How's it going lurkers? These next 2 Cartoon Sunday blogs somewhat have creepy tones to them.
Is it just me or does it seem like animated shorts from the 1920's to 1970's had creepier illustrations?
I
don't recall of any animated shorts from the 1980's and '90s,
especially animated shorts with creepy art illustrations. We had more
cutesy illustrations. Otherwise, some looked really generic, abstract,
or were just horribly illustrated cartoons.
If there
were any animated shorts, that aired on local and cable channels,
during the 1980's and '90s, I don't recall of them. Then again, I
reached puberty very early in the early 1990's and outgrew MOST of the
cartoons and TV shows meant for children.
Now, here I am in my mid-30's
discovering and watching cartoons, again.
We already
know there is a stigma to watching animation as an adult. However,
there is always a justification for why it is highly acceptable for
adults to rush to the movie theaters to go see the latest Disney film.
Regardless
of how adult animation elitists want to justify it, most Disney films
ARE cartoons in movie form. Disney films are usually sugarcoated and
dumbed down content meant for children.
As an adult, I view the characters and stories in animation differently.
Yes,
I know those characters are NOT real people. Although, the characters
and the stories DO have some "human-like" (also known as
anthropomorphic) qualities with more realistic topics.
Bill
Tytla's animated shorts somewhat reflect realistic characters with
human-like qualities to them.
Only judging based on 2 of this Ukrainian
American animator's shorts, which I have seen, Tytla's works were
similar to Ub Iwerks.
Like
last October when I featured Ub Iwerks' animated shorts, these next 2
Cartoon Sundays will feature Bill Tytla's animated shorts in the spirit
of Saint Patrick's Day. Today we have Bill Tytla's
Leprechauns Gold.
Leprechauns Gold is an Irish themed animated short
depicting leprechauns, during their annual gold-washing ceremony.
They also manage to outsmart an evil landlord, who plots to steal their gold
in the process.
How's
it going lurkers? It has been nearly 3 years, since I last published a
Song Saturday blog featuring the Irish Industrial-Electro duo, VNV
Nation.
Since
it is March and because Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner,
these next 2 weekends will have Irish themes to them.
What better way to start today's Song Saturday than with an Irish, Industrial-Electro duo?
Generally
speaking, it has been a while, since I last shared a little
Industrial-Electro Music on here. It
doesn't hurt to switch things up a bit.
As much as I
love Rock and Metal, I still love Industrial-Electro Music. Maybe
someday, Industrial-Electronica, Industrial Metal, and House Music will make their comebacks here in
The Midwest.
This is AS LONG as someone like
Rihanna, Katy Perry, or Taylor Swift does NOT ruin another fun music
genre and sub-genre like they already have in the past.
Anyway, to get into the Irish spirit, let's revisit the Irish Industrial-Electro duo, VNV Nation for today's Song Saturday.
{This Cartoon Sunday blog was previously published in 2017. As of
2021, videos containing the following music references have recently
been updated.}
How's it going lurkers? It appears
that more musicians from the 1980's were name dropped in last night's
episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency.
Lately, more
musicians from the '80s are being referenced to in Part 2 of this
series. Hirohiko Araki's characters are named after many groups (mostly
Rock bands) and singers in general.
It has been
about several months, since I last mentioned the JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure franchise.
Recently, I learned that JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure is considered to be a "multi-generational" franchise and the first 2 parts of the franchise are combined into Season 1.
JoJo's
Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood was only Part 1 of the franchise. It had a Dark Shadows, Gothic Horror Soap Opera tone and was set during the 19th Century in England, when the ORIGINAL protagonist (Jonathan
Joestar) was learning how to use Hamon.
Hamon is supposedly a form of Martial Arts, which uses the sun's energy.
Will
A. Zeppeli taught Jonathan how to use Hamon to fight his sinister,
adopted brother, Dio Brando and Dio's minions of vampires. Part 2 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is
Battle Tendency.
Now
that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency premieres on Adult
Swim's Toonami block, the franchise takes place, during the 1930's with
Jonathan Joestar's grandson, Joseph Joestar (in the picture above) in
America. Lately, there have been a lot of 1980's singers being named
dropped.
Last week, the character "Lisa Lisa" was
introduced. There was also a song sample of Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely
Heart" being used, when Joseph was doing Hamon training.
In
Battle Tendency, Joseph Joestar trains to defeat The Pillar Men. The
Pillar Men are members of an ancient vampiric race. Last night, he
managed to defeat Esidisi. Esidisi is named after the Hard Rock band,
AC/DC.
Even though the illustrations of these characters look like dated characters from
the 1980's, watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is quite an
entertaining franchise for a Seinen Supernatural Thriller Action Anime.
Then again, Hirohiko Araki created his
Manga during the 1980's, which explains why some of his characters are
named after Lisa Lisa, Wham!, REO Speedwagon, Dire Straits, The Cars,
etc.
The characters being namesakes of celebrities, songs, albums, etc. add to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise's campiness. Whenever watching this particular series, I usually laugh because they are namesakes.
Rather than sharing the usual animation, I
thought it would be better to learn more about the names of the
characters from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise for Cartoon
Sunday.
1) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood Music References (2021)
2) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency Music References (2021)
How's it going lurkers? I originally planned to publish this blog
last Saturday. February 10th was the 30th anniversary for Dokken's
release of their single "Dream Warriors."
"Dream
Warriors" brings back childhood memories. So does A Nightmare On
Elm Street. Dokken released their single 3 weeks before the Slasher
Horror film released in theaters; A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream
Warriors released on February 27, 1987.
At the time, I was only 4 going on 5 years
old. I remember the band's music video
for "Dream Warriors" being heavily played on MTV. My mother would
usually change the channel so that I wouldn't get scared of Freddy
Krueger in the music video.
Most people don't know,
that some of today's Hollywood "A-List actors and actresses" made their
film debuts in Slasher Horror films. Johnny Depp made his film debut in
the original A Nightmare On Elm Street, for example.
Watching Freddy
Krueger pull the character, Glen through the bed only to slash and spit Glen into
pieces saddens me, until this day. Poor Glen.
Another
A-Lister, who debuted in a Slasher Horror film was Patricia Arquette.
Patricia debuted in A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Trailer (1987)
She also made her cameo appearance in Dokken's music video for "Dream
Warriors." Dokken used movie clips for their music video, along with
filming their own original video scenes.
The actress' character, Kristen
ends up being "rescued" by Dokken from Freddy by the band performing the
sequel's theme song, "Dream Warriors."
At the end of
their music video, Freddy wakes up from his "nightmare" about Dokken.
When you watch the music video, you have to laugh at how silly it looks.
Luckily, the music video was MUCH better than the actual movie. Dokken was
heavily advertised for A Nghtmare On Elm Street 3.
About 10 minutes into the movie, the character Taryn was shown in the hallway wearing a Dokken T-shirt.
Even
though A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors heavily advertised
Dokken and gave the band more commercial success, this Slasher was a
joke. Giving mentally disturbed teenagers "special powers" to fight Freddy
Krueger in their dreams felt TOO contrived.
Yes, I know the movie is titled "Dream Warriors" for a reason. However, that
movie is as God-awful as Sharknado and other movies, which are currently
airing on Syfy.
I tried watching Dream Warriors years ago and ended up
turning it off because I couldn't take it seriously at all. It was LAME.
Have
you ever noticed that the original A Nightmare On Elm Street (excluding
the 2010 remake) still gets aired on cable whereas the sequels usually
don't?
After watching MTV Classic, I realized a
number of Dokken's music
videos had Horror in them yet their songs consisted of topics regarding love,
relationships, heartbreak, fear, etc.
Judging by this Metal band's music videos, album covers, and
instruments, I assume they are fellow Horror fans. If not
everyone from Dokken, at least a small percentage of them may be Horror
fans.
Throughout the years, guitarist George Lynch had skulls, bones,
snakes, and demons designed on his guitars.
In
addition to Lynch's guitars, Dokken has a song on Back For The Attack
titled, "Mr Scary." George Lynch and Jeff Pilson wrote the
song.
Mr. Scary" is a guitar solo following "Heaven Sent" on the Back For The
Attack album.
Also, I want to add that the success
of Dokken's "Dream Warriors" for A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream
Warriors led to the following sequels to include a Heavy Metal song on
its soundtrack.
Those of you reading today's blog
are probably wondering about my favorite songs from Dokken. Right now, I
have their song "Breaking The Chains" stuck in my head, which is on
their 1981 debut album, Breaking The Chains.
As for the Metal band's Back For The Attack album, my mother bought me that album, when I
was a little girl and I have owned it on vinyl for nearly 30 years. Although, I
haven't played the album on my turntable in 17 years. Decades later,
"Heaven Sent" is still my favorite from Back For The Attack.
I
believe Dokken is 1 of the most HIGHLY UNDERRATED Metal bands from the
1980's. Not that I hated listening to every Glam Metal band, during my early
childhood in the '80s, but there were other Metal bands, that did NOT get the amount of exposure and praise as they should've.
Dokken was NOT the stereotypically flamboyant, '80s Glam Metal band that constantly wore Androgynous Fashion for female fans and groupies.
Anyway, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Back For The Attack album, here are 3 Horror themed music videos by Dokken for Song Saturday.
1) Dokken "Dream Warriors" Back For The Attack (1987); A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Soundtrack (1987)
2) Dokken "Burning Like A Flame" Back For The Attack (1987)
3) Dokken "Heaven Sent" Back For The Attack (1987)
How's it going lurkers? Remember when I said, that I wouldn't be
gothing it up hardcore as much this week? Well, I couldn't help it,
especially not today.
The last 2 days, I have been
updating more previously published blogs that I published, throughout the years.
In fact, I
JUST updated a blog that I published about Bauhaus' Peter Murphy.
Then, I linked that exact same blog with my most recent Cartoon Sunday blog.
Suddenly,
I remembered that today is the day Brandon Lee would've turned 52 years
old.
I believe Brandon would've been a sexy, 52-year-old man had he
STILL been alive today. He probably would've also been getting more
acting gigs.
Yes, I know. It sounds like I'm
fangirling over a dead sexy (pun intended) actor more than 2 decades
later.
Honestly, I can't help it. Men with long, dark hair, especially
if they happen to be musicians and/or Goth have always been hard to get out
my system.
Even though I retired from dating 10 years ago, dark hair, musicians, and Goths will ALWAYS be my types.
As usual, I digress. Because it is the late Brandon Lee's 52nd
birthday and since there are so many other readers, who have never read
my previous blogs about him, I thought I would share and re-share them
with everyone for today.
Simply click on this LINK and you will be directed to several links about the late Brandon Lee.
How's it going lurkers? While checking messages and working on
today's blog last night, I noticed that MTV Classic was showing music videos
by 2 pioneers of Goth Rock!
Not only did the network play a classic
music video by The Cure, but also Peter Murphy from Bauhaus! Out of
shock, I almost dropped 1/2 my Turkey Sub Sandwich.
MTV
Classic airing The Cure's music videos is something to be expected.
Now, a music video by the lead singer of Bauhaus? That is something
exceedingly rare.
NEVER in all my years have I ever seen MTV air a music
video by Bauhaus, much less a music video by Peter Murphy himself.
Hell, I've watched VH-1 Classic (now turned MTV Classic) air Joy
Division's music video for "Love Will Tear Us Apart."
Playing
music videos by Peter Murphy and Bauhaus? Never.
Well, you could argue that
it really all depends on MY timing of turning on music channels.
However, MTV has a long-time history of blacklisting certain singers,
rappers, groups, and bands. This especially applies to excluding
minorities talented in music.
Several months ago, I
was surprised to discover that MTV used to blacklist music videos by talented black men such as Michael Jackson and Prince. Originally, founders of
the network ONLY wanted to air Rock music videos and music that was
close to Rock.
Michael Jackson had to actually strong arm MTV
into playing music videos made by people of color. This especially
applies to his music video, "Thriller." Michael threatened to tell the media
about MTV discriminating against he, Prince, and other talented
minorities.
Michael Jackson also let MTV know that a lot of time, money, and talent went into making "Thriller."
After
the network finally premiered "Thriller," the music video instantly became
the classic that it is today. Once I learned this surprising news, I
really started viewing MTV a lot differently than I have throughout my
life.
Since
the time of growing up during the 1980's and '90s, I have been use to watching a wide variety of music videos from different genres and sub-genres. After learning how biased, closed-minded, and bigoted the people in charge
of MTV's programming were and still are, since the launching of it, I lost MORE
respect for the network. It is amazing how MTV started as a
network wanting to pander to ONLY White America.
Today
this exact same network now wants to act like self-righteous, civil
rights activists and pander mostly to the black audience like it is
suddenly BET with non-stop SJW propaganda.
