More new Chelsea Wolfe, from the upcoming album She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, out February 9; pre-order HERE. This close to the release date, I'm not even going to listen to this single. I pre-ordered the vinyl and am waiting to sit down and listen start to finish, ripped to the gilly tits on marijuana. Been a while since I've observed that ritual for a new album, would like to get back to it. This seems like a fantastic place to start.
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I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon this last night, but after seeing the trailer and not being able to find anything on IMDB, I realized there was a link to the full film:
I know nothing of El Maestro, however, the trailer for A24's The Grind is equally one of the most beautiful and disturbing things I've seen in a while, so no doubt I'm watching this as soon as I can.
Another new Ghost of Vroom track dropped two days ago, and it's probably my second favorite from the pre-release singles for the upcoming album Ghost of Vroom 3, out September 1st on Mod y Vi Records. You can pre-order the vinyl from Doughty's website HERE.
Watch:
Last night K and I saw Talk to Me at the local theatre. I am still thinking about it. This was one of those films that afterward, I didn't come home, open a beer and throw something else on. I dug right into those articles in the new issue of Fangoria that I'd been saving.
Luckily, after seeing the trailer back when it first hit the internet, I have not watched it since, so I barely even remembered anything about this one. There's hype building around it that's turning some folks off, but I'm here to tell you, that hype is deserved. I've seen Beyondfest post on their socials numerous times declaring the first feature by twin brother directors Danny & Michael Philippou as the best Horror film of the summer, and Fangoria put it on the cover of that aforementioned new issue. Also, I've heard there is a lot of viral marketing that somehow I was fortunate enough to have missed. So I went in pretty virgin.
Even if you're inundated with the marketing, I'm recommending you see Talk to Me and you see it in a theatre. The sound design is a large part of how effective the film's unease is - it's LOUD and SHARP and often pummels you in short, declarative bursts. No explosions - just visceral, meaty stabs of sound. The performances are all fantastic, and the overall manner in which the plot unfolds felt fresh to me.
The Philippous have created a Horror Prop that, in my opinion, has similar potential to Hellraiser's Lament Configuration, so we'll see if we get a sequel.
Read:
This morning I discovered that there's a new novel on the horizon from Jonathan Lethem, author of a couple books I adore, namely Motherless Brooklyn; Gun, Occasional Music, and Amnesia Moon. Not to mention his batshit crazy Omega the Unknown for Marvel back in the early 00s.
From the official Publisher's solicitation for the novel:
"On the streets of 1970s Brooklyn, a daily ritual goes down: the dance. Money is exchanged, belongings surrendered, power asserted. The promise of violence lies everywhere, a currency itself. For these children, Black, brown, and white, the street is a stage in shadow. And in the wings hide the other players: parents; cops; renovators; landlords; those who write the headlines, the histories, and the laws; those who award this neighborhood its name.
The rules appear obvious at first. But in memory's prism, criminals and victims may seem to trade places. The voices of the past may seem to rise and gather as if in harmony, then make war with one another. A street may seem to crack open and reveal what lies behind its glimmering facade. None who lived through it are ever permitted to forget. Written with kaleidoscopic verve and delirious wit, Brooklyn Crime Novel is a breathtaking tour de force by a writer at the top of his powers."
Brooklyn Crime Novel drops on October 3, and can be pre-ordered on Indiebound HERE or wherever books are sold.
Playlist:
Sigur Rós - Ágœtis Byrjun
Sandrider - Godhead
Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
H6LLB6ND6R - Side A
Ghost of Vroom - Ghost of Vroom 3 (pre-release singles)
Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Zeal & Ardor - Eponymous
Card:
• Knight of Wands
• Six of Swords - Science
• XV The Devil
Will applied to Will, a strengthening of resolve and a healthy dose of knowledge - possibly from a less-than-ideal source or possibly even a dodgy source.
Because I didn't ask a specific question, I have to read this as applying to my current writing project. If you read these pages, you know that's how I usually do Tarot. The specific question thing always seems a bit... dodgy to me (look! The cards are already sussing things out). It works, for sure, but I've never seen Tarot as a mystifying oracle, i.e. Omnipotent third party. I mean, I don't know that anyone who seriously studies the cards looks at them that way, but that's something that's definitely in the air. that said, I've done a specific question or two lately and the resultant Pulls have been spot-on, so it does work. The thing is, that just means I already know the answer to the question, anyway...
