Showing posts with label Ipecac Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ipecac Records. Show all posts

Friday, July 12, 2024

New Music from The Jesus Lizard!!!

 I'm behind everything by a couple of days. Had a friend in town earlier in the week, and between catching up at work after a few days off, digging back into finishing Black Gloves & Broken Hearts after five days away at a crucial point in the novel, and recording podcasts for both MaXXXine and Longlegs, I just haven't had time to do anything else. So here's some awesome new music by one of my all-times. You can pre-order the new album RACK from Ipecac Records HERE, it drops September 13th.




Watch:

In the past week I have seen three movies that I expect will define much of 2024 for me. First, MaXXXine, which I've now seen twice on the big screen and am planning for another round:


I'm in the final stages of editing a HUGE episode The Horror Vision just did on this one. Ti West has been a favorite of mine since I first saw The Roost in 2005, and to see his very distinct filmmaking on the big screen for the first time since I caught The House of the Devil back in 2009 at the old Laemmle's on Sunset (after waiting for it for something like 3 or 4 years), but with a much bigger budget and not in a limited art-house release (I'm in Clarksville for hell's sake; I seriously doubt Hosue of the Devil played in Clarksville, haha) was an awesome experience. MaXXXine has some issues, but none that blind my love for it or the director.

Although I saw Nikhil Nagesh Bhat's Kill last September at opening night of Beyondfest 2023, I am counting my viewing this past Sunday on a big screen in Nashville as the first salvo of what may very well be my favorite film of the year.


This film takes the "Surprise, I'm getting married" trope of Indian Cinema and uses it to propel the best Action-Horror film I've seen since Dog Soldiers, easy. See this on the big screen if you can, and don't worry about the run time. It's a little over two hours, and I won't feel it AT ALL.

Finally, Oz Perkins' Longlegs... I'm not really sure how I feel about this flick after seeing it last night. It's fantastic, no doubt, but something about all of Perkins' films creates a disconnect in me. 


You'll read this is the scariest movie of the decade. I think that's a bit much. But it is extremely unnerving, and everyone turns in a fantastic performance, especially Nick Cage, who defies all possible expectation and description with his performance.


The only other really big films I'm still waiting on for the year are Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus, Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis, and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu. I know there will be other, unexpected greats that filter in here and there, but for now, those are the horizon line. All in all, so far it's been a pretty great year, with Kill and Stop Motion duking it out for my favorite thus far.




Playlist:

Various Artists - The Void
High on Fire - Cometh the Storm
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Vol. 1: △△
Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes (single)
Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurrican (single)
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis




Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.


• XIV: Temperance
• XX: Judgement
• Page of Wands

XIV is Art in the Thoth deck, a variation that projects a slightly different connotation for me. Having only used Thoth for the first 17 or so years I've been familiar with the cards, this recent switch is something I've not quite worked out yet. Art usually suggests synchronization, often of disparate elements into a pleasurable outcome. Temperance, on the other hand, suggests Balance, which is and is not the same. Seeing this card here and thinking about it, I take this as a definite nod to balance some of the uneven and, frankly, negative emotions/thoughts that have ruled my head of late. Taken with XX - ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES - and the Page (Princess) of Wands, or the Earthly aspect of Fire, I'd say this is a Pull that suggests I really have some work to do on myself in order to regain the mental/emotional balance I've kind of misplaced the last two weeks or so

Thursday, June 27, 2024

New music from Human Impact!!!

 

New music from Human Impact! This band's debut hit right around the time the pandemic began, and I remember it quickly became a fairly regular and significant piece of music for me. However, in the last few years, they kind of slipped from my radar. Now, their sophomore album Gone Dark drops October 4th on Ipecac; pre-order HERE.




Thursday, June 6, 2024

New Music from The Jesus Lizard!!!

 

Wednesday was an incredible day for new album announcements. I'd been expecting David Lynch to drop something because of a video he posted last week, but The Jesus Lizard's Rack from Ipecac was 100% surprise. This is the band's first album since 1998's Blue, and while there is a lot I do like about their two Capitol Records, I can already tell by this first single "Hide & Seek," that I like Paul Allen's production on this one way better (RIP Steve Albini, who produced their iconic albums for Touch & Go back in the 90s). 

Also, Mac is back! That's right, original drummer Mac McNeilly is once again behind the skins. The stars have aligned!

Pre-order from Ipecac Recordings HERE.




Watch:

Last night, K and I went to see Ishana Shyamalan's The Watchers


Despite seeing this or a slightly different trailer before pretty much every movie I've attended in the theatre for the last month or two, I went in with a fairly open mind. All I'll say is, if you're an M. Knight fan, you'll probably dig this. It was very well made and had excellent performances, but I did not care for the script, characters or the film overall. I kind of felt a weird parallel to when I saw The Village, back on opening night in 2004. With it in a half-arsed kind of way until the last act, when I kind of just want to get up and walk out.


* My good friend Missi laughs at my growing frustration at pre-show "entertainment." She cooly arrives at just the right time every time she goes to the theatre (about as often as us), but somehow, I just can't time that right. 




Playlist:

The Jesus Lizard - Show
Shellac - To All Trains
Big Black - Lungs
Various - The Lounge Ax Defense and Relocation Compact Disc
Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
Black Pyramid - The Paths of Time are Vast
The Raveonettes - Chain Gang of Love




Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.


• Knight of Swords
• Five of Wands
• Queen of Wands

Perhaps cryptically, I have "Motivation as Will" written in the Grimoire for Knight of Swords. This is the Firey aspect of Air, or the Will as applied to Intellect. Five of Wands is Conflict in Earthly matters, and Queen of Wands, or the Emotional aspect of Will.

All any of this tells me at the moment - when it's 12:47 AM and I'm tired as hell -  are we're all a big o' mess O' trouble. Contradictions and good intentions, but if you recognize that and we start there, we can move on and perhaps conquer and shape some of what makes us indecisive and try and turn conflict into stability.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

New Melvins!!!

 

From the upcoming Tarantula Heart, available April 19th from Ipecac Records. Pre-order HERE.

LOVE this track! I'm a Melvins fan, but the group has always proved too prolific (I know, no such thing) for me to keep up with everything they do. This one caught me on exactly the right day at the right time, and I instantly fell for lead "single" "Working the Ditch." Didn't hurt that I was able to snag the limited edition, Puke Green vinyl.

The line-up for this album is a throwback to Melvins' two-drummer paradigm; current Ministry drummer Ray Mayorga plays alongside mainstay Dale Crover and just from this track, I feel like we're hearing some really interesting rhythmic ideas. Aside from Houdini, the two drummer years are my favorite of the band, and this already reminds me of (A) Senile Animal, probably my second favorite of the group's albums.




Watch:

I've held off on learning too much about upcoming Horror/Thriller Long Legs because this one is generating a lot of hype, and as well we know, that is a surefire way to kill a film before it is even released (looking at the marketing team for Evil Dead Rise). That said, I'm leaving this teaser here unwatched, with my fingers crossed:


I've seen two of Oz Perkins' previous films, and didn't care for either. The Blackcoat's Daughter straight-up cheats with its casting as a way to deliver its twist, and Gretel & Hansel, while pretty, bored me to tears. Regardless, I'm very much hoping Long Legs will rule and, thus, maybe inspire me to rewatch one or both of those (although I've rewatched The Blackcoat's Daughter three times and each viewing just leaves me scratching my head at why the film is held in such high regard. It is entirely possible that I'm missing something, but I don't think so).




Playlist:

Turnstile - Glow On
Witchfinder - Hazy Rites
Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
Zombi - Shape Shift
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
FACS - Still Life in Decay
Daemien Frost - Spirito di daemo
Daemien Frost - Corpus Daemo




Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Spotlight on Stephen King's Fairy Tale

 

Really digging this new EP from Spotlights. Order from Ipecac Records HERE.
 



NCBD:

As of Monday, I'm finally back from my two weeks in LaLaLand. Trapped up in West L.A./Santa Monica at the Sonder hotel at Found, I didn't get a chance to hit up my beloved Comic Bug until my final day in town, but I saw some old friends and got to pick up a few books that weren't on my list. Also, will be returning to Rick's Comic City today to grab my Pull-List books from the last two weeks, so here's everything I will have acquired starting back on NCBD 3/08/23:

This Week's Pull 3/22/23:




Last week's Pull, 3/15/23:


This, the penultimate issue of Hulk, is one I actually missed out on; I never added to my Pull, and The Bug was sold out, so I'll have to find it online somewhere.


The only one I've read at the point of reading this, I started out feeling pretty non-plussed, but ending up really liking where this second issue of Immoral X-Men went. I don't love Sins of Sinister, however, I'm reading through it simply to see the pretty big-swing ideas the X-writing stable are taking with it.


LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover!


Two Weeks Ago, 3/08/23:


Based on the Master of Reality and now Back in Black homage covers, I am SO hoping they do one for Mercyful Fate, Don't Break the Oath on a future issue of this series!


I'm glad this regular X-Men book isn't adhering or pausing for Sins of Sinister. With issue 19's start of a Brood-based story, I thought I was going to roll my eyes, however, the entire set-up was fantastic (the Nowhere thread is amazing!). I'm really looking forward to this one!




Read:

While in LaLaLand, I had a couple of occasions to catch up and hang out with my good friend Chris Saunders, formerly of The Thirsty Crows, and my co-host on the hiatus-ending-soon podcast A Most Horrible Library. Chris gifted me a beautiful Hardcover copy of Stephen King's newest novel Fairy Tale, and at ~120 pages into its ~600 pages, I'm hooked!


I haven't read a new King novel since 2010's Doctor Sleep (thanks to Mr. Brown!) and reading Fairy Tale makes me remember how much I adore the man's prose. I'm realizing now that one of the everlasting endearments of King's mind and how it translates to the page is he writes about a world that, while modern and incorporating modern elements (the internet, online shopping, current cultural establishments), King's world still feels very much like the world I grew up in, the one-two weeks in LaLaLand convinced me did not exist at all anymore. That's a very welcome refresher at the moment, as it gives me hope humanity isn't as far gone as it often feels when in a high-population center or tooling around online.




Playlist:

Le Butcherettes - A Raw Youth
Screaming Females - Desire Pathways
Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Sunset Mission
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
SQÃœRL - Silver Haze
The Police - Regatta de Blanc
Burial - Untrue
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right To Children
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Wayne Shorter - The All Seeing Eye
Spotlights - Seance EP
Spotlights - Love & Decay




Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.



Emotional security leads to an Emotional breakthrough that ultimately could turn into a profitable partnership. 

Thursday, August 25, 2022

New Dead Cross!!!

 

More new Dead Cross! I'm digging what I'm hearing from this second album more than I did the first, can't wait to hear the entire thing, which is out October 14th on Ipecac Recordings. Pre-order a copy HERE




Watch:

This dropped yesterday:

 

As far as Teaser Trailers go, I think this is perfect. Of course, there's the part of me that wants to see more, but really, I'd rather wait and get it all at once in my first viewing. Hey, it's gotta be better than most of the Dimension sequels, right? Let's hope this 20th Century Fox/HULU pairing the Mouse has going will turn out another unexpectedly fantastic sequel, like Prey.




Quote:

"Having made the world lousy, imagine ye are of significance to Heaven?"
                                                         - Austin Osman Spare, Anathema of Zos: The Sermon of the Hypocrite





Playlist:

Soundgarden - Super Unknown
Various - Every Day (Is Halloween) Playlist: Small Cat, Big Yard
Suburban Living - Always Eyes EP
Suburban Living - Cooper's Dream EP
True Widow - As High As the Highest...
Nirvana - With the Lights Out
Nirvana - Lithium single
Suburban Lawns - Eponymous
Ministry - Moral Hygiene
Ministry - Everyday (Is Halloween) The Lost Mixes
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Small Black - Cheap Dreams




Card:

I returned to the Raven Deck this morning, and The Hermit sprung out at me:


Second time this week, so I pulled a clarifying card from my Thoth:


So I have some work to do, and isolation will definitely be a part of it. 


Saturday, March 27, 2021

Block Island Tomahawks

 

The new Tomahawk is out and it's super fun! Favorite track so far? Probably still Business Casual, but from the stuff I've only been living with for twenty-four hours, I'll point to the almost prog-rock guitar of Tattoo Zero. Meanwhile, Predators and Scavengers has an old school Jesus Lizard feel at times, and they released a video. 




