Wednesday, March 5, 2025

NEW GHOST ALBUM!!!

 

Holy smokes - the New Ghost album Skeletá is out on April 25th! Pre-order HERE!!!

I definitely haven't loved everything this band has done, but I root for them. Impera was easily my favorite since Infestissumam, and although I'm not crazy about this new song right off the bat, I can say that about two of the 'singles' on Impera. Regardless of my off-the-cuff opinion, the songwriting is here. STRONG melody on the chorus and a pretty ripping guitar solo. I don't love the video, but then, videos I do love are rare. I will say since Tobias Forge's sense of humor has infiltrated the band and all its ventures - it's on full display with this video - I long for the days when they felt a bit more ominous. But then, that was bound not to last. He's funny and always well-spoken, but I guess I prefer a little more solemnity to my Satanic Metal. 

Either way, SUPER psyched and I love that Ghost has taken to announcing their albums like two months out. It's literally right around the corner.




NCBD:

Small pull this week. STILL waiting on a bunch of books Diamond never shipped to filter in, so maybe some of those will arrive. Otherwise, this is it for NCBD:


I love this continuation of The Nice House on the Lake; however, just as with that first book, I'm behind on my reading. This happens to Tynion's books. They're better read in trade format, but for some of these, I just can't help but buy the monthlies. I guess it's because, at this point, there are so few monthlies I buy and I want to keep the habit alive. 


Solid Batman werewolf series that reminds me of something we might have found in an arc of the late 80s/early 90s Legends of the Dark Knight series.




Read:

So, I started reading Grant Morrison's Multiversity again. Back when this hit the monthly comic shelves in 2015, I tried for about four issues and gave up. I didn't really admit that I didn't like it, but my life was undergoing escalating turmoil and I was cutting down on my monthly spending in favor of saving my arse, so Multiversity got cut and I never really looked back.

A few months back, my Drinking with Comics cohost Mike Shinabargar gave me a copy of the collected trade paperback with the request we cover it on the show. We recorded yesterday - editing is still in progress - but I have to say, after re-reading the same four issues I read in 2015, I do not love this book at all. What's more, it's making me think I should just up and sell my Final Crisis HC and my Seven Soldiers of Victory complete set of monthlies on eBay because I am no longer the person who I was when I could muster fervor for GM delving into every single nook and cranny of the DCU - a comic book universe I have always held little to no interest in. 

But then I think, is this just me at this moment? You know the feeling; you tire of something, let's say an album or movie or comic book. Not just tire of it but grow disgruntled toward it. This isn't that weird inevitability that some things you love when you're a younger person you will grow to hate for idealistic issues. No, this is the fan inertia I had for GM wearing off a bit and me realizing the stuff I love from him - other than his masterpiece, seven-year Batman run - is his non-IP stuff. Especially non-DC IP, because the DCU is a deep well of superhero stuff that makes me cringe more than it makes me excited. 

I've committed to finishing this book, but man, at this stage, I think it's going to be very tough. Part of my issue is also very much what makes Multiversity a masterpiece accomplishment: when I was younger, the appeal to the Big 2's continuity (well, for me, the Big 1's) was the endless continuity to investigate. I mean, if felt like you could never get there. And with Batman, Morrison read every bit of continuity for one character and synthesized it into one spectacular narrative that incorporated all of it. That's what he's done on a larger scale with the entirety of the DCU, starting with his JLA run, into Earth 2, Seven Soldiers, Final Crisis, and finally Multiverity. As my cohost Mike brings up several times in the episode, this was the final word by the man who was on staff at DC for several years as their "Universe Consultant." That means it's amazing; it's a Mozart concerto of comics, but one I have very little time or bandwidth for in my life at the moment. Maybe never again.

Part of that, then, forces me to reflect that some of my inability to joyously engage with this book is I've gotten fucking lazy. It's not a good thing to reflect on, but I try to be self-aware of the zero-point fluctuation level. So there's really no failing with the artist, just the reader. Damn, when I started this, I didn't expect it to come out like this. 



Playlist:

Morphine - Yes
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Led Zeppelin - Presence
TVOTR - Young Liars E.P.
The Raveonettes - Blackest (pre-release single)
Ghost - Satanized (pre-release single)
Drab Majesty - An