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Pennies From Heaven (DVD)

Alan Rudolph
A bleak, despairing R-rated musical about fucked up people living through the Great Depression and escaping into fantasy where they privately express their innermost feelings through popular songs of the time. It's a non-stop parade of visual invention bolstered by lush cinematography from Gordon Willis but I can't agree with those who dismiss the film as being coldly artificial and unapproachable; I thought the emotions of these characters were clearly communicated. The humanity shined through. Martin delivers an unusually sincere performance as a narcissistic asshole. Jessica Harper could have been given a little more to do. Her character deserved some fleshing out. I'm no fan of musicals, movie or otherwise, but Pennies From Heaven is something very, very different and it's brilliant. As daring and experimental as big-budget studio filmmaking gets. You ought to watch this. Read more

Just Before Dawn (BLU)

Jeff Lieberman
The creepiest, most atmospheric slasher film. I might even say it's the best genre exercise of that entire decade. It's more than enjoyable trash; this is an expertly assembled horror movie with believable characters, finely crafted suspense scenes, and an effective sense of realism. JBD is just a legitimately good film and (by far) the strongest from director Jeff Lieberman. It resides in the same section of town as Halloween and Black Christmas. Friday the 13th is amateurish dreck by comparison. Deborah Benson's character is an all-timer in the final girl hall of fame. Unlike most female protagonists in movies like this, she simultaneously embraces her femininity AND steps up to kick some serious ass, rather than going all John Rambo-masculine on us (or simply surviving by the skin of her teeth). She gets to be both a warrior and a woman. It's a very clever and intelligent progression, most unusual for a dead teenager flick from 1981. Read more

Hollywood 90028 (BLU)

This immediately caught my eye because the title is my zip code. It's a powerful drama in exploitation horror clothes that was damn near lost until recently, that tells the story of a shiftless Los Angeles porn cameraman who moonlights as a serial strangler, and his unexpected romantic relationship with an equally lost adult film actress. Deliberately paced and focused on character, the flick has a lot to say about the City of Angels and its voracious appetite for lonely, hungry souls. This has been receiving ecstatic praise since being rediscovered (Sean Baker and Buddy Giovinazzo, among others, are outspoken fans) and it's deserving. Like Under the Silver Lake and Jeff Burr's overlooked dark comedy Eddie Presley, it explores the shady corners of LA's dream factory with a knowing precision. Far from throwaway b-movie junk, it has a point and seriously sharp teeth - not to mention a really, really great score from Basil Poledouris. Plus it's a goldmine for old Los Angeles location footage, with one of the best final shots I've ever seen. No hyperbole. Didn't see that coming. Read more

The Return of the Living Dead (BLU)

Dan O'Bannon
The Return of the Living Dead isn't just a perfect masterpiece and one of the greatest horror films ever made, it's also a low-key milestone in American pop culture. The movie is a gift. We're lucky it exists. Every single actor brings their absolute best. Don Calfa, Clu Culager, and James Karen give three of my favorite performances in film history. Gulager, in particular, is brilliant, playing Burt with a strong sense of grounded realism. He's just a very frustrated man dealing with a terrible situation as pragmatically as he can. Read more

A Dog Called Vengeance (BLU)

The best killer dog movie ever made by a wide margin. Both a relentless action-thriller and an angry anti-fascist allegory, A Dog Called... Vengeance concerns itself with a political prisoner (Jason Miller, who spends an awful lot of screen time nude) in South America being pursued across the countryside by a bloodthirsty canine. It's a skillfully directed thrill-ride from start to finish, edge of your seat material with brains and balls in equal measure. Frantically paced and enhanced by a bold lead performance from Miller, there isn't one single thing about this film that isn't incredible. Go watch it right now. Read more

Ecstasy (LP)

Torch Song
One of the most overlooked albums of the 80's. If you like moody new-wave synths, hop on it immediately. William Orbit's first notable project. Read more

Who's Got the 10 1/2? (LP)

Black Flag
Absolute scorcher of a live album, my favorite release from Black Flag. Read more