Watch:

Block Island Sound - which is currently streaming on Netflix - already feels like a frontrunner for movie of the year. Of course it's my way to make bold statements like that in March and April, so we'll see.

 

Too soon to tell or not, I fully expect the McManus Brothers' latest foray into Horror to be in my top ten at the very least. It's such an ominous film, dread dripping into all the little corners of one family's life.
 


Playlist:

Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Flogging Molly - Float
Cocteau Twins - Garlands
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
Deftones - Covers
The Replacements - Tim
Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA
Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy
Deftones - No Koi Yokan
Belong - October Language
The Black Queen - Infinite Games
Ulver - Teachings in Silence
Tomahawk - Tonic Immobility
Dance with the Dead - B-Sides: Vol. 1 
 

 

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Tomahawk - Dog Eat Dog

 

New Tomahawk track gets a music video! Can't wait for this record.


Watch:

Last night, K and I watched the original Black Narcissus film from 1947. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I'd never heard of this one before seeing the trailer for last year's remake.

 

The original is beautiful. Shot in Technicolor, the film earned cinematographer Jack Cardiff an Academy Award that was well warranted. Also on display are the extensive matte paintings. It's a gorgeous film, although acting-wise, it's a bit over-the-top drama for my tastes. Also, I am going to assume the plot will far much better in the newer version (if it doesn't get carried away).

We finished the film and went directly into the first episode of the three-episode FX mini-series remake. Also visually stunning, where the matte paintings are replaced by aerial drone shots of no small ambition. 


I think together, these will make perfect counter-points to one another.




Playlist:

Tomahawk - Tonic Immobility (pre-release singles)
Tomahawk - Mit Gas
Queensrÿche - Jet City Woman (single)
Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild
Odonis Odonis - Post Plague
PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Nothing - The Great Dismal
Realize - Machine Violence
 



Card:


Always a favorite card. That Boaz and Jacin behind her, the pillars from King Solomon's temple. I did a lot of research on these about 17 years ago (!?), but most of it's a fog now. Interesting though, this might run parallel to some of the content in Shadow Play, so I'll take this as a nod to dig up my notes.

Thursday, January 21, 2021

New Music from Tomahawk!!!

Ah, now we're really starting to get into the releases for the new year. The first new album from Tomahawk since 2013's Oddfellows! A bit of a coincidence, as I've had Duane Dennison on the mind and on the spinner, as you'll read below. I'm excited! You can pre-order Tonic Immobility, which you can of course order from the always delightful Ipecac Records, HERE. The record drops March 26th!




Vinyl:

I managed to score a complete set of what I now believe to be a 2009, Record Store Day reissue set of all The Jesus Lizard's 7" singles from back in the day. Nine in total, I originally thought I was getting the original pressings, which, you know, considering one would have been a split with Nirvana (Puss and Oh the Guilt, the cassette for which I still have) and which the actual 45 for would be worth more than I paid for all nine of these re-presses, makes sense that this is not that. Either way, it was super cool, after a workday that ended with me having to get a COVID test, to come home, open a Sierra Nevada, and fire up Mouth Breather on vinyl! Negative, by the way.


Not a great picture, but you get the point. 
 


NCBD

Because of the scare, I did not stop in to pick up my comics. However, here's what's waiting for me today:


One issue left! Look at that cover! The greens that often flood Jerome Opêna's art are definitely what pulled me into this series. There's something so 'Sci Fi pulp paperback novel from the 80s cover art' about them. Not the style, but the settings: Swamps, bogs, mountains, etc. 


Love this book, LOVE this cover, too. 


Wow, great covers this week.


These "Best of" books have been the most "pure joy" comic books I've read in years. I don't even bag-and-board these, I have them sitting around just so I can pick them up and hold them every once in a while.  


After issue 3 of We Live, this is the book I think of the most. What started as pure SciFi, really took on a Girl With All the Gifts vibe in its last chapter, and the mash-up works perfectly. Can't wait to see where this goes!




