Review Copy of Boris Vian's THE DEAD ALL HAVE THE SAME SKIN?

Hey good friends of TamTam Books!

I have few copies of Boris Vian's "The Dead All Have The Same Skin" to give out to reviewers/book editors/and blog people. Contact me at tosh@tamtambooks.com

And when you do please put "Review copy requested" on the subject line.

Give out your name, the magazine/paper you work for. Or your blog address.

And your full mailing address as well.

This offer is only open till I run out of review copies or by the very least April 12, 2008

Thanks!

Tosh Berman
TamTam Books

The Somewhat Genius of Armi and Danny

The above video is by the Finnish Duo Armi and Danny from Finland doing their great song "I Wanna Love You Tender." There is no doubt that this is a classic music clip, and some are calling it the worst music video ever. But I strongly disagree. I think it's a work of true beauty: both the video and song. I want to thank Vahe "Crazy Legs" Manoukian for his attention to this work.

Down below are some images of Armi and Danny:

Yukio Mishima's short film "Patriotism"

The great and always wonderful DVD company Criterion is releasing Yukio Mishima's only film he directed "Patriotism." Based on a short story by Mishima, it also forsees the author's fate to the big (or TV) screen. Great film that was almost destroyed by Mishima's widow - but luckily the negative of the film was stored away in a safe spot. The DVD package also has a lot of great extra bits as well.

For a little excerpt of the film check out this blog you are reading now. I did a tribute to Yukio Mishima with a lot of interviews (some in English) as well as some great visuals.

Serge Gainsbourg Night at Bordello

Wednesday, April 2 - Bordello - $10
SERGE GAINSBOURG NIGHT

with cover versions of Gainsbourg originals from
PAPILLON 11:30p
BJORN TUROQUE and ELENI MANDELL 11:10p
PARELLOGRAMS 10:45p
ADELE JACQUES 10:15p
JOEL VIRGIL 9:50p
ALEX AND SAM 9:25p
COLORFORMS 9p
NICOLE SIMONE 830p

The Fold in Bordello (MAP)
901 E. 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA
US 90012

Richard Widmark Forever

The God Like Genius of Thelonious Monk

There is no need to anything, just listen and see....




Epistrophy


Blue Monk


Round About Midnight


Lulu's Back In Town


Don't Blame Me


Ruby My Dear


Nutty


Off Minor


Evidence


Rhythm-a-ning

Boris Vian's THE DEAD ALL HAVE THE SAME SKIN out on April 1, 2008

TamTam Books is proud (as usual) to announce the publication of Vernon Sullivan’s (or better known as Boris Vian) masterpiece of noir-gone berserk – “The Dead All Have The Same Skin” (Les morts ont tous la meme peau).

Written one year after the controversial (putting it mildly) “I Spit on Your Graves,” you think Vian would have known better. But no, he decided to do another violent shocker that is ripped out of today’s (or was it all in my head?) headlines. This surreal masterpiece of ‘dark’ writing is about Daniel Parker who is a bouncer in a drink hell bar hole somewhere in New York City (Vian, a French man never been to the States) who is blackmailed by his long lost brother who is black and threatens him to tell the truth about his brother’s racial blood. Parker is not going to take that. His life, by that admission, becomes a tipsy topsey one-way ticket to hell.

If that is not enough it also includes a short story by Vian “Dogs, Desire, and Death” which is an erotic tale of a bad girl, a helpless driver, and the need for destruction and sexual release.

And no not even that is not enough; we have a small essay or more like a rant by Vian regarding the history of his first controversial shocker “I Spit on Your Graves.” And not only that, but also a thoughtful and informative introduction by Marc Lapprand.

Translated from the French by Paul Knobloch. Tom Recchion did the design work.

The book is 122 pages.

$18.00

978-0-9662346-5-7

Distributed by AK Distributions

“The Dead All Have The Same Skin” will be released April 1, 2008

ANTONIN ARTAUD Documentary (With English Subtitles)

Without a doubt one of the great figures in 20th Century literature and theater. Antonin Artaud. Another film from the collection of GottfriedGeist and with thanks from YouTube.




Part One


Part Two


Part Three


Part Four

JEAN COCTEAU Documentary (with English Subtitles)

A very good documentary on Jean Cocteau which is basically a very long interview with the artist/poet/filmmaker/etc. Special thanks to YouTube and a certain GottfriedGeist.


Part one


Part two


Part three


Part Four


Part Five


Part Six



Part Seven

The Wonderful World of TAMA

When I lived in Japan the only thing I could connect to was the Japanese pop band TAMA (たま ). One reason was because they were on this TV show that was on late on night. It will start around 11pm and end at 4 am every Saturday night. Here young bands would fight it out in front of a group of experts (Nagisa Oshima among them) and eventually they would get gonged or told to leave. Sort of like American Idol, but this show had a particular edge to it. More Rat Pack feeling. It felt like a club in a way.



You should watch the first part because imagine being in the Japanese countryside, and not be able to communicate to friends in English is both scary and fantastic at the same time. TAMA above wins the big contest and they do a fantastic song live - which reminds me of a Japanese pop version of Brian Wilson's "Smile."



This is the more 'arty' aspect of TAMA. There are two songwriters in the band. One is sort of the Paul McCartney and the other has that bitter John Lennon genius thing going.

The beauty of the band is that they are a throwback to Pre-war Japan. I like their clothes, vintage instruments, and compared to other bands in Japan at the time - they surely stand out from the rest of the pack.



i don't know too much about Japanese pop, but I do know the essence, and TAMA is like a cool breeze on a very sad and blue day.

The Dead All Have The Same Skin in my hands by April

Boris Vian's masterpiece (credited to a certain Vernon Sullivan) "The Dead All Have The Same Skin" is currently at the printers.  I should get copies of the book by April 1st.  It's mega-great.  Trust me on this one!

The Moontrekkers - Night of the Vampire

joe Meek had no understanding of his world except to live it. This must have been his 'theme' song as he walked on Holloway Road North London without a care in the world. But Meek did have a care in the world. He wanted to make the world in his own vision (as well as have hit songs).

The Outlaws with Ritchie Blackmore and of course Joe Meek

There is something so beautiful in this recording - it seems like another time that can't be a particular time. Joe Meek's production does that to me. In the essence there is nothing there but the mystery.

The Honeycombs' "Have I The Right"

The greatest record in my life time. Joe Meek production. Nothing more perfect than this. Nothing. And the song "Eyes" is just as great.

Brett Smiley

While looking up information on one of my favorite figures in pop music culture Andrew Loog Oldham, I found this clip on YouTube with him and an artist he was managing in the mid-70s by the name of Brett Smiley.



By the time the clip was over I downloaded his album "Breathlessly Brett." What can I say, the album is great. It is totally fake glam but done with such flaire, it is truly going to one of my all-time favorite albums.



There is also a book by Nina Antonia called "The Prettiest Star: Whatever Happened to Brett Smiley."

Jean Paul Yamamoto in Performance