Song of the Week: Steve Martin "Words Unspoken"

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I am a huge fan of the banjo. Yup-- the twangy, goofy cousin of the guitar just has some kind of charm that I've always enjoyed. 

And though I've known for quite a while now that Steve Martin played the banjo, but when I saw he'd now released his own album I had to give it a shot-- and I'm really glad I did.

If you aren't a fan of bluegrass, and aren't willing to give it a fair shake I'd say you can stop reading about right.... now.

But is you are open to checking out a terrific new album that may be outside of the traditionally popular genres, you've gotta give this one a listen. Beside the catchy, picky tunes that you may expect, Martin has a few that are contemplative, sometimes melancholy and always beautiful--such as the clip I've attached below entitled "Words Unspoken." And his undeniable humorous side also shows up on childhood-themed track "Late for School." Having already more than proved his mastery as both a comedian and a writer, Steve Martin has now shown that he's a damn fine musician as well. 

If you're looking for something different, or if you like the clip I've provided, do yourself a favor and check the rest of the album out. I guarantee your toes will be tapping before even the first song is done.

First Look: New Freddy's New Glove...

So, apparently Jackie Earle Haley decided to tease the horror fans with a quick tease of the new Freddy Kreuger glove. The picture was supposedly taken by Haley during breakfast on the set of the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot and posted via Twitter.

It doesn't show much, but I figured I'd post it because I am very, very psyched to see how this new take on the NOES series goes. Once Robert Englund was officially off the table when deciding who should portray Freddy, I was pretty disheartened. But it seems Jackie Earle Haley is a pretty good choice, especially in light of his previous two high profile roles: a pedophile in 2005's Little Children and of course Rorschach in this year's Watchmen.

He's a talented guy for sure, and he should do well in the role of the bastard son of 100 maniacs.

Well, I hope. We shall see...

Trailer: "Zombieland"

The trailer for the new movie Zombieland has just been released. It stars(?) Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg and I have to admit-- I didn't know much about this one before now. I still don't! But I think it looks pretty awesome. 

Clearly it's a lighter take on the zombie genre, a la Shaun of the Dead. That's just fine with me. Some of my favorite classic horror films are more comedic in tone (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, anyone?)

Anyhow, take a look at the trailer below. If you liked Shaun of the Dead, or even the Dawn of the Dead remake, this will probably be right up your alley.

I'll be in line opening weekend.

I... am... back.

Well, it's been a while since I've been able to blog. You know how it is... work, writing, school, and any number of other things. But the good news is I've finally cleared some time to catch up.

First thing's first-- I was in New York two weeks ago and I happened to stop at the mega-comics shop Forbidden Planet. I was there to try to get a copy of The Dylan Dog Case Files (which, if you have never heard of, you should definitely look into.) Anyhow, as I was looking through the

horror section (surprise, surprise) I happened to come across issue #1 of Monster Mania Magazine, right there on the shelf, with my Evil Dead article right smack dab in the middle. Needless to say it was a cool coincidence, seeing as I had no idea that it was even available in NYC. It's also available in many Barnes & Noble book stores. So, if you happen to see it in your travels, for God's sake BUY IT.

Secondly, several reviews will be making their way onto the site, including: Drag Me To Hell, My Bloody Valentine (1981), Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, Fanboys, Bordello of Blood and... perhaps some thoughts on Firefly, which I have recently finally started to catch up on.

And finally, myself and a few friends recently took a road trip to Connecticut for the first ever Monster Mania in Cromwell, CT. It was fantastic. Unfortunately, issue #2 of the magazine was not able to be published before the show, so the teeming masses will have to wait until August for my Nightmare article. Damn. But the show itself was a blast. I even had the opportunity to discuss my Evil Dead article with the ladies of the Evil Dead, which was cool.

So... the blog will be back up and running again starting this week. In the meantime, take a look at this video that somebody put together about last weekend's Monster Mania Convention. Pretty Cool...

Saw 6... at least the poster is cool

I know, I know, "not another Saw film" right? Well, you know what-- I've seen all of the Saw films released so far and if they have one thing going for them it's that they do attempt to be creative with their marketing. For instance, the poster for Saw 5 was supposedly printed with ink that included an infinitesimal amount of series veteran Tobin Bell's actual blood. 

And now this... another in the new "web-only" marketing ploys (see: the internet-only poster for Gamer.) The poster is pretty cool-- perhaps not enough to save the sixth iteration of the admittedly tired series-- but it is a cool visual nonetheless.

With this summer shaping up to be pretty solid for horror (Drag Me To Hell, H2, The Collector, etc.), I may just have to see this one in the theater. 

Maybe.

This is what interesting action looks like...

After suffering through the trailers for both "Transformers 2" and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", it was so damn refreshing to see Neill Blomkamp's new alien action film "District 9."

And it's not that "TF2" and "GI Joe" look all that bad, they just look like homogenized, run-of-the-mill "action."

So, in case anyone has forgotten what a truly visionary genre filmmaker looks like, I present to you Mr. Blomkamp. The synopsis for this film had me intrigued--

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

 And now-- thankfully-- the trailer has me all in for this one and it's definitely landed in my top 5 anticipated films for the year. Honestly-- how cool is it that the alien's face is blurred out during the questioning sequence? What a cool visual!

Take a look at the trailer below and let me know what you think?

Oh-- and do yourself a favor and seek out Blomkamp's short films and commercials-- they're fantastic! You can see most of them for free right here.

♪♫ Won't you read my twitter ♪♫

That's supposed to be read to the tune of Mr. Rogers' "Won't you be my neighbor..."

But really, if you check my blog on the regular, and like what you see, check me out on Twitter.

If you do, I'll tell you how to type these things... ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

www.twitter.com/jonrocks62

This just in: Michael Jackson is weird

This is a preview of the cancelled Michael Jackson estate auction. The guy who hosts the tour is pretty damn funny and, as if we didn't already know this, M.J.'s belongings are very, very strange. 

Pay special attention to the animatronic baby (sans index finger) and the statues out front of the auction house.

Not the typical post for my site, but this video tickled me, so I thought I'd share.

Enjoy.

Song of the Week: Unkle Bob "The Hit Parade"

I discovered "Unkle Bob", this Brit-Pop/Rock band, when they opened for "James" last year in Philly. They put on quite an impressive show, despite the lackluster sound system at the Trocadero. In fact, I went right home that night and downloaded their album, "Sugar and Spite." I was glad to see that I hadn't been mistaken-- they're pretty damn good.

Some people may recognize one of their songs, "Swans", because it was featured on an episode of Grey's Anatomy sometime last year, but that's okay-- we won't hold it against them. In fact, at the concert, lead singer Rick Webster said that the inclusion of "Swans" on that episode was probably the reason they were chosen to go on tour with a popular act like "James."

Well, good for us. The CD is pretty solid all the way through, and has been on constant rotation on my iPod for a while now. Check out the song posted below, "The Hit Parade" It's one of the best songs on the album. And make sure to check out "Birds and the Bees" too... that one is fantastic as well.

Enjoy.

R.I.P. Dom Deluise 1933 - 2009

Farewell, Dominic. You were a portly, jolly, somewhat effeminate, comedic genius. Anyone who was down with the Muppets, is down with me.

There weren't many men who could pull off the "Orson Welles in his later years" look, but you certainly were one of them. Perhaps the last.

You'll be missed.