PCL LinkDump: Audio / Visual findings on a more or less regular basis.
(Most Frequent) Labels:

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Friday, October 31, 2008

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Something is moving, sliding, crawling, lurking, visualizing evil things in it's corrupted mind in the dark. In the dark. Oh, in the dark.
Ok, so it's halloween, that doesn't mean all are just tricks and costumes. And don't say I didn't warn you, when you end up in the ER with a Gary Glitter dvd stuffed down your throat and a Samantha Fox picture disc stabbed in your back. And the doctors and the little sick little kids just laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs. And laughs.
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I Love Me Them Shaw Brother Flyers



SwaG! HALLOWEEN!



We shouldn’t have let Mr. Guano go on air in his condition. We’re still cleaning up the mess. Tisk, tisk. Such a mess.

Hear the events as they transpired on that fateful night. But! Do not listen if you are alone, have a heart condition, if young children are in the room, or if you have strong feelings toward:

Mental illness. Satanic powers. Murder. Ranting. Raving. Ritual blood-feasting. Don Knotts. Unnatural perversions. Cannibalism. Spike Jones. The dead. The undead. Black metal. Poisoning children’s candy. Edgar Winters. Taboo breakage. Inappropriate cackling. Puppets. Orgiastic goat slapping. Misuse of the public airwaves.

You've been warned. But still, you proceed...

Everybody Was Kung Fu Biking.

The excellent Shaw Brothers post below by mrdantefontana calls for a follow up. This is a clip from the brothers' 1983 movie "Chang men jen" ("Lady is the Boss"). Are you ready to get your BMX on?


Damn, I need more kung fu movies in my life.

[via Monkeys For Helping.]

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Damn! AM Radio Stars Gone Wild!

Oh the games people play now
Every night and every day now
Never meaning what they say now
Never saying what they mean



I am SO growin' me some sideburns! Yeah!

Shaw Brothers Movie Flyers



Shaw Brothers Movie Flyers (via Undead Film Critic)

Túnel do Tempo

I'm not sure why I still seem to have an endless capacity for oddball foreign cover tunes of sixties pop music, particularly Brazilian covers. So Túnel do Tempo's offerings were a major jackpot--who wouldn't want a cover of Alley-oop, ( which translates to Brucutu in Portuguese) an asthmatic version of "You Turn Me On" by Erasmo Carlos, or Tony Campellos' "Diabinho endiabrado" ((I'll give you a clue of what the original is.....oooh-eee-oooh-ah-ah, ting tang walla walla bing bang)? In case you can't guess, the originals are thoughtfully provided as well to enable scholarly comparison.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Halloweenville

NeatoCoolville gets nostalgic as Halloween approaches.

His Flickr site is chock full of goodies.


About posting comments

Hi gangsters!

Just some words about commenting on PCL LinkDump.

Everyone is allowed to post a comment as long as they do not include links to sites WE do not want to see there. That means sites of no interest to the general PCL reader and sites with little or no relation to what we usually post here: the pop culture we love.
Everyone is allowed to comment as long as they keep an eye on their language and on the subject.
Everyone should also be aware of the fact that all comments are logged and that WE can see the IP adress and/or the IP adress range. You should also keep in mind that if you post anonymous and violating the rules above or just make us mad WE are able to ban you from future commenting.
You will not only be banned. WE will track you down. And after a time you will get a comment from the PCL management on your blog, social network account or in your mailbox. If we're good at finding good stuff links - WE are superior at tracking trolls or cowards down.
Critical comments about the posts are indeed welcome - and so are of course the nice and friendly comments. It's all about approaching the subject whith a decent attitude and common sense.

To put it short: WE more or less allow all comments except spam, porn links and agressive flame posts. But in the end it's our decision.

Keep it clean.

Thanks.

/Z aka mrdantefontana

Great Motion Picture Themes From Jean Harlow Films

Unicorn Meat shares Great Motion Picture Themes From Jean Harlow Films arranged by Perry Botkin, Jr. and performed by World Artists Strings: Side 1 - Side 2
Boomp3.com

It's Halloween at The Candy Wrapper Museum!

