Continuing the fabled tradition begun all the way back in 2009, Scratchbomb presents Holiday Horrors and Holiday Triumphs: an advent calendar of some of the more hideous aspects of this most stressful time of year–with a few bits of awesomeness sprinkled in.
As stated earlier this week, I am a big fan of egg nog. I am not a big fan of metal. But a metal song about egg nog? I think I can get behind that.
Courtesy of Videogum, what we have here is a video from Winnipeg public access circa 1991. In it, a group called Box Lunch–comprised exclusively of 15-year-olds–sings a metal peaon to the frothy seasonal brew. I can’t exactly tell if they’re for or against it, but the point is they’re singing about it.
While I think this is awesome, I am putting it in the Holiday Horrors category because I think any self-respecting metal band would prefer to be known as horrible. Also, check out the hat on the bassist. Remember when it was okay to wear hats like that? Oh lord, the 90s sucked.
Continuing the fabled tradition begun all the way back in 2009, Scratchbomb presents Holiday Horrors and Holiday Triumphs: an advent calendar of some of the more hideous aspects of this most stressful time of year–with a few bits of awesomeness sprinkled in.
Admittedly, I am stretching the definition of “horrors” pretty wide for today’s entry. This is more like a petty annoyance. A very petty one, in fact. But I wouldn’t want to live in a world where I wasn’t allowed to be petty now and then.
The subjects of my ire are the Hyundai ads with a twee musical couple called Pomplamoose (seriously?) doing precious renditions of holiday songs. They’re a poor man’s version of She and Him. If you think Belle and Sebastian is a bit too macho, this is the group for you.
Is there holiday stuff out there worse than this? Of course, much, much worse. But the cutesy quality of this is song is so grating, it’s like being bludgeoned with marshmallow Peeps. It’s so fey and convinced of its own cleverness, it’s like a New York Times subscription ad turned into music. I find it uncomfortable and annoying, but in a really gentle way, like being softly tickled by someone I don’t like while stuffed in a Whole Foods tote bag.
And it’s forcing me to stretch my Simile Powers to their breaking points. So boo, Hyundai. Be gone, and never darken my towels again.
Continuing the fabled tradition begun all the way back in 2009, Scratchbomb presents Holiday Horrors and Holiday Triumphs: an advent calendar of some of the more hideous aspects of this most stressful time of year–with a few bits of awesomeness sprinkled in.
In retrospect, I wonder how Bloom County happened. It was deeply, genuinely deranged, and yet enormously popular. As a kid, I remember seeing Bloom County collections alongside Garfield ones at the local Waldenbooks (I’m old).
Then again, this was at the same time that both Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side were nationwide sensations. It was the last gasp of the great newspaper cartoon era. Take a look at that section nowadays–if your local rag even has them–and you’ll see the funny pages have degenerated in every conceivable way since Bloom County’s heyday.
Much like Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County fell victim when its vision clashed with the increasingly philistine newspaper world. Creator Berkeley Breathed ended the strip in 1989, then pared it down into a Sunday-only feature, Outland, that ran until 1995. Both strips featured the series’ inexplicably most popular characters, a self-loathing penguin named Opus and a non-verbal drug casualty, Bill the Cat.
I say inexplicably because seriously, on what earth should these characters become so beloved? And not among snooty liberal elites and assorted hipsters, but everybody? It’s hard to imagine such a thing happening in modern, ghetto-ized culture, where everyone has their own little niche and stays there.
Both characters also starred in the series’ first and only animated special, a Christmas tale entitled A Wish for Wings that Work. Near as I can tell, it debuted in 1991 (along with a book of the same name), aired once, and then was quickly consigned to the dustbin of holiday history. Which is a shame, because it is amazing.
The special captures much of the weirdness and feel of the strip, and eschews all of the topical humor that has caused some Bloom County material to not age well. (Turns out John Sununu jokes don’t have long shelf lives.) There are tons of little details and Easter eggs to delight the sharp eye, like a pair of pictures on Opus’s wall that yawn in unison with him. It has some vocal heavyweights behind it, including Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman in uncredited roles. And the plot–Opus begging Santa for wings that will finally allow him to fly–is touching without being sappy.
But the real attraction here is the animation, which is stunning. I’m having a hard time thinking of a Christmas special with superior animation. Even the most beloved holiday specials (Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph) have remained so more for their stories and/or songs than their production.
It’s telling that even though Bloom County was more a verbal comic strip than a visual one, long stretches of A Wish for Wings are brave enough to be quiet and let the art speak for itself. It evokes the grayness and whiteness of winter, landscapes with long monotonous stretches. In a strange way, it reminds me of the simple, endless desert expanses of Krazy Kat.
Thankfully, this was released on DVD a few years ago. So return whatever Netflix disc you have that’s collecting dust on your shelf and put this at number one in your queue. You will not be sorry.
