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Post by bushwick on Sept 8, 2008 8:33:26 GMT
What's the B.Seshadri story like Johnny? 'The River Bed' from 26 really sticks in my head, very cruel. Do you know anything about him/her? Seems a bit of an enigma/pseudonym.
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Post by bushwick on Sept 7, 2008 15:27:56 GMT
I must say I'm fascinated by this story. I've heard a lot about it, but have not read it. It's the cold, nasty, sadistic stories that attracted me to the Pans (hello Alex White!). There's just something about the vibe. I remember reading the Pan with the worm-face man when I was very young, too young really - my mum had a copy and I found it disturbing...'Punishment by Proxy' was in there, and the one about the special needs kid ('lubly fish eyes'...jeez...).
I'm digressing. Might have to grab this volume from Amazon. What's 'Kowlongo Plaything' all about? I'm sure I've read some of his from the other volumes, but they didn't stick in my mind. He writes kids' books now, doesn't he?
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Post by bushwick on Sept 7, 2008 0:34:45 GMT
Aye, that's right, i recall the anthology you're talking about. Quite recent, within the last couple of years, had something to do with Stewart Lee? Apparently the 'arty' 'literary' authors do a poor job, but the straight SF writers come out looking a lot better. Another feather in the cap for PULP, pretension be damned! And we all know MES loves Lovecraft.
Can you honestly imagine today's music biz tolerating anyone even close to MES? Shit, can you imagine today's publishing world going anywhere near Lovecraft??
slightly drunk and emotional here, but does one not sometimes feel a tad out of time? I know i do. I guess the new blood are out there somewhere...
as for 'borrowing' riffs...'Elves' from 'Wonderful and Frightening World...' takes a generous influence (to put it mildly) from 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'...remember being quite taken aback by that when i was younger...
sorry to derail yr thread Sean! i do like GAP though!
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Post by bushwick on Sept 6, 2008 16:36:04 GMT
This is really good stuff Sean. Like a cross between Goblin and Foetus, perhaps. You've got impeccable taste sir. Have you heard any of Monte Cazzazza's music? You'd probably like it - transgressive 80s Rapid Eye/Re:Search type aesthetic... Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man, Two Librans, New Face In Hell and .... lots and lots of Fall! (all era's-uh) Throbbing Gristle - Discipline (a bit noisy but a grower. Definitely a grower) Peter Hammill - You Hit Me Where I Live and Red ShiftQueen Adreena Killer Tits and Pretty Like DrugsDaisy Chainsaw - Life TomorrowPlus other depressing stuff. Nice! Two Librans is a blinder - "REFLECT-uh!". One of my fave Fall albums, 'The Unutterable' - Cyber Insekt is great too. Have you heard their latest? I'm enjoying it, very pounding, basic vibe, almost early Hawkwind-esque in places, and vocally he's getting closer and closer to Beefheart all the time. And Peter Hammill? Never really listened to any, but I know Mark E's a big Van Der Graaf fan. Have you read Smith's book? have heard mixed reports but keep meaning to check it out. Saw The Fall a few months ago in Leeds - a cracking show too, although they don't switch their setlist up as much as they used to. Mind you, old Mark probably can't remember writing a good few of their songs - not surprising given the size of their back catalogue and the man's gallavanting lifestyle!
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Post by bushwick on Aug 24, 2008 10:35:32 GMT
shit, there's even HG Lewis' '2000 Maniacs' there! (Gore 13)
and Guy N Smith! and Harry Adam Knight's 'Slimer'! and 'Night-Shriek' by Michael Wolfitt! and John Halkin! 'Pestilence' by Edward Jarvis! they're all there!
and who the hell puts a huge circular saw going inbetween a woman's legs, right up to the belly, on a bloody book cover? jesus!
lots of 'inspiration' taken from various movies on these covers...I've already spotted Re-Animator, Cannibal Ferox, Cannibal Holocaust...great hack work!
