Abby Sage - The Rot

 

Abby Sage just climbed a little bit higher in my esteem when I saw the thumbnail for this one. WTF? Hot on the heels of seeing Robert Morgan, this grabbed me. Sage's predilection for larger-than-life, terrifying dolls and her generally dour delivery add a spot of Thomas Ligotti to her unique brand of smoky pop that seems to have more in common with the quaalude lounge life of the late 60s/70s than any modern female singer beyond maybe Beth Gibbons. 

I'm really loving seeing where Abby Sage's career has gone and look forward to seeing just how far it will go. I think far. 

The Rot is the title track from Ms. Sage's debut album, which you can link to HERE.

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Watch:

Despite the initial anticipation the trailer for Ryan Stevens Harris' Moon Garden created in me when it first dropped a little over a year ago, I totally forgot about this one. Imagine my excitement when I found out the film had finally dropped on Shudder earlier this week:

Reading over that post I made last February (linked in the text above), I am happy to see that all my initial expectations were not only met but totally blown away. Moon Garden is definitely a throwback to films like The Neverending Story and Labyrinth, but also an exciting visual amalgamation of a lot of fantasy ideas that really only get cross-bred in novels because of the less than 1:1 ratio that accompanies attempting to bring the dark, effervescent folds of the imagination into the visual form. Guess what? Somehow Harris does it; I feel like this is possibly the most "pure imagination translation" I've ever seen. It's just... so much, and all of it works together to create an experience that is both harrowing and life-affirming. Can't recommend this one enough. 

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Playlist:

John Carpenter - Lost Themes II

Witchfinder - Forgotten Mansion

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Dean Hurley - The Library of the Occult: Flower

The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

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Card:

A quick one-card pull for the weekend:

Six of Cups: Pleasure. Emotional Balance. I think this is something I've been having issues with, especially on the weekend. There are a lot of 'existential stressors' pressing in on me of late, no one's fault but my own mind. Still, that doesn't change the fact that they affect my weekends the most - the time when I have the most time to sit and think. A nice reminder then, to fill the well and keep the perspective balanced. Not easy to do in 2024, but it is possible if you actively manage the shit you're putting in your head. 

Judas Priest - The Serpent and the King

 

Wow. This ROCKS! Kind of splits the difference between the "Delivering the Goods" and "All Guns Blazing" eras. New album Invincible Shield out March 8th; pre-order HERE.

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Watch:

When we drove into Nashville to catch TENET this past Saturday, I was overjoyed to see that Regal Opry Mills also had Stopmotion, a film I had no idea I would be able to see on the big screen. Last night, K and I drove back and watched Robert Morgan's GROTESQUE masterpiece Stopmotion!

K was not a fan, but I loved this one. The pacing is plodding and deliberate, much like the creations that slowly enact the terrible fate that eventually we grow to dread will fall upon our protagonist, so I'm pretty certain that's going to ostracize some folks; for me, it only added dread. I keep using that word, but I'm thinking that's possibly the best descriptor for this one, because it's filled with it. 

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Read:

Not so much read as stare in awe. I wasn't aware of this until this morning:

The painted packaging art from the old ARAH line is in my blood. The Joe, Transformers and, to a lesser degree, MOTU artwork was instrumental in my brain becoming what it is - whether that's good or bad remains open to debate. But I'd say some of the more spacey, cosmic images planted the seed as to why I can sit and listen to Blut Aus Nord's "Elevation," the final Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars and 'go someplace' far away inside my head. That's a bit of an oblique attempt at describing so abstract a concept, but there's something about this art that just burns as the purest fuel for my imagination.

This omnibus is a pretty good chunk of change, but watching this video, I'm blown away by the work the fine folks at 3D Joes did for it, so it's definitely worth the price tag. I'm not 100% certain I'm going to spend the money on this, simply because I'm trying to save at the moment. That said, HERE is the link to do so.

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Playlist:

Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos

Moderat - II

Moderat - III

High On Fire - Burning Down (pre-release single)

High On Fire - Electric Messiah

Pearl Jam - Dark Matter (pre-release single)

Pearl Jam - Vs.

High On Fire - Luminiferous

John Carpenter - Lost Themes II

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars

Shadow Show - Fantasy Now

Fever Ray - Eponymous

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Card:

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

• Ace of Swords

• O: The Fool

• Queen of Cups

A breakthrough of Will is the impetus for a new journey into emotional canals neglected.

What's that, a poem? Hahaha. No, but it's an attempt at stream-of-consciousness interpretation I've fallen out of habit on. You see, I've come to rely on my various notes and texts concerning the Tarot so much, my brain draws blanks when faced with just cards. Trying to get that muscle back.

So what the hell does that mean? I think it's a reference to a friend who needs kindness and a journey into deeper friendship that looms on the horizon. Always help a brother - or sister - out when they are in need.

Double Life - Indifferent Stars

Nick Vance from the excellent Cinematic Void Podcast has a debut EP out with Double Life. Indifferent Stars is a GORGEOUS slice of 90s-style sonic emotional rock, reminiscent of early Sugar, Embrace, and maybe even a little Sonic Youth. Click the Bandcamp widget above (or click HERE) to go support these guys and help let 'em know we need a full-length like now. Listening to this makes me feel SO fucking good!!!

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Watch:

Boy Kills World has been on the very outskirts of my awareness for a while now. I've come to really like Bill Skarsgård, so that's a plus. On the opposite end of that is an easy association my brain plays with linking the title of the film to those "Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe" books, which I kind of roll my eyes at. So I didn't really think I'd care.

 

I stopped the trailer and put this on the "need to see list" when I heard the line about a televised execution... by breakfast cereal mascots??? Still not entirely sure this will be for me, but that definitely made me interested enough to go see it on or around when it hits theatres on April 26.

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Playlist:

Metallica - 72 Seasons

The Mysterines - Reeling

Grinderman - Eponymous

Grinderman - Grinderman 2

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# ∞

The Caretaker - Stairway to the Stars

This Movie Saved My Life Podcast - Family Films: The Master and Shoplifter

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

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Card:

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

• Six of Cups

• Queen of Pentacles

• King of Wands

I feel like this is the most non-specific spread I've had with the Hand of Doom deck. That's not a knock in any direction on the cards - Jonathan Grimm's Heavy Metal/Acid Fantasy/Stoner illustrations bring great joy to my life, doubly so as the readings are the least ambiguous of any deck I've worked with. Here, we seem to have an indication that Emotional Balance comes with a passionate reclamation of the tactile. The King of Wands - or the "Air" of "Fire" suggests tempering the Will with the Intellect, always the best case scenario, will play a part in achieving this.

I don't really know what the hell this means, but I'll be mulling it over throughout the day.

New Music From The Mysterines!!!

 

Man, somehow I KNEW this was coming. I hadn't read anything about The Mysterines in a while, but I got the idea of a new album on the horizon in my head a week or two ago and have been checking that told me we were due. Out June 7th, you can pre-order Afraid of Tomorrow HERE.

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NCBD:

Pretty hefty NCBD this week. Let's get right into it:

I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to Cobra Commander issue #2! Joshua Williamson and Robert Kirkman are taking a very different approach with the Joes in this whole Energon Universe take, and they've got me interested in a considerably more SciFi version of this franchise. I welcome it!

Still hanging in on the latest iteration of Larry Hama's GIJOE: A Real American Hero. 

LOVED the first episode of this new Hellblazer series, let's hope that continues. I'm equally intrigued by and a bit concerned about seeing Swamp Thing show up already in the second issue. I feel like John and Alec have become a bit too codependent in recent years; just because we have one, doesn't mean we need the other. Still, I'm here for it, and look at that awesome cover!!!

No lie - going to have to reread the first issue of this "Ten years in the future" Rise of the Powers of X series before I dive into this. Whereas Fall of the House of X stuck, this did not. 

The penultimate issue of Tenement. The previous issue blew my mind and I'm thinking Lemire and Sorrentino aren't done with the surprises yet. 

Unnatural Order has proved to be a fantastic time-travel story thus far. There's an epic element to this one that promises big things. 

What bizarre hijinx will Ash, Evil Ash and Sheila get up to in this issue? I'm really digging writer Tony Fleec's use of futuristic, robotic "Deadites"

Finally, tying directly into The One Hand series that launched this Neo-Noir universe, we have the first issue of Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar's The Six Fingers hitting shelves today. You can read how much I loved The One Hand and this concept in general HERE. 

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Watch:

Chock this up to the "Better late than never" category, but I just bought tickets to see Christoper Nolan's TENET on the big screen. IMax, no less.

