freakboy muses music: ABNORMALS ANONYMOUS by Congo Norvell

Every so often I look back at the crazy films and trashy novels I’ve experienced over the last few years and check to see how readily available they are for others to find.  When I recently did a search for the book ABNORMALS ANONYMOUS by Stella Gray, I noticed there were a couple of copies floating around out there.  I also noticed an audio CD with the same provocative title and cover. 

My first thought was, “Is it an audiobook?”  Then I noticed “by Congo Norvell” and knew I was wrong.  So, I investigated and discovered the CD is an album of music released in 1997 through the New York City-based Jetset Records.  Further investigation turned up only a few tracks posted on YouTube.  I listened to “Johnny in the Boudoir” and immediately ordered a copy from eBay.

The music thrusts you into a seedy dive-bar on the outskirts of town, populated by the night people, the kind of folk inhabiting the fringes of so-called acceptable society.  They will lead you through a den of lurid sex and sex-drenched violence, where obsession and lust reign hand-in-hand with loneliness and heartache.  In other words, this is the perfect soundtrack to trashy pulp novels.

The liner notes list a few people as vocals, but this is  Sally Norvell’s show.  Her voice shifts from torch song lounge singer to a sultry, smoky-voiced temptress to an alt-pop diva.  Wherever the music styles take her, Sally is ready to follow.  

My 3 favorite tracks, in no particular order… 

“Candy” 
An experienced woman is looking for young fresh meat to “go under, down in the gutter and taste the seawater.”  I enjoy the uncomfortable desires pulsating underneath, just like the tone of a trashy novel. 

“She’s Like Heroin to Me.” 
There’s a woman at the top of the stairs who gets under your skin and “cannot miss a vein,” no matter your gender.  A slow lusty burn of crippling obsession at its pulpy best!  

“Johnny in the Boudoir” 
The title says it all.  A man named Johnny meets up for an illicit tryst, but his lover has other plans.  “She was only playin' a part. Just a step away from the straightjacket today. Angora sweater, naughty-clean. Felt like killing, felt like sixteen.”  Johnny’s dead and the mention of an Angora sweater must be a knowing wink to Edward D. Wood, Jr.  Was Johnny’s lover a cross-dressing assassin right out of one of Wood’s novels?  It’s up for the listener to decide, but I think so. 

In conclusion… 
Moody, intriguing, and slyly amusing, this album isn’t for everyone, but it is for anyone with an open mind.  I think I would’ve enjoyed the songs if I had experienced them back in 1997, but I probably appreciate them more now.  So, if you like a little tawdry in your tunes, then ABNORMALS ANONYMOUS by Congo Norvell may be the seedy CD for you! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  click the pic for my thoughts on the novel of the same name… 

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My books have been called tawdry…
📚 

freakboy on film: WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR (1965)

I stumbled upon WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR during Vinegar Syndrome’s month-long Halloween sale.  The title alone made me want to order a discounted copy.  Then the intriguing synopsis, which made me think of the vintage paperbacks I’ve been reading, sealed the deal.  It also helped the case resembles a tawdry pulp novel and, after watching the film, I realized I was right.  WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR is definitely cut from the same pulpy cloth.  

Norah Dain is a hostess at a discotheque in New York City.  Life is good for this metropolitan single woman, except for the obscene phone calls.  Someone is watching her and she is becoming understandably paranoid.  Is it her soft-spoken coworker Lawrence Sherman?  Is it Carlo, the allegedly verbally inpaired discotheque security guard?  Is it Lt. Dave Madden, who seems a little too obsessed with obscene callers and other degenerates he investigates?  

SPOILER ALERT (sort of)
It’s coworker Lawrence, as played by Sal Mineo, but more about him later.   

Screenplay writers Leon Tokatyan and Arnold Drake keep the story of obsession seedy, grimey and riveting.  Director Joseph Cates, father of Phoebe, includes a lot of interesting visuals, especially of 1960’s New York City, and draws out some good performances from the cast.

Juliet Prowse as Norah, the recipient of the obscene calls, is a mixture of strength and vulnerability.  Jan Murray as Lt. Dave Madden, the obsessive police detective, is a mixture of protector of innocence and an unbalanced potential creep.  Elaine Stritch as Marian Freeman, Norah’s boss at the discotheque, is a mixture of no-nonsense authority and a woman with needs.  Daniel J. Travanti as Carlo, the discotheque bouncer, doesn’t have much to say but is a mixture of renegade tough guy and a man with fierce loyalty. 

Then there is Sal Mineo.

He is mesmerizing as Lawrence, the seemingly shy discotheque employee/obscene phone caller.  Between the writing and Mineo’s performance, the character is a mixture of an unhinged, troubled young man dangerously obsessing over his coworker and a sweet, sensitive young man taking care of his intellectually disabled sister.  Sal Mineo creates a complex, complicated character.  You won’t be able to take your eyes off him, especially since he is half-naked half the time. 

Unlike most exploitation films from the 1960’s, or any era really, the female figure is NOT the focus in WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR.  Instead, the camera can’t get enough of Sal Mineo in various states of undress.  When he’s not working at the discotheque or taking his sister to the zoo, Lawrence is working out in skimpy shorts, swimming in tight trunks or lounging around in tighty-whities, sensually caressing his thigh or stomach as he makes obscene calls to Norah.  This gender exploitation role reversal adds to the unexpected vibe of this memorable film. 

In conclusion…
I was immediately drawn into the lurid peek at the dark underbelly of the people you only think you know.  The black & white cinematography adds to the gritty, film noir-adjacent atmosphere simmering beneath the celluloid surface.  So, if you’re in the mood to slip into something emotionally uncomfortable, and you want to start giving your coworkers a sideways glance, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR may be the psychosexual low-key thriller for you! 

Oh, as for who killed Teddy Bear…you’ll have to watch to find out! 🐻 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. I better add the hauntingly beautiful song. 

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You may find something tawdry in my words…

ONE LOVE vs. TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS

My literary habit of late is reading two books at the same time.  Typically, this involves two very different books, such as one from an indie author and one of the generally tepid and often hetero-centric New York Times bestsellers from the lunchtime book group.  However, in this hot month of July, fate sandwiched me between two queer books.  

The interesting thing is the two books were published 60 years apart.  What are the differences?  Are there similarities?  Let’s find out…

ONE LOVE by Matt Cain(2025) 

Danny and Guy have been best friends since meeting at uni.  Now, a couple of decades later, these two men, who have drifted in and out of each other’s lives over the years, have reunited for the Manchester Pride celebration, but Danny has a mission.  He wants to confess his decades long love for Guy and hopefully transform their friendship into a deeper emotional and physical connection.  Will these friends become lovers or will the past bubbling up around them tear the two apart? 

Author Matt Cain cuts & pastes Danny and Guy’s story together by bouncing the reader back and forth through their present and past.  This plot device started out interesting, but I struggled to finish ONE LOVE.  I found it difficult to embrace the characters and the plot became rather repetitive.  Then the ultimate message of loving yourself is bashed into our brains again and again and again.  By the end, it just made me want to scream, “Ok, I f***ing get it already !” 

TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS by Robin Versage and Leland Garner(1965) 

This is an allegedly true account of one gay man’s life from mid-teens to early thirties.  Robin learns at a young age that he might be homosexual, struggling and exploring this possibility in his final years of high school.  As soon as he graduates, Robin skips college and leaves Portland for Los Angeles.  There he meets a $5 hooker named Sandy.  She and Robin form a curious bond.  Sandy pimps Robin out to men at first, but then, after Robin finds more socially acceptable work, they get married.  All the while, Robin is searching for the man of his dreams.  Sandy is fully aware, but perhaps wishes she could be enough for him.  Eventually, Robin’s growing success as an art dealer allows Sandy to give up her sex work and this unconventional duo can finally live comfortably in a classy neighborhood.  In this top shelf suburbia, Robin meets Joseph, a married psychologist.  Has Robin found the man of his dreams?  Will Sandy’s past and Robin’s sexuality destroy their fancy tea party life?  Are Robin & Sandy the Will & Grace of the ‘60’s? 

I guess that explains sidepockets.

I’ve read enough Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction to question whether or not this is a true story.  Robin’s life contains all the scandalous elements to cause a reader to devour each sordid page.  However, it does have an unapologetic attitude by the end.  Robin looks back on his life up to that point without making excuses or having regrets.  He also points out his life doesn’t represent every gay man’s experience and even touches upon how homosexuals are just as emotionally and physically diverse as heterosexuals.  So, maybe TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS is a true story or at least the author is queer or an open-minded ally. 

While these two books have differences, I was struck by their similarities.  For starters, they both explore a functionally dysfunctional relationship over the course of many years, whether it be Danny and Guy or Robin and Sandy.  Another thing I found fascinating is that each book has at least one character worried that if they admit to being homosexual, they will transform into a swishy stereotype.  For better or for worse, there is a lot of focus on physical appearance in both stories.  Finally, and this may be the most amazing similarity, the shared moral is one of self-acceptance and bravely being yourself, no matter what the world thinks.  Such a concept is beyond progressive for 1965 and is thankfully pretty common in 2025. 

In conclusion…
I obviously enjoyed TOPS, BOTTOMS AND SIDEPOCKETS way more than ONE LOVE.  The former moves along at a brisk pace with vivid characters and wild situations, while the latter drags with unlikable characters and repetitive situations.  Perhaps I get such an electric, non-p.c. thrill in taking a peek behind the lavender curtain at pre-Stonewall queer life that some modern day queer fiction bores me.  Either that, or I just love trashy novels! 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S.  click the pic ⤵️ to pray for my literary salvation! 🙏 

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While not as lurid as Jacqueline Susann or Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction, DARK EXCURSIONS skirts the trashy edges of sordid craziness with its soap opera twists and turns! 

2015

booking freakboy: GOSPEL FOR SUCKERS by Will E. Graham (1971)

“Jesus Freaks were everywhere…” 

Have you been touched by Jimmy Love?  

Jimmy Love can heal you of your maladies by placing his miraculous hands upon you!  You will feel the power of his Divine love blowing through your soul!  Yes, this 23-year old, 6-foot-tall traveling blond Adonis evangelist will fill the deep hole inside you with Glory! 

Surely you’ve read the newspaper articles about how, at a young age, Jimmy’s parents died in an automobile accident and how he was adopted by Brandon Parker, a friend and army buddy of his late father.  Undoubtedly you were captivated in learning how Jimmy became an overnight Prophet after seeing Jesus in a barn in Indiana!  It was a sign from Heaven above!  A sign to guide Jimmy and his adopted father onto the path of spreading the Gospel from town to town!  A sign to milk every last penny from the willfully ignorant congregation!  Hallelujah! 

Now the unthinkable has happened!  After healing the inflicted two nights in a row, Jimmy Love has disappeared, bringing the religious community to its knees in prayer for his safe return!  Where is their Anointed One and will they ever feel the massive power of his love again?  Good things come to those who wait, for prophecy tells us the blessed answer will be delivered in seven days.  Well, at least I can tell you since I read the book.

 
Either through Divine intervention or a coordinated publicity stunt, the missing evangelist has resurfaced in Los Angeles!  Praise Jimmy Love, oh, and Jesus for his safe return to the fold, but what happened to the precious preacher during those seven days?  According to the newspapers, Jimmy Love was lost in the Arizona desert, on the brink of death, when four men descended upon him from above.  The four 5’ 11”, brown-haired studs blew life back into Jimmy Love and now they are his Apostles! 

In reality, Jimmy Love has grown tired of being in the Holy spotlight.  With the help of his adopted father, Jimmy Love has concocted one last revival to blow the minds and bank accounts of his faithful followers.  On a clear pedestal, backed by a screen of swirling clouds and surrounded by streaming fog, Jimmy Love will take to the stage.  At either of his sides will be his four Apostles, clad only in color coordinated posing straps to match the various tints of light shining on them.  Will the spectacle be a raging success?  Will the congregation work itself into a frenzy of religious fervor and sexual arousal? 

SPOILER ALERT! 
The reader will never know!  Just as the four Apostles are literally revealed, Brandon Parker dies of a heart attack backstage and suddenly finds himself in WWII with Jimmy Love’s father.  The man offers his hand to shake in gratitude for Brandon taking such good care of his son.  

Yup, that’s how GOSPEL FOR SUCKERS ends, making me think the terrific double entendre title actually has three meanings, including the reader being a sucker for reading this book.  The ending is wildly anticlimactic, especially because it is made perfectly clear that Brandon had been in love with Jimmy’s father.  Couldn’t the two men have at least experienced a more satisfying afterlife happy ending?  

Now don’t get me wrong, there are some ridiculously entertaining aspects to the book.  The way the religious crowds fall for Jimmy Love’s schtick is amusingly spot on when comparing it with televangelists of the 1980’s and the preachers of modern day mega-churches.  The names of the first three Apostles (Dallas Slaughter, Tony Wolfe and Dale Ducommun) are made even funnier by the fourth one’s more ordinary name (Keith Anderson).  Oh, and I appreciate there are only seven chapters, which I think is a sly wink at the seven days of Creation.
I just wish author Will E. Graham, whose obvious pen-name is brilliant in more ways than one, would have had even more fun putting the satirical screws to religion and fanatical believers.  It’s not quite as blasphemously funny as it should’ve been, but maybe all the queer sex mingled with Christianity heightens the humor.  Plus, it’s frustrating when intriguing plot elements are introduced and then abandoned.  Something scandalous, which is not fully explained, happened in Florida with Jimmy Love and when you think it’s coming back to haunt him, the subplot fizzles out.  I guess I’m used to this style of storytelling thanks to Andy Milligan.  Another thing is Jimmy Love’s too close for comfort relationship with his adopted father.  Yes, they are both adults and not blood related, but it added an ick factor for me.  I know I shouldn’t be so judgy considering some of the incestuous overtones in the films of, once again, Andy Milligan.  Ugh, I hate it when my favorite filmmakers make me feel like a hypocrite! 

“Turn around if you want to and blow your love on the person behind you!” -Jimmy Love 

In conclusion…
GOSPEL FOR SUCKERS isn’t the best piece of Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction I’ve read, but it’s not the worst either.  It is somehow entertaining and disappointing at the same time.  So, if you’re in the mood for a low-key satirical look at religiosity with a queer twist, then GOSPEL FOR SUCKERS by Will E. Graham may be the book for you!  Just don’t forget to say your nightly prayer after reading.🙏
Amen! 
 😏 

Freak be with you, 
JLH 

P.S.  Be a sucker for my queer books… 

Available from an Amazon near you!

booking freakboy: TO MAKE A HOMO by Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1971)

This is one of the titles I was drawn to when I first discovered Ed Wood wrote novels.  Instead of endlessly waiting for a brave publisher to reprint it, I found a copy on AbeBooks.  All I expected was for Wood to entertain me with his usual craziness and also redeem Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction in my half-blind eyes after a crushingly disappointing  experience with the sub-genre.  (see Abnormals Anonymous)  

1971, Little Library Press

Tommy Grimes is an 18-year-old who always has a plan, including coercing younger fellow classmate Paul Coll into performing a sexual act on Tommy at the church picnic.  When Tommy is done, he doesn’t return the favor, leaving Paul rather frustrated.  Not for long though because fellow schoolmate Mary Kalaski and her reputation suddenly appears.  She seduces Paul into full on intercourse.  At the climax of this twist, they are caught by the minister‘s wife, leaving them both in trouble in more ways than one. 

Parental money is exchanged to terminate the unwanted addition, but that’s not the plot.  It’s revealed that Tommy and Mary are in cahoots and had planned Paul’s religious experience at the church picnic.  Not only that, Paul is beginning to desire his sister’s panties and Angora sweater.  When Paul is dressed up, she is Pauline.  Yes, this is when it fully felt like a Wood novel, but not just because there’s also a Paul/Pauline in DEATH OF A TRANSVESTITE.  I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be the same character or if Wood was just repeating himself. 

