Here's some vinyl from Starlog Records, straight from Professor Kinema. He's the only person I know who still has hundreds of these funny round things we used to stick needles on to play. Amazing. Remember this science fiction movie? I've included the End Title music to jog your memory.
Sadly, Bela Lugosi and Alfred Hitchcock really don't meet; but here's some vinyl from Professor Kinema's archive where they lend their vocal talents to two old radio dramas. The first is Lugosi in The Doctor Prescribed Death, and the second has Hitchcock hosting Once Upon a Midnight. The recording of The Doctor Prescribed Death comes from Relic Radio, where you can find many OTR dramas, including horror. (I'll have the Hitchcock radio drama up shortly.)
Bela in The Doctor Prescribed Death
Hitchcock in Once Upon a Midnight
Put out by Gross Records (distributed exclusively by Marshall Discount Video Service, Trenton, Michigan) in 1984, this vinyl novelty gem remains unavailable, out of touch, and completely wild (especially for gorehounds).
Here's the album for your listening aggrandizement. It's no longer commercially distributed or even easily available second-hand, although copyright is still held by Ghoul Brothers (whoever they may be). You can also find some songs from this release on YouTube.
Thanks to Professor Kinema for finding this in his archives.
Ghoul Brothers Ghoul Days Side A
Ghoul Brothers Ghoul Days Side B
It's never too early for Christmas! Especially when monsters are involved. This festive ghoul-tide treat courtesy of Professor Kinema...click the link under the picture to play, or right-click to download...
Lon Chaney Jr's Monster's Holiday
Here's a shakin' mix tape from Professor Kinema for Halloween, for you old timey rockers like me.
Click to play or right-click to download:
Side A (28 minutes):
Monster Rock n Roll Mix Side A
Side B (20 minutes):
Monster Rock n Roll Mix Side B
Songs Side A:
Songs Side B:
Here's a Halloween treat for you. Lon Chaney Jr tell's two 3-minute tales, originally heard on The Wolf Man Speaks album. Courtesy of Professor Kinema.
"The good-natured monster star was hoping to put together a spoken word album similar to Boris Karloff's Tales of the Frightened double album set, but only two stories were recorded...The three-minute "shaggy dog" tales Lon performs are campfire horror anecdotes: The Red Knife and The Yellow Ribbon. Both are set up like long jokes, and both have a "gotcha" punch line." (Ronald L. Smith, Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices)
Click the links to play, or right-click to download:
Lon Chaney's The Yellow Ribbon
Blast from the past. Here's Vincent Price doing his version of Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Monster Mash. (circa 1977)
Recording courtesy of Professor Kinema.
Click the link below the picture to play, or right-click to download:
Vincent Price Does Monster Mash
While you can buy the other Frankie Stein and His Ghouls albums from Power Records, song by song, on Amazon. This one, Monster Sounds and Dance Music, my favorite, appears not to be available. I don't like plain old Halloween sounds per se, but when you combine them with cool, jazzy rock and roll, well, you've got something a whole lot better to listen to. Combine some Frankie Stein with your Midnight Syndicate tracks and you'll have a super ghoul-time for sure.
Special thanks to Professor Kinema for unearthing this from his vinyl archive!
Play Side A:Frankie Stein and his Ghouls A
(you can also right click the links to download the MP3)
Play Side B:Frankie Stein and his Ghouls B
ZC Rating 5 of 7: Excellent
The greatest thing to happen to movies was the advent of sound. Or the concession stand, depending on your point of view; but personally, I'll stick with sound.
With descriptive jargon like diegetic and non-diegetic, you know its important. Imagine a horror movie without all those ghastly screams, bloody meaty thumps, and nerve-tingling music to herald the terror. Where would Casablanca be without its memorable song As Time Goes By, or all those 1950s monster and space invader movies without their histrionic and paranoic tonalities of otherworldness, exemplified by Forbidden Planet's completely electronic musical score?
Screen Freak: 33 Classic Themes from Maverick Movies and Cult TV, provides an appealing sampling of movies including the heart-pounding dread of Horror of Dracula, the zithering droll of The Third Man, and House of Frankenstein's direful brassiness.
Here's the complete list from Barnes and Noble:
The ever cool and evervescent Johnn C trips the vibes
for another Octoberfest of tunes.
"Ever notice how everything peculiar comes in 3’s…?Like a Martian’s three eyes… Like a Morlock’s three fingers…Like–- well…, you know…And this Hallow’s Eve, even those odd-ball folks out there who only have two ears to listen with, are sure to get triple the monstrous fun out of this ‘spine-tickling’ Trilogy of Java’s Cosmic Halloween Specials!
