Doves have a greatest hits coming out, and that's great. I'm not really a greatest hits guy (there are a few), but this... what the hell is this track? I mean, recording session at St. Benedict's Abby? This is GLORIOUS!
You can order the best of HERE. Or, my advice, seek out their albums and get to know their music that way.
NCBD:
Light week, which is fine with me.
The past two issues of this book have been incredible, especially when you consider it costs only $2 more than most books from the big 2.
I skipped most of the GIJOE team-focused silent issues from a few months back - I think I only picked up the Beachhead one - but the upcoming Cobra-centric issues are a must! First up - that sexy, leather-clad terrorist herself, Anastasia DeCobray, AKA, the Baroness!
There appears to be a reciprocal relationship between how much I don't like the cover of an issue of this series and how good that issue is. Issue four was a book I nearly passed on, and it ended up being the best single issue of a series I've read so far this year. If that's any indication, this should be a fantastic issue!
Watch:
Here's one of the flicks I'm going to be attempting to get tickets to for Friday's Beyondfest line-up.
I know nothing about this (didn't watch the trailer), but I'm intrigued by the little I've heard.
Playlist:
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Steve Moore - VFW OST
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
sunn O))) - Domkirke
sunn O))) & Boris - Altar
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Anthrax - Persistence of Time
sunn O))) - Loser
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• 9 of Disks: Gain
• 7 of Disks: Worry
• XIV: The Sun
The ebb and flow of Earthly assets disappear in the blinding light of understanding.
I was unfamiliar with Nova Twins until I saw Kirill Sokolov's They Will Kill You last Thursday and then again yesterday afternoon. This song is in that movie, and just like Sokolov's film, the track makes an impression.
Watch:
Rewatched Night of the Comet the other night. Here's one of the original tv spots from 1984:
I didn't see this film until somewhere around 2009 or 2010. In fact, I didn't remember ever even hearing of it before then. It's not my favorite of these kind of flicks from the 80s, but it's nostalgic and pretty fun, so while it's not a film I will revisit often, I did add it to the collection just to have it in the library.
Read:
It has begun! Yesterday I read the first section in the 1990 edition of Stephen King's The Gunslinger, which I've had since '91. I LOVE this series, this book and this edition. The paintings by Michael Whelon are, like most of his paintings, phenomenal.
I don't think I've read this particular King novel since before the fifth Dark Tower book, The Wolves of Calla, came out in 2003. Twenty-three years!!! Up until this point, I made it a habit to reread every book in the series as new ones came out, and after 1997's Wizard and the Glass, there was the interminable gap during which time King convalesced after being hit by a van in 1999. I remember those days - scary times, fearing for both King's life and the idea that we might never get more Dark Tower books. After his recovery and eventual return to the series, the final three came fairly quickly, with Wolves in 2003, Song of Susannah hitting shelves in June 2004, and The Dark Tower following hot on its heels in September 2004. So this reread is a big deal for me, something I've wanted to do for years.
Playlist:
Windhand - Epoymous
Witchfinder - Hazy Rites
MadLove - White With Foam
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
Big Business - Here Come the Waterworks
Daydream Twins - Solstice For Embodiment
The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Crystal Castles - II
Jozef Can Wissem & Jim Jarmusch - An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil
Dead Man's Bones - Eponymous
sunn O))) - Metta, Benevolence BBC6 Live: On the Invitatin of Mary Anne Hobbs
Slow Crush - Thirst
Nova Twins - Supernova
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Card:
I'm tired, so I'm setting aside Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot (which you can buy HERE) and pulling a single card from the Thoth deck.
Turning the intangible into a consumable form. I guess that's pretty much what I do as a writer, and I've had four good days of writing in a row. Also though, I've been on a mission to write down my dreams for the last two weeks, so there's another example.
I am waaay behind on posting new music. First up: Drug Church dropped a new single last week, and here's hoping a new record isn't far behind. I finally get to see these guys in May and I cannot wait!
Watch:
Last night, K and I hit the Regal for the premiere of They Will Kill You. Here's a trailer:
How was it? This is the movie to beat this year. I will be very surprised if anything can match this (and what a great year it is that I've already said that twice since January 1st, and it's not even the end of March yet!).
This is kind of Kill Bill meets Ready or Not meets Rosemary's Baby. That's not exactly right, but it'll give you an idea what you're in for. If you're interested in elaboration, there's a widget in the upper right-hand corner of this page with the latest episode of The Horror Vision, where we give you our spoiler-free, right out of the theatre review.
Playlist:
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Mountain Realm - Shadowlorn
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Rebirth Brass Band - Why You Worried 'bout Me? (single)
Rebirth Brass Band - Move Your Body
James Brown - Funky People Vol. 3
Faith No More - Angel Dust
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Atticus Derrickson - Black Phone 2 OST
Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines OST
Greg Puciato - Mirrorcell
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Fever Ray - Eponymous
The Mystery Lights - Purgatory
Dead Man's Bones - Eponymous
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
Note: This isn't a proper spread, but a display of Court Cards.
Let's take a look at the Court Cards for a moment, because I feel like talking about Tarot - or more accurately perhaps, I feel like thinking about it and then writing down some of those thoughts.
Knights and Queens - Male and Female energy, respectively. Knights correlate to Will, creation, and cunning. A force of Will that can overcome or be used instead of Violence. "The only reason to master violence is to abolish it." Queens correlate to pleasure, passion and emotion. Knights are Wands, Queens are cups. There's also the sexual metaphor here, as Wands being penetrative and Cups receptive.
Princes and Princesses, or Kings and Princesses if you're most non-Thoth. The Prince or King is brute force, lacking the cunning to abolish violence, hence the correlation to Swords or Intellect. This is why I'm doing this today - I always hit a blind spot with the Prince/Sword connection because of the Intellect thing. Princesses correlate to Malkuth, the Earthly realm, logistics. I handle Princesses in my day job, and that's not exactly a faulty way to say it, because when you coordinate logistics for other people, they often behave like Princesses (Divas).
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Was in the mood for some old school, mid-career Slayer, and this is what I landed on. From their 1990 album Seasons in the Abyss, the last good Slayer album, in my opinion. But what an album it is!
NCBD:
Here are all the titles in my box this NCBD, 3/25/26:
I'll admit that, thus far, Quintesson War feels a little underwhelming; however, that may just be a product of a slow start and the 30-day spacers between issues. We've certainly had hordes of Sharkticons, Quintesson Baliffs (they should refer to these as "Bulls") and some pretty massive battles, so I'm not sure what I'm whining about. This is issue 4 of 6, so we'll see how I feel when this is all said and done and I can re-read in a burst. Regardless, it's still pretty awesome in general, even if it doesn't live up to my expectations.
Still the biggest surprise of the year - I'm actually reading and enjoying a Spawn book. That's 100% because it's a Liam Sharp project, and it's brutal and beautiful and crazy.
Prohibition-era, Outer Dark/Weird Fiction Gumshoe Detective serial? I'm here for it. Loved the first issue as a set-up, so let's see where Condon and Phillips take us!
Speaking of Weird Fiction, Jeff Lemire's Minor Arcana continues to build up a whole lot of strange infrastructure with excellent characters, a fantastic setting, and plenty of mystery! I love a good "slipping into another world hidden alongside our own" kind of story, and this is that through ang through. I think. That's another thing - I'm not sure I can pin down what exactly is happening in this book, and that only adds to the intrigue! Keep 'em coming, Mr. Lemire!!!
The facsimile edition of one of the 80s GIJOE: ARAH books I never caught in the wild! This bridges a series gap in my collection, without beating my wallet to death. Win-win!
The first issue of Death Fight Forever was fucking CRAZY! We talk about it on Drinking with Comics HERE. I'm pretty psyched for issue 2! Let's see more of that coke-snorting snake man!
Watch:
For my 50th birthday yesterday, K and I went and saw Project Hail Mary. As I mentioned last week, I just finished reading the book, and as an introduction to Andy Weir's writing, this was a blast. How'd the movie hold up as an adaptation?
Well, this might be K's favorite movie of all time now, she says. A really solid adaptation script by Drew Goddard, who really distills things into a cinematic format from a book that really hinges on prose, so no easy feat this one. Something special for sure. Overall, the story works better as a novel, but the film is solid, and I'd encourage anyone interested to see it on the big screen. There's some "Wow" factor, and the heightened presentation really makes the emotions go big.