Have a look at the Halloween gallery at the Candy Wrapper Museum.

Download another Percy Trout hour!



the Percy Trout hour

Super Fizz Sugar Pop
from all over the Globe.

Download another show from the Archives.
This one from October 6, 2008:

Part One

Part Two

Monday, October 27, 2008

Comics in My Pants.

Say, kids! Do you like to read the funny papers? Sure, we all do, even though sometimes the gags can be... well, a little tired and stale. Especially with all those legacy strips continuing to lumber across the comics landscape long after their original creators have died.

Good thing we've got juvenile, pre-pubescent humor to help us out!

I'm sure you remember the days when you were young and stupid, and there wasn't any joke that couldn't be improved by adding "in my pants!" to the end of the punchline. Well, Jack Nutting over at Comics in My Pants certainly hasn't forgotten. He's dedicated his life to making the world a better place by doctoring lame comic strips with "in my pants" gags.



He updates on an almost daily basis, so head on over there to see what he's got cooking... in my pants!

The 3 Petersen Brothers

"Found this curious EP in a charity shop today for 50p. I was first attracted to the amusing sleeve photo of the three men brandishing tiny Zulu shields and sticks!It seems that the 3 Petersen Brothers are from one of the oldest theatrical families in South Africa and are really brothers ...
Accompanying them on this record is Nico Carstens and his Orchestra which sounds like three people to me! ..."
Boot Sale Sounds shares The 3 Petersen Brothers - Fanagalo (4 track EP)
Boomp3.com

Where are they now?

One of the things that I wonder about is "What do musicians do when not making records?" The ones who had quite a bit of media exposure, might still record, but really probably didn't make enough to retire.

I also wonder this about actors too. Josh Saviano, aka Paul from "The Wonder Years" is a lawyer.

For example, we know from the Smoking Gun that Exene Cervenka (from the band X) was also a teacher/librarian.

Juliana Hatfield has a book called When I Grow Up that discusses that sort of thing.

Poe? Crazy popular in the 90s, only made 2 records. She's supposedly making a third. Her brother,Mark Z. Danielewski, wrote House of Leaves, and he's still writing.

Am I the only one who thinks about this?

What to wear?

The clock's tickin' - you decided on your Hallows Eve garb? Howzabout a little inspiration.



If only my father had worn a suit or two, perhaps I wouldn't be in the grips of my terrible and all consuming obsession.



Cheap I look, flammable I am. Buy or buy not. There is no try.



I always prefer my candy bars FUN sized!



Remember when cheap, shoddy merchandising was actually cheap?

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Art Mooney's Cha Cha Cha


Art Mooney's Cha Cha Cha is available thanks to the fine 'S Marvelous Distro.
Boomp3.com

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Rock N Roll Train ASCII music video in Excel


"AC/DC smashes through your firewall with
real rock ‘n’ roll! Download the spreadsheet
to watch the Rock N Roll Train video in all
it’s Low Definition™ glory!"

Check out the promo video.
Download the XLS file here (via J-Walk Blog)

Used and Abused



The comments are just as funny. That one on the right reminds me of one of the Benny Hill guys in drag. A perfect follow up to Lex's toast.

A friend clarifies: "Mr Rumbold on 'Are you Being Served' in drag."

This is Butter

Just screwing around, really. I'd make you go to my site, but screw it - I was really phoning this one in for a laugh, so remember to squint a little. Plus you might not go....so hey.

Coming Attraction


"Rockville Fair, Maryland, 1928." Exhibit promoting the motion picture as educational tool.
Note: Click photo for full view at source.

Coming Attraction: 1928 as shared by Shorpy.

Question: Is that a TV? No! It can't be! Not in 1928. Well - what is it then??

Electone and Brass


SDS All-Stars - Electone and Brass in Movie Hit Themes, posted at Third Island.
Boomp3.com

Friday, October 24, 2008

C & W

Red Neckerson from Red Neckerson's Radio Round Up has something quite distasteful (but still kind of fun) to share: Webb Pierce & Carol Channing - C & W.
Boomp3.com

The World's Greatest Sinner - TONITE on TCM!

