Currently reading...

[JLG Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JLG]

False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons by Malcolm Braly

looking forward to this one. only a chapter in right now. have some others lined up but might check out The Shark Infested Custard down the road

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

More Willeford:

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Onwards to:

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

You really burned through some Willeford, Paul! He's one of those rare authors I can read and reread endlessly. Is that Charles Williams the same who wrote those sailing centered thrillers? Love those but I'm not familiar with that one.

I'm currently halfway through the revised and expanded new edition of Albert Mudrian's Choosing Death - The Improbable History Of Death Metal and Grindcore. Essential just like the earlier version. Have the new Hard Case Crime edition of Block's A Walk Among The Tombstones up next (sadly they went with a movie tie-in photo cover - really a disappointment from these folks as the covers are usually so awesome).

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

You really burned through some Willeford, Paul! He's one of those rare authors I can read and reread endlessly. Is that Charles Williams the same who wrote those sailing centered thrillers? Love those but I'm not familiar with that one.

The one and the same, Andrew :) Unlike DEAD CALM, etc, CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS isn't focused on sailing though: it's a mystery with a small town setting that was adapted by Francois Truffaut as VIVEMENT DIMANCHE! in 1981. You might have seen the film.

Quite a few of the Willefords were rereads for me but a couple were new (WILD WIVES was one of the new ones that I absolutely loved). I've got MADE IN MIAMI to read too - that's another of his that I haven't read before, and I'm looking forward to it.

I reread A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES when the film adaptation was released. It's a solid one. (I haven't seen the film yet though.)

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

The one and the same, Andrew :) Unlike DEAD CALM, etc, CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS isn't focused on sailing though: it's a mystery with a small town setting that was adapted by Francois Truffaut as VIVEMENT DIMANCHE! in 1981. You might have seen the film.

Quite a few of the Willefords were rereads for me but a couple were new (WILD WIVES was one of the new ones that I absolutely loved). I've got MADE IN MIAMI to read too - that's another of his that I haven't read before, and I'm looking forward to it.

I reread A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES when the film adaptation was released. It's a solid one. (I haven't seen the film yet though.)

I haven't read all of those Willefords either, must track some of them down for summer reading.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Mr. Mercedes, as I said before, I loved it - the next one in this trilogy should be out later this year. I read King's Revival a few months ago and that was quite good too. A pure horror story with a bit of a Lovecraftian bent. Slow burner but well worth sticking with, the story and characters are so interesting that it still reads quite fast and the horror, when it does happen, is some of the darkest stuff he's written in quite a while.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Mr. Mercedes, as I said before, I loved it - the next one in this trilogy should be out later this year. I read King's Revival a few months ago and that was quite good too. A pure horror story with a bit of a Lovecraftian bent. Slow burner but well worth sticking with, the story and characters are so interesting that it still reads quite fast and the horror, when it does happen, is some of the darkest stuff he's written in quite a while.

I'm eagerly awaiting REVIVAL's paperback publication, Andrew. It looks superb.

[Clive Smith noodle doodle Find all posts View Profile Close Clive Smith]

YOU CAN'T WIN, Jack Black.

[JLG Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JLG]

YOU CAN'T WIN, Jack Black.

read that before. really only remember the part he is caught by a Chinese guy. was excited to read it. curious what your end opinion of it is

[Clive Smith noodle doodle Find all posts View Profile Close Clive Smith]

I'll let you know. It's been sitting in the house for years and has been recommended to me by quite a few friends. Can't put it off any longer...

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Finally able to borrow the book I gave a friend for Christmas - Punk USA - The Rise and Fall of Lookout Records. Fascinating read, I'm about 2/3rds through. Brings back so many memories and certainly makes me want to pull out some of those albums that I haven't played in a long time. I had totally forgotten about the big George Tabb vs. Lookout kerfuffle, I even had that MRR where he wrote one of his columns about it and the cover of that issue had the Furious George monkey being nailed to a cross by Lookout, haha. And the Furious George vs. Curious George copyright stuff. I always thought the guitar solo on Pansy Division's "Headbanger" sounded just like Kirk Hammett...well, it's because it was him! Really good book but I wish it was a lot longer, apparently the author cut it way back to focus only on the label and not so much on every band and release. I would love the read the full cut, he says he removed a couple hundred pages or so. Also, should have included a list of essential releases in the back ala that Gunk Punk book.

[Kevin Coed Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kevin Coed]

I got the ebook and finished it in one sitting; which is not to say it's short, but that I couldn't put it down. Screeching Weasel aside I didn't really go for a lot of Lookout releases but I also wish the book were longer. Especially regarding the falling out between Livermore and Ben Weasel (which is still on again, off again to this day).

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Both Weasel and Livermore have always seemed like very difficult people to deal with (to put it mildly). I understand why the author wanted to keep the focus on the label itself but I would have loved a bunch more inside stories on the bands.

MTX, a good bit of The Queers (particularly the Wimpy era, Love Songs For The Retarded, and Don't Back Down), Screeching Weasel, and The Vindictives all rate pretty high with me. They (Lookout) put out a lot of stuff I had zero interest in but the good stuff was, and still is, killer. Still have a bunch of 7 inchers from all those bands along with the full lengths.

[Kevin Coed Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kevin Coed]

Have you come across John Jughead's podcast? He talks to bands about his favourite albums. He's done ones on Screeching Weasel, Big Black, Vindictives... Should be tight up your street.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Have you come across John Jughead's podcast? He talks to bands about his favourite albums. He's done ones on Screeching Weasel, Big Black, Vindictives... Should be tight up your street.

No, I haven't. Thanks for the mention, I'll definitely check it out. Even before I read this book he always seemed unusually sane among all the drama of the band. I even recall Ben in interviews or liner notes referring to him as the adult or Dad of the band.

Rich, if you've never heard The Vindictives you should check them out. The compilation The Many Moods Of The Vindictives is a good place to start. And The Queers early years compilation A Day Late And A Dollar Short is much snottier and garage based than the later, poppier stuff. Not that I don't like a lot of that too.