How this relates to the current project? Not so sure yet. I'm thinking it has to do with the ending, which exists in a theoretical way, but doesn't quite have the steam behind it for the prose to manifest yet. Perhaps I need to carouse some other works of fiction to look for some kind of jumpstart phrase or idea?
Currently unable to extract this song from my head. Not that I'd want to. From Ruby The Hatchet's 2022 album Fear Is a Cruel Master, which you can order directly from the band HERE.
Watch:
A24 has a pretty interesting new flick coming out in August. From the trailer that dropped two days ago, Thomas Hardiman's feature debut Medusa Deluxe reminds me a lot of Peter Strickland's In Fabric.
If you know Strickland's film(s), you no doubt see what I mean. I don't bring this up as a critique; Hardiman's film looks stunning and weird in its own right, and I can't wait to see this when it hits VOD on August 11th.
Playlist:
Public Memory - Elegiac Beat (pre-release singles)
Public Memory - Veil of Counsel EP
Sandrider - Godhead
††† - PERMANENT.RADIANT EP
Flying Lotus - Yasuke
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
QOTSA - Villains
QOTSA - ... Like Clockwork
QOTSA - In Times New Roman
Jogger - Nephicide (single)
Colter Wall - Imaginary Appalachia
The Doors - L.A. Woman
Card:
• X: Fortune - Ka
• Queen of Cups - The Watery aspect of Water
• Two of Wands: Dominion
Moving from the well-spring, the idea source into reality can be a challenging process, especially when potentially bogged down by self-doubt; sacrifice that doubt, as it is a comfort. A familiar that only gets in the way of actualization.
It's difficult to pin this to anything specific, however, reading over it again and applying a strengthening force of contemplation - I'm scattered and fighting for clarity this morning - it seems a pretty good idea to juts blanket apply this to everything today.
Duration:
I forgot to post my report this past Tuesday, which judging by the previous week, is the day I chose to check in with this. In an effort to keep myself honest, this report is for the seven days from July 6 to July 12. I actually lost three hours this week.
I feel like I worked more than this, but when next week hits this will look like a marathon; my folks came in yesterday, so between spending time with them and work, I'm losing days here. Luckily I'm off today, and will hopefully be able to carve out some time over the next three days. I'm typing this early because I woke up well before anyone should on a day off, and figured as long as I'm up, I should do some work on the book.
New King Gizzard and the Lizzard Wizard! Many thanks to my friend Josh who recently reminded me to check these guys out, as they'd been on my radar for quite some time and I still had not heard them. Loving the 2019's Infest the Rats' Nest record, and now both these new songs from the forthcoming album
Petrodragonic Apocalypse or Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of the Merciless Damnation, which you can pre-order directly from the band HERE.
This one starts out with a King Crimson-like intro and then turns into all-out thrash for most of the song, and boy does that combination work! Also, I love that both this and the previously released Gila Monster go right into one another. If the entire album has that 'one long track' feel, I think it will just up the overall power the band has set to capture and display with this record.
Oh, the video begins with a photosensative warning - do not take lightly; you may not want to watch this if you think there's a chance it could induce seizures. It is an unfortunate effect of awesomeness that it sometimes messes with our, ahem, lizard brains.
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A new trailer for A24's Talk to Me dropped. As is my current custom, I'm posting it here but not watching it. Have heard some good things about this one, and favorable experiences watching A24's Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and Beau is Afraid have definitely staved off the burgeoning tendency to roll my eyes - temporarily at least - at the "Elevated Horror" assessment that fans have tirelessly attributed to the company (I recently saw someone wearing an A24 t-shirt).
Out July 28th, pretty sure this one is going wide. Can't wait to see it, as early reports suggest directors Danny & Michael Philippou hit this one out of the park!!!
Playlist:
Bria - Cuntry Covers Vol. 2
The Smiths - God Save the Queen
Phil Collins/Genesis - Collins. Phil Collins Playlist
Jonathan Grimm drove down a few days ago and we had a fantastic extended weekend drinking beer, watching movies and bullshitting. Grimm is definitely a stabilizing force in my life, not to mention a huge influence, and his visit really supercharged my creativity again. We capped the evening yesterday driving to Nashville and seeing Lord Buffalo, Valley of the Sun and Church of the Cosmic Skull at the awesome Basement East. It feels fortuitous indeed that the first show I see in my new state was at this venue, because I loved it. Basement East reminds me a lot of my favorite venue back in LaLaLand, Echo Park's Echoplex. I'll be keeping their calendar firmly in mind from here out, as it's the kind of venue I'll take pretty much any excuse to return to, again and again.
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Curious to see this entire film. I love the idea of teenagers playing with a makeshift "Hand of Glory," though I didn't watch enough of the trailer to see if it actually came off a "hanged murderer." Makes me want to dig back into some of my Arcana and see what Eliphas Levi or, perhaps more appropriately, Alan Moore might have to say about how stringent the cocktail that produces that particular Magickal accoutrement is.
Playlist:
Etta James - (Third Album)
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night
Locrian - Return to Annihilation
Locrian - New Catastrophism
Godflesh - Nero EP
Behemoth - The Satanist
Etta James - The Second Time Around
Me and That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1
Eldovar - A Story of Darkness and Light
Various Artists - Jonathan Grimm's Stoner/Doom Spotify Playlist
Black Sabbath - Vol. 4
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Goatsnake - Black Age Blues
Holy Serpent - Endless
Bettye LaVatte - Scene of the Crime
Pigs x 7 - Viscreals
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
Where this might normally make me think some form of unpleasant emotional change is jump up the road, I instantly read it as a lifting of my already generally unpleasant emotional state that dug in during my extended stay in LaLaLand and has left me off-kilter and unusually anxious since.
A little Thirsty Crows to kick off the day. Man, I miss these guys. Really wish we would have gotten a second album. That said, every song on this one is gold, so Hangman's Noose stands as a testament to an awesome band!
NCBD:
Another Wednesday means another NCBD!
After re-reading Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley's HULK issues 8 and 9 last week, I am beyond excited to get back into this "Hulk Planet" storyline. There is such the late 70s/early 80s aesthetic at work here, totally reminds me of Bill Mantlo's work on the book back then. Often, when we think 'cosmic' storylines from that era, we think of Jack Kirby. Not a bad thing, but there were other cosmic ideas floating around at the time, and Mantlo's stuff was just as influential on my imagination.
The first issue of Night of the Ghoul blew me away. I'm hoping this is another home-run Horror title from Scott Snyder. I'm reminded of 2012's Severed, or even, to a degree, Wytches.
Confession: I'm still not certain I understood the setup for Declan Shalvey's Old Dog in issue #1, but as usual, my confusion has only served to
This Predator series has been pretty badass so far. Not what I expected when the property went to Marvel (aka Disney). Let's keep it going. Also, tell me that doesn't look like Aliens' Vasquez on the cover.
Hands down, That Texas Blood is one of the best titles going. This is to Crime Comics what Fargo Season One was to Crime TV shows. It has this Outer Dark/Weird Fiction element intricately commingled with its gritty realism and small-town appeal. Such an odd and extremely endearing combination.
My love of X-Men Red continues in this post-Magneto world. Will The Quiet Council eventually disregard his wishes and resurrect him from an older backup anyway? One that doesn't remember giving up that right on principle to be seen as worthy on the Council of Arrako? Probably. That's the genius thing about just taking the stakes out of the perpetual death/resurrection of big-name superhero books: Once you acknowledge that everyone will just always come back, it sets up so many nuances that we couldn't have imagined previously.
Watch:
Tilda Swinton in an A24 Ghost Story?
Sold.
Playlist:
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Jello Biafra's Renegade Round Table Ep1 - Al Jourgensen
Now that I'm doing the whole work-from-home thing and no longer have a commute, I've hardly listened to any podcasts. I think I finally changed that today by exerting the effort to put in the earbuds and dig into the new Jello Biafra's Renegade Roundtable (thanks to Mr. Brown for telling me about this one). Because of this concentrated effort, I've decided to start logging any podcasts I listen to on the daily playlist.
