Isolation: Day 12 - Anthrax Lone Justice

I'm not quite through posting about this one yet. Anthrax's 1985 Sophomore album Spreading the Disease has locked into my heart of late, and I'm finding it hard to get my fill of it. Every song is great, and what's really cool is this is Anthrax not fully formed as they will be by 1987's Among the Living. That's the album where I think pretty much everyone agrees the band solidified their sound for the next few albums (only to overthrow that again a few albums later by replacing Joey Belladonna with Stan Bush for the release of 1993's Sound of White Noise). But on Spreading the Disease we still have some of the young band's influences showing through, and both today's track 'Lone Justice' and yesterday's 'The Enemy' really show the Iron Maiden influence on these guys. I mean, listen to either of these songs and imagine Bruce "History Major" Dickinson singing over the top and you'll hear it right away. So cool, to see the primordial ingredients of one of the most iconic bands in Thrash history.

Speaking of history, I'm hearing Mr. Bungle's Raging Wraith of the Easter Bunny album should be out in fall, if, you know, the current crisis ends by then and the world that's left even slightly resembles what we have now. Which, hopefully, it will. More on those efforts in Mindful Habitation, below.

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Mindful Habitation:

Today is my 44th birthday. Holy shit, man! Forty-four. There were times I didn't think I'd get this far; I've always had sort of a prescient block on how to imagine aging (hence my Bowie article HERE), and in light of current events, well, you never know. Could be my last. Not that I'm walking around worried about that. I think we're all probably prone to a certain amount of on-again-off-again existential crisis at the moment, but generally I'm thinking I'll make it through to the other side of whatever this is shaping up to be. And so will all my loved ones, K and our family in both states I divide my consciousness between, but also, all the friends who probably don't know it, but who I carry with me day-to-day as a sort of live-in consensus. This is my world, and as long as they remain consistent, I can adapt. I'm not special; I'm sure most people have these lists and they're tossing dice against the Universe that when the dealer folds, they're holding the better cards. All we can do is sit at the table, employ the our best poker face, and try and beat this. It is going to take a bite out of our population, because it has to. The Planet's needs come first, y'all. However, play it smart and let those too stupid to pay attention or take this seriously be the ones weeded out. And that's the Mindful Habitation for today: I never thought I'd age into the kind of person who thinks the military needs to control things with a police state, but Jesus-Fucking-Christ, all these people still gathering in groups, still playing basketball at the park in large numbers, still not taking this seriously? STOP IT. If you don't? Well, then if Mother Nature has to thin the heard, I'm all for her starting there. The only problem is how many non-morons they might likewise infect. So - and this goes back to a life rule for me - minimize the number of morons in your life.

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I don't normally make much of a to-do out of my bday anyway, so this year won't be that different. I love to throw parties and celebrate my friends' reiteration renewal, but I prefer to let mine squeak by quietly. That said, I have today and tomorrow off, I ordered a growler of my favorite local beer (King Harbor Brewings' Swirly!), and K and I kicked off two days of marathoning stuff that I love last night with The Big Lebowski and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Been at least ten years since I'd seen either, and both hold up. Lebowski remains one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and Vegas, although darker with each subsequent viewing, always hits my heart with the weight of Thompson's profound insight into the Death of the American Dream. Today? Not entirely sure yet, but I may be starting a marathon re-watch of Twin Peaks: The Return in a little while. I might work up to that with a first viewing of The Conjuring 2, though, simply because I've still never seen it.





UPDATE: We watched the Conjuring 2. It's very well made shit. I didn't hate it, but total disappointment, because I maintain the original is fantastic, even if it does lose a bit of steam once they show us the ghost on top of the armoire. Still Number Two felt like a massive step backwards, despite some very fancy and expensive camera work.

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Playlist:

Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
Steve Moore - Frame Dragging EP

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Card:

A reminder, I think, not to let the day go by without some creative time. Think I'll dig back into my current project for a little bit, come up for air in an hour or so. Just to keep the juices flowing.

