“We all live amid surfaces, and the true art is to skate well on them” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
While writing fiction – short stories or novel chapters – it is imperative that music accompanies my prolonged creative sessions. (Hopefully, a Post featuring something more substantial to read should appear on Bradscribe before this month is through! 😉 )
Techno can really drive the pace of a scene, and heighten action sequences. Listening on YouTube is fine – most vids are uploaded with only photos of the record label, but there are various channels that make an effort to provide cool visuals to enrich a particular track. These are great to watch during a hot choccie break.
One fine and dandy example is Obscurus Sanctus by Cari Lekebusch – these (smartly-dressed) daredevil downhill longboarders received a few plays on my laptop when it first appeared almost eight years ago.
Almost forgot about this vid when it came to compiling these Manic Music Mondayposts; had no idea if it still existed online, so am happy to share it with you today – enjoy!
The beat is suitably groovy; is the vid Manic enough for you?
“I’m not short, I’m just more down to earth than most people” – Joe Cool.
We’re Having The Time Of Our Lives! The Only Question Is – What Time Is It?!
“Be excellent to each other. And… PARTY ON, DUDES!” – Abraham Lincoln.
Here it is!
You can step (click?) out of the 21st century a mo and sample some of the delights of yesteryear!
As you’d expect, the drinks are fizzy and the music is stellar in this sector of the blogosphere! There are bowls of Twiglets and Cheesy Wotsits as far as the eye can see, and a whole stash of Curly Wurlys, Banjos, Jammy Dodgers and Wagon Wheels to enjoy.
Amidst snazzy streamers and popping balloons, let’sget this groovy get-together off and flying!
The mystery. The suspense. The adventure. The call… that started it all.
Elliott: “He’s a man from outer space and we’re taking him to his spaceship.”
Greg: “Well, can’t he just beam up?”
Elliott: “This is reality, Greg.”
Remember when:
Bradsaid he would NOT go to watch E.T. back in ’82?
Even when yours truly was only that high, he felt too old to indulge in such mushy, sentimental falderdash! Wanted my aliens to be cool, menacing, even hostile if it guaranteed great action sequences. All the kids in my class knew that this quiet, spindly lil blond moppet sitting at the back of the classroom forever reading comics, was the one most likely to dig sci-fi movies, and yet none of them could understand why he was the only one not to go watch E.T. Quite clearly, Dyzan moves in mysterious ways…
Yeah, watched this Spielberg classic upon receiving its belated UK TV premiere, and loved it.
No matter what creative pursuits occupied this particular tiny mind, in his Command centre (i.e. his bedroom), or wherever he was on his Grifter bike, Brad just had to be in front of the telly every Thursday evening at around 7pm to catch the latest edition of Top Of The Pops, in which groups performed their latest singles.
With YouTube, it’s great to re-watch some of the best performances to appear on the show, many of which one really believed would never be seen again.
Bought a few singles myself, (mostly EPs on cassette) but not anywhere near as many as one would have liked…
SPOILER!: They’re heading for the medical frigate…
Admiral Ackbar: “All craft, prepare to retreat.”
Lando Calrissian: “We won’t get another chance at this, Admiral!”
Admiral Ackbar: “We have no choice, General Calrissian! Our cruisers can’t repel firepower of that magnitude!”
Lando Calrissian: “Han will have that shield down. We’ve got to give him more time!”
Remember when:
there were onlytwo Star Wars movies?
Come 1983,almost eweyone at school anxiously wondered if Revenge Of the Jedi had any chance of equalling its illustrious predecessors. Then the deflating story swept through the classrooms: George Lucas had changed the title (to the more dull Return Of The Jedi, upon realising that vengeance is not exactly a trait associated with “that old religion”). Obviously, we concurred: the production was doomed, and thus we feared the worst.
No worries!
This Richard Marquand-directed presentation blew us all away with its spectacular story and spills. Naturally, we ended up gawpingall the way through it, just as much as we’d done all the way through Star Wars 2 three years earlier.
Can’t remember any of the Trigonometry lessons from around that time, but will never forget that acquiring the latest range of Star Wars action figures and filling up our Official Return Of The Jedi Sticker Albums became essential endeavours. 😉
Greetings, Retrowaver. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against smartphones and mainstream “music” 🙂
Alex smiles + Grig smiles = Everybody smiles!
“Am I to understand that you’re actually declining the honour of becoming a Starfighter? Extraordinary…! This is all highly irregular!” – Grig.
Remember when:
The “experts” insisted that the revolutionary“new” computerised special visual effects technology utilised in The Last Starfighter (1984) would transform the ways in which SF movies were produced?
Unfortunately, such is the rapacious rate at which computer technology has advanced in just the last three decades, so the sfx of this little sci-fi action/adventure outing have dated rather poorly. Anyway, the film neatly tapped into the video-game-craze that was massive back then, and carries a charm, sensitivity and sense of wonder that is badly-needed in the CGI-driven dross we are lumbered with nowadays.
The central performances provide its other strong points: Lance Guest as the top video-gamer: Alex Rogan who wins a trip to a galactic war, is always entertaining, certainly more memorable than some wooden leading players we could mention, but Dan O’Herlihy made Star Navigator 1st Class Grig awesome enough to become one of my all-time fave cinematic aliens,
Easily the most enjoyable aspect of compiling these music posts is that moment when (you think) you’ve got all the platters that matter and are set to launch, when –at the last minute! – something captures your senses. This next number is the latest instance of this astonishing trend, discovered only this past weekend!
The assortment of freaky aliens hare – designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop! – appeared in the video to Billy Ocean’s 1985 hit single: “Loverboy”(!)
These grooves are so cosmic they can’t be from this Earth! This has become my new favourite track:
Beware of geeks bearing gifs 😉
“If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour… you’re gonna see some serious shit” – Dr. Emmett Brown.
Aow!
It’s one of those parties where you just don’t want the merriment to end, right?
For those who want to enjoy more Retrowave jollities, you’re welcome to zip along to my last volume of Electric Dreams (and follow the Links back to the other instalments!)
There will be LOTS MORE parties, reviews and fiction to come on Bradscribe
IF
we can all pull ourselves away from thisdreamy gif:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” – Ferris Bueller.
“Mom, remember that stuff you were tellin’ me aboutyour dreams and doin’ what you want to do? Well, if I really want to be an astronaut and go out in space – and really do that, it’d be ok, right?” – Ben Crandall.
Dear Friends,
Following yet another losing battle against this madhouse that is the 21st century, Brad has decided to strike back and hold an ’80s Party this week.
Had such a groovy time this past weekend dipping into 80s pop classics and Retrowave numbers, so can’t wait to share some of my top picks with you! Therefore, this edition of Manic Music Monday offers a preview of what nostalgic delights lie in store. 🙂
Have recently discovered The Midnight: a group who have really tapped into the sounds and vibes of that decade. This vid exudes such a welcome feelgood quality, includes an amazing assortment of movie clips, and, being a joyous celebration of all-things-80s, it seemed just too cool to hold back.
After last week’s Retro Review of The Goonies this vid is a reminder that Joe Dante’s Explorers (1985) had also passed me by! Have started watching that, so perhaps another Retro Review might be in the works…
Hope you can make it to the party in mid-week. It’ll be lovely to see you!
And – hey! – if Brad is really on the ball, you should be getting the latest Fartlighter Bradventure by the end of this week! 😉
Cheers!
Wolfgang Müller: “Explosions in space? It’s impossible.”
Darren Woods: “What do you mean? You can hardly see the strings.”
Manic Music Monday Continues – With A Black Sabbath Pastiche
“Why can’t I be different and unusual… like everyone else?” – Vivian Stanshall.
In compiling this week’s thrilling instalment of Manic Music Monday, only one influential individual came to mind.
Vivian Stanshall (1943-1995), highly eccentric, “as-English-as-tuppence” singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and side-splitting wit, most famous for writing and performing with The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Wnen he wasn’t hanging out with John and Paul of The Beatles, getting up to wacky japes with Keith Moon of The Who, and recording his debut solo album with Traffic’s Steve Winwood, he toiled away – over several years – on an ingenious, seminal work: Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, an episodic surrealist radio serial especially recorded for BBC Radio 1’s John Peel show, chronicling the bizarre – but unfailingly hilarious, and highly recommended – (mis)adventures of inebriated and irascible old codger: Sir Henry Rawlinson.
