I have no idea how to process the new Ulver record, Liminal Animals. The haunting atmospherics and Black Metal asides are gone in favor of... 80s keyboard lounge? What the absolute fuck? I played the entire record through with my jaw firmly agape, and then I hit track #6, "Hollywood Babylon," and thought, "this has to be a piss-take." But looking around online, I don't think it is.
Admittedly, there's a whole slew of Ulver's career I have no experience with, and reading around online a bit, Liminal Animals appears to be part of a long evolution. I made it all the way through the record, and while I still have trouble reconciling this being the same band that did
NCBD:
Small pull this week:
Once again, I seriously forgot about this book until seeing it pop up again. There have been a number of recent series that have kind of etched it into my brain that long-form is dead; the best books are those that get in and get out. Not to say the opposite isn't true, but when you take a book like The Walking Dead - possibly the last long-form series not Big Two I read and loved, it did not suffer from all the hiatus breaks. I really feel like that is killing some series for me. That said, I've hung in this long and enjoyed WTFPFH?, and I'm not going anywhere now.
Apparently I got in on this one right at the end; Issue Five is the last solicited for the time being. I never did find issues 1-3, so I can only judge by last month's issue 4. I dig Cruel Universe, but maybe not as much as I do Epitaphs From the Abyss.
Watch:
Noirvember may be over, but K and I have been so impressed with the selection on the Criterion Channel that I renewed the subscription, and we continued our Noir playlist with Otto Preminger's 1944 masterpiece Laura.
One of the main characters here is named Waldo Lydecker. If you're a Twin Peaks fan, you know my ears instantly perked up at this. Obviously, David Lynch and/or Mark Frost dig this film. Totally see why. What a fantastic Whodunit. There's a stubbornness to Dana Andrew's Detective Lt. Mark McPherson is extremely gratifying to witness as you go down the rabbit hole on this, ahem, "Who killed Laura" case. And for her own part, Gene Tierney's Laura is fantastic as the victim. Also, Vincent Price is almost unrecognizable as a kind of high-society infiltrating rube - his voice is the giveaway.
Playlist:
Black Pyramid - The Paths of Time are Vast
Melvins - Tarantula Heart
Shellac - To All Trains
Various - Learn to Relax! A Tribute to Jehu
The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Venamoris & Dave Lombardo - Winter's Whisper (single)
Venamoris - Drown in Emotion
Ulver - Liminal Animals
Dreamkid - Eponymous
Card:
Today's card for study is the Prince of Disks.
I don't have much in the ol' Grimoire for this one, and what I do have doesn't exactly add up. Let's look at what Crowley has to say... okay, that's a bit of astrological gobbledegook, too. Let me see if I can parse some of this down.
To start, both my own notes and A.C.'s start with "The Airy aspect of Earth." Okay, now my notes are becoming a little clearer; as I'd written, "Swords (Air) for pragmatism can be a bit of a cunt for matters pertaining to money and stability."
I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that I asked an intercontinental moving company for a Clarksville to Melbourne, Australia quote yesterday...
Consulting another text I sometimes use to interpret Thoth, Hajo Banzhaf and Brigitte Theler's Keywords for the Crowley Tarot, I see references to cycles, and that immediately makes sense; this card reminds us that we go through our micro versions of the planet's macro Seasons. The Bull is fertility and power. Cycles don't imply stability, and that gels with my comment above. The important thing here is to realize this card is a pinion card; it works best read in a chronology with other cards.
I have to preface the following piece by saying up front, there is no way to properly quantify how much I revile The Smashing Pumpkins and, specifically, the man at the heart of the group. I don't want to be unnecessarily mean to anyone, not even some "rock star" I don't personally know, but if I'm going to discuss them in any kind of positive light, my "hate disclaimer" needs to come first. My feelings are strong enough that I would never want to be mistaken for a fan. Why? Because everything the band has done since Siamese Dream is literal anathema to me. So much so that I stopped paying any kind of attention to them over a decade ago but their continued existence still pisses me right the fuck off!
Over the weekend, K and I drove to Dayton, Ohio to visit her Grandmother. As has become our habit on road trips, we fired up Yacy Salek's Podcast Bandsplain. Scrolling the list of episodes, we eventually chose the two-part Smashing Pumpkins deep-dive.
I know very little about the Pumpkins post-Meloncollie (sorry billy, not spelling it your way), and what little I gleaned about that magnum stain upon release has long since been recorded over in my memory banks. Because of this, I figured the episode would be equally enlightening, justifying and, of course, hysterical. Salek has already demonstrated her own penchant for taking corgan with a grain of salt on the Soundgarden deep-dive we listened to last month, so I figured, let's hear what someone who likes the music but not necessarily the artist thinks.