Therefore,
if MTV blacklisted music icons such as Michael Jackson AND Prince 35-36 years ago, the network will SURELY exclude anyone, who doesn't fit their branding at the moment. This really is a perfect example of
MTV NOT wanting to play music videos made by certain artists for a CERTAIN group(s) of people.
The pioneers of Goth
Rock may not be people of color, but I can tell you without a doubt, that I
don't recall of ever seeing a Bauhaus music video. Goth fans were just
lucky to see The Cure because Goth Music is extremely niche.
On
a much lighter note, I thought I would share this satirical animation
for Cartoon Sunday.
Pitchfork TV made an informative yet satirical
cartoon about the history of Goth Music and the Goth Sub-culture. If
you have never heard of Pitchfork.com, it was founded on New Year's Day
1996 and is supposedly considered 1 of the most popular online music
resources.
Pitchfork.com publishes daily reviews, features, interviews,
and real-time music news coverage of Indie Rock, Hip-Hop, Electronica,
Pop, Metal, and Experimental Music.
As I watched
Pitchfork's history lesson about Goth Music and the Goth Sub-culture, I
laughed. There are a few song samples from The Cure, Joy Division,
Bauhaus, and Ministry featured in the cartoon.
In
addition, there are illustrations of some of these Goth bands' albums
and of The Crowfilm.
Then, there are jokes about who and what can be
considered "Goth." When they said that Kanye West
could be considered "Goth," I definitely laughed.
That particular scene is
basically mocking hipsters. Everyone knows how much of posers they are,
when it comes to any and everything.
Anyway, here is Pitchfork TV's history lesson about Goth Music and the Goth Sub-culture.
How's it going lurkers? It appears that a nice portion of you took quite a
liking to last weekend's Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs, which I
am glad. Therefore, I am sharing London After Midnight once again for
Song Saturday. It has been a long time, since I last shared anything by
LAM.
It would be much better to refer to London After Midnight as a "band," but whatever.
That's something to take up with the vocalist, Sean Brennan.
It
also would've been much better, if LAM gained more exposure via
traditional radio stations, during the 1990's.
During the '90s, Goth music,
films, and shows were at their pinnacle in regards to entertainment
exposure. At least it seemed that way, during my youth.
During
the '90s, Live Action TV shows, cartoons, music, and movies really
began to acknowledge Goths and our sub-culture. So, with that being said, I
find it a BIT disappointing that London After Midnight wasn't aired
on traditional local radio stations, including those in my area.
I don't recall of ever
browsing our CD shelves of music at 101.7 WIPZ and stumbling upon LAM. If
any of this Goth band's music existed in our studio, I surely would've played them
on my radio show, All Things Frightening.
It was not until summer break
2005, that I discovered London After Midnight through LAUNCHcast Radio.
In 2005, I was attending my last year at Carthage College. Also, I was
no longer hosting my radio show at UW-Parkside because I transferred to
Carthage in 2004.
This was along with the fact, that
I was feeling politically fatigued from most of entertainment 12-13
years ago. That was another major reason why I quit radio. Entertainment
became too politicized.
Entertainers should spend
MORE time ENTERTAINING us fans and LESS time acting like a bunch of
militant, self-righteous, wannabe political activists ad nauseam at award shows, concerts, and other
social/entertainment events.
I want to be
ENTERTAINED. Politicizing entertainment and being self-righteous about politics are fantastic ways to alienate loyal fans and hurt an entertainer's paycheck. These wannabe political
"activists" assume that EVERYONE shares their views about everything like sycophants, when in
reality, everyone does NOT.
Most of what has been released
and are still being released are heaping piles of shit.
And Hollywood
entertainers wonder why nobody's buying their albums, shows, and movies?
Since
we are back on the topic of the Goth Sub-culture, I want to emphasize
that the sub-culture is NOT meant for everyone.
At the risk of sounding like an "elitist," "purist," or "gatekeeper," lots of hipsters today are posing as Goths when they know absolutely nothing about the sub-culture and what it's like to endure being mocked, condemned, and demonized by the media, their watchdog groups, and Christian zealots for being Goth. Well, I digress.
In my previous Song
Saturday blog about London After Midnight, I explained more about the
"project," Sean Brennan's rant about social media, and my usual rants about social
media and hipsters (just a smidge. Sorry, I can't it. Hipsters
continuously ruin entertainment, food, religions, fashion, and
sub-cultures, including the Goth Sub-culture).
In that same Song Saturday
blog, there is a block of songs featured from LAM's 2nd album, Psycho
Magnet.
Today we are going backwards by sharing a
song from London After Midnight's debut album, Selected Scenes From The
End Of The World. There are at least 3-4 different versions of this
album. Selected Scenes From The End Of The World originally released in
1992 with a purple album cover.
By 2003 and 2008, this exact same album was re-released in other colors such as blue and red for 2 more examples. Each
version was re-released featuring bonus tracks, re-recordings, and
more.
Anyway, rather than bore you to death with more details and personal rants, here is
London After Midnight's "Sacrifice" for today's Song Saturday.
London After Midnight "Sacrifice" Selected Scenes From The End Of The World [2008 RE-RELEASE]
How's it going lurkers? As promised, I said I would mention the forum I joined earlier this
month.
Now that Adult Swim's forum is shut
down (finally), I joined Anime League. For all you Anime fans,
Anime League is a serious breath of fresh air and is the polar opposite
of Adult Swim. When saying "polar opposite," I mean PLEASANT.
Throughout
the last 3 years, you have read my rants about the network itself and
the overall Adult Swim Community. Had I known Anime League existed 3 YEARS AGO, I would've joined that forum MUCH SOONER and would've NEVER
joined Adult Swim.
I most definitely regret joining Adult
Swim's forum and allowing a misogynistic, sleazebag, con artist to
guilt trip me into staying ONLY to use me as a means to an end and to
smear my reputation out of spite.
Even though there
were SOME decent posters on Adult Swim's forum, I cannot help saying good bye and good
riddance to such a deplorable and extremely toxic community mostly
moderated by crooked man-children with Little Dick Syndrome.
The
social environment on Anime League is welcoming of new
posters so much so that there is literally a welcome committee and you are
automatically assigned a buddy, after joining.
Also, the moderators are
very active, helpful, inclusive, and go above and beyond to make the forum as pleasant as
possible for everyone.
I haven't had a single fight or witnessed a fight, since joining. This says A LOT about Anime League's community.
In
addition, there are numerous sub-forums on Anime League about Anime as well as other types of entertainment and sub-cultures.
Anime League even has a sub-forum for general discussions outside of Japanese animation, sub-cultures, and entertainment in general.
So, are you looking to join an uncensored Anime forum that allows you to support your favorite characters and series with fans of your ilk? If so, you may want to give Anime League a shot!
Wow! Can you believe that today is the day, when the Slasher Horror
film SCREAM released in movie theaters 20 years ago?! Where has the time
gone? In 1996, I was only 14 years old.
Yes, you read that correctly. Both SCREAM and
Beavis And Butt-Head Do America are celebrating their 20th anniversaries
today.
Because you must be AT LEAST 17 years old,
in order to go see an R-rated movie, I never watched SCREAM on the big
screen.
Yes, I know. Adolescents under 17 years old would sneak into R-rated movies if they did NOT have a parent or an adult to take them to go
see those movies.
However, that was never the case for me. By
the time I was 14 years old, I normally rented R-rated movies with my
mother at local video stores. In order for SCREAM to get an R-rating, a
few scenes actually had to be deleted.
In the 2011 documentary, SCREAM: The Inside Story, the cast and crew mentioned, that some scenes were removed from SCREAM.
Do you remember those scenes of Drew Barrymore playing the character, Casey?
Ghostface
sadistically grilled her over the telephone about Classic Slasher films
and their moral villains. The filmmakers had to delete this scene of
Casey's boyfriend being gutted on the patio.
1) SCREAM [Deleted Scene]: Casey's Boyfriend Steve Is Gutted (1996)
Because the scene of Drew Barrymore's character, Casey being hung from a tree was "too graphic" 20 years ago, the filmmakers also had to edit this next scene. In order to watch the following scene, click on the video link below, which will take you to the scene on YouTube.
2) SCREAM [Deleted Scene]: Casey Hanging From The Tree (1996)
Guess what? There are 3 MORE scenes that were removed from the 1996 Slasher Horror, SCREAM.
3) SCREAM [Deleted Scene]: Tatum's Death By Garage Door (1996)
4) SCREAM [Deleted Scene]: Kenny The Camera Man Gets His Throat Slit (1996)
5) SCREAM [Deleted Scene]: Stuart's Hand Drips A Puddle Of Blood After He & Billy Stab Each Other (1996)
Now that you have watched the preceding deleted scenes fromSCREAM, it is
only fitting to revisit these past blogs from 2014.
While being on
social media yesterday, I re-shared my previous blog review about retro Christmas Slashers dating as far
back as 1972.
Most people are unaware that Christmas
Slashers helped originate the Slasher Horror sub-genre. Without
Christmas Slashers, John Carpenter's Halloween would've never existed
today. If you read my Christmas Slashers review, I explain about this topic in particular.
Since
we are on the topic of SCREAM, the franchise still appears to be a very
popular franchise 20 years later.
In fact, I was quite surprised that
MTV chose to remake this 20-year-old Slasher Horror movie into a TV
series. You may be wondering:
What do you think about MTV remaking SCREAM into a prime time show?
Truthfully,
it was highly unneccesary for a network, which was originally dedicated
to airing MUSIC VIDEOS to be jumping on the bandwagon of remaking
films.
Even though I never bothered watching the TV series for SCREAM,
it's quite evident that Hollywood filmmakers and screenwriters are desperately in need of MUCH newer and a lot more ORIGINAL content.
It
appears that most filmmakers today are too hung up on their nostalgia.
This Slasher did NOT need to have its own TV series in this era. It
would've made sense if SCREAM had its own show, during the time when the
film was popular in the late 1990's.
Today, MTV and the creators of SCREAM's TV series are desperately reaching
for an audience.
The trilogy had its time, YEARS AGO and should stay in the past
without Hollywood filmmakers ruining its legacy for money.
Now,
let's take a murderous trip down memory lane by watching the
documentary, SCREAM: The Inside Story.
The uncensored version of this
documentary, which I originally shared in the following blog, was
removed from YouTube. Ugh! So annoying.
Therefore, I was forced to
update my blog with a censored version of it. So, bear with me. Anyway, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of
SCREAM, here is SCREAM: The Inside Story.
In case you did not already know
or in case you forgot, today is Krampus Day. Krampus is Saint Nicholas'
evil sidekick, who shows up every December 5th to punish "naughty
children."
Growing up, I never learned anything about this
evil goat demon from teachers or my family.
Some classmates did
not necessarily know anything about Saint Nicholas Day being on December
6th, which I always found to be very odd. They not only knew NOTHING about Saint Nicholas Day, but also knew nothing about Krampus
Day. NEITHER were discussed in any of my K-12 schools.
I suppose our teachers did NOT want to
traumatize us impressionable children. Otherwise, they probably never heard of Krampus either.
I
recently learned about Krampus 3 years ago from watching Grimm on NBC.
Speaking of Grimm, I will really miss watching this show after its
series finale, in the spring. As comical as the writing is, viewers have
been exposed to some international folklores and Germanic terms to describe various creatures known as "wesen."
The
series also gave me a reason to start watching primetime shows on
Fridays again, over these last 5-6 years. I would've tried sharing that
Krampus episode from Grimm today, but no thanks to Hulu, only viewers
subscribed to their site can watch online streams now.
Since
that is the case, I have decided to share footage of a Krampus Parade
instead. Last month in Schladming, Styria (a former small mining town in
the northwest of Austria), a Krampus Parade was held. It is normally
called Krampuslauf meaning "Krampus Run."
Over 1200
Krampus celebrants dressed as the beast in black rags and masks drag
chains behind themselves.
Every so often, these celebrants hurl their
chains and switches towards children. This is along with them swinging
cowbells, which is to warn people that Krampus is coming.
In Scandinavian countries and other parts of Europe, Krampuskarten or "Krampus Cards" are given for Krampus Day.
Saying "Gruß vom Krampus" means "Greetings from the Krampus" in German.
The
depiction of Krampus has evolved over time, since the 1800's. Older
versions of Krampus cards depict this goat demon as more evil and
frightening. In more modern times, he is depicted as more child
friendly, if not a womanizer.
If you would like to learn more about Krampus, feel free to check out my previous blogs about him at the following:
How's it going lurkers? On the left is a touching photograph of the late Stone
Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver's frontman, Scott Weiland. In this picture, he's shown embracing his mother, Sharon Williams. It is touching yet simultaneously heartbreaking.
