Showing posts with label Ray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ray. Show all posts

Thursday, February 13, 2025

D'Nell - I've Read About it

 

I have not thought about D'Nell or their 2005 Trip Hop/Soul Masterpiece 1st Magic in probably a decade. I ask myself, how is that possible? The moment I thought of it, out of the clear blue sky Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I sought it out, only to find it absent from Apple Music. It's apparently on Spotify, but I only sub to that around October to have access to my four-hour Halloween playlist, so instead, I had to resort to listening to it on youtube.

I hate doing that. I mean, FUCK ads, right? 

Anyway, I'm sure the old burned disc I had is on one of the spindles of burned discs I've hung onto since the '00s. Will it still play? Doesn't matter, because I tracked down a vinyl copy of 1st Magic on Discogs and bought it. Shipping from Germany included, and it came to less than I've paid for some new, domestic records. I cannot wait to get this on my turntable! I know so little about D'Nell - my good friend Ray turned me onto them back circa 2006 or 2007, and it soundtracked the next five or so years of my life pretty heavily. Then... it just fell off my radar. I can't explain the size of the smile on my face listening to this last night and again first thing this morning. 

Such an amazing record.
 


Watch:

I'm too exhausted to explain what I know about Backrooms - I don't know so much more than I do - but after my friends Maddy and Kenta introduced me to this and Kane Pixels, in general, this time last year, I haven't thought that much about it. 

Until now.


That book I'm currently reading? Coup de Grace? Really reminds me of this, so I've been thinking about it again. I need to carve out some time to sit down, smoke up, and just try and watch as much of this as I can. Also, there is some definite second-generation Hauntology going on in these. Analog ghost worlds, baby. Analog Ghost Worlds...




Playlist:

D'Nell - 1st Magic
United Future Organization - 3rd Perspective
Secret Chiefs 2 Traditionalists - La Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomimi
Calexico - More Cowboys In Sweden (Live)
Me and That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1
Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer




Thursday, October 10, 2024

Dreamkid - Chrissy

 

Back in 2022 my good friend and co-host on The Horror Vision Ray turned me on to Dreamkid's eponymous album. I liked it, but this guy doubles down on the '80s stuff a couple years after a lot of other people already resurrected that vibe and ran it into the ground, so while I dug the record to a degree, there remained a distance with it for me. I listened to it off and on for a while, then forgot about it. 

I Went to see Terrifier 3 this evening. Sold out show. Every seat taken. As I walked up to the ticket taker, there was a man dressed as Art - no mask - and his daughter dressed as the child demon from part 2 waiting to have their tickets scanned. They looked awesome! I mean, I don't know if I should be watching these, let alone a girl who probably wasn't more than 8 years old, but it is what it is and we like what we like. It's not that much different than the shit we watched at that age. 

Except... maybe it is. The practical FX here are out of this world, but the cruel depravity of these flicks gives me a bit of pause, even if I've really enjoyed seeing these last two on the big screen. In the theatre, Terrifier 2 and 3 have been some of the most immersive films I've seen in ages. There's the gore, but there's also some incredible sound design. It's as good as the practical FX, in my opinion. Plus, the colors, locations, clothes, props, and music. Paul Wiley's score is fantastic. Sick and dreamy. It all works together to make a super fun watch - even if it also kind of skeeves me out.

Dreamkid's "Chrissy" is sort of the theme of T3, and it sounded amazing on the big screen. Still not super sold on the overall sound - it's good, just a bit tough to get past the affectations for someone who grew up in that era. But again, we like what we like and I'm psyched he got his stuff in such a huge movie.




31 Days of Halloween:

Well, I pretty much said everything I wanted to about last night's viewing up above, so let's just log the list and move on.


1) The Killing of a Sacred Deer
2) The Houses October Built (2011)/Texas Chainsaw Massacre (50th-anniversary theatrical screening)
3) Loop Track
4) It's What's Inside/LONGLEGS
5) The Babysitter/Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
6) The Hitcher/Lost Highway
7) GDT's Cabinet of Curiosities: Graveyard Rats
8) V/H/S Beyond
9) Killer Klowns from Outer Space
10) Terrifier 3




NCBD:

Man, I've been so hyped on 31 Days of Halloween that I forgot to post my comic pull yesterday. Better late than never. 


I forgot to put this one on my pull last month, so I had to have the guys order me a copy. That's fixed now; I Love these books that Lemire writes and illustrates; they have their own style and it's unlike any other. 


After the tease at the end of the last issue, I was just here for Cobra Commander (well, I was here because I read the first four issues). I was not disappointed. 


Another super solid triptych of Black Suit-era Spider-Man stories. Love it, and the editorial staff really seem to know how to choose artists whose style works super well with the color format. 
Netho Diaz, in particular, blew me away.


New arc and it's Starscream's origin? His real name is what now? This was a super cool issue. Lots of early Cybertron stuff AND a HISS tank? Oh man, we're starting to really cross the streams now...




Playlist:

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Suspended in Dusk Edition)
The Final Cut - Consumed
Saigon Blue Rain - Oko
Skinny Puppy - Too Dark Park
Baroness - Stone
The Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us
The Cramps - A Date with Elvis
Orville Peck - Pony
Various - Lost Highway OST
Boy Harsher - Careful
Dreamkid - Chrissy (single)
Dreamkid - Daggers
Dance with the Dead - Neon Cross (single)
Dance with the Dead - The Shape
The Veils - The Ladder (pre-release single)




Card:

Today's card is XIX - The Sun:


This is what I love about Aleister Crowley. From The Book of Thoth:

"This is one of the simplest of the cards; it represents Heru-ra-ha, the Lord of the New Aeon, in his manifestation to the race of men as the Sun spiritual, moral, and physical."

Simplest? Oh, of course! Heru-ra-ha. Yeah. Easy.

This is a card of epiphany. Rejoice! The answers you seek have arrived. Of course, that can also bring with it unwanted knowledge. So the dance we see is one of balance, a theme much more common in the cards than I previously realized. 

Saturday, March 18, 2023

The Rain Song


My good friend NY John at work is always a bastion of interesting Rock'n Roll info and anecdotes. I miss talking to him on a daily basis, when he'd drop by my department at work to vent about corporate moronity and we'd eventually segue into talking about the Stones, Talking Heads, Television, etc. While in the office the other day, he told me to cue up Led Zeppelin's The Rain Song, and upon the intonation of that first, iconic note, he related that he'd read an interview with Jimmy Page where he said he took the chord from The Beatles (I'll let you determine which song). Anyway, hearing just that one chord made me want to hear the entire song, and hearing the entire song, I had to spin House of the Holy and Physical Graffiti in their entirety. I feel a Zeppelin jag coming on. Been a while, and I'm pretty eager to sink into it. Being that I bonded with the band's music at a pretty young, formative age, I feel as though those times when I'm under their spell, my brain works differently. It'll be nice to feel that old familiar "Led Zeppelin" brain again. Also, this is probably my favorite song by the band (although on any given day I might give you an entirely different answer. Fitting, this track, as it's been raining in LaLaLand more consistently than I'd seen in some years when I lived here. 




Watch:

Monday and Tuesday of last week I was able to sneak in a couple of really cool LA theatre jaunts. When in Rome, right? First, courtesy of the always amazing Cinematic Void, my Horror Vision cohost Ray and I saw a pretty damn nice 35 mm print of Popcorn at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre:


This was fantastic, especially since A) Ray gifted me a Popcorn t-shirt and, B) I got to see Cinematic Void guru Jim Branscome interview Popcorn's star Jill Schoelen after the film.

Then last night, Ray and I got to attend Pi Day, 25th anniversary of Darren Aronofsky's landmark debut film Pi. Even better, before the film, Aronofsky, Star Sean Gullette, Producer Eric Watson, Cinematographer Matthew Libatique, Composer Clint Mansell and actor Stanley Herman (subway singer) spoke about the film at length. Talk about inspiring. 


I haven't watched this one in a while despite the fact that I carry a very tangible love for it with me on an almost day-to-day basis. It's been at least 15 years since I last watched Pi, and I found I remembered it pretty much verbatim. Also, hearing Mansell's score now, I realize it was that which pushed me into really exploring electronic music back in the day. Everything about this one is iconic. 




Playlist:


Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Damone - From the Attic
Danko Jones - We Sweat Blood
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
The Police - Outlandos d'Amour
The Police - Regatta de Blanc
Thus Love - Memorial
Soul Coughing - El Oso
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy and the Lash
House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
Le Butcherettes - A Raw Youth
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Screaming Females - Desire Pathway
Spotlights - Seance EP

Friday, September 25, 2020

The Horror Vision: Quick Spoiler-Free Review of Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor

It's 3:33 AM and I'm exhausted. I've been up since 5:18 AM - woke up late on purpose knowing full well I'd be up well beyond what I am normally capable of on a work night, regardless of the fact that I am off tomorrow. After work, my good friend Ray and I went to the opening night of Beyondfest 2020. Not really opening night, as the rest of the fest doesn't start until 10/02, but still, the crazy MF's that run the fest brought out the big guns for the West Coast Premiere of Brandon Cronenberg's new film Possessor. This was one of if not my most anticipated film this year, and it did not disappoint. This is also only the second time I have hung out in person with a friend since March (last weekend K and I went out to finally see our other Horror Vision host Anthony, his girlfriend, and their new baby), so it was very much a 'win-win.'

Beyondfest is calling this year's festival the "Fuck COVID Edition" and in keeping with that, they obviously were not going to be able to have it at the Egyptian as usual and observe social distancing, so instead, the fest this year is being held at the Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre. What a great place! Granted, it's 50+ miles from our home, but Ray drove and we made the trip in roughly an hour and twenty (considerably less on the way back), and a fantastic time was had by all. Above is our ten-minute, spoiler-free review on youtube. You can also hear it - and all our other episodes - on any Podcast Platform, including Spotify which, if you look in the upper right-hand corner of this blog, you will see a widget for that will take you directly to the review. 

What we don't discuss on this quick-take episode, but Ray and I both plan to bring up on the next full-length Horror Vision is that tonight's show was a double feature, and the second movie was an old John Frankenheimer film starring Rock Hudson from 1966 called Seconds. This was also fantastic, so here's the trailer:


Okay, I've still got a new Deftones record to try and get through before I go to bed... Nope. I'll save that for tomorrow.