Change is definitely a good thing. I've been writing on blogs for years, and it has always been mainly about film. As most of my friends and family know, I'm film obsessed, specifically about horror and trash genres. There was a stage where I used to watch up to around ten or twelve films a week (my mid-20's was my most excessive) but as I've gotten older, I just can't churn through them the same way I used to. The same goes for writing reviews. I can't hammer them out like I did in the old days, as it tends to take me much longer to find my thoughts on what I want to say (probably that 'getting older' business again), and hey, if you aren't going to put the effort in, then what's the point in doing it?
Also, by just writing about film, I've found that I can't really yabber on about other interests of mine. I'm very much into reading, video games, music, and pretty much anything at all that keeps the brain ticking along. Solely writing film reviews has been far too restrictive on me the last year, as there are plenty of other things I would love to go on about. It doesn't reflect what I do with my time nearly as much as it did, say, 7 years ago, and as I watch less and less, I have in turn, written less and less. So, to save me from only putting up a handful of posts every month, I've decided to change things around a bit.
So what does this mean for my cosy little space on the web? Good things, mainly. First of all, I will still be doing the same amount of film reviews from the same period of cinema. That won't change. They will still be as awkwardly structured as always, too, so don't fret. Secondly, I will probably be doing equal amounts of posts on video games (the older the better), music and anything related. Thirdly, I have room to do much more in the way of features that are retro-culture related, as opposed to just film stuff. I tend to write non-review articles much faster, so it equals more action on the blogosphere. The idea behind the blog for me is still the same; focusing on a time I grew up in and on the things I loved.
The bottom line is; if it is old, and I think it's cool, I will write about it. I'm an obsessive geek at heart, and I'm sure I've plenty more I can share with you beyond a taste for questionable films. Hopefully you will enjoy reading about it.
Excellent stuff JP, and I'm liking the new name and new look... Yes I'm an obsessive geek at heart too although for years I was in the closet about it, and would never readily admit to loving trashy, gory Horror films, or listening to obscure, esoteric music but now that I'm creeping past my mid-30's I'm beginning to embrace my geekism... although having said that, a few weeks ago my wife was having some friends staying over and one of them was dispatched to the converted loft where I keep all my films and sacred texts (my Tim Lucas-Mario Bava book, various fanzines etc) and a few titles (namely 10 volumes of the Schoolgirl Report series, some Golden Age Porn) were turned upside down on the shelf to deflect some awkward questions...
ReplyDeleteExcellent mission statement too, and I'm looking forward to hearing about your other obsessions - personally, I prefer blogs that mix it up - who says you can't write about Nine Deaths of the Ninja and some fine 80's pop.
Thanks Wes, glad to hear it won't put you off. I would rather talk about everything that appeals to me rather than 4 blog posts a month.
DeleteThat's pretty hilarious on the Schoolgirl Report series, I had a similar shocked reaction when my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) saw my DVD collection of exploitation and classic porn... I first heard of the Schoolgirl series when I discovered Xploitedcinema.com at the start of the 00's.. those were some great days for collecting good editions of obscure/banned films. No doubt you were well familiar with Xploited back in the day.
Cheers for the Swans! Big fan of those guys, haven't listened to that track in awile.
That's the sign of a great woman: when she sees your porn stash and still marries you !
ReplyDeleteYeah, Xploited was a great place to pick up rarities and curiosities, I was pretty shocked when they announced they were winding down; over the years I had picked up a few nice discs from them like a double-bill of Brigitte Lahaie hardcore, and a very nice 5-disc Danish boxset of 4 Dogma films - The Idiots, Festen, Mifune and The King Is Alive. Xploited still have a shop of sorts, on eBay, but I think they've been well and truly replaced by Diabolik DVD - a good place to go for international discs but a tad expensive - I think I only ever got four things from them - the Blue Underground Blu of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (just got the last copy before it went OOP), the hardcore version of The Sinful Dwarf, and two Camera Obscura releases - Terror Express and Mondo Candido, the latter cost me €40 if I remember, a price I wouldn't dream of paying nowadays.
(By the way JP, if you're interested, you can read a mission statement of sorts by me, at this link)
Fully agreed there, I never really warmed to Diabolik, and the pricing was a huge issue. Tony, who ran Xploited, was a nice chap who enjoyed a bit of banter about titles, and the personal touch really helped as it was one of the first times I was ordering from the net (it was where I got my Limited Edition EC Cannibal Holocaust from) and to be honest, most of the titles available on Diabolik can be found through international Amazon at a much more affordable price.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the interview, was very informative! We have very similar taste and have followed very similar paths with collections over the decades, though I still have a healthy collection of VHS on my hands (even if much of the good stuff has been traded off over the years). It's great to yap with fans of extreme/art house cinema and music in Ireland, as for years growing up you almost believe you are the only person out there who likes such questionable things!
Absolutely agreed about talking to someone who shares similar obsessions - I mean none of my friends share my taste in films. I convinced someone recently to watch The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - and the report back was "not bad", which, y'know was absolutely crushing to hear ! On my blog, I put down Cork as my location hoping I'd get some sort of response like "Hey I like Dario Argento as well and I just live down the road from you" but no one ever took the bait - although saying that, a natural shyness on my part makes me think of Woody Allen's line in Annie Hall: "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member".
ReplyDeleteGood that you hung onto some of yr tapes, every time I hear the mention of VHS I shudder to think of all great tapes I threw out. Some of my warmest memories from growing up are of cruising the video shops in search of buried treasure, taking sneaky peaks at Sylvia Kristel in that great Emmanuelle sleeve, and top shelf stuff like the Electric Blue series, or harassing video shop owners for posters - and I took everything - for every Friday the 13th poster I snagged I was given 2 or 3 Police Academy posters as well. Eyes misting over now...
That's bad on the fact that none of your friends are into it, I'm lucky enough that a good handful of mine atleast enjoy horror, if not the more exploitative stuff. To be honest, the friends of mine now that are into the nastier stuff are ones that I met during the glory days of 'Myspace' and the Horrorthon in Dublin. Was a good time for meeting new people, and sad to think that in a day when internet and communication is at it's peek that it is now harder to find people into the same thing, without looking like a weirdo.
ReplyDeleteIf only we had the hindsight to know these things would be worth something to us in the future, both financially and emotionally, we probably would have treated them with much more love and care!
I have been through the posts previous to this, but guess I missed the redesign? In any case - I'm enjoying my time here!
ReplyDeleteThanks Craig - yup, from this point on the page got an overhaul, I just hated the way it looked, and I wanted to discuss other things, not just do reviews. Nearly everything is film related anyway, so it's all good!
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