"Tell all the Kool Kats, Killer Kittens,and other like-minded Trick-or-Treaters in your neck of the Haunted Woods, to tune-in to this ‘Pointy-Taled Trio'-- for a triple-shot of bonfirelicious Radio Fun…!
Hey, they may come for you with the torches and pitchforks anyway…but at least they’ll be laughing…!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, from Java’s Bachelor Pad and Curtis Amusements!"
It's that time again to hop aboard the cosmic train to Coolsville with Java and his slick slacks, hepcat Halloween special!
Stowaway with Java and his “lycanthropically-inclined” lunatic acquaintance, Miss Lauren Talbot (yes, she’s one of those “Talbots”), on a “hair-raising” adventure back to the wackiest island in the world, as Java suavely tries to recapture the keys to The Pad, while tussling with a girl who’s got more than a mere Smith & Wesson in her personal arsenal, especially when the moon is full!
It’s a crazy cauldron stew that blends Java’s always entertaining musical Treats, with Crumpkin’s Pumpkins’ gleefully wicked dirty Tricks, and a pumpkin-vine-tangled tale that features thrillingly saturated submarine fun, small-arms leaf-wrestling, and the Pirate Zombies of ‘Porte La Morte”, who are always glad to see fresh visitors during the Yoyo Island “Zombie Gras”!
Java will be broadcasting the show on WEFT Champaign IL this “Hallow’s Eve” Friday, October 30th and you’ll find his podcast at www.javasbachelorpad.com.
Okay, maybe it is just me, but every time I listen to a Polka Haunt Us song I am reminded of the Song of the New Wine scene in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. Anyway, after listening to their pawky tunes (my favorite is Blank Face Goblins), I think you may find a surprise or two here, too. I always thought accordion music was creepy, but now its creepy in a good way.
"Check out the new video for Veronique's song "Vampire Surprise," off her eclectic, unique, laboriously produced Halloween album Polka Haunt Us: A Spook-tacular Compilation. Who says horror has to be so scary? Veronique is working (in her own weird way, of course) to give the Monster Mash a run for its money and bring new life into Halloween music as a genre! And her costume is pretty fabulous too!"
Listen to it at www.PolkaHaunt.us.
See the video for Vampire Surprise here: http://www.youtube.com/veroniquechevalier.
This news in from Travis Broyles of Robot Monster, Inc.
"Robot Monster is an independent label by and for musicians associated with the "horror" genre. Our mission is simple. Screw the mainstream industry, maintain a true DIY aesthetic and provide our artists with the highest per sale return available for this niche market. We answer to no one but our bands, and you - our demented listeners!
"We currently feature bands from both coasts, as well as the UK - with new acts joining this spring to further broaden our regional coverage. Tours are in the works for spring / summer, covering both coasts and nationally, as well as traditional radio campaigns in late spring to support our pending releases."
Check out our fine family of musical miscreants!
http://www.myspace.com/thexepidemic
http://www.myspace.com/thechurchforsinners
http://www.myspace.com/aw
http://www.myspace.com/deadvampires
http://www.myspace.com/gruesomeboys
http://www.myspace.com/deadpleasurestheband
Max Sparber has got one creepy, but very groovy record shelf. Leaving no tombstone unturned, no crypt left unopened, he seeks out new supernatural life in his quest for the morbid, the bizarre, and the ever-lasting bumps in the night-music that lie between the pit of our wildest nightmares, and the summit of our unholy dreams. Cool.
Join us as he dares to speak...
How did your fascination with music that touches on the ghastly and supernatural come about?
A few places. Firstly, like quite a few American children, I had several Halloween records when I was young, including Bobby "Boris" Pickett's The Monster Mash and several collections of Halloween sound effects. As an adult, I started tracking down albums like this to compile Halloween mix tapes for my friends, and began to realize that an enormous amount of music had been written with supernatural themes. That's when I began collecting in earnest.
What is it about supernatural-themed music that makes you seek it out and collect?
Well, I have a notorious need for novelty—I get easily bored with middle-of-the-road culture, and, frankly, how many love songs need to be written? Or, at least, how many love songs that rhyme "June" and "moon"? With supernaturally themed music, you get this marvelous variety of songs, including music in which the singers literally impersonate classic movie monsters, as well as genuinely spooky stuff, and quite a few albums on which actual movie monster stars appear. Trust me—if you can find a recording with Vincent Price or Boris Karloff on it, it's worth getting.
Continue reading "Max Sparber's Essential Ghoul's Record Shelf " »
Dragnet (Theme & March)
