The Music of Herbert West
This track by Electrolimes is a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft’s hapless hi-tech necromancer Herbert West. It strikes the right chord between pulpy sci-fi and the cosmic awe and wonder that many of us feel with Lovecraft’s work, but the essential horror of West and his doomed unholy experiments is missing in my opinion.
Still an interesting (if overlong) piece:
More from the artist’s YouTube page.
Cajun Sexy Cooking? (Plus Swamp Monsters!)
I was enjoying a repast at Chops, one of my favorite local eateries which happens to be Cajun themed when I thought to myself it’d be nice to have a Cajun cookbook in the house so I could maintain my hermit like existence and still enjoy the finer things in life like crawfish ettouffe. It also wouldn’t hurt if the book was full of scantily clad women.
That’s when I remembered Dana Holyfield, the Russ Meyers of the swamp and all round decadent woman after my own heart. Way back in the year 2000 (the dark ages) Dana had published a just such a cookbook which is now something of a collectors item. It was called Cajun Sexy Cookin’ and surprise! There’s a promotional video for it:
Like I said the books have become a collectors item so you’ll have to purchase yours from private sellers. Right now there’s still two on Amazon, but otherwise you’ll have to luck into one in a used bookstore.
Cryptomundo ran a piece on Dana a few years back about her documentary The Legend of the Honey Island Swamp Monster. Seems like great diner viewing while enjoying some gator medallion shiskabobs:
Awesome. My weekend plans are set. Dana has a website here. Apropos of nothing in particular we here at the Hellfireblogs office sometime do website design, for the right price.
Sherlock Holmes Re-Imagined as Steampunk Pulp Hero
The New Holmes and Watson
We’re back from yet another unplanned hiatus and full to brimming with posts of those unusual and hopefully delightful little corners of the world archived on the web.
Surprisingly delightful was this trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie scheduled to come out in December. Holmes is played by Robert Downey Jr and the whole affair is presided over by Guy Ritchie so I was dubious, but the trailer has an interesting pulp hero take on the character that looks to be what The League of Extraordinary Gentleman should have been but wasn’t. Purist will probably hate it, but I’m excited and the increasingly popular neo-Victorian/Steampunk sub-culture will surely find a place for it in their cannon:
The plot revolves around an evil Industrialist (aren’t they all) who controls a cult who claim to possess supernatural powers and are linked to a series of murders. Perfect Christmas fare for the family!
Dracula Blood by Zombina and the Skeletones
As I get older, rockabilly, and its off-shoots like Gothabilly, Psychobilly and Horror Punk, appeal more and more to me than the Doom metal of my youth. One of my favorite songs in this vein is Dracula Blood by Zombina and the Skeletones from their album Out of the Crypt and Into Your Heart.
Why do I like it? Who knows. Probably the same reason I could tolerate kitschy theme restaurants like Joe’s Crab Shack once I hit 35. But I find this video delightful so enjoy:
Lovecraftian School Board Member Urges Pro-Madness Curriculum to Prepare Students for Awaiting Chaos
Nyarlathotep
A concerned Arkham, MA school board member believes that Nyarlathotep Academy (formerly known as Abraham Lincoln High) inadequately prepares students for the black seas of infinity.
Arguing that students should return to the fundamentals taught in the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Necronomicon in order to develop the skills they need to be driven to the very edge of sanity, Arkham school board member Charles West continued to advance his pro-madness agenda at the district’s monthly meeting Tuesday.
“Fools!” said West, his clenched fist striking the lectern before him. “We must prepare today’s youth for a world whose terrors are etched upon ancient clay tablets recounting the fever-dreams of the other gods—not fill their heads with such trivia as math and English. Our graduates need to know about those who lie beneath the earth, waiting until the stars align so they can return to their rightful place as our masters and wage war against the Elder Things and the shoggoths!”
Read more about his quest to provide students with regular field trips to the Miskatonic University medieval metaphysics department.
Via Mystery of the Haunted Vampire
Mountains of Psychedelic Madness
I might be in the minority, but I think 60s band H.P. Lovecraft was pretty good. Like some of their harsher critics I find the prospect of listening to an entire album at once a little much, but many of their songs were fun tributes to some of weird fiction’s most famous stories.
Music is supposed to be enjoyed, not pondered, so here’s a video someone uploaded of their song At the Mountains of Madness. Groovy!