CHRISTMAS POORLY DONE - SCREW YOU TBS NETWORK

What another miserable offering from our friends at TBS Network. For the 6th year in a row they are running back to back screenings of, "The Christmas Story". You know the film that is entertaining only in five minute intervals?

I'm sure you've seen it. In case you've lived in a space station for the past 6 years here's the skinny.

Tagline: A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas...

Plot Outline Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940's.

Plot Synopsis: Ralphie, a young boy growing up in the '40's, dreams of owning a Red Rider BB gun. He sets out to convince the world this is the perfect gift. But along the way, he runs into opposition from his parents, his teacher, and even good 'ol Santa Claus himself.
Source - Amazon.com

I don't know what they pay the programming director at TBS Network or if they pay him at all. Maybe they pay him off with Pot or LSD. This is crap holiday entertainment. I can see running it once TOPS. But you don't run it back to back for 24 hours year after year. This format can only be entertaining if you ate lead paint chips as a kid and have alzheimers disease. This is broadcasting in its lowest form.

What a sham. What a cowardly network.

Merry Christmas
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Cantu Fascube 2006

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS - WORLD OUTSIDE ANYONE?

THE BOOK OF DAYS &
WORLD OUTSIDE

Great albums.... if you can find them. I had to locate this one Amazon.com. CDUniverse.com has become somewhat of an enemy of mine for trivializing great and talented bands from the past be re-issuing early releases and then cutting out all later releases altogether.

This song and video deserves some credit or at the very least to be remembered. Its the last studio offering from The PSychedelic Furs in 1991. It got very little airplay while radio stations celebrated the dreaded and forgettable fare from the HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM song by Crash Test Dummies and anything by Toad The Wet Sprocket.

The Psychedelic Furs in comparrison WERE A MUSICAL AND ARTISTIC WUNDERKIND. There is no other band who has really touched upon the raw nerve endings of emotion except maybe The Smiths.

Even when compared to Morrissey and the Smiths this band was very different. Instead of being just a pop presence this band had a way of getting into your memory and taking permanent root.
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Cantu Fascube 2007

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS - UNTIL SHE COMES

FLESH FOR LULU - THEY'LL GIVE YOU A HEART ATTACK

LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH

They'll never get confused with being prolific or a political musical presence. But then again so what... this is entertainment. Think of how many other bands out there..... AC/DC for one, ("Loose Lips, Sink Ships etc.) pump out trite lyrics just for the sake of rhyming, (Def Leppard comes to mind very quickly). I like to think there are deeper things going on in these songs but then again, I could be imagining things.


This song got big for one peculiar reason, John Hughes, "Some Kind Of Wonderful". This film about youth growing up in Illinois of all places paved the way to radio airplay for Flesh For LuLu. I liked them because they had cool hair. I didn't give a monkeys hiney that the Hughes film said or stood up for my generation. Hughes views on youth culture in the 1980's always totally confused me. Either kids in Illinois were really that diversified and screwed up fashionwise or they were clueless about how to proceed. In either case, as a film maker he fails at his job in trying to get me to sympathize with any of his characters. I just don't understand them and have stopped trying.

I don't see Flesh for LuLu fitting into ANY of the characters in the movie, "Some Kind Of Wonderful", (the title goes to post-hippie band sensation Grand Funk Railroad.... see? It gets weirder).........

Regardless of where they fit into American culture one thing is for sure. These guys were very interesting. I liked their hair and their clothes. I ran out and got boot braces like the ones they wore for my Doc Martens. I found their sound to be very catchy in the way that I also like The Dandy Warhols. And they were fun to listen to.

They weren't afraid of human emotion either -- which is nice.
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cantu fascube 2006

FLESH FOR LULU - I GO CRAZY

ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - LIVE

MAKE ME SHINE

I'm going to act like a big record company here for a moment and post the WRONG album cover for this track. My reasons are just as selfish as theirs. My reason may be the same exact reason why they do it. I posted this pic because I think you should run out and buy it. Heh.......

Its not coming out until next year, Jan. 23rd to be exact. I can't tell you exactly what is going to be on this album but my guess is that it is going to be pretty amazing stuff. There are some Echo and the Bunnymen tracks that are finally being released from their web site juke box, (Rollercoaster for one can be found in the box set). I'm still looking for Antelope.... which is based off of Bring on the Dancing Horses. Its powerful driving unrelenting sound makes that song a must have.

I came across this live version of, "Make Me Shine" by accident. I had no idea this was floating around. It is one of the better tracks off the, "Flowers" release. The details for the musical narrative in the intro are totally botched up but the rest of the song is handled nicely. This could have been a rehearsal. If this was a live track the band would be covered with fog and mysterious lights..... and I wouldn't have them any other way.

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CANTU FASCUBE 2006

ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - MAKE ME SHINE

Ian McCulloch - CANDLELAND REVISITED

CANDLELAND WHERE ART THOU?

This was Ian McCulloch's first solo release. Ex- Echo and the Bunnymen frontman McCulloch would go on to release Mysterio while Echo fell apart. This was partly due to the fact that the drummer DeFrittes plowed his motorcycle into a tree and killed himself. Rumors floated that he tore his own arm off. I had no idea -- this was when I was hitting the clubs pretty heavy. They wouldn't cover stories like this in traditional rock magazines so we had to go on heresay.

Then McCullochs solo albums disappeared. You can get these on Amazon I'm sure but I haven't looked. Echo and the Bunnymen got another lead singer and came out with Reverberation.... which is a pretty decent effort but it definately missed McCullochs mysterious vocals.

This video is nice too. I sure wish I knew who the heck directed it. "Proud to Fall" was one of my favorite songs on this besides, "Horses Head". To me those two singles alone would have convinced me as a record exec to keep cranking this stuff out. It was interesting and made you think. It was melodic.

Instead Rap took over MTV, then Grunge, and then ... oddly Grunge Metal Rap dominated NYC radio and this gem became lost.

But don't let it get lost again..... enjoy.
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CANTU FASCUBE 2006

IAN McCULLOCH - PROUD TO FALL

MADNESS - IT MUST BE MADNESS

I GIVE UP...... SERIOUSLY

This is like.. the upteenth time I've looked for the original album cover from an 80's band and came up with Greatest Hits or Millenium Series or Vintage this or other......

The track, "It Must Be Love" is brilliant. I even remember
the album cover on its original American release. And
guess what?
This Ain't It Folks.......


BUT ANYWAYS.... This video is well done and it has a lot of unexpected things in it. I like the fact that SUGGS, (lead singer) is standing over an open grave and singing into it. "I Never Thought I'd Miss You.... Half as Much...... as I do".... adds a whole new perspective on it.

The entire thing could have taken off this way but it didn't it's light hearted. This shot in particular really puts a brave new view on this entire song. Its incredible that such a small scene can bring so much more emotion into this song and video. I remember when this was on the tape it was more or less passed over. The gang I ran with fancied, "House of Fun" as opposed to this one..... "It Must Be Love" was a special track. I made a mental note to myself that I thought it was very good and left it at that.

Its a break away from their heavy SKA sound. But they managed to put a good measure of comedy into the visuals.
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Cantu- Fascube-2006