TRAPPO's Mail Bag #17!
It's time to open up TRAPPO's Mail Bag for the final time of 2022! Time certainly flies, dear listeners. This time around, we're reaching deep into TRAPPO's throbbing sack to discuss In This Moment, Talking Heads, the forgotten work of Jim Steinman, Stuart Gordon's cinematic adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon, misconceptions regarding Chrystabell's transcendent Midnight Star, and things wrap up with a very special surprise that we won't spoil here, but you're gonna love it. Unless you're an asshole, then you can just go away and stop bothering people.
You can find the episode below, or listen on Apple, Google, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify, Anchor and Amazon, so choose your own adventure and let's have ourselves a little discussion.
Speaking of discussions, did you know that there's one of those going on right now, and you can be a part of it? It's true! Just leave a comment below and tell us what you've got going on right now. Have you seen any cool movies recently? Read any good books? Listened to any awesome music? Tell us all about that stuff. We'd love to hear from you, and honestly you can tell us anything you want in the comments, even if it's not related to the show. We don't care, friends. You could also send us a saucy email if you were feeling so inclined. We love emails, and we never get enough of them. We're also on Twitter and Instagram, but nobody really cares about all that social media stuff anymore, right? Right?! Anyhoo, thanks for joining us on this little journey, dear listeners. We truly appreciate your continued patronage.
The year-end poll is now officially closed, in case you were wondering. We had a great response overall, and we're just thrilled by the results, which we will be sharing with all of you very soon in a very special episode that we're sure you're all really looking forward to hearing. Soon, friends. Very soon. Not next week, and probably not the week after that, but most likely the week after that. So three weeks from now. Something to look forward to in 2023. Get ready for that.
Thanks for listening!
Kinda picking up on the fact that you guys aren't the biggest fans of In This Moment. It's subtle, but the clues are there, I think. That was a wild story from Max Power. I'm not the biggest fan of tripping out in the desert, but it's fun to hear about, so thanks for that. Sometimes I wish I was a completely different person so that I could do stuff like that, but I guess I'm just not wired that way. That's cool, though. The closest I get is smoking a blunt and listening to Captain Beefheart in the dark. That's gotta be similar to losing your mind in the desert, right? By the way, are you TRAPS ever going to get around to talking about the good Captain? That would be an episode to look forward to, and I am. Am I waiting in vain? Will we ever have our Trout Mask Replica episode, or shall that remain elusive, like sasquatch in the primeval forest?
ReplyDeleteI remember a band from a while back that had a similar sound to In This Moment, but they had a darker, more gothic edge, called September Mourning. They never found the kind of mainstream acceptance, and that sucks because the music's just better. Their first album was called Melancholia, and it actually had a bit of a story behind it. I remember reading about this like ten years ago and thinking it was all a cool, novel concept. September Mourning was a big, ambitious multi-media project that followed an empathetic harvester of souls as she encountered angels and demons while performing her appointed rounds. There were going to be comic books published by Image and a web series backed by MTV, and a movie was in development, but the core of the whole thing was the music, and Melancholia was the genesis of September Mourning. I never found any comic books, and I know the web series and movie never happened. I'm pretty sure the band doesn't even exist anymore. But Melancholia is a solid, memorable gothic metal album, and I wish more people knew about it.
DeleteI think it was dismissed by all the serious metalheads of the day because it was being advertised as just one small part of a bigger story that would span all forms of media, and as a consequence the music itself must have seemed like an afterthought to most people. That's not right, because the music was how it all began. None of the other grand ideas for September Mourning would have ever been born if the music hadn't come first. It's not an afterthought. Melancholia deserves better. I've been carrying this torch for a decade. More people should take a chance on this largely forgotten gothic metal also-ran.
I can like whatever I want, and I like September Mourning. I think you mean well, but you come across as a little belligerent and confrontational, which I don't care for. I like "nu-metal". I don't see that as a problem. And there's more to September Mourning than just trying to sell a movie that doesn't exist. It's music with passion behind it. The musicians aren't phoning in their performances. They actually care about the music they're putting together, and you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. Maybe they'll never be as respected as Joy Division, but I'll always enjoy the music of September Mourning more. It just connects with me. Sorry it doesn't connect with you. I say yes to September Mourning. You should just say no to being a dick.
DeleteI’m just looking out for you. There’s always time to enrich your mind. I’m a pretty blunt person, so I apologize if I came across as harsh. No offense meant. You love what you want. But there’s enough room in your heart to love September Mourning and The Damned.
DeleteHappy new year.
No worries. Happy New Year to you.
DeleteI know you talked about the original Castle Freak, but do you fellows have any plans to discuss the other Stuart Gordon/Jeffrey Combs/Barbara Crampton collaborations? Re-Animator and From Beyond definitely deserve some recognition by TRAPPO, I would say. Get that stuff in the cannon, my friends. The world demands it! And happy hoopla!
ReplyDeleteI watched the Elvira, Mistress of the Dark movie the other day. It was dumb fun. Have you guys seen that movie? That could be an episode of your show. I’m sure there’s plenty of history and anecdotes behind Elvira that you could make N entertaining episode of your show if you tackled her movie.
ReplyDeleteIs there any Tom Waits in the canon yet? I don't think I've heart you guys mention Tom Waits on the show before. I may be mistaken, of course. Is TRAPPO a Tom Waits-free zone? What gives?
