Chris Foss: An Appreciation

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  After collecting comics, watching horror/sci-fi movies and reading fan magazines (esp. Cinefantastique), I began collecting some of my favourite artists through collected editions of their work. Published in 1978, 21st Century Foss collects Chris Foss' ground-breaking sci-fi conceptions of hulking interstellar ships, automated planet scavengers, asteroid defence installations and cities, massive cargo ships, and raging battles between lethal space ship weaponry.

Foss was real deal for science fiction authors and visionaries in the 1970s; he illustrated book covers for Issac Asimov, E.E. "Doc" Smith and others; and did storyboard conceptions for Dune and Alien (never used, H.R. Giger won the job). Although majestic in scope, Foss' illustrations show the wear and tear of space travel and the unique human stamp on technology. Hatches, antennae, cabling and various devices lend a gritty texture to these moving monstrosities.

Look at the illustration The Machine in Shaft 10. You see human figures meshing into the fabric of these leviathans of technology:

Influence on Star Wars' Death Star?

Astronaut-workers bound down the asteroid surface and emerge from a tunnel; observers peer through windows of the Death Star-like orbiting station. Indeed, Foss planted the idea of space technology as a herculean endeavor, with all the nuts-and-bolts, yet undeniably human.

Some illustrations emphasize maintenance in progress, like the ship lowering a huge bomb into an interstellar silo. Others make a connection between ancient and modern space travel as in Landing Ground at Nazca. Away and Beyond shows gnarly, spire-like towers in a far off settlement.

Earth is Room Enough nods towards the black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Foss also lent his talents for dynamic action in a series of WWII illustrations. You're overwhelmed by his kinetic renderings of submarine and aircraft battles.

Before CGI, Chris Foss was the master who would influence a generation of future special effects artists and genre illustrators. And probably had a major impact on the development of more realistic conceptions of space technology, warts and all.

Tommy Four Seven: Corebeat Drilling

Beats Etched In Stone: New Cuneform

Fully caustic and unrelenting, the lonely beats of Primate mine pulses complete with dust, debris, and cavernous echoings. Along the minimal techno vibe, Tommy Four Seven creates a kind of sonic black hole, especially with the opener 'Sevals'. That track signals all the elements at his command: exquisite details surround each deep beat, allowing the listener to shed all expectations.

'Talus' brings his Gothic vibe to the fore; indeed, the cathedral-like production and vocals suggest a purgatorial opera. A big beat jam accompanied by modulated, wistful voices on 'G' continues the cold comfort, yet the listener warms up to Tommy's sense of dramatic proportion and rising cadences.

It's only by the 4th track, 'Ratu,' that pounds out a club-friendly house vibe; no doubt perfect for those late night chemical ravers with focused attention spans. Sure, it's primitive like the title suggests, but Tommy works it like a sonic paleontologist divining new medals of creation. For more, the Create Learn Realize label offers tons of podcasts, videos, concert dates and more. Props for digital primitives!

5 Dark Vibe CDs: Perfect Reading Companions

One of my many pleasures involves finding and listening to dark harmony music. Mostly in the electronic/electronica vein, these five recordings add atmosphere and depth to any readers looking to ratch up the fear factor:

1.  Tim Hecker: Radio Amour. A delirious mixture of environmental recordings, micro-transmissions, instrumental snippets and tintinabular etchings, Radio Amour offers a wistful, contemplative experience. This is ambient music with a gentle pulse, demanding more than just background attention. Recommended for: fantasy stories.
2. Dark Matter: Multiverse 2004-2009. Comprised of Bristol's dark beat alchemists in dubstep, breakbeats, intelligent techno and other mutations, Dark Matter shreads your incus, burrowing into your head with nervy electrics and off-kilter rhymes. Recommended for: any zombie apocalypse story.
3. Bucolic: Dzyan Blood. A personal favourite of mine, this is one of the most accomplished recordings form the sadly defunct BSI Records. In every sense of the term, Dzyan Blood is spot-on Gothic Dub. A echo chamber of a 1,000 mirrors, Bucolic drops dusty, almost industrial vibes with a ear for impending doomy drama. Recommended for: classic/vintage horror with vampires, revenants, ghosts, ectoplasm, necromancers and witch doctors.
4. Prince Charming: Fantastic Voyage. Part of the so-called 'illbient/downtempo' school, Prince Charming offers a cosmic narrative, complete with doom dub instrumentals, mutant cha-cha, hyper spoken word jams, creepy fake jazz and other transgressions. Recommended for: weird  superhero stories, end-of-world and biogenetic sci-fi.
5. Push Button Objects: Dirty Dozen. A totally absorbing mixture of hip-hop rythmns and frosty synths, Dirty Dozen fills your ear with tantalizing hooks, spooky keyboards and gentle dirges. Perhaps not strong from start-to-finish, this one defintely fits into any Halloween bash or as a soundtrack for lonely Goths. Recommended for: existential hobos looking for a reprieve; sci-fi involving identity switching, time travel and parallel dimensions.

And remember, Keep on Creeping on!

Limitless: Fun Pulp Sci-Fi

Basically a contemporary,sci-fi version of the theme of medically-assisted hyer-intelligence from Flowers For Algernon, Limitless serves up a glossy, campy take on smart drugs, along with the usual narrative involving the apex of personal achievement: corporate stardom.  A failed writer in a creative rut accidentally finds and takes NZT, a laboratory drug bestowing extraordinary intelligence and learning ability. Abandoning writing, Eddy takes up the role of a guru stock market genus; learning languages at an alarming rate; absorbing economic data and creating spot-on predictions; and reaping the bacchanalian benefits.

Limitless offers a kitschy escape, a tale that leaves nothing after viewing, despite its happy ending suggesting the hallucinatory side effects, and likelihood of death from NZT, can be reverse engineered or simply provides a learning boost in the post-addiction period (I couldn't tell which). But it's blast, the kind of sci-fi that reminds me of The Island: a stylish, sci-fi B-movie with an exciting action narrative.

Down the Road: Rescue or Eradication?

It's often suggested that FEMA was lukewarm in  responding to relief for Hurricane Katrina victims; the presence of an aggressive militia (many Blackwater mercenaries) contributed to civilian abuse; and the alleged militarization of U.S. disaster relief made matters worse.

It's little wonder that along comes a zombie story that takes this narrative or conspiracy on. Bowie Ibarra in On The Road  launches his survival tale through the lens of George Zaragosta, a skeptic, a teacher with little patience for empty rhetoric. Learning that FEMA criminalizes citizens who refuse evacuation to official refugee camps, he acidly remarks, "Helpful FEMA Centers, sounds like an oxymoron to me."

As he begins to trek from Austin to San Uvalde, George realizes that a confused FEMA military force poses just as much of a threat as the newly undead. With warnings from FEMA that "Non-compliance will result in neutralization," he makes plans to escape the wretched conditions at a FEMA camp. Soon, he meets up with a survival community with same disdain for these 'rescuers.' Indeed, many in the compound allege that FEMA's job is to prune the US population to enable reconstruction. That's the real horror of Down the Road: in any widespread disaster leading to civil breakdown, government is the last entity to be trusted. From the good people at Permuted Press.

DogHouse - Zomedy

The smart take on zombie-comedies always seem to come from the British. Who could resist the droll wit of the working class in Shaun of the Dead? Another entry in the growing popularity of zomedies, Doghouse sets up zany hijinks through the prism of guys with jilted girlfriends, recently divorced middle agers and well, just slackers. It's the weekend, time for all the boys to be boys, throw back pints, and be somebodies.

And yes, looking to get their yas-yas out, they encounter gulp...undead militant feminists! So the boys have to thwack these bio-weaponized undead, like the psycho hairdresser, Gothic bride and other flesh-obsessed bad girls. As visually pleasing as it is, Doghouse really scores with its acerbic, witty characters and sharp-edged satire.

Horror Music Masterpiece

Who could forget the strident violins in the shower sequence in Psycho? Or the 'duhduh-duhduh' in Jaws presaging the arrival of the Great White Terror? Some of the best horror films have the most memorable soundtracks: Halloween (original), Session 9, The Exorcist, Carnival of Souls, Suspiria, and the list goes on.

Released back in 2000 on BSI records, The Unspeakable by electronica musician Raz Mesinai (aka Badawi) is a rarity: a stand-alone soundtrack without a film. Using 3 vocalists, violins, viola, contrabass, harpsichord, piano and bass, Badawi creates an almost classical soundtrack reminiscent of old Hammer films, yet with aspects of 20th century music. But with 'doom dub,' off kilter vocals, and creepy counterpoint, this is one contemporary scary ride.



Creepy Vintage Doll: A Baaad Sign!

It begins with an orchestra tuning up, followed by applause. Then 'Intro/Chamber of Souls' morphs into a gentle, dissonant mix of wispy processed keyboards. Next, 'The Child Sleeps' begins with Badawi's feel for harmonizing weird vocals with strings and keyboards; this sound approach serves as a creative template for the rest of the piece. Until midway point, The Unspeakable also gives a nod to soundtracks like The Shining.

That film score included pieces from Ligeti and Pendereckski. These brooding, intense pieces stretched the limits of massed, solo, or small group violins, cellos, violas and more into truly ominous atmospheres. Badawi uses a much smaller group to achieve the same effect, but doesn't ignore the beats in the process. 'The Bitches' bustles with staccato, processed strings, while 'Skeleton Dub' sounds like a corrupted, hacked music box. Combining his talent for orchestrating, processing, mixing and picking like-minded musicians, Rez's The Unspeakable boasts that not all soundtracks need a film to call home. A welcoming ear will just do fine.

Next Up: Barry Adamson's film noirish Moss Side Story.



The Horrors of Darmstadt - Free Jazz Purgatory

 Sound Ignition, No Extinguisher

When I was a jazz DJ at U of T radio (CIUT) years ago, it was an exciting time; searching and acquiring prized recordings, attending gigs and meeting some musicians (like Andrew Cyrille!), and creating high octane radio mixes for my show (I called it 'Big Scary Music'). And yea, I recognized the almost Gothic aspect of some free jazz, like The Horrors of Darmstadt by Hession/Wilkinson/Fell. To say these guys pack a devilish wallop is an understatement; this is music forged out of a blast furnace, from the minds of diabolical alchemists seeking to rearrange matter itself.

Simon H. Fell on bass forms the backbone, lacing together drummer Paul Hession's thunderous turnarounds and saxophonist Alan Wilkinson's bellowing, almost lamentational tone. The trio have the din of live recording as well for good effect; recorded live in 1993, the dark, grimy sound adds a cavernous dimension. It's long and brutish, but these guys have a keen telepathy and collectively, over 40 years of improvising experience. Needlessly to say, hellishly good listening, if a bit taxing for the novice listener. For a 'lighter touch', try some free metallic jazz on Iron Path (Last Exit) and the Bugs-Bunny-on-uppers speedjazz of Spy vs Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman from John Zorn.

Necrology History Updated: Brooks And McCullough

History hijacked promises ample opportunity for horror writers; it's a tradition stretching back to the late 18th beginnings of Gothic literature. Apparitions, portents and omens fueled the distress of disorder of those in 'respectable' society: dukes, kings, queens, royal heirs and other privileged aristocrats. Whereas the natural order of family tradition, indeed its very history, became corrupted and subject to annihilation, the modern version of such Gothic horror impacts society on an even a wider scale.  

Max Brooks, author of the seminal World War Z, invokes this sense of worldwide, historical apocalyptic doom. Instead of ghosts or demons, we encounter the familiar image of the zombie: a wretched, amoral shell. In the graphic novel collection, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, Brooks cleverly uses this modern Gothic icon, integrating it with the sweep of history, from ancient to medieval to modern.

Was Hadrian's Wall really meant to repel the Picts and Celts, rather than zombified tribes from beyond even those remote lands? Did Francis Drake discover an 'Isle of the Undead' instead of El Dorado? Did WW2 Japanese soldiers hone their skill at head shots by aiming at those shambling targets? Treating zombie outbreaks as pivotal points in history, from the dawn of humanity in Africa 60,000 BC to an infection spreading by a lone carrier to modern Los Angeles, makes Brook's take like a cool, nerdy secret history.

Ibraim Roberson artwork in Recorded Attacks is a rare treat, full of zombies with necrotic, putrid musculature, and doesn't suffer from lack of colour. It's gritty, gnarly and robust; just the kind of stark illustrations once championed by EC horror comics, and those cherished Creepy and Eerie issues of my misspent youth.

A whole different bag of bones, Zombies: A Hunter's Guide, is your complete introduction to zombies. It's full of alternative history, conspiracy theories, IDing different zombie types and takedown methods, anti-meatbag weapons, containment teams in the Zombie War, and other creative riffs on necrology. Nicely illustrated by Mariusz Kozik, with all sorts of interesting sidebars written by McCullough, Zombies is well worth owning. Learn about Miskatonic Univeristy, boasting 10,000 volumes on 'animate necrology'; the Vikings discovery of draugr, literally walking corpses; voodoo zombies and their place in Haitian history; and why atomic zombies pose the greatest threat. And if you have a itch to blast some necro to bits, McCullough gives a detailed map and method for clearing rooms.

Plants vs Zombies

I alway thought carnivorous plants could be the achille's heel of shambling zombie hordes. Those freaks need blood, sinew, muscle, and most of all BRAAAINNNSS! Chlorophyll doesn't cut for these maniacs, and if you spruce up a plant with the gene pool of any carnivore hunter or rev it with weapon upgrades, you got a real showdown on your hands. It's total laugh riot playing my download of side-scroller game, Plants vs Zombies. Play as a defender of garden and home, arming youself with zombie-annihilation tech: peashooters, potato mines, walnut bowlers, jawed flowers and more crazy cartoon stuff. It's one of the many excellent mobile games thankfully ported to PS3. Now, maybe JJ Abrams can do a movie version!  

Mainstream Film Reviewers Don't Get Genre Pictures

I'm always disappointed in daily newspaper coverage of genre films. They all seem to focus on the traditional film formulae: strong, sympathetic characters, complex or heart-felt drama, and star appeal. But that's where sci-fi/horror/fantasy genre pictures differ. It's all about concept and the execution of bizarre ideas. So I thought it best years ago to avoid daily film reviewers, especially for example, when Session 9 was virtually ignored. Whereas mainstream film focuses on character and drama, hor/sci/fantasy films champion melodrama and servicable characters that propel plot, the thrills the make us all dedicated, white-knuckle fans!

Adopting Mobile Media as Techniques in Recent Sci-fi/Horror Films

Recently seeing Monsters prompted me to think about the use of cell phones, PDAs, camcorders and other mobile devices in recent sci-fi/horror films. Cloverfield, Quarantine, District 9 and Monsters all employ this guerrilla technique, the view of the common observer in happenstance circumstances.  Adding this point-of-view adds dramatic tension, lending a more ominous glow to invading aliens, infected crazies,and resident intergalactic immigrants. As a bonus, it masks the sterility of CGI and probably saves on effects budgets. Shot from the p.o.v of one the characters on the run from Manhattan, Cloverfield ramps up the sheer surprise terror of a rampaging beast. That familiar greenish nightvision glow can get a bit tiring sometimes though, but it saved Quarantine from merely being ho-hum (especially the last 20-25 minutes). And District 9 played out like a documentary complete with invented news reports, interviews and intimate glimpses into Wikus Van De Merwe's character.

V: Unholy Alliance

God Syndrome Schism

I love the way the 2nd season is gearing up, especially with V lizard queen Anna's plan to coopt institutional Roman Catholicism in her quest to vanquish the human soul. Her collective feel-good drug, Bliss, needs to replace this time- honoured, uniquely human tradition. Failure at this vexes Anna; she can't comprehend the durability of the human spirit. Foiled by her misunderstanding, Anna ignores how myth, stories, and faith invigorate that human spirit; its ability to deny repression, and strive for the freedom to think, to choose.

Permuted Press - Reading at the End of Time

Self-described as a specialist in apocalyptic fiction, Permuted Press has one of the best modern rosters of zombie fiction writers. Bourne, Dunwoody, Ibarra and others represent a different strain of horror authors; though certainly containing 'B' elements, all these writers focus on wider post-apocalytic social and emotional issues. There's even a thoughtful review of Walter Koenig's (Chekov from Star Trek) book, Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot. But more than just zombies, PP also offers a stranger mixture: the superhero-zombie mashup, Ex-Heroes.

Five Impressive Zombie Books

Just a short list of zombie books that have really wowed me lately, with a brief description:

1. Empire - David Dunwoody. The Grim Reaper has a real problem with a zombie outbreak, and the threat to his domain of dead souls. Much scythe cleaving, soul searching of the Grimster (!), and other grand mayhem ensue.
2. Day-by-Day Armageddon (sequel: Beyond Exile) - J.L. Bourne. A gripping account of survival zombie horror told from the perspective of a U.S. Marine officer. Bourne's experience as a military officer familiar with lethal military strategy creates an all-too-real vision of a post-infection world.
3. The Reapers Are The Angels - Alden Bell. One of those rare zombie books, with..umm...soul. Temple treks across an infected America, trying to connect with a past she can only imagine. Along the way, she encounters a bizarre collection of post-infection families not prone to hospitality.
4. The New Dead - Christopher Golden, Editor. Post Mortem Combatants (PMCs) employed by the U.S. military. An executioner for the post-animated attempts to continue a family tradition. All new and original, this collection charges up the zombie genre with some real creative gusto.
5. Dying to Live - Kim Paffenroth. Sure, you could say this is just another efficiently written zombie survival novel. But how many you know have a character with almost messianic powers over zombies? Meet half-zombified Milton, divine shepard of the undead.  

Other World Outline

Horror, sci-fi and fantasy no longer has the pedigree they once did. With the popularity of recent TV hits like Fringe, The Walking Dead, Sanctuary, True Blood and others, these genres enter a new age of maturity. Conceptually and script-wise, recent horror and sci fi have undergone a renaissance: no longer a 'trashy' alternative to the mainstream, these works represent the best in intelligent and imaginative reworkings of old themes.

Over the years, especially in the last 10 or so, I've noticed a substantial amount of new books, films and TV shows that excite me. Authors like David Wellington and Charles Stross, films such as Plague Town and Eden Log, and the TV gems listed above and more, have made me a huge fan again. Indeed, the trash still exists (George Romero anyone?), but I hope with this blog to impart my feverish enthusiasm by exploring themes, reviewing books and films, and discovering odd science. The coils of imagination know no bounds, and here, we'll welcome the chance to unravel its mysteries.