#urgh a music war

[hotelelectrico]

Sometimes at the end of a year, I'll post stills from ten of my favorite movies that I saw for the first time that year. This year, those movies have something else in common: none of them are currently available to stream or rent online in the US. I rented almost all of these on disc from Scarecrow Video, the world's largest publicly-available video archive. They're in the midst of an important fundraising campaign - please consider renting from them, becoming a member, or donating what you can!

The Heiress (1949, USA, director William Wyler): A suitor (Montgomery Clift!) encourages a rich young woman (Olivia de Havilland!) to assert her independence from her father, but can she trust his motives? Classical Hollywood rarely got more psychologically insightful than in this tense but gorgeous melodrama. On Blu-ray from Criterion.

Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie (1952, USA, dir. Henry King): A young husband is happy to put down small-town roots while his wife dreams of the city. David Lynch says that this was the first movie he ever saw, and you can feel its influence on his work. Wholesome Americana as a force of perpetual destruction to those who dream of anything else. On DVD-R from Fox Archive.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969, USA, dir. Sydney Pollack): Hm, I'm realizing there may be some recurring themes in these, maybe a little bit of cynicism about "capitalism" and "America" and so on. Desperate Depression-era contestants join a nightmarish dance contest for the prospect of guaranteed meals and a cash prize. One of the key films of the New Hollywood movement and a highlight of Jane Fonda's career! On Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Wicked, Wicked (1973, USA, dir. Richard L. Bare): Okay time for something fun! A cheesy, gimmicky, thoroughly enjoyable psycho-horror shown almost entirely in split-screen "DuoVision". The film makes genuinely interesting and varied use of its core gimmick , but even without it the lurid twists would be a blast to watch. There's even an atrocious but catchy theme song! On DVD-R from Warner Archive.

Man of Marble (1977, Poland, dir. Andrzej Wajda): A driven young documentary filmmaker seeks out the true story of a bricklayer who had been lauded as a proletarian hero decades before. For another change of pace, we have some cynicism about communism instead of capitalism! Agnieszka the filmmaker is one of my favorite characters of the year, because she possesses every admirable trait: a rock-steady moral vision, a fearless investigatory instinct, and a world-class ability to lounge around and sit in odd positions. On DVD from Vanguard. (I saw this through my university library, but Scarecrow has it too!)

The Driver (1978, USA, dir. Walter Hill): A cool-guy-does-cool-car-crimes movie so stripped-down that none of the characters have names or even change outfits. Ryan O'Neal and Isabelle Adjani are as pretty and blank as you could possibly hope for. The car chases rock. It turns out you can strip this whole genre down to just the chassis and it's still immensely satisfying. On Blu-ray from Imprint.

Urgh! A Music War (1982, UK, dir. Derek Burbidge): Punk and new-wave concert footage from some of the greatest acts of the era! And plenty of other people too! Inherently inconsistent, starts and ends rough but there's a stretch in the middle that's nonstop fire. If you don't know and love Klaus Nomi, you need him in your life. If you haven't watched The Cramps' performance from this, you have no idea how low a pair of leather pants can ride or how salaciously a man can treat a microphone, and you need that in your life too. Plus Devo, XTC, OMD, The Go-Gos, Gary Numan (in an adorable little Star Wars car!) - all aces. On DVD-R from Warner Archive.

To Live and Die in LA (1985, USA, dir. William Friedkin): A vital companion piece to Friedkin's landmark The French Connection, with 80s LA sheen replacing 70s NY grit but the dark heart of copdom left completely unchanged. Willem Dafoe is unforgettable as the artist/counterfeiter antagonist. (Fun fact: the counterfeit money used in the film made its way into actual circulation, which earned Friedkin a visit from the Secret Service. He told them to come back with a warrant and they never did. And that's how the greats do it!) On Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, but 4K UHD is also available!

Twilight (1990, Hungary, dir. György Fehér): You know how people who don't watch a lot of international art films think they're all slow, grim, ambiguous black-and-white slogs through Eastern European despair? Well, that's what this is and it rules. It's shot like nothing I've seen before, full of subtle, misty grays, and the plot is about some detectives failing to catch a child murderer. You know if that sounds like your jam or not, and if it does, you're in for a great bad time. On Blu-ray from Arbelos.

