Category: Arts & letters

Intermission

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 9 Comments

This has absolutely nothing to do with Zappadan, but it’s nonetheless timely, and I like it, so there you have it.

A colleague forwarded this Guardian piece that tells the tale behind the making of one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Fairytale of New York,” by The Pogues, with the late, great Kirsty MacColl on vocals. Herself and I dance to it every Christmas Eve.

Seems “Fairytale” has been reissued on its 25th anniversary, and The Pogues — complete with Shane MacGowan and his “bombsite of a mouth” — will perform at the O2 in London on Dec. 20 to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

And on Dec. 24, Herself and I will dance.

Trashman exits, stage left

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 2 Comments
Trashman stars in Subvert Comics
The cover of Subvert Comics, one of Trashman’s cover-to-cover appearances in underground comics.

Hasta la vista to Spain Rodriguez, creator of “Trashman” and one of the original underground-comics all-stars alongside Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, S. Clay Wilson and the rest of ’em.

He died at 72 following a battle with (what else?) cancer. The old motorcycle hood couldn’t kick an ass that big and bad, though it seems clear that he tried, fighting the oppressor to the end.

 

Cinéma not-so vérité

~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 3 Comments
Frankenhein
It’s alive!

There goes the (Hyborian) neighborhood: It seems the 65-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to reprise his role as Conan the Barbarian in “The Legend of Conan,” another sword-and-sorcery epic scheduled for release in 2014.

There is probably no truth to the rumor that the Governator is simultaneously working on a monster movie set in the gritty world of professional cycling. Said to have the working title “Frankenhein,” it stars Woody Harrelson as Lance Armstrong, Schwarzenegger as Hein Verbruggen and a gray-flannel bag of bullshit as Pat McQuaid.