Tourist Trap (1979) Twentysomethings find trouble when they stumble upon a telekinetic and his house full of mannequins. Simultaneously goofy and creepy. TIL: Around five million people per year, up to as many as 20,000 a day, show up at Vatican City to tour the Sistine Chapel.
One Sheet Words of Wisdom: The Wild Angels (1966) "When I need to identify rebels, I look for men with principles." - Frank Herbert
Dad Rock Diary: Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 3/Melt (1980) Another dark, intense, and personal album. Gabriel was on fire in the early 80's. Laudable Lyrics: You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind will blow it higher.
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988) Bevy of scream queens release a jive-talking murderous imp from a bowling trophy. Pure VHS fodder from back in the day. TIL: St. Sebastian is the patron of athletes. Feel free to argue whether or not bowlers qualify for his aid.
Tinseltown Testaments: The Devil Rides Out (1968) "Thank God!" "Yes Simon. He is the one we must thank."
Dad Rock Diary: Wipers - Youth of America (1981) What? No long tracks or rocking guitar solos in Punk music? Says who? Not Wipers, that's for darn sure. Laudable Lyrics: Where is the truth with no beginning? What's with the look in your eyes? Where do we go when we go bye-bye?
Lord Shango (1975) Drowning at a forced baptism pits voodoo worshipers against Southern Baptists. Actually a more serious drama than it sounds. TIL: Per Aquinas, it's necessary for the one baptized to have the will or intention of receiving the sacrament for the act to be valid.
Still Voices - The Church (1989) "Christianity without the cross is nothing... The 'offense' of the cross, therefore, has led men in all ages to endeavor to be rid of it, and to deny that it is the power of God in the world." - Lord Kelvin
Dad Rock Diary: The Third Rail - ID Music (1967) Catchy Bubblegum Psych from future Ohio Express members rewards those with the patience to stick around for Side 2. Laudable Lyrics: Suburban bound precisely at 7:10. Convinced inside that he has tried, he vanishes once again.
In honor of Alien Day, here’s a little something from the archives.
Dad Rock Diary: Harumi - Harumi (1968) Enigmatic traveler from the East drops mystery disc then disappears for the most part. Only a few pieces rise above standard psych-pop, but great back story. Laudable Lyrics: Our faith casts a glow that shows more love than ever known.
Dream No Evil (1970) Gal raised by faith healers to be a high diver (just go with it) finds her real murderous father. Or does she? Has that vibe only obscure regional productions can manage. TIL: God can and does heal, but as it says in Sirach 38, "give the physician his place."
Funny Book Philosophy: Avengers 328 (1991)
Sing A New Song: Isobel Campbell - There Is No Other... (2020) Still feel stressed after listening to these breezy 70's West Coast vocals? You need medical attention. Laudable Lyrics: You're always saying you'd change it if you could. No sense in delaying. Stop now, magnify good.
Roadgames (1981) Trucker, hitchhiker, and a dingo play cat and mouse with a serial killer in the Outback. One of the better forgotten thrillers of the 80's. TIL: Catholicism arrived in Australia for good in 1788 when the British began importing tons of Catholic convicts.
Dad Rock Diary: Stevie Wonder - Talking Book (2972) He'd had hits, but the Stevie of legend begins here. No way Prince didn't wear this album into the ground. Laudable Lyrics: I only pray that I have shown you a brighter day, because that's all that I am living for, you see.
After School (1988) Priest is tempted by female student. Meanwhile cavemen try to figure out if God exists. In the end, Dick Cavett shows up to help crap on the Church. All this happens. TIL: Sigh. Spiritual but not religious really just comes down to self-worship, doesn't it?
Dad Rock Diary: Music Emporium - Music Emporium (1969) Organ drenched Psychedelia would make an excellent soundtrack for one of those groovy AIP counter-culture flicks. Laudable Lyrics: There is no question that there will be peace on Earth, but will man be here to enjoy it?
And fonally, over at Catholic Geeks, rabid Frank Herbert fangirl Lori Janeski has a few (thousand) words to say about Why Dune Shouldn’t Be Gender-Swapped.
Look Who’s Toxic (1990) Did the world really need a serious take on The Toxic Avenger? This plodding piece of cinema suggests not. Nice gooey effects though. TIL: Unnecessary polluting of resources steals from future generations. The 7th Commandment says thou shalt not.
One Sheet Words of Wisdom: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) "I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams." - Jonas Salk
Dad Rock Diary: The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966) Quintessential garage rock with perhaps the world's only psychedelic jug playing. Laudable Lyrics: I think it's time you knew that the kingdom of heaven is within you.
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) - Lily Tomlin's comic take on the classic tale abandons metaphysics for satire of consumerism. No gut-buster, but still good family fun. TIL: St. Dominic Savio said if you can't do big things, do the smallest for the greater glory of God.
Funny Book Philosophy: Jesus Comics 003 (1972)
Dad Rock Diary: Leaf Hound - Growers of Mushroom (1971) Energetic Zeppelin knock-off with a touch of psychedelia throw in. No surprise, given the band name and album title. Laudable Lyrics: It's going to get better in a newer life. Please, now stop your crying, it's alright.
Targets (1968) Aging actor Karloff crosses path with a disturbed teen gunman. Early Bogdanovich explores the line between cinematic and real life horror. TIL: The Church upholds the right to self-defense, but leaves the means available to do so up to us to argue over.
Tinseltown Testaments: The Prophecy (1995) "Do you know what Hell really is, Thomas? It's not lakes of burning oil or chains of ice. It's being removed from God's sight, having His Word taken from you."
Sing A New Song: The Third Mind - The Third Mind (2020) Remember why you liked Psych-Rock so much? If you don't, Dave Alvin will remind you. Laudable Lyrics: I'm not the one to tell this world how to get along. I only know that peace will come when all the hate is gone.
The Milpitas Monster (1976) Giant trash monster sort-of terrorizes a town. Ultra-cheap, but endearing once you learn it was made by high-schoolers. TIL: Milpitas is located in Santa Clara County, named of course for Saint Clare, author of the monastic guidelines The Rule of Life.
Still Voices - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) "A time of crisis is not just a time of anxiety and worry. It gives a chance, an opportunity, to choose well or to choose badly." - Desmond Tutu
Dad Rock Diary: The Five Day Week Straw People - The Five Day Week Straw People (1968) Fabled Psych-Pop classic made on the cheap in four hours. Can't imagine what they could have done if they'd had five. Laudable Lyrics: Calls the good priest, come to me, I will give you bread.
Feast of Flesh (1967) Masked madman mesmerizes women with heroin and organ music. Pure Argentinian weirdness gets by on its atmosphere. TIL: Vatican II proclaimed the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem as it powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.
Dad Rock Diary: Roxy Music - Avalon (1982) Swan song for Roxy 2.0 goes down so smooth you might not realize how good the whole thing tasted until you stop and take time to think about it. Laudable Lyrics: Through the long lonely night, Heaven knows, I believe.
Gas-s-s-s! (1971) Hippies inherit the Earth after a bio-weapon offs everyone over 25. Then Edgar Allan Poe and God show up. TIL: No, the hippie peace symbol is not a broken inverted cross. It's the semaphore symbols for N and D (Nuclear Disarmament) superimposed on each other.
Dad Rock Diary: Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music (1981) Let's face it, nobody can do avant-garde crazy like a woman. Music to paint modern art to. Laudable Lyrics: I still have my gold ring. Beautiful, I love it, I love it. I still have my allergies. I still have my philosophy.
The Prophecy (1995) Seminary dropout turned detective faces off against a rogue angel Gabriel, who has grown sick of mankind's favored status. Enjoyable nonsense. TIL: St. Faustina said that if angels were capable of envy, they would envy us most for the gift of suffering. Hmm.
Dad Rock Diary: Daniel Johnston- Hi How Are You (1983) Man undergoing nervous breakdown makes an album in his bedroom. It does't get more cult than that. Laudable Lyrics: Big business monkey, you’ll take over the world, and you can have it now but you can’t take it with you.
Death Race 2000 (1975) Beloved cult classic has racers in customized murder cars competing in a government run version of GTA. TIL: Though unofficial "popemobiles" existed prior, the first with Vatican State tags was a custom 1973 Fiat Campagnola fitted with bulletproof glass.
One Sheet Words of Wisdom: The Visitor (1979) "Any eye is an evil eye that looks in on to a mood apart." - Robert Frost
Dad Rock Diary: Caedmon - Caedmon (1978) Heavily Christian-influenced Baroque Folk from Scotland sure to be a treat for fans of the obscure. Bonus points for the C.S. Lewis tribute. Laudable Lyrics: Your lamps prepare, have you oil to spare? The bridegroom's coming soon.
A 2013 study from the University of Augsburg, Germany and the University of Wisconsin-Madison postulates that movie watchers “are not necessarily attracted to violence per se, but seem to be drawn to violent content because they anticipate other benefits, such as thrill and suspense. These findings suggest that such hedonistic pleasures are only part of the story about why we willingly expose ourselves to scenes of bloodshed and aggression. Some types of violent portrayals seem to attract audiences because they promise to satisfy truth-seeking motivations by offering meaningful insights into some aspect of the human condition.”
Maybe. Or it’s also possible that some people just like to watch stuff blow up.
You know, some folks get upset when there’s not enough action for their tastes. Some scholars speculate that’s why a lot of those who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with waving palm leaves turned on him less than a week later. You see, there were a lot of expectations among Jews about who and what their eventual messiah would be, but it boiled down to two main ideas, one of a suffering servant and the other of a conquering king. Apparently, thanks in no small part to the Roman occupation, the desire for a messianic conquering king was the one most in vogue at the time Jesus made the scene.
People were looking for a man of action; what they got in Jesus was a guy who was imprisoned, tortured, and killed by the authorities. As Acts 1 makes clear, even after Jesus returned, the Apostles were still of the mind that an uprising was imminent. “When they had gathered together they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Even for those closest to him, it took a little time to get it.
As Father Roger Vermalen Karban writes, “instead of simply reading a messianic prediction and applying it to Jesus, his first followers had to go through a constant process of discovery. Of course, his resurrection began their discovery. Once they realized Jesus had become, in Paul’s words, a ‘new creation,’ they started to look at things in his earthly ministry from a different direction. His birth, and the events leading up to it, took on new meaning… [and] just as Jesus’ earliest followers didn’t immediately recognize his importance, much less his divinity, I presume many of us don’t recognize the risen Jesus at work in all we are and do… Like our sacred authors, our faith lives are rooted in a constant quest to discover God in the unpredicted and unexpected. If we’re not experiencing that process, we really don’t have a lot to rejoice about.”
The Passion: A Brickfilm (2018) Scripturally faithful retelling of Jesus' last days using Legos. Parents be warned, it doesn't shy away from the red stuff. TIL: The story of Jesus may be the one true metanarrative behind all others, but there are countless ways to tell it.
Funny Book Philosophy: Fallen Angels 002 (1987)
Dad Rock Diary: Jesus Christ Superstar - The Original Motion Picture Sound Track (1973) Groovier, but not as good as the London cast recording. And yes, there's some bad theology. But man, Carl Anderson. Laudable Lyrics: God forgive them - they don't know what they're doing.
The Underachievers (1988) Unwilling narc and other assorted losers attend night school. Has moments, but overall on the shallow end of the Police Academy gene pool. TIL: The Catholic Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system, over 130,000 schools.
Tinseltown Testaments: Shanghai Express (1932) "Love without faith, like religion without faith, doesn't amount to very much."
Dad Rock Diary: Judas Priest - British Steel (1980) If you're going to release a song called Metal Gods, you'd better earn it. They do. Laudable Lyrics: I've grow sick and tired of the same old lies. Might look a little young, so what's wrong? You don't have to be old to be wise.
