Tuesday, June 30, 2009

R.I.P. SKY SAXXON


Sky Saxxon, lead singer of the incredible 1960's garage rock band The Seeds, passed away one June 25. The Seeds' music was gloomy, grungy, and emotive...like a heavier Animals or Zombies. His presence will be missed. Here's one of my favorite Seeds songs, "Can't Seem to Make You Mine". R.I.P. Sky Saxxon.


Monday, June 29, 2009

AWAKENING OF THE BEAST



"Awakening of the Beast" (1969) is the first movie I have seen by Jose Mojica Marins, also known as Coffin Joe. He is an eccentric and dark Brazilian horror movie director and a huge radio, comic book, and TV personality. His films were dark, intense, and well ahead of their time. This movie did not hold up to the high expectations that I had for a Coffin Joe film, however, for reasons I am about to explain below.

"Awakening of the Beast" is more like a documentary of sorts. It is sort of a gritty, real life expose of the evils of drug abuse. It shows the harmful effects drugs can have on society in a very straightforward and brutal fashion. The first half of the movie is akin to John Waters' 'Calvacade of Perversions' in his film "Multiple Maniacs". The only difference is that John Waters' characters' antics of perversion and drug abuse are done in a fun, joking, gross out fashion. Coffin Joe's scenes of drug abuse and sexual perversion are grotesque and leave you wanting to take a shower.

The story centers around a panel discussion of sorts featuring Coffin Joe and a few others. One of the panel members is working on a book about how drug abuse degrades the human being, making him more base and primitive, bringing out his criminal instincts. They come up with a plan to find four addicts, get them high on LSD, and examine their thoughts during their hallucinations. They want to know what makes the mind of an addict tick. This sounds self indulgent of the director, but the addicts are made to watch Coffin Joe movies before their trip. What follows is a highly innovative very long acid trip sequence, where Coffin Joe is their spiritual guide. He is present through all four of these addicts' hallucinations. The imagery in these sequences is highly effective, perverse, and grotesque. After a few minutes, it grows rather pretentious, tiring, and self indulgent, however. After all, the last third of the film is this trip sequence, and it seems very long indeed. The best thing about the hallucination sequences is the vibrant colors. The rest of the movie is in grainy black and white, except for these sequences. The colors literally bleed off of the screen.

Sadly, the LSD segment was the best part of the film, which isn't saying too much. To me, this movie played like an art house, beatnik version of an early John Waters film where all of the actors, including the director took themselves way too seriously. There is some creepy, excellent, Brazilian psych rock scattered through the film, but aside from that, the soundtrack left a lot to be desired as well. Most of it is free jazz and avante noise that seemed remarkably out of place in this movie. The intended effect was to be trippy, I'm sure, but it instead left me with a headache.

With that being said, there are still a few excellent moments in this movie. The best scenes are the ones where the soundtrack and the stark, grainy photography and scenes of depravity really come together. The opening of the film is particularly breathtaking...images of a woman shooting up cut in with the opening credits. The way Coffin Joe pulls this off is breathtaking. Marin does have a great eye, but for me it is for scenes of the macabre only. I get what he was trying to do with "Awakening of the Beast"...to paint a gritty picture of street life as he saw it, and also to make a great trip sequence. I think he is a bit out of his element here, however, as the film seemed overblown and pretentious to me. I would like to see some of his more straight ahead horror material, such as "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul". From what I've seen of the trailers for these films I really like.

Anyhow, if you're craving something different, well off the beaten path, give "Awakening of the Beast". a try. It may not be a very pleasant movie watching experience, but it will be one you will never forget. Much more creative and daring than 95% of the movies being produced today.
I couldn't find a trailer, but here's the unnerving opening credits of the film. Enjoy.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

COMING ATTRACTIONS...RETRO NIGHTMARE!



Coming soon: Reviews of David Durston's hippie horror classic 'I Drink Your Blood" (1970) and Coffin Joe's experimental psychedelic horror flick "Awakening of The Beast" (1969). Don't touch that dial.

BESSIE SMITH: ME AND MY GIN


Man, it's so hot outside...heat index of 110 degrees today. You gotta have some smokin', raunchy, gut wrenching blues to cool you down at times like this. Bessie Smith is just what the doctor ordered. Here's "Me and My Gin". Enjoy.


Me And My Gin.mp3 - Bessie Smith

Friday, June 26, 2009

FU MANCHU: DAREDEVIL


Fu Manchu are a band I've written a few posts about here before, I know. The thing is, they are such a great, solid, retro 1970's metal band that continues to put out always enjoyable material. Today I want to talk about what is their strongest, most energetic full length album, in my opinion. It is 1995's "Daredevil". This is Fu Manchu at their finest. The guitars are not so fuzzed out and low-ended as on "Godzilla's (Eatin Dust)", and not as straight ahead, overwhelming, beyond Kyuss- heavy, balls to the wall stoner metal as on "The Action Is Go". 'Daredevil" is pure, raw, ingenius, high octane, classic 1970's psych metal with a fuzzed out punk tinge. This is the album where Fu Manchu was really coming into focus. It is like a witches brew of The Stooges, Black Sabbath, Black Flag, and touches of Hawkwind all at their finest moments. The songs are relentless, the most energetic Fu Manchu ever, loaded with classic touches of spaciness. One reason for this is that the two founding members of the mindbending, euphoric retro/space/psych rock band Nebula played on this album. They were Eddie Glass on guitar and Ruben Romano on drums. After "Daredevil", they would split to form Nebula. Arguably, Nebula's output over the years has been much stronger than Fu Manchu's, but that's for another day. What else to say here...the lyrics are at their peak...sometimes unintelligible, warped, drug induced tales that always entertain. Every track is great. Play it loud, annoy, the neighbors, and long live Fu Manchu! I wonder if they are working on a new album...

13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS: YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME


The 13th Floor Elevators were a truly a truly bent 1960's garage psych rock band that saw the light of day in the mid/late 1960's. Led by the formidable Roky Erickson on vocals, with the back-up of an electric jug player (Tommy Hall), and the warped guitar of Stacy Sutherland. On all fronts, The 13th Floor Elevators were a twisted early psychedelic rock not to be reckoned with. They have recorded many synapse melting songs. Here's one of my favorites, "You're Gonna Miss Me". Enjoy.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

WITCHFINDER GENERAL: DEATH PENALTY


Witchfinder General is a band I just very recently discovered. They combine the energy and power of music coming out of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal with the doom and crushing riffs of 1970's era Black Sabbath. The only album I have of theirs so far is "Death Penalty, which was released in 1980. The production is a little muddled, but other than that, this a classic heavy metal album. Sometimes they sound a little too derivative of Black Sabbath but that is really not a problem because the energy level of the music is so high. Their vocals are extremely melodic, but for the most part the vocalist stays away from the high falsetto notes, staying in a mid-range Ozzy sort of vibe. The riffs are pure slabs of molten doom, revved up to a furious, heavy stoner metal pace, a la Kyuss' "Sky Valley". Witchfinder General also paved the way for early 1980's doom metal bands such as Saint Vitus and Trouble. Anyway, Witchfinder General's 'Death Penalty" comes highly recommended. Seven tracks, all heavy and no filler. I'm truly glad I stumbled upon this band, and hope to acquire more of their material soon.




