Get Well Jello!!!

Wishing Mr. Biafra a speedy and complete recovery. Also, thanks to Punk Rock TV channel - check 'em out and think about subscribing if you dig their content. Lots of great stuff here.

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Watch:

K and I hit the theatre today for the premiere of Ian Tuason's feature debut, Undertone, AKA The Undertone. This one is an A24 film that's getting a lot of hype. Here's the trailer, which I managed to avoid seeing until just last week, and which really doesn't give too much away.

This film is all about the sound design. As someone who studied and has done a bit in Sound Design, I was pretty excited for this, and aurally, it did not disappoint. The layers of sound are very complex at times and very well defined. Not easy to throw a lot of disparate sounds at an audience in a Horror film and not have the end result taxing or muddy. Not the case here. My one issue - and it ended up being a kind of big one - was that with all the focus on the sound, I really do not feel like this movie pays off what it sets up at all. That was pretty disappointing. Still, definitely worth seeing.

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Celebrate:

Hey! It's Friday the 13th! Here's the original teaser trailer for one of my favorites of the series!

So tonight, in celebration, let's all go out and jam a large metal rod into the grave of whatever local legend masked killer took out a bunch of our friends and family and kick this party off with a bang!

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Playlist:

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Carter Burwell - Blood Simple OST

Jospeh Loduca - Evil Dead II OST

Calderum - Mystical Fortress of Iberian Lands 

Lou Reed - Street Hassle

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin - BBC

Mr. Bungle - California

Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March (pre-release singles)

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• VI: The Lovers

• Five of Wands

• Queen of Swords

Collaboration can bring the light, the inspiration that results in clarity. 

I'm not entirely sure what this is pointing at--- wait. Yes. Yes I do! There's actually A LOT of collaboration coming up in my life as I've been invited to be a regular panel member on The Dread Broadcast! Next episode is on March 31st, 7:00 PM CST. Then I'll be on pretty much every episode (one a month, always on the last night of the month except when that's a holiday) until the holiday season. You can check out The Dreadbroadcast's YouTube page HERE.

New Music From Corrosion of Conformity

Another new track from COC's upcoming album Good God/Baad Man, out April 3rd. Pre-order from Nuclear Blast Records HERE.

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NCBD:

Pretty big week this week. Let's go!

An "inside source" tells me this 30th issue of Skybound's Transformers is a doozy, so it will be on top of my reading pile this evening!

Big story swings in the most recent issues of TMNT, and I'm cautious following the events, thinking about how many changes the brothers have been through since IDW launched this continuity. Is the current arc a way to revive a previous status quo, or something much darker? We. Will. See. 

Will Ordained #2 actually come out this week? I've put this up here so many times in the last few months, I'd say all bets are off. Great first issue, I just hope the false solicitations don't wear us out before it can continue. 

This is one of those, "'nuff said" covers, right? I'll say, while I'm happy that Skybound has kept old Snake Eyes out of the Energon Joe continuity, it's still nice to see him in Hama's hands. 

A new Alias book not written by Bendis? Definitely giving this a try, but it's a "Red Band" book, so that instantly makes me think it will be overdone. 

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Playlist:

Swans - Cop/Younggod

Talk Talk - The Color of Spring

Godflesh - Purge

James Brown - Essentials

James Brown - Hell

Portishead - Third

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta 

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Card:

One Card from Thoth:

The End of Godflesh

 

A lot of Godflesh this past weekend after seeing the following post on Justin K. Broadrick's IG. I find it sadly indicative of the age we live in that a man with a serious health condition needs to hesitate to inform his fans of a situation such as this with the expectation of retaliatory comments. I, for one, will be crushed to see Godflesh go; however, Broadrick has many other projects and I would rather he err on the side of his continued health than risk disaster continuing. Also, if you listen to the opening vocals of this lead-in track from 2017's Post Self, you can hear the strain this man still puts on his body while recording vocals. It's awesome to behold, but also no real surprise that as he ages, this kind of exertion would become a health concern.  

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Justin K Broadrick (@justinkbroadrick)

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Watch:

This past Thursday night, I did another double feature at the local cinema. First up was Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride. This was a treat; I can't tell you how many times I sat through the trailers for this film in the theatre, but the film turns out to be a lot more than either version of the preview intimates. Maggie is destined for the marketing tag, "... visionary Director..." and it fits. I knew within the first five minutes that A) there was A LOT about this film I had not anticipated and B) as a filmmaker, MG's style is singular and strong. 

Afterward, I drove K home, recorded a spoiler-free review with Missi for The Horror Vision, and then drove back to the theatre for a 10:55 PM showing of Rod Blackhurst's Dolly. Turns out, 11:00 PM was the perfect time to view this one in a mostly empty theatre. Creepy A.F. doesn't even begin to describe this film!

Ostensibly a new take on the classic Slasher formula, the thing I really loved about this one was how much the sequences inside the killer's home felt like a Puppet Combo game, specifically, Don't Go in the House and Nun Massacre. Two of my favorites. 

Blackhurst has to be a Puppet Combo fan - there are first-person shots from hiding beneath a bed and a sequence where the final girl - Fabianne Therese - searches through dresser drawers and the like. It was just spot on! Fantastic performances all around, and also, one of the gnarliest jaw-related practical FX I've seen. 

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Playlist:

Deftones - B-Sides and Rarities

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities Volume 1

Godflesh - Purge

sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

Deliverance - Neon Chaos in a Junk-Sick Dawn

Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Dub

Godflesh - Post Self

Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate

Psychedelic P*rn Crumpets - Pogo Rodeo

Melvins - Houdini

Christopher Young & Lustmord - The Empty Man OST

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

Deftones - private music

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Six of Cups

• Five of Pentacles

• Three of Wands

Tap into your inner fears and transmute them into something strong. 

Interesting. The idea here is taking something from the real world that frightens me - let's face it, only the real world frightens me - and use my Will to turn it into something strong. Something known. 

Also, not sure I've drawn the Three of Wands on this deck before. Gorgeous fucking card (like every other card in this deck!)

New Blackbraid!!!

New Blackbraid EP is out today! You can order a copy right here on their Bandcamp for Bandcamp Friday! 

Blackbraid III has become one of my all-time favorite records, and hearing this EP, I can tell that my fervor is only going to continue to mount with each subsequent release.

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Watch:

After falling in love with James Gunn's Peacemaker series recently, I've actually started a "Shawn Was Wrong" segment on Drinking with Comics. DC finally has its head out of its arse. Need more proof? 

 

I cannot believe they've made Green Lantern something I am interested in! Now that's f**king magick, baby!

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Watch:

Beyondfest Chicago announced the lineup and hopefully, about ten hours after this posts, I'll have tickets for a handful of screenings. 

None of the films I have my eye on are ones I know nothing about. Always the best way to see any movie. 

That said, the film Normal has one familiar variable: Bob Odenkirk. Here's a trailer:

I've been a fan of Odenkirk's since Mr. Brown made me a lifelong disciple of Mr. Show back in the 90s. It's been a joy to see his film career evolve the way it has. 

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Playlist:

Tool - Undertow

Foxy Shazam - Dark Blue Night

sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

Matte Black - I'm Waving, Not Drowning

Blackbraid - III

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Blackbraid - Nocturnal Womb (pre-release single)

Jucifer - Lambs EP

Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came

Melvins - Houdini Live '05

Barry Adamson - Scala! OST

Fever Ray - The Lake/Wrong Flower EP

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Card:

Back on the Thoth (But you can still order Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot HERE.)

• Ace of Wands

• Ace of Disks

• I: The Magus

Notice how the numbers read 911? Weird, right? 

The two Aces are breakthroughs, so watch for gains and new creative ground (my Will tends to center on creation). The Magus is the flex that makes it happen. Magick.

So we're at this crossroads again, eh? 

