Sonic Youth - 1987 - Madison, Wisconsin

Saw a bunch of memorable shows during the course of 1987 and October found me right up front, elbows on the stage at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago to witness Sonic Youth touring in support of their phenomenal record Sister. It was a harmonic convergence of sorts as a happening band showcased songs from what would go on to be my absolute favorite of their releases while also putting on one of my most highly regarded live performances. Waves and sprays of guitar launched power left quite the impact on me and my naked ears, as this was before I discovered the necessity of ear plugs.

The footage below comes from the 13 October 1987 show at Headliners in Madison, Wisconsin, one day before Sonic Youth made the scene at the Metro. There are also some bonus clips from Atlanta in September, earlier on the Sister tour.

Big thanx to SONICchout for posting all these great clips from 1987.


Stereo Sanctity


Pipeline/Kill Time


Catholic Block


Tuff Gnarl


FULL SET LIST FOR MADISON SHOW
Schizophrenia
Tom Violence
White Kross
Kotton Krown
Stereo Sanctity
Brother James
Pipeline
Catholic Block
Tuff Gnarl
Beauty Lies In the Eye
I Wanna Be Yr Dog
Expressway
PCH
--
Loud Mouth
I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You
Today Yr Love, Tomorrow The World
Beat on The Brat




plus these bonus tracks from
earlier on the Sister tour
16 September 1987
at the Metroplex in Atlanta, Georgia

Hotwire My Heart


Beauty Lies in the Eye


PCH


Ticket To Ride/Beat On The Brat

D.R.I. and C.O.C. - 1986 - St. Louis

Here's some fairly decent quality footage from a 1986 show in St. Louis, Missouri with both Corrosion Of Conformity and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles hitting their marks and plowing through some killer hardcore, augmented by doses of heavy metal to
add to the crunchy power.

Dirty Rotten Imbeciles

After Hours (1985) The making of...

Of all the wild films released in 1985
Martin Scorsese's After Hours remains a favorite.



The trailer


The making of...
1 of 2


2 of 2


Deleted Scenes


Siskel & Ebert At the Movies - The Best of 1985
featuring After Hours

Suburbia (1984)

Released by Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Penelope Spheeris wrote and directed Suburbia (1984) after making The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) and prior to filming The Boys Next Door (1985). Using a cast of almost all LA punks and non-trained actors while shooting in an area of tract housing set aside to be demolished to make way for a highway into LAX, Spheeris's film is sometimes referred to as punxploitation in reviews and I dig that handle. It's downbeat, but very watchable. Thanks to NOTANANUS4k for posting the movie on Youtube.




The trailer




The feature

1 of 10


2 of 10


3 of 10


4 of 10


5 of 10


6 of 10


7 of 10


8 of 10


9 of 10


10 of 10

The Fall - 1983 - UK tv

The Fall
with Jools Holland and John Peel introducing
The Tube - 1983




bonus video
for this favorite from The Fall
Bill Is Dead
from 1990s Extricate

Jerry Reed - 1983 - Toledo, Ohio

Jerry Reed (1937 - 2008) maintained a lucrative career as a
country musician while also pursuing roles in movies such as
Gator, Smokey and the Bandit or The Waterboy.
The clips below present Mr. Reed bringing his folksy
entertainment to a gig in Toledo, Ohio.



Amos Moses


When You're Hot, You're Hot


Judge Give Me Back My Blues


Sugarfoot Rag


Promises


plus the studio version of
East Bound and Down

In Praise of David Cronenberg's Videodrome (1983)

For my tastes Videodrome stands out as one of the more memorable films of 1983 and a personal favorite among the works of David Cronenberg. A further extension of Cronenbergs "body horror" anti-aesthetic narrative, Videodrome melds its transgressive storyline with a suitably manic James Wood performance in concert with then cutting edge special effects from ace Rick Baker.

Curious that Cronenberg includes a character he modeled after fellow Canadian Marshall McLuhan. In the world of Videodrome, as in McLuhan's oft quoted line regarding communication theory the medium is the message.


Collected below: a trailer for the film, Cronenberg briefly addressing a 2009 showing and also a deleted scene that may peek too far behind the curtain and explain a little too much of Videodrome's mystique and background.









David Cronenberg Introduces Videodrome
Toronto - 22 October 2009



spoiler alert
deleted scene: image accumulator

Art Clokey, Creator of Gumby - R.I.P.

Art Clokey, creator of stop motion clay animation classics
Gumby and Davey & Goliath, passed away Friday, 8 January 2010.
In tribute, below are a few of my favorite Clokey shorts.



Gumbasia (1955)




Gumby on the Moon (1956)



Ricochet Pete (1957)
with Gumby and Pokey

Gumby and Pokey - Ricochet Pete
Uploaded by Discodandan. - Click for more funny videos.

Who Dun It
with Davey & Goliath




Mandala (1977)

Metallica - 1983 - Cleveland (audio only)

On display here is the audio of a Metallica show
from 18 December 1983 at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio
near the end of the Kill 'em All Tour.


Hit the Lights


The Four Horsemen


Jump in the Fire


Fight Fire with Fire


Ride the Lightning


Phantom Lord


Call Of Ktulu


No Remorse


Seek and Destroy


Anesthesia


Whiplash



Creeping Death (audio glitch on solo)


Metal Militia

Cocteau Twins - 1983 - UK tv

In 1979 Robin Guthrie (guitar, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass guitar) met up in Scotland and formed the Cocteau Twins. A short time later they would incorporate Elizabeth Fraser on vocals. The band took their name from a song by fellow Scottish indie rockers Johnny and the Self-Abusers, who would later go on to greater fame and fortune after a name change to Simple Minds. Around 1983 Heggie left. While making contributions to 4AD's This Mortal Coil, Guthrie and Heggie became acquainted with Simon Raymonde and he joined the pair as the band's bassist, more or less remaining in that position until the band broke up in 1997.

Their overall sound is most notable for Ms. Fraser's often indistinct, fragile and airy vocalizing combined with tsunami like cascades of heavily treated guitar fueled arpeggios from Robin Guthrie. I first heard the Cocteau Twins during the mid/late 80s when I was most interested in heavy, fast and weird music - with emphasis on the first two; but it was impossible to dismiss their sonic spectrum of new school psychedelic pop art and I've remained a fan since.

Here's an early television appearance from the
Cocteau Twins
The Tube - late 1983

From the Flagstones


Musette and Drums

Liquid Liquid - "Cavern" video - 1983

Liquid Liquid are a New York based combo that created some spectacular post punk music with a heavy allocation of propulsive, minimalist funk in the early eighties. Reforming recently, they continue to perform worldwide. Their style leans more towards highlighting rhythms and drum sounds with sparse vocals and guitar, think of a mix of P.i.L., Can or dub as amorphous sonic touch points.

Released on 99 Records, their three initial eps are: Liquid Liquid (1981), Successive Reflexes (1981) and Optimo (1983). Found on the Optimo ep the track "Cavern" wasn't sampled, instead Sugarhill Records had session musicians produce similar sounding backing music for Melle Mel's "White Lines" and a controversy ensued as 99 Records took Sugarhill to court in an attempt to get paid for the use of the song's distinctive bassline. In the subsequent judgement, 99 won damages in the court case, but Sugarhill folded and declared bankruptcy soon after so no money was ever collected. All three eps had been out of print since the late 90s, but UK based Domino Records reissued everything they recorded as the 2008 release Slip In and Out of Phenomenon.



"Cavern" video
Produced in 1983 by Michael Sporn Animation Studios.


at Santos' Party House NYC
19 November 2008


plus

Optimo


Scraper

Raiders of Atlantis (1983)

Prolific director Ruggero Deodato followed up his 1980 slice of cinematic horror sadism House on the Edge of the Park with this multi-genre hodge podge in 1983 - The Raiders of Atlantis aka The Atlantis Interceptors, I Predatori di Atlantide and Atlantis Inferno.

Copping ideas from films such as Escape From NY, The Road Warrior, First Blood, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.; this film exudes a beautifully watchable cheese factor. Along with the oddly infectious disco theme song, the gaping plot holes also add to the viewing fun as do the threadbare special effects and miniatures.

Christopher Connelly (Manhattan Baby, 1990: The Bronx Warriors) stars alongside some other actors familiar to Italian lensed exploitation films such as: Tony King (Tiger Joe, The Last Hunter, Cannibal Apocalypse), Ivan Rassimov (Jungle Holocaust, Emanuelle Around the World), George Hilton (The Case of the Bloody Iris, A Bullet for Sandoval) as well as esteemed director/actor Michele Soavi. After the initial sci-fi set up enabling the attack of the Atlantean bad guys (lead by the surrealistically attired Crystal Skull) our band of survivors put on a Rio Bravo style series of last stands, out numbered and out gunned.

Unavailable on dvd, I've enjoyed many viewings of my trusty vhs copy. A search of the web illuminated CyprusCorners posting of the film on Youtube in multiple parts. My thanks for this and I've included the following for curious fans of the bizarre in the world of movies.



the trailer


12" single for the opening track
Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Black Inferno (1983)


alternate opening