Do Make Say Think you're an idiot.

From:
Bruce Adams krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
To:
john@lauriesplanetofsound.com
Subject:
tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 00:21:02 2007

John,

since Tim there does not have a contact address on your website, please tell him for me that he is an idiot. in his recent blog regarding Bradford Cox, he states that Mr. Cox made an album with Stars of the Lid this year. this is completely false. Bradford Cox has never had anything to do with Stars of the Lid or their music.

sincerely,

mr. kranky




From:
John@lauriesplanetofsound.com

To:
Bruce Adams krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 11:43:41 2007


Really? I'm supposed to tell someone they are an idiot for you? Probably not. I
will forward your email to him though, so in effect you will be telling him
yourself. You really come off sounding like a tool in your email, so I guess you
don't need any help selling records from us. Thats okay by me.

John



From:
krankyinfo krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
To:
john@lauriesplanetofsound.com
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 12:03:24 2007

dictionary definition:
idiot
noun
1. an utterly foolish or senseless person.

making things up and posting them on the internet as 'fact'? it may
be harsh, but i think the term 'idiot' applies. sorry if i offended
your sensibilities...



From:
krankyinfo krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
To:
john@lauriesplanetofsound.com
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 12:06:34 2007

john,

okay, now i'm an idiot. bruce adams hasn't worked here in ages and
had nothing to do with this message. i originally replied from our
mail server, where i guess his name is still attached to this account.

regards,

mr. kranky



From:
planetofsound@comcast.net
To:
krankyinfo krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 12:30:11 2007


Oh, just go away. I really couldn't care less who it was from. Asking me to pass
along an insult to one of my employees? What a weasly way to insult someone. You
could have asked for an email address, but decided it was best if I told Tim he
was an idiot (for you, of course). And then to quote the dictionary for me?
You've got the time to insult someone (second hand, of course) but no time to
update your email addresses? Seriously, please show these emails to any
uninvolved party, and get some feedback. I sure plan on it.


John Laurie - really me.


From:
krankyinfo krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
To:
planetofsound@comcast.net
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 12:39:20 2007

john,

and maybe you should be a little concerned that someone blogging with
your store's name attached could be so wildly wrong about something
that is so easily checked.

regards,

joel



From:
planetofsound@comcast.net
To:
krankyinfo krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 13:14:11 2007

Whoa, five emails later and I get a real name. Not just some goofy-assed
nickname. Shouldn't you be more concerned about...oh, I don't know.
Punctuation? Proper email signatures? Not coming off as a tool to someone who
sell's your product? Pick one. Getting pissy about something someone writes on
their blog? Life's too short. Does the stick up your ass have a stick up it's
ass?

John



From:
krankyinfo krankyinfo@sbcglobal.net

To:
planetofsound@comcast.net
Subject:
Re: tim's blog regarding Bradford Cox
Date:
Fri Dec 28 13:16:26 2007

have a nice day

Has Hell frozen over?

Yow! As of today (October 2, 2007) the legendary Paul Lynde Halloween Special is making it's debut as a legit DVD! Having been broadcast only ONCE back in 1976, the only way you could ever see this were poor quality "for fan's only" copies. Well, this is probably as good as it's going to get, as the S'more Entertainment DVD states that this is from the only complete copy known to exist. Gay television trailblazer Paul Lynde leads us through a classic 70's variety show, only this one is turned up to eleven. Not only featuring THREE complete songs performed by KISS, but full on sketches dedicated to CB radios and truckin' as well as lots and lots of Disco, including the never ending show stopper "Disco Baby", sung and danced by the whole cast. And what a cast it is! Donny and Marie Osmond, Florence Henderson and Betty White, Roz "Pinkie Tuscadero" Kelly (who is only referred to AS Roz "Pinkie Tuscadero" Kelly), ubiquitous 70's short person Billy Barty, and two famous witches, HR Pufnstufs Witchie Poo (Billie Hayes), and the Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch Margaret Hamilton. And there probably isn't a more iconic 70's gay image as the FREEZE FRAME at the end where sequin disco suited Paul plants a wet one on the Wicked Witch of the West! On top of the main program, there is a plethora of bonus content, including a lengthy interview with Paul's Hollywood Squares co-star Peter Marshall, and some pictures from what looks to be Paul's personal photo album. Though the hard partying Paul Lynde passed away in 1982 at age 55 (with the heart of an 80 year old man!) it's nice to see this legendary slice of 70's surrealist television actually available to anyone who wants it. Get it while it's still only $11.99, as KISS are notorious for controlling everything concerning their performances or images. And since KISS represents at least 25% of this whole show, I gotta figure little fish S'more Entertainment would probably have a hard time paying KISS what they are actually worth. You have been warned, get it NOW.

Tales from my crypt

My own story is not much different from many others. As a child I loved horror movies. Since the first time I was given an issue of Famous Monsters magazine at the age of five, monsters became my “thing”. I learned to read at quite an advanced level early in life because of horror movies. Obscure words like Melodrama became signposts for me while dissecting TV Guide, since that was their classification for anything at all monstrous. I was also lucky enough to have parents that always had at least one subscription to a daily newspaper, and Sundays always meant at least two. And though I didn’t wander off of the movie and TV sections very much, I did start my habit of collecting useless ephemera at a very young age. Movie reviews and ads would be clipped out and dated and stuck into whatever latest issue of Famous Monsters I would have. I would grill my parents for any details they could give me about actors that had some connection to my world of horror. It became a kind of Kevin Bacon game whenever I would ask about someone. The Thing with Two Heads starred Ray Milland, who won an Oscar for the Lost Weekend, playing an alcoholic with delirium tremens. Tarantula starred John Agar, who was from Chicago, son of the owner of Agar Meat, married Shirley Temple when she was only seventeen. I seriously had a basic knowledge of stuff ranging from Alchoholism to meat packing to the age requirements to marry well before the age of ten. All thanks to horror movies.
Also before the age of ten came the song American Pie and the movie Tales from the Crypt. They both came together one fateful day in March of 1972 when I not only got my father to take me to the movie, but also to buy me that not yet classic two-sided 45 (which had just been moved to the discounted section of the 45 bin at the local Goldblatts store). That part of the record department became my favorite section, not only because they were cheaper than the songs on the chart (ie easier to talk dad into buying) but they also contained the more obscure or ignored songs that never made the chart in the first place. My introduction to rummaging began there. Onto that plain paper sleeve I scrawled “Tales from the Crypt – Holiday Theatre” to commemorate that day.
And the movie Tales from the Crypt certainly was my introduction into the world of blood splattered, machete wielding violence, and themes that, though adult, I sadly had some personal experience with. I can’t imagine the awkwardness my father must have felt with the scene where the husband says goodnight to his kids just before leaving the house to move in with his mistress. That scene was sandwiched between the maniac Santa, and before the pulsating intestines, and all I can say is that my father was a real trooper. I thank him to this day for sticking it out. This movie became a new obsession. I had to find out how they got the dismembered hand to move. How they created the throbbing heart. And who the heck were these people that acted in it. While most kids my age would have had nightmares for many months, I was impervious to such things. My brother was way more scary than any skull guy riding a motorcycle could ever be. That movie really kicked things into high gear for me. I got the novelization soon after, as well as some original issues of the comic books that the movie was based on. And a few years later, for my eighth grade graduation, my sister (God bless her) got me the original 27” x 41” one-sheet movie poster!
Finally appearing on a no frills DVD in September 2007 (packaged together with 1973’s very similar Vault of Horror) the folks at Fox obviously don’t hold as special a place in their hearts for Tales from the Crypt as I do. When “scene selection” is your only bonus, you’re into “at least it’s available” territory. That really is a shame, since the movie has built up quite the reputation in the ensuing years. Not only for the decent cast (Sir Ralph Richardson, Joan Collins) and performances (Peter Cushing as a heartbroken widow with a bent for mysticism), but for the solid direction of Freddie Francis, the Oscar winning photographer of Glory, as well as numerous David Lynch films. Oh well, at least it’s available.

It's never too hot to watch TV

Okay, listen up. Ya'll remember the "Star in Your Own Music Video" places? Throughout the 80's and into the 90's these places were set up in malls and fairs and such, and they would stick you in front of a blue screen and have you lip-synch to a song. You got to keep the video you made, only to hide it away out of extreme embarrasment. Well, if anyone has one of these, we sure would love to help you share your embarrasment with the world. Heres one right here as a fine example.



Between spells of playing the Darkness on the 360 (Mike Patton voices the Darkness itself!) I've been catching up with some DVD viewing.

Firstly, I'm about half way through the Amazing World of Kreskin DVD box set. For those not in the know, Kreskin is a mentalist that was quite popular in the 70's. Though he claims no paranormal gifts, the stuff he can do is just plain scary. I'll always remember the story my dad told me about how when Kreskin appeared at a club my father worked at, he challenged the club owner to hide his payment somewhere, and if at the end of the night Kreskin couldn't find it, the owner could keep it. Of course, he found it. This box collects 2 discs worth of episodes from his mid-70's TV show. If you get the limited edition version you get a miniature recreation of the Kreskins ESP board-game. Whoohoo! Disc 3 has Kreskin in the present day telling stories of his days hosting his TV show.

Secondly, another childhood memory reared it's ugly head with the recent appearance of "The Ghost Busters" on DVD. Not to be confused with the Movie, this Saturday morning kids show ran but one season, 1975-76. Starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker (of F-Troop) and a Gorilla named Tracy, each week the live action comic antics of this trio brought them into contact with all sorts of monsters, vampires and paranormal phenomena. I swear that upon hearing the first notes of the theme song I was immediately able to kinda sorta sing along to it. After 30 f'n years!! I mean, jeez, the thing never got shown in syndication after it went off the air, and it only ran for 15 episodes, but my brain still retained more than just the bare-bones of it. As for the show itself, all I can say is comedy is a subjective thing, and once again I do bring a bit of baggage to this thing, so let's just say the comedy is "simple". The DVD set is anything but simple, though. Besides ALL of the episodes, you get over 20 minutes of interviews with Producer Lou Scheimer and the guy in the gorilla suit Bob Burns. PLUS every script on a DVD-ROM!

Desert Island DVD - THE MANITOU

As a child of the suburbs, a trip to the big city of Chicago was always a rare and big occasion. The IC train (soon to be metra) would take you downtown, but beyond the rare excursion to Marshall Fields for Christmas under the tree, our family wasn't much for trips to Chicago. The city was pretty different back then. Scary and unkempt, downtown Chicago under Daley Sr. could be an ugly place. It's hard to believe, but where now the sidewalks are filled with tourists and white collar workers during the day, and theater -goers at night, back in the 70's drug-dealers, hookers and ne'er-do-wells of all sorts ruled the streets. It was into this urban-jungle that I somehow talked my father into taking me in the summer of 1978.

A chubby kid going through puberty, I pretty much lived in Star Wars T-shirts, and had a pretty deep movie obsession. Having seen pictures and read previews of The Manitou in monster and sci-fi magazines, my God, I just had to see it. It not only had a gooey neck-monster, but also a battle in outer space! I was sold. Especially when, without any effort at all, I found the novelization sitting amongst the small selection of paperbacks at the Jewels. The Manitou there and then became the first novel I would ever read. Heck, it was probably the first book I ever read that wasn't 50% pictures. Having been a best-seller in the wake of "The Exorcist", Graham Mastertons novel was on it's umpteenth printing by the time it found my sweaty hands. Detailed with Native American mysticism and charlatan psychics, The Manitou made the daunting task of reading a pleasure. It also gave me a new outlet to enjoy my obsessions. Books! Those long-feared tools of "learning" could actually be enjoyed. Who knew? To this day, the prolific Mr. Graham Masterton has continued to turn out novels and short stories, many using these same characters.

Back in "the day", many movies used to play only at downtown theaters, never reaching the suburbs for weeks or months, if ever. Not just the "art-house" ones, but nearly every film that was smaller in stature, you had to work to see. People may say bad things about 20 screen mega-theatres, but had those been around back in the 70's I may not have had to drag my father to the Woods Theatre on that sweltering summer day. Rat-infested and run-down, the Woods was an air-conditioned escape for the street people and gang members that owned the streets outside. Finding the theater fairly full, we were properly ignored as we eventually found some usable seats. After this, the only events of note occurred on the screen. Bring on the gooey neck-monster!

From the first scenes "jump out of your seat" Dolby-enhanced screech, to the final battle in another dimension, The Manitou was everything I wanted it to be. Sure, as seen with the eyes of an adult, The Manitou is a bit lacking in a few places, but dammit, there isn't a thing about it I would change. It's a bizarro mix of campy horror and sci-fi, with a Made for TV cast, wonderful cinematography and a fantastic score by Lalo Schifrin. The story of a reborn medicine man in modern San Francisco, The Manitou has enough fantastical ideas to fill half a dozen movies.

One of its most unique ideas being that computers have souls. All too often, science fiction has used sentient computers as benevolent masters which want to enslave us. Even today it's quite "forward thinking" to have computers as our allies. I don't want to over-sell this movie as an exercise in cyberfuture thinking, since at it's heart, it's just a quirky, oddball and eccentric B-movie that is unlike anything you have ever seen.

Sadly, this was Writer/Director William Girdlers final film, since he died in a helicopter accident before The Manitou could be released.

The long in the making DVD had been announced as an extras filled bonus edition, so I was quite surprised to find all you get are two trailers and a pretty underwhelming menu screen. Maybe Anchor Bay will follow the sales of this budget disc, and deem it worthy in the future, but as for now, I am more than grateful to put away my well worn VHS tape.

The Search for Prince Michael Har-Meggido

Medinah, Illinois. Home of Temples, Golf Tournaments and Xavier Records.
Whilst brousing the shelves of Medinahs finest resale shop/converted car wash a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a record that I had never seen before. Now, let me tell you, I have seen countless numbers of records in my life, particularly of the "local" variety. And I consider myself quite the savant when it comes to such things. Beside the fact that I had never seen this before, what intrigued me most was the cover and what mysteries that may be held within it. The title was Fly-Flag-Fly, and it is performed by Prince Michael Har-Meggido and The Archangels. Turning it over only enhanced the mystery. In glorious black and white was a picture of quite the clean-cuttest of young men, holding a sabre. Above him were the song titles, with whom they each are dedicated to, and what style of music they are performed in. For example, "The Man with the Hoe" is dedicated to Miss Dolly Parton, in the "folk ballad" style. The lead off track "Saturday Morning" is dedicated to Teenagers Everywhere, and is a "Classic Blues-Dixieland" style of song. The entire album is dedicated to the Eternal Memory of those lost on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Another song "Ulysses" is dedicated to Archbishop Makarios, in the Grecian Rock Patriotic Ballad style. Wha? Wha? and double wha?? Boy, I could not wait to hear it. And once I did, it did not let me down. Being the lover of classic American Song-Poems, this record delivered. From the Hava Nagila/Handels Messiah mash up that is "Gloria In Excelsis!" (dedicated to Pope Paul VI, inna Gragorian Rock Chant stylee), to the title track Fly-Flag-Fly's guitars as screaming bombers at Pearl Harbor sound effects, this record is 25 minutes of pure insanity. Well, I had to find out more. Googling the artist only lets me know that Har-Meggido is spelled wrong. It should have been Har-Megiddo, the mountain that Archangle Michael will battle Satan. Therefore, (all you Old Testament nuts are ahead of me on this one) Har-Megiddo=Armageddon. Ahhh...Well, thats all well and good, but as to who did this record, zilch. The sleeve gives a record label as Xavier Records in Medinah. Let's Google that. Hmmm...nuthin'. The record's from 1977. Thats not too long ago. Maybe if I call the phone number listed on the back. 313-529-7571. Well, even in 1977 I knew Medinahs area code wouldn't be 313. They must have meant 312. And since then they became 630 area code, therefore that is the number I tried. Disconnected! So, now I am asking, oh great interweb browsers, does anyone have ANY information on this record or this person (people?). And if anyone wants a copy of this, please ask.