R.I.P. Guido 'Atomic Steif' Richter. 1968-2025.

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y  T O
AUG 31, 1888: In the Whitechapel district of East London, Mary Ann 'Polly' Nichols becomes the first reported murder victim of the unidentified killer dubbed Jack the Ripper. By Nov, 4 more women (with the common misconception that all were alcoholic prostitutes) had been viciously fatally mutilated: Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride & Catherine Eddowes both killed on the same night, and the last victim Mary Jane Kelly who was the only one killed indoors & the most horrifically torn apart. The killer had written taunting letters to the police & press (now widely seen as a hoax), and the investigation & extensive press coverage had particularly caused a morbid sensation that saw the circulation of tabloid journalism soar. As the victims came to be known as the 'canonical five' for being confirmed deaths at the hands of the Ripper, for over a century the long debate among historians & crime experts has suggested that atleast 11 women were killed, with even more researchers saying that earlier unsolved killings up until 1891 may have been a body count as high as 22. The ever-enduring Ripper mystery created a bustling cottage industry of conspiracy theories alleging that the police knew who the real culprit was, and that a broad cross-section of candidates for suspects (well over 100) have included Polish Jews Aaron Kosminski, David Cohen & John Pizer; German-born painter Walter Sickert; German seaman Carl Feigenbaum; van driver Charles Lechmere; Russian criminal Michael Ostrog; cotton merchant James Maybrick (whose diary of confession has been debunked); prominent royal physicians Sir William Gull & Sir John Williams; abortionist Thomas Cream; barrister Montague Druitt, Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll; Queen Victoria's grandson Prince Albert Victor; Queen Victoria's wigmaker Willy Clarkson; asylum escapee James Kelly; ex-Union soldier Boston Corbett (who fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth); possible controversial Americans Francis Tumblety & H.H. Holmes, and lastly proponents claiming that Jack the Ripper might even have been a woman such as a midwife, convicted murderess or a mentally ill immigrant.

Before wokeness, before virtue signaling and before cancel culture, there was S.O.D. Long-blamed for being mean, offensive & politically incorrect, this crossover thrash comprising members of ANTHRAX, M.O.D., and NUCLEAR ASSAULT was formed during a lull in recording that saw this album bashed out in a mere 3 days. With its hybrid of hyperspeed & blast beats, groovy riffs (the rumbling doom of the instrumental opener is one of the most menacing & badass introductions ever) and fierce attitide, S.O.D.'s deliberately provocative & irreverent novelty humor (specifically in songs about women, foreigners and politics) stirred controversy about disparagement but the true purpose was in being far more ridiculously goofballish to see how much of a boundary could be pushed, instead of any real bigotry or incitement of discrimination & hatred to be acted upon. While branded as immature with accusations of prejudice garnering them a notoriety, the denouncements were wrong. Sexism & racism was NEVER an intended key message nor meant to ever be taken seriously. All the sensitive criticizers who did so were themselves the very ones being made fun of and laughed at for being wimpy complainers. The joke was on them and for this the band achieved their goal in pissing people off. S.O.D. was certainly silly but always good-natured and an effective escape from duty by the 4piece in their regular outfits. At worst, they were misunderstood and unfairly labeled ignorant but this is nevertheless an amusing classic that couldn't be made today. Happy 40th Anniversary.

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y  T O
AUG 30, 1997: During a bachelor party in Consenza, Italy, stag guests were confused when 23yr old stripper Gina Lalapola (her last name a possible play on famed starlet Gina Lollobrigida and music festival Lollapalooza) failed to jump out of a huge cake for the anticipated evening's entertainment. Believing she had gotten out & left, the gathered guests had opened it to check and were horrified to find her dead body slumped inside having been trapped. Sadly having bizarrely sealed herself inside the dessert tomb, Lalapola had suffocated apparently having waited an hour for her cue to emerge from the pastry course. The intent for the nudity may have come from a stripper scene in the 1992 Steven Segal movie 'Under Seige' by actress Erika Eleniak best remembered as a lifeguard in Baywatch.

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y  T O

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y  T O
AUG 27, 1990: 35yr old Texas virtuoso guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan is tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Wisconsin en route to Chicago after performing at a jam session concert with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Stevie's elder brother Jimmy. 4 others on board including the pilot and 3 members of Clapton's tour entourage also died. SRV had risen to fame fusing blues & rock and was praised for his dexterity. He was hailed for the deep inspiration he took from legendary players like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Otis Rush (whose song 'Double Trouble' was taken as the name for SRV's band), and Howlin' Wolf. He was also influenced by Django Reinhardt, Chuck Berry, Jeff Beck, and his personal idol Jimi Hendrix. Noted for being a collector of vintage guitars & amplifiers, in 1983 after collaborating with David Bowie, he had been asked to tour with him but declined at the urging of his management. In 1985, he was named as an honorary admiral in the Texas Navy, and in 1990 had made a successful guest appearance on MTV's Unplugged series in New York. After the Wisconsin concert, there had been talk of performing with Clapton again for some shows at London's Royal Albert Hall in Feb & Mar 1991. Outside the amphitheatre venue, 4 helicopters had been reserved for the performers & their crews to fly to Chicago with SRV taking the last chopper (having switched reservations with Jimmie & Jimmie's wife Connie due to a shortage of seats) which departed at 2-minute intervals off a golf course at 1AM. The weather had been worsening with dense fog setting in and SRV's chopper flew at a high speed and lower altitude than the others at 850ft. About a half-mile into the flight, it turned sharply to the left, crashing into the side of a 300ft ski slope with all 5 occupants dying instantly. Their bodies & aircraft debris were scattered over an area of 200sq ft. Reports of the accident began surfacing in the morning as Civil Air Patrol and an Air Force helicopter with sheriff's deputies found the wreckage. As the sad news was announced all over the media, the investigation found no drugs or alcohol were involved, all seatbelts had been worn and no aircraft malfunction had played any part. The cause of the crash was determined to be negligence on the pilot for not enough professional experience in poor conditions of low visibility, and using an incorrect instrument panel. (One theory suggested he may have been trying to fly around the hillside but misjudged the location). SRV's tragic loss triggered an outpouring of grief in the music community and crowds of fans holding candlelight vigils. He was buried in Dallas on Aug 30 with Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Buddy Guy, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Kim Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Jeff Healy, Colin James and other luminaries having attended the funeral. In the months after his death, his albums sold over 5.5 million copies alone in the USA and after numerous tributes & commemorations, in Nov 1993 a memorial statue was dedicated to him in Austin. In Oct 1995, SRV's family and 3 the wives of the Clapton crew were awarded an undisclosed sum in an out of court settlement after they sued the Omniflight Helicopter Company for wrongful death (having filed the lawsuit in Jul 1992 with SRV's side believed to have been given less than $300,000 while the trio received more than $2 million). In 2008, SRV and Double Trouble were made eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and not inducted until Apr 2015 -- 25yrs after their debut record and long overdue.

Happy 35th Anniversary to the band's 5th album and the last with singer Joey until his brief return in 2005 and then permanent re-joining in 2010. POT's recording got off to an ominous start when their first rehearsal studio was gutted by a fire resulting in the loss of over $100,000 worth of gear. Once completed, the album's theme saw a departure from the cartoonish humor & comic book layering on the previous 2 albums for more of a mature emphasis on condemning societal ills and a need for fighting ignorance & intolerance. As well, their approach was more progressive and while the sound was still tight, fast & aggressive, a lot of the familiar relentless standard thrash was complimented by a denser & much darker tempo. Along with the album's 3 videos (including an excellent cover of JOE JACKSON) in heavy rotation, came a guest appearance on 'Married... With Children' followed by the 1991 Attack of the Killer B's EP compilation of covers, b-sides & rarities; the collaboration with fellow New Yorkers PUBLIC ENEMY on their track 'Bring the Noise' as the rap metal genre started up; and Joey's split in 1992 that brought the band's new era of John Bush from ARMORED SAINT taking over on vocals.