Isolation: Day 11 - Anthrax The Enemy

When I was a Freshmen in High School in 1990, I fell really heavy into Anthrax. I loved all the Titans of Thrash, but Anthrax was the one that I loved best, mostly because of how The Persistence of Time hit me. That was the first Anthrax album I bought/heard, and when I spread my allowance out over the next few months digging into their back catalogue, I fell even deeper in love. Among the Living is the obvious gem, but State of Euphoria, Spreading the Disease, and the I'm the Man EP all occupied a place of great thrall in my cassette collection. Since then, Persistence, Among, and State have all stayed in and out of rotation, but for whatever reason, Spreading the Disease was the album I never really went back to again after those teenage years. Last month, after seeing Mr. Bungle's thrash set, I went through a reawakening on the marvels of classic thrash, and ever since then, Spreading the Disease has been inching its way up into the top rotation spot in my daily playlists. And this last week or so - no irony intended - it's been the album that has soundtracked my thoughts.

I wake up everyday with one of the songs in my head. For a few days it was Medusa. Yesterday it was The Enemy. Today it was Gung Ho. I'm absolutely loving this record right now, it feels like one of the crown jewels of 80s thrash. It's always such a good feeling to fall in love with an album all over again.

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Last night, K and I watched Roger Avary's 1993 French Bank Heist gone wrong Killing Zoe. I saw this movie a lot when it came out on video; I'm pretty sure other than Reservoir Dogs, this was a constant with my friends and I. Dark, funny, and thoroughly possessed by that "Tarantino Crime Aesthetic," probably because Avary helped create that vision with his work on Pulp Fiction. If you've never seen this one, it's definitely worth a watch, and if, like me, it's been at least a decade, I definitely recommend a re-watch. Killing Zoe won't disappoint.



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Playlist:

Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
Beach Slang - The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City
Algiers - The Underside of Power
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

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Card:

Fours are solid, but in my opinion, sometimes misleading. I've had a few days off writing simply because of it was my weekend to work and it kicked my ass. Now though, I have the next two days off, so it's back to work.

Isolation: Day 10 - RIP Kenny Rogers

I'm not a huge fan or anything, but there's no denying the man is a legend. I know this is the obvious choice for people of my 'demo' to post as a tribute due to its presence in the Cohen Brothers' cult-favorite film The Big Lebowski. Regardless, I love this tune.

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Based on my fellow Horror Vision Host King Butcher's recommendation, I picked up a Blu Ray copy of 2011's Fright Night Remake two weeks ago, and finally watched it Friday night. I saw Craig Gillespie's remake of the classic Tom Holland 80s Vampire flick back when it was released theatrically and liked it, although I don't have a ton of history with the original, which I know I've seen in its entirety but not until way later in life - about time I revisit that already. I liked it even more second time through. The cast is top notch, and late-00s CG doesn't bother me so much, as most of the scenes that require them are awesome regardless.

And then there's David Tennant. Goddamn, that man is awesome.



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Playlist:

Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars
Beach House - 7
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Beastmilk - Climax
Calexico - Even My Sure Things Fall Through

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Card:

It's a Swords kind of moment, that we find ourselves in, eh? But the Ten of Swords isn't a signpost as to where we're going, it's more a warning in my eyes, a warning that our negativity feeds itself and multiplies (10 is the initial multiple of 5, which is Swords is Defeat). Our ruinous thoughts and negative attitudes do nothing but perpetuate themselves and our misery. So...


Mindful Habitation:

As stupid as it sounds, smile when you're tempted to freak out. I've done this for years - when I can have the presence of mind to do it. Smiling releases chemicals that make you feel better. Sounds awful new age, but it works. Even if it doesn't work and this is a case of "if you've convinced yourself, that's great," I've always been okay with the so called Placebo Effect. As long as I get the end results I set out for, who cares if I tricked my brain into getting there?

Isolation: Day 8 - More New Me and That Man!

At this point, I'm not listening to any more of Me and That Man's new record until I have the full album in my hands (pre-order HERE), but I'm posting it here so I can go back to it, and so you, dear reader, can strike out into the territory I'm eschewing simply because I am such a fan of full album immersion.

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The best thing to come out of social media that I've seen since the Pandemic began? Right here:



Love these guys.

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Finished Black Stars Above this morning. Five Issues of creepy, nuanced cosmic horror. Here's one of my favorite images, from issue four:

This very much reminds me of Alan Moore and JH Williams III's Promethea. Jenna Cha's art, Brad Simpson's colors, and Lonnie Nadler's story work in such perfect synthesis. They have to, it's the only way to tell such a macro/micro story that delves into infinite cosmic territory. This page illustrates the beautiful way the creative team delivers the ineffable.

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Mindful Habitation:

As so many others are, Southern California is on Shelter-in-place. Weird, but really only in perception and big picture theory. Day-to-day won't be that different for many of us. I'm bummed to know this will halt a lot of businesses, the smaller ones especially. Many of those smaller ones are really using this to innovate and think outside the box. The Comic Bug remains purveyors of media via mail, delivery, or scheduled appointment (HERE for details). King Harbor Brewery is doing same-day local Growler delivery (HERE). These are examples local to me, however, I'm getting reports of this from friends all over the place, so if there's a business you love, reach out and see if they are working with similar innovations.

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Event Viewing:

Episode Four of Alex Garland's Devs landed last night, and it was quite the ride. The opening floored me with it's image/sound juxtaposition. Geoff Barrow and The Insects' score is overall fantastic, but in this particular scene, it was unearthly, layered, textured sounds arranged in a way that made the images bloom from the screen.

And Nick Offerman? Killing it.

Playlist:

Exhalants - Eponymous
Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
Slayer - Live Undead/Haunting the Chapel
The Bronx - The Bronx (I)
Seefeel - Fracture/Tied (Single)
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Deth Crux - Mutant Flesh
Metatron Omega - Evangelikon
Myrkur - Folkesange

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Card:

An agent of enlightenment. Reproductive force - not necessarily biologically speaking. I'm leaning more toward an interpretation that reinforces people are finally learning what needs to be done and doing it (even a certain douche celebrity decided to comply and close his shitty restaurant). Also, the gray skeins in the background speak to the illusory world losing its leverage as knowledge dawns. That's the Devil - the Morningstar, enlightener extraordinaire.

Isolation: Day 7 - Type O Negative - Open Air Festival 1995

As usual, Brooklyn Vegan has been killing it on curation and content during these trying times. THIS article, posted Wednesday, 3/18, runs down a list of several fantastic live shows currently available in-full on youtube. Of course, I went directly to the Type O one. I saw them twice on the October Rust tour - the shows are among my fondest concert memories - and this footage takes me back in a way I did not quite expect. With the tenth anniversary of Peter Steele's death on the horizon (April 14th), and with rain falling intermittently more than usual in LaLa Land, this landed at the perfect moment for me. Thanks Brooklyn Vegan, for all that you do!

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Two nights ago, K and I finished the second season of Netflix's Castlevania, which means we finally get to move on to Season Three, which I keep seeing referred to as "Psychedelic Horror." Can't wait for that, especially considering the way events played out at the end of Season Two. Written by legendary comics scribe Warren Ellis, Castlevania is pure joy for Horror/Comics/Video Game fans alike. Ellis' writing is top notch; think of when the mostly creator-owned writer steps into high level IP's like X-Books, Batman, or, if you're like me and fondly remember Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., and you'll get a ballpark sense of what a joy it is seeing this man play with super well-known toys. For a peak inside his process, go to Orbital Operations and sign up for his weekly newsletter. It is seriously one of the things in life I most look forward to reading every week, both for the process insights, and his unmatched aptitude as a curator of all things awesome! In the meantime, for only those who have finished Season Two, here's a clip of the penultimate battle that just blows my f*&king mind!



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Playlist:

The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Antemasque - Eponymous
The Black Angels - Eponymous EP
SOD - Speak Spanish or Die
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
Slayer - Decade of Aggression
Type O Negative - Origin of the Feces
Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars

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Card:

I'm not sure how to read the common interpretation of "Seed to a Tree." In light of world events, I'm not sure if that's positive for us now, on this side of what this thing will eventually become, or if it's referring to the growth of COVID-19, or if we're talking about the mass culling of our population and eventual rebuilding phase. Another common interpretation here is that something will begin, but that's pretty much as eerily ambiguous as the other.

Let's hope future generations aren't as irresponsible as we (collectively) have been.

As more and more cities go into Shelter-in-Place, I'm having moments throughout my day where Science Fiction interlopes my daily routines and shows me where we very well may be going. Remember, the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasy is Science Fiction is - in its purest form - fiction based on the extrapolation of current Scientific Knowledge/Method. In other words, the Orwells, RAW's, and Huxley's of the world - not to mention the Gilliams -  have been warning us for decades. My company announced today they are drafting official documents for us in the event of checkpoints being erected to control non-quarantine compliance. I heard this and couldn't help envision a scene cobbled together from various fictional sources I've consumed in my life: I pull up to a police or military checkpoint, lower my window, and hand a gas-mask wearing official my papers, which they check over and hand back.

Wow. Yeah, that is most likely where we are going.

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Mindful Habitation:

It has never been my intention to make this blog political, primarily because there is no answer when it comes to politics. I detest both sides and long for the day when I can remove my support from either tired old institution we continue to placate. I thought that would be this year. Now - assuming we still have an election in November - I not only want Captain Hairdo out of office, I want to see him tried for Crimes Against Humanity. Because all the other shit was bad, but not that different from what the other side does. Now though, we have a 'leader' who is very much responsible for not only the loss of human life on a grand scale, but what is looking like it will be the end of 'this great nation.' No, I'm blaming him for the existence of COVID-19. But when you follow his words and sentiment, you see where the irresponsibility sets in, and why I make such strong accusations.

Some things to think about are HERE and HERE. Don't dwell in there too long, and don't fall down the Twitter-hole, but these are the things to remember when/if we have an election in November. I would like to see these people Tried in a Court of Law for Crimes Against Humanity. The difference here is, if you compare to, for instance, when Nixon fell from grace, his supporters believed he wasn't guilty until his crimes were proven. In this day and age, people can see proven facts and simply refuse they are facts. This goes back to what I have been saying since the "Alternative Facts" bullshit that began post inauguration. There is no such thing as Alternative Facts. THIS is Orwell's 1984, where the state decides reality, and it's fucking terrifying.

Isolation: Day 6 - Beach Slang's Tommy in the 80s

Holy cow am I in love with this song. From Beach Slang's 2020 record The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City, released this past January on Bridge9 Records. Buy HERE. Many thanks to my friend Jeffrey for kicking this one my way, as the entire record is awesome.

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Black Stars Above #5 comes out today. Or does it? At this point, I'm not sure if either the Comic Bug or Atomic Basement are open, or whether Diamond is distributing at all. So many things are locked down; what do you do? Well, if you're a fucking asshole, you go to Texas or Florida for Spring Break. If you're an even bigger, more famous asshole, you refuse to close your shitty hillbilly restaurant. And if you're the biggest asshole? You blame everyone else for the mess you might not have created, but that you sure as fuck helped spread. I am happy to announce I am now 100% A-political, and consider Capitalism as much a failed experiment as Communism. What's left? Well, if you're Mother Earth, you start trimming the virus choking the life out of you with a pandemic. Sad but true folks; nothing could be better for the planet as a whole than to have a couple billion people removed.

Anyway, here's to hoping no one you or I love gets removed, and come this afternoon, we can all go get some new comics. Unlikely, but I'll take it.

This book is so damn good!

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Playlist:

Porridge Radio - Every Bad
Antemasque - Eponymous
The Black Angels - Eponymous EP
The Black Angels - Passover
Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
Various Artists - The Void OST
Beach Slang - The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City
Metatron Omega - Evangelikon
Zonal - Instrumental Playlist

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Here's today's card:

Yesterday's:

Monday's:

We're looking at a clear progression from Monday to today. Oppression kinda speaks for itself at this point, especially with Shelter-in-Place orders being handed out left and right. There's the Strength this is requiring/going to require to get through, and then there's the Queen, who indicates compassion for others, a mothering nature. We need that right now, and I'm happy that, for as many examples of complete human bullshit, there is an almost equal number of stories of compassion, civic-mindedness, and generosity. However, the Queen of Cups also opens the door for that gentle, compassionate nature to collapse in on itself, turning weakness and resentment. I'm not sure I've seen a three-day spread mirror the three days better.

Take care of people, and what's more - and I can't believe I'm saying this - if the order is to stay put and minimize your contact with others, fucking do it. These orders are not from the president - remember, he doesn't think the WHO's numbers are accurate - it's from the organizations and departments in the government that, despite Captain Hairdo's crippling of them over the last three years, are trying to deal with the strain this is going to put on Hospitals. Also, and fuck the human race for me even having to say this, regarding the fine folks working in groceries, hardware stores, wherever you're going for supplies, don't treat them poorly. They're heroes in this moment, and trust me, you would not want to be doing their job.

Happy St. Paddy's Day - Have Some Pogues!

It doesn't feel much like St. Paddy's, and I'm on call, so my usual gathering with friends to watch State of Grace is postponed. Still, what's March 17th without some fucking Pogues?

Enjoy!