This Christmas, it has been great getting reacquainted with this blinking-bonkers masterpiece.
Did some rummaging around online, and eventually discovered this obscure gem.
biG GRunt was “one of a number of short-lived groups” Viv formed following the demise of TheBonzos, but considering these groups featured the same core personnel, it could be argued that they’re essentially the same band masquerading under a variety of names.
This rare performance (recorded in 1970) appeared on a BBC4 documentary aboutthis exceptionally gifted inductee of the Bradscribe Hall of Fame:
“We first met in a big Irish pub in South London, the New Cross Arms … Vivian was quite plump in those days, wearing Billy Bunter check trousers, a Victorian frock coat, horrible little oval, violet-tinted pince-nez glasses; he had a euphonium under his arm, and large, rubber false ears. And I thought, well, this is an interesting character…
“He was – is – in terms of what he’s left behind, a national treasure…” – Neil Innes.
Irene Walsh: “Pants and shirts go in the… oh, forget aboutit. Just throw everything into cardboard boxes. Clark, can you really translate all that?”
Mouth: “For sure, Mrs. Walsh. [in Spanish] The marijuana goes in the top drawer. The cocaine and speed go in the second drawer. And the heroin goes in the bottom drawer. Always separate the drugs.”
As someone who lived through – and thoroughly enjoyed – the 80s, it is baffling how one of its decade-defining movies has hidden from me for so long.
Seeing how 80s pop music and Retrowave have made triumphant returns to my playlist lately – and there is no joy to be had compiling my latest comics Post – the urge to do another nostalgic deely-bobber-Curly-Wurly-Chopper-ridin’ Post is naturally, overwhelming.
So now would be an ideal time to review this cult classic.
Remember seeing the poster in the video rental store; and can recall a girl from school claiming this to b the greatest movie ever made.
In a bid to save their home from being demolished, Mikey, and his older brother Brand (not Brad, unfortunately – aow! opportunity missed right there) and their other misfit friends set out to find One-Eyed Willie’s treasure.
This marked the debut of Josh Brolin, who – after Avengers: Infinity Warand Deadpool 2 last year – is hot right now, so it was particularly interesting to see how he began his film career. Also, other younglings included Sean Astin, now more famous to have starred in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, the Chinese kid from Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom, and the then-ubiquitous Corey Feldman (let’s be honest, if he wasn’t available, this film would not have been made! 😉 )
Despite its fervent fan following, The Goonies has never been shown on British terrestrial TV.
Until this Christmas of course.
This is actually directed by Richard (Superman, Lethal Weapon) Donner. Although Spielberg is credited as just Executive Producer here, this movie overflows with his stylistic and kid-centred trademarks.
Yes, within the opening ten minutes, this viewer was hooked. We instantly get to know what this gang are like, what they are (in)capable of, and – guess what? – unlike some other buddy movies, you quickly feel compelled to actually care about what happens to these guys.
It’s a great introductory scene – already re-watched it countless times! – and one that needed to be put up here:
Stef: “Data, where are you going?”
Data: “I’m setting booty traps.”
Stef: “You mean booby traps?”
Data: “That’s what I said! BOOBY TRAPS! God, these guys!”
If there’s one thing that Bradreally digs in an adventure movie, then it just has to beboobytraps, and The Goonies is loaded with some really wicked contraptions!
And you really can’t go wrong with a pirate’s treasure plotline, plus a groovy shot of Willie’s skeletal crew still in situ, all seated around a banqueting table. Half-expected them to rise up to clank and chase the Goonies around the decks! But this sounds like Pirates of The Caribbean could do with a re-watch… 😉
Crucially, it’s tough trying to find this degree of (entertaining!) thrills, energy – and vibes –in any other movie.
The gripes are (thankfully) few:
Please spare me those turkeys: the Fratelli brothers (Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano). Evil henchmen who turn out to be bumbling cretins has to be Hollywood’s most overused trope – it’s certainly the most tiresome; can’t recall any movie (from the last thirty years alone) in which such “characters” actually worked.
Sloth – that other Fratelli brother locked away in the cellar – may have his fans, but his inclusion seemed to be a tad unnecessary. Perhaps his grotesque visage dissuaded me from watching The Goonies back in the day? Is it just me, or does accentuating such a disfigured individual for comedic purposes make for uncomfortable viewing…?
This point – and those brothers – could have dropped my Rating to 3-stars.
Perhaps parts of the dialogue don’t work. Thought there would be more quotable one-liners herein. Some of the gags aren’t laughable as they ought to be and the cracks not wise enough, but at least this show more than makes up for this personal niggle with visual tricks and treats aplenty.
And probably the action does descend to noisy and shambolic levels towards the end, but then again, it’s a sign that yours truly really has outgrown this brand of adolescent tomfoolery.
Or has he…? 😉
Andy: “I can’t tell… if it’s an “A sharp” or if it’s a “B flat”!”
Mikey: “Heh, if you hit the wrong note, we’ll all “B flat!””
Don’t worry:
this dude is not going to bang on about how they don’t make ’em like they used to, but The Goonies perfectly illustrates why its wild and rollicking formula worked back then. And why such adventure films are never made nowadays (and even if they were, they wouldn’t work anyway).
One scene in particular (you can watch it below!) best exemplifies this:
Following their plunge down a water slide, the Goonies emerge in a cavern to discover One-Eyed Willie‘s pirate ship. If this movie was made now, that ship would have been CGed by a horde of animators: no magic, no wonder; in 1985, this huge plot-device came specially painstakingly constructed. and only for just a fleeting glimpse shot!
Gawd, such practicalities are what makes this 80s stuff endure. (And what current movie-makers have neglected to heed). Having finally watched it once, will Brad watch this 1985 thrill-rideagain?
Oh yes.
Somewhere, somehow – hopefully some time soon it will be great to “hang out” with that cheeky, crazy, but irresistibly groovy bunch known as the Goonies once more – oh, what the hey! – or a few times more.
A few more truffle shuffles won’t hurt…
God, these guys! 😉
BRADSCRIBE VERDICT:
“This is ridiculous. It’s crazy. I feel like I’m babysitting, except I’m not getting paid”
Francis Fratelli: “Hey, kid! I want you to spill your guts, tell us everything!”
Chunk: “Everything?”
Francis Fratelli: “Everything.”
Chunk: “Everything. OK, I’ll talk! In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max’s toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog… When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I got nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out!”
“He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way… He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us…” – Tony Visconti.
We recommence this series with a late, great member of the Bradscribe Hall of Fame.
This is the week to remember the Starman.
Tomorrow would have been David Bowie’s 72nd birthday, while this Thursday will mark three years since we lost him.
Been compiling a Post celebrating how it’s FORTY YEARS since my very first dips into pop culture:comics, movies, TV shows.
And pop music.
This video – a performance on the Kenny Everett Video Show (then, in 1979, one of my earliest fav TV programmes) – would have been one of those included in that Post, but, like the man himself, it stands apart from the others.
Also, this is most likely the very first time yours truly caught this legend in action.
Brad will hopefully return later in the week with a more substantial Post,but if not,be sure to pop round next Monday for another groovy vid!
Cheers!
“I suppose for me as an artist it wasn’t always just aboutexpressing my work; I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute in some way to the culture I was living in” – David Bowie, 8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016.
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness” – John Muir.
“Foamfollower’s question caught him wandering. “Are you a story-teller, Thomas Covenant?”
Absently, he replied, “I was, once.”
“And you gave it up? Ah, that is as sad a tale in three words as any you might have told me. But a life without a tale is like a sea without salt. How do you live…?”
How indeed…
You must have noticed.
The words have not flowed on this site as one would like. Sure, my gobsmackworthy powers of expression and composition did not miraculously return with the chimes of Big Ben the other night, but all is not lost! As Ovid once said: “Perfer et obdura!” (Be patient and hold out!)
One great – and highly recommended – way for anyone to slip back into their creative groove is to escape from their desk and explore the outdoors. Supposedly, the biting nip in the air during this particular season should do wonders for my stuffy cranium. Sometimes, the crashing sounds of the surf can usually entice me down to the beach, but today, the opposite direction is taken.
On top of the hill looming majestically over our village, lies “The Ring” – a glorious local nature reserve named after a ring of beech trees planted up here in the late 18th century. Signs of habitation on this prominent point date back into prehistoric times, and traces of a Roman temple were unearthed back in the 50s, so the charm of this spot has been entrancing people for centuries.
