H. P. HOVERCRAFT
Rodney Linderman, also known by his stage name Rodney Anonymous (and such variations thereof as “Rodney Amadeus Anonymous” and “Rodney Anonymous Mellencamp”, as well as his briefly utilized “H.P. Hovercraft” pseudonym), is an American musician, journalist and humorist currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known as the lead vocalist, keyboardist and co-songwriter of the satirical punk rock band The Dead Milkmen. (More from Wikipedia)
The name of a 2011 album by the good-naturedly goofy punk rock band the Dead Milkmen, The King in Yellow is taken from one of my favorite collections of stories, by Robert W. Chambers. Besides being the title of the collection, The King in Yellow is also said to be a hauntingly beautiful play that is referenced in several stories in the book. The play has the ability to drive its readers insane, particularly those who peruse Act 2; with only a handful of quotations and limited details on the story line, the play stays in the background but gives the stories a truly sinister air. The King in Yellow (the imaginary play that is) is an analogue of the forbidden book that was invented by H. P. Lovecraft called the Necronomicon, and Lovecraft handled it in much the same way in his stories. (I also read that one of the bandmembers in the Dead Milkmen took the name H. P. Hovercraft for a time).
(July 2012)