I Never Said That (LP)

Skank
Amazing trashy inner-city new wave from the early 80's. Very rare. Good luck tracking it down. Read more

Blackstar (LP)

David Bowie
This is the greatest Bowie album. Read more

Absolutely (LP)

Dijon
I will sing Dijon's praises until the day I die. Favorite album, favorite artist, no skips, 10 out of 10. Just sit back, 'Talk Down', and let emotion take you over. Read more

Toba (LP)

Mayhemic
Absolutely ripping deathrash in the vein of Morbid Saint, Merciless, Massacra and probably some other bands that don't begin with the letter 'M'. If you're looking for something fast, mean, and utterly relentless, look no further. The kids are alright. Read more

The Third Temple (LP)

Spite
After six long years, the much anticipated return of Spite does not disappoint! Thoroughly researched, "The Third Temple" brilliantly ties in the darker annals of ancient Jewish history with Christian end-times prophecies, twisting the holy texts and turning them on their heads with a sardonic wit and pointed wrath that embodies black metal at its lyrical best. Ornate, indeed, is the temple of Salpsan. Read more

Burning in Celestial Poison (LP)

Black Curse
Imagine Katharsis' later material reworked through the lens of Ascended Dead and you'll have an idea of what this sounds like. Swirling, chaotic black psychedelia that envelops the listener and delivers death by a thousand razor-sharp blades. Read more

Concrete Wiinds (LP)

Concrete Winds
Wow, what a total 180 from these guys! The new Concrete Winds record finds them stretching out over two LPs worth of progressive electro-funk grooves that are sure to fill the dance floor and I'm just kidding this is exactly what you'd expect from a new Concrete Winds record. Twenty-five minutes of uncompromising "Bestial Noise Torment" as only these Ålanders can deliver. A bad time in the best way, every time. Read more

Big Upsetter (LP)

Faze
Delay-pedal vocals in hardcore is certainly something of a trope these days, hoping your listeners won't notice weak riffs or mediocre songwriting by making the vocals sound "trippy." Fortunately Faze has killer riffs and can actually put together songs, so let it ride. Can't wait for Canada to become the 51st state so these guys and the host of other killer Canadian punk and hardcore bands can play down here and not have to deal with US customs. I'm mostly kidding... Read more

Demonolatry (LP)

Abhorration
Death metal as only Norway's finest can deliver. Lean and mean Altars-era Morbid Angel worship that absolutely smokes every other contemporary death metal band. See, I *can* write a blurb about contemporary death metal that I like without dunking on grown adults who think it's appropriate to wear sweatpants onstage. Wait, shit... Read more

Bestial Hardcore (LP)

Gaoled
I think this is the 3rd release from these guys titled "Bestial Hardcore." I guess that makes it easy? Or confusing? Whatever. This absolutely rips. Mean riffs, no beatdown parts, and nobody's trying to be Rick Ta Life or Kurt Vogel. Almost makes everything going horribly awry at home and abroad bearable. Almost... Read more

Alligator Bites Never Heal (LP)

Doechii
If you're reading this and you're into some or all of the releases above and you also love hip-hop, you've definitely heard of Doechii and may have slept on her because she's popular or you don't care about the Grammy's or whatever. Fine. Fuck the Grammy's. But, Doechii has bars, her production is on point, and above all she's just really fucking charming. Read more

За закуска параноя За вечеря каквo ?

Krayat
Bulgars in Berlin bringing the heat! To my ears this has a lot in common with the Burning Spirit strain of hardcore from Japan that mixed thrash and heavy metal guitar theatrics with punk intensity and vitriol. Apparently something similar was happening around the same time (or maybe earlier?) in the Balkans and Greece in the late 80s and early 90s, and goddamn if it's anything like this, what a goldmine. Слава България! Read more

Hell is Empty (CD)

Wolftraproad
"Hell is empty" is my self produced LP I released last year and was recorded in my room in Hollywood. Loud guitars, blissful piano and a ton of work. I put a lot into this one! Read more