Anyhoo, there’s more!  Tommy is not only a sexual bully, but he’s also a drug pusher and a pimp!  After a ménage à trois between Tommy, Mary and Paul, Tommy sends Paul, as Pauline, to a cabin in the woods filled with homosexual clients, some in drag and some not.  Pauline’s job is to pass along some drugs and then to submit to the carnal whims of everyone in the cabin.  The inhabitants of this cabin will also be doing a job for Tommy by getting Paul/Pauline hooked on heroin.  This will allow Tommy to have more control over his newfound prostitute/drug mule!  

Now both Mary, who is still pregnant, and Paul are heroin addicted prostitutes working for Tommy.  After a double duty assignment with a rich old lady client, where Mary nearly suffocated and Pauline had to pull up her skirt and drop panties, they are done with Tommy.  SPOILER ALERT!  Tommy imbibes his one vice, alcohol, and passes out.  Mary and Paul jump at the chance to get their abuser addicted to heroin so they can all be on the same playing field.  That’s how the book ends.  It’s easy to assume nothing good happens to these characters, but who knows?  Maybe they all get clean, forgive each other and live happily ever after as a very modern throuple, assuming Paul/Pauline doesn’t grow up to be a drag assassin. 

Anyhoo, all I kept asking was, “Who the hell was this book’s target audience?”  Before you conjure up an answer, there are a couple more things left to reveal!  I was very surprised to find several photos scattered throughout the pages of very real adults doing very naked activities.  Most of these photos are of a hetero-centric nature, which is odd considering the queer plot.  This makes me assume they were added by the publisher because surely Wood would’ve picked more diverse pics.  Oh, of course, there are the prerequisite straight-porn lesbian shots, but there is only one photo of two men together and it’s the most demure of the lot.  

“There’s a lot of little things you could do for me that might make us real good friends.” Tommy to Paul

Then, as a popped cherry on top of this Wood sundae, there are pages of advertisements at the back of the book.  Loads of plugs for mostly straight adult novels with such classy titles as Oversexed Broads and Hard Doctor.  Though there are a few queer novels, such as I, Homosexual by Adrian James.  As a perfect compliment to the book plugs, there are also some truly inspiring ads for marital aids to make your next key party the social event of the season! 

Reusable means they are environmentally friendly, right?

So, was the target audience for TO MAKE A HOMO the male hetero crowd?  I mean, the photos mostly appear to support this theory.  On the other hand, the story is definitely bent at the sexuality.  Then its title and provocative cover art would’ve surely turned off homophobic jerks in 1971 and today, so I don’t know!  All I can say for certain is this book is now for the extremely open-minded readers who enjoy going with the flow and/or for maladjusted Ed Wood fans like me. 

In conclusion… 
Putting aside the skeevy young ages of the three main characters, TO MAKE A HOMO met my expectations and exceeded them.  I was wildly entertained!  Even the sexual descriptions ranged from clinical to vulgar to hysterical.  (…so it just lay there against his leg looking like a limp, kosher hot dog.)  Paul struggling with and then accepting Pauline as part of his/her self was somehow backwards, yet also way ahead of its time.  So, if you want to take a literary walk on a very wild side, then TO MAKE A HOMO may be the piece of Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction for you!  I am once again eager to explore other titles, including more from the incomparable Edward D. Wood, Jr. 

Freak Out, 
JLH 

P.S. Click a pic to get more Wood… 

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My queer little books are available from an Amazon near you! 

booking freakboy: ABNORMALS ANONYMOUS by Stella Gray

I haven’t been this disappointed in a book since DOROTHY MUST DIE by Danielle Paige.  The terrific “Real Princess of Oz” trailers promised readers a campy-bitchy fun trip down the Yellow Brick Road… 

…but we ended up with a painfully long and tedious prologue disguised as a novel.  I wasn’t even aware DOROTHY MUST DIE was going to be a series when I wasted my time with it, so the non-ending sent me through the emerald roof!  Hey, I know what you’re thinking, but at least I called my debut ebook “DARK EXCURSIONS: first set” so readers would expect and/or dread more installments!  
As for my latest dive into Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction… 

1964, National Library Books 

From the potentially offensive alliterative title and the gender nonconformity of its cover, I thought ABNORMALS ANONYMOUS by Stella Gray was going to be a fun, wildly crazy, non-pc look at LGBTQ+ life in the mid-1960’s.  It sure as hell started out as I imagined and I was loving it!  Two siblings, Kurt and Bill Rockne are causing Clint, their conservative, strait-laced father, grief by their “abnormal” desires.  Kurt is allegedly hetero-centric, but allows his family to believe he’s queer after he was seen in one gay bar.  He perpetuates this supposed ruse by hanging out with drag queens.  The author never really explores the character, but it seems like there is more going on with Kurt.  I mean, would a straight man in 1964 pretend to be attracted to men for no real reason?  I think not!  Bill, a more fully realized character, is all masculine swagger with new wife Prissy, a voluptuous firecracker of a woman.  The thing is, Bill and Prissy had one of those “Gay Village Weddings” because Prissy is bisexual and Bill is biologically a woman.  

I did not see that gender-bending twist coming and then things got wilder and crazier!  Kurt and Prissy have the hots for each other and Bill agrees to let them sleep together if it means Prissy will “cure” Kurt of his homosexual tendencies.  While Kurt and Prissy are getting busy, a drag queen named Leslie arrives and demands to see Kurt.  Bill won’t allow Leslie to interrupt Kurt’s chance at straightness, so the solid sibling physically struggles with the determined drag queen.  With Bill dressed in traditionally male clothing and Leslie all dolled-up  as a feminine woman, the struggle turns to passion. 

Clint couldn’t be happier that his offspring have finally tasted the “normalcy” of hetero love, even if Bill’s experience was still kinda bent.  Their step onto the straight and narrow path inspires the siblings to take their father’s advice and start an “Abnormals Anonymous” meeting.  Bill agrees to head the meeting and the agenda is ostensibly to help the queer community act straight in front of biological family and at their workplaces.  As I said, it’s 1964, so really the ultimate goal is to make heterosexuals out of all of them.  The first meeting is spectacular with various LGBTQ+ representation.  A highlight is when several members brazenly call out the meeting’s bullshit and proudly leave in all of their queer glory! 🏳️‍🌈 

Teaser page at the beginning of the book.

That is pretty much the last enjoyable moment in the book.  It suddenly becomes all about random hetero strangers showing up to the meetings with kinks and fetishes as their “abnormal” issues.  Bill and the gang help a sexually frustrated Peeping Tom, a masochist and a borderline necrophiliac who needs the woman to remain perfectly still during sex.  All of this was sort of interesting but seemed more like a distraction from the real plot and was not what the cover promised! However, if I had read the back of the book, I would’ve realized what I was getting into. 

Anyhoo, after all the kink freaks are dealt with, Bill decides to continue to dress an act in a traditionally male way, but Leslie has forsaken his drag persona and is now a “real man.”  Then, in the most horrifically disturbing part of this book, Bill and Leslie fight it out over who will be dominant.  To add to this already triggering scene, Clint, Kurt and Prissy are cheering on Leslie to beat Bill into womanly submission and he does.  Bill agrees to wear dresses again and be called by the previously discarded birth name “Billie.”  To add insult to injury, there is a triple straight wedding ceremony between Kurt & Prissy, Billie & Leslie, and Clint & Mattie, the gorgeous family cook.  I was hoping the cook would be revealed as a biological male, but nope, she’s a woman.  Then the very last page made me wonder if the author was ultimately trying to show how straight people are just as “abnormal” and sex-hungry as queer people.  If that is what it’s supposed to mean, I say, too little too late! 

In conclusion… I won ABNORMALS ANONYMOUS through an overpriced eBay auction, and no, I won’t tell you the amount of my accidental winning bid.  Let’s just say it had been a long time since I actually had to compete at an auction and I thought the price was far lower as I clicked the button which adds a dollar to the current highest bid.  So the double moral for today is…

Be careful what you bid on, because you just might win it…and…don’t judge a book by its awesome cover! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. click a pic ⤵️ to read about far superior Vintage Gay Pulp Fiction…

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My queer words are available from an Amazon near you…