Scientists extracting brain tissue through genetic engineering to find an Alzheimer's cure sounds & seems like a noble pursuit, right?... Until the physical experiments are revealed to be taking place in an undersea lab, and the harvested DNA has infact been taken from mako sharks that in the process, have greatly heightened both their intelligence and already aggressive predatory nature, to which an entire research team are now hunted by these streamlined stalking ocean mutants after they flood the facility. Followed by 2 sequels. Happy 25th Anniversary.

For all the heavy flak they catch now, THIS should be a no argument & no debate no-brainer: RTL stands as one of metal's all-time classic 80's thrash gold standards. It's kinda crazy to look back on it as the band was 'riding' a crest of enormous word of mouth popularity that helped almost single-handedly bring a genre in its infancy to the masses that caught on like wildfire seemingly overnight -- and as fans being innocently unaware that it would still be another decade that saw them scale their absolute peak. Through the lens of gateway nostalgia (as opposed to gatekeeping), we remember when we first heard/bought this. The guitar work alone is outstanding, full of anthemic twin leads and furious soloing. In all even at just 8 tracks (as was the next album), RTL is a zenith landmark (again, as is the next album) in a moment of time that captured perfection. Happy 40th Anniversary.

Despite the success of their debut album, the trio were largely panned as a one-hit wonder mainly due to their original wild persona that saw them almost reduced to being nothing more than a straight up, idiotically obnoxious, frat boy novelty act. And then came this 2nd album. Turns out there was a LOT more to them & their fun as PB was WAY ahead of its time with it's numerous samples, rich texture and impressive smooth interchanging lyrical flow. At first a commercial failure, it was highly respected in rap/hop hop circles, and in time would be properly re-examined and rightfully seen as a golden age high point of its era, and a production-wise important work (thanks to the legendary Dust Brothers), as well as continually appearing on 'all-time greatest' lists. Happy 35th Anniversary. R.I.P. Adam 'MCA' Yauch.

R.I.P. John Mayall. 1933-2024.

Happy 30th Anniversary to speed-driven, heavy, hook-laden punk with guest vocals by Kim Shattuck of THE MUFFS who died in Oct 2019. PID was a key in bringing the genre's popularity to an increasingly growing audience, and is considered by many fans to be the band's best album. It is a milestone in their discography as the only record to reach both gold & worldwide sales of over 1 million copies. PID also inspired a craft beer (only to have sponsorship pulled after singer Fat Mike made insensitive comments following the Oct 2017 Las Vegas shooting that saw some 60 people killed and upwards of another 500 injured). 41yrs after first forming, the band is set to play their final shows in Oct 2024.

R.I.P. Ciriaco 'Pinche Peach' Quezada. 1966-2024.

An annoyed US Fish & Wildlife officer is teamed with a self-centered museum paleontologist, who are assisted by a droll & unimpressed Sheriff (and his sexy deputy), and further joined by a sarcastic eccentric mythology professor to investigate a massive saltwater killer crocodile that has taken up residence in a Maine lake. This dysfunctional group make for some funny interactions but perhaps none more so than a profane Betty White as a local widower who (more terrifying than the rampaging reptile) basically tells law enforcement to suck her dick, and calls the Sheriff, "Officer Fuckmeat!" Some of the scenes were shot in British Columbia and the film was followed by 5 sequels. Happy 25th Anniversary.

R.I.P. Shannen Doherty. 1971-2024.

This 1979 version was an adaption from the hit Broadway play with Frank Langella reprising the lead role. Joined by distinguished veteran stage actors Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasance and Kate Nelligan, the idiot critics gave the film a thumbs down saying it didn't make a good transition to cinema screens and while it suffered at the box office, it is now widely hailed by vampire fans as an excellent & one of the very best interpretations. Dangerous & deadly, Langella is completely suave with his masterful presence oozing charisma alongside decent sfx, great set design, and a superb atmospheric music score. Happy 45th Anniversary.

A fast, angry, thick, gritty debut from these longstanding, quintessential NY hardcore legends. BSANT's rapid tempo changes & thrashy solos are more dominant here than the later tough guy breakdowns that would always have passionately devoted fans going apeshit in the pit at their shows. A sight to behold (and experience) indeed. To this day they remain just as heartfelt & dedicated with no signs of letting up. Happy 35th Anniversary.

R.I.P. Shelley Duvall. 1949-2024.

Happy Birthday to PATRICIA KENNEDY

35yrs ago today, SEINFELD first premiered on NBC. From male porno actor Buck Naked and female names rhyming with female anatomy, to real spectacular breasts and the sizzling new picture 'Elaine Does the Upper West Side', almost immediately the initial slow & sluggish start was unimpressive but it gained steady traction, hit its stride and found a growing popularity with an audience that kept it climbing in ratings. Very clever & hilarious sexual content was rife, especially with brilliant wordplay that was plenty throughout. When the show ended 9yrs later in May 1998 with 76 million people tuning in for the series finale, it finished then as the most successful sitcom and one of the most influential in TV history.