Card:
Since I only use three decks, and since I drew from two of those yesterday, I wanted to consult my Thoth today for an early November reading that I will interpret as affecting the entire coming year.
Disappointment and Failure ultimately lead to good things. Isn't this how life always works? Do I need to pull another clarifying card?
Many ideas and the dangers of indecision threaten to instigate set-backs. All good things to keep in mind over the coming year as I dive back into Shadow Play Books 2 and 3, which are further along than I remembered (what a nice surprise that was).
Thanks to my good friend Jacob for turning me onto Unto Others, even though he did so with a degree of hesitation. And I totally understand that. There's something about this band - and from what I've heard especially this new album - that while I like it, leaves a question of authenticity lingering behind it. Maybe that will dissipate, maybe not. It reminds me a lot of Fear Factory, whose records never quite made the impression on me that a live performance at the beginning of their career did (opening support for Sepultura's Chaos A.D. tour). Either way, for the moment, while I'm getting to know Unto Others, I'm digging it, and especially their new album Strength, which was released a few weeks ago on Roadrunner Records and can be purchased HERE.
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Hoping to catch this one at some point this weekend:
I've begun to get a bit suspicious of A24, and I'm not really sure that's fair. It started with Saint Maud's original trailer, which felt as though it was screaming the proclamation, "THIS IS THE NEXT HEREDITARY!!!" Because of that, I skipped seeing it at the 2020 Drive-in edition of Beyondfest, only to watch it earlier this year when it hit streaming and, turns out, I really liked it. So I don't know what my problem is. Hopefully, Lamb will prove me 100% wrong.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Playlist:
Type O Negative - October Rust
Unto Others - Mana
Unto Others - Strength
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Card:
A quiet moment of union amidst an ever-expanding storm of chaos.
There's a reason Sunn O))) named a song after Earth founder Dylan Carlson.
I'm largely unfamiliar with Earth except for this album, which I picked up shortly after its release in 2014, and which became ingrained in my psyche in 2015 as I listened to it over the course of a year where my life imploded and then put itself back together (better). This song, in particular, and Rabia Shaheen Qazi's lyrics and delivery really resonated with me at that time.
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Well look what finally found its way to a platform where most people can actually see it:
I've had a lot of misgivings about this flick and the interminably long build-up to its release. First, A24 makes great stuff, however, I've developed a growing awareness of the films they release that seems to have the express intent of being 'the next Hereditary.' Seeing the Saint Maud trailer for the first time a little over a year ago marked the beginning of this suspicion and the feeling has only escalated since.
Next, to have bypassed the usual VOD platforms where the everyman fan can pay to rent the film, A24 instead made a deal with West Coast cable channel Epix, where the film has remained exclusive for the last several months.
Really? Being that no one I know that doesn't live in California has ever even heard of epix, I don't know where - if anywhere - this film was available elsewhere in the country, but I consider this a frustrating manuever on A24's part. I mean, all is forgiven if this helped put the film and its writer/director Rose Glass in a good place in a world where movie releases have become increasingly uncertain and unprofitable.
Anyway, regardless of these misgivings, I watched Saint Maud yesterday. My reaction?
Wow.
When religious lunacy replaces addiction, bad things happen. That's all I'll say, other than I really dug Saint Maud, and although I don't really feel as though the way A24 handled its release was warranted, the film is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of the more psychological take A24 tends to curate for their release.
Playlist:
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Windhand - Eternal Return
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Algiers - The Underside of Power
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Federale - No Justice
Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love (single)
David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Freaks)
The Dandy Warhols - Playlist
Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Corniglia - Eponymous
Card:
Yes. Perfect pull, as the paradigm of the past year died yesterday when, for the first time since early March, 2020, I walked to my coffee shop writing spot and put in a solid writing session. It felt awesome, and I'm going back today!
More Type O from their final album, and if this isn't a case of the best goddamn final song for a band's career, I don't know what is. I still get chills every time I listen to it, and I've been listening to it a lot.
Watch:
I feel like I may be the only person I know that didn't give very much of a toss about the teaser for David Lowery's The Green Knight that A24 released last year. Earlier this week the full trailer dropped and I have to say, I still don't know that the glimpses of the story that peek through are catching me, however, visually it looks as though we may finally have a companion to the ergot-infused witchery of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army:
There's something so sublime about the imagery here and the narrative it suggests. I'm reminded of Ben Wheatley and John Boorman simultaneously. This may be a reason to head back into a theatre.
Maybe.
Playlist:
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Sampa the Great - The Return
Viet Cong - Eponymous
The Police - Outlandos d'Amour
Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese
The Smiths - Meat is Murder
Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers + Queers
Card:
When you have all the bloody pieces but just can't get things to work out quite right, that is when Ruin threatens. Which feels more than a little accurate in terms of money and potential residences to be purchased.
Continuing this somewhat - to me anyway - fascinating record of the music I wake up with in my head, because there's always music there when I open my eyes to a new day, today it was one of the more nuanced tracks from 2016's Total Depravity by The Veils:
I say nuanced and I do not mean it in a negative way; every track off Total Depravity is marvelous, and what's more, The Veils are very good at doing that that thing that I love: all the tracks add up to make an outstanding full album, one that resonates on multiple harmonic levels when listened to as a whole. We're talking sonically, thematically, and overall aesthetically, this record shines. In fact, I'd call it one of the best 'albums' I've heard in years.
Playlist yesterday was sparse. I finally found my CD copy of Shellac's most recent record Dude Incredible so that may be going into regular commute rotation for a while:
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Shellac - Dude Incredible
Deftones - Gore
The Doors - LA Woman (original vinyl pressing - used to be my Dad's and has THIS little nasty on the back of the bright yellow record sleeve).
I pre-ordered Dude Incredible on vinyl back when it was released and Mr. Albini and crew included as something of, I think, a philosophical statement on their preference for analog over digital, a totally unlabeled copy of the album on disc. Lately I've had the strongest hankerings for Shellac while in the car, so although it's been a while since I've pulled the vinyl out at night, during the day I'd several times been frustrated to discover I had no idea where the disc was. I even feared, due to its unmarked facade, its possible loss in the great divorce tally/purge of 2015. Then a couple days ago I pull out 1000 Hurts on disc and there's the unlabelled missing album on top. I very much count this as a win.
Last night K and I tried to watch both Good Time and It Comes at Night but failed at both. Part of this may have been due to a certain persnickety fatigue six long days of work surrounded by LA commutes had left me with by the time I'd prepared dinner and had a few Smithwicks, but I definitely feel it this lack of connection was not entirely on me. Both films are distributed byA24,whose films I normally fall right in line with, but with my shortage of time to appropriate for watching movies these days, I feel fairly certain I won't be giving either of these another chance. Instead, we're seeing The Philadelphia Story on the big screen this afternoon, thanks to Turner Movie Classics and Fathom Events, and steering tonight's Sunday Night Feature to Dark Song, a film several good friends have given near rave reviews of, and which I'd waited on since first reading about on the Horror Amino community, where there's a wealth of awesome horror information updated on pretty much an hourly basis.
Card of the day:
A lot in my Grimoire about this one, however most of it presupposes the card's value in a spread, in relation to other cards, especially Disks and its representation of Earthly matters. Specifically I see one relating to gambling. I'll keep this in mind, however the one point of primary interest here is the note that the Three of Swords can indicate, "... a current period of unhappiness, not necessarily one to come."
Two reasons for this note's perceived poignancy at the moment with regards to my existence:
I'm not in the best of moods today due to a certain lackadaisical approach to property management by the cunts that run the building that I will soon be moving out of, and two, the "... not necessarily..." part really helps when looking back at the last few days' cards and tracking their ongoing juxtaposition with my moving situation: knowing the Futility of the current situation with finding a new place forces a decision to be made; accepting the Change that will come with that decision, and now the suggestion that unhappiness will not necessarily follow on the tide of that Change, well, the pieces are in motion and I'm helping to keep them that way. My contributions pail in comparison to K's near constant attempts to stay in contact with the other parties involved.
