Showing posts with label Low Cut Connie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Low Cut Connie. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2026

Low Cut Connie's Witchboard is Truly the Great and Secret Show


I've been on a Low Cut Connie binge all weekend and it's definitely helped elevate my mood. I'm turning 50 tomorrow, and, although that doesn't bother me the way it might a lot of people, it still kind of staggers the view I take of myself. On one hand, I'm still here and do not expect to be going anywhere for quite a long time. On the other hand, in ten years I'll be 60, and ten years after that - should I be lucky enough to live that long - 70. You see where this is going, right? I'm getting long in the tooth, and while that's definitely better than the alternative, well, it's fucking weird and a little scary if you don't find a way to keep it from your mind. And what better way to keep it from the mind than with some awesome, soulful Rock n' Roll!




Watch:

I had my third-ever viewing of Kevin Tenney's 1985 debut film, Witchboard, last night. Here's one of the original 1986 TV spots for the film, which, back in the day, made me think this movie was hardcore intense (I was 10).


I never did see this back in the 80s. Or the 90s. It was sometime in the early 2000s that I picked up the Witchboard DVD secondhand, tried to watch it, and found it incredibly disappointing (that was nearly 25 years of anticipation based on what 10-year-old Shawn thought the film would be - hard for anything to live up to that). Then, a couple of years ago, Joe Bob did this one as part of his Walpurgisnacht episode, and I gave it another shot.

Still not much.

Last night, though, I really tried to look at this as Kevin Tenney's first film - followed soon after by Night of the Demons, which I love - and it kind of gave me a different perspective. I still don't think Witchboard is a very good film, but it's definitely a product of its time and entertaining enough if you have the right context (and alcohol - don't forget the alcohol). 

This is all run-up for an upcoming episode of The Horror Vision, where we'll compare the original film with the 2025 remake. I've heard it's completely different, which can only be a good thing.




Read:

It's going to be some time before I get around to it, but I found a nearly perfect copy of the original, 1989 hardcover release for Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show a few weeks ago, and it arrived in the mail over the weekend.


I read this when I was in early High School, and it was another of those books that completely changed the way I looked at fiction writing. The idea that the main character discovers the secret tapestry beneath the everyday world by working in the Dead Letters Office of the Post Office always felt like such an interesting and unique angle to take as a way into such a vast and epic story. This should serve as a perfect digestif after I finish my rereading of the Dark Tower/Talisman series late this year. 




Playlist:

Low Cut Connie - Art Dealers
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Low Cut Connie - Dirty Pictures (Part 1)
Low Cut Connie - Livin in the USA (pre-release singles)
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
Low Cut Connie - Call Me Sylvia
The Rolling Stones - Some Girls
The Rolling Stones - Black and Blue
The Afghan Whigs - House of I (single)
Drug Church - Pynch (single)
Fever Ray -  The Bride EP
Fever Ray - Plunge
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
Gogol Bordello - We Mean It, Man!
D'Nell - 1st Magic
INXS - Kick
Dreamkid - Daggers 
Mike Doughty - Live From Ken's House
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 101
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 66
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 67
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 68
Van Halen - 1984
Various - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Album
High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves
High on Fire - Death Is This Communion
Stephen O'Malley - Spheres Collapser
sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)
sunn O))) - Pyroclasts




Card:

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


• Queen of Swords
• Five of Cups
• I: The Magician

Emotional aspect of the Intellect, which can be a bit of an oxymoron, right? The conflict inherent in the emotional realm of thinking people - and we're not all thinking people in 2026, are we? -  is exactly what gets in the way of things. In other words, emotions are important for ruling your heart and interfere with your brain. What the hell does any of this tell me today? 

Keep my mouth shut at work. That's all. Sounds easy, or maybe it doesn't, right? That's the emotional end of things. Everyone has someone they want to tell to go to hell, but just don't do it. Or maybe you will, but I won't. Or shouldn't. Maybe. 

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Isolation: Day 138 The Royal Screw



I cannot get enough of this album! It is perfect, and this song is probably my favorite (I'm rotating through the track list day-by-day). The drum sound on this record is a total throw-back to old school Rhythm and Blues, while having the advantages of modern technology. The alto sax that peppers through the verses evokes Boots Randolph, while the chorus horns hit hard and serve as a good-natured reminder that former Dap-King Thomas Brenneck produced this collection of perfection. Finally, the vocals are perfect - striking a bit of an evocation of classic Van Morrison while still being completely Adam Weiner, snark and energy going full throttle.

**

Last night K and I watched the indie film Cosmos. Loved it! In fact, I kept thinking "I never knew astronomy could be so riveting! This reminded me of Darren Aronofsky's π, not in style or tone at all, but simply because the filmmakers made something most people see very little in and make it thrilling (in π it's math).



Cosmos was directed by brothers Elliot and Zander Weaver and stars a total of four freakin' people, and it's one of the best examples of 'more with less' I've seen in a while. True, the score is definitely heavy, and really helps to dramatize situations that might have had slightly less impact, but overall, this one get a four-and-a-half star from me.

The Weavers' production company is Elliander Pictures, website is HERE.

**

Playlist:

The Thirsty Crows - Hangan's Noose
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
JK Flesh - Posthuman
Dead Swords - Enders
Low Cut Connie - What Has Happened to Me (pre-release single)
JK Flesh - Depersonalization
Baroness - Gold and Grey
Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won

**

Card:


Turning once again to the Raven Deck, I get a nod to follow my instincts. I think this card is a vexing counterpoint to the 4 of Wands' continuous advice.

Friday, July 31, 2020

Isolation: Day 137



Mr. Brown had to remind me several times to look up Low Cut Connie, and when I finally did, I understood and became extremely thankful for his persistence. So far, 2015's Hi Honey is all I know, but MAN is it a fantastic album. This is a tie for my favorite track - so far - with Royal Screw, which I might just post here tomorrow.

**
As of yesterday, my short story Pentagram Girls is available to read for free on Wattpad, just follow the widget below:



If you dig the story, you can follow the widgets to the left to order the book - I have a 'quarantine special' of $.99 for the Kindle copy running now, so that's a pretty great deal, if I do say so myself. Also, that fantastic cover art is from my good friend and often co-conspirator Jonathan Grimm. If you dig his art, check out his site HERE.

**

Playlist:

Primus - Frizzle Fry
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues
Orville Peck - Pony
Baroness - Gold and Grey
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Joy Division - Closer
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Dead Swords - Enders

**

Card:


I keep getting this card because I shake my head like I understand and heed the advice contained therein, then turn around and do the exact opposite.