Upon finishing the first installment, K and I drove around Dayton listening to Siamese Dream, and something clicked. I realized that, for all intents and purposes, the corgan who wrote Siamese Dream (and Gish) left this existence in 1994 and was replaced by some kind of doppelgänger cooked up in a corporate lab. This idea felt like a new approach to settle the cognitive dissonance I've had about embracing this record again after all this time.
Qhen Siamese Dream hit record stores in 1993, it immediately became one of my favorite albums of all time. I cannot stress how much this album colored my final year in High School. The music was perfect for a burgeoning stoner and his high school stoner sweetheart; my black-clad girlfriend and I listened to it obsessively, interwoven betwixt all the Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer we thrived on at the time. It's big, fuzzy sonic boom and soft, lilting aquatic passages marked our days and nights and quickly became interwoven in my memories. The song "Disarm," in particular, hit at a time when a friend was arrested and eventually convicted of murdering a younger girl in our group. While "Disarm" has since become emotionally ubiquitous for the general population, its effect will likely always remain strong for me. I have such a strong emotional association between it and the horror and frustration I felt at that time. Hearing it now conjures a balm from thirty years ago. At a time when my life and understanding of the world was crumbling around me, this band seemed to have some kind of parallel. That felt like everything.
That said, I'm choosing to post the track "Hummer" today because, as Salek points out during her episode, this track is often overlooked. In fact, listening to this masterpiece again with fresh ears, I'd say it might just be the best - or at least my favorite - song on the record.
Playing this record several times over the weekend - and in fact, even now while I type this - I'm shocked at how much I love it. A lot of my life as a music fan has involved figuring out ways to continue relationships with music made by artists who eventually reveal themselves to be cunts. There is no better example than The Smashing Pumpkins. There is zero chance I'll ever connect with anything after this album (see what I did there?), but I'm taking this one back (However, I have said that before).
Watch:
Let's lighten the mood. You know, there was a lot of talk about the Netflix Menendez Brothers movie this year. Tabloid true crime isn't my jam, but for my money, there's only one movie about that particular case:
I laughed so hard I cried. This Letterman YouTube channel is one of my favorite finds of the year. I'm not very YouTube savvy, so every time I see a video like this, I try to remind myself that, at this point the streaming giant is essentially our social memory of the last forty or fifty years. Everything is on it.
Read:
Over the extended weekend, I had my first chance to really sit down and read in a while, so I was finally able to finish IvyTholen's Mother Dear. The fact that this is the second novel Ivy has published this year makes me think she's something of a superhero, as Mother Dear is just as tightly paced and joyously readable as her other novels. The characters were extremely well designed, but by their nature, anathema to me; however, that didn't keep me from rocketing through this one once I got a few hours to actually focus on it again.
Next up is Mark Twain's The Mysterious Stranger:
This is not the edition I'm reading. However, this is one of the illustrations from inside the book, and I LOVE it so much that I couldn't pass up using it to represent this nefarious novella. The Mysterious Stranger begins in Austria during the winter of 1590 and is narrated by one of three boys who begin a casual friendship with an Angel named Satan. Now, never mind that the Angel tells them he is not THE Satan, the boys find themselves swooning for this charming being who hands out money and favors like it's nothing at all. Satan also talks down about the Human Race every chance he gets (can't really blame him, even all these years later). At the heart of the boys' education and the Stranger's criticisms is The Moral Sense, Humanity's inbourne conceit that they can determine what is right and what is wrong (not between what is right and what is wrong). The way Twain writes the characters and scenarios is subtle enough to completely belie the fact that there are some absolutely horrifying ideas here. At one point, the narrator touches on the recent spate of Witch burnings, including an incident where eleven children were burned. It's bafflingly scary and definitely deserves way more recognition as a work of Literate Horror Fiction than it gets.
Playlist:
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God, Chapter 1
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Page of Wands
• Six of Wands
• Seven of Wands
That's a lot of Wands. So what is this trying to tell me as I come off a long weekend and a small road trip? Wands are all about WILL, so I instantly read this as an instruction to knuckle back down, apply the will and finish the book. I am SO close now; on the final Grammarly edit, but only about 40% of the way through reading it out loud to K. After that, I'll send it to my trusted Beta Reader, wait to hear back and make any changes she suggests that will help the overall book. But I am extremely happy so far, and have considered shopping this around to publishers. We'll see.
If you've seen Jeremy Gardner's film The Battery - which I've watched twice in the last four days - you know this song.
Check out Rock Plaza Central's Bandcamp HERE. Watch The Battery wherever you fucking can. Instantly in my top six zombie flicks of all time.
NCBD:
Way behind on posting these - I started writing this Wednesday, but finishing it became arduous at best with the Holiday and our travels.
This week's Pull list is from Rick's Comic City, which I won't actually be picking up until next week due to choosing writing over a trip to the shop last night and heading out to Dayton on Friday.
Four in and so far, I'm super happy I didn't jump ship on the new series. Jason Aaron found an elegant solution to hitting 'reset' for new readers without jettisoning the 12 years of continuity and world-building that prefaces this new era. Really digging how all four brothers are scattered to the wind - reminds me a bit of the old Claremont, "Dissolution and Rebirth" era of Uncanny X-Men.
The final issue. I can't wait to sit down and re-read this start to finish. Fucking love Michael Walsh.
Hot Rod! What more do you need to get pumped for this 14th issue of Robert Kirkman's Void Rivals?
Watch:
Really hoping this pops up in my local theatre next week. I've only watched the first minute or so of the trailer, and although I love a good werewolf movie, they seem to be few and far between. This, though, the idea of a werewolf plague brought on by a super moon... that sounds fucking awesome!
Plus, Frank Grillo doesn't get nearly enough screen time, so I am in on Werewolves.
Playlist:
Sumerland - Dreamkiller
Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 1
Deafheaven - Sunbather
Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium
Antibalas - Where The Gods Are In Peace
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Drab Majesty - Careless
The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
Boris & Merzbow - 2R0I2P0
Opeth - Deliverance
Sunn O))) - Life Metal
Deafheaven - Ten Years Gone
Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon
Black Mountain - The Paths of Time are Vast
Zeal & Ardor - Eponymous
Crystal Castles - II
Ministry - Animositisomina
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Ace of Pentacles
• IV: The Lovers
• Four of Cups
This pull reflects Stability and union, and I've got to say, it's timely. Starting a week or so ago, I've had the best sleep I've had in years. No kidding; I'm waking up in the morning feeling like I used to wake up when I was younger - all groggy and sleep-infused like I'm actually getting deep, regenerative sleep. That hasn't happened in a long time. I've become a light sleeper, and even on days when my Fitbit tells me my sleep qualifies as "Good," I usually still don't feel like this. Lately, however, things feel more even. I don't know how in the hell that's possible with the world where it is - this country specifically - but I'm not going to argue.
Continuing the Noir theme for November, I can't think of a more Noir track than Barry Adamson's The Big Bamboozle, from 1993's Oedipus Schmoedipus.
Watch:
I continued Noirvember this past weekend with a handful of first-time watches. First up, Fritz Lang's 1953 The Big Heat.
This one knocked my socks off. Glen Ford is absolutely fantastic in the role of Sgt. Dave Bannion and a young Lee Marvin chew up the scenery and spit it out on your shoes, man! Everyone here is a hard case, and it works because they all really inhabit that space and energy. Some of the violence shocked me a bit for '53, and overall, there's just such a nihilistic tone that the black-and-white cinematography feels etched into the screen as it moves. I'll definitely be adding this to the collection at some point, although, having watched this on the Criterion Channel, I would have assumed they put out a BR. That does not seem to be the case.
Next up, one I've heard about forever. Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour, from 1945.
Once nearly lost, Detour is considered an important film by the historical archives. Tom Neal plays Al Roberts, a frustrated nightclub piano man whose girlfriend leaves him in NYC for dreams of stardom in Hollywood. Eventually, Al decides to follow by hitchhiking across the states. He makes it as far as Arizona, then ends up embroiled in a pretty dicey situation he can't help but make worse with every decision he makes. Constantly giving him more slack for the noose is Ann Savage as the enigmatic Vera. Damn folks, this dame is merciless!
The chemistry here is fantastic, and at one hour and six minutes, Detour is a short film and thus made a great second film in a Friday night double feature.
Read:
Now that I have acquired all three issues of DC's Black Label The Bat-Man: First Knight, I finally read the entire storyline in a single sitting over the weekend. Perfect for Norvember!
Writer Dan Jurgens really thought out and researched what a Batman story set in 1939 would look like. The overall story centers around a mysterious ring leader known only as The Voice. From the shadowy comfort of closed quarters, The Voice is conducting a series of hits on city officials - Councilmen, the Mayor, even the Police Commissioner. The perpetrators seem more than human, and people are scared.
In the background, helping to ramp up the tension is the world of 1939. The world is still reeling from the first "Great War." Uncertainty is everywhere, and to make matters worse, the cunt with the funny mustache is threatening the Jewish people of Europe. America sits on her hands, wishing against the inevitable. Hate spreads quickly, though, and travels on the wind. Hate crimes are on the rise in Gotham, and people are scared and frustrated. Sounds like a proper powder keg, eh?
Jurgens does some really interesting things with The Bat-Man's supporting cast - Bruce is new to this and none of the confidants we're used to are anywhere to be found. Well, except Gordon. Tried and true, that man.
