Pale Crickets

I was actually pretty disappointed to realize I don't really care for the new and supposedly final Ministry album. I kind of wish they'd gone out with HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES, which is a masterpiece, in my opinion. Still, Ministry rules and this song has been stuck in my head for days now.

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Listen:

I didn't know about Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid's Tales from Beyond the Pale podcast until recently while watching the special features on one of my Fessenden or McQuaid Blu-rays. 

While driving back from Dayton yesterday, K and I listened to the first two episodes, directed by McQuaid and Fessenden respectively, and were pretty blown away. Essentially a variation on the serialized radio Horror that would make any EC comics fan feel warm and fuzzy, this was a really great surprise to find out about. We hit the final episode right at dusk as we were taking side roads back from Kentucky, and it was perfect. 

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Read:

I finished Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman about a week or so ago. I can't say I was more fond of it this time than last time I read it. This book just goes on and on. So much so, I felt I needed a breather before jumping into my first time through Black House. So I picked up two books I've been meaning to read for years - Jarett Kabek's Motor Spirit: The Long Hunt for the Zodiac and its companion book, How to Find the Zodiac. I blew through the first book in a fews days and am starting the second now.

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Playlist:

Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician

Ministry - HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES

Ministry - Hate to Go

Butthole Surfers - piouhgd    

Young Widows - Settle Down City

Chat Pile - Who Love the Sun

Chat Pile - Cool World

Ramones - Road to Ruin

Hussalonia - Home Taping is Killing Me

Passenger Peru - Eponymous

Midnight Radio Podcast - Episodes 1: Phantom Cosmonauts

Midnight Radio Podcast - Episodes 2: Night Tripping

Midnight Radio Podcast - Episodes 3: Operation Wandering Souls Pt. 1

Tales from Beyond the Pale Podcast - Episode 1: Reappraisal (Glenn McQuaid)

Tales from Beyond the Pale Podcast - Episode 2: In the Wind (Larry Fessenden)

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Card:

Ace of Disks:

Upcoming breakthrough on Earthly concerns. Hopefully that's my kidney stones, which I'm waiting to have surgery scheduled for the removal. Good fucking riddance!

The Sword - Live on KEXP

I've been meaning to get around to this KEXP live performance from The Sword for a few weeks now. Placing it here so I finally remember.

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Watch:

My friend Dennis first showed me seminal backwoods slasher Just Before Dawn back in the early 00s. This was pre-Blu-Ray, and I never would have guessed at the time that I'd have next to no opportunities to watch it again. 

Criminally out of print for some time, Bloody Disgusting gave us the good news this week that one of the Producers finally won back the rights in court and a restoration edition is in the works.  

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Playlist:

Boards of Canada - Inferno

Anthrax - Cursum Perficio

Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity

Shadowlands - 001

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Eponymous

Blackbraid - III

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II Dialogue with the Stars

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Card:

One card from the Thoth today:

Things about to change. 

The Ocean - Milk of My Dreams

Getting back to this new album from The Ocean, Solaris, I was shocked to find the penultimate track is a collaboration with the legendary Tangerine Dream! This album really goes to some deep, far out places, and nowhere is that more apparent than on this track.

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NCBD:

The AI insanity continues. I'm telling you - I LOVE this book, but there are so many disturbing similarities to the dildos that populate "Amerigun" and our own timeline here in this country that every issues scares the shit out of me just as much as it puts a smile on my face. 

I had completely forgotten about Ordained, but here we are with the fourth and final (?) issue!

After taking a break from Fraction and Jimenez's Batman for the duration of the "Bad Seeds" crossover, I'm not 100% certain I am jumping back on board with this new issue. But we'll see. Now that this whole Kingpin... I mean, Vandal Savage storyline is over, hopefully we can get back to some of the awesome storylines Fraction planted in the first year of the book, before editorial no doubt rammed a crossover event down everyone's throat.

Fuck yeah! Hammerfist issue three is here and this cover says it all! HELL PARTY!!!

Still on the fence with M.A.S.K., but I'm hanging on for those Micronauts!

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Watch:

After missing it at not one but two Beyondfests in the last twelve months, I finally saw Tom Stern's The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt documentary on the Butthole Surfers. Man, this one was every bit as wonderful as I had anticipated!

The mix of archival footage, present-day interviews and animation/puppetry made for a deeply original feeling; closest thing I've seen to this was that Shane McGowan doc a couple years ago. 

It was cool to see a lot of the stories confirmed; the tales my friends and I knew from back before internet proliferation, when people passed on stories about bands like this via word-of-mouth. Also interesting to see the Surfers - who I never really knew much about outside their music - as people. Also, some genuinely tear-jerking moments. Fantastic film.

