and 1 dollar versions of this machine.

The symbols in this game are all related to food and fireworks, (rockets actually). Boom! has 2 different bonus payouts. The first is a small counter at the top of the screen that counts up every time the Boom! symbol appears. The player will receive 50 credits when this counter reaches 50, (a few things will trigger this payout earlier at a reduced rate). The counter will then rest itself. The second bonus is triggered by getting 3 identical symbols of barbeque food on adjacent reels, (they do not need to be on the same payline). This is the bigger of the two bonus games. The reels then vanish, and you are presented with 5 different rockets to choose from. Pick one, (using the touch screen), and it will launch off and explode. The bigger the explosion, the bigger the payout, (this can be small like 15 credits, or it can go into the thousands).

This game, (like most electronic slot machines), gives the majority of it's payout through the bonus round. You will find that your money quickly goes down the drain if you do not manage to hit the bonus round from time to time. These particular machines are very popular among senior citizens. You will rarely see one unattended in a crowded casino.

Experience a business boom when you take off with the latest explosion in bonus screen games. BOOM!, like its popular predecessors Reel'em In and Filthy Rich, blows players away with exciting fireworks and 3-D graphics on the popular bonus screen.

I had the opportunity to see Little Wings perform live at a small venue in Myrtle Beach, SC called The Lazy i, with about twenty people in attendance. To open this song, he pulled out a furry lion mask made for a child, something he picked up in a thrift store. He also had a large hunting cap. He put both on together, which gave him the appearance of a long-bearded hermit.

He said, "This is what I used to be. Then I changed into something new. I became this..." and he removed the mask and the hat and became the Little Wings he is today, and began this song:

BOOM! (Boom)
My voice says, "Make room." (make room)
Wave my hand, combat the gloom
When the ache comes creeping up
I spread my arms so that soon
my best starts to bloom
with the breath that I consume
and I grow light grass on a hillside
it's the way I leave my tomb.
Was it dark in there at all?
It was dark, I must admit.
Was it you that I heard call?
It was me from yonder pit.
Was it what you thought was you?
It was me as someone else.
I was crying out for you in high and girly swells.
Is the gleam you thought was gone
beginning to return
when you lay down on the lawn,
can't you feel its fiery burn?
See the rooftops in the sun
see the fading afternoon
feel the tangle come undone
hear the doobiedoo

BOOM!(Boom)
My voice says, "Make room."
Wave my hand, combat the gloom.
When the dark slips in
I spread my arms so wide that I consume
the depth of its doom
with the brightness I resume
And I grow green leaves on my branches
it's the way my blossoms bloom.
Wasn't I the wind that blew?
It was that what you allow to come wildly whipping, true.
You became the gale that howled
Was it finally coming true?
It had never ceased to be.
Wasn't I the light that grew?
Wasn't that light born in me?
It was that which you had touched
when you weren't trying to.
It was how you made so much by forgetting what was you.
See the rooftops in the sun,
see the fading afternoon,
see the tangle come undone
hear the doobiedoo.

And like a mountain's peak real high and stout
I blew my lid and blew my guts about
so I'm tall, I've always been
with flashing flood and whipping wind
I live with everything that I can't do without.

This song is copyright 2002 Starkville Music

It is plain to see that the album is a conceptual album analyzing change, and this is the most excellent song to start off with. He also beautifully marked this metaphor by attaching a twig growing bright green leaves to his headstock.

Throughout the song, he is asking himself questions, to which he answers. For the sake of difficult, on his tour, he has K Records frontman Calvin Johnson do the retorts, which some might say detracts from the idea of the song, but I think adds to the listening experience.

This track was previously unreleased as one of the songs recorded during the Toxicity sessions. It has now been released under their new album Steal This Album, out November 25th, 2002. It sounds every bit like a Toxicity track, with the churning and relentless guitars of Pilot, coupled with the harsh spoken truths of The Prison Song.

This is one of the more serious sounding songs System have put out (other examples include Spiders, Aerials and Innervision), so it doesn't sound as (for lack of a better term) "wacky" as usual. Still, all the other elements of a System track are present. Meaning you'll find plently of stop-start guitars, insanely fast drum beats and searing, middle-eastern infulenced vocals.

Also, Michael Moore of Bowling for Columbine fame directed a video for this song. It gives the viewers a glance into the worldwide protests against the second Gulf War, and to show everyone that it isn't a bunch of hippie-protestors, but "normal" people who simply want to live peacefully. It's been banned from almost every major network in the western world. (except, funnily enough, MTV)

http://www.systemofadown.com