Playlist:
James Brown - Hell
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Jackie Wilson - Radio Station (Apple Music)
Low Cut Connie - Private Lives
Drug Church - Prude
Gwar - Scumdogs of the Universe
Mr. Bungle - Eponymous
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Card:
Sticking with one card from the Thoth for today's Pull:
• Knight of Wands - Bringing light and new vision into the world. Translation: Stop celebrating and get back to writing!
I thought I'd post a song and a card for the next year of my life, or perhaps to sum up the half-century that's served as prelude to the remainder of my time on this plane.
For the song, I chose Mr. Bungle's "Dead Goon." Not just because it's probably my favorite non-Volante Bungle track, but because it was referenced in my dream last night, when a long-deceased friend handed me a 16 oz. can of Dead Good Ale, the label for which was decorated with art reminiscent of Dan Sweetman's art from A Cotton Candy Autopsy, the source of the album art for Bungle's first album.
For a card, I used my old-school Thoth deck and drew the 6 of Cups:
I'm not going to attempt to contextualize this now, just logging it here for contemplation over the next 365 days.
I've been on a Low Cut Connie binge all weekend and it's definitely helped elevate my mood. I'm turning 50 tomorrow, and, although that doesn't bother me the way it might a lot of people, it still kind of staggers the view I take of myself. On one hand, I'm still here and do not expect to be going anywhere for quite a long time. On the other hand, in ten years I'll be 60, and ten years after that - should I be lucky enough to live that long - 70. You see where this is going, right? I'm getting long in the tooth, and while that's definitely better than the alternative, well, it's fucking weird and a little scary if you don't find a way to keep it from your mind. And what better way to keep it from the mind than with some awesome, soulful Rock n' Roll!
Watch:
I had my third-ever viewing of Kevin Tenney's 1985 debut film, Witchboard, last night. Here's one of the original 1986 TV spots for the film, which, back in the day, made me think this movie was hardcore intense (I was 10).
I never did see this back in the 80s. Or the 90s. It was sometime in the early 2000s that I picked up the Witchboard DVD secondhand, tried to watch it, and found it incredibly disappointing (that was nearly 25 years of anticipation based on what 10-year-old Shawn thought the film would be - hard for anything to live up to that). Then, a couple of years ago, Joe Bob did this one as part of his Walpurgisnacht episode, and I gave it another shot.
Still not much.
Last night, though, I really tried to look at this as Kevin Tenney's first film - followed soon after by Night of the Demons, which I love - and it kind of gave me a different perspective. I still don't think Witchboard is a very good film, but it's definitely a product of its time and entertaining enough if you have the right context (and alcohol - don't forget the alcohol).
This is all run-up for an upcoming episode of The Horror Vision, where we'll compare the original film with the 2025 remake. I've heard it's completely different, which can only be a good thing.
Read:
It's going to be some time before I get around to it, but I found a nearly perfect copy of the original, 1989 hardcover release for Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show a few weeks ago, and it arrived in the mail over the weekend.
I read this when I was in early High School, and it was another of those books that completely changed the way I looked at fiction writing. The idea that the main character discovers the secret tapestry beneath the everyday world by working in the Dead Letters Office of the Post Office always felt like such an interesting and unique angle to take as a way into such a vast and epic story. This should serve as a perfect digestif after I finish my rereading of the Dark Tower/Talisman series late this year.
Playlist:
Low Cut Connie - Art Dealers
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Low Cut Connie - Dirty Pictures (Part 1)
Low Cut Connie - Livin in the USA (pre-release singles)
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
Various - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Album
High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves
High on Fire - Death Is This Communion
Stephen O'Malley - Spheres Collapser
sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)
sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Queen of Swords
• Five of Cups
• I: The Magician
Emotional aspect of the Intellect, which can be a bit of an oxymoron, right? The conflict inherent in the emotional realm of thinking people - and we're not all thinking people in 2026, are we? - is exactly what gets in the way of things. In other words, emotions are important for ruling your heart and interfere with your brain. What the hell does any of this tell me today?
Keep my mouth shut at work. That's all. Sounds easy, or maybe it doesn't, right? That's the emotional end of things. Everyone has someone they want to tell to go to hell, but just don't do it. Or maybe you will, but I won't. Or shouldn't. Maybe.