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Playlist:

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay

Algiers - Eponymous

QOTSA - Perfecth

Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Godflesh - Decay

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife

Genital Shame - Wellness Plan

Ministry - Hate To Go: Take Out Or Delivery

Portishead - Third

Opeth - Blackwater Park

The Ocean - Solaris

Anthrax - Cursum Perficio

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Queen of Cups

• 13: Death

• King of Cups

Subconscious change is required for mastery. 

I'm feeling embers beneath my feet; a change is coming, in how I approach myself. It might be something I don't want to deal with, but chances are, I'm going to have to.

New Music from Nabihah Iqbal!

After "chasing Halloween" for thirty-one days, I am waaay behind on new music, and I wanted to start with the Nabihah Iqbal's latest single, which I'm  hoping this heralds a new album is on the horizon.

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31 Days of Halloween:

Another 31 Days of Halloween wrapped up and what a blast! I LOVE doing this every year, and making the effort to fit some never-before-seen stuff in - as well as some long overdue rewatches (Trigger Man, The Warriors, Dreamscape) - really livened things up this year.

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead

2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)

3) The Warriors

4) Big Trouble in Little China

5) Dreamscape

6) Infirmary*

7) Beware Boiúna*

8) Milk & Serial

9) Pumpkinhead

10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)

11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*

12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing

13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*

14) Trigger Man

15) Evil Dead Burn

16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*

17) Impetigore*/ Sator

18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow

19) Terrifier

20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve

21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th

22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street

23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*

24) The Cycle*/ The Howling

25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November

26) Cobweb/ Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII and VIII 

27) The Ninth Heart*/ Flatliners/ Suspiria

28) City of the Dead/ Treehouse of Horror VIX

29) The Rocky Horror Picture Show/ The Convent/ Lords of Salem

30) Earth vs. The Spider (The Last Drive-In presentation)/ Basket Case* (The Last Drive-In Presentation)

31) X-Files: Humbug/ Halloween/ Night of the Demons/ Trick 'r Treat/ Night of the Living Dead

One of those first-time viewings was Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, which I'd dismissed for years when I was younger and then just never got around to. Turns out I really dug it; I had no idea of the plot specifics, so the fact that it takes place amidst the misfits of late 70s/early 80s 42nd street was a nice surprise. 

As soon as it was over, I had the urge to dig into the old "Humbug" episode of The X-Files. I've talked about this in these pages previously, but I was never a huge X-Files guy; a few years ago Mr. Brown gave me a list of the best standalone episodes of the series, and K and worked through that list and very much enjoyed it. This was on that list, was in fact probably our favorite. 

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Watch:

I'm also really behind on trailers - although there haven't been a lot that moved a needle with me. I'd heard this title several times over the last couple weeks but not read or seen anything about it. 

I only had to make thirty-six seconds into this trailer before I turned it off and added The River to my "looking forward to" list for early next year. Now, since it's a Blumhouse flick, there is a very real possibility that, during subsequent theatre trips over the intervening two and a half months until the film's release, I will see this trailer so many times that I will lose all interest. For now, though, I'm in.

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Playlist:

The Butthole Surfers - Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac

The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us

My Apple Music Halloween Playlist

John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: The Season of the Witch OST

Carter Burwell - Blood Simple OST

Opeth - A Dirge for November (single)

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay

Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - La Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomimi

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Queen of Cups

• Four of Cups

• Nine of Swords

Emotional intelligence. Something missed. And here's something - looking around online at different interpretations of the Nine of Swords, here's something I'd not seen the card associated with "3:00 AM Dread." Interestingly enough, I've had a touch of that lately. So the cards appear to be telling me the existential dread keeping me awake is because I'm not quite as smart as I think I am - I missed something. 

Happy Halloween

The Final Cut - U.F.O.T.M

From their 1993 album Consumed, a favorite from start to finish for more years than not, at this point. The opening samples from Flatliners always get me. 

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31 Days of Halloween:

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead

2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)

3) The Warriors

4) Big Trouble in Little China

5) Dreamscape

6) Infirmary*

7) Beware Boiúna*

8) Milk & Serial

9) Pumpkinhead

10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)

11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*

12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing

13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*

14) Trigger Man

15) Evil Dead Burn

16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*

17) Impetigore*/ Sator

18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow

19) Terrifier

20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve

21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th

22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street

23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*

24) The Cycle*/ The Howling

25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November

26) Cobweb/ Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII and VIII 

27) The Ninth Heart*/ Flatliners/ Suspiria

28) City of the Dead/ Treehouse of Horror VIX

29) The Rocky Horror Picture Show/ The Convent/ Lords of Salem

Every time I watch Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem, I'm struck by how sad it is, how beautiful it is, and how absolutely, gloriously blasphemous it is. I like most of Zombie's films to one degree or another, but this film is beyond anything else he's ever done. 

We also watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it's funny that I never realized Patricia Quinn is in both films. That's another thing I've always dug about Zombie's films - how he casts his heroes. 

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Playlist:

John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: The Season of the Witch OST

Goblin - Phenomena OST

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult  - Eponymous

Jeff Grace - House of the Devil OST

Danzig - Danzig II

Ritual Howls - Virtue Falters

Beach Creeper - In Surf Of

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight

The Final Cut - Consumed

Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste

Dreamkid - Daggers

My Apple Music Halloween Playlist

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• 21: The World

• 20: Judgement

• Five of Wands

Faced with stagnation, pivot into what comes next.

I read this twofold. First, that my annual Halloween celebration is nearly over and once it is, I'll pivot back into work mode on the book (been slow and feeling a little frustrating, as I've mentioned here recently). Also, I think I need to skip ahead of the scene I'm stuck on and work on the scene after in order to free myself of the block.

New Music from Dead Man's Bones!

So excited to have these guys back. No pre-order for a full album yet, but I'll be watching for that like a hawk.

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31 Days of Halloween:

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead

2) V/H/S/ playlist (Amateur Night; Safe Haven; Slumber Party Alien Abduction; Bone Storm; Dreamkill)

3) The Warriors

4) Big Trouble in Little China

5) Dreamscape

6) Infirmary*

7) Beware Boiúna*

8) Milk & Serial

9) Pumpkinhead

10) Deathgasm (The Last Drive-In Presentation)

11) Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings*

12) Carrie (Mike Flanagan)*/ John Carpenter's The Thing

13) The Roost / Return of the Living Dead III*

14) Trigger Man

15) Evil Dead Burn

16) Pulse*/ Lord of Tears*

17) Impetigore*/ Sator

18) My Soul To Take*/ The Serpent and the Rainbow

19) Terrifier

20) Evil Dead 2013/ All Hallows Eve

21) Crystal Lake*/ Friday the 13th

22) All Hallow's Eve 2*/ A Nightmare on Elm Street

23) The Last Drive-In Halloween House Party: John Carpenter's Body Bags/ WNUF Halloween Special*

24) The Cycle*/ The Howling

25) Dark and the Wicked/ Pet Sematary/ November

26) Cobweb/ Simpsons Treehouse of Horror VII and VIII 

27) The Ninth Heart*/ Flatliners/ Suspiria

From Juraj Herz's The Ninth Heart, which I watched for the first time yesterday. This is included in Severin's All the Haunts Be Ours Vol. II set, and I'd yet to watch it. The first two acts are okay, but they do not prepare you for the absolute grandeur of the third. This is the intro to that, but what comes after, even, is just jaw dropping.

I've only watched a handful in this set so far, but I'm back in that Folk Horror mindset, so I'll be posting more about the other films in the weeks ahead.

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* Indicated first-time viewing

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NCBD:

Nice quiet week for Halloween. Here we go:

As I predicted, I like Void Rivals so much more as a book about a handful of folks wandering through the galaxy.

Thought that was bloody John Constantine on the cover for a minute! Still enjoying Ram V's old school Vertigo "spies and Magick" book, interested to see where it's going.

So good to have this book back, and the newsprint on the first issue was spectacular. Not sure if that's the plan going forward, but I'm into it if it is.

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Playlist:

Dead Man's Bones - Lost in the Night (single)

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight

Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy

John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Halloween III: The Season of the Witch OST

Ain Soph - Rituals

Bauhaus - Burning From the Inside

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Bauhaus - Volume One: 1979-1983

Samhain - Unholy Passion

Samhain - November Coming Fire

Deth Crux - Mutant Flesh

Ritual Howls - Virtue Falters

Fvnerals - Let the Earth Be Silent

Chelsea Wolfe and Tyler Bates - X OST

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Ace of Cups

• 09: The Hermit

• 20: Judgement

Confidence comes from isolation in a flashpoint - I'm currently stuck on a scene in Shadow Play II and I think this is telling me I need to spend some concentrated time alone with this. I've not been writing as much lately because I'm still experiencing pain in my back and urinary tract from the kidney stones - will they ever fucking pass?! - so all my recent sessions have been "thin." 

I need to change that.