DEF XMAS PLAYLIST 2009: CHRISTMAS IS HEAVY

As Ronnie James Dio and Toni Iommi demonstrated earlier, the proper way to do a metal Christmas song is to take the positive spirit of the season and make it sound like impending doom regardless of what the lyrics say.

220 Volt pioneered that tradition 25 years ago with this.

"Intro - Six Million Dollar Man" (Watch on YouTube)

Not that 220 Volt ever sounded all that scary. But you see what I’m saying.

It’s getting dark outside,

This is dF

DEF XMAS SHOPPING TIPS: GORILLA + BERET FTW!

Some people are hard to shop for. That’s when you turn to that old standby: a gorilla wearing a beret.



[Glommed from puffdoggydaddy ]

You can’t miss with a gift like that.

Yes, I KNOW the kids wanted a Littlest Pet Shop doodad. But honestly, a pet shop without a gorilla wearing a beret might as well be a zoo with a roof.

Or something.

Whatever. Trust me. Gorilla with beret. You want this.

You can leave yr hat on,

This is dF

I CAN’T SEE THROUGH WALLS BUT I CAN KICK YR ASS

Would you like to see a 12-year-old kid brutally kill people to the sound of The Dickies covering the Banana Splits theme?

Here you go.

"The Brats - First Rock Star On The Moon" (Watch on YouTube)

This is wrong in so many ways. Yes, I’ll probably go see it.

PRODUCTION NOTE: Hit Girl isn’t actually the main character of this movie, or the Millar/Romita Jr comic it’s based on. But she’s certainly a deal-closer.

Hit me,

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DAN O’BANNON IS IN HEAVEN NOW

Well, there just had to be another celebrity death for 2009, and there’s been several this month already, like Gene Barry, Jennifer Jones, Oral Roberts and Brittany Murphy – the latter being somewhat awkward for me since I seem to be the only person in my circle of friends who didn’t know who she was (I had to Google her name to find out that the only movie she ever did that I saw was Sin City).

But anyway, seeing as how this isn’t likely to fill much airtime on CNN – and I only just found out myself – I thought I’d mention that Dan O’Bannon is gone.

Being a writer, O’Bannon isn’t much of a household name, but he’s responsible for writing some of my all-time favorite films – Alien, Return of the Living Dead, and Dark Star. (He also wrote the screenplays for Total Recall, Lifeforce and the B-17 scene in Heavy Metal.)

I could choose a bunch of scenes from any of those in tribute – Coilhouse has a fine collection here –  but I’m going to go with a clip from Dark Star – because it’s not often you see a film with a guy arguing about the nature of existence with a thermonuclear bomb to convince it not to explode.

Respect.

BONUS TRACK: According to Ain’t It Cool News, O’Bannon’s wife Diane plans to publish much of his unpublished work.

Calm like a bomb,

This is dF