I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK (2006, South Korea, dir. Park Chan-wook): "Taking mental illness seriously" doesn't have to mean being dour or even realist. Park Chan-wook is of course one of the best filmmakers in the world, but he's especially good at nailing tricky, ambiguous tones. I'm thinking of the triumphantly salacious end of The Handmaiden, the tragicomic ending of Thirst, the cathartic but sorrowful but etc etc climax of Lady Vengeance - anyway, this movie lives in that realm all the way through. On Blu-ray from Tartan (I think).

[swampflix]

Urgh! A Music War (1981)

After over a decade of avoiding the evil conveniences of streaming music on Spotify, I have finally given up.  I’ve been enjoying the exploitative service for a full year now, contributing fractions of pennies to my favorite artists and turning my head when Belly’s “Delete Spotify” profile-pic message appears while their songs play.  As proof of this shame, I’ll share my Spotify Wrapped data for…

[maelwife]

The movie theater I’m sitting in rn is playing a sparks music video as part of the pre show. Big Russell.

[lisamarie-vee]

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Bad Reputation

[chronivore]

1981

[iamdangerace]

Julien "Grindsnatch" Hechtlinger

A member of NYC shock punk band The Mad. She was also a guitarist with the Cramps in 1980, and she is featured in the video shot for Urgh! A Music War, using the name Julien Grindsnatch, or sometimes Julien Griensnatch.

Julien Grindsnatch, with Lux Interior, Poison Ivy Rorshach and Nick Knox in 1980. Photo by Marie Triller, New York Rocker.

[mudwerks]

(via John Cooper Clarke - Health Fanatic (Urgh! A Music War) 1981)

[hetnixira]

i love staroba.....

[gthdhd666]

[stormofsharpthings]

Hmm. Reminds me strongly of The Cramps in 1980 and the black legging-things Lux Interior was almost wearing… XD

[todaywasamaritale]

✧ mari ♡ 18 y/o cryptid fem ✧ s.her ♡ christian ✧ biromantic asexual ♡ 🇵🇸🫒 ✧

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ABSOLUTELY everything to know about me ->

american (derogatory) // christian (the good kind, shouldn’t have to clarify but here we are😭) // scorpio // bday oct 25 // music lover and writer // fanfic consumer // local neighborhood ace with the dirtiest jokes // i swear like a sailor to offput certain men // spring supremacy tbh // avid disneyworld enjoyer and corporate disney hater 🤝 // conflict makes me itch but i’m a professional debator // singer and stuff i already said // dwdw if i hate you, you will KNOW straight up // a downbad schemer, evil even // call me a double A battery the way i be autistic and asexual // whump enjoyer and writer at times // i do rp on minecraft a lot // and then there’s chunky he’s DEAD

music ->

swiftie (taylor’s version) // k/da // heartsteel // itzy // everglow // blackpink in your area // little monster for mother monster gaga <3 // olivia rodrigo // chappell roan // Jesus was a Carpenter!!! // boygenius // emei! // precious jewel amor // derivakat // cg5 // reinaeiry // mave: MAKE A NEW WAVE!!!!! // dua lipa // ive // the warning // dove cameron // tobymac // daft punk // britney spears // madonna // gracie abrams // thomas sanders

movies & tv ->

miraculous ladybug aw yiss // vaguely intrigued in pokemon sun & moon // felix fathom and gladion mohn you are forever famous and not at all similar nono // mha // murder drones // hellaverse // tadc // saiki k // bsd // tangled the series NO SPOILERS // kimmy schmidt // schitt’s creek // the mindy project // atla // downton abbey // pride and prejudice miniseries with colin firth if you prefer the movie i’ll fight you // big bang theory // friends // star wars enthusiast // maleficent // guardians of the galaxy (what do you mean there are three movies??? there are only two uh huh….) // juno // the perks of being a wallflower // spiderverse // barbie // enchanted // hunger games // narnia // everything everywhere all at once // RAINBOW ROCKS // princess diaries // enola holmes // klaus // princess protection program // high school musical (no spoils for the series) // legally blonde // mean girls // frozen // alien stage!!! // project mc2 // the owl house

games ->

star guardians xayah x rakan truther // minecraft // sims 4 // prodigy // yandere sim

broadway ->

wicked // moulin rouge (not the movie) // she loves me // jeremy jordan is God’s gift to earth have you even heard him giggle tho. have you // newsies // shrek the musical >>>>>>> // holiday inn // dear evan hansen // mean girls // anastasia URGH brainrot // six // heathers // mystic glen // frozen

books/fanfic ->

keeper of the lost cities // the impossible quest // septimus heap // the land of stories // school for good and evil // narnia // artemis fowl don’t even TALK to me about the movie i’m still fuming // amulet // wonder // star of deltora // passerine // thirteen

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[saxandviolins77]

What do the Constructicons like to watch in their free time.

