Via Mr. Brown. I first heard Bohren thanks to a posting on Warren Ellis's Whitechapel community board back in 2006 or 2007. It had a huge impact on me and Sunset Mission is still a record I listen to hundreds of times a year. It's great for late night writing, drinking or romance and sounds a bit - if I had to elevator pitch it - as Angelo Badalamenti Thought Gang if they died, went to hell and opened a swanky, downtempo jazz night club. If you're unfamiliar the post Mr. Brown sent me goes on to pimp a new anthology that comes out on Record Store Day this year. Bohren for Beginners looks as though it touches most if not all of their records and is available for pre-order on the band's bandcamp here.
Image by the amazing Dark Town Sally. Link to her store below
Same as the movies but with the tightly curated music I've filled my October with. I'm album-oriented, especially in regards to this particular season, but for sheer pragmatism I'll simply post one song of each in a little playlist I made. All this stuff is from fantastic records though, and I urge you to seek them out!
And note - the image I used above is artwork by the INCREDIBLE Dark Town Sally. I strongly encourage anyone who loves Halloween to seek out her website and order some of her work!
I've been so inspired by Tommy over at Heaven is an Incubator, who has been celebrating all month by posting a horror movie trailer a day, that I thought I'd do something something similar today. So, below are the trailers for every movie I've watched in the last two weeks or so. Most of these are every year October watches, but a few were fleeting dalliances. Enjoy.
Note: First flick I'll mention is the one on the list I refuse to post the trailer to, so I used the movie poster as my lead image. I do this because when I saw May I knew nothing about it and it completely floored me. The trailer gives too much away.
What a fucking shite day. Steve Dillon is responsible for the visual end of two of my top three comics of all times, Preacher and his run on Hellblazer, both with Garth Ennis. These are two books that made me laugh and, more rarely and importantly I'd say in comics, made me cry. His characters were so human, so fragile and - at times - so awful that, well, it reminds me now why this is so hard.
Rest in Peace Mr. Dillon. Thank you for making my life and the field of comics so much better than it would have been without you. Say hello to Bill Hicks and know there will be many raising a pint in your honor tonight.
And I cannot wait! Also, intrigued as to who is opening the show. Last night's was Deafheaven and although I would have loved to see them I have a pretty good feeling about the fact that they haven't announced anything yet (at least that I have seen).
I'm not quite as rabidly into the new Popestar E.P. as I am the group's previous recordings, but this particular song I LOVE (the rest I'm warming to and, really, any Ghost is good in my book).
... and I had a profound experience hearing/seeing their music for the first time. It was a magickal night; rain in Los Angeles - so rare - timed perfectly to coincide with this band's music. I've been high on the vibe ever since.
Tickets just went on sale for Chasms's next LA show went on sale today. Saturday December 10th at the Echo. I will absolutely be there and recommend that if you dig this, you should go here and buy their album and seriously consider going to the show.
Spurred by seeing them live this past Sunday (review of the show is coming soon) I finally ordered Ritual Howl's 2014 album Turkish Leather. It is fantastic. This right here is one of my favorite tracks and if you follow this link you can read a great interview with Paul Bancell over at Seventh Hex. Mr. Bancell discusses all sorts of interesting ideas pertaining to the group's writing process, including the origin of this particular song.
If you dig the track I'd strongly recommend heading over to the group's bandcamp where you can pick up Turkish Leather and the Howl's newest album Into the Water for a steal.
Can you tell I'm obsessed with this band? Here's a great interview.
Post Plague has been my 'album of the year' since about five seconds into Needs the first time I heard it back in the spring. Hasn't been topped yet (though label mates Ritual Howls come pretty close) specially after seeing them live at the Echoplex last Thursday, when not only did they do every song I would have asked to hear had I realized they were opening the bill and thus playing a shorter set, but closed with a perfect cover of this old classic:
I will admit that while I have extremely low tolerance for the Zombie film as a genre there are several Zombie-related stories in popular culture that inspire an allegiance in me that little else receives. My Zombie list goes like this, not in any order of preference:
Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
The Walking Dead (comic)
That's it. I don't hate everything else Zombie-related by I dislike most of it*. Or rather, maybe it's just that I don't have time for most of the rest of it. All that said, if asked what I think is the absolute pinnacle of films on the subject I would answer without hesitation George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. I feel as though Dawn does everything a Zombie story should do, from chronicle the dismemberment of social/political and economic structures amidst the ensuing chaos to addressing the modern human psyche's reaction to not only the stresses resultant from those structures ending but to themes of isolation, agoraphobia and, ultimately, the Lord of the Flies survival mechanism that would no doubt cause other humans to become an even bigger threat than those shambling monstrosities waiting to eat your flesh.
