Monday, December 28, 2009

The World Needs Another Cannonball Run

The world needs another Cannonball Run. Back in the '70s audiences could regularly visit the local movie theater (or drive in) for a coast-to-coast race film. Among others there was Gumball Rally, Cannonball and the two Cannonball Run films. American cinema just hasn't been the same without these completely mindless romps. Sure, we got Rat Race in 2001. It was similar in that "through a bunch of D-list celebs into a movie" like Scavenger Hunt but there was no coast-to-coast race there (just from Las Vegas to Silver City, NM).

I propose a reboot of the Cannonball Run series utilizing characters from other film series. Let's have it star Vin Diesel and Paul Walker from the Fast & Furious series. They can ride their cute little souped-up cars from that series. And we'll have to have Jason Statham driving his Transporter BMW. He'll break down halfway through and have to hitch a ride with Seth Green in a Mini a la The Italian Job. The way his career is going, we could nab Robert DeNiro to reprise his role from Ronin.

Who else?

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

One Step Away...

The more I watch A&E's "Hoarders", the more I realize how perilously close I am to being a hoarder. I've always had collections and have always felt better the more I had of something but it was tape trading/collecting that really got out of control over the last ten years.

For a while it was a point of pride mixed with a bit of a joke. I'd laugh when I talked about the thousands of VHS tapes and DVDs that had taken over my basement. Watching "Hoarders" and hearing the psychologists on the show talk about the gratification of acquisition has really hit home (literally). I've gone from a "cute collection" to a mess of epic proportions.

I'm trying to change my ways.

I gave up tape trading/collecting in 2008. I vowed to not buy any DVDs in 2009 and with the exception of the colorized Forbidden Zone and Stingray Sam, I've held true to that.

I'm not doing so good when it comes to books but seeing the hundreds of unread books in my basement has helped slow me down there.

Now it's time to get rid of the clutter. I've gone through my bookshelves and pulled out nearly 300 books that I will never read or will not read another time. I've started converting VHS tapes to DVDr and throwing away the "home made" ones while setting aside the pre-records. Soon I'll crack open the bins of DVDs.

I'm putting everything up on three sites: Half.com, Amazon.com, and Ebay.com in that order. I'm a big fan of Half as you can combine shipping on orders. Amazon doesn't allow that but they do allow selling to other countries. Ebay is a pain in the ass.

Whatever doesn't sell over these next few months I'm going to gather up and put them on a few tables in my driveway and hold a garage sale. What doesn't sell will be tossed or donated to whoever is willing to take it. I'll definitely announce when that garage sale is happening. Wish me luck on overcoming my addiction!


These are some of the tapes I haven't listed on Half.com or Amazon.com.

Through the Looking Glass XXX
Dark Garden XXX
Fade to Blue XXX
Sex XXX
Sex 2 XXX
Shayla's Web XXX
Skin 9 XXX
Climax of Blue Power (XXX) Alpha
Darker Than Amber Bootleg
La Puritana Bootleg
Rumble on the Docks Bootleg
Die Flambierte Frau Bootleg
Skidoo Bootleg
She & He Bootleg
Le Carne Bootleg
The Sicilian Clan Bootleg
Hamlet Goes Business / I Married a Contract Killer Bootleg
Le Vice & Le Vertu Bootleg
The Girls of Kamare Bootleg
The Jazz Singer starring Jerry Lewis Bootleg
Sweet Revenge Bootleg
Deseos Bootleg
Produgal Son Bootleg
Tai Chi Master Bootleg
Django Kill! Bootleg
The Wicker Man Bootleg
Abba: The Movie Bootleg
Brigade Criminelle Bootleg
Running Bootleg
The Colossus of Rhodes Bootleg
Cornman Homemade
Gubbi Gubbi Homemade
When Television Attacks Homemade
Lucky Homemade
The Animal Homemade
The Green Goblin's Last Stand Homemade
Brawlin' Broads Homemade
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter Homemade
Godass Homemade
Andre the Giant has a Posse Homemade
Plaster Caster Homemade
Atomic TV Volume 1 Homemade
The Kibbles and Bits of Hellorama Homemade
Jungle Monkey Homemade
Ed Wood's The Venus Flytrap Homemade
Chic-A-Go-Go Homemade
Memorial Day 2000 Homemade
American Job Homemade
Springtime in Greenland Homemade
Acid Freaks Homemade
Wild Goose Chronicles Homemade
Post No Bills Homemade
Filthy Rich & Catflap PAL
Tout Vie Biem PAL
Good Hands PAL
Trip to Kill PAL
Concorde 820 PAL
That Night in Varennes PAL
Jak Utopit Dr. Mracka PAL
La Vie de Chateau PAL
Abelard PAL
Danish Girls Show Everything PAL
Cold Light of Day (1950s) PAL
The Unseen PAL
Espelho De Carne PAL
King Lear PAL
Playtime PAL
Divka Na Kosteti PAL
Fists in the pocket PAL
Na Samote U Lesa PAL
The Warrior PAL
Dreams that Money can Buy PAL
Mr. Hulot's Holiday PAL
Der Grit Grad (The Weak Spot) PAL
The Warning PAL
Man from the First Century PAL
Tudo Bem PAL
GDR Underground Films PAL
Beat Generation: War PAL
Hercules Returns PAL
Il Petomane PAL
Edvard Munch PAL
Flic Story PAL
Temmink: The Ultimate Fight Screener / PAL
Pleasures of the Flesh Secam
Fantasy of the Idiots Secam
The Bodyguard (Sonny Chiba)  
Firecracker (Kung fu)  
Jaws of the Dragon  
Tough Guy  
A Choice of Weapons  
Small Gauge Shotgun  
Spylarks  
Karate Warriors  
Fraternity Vacation  
Tennis Ball Killings 3  
The Thrill Killers  
City of the Walking Dead  
Blood Feast  
The Black House  
Brigitt Haas Must Be Killed  
Apple  
El Hobre Sin Rostro  
White Lions  
Bombay to Nagoya  
Alice or la dernier fugue  
Incubus  
La Commune (2 Tape Set) PAL
The Universal ClockScreener

Friday, November 13, 2009

EUROCRIME! cinema documentary needs your help!

YOU can help us complete the highly-anticipated feature-length documentary about the last great action subgenre to be rediscovered! EUROCRIME! THE ITALIAN COP AND GANGSTER FILMS THAT RULED THE '70s has already pulled together a roster of the top actors and directors in the Italian crime genre in order to get their perspectives on these tough, brutal, and occasionally dangerous films.

The film is currently in post-production, but even with the bevy of euro-superstars who have offered up their time and support for the film, the biggest challenge still lies ahead – licensing all the great film clips that really showcase the genre and demonstrate why it was such a dynamic and prolific part of cinematic history! Hundreds of dangerous stunts, chases and explosions – not to mention some of the most inspired dialogue you will hear in ANY genre – are integral to illustrate the film's numerous anecdotes, and YOU can help make it happen!

As a backer of this project, you will be the recipient of numerous perks, many of which are unique to the world of EUROCRIME! and ensure that you are acknowledged and kept in the loop as a key part of the process.

Click here for more information!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

While in Germany...

FETISCH FILM FESTIVAL in Kiel (Germany)

Thursday 29.October 2009
5.45 p.m.
Location: Traum-Kino 1:
Clip by Domina WS
Shortfilm SM1 by Ida Feldman
Shortfilm SERVICE by Julie Simone
Documentary FETISHES (OV) by Nick Broomfield


Thursday 29.October 2009
8 p.m.
Location: Traum-Kino 1:
Musicvideo by Gitane Demone from CultEpics
Shortfilm UN PIEDE DI ROMAN POLANSKI by Lauren Wissot
Film COMME UNE LETTRE A LA POSTE von Filippo Filliger
SM RECHTER (english subtitles) by Erik Lamens


Friday 30.October 2009
5.45 p.m.
Location: Traum-Kino 2:
Film by Baroness Bijou
Shortfilm KINK INC by Casey Clark
Shortfilm by Julie Simone
Shortfilm PICCOLI PASSI(italian with german subs) by Daniele Baricordi
Documentary SERVING MADAME GINA by Dr. Gabriele Hoff


Friday 30.October 2009
8.30 p.m.
Location: Traum-Kino 1:
Filmnight
MODERN LOVE IS AUTOMATIC (OV) by Zach Clark
Shortfilm from Femdom Austria
Animated film BUTLER by Erik Rosenlund
Shortfilm from Fetish Film CH
Shortfilm BARBIE & KEN by Lazarus Walking
Shortfilm WASHI by Lazarus Walking
Shortfilm PAUSA PRANZO by Fudesan
Shortfilm by Amber Moelter
Shortfilm by Lady G from Mexico
Shortfilm NEO FETISH POSTURE by Manon des Gryeux
Shortfilm WALKING DOGS by Kyle Porter
Documentary COMING OUT SPANKO (OF) by Tanya Bezreh
Shortfilm CAN CAN by Stefania Goffredo
Shortfilm CROSSING by Ignacio Rivera
Shortfilm HOUSEMAID by Steven Speliotis
Shortfilm LA GABBIA (italian with german subs) by Daniele Baricordi
Musicvideo LET ME BE YOUR FANTASY from Restrained Elegance
Shortfilm LUSTAMEROS by Antonella Cavallo
Film by Madame Catarina
Shortfilm XMAS TREE by Gala Fur
Collage DECADENT DREAMS by Veronica Vinyl
Film starring Bojana
Trailer from new work of Sebastiano Montresor


Sa. 31.October 2009
5.45 p.m.
Location: Traum-Restaurant-Turm:
HERAS HARTE SCHULE: ROLLENSPIELE produced by Robert Wilde for Beate Uhse TV
Shortfilm LA CROIX de Gala Fur
Shortfilm by Lady Monroe
Shortfilm from Elegant Femdom


Sa. 31.October 2009
8.30 p.m.
Traum-Kino 1:
Shortfilm THE PAWN LAYMAN by Frank-Peter Lenze
Shortfilm starring Lady Asmondena
Shortfilm by Julie Simone
Film from LatexGirls HD
Shortfilm STRENGES THEATER by Susanne Klein
Shortfilm from Young Femdom
Shortfilm ZIMMER FREI by Morphine
Shortfilm HARDsCORE by Mike Fuhrmann and Florian Mengel


Sa. 31.October 2009
10.00 p.m.
Location: Traum-GmbH
Two halls:
Party FETISCH-TRAUM (Dresscode)


Best Musicvideo of the Year 2009:
http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/fetisch_film_festival/polls

Best Website of Filmproducers:
http://www.fetisch-film-festival.de

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Tonight Tonight Tonight

One of my favorite MTV "bumpers" from back in the day. Before I knew who Steve Buscemi was, I loved him in this:

Thursday, October 01, 2009

A Nagging Itch

With the recent re-release of Star Trek VI on DVD, I finally sat down to write out some of the things that had been bothering me about that flick for the last two decades. The fine folks at The Plot Hole have been kind enough to host my rant on their site. Read all about it.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Good Bye Solo

The Gomorrah Must Be Crazy

Apparently the designer of the Criterion DVD cover for Gomorrah must be a big fan of The Gods Must Be Crazy. See below for a comparison.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

We'll Always Have Paracinema...

I'm thrilled and honored to be included in the latest issue of Paracinema magazine. My article, "Boy to Men (And Back Again)" will be featured in their seventh issue along with pieces by Adam Protextor, Todd Garbarini, James Gracey, and many more.

Pick up the issue online or visit one of these fine brick & mortar retail shops.

Metro Times Reviews

Two new reviews up in the latest Metro Times:

Dead Girl
Sex with an attractive girl with no emotional strings attached? Sounds like what dreams are made of for many dudes — just look at Craigslist. If that hot girl was actually more room temperature and discovered bound in the basement of a mental hospital, this might present a problem for some dudes ... but not all. READ MORE

Adam Resurrected
Scenes are crosscut with 1961 Adam in Tel Aviv, where he's confined to a mental institution with other Holocaust survivors. This section shifts from Patch Adams bathos to Awakenings pathos (though Robin Williams is nowhere in sight). READ MORE

If you want to keep up on reviews that I write, sign up for our RSS Feed.

Monday, September 07, 2009

The Return of Fox and the Ankh Man

It used to be that when a guy dropped out/got fired from the legendary rock band KISS that their replacement would adopt a new, made-up (maked-up?) persona to fit in with the "The Demon" "The Starchild" "The Spaceman" "The Catman" pantheon.

Those are the days of the past, apparently, as current (and long-time) members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer have officially donned the greasepaint for the current incarnation of KISS. However, they're not portraying new "characters" but those of old. Back at the end of 2001, Singer put on the whiskers to become "The Catman" for the remaining gigs in the KISS Reunion Tour after Peter Criss left the road. A few months later Thayer donned the space suit to fill out the roster when Ace Frehley departed from the group again.

Since then it's been Singer and Thayer as "The Catman" and "The Spaceman." Had this been the early '80s, Singer and Thayer may have adopted new make-up designs. That was the case for drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Vinnie Vincent. These unfortunate musicians joined KISS when the idea of someone slapping on the Criss or Frehley make-up must have seemed distasteful. Or, perhaps, the characters had been so associated with Criss and Frehley than a switch-up would just be too odd. Regardless, Carr and Vincent endured the early days of their tenure in KISS as "The Fox" (originally "The Hawk") and "The Ankh Warrior". So, yeah, maybe Singer and Thayer just recycling Criss and Frehley's make-up is for the best.

Eric Carr as "The Hawk"

Eric Carr as "The Fox"

Vinnie Vincent as "The Ankh Warrior"

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Surveillance: Movie Review

Surveillance (Jennifer Chambers Lynch, 2008)

Returning to the director’s chair after a fifteen year hiatus, Jennifer Chambers Lynch delivers a taut, albeit predictable, thriller. Surveillance would have felt more at home in the early ‘90s as a fast follow-up to her initial outing, Boxing Helena, as many of the characters feel as if they’ve been taken from her dad’s playbook. Corrupt cops and odd FBI agents populate Surveillance, as if they were refugees from the first act of David Lynch’s Fire Walk With Me. Viewers expecting the quirky charm of an Agent Chet Desmond (Chris Isaak) or grim humor of Sheriff Cable (Gary Bullock) will be sorely disappointed. Odd moments of humor crop up during Surveillance but they feel awkward and sloppily integrated with the film as a whole.

Surveillance opens with a murder followed by an investigation by a pair of FBI agents—Agents Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Hallaway (Bill Pullman). The narrative unfolds in a series of flashbacks as Anderson and Hallaway interview survivors of an attack by a pair of serial killers who recently slaughtered a family and Deputy Conrad (French Stewart). Apart from Captain Billings (Michael Ironside), local law enforcers prove troublesome: they’re a bunch of trigger-happy yahoos who enjoy terrorizing innocent travelers as they cut across the barren Western landscape. Conrad and his partner, Bennet (Kent Harper), love shooting out the tires of passing motorists and then playing upon their fears of authority with a sadistic game of good cop/bad cop.

Pullman and Ormond provide a few entertaining moments. Hopefully Surveillance will serve to get Lynch reacquainted with filmmaking and provide better fare in the future.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Alien Trespass: Movie Review

Alien Trespass (R.W. Goodwin, 2009)

Eric McCormack stars as physicist Ted Lewis, a big brained scientist—you can tell because he smokes a pipe. After a UFO crashes in the Mojave, Ted becomes host to Urp, a space ranger with Klaatu’s fashion sense. He’s out to recapture the Ghota, a hungry space slug that may have been spawned from the same brood that gave us the evil vegetable overlord of It Conquered the World. Along with Ted/Urp, all of the familiar character tropes are on hand and the film plays out exactly as to be expected, hitting every beat.

Opening up with a newsreel that sets up Alien Trespass as a “lost film” from the ‘50s, viewers will find that R.W. Goodwin’s film is a faithful recreation of sci-fi films from the era. Unfortunately, the film is a little too faithful. Unlike other films over the last few decades that have spoofed Atomic Era creature features such as Invasion! (1999) and Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001), there’s no sense of subversiveness in this button-downed pastiche. It plays out as a faithful homage rather than any kind of parody, leaving viewers to question the necessity of this film. Why not stick to the classics instead?

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Absurdistan: Movie Review

Aburdistan (Veit Helmer, 2008)

Rub a dub dub, there’s no water in the tub for the butcher, the baker, or the candlestick maker in Veit Helmer’s Absurdistan after the pipeline to the village stops working. Taking a cue from the Lysistrata playbook, the women of the village put the brakes on the lusty behavior of the men folk until the water flows again. Laziness, however, proves a greater force than lustiness, demonstrated by the myriad attempts the men make to get laid when there’s a nookie drought. At the heart of Absurdistan are Aya (Kristyna Malérová) and Temelko (Maximilian Mauff) two literally star-crossed lovers who are destined to conjugate for the first time during a cosmic conjunction.

Absurdistan shares the same light-hearted spirit and pure storytelling as director Veit Helmer’s 1999 film Tuvalu. The narrative plays out without need for dialogue with scenes often comprised of a simple setup and payoff. There are only a handful of spoken lines. The faces of the villagers do well enough to communicate their emotions. Maximilian Mauff frequently resembles Buster Keaton with his stoic, put- upon expression.

A simple story, yes, but Helmer and the cast make Absurdistan a sublime, silly love story.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Mutant Chronicles: Movie Review

Mutant Chronicles (Simon Hunter, 2008)

Based on a Swedish role playing game, Mutant Chronicles feels like an epic tale whittled down to a “made for TV” length, sacrificing story and sense in an attempt to make a rip-roaring action film.

In its ponderous opening, the audience learns a whole lot of crap about how the world works in 2707. Suffice it to say, there’s a machine from outer space which makes men into “mutants” that look and act like zombies with spikes for arms. It’s up to cleric Brother Samuel (Ron Perlman) to put together a rag tag group of culturally diverse fighters to destroy the menace. He manages to gather his forces in a quick voice-over montage. The Dirty Dozen, it’s not. There are fewer folks and, other than Perlman, only two of them stand out.

Looking more like Christopher Lambert than ever, Thomas Jane turns in a passable performance as Mitch Hunter. He’s good with a gun, fair with a sword, and destined to save the world. Chipmunk-cheeked Devon Aoki tries her best as Valerie Duval to bring some backstory and motivation to the narrative. Alas, no matter how hard she tries there’s not much substance to be found in Mutant Chronicles.

Substance is in short supply but digital effects are plentiful. The film bears the over-processed look of films like Ultra Violet and Sin City; films created more in a computer than in nature. This doesn’t necessarily play well with the film’s retro-futuristic themes. Meanwhile, the script feels as if screenwriter Philip Eisner had to roll his twenty-sided die to figure out what would happen from one scene to the next. This flick will do double damage to your brain and may make your intelligence go down quite a few points. Roll again and hope for a better film.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Chaos Experiment: Movie Review

The Chaos Experiment (Philippe Martinez, 2009)

Six actors are locked a steam room. This sounds like a good set-up for a joke or a new R. Kelly song but it doesn’t make for too good of a movie.

Val Kilmer continues slumming in the “direct to video” world along with staples Armand Assante and Eric Roberts. Kilmer plays Jimmy Paris, a nut who shows up at a newspaper office with a wild story of global warming and testing peoples’ limits. He spends the rest of the film feasting on scenery with Detective Mancini (Assante). Kilmer narrates a tale of how he locked up a group of people in a steam room under the guise of a dating service. He's like Jig Saw from the Saw movies if Jig was down with Club Med.

Eric Roberts leads the steam room group in killing one another and themselves. The poor group has literally two sentences of motivation with which to work. They play things out like every other “we’re trapped in a confined space” thriller (Headless Body in a Topless Bar, Cube, etc). The only thing missing is that their antics are being broadcast on the internet--something screenwriter Robert Malkani already did with the 2005 film Dot Kill (produced by The Chaos Experiment’s director, Philippe Martinez).

The steam room scenes are cross-cut with the police interrogation, helping to make The Chaos Experiment all the more disjointed. Though beautifully filmed and with plenty of mentions of Detroit (it was shot in Grand Rapids), there’s little else going for the film. This experiment has failed.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Inglourious Basterds: Movie Review

A new Quentin Tarantino movie brings along a flood of questions in my inbox. Typically, "What'd you think of it?" "Where's your review?" "What'd it rip off?" I wrote a review of the script for Inglourious Basterds (sic) back in July, 2008. Like most Tarantino screenplays, little changes between final draft and finished film. Additionally, Tarantino always does a good job of painting a clear picture in the mind of the reader, leaving one feeling as if they've seen the film with their mind's eye. Thus, much of my review of the screenplay goes for my review of the film.

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

A group of Jewish soldiers goes after Nazis with a vengeance during WWII. Lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), his “Basterds” strike fear in the hearts of German soldiers due to their merciless tactics and their love of scalping victims. Sadly, there’s no “getting the team together” sequence (which makes movies like The Dirty Dozen so great) or even a montage of why these guys are “Basterds.” We only see them in action briefly, joining the team already in progress as they tear ass through enemy territory and terrorize soldiers. Like Mickey and Mallory Knox, they always leave someone alive to tell the tale, though they’re scarred with a swastika on their forehead.

The “Basterds” aren’t at the crux of the story (a mistake), rather, they’re unwitting foils of Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), the “one who got away” from Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), The “Jew Hunter”, in the film’s opening scene. Shoshanna runs a Parisian cinema where a Nazi propaganda film makes its premiere. She utilizes the former cinema owner’s extensive nitrate film collection to take out the Third Reich’s high command including Adolf Hitler! Operation Valkyrie? Not quite. It’s Operation Kino!

Tarantino does well to not stuff Inglourious Basterds with his usual group of stars (including some has-been looking for a career transfusion). Sure, Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel make cameo voice appearances but, apart from Brad Pitt (and, to an extent, Eli Roth), lesser-known actors comprise the cast. This feels reminiscent of Paul Verhoeven’s Dutch Resistance film, Black Book, in which story trumps stars. Rumor has Tarantino attempting to attach many other big name actors to his work. This would have proved distracting, if not disastrous. As it was, the stunt casting of Mike Myers as a British General provides the film’s weakest point. Despite (or perhaps due to) the layers of make-up, Myers stands out like a sore thumb. Chomping on a British accent, I kept expecting him to break out an “Oh, behave” or “Shall we shag now, or shag later?” Unfortunately, Myers scene mires the film.

For as bad Myers may be, Christoph Waltz shines as Colonel Landa. The opening scene (which brings to mind the introduction of Lee Van Cleef’s character in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) sets up how suave and ruthless his character can be, going from one to another in moments. It’s important to have this duality set up as he seems to make a rather out-of-character change late in the film.

Overall, the film neither thrilled nor appalled me. My ambivalence stems from what others may find endearing; the use of quirky moments that take the viewer out of the film’s overall narrative arc. These include oddities such as a title card over the introduction of one character, some on-screen titling that point out key Nazi players, and subtitles that leave in foreign words and phrases (rather than translating everything to English). Tarantino continues to use title cards, myriad fonts, and fake titles (the end credits run twice – once as if we were seeing an older film and once in the current contractually-obligated manner). This is perhaps Tarantino’s strongest narrative and he nearly succeeds in balancing three main characters. He falters on pacing (two longer scenes could be tightened up without loss of dramatic tension) and the “Basterds” arc. The audience doesn’t get to know most of the “Basterds” and several of them disappear from one scene to another.

It should be noted that this is the first time that Tarantino’s gotten close to creating a “remake” rather than just ripping off another film (or films) and calling it his own. Oddly, the similarities between this work and Enzo Castellari’s original Inglorious Bastards stop at the (English) title and WWII setting. The film seems more indebted to other Italians like Sergio Leone and Sergio Sollima. Like Kill Bill, the soundtrack brims with themes culled from other films, especially those scored by Ennio Morricone. The use of music from The Big Gundown ("La Condanna") in the opening scene may be clever but soon it feels like someone forgot to re-score Inglourious Basterds and left in a temp track by mistake.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Projects To-Do List

I'm making myself a to-do list to keep me sane/honest:

Video:
- A-Team fan vid here
- Doktor Kosmos music video here
- Seijun Suzuki "fan vid"
- The World Hates Paris

Writing:
- Movie review: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
- Article: Oldrich Lipsky Films
- Article - "Far East Superman" - Indian/Turkish versions of Superman
- Article - "My Pants Are Talking!" - Talking genital films
- Article - "Killer Cocks and Vicious Vaginas" - Killer genital films
- Screenplay 1 - TB VS JK
- Screenplay 2 - TLR Hucksters
- Robot porn book
- CdC Sequel book
- Article - "Boys to Men" - Body swap movies of the late '80s

Music:
- Get all of my various compilations together and re-torrent/post here

Friday, July 31, 2009

Summer Jammy Jams

It's been a long time since I've posted a compilation of songs but here's the latest. These are the tunes that have been draining my iPod's batteries of late. You'll notice a lot of commercial tunes (as in songs used in commercials) as well as some other psychotic fare.

Download This Torrent

TitleArtist
Party Party PartyAndrew W.K.
The Kids Are InsaneUrge Overkill
Red Right HandNick Cave and the Bad Seeds
ConquestPatti Page
Shape Of Things To ComeMax Frost & The Troopers
Lonely Is The NightBilly Squier
Hit Me With Your Rhythm StickIan Dury & The Blockheads
Fools GoldThe Stone Roses
Love SpreadsStone Roses
Stranger On The ShoreAcker Bilk
Three Little FishesKay Kyser
The Young OnesCliff Richard & The Shadows
Young FolksPeter Bjorn And John
PeachesPresidents of the United States of America
LotionGreensKeepers
Clint EastwoodGorillaz
Mama Said Knock You OutLL Cool J
It Was A Good DayIce Cube
Forgot About Dre (feat Eminem)Dr. Dre
I Know I Got SkyllzShaquille O'neal
It's Me, BitchesSwizz Beats
Ms. New BootyBubba Sparxxx Ft. Ying Yang Twins
Bring 4th Ya Booty (Radio Edit)10 Sui, La Resistance & The Ragga Twins
CobrastyleTeddybears (featuring Mad Cobra)
Boom Shot DisKully B/Gussy G
U Got The LookPrince
BatdancePrince
Son of ShaftThe Bar-Kays
Mr. Roberts #1National Lampoon Comedians
It's Me, Bitches (Instrumental) Swizz Beats

Download This Torrent

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Hope - A New Music Compilation

I haven't made a new Torrent compilation in a while. Here's my latest.

TitleArtist
Bawdita Bull God Kid Rock
Dress PJ Harvey
Down By The Water PJ Harvey
Fuck the Pain Away Peaches
Nothin' on Me Barack Obama
Taking of Pelham 123 David Shire
Paper Planes M.I.A.
I Kissed A Girl Katy Perry
Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jet
Code Monkey Jonathan Coulton
Yah Mo B There Michael McDonald
Ling Ting Tong The Five Keys
Parliament Flashlight
Pot Kettle Black Tilly and the Wall
The Green Manalishi Peter Green
My Number Barack Obama
Skullcrusher Mountain Jonathan Coulton
Campaigner Neil Young
Carefree Highway Gordon Lightfoot
Cold Turkey Lenny Kravitz
Indian Love Call slim Whitman
Too Complicated Barack Obama

Why "Yah Mo Be There"?

Season's Greetings 2006

Just wanted to share a compilation that I've been working on over the last few weeks. Some very fun Xmas songs in here. Okay. One. But it's still fun. Just kind of capturing the joy of the season.

TitleArtist
Season's Greetings Arnold Schwarzenegger
Silent Night Chewbacca
Susanne Weezer
I Wanna Be a Lifeguard Blotto
Ben Crispin Glover
Framboise Boby Lapointe
Dominique The Singing Nun
The Sad Punk / Gigantic Pixies
Oruvan Oruvan SP Bala
Mah Na' Mah Na' Piero Umiliani
Super Bairam Borat's Theme
Bing Bang Bang Korki Buchek
We Want Your Soul Freeland
Cum On Feel The Noize Quiet Riot
Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth Devo
Ten Wheels for Jesus Elvis Hitler
Dead Souls Nine Inch Nails
What Is Life George Harrison
Washington Cox & Combes
Crazy Horses The Osmonds
Def Con One Pop Will Eat Itself
James Brown is Dead L.A. Style
Huddle Formation The Go! Team
Apache The Ventures
Who Loves Ya Baby? Telly Savalas

Click here to download the torrent file.

Mega Mega Man Mix

Yet another goofy music compilation I made a few years back. Songs that still make me smile.

TitleArtist
The Warriors (Main Theme) Barry De Vorzon
Pusher Man Curtis Mayfield
Be Thankful For What You Got William DeVaughn
Hollywood Swinging Kool And The Gang
Fantastic Voyage Lakeside
White Lines DJ-RX
Sunday, Bloody Sunday DJ-RX
Baddest Ruffest (Radio Edit) Backyard Dog
Incredible M. Beat
Galvanize The Chemical Brothers
Hell Yes Beck
Where's Your Head At? Basement Jaxx
What Lurks On Channel X Rob Zombie
White & Nerdy Weird Al Yankovic
Chase The Devil The Upsetters ,
Behind Blue Eyes The Who
In A Big Country Big Country
The Safety Dance Men Without Hats
Der Kommisar Falco
God Only Knows Petra Haden
Happiness Is A Warm Gun The Beatles
Who's Your Daddy? Benny Benassi

Download the torrent file here.

Dain Bramage

I haven't done one of these in a while but I've put together a new compilation of music for your enjoyment. There's a lot of Top 40 Shit that I actually love.

TitleArtist
Boum!Charles Trenet
GirlfriendAvril Lavigne
Wind It UpGwen Stefani
RubberneckerDanielson Famile
WomanWolfmother
MacArthur ParkGoober & The Peas
Chick HabitApril March
Switching to GlideThe Kings
Decline And FallFlesh For Lulu
Ace of SpadeMotörhead
Soldier's RequiemNaked Raygun
How Many RoadsThe Who Boys
Magical Trevor (Happy Hardcore mix)Weebl
Put Your Hands Up for DetroitFedde Le Grand
Twist 'Em OutDillinja
Bottle Of WineFireball
Rang Tang Ding Dong (I Am The Japanese Sandman)The Cellos
Ain't No SunshineBill Withers
Sunshine (Go Away Today)Jonathan Edwards
Sunshine, Lollipops and RainbowsLesley Gore
SundownGordon Lightfoot
The Island of Dr. MoreauMonk & Canatella Band
Four SticksSones de Mexico Ensemble
BrazilAry Barroso

To enjoy these mp3s, you'll need a BitTorrent client and to download the Torrent file over here. Enjoy!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Cassette Played Poptones

Similar to "That Music's Lost It's Taste", "Poptones" collects a bunch of songs that remind me of the '90s, regardless of when they were actually released. I find a lot of them quite embarrassing but still enjoy them nonetheless.

Name Artist
The Way Fastball
Song 2 Blur
Flagpole Sitta Harvey Danger
Here and Now Letters to Cleo
One Week Barenaked Ladies
All Star Smashmouth
Inside Out Eve 6
Sex And Candy Marcy Playground
Barbie Girl Aqua
Sick of Myself Matthew Sweet
Basketcase Greenday
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm Crash Test Dummies
Champagne Supernova Oasis
No Myth Michael Penn
Popular Nada Surf
Possum Kingdom Toadies
My Sister Juliana Hatfield
Celebrity Skin Hole
Mother Mother Tracy Bonham
Seether Veruca Salt
Ready To Go Republica
Zombie Cranberries
Crash The Primitives
Connection Elastica
Tubthumping Chumbawumba
Honey White Morphine
Bellbottoms The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) The Proclaimers
Stars Hum
In The Meantime Spacehog
Right Here, Right Now Jesus Jones
That Thing You Do The Wonders
I'm Too Sexy Right Said Fred
Loser Beck
Lump Presidents of the United States of America
Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe Whale
Rush Big Audio Dynamite
Scotty Doesn't Know Lustra
Stacy's Mom Fountains Of Wayne
Hell Squirrel Nut Zippers
Down By The Water PJ Harvey
Brick Ben Folds Five
Creep Radiohead
Going The Distance Cake
Boyz In Tha Hood Dynamite Hack-
Fire Water Burn Bloodhound Gang
Bitches Mindless Self Indulgence
Buddy Holly Weezer
Teenage Dirtbag Wheatus
My Own Worst Enemy Lit
Semi-Charmed Life Third Eye Blind
Need You Around Smoking Popes
Frontier Psychiatrist The Avalanches
Stay Shakespear's Sister
Hippie Chic Soho
Sour Times Portishead
Here's Where The Story Ends The Sundays
Tom's Diner DNA - Susan Vega
James Brown Is Dead L.A. Style
Last Nine Inch Nails

Download the torrent here.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

That Music's Lost Its Taste

Tongue I've been working for the last few weeks on a compilation of some of my favorite tunes that I associate with the early '80s. I can't swear to their release dates -- they just have hooks to that time period for me. There's nothing like that glaring song that you know just didn't come out in the era, so I apologize if I have any of those kind of songs here.

TitleArtist
Antmusic Adam & The Ants
Beat Box [diversion One] Art Of Noise
Atomic Blondie
Call Me Blondie
Boys Don't Cry The Cure
Beach Party Vietnam Dead Milkmen
Brand New Lover Dead Or Alive
Come On Eileen Dexy's Midnight Runners
Cars Gary Numan
Axel F Harold Faultermeyer
Come Dancing The Kinks
Be Good Johnny Men At Work
Always Something There to Remind Me Naked Eyes
Bizarre Love Triangle New Order
Blue Monday New Order
Can t Stand Losing You The Police
Bigmouth Strikes Again The Smiths
Angst In My Pants Sparks
Africa Toto
dance hall days wang chung
Desperate But Not Serious Adam Ant
Cruel Summer Bananarama
Dancing With Myself Billy Idol
Ever Fallen In (With Someone You Shouldntve) Buzzcocks
Electric Avenue Eddy Grant
Der Kommissar Falco
Don't You Want Me Baby Human league
Dr Heckyll & Mr Jive Men At Work
Destination Unknown Missing Persons
Dead Man's Party Oingo Boingo
Driven To Tears The Police
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic The Police
Cool Places Sparks, Jane Wiedlin
867-5309/Jenny Tommy Tutone
Da Da Da Trio
In A Big Country Big Country
I'll Tumble For Ya Boy George and Culture Club
It's A Miracle Boy George and Culture Club
Just Like Heaven The Cure
Hungry Like A Wolf Duran Duran
I Ran (So Far Away) A Flock Of Seagulls
I Know There's Something Frida
Head Over Heels The Go Go's
Fascination Human League
Johnny Are You Queer Josie Cotton
House of Fun Madness
It Must Be Love Madness
It's A Mistake Men At Work
I Melt With You Modern English
Homosapien Pete Shelley
Jessie's Girl Rick Springfield
Ghost Town The Specials
Girlfriend is Better Talking Heads
Genius of Love Tom Tom Club
Feet Don't Fail Me Now Utopia
I Know What Boys Like Waitresses
The look of love Abc
The Metro Berlin
Karma Chameleon Boy George and Culture Club
Mirror In The Bathroom The English Beat
New Big Prinz The Fall
Love Plus One Haircut 100
Miami Vice Theme [Instrumental] Jan Hammer
Love Will Tear Us Apa Joy Division
Kids In America Kim Wilde
My Sharona The Knack
A Land Down Under Men At Work
Little Girls Oingo Boingo
Major Tom (Coming home) Peter Schilling
Never Say Never Romeo Void
Love Missile F1 11 Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Nelson Mande The Special AKA
Mickey Toni Basil
New Year's Day U2
Mexican Radio Wall Of Voodoo
Making Plans for Nigel XTC
The Reflex Duran Duran
Rio Duran Duran
Relax Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Our Lips Are Sealed The Go Go's
19 Hardcastle
Pop Muzik M
One Step Beyond Madness
Our House Madness
Pass The Dutchie Musical Youth
99 Luftballons Nena
Nothing Bad Ever Happens Oingo Boingo
Private Life Oingo Boingo
Pretty In Pink The Psychedelic Furs
Panic The Smiths
Puttin' On The Ritz Taco
Once In A Lifetime Talking Heads
Psycho Killer Talking Heads
No Thugs In Our House XTC
Obsession Animotion
Take On me A-Ha
Tarzan Boy Baltimora
Sex (I'm A...) Berlin
I Wanna Be a Cowboy BOYS DON'T CRY
Smalltown Boy Bronski Beat
Sunglasses At Night Corey Hart
She Bop Cyndi Lauper
Save It For Later The English Beat
Rock Me Amadeus Falco
Tenderness General Public
Someday, Someway Marshall Crenshaw
Safety Dance (Video Version) Men Without Hats
Temptation New Order
Shock The Monkey Peter Gabriel
Roxanne The Police
Tainted Love Soft Cell
Rudi, A Message To You The Specials
Stray Cat Strut Stray Cats
She Blinded Me With Science Thomas Dolby
Rosanna Toto
Der Kommissar After The Fire
Venus Bananarama
White Wedding Billy Idol
Time (Clock Of The Heart) Boy George and Culture Club
Video Killed the Radio Star Buggles
What Do I Get Buzzcocks
You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) Dead Or Alive
Waiting Room Fugazi
Vacation The Go-Go's
We've Got the Beat The Go Go's
Town Called Malice The Jam
Walking On Sunshine Katrina & The Waves
Who Can It Be Now? Men At Work
Words Missing Persons
One Night in Bangkok Murray Head
Wonderin' Neil Young & the Shocking Pinks
True Faith New Order
Under Pressure Queen & David Bowie
True Spandau Ballet
This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us Sparks
Voices Carry 'Til Tuesday
Da Da Da Trio
Turning Japanese The Vapors
The Future's So Bright Timbuk 3

Click here to download.

Going Through Old VHS Tapes...

I've been spending a few hours every night going through old VHS tapes, trying to find a couple of specific clips. Tough to do when these tapes are unlabeled (or mislabeled) and just chocked full of junk. Good junk, yes, but junk nonetheless.

You can be certain that I'll be posting clips here and there from these tapes as they come along. Usually to my Facebook but sometimes here.

The following is a little video made by some folks at Trenton High School, "Bright Lights, Big Screens," a mini movie review show that may have lasted one episode. The glory of public access is in full effect here. It's great, though, to hear what was playing at the Star Theater that week (some real winners) and see my buddy Mitch in his Star Theater uniform. Note the number of times he says "state of the art." :)

Monday, July 20, 2009

Stop The Presses

There's been a slight delay with the release of the Cashiers du Cinemart book. Rather than October/November, 2009, the book should be hitting shelves in April/May, 2010.

Thanks for everyone's patience!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Porno Person

I've loved this song for years. When I found that there was no music video for it, I decided i had to remedy that situation.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Decomposing Composers

Despite the tag at the end, I kept thinking that this commercial was for Raisin Bran cereal:

This spot really warms my heart as it brings back memories of a series of commercials I wrote way back when I worked for Comcast in the mid-'90s. I was given the task of writing a few spots for Evola Music up in Bloomfield. I wrote out a couple of generic spots (even naming them "Generic 1", "Generic 2") that talked about the amazing selection of pianos and blah blah blah. But then, then, I also gave Evola a few more interesting things to chew over. One of them starred a superhero a la Ultra Man but named "Evola Man." I also gave them a spot with a family shopping for pianos who happen to run into Franz Lizst, Johannes Brahms, and Ludwig Von Beethoven. "If we shop here, maybe you should too!"

My boss, not one to take chances, faxed over the two generic spots weeks in advance and saved the other two until the day before shooting. Believe it or not but the client mentioned how much they liked the "crazy" spots but there hadn't been any time for discussion, casting, etc. That said, I'm glad to see such a "crazy" spot as "Raisin Brahms" on the air.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

All Star A-Team

This is the A-Team movie that *I* want to see: Robert DeNiro as Hannibal, Johnny Depp as Face Man, Gary Oldman as Murdock, and Tiny Lister as B.A. Hollywood, you'd do well to pay attention!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Skate Tough, Little Boys

Stay ToughThis compilation of hardcore, hip hop, and other malarkey provides the soundtrack to the POSSE video; a skate/BMX video that showcases "the scene" from Downriver Detroit in the late '80s. Big ups to Cris Golan for making the video and Steve Chesney for tracking down the names to all of these songs.

Name Artist
This Beat is MilitaryK9 Posse
It's Funky EnoughThe D.O.C.
Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix)Eric B & Rakim
Night of the Living BaseheadsPublic Enemy
The Magic NumberDe La Soul
Wild ThingTone Loc
Fight the PowerPublic Enemy
Born to Built to GrindThe Stupids
You're Gonna Get YoursPublic Enemy
Cold Lampin' with FlavorPublic Enemy
Ignorance Is BlissThe Ramones
L.A. PosseMC Breeze
The Rappin' DukeSean Brown
Jam On ItNucleus
The Glamorous LifeCool C
Fast LaneUrban Dance Squad
My Posse's On BroadwaySir Mix Alot
Because I Got It Like ThatJungle Brothers
KissAge of Chance
Fire WomanTheCult
I Go To WorkKool Moe Dee
Back To BoomKid Sensation
What's So Strange About Me?Eight Dayz
Time to Buy a FutonSNFU
Move Something2 Live Crew
Trip at the BrainSuicidal Tendencies
Livin' On A PrayerBon Jovi
National AnthemMarine Corps Band

Download Torrent

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Number of the Beast

Just like "MacArthur Park", I've been collecting various incarnations of Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast - some faithful, some in spirit. This collection isn't as vast but it's definitely fun. Artists include:

  • Apeonaut
  • Iron Maiden
  • Sinergy
  • Dream Theater
  • The String Quartet Tribute
  • Malignant Eternal
  • Slim Jim and the Mad Cows
  • Tchort
  • Vitamin Piano Series
  • Iced Earth
  • Angra
  • The Iron Maidens
  • Iron Maiden Tribute Band
  • Kerrang! Karaoke
  • Necromantia
  • The Electric Hellfire Club
  • Steve Grimmett
  • The Frankenburies
  • Mambo Kurt
  • The Hit Crew
  • Bob Savage, Drew Brown, Mike Denhertog, Harry BassFunk
  • Anton Maiden
  • Zwan
  • The Phone Militia

My Obsessive Ways: Goodfellas

I've always been disappointed by the soundtrack album to GOODFELLAS. Where's "Atlantis"? Where's "Jump Into The Fire?" I'm amazed they even got "Rags to Riches" on there. To that end, I've put together a collection just just about all of the music from the film.

TitleArtist
Rags to Riches Tony Bennett
Can't We Be Sweethearts The Cleftones
Hearts of Stone Otis Williams and The Charms
Sincerely The Moonglows
Firenze Sogna Giuseppe di Stefano
Speedo The Cadillacs
Parlami d'amoreMariu Giuseppe di Stefano
Stardust Billy Ward and His Dominoes
Il cielo un una stanza Mina
Playboy The Marvelettes
It's Not For Me to Say Johnny Mathis
I Will Follow Him Betty Curtis
Then He Kissed Me The Crystals
Look in My Eyes Chantels
Roses Are Red (My Love) Bobby Vinton
Life Is But a Dream The Harptones
Leader of the Pack The Shangri-Las
Ain't That A Kick In the Head Dean Martin
He's Sure the Boy I Love The Crystals
Atlantis Donovan
Pretend You Don't See Her Jerry Vale
Remember (Walking In The Sand) The Shangri-Las
Baby I Love You Aretha Franklin
Beyond The Sea Bobby Darin
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams Tony Bennett
Gimme Shelter The Rolling Stones
Wives and Lovers Jack Jones
Monkey Man The Rolling Stones
Frosty the Snow Man The Ronettes
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Darlene Love
Bells of St. Mary's The Drifters
Unchained Melody Vito and The Salutations
Sunshine of Your Love Cream
Layla Derek & The Dominos
Layla (Piano Exit) Derek & The Dominos
Jump Into The Fire Harry Nillson
Memo From Turner Rolling Stones
Magic Bus The Who
What Is Life George Harrison
Mannish Boy Muddy Waters
My Way Sid Vicious

Click here to download the Torrent file

Do You Ever Listen To K-Billy?

Taking a cue from Steven Wright's laconic DJ, I put together the entire K-BILLY Super Sounds of the '70s soundtrack with all of the songs Wright mentions during his shift. Along with these Reservoir Dogs tracks I put in some music from Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, and a few tracks that will be sure to please Tarantino fans.

TitleArtist
And Now Little Green Bag... Steven Wright
Little Green Bag The George Baker Selection
Vickie Sue Robinson Turn The Beat Around
Heaven on the 7th Floor Paul Nicholas
Le Freak Chic
Fly, Robin, Fly Silver Connection
Rock Flock Of Five Steven Wright
Hooked On A Feeling Blue Swede
The World is a Ghetto War
Billy, Don't Be A Hero Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods
Bohemiath Steven Wright
I Gotcha Joe Tex
Let's Stay Together Al Green
Jungle Boogie Kool & The Gang
Flowers On The Wall The Statler Bros
Super Sounds Steven Wright
Stuck In The Middle With You Stealers Wheel
Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted The Partidge Family
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) Edison Lighthouse
Keep On Truckin Steven Wright
Coconut Harry Nilsson
Bertha Butt Boogie Jimmy Castor Bunch
Don't Pull Your Love Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
My Baby Loves Lovin' White Plains
The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia Vicki Lawrence
Didn't I? The Delfonics
Strawberrry Letter 23 Brothers Johnson
Inside My Love Minnie Ripperton
Home Of Rock Steven Wright

Download the torrent here

Do it for Van Gogh.

One early morning in Ann Arbor I was doing my 6am to 9am shift on WCBN 88.3 FM Ann Arbor, the college station I had been disc jockeying at during the summer. Without planning or provocation, I started going through the record collection and dug out as many David Lynch soundtracks as I possibly could. Via the magic of live radio and multiple turntables, I did a good long mix of songs from Lynch's films. Well, the "good" is subjective, I suppose, but I liked it.

I went back and re-did a few clips, added a track from THE ELEPHANT MAN, and broke the one longer track with much more "elegance."

Im Abendrot Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur Wild at Heart
Slaughterhouse Powermad, Tim Bomba Wild at Heart
Wicked Game Chris Isaak, Erik Jacobsen Wild at Heart
I'm Bill Eraserhead Soundtrack Eraserhead
Blue Velvet Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet
Elephant Man John Morris Elephant Man
In Heaven The Lady in the Radiator Eraserhead
There's Sometime A Buggy The Cowboy Mulholland Drive
Love Letters Straight From My Heart Kitty Lester Blue Velvet
In Dreams Roy Orbison Blue Velvet
Llorando (Crying) Rebekah Del Rio Mulholland Drive
I'm Deranged David Bowie Lost Highway
Perfect Drug Nine Inch Nails Lost Highway
Moving Through Time Angelo Badalamenti Fire Walk With Me
Pink Room Angelo Badalamenti Fire Walk With Me
Sycamore Trees Little Jimmy Scott Fire Walk With Me
Falling Julee Cruise Twin Peaks
I've Told Every Little Star Linda Scott Mulholland Drive
Dune - Main Theme Toto, Brian Eno Dune
Rammstein Rammstein Lost Highway
Hierate Mich Rammstein Lost Highway
This Magic Moment Lou Reed Lost Highway
Give Me Back My Phone Mystery Man Lost Highway
Be Bop A Lula Gene Vincent, The Blue Caps Wild at Heart
16 Reasons (Why I Love You) Connie Stevens Mulholland Drive
Baby, Please Don't Go Them Wild at Heart

Click here to download the Torrent file

The Chesney Tape

Sometimes it's good that I'm OCD.

A few weeks back I sat down and started digitizing the large pile of vinyl I had accumulated over the last year or two. Things that I wanted to hear but couldn't find online in any fashion -- legal or not. I converted these over to my laptop (all of them listed here) and then got to thinking about finally hooking up a cassette player to my laptop and capturing some of the old mix tapes I used to make.

Rather than indulging in my own work, the first tape I grabbed was one labeled "ROCK" on one side and "ROLL" on the other. It didn't necessarily "change my life" but it definitely broadened my musical horizons -- as it was meant to do. It was a mix tape that a good friend of mine made for me, by my request if I recall correctly.

My old pal, Steve Chesney, had put together a group of roughly thirty songs along with sound clips and other audio experiments that delighted me for years -- until cars started coming without cassette players as standard equipment.

Now, if you know me, you know it wasn't good enough to just transfer over the raw cassette, break it into tracks, and call it a day. No. The sound quality wasn't sufficient for me. Likewise, I had no idea what a lot of these songs were in terms of title or artist. I wanted to upgrade everything to "digital quality". Thus began my search to re-make the tape as a collection of mp3s.

This endeavor shouldn't have been as painstaking as it was but, being who/what I am, I culled all of the tracks from the internet, turning to Steve on occasion to describe a song when I couldn't find it via the iPhone Shazam app, a lyric search, etc. More than just the music, I re-captured a lot of the audio soundclips from the movies Steve used as between-song breaks. Luckily, most of these were from two sources; The Mack and Orgy of the Dead, sometimes both at once.

That said, here's the full track listing:

Criswell Demands EntertainmentCriswellOrgy of the Dead
The Greatest Man AliveThree Times DopeOriginal Stylin'
EntrapmentNaked RaygunUnderstand?
Pastoral NightmareSoundclipRock / Roll
Hot ThingGaye Bykers on AcidStewed to the Gills
Happy BirthdayAltered ImagesNew Wave Classics
Woodpecker From MarsFaith No MoreThe Real Thing
Criswell Meets The MackChesney TapeOrgy of the Mack
7 Chinese Bros.R.E.M.Reckoning
Run's HouseRun-D.M.C.Ultimate Run DMC
Message In a BottleExcelThe Joke's On You
WormsDark AngelLeave Scars
Mountain Surf Report (from "The Movie")M.O.D.Surfin' M.O.D.
Cheeba CheebaTone Loc Loc-ed After Dark
Banned In D.C.Bad BrainsRock For Light
Grandma Dynamite24-7 SpyzHarder Than You
The Player's BBQThe MackThe Mack
I Go To WorkKool Moe DeeThe Posse Soundtrack
You Hurry Up!The MackThe Mack
Sometime To ReturnSoul AsylumHang Time
Wildflower CommercialCar WashCar Wash
Gene Machine/Don't Bother MeBad BrainsQuickness
It's The Noise That Bothers Me!SoundclipRock / Roll
American NightmareThe MisfitsLegacy of Brutality
I Wanna Be A FlintstoneScreaming Blue MessiahsThe Flintstones
The Mack Daddy On The LeftDe La Soul3 Feet High And Rising
It's A Wonderful Life (Gonna Have A Good Time)FishboneIn Your Face
Rock 'N' Roll High SchoolThe RamonesEnd of the Century
Fucked by the Devil45 GraveOnly the Good Die Young
WaitingNew Model ArmyAll Of This: The "Live" Rarities
The Unknown KnowsVoivodNothingface
Ballad Of The Green BeretsElvis HitlerHellbilly
Don't Let's StartThey Might Be GiantsThen (Disc 1)

Download Torrent Here

Someone Left a Cake Out in the Rain

Someone Left a Cake out in the RainMore than eighty cakes, actually, by various bakers. This is another BitTorrent compilation courtesy of my obsessive-compulsive disorder. Download here.

These songs are different versions of the Jimmy Webb song or directly inspired by it. There are a few parodies and even a track that dissects the history and lyrics courtesy of Lyrics Undercover.

Big thanks to Medea 2, The Dingo from Forgotten Albums, WFMU, and everyone else who's supported me in my obsession.

Read more about BitTorrent on WikiPedia.

I'm still on the trail of other versions of this song. For another obsessive list of cover artists, check out this list

TitleArtistTime
MacArthur Park Richard Harris 7:29
MacArthur Park Four Tops 6:34
Macarthur Park The Three Degrees 6:41
Macarthur Park Regine Velasquez 5:01
MacArthur Park The Ventures 4:45
MacArthur Park The Negro Problem 3:30
MacArthur Park Psychotica 4:52
MacArthur Park Wayne Kramer 5:16
MacArthur Park Peter Nero 7:03
MacArthur Park Goober & The Peas 4:55
MacArthur Park Mike Flowers Pops 5:49
Macarthur Park Jimmy Webb 7:43
MacArthur Park Donna Summers 6:25
MacArthur Park Andy Williams 5:06
Macarthur Park Long John Baldry 4:05
MacArthur Park Glen Campbell 4:49
Macarthur Park Maynard Ferguson 10:00
Macarthur Park American Idol 4 2:13
Macarthur Park Sharon 2:09
MacArthur Park Vic Damone 6:06
Macarthur Park The Panpipers 4:00
MacArthur Park The Lounge-O-Leers 4:33
MacArthur Park Frank Sinatra 2:51
Macarthur Park Amen Corner 3:31
MacArthur Park Various Artists 3:41
Macarthur Park The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain 6:15
MacArthur Park The Stone Canyon 6:14
MacArthur Park Stan Kenton 6:20
Macarthur Park Sammy Davis, Jr. 7:14
Macarthur Park Newell Oler 4:44
MacArthur Park Mike Vax 5:41
MacArthur Park Marc Reift Orchestra 5:46
MacArthur Park Manny Lagod 5:02
Macarthur Park Magic Hands 5:12
MacArthur Park Justin Hayward 7:16
MacArthur Park jim anderson 5:38
MacArthur Park Jerry Vale 4:34
MacArthur Park Jack Fender 3:43
Macarthur Park Hybrid Kids 3:06
MacArthur Park Fifty Guitars 4:03
MacArthur Park Diana Ross & The Supremes 6:46
Macarthur Park Denny G 4:51
MacArthur Park Della Reese 3:56
MacArthur Park Count Dee's Hit Explosion 4:17
MacArthur Park Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra 8:35
MacArthur Park Buddy Greco 4:33
MacArthur Park The Associated Soul Group 6:13
MacArthur Park The Assembled Multitude 3:35
Mac Arthur Park Richard Clayderman 7:41
Mac Arthur Park Lasimmo 5:21
Mac Arthur Park Gro Anita Schønn 3:54
Macarthur Park John Sawyer 6:14
Mac Arthur Park All-Star SUPERband 7:32
Macarthur Park Mike Batt, Justin Hayward, London Philharmonic Orchestra 7:11
Macarthur Park Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 7:24
Macarthur Park (Bonus) Sweden 5:06
MacArthur Park (Revisited) Waylon Jennings 6:37
Parco Macarthur (La Torta in La Pioggia) Father Guido Sarducci 3:11
MacArthur Park Brazilian Tropical Orchestra 2:52
Macarthur Park Queers, The 1:38
MacArthur Park The Burtons 3:06
Medley: MacArthur Park/Didn't We Liza Minnelli 4:06
MacArthur Park Woody Herman 8:32
MacArthur Park Carmen McRae 4:01
Macarthur Park Mantovani 5:23
MacArthur Park The Dovells 5:39
MacArthur Park Maureen McGovern 2:14
Macarthur Park Maestro Jerard 6:41
MacArthur Park Ray Conniff and The Singers 3:39
Macarthur Park Hugo Montenegro 3:22
MacArthur Park Garry Cutt 6:31
MacArthur Park Only Men Aloud 4:36
MacArthur Park Blue Devils 4:13
MacArthur Park Beggar's Opera 8:19
Macarthur Park Percy Faith & His Orchestra 3:43
Macarthur Park Martin Lass 4:16
MacArthur Park Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed 2:52
MacArthur Park The Revells 3:08
Macarthur Park - Popcorn The Two Pete's 6:19
Macarthur Park Tony Monopoly 3:56
Macarthur Park Burning Liquid Fish 6:26
Macarthur Park - With Chet Thumbpickers 2:47
MacArthur Park James Last 8:23
Dreamy Days Roots Manuva 4:46
Jurassic Park Weird Al Yankovic 3:55
It's Not My Birthday They Might Be Giants 1:52
Asteroid 2006 Pete Moore 0:32
Asteroid 70s Pete Moore 0:17
LU-074-MacArthur Park Brian Ibbott 8:12
MacArthur Park Minute Jazz Kissingers 1:02

Note: Link fixed 7/9/2009