New Music From Arab Strap!

 As usual, huge thanks to Mr. Brown for sending me this, as I've had me 'ead in me arse for the last couple days, and did not see this drop. We're getting awfully close to that new album I'm totally fine with it 👍don't give a f*** anymore 👍 dropping May 10th on Rock Action Records. Pre-order link right HERE. 

Glad to have these guys back for another record; I mean, Aidan and Malcolm went into hiatus while W. was in office, so I kind of thought they might leave the fuckin' planet with what's currently happening. 

This has to be just about my favorite music video since some of the old Liars stuff. 

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Watch:

I had an Ivan Kavanagh double-feature last night. I started with his 2021 film Son:

And then moved on to 2014's The Canal:

I'd seen both of these films previously, but I was happy to go back and revisit them. Both are fantastic; unflinching would definitely be a word I'd use to describe Kavanagh's style. There's a visceral slap to Kavanagh's vision - it sounds a lot like the sound of wet flesh against brick. It's almost mean, but that interpretation is undercut by the lengths to which this filmmaker goes to show the fragile humanity of his protagonists. We see this with Rupert Evans' David in The Canal, and we see it perfected with Andi Matichak's Laura/Anna in Son. There are moments in Son that nearly bring me to tears and the visceral gore that follows later in the film kind of bounces off those soft, quieter moments. Mr. Kavanagh doesn't come across as wanting the terrible acts we witness on screen to befall his characters; instead, it feels as though he's trying to guide them out of the fire to safety.

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Playlist:

Rollins Band - The End of Silence

Run-DMC - Raising Hell

Slayer - Show No Mercy

Beck - The Information

Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me OST

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE. Also, Grimm recently launched a Kickstarter for his new deck, The FaeBound Tarot, which you can marvel at and acquire HERE.

• Ace of Swords

• XX: Judgement

• Knight of Swords

A breakthrough of Intellect - something I feel like I can totally use but is definitely eluding me while I wallow in some unwelcome self-doubt - leads to a rebirth of energy synthesized from the balance of Will and Creativity.

4-Lom Says to Zuckuss: "Sad But True, Mate"

 

I'm not a fan of the Black album. In fact, everything that came after that album makes me not want to be a fan of this band at all. However, I could never turn my back on those first four records by Metallica, especially Master of Puppets. However... The almighty algorithm saw fit to send 'Sad But True' my way Monday when an Alice in Chains record I was listening to on Apple Music ended and I didn't choose another one quick enough. I heard those opening chords and lingered. Then, before I knew it, I was into my second go-round with the song, actually physically restarting it after its conclusion. 

Dare I say it, but this is a good song. Nothing about 'Sad But True' is what I like about the music from this band that I like, but divorcing the song from its creators for a moment, I found there is almost a Doom vibe to this one. Also, there are some haunting elements in the choruses - not sure if those are keyboards or a guitar effect. Either way, I doubt I'll be jamming the whole record any time soon, but I've already added it to a playlist.

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Watch:

I finally got around to watching Ivan Kavanagh's Son on Monday night. Jesus, this one is a rough watch. A very good film, freaky as all hell, but also there's some pretty disturbing stuff just below the surface.

 

This won't be for everyone. There's an undercurrent of abuse - it's not front and center or showcased, but it's discussed as the motive for certain events in the film, and that lingers. That said, I'm pretty squeamish with anything like that, and although this stayed with me, I can't say it did so in an overtly, or in any kind of discomforting way. What the film did do right was be well made and quickly paced, as well as take those unpleasant ideas and weave them into a pretty compelling and effective Horror film.

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NCBD:

I feel like this cover says it all: This series is BIG.

Maybe it was binging the recent MOTU sequel series that primed for this, but I LOVE this cover. Total Skeletor.

This is the 1:15 variant for Ed Piskor's Red Room #3. I'll most likely not be able to get my hands on this particular variant, but it's awesome as all hell.

The end to an amazing series. Can't wait to reread the entire run, start to finish in a nice, tight burst. Talk about great characters!

Casey Jones! These "Best of" TMNT books have been among my favorite comics in years, and I kind of expect this one to go right up alongside the Raphael one from a few months back as the best of the bunch.

I'm not actually certain I will buy this one, but I just love the fact that these two bizarre ass characters have their own book. Five-year-old me would be ecstatic!

The throwaway panel of the High Evolutionary and the promise his presence brings is what has me coming back for issue 2, although I will say, rereading Grant Morrison's New X-Men has me feeling some major love for the corner of the Marvel Universe I wrote off due to 'strip mining' the characters a few years ago. Let's see where this book goes.

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Playlist:

Jerry Cantrell - Atone (pre-release single)

Alice in Chains - Eponymous

Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog

Not a lot of full album rotation today as I leaned into a new playlist for the upcoming second episode of the new Metal Podcast I'm doing with Anthony and Tori from The Horror Vision. We're recording the new episode this coming Saturday morning, so it should be up this coming Tuesday. The topic? Well, if the playlist doesn't make it obvious, it's Thrash Metal. 

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Card:

Reminding me to leave the old paradigms (and projects) behind in the face of reconciliation with previous collaborators. 

Genghis Tron - Pyrocene

The anticipation for Genghis Tron's new album is becoming palpable! It helps that none of these songs are anything I would have expected from this band, which is, of course, a good thing.

Out next week on Relapse Records, there's still time to pre-order HERE. 

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Watch:

This one popped onto my radar recently, and after realizing Son is directed by Ivan Kavanagh, who also did 2014's The Canal, I'm very much looking forward to it. Here's the trailer, which I myself am not watching, preferring instead to go in blind on this one:

 

Son is an easy $6.99 rental on Prime at the moment, so that might just happen this weekend. After the werewolf revenge flick I mentioned in yesterday's post, that is. 

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Playlist:

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

Godflesh - Pure

Suburban Living - Always Eyes 

Suburban Living - How to Be Human

Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper 

DJ Muggs the Black Goat - Dies Occidendum

Flogging Molly - Float

The Pogues - Red Roses For Me

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Card:

We'll skip the obvious allusion to drinking on the morning after a fairly subdued St. Paddy's and go for the archetypal:

 

From the grimoire: "An artist above all things. Intensely secret and dedicated to his craft."

I'll take the compliment.