Author: Robert Gomez

The Greatest Gift by Scratch Acid - CD (9/10)

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I discovered Scratch Acid after becoming a The Jesus Lizard worshiper. At the time I remember thinking, despite have 50% of the JL lineup, how different the two bands were. Now listening to this years later, yeah they are different, but they don’t feel quite so distinct to me. Scratch Acid still falls a little short of the mark. Perhaps they are bit too noodle-y in the guitar department, Or maybe it’s just the lack of focus in terms of style. Still, there are some great songs here. “Greatest Gift,” “Crazy Dan,” and “Albino Slug” are my favorites. My band during by college years, Der Lugomen, owed a lot to Scratch Acid’s sound.

Romantic Fish Eating

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The Italian thriller Death Walks on High Heels is not terribly noteworthy even within the tiny cinematic sub-genre of giallo. There is, however, one scene in the movie that does jump out like a breaching marlin. It is the only film that I know of that sexualizes the eating of a grilled fish dinner.

Nothing foreshadows an evening of passionate romance like a cart of dead fish.

The flames of love have erupted beneath a pile of gnarly meat and scales.

That’s right, no silverware required. The best way to appreciate good food is by touch.

Next step, start ramming globs of flaky white meat into your mouth.

Be sure to chew carefully. You wouldn’t want to cut the evening short with a bone caught in your trachea. Well, a fish bone that is.

Here’s the Lucio Fulci close-up gore moment.

By the end, her fingertips are just covered in half-chewed fish matter.

And that calls for a little clean up.

Now, bear in mind this scene goes on for like two minutes. The images of Nicole chomping are interspersed with clips of her lover, Dr. Matthews smoking, taking sips of what I suspect is J&B Scotch and then staring at her with creepy middle-aged man-eyes. I’m sorry, but there is nothing sexy about this and, for the record, I still hate seafood.

Death Walks on High Heels (7/10)

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Although a bit lacking in terms of style, Death Walks on High Heels is another reasonably good giallo. The first part of the movie is filled with corny burlesque numbers and a cringe inducing romance that includes romantic, close-up grilled fish eating. Like a seafood Lucio Fulci. When the movie finally gets around to the business of murder it shifts gears and becomes a very standard detective story with lots of red herrings and the usual twists and turns.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (4/10)

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I was bored silly by this classic sci-fi book. I wanted to like it. It’s voted as the greatest sci-fi series of all time. I’m not sure why. Perhaps because of the grand ideas it supposedly postulates, but heaven forbid those ideas get wrapped in an interesting plot with even moderately interesting characters. If only Asimov could weave a tale like he could grow his sideburns.

The Great Silence (9/10)

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What at first glance seems like a rather derivative spaghetti western (except for the unusual snowy setting), reveals itself to be a bleak and nihilistic vision of the Old West. This movie takes no prisoners. Except for the scenes in which characters are put in prison. This film has one of Morricone’s best scores and you’ll be bobbing your head and humming along while your favorite characters get gunned down in cold blood.

The End Of Rock And Roll by "Blind" Rage And Violence - CD (10/10)

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Guitarist and switchbladist extraordinaire “Blind” Rage is said to be the illegitimate son of Link Wray. From the liner notes: “he’s on a mission to reclaim the greatness that man’s name once stood for.” These sixteen tracks pack all the fuzz and fury of Link. The only thing missing is the one-lunged blues howl of Link’s voice. Come to think of it, Mr. Rage’s vocals suspiciously sound an awful lot like Deke Dickerson’s, who, coincidentally, produced and released this album. Hmm. Anyway, this is a fantastic record that goes beyond being simply a tribute band by packing wallop all of its own.

Batman: Arkham City on PC (9/10)

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I have never really been a fan of superhero comics. What I know about Batman comes mostly from the Super Friends cartoon and the 60s television series. Although I feel they are waaaay overrated by millennial geeks, the recent movies are good enough and it’s obvious this game draws from the darker tone of these films. Knowing beforehand that I would find the storyline to be as stupid as every other superhero plot, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this game. Lo and behold, it’s a really good game, and I actually didn’t mind the idiotic plot so much either. The great voice work and graphics help too.

You move around the large open-world map using the acrobatics of Assassin’s Creed but, unlike that game, you actually feel like you are doing something towards a goal. The fighting is challenging and relies on mastering your timing and button combinations. Beating a wave of foes is really satisfying.

The main story line is short, but there are a ton of side missions and puzzle-based Riddler challenges. I am not OCD enough to complete all these tasks, but they are a nice diversion if you want to jump into the game for a quick challenge. Now, I am patiently awaiting an open-world Wonder Twins game.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP on PC (8/10)

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Sword & Sworcery is a bit more art than video game. In fact, the game itself is more of a container for the synth-heavy soundtrack and pixel art animation. The art style is a cross between the blocky designs of early Sierra 3-D adventure games and the limited color palette and vistas of Another World. A lot of reviews describe the sound track as being “prog rock.” It’s not. It has much more in common with a mid-eighties Golan-Globus action movie score (Rob Walsh’s Revenge of the Ninja OST comes to mind) than Yes. Generally, a good thing, and one of the benefits to buying this game on Steam is that the digital soundtrack is included in the package. I guess the prog rock associations come from the way the game feels like the weird, fantastic stream of conscientiousness of the movie Heavy Metal (without the shiny boob lady). But back to my first point. No, this isn’t the greatest game playing experience. Clicking on trees in a specific order is not a brilliant game mechanic. However, like minimal interaction of Photopia, the game elements serve as a carrot to keep you exploring the environment and experiencing the unique narrative and music.

Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights by Raymond Scott - CD (9/10)

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In the past, most people’s introduction to Raymond Scott came when some hipster nerd told them that the music from Looney Tunes was okay, but you should really listen to this guy who Carl Stalling totally ripped off! Nowadays most of us have heard these songs in various modern cartoons from Ren and Stimpy to the present. I remember bringing this CD into work at Tandem Press and it immediately got the thumbs down from the staff because they had all been inundated Scott and other music from the 78 era when Art Spiegelman had been artist in residence the month before. Indy comic guys apparently love this stuff. Well, it’s fun, happy, creative music, so I guess that makes sense (I don’t know how that really ties in with the whole mouse holocaust thing, but just go with it for now).