WISE WORDS:

 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: ELVIS & THE DUKE

 

SO LONG, NEIL SEDAKA

You were an icon of the late 1950s, who plowed through the 1960s to become an icon of the 1970s and thereafter, an emblematic singer/songwriter for all time.  

Your tunes were always catchy and memorable, identifiable and touching: "Laughter in the Rain," "Calendar Girl," "Oh! Carol," "Bad Blood," "Next Door to an Angel," "Happy Birthday Sweet 16," "Stupid Cupid," "La terza luna (Waiting for Never)," "Solitaire" ... and "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" (both versions: one fast, one slow, and each a hit). And let's not forget your collaborations with Howard Greenfield, "Love Will Keep Us Together," which became the big, breakout tune for Captain and Tennille, and the theme for "Where the Boys Are," sung by the incomparable Connie Francis, as well as your sentimental team-up with Carole Bayer, "When Love Comes Knockin' at Your Door," composed for the Monkees. For the record (pun intended), your excellent, piano playing really enlivened good ol' Bobby Darin's pop classic, "Dream Lover." 

You gave us nostalgia, joy and memories to last many lifetimes over and then some, Mr. Sedaka. You were also one of those genuine, down-to-earth guys, which is all part of your humble legend ... a legend that has come to define and uplift so many of us, and for that, how can we not be grateful? 

WISE WORDS:

 

WISE WORDS:

CODEX OF PLEASURE AND PAIN: TALES & MUSIC INSPIRED BY CLIVE BAKER'S HELLRAISER

Raffaele Pezzella's Eighth Tower Publications is about to unleash another Dark Fiction, literary curation, along with an audio counterpart. One is called Codex of Pleasure and Pain: Stories Inspired by Clive Barker's Hellraiser and the other, Codex of Pleasure and Pain: A Sonic Tribute to Clive Barker's Hellraiser. 

The literary volume's in-the-style-of fables are delivered by Eighth Tower's trusty, in-house crew: Chris McCauley (also the anthology's editor), Edwin J. Buja, Michael F. Housel, Nora Peevy, Paolo L. Bandera, RDJ Armstrong, Scott J. Couturier and Simon Bleaken.

Each tale taps an element of Barker's Cenobite eroticism, pushing the boundaries of sanity, while grazing sensuality. There's no question that Barker fans will be tantalized by the inspired results. 

The audio tribute will stimulate in the same impressive manner, rendered by some of the most expressive artists in the business. Their contents are featured below, with the artists listed on the left and their tracks on the right: 

1) SELENI ... Beyond the Veil of Torment

2) Sonologyst + vAaristyma ... Echoes of Ecstatic Pain

3) Phillipe Blanche ... Relevatory Signs from the Underworld

4) Grey Frequency ... Demons to Some, Angels to Others 

5) 400 Lonely Things ... A Score to Settle (For Stephen Thrower)

6) Paolo L. Bandera ... Voce Cenobita Incandescente

7) phoanogramma ... seduction of pain

8) Kokum ... My voice fades away in the mystery cube

9) Mario Lino Stancati ... Circus of Pleasure and Pain

10) Nerthus ... Sweet Flesh

11) vAaristyma ... Lord of Labyrinths 

The Codex of Pleasure and Pain book and sonic salute can be preordered at 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/codex-of-and-to-140259062?utm_campaign=patron_engagement&utm_source=post_link&post_id=140259062&utm_id=f330e0ef-659c-483e-a8a9-93ad39b06fbe&utm_medium=email

Keep in mind: The Codex combo holds a demonic draw that would put any Lament Configuration to shame. You've been warned!

WISE WORDS:

MR. LOBO HOSTS THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE ON TWITCH!

 

Mr. Lobo is hosting a special presentation of The Brain That Wouldn't Die on Twitch this Saturday (September 14th), with the preshow commencing at 10pm and the main feature at 11pm. As his Cinsomniacs darn well know, The Brain That Wouldn't Die is an important one in Mr. Lobo's imagi-queue. It's also a strong seller in Alpha DVD's popular Cinema Insomnia series (as shown above, per Alan Landron's sensational, case-insert artwork). 

Directed by Joseph Green and co-scripted by Green and producer Rex Carlton, Brain deserves its "misunderstood" status, though it's misunderstood primarily by snobs and not its adoring, macabre-cinema connoisseurs. Brain is, in truth, a masterpiece of impetuous experimentation, known for its sentimental depiction of keeping a severed head alive (and moreover, cognitive), but also for its sexploitation and splatter components. 

