My obsession with the Arctic Monkey's 2013 album AM has been slowly growing over the last year or two. The radio at work - which I usually drown out with my headphones - bled lead single Do I Wanna Know? constantly from the time of its release until... well, I'm not sure when. In that time, when I would hear it I loved it, and I already loved the band's 2006 debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, but I'd lost track of the band after that and when I attempted to catch up, I can't say I took to Favorite Worst Nightmare or Humbug as much. Part of that may very well just have been me checking back in too late and finding they hadn't remade the first record - not that I would have consciously wanted that, but sometimes I hold exceptional albums against the rest of a band's career. At any rate, I grabbed A.M. two years ago or so and haven't let up since. The last few days though, it sealed the deal and it's been the record I most look forward to playing when I wake up. I don't always indulge that urge, but when I do, those 12 songs fill my blood with joy. Here's the one I woke up wanting to hear today:
No post yesterday in all my running around but I'm playing hooky today, my cousin and his wife are in and will be attending Drinking with Comics tonight, where one of the books I'll be talking about is most assuredly Ales Kot and Danijel Zezelj's Days of Hate, which I can't stop telling people about. 9 PM, streaming live on the Drinking with Comics' FB Page.
Playlist from Thursday, 4/26:
Afghan Whigs - In Spades
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Queens of the Stone Age - Villains
Dead Cross - Eponymous
Drab Majesty - The Demonstration
Afghan Whigs - Black Love
Card of the day:
More Hod; also, note the Hebrew letter Shin at the Child Horus' feet - in further Kabbahlistic terms, this connects the card to the Shin Path on the Tree of Life. Shin is the Left Hand Path, which is associated with imbalance, hence the stigma on 'The Left Hand Path', or dark magick. Can't say that totally hits home with me at the moment, but I've been known to express interest (see my Nameless annotations), so perhaps this is a warning to avoid the urge to explore these systems if the inclination recurs, which honestly, I guess since the move, it has - putting hands on my collection of odd and arcane books culled from various places and people over the years makes me want to open them again. Plus, Scrying keeps coming up again. That's not inherently bad, but it can lead to some bad things if you're not careful.
Still riding pretty high off that Windhand/Ruby the Hatchet show the other night. Still recovering a bit from it, too. Here's another Ruby song, straight from the show the other night (I love how at 18:23 the person filming shamelessly zooms in on Jillian Taylor's bum).
Yesterday's playlist:
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Ruby the Hatchet - Planetary Space Child
Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain
That last entry was a weird, off-the-cuff dalliance to see if a newer Ozzy album would be even remotely interesting. I'm not a huge fan of his solo stuff, but I grew up with it. Black Rain is produced well, the music isn't far outside of what you've come to expect from the Ozman, but the vocals are kinda meh. Not really a surprise. Funny how the night after I dine at the Rainbow Room - which was a staple of the 80s LA Sunset Strip Glam/Hair Metal scene, I listen to both Appetite for Destruction (for the first time in yeeeaarrss) and Ozzy.
Card of the day:
I drew this card early this morning to start my day. I don't feel very much in the way of stability or power though.
Windhand blew the fucking door off The Roxy last night. So did opener Ruby the Hatchet, who I strongly recommend you check out. Here's a taste:
These folks were straight out of the 70s - the keyboard player had a shirt for The Band on and the drummer had a Funkadelic Maggot Brain one. Awesome! All-around good time.
Ate before the show at the 'legendary' Rainbow Room; this is the place where Lemmy from Motorhead famously drank most nights, and as an interesting dovetail there was a scene in The Last Days of Jack Sparks that took place there, so it seemed fitting. The Rainbow Room isn't great - I've lived in LA twelve years next week and that's the first time I've gone, not in a hurry to return either. But, they had a pretty good burger, and they had Ballast Point's Sculpin on tap - I usually don't go for fruit flavors in my beer, and I'm not sure if BP adds the grapefruit flavor or if the profile comes from the way they roast their hops, which I believe is the case with one of the Goose Island IPAs, but Sculpin has to be about the most drinkable IPA ever. Switched it up to Lagunitas IPA for the show once we arrived at the Roxy - also my compatriot and I each took two gummies - 'cuz, ya know, it's Windhand - and I was feeling pretty amazing by the time the band came out.
Playlist from yesterday:
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Windhand - Eponymous E.P.
Windhand - their half of the split with Satan's Satyrs
Windhand - Soma
Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Should Hunger
The Veils - Total Depravity
Tonight! At long last, Windhand at the Roxy. I can NOT wait!