And Happy 35th Anniversary also to AIC's debut with it's hard-charging moody & brooding tone that garned critical success and saw the band as important up-and-comers in the grunge scene already moving to a forefront as the alternative Seattle audience was merging beside metal. After positive word-of-mouth spread about their demo, the album's recording in WA state was one that began on unusual circumstances as the day before they were scheduled to arrive, their studio was shut down by police in the biggest marijuana raid in the state's history(!) With it's dual harmony vocals and excellent menacing guitar work, the album saw 2 hit singles with both videos receiving heavy play on MTV (as 'Man in the Box' would be nominated for a 1992 Hard Rock Grammy and also causing controversy with religious groups who complained about the lyric "Jesus Christ, deny your maker" and graphic imagery). The cover art was a distorted multi-exposed photo of bassist Mike Starr with the original image concept meant to be all 4 band members' faces superimposed into one expression. The album was the first grunge release to be certified gold (surprise, not NIRVANA's 'Nevermind') and would be certified 3x platinum selling 3 million copies in the USA. From initial hostility with some metal fans (1991's Clash of the Titans tour opening for SLAYER, ANTHRAX & MEGADETH) the exposure gradually saw growing acceptance. Singer Layne would release 2 more studio albums, 2 more EP's, and 2 live albums with AIC. In 1994, he fronted the side project MAD SEASON featuring members of PEARL JAM & SCREAMING TREES and after years of ongoing drug addiction from severe prolonged heroin abuse, he died of a speedball overdose in Apr 2002. Having also struggled with substance issues, Starr died from a prescription drug overdose in Mar 2011. R.I.P. to both.

R.I.P. Brent Hinds. 1974-2025.

The Buffalo band's debut which features 5 re-recorded tracks from their 1989 demo. CC's brand of demented death metal largely inspired by the Tampa scene would begin a long list of violently-natured and vicious gruesome-humored insanely over-the-top song titles/lyrics comprised of a body horror orgy incorporating torture, pain & sadism which the press would repeatedly ascribe to being a serial killer's fanciful delight and a slasher movie's unrestrained deep desire. This was further followed by a number of controversial album covers with graphic imagery resulting in bans in several countries and a cameo in 'Ace Ventura' as Jim Carrey was a big fan (CC was also offered a cameo in 'Aiheads' which was later revoked by the producers). EBTL is an early showcase of the raw splatter gore, guttural growling vocals, blast beats & tempo changes on display before more of a thrash & tech element, and intensified extremity would settle in. The album's brutal style and incomprehensible singing (with guest vocals from Glen Benton of DEICIDE on 2 tracks) had its fair share of countless critics calling it monotonous, sick, ugly & disturbing but it would influence hordes of bands drawn to the heavy unrelenting savagery. Happy 35th Anniversary.

40YRS AGO TODAY

FLATLINERS (1990)
Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Hope Davis, Joshua Rudoy
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Released August 10, 1990 (Happy 35th Anniversary)
Chicago medical student Nelson Wright is walking along a waterfront and with the sun going down, states in a famous phrase [attributed to Lakota leaders Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull], "Today is a good day to die." He meets up with his friends & fellow classmates -- David, the valiant atheist and most skilled of the students who is praised but suspended for saving a woman's life in the absence of doctors; Rachel, the sensitive introvert who interviews a collection of people about their encounters with dying; Joe, the womanizing Casanova hunk who'll hit on any hot babe with a pulse; and Randy, the bowtied goofy comic relief who's trying to find a title for his memoirs. From Nelson's prompting, the hotshot future practitioners discuss one of life's biggest eternal mystery questions: what happens after death? Nelson introduces his secret tests on controlled near death experiences that take place after-hours in a Campus wing of their University-under-renovation. Scaffolding, plastic tarp and a leaky roof surround the constructed makeshift lab, but the necessary operating table & surgery instruments are at the ready. Nelson is initially scoffed at but under the guise of ambitious academic research, his friends agree to lend a hand, and he subjects himself to being flatlined (having the heartbeat and brainwaves shut down) for 1 minute. Though pronounced clinically "dead", he is resuscitated from a nether region. As crazy as it is, Nelson's extraordinary trial run has worked and at first, he doesn't describe what he saw: an incident in his childhood of bullying a boy named Billy Mahoney because the moment began peacefully innocuous. He is vague in his telling that something has affected him.

