Best Christmas CD Ever?

By now readers of my blog know that I love Christmas. I kinda love most things about Christmas, (perhaps except for certain kinds of Christians-but that's another story), but the music is what makes the holiday most special to me. Each year I pick up one or two new cds (yes, I still buy cds - and vinyl LPs too!) of holiday music, but most usually get downloaded and quickly filed away. 


Last year I picked up the newly-released Joy to the World by Pink Martini - a pop jazz ensemble that I've been a fan of for the past dozen years or so. While I expected the disc to be good, I had no idea that it would quickly become one of my favorite holiday albums of all time. Unlike other recording artists, who seem to lazily approach Christmas music as some quick money-making chore, Pink Martini has embraced the task with the thoughtfulness and complexity that they would put into any of their fine recordings. The result is a true work of art that could possibly be the best Christmas album ever recorded. 


I mean what album could boast two versions of Irving Berlin's 1940s wartime chestnut White Christmas—one in English and one in Japanese? Additionally we have tracks in Ukrainian (Shchedryk or The Carol of the Bells, 1916), Hebrew (Elohai, N'tzor, 2000), Chinese (Congratulations - A Happy New Year Song, 1946), Italian (Le Vergine Degli Angeli, from Verdi's La forza del destino, 1862), German (Silent Night, 1816), Scottish, French and Arabic (Auld Lang Syne, 1788) and what I think is a Spanish Hanukah song (Ocho Kandelikas, 1981)! There are also gorgeous versions of Little Drummer Boy (1958), Do You Hear What I Hear? (1962), We Three Kings (1857) and a sweet and sexy cover of Santa Baby (1953).


An added special bonus for me is the guest appearance of a certain Patricia Costa Kim - from Sonseed. That's right, Sonseed - the Christian rock band that this very blog put back on the map back in 2008. Now, how weird and special is that???


Pink Martini was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1994 by Thomas M. Lauderdale with vocalist China Forbes, joining in 1995. Having grown into a 12-piece orchestra, they have performed with the Boston Pops, San Francisco Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Pink Martini’s brilliant first four previous albums have collectively sold over 2 million copies worldwide, and I'm happy to add this fifth extraordinary release to my collection. Check out out Pink Martini here. They are scheduled to be guests on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion this coming weekend.

Sonseed Gets GLEEked

Just when I thought we saw the last of the Sonseed revival that sprung forth from this very blog, I received word from Sal that the song "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" was to be featured in this week's episode of GLEE.

This was followed by emails, phone calls and texts about it - and now even another blogger has blogged about it. How meta is that? Of course they credit the person who stole the video from me for starting the phenom, but what can you do?

Congrats to Sal and the folks from Sonseed!

Blogger's Guilt

I'm amazed at how some bloggers are able to post something every damn day. Sure, when I was unemployed it was pretty easy. But for the past 7 months I've had a full-time job, ran a production company, attended several film festivals and managed to have somewhat of a family and social life all while from suffering from a condition called Blogger's Guilt.

The main symptom of BG is the anxiety I feel when I'm sitting in a work meeting or on set of a show I'm working on or even when I'm at home, collapsed from exhaustion on my living room floor getting my face licked by my dogs. I feel like "I wish I had the time, energy or creative where-with-all to blog about something...anything right now. But sadly, I don't."

Of course there's a million things I want to blog about. There's the all great Warner Archive Collection dvds that I've been watching, all the fun new, overpriced comic books I've been reading, all the bizarre bad movies I've forced my friends to watch with me, etc. There's also all the rants about things like: how I've managed to ignore every big Hollywood summer this summer (except for the wonderful TOY STORY 3) and how much I loathe 90% of what's on TV these days.

There's also more DOUGLAS MICHAEL SHOW interviews I want to do, more DOUGSPLOITATION DIVAS that I want to sing the praises of and I'm sure there's more SONSEED craziness that I can report on. Plus, there will always be the ever-popular celebrity death notices. Who's next??? Anita Bryant...perhaps?

