Marginalia #29

I love this kind of stuff, and while I can’t applaud much of the filmmaking, it’s a joy to see Rick Baker’s effects for his first feature film and see Harryhausen’s Sinbad again (Kern Matthews).

A friend and I have talked about the great models out there of the drippy title beast and I imagine she’ll have one before I do.

The kids and I discussed watching this after we saw Nosferatu. My youngest seems more interested than the oldest, who enjoys cataloging the similarities and differences between the films.

I forgot how fast this one moves and Tod Browning delivers some fantastic imagery–enough to be one of the major sources of the Golden Age of Horror.

Fulci’s The Beyond creeped me out so much when I was a kid, largely for the dream logic that rules its unfolding. I realize now that it was time or budget restraints combined with less importance placed on narrative than traditional films.

Shudder has a great transfer playing right now, and the Joe Bob version has some hilarious and awful stories from behind-the-scenes.

Though the ending scared me and confused when I first saw it, it’s one of my favorites now!

Bill Orcutt’s Music for Four Guitars has been on repeat all week. In the mood of some work by Terry Riley and Steve Reich, but somehow also the guitar work in bands like Echo and the Bunnymen or Joy Division.

Here’s a great live version!

I saw Ghost Food last weekend perform a version of “Spearfinger.” An absolute blast!

The McRouss live set “The Fat Moon Is You” is available on Bandcamp and other sites. It’s a free improv set with Taylor Rouss. He played game calls and soprano sax and I played tabletop acoustic bass guitar with objects, including the mallets with beaters made of styrofoam balls, which you hear at the beginning of the set. Next month I’ll be a part of his Game Call Quacktet!

A new playlist is available! McClurg’s Musicalia #21: Caliban Wynette and the Chatterbox Orphanage.