We’ve all heard The Chordettes’ spirited rendition of “Mister Sandman”. Now Blind Guardian brings back this classic, like only they can. Do enjoy!
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Bless you, strk3.
I remember my body: flabby, pasty-skinned, riddled with phlebitis. A good Republican body. God, I loved it.
– Richard Nixon’s head, Futurama
Ah, Tricky Dick. Why do you continue to amuse/disturb us so, even after all these years? Like Don Rickles, like inbred hamsters, like videos of cats in compromising situations, you never cease to be funny and profoundly unsettling at the same time.
Especially when you’re playing the piano:
(With Jack Paar on The Tonight Show, 1963.)
Robot Nixon link via Warren, thanks.
I realize the fog machine/polyester armpit vapors of my last post are still fresh in your nostrils. Apologies if the following clip is officially too much of a good thing. Then again, can’t everyone can use one more reason to love this man?
Yep. That’s Richard Pryor fronting a deadly funk/metal band that looks like Sunn O))) on national television in 1977. This is indeed a strange and glorious universe.
Breaking news! I realize this is very last minute and only applies to our brethren in Northern California, but tonight Jesse Hawthorne Ficks is hosting a “Disco Extravaganza” at the gorgeous Castro Theater in SF. They’ll be showing prints of The Wiz, Staying Alive, and best of all, everyone’s favorite futuristic spiritual disco rock opera cult classic, The Apple.
Wait, what’s that you say? You’ve never seen The Apple before?
Mister Boogalow disapproves.
The Apple is a steaming Midas turd of a film baked in massive amounts of tin foil. It’s a glitter-encrusted, mylar-ensconced acid trip. It’s Jem and the Holograms’ flea market jamboree. It’s… it’s…. oh I have no idea what on earth these people were thinking, but the result is utter crackpot genius.
A playful reminder from the Vegetable Orchestra of Vienna: keep your diet green and leafy, cialis and always play with your food.
Dame Shirely Bassey of James Bond music theme fame recently put out an ubergoth video to promote her cover of Pink’s “Get the Party Started.” I showed this to an extremely talented musician friend who shall remain nameless, prompting a hilarious knee-jerk reaction that I did not expect. There were some choice words for this, let me tell you. My friend was like, “it’s the cheese knob being cranked to 11! Combined with out-of-her-prime show tune hag in bad frame composites and uber tacky goth trappings! It’s phantom of the opera meets a Calvin Klein perfume ad! Meets Liza Minelli’s fat ass! Terrible, sterile video and the insincere bellowing of a woman who forgot to take her menopause meds.”
Oh man, harsh! I don’t have my friend’s fine-tuned ear for music, so the horror of the singing did not penetrate me quite the same way. Also, I have bad taste. I’ll be the first to admit this. I kinda like the pretty goth dresses! However, even I’ll concede that the masks are kind of questionable. However, I can watch this video again and again. I now share this bad taste with all of you. Video and stills, behind the jump. Enjoy!
You may have noticed that COILHOUSE is down one writer this week. Where’s Mer? Did she run away? Did she join the circus? Actually, kind of. Resident musician Meredith Yayanos is in The Old Country right now, touring with a band called Faun Fables as opening guest performers for Sleeytime Gorilla Museum. Faun Fables’ sound is difficult to nail in the written form, especially for someone like me, a person whose daily music vocabulary is limited to phrases like “uber” and “truly epic.” I love music passionately, but I don’t want to torment you with my caveman language when it comes to describing this band’s unique sound. This is where my eloquent friends CTRL+C and CTRL+V come in:
“FAUN FABLES is DAWN McCARTHY’s vivid imagination come to life in song and theater. Dawn is a composer, singer and theater artist whose work is a sea of gorgeous elemental nitty gritty; haunting melodies, breath, stomping, and natural theatricality led by the voice, rooted in the physical body. It is a crossroads where ancient ballad, art song, physical theater and rock music meet. Her lyrics speak to people of all ages about things like rugged housekeeping, street kids, growing old, sleepwalking and exiled travelers returning home.”
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More about the tour, Mer’s whereabouts, and a bonus horror film clip (!) by Faun Fables after the jump.
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Aired on UK’s Channel 4 at the height of the NWOBHM movement, Bad News follows the misadventures of the identically named fictional band of rock star n00bs (played by the cast of the UK cult TV show The Young Ones) as they’re documented by an irritable film crew.
Released the year before This Is Spinal Tap caused an international sensation, this gem has been forgotten in most quarters having been dwarfed by the success of Spinal Tap.
Admittedly, Bad News is totally amateur next to This Is Spinal Tap but if you abstain from drawing comparisons you’ll find high entertainment value in this humble TV effort.
Nnnf. No words, really. Well, except perhaps to remind readers that this is a woman who demanded that Max Factor sprinkle half an ounce of gold dust in her wigs to keep them sufficiently glittery, sucked lemon wedges between takes to keep her mouth muscles tight, and whose make-up artist once divulged that Marlene Dietrich kissed so hard, she needed a new coat of lipstick after every smooch. The tuxedoed “Queen of the World” is as commanding and stylish today as she was when Morocco was filmed in 1930.
Heads up, Pennsylvanians. Cabaret noir performer Nicki Jaine will host an evening of Dietrich’s music in honor of the singer/actress’ 106th birthday on Thursday, November 8 at the Stockton Inn.
Nicki Jaine’s velvety contralto is sure to thrill Dietrich fans to their very marrow. Talk about two great tastes that taste great together. Just like strawberries hotdogs and champagne (once said to be Marlene’s favorite meal) only decidedly less zaftig.
Wakey wakey, troche dear readers.
This vengeful cult classic starring our beloved Vincent Price has got it all. Art Deco by way of the 70s. Clockwork orchestras. A creepy, yet relentlessly stylish assistant named Vulnavia. (Yes, I said Vulnavia.) Bats. Bees. Deadly frog masks. A killer musical score by Basil Kirchin. Rat-induced plane crashes. Unicorn impalement. (Yes, I said unicorn impalement.) And the list goes on.
Perfect Day of the Dead fare. Watch at your peril.
By the way, if anyone wants me to name my secondborn after them (my firstborn shall be called Vulnavia, natch), all they have to do is give me an original mint condition copy of this poster:
