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John Constantine and the Fifth Patio

 

My good friend Mr. Grez recently introduced me to Maldita Vecindad y Los Hijos del Quinto Patio, or from what I'm seeing, more commonly shortened simply to Maldita Vecindad. This band is fantastic; they kind of run all over the place, but for an elevator pitch I might simply go with - from the few songs I know so far - Los Amigos Invisibles meets the Blue Meanies. Check this song out, which in particular was the impetus for me pulling out the Meanies late last week.

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Read:

It's been difficult to log anything in this particular segment of late because I've literally been drowning in the written word (a nice way to go, eh?). From the early 90s Fantaco Night of the Living Dead graphic novel adaptation series (thanks, Butcher!), to Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, to weekly issues of the monthly series I follow, to the last-minute Bernie Wrightson/Kelley Jones re-reads I flew through over the weekend as prep for Chris Saunders and I sitting down with Jones to discuss Wrightson on the newest episode of A Most Horrible Library, I've been in and out of so many continuities lately that my heads started to spin a bit.

But something I've casually commented on over the last month or so that's percolating into a full-on reread is the old Hellblazer series. 

Although I was already in the middle of a slow crawl through Jamie Delano and John Ridgway's original arc collected in Original Sins, I went and reread perhaps Constantine's most iconic arc, the Garth Ennis and Will Simpson's Dangerous Habits. This was seasonal reading - the story I went to over a few pints of Guinness on St. Paddys last week. I finished it last night, and really felt a different aspect of the story resonate with me this time, and that's John's relationship with Matt. 

This relationship is extremely poignant in the Constantine evolution because it's one of (if not the first) time in the series that we see John make a new friend, and how because of how he's let down or betrayed so many of his other, old school friends, we see what Matt's friendship means to him, how he comes down on himself in such a brutal fashion when he gets a new lease on life and realizes he may have forgotten about Matt. This B-story is honestly more emotionally fulfilling than the iconic (and still awesome) Constantine cheats the Devil one in the foreground, and it's something that I don't really think made as big an impact on me back in the day as it does now.

From here, I'm going to continue through Original Sins, however, a full-on Ennis/Dillon reread is imminent at this point, now that my appetite for Ennis' particular take on the character has been reawakened.

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Watch:

Patreon is a slippery slope. I launched one for The Horror Vision recently, mostly because last year, I found out there is another guy out there using our podcast name. We've had the name (and the .com) since October 2018; he started his almost a full year later. He also very obviously realized there was already a podcast with the same name when he went to buy the website and saw ours (his website is a derivation). At any rate, I don't really bear this person any ill will, however, I find it a little perplexing and frustrating that he wouldn't just, you know, come up with another name. So, after discovering all this, I immediately went and branded everything I could think of with our name, Patreon being one of the big ones.

But do we, The Horror Vision, as a podcast, do anything that warrants someone paying to support us on this platform? At the moment, no. I'm slowly working on getting some things off the ground that will make me better about occupying this space - the Patreon exclusive Podcast Elements of Horror is coming SOON - but in the meantime, I just feel weird about even having it. I mean, I don't even totally understand Patreon. Or, at least I didn't until I subscribed to Jeremy Haun's.

Now, this is nothing against Jonathan Grimm, whose Patreon I subbed to some time ago. John's one of my favorite artists working today, a frequent collaborator, and one of my best friends, so it's different. But Jeremy is someone who I met as a fan, and, I think, hit it off with over the course of a podcast interview so that, while I don't know that we're 'friends' exactly yet, we're friendly. And Jeremy's mind, the narrative work he creates, it just has me. The Red Mother was a unique and completely enthralling experience to read; having the opportunity to pick Jeremy's brain about it (and a hundred other things) was a pleasure and one that made me think I would absolutely benefit from supporting him on the Patreon platform. Turns out, I was right.

Just the Haunthology stuff alone fills my heart with the jet-black glee I love so much. Jeremy's is a narrative with ongoing, far-reaching continuity, and that's my favorite thing. Literally. The video above should help demonstrate that. I guess this is probably coming off as a sales pitch for Jeremy's Patreon, and I guess to some degree it is, because I just spent a wonderful hour immersing myself in it and feel completely elated, the way I do when I sit down and read a full arc by David Lapham, or a Hellblazer trade, or watch a great movie. And those are always going to be the things I want to tell other people about on here, because I like to spread the word. Works for the creator, works for the consumer. Literally, win-win.

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Playlist:

Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Pailhead - Singles

Primitive Man - Immersion 

Steve Moore - The Mind's Eye OST

Sunn O))) - Kanon

Steve Moore -  VFW OST

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Card:

I have always loved the colors in this card. The rocky, pixelated backdrop and the emerald symmetry of the image in the foreground work together so well to create this feeling of order over chaos, which of course, is the nature of a truce.

 

This is the truce within myself that I have to navigate in the midst of the, frankly, insane workload I've created in my life. It's a constant energy drain to dodge and weave between projects, but there's no other way I can do things at this point. I believe it's how I've stayed sane during this trying time.

