"The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid-20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. The Stooges' hallmark was physical slapstick comedy punctuated by quickly-delivered one-liners, within outrageous storylines. They were commonly known by their first names: "Larry, Moe, and Curly", and "Moe, Larry, and Shemp", among other lineups. The act originally featured Moe Howard (born Harry (Moshe) Moses Horwitz), brother Shemp Howard (born (Shmuel) Samuel Horwitz), and longtime friend Larry Fine (born Louis (Levi) Feinberg). Shemp was later replaced by brother Curly Howard (born Jerome Lester (Yehudah-Leib) Horwitz) in 1933. When Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in 1946, Shemp rejoined the act. After Shemp's death in 1955, he was replaced by bald-headed comedian Joe Besser, after the use of stuntman Joe Palma to record several "Shemp" shorts after his death. Eventually Joe "Curly-Joe" DeRita (born Joseph Wardell) would replace him. After Larry suffered a serious stroke in 1970 he was unable to continue performing. Emil Sitka, a longtime actor in Stooge comedies, was contracted to replace Larry-but no film was ever made with him in the role, although publicity photographs exist of him with his hair combed similarly to Larry's posing with Moe and Curly-Joe (see below). However, Larry's paralyzing stroke in 1970 effectively marked the end of the act. He died in January 1975. Moe died of cancer a few months later." -- wikipedia.

Dir. Roman Polanski

"A wounded criminal and his dying partner take refuge at a beachfront castle. The owners of the castle, a meek Englishman and his willful French wife, are initially the unwilling hosts to the criminals. Quickly, however, the relationships between the criminal, the wife, and the Englishman begin to shift in humorous and bizarre fashion."  -- imdb.com.

Dir. William Friedkin

"Based on Harold Pinter's enigmatic play about a border (Robert Shaw) in a British seaside dwelling who is visited by two strangers (Patrick Magee, Sydney Tafler). They torment him verbally, ask him idiotic unanswerable questions, force him to sit down and stand up, and give him a "party." Then, eventually, they take him away, a tongue-tied idiot. The trivial becomes the terrible, and with it a certain wonder, a certain pity."  -- imdb.com.

"The Birthday Party is a 1968 film directed by William Friedkin, based on an unpublished screenplay by 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, which he adapted from his own play The Birthday Party, considered an example of Pinter's "comedy of menace"."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Robert Downey Sr.

"A parable based on the life of Christ. This ain't your father's Bible story, full of references about the destruction of the world through massive constipation and a New Mexican setting. The characters and situations are memorably offbeat. The Christ character of this parable wears a zoot suit who lands in a western town from a parachute. There's also a homosexual midget who keeps getting killed and than returning to life to describe his vision of Heaven ("I was swimming in a rainbow with millions of babies... and they was naked... and then all of the sudden I turned into a perfect smile!")."  -- imdb.com.

"Greaser's Palace is a 1972 American film directed by Robert Downey Sr. A parable based on the life of Christ. This ain't your father's Bible story, full of references about the destruction of the world through massive constipation and a New Mexican setting."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. John Waters

"The filthiest person alive, Divine, is using the codename Babs Johnson and living in a trailer in the woods with her retarded mother Eddie (Edith Massey), who loves eggs; her mad hippie son Crackers (Danny Mills); and her mate Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce). The envious couple Connie (Mink Stole) and Raymond Marble (David Lochary), who abduct and impregnate female hitchhikers to sell their babies to gay and lesbian couples, using the money to invest in heroin and sell in schools, hire Cookie (Cookie Mueller) to have sex with Crackers and spy Divine to compete for the title of "the filthiest people alive". When the competition begins, Connie and Raymond Marble learn why Divine has this title."  -- imdb.com.

"Pink Flamingos is a 1972 American transgressive comedy directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released in 1972, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star of the flamboyant female impersonator, Divine. The independent film also stars David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Danny Mills, Cookie Mueller, and Edith Massey. Produced on a budget of only $10,000, it was mostly shot on weekends in Phoenix, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. Since its release it has had a rather devoted cult following and is one of John Waters' most famous or downright notorious films due to some shocking scenes and the wide range of perverse, taboo acts performed in the film. In 1997, for the 25th anniversary of the 1972 premiere, the film was re-released. The new version featured an improved stereo soundtrack (which, unlike the original, was made available to the general public, on compact disc), and after the end of the original movie the new version contained a brief video commentary by Waters, plus a few scenes cut from the original release. The re-release was rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America. This edition was later released on DVD. The film came in at number 29 on the list of 50 Films to See Before You Die on a show in the United Kingdom."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. David Lynch

"Is it a nightmare or an actual view of a post-apocalyptic world? Set in an industrial town in which giant machines are constantly working, spewing smoke, and making noise that is inescapable, Henry Spencer lives in a building that, like all the others, appears to be abandoned. The lights flicker on and off, he has bowls of water in his dresser drawers, and for his only diversion he watches and listens to the Lady in the Radiator sing about finding happiness in heaven. Henry has a girlfriend, Mary X, who has frequent spastic fits. Mary gives birth to Henry's child, a frightening looking mutant, which leads to the injection of all sorts of sexual imagery into the depressive and chaotic mix."  -- imdb.com.

"Eraserhead is a surrealist-horror film written and directed by David Lynch, and released in 1977. In 1971, Lynch moved to Los Angeles to study for an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) degree at the AFI Conservatory. At the Conservatory, Lynch began working on his first feature-length film, Eraserhead, using a $10,000 ($33,849.74 today due to inflation) grant from the AFI. The grant did not provide enough money to complete the film and, due to lack of a sufficient budget, Eraserhead was filmed intermittently until its release in 1977. Lynch used money from friends and family, including boyhood friend Jack Fisk, a production designer and the husband of actress Sissy Spacek, and even took a paper route to finish it. The film stars Jack Nance and Charlotte Stewart. Eraserhead polarized and baffled many critics and movie-goers, but has become a cult classic. In 2004, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Lynch has called it a "dream of dark and troubling things" and his "most spiritual movie.""  -- wikipedia

Dir. Andrzej Zulawski

"A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair."  -- imdb.com.

"The film was very controversial when first released and heavily edited for distribution in the United States. In the United Kingdom, Possession was banned as one of the notorious Video Nasties, although released uncut on DVD in 1999. It gradually developed a minor cult following among arthouse aficionados.

"There have been comparisons to David Cronenberg's The Brood (similarly made while the director was in the midst of a contentious divorce) and Ken Russell's The Devils."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Richard Elfman

"A mysterious door in the basement of the Hercules house leads to the Sixth Dimension by way of a gigantic set of intestine. When Frenchy slips through the door, King Fausto falls in love with her. The jealous Queen Doris takes Frenchy prisoner, and it is up to the Hercules family and friend Squeezit Henderson to rescue her."  -- imdb.com.

"Forbidden Zone is a 1982 musical comedy film based upon the stage performances of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The film stars Hervé Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell and members of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, and features appearances by Warhol Superstar Viva, Joe Spinell and The Kipper Kids. Originally shot on black-and-white film, the story of Forbidden Zone involves an alternate universe accessed through a door in the house of the Hercules family. Directed by Richard Elfman, who co-wrote the film with fellow Mystic Knights member Matthew Bright, it was the first film scored by Danny Elfman. The film was completed in twenty one days over a period of ten months with minimum production costs and Villechaize being the only actor paid for the film. Forbidden Zone was made as an attempt to capture the essence of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo's live performances on film, and also as a means for both Richard Elfman to retire from music to work on film projects, and to serve as a transition between Oingo Boingo's former cabaret style and a New Wave-based style. Amidst negative reactions to content in the film that had been perceived as being offensive, the film was screened as a midnight movie, received positive notice, and developed a cult following. In 2004, the film was digitally restored, and in 2008, the film was colorized."  -- wikipedia.

"The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain. There was never anything quite like The Young Ones and there never will be. Each episode is crammed full of eternally quotable dialogue, wonderful physical comedy and insane, unexpected plot developments. The Young Ones takes place in a universe where absolutely ANTHING can and WILL happen. Rick is undeniably the best character tho. He and Vivian get into the stupidest fights and argue over the dumbest of things. Neil the hippy is also consistently amusing in his many failed attempts to off himself. Mike hardly ever had any funny lines but thankfully no episode really ever revolved around him. Plus a Bolowski family member (always played by Alexi Sayle) pops up in each episode to add to the mayhem."  -- imdb.com.

"The Young Ones was a popular British sitcom, first seen in 1982, on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. Soon afterwards, it was shown on MTV, one of the first non-music television shows on the fledgling channel. The programme revolved around four undergraduate students sharing a house: violent punk rocker Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson), pompous anarchist Rick (Rik Mayall), long-suffering hippie Neil (Nigel Planer), and the mysterious and diminutive Mike (Christopher Ryan). It also featured Alexei Sayle, who played the quartet's landlord, Jerzei Balowski, and other members of the Balowski family. The show combined traditional sitcom style with violent slapstick, non sequitur plot-turns and surrealism. These older styles were mixed with the working and lower-middle class attitudes of the growing 1980s alternative comedy boom, in which all the principal performers except Ryan had been involved. Although the series was set in North London, many external scenes were filmed in Bristol. All four characters attended the fictional Scumbag College, although they were never seen attending the institution and were rarely seen studying. The show was voted #31 in the BBC's Best Sitcom poll in 2004."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Peter Jackson

"A team from the intergalactic fast food chain Crumb's Crunchy Delights descends on Earth, planning to make human flesh the newest taste sensation. After they wipe out the New Zealand town Kaihoro, the country's Astro-Investigation and Defense Service is called in to deal with the problem. Things are complicated due to Giles, an aid worker who comes to Kaihoro the same day to collect change from the residents. He is captured by the aliens, and AIaDS stages a rescue mission that quickly becomes an all-out assault on the aliens' headquarters."  -- imdb.com.

"Bad Taste, released in 1987, is a cult action comedy/sci-fi splatter film. Produced on a low budget, it is the first film directed by Peter Jackson. The film features Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen. The plotline sees aliens invade the fictional New Zealand village of Kaihoro to harvest humans for their intergalactic fast food franchise, where they face off against a four-man paramilitary force, of which at least one member appears to have gone insane."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Sam Raimi

"Ash - the sole survivor of the original 'Evil Dead' - returns with his girlfriend Linda to the remote cabin in the woods. He discovers a tape recorder that a professor had used to record incantations from the Necronomicon XMortis - the Book of the Dead. When he turns it on, the recording releases a dark, sinister force from the woods. It turns Linda into a zombie, her soul possessed by some hideous demon, and then tries to do the same to Ash. Other people come to help Ash, but one by one they are taken over by the Evil Dead force that also possesses Linda, the Professor, and the Professor's wife...and they try to make sure Ash is...Dead by Dawn!"  -- imdb.com.

"Evil Dead II (also known as Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn) is a 1987 American cult comedy horror film. Standing as a sequel to 1981's The Evil Dead, the film was directed by Sam Raimi, written by Raimi and Scott Spiegel, produced by Rob Tapert and starred Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams. The film was followed by a sequel of its own in 1993 entitled Army of Darkness."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. J. Michael Mur

"When a liquor store owner finds a case of "Viper" in his cellar, he decides to sell it to the local hobos at one dollar a bottle, unaware of its true properties. The drinks causes its consumers to melt, very messily. Two homeless lads find themselves up against the effects of the toxic brew, as well as going head to head with "Bronson" a Vietnam vet with sociopathic tendencies, and the owner of the junkyard they live in."  -- imdb.com.

"Street Trash is a 1987 horror-comedy film directed by J. Michael Muro (credited as Jim Muro). It won the Silver Raven at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film. The film has acquired a status as a cult classic horror-comedy and is one of a number of movies known as "melt" movies.

"Roy Frumkes wrote the screenplay. In an NBR profile he later said: "I wrote it to democratically offend every group on the planet, and as a result the youth market embraced it as a renegade work, and it played midnight shows.""  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Frank Henenlotter

"A normal, average guy who lives in New York City becomes dependent on an evil, disembodied brain. The brain feeds the guy a narcotic substance in exchange for his unwilling assistance in obtaining the brains of innocent victims for sustenance. This turns into a tour of circa-1980s underground NYC clubs, backlots, and other seedy locations. One scene features the band Swimming Pool Cues playing the song "Corruption.""  -- imdb.com.

"Brain Damage is an American comedy horror film that was released in 1988, and directed by Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Frankenhooker)."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Brian Yuzna

The teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) feels misfit with his parents and his sister Jenny Whitney (Patrice Jennings). When his sister's boyfriend David Blanchard (Tim Bartell) bugs his family, he shows the disturbing tapes to Bill showing incest and a weird society. When Blanchard dies in a car accident, Bill decides to investigate his family and find a scary truth."  -- imdb.com.

"Society is an American horror film released in 1992. It was finished in 1989, but not released in the US until 1992. It was Brian Yuzna's directorial debut and was written by Rick Fry and Woody Keith. The film stars Billy Warlock as Bill Whitney, Devin DeVasquez as Clarissa Carlyn, Evan Richards as Milo and Ben Meyerson as Ferguson. Screaming Mad George was responsible for the special effects.

"Society is considered to be a minor classic in the body horror sub-genre. A sequel, Society 2: Body Modification, was in development. A script was written by Stephan Biro. It examined the society from the first film and how they recruit new members. It is currently presumed to be a dead project."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Peter Jackson

"Heidi, the star of the "Meet The Feebles Variety Hour" discovers her lover Bletch, The Walrus, is cheating on her, and with all the world waiting for the show the assorted co-stars must contend with their own problems. These include drug addiction, extortion, robbery, disease, Drug dealing, and even murder. While this is happening the love between two of the stars is threatened by the devious Trevor the Rat, who wishes to exploit the young starlet for use in his porno movie business."  -- imdb.com.

"Meet The Feebles (1989) is a black comedy film by director Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets (though some were people in suits) assembled together as members of a theatre troupe. However, whereas Henson's Muppets characterise the positivity, naïve folly, and innocence in humanity, the Feebles present negativity, vice, and other misanthropic characteristics."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Rolf de Heer

"Bad Boy Bubby is just that: a bad boy. So bad, in fact, that his mother has kept him locked in their house for his entire thirty years, convincing him that the air outside is poisonous. After a visit from his estranged father, circumstances force Bubby into the waiting world, a place which is just as unusual to him as he is to the world."  -- imdb.com.

"Bad Boy Bubby (1993 Port Adelaide, Australia) is a black comedy and drama film written and directed by Rolf de Heer. It stars Nicholas Hope and Carmel Johnson. Bubby became notorious for pushing the boundaries of good taste with its strong scenes featuring violence, incest and blasphemy amongst other taboo topics. In the UK it was cut for cruelty to a cat.[1] The film was released on DVD in April 2005 by the Blue Underground company, and a special Two Disc Collectors' Edition was also released in June 2005 by Umbrella Entertainment. On the Blue Underground DVD, actor Nicholas Hope claims that Bubby was the 2nd highest grossing film in Norway in 1995, second only to Batman Forever. On 23/04/07 Eureka Entertainment released Bad Boy Bubby on DVD - Completely uncut for the first time in the UK. Bubby won four 1994 Australian Film Institute awards; Best Director (Rolf de Heer), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nicholas Hope), Best Original Screenplay (Rolf de Heer) and Best Editing (Suresh Ayyar). It was also nominated for Best Film (Rolf de Heer) and Best Cinematography (Ian Jones)."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. David Cronenberg

"Exterminator Bill Lee finds himself following his wife into an addiction to the bug powder he uses. After accidentally killing her, he descends into a hallucinatory existence in which he imagines himself a secret agent answering to a series of bizarre creatures. He channels his energies into writing "reports" on his delusional mission, while trying to break his addiction. The story loosely reflects events in the life of author Burroughs as he wrote the novel."  -- imdb.com.

"Naked Lunch (sometimes referred to as The Naked Lunch) is a novel by William S. Burroughs originally published in 1959. The book was originally published with the title The Naked Lunch in Paris in 1959 by Olympia Press. An American edition by Grove Press followed soon after in 1962. The American edition was titled Naked Lunch and was substantially different from the Olympia Press edition, because it was based on an earlier 1958 manuscript in Allen Ginsberg's possession. The article "the" in the title was never intended by the author, but added by the editors of the Olympia Press 1959 edition. Nonetheless The Naked Lunch remained the title used for the 1968 and 1974 Corgi Books editions, and the novel is often known by the alternative name, especially in the UK where these editions circulated. The novel was included in Time magazine's "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005". David Cronenberg released a film of the same title based upon the novel and other Burroughs writings in 1991."  -- wikipedia.

"An interweaving narrative chronicling the antics of such diverse characters as: a transsexual taxi driver, a family obsessed with hygiene and toads, a fiery reverend, a carnival owner who kidnaps women into marriage, and a xenophobic couple who run a local shop for local people."  -- imdb.com.

"The League of Gentlemen is a quartet of British comedy writer/performers, formed in 1995 by Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. The television programme for which they are best known, although officially labelled a sitcom, was initially more sketch-based, linked together by their common setting: the fictional village of Royston Vasey, set somewhere in the north of England. The first series aired on BBC Two in 1999, and follows the lives of dozens of the town's bizarre inhabitants, played by Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith in a number of different guises and make-up. The television series was filmed mainly in Hadfield, but also features Glossop, Marsden, Mottram, Hope Valley, and Todmorden."  -- wikipedia.

"Jerri Blank is a 46-year-old "boozer, user and a loser" who tries to put her life back together again. The reformed runaway and addict returns to high school as a freshman, where she tries to fit in and act hip with girls 1/3 her age. Unfortunately, she hasn't quite shed her immoral background or acquired any ethics, and her bizarre family and frustrated schoolmates have trouble interacting with her."  -- imdb.com.

"Strangers with Candy is a television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10 p.m. (ET), and the Comedy Central show Strip Mall replaced it."  -- wikipedia.

"An intense, hyperactive chihuahua (Is there any other kind?) and a happy-go-lucky, empty-brained cat share bizarre and often repulsive adventures. Their experiences usually involve hairballs, filthy litterboxes, "magic nose goblins", sentient farts, jars of spit, outhouses, eating dirt, monkey vermin and any other imaginable disgusting substance."  -- imdb.com.

"The Ren and Stimpy Show is an American/Canadian animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. The series follows the adventures of the eponymous characters: Ren Höek, a psychotic "asthma-hound" chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, - a dimwitted manx cat.[citation needed] They wander around in nonsensical adventures in a style reminiscent of the Golden Age of American animation, especially the 1940s cartoons by Bob Clampett and Tex Avery. The Ren and Stimpy Show premiered on Nickelodeon on Sunday, August 11, 1991 and aired new episodes on the channel from 1991 to 1996. The Ren and Stimpy Show had a reputation for subversive humor. The controversy mostly stemmed from imagery and cartoon violence. This cartoon effort rocked the animation world by pushing TV animation to new, borderline-tasteless areas with episodes such as "Stimpy’s First Fart." In 1992, Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi and production moved from Kricfalusi's Spümcø studios to Games Animation, where it stayed until its cancellation in 1997. Reruns currently air on Nicktoons Network."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Paul McGuigan

"The Acid House is a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's short story collection The Acid House. Welsh himself wrote the screenplay, and appears as a minor character in the film."  -- imdb.com.

"Three twisted tales from the seamy side of Scotland and the mind of Irvine Welsh. The Granton Star Cause: in the same day a young Leith lad is dumped by his football team, his girlfriend and his parents, arrested and beaten up by the police and turned into a fly by God, whom he meets in a pub. The Soft Touch: a man is too soft to do anything when his wife moves in with the thug upstairs. The Acid House: while tripping on acid, Coco Bryce is struck by lightning, causing him to switch bodies with a newborn baby."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. Harmony Korine

""O, mio babbino caro" plays as a woman skates gracefully. In contrast, little is graceful and daddy is not dear in Julien's world. His father listens to blues wearing a gas mask; dad prods, lectures, and derides Julien as well as Julien's brother and pregnant sister, while grandma attends to her dog. Julien is different, schizophrenic. He wears gold teeth. He bowls, sings, worships, and chats with a group of young adults with disabilities. His sister's child is probably his own. He talks on the phone, imagining it's his mother, who died in childbirth years before. He may be a murderer of children. From his point of view (perhaps), the film follows this odd family for a few weeks."  -- imdb.com.

"Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) is the sixth film to be made under the self-imposed rules of the Dogme 95 manifesto. Directed by Harmony Korine, it is the first non-European film to be made under the Dogme 95 "vow of chastity"."  -- wikipedia.

Dir. György Pálfi

"Taxidermia, being of the most grotesque pictures I have seen, is nontheless a brilliant and symbolically powerful work. The continuously revisited motiff, being beastiality and the animal nature in all humans is depicted through many explicit scenes to cause the viewer discomfort. The end result - acknowledgement of the trueness of the film. It trails the lives of three generations of men with no self respect, no common sense and all living abnormal lives. Though they all meet their end, they all frame themselves in the same negative fashion as the previous one. With photography as artistic as many renowned directors, Gyorgy Palfi manipulates the Mise an Scene to convey messages of emotional magnitude and deeper meaning. A film which is difficult to sit through, but still highly recomended."  -- imdb.com.

"Taxidermia is a 2006 Hungarian film directed by György Pálfi. The film focuses on three generations of men from Hungary, beginning with a military orderly during the Second World War, moving on to an aspiring speed-eater during the Cold War, and concluding with a taxidermist during modern times. The film is surreal in nature with elements of dark comedy and horror."  -- wikipedia.

"Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet on January 15, 1941) is an American musician and painter, best known by the pseudonym Captain Beefheart. His musical work was mainly conducted with a rotating assembly of musicians called The Magic Band, which was active between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. Van Vliet was chiefly a singer and harmonica player, occasionally playing saxophone and keyboards. His compositions are characterized by their odd mixtures of shifting time signatures and by their surreal lyrics, while Van Vliet himself is noted for his dictatorial approach to his musicians and for his enigmatic relationship with the public.

"The Magic Band's output is rooted in blues and rock music, but its best-known work draws on more disparate influences. 1969's Trout Mask Replica takes cues from free jazz, psychedelia, and contemporary experimental composition. With its follow-up albums the group turned to more conventional rock music, but they were frustrated by a lack of commercial success and disbanded in 1974. Towards the end of the decade Van Vliet formed a new Magic Band with a group of younger musicians and produced three albums that revisited the eccentricities of his earlier work. Van Vliet's music attracted a devoted following and his influence on fellow musicians, particularly those of the punk and New Wave movements, has been described as "incalculable."

"Van Vliet retired from music in the early 1980s to devote himself to painting and he has since made few public appearances. His interest in art dates back to a childhood talent for sculpture. His work-which has been described as neo-primitive and abstract-expressionist-has been exhibited in several countries."  -- wikipedia.

"Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.

"In his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers like Edgard Varèse, and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands-he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which-often humorously-reflected his iconoclastic view of established political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship.

"Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and he gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock history, and he is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time; he remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997."  -- wikipedia.

"Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including Down By Law, The Fisher King, Coffee & Cigarettes, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Short Cuts. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on One from the Heart.

"Lyrically, Waits's songs frequently present atmospheric portrayals of grotesque, often seedy characters and places - although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional ballads. He has a cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters despite having little radio or music video support. His songs are best-known to the general public in the form of cover versions by more visible artists-for example, "Jersey Girl," performed by Bruce Springsteen; "Downtown Train" performed by Rod Stewart; and "Ol' '55," performed by the Eagles. Although Waits' albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries. He has been nominated for a number of major music awards and has won Grammy Awards for two albums, Bone Machine and Mule Variations.

"Waits currently lives in Sonoma County, California with his wife and three children."  -- wikipedia.

"Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 - September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for weaving his offbeat, sardonic view of life into his music, composing dark, sometimes humorous songs often laced with political or historical themes.

"Zevon's best-known compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Johnny Strikes Up The Band", all of which are featured on his 1978 release, Excitable Boy. Other well known Zevon songs include "Accidentally Like a Martyr", "Mutineer" and "Mohammad's Radio".

"Along with his own compositions Zevon recorded an occasional cover, including Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan". He was a frequent guest on The David Letterman Show."  -- wikipedia.

"Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968, in Eureka, California) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist and voice actor, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Faith No More. He has also handled lead vocals for Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Lovage, Fantômas, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Peeping Tom.

"Patton has earned critical praise for his diverse vocals, which touch on crooning, falsetto, death growls, rapping, chanting, mouth music, beatboxing and scatting, among other techniques; critic Greg Prato writes, "Patton could very well be one of the most versatile and talented singers in rock music." He has many producer or co-producer credits with artists such as John Zorn, The Melvins, Melt-Banana, Kool Keith, and Björk. He co-founded Ipecac Recordings with Greg Werckman in 1999, and has run the label since."  -- wikipedia.