Been a few weeks since the last all-URL cornucopia, and the one before that, and the one before that. Plz enjoy another curated sliver of my browser history!
Locked Shut, “Steel Spine” — “Locked Shut! 573 Boone County, MO! Midwest hardcoooooooorrreeee!” If you like this stuff, you’ll like this stuff.
Fake And Just Like That Filming Notices — “AFTER WINNING A TRIP TO THE CRAYOLA FACTORY, CARRIE FALLS INTO A HUGE VAT OF BOILING WAX AND DOES A THUMBS UP AS SHE SINKS (LIKE IN ‘TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY’)”
Sun Ra Soft Vinyl Figurine — the planet may be doomed, but you can still pre-order this beautiful free jazz action figure made in Japan, designed by Archer Prewitt and officially approved by Sun Ra LLC.
The Breeders, Live In Big Sur — ok this is just delightful.
Are You A Minion Creationist Or Evolutionist? — “For me, the Minions movies are implanted memories so they don’t have to face the fact that they were created in a lab and so they could feel they’ve had a grand and glorious beginning. But that’s not canon.” EXISTENTIAL BANANA!
Stephen Sayadian Q&A — fascinating talk with the former Hustler art director about his bizarro ‘80s art porno Cafe Flesh, Frank Zappa and more. I am pro “disreputable art” in all forms and CF truly fits the bill. Bonus beat: it was co-written by Jerry Stahl (of Permanent Midnight fame), who is also on Substack and just took part in a great Creative Independent Q&A.
Milli Vanilli x Super Mario Bros — speaking of disreputable! Right as I wrapped a ‘stack on how the terrible ‘93 Mario kinda rules, I read a piece with many similar thoughts about the equally cursed ‘94 Street Fighter adaptation, as well as an oral history of everything that went wrong while filming (spoiler: cocaine). I’ll take memorably insane over forgettably competent any day of the week, a perfect segue to that one time animators drew Princess Peach at a Milli Vanilli concert.
Officially Licensed John Wick Rubber Duck — yeah, I’m thinking I’m back…
A Deep Dive On Nerds Gummy Clusters — “He showed me a bag of those clusters, and I swear, in that moment, my pupils turned to hearts. I opened the bag before I even got home, and my world changed.”
Luscious Jackson “Deep Shag” — shout out all the old bands getting their archives back and reupping vids in 4K. Evan Bernard, still driving the lane!
Inside A Pizza Box Obsession — “It is really kind of messed up when you look at it closely. Everything feels very cut and paste. And the phrase, ‘Enjoy your delicious moments!’ — what if I don’t? It’s like a command.”
Performance Magazine Archives — love how the entire run of this 70s/80s/90s compendium of UK mixed media / experimental theatre weirdness exists as downloadable PDFs, xeroxed ads and all.
Chris Estrada, 5th Of July — enjoyably low-stakes adventure about fireworks and friendship. Could have been an episode of Chris’ heartfelt and very silly Hulu seriesThis Fool, but since they cancelled it (haters) I’ll take it as a Modelo-scented coda.
Zach Woods, Bud — another quickie! My favorite short of the past few years, in fact. Don’t want to ruin any surprises but Zach Woods (whose filmmaking interviews I’ve shouted out before) continues to impress.
Jessica Yu, Sour Death Balls — ok last one. Award-winning 1992 experiment from director / documentarian Jessica Yu that is a simple human wonder.
And like we do every week… playlists updated!