The Inevitable Redundancy of a Signmaker

Why do I now have a Twitter account? I’ll be fucked if I know: 

@DavidD12427438

Hello there Tumbly, my poor neglected friend. My only excuse for such inattention is the presence of an 80’s inspired bubble in which I have been residing. These days my time is almost solely composed of working my way through that decades splendorous array of Horror films, finally completing Alex the Kidd in Miracle World for the Sega Master System and trying to decide whether to listen to Purple Rain or She’s So Unusual. 

That being said I have not been absolutely devoid of modern influences and here I have some musical recommendations for you:

Firstly there’s an album made by my friend Anna aka Star-eyed Shrew which you can find here: http://soundcloud.com/star-eyedshrew It’s a whimsical mix of catchy synth pop and confessional anti-folk and is really unique and awesome. The lyrics are some of the wittiest and most erudite you’ll find this side of anywhere and it culminates in a sound that is somehow quirky and fun at the same time as being wonderfully honest and emotive.

secondly there’s the album Cats of Ashes by my friend Rob aka Salvage My Dream which came out at the end of last year but I’ve only just got around to talking about. Again this one has shades of anti-folk about it mixing with some stunning guitar work and drawing from an eclectic palette of sounds. It’s easily the best produced Salvage My Dream release yet but still retains a lo-fi edge and evokes vividly that hazy feeling of summery nostalgia that Rob’s heartfelt lyrics reflect on quite beautifully. Here’s the link to this one: http://salvagemydream.bandcamp.com/album/cats-of-ashes

I guess that’s all for now. I’ll no doubt return in a few months or so!

So it appears that my mandatory post-New Years illness is abating. Hurrah! Also I’m filled with a sense of semi-contentment having just added the finishing touches to a song whose arrangement has been troubling me for weeks. Even better is the fact that those finishing touches were the sounds of a Casio DG-10 digital guitar that my friend Luke left at my house and has yet to reclaim. Anyway, enough of this pompous music talk and onwards, to once again tread the creaking floorboards that line the halls of all obscure 1980’s horror films.

(Because the one thing that the internet REALLY needs is another unemployed twenty-something talking about 80’s nostalgia and horror films on his blog.)

First up was Spookies (1986), an interesting little American horror movie laden with some pretty out-there special effects but suffering from serious narrative problems. The latter most likely arise from the fact that it’s a half finished film stitched together with (noticeably sillier and weaker) material from another director. The result is a confusing, almost plotless haunted house caper. I’d recommend it on the strength of the remnants of the original film which have that irrepressible 80’s feel and an array of monsters and ghouls which show off just the kind of practical effects I love. Just don’t expect to have a clue what’s going on.

Next up is The Video Dead (1987). This is a film who’s VHS artwork must have stowed itself at the back of my mind for years. I’m not even totally sure where I remember seeing it, though I’d hazard a guess that it was on the shelf of Movieland back in the days when a fun afternoon literally entailed browsing their collection of videos dating way back, complete with the original box artwork. Quite fitting considering the films title. Anyway, a few weeks ago the image of a zombie climbing out of a TV set and the words “The Video Dead” suddenly jumped into my cranium and I could do nothing other than track it down and watch it. To be honest I really wasn’t expecting much and it’s certainly no Return of the Living Dead, but I actually really enjoyed it. Sure it has a tiny budget, some questionable acting and a paper thin plot, but what the hell else do you need for this sort of movie? The characters are more likeable than anyone from a modern day equivalent, even considering the aforementioned performance quality, or lack thereof. They may lack depth but at least they’re not totally obnoxious. Plus the filmmakers managed to conjure up a genuine sense of dread ,which manages to avoid being neutered by the numerous moments of black comedy, and they show they have guts (figuratively and literally) by killing off the main character before the last act. The zombies are fun too. There may only be a handful of them but they’re all rather creepy looking and quite distinctive, ranging from a mummified bride to what looks like a meth addled Captain Planet. Definitely one worth checking out if you like your zombie films dirt cheap and campy as hell.

And finally we come to Dead and Buried (1981) and boy did this one surprise me. I’d never even heard of it until I came across its trailer online a few weeks ago and now that I’ve seen it its obscurity kind of baffles me. This is seriously one of the best horror films that I’ve watched in a long time. The acting is first rate, the majority of the effects are incredible for the time, the score is brilliant,  and the whole film succeeds in creating a genuinely chilling, unsettling atmosphere. Although things do get quite gory and there is a reliance on jump scares (though they never feel cheap here) the film still retains that creepy old-school horror vibe that seems to be for the most part absent from today’s offerings. It’s very much in the vein of classic John Carpenter and it all builds up to one hell of a twist ending. Yes, I saw the twist coming and I’d imagine most modern viewers will but I blame that more on M. Night Shyamalan teaching audiences to second guess the outcome of every fucking thriller they see, rather than the film itself being too predictable. I’d imagine viewers in the early 80’s were blown away by this movie’s ending and even though I was expecting it it was still bloody effective. A genuine forgotten classic.

Well now I’m kind of drunk and starting to get bored of all of this typing. I’m sure if you’re reading this you’re bored too. So it goes.

Xo

Boy has it been a while since I updated anything internet based. Here is what has happened in bullet point form:

• I was made redundant from my job (for the second time)
• They still owe me £1600 in wages and about £600 in redundancy pay
• In an attempt to save money and generally take a break from the bedlam that is modern society I have become a total recluse
• I am planning to withdraw from this state of hermitdom intermittently over the Christmas period
• I’ve been on a non-stop Kurt Vonnegut binge
• I am trying my best to focus on recording and although I’ve scrapped a lot of the music I’ve been working on for the last year, something EP/mini-album-esque is beginning to take shape
• I’ve been listening to Roy Orbison quite a lot
• The rest of my free time is spent watching horror anthology TV shows from the 80’s such as Tales From The Crypt and Tales From The Darkside

That is all.

Hello there Tumblr my old friend. My it has been a long time hasn’t it. As is most often the case with the final weeks of summer seguing into the first weeks of autumn, there’s little in the way of significant progress to report. There have been too many late drunken nights turning into blurry listless mornings. Too many people coming and going in the periphery. And too much introspective reminiscing about summers long put in their moldy graves. The perfect soundtrack to all this has been an album by a good friend: http://salvagemydream.bandcamp.com/album/never-mind-the-great-snowdogs-caught-out-in-the-storm And nowhere is the warm melancholy of a youth just out of reach more poigant than it’s hazily beautiful closing track.

Enough dwelling though! There’s the rest of autumn ahead and my plans are for it to be a period of sobriety and hard work. Atleast for the most part.

Well I guess I’ve not updated this in a few weeks or so. This is mainly due to my being ashamed that I’ve achieved very little in said weeks. I’ve been trying to get more of this next Tape Collage EP done but it seems to be turning into a vast and insurmountable pile of near-unrecordable songs. I’ve been writing almost everything on this little Yamaha PSS-9 keyboard that Jamie lent me and translating it all to other instruments without losing the basic thread of the song is proving challenging. I’m hoping it will all move forward at a better pace when I finally get around to having my telecaster fixed. I’m yearning to play some good old electric guitar. I’ll also have to get some dictaphone recording done. I need to kidnap some sort of wizened coot and force them to read my assanine, pre-sixth-form poetry.

Outside of the context of musical failings I’ve been doing more reading. As usual lots of stuff by the wonderful Mr Kurt Vonnegut and I have managed to purchase practically all the work by Chester Brown that’s currently available (and them some) and have fallen head over heals in love with the Harold Gray inspired artwork of ‘Louis Riel - A Comic Strip Biography’. Brown pulls off whimsy and austerity simultaneously and it’s just so beautiful.

I’ve also just started reading a book of short stories by Guy De Maupassant that my friends Vickie and Dan very kindly bought me for my birthday. I’m only a few stories in but am enthralled already!

Now film wise I’ve barely seen anything, but the one thing I have seen which was mind blowing in every sense of the term was From Beyond (1986). I didn’t even know this film existed until last week sometime when I came across it in some nondescript ’best horror films of the 80s’ list. I looked into it and discovered that it was directed by Stuart Gordon. Then I discovered it starred Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree. Then I realised it was another Stuart Gordon movie based on a Lovecraft story. And then I watched it. Well I guess I’d describe it as the definitive 80’s, campy, corny, gore-drenched, bodyhorror B-movie. So if you’re a fan of that sort of thing I strongly suggest checking it out. I just can’t fathom how I wasn’t aware of its existence sooner.

Bloody hell I’m wittering on like a sloshed uncle towards the end of a wedding reception.

Time for bed.

Xo

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is still the best album I’ve ever heard. I’m starting to think it always will be.

Not long until we set off towards the ominous tower-blocks of the city of Leeds. This is an opportunity for the purchase of goods of the following categories:

• Noodles
• Records
• Books/Comic books
• Various exotic teas

It is also an opportunity to witness the masterful work of Mr John Darnielle in person.

Also, I just recieved an advanced copy of Chester Browns latest graphic novel ‘Paying For It’.

I guess this is as close as I get to contentment these days.

Xo

Note to self: Never again attempt to turn one of your songs into an 80’s pop-ballad utilizing a Dr Rhythm Drum Machine and Luke Hansells Casio digital guitar. Never. Again.