"DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE DID?!"... And something also about a mother in hell, and a heaping serving of split green pea soup... THE POWER OF LINDA COMPELS YOU! Happy 50th Anniversary.

Christopher Lee said it was the best film he ever made and prior to LORD OF THE RINGS, it was his character here (surprise, not DRACULA) that fans always asked him about the most. The shitty remake starring Nicholas Cage doesn't deserve to exist, and the title is also a cool IRON MAIDEN song. Happy 50th Anniversary to a seminal folk horror jewel.

Direct from the netherworld for all of us to burn in the eternal lake of fire, SLAYER's debut was at first met with mixed reviews upon its release, largely citing criticisms of sub-par production and amateurish themes of the Devil, darkness & hellish damnation. But this was early speed metal with punk's boldness that caught the attention of several other fellow bands who were now delivered a major boost to rev up their own tempo in the same vein. SNM was a statement with its Satanic material still trying to find itself but in quick time would grow to see SLAYER encompass a much-improved, fully found and sharply harnessed sound whose lasting imprint still sees them as one of metal's most fiercely worshipped bands ever. Happy 40th Anniversary.

Viva les derrières de Montréal. Congrats Grey Cup champs.

Forget the Cabbage Patch Kids, with a little voodoo and a kitchen knife, a Chucky doll makes a much better friend 'til the end. Happy 'Hidey-ho' 35th Anniversary.

R.I.P. Piper Laurie. 1932-2023.
Before she was an overbearing, religious zealot mother-from-hell in 'CARRIE', she was also hot-as-hell gorgeous as evidenced in her 1950's cheesecake pin-up portraits.

R.I.P. Kent Stax. 1962-2023.

R.I.P. Paul 'Pee-wee Herman' Reubens. 1952-2023.

The first "one" that started it all. 3 months before the debut's recording, Dave Mustaine was fired while the band was in New York. Kirk Hammett had already auditioned & been hired as the replacement just days before Dave (who is still credited as a co-writer and arranger) was kicked out. The album on a whole is a first signifier for what was a major departure in early 80's mainstream hard rock as it opened doors for metal with bands adopting a faster, heavier, and more aggressive approach. With thrash music's appeal, Dave was not done for his departure quickly led to an idea for his new outift that emerged shortly after within a year. And the rest as they say is history... Happy 40th Anniversary. R.I.P. Cliff Burton.

France

One of punk's all-time best debuts, this amazing cornerstone of hardcore crossover into thrash is still considered the band's masterpiece. Founded in 1981, singer Mike's rantings mixed a quirky personality of goofy humor ingrained in themes of boredom, depression, alienation, conformity and politics. Their classic video for 'Institutionalized' was a popular MTV hit that documented their power to capture memorable teen angst within the slow arrangements charging into anarchic aggression. [BODY COUNT would cover the tune with a clever & funny updated version]. For 'I Shot Regan', the band's record label was apparently paid a visit by the FBI and when convinced that the song was not an advocation for assassination(!) they went away satisfied. Ridiculously catchy and never losing steam, SUICIDAL's impressive & positively received s/t album is a firm establishment of energetic youth and the embodiment of its era. The band would undergo plenty of line-up changes into a more metallic sound but was right on the cusp that would almost immediately see D.R.I come moshing in next. Happy 40th Anniversary.

R.I.P. Kirk Arrington. 1962-2023.

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This month marks the 45th anniversary of V - THE HOT ONE (1978) opening in xxx theaters. When Valerie, an anxious & unhappy upper class wealthy wife of an affluent but boring lawyer gets fed up of being ignored, she takes to first teasing the neighborhood voyeur with open window masturbation sessions for gratification, and then visiting nightclubs for more hands-on exhibitionism. Still sexually unsatisfied and hungry for deeper dirty games, she follows the lead of a married girlfriend into moonlighting as a high-priced call girl. Now throwing herself into full force slutty eager abandon and not even caring about money, she shines in her particular talent for perverse roleplay. Will the gung ho fucking lead Valerie to a primrose path of pleasure, or swallow her up & spit her out onto a garbage route into the gutter by a reverse course from riches to rags? Gorgeous Annette Haven is perfect as an elegantly sophisticated sleazehound ever-immersing into a Dante's Inferno of carnal craving, determined to rid herself of restlessness and quench the non-stop thirst for satisfaction (but at what price?) As another high point in the 70's, VTHO is also well known for its penthouse orgy, and marital rape scene with this specific edgy content unafraid to broach the matter. Lastly, its film score track of space-drippy synth-rock ('Pulstar' which was also used in 1981's SKINTIGHT -- again starring both Haven and Paul Thomas) is by award-winning Greek composer Vangelis who also did CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981), BLADE RUNNER (1982), MISSING (1982), THE BOUNTY (1984), BITTER MOON (1992), 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE (1992), and ALEXANDER (2004). He died in May 2022.