Veeery self-indulgent, but if you follow me you aren't a stranger to that.

A little fan continuity fun fact: Cybertron does not have the types of audiovisual, written, and artistic media Earth has. The forms of entertainment that existed before the war were: theatre(telling histories of Cybertronian myths), traditional Quintessonian Orchestras, and Gladiatorial matches. As such, when coming in contact with Earth media, the Constructicons took a bit of time to learn about the concept of "fiction", because why would humans waste resources and time to tell untrue stories that have nothing to do with their practiced religion and cults? Nowadays they can more or less distinguish it, but they still find the concept silly, especially with sci-fi movies, which they avoid watching like the plague.

Scrapper: Discovered old human movies and never looked back. He enjoys movies from the 20th century, his favorite types of movies being screwball comedies and he's beginning to enjoy musicals too. His favorite movies at the moment are Hello, Dolly! (1969) and Grease (1978). The rest of the Constructicons do not see the appeal of watching humans execute their mating rituals in convoluted and unrealistic ways.

Scavenger: Doesn't like movies. Fortunately, he discovered documentaries. He's absolutely entranced by the concept of well-explained videos lecturing the audience about something, he'll watch just about anything, but his absolute favorite ones are nature-focused ones and the "How Is It Made" one. The Constructicons don't mind his tastes, but they do not care about biographical documentaries.

Long Haul: He doesn't like human media at all, like, why would he be interested in what the organics that inhabit the planet they're trying to conquer like to watch? It's probably not even worth his time... That's what he thought before he fell into the reality television pipeline; he's definitely embarrassed about this and considers it his worst guilty pleasure (he doesn't even like using the word "pleasure".) It's completely stupid media and a waste of time, but he can't help but keep watching to see his favorite contestant (urgh) push through. His favorite Reality Show is Big Brother (girl, your taste... Is awful.) The other Constructicons know he's embarrassed so they don't comment on it, though Scrapper likes to indulge him a bit and ask about his opinion at any given moment (he'll say it doesn't matter, but will start to defend a controversial contestant as if his life depends on it.)

Hook: You think Hook would waste his precious time watching HUMAN-MADE MEDIA?! That would be completely idiotic, his genius brain is too advanced to be entertained by such nonsense! Don't even make such baseless assumptions about him again!

...

He likes dramas... Medical dramas. I guess the fact that he doesn't know about human anatomy manages to grip him, but he pretends he isn't invested in the personal lives of the characters.

Bonecrusher: He's a very simple guy, a good action movie is enough to keep him interested. I do think he doesn't show outward emotions about what he's watching, preferring to shrug and say it's fine instead of saying he truly enjoys something. One of the ways you can know if Bonecrusher enjoyed a movie is that he'll want to watch it time and time again. His favorite movies are Kill Bill (2003) and Pulp Fiction (1994) (no, he doesn't know anything about this "Tarantino" guy.)

Mixmaster: Worst. Taste. Ever. (according to the other Constructicons.) This guy likes spoof movies from the 2000s and slapstick movies from the 1960s, you never know what you're getting with him, but he has a frightening ability to accurately choose the worst, unfunniest, and cheapest comedies ever. Looking at the bright side, the Constructicons can spend an hour pointing out how stupid and badly made the movie is, Mixmaster does, in fact, join in and honestly, he doesn't even care about movies that much.

Honourable mention:

Devastator: One day, the Constructicons tried to give live sports a try. They watched plenty of different American games that were airing at the moment but didn't get the appeal. However, SOMEHOW, the practices must've stuck hard into their subconscious, as Devastator developed the worst habit ever: adopting incorrect sports lexicon in his vocabulary and using his gun as a bat and/or golf club as a joke. It never stops being embarrassing when someone asks them about this.

[adgaea]

War of the Rohirrim SPoilers

I really liked this movie. I hated Hama's death. And Haleth's. Urgh. I knew it was gonna happen by simple inference, but dang it!

Music was awesome!

[thefrogthief]

Redraw of one of my (many) favorite Sluggo pictures! :D

Sorry for the cropped pic lol, anyways it’s from Urgh! A Music War :]