R.I.P. Julee Cruise

 Talk about bad news to wake up to. Julee Cruise's voice and visage has been a part of my inner world ever since the night Twin Peaks Season Two Episode 14 aired; losing her to suicide at 65 feels a bit like a seismic shifting of my personal history's plates. The old world is definitely slipping away. In keeping with my recent M.O., thus beginneth Julee Cruise week.

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Watch:

Amidst a lot of discussion about the "Whole Season at Once" business model beginning to fail (see the cancellation of Archive 81), Netflix dropped a handful of great trailers the other day, as if to remind us of their potency.

We'll see. However, any reservations I have about their adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Sandman - arguably one of the greatest comics of ALL TIME, this trailer has me salivating for August:

Wow. I mean... I am almost speechless. Here's to hoping it's as good as it looks; Locke and Key looked pretty good when the first trailer dropped, as well, but I quickly forgot everything about Season One due to a lot of the changes and found myself thinking I should just re-read the series the next time I want to visit Lovecraft (not bloody Matheson!).

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Read:

This past Wednesday, Zeb Wells and John Romita, Jr.'s Amazing Spider-Man #3 hit the stands. This is Legacy issue #897. I've Liked this series so far, but this issue... Jesus. This is the best Spider-Man comic I've read in... well, a long time. 

There's a visceral pulse to this one that I definitely did not expect; watching Tombstone - a character I've loved since his introduction back in the 80s, circa Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man issue #139 - beat the living daylights out of a defenseless Spider-Man really affected me, as did his childhood origin.  I was really only planning to read this book until #900, but if Wells keeps this up, I'm not going anywhere.

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Playlist:

Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust

Mike Doughty - Live at Ken's House

Kate Bush - The Dreaming

Windhand - Split EP

Carpenter Brut - Leather Terror

Orville Peck - Pony

Pixies - There's a Moon On (pre-release single)

Kensonlovers - Keep Rolling (single)

Grand Duchy - Petite Fours

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Card:

A nice warning about the gathering slothfulness I've been so afraid of for a while now. I'm not writing enough. I need to remedy that.

Pistol

 

Pistols wise, I loved Danny Boyle's Pistol. I've watched every doc I know of, read and re-read Noel Monk's tour biography 12 Days on the Road (can't recommend that one enough), but none of that prevents me from adoring Boyle's spin. K and I even teared up at the end, and not for the reasons you'd think.

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Watch:

I had not even heard of this film, but it looks fantastic.

 

Charlotte Colbert's first full-length film comes to us as a "Dario Argento Presents," and from the visuals, I can see why he would be involved. A lush, Gothic aesthetic with a British sentiment. 

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NCBD:

A decidedly light NCBD. Thankfully.

I've decided I'm continuing with this new iteration of ASM at least until the legacy issue #900 hits in a month or two. After that, we'll see. So far though, this has been a pretty great title. 

That Texas Blood returns with the start of it's third story arc. If it's even half as good as the previous one, well, look at that cover. How could it not be?

The cover says it all - a Hulkified God of Thunder! Banner of War has proven a super fun, big-swings story and I'm hoping that as it comes in for a landing, it just gets crazier. 

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Playlist:

Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks...

Bauhaus - In the Flat Field

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife

Tin Machine - Live at La Cigale, Paris, June 25th, 1989

Zeal and Ardor - Eponymous

Eldovar - A Story of Darkness and Light

H6LLB6ND6R - Side A

Jucifer - I Name You Destroyer

Horsegirl - Version of Modern Performance

Download - The Eyes of Stanley Pain

Cypress Hill - III: Temples of Boom

H6LLB6ND6R - Armageddon

 

This past Friday on The Last Drive-In, Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mailgirl hosted Hellbender, the sixth movie by the prolific and endlessly fascinating indie filmmaking Adams/Poser family. 

