Meet Chandra, the pre-teen who released a fantastic post-punk record in 1980
Chandra Oppenheim was just twelve years old when her debut album, Transportation, was released. Until recently, I wasn’t familiar with Chandra, but when I did…
Author: Bart Bealmear
A mysterious army of angry Velvet Underground fans respond to negative review of first VU show, 1965
On December 11th, 1965, the Velvet Underground played at a high school in New Jersey. It was the first show the Velvets played for money,…
The original ending for Dario Argento’s 1971 thriller, ‘The Cat O’ Nine Tails’ (a DM premiere)
The Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971) is the second motion picture directed by the maestro of the Italian giallo film, Dario Argento. Cat originally had…
Dig the explosive heavy metal found on White Boy and the Average Rat Band’s obscure LP
The little-known heavy metal outfit White Boy and the Average Rat Band hailed from a coal mining town in southwest Virginia. Though the guys were…
A Stonehenge stage set and backstage violence mark Led Zeppelin’s final U.S. concerts, 1977
Led Zeppelin’s eleventh—and final—American jaunt was in support of their seventh studio album, Presence. The 1977 tour was plagued by unfortunate incidents, with the most…
Aamok: Legendary Krautrock producer released deranged anti-Christmas single in 1973
One of the oddest Christmas records of all time came out in 1973 under the name Aamok. The single was put out by the label…
The strange tale of the unauthorized albums of the Beatles Christmas recordings
In the early 1980s, two albums of rare Beatles recordings were released with little fanfare. Consisting of the Christmas messages the Fab Four distributed to…
A blistering 1976 live set from the Queen of Funk, Betty Davis
I’ve been a fan of ‘70s funk priestess Betty Davis since a friend played me her sophomore long-player, 1974’s They Say I’m Different, in the…
How ‘The Exorcist’ score came together after the director rejected Lalo Schifrin & Bernard Herrmann
Pakistani poster. William Friedkin’s horror film, The Exorcist, has been scaring the pants off of moviegoers—as well as making viewers nauseous—since its 1973 release. Even…
‘Silent Scream’: This little-known horror gem led to the explosion of slasher films in the 1980s
Silent Scream is noteworthy as being one of the first slasher films, though it’s largely been forgotten. Made by an aspiring director, Silent Scream was…