Here it
is 1 year later. Honestly, I expected for Scott to have died 20
years ago. There was constant news coverage about Weiland being in/out of
rehab, throughout the years. At the same time, it was still a tragic
surprise to learn of Scott's death on social media, last year.
Throughout my childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, I listened to a variety of music genres, sub-genres, groups, and singers. Stone
Temple Pilots was a major part of my youth, during the 1990's.
As
a music lover, I still have MOST of Stone Temple Pilots' albums; I have
their first 4 albums to be more specific. Don't get me wrong, it's not
like I didn't grieve over Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley's deaths.
When
Kurt died, I was just going into middle school. When Layne Died, I was
on my way to my 2nd and 3rd colleges followed by hosting my OWN radio
show. Scott Weiland lived longer than Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Alice In Chains'
Layne Staley combined. He missed his milestone of turning 50 and died from a drug
overdose, last December 3rd at 48 years old.
Early Wednesday
morning, I took a quick peak at the official Stone Temple Pilots page on Facebook. I was curious to know if STP had finally decided on another
replacement vocalist. Once I clicked on the band's page, I saw a picture
of Scott Weiland wearing a black suit and a red hat.
On the band's most recent Facebook status (October 27, 2016), it says, "Happy
Birthday Scott. We miss you."
Below his picture, a fan posted, "The day I
heard he passed away... part of my youth went with him. Happy Birthday
Scott. RIP." I cannot help sharing this exact sentiment.
After
learning, that Scott Weiland died last December 4th, a considerable
amount of my youth died with him, too. I grew up listening to Stone
Temple Pilots. I was in 4th and 5th grade, when the band started getting
airplay. Normally, I would get a Stone Temple Pilots album for my
birthday. That was if I did NOT already buy an album of theirs between 12 to 18
years old.
In fact, I remember when the band
released their 2nd album, Purple close to my 12th birthday. June 7,
1994. Wow! It's like my life just flashed before my eyes. Damn, do I
feel OLD. In 1994, that was when Stone Temple Pilots reached their
pinnacle as a band.
I also remember owning a Stone Temple Pilots poster, during the
'90s and 2000. I managed to find an online picture of what my old poster
looked like from my youth.
Vintage Stone Temple Pilots Poster Circa 1993
Too bad I had to throw it away. This exact poster ripped 16 years
ago. I believe the main reason why I took Weiland's death harder than
the others was because I was able to sympathize and empathize with him.
Scott
Weiland was a talented entertainer, who endured rape in high school, was
forced to mourn a baby that a significant other ABORTED years before
STP's fame, the death of his brother, and other tragedies throughout his
life.
He was a talented performer with
severe substance abuse problems. Even though Scott was highly flawed, I can't
help feeling his pain because I am an empath.
Since
the time I was 12 years old, I could actually feel his pain through the songs he
wrote for Stone Temple Pilots. Now that Scott Weiland's dead, I feel his pain a
lot more, whenever I listen to "Atlanta" and "Kitchenware &
Candybars."
Their music videos were in heavy
rotation on MTV AND VH-1. Speaking of both those music networks, they act like
Stone Temple Pilots NEVER existed, which is a slap in the face to us
veteran viewers and fans.
Last night, MTV Classic aired Classic
Albums: Nirvana – Nevermind. The network really should've aired Stone
Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, in tribute to Scott Weiland.
As grateful as some of us really should be, since all the music video networks such as MTV, MTV2, Fuse TV, and VH-1 have gone to Hell in a hand basket thanks to Viacom, MTV Classic is a piss poor representation of what MTV was during the 1980's and '90s.
Also, as
much as I loved Nirvana and grieved over Kurt Cobain, during my youth,
Nirvana was NOT the ONLY Grunge band to exist. I am still reeling over
the fact, that MTV and the media in general continuously toss Scott
Weiland's death to the side.
Most act as if Stone
Temple Pilots never existed. When the media is NOT blacklisting Scott
Weiland and STP as a whole, they will demonize Scott as if he was the
only entertainer in history to EVER be a drug addict and alcoholic.
Loudwire: Filter's Richard Patrick Discusses Scott Weiland's Death (2016)
Can Richard Patrick from Filter be anymore self-righteous and condescending? I just love how he has so much to say about Scott.
No
disrespect to my fellow Nirvana fans, but I feel that Scott Weiland was
a MUCH BETTER singer and songwriter than Kurt Cobain. STP's Scott
Weiland and Alice In Chains' Layne Staley were both phenomenal frontmen for Grunge Rock bands.
