Tuesday, November 24, 2009

A Little British Glam Makes the Day

I started this morning off knowing that I would need a pick me up to deal with the 4 pallets I expected today, which actually ended up being 6. Not fun, but at least I planned ahead by uploading some classic glam in the form of Mott the Hoople and Slade. Mott the Hoople was one band in which I was completely ignorant ,except for a song I always believed to be Bowie's. Slade on the other hand had one hit in the early 80's but were an inspiration to several cock-rock outfits during this time, so I knew a bit more about them, but not much. My past experience with British Glam doesn't go much past T. Rex and Bowie. I've always been of the opinion the nothing else mattered in early 70's Britain than the two, so I never felt the need to pursue the style and era further. Lately though, I have been all about hunting down the 70's era music I discarded, and I find that I missed many a gem over the years. Today I discovered that of the two bands I previous mentioned, both kicked my ass on my morning commute but one did it a little harder, and that was Slade.

Slade fuckin' rocks and you can bet your ass I will be purchasing several more of their audio riches. I don't know whether it's the attitude or the griminess, probably a bit of both, but they are one of those bands I can see listening to multiple times a day for the next few weeks. i had a similar experience with Fear a couple months ago but have felt very little like this, music-wise, since the spring. Thankfully, the magic is back.

I'll leave you with one of the asskickers from their album, Slayed. The song, as well as the outfits, are the glam rock equivalent of sober sex with a celebrity crush.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

I Wanna Be A New Jack Hustlah

For some reason this early 90's gem from Ice T was stuck in my head. I must say, being something of an expert on true school hip-hop, this is probably the best song Ice-T ever wrote or rapped. Even though he was well known and had to previous albums to back him up before this one, I still consider Ice-T a subpar rapper compared to some of his fellow LA rappers. Comparing him to such rappers as Ice Cube or MC Ren is hilarious in my eyes. Before this song, I would put Ice-T's rap skill somewhere around the levels of mediocrity you would find Too Short or Easy E(RIP). Thankfully, during this period, T started Body Count and in acting career that would keep him afloat for years to come.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Camel Joe and the Hard Pack


Those of you who read this are probably old enough to remember Camel Joe Controversy. Apparently, the powers that be, known to many as the Nanny State, felt that cartoonish images of camels smoking cigarettes contributed to underage usage of tobacco. Although I missed underage smoking by a year, I can attest that to me and my peers, there was nothing cool about Joe Camel. Except for the fact that he smoked, and we all know that makes everyone looks like a bad ass.

Anyone who did think the image of Joe Camel was, cool probably feasted on paint chips in quantity as a child. These would be the same kids who owned the Joe Camel t-shirts and would be referred to my peers as a "spazz". It's pretty sad when someone such as myself, who as a geek was low on the High School social scale, could actually look down upon somebody as a lesser. These are the same type of people who partake in such glorious activities as backyard wresting and are frequently found as winners of the Darwin Award. Unfortunately, this is a large portion of the current US population. But I digress.....

I've posted this image of the "Hard Pack" to show you how not cool Camel Joe, or his friends, are. This image was from the early 90's. I was a teen during this time, and I can attest, there is nothing cool about dressing like the Blues Brothers in 1991. If the marketing team at Camel were really trying to cater to a teenage market, don't you think Joe would have a hi-top fade and a pair of Cross Colours? Or maybe long greasy hair and a flannel? I'm sorry, but teenagers don't give two shits about the Blues Brothers. I didn't, and nobody I knew did. Adam Sandler, sure, but nothing as thoughtful as the Blues Brothers.

I far as the "Hard Pack" is concerned, I'm sorry, but there is nothing "Hard" about a dude with a saxophone. In fact, saxophone is probably the anti-hard. Take for example, Huey Lewis and the News.... you know what I'm saying. If they really wanted to make the "Pack" hard, maybe they should have been given glocks and jheri curls. That, my friend, would have been the meaning of hard, and probably would have been directed at a teenage audience.

So was Camel Joe a marketing gimmick aimed towards underage smokers? I think not, but if it was, that marketing team knew nothing about what kids liked or didn't like in 1991.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Join the Cult

I recently bought a snuggee as a last minute Halloween costume. It was quick and stupid purchase, but I had no intention of trying to maneuver around a party store mobbed with rabid, last-minute shoppers. So I went to Walgreens and dished out the 15 bucks for a blanket with sleeves. I figured even if it was a shitty last minute costume, at least people are going to laugh. People laughed and Halloween went over pretty nicely, even with a shitty costume. With the holiday over I probably should have just thrown the snuggee in a dresser with all the other costumes of Halloween's past.....but I didn't. At all.

In the last week, I have become one of those assholes you see in the commercial. Sure, I wear the snuggee around my house more for the comedic and creepy purposes rather than practicality, but I do use it quite a bit. I could be a normal person and wear a robe or pajamas, but it doesn't provide the same looks of disdain from my girlfriend and roommate. The snuggee screams," I'm such a tool and proud." and sometimes that makes me chuckle. Sure, it's a joke at my own expense, but it's a funny joke. I can laugh and be comfortable at the same time.

I've joined the cult.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Today's Twitter Trending Topic: Rihanna's Forehead

Apparently Rihanna's big prime time interview last night left an impact on more than a few, and not in a necessarily positive way. Twitter has been buzzing with jokes about Rihanna's over-sized forehead, and I have to admit some of them are genuinely funny one-liners.

It's true that domestic violence is not a laughing manner, and many people are equally tweeting about those who make jokes being assholes. Get over it! Comedy typically exist at the expense of others, or in this case, other people's body parts. Despite everybody knowing MJ was a tortured soul and that child abuse is no laughing manner, a large majority of us, myself included, still repeat the 'boys underwear half off" joke because its funny. In some cases jokes are coping tools to help us deal with tragedy and other negative things in our life. Hell, cracking a joke is a lot healthier than drinking.

So I've gathered a list of some of my favorite jokes regarding Rihanna's Forehead. You can check them out for yourself though out the day at #Rihannasforehead

"#Rihannasforehead attacked Chris Brown first."

"#rihannasforehead will be showing the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It" on it.."

"is so big it's considered a roaming zone on T-Mobile #rihannasforehead"

"I tried uploading a pic of #rihannasforehead but it said the file was too damn big!"

"Is NASA ever gonna go back to #rihannasforehead?"

"According to NASA #rihannasforehead will be the cause of an upcoming solar eclipse."

"#rihannasforehead is trying to host the olympics in 2020"

"Ppl dnt scale everest anymore they scale #rihannasforehead"

"i actually heard rihanna was ment to have a twin but it got stuck in her forehead in the womb, #rihannasforehead"

"I tried looking up #rihannasforehead with Google Earth but it told me the image was too big"

"#RIHANNASFOREHEAD is like a documantry u never knw when itz gonna end"

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Doomed Mixtape




I've been on an underground hip-hop tear over the last couple of days. Along with the Tosh and dub, I've been on a fairly steady diet consisting of Madlib and MF Doom. A couple of days ago I ran across the Doomed mixtape and I gotta say it was one of the driving forces in my mostly mundane work day.

1. DOOMposter Intro
2. Jake One – Trap Door (Ft. MF DOOM)
3. Donny Goines – Vinca Rosea [EXCLUSIVE]
4. MF DOOM – Paper Planes
5. Ryan Leslie – Addiction (Ft. Cassie & Fabolous)
6. J.Rocwell & Sugar Tongue Slim – Mandrake [EXCLUSIVE]
7. Mighty Underdogs – Gunfight (Ft. MF DOOM)
8. Nas – Speaks On DOOM
9. Nas – Hope (Ft. Chrisette Michelle)
10. 3rd Bass – Gas Face (Ft. MF DOOM)
11. Nov Ganon – Nettle Leaves [EXCLUSIVE]
12. Lil’ Wayne – A Milli
13. MF DOOM – A Milli Freestyle
14. J. Dilla – Sniper Elite (Ft. MF DOOM)
15. Nero – Eucalyptus [EXCLUSIVE]
16. Kool G. Rap – Ill Street Blues
17. Rick Ross – Speedin’ (Ft. R. Kelly)
18. Jabee – Meditation [EXCLUSIVE]
19. MF DOOM – Boulder Holder
20. Justice – We Are Your Friends
21. Jay-Z – Pray
22. MF DOOM – I Hear Voices (Live)
23. J-Snyder – The Magic Message [EXCLUSIVE]
24. Big Boi – Royal Flush (Ft. Raekwon & Andre 3000)
25. Lil’ Wayne – Got Money (Ft. T-Pain)
26. T-Pain – Can’t Believe It (Ft. Lil’ Wayne)
27. J. Dilla – Mash’s Revenge (Ft. MF DOOM & Guilty Simpson)
28. MF DOOM – Hoe Cakes [Ant Remix]
29. Kumi Hues – Camphor [EXCLUSIVE]
30. MF DOOM – Shimmy Shimmy Ladies



