It's definitely sacrilege to some, but I much prefer the versions of Gang of Four's classic selection of tunes that appear on 2005's Return The Gift LP to the original versions. I have read that members of Gang of Four were never happy with the early recordings, and I, for one, agree. Entertainment! sounds flat AF compared to these updated recordings, and "I Love a Man in Uniform" - easily my favorite song by the band - well, there's just no comparison at all. Same here.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) The Killing of a Sacred Deer
2) The Houses October Built (2011)/Texas Chainsaw Massacre (50th-anniversary theatrical screening)
3) Loop Track
4) It's What's Inside/LONGLEGS
5) The Babysitter/Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
6) The Hitcher/Lost Highway
7) GDT's Cabinet of Curiosities: Graveyard Rats
8) V/H/S Beyond
Watch:
Unrelated to Halloween (perhaps), K and I went with my Father to see Todd Phillips' Joker: Folie à Deux last night. Three stars and a heart on Letterbxd (review HERE); this doesn't deserve the scorn it's getting. That said, I LOVE the first Joker film, and feel giving this one three stars is enough of a statement as to my disappointment. It's not horrible, I don't even know if it's bad, but it's nowhere near what the original was. Also, this just doesn't need to exist. We were at a free screening of the first film in December 2019 at the Aero in L.A. This was part of Beyondfest's year-round programming, and Director Todd Phillips came out after the film for a discussion and a Q&A. It was at this event that Phillips told the crowd that while WB had been trying to entice him to make a sequel, he wasn't going to.
I bring this up because I'm pretty sure everyone involved, Phillips himself, set out to make sure there would not be a third. Again, it's not a bad film, but the prize here is, of course, Joaquin Phoenix and the movie makes no bones about not having much to say aside from presenting a platform for him to blow our minds with his performance. Also, Lady Gaga is fantastic. Hell, everyone is fantastic. It just didn't need to happen.
Playlist:
Various - Lost Highway OST
The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja (pre-release single)
Walter Rizzatti - The House By The Cemetery OST
Tones on Tail - Everything!
Fields of the Nephilim - Dawn Razor
Gang of Four - Return the Gift
The Trapezoid & Six Ex - Cannibal Children of the West (single)
Underworld - RiverRun Project
Various - My Halloween Spotify Playlist
Card:
Today's card is the Seven of Wands - Valour
Netzach is Victory, and while valour is a different word, the two are linked. The general definition of Valour is "Great Courage in the face of danger, especially in battle," and what is life if not a battle? That might not have been true for the first twenty-five or so years of my life, but it's definitely become increasingly true over the subsequent twenty-three.
So the Seven of Wands is courage to use the Will in the face of battle. Whether that's the battle to change your life on a micro or macro level or perhaps just to get out of bed in the morning, it suggests you can do it. You WILL do it.