Monday, June 22, 2009

ANGEL WITCH: ANGEL OF DEATH

I don't know why, but I've been on a huge New Wave of British Heavy Metal kick lately. Here's another classic band from the era...Angel Witch. The song "Angel of Death" comes from their self titled 1980 album. This is one I have to get...it's going on my list. Been listening to pieces of the album here and there. Great stuff. It sounds a little dated at times, but these guys have some potently heavy riffs. Enjoy.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

DIAMOND HEAD: HELPLESS

Here's a vintage 1980 live perfrormance of Diamond Head's "Helpless". Early British heavy metal at it's finest...their attire and hairstyles are laughable but the music is as heavy as all get out and speaks for itself.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

THE WILD BUNCH


Sam Peckipah's "The Wild Bunch" (1969). This is the Western to end all Westerns. Just as grand in scope and violent as any Spaghetti Western, such as Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", and just as deep, hard-hitting, and beautiful as John Ford's "The Searchers". In my opinion, Peckinpah intended "The Wild Bunch" this way...the last word on the Western. Period. This is a movie of sweeping choreographed violence, beautiful desert landscapes, and a gorgeous leisurely, but not too slow pace, giving you just enough time to soak everything in.

"The Wild Bunch" is a tale of a band of outlaws in the wild west. They are getting along a bit in age and they have a price on their heads wherever they go. There is a bounty hunter and a group of inane thugs hired by a corrupt sheriff to track them down at any cost. With this group of outlaws, however, you don't need to worry about them getting caught. You just need to worry about what they may do next.

"The Wild Bunch" is a classic of the anti-hero Western. This is a group of hardened, horse riding thugs. There is a long and close friendship that binds these criminals together. You really begin to care about these people. They are led by William Holden, playing the tough, aging, embittered, burnt out cowboy to perfection. Another star of this group is Ernest Borgnine, playing a vulgar, sinister, best friend to Holden.

Anyway, our group of anti-heroes wants to do one final job before they retire. They want to steal a train load of guns for the corrupt Mexican miltary in exchange for a large sum of gold. They also want to give a case of guns on the side to the insurgents, whose villages are being taken over by the military. You see, one of the Wild Bunch is a native Mexican, and he doesn't want to see his people suffer. Can they pull this caper off? And what happens if the Mexican military finds out about that missing case of guns? And what about the bounty hunter that is on their trail? All he wants to do is keep his freedom. He is a crimnial too, and he's going back to jail if he can't catch the Wild Bunch...

What follows is a gut-wrenching ultra-violent tale of camaraderie...a blood soaked epic valiantly fought to the finish. Every detail is perfect in this film, and every character is fleshed out perfectly. The images in this film are full of disturbing beauty. The movie opens with a shot of little Mexican children feeding scorpions to fire ants, and you slowly watch the ants eat the scropions alive. This is the felling you get by watching this movie, watching the not so noble characters you have grown to love head to their ruin...

Admittedly, this is a movie that is hard for me to review for some reason. This is the first time I have seen "The Wild Bunch", and it left me speechless. I didn't think there was a film that could ever come close to topping "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and "The Searchers". This film has so many nuances. It makes it such a joy to watch these larger than life characters develop and so saddening to watch their demise. The ending of this film is too powerful. I was speechless once the credits rolled. I really don't know how to bring to you all the details I loved in this movie to type, so I'm going to leave you with a trailer and one request...drop everything and watch "The Wild Bunch" now!


THE PIXIES: TROMPE LE MONDE


The Pixies' "Trompe Le Monde" (1991). It is the first album I ever heard by The Pixies. I had never heard their music until after their demise, when Black Francis went solo. I loved Frank Black's work and decided to give The Pixies a try. I found " Trompe Le Monde" in a cut-out bin for about 3 dollars on cassette around 1994. What an amazing album! It blew me away and I immediatey sought out other Pixies albums. One strong point with The Pixies was the input of bassist/vocalist Kim Deal. I always loved her work with "The Breeders".

I enjoy all of The Pixies' output, but for some reason, "Trompe Le Monde" remains my favorite. The band was in great turmoil at that time. Supposedly Black Francis was exercising more creative control over The Pixies and Kim Deal's creative contributions to the band were being left out in the cold. There is something about "Trompe Le Monde", though...some odd, adrenaline fueled, bizarre songwriting was at work here. Maybe the internal turmoil that was going on added to the intensity of this album. The music is in top form. Off-kilter, bizarre, snake-like rhythms, riffs and harmonies combined with a big fat production makes this album congeal perfectly together. The songs bleed seamlessly into each other. The lyrics are over the top...full of surrealism and a love for science fiction. Vocally, Kim Deal and Frank Black work together incredibly here. The musicianship is tight and dead on.

This is The Pixies finest moment. It blends together the best elements from their previous albums, such as "Surfer Rosa" and "Doolitlle" and amps it up a bit...more guitar heavy than usual and full of bizarre twists and turns. It packs a powerful punch. All tracks are great on here. 'Trompe Le Monde" has to be listened to in its entirety, and all songs are incredible. If you haven't heard The Pixies before, give this one a try, and listen to the two tracks below. And if you're an old Pixies fan, break this one out and listen to it again. It holds up well.


Distance Equals Rate Times Time - Pixies


Alec Eiffel - Pixies

It's Been Some Kind of Week...

Well, it's been a rough week. Been trying to get used to the 8 to 5 daily grind of going back to work after a week's vacation. Plus I went back into work with a brand new computer system facing me...it's full of bugs and I was week behind my co-workers in learning it. Hopefully they will fix all the issues soon...it's been a big headache. By the time I get home at night I just want to hibernate in the air conditioning (the heat index has been at least 105 all this week...like being in a sauna) well away from a computer. I apologize for the lack of posts here but it is the weekend and I am getting this thing back on track, so regular posting resumes now. See you very soon.

FU MANCHU: GODZILLA

Here's Fu Manchu's heavy stoner metal version of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla". An incredible song to begin with...what a crushing riff! Fu Manchu just makes it heavier. This appears on Fu Manchu's 2004 (Godzilla's) Eatin' Dust EP. A great album, possibly their heaviest, most energetic and fuzzed out effort of their career. Check it out.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Here's a delectable slice of mid 1960's cheese and sleaze. It's Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' "Little Red Riding Hood". It's a bit corny at first listen, but this song has a great sleazy, sinister, predatory 1960's garage punk vibe to it. My favorite Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs song. Enjoy.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

THE SEX PISTOLS


Here's a little Sex Pistols. An incredible, violently energetic, classic punk band...the greatest British punk band of all time, in my opinion. Pick up "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols" (1977). An unrelenting, addictive classic of the genre. Johnny Rotten's catchy, acidic vocals and and bassist Sid Vicious's maniacal stage presence and sensational tragic lifestyle are a perfect match. Here's a live performance of "Holidays in The Sun", the first rack from the album. Enjoy.


Saturday, June 13, 2009

MUDHONEY: TOUCH ME I'M SICK


Ok. I love Mudhoney. They were the best that the 1990's grunge scene had to offer. Their influences were incredibly multi layered. Heavy 1960's garage punk, the synapse melting euphoria of Blue Cheer, libido driven 1960's psych, just loud grungy 1970's rock...all fueled by a vicious, snotty love for punk. More on them later. For now...here's "Touch Me I'm Sick" from their first album "Superfuzz Bigmuff". Enjoy. One of my favorite Mudhoney songs.

A Movie I Have to Get...ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS!


This is a movie that I must have. I saw it a long time ago at a fellow b-movie fan's house more than ten years ago. He had a dub of it he copied from TV. Anyway, we were a tad bit tweaked at the time, but something about this movie just blew me away. I've been hunting this one down off and on ever since then with no luck, and eventually I forgot about it. After watching "The Angry Red Planet" a few days ago, memories of this movie came back to me. It's been long out of print, but not anymore. It's been re-released on DVD as part of the Criterion collection, in print since 2007!

"Robinson Crusoe on Mars" is a unique outer space film...it essentially takes the premise of Daniel Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe" and transports it to outer space. It is about one man and his chimp companion's attempt to survive on the hostile red planet. The struggle to breathe, the terrible isolation, etc. Anyway, I've gotta get this one. My birthday's coming up soon so this is what I want. Don't have to have anything else.