As you can see, I ended up with a cross-section of the different covers available, but that's fine by me. Each gives a different aspect of the tone series artist Mike Perkins has created here - with no small contribution from colorist Mike Spicer. This book really conveys the era - from the shop signs that line the streets of Gothamn, to the filth that clings to the buildings, shanty towns and alleys, First Knight really puts you there.
Playlist:
Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
Godflesh - Us and Them
Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate
Raffertie - The Substance OST
Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon
Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
Sumerlands - Dreamkiller
Justin Hamline - The House with Dead Leaves
Godflesh - Post Self
Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter 1
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
Fvnerals - Let the Earth Be Silent
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Crystal Castles - II
Drug Church - Prude
Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Fela Kuti - Sorrow Tears and Blood
Mrs. Piss - Self-Surgery
Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja
Card:
Today's card is the Five of Cups, or as Crowley dubbed it, "Disappointment."
An important note from my notes on this card: "Examine your expectations." I believe this is the root of the card for me. I can and will go into a little bit of whatever A.C. has in The Book of Thoth, but the older I get, a lot of the "in-depth" elements of association with Tarot feels... cunty. Or to quote Mr. David Byrne, "When I've got nothing (else) to say, my lips are sealed." I increasingly get the feeling that Crowley would have talked for days about any card in the deck if allowed, which means a lot of what he'd have to say would be, ahem, bullshit double talk. But then, the man sold his own semen as a "Health Elixir," so of course that's what he'd do.
The root of this card isn't the disappointment; it's understanding disappointment as at least partially the disappointed one. Five's are Geburah, severity. These are demanding cards (which makes me wonder if the card is the one that's disappointed; is drawing it a scolding?).
Surprisingly, Crowley must, at least in part, agree that this is a simple card. Severity indicates simplicity, in a manner, so that tracks.
Like in Trump 12, The Hanged Man, we once again see the inverted Pentagram, the triumph of Matter over Spirit. That's a disappointment.
You can grab this and a bunch of other Ten Athlone goodness directly from their site HERE.
From the Street Trash E.P. by Ten Athlone.
Watch:
Ryan Kruger's Street Trash is, indeed, fantastic. In fact, it's jumped the top ten line and landed somewhere in the center. It's goopy, gory, bombastic and a lot of fun. Also, the characters are fantastic!
I really can't say enough good things about this one. It's true to the 80s Exploitation roots, not over-done production-wise, walking a line between bare bones and full-bore, which is great. It leads to fantastic practical FX right in line with the original and a very DIY underbelly that endears the film and its characters to you even more.
Ryan Kruger's Street Trash is a $4.99 rental on Prime at the moment. If you're a fan of Pschyo Goreman and/or Hobo with a Shotgun, definitely give it a try. If you don't know either of those films but you want to get your weird on, this will do nicely.
Read:
My reading has been sporadic at best of late, but I've failed to post about it here. After blowing through Laird Barron's new collection, Not A Speck of Light (from Badhand Books HERE), I side-stepped directly back into his previous collection, 2016's Swift to Chase.
Barron's work brings out the obsessive in me, and I'm reading these stories with the Laird Barron Mapping Project never more than a click or swipe away. There are all kinds of weird connections I've felt the edges of previously but not fully grasped. Also, somehow I never really understood the concept that some of the stories take place in what is called Barron's Antiquity Universe, so I'm gearing up to read all of those in a row soon. But first...
As I finish the last few pages of Swift's final story Tomahawk Park Survivors Raffle, I'm also about halfway through Ivy Tholen's new Slasher novel Mother Dear:
Once again taking place in the town of Belldam, Texas, Mother Dear is rife with the kind of under-the-radar social commentary I've come to expect from Ivy's books. The characters - while unlikeable - are so perfectly engineered that they feel like archetypes and actual people I know all at the same time. The opening death is magnificent, and the insidious manner these spoiled, rich folks burrow into my brain via their "first world, 1% problems" reminds me a bit of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho in approach, if not actual execution.
Playlist:
John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir
Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City (single)
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust
Sumerlands - Dreamkiller
Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
Card:
Today's card is XII: The Hanged Man.
My big take away with this card has always been Four points over one, or reason triumphs over spirituality. Dark ages begin or dreams tripped up by rational thought. This doesn't have to be a bad thing, and I think this card is especially dependent on those around it in a pull.
In his The Book of Thoth, Crowley writes extensively about this card. A lot of it is the usual impenetrable associations to Elemental forces, initiation, and Astrological forces. One idea that stands out is sacrifice, but not just standard sacrifice. Sacrifice as a form of Baptism or Death. This is, after all, the card of the "Dying God."
It'd been a while since I'd seen a clip of Ghostland Observatory playing in the drums/guitar combination; thought I'd share, seeing as their music has slipped back into my rotation.