So, while I attempt to get on a more regular blogging schedule, there will be a mix of reruns, shorter posts, maybe two or three parters and possibly a few surprises here and there. I'd like to thank all my regular readers who have been patient with my infrequent posts and assure them that I'm thinking of them during all of my BG attacks.  Keep your cards and letters coming! In the meantime, you can find me on my living room floor...with the dogs.

"Jesus is a Friend of Mine" on COMMUNITY

My pal Sal Polichetti of Sonseed wrote me the other day to inform me that the Sonseed ska classic Jesus is a Friend of Mine (made popular through the efforts of this very blog & a little site called YouTube) will be featured in this week's episode of NBC's comedy series COMMUNITY.

The episode, titled Comparative Religion is described by NBC as "Shirley (the wonderful Yvette Nicole Brown) throws a holiday party while Jeff (my hero Joel McHale) is challenged to a fight." Here's a clip:


So, tune in Thursday night at 8PM(E/P), 7PM (C/M) on NBC or watch it online, on demand or on Hulu.com.

See Sal of "Sonseed" LIVE on stage!

Friend of Dougsploitation, Sal Polichetti of "Sonseed" will be appearing in New York City on Saturday, November 14 @ the Bowery Poetry Club (see flyer below for details) as a guest of the Tri-State Conspiracy. Together they will be performing a very special encore of "Jesus is My Friend" with Sal on lead vocals/bass.

My Two Year Anniversary

DOUGSPLOITATION turned 2 years old over the weekend. What initially began as film reviews on my VELVET CANDY BLOG, then spun off into a blog called MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU SAY "HUH"?, this here blog is an ever-evolving work in progress. From it's humble origins of just reviews of bad movies, I've added posts about TV shows, music, comic books plus THE DOUGLAS MICHAEL SHOW featuring interviews with people I think are super cool.

I've had a few rants and a near meltdown after Prop 8 passed, but for the most part this blog has been all about fun.

I've had days when I've had over 8000 readers (thanks to a little something called SONSEED) and I've had days when I felt like there was no one out there at all.

There's also been days when I feel like I should just stop this silliness and put my time and energy into something that actually makes me money.

For now, I think I'll just keep on blogging as long as it's fun. When it starts feeling like a chore, it will be time to give it up. So, if you're out there and wanna drop me a line and let me know what you'd like to see on this blog, feel free to contact me via the "comments" button below.

The Douglas Michael Show with guest Sal Polichetti of "Sonseed"

Hello readers, welcome to a very special edition of Dougsploitation's The Douglas Michael Show. For those of you unfamiliar with the back story of my relationship/obsessesion with Sonseed, here it is in a nutshell.

I've owned a VHS tape of Sonseed performing "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" on an episode the WNBC TV show THE FIRST ESTATE for over 25 years. I've shown it to hundreds of people over the years. People of all faiths and people of no faith all just seemed to LOVE it. In August of 2008, a friend of mine converted it to digital and I posted it on Vimeo and also here on this very blog. Some crafty person stole it from Vimeo and put it on YouTube and before you knew, people all around the world were singing along with Sal Polichetti and the band. I later stole it back and posted it on YouTube myself as well- as have countless others. 2 Million viewings, several parodies and covers later, the song and the video had taken on a life of their own.

Soon after I posted the video, I was able, through a series of lucky circumstances, to get an exclusive interview with Sal, which I posted on this blog as a "Dougsploitation News Special Report". My daily visitors suddenly went from around 8 to over 8000 because there was no information about Sonseed available anywhere other than here...and then accusations began to fly that I made the whole thing up. That was fun. I even got to do a few interviews myself because of that. Now, a year later, I sit across from Sal Polichetti in a diner in Manhattan's Chelsea and we talk like old friends.
Doug : Hey Sal, it's great to talk to you again - almost a year later and this time FACE-TO-FACE! Welcome to my virtual talk-show - and my first on-location interview! If someone told me a year ago that I'd be sitting in a diner in Chelsea across from Sal from Sonseed, I would NEVER believe them. Life is strange sometimes.

Sal: You can take the boy out of Brooklyn but you can't take Brooklyn out of the boy. Although you've been living in California and I've been living upstate NY for quite some time it was obvious where we came from. Not everyone would understand that (you have to be from "New Yawk").