I've blogged about this before over here. Set your tivos if you're in another time zone!

Overview for The World's Greatest Sinner (1962)

A bored insurance salesman quits his job to go into politics. He first starts preaching about how man is greater than he thinks and that man can live forever. He ends up forming his own political party, "The Eternal Man" party. He begins to be referred to as "God". Then he starts having doubts about the eternalness of man.




And yes, that's Frank Zappa in his backing band.

Happy Elf

New version of a Dutch classic pop song by electropop artist HAPPY ELF. Also available as iTune. More info : www.wmrecordings.com


Happy Elf is the alter ego of multi instrumentalist Jeroen Elfferich from Delft, the Netherlands. He has released more than 10 albums since 1999.

Happy Elf’s main instruments are his 2 analogue synthesizers, the Roland Juno 6 and Yamaha CS10. But we also hear electric guitar, bass guitar and drum computers. A lot of the songs are instrumental but some have vocals. Because Elferich has no beautiful voice he tries out some effects and vocal tricks.

The music of Happy Elf can be labeled as electro, but actually it is much more than that: it’s pop music made with analogue synthesizers.

Elfferich has been making different kinds of music for the last 25 years. He has been performing as a percussionist in orchestras, guitarist and lead singer in a rockband and as a drummer in jazz-, funk-, klezmer-, rock-, fusion- and cajun bands. He currently leads a reformed edition of his progressive rock/funk/jazz band Elfferich Four, whose back catalog is also available on WM Recordings.

This is a song by dutch group EARTH & FIRE, in a new version by HAPPY ELF & NINA.
with pictures by Anton Ulanchenko

Strange Movies to Love: Godmonster of Indian Flats.

If you love bad movies and you haven't seen "Godmonster of Indian Flats," you're in for a treat. On the surface it might just look like any other cheapie with a guy in a bad monster suit, but there is so much more going on here.

Here's a taste:


Unfortunately, that clip (the only one that seems to be available online) is the most generic and normal part of the film. What with the Basque shepherd gambling in Reno, the fake funeral for a dog, the tourist trap Old West town, the climactic riot in the town dump and, of course, the 8-foot-tall evil mutant sheep -- there's strong vibe of WTF-ness running through this whole thing that is just bizarrely fascinating to me.

The auteur at work here is Frederic Hobbs, who made a handful of equally insane films before this one, then retired from filmmaking after doing "Godmonster." (Because, really, once you've filmed a giant mutant sheep dancing through the wilderness with a comely young starlet, what else is there left to say cinematically?) He then began a second career as an abstract sculptor.

"Godmonster of Indian Flats" doesn't seem to have gotten a proper theatrical release when it was made in 1973, but it's readily available on DVD now. There's no excuse not to see it -- your life will be incomplete if you don't.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

oh no, it's GUANO


This episode of SwaG! proves that host Bat Guano is just not right. Go here to get three hours of weird radio.

This episode is two weeks old. Guano has been taking time off to participate in undisclosed "therapy." He will capture the SwaG! Halloween Special and make it available for your festivities by the end of Oct. 30. Unless he's shot in the head when mistaken, understandably, for a rabid zombie.

Song O' the Day: Frankenstein Walk

Photobucket

MP3 File
Gene "Bowlegs" Miller - Frankenstein Walk - Hi Records #2161 - 1969
This Jukebox Mafia chap is rockin' it at least 3.74 ways on his blog. Today's selection is this gem which has an this wonderful candid give-and-take between Frankenstein and his lady friend as a prelude to "gettin' down". For more facts, and unlike so many in the 'sphere, he claims to be lazy about them go to Jukebox Mafia

Twist! with Hnas. Navarro


I know. it's been veritable AGES since I shared a new twist album with you, and it is indeed a good one. It features Hermanas Navarro, which means Navarro Sisters, which I am so ignorant I had to be told. I thought it was a first name, you know, like a female version of Herman or something.
My favorites are the Rum and Coca Cola Twist, and the Hernamas' tale of the boyfriend with his wandering brazos (ARMS, for you steadfastly monolingual Americans) entitled "El Pulpo" (octopus, which I already know because pulpo y cameron are quite tasty on a tortilla).
Find it at El Rincon de los Recuerdos and dance dance dance all your silly blues away.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Six Slick Fellows.


