The Vault: An Exploration of the Gothic

Part 2 – In The Beginning

1965.  Cafe Bizarre.  Greenwich Village, New York City.

An unknown band takes the stage and begins to play.  The electric viola weeps an unearthly, hypnotic lament, as the singer chants: “Not a ghost-bloodied country, all covered with sleep, where the black angel did weep…’”

–

Perhaps The Black Angel’s Death Song was just a little too bizarre for Cafe Bizarre.  Perhaps the song’s rumored anti-communist message did no go down well in deep-red lower Manhattan.  For whatever reason, The Velvet Underground are promptly fired from their first regular gig for playing the strange and dissonant tune they had been warned not to play.

But the Velvets had secured their future nonetheless:  Andy Warhol was at Cafe Bizarre that night.  He described the audience as “dazed and damaged” after the performance – Warhol loved it.  He took them into his fold and became their manager, producer and sponsor.  He helped them secure their first record contract; he painted the cover for the first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. (more…)

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Tags: Alice Cooper, Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, John Cale
Posted Aug 29th 2009 at 6:03 pm in Culture, Music | 21277831 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mpatterson/2009/08/29/the-vault-an-exploration-of-the-gothic-2/The+Vault%3A+An+Exploration+of+the+Gothic2009-08-30+01%3A03%3A28Matt+Patterson

Review: ‘Moon’ Rocks!

Duncan Jones’ debut indie feature Moon is being hailed by critics as a modern tribute to great sci-fi films of the past, but I couldn’t help but think about the future — namely, what’s become of the U.S. space program?  40 years ago, America launched the Apollo 11 mission that triumphantly landed men on the moon; yet, where have we gone since? 

Moon rocks the imagination as it presents a totally plausible, realistic way of utilizing space for practical purposes — in this case, mining for eco-desirable Helium 3 energy from the lunar surface.  Jones strove for science-fact over fiction in researching many minute details of the script.  He even screened the film before a panel of NASA scientists — many of whom are working on making fantasy into fact. 

Before reading any further — be advised: don’t see Moon to learn about science, but DO see it! It’s a fascinating film featuring an Academy Award-worthy performance by Sam Rockwell. 

Now, back to reality… In 2004, President George W. Bush called for a return to the Moon to build a base — it would be a prelude to something even greater: a mission to Mars.  He noted words from astronaut Eugene Cernan, who traveled with the last Apollo mission: “We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.” With that, scores of engineers, scientists and experts made headway designing, building and planning America’s next endeavour to explore space, they were ready to accomplish the mission.  (more…)

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Tags: David Bowie, Duncan Jones, Kennedy, MOnn, Moon landing
Posted Jul 14th 2009 at 5:03 am in Featured Story, Politics, Reviews | 18081090 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jmeath/2009/07/14/moon-rocks/Review%3A+%27Moon%27+Rocks%212009-07-14+12%3A03%3A11Jason+Killian+Meath