Blue Meanies and Ancient Wallpaper

 

A little Blue Meanies is like a double shot of espresso this early in the morning.

 

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Watch:

I saw a handful of flicks this weekend, however, this is the most intriguing thing I've watched in some time. 

For our anniversary last month, I signed her up for Christine McConnell's Patreon. I enjoy Ms. McConnell's content, however, K is a super fan. This video, which is not a Patreon exclusive but one of McConnell's public offerings, is absolutely insane, as we watch her recreate the color of one-hundred-year-old wallpaper by sight, then physically recreate the areas of the paper that were damaged beyond repair. 

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Playlist:

Human Impact - EP01

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity

Suburban Living - Always Eyes

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Maldita Vecindad - Lo Essencial

Blue Meanies - Full Throttle

Pigface - Live 2019

The Dead Milkmen - Welcome to the End of the World EP

John Carpenter - Lost Themes III: Alive After Death

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Card:

Transitions. Completely appropriate, as I was forced to order a new Mac Book today due to the failing health of the one I'm typing this truncated recording on now. These entries may be short or nonexistent after this until early April, while I wait for my new machine to arrive. 

The Human Impact of Jakob's Wife

 

A new Human Impact EP dropped last Friday and I totally missed it. Last year's eponymous album from these guys was kind of the soundtrack to the apocalypse, so this comes with mixed feelings. Either way, if shit goes pear-shaped again, at least it'll have another great OST.

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Watch:

April 16th can't get here fast enough. Why?

I'll see anything even remotely associated with Larry Fessenden regardless, but it's always great when he spends more time on screen. Here, he's leading man opposite Barbara Crampton? In what looks like a fantastic modern vampire movie, no less.  Count me in.

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Playlist:

Pilotpriest - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Godflesh - Pure

Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark

Suburban Living - How to be Human

Pigface - Live 2019 (vinyl, 231 of 1000)

Huey Lewis and the News - Weather

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Card:

 

I read this as "letting go," which is especially pertinent to my day job at the moment. Being made salary means I'm taking a pay cut if I continue to work the extra hours I am essentially taking a pay cut, so I have to learn to let certain things go. I have a good team that works for me, and what this ultimately means is I will have a lot more time to write. Win Win, as long as I can let go.

Genghis Tron - Pyrocene

The anticipation for Genghis Tron's new album is becoming palpable! It helps that none of these songs are anything I would have expected from this band, which is, of course, a good thing.

Out next week on Relapse Records, there's still time to pre-order HERE. 

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Watch:

This one popped onto my radar recently, and after realizing Son is directed by Ivan Kavanagh, who also did 2014's The Canal, I'm very much looking forward to it. Here's the trailer, which I myself am not watching, preferring instead to go in blind on this one:

 

Son is an easy $6.99 rental on Prime at the moment, so that might just happen this weekend. After the werewolf revenge flick I mentioned in yesterday's post, that is. 

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Playlist:

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

Godflesh - Pure

Suburban Living - Always Eyes 

Suburban Living - How to Be Human

Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper 

DJ Muggs the Black Goat - Dies Occidendum

Flogging Molly - Float

The Pogues - Red Roses For Me

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Card:

We'll skip the obvious allusion to drinking on the morning after a fairly subdued St. Paddy's and go for the archetypal:

 

From the grimoire: "An artist above all things. Intensely secret and dedicated to his craft."

I'll take the compliment.

Happy St. Paddy's - Again!

 

Been drinking, felt the need to post. I was going to watch an Irish Horror Flick tonight, instead I think I'll round out the evening reading old Garth Ennis Hellblazer issues.

Happy St. Paddy's

I won't be able to celebrate appropriately until Saturday. Even then, this is the second year in a row I can't gather my movie night squad and feed them Corned Beef, Whiskey, and Phil Joanou's Irish Mafia epic State of Grace, which I watch every year. Still, they're in me heart, eh?

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NCBD:

Well, this week is a pretty small haul, but it's an issue I've been looking forward to:

Also, this one came out last week, and I've had it on-hold with Atomic Basement:

I'm not entirely certain why I'm buying this one, so let's hope I'm not severely disappointed. I've always said I can't tolerate a monthly dose of the Caped Crusader, and in the past I have been pleasantly surprised by one-off buys like this over-sized anthology of short stories, so I guess we'll see.

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Playlist:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love IN

The Neverly Boys - Dark Side of Everything

Electric Youth - Come True OST

The Birthday Party - Junkyard

Genghis Tron - Pyrocene (pre-release single)

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon (pre-release single) 

Tomahawk - Business Casual (pre-release single)

Tomahawk - Dog Eat Dog (pre-release single)

 

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Card:

 

Mixing disparate ingredients to bring something new to the table. Committing to follow it through. I'm not quite sure how to interpret that at the moment, however, it may have to do with podcasting and my continued inertia/anxiety about attempting to bring DwC back to life. Plenty of ideas, and maybe the ones that I should be looking at stretch the pre-existing format as far afield as possible.