Book Review: Arts and Cards of Thailand
Alice Cooper - Killer by Mott the Dog **** 4 Star Rating This is the last album that Alice Cooper made before he sold his soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll & Teeney bopper superstardom, with “Schools Out”, in 1972. Later on, of course, he had to pay the reaper, give up his high flying Rock ‘n’ Roll life style, put the demon alcohol behind him and take up golf, but that’s another avenue we can descend down on another trip. The opening volley, “Under My Wheels”, comes ripping out of your music maker with its machine gun guitar intro and barking vocals, Alice is straining at the leash right from the off. Second number up is “Be My Lover”, with the opening lyrics of “She struts into the room, and I don’t know her, but with a magnifying glass I just thought I’d look her over”, very P.C. Alice! The music takes a dramatic upward spiral with the exquisite “Halo of Flies”. This twists and turns as the plot unfolds leaving you in little doubt that the young man formally known as Vincent Furnier has indeed been taken over by a 17th century witch called Alice Cooper and clearly gone completely off his rocker. The productions of Bob Ezrin were essential to the band at this time, keeping it clean and tight, but not losing any of the sweat and sleaze. Alice then drools all over you on “Desperado”. This is followed by two up-tempo, stonesy-keefed-up songs that drag you into the pit of Alice’s world. Never has there been such a sinister piece of music written like “Dead Babies”. The repetitive bass lines grab you full frontal and batter their way into your head. The demented glee with which Alice rants the lines lets you know that these are indeed very sick beings. With the outrage that pours out at the end of this, you feel that it is very justifiable. Justice is done in the album’s final dirge with the gloom ridden gothic rock of the title track, with its wailing lost souls and final guillotine chop as Alice is sucked down to hell in a bucket. By taking Killer out on the road, Alice Cooper became a rock phenomenon. It was one of the most provocative and original live shows in the annals of rock music and has never been equaled. It set the standards for humour, debauchery, horror and flamboyant showmanship. Concert theatrics included cuddling a boa constrictor, throwing live chickens into the audience, and simulated executions of hanging by the gallows. With the music from Killer, Alice had the means to blow everybody else away, spotlighting the shock rock that has made Alice Cooper one of the most influential acts in rock history. “We are not worthy.” The Alice Cooper band were: Track Listing 1. Under My Wheels
By Poppy I have always been a fan of Gene Hackman, but this is much of the same. The cast, Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo and Mamet, Ricky Jay and Rebecca Pidgeon, work well together as a team, all as a band of intellectually and technologically knowledgeable thieves who reluctantly pull one last “heist” under the watchful eye of crime boss Danny DeVito. Gene Hackman is a master thief, so is not trusted by his colleague and boss Danny DeVito, so Sam Rockwell, DeVito’s nephew, is assigned to shadow Hackman so that he doesn’t cheat when it is time to split up the loot. Hackman has plans of his own and wants to be the boss, he comes across as real ‘cool dude’ and no one can read what he’s thinking or what he’s likely to do next. The story line is elaborate and nothing is what it seems. No character is a chance passerby, no prop a mere bit of set dressing, whether it be a blueprint tube or a bottle of contact lens solution. “Heist” opens with a black and white Warner Bros.
logo and the tough criminals with their own idea of right and wrong are
reminiscent of the old black and white movie classics. A ‘little’ concentration is needed to follow this
movie. Cast: Danny DeVito
Updated every Friday Updated by
Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk. |
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The
book begins with a detailed historical piece, drawing upon the usually
accepted premise that the current day Thais are derived from the T’ai
speaking peoples who came down from China in a series of waves since the
1st century AD. This is followed by tracing the various capitals of
Thailand, from Sukhothai through to Ayutthaya and then the movement to
Thonburi and Bangkok. These chapters are illustrated with old maps,
ancient paintings and other relics of the bygone eras.
Mott’s CD review:
