Saturday, December 20, 2008

Butthole Surfers - footage from UK & Spain December 2008

Almost as an afterthought, I gave a quick search on YouTube for the Butthole Surfers and skimmed through the results finding primarily clips I'd already viewed or posted. But buried several pages into the search results were a few newly posted clips from the Butthole Surfers recent European shows from early December. It's great to see that they are sounding very raucous and together with these clips providing several great selections from their back catalog. Was prevented from going to see their mid-December gig in Brooklyn (with the mighty Black Dice as the support - no less) due to severe lack of extra funds/extra vacation day. Can only hope that 2009 produces an extended tour with a show in Boston.


2008


December 2008 - Minehead, England








12 December 2008 - Barcelona Spain, Apolo [2]




Thursday, December 18, 2008

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

selections from The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)



This television special tie-in to the wildly successful feature film was a rather unusual prospect when it first aired in 1978 with content best described as a bizarre train wreck of a program. I have not included the entire special, only 4 selections. Unlike the film this is connected with, The Star Wars Holiday Special has several musical interludes. Songs from Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia and Bea Arthur as the cantina bar keep can be viewed below. The cartoon segment is notable as the first appearance of the popular character Boba Fett. If you want to nerd out even harder, you can easily find the entire program on YouTube or elsewhere. Happy Life Day!


opening segment




cantina scene




cartoon segment




Princess Leia sings


Sunday, December 14, 2008

My Breakfast with Blassie (1983)

The comedy stylings of one Mr. Andy Kaufman often provide side splitting laughter in some folks, while leaving others scratching their heads curious as to what the fuss is all about. I've always sided with those who found most of his output to be comedic gold and the following movie is what I consider one of his finest creations.



My Breakfast with Blassie – part 1




My Breakfast with Blassie – part 2




My Breakfast with Blassie – part 3




My Breakfast with Blassie – part 4




My Breakfast with Blassie – part 5




My Breakfast with Blassie – part 6


The Beach Boys – 1970 Paris & on Chicago's Rockin' New Year's Eve 1975

The two clips immediately below are from some professionally shot and clear sounding footage used on French television. It's a Beach Boys era of which I'm a huge fan. Nice to check out some of these live versions, albeit without Brian Wilson performing of course.


Gaumont Palace, Paris - 8 December 1970 and interview segments – Part 1




Gaumont Palace, Paris - 8 December 1970 and interview segments – Part 2





These next two clips are a time capsule view into what was probably one of the higher rated New Year's Eve specials that December 31st. I'm sure my pre-school self didn't stay up past my bedtime to catch this show, but I do enjoy watching it now. At the time this was shot, I believe The Beach Boys had entered into a big deal with the same management team working with Chicago. This resulted in several co-headlining tours involving the two bands, as well as The Beach Boys singing on the Chicago hit "Wishing You Were Here" as seen below.


The Beach Boys on Chicago's Rockin' New Year's Eve 1975
Good Vibrations & Darlin' – Part 1




With Chicago – Wishin' You Were Here & Surfer Girl – Part 2



Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Peace on Earth (1939) & Good Will To Men (1955) animated shorts

I came across these oddities while poking around YouTube for some Christmas animation from the 1930's. Never before had I heard or seen anything concerning this pair of anti-war Christmas cartoons. Both tell the story of a post-apocalyptic world in which humans have killed themselves off, leaving only cute talking animals to populate the Earth. The 1955 version is a near replica, with only a final nuclear assault replacing the final rifle shoot out of the 1939 version. As mhirtes12 states in the text accompanying the post on YouTube, it's a big difference to see Hanna-Barbera creating something of nearing Disney quality in their 1955 remake. The Hanna-Barbera I know (and sometimes still enjoy) from 1960's and 70's shows I viewed in reruns or first runs (when Saturday mornings meant big fun and cartoon time) is a more an assembly line product than what is on display here. Check 'em out and let me know what you think...


Peace on Earth (1939)





Good Will To Men (1955)


Tuesday, December 9, 2008

King Diamond – No Presents For Christmas – studio & live versions

Always preferred King Diamonds' work with Mercyful Fate more than his solo stuff, but it's hard to not enjoy this guilty pleasure of a rocking anti-Christmas, heavy metal style Christmas number. This fits nicely next to FEARs' "F... Christmas" on my holiday play lists. One for the whole family to enjoy.





2003


The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale of New York – the video & live version

When it come to Christmas mixes or playlists, The Fairytale of NY always has a place between such other holiday favorites as Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys or anything off The Carpenters or Elvis' Christmas records. An unconventional holiday song for sure, but that's a good thing when relatively new and worthwhile additions are often difficult to discover.






Spinal Tap – Christmas with the Devil & interview – The Arsenio Hall Show – 1992






A nostalgic blast of yuletide metal from this 1992 episode of The Arsenio Hall Show. Can't say I watched this on its original airing, but I've always considered This Is Spinal Tap (1984) a comedy classic and film favorite. Still have not watched the dvd version, which I'm told has tons of extra scenes.


The elves are dressed in leather
And the angels are in chains
(Christmas with the Devil)
The sugar plums are rancid
And the stockings are in flames
(Christmas with the Devil)
There's a demon in my belly
And a gremlin in my brain
There's someone up the chimney hole
And Satan is his name
The rats ate all the presents
And the reindeer ran away
(Christmas with the Devil)
There'll be no Father Christmas
'Cause it's Evils holiday
(Christmas with the Devil)
No bells in Hell
No snow below-
Silent Night, Violent Night
So come all ye unfaithful
Don't be left out in the cold
You don't need no invitation, no...
Your ticket is your soul









plus this bonus

Spinal Tap on the Joe Franklin Show


Tuesday, December 2, 2008

David Lynch 1997 interview w/Tom Snyder & Lynchs' first film - Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) - 1966

In his tenure hosting The Late Late Show in the late 1990s, Tom Synder always walked a tightrope of being an interesting interviewer on one end and a boring Paleozoic relic on the other. In this specific case he lands more on the former with this compelling content. I enjoyed this segment with David Lynch from 1997, when he was doing publicity for Lost Highway. As a long time fan and follower of his art and work, there was enough vibrant material to keep me entertained and hopefully you the reader/viewer as well.

Also, included here is David Lynchs' first short film Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) - 1966, created while he was still in college in Philadelphia. This short, along with his other early works and ongoing feature length films, are referenced and spoken about in his chat with Tom Synder. Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) is a fascinating peek into the moment where his handiwork went from static to moving pictures.







Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) - 1966



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