Category Archives: Movie

80's, DVDs, Movie, Movies, Music, Punk, The 80's, Times Of Yore, Watch This

Times Of Yore: Repo Man

4 August, 2009 Brian Mc 2 Comments

Back in 1984 a certain movie came out focused around a group of men who ideally remove people’s cars from their property once the owners failed to pay the bank what was owed. The movie, Repo Man, of course was not just about stealing back cars for the bank and had a twist of sorts including aliens, drugs, and also offered one of the best punk rock movie soundtracks to date. The movie is a comedic sci-fi cult classic to many and still to this day one of my favorite movies to watch.

Starring a young brat pack Emilio Estevez (The Outsiders, St. Elmo’s Fire, Men At Work) as well as Harry Dean Stanton (Cool Hand Luke, Alien, Escape From New York) the movie focuses on Otto (played by Estevez), a young punk kid with hippie parents and no plans on life. Soon Otto meets up with Bud (played by Harry Dean Stanton) who takes him under his wing into the twisted world of booze, drugs, hi speed chases, and of course hot wiring cars. Soon Otto is part of the repo crew and he is slowly discovering a sense of maturity.

If the movie sounds boring to you then maybe I should also mention the hunt for a certain 1964 Chevrolet Malibu from New Mexico driven by crazed old man who has something hidden in the trunk. I am not going to ruin it for you but I can tell you the contents in the truck emit incredible heat and also vaporize anyone who opens the trunk door to see the actual contents. With a hefty reward for repossessing the car no one will stop at trying to get it.

Add a crew of druggie punk rockers raising hell in the city, a girl who wants to help the said aliens, and the lady with the tin foil hand this movie really goes all over the place. This crazy trip through the mean streets of L.A. is one hell of an adventure.

One of the highlights during the film for me is to see punk rockers The Circle Jerks playing as a lounge act at a bar that Otto visits. The song they play is a slowed down version of “When The Sh*t Hits The Fan”. I also loved all of the generic food products in the movie. Beer is labeled “Beer” and chips are labeled “Chips”. So generic yet so perfect for the movie especially when Otto eats of an open can of “Food”.

The soundtrack to the movie was one of the first of it’s kind as it was full of punk rock songs from major punk acts of the 80’s. Featuring Iggy Pop, The Plugz, Suicidal Tendencies, and Black Flag just to name a couple the soundtrack was like no other soundtrack of it’s time and remains a classic to this day.

I had actually purchased the soundtrack on cassette when I just was a young kid before I even saw the movie. Seeing a soundtrack featuring Iggy Pop and the Circle Jerks was good enough for me. I eventually grabbed a VHS copy of the move and watched that movie over and over. It was really one of the first movies I repeatedly would watch. Once DVDs came out a good friend of mine bought me the Repo Man collector’s DVD tin box that includes the movie and the soundtrack on CD. Score.

This movie is not going to ooh and aah people who are looking for something serious. It is a comedy action sci-fi punk rock movie with no structured plot other than a bunch of hoodlums trying to get the car to get the reward. Punk music backing up a movie about repo men, guns, drugs, violence, car chases, and a surprise ending. Can a movie get any better than this?

“Repo Man” performed by Iggy Pop:

Art, Artist, Derek Hess, DVDs, Empty Wallet, Movie, Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Rap, Toys

Empty Wallet: New stuff to keep me entertained.

9 January, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

So the holidays are over, the presents were unwrapped, and even though I was happily satisfied with all the J-Day gifts I received I felt as if I lacked items for entertainment purposes.

I was a good boy, I done no wrong, in fact this was the first New Years since I was 12 I was completely sober so I think that means presents for me from me. I am just looking for some excuses to buy crap…

Now it is show and tell time. Lookie what I got/have/own…

First up is something I hesitated to buy because it was not something that I needed at all. Hell, none of the items I recently purchased were things I needed… Anyways, I am currently the proud owner of a MC Chris action figure. The thing is poorly made, can’t stand up on it’s own, does not move, and was not designed to do anything. It just lays there motionless, with no desire to entertain; but here is the kicker… it is awesome. It is so awesome that it now is one of my favorite non-animate objects that I own.

The only thing this thing could do it hurt someone if you threw it at their head. — The only thing this thing could do is hurt someone if you chucked it at their head.

It came packaged with styrofoam in a brown box. Classic. — It came packaged with styrofoam in a brown box.

Why would I dare say something so poorly made is awesome? Well it reminds me of a toy you would find from the early 1900’s at your grandparent’s house, something you would look at and scratch your head at. I really think I have a piece of treasure here and to prove it I bought it for $25 from the MC Chris website and now it is on the very same site for $75 (they are claiming to have 3 left). Why the price increase? Well it seems as if there are only 50 in existence as the 450 others were lost in the order according to a bulletin that MC Chris had posted on MySpace.

Next up is a Derek Hess print I have had my eyes on for a while. Last year I interviewed the Cleveland rock artist and remember questioning his affordable prices. He wanted to make sure he sold his work at prices that people without a lot of money could afford. Well I am without a lot of money and I love his work. I was actually buying a print for my good friend for a belated J-Day gift and could not help myself in getting one for my own house.

This is my third Derek Hess print I now own and I know I have many more to acquire in the future. I have already framed it and will place it accordingly in my dwelling so that all can see. One day I hope to have an original piece in my collection…baby steps for now.

If you would like a print for yourself you might want to act fast as this offset print is limited to 300 and I scored numbers 204 and 205 for myself and said friend. Once 300 is reached it will be sold out and very difficult to find.

For my media pleasure I picked up a copy of the hilarious DVD Pineapple Express. If you have not seen the movie yet I promise you some foul mouthed stupid humor plus a little bit of action. The duo of Seth Rogen and James Franco are perfect for this derranged adventure involving two stoners.

Watching the movie last night had me rolling. I enjoyed it a lot more than originally when I saw the movie in the theaters seeing how it was ruined by two jackasses in front of me who clearly pregamed before the movie. The other benefit of DVD over going to the movies are having extra content. The deleted scenes were not too entertaining but the gag reel was hilarious.

Today I ventured to the Borders book store I used to work at a few years back. I went there looking for a vegan cupcake book. I know, what the hell was I thinking right? Well have you ever had a vegan cupcake? Exactly. Once you have you will want to know how it was made.

Let’s get back to why I went to Borders. Well that vegan cupcake book was nowhere to be found so I kept looking around and found something that I have been wanting for a while, a copy of Anthony Bourdain‘s A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines. The book captures Anthony Bourdain and his travels for food. I can not wait to find some free time to sink my eyes into it.

My wife also found a book she knew I would have interest in called Punk: The Whole Story that usually retails for about $25. It was sitting there in the budget section with the attractive price of $4.99 so I grabbed it seeing how I never pass on a good punk rock deal. Full color hardbound book full of punk rock history, a great find if you ask me.

As I finish up this bragging of a blog I keep telling myself there was one more thing that I purchased…something very recent.

Oh yeah. I bought an album on iTunes today. Dirty south punk meets crunk act Whole Wheat Bread recently released their third CD on iTunes before it hits shelves and I could not wait. The Afro Punk rockers have been favorites of mine since they first released their material in 2005. The album Hearts of Hoodlums will be released in stores on January 20th. Inauguration coincidence? Perhaps. That also happens to be the day back in 1977 that I started kicking ass and taking names or however you say that (hint, hint).

Well I guess my show and tell time is over and I should go sit back down on the magic carpet and see what the next little kid out there had…until next time.

Here’s a Whole Wheat Bread video just for the heck of it:

Whole Wheat Bread covering Rancid‘s “Roots Radicals” featuring Chris from Stretch Armstrong at Peabody’s in tropical Cleveland, Ohio

You want another? Ok, I can do that:

“Old Man Samson”

Finally a contest of sorts:

Whole Wheat Bread chicken eating contest (mild cussing)

DVDs, Electronic, Funny, I Want., Movie, Music

I want a Daft Punk robot helmet for J-Day.

22 December, 2008 Brian Mc 1 Comment

While killing some time I found a couple of videos related to Daft Punk I had to share. It was interesting to see some of the stuff I found. Many of you may not know this, but Daft Punk is one of my top 10 bands of all time. I just don’t talk about them too much.

I love robots and still love me a little electronic music. Daft Punk is the perfect combination and I can not wait until they come out with new material.

Anyways… Here is a clip I found explaining the history of where some of their samples came from:

Here is a follow up to that video:

Did you know that Daft Punk had a movie? It was called Electroma and I need a copy. Here is a teaser of the movie:

Of course someone out there decided to be clever and make a fast forward remix of the movie (SPOILER ALERT):

So you made it this far huh? Well I suppose you want to help me get a Daft Punk robot helmet. How thoughtful of you. They retail for anywhere between $14000 and $60000 according to various websites…

I agree, that’s a lot of money. Now I know you may not be able to spring that for me this holiday season and I forgive you.

Luckily I have located a couple of sites that sell the helmets and others that tell you how to make them.

I found this on The Daily Swarm:

THE MAKING OF…THE DAFT PUNK HELMETS

These helmets were commissioned by the punk band Daft Punk for a music video. Over the years, LED Effects has received many inquiries from people who wanted to purchase their own helmet. Unfortunately, these helmets are custom designed stage props and cost over $14,000. While the helmets are reasonably simple in design, the cost of labor and materials make it impractical to mass produce and market them. In addition, Daft Punk owns the copyright and concept rights to the helmets, so there may be additional licensing fees to pay. In short, yes, we can build you a helmet, but it will cost you thousands of dollars and take a year to produce. Here is how the helmets were made:

1. A model shop cast the face of the musician. This was used to create a bust which was
used as a template for the design.

2. The next step was to modify a motorcycle helmet. The body was cut away to allow for
cables and electronics. Two pin holes were provided so the wearer could see out.

3. Clay models were created for all the unique parts. This included a back pack and an arm
band controller.

4. Electronic displays were designed using prototype PC board materials.

5. The LED display panels were assembled by placing each LED one-by-one into a plastic
sheet and glued into place. Each LED required three feet of wiring to connect it to power
and control circuitry. The finished panel was bolted to the helmet frame.

6. The LED cabling was routed around the “ears” of the helmet and out the back. The
helmet cables led down to the backpack where the main controller board was located.

7. The system was originally powered by batteries, but this was later switched over to a
power cord system.

8. The control keypad on the armband was a custom manufactured PC board.

9. Exterior plastic molding and finishing materials were custom manufactured by a special
effects studio to complete the helmet. Once these pieces were added, the helmet details
were touched up with paint.

See? That’s an easy homemade gift. So hop to it! I know you can do it. I’ll be waiting.

90's, Grunge, Movie, Music, Random

The 90’s Are About Me

19 October, 2008 Brian Mc 2 Comments

As of late my Sirius radio has been stuck on the rock/alternative station Lithium 24. Once in a while I love to just listen to the stuff I rocked out to while a teenager.

Today I checked out the friendly AddictedToVinyl.com and there it was… the perfect mix tape. Apparently I am not the only one who has been thinking about the past. Head on over to his site for a link to download for a sweet 90’s mix. It will not disappoint.

After checking out the mix I starting thinking of things that remind me of the 90’s. Mainly things that helped shape me into what I was becoming…a music lover. Not only did I think of music but also concerts I went to and places I hung out. I also thought about the movies as a youth I saw and then watched over and over again memorizing the lines and the way the people acted.

This movie was something that contributed:

Singles – Theatrical Trailer

It took me a couple of years to actually follow the story line and see it was a love story but when I first saw it my jaw dropped at the musicians who played roles in the movie or performed songs. I was young when it came out. All I remember is that I wanted to move to Seattle, buy thermo long johns and a pair of combat boots. I wanted to be like the guys in Singles.

The thought of being a grunged out coffee making Seattle-ite soon changed those as I was introduced to other music and found my click…mainly punk rock. I was growing up you know…change happened a lot. I altered my look more than once in high school and went from a grungy long haired (bright red) to shaving my head senior year wearing NoFX shirts. I might have gone punk rock, but I still listened to the rock/alt.

I still like the 90’s rock and always will… I also like Matt Dillon movies….well mainly There’s Something About Mary…(hey, that was 90’s too!!!)