The recently deceased Tuli Kupferberg plays God in the wild 1972 underground film, Voulez-vous coucher avec God? made by Canadians Michael Hirsh and Jack Christie. A rare screening of Voulez-vous coucher avec God? will take place on November 14 at the Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave. in Manhattan during a special celebration of celluloid Tuli called “Fug on Film.” Presented by Arthur.

J. Hoberman writes in the Village Voice:

As strenuously druggy, anarchic, and blasphemous as it is, this 1972 feature might have been one of the many post–El Topo movies auditioned as a midnight attraction by the old Elgin Theater and might even have caught on. Instead, it’s having its belated local premiere this Sunday as part of Anthology’s tribute to Kupferberg, beat poet, Fugs founder, and Voice contributor (mainly in the form of letters to the editor).

Here, he plays Middle America’s worst nightmare: His God is an unkempt, hairy schmoozer, consorting with his female subjects in a vaguely Baghdadian crash pad identified as Hashish Seventh Heaven, while holding forth in a braying New York accent: “Give ‘em some of that blackface crap—we’ve got enough sexism,” he advises the filmmakers in between chants of “Oy, oy, let’s bomb Hanoi!” As cheerfully offensive as it is, the movie’s greatest outrage comes when God anoints a toothless derelict to run for U.S. president. (The same actor, identified only as “George,” doubles as the angel Gabriel—in which role he’s punished for dereliction of duty with a hot-oil enema.)

Slapdash, but not badly made, this exercise in Yippie vaudeville employs Claymation and television, as well as a bevy of naked houris, to hold one’s attention—although it does fall apart midway. End title delivered as a moon notwithstanding, the climactic gross-out is the mouse omelet prepared for George—a repast that only serves to burnish the genius of John Waters, whose Pink Flamingos (the movie in which Divine eats dog shit) was the Elgin’s midnight attraction for 48 weeks, from late winter 1973 to January 1974.

 
After How Michael Caine Speaks here’s Steve Coogan vs. Rob Brydon - The Rematch, another excerpt from BBC’s ‘The Trip’. This time it’s a masterclass in James Bond impersonations.
 

 
Last night at Sotheby’s Andy Warhol’s black and white Coke bottle on canvas sold for $35 million. Warhol’s Campbell’s vegetable soup can is on the block at Christie’s tonight with an estimated sale price of $30-50million. I guess some things are recession proof.

 
“Too progressive! Not progressive enough! It’s the bloggers’ fault!”

Read This Modern World at Salon

 
Wow! Here are some amazing dollar bill collages by artist Mark Wagner. I really dig these. They’re like beautiful layers of tapestry. Go check out Mark’s website Smoke in My Dreams to see more detailed dollar bill art. It’s truly some fun eye candy.

 
Originally airing on October 3rd, 1977, less than two months after his death, Elvis in Concert, is the final documentation we have of Elvis Presley performing in front of an audience. He would do just five more shows after this. It is never likely to see a proper release. Showing a bloated, druggy, puffy-faced performer who can barely remember the lyrics to songs he has sung hundreds of times before, Elvis in Concert is the very epitome of the “fat Elvis” period. Certainly it’s not the way the singer’s estate would like him to be remembered. Might be bad for business!

The media at the time was luridly fascinated with the King’s rampant Demerol addiction and terrible diet, such as his late night demands for deep-fried peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwiches. A book titled Elvis: What Happened? written by three former members of his Memphis Mafia inner circle, became a best-seller. The National Enquirer even ran a truly tasteless cover photo of Elvis in his casket that was their best-selling issue ever.

And then this came on TV, in the midst of all that. For lovers of the “fat Elvis” era, this is as good as it gets. During “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” the footage the producers had made Elvis look so bad (sweaty, fat, nervous, mumbling, incoherent and unfunny) that they cut away to a fan interview during the song. This footage was later used in the amazing documentary, This is Elvis, to illustrate just how far he’d fallen. (I highly recommend renting This is Elvis on Netflix, it’s a fascinating cautionary tale. In the span of the film’s 144-minute running time, the rapid physical decline of Elvis, as seen from between 1973 and his death four years later is painful to watch)
 

 
Via Calle Nostalgia

 
“Breathing life into spray paint.”

Aerosol Amoeba, by Pahnl Whatnow, is simply beautiful and hypnotic. What a way to celebrate colors!  

(via Wooster Collective)

 
Hatsune Miku, the holographic J-Pop superstar from Japan, commands legions of fans who go totally nuts for her, almost exactly the same way fans of Miley Cyrus do for her.  As cool as this technology is (and it’s very cool), I just can’t imagine an audience going so crazy for something like this on these shores. It would be like freaking out over The Archies.

 
Thanks, Juan Monasterio!

 
Today in London, there have been angry scenes at Millbank Tower, home to the Conservative Party HQ, as students and lecturers demonstrate against the hike in tuition fees. As the BBC reports:

There have been clashes between demonstrators and police in London, as students and lecturers protest against plans to treble tuition fees and cut university funding in England.

Protesters have broken into the building housing the Conservative Party headquarters in Westminster.

They have set fire to placards outside.

Student leaders condemned the latest action as “despicable”. They say about 30,000 people took part in a march earlier.

A stand-off is taking place between students and the police, with protesters surging forward at Millbank Tower, chanting.

Some protesters are on a roof terrace at the top of the building.

Missiles have been thrown at the police, as thousands of demonstrators crowd the street outside.

The London Ambulance Service says nine people have been treated for minor injuries.