Today is national disco day. If you share my view then you'll resoundingly agree that disco sucks. It always has. I can't stand that shit and the only thing to celebrate about it is flashing the horns up to Chicago's infamous 'Disco Demolition Night' in Jul 1979 (google it), and the style's eventual death. Burn baby burn, and burn it down indeed. So why mention the quirky holiday at all? To drop a little history on that godawful music's earliest & first connection to porn: Before Donna Summer, it was Andrea True who was the first real disco sex queen sensation. She was born in Jul 1943 in Nashville,TN where she studied music and briefly worked in local TV. Her first venture in xxx was in Scandinavia in the late 1960's before moving onto American hardcore spanning 1972-79. During her heyday circa 1975, she went to Jamaica to film some TV commercials for a real estate business. When the government banned all financial transfers out of the country in response to US sanctions protesting the caribbean island's election of President Michael Manley (who was a Fidel Castro supporter), Andrea instead of forfeiting all her earned money (and not wanting to spend it all before returning home) invested in the demo that would become her disco pop hit 'More, More, More'. Burnt out on porn and wanting to break into the music industry, the song became an international hit and having made a full switch into singing, she would release 3 albums. After the first in 1976, the 2nd in 1977 was a commercial failure and the 3rd & last in 1980 saw a move into rock and new wave, with one critic slamming her effectively saying she was an exhibitionistic suck-n-fuck reject who couldn't sing a lick. Ouch. In total she enjoyed mid/moderate success and had 6 singles, 4 of which charted. By 1981 she had quit the adult industry and later needed vocal chord surgery that ended her singing career. But instead of being quietly confined to a dustbin of forgotten brief 1970's curiosos, 2 final surprise shows took place in New York 1994 but plans for a full comeback fell through. In 1999, Andrea was sampled by Canadian one-hit wonder band, Len, who used the instrumental break from 'More, More, More' as their main rhythmic repeated riff in their hit single 'Steal My Sunshine'. In her final years, she worked as a substance abuse counselor, astrologer, and did receive huge royalties from her big dance pop song. Andrea died in Nov 2011. R.I.P. And disco still sucks. It always will.

This month marks the 50th anniversay of the publication debut of HUSTLER magazine (1974) which initially started as a newsletter in January 1972 to promote & advertise a Cincinnati strip joint (Hustler Club) run by Larry Flynt & his brother Jimmy. It later extended to other Ohio club locations in Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Columbus, before moving to full magazine format. HUSTLER is credited as the first skin mag to show 'pink shots' (pics of spread vaginas).


JULY 1974 ON THE WORLD STAGE "You're going to see another first," Christine Chubbuck told her television audience during a live broadcast. Then she raised a .38-caliber revolver to her right temple and shot herself infront of an audience of thousands. The newswoman died 14hrs later without regaining consciousness. Miss Chubbuck, 29, was hosting an edition of "Suncoast Digest," a regular half hour program on Florida station WXLT for over a year, and it began uneventfully. The day's guest was a meteorologist waiting to tell the viewers about weather forecasting equipment. Chubbuck had just introduced a film clip of a shootout at a bar involving police but something went wrong; a technical difficulty and the clip did not appear on screen. After a few seconds of dead air, she skillfully covered the mechanical problem by reading a news item then said in a cool & calm demeanor at 9:38AM, "in keeping with channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood & guts in living color, you're going to see another first, an attempted suicide." She pulled the gun out from a shopping bag under the horseshoe-shaped news desk, raised it to her head, and before the two women in the camera crew or her guest could intervene, she fired, slumped forward, and the screen went black. Blood splattered on a carpet beneath her chair, and stained her notes. A minute or so later, with the station having switched programming, a movie came on the air. News director Mike Simmons said he found Chubbuck's script for the program included the shooting. The script was written in the third person and listed her condition after the shooting as "critical." He said, "She had written something like,'TV-40 news personality Christine Chubbuck shot herself in a live broadcast this morning on a Channel 40 talk program. She was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where she remains in critical condition.'" He added that Chubbuck had told reporter Rob Smith a week ago that she had bought a gun and that she thought it would be "a neat idea to blow herself away on the broadcast, but she said it in a joking manner and as soon as she said it she laughed." Smith did not take her seriously. Horrified viewers who saw the shooting flooded the sheriff's department with phone calls. Once at the station, police took possession of the videotape recording. Chubbuck, an attractive native of Hudson,OH had formerly worked for tv stations in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Canton,OH. She was described by stunned & saddened coworkers as "a very nice girl, a dynamic sparkplug outspoken on some things, very liberal on some things... an easy person to get along with." Her heartbroken family have told investigators that she talked of suicide the previous weekend and how she mentioned being depressed but why she took her life in the manner she did was unknown. There has been suggestion that her having become upset due to a change in the talk show format that wanted to switch over to more crime news coverage, may have contributed to a disturbed mental state. It is believed Chubbuck holds the dubious morbid distinction of being the first person to ever commit suicide on live television.