Posts

Showing posts from September, 2010

Forgotten Music: The Groovie Ghoulies

Image
The Groovie Ghoulies took their name from an animated series called Groovie Goolies . The show was a spinoff of a spinoff: The Archie Show—Sabrina, The Teenage Witch—Groovie Goolies. In the cartoon, the classic, Universal Monsters were all hip and cool. And, naturally, being hip and cool meant that at least once an episode you found the time to play a catchy pop song. If you remember the cartoon, you can grok the band. I love hardboiled crime and noir, sure. But some of my first loves were monster movies and bad sc-fi flicks with BEMs chasing girls in bikinis. The Ghoulies gave that to me, crafting lyrics about flying saucers, vampires, and werewolves, singing in fast tempo, pop-style melodies backed by punk guitar riffs. I’ve listened and still listen to “real” punk rock: the Ramones, Stiff Little Fingers, Black Flag, Fugazi, Fear, The Sex Pistols, X-Ray Specs, Bad Brains, the Dead Kennedys, and all the others. When I was younger, I went to my share of basement shows and drank ch

Good Evening, Mr. and Mrs. America...

Image
Soon, the tentatively titled Discount Noir will go to e-press. A big thanks to the editors, Patti Abbot and Steve Weddle. And, of course, a huge thanks to the Super Agent, Stacia Decker. Check out the official announcement here . Then you might go, if you haven’t already, over to Gutter Books and read David Cranmer’s interview with Keith Rawson. Keith spills the beans about the lineup of the upcoming Crime Factory anthology.

Why I No Longer Watch SVU Even Though I Think Mariska Hargitay Is Hot

Image
I used to like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . The writing was decent, if sometimes a little ridiculous and plot-twisting. The acting was good, especially for network television. I like Christopher Meloni (not as much and in a different way than Maria does). He was amazing on HBO's Oz . And Mariska Hargitay? Well, she's just absolutely stunning. But I can't watch SVU anymore. Alright, maybe I shouldn't say can't. I should probably say, I haven't watched it in a while and don't think I will again... On Monday, the Sexual Assault Resource Guide I wrote came back from the printers and was distributed to floor RA's, Residence Managers, the Health Center, the Student Advocates Office, and others on campus. I spent more time sweating over this thing, rewriting, having meetings, arguing about word choice (survivor or victim), and learning more than I ever wanted to know about the topic of sexual assault. All I've ever wanted is to wri