{"id":17198,"date":"2018-01-01T23:34:23","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T04:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=17198"},"modified":"2018-01-07T00:56:05","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T05:56:05","slug":"a-book-some-changes-and-happy-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=17198","title":{"rendered":"A New Book, Some Changes, and Happy New Year!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The cover of Cult Epics Comprehensive Guide to Cult Cinema, hitting bookshelves February 6, 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Before I detail Cult Epics Comprehensive Guide to Cult Cinema<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>a forthcoming book that contains a more than a handful of my reviews from the past 10+ years on exploitation and other genre productions, I\u2019m going to start with a long preamble, so bear with me.<\/p>\n

One of the most common misconceptions is that physical media is dead, and everything worthy is already available online through the many major streaming services, but what believers of those stances aren\u2019t aware is that every Tuesday brings forth new movies.<\/p>\n

Every. Tuesday.<\/p>\n

As it has for decades. I\u2019ve worked in book and video retail, and Tuesdays have been the common date when new product makes its debut, and some of those boxes make it very clear (via brightly coloured stickers) not to sell their contents until that date \u2013 because playing fair is a small part of the methodology in building excitement for a title.<\/p>\n

That labels exist and continue to put out new material might seem baffling to some, but connoisseurs of classic, current, and \u2018lost\u2019 TV series & movies know there\u2019s always some title that never got its due or deserves a proper anniversary edition (as opposed to the perpetually lauded, always in print, remastered yet again title we have in some form or another. Read: Casablanca<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

I started out reviewing soundtracks in the early 1990s, then expanded to include home videos & films, and embraced aspects of all three depending on my peculiar tastes and moods. There\u2019s never a shortage of titles to cover because there\u2019s always new stuff, and if it\u2019s a lean week or month, there\u2019s the pile of titles-in-waiting from the busier months that I can draw from.<\/p>\n

No title is old in my book because if I\u2019m interested in it now rather than when it emerged 3 months ago, it\u2019s still new to me, and more than a few connoisseurs who may not have been aware of its release.<\/p>\n

Back in 2001 I started reviewing videos for Told You So Productions, whose slant was covering the Special Features on discs rather than the movies proper. When the site folded around 2006, I ported over my 500+ reviews and created KQEK.com, the odd-titled site that\u2019s meant to sound like station call letters, but admittedly is not as streamlined as \u2018DVD Review\u2019. For good or bad, the name\u2019s permanent, and I\u2019ve no desire to rebrand nor change 2000+ review links in the IMDB.<\/p>\n

I actually have no idea how many films I\u2019ve covered, and it doesn\u2019t matter, but like any writer, some of the earlier stuff makes me wince, which is why I\u2019m more than happy to replace an ancient TYSP or KQEK.com review with something meatier.<\/p>\n

I still cover films and soundtracks for Rue Morgue magazine, but you may have noticed I\u2019ve cut back on soundtrack reviews at KQEK.com because in plain terms I needed a break. The music hasn\u2019t dropped in quality, the proficiency of composers hasn\u2019t dipped, and the production quality isn\u2019t less than idea.<\/p>\n

You could call it a \u2018mid-career crisis\u2019 that hits anyone who\u2019s been doing relatively the same thing for a while, and it was especially comforting to hear at Xmas a top film reviewer question his current state after being a critic for 30+ years. He can continue to follow the same path, but is this the only<\/em> path, and should he stick to it so exclusively?<\/p>\n

In regards to soundtracks, I’ve noticed a palpable stance among some critics & publications that Anything Which Doesn\u2019t Sound Like John Carpenter and Goblin and isn’t on vinyl is Irrelevant. A lot of truly outstanding music has been ignored because it\u2019s not on a custom splatter-pattern, 180 gram platter in a gatefold sleeve designed by Whomever, limited to 150 copies. This isn’t a denigration of the fine work being done by indie labels, but there is a wealth of music that exists on CD and LP which goes back to the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s which deserve some love. My storage locker’s packed with many such platters.<\/p>\n

So in terms of soundtrack coverage at KQEK.com, I\u2019m going to try something a little different. It\u2019ll take a month or two to get it organized, but maybe there\u2019s a simple way to bridge the gap so vinyl and perfectly fine classic film music get some love evenly.<\/p>\n

In terms of film & video coverage, for now it\u2019s status quo in terms of the eclectic mix of titles, but there are a few options I\u2019m weighing for an overhaul later this year.<\/p>\n

One possible is to expanded reviews into longer and more exhaustive examinations of a specific genre or filmmaker, and have them published in physical & digital formats \u2013 a new venture that\u2019s tied to that mid-career crisis; I like my main gig, but I\u2019d like to have fun with something that\u2019s tangential, if not a little offbeat.<\/p>\n

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I’m in good company.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The reviews in the forthcoming tome Cult Epics Comprehensive Guide to Cult Cinema <\/strong>are part of that tangential pathway, if not the first step forward towards new endeavours. I\u2019ve expanded many of the reviews that appeared as part of TYSP and KQEK.com regular coverage of cult movies, and those who know me will no doubt understand why I\u2019m delighted my prose is often supported by graphic, so not safe for work<\/em> images.<\/p>\n

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Tinto Brass’ The Howl is an amazing work of satire, and perhaps his best before he switched gears and celebrated the bum-bum full time.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Cult Epics<\/a> bigwig and book editor Nico B commissioned the book\u2019s Indiegogo campaign<\/a> to celebrate the label\u2019s 25 years of releases, and my reviews of the label’s prior titles remain critical takes on select films & rebellious filmmakers (Tinto Brass figures heavily), and tongue-in-cheek examinations of vintage smut spanning soft, hard, and fetish nonsense for adults.<\/p>\n

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Snapshot of the book’s bonus DVD included with the limited Indiegogo edition.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The 256 page book is officially released February 6, 2017, and is available for pre-order via Amazon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n