Last week, another song from the Melvins/Napalm Death collaboration album, Savage Imperial Death March, dropped and it's another doozy. There's still time to order the album, which is out April 10th on Ipecac Records, HERE. Technically, this is a reissue, as this one was originally released last year on Amphetamine Reptile and sold out in seconds. But those AMREP releases don't get digital distro, so, if like me, you weren't one of the lucky ones who acquired a copy in those few moments before the record sold out, this is the first chance we've had to hear this stuff and it's awesome!
Can't wait for this full album!
Watch:
Last night, K and I hit the local theatre for Radio Silence's Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. I have to say, as usual with RS, I was subjected to this trailer ad nauseam leading up to this film's release; however, it did not ruin anything about the film. This has been true of pretty much every RS film, so that's a rare bird, indeed. Here's one of those trailers.
I will say, at first, the idea that Samantha Weaving's character survives the first film only to go directly back into the exact same scenario seemed like a bit of a, "Dad, your hands in the toaster! Dad - You're hands in the toaster again!" idea, but as usual, the trailer tells you only a fraction of what you think it does. Also, HUGE props for putting Kathryn Newton in the mix as Faith's sister is a much-welcome move and their chemistry - it just works SO WELL!
We did a Horror Vision episode on the flick right after the viewing, and one thing Ray brought up that I hadn't thought of - it's been a minute since we had that Samara Weaving savage scream in a flick. The last Horror film she did was 2024's Azrael, and she didn't speak in that. Impressive, for sure, for an actress with such a fantastic grasp of dialogue (The Babysitter, anyone?). But it was great to hear that soul-searing Samara scream again tonight.
Is Ready or Not 2 as good as the original film? Maybe not, but it's close, and this one has a third act that goes bigger in the best possible way. Do yourself a favor and see this on the big screen.
Playlist:
The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop OST
Drug Church - Prude
Motörhead - 1916
Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
Atticus Derrikson - Black Phone 2 OST
Dreamkid - Daggers
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta Sinoa Caves - Beyond the Black Rainbow OST
High on Fire - Luminiferous
High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense
High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Prince of Swords
• Prince of Cups
• 8 of Swords: Interference
Lots of big ideas, but something's getting in the way.
Calling it now - there's almost no way anyone will release an album I love more than the new and totally unexpected Gnarls Barkley record that landed out of nowhere (from my perspective, at least) on March 6th. I caught wind of this last week, and have been unable to stop listening to it multiple times a day. Talk about coming from out of nowhere for a win!
You can order a copy from the group's webstore HERE.
NCBD:
New Comic Book Day pulls for Wednesday, March 18, 2026:
I enjoyed the adaptation of Lovecraft's seminal short story in issue one of this mini-series, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story progresses toward its inevitable ending. Or rather, how exactly we reach that ending.
I LOVE that this cover was created sensitive to the HUGE change that occurred in Transformers 30, a book that literally floored me. Is this the beginning of an Autobot/Joe team-up? If Duke can get over himself, we might just get that.
We've winnowed away most of the killers and have a few spunky civilian survivors. Deals and agendas abound with the power elite behind the massacre and things are heating up for a final confrontation most will not walk away from. Need context? Check this book out! One of my favorites of 2025, we're poised to hit ground zero in two issues, so heads should really start to roll now...
And last but not least, Greg Rucka is writing a new Batwoman series and I am here for it. I don't really know anything about this character other than I've always dug this design. I did read some of the JH Williams III series from back in... I don't know, 2012, maybe? That was 100% about the art - I couldn't tell you anything about the story. With this new series, I'm here for Rucka. After recently reading his Lois Lane miniseries in TPB form and loving it, I'll follow this man to hell and back.
Watch:
Since we did our annual St. Paddy's celebration/State of Grace viewing this past Saturday, this evening we rewatched John Wright's Grabbers.
"Residents of an island off the coast of Ireland learn that the only way to survive an invasion of blood-sucking aliens is to stay drunk."
I originally saw this back circa 2019 for an episode of The Horror Vision. I really dug it that time, and did so again. The FX are mostly CG, but that's forgivable when you consider the size of this production and how much goddamn heart it has. Here's a trailer.
