Albums I love -- Feederz --Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss?

Feederz -- Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss? (1984)

San Francisco's Feederz made the Dead Kennedys look politically tame. Lead singer, Frank Discussion, and the rest of the band made you believe they were out to offend everyone and tear down the system in every way possible. The surprising thing is that with all these anarchistic leanings, Feederz still found a way to make music that was surprisingly catchy. They even had time to cover Olivia Newton John's Have You Never Been Mellow? Go figure. Other than the great songs, there is one other thing about this record that makes it great. The original vinyl version of Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss had to be the most punk rock packaging ever. A simple black album with sandpaper on both sides....so as to destroy the rest of your record collection. Truly fantastic.

1984 (clip)

http://play.napster.com/track/19839933

Have You Never Been Mellow? (clip)

http://play.napster.com/track/19839928

My Favorite Movies -- John Carpenter's The Thing

This movie almost single-handedly made me a special-effects groupie during most of the 80's. Rob Bottin (along with Stan Winston) put more creative creature design on-screen in this flick than the last three Star Wars movies combined. Even more amazing is that it's all done with puppetry, animatronics, and just a bit of stop-motion. Anyone who has watched the dog transformation, the spider-head, or the jumping blood test scene can attest to the lasting power of these magical effects.

John Carpenter, rightfully acknowledged for his work on Halloween, could've just kept making slasher knock-offs, instead, he remakes a beloved sci-fi b-movie from the 50's. Surprisingly, The Thing was a box-office bomb. It was one of the few 80's horror/sci-fi flicks I didn't see in the theater. But, even when I saw it on horrible quality beta video tape... I knew I had found true greatness.

If for any reason you still haven't seen this movie... see it now! If you love it as much as I do... see it again. Such a great time. One of my top 20 favorite movies of all time.

My Favorite Movies -- Blade Runner

Blade Runner -- Ridley Scott

No matter which version you prefer (Ridley has famously tinkered with this movie at least 3 times), Blade Runner usually sits on most sci-fi fans top 10 list. The main Blade Runner,Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is out to kill a band of rogue replicants. Replicants are genetically engineered "humans" that have a limited life-span and extraordinary strength. The lead Replicant, Roy Batty, played by Rutger Hauer, is out to find his creator and try to find a cure to his time-bomb life cycle.

Everything about this production is top-notch.

The cast is fantastic. Along with Ford and Hauer is Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh...etc.

The visual effects are spectacular and bar-setting for all future-visions to come. Douglas Trumbull's visual effects work is really the un-sung star of this movie. Trumbull, who was also responsible for 2001 and Close Encounters, creates a future city-scape that is constantly dark and rainy. The enormous skyscrapers rise like pyramids, only seen by the rich or blade runners with flying cars. Most of the people live in perpetual night surrounded by a cultural hodge-podge of neon signs, abandoned buildings, and road-side vendors.
The story is complex and intriguing. Based on the Philip K. Dick story, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner considers love, creation, and the nature of humanity itself. But, even in the shadow of these heavy themes, Blade runner also works as both a love story and a futuristic Film Noir.

The soundtrack by Vangelis is also perfect and helps set the mood... both dreamy and mysterious.

clips from the film set to Vangelis music...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uJrOVLEUBgw

There is so much goodness packed into Blade Runner that it's no wonder it was considered a moderate flop at the time of its release. After all, it was competing with popcorn movies like Star Wars for the American audience. But, time was kind to Blade Runner.