NCBD:
Let's talk about yesterday's pull. Started out, I thought this would be a light week. As often occurs, though, I came home with more than I bargained for:
GIJOE: ARAH has the oddest publication schedule! Every so many months, it takes an extra month off between issues. Not really a complaint so much as an observation; I still haven't actually put this on my pull list, so my interest buoys at best. Still, with Larry Hama at the helm, despite the 200 issues I missed, I'm enjoying reconnecting with this one, especially in the midst of this "Battle for Springfield" total clusterfuck storyline. Allegiances shift, enemies become allies, and this issue set us up for a Destro vs. Serpentor Khan mano y mano next issue - bring it on!
First issue picking Oni Press's EC Comics Epitaphs From the Abyss up monthly. Loved the series so far, figured I'd stay on for a while. Another I haven't actually added to my Pull, so I might have to do that tonight.
Loved the first issue of this. Notice how Batman on the cover looks an awful lot like Keaton's Batman from 1989. Interesting. I've talked about this one a bit on Drinking with Comics and The Horror Vision - maybe my cohost is just rubbing off on me, but it's so nice to have short, left-of-center Batman stories to read here and there. Also, I'm sure at some point Bruce has squared off with some kind of Lycanthrope before, but this is the first time I've seen it and so far, kinda fantastic.
Speaking of the Dark Knight...
I finally got my hands on a copy of Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins and Mike Spicer's The Bat-Man in First Knight issue #2. I had grabbed the first off the shelf back in March and dug it, however, this one slid right off my radar after that and it wasn't until last month when I visited my Chicago shop that I located issue three. But what the hell can you do with the first and last of a three-issue series? So it was with great excitement I saw issue 2 on the shelf at Rick's yesterday. Can't wait to read this entire series. Batman in the 30s, no tech, pure detective. Very cool.
Next, and I had no idea this was a thing until I saw it on the stands...
Rebekah and David Ian McKendry have a comic from Dark Horse? I grabbed this after seeing their names and I can tell you, this might be my favorite first issue of the year. Really cool story that has all the markings of a great cult film but in comic form. Here's the solicitation blurb from League of Comic Geeks:
"At the center of the Mojave Desert, at the crossroads between hell and gone, lies Barstow.
Agent Miranda Diaz is in this godforsaken land on the trail of a missing agent. He's a man she's never met, and yet her name was the only clue he left behind. Something dark... something demonic... lurks beneath this oddball town, but can Miranda unravel the mystery before all hell breaks loose?"
As good as that sounds, I don't think it quite does the book justice. This reminds me a bit of David Lapham's Lodger and a bit of Alex Cox's Repo Man construction-wise. Really interesting, and I'm dying to see where it goes.
Finally, I'd forgotten about Mark Spear's Monsters entirely until I saw issue two on the shelf last night:
I haven't had a chance to read this one yet, and honestly, the first issue came out back in September, so I should probably one-two them, however, the art continues to baffle and astound me.
Watch:
Not sure how I neglected to post this one here yet, but I am really looking forward to Ryan Kruger's Street Trash!
This is up as a rental on Prime for $4.99, and I'm aiming to sit down with it before the week's out. One of my most eagerly anticipated films this year.
Playlist:
Ghostland Observatory - Paparazzi Lightning
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Drug Church - Prude
Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Sepultura - Lookaway (single)
60 Songs That Explain the 90s - "What's Up" 4 Non Blondes
4 Non Blondes - Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
Zombi - Shape Shift
Deafheaven - 10 Years Gone
Opeth - My Arms Your Hearse
Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
From sElf's 1999 masterpiece Breakfast with Girls, which has been in regular rotation at our house of late. Driving back from Chicago today. Saw Deafheaven and Interpol last night. My first time at Salt Shed. Pretty nice venue (I wasn't in love with Deafheaven's sound). Tired A.F. Probably start the drive with this one.
New music from The Jesus Lizard! This non-album single follows in the wake of this year's Rack, the band's first album in 26 years. Hoping for an E.P.
Watch:
I continued Noirvember last night with my first-time viewing of Jules Dassin's 1948 TheNaked City.
I have to say, this eventually won me over, but I didn't love it. I think the expectation set by notoriety and my previous obsession with the John Zorn album may have led me to believe this would be something more than it is. Darker. Also, it doesn't help that this is essentially the template for all of the Bug Bunny cartoon Noir trope lampoons, from Muldoon down to the narrator. Still, as the story evolves, it grows more endearing. Released four years after Double Indemnity, though, I was expecting sharper teeth.
Playlist:
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Nell' ora blu
The Jesus Lizard - Rack
Antibalas - Where the Gods Are in Peace
Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Moon Wizard - Sirens
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
This past Wednesday, Godflesh's seminal album Streetcleaner turned 35! That's three-and-a-half decades since this blistering slab was released upon an unsuspecting world.
Watch:
Last night, I showed K Fabrice Du Welz's 2008 film Vinyan. Homework for an upcoming episode of The Horror Vision Presents: Elements of Horror.
This is a favorite from the 00s, a film I own on DVD but haven't watched in quite some time. I think I originally saw this via Netflix back in the USPS days, immediately purchased a copy, rewatched, then did not watch again until a viewing in 2021 that I have no memory of (but posted about HERE. THIS is why I maintain this site!). Regardless, the film has stayed with me quite clearly ever since; it's a haunting journey into loss and madness, and Rupert Sewell and Emmanuelle Béart give powerful performances that really drive home the horror of their situation - which keeps getting worse. Basic synopsis from IMDB
"A couple are looking for their child who was lost in the tsunami - their search takes them to the dangerous Thai-Burmese waters, and then into the jungle, where they face unknown but horrifying dangers."
Even without children, the setup strikes me as particularly horrific, but when you add in the 'we're in over our heads and probably in terrible danger" of the approach the characters take, contracting local gangsters to take them into Burma, the tension continually increases.
Playlist:
The Cure - Songs Of a Lost World
Neon Nightmare - Faded Dream
Godflesh - For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
Feel the Knife - So Raw... So Nasty... So Hideous
Dreamkid - All Thriller, No Filler
Dreamkid - Daggers
Frankie & The Witch Fingers - Data Doom
Godflesh - Streetcleaner
Melvins - (A) Senile Animal
The High Confessions - Turning Lead Into Gold with the High Confessions
USSA - The Spoils
Self - Breakfast with Girls
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Vol. 1
Card:
Today's card is the Ten of Wands, affectionately dubbed "Oppression" by Mr. Crowley.
First, I finally made a list to keep track of what cards I'm using for the study. As I suspected, looking back at the entries since I began this at the beginning of August, I've retread several cards multiple times. My next post will examine what that might be trying to instill in me, for today, we'll just continue on the current course.
The Ten of Wands is an easy card in my head - Tens are the association of Malkuth, the Earthly plane. So we are oppressed by the physical realm, whether that means the limitations of our bodies, our money or lack thereof, whatever.
Let's take it a bit deeper, though.
In The Book of Thoth, Crowley goes on about all kinds of things I don't give a toss about feeding into my interpretation. One thing that hits home, though, is this:
"It is a Will which has not understood anything beyond its dull purpose, its "lust of result," and will devour itself in the conflagrations it has evoked."
Maybe we didn't need that entire quote because the idea I want to hone in on is the "lust of result." Anyone who has studied Chaos Magick knows this as the enemy. Whatever you want to achieve, your lust of result will get in the way. This to me, fits in perfectly with the idea I set out above, the kind of 'shackled by Malkuth," because what is that lust of result if not Malkuth exerting itself upon us?
I had never heard of Glass Beams before the incomparable KEXP put them in my feed. Kind of akin to Thievery Corporation's The Mirror Conspiracy if Spoon wrote it. Check out their Bandcamp HERE. Also, I have to say if you're not following KEXP on YouTube, you're missing out.
Watch:
I caught the trailer for Heart Eyes before Smile 2, and I'm definitely giving this one a chance.
Love that f*cking mask!
NCBD:
Light week this week.
Astrotrain! I love how they've made this character a big deal in the Energon Universe and I'm curious how he ties into the second part of the Starscream's origin arc.
I have to say, I am far less excited about this than I thought I'd be. Still, I'm sure good things are coming that I just can't quite see at the moment.
Playlist:
Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja
Oranssi Pazuzu - Live at Roadburn 2017
Oranssit Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi
Ministry - HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES
FACS - Still Life in Decay
Mr. Bungle - California
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Yesterday would have been Ennio Morricone's 95th birthday. Sadly, the legend left us back in 2020, but here at the onset of Noirvember, I couldn't pass up posting the title theme from his score for Sergio Sollima's 1970 Città Violenta, AKA Violent City.
Watch:
So yeah, I have so much fun with 31 Days of Horror every year that I've decided to pick up on another month-long theme for viewing. That's right - Noirvember is officially underway!
This is the first time I remember hearing about this one, courtesy of an article on Bloody Disgusting last week. It sounds perfect for the early darkness of November (which is totally f**king with me this year, for some reason). We kicked this off last Friday night with a screening of The Cohen Brothers' stunning debut, Blood Simple!
I love this film. So stark, brutal and just dark, man. DARK! Every performance is a gem; so many little Cohen Brothers flourishes help endear this one. Perfect example - the incinerator out back of Julian's bar. I would argue this is as much a Horror film as it is Noir, but there's no need to argue because no matter how you classify Blood Simple, it's a powerhouse and a classic, perfect for kicking off Noirvember! (Also, I love how much this poster reminds me of my favorite poster for Lucio Fulci's House By the Cemetery).