The others, except Randy who is the group's voice of reason and acts as a monitor, drop their earlier reservations and decide to undergo their own NDE. Next up is skeptical Joe whose trippy flashback currently reveals his numerous sexual conquests as a Hefner-esque horndog who videotapes women without their awareness or consent. Joe is the Rob Lowe sex tape scandal x 10. David's NDE also recalls the childhood bullying of a black girl named Winnie Hicks which often left her in tears. All 3 men describe a feeling that resonates and soon start having vivid hallucinations as a direct result of their NDE's that become more distressing. An uneasy, pessimistic & neurotic Randy is worried that the risky course they embarked on flirts too close to disaster. Each daring participant grew increasingly competitive in their bidding war one-upmanship of pushing their flatline timeframe to a higher count meaning the tricky method of bringing them back ran higher odds of failure. A shroud of darkness sets in as Nelson gets the shit kicked out of him twice from hockey stick-wielding Billy. Engaged Joe who is soon to be married, is bothered by voyeuristic visions of his trophy girls that nag his conscience and condemn his cheating. David has the tables turned on him from an encounter on the train which sees Winnie mercilessly taunting him with foulmouthed playground verbal abuse. On Halloween night, Rachel is ready for her NDE as David unsuccessfully tries to stop her from partaking. She almost dies for real when a power outage hits leaving her helpless. With her friends freaking out trying to bring her back, she is at first unresponsive to the CPR shocks from the emergency defibrillator paddles but she is revived. Her sad mind-journey voyage was that of her beloved Dad committing suicide when she was little. Devastated & grief-stricken, she always blamed herself.

Nelson, David and Joe share their dismaying NDE stories with severely bruised Nelson's encounters being the most frightening & torturous. A remorseful David sets out to make amends in hopes that his nightmares will stop. Afterwards, Joe's fiancée, Anne, visits his apartment while he's out. She finds his illicit videotapes of homemade bedroom softporn [a forerunner to the sleazy building owner Baldwin would play 3yrs later in SLIVER] and watches selections of the harem. He comes home to find her heartbroken from betrayal and she breaks up with him. With their relationship over, his visions end. Nelson joins David who visits Winnie. Now married with child and having moved on, she still shows a glimpse of fragility. David apologizes for his hurtful behavior and the humiliations she endured. She accepts the apology and thanks him. He leaves heading back to his truck to find Nelson beating the living daylights out of himself in the vehicle with a pickaxe (David is a rock climber) which is infact another thrashing administered by Billy. David interrupts Nelson's attack and both men head home. From their blossoming chemistry, Rachel finds solace with David and they sleep together that night (with Nelson's jealous mutual affection for her forming the love triangle). A stirred up Nelson drags Joe and Randy to a graveyard to reveal he killed Billy after throwing rocks at him while he was cornered up a tree causing him to fall. Nelson leaves upset & alone resulting in David temporarily bailing on Rachel to pick up the stranded duo. Rachel wanders into the bathroom where she has another run-in with her father. He expresses how sorry he is to his daughter for leaving her in the manner he did; having returned from Vietnam addicted to heroin and caught having fatally overdosed.