During the interview segments of the broadcast, the family revealed that not only is H6llb6nd6r an actual band they play in, but Ship to Shore media are releasing their debut record on vinyl. I immediately pre-ordered the vinyl, despite an estimated ship date of Q4 2022 and the fact that, hopefully, by that time I will no longer live at my current address or even in California. Because of this, I used my parents' address in Illinois. However, there is the very real possibility they may also end up near us in Tennessee, so I'm hoping that, when all this finally happens, I will have enough time to go into the order and change the shipping address. 

 You can pre-order H6llb6nd6r's Side A from Ship to Shore Media HERE. The entire record is currently streaming on all platforms, and it's fantastic.

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Cast:

A new episode of Southside 90s dropped concurrently with the newest installment of my Newsletter, which appropriately enough features a "Giant-sized" 90s playlist that chronicles all of the bands and albums I associate with those long-ago days spent playing in bands and smoking pot, getting crazy and watching friends build flamethrowers out of fire extinguishers. Sound insane? Yeah, it kinda was. 

The stories are only going to get weirder from here out, so if you're listening, buckle up.

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Watch:

My good friend and Horror Vision cohost Ray kicked off his summer outdoor movie series Cineray this past Saturday with one of the coolest double features I've seen in a while. First up, my first-ever viewing of Tango and Cash:

 

Next, and I had no idea this movie existed, was John Stamos and Vanity in an all-out 80s action movie called Never Too Young To Die. Feat your eyes on this glory:

 

Yeah, it's ridiculous, and maybe it was the tall cans of Stone's Hazy IPA I was sucking down, but it really hit the spot.

 

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Playlist:

H6LLB6ND6R - Side A

Various - Lost Highway OST

David Bowie - A Reality Tour

Duende and David J - Oracle of the Horizontal

Deftones - Gore

Deftones - Diamond Eyes

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Card:

I was SUPER excited to receive my copy of The Bound Tarot, which my friend and occasional co-conspirator Jonathan Grimm recently released. I'm extremely proud of Grimm - I watched him work on this deck over the last year and his skill never ceases to amaze me.

You can buy a set of these amazing cards on Grimm's site HERE. 

Page of Cups indicates a predilection for following your Creativity, which, as of yesterday, is where I'm at again after weeks of spinning my wheels.

The Day That David Bowie Died

I'd be willing to wager there's another post on this page from about four years ago with the same title. I remember discovering David J's stunning tribute to David Bowie about as vividly as I remember receiving the text that told me of the Alien's passing. This is the perfect ode - sorrow at a passing lined the bittersweet memories of what that person meant.

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Watch:

With only one-and-a-half episodes of the six-episode run, I can honestly say that despite the conundrum of seeing thumbnail advertisements for Danny Boyle's Pistol with a Disney+  watermark - because I'm assuming since Disney owns HULU and Pistol is a HULU original their network will distribute it in some foreign territories - I'm having A LOT of fun with this one. 

 

This is very much Steve Jones' story, so I thought it only prudent to juxtapose my endorsement with John Lydon's rebuttal to the show. Because, you know, there is always creative license.

 

I'm always going to believe John over everyone else involved, however, the story is one that mesmerizes and recharges me enough that I'll listen to everyone's version of it.

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Playlist:

Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Oh Baby - The Art of Sleeping Alone EP

Kate Bush - The Dreaming

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl (single)

Revocation - The Outer Ones

Drug Church - Hygiene

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Greg Puciato - Never Wanted That

 

Another awesome new song from the upcoming sophomore album Mirrorcell, by former Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato. 

You can pre-order Mirrorcell from Puciato's Federal Prisoner Records HERE.

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NCBD:

This week is another super fun one. Here's why:

I have NO idea where Rick Remender & André Lima Araújo's A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance is going. Hell, I'm not even sure how long this book will run. Is this a Deadly Class/Black Science, 30-50 issues kind of story, or a 10-and-done like Tokyo Ghost? I'm sure that information is available somewhere online, either in an interview with Remender or the book's solicitations, however, I prefer not to know. All I do know is it's swift, often disturbing, and yet still has a positive energy to it. 

