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.
"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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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" (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
