Sunset Park Riders

The trio’s on their way, for real! Time to start getting excited!

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…and if you still haven’t, don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album

A couple of months ago, I had Bizarro Fiction luminary William Pauley III fill myself and the rest of us in on the genre and give us an introduction. Since then, I’ve read “A Fistful of Feet,” a twisted take on the Spaghetti Western by eminent Bizarro author Jordan Krall, who was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about the book, the genre, and his inspirations. It was my first experience with the genre, and I found it to be a highly imaginative, fast-paced, vividly told, uniquely constructed exploration of the Spaghetti Western genre with all of the grit and bite and action you can expect of the best of the films.

If you want to explore more of Jordans work and other bizarro fiction, he keeps a blog and a site at http://jordankrall.wordpress.com/ and
www.filmynoir.com, respectively.

Kid Vengeance: What does “Bizarro” mean to you? What defines “Bizarro” and what appeals to you about the genre?

Jordan Krall: That’s a big question because the Bizarro genre is often misinterpreted. Basically it’s the genre of the weird. It does NOT mean weirdness for the hell of it. It means fiction that’s weird above all else. Good bizarro has great characters, plot, and writing to go with the strange aspects. There can be bizarro horror, humor, science fiction, westerns, fantasy, etc. But the main characteristic is that it’s weird. I love the genre because it makes it easier for me to find stuff I like to read. There are people like me who look for weird stuff and sometimes it’s difficult to find but with the bizarro label, it makes it easier for readers to be connected to stuff they’ll love to read.

KV: What inspired the idea of doing a Spaghetti Western? What about Spaghetti Westerns fit with “Bizarro”?

JK: I’m a big fan of the Spaghetti Western genre and I’m very much influenced by movies as well as books. I like the off-beat touches of the SW and thought it’d fit well with bizarro. Django dragging a coffin is an iconic image that, compared to “traditional” westerns, is sort of weird. I just wanted to make it weirder.

KV: What Spaghetti Westerns were you particularly influenced by? I noticed the book is RIFE with allusions and references to various Western movies and players – are these keys to your influences, or do they serve some other purpose? I couldn’t help but see meaning in the town that potentially will provide salvation being named “Keoma”, after what is notoriously one of the most apocalyptic feeling Spaghetti Westerns.

JK: Django is probably the most obvious influence. But I think I’ve been influenced by the dozens of Spaghetti westerns I’ve watched so much so that they start blending into one another in my mind. The Keoma thing was a direct reference because there’s something distinctive about that film. What I didn’t want to do was make it just a bizarro rehash of one particular Spaghetti western. It would’ve been really easy for me to just redo Fistful of Dollars but add in some bizarro stuff. That would’ve been the easy way. I decided to just write a good story in a Spaghetti western world that just so happens to be bizarro.

KV: Obviously the Western setting is key to the genre, but in “Fistful of Feet”, oceanic imagery and creatures are featured heavily. To me, this seems to suggest a much larger world that exists beyond the bounds of this story and the small town where it takes place. Do you have other works set there? Does the juxtaposition serve some other purpose?

JK: I’m glad that it suggests a larger world because that’s what I wanted to give the reader. I don’t have any other works set there right now but I wanted to leave it so if I wanted to, I could come back and the world would be waiting for me. Thematically, the oceanic thing comes into play in nearly everything I write for various reasons.

KV: Similarly, New Jersey seems oddly to loom large in the novel as well. Why New Jersey? We don’t mention this anywhere on the album or website, but all of the members of our group grew up together in New Jersey and have quite a fondness for it, so we’re always pleased to see it make its way into pop culture.

JK: Well, I was born and raised in New Jersey and still live here. There are a lot of reasons why I put in New Jersey and I don’t know if I could explain clear enough. It’s probably make roots in my writing. It’s sort of like my Garden of Eden or cradle of civilization. Everything stems from NJ. Also, NJ is good fodder for ideas…farmland one minute, scummy ghetto the next.

KV: Many of the more bizarre elements in “Fistful of Feet” come in the form of the quirks at the Brothel, naturally making them distinctly erotic. What role does the erotic play for you, and generally in Bizarro Fiction? Do you think these kind of flights of fantasy and imagination naturally lend themselves to sexual wish fulfillment or is it coming from a totally different place?