[In many other hands, let's be honest, Rachel's foray would have been coming to terms with molestation]. Like Joe and David before her, she feels relief from the lifted weight of sorrow. Nelson calls her saying he needs to flatline again to finally free himself of suffering. He also apologizes for enlisting them all in his dangerous & reckless experiment, and for the unpleasant ordeals they each went through. The 3 men reach Nelson first who has been "dead" for a whopping 9 minutes. With Rachel's arrival, the friends frantically try to save him and struggle to bring him back, but this time Nelson's NDE is sacrificial as he puts himself in Billy's place to be the one who dies from the tree fall. Unable to stimulate any activity in Nelson, the friends are prepared to declare him dead -- with the potential of his passing bringing not only expulsion but criminal charges. But Nelson's expiry date is still a long ways off from this mortal coil, and he's not ready to cash in his code blue chips just yet. With a new narrative in Nelson's punishment, Billy has forgiven him bringing an end to Nelson being throttled. As David gives one last CPR shock from the paddles, Nelson is miraculously awakened to the alleviation of his friends, and he whispers, "Today wasn't a good day to die." FLATLINERS is loaded with symbolism. By physically returning to a bystander version of their past to see the youthful wrongs they committed/caused/witnessed, and particularly before balancing previous unresolved harmful actions, these ill at ease manifestations of traumatizing transgressions (which also incorporate the memory & perspective of other victims) would obviously follow them back to present-reality adulthood; returning indeed to haunt.

Flatlining by the foursome became an extreme form of misadventure where unintended consequences from carried burdens that took an alternate physical form, brought serious self-examining repercussions (before any resolution) that required difficult admission of faults; confession; empathy; truthful repentance; and the healing forgiveness of those mistreated to ultimately release both parties from repressed pain. The ego-driven mistake of playing God means paying the price in an unexpected form of martyrdom. Nelson as the maverick ringleader has the rush of an adrenaline junkie. He's a manipulative prick in his desire for fame and could easily be written off as callous but his hesitancy shows he is not entirely without a moral compass, even though he crosses ethical boundaries with his implemented key that attempts to unlock ultimate knowledge. He introduces his group to a project of 'induced demise' with gung ho that pushes the envelope, but the afterlife that waits is not a continuation of existence to explore possible heavenly hereafter in the original sense of his purpose. Instead, it's a landing detached of warmth, and a purgatory represented by a situated troubling moment stuck in an endless loop; a needle in the groove of guilt & regret. With an obsession for decoding the great beyond that intensifies, he's scared and lashes out with tantrums of immaturity but still maintains a tough air of rebellious overconfidence. Nelson bears slight tragic hints of an unhinging Dr. Jekyll and a vain Victor Frankenstein who are fatally penalized for toying with death. As far as his impetuousness fares in the universal mad scientist manual, his creation quickly gets out of hand which worsens into a mess that requires his unhealthy creator self to be rescued.

There are no blissful auras; or tunnels of light; or being outside of their bodies looking downward on themselves; or angels; or Pearly Gates; or reunions with deceased loved ones welcoming the group to the 'other side' with open arms. The friends have entered a dimensional door which is very familiar but changes them through an unsettling revelation of personal baggage in the background. They confront uncomfortable secrets where the buried old ghosts of each can only be pacified by an atoning restitution. With accusations of Gen X cynicism, sophomoric sermonizing for grand answers with arrogant audacity, and opinionated pretentious pop psychology [c'mon, this was the beginning of the ranting-slacker 90's], FLATLINERS is a cautionary tale with decorative flair. Its spooky gothic edge, palette of neon color lighting, and shadowy gargoyled architecture borrows from BLADE RUNNER, and takes an intriguing concept of 'life flashing before one's eyes' that straddles a middleground of compelling with implausibility. The repetitive course of the friends does sag in the individual occurrences but in the movie's defense, would have been more bloated if Randy was a 5th journeyman. On its surface, what may look like a thin story threaded with thick melodramatic ponderings and tense peril, is not outright aimless in its logic but rather offers a consideration on the nature of sin, responsibility & redemption. Without being incredibly profound, and with some lazy writing culminating in a textbook ending that is hurried & tacked on, the movie regardless brings heavier messages about catharsis & closure. Bolstered by stylish atmospheric production design and a strong talented cast of Brat Pack-ish rising stars, what's delivered here is also one of the decade's first entries in suspenseful psychological thrillers, alongside JACOB'S LADDER, with some toes dipping in paranormal/supernatural sci-fi.