Dorthia Cottrell has one of those voices - it's one for the ages in my opinion. There's a haunted, cryptic quality that fits the music perfectly. And whether she's buried in reverb behind at wall of doom or upfront and exposed, it's the same.
Playlist from yesterday:
Etta James - Eponymous
Etta James - The Second Time Around
The Fixx - Phantoms
The Cramps - RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealand
Roy Orbison - Greatest Hits
The Soft Moon - Eponymous
The Thirsty Crows - E.P.
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Mind Control
The Veils - Total Depravity
Card of the day:
Ebb and Flow. From the Grimoire: "If we struggle against the seasons, we will fall. However, when you turn (change) with the ebb and flow, you will reach a stationary peace from which your actions can harmonize with the power of Life's turning wheel."
I take this as, "Stay Limber today, kid," so let me start with some stretches before I head off into the day.
Still no dice on the damn Sleep vinyl. I'll give in tonight after work and listen to it on Apple Music. You can't win 'em all!
Listening to the Cramps live in Auckland, New Zealand. This vinyl is from Vengeance Records, a label started by The Cramps to release live and little-heard music on. The album in question, RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXXis atestament to the absolute grandiose insanity of this band in their heyday.
I finished reading The Last Days of Jack Sparks - I gave this one a solid 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. For a first novel, I'd say Jason Arnopp knocked it out of the park. Next up, a quick re-read of The Author Startup by Ray Brehm and then The Book of Joan.
Playlist from 4/21:
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish
Windhand - Soma
Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers and Queers
Savages - Silence Yourself
Cigarettes After Sex
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Card for the day:
Interesting that I continually see some of these cards pop up. This one is beginning to perplex me, so I consulted an outside source. I'm having trouble relating to its perpetual springtime rejuvenation energy whoo-ha, however I found an interpretation, categorized as creative energy that needs an outlet, and that seems to fit. Need to find the time to jump back on T12, which I've really only picked at the last two days.
Never did get around to that Sleep record yesterday. I'm headed to Long Beach later today after I get off work, so I may just wait and try and pick up the vinyl then. I'm really saving that first listen for ideal conditions, i.e. smoke and vinyl.
It was announced recently that Oz/Osgood Perkins, director of The BlackCoat's Daughter and I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and son of Anthony Perkins, will be directing the film adaptation of Paul Tremblay's brilliant novel A Headfull of Ghosts. I can't wait, and it made me want to go back and re-watch The Blackcoat's Daughter, which I loved despite an interruption in the middle of my initial viewing last year. Here's the trailer in case you haven't seen it:
Not much of a playlist yesterday:
Metallica - Garage Days Re-revisited
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Card of the day:
Again! I think this is pointing to the fairly lackluster first day on the Keller project, henceforth abbreviated here as T12.
Well, my intention was to wake up on my day off, go get my oil changed and then hit Fingerprints Record Store in Long Beach to procure a copy of Sleep's brand spanking new album - the first in how long? 20 YEARS? - The Sciences. But after my mechanic Mike diagnosed my ride was in need of new brakes all around, that didn't happen. One Uber ride later I'm still waiting to be called to come and pick her up, not that it's a problem; the down-time has given me an opportunity to dig back into the project with Keller, which he passed back to me on the 5th and which I am only just now starting to work on. Because of all this, and I guess maybe because in a teensy way I feel like observing the 'holiday' this year simply because if Sleep waited to 4/20 to release it I should probably observe to enjoy, I've not dug into either my one hitter or the album, which despite lack of vinyl is very much available on Apple Music. Not to fear; there's some good, quality lounge time coming up later today, and I'll be using it to check up on what All, Matt, and Jason have crafted for us this time. Here's a song whose title I absolutely love, even if I haven't heard it yet. The way these boys work pot references into Science Fiction environments is amazing, not cheesy at all, the way most popular music hands intoxication.
The new Drinking, Fighting, F*&king, and Crying went up HERE yesterday.
Playlist from 4/19:
Boy Harsher - Country Girl E.P.
Boy Harsher - Lesser Man E.P.
Deafheaven - Playlist
Drab Majesty - Careless
Metallica - Garage Days Re-revisited
Alice in Chains - Sap
Alice in Chains - Facelift
Card for the day:
Should I just assume this points to the futility to which I have attempted to save money recently? About to lay out about $600 for brakes and all I can think is I'm sure glad I bought those Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds tickets four days ago, because I wouldn't have bought them after this.
That new Deafheaven yesterday made my week! Also, the fact that tix go on sale Friday to see them in August - and Drab Majesty is opening!!! Couldn't be more ecstatic. Now I need to look into the other opener, Uniform, who I am totally unfamiliar with.
With the release of Honeycomb, I've finally got a good number of one-off tracks by the band to make a nice playlist from their split 7" material and E.P.'s. Looks like this:
From the Kettle Onto the Coil
Honeycomb
Punk Rock/Cody
And come to think of it, I may add their Demo E.P. from 2010 to that as well.
Playlist from yesterday:
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do
Windhand - Soma
Boy Harsher - Country Girl
Deafheaven - HoneyComb
Blur - Eponymous
Deafheaven - Playlist (see above)
Card for the day:
Again with this guy! Interesting. I'm heading into Hollywood tonight for a business meeting, let's see what kind of journey that takes me on (I know there are other interpretations, the journey just seems to always fit where I'm at - always moving).
Seeing Windhand this coming Monday at the Roxy. Psyched does not even begin to describe my anticipation.
Episode 6 of Dark sealed the deal; I can't tell any of these damn people apart half the time, but this show is gorgeous and I am deeply intrigued at just what the hell is going on. A friend at work just clued me in to the fact that there are some family trees online and I'm hoping that will help, because I love the show, but I keep getting extremely confused.
Playlist from 4/17:
Mudhoney - March & Fuzz (disc 2)
The Brains - Out in the Dark
The Jesus Lizard - Rash E.P.
The Stooges - Eponymous
The Soft Moon - Deeper
The Ocean - Aeolian
White Hex - Gold Nights
Card of the day:
Well, wouldn't you know. Two days in a row? Hmm... Perhaps I need to let something go? But what?
Wow. R. Lee Emery was bad, but at least he lived a full life. Harry Anderson? That sucks.
Like Cheers, Night Court is one of those iconic 80s sitcoms that is extremely nostalgic for me but also totally holds up, unlike a lot of the shows I spent too much of my youth glued to the tv for. And Harry Anderson was, obviously a huge part of that. Dead at 65 is too young.
On the other hand, THIS made me laugh out loud. Good luck sir.
Playlist from 4/16 (A lot of vinyl):
Boy Harsher - Country Girl
Japandroids - Celebration Rock
Soviet Soviet - Endless
Nirvana - Bleach
Mudhoney - March & Fuzz (disc 2)
Odonis Odonis - Post Plague
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Iwan Rebroff - Singt Weisen von Wodka und Wein
Card for the day:
From the Grimoire: "Baggage. The Princess tries to ascend but has a massive tiger wrapped around her neck, cloying to her shoulders. Being that she is the Earthy aspect of Will, this is the Lust of Immediate Earthly Result weighing down or interfering with her Will. Sepheriothic Correspondence is Malkuth (10; Earth)."
Funny to do Hod, Chokmah, and Malkuth in a two-day span that's an interesting looking path on the Tree of Life; you can't go directly from Hod to Chokman, an ascending route, without passing through Tipareth. You can, however, take a bullet straight from Hod to Malkuth.
I'm not fluent in the Paths; perhaps I need to spend some more time on them in the near future.
Took K to see one of her favorite singers, Emily Kinney, Saturday night at the Hotel Cafe. LOVE this venue. So far I've seen Barry Adamson there, Vintage Trouble, and now Miss Kinney, who - despite my ability to connect with her music lyrically - has to have one of the best female voices in the business sans the highly trained stuff, i.e. Opera. Her band was damn fantastic as well; her guitarist Adam Tressler opened the night with his own material and it was great. He apparently recently released an album where every song is about lesser known Presidents, and he played one track from that, '31', which was outstanding. Adam's material runs a wide gamut, but the cornerstone of it all is he is one awesome guitar player; most of the set was him playing alone with just his Fender and some pedals - which he did not overuse - and it was captivating. When Adam did slowly bring up more musicians near the end of the set, first adding keys, then bass and drums, then female vocals, the set culminated in a fantastic track reminiscent of late 70s Elton John and Traffic. I've yet to discern the name of that song while rooting around online for his music, however I did find this, and I really like it for multiple reasons, one of which is absolutely that it's inspired by Vonnegut:
I finally finished the Ligotti anthologies and moved on. What a difference it is reading something fluent and not quite so scholarly. Again, not that I didn't dig some of the Ligotti, or appreciate it in its entirety for its place in the evolution of Horror and Weird Fiction, but it's nice to jump back into something a little less self-important. Recently, my good friend Jesus gifted me a copy of a book I'd not heard of before, and although I've a couple on-deck that I'm chomping at the bit to get to (The Book of Joan and Experimental Film, to be exact, with soon-to-be-released Laird Barron and David Peak breathing down my neck), I picked up Jason Arnopp's The Last Days of Jack Sparks and simply could not put it down until I was about 200 pages into its 376 page length.
This book is great. It's not horror, but it has horror elements, and what's more, there have been several scenes thus far that are legitimately scary. Like, like over-your-shoulder-while-you're-reading-it-at- 3:00AM-on-the-couch scary. Which I LOVE, and which is quite rare even for the Horror genre.
Playlist from yesterday was virtually non-existent and let's not even start on Saturday - I guess until the move with K's Mom is done, Sunday remains a day I just cannot find the time to post (yeah, but I found time to read 200 pages of a novel, eh? Maybe there's something to this day of rest stuff, eh?).
Playlist from the past two days (kinda):
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Man or Astroman - Defcon 5...4...3...2...1
Windhand/Satan's Satyrs - Split
Twin Peaks Limited Event Series Soundtrack
Card for the day:
And Sunday's Card, which I drew in the morning but never had a chance to contextualize:
So... a lot of Cups. Heavy emotion? Not really. Indolence could point to the fact that I didn't post yesterday. It would be interesting if the same thing happens next Sunday, card and all, since I've been kind of flaking on Sunday posts. Other than that, there's not a lot of room for lethargy in my life (though I did call out from work today; still working though). 8's match up to Hod on the Tree of Life, and we know from Alan Moore's Promethea, which is essentially a Grimoire masquerading as a Comic Book (well, that's where I know it from; obviously the correspondences predate Mr. Moore) that Hod is the Sepheroth of Language, relating to Hermes, Intellect and Communication. Now, here it gets even more interesting - I called out today, so that's my indolence, but I did so because I couldn't sleep. After a couple of hours laying awake, I woke up and dug back into Jack Sparks - and came across something I'd never read, heard or thought of before. While locked in a mostly friendly philosophical debate, Combat Magician Sherilyn Chastain argues to Atheist Jack about Science being a closed door, as short-sighted a system of belief as religion. She invokes Robert Anton Wilson, which immediately makes me love her character even more, and his Multiple-Model Agnosticism. She also argues, to summarize it, that Modern Science is a generalization of the laws of Greek Grammar.
Huh?
I'm quoting directly from the book here, and there's no plagiarism or disrespect meant; I HIGHLY recommend Mr. Arnopp's novel.
"The entire Enlightenment project was about rediscovering stuff the ancient Greeks knew. And because it's coded so heavily on that Graeco-Roman knowledge, there's whole gaps of things they didn't have words for."
Holy Moly. Never thought of it like that before, but it's obvious, even if it takes a bit of a cognitive workout to fully work that into as large a context as modern science*. But so here we have my indolence leading me to an idea new to me that centers on Language. The 8 of Cups through and through.
Also, in the Cycle of Cups, the 8 is where emotion that in 7 Debauch has gone from positive to negative with hints of addiction, becomes altogether Broken. This is, of course, followed by The 9 of Cups - Happiness. Not sure how all of this equates to me, but it's been a while since I deep-dove into a pull, so this is more an exercise at this point.
The Knight of Cups is always interesting, the Fiery aspect of Water, so there's an energy from opposites. From the Grimoire:
"Threatened by emotional deluge, the answer is within reach (note the Knight on the card reaching for the crab of revelation). The deluge is not without its rewards. Act fast and be careful not to drown." Sephirothic Tree of Life association on this one is Chokman. Hod and Chokmah, eh?
Almost forgot - Ghost dropped this earlier today or yesterday. I haven't watched/heard it yet, so I'm gonna post it and watch for the first time right along any one discovering it here. Album is in pre-order HERE. It's title is Prequelle and the cover art is fantastic:
Haven't been to bed yet. Drove into Hollywood after work, met up with Keller and talked shop for a bit before heading to the Teragram Ballroom in DTLA for The Soft Moon.
They were incredible. Here's the thing though, opener Boy Harsher - who I'd not heard of before - left a massive impression as well, almost too massive for The Soft Moon to top. Now, that sounds ridiculous when I re-read it, and really I think the exaggerated impact has to do with the fact that I'd never heard Boy Harsher before and they really just blew me away.
In love with this band right now.
Playlist from yesterday:
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus Dig!
The Red Chord - Clients
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited
Public Image Ltd - First Issue
Boy Harsher - Yr Body is Nothing
Card for the day:
Definitely sated on experience after this weekend: the Nick Cave movie Thursday, Soft Moon/Boy Harsher last night and tonight (because it's Saturday, even though I haven't been to bed yet) is Emily Kinney at the Hotel Cafe. Gonna be ready to lay low for a bit until Windhand in two weeks.
