I became excited when I saw that a new NIN track dropped yesterday. Alas, from what I see, this does not arrive ahead of an album, but the soundtrack for Tron: Not This Again. With NIN helming it, the OST will likely be solid, but it will likely lean into instrumentals. As much as I dig Ross and Reznor's ambient/score music, I was hoping for a full-on, proper NIN album. We'll see.
"You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what. Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show."
Watch:
Well, what the hell do you know? Stranger Things season 5 finally gets a teaser?
The wait on this one has been ludicrous to say the very least. That said, I have faith the Duffer Brothers will stick the landing and possibly propel the cast into a Golden Girls-esque sitcom as a sort of postscript.
I can't stress enough, A) How much I loved the previous season, and B) how much damage I think postponing this final season has done the show overall. You can't drag stories like this out this long and expect the material not to suffer.
Read:
A few weeks ago, my good friend Chris Saunders clued me in on a series of novels written by Matt Dinniman called Dungeon Crawler Carl. This is a series with six books already released, so that's usually a pretty good excuse for me to pass (Friends have been asking me to read Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books for nearly 20 years, but even back then, there were too many of them; there's just too much shit to read!)
Here's the solicitation:
"You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what. Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show."
The thing that drew me in was how much Douglas Adams I sensed as Chris described it to me. The aliens show up to drain and destroy Earth for blatantly corporate reasons, and use the "game show" as an industry unto itself. So far, I definitely see the Adams influence, but also, Dinniman is a fantastic writer whose prose moves swiftly without forsaking his characters. An extremly enjoyable reading experience.
Check out the Author's website HERE.
Playlist:
Spoon - Lucifer On the Sofa
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Ministry - Filth Pig
Deadguy - Near-Death Travel Services
Drug Church - Prude
Turnstile - GLOW ON
Pigface - Welcome to Mexico Asshole
Baroness - Live at Maida Vale, Vol. 1
Baroness - Live at Maida Vale, Vol. 2
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Four of Wands
• Eight of Swords
• Ten of Wands
Completion. Interference and thwarted Will.
Completion is blocked by our own lacklustre willpower to actually focus. Interference is the enemy of all success, i.e. my waivering attention span of late is severly hampering my work.
