Isolation: Day 136 - New Sumac

A couple years ago, I caught Sumac live opening for Converge. Fantastic band. I kind of forgot about them after that, but with this lead track off their forthcoming album out October 2nd on Thrill Jockey - Pre-order HERE - I'm all in.

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NCBD:

Finally! We haven't been waiting for this new Brubaker/Phillips graphic novel for very long, but it's felt like a millennium! These guys are aces, and if you subscribe to Brubaker's email newsletter, you will have seen his announcement that they are releasing three original graphic novels over the next year as part of a new series. He hasn't released all the details yet, but he did include a few pages of the finished product, and it looks fantastic. Of course.

I'm a bit on the fence with this one, but I'm absolutely down to give Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips' That Texas Blood the benefit of a few issues to lock into place.

I LOVE this cover! So old school, black and white TMNT. This book just gets better and better, breaking new ground with world building no longer beholden to the old iterations.

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Playlist:

Mitch and Ira Yuspeh - Seven Doors of Death OST

Godflesh - Streetcleaner

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

JK Flesh - Depersonalization

Baroness - Gold and Grey

Blueneck - Repetitions

Primus - Frizzle Fry

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

Black Sabbath - Sabotage

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Card:

I was super excited to draw a card this morning from my new deck, one my good friend Missi colored for me. The deck is just the Major Arcana, but that's super cool. I know a few people who only draw with the Majors, and I've kind of always wanted a deck to do that with. Broadstroke answers can be insanely helpful.

Of course I shuffled the hell out of the deck - I could feel the energy Missi put into these things - and what card flips out on its own and lands face up in front of me? The Fool, of course, because I'm beginning a new journey with a new deck. Not replacing my beloved Thoth, but adding to it, in a way.

I've never been one to have multiple decks, but this is special and I love it. Look at how gorgeous this card is! I'm christening this deck the Raven Deck, after Missi. 

Isolation: Day 135 - Kilroy Was Here

I was elated to see this trailer yesterday. Ever since Tusk, I've been on the outs with Kevin Smith; I used to be a huge fan of his films and his podcasts. Even when his material wasn't great - Clerks II - I always gave him the benefit of the doubt, simply because I'd heard him talk about his creative process and the industry numerous times in person or on his podcasts, and always considered him an aspiration. The thing about Tusk that sunk that boat was despite the fact that Michael Parks gives a fantastic performance, and the cinematography and set design is fantastic, it felt stupid and ill-conceived, not to mention a total tonal mess. Why didn't he get the benefit of the doubt that time? Well, in the year or two before Tusk, Smith began talking about how pot had become a major part of his creative process, allowing him to follow through on ideas he normally would have dismissed. Guess what? That's not a good thing, to jettison your internal quality department by way of inhibition dampening drugs. Hey, I'm no angel. I drink and smoke often. That said, I rarely work on major projects when under the influence. I might get a breakthrough idea while stoned - that happens somewhat often - but I also know when I sober up what to discard as fanciful crap and what to keep. Tusk feels like a pretty good idea that went off the deep end, I'm guessing due to Smith's state of mind while writing it.

All that aside, Kilroy looks FANTASTIC. I'm super happy to be excited about a Kevin Smith project again, especially one that's horror.

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I received my copy of Eibon Press's The Beyond #1 yesterday, and I'm excited to confirm that this is not a straight adaptation of Lucio Fulci's film. There's a lot of background here, with the issue ending where the film begins, so that we get an interesting backstory for Schweick and Liza. Very cool, and the art is just fantastic in all its gory goodness!

The fourth issue finale comes out this Friday, and I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering the rest of the series then. Eibon Press's Fulci page is HERE. If you dig Fulci, support a truly independent company!

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Playlist:

Thirsty Crows - Hangman's Noose
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Metallica - Master of Puppets
The Stooges - Funhouse
The Smiths - Panic (Single)
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Brainiac - Bonzai Superstar
Savages - Silence Yourself
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

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Card:

Lots of feminine energy this week so far. Makes sense. 

Isolation: Day 134

Following up yesterday's Sunday Bandcamp feature of JK Flesh's 2012 Posthuman with his newest release. Depersonalization dropped at the beginning of the month on Hospital Productions, a label I am completely unfamiliar with. Buy on cassette HERE.


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After watching that video of Henry Rollins geeking out over Rhino's 50th Anniversary box set of The Stooges Funhouse, I knew there was no way I was going to spend $400 on it, so I did the next best thing. My copy of Raw Power on CD disappeared a few years back, so I decided to finally replace it with Vinyl. Huge bonus, too, because without even realizing it, the copy I picked up has four sides - the complete 1973 Bowie mix, and the complete 1997 Iggy mix, both remastered, both sound great.

Bowie Mix:


Iggy Mix:


There's some insane differences between the two mixes, and where I used to prefer the Iggy mix hands down - it's the first way I ever heard the album - after spending part of Friday night comparing the two side by side, I think I'm split perfectly down the middle. The one huge sticking point has always been Penetration, which I prefer with the chime. However, the remaster of Bowie's mix shows what older copies on disc don't - the chime is there, and slowly creeps into the mix, where in the Iggy mix, it's pretty much in your face from the jump. Both have merit, especially when you factor in some of the insane levels Bowie mixed Pop's vocals at. Having Iggy sit that far on top of the mix doesn't always work, but on a few tracks, it gives the music an even more intense feeling of chaos.