Doug: It's good to be back home, even if it is just for a quick visit. As you know, since I first posted the Sonseed video on my blog last year, you might say that things have kinda gotten outta control. Before Sonseed I had about 8 readers a day - then it was about 8000 a day. So, how has YOUR life changed in the past year?

Sal: I've never had a fan club in Sweden before! My brother-in-law forwarded it to me last week. I don't know what they're saying but I assume it's positive. I've also never done a telephone interview for a morning drive-time radio station in Sydney, Australia either (it's true; every other word out of their mouths is "mate"). I guess it's the wide scope of this whole thing that amazes me!

Doug: Wow, Sweden, Australia - you are an international superstar! There must be at least a dozen Facebook fan clubs. Did you ever think that Sonseed would be out on CD and available in stores like Best Buy? How did that all come about?
Sal: Greg Glover from Arena Rock in Oregon contacted me. He distributes a lot of indie, out-of-the-box stuff and thought this might be fun. We couldn't use the entire album due to copyright restrictions but most of the good stuff is there.
Doug: Oh, and it's so cool that I got a special "thank you" on the CD! What has been the reaction of your family...and friends to Sonseed's resurgence?
Sal: My sisters and their kids are blown away. I guess when you're a teenager and your old uncle Sal is a "YouTube" star that's big cred at school. My kids are sort of used to it; they've been seeing me perform in plays and with the band their whole lives. But I am waiting for my son to use "have you seen my dad on YouTube?" as a pick-up line.Doug: That's hysterical! Mabye he can get a tee-shirt made via Cafe Press that says that? I have to tell you, the part that makes me the happiest about this whole thing is you were able to reconnect with old friends because of all this and that it brought some happiness to Brother John before he passed away.
Sal: Everyone I've gotten in touch with has been really cool about the whole thing. It was great re-connecting with Frank Franco again (besides the annual Christmas card exchange) and we've actually met a few times in the past year. There are still some Sonseeders I haven't heard from yet. I find it hard to believe they all haven't heard about this whole thing. Maybe they're pissed off. Maybe they're embarrassed. Hard to tell.

Doug: Maybe they just don't have internet access yet? You've recently appeared on stage with a few bands- performing "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" to sold-out crowds. That must have been and incredible experience. So what's next for you? What's next for Sonseed?

Sal: Same old for me. I just finished doing "The Sunshine Boys" at a small theater in Walden, NY and I'm now in rehearsals for "Kiss Me Kate" in Monroe, NY. I still play old rock and roll with 3 other old guys every so often (my first love, actually). As far as Sonseed I suppose that's it. It would probably take "Beatle reunion" type cash to get all of us in the same place at the same time again. Frankly, I don't see that happening.

Doug: Well, if that reunion happens, I wanna be there! I just have to say what an extreme pleasure it has been meeting you in person and getting to know you. I only wish I had posted the video YEARS ago, but I'm so glad I finally did.

Sal: Same for me, brother. I don't know how I would have handled this years ago but I'm in a good place in my life right now and was able to enjoy it.Doug: Thanks again for talking to me and helping put my blog on the map. I love that your family sent me a "Hi Doug" photo. That is so sweet! All my best to your daughter Christina, your wife Donna and your son Joseph. I love that I can now say that "Sal Polichetti is a Friend of Mine"!Sal: Same to you and all you care about. If we ever get out to LA, we'll do this again!

Doug: I look forward to it - LA has a lots of great diners for us to hang out in. Oh by the way, I recently got to re-screen the video at Dennis Hensley's HOME VIDEO GONG SHOW at the REDCAT Theater at Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. - it did not get gonged this time! Here it is again, for old time's sake...ZAP!

What will be the next "Sonseed"?

ONE NIGHT ONLY! Come see the show that re-started the "Sonseed" phenomenon–8 years ago!

Click here for tickets or just show up at the REDCAT Theater @ Walt Disney Concert Hall - Saturday July 11th @ 9:30 PM

Something for Everyone! (except perhaps sports fans)

While I catch my breath from a busy week and the seemingly endless parade of celebrity deaths, (What's up with that shit?) I thought I'd take the opportunity to remind you all about the many blogs and moods of Doug.

This here blog, Dougsploitation is all about the things I love - like classic TV, campy movies, comic books, great music and other pop culture distractions like Sonseed's now classic "Jesus is a Friend of Mine". Occasionally I run interviews with cool folks like comic genius Wendi McLendon-Covey, SCTV's unsung hero Juul Haalmeyer and Sonseed's groovy lead singer Sal Polichetti. (Look for a one-year anniversary follow-up with Sal next month!)

The Velvet Candy Blog is all about the film & TV projects that I produce through my company, Velvet Candy Entertainment, LLC which includes the feature film SOCKET, the short films REUNION (for HBO) and SCREENING PARTY and the recent No on 8 PSA, THE DEFENDERS. I have a bunch of exciting new movie projects in development, like K-TOWN P.I. and you'll read about them there first.

Hello There Cutie is blog I recently launched with a good friend of mine from San Fransisco. It's an all-ages, family friendly blog dedicated to the cutest things in the world, because the world can be a very ugly place.

On the other end of the spectrum is Nudesploitation, a naughty ADULTS ONLY blog featuring dirty, dirty pictures of naked celebrities, vintage nudie pix and other such prurient and titillating topics. Submissions accepted. :)

Miss Gumm Returns is a photo blog dedicated to preserving the memory of one particularly horrible photo of Judy Garland. This blog has not been updated in quite a while, but you never know when Miss Gumm will be making a comeback.

Also, dormant for the time being is Where's Krissie Now? - another photo blog, this one chronicling the misadventure's of Santa's bastard daughter, Krissie Kristmas!

So there you have it, my diverse assortment of blogs for readers and viewers of all tastes. Do enjoy!

See Sal from "Sonseed" LIVE on stage in NYC This Week!

That's right kids, friend of Dougsploitation, Sal Polichetti from "Sonseed" with be performing "Jesus is My Friend" LIVE on stage this Wednesday night, Feb. 4th  at St Mark's Church in Greenwich Village. The address is 131 East 10th Street (near 2nd Avenue). Sal will be playing with a band called Bronze Fondue. For more info on this rare event go here. Admission is $5.00 (BYOB) and the festivities begin at 8:30PM.

Wouldn't it be great to show up wearing an official unofficial Sonseed t-shirt?

A Big Christmas Schmooch...

...to all my regular readers (and some of my irregular ones too!) who have made my blog so much fun to write this year. When I decided to transform my barely-read MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU SAY "HUH?" into DOUGSPLOITATION earlier this year I was afraid that no one would notice - but thanks to a little band called Sonseed (who knew?) - I've now reached close to 100,000 page views. How do yo like them apples, Mr. B?
So, like Hazel above, here's my big holiday smooch to all of you–whatever you celebrate, whatever you believe in (or don't believe in) - have a great holiday and let's hope 2009 is the year we all can experience a great, big beautiful tomorrow. I know I can't wait!!! 

Jesus is a Friend of Mine LIVE

As a special Thanksgiving treat - the amazing Sal Polichetti of Sonseed, has gifted us at Dougsploitation with exclusive web premiere of JESUS IS A FRIEND OF MINE as performed live at the 1983 Sonseed Farewell Concert. Thanks Sal! Enjoy!

SONSEED Nominated for a Gummy Award

Go here and vote for JESUS IS MY FRIEND (aka JESUS IS A FRIEND OF MINE) for BEST WEB VIDEO.

"Sonseed" and Dougsploitation Go Canadian!

I had the pleasure of talking to a reporter from the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail about "Sonseed" and my 25-year obsession with the "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" video.

Here's a highlight: "But, far from being another Lonelygirl15, the band, Sonseed, are the real deal. Doug Prinzivalli should know. The graphic designer posted the video on his blog, Dougsploitation, in August. It was a rip of a VHS tape that a former co-worker had given him, knowing he was a fan of ska. What she couldn't know is that Sonseed would become a private obsession: For 25 years Mr. Prinzivalli admired the band from afar. Soon that would change. Former members of the band, stumbling upon what seemed lost history, began contacting Mr. Prinzivalli."

Go here for the full story.

Sad "Sonseed" News

Sal from Sonseed has informed me that beloved band member John Wieners passed away on September 29.
Just 20 days before on September 9th, Mr. Weiners sent me this email...

"I would really like to thank you for posting all the Sonseed stuff...as a former member, it was GREAT to walk down memory lane, and to know that people still remember that magical time...as I do.

I guess I am 'Sleepy'...LOL...I am the former Bro. John, CSC...a religious teaching brother at the time who was a member of the group and was instrumental in giving the group a rehearsal space and an auditorium for our Christian Coffeehouse, called HIS PLACE....

BTW...I was the lead singer on our groups signature song.." Sonseed"...

Thanks for having this site, buddy...it's really FUN

John Wieners"

Rest in Peace, Brother John

This one is for you...

This Blog Turns 1 Today!

Wow - time really does fly when you are having fun! One year ago today I launched this blog. Originally called MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU SAY "HUH?" - the focus was mainly on bad movies that I love. That first day alone, I posted 5 reviews that first appeared on my other blog, VELVET CANDY ENTERTAINMENT (which was created mainly to promote projects that I produce or work on, like SOCKET, SCREENING PARTY and REUNION).The five first "Huh?" reviews were 1) POOR PRETTY EDDIE - famous for poor pretty Leslie Uggams getting raped while scenes of dogs copulating are intercut. Just plain nasty! 2) THE TEACHER - in which DENNIS THE MENACE star Jay North goes nude. Yikes, Mr. Wilson! 3) THE FAT SPY in which Phyliss Diller shares the screen with Jayne Mansfield! Zoinks! 4) SOMETIMES AUNT MARTHA DOES DREADFUL THINGS which must be seen to be believed and 5) THE GARDENER featuring sexy Joe Dallesandro naked, as usual.Also on that first day, I counted down my TOP TEN MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU SAY "HUH?". That was fun to do.In December 2007, I introduced the concept of the "HUH?" HALL OF FAME - and soon inducted the legendary Liz Taylor and fantastic Faye Dunaway into the membership. In August 2008, I decided to expand my scope and include all of pop culture into my blog - and so DOUGSPLOITATION was born – starting with a look at the Peignot font and how the opening titles of the MARY TYLER MOORE Show and THE ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK shaped me into the blogger I am today. (See my DOUGSPLOITATION logo for reference)On Sunday, August 25 everything changed when I decided to post a video of a band named "Sonseed" performing "Jesus is a Friend of Mine". As I've said before I've owned this videotape for 25 years and NEVER thought it would catch on the way it did. The rest is history. The best part about the whole experience (other than gaining 4000 readers each day) is that I've been instrumental in reuniting the lead singer Sal with many of his former bandmates and friends. Which, I think, is the coolest thing about this here internet -it brings people who belong together - together! Looking forward to sharing my silliness with you folks for many years to come! - peace, Doug

"Jesus is a Friend of Mine" -parodies, covers & more...

Hello Dougsploitation readers - just thought you'd like to check out some of the many YouTube craziness that "Sonseed" has inspired. First off the brilliant "Reefer is My Friend" . If you survive that - there's a cover by a band called Oddwalk Ministries and even a remixed Marilyn Manson video. Lots of fun. I'm waiting for the Pussycat Dolls cover version. In the meantime, check out The Way International performing that classic "The Renewed Mind Is the Key". Thanks to Sherri for finding this one.

BEST WEEK EVER, SPIKE TV and the "Sonseed" phenom

My head is spinning, now VH-1's BEST WEEK EVER and SPIKE TV have joined the "Sonseed" bandwagon. Who's next??? THE VIEW???
My original post of the video from August 24th is here.

THE SOUP discovers "SONSEED"!!!

Oh my god - my friend Sherri just sent me this!!! The online version of my favorite TV show - THE SOUP has discovered "Sonseed"!!! Holy crap! I'm speechless! Joel McHale and Sal of "Sonseed" together - I think I need to lie down...

Newcomers - scroll down for tons of info about Sonseed!

Am I for Real?

Wow! I can't believe this - but the world is starting to question my very "truthiness"... and I'm loving it!
Go here and here for an "expose" about the "Sonseed" hoax(!), and me & my Photoshop skills. Wow. I guess I've arrived. :)