2019: August 10th

Starting the day like I ended last night, with some vintage High On Fire. My copy of the band's first album, The Art of Self Defense, is the old Man's Ruin version, and a few years ago I discovered that when I put the disc into my computer and open iTunes, it reads it as Sleep - The Art of Self Defense. I've wondered since if when Matt Pike split ways with Cisneros and Hakius, his original plan was to record a new Sleep album with new members, and it ended up just becoming High On Fire. Either way, The Art of Self Defense is a fantastic album that features a little bit more Doom/Sabbath influence on HoF's songwriting than later albums, and that always makes it fun to go back to.

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I keep forgetting to plug the latest episode of The Horror Vision here. For this episode, Chris, Anthony, Ray, and I discuss Genre Icon Rutger Hauer's passing, our favorite movies/moments from his career, and we give you our reaction to 1992's Split Second, a kind of schizophrenic action/horror/sci fi flick that Hauer chews through the scenery on. Other topics of discussion include but are not limited to, What We Do In The Shadows the show, Slaughterhouse Rulez, Holy Mountain, and my painstaking attempt to watch my way through the Friday the 13th movies in chronological order!

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

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There's news on the web about the about-to-be-in-production third GIJOE movie. Said news, forwarded to me by Mr. Brown, is that the character known as Chuckles will be featured. Now, that might seem funny to some, but as several of THIS article's commenters point out, Chuckles figured prominently in the Mike Costa's GIJOE series Cobra from about ten years ago. This is by far the best Joe Story I have ever read. No disrespect meant to those classic Larry Hama issues at Marvel, but this is another level altogether. The entire storyline is collected in an omnibus titled The Last Laugh and is absolutely worth checking out. If this third flick is based on Costa's run, we are in for a treat indeed.

And now I'm excited for another Joe movie!

Interesting also that my two main 80s toy obsessions made it into these pages with current news this week, even if I mis-reported the release date of Simon Furman and Guido Guidi's Transformers 84 issue 0 - which I learned is stand alone at this point - by a week or two.

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I caught Michael O'Shea's indie Vampire flick The Transfiguration yesterday. Loved it. Highly recommended, especially if you like a more psychological approach to your horror. Reminded me a lot of Larry Fessenden's movies, and knowing nothing about this film going in, I was overjoyed to see Fessenden make a cameo about half way through!

The Transfiguration is streaming right now on Shudder!



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Playlist from 8/09:

Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain
Sleep - Dopesmoker
Sleep - The Sciences

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Spread of the day:

All big ideas and macrocosmic influences. Paradigms are shifting. The idea of turning The Horror Vision into a Publishing Imprint is still intimidating, as dealing with massive ideas like The Universe, The Star, or something as volatile as Lust is, but intimidation is a not insurmountable. Lust is also known as Strength in the original Tarot, and while Crowley changed the name, it retains many of the qualities/attributions originally associated with it. Also, Sephirothically, we're looking at a path that traces the Tree of Life's spheres from Wisdom, to Strength, to Foundation and eventually The Kingdom, by way of Beauty. I can't help but read this confluence of Major Arcana influences as further confirmation that my venture will transform my world.

2019: New Tool Track!

I definitely dig it - reminds me a lot of Lateralus. That said, listening to this removed from the context of an entire album that will eventually surround it makes me think listening to this would be like never hearing Lateralus and listening to Disposition. What this has done is make me anticipate the full album on a considerably more rabid note.

August 30th is soon.

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Ticked off episodes 6 and 7 of The Boys last night. I was warned about the 'fingering' episode. Wow. This show is, as Butcher might say, top gear.

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Playlist from 8/08:

Catherine Wheel - Ferment
Tool - Fear Inoculum (Pre-release single)
Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me OST
Twin Peaks Playlist
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land
Revolting Cocks Trance Playlist*
Tool - Undertow

* Comprised of No Devotion, Attack Ships on Fire, Something Wonderful, and Can't Sit Still. Great writing playlist, even though I ended up getting f*ckall accomplished yesterday. Still, I showed up and put my ass in the seat.

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Spread of the day:

Lots of strong, Feminine energy, lots of "Big Ideas" or Influences, and all Earth/Kingdom/Malkuth. Technically, 9s are Yesod, or Foundation, but that very much informs ten. Very good signs that, despite a frustrating day yesterday, I am on the right track.

2019: August 8th - New Jaye Jayle Track!

I've kind of come to think of this band as the American version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. In a very short period of time, Jaye Jayle have endeared themselves to me in a way few bands do. It's the 'Storyteller' aspect.

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Unbelievably, after only three chapters I put Laird Barron's Black Mountain to the side. Nothing against the book, but I paused to reconsider re-reading last year's Blood Standard, the first Isaiah Coleridge novel. I tend to forget things - character's names and whatnot, and in the case of books like these, they're so f'ing pleasurable to read, why not? Anyway, while I paused to consider this maneuver, I picked up Damien Echols' High Magick, and it dovetails so perfectly with my recent rekindling of Magick Practice, that I'm going to knock it out before going back to the Barron books.

A fantastic book on Magick; probably the most approachable example I've seen since Phil Hine or Grant Morrison's old Pop Magick essay on his website, except Echols' book is even more approachable, without ever giving an impression other than he knows exactly what he's talking about. And this is great for me at the moment; there's such a sense of pragmatism, unlike any other author I've read on the subject of Magick.

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Playlist from 8/07:

Shrinebuilder - Eponymous
Anthrax - Stomp 442
Algiers - The Underside of Power
The Flaming Lips - Hit to Death in the Future Head
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Waxwork Records - House of Waxwork Issue #1
Jaye Jayle - Soline (Single)

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Today's spread:

Queen of Swords AGAIN! Couple this with Princess of Wands and we're looking at the Earthy Aspect of Fire - the Practical honing of Intellect - and the Watery Aspect of Fire - the Emotional temperance of that same Intellect. I'm trying to put together where my Intellect - some flexing of sharpened awareness or acumen - may have been exerted of late. Princess of Wands is a volatile card; I'm tempted to read this as a warning, that the path to those ten cups - an achievement in Earthly matters - will be rocky, but ultimately bested if I remain sharp like the Queen of Swords, who I believe I am going to take on as something of a Deity.

2019: August 7th - Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group Live in LA

This just dropped on Sargent House's Youtube Channel, which is very much worth subscribing to, by the way. Described as a rough cut of a work in progress in the About section, I'm curious what this will become. Regardless, this band is ridiculous.

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NCBD:

Look at the alt cover by Ray Fawkes! Regular series artist Andrea Sorrentino's covers are always fantastic, but this... this is hallucinogenic and ominous.

Okay, I know I said no more monthly series, but Simon Furman and Guido Guidi returning to tell a prequel to the original, Marvel/IDW Transformers/Regeneration One run? Regeneration One was one of the best monthly series I read in a decade, so I'm definitely getting this one. I don't read any of the other T-Formers books, but I've always had a soft spot for that old Marvel series - primarily when Furman's run really got going - and then R1. They mirror the latter seasons of the original cartoon and cartoon movie - the only Transformers movie, in my opinion - so this will be fun.

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Playlist from 8/06:

Shrinebuilder - Eponymous
Uniform and The Body - Not Good Enough (Pre-release Single)
Tool - Opiate
Opeth - Still Life
Opeth - Deliverence
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Interstellar Fun - Caves of Steel EP
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resources Vol. 2: Philosophy of Beyond


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Today's spread:

The turning of a tide into a new Universe. Yeah, you could say that. In the process of converting The Horror Vision from just a podcast into a Publishing Imprint. Excited, and a little horrified. Which is good. The Universal Dance; evolution.

2019: New Track from Upcoming Uniform and The Body Collaboration

This new album from Uniform and The Body is shaping up to be on my year-end list again. Man, these guys really create a sonic space. This sounds like a cosmic Suicide to me, and it juxtaposes nicely with the first track released from the album a few months ago.

Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back drops next Friday on Sacred Bones. Pre-order HERE.

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A few nights ago I received the Ronin Flicks Blu Ray copy of Richard Stanley's Hardware that I fought ordering for about two months and finally gave in to. This is a 4K transfer, and I've gotta tell you, looking at most of the scenes, I can't believe what an outstanding job this turned out to be. Also, the second disc is packed with extras that will probably take me forever to get around to. For $35, this turned out to be a steal.

I won't waste time posting a youtube rip of this beautiful scan here, so instead I'll post the theme song (again), from PIL:



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Playlist from 8/05:

The Budos Band - Burnt Offering
Alice in Chains B-Sides Playlist
Opeth - Heart in Hand (Pre-release single for In Cauda Venemum)
Opeth - Deliverance
Opeth - Damnation
Opeth - Still Life
Alice Donut - The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children

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Card of the day:

Another spread. I've doubled-down on my Tarot reading, so I'm trying to rebuild a more complex relationship with my deck. To do this, I pulled out Crowley's Book of Thoth and have been re-familiarizing myself with the cross-relationship between the Thoth Deck and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

This spread then, largely introduces the idea that after moving on from the Queen of Swords and her perceptive but possibly misguided analysis, there is a futility with new ideas being sluggish, and uncooperative (the Knight of Disks). From Crowley, "These three cards (speaking here not of the three that I drew, but Atu XIII Death, XIV Art, and The Devil) may therefore be summed up as a hieroglyph of the processes by which idea manifests as a form."

No lie, I have two almost-finished short stories that are rooted in, what I feel, are really cool ideas, and which start and unfold in a way I am very happy with, but which I cannot end, and which have become more and more sluggish (again the Knight) as I try to resolve the problem. This means, whenever I'm thinking, especially of writing, I have two huge open loops distracting me. I don't want to take the time off from Ciazarn, but I very much need to address this soon, or I'm just collecting psychic debris, falling more and more out of tune myself; becoming the Knight of Disks.

No Thanks.

2019: August 4th - Tool!

I've been pretty persnickety towards Tool in recent years. With all the half-teased information about an album that never seemed to materialize, I remained skeptical even through last week's announcement of Fear Inoculum's imminent, August 30th release. When I saw that the band put up Hush, a song from their first EP Opiate which I have, for whatever reason, listened to a handful of times but never really gotten into, the new artwork - which is fantastic - I mistook it for a new Tool track.

Whoops!

Seeing Opiate on Apple Music this morning I decided to take a break from the Opeth binge I'm currently going through and dig in. In the meantime, here's that re-mastered audio for Hush. Shame on me for thinking after this long, Tool would release a 'single' ahead of the album's release. I'd actually prefer that, only twenty-four days out, they just wait and drop it all at once.

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This weekend, I attended Midsummer Scream. Really cool Con. I'd definitely offer the criticism that they need to really step up their organizational parameters next year, but overall, very cool. Overall though, very cool. I was able to see a panel on Witchcraft and Magick - very timely as I've begun to move back in that direction myself - as well as Shockwaves podcast live, and a kind of post-script panel for The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell, which K and I are both fans of (K more than me, I thought she was going to explode with excitement when McConnell took the stage). The panel consisted of Moderator and Showrunner for the now bafflingly cancelled show, Kirk Thatcher; Michael Oosterom (Rankle); Mick Ignis (Edgar); Colleen Smith (Rose and Cousin Evie); and Darcy Prevost (Production Designer). Really fun panel, and they reminded us that McConnell currently has a youtube show called From the Mind of Christine McConnell and a Patreon.



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Playlist from the last few days:

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
Primus - Frizzle Fry
Ministry - The Land of Rape and Honey
Grimes - Oblivion
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Volume II: Philosophy of Beyond

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Again! Three-card spread this morning:

Queen of Swords again! This time, I'm reading it as it's influence is moving past me, so I need to be ready for a new paradigm, one that may result in a steadying of my skills and mindset. This is great, in that I've got a couple of big decisions on the horizon, and making them from the right place mentally and emotionally should result in success!

2019: August 3rd - Satanic Panic Trailer!

I've been waiting this one for what feels like an eternity! Written by Grady "My Best Friend's Exorcism" Hendrix and directed by Chelsea Stardust, Satanic Panic is possibly my most eagerly anticipated film of the year. And now we finally have a trailer! This, along with Joe Begos' Bliss and a host of other films I can't quite bring to mind at the moment are all looking likely to play at Beyondfest this year, and I can't wait!

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Recently, I wrapped up Robert S. Wilson's Ashes and Entropy Anthology from Nightscape Press. The final story, I Can Give You Life, by Paul Michael Anderson finished the book perfectly, and - I think - ended up my favorite story in a book filled with stories that rabidly competed for that title. Either way, buy it HERE and read your goddamn hearts out; Anthologies do not get any better than this.

And now, of course, I need a new book to read. Luckily, I have one I've been chompin' at the bit to get to for months. Black Mountain, Laird Barron's second installment in the Isaiah Coleridge novels, and three chapters in I can't put this one down.

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Playlist from the last few days:

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets

Motörhead - 1916

Aerosmith - Pump

Anthrax - Sound of White Noise

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper

U2 - War

Tool - Undertow

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

Opeth - Blackwater Park

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Pusher Man (Single)

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Mind Control

Frank Sinatra - Moonlight Serenade

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Card of the day:

Okay, this one is definitely trying to tell me something, and I've been pretty lax on listening. A promotion at work and the first draft of Ciazarn has consumed most of my time. Today we're heading to Midsummer Scream, but I'm putting Crowley's Book of Thoth in my backpack so I can start digging into this one a little more earnestly. 

2019: August 1st - Tigers Are Not Afraid Trailer

I've been hearing about this one for months, so I was pretty excited to see Shudder drop the trailer. Not sure how wide a theatrical release it'll get, but I'll definitely make the attempt to see it.

Speaking of seeing things in the theatre, It Chapters One and Two director Andy Muschietti is curating a special run of classic horror films at Arclight Theaters all over the greater Los Angeles area. The roster is fantastic, and I'm going to do my damnedest to catch John Carpenter's The Thing and Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist on the big screen for the first time. Here's a link to the Event's page on the Arclight site, and in honor of my excitement, here's the trailers for two fantastic 80s horror films:






Playlist from 7/31:

Opeth - Watershed
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Drab Majesty - Careless
The Devil and the Almighty Blues - II
The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
Cibo Mato - Stereotype A
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Wasteland
Sleep - The Sciences

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No card today.

2019: July 31st El Gigante now on Shudder!!!

Super psyched for Luchagore Productions' short film El Gigante to hit Shudder! This one needs to be seen by more people. If you dig it, check out Luchagore's website, youtube channel, as well as Culture Shock, their entry into the Blumhouse/Hulu anthology series Into the Dark. And if you have Shudder, El Gigante is live now, so brace yourself.

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NCBD this week sees the release of the final issue of Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's mind-bending, hellofagoodtime Paper Girls. I can't wait to see how this one resolves...

And if you haven't already heard, we're apparently getting a pretty big surprise in the fourth part of TMNT: City at War. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's kind of a big thing for long-time fans of the four:

NCBD has been light for me of late, as like Paper Girls, quite a few series I've read for years have ended (some rather unexpectedly), and I've eliminated others that had, for whatever reason, grown stale for me. It's weird, not having a bunch of books to look forward to every month, but I'm trying like hell to resist adding new ones after that existential crisis a month or so back. In most cases, comic chastity has become easy. In others, however, restraint takes work. Case in point; two weeks ago in his weekly newsletter, Warren Ellis announced that he and Bryan Hitch are doing a year-long, monthly Batman series, Batman's Grave.

I know, right?

Batman's Grave #1 drops October 9th, and it will be oh so difficult not to buy it monthly. I may end up doing just that, except, Ellis reads much better as a trade. Not to say the issues are bad, however if trying to read his Wildstorm monthly and eventually switching to trade (one left that's out November 9th) reminded me just how awesome Ellis reads in collected volumes. Night and day. Plus, no fucking ads. I will try to keep this in mind come October 9th, "Wait for trade Wait for trade Wait for trade..." my mantra...

Here's the only real image DC has released so far, aside from what look like some unfinished B&W stuff floating around out there on the comic news sites.

Playlist from 7/30:

Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Soundgarden - Superunknown
The Jesus Lizard - Liar
The Jesus Lizard - Lash EP
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land
Cibo Mato - Stereotype A
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Tinderbox

Card of the day:

This looks like good news to me. After a five or six day streak last week working on Ciazarn, building momentum that seemed to really help me crack into the tone of the story, I had to take Sunday off to attend a benefit for a friend. That break in the inertia that had begun to bring things on the project together was a set-back. This is how it is, especially when writing in the early stages of something not yet fully developed. Monday was another wash, and then yesterday I started over. And of course, that first day back on is anything but productive; it's really just breaking fresh ground to begin building momentum again. So seeing the "Breakthrough" card, well, it makes me feel good about what's coming.

2019: July 30th - The Lighthouse Trailer

I know a lot of folks hated Robert Eggers debut film The Witch. I love it, and I am very much looking forward to Egger's follow-up The Lighthouse. And after what feels like forever, we now have a trailer. With a New York and Los Angeles release date of October 18/19th, I'm expecting this to be at this year's Beyondfest, and it will definitely be one of the major screenings I attempt to get tickets for.

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Rick Remender's Black Science is ending in September with issue #43, and that means it's time for me to re-read this reality-shattering opus from the beginning. I've loved this series, however at some point I coasted a few months without reading a few issues and when I came back, I realized I was lost. It happens when you have a story with so many different dimensions. Thus, I figured I'd wait until we were a month or two out from the end, and then re-read. Starting from the beginning again really re-triggered everything I love about the series: Matteo Scalera and Dean White's art; Grant McKay's narration and dialogue; and the 70s-ish deep fantasy overtones. The creatures/world building in this one are INSANE. Case in point:

Black Science is available from Rick Remender's Giant Generator via Image Comics in a variety of formats. If you love deep, non-Tolkien derivative fantasy, give it a try.

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Playlist from the last few days:

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Ministy - Psalm 69
Shellac - The End of Radio
Lightning Born - Eponymous
Golden - Eponymous
TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun EP
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land
Revolting Cocks - Cocked and Loaded
Gibby Haynes and His Problem - Eponymous
Tamaryn - The Waves

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No card today.

2019: July 27th - Shellac The End of Radio Live 2004

It's been a few weeks since Shellac dropped The End of Radio, a really nice collection of live tracks culled from Peel Sessions in 1994 and 2004. Being that the band's 2007 album Excellent Italian Greyhound just might be my favorite of Shellac's records (or it's tied with 2000's 1000 Hurts), and I think Greyhound has one of the best opening tracks of all time, this is my favorite on this new album. The Martina Navratilova aside near the end of this performance makes me so happy I can often hardly stand it.

You can order The End of Radio on Vinyl - as it was meant to be heard - from Touch and Go Records HERE.

I really need to see Shellac live again. It's been a while.

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I'll admit that I fully expected to hate Amazon's adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys, but after watching one and a half episodes last night, I can tell you that is most definitely not the case. In fact, so far, I LOVE it. Karl Urban remains a perfect actor, in my book.


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Playlist from 7/26:

Primus - Frizzle Fry
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
Grand Duchy - Let the People Speak
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Numenorean - Adore

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Card of the day:

Being that I've ended up working Tarot into Ciazarn considerably more than I expected, I'm going to continue interpreting these draws that occur while I'm on a writing streak with it as direct influences on the story and/or characters. In this case, I have two 'set pieces,' but I believe I need two more in order to have a solid first act.

2019: July 26th Spegetti Western Live '90

One of my all-time favorite Primus tracks. The sound on this one is HUGE. I've always loved the way Frizzle Fry ends: Sathington Willoughby into Spegetti Western into Harold of the Rocks. Hard to snip one of those tracks out and place it here, removed from that beautifully odd context, but I'd never seen this live version before and it's fantastic to see a camera on Ler and Herb for this long. Looks like NewWaveVault has some other cool old school stuff on their channel as well, so check it out and maybe subscribe. I did.

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Last night I watched Hobo with a Shotgun for the first time since its original release. Man, I dig the flick, but it seriously reminds me of Robocop, which I have some problems with. My micro review - which contains my thoughts on Robocop - is up on my Letterbxd account HERE.



Also, I still really like the original trailer that writer/director Jason Eisener made in 2007:



The Blu Ray has a really cool "Shotgun Feature" where gun sights appear on the screen at times where you can click them and segue from the movie into behind the scenes stuff. Lots of detailed video of the practical FX and performances.

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Playlist from 7/25:

PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Motörhead - 1916
Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Wasteland
Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land

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Card of the day:

Two days in a row. Taking this as another nod toward my progress on Ciazarn and my basing one of the most enigmatic characters in it after the King of Swords. Perhaps he needs a Queen?

2019: July 25th Zombieland: Double Tap Trailer

I almost didn't post this. For one, I usually do not post entries this late in the afternoon (it's 5:30 PM as I edit this). Second, I don't love this trailer, and I absolutely adore the first Zombieland. I'm hoping this long-overdue sequel is better than it looks; Harrelson is about as close as I come to a big-name actor who can do no wrong with me, so I really want to like this. We'll see.

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So Rutger Hauer passed away yesterday. I can't say I know a lot of his films, however, like so many other men my age, Blade Runner is near and dear to me, and a lot of that is Hauer. I know everyone is posting this scene as a memorial, but my upkeep on this site is primarily for myself, as a sort of diary or historical record, and I'd regret it if I didn't follow suit with "Tears in Rain" speech:



And let's chase that with a favorite musical reference to the film:



I've not been in a Blade Runner mood of late, but I have a Hobo With a Shotgun viewing coming real soon.

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I've watched SO much Friday the 13th lately, and while I found The Final Chapter (IV) a chore, Five went down pretty smoothly. Not Sierra Nevada smooth, but, say, Coors Light. Which is to say not very, but at least I got through it in one sitting. Part Six though, I remember watching Friday the 13th Six: Jason Lives a couple years ago with a friend and both of us realizing, A) if we'd ever seen it before the details were completely lost to the fog of time, and B) it's a marginally self-aware comedy. Which means, thus far, it's my favorite of these first six Friday flicks. I'll be continuing with the viewings soon - this is all research for something I'm going to write, and, a bit of a self-dare, as I've never watched the Fridays in chronological order before.

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Playlist from 7/24:

Sausage - Riddles are Abound Tonight
Ghost - Prequelle
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Telekinetic Yeti
Spotlights - Love and Decay
Sleep - The Sciences

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Card of the day was

Interesting, in that I just referenced the King of Swords yesterday in Ciazarn. Modeling a character after that Court Card's attributes.

2019: July 24th Telekinetic Yeti - Colossus

Just discovered Telekinetic Yeti via photographer FlowerfromStatic's IG page, which you can link to and check out from her website HERE. Telekinetic Yeti's album Abominable is available on their Bandcamp HERE. I've been listening to it for several days straight - it's fantastic!

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NCBD - yet another title on my already trimmed-down pull list ends this week with A Walk Through Hell #12. And the return of the now-quarterly Lazarus, a book that packs so much extra material in this format I would NEVER even think of giving it up:

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Watchlist continued over the last few days as K and I continue to plow through Veronica Mars Season One; it's been so long since I've seen this, I forgot how good it is. I mean, I knew it was good, but really, the writing on this show is kind of ridiculous. Can't wait to get through to the new season on Hulu.

Other than that, I've been taking spare time here and there over the last month or so to re-watch/watch all of the Friday the 13th flicks in order. I've seen a bunch, not seen a few, and can never remember which is which, other than part one (for obvious reasons) and Jason Goes to Hell, which I stand by as my favorite of the series.

RE: the rest of the series, there are highs and lows. I'm a bit stuck at the moment on number IV, The Final Chapter. This one's rough, and I'm really only picking at it in ten minute chunks. That said, Part IV does contain the single greatest scene in motion picture history:



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Playlist from the last few days:

Sausage - Riddles Are Abound Tonight
The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House
The Dandy Warhols - Essentials
Aerosmith - Pump
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Telekinetic Yeti - Abominable
Willie Nelson - My Way
Fast Romantics - American Love
Lightning Born - Eponymous
Class Actress - Journal of Ardency EP
Deafheaven - From the Kettle Onto the Coil
Deafheaven - Sunbather
U2 - War
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Ghost - Prequelle
The Jesus Lizard - Liar

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Card of the day:

Hmmm.. I don't have time to decipher this at the moment, but interesting that it keeps coming up lately.

2019: July 22nd - The Dandy Warhols Used to Be Friends

It's not surprise that once K and I began Veronica Mars (from season 1 because she's never seen it and I haven't seen it in a long time), I'd gravitate back toward The Dandy Warhols. These guys helped define my early 2000s, and although it's not exactly where my head is at the moment, it's great to get back into the mood for these guys in the height of summer. Fits.

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Saturday morning I caught Peter Ricq's horror comedy Dead Shack on Shudder TV. Fun little flick; parts of it irritated me initially, but I've grown a bit fonder of it in hindsight. And it has a fantastic concept. You can check out my brief review on my new Letterboxd account HERE.

Yeah, just what any of us need - more social media. But it's movies... anyway, here's the Dead Shack teaser trailer the director uploaded to his youtube account:



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Sunday, K and I went to the theatre and saw Crawl. Absolutely fantastic, fun flick to see in a theatre. The storm effects are amazing. And there is zero fat on this one - as Anthony from The Horror Vision said in his review, it is a tight 87 minutes that does not mess around.



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Playlist from the last few days:

Black Polygons - Lobélia
Public Image Ltd. - This is What You Want...
Sigur Rós - Variations on Darkness
Aerosmith - Pump
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Zombi - Shape Shift
The Soft Moon - Zeros
Drab Majesty - Moder Mirror

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Card of the day:

A little troublesome; I finished that final read-through/edit on Shadow Play the other night, but advice from a friend in the biz is making me reconsider releasing it myself. This is a highly respected, published horror author who advised me once a book is published, no publisher will touch it, unless, like Hugh Howey, you sell a million copies on your own. I hadn't really considered seeking a publisher that seriously, but it was never out of the question. I find myself reflecting on whether this card is warning of trouble if I do self-publish, or if I don't.

2019: July 20th Shudder's New Creepshow Series Get A Trailer!!!

I've been pretty excited for the new Shudder Creepshow series, and if this first trailer is any indication, it's going to be better than my expectations even. Not easy to do, when reviving something so iconic, but based on everything I've seen from the streaming service so far, they are 100% up to the task.

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New episode of The Horror Vision went up yesterday. This is a special 'Double-sized' edition, where Ray, Anthony, Tori, and myself tell our listeners a little bit about ourselves. After that, topics of discussion ended up revolving around Luca Guadagnino's 2018 Suspiria remake and the merit/non-merit of remakes in general. Finally, our movie of the episode reaction bit is on Matthew Holness' film Possum.

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Continuing on into the heart of Robert S. Wilson's Ashes and Entropy anthology, I read John Langan's short, Breakwater earlier today. Fantastic short fiction; kind of a mash-up of the Crime and Horror genres, I blew through Breakwater at a pretty quick clip, and caught my breath when it ended. After a complicated relationship with Langan's novel The Fisherman, I'd been wanting to read something else by the man, and this story definitely pointed me in the direction of his newest collection, Sefira and Other Betrayals:

Look at that cover art - unnerving is an understatement for artist Santiago Caruso's image, more of which you can find on his website HERE. Mr. Langan's website is HERE and you can order a beautiful limited cloth edition of Sefira directly from Hippocampus Press HERE.

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Playlist from the last two days:

Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Iggy Pop - The Idiot
High On Fire - Snakes of the Divine
Godflesh - Post Self
Crystal Castles - II
The Soft Moon - Criminal
The Soft Moon - Deeper
The Raveonettes - 2016 Atomized
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Vol. II Philosophy of Beyond
Blur - 13
The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues
Bavaria Buam - Live

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Card of the day:

Balance. I need this right now. Trying to balance my interests has put things out of whack, creatively.

2019: July 18th IT Chapter Two Final Trailer

I've been avoiding a lot of trailers of late, as I find they usually give too much of the movie away. I find the best viewing experiences are the most uninformed ones. That said, I'm glad I watched this IT Chapter Two final trailer, simply because after the disappointment of Pet Sematary, I needed something to remind me how good this IT adaptation has been. This looks fantastic, plus I don't really feel like the trailer gives too much away. September 6th is not that far away...

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As soon as I finished my re-read of Grant Morrison and Richard Case's Doom Patrol run, I jumped back into the Robert S. Wilson edited anthology Ashes and Entropy and read Autumn Christian's The Shadowmachine. Awesome story. Probably my favorite in the collection so far. There's an almost Neil Gaiman-esque approach to reality here, without the more baroque or 'flowery' aspects of Gaiman's writing (not a shot - I love Gaiman. I'm merely making distinctions). The story itself doesn't tread Gaiman territory, though; Christian spins a pretty terrifying tale of technological seduction and it's eerie as all hell. Based on this I've added her newest novel, Girl Like A Bomb, to my must-read list; it's available HERE.

Ashes and Entropy is turning out to be my favorite anthology in ages, and I can't recommend it enough. Available directly from Nightscape Press HERE.

Also, Nightscape Press has started an emergency GoFundMe anthology titled Horror For the Raices, where a $10 donation or more will get you an advance, uncorrected book copy of the anthology as soon as it's ready. The book is edited by Robert S. Wilson and Jennifer Wilson. Donate HERE.
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Playlist from 7/17:

Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch
Adam Kesher - Local Girl (Hatchmatik Remix)
Beak> - L.A. Playback
M83 Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Track Back The Radiance

**

No card today.

2019: July 17th 3 From Hell Trailer

Although I've been waiting for this, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Rob Zombie returning to the Firefly Clan characters. Why? Well, A) they pretty clearly died at the end of The Devil's Rejects, and B) it's weird when filmmakers put you in a position of rooting for such ultimately disgusting characters. Also, this looks like Zombie has added Natural Born Killers into his blender, so that may run the risk of feeling overly borrowed from. We'll see. Normally, Zombie can more or less mix in the stuff he 'samples' from his influences in a way that feels like homage instead of theft. Hopefully, that will be true here as well.

As for the 'how did they survive?' question, I noticed a quick flash at 0:20 in the trailer of a newspaper headline that reads, "Satanic Recovery," and I'm wondering (Read: Hoping) the recovery is pulled off via some weird call-back to Dr. Satan and all the strange, quasi-supernatural stuff that happened in the final segment of House of 1000 Corpses, all of which was completely ignored for The Devil's Rejects. That absence was disappointing at the time Rejects was released, however, over the years I have grown to understand and applaud the decision as a matter of tone - Dr. Satan and all related characters would never have fit into Rejects; the one deleted scene with the Doctor was definitely best left out. Now, however, this might be a great way to bring him back.

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Frank Black Appreciation Week concludes today with another of my favorite songs from The Catholics-era Black. Released on the album Dog in the Sand, this was, I believe, the first time Black had recorded with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago since the break-up of the band. The resulting material - especially this particular track - is a doozy. I remember hearing around the time of this album's release that the lyrics were about how, after Black's father passed away, when it came to the task of going through his home, dozens of guns were found, all loaded with only a single bullet.

Creeeeeepy, but awesome.



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Playlist from 7/16:

Frank Black - The Cult of Ray
Preoccupations - Eponymous
Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Va Wissen - The Mystery of Heaven
The Jesus Lizard - Liar
White Lung - Eponymous
Uniform and The Body - Penance (Pre-release single)
Uniform and The Body - Mental Wounds Not Healing*
Sunn O))) - Life Metal


*I totally just figured out that this album is named after a lyric in Ozzy's Crazy Train. It made me love both these bands even more than I already do.

**

Card of the day:

Feeling like this is a good sign that I cross a finish line today.

2019: July 16th New Chelsea Wolfe!

New Chelsea Wolfe Video, from the forthcoming album Birth of Violence, out September 13th on Sargent House. Pre-order HERE.

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Frank Black Appreciation Week continues today with a live rendition of my favorite track off the third Frank Black solo record, The Cult of Ray. Filmed in 1996, this footage isn't great, but the performance sure is. Great to see Lyle Workman in his prime here.



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Playlist from 7/15:

Aerosmith - Pump
Motörhead - 1916
Frank Black and the Catholics - Eponymous
Pixies - Bossonova
Pixies - Come On Pilgrim
Pixies - Head Carrier
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Shellac - The End of Radio
The Misfits - Static Age
Minsk - The Crash and the Draw
Spotlights - Love and Decay
The Bangles - In Your Room
David Bowie - Hunky Dory

**

No card today.

July 15th - Frank Black/Teenage Fanclub

Day 6 of Frank Black Appreciation Week, and I'm trying to dig deep. Like I said previously, I could easily just post 7 days of The Catholics, or Pixies, but this man's catalogue winds deep, and I really wanted to try and represent that, so here's a track off Frank's 1994 John Peel Session, where Glasgow band Teenage Fanclub acted as his band.

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I finished my re-read of Grant Morrison and Richard Case's six-volume Doom Patrol series from late 80s/early 90s DC Vertigo. SO good, and reading the source material just confirms my belief that the DCU television adaptation of Doom Patrol is the best comic adaptation I have ever seen.

The final volume, Planet Love, has such a harrowing example of an Apocalypse scenario, I dare say I read it in a quick, edge-of-my-seat burst. The Candlemaker is an example of a comic book foe who gestates quickly and thrives on being somewhat two-dimensional.

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I was so very wrong about Drab Majesty's Modern Mirror the other day when I said it would drop July 26th. I came home later the same day to find the vinyl I'd ordered months ago on my doorstep, and I spent Friday night and several hours over the subsequent weekend listening to it. Really good, if a bit short. The vinyl is a little bit annoying, in that it's a double LP, so there are literally two songs on each side. That's a lot of superfluous flipping, and a very start/stop listening experience, if you ask me.

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Friday's episode of The Horror Vision, wherein we discuss Possum, as well as Luca Guadagnino's 2018 Suspiria, which we've talked about before, but here go into at length and a host of other films, will be up in a few days. In the interim, my co-host Anthony Guerra caught the Aja/Raimi flick Crawl the other night and did a quick reaction piece. Check it out:

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Playlist from the last couple of days:

Frank Black and the Catholics - Pistolero
Boy Harsher - Careful
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Motörhead - 1916
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Up Your Alley
The Monkees - Eponymous
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Ritual Howls - Rendered Armor

**

Card of the day:

Gonna need it. Two potentially stressful weeks coming up at work, and I'm still slogging through this final read of Shadow Play - which, by the way, is turning out very good. It's just difficult to re-read this for a third time in a row now. It's affecting all my other reading as well.