RIP Anthony Stewart Head

Friday's news that Anthony Stewart Head passed away really got me. Exactly one week after seeing Repo! The Genetic Opera on the big screen for the first time, this happens? That's some weird, Universe-shit. 

I wasn't the biggest Buffy fan, though the show eventually won me over for a time (seasons 2-5), largely thanks to this man. Then, Repo! and his recurring role as the Prime Minister on Little Britain really cemented my fandom, so much so that I hunted down a CD copy of his solo album (in collaboration with Buffy's composer George Sarah). Not entirely my thing, but the man has a wonderful voice, and I do enjoy its downbeat tempos and flourishes of Trip Hop here and there. 

Interestingly enough, my friend Justin just interviewed George Sarah on his Trailer Punk Podcast the other day. Check that episode out HERE. 

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Watch:

My friend Alex came in for a visit over the weekend, and he, K and I hit Regal for the one and only showing of Adam Carter Rehmeier's new film, Carolina Caroline, starring Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner. 

I knew nothing going in other than having seen the trailer once a few weeks ago. Also, Rehmeier's Dinner in America is one of my favorite watches from recent years. Carolina Caroline is a gut-wrenching example of the classic Doomed Love story. Essentially a modern take on Bonnie & Clyde, both Gallner's and Weaving's performances took my breath away. You know where this is going early on, but that doesn't keep it any less heartbreaking. Can't recommend this one enough. 

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Playlist:

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Nell' ora blu

Darren Smith & Terrance Zhunich - Repo! The Genetic Opera OST

Anthony Stewart Head & George Sarah - Music For Elevators

Revocation - New Gods, New Masters

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Dreamkid - Daggers

Boards of Canada - Inferno

The Reverend Horton Heat - Liquor in the Front

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay

Ennio Morricone - The Thing OST

Type O Negative - Dead Again

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

Hangman's Chair - Saddiction

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Card:

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

• 09: The Hermit

• 06: The Lovers

• King of Cups

I remain overly isolated in my thoughts and designs; I need to let others in more. It will deflect misunderstanding down the road. 

Ready or Not, Rip The God

 

Last week, another song from the Melvins/Napalm Death collaboration album, Savage Imperial Death March, dropped and it's another doozy. There's still time to order the album, which is out April 10th on Ipecac Records, HERE. Technically, this is a reissue, as this one was originally released last year on Amphetamine Reptile and sold out in seconds. But those AMREP releases don't get digital distro, so, if like me, you weren't one of the lucky ones who acquired a copy in those few moments before the record sold out, this is the first chance we've had to hear this stuff and it's awesome!

Can't wait for this full album!

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Watch:

Last night, K and I hit the local theatre for Radio Silence's Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. I have to say, as usual with RS, I was subjected to this trailer ad nauseam leading up to this film's release; however, it did not ruin anything about the film. This has been true of pretty much every RS film, so that's a rare bird, indeed. Here's one of those trailers.

I will say, at first, the idea that Samantha Weaving's character survives the first film only to go directly back into the exact same scenario seemed like a bit of a, "Dad, your hands in the toaster! Dad - You're hands in the toaster again!" idea, but as usual, the trailer tells you only a fraction of what you think it does. Also, HUGE props for putting Kathryn Newton in the mix as Faith's sister is a much-welcome move and their chemistry - it just works SO WELL!

We did a Horror Vision episode on the flick right after the viewing, and one thing Ray brought up that I hadn't thought of - it's been a minute since we had that Samara Weaving savage scream in a flick. The last Horror film she did was 2024's Azrael, and she didn't speak in that. Impressive, for sure, for an actress with such a fantastic grasp of dialogue (The Babysitter, anyone?). But it was great to hear that soul-searing Samara scream again tonight. 

Is Ready or Not 2 as good as the original film? Maybe not, but it's close, and this one has a third act that goes bigger in the best possible way. Do yourself a favor and see this on the big screen. 

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Playlist:

The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop OST

Drug Church - Prude

Motörhead - 1916

Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Atticus Derrikson - Black Phone 2 OST

Dreamkid - Daggers

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
Sinoa Caves - Beyond the Black Rainbow OST

High on Fire - Luminiferous

High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense

High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves

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Card:

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

• Prince of Swords

• Prince of Cups

• 8 of Swords: Interference

Lots of big ideas, but something's getting in the way.

Isolation: Day 116 - Transmissions After Zero

Over the weekend, I finally got a chance to check out the Brainiac Doc that's now streaming on Prime. Transmissions After Zero is a fantastic slice of Midwest, indie rock history. I'll never forget the day Mr. Brown first played me Brainiac's Bonsai Superstar. The vocals reminded me of a cross between Marilyn Manson and Adam Sandler's Excited Southerner character (NOTE: This was before Sandler had become an affront to good taste). The music too, especially the guitars, hit the sweet spot between melodic and completely angular and dissonant.



I love all Brainiac's records, and the death of Mr. Taylor was one of the most tragic moments of 90s music history. This doc 100% does both Taylor and the band's legacy justice.

**

Another flick I watched over this past weekend is Jason Lei Howden's Guns Akimbo. Howden has already earned a place in heaven for his 2015 Heavy Metal possession flick Deathgasm, and now this? Akimbo is freakin' nuts; the absolute heir to the Crank series' throne for meth-level madness. Samara Weaving can do no wrong in my eyes at the moment, and Radcliffe gives a great performance as Miles whose punishment for being a worthless internet troll is to have two guns bolted through his palms and made to play in an underground death match internet series. Sound insane? It is:



**

Playlist:

Lustmord - Hobart
Battle Tapes - Sweatshop Boys EP
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Zombi - Shape Shift
Brainiac - Smack Bunny Baby
Van Halen - Eponymous
Brainiac - Bonsai Superstar
Brainiac - Hissing Prigs in Static Courture

**

Card:

Everything needs time and consideration. This dovetails nicely with my early morning realization that the short story I've been wrestling with off and on for over a year now, isn't working out the way I want it to because I've been trying to shoehorn a 10K words at least into under 6K. Accepting this and re-approaching it from that perspective, things may turn out better.