Saturday, October 31, 2020

GODSPEED, SIR SEAN CONNERY


You were the ultimate Bond, a sophisticate who guided the world in unapologetic virility. 


"Dr. No"; "From Russia With Love"; "Goldfinger"; Thunderball"; "You Only Live Twice"; "Diamonds are Forever"; and "Never Say Never Again" in many respects defined you, but there's much more to you than 007, as your additional accomplishments advocate. 


There's "Highlander"; "Highlander II"; "Zardoz"; "Time Bandits"; "First Knight"; "Dragonheart"; "Robin and Marian"; "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"; "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"; "Outland"; "The Russia House"; "Shalako!"; "The Rock"; "Marnie"; "Action of the Tiger"; "Medicine Man"; "The Avengers '98"; "The Untouchables '87"; "Murder on the Orient Express '74"; "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"; "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"; "Entrapment"; "Just Cause"; "The Hill"; "The Wind and the Lion"; "The Man Who Would Be King"; "A Good Man in Africa"; "The Next Man" (aka "The Arab Conspiracy"); "The Hunt for Red October"; and the noble "A Bridge Too Far". 


You became an icon for good reason, Sir Connery, and will remain one well beyond your departure: a blueprint of the suave and a paladin of transcendent taste. 

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

HAVE A BAT-TASTIC HALLOWEEN 2020!!!

AIRSHIP 27 PODCAST (OCT '20): READY FOR LIFTOFF!!!

Get set for Airship 27's October/Halloween podcast, piloted by our faithful hosts, good ol' Captain Ron Fortier and Chief Engineer Rob Davis.

For this chapter, Ron and Rob discuss Robert Ricci's "Jenna Coyne Mysteries, Vol 1", which contains two, crafty stories in the Hildegarde Withers and Nancy Drew tradition; Wayne Carey's sizzling, espionage thriller, "Executive Gambit"; the highly anticipated "Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, Vol 16"; R.A. Jones' clever crossover, "Alice in Neverland"; and the ever progressing "Bass Reeves, Vol 4" and "Mark Justice's Dead Sheriff, Vol 4" (two soon-to-be released westerns that are certain to leave every cowpoke, as well as any city slicker, happy as a lark from their adventurous content). 

The fellows also make their plea for more artists and proofreaders to join the Airship 27 team (so please do consider participating if you're skilled in either or both areas). And of course, this episode commences and concludes with a "bad" belly-bustin' joke: Neato!

Dial in at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsWanCnV9PI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1y4Tq43IGnX4YybpU1U1-fLIA9SgNec92Ro-Uz2rJEFO3B3sMo-eteeL4

Saturday, October 24, 2020

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP: HYPERWUMP (MODWUMP MEETS HYPERCUBE) COSMIC SWIRLY THANG

What happens when Modwump (Craig Manga) teams with Hypercube (Rodrigo Passannati)? A "post ambient trauma" rises in the guise of Hyperwump, and from that merger Cosmic Swirly Thang springs (courtesy of Black Box Recordings and Band Camp). 

And man, oh man, is Cosmic Swirly Thang ever one helluva killer LP: so sweetly nightmarish that it'll have one writhing in its many dark avenues, as it sounds on one level fierce and on another, plain damn clammy.

The title track does, in fact, define it. It's certainly swirly, but also big, banging, crude yet all so smooth in its pop-ulating groove. It references a battered brain or cut gut, but in either form, inciting no regrets: a bodacious blend that hurts so bad, it's goddamn good.

Its (arguable) spiritual companion piece, "Quantum Pop Hit" and its "Ian Haygreen RMX" counterpart are as provocative, and though I can't pretend to know what what they mean, I'll sure say this: They friggin rock, albeit in taunting, torturous ways.

In fact, they not only torture and taunt, their calamitous climate grows creepier as they roll, simulating the far-out noises of Frankenstein's lab, with snappy sparks and trippy gears, though I suppose their ingredients could just as well be ascending from the blood-slurping corridors of Dracula's castle. In either way we get a macabre duo that covers the dark, iconic bases: the LP's evident intent.

Other sounds are more alien. In the case of "Cosmic Peel" and its chilly "Station Zero RMX" sequel, one gets the impression of a monstrous takeover, their percussion inspiring visions of marching War Machines and blasting Heat-Rays. To accompany their beat, "Unidentified Sonic Object" sculpts an extra-terrestrial beast flopping from a crusty cylinder, ready to exterminate; and its "Humberto Alvarez RMX" multiplies the militant Martians a hundredfold. "Thora X", on the other hand, details a ferocious, faraway landscape upon which humans haphazardly land: a slimy, dangerous variant of what Mario Bava or Ridley Scott would paint. 

If the latter tracks are, in fact, alien-based, then there are others that reflect science fiction of a different kind. "Betamax Killed the Videostar" presents a melody for  high-tech transference (cool, old-school, "Alphaville" stuff for sure). "Gas Addicts" and its "FLVZ RMX" constitute "Betamax'"s cathartic aftermath, with computerized explosions that might usher Logan and Jessica into their long, fateful run; while "Metal Submarine Music" and its "Liam Boyle Fucked Up RMX" are unabashed Jules Verne/Captain Nemo-fueled: judgmental dictations to set a wayward world right. Oh, and the groovy, "Cosmic Swirly Thang's gIRL RMX" by Dan Svrc is a Cherry 2000 rendezvous turned tight: switched on, that is for hard, surreal delight. 

Two, additional tracks prove more so amorphous (and because of their singularity, perhaps smack of the title track). For example, "Roswell Fantasy Chennel"--and its "Seigfried Grundmann RMX", "Frankie Machina RMX" and "Henri Sizaret AkA Auto Reverese" trilogy--could be backdrops for a series of exotic, profane executions; whereas "Fat Ugly Boy Cuts a Rug" and Ian Cahill's rowdy "Comfort Within Noise RMX" spit of sadistic self-sacrifice: people hurting themselves or even others for the sheer, sick sake of it. In any case, we still get prime-choice examples of terror, even if they're much more open-ended in scope. 

If Cosmic Swirly Thang is any indication of what Manga and Passannanti can stir, I'd sure feel gypped if they didn't sequelize, but for now, I'm just pleased to ruminate the rude compilation that stands--and so should you!

Swirl that Hypercube thang at 

https://blackboxrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-swirly-thang?fbclid=IwAR33q8N1WFQBTUsghrCZkLnYgulAllCcTkM43Bcc2v6wd6JZBlDUlTVQTCA

Thursday, October 22, 2020

WHAT EVER! #4: A SUPER-DUPER CARTOON/ANIMATION SPECIAL!!!

Main Enterprises' What Ever! #4 (Dec '20) is a treat and a half for animation aficionados, consisting of 60 pages of fetching facts and tasty tidbits on select, cartoon classics. 

Among the ingredients, one will find four, informative articles by Will Murray on Gertie the Dinosaur, Mighty Mouse, Crusader Rabbit and Tom Terrific. Buck Oviatt dissects Fleischer Studios' animated masterpiece, "Gulliver's Travels", based on Jonathan Swift's allegorical adventures; while Mike Maloney pays special tribute to one of the most popular, children series of the '60s, "The King Kong Show". Last but not least, yours truly ballyhoos Frank Frazetta/Ralph Bakshi's sword-and-sorcery epic, "Fire and Ice".

In addition to these edifying installments, Jim Main shares a heartfelt memorial for artist, Richard Williams, and insightful reviews follow on assorted, indie comics.

To add further panache to the issue, there's exquisite artwork by John Lambert, Kel Crum and Anthony C. Gray, along with many crisp, photo reproductions. To boot, Marc Haines' colorful, front-cover design is a magnetizing splash, and Bob Sodaro's interior layout makes everything gel with adroit flair and aesthetic ingenuity. 

On every level, What Ever! #4 is an essential volume for anyone with a passion for endearing characters, enduring animation and ideal, illustrated fancies. 

Hard copies of Issue #4 (including postage) are $10 each (for U.S. mailing only). Send checks to Jim Main: PO Box 93, New Milford, CT 06776. For a $2 PDF, contact Mr. Main at mainjim23@gmail.com for details. Without question, you'll be pleased with whichever purchase you make.  

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

FAREWELL, AMAZING RANDI...

You provided escapism via "magic" and in the Houdini vein debunked those who claimed they did more than entertain. 

For years, your aura was felt on stage (including a sinister stint with Alice Cooper) and various television shows, drawing the evident praise and disdain that follows the controversial and sincere.

To me, you were the proverbial stand-up guy: a man to trust and guide. Thank you, Amazing James Randi, for clearing the air. There are few who tell the truth, and you did an excellent job exposing those who dared not. 

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

AIRKTOO THE DARKAR'S (TWO) DAYS IN MANILA

Under the alternate name, Airktoo the darkar, Adarkah Ianqu carves a new, allegorical journey, (two) days in manila

The album presents danger and mystery, addiction and exoticism: not mainstream by any stretch, unless one's mainstream is based on ambivalent whimsy. 

The journey kicks off with "last train from Athens": a symbolic start where one embarks on a new life and a new fix for fulfillment. The track's notes are swooshing and sweet, but beneath, Airktoo's sardonic, pessimism seeps.

One exits the train and wanders toward an "opium den", its melody tangling one's cerebral threads. Of course, opium is a grand deceiver, and in its lure, danger isn't blunted. It grows instead. 


This harsh revelation leaves one crushed, as one suffers the coarse consequences that a "humiliation of the Mondays" can bring. One's woe whirls of aimless confusion with no viable end.


Unhinged, one searches again for that calm exoticism, and to "the nu Negress" one lands, begging for love and empathy, but her reply is sharp with betrayal. One may as well have fallen into the lap of a demon, for all that her seductive song signals.  

As one slips from her mortifying grasp, "opium den {secret lake beings}" penetrates. Its chords cut deeper than those before. Within it, a splurge of sirens splash, but their warning springs too late.

One must now "lay down" the two-day quest, for in Manila all things come full circle. To win is to lose, and to lose is to win, and so is the journey of life's double-edged sword.

Experience Airktoo the darkar's dual exploration at 

https://adarcahianku.bandcamp.com/album/two-days-in-manila?fbclid=IwAR2ZzydqF3CnfYpjBUwBZpA-ySUmlCKZvmXOr-UTxqKy8goQwXnH74i5WLE

Sunday, October 18, 2020

TCM'S PETER CUSHING ICON-A-THON

Peter Cushing is TCM's star of the month, and Oct 20 (Tues) marks a marathon of five of his best chillers. 

The set includes "The Revenge of Frankenstein", "The Gorgon", "Horror Express", "The House That Dripped Blood" and "Island of Terror".

Cushing is one of the most admired, fantastic-film actors of all time. I'm glad that TCM has decided to toss the spotlight on him, particularly during the month of Halloween.

Join the macabre, TCM cheer with Mr. Cushing, not just on the 20th, but throughout the rest of the month. 

TCM--where classic movies and Peter Cushing reign supreme!!!