I can't stress enough what a good time I had with this one again. Wright's later film, Unwelcome, made my best-of list for 2023, and that's a very different kind of film, thus showing that Jon Wright is a filmmaker to keep an eye on. He doesn't currently have anything listed as "upcoming" on IMDb, but tonight was a good reminder to check in more often.
Playlist:
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
James Pants - Welcome
Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came
Atticus Derrickson - Black Phone 2 OST
High on Fire - Luminiferous
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
Godflesh - Purge
Card:
Setting aside Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot (which you can buy HERE.) for another Thoth pull:
• XV: The Devil
• Two of Wands: Dominion
• Queen of Wands
Two Queen of Wands in a row? What's she trying to tell me? I read this simply as don't believe what they tell you, avoid the patriarchy and focus on love. Feels like this is a spread for america, not me. Either way, two Wands and ol' Scratch tell me to trust myself, not what others say. Definite work-related spread.
Looking back, I don't think I even posted when Lemmy died. Not sure how that happened. I dig Motorhead, but I'm definitely not their biggest fan, simply from lack of exposure in the early days. I did see them for Operation Rock n Roll back in 1991. At the time, they were touring for the album 1916, and that and the first album are probably the extent of my experience. Still, both records are fantastic.
Anyway, RIP to Campbell. Love this song, and the guitars in it specifically,
Watch:
Since St. Paddy's is on Tuesday this year, we did our annual dinner/State of Grace viewing on this past Saturday. Instead of corned beef this year, we made a cottage pie with 1 lb. ground Kobe beef, 1 lb. ground chuck, a shit ton of vegetables, and some Guinness.
We had a fairly early start, so after State of Grace ended, I decided to watch Martin Scorsese's The Departed. I bought this 2-Disc DVD back when the film was first released on home video, circa 2007, but I haven't watched this one in a very long time.
Much to my chagrin, about 60% of the way through the film, the DVD froze. I tried restarting, using the scene selection, etc. Nothing worked. Then I realized who put this out.
Curse you, Warner Brothers!
I wrote about DVD disc rot back during Noirvember, when I pulled the special-edition Blade Runner out for a first viewing in years and found that none of the DVDs in the set worked. This sparked off an internet rabbit hole where I learned that this is quite common for DVDs produced 2006-2009. Apparently, this is an issue the world at large has known about for quite some time. A large part of my archival disc library is DVDs, and in cases where they are of good transfer quality - like most late 00s-era DVDs tend to be - I've always refused to rebuy them on Blu-ray. If there's a need to, sure. That's the rub - what I was able to watch of that Departed disc was still pristine for my standards. Alas, I have to replace it now anyway.
Only, maybe not.
In digging around again, I found that Warner Brothers has apparently acknowledged the issue and is even replacing the discs if you email them at whv@wbd.com. I emailed last night, so I'll update when/if I hear back. whv@wbd.com
Read:
I did my taxes Friday night, and seeing the return, I figured I could spare $350 to finally do what I've been hemming and hawing about for the last month - back the Hellraiser: Leviathan's Vault Kickstarter.
Really, the only level that interests me is the $350 tier, wherein you receive all the old 80s Marvel/Epic Comics Hellraiser stuff. I do own some of that in single, prestige format issues, but not even close to all of it. Plus, I did read the first trade of the Boom! series but have no idea where that trade is currently, and all of it is OOP and fetches a pretty penny on the second-hand market. The design of this piece is amazing - from the Lament Configuration outer box to the gorgeous slipcases. Can't wait to get my hands on this thing, just not sure where I'm going to display it at this point.
Playlist:
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came
Gylt - I Will Commit a Holy Crime: Tandem
Slow Crush - Thirst
Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March (pre-release singles)
James Brown - Hell
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy and the Lash
Motorhead - Orgasmatron
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Four of Pentalces
• Queen of Wands
• Ten of Swords
The mastering of one's reality takes a creative force that can also become destructive if left unguided. This is perfect, as right now, I'm absolutely rudderless, creatively speaking. I haven't had an actual writing session since March 8th - I did go this past Friday, but I had several open loops spinning mentally that served to distract me completely.
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.
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.
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!
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)
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.
Another new track from COC's upcoming album Good God/Baad Man, out April 3rd. Pre-order from Nuclear Blast Records HERE.
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.
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
