7 Days of Ozzy - Day 4: Rock'n'Roll Rebel

 

Years ago, my good friend Sonny observed that, on the cover of 1982's Bark at the Moon, Ozzy looked like someone shaved a poodle and then glued the shavings to him. That's a pretty funny - and still pretty freakin' accurate - description. But hey, metal album covers ran an interesting gamut back in the day. All things considered, you take the good with the bad. Which is kind of the case with Bark at the Moon, too. It's definitely not Ozzy's best solo record, and this is definitely not even the best song on the long player, but I dig the way the song moves and I dig the production. Ozzy does what he normally did back in the early 80s - Rock n Roll/you can't stop me/don't judge me. But the pre-chorus builds in a nice way and I swear I can hear how some of Jake E. Lee's guitar solos rubbed off on Kim Thayil ten years later. k >kl

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NCBD:

Despite the wait, I actually dig that Marvel held Immortal X-Men #2 back so it landed the same week as X-Men Red's second issue. 

Both these books are off to a great start, and I am still thinking about the closing page shocker of Immortal's first issue. 

Madelyne Pryor, aka the Goblin Queen, up against Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik for the reigns of Limbo? No way I'd miss this one. 

Speaking of Hulk, if the rest of Banner of War lives up to even half the promise of the Alpha issue, I will be super happy. Donny Cates continues to take huge swings and knock every issue out of the park. 

A Misfits-esque Taskmaster? This limited series has already paid for itself in just one issue. Can't wait to dig into #2.

The final chapter in a pretty great adaptation of Joe Hill's novella Rain. 

The first issue of Steve Niles and Szymon Kudranski's A Town Called Terror was mostly set-up, but that set-up brought the creep factor up to about an eight, so I'm in. I think the last Niles book I read monthly was Winnebago Graveyard, and that turned out to be a pretty wicked ride. Hoping for something in the same ballpark here, and pretty sure I won't be disappointed.

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Watch:

Thanks to Mr. Brown, without who, I probably wouldn't have seen this new trailer for She-Hulk for another day or so:

 

Despite giving Moon Knight two episodes before jumping off amidst a seething hatred nothing since the DCU live-action Swamp Thing from a few years ago provoked, I remain optimistic about everything Marvel is doing with their shows (Mr. Brown has even talked me into giving Moonie another chance. Eventually). 

The tone of this one is obviously going to be considerably less severe and more fun, but I am absolutely cool with that. Especially with appearances by "Professor Hulk."

Now, if we can just get Gray Hulk Joe Fixit. 
 

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Playlist:

Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante

Wesley Willis - Rock 'N' Roll Will Never Die

Calexico - El Mirador

The Bronx - The Bronx (II)

La Hell Gang - Thru Me Again

Various Artists - Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath

Joseph Bishara - Malignant OST

Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

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Card:

Taking stock, keeping a clear head and above all things, planning. That's how I read this one. There are variables coalescing soon, but for the moment, they are still en route, traveling at an undetermined speed. Get Ready.

7 Days of Ozzy - Day 3: Diary of a Madman

 

It's been a couple decades since I've listened to Diary of a Madman. This one was omnipotent in my life for a few years back around the end of High School/beginning of College. Not sure if the entire album will hold up, but I know the title track does.

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Cast:

The second episode of my new Southside 90s podcast went up today:

This is a project I'd wanted to do for so very long; all my life-long friends from High School and I gathering periodically to tell the tales that, well, when we tell them, people don't believe them. But they're all real. Seriously. This week's ep is largely focused on a house we hung out at first semester of Junior Year, a two-story in a rich subdivision where adults were almost never present, and when they were, they didn't stop us. 

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Watch:

Holy shite:

Have I mentioned how much more I like Amazon's version of The Boys than I do the comic? Nothing against Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson; this is totally a case of being able to improve a story with the hindsight that comes after a decade since its completion.

 

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Dollar Bin:

You know what I find A LOT of in Dollar Bins? Issues from Marvel's failed late-80s New Universe line:

I'm not interested in all the books from that particular experiment, but anything pertaining to The Star Brand, The Pitt or the surrounding narrative that encompassed the four titles that survived after that first, failed year. These are pretty easy to come by these days, and that surprises me a little. I don't read Jason Aaron's Avengers book, but I know he's integrated The Star Brand into the modern 616 continuity over the last few years. I'm curious if anyone has updated Spitfire - basically the Iron Man of the New Universe, except with a woman in the armor (long before that was fashionable, to boot!), DP7 (mutants), or Justice, which I can't compare to a regular Marvel 616 book, as I don't think I ever read it or at least don't remember it.

These are total nostalgia bombs for me, but also, The New Universe's arrival dove-tailed with my blossoming interest in the non-G.I.Joe comics in general and Marvel Universe specifically, so there's something about it that is integral to my love of the medium.

And as I've said before, post-Pitt New Universe is dark AF.

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Playlist:

The Mysterines - Reeling

The Bronx - The Bronx (II)

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

Intronaut - Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words with Tones)

The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir

The Ruby Friedman Orchestra - Gem

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Card:

I'm pretty sure this either has to do with something I thought I was done with. Modern Life is Rubbish, indeed. 

7 Days of Ozzy - Day 2: Desire

 

One of my favorite songs on an album that is 75% favorite songs. The guitar on this album - and this song in particular - is, in my opinion, the heights calibre hard rock guitar can reach. It sounds so rich and fuzzy, yet retains fantastic definition. 

And, of course, great vocal lines, too. 

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Watch:

Bill Hader's Barry returned a few weeks ago and I only just found out. Over the weekend, K and I caught up and were pretty surprised by the tone of this third season:

One of this show's strengths is the way it balances its inherent darkness with some of the funniest shit I've ever seen. Part of that's the cast - Hader's fantastic, Anthony Carrigan (NoHo Hank) is brilliant pretty much every time he's on the screen, and Stephen Root is always gold. This season, the humor has, thus far, been seriously downplayed and we've been presented with a super dark take on the characters - especially Barry. Again, that comingling of tones has always been the strength of the show. Barry does not shy away from the reality of the concept: a hitman's a pretty dark protagonist. 

But it works.

Really not sure where this show is ultimately headed, which is always a good thing.

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Read:

I spent a large part of the weekend relaxing and catching up on my comics. Here's what I read:

So nice to finally sit and read this one all the way through, start to finish, in one tight sitting. The Last Ronin totally delivers that old school 80s Frank Miller dystopian aesthetic, while retaining and drawing from the original, B&W Mirage series. Gorgeous art - the design of everything we see in this dystopian world is gorgeous, and visually seems the natural evolution of the original book's Manhattan. 

I'd dropped off reading James Tynion IV's The Nice House On The Lake monthly, simply because I lost a lot after its hiatus. sitting down and reading 1-8 in a sitting really took some time, and that just goes to show what a meaty story Tynion's telling here. Very cool story that's essentially a zombie-less update on Romero's Dawn of the Dead (in a way it is! Think about it!)

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Playlist:

(Lone) Wolf & Cub - May You See Only Sky

Bexley - Lost in the Moment EP

Cypress Hill - III: Temples of Boom

Jerry Cantrell - Brighten

Calexico - The Black Light

Joseph Bishara - Malignant OST

Mike Doughty - Live at Ken's House

Calexico - Even My Sure Things Fall Through

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Card:

A Conservative approach to an infuriating problem will serve me better than, say, a hammer beating. Loud and Clear. 

Ozzy Osbourne Week - All My Life

No, you didn't miss a headline. Against all odds, Ozzy Osbourne is still alive. I know usually it's after someone has died that I do a "So-and-so week." But I'm always wanting to change that, and here's my chance. The motivation here is really simple: I'm finding that after not paying any attention to Ozzy's music since No More Tears - an album I'll stand by until my dying day - I've become somewhat enraptured by his 2020 record Ordinary Man. What's more, for the past few years I've kind of rediscovered albums like Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin - the latter of which I used to hate every track on except Shot in the Dark, which will no doubt turn up over the next six days, even though I'm certain I've posted it here before.

 

Anyway, for the next 7 or so posts, I'll be celebrating the Ozman, so light a doob and frog leap off your front porch - we're biting heads (off bats)!

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Watch:

Holy Fuck!

 

Also, since I worked last Sunday, I had a half-day today. I drove home at a leisurely pace, made a turkey sandwich and fired up The Sadness on Shudder.

Holy. Fuck. X. Two.

Easily the most violent, gory and depraved movie I've seen in a long time. I'm not saying there aren't tougher flicks out there; I know there are. I just don't normally traffic in them. This, however, comes in right over the line in favor of my tastes. There were a few moments I thought we were going to dip into territory that I don't tread, but thankfully, that never happened. An unexpected result of this line-dancing is The Sadness clocks in as the first film I've seen since The Void that feels truly transgressive, or maybe even dangerous. 

 

Not for the faint of heart.

 

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NCBD Addendum:

I picked up my books for NCBD yesterday and had a few extra surprises. First, I'd forgotten Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino dropped a single-issue prequel to their new ongoing Horror Universe The Bone Orchard Mythos on FCBD. "Shadow Eater" arrives about a month before the first HC graphic novel, The Passageway.

This book is freakin' awesome, and if it's any indication - and I know it is - the Bone Orchard is going to be something I won't be able to shut up about for the next few years. Mapped out through 2023 "and beyond" according to Lemire, looks like we're in for some sleepless nights. Thanks guys! (really)

Next, and talk about couldn't be more different, I picked up the FCBD prequel for Judgement Day, the new X-Men/Avengers/Eternals crossover event.

Yeah, I hate crossover events, and I completely realize that I'm setting myself up to be pissed off, but I can't help it - I love this X-Men revamp, and my post-Hickman fears have been thus far trounced by Immortal X-Men, X-Men: Red, and now issue 11 of X-Men (holy cow Dr. Stasis!). 

Also, the final story in this Judgement Day lead-in has one of the most chilling moments ever in X-history (and Spider-Man history, to boot!).

Next on the "I didn't anticipate buying this in the comic shop today," I'd seen a little of the Professor Dario Bava books in a post on The Comic Bug's social media back a year or two ago for a signing, but ultimately forgot all about it. Luckily, there was a new book that dropped this week and I grabbed that and the previous. The new one is the first of an ongoing story (I think) that is actually a two-sided magazine-sized behemoth. 

The second is the first GN they kickstarted (again, I'm not 100% on the timeline here - this is very new to me).

Both are gorgeous, creepy and filled with Cult Cinema goodness. You can check the Dario Bava stuff out on their website HERE.

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Playlist:

Perturbator, Johannes Persson & Final Light - In the Void (pre-release single)

Calexico - El Mirador

Calexico - Even My Sure Things Fall Through

16 Horsepower - Low Estate

Atrium Carceri - Kapnobatai

Blood Red Shoes - Ghosts on Tape

(Lone) Wolf & Cub - May You Only See Sky

David Bowie - The Next Day

Journey - Escape

Stian Carstensen & Mike Patton - Hydrocephalus Epilogue (single)

Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante

Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville

Cypress Hill - III (Temples of Boom)

Bexley - Lost in the Moment EP

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Card:

Focused energy. What I need to regain.

Todd Rundgren - I Saw the Light

 

Last night we finished Ozark. Man, what a f**kin' ride! This show brings the anxiety meter to new heights. It obviously wouldn't exist without Breaking Bad, but that's not a knock. In fact, I'd say Jason Bateman and company managed to take the BB template and hone it into an even more impressive beast.

And what a beast this is. The ending didn't make me happy, but it had balls, and that in and of itself, makes me happy. As a viewer, I don't want to get what I want. I want you to tell your story. And they did. Oh boy, they did.

As for the song, if you've seen the latter half of the second season, you'll know why I'm posting this. I'd go on record as saying the "traffic incident" is possibly the best scene in the series.

Also, I loved the Killer Mike cameo in the first part of season four.

 

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NCBD:

Not much of a haul this week, although they're all big issues. Also, after buying the first issue of the Clea Strange-centered Strange series a few months ago, I think I'm going to pick up the second and third issues that I missed. 

Pretty psyched for a Hulk-Thor battle. I doubt it will be as awesome as the old Hulk-Thing battles in the 80s, but still, when Titans collide, and all that.

Loved the first issue, so let's see where this new Sandman spin-off is heading. The Corinthian has always been my favorite Nightmare, and although he received a lot of "screen time" in the old 90s The Dreaming series, I've always kind of felt like there was a lot more room for the right creators to explore with the Corinthian. I think we're finally seeing that.

The last all-women X-issue I read was back in the 80s: Uncanny X-Men #244, which introduced Jubliee. I'm hoping that, like that issue's follow-up in 245 with "Men," this current X-Book pays homage and does the same next issue. Either way, I love this book.

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Watch:

Eskil Vogt's The Innocents looks to be the very definition of unnerving:

 

You can read a nifty little article where Vogt talks about his new film over on Bloody Disgusting HERE. This one hits VOD on Friday, the 13th. I'd be doing a "Day-of" screening, if not for the fact that I've already got tickets to go see Friday the 13th Part 3 at the Aero. I mean, how could I pass that up?

 

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Playlist:

The Effigies - Remains Nonviewable

Zeal & Ardor - Wake of a Nation EP

The Mysterines - Reeling

Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

Pink Mountaintops - Peacock Pools

Orville Peck - Bronco

Spotlights - Love & Decay

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Card:

It's been a minute since I've done a pull, so here goes:

I've been relying on my intuition when it comes to creative choices, and it's led me to a new strength. Now, I need to finish my current project and move into my next. 

Meg Myers - Children of Light II

 

New Meg Myers! Her stuff is getting weirder, but she still delivers those pulse-pounding hooks.

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Watch:

Oh shit, I forgot ALL about this:

 

No release date yet, but the announcement says "Soon."

 

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Dollar Bin:

I don't know much about Micronauts, other than it was a toy property from just before my era - before the era where cartoons and I always came across stray figures and playsets at garage sales in the early 80s and wondered what they were (same with Shogun Warriors). Last year though, when Chris Saunders and I interviewed comic artist legend Kelley Jones, he mentioned he started at marvel on the Micronauts book. 

I have developed a bit of a phantom nostalgia for toys and comics from just before my era, and finding these in the ol' dollar bin proved impossible to pass up. This falls in line with the weird, TSR, Hobby-Shop genre of SciFi and Horror that I feel existed as a kind of 'quiet zeitgeist' in the early 80s - a pop culture texture that has been mined and revitalized by Stranger Things perfectly. Anyway, I'm hoping to find more Micronauts, or maybe snag some on eBay. I'd like to read a solid run of a handful of consecutive issues, just to get a feel. 

Also, they're written by Bill Mantlo, and I've really come to see him as a kind of underappreciated genius in that Hobby Shop Sci-Fi thing. 

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Playlist:

Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man

Jerry Cantrell - Brighten

Mike Doughty - Live At Ken's House

Prince - Sign O' The Times

Testament - The New Order

Sparks - Hello Young Lovers

Mr. Bungle - The Night They Came Home

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave

Goatsnake - Black Age Blues

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Card:

Once again, the ways of peace are strong in me, even in the midst of adversity.

New Music From Woven Hand

 

I will always miss Sixteen Horsepower, however, the work David Eugene Edwards has been doing as Woven Hand over the last decade-and-a-half (or so) is next-level stuff. It's interesting how the slightly toxic religious elements that informed/inspired Horsepower pushed this man into a considerably more Shamanic perspective with his music. 

Woven Hand's new record Silver Sash is out now on Glitterhouse Records and can be ordered from them or Woven Hand's Bandcamp HERE.

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Watch:

This is going to be one of those posts where I post the newest trailer for David Cronenberg's upcoming Crimes of the Future, but don't watch it:

 

Right now, this is my most eagerly awaited film of the year - thus far- and I say that on the cusp of seeing Sam Raimi's Dr. Strange In the Multiverse of Madness tonight, a film I have been CHOMPING at the bit for since... well, since I realized Patrick Stewart's voice is in the trailer. NOTE: I should say something here. Marvel, I'm talking to you now; if it turns out that Patrick Stewart is playing a man named Jim Bohner or some such, I will not be happy. Just saying. And as long as I'm posting trailers I have no intention of viewing, here's that 'Final' Dr. Strange trailer:

I have insanely high expectations for this one, even though I still have been unable to sit through the first Stephen Strange flick. I've always maintained I'm more interested in Marvel's big picture than I am the individual films, and this is the one that - I think - will firmly shape the post-Avengers landscape for the MCU into something more cohesive than it's been (not that I've minded the chaotic and disparate elements of the last few years, which have been very final-years-of-Claremont's-Uncanny-X-men at times).

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Playlist:

Bexley - Eponymous

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars

Michael Jackson - Greatest Hits

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

The Mysterines - Reeling

Sparks - Tryouts for the Human Race (single)

Helmet - Meantime

Motorhead - Ace of Spades

Anthrax - Persistence of Time

Jerry Cantrell - Brighten (Thanks to Mr. Brown for the beautiful vinyl!)

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

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Card:

It's been a minute since I've pulled from Missi's Raven Deck, so here goes:

Expecting knowledge to come my way today that might turn things around a bit. Or maybe that was yesterday when we spoke to a new realtor in TN and received a lot of really good, inspiring information. I suppose there's a part of me that demonizes that, simply because the longer we've stayed in LaLaLand, the allure of the routine and easy (not really, but kinda) life we've made here pulls at my ideas of burning it all down and starting over. 

Don't trust comfort. That's the real Devil. 

Bexley - Sick

 

Last night marked my first live show since hitting 2 of the 3 Mr. Bungle shows in LaLaLand back in February 2020, mere days before COVID struck. I've reacquired my comfort level with seeing movies in the theatre, largely because you can very much curate how many people you'll be exposed to. Not in every case, but with Matinees and seating charts online, it's pretty easy to limit exposure. A live show is a more, "All bets are off" situation, though, so it's taken me a while to prepare. That changed recently, though.

When my good friend Jacob introduced me to The Mysterines' music, without even thinking I googled them to see if they were on tour - a practice I've maintained for years when I find a new band I love. When I saw they were playing on May 4th at the Peppermint Club, I didn't think twice about buying tickets. 

I'm glad I did.

Not only were The Mysterines awesome, but in preparation for the show, I looked up opener Bexley and was pretty blown away by her 2021 self-titled album. Above, I've posted my favorite song from said album, and since Bexley is local, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more shows, as she and her band were also great.

You can check out Bexley's Bandcamp HERE or her official site HERE.

 

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Watch:

Oh my. I probably wasn't supposed to laugh out loud, but I did. And then I winced enough to almost fall out of my seat.

 

The Sadness is written and directed by Rob Jabbaz, and as far as I can tell, this is his first full-length film. IT LOOKS F&*KING AWESOME, so I'll be watching this the day it drops on Shudder, next Thursday, 5/12/22.

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Playlist:

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

Soundgarden - Superunknown

Bexley - Eponymous

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Card:

Water of Water, pure emotions. This can trip me up, so I'll be attempting to keep a cool on any over-the-top moments I might have; there's a lot of ridiculousness at work of late, and I've grown a bit cantankerous when certain people are involved. Play it cool.

New Afghan Whigs!

 

New Afghan Whigs! 'Nuff said. Pre-order How Do You Burn, out September 9th, HERE.

What a gorgeous video.

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NCBD:

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Playlist:

 Jim James - Eternally Even

Rammstein - Zeit

Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry

Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man'

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers of the Icy Age

Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears

Testament - The New Order

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

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Card:

Remember last Friday when I drew the Four of Swords: Truce?

 

This was the result. It pays to temper your outrage and anger with time and distance. And it also pays to have a good amount of humility and admit when you've kinda been a dick. 

Angel Olsen - Big Time

 

New Angel Olsen. 

Despite seeing a lot of praise for Ms. Olsen in my peripheral for years, she wasn't really on my radar until my cousin Charles professed his adoration for her 2019 album All Mirrors, which is fantastic. This new single feels like it hits a sweet spot between Patsy Cline and Sharon Van Etten, and I dig it. The new record, Big Time, is out June 3rd on Jagjaguwar, and you can pre-order it in whatever form you chose HERE.

 

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Dollar Bin:

Well, how about this one, huh?

I still have a copy of one issue from the Temple of Doom adaptation Marvel did at the time of the film's release, but I don't even think I'd heard of this Further Adventures of... book before, although it's no surprise this existed based on how popular the Indiana Jones flicks were. I found five or six of these in the dollar bin last week, and although I haven't had a chance to actually read any of them yet, I've spent a few spare moments flipping through them, and they're great.

This particular mid-to-late 80s cover format for Marvel Comics is always going to be my favorite; I love the placement of the logos, the Marvel Comics Group banner along the top, and the character box in the upper left-hand corner. Just seeing these makes me feel happy.

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Fleeting:

Blut Aus Nord recently repressed their first Memoria Vitusta album and it's available on their Bandcamp in a gorgeous "red with subtle yellow marble" that will undoubtedly be gone quickly, maybe before I finish typing this.

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Playlist:

Rammstein - Zeit

Bloc Party - Alpha Games

Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man

Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

Jim James - Eternally Even

Jerry Cantrell - Brighten

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Card:

Oh yes. It will take me strength to get through this day.

Hatching Rammstein's Angst

 

Easily one of my favorite videos to come out in years. I'm hot and cold on the band - I love when they release stuff like this and it gets me excited, but the excitement usually dissipates pretty quickly. Still, this is pretty freakin' awesome, regardless of the album's ultimate longevity with me. That new album, by the way, is Zeit, and you can order it HERE.

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Watch:

I had the unusual thrill of seeing this at, of all places, my local AMC theatre this past Saturday:

 

Hanna Bergholm and Ilja Rautsi's dissection of Finish Suburban perfection was equal parts Todd Solondz/David Cronenberg, and I loved it. For the new episode of The Horror Vision Horror Podcast, we begin with a spoiler-free reaction and then roll into an all-out discussion.

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Playlist:

Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

Lead Into Gold - The Sun Behind the Sun

Odonis Odonis - Post Plague

The Cure - Pornography

Calexico - El Mirador

Second Still - Equals

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Card:

I'm definitely feeling an abundance or wealth of ideas of late, and I'm attempting to hold back the desire to switch gears from what I'm currently working on. 

Masking Threshold

 

Mastodon's Hushed and Grim kind of fell off my radar these last few months, so nice of these guys to unleash a video for one of my favorite tracks on the double album and put it back in sight. The intro to this song is insane, and then it kinda just glides into a super soulful (for metal) verse and becomes one of the catchiest songs on the record.

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Watch:

I'm hoping to hit a couple flicks at the virtual arm of Kansas City's Panic Fest this year. Johannes Grenzfurthner's Masking Threshold is top of my list:

 

You start a trailer with a John Cage reference and then move into talking about anechoic chambers and you have my attention.

 

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Playlist:

Ash Ra Tempel - Friendship

Eagulls - Eponymous

Testament - The New Order

Soundgarden - Superunknown

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

Carpenter Brut - Leather Terror

Mothership - High Strangeness

Joseph Bishara - Malignant OST

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Card:

Uncanny. I'm not going to go into details, but this is a PERFECTLY timed reminder to keep the peace. 

Rebel Rebel

 

I've been listening to the live double album David Bowie released from the Reality tour. Not only is Reality my favorite Bowie album, I think A Reality Tour is my favorite Bowie live album, as well. Such a great, career-spanning selection of songs, and some especially insightful new versions of old favorites and deep cuts, the best of which might just be this re-working of "Rebel Rebel", the studio version of which was included on a later edition of Reality as a bonus track.

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Watch:

I can't wait for Friday. Seeing Joe Bob and Darcy kick off a new season will be like old friends having a party after time away, and my Last Drive-In text threads - Tommy, Ray and Missy - are always a welcome respite. 

 

My bet is we finally get Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which hit Shudder for the first time since I've been subscribed (2018) and leaves the service on the first of next month.

 

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Playlist:

Calexico - El Mirador

Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses

David Lynch - The Big Dream

Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch - Censor OST

Testament - The New Order

Download - The Eyes of Stanley Pain

Puppy Gristle - Eponymous (Thanks, Klint!)

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Card:

The mass of all my possessions occasionally weighs on me. Yesterday was one of those days.

Perturbator & Johannes Persson are Final Light - In The Void

 

Perturbator and Cult of Luna's Johannes Persson have a new project called Final Light and the first track is F*&king awesome! Imagine Dangerous Days with deep, guttural vocals and you'll have entered the ballpark. I anticipate great things from this one. You can pre-order the album from Red Creek HERE.

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Watch:

I saw Robert Eggers' The Northman this past Saturday. I was sober, however, as my cohost Ray and I discuss with Seattle University's Professor of Film John Trafton on the newest episode of The Horror Vision Horror Podcast, the film produced in me a pretty intense altered state. Because of this, I went back yesterday and saw it again, this time stoned AF.

I can't even begin to explain the hallucinatory effect Robert Eggers' films have on me, and this one really ratchets that up. I know some of you aren't ready to hit a theatre just yet, and I don't blame you. That's not going to stop me from suggesting if you're at all on the fence for returning to the big screen, this would be a pretty great film to do it for. 

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NCBD:

Here's this week's haul for NCBD:

Yes, I am a glutton. There is a new Amazing Spider-Man and I am going to read it, even though it is probably going to come out 9 times a month. 

I know nothing about this, but the title caught my eye, so I'll give the first issue a whirl.

Finally! The now long-awaited finale of the Miller-esque dystopian near-fture TMNT saga!

I've largely missed the boat on Chip Zdarsky, but I'm glad I've gotten in on Newburn from the jump. This collaboration with Jacob Phillips has so far, been a fantastic, terse crime comic. 

Still not sure how I feel about Frank Castle becoming The Hand's new "murder messiah" or whatever the hell, but I didn't hate the first issue, so I'm coming back for #2.

Saga! 'Nuff said!

I'm going out on a limb here. When I saw the words "Industrial Horror" on the solicitation for this, the 12 issue of a 16 issue run for the current Swamp Thing iteration, I put it on my list. I'll need to (hopefully) pick up issue 11 as well, as from what I see online, this is the second part of a story called "Jericho's Rose." I know nothing about this current ST title, but again, that cover above combined with those words... I have to give it a chance.

Aaaaannndddd... it appears I've become a pretty big Donny Cates fan and am continuing on with his Thor, especially after reading that, A) this month's issue has Odin's funeral and a Beta Ray Bill story, and B) next month this and Cates' fantastic Hulk series SMASH together. 

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Playlist:

Blut Aus Nord - Deus Salutis Meae

Negativeland - DisPepsi

Calexico - El Mirador

David Bowie - A Reality Tour

Alice in Chains - Sap

Orville Peck - Bronco

Judas Priest - Firepower

Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance 

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Card:

Poignant. I've been thinking A LOT about how much I love the woman I'm with, and how, despite the delays, I am looking forward to starting a new life with her OUTSIDE of LaLaLand. It's a push/pull - I'm going to miss a bunch of stuff here, but not enough to stand up against what we have planned for our home. 

Computer Blue

 

I'm probably not going to do a full 7-day Prince thing here, because it's been super difficult for me to post seven days in a row for a while. Still, one wasn't enough. I've come to realize that, although I consider Prince a major musical force, and I LOVE some of his music, not all of it is for me. I tend to stop after the 80s - the New Power Generation is all great on paper, but it just doesn't do a lot for me. I think that's the jazz and modern soul vibe that comes into his work at that point. The Prince that really affected me did so because of its strange Punk (more in ethos than sound)/Soul/New Wave hybridization. Nowhere is that more dominant than on the iconic Purple Rain record, which I've argued elsewhere is the Philosopher's Stone album of the 80s.  The entire record still blows me away, nearly forty years after first hearing it as a kid. One of the tracks that I've really grown to appreciate is "Computer Blue."

This song always just blows me away. It has such a strange structure, and where it starts compared to where it ends circumvents all logic, but really feels inevitable. 

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Watch:

I was never really much of a Christina Ricci fan - nothing against her, but my first and maybe (?) only exposure to her before was Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, and I hate everything about that movie - except the set design, which isn't nearly enough to save it - so that's probably what sticks in my craw. But Yellowjackets changed that, as her Misty Farmer is a BRILLIANTLY executed character. So, seeing a new Horror movie on the horizon with her kind has me interested:

Man, I hope this as good as it looks. Love the 50s kitsch - which Ricci is just perfect for - juxtaposed with what looks like some kind of slimy Demonic horror. Also, this one's directed by Chris Sivertson, who broke into Horror and cinema in general collaborating with Lucky McKee on the original All Cheerleaders Must Die short back in 2001, and then remade it with McKee in 2013.

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Playlist:

The Mysterines - Reeling

Alice in Chains - Sap

Kate Bush - Running up that Hill (single)

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

Prince - Dirty Mind

Prince - Originals

Anthrax - Among the Living

Goatsnake - Black Age Blues

Sepultura - Quadra

Testament - The Legacy

The Jesus Lizard - Goat

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Card:

It can be difficult to maintain enthusiasm, however, persistence and a good attitude pay off.