I surprised myself in the weeks since Ghost Rider #2 - I would say this may be my most anticipated book now, below of course Immortal X-Men. I definitely detected some Clive Barker influence in the second issue of old flame head's new series, and that was enough to make me want more. Think about it - why not apply a Barker-esque Horror vibe to this title/character? 

See, you couldn't come up with anything there, could you? So here's to hoping the book delivers (that monster truck cover isn't doing the series any favors, but hopefully that's all it is - a cover).

I was on the fence with Little Monsters simply because I'm trying - totally unsuccessfully, I might add - to limit what I buy until I move. But the first two issues got me to come back for three, and the first page of three dropped my jaw, so I'm in.

After my recent re-read of issues 1-8 of James Tynion IV's The Nice House on the Lake, I've been waiting for issue 9 with a lot more anticipation. Such a great character study of people at the end of the world. If, that's what this actually is, which is in question at the moment.

Maybe it was just momentum from Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but I loved issues 1 and 2, and this is a mini-series, so I'm sticking with Strange while Clea is running the show. 

I know nothing about this one, but a Horror book called The Closet that shows a little kid playing in front of a closet that no doubt scares him seems like a great set-up. When you add in the fact that James Tynion IV is the author, well, count me in.

Just began re-reading What's the Furthest Place From Here last week, so issue 6's release is well-timed to say the least. I love this one. 

Issue one wasn't really my thing, but I enjoyed it enough. I'm mainly buying this one because K is into it. 

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Playlist:

Ghost - Infestissumam

Alice in Chains - Eponymous

Various Artists - Lost Highway OST

The Mysterines - Reeling

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Card:

Hopefully, this card bodes well for renewed creative energy. Because mine needs some renewal. 

The Cowboy and the Hot Air Balloon

 

BIG thanks to Mr. Brown for cluing me in on the fact that there's a new John Doe record out on the always delightful Fat Possum Records. You can order Fables in a Foreign Land HERE. 

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Watch:

Warning: This trailer may give some plot points away.

  

Michael Shannon in the die-hard tropey creepy neighbor role? SOLD.

 

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Read:

I gave up on the book I've been slogging through for the last few months, Helltown by Jeremy Bates. It's well written, it just did not connect with me. I've moved on to a novel I've been wanting to read for years, and which only recently came back into print via Drugstore Indian Press. 

So far, at only about 200 pages into its 608-page runtime, this is every bit as majestic as I'd expected. Klein needs more credit - he's a master of his craft and appears to be setting up a magnum opus that I'd wager influenced Clive Barker's Great and Secret Show, another of my favorite novels. I'd commented on this edition back when I bought it last year, specifically on my fears for its binding, which for this many pages, seems weak. That said, so far so good. 

Also, it's interesting to note that the first and for a long time only story by Klein I had read, Events At Poroth Farm, seems to have been a short born of the author excising and reworking a section of The Ceremonies, probably due to frustration with the novel in its original form, misgivings he has shared publically on more than one occasion.

Also, it should be noted that in checking out DIP's website, I realized they have also reprinted Klein's most heralded volume, the looooooong OOP Dark Gods, which I plan on ordering ASAP. 

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Playlist:

Yerusalem - The Sublime

The Bronx - II

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction

Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy

Deftones - White Pony

Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

Bexley - Lost in the Moment EP

Bexley - Eponymous

John Doe - Fables in a Foreign Land

Cypress Hill - III: Temples of Boom

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

Def Leppard - Diamond Star Halos

Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry

Bauhaus - In the Flat Field

Allegaeon - Apoptosis

Revocations - Teratogenesis

Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman

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Card:

I always equate this particular card with emotional strength and support, so I'm reading this as it pertains to giving someone else the support they will soon need. 

RIP Ray Liotta

RIP Ray Liotta. This is probably my favorite "beating" scene in any mob-related movie.