JK: The erotic/sexual isn’t a necessary part of all bizarro. There are some authors who use it a lot and others who stay away from it. Bizarro is somewhat about pushing boundaries and since sex (or some sex acts) are seen as taboo in many genres, it is logical that they’d cross paths. For me, it’s just natural. I don’t just put it in there to be dirty. Sex, just like violence, is a natural part of the world no matter where you live. Why should I exclude them from my writing? I’m bothered by people who intentionally avoid sex in their writing. I’m suspicious of those people. What are they so afraid of?

KV: The novel takes an unexpected turn to the Giallo, which, being a huge fan, was exciting for me. Was this inspired by the Italian connection between the genres?

JK: I’m a fan of Italian “cult” movies and so there was probably the connection that they both originate from the same country. But giallo flicks by themselves are awesome. People don’t realize how much they have influenced American thriller/slasher movies.

KV: “Fistful” in some ways has more in common with traditional Westerns than Spaghetti Westerns, particularly in the morality of the characters. There is a distinct sense that certain characters are immoral and unredeemable, where others, however troubled, are virtuous, at least in their own way. Is this an accurate assessment? What made you decide to lean this way?

JK: You’re actually the first to make that assessment. It’s all a matter of perception, but I’d probably have to disagree with you. Many Spaghetti Westerns have the unredeemable characters while also having the trouble hero who is, deep down, a good person. I suppose I’m old fashioned in the respect that I want to have a character who the reader will root for. Having an amoral anti-hero is sort of cliché now. I’d rather read or write about a guy who is a good guy who has to do some bad things.

KV: Do you plan to revisit the Western genre? Was there any element of the genre that you felt you didn’t have to opportunity to explore and would like to?

JK: I probably won’t visit the western in novel length. I wrote a few related short stories for a promotional e-book but that’s it. If enough people ask for a sequel to Fistful of Feet, I’d probably write one.

KV: This was my first Bizarro novel. What other works or yours and others would you recommend?

JK: That’s a tough question because there’s so many different authors and styles. It ends up just being a matter of taste. I’d probably recommend both of the Bizarro Starter Kits (the Blue version and the Orange one) because they have loads of stories and novellas from many different authors. This way, you get to sample all the major bizarro authors for a good price.

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…and don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album

Over at TooknownsWellknowns (http://tooknownswellknowns.blogspot.com/) we were “Leak of the Day” yesterday. There wasn’t any commentary about “Showdown” other than the link, but you definitely want to head over and check this site out! It’s an excellent source for leaks, mixtapes and downloads, and, as they boast, THE place to find ‘em way before the official releases.

So head on over, click around, and walk away with all the new music you’ll need for the month!

Thanks a lot for posting us guys!

You know, there’s a million of these out there, for sure, but I think this is as good of a place as any to collect them all, no?

Stellar music blog The Noise Collective posted this one awhile back, and since it happens to be based around one of my very favorite pieces of music, The Ecstasy of Gold, it’s hard not for me to be excited about it.

And it’s a little hard for me not to be critical of it, too. Post author “sundance” rightly points out that the less-is-more approach to the remix is what makes it really work. The piece has so much to begin with that the light touch to recontextualize it was really all that was required, particularly when dealing with such perfection, it’s hard not to see any change as diminishing. All in all, though, it’s a really interesting listen, definitely worth checking out.

“Hey wait a second!” Some of you may be thinking, “Isn’t that kind of the pot calling the kettle black?” And, you know, I guess, but I certainly never suggested that we were above such criticism. Believe me, I can be as critical of our Spaghetti Western Concept rap album “Showdown at the BK Corral” as anyone (Download the whole thing for free here!), but with no one asking me to, I see no reason to. So there.

Over at the reggae-focused music Witchpolice blog, which specializes in Hip Hop, Experimental, Punk, and Reggae, they have a FANTASTIC remix album posted, which I highly recommend downloading (free, of course). The Awesomely named DJ, Dale Cooper, put together an amazing mashup of vocals by reggae megastar Sizzla and classic Ennio Morricone Western film music, dubbing it “The Good, the Bad, and the Remixed”

The post also has a great interview with Dale Cooper, where he goes through his methods, inspiration and background. Excellent reading, particularly for those who the names “Sizzla” and “Morricone” don’t (yet) mean too much. (Dale Cooper, I guess I can explain, is from “Twin Peaks.” If you didn’t know that, you can watch the entire series on the CBS website. I don’t want to hype it up too much, but it’s the greatest thing ever and it will change your life!)