The movie stars Jason (Herb) Evers as Dr. Bill Cortner and Virginia (On the Threshold of Space) Leith as Jan Compton, aka "Jan in the Pan," as fans have come to coin her. After a horrific, auto accident, the doc grabs Jan's head and well, it's not hard to figure out the rest. Also, to increase the weirdness, there's a creepy colossus kept in a closet, portrayed by Eddie "The Happy Giant" Carmel. (In addition, Playmate Marilyn Hanold, of Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster and In Like Flint, appears along the way, among other curvaceous cuties, including smokin'-hot model, Adele Lamont.) Rank this one up there with such eye-catching, freakish delights as The Head, The Frozen Dead and Re-Animator.

Mr. Lobo's quirky charisma seals the deal for this one; so be sure to dial up Twitch to experience all the scary shenanigans. (BTW: A number of behind-the-scenes segments will be conducted during the presentation.) Mr. Lobo (and gorgeous Jan in the Pan) will be waiting. 

PIN-UP (TEAM-UP) TIME: THE COLLINSON TWINS (MARY & MADELEINE)

 

TRENTON PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET & TATTOO EXPO/ROCK OF AGES (SEPT '23):

 

PIN-UP TIME: SOPHIA LOREN

 

WISE WORDS:

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FREDDY, FROM UNCLE MIKE (IT'S ALL RIGHT, iT'S OKAY)

 

PIN-UP TIME: JOLENE BLALOCK IS T'POL

 

WISE WORDS:

An Alternate Reality: I saw No Way Home...

When I was a kid, I didn't understand why Darrin Stevens asked his wife, Samantha, not to twitch her nose and use witchcraft to solve their conundrums. As I got older (more experienced to the ways of the world), I came to understand Darrin's noble plea: Working to achieve an outcome (i.e. earning it) is much more fulfilling (not to mention bewitching--tee hee) than taking the easy way out, especially when it comes to character building.

This philosophy prevails throughout Peter Parker/Spider-man's lineage. Steve Ditko introduced it in the early '60s, and it continues to pigment Spidey lore, for on every amazing level, Spider-man: No Way Home epitomizes the dignified point.

Some claim that No Way Home is the final chapter in the Tom Holland "home" (work-hard-for-one's-goals) trilogy and that a series of Sinister Six flicks will follow, in addition to Holland stand-alones that might feature Venom, Carnage, the Vulture and Morbius. Who the hell knows? It's the story at hand that counts, and because of its diligent gist (which connects to such current Marvel/Disney Multiverse fare as WandaVision and Loki), it's an extraordinary one that should resonate with all fans who take pride in getting off their duffs. 

In this cinematic fable, director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Jon Sommers unroll an astounding, Twilight Zone-ish obstacle for Parker, thanks to J.K. Simmons' J. Jonah Jameson exposing Spidey's true identity through some startling Jake Gyllenhaal/Mysterio footage. In desperation, Parker enlists Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange to fix the situation through a swift spell which only makes matters worse, though this proves a melodramatic blessing, with old and new Spidey personas joining the aforementioned trio: Zendaya as M.J.; Marisa Tomei as Aunt May; Jacob Batalion as Ned Leeds; Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson; Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan; Benedict Wong as Wong; Jamie Foxx as Electro; Alfred Molina as Doc Ock; Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin; Thomas Haden as the Sandman; and Rhys Ifans as the Lizard. (Now, what of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, you ask, as well as some of the other reputed icons who were to be in this one? Ah, shucks, do ya really want me to spoil what may or may not be? That would, after all, be taking the easy way out. Dig? All the same, I don't think one will come away too disappointed.)

Even with its anticipated, special appearances, this Multiverse mishmash doesn't cover every speck of every possibility, but it's still fulfilling for all of its clever intent, heaping great danger, exasperation and responsibility upon Holland's shoulders. That means our Avengers-based Spidey must squash a number of "Monkey's Paw" consequences to reverse the mad process (a motif that Wonder Woman 1984 also asserts), weaving his way in and out of the messes that follow, thus creating an edge-of-the-seat, lesson-based maelstrom, sprinkled with sweet, sensible sacrifice and whenever required, more than a little help from his industrious friends.  

The script's underbelly is, therefore, pure Ditko (and in the best possible Parker/Strange classic-rooted manner), allowing No Way Home to capture the artist/storyteller's moral compass with awe-inspiring precision. No doubt Ditko is looking down upon this one with great gratitude and no doubt the same can be said of good ol' Stan Lee.  

The bum-ish and spineless won't appreciate this chapter since it goes against their let-me-tap-you-with-my-wee-wand, Potter-fied grain, but for those who understand what makes Parker (as well as Marvel's Multiverse on the whole) swing, this one's a web-slinging godsend and could end up the biggest Spidey blockbuster yet. No Way Home deserves that much. I mean, shoot, it's earned it.