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Post by bushwick on Aug 24, 2008 9:51:37 GMT
Not sure if this in the right place, but it'll have to do. I was just looking for stuff on Shaun Hutson on the web (don't ask), when I saw covers for French editions of some of his books (inc 'Chainsaw Terror' by 'Nick Blake'), under the series heading "Gore". Checked the link, and there's a whole (French) blog devoted to this series of books. My French is conversational at best, but there looks to be some good interviews and background about this series of books, running to over a hundred editions. The first in the series is Russo's 'NOTLD', there's some Laymon there, some French authors I've not heard of, some Hutson, Lewis Mallory. This seems to have sparked a memory for me - I swear I remember seeing some of these covers in shops in France during a school visit when I was 11, and being suitably impressed. The cover paintings are superb, very explicit and go way further than the (admittedly not always tame) British pulp covers of the time. Throats torn out, naked women disembowelled, hung from hooks, axes in heads...nudity and gore all over the place. Most countries in Europe put us to shame, don't they? These were displayed in bookshops and newsagents for all to see and as far as I know the moral fibre of France is still reasonably intact. This seems to have been a very long running series. Some of the French titles sound fascinating - I wonder if they were ever translated into English. Does anyone know any more about this series? Justin? Anyway, have a look at this site and the very nasty cover illoes: collectiongore.canalblog.com/edit: Might be teaching my grandma to suck eggs here, but have found out a little more. This series was put out by Fleuve Noir, who seem to be a sort of French NEL who started out in the 50s, specialising in pulps. The series ran from 85-90 apparently, over a hundred books in 5 years which is pretty good going. Timeframe is a little later than the UK 'nasty' boom. I presume these things were good sellers. Admirable lack of censorship on those covers, anyway! Good old France, a country where no one bats an eyelid over nudity on advertising billboards...
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Post by bushwick on Aug 22, 2008 16:45:07 GMT
Thanks Dem. Think I might treat myself when i'm feeling flush. I have a thing for violent and terrible books.
I really, really need to get those Paperback Fanatics, can't believe I haven't done yet. Keep saying to myself I'll write a cheque when I get paid then I end up frittering away my pittance and never getting round to it. Note to self: write cheque and try and get available PFs.
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Post by bushwick on Aug 22, 2008 13:07:54 GMT
Howdy.
I've mentioned this elsewhere, in the Laurence James thread. I know this book was by him and John Harvey under the Bronson penname, and I know no UK publisher ever picked it up, but it came out under Pinnacle in the US in 1976. I've heard the reason for this never coming out on British shores was due to the extremely explicit content, centring on snuff movies.
Basically, I've hunted high and low for this, turning up nothing, but I've now looked on abebooks and loads of US sellers have copies. Thing being, with postage I'm looking at about a tenner and a wait of at least a month. Has anybody here read said book? In your opinion, is it 'worth it'? You may know my taste...if not, I like sadism, grim humour, violence, all manner of badness, etc etc. With this in mind, do you think I should bother? Could get 3 or 4 pulpy tomes from amazon.co.uk for the same money...
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Post by bushwick on Aug 20, 2008 14:05:12 GMT
Just tore through this one and really enjoyed it. It reads like a literary equivalent of an 80s slasher movie, or perhaps more accurately an Italian giallo. Reminds me a little of Mario Bava's brilliant 'Bay of Blood'. Some very nasty sequences, full of pop culture references, and whilst 'false endings' can be quite common, this book has a 'false beginning', a brutal set-piece that gets you in the mood for what's to come.
Like nightreader says, the characters are all pretty much scumbags. The one who dies last is one of the least obnoxious, but still, you don't exactly warm to him. And either I'm getting smarter in my old age, or the identity of the killer really is plainly obvious from about halfway through the book! There's a socialist, kinda Class War angle to this story, which appeals to a red like me, and from what little I know of LJ, probably gave him a little righteous chuckle too!
A much easier read than (the brilliant) 'Let's Go Play At The Adams'' by Mendal Johnson which I read just before. I'll do an in-depth analysis of that one when I get time, thought it was remarkable. Now I'm on a James binge and am ripping through Caleb Thorn 3, which is excellent, I don't want it to end! I think Caleb's a good sort, a real stand-up guy. I warm to him, the Oedipal cold-hearted motherf**k*r! Not sure whether that's the idea, though...
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Post by bushwick on Aug 19, 2008 8:30:02 GMT
btw Rog...is your avatar from the film 'Black Devil Doll'? Don't tell me....errrr... or is it from one of the Creepshow sequels? i recognise that little feller!
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Post by bushwick on Aug 19, 2008 8:28:35 GMT
Happy Birthday Vault! You changed my life. Now my bedroom stinks of mouldy books and my mind rings with phrases like "shards of bone and pulpy brain matter".
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Post by bushwick on Aug 17, 2008 14:23:08 GMT
A while back, I was speaking to the owners of a (now-defunct) second hand shop in Hyde Park, Leeds. Crying shame they went under really - had a great selection of old videos, records, furniture etc. But no paperbacks. Was quizzing them about this and they said charity shops had made it very hard for any second-hand shop, and what they told me was shocking. Apparently, anyone can set up a 'charity shop'. You have to make your accounts available for the public to look at, put 'em online or whatever, and give just £500 a year to your chosen charity! and that's it! So, people will DONATE their things to a charity shop, feeling they're doing their bit, rather than selling them to a second-hand shop. So second-hand shops can't get stock, while the charity shop gets all its stock for free, has low overheads (staffed by volunteers) and just has to donate 5 ton a year to charity - the rest is profit. Now, if this is 100% true, it's disgusting, and smacks to me of deceiving the goodwilled public. Anyone know any more about this? Rog, does this ring true?
Now's not the time to discuss the nature of charity, it's rights and wrongs...it's a complicated, contensious subject. BUT apparently the manager of the 0xfam shop in Headingley, Leeds pays himself a big fat salary, and the rest of the staff are volunteers. (Don't get me started on the Gary Glitter-esque activities of some 'charity workers' overseas...)
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Post by bushwick on Aug 14, 2008 9:43:02 GMT
Get well soon feller, always enjoyed your posts
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Post by bushwick on Aug 13, 2008 17:32:07 GMT
That is absolutely shocking, criminal even. A whole era of pop culture just thrown away. A friend of mine works for a charity shop in Leeds and they will not put books on the shelf if they have tatty covers...but I've got her to look out for anything horror/Western/trashy looking and put it by for me.
Thinking about it, that could be worth doing, perhaps. Ask the staff in your local charity shop to put away any books that are too old/tatty to sell and you will come in and take 'em, making a generous donation. They couldn't pass that up surely. If they know there's a demand, surely it's more revenue for the charity n'est-ce pas?
anyway... Got a shedload of books recently. Went to a massive antiques/market place near Lincoln the other week (can't remember the name of the place, huge though) and got tons of stuff. Some of these are from 2nd hand shops in Lincoln too:
Trance - Joy Fielding (Hamlyn) Ryder Stacy - Doomsday Warrior 7 and 3 (Futura) (top Commie-smashing entertainment) Pan 5 & 7 Tales of Mystery...Poe (Pan) All The Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy Hart The Regulator 5 and 7 - John Harvey (Pan) Adam Steele 1, 22,24, 28 - GGG (NEL) Dracula Returns - Robert Lory (NEL) Zombie! - Peter Tremayne (Sphere) The Funhouse (film tie-in) - Owen West (Sphere) Rattlers - Joseph L Gilmore (Hamlyn) The Undertaker 1 and 4 - GGG (NEL) The Handyman - Gerald Suster (NEL) Entombed - GNS (Hamlyn) Edge 10, 23, 32 (NEL) The Book Of The American West (massive lavishly illustrated hardback w/dustcover from 1963, excellent condition, was £3, Amazon Marketplace is trying it on for between £70-100!)
Also from other sources: Throwback - GNS (NEL) Kommando 55 - Michael Hughes (NEL) Blown - P J Farmer (Granada) (perfect nick, one pound, get in) Hottest Blood - American 'sexy horror' anthology thing, got G Masteron and D Schow in it Edge 32 (US Pinnacle edition) Edge 38 think that's it
and just got Paradise Lost by L James and Apache 2 from amazon, a Breed novel and a Caleb Thorn on the way!
My small room is becoming overrun with books, crushing my sanity...
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Post by bushwick on Aug 12, 2008 12:18:42 GMT
And here's my horror film list for the last week: CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD THE UNDYING MONSTER THE LODGER HANGOVER SQUARE THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE Like some on here I have nearly as many unwatched DVDs as I have unread books. I've also been watching a set of 4 DVDs of Lovecraft short films (about two hours worth per DVD). City Of The Living Dead is one of my favourites, classic Fulci that. Especially the notorious 'vomiting of entrails' scene, and the poor village idiot getting his head drilled. Living Dead At The... is quite something, really enjoyed that. A quirky little number, very camp.
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