BBC News correspondent Mike Sergeant is at the scene. He says the protesters on the roof have been throwing liquids down and that a female police officer has been injured.

And demonstrators have been cleared from outside the Liberal Democrat headquarters, where a car window has been smashed.

The Guardian newspaper is running a live feed.
 

 
Blubberella, the latest cinematic crapfest from the world’s worst director Uwe Boll. Starring Ron Howard’s talent deficient brother Clint and Lindsay Hollister as the title character.

“The first female fat superhero ...She will kick major ass - with her major ass ...” 
 

 
Boll continues to make films despite being savaged by critics and producing films that don’t seem to have an audience (other then the curious). Three years ago, in response to his critical drubbing, Boll challenged several critics who were particularly vocal in their distaste for his films to a boxing match. A few took him up on it. Clips from these fights are on display in a new documentary on Boll called Raging Boll, which I recently saw at the Austin Film Festival.

GoldenPalace.com Sponsors Filmmaker’s Revenge Movie critics beware; you might have to put up or shut up from now on, as filmmaker Uwe Boll made history by beating the tar out of four of his harshest critics in “Raging Boll”, a boxing match sponsored by publicity-hungry internet casino GoldenPalace.com. Boll, an experienced boxer, pulled no punches as he systematically dismantled and humiliated critics Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka of SomethingAwful.com, Jeffrey Sneider of Aintitcoolnews.com, Chris Alexander of horror magazine Rue Morgue, and 17-yr-old Chance Minter with his mother closely watching. Boll has over 30 years experience in the ring, and didn’t hold back. He served up savage hooks, head shots, and body blows, easily winning all four fights. None of the competitors lasted more than 2 rounds and all the fights ended by KO or TKO. The unique match originally began as an Internet challenge from Boll to his many critics, and made massive amounts of press all over the world. It turned into a media-inspired phenomenon, which naturally piqued the interest of internet casino GoldenPalace.com

 
Over at the Village Voice website hip hop and rap aficionado Phillip Mlynar has put together a top ten list of some of the worst singing ever committed to disc by rappers. See and hear the whole list here.

In the first audio clip, Biz Markie and The Beastie Boys maul Elton John’s ‘Bennie And The Jets’.

The team’s attempt to tackle the Elton John number “Bennie And The Jets” originally appeared as a free flexi-disc with Grand Royal magazine back in the mid-‘90s. Brilliantly, at times it sounds like Biz has no idea what the original lyrics are, so instead he falls back on slurring syllables together as he blunders through the track.

 
In the next clip, Ol’ Dirty Bastard tears into The Foundations’ ‘Build Be Up’ with all the style of a pit bull attacking a chunk of raw meat.
 

 
Lucha VaVoom tonight at Webster Hall in NYC and the Park West in Chicago on Thursday. Miss them at your peril.

Lucha VaVoom combines burlesque and Lucha Libre-style wrestling with a post-modern spin. The wrestlers are experienced in the art of grappling as well as other things. In the words of Lucha Vavoom superstar Cassandro:

“I’m just a gay guy, and I wrestle in my hair and makeup and my feathers and the glamour — I’m like the wrestling Liberace. One of my moves is the lip lock. I like to kiss people, so you better watch it if you’re around there.”

 
The Hill blog reports that outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist is considering pardoning Jim Morrison for a crime that was most likely never committed.
 

In his last two months in office, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is considering a December surprise: a posthumous pardon for Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, for indecent exposure charges after an infamous 1969 Miami concert. In a phone interview with The Hill, Crist said “stay tuned” regarding the idea of a posthumous pardon for the singer who died in Paris in 1971.  Crist said he won’t make the decision lightly, noting the many complexities surrounding the 41-year-old case. Numerous sound recordings from the show exist, for example, but Morrison’s defenders say none of the scores of photographs from the show prove the exposure charge. “We would have to look into all of that,” Crist said.

 
Archival footage of Morrison’s Miami trial (no sound).

 
Via The Daily Swarm

 
Booda Ode (Stupid Brother) is a Nigerian musical comedy in which the characters are constantly in motion. I’ve never seen anything like this. Between the looped Yoruba rhythm track, non-stop dancing and chanting of dialogue, this is a completely new take on the concept of the film musical. It’s either hypnotic or maddening, or both, depending on where your head’s at.
 

 
Parts 2, 3, and 4 after the jump…
 

 
Some bands just slip through and are never caught by the audience they deserve. I was reminded of this tonight by dear Tommy Udo, who refreshed the aging memory cells with a superb clip of The Hook ‘n’ Pull Gang. In the words of Mr Udo:

Another of the greatest bands you’ve never heard of. One single, a few gigs that I was too out of it to fully appreciate. Actually, no, I appreciated them like fuck. Just cannae remember them. The guitarist/singer formed Die Cheerleader after this. They were great too.

The Hook ‘n’ Pull Gang were Eileen McMullan (drums/vocals), Rita Blazyca (guitar/vocals) and Alan McDade (bass), who were part of Edinburgh’s late 1980’s indie scene.  Described as “a cross between the Sex Pistols and the Ronettes,” they sang about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, released only one single Gasoline, rarely gave interviews, were a great act live and appeared on FSd  - BBC Scotland’s up-its-own-arse music show, which made some amends by premiering bands such as The Dog Faced Hermans, The Blood Uncles, and, of course, The Hook ‘n’ Pull Gang.
 

 
With thanks to Tommy Udo
 
Bonus clip ‘Gasoline’ after the jump…