A FEW OF MY FAVORITE SONGS FROM THE DAWN OF THE DEAD REMAKE

Here's a few of my favorite songs from Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of 'Dawn of the Dead". As a movie, I had mixed feelings about this one. If you look at the movie strictly as a remake of George Romero's 1978 classic you will be disappointed. If you go into the movie as I did, with an open mind, you will be blown away. This is one of the most violently depressive movies I have ever seen. It is a thoroughly modern re-working of Romero"s story. While this movie may fall behind the original in some aspects, it makes up for it in others. One strong point is the character development. The characters are much more fleshed out than the original. You really and truly care about these people and you do not want to see them die. Another strong point is the choice of music. It really drives the dark sense of hopelessness that our characters find themselves in.

The first great song in the film is Johnny Cash's "When the Man Comes Around"...a perfect apocalyptic opening to the film. Then there is Richard Cheese's ironic and cynical lounge version of The Disturbed's "Down With the Sickness". These two songs rank amongst my all time favorites strictly because of the power they hold with this movie.

I've tried to find the best versions of these songs that I can. For some reason the Internet copyright gods do not want to make it easy to stream these two songs. I've done my best.



Friday, June 12, 2009

THE ANGRY RED PLANET


Director Ib Melchior's "The Angry Red Planet" (1960). Leave all logic behind you at the door and prepare to be blasted off to the planet Mars for some classic, low budget sci-fi fun. This movie is about an expedition to Mars that goes horribly awry. Of course, this came out in 1960, when no one knew what Mars was really like. This vision of the Red Planet contains strange, exotic man-eating vegetation, rat/bat/spider/crabs, eerie metallic rivers, a giant one-eyed all-terrain octopus, and towering cities built by an alien race. The effects are low budget yet effective. All of the scenes outside of Mars are filmed in regular color. Once we reach the planet, the color turns to a very psychedelic and blurry red, red, red light with the highly creative hand drawn sets tinted red, black & white. This an effect that can be visually overwhelming but psychologically brings out the tension that our Mars visitors feel.

As far as the plot goes, it is pretty generic. The story starts at the end. The military is trying to track down a rocket lost in space on an expedition to Mars. They find it, and they force the rocket to land. Of a crew of four, there are but two survivors. The gorgeous red head Iris, who is in shock of course, and one crew member with a mysterious green growth on his arm are all that remain. Gradually, Iris comes back to her senses and tells us the story of how they came to Mars and the horrors they found there.

This is really a classic visually driven adventure story. The dialogue is laughable and the characters are cardboard cutouts for the most part. What really drives this film is the child-like wonder of exploring another planet and the creative creature and set designs of Ib Melchior. His luminous red vegetation, one-eyed sea creature and rat/bat/spider/crab are purely ominous and foreboding. As for the ending and how our Mars crew became so disheveled, well, you need to watch the movie. You know, the Martians have been watching us for a long, long, time...

Highly recommended...a great thrill ride of early science fiction.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A Great Find...


My wife and I were out bugging a little today and I made a great find: a double disc DVD set featuring "Coffy" and "Friday Foster", both starring Pam Grier...for only 5 dollars! I love "Coffee". It is a bleak yet fun blaxploitation revenge masterpiece of a movie directed by Jack Hill (of Spiderbaby fame). It is my favorite film of the genre next to "Black Caesar" and possibly Pam Grier's best performance from that time period. I have "Coffee" on VHS as a dub...it is very old and deteriorating badly. The reason I am excited about this find is that "Coffy" is supposedly out of print. "Friday Foster" I have not seen yet, but I aim to watch it soon. These DVD's are both in wide screen and "Coffy" features director commentary. A hint at where I found it: just look for the evil yellow smiley face. There are plenty there, you just have to hunt a little.

