New Music From Crippled Black Phoenix!!!

 

From the upcoming album The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature, Out November 29th on Seasons of Mist. Pre-order HERE.

Talk about Epic. The song and the video. Well done.

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Watch:

I rewatched Chris Thomas Devlin and Samuel Bodin's Cobweb last night. This is definitely now an annual Autumn viewing for me. Cobweb has that fairytale gloss over it that I associate with Trick r' Treat and The Mortuary Collection. 

Having just seen Coraline on the big screen for the first time with the recent anniversary screenings, I can make an educated guess Cobweb also shares some DNA with that film, as some key visual and storytelling elements come from similar places. All in all, a very welcome addition to my Autumnal viewing schedule. 

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Read:

The urge had been building for a while, and since I'm in between newly released books at the moment, I decided to reread China Miéville's Perdido Street Station for the third time. 

This is not a light undertaking - the first and my favorite in Miéville's Bas-Lag trilogy, this novel is the very definition of an opus; the plot has so many moving pieces, all of which stay in their own lane and eventually coalesce in a manner I find absolutely stunning. Picking this one up and slipping back into it, I'm also overcome with an unexpected nostalgia; this book was incredibly important to me when I first found it and Miéville back in the early 00s. I was a day-of-release supporter for every book he published from 2005 to 2016 (the trilogy was complete by the time I found it) and only fell off after my life exploded that same year. Since he's published several novels on my list, his most recent a collaboration with Keanu Reeves set in the actor's Bezerker universe. I haven't read the Bezerker comics past the first issue or two of the original series, so this is low on my list. But I'd like to think I'll get to it eventually. 

Also, since I've ended up kind of listing the author's works, I'd be remiss if I did not mention his truly bizarre revamping of Dial H for Hero, twelve issues published by DC Comics in 2012.

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Playlist:

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

The Misfits - Static Age

The Misfits - American Psycho

The Thirsty Crows - Hangman's Noose

Algiers - The Underside of Power

Beastmilk - Climax

Jesu - Sun Down Sun Rise

Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications

The Cramps - RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXX (Live)

The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me

Bauhaus - Go Away White

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Card:

Today's card for study is the Three of Disks - Works:

A welcome reminder this morning, as well. Success through effort. Balance; solid foundations yield sturdy domiciles. 

King Volcano is Here

 

It's about time I brought out the Bauhaus. Of course, it hasn't been easy getting into a Halloween state of mind with the heat wave in LA, however, it appears *fingercrossedfingerscrossed* to have broken. 80? 75? I'll take it. Especially with the sun setting noticeably earlier now. So yeah, King Volcano is here...

In the course of posting this song, I came to realize that neither Burning From the Inside, nor The Sky's Gone Out are on streaming platforms at the moment. This leads me to believe there may be a rights struggle between Murphy and the rest of the band. Interesting...

Also of interest, I randomly found that two days ago, Crippled Black Phoenix released a cover version of "She's in Parties", the first Bauhaus song I ever heard and the one that made me an immediate fan.

 

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31 Days of Halloween:

Last night's viewing was a classic, 80s Horror flick:

Well, classic to me. I'm not sure why I have such a soft spot for this one. I definitely love the set design and the lighting. I especially love the outdoor sets, like the cinema and it's "Continuous Horror Marathon All Seats $1.99" marquee, or the street in front of Dante's Shuffleboard and the pay phone next to it. Hell, I just love that there's a business called Dante's Shuffleboard. Also, being that Robert Englund made his directorial debut here, the movie definitely borrows from A Nightmare on Elm Street's dream sequences. The scene where Hoax confronts Spike in the boys locker room looks awesome with its bluish-green fog. Ridiculous for a locker room, but cool nonetheless. 

So, after watching the original 976-Evil for the umpteenth time, I checked around and found that the sequel from 1992 is currently free with Prime. I've never seen this, and was delighted to find that with Englund gone, the studio hired Jim Wynorski of Chopping Mall fame to helm the continuation of the story. Alas, I was only able to watch the first fifteen minutes or so before falling asleep, however, I'll definitely be revisiting this one over the weekend.

1) Tales of Halloween: Sweet Tooth/The Wolf Man (1941)

2) From Beyond/Monsterland: Port Fourchon, Louisiana/Tales of Halloween: The Night Billy Raised Hell/Tales of Halloween: Trick

3) Mulholland Drive/Creepshow (1982): The Crate

4) Waxwork

5) Synchronic/Bad Hair

6) Dolls

7) Lovecraft Country Ep. 8/Tales of Halloween: The Weak and the Wicken/Tales of Halloween: The Grim Grinning Ghost

8) 976-Evil

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Playlist:

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper

Dance with the Dead - Loved to Death

Trust Obey - Fear and Bullets

Joy Division - Still

Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark

NIN - Pretty Hate Machine

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Card:

Hmmm... my previous pull from this deck came back with the same card. 

2018: June 30th

I know this track from the OST for a movie called The Devil's Business. This is a soundtrack I love from a film I have never seen (need to change that). Because of this slightly obscure relationship with the material, I forget about this one for long stretches, something triggers my memory (usually an early, gray morning - the somber tone of this track always fits with an early, gray morning) and I pull it out for a few days. I don't think I need to explain that that is exactly what happened this morning as I woke up tired, and dragged myself through the preparatory hygiene required for me to go into work.

While listening in the car, I knew that since my drive would only take me ~20 minutes, I'd want to continue with the album once I got inside, punched in and began the tasks of the day. When I went to Apple Music, however, I was bummed to find the soundtrack was not there. As a work-around I googled the first track and for the first time in memory realized it was not a composer, but a band. After another quick search I found the track I wanted to post (above) AND I found an awesome band I had previously never heard of, Crippled Black Phoenix.

Playlist from 6/29:

Best Coast - Crazy For You
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Windhand - Soma

I also subscribed to Bret Easton Elli's Podcast on Patreon and listened to two fantastic episodes:

B.E.E. Podcast - 6/15/18 James Van Deer Beek - wherein they discuss a lot of things, including but not limited to the 2001 70mm redux, Roseanne, Me Too and the usual woes of the business.

B.E.E. Podcast - 6/28/18 Ben Fritz - really great discussion about the death of Sony and the state of the movie business.

No card today.