Playlist:

Ministry - The Last Sucker
Ministry - Rio Grande Blood
Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs
The Jesus Lizard - Mouth Breather 45
The Jesus Lizard - Gladiator 45




Card:

Today I went for my original, full-size Thoth deck. I don't have very many decks. As much as I love a lot of what I see out there as far as Tarot Deck's, I'm purely a pragmatician with these. Sure, that DC Vertigo deck is amazing, and, well, maybe one day that is one I would grab just to look at, but I started with the Crowley/Harris deck nearly 20 years ago, and it is two of my three decks (Missi also gifted me a pocket-sized Thoth a few years back). So it's Thoth and Raven, that's it.


I can't help but feel this is a direct nod to the COVID scare and the test I took last night. Hearing I might be infected set me on a negative thought tirade - especially when it comes to imagining the beating I would like to issue to the chin-diaper, COVID-denying moron at work who is the 'patient zero' in our building (always gotta be one). That said, I came home, pulled my shit together, found a place to get a rapid test, and just did it.

It's funny how, in moments like those hours where I thought I might have it - which of course the ego immediately translates to I definitely have it - there's such a pull to surrender, to woe is me, to give up.

Fuck that. Science. Or, in the words of the esteemed Mr. Pinkman:

Saturday, November 14, 2020

New Melvins!

 

New Melvins? Yes, please!

Pre-order the new album HERE, out February 26 on Ipecac Records!




Watch:

Friday morning I woke up and rented Bryan Bertino's new film The Dark and The Wicked on Prime. Great flick. I didn't 100% connect with it the way I had hoped, however, I probably had some pretty unrealistic expectations. That said, it's a very well made film, even if I did kind of think all the atmosphere and tension didn't quite "pop" the way it tried to. Definitely worth supporting, though, and Bertino is one of the best modern filmmakers working in Horror, in my opinion. 


I also finally made it around to Benson and Moorhead's episode of this year's season of The Twilight Zone. "8" is great. I still don't dig the overall feel of the series, and as much as I dig Jordan Peele, he just doesn't have the same wry manner needed to fill Rod Serling's shoes, but I did like seeing an Octopus kill off a team of Arctic research scientists. 

Despite my misgivings on the series, I'm glad someone's doing it, because anthology shows like this help employ a lot of filmmakers, and whether I watch them or not, it makes me happy they exist.




Playlist:


Opeth - Watershed 
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wraith of the Easter Bunny 
Barry Adamson - As Above So Below 
Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope To the Sky 
Miserable - Uncontrollable 
Anna Von Hausswolff - All Thoughts Fly
Mrs. Piss - Self-Surgery
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Fen - The Dead Light
Hoseback - The Invisible Mountain
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Opeth - My Arms Your Hearse



Card:


What I've been doing to myself again with writing. I did nail some important backstory in a scene yesterday, but I could have got a lot more done had I not kept flitting around, being distracted by menial tasks that totally could have waited. 

Friday, August 14, 2020

Isolation: Day 151

It's official! October 30th, Mr. Bungle's The Raging Wraith of the Easter Bunny is out via Patton's Ipecac Recordings. Thanks to Mr. Brown for the heads up, because I've been slammed all week and would have completely missed the chance to snag a copy of that Ruby Red 2 LP vinyl! Pre-order HERE.
While I've been a Bungle fan since Brown turned me on to their self-titled debut back in High School, and I spent a good deal of my time on Napster in the late 90s downloading bootlegs of their older, demo stuff, I never really got into the original, thrash version of the band. That said, seeing these songs a few months ago, played by musicians who are older and wiser, I became convinced if they recorded it, Easter Bunny had the potential to be one of the greatest thrash records to come out in decades. If Raping Your Mind is any intimation of what is on the rest of the record, I'm pretty sure I was correct.
Sure, I'd love another weirdo Bungle album eventually, but in the meantime, I'm welcoming this one with open arms.
**
NCBD this week was another no-go for my pull, which is fine, because I haven't picked up my books in two weeks now. One of the companies I always look forward to checking is Vault, and this week, I notice a collection for a series I'd not noticed previously. This looks pretty damn interesting, and I've ear-marked it for a little research.
This collection just came out, however, I'm going to look for the individual issues first, as I love the art and design of the originals' covers. Here's an example:
There's such a throw-back feel to this, but not like a comic, more like the old paperback books I used to read as a kid. LOVE this.