Hit Play, For Today

 

This past Monday morning, it was raining when I woke up. It wasn't just raining - it was raining in that not-quite-winter, not-quite-spring way, where the sky was grey but still bright, the air was nippy but not cold, and the world outside seemed both decayed and renewed. In other words, a perfect morning to throw on some music by The Cure. My go-tos in this situation are 1982's Pornography or 1986's Disintegration. There's always an offhand chance Seventeen Seconds might beat one of those two out, and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me is a rarity, but one that lives in my heart. I hardly ever go to the singles compilation Standing on a Beach, primarily for two reasons:

• 1) I don't generally love compilation albums - I'd rather get to know the entire albums the songs originally appeared on.
• 2) Early Cure - as in the first few years - is not my go-to with the band. I prefer the dark A.F. Pornography and the evolutionary climb that occurs between that and Disintegration, the former being what I would describe as Proto-Industrial, the latter being perfect downbeat Pop. 

Monday, however, it was indeed Beach that I pulled from my CD shelves and listened to from start to finish. I don't think I could accurately express how this listening affected me. Not nostalgia - an outlier or not, I have history with this record - but a new appreciation for the first singles by the band. This lead me down a brief rabbit hole with 1979's Three Imaginary Boys, the band's debut record and one that, while I've listened to it, I have never owned it. 

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NCBD:

Every issue of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez's Batman title turns out to be pure joy, and that's something we could all use a little more of in our life. 

The end of issue #1 proved to be a total WTF? so I can't wait to get into this one. Jason Aaron was definitely the dude to go to for this relaunch of such a classic 80s property.

Finally - the finale to Zander Cannon's Sleep! If you're reading this, you know the last few months were not easy to wait for this conclusion, but we're finally here, and, as much as I want to see how this wraps up, I am sorry to see this one go. This was my #1 comic of 2025!

I still haven't done that re-read on The Nice House on the Lake since it came back for the second half. I'll have to get on that soon. 

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Playlist:

The Cure - Standing on a Beach

Faith No More - Angel Dust

Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Jello Biafra and Melvins - Sieg Howdy!

Melvins - Houdini

John Zorn - The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone

Melvins - The Crybaby

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Rob Zombie - The Great Satan

Melvins & Napalm Death - Tossing Coins Into The Fountain Of Fuck (single)

Foxy Shazam - Eponymous

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Card:

One card from the Thoth deck because it's late and I'm tired.

Fight to impose your Will on the world around you.

This is interesting. I've been thinking about Magick a lot again. It's been some time since I actively practiced, but I'm feeling a pull. Is this an acknowledgement? 

Super Gore

From their now ten-year-old album Gore. Been a while since I've listened to this one, and one listen put it right back into regular rotation.

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Watch:

With all the big-budget stuff James Gunn is doing for DC that I'm only just now getting in on, I had an urge to go back and rewatch his 2010 film Super. 

Man, does this hold up! So F*cked up, but Super also has a lot of heart. It's a push-pull with where this one takes you, and I'm happy I finally added a Blu-ray copy to my shelves. Everyone involved gives fantastic performance, and even though it makes you uncomfortable and uneasy, a strange affirmation of humanity seeps in at the end. If Gunn has a superhero ability, that's it right there. 

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Read:

Also, I'm about 150 pages into Project Hail Mary. My cousin's husband put this on my radar last summer, and I finally grabbed a copy from Clarksville Bookshoppe a couple of months ago. 

Just getting around to it now - possibly the last non-Stephen King or research-related read I'll have for the foreseeable future if I really double down and go with this Dark Tower/The Talisman re-read in anticipation of Other Worlds Than These. As promised, Andy Weir is a fantastic author and this is a fantastic read. Very light for something so infused with actual scientific data. The day I purchased this was my clue that a film was on the immediate horizon, so I'm squeezing this in before the March 20th release date. 