Wow! What a great blog post this is! I’m giving you so much! A free mixtape of phenomenal Spaghetti Western Sizzla, the entire series of one of the greatest shows of all time, and, don’t forget our very own Showdown at the BK Corral, worlds first Spaghetti Western Concept rap album!

It’s just my generous nature.

So, the 405 was not such a huge fan of Showdown, giving the album a 2 out of a possible 10. You can read the full review Here

He does say he’ll give it another try in a few months, so maybe it will grab him then.

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…and don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album

By the way, the 405 mentions that we do this on every page, so I just thought I’d point out, it’s for two reasons, both relating to Google. First, just by posting it, it helps our Google rankings. Second, and more importantly, just in case anyone hits just this one post by Googling something in it, I would like them to know what this site is in support of – an entirely unique album, that they can download for free. For you regular readers of the blog, feel free to ignore everything below the dashed line —————-

So a couple weeks ago, Emmet Rocafella and I were at a party on the Gowanus Canal celebrating the birthday of the lovely Alexis Smagula when we saw a guy wearing this t-shirt, and immediately thought “this has to be our exact target audience.”

He seemed like a nice guy, too, and not only said he would download the album, but browsed to the site on his iPhone, so he wouldn’t forget. I didn’t get his name or anything, but if he happens to read this, hopefully he’ll check in and let us know what he thinks of the album.

Following this, I had a lot of regretful thoughts about not having any rhymes on the album about like, crossing the Gowanus, or something. Seems like you could do a lot with that. They were always fording rivers back then.

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…and don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album

Nay over at Run Into Thunder was kind enough to post Showdown, and had some very kind things to say about it! Normally the blog is completely dedicated to Irish music, but we ended up getting into a bit of an email conversation and she decided to go ahead and post it (because it’s so amazing, of course)!

She explained that she was frustrated at how difficult it was to get the word out about Irish bands and how most people outside think Irish music stopped at U2. And I was totally embarrassed to not be able to name a single other band or artist from Ireland! Seriously, can anyone think of any? I’m hoping to maybe try to get a top 5 classic albums from Irish bands list from Nay and her readers, or maybe some additional research on my part, which I’ll post as soon as I can figure that out. Likely, there won’t be much hip hop on that list, but who knows? I’m keeping an open mind, and am damned excited to see what’s out there!

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…and don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album

I talk a great deal about Spaghetti Westerns here, but I realize that there’s a possibility some of you may not be familiar with the genre. I’ve been meaning to write an exhaustive explanation of the genre, including notable films, history, major players, etc. etc., which I may yet do (or get someone to do for me). In the meantime, though, the good people at the AVClub.com have posted a great introduction for those of you who may not have seen a single one yet, but are eager to jump right in.

The AVClub has a regular feature called “Gateways to Geekery,” where, following a brief introduction to a niche of pop culture, such as a film or musical genre, band, author, etc, they recommend a good thing to start out with to get your feet wet, then several options to follow that up with. They also point out the ones to avoid at first. This makes tons of sense to me, and is how I’ve been approaching my own geekiness for as long as I can remember – seeking out the best entry point, and then trying to convert as many people I know via the same pathway.

If you’re ready to get started with Spaghetti Westerns, check out The AV Clubs, Gateway to Geekery: Spaghetti Westerns. Hey, and while you’re there, you can mention something about Showdown in the comments section!

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…and don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album

Over at Elder-Geek they have a great list of the Top 10 Video Game Westerns, in anticipation of the release of Red Dead Redemption. Since that game is clearly going to be huge and hugely hyped, we’re going to have to get some reporting on it over here at the SPR blog, but I personally don’t have a PS3 or Xbox, so I’d appreciate any volunteers (to write something or to invite me over for video games!)

Anyway, the list at Elder-Geek is pretty fantastic. It of course includes our 16 forebears, Sunset Riders, and 4 bit classic Oregon Trail. There’s also a bunch I’ve never heard of that look amazing. Check it out at http://elder-geek.com/2010/05/top-10-video-game-westerns/

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…and don’t forget to check out Showdown at the BK Corral worlds first/only Spaghetti Western Concept Rap Album