**
Playlist:
Concrete Blonde - Eponymous
Concrete Blonde - Free
X - Wild Gift
X - Los Angeles
Plimsouls - Everywhere at Once
Contours - Essential 
Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines OST
X - Under the Big Black Sun
The Birthday Party - Hee Haw
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
Hank III - Straight to Hell
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Francesco Zampaglione and Andrea Moscianese - Tulpa OST
Brainiac - Smack Bunny Baby
Vitalic - OK Cowboy
Aerosmith - Pump
Airiel - Molten Young Lovers
Moderat - II
Reverend Horton Heat - Liquor in the Front
Brainiac - Hissing Prigs in Static Couture
Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
The Bangles - All Over the Place

**
Card:

Let's do another multi-deck spread:


For this one, I used one card from the Raven Deck, and two from my mini Thoth - both decks gifts to me from my good friend Missi, who now has my new book Murder Virus - that's the name I'm sticking with - as my first beta reader. Missi Birthday was yesterday, so there's a lot of her energy in this spread. The Tower is a toppling of old conventions, though here I don't take it as pointing to the 'Old Guard' publishing industry, but my perceptions of it. Work is the hard work and determination I need to maintain (another query sent a few days ago), and Lust is a warning about the lust of result. Those of you who know anything about Magick know lust of result is one of the major blockades to achieving one's Will.


Friday, March 13, 2020

Isolation: Day 1 - Human Impact This Dead Sea



The debut album by Human Impact dropped on Ipecac Records today. This one brings me back - there's a little Helmet, a little Quicksand, and an undercurrent of Industrial vibes that makes their sound mildly nostalgic while also cutting edge. Haven't heard anything like this in some time, and Chris Spencer's sweat-and-vitriol laced vocals feel pretty damn timely, while the world seems to curl in from around the edges, like an old photograph in a winter hearth.

**



Nightmare fuel right here. Jesus, this looks insane, and the "bastard child of Ground Hog's Day and The Babadook" quote just seals the freakin' deal.


**

Playlist:

Balthazar - Fever
Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
The Birthday Party - Mutiny/The Bad Seed
Beth Gibbons/Henry Gorecki - Symphony No. 3
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Eagulls - Eponymous
Emma Ruth Rundle - Marked for Death
Jaye Jayle - No Trail and Other Unholy Paths

**

Card:


On this, the second time in three days I've pulled The Emperor, I'm reading on a more Macroscopic level. The Emperor is establishment, social order, social contract. Namely, all the things that feel like they are in jeopardy at the moment. I'm inclined to read this as a nod to the unwavering persistence of these systems we have set up - even though many of them are fucked up or in jeopardy in other ways - and that the current scare will subside without decimating our society. There's a host of conspiracy theories the Mulder in my brain keeps throwing at the back of my eyes, but I'm trying to acclimate to just believing everything will be, relatively, okay. Even if a lot is probably going to change by the end of the year.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Human Impact - E605


Loving this new project from former Unsane frontman. The album drops March 13th on Ipecac Records; you can pre-order it HERE.

**

Last night, K and I returned to the theatre for a second viewing of Underwater, and this time we brought a couple of the other fiends from The Horror Vision. The second viewing was almost better than the first, and afterward we recorded a short episode - a spoiler heavy discussion. Also, THV is now available on Stitcher, as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play:


The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

**

Playlist:

Butthole Surfers - Psychi... Powerless... Another's Man's Sac
Godflesh - Hymns
Steve Moore - Bliss OST

Card:


Ah yes, that Breakthrough. A well-timed reminder to get my ass out the door and to my writing spot, instead of starting a movie or continuing to sit here reading.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

2019: June 8th Spotlights - Mountains Are Forever



Well, thanks to Mr. Brown, I found my album of the year. It's early, so this could conceivably change, but I pretty much always know my album of the year the moment I first hear it, and brothers and sisters - this is it! And to think, I'd never even heard of Spotlights before, a husband/wife duo whose new album Love & Decay is out now on Ipecac Records and can be streamed or purchased HERE.

Love & Decay feels a lot like the MBV album I wanted to hear when I ordered their loooong-awaited follow-up to Loveless back in 2013, the self-titled and unfortunately underwhelming eponymous record. I also hear Soundgarden, Deftones, and a lot of other bands I like in the sound of Spotlights, but never in a way that feels trite or repetitive. This leads me to declare for myself and like-minded music lovers a new classic and a band to follow and be excited for from here out! Always a great day when I can say that!

**

I've talked about Kristen Gorlitz's awesome horror comic The Empties in these pages before, and it's time to talk about it again because Kristen just launched the Kickstarter for issue #3! You can go to the Kickstarter page HERE to read more about it and support it; if you've read the first two issues of The Empties, you'll most likely be like me and not need any more convincing. So good!



**

I finally had the chance to watch the new Criterion Edition of David Lynch's Blue Velvet last night. Wow. Gorgeous transfer. This film never gets old for me; I enjoyed this viewing as much as or more than the countless others I've had since discovering this film back in the mid-90s. What I didn't expect  last night was my reaction to the 53 minutes of deleted scenes included as extras on the disc. I watched a few and really had a sense of inspiration in editing. I mean, you look at all the extra stuff Lynch filmed and you can practically see how making Blue Velvet helped him grow as a filmmaker over the course of its creation; all the Jeffery-at-college and Jeffrey-comes-home stuff that got cut would have, if included, very much weakened the film. The elegance to the progression of events in the version that Lynch released and we all love is so much more apparent and enjoyable after seeing the scenes he cut. And after waiting 20+ years to see this stuff - scenes we never thought we'd see back in the Wrapped in Plastic days - I found I could only watch about twenty minutes of them before I grew exhausted and decided to save the rest for a later date.



**

Playlist from 6/06:

Man or Astro-Man - Intravenous Television Continuum
Spotlights - Love & Decay

Playlist from 6/07:

Man or Astro-Man - Intravenous Television Continuum
Spotlights - Love & Decay
Los Amigos Invisibles - The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera
Pelican - Nighttime Stoties
Bloody Hammers - Under Satan's Sun
Primus - Antipop

Card of the day:


Paradigm shift! Just in time for the next project.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Dead Cross - Live in Santa Ana



Monday was Dead Cross at the El Rey in Hollywood. My friend Keller and I hit it the early and caught Secret Chiefs 3 play a killer set; a great surprise as I didn't even realize they were playing. Spruance and Patton in the same building? FNM reunited, might Bungle one day?

I digress.

After more than a 45 minute wait between bands we became concerned. Our concern was justified when Dave Lombardo and Michael Crain ducked out from behind the curtain and told the crowd that Patton had been injured in a car accident and the show would have to be re-scheduled.

Crap.

Keller and I hit another bar, or rather a Mexican Cantina that appeared out of thin air after we found a strange green ring behind a beat-up old RV covered heavily with surveillance. The rest of that experience is foggy to say the least, but I think I ate a Negro Modelo and drank a chicken fajita.

Fast forward to Tuesday and the rescheduled show was announced for... that very night. Bummer, because there was no way I could make it to Hollywood. I had to miss the show.

Very glad Patton is okay and I hope Dead Cross come back to play LA again VERY soon. The album, which came out on Patton's Ipecac label is among my favorite things he's done in years.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Crystal Fairy - Chiseler




The upcoming Crystal Fairy record, out Feb 24th on Ipecac is quickly becoming my most anticipated record of early 2017. This new song, which the band dropped a couple of days ago, is not only fantastic, but I swear I can hear all or most of the individual musicians's signature sounds mixed up in this potpourri of awesomeness.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Crystal Fairy - Drugs on the Bus


What do you get when you take Buzz and Dale from the Melvins, Omar from Mars Volta/ATDI/Antemasque and Teri Gender Bender from Le Butcherettes?

Fucking magic, that's what.

New record by this left-of-center super group out February 24th on Ipecac.


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Mike Patton Scores "The Place Beyond the Pines"



I'd almost forgotten about Patton's involvement in this. I'm curious about the flick, but MORE curious about the soundtrack, which was composed by none other than Mike Patton and is scheduled to be released on May 7th. I'm a big fan of Patton's other soundtrack work, most especially for the short film A Perfect Place staring Bill Moseley and Mark Boone Junior, which I believe is still available from Ipecac records as a DVD/CD set. Here's the trailer: