Noel Bancredi here, and I’m quite chuffed to present my inaugural contribution to Black Sunshine Media and the debut of my on-going feature, Noel Bancredi’s Kudos and Brickbats, which as the title may suggest, might as well be called Noel Bancredi’s A Pat on the Back or a Punch in the Balls – were it not flat-out rejected by the Grand Sultanate and my good chum, Geoffrey Rommel Jr.
Alas, poor Yorick! Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Kudos
To Black Sabbath on the 40th anniversary of the release of what is arguably their finest moment on vinyl, the incomparable Volume 4, and on a recursive loop here at BSM HQ.
Among Sabbath devotees, the album is often referred to as Snowblind (the actual original title) or The Cocaine Album, due to its obvious inferences. As bassist Geezer Butler told Guitar World in 2001: “Yeah, the cocaine had set in. We went out to L.A. and got into a totally different lifestyle. Half the budget went on the coke and the other half went to seeing how long we could stay in the studio… We rented a house in Bel-Air and the debauchery up there was just unbelievable.” In the same interview, drummer Bill Ward said: “Volume 4 is a great album, but listening to it now, I can see it as a turning point for me, where the alcohol and drugs stopped being fun.” In June 2000, Q Magazine placed Vol. 4 at number 60 in its list of The 100 Greatest British Albums Everand described the album as “the sound of drug-taking, beer-guzzling hooligans from Britain’s oft-pilloried cultural armpit let loose in L.A.”
Track list
- Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener
- Tomorrow’s Dream
- Changes
- FX (instrumental)
- Supernaut
- Snowblind
- Cornucopia
- Laguna Sunrise
- St. Vitus Dance
- Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes
Needless to say, no record collection is complete without Volume 4.
Brickbats
To Brian Wilson and John Lydon for all the obvious reasons. Stop it, chums. Just go away and count your money. Keep this up and we’ll start to forget that you made Pet Sounds and Flowers of Romance, respectively.
Allow me to quote my colleague, Christian Adams, from his recent essay:
These are the people I take issue with. These are the people who have no shame. I don’t want to see the Beach Boys tomorrow night. Because if I do, I know it will destroy just about everything I ever held dear about that band. I do not want to see 70-year-old men doing half-assed karaoke versions of their classic hits. That cheapens it. That spoils the magic.
Kudos
To Adam Baxter on the one-month birthday of his debut novelette on Black Sunshine Media, Cyber Mage (Razed Lands). Everyone at BSM is anxiously awaiting the next piece from Baxter (though we’re not sure what it is!) Check out an excerpt from the novelette here, or mosey on over to Amazon and buy it now!
Brickbats
To Robert Smith for his shameless participation in and promotion of the latest from Disney, something called Frankenweenie: Unleashed. Smith’s Facebook page has several status updates reflecting his excitement about the project and the inclusion of his version of “Witchcraft” on the soundtrack.
In fairness and disclosure, Frankenweenie is an upcoming 3D black-and-white stop motion-animated comedy horror film, directed by Tim Burton, and is a remake of his own 1984 short film of the same name. Like the 1984 version, it is a parody of and an homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s book of the same name. In the film, a boy named Victor loses his dog and uses the power of science to bring it back to life. The film is scheduled for release on October 5, 2012. It will be the first black and white feature and first stop-motion film to be released in IMAX 3D.
No matter what this movie is or isn’t, there has to be a good reason Robert Smith is (happily) involved, and frankly, we don’t care what that reason is.
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