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Playlist:

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST

Various - An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music/Second A-Chronology Vol 2 (Disc1)

Low Cut Connie - Art Dealers

Lou Reed - Eponymous

Fever Ray - The Bride EP

Melvins & Napalm Death - Tossing Coins Into The Fountain Of Fuck (single)

Helmet - Aftertaste

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Adam Kesher - Local Girl (Hatchmatik Remix)

Faith No More - Angel Dust

Deftones - Gore

Rob Zombie - The Great Satan

Rammstein - Reise, Reise

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In

Foxy Shazam - Eponymous

Ghostland Observatory - Paparazzi Lightning

Team Human w/ Douglas Rushkoff - Chapel Perilous w/ Gabriel Kennedy & Grant Morrison

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Card:

I've been doing daily spreads with the Thoth deck, as well as before-bed single-card draws. The Two of Disks went face-up on my bedside table on Friday and I only just relinquished it. 

A change to the way I'm doing some 'Earthly' things will do me some good; that's enough of a kick in the pants to run with an idea I had recently. I'm getting pretty regular practice with spreadsheet creation and manipulation at work these days and I thought it might be advantageous to try adapting some of that stuff for personal functions. Primarily, money.

Teenage Sex and Death At Camp Miasma

When Faster Pussycat's House of Pain came out in 1989, I was thirteen. My friend Zak bought (or stole) the cassette single. I remember it vividly, even though I couldn't tell you what the B-side was. We weren't really FP fans - despite listening to some other pretty hokey bands, something about the name turned us off. I don't remember if I had an opinion on this song either way back then. Let's just say I tolerated it.

K and I have been watching HOBOMAX's Peacemaker series - it's fantastic - and in season one, episode four, this song is used to fabulous effect. Hearing it, I had an immediate, almost unbelievably strong emotional reaction. I chewed on it multiple times over the next week, listened to the Wake Me When It's Over album, and, although that was pretty lackluster, the song stands. 

There's a definite Stephen Tyler element to Singer Taime Downe's approach, but where it comes off unabashed in other songs on the album, for House of Pain it really works. The guitar glitters in forlorn opulence, and the harmonica just seals the deal. It sounds like crying. Which is essentially what the song is about. A little boy waiting for a father that will never show. 

Damn. 

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Watch:

I'm rounding the final stretch on a two-week "no drinking" interval. The context is that K had a minor injury to her foot (she's fine), and the doctor prescribed a two-week course of an antibiotic that they warned "is tough on the liver." Because of this, I suggested she should abstain from wine, and I would support her by leaving my beers in the fridge for the duration of her treatment. We started Monday, 2/16 and both feel great, so we're thinking of instituting a loose, "only on the weekends" policy. I'll have one beer Monday night for the taping of DwC, but aside from that, we'll abstain until the weekends. 

I set all this up to set the mood for last Friday, 2/20, when I fired up Jane Schoenbrun's "I Saw The TV Glow." I talked about the profound effect this film had on me in Monday's post. I'm still thinking about it, over and over. A lovely feeling that was made even more acute when I saw Fango's post about Schoenbrun's new film this morning. I've vetted the trailer: it gives nothing away, other than this is now my most anticipated film of the year. Before you hit play, I strongly suggest watching this for the first time with earphones. 

I LOVE falling in love with a Director and then almost immediately discovering they have a new film coming out. Teenage Sex and Death At Camp Miasma lands in theatres on August 7th, and you can bet the farm I'll be seeing this on the big screen, whether I have to drive to Nashville, Chicago, or Berwin. (Berrr-winn!).

I am so excited for this!!!

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Playlist:

Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Slayer - Decade of Aggression

Soviet Soviet - Endless

Tomahawk - Mit Gas

Deftones - Around the Fur

High on Fire - Snakes of the Divine

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Deftones - Gore

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Page of Pentacles

• X: Wheel of Fortune

• IV: The Emerpor

"Getting a revolving policy going on Earthly matters that feel important but ultimately might not be so is the name of the game. Instead of trying to control everything and everyone, focus on what matters that you can control."