From the Dangerous Minds archives, a video/music mix I happen to like very much.
For you folks with a taste for the bizarre, here’s a mix of Indonesian horror films and garage/psyche rock from Southeast Asia.
Look Back In Angkor featuring music by Srei Sothear, Sin Sisamouth, Prum Manh, Meas Samon, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Aka, and lots of tracks by artists unknown that appeared on rare homemade audio cassettes.
The Daily Show‘s Samantha Bee mined comedy gold yesterday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida by asking attendees about “individual liberty” and what it means to them and to Mitt Romney.
Written by Iggy Pop and Ivan Kral and produced by Tommy Boyce, “Bang Bang” was in heavy rotation in dance clubs when it was released in 1981 but failed to cross-over to mainstream success at a time when Pop was under a lot of record company pressure to create some hits.
David Bowie later covered the tune on his less-than-stellar 1987 release Never Let Me Down, an album Bowie claimed “had good songs that I mistreated.”
Did Bowie mistreat “Bang Bang”? Or did he blow Iggy out of the water? Or neither?
Welcome to the battle of the “Bang Bangs.”
There’s something very Ood-ish about Fiona Roberts’ red velvet “Scopophilia” (Greek for “love of looking”) chair embedded with hundreds of plastic eyeballs.
I kind of dig it, it’s interesting, though I’m not necessarily a huge fan of “eyeballed” velvet upholstery. Here’s lookin’ at your backside, kid!
Via Laughing Squid
A 19-year-old Alan Cumming makes his first television appearance in a BBC TV Director’s training course in 1984.
Never intended for broadcast, this is probably Alan’s first performance in front of a camera, though he did have a very fleeting appearance in episode 6 of Traveling Man the same year. However, he is billed here, along with his fellow performers, Forbes Masson and David Lee Michael, as final year students at Glasgow’s Royal Academy of Music and Drama.
Cumming would team-up with Masson to become the double-act Victor and Barry, making a memorable impact at the Tron Theater’s Gong Nights in 1985, where Craig Ferguson and Jerry Sadowitz also made their names.
Here Cumming is cast as one of 3 dead (or possibly war-weary) soldiers, where he lip-synchs pop songs and recites a poem by Wilfred Owen. This was Justin C Adams’ Final Project for his director’s course. Adams went onto a career as a director of quiz shows at BBC Scotland, before establishing his own highly successful production company.
The Wu-Tang comics that never were are now on Animal New York:
Here are some pages ANIMAL exclusively obtained of a short Wu-Tang comic book that was based on the clan’s Wu-Massacre album featuring Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. It was never published and never released, until now. The characters were co-created by art director/designer Alex Haldi and comic book illustrator legend Chris Bachalo. There’s one thing missing though, the dialogue, which is unfortunate, but makes for even nicer visuals. Or just add speech bubbles of your own.
See the rest of the comics at ANIMAL.
Australian mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, the richest woman in the world (yes, richer even than Christy Walton) must think she’s some kind of Dagny Taggart OR SOMETHING. Rinehart penned an offensive editorial column in a mining industry magazine that’s being widely condemned in Australia. Considering that she owns much of the media there, and undoubtedly many a politician, too, that seems significant.
Rinehart’s fortune is estimated to be in the range of $30 billion and apparently the mining heiress thinks those drunken shrimp-on-the-barbie poors are just jealous of people like her and her rich friends. During a month when Rinehart is actively engaged in petitioning the government to lower the minimum wage and slash taxes on the wealthy, her timing couldn’t be worse.
Setting aside the fact that it’s patently ridiculous that a single family could be allowed to make that kind of money by mining a natural (and therefore national) resource like iron ore out of the ground, Rinehart inherited her fucking money in the first place (Just like Francisco d’Anconia inherited his copper mines in Atlas Shrugged, eh? And remind me again how Dagny Taggart came to be running Taggart Transcontinental? Ah, yes, through an accident of birth!) Via Raw Story:
“There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire. If you’re jealous of those with more money, don’t just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself — spend less time drinking or smoking and socialising, and more time working. Become one of those people who work hard, invest and build, and at the same time create employment and opportunities for others”
Rinehart blamed what she described as “socialist”, anti-business policies for the plight of Australia’s poor, urging the government to lower the minimum wage, as well as taxes, unless it wanted to end up like Greece.
“The terrible millionaires and billionaires can often invest in other countries… maybe their teenagers don’t get the cars they wanted, or a better beach house or or maybe the holiday to Europe is cut short, but otherwise life goes on,” she wrote. “The millionaires and billionaires who choose to invest in Australia are actually those who most help the poor and our young. This secret needs to be spread widely.”
You hear that? The richies are gonna go Galt, baby! Take that you drunken moochers!
Clearly this elitist asshole feels that she and her country club pals are worthy of adoration by the little people. Rinehart seems upset that not enough of us are kissing her ass(ets). Her poorly-chosen words inadvertently expose the truly ugly psyche of a powerful oligarch who sees employees as a means to an end and human lives as ledger entries. Major PR fail here.
If the above information utterly appalled you, this link will give you a much different perspective on the life of Gina Rinehart:
Inside the Rinehart family feud: fears for safety and pleas for more money from mum
A nice video montage of Stanley Kubrick’s one-point perspective shots by kogonada on Vimeo.
Via Nerdcore
Local Los Angeles radio spot advertising the then-new Mothers of Invention LP Absolutely Free and a concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium with opening act Tim Buckley (both Frank Zappa and Tim Buckley were managed by Herb Cohen).
A terrific-sounding, lovingly remastered version of Absolutely Free has just been released by Universal, now in the midst of an ambitious Zappa catalog overhaul being overseen by Gail Zappa.and Zappa expert Joe Travers. The first dozen of his 60s and early 70s albums—everything from 1966’s Freak Out! to the 1972 live set, Just Another Band From L.A.—are already out. The next batch is due within a matter of days.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
1967 Frank Zappa & Linda Ronstadt radio ad that influenced ‘The Simpsons’ theme
It’s well-known to be the only weekly TV series that President Obama watches with his daughters and on Tuesday, Ann Romney told Entertainment Tonight that Modern Family is her favorite show, too.
Modern Family co-creator Steven Levitan responded on Twitter:
“Thrilled Ann Romney says ModFam is her favorite show. We’ll offer her the role of officiant at Mitch & Cam’s wedding. As soon as it’s legal.”
Thrilled Ann Romney says ModFam is her favorite show. We’ll offer her the role of officiant at Mitch & Cam’s wedding. As soon as it’s legal.
— Steve Levitan (@SteveLevitan) August 28, 2012
Nice one. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays uptight lawyer, Mitch, on Modern Family chimed in with:
I have to say, I’m actually thrilled Mitt & Ann Romney love “Modern Family”. I hope it sparks something in them! #Equality
I have to say, I’m actually thrilled Mitt & Ann Romney love “Modern Family”. I hope it sparks something in them!
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) August 29, 2012#Equality