Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Some Kind of Ghost Official Video

BRMC have always had a hint of Mazzy Star influence but here it comes roaring - or perhaps more accurately quietly ebbing - out. The video is a perfect accompaniment to the track. I love that this band has honed their flare for the cinematic, it really sets them apart - moreso.

A Field In England Trailer

I've been waiting for this film for quite a while now. There's a great review of it that just went up on Latino Review.

The Horrors - Changing the Rain

Speaking of The Horrors, how the heck did I ever miss this?

The Horrors w/ Thurston Moore

Also via Stereogum. New song performed live with Thurston Moore. The genuine thinking is this is from the forthcoming Horrors album, set to be released sometime in April.

The National Live @ Sydney Opera House - Full Set

Via Stereogum, who also has a full set list here. I'm still just getting into this band and I haven't sat down to watch this yet, but I am very excited to do so.

Drinking with Comics Issue #2

Issue 2 is up!

Black Sabbath - Under the Sun/Everyday Comes and Goes

It's raining in LA and I'm celebrating with Black Sabbath Vol. 4

And Marilyn Manson's Phantasmagoria is FILMING???

Via the mighty Bloody Disgusting, you can read their article here. I had actually never seen this trailer before. If the film bears any resemblance to it this will be Phantastic!!!

Preacher: It's Official

image courtesy of giantkillersquid.com

Okay, I have faith in Rogen and Goldberg. It's AMC I'm worried about. You don't take this project on if you don't understand the material, so let's hope the network that brings us the insanely up and down TWD understands it. Cuz I don't think angry Preacher fans are who you want on your back. Just saying.

RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman

image courtesy of esquire.com

My mind is blown. This sucks. What terrible news and a horrifying loss to film. I was just discussing his role in PTA's The Master last night. So many amazing roles.

Jeff Hanneman Would Have Been 50 Yesterday

So throw up some horns people! I went for this clip in particular despite the fact that the overall sound isn't really good primarily because it highlights Jeff for my personal favorite solo of his, which begins at about 1:43.

Dum Dum Girls - Rimbaud Eyes Live on Letterman

Via Brooklyn Vegan, who have some Awesome pictures from the band's show at New York venue Mercury Lounge show with Sapphire Mansions and The New Lines right over here.

Trailer: Denis Villeneuve's Enemy

Based on the absolutely breathtaking power of Villeneuve's Prisoners (which easily made it into my top films of last year) I can not wait to see this, his second film in a row with Jake Gyllenhaal. Couple with that the fact that I have always had a fascination with doppelgangers - well, ever since the days of Twin Peaks back in the early 90's - and I am simply unable to quantify my anticipation for Enemy at this time.

Marilyn Manson - The Reflecting God

It's funny, when this album came out I was most definitely not a fan of Marilyn Manson. For much of his early to mid career, as he ascended into goth-metal-godhood I thought he was a moron. This was particularly based on an interview I saw him and multi-instrumentalist Twiggy Ramirez do circa mid-90's where they pretty much acted like morons and said some things that felt rather disingenuous. That's the funny thing about Manson, and something I definitely didn't get until much later - depending on what face he wanted to put forward at any given moment he was apt so play different angles on his character. Later the two songs on the soundtrack to David Lynch's Lost Highway soundtrack planted the seeds of my interest in his music. Piggyback on this his autobiography The Long, Hard Road Out of Hell - which I read in a day, and then finally his BRILLIANT post-Columbine rebuttal to the accusations of real morons that his music was to blame for that tragedy and I began to realize that this guy was a very, very smart person. And an artist of the highest order. As the years have gone by I've become more and more of a fan, Antichrist Superstar achieving a status in my personal hierarchy of music that puts it up there with the greatest concept albums ever made. This - very much like Pink Floyd's The Wall - almost feels transcendent of the idea that it is a concept album in a world where that term gets bandied about a little too loosely (smashing turnips' meloncholo and the infinite drabness a concept album? No.). Antichrist Superstar of course also has the distinct function of being a rather sophisticated act of Magick, and the power the cycle of songs achieves by the time it reaches the peak song The Reflecting God is something that can be physically harnessed and used to fuel all manner of creative, philosophical and empowering undertakings.

Vishuda!

I made the acquaintance of most of the members of Vishuda back in July at the Summer Slaughter show at the HOB Sunset edition. I subsequently became facebook friends with Michael the bass player and have systematically bitched out on seeing them live ever since (it's not entirely my fault, of the half-a-dozen or so shows they've played since I was out of town for two of them and working for another - just saying). In a random facebook snafu earlier I was reminded of my oversight and found myself searching youtube to see if footage existed as the band is currently - I believe - in the process of recording their debut record.