All the while, Kurt Cobain continues to be a highly overrated
dead Grunge vocalist. Stone Temple
Pilots' Scott Weiland and Alice In Chains' Layne Staley had vocals, which made Nirvana's Kurt Cobain sound off-key with his incoherent
babbling.
In
the beginning, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth even witnessed Scott's vocal range and kooky talent during concert performances.
Loudwire: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Recalls Advice He Gave Scott Weiland (2015)
Because it is Song Saturday and the
1-year anniversary of Scott Weiland's death, I wanted to share a few videos.
Also, there
are rare live performances he did with The Doors and Stone Temple
Pilots. Before watching these videos, I want to share Sarah Michelle
Gellar's condolences to Scott, his family, friends, fans, and bandmates.
Entertainment Tonight: Sarah Michelle Gellar Pays Tribute to Scott Weiland After His Death (2015)
1) Stone Temple Pilots "Lounge Fly" Purple (1994); Live At Toronto (1993)
2)
Stone Temple Pilots "Dancing Days" [Led Zeppelin Cover] Encomium: A
Tribute to Led Zeppelin (1995); Las Vegas Secret Show (1999)
3) The Doors [Featuring Scott Weiland] "Break On Through"/"Five to One" VH1 Storytellers (2000)
If you would like to learn more, here are links to other musicians
sending their condolences and additional Song Saturday blogs about Scott
Weiland.
How's
it going lurkers? How did you enjoy your Thanksgiving? My
Thanksgiving wasn't horrible. However, my mother and I DID manage to
dodge a really nasty car accident, last Wednesday.
Hopefully,
everyone's Thanksgiving Day went well with family and friends.
Now that
Thanksgiving is over, we must prepare for Krampus Day, Saint Nicholas
Day, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, and Christmas Day.
I
am sure that some of you will be celebrating this "festive" season with
Christmas films whether they are the stereotypical Lonely Romance
Comedies, or something creepy like Christmas Slashers. You may even want
to go the Horror Comedy route with Gremlins, for example.
After
all, Gremlins is technically a Christmas Horror Comedy film. The
original movie is set during the time of Christmas. I published a blog years ago about the
Gremlins audiobooks. In addition to
my blog about the Gremlins audiobooks, I published another blog last
June about the disturbing dream I had about killing Gremlins. Then, I
briefly explained about mogwai in Chinese folklores.
So, to
delve into more detail about these FUGLY monsters, the term "mo"
derives from the Sanskrit "Mara," meaning "evil beings," which shares a
cognate with the Persian "Magi" from which the English word "magic"
derives. This is according to tribe.net.
Mara in
BOTH Buddhism and Hinduism determines the fates of death and desire,
that tether people to an unending cycle of reincarnation and suffering.
He is the source of wickedness and purposely leads people to sin,
misdeeds, and self-destruction.
"Gui," on the other hand, does not
necessarily mean "evil" or "demonic spirits." Gui simply means "deceased spirits" or "souls of the dead."
In
modern Chinese, gui has evolved into normally referring to the spirits/ghosts of unrelated family members seeking their revenge on mortals,
who have caused them anguish, when they were still alive.
It is common
for mortals to rectify their sins by sacrificing money to gui by burning
(usually fake) paper banknotes so that gui can have funds to use in
their afterlife.
Also, Tribe.net states that the
modern popular use of mogui as "demonic" and gui as "devils" are
somewhat outcomes of Western influences.
Satan in The Book of Job is translated as "diabolos" in Greek and "mogui" in the Chinese Biblical texts.Therefore,
Satan is "Mogui" in Chinese.
Whenever you have the chance to re-watch
Gremlins, you will have a slightly better understanding about mogwai in
Chinese folklores.
As I briefly explained in my
Killing Gremlins blog (which you can click on and read below), the water
or rain to be more exact, is for reproduction during the mating
seasons.
Mogwai in Gremlins are depicted as asexual
creatures with the ability to morph into dangerous monsters.
The
scientists in Gremlins 2: The New Batch believed, that Gremlins are
either mischievous and mean-spirited reptiles, or simply viruses.
You learn something new everyday!
Because
Gremlins is a Christmas Horror Comedy movie and because today's blog is
about mogwai in Chinese folklores, let's revisit the Gremlins audiobooks and my dream about killing them for another Throwback Thursday.
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