Song Saturday: Siouxsie And The Banshees [REVISITED]

How's it going my gumdrops? Sorry about not publishing any blogs last weekend or earlier this week. These last 2 weeks have been rough with sudden changes both on and offline.

In case you did NOT get the last e-mail notification, Horror-Punks.com has now been changed to Horror-Punks.net. Even though I mostly publish blogs here on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns, there were several blogs I published on Horror-Punks as well. Therefore, I will be transferring my better blogs from Horror-Punks.com to Blogger.

Meanwhile, I was forced to postpone Song Saturday, Cartoon Sunday, and 1 of my Q&A blogs on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. 

Last Friday, I was in the middle of going to 1 of my 2 doctor's appointments and my mother had to be rushed to the ER. She is feeling better, now. 

However, my mother has been to the hospital at least several times, since September 9th. 

Over these last 2 weeks, I almost had to cancel 2  of my appointments because there is ALWAYS something wrong. Hopefully, today and the rest of this next week will be much better.

Aside from those issues, today is not only Song Saturday, but also Batman Day. 

Batman Day is this Saturday, September 17

I won't sit here and act like I am a HUGE Batman fan, but I did enjoy watching the original TV series based on the comic book superhero. 

This makes me wonder how many people know, that the original actor, who plays Mayor West on Family Guy is voiced by Batman's Adam West. If you did not already know this, you know now.

While growing up during the late 1980's and 1990's, it seemed like Batman became more popular than it was during the 1960's and earlier. Tim Burton directed the first 2 Batman films.

After Tim Burton directed Batman in 1989, there was a ton of Batman merchandise. The Batman bank and earrings, that I got as a little girl are somewhere. That same year was the year when Prince did the entire soundtrack for the movie. 

You may recall, that I mentioned this in my Prince Tribute blog this past spring.

Growing up, I was entertained watching Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever was the LAST Batman film I had watched.

In fact, I went to see Batman Forever at the theater with a middle school friend for my 13th birthday and it was the last Batman film I liked watching. George Clooney replacing his predecessors (Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer) was reason enough to make me NOT want to go see Batman & Robin.

I REFUSED to watch the other movies because I despise George Clooney with the passion and the reboots seemed too serious. I had no problem watching Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman because I like both actors. 

Both Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer played quirky and eccentric roles in other films outside of the Batman franchise.

Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Forever had campy yet brooding tones. The first 2 Burton movies were campy much like the original TV series from the mid-60's. That was what Michael Keaton appreciated about Batman and Batman Returns.

After Warner Bros forced Tim Burton as the film director to step down for Batman Forever, Michael Keaton chose to leave the franchise.  

Then, Burton chose Joel Schumacher as his replacement for directing it.

I remember the original being an R-rated film. Batman Returns was rated PG-13 yet parents complained about it not being "family friendly."

Michael Keaton declined and left the Batman franchise because he felt that the script for Batman Forever was too lighthearted in tone. When you watch the first 3 movies, you can tell the differences in tone. Batman Forever was not a terrible movie. I have yet to see the Batman reboots, which are dramatized origin stories about Bruce Wayne/Batman.

The thought of Christian Bale playing Bruce Wayne/Batman frightens me. Watching Bale play Patrick Bateman in American Psycho made me shudder. 

I still say the man played the role of a misogynistic psychopath/serial killer a LITTLE too well.

Yes, I know Patrick Bateman was only a character in a novel and movie. The fact that there are actually men like Patrick Bateman existing in the real world makes it more terrifying.

Since this is mostly about the Batman franchise and today is Song Saturday, it would be fitting to revisit Siouxsie And The Banshees. A little over 2 years ago, I published a Song Saturday blog featuring this kooky Goth Rock band.

Song Saturday: Siouxsie And The Banshees

Rereading that blog, reminds me of how much I have gone through over these last 3 years with toxic and indifferent people. Don't forget that September 23rd is the 3rd anniversary of It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. I will be publishing my Q&A blog.

As I was saying, I published a Song Saturday blog featuring Siouxsie And The Banshees over 2 years ago. 

I also forgot to mention that they were featured on the Batman Returns Soundtrack in 1992. Siouxsie And The Banshees' "Face To Face" was featured in the film as well.

Their song played while Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Selina Kyle (Catwoman) danced, during the masquerade ball scene.

Batman Returns "Batman & Catwoman Come Face To Face" Scene (1992)

 

Anyway, here is Siouxsie And The Banshees' "Face To Face" for today's mostly Batman themed Song Saturday.

Siouxsie And The Banshees "Face To Face" Batman Returns Soundtrack (1992)

Cartoon Sunday: Tokko

How's it going my gumdrops? So, yesterday I mentioned that I spent last week updating previously published blogs from the last 2-3 years. This includes my Horror Anime Reviews from 2014.

In that blog review, I reviewed a variety of Horror Anime ranging from Psychological Supernatural Horror Mystery Drama, Horror-Action, to SciFi Horror. Those 3 types of Horror Anime sub-genres are mostly meant for Shonen (boys), Seinen (men), and Shojo (girls) demographics.

After publishing my Horror Anime Reviews, I gradually published more blogs about those Horror Anime individually. 

However, I NEVER published an individual blog about the Seinen SciFi Horror Action Anime, Tokko. Today you are in luck.

If you never had the opportunity to watch Tokko, before The SciFi Channel rebranded and was renamed "Syfy" and never saw Tokko on its sister network Chiller TV, today's Cartoon Sunday blog will be beneficial. I have spent a lot of time hunting for decent quality videos for this particular Horror Anime but had very little luck.

YouTube is our last resort. Hulu, Crackle, and OTHER online streaming sites, which have Anime in general did NOT  have Tokko on their lists. This surprised me, especially since Tokko had aired on TV a few times.

In case you don't want to scroll down the review I published 2 years ago, I will share the plot of this Seinen SciFi Horror Action Anime once again. In this particular series, it has more Police Procedural and Supernatural themes to it. 

In Tokko, Ranmaru Shindou graduates from the police academy and is assigned to Tokki. 

Tokki is a Special Mobile Investigation Force.

On the same day of Ranmaru's graduation, he meets a half-naked girl, who he constantly sees in his dreams, named Sakura Rokujo. Sakura happens to work for Tokko.

Tokko is the Special Public Safety Task Force, which is secretly within Tokki.

Eventually, Ranmaru joins Tokko mostly to avenge the death of his parents, and to solve the mass murder mysteries for Machida, Japan's residents. 

Because Tokko is a short series, it has a faster paced storyline. It only has 13 episodes, which makes it 1/2 season. The finale felt more like a cliffhanger.

Originally, I streamed Tokko in Japanese 10 years ago. Then, ~ 1 year later, it was announced that The SciFi Channel was airing Tokko on its Ani-Monday block. 

Several years later, Tokko premiered on Chiller TV's Ani-Monday block. I really miss watching Ani-Monday and Anime Wednesday on Syfy and Chiller TV. 

Both networks kept me watching their selections of Anime, which cannot always be said about Adult Swim's Toonami block.

Now that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood will be premiering on Adult Swim next month, this will give me another Anime to regularly watch. 

You gain some, you lose some. Anyway, here is Tokko for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Tokko Episode 1: "The Awakening" [English Dub] (2006)

Cartoon Sunday: xxxHolic

How's it going my gumdrops? I watched the premiere of the Shonen Jump Action Anime, Hunter X Hunter, this morning. 

Much like I expected, this series is overrated. I have been reading and hearing about Hunter X Hunter for years on YouTube, social media, and Adult Swim's forum.

I am still REELING over the fact, that Adult Swim replaced Parasyte -The Maxim- with a very prepubescent series.

This is all the more reason why Cartoon Network should've kept Toonami on their OWN network rather than on Adult Swim.

When Adult Swim acquired the Toonami block, it was originally suppose to premiere more mature animation, which would appeal to the ADULT  viewers as opposed to Incels. 

After watching this 2011 remake of Hunter X Hunter, it felt like I was watching Naruto meets One Piece. 

Even though I enjoyed watching the original Naruto years ago on Cartoon Network, I was never a One Piece fan. 

Regardless, Hunter X Hunter does NOT  belong on Adult Swim. It belongs on Cartoon Network. The same thing applies for Samurai Jack.

With the direction Adult Swim is going with their version of Toonami this year, I think I will only watch Naruto Shippuden as a recap, in English. At least Naruto Shippuden has more mature content than Hunter X Hunter.

Adult Swim could've replaced Parasyte with Tokyo Ghoul, but that would've been too logical for Jason DeMarco and the idiots at Adult Swim. Then again, I have to remind myself that the network only acquired the Toonami block to pander to their crybaby fans, who remain stuck on their childhood nostalgia.

Aside from Adult Swim's Toonami, I just started watching xxxHolic last night. This Seinen Supernatural Horror Comedy Anime released, 10 years ago. 

I meant to stream xxxHolic much sooner, but I was always sidetracked with something else. Either I was streaming another series, or there was something else I needed to do.

Here it is a decade later and I am just NOW streaming this series. So far, I have only watched episode 1 and I like xxxHolic. Whenever I saw the billboard advertisements on Anime websites years ago, it automatically made me think about Hell Girl. 

xxxHolic's Yuuko Ichihara somewhat resembles an adult version of Ai Enma from the Hell Girl franchise.

Yuuko Ichihara is a powerful witch, who owns a shop and grants people their wishes. In my opinion, Yuuko seems more like an evil and opportunistic genie. Most of her jobs consist of dealing with supernatural beings.

Meanwhile, the protagonist Kimihiro Watanuki is a teenage boy, who suffers from the ability to see supernatural spirits and monsters. They are better known as "yokai" in Japanese folklore. 

The yokai are only visible to Kimihiro and he looks like a weirdo making a fool out of himself in public.

Eventually, the protagonist literally stumbles upon Yuuko Ichihara's shop and she grants Kimihiro's wish. 

Of course, granting his wish to NOT see anymore yokai has a catch to it. Because Kimihiro has no money to pay for granting his wish, Yuuko makes Kimihiro her part-time chef and housekeeper. In addition, she sends him on supernatural errands.

So far, I like watching xxxHolic. I can't believe it took me literally a decade to finally stream this Anime. 

My goal is to try binge watching xxxHolic as much as possible. With that being said, you have the ability to stream this Seinen Supernatural Horror Comedy Anime in English or Japanese on Hulu. 

You have 2 optional links below. Anyway, here is xxxHolic for today's Cartoon Sunday.

xxxHolic Season 1: Episode 1 (2006) [Japanese]

xxxHolic Season 1: Episode 1 (2006) [English]

Blogger Is My Alternate

How's it going my gumdrops? You may recall that I published 2 blogs last weekend, on Blogger. Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday are blogs I normally publish on It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Webs.com experiences glitches every so often. 

Since I'm already on Blogger, it's only fitting to publish Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs on here, whenever It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns goes down. I will just transfer those same blogs over to my website, after the glitches are over. That's basically what I did both today and yesterday.

Normally, I will share Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs to Blogger from It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. Whenever I share those blogs on here, the links will redirect you to my website and vice versa. Isn't that fantastic?!

What would be even more fantastic is if Gen Xers and Millennials both liked, subscribed, shared, +1'ed on Google+, and left your feedback in the comments sections. I am online, during the evenings.

There is NO fee to join It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns. The incentive to joining is that you have a chance to read my "Horror" page. That's something outsiders do NOT have access to. Just think about it. 

If you are having trouble with the navigation, here is a blog explaining how to navigate around It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns.

http://goo.gl/kmXmUY

Anyway, thank you my gumdrops! I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

~ Anna H. 

Cartoon Sunday: Foamy The Squirrel Rants About Bullies

How's it going my gumdrops? Yesterday, you may recall that I mentioned last week being rough both on and offline. In regards to cyber space, an Adult Swim poster "peacefully" died in his sleep, during the middle of last week. Some of his friends and other posters have been grieving over his death, whereas some choose to be malicious.

In fact, my number 1 slanderer on Adult Swim went as far as to name drop a racist troll, that he claims the dead poster was supposedly friends with. I don't know if that is really true, considering that it's coming from a slanderous poster, who continues to slander me on Adult Swim. When that dead poster was still alive last year, my slanderer called him "an asshole." Therefore, it's a matter of considering the source, which happens to be a highly glorified slanderer and megalomaniac with a God Complex.

This is along with the fact, that same glorified slanderer continues to down vote troll me and other Adult Swim posters. In case you have NOT already, I suggest reading last year's blog about why you should not join Adult Swim.

Why You Should NOT Join Adult Swim's Message Board

Since we're on the topic of Adult Swim, it has been confirmed that a new Seinen SciFi Action Anime called Dimension W will be replacing Akame ga Kill! on the network.

Toonami's Dimension W Promo (2016)

It will premiere next Saturday at 11:30 pm Central, which is right before Parasyte -The Maxim-. Right now, I cannot comment on Dimension W because I have not watched an episode of the series. However, the promo makes it appear to be interesting.

I just hope this new show is NOT complete hype. Adult Swim is skilled at pandering to a certain group of fans, which are Action Anime fans. I have said it before and will say it again, there is more to Japanese animation than Action Anime.

Hopefully, it's something worth watching because I really do NOT like every Action Anime Adult Swim airs. They have always been a hit or miss, whenever it came to airing shows in general. As of right now, I only know that Dimension W is being simulcasted both in Japan and here in the United States on Adult Swim. The series premiered in Japan on January 10, 2016 and it will premiere on Adult Swim on February 27th.

Since today's blog is mostly about Adult Swim, let's return to a previous topic. Earlier, I mentioned that I was being slandered on Adult Swim's forum by the same poster, who continuously down vote trolls me and shat in a dead poster's memorial thread.

That exact same poster is someone, who pretended to be my friend, when I originally joined Adult Swim nearly 2 years ago.

Last year, that Adult Swim poster was also a member of my website. After I removed him TWICE for lying, backstabbing, selling me out to his crazy so-called "friend" at the time, and getting me banned on Adult Swim, he attacked me through my contact submissions form and made libelous claims about me being another poster he's had problems with in the past.

My frenemy knows it's a bald face lie yet he continues to slander me around Adult Swim.

The worst part is that Adult Swim's moderators condone his trolling and slandering; There's mostly social politics on the network's message board, which is why so many have left. That's not including suicidal posters.

As much as I hate to say it, posters who know the truth and choose NOT to confront him about slandering me are just as guilty as he is. Some do want me to stay on Adult Swim but they don't act like it. If they did, they would show it.

Continuously slandering and anonymously down voting an adult poster on Adult Swim's forum is a perfect example of adult cyber bullying/trolling. Speaking of bullies, I have another Foamy The Squirrel short. In this short, Foamy The Squirrel rants about school bullies and gives unorthodox strategies about how to handle bullying.

Foamy The Squirrel: Bullies Rant (2011)

Thank you my gumdrops! Don't forget to like, subscribe, share, +1 on Google Plus, and leave your feedback in the comments section below! 

Song Saturday: Vanity's Nature Boy [Cover]

            RIP VANITY!!!

 

How's it going my gumdrops? Wow! This is shocking and sad news. Literally 1 day after Valentine's Day, Denise Katrina Matthews, (a.k.a. Prince's former protege, "Vanity") just died from Renal Failure at age 57. 

 

This is not only surprising, but also tragic. It appears that more entertainers have been dying again, including this past week. Vanity recently celebrated her 57th birthday, last month on January 4th. It is 1 month later. NOW, she's dead.

I don't know about anyone else, but it seems like the year of 2016 will be worse than the last several years. I really dread what this year has in store for everyone. 

 

2016 already got off to a brutal start with famous people, most specifically musicians dropping like flies.

As I was saying, Prince's former protege, Vanity died from Renal Failure on February 15, 2016. It's a good thing Prince hasn't died yet. Chances are great that my uncle would go postal over him. Prince has always been more of an idol to him than Jimi Hendrix. The man loves them both, although he seems to favor Prince over Hendrix.
 

Growing up during the 1980's and '90s, I was never a Prince or Vanity zealot. However, my youngest aunt and I both had our own parakeets named Prince and Vanity. She had a blue parakeet, named Prince and mine was a purple parakeet named, Vanity.

More than 30 years later, I still feel that having a purple parakeet named Vanity is strange. I mean, c'mon! 

 

Everybody knows that Prince is about purple. He has an album called Purple Rain and purple is his signature color.

When my youngest aunt and I had our 2 parakeets, I was a preschooler. She claims that my parakeet, Vanity literally pecked hers (Prince) to death. Supposedly, Vanity pecked out all Prince's feathers and gave him a disease. Talk about a vicious bird.

Other than owning 2 parakeets named after Prince and Vanity, I was NOT  a zealot of theirs. Don't get me wrong by any means. I DID like some of Prince and Vanity's songs growing up, during the '80s, but I listened to more Pop Music and Glam Metal. 

 

Even though my mother FORBADE me to listen Rap, I still listened to it. Regardless, I always listened to whatever I wanted to growing up and still do today as an adult.

Earlier this week, I learned some interesting tidbits about Vanity. For example, I had NO idea that Vanity and Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue were engaged in 1986!

 

On YouTube, I stumbled upon an old interview with Arsenio Hall interviewing Vanity.

 

Arsenio Hall Interviews Vanity (1986)  

Watching the way that man salivated over Vanity repulsed me to no end. Growing up, my grandmother always ranted about how much she could NOT  stand Arsenio and normally referred to him as a "lowlife." 

 

After watching his interview with Vanity as a 33 going on 34-year-old woman, I have to agree with her. Arsenio Hall reminds me of the sleazy, lowlife creeps from the street.

Meanwhile, I was annoyed watching Vanity act like a bimbo on stage. Not to speak ill of the dead, but she was literally a bimbo on crack or a "crack whore." Vanity used so much crack throughout the 1980's, that she and Nikki Sixx broke off their engagement in 1987.  

 

The Howard Stern Show: "Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx Explains Why He & Vanity Broke Up" (2007)

By 1994, Vanity overdosed on crack and nearly died from Renal Failure. Because of the large amounts of cocaine she used throughout the decades, she started having kidney problems and had to go through a Peritoneal Dialysis 5 times a day.

After surviving her cocaine overdose in '94, she chose to become a "Born Again Christian" and went into Evangelism. 

 

In 1995, there was a 1980's special on MTV, which was reflecting on music videos and groups from the '80s. It also shared updates about musicians from that decade.

Vanity explained in an MTV interview about her drug addiction and how she became a "saved" evangelist. In addition, she began blaming Prince for her cocaine problems. 

 

As a 13-year-old girl at the time, I could not help rolling my eyes at Vanity's interview. 

 

Unless Prince physically FORCED  Vanity to the ground and made her use cocaine, or slipped it inside her food and beverages, he is not at fault. 

 

She chose to become a drug addict. I think it's wonderful that Vanity quit abusing drugs and changed her life for the better.

All the while, Vanity acting like a self-righteous victim and blaming Prince for being a crack whore was and continues to be bullshit. 

 

I completely empathize with Vanity wanting to change her life for the better and leaving her scandalous past behind. In spite of the past, she really needed to take ownership for her dumb choices. Hopefully, the woman did before dying.

Before I forget, I learned something else about Vanity that I found to be interesting. Like a few other singers in the past including the late David Bowie, Vanity did a cover of the old Nat King Cole song, "Nature Boy."

In 1989, Vanity made a cameo appearance on Friday The 13th: The Series as a Pop singer named, Angelica. It was on Season 2: Episode 20 titled, "The Secret Agenda of Mesmer's Bauble." In that same episode, it featured Vanity's cover of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy."

You may be assuming that I'm half-assing today's blog. I really hope this is NOT  the case. This has been quite a rough week and I almost didn't publish ANY  Song Saturday blog for today. 

 

Rather than doing an entire music block of Vanity songs, I thought I would share this extremely rare cover of Vanity singing "Nature Boy" for today's Song Saturday. 

 

Vanity "Nature Boy" [Cover] Friday The 13th: The Series (1989)

Song Saturday: Rasputina Block

How's it going lurkers? As you already know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. This is that time of winter, when most American men in today's society DREAD the holiday.

If you do NOT  have any Valentine's Day plans, treat yourself to something special and AVOID FACEBOOK like it's the Zika Virus tomorrow.

With tomorrow being Valentine's Day and if you happen to be in a Cello Rock mood today, you're in luck.

Rasputina is a Gothic American Cello Rock trio from New York and have existed, since 1989. Their debut album, Thanks For The Ether released in 1996. 

Over the last 3 decades, Rasputina released 2 compilations albums, 3 live albums, 7 studio albums, 13 EP's, and have been featured on soundtracks.

Even though the trio has an extensive history, which includes collaborating and touring with artists/bands such as Nirvana, Marilyn Manson, Twiggy Ramirez, Siouxsie Sioux from Siouxsie And The Banshees/The Creatures, etc, most are STILL unfamiliar with Rasputina.

In fact, the original version of Rasputina's "Transylvanian Concubine" was featured not only on the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer  TV series, but also the TV soundtrack. 

For the last several days, I hunted around YouTube for that scene of Drusilla dancing to "Transylvanian Concubine" and had no such luck.

Rasputina's song played, during a scene in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer's "Surprise" (Season 2: Episode 13). 

If you were a Buffy fan during the late 1990's, you may remember everyone celebrating Buffy's 17th birthday. Meanwhile, Drusilla danced to "Transylvanian Concubine."

Decades ago, I never heard of Rasputina. They weren't a group that was heavily played on MTV or radio stations. However, Rasputina was featured on Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album.

I simply cannot help saying how much I enjoyed frequently buying soundtracks, during my adolescence. Even though I never bought that soundtrack (I had no idea it existed, until I became a DJ), soundtracks were and still ARE the best ways to learn about undiscovered musical talent, especially in today's music industry.

Most traditional radio stations and music television stopped exposing us to various music genres and sub-genres for contrived, low-brow, and highly overrated American Top 40 Pop Music HIts. 

Before the end of the 20th Century, we had MORE variety in music genres and sub-genres. This was especially during the '90s.

By the early 21st Century most specifically by 2004, most entertainers became sell outs by acting like militant, self-righteous, political activists with Bush Derangement Syndrome.  

Their antics caused them to LOSE more money and alienate fans. 

And they wonder WHY they can't generate the money and fans they used to have? Hmmm...

Because there is very little knowledge about Rasputina, their music is scarce around cyber space. Here's a triple dose of Rasputina to help you relax before Valentine's Day for today's Song Saturday.

1) Rasputina "Transylvanian Concubine" Thanks For The Ether (1996), Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album (1999) 

2) Rasputina "Hunter's Kiss" Cabin Fever (2002), A Radical Recital (2005)

3) Rasputina "If Your Kisses Can't Hold The Man You Love" Frustration Plantation (2004)