Bill Paxton

Just a month after the death of the Executive Officer of the Nostromo, today we farewell a crew member of the USS Sulaco, Private First Class William Hudson.

Although almost exclusively a supporting actor, Bill Paxton really was a titan of genre cinema. He was after all the only actor ever to be killed by a Terminator, an Alien and a Predator.

He began his career toiling behind the scenes for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, in between picking up roles and bit parts in the likes of 1983's MORTUARY and Walter Hill's STREETS OF FIRE. During this time, while working as a set decorator on GALAXY OF TERROR, Paxton befriended a young production designer by the name of James Cameron. A few years later Cameron cast his friend as a switchblade wielding punk in THE TERMINATOR, and the rest, as they say, is history. As well as his continuing work with Cameron, and memorable roles for John Hughes, Kathryn Bigelow and Sam Raimi, Paxton ventured behind the camera himself in 2001, to direct the critically acclaimed FRAILTY.


THE TERMINATOR

WEIRD SCIENCE

ALIENS

NEAR DARK

PREDATOR 2

TOMBSTONE

APOLLO 13 

A SIMPLE PLAN

FRAILTY

EDGE OF TOMORROW

NIGHTCRAWLER

THE VOID trailers

This week a couple of trailers and new posters emerged for Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie's upcoming THE VOID, a Lovecraftian indie that I covered a lot last year, including this interview with FX wizard Kostanski. This is the only crowdfunding project that I've ever participated in (they needed to raise money for the extensive practical effects), and I have a feeling the $80,000 they raised (from a 50,000 goal) went to very good use indeed. Can't wait for this to hit blu!

Dirty Rotten Imbeciles

Later this afternoon I'm heading down to Blackwire Records to see D.R.I. It's a weird occasion for me. I'm stoked, but it's tinged with a bittersweet sense of melancholy nostalgia. The last time I saw the Texan powerhouse was exactly 30 years ago, December '87, at the show above. That was the night that the East Coast contingent of Nazi skins (coming from as far afield as Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and our own town of Canberra, which was home to the worst of them) organised to meet en masse and fuck our shit up. They were violent thugs, bigger than us, and the pattern that had been established over the years leading up to that night was that they bullied, and we ran. That night the unthinkable happened: we fought back, and they were not ready for it.

Some memories of that night:

- Randy from Massappeal, full-force smashing a skin in the face with a folded cymbal stand. Lots of blood.

- A big dude (who I now believe to be Chumly Porter, D.R.I.'s roadie at the time, who would later join the band before taking his own life in 2011) wading into the melee from backstage, to flat-out deck two of the biggest skins.

- When things were looking grim, my friend Trog taking the stage and grabbing the mic, rallying the room into fighting back. An action that would result in him having part of his ear sliced off with a knife, when he was jumped by some of these cowards a few months later.

- After the tables had turned (and a bunch of tables had literally been overturned) a room full of passionate people chanting "NAZIS OUT" until they left.

- Later, after the show had resumed, getting brained so hard by a stagediver's knee that I blacked out in the pit for a few seconds.

Yeah, I know I'm old, and there's nothing worse than hearing old punks rant about their glory days. But there's something important to take away from this: Nazism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, hate, is on the rise. Everywhere. At the highest levels of power, and in your hometown.

Don't be complacent. Stand up. Fight back.

This... is a Nightmare.

Gaze upon Oliver Barrett's bars-appropriating poster for GREEN ROOM, a film that, in the current political climate, has suddenly become worryingly relevant... and quite cathartic to rewatch.

DENIM & LEATHER

This five song rager really stood out last year, a beacon of originality shining over a stagnant sea of trendy sameness. The only other band I'm reminded of here is the great Rational Animals, and the fact that I can't compare it to anything else in recent memory is very much appreciated. I'm hoping for an LP from these guys in the near future.

When you show us bleeding hands, we will let you pass

Man in Decline Records supports the ACLU

Buy a digital download from Man in Decline's bandcamp page this weekend, and all proceeds will go to the ACLU. Support effective resistance to President Bannon and his puppet, and pick up some hardcore/punk/post-punk scorchers while you're at it.

This weekend, we will be making a donation to the ACLU using all funds generated from digital downloads. To allow you to decide how much you wish to donate, all Man In Decline Records releases are set to "name your own price".

As an extra incentive, we've added some releases that have not been available for purchase before now and this is also the first time that many of our releases have been available via "name your own price".

This is one way in which we, and the bands that we have worked with, are trying to do our part to assist those directly fighting for justice in the current political environment. Thanks in advance for your support.

DONATE HERE