Someday, if I ever get married again, I'm going to make all my groomsmen dress like this.

[via Katastrofala Omslag.]

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Download "Trout-O-Ween!"


the Percy Trout hour

"Trout-O-Ween
2008"


Download this year's Halloween Special:

Part One

Part Two

(Please be patient... there is a bit of overlap from the show prior to mine at the beginning of Part One).

MY NAME IS GOBEIL, MY NAME IS POTATO

Bonjour and hi mes amis. My name is Gobeil, that is my last name, and this is my very first posting to the PCL.

It is so very nice to share sounds and sights is it not? There is something so special about giving. Before I send myself into a reverie of melancholy over the wondrous delights I have downloaded over the years, I will instead simply say thank you to all the souls who are giving and to Monsieur Dante Fontana for answering my call to join the PCL LinkDump.

A bit about myself. I have a rather nice record collection and while I could consider myself a collector, I purge often. That is not to say that I do not dabble in the fine pastime of accumulating objects as if they were candy. Oh how I devour those delights. When time passes and they serve a purpose they are discarded as leaves in the wind. Apologies for my mediocre metaphors, it's just another part of my simpleton soul.

My father was not of the Gobeil family, nor did my mother leave me without a first name. I use what is called a pseudonym. Yes, I am not who I seem to be. I could be you, you, you, or well... not you (sorry, but I just can't be you) for you and I are the same person.

So who am I really. Does it matter? Hardly. Do I need to take credit for what I post? Certainly not. I will tell you a few true facts about myself...
  1. I do not live in the United States of America
  2. I do not drive
  3. I enjoy quiet evenings at my maison with my belle
  4. I once had a dog that I loved very much and she lived to be 17
  5. I once had a stack of rare Library Music albums that I gave to friends
  6. I am still a pirate and a prankster at heart
  7. I have a special cup for coffee and a special glass for spirits
  8. All of my mp3 uploads will be: 320k with cover art embedded + full tags
Well, that was a bore. But maybe a delightful one?

Let's get into some music...

As I mentioned, my name is Gobeil. The name derives from a wonderful song by Jean-Pierre Ferland (website / wikipedia), from the album Soleil (1971, Barclay).

Jean-Pierre Ferland - Monsieur Gobeil (mp3)



A year previous to this song, Ferland released his swan song opus, Jaune, also on Barclay records. One of my favorite songs from the album I will share with you now, it is entitled,

Jean-Pierre Ferland - Le Chat du Cafe des artistes (mp3)



I would have loved to upload both of these albums in full for you, but both have been reissued on CD. Jaune was blessed with a glorious box set a few years ago featuring remixes, outtakes, videos, and an alternate re-mastered version of the album.

Let's trackback to my name. Gobeil, oui? Yes and no. You can also call me potato if you wish.

You have probably viewed the Rita Pavone video for My Name Is Potato on YouTube. It has been posted on many blogs. It's quite a dandy.

I thought it would be ever so nice to share with you the song in mp3 format,

Rita Pavone - My Name Is Potato (mp3)



I was going to encode the B-Side of the single, a song entitled "Ma Volendo", but it is not that fascinating. And the last thing you need is more so-so songs taking up space on your hard drive. For you completists, you will just have to try to stop completing this one thing for a moment, but do not worry you can continue completing in another venture.

Au revoir my friends. I will return again soon with more magic. I do hope you believe in magic, and potatoes...

RYP Does a Lazarus



Blogger could mean jumping back into the same grave tho-
Twilightzone Neu!

Two R.I.P.s

In just the past few days, two of the most recognizable musical voices of the '60s (even if they weren't household names).

On Friday, Levi Stubbs died. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the Four Tops, who helped popularize the distinctive Motown sound. All that was achievement enough, but he also voiced Audrey II in the 1986 film-version-of-the-Broadway-musical-of-the-schlock-original of "Little Shop of Horrors," which makes him even cooler in my book. And this is one of my favorite Tops songs:


And just because, here's Billy Bragg doing "Levi Stubbs' Tears" at this year's SXSW:


Over at Funky 16 Corners, there's another fine tribute, along with a tune.

Meanwhile, we also lost Neal Hefti recently. He was a prolific jazz trumpeter/composer/arranger/etc. whose career started in the 1940s while working with Woody Herman's band. He later played with Count Basie and Frank Sinatra as well. You may not recognize his name, but you know his work -- he composed one of the most instantly recognizable (and swingingest) pieces of music to bubble up out of pop culture:


He also composed the theme to "The Odd Couple." To give you a taste of his non-television work, here's "Repetition" from 1947, featuring Charlie Parker on alto sax:


You'll be missed, fellas.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Terrible News: Twilightzone! No More


RYP's avatar

I just recieved an email letting me know that the Twilightzone! blog has been removed. No details, yet.

This guy was a master of the music blog art form, and seemed to have a pathologically large collection of American music that leaned towards the sizzling. Rockabilly, R n'B, Hillbilly, Punk, if it wasn't for the squares, he was posting it.

Where did you go, meine freunde?

Thanks, TJ

Rudy Ray Moore RIP





Obit1

Obit 2

Website

Filmography

Digital Meltd0wn.....



....has been working hard to provide rich Hallowe'eny goodness:
Poe read by Rathbone & Price-
Arch Obler's Lights Out-
Psycho and Hellraiser soundtracks-
Roky Erickson's The Evil One-
White Zombie albums-
-and what I like to refer to as ASSLOADS more.

Trout-O-Ween


the Percy Trout hour: "Halloween Special"

Join Percy Trout tonight as he opens his musical bag of treats and hands out a spooky selection of audible candy made of of eerie, ominous, and icky ingredients.

Monday Night (10-20-08)
8pm to 10pm EST-USA

WRFL 88.1fm
Lexington, KY

LISTEN ONLINE

Hallowe'en

Dennison Halloween Crepe

I love retro Halloween graphics and Halloween Guy (appropriately named!) has a great FLICKR set featuring old die cut decorations, cards, advertisements and other items.

Richard Miller aka Halloween Guy is also the creator of SPOOKSHOWS.COM, a fantastic celebration of this ghoulish holiday - there's lots of extensive galleries loaded with Halloween ephemera. You can even download poison labels to print off!

1930s Halloween Art Deco Cat Decoration

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Public toilets

Having a touch of OCD, I tend to be particular about cleanliness in Public toilets. A clean one would raise my opinion of a bar and a dirty one would make me not want to return. It would have to be a rather amazing bill for me to go to CBGB's. (I've been in cleaner gas station bathrooms.) The Continental had very clean bathroom. I read that it's a sports bar now, but it doesn't appear to be one according to the website.

So, yesterday when a dear friend sent me a link to get free post-its to rate the clean factor, I immediately sent for mine.

This same friend also gave me some individually wrapped toilet seat covers a few years back. She got them in Poland. But, you can get them from Apothecary Seaties. They don't appear to have a website, but a google search will tell you the usual suspects, like amazon, have them.

Cuckoo!



Greetings from Holland!

Boomp3.com

Trailers from Hell

Tarantula (Half-Sheet) 1955

TRAILERS FROM HELL is the creation of director Joe Dante and friends - a site that pairs up a nice variety of commentators with trailers for mostly sci-fi, horror and exploitation films. In addition to Joe himself, you can also hear from Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD), Eli Roth (HOSTEL), John Landis (THE BLUES BROTHERS), Jack HIll (FOXY BROWN) and many others wax on about cinema.
Click on the poster to head on over to TFH to view the trailer for TARANTULA, a fifties giant bug film starring a pair of B-film faithfuls John Agar and Mara Corday.

Deep Purple - Highway Star (Beat Club 1971)

bodypaint

Can't help to love bodypaint:



Saturday, October 18, 2008

John D. Loudermilk

Aquarium Drunkard has always been a respite for this roots-rock, aging, yet open "chippie". Chippie being defined as one who embraces the best of the hippie values but walks around with a colossal chip on their shoulders.

This recent post highlighting John D. Loudermilk's career is right on given the political and economic discomfort us Yanks are feeling at the moment. The 30's gave us the Great Depression, where folks lined up for soup and apples. The new Depression forces us to stand in line for I-Pods. When will it end?

I gotta believe we are going to hell on a sled...............
Boomp3.com

Species

AMC is running this lately. If you haven't seen this little gem (Natasha Hentridge crossing the street in a wedding dress, fanny pack, and black train conductor shoes!) - check their listings. And the hammin' it up cast: Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker, Marg Helgenberger, Alfred Molina - wow!



Dr. Laura Baker: I got his machine. Should I leave a message?
Preston Lennox: Yeah. Tell him he's about to copulate with a creature from outer space.
More memorable quotes here.

Grill Skills at Wendy's

America's best kept secret.
"It's pattied into squares so the meat hangs over the bun."


The action seriously picks up at about the 4 minute mark.

Copped from Thighs Wide Shut

Havin' a Ball with Calvin Boze


I've been enjoying this one for a while and keep forgetting to publicly sing its praises. R & B trumpeter/singer Calvin Boze had a vocal presence very similar to Louis Jordan at his best--his band arrangements swing almost as much as Louis' band as well. Grab a collection of Boze's songs recorded for Aladdin records between 1949-52 at Bebop Wino and prepare to wear out your dancing shoes.

Absurd, '91 horror zine

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.usImage Hosted by ImageShack.us
The complete Absurd V2 #1, 1991, horror zine, edited by Ian Caunce. Scanned and uploaded by Jim Barker for his K7 heaven.

My new head is in...

big_head_gman

To allow for my over-inflated ego (a direct result from being hand picked to join the cadre of PCL Web Ninjas), I had my cranium sized to fit.
Shame it makes the rest of my anatomy look freakishly small...

HAXAN - A PUBLIC SERVICE

On the heels (or hells) of Gorilla Man's post about Haxan (and others) I'm chiming in with the news that a soundtracked and tinted version is available as an .avi download at Archive.org

or embedded below:



Plus, just for Sebastian, English subtitles!

BOO!

A Brief Introduction, Followed by a Pipe Wrench Fight.

Greetings, citizens!

Since this is my first post, I suppose I should say hi. (Hi!) I'm Desuko and I host a couple of blogs -- Desuko Movie Spot, which features capsule movie reviews and links, and DesukoTube, which is full of YouTube-y video madness. I've been a long-time PCL reader, so I'm excited to be able share some of my weird obsessions with you all I want to thank mrdantefontana and the rest of the PCL crew for the invitation to contribute. I'll try not to betray your trust in me by promising to try to post only things that will thoroughly waste your time. (That's why the internet was invented, wasn't it?)

So, now that the boring preliminaries are out of the way, let's dive right into what everyone really wants to see -- a pipe wrench fight!

The fine folks at Dust Films have taken it upon themselves to fill that gaping hole in our lives by recording a literal version of a-Ha's "Take On Me" to go with the video. It all makes so much more sense now:


Kudos to whoever was able to hit those high notes.

Uploaded by DustoMcNeato.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Alton Ellis RIP



I imagine most of you can tell me his hat size and mother's maiden name, (I'm only a recent listener) but soulful Rocksteady star Alton Ellis has died.

