Clive Barker - Weaveworld (1987) A magic world weaves itself and its people into an elaborate carpet that will be “unraveled” once its guardian (in our world) determines the coast is clear. Incredible dark fantasy book with one of the best horror villains, Immacolata, I’ve ever seen in print.

Jeff Lynne - Lift Me Up (1990)

The Coffee Table (dir by Caye Casas) (2022) Wow. Just wow. An incredibly grim and macabre drama. I will give it this, however: it’s well-directed and well-cast. If you’re not a seasoned Lars von Trier film buff, it will be incredibly upsetting to watch. Skipping the trailer because of spoilers.

John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980) Horror in a small coastal town ensues when a mysterious fog rolls in and wreaks havoc with the MPAA’s rating system. Iconic ‘80s horror with some good lore included. Nancy Kyes’ wisecracking assistant and John Houseman’s storyteller (clip below) are great.

Tron: Legacy (dir by Joseph Kosinski) (2010) This film’s sequel, Tron: Ascension, was greenlit and ready to start filming in 2015, with the same director and cast returning, when Disney’s Tomorrowland movie bombed hard to the tune of a $120m-$150m loss, resulting in Tron: Ascension’s cancellation.

The Boy Who Liked Deer (dir by Barbra Loden) (1975) Well, this short film sure packed a massive wallop.

Assault on Precinct 13 (dir by John Carpenter) (1976) Before Carpenter became known for horror flicks, he directed this low-budget suspense/action film about a small, remote police station besieged by an excessively well-armed gang. Again, not a horror film, but surprisingly engaging. Don’t miss.

I Trapped the Devil (dir by Josh Lobo) (2019) A man cries for help from behind a thoroughly locked basement door adorned with a huge wooden cross. Visiting relatives are concerned. Horror ensues. The captive’s ID is nebulous, but you’ll definitely get closure at the end on this one. Recommended.

It Ends (dir by Alex Ullorn) (2025) Excellent small-budget horror film about four friends going on a road trip…straight into Black Mirror-esque territory (minus the emphasis on the horrors of technology). No movie trailer online to post as of this moment. Spoilers abound online, so go in cold.

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Claude Debussy - Claire de Lune (1905) I prefer the Claire recordings with a slower tempo, but this is Debussy performing his own work in 1913–via a reproducing piano, no less—so his version wins the Battle of Preference (as well as the war).

Let’s Pretend: House of the World (Aired 12/26/1942) This Christmas episode, which aired eighty-three years ago this very day, is from the CBS radio series Let’s Pretend. Targeted for young kids, the series ran for twenty years and earned a Peabody Award.

The Value of a Metal Key Is it art? This 3.5”-long metal key recently sold at auction for $6K. Without knowing anything about it, would you say it merited that kind of value? After researching the key’s origin, would you change your opinion? Did the winning bidder pay too much or too little?

Christopher Young - Dead or Living? (From the Hellbound: Hellraiser II OST) (1988) Great cue from one of the best horror film scores, ever. Context here: the film’s demon antagonists battle against a newly introduced (and much more powerful) rival for the human protagonists’ souls .

Romeo Void - A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) (dir by Julia Heyward) (1984)

Duran Duran - Wild Boys (Wilder Than Wild Boys Extended Mix) (1994)

Siouxie and The Banshees - Dazzle (1984)

Christmas Memories Played on Antique Musical Boxes (1977) This cassette was a holiday staple in the Redmayne household.

The Twinning Reaction (dir by Lori Shinseki) (2017) Sobering doc about an unethical 1960s experiment: surrendered identical twins and triplets were intentionally separated by a behavioral scientist and an adoption agency in the 1960s…without the families knowing about it until much later.

Siouxie and The Banshees - Shadowtime (dir by Peter Scammell) (1991)

Annie Lennox - No More “I Love You”s (Live) (2013) Fun fact: Joseph Hughes and David Freeman, who wrote this song in 1985, originally opened as punk band The Flys for The Tourists (which later re-formed as Eurythmics). Annie re-recorded it for the first track on her 1995 multiplatinum Medusa album.

Tame Impala - Elephant (2020) Love that bass line.

Deliver Us from Goodness (dir by Warner Shook)(1986) An unusual and campy episode from the Tales of the Darkside TV series with a humorous premise: a woman serendipitously becomes a saint during a rather inopportune time in her life and does everything she can to shake off her unwanted holiness.

John Bellairs - The House with a Clock in Its Walls (1974) Bellairs was a master of young adult horror fiction whose books typically featured the works of legendary illustrator Edward Gorey. This book, originally written for an older audience but re-tooled towards younger readers, was a big hit.

Paul Klee - Pflanzenwachstum (Croissance) (1921) Surrealism, Dadaism, Art Deco, Expressionism—all were the prevailing art styles of the 1920s. They depicted real-world objects in unusual ways to expand people’s perspectives. Then Paul Klee came along with his style and pushed the envelope more.

Is it art? Patented by Lizzie Maggie as The Landlord’s Game in 1904; copyrighted (somewhat shadily) in 1933 and popularized by Charles Darrow as Monopoly. An unnamed graphic artist was hired to design most of the non-property cards. This simple graphic is more familiar to some than the Mona Lisa.

Perry Como - Here We Come A-Caroling / We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1959)

Jean Guilhomet - Sainte Suzanne (1500-1503) The genius of Guilhomet’s work here resides in the details: a close examination of her dangling chain and book pages—and of the beard and robe embroidery of Guilhomet’s St. Pierre, displayed alongside Ste. Suzanne in the second photo—is quite remarkable.

Siouxie and the Banshees - Kiss Them for Me (dir by Peter Scammell) (1991)

Duran Duran - Notorious (Latin Rascals Mix) (1986)

I’ll bend my blog rules to make an exception for these pop media legends.

Aztec Camera - Oblivious (director unknown) (1983) I don’t think that this vid would be OK by today’s PC standards, but this song absolutely, positively, 100% kicks.

Iggy Pop feat. Kate Pierson - Candy (dir by Jeff Priess) (1990)

Bette Midler - Beast of Burden (dir by Allan Arkush) (1983) Bette covers The Rolling Stones’ 1978 hit with a guest performance by…Mick Jagger?

The Eels - Souljacker, Part I (dir by Wim Wenders)(2001) Not a huge Eels fan, but this song and “Novocaine…” are quite good.

Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick - Superheroes (from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, dir by Jim Sharman) (1975) This scene, from the film’s finale, was omitted from U.S. prints for being too “downbeat.” It’s also omitted from the Disney+ channel version…and why the heck is this film on Disney+?!?

Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm (Censored Version) (dir by Jean-Paul Goude) (1985) Apologies n advance for the substandard quality of this video. The original (uncensored) HD version is gloriously colorful and really pops visually; it also, unfortunately, has some objectionable content.

Duran Duran - Electric Barbarella (1997) This song has the distinction of being the first single in history by a major label artist to be available for purchase via Internet digital download.

North by Northwest (dir by Alfred Hitchcock) (1959) In one of the more humorous gaffes in movie history, the boy seated at background right of Eva Marie-Saint’s character covers his ears in anticipation of a gunshot going off at the 1:40 mark.

Mulholland Drive (dir by David Lynch) (2001) Lee Grant’s Louise here has a shadowy profile that exactly matches that of the infamous dumpster entity later in the film. Why? I have my suspicions. God bless Lynch, who himself has said that all interpretations of his films are valid.

Barry Manilow - It’s a Miracle (Live) (1977) Fun fact: Barry Manilow fans are known as “fanilows.”

Robert Rauschenberg - Erased de Kooning Drawing (1953) Rauschenberg asked Dutch painter Willem de Kooning, whose works now fetch tens of millions of dollars at auction, to provide an original drawing that he would proceed to transform into a new work simply by completely erasing it. Is this art?

Al Bowlly - Midnight, the Stars, and You (1929)

Arcadia - The Promise (dir by Marcelo Anciano) (1985) With Pink Floyd’s David Gilmore guest-performing on lead guitar and Sting providing backup vocals.

Black Christmas (dir by Bob Clark) (1974) One of the first, if not the first, slasher horror movies of the twentieth century, and likely the first to use killer’s POV shots. The last scene is particularly hauntlng.

Depeche Mode - Somebody (1984)

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental) (from A Charlie Brown Christmas) (1965)

Loverboy- Working for the Weekend (1981)

The B-52’s - Cosmic Thing (from the Earth Girls Are Easy OST)(1988)

David Naughton - Makin’ It (1979)