MASTODON: NEW VIDEO FOR OBLIVION

I know this my second Mastodon post this week, but this is their brand new video to "Oblivion", the song they performed on Letterman a few weeks ago. A great song...and one of my favorite bands. I just upgraded the video card in my computer and let me tell you, this video looks amazing.

Don't worry, the movie reviews I promised earlier are on the way. For some reason, my stay at home vacation this week is making me a bit lazy. Reviews of "The Wild Bunch" and "The Angry Red Planet" will be here very soon.

Mastodon "Oblivion"

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

BUDGIE: CRASH COURSE IN BRAIN SURGERY

For all you fans of early Metallica out there, do you remember their EP that came out in 1987, "The Garage Days Re-Revisited"? It sold for $5.98. It was a collection of Metallica's version of several New Wave of British Heavy Metal and other classics. I loved that album, and vowed to track down the original to every song on the album. Here's one of my favorite tracks... the original Budgie's "Crash Course In Brain Surgery". What are some of your favorites from that EP? You can comment below.

SIR LORD BALTIMORE: MASTER HEARTACHE


Sir Lord Baltimore is a band I just recently discovered. Their legendary debut album "Kingdom Come"(1971) is hopelessly out of print with high prices being asked for it...so all I have to go from is songs I can find on the Internet. Hailing from New York, these guys are one of the harbingers of heavy metal. Forget the sludge of Black Sabbath...Sir Lord Baltimore offers up pure molten, euphoric fury, like The Stooges, Led Zeppelin, and Blue Cheer rolled into one and launched into a high octane overdrive. This is some of the purest and most face removing metal you will ever hear. Sometimes they remind of the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" that would soon be brewing overseas. Nevertheless, Sir lord Baltimore's intensity is tough to match. Here's "Master Heartache", the best track of theirs that I have heard so far, for your enjoyment.



Monday, June 8, 2009

MASTODON ON LETTERMAN


I missed the Mastadon appearance on The David Letterman Show about 3 weeks ago and I've been too busy to track it down until now. The band performs "Oblivion" from their latest album "Crack the Skye". Trippy, progressive science fiction metal at it's finest. A great performance here...enjoy.

WINO: SILVER LINING

Here's a thick slab of molten spacey doom...it 's the final and my favorite track from Scott "Wino" Weinrich's recently released solo album "Punctuated Equilibrium". Wino is the undisputed king of hippie/doom/biker metal. His legacy with Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, and The Obsessed is enough alone to give him that title. Without any further ado, here's "Silver Lining". Not a very flattering photo of Wino here but in some odd way it fits...

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE MIND

Here's one of my favorite nuggets from the 1960's garage psychedelia/punk period..."Journey to the Center of the Mind" by The Amboy Dukes. A highly energetic performance with go-go dancers, this song perfectly captures the deranged magic from this genre of music. It also features a young Ted Nugent on guitar...this was his first band. Here it is..."Journey to the Center of the Mind". Enjoy.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

GRAVEYARD


I don't know what it is about Sweden. The country continues to crank out one brilliant retro/psych/doom rock/metal band after another, such as Witchcraft and Troubled Horse. I just discovered another excellent Swedish band called Graveyard. Their music is exceptional...it's filled with your usual retro Pentagram, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath worship, but these guys add a modern, driving touch to their music as well. The vocal delivery is akin to a cross Glen Danzig, Ian Astbury of The Cult, and Jim Morrison. The music reminds of the heavy, starry eyed, retro rock of The Cult and also Glen Danzig's solo work at times. The guitar playing is fuzzed out, psychedelic, and euphoric, reminding me of the guitar work of Monster Magnet and space rock gods Hawkwind at times.

Anyway, Graveyard has one self titled album that came out in 2008. I just purchased it this morning and comes highly recommended. Here's the first track, "Evil Ways". I'm sure you will enjoy.


Saturday, June 6, 2009

317X



I love strange records. The rejects, the odd, brilliant cover art, and the "you never know what you're going to get" gamble of the music inside. I have a fairly good collection of bizarre thrift store records, but there is one site that offers a cavalcade of surreal record cover images...it has artwork to so many reject thrift store albums it will make you cry with joy. It is unbelievable the wealth of records that are on this site. There are many that I can only dream of having in my collection. Just take a gander at the two covers above. Here it is, 317X. Enjoy, and take your time. There is plenty to feast your eyes on.

TIKI ASHTRAY


My wife and I were out bugging today looking for a patio table. We didn't find one that we wanted, but we did come home with this: a bad-ass tiki ashtray! I just put some kitty litter in it and it's ready to go. It's a good thing to have, a nice big outdoor ashtray. We have a lot of smokers in our house and there's no smoking inside...so now we're all hooked up. By the way, I love collecting bizarre ashtrays picked up from thrift stores and the like. I have a modest collection. I will share a few pics with you sometime soon.

Friday, June 5, 2009

VOIVOD: POLAROIDS

Sorry in advance about the over Voivod exposure here, but you have to excuse me as I gear up for the release of their new album, "Infini". Here is a beautiful video for a not so futuristic, gloomy song. It's from their previous album "Katorz"...the song is "Polaroids". It's a bit mellow for Voivod but I love it. Purposefully black, white and gray in sound and appearance. Away's cryptic animation really adds to the video. Here's to a bizarre, gloom wrapped future that only Voivod could bring to you...

Coming Attractions...




Coming soon...Reviews of Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch", and Ib Melchior's 'The Angry Red Planet". Also, I'm on vacation this coming week...not really going anywhere. Just relaxing for the most part, so there may be more material on here this coming week than usual...so stay tuned.

A FEW VIDS BY THE GREENHORNES...

Here's a couple of of videos by The Greenhornes, my favorite retro 1960's garage punk band. Very classy, yet fuzzed out and heavy...bluesy and soulful too. The best of the genre. I've written about them before, but I've yet to post any of their videos, so here goes. Here's "Pattern Skies" and "It Returns". Enjoy.



Thursday, June 4, 2009

TWO PREVIEW TRACKS AVAILABLE FROM VOIVOD'S FORTHCOMING "INFINI"


There are two preview tracks available to Voivod's new album "Infini", to be released on June 23. They are incredible sounding. Quintessential Voivod....futuristic cyber metal at it's best. The sound is along the lines of their last two releases, with a little more emphasis on dissonance and bizarre, cybernetic chords. This album features the last written and recorded efforts of their deceased gutiarist Piggy, the driving musical force behind the band. To listen to the two songs, "Earthache" and "Global Warming", click here. They are the first two songs on the player. I can't wait until "Infini" is released. Gotta get my Voivod fix. To read a little more about Infini, click here.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

ROB ZOMBIE: DRAGULA


I don't know if it's just me, but Rob Zombie's work after White Zombie doesn't always do it for me. I guess nothing can match White Zombie's unique psychedelic horror metal vision. There are good moments in Rob Zombie's solo releases however. Many tracks still have that heavy, trippy, sleazy horror feel of White Zombie..just with more of a more modern industrial/dance vibe. His solo tunes also tend to a bit more accessible. Take "Dragula", for instance..one of my all time favorite Rob Zombie tunes. An excellent song, addictivly catchy with a cool, creepy, campy video as well. Here's "Dragula" for your enjoyment. Embedding is disabled by request on You Tube...I hate when they do that...so click here to listen.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

THE PIXIES: WHERE IS MY MIND?

Here's one of my all time favorite Pixies songs, taken from their album "Surfer Rosa". I will go more into this band later, but for right now just soak in this song...it's been running through my head a lot these past few days. The video is taken from clips from the movie "Fight Club"...an excellent film and one well worth seeing if you haven't already. Anyway, this song appeared at the ending and made for a very chilling finale to the film. Here it is "Where Is My Mind?" by The Pixies. Enjoy.