And so we have reached the final books in the Buffalo Bill series (both were published in 1967 here in Sweden). Love the art by Marcarelli. Old school, just the way that I like my nostalgia.
(My shot of said books)
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Archive for March, 2022
Commando 5527-5530 is out today in the UK. Just search “Commando comics” should you want to subscribe.
(Covers courtesy of Commando)
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Due to a local water leak, the residents of my village has been without water for a few days. It will soon be fixed, but it is little things like this that can put you to the test. Luckily, I have water stored for emergencies and I used some of that to get by. I also took advantage of the fact that we still have snow in these parts so I filled a bucket and had it melt inside (takes a few hours but the water is certainly good to go for flushing the toilet). There is an excellent channel on YouTube called Fall of Civilizations and it deals with how different empires and societies throughout history has come to an end. The host often speculates about how the people must have felt in the final days, when the shit hit the fan (SHTF). Well, I think we can say that we are on the brink of a system collapse ourselves, certainly the West. I mean I am sitting here hoping that everything is going to be OK (I just want to retire and take it easy a few years from now), but deep down I know that we are in serious trouble. When they are discussing possible food shortages in mainstream media, that is a pretty big clue that something is not right is it not? I have noticed that more people around me are preparing for the worst. Some of them thought I was bonkers not that long ago, suddenly I am the go to guy. We have touched on the subject within my extended family as well and I can see that there is a bigger interest in general, which is a good thing. I think the reason is that even if the news outlets are not that great (I say go visit the Ice Age Farmer and bookmark that platform for information), everybody can see the changes with their own eyes now (at the gas station, in stores etc). If it goes belly up, well… That would be a pretty darned interesting episode of Fall of Civilizations right there… Maybe we are living it right now?
(My shot of model Ellinor, for the 2012 Tornado Blaze novel)
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Well, I do. Here is a goodie from the old collection, “MAD About The Oscars – 38 Best Picture Winners (And Losers!)” (MAD Books, 2003) by “The Usual Gang of Idiots”. 258 pages of glorious satire.
(My shot of said book)
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Those Were The Days
Posted: March 29, 2022 in ABBA, Classic Rock, Cool stuff, Deep Purple Family, Music (general)
There is a new retro collection out with the Ian Gillan Band. I quite like the UFO/Stonehenge art on the cover (not sure who the artist is but I hope to clear this up soon on this blog). The title is “Return To The Source”, which is kind of cool. Ian Gillan is a Sci-Fi fan, so hopefully he had a say in this. Also, it might be interesting to know that ABBA recorded their first single “People Need Love” on March 29 1972, so it has been 50 years. It was released on June 1 1972 and it later appeared on the “Ring Ring” album in 1973. The name ABBA would come later, as you can see on the 45 cover here. I actually remember when this came out, I really liked this song and I still do.
(Covers from official platforms)
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Book five and six in the Buffalo Bill series (both saw print here in Sweden in 1967). I will showcase the last two covers on Thursday on this blog.
(My shot of said books – great art by Marcarelli)
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A wonderful Aston Martin DB5 (from 1965) is for sale for 10,000,000 kronor (that is 1,052,920 dollars or 804,678 pounds) in my neck of the woods (Östersund, Jämtland County). Of course this is the James Bond car, as seen in several Bond classics. This particular car has no known link to the popular franchise as far as I know, but on the other hand, how many of these things have survived? Bit of a surprise to find one here in Sweden, but here it is on display now at local car company Bilbörsen, awaiting a new owner (with deep pockets). Kind of cool though, I must say.
(Thank you Kalle Thelin for the snapshots)
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When I blogged about the “Whitesnake” book a few days ago I did notice the old Van Halen gem “Jumpin´ For The Dollar” (Zomba Books, 1984) by author John Shearlaw and made a mental note that it would be good to check that one out again. This morning I picked it out and at 98 pages (which includes a shitload of great looking photographs) it does not take very long to read it. I guess it might have been one of the first Van Halen books to be published back in the day. I certainly jumped at it when I spotted it. Always liked the title too, very much in tune with the whole Van Halen experience. They were always a good band. Seen here is also a Guitar Player Special titled “Masters Of Heavy Metal” (Quill), also from 1984. Some really good interviews in this one. Superb shot of Eddie by Neil Zlozower on the cover. The cover shot of Dave on the Van Halen book is uncredited. Glad to have stuff like this tucked away.
(My shot of said books)
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Book three and four in the Buffalo Bill series (both saw print in 1967 in Sweden). Love the old school art by Marcarelli.
(My shot of said books)
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Celebrating Machine Head
Posted: March 26, 2022 in Classic Rock, Cool stuff, Deep Purple Family, TV & Movies
Deep Purple has a few albums of monumental importance out there and their sixth studio album “Machine Head” is perhaps the biggest of them all. As it turns 50 it is hard to imagine a world without tracks like “Smoke On The Water”, “Highway Star”, “Lazy” and “Space Truckin´”. I was a young boy when this came out but I had discovered the band and they changed my life forever. I can just say that.
I love the versions of Deep Purple that followed as well, but there is no denying that this had quickly turned into a classic that was hard to ignore. Over the years it has earned them a reputation that has helped them carry on for decades. People want to hear these songs and to this day if you buy a ticket for a Purple show, you will not be disappointed. So yes, this is an album that you should have and I also want to mention the excellent 2002 documentary that they all took part in (including producer Martin Birch), which is very good. And it has some live bonus stuff as well. I will check it out again this weekend.
(My shots of the original 1972 LP and the 2002 DVD)
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trinkelbonker 