I never saw TENET due to, well, COVID and not being able to see the film the way Christopher Nolan proclaimed it was made to be seen - on the biggest screen possible. But I waited patiently, avoiding the urge to watch this on HOBOMAX or Prime or where I saw the thumbnail, maintaining my aversion to the idea that my first viewing would be on a little screen. My patience has paid off! We have to drive to Nashville on Saturday for this one, but I have no doubt it will be worth it.

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Playlist:

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Rebellion

IDLES - Tangk

Tar - Clincher

Matt Cameron - Gory Scorch Cretins

The Damned - Evil Spirits

Drug Church - Hygiene

Ganser - Odd Talk

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours

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New Music From High On Fire!!!

 

The first harbinger for High on Fire's upcoming album Cometh the Storm has landed, and as one would expect, it's the sonic equivalent of having Matt Pike kick you in the skull! The album is out April 19th, pre-order HERE.

This is the first High on Fire album in six years and I'm pretty damn excited. I've followed these guys since Man's Ruin (RIP) released The Art of Self Defense in 2000, and I'd grown rather used to looking to a new album every 2-3 years*, so I'm more than ready for a new full-length. 

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* Granted, Pike Vs. the Automaton came out two years ago, so it's not like I've been going through a total detox. 

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Watch:

I feel like I've been waiting on a release announcement for Larry Fessenden's Blackout for a year now, so imagine my surprise and excitement this morning when I found that a trailer had dropped!

Despite my recent aversion to trailers (they ruin movies), I did allow myself to watch this one. Probably mostly because I doubt I'll see this in the cinema before any movies, so I'll be able to control only seeing it the onc time. And, as with all of Fessenden's films, my anticipation for this one is already sky-high already! Some of what I'm reading shows this getting a slightly wider-than-usual theatrical release, so I'm crossing my fingers we get it here in Clarksville or, at the very least, in Chicago. I'd totally drive seven hours to see a Larry Fessenden film on the big screen.

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Playlist:

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch - Censor OST

High on Fire - Burning Down (single)

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven (pre-release singles)

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

Various - Return of the Living Dead Soundtrack

Idles - Tangk

Idles - Joy As An Act of Rebellion

Zeal & Ardor - Eponymous

Yawning Balch - Volume One & Two

The Police - Synchronicity

Dean Hurley - Tales From the Library of the Occult Present: Flower

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Card:

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

• Five of Swords

• IX: The Hermit

• Two of Pentacles

Five of Swords is a tricky place to start. There's an interpretation that Fives cast a Pall over other cards in the reading, as they can be seen as indicating conflict or struggle. Struggle is not necessarily a bad thing, though. So we're starting at a struggle, and moving into The Hermit, which usually bespeaks re-grouping or gestation. Finally, the Two of Pentacles can suggest both collaboration and opposition. Now, it would be tempting to take that "Pall" of the Five of Swords (especially because it's Swords) and read this entire Pull as negative or conflictory, however, from the Grimoire:

"Two's - Chokmah on the Sepheritoic Tree of Life - actually represents the number one, as they are the first physical manifestation of the elements, still harmonious and untainted by anything material. I'd look at this, then, as a forthcoming struggle of intellect that will require a period of deliberation (gestation) and a new idea/approach, untainted by previous lust of result.

That's a considerably more in-depth interpretation than I've done in a while. Not sure if I'm just looking for a cheerier answer than "conflict!" or if the motivation to go below a surface reading is stronger today. Either way, this applies pretty directly to what I'm currently working on, so I'll take it. 

*The only Sephiroth/Trump higher being Kether, which is, in Grant Morrison speak, the intangible "White Hot Room."

Chelsea Wolfe - The Liminal

 

My copy of Chelsea Wolfe's She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She arrived on Saturday and I managed to hold off listening to it until the precise criteria I insisted upon were met - Saturday night after recording the latest episode of The Horror Vision Presents: Murderboad - A True Detective Night Country Discussion, I placed the beautiful colored vinyl on the turntable in my office, smoked a quarter of a joint and laid out on the floor and let the sounds wash over me. This one's an immediate shoo-in for my top ten list this year. It's both similar and completely unlike anything Ms. Wolfe has done previously; similar, because her voice is unmistakable; different in that there are a lot of what I can only call "Industrial Trip-Hop" elements in these songs. 

I know, I know... it's not bad enough we subdivide music into oft-confusing subgenres, but now you're creating hybrids of those subgenres? Well... there's just no other way to say it. 

Industrial is appropriate because alot of the songs have a mechanical feeling to their percussion or groove, Trip Hop because the closest thing I can compare of the arranging on this album to is Portishead or Massive Attack. I can split hairs all day long on the sound, but believe me, this is a spectacular piece of work from one of the most interesting artists working in music.

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Watch:

I had the revelatory experience of watching Jennifer Reeder's 2019 Knives and Skin on Saturday night. Here's a trailer that I have vetted; it gives nothing away (also doesn't do this film any kind of justice, but you really can't encapsulate Knives and Skin in a trailer anymore than you can a Lynch film):

Ms. Reeder has been slowly moving up my radar ever since I watched 2020's Night's End hit Shudder back in the fall of 2022. I posted about her most recent film Perpetrator a few weeks ago, and that viewing, combined with this latest one, seals the deal: she's easily my latest "favorite directors." There's a moment in this trailer where the pull quote says, "Twin Peaks meets Donnie Darko." That's not exactly right, but it's not exactly wrong, either, and it's close enough to tell you why I like it so much and whether or not you have any hope of connecting with it. All I can say is K and I were absolutely mesmerized while watching.

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Playlist:

Matt Cameron - Gory Scorch Cretins

David Bowie - Black Star

David Bowie - The Next Day

David Bowie - Outside

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane

Turnstile - Glow On

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

Various - Learn to Relax: A Tribute to Jehu

Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette (single)

Daemien Frost - Corpus Demo

Donny Benét - Konichiwa (single)

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

The Veils - Total Depravity

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Card:

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

• VIII: Strength

• Four of Pentacles

• Knight of Wands

A lot of strength and foundation, which I feel like has been under assault in our house the last few days. Took K to the emergency room on Thursday night around midnight (she's fine), took our cat Sweetie to the pet urgent care on Saturday (we think she's fine), and something popped in my right knee that has left me in intermittent crippling pain since Saturday morning. All this, juxtaposed with this Pull, tells me we need to finally ante up and put our health back into the actively attending to column.

New Music From Beth Gibbons!!!

 

Holy smokes - new music from Beth Gibbons! Interesting synchronicity, as I cracked out Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs for the first time in a while. Gibbons' voice is legendary, and I'm into pretty much anything she does, so the fact that this new solo album, Lives Outgrown, drops on May 17th on Domino Records is very good news indeed. Pre-order HERE.

Man, this sounds a lot like something that could have fit into Portishead's Third. Love that!!!

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Watch:

I want to watch this trailer for Late Night With the Devil SO F*&KING BAD. Not going to do it, though.

Opening in theatres on March 22nd, this is one that, if my local Regal doesn't get it, I will travel for. I've really grown to love David Dastmalchian - his performance in The Last Voyage of the Demeter blew me away, as I did not even realize it was him until well after the movie ended - and I've just generally become a fan of everything he does. His comic Count Crowley - about a TV Horror Host - makes me incredibly happy (what I've read of it, that is), and his brief appearance in Rob Savage's The Boogeyman ranked as possibly the best performance in a movie full of them. Couple all that with the little bit I know about Late Night with the Devil's concept (not much), and I'm practically frothing at the mouth for this one. No reason then, to let possible oversaturation of the trailer ruin anything for me.

 

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Read:

I am happy to report I was totally blown away by the first issue of Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell and Jordie Bellaire's new Hellblazer series, John Constantine Hellblazer: Dead in America.

Full disclosure: I haven't read the previous two volumes of Spurrier's Hellblazer. In fact, I haven't really read any new John Constantine material since, well, long before the original Vertigo series ended. I've picked up a few number ones since the title was brought back under the "Sandman Universe" umbrella - the new sub-heading for DC's Black Label that basically indicates, "Former Vertigo Glory Days Title," because I definitely think Constantine - while I LOVE the character - is really only done a disservice by an ongoing title. So I'm reading Dead in America based on that idea, that I haven't checked in on a solely JC-focused title in years and am about due for a fix. This proved perfect because it incorporates Dream of the Endless in a story setup that takes us all the way back to John's encounter with the previous iteration of Dream in the very first Sandman storyline. Very cool way to bring things back around and give it a nostalgic twist that felt more story-driven than story-derivative. 

This looks to be a four-issue series, and I'll be sticking around for the duration, so you'll definitely hear more about this one. 

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Playlist:

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Various Artists - Learn to Relax: A Tribute to Jehu

Alice Donut - Dry Humping the Cash Cow

Witchfinder - Forgotten Mansion

Beth Gibbons - Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs

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Card:

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

• King of Wands

• Ace of Swords

•XVIII - The Moon

The King (or Prince in Thoth) of Wands is the Airy aspect of Fire - Drive and motivation. The Ace of Swords (what my mind keeps seeing as the Ace of Spades this morning) is a Breakthrough. Enlightenment. seeing Clearly or the intellect as a bridge to the unconscious mind. The Moon is something occulted, i.e. what am I not seeing. All of this is commentary on the last 12 hours and money situations, not bad, just seeing things clearly (which I don't always do in regards to the cheddar).

Amigo the Devil - Once Upon a Time at Texaco (Pt. 1)

 

New music from Amigo the Devil's forthcoming album Yours Until the War is Over, out February 23rd on Liars Club Records. Pre-order HERE. 

Interestingly enough, there is no "Pt. 2" on the album. Hahaha. Leave 'em in suspense, eh? Brilliant.

 

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NCBD:

Short week, which is great when you consider that I haven't yet read everything from my four-week pull I picked up last week.

Really digging this Bloodrik series by Andrew Krahnke. Sad to see it go after only three issues. I know issue one sold out and had a second print run. Hopefully, that bodes well for a continuation (or anything from Mr. Krahnke) down the road.

Good lord - I feel as though it's been months since the first issue of Count Crowley: Mediocre Monster Hunter hit the stands. And in all that time, I still haven't completed my run of the second Crowley series or acquired the first. Series Writer/Creator David Dastmalchian is a heck of a busy guy, what's my excuse? (I guess my excuse is I'm a pretty busy guy, too).

New, three-issue crime comic from Ram V and Laurence Campbell. Crime Noir that might have a SciFi bent to it. I'm not really sure, but then again, I love going in blind. 

Great thing about picking up four weeks of comics last week, is it shortens the wait between issues! I just read X-Men 30 and loved it, so here we go again. Now with more Nimrod!

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Watch:

Rose Glass's Saint Maud was one of the movies that suffered the most from the jilted release schedule COVID caused, and although I did eventually get to see it - well after what should have been its theatrical release - the entire time I sat in front of my television I just kept thinking how much better the film would have been served by a big-screen viewing. 

I get the same "Cinematic" vibes from this trailer for Glass's new film, the upcoming Love Lies Bleeding. I know they released a new trailer this morning, however, I'm not watching that. I only really saw this one because it played before something I saw in the theatre recently. Good news is it really only solidified my goal of seeing this in the theatre:

The vibe I get from everything I know about Love Lies Bleeding so far reminds me a bit of the Cohen Brothers' Blood Simple. I'm not entirely sure why I say that, but there's a grime here that harkens back to that fabled debut. Whether that's entirely shy of the mark or not, I'm really looking forward to this one, which hits theatres on March 8th.

 

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Playlist:

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Melvins - Working the Ditch (single)

Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatment

Turnstile - Glow On

Turnstile - Nonstop Feeling

Pixies - Trompe le Monde

Pixies - Indie Cindy

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Yerusalem - The Sublime

Assembly Line People Program - Eponymous EP

Justin Hamline - A Veil for the Three Sisters (Un velo per tre sorelle) (single)

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

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Card:

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

• Eight of Cups

• Queen of Wands

• Three of Pentacles

In the Crowley/Harris Thoth Deck, the Eight of Cups is "Indolence," and can carry with it a connotation of low or lacking energy/vitality. This is a "Change," and reading these cards here as such, the transition to the Queen of Wands - The Watery Aspect of Fire, I draw on the "tame thyself" interpretation I'd long ago written in the Grimoire. Finally, Three of Pentacles suggests balance. Taken together, all of this suggests something of a crossroads. One of the things I'd hoped my month-long work trip would catalyze is a total change to my at-home protocols. I need to get over having to drive out to a coffee shop after work to write. I can easily use some of the built-in downtime of my WFH scenario to make incremental progress on any number of projects.

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.

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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).

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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

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Gory Scorch Cretins

Many thanks to Mr. Brown, who clued me in on the existence of Matt Cameron's Gory Scorch Cretins, a solo album with Melvins as his backing band! Apparently, this came about after a Soundgarden tribute where Buzz and the boys did "Spoonman." All of this is news to me, and I've gotta say I was a little confused when I first saw the cover and title; was this a Melvins tribute? Nope. All original stuff, and they're all great. Furthermore, Cameron - long one of my favorite drummers - makes a fantastic singer! Every track on this is great; I chose this one because it reminds me a bit of Urge Overkill, and for some reason, when I played this for the first time yesterday, that really hit the spot as a final track on the album. 

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Watch:

After picking at it since September - primarily because the show disappeared from the platform I was watching it on and then reappeared on another  - I finally finished the second season of Bryan Fuller's Hannibal yesterday.

I watched the last six or so episodes in a fairly tight burst, and this one is really masterfully done. This isn't something most of the world doesn't already know; I'm ten years late to the game on this one, but man, it burns knowing there won't ever be a season four. 

One of the charms of the show is, of course, watching Hannibal in the kitchen, so I jumped at the chance to post the video above; special thanks to Moonshine Omega - their YouTube channel is an interesting collection of Food and Bevy-related videos from shows we love (there's a cool one of all drinks and food in Jessica Jones Season One!)

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Play:

Having just finished Torture Star/Puppet Combo's Night at the Gates of Hell, I am SUPER happy to get wind of a new game coming our way from them:

As usual, the 80s VHS/Video Nasties influence is a large part of the draw, however, I've really come to prefer Torture Star's games, so I am psyched to be getting another for Switch.

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Playlist:

Disappears - Pre Language

A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head

Fear - Live for the Record

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

Baroness - Stone

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Matt Cameron - Gory Scorch Cretins

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Card:

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

• Six of Swords

• XVIII: The Moon

• Six of Cups

The intellectual benefits of balancing the mental and moral components of a conflict lead to emotional revelation. 

No idea what the hell this means at the moment, but as with most of my pulls on this trip (yes, I'm still in L.A.), I'm really just recording all this as data archives for later analyzation. 

New Music From Arab Strap!!!

 

I'm writing this part of today's post on Tuesday the 23rd. I've been listening to Arab Strap for about the last two hours, so how weird is it that when I clicked over to youtube to find a song to post, I see that a new Arab Strap track dropped two hours ago, and a new album is out Februrary 9th! Holy smokes - Awesome! 

You can go HERE to Pre-order I'm totally fine with it 👍 Don't give a fuck anymore 👍 - yes, the emogis are part of the actual title! Check out this cover!!!

Love it! Man, it feels so good to have Malcolm and Aiden back. 

 

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NCBD:

The final of my "away pulls." Can't wait to get back home and pick the last few week's of comics up. 

So according to Image Comics' website, issue 16 is the Newburn series finale. That's a bummer, but at the same time, the storyline is twisting these characters' lives into such a knot, I'd mentioned recently that I couldn't possibly see how this book could last that much longer. Kudos to the creators for sticking to their guns and telling the story they set out to tell. 

We all knew he'd be back, but since Mags destroyed his backup, I'm pretty curious what version this resurrected one will take.

Another series ending soon. Tenement has been a fantastic ride, with the last two issues really pushing the storyline of the overall Bone Orchard Mythos forward. Can't wait to see what's next, but until then, I'm pretty sure these last few issues will be increasingly bizarre and horrific in the fashion only Lemire and Sorrentino can manage.

And yet another BOMBSHELL ending - the news that this title ends with the upcoming issue 150 hit comic news outlets recently. TMNT began again under the IDW banner back in 2012; I picked up the first issue and have enjoyed every single one since. The other end of that big news is that Jason Aaron is taking over the upcoming new title - still under IDW - but what I'm unclear about is if that book will begin a brand new continuity, or continue this one. I hope for the former but also pine a bit for the latter; it would be nice to drop a book from the pull and let this series just sit immortalized in time as the perfect gem it is.

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Watch:

Last night I finally got the chance to see Yorgos Lanthimos' new film, Poor Things. Even better, I got to see it with two good friends at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre. I've posted the trailer here previously, so here's a gorgeous poster:

The only other film by Mr. Lanthimos I've seen is Killing of a Sacred Deer, however, that is one of the best "What the absolute F*ck" viewings I've had in the last ten years, so it instantly endeared the creator to me, while also kind of made me a touch afraid of his work. There is something so all-consuming about Deer, that I've kept The Lobster and The Favorite at bay for years. 

That changes now.

I put a spoiler-free review up on Letterbxd HERE, but in a nutshell Poor Things is beautiful, odd, perverse, tender, vulgar and a touch transgressive, all coming together to make an utterly unique experience.

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Playlist:

Tar - Clincher

Tar - Holding Fast Hitting Long (Live)

The Bronx - V

The Bronx - (II)

The Bronx - (III)

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

Arab Strap - The Red Thread

Arab Strap - Philophobia

The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen

Jay Reatard - Singles 06-07

Carpenter Brute - Leather Terror

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Card:

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

• Six of Swords

• Eight of Cups

• XVII: The Star

New Music From Chelsea Wolfe

More new Chelsea Wolfe, from the upcoming album She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, out February 9; pre-order HERE. This close to the release date, I'm not even going to listen to this single. I pre-ordered the vinyl and am waiting to sit down and listen start to finish, ripped to the gilly tits on marijuana. Been a while since I've observed that ritual for a new album, would like to get back to it. This seems like a fantastic place to start. 

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Watch:

I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon this last night, but after seeing the trailer and not being able to find anything on IMDB, I realized there was a link to the full film:

I know nothing of El Maestro, however, the trailer for A24's The Grind is equally one of the most beautiful and disturbing things I've seen in a while, so no doubt I'm watching this as soon as I can.

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Playlist:

Your Black Star - Sound from the Ground

The Damned - Evil Spirits

Darkness Brings the Cold - Devil Swank, Vol. 1

††† - Good Night, God Bless, I Love You, Delete

The Trapezoid - Reverb Nation Playlist

Various Mixed by DJ IF: Darkness Exhalation Mix Vol. 2

The Neighborhood - I Love You

FACS - Still Life in Decay

Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (Single)

The Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf - Single)

Grand Duchy - Black Suit (Single)

AFI - This Time Imperfect (Single)

The Bronx - V

The Bronx - Dead Tracks

The Bronx - IV

Tar - Clincher

The Trapezoid - Reverb Nation Playlist

Darkness Brings the Cold - Devil Swank, Vol. 1

Nobuhiko Morino - Verses: The Album

The Soft Moon - Eponymous

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Card:

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

• Queen of Swords 

• III: The Empress

• XV: The Devil

Just recording this here for posterity; will hopefully be able to double back later in the day for interpretation. 

New Album From Lustmord

 

The first teaser for the upcoming Much Unseen Is Also Here, the new album from Lustmord, available on March 15. Pre-order from Pelagic Records HERE.

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Watch:

The other night, I fell asleep in my hotel room watching B.D. Clark's 1981 SciFi WTF Galaxy of Terror. Here's a trailer:

I'm not really sure how I feel about this one. First, great cast. Where else can you see Eddie Albert, Sid Haig, Grace Zabriskie and Erin Moran (Joanie from Joanie Loves Chachi) in a third-rate Alien knockoff. No disrespect - I'm sure everyone involved in this production knew what they were making when they filmed this. Still, this was a good time, even if the ending featured some pretty bad writing in the style of "Make it a bunch of indecipherable and abstract gobbledegook and people will think it's just too smart for them to understand."

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Read:

While at The Comic Bug two weeks ago, I flipped briefly through their back issue bins and found this:

I know NOTHING about Machine Man, even though this was put out in that magical comic book year 1984. This would have been when I was first dipping my toes into comics, and I know the cover layout for this era of Marvel Comics so well that it creates an instant nostalgia bomb in my heart. In this particular case, I just could not pass up this beautiful Barry Windsor-Smith cover. This is the perfect example of what I keep referring to as "Hobby Store SciFi," even without knowing the contents.

Reading this last night, I was shocked by a few elements of the book. First, one of the heavies is Arno Stark - the Iron Man of, ahem, 2020! That's right, this 1984 look into the future shows a lot of technological ideas that we can, now four years beyond the storytellers' mark, confirm never came to pass.

• Flying cars? Nope

• Cyborgs and tech-gangs? Not unless you count those Grinders who get magnets implanted in their skin

• Mega corporations that control the world... oh, well, I guess that one is pretty accurate.

A second shocker was Jocasta, the robot lady person I would know briefly from an Avengers annual published a few years after this book. This made me curious to look up just how much Machine Man has to do with the Marvel we've come to know in the years since this series. From what I found, the continuity here is designated as Earth-8410, and is not to be confused with Earth-616 Jocasta, who Ultron built as his, er, bride?

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Playlist:

Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos

Finom - Fantasize Your Ghost

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine

The Trapezoid - Reverb Nation Playlist

Black Rainbows - Superskull

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

Algiers - Shook

Turnstile - GLOW ON

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Card:

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

• Nine of Wands

• XVIII: The Moon

• IX: The Hermit

Nine of Wands relates to The Moon in Thoth, as the Sun and Moon factor into the Croweley/Harris visualization for the card as motivating elements of the "Strength" of the card. One Wand (arrows in Thoth) supported by eight; driving force. The Hermit here suggests I need to take a solitary day and put all my effort into something that's been occluded to me thus far. I happen to know exactly what that is.

New Dandy Warhols!!!

New Dandy Warhols, from the forthcoming album Rockmaker, out March 15th. Pre-order HERE.

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NCBD:

Jesus. My box is going to be full when I return to Clarksville and pick up my books from Rick's Comic City. Here's what is being added to it this week:

Ash! Evil Ash! 1990s and the far-future. This one has it all, true believers!

Still one of my favorite books to read each month. 

The Deviant is such a gnarly book. Really happy this is going longer than what I originally thought was a three-issue series. 

What's the Furthest Place From Here goes on hiatus after the next issue, so I'm a bit bummed. That said, I can't wait to see how the current arc ends and where that puts us in Boss and Rosenberg's world.

The High Evolutionary returns! I'm not sure how exactly this ties in with the "Fall of the House of X;" doesn't matter because, again, the High Evolutionary.

Cobra Commander. 'Nuff said. I find it interesting that the main characters of this short, lead-in series are apparently Destro, Zarana, CC himself and Mercer. Man, Kirkman's Energon Universe is really going out of its way to do something different with this long-running property. 

Man, could we get a High Evolutionary/Cobra Commander crossover at some point in the future? Probably not, but it's nice to dream.

Additionally for today, the final issue of Enfield Gang Massacre will be in my Chicago Pull at Amazing Fantasy, and I'll probably grab these other two from the Comic Bug while I'm in the South Bay next weekend:

I had incorrectly assumed issue five of Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips' The Enfield Gang Massacre was the final chapter. Nice to see I was wrong and we get one more. Can't wait to get this from Amazing Fantasy and finally read the series start to finish.

I'm still not putting ARAH on my pull list, but for the time being, I'm enjoying seeing where this series and these characters have been since I last checked in on them circa 1991.

I thought I'd give this new Hellblazer series a chance. 

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Watch:

 

In. Totally in.

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Playlist:

T. Rex - The Slider

Fugazi - Red Medicine

Fugazi - 13 Songs

Fever Ray - Radical Romantics

The Knife - Shaking the Habitual

Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar

Danzig With Myself - Rockmaker (pre-release singles)

Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches

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Card:

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

• Three of Swords 

• Four of Swords 

• Four of Pentacles

I continue to be fascinated by the frequency with which I draw Swords in this deck. I feel like these, coupled with the Four of Pentacles may point to my not using my intellect in regards to Earthly matters. Money? Possibly. 

New Music From Idles!!!

 

From the forthcoming record Tangk, out February 10th on Partisan Records. Pre-order HERE.

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Watch:

True Detective Night Country episode one aired this past Sunday. I have high hopes for this season; Writer/Director Issa López is helming all six episodes, and I have the utmost faith in her. Tigers Are Not Afraid definitely employs the kind of dark, magical realism that could really help TD hit the high notes Season One and Season Three do. 

That said, I do not have a lot of faith in what I can only imagine is the HBO/True Detective Editorial Bullpen, so to speak. Season Three really floored me until the resolution, which absolutely robs that season's story of its magic. I'm hoping they don't do the same thing with this new season; however, after watching the first episode, I'm also hoping they don't overdo the extra-sensory stuff. We'll see. My Horror Vision cohost, Missi, and I are doing a weekly recap; I'll update this later today when it's posted. 

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Playlist:

David Bowie - Low

Various - Lost Highway OST

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

The Damned - Evil Spirits

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Arab Strap - The Week Never Starts Around Here (Disk 2)

Arab Strap - The Red Thread

Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark

David Bowie - Buddha of Suburbia

Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos

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Card:

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

• Page of Cups

• Six of Cups

• I: The Magician

Emotional Earthly concerns reach a culmination through Will. That's a pretty crappy, surface-level reading, but it's all I have time for this morning. Working on-site is kicking my arse!!!