Arcana Obscura Review (3/8/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (3/8/08)

The prodigal son returns! I've been away for a week now. Still here in New York, but I've been horrified by a gnome (or... Duende), dismayed by a death, and confounded in the search for an elusive letter. But I better start reviewin' some shows!

I played "Wicked Annabella" by The Kinks, so here's some kid drumming along to it.

This band needs no introduction. Arthur Lee and his band Love.

Finally, I played "Woman Tamer" by Brooklyn's own Sir Lord Baltimore. Couldn't find that song anywhere, but here's Steve McQueen racing cars set to "Kingdom Come."

Some Randy Maniac Bishop

Somehow today I was reminded of a video I had as a lad. The video involved a sea captain and a wisecracking duck who travelled around in a magic hot air balloon. Or something like that. It was called Monster Hits: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

They travelled around encountering different monsters, who then proceeded to sing songs, or people sang songs about them. For instance, there was a ballad about what a lonely life Igor has as well as a jaunty ragtime number about Dracula's biting fetish. Frankenstein's Monster also shows up, voiced by a Boris Karloff impersonator. So basically this video made me the man I am today. Fucking lawsuit.

The animation in this video was so bizarre. It was some kind of really early computer animation. I was able to find a video of one of the songs, a little ditty sung by a British explorer who warns America's children not to get "chummy with a mummy, or the mummy might get chummy with you." I was glad to learn this, since when D.A.R.E. and the Police Athletic League were trying to impart that very same wisdom to our 5th grade class I was like, "hey guys, I already know." So here's the goddamn mummy video:

Archaeology jive.

Pepto-Bismol Monster

Colleague and student of my alma mater, Sean Traynor, directed the following video in accordance with the heartfelt desire of a madman to make his own Pepto-Bismol commercial. Observe: