Isolation: Day 171 - Mike Doughty returns with Ghost of Vroom

 Not sure anything could have made me happier than finding out that Mike Doughty has a new project named Ghost of Vroom. Doughty's solo career is great, but I've kind of always had trouble getting past the dissolution of Soul Coughing, a band I would count as one of the most influential bands of my young adult era. Being that Ghost of Vroom feels more like it's in that particular wheelhouse, I bonded with Rona Pollona pretty much immediately. Also, what a great concept for a music video!

The EP, Ghost of Vroom 2, drops on mod y vi records this month, and was produced by Mario Caldato, Jr., better known as former Beastie Boys DJ/Producer Mario C.!

You can pre-order Ghost of Vroom HERE.

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Watch: 

Finally got to watch Frank Sabatella's The Shed. I really dug this one. It seemed like a love letter to Fright Night, without directly taking anything from it. Can't wait to see what Mr. Sabatella does next!

I just posted the trailer for this one a few days back, so instead, here's an awesome poster! The Shed is steaming on Shudder right now, go check it out!

Have to say, recently, there's been more than a few stories - movies, comics, books - that have made serious inroads in updating the zombie mythos, which is exactly what The Shed does for vampires, simply by going full-in on the classic Vamp lore. Nothing new here, except a new approach to handling the old bloodsucker tropes. Maybe others will follow suit?

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Playlist: 

Anioma - Necropolis

Faith No More - Angel Dust

The Clash - Combat Rock

Ghost of Vroom - Rona Pollona (pre-release single)

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Card: 

A bold infusion of creativity today. Hopefully.
 

Isolation: Day 170

Another song from the forthcoming first solo album from former Dillinger Escape Plan/current Black Queen frontman Greg Puciato. Child Soldier: Creator of God is out October 23rd, you can pre-order it HERE.

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Watch: 

Saturday night, K and I checked off a box and watched Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland. Man, I remembered this one being way better than it is. While it's hard to fault any slasher that uses a garbage truck for its first kill, Teenage Wasteland is mildly entertaining, but essentially little more than a perfunctory set-up to deliver a series of mostly uninspired kills. 

Yeah, it kinda all goes downhill after the garbage truck.

Friday, we did John Wick 3, and I continue to be amazed at how much I like these movies. The location scouting is unbelievable, and everything in the series, from the costumes, to the lighting, to the choreography, only helps establish a very unique and opulent atmosphere for unparralleled levels of violence to unfold within. Hell, not even Halle Berry - who is almost always a "No" for me, did a fairly good job.

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Playlist: 

X - Los Angeles

The Clash - London Calling

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

The Babies - Eponymous

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

Boy Harsher - Careful

Brand New - God and the Devil are Raging Inside Me

Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

X - Wild Gift

Windhand -  Grief's Infernal Flower

Ainoma - Manhunter

Ainoma - Necropolis

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Card: 

Referencing the importance of maintaining a clear head, especially when confronted with or analyzing former setbacks. This is a huge nod toward my thought process this morning in the car, where I kind of went over a previous project I'd let wane due to a reluctance on my part to bond with what I and a collaborator had come up with for an entry point to the story. Tossing that key point aside, respectfully, I think I have a much better idea. I just need to be careful how I explain that to the collaborator.
 

Isolation: Day 167

I have been in such an X mood for the last few weeks! Here's a favorite from their 1980 debut Los Angeles, surely the greatest album to reference my adopted hometown, out of probably a thousand songs that reference it. I need to dig back into Alphabetland soon, this year's all-original line-up X record, their first in some time.

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Watch:

I'm working the weekend this week, so today is my day off! Other than writing, I'm hoping to squeeze in Frank Sabatella's The Shed, which just hit Shudder yesterday. I've heard good things about this one, and I feel like Shudder has been on a bit of a roll with new movies, so my hopes are high. Also, it's an RJLE release, and I don't think I've seen them release a bad flick yet. Here's the trailer:

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Playlist:

Alice in Chains - Facelift

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

Santogold - Eponymous

Cults - Host (pre-release singles)

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine - We Created Putin (pre-release single)

Godflesh - Streetcleaner

Boy Harsher - Careful

Boy Harsher - Country Girl Uncut

Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers and Queers

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

Public Image Limited - This is What You Want... This is What You Get

Oh Baby - The Art of Sleeping

The Clash - London Calling

The Clash - Combat Rock

Windhand - Eternal Return

Jaye Jayle - Prisyn

X - Los Angeles

Black Breath - Heavy Breathing

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

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Card:

The Tens are always rooted in the most physical senses. Malkuth, the world. For the Ten of Swords in particular, where the hilts of the Swords are arranged to represent the Qabalahistic Sephiroth and the blades converge on and shatter the Six - Tipareth or the Sun - the idea is if you fight long enough, the only outcome is destruction. This is an important reminder for me at the moment; my Beta Reader has Murder Virus, and I've encountered a situation where I need to do some more work on it to smooth out a considerable bump in the road. There's two paths I can take - one where I do a lot of work, and write and re-write several chapters, and one where simply re-ordering certain parts might do the trick. According to the Ten of Swords, the latter may be the better way.