NYT Alton Ellis Obituary

You and Me on a Jamboree posts for Alton Ellis in:

English
Svensk
Dutch
French

Love Detonator


Uploaded by fritz51319

Dirty Thirties Horrorthon

I am woefully behind on my Halloween viewing (perhaps it's because my daughter insisted we watch SLEEPING BEAUTY twice today!) but I thought I would point out a few dynamite selections that most modern viewers might overlook. If you're one of those people that refuse to watch a film in black and white I implore you to reconsider. The films below were produced in the early 1930's and have a variety of themes and images that are shocking and adult by today's standards. Before the Hays Office hit full tilt in their mission to sanitize the film going experience, there were some pretty wild movies produced.
I can't see how any discerning, hipster doofus could not find these films riveting and an experience that would trump IRON MAN anyday.
Enjoy!



Naturally, the general populace will forever remember Bela Lugosi as DRACULA but for a Lugosiphile like myself, his subsequent performance in WHITE ZOMBIE towers above any other role. Murder Legendre is an evil twisted creature who uses the powers of voodoo to enslave men. In this role, Lugosi radiates a delicious menace that would eventually become diluted and campy years later in his Poverty Row outings like THE APE MAN. Beyond Lugosi's stunning turn in this low budget independent production, the film also possesses surprisingly creative cinematography and editing. Many of the other actors were Silent stars on the fade but their predisposition to broad acting enhances the oddness of the tale.
If you haven't viewed this horror classic, dreadful banged up prints abound but the best I have come across is the ROAN release. I have heard that Alpha Video pirated their release from ROAN, so either may suffice.



MANIAC will demand that you see it more than once just to confirm that what you just witnessed was not the result of a blow to the head. Trying to summarize the plot would not do the experience justice. The film is borderline surreal, a pastiche of bizarre situations, improbable dialogue, inexplicable violence, and some sweet footage from HAXAN and SIEGFRIED. Seek it out. Watch it with a friend so they can pinch you.



Speaking of HAXAN, this film will disturb your nighttime slumber with horrific visions of devils and demons prancing about the darkened forests of your unconscious. This Swedish silent film will dazzle the modern viewer with effects and makeup that are genuinely frightening. The full running time of the original release is a bit of slog, but the 60's re-release featuring narration by William S Burroughs is damn trippy and slimmed down to the most shocking bits anyhow. My Criterion disc is a real treasure and highly recommended. (Before anyone busts me - yes, this was originally released in 1922 but did not see a US release until 1929, so, hey, close enough.)



Following the success of DRACULA, director Tod Browning made the most controversial film of his career. FREAKS absolutely repulsed the censors and audiences of the 1930's but I find the tragic tale a very human portrayal of the genetically scrambled. Although most Freakshow attractions had only a handful of real,live freaks to draw in the suckers, Browning assembled an impressive cast of about a dozen actual people who worked the circuit. The director was quite familiar with freaks and circus life from his years on the road with a traveling carnival. The film is readily available on DVD.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Spreeder

is cool. Grab a free book - I suggest the banned-from-US public domain version of Nineteen Eighty-Four g'day bruce! at the free books online site ctrl+a (select all) then ctrl+c (copy) on the page then ctrl+v (paste) into the spreeder window - it's like hypno reading!


Thanks Lex11 !

Secret Agent Man



I've actually have wondered "who costumes the secret agents? How could I get a job like that?"

Well, the Spy Museum in Washington DC is doing Operation Undercover: Secrets of Disguise for kids. It's this Sunday.

But, more importantly, a SPY MUSEUM? How cool is that?

LaundroMat Bar

One night over cocktails @
the Beauty Bar a few years back, a friend and I got into a discussion about the kind of bar we'd have. I was very into the idea of a laundromat bar. Well, after doing some research, turns out that there was one...in North Carolina.

My beau played there last spring, but they didn't have t-shirts.

Drinkenstein


I don't care for holidays, and Hallowe'en is no exception--who needs to see other people's children hopped up on sugar and begging like evil little tweaks. But I DO enjoy this Halloween related Sly Stallone tune "Drinkenstein" from the oddball megabomb "Rhinestone" which you can find at Good Rockin' Tonight. I'm almost certain Budweiser was thrilled for the mention.

A clip of Sly in his lab-ro-tor-ay-eee?? Why, certainly!



..thanks to Evan for alerting me to this gem.....