Clown on Clown Violence Has Me in Stitches

Ah, how I love Bloodydisgusting. Earlier today they came through with not only the redband trailer for British clown horror flick 'Stitches' but they posted an exclusive clip that had me laughing (and gagging! Pulling a rabbit out of the ol' hat will never be the same again in my eyes!)

Go here to watch the redband trailer - it's awesome!!!

Mojo Walker: Big Blues Done Right!!!

Full Disclosure: This is a good friend's band. However, let that not dissuade you. These guys are GOOD. I'm not really a fan of straight up Blues, but this is Blues done right. The amazing thing is this friend of mine, who is the songwriter and 'orchestrater' of the project, had never played the blues before last April, when he just suddenly woke up one day and decided, "Hmmm, I think I'm going to make a Blues band".

They play the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago tonight, if anyone is free I personally guarantee it will be a GREAT show.

Savages - Husbands

Oh, this is even better than the previous post. Nice.

Savages - Husbands

Kas Product - So Young But So Cold

Further proof that you can learn something new about music from the past everyday. I'd never heard of Kas Product or for that matter the scene it is associated with. My discovery began last week when I was skulking around the always awesome heavenisanincubator and found this:

I really dug Feurerbahn and went back today to buy the album. In looking at the tags on the bandcamp I saw a term I'd never seen before - Cold Wave.

Hmmmm....

So I googled Cold Wave. Apparently Cold Wave had a little lift off in the late 70's/early 80's and derives its name from a quote by Siouxsie and the Banshees, where they described their music as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time".

Next I found this discogs entry which led me to this allmusic entry. From there it wasn't far until I found Kas Product.

Good stuff.

Sinister - Maybe the Best Horror Sound Design Ever

I finally watched 2012's Sinister last night. I missed it at the theatre last October and had been waiting to see it ever since. I'd heard a lot of good things about it from people whose opinions I trust and I am ALWAYS looking for genuinely scary horror movies so I had a pretty mean case of anticipation/expectation, which can be a dangerous way to go into a flick for the first time.

So what's the verdict? Well, the movie blew me away. There were a few little issues with the supporting cast*, but nothing that can't be overlooked based on how adamantly it was committed to be HORROR. The ending was awesome. But what was even more awesome was the sound design. Holy cow, this is probably the best sound design in a horror flick I've ever heard. I mean, granted it has an edge with modern technology over flicks like Halloween and The Exorcist, so we need to adjust for that, but seriously, it was fantastic. After watching the film I went immediately to purchase the score online and found this great blog The End of Summer that posted some of the tracks left off that album.

...........................

* Primarily the wife, played by Juliet Rylance. I donn't think it's Ms. Rylance's fault but her chaaracter was really nothign more than a plot device, acting the way the story needed her to act by constantly riding Ethan Hawke's Ellison and throwing down ultimatums to amp his character's arc's timeline up. Still, totally overlooking that based on EVERYTHING else about the film. Also, as long as I'm crituqing the 'bad' about the supporting cast I should give props to the fantastic. James Ransone - who plays Deputy "so and so" is absolutely fantastic as a cop who, against his sheriff's decree, wants to act as Ellison's inside information man just to get a thank you in the next book. I expect we'll see more good stuff from Mr. Ransone, he was just that good.

RIP Shannon Larratt 1973-2013

I don't know all that much about this man, or about the body hacking/grinding culture in general. However, since reading Warren Ellis' Doktor Sleepless - which originally exposed me to the movement in the first place six years ago or so - I've kept a periodic eye on some of what develops in those circles. As someone interested in the manner in which science fiction becomes science it seems to me this is where a lot of that is happening. I'd read a few posts about Shannon Larratt on Klint Finley's wonderful technoccult and that is where I learned of his death this morning. I don't know that I would have even written about this if not for the reaction I had to reading his farewell letter. It is remarkable. Sad, but remarkable. You can read portions of the letter here.