This month marks the 45th anniversary of SEX WORLD (1978) opening in XXX theaters. A spoof of the sci-fi WESTWORLD movies (and thus one of xxx's earliest parodies), a month before its Southern California premiere, the company that owned the Pussycat Theaters chain apparently won a lawsuit allowing them to have bus ads to promote the film's release. Starring Kay Parker, inspite of her already older age, this featured her first sex scene on screen. Within weeks, SEX WORLD was playing in Chicago, Washington,DC and New York. By year's end it had been shown "around the world" having run in Japan, Holland, Denmark and Sweden.

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the publication debut of CLIMAX magazine (1953). CLIMAX first began as a men's adventure magazine starting with a brief run from Mar-Aug 1953 before disappearing for 4yrs until it re-emerged in Apr 1957. From Dec 1963 to Jan/Feb 1965 it merged with IMPACT. 1966 saw the release of only a single issue while all of 1967 was another hiatus. The final print issue seems to be Oct 1980 but in 1991-95 a same-named "CLIMAX" appeared with an emphasis on couples, and from 1997-2000 or 2001, another new-titled edition showed up, this one presented by HIGH SOCIETY.


MARCH 1953 ON THE WORLD STAGE Marshal Josef Tito of Yugoslavia has arrived in Britain, the first Communist head of state to visit the country. The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden greeted him at Westminster at the start of his 5-day visit. He arrived by sea from Yugoslavia in the naval vessel Galeb (Seagull) where was then brought up the Thames River and past the Tower of London under Royal Navy escort. Marshal Tito was invited to Britain last September by Mr. Eden who was visiting Yugoslavia to strengthen ties between the two nations. Talks this week are expected to centre on the aftermath of the recent death of Josef Stalin in Russia, who expelled Yugoslavia from the Cominform group of communist nations in 1948 for failing to adhere to Soviet policies. The Cominform is a co-operative body of Eastern bloc countries whose governments adhere to Stalinist principles. Since that time, Yugoslavia has come to rely on Western aid for certain foods & armaments, and more than any other communist country saw a rare ability to follow its own interests separate & independent of dictation from Moscow. Tito's breakaway in favor of reforms, power in the hands of workers' councils, federalism to unify the nationalist ethnic ambitions of the 6 republics (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slvenia, Montenegro, and Macedonia), and friendlier ties in foreign relations resulted in a split between himself and the late Stalin which saw tensions between both men increase. Also among Tito's discussions will be ways of achieving a solution to the problem of the disputed region of Trieste whose administration was divided last year between the United Nations and Yugoslavia. Trieste is a seaport city in the northeastern region of Italy, 146 miles from Zagreb (the majority of its citizens Croatian) and 389 miles from the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade (the majority of its citizens Serbian). Security was tight as the official occasion has been marked by a great deal of controversy, especially among those Yugoslav exiles who regard Marshal Tito as a dictator. He has imposed harsh measures towards those deemed enemies of the state, and there has been large-scale repression against tens of thousands of political opponents who have been sent to forced labor camps. To avoid any problematic demonstrations, spectators were kept well away from the River Thames embankment where the marshal disembarked. He shook hands with the Duke and made a short speech in faltering English greeting the people of Britain and expressing hope of mutual co-operation, understanding & peace saying, "I wish to assure the peoples of Great Britain that they should consider the people of my country as their staunch allies because the people of the new Yugoslavia are striving towards the same ends as the people of Great Britain." Tito then inspected the Guard of Honour and was taken in a bullet-proof car escorted by police motorcyclists to Downing Street. He later laid a wreath at the Cenotaph memorial on Whitehall and saluted Britain's war dead. Yugoslavia was allied to Britain during WWII and particulary known for its contribution from the partisans, an estimated 1 million people combined of civilian & miltary casualties are said to have been killed in total.

Today is the 40th anniversary of PRIVATE SCHOOLGIRLS (1983) opening in XXX theaters. Not to be confused with the German PRIVATE SCHOOL GIRLS (1972), who doesn't love wayward schoolgirls with their slutty hijinx in & out of the classroom? When bad girl Caroline is kicked out of school for getting naughty in the men's room, she's sent to a strict private all-girl academy where she and fellow cohorts (with peer pressure not a problem) carry on with the sexcapades, banging teachers and each other alike. Featuring rising star Shauna Grant (born Colleen Marie Applegate) who appeared in 32 titles that year, her fame was tragically cut short when she died at 20 on March 23, 1984 from a self-inflicted gun shot from a .22 rifle. In 1987, Shauna's mother claimed that her daughter's imprisoned 44yr old drug dealer boyfriend had arranged for Shauna to be killed, but he denied the allegation saying that while jailed he had called Shauna to dump her. Police reviewed the death and upheld it a suicide, not homicide. As well as being the subject of songs by J Church, Ripping Corpse, Mastedon (not to be confused with 'Mastodon'), and Klaus Fluoride (bassist of The Dead Kennedys), Shauna's life was also featured in the controversial & heavily criticized feature 'SHAUNA: EVERY MAN'S FANTASY' in 1985, PBS' Frontline documentary 'DEATH OF A PORN QUEEN' in 1987, and the TV movie 'SHATTTERED INNOCENCE' in 1988. R.I.P.

R.I.P. Jeff Beck. 1944-2023.