Oh, hells bells, this is pretty damn awesome. Christopher Lee, the second-best Dracula of all time, is making a metal album, a tribute to Charlemagne. No, seriously, check this out

Christopher Lee, famed star of Hammer horror movies, Lord Of The Rings, and much, much more will be coming soon to some earphones near you. Videogum and The Guardian have the news that the 87-year-old actor plans to release a “symphonic metal” album about the life and career of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor and a direct ancestor of Lee himself. “To my surprise and indeed great pleasure, I have suddenly found that there is another string to my bow,” Lee announced.

This is, quite simply, one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever heard, purely on concept. If it’s half as face-meltingly awesome as it should be, we’re all going to be in for a good time.

Christopher Lee Will Rock Your Face Off [Topless Robot, via Onion AV Club]

This is awesome. Joss Whedon’s brother Jed, and his female companion Maurissa Tancharoen, co-writers of the wonderful Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, apparently write songs in the car on the way to get food, about the food they’re getting. Then, on Labour Day weekend, they got drunk, sat in front of a webcam, and sang them to us. Revel. I said revel!

The Dr Horrible Follow-Up You Never Expected [io9.com]

I love The Residents so damn much. When I was but a young man experimenting in the eldritch ways I spent an entire summer hypnotizing myself in the dark with a cigarette, listening to the Freak Show CD. I’d usually fall asleep to the sultry strains of Jelly Jack – “whoa whoa whoa, I’m Jello Jack, jolly boneless boy. I live inside, a jar beside, a rooster-boy named Roy…” – emanating through my subconscious. Even now, I could probably sing the album back to you with a minimum of error. On that note, and for your reading pleasure, the Jefitoblog has posted a massive primer to the best band ever, with sample MP3s a-plenty. Make sure to check out The Electrocutioner and Constantinople, from the album Duck Stab/Buster and Gen. It’s one of my favourites, and those two songs are wonderfully illustrative of the influence the Residents had on later bands such as Primus and They Might Be Giants. Also, please take a moment to listen to Nobody Laughs When They Leave, from Freakshow, to hear the song I want played at funeral. Thanks muchly to the always-wonderful Ectomo for pointing out this excellent retrospective.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Residents [Jefitoblog, via Ectoplasmosis]