Thanks to the labors of original Dawn of the Dead** Producer Richard P. RubensteinDawn of the Dead has now been converted to a BEAUTIFULLY rendered 3D experience and while I generally take 3D with a grain of salt, if you are a Dawn fan this is a MUST SEE.
Saturday, 10/08/16 I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere of this newly converted film thanks once again to the fine folks at Beyond Fest and The Egyptian Theatre. To say it was one of my favorite theatrical experiences from over my 40 years on this Earth is not hyperbolic. Mr. Rubenstein spoke before and after the film, going out of his way to not only explain the conversion impetus and process, but also to assure everyone that "This is 100% George's film - I did not alter it at all". Mr. Rubenstein also went on to talk about his plans to get this version of the film into Cinemas across the country and finally to assure everyone that the 2D version is not going anywhere.
Also, if you're a fan of The Walking Dead but have not seen this film before I can't recommend it enough, in either 3D or 2D. As the first Zombie film to address the above-mentioned themes of extinction, isolation and inter-species betrayal Dawn is quite literally where The Walking Dead comes from - its part of TWD's DNA. In fact, Robert Kirkman has stated in interviews that the original title for TWD was Night of the Living Dead and that it would continue the "Universe" that Mr. Romero began. Obviously that title did not happen, but the plot absolutely did; I've always read TWD with the idea firmly in place that this was the further evolution of Romero's world.
To further celebrate this historic piece of horror cinema I'm going to embed a making of I found on youtube while searching for a trailer to post. Enjoy.
..........................
*I should also clarify that I am most definitely a fan of 28 Days/Weeks later but do not consider those Zombie flicks
** Mr. Rubenstein also produced the remake, as well as most of Mr. Romero's classic canon of films
Last Saturday, October 1st I attended a double bill comprised of the Bad Robot 4k, 5.1 surround re-mastered version of the original Phantasm and the premiere of the looooong awaited Phantasm V: Ravager, thanks to the good folks that hold Beyond Fest every year at the Egyptian Theatre.
Dining beforehand right next door to the Egyptian at the Pig and Whistle, my better half, best friend and I almost missed the fact that fans began to line up about two hours before the admittance time. We made it inside in time to find seats and shortly thereafter the guys from Beyond Fest took the stage in Angus Scrimm wigs and full-fan fervor. They pumped the crowd up for what was to many their umpteenth dozen time watching Don Coscarelli's 1977 classic. And you know, I'm one of them repeat viewers (not as many as some but perhaps more than most) and I have to tell you, no hyperbole here, seeing the restoration on a big screen as awesome as the one in the Egyptian, with their massive sound system cranked, it was almost like I had never seen it before. There is so much more color, texture and detail, so many more layers to the sound mix that many of those profound 'WTF?' moments in Phantasm struck me again, as if for the first time. It was magical.
Afterward Coscarelli himself, along with Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury and a whole host of other folks involved in the franchise took the stage or stood for acknowledgement and we were treated to an awesome interview that touched on the early ideas, process and legacy of the Tall Man and his jawa-dwarves.
It was awesome.
Afterward we were treated to the Los Angeles premiere of Phantasm V: Ravager and although I didn't really care for it - Phantasm kinda ends with number two for me - it was still cool to see it on the big screen, surrounded by a huge room of other fans.
Beyond Fest, how I love you...
And this Saturday we're returning to Beyond Fest to see another classic - George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, in 3D no less! Honestly, the 3D will be cool but it's unnecessary to me; I've just always wanted to see what I consider probably the best Zombie movie ever on the big screen.
If you want to see what else is playing/played at Beyond Fest this year here's the link to their schedule. I wish I could make more screenings than I have, but you know, bloody work and all.
Wow. Had never heard of this band before today. Fell immediately in love with their new record The Fifth Element. They are playing the first night of Midnight Communion in LB. Might just have to go, if only to see them.
... is being released on December 2nd by Relapse Records! I am PSYCHED! Just received my copy of the Blu Ray for The Mind's Eye, one of my favorite flicks from last year and one that I saw premiere last October at the 2015 Beyond Fest. Now, almost a year later to the day, I get news of the awesome, synth-ridden nightmare score from Zombi's Steve Moore as well!
The final months of 2016 are proving to be ripe with awesomeness! (and bloody expensive).
Thanks be to Heavenisanincubatorfor turning me onto Begos in the first place with this write-up of his first film, Almost Human, on Joup!