Next up, Billy Wilder's 1944 seminal classic Double Indemnity!
Nothing I can say about this film that hasn't been said a million times by people far smarter than me. A masterpiece and seminal Noir that sits right up alongside Sunset Blvd. Stanwyck really brings it; she's seductive, cold and evil. And MacMurray - it's hard to believe he was largely known for comedies up to this point. He's just perfect (if a skosh overcooked). Plus, Edward G. Robinson as Keyes - one of my favorite characters in film history.
Doc:
I absolutely love Drug Church's new record, Prude, so when a short making-of documentary popped up in my YouTube feed, I cracked a beer and hit play.
Prud is a serious contender for my favorite album of the year, and although I only recently learned that Patrick Kindlon - who I was familiar with from writing comics - is also the singer of the group, I know very little else. Sometimes, learning anything about a band is a bad thing. With Drug Church, however, you can just tell by their lyrics that these guys walk it like they talk it. And filmmaker Dookie Meno did a helluva a job with this. Highly recommended.
Playlist:
The Cure - Seventeen Seconds
Melvins - Tarantula Heart
Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom
Dreamkid - Chrissy (single)
Melvins - (A) Senile Animal
Morphine - The Night
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Blood Lust
The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World
Swans - The Seer
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot!
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir
Card:
Today's card:
From the Grimoire:
"Break the cycle! Pattern interrupt (is) a definite counter to this card's presence. Physically write down the object/cause of anxiety."
That's a HUGE part of this card for me. It's not just a meaning; it's a tactic. Not a lot of how I have learned to interpret the Tarot gets that pragmatic, but I'd like to get there. Beyond that, in The Book of Thoth, Crowley says, "instability in the very foundations of Matter. This reminds us of the 'intense strain' of physical existence.
It's November, and one of the films that came in the new All the Haunts Be Ours, Vol. 2 Box Set is Rainer Sarnet's 2017 November. This one enchanted the hell out of me a few years ago when I caught it on Shudder TV, so I thought, "Hey, it's November; why not?"
I will now watch this film every November.
Gorgeous beyond words, this is the best example of modern authentic Folk Horror I can think of. Of Folk Traditions, the palimpsest of the old world rubbing against the new and the friction - of the "Horror" that causes. Beautifully executed and more than a little comical at times without breaking the tone, primarily because this one has such a strong, unique vision guiding it. I'm definitely interested in seeing what else Sarnet does.
Playlist:
Antibalas - Where the Gods Are in Peace
Fela Kuti - Opposite People
Fela Kuti - Sorrow Tears & Blood EP
Pearl Jam - Vs.
John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir
The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre
Neon Nightmare - Faded Dream
Dreamkid - All Thriller, No Filler
Dreamkid - Daggers
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
Drug Church - Prude
Spoon - They Want My Soul
PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
During my recent jaunt to Chicago's Southside, Mr. Brown and I once again did a record swap, and one of the records he loaned me that I cannot stop playing is Antibalas' 2017 Where the Gods Are in Peace. Sounds like Fela Kuti reincarnated! So many parallels to my favorite Fela record, Opposite People/Sorrow, Tears and Blood (might actually be two albums, but I had them on a joint CD Sonny D burned for me ages ago).
Watch:
I did some homework last night for the next episode of The Horror Vision Presents: Elements of Horror. 1926's A Page of Madness
It's been a while since I watched a B & W silent film, so I figured the best course of action would be to isolate myself, turn off all the lights and get stoned. Check, check and check. Maybe too stoned, though. A large part of this played like I was back in High School at a friend's watching "Beyond the Mind's Eye" or something. You don't realize how much dialogue drives a film until you remove it. When I say there's no dialogue here, there aren't even subtitles. That's because the film does indeed share something with those stoner videos of the 90s. It's largely a succession of arresting images, so I just kind of sat back and let them wash over me. This was pleasurable; I can't say much about the 'story' other than it ends up, I think, having something of a twist.
NCBD:
This week's pull:
The inevitable "0" issue. I assume this rounds out the "Road Stories" arc that has taken us strolling through Erica's past. It also marks the start of another hiatus, which bums me out. Still,
This is a new title for me, and I'm hoping to also grab issues 1-3 if they're still floating around the shop. Cruel Universe is the sister title to Epitaphs From the Abyss, which I professed my love for a few entries past. Both titles are part of Oni Press's revived EC Comics line, and I figured since I'm digging Epitaphs so much, I should give this a whirl as well. Plus, Oni Press is one of the oldest, most independent publishers I know of, so it's cool to support them here as well.
Final issue! I've enjoyed this anthology quite a bit and will continue to be on the lookout for these B, W &B series. Or, for that matter, any Spider-Man mini-series I can get my hands on. I miss the ol' Webhead, but still not going to engage in the core books that come out like, every three days or whatever.
Saga is heating up again! Didn't I just post something about how this book kinda lost something after the years-long hiatus? I might be eating my words real soon...
Playlist:
Antibalas - Where the Gods Are in Peace
Spoon - They Want My Soul
John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir
John Carpenter - Lost Themes III: Life After Death
John Carpenter - Lost Themes II
John Carpenter - Lost Themes
16 - Dream Squasher
Melvins - Tarantula Heart
John Carpenter and Alan Howarth - Halloween III: Season of the Witch OST
Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
Card:
Today's card for study is the 8 of Wands, Swiftness:
Yeah, I know I said I was going to stick with the sevens, but I need to go back and draw up a map of what I've already done for this 'tarot study' segment that I feel has become another daily pull. When I picked up my Thoth to flip to the next Seven, Valour came up again right away (and yes, I had already shuffled since yesterday's). When I put that aside, Swiftness came up. Seeing this, I figured, what the hell?
This is a Hob card, and Hod immediately brings to mind Splendour, but in The Book of Thoth, Crowley reminds us that being of Hod, the Eights share the same difficulties as the Sevens. Quoting directly from page 182:
"The position is doubly unbalanced; off the middle pillar, and very low down on the Tree. It is taking a very great risk to descend so far into illusion, and, above all, to do it by frantic struggle. Netzach pertains to Venus; Netzach pertains to Earth; and the greatest catastrophe that can befall Venus is to lose her Heavenly origin. The four Sevens are not capable of bringing any comfort; each one represents the degeneration of the element. Its utmost weakness is exposed in every case."
I've begun to read these weaknesses in Splendour and Victory as the weakness of the material world. The Earth is beautiful, and we can build Earthly victories, but all of it is a distraction from returning upward into the non-physical realms. Tiphareth has always been, to me, the pinnacle of what we can achieve and still be a part of the world. Maybe it's just the news this morning, but I feel like, as a species, we've left that behind for victories of common treasures. Fame, money, power, etc.
New Doves' album releases February 14! Not sure if anyone else knew this was coming, but it was a total surprise to me when I saw this pop up online in the middle of the night Sunday, and in keeping to form, I'm instantly smitten.
Peacock's Hysteria! is a show I read about and thought, "Sounds great, but I'll bet the execution will put me off."
Nope. I am happy to report that halfway through the series and I'm really digging this one.
Bruce Campbell is a huge plus here. He's just so likable, and yeah, we all know that, but honestly, he's never been enough to get me to watch something that seems like I won't take to it (I still haven't seen Black Friday). Here, though, he anchors an otherwise fantastic cast of characters, and while I'm pretty sure I can see what's coming a mile away, hey, I might very well be wrong. In the meantime, this 80s tale of Heavy Metal and Satanic Panic takes me back to my youth, and what's more, nostalgia is not all Hysteria! has to offer. I'm genuinely curious where this is going and I'm enjoying the road there, so this is a full recommend.
Read:
Pretty sure I just read what will be my favorite comic of the year, and that's the seven-issue FISHFLIES by Jeff Lemire.
While I've become a fan of Lemire's work as a writer ever since Gideon Falls, reading much of what he puts out with other artists, but ever since 2022's Maze Book, I've really developed an appreciation for the books he writes and does the art for. That's Fishflies, and it is really something. I'd read the first four or five issues back a few months ago (this was the book I subscribed to via my Chicago store, Amazing Fantasy, so picking it up was sporadic at best), then decided to wait until I had the entire run before rereading.
First, I LOVE how this was released as seven perfect-bound, 64-page issues. I adore that format, and it definitely helped create a great reading experience. Perfect-bound always does. It reminds me of old-school prestige-format books like Batman: The Cult andThe Punisher: No Escape. Second, this book starts one place and then really veers into some strange territory. That's all I'll say, as I wouldn't want to ruin anyone else's experience, just let it be said if you dig Lemire's work, I think you'll love FISHFLIES.
Playlist:
Doves - Renegade (Pre-release single)
Nachtmystium - Survivor's Remorse (single)
Dr. John - Gris Gris
Melvins - Tarantula Heart
Antibalas - Where the Gods Are in Peace
John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir
Chrystabell & David Lynch - Cellophane Memories
Card:
Today's card for study is the 7 of Wands, Valour:
Unintentionally drew two of the four Sevens in a row, so I'll continue on that path for the remainder. Netzach has always been the Sephiroth that drew me most (outside of Tipareth).
From the Grimoire, "A positive result dependent on the actions of the Querent."
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