I'd completely forgotten about Future Islands until Julia Ducournea's Titane put them back in my head by using "Light House", from their 2014 4AD release Singles.
Play:
A couple years ago, I totally missed out on Mixtape Massacre. Now, the creators of that have a new game on Kickstarter, and by the looks of it, this one is a definite for me:
I'm really trying not to spend $$ on stuff like this, so there's a bit of a tug-o-war going on as I watch this. We'll see. Either way, I wanted to spread the word.
Playlist:
Allegaeon - Into Embers (pre-release single)
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Allegaeon -Proponent for Sentience
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Converge and Chelsea Wolfe - Blood Moon I (pre-release singles)
The Besnard Lakes - A Coliseum Complex Museum
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - The Good Son
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues
Lower Dens - Escape From Evil
The Neverly Boys - The Dark Side of Everything
TVOTR - Return to Cookie Mountain
Card:
Two days in a row, I receive positive reinforcement for a series of investments.
No More Tears turns 30? Shit man, I'm old. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy the hell out of his new, super cool video for one of the best songs on a pretty solid Ozzy album (his best, IMO). The version on the album was co-written by Lemmy - as were several other tracks - but did not feature him on co-vocals, although if memory serves this version with both Ozzy and Lemmy singing surfaced somewhere years later. Either way, I've always really liked this song, and the video is super cool. Reminds me A LOT of Daniel Warren Johnson's Beta Ray Bill series from earlier this year (that I'm still super hung up on).
NCBD:
Another great week at the Comic Shop - NCBD has really come to be something I look forward to with rabid anticipation again and being that I psychoanalyze myself constantly, I'm pretty sure this is a nostalgia blanket, something that I needed to reinstate in midst of 2020's uncertainty. Why else would I revert back to following Spider-Man so rabidly for 6 months, pick up a new Defenders series with a bunch of characters I know nothing about or are not particularly keen on, or fall back into an X-book? Being a Marvel Comics fan is what got me through the uncertainty of adolescence, and as such, I've apparently flipped that switch again in order to navigate middle age. Whatever the case, I start looking at what's hitting the stands as early as possible, assemble my list, and then wait with bated breath for Wednesday to come around.
Speaking of which, this week we begin with the return of a new friend I hardly had a chance to get to know before it up and disappeared back in the spring:
Definitely not something I normally go in for, I ended up really digging the first two issues of James Stokoe's Orphan of the Five Beasts, and I'd begun to fear it was never coming back. Speaking of returning titles...
I love The Silver Coin so much, and am extremely pleased it proved popular enough to continue on after what was originally supposed to only be five issues.
The Me You Love in the Dark - ghost fucking, huh? Based on the cover art, there might be trouble in paradise for our heroine.
Watch:
I've recently been getting into the films of Alex de la Iglesias. My end-of-night movie on Halloween ended up being his 2014 Heist-turned-cannibal-Witches flick Witching and Bitching. Here's the trailer:
This movie is completely fucking insane. I mean, the last twenty minutes is... well, spectacle filmmaking at its finest.
Here we are again. Remember what yer grandpappy telt ya, November brings the Opeth.
Watch:
Finally!!!
When they brought Fett into the second season of The Mandalorian, I was bummed. I mean, with the creation of Mando, it seemed a misstep to overturn Fett's death, because the brilliance of following another character in the beloved armor floored me as a simple and elegant solution to the problem of how to bring back one of the most popular characters in the franchise. By the end of that season, however, when I realized Fett would not end up a regular character on the show, I warmed to his presence. The masterstroke of setting up a new, Fett-centric show with the post-credits sequence on the final episode proved a masterstroke to me, and now, here we are! With Bossk people, Ree-Eyes, Sand People, Bib Fortuna and Gamorrean Guards a'plenty, I am super excited for this one. Bring it on!
Playlist:
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Mastodon - Hushed and Grim
Jerry Cantrell - Brighten
Type O Negative - Dead Again
HEALTH & Poppy - Dead Flowers
Boy Harsher - Careful
Boy Harsher - Country Girl Uncut
Slayer - Decade of Aggression
Card:
The shortest distance between two points isn't always the fastest. Swiftness can come by way of out-thinking a dilemma.
A little Misfits to round out the night on this All Hallows Eve, 2021. It's weird hearing this remastered version, I'm so used to the old cassette I had, I guess. Still, they didn't clean it up too much.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
27) Ghoulies
28) Titane/Boys From County Hell
29) Arachnophobia
30) Possessor
31) The Final Girls/Donnie Darko/Witching and Bitching
Thursday night, I returned to the Landmark Cinema in West L.A. for a second theatrical viewing of Julia Ducournau's Titane, now holding steady as my second favorite film of the year. I brought two friends, stopped into the closest thing LaLaLand has to a neighborhood joint next door afterward for a beer and some discussion. All in all a great night, and one that was made even better when, on my drive home, I tuned into KXLU and found Fistful of Vinyl doing an all Misfits-covers set. Holy smokes, some great stuff. You can check out the full playlist HERE. In the meantime, this cover of 'Skulls' by Vera Sola ranked right up there near the top of what I heard, and every song I heard was fantastic. Check out her Bandcamp HERE,
Watch:
My favorite show that K and I discovered in 2021 is Tony Basgallop's Servant. The experience we had watching this show was so fantastic - the casting alone won me over after about the first two episodes, especially Toby Kebbell, Lauren Ambrose and Rupert Grint, who probably proved to be my favorite character. It felt like we inhaled the first two seasons, and thankfully, before my free year of Apple TV+ runs out in March, they're dropping a new season in January! Here's the trailer, which no, I'm not watching:
If you haven't seen this, it's worth subscribing to Apple + for a month and binging it, maybe just wait until after all of this third season lands. And if you're put off by the fact that all the press says, "From M. Knight Shamalamadingdong, don't be. He is only the producer. This is Basgallop's baby, and the tone he holds for the 20 episodes that comprised seasons 1 and 2 is nothing short of breathtaking.
Plus, there's a pizza place named Jesus Crust. Come on!
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
27) Ghoulies
28) Titane/Boys From County Hell
29) Arachnophobia
Playlist:
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
White Zombie - La Sexorcisto Vol. 1
Emilie Levienaise-Farrrouch - Censor OST
Pink Milk - Ultraviolet
Mastodon - Hushed and Grim
Deftones - Ohms
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Misfits - Collection I
Steve Moore - VFW OST
Card:
Having the feeling of deja vu as I struggle to come to terms with all the shit I have, how much I want to keep, how much I want to get rid of, and what I inevitably jettison that will come back to haunt me later.
A big thanks once again to Mr. Brown, without who I would not have realized Naked Raygun put out a new album on the resurrected Wax Trax Records! The album is called Over the Overlords and it's pretty damn good. Great to hear from these guys again.
Watch:
I really didn't think I was going to go for this live-action version of Cowboy Bebop, but after that first trailer and now this, well, holy cow am I in!
I love that they're still holding some cards close to their chest. Edward doesn't come into the original series until the ninth session - aptly titled "Jamming with Edward," so it's possible they might not show up in this first season. But I doubt that. A lot of the characters and images we're seeing in this new trailer and the previous one suggest this show is pulling very faithfully from the animated series, but it would be insane to wait to introduce the final person in the Bebop Ka-Tet until a later season, so I appreciate there's still some revelations to look forward to.
Speaking of trailers, howzabout this one?
My prediction, by the way, is that Eternals will not do very well at the box office, so it's good that this flick is poised about a month behind it. I have so many questions about where this Multiverse storyline will lead - we all do - so I'm chomping at the bit for this one.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
27) Ghoulies
Playlist:
Naked Raygun - Over the Overlords
Boy Harsher - Tower (The Runner pre-release single)
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch - Censor OST
John Carpenter - Halloween III: Season of the Witch OST
So, apparently Boy Harsher made a movie called The Runner. Of course, there's an accompanying album as OST. This is the first track they've released off of it. Listening to it over and over today, all I can say is I cannot wait. Here's the trailer to the film:
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
NCBD:
So, if this list looks familiar, it's because I accidentally posted this week's books last week. When I realized, I went back and adjusted the post. That said, last Wednesday's trip to the shop was super disappointing. However, today's will be glorious.
I ended up missing out on the Something is Killing the Children wave, however, I'm definitely grabbing this first issue of the new spin-off series.
If you had told me five weeks ago that I would be so psyched for the second issue of this new mini-series that reuses the name of my favorite X-Storyline of all time, I would have laughed.
I ain't laughing no more. After reading and loving House of X/Powers of X, and not wanting to read all the X-Books that came after it, and reading the solicitations that this is where Hickman's run ends, I am super into this one.
A book whose first issue I initially skipped, I went back and grabbed Primordial #1 a few weeks ago and ending up really digging it. When you consider how much I dug Lemire and Sorrentino's previous collaboration Gideon Falls, it seems like a no-brainer.
Super psyched for a new Two Moons story arc!
The final issue of this series. Not fantastic, but at a paltry 4 chapters, a fun little romp through nostalgia.
Playlist:
Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me
Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
Boy Harsher - Tower (pre-release single)
Boy Harsher - Careful
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Infectious Grooves - The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move
Heaven is an Incubator recently posted a new track by Pink Milk, a band I'd never heard of before, but which knocked me out upon first listen. The new album - Ultraviolet - spun about six or seven times this past Saturday afternoon. I literally could not turn it off.
31 Days of Halloween:
K and I finally saw Halloween Kills. In my world, the only truly necessary Halloween flicks are the original and then Part III: Season of the Witch. But in this world, where there will no doubt always be new Halloween movies, this was a fairly good entry. I'm not sure why so many people dislike it - I actually liked it better than Halloween 2018. The lynch mob stuff strikes me as exactly how that situation would go down in real life. I could have done without the last ten minutes or so, otherwise, solid entertainment.
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23) Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
Playlist:
Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears
Pink Milk - Ultraviolet
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Card:
I'm not seeing the entire scope of something that's concerning me. Something is off. Not sure what that is.
You know what I remembered earlier today? I unabashedly love this song. Sure, there's severe nostalgia - my second concert was Operation: Rock n Roll and featured a duel headlining bill of Cooper and Painkiller-era Judas Priest, along with openers Metal Church, Dangerous Toys and Motörhead. Trash was the album Cooper was supporting at the time, and although I'm not super partial to the rest of the album, this song has got to be one of the greatest 80s rock anthems ever. It's just so good, from the guitar to the vocal melodies on the chorus.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
Playlist:
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
Alice Cooper - Trash
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Dr. John - Gris-Gris
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Belong - October Language
Beth Gibbons, The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra & Krzysztof Penderecki - Henryk Górecki: Symphony N. 3
Card:
This is definitely a reminder that I will no doubt need to tap my reserves of patience tomorrow when we journey back to San Pedro to being going through K's Mother's storage space.
Mr. Brown recently mentioned how much he liked the latest album from Rock Icon Ozzy Osbourne, and it piqued my interest. I haven't really engaged with Ozzy's music in decades, or at least not the music made during those decades. I've always championed No More Tears, and over the last few years, I've grown to have a renewed love of Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman, as well as a new appreciation for two albums I had previously no interest in, 1986's The Ultimate Sin (I've always loved "Shot in the Dark", but the rest of the album fell flat for me in comparison until just a year or two ago) and 1983's Bark at the Moon, even if, yes Sonny, it definitely looks like someone shaved a poodle and then glued the fur to him for the cover shoot. This is the ridiculousness of Cocaine-fueled Hard Rock, and while many of us that grew up loving it as kids reached a point where we simply had to turn a blind eye to the escalating foolishness, there is comfort for some of us in going home again later in life.
My aversion to Ozzy probably also comes from the fact that my high school girlfriend and her two older sisters were SO into the man that one of them had a boyfriend who literally thought he was Ozzy. I mean, he knew he wasn't Ozzy, but he also put it out that he was him, going so far as to have the license plate "I'm Ozzy 1" on his mustang. Perfect for the time, yes, but he was a good guy and I hope he's done well.
Anyway, I guess enough time and distance has come to pass, because in firing up 2020's Ordinary Man, I found I quite liked it. Definitely not going to be a daily jam, but for this morning it's found a place with me, and no song made me smile more than Scary Little Green Men, which seems to encapsulate so much about Ozzy defying ALL expectations - even his own - and making it into his 70s.
Rock on, Mr. Osbourne! I'm glad you're still with us.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
Playlist:
Ritual Howls - Into the Water
Electric Youth and Pilot Priest - Come True OST
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
Hank III - Straight to Hell
Vreid - Wild North West
Mastodon - Sickle and Peace (pre-release single)
X - Under the Big Black Sun
Card:
Because this weekend begins the work of preparing to move across the country. Fuck, this is going to take a long time, because we have to help K's Mom prune her belongings, an entire cache of which resides in a storage facility in San Pedro. So guess where I'm spending my Saturday. Considering how fucking exhausted I am from work of late, this is going to Hurt. As good friend Missi would advise - remember to breathe. So simple, but something that we always forget. Or at least I do.
