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March 29, 2007
Anarko Punk A-Go-Go Many of the bands sounded like utter dogshit, wore uniform black and had awful record sleeves, but there were also many valid ideas and well-intentioned beliefs within the UK Anarcho-punk movement in the late 70's and early 80's. Check out Roy Wallace's documentary "The Day The Country Died", available from Cherry Red. The label has also published the BOOK "The Day The Country Died" by Ian Glasper, an incredibly comprehensive guide to many regional scenes in the UK. The author used to be the singer of Toxic Waste out of Belfast.
From Cherry Red: "A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred during the 1970s in the UK following the birth of punk rock. However, while the early punk scene appropriated anarchist imagery mainly for its shock value, the band Crass expounded serious anarchist and pacifist ideas, and went on to become a notable influence in the burgeoning Anarcho-Punk movement. Many anarcho-punks are supporters of issues such as animal rights, feminism, the anti-war movement, the antiglobalization movement, and many other social movements.
The story of the movement is told by some of the most influential performers, including; Penny Rimbaud (Crass), Colin Jerwood (Conflict), Colin & Kevin (Flux of Pink Indians) Dick Lucas (Subhumans), Zillah Minx (Rubella Ballet), Gary Buckley (Dirt), Steve Lake (Zounds), Mark Wallis (Liberty), Gee Vaucher (Crass), Dave Hyndman (Hit Parade), Rob Millar (Amebix), Rodney Relax (Alternative), Stringy & Snout (Erratics) and Gerard Evans (Flowers in the Dustbin). The interview footage is laced with both audio and visual music performance, some extremely rare, from the main performers on the scene including - Crass / Conflict / Subhumans / Liberty / Toxic Waste / Chumbawamba / Sacrilege / Inner Terrestrials & many more."
 Many people, even ones with dozens of punk albums, will be unfamiliar with all but the most well-known bands, like Crass and Chumbawamba. A 4-CD series of compilations is out, tracks carefully selected and remastered from over 1000 records and tapes. It's an obvious labour of love, several years in the making.
Anti-War: Anarcho Punk Vol. 1
Anti-State: Anarcho Punk Vol. 2
Anti-Society: Anarcho Punk Vol. 3
Anti-Capitalism: Anarcho Punk Vol. 4
For info on the US hardcore scene, try the dvd "American Hardcore" (official site w/trailer), and the soundtrack CD. And the Feral House book.
10:25
March 26, 2007
Of Freaks and Men This just in from James Taylor of The Palace of Wonders in Washington DC:
Coming to the Palace of Wonders: Matinees at the Museum!
In the spirit of the 19th century dime museums -- those grand & glorious precursors of both today's sideshows and "legitimate" museums -- the Palace of Wonders ushers in the rebirth of museum demonstrations, lectures and exhibitions for the entire family. The Palace is already internationally renowned for its evening adult performances headlining the best of the new vaudeville, burlesque and sideshow for adult audiences, seven nights a week. Now the Palace of Wonders welcomes Sunday matinee shows for mom, dad and the kids, set in the midst of the country's most exotic collection of oddities on public exhibition. Scheduled for the first and third Sundays of every month, the inaugural event occurs, appropriately, on the holiday made for the business of weirdness as entertainment, April 1:
 PHRENOLOGY! -Mistake of the Past & Doom of the Future! -- Lecturer and demonstrator: Alexander Kensington -- Doors open @: 12pm -- Lecture begins @: 1pm
Featured Speaker and noted Lecturer Alexander Kensington explains the 19th century science of Phrenology, The Original Scientific Biometric of Morality. The historic assumptions and findings of almost 10 years of empirical research in the early 19th century led medical men of the day to the conclusion that anatomy and "moral science" were connected enough to be observable and manifested on the surface of the subject's skull. The theories of Gall, Spurzheim and Combe will be explained and extrapolated to our present practice of profiling and its implications for the future. An authentic interpretation of character reading from examination of a living cranium will be demonstrated.
And on April 15:
OUTING THE SIDESHOW! - A Prop-Heavy Demonstration & Lecture -- Lecturer and museum director: James Taylor -- Doors open @: 12pm -- Lecture begins @: 1pm
Internationally celebrated sideshow historian, lecturer and museum director of the Palace of Wonders James Taylor - publisher of Shocked and Amazed!, the world's only journal devoted to novelty & variety entertainment - asks the most important question about the sideshow business - Can you really "out" the sideshow when the business is totally honest anyway? - and then asks the audience to play along. Or meet him half way, anyway. An excursion - with accompanying artifacts from the museum collection - into the truth behind "honesty" as it plays out in the sideshow.
Visit the museum on-line at www.palaceofwonders.org for updates on these and other events. And while you're there -- or on the www.palaceofwonders.com link -- subscribe to the periodic announcements from the Palace of Wonders to get the latest on all the weird, the strange, the bizarre, the odd and the unusual happenings at the world's only space devoted exclusively to the spirit of novelty and variety exhibition.
The Palace of Wonders is located at 1210 H St. NE, just off Capitol Hill in the heart of Washington, DC.
JR: If you're going to NYC, don't forget to vist The Coney Island Circus Sideshow. See historic postcards here. Coney Island at wikipedia. Sideshow World, web museum.
Also, every autumn there is a Sideshow Gathering in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Sideshows -- the historic entertainment that refuses to die! Check 999 Eyes, the only travelling freak show in over 40 years with more than three living human oddities.
09:56
March 23, 2007
The Number 23 Joel Schumacher's attempted thriller "Number 23" premiered today. It's fairly intriguing, but a bit predictable. Jim Carrey plays the lead part without cracking jokes or making faces.
It is at least partly based on various numerological beliefs, myths and legends perpetuated throughout the years by William Burroughs, the magick cult/band Psychic TV, and Robert Anton Wilson in his Illuminatus trilogy and in the bogus Discordian religion he helped to promote. The Discordian bible was written by Kerry Thornley, who believed he was part of a military intelligence brainwashing experiment that programmed him to be involved in the assassination of JFK.
"23" movie official site // "23" movie at wikipedia // "23" german movie // The Number 23 by Jonathan Bethel // "23" the number at wikipedia // "23" enigma at wikipedia // "23" enigma at disinfo
21:44
Music blog extravaganza My friend NXP has 21 different blogs, here's a list. If you can't read norwegian, focus on his links to choice MP3 blogs here, articles on this particular blog are in both norw. and english.
Loads of really obscure and rare punk vinyl, thrift store finds and prog/psych albums uploaded on a great variety of sites run by rabid collectors from all over the world, often with cover art and much background information. A lot of this stuff will never be available on CD, so it's not like you're taking the food out of anyone's mouth. Like these porn 8-tracks, bought for a dollar in Columbus, OH, and posted by my old friend ECC.
Beware that many of these use RapidShare or similar filesharing sites, which means that files are deleted if no one downloads them for 90 days. Also, when downloading thru RapidShare, you have to wait 100 minutes until you can get another file, unless you're a paying customer.
Mega Super Mammoth list of 900+ MP3 sites.
Some of my faves:
the thing on thedoorstep // doctor superhelga // fauni gena // vinyl mysteries // falalalala (xmas records) // dimmu borghild
11:37
March 20, 2007
Re-TG Part Two The Endless (K)not ... Amazingly, Throbbing Gristle has reformed for a little while. They came together again in 2004, and their first studio album in 25 years is due April 2nd (originally April 1st, but that's a Sunday ...): Part Two: The Endless Not is released on CD with "totemic gift" and double vinyl. Before fading back into noise history, TG will perform a very limited number of concerts during 2007:
DONAU FESTIVAL, AUSTRIA
Sunday 29th April 2007
TG will perform a unique 60 minute + set of tracks. Expect the unexpected - in quad.
There will be supporting performances by Alan Vega (alanvega.com), Zeitkratzer (zeitkratzer.de) and Rechenzentrum. Details of other performers will be confirmed soon.
Monday 30th April 2007
TG will perform a live soundtrack to Derek Jarman's 1980 film "In The Shadow of The Sun", integrating a full live choir under the direction of composer Hildur Gudnadottir (myspace.com/hildurness)After TG's performance the evening will be interspersed with guest DJ sets and completed by a performance by Japan's Boredoms.
TATE MODERN , LONDON, UK -- Saturday 26th May 2007
TG will perform a specially composed set in memorium and celebration of the life and work of english filmaker Derek Jarman inTate Moder's Turbune Hall (tate.org). The Turbine Hall will hold 1000 people, seated on cushions on the ramp leading into the main Hall.
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LONDON, UK -- 1st - 2nd - 3rd June 2007
TG return to the I.C.A. London (ica.org.uk) for a series of public 'Recording Sessions'.
OTHER TG 2007 LIVE POSSIBILITIES:
7th June 2007 ~ TG await to confirm an appearance at the Bios festival in Athens, Greece. We expect confirmation by the end of February. tbc
9th June 2007 ~ TG plan to supply a Sound Installation at the fasterthansound.com event. Please note it is currently unclear as to whether TG will be attending the event themselves. tbc
10th June 2007 ~ TG have been invited to perform as part of the Venice Biennale.
Tickets will be VERY limited. tbc
6th October 2007 ~ TG are invited to perform 'In The Shadow Of The Sun" at the Reggio Emilia Opera house, approx one hour north of Bologna, Italy. tbc
13th October 2007 ~ TG are invited to perform as part of London's FREIZE Art Fair at The Roundhouse in Camden, London. This event is envisaged as the final performance in TG's year and end of their agreed commitment to a series of live performances.
Also, check out their 2004 EP TG Now, from Mute. If anyone out there has their out-of-print live reunion dbl CD-R "At Camber Sands" I'm very interested in trading for a copy.
If Peter Christopherson can bring himself to finish the mastering, a TG 7 DVD set is supposed to be released during 2007. But he's already been working on a Coil live DVD box for several years, so it remains to be seen ...
Official TG site // Brainwashed TG site // Mute TG Site // TG at MySpace // Book: "Wreckers of Civilization" Book: "Painful But Fabulous: The Life and Art of Genesis P-Orridge" // GPO Official Site // Threshold House (Coil)
11:03
March 19, 2007
Cinema Sewer #20 and upcoming book The latest Cinema Sewer is #20 and it's the 10th anniversary issue. Due to Tower Records' tragic bankruptcy CS will now come out only once a year, as its circulation and finances took a heavy beating. So subscribe! Check out the contents: Utterly unique, utterly depraved! Unbelievably scuzzy and outrageous hand-lettered old-skool zine that knows no bounds in its quest to unearth the rotting remnants of exploitation cinema's darkest and most keenly guarded secrets.
White supremacist Bianca Trump revealed to have been an inter-racial porn star in the past! Celebrities are whores - exposing the celebrity sex film myth! Japanese art cinema's occasional rough treatment of household pets exposed, Vancouver's palaces of sin The Venus and The Fox, and Chen Ping - the Shaw Brothers' seductive siren of sex and slaughter. Plus: Ride 'em cowgirl - the history of porno Westerns! iPod porn! Cult classic movies Vice Squad, Superstarlet A.D., Viva Knievel, and more More MORE!!!!
Also out now is Sleazy Slice #1, a new comic book anthology. The Bougie-man sez: Ready to toss the pornocomics world on it’s ear, Sleazy Slice is 60 Pages of obscene, violent sex comics from Josh Simmons, Maxine Frank, Scar, Wes Crum, Tom Crites, and yours truely. Not for the sqeamish or faint of heart.
 AND, this summer, FAB Press in the UK will put out a 192 page book of the best of the out-of-print Cinema Sewer issues 1 thru 12, revised and expanded, with new illustrations and 80 pages of new material thrown in. You know you gotta have this hand-lettered jumbo crotch-load of cinematic insanity: A mind-melting compilation of gonzo writing, illustration and comics about the most insane, sexy, awkward, cheesy, hilarious, upsetting and jaw-dropping movies in the history of film, Cinema Sewer joyously celebrates the sleaziest aspects of the moviegoing experience, while delving deep into bizarre cinematic history. Bougie's distinctive writing style has made him famous among a loyal following of cult film fans. Includes: • Graphic illustrations by Bougie and associates • Bizarre film trivia • Rare genre film ads • DIY 'zine aesthetic.
Other new books from FAB: Nightmare USA; This massive overview of the Horror genre's development through the 1970s and 1980s features: In-depth EXCLUSIVE interviews with twenty-five cult filmmakers, many of whom are discussing their work for the first time ever in print, including David Durston (I Drink Your Blood), Robert Endelson (Fight for Your Life), Frederick Friedel (Axe), Don Jones (Schoolgirls in Chains); and Joseph Ellison (Don't Go in the House).  Over 175 individual films reviewed, with full cast and crew credits compiled by world-renowned cinema archivist Julian Grainger. Vast quantities of previously unpublished stills, posters, press-books, plus behind-the-scenes photographs from the filmmakers' own collections. Edited by Stephen Thrower.
Midnight Mavericks; A trip through the hearts and minds of today's most uncompromising artists! This heavily illustrated book features four dozen interviews by gonzo journalist Gene Gregorits, who talks to underground artists whose work is defined by its purity and uncompromising attitudes. Comes with a FREE CD, featuring interview excerpts and rare tracks from The Kills, Lydia Lunch, The Flesh Eaters, Sturgis Nikides, Steve Wynn, Jim Goad, Simon Stokes and more!
Musicians interviewed include: The Kills, Simon Strokes, Steve Wynn, Andrew W.K., Johnette Napolitano, Rennie Sparks, Sturkis Nikides a.o.
Filmmakers interviewed include: John Waters, Jörg Buttgereit, Stuart Gordon, Nick Zedd, Richard Stanley, Buddy Giovinazzo, Abel Ferrara a.o.
Other noted underground figures interviewed include: Joe R. Lansdale, Lech Kowalski, Mary Woronow, J.K. Potter, Rockets Redglare, David Peace, Ron ATthey, Jack Ketchum, Mike Diana, Nick Tosches, Jim Goad, Lydia Lunch and more...
10:15
March 16, 2007
Hank's corner Swedish TV2 is currently broadcasting Henry Rollins' IFC TV series The Henry Rollins Show on Fridays. His radioshow Harmony In My Head is broadcasted Tuesdays 8-10 pm on Indie 103,1 in LA and Orange County. Read Henry's extensive show notes on the HIMH website. Download and listen to each and every show on the Rollins Archive fan site. Check out the shows where Henry's lovely office worker Heidi May is the guest host. She's mercilessly ragging on "Half-truth Henry" and does not let him get away with shit. Hilarious.
Check Henry's show notes from the first season of shows in the book FANATIC! which is really a shit book as such, but it will make you pull out dozens of records you haven't listened to for a while. // 2.13.61 // Henry Rollins News Page // HR at imdb.com // HR at wiki
13:34
March 07, 2007
The John Cale and Nico onslaught A few days back I received the new John Cale live box and the recent Nico re-release "Frozen Borderline" on the same day.
I saw John Cale live in Oslo Feb. 18th, his first show here for around 11 years, back when he was promoting "Walking On Locusts". Great show, great new backing band. He played a varied selection of songs from his whole career, from "Venus In Furs" up to songs from his latest studio album "Black Acetate". He's currently touring much more extensively than he's been doing for a long time, as his new release "Circus" is a 2xCD + 1 dvd box set of live recordings, a sort-of best-of live. The 57 minute dvd includes rehearsals, a short acoustic live set, a promo video and two sound files. If you want to get it, make sure you get the UK edition, which comes in a nice slipcase, and each disc has an individual, LP-style illustrated cover with inner sleeve, and there's a 48 page book of lyrics and photos. The german pressing is in a dbl CD plastic box (ugly!) with only an 8 page booklet.
 The Nico dbl CD "Frozen Borderline" is a re-release of the albums "The Marble Index" (1968) and "Desertshore" (1970), both produced and arranged by John Cale. There are a bunch of outtakes and alternate versions on each disc. The bonus tracks previously released on "The Marble Index" CD are in different versions/mixes here. Another version of "Frozen Warnings" is hidden on disc 2, choose track 15, press play. Comes in a nicely designed digipak gatefold cover with beautiful photos. Both albums are stone cold classics, but very dark and somewhat depressing. Handle with care. The people working on "The Marble Index" decided to limit the length of the album to 30-35 minutes, claiming no one would be able to take any more, and commenting: "We wanted to slash our wrists!"
Nico's very first recording, the song "Strip-tease" from 1962, was finally released in 2001 on the box set "Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg (Musiques de Films 1959-1990)" FR Universal 586 516 2.
15:01
March 06, 2007
Gangster Computer God Worldwide Secret Containment Policy!!! One of the most intense and unintentionally hilarious schizo ranters in Donna Kossy's classic book "Kooks" was the late, great Francis Dec. His stuff was also incredibly dense and nearly unreadable. Now someone has taken it upon hisself to transcribe and illustrate the ravings of this madman, who put all other schizos and conspiracy fruitcakes to utter shame.
From the website:
Hi there and welcome to the Official Francis E. Dec Fanclub; an homage
to one of the greatest masters of unintentional comedy our species has ever
produced; namely one Francis E. Dec, Esquire! Mr. Dec was an apparent
Schizophrenic from Hempstead, NY whose claim to fame is the penning of
many insane rants which he mass-mailed to random adresses and media
outlets all over the US. These rants contain one of the most surreal world-
views ever dreamt up by mortal man. And one of the funniest! If you distilled
pure insanity into a 120% proof concoction, chances are you might end up
with something only HALF as crazy as Francis E. Dec! This site is my
attempt at showcasing his rants, spreading their insane humor worldwide!
I met Francis Dec! article.
BREAKING NEWS: The HWEB extended family is now part of the Dec legacy, as JURYEN is currently transcribing one of Dec's rambling letters to the court. This document is part of a newly uncovered 300-400 pages pile which will all be transcribed, and parts will be quoted and illustrated on the web page.
PS: Also check out Donna Kossy's other book "Strange Creations -- Aberrant Ideas of Human Origins from Ancient Astronauts to Aquatic Apes", which includes info on Devo's sourcebooks "The Beginning Was the End" by Oscar Kiss Maerth, and the 1924 bestseller "Jocko-Homo, the Heaven Bound King of the Zoo" by B. H. Shadduck Ph.D. Gerald Casale was recently in Norway. He is frightened by how much humanity has de-evolved just since Devo started 30 years ago. And even without the aid of rampant cannibalism!
Another paranoid lunatic with delusions of grandeur has had his autobiography posthumously published, check out James Shelby Downard's "The Carnivals of Life and Death: My Profane Youth: 1913-1935".
Donna Kossy's Book Happy magazine, also with a high quota of, ehh..., eccentrics.
09:33
March 02, 2007
Shock Cinema #32 The latest issue of cult film zine Shock Cinema (#32) features interviews with:
-- Actor Ronny Cox (Deliverance, Robocop, Total Recall, Bound for Glory, Beverly Hills Cop).
-- Actor Tim Thomerson (Uncommon Valor, Near Dark, Trancers, Zone Troopers, Car Wash).
-- Actor Enrico Colantoni (Galaxy Quest, Veronica Mars, Just Shoot Me!).
-- Director Steve Carver (Big Bad Mama, The Arena, Drum, Capone).
-- Editor Bud Smith (The Exorcist, Sorcerer, Cruising, Cat People).
There are also dozens and dozens of informative film, video and DVD reviews, covering such titles as the Bee Gees' star-studded musical-fantasy Cucumber Castle; Rainer Werner Fassbinder's science-fiction mystery World of Wires; Candice Bergen and Peter Boyle in T.R. Baskin; Jaye P. Morgan's '80s Las Vegas talk show Talk of the Town, with guests Linda Blair, Larry Storch and Samantha Fox; Rogerio Sganzerla's The Red Light Bandit; Peter Fleischmann's epic sci-fi/adventure Hard To Be a God; the mindroastingly purile drive-in duo If You Don't Stop It...You'll Go Blind! and Can I Do It...'Til I Need Glasses?; the seedy Barry Levinson-scripted sex-pic Street Girls; Dirk Bogarde and Sylva Koscina in the '60s spy-farce Hot Enough For June; the Norwegian, live-action children's fantasy Body Troopers (a.k.a. "Jakten på nyresteinen"); Fred Ward in Alain Robbe-Grillet's The Blue Villa; the Gray Barker-UFO documentary Whispers in Space; Ian McShane and Francesca Annis in the mod romp The Pleasure Girls; the controversial Turkish action-flick Valley of the Wolves: Iraq; Mie and Kei in The Pink Lady Motion Picture; the Japanese time-travel comedy Summer Time Machine Blues; Nigel Kneale's made-for-TV sci-fi Studio 64: "The Crunch"; Telly Savalas and Robert Culp in Inside Out; Camp Blood: The Musical; Jeremiah Kipp's The Pod; Brandon Maggart in Christmas Evil; Linda Linda Linda; Jon McBride's Cannibal Campout and Woodchipper Massacre; and many more...
Article link: Remembering The Selwyn by Steven Puchalski.
The latest issue of ULTRA VIOLENT (#8) has an interview with my old friend John Aes-Nihil of the notorious Archives of Aesthetic Nihilsm.
Also:
 -- John Grissmer (United States): This overlooked genre veteran talks about his classic films The House that Cried Murder, Scalpel, and Nightmare at Shadow Woods.
-- Andrey Iskanov (Russia): One of the few directors in the circle of underground horror today that isn't afraid to deliver uncompromising gore and brutality, Iskanov speaks openly about his films Nails, Visions of Suffering, and Philosophy of a Knife.
Camille Keaton (United States): Best known to horror fans for her role as Jennifer Hills in the groundbreaking exploitation classic I Spit on Your Grave a.k.a. Day of the Woman, Camille Keaton has appeared in at least a dozen noteworthy films in Italy and the United States. The talented actress kindly spoke to UV about her life and work, giving us the rare chance to conduct what is arguably her first in-depth interview. Norwegian dvd here.
Roman Nowicki (Poland): This mysterious director speaks freely about the BBFC, and sheds a light on his shamelessly exploitive Fantom Kiler trilogy and other films.
Nick Phillips a.k.a. Nick Millard, (United States): This exploitation auteur took time out of his busy schedule to talk about his life in the industry. Phillips is the director behind '70s genre classics such as Satan's Black Wedding, Dr. Christina of Sweden, and the Ultra Violent staff favorite, Criminally Insane.
Fernando Rick (Brazil): The maniacal brain behind Black Vomit Filmes yaps about his latest endeavors and much more. We met this cat during our last trip to São Paulo, while conducting interviews with Coffin Joe. From a first-hand point of view, this guy is the real deal!
Plus:
Eyes of the Chameleon: UV headed to Vegas for the premiere of cult director Ron Atkins' latest opus. Expect full coverage of the film and the event in UV.
Neighborhood Watch: Music video director and Sonny Boy writer Graeme Whifler discussed his ambitious directorial debut and Fantasia hit Neighborhood Watch with UV for this article.
The Screening: UV went on the set of Cameron Romero's debut feature for its first print coverage.
13:16
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My friend 