What I found isn't the best footage, but it's the content that interests me to no end. I really dig the sound and style here and think that both on recording and in the flesh these guys probably command total props and attention.

You can check out more about Vishuda on their very elegant website here.

The National - Conversation 16

The album High Violet by The National has been sitting in a pile for... hell, almost three years now I guess. I gave it a listen but never connected with it. I think my exact words after that previous listen was, "It's wine and cheese music". That's not a bad thing, it just doesn't come up much in my house.

Two weeks ago I discovered Bret Easton Ellis has a podcast. It's fantastic. I downloaded and listened to all the episodes (there's only a handful so far). During one of them - I think the episode where Chuck Klosterman is his guest - Ellis mentions that he has been listening to The National because, he supposed, he is white and over forty years of age.

I chuckled at this, thinking yeah, wine and cheese music.

Yesterday I listened to the newest of Ellis' podcasts where he interviews Matt Berninger, The National's singer. The podcast began with a snippet of music - it was the second verse of this song - and I was instantly haunted by it. I listened to the entire conversation Berninger and Ellis had, came home and dug out High Violet, hoping this song was on it (at the time I did not know the name of the song or what album it was on. For that matter I didn't know the name of the album I had as it was a burn someone gave me). Using Internet Music Database I found the name of the album and sat down to listen to it. I have not stopped since.

This is definitely not an all the time band for me but what I initially dismissed as a "wine and cheese" tone is actually a very sophisticated band big on sparsely appropriate arrangements and intelligent lyrics that are often much more fun than they appear to be given their delivery (this song is a perfect example of that by the way). High Violet has a very similar tone to some of Ellis' novels, a tone I refer to as "Haunted".

New Pixies Video for Magdalena

The Pixies have increasingly been the go-to on how to do a tasteful, relevant and successful reunion. Let's hope it continues because I don't know about you but after EP 1 and EP 2 I am definitely ready for MORE.

The Isley Brothers - Make Me Say It Again Girl

From The Isley Brothers' 1975 The Heat Is On. My wife just found this song tonight - I was drifting in and out of sleep and this was playing, near the end, and as I put my feet more firmly on the wakeful side of consciousness my thoughts were of how truly epic this felt. Not "The Wall" epic, but almost... transcendent. There's a lot of 90's rap/R&B that was influenced by this. You can hear it, especially the refrain as the song fades out.

Drinking With Comics

The premiere of the new web-show where myself and two colleagues discuss comics while drinking excellent beer. First up, Miracle Man, Rick Remender, Fraction's Hawkeye, Guardians of the Galaxy and Hoegaarden. Beautfiful, delicious Hoegaarden...

If you dig it, please take a moment to like us on youtube and possibly even pass us on with a repost of a facebook bump or whatever! Thank you!

Portishead - We Carry On

An abandoned lot. A half circle of headlights illuminate figures dancing in fog. Something nearby awakens.

The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Help

This song is just so awesome it's not even funny. The Knife is apparently beginning a US tour go to their site for the dates.

Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting's Velvet...

image courtesy of http://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/

... is on tap in this week's Comic Column on Joup, right here. Great espionage book that really just has to be made into a movie or I will freakin' scream.

Shawn's Favorite Films of 2013

image courtesy of theguardian.com

On Joup.There were a lot of great films this year. There were also a lot of films I wanted to see that I did not have a chance to. From what I saw here were my favorites. I believe it bears mention that with most of these, especially Upstream Color and Antiviral, I knew immediately that they were the top of the chain the moment I saw them.

New Dum Dum Girls (via mxdwn)

Very good to hear new music from Dum Dum Girls. Thank you mxdwn.

Locrian - A Visitation from the Wrath of Heaven

Wait for it.

John Frusicante and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in a band together???

image courtesy of scannerfm.com

Apparently so. And the band is called Kimono Kult! Read about it on mxdwn here.

Though I am quite familiar with both these gentlemen's music and have never even once contemplated what it would sound like if they were in a band together this must be the best music news in quite some time. It will be amazing.

Pre-order on their bandcamp HERE.

Liars "Mess" Album Trailer

Color me bad? Yo, color me good. Good with the info that the new album from Liars, titled "Mess" is out on my birthday! (well, in England, a day later on our side of the pond, but still...). Learn more on the band's website HERE.

And you know, everything this band does visually is just as interesting to me as what they do sonically and that's really saying something because, A) I don't find that many bands visually interesting and, B) Liars are very interesting sonically.

And one last thing, interesting how much the cover image for Mess looks like the cover of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Rant.

NEW LIARS!!!

This band just gets better and better every freakin' year!!!

Props to Mr. Brown for sending this to me, I knew another album was coming our way but had lost track.