Most of the songs on it are pretty dope, even the Lil' Wayne song, and I'm not a fan of his...at all. It would have worked without the T-Pain, but I guess it's a good idea to try to hook the younger generation in. Throw in some Kool G Rap and the 3rd Bass classic "Gasface) and I was sold. The best part about, besides having a shit load of MF Doom songs, is the mix is free. Everybody knows nothing is better than free. In fact, you can download it here. Pay close attention to the song Mandrill by J.Rocwell & Sugar Tongue Slim. I'm pretty sure this mix was the first time the track saw the light of day and it's one of the highlights.

Jesus fuck I love the Hip-Hop. Free Hip-Hop.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

How to do the Hustle aka Creepiest Video Ever

Today I was given the most awesome opportunity to listen to nothing but 70's soft rock over the radio. By "most awesome" I actually mean I felt as if I had an elephant-sized dose of Thorazine forced on me. There were actually a couple of highlights: Neil Diamond,the Carpenters, and last but not least, the Hustle. I've always wondered how one dances to this soft disco classic and wondered if it was too complex. My co-worker Chris informed me that I could probably learn it in an hour, but had never seen it himself. i got curious..

So with very little digging I came upon this instructional video on Youtube-



Hello creepy!! I'm pretty sure this is less of an instructional video and more of some gross dude trying to display his gyratic package in period clothing. I did learn a couple things...I could not learn the Hustle in one hour, and even if I did learn it I would probably be put on a sex offender list for doing the dance in public.

I'm slightly disgusted.

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Holiday Is Over,Hibernation Time

I was sad to see it go, but it can't last forever. Unless of course, life were a Tim Burton movie. And as we know, life is not, so Halloween has left NYC once more. As usual, I had fun and once again wished I had put forward more thought and effort into my costume. This is probably the fifth year in a row I waited until the last minute, which kinda sucked. You see, he who waits until he last minute gets stuck with a snuggee for a costume. Not scary at all!' Oh well, at leasts it's an investment. I can read a book or talk on the phone without loosing rhe comfort a blanket provides. The snuggee should come in handy for me and the girl as we move into the hibernation months. That's right, true believers, fore November begins the great lifestyle known as homebodiness(if it's not a word, it is now).

I will probably be spending a considerable amount of more time in front of the tube and less outside, as will most of you. Thankfully this is the perfect time to catch up on my movie addiction. I kicked myself so many times over the last 5 months ignoring my television and Netflix account, I had forgotten what it was like to chill at home with a horror movie. Thankfully, as the weather gets colder, I rekindle my relationship with my Tv/DVD combo, and this time I have compatriot, unlike the last couple of years. The only thing better than watching blood, guts, and Italian moustaches, is doing it with the person you love.

So excuse me while I slip into the snuggie and throw on a Sonny Chiba double feature. I'm preparing for winter.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

The Cinematic Glory of the Dollar Store DVD

I have heard many a trash cinema buff talk about the glory of the dollar store dvd rack. While I have always had it in mind to go foraging for some cheap thrills, considering I live in a city drowning in dollar stores, I had never ever taken the initiative. It always seemed like a good idea, but was so far in the back of my mind the matter was never pressing. Most of my time spent in the local dollar dump tends to be spent on house cleaner runs and glassware replacements. I'm not really a browsing kind of guy. When I go into a store, I try to locate the needed item, grab and buy it as fast as possible. In and out quicker than a flasher in Central Park. If I was thinking about movies, I might be a bit more curious to meander around the aisles a little more.

Thankfully I have a girlfriend these days, and she is not so lacking in the attention to dollar shop detail as I am. When we go into the store as a couple, there is so much more to notice. If it wasn't for my lovely female counterpart, my passing interest in cheap DVDs probably would never have resurfaced. Because of a couple of trips to said stores yesterday, I discovered a treasure trove cheap thrills.

Even though I saw many a movie I must call my own, the one that stood out was the Fabio Teste action bomb First Action Hero. I actually picked this one up thinking it was a 70's polizia, but I was far wrong. This train wreck was made less than 20 years ago and is probably the last time Teste's name has been in a feature length film. But this isn't my cinema blog, so I'm not going to go further than that. All I know is I probably should have went with Sonny Chiba double feature. Regardless, I am going to be paying closer attention to the contents in my neighborhood trashmarts.

Monday, October 19, 2009

The End Kickstarts a New Beginning

After many a month of screening, scheduling, planning and execution,Royal Flush Festival has finally come to an end. Since April, I have been working on the programming department, and I gotta say, as much as I love movies, I was on film overload for most of the summer. This was probably why I haven't put much of an effort in over at the other bloggity-blog. Bt Alas, my RFF persona is taking a bit of a vacation and I have been away from trash cinema long enough to be able to voice my opinion again. To start, I will hopefully be able to jot down a couple of words about some of the fine films I had the joy of viewing for RFF. I wanted to wait until after the festival ended before I voiced my opinion, and that time has finally come.

As much as I sound relieved the Festival has run it's course for 2009, I must say I learned a shitload of useful knowledge and met some great people. It became hectic at times, but in the long run it has been a valuable experience and helped kick start more than a couple of future plans this guy has for the Rotten Apple. When these ideas take a more cohesive form I'll be more than happy to share them with the rest of the world, but for now they need to be discussed in depth for a period of time. I just have to be sure not to bring my hopes up too much in case said plans don't see the light of day. For now, I'll just focus on asian gangster movies, peplum, and ozploitation.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Day two


It was really nice waking up this morning and not having to worry about doing my day to day grind. I was able to leisurely wake up at 9:30, which has been unheard of for years unless it's a holiday. A slow shower made for a great start in a chilly house, followed by bagels at one of the new shops on Bushwick ave. The coffee was good and the bagels had a bit to be desired, but he excursion added to the morning. It made me realize I really miss being able to enjoy my weekday mornings. I guess it's more adult of me to have something akin to a 9 to 5, but I find that I enjoy days off a bit more when people are at work and kids are in school.

Hopefully, one day I'll be able to live this ideal weekday life. Until then, I will continue to suffer theouh my day to day grind.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

There was a time in my life where I was really interested on video games. Not as interested as kids are in this day and age, but I have put 100's, if not 1000's, of hours into the digital age. Mine was the first generation to accept and embrace the video game. Sure, there were those a decade previous that had pong in their life. But how hardcore can you really get into a consol that plays the same game over and over. It wasn't until the 80's that video entertainment started to leave it's mark in history. And so began the age of digital addiction and social exclusion.

As I said, I put my time in, but it didn't go to much further past 32 bit entertainment. Super Nintendo was the last system I had a vested interest in an everything went downhill from there. I dabbled with Doom and Wolfenstein a bit in the early 90's but it was never anything I seriously connected with. In this age of first person shooters and mmorpg's I am a chimp with a stick. I haven't had


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Monday, October 12, 2009

Go Homo!!!

For months, I've wondered what the phrase "No Homo" meant. I've seen it pop up on latfh.com, twitter, and pretty much every inch of internet modern pop culture rears it's ugly head. I was kind of offended by the term, but never really paid it to much thought because I didn't no the history behind the term. Recently, my friend K.Lee posted this video which explained everything I needed you know about this modern phenomenon...



And yes, after watching this video, I now realize I have a reason to be slightly offended. In this day and age, I am so surprised that a movement as progressive in the last 30 years as Hip-Hop still has so MANY social boundaries to overcome. In my eyes, one of the biggest is homophobia.Seriously, leaders of the hip-hop community, if America has progressed to a point where we have a black man in the White House, don't you think it's about time to drop the paleolithic ignorance. It's gotten to the point where I'm starting to view some rappers in the same light I do cross-burning trailer trash.

Now it's gotten to the point where young men feel they have to defend their masculinity with every phrase they speak, ny ending the sentence "No Homo". That's a bit fucked up. After watching the video, I was curious to see just how pervasive the phenomenon is, so I did a Twitter search. To save you the pain, I've linked my findings here. I can't believe some of the stupid shit people feel like the have to follow up a "No Homo" with. Let me give you an idea of what I'm currently viewing:

"lol wow. aww ur name suits u perfectly. lol. you are mad addorable miss. no homo."

