2018: Monday, December 17th

Saturday night my cousin Charles introduced me to Kevin Morby. It was late, there were a handful of people, all of us speaking passionately about this and that, so I couldn't really hear the music as it dwindled out of my small blu tooth speaker placed behind my parents' basement bar, but Charles' recommendations are always fantastic, even if I'm not always in the right headspace to completely sync with them.

No problem in the 'sync' department this time.

Sunday at Midway Airport I put on Morby's 2016 album Singing Saw and it became my travel album for the day, the 5 1/2 hour musical loop that got me through take off, flight, and departure in a beautifully fleeting hypnogogic trance. Needless to say the album is not only fantastic, but endeared to me now for all time.

Re-acclimating to LaLaLand and what we refer to as 'normal life' because here I don't eat terribly, drink full throttle every night, or dabble in anything beyond the occasional vape. Part of that re-acclimation process was as simple as putting some vinyl the turntable and just chilling the f*&k out. I led the way with a wonderful gift I received from Mr. Brown while I was in:

That's right! The 20th anniversary vinyl edition of Calexico's seminal The Black Light album. I'll be honest - back in the day Mr. Brown was always more into these guys than I was; Even Sure Things Fall Through was the album that hit me the most, with the very Badalamenti opener Sonic Wind virtually assuring my allegiance, and Feast of Wire played a pretty big role in my initial soundtrack upon moving to Los Angeles, but I've often had a hard time finding the right headspace to fit Calexico in on a semi-regular basis. And something about that seems to have changed, as my moods and headspace grow and expand. For almost ten years now I've experienced an increasingly strong connection to Metal in most of its forms (especially the newer, stranger mutations like Blut Aus Nord and The Body) because it's music that helps me write. Often even if I'm in the mood for slower, quieter tunes to listen to while writing it I have to jack the headphone volume because I primarily do the big work in a public place that pipes in music. Also, if I'm lagging, metal kicks my ass in gear. That said, my walk to said writing place is mellow and peaceful, and sometimes of late my morning music leans away from metal, as does my evening, at-home-on-the-record-player listening, so this is perfect. And, The Black Light is a beautiful record, as are the re-issue's linear notes, which are partially (or maybe entirely - they're long and I haven't had a chance to finish them yet) written by Calexico co-founder Joey Burns, so it's a wonderful window into the band and the situations/thoughts/experiences that led to the record's creation.

Playlist from Sunday, 12/16:

Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want
Calexico - The Black Light

Card of the day:

The journey home is over, the journey back to a productive reality begins today.

2018: November 5th

It's been quite some time since I went on an honest-to-goodness Tom Waits kick. Probably the last time was about four years ago when Mr. Brown lent me the 33 1/3 book David Smay penned on Swordfish Trombones. Anyway, I feel a full-on Waits jag coming on, so here's first salvo.

Over the weekend K and I watched the newest Jane Mansfield documentary, Mansfield 66/67. Fantastic! Along with the legendary actress, the film also serves as an exploratory dispatch into Anton Lavey and the Church of Satan, so it's fascinating. I've always bristled at Satanism, which of course has nothing to do with the devil and everything to do with worshipping yourself, which I feel leads to rampant Narcissism. That said, I've also always had a soft spot for Lavey as a public figure. The hilarity that the man instills to those that 'get it' is epic. This is especially apparent in the documentary, as the film spends a lot of time talking about and interviewing people from Mansfield's life about the supposed 'curse' Lavey is said to have put on Jane and her husband at the time (both of whom died in that nasty, Chihuahua-killing cash), all the while showing him dressed in his devil suit, little more than stylized PJs. Lavey was laughing at everyone that took the 'evil' aspect of his publicity push seriously, because he's telling you up front it's a joke by dressing like that.

Not a lot of folks got it though.

Playlist from yesterday:

The Veils - Total Depravity

The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

Deafheaven - New Bermuda

Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Roni Size - New Forms (disc #1)

Darkness Brings the Cold - Devil Swank, Vol. 1

Card of the day:

Threes are solid numbers, and it takes a foundation to acquire abundance. This is the path I've set myself on; there are SO many distractions vying for our money, my job for the next year is to minimize what I allow myself to purchase because I'm starting to think about the need for a foundation in the physical plane, ie a domicile. 

2018: September 8th

Ghostland Observatory released a new album today. This is a band I very much dig, but who fell off my radar quite a few years ago. Good to see them back in action.

I've been thinking quite a bit about the bands that kept me afloat in the 00s. These guys were definitely one of them, along with a lot of more electronic-based artists. My general musical inclination has shifted over the last seven or eight years, so that I generally listen to heavier music these days (although Sunn 0))), The Ocean and High on Fire were staples for much of the 00s). That has a lot to do with writing - I just find it easier to write to heavier stuff. Most of the time. Also, it tends to fit my tone.

Oh! Mr. Brown sent me a link to the new film by Harmony Korine. Looks great, and I love the fact that Korine has kind of - for the time at least - reinvented himself with this Neon Beach Noir look.



Playlist from yesterday:
The Ocean - Permian: The Great Dying (Pre-release Single)
White Lung - Eponymous
Dead Rabbits - The Ticket That Exploded
Soundgarden - Super Unknown
The Cramps - Flame Job
John Carpenter - Big Trouble in Little China OST
Black Sabbath - Volume 4
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Card of the day:

Dogma. Well, what am I dogmatic about? I don't draw this card often, and when I do I don't always attribute it the respect and fascination it deserves. In my general temperament, I'm used to thinking of this card as being followed by or juxtaposed with XVI The Tower, as in law or dogma in a state of upheaval. Alone, I have to wonder if I am supposed to look deeper into my belief systems, which are ersatz for sure, as I decided long ago the word belief is much akin to the word prison. Maybe that doesn't have to be the case? Most people would read this - I think - as beware your belief structures. I'm wondering if I need to fine-tune my own, as lack of belief is still, ironically, belief.

2018: July 7th

Tommy gave me a new favorite record yesterday with his edition of The Joup Friday Album. The Paper Chase had been recommended to me several times by several different friends, chief among them, I believe, Mr. Brown and Jeffrey Equality Brooks, but it wasn't until Tommy put God Bless Your Black Heart up and I read his interpretation that I actually succeeded in hearing them beyond a track or two (and let's be honest, the immediacy of Apple Music helped immensely as well).


Playlist from Friday, 7/07/18:

Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - La Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
Beak - L.A. Playback
The Paper Chase - God Bless Your Black Heart
SQÜRL - EP #1
Jozef Van Wissem & SQÜRL - Only Lovers Left Alive OST
Jim Jarmusch & Jozef Van Wissem - The Mystery of Heaven
Jim Jarmusch & Jozef Van Wissem - Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity

Card of the day:

"Expectations can become a prison."

Terry Gilliam Finally Did It!

Mr. Brown sent me this first thing this morning! Can't believe it is finally happening.

R.I.P. Mark E. Smith

On my way home this evening Mr. Brown sent me a text relaying the news that Mark E. Smith, mastermind behind Post-Punk legends The Fall, passed away today at the age of 60. I immediately knew what my tribute would be, however I'm still unsure where exactly this version of my favorite song by The Fall is originally from (I actually uploaded this one because I couldn't find it anywhere on youtube). I found this song, and conversely my appreciation of the band, via a weird compilation I bought in the early 2000's called either The Politics of Punk or The (S)hit Factory. Shortly thereafter on a trip to London, I visited as many record stores as possible and bought a handful of albums by the band, however I never located this version of Rowche Rumble, which remains as awesome today as it was the first time I heard it, no matter how many times in a row I listen to it.

RIP Mr. Smith. You've done good work and earned your rest.

Firewater - Green Light

From one of my all-time favorite albums, Firewater's 1998 The Ponzi Scheme. I saw Tod A. and the line-up for this record perform it in its entirety at the loooong gone but highly fabled Chicago venue Lounge Ax. It was amazing. Ever since The Ponzi Scheme came into my life I've held in the highest regards - to me its one of a handful of records that represent the highwater mark of the 90s indie music era (before "indie" was a, ahem, genre...). Ironically though the albums sonic scope is so extravagant in its influences that I've held it against everything else Tod A. has done under that moniker, i.e. I never listen to any of the other records because hearing his vocals I just want to turn whatever it is off and replace it with The Ponzi Scheme. After laying back into it for two days now I've just completed a fairly engaged morning listen and have The Golden Hour and International Orange! - both of which I have Brown to thank for gifting me - on deck and am going to try to finally broaden my Firewater palate.

Morrissey Biopic Trailer

Thanks be to Mr. Brown for forwarding this on because I had never heard of it before. Looks good and with the same producer as Control I'm in.

New Afghan Whigs

I've been so consumed by work lately that I've not had the time or gumption to do much other than come home at night, write for an hour or two and then watch Bates Motel, which despite my initial knee-jerk assumption would be drivel is actually quite amazing. Aside from Bates in the visual medium, musically I've been cycling back through a lot of stuff I already have but haven't listened to in a while. Celebration, older TV on the Radio and Underworld to name but a few. But new music... I've just not been there right now (gotta get that Crystal Fairy record I'd been looking forward to for so long). Then Brown sends me this link and I just gush.

Can't wait until the new album's release on May 5th via Sub Pop.

Deafheaven - Gifts From the Earth

Fuck yeah! I really have to give Sunbather another chance, because ever since Mr. Brown sent me New Bermuda for my Birthday back in March, I have become increasingly infatuated with it.

David Bowie - Black Star

Mr. Brown sent me this at least a week ago and I've only just gotten around to watch it. New Bowie is always a good thing, and with what I keep hearing about the upcoming album of the same name (Out Jan 8th, 2016) being the 'weirdest' Bowie record in a long time, I for one am more than eager to have this in my hands.



Some observations:

I LOVE the return to the sax. Saxophone was once synonymous with Bowie - for me at least - and I feel like he hadn't really found a way to incorporate it into the new sound he's been toying with since 2005's Reality. No longer the case. Hopefully there'll be more on the record.

I also LOVE the return to utilizing synths and some of the overall aesthetic he experimented with in the 90s during his "industrial" phase.

This is weird as fuck and I LOVE it.

WEEN's BACK!!!

The best news EVER came down the pipes yesterday and I've been too busy swooning to post anything about it.

WEEN IS BACK TOGETHER!!!



Now, it remains to be seen if Boognish can go home again after all the static, but let's fucking hope so. I seriously had tears in my eyes every time I've listened to them since they broke up.

Interestingly enough, this past Saturday, two days before the announcement I spent the whole day breaking in a new Ween shirt Mr. Brown gave me a while back and that of course meant I also spent the day listening to them. All day. All night. I now kind'a feel as though I may have done something of a 'rain dance', cuz within a day or two Mr. Brown shot me a text with the announcement and my happy circuits exploded all over the got'damned place!

Algiers - Black Enuch

Mr. Brown just sent me this video from Algiers's self-titled record that just came out today! They're on the mighty Matador and you can order the record on their website here. Or you can always go out and support the nearest brick-n-mortar record store in your area, if you have one. If you're anywhere near Long Beach like I am might I suggest the wonderful Fingerprints.

Rick and Morty Kill The Simpsons

LOVE this. Thanks be to Mr. Brown for making me a Rick and Morty fan, that first season is nuts. Second season begins in July.

True Detective Season 2 Trailer

Mr. Brown just sent this to me. I had chills watching it. Can't wait for June 21st!

New Kaiser Chiefs

Mr. Brown sent this to me recently but in the deluge of email I've acquired in the last few days I didn't get to it until just now. Very nice. It's so interesting to me how something that I know for a fact would have sounded extremely dated to me ten years ago now sounds smooth and, if not fresh, apparent, as in this is exactly where we should be right now musically, as older decades cycle back through out consciousness from a different cultural perspective.

Eagulls Cover Stone Roses

Mr. Brown forwarded this to me a while ago but I've been so busy and admittedly pretty flighty in my down time as a result so I'm just getting around to this now. Eagulls are fantastic, and although I'm not the world's biggest Stone Roses fan I am a fan, particularly of this song. So it's a match made in heaven really.

Soundgarden - HIV Baby

Mr. Brown recently sent me the Soundgarden rarities Echo of Miles. Honestly, Soundgarden was one of my favorite bands back in the day and those albums, Badmotorfinger, Super Unknown and Down on the Upside will always be among my favorites of the 90s. When I get in the mood I usually tear into them for days. When King Animal came out two years ago I was resistant, mostly due to that awful song that wound up on The Avengers ST. Eventually I came around - I dig King Animal for what it is but I don't think I'll ever stop believing that the only real reason Soundgarden are back together is money. Anyway, regardless of all of that, Echo of Miles, a 50-song set spread over three discs, is fantastic! All truly rarities and mostly from back in the time when they were a fully functioning band, and an awesome one at that. This track, previously the B-Side to my all-time favorite SG track Room A Thousand Years Wide, is one standout on a fifty song set of, honestly, a lot of standouts.

And is it me, or did an awful lot of bands have songs about HIV or crack babies in the 90s? Perhaps someone needs to update this concept with "Bath salts baby" for the youth of today, hm?

Eagulls - Soulless Youth

I am absolutely in LOVE with Eagulls debut 2014 record. Oh my. As Mr. Brown said after sending this my way, they'd make a great double bill with Savages.

Bob Mould - I Don't Know You Anymore

This song/video actually made me cry. Well, not great racking sobs, but it got me a bit teary-eyed. Part of this is recent nostalgic reflection on my own part of the loss of the record store, and part of it is Bob Mould's tone here - so much like the tone on one of my all-time favorite records, Mould's Sugar: Copper Blue - really hits me in the emotional breadbasket.

I can still remember the first time I heard Copper Blue, or any of Mould's music for that matter. It was 1993 and on the way home from an Anthrax/White Zombie show at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom, tired and sore and stoned, Mr. Brown put on Sugar's Copper Blue to detox us from an all-out metal assault. It was perfect, and it's engrained that particle night, practically floating home on Lake Shore Drive at sometime after midnight, Brown driving his maroon red station wagon at a comfortable fifty-five miles an hour, Mould's emotionally provocative hooks etching into my heart and making me feel as though all is right in the world. Mould's 2013 record, Silver Age, was a return to this kind of sound, and now it appears that his just-released-today Beauty & Ruin is as well. You can order the new record directly from Mr. Mould on his website here. Thanks to Mr. Brown for sending me the link to this video and always keeping me in the loop on new Mould.

Here's to ten more albums at least Mr. Mould!