Another new Zeal and Ardor track dropped last week. From the forth-coming, self-titled new album out February 11, 2022, I've successfully avoided listening to this one so far. Too many singles off an upcoming album can be like watching an extra-long movie trailer that tells you too much. I don't like hearing the songs without the context of the larger work of which they are a part. That said, I'm about to break down and jam this one, because, well, because Zeal and Ardor, you know?
Pre-order the album from the band's store HERE.
NCBD:
UPDATE: I originally posted the books hitting shelves on 10/27 here for 10/20. This is the corrected list.
Last month, I grabbed the first issue of this series on a lark. Really dug it, and I couldn't pass up this cover on issue 2!
Super into where this book is going again after issue 121. How can they sustain such a fantastic title for this long? I guess with the momentum of nearly four decades behind the characters, it makes sense. Or does it? No other book lasts this long and is good the entire way through. Maybe Claremont's Uncanny X-Men or Peter David's Incredible Hulk. This iteration of the Turtles began in 2012, so that's nearly ten years! Wow.
And lastly, the new Brubaker Phillips Reckless GN! Rejoice! These have become among my favorite things in life.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Playlist:
The Final Cut - Consumed
Dennis Michael Tenney - The Beast Inside (single)
Various - Apple 80s Hard Rock Essentials
Skid Row - Eponymous
Slayer - Decade of Aggression
Pretty Maids - Red, Hot and Heavy (terrible album title)
My friend Dave recently hit me up with a link to his group Spizm's new track, B4uDie. Wow. Dave's a pretty incredible drummer - weird that I know two guys named Dave in Chicago that are both incredibly talented on the skins - and a lot of what I've heard him do before was instrumental, often a super unique fusion of jazz and jungle. Those styles are present on this new track, but Dave has taken to adding vocals and they just blew me right the fuck away. Check out Spizm's Bandcamp HERE, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, take it. Just the way Dave plays the hi-hat is enough to make me gawk in wonder.
Watch:
I have tickets to see Julia Ducournau's Titane tonight at a theatre near my work. Wheew - thought I'd missed this one. Can't wait. I know I've posted this trailer here a few times, however, I'm posting it again. I get such a strong Cronenberg Crash vibe from this, but amped up, like Crash on Methamphetamine. Really looking forward to this one.
Also, anyone interested in hearing what I thought of Lamb, hold tight. Ray and I are hooking back up with Seattle University Professor of Film Studies John Trafton to do an episode that discusses both of these this coming Wednesday, so it'll be available to stream the following Tuesday.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Playlist:
White Zombie - La Sexorcisto
White Zombie - Astro Creep 2000
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Electric Youth and Pilot Priest - Come True OST
Waxwork Records - House of Waxwork Issue #1
Vreid - Wild North West
Card:
Slowly starting to work out a new system for writing, as I've been out of the loop and pretty non-productive since my trip.
I rewatched Kevin Tenney's 1988 classic Night of the Demons the other night, and ever since, Dennis Michael Tenney's closing credits anthem "The Beast Inside" has been stuck in my head. What was it about late 80s Horror flicks practically requiring a rock anthem? Did it begin the year before with Dokken's Dream Warriors, from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors? Probably. I'd be curious to make or find a list of other flicks from this era that adhere to that trope. I'll bet there are many.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Read:
I've been pretty behind on my reading of late, partially because I've struggled with books I haven't really liked. Here's a breakdown of what I read and liked and what I've decided to give up on.
I was not expecting to dig this as much as I did. Not since Grant Morrison's 3 years on New X-Men has anyone made the X-Books relevant to me again. Hickman's approach is a genius way of rebooting a major franchise without actually rebooting it, i.e. this new version doesn't eschew the long and varied history of the X-Men, but instead, strikes a vein of gold at that classic continuity's heart that we never knew was there but works perfectly to re-create these characters.
The first past of this two-part (oh why aren't there more?!?) Sandman/Locke and Key crossover came out back in March or April, so I almost missed this second part. I went back and re-read the whole thing in a sitting and was completely blown away. Can we get an ongoing Sandman title written by Joe Hill and illustrated/colored by Gabriel Rodriguez and Jay Fotos? Please? Preferably one that goes back to the days of Morpheus, although, with that line-up, I'd read a Brute and Glob book.
I didn't get a chance to grab these variants, however, I had to post them here just to share their beauty.
Now, onto a HUGE disappointment. Granted, when we're talking Clive Barker, I have to wonder if it's my own baggage that I'm bringing to the table that is preventing me from connecting with this one, however, The Scarlett Gospels just feels... like Barker paid someone else to write this in an approximation of his tone that gets the Horror and Gross shit, but totally misses the nuance.
Lastly, I don't know John Palisano very well, but I consider him one of my favorite people I met while hanging out with the L.A. chapter of the Horror Writer's Association, and his latest novella Glass House proved an interesting experience.
This is, I think, a deeply personal piece of experimental fiction that, through its first-person narrative, really digs into the uncertainty of modern life lived in L.A. I can't say everything about this book worked for me, however, it's a damn interesting trip, with some lovely prose throughout.
Playlist:
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
Thanks to my good friend Jacob for turning me onto Unto Others, even though he did so with a degree of hesitation. And I totally understand that. There's something about this band - and from what I've heard especially this new album - that while I like it, leaves a question of authenticity lingering behind it. Maybe that will dissipate, maybe not. It reminds me a lot of Fear Factory, whose records never quite made the impression on me that a live performance at the beginning of their career did (opening support for Sepultura's Chaos A.D. tour). Either way, for the moment, while I'm getting to know Unto Others, I'm digging it, and especially their new album Strength, which was released a few weeks ago on Roadrunner Records and can be purchased HERE.
Watch:
Hoping to catch this one at some point this weekend:
I've begun to get a bit suspicious of A24, and I'm not really sure that's fair. It started with Saint Maud's original trailer, which felt as though it was screaming the proclamation, "THIS IS THE NEXT HEREDITARY!!!" Because of that, I skipped seeing it at the 2020 Drive-in edition of Beyondfest, only to watch it earlier this year when it hit streaming and, turns out, I really liked it. So I don't know what my problem is. Hopefully, Lamb will prove me 100% wrong.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Playlist:
Type O Negative - October Rust
Unto Others - Mana
Unto Others - Strength
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Card:
A quiet moment of union amidst an ever-expanding storm of chaos.
New music from Emma Ruth Rundle, off the fourth-coming album Engine of Hell. Pre-order HERE.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Playlist:
The Ritual Howls - Into the Water
Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers + Queers
Trouble - Snake Eyes (single)
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Ghost - Prequelle
Dr. John - Remedies
King Woman - Celestial Blues
Steve Morse - VFW OST
Type O Negative - Origin of the Feces
Type O Negative - World Coming Down
Type O Negative - October Rust
Specimen - Azoic
The Final Cut - Consumed
The Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Fields of the Nephilim - The Nephilim
The Wake (US) - Nine Ways
Anthrax - Spreading The Disease
Unto Others - Mana
Card:
Always a welcome image, although I really have no idea how to interpret this at the moment. Things have been slow AF since I returned from Nashville/Chicago. As I write this, it's the first time I've been able to sit down and work on writing. The day job has been difficult, to say the least, and it's draining my creative juices on a pretty much continuous fashion. Ad to that almost a week straight of Beyonfest - NOT complaining - and I just haven't had time to set anything up for success.
Some more Type O is appropriate for this Autumn-ish LaLaLand weather we've had since K and I returned from Chicago.
NCBD:
This book gets crazier with each freakin' issue. Ghost-powered military weapons, weapons of destruction made from haunted houses, spectral Monopoly dogs. WTF
Kang. 'Nuff said.
I almost skipped the first issue of Maze Book. Then, after subscribing to Jeff Lemire's substack newsletter and getting a "process" entry that detailed how he came up with and executed the look of the book, I ran back out and picked it up. Turns out, I loved that first issue, so I am in!
The penultimate chapter of this cool little throw-back Spidey title. I loved seeing the Puffball Collective in this story, and the last issue sent me running to dig out my copy of Incredible Hulk #377. How cool is that?
The end of this War of the Bounty Hunters series. Pretty cool, but I'll not be continuing on with any more Star Wars books for now.
After reading House of X/Powers of X on the plane last week, I am SO into this new, Jonathan Hickman-revamped X continuity. I won't be picking up most of the ongoing titles, so this is the book for me.
Watch:
Monday night was closing night for Beyondfest 2021, and they went out big with the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro and Scott Cooper's long-awaited nightmare Antlers.
A couple of years ago, Mr. Brown turned me onto Gris-Gris, one of the darker Dr. John albums, and it's become a staple of my annual Halloween listening. Check out the album closer, "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" creates a creepy A.F. atmosphere.
Watch:
Last night was my second night at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre for Beyondfest 2021, where we saw Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's new film The Black Phone.
Based on a Joe Hill short story from his debut anthology 20th Century Ghosts, Derrickson and Cargill's adaptation is fantastic. It lengths the fairly concise short story without weakening it. In fact, the flick is so strong that, re-reading the story this morning, I'd have to say it's the perfect kind of adaptation that takes nothing away from the story, but stands strong on its own.
In typical Beyondfest fashion, after the credits rolled and the lights came up, we were treated to an hour+ discussion where Mike Flanagan came out and spoke to Cargill and Derrickson about their creative approached to the film, what Joe Hill and his family thought of the adaptation of his story, ("Joe called us and said, ""Yeah, dad liked it.""), and all kinds of other great stuff.
31 Films of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
Playlist:
Mastodon - Teardrinker (pre-release single)
Sam Hain - November Coming Fire
The High Confessions - Turning Lead Into Gold with the High Confessions
16 - Dream Squasher
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
John Carpenter - Lost Themes III: Alive After Death
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Card:
The cards are re-iterating what they told me yesterday because the event in question is later today. Just keep telling myself, "One and done. One and done."
My trip has pushed my October waaay back; I'm only just now starting on any semblance of an attempt to do 31 Days of Halloween. My good friend Missi suggested doing 31 Movies instead of days, that way, I can make up for the days I miss by watching extra on the days I have time. Sounds like a pretty good plan, but before I get into my list, here's an often-overlooked track from Sisters of Mercy's seminal Floodland album, always an October staple in our house.
Next up was the West Coast Premiere of the new 4K restoration of
Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 classic Possession. I hadn't seen this film until earlier this year - not for lack of trying, mind you - but last night was my third viewing in six months. Seeing Possession with a crowd put an entirely new spin on it for me - while there are obvious absurdities in the film that evoke mild laughter, a lot of the more serious aspects of the failing relationship between Sam Neil's Mark and Isabelle Adjani's Anna came coaxed pretty big laughs from the crowd, and of course, that can be infectious. During my previous two viewings I had interpreted many of these same scenes as dire to the point of anxiety, so it was interesting for a different interpretative lens. That's not to say the entire film had that effect. Quite the contrary. This is a harrowing film, and that sentiment was never very far away,
So, here's the list thus far:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
Playlist:
The Chameleons UK - Strange Times
Crowded House - Eponymous
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Trust Obey - Fear and Bullets
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust
The Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Rebirth Brass Band - Why You Worried 'bout Me?
Rebirth Brass Band - Rebirth of New Orleans
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Motley Crüe - Theatre of Pain
Card:
The Wheel, in my current mindframe, tells me what I already know: I'm repeating myself. I need to politely step away from a pretty nice opportunity that may come up tomorrow. Tempting, but it's not the road I currently plan on walking. No need to go around and around again, expecting different results.
I know nothing about the band Cherubs, but the Apple Music algorithm threw this track at me yesterday and I really got into it. From the 2015 album 2 Ynfynyty off Brutal Panda Records.
NCBD:
I really dug the first issue of Marvel's Alt-Timeline story Dark Ages, so I'm picking up number two!
Funny, there's clearly a 'Dark' aesthetic at work for October over at the House of Ideas. Here's the beginning of this Darkhold storyline which is supposed to feature Dr. Doom pretty front and center. It's been a while since I've read a story with Doom, so this should hit the spot!
The story in this book is pretty bizarre. I don't know that I think the scripts are 100% doing it justice IMO, however, the art reminds me so much of JH Williams III's work on his and Alan Moore's Promethea that I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Look at that cover!
Love this book, so far. You can hear Chris Saunders and I talk about it more in-depth on one of the most recent episodes of A Most Horrible Library Podcast HERE or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
This book gets increasingly addictive with each issue. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
Playlist:
Tunic - Quitter
Cherubs - 2 Ynfynyty
Windhand - Soma
Cash Audio - The Orange Sessions
Immortal Lee County Killers - These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Card:
Operation: Escape From L.A. is formerly underway at our house, and I feel as though this is a reminder that although the next five months will be hectic as we begin to shed possession and streamline our lives for the move, we need to apply focus and aim for accuracy. If not, I'll end up getting rid of a lot of stuff that might bite me in the ass down the road. Plus, chaotic energy can damage a plan as surely as not having a plan can unravel what should otherwise have structure.
