glampunk
Crab On The Rampage
gloompunk; glitter goth: disciple of Rikki Nadir: demonik in disguise, etc.
Posts: 61 
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Post by glampunk on Mar 24, 2008 0:10:35 GMT
Bjarne Rostaing - The Phantom Of The Paradise (Star, 1975) "Winslow Leach is a young man who wants to create heavenly music - even if he has to descend to the depths of Hell to do it .." Short novel based on Brian De Palma's screenplay, including a photo section with several stills from the movie: Following the death of his musical mentor, young Winslow Leach leaves Maine for NYC to seek recognition for his music. A debauched producer, Swan, founder of Death Records, realises the naive oddball has talent and swipes a number of songs from Leach's Faustian opera, Foster, to be covered by his clueless doowop revival star act the Juicy Fruits. Winslow thinks there's been a misunderstanding, and is so desperate for a second meeting with Swan he dons drag to attend a "Girls Only" audition. Swan has his biker henchmen do him over and the bent police in his employ plant heroin on him. Winslow is sent to prison. After hearing the Juicy Fruits' murdering his song Wheelin'-Dealin' on the radio, Winslow, by now somewhat unhinged, busts out of prison and resolves to blow up Death Records. Unfortunately, during a scrap with a biker in the pressing plant, his face is melted, and he throws himself in the Hudson river. Swan - who may be the Devil - is intent on using a performance of Leach's masterpiece as a curtain-raiser for his new Paradise theatre. But when problems beset the rehearsals and a biker is murdered, he reevaluates his position and decides it's time to go into business with the maimed muso. They sign a pact in blood by which Swan agrees not to interfere with Winslow's score and also to allow Phoenix - a singer-cum-groupie of whom Leach is fond - to be the leading lady. Swan, however, prefers to cast flamboyant bisexual Beef in her role, and he wants to mess with the music too .... No great shakes perhaps, but at 140 pages it's painless enough. There's even an on-stage Black Mass and a very Gaston LeRoux spectacular public assassination to spruce up the action.
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