Martinex1: I was recently pondering works of entertainment that I really enjoy despite feeling that these are probably not held in high regard. At least I don't think they are...
And I realized that maybe we all have "guilty pleasures" that others may relish if we pointed folks in the right direction. Or we may find that some of us already enjoy the exact same thing. On the other hand, we may get feedback that our elevator doesn't quite reach the second floor.
Here at Bronze Age Babies we share a lot about our favorite things from movies to candy bars, but I am curious if we talk much about the ripples just below the surface, the things that wouldn't be our first recommendations but are still impactful to us in some way, our guilty pleasures.
So I've devised a way of quickly conversing on 5 things we have a hidden passion for in the categories of: COMICS, FILM & TV, BOOKS, MUSIC, and FOOD. It is similar to the games of "what I would take to a desert island" or "what I would do on my last day," but with a guilty pleasure twist. Today I will share my five selections and see if we have any commonality out there. And I hope in the future others will compose similar posts. I am sure we can all create multiple lists that at the very least may be fun to investigate.
So without further ado... Martinex1's 5 Guilty Pleasures for June 2016:
COMIC: I recently mentioned a comic that actually started me down this post's thought process. A lot of our regulars name the Avengers as one of their favorite teams and comics, but I bet few think that Avengers Volume 1, #86 "Brain-Child to the Dark Tower Came" is a masterpiece. I consistently name this comic in my top five favorites (and often I think of it fondly enough to be #1). Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema craft a very succinct conclusion to a two-parter in which the Kooky Quartet Part Deux (Vision, Scarlet Witch, Goliath, and Quicksilver) travel to the Squadron Supreme world and face an innocent child turned madman intent on burning up the world. The little tyrant's motivation is simply to stop the taunts and teases he gets from the public for his radiation enlarged cranium. This issue reads like a B-Movie. It has everything from Robert Browning poetry references and JSA style team-ups to parallel world sci-fi innuendo and Sal Buscema blasts. A classic scene involves Goliath using his archery skills with an unconscious Hyperion as his arrow! I believe this Avengers foursome is an underrated roster as they have a lot of familial interaction and banter. And what can be better than the infant terrible calling out the "costumed cretins" on the very wordy John Buscema cover? Brilliant!
FILM & TV: I am a big Alfred Hitchcock fan. Having attended school with a focus on Cinema, I have seen a lot of movies and I still enjoy the classics, the black and white films, and the old Hollywood stars. Although I would put a number of Hitchcock films in my top 100 list (as did the American Film Institute with Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, and North by Northwest), I would say that I most look forward to viewing Shadow of a Doubt. It is a lesser known film starring Joseph Cotton and Theresa Wright. Cotton plays worldly Uncle Charlie to Wright's impressionable but wise teenager. Uncle Charlie, however, may not be what he seems as the Merry Widow Murderer is making his rounds. Or is the mystery just a result of the youngster's vivid imagination? Full of humor and suspense, this movie is worth finding.
BOOK: The Secret History by Donna Tarrt was indeed a best seller and critically acclaimed in 1992 but may be less recognized today. The story follows six intelligent but dysfunctional classics students at fictional Hampden College who spiral into disarray following a bacchanal and a sequence of murder. From the beginning it is revealed who is dead and who did it, yet the unfolding of the story is surprisingly suspenseful as the motivations and madness play out. Interesting characters position themselves in a novel full of references to Greek mythology as it sets it's own stage for a modern tragedy. Not quite to the level of Flannery O'Connor or Harper Lee to which early assessments compared, and some may say it is just a beach book, but there is some real merit here.
MUSIC: Following the departure of leader and vocalist Stan Ridgway from the original lineup of Wall of Voodoo, Andy Prieboy joined the band and took them on a slightly different wild ride of storytelling and musical experimentation on their 1985 album Seven Days in Sammystown. More popular in Australia than in the States, this offering was full of humor, odd beats, and lyrical craziness. The Marc Moreland penned "Museums" is one of my favorite songs, and there is nothing like the rhythm and guitar as the band crossed from classic quirk to more radio friendly fare. Is Wall of Voodoo in your top ten list?
FOOD: Chicago has the best pizza! Is that hyperbole from a local boy? Perhaps. But I can name a dozen pizza joints that will knock your socks off. Thick crust, thin crust, corn meal crust, stuffed, sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, onions - we've got it all. And we won't skimp on the real Italian sausage here in the Windy City! But if you don't live nearby or have unlimited travel miles for a quick bite, try Home Run Inn's frozen pizza. That's right, I am recommending a frozen pizza! It is surprisingly close to the real thing. Home Run Inn is a tradition for some Chicago South Siders with their original tiny restaurant just a couple of miles from the White Sox' stomping grounds. Their recipe has been a family secret for decades, and the crust and sausage seasoning are like no other.
So those are my five oddball recommendations. If I was stuck on a remote island and all I had were these five items of comfort I would be completely content. Cheers!