Would proclaim myself: “Lord Of The Ring,” (oHO! 😉 ) but nah. The WordPress masses no longer swing by this site these days, and one doesn’t wish to lose his last few remaining readers by dispensing such cheap ‘cracks as that!
“For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone…
“In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there. They struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfil themselves according to their own laws…
“A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing aboutmy fathers. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else…” – Hermann Hesse.
“Of the mastersmiths in the Northlands that were, and of their marvellous skills, the Winter Chronicles tell many tales. Greatest is that of-”
Brad, who, rather than stay on a crowded train reluctantly listening to such inconsequential babble emanating from endless banks of smartphones, you are more likely to find him trudging through the beechwoods, high atop The Ring,lost in the garrulous harmony of jays, nuthatches, robins and even the odd fastidious crow…
Why should this ol’ dude, now sporting a formidably bushy crumbcatcher, spend either his time or creds on such flaccid fare as Aquaman or Bumblebee, when this season boasts a positively splendiferous plethora of maidenhair spleenworts and their effulgent yellow-green pinnae?!
One arborial landmark in particular (see above!) entices me every time with its fantastical, Middle-Earth-like charm. Nicknamed it the “Elf Tree,” ‘cos you half expect an elf, goblin, or some frabjous form of faeriekind to lurk beneath its bark…
Whatever magickal and bewitching fantasy land lies deep beyond its gnarly roots: take me there!! For it can only be infinitely superior to this mundane madhouse we call the Real World, with its gaggles of dunderheaded politicians – on BOTH sides ofThe Pond! – bickering pathetically amongst themselves while We, The People, suffer as our socio-economic institutions are left to ROT.
And what about that other 21st century gripe of mine?!
My foray into social media (up until three years ago) did not last long. Upon finding old “friends,” the general consensus seemed to be: “Uff, he’s STILL alive…” And they all drifted off back to their own monotonous pursuits.
The distance – and anonymity – that social media affords has only served to increase – and embolden – the anti-social behaviour that now festers online… and on our streets. In my opinion, the uncontrollable proliferation of smartphones only makes these matters WORSE. And, regrettably, these wretched gadgets will NOT be vanishing like our ancient forests any time soon…
It is NO coincidence that a direct link exists between such rampant modern tech and a substantial lack of care and consideration for others…
So you see, up here, amidst my own bare, leaflorn bastion of solitude, there is no reason to rant. Just savour the serenity! And you can blot out such harsh truths that – as we traipse timidly into the year in which Blade Runneris set – the economic gap between the richest and the poorest around this befuddling Pale Blue Dot of ours is now so gargantuan that it makes the Death Star look like a ping pong ball…
“If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…” 😉
“The book of nature has no beginning, as it has no end. Open this book where you will, and if you have the desire to acquire knowledge you will find it of intense interest. No matter how long or how intently you study the pages, your interest will not flag, for in nature there is no finality” – Jim Corbett.
“What can we look forward to in 2019?!”
Well, you see, therein lies the problem – “looking forward” has become (for me) a most uncomfortable exercise that screams nothing but: “Make more tawdry remakes! Be more obtuse to your fellows! Dehumanize yourself further by snapping up yet more superficial gadgets with money you don’t have!”
NO thank you.
In order to deal with incessant swathes of rotten luck and poor health – during this past quarter alone – the pull towards nostalgia and the joys and contentment synonymous with yesteryear become ever morecomforting. And helps replenish my waning will to write. So, expect to see more nostalgic-tinted stuff on this site!
Encouragingly, Christmas week witnessed an upsurge in both the quantity and quality of my writing, and the renewal of that urge to finish and Publish more Posts!
To help avoid any more anxious loooong waits for subsequent Posts, you might like to know that my Manic Music Monday series is to be resurrected! Thus, there will be a guaranteedweekly dose of Brad while my usual Reviews and special Features (hopefully!) come to fruition!
Any new ideas for this New Year you would like to see on Bradscribe, pls let me know!
Let me conclude then, by saying just this:
The Very Happiest of New Years to you all!
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And lo, Brad settles down this balmy eventide to write Long and arduously into the night…
The view from atop the Ring, looking east… ^
…and looking west…
“Either we all live in a decent world, or nobody does…” – George Orwell.
Bradscribe 