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Playlist:

Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
My Bloody Valentine - MBV
Discharge - Never Again
Heads. - Push
Gösta Berlings Saga - Konkret Musik
Baroness - Gold and Grey
La Hell Gang - Thru Me Again
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Mannequin Pussy - Patience
Godflesh - Streetcleaner
JK Flesh - Depersonalization

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Card:

Taming creative force with strategy. This is PERFECT, as Saturday I put myself in a bit of a tizzy in regards to what I'm doing with the new book. There's so many avenues out there for authors now, but it's hard to figure out exactly what to do. This leads to stalemate, a feeling of paralyzed frustration that comes from the paradox of choice. Weathering this will be no small feat, but it is possible.

Bandcamp Sunday: JK Flesh

There's a great interview with Broadrick on daily Bandcamp HERE.

Isolation: Day 131 New Jaye Jayle!

Another track from the forthcoming album Prisyn, out August 7th on Sargent House. Pre-order HERE.

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I've had Fulci on the mind of late. Yesterday after work I threw on The Beyond, and my love of this flick - which is still pretty new, as previously I just did not get it at all - prompted me to go to Eibon Press and finally order one of their Fulci comics, specifically the first issue of The Beyond, the signature edition that comes with the premiere of the US version of the film's soundtrack by Mitch and Ira Yuspeh.



The edited, US version of the film, re-titled 7 Doors of Death, was the only one available here until Quentin Tarantino helped Grindhouse Releasing put out The Beyond in its original form in 1996. The 7 Doors of Death version eschewed Fabio Frizzi's soundtrack for one by the Yuspehs.

The comics Eibon Press makes all look fantastic. I've been curious about their Fulci stuff for a while, but I've been unsure if the books are simply adaptations of the films or extensions of them, the latter what I'd be interested, the former not so much. Either way, the inclusion of the score on this package - even if its not vinyl - is what ended up sealing the deal for me. And worse case scenario, I have a cool comic based on the film, too!

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Playlist:

Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
The Smiths - Meat is Murder
La Matos - Summer of '84 OST
M.I.A. - Arular
Baroness - Gold and Grey
La Hell Gang - Thru Me Again
House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was

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Card:

I get it. I've been tempted to tinker with the finished product. I've seen this card enough lately to know I should just leave it alone and concentrate on moving on.

Isolation: Day 131

I've had The Smiths on the brain of late, particularly The Queen is Dead, and even more particularly this song. I love Morrissey's lyrics, but even more, I love his delivery of the lyrics. "Dreaded sunny day, so let's go where we're happy, and I meet you at the cemetery gates" is a hysterically subtle indictment of 80s Goth culture - a considerable part of the band's fan base - that is beautifully countered by genuinely thought provoking and despondent lines like, "All these people, all those lives, where are they now? With loves and hates and passions just like mine, they were born and then they loved and then they died."

It's just so damn good.

The Smith are a band that, when I'm into them, I feel my love for each song and album deepen with each listen.

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Last night, K and I finished Dark Season Three.

Holy. Shit.

In the interest of understanding the insanely well-written intricacies of this series, we'll be starting season three over again tonight. This time, however, we're going to follow every episode we watch at night by listening to the Digesting Dark podcast episode pertaining to the episode. These guys really know the show, and both K and I are really looking forward to having some third person insight into this one, because no one else we know is watching this, and it BEGS to be discussed.



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Last week, the Maniac Cop trilogy dropped on Shudder. I've been wanting to see the original for years but haven't had much luck. As far as I knew until Arrow's recent release, the Larry Cohen created, William Lustig-directed Action/Horror classic had not been in print for quite some time. How was it? Exactly what I expected, and wonderful for just that reason. It's not everyday you have Bruce Campbell and Tom Atkins in the same flick.



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Playlist:

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Tamaryn - The Waves
The Soft Moon - Deeper
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine - White People and the Damage Done
Me and That Man - New Man New Songs Same Shit Vol. 1
The Stooges - Funhouse
Steve Moore - Bliss OST
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band


Card:

Big influences spur a new project. Yes. Very big. Not a new project, but a new direction for the current book as I've decided to take a completely different tack than I was originally planning.

Isolation: Day 130

Mr. Brown sent this video to me yesterday and it absolutely made my day! Henry Rollins' excitement for music is an enjoyable thing to experience, and watching this has made me miss listening to his radio show on Los Angeles Public Radio KCRW (Link directly to his show, where past episodes are streamable HERE). The show used to be my regular Saturday night thing, but that was years ago, and as soon as KCRW moved him to Sunday at 9:00 PM, it killed my patronage. I've been meaning to make a habit of streaming the shows the day after, and I think this video was just what I needed to finally make that happen.

As far as the subject of the video, Rhino's Funhouse 50th Anniversary pressing - it's awesome for sure, but not something I'd shell out $400 (plus, as Brown pondered in a text, what about shipping on a box that size?). Still, it's a pleasure to hear Rollins geek out about that which he loves, and it's definitely infectious.

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Two nights ago I woke up from an after-work nap and found K about fifteen minutes into a movie I'd never heard of before. I sat down and ended up getting sucked in, especially when I saw that Hannah Gross and DAVID CRONENBERG both had roles in the flick (as does Aaron Poole). Albert Shin's Disappearance at Clifton Hill is a weird little flick, visually gorgeous, and with definite Lynch influence. Until I looked the film up, as we were watching it, I began to suspect it might be a Brad Anderson film, as Clifton definitely feels like something Anderson might have done around the time he made The Machinist or Transsiberian.



The film is currently streaming on HULU, and is definitely worth your time.

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Playlist:

François-Eudes Chanfrault - Computer Assisted Sunset
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Melvins - Houdini
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The Stooges - Eponymous
The Stooges - Funhouse

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Card:

Too much to get into at the moment, but let's just say I re-thought the book and am going to try something a little bit different with it than I originally intended.