Highway 62

The above essay was posted a little bit late, somewhat my fault. It's fallen off of the front page of Dark, but Shining, and I felt that giving it a little link-love here wouldn't be untoward. Anyways, if you like seeing "non-horror" movies addressing horror, you'd do worse than giving my babblings wrt CHINATOWN a once-over.

Posted by Matt M. at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How much is your childhood/adolescence worth? In my case, the part of it that was spent loitering around Tower Records, trying to figure out how I could maximize the transformation of my meagre cash stores into musical escape, was worth about ninety bucks. At least according to the nice folks at Amoeba Records on Sunset Boulevard it was. I didn't argue with 'em. I'd had to haul that sixty pound crate from the ex-Cinerama dome on Sunset down to the Amoeba location, over a block and a half away. And I'm a skinny guy with skinny arms. I freakin' earned that ninety bucks.

How easily I let that stuff go, too. All the Elvis Costello LPS, the odd punk records, the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD soundtrack, the smattering of Ray Charles and Beyond the Fringe records, the CW McCall record, my treasured STAR WARS soundtrack (and all the afternoons that I spent blasting that record on my parent's stereo stystem, reliving the movie behind my eyelids).

And yes, even my beloved Electric Light Orchestra discography. All of the mainstream releases from the seventies to 1986, even and including THE NIGHT THE LIGHT WENT OUT IN LONG BEACH, which featured them on the cusp of the their big success in America. How many days did I spend with those records on my (counterfeit) Walkman reading UNCANNY X-MEN? Instead of a teenage punk, I was a teenage geek, embracing electrified power pop (never knowing that in reality Jeff Lynne really only wanted to be the fifth or sixth Beatle) and the four color imperfect perfect people (ready to die for Jean Grey at a moment's notice.)

So yeah, I ransomed my adolescence, for what? Trade credit?

Damn right I did. Ninety bucks. And I still have eleven left.

All that vinyl? It's damn heavy. Some of it's musty and disintegrating. Like any mortal coil, time is busy having its way. Hell, if worms could eat that stuff, they would be. But you know what, the immortal soul, all those memories and wasted afternoons? They're still right where they should be.

Above photo of Los Angeles taken on Sunday's trip. Can't remember where it was. I'd gone down First street and taken a left somewhere, trying to get back to the 101. Anyways, the light was real nice.

Posted by Matt M. at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who think that you're creating for The Future and aiming at posterity and not the here and now.

Found over on Chris Allen's blog. It's a nice little bucket of icewater it is.

Posted by Matt M. at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

mystifying oracle

If you haven't seen this yet, you should. Go. Click. Now.

Posted by Matt M. at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Offered without comment.

Courtesy Mr. Beaucoup.

Posted by Matt M. at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)