text:
Modern Eco Straw Bale House With Spectacular Sea Views, near St Ives & Penzance
- House
- People: 8
- Bedrooms: 4
- Bathrooms: 2
- Min. Stay: 7 nights
Straw Bale Eco-House, Nr Penzance & St Ives, Cornwall, England - Peaceful Location, Great For Families Or Quiet Escape
Luke New
- Languages:
- English
About Luke New
Trygga is owned by Luke New and Shelley Claxton with their sons Jai (20), Huck and Woody (15). We bought the derelict property in 2001, and lived in a caravan in the field while we built the house. Our twins Huck and Woody were born in the caravan. For most of the year Trygga is our family home. Since 2004 we have rented out during the summer holidays, and occasionally at Easter and half terms. We move into a caravan at our favourite beach Gwynver, near Sennen. We have lots of local knowledge about beaches, surfing, horse riding, rock pooling and local music, art, film and theatre and are always happy to help you book activities in advance for you should you wish us to. If you are interested in horse activities, Shelley runs her business Cornwall Swimming Horses, offering amazing swimming with horses in Mounts Bay, carriage driving, moonlit rides on the beach, and more. You can find details online at the website www.cornwallswimminghorses.co.uk, or on Facebook. It's our home, so it's really important to us that you enjoy it as much as we do. Please feel free to get in touch if you would like more details, or a chat about the house and local area.
- Internet
- Fireplace
- Children Welcome
- Parking
- Heater
- 2 Bathrooms
House Rules
Cancellation Policy
100% refund for cancellations more than 14 days before check-in date. 50% refund for cancellations more than 7 days before check-in date.
3 Reviews
Warm and comfortable home in a beautiful area
We've had a great holiday (2 adults, 4 boys). The house had everything we needed and was very homely. Loads of space for all of us inside, and so much in the area to do. Weather was of course hit and miss but stil plenty to occupy us all. Thanks Shelly and Luke
Stunning property
We had a lovely weeks' stay in this very large, very comfortable & quirky property. The owners are helpful & friendly and the location is fantastic. There are distant views to St Michael's Mount & great walks along the valley with lots of wildlife just on the doorstep. The location is secluded but within easy access the main A roads & within a few minutes drive to Penzance or St Ives. A brilliant base for exploring & a great house for chilling out & relaxing, we would definitely go again.
Fabulous house in great location
Our group of three adults and five kids aged 9-12 absolutely loved our holiday here. The house and garden/field outside have been brilliantly designed for comfortable, laid back living - and it feels like a proper home rather than a holiday let. The house is spacious and airy, with a well-equipped kitchen area, large squashy sofas and deep window seats looking out over fields to St Michael's Mount, with four nice bedrooms (no one felt they got a bum deal!) and an area with TV/playstation upstairs. It was difficult to drag the kids away from the field behind the house - BMX track (we took bikes), table tennis in the 'clubhouse' and a huge trampoline - but they loved skinny dipping in the wooded stream at the bottom of the nearby valley, body boarding in Sennen Cove and Porthcurno, catching crabs (and a large fish) in the rock pools of Mousehole and watching a show at the stunning Minack Theatre... It was very hard to leave, especially as the weather was superb; we wished we'd booked for two weeks instead of the one. The description in the website is accurate and although the photos look good, they don't do the place justice! The house was extremely clean and well maintained. Thanks very much Shelly - we had a wonderful time. Would I recommend this house to friends? I already have!
Trygga is situated in a beautiful rural hamlet midway between the North and South Cornish coast. Even though it feels private and secluded, it is only 5 mins drive from beautiful beaches in both directions, and 2 minutes drive from the A30 making it easily accessible. The stunning town of St Ives with its beaches, surf, art galleries ( including The Tate), great restaurants and a local fishing industry is 10 mins by car. At a similar distance to the South you will find Penzance, a much more down to earth town with supermarkets, garages, stores and a quaint town centre with lots of cafes and restaurants. Then there is the scenic Sennen beach 20 mins drive, one of the UK's best surfing spots, and on the coastal path to Lands End or Cape Cornwall. On the south coast, Porthcurno, Praa sands and Porthleven are close.
We are situated in a surfers paradise!! Whichever size of swell, direction of wind, state of tide there is somewhere to go and surf. We surf as a family, with Huck and Woody our 14 year old twins highly active on the British competition circuit, and have lots of local knowledge to help you find the best beach. If you are experienced we can point you in the direction of the best surf, if you are a beginner we regularly surf with 2 great local surf schools Global Boarders and Sennen Surf Centre, who offer lessons at local beaches. Just let us know if you want any advice on booking.
If you are interested in getting involved in Horse activities during your stay, Shel runs the local Cornwall Swimming Horses. Here you can swim with horses in the sea in-front of St Michael's Mount, ride on the beach, take a moonlit ride in the bay, drive a carriage, or just go on a country ride to the local pub. You can see all the activities on offer and dates on the website, www.cornwallswimminghorses.co.uk.
The local area offers a large variety of other holiday activities, including stunning coastal walks, the house itself is on the Pilgrims path to St Michaels Mt. There are well know bird watching areas in Marazion and the Hayle estuary. The south and north coasts offer a variety of other water based activities including windsurfing, fishing trips, kite surfing, and wildlife boat trips. Or you could choose to just relax in the sun on a local beach or on the sheltered patio of the house!
There is a huge choice of places to eat when you come to stay. The area around Penzance recently got voted as a 'culinary centre of England', boasting a large selection of restaurants, cafes and pub food. In town you can go to The Turks Head for great pub food, in Newlyn Mackerel Sky serves great seafood, Ben's Cornish Kitchen in Marazion has been getting amazing reviews, and The Victoria in Perranuthnoe is lovely. There are also great restaurants in St Ives, The Rum and Crab Shack is currently our favourite.
15 minutes drive from the house is Newlyn fishing village where you will find the Newlyn Filmhouse (www.newlynfilmhouse.com) which serves great food, has a bar and screens big current films as well as a more 'arty' selection. The Tate Gallery in St Ives is a 10 minute drive from the house offering regular World class exhibitions and also activities for families and children.
St Michaels Mount is voted every year as one of the top 5 attractions in the country. Situated in the bay in front of Penzance town, you can get a boat out to this National Trust attraction or at low tide walk across the causeway, just don't get caught by the incoming tide!!
Both Penzance and St Ives have leisure centres with swimming pools and gyms. The Eden Project is a 45 min drive away. The amazing newly opened Tremenheere sculpture gardens and art gallery are 4mins away where you can get a great cream tea and walk around the gardens..
Family fun:
The Wildlife Trust run regular Rock Pool Rambles on the promenade in Penzance, a great experience that our own children have done for years. Along the prom we also have the oldest Lido in England, Jubilee Pool which has been recently refurbished and offers a great open air swimming pool experience.
On rainy days there is the local Paradise Park in Hayle, where you can feed the penguins and then go down the demon drops in the indoor play barn. There is also Mt Hawke SK8 park housing the UK's largest vertical half pipe only 30 mins drive away for those so inclined. Or, for those preferring a days shopping there is a local M&S, quaint local shops in St Ives or the beautiful cathedral town of Truro 40 mins drive away with a bustling town centre.
Or you can just hang out at home and bounce on the trampoline!
The use of a car is advised, car hire is available near the Penzance train station. We have a good bus service from the bottom of the hill (15min walk) to take you to Penzance, St Ives or Truro.
If you would like any more information please feel free to get in touch.


text:
. ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? nicki minaj naked latest pics
Rosalinda they discussed how to carry out their master's orders, though like Gen Rosalinda wasn't too happy sxxx fak https://gdsshop.ru
naked sex immages of all telugu stars Snickering in the gossiping shadows of the people he knew was prevalent. black big double fuck
But I do she simpered, looking up at the bloodied brute standing over her. turkmen uzbek porno anybuuny com
barazzal porn sex com She moaned as she wrapped her lips around his shaft, sucking on it hard. big ass pussy in mini skirt poke mon sex comic
I told her about my childhood before we met, and learned a lot about her. big ass pussy in mini skirt
You cannot defeat us. poke mon sex comic https://sunshine-island.ru
turkmen uzbek porno anybuuny com This time, the sucking pulled his entire length into her mouth and down her throat.
Don't get any ideas.
sxxx fak Her increasing moans, her begging and how even during sex she looked radiant and beautiful had my balls boiling in only a few hardcore thrusts. ????? ??? ??? ????? ????
She is lying on her side, wearing a see-through negligee, and fishnet stalkings. sxe comaxxx
Quickly, Isaac's flaccid dick returned to its former glory, standing tall once again. zapad-krim.ru/
malini awashthi porn xxx picture Susan listened, letting the girl talk and get it out of her system.
shemal sex hot picked up the pendant in her fingers.
black girls teens sex OK dad, so what's a bitch? ďîđíî ôîňî çđĺëűő
A long time ago I explained about Joan and how she fit into my life. www defloin pornhd videos
He closed the drawer and came back over. https://zodchiy-nk.ru/
tmntporn Ladies, we are going to see how Skye does against live batting. barazzal porn sex com
big black american girls xxx Body and soul? He's your master, is that what you're telling me? bokepmi thai office
SEE it again. japanis rep xxx full hd download
. pilm porno sex main dlm toiletlincauknab
He looked down at himself surprised and looked over to Renna who had turned her attention back to him. avtobusa-zakaz.ru
xxxvideod Now you think you can just walk right in and expect us to nuzzle your hand like obedient pets?
www lesbianxxxvidoe com Alatem's heart was beating faster, sleep saree wali bhabhi ki chut ??? ???? ????
That pain was worse than what I had endured for nearly an hour. ??? ???? ???? sleep saree wali bhabhi ki chut
1.Video One
2.3 Rat
3.Large Porn Tube
4.Reality Home Made
5.7 Dog
6.Real Porn Tube
7.Home Private Vids
8.9 Taxi
9.Hardest Thumbs
10.Lewd Club
Recent top sexy pornstars:
Recent xxx porn searches:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Right On!
I love to find and support Canadian companies that are just ...
by susan fairbairn
Re: Your order has been delivered!
Thank you. very impressed with customer service, speedy serv...
by Debbie
Order was received promptly
My order was received promptly and in good condition. Thank...
by Shirley
Tomtom GPS battery
My product. Arrived on time, an it works perfectly.
by Aubrey Blythe
Re: Your order has been Shipped!
Thanks, The Battery arrived, it only took 2 days not the...
by Steve Thomson
Black Battery for Asus Eee Pc 701, Eee Pc 701c, Eee Pc 800 7.4V, 10400mAh - 76.96Wh
Our batteries will w...
Gen4 Noco Genius waterproof 4 bank charger for 12V AGM, Gel and Wet cell Lead Acid batteries
The GEN4 on-board ba...
Battery for Samsung GT-I1819, SM-G730, SM-G730A 3.8V, 2100mAh - 7.98Wh
Our batteries from C...
Battery for Nachi Bat-01 , Sh 166-01-aw11-50 3.6V, 2500 mAh - 9Wh
The battery shown wi...
Battery for Lenovo S930, S938T, S939 3.7V, 2300mAh - 8.51Wh
Look no further than...
Your Wish List is empty.


text:
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52801975083689080202019-06-18T01:43:19.759+10:00CardrossManiac2MuTanT Culture DEATH Lives!Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-79618507799856335452019-06-12T17:54:00.000+10:002019-06-18T01:43:19.684+10:00More On Movies - June

The Shallows (2016)
Blake Lively V Shark. What more could you ask for? Forget the script and just get into the battle between woman and shark. Good little bit of entertaining, edge of your seat action fun to pass 90 minutes of your time.

Jaws 2 (1978)
Many horror enthusiast say 'Oh Jaws 2 is much more fun and less boring that the original'. That's not true though is it? They make two hours feel like three! Having not seen this since I was little, I was expecting a zippy little action packed 'When Animals Attack' movie. What did I get? Roy Scheider pondering and pensive with no particular reason or suspense for what seemed like at least half of this movie. When the cameras finally made it to the sea with the shark it was very entertaining. Forty Five minutes of fat could have been trimmed off this film to make it more watchable. Totally disappointing. The VHS nerds get it wrong once again. Let's face it most Sequels suck.

The House Of Whipcord (1970)
This is the sort of thing I remember horror was when I was little. Grim Old scary people in dilapidated mansions who were scary and doing strange things. A beautiful young French model who had previously been arrested for public nudity is lured to a country mansion by her new enigmatic boyfriend. It turns out to be some kind of renegade prison for permissive ladies though. This is some disturbing shit right here as many transgressive shenanigans take place. Is it just me or are there Nazi vibes happening here? House of Whipcord is put together with finesse and sophistication for such a low budget exploitation flick. I highly recommend.

Friday The 13th (1980)
This is a tight lil slasher that does exactly what it says on the tin. A summer camp at Crystal Lake is re-opening after tragedy closed the camp down 20 years earlier. The camp counsellors arrive to make the camp ready for its reopening. Yet they have been forewarned by the town's nutbar (Walt Gorney) that they are all doomed and he is not wrong as the gory bodycount soon begins. Everything is right on here including the pacing, the tone, the characters, the kills and the funny 80s gore FX to place it into the top echelon of this reviled sub-genre. How frightening is Mrs Voorhees (Betsy Palmer)?

Schizo (1976)
Another fine Pete Walker directed horror movie (House Of Whipcord (1970), Frightmare (1974), House Of Mortal Sin (1978)). Schizo is a proto-slasher-thriller with a score from the fabulous Stanley Myers. This was when horror was more about adults than teens which makes it so refreshing in 2019. Set amongst the mid 70s posh London set where a beautiful young figure skater Samantha (Lynne Frederick) is stalked by a creepy old man (Jack Watson). A body count begins as we wonder if Samantha is being gaslit. Why is Pete Walker not a massive legend amongst exploitation, cult and horror movie fans? He's made at least four classic movies and probably should be as rated as someone like the fabulous Jack Hill.

Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981)
Quite possibly more entertaining than the first instalment. Along with Aliens perhaps this is the exception to the sequel rule. Part 2 has a similar premise to the original, a bunch of camp counsellors are setting up a camp next door to the old crystal Lake site where Part 1 took place 5 years earlier. Bloody mayhem ensues and the new camp never really gets off the ground as Mrs Voorhees' son Jason is on the loose with murder on his mind. Look out for the spectacular wheelchair death scene. There are many unanswered questions though. What happened to Ted (Stuart Charno) the nerdy drunk guy who stays at the bar? or Terri (Kirsten Baker) the skinny dipping chick? & most importantly why did Vickie (Lauren-Marie Taylor) choose those gross brown undies as her best sexy time knickers? The soundtrack from Harry Manfredini really adds to the outstanding final battle between Jason and the final girl Ginny (Amy Steele). Is this the second best final girl scene ever after The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)?

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The most notorious film made during my lifetime. Is this the most terrifying movie ever made? I really am starting to think that might be the case even though it's also a little bit funny. Just the sound of this film puts me on an edge that is too much for a human to bare. Strangely enough there is very little gore or violence onscreen, most of it is implied. So it's no mean feat that Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most horrifying movies in the history of film. Brother and sister Sally and Franklin Hardesty set out on a road trip in a Kombi van with their friends Jerry, Kirk and Pam to see if their grandfather's grave has been robbed. They pick up a disturbed hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) then quickly turf him from the van after some abhorrent behaviour. Things start to get more weird when they turn up at a gas station that has no petrol, then weirder still as they approach the farm house. The slaughter soon begins. Do movie critics ever discuss the cinematography because it's stunning and sometimes quite beautiful. Marilyn Burns should have won the Oscar for her outstanding and gut wrenching performance as Sally the final girl. That final Iconic scene of Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) flailing around maniacally with the chainsaw above his head in the sunset is so memorable, it's embedded into to my brain forever.

*Gunnar Hansen wrote a good book about the making of and continuing legacy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre called Chain Saw Confidential (2013) which I recommend if you're a fan of the movie.

Silent Rage (1982)
In recent years I may have been converted to diggin me some Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson but fuck me here's is where I draw the line - Chuck Norris. I think I watched over half of this movie and then thought 'Wait a minute, why am I watching this shite. This is the worst.'

Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971)
I reckon I've watched this around twenty times in the last ten years. It has quite possibly become my favourite film of all time. Jessica has recently been discharged from a mental hospital so her and her husband decide to make a new beginning outside of New York by purchasing an old house in the bucolic countryside of Connecticut. Their new provincial town and back country are full of strange, unkind, creepy and possibly monstrous people. The rural idyll gradually begins to close in on Jessica in a sinister and nightmarish manner. She starts to question her mental stability and becomes unhinged or does she? The ambiguousness of whether or not the the locals are ghosts, demons or vampires or whatever doesn't matter if it's all in Jessica's head does it? This film is so atmospheric, eerie and compelling despite what detractors might say. The acting of Zohra Lampert who plays Jessica is phenomenal. I have very personal reasons for being so touched by this film. Lampert's depiction of someone having been through a breakdown and still experiencing all the alienation, paranoia, phobia, delusions and mania of mental illness is so incredibly nuanced, I cannot believe it's actually acting and not real. Zohrah Lambert's performance has to be one of the greatest performances of mental instability ever captured on celluloid.

Mad Max Fury Road (2015)
...er...I dunno...just don't think I was in the right frame of mind for this or it might just be complete and utter shite. I'll reserve my judgement until I've watched it again, which could be a while...like twenty years maybe.

Repulsion (1965)
More mental illness wonderfully portrayed on film. This time by the fabulous Cathy Deneuve. Carol Ledoux (Deneuve) is a young Belgian woman living in 60s London just before psychedelia happened. Carol is depressed, detached and forlorn. She has trouble dealing with everyday things like work, paying the rent, interest from men etc. She becomes unhinged, agoraphobic, starts hallucinating and it all becomes quite grim. Repulsion is another Roman Polanski gem that gets better each time I watch it.

*I love movies shot in London by foreign directors like Blow Up (1966), Deadly Sweet (1967) Deep End (1970), What Have You Done To Solange? (1972) etc. in the same way I enjoy films shot in Australia by non-Australian directors like They're a Weird Mob (1966), Wake In Fright (1971), Walkabout (1971) et al. You get an outsiders skewed but honest point of view of certain national characteristics that might be too close to the bone for an actual citizen to depict on celluloid.

Hellraiser (1987)
It's been a very long time since my eyeballs have been set on this movie so I was not expecting this to hold up in any way in 2019 but Hellraiser's a really enjoyable and unique movie. A weird sort of modern day gory S&M vampire/monster romance kinda thing (aren't they all?). This quintessential 80s occult classic includes a puzzlebox, hell, creatures called cenobites, a resurrection, a haunted house, different dimensions etc. 'Come To Daddy.'

The Thing (1982)
I've been thinking for a few years now 'Why is everyone so keen on The Thing these days? Wasn't that the world's most boring film?' So I finally braced myself to watch it again after over 25 years but I must have had John Carpenter's 1982 masterpiece confused with 1951's The Thing From Another World or something else entirely. Sci-fi-Action-Psychological-Horror doesn't get much better than The Thing. A bunch of American research scientists in Antarctica have their lives turned upside down when someone from the neighbouring Norwegian research station mysteriously shows up in a helicopter trying to shoot a runaway dog. It turns out an imitative alien virus is lurking in the icy wilderness making everybody in the camp nervous and vulnerable. Conditions then become very unsettling and tense for the rest of the movie. This film has aged like fine wine. I now totally understand why so many film buffs are obsessed with The Thing. The special FX, action, ensemble cast and cinematography are sensational as is the minimal Morricone does Carpenter score. I keep being surprised at how gross and gory 80s movies were. They seem more extreme now than they did back in the day. Were MacReady (Kurt Russell) or Childs (Keith David) The Thing and does it even matter?

Friday The 13th Part III (1982)
It's probably not as good as the first two instalments but it's still more fun than a Tarkovsky film innit? The opening tune is Friday The 13th goes electro which is is outfuckingstanding. Starts out very dodgy, quite funny and takes it's time to get to the usual maniacal killing spree from Jason. This time we don't have camp counsellors. Instead we get a motley bunch of friends going to a holiday house for the weekend. Harold (Steve Susskind) from the Crystal Lake store is one of the grossest characters in 80s film. He eats fish food and is later filmed sitting on a toilet drinking while doing number 2s or what can only be described as plops (The Hysteria Continues Podcast attest to this as well). Why this scene is included I dunno. Some highlights include a nasty biker gang wearing crazy 80s fashions, a mental eye-popping kill and a pot smoking hippy couple who seem way to old to be hanging out with these doomed holidaying youngsters. Part III is probably not as gory as the previous two entries and it was made for 3D, making many of the scenes redundant for my normal telly. Still if you like the first two you'll probably enjoy this.

The Perfection (2019)
A very entertaining and inventive modern 'Horror Movie right there on my TV.' The Mrs thought it was gonna be a bit like The Black Swan (2010). I thought it was going to be a virus outbreak movie. It turned out to be much much more. The Perfection was unpredictable, didn't miss a beat and ended in a place I was totally not expecting. If only directors and producers would take note that 90 minutes is the perfect movie length. Best thriller/horror of 2019?

Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-34788981662392189692019-06-08T00:53:00.002+10:002019-06-08T13:12:17.519+10:00Too Low For .215061

Listening to AFX's Analogue Bubblebath Volume 3 the other day and the first track .215061 had me thinking: 'What does this remind me of ?' I was thinking it actually could have been some kind of disguised tribute to Elton John's classic 80s tune Too Low For Zero. Am I right? Or just wrong in the head? Now I'm actually convinced he's sampled it.Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-42676111081186658582019-06-07T01:26:00.001+10:002019-06-07T01:26:42.935+10:00Holly Herndon - Proto
PROTO by Holly Herndon

Holly Herndon creator of possibly the best record of the 10s Platform (2015) is back with a new LP. How excitement. Only one listen in...more thoughts about Proto later.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-33830243177805788092019-05-16T23:25:00.000+10:002019-05-27T19:23:09.542+10:00Mordant Music - Mark Of The Mould
Mark of the Mould by Baron Mordant

It says this:
'Baron Mordant bows out with MM's last full-length emission as eMMplekz meet an EMS Synthi-A 'Out of Town'…IBM' at bandcamp. Does that even make sense? More to the point did you expect that to make sense?

While there may not be a forthcoming eMMplekz LP as far as I know, Mark Of The Mould is close enough. It's Baron doing his thing with words and voice, only this time he's doing the music himself. That's no bad bad thing either as this is the gentleman who brought us one of the few all time classic albums of the 00s in Dead Air (2006). He IS a sonic technician as well a man crazy with his use of language. Mordant has a sharp insight into the absurdity of his/our lives. The word onslaught isn't quite as dense as that on those four great eMMplekz LPs as there's breathing space with longer stretches of sonic interludes. Also included in the album release is an entire instrumental version of the LP. Which I must admit I haven't listened to yet so I dunno if he's remixed or dubbed the fuck out the original tunes.

Still Baron Mordant is our modern day melange of Ralph Hutter, John Cooper Clark and Ian Dury except his lyrics have been encrypted into a microchip and then spat out randomly and wrong. We get to picture his/our fragmented decaying minds and attention spans. A bunch of useless/mindless/alienated snippets are heard emanating from Mordant's vocal chords. There are snapshots depicting our ridiculous relationships with the modern urban world and all the weight of technology that goes with it. While Baron remains belligerent, he's slightly more focused, poetic and even melodic compared to eMMplekz like he was on some of the more song oriented tracks from Mordant Music. Musically there's a hundred years of electronic sonic debris spilling out of an infected computerised music machine. However there is no doubt Mark Of The Mould is a 21st Century concoction albeit of the delirious, combustible and noxious kind. Somewhere on the internet they laughably tagged this as dance music, I'd like to see you try.

'There's thousands of LPs like this.' says Ian but there isn't though that's why this is probably THE sonic document of 2019...well It's looking likely.

*I've written about Mordant previously here & there & everywhere & this one.

**Thanks to Simon @Blissblog for alerting me to this in the comments section of that Ekoplekz review.

***I'll probably do a proper review with a deeper dissection of the album at a later date, hey I'm only 10 listens in.

Thank you for the music IBM (Baron Mordant, Mordant Music and eMMplekz)

Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-61381538444177860012019-05-15T21:22:00.002+10:002019-05-16T01:01:20.054+10:00Moon Wiring Club - Ghastly Garden Centres
So There's this.

An untimely new Moon Wiring club album which is a cd only release this time, I do believe. The discombobulating thing is that it's not being released at Christmas time. Moon Wiring Club have only done this once before when they issued Somewhere A Fox Is Getting Married in honour of Will & Kate's unveiling of Pippa's arse. Ghastly Garden Centres has just come unexpectedly out of the blue though. Perhaps they're having a release change up at The Blank Workshop. Who knows what's going on. What a delightful mid-year treat. Can't wait for it to arrive.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-82934013981019591842019-05-05T11:37:00.000+10:002019-05-09T16:16:35.747+10:00Ekoplekz - Kirlian Visionz
Kirlian Visionz by Ekoplekz

The most exciting musical news of the year is this here new cassette from Ekoplekz Kirlian Visionz. Only a handful of listens in but it sounds mighty to these ears. I think this is is the first of three new albums to be released by Ekoplekz in 2019. A new eMMplekz album would be good too but I'm not sure if that collaborative project is still operational. Kirlian Visionz is another archival release of Ekoplekz material. According to the Seagrave label's twitter account this tape was compiled by The Fissure Family (?). Described variously as 'studio fragments' and 'several years of audio Shrapnel'. Don't let that put you off though as it's quite a cohesive (well as cohesive as Ekoplekz can be) little set. Track 2 Junction 18 is outstanding, he could do a whole LP of this kinda exhaust-y sonic bass debris and I'd be very happy. Perhaps Nick would have left off certain tracks from proper releases as he might have thought they sounded too close to his influences like Mouse On Mars (Kirlian Skank) or AFX (Nocturnalis) but these two tunes are just Ekoplekz homages that just end up sounding like Ekoplekz, like Ekoplekz doing a cover of these artists and totally making them his own. In fact what I assume will be side two (track 6-10) of the tape is pure fucking gold. Oh and the rest is good too.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-88708308741630320292019-05-03T00:09:00.000+10:002019-05-03T00:09:24.131+10:00N Chambers aka Panabrite
Air Example by N Chambers

I've been wondering what happened to Panabrite. I think I did a search like a year ago and found nothing. It turns out he's now just using his own name instead of the Panabrite moniker. So now he's the artist formally known as Panabrite aka N Chambers. He's choosing to leave out his full first name which is Norm. Norm Chambers used to run the fabulous Lunar Atrium blog back in the day which introduced me to loads of great music. Panabrite released a spate of terrific albums from 2010 to 2016 including Nordsee, Contemplating The Observatory, Soft Terminal, The Baroque Atrium, Blue Grotto, Cortex Meridian & Pavilion. I've only just realised he's released 5 albums under his own name since 2014, so that's rather exciting news. Air Example, from initial listens, sounds like Norm at the top of his game, giving any of those aforementioned Panabrite albums a run for their money. This is really cool meticulous electronic stuff and yes there are aquatic moments for your atmospheric listening pleasure. It even gets a bit dubwise in places. The best thing these ears have come across in 2019.

This glorious tune is taken from the N Chambers cassette Idea Region released in 2018 via Muzan Editions. I've just managed to track down a digital version of Idea Region at bandcamp, the tape is now sold out. Idea Region is just one of three albums he released last year. It might even be better than the new record. This aural splendour features bliss-scapes that turn sinister, underwater metagalactic drones, celestial oceans dripping with empty space, 5th world miniature toy gamelan orchestras and even something that sounds like Genesis P-Orridge leaving a static-y cosmogonic phone message.

Just discovered this recent marvellous dj mix from Mr Chambers too. Synth & Percussion Zones Vol. 1 was uploaded a month ago and it's an all vinyl set featuring avant-garde, electronic and experimental fringe dwellers such as Cleve Pozar, Daniel Palkowski, Giusto Pio & Mike Vickers. This made my day. Hopefully he will continue going down this musical path with more crate diggin deep cut goodness.Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-61434327062893187872019-05-01T12:20:00.001+10:002019-06-05T01:00:17.707+10:00More On Movies - May
But British Telly Though...

Over the last month movies old and new have really been put on the back burner as I've re-watched Line Of Duty again from season one through to the new season which is its fifth. That's a hell of a lot of telly. I could go on and on about the actoring, the amazing nefarious and clandestine storylines, the incredible tension created on screen and the masterful production but you probably already know all about that otherwise you're missing out, get on board! I've said this before and I'll say it again Line Of Duty is quite possibly the best cop show ever.

Oh and then there was Bodyguard (2018) which is another Jed Mercurio creation (He being the creator of Bodies & Line Of Duty). I missed it last year so I watched this six part series too. That was some spectacular telly right there. No wonder it was the highest rated drama in recent British TV history. Keely Hawes, who plays Julia Montague, has got to be the greatest living actress right now.

Also binged the first season of Derry Girls from 2018 which is fantastic unlike the embarrassingly unconvincing teen comedy-drama of 2019 Sex Education. Derry Girls is set in Northern Ireland in the 90s. It's about a bunch of catholic teenagers, their families and the troubles. Very bloody funny, great acting, terrific little plots and convincing characters. Sister Michael the unpredictable, negative and sardonic nun is without doubt my favourite character. It's great to see some Irish telly (yeah I know Northern Ireland is technically the UK but you know what I mean) which is rare for me. The only other good Irish TV shows I can actually think of from recent memory are The Fall and Father Ted. I'm sure there must be other good stuff but it just doesn't reach me. Bring on season two.

Terror (1978)
I thought I'd never seen this before but it turns out I had. A sleazy good fun 70s British horror film with red herrings galore, family curses and bloody murder. The sound design is vey Suspiria-esque with its stormy weather, loud electronic score and noise. A giallo/slasher/supernatural/haunted kinda thing. Well worth checking out.

The Making Of Halloween (2010)
I found this on an old hard-drive so I have no idea if it's some kind of Blu-ray extra or a stand alone doc. The production quality is high though. This is a pretty good look at the the paradigm shifting 1978 horror classic Halloween directed by John Carpenter. We've got all the right talking heads including Jamie Lee Curtis, PJ Soles, John Carpenter, Debra Hill etc. Documentaries like this either interest you or take the magic out of film making for you. If you're in the former camp you'll probably enjoy it although you might already know much of what is being regurgitated here and if you're in the latter camp it might just be a little bit too boring, demystifying and/or annoying.

Bay Of Blood aka Twitch Of The Death Nerve aka Carnage aka Blood Bath (1970)
Mario Bava's proto-slasher giallo that comes unencumbered with the usual police procedural plot device. It's been documented before that Friday The 13th movies must have definitely ripped off some of these kill scenes. The phones, the fashion, the cars, the interior design and the bucolic setting all add to the incredible aesthetic of this stylishly put together movie. Bay Of Blood is a cohesive giallo plus it has a great ending. You don't need me to tell you this is a classic.

House Of Mortal Sin aka The Confessional (1976)
Wow I've never seen this before and what a little beauty it is. Where do I start? A Catholic priest (Anthony Sharp) gaslights a beautiful woman (Susan Penhaligon) who accidentally becomes an obsession of his. A brutal bloodbath ensues but you never quite know where the plot is going. House Of Mortal Sin is a total revelation for me. English horror from the 70s just keeps surprising me. We've got some very groovy 70s interior design, cars and fashion just before punk happened. Interesting take on Catholicism, that is now just as relevant if not more so than ever. I was brought up a catholic (now lapsed) and I never understood why priests couldn't get married. They should have women priests and married male priests and gay priests and whatever Jesus would want...er ok that's my rant. Watch out for the sensational uniquely Catholic death scene, all I can say is incense is involved. Highly recommended.

The Swimmer (1968)
Pretentious, corny American shit that reminds me of all the awful American literature we had to put up with in school (That shit was not a patch on Russian, English & French literature was it?) This film looks and feels more like the early to mid 60s than the late 60s. I'm going to use a phrase previously used in another Frank Perry directed film review: This is arty-farty navel gazing horse shit of the worst kind. Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) has the lame idea of swimming a lap of everyones pool in his neighbourhood on his way to eventually reaching his home on top of the hill. It's telegraphed early on that perhaps Ned's home and life mentioned may not be waiting for him when his stupid backyard jumping adventure is complete. Or that maybe this whole film is all in Ned's head. The film hits rock bottom with possibly the corniest scene in the history of film where Ned and some kid pretend to swim a lap of an empty pool. This made me want to poke my eyes out, chop off my ears and sever my head. Am I supposed to get emotional about these smug shallow upper middle class wankers? Why I watched the whole thing is a mystery to me. It gets even more awful as the soundtrack is incongruous and just plain bad music. The Swimmer's definitely strange but not in a good way, more of a naff way. If you wanna spend an hour and a half watching a fit 50-something year old Burt Lancaster in just his swimming trunks (he gets nude too) then this film is for you. Not for me.

Don't Go In The House (1979)
I needed a fire cleansing after the bourgeois travesty of the previous film. An old favourite like this was never going to disappoint. It starts out with a man catching fire in the first minute and it doesn't let up as it zips along at great pace. Much pyromania throughout as the disturbed Donny (Dan Grimaldi), who is hearing voices, goes mental with his flame thrower. Not forgetting the classic disco scene where Donny, in his brand new disco threads, sets his date's hairdo on fire. The soundtrack is excellent with mucho disco, some rock and the legendary Richard Einhorn supplying the score of delirious electronic interludes. Now this is what I call a movie worth watching!

God Told Me To (1976)

I started reading Men, Women & Chainsaws: Gender In The Modern Horror Film (1992) by Carol J Clover the other day and one of the first movies mentioned was this Larry Cohen directed effort. If I'd seen this film when I was a teenager I would have loved it but I first saw it only 15 years ago by which time my love for sci-fi had pretty much ended (and don't get me started on message films). Not that God Told Me To is straight sci-fi. In fact I don't know what the fuck it is. It's horror, drama, police procedural, upside-down biblical epic, message movie etc. All I know is: it's weird for weird's sake but not in a good way, for me anyway. This film has many admirers and a cult following. The self importance of the film just rubs me the wrong way. Even the Bernard Hermann music makes this film just much more dated than it is. A bunch of spree killings across New York are investigated by Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) who finds out all the killers are saying God told them to do it. This is just the beginning of the strangeness. This film could be read in a number of ways and perhaps you should watch it at least once to see what all the fuss is about and for Andy Kaufman's first appearance on celluloid but don't blame me if you hate it. You might also want to see where Panos Cosmatos got his inspiration for Mandy (2018) from.

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

This was another movie mentioned in the first few pages of Men, Women & Chainsaws. It had been a while since I'd last watched it so I thought why not? Sleepaway Camp is an endlessly enjoyable and re-watchable flick with that memorable ending. Anything set in modern times that includes a death by bow and arrow is well worth watching I reckon. This is a teen angst slasher film of the highest order. We've got accidental death by boat, Paedophiles, nerds, crazy Aunties, bullies, realistic nasty dialogue, dads having sex with other men, men beating children, actual young actors playing young teens, death by a swarm of bees, mental 80s fashion, brutal curling tong violence... I mean it's got the lot! Many slashers don't stand the test of time but Sleepaway Camp seems to have gained in reputation over the last 35 years to become one of the all time classics of the genre that it is today. Who am I to disagree? This movie would be in my top ten best slashers of all time. Get out your quarter length t-shirt and let the good times & body count roll. One of the most unforgettable films in history.

Madman (1981)
From the golden year of the slasher comes this below average generic flick. They forgot to add in suspense or were just so incompetent they couldn't figure out how to. The legend of Madman Marz (similar to that of Cropsey) is told around a campfire at a summer camp which summons Marz back into crazed action. Marz goes on a slightly gory rampage and most of the camp's adults are killed. There are some odd moments like the lady playing a recorder on her own in a boat in the dark, the long hot tub love scene while a cheesy slow jam plays as Marz pervs through the window etc. One of the movie's saving graces is the very cool minimal electronic score. The best thing though is the excellent dark electro folk tune Madman Marz that plays over the closing credits, which is like Human League collaborating with Comus. Madman is for slasher completists only.

Blood Rage aka Nightmare At Shadow Woods aka Slasher (1983/87)
Now this is an entertaining slasher depending on what you consider entertainment that is. If you are mature and middlebrow forget it. This not necessarily a good film, it's the sort of silly movie you should watch off your head with your mates or when it's 1.00AM and you can't sleep or when you're 15 or perhaps never. Tonally Blood Rage is all over the place. Some actors are fully camping up the melodrama while others are severely underplaying their roles. Sometimes it's a little bit funny and other times it's a bit grim. There are exciting passages then really fucking boring ones. The gore and Richard Einhorn's soundtrack however are quite spectacular. A couple of identical twin children are involved in a murder at a drive in. The wrong twin Todd (Mark Soper) is sent to a mental institution. Ten years later Todd escapes causing his twin brother Terry (also Mark Soper) to go into a murderous frenzy. Special mention must go to Louise Lasser who puts in a splendid nutsoid performance as Maddy, the mother of the twins. I can't beleive David Lynch has never cast her in one of his films. All I've got to say is 'That is not Cranberry sauce'.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-52986193162279643762019-04-07T05:35:00.000+10:002019-06-07T03:26:21.131+10:00More On Movies - April

A New Leaf (1971)
Elaine May's directorial debut starring Walter Matthau and Elaine herself is a charming little film despite the huge production dramas behind the scenes. A spoilt trust fund adult Henry (Matthau) runs out of money. He decides the answer to his problems is to find a rich heiress to marry while keeping up appearances as still being wealthy himself. He finds Henrietta (May), a nerdy klutz, who fits the bill perfectly and the hi-jinx roll on from there. A silly black comedy that's worth watching at least once.

Play It As It Lays (1972)
This is based on the Joan Didion book from 1970 so while it was released in 1972, it's definitely a late 60s film in vibe man. Arty-farty navel gazing existential horse shit of the worst kind or kinda groovy nonsensical, but with its own internal logic, meditation on the meaninglessness of life and how life affirming nihilism can be. I'm going for the latter this time but when I first saw this movie a couple of years ago I was absolutely in the first camp. Pretentious Moi? Frank Perry, I think that's Katy's late uncle, directed this time capsule of California and the emptiness of the film industry, fame and life itself. If you like the sound of all that then no worries, but otherwise steer clear. Another one I discovered on my Anthony Perkins investigation and he stars here once again with Tuesday Weld.

Romeo Is Bleeding (1994)
Noticed this was streaming on Stan (an Australian streaming service similar to Netflix), got five and a half minutes in and that was it. Oh My God what pretentious, generic and embarrassing crap those minutes were. Did I need to give it more time? It felt like I gave it a lifetime!

Dressed To Kill (1980)
After the surprise beginning of Angie Dickinson flicking the bean in the shower there's an absurdly lengthy museum scene which really seems to serve no purpose (except to to drive me & Emma crazy) as it could have been condensed into less than a minute. Once you get past the gallery scene, the film really begins and the suspense builds like only a Hitchcock rip off can. Academy award winning hair goes to Nancy Allen. Good funny twisted movie. Look out for false endings.

Arthur (1981)
It's funny, it's sad...I can't really think of anything to say about this film as I've seen it so many times. I don't even know if it's good or bad.

The Hot Rock (1972)
I gotta say I wasn't expecting much from this crime-heist movie as I'd never even heard of it until a couple of years ago. It's a Twilight Time release though so I thought I'd roll the dice. The Hot Rock starts off unassuming but unrolls quite nicely with unexpected twists and turns and never misses a beat. Robert Redford is peak handsome Redford but he's not just that, his actoring is good, along with the ever reliable George Segal. An enjoyable lil crime film.

The Honeymoon Killers (1969)
This was a first time watch for me and woah! it's the best discovery I've made in ages. This film has been on my radar for something like 30 years and it didn't disappoint. The filmmakers get you in, in the opening seconds of this movie and it just doesn't ever lull. Amazing story, perfect pacing, wonderful characters, strangely erotic, viscerally violent and it's based on a true story apparently. Raymond Femandez (Tony Lo Bianca) and Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler) develop a criminal scheme of ripping off lonely spinsters via a lonely hearts correspondence club with diabolical consequences. You think 'I wish there were a hundred films like this' but then you realise the uniqueness of The Honeymoon Killers is part of what makes this so great. A quintessential cult movie.

Cruising (1980)
Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is a heterosexual cop who goes undercover into the underground gay leather bar/S&M scene to investigate a series of murders that have occurred. An absurd little film set in the NYC cesspool era that's rather enjoyable although it does become quite strange towards the end. The ambiguous ending is not going to be for everyone so I'm not sure if I can actually recommend it but it is a fascinating curio from the end of the new Hollywood era so... I mean if you're into film history, Friedken, Pacino, Spinell or gay history you've probably already watched it anyway....

The Fly (1986)
Is this David Cronenberg's last great film? I Loved it when I was a teen and I was kinda shocked by it now as a somewhat older human. Quite sexual and erotic to begin with and then it turns into an absolutely grim monster movie. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis are terrific as The Fly's main stars. Much more gory and sad than I remember though.

CAM (2018)
Gimme a fuckin break here Netflix. What a load of cods wallop! I thought this was going to be somewhere along the lines of the cyber-thriller Nerve (2016) or at least just as exciting after hearing many recommendations but that was not to be. A good premise executed poorly. A cam girl somehow gets her identity stolen then things go out of control from there but the suspense just doesn't build to high levels like it should, it gets pretty stupidly annoying and I just got fed up. Netflix original movies are losing their allure and I just can't imagine pressing play on one in the near future to be quite honest. They do some good series telly like Glow, Dirty John, The Sinner, Ozark, Mindhunter etc. but fuck I dunno what the hell is going on in their movie department.

Nail Gun Massacre (1985)
This was mentioned just too many times on The Hysteria Continues podcast for me to ignore. I had to finally seek it out. Confusing, low budget trash of the highest order. This movie could have almost been good. There's a killer on the loose, who is driving a hearse, wearing a motorbike helmet with a nail gun as their weapon of choice. Plenty of boobs and blood on the dusty backroads of Nowhere-ville Texas. For cult film enthusiasts, slasher completists and fans of bad acting. Nail Gun Massacre has some of the strangest dialogue ever caught on film. This is definitely not very good but it's often entertaining.Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-72022310661028093362019-03-25T23:36:00.000+11:002019-04-26T23:32:10.692+10:00RIP SCOTT WALKER
THE SUN AIN'T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE

My favourite singer of all time is dead.

As stated by me on twitter:

This is my favourite pop culture photograph of the last 20 years. This was the pure essence of SCOTT WALKER captured in one brilliant photo.

*Some bits I wrote about my musical hero Scott Walker here & here & here. Oh and a bit here in my best of 2012 list.
Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-63826301775330141472019-03-07T00:44:00.000+11:002019-03-13T02:12:48.099+11:00That Month In Movies

Abducted In Plain Sight (2017)
Well I'll be. This is next level true crime. Abducted In Plain Sight is the most bizarre, fucked up and fascinating story I've ever heard. There's not even a murder. This documentary was so compelling even the phoney 70s film filters in the flashbacks didn't distract me. Right from the very beginning I was perplexed. This story just kept getting more and more mental as it continued. Even the most batshit crazy film maker could not have come up with a story half as outlandish as this, it's so wrong. This film has left a lingering disturbia in my brain that I can't shake.

A Star Is Born (2018)
Bradley Cooper's vanity project isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I imagine wankers are writing think-pieces on the problematic nature of this movie but whatever. It's about a shit-cunt alcoholic musician (Cooper) who gets an up & coming musician (GaGa) to fall in love with him. Lady GaGa is pretty good but the rest of the movie is mostly crap. Awards must go to the dog though, he/she was brilliant and broke my heart.

*I Also thought Bradley Cooper could play Gary Ablett Senior if they were ever to do a bio-pic on Ablett's life. That wouldn't be uninteresting you know.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Here's the catch one of the worst films in history contains some of the most astounding filmmaking ever. If you hate Queen you are almost certainly not going to enjoy this movie. I have a thing though for rock bands going disco (Rolling Stones, Kiss) and a thing for proggy 70s bands going 80s pop (Yes, Rush etc.) but most of Queen's other music I still find fucking tedious though. The tone of this film is all over the place. It's a bio-pic, drama, faux concert, parody of a bio-pic and a lookalikey contest all in one mess. However the centrepiece of the film is Queen's appearance at Live Aid, which is a miraculous film sequence. It's like no other and worth watching just for that alone. It had me saying 'How is this not actually Live Aid?' I don't get how they did it but it's very impressive.

*Also impressive is how bad the lookalikey for Bob Geldof is. They got all the other lookalikeys correct but Bob...no, good laugh though.

Elysium (2013)
Dystopian future films have become less enticing as the world gets closer each day to a fascist police state. It's more like watching the news now rather than enjoying a dark sci-fi fantasy. So Matt Damon & Jodie Foster do their stuff but who cares right? Not me. Elysium had a total 70s/80s sci-fi vibe. Halfway through Emma asked me 'Are you enjoying this?' I had to say 'Er...not really it feels a bit like a computer game'

Death Wish V: The Face Of Death (1994)
OTT vigilante revenge violence doesn't get much crazier than the Death Wish Movies. Good old Paul Kersey (Charlie Bronson) doesn't have much luck in his private life does he? His new Mrs, Olivia (Lesley-Ann Down), gets her face disfigured by violent gangsters and then the revenge begins. Some of these scenes of vengeance are very inventive. This is filmed in Canada so New York just doesn't look like New York. Michael Parks is brilliant as Tommy the gangster who is Olivia's ex-husband. By this stage you are either in or you're out when it it comes to Death Wish films.

Pretty Poison (1968)
I knew next to nothing about Anthony Perkins except for Psycho and the following couple of crappy sequels until I saw this blu-ray two or three years back. I pulled it out the other day after hearing it mentioned on a podcast. Pretty Poison is a tight little movie that I can't believe isn't more well known, maybe it is (?). An ex-con (Perkins) becomes entangled in a relationship with high school girl Sue Ann (Tuesday Weld) after seeing her during marching practice in a park. Their relationship starts off intriguing and ends up diabolical. This is one of the most perfectly realised films I've ever seen. Why isn't this on the (stupid) canonical lists?

Five Miles To Midnight (1962)
Anthony Perkins stars with Sophie Loren and Gig Young in this stylish and suspenseful thriller set in Paris which is a French/Italian co-production. The tension and claustrophobia created here is palpable. A dysfunctional married couple get an out when Robert's (Perkins) plane crashes and he is assumed dead. He secretly reappears to claim his life insurance policy then the film intensifies even more. I can't believe the cult-builders haven't managed to make it a cult movie yet. I recommend.

Wait Until Dark (1967)
Intense & disturbing thriller starring Audrey Hepburn, Richard Crenna, Alan Arkin, Efram Zimbalist, Jack Weston and Julie Herrod. Wait Until Dark is an incredibly clever story that will have you gripped from the get go. Susy (Hepburn) is a recently blinded lady who inadvertently becomes entrenched in a heroin smuggling plot. This story feels like something that could have been made today which you could probably slot quite easily into the home invasion sub-genre. I assume this was originally a play as it all takes place pretty much inside one apartment. Well worth a look.

Ghostbusters (1984)
I haven't seen this since it was first in cinemas. I didn't think much of it then and I don't think much of it now. A great theme tune and logo doth not maketh a great film. The tone here is all over the place and it's just not that funny. The only saving grace for me is the hilarious Rick Moranis character. One for pre-teens or nostalgists but beware, Emma used to love this film as a child and could pretty much recite it, now she cannot believe how daft it is. Some things are best left in the past.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-84229724473930767262019-03-05T05:25:00.002+11:002019-03-05T06:07:30.350+11:00Pontone Is Back

I was listening to Pontone's Bleep Mix from like 10 years ago so I decided to have a look at their inactive but legendary website to see if there were some good mixes I may have missed. The old site is gone but they have made a return in 2019 with 3 new Pontone mixes already. There is only a handful of their archival mixes on the new look site. I assume they will be adding more new and archival stuff soon. Check it out.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-56759143997031620472019-02-15T00:34:00.000+11:002019-02-27T03:06:48.690+11:00So There's These Records - Summer Edition

On Twitter I often mention records I'm currently listening to and enjoying but I almost never follow that up on my blog. So here's some LPs I've been digging in 2019. This first one is a compilation released on the fabulous Strut Records which I totally missed last year. I discovered it on bandcamp a week ago and tweeted about it that day. The grooves on Disque Debs International Volume 1. An Island Story: Biguine, Afro Latin & Musique Antillaise 1960-1972 are soo infectious. These tunes are very well suited to the absurd heatwave we've been having here in the Antipodes. If you liked that Soundway Records compilation from a few years back,...er...that's 10 years, Tumbélé: Biguine, Afro & Latin Sounds Of The French Caribbean 1963-74 you are gonna dig these sweet tropical vibes.

The fantastic record label Awesome Tapes From Africa reissued this in 2016. In need of some healing loose soulful grooves the other day in the immense Australian summer heat I pulled out Wede Harer Gazo and claimed it to be just about the best album ever recorded. I stand by that statement. Wede Harer Gazo is a 1978 recording from Hailu Mergia & The Dahlak Band. This is hypnotic jazz funk in a state of delirious torpor with a blurry organ giving it a frayed psych vibe. The LP comes from the golden age era of Ethiopian music so if you like your Mulatu Astatke or Éthiopiques compilations you are bound to appreciate this beautiful laconic music.

Hailu Mergia also played on this brilliant obscure tape from 1975 Asnakech by Asnakech Worku also featuring Temare Haregu, which was reissued last year by Awesome Tapes From Africa. I think it's a bit odd to give something that was originally a hissy 70s tape the deluxe vinyl treatment. Suffice to say I only bought the digital version but they did reissue it on tape as well. This album was included in my best reissues of 2018 list but Asnakech is still in high rotation around these parts. Like the aforementioned French Caribbean music, golden age Ethiopian music suits summer perfectly. Worku, a 20th century icon, was a famous actor, dancer, singer and master of the krar. The krar is an ancient Ethiopian harp that has 6 strings and sounds a bit like a brittle rusty banjo. Asnakech Worku will have you mesmerised with her off kilter free krar playing intermingled with Mergia's blurry organ swirls. Strange and enchanting. Also check out Éthiopiques 16 (2003).

I know I'd heard Juana Molina on the radio before but I just filed her away in the back of my mind as someone to investigate one day. Something on youtube prompted me to finally check her out properly and what a fool I've been for the last 15 years. Son from 2008 is a modern experimental psych folk masterpiece. Musically it's somewhere between Linda Perhacs, the Canterbury Scene, miscellaneous experimental vocal scientists and a whole lot of Molina's idiosyncratic vision. There are a handful of other Juana Molina LPs either side of this one that are highly rated so I can't wait to track those down.

Kamikaze 1989 is the soundtrack to Fassbinder's 1982 film. How the hell did this even pass me by? Anyway I've found it now and it's a bewdy. I rate Edgar Froese's other six LPs recorded between 1974 and 1983. Froese's last classic solo LP Pinnacles was released in 1983 so I am absolutely flummoxed as to how I didn't know this existed until the other day. Kamikaze 1989 is classic early 80s synth soundtrack action from the Kosmiche maestro of Tangerine Dream fame. This puts to shame all of the 2010's synth-wave pretenders. Splendid stuff.

Moon Wiring Club's 2016 LP Exit Pantomime Control is one of their best. I guess it got a little overlooked*, by me at least, as it was released at the same time as their massive triple cd of archival material When A New Trick Comes Along I Do An Old One. Anyway I've been listening to this constantly for the past three months and it just doesn't get old. Their catalogue is full of treasure and I would place Exit Pantomime Control somewhere in the top 5 of all time Moon Wiring Club releases which is high praise indeed.

*Surely they, well Moon Wiring Club are a one man band that is Ian Hodgson, are one of the most overlooked musical entities of the past 12 years. Due to Mr Hodgson's release schedule of always issuing his new product in early December, as a Yuletide treat, has put him in a peculiar critical position. By the beginning of December most music websites and magazines have usually compiled their albums of the year lists. He really is on the outside of things. I'm not fully aware of how often he is reviewed. I've occasionally seen him reviewed in The Wire and @FACT but a quick search @Pitchfork reveals "No Results'. So I'm guessing he doesn't get a hell of a lot of media attention outside of the dwindling music blogosphere (paid music writers, eh?).Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-42658603469316361722019-02-08T23:36:00.000+11:002019-02-16T02:28:25.401+11:00We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves - John Maus

This LP was the first to get dissed on my blog, I think on the second post ever. Here's what I said:

Who cares?

John Maus (he is Chapterhouse to Ariel Pink's MBV)

Anyway since deciding to listen to Screen Memories by John Maus out of the blue last year I've had a change of heart. Dismissing him as a z-grade Ariel Pink back in 2011 wasn't really fair was it? I mean he was Pink's band mate, collaborator and friend. It was a bit like saying Hugo Race was a bit Bad Seeds-y, hell yeah he was because he was part of the fucking original band. So I had to buy We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves again this year and well I love it. It's now giving Rustie and Adele a run for their money as quite possibly my favourite record of 2011. Been diggin last year's Addendum and 2017's Screen Memories too. Now there's some more catching up to do.

Does this also mean a reappraisal of Chapterhouse is in order?

How about this below anthem? Believer gives me the pure pop goose bumps. It's amazing that I could disregard an LP that has now had such an emotional impact on me.

Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-29384845598863247662019-02-01T14:42:00.001+11:002019-02-10T04:00:03.880+11:00UKG VI

Darqwan - Said The Spider
What is this? Apart from being a wobbly racket, I guess it's proto-dubstep. Is it even garage anymore? More like a drum n bass//bleep/hardcore hybrid. In 2002 this sounded pretty unhinged. Now that the bro-step era has gone by perhaps a tune like this might get a reappraisal or maybe not quite yet. I couldn't find Darqwan's more garage-y tune Pipe Dreams anywhere.

Active Minds - Hobsons Choice
Another terrible project name. Maybe that's why some white labels just say Hobsons Choice. We're back to pure speed garage gold here.

The Dub Monsters - Waiting
Waiting is the flip of Scott Garcia's bona fide speed garage classic A London Thing. Dub Monsters were a project for Garcia and another bloke. Waiting's all about the sugar rush of the vocal science. This was an odd little double A 12" of the best variety! Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-42981094649447498252019-02-01T00:10:00.000+11:002019-02-06T16:10:53.568+11:00That Month in Movies

I've been a bit off films in January. Maybe watching too many shit ones has made me reluctant to invest my time. It has also been way too fucking hot to enjoy or concentrate on anything. Thirteen days of January were over 40 degrees Celsius, that's 104 Fahrenheit. Or to put it another way for Americans and other Fahrenheit people 18 days this month have been over 100 degrees. Then there's also been way too many migraines in my head. Recent great, and I mean great, British telly ie. Detectorists and Inside No 9 has had my eyeball's attention...oh and not forgetting watching a lot of Muppet Babies with my niece during the school holidays. Perhaps I'll get back into the swing of all things movies next month.

Single White Female (1992)
Alright 90s thriller directed by Barbet Shroeder. Is it a slasher in disguise though? Very stylishly crafted with good performances from Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Stephen Tobolowsky. Allie (Fonda) gets a new flatmate (Leigh) who gradually becomes obsessed with her. 'What ever happened to the very likeable Bridget Fonda?' You ask. She quit the acting game in 2002 apparently.

Game Night (2018)
Fucking stupid crime comedy. It's kinda like a comic version of David Fincher's The Game (1997). You would think these actors have never been in a comedy before as they just keep missing the beats. About five of the jokes in the entire film work. Don't waste your time on this bollocks. Game Night has totally put me off so called comedy movies for the next couple of years at least. Let's face it comedy is better suited to TV anyway.

The Orchard End Murder (1981)
This is a real curio from 80s Britain. The Orchard End Murder was made as part of a double bill to be screened with the much more well known and admired Dead & Buried (1981). It's a mini feature (50 minutes) of unsettling rural horror. In 1966 a young lady goes missing after attending a game of cricket in the countryside with a male acquaintance. Sure it's not a masterpiece but it's strange, intriguing and well worth a look.

Notorious (1946)
Hitchcock noir classic starring Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant and Claude Raines. Alicia (Bergman) becomes entangled with espionage and romance in post WWII Rio De Janeiro where Nazis in need of spying on have settled.

The Haunting (1963)
Highly rated Robert Wise haunted house flick that was totally disappointing. The Haunting had some really cool camera angles, direction and a stunning set. Even a young Russ Tamblyn (That's Doctor Jacoby from Twin Peaks) couldn't save this movie for me. Perhaps I was expecting too much from this non-haunting film.

Ghost Stories (2017)
I was very excited at the prospect of finally getting to watch this film as it had been rated by some people I respect. It starts out very gripping but turns out a bit disappointing. Is Ghost Stories a depiction of a crazy nightmare or is it supposed to make some sort of actual sense? Film makers trying to blow my mind with convoluted twists or being 'oh so meta' is fucking tedious, just make a good movie. Great performances from Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse however. Maybe a second look is in order.Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-107687548415871762019-01-29T02:33:00.000+11:002019-01-31T00:40:53.204+11:00UK Garridge V

Sunship - Try Me Out (Chunky Beats)
Noice. I've heard this before, I mean how could I forget right? The flip of this might even be better. I might post that next time.

Phaze One - Nicole's Groove
Ooh that bass. You think this is just gonna be a whatever garage tune then all this shit happens. UKG!

DJ ZINC - 138 Trek
I dunno if this one is strictly garage but I like it a lot. It fits in that liminal space of not quite drum n bass and not quite garridge either and it's a bit aaciiidd. Like it matters right.Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-81370167318778166942019-01-26T21:12:00.000+11:002019-01-26T22:53:04.114+11:00More UK Garridge IV

Antonio - Hyperfunk (Steve Gurley Mix)
Magical. You can never go wrong with Steve Gurley at the controls.

24 Hour Experience - Together
Such a bad band name. That second keyboard line that comes in at 1.18 is strange. It would usually be an octave or two lower and be the bassline but it feels too high to be the bass giving this tune a light headed off kilter quality.

Sunship - Cheque One-Two
Wicked man. Cheque One-Two is pretty in yer face innit? Those eastern keys are very odd for speed garage, aren't they? Classic 1998 UKG beat though. I could totally imagine this tune getting a remix in the wobble era if indeed it didn't.Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-23068905503547815052019-01-23T20:11:00.003+11:002019-01-27T01:50:41.781+11:00More UK Garridge Gold

G.O.D. - Watch Ya Bass Bins (1997)
Another tuuuuune from 97 I didn't know until this week! I'm a sucker for time-stretching and reggae/ragga samples. Oh and then there's that fucking bass. Watch Ya Bass Bins!

Box Clever - Treat Me Right (1998)
This one might not seem immediate but just hang on, it's insidious and by the end of the track it will be under your skin. This is meticulous, mesmerizing and magnificent. Love that organ sample.

Zak Toms - Bring Me Down (1998)
Another state of the art speed garage nugget that I don't recall. Worth it for the bass drop at 1 minute 29 alone. Bring Me Down is another lovely, slinky and hypnotic production.Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-32288973297383024212019-01-22T04:40:00.000+11:002019-01-29T03:55:44.008+11:00UK Garridge

Ruff Driverz - Don't Stop
The following three tracks were the ones I discovered for the first time on that top mix from the previous post. This is pure gold. I cannot believe I missed Don't Stop. How good is the 1 min 13 moment? When that steppy bass enters. Then the 2 minute 27 bass change. Two tunes for the price of one in the true spirit of hardcore. Mental tune. Menacing.

Danny J Lewis - Spend The Night (H-Man Dub)
How's that beat, bass and vocal sample? There's an Australian connection here, Nissan Cedrics singer Dannielle Gaha recorded a dance tune Secret Love that was a minor hit in the UK in 1993. Five years later Danny J Lewis sampled it here.

Jhelisa - Friendly Pressure (Midnight Mix)
I cannot believe this was not a number one chart topper.Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-67990779560758758082019-01-17T15:27:00.002+11:002019-01-18T10:52:07.849+11:00On the UK Garridge Tip
& A Bit Of Ye Olde Jungle

Found this choice UK garage mix today. It treads that fine line between classy, trashy, rootsy and poppy. The rhythms and sonic innovations are undeniable though. It's got classic faves Find The Path, It's a London Thing, RIP Groove etc. Maybe I haven't heard or don't remember half of these tunes which is refreshing. There are some revelations here like Don't Stop (Deeper Mix) from Ruff Driverz, Spend The Night (H-Mans Groove Dub) by Danny J Lewis and Jhelisa's very commercial Friendly Pressure (Midnight Mix), which I can only assume was a big hit in the UK. I think this gear stays really fresh because I wasn't into the scene at the time and only came to appreciate the music much later. It's not like 'ardcore/darkside/jungle where I've heard, you know, Mr Kirk's Nightmare, Bombscare, Finest Illusion, Terminator, Here Come The Drumz, Renegade Snares et al. 1000 times. Anyway this was a really spot on mix until the final three tunes which didn't seem to fit, starting with that Tori Amos track which was more like funky house. So I'd fade out the mix at around the 1 hour 12 minute mark.

Double 99's speed garridge gem RIP Groove from 1997 led me to the above mix. I'm pretty sure this is the original 6 min track.

DJ Gunshot's 1994 jungle tune Wheel 'N' Deal was sampled on RIP Groove was it not?

Wheel 'N' Deal put me in mind of this all time classic jungle Amen smasher Drum N' Bass Wise from Remarc. Wow this still sounds fucking remarkable (pun intended) and current and future... It's from bloody 1994. That's ages ago! I don't even wanna say the amount of years that is. Is 94 when the future died?

This whole sonic journey started here with Grant Nelson's classic Step 2 Me because this tune was posted at Energy Flash several hours ago.

*Some previous posts on UK Garridge:
Proto Dubstep, Speed Garage & Recreations.
UK Garridge With Simon Reynolds.
UK Garridge 101 Part 1.
UK Garridge 101 Part 2.
Uk Garridge 101 Part 3.
Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-25626927895616593252018-12-31T20:31:00.001+11:002019-03-13T22:46:11.129+11:00Best of 2018

2018 LPS
Everywhere At The End Of Time: Stage 5 - The Caretaker
Pastoral - Gazzelle Twin
Make Me Know You Sweet - Pendant
Mandy OST - Johann Johannsson
A Laughing Death In Meatspace - Tropical Fuck Storm
Everywhere At The End Of Time: Stage 4 - The Caretaker
Psychedelic Spirit Show - Moon Wiring Club
Mother - Xylouris White
On Drugs - Primitive Calculators
Unfold - Gabor Lázár
Double Negative - Low*
Addendum - John Maus
Culture II - Migos
Insula - Proc Fiskal
Cocoon Crush - Objekt
Sleepmassk - Sleepmassk

This list is not as authoritative or comprehensive as it usually is (go to FACT, Complex, OPIUM-HUM or The Wire for that) because I didn't check out hundreds of albums this year like I normally do. Severe debilitating migraines caused my life to be lived at about a 3rd of its capacity. So I was rarely in a jovial mood to even entertain the thought of listening to the latest pop tune or experimental opus. The above records are just the handful I managed to enjoy in 2018.

I didn't mind Sleep's The Sciences, Late Electrics by Rangers, Young Thug's Slime Language/On The Rvn, Future's Beast Mode 2, Kazuashita by Gang Gang Dance, Laurel Halo's Raw Silk Uncut Wood, The Invisible World Of... by Beautify Junkyards, Neville Watson's The Midnight Orchard, Duppy Gun's Miro Tape etc. They might have ended up in my main best of 2018 list but I just haven't listened to them enough to rate them properly. I can't even recall if I liked Let's Eat Grandma's I'm All Ears or Sophie's Oil Of Every Pearl's Un Insides...er probably not.

There were new records from Gas, Oneohtrix Point Never, Alvin Lucier, Eli Keszler, Chris Carter, Bruce, The Weekend, Metro Boomin, Pusha T, Cardi B, Travis Scott, Rico Nasty, Teyana Taylor, Playboi Carti, Vince Staples, 21 Savage, Chief Keef, Gnod, Dead Can Dance, Julia Holter, Autechre, Supersilent, Jon Hassell, Hailu Mergia and a bunch of others that I just didn't get around to listening to let alone buying. Then there's all the new people I don't know. FACT even have a list of the best 13 ambient LPs of 2018. None of which I've heard either and that's probably where my head should have been at more than anywhere else this year. I'm sure some of this unheard music is good stuff but that's the way my 2018 cookie crumbled.

On the soundtrack front I enjoyed Rob's Revenge OST and Colin Stetson's Hereditary OST but I didn't even get around to that Scott Walker/Sia soundtrack or the new Halloween from John Carpenter & Co.

I nearly fell into the nostalgia traps of new releases from Space Afrika, Beta Librae, Barker... all perfectly adequate facsimiles of past high water marks in innovative electronic music.

...apparently rave is the new old thing...hasn't it been the new old thing for at least seven years now?

...apparently speed garage is also the new old thing...

...liquid Drum'n'Bass, seriously people?!

Was The Sons Of Kemet album really all that?

I wonder what Mark Fisher would have made of Guttersnipe's My Mother The Vent? Being Mars wannabes in 2018 is kinda trad, innit? Talk about not killing yr idols. Mars formed in 1974! Another case of a band picking up on the sonic aesthetics of a band but not understanding the revolutionary ideas behind them.

I don't even know who Twenty One Pilots are or what they do...er... same goes for Amnesia Scanner and Tirzah. Do I need to know? Am I missing out?

I enjoyed track-y tunes like Ramos from Ploy and Agua Y Puerta by Lechuga because they sound like I could have made them myself on GarageBand if I could have been bothered.

What would Mark Fisher have thought Part 2: Vessel's Queen Of Golden Dogs? I mean I get what they are doing but why would you want to do that? It feels like a thesis for a music degree doncha reckon?

Oh...and who gives two fucks about Kendrick Lamar when you've got YG serving up Californian gold ala Big Bank! YG is West Coast's main man.

*LOW - DOUBLE NEGATIVE
This record is a bit like Sun Kil Moon's Benji album from a few years back, it was hard to ignore due to the groundswell of popularity on the internet and even from the archaic printed paper people. I first heard Low on the legendary Witch In The Colours radio show hosted by Jason Reynolds on Melbourne's 3RRR when I Could Live In Hope was released in 1994. At the time they were described as an American answer to Slowdive, which was a little misleading. I still remember hearing Lazy for the first time and its Slint meets Twin Peaks reverbed vibe had me mesmerised. To me, Low reached perfection in 1995 on their 2nd album Long Division. That LP was a three piece doin electrifying minimal rock with their signature threatening, gloomy and slow burning jamz that sounded like they were recorded in a cold and lonesome echo chamber. Sure they had excellent records after Long Division particularly the following The Curtain Hits The Cast (1996) and a couple recorded with Steve Albini. I lost touch with them after that though. So it was weird listening to them this year but also a joy. Double Negative is like a Low chopped & screwed tape. I don't know how they ended up in this sonic terrain (although they have always had an experimental bent) but it's great that they did. Low are still Low of old ie. lovely yet intense melodious close boy/girl harmonies. Its just that the sonic textures have been beautifully fucked with. Stuff drops in and out, gets slowed down, gets chopped, gets sent into the red, goes glitch-y and disintegrates then swells back to life in a swathe of distortion. The outstanding track Always Tying To Work It Out sounds like DJ Screw could have been at the controls. This all might sound like a strange juxtaposition but it works to an impressive degree. Enthralling.

ARCHIVAL/COMPILATIONS/REISSUES
A Dream Sails Out To Sea: Get At The Wave - Takashi kokubo
Paraiso - Harry Hosono & The Yellow Magic Band
Cochin Moon - Haruomi Hosono & Tadanori Yokoo
Philharmony - Haruomi Hosono
Orient - Hiroshi Sato
Black Mass - Lucifer
The Unexplained: Electronic Musical Impressions Of The Occult - Ataraxia
Memoire Magnetique Vol.1 1966-1990 - Bernard Parmegiani
The Girl From Chickasaw County - Bobbie Gentry
Goodbyes And Beginnings - Suzanne Menzel
The Music From Bagpuss - Sandra Kerr & John Faulkner
Impressionz - Ekoplekz
Chronolyse - Richard Pinhas
East West - Richard Pinhas
Rhizosphere - Richard Pinhas
Asnakech - Asnakech Worku feat. Hailu Mergia & Temare Haregu
African Scream Contest Volume 2: Benin 1963-80 - Various
Two Niles To Sing A Melody: The Violins & Synths Of Sudan - Various
Gumba Fire: Bubblegum Soul & Synth-Boogie In 1980s South Africa - Various
Onda De Amor: Synthesized Brazilian Hits That Never Were 1984-94 - Various

These records are obviously in no particular order. Apart from those three LPs mentioned, by Lucifer, Ataraxia (both Mort Garson pseudonyms) and Bernard Parmegiani, I'm pretty out of the loop now when it comes to ye olde pioneering electronics reissues. God I even missed an Aussie Creel Pone release this year! How many live recordings of Throbbing Gristle do I need? Well all of them so I guess one more wouldn't hurt. Then there was a whole deluge of Japanese electronic, ambient, city-pop, image albums and Ghibli soundtracks from the 70s & 80s, a lot of which are getting issued in the west for the first time. Have all the good electronic and horror soundtracks now been reissued? I don't even know if great labels from the 00s like Trunk, Omni Recording Corporation, Strut, Harmless or Finders Keepers are still reissuing interesting esoterica in 2018. On the African tip there were choice compilations on Soundway, Ostinato Records, Awesome Tapes From Africa and Analog Africa, that stuff seems to be petering out now that they've reached the 80s Post-Boogie/R&B/Pop phase. What comes after that? Probably not much. Then again maybe in Africa they did noise-rock, indie, grunge, riot grrl, acid house, 'ardcore rave, techno, ambient, jungle, speed garage... who knows? Uh-huh! I just saw on the interwebs that a compilation Pantsula! The Rise Of Electronic Dance Music In South Africa 1988-1990 was released last year on on Rush Hour Music.

TELLY
INSIDE NO. 9
The anthology show that is sometimes horror, sometimes black comedy, sometimes drama and sometimes all of the above. Most film-makers get 2 hours plus to tell their story and it's usually not a masterpiece. Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton give themselves 29 minutes and make a twisted ripper every time. Only comparable to The Crown in consistency and quality. Their genius is breathtaking!
ATLANTA
Even better than the first season.
THE DEUCE
Pretty good but hey, I guess you can't top The Wire can you?
THE STAIRCASE
Fascinating true crime documentary series. Did the justice system get it wrong? Surely Michael Peterson is guilty but yeah I get it, there's not enough solid evidence against him though.
EVIL GENIUS
Disturbing four part true crime documentary about a bunch of fucking nutters and their strange hair-brained heist scheme that culminated in the murder of the pizza bomber. I don't know who or what to believe. You do not want people like this in your life.
GLOW
Alison Brie is so charismatic as is Kate Nash and surprisingly Marc Maron is very good. Best telly soundtrack of the year ie. bunch of terrific old 80s radio songs I haven't heard since the 80s.
CLAWS
Bananas OTT crime drama/soap opera/comedy with the best wardrobe in TV since the 70s. Very 2018. This was entertainment.

AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
Evil Has A Name: The Untold Story Of The Golden State Killer Investigation.
This is an Audible exclusive. Six hours featuring audio from key detectives, profilers, criminologists, forensic experts, victims etc. in the saga of The Visalia Ransacker/East Area Rapist/The Original Night-Stalker. Fascinating insight into the revolutionary ways of catching old evil cunts ie. Joseph DeAngelo the man who raped over 50 women & girls and killed over 13 people in California from 1974 to 1986. Paul Holes is the rock star of detectives! and the escalating technology surrounding DNA is the catalyst that is the icing on this case's cake. Amazing story.

Happy New Year!Tim 'Space Debris' http://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-6857623824718875582018-12-30T17:41:00.000+11:002019-01-11T02:19:06.147+11:00More On Movies XI

Strangers On A train (1951)
Great Alfred Hitchcock noir with fantastic premise, script, actoring, directing etc. Mostly totally riveting and highly suspenseful but there is a bit of a lull when it gets to the tennis scene (Hitchcock loves to not trim his fat) but it comes back strong with a raucous merry go-round climax.

Shadow Of A Doubt (1943)
Funny little melodramatic Hitchcock noir. Sometimes this one gets a bit too ye olde for me but there's no doubt it's a fantastic and suspenseful story though. The cheesiness gets to me but I guess Hitchcock's just trying to contrast that phoney American veneer with the reality of it's dark underbelly like Sam Fuller and David Lynch have done since. Serial killer films have been around for a long time. Many people think Shadow Of A Doubt is the greatest of Hitchcock films including Alfred himself, I do believe.

The Wild Bunch (1969)
I've been expecting to eventually come around to loving Westerns since I was a teenager. I've enjoyed Spaghetti Westerns more than American ones to be quite honest. I would have expected by now to fully love The Wild Bunch as it is directed by Sam Peckinpah who is responsible for some of my all time favourite films Straw Dogs, Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia and The Getaway. I don't hate it, I just don't love it...oh the sacrilege! Maybe due to Deadwood's utter magnificence I will never be able to enjoy old westerns. Am I bothered?

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
I don't know what the consensus is now on this film but it was pretty polarised when it was released. I was split in two too and couldn't decide if was a brilliant masterpiece or complete tosh. Almost 20 years on I can say it's a pretty good movie if way too long. I am not as concerned with the linear reality of the plot as I once was. Reality and fantasy intermingle to create some pure cinema. I feel like it's a little, perhaps slight story that probably didn't deserve such an epic magnification of its contents. If you give into the cinema of it all you should enjoy or at least not hate Eyes Wide Shut.

Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Excellent horror/serial killer thriller that I once hated. I cannot for the life of me figure out what I hated about this modern masterpiece. Silence Of The Lambs hardly needs my endorsement.

Frightmare (1974)
Gruesome British family drama horror involving a psycho grandma, insane asylums, mysterious packages, bikers, bartenders, power drills, tarot readings and a body count. Not your typical English horror fare of the time ie. no fangs or cloaks, plenty of blood though. Frightmare has more in common with the demented American movies of the early 70s ie. Last House On The Left, Texas Chainsaw Massacre etc. Highly recommended.

Symptoms (1974)
Spectacular British horror movie. Helen played by Angela Pleasance is mentally fucked up and tiresome. She invites her friend Anne (Lorna Heilbron) to stay at her mansion in the gloriously picturesque English countryside then shit starts to get weird. Also includes legendary character actor Peter Vaughan (Straw Dogs, Game Of Thrones etc.) as the groundskeeper. A study in feminine psychosis where the atmosphere is hauntingly oppressive. I think this is another UK horror flick that was missing for a while but has now had the full restoration and blu-ray treatment. Great score too.

Frenzy (1972)
The wrong man is nabbed for the crimes of a serial killer known as the necktie murderer in 70s London. Will he be able to prove his innocence or go to gaol for the rest of his life for crimes he did not commit? Alfred Hitchcock could have removed so much flab from this terrific suspenseful story to make it lean and mean but...what the fuck did editors get paid to actually do back then? Definitely worth watching though.

And Soon The Darkness (1970)
Two young English ladies go on a cycling trip through the beautiful French countryside. The once bucolic french landscape gradually becomes a dread inducing nightmare-scape of menacing claustrophobia. And Soon The Darkness is an outstanding, relatively obscure British Giallo. There are so many red herrings, everyone barring the missing woman come under suspicion. Beautifully shot and stylishly put together. A real eye-opener. I recommend.

TOP SEVEN SCORSESE MOVIES
Mean Streets (1973)
Raging Bull (1980)
King Of Comedy (1982)
Goodfellas (1990)
After Hours (1985)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Casino (1995)Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-20160515951377245302018-12-09T23:33:00.000+11:002018-12-16T16:05:41.294+11:00More On Movies X

The Undertaker aka Death Merchant (1988/2010/2016)
Can I say Joe Spinell gets more demented than usual? Probably not after Maniac (1980). He's a loveable undertaker with more than that on his mind and perhaps his colleagues should look out. Sadly this was Spinell's last piece of acting caught on celluloid. You're gonna watch this if you're a Spinell fan (speaking of which here's a mini doc on his life) or just a little bit mental. It's not that bad considering it wasn't even released straight to video at the time. This unfinished movie finally got a semi-official dvd release with stupid added in footage in 2010 by Code Red. The 2016 blu-ray restores The Undertaker to its original form. This is another Vinegar Syndrome release that brings you the dregs from the depths.

Apostle (2018)
Boring horror movie Netflix shit. Got 20 minutes in and that was it.

The Hearse (1980)
Funny and a bit crap but it tightens up a little towards the end. This is a haunted house/satanic/nightmare kinda thing where dreams and reality get blurred. The Hearse is probably loved because of its campy absurdity than due it actually being chilling or frightening. An inept film that seems to miss every beat. Quite a feat.

Don't Answer The Phone (1980)
Strange tone from the very beginning which is so sarcastic. A man who's fat, rapey and hysterical commits ritualistic murders. Very much wrong but somehow enjoyable. I can't believe the brilliant noisy electronic score is actually part of this movie. If you like what I just described you'll either say this is another Vinegar Syndrome winner or moan.

78/52 (2017)
Delve into the minutiae of Alfred Hitchcock's shower scene from Psycho. This is a Netflix documentary that's not as boring as you might imagine. I guess if you don't know much about Hitchcock or Psycho this would be much more interesting ie. I'm very much aware of most of what is being repeated here by so-called horror experts. There were a couple of little bits of information I didn't know though. I always wondered how they didn't get water on the camera lens in the shot looking directly up at the shower head from underneath...in fact I'm still not quite sure how they did that. On the talking head front we could have done with a lot less Eli Roth and just way more Bret Easton Ellis!

Secret Ceremony (1968)
Bizarre. This is all about the clothes, the house, the interior design, the eerie, the perversion & the depravity. Not quite like anything else I've ever seen. This film has to be seen to be believed. Cenci (Mia Farrow) is a regressive 22 year old whose mother died when she was little but she finds a lookalikey in Leonora (Liz Taylor) on a bus one day. The strangeness then begins. Add to that a pervy stepfather named Albert played by Mr. Robert Mitcham. Secret Ceremony is an outlandish psychological horror film that is incredibly entertaining. I imagine this is a cult classic in many circles.

The Dead Zone (1983)
An excellent movie that nobody ever says is great. I would have thought people imagined a Stephen King story in the hands of David Cronenberg would have been rather bloody and brutal but Cronenberg tones down the gore here. It's his first time directing a film that he did not write himself. Fine performances from Chris Walken, Herbert Lom, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt etc.

Christmas Evil aka You Better Watch Out (1980)
This film's tone is all over the place. Christmas Evil had real potential but seems to have been put together rather haphazardly. However it's easy to see why it's gained a cult following. It's funny, it's got murder by christmas decoration and Santa is an anti-social outsider. Harry (Brandon Maggart) is a disgruntled toy factory worker who takes it upon himself to become a real life Santa who ends up murdering people who do wrong. Worth watching at least once for historical purposes as this is where the homicidal Santa began, isn't it?

The Hitcher (1986)
I know I watched and wrote about this recently but Emma had never seen it and it's just been issued on blu-ray. The Hitcher would be in my top 10 movies from the 80s. The film-makers just do not miss a beat in this film. I'm thinking that it is perhaps flawless. There is something mysterious about the relationship between the psycho hitcher John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) and Jim Halsey (C Thomas Howell) the kid who gives him a ride. Is there something telekinetic going on or possibly a homosexual subtext? Am I just imagining this? It's hard to tell giving this film an enigmatic aura.

The Stepfather (1987)
I can't believe this is not a TV movie as it just felt like one. ie. rushed script, direction, editing, one take acting etc. The Stepfather has a very similar premise to Michael Winner's 1984 film Scream For Help but it's nowhere near as compelling as that nutty piece of work. Worth a look for slasher completists and fans of psychotic fathers.

Next Of Kin (1982)
I became aware of this film many years ago as someone suggested that the soundtrack was fantastic. Being a fan of Mr Klaus Schulze I tried to find the soundtrack but to no avail. I recently discovered the soundtrack was never actually released but it was a bunch of his music complied from his classic LPs of the 70s and early 80s. Despite Next Of Kin's relative obscurity now, this movie must have been known to cinephiles, at least, because it appeared on the front cover of Australia's legendary film journal Cinema Papers (see above) in 1982. Next Of Kin is a fabulous piece of underrated film-making. Director Tony Williams is obviously influenced by Giallo movies, classic haunted House films and probably The Changeling (1980). The cinematography is stunningly beautiful. It's a good little story with spot on direction, pacing, acting, atmosphere and sound design.

The Alligator (1980)
Great fun When Animals Attack film starring the fabulous Rob Forster. Terrific little story written by John Sayles. Don't you love it when directors write scripts that they don't actually direct? ie. Quentin Tarantino, Terrence Mallick, Larry Cohen, Paul Schrader, Walter Hill etc. A pet baby alligator is flushed down the lou with dire consequences. Funny, bit scary and fine entertainment!

The Last House On The Left (1972)
Haven't seen this for years. Haven't seen Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (1960) which this movie is based on since I was in my early 20s, you know, when you felt like you had to watch every bloody arthouse film ever made. Anyway this left me guessing right up until the end. The Last House On The Left is a nasty yet compelling exploitation/complex rape revenge movie. Wes Craven's not my favourite director but this is way better than his other major 70s effort The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and probably his best work. Ooh the VHS nerd nostalgists wont like that comment.

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
If you're a cinephile, Orson Welles fan or just interested in history you will have probably already watched this on Netflix. It's a great doc about The Other Side Of The Wind, a film that never was. Many years ago there was a documentary on like five or six films that Welles never finished which I recall being very frustrating. However somebody has completed The Other Side Of The Wind. I haven't watched that yet but this doc makes you very excited about the prospect of, at least, seeing a 2018 version of this film.

The Exterminator (1980)
Was not aware of this movie until the Diablolique Website did a fantastic list of the best vigilante films earlier this year. Sure, The Exterminator's not the best film ever but there are some scenes to maybe make it worth watching ie. NYC cesspool, Viet Vets, cars that blow up immediately after crashing, burning people, meat grinders, flame throwers, death by rat etc. It's quite a convoluted plot in a movie that could have done with mucho editing.

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
I guess you know to expect absurd vigilante action thrills by now as this is the fourth in the Death Wish series. It's unbelievable that Charles Bronson survived this film. We're Back in LA for Death Wish 4. Many baddies have many bad shots at Bronson so he survives to tell another tale. That's enjoyment of Death Wishes 3 and 4 now, perhaps I really am becoming a Charles Bronson fan. Bring on Death Wish 5.

The Changeling (1980)
Not as boring as I remember, actually it's quite the opposite. The Changeling is a brilliant, grim, brutal and ultimately sad haunted house story with a deliberately slow burning pace. I wouldn't say I'm a big haunted house movie fan but this one really gets you in. An incredibly well executed film with stunning cinematography and a great unsettling atmosphere.

Death Line (1972)
Although there are comic moments here this is one of the saddest horror movies ever. I became aware of this in the 90s due to its fantastic Will Malone score. An upper class Englishman goes missing late one night in a London tube station. An investigation ensues with very unexpected, strange and twisted results. Donald Pleasance plays the arsehole Inspector Calhoun brilliantly. Death Line is worth watching for that performance alone but The Man played by Hugh Armstrong is a haunting pièce de résistance of pathos.

Rope (1948)
Alfred Hitchcock is so adept at creating suspense it's ridiculous and er... masterful. Rope is set in real time and I enjoyed every reel minute. Two posh young gentlemen (could perhaps be read as 'preppy dandies') murder an old school chum as some kind of exercise based on the ideas and philosophies of Nietzsche and De Quincey. Will this murder be an act of brilliant supremacy or supreme idiocy? Much technical wizardry and an ace script based on a play from 20 years earlier.Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280197508368908020.post-91658547651220047642018-11-21T18:04:00.004+11:002018-11-21T19:36:29.054+11:00Moon Wiring Club - Psychedelic Spirit Show

Most exciting news all year!

Tim 'Space Debris' http://firstname.lastname@example.com