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.
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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
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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.
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Last night was my first night of Beyondfest 2021 at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre (The Egyptian is, sadly, still under construction). This will most likely be my last Beyondfest, since we're aiming at completing Operation: Escape From L.A. by April of next year. That said, if I get to keep working for the same company I do now by reconfiguring my position to be solely work-from-home, I might be able to persuade my boss to fly me out next year. One can hope. Anyway, last night we saw Gaspar Noé's new film Vortex. Starring Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun and Alex Lutz, Vortex is an insanely profound piece of Cinema that painstakingly chronicles the daily lives of an elderly couple in Paris who are slowly succumbing to the Horrors of age. Not a Horror film proper by any imagination, I still think it will easily be the scariest film I've seen in years. I say this because, of course, I may love Horror flicks, but adulthood and life experience make it pretty hard for a movie to scare me (not impossible, though). What does scare me? Losing my memory, my mind, my youth, and my health. And of course, putting topics like this on display is Noé's bread and butter.
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
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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
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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.
This very well might be my favorite Mastodon song ever. I'm sure some folks will say the band is mellowing I can't wait for Hushed and Grim to drop on October 29th (pre-order HERE).
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I was just getting back into town when VHS '94 premiered at Beyondfest yesterday. This one was kind of off my radar for a while - I have mixed feelings about the original VHS series - overall I do very much enjoy them, but there's no arguing that as the series progresses, the results become an average of diminishing returns. Still, now that this new, 90s-set entry has arrived, I find myself excited to see it.
VHS '94 hits Shudder tomorrow.
Playlist:
The Allman Brothers - Idlewild South
Windhand - Eponymous
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave
Small Black - Cheap Dreams
Ghost - Hunter's Moon (single)
Mastodon - Teardrinker (single)
Converge and Chelsea Wolfe - Blood Moon
Various - The Devil's Rejects OST
The Black Queen - Infinite Games
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
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The last two weeks I have been given over to eating and drinking to excess. Now, who does that sound like to you? Putting things back into a regular routine and moving forward on multiple projects I just haven't had a chance to get to. Still, the temptation is always there, no?
I've been away traveling so I haven't really been keeping up on ANYTHING I normally post about here. So, in the interest of playing a bit of catch-up, here are the two big tracks that dropped this week - that I know of. The Ghost track is good, but it continues to move them further from the sound they achieved on Infestissumam and Meliora. That said, I'm still super excited for whatever eventual album will be released to accompany the tour they recently announced.
Next and more excitingly, here's a track from a forthcoming collaboration album that sees Chelsea Wolfe working with Converge. I had no idea this was coming, but after listening, I can not wait for this album. Thanks to Heaven is an Incubator for posting this a couple of days ago, otherwise, I would have completely missed it.
Pre-Order Bloodmoon: IHERE, it drops on November 19th, which is really not all that far away.
NCBD:
I wasn't home to get the books in my pull, however, my second all-time favorite comic shop is the one I spent my 20s going to on the South Side of Chicago. Amazing Fantasy in Frankfort and my good friend Mike Shin set me up with a few things to read while I was in town.
Definitely the end of my interest in this title. The conclusion of Nick Spencer's run and the Kindred Saga was satisfying, but it also showcases the insanely convoluted continuity that weighs heavy on Spidey's main book. Perfect jumping-off point.
A surprise last-minute pick-up. Going forward, I might be trading Spidey for X-Men. The plotting in this new Inferno series - which, why couldn't they just come up with a new name, instead of rehashing the title of my all-time favorite X-Book storyline - is fantastic. I LOVE what Hickman's doing with Moria McTaggert, and what it means to the backstory of these characters. Very cool so far.
Almost missed this one. Look at that JHWIII cover! Hot damn!
Playlist:
Lots of Billy Joel and lots of Bob Segar, though I've sought none of either out. Both artists appear to be following me.
I have been known to make fun of Bob Segar. But I have NEVER made fun of this song. Goddamn does this KICK.
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Jesus fucking Christ. How do you follow this? Well, I guess with this:
Thanks to Mr. Brown - these both slipped right by me.
Playlist:
The Byrds - Full Throttle
Gram Parsons - Archives Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon 1969
Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Blanket - Modern Escapism (pre-release singles)
Reflections - The Color Clear
Cindy Lauper - She's So Unusual
X- Under the Big Black Sun
Miss Piss - Self Surgery
Emma Ruth Rundle - Marked For Death
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
The Replacements - Tim
King Woman - Doubt EP
16 Horsepower - Brimstone Rock
Various - The Devil's Rejects
The Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
Palms - Eponymous
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Direct commentary on all the disparate people I met today in the outskirts of Nashville that 100% convinced me I will most definitely be living here in less than a year.
As of today, we are officially into my favorite time of the year (even though you'd never know it in LaLaLand)! Here's some live Type O Negative to start the season right.
NCBD:
Once again, here we are - New Comic Book Day. Here's what I'll be picking up/probably picking up:
Not sure I'm picking this one up - I'm looking to shed some of the books I'm reading, and especially after reading this, seems like a good time to jump off. Not that I necessarily believe the veracity of this report, but with Disney running the Xenomorph show now, I don't necessarily think this is out of the question, either. Reading that the other night, I couldn't help picture a "Baby Xenomorph" phenomenon a few years from now. Ugh. I love me some Grogu, but wouldn't want to see anything like that - or any type of 'good guy' Xeno - in any capacity.
Loving this series.
I've really been enjoying reading a Peter David-penned comic again. Between his epic, years-long run on The Incredible Hulk through the 80s and early 90s, and his creator-owned Fallen Angel series over at DC and then IDW in the 00s - I'll really have to talk about that here again soon because it's criminally unknown - David informed a large aspect of my comic taste, and reading his familiar style feels a bit like a snuggly blanket.
This second arc of That Texas Blood has been a great mash-up of Texas Noir and spooky occultism, a combination that yields excellent results.
One issue left of The Last Ronin after this one. Such a great take on the kind of anti-utopian, out-of-retirement series first popularized by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns back in the 80s. A lot of the books since that have applied similar approaches to mainstay characters have merely felt like they were checking the Dark Knight Returns boxes, following Miller's formula. And that works just fine, sometimes. But it's nice to get a book like The Last Ronin, which does not feel like that at all, and yet it still takes me back to what comics felt like when I was reading them 30+ years ago, back when all those dark approaches were first hitting characters that had formerly occupied a decidedly more upbeat or 'positive' approach.
Still not 100% sold on how long I will follow this new X-Men series, but I'm staying due to that one throw-away shot of the High Evolutionary in issue #1. Here's to hoping he pops up soon, in a more involved capacity. The Evolutionary War remains one of my all-time favorite crossovers - probably because, besides that and the original Inferno, I don't much care for crossovers. Anyway, it isn't that I'm not enjoying this series. As my first window into the new, Jonathan Hickman-designed X-Verse, I'm curious and enjoy 'looking around,' trying to ascertain the new status quo and how it's changed the characters I've known for most of my life. That said, re-reading Grant Morrison's New X-Men a few months back, everything post-Chris Claremont about Mutant Books that isn't penned by Morrison feels a bit... anticlimactic? Is that the way I'd say it? Maybe.
Playlist:
Type O Negative - October Rust
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Digipak Version)
Plague Bringer (Chicago) - As the Ghosts Collect, The Corpses Rest
Danzig - Eponymous
Boris - No
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Many voices, all of which combine to create a world. This is what I do.
