I realize this is probably later then most other "Best of the Year" lists and whatnot, but with the way I keep track of time it's probably as timely as anything is ever likely to be. Also, because of my inability to realize how much time has passed at any given moment, this isn't only a list of the best things that came out in '11, but also things I discovered that year and got into regardless of when they came into existence.
Blitzkid- Apparitional
You could pretty much call 2011 the year of Blitzkid for me, at least as far as what I was listening to. I've been a fan for years, but the build-up for the release of their newest album Apparitional sent me over the edge of big fan to full on fanatic. I couldn't get enough of this band leading up to when this album was finally available in the States, and thankfully, unlike most albums I build up in my head for too long and get disappointed by, this one unquestionably delivers. A comfortable mix of the somewhat experimental material on my favorite album Five Cellars Below and the classic straight ahead horror punk they are known for, this album is rock solid. What sets Blitzkid apart, like always is their talent. They bring experience, excellent song writing, untouchable lyrics, and of course the ability to actually sing to the table which sets them apart from the countless other horror bands that try to get by on gimmick alone. Unfortunately during the time this album was being produced founding member and song writer T.B. Monstrosity was expecting to leave the band and because of this didn't contribute any vocals to the album. Goolsby is no slouch, I love his vocals, and he unquestionably brought his A-game, at times almost channeling T.B. where necessary, but it would have been better to hear T.B. sing the songs he wrote as had become the custom. Thankfully since the release of the album, T.B. has decided to stay with the band and all is right with the world. If you've never listened to Blitzkid before, this is as good a place as any to start, though I could say that for almost all of their albums.
My favorite tracks: Cedar Bluff, Mr. Gore, They're All Dead, Head Over Hills, and Casque of Amontillado.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
This movie hit me by complete surprise. Whenever I finally got it through the mail from Netflix I only had in my mind that it had gotten decent reviews and that it was a new take on the horror comedy, a favorite genre of mine. As I sat down to watch it, I knew within the first ten minutes that it was going to be hilarious. It turns all the conventions of the "crazy redneck" horror movie on their head and paints the rednecks as loveable goofs and the cliched college kids in peril as anything from unbelievably stupid to insane. Time and again both sets of characters find themselves in ridiculous situations that serve to perpetuate both of their wrong first impressions. The success of the comedy rests on the shoulders of the two title characters, played by Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine. I know Tudyk from Joss Whedon's cult classic Sci-fi series Firefly and the movie spin-off Serenity and I've always enjoyed him. Tyler Labine is a new face to me, but he delivers in every way as the main character of the story. If you enjoy comedy with your horror I can't recommend this movie enough.
Breaking Bad
Most people are probably already aware that this is one of the most well reviewed television shows of all time and I can't possibly say anything about it that hasn't already been said. I had already seen the first season before last year, but it was in late 2011 that I decided I had to get caught up with what is essentially the best thing of it's kind on television since The Sopranos. I went through the episodes and seasons as quickly as I could because I wanted to know what happened at the end of almost every episode. If there is anything I can say about the show that sets it apart from other shows is that it has the ability to leave you on the edge of your seat not just at the end of the season finales, but with practically every episode. The stakes continue to get higher and higher with every episode and at times you wonder how things got so crazy but in my opinion that is what sets it above and beyond other shows. Unfortunately there is only one season remaining but that could be a good thing as they will go out on a high note and not out stay their welcome as some shows do. I can't wait to see where it goes.
Bongripper- Satan Worshiping Doom
This is an album that came out in late 2010 I believe but I didn't get into it until 2011. It would be hard to sell this to anyone whoisn't already a fan of metal (with that band name and that album name they're obviously not aiming for the widest possible audience), particularly stoner and doom but if you are a fan of those genres this is an incredible album. Clocking in at just over 53 minutes, this is four tracks (Hail, Satan, Worship, Doom) of instrumental doom that will straight up crush you. Other influences make appearances such as black metal and sludge but the heart of this album is all out doom. If what I've just described interests you at all, then check out this album because I don't really know how to convey how jamming I think it is and if it's for you you will know it.
The Whole F'n Show
Something that I love that still doesn't get much attention, though it's starting to blow up thanks to celebrities realizing it's easy way to connect with their fans, is podcasts. My favorite of all time remains Tell 'Em Steve Dave from the Smodcast Network but I'm always willing to try out new ones as they make the insane amount of driving I have to do more enjoyable. TWFS was by far my favorite I discovered in 2011. I was browsing Youtube for the Wrestlemania fourteen main event (yes I do still enjoy wrestling from time to time, mainly the era I watched on T.V. when I was growing up) when I came across a fan commentary of the said match by a podcast called The Whole F'n Show. At first I wasn't going to listen to it but I couldn't find the video without commentary and I succumbed. I'm glad I did because what I discovered wasn't two guys trying their best Jim Ross impression but two guys with incredible chemistry , hilarious bits, and at times interesting things to say about wrestling. I instantly decided to download an episode of their podcast to see what it was like and I found it even more hilarious. As I've been listening (keeping up with the new episodes while going back and listening to all the ones I'd missed) the show has evolved into it's own universe with in-jokes, catch phrases, and supporting characters. The show at times doesn't even have anything to do with wrestling but you don't care because the hosts, Kevin Scampoli and Danny Richardson, work so well together and are so freaking funny. That said, when they do discuss wrasslin' it's not with the jaded outlook most "smarks" have about the industry, but with the same unadulterated love you had when you were a kid. This "weekly discussion" will make you want to watch wrestling again. I wouldn't say it's for everyone, as any idea of political correctness is appropriately ignored, but if you aren't offended by the occasional tirade by a character called "Racist Vince" check it out at THE WHOLE F'N SHOW.
This will a bit of a sister post to my In Defense of the '95 Misfits post. Hopefully if you haven't checked this era of the band out before this will give ya a good taste of what the band was about. I won't list Dig Up Her Bones or Saturday Night because even though they are unquestionably two of my favorites, they are probably the most well known songs of this era and I'd rather give a little love to some of the ones you don't hear as much about. Also, this won't be in any particular order, just the five songs I am always game to listen to. Click through to check 'em out.
Seeing as how the reformation of The Misfits in 1995 was probably more for financial reasons than anything else, I can understand why some people look at it with skepticism. It's not exactly a secret that Danzig had far more success after the dissolution of the band than Jerry and Doyle, so it was bound to seem like a cash grab when after so many years it was announced that the band was coming back without Danzig at the helm. You can't really defend the motives behind the band coming back, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the music they made wasn't worthwhile. It seems to have become hip to not like that era of the band but I can unabashedly say that I love it.
My friend and I first discovered Kevin Strange at the 2009 Scarefest horror convention in Kentucky. Among the films being shown at that convention were Strange's Stiff Jobs, and if you know me a movie with that title must be checked out. I'm glad we did. It was our first exposure to the insane world of Strangeville, a place that any fan of Troma and underground horror comedy should be familiar with. Within the last year, Kevin has turned his attention from film making to short horror fiction but is still the evil genius that thought up all this madness and brought characters like Hogan and Cockhammer to life. I had the honor to interview him and do a bit of a look back and a look toward what the future has in store for all the Hack minions. Check out the awesome interview after the jump.
For as long as I can remember I have wished that The Lewis Theater, a small theater in downtown Lewisburg, WV (voted the "coolest small town" in America by somebody, somewhere recently), would show cult/horror films. It's a small theater, one screen, that usually gets the artier, less mainstream films that the other theater in town (with it's whopping TWO screens) won't touch. Being a fan of films that don't always get much of a release in this area, The Lewis Theater is a godsend from time to time. It's obvious that they are catering to a niche film crowd, so I always wondered why they didn't show classic midnight movies as well. Imagine my surprise when I went to see True Grit there (finally!) and saw a cut-out of Elvira holding a coming attraction notice of Plan 9 From Outer Space.
It pains me that a film as classic as Creepshow doesn't have a special edition DVD available in the United States. That's not to say that there isn't one available else where, it's just that for whatever reason Warner Brothers refuses to release the awesome special edition that Universal released in the region 2 markets. I'm not sure if it's because Universal wants to charge too much for WB to get the rights or what but the fact that WB put out a bare-bones Blu-Ray of George Romero's Creepshow when this wealth of material is available makes no sense to me. I picked this up at the 2010 Scarefest in Kentucky for around 23 bucks. I had heard about it for a while and it really delivers on the special features front. The film is awesome, of course, but the main attraction is the feature-length documentary on the second disc. While Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, and most disappointingly Stephen King are no where to be found, the folks you expect to be here (read: the convention heads) really deliver interesting stories. George Romero, Tom Savini, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, and surprisingly Ed Harris all have tons of screen time recalling the making of the film. Put together by Red Shirt pictures, the fellas behind the special editions of Night of the Creeps, The Monster Squad, The Stepfather, and numerous others, this doc is quality. Add to this a commentary with Romero and Savini, deleted scenes and Savini's on-set footage and this really is the solid treatment a film like this deserves.
The good news here is that this is obtainable. If you have a region 2 DVD player, or if you know how to make your player region free I highly recommend picking this up. The easiest place I could imagine finding it is ebay, and though I don't know what you would have to pay for it, if you're a fan of the film it would be worth it.
I've been aware of this movie for years, but for some reason I had it in my head that it was some artsy film along the lines of something that Criterion would release. Don't get me wrong, Criterion releases are awesome, but they do release a lot of boring, pretentious stuff too. It seems I was way off on that point as this is actually a Larry Cohen film, the fella behind such genre films as the Maniac Cop films and Uncle Sam. The tone is definitely set when in the first ten minutes of the film there is a decapitation, a flayed human body, and a topless gal picked from the roof she is sunbathing on. The story concerns a giant half-reptile, half-bird that is terrorizing New York City by going around biting off peoples heads and snatching people from rooftops. Amidst this is someone committing sacrifices to the creature which may or may not be a reincarnated Aztec god, a pathetic criminal using his knowledge of the location of the creature's nest to his advantage, and David Carradine (aka Bill, aka Caine from Kung Fu, aka the actor that died quite embarrassingly not too long ago) who plays a cop that is attempting to figure the whole thing out. Shaft is in there somewhere too. I found the film itself to be very entertaining. I had no qualms with any of the actors, and actually thought they did a really good job for the type of film it was. It definitely has a late '70s/early '80s New York feel to it and there a lot of helicopter shots of the city meant to be the creature's POV that are fun to look at. When the creature is shown on-screen it's pure cheese, but if you are of the age or mind of someone that appreciate the old school of monster effects you will probably find it charming. If you were ever on the fence about whether to check this one out or not like I was, I recommend you do.
