I wonder how many crying kids and frustrated Indiana Jones fans got hornswoggled by a press release calling Alexandr Ptushko "the Russian Spielberg." Or, as the New York Times blurted out a few years ago, the "Russian Disney." Look, Ptushko is wonderful filmmaker, and some of his leading ladies are very easy to look at. His sets are dazzling in a Cinemascope wonderland sort of way. But the point of the (1930s - 1960s) movies is to make crazy stop-action animation. I think you'd do better to expect a Russian George Pal, if not quite Harryhausen. I like his films! They're the kind of stuff you enjoyed falling asleep during as a child. Especially VIY, which is like watching Mary Poppins and The Exorcist at the same time. But don't expect Spielberg, or Disney. http://www.kinoglaz.fr/ptouchko.htm

From the Tin Hat Trio site: http://www.tinhattrio.com/about_frm.html :

Tin Hat has also been teaming up with a live foley artist (Zeena Parkins) to accompany the silent insect animations of Ladislaw Starewicz. They have written a series of original scores which are performed live with these groundbreaking films - made in Russia and Paris in the early 20th century, they feature a number of animated insects, frogs and rats, dressed for roles in decidedly surreal tellings of Aesop's fables and Grimm's fairy tales.

OK, let's look at this one piece at a time. (A) Tin Hat (formerly a trio, now a nebulous blob of white-hot musical atmosphericalization) is one of the greatest things going in our Clear Channel-bound little world. (B) Zeena Parkins is a tremendous gift to all of us; witness her work with Butch Morris (whom I had the pleasure to see at the Village Vanguard, with my neighbor who thought he was Buckwheat.. but that's another story) and with Björk, John Zorn, and I'm sure tons of other seminal stuff. (C) Ladislaw Starewicz is my favorite stop-action animator ever. ever. ever. See his stuff today.

So, what happened to this collaboration?? No recordings at all, for those of us not in the Bay Area? Must I write a letter?? Grrrr!

Here's a plea for help... anyone in the wide world know more about Doug Johnson, airbrush genius responsible for the shiny, almost-menacing-looking creatures on the covers of Judas Priest's 1980s albums -

Screaming for Vengeance






















and Defenders of the Faith?

I am hoping Doug will come forward to tell the story of these characters... they appear to be glistening monsters made of posterboard, electrical conduit, a host of neon lightbulbs, and some seashells. They give the impression that they fold neatly for storage, or something. I was really enthralled as a kid, now I'm mystified. And still wishing I had a t-shirt.

Mercifully, there are hundreds IF NOT THOUSANDS of hairy, unemployed men out there emailing furiously to get Mr Johnson back for ANOTHER JUDAS PRIEST ALBUM COVER so hold on to your hats.

I agree! Airbrush art rules!

In this kind of art, you can see different
artists, real talented people.

In computer graphics, everybody looks like everybody!

And honestly speaking I was very disappointed

with the cover of
Demolition.

It's too cheap for a Priest album!

The same is valid for Live Meltdown 98,

another cheap cover.

I think they should call Doug Johnson back and do a decent cover,

in the style of SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE!

That would rock!

ROCK HARD RIDE FREE in 2005!!!!!!

- courtesy of The Metal God's Quorum http://www.robhalford.com/quorum/

I will keep you posted.

Hey! Looking for some fresh graphic design ideas?
Here's a big, flyblown mound of largely un-imitated album covers to reflect on!!
http://www.zonicweb.net/badalbmcvrs/

Anyone who made cheap, weekend sci-fi movies with friends in high school has probly appreciated the stonefaced joie de nonsense which pervades one of my all-time fave movies, Alex Cox's Straight to Hell.

I have always enjoyed the rambling pointless improv of all these rock-n-roll con artists (Miguel Sandoval, Sy Richardson, the Pogues, Courtney Love, Elvis Costello, Joe Strummer, etc etc) wandering around the desert and not cursing. Jim Jarmusch, when confronted with Mexican police trying to deputize his gun during a shootout, gets to bleat "You cops can throw rocks."

Still, one wonders, how did such a film, whose point seems to be to provide a great time for the director and all his friends, ever get funded? The question has bothered me since high school. Here, friends, is the very satisfying answer - http://www.alexcox.com/dir_straighttohell.htm - straight from Mr Cox's own blog. Doesn't that feel better?

You may be putting off your Christmas shopping because you hate the long lines at the solar-powered spider store, and the jammed parking lot outside the handmade childbirth automaton shop. Well, I have a time-saving hint for you!! Pack you credit cards and get all your holiday shopping done in one easy stop at Dug North's!! http://www.dugnorth.com/index.aspx
Tell him I said Ho ho ho!

You will always feel better after watching

wooden puppets jump around by themselves.

http://www.rednosestudio.com/

(Thanks to Jeff at hydrocephalicbunny.blogspot.com !)

Michel Gondry update: "The Denial Twist" by the White Stripes is now available for repeated viewing. The man cannot make a video without having the time of his life, can he? http://www.video-c.co.uk/micrositedisplayfull.asp?vidref=thew010&page=watch&FileType=ADSLProg

I was already prepared to trade my Queen-size Family Truckster for the BMW C1, and then I seen this camping model. O heavens. Camping in my C1. A Cylon Raider with wheels and a backpack. To live in Italy!!!

http://www.c1.bmw.it/ (you'll need to allow pop-ups for this to work)...

... which I will attach to my VW Syncro. Fully pimped with sink and couch. Which I wanted more than tix to go see Ozzy, when I was 14. And now I discover that the Brits have a club for people like me... http://www.club80-90syncro.co.uk/

I am a syncronaut!

Which sounds better than a "vanagon-liker."

I am probly showing my demographic here... or mebbe being up at 3:30am has made me a little soft... but it really does seem like the Go! Team record is as much fun as it is cracked up to be. I will go out on a limb here and say that if you swooned at life in Idaho after seeing Napoleon Dynamite, and/or you still wear the early B-52's in spite of later B-52's, then you'll get frothy about the Go! Team. I am frothy right now.

http://www.thegoteam.co.uk/flash/GoKids.html will answer many questions you may have.

...in fairness, though, those Go! people owe a big vibe royalty to your friends in STEREO TOTAL, the best thing to come out of Germany since movable type.

http://www.stereototal.de/music/download_rare.html

...and I will also plug the sterling producer of some Stereo Total musics,

who is very rockin on his own.

Pyrolator!! http://www.pyrolator.com/

Anybody with a copy of Drive to Heaven, Welcome to Chaos will please contact me stat. I sold my copy at ZIA records in Tempe, Arizona for 3 weeks of mac and cheese money.

Bad move. Sorry.