A fascinating history for the film obsessive in your life. While being focused on the development of synching sound to image in movies, it is also a decent history of the studio system. If you’re already interested in the morbid, melancholic, and macabre, then there will be some old friends here. I found the biggest … Continue reading Marginalia #13
I reviewed Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult over at HorrorDNA. Continue reading At HorrorDNA: Toil and Trouble Review
I feel like I read too many surveys or books that cover a range of topics. This one is certainly an antidote to that. A fascinating, academic look at ilanot (something like Maps of God or Trees of Life) from around 1300 to the initial era of printing. Besides captivating art, this book is an … Continue reading Marginalia #10
I’ve been rereading M.R. James’s stories. He’s most associated with ghost stories and quiet horror, but as an influence on Lovecraft there are plenty of creepy crawlies for those kinds of fans. I get why they seem archaic to some contemporary readers. Jacobi’s readings are perfect in the audiobooks. Puppets and animation in a serious … Continue reading Marginalia #8
More interesting and insightful than I thought it was going to be. Australian folk horror from the early 80s. A precursor to Hereditary, maybe? Genuinely bad, but possibly fun for those with a penchant and the patience for horror on a low budget in the 80s. Takes on apartment horror/possession. Some hilarious dialogue hilariously delivered. … Continue reading Marginalia #5
An annotated discography for sound and sound art at the fringes. You could probably get all Benjamin and Adorno on these genres and ideas, but Tau keeps the critical machinery to a minimum and often approaches the pieces and artists very practically. What draws us toward or away from these sounds? What does one get … Continue reading Marginalia #3
An epic about change and organized around the history of the world. I can’t imagine any reader not knowing some of these stories. I had been meaning to read the whole thing for years, especially after coming across Samuel Beckett’s enthusiasm for it. I can only remember offhand Beckett celebrating Proust, Joyce, and Ovid. Beckett’s … Continue reading Marginalia #2
A recent read that gives insight into before and after the folk explosion of the 1960s, referred to here as The Great Folk Scare. Great stories with a personal perspective on an era considered so important because of its connection to songwriters like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Van Ronk’s relationship with and stories about … Continue reading Marginalia #1
Over at The Drunken Odyssey, I review Christopher C. King’s Lament from Epirus, a book about the West’s oldest surviving folk music. Continue reading New Review: Lost Chords and Serenades Divine #18
Stephen McClurg 