ReplyDeleteThere's a kind of glam rock gothic metal record called BLOOD & GLITTER that was just released from a German group called Lord Of The Lost, and I think it's pretty keen. It's a weird combination of stuff that shouldn't work, and maybe it doesn't. I don't know. Maybe I just appreciate the effort. It's goofy and aggressive and I like it. It's different, at least. Check it out if you want. I'm not your mother.
ReplyDeleteThis is fucking nuts. Some lunatic loses his damn mind in the desert and caresses the face of god. Sure. It sounds like bullshit, but it also sounds like it might be a good time. I don't know. If you're on LSD and hanging out in the middle of nowhere you might meet god as your consciousness oozes out your ears. My cynical nature just wants to reject the whole story, but what do I know? Maybe all those weird fuckers who drop acid on the reg are onto something. I've always been too timid to try anything stronger than weed, so I'm probably missing out on some amazing experiences. Or maybe the first time I try it out my fucking head will explode. I think I'll just stick with auto-erotic asphyxiation. Thanks, TRAPPO.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s going on? Do you guys like that song Islands In The Stream? Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton. It’s a classic. I was having a conversation with a couple friends one day not too long ago, and somehow this song was mentioned. We all laughed, because it’s kind of cheesy, kind of hokey. But we started discussing the song, we looked it up on our phones and read up on its history, and then I played the song and we just listened. After, we all admitted that it’s a pretty good song. Easy to listen to. Good melody. Lovely. Sure, it’s cheesy, but that’s part of its charm.
ReplyDeleteThat got us thinking about cover versions. There are a few out there, but none worth mentioning. So we started talking about who we think could capture that magic now. What kind of eclectic duo could cover Islands In The Stream and make it work today? I finally came up with what I think is a great combo: Kylie Minogue & Iggy Pop. They teamed up for a cover of Christmas Wrapping a few years ago, and I think they have good chemistry. Give it a glossy dance-pop sheen and I think you have a hit single right there.
One of my friends insisted on Dua Lipa and Post Malone, which I just can’t picture. My other friend finally settled on Harry Styles and Christina Aguilera, which feels safe. I mean I think it would work, but why not just throw out Mariah Carey, right? You want the vocal gymnastics thing done right, you pick Mariah Carey. We argued about that, but it’s his choice.
What are your thoughts? Who can be the modern Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton? Who can do Islands In The Stream right today? It’s something to think about.
Cambece.
Star Wars used to be an event. We had three movies, and they were firmly embedded in the pop culture landscape. We didn’t get any new Star Wars in theaters until 1999, if you discount the special editions of the original trilogy in 1997, which also felt like a pretty big deal.
ReplyDeleteSay what you want about the quality of the prequel trilogy, but they told a cohesive story over three movies, each released three years apart. George Lucas was the guiding hand behind the saga, and all the pieces felt like they fit together.
Now we’ve got a new trilogy made to end the “Skywalker” saga, and it’s a discordant mess. The Force Awakens is a flashy reboot of A New Hope, The Last Jedi spends so much time being goofy and “clever” that it stumbles over its own clown shoes, and The Rise Of Skywalker just falls flat on its face and shits its pants. These films don’t fit together, because they were each just made up as they went along, trying to “fix” the perceived problems of the previous films. It’s ridiculous.
Now after two middling pseudo-prequels telling stories nobody cares about, Disney’s just pumping out a bunch of T.V. shows that keep making Star Wars feel smaller and smaller, less like an event and more like a product. It’s very depressing to watch this all unfold in real time. Star Wars used to be this thing to look forward to. Now it’s just more “content” getting lost among all the white noise of our popular culture.
Can Star Wars be saved, or is it already too late? Does it even deserve to be saved? I don’t know, anymore. It just sucks to be a fan of Star Wars, these days.
I got really into the Ghostbusters franchise not too long ago. I never actually saw any Ghostbusters movies growing up, mostly because my parents didn't like to expose their kids to anything with paranormal themes. We were pretty sheltered. My roommate finally showed me the first two movies in college, and I loved them. I saved up my money and even bought a DVD set of the original cartoon that came in a plastic firehouse box, which I thought was really cool. That cartoon was really great, for the most part. I might have been too old to be watching it at the time, but I didn't care. It was pretty well written and clever, weirdly highbrow for a children's cartoon I thought.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see the reboot movie in 2016, especially since after Harold Ramis died I thought just making a third movie would be in poor taste. The reboot was fine, but a little too goofy. It's hard to describe, but it all felt bloated somehow, like none of the characters would ever stop talking. I'm fine with trying something different, but I honeslt y think that movie just missed the mark. So when Ghostbusters Afterlife was announced, I was already turning around on the idea of a "real" sequel. I braved the pandemic and saw the movie in a theater, and I was pretty happy overall. Yeah, it felt a little too much like "Stranger Things" at times, and casting Finn Wolfhard as one of the main characters didn't help, and there was simply too much fan service, overall, even I can admit that, but I thought the story was pretty tastefully handled. A little too similar to the original movie in many regards, a bit like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it still worked, even if sheer charm and nostalgia really helped carry this movie over the finish line. I was satisfied, and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next.
What about you guys? How do you feel about the Ghostbusters franchise? Were you happy with Afterlife? Did you prefer the 2016 movie? I'm curious. Thanks for reading.