The War For Reality

Thanks to Heaven is an Incubator for retweeting this and bringing such an eloquent, albeit chilling, crystallization of current events to light. My prediction: with all the Reality bending already in place, it will not matter whether trump is reelected (although let's not let that stop us from tossing him out the door); we're going to see an increasing escalation in violence from both sides and within the next ten years the 50 states as we know them will change. I'm not sure what that's going to look like exactly, but I (once again) point to Greg Rucka and Michael Lark's Lazarus or the USIDENT of Richard Kelley's Southland Tales as possible examples. "Oh, but that's just silly. Those are science fiction," you say? Friend, we're already living in Sci Fi land. When someone can stand up and say "Day" when it's clearly "Night" and a large part of the population will believe him despite the empirical evidence of their senses, I say all bets are off.

Isolation: Day 200

Musick:

 
Well, we pulled the bandage off last night and finished Halt and Catch Fire. Easily one of the best shows I've ever experienced, and it really reminded me a lot of Six Feet Under, which K has never seen. We're going to move that one up the list, however, now is the time to really double-down on The Boys. I watched Season One last year without her, so this year I've been slowly rewatching that with her in preparation for moving into Season Two. Can't wait, even if the pop culture saturation point with it is riding an annoying level of saturation.

Rewatching Six Feet Under scares me a little bit. I loved the show, however, by the end it had very much changed the way I looked at Death in a tangible way, and with it, how I look at life. Not necessarily bad, but from about halfway through the second to last season, the show really gets heavy, and I'm not sure I can take the emotional beating until at least after November (and maybe not then, depending on how things go).

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NCBD

There's a number of great things out today:

The Boys: Dear Becky Issue 5, just in time for my engagement with the show. This book was obviously brought into existence to coincide with and capitalize on the show, however, I'm fine with that. Ennis is telling a story and flexing his absurdity muscles, so it's about what I would have expected. I don't love it, but I didn't love the entire comic series either - only the first six issues and the last year's worth, with the Butcher mini-series, included in that. Those were the facets of the saga I thought were fantastic. The rest had its high points but was a little too much of Ennis trying to out Preacher Preacher, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

I love this book, however, after reading 1-5 in a straight shot last month, there are some serious hinks to the writing. Usually, art will not make up for that in my book. With Mercy, the problems don't outweigh the good, especially with this art. It's fantastic.

Really digging this series so far, and meaning no disrespect whatsoever to Jacob Philips or Chris Condon, it fills the hole left by Criminal's end quite nicely.
 

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Playlist:

Deftones - Ohms 

Dame Fortune - Am I a Warrior (single) 

Molchat Doma - Etahzi

Not a heavy music day yesterday, because over on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast, Mr. Ellis has begun reading his newest novel in a serialized fashion. He hasn't given a title, and it wasn't until this newest episode - the first hour or so of which is the reading (followed by a fantastic interview with Hollywood Legacy Executive Peter Bart) - that Ellis even quantified that that's what he's doing - serializing his new novel. The story is a purported memoir, though at this stage I'm fairly certain it's about as much of a memoir as Lunar Park is. That's fine - Lunar is my second favorite novel of all time, right behind Gatsby, and I find Ellis' ability to sync real life with narrative both riveting and powerful. 

The book has to do with something terrible that happened to a teenage Bret Ellis and his close friends 1981 in Los Angeles, and how those events line up with a serial killer dubbed "The Trawler" who stalked LA at the time. Ellis has said everyone's names have been changed, and even the killer's nome de plume is made-up, although was bandied about early on in this larger than life horror's earliest days of activities.

I'm fascinated, and can't wait for more. You can click over to Ellis' Patreon HERE to sign up and get the podcasts. Worth every dime (roughly $3 a month I believe for the silver tier, which is what I have).

 

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Card:

New ideas, new journeys afoot.

Isolation: Day 199

Musick:

I spent the previous two nights re-watching the 1986 Transformers Animated Movie. The first night, I had it on and, halfway through, K came in and sat down. I was tired, wasn't able to finish, and was totally stoked when, last night, she professed a desire to watch the entire thing with me. 

I didn't realize it as a kid, but one of the things about the Transformers cartoon that I still love to this day is just how much the creators borrow from Jack-Kirby once the movie was released. The continuity's jump from mostly Earth-bound events to a lot of deep space locations all have a distinctly "Kirby-esque" feel, and Unicron, well, an obvious loving homage to one of Kirby's greatest celestial creations, Galactus. Which leads me to ask the question that now occurs to me for the first time: Who would win in a fight, Unicron or Galactus?

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Play:

Confession: I spent too much $$$ on some toys recently. I have certain weak spots, and I've psychoanalyzed myself enough to know that because as I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money and I often couldn't have the figures or toys that I wanted, I've been more than willing to buy some of this stuff as an adult. Plus, the toy tech is so awesome now that all these figures look like they did in the comic or cartoon; gone is the edict that to make a toy 'playable' it can't look like it's supposed to. Case in point, the Hasbro Pulse website has been both a blessing and a curse since I recently discovered it. I've ordered a few of the new GIJoe: Classified figures - they all look amazing - but last week I upped my involvement by paying to get into the premium tier so I could grab these two little gems, both 'exclusives' at the virtual Pulsecon 2020 event:

The cost of all this wasn't too insane - a little over $100 - but seriously, it's like someone pulled the Quintesson Judgement Pit right of my 10-year old Shawn's cranium. I had NO control (this was also reflected by the Lust Card yesterday, I believe, but it was too much to go into for yesterday's post).

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Playlist:

Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me 

Fields of the Nephilim - The Nephilim 

Fields of the Nephilim - Elizium 

Deftones - Ohms 

The Smith - The Queen is Dead 

Arthur Ahbez - Gold

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Card:

The good ol' Princess of Disks pops up again. I feel as though I've seen this one a lot lately. Today, I get the impression this is intimating I need to look for practical solutions to a certain hink in my narrative for Shadow Play: Book Two.

Isolation: Day 198 - New Pixies!

Musick

Being that I'm more of a Frank Black/Black Francis fan than a Pixies fan - though that wasn't always the case and really, I love both so it's kind of splitting hairs - their ongoing reunion has been bittersweet to me. Bitter, because I would love to hear another Black Francis/Grand Duchy/Frank Black (with or without The Catholics), but instead most of the previous decade has been a continuous run of new Pixies material. Which is also great, although I've received each album in different degrees of infatuation. The first one back, Indie Cindy, is a perfect return. I love it absolutely. Head Carrier and Beneath the Eyrie have required a bit more of a loving curve, but thanks to Mr. Brown, I dig both - although I haven't had enough of a Pixies binge in a while to really get to know either album like I do the others. Now we have a new 12" and the first 'single' I absolutely LOVE. So bring it on guys (and gal), I'm ready for whatever you have coming. 

But I'd still love to get a new album from Mr. Black sometime soon.

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Read:

I finally made it around to reading The Autumnal #1 from Vault Comics. Written by Daniel Kraus, with art by Chris Shehan, this is another one of those books, like The Plot and Black Stars Above, that has helped define Vault as the destination for Indie Horror Comics.

Now, those are non-consecutive pages. I just wanted to give you a feel for the art and the characters, both of which I absolutely love so far. Kat Somerville and her daughter Sybil remind me a lot of people that would know the family from The Devil's Candy, another family set I adore. Maybe it's because I've chosen not to reproduce that I love seeing stoner families who love one another and set a good example.

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Playlist:

Deftones - Ohms 

Alice in Chains - Dirt 

Mastodon - Medium Rarities 

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues 

Black Pumas - Eponymous 

Mannequin Pussy - Patience 

Bob Mould - Blue Hearts 

Alice in Chains - Sap

Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies

Concrete Blonde - Eponymous

OGRE Sound - A Field Recordist's Guide to Summoning Lesser Demons

Portishead - Third 

The Devils Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre

Alice in Chains - Eponymous 

Pixies - Hear Me Out (single)

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Card:

Spontaneity and Enthusiasm. Two attributes to contemplate this week as I shift into the second Act of the second Shadow Play book.

Sunday Bandcamp - OGRE Sound - The Field Recordist's Guide to Summoning Lesser Demons

With a name like this, there was probably no way I wouldn't like this record, which I have heard of before but erroneously attributed to being one of the many musical projects of Nivek Ogre, which it is not. No, OGRE sound is the work of Robin Ogden. I fell sideways back into this album this morning through a story on Bandcamp about Ogden and Dallas Campbell's just released score for the classic George A. Romero film Night of the Living Dead. The article, written by J. Edward Keyes, can be read HERE and very much has me thinking that when I do my annual watch of NoTLD on Halloween, I'll be scoring it with this. 

But back to Lesser Demons. This is a super creepy, super inventive use of field recordings arranged for keyboard/synthesizer. Parts remind me of the Italian classic Ain Soph - Rituals album, other parts remind me of a nightmare, or the score to a seriously well-done cinematic nightmare, take your pick. Either way, wow. 

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. 

Isolation: Day 195 - New Zeal and Ardor!

Musick:

Fuck yes! I'm loving these new songs. These plus "Baphomet", whick K and I heard the band premiere live at the Roxy two years ago now, are going to make for a great new set of tunes.

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Watch:

I'll be driving out to Montclair this evening for the Premier of Brandon Cronenberg's new film Possessor, and in celebration of that, last night I rewatched his first film AntiViral.

There is no other film out there like this film. It's a fucking masterpiece, and so much closer to reality than I can believe. However, I remember thinking the same thing when I watched it eight years ago, and since we haven't progressed into this future anymore in that time, I'd have to say Antiviral feels almost like an alternate timeline Earth, albeit one that really brushes up against ours.

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Playlist:

The Veils - Total Depravity

The Thirsty Crows - Hangman's Noose 

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - The Valley (pre-release single) 

Zeal and Ardor - Tuskegee (pre-release single)

Ozzy Osbourne - The Blizzard of Ozz

Also, I don't want to sound like I'm kneeling before the algorithm, but this week's Apple Music "Favorites Mix" based on my listening turned out pretty sweet. I spent a good deal of time the last two days with Audible's Sandman adaptation - yes, I'm going through it very slowly to make it last, however, once I hit The Doll's House - my favorite Sandman story and one of my favorite stories ever regardless - I've been unable to get it out of my head. here's that mix:

 

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Card:

A nice inclination for my first night out in the world since this entire 2020 fiasco began. I can't pretend I haven't become a little agoraphobic again, and driving 54 miles out to spend an evening in a drive-in theature, while inherently awesome sounded, fills me with a small modicum of dread. Here's to holding this card's image in my head all day and using it to sooth any 'rough patches.'

Isolation: Day 194

Musick:

 

Well, I fell down a Mastodon hole yesterday and am having difficulty climbing out. When I first spun Medium Rarities, I thought it was cool, but being that Mastodon is such a great 'album' band, I didn't see getting all that attached to an odds and sods compilation. Also, listening at work on my blu tooth speaker, I was in and out of the office and missed quite a few parts. I know this because I had not even realized that Mastodon faithfully covers The Flaming Lips' A Spoonful Weighs a Ton. I'm not sure how the hell I missed both hearing the track and noticing the name on the tracklisting - one check in the 'con' column of digital music, I'd say, is that you don't have the liner notes in your hands for careful consideration before even playing the damn album! Anyway, it was the ever-vigilant Mr. Brown who mentioned it to me, and since hearing their rendition, I've pretty much fallen in love with Medium Rarities.

For comparison's sake, here is the original:

 

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NCBD:

Of particular interest this week is the fact that Gideon Falls #25 comes out. Now, every week we get a new issue of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's Weird Fiction/SciFi/Horror mash-up is a great week, but this week's issue comes hot on the heels of the recent revelation that the series comes to its grand finale in December with an 80-page issue #27! Holy cow, I'm starting that re-read SOON just to be prepared.

Next, here's a new book from Vault I'm looking forward to, a book about Autumn that takes place in Chicago:

Issue Three of a series I've very much been digging so far:

And finally, I'd recently found myself wondering whatever happened to that Sam Keith Batman/Maxx crossover that began last year. I missed issue three, but four and five never came out. Now, they're on the horizon, and I'll be picking up this bargain-priced Compendium of the first two issues to prepare for it:

I wasn't crazy about the first two issues - you can't go home again - but The Maxx is one of those things I'm a completionist about, so they get my $$$!

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Playlist:

The Veils - Total Depravity 

Mastodon - Medium Rarities 

Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos 

The Dean Ween Group - The Deaner Album

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower 

Mastodon - Once More 'Round the Sun

Dance with the Dead - Loved to Death
John Carpenter and Alan Howarth - Prince of Darkness OST       

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Card:

 Stability and control, because I've finished the first draft of the first act (of three) of Shadow Play, Book Two! Onward to part two!

Isolation: Day 193

Musick:

Michael Gira, the brainchild behind Swans, announced recently that their 1987 album Children of God will be re-released via Gira's own Young Gods Records in cooperation with Mute. This is Jarboe-era Swans, arguably the most lauded, and one I am not nearly as familiar with as I would like. You can pre-order the CD or Vinyl from Gira HERE.

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Watch:

Being that The Mandalorian Season Two is on the horizon, I will be signing up for Disney+ again soon. After Marvel/Disney released this trailer for the upcoming WandaVision show yesterday, looks like I'll be sticking that sub out for as long as it takes to see this show as well, because folks, this looks insane! I'm not entirely sure what the premise, set-up, or plot of the show is, but I'm definitely digging the almost Doom Patrol vibe I'm getting (notice I said almost Doom Patrol, as in irreverence for the medium and conventions). We'll see if WandaVision is as weird as it looks, but as Mr. Brown observed to me recently, with the MCU flicks making a 'Bajillion' dollars, Marvel may have the elbow room to indulge in some weirder ideas for a while, and that, I'm all for.

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Playlist:

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower 

Sepultura - Quadra 

Le Butcherettes - Don't Bleed 

Mannequin Pussy - Patience 

Exhalants - Atonement 

Earth, Wind, and Fire - I Am 

Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 

Carpenter Brut - Trilogy

Mastodon - Medium Rarities 

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Card:

On the nose as usual, being that I should be completing the first of three acts in Shadow Play, Book Two this week. 

Isolation: Day 192 - New Sepultura!

 

I had no idea we were getting a new Sepultura album this year! Of course, that's probably because for the most part, the band's been off my radar since, well, since 1993's MASTERPIECE Chaos A.D. While I never took a side in the schism between Max Cavalera and the rest of the band because I didn't follow it that closely, Sepultura lost me with Roots, which has some amazing tracks on it - even korn-boy couldn't sully that track with Patton it - but overall felt like a sinking ship. NOTE: Many people have told me to give Roots another chance, and I suppose now's as good a time as any, what with this new track completely blowing my mind. The new album, Quadra, is available now from Nuclear Blast Records.

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Read:

Dipping back into The Hellbound Heart, and I'm completely smitten with it. My love of Barker is stronger this year than it's been in a while, and revisiting this one on the heel of rewatching the first three movies several times over the few years, I find myself very interested in his adaptation process.

Look at Barker's original cover art; this should have never been changed. I'm currently reading this one on Kindle, but I'll have to keep an eye out for a copy of the original. 

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Playlist:

Angel Witch - '82 Revisited

Dance With the Dead - Near Dark

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (digipak)

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine - White People and the Damage Done

Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power

Isaac Hayes - The Isaac Hayes Movement

Japandroids - Celebration Rock

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

Alice in Chains - Dirt

Sepultura - Quadra

Gloom Balloon - All My Feelings for You (single)

John Carpenter - Skeleton/Unclean Spirit (single)

Blueneck - Repetitions
Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours

Uniform - Shame         

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Card:

Different deck, same card as my last draw. I suppose this underlines my explanation from the nineteenth, however, today was a fairly productive day, as I clocked several hours of solid writing time on Shadow Play, Book Two. This is what I always have to remind myself when I start something this big - the Flow will only come if you wait through the off times. Day one might suck; day two might suck; day three might suck, but it won't suck as bad. Then, before you know it, the polarity reverses and the Work gets better and easier, more rewarding. But you have to hammer through the Strife. 

Sunday Bandcamp: Dance With The Dead

As the wait for the next Perturbator records near neigh interminable lengths, and the knowledge that James Kent is leaving his former 'genre' behind, I've begun to clamor for more dark, brooding synthwave. Bandcamp remains a fantastic place to find what I'm looking for. Case in point, this week's Sunday Bandcamp spotlight on Dance With The Dead. I haven't made it very deep into their discography, but after absorbing Near Dark yesterday, I intend to do so in the very near future.

Isolation: Day 190

Musick:

I had NO idea Mastodon recorded a song with Gibby Haynes. Kinda made my day. Apparently, only released originally as a download from the Adult Swim website, Atlanta appears on the just-released Medium Rarities album, which is pretty fun all around, with instrumental versions of some songs, live versions, and this. Oh yeah, and this too:

 

Nice to have this on youtube, because having sat through that ATHF movie once, I'm in no hurry to do so again!

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Watch:

I finally got around to Craig William Macneill's Lizzie, the Lizzie Borden dramatization starring Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, and Kim Dickens. Slooooow burn, but ultimately a very well-made, well-acted film that airs on the side of discretion and atmosphere. 

Also under the umbrella of watch, a late-week announcement that Beyondfest would indeed be happening made my year! Instead of the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - which obviously would not be conducive to social distancing, those crazy fuckers that run the show are having it at Mission Tiki Drive-in Theatre, fifty-four miles from me in Montclair, California. This presents massive logistics issues, and I was not able to get everything I wanted because of that. However, what I did get, is awesome!

 

And...

I can't really complain, because this is a STACKED couple of days. This coming Thursday is the Possessor premiere, and I'll definitely be doing a quick, spoiler-free review of it for The Horror Vision, after the showing, so watch for that next Friday!
 

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Playlist:

Electric Wizard - Let Us Prey

Portishead - Third

Death Valley Girls - Under the Spell of Joy (pre-release single)

Death Valley Girls - Hold My Hand (pre-release single)

Cocksure - K.K.E.P.

Doves - The Universal Want

White Lung - Paradise

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Card:

A lot of Swords lately. Here, the Five of Wands - or Strife as Crowley dubbed it in the Thoth - appears to point toward my internal struggle over my work on the second Shadow Play book. It's been a difficult two weeks, which surprises and infuriates me, as with the intricate outline I previously created for this book, the writing is not that difficult. Yet, somehow, I struggle with it nearly every time I sit down to work on it. I've tried all my tricks - my timers and focus apps and whatnot - and I've tried just putting my head down and pummeling into it. All of this works in getting writing done, but none of it works in making the process gel in my head. I know this will come, it's just frustrating waiting for it.

Isolation: Day 189

Musick:

One week until the new Deftones Ohms drops! This video premiered last night - I'm putting it here for posterity's sake, and to pass along my excitement at having a new Deftones record on the immediate horizon, however, I won't be watching or listening to the track until I have sat and absorbed the full album. I'm planning on doing a full release event next week, which sounds bigger than it will be. Just me, a bowl of green, and the new record for at least one full spin, my attention undivided. Can't wait!

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Watch:

I can hardly believe it's already time for me to re-subscribe to Disney+ for the new season of The Mandalorian. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

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Playlist:

Cibo Matto - Stereotype A

Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman

Angel Olsen - All Mirrors

Zola Jesus - The Spoils

Zola Jesus - Stridulum

Ghost - Meliora

Ghost - Prequelle

Repugnant - Epitome of Darkness

Mastodon - Medium Rarities

Mastodon - Leviathan

X - Under the Big Black Sun

Firewater - The Ponzi Scheme

Angelo Badalamenti/Various - Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series OST

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Card:

Self-control and balance, two things I'm sorely lacking at the moment. Things keep coming apart, and my attention span has been f*&ked! I'm going to try and remedy that this weekend. There's so much not getting done!

Isolation: Day 188 - Synchronic Gets a Trailer

I feel like  I have been waiting for a long time for the new Benson and Moorhead. These guys look to be at the top of their game with Synchronic, they certainly have a lot more money behind them here. I see big things ahead for these two, can't wait.

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Watch:

Closing in on the end of Halt and Catch Fire's final season, this song - which I've always dug but kind of also always took for granted - now has special significance. Wow. I'm going to hate to see this show go.

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Playlist:

Alice in Chains - Dirt

Ghost - Prequelle

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

Nirvana - Nevermind

Doves - The Universal Want

Tennis System - Technicolor Blind

Turquoise Moon - The Sunset City

Also, Apple Music does a weekly 'favorites' playlist based on what you're listening to. I normally ignore it, but this week's is pretty cool

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Card:

Interrupted energy and/or creative flow. Heat, back pain, and lack of sleep have all conspired to interrupt my writing sessions. 

Isolation: Day 187

Musick

Another track from the upcoming eight album by The Ocean. Love this video, and love the song. The Ocean is still one of the bands that carry the metal through the 00s for me, and one that still feels as though they are reaching to continually change the landscape of the genre.

The new album, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic I Cenozoic is out on September 25. Pre-order HERE.

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NCBD

Not a lot of books this week, but one, in particular, I've been waiting for his Dead Day #3.

I know I've talked a lot about this one lately, but it's worth the hype. I am also aware that for someone who has, consistently for the last nearly two decades, endlessly recited a speech that contains, "Zombies are a dead scene, man," and, "First three Romeros and a couple others are all that matters," I've been logging a lot of excitement for quite a few new zombie books/movies/comics. Well, I guess there's more on heaven and earth than dreamt of in my philosophy, at least when it comes to zombies.

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Playlist

Slipknot - Subliminal Verses

Kendrick Lamar - Damn.

The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Paleozoic

Code Orange - Underneath

Electric Wizard - Let Us Prey

Turquoise Moon - The Sunset City

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Card

Healing and compassion, two things I'm currently working on.