Sutherland clearly steals the movie and Roberts has the least to do among the friends. Her episode is the weakest which is unusual considering her high profile from PRETTY WOMAN could've/should've easily brought her installment more showcase. [Both stars announced their engagement shortly after FLATLINERS' premiere and set their wedding for the following summer. They became tabloid fodder when the groom was stood up at the altar by the bride who ran off to Ireland with Jason Patric -- Sutherland's castmate in THE LOST BOYS. Sutherland's drinking and alleged affair with a go-go dancer was said to have ended their relationship. When Sutherland was set to host SNL a few months later, Roberts got wind of her ex's planned opening monologue about being ditched that took potshots at her and begged him not to do the routine. He ignored her and did so anyway to huge laughs. Sutherland would reteam with Bacon 2yrs later in A FEW GOOD MEN, and reteam with Platt 6yrs later in A TIME TO KILL]. Perhaps forgotten is that FLATLINERS was a box office hit, and received a 1991 Oscar nomination for Best Sound Editing. [It lost to THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER which featured Baldwin's brother, Alec]. Had this movie not been pre-BATMAN Schumacher's [Sutherland incidentally is in 5 of the directors films], I'd love to have seen David Cronenberg at the helm. As for FLATLINERS (2017)? Sutherland has a starring role and claimed the new version, while geared for millennials and widely panned as overt self-indulgent posturing more akin to TV's Grey's Anatomy, was not a remake but a sequel. Despite being a different character (named Barry Wolfson) in a city unidentified (hello Toronto), and with no reference whatsoever to the 1990 events [except for a deleted scene near the end that was cut, and meant as a homage for older audiences], Sutherland added that his playing of a professor/Chief of Staff at a Med School University is actually Nelson who has just changed his name and moved on from his earlier tampering misdeeds.

50YRS AGO TODAY

40YRS AGO TODAY

And Happy 40th Anniversary also to WEIRD SCIENCE (1985). High school nerds Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ian Mitchell-Smith) are tired of being unlucky-in-love dorks so they set out to create their ideal dream woman on a computer -- albeit in digital Frankenstein fashion by hacking into a government mainframe system (a slight nod to Matthew Broderick's role of David in 1983's WARGAMES). Complete with electrodes hooked to a barbie doll while finally wearing bras over their heads, they are more than pleasantly surprised when a freak electrical surge from a conducted experiment brings her to life. They name the stunningly gorgeous superbabe Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). A virtual genie who can grant wishes at will, she immediately sets to work using her powers to transform them from geeks-to-cool with new clothes, a revolving rotation of ever-expensive flashy cars, and the confidence to stand up to bullying pricks Ian (Robert Downey Jr.) and Max (Robert Rusler) who never cease to embarrass & humiliate them. But Gary and Wyatt have an ultimate mission: for both to find a real girlfriend. That opportunity for true young love arrives in the form of Deb (Suzanne Snyder) and Hilly (Judie Aronson). Along the way are a memorable night at a blues bar with some colorful patrons of which the hilarious jive exchange just may be the single greatest unsung case for race relations ever presented, Lisa's presence standing as a veiled implication of being a human sex toy for the boys, trying to sidestep Wyatt's nightmarish asshole big brother Chet (Bill Paxton), and a raucous house party gatecrashed by a gang of mutant bikers (featuring Vernon Wells and Michael Berryman). Hilarity and chaos abound, balanced by some tempered self-reflection, subtle maturity and a sobering lecture from Lisa about basically abusing magic -- how cause & effect from all the wizardry without restraint, and irresponsible application carries consequences & repercussions. Still, bummer aside, romance happily blooms for the boys. The film's title is from the 1950's EC Comics magazine of the same name, with one of its stories (1951's 'Made of the Future' by Al Feldstein) expanded & modernized to loosely serve as the basic premise for the film's plotline). The mostly new wave soundtrack features Killing Joke, General Public, Wall of Voodoo, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Van Halen, Ratt, Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" (best known as the theme to The Exorcist), Los Lobos, The Lords of the New Church, Kim Wilde, and the bouncy title track by Oingo Boingo (fronted by Danny Elfman, who would later go on to frequently collaborate with Director Tim Burton). The movie also spawned a TV series sitcom that ran for 5 seasons from 1994-98, starring in particular Vanessa Angel as Lisa and Lee Tergesen as Chet.