Showing posts with label Jonathan Lethem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jonathan Lethem. Show all posts

Friday, July 28, 2023

Talk to Me

 
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?



Sunday, January 1, 2023

Happy 2023!!!


I had the peculiar experience of seeing Damien Chazelle's new film Babylon in the cinema yesterday. I can say, I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. I had some serious issues though. Here's my short, spoiler-free Letterbxd review. One thing I can say I LOVED about this film, though, was Greg Hurwitz's soundtrack. Fabulous.




Watch:

Speaking of insane budgets, we also watched Rian Johnson's new film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which is a bit overly concerned with showing off its budget and its preeminent accolades; however, ultimately, I dug this and appreciate not only the thought that went into its story but also the refusal to repeat the first.


Personally, I think not only was this one more interesting than the first - not that the first was uninteresting, but Johnson knew he had to crank it up another notch and did - but now that the elation of success has (hopefully) worn off, I'm hoping the next entry in the Knives Out canon will be a far superior film just by way of not having to devote so much time to figuring out cute little ways to name-drop so many major stars. 




Read:

I'm beginning my reading for the year with a book I completely forgot Mr. Brown lent to me some time ago:


Not only is this a book about Talking Heads, but it's also written by Jonathan Lethem. I've read quite a few of Lethem's novels and one of his comic series (Omega the Unknown from the 00s), but it has been some time. I reread Motherless Brooklyn around the time the movie came out a few years ago, but Amnesia Moon and Gun, With Occasional Music, are both long overdue for engagement, not to mention all the books he's penned that I never got around to. 




Playlist:

Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me OST
Lustmord - Heresy
Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator of God
Bill Doggett and His Combo - All His Hits
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
Justin Hurwitz - Babylon OST
Lustmord - Dark Matter




Card:

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

 My final New Year's Pull from my final and now favored deck:

Carefully considering ideas will lead to the next big thing.

Monday, November 30, 2020

Motherless Brooklyn's Sovietwave

A month or two back, one of my guys at work turned me onto Molchat Doma, a Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk, formed in 2017, whose newest album Monument, was released this year on Sacred Bones Records. Probably because of introducing them into my youtube algorithm, yesterday afternoon I stumbled across a thumbnail for a post titled "1 Hour of Melancholic SovietWave" (HERE). Sovietwave? I immediately clicked on this, and the track I've posted above was the lead-in track, which in turn sent me looking for more by this band, Воскресная площадка, which so far I have been unable to find a translation for. In listening, so far, I'm fascinated, so I intend to explore this a bit more over the coming days (and nights; this music is perfect for after the sun sets).





Watch:

Friday night I finally got around to watching Edward Norton's Adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's novel Motherless Brooklyn. Wow. Fantastic film. 


It's been at least ten years since I read Mr. Lethem's novel, and being that I finished my re-read of William Sloane's To Walk the Night yesterday, I moved directly into round two with Brooklyn. In cases like this, where I've read the book but not in a while, I'm never sure if I should watch the film first or re-read the book first, so once again, I'm just going to play it by ear. Either way, both are fantastic. 

Of special note, the music for Mr. Norton's adaptation was done by Composer Daniel Pemberton, with contributions from Wynton Marsalis and Thom York, to name a few (although, as always, I feel like Mr. Yorke's voice is somewhat of an unwelcome sonic element in film scoring and composition, as it is so distinct and unmusical, it usually takes me out of the story immediately). 



Playlist:

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full
Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
Ella Fiztgerald - The Best of Ella Fitzgerald Vol. II
True Widow - I.N.O.




Card:


Dogma. Is this good, or bad? 

Monday, August 26, 2019

2019: August 26th Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn



I became esctatic yesterday after stumbling across the trailer for a big-screen adaptation of possibly my favorite novel by Jonathan Lethem. I read Motherless Brooklyn about ten years ago, and I absolutely loved it. In fact, I recently ear-marked several of Lethem's books to read/re-read, simply because it's been some time since I revisited his work; I think the last time I picked up Amnesia Moon at the always delightful Dark Carnival Bookstore in Berkley in the spring of 2012. I blew through that one in about a day and a half, and that's pretty standard for Lethem's work, which I've been interested in since his completely insane re-boot of Marvel Comics' Omega the Unknown back in 2007. Also of note is the fact that Lethem took David Foster Wallace's place as a Literary Professor at Pomona College after Wallace's death.

What a delightful surprise this adaptation is. Can't wait to re-read the book now.

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Day four of my Dead Milkmen Appreciation Week and I'm finally getting around to representing my favorite album, the band's 1985 debut Big Lizard in My Backyard. And what better way to represent the album than with the title track, which is both endearing and hysterical.



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New episode of The Horror Vision went up yesterday. In it, we discuss Ready or Not, revisiting Rob Zombie's Halloween, 1972 oddity Grave of the Vampire, Michael O'Shea's The Transfiguration, and a whole lot more. Also, as our featured flick, we watch and give an immediate reaction to Scott Schirmer's Found.

Check it out:

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

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Playlist from 8/25:

Etta James - Etta James (Third Album)
Joy Division - Closer
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
FMLYBND - Letting Go (single)
Ghost Bath - Moonlover
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw

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Today's spread:


When I pulled these, I had a very specific question in mind: I'm caught in a loop on a story that should have been finished weeks ago. It's repeatedly pulled me away from Ciazarn and really been nothing but a pain in the ass. What's more, although I love the core concept, it insists on going to places I'm not particularly comfortable with. So my question was, do I ditch it and start anew? Well, a path is laid one stone at a time (The Fool), and Victory (6 of Wands) often comes at the hands of Instinct (Knight of Disks). I'll give it one more day, as yesterday's writing session was largely instinctual, as I chopped massive sections out of the story in an attempt to stream-line it around an idea I had late Saturday night. One day, then it's back into the piles for it.