Tension Breaker, Had to be Done!!!

After watching Carl Reiner's 1987 Summer School last night for the first time in a long time, I woke up this morning with the desire to throw on Iron Maiden's seminal Live After Death. There may be no band/album that evokes the 80s for me more than this one. 

I used to think characters like this - although not specifically these two, because they were almost role models to me when I saw this film back around the time it would have first hit VHS or TV, circa 1988-1989; I would have been between 11 and 13 - were nothing more than adult creators not understanding youth culture and thus embarrassing themselves in their approximation. I still think that's the case in some 80s flicks (and beyond, but it was way more noticeable to me as a burgeoning teenager in the 80s), but not all. Chainsaw and Dave are great examples of hyperbole, and man, do they still resonate, especially as an adult obsessed with Horror flicks!

Also of note, and which I would not have been aware of during any other viewing, is foreign exchange student Anna played by Fabiana Udenio from Bride of Reanimator and Shawnee Smith, from the awesome Blob remake just a year later and, eventually, Saw franchise fame. 

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Watch:

While scrolling on Shudder last night, I realized Robert Fuest's 1970 And Soon the Darkness hit the streamer at some point in the last month or so. I knew nothing about this one, other than having heard it covered on Colors of the Dark podcast, and boy was a delighted with the experience this film offers.

I have a spoiler-free review up on Letterbxd HERE, but if you haven't the time/gumption to indulge me on that, let me just say now that the restoration on this one is outstanding. Truly a gorgeous and loving attention to detail in bringing a film from 1969 to 2023 audiences.

 

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Playlist:

Unto Others - Mana

Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual

Iron Maiden - Live After Death

Damone - From the Attic

Screaming Females - Desire Pathway

Cristobal Tapia de Veer - Smile OST

Fear - I Am A Doctor (single, Live for the Record)

        

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Card:

My two-week stint in LA with only my mini Thoth has stoked a taste for this deck once more, so I decided to Pull from my regular Thoth Deck for this Monday morning:

Princess - or what I'm learning to also read as "Page" - of Swords. Going to be an uphill struggle today, huh? I believe it, as I sleep an amazing 9.25 hours from Saturday into Sunday, and a paltry 3 hours and 7 minutes last night.  

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RIP Prince - Six Years Gone

 

From 1987's Sign O' The Times, probably my second favorite album by Prince, who died six years ago today.

Something about this album, and this song in particular, really conjures all of the tones and textures, smells and sensual impressions of 1987 to me (it's not exactly readable as 1987 in my head, but when I figure where I was in my life, the specific things I remember about my parents' home at the time, I know it's 1987-1988). There's an underlying tone or ambiance to this track that feels very specific to that time, even though I do not believe I ever heard this song at that time.

This isn't unparalleled. The recording technology of the time - the sonic signatures of microphones, whether you're aware of them or not - definitely inform the era. Also, the keyboard patches, the drum sounds, all of it adds up to a certain era in the recording industry. That's not magick, and it's not B.S. It's fact. I'm assuming that has a lot to do with why this song impacts my memory so drastically. But it makes this album particularly important to me now, so many years later. It's like a time machine, because I can literally smell my parents living room - where I snuck up to watch Friday Night Videos - when I hear this song. 

Weird. But cool. Very cool. Thank you, Prince. Whether you realized it or not, you instigated time travel. 

 

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Watch:

 

I had no intention of watching this flick until I did. It is fantastic, and probably directly responsible for my purchasing tickets to see Anthrax in late July (if I still live here). Mr. Brown and I saw Anthrax - with opener White Zombie - in 1993 at Chicago's Aragon Brawlroom for the Sound of White Noise tour. This means I've never seen Anthrax with original singer Joey Belladonna. 

To say I am excited would be an understatement. It's not going to keep me from moving, but if I am still here - because I'm thinking even if we find something in Tennessee in June, closing will dictate we're still in LaLaLand by the time of this show - I can't wait. At the freakin' Palladium, no less. 

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Playlist:

Various Artists - Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Midlake - The Courage of Others

Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther

Led Zeppelin - Coda

Peter Gabriel - So

Prince - Sign O' The Times

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

Wolves in the Throneroom - Two Hunters

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Card:

A little concerned that, along with yesterday's draw, there seems to be some sort of conflict on the horizon. 

Me and That Man - Surrender

I'll just go on record now as saying, after having another go at Nergal's other band Behemoth, I'm all for him letting that fade and focusing on Me and That Man. This new video is a step up even from their last, and that's not easy to say. You can pre-order the new album, which is out March 27th on Napalm Records, HERE.


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Suffering from some fairly tumultuous back pain over this past weekend, I ended up seeing quite a few movies. On Saturday, K and I took in an early showing of Underwater. I can't stress enough how pleasantly surprised I was by this flick; in fact, based on where it goes, and how grandiose things get, Underwater will almost certainly be on my Top Ten Favorite Horror Flicks of 2020. I know, I know, I just posted 2019's list, but it's never too soon to start thinking about the next year's totals, and when a movie makes this big of an impression, well, let's just say it's a safe bet my love will only deepen.



I put up a six-and-a-half minute "Why you should go see this" review/reaction on The Horror Vision. The first 5 minutes or so of this quick review are spoiler free, then, in case you need more convincing, I literally sound an alarm and go into HUGE spoilers. This movie is fantastic, and apparently it's bombing, so I really want to try and raise awareness and get some like-minded folks out into the theatre to see it. You won't regret it!



**

Playlist:

David Bowie - Black Star
Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley
Ennio Morricone - Vergogna schifosi
Ennio Morricone - Scusi Facciamo L'amore
Cavern of Anti-Matter - Hormone Lemonade
Cherrelle - High Priority
Chris Connelly - Sleeping Partner
Night Shop - In the Beak
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
David Bowie - Heathen
The Rolling Stones - Some Girls
Blood Red Shoes - Get Tragic
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Adam Kesher  - Local Girl (Hatchmatix Remix)
Battle Tapes - Sweatshop Boys EP
Battle Tapes - Form EP
Bells Into Machines - Eponymous
Tomahawk - Mit Gas
David Bowie - Low
Damage Manual - Special Edition
Steve Moore - The Mind's Eye OST



Card(s):

Struggling with distraction, frustration, and apathy, there's a breakthrough on the way!

2018: December 26th

This will be the only time and the only trailer for Jordan Peele's upcoming film Us that I watch. I do not want to know a single thing more about this film before I sit down to watch it in a theatre in March. But boy is it a doozy. Can NOT wait for this one; Peele had proven himself to be a major voice in establishing a beachhead of viability for horror with major studio budgets again. Also, watching this trailer and being genuinely chilled at several moments therein, the idea that Peele is Producing a new Candyman movie makes me extremely excited.

Playlist from 12/25:

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Christmas Music of all varieties (kinda need it to stop)
Henry Mancini and His Orchestra - Charade OST
The Police - Synchronicity
Talking Heads - Remain in Light

Card for today:

The Earthly aspect of Air. Let's read that initially as keep your head out of the clouds and down to Earth, or translated into Writerly Advice, stop f&^king talking about it and do it. There's also an element of destructive logic, which fits my overthinking the ending of this book. I've become gun-shy, and the next four days needs to undo that so I have a completed manuscript - in need of a hardcore edit, mind you - by NYE.

2018: December 20th

I've never been a very big MC5 fan. I've always labored under the idea that the right time/place just never hit me with them, despite several of my best friends being huge fans well back into the 90s. Mr. Brown saw them live recently, and alerted me to the fact that the new band is, for me, something I simply can NOT ignore. Original guitarist Wayne Kramer is joined on this current tour by:

Billy Gould - Faith No More
Kim Thayil - Soundgarden
Brandon Canty - Fugazi
And one of the best live vocalists I've ever seen, still to this day probably fifteen years after last time seeing him with one of my favorite bands, from Zen Guerrilla, Marcus Durant. I missed the show in LaLaLand, and I'll have to live with that, but thanks to KEXP and their wonderful Live on KEXP series, I at least have this.

Tangent: REJOICE - Heaven is an Incubator has released his albums of the year; read all about them HERE. Mine's coming eventually...

I really intended on posting the new Hellboy trailer that dropped yesterday. I love the two Hellboy flicks GDT did, especially Hellboy: The Golden Army, which I always thought felt like the first movie if someone gave it a Mandy-sized dose of LSD. I was sad to see that run of Hellboy end, but with Harbour as the red-skinned pulp hero, Ian McShane as Bruttenholm, and Neil "Dog Soldiers" Marshall directing, I'm all in. Even though I HATE the first trailer. After having a momentary panic, I did some digging and my encroaching suspicion seems to be confirmed: this trailer was edited in a slightly dishonest way, so as to push a bunch of humor to the front and give the film a more "Guardians of the Galaxy" type vibe. This of course makes perfect marketing sense marketing wise, so I'm willing to forgive that, especially when a Deadline interview with creator Mike Mignola includes this quote: "Neil is a horror director so the idea then was to make a darker film." Read the full interview HERE. Yeah, the interview is three months old, but I feel like Mignola's words are more poignant now that we have a trailer that, hopefully, is at least a touch misleading.

Playlist from 12/19:

Cash Money (Audio) - The Green Bullet
Kevin Morby - Singing Saw
The Police - Synchronicity
Billie Ellish - Party Favor (Single)
Billie Ellish - When the Party's Over
Kavinsky - Night Call (Single)
Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No Crown
The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir
The Damage Manual - >1 Remix EP
The Damage Manual - Eponymous
NIN - Bad Witch

Card of the day:

The Earthy aspect of Air. My initial impetus is to translate this as herald of a possible external or internal conflict today, however in looking at the nifty little reference book that came with the beautiful mini Thoth deck my good friend Missi gifted me while I was in Chicago, I read this: "A young woman, stern and revengeful, with destructive logic, firm and aggressive, skilled in practical affairs," and I realize this is EXACTLY one of the characters I am writing in the book at the moment, one of the ones that brings everything around to the book's conclusion. Cassandra Tenorio is very skilled, motivated solely by vengeance, and maybe should act a little more like it. Gloves = off!

Thanks again Missi!

2018: May 20th - New Ghost!

Another new song surfaces. I started listening and then decided to wait until the album drops, wanted to post it here though for anyone else interested.

Playlist from 5/19:

Neon Kross - Darkness Falls
Deafheaven - Sunbather
Drab Majesty - Careless

Card for today:

Interesting juxtaposition, if you look at this card, one of the major visual components beside the Princess herself, is the churning, stormy sky, this can indicate anger, restlessness and negative trauma. I don't directly feel any of that, however I spent a few hours earlier today engrossed in reading Lords of Chaos; while doing so I listened to the audio from a thunderstorm on loop. The book and the storm burrowed their way into my brain; I fell asleep and woke up from a nightmare somewhat shaken. The dream involved a doctor who had an evil man locked up in some kind of photo-prison cell in her home. At some point she realized he had picked the lock and was free. The dream ended with the evil one on the hood of the doctor's car, with her driving into a fence on a kind of pier that ran to the ends of her property, the fence collapsed and the aggressor was thrown into whatever large body of water lay below, but there was the definite panicked intimation that he was not dead and she should hurry out of there.

I've a lot to say about Lords of Chaos, and more specifically Varg from Burzum. He talks in interviews of using Burzum's music to influence others, especially younger fans, to get them to take up his cause, which is a militaristic brand of nationalist medieval satanism. This is insanely removed from what we think of as satanism in the modern day - the goals this entire motley cast of characters continually extol are spreading 'fear and evil,' and they really mean it. It's deceptive; on one hand you can see skinny, somewhat awkward young people carving out an identity for themselves - one that they perceive will make others fear them. This is a counter balance to being 'misfits' and many of us do it, especially those who come up in metal. But here you can see extreme examples of the possible divergent paths, where most of the inner circle of the original Black Metal scene backdown from actually committing the follow-through on the atrocities they preach, and others go through it all the way, refusing to back down, transgressing into murder, arson and mayhem (pun intended). The book is an interesting journey into a pathos we children of the Heavy Metal 80s often dismiss, the idea that people can be influenced to do evil via music.