Really? What direction is society going where I guy has to proclaim how un-homosexual he is after saying something nice to a female? I don't know about you, but I think it's kind of fucked.

So for now on, I'm going to start using the phrase "Go Homo" when I feel I am being overly masculine. Who knows, maybe it will catch on and balance out this new meme I find a bit deplorable.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Obama of Peace

As I read the Huffington Post this morning I was a bit surprised by the fact that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The first thing that popped in my head was "What did he do to win such an honorable award?". As I read the article and pondered momentarily, I came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter if he deserved it or not. What really mattered to me was the fact that he was yet again able to deal the Right Wing a sucker punch without even trying. That alone was enough for mee to laugh aloud, to myself, like a crazy person.

Sometimes I can't believe the kind of shit that comes out of the mouth of the right wing ignoramus. Here are a couple of the reduntant gems that I read today while at work.

RWers were complaining that there is no validity to the Nobel Prize these days because of past winners like Al Gore and Yassar Arafat.

First off, If it wasn't for Yassar Arafat, more Israelis and Palestinians would be dying on a daily basis. If I remember correctly, it was Yassar Arafat who agreed to the original cease-fires and peace talks in an attempt to step forward towards peace.

Al Gore educated the world at large on the dangers of global warming. Although there are still a couple of wingnuts out there who beleive global warming to be a myth, you can bet Al Gore made a great deal of people think about mankinds effect on the world at large. Who else, scientist, or politican, has been able to have that kind of impact on the World?

I also heard complaints about his name being submitted only after 19 days in office. So fucking what!! Just because his name was submitted in January doesn't mean it was set in stone. A submission is just a submission, the vote that awarded him the prize came pretty recently, most likely it was deliberated for dozens of hours among the Earth's Smartest. A choice for the Nobel doesn't happen overnight, assholes!!

I just hope he get's Time's Man of the Year. That will be a great kick to the junk to the whiny RWers.






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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Union Square smelliness





There is nothing like sitting at Union Square and listening to bums get in a verbal altercation. Drunk of course. all kinds of dirtiness just blathering away in an incompressible fashion. It is kind of like sitting in the Square in Portsmouth, but the posse is a much larger group.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Blue and Gold







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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Trader Joe's test

I just downloaded a blogging app(BlogPress lite) and am going to spend today's word space testing out said software's photo uploading capability.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, October 5, 2009

Hiking the New Amsterdam Passage.

Today I came to the realization that even though NYC is the best place I could ever imagine living, it doesn't mean cell phone technology will work any better than it does in the burbs. Case in point, I can't get a 3G signal in my work area. Over the weekend that I have been obsessively abusing my new slice of Heaven I refer to as the iPhone, I failed to think about the possibility that it's not going to work everywhere the MTA takes me in the Big Apple. Foolish of me to think that in a day and age I can store the Library of Alexandria in my pocket, I can't even send a reliable fucking text message in Midtown Manhattan.

All I can think is "what the fuck is that all about."

What I have failed to consider is that NYC is chock full of really big buildings. Urban mountains if will. And like going on a hike in the mountains, some of the time your not going to get reception on an electronic leash. This is typically due to the fact that some mountains are taller than the placement of a digital tower, and interfere with the signal like a bully blocking kids from a water fountain. The same things happens with urban mountains aka skyscrapers. In some areas of the city, some providers aren't able to transmit a clear signal. Such is the case with the building I work in.

I can survive, I've suffered from a similar problem when I was a copy monkey in Morningside Heights. Besides, there is always the much-loved lunch break. Even though I won't be able to tweet very often, at least I'll be able to get more time in than usual.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

24 Hours Later And Blogging from an Iphone

I'm going to keep this brief because I am still learning how to type on this little piece of Heaven. Eventually I'll be able to do this in my sleep but for now I am a bit sloppy. Thus far, i've dowloaded the basic apps I need to get by In this new future world I live in.

Crank up the flux capacitor,Marty!!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Do I Really Need Google Wave? No, but I'll Try Anything Once....






....well....Maybe not anything, but new intertech in beta gets me every time. Ever since I bought my first computer(the Adam back in the 80's didn't count),I have made it a point to stay on top on all the latest trends that the interwebby has thrown at me. In the early 2000's it was Friendster and Livejournal. Not too long after that I was all over MySpace and Gmail in beta. And as you can see, these days I'm all over Facebook,Twitter, and The blogosphere. I wouldn't go so far to say I'm an internet addict, but I would say I rely on it much more than the average person.

After watching a couple videos explaining Google's latest "breakthrough" in ultimate nerdliness, I gotta say I want more. Re-inventing the concept of email to fit into today's social networking standards sounds like a great idea. What sold me was the ability to translate "waves" from one language to another, all in real time. If that doesn't scream "Welcome to the future!!!" I don't know what does.

I'm not going to spend 10,000 words explaining the concept behind Google Wave, so I'm just going to leave you with a few videos.



And direct from Google's finest...


And this article explains in depth how Wave will not only possibly kill email but could teach Facebook a thing or two.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Too much Italo? Add Metal to Even Out

I have been listening to Italo all fucking day. It's one thing to sit and enjoy a couple of songs while cleaning around the house, but spending an entire work day with the electro-goodness of italo disco can be a bit much. I'm not saying that it was, but I should probably take a couple days off. This has been going on for the majority of the week. The last 2 days were spent dancing around as rhythmically as crackerly possible in the confines of my work space. Only to be spotted occasionally by my co-workers.

Was I embarrassed? Not really. Should I have been? Probably. Thirty-five year old men with slightly pudgy physiques probably shouldn't be doing Guido dances while on the clock. First off, it's immature. Secondly.....hmmm...Fuck it!! I dance around in public without regret so why not at work? It would be a different story if there was a client around or I was in a meeting. In that case, I would be professional. If i am the only person in the shipping area and nobody is paying attention, I'm gonna do some repetitive finger pointing. It's not like I'm doing back spins or the souljah boy(I shudder just thinking about that obscene dance!).

So I'm going to steer clear of the italo for at least the next day or so. I'll probably crank up the power metal while I sit around my apartment tomorrow morning between movies.cleaning, and general slothfulness. There is nothing like lonely moshing wearing nothing but boxer briefs.

And on that note, I'm going to start my weekend with Three Inches Of Blood

Thursday, October 1, 2009

It's The First of the Month...

...and I am going to make October 1st the grand opening of the I......Triumphant blog, the musings and randumb thoughts of an obsessive, aging scenester(that would be me!). I've already written three entries previous to this one, but a randon day in September is no good for an official release. I'm sorry that I'm not going to break a champagne bottle over my computer, but I really can't afford to replace this piece of obsolete machinery. I could just as easily break that bottle over my liver, but I like to reserve champagne for brunch and weddings.

From this point on, as explained in my first post, I'm going to try to update everyday. Some days I just don't have the gumption to put a finger to the keyboard, but I must try to fight the urge to be lazy.

And to kick off this Opening Day Celebration...a little Bone,Thugs, and Harmony!


Sunday, September 27, 2009

House Cleaning, Italo Disco, and a new found love for Glass Candy

Earlier this morning, or what I like to consider morning since it was before brunch, Mary and I were cleaning the house in preparation. Those of you who have known me over the years understand that keeping a clean house has never been one of my strong points. I admit, I'm a bit of a slob, but it is a cycle I would be more than happy to break. Anyway, when I clean, I like to listen to something on Pandora that pumps me up. Sometimes it's black metal. Sometimes it's gangsta rap. It could be anything, and this morning it happened to be Giorgio Moroder and other related artists. So it was definitely and italo disco kind of morning.

As cheesy as it is, I love italo. There is just something pure, robotic, and uber-80's about European electro from the post-Studio 54 dance music days. I love how italo combines the best cheese from the discoverse with the most kick ass synthetic sounds all rolled into one shiny,eurotrash package. It truly is a magnificent sound to clean house to. If you are asking yourself "what the fuck is he talking about?", go here. I actually visited the wiki this morning, as my obsessive-compulsive behavior dictates I do when something peaks my interested, to surprisingly find it had been updated. Not only did I get my standard history of the form of music, I got the added bonus of a list of modern artists influenced by italo. Too my surprise, I recognised some of the band names from the wayback days when I had a art/noise/avante rock obsession. One of the bands that popped up was Glass Candy.

As I said, when I first heard Glass Candy years ago, their sound was chaotic and noisy. And by noise, I don't mean loud. I mean "noise" as in playing with feedback to a point most would consider not listenable. To get an idea of what I'm saying, here's a video:



I'm sure you get a the idea. At one time, noise rock was something I swore up and down by. In my old age, my taste has become slightly more refined. I prefer Morricone over Merzbow these days. That being said, over time I stopped paying attention to Glass Candy. So when there name popped up on the modern-italo list, I had to do further research. To my utter surprise, this is what I found:



Italo-tastic!!!! It was nice to see that Glass Candy has also refined their sound over time. With current trend in "hip" indie these days, I'm not really surprised. Danceable is what the kids are into, unfortunately I find most of it to be garbage. Not so much with Glass Candy. I must say they I cannot wait to pick-up some of their newer material, and probably some of the bands that are on their label, Italians Do It Better.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

He Who Walks Behind The Rose

After an afternoon of drinking with his Sparkness at Spike Hill, I came home to eat dinner and spend what remaining time I had with my girl before her work night begun. So ,not unlike any other night you come home from the bar, we turned on The Sci-Fi Channel. I'm sorry...SyFy(I'm still not quite sure why they changed the name in such a stupid fashion). After a few not paying attention to the white noise that is typically the standard after a great afternoon, I realized that Children of the Corn was about to come on. And I'm not talking about the 80's horror classic that we all grew up with. This was not the catered-to-period classic most of my generation came to love. There were no midgets, crazy redheads, and cheap 80's haircuts. It was a retelling. But unlike the other bullshit "retellings" we see these days of cult classic, the "SyFy" original is closer to the original short story that was written by Stephen King back in 1997. I've only been periodically paying attention to it, while I sit here drinking a 40 and trying to enjoy "personal" time I don't necessarily need. Even though it is closer to King's classic short, it still doesn't have the same appeal that the 80's classic did.

I want to hear the redheaded freak Courtney Gains yelling "Outlander!!!" I crave to see the midget-playing-child Isaac freaking me out with his smalltitude. I want to fear "He Who Walks Behind The Rose" like I did Jason, Freddy, and the Critters back in my mid-80's horror heyday. Do I get that? No! It's the Sci-Fi network and I get garbage for a "retelling" just as I would expect. Fuck it! I'll finish the movie and express my disdain drunkenly for the next couple of days.

I'll just leave off with the original Children of the Corn trailer. Cheers!!!


Friday, September 25, 2009

First post aka Why?

I have been severely slacking on the film blog as of late. When I started it last Winter, I posted on a fairly regular basis and it was something that I was really into. Writing about a subject I love(trash cinema) could never get tiring...or so I thought.

As the days got warmer, I started to post less and less. It wasn't that I was watching less movies. Quite the contrary actually. I started working the Royal Flush Festival so I started watching way more movies than a human should ever want to over such a short period of time. I loved it, but I couldn't prioritize my own tastes in cinema over the FF entries. In the end, the Royal Flush team is more important than Howard the Duck or Sonny Chiba.

I also had a great deal of free time last Winter and Spring. I had been single for close to 2 years and I was so set in that lifestyle. I had plenty of time to watch movies, because my time was all my own, and I could be as selfish as I wanted. But things changed around my Birthday and I added something to my lifestyle that hadn't previously existed for quite a long time: a Girlfriend. A very lovely lady who, at this point, currently shares my residence and holds my heart. And again, far more important to me than watching Jimmy Wang Yu bang loose white women. Mary has been an important part of my life since she stepped into it, and will continue to be for a very long time.

And last but not least, the reasons why I decided to start a PERSONAL blog. I have many more interests than movies I would love to write about that don't belong on Cinematografo Dei Trash. I....Triumphant gives me the opportunity to hone my own ability to write, a hobby/art form I rather enjoy, and at they same time give me more of a drive to create. The idea is,if I can update this blog on a regular basis, it will give me the practice I need to have the drive to update the writing I do for CdT. I consider it the scrimmage rather than the game.

Some people might actually find my life and thoughts interesting enough to read. I sure hope so. Mostly because I love feedback. There is nothing more entertaining and mind-numbing to read than a blog's comment section....except maybe the real world.