Yearly Archives: 2018

Music Video of the Day: So Alive by Love and Rockets (1989, directed by Howard Greenhalgh)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Love and Rockets was an English alternative band, made up of all of the members of Bauhaus who were not named Peter Murphy.  From 1985 to 1998, before breaking up to pursue other projects, Love and Rockets released 7 studio albums.  Though Love and Rockets always struggled to escape the shadow of Bauhaus, the band was still responsible for some of the best music of the late 80s and 90s.

Their best known song was So Alive, which was a number one hit in both the United States and Canada.  The video is highly regarded by aficionados of long legs and backlighting everywhere.

The song was written by the song’s lead vocalist, Daniel Ash.  As Ash explained in an interview with Xsnozie:

“I’d gone to a party on Saturday night, and I was married at the time, and I saw this woman over the other side of the room, and I was completely transfixed which is very odd because I was freshly married.  It was very weird, but I was completely infatuated by her and so much so that I couldn’t go near her to even speak to her, it was just this overwhelming thing. I can’t explain it to this day. That’s why the first line is, ‘I don’t know what color your eyes are.’ Because I didn’t get that close, I just saw this person in the distance.”

The video was the first to be directed by Howard Greenhalgh, who would later direct the video for Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun.

And yes, Love and Rockets did take their name from the comic book series by the Hernandez Brothers.

Why Art?, Indeed : Conor Stechschulte’s “Tintering”

Posted on by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)'s avatarRyan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

Note : This is the original, unedited version of a piece I wrote For Daniel Elkin’s Your Chicken Enemy website. As always, I share this here in case interested parties, should such a thing exist, wish to compare the “rough draft” with the finished piece. Mr. Elkin always provides valuable input and suggestions that I think improve things considerably, and if you do read them both back to back, or side by side, or whatever, I’m confident that you’ll agree.

The final, published version is available for your perusal at http://www.danielelkin.com/2018/08/why-art-indeed-ryan-carey-reviews.html

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“Art is always about ‘something hidden.’ But does it help us connect with that hidden something? I think it moves us away from it.”

So begins anarchist theorist John Zerzan’s widely-discussed (in some circles, at any rate) essay “The Case Against Art.” Zerzan, being one of the leading scholars and spokespeople of the “anarcho-primitivist,” or “Green Anarchist” movements…

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Song of the Day: Simple Man (by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Posted on by Arleigh

Lynyrd Skynyrd

This past week saw another great musician pass away.

Ed King was an integral part of the three-guitar sound that made the Lynyrd Skynyrd sound so unique among the other blues-inspired American rock bands of the 70’s. Some have called Ed King the backbone of the band.

He was great either on bass guitar or as the third guitarist. The latter becoming the signature sound of the band’s most popular song and one of their most requested: “Free Bird.”

While it’d be simple enough to commemorate Ed King’s passing with another listen to that hit song, it’s on another much simpler song of the band’s that best typifies the member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. He who helped give them their signature sound and whose laid-back attitude finally convinced him that it was time to leave the band when the atmosphere around it began to turn mean and violent.

Some fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd don’t have good things to say about Ed King. They think he bailed on the group just when they were reaching the pinnacle of their success and popularity. But as the song “Simple Man” says, “Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast.”

That was Ed King. It’s time you joined the rest of your band mates waiting for you up above.

Simple Man

Mama told me when I was young
“Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day”

“Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love
And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above”

“And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”

“Forget your lust for the rich man’s gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”

“And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”

Oh yes, I will

“Boy, don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”

“And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”

Baby, be a simple, be a simple man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby, be a simple kind of man

Music Video of the Day: Tarzan & Jane by Toy-Box (1998, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Lisa tells me that today is Tarzan Day so, in honor of the Lord of the Jungle, today’s music video of the day is Toy-Box’s Tarzan and Jane.

106 years ago, Tarzan made his debut in an issue of The All-Story.  Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan was actually John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke.  Born to British nobility, Tarzan was raised in the jungle by a tribe of apes.  Tarzan’s great love was an American named Jane Porter.  After marrying Jane, Tarzan would divide his time between England and Africa, always returning to the jungle whenever the hypocrisy of civilization became too much for him to deal with.

The character of Tarzan would go on to star in numerous films and television shows.  He’s been played by everyone from Johnny Weissmuller to Buster Crabbe to Ron Ely.  In the music video for Toy-Box’s Tarzan and Jane, he’s played by Amir El-Falaki.  El-Falaki was one half of Toy-Box.  The other half, Anila Mirza, plays Jane.

Toy-Box was a Danish pop group.  They never achieved much fame in the United States but they were briefly big in Scandinavia.  Tarzan and Jane was their biggest hit, especially after it was re-released in 1999 to coincide with the release of Disney’s animated Tarzan.  Tarzan was not anything special but it will always be remembered for unleashing the Phil Collins ballad, You’ll Be In My Heart, on an unsuspecting world.

Four years after the release of Tarzan and Jane, Toy-Box broke up but they have recently reunited and performed for a series of 90s concerts.

Lisa’s Week In Review: 8/20/18 — 8/26/18

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

After spending last week watching, live tweeting, and a reviewing all of SyFy’s shark movies, I kind of took this week off.  I’ll get caught up next week,

The important thing is that October is right around the corner!

Movies That I Watched:

  1. Cop (1988)
  2. I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1958)
  3. Killer Night Shift (2018)
  4. Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
  5. Love’s Long Journey (2005)
  6. The Snowman (2017)

Television Shows That I Watched:

  1. Bachelor in Paradise
  2. Bar Rescue
  3. Better Call Saul
  4. Big Brother 20
  5. Big Brother After Dark
  6. Charlie’s Angels
  7. Degassi
  8. Doctor Phil
  9. Fear The Walking Dead
  10. Ghost Whisperer
  11. The Investigator: A British Crime Story
  12. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
  13. The Kennedys
  14. Kitchen Nightmares
  15. The MTV Video Music Awards
  16. Private Islands
  17. Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
  18. Saved By The Bell
  19. Seinfeld
  20. Sharp Objects
  21. Shipping Wars
  22. So You Think You Can Dance
  23. South Park
  24. Talking Dead

Books That I Read:

  1. The Contest: The 1968 election and the war for America’s soul (2018) by Michael Schumacher
  2. Invitation to a Bonfire (2018) by Adrienne Celt
  3. The President is Missing (2018) by James Patterson, featuring Bill Clinton

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Alesso
  2. Animal Collective
  3. Anne-Marie
  4. Bipolar Sunshine
  5. Blanck Mass
  6. Bloc Party
  7. Britney Spears
  8. Camila Cabello
  9. Daemon
  10. David Guetta
  11. Dillon Francis
  12. DJ Snake
  13. Duffy
  14. Elle King
  15. Ellie Goulding
  16. Goblin
  17. Goblin Rebirth
  18. Jakalope
  19. Kelly Clarkson
  20. Lily Allen
  21. Major Lazer
  22. Matthew Koma
  23. Phantogram
  24. The Robber Who Robbed The Town
  25. Saint Motel
  26. Tarrus Riley
  27. Taylor Swift
  28. The Ting Tings
  29. Trippie Redd
  30. Twice

Links From Last Week:

  1. For SyFy Designs, I wrote about my memories of twitter!
  2. On her photography site, Erin shared: Trapped Above, Summer Tree, Trees, Trees and Power Lines, Up, Growing, and Covered Wagon!
  3. On my music site, I shared music from Major Lazer, Bloc Party, Britney Spears, Bloc Party again, DJ Snake and Bipolar Sunshine, and Alesso!
  4. ‘Conjuring’ spinoff director Corin Hardy reports hauntings on ‘The Nun’ set
  5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Production On Hold After Firing of James Gunn
  6. Meet The Most Insidious Resistance Grifters
  7. Stephen King’s MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE Hits Blu-ray this Halloween
  8. Veronica Mars: Hulu Eyes 8-Episode Limited Series Revival
  9. Kelly Marie Tran: I Won’t Be Marginalized by Online Harassment
  10. Twitter’s Worst #Resistance Bros Are Melting Down Because You’re Clowning on Their Weird Kids’ Book
  11. Director Danny Boyle Exits Next James Bond Film
  12. Danny Boyle quit James Bond over plans to kill Bond off

Links From The Site:

  1. Erin profiled artist Henry Fox and shared artwork like Radio News, The Dead Man’s Brother, Angel of Gaiety, Argosy, Deadline to Pluto, Modern Romances, and No Luck For A Lady!
  2. Gary reviewed Buchanan Rides Alone, Wife vs. Secretary, and the Prowler, along with taking a look at a one-hit wonder!
  3. Jeff shared his weekly trailer round-up, along with music videos from The Outfield, Bootcamp, Neal Coty, and Tommy Tucker and the Supernaturals!
  4. Ryan reviewed Bad Ben and Angloid, along with sharing his weekly reading round-up!
  5. I reviewed The Last Shaknado, Shipping Wars, The Snowman, and Killer Night Shift!  I also shared music videos from David Guetta, Phantogram, and Kelly Clarkson!  Finally, I shared my Oscar predictions for August!
  6. And finally, Arleigh has returned!  Yay!  He brought with him the trailers for Suspiria and The Outlaw King and a little Creedence Clearwater Revival for y’all!

(Check out what we accomplished last week by clicking here!)

Have a great week, y’all!

What Lisa Watched Last Night #190: Killer Night Shift (dir by Damian Romay and Ernest Rowe)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I watched the latest Lifetime movie premiere, Killer Night Shift!

Why Was I Watching It?

Because it was on Lifetime!

Seriously, as much as I loved watching all of the SyFy shark movies last week, I was ready to return to Lifetime and see what type of melodrama they had to offer this weekend.

I have to admit that I was also intrigued by the title.  Killer is a word that shows up in several Lifetime titles but this is the first time that I’ve ever heard of a killer night shift.  Some day, I’m going to write a Lifetime movie called Killer Yoga Lesson.

What Was It About?

It was about a couple, David (Johnny Pacar) and Tricia (Christie Burson) Rosen.  They’re rich in the way that most Lifetime couples are, in that they own a really big house, Tricia is an online yoga instructor, and David’s business is ill-defined but it keeps him away from home for extended periods of time.

Tricia is also 8 months pregnant!  With David away on business, Tricia needs a homecare nurse.  She has two to choose from.  There’s Irene (Vanessa Reseland), the sullen nurse that’s actually assigned to her.  Irene has a shady history of stealing medication and being rude to patients.  And then there’s Katy (Cynthia Evans), who is Tricia’s talkative neighbor and who spends all of her time at Tricia’s house.

(I don’t blame her!  It’s a really nice house!)

Anyway, since this is a Lifetime film, we know that at least one of the nurses is going to turn out to be crazy and homicidal.  But which one?

What Worked?

For the first hour or so, the film did a pretty good job of keeping you guessing as to which nurse would ultimately turn out to be the dangerous one.  Both Vanessa Reseland and Cynthia Evans were well cast as two very different nurses.  Once it was revealed which nurse actually was the bad nurse, I have to say that she turned out to be even more evil than the typical Lifetime villain.

Shalesha Monique Henderson played Irene’s supervisor, Adele.  Though it was a small role, Henderson made a definite impression.  We’ve all known someone like Adele, someone who doesn’t have any time for any foolishness and who is too busy to waste time being polite.  Adele’s withering look of disgust whenever Irene complained about her assignment was definitely one of the highlights of the film.

What Did Not Work?

The film itself moved a bit slowly and I have to admit that I got a bit depressed while watching it.  Despite all of the melodrama, the film wasn’t quite as over the top as a typical Lifetime film.  Lifetime movies deal with such traumatic issues that you kinda need those over the top, borderline absurd moments to remind you that it’s only a movie.  You really felt their absence in Killer Night Shift.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

I was in kind of a bad mood yesterday so I related to Irene’s constant bad mood.  Sometimes, you just don’t want to say “excuse me” when you shove someone out of the way.

Lessons Learned

There’s a lot of money to be made in yoga.

Weekly Trailer Round-Up: Hold the Dark, Ben is Back, King Lear, I Think We’re Alone Now

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

We’ve already shared two of this week’s biggest trailers, Suspiria and The Outlaw King.

Here’s the best of the rest:

Director Jeremy Saulnier’s latest film, Hold The Dark, will come to Netflix on September 28th and it looks like it will be another tough and uncompromising film from the director of Blue Ruin and Green Room.

In Ben Is Back, Lucas Hedges plays Ben, who returns home on Christmas Eve and brings trouble with him.  Julia Roberts plays his mother.  This film is set for a December 7th release.

Every great Shakespearean actor eventually gets to play King Lear.  Anthony Hopkins did so in this BBC production.  This version transports Shakespeare’s tragedy to an alternative version of modern-day London and it will premiere on Amazon Prime on September 28th.

In I Think We’re Alone Now, Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning might be the last two people on Earth.  Find out on September 14th.