Gazing Into the Black Prism

 

I don't even remember how I discovered Black Prism this past week, but I woke up ridiculously early this morning and while scrolling through Apple Music for something to listen to while finishing Joe Hill's novella "Loaded" - scary shit, that - I landed on this and realized I had not listened to it yet. Forty-Seven minutes later I was starting back at track one again. 

Released independently on Christmas days, 2016, Black Prism's eponymous debut full-length album is a tight little chunk of Sabbath-influenced, down-tempo Stoner/Doom that, while that influence is evident from the opening track, quickly finds its own unique footing in the annals of the Iommi-verse that has blossomed in the past ten years or so. 

You can buy the digital album on Black Prism's Bandcamp HERE, or, if you're really lucky, you can track down a moderately priced copy of their 2013 7" Satan's Country that was released on Easy Rider Records, before they changed their name to Riding Easy Records. Here's the video for that one, and it's a super cool throwback to those Lo-fi Satanic Panic images that line the shift of the 1960's Free Love movement into something much darker and more mysterious:

I can only dream of a future double-bill where Black Prism opens for Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats; the two would be perfect touring together.

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Well, my grandiose plans to plow through the entire season of Netflix's new live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation were ambitious, to say the least. Got home from work later than anticipated and ended up taking a much-need nap before meeting some friends at Torrance, CA's Monkish brewery for a few beers, so by the time we returned home and fired up the tube, the 50-minute pilot was all I had in me before I fell asleep. But so far, I really like what I've seen.

Bebop is holy to me; I realized recently that it's probably my second favorite show of all time, right behind Twin Peaks. So I should be one of those people who get turned off by the liberties of adapting something like this into "real life." But no, I dug the pilot and can't wait to go back for me. 

Here's the ending credit theme of the original show:

Oh yeah: Monkish? That was our first time there and hot damn, all those folks who have sung their praises as the best brewery in Southern California were not lying. I had the Dark and Mild Dark British Ale, and it is one for the books. I'll be heading back sooner rather than later. Maybe tonight, after a bunch of us spill out of a 7:00 PM showing of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which I've surprised myself by being extremely excited to see,

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Playlist:

The Ocean - Fluxion

Underworld - 1992-2002

Deee-Lite - Dewdrops in the Garden

Deee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart (single)

Deee-Lite - Call Me Remix (single)

Mastodon - Hushed and Grim

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Finishing (for now) one project opens a path to a new journey. Or maybe just a renewed one.

Emma Ruth Rundle - The Company

I'll be totally honest - I totally forgot this record came out. Loading it into Apple Music and going to hit it later tonight, but if the production on "The Company" is any indication, this one is stunning. ERR's voice already has an ethereal quality to it, but this really raw, up-close feeling makes listening to her sing almost voyeuristic. 

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Just last week I was talking here about everything releasing on November 19th, but it wasn't until about an hour ago that I realized, HOLY COW - that's in three days! That means Cowboy Bebop is in THREE DAYS!!! Here's musical genius Yoko Kanno going behind the scenes on the music for the show, which is the best music from any show ever.

Wow. I know what I'm doing Friday.

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Playlist:

Odonis Odonis - Post Plague

NIN - With Teeth

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

DEADLIFE - City of Eternal Rain

Bnny - Everything

Mastodon - Hushed and Grim

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full 

Deth Crux - Mutant Flesh

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Card:

Well being. Completion. These things are normally very abstract concepts in my readings, as I tend to interpret everything as being about my writing. However, writing has suffered, what with this insane work schedule, the massive open loop of the move looming, and the often debilitating exhaustion that has come with both of these. I get down about this, and that adds to the weight of things, but then I draw a card like this and realize I'm in control of how much these things affect me. I don't have to stay ten hours at work. I don't have to obsess over the move. I can fight back and clear some time and headspace for myself. 

Cellular Death!!!

 

This album is really one of my recent stalwarts. I've come to love every song, but it's an intense journey and often, I don't make it all the way to the final song. The last two days I've really had to knuckle down on the physical side of work, and using this record really helps me conquer exhaustion. When I hit "Apoptosis" this morning, it felt like a revelation, so I wanted to share it here.

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NCBD:

Jeff Lemire's Mazebook has really become one of the main books I look forward to. Pretty cool, considering I almost skipped it altogether. 

I guess I jumped the gun on Venom #1 last week. Or it was delayed? I'm not sure. Either way, I'm still not going to be lucky enough to snag this variant, but with a gazillion covers to choose from, I'm sure I'll find something good.

I know nothing about What's The Furthest Place From Here except the pedigree of the creators. That's enough to have me pretty freakin' excited.

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It's looking like come November 19th there is going to be a serious lag on Netflix. First Cowboy Bebop premieres, now a new Horror tv show from Train to Busan creator Yeon Sang-ho:

This trailer runs the gamut from what looks like a home invasion thriller to a fight scene with creatures that look like they'd be right at home in a Marvel movie. Cowboy Bebop takes precedence, but I'm pretty curious about this one.

Now, all we have to do is catch up and watch Midnight Mass, Doom Patrol Seasons 2 and 3, Squid Games, Castle Rock 1 and 2 (finally!), plus have a  full Stranger Things rewatch, before.... oh fuck it. This one will end up on the list.

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Playlist:

Small Black - Cheap Dreams

Motörhead - Ace of Spades

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Blood Red Shoes - Get Tragic

QOTSA - Era Vulgaris

Allegaeon - Apoptosis

Anthrax - Among the Living

Dream Division - Beyond the Mirror's Image

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I'm not entirely sure how to interpret this at the moment, so we'll just have to see. 

The Joy Formidable - Interval

Another single from the forthcoming album Into the Blue, which is out Friday, August 24, but which you can still pre-order on the band's website HERE.  

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I don't know anything about this new Mike Flanagan Netflix show Midnight Mass except that it's Mike Flanagan. 

What else do I need to know?

Also, it looks like this might fit into the Seaside Horror subgenre I've grown rather fond of recently, so that's pretty cool. And really, Netflix has a damn good track record with Horror these days, so I'll definitely be watching this one when it drops.

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Listen:

The new episode of The Horror Vision is up. This time, we do a deep-dive into James Gunn's Horror DNA. From writing the screenplay for the Dawn of the Dead remake to Slither, Belko and even a bit on his Troma roots. Check it out!

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Playlist:

Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog

The Black Queen - Infinite Games

The Joy Formidable - Into the Blue (pre-release singles)

Deftones - Koi No Yokan

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Card:

A larger perspective. Ritual and union. Hmm... not entirely sure how to read this. It may point toward an idea I've had kicking around in my head now for about a week, but I'm unclear if it would be an allusion to it being a valid engagement, or a waste of time.

Coda of the Dead

 

Probably the second Led Zeppelin song I ever heard, and possibly the first one I heard while seeking out the band's music (oh so long ago now), I still have a huge crush on "Ozone Baby". I feel a huge Zep binge coming on and I welcome it with open arms.

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While I won't be watching Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead tonight - it's Joe Bob night, of course - I will be checking this out at some point this weekend. I'm hoping for big, dumb fun but not really expecting to get even that. I really hope I'm wrong. 

 

Speaking of Netflix, here's a teaser the streaming giant just dropped for an upcoming flick that has me very intrigued. I hardly go to Netflix anymore for anything, however, that sometimes works against me. I have to try and remind myself that despite the ginormous size of the company and somewhat banal output, they did bring us flicks like Cam, Hold the Dark and even Stranger Things. So they are capable of really hitting the nail on the head. 

Love that red!

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Playlist:

Les Discrets - Prédateurs

Alice in Chains - Dirt

Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark

The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

White Lung - Eponymous 

The Jesus Lizard - Liar

Jackie Wilson - Higher

Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Faith No More - The Real Thing

David Zinman, Dawn Upshaw & London Sinfonietta - Gorecki: Symphony No. 3

Dead Man's Bones - Eponymous

Led Zeppelin - Coda

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Card:

And now for something completely different...

I hung out with my good friend Keller yesterday (we're both vaxxed), and at the crux of our evening, he pulled a spread for me with his Marseille Deck. My question pertained to K and I looking for a house, and his answer was extremely helpful, even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear.

Consider Your Health Before You Rust

 

Collaboration between NIN and Health. 

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A new show by the creators of Dark? I'd heard about this last year, but completely forgot about it. 

 

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You may know C. Robert Cargill's name best as the co-writer of 2012's brilliant Horror movie Sinister. He's also a novelist, and although I'm unfamiliar with most of his work, I began his new novel Sea of Rust recently and can tell you it is fantastic.

The novel takes place in a world devoid of humanity. It's our world after the AI war that wipes us out, after AI factions off into super mainframe intelligence - there are two and the denizens of the novel refer to them as OWIs, or One World Intelligences - and rogue robots who fight for the freedom not to succumb to the edict of trading their selfhood for the ease of becoming part of the hivemind. There are so many analogs to our world here that it's crazy; from the Corporatization of everything to individuality in the age of our own accelerated (social media), that the book has an uncanny ability to feel in harmony with our lives even during the, frankly, pretty damn well-written action sequences. I'm really digging this one, and am moving Mr. Cargill to my 'pay attention to everything he does' list.

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Playlist:

Turquoise Moon - The Sunset City

Myrkur - Folkesange

DJ Muggs the Black Goat - Dies Occidendum

Ennio Morricone - The Thing OST

Judas Priest - Painkiller 

Kate Bush - The Dreaming

Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine

Waxwork Records - House of Waxwork Issue #1 OST

Led Zeppelin - Eponymous

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Ah, restraint. Thank you for the reminder. Here's the mantra for when I'm scouring ebay for things I do not need: I WANT A HOUSE. 

Emma Ruth Rundle & Chelsea Wolfe - Anhedonia Official Video

I know I just posted the song, but there was no way I wasn't going to post what might just be my favorite music video in the last decade. It's the rare case where the visuals actually add to the meaning and impact of the song. These two artists are at the top of their game and cranking out material - all of it awesome! Again, I'll echo the sentiment I did the last time I posted this and hope there's an album or EP on the way.

 

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K and I did the Netflix Crime Scene: Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel over the last two nights. Wow- this should have been a two-hour documentary, but instead, the creators padded it out with A LOT of really infuriating conjecture and nonsense from the 'web sleuth' community. I would unilaterally detest this community, if not for the side of it on display in the HBO doc I'll Be Gone in the Dark. The difference appears to be one of talent and drive - Michelle McNamara and her immediate confidants within the community are clearly light-years beyond the people spouting obvious banalities in the Cecil doc. Either way, the doc starts pretty good, has a fascinating story at its heart, and ends up finishing a lot better than the middle would have suggested it would. 

If nothing else, watching this has made me rabid to re-watch American Horror Story: Hotel, still my favorite season of the five I've seen. Based largely on the Cecil, it will be cool to go back and watch it with the real-world inspiration fresh in mind.

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Playlist:

Tomahawk - Tonic Immobility (Single)

King Woman - Doubt EP

King Woman - Created in the Image of Suffering

The Blueflowers - Relapse EP

The Veils - Time Stays, We Go

Vel Indica - Turn Off Your Devices

Def Leppard - Pyromania

Small Black - Duplex (Single)

Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction

Lard - Pure Chewing Satisfaction

Depeche Mode - Essentials

Genghis Tron - Deam Weapon (Single)

Genghis Tron - Cloak of Love EP

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Ghost - Infestissumam

Ghost - Opus Eponymous

John Carpenter - Lost Themes III: Alive After Death

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Card:

 Recognizing the powers in the Universe you cannot contest, and having the heart to allow them to move you. I'm sure that my fortune cookie-esque reading has something to do with the renewed approach I've taken to Shadow Play Book Two, and the fact that while I was away finishing Murder Virus, it has somewhat changed - for the better. Still, changing things at this stage is daunting, even if it means the story will be better. However, as the card says, recognize the powers that move you and listen to what they're telling you.

Sleaford Mods - Nudge it!

This is shaping up to be an early contender for album of the year just based on the strength of the three songs to drop so far! Pre-order HERE.

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Currently watching a Scandanavian show on Netflix called Equinox, another of what I've seen referred to as an 'Into the Woods' subgenre that originates with Twin Peaks and was perhaps defined/popularized most recently by Netflix's Dark. So far, Equinox is derivative, although it would appear to owe more to Black Spot than any other show. Maybe this genre is simply comfort food to me at this point, but K and I are hooked. Here's a trailer:

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Playlist:

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Faith No More - The Real Thing

Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs (the pre-released stuff)

Sleaford Mods - English Tapas

Howard Jones - Best Of

The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

Alice in Chains - Eponymous 

Nabihah Iqbal - Is This Where It Ends?

 

Nabihah Iqbal released a new single last month, and as anyone who has become as enamored with her debut (post Throwing Shade), 2017's brilliant Weighing of the Heart, would expect, it's pretty damn great. Airy, emotive, and a touch mysterious, with that raw bedroom quality Ms. Iqbal brings to her music, "Is This Where it Ends" was actually released a month before the bandcamp release Blue Magic Gentle Magic, which is all that is left of a second album she had been recording when her studio was burgled. ALL tracks were lost, with only barebones 'work in progress' tracks kept on the cloud, that can not be manipulated. Read about it and support Nabihah Iqbal on her bandcamp by double-tapping the widget.

Let's help this amazing artist find her muse in the face of this extremely crappy setback.

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I finally took my good friend Missi's advice and checked out Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein's Freaks on Netflix. Pretty damn god. Freaks isn't something you haven't seen before, but the way it doles out information, and how it starts cold and leaves you hanging, makes the film feel different, as though it's using tropes and a rather tired formula to do something with a bit more heart. Great performances all around, ESPECIALLY from Bruce Dern.

 

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Playlist:

Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

Jucifer - نظم

Crippled Black Phoenix - Ellengæst 

Pallbearer - Forgotten Days

Death Crux - Mutant Flesh

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A recurring cycle for me these past few months - I touch optimization with sevens, then become weighed down by what the accomplishments - no matter how small - add to the process. Eights are imperfection personified, and distractions - welcome or not - are part of that.

19 Days 'til Halloween: Skinny Puppy - Morpheus Laughing

 

I've been hip-deep in old Skinny Puppy records and it feels great. It's been a while since I've sunk this deep into theirt catalogue, and I've even begun making inroads into listening to some of their later records, beginning with 1996's The Process, a record I avoided when I was younger because of all the hulabaloo around its release. I have to say, other than the first song - which is the only track on the record that was recorded at their old Canadian studio - I'm not entirely convinced I should go any further. Last Rites always just seemed like a perfect place for their existence to stop.

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31 Days of Halloween:

We did the first two episodes of Mike Flanagan's new The Haunting of Bly Manor yesterday for our main entry in 31 Days of Halloween. Really good. Flanagan's craft continues to evolve, his ability for total immersion in the worlds he creates among the best out there. Based on the works of Henry James, basically wrapping all of his ghost stories up into one narrative, I can't wait to see where this goes.

1) Tales of Halloween: Sweet Tooth/The Wolf Man (1941)

2) From Beyond/Monsterland: Port Fourchon, Louisiana/Tales of Halloween: The Night Billy Raised Hell/Tales of Halloween: Trick

3) Mulholland Drive/Creepshow (1982): The Crate

4) Waxwork

5) Synchronic/Bad Hair

6) Dolls

7) Lovecraft Country Ep. 8/Tales of Halloween: The Weak and the Wicken/Tales of Halloween: The Grim Grinning Ghost

8) 976-Evil

9) Repo! The Genetic Opera

10) Firestarter/George A. Romero's Bruiser

11) The Haunting of Bly Manor (episodes 1 & 2)/Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

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Playlist:

Skinny Puppy - Last Rights

Skinny Puppy - Inquisition EP

Naked Raygun - Raygun... Naked Saygun

Bauhaus - Burning from the Inside

Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out

Van Halen - 1984

Skinny Puppy - Too Dark Park

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Card:

 

This card suggests a reserve of quiet strength and a domestic outlook. This is interesting when I juxtapose those concepts with my own continued estrangement from the state in which I live. Over the last few months, I've begun to seriously long for transporting my life with K to a more reliable, affordable, and low key location. Small town life sounds amazing to me. I think some of this is just a natural reaction to all the insanity the last four years have produced, however, I am not foolish enough to think that if captain hairdo gets voted out things will change or get better. In fact, regardless of the outcome - in which I definitely hope captain hairdo is ousted - I think things are only going to get worse. This is where that reserve of quiet strength comes in handy, and I'm happy to be reminded of it now.

Isolation: Day 157

I love EVERY song on Hangman's Noose, The Thirsty Crows' debut album on Batcave Records (order HERE). But after living with it almost two years now, I have to say, I think this is my favorite song on the album.

Although that may change again. The whole thing is just so damn great.

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I've been meaning to post this trailer for Netflix's upcoming The Devil All the Time. I never made it around to reading Donald Ray Pollock's 2011 novel of the same name, but it's been on my radar for a while (so I have no excuse other than the to-read list is large enough to put that island of plastic refuse in the Pacific look like it's no bigger than a bottle cap).

The movie adaptation, directed by Antonio Campos and starring, well, pretty much everybody, looks riveting and moody. The trailer oozes Southern Gothic suspense, and Robert Pattinson looks downright foreboding in his role as what appears to be a charlatan preacher. Mr. Pattinson really has turned out to be quite an actor.

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Playlist:

The Thirsty Crows - Hangman's Noose

Santogold - Eponymous

Portico - Living Fields

The Plimsouls - Everywhere at Once

Atrium Carceri - Kapnobatai

Le Butcherettes - A Raw Youth

The Cramps - RockinnReelinInAucklandNewZealandXXX

The Cure - Pornography

Converge - The Dusk in Us

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - Ancestral Recall (pre-release single)

Thou - Summit

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Card:

to my original Thoth deck, where I find the Princess of Disks waiting for me. My day may be a dragging, uphill trek through mundane, everyday tasks.

One aspect of this card that always strikes me is the way the rock outcropping the Princess stands behind resembles both an altar - for tribute and focus - as well as a goat turning to look behind it. Also, the branches from the trees in the immediate background look not just they belong to the forest, but also to the the Princess and her altar-goat, too. This populates the card with nothing but Earth-bound textures, a key tip-off that this is one of the purest cards in the suite of Disks, from which not a lot of emotion, logic, or Will creeps through, suggesting labor. Which is exactly where I'm at in my process of re-entering the world of Kim and Jessie.

Isolation: Day 59 - Chelsea Wolfe Covers Crazy Train

Two Minutes to Late Night has been around a while, but it's just popped up in my youtube feed. A heavy metal late night talk show? Sign me up. This is the video that filtered into my feed, and from there I'm hooked. Subscribe and sample the metallic hilarity HERE.

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Taking another small break from Breaking Bad, I had K pick out a show she'd already watched but thought I would like.



I really like this show. Blew through six of the ten episodes of Season One last night, and Two just dropped, so that will serve as a nice pallet cleanser before we enter the last leg of Walter White's saga of blood, money, and meth.

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Playlist:

Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST
Goblin/Giorgio Gaslini - Profondo Rosso OST
Bob Wils and His Texas Playboys - The Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 1
The Babies - Eponymous
X - Under the Big Black Sun
Various - A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night OST

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Card:

I've had this overwhelming urge to start slowly playing music again. After two decades of considering myself a musician, I took a hard, sharp turn against that and have probably only picked a guitar or bass maybe ten times in the last four and a half years. Recently, with some undo work stress piled on top of the stress of COVID living, I pulled out my electric - which needs some TLC from a professional - and my Takamine acoustic and have started to play a bit. At this point, guitar-wise, I pretty much have to re-learn the fucking instrument, so there's frustration a plenty there. But the acoustic has proven a balm for overly stressful days, and strumming here and there have me thinking about, well, playing. So, the question is, does The Fool tell me it's time to undertake this new journey, or that I'd be foolish to do so?

I think I'm going to have to pull a full-on spread for this one. No time for that today, though.

Isolation: Day 7 - Type O Negative - Open Air Festival 1995

As usual, Brooklyn Vegan has been killing it on curation and content during these trying times. THIS article, posted Wednesday, 3/18, runs down a list of several fantastic live shows currently available in-full on youtube. Of course, I went directly to the Type O one. I saw them twice on the October Rust tour - the shows are among my fondest concert memories - and this footage takes me back in a way I did not quite expect. With the tenth anniversary of Peter Steele's death on the horizon (April 14th), and with rain falling intermittently more than usual in LaLa Land, this landed at the perfect moment for me. Thanks Brooklyn Vegan, for all that you do!

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Two nights ago, K and I finished the second season of Netflix's Castlevania, which means we finally get to move on to Season Three, which I keep seeing referred to as "Psychedelic Horror." Can't wait for that, especially considering the way events played out at the end of Season Two. Written by legendary comics scribe Warren Ellis, Castlevania is pure joy for Horror/Comics/Video Game fans alike. Ellis' writing is top notch; think of when the mostly creator-owned writer steps into high level IP's like X-Books, Batman, or, if you're like me and fondly remember Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., and you'll get a ballpark sense of what a joy it is seeing this man play with super well-known toys. For a peak inside his process, go to Orbital Operations and sign up for his weekly newsletter. It is seriously one of the things in life I most look forward to reading every week, both for the process insights, and his unmatched aptitude as a curator of all things awesome! In the meantime, for only those who have finished Season Two, here's a clip of the penultimate battle that just blows my f*&king mind!



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Playlist:

The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Antemasque - Eponymous
The Black Angels - Eponymous EP
SOD - Speak Spanish or Die
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
Slayer - Decade of Aggression
Type O Negative - Origin of the Feces
Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars

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Card:

I'm not sure how to read the common interpretation of "Seed to a Tree." In light of world events, I'm not sure if that's positive for us now, on this side of what this thing will eventually become, or if it's referring to the growth of COVID-19, or if we're talking about the mass culling of our population and eventual rebuilding phase. Another common interpretation here is that something will begin, but that's pretty much as eerily ambiguous as the other.

Let's hope future generations aren't as irresponsible as we (collectively) have been.

As more and more cities go into Shelter-in-Place, I'm having moments throughout my day where Science Fiction interlopes my daily routines and shows me where we very well may be going. Remember, the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasy is Science Fiction is - in its purest form - fiction based on the extrapolation of current Scientific Knowledge/Method. In other words, the Orwells, RAW's, and Huxley's of the world - not to mention the Gilliams -  have been warning us for decades. My company announced today they are drafting official documents for us in the event of checkpoints being erected to control non-quarantine compliance. I heard this and couldn't help envision a scene cobbled together from various fictional sources I've consumed in my life: I pull up to a police or military checkpoint, lower my window, and hand a gas-mask wearing official my papers, which they check over and hand back.

Wow. Yeah, that is most likely where we are going.

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Mindful Habitation:

It has never been my intention to make this blog political, primarily because there is no answer when it comes to politics. I detest both sides and long for the day when I can remove my support from either tired old institution we continue to placate. I thought that would be this year. Now - assuming we still have an election in November - I not only want Captain Hairdo out of office, I want to see him tried for Crimes Against Humanity. Because all the other shit was bad, but not that different from what the other side does. Now though, we have a 'leader' who is very much responsible for not only the loss of human life on a grand scale, but what is looking like it will be the end of 'this great nation.' No, I'm blaming him for the existence of COVID-19. But when you follow his words and sentiment, you see where the irresponsibility sets in, and why I make such strong accusations.

Some things to think about are HERE and HERE. Don't dwell in there too long, and don't fall down the Twitter-hole, but these are the things to remember when/if we have an election in November. I would like to see these people Tried in a Court of Law for Crimes Against Humanity. The difference here is, if you compare to, for instance, when Nixon fell from grace, his supporters believed he wasn't guilty until his crimes were proven. In this day and age, people can see proven facts and simply refuse they are facts. This goes back to what I have been saying since the "Alternative Facts" bullshit that began post inauguration. There is no such thing as Alternative Facts. THIS is Orwell's 1984, where the state decides reality, and it's fucking terrifying.

Mark Lanegan - Skeleton Key

From Straight Songs of Sorrow, the new Mark Lanegan out May 8th via Heavenly Recordings. Pre-order HERE. Apparently, this record is "closely aligned" with Lanegan's forthcoming memoir Sing Backwards and Weep, out April 28th. Pre-order that HERE or HERE.

I can't wait to read that book!

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Over the weekend, in the interest of starting something new and mostly unknown, K and I started Netflix's Black Spot, which comes to the US via France.


BLACK SPOT trailer season 1 vfsta from MEDIAWAN RIGHTS on Vimeo.

Although highly derivative of Twin Peaks, Dark, and True Detective Ssn 1, I'm enjoying Black Spot quite a bit; it borrows heavily from all three aforementioned shows, but is definitely its own thing. I'd definitely recommend it for fans of those shows and thrillers in general. I've seen references now to both this and Dark as belonging to a genre being called "Into the Woods," and although genre splitting and tagging can become tiresome, I kinda dig that. Suffice it to say, Black Spot is creepy, extremely well lit and well shot, and the voice they've given to the forest is mysterious and exciting.

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This happened last night and I am still unable to completely wrap my head around it:

Apparently, in honor of Relapse's 30th Anniversary, they chose people who pre-ordered records in the past few months and randomly awarded them these nifty golden tickets. What's it good for?

Whoah. I don't know that I've won anything since 1991, when I called Chicago's seminal Rock statin The Loop and won 10 free lawn tickets to see Guns n' Roses on their Use Your Illusions tour. Of course, I never got to cash those in, because two nights before that Chicago show, Axl jumped off the stage in Cincinnati, OH and clocked a dude with a camera, subsequently landing in jail.

One reason why I've always disliked Axl.

Anyway, looks like I have a lot of vinyl coming my way this year. Very cool. Thank you Relapse Records and Happy 30th Anniversary - here's to 130 more (at least)!

**

Playlist:

The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Digipak)
Mol - Jord
Various Artists - The Void (OSM)
Frederic Kooshmanian - Black Spot (OSM)
Me and That Man - Songs of Love and Death
Burzum - Filosofem
Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
Greg Dulli - Random Desire
Various Artists - Garage Rock (Compilation used in Black Spot)
Slayer - Show No Mercy
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
The Gutter Twins - Adorata
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Wasteland
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper

**

Card:

I've done a few pulls over the last few days that haven't been logged here, almost all of which have been Swords. The Nine of Swords - Cruelty has followed me a bit. Swords is the Suit I know the least in the Tarot, and this card in particular is, at a glance, always tempting to fear based on face value. However, from the Grimoire:

"The airy nature of Intellect, it is difficult for Swords to rest. Rabid analyzation and thinking in general can produce a loop that one becomes trapped in, the ultimate revelation that Nothing really leads Anywhere and in the end, there is Nothing."

Now, juxtapose this with a clarification card I drew and an interpretation begins to take shape.

Reality is breaking a bit, as Chuck Wendig's Wanderers escalates into a pandemic that cuts a massive swathe through the human population. Oh, and the disease's origin? Bats.

Can you see how that would start to saturate my reality? Also, it was the day after I started reading this book that the first really scary images from China began to appear back in January, and since, well, the arc of the book has been so parallel to the arc of real life (except, thus far, we're on a MUCH smaller scale) that I've had a lot of time to reflect on everything. Interestingly enough, long periods of time reflecting on everything, on all of our existence, leads to the ultimate understanding that Nothing is at the heart of it. Humanity holds itself up by the bootstraps, and although there are more good than bad humans - I think - if things go ugly, it doesn't really matter for the overall organism of the Planet Earth. In fact, it might be better for Her if we were to largely die off. I hope not, because there's a lot of humans I really like - including myself. But then, it's one thing to have an objective view of an extinction event, it's quite another to be able to conduct yourself that way.

Self - What a Fool Believes

Last week was a much-needed respite for me. My good friend Dave was out, and we bounced between hanging out at home watching movies and taking in two of the three Mr. Bungle Raging Wraith of the Easter Bunny shows at LaLa Land's Fonda Theatre (one of my favorite West Coast venues). We drank a ton of great beer (me), and artisanal Gin (him), and generally just acted like two friends who don't see each other nearly enough and welcomed the chance to hang out and act foolish. And as usual when I see Dave, certain songs/groups followed us wherever we go. One of those songs was Michael McDonald's What a Fool Believes. McDonald had a bad rep for about a decade and a half, mostly thanks to a certain early 00s comedy, but whatever you feel about him and his music, he's a great song writer. This is the pinnacle of truth to that statement, but of course, Matt Mahafey makes everything better than it already was.

Especially with toy piano.

**

Congratulations Joker. I haven't seen Parasite yet, but I was glad to see Todd Phillips' masterpiece clean up - including Hildur Guonadottir receiving best score. I'm still not thrilled about this one having a sequel on the horizon, but when you're film grosses over a billion dollars, well, that's inevitable.

Speaking of Joaquin Phoenix, one of the movies I watched while Dave was visiting was Lynne Ramsay's 2017 You Were Never Really Here. Not what I expected, and deeply affecting. I really enjoyed this one, despite subject matter that would normally make me cringe. Ramsay knows how to handle the intensely disturbing pockets of our world just right, and seeing this has me considering watching 2011 We Need To Talk About Kevin, a film I have completely avoided for eight years despite all the accolades, because, well, I'm a wimp and everything I've always heard about this one makes me think it will burrow way too deep beneath my skin.



**

Five episodes into Netflix's Locke and Key and I'm digging it quite a bit. Quite a few of my friends are considerably more invested in the comic than I - I finally read the series this past December/January - and most of them have reservations. So far though, I'm enjoying it, even if it is a little more "CW" than it should be.



It's really interesting to see how Mike Flanagan's Haunting of Hill House and its success have affected titles that pre-date it in other forms, specifically here Locke and Key. The show definitely has a similar feel, and that's no accident. Flanagan's show was an unmitigated smash, and stands as one more example of why the man has become such a stalwart in the Horror genre.

**

Playlist - pretty much all thrash of late, thanks to those Bungle shows:

SOD - Speak Spanish or Die
Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
Testament - The Gathering
Anthrax - Among the Living
Me and That Man - Songs of Life and Death
Slayer - Reign in Blood

**

Card of the day:

Fertility and the idea of creating something new; propagation. Fits exactly with an insight I had into a stalled project from last year, which I may spend some time outlining soon.

New Black Lips!

It's been a minute since I checked in with The Black Lips. "Rumbler" is definitely not where I'm at mentally, but it is awesome nonetheless, and something I'd imagine I'll have in regular rotation before too long. New album, The Black Lips Sing in a World That's Falling Apart is out now on Fire Records, and you can order a copy HERE.

**

Finally had the occasion to watch David Lynch's What Did Jack Do? on Netflix. Wow, easily one of the weirder, more self-indulgent pieces from my favorite director, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I've been accused of being a "Lynch Apologist" before and I guess that's not wrong. But the man is filled with happiness and optimism, while still being capable of creating some of the most dark and baffling art, that it makes me infinitely happy just to see his face. What Did Jack Do? was no exception.



Here's a nice addendum to the movie. The song Jack performs, "The Flame of Love," is being released on vinyl by Sacred Bones. You can pre-order it HERE. I'm sitting this one out on vinyl - I'm not really a completist for everything Lynch has done (though pretty close), but this will probably end up a bizarre piece of memorabilia.

**

Playlist :

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - In Summer EP
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Various Artists - The Void OST
Chris Issac - Heart Shaped World
The Black Lips - Sing in a World That's Falling Apart

No Card Today.

Godflesh

One of the creepiest songs Godflesh did, and that's saying something.

I've fallen in love with Love and Hate in Dub all over again. This one is never far from my speakers, but many times, my listens are not album-length, as they're confined to the car, or at work where a longer album can be interrupted fairly easy. Lately however, I've been sequestered in the back-half of this one, and the final song, this "remix" of 'Gift from Heaven', off 1996's equally brilliant album Songs of Love and Hate. There's always been something so dark and mysterious about Godflesh, and although I love pretty much everything JKB has done in his career - especially under the Godflesh moniker - possibly the stuff that stays with me the most is the creepy, atmospheric, 'a boiler room in hell' stuff.

**

One episode into the new Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix and goddamn, I don't care how camp or teenage this show goes at time, the sets, costumes, and overall tone is fantastic, and again, the blasphemy is joy-inducing.



**

Playlist:

Godflesh - Love and Hate in Dub
Mol - Jord
Bohren and Der Club of Gore - Patchouli Blue
Zonal - Wrecked
David Lynch and Marek Zebrowski - Polish Night Music
Kevin Morby - Oh My God

**

Card:

A new journey? That's always the initial interpretation that springs to mind with this one, however I'm inclined at the moment, while reflecting on a fairly successful week of writing sessions, to err on the side of a completely different outlook. One of "new," i.e. a new direction that's becoming apparent within the major arc of the second and third books. It's not radically different than what I originally had planned, but it's more nuanced for sure. In fact, the entire epic is really coming to life in a far more robust way than I'd anticipated. Well, that's not entirely true; I've always known this would be huge, but I guess you can't see it until you're in it, so to speak. And brother, I am IN it now.

Live Dungen Album!

Another album I'm looking forward to that drops on Friday, March 13th! Live Dungen - they've been off my radar for a while, but I've loved these guys since I saw them live in Minneapolis back in the early 00s, and if this track is any indication, this will be a fantastic representation of the band live.

**

Yesterday I returned to work, whatever viral plague that had laid me low the last few days having retreated to a mostly manageable position on the outskirts of my physicality. It took it's tool though, and when I returned home, I flopped down unceremoniously in bed and planned to through on a flick, knowing I'd probably doze. However, I threw on was Jeremy Rush's Wheelman.



Awesome flick, and Frank Grillo absolutely kills it in the lead. Also, always great to see Garret Dillahunt. Needless to say, I did not nap. Totally worth it, though.

**

Playlist:

Bohren and Der Club of Gore - Patchouli Blue
Zonal - Wrecked
Godflesh - Hymns
Godflesh - Love and Hate in Dub
Kevin Morby - Oh My God
93MillionMilesFromTheSun - Towards the Light
Zombi - Shape Shift
The Fixx - Reach the Beach

Card:

Healing. Yup.

Locke and Key Gets a Trailer!

I knew this was coming, but I never dreamed it would look this good! More excited for this than pretty much anything else at the moment, and it serves as a nice bookend to the fact that I'm finally reading the series - only have Vol. Six and the one-off Vol. Seven left to go and I'll be completely ready for what looks like, at this point, the series of the year.

**

It's time once again for...

Over the last three days I've watched two more episodes, thus rounding out the Season One tier on Mr. Brown's Playlist. First, Season One, Episode thirteen, "Beyond the Sea," which not only featured Brad Dourif as convicted serial killer-turned-helpful-psychic Luther Lee Boggs (aided by another killer named Lucas Henry - see what they did there?), but also had Twin Peaks alum Don "Major Briggs" Davis as Scully's father. Super cool episode; fairly tight script, good character development, and an almost over the top performance from Dourif that was just plain fantastic to watch. Probably my favorite episode so far.



Next up was Season One, Episode Nineteen, "Shapes." Basically a Shapeshifter/Werewolf story set on an Native American Reservation, this episode also featured a Peaks alum, Michael Horse, aka Deputy Hawk. This one was a slosh clunkier than the last insofar as script, but overall, a solid, simple approach to the kind of archetypal folklore that makes this show fun.

Next up - and this I'm very excited for because although the episode resounds in my memory for all its infamy, Season Two, Episode Twenty's "Humbug" is not something I'm one hundred percent certain I've actually seen before.

Can't wait. So far, this little collaborative experiment between Mr. Brown and I has been quite fun, and really, we're just getting started.

**

NCBD yesterday:

This book gets more and more insane every month. I'm a little concerned at this point, it might not be able to stick the landing to whatever godforsaken place it's going, but it's still one hell of a ride getting there.

I am so very glad I started reading this book. Seriously, it's the type of dark, Ancestral Horror that used to populate paperbacks in the late 70s/early 80s, and although I was mostly too young to read that stuff at the time, I definitely picked up on its tone while stalking the shelves of the local libraries I used to frequent as a child. The Plot feels like a book that may end up leaving me with a gasp or two, which would be pretty cool, because with TWD gone, I need something to do that for me.

Whenever a major franchise book flips a landmark number, you have to kind of reassess. After the cataclysmic events of TMNT issue fifty, I felt the book took a few issues to really grab me again. Because of that, I've been a little concerned that for all its grandiosity, issue one hundred might do the same.

Nope.

I LOVE the new direction of this book. I won't go into spoilers, but we're finally done paying homage to all the stories of the past iterations of the characters, and are into completely new ground. And it. Is. Glorious, dark, and a little bit sad. And that's exactly where the characters should be. One thing about TMNT - probably the thing that always set it apart for me - for such a zany concept and highly marketable image, Eastman and, in the old days, Laird both excel at taking the characters and the readers out of their comfort zone. So yeah, I can't wait to read the next issue, and TMNT has pretty much replaced TWD as my new "gottareaditrightfuckingnow" title. Which makes me extremely happy.

**

Playlist:

NIN - Year Zero
Yves Tumor - Safe in the Hands of Love
Sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
The Damage Manual - Limited Edition
The Rolling Stones - Dirty Work
Kevin Morby - Oh My God
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
Federale - No Justice
Lingua Ignota - Caligula
The National - Trouble Will Find Me

**

Card:

I guess I better start walking...

2019: May 24th - New Pelican Track!

On June 7th, Southern Lord is releasing the newest album from Chicago Post-Metal group Pelican, and from the two tracks we've heard so far, Nighttime Stories looks like it is a serious contender for my top ten this year. I love the texture of this track; thick, sludgy, but not without melody and a certain swing in its step. You can pre-order the album HERE.

**

Two more episodes of Ozark season one down last night, so that means two to go, then I can finally begin Season Two. This show really holds up on second viewing, and I'm pretty sure its dark, foreboding tone, exceptionally well-written characters, and left-of-center plot twists will continue to impress me; Ozark is the kind of show that already feels destined for greatness.

**
Final episode of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder tonight, but, in case you haven't heard, it will be back. In my excitement, I looked up some old clips:



**

Playlist from 5/23:

The Cure - Disintegration
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Faith No More - King for a Day
Faith No More - Angel Dust

Card of the day:

I've never been a fan of this card. Frankly, it has always visually been intertwined with a former lover, and I'm one who usually shuts the door on the past pretty hard, so I'm never really enthused to receive anything in the way of reminders. But last year at some point, this card came up a couple times in close proximity, and in discussing it with my good friend Missi, she put something to me I'd never stopped to consider; basically, why? Why did the Queen of Wands have to be what I had come to think of it as? And this morning, free from any pull of the past, I uncover this card and think, "That's not what this is at all."

So then, the question remains, what is the Queen of Thoth to me?

Let's start basic. From the Grimoire: "Emotional Intelligence." Well, that in and of itself is sometimes as difficult to find as the Dodo; the waters of emotion run rapid when they run best, and sluiced through the right tributary, we may find it very difficult to apply any guidance to the rush toward conclusion. So then, when I pull this, especially today, where my day-to-day gig at the biorepository feels a bit out of control (mother business expanding exponentially constantly), I feel as though the eyes of this fiery lady are telling me to watch my mouth, which runs often, loud, and considerably unchecked at work.

Also, there's the related idea of the 'Consciousness in Spirit,' which I see pop up online when scouting around for other facets of this card. Consciousness in Spirit equates to Intensity of Purpose, which I have absolutely lacked for going on a week now, as work as been difficult and some passing bug has kept me feeling sick and run down for most of the week, even now when I'm through the worst of it. I read this as a need to get my ass back in gear; for the past two weeks, I've had a fantastic regiment of after-work writing and yoga going almost every day, then Sunday I woke up sick and ever since, I've haven't done either. The little bit of yoga I forced myself to do last night ended up making me feel amazing, and that's as good as any other reason to re-focus and re-acquire that Intensity of Purpose.