'Gator Bait

And now for something completely different...

I've enjoyed listening to this mix, compiled by my pal Jim Blanchard, for some years now.  Jim has graciously permitted me to share it with you here.  I added some appropriate "bonus tracks" at the end to fill the mix out to full disc length, & I made a new cover for it (original cover also included).  The music has nothing whatsoever to do with hunting alligators...it's more like an imaginary soundtrack for some weird '70s "Mondo" movie that doesn't exist: obscure pop/psychedelica (from home & abroad), insane "twisters" by Italian film music composers, brilliant Brazilian garage band freakouts, spooky guitar effects, and a Burmese cover of a Jim Morrison/Doors tune!  Listening will probably give you nightmares about being held prisoner in a dank, underground, spider-infested Tunisian nightclub, being forced to eat raw dog meat, while on the stage Asha Bhosle yodels cover versions of the entire ABBA catalog, backed by Iron Butterfly.  Or something like that.

Check out Jim B.'s other stuff, which might give you bad dreams of an entirely different kind...

Jim Ed Blanchard's Flickr photostream (album cover art)

Jim's Info Barn (blog)

AIN'T NOTHIN' 'BOUT 'GATOR HUNTIN'!

You Better Watch Out...

Ghosts of Xmas Past

A few previously posted Christmas items which might be worth revisiting.  Happy holidays!

HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS - A bunch of trailers for Christmas-themed horror movies (YouTube).

HAPPY GHOUL-TIDE - Monstrous Christmas music (YouTube).  Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Lon Chaney Jr., The Crypt Keeper, and more.

RATED XXX-MAS - Naughty Christmas recordings by Rudy Ray Moore, Blowfly, and John "Dr. Dirty" Valby (YouTube).

WEIRD-OH SANTA - A papercraft project for the kiddies.

Day of the Turkey

Contemporary Instrumentals

Regular visitors to this blog are most likely aware of my preference for instrumental music.  It’s true that I listen to a lot of “classic” instrumentals from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and beyond.  But I also listen to quite a bit of contemporary music…and I’m happy to report that the instrumental is very much alive and well in the present day.  Instrumental music may not be all that readily visible (or, more appropriately, audible) in our current vocalist-obsessed culture (how many instrumental musicians have you seen on American Idol lately?), but I’m aware of a considerable number of artists who are recording entirely (or primarily) instrumental music of late.  What the hell, I keep thinking, why not share some of my favorite discoveries here?

I hesitate to share the work of contemporary artists via download for various reasons, but partly out of fairness to (mostly independent) musicians who, like a lot of us, are scrambling to make a living.  YouTube is an excellent source for sampling all kinds of music, so posting links to YouTube vids seems like a reasonable way to go here.  Trouble is, many of the artists I like aren’t rich or popular enough to finance the creation of snazzy music videos to accompany their recording releases.  So, although I hope the links I’m sharing below will be of some interest musically-speaking, I won’t guarantee that the visuals will be all that compelling.  Just “stare with your ears,” as Ken Nordine has frequently advised…   

More next time...

Kogar's Spooky Spectacular

Kogar the Swinging Ape posted this comp at the WFMU ICHIBAN blog way back in 2009, but it looks like the link is still good!

Track List

01. Boris Karloff - From the film TARGETS
02. the fabulous wailers - high wall
03. jackie morningstar - rockin in the graveyard
04. mad daddy - werewolf poem
05. the abstracts - nightmare
06. the fabulous five - janie made a monster
07. los sleepers - zombie
08. the connoisseurs - count macabre
09. BIG BOY GROVES- Bucket o' blood
10. The Tingler - William Castle
11. Unknown - Rat Pfink Theme
12. ricky roy - screamin mimi
13. ralph nielsen & the chancellors - scream
14. little marcus and the devotions - lone stranger went mad
15. The Five Jones Boys - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town
16. the poets - dead
17. Watusi Zombie - Jan Davis
18. the fortunes - the ghoul in school
19. Frankie Stein And His Ghouls - Knives And Lovers (Swim)
20. Duponts - Screamin Ball
21. the mighty el dukes - frankenstein's den
22. larry and the blue notes Night of the Sadist
23. lord luther - teenage creature
24. The Vampire - Archie King
25. the jayhawks - the creature from outer space
26. randy luck - i was a teenage caveman
27. Los Shains - El Monstruo
28. Cobwebs - Devil Girl '66
29. johnny anderson - zoola zooky
30. the tumblers - scream
31. Danny Ware - The Zombie Stomp
32. Johnny Fever - Zombie
33. Upperclassmen - Cha-Cha with the Zombies

KOGAR'S SPOOKY SPECTACULAR

Wolfman's Caravan

Let me clue you in about a couple of upcoming fun events, both taking place this Saturday at the East Portland Eagle's Lodge: First up is FRANKENSTEIN'S COMIC BOOK SWAP, from noon to 6 PM...later on, from 9 to midnight, is WOLFMAN'S CARAVAN.  I'm scheduled to be tabling/exhibiting at the latter event.  The Eagle's Lodge is really close to my place of residence, so I plan to bring down all kinds of cool junk for sale or trade...comics, buttons, magnets, CDs, original art & art prints, limited edition sculpture pieces, and miscellaneous odds & ends from the mouldering archives. I'll set up my computer to trade digital movies (avi, mp4, mkv, etc.) so be sure to bring along your flash drives/SD cards!

Rondo

Screamin' Jay

Ghoulardi

I was working in the lab, late one night...

Happy Hairy Halloween

Halloween Instros

Head on over to MUSIC FOR MANIACS and check out my collection of Halloween instrumentals (which also includes lots of appropriately spooky radio spot ads for old horror movies).

HALLOWEEN INSTRUMENTALS

The APE Cometh

I'm still in San Francisco, gearing up for the second day of APE.  Highlights of day one included saying hello to old pals like Renee French, Eric Reynolds, Jonathan Lemon, and Mario Hernandez, and getting my musty old copy of COOCHY COOTY MEN'S COMICS signed by Robert Williams!  Getting to the venue at Fort Mason is sort of a pain, so many thanks to all of the attendees who made the effort to stop by our exhibition space...Jim Blanchard & I will be at table 329 again today waiting to sell you all kinds of incredibly weird stuff.

APE website

Robot Monster

My library of animated GIFs

Spock Thoughts

My library of animated GIFs

HAL 9000

My library of animated GIFs

Psychotronic Bad Boys

From Dale Ashmun's SPARE PARTS column in PSYCHOTRONIC VIDEO magazine, issue #37, 2002.  With Kaz, Peter Bagge, Pat Moriarity, and S. Clay Wilson.

The APE Is Coming

Next weekend, San Francisco...stop by booth #329, say howdy to Jim Blanchard & me, & buy our stuff.  Yeah!

APE website

Bad Dog

Sad Cat

100 Animated GIFs...

...and counting.

CLICK HERE to view 'em.

Goodbye, Cruel World

Lurch

They Live

Yugga! Yugga! Yugga!

Recent design/mashups for the WFMU ROCK & SOUL ICHIBAN! blog.  You can hire me to design stuff for your blog, too.

jrwilliams57@gmail.com

Mad Finks!

The Alternative Press Expo ("APE") is coming up in early October...it's happening at Fort Mason Center (San Francisco) this year.  I'm whipping up some weird li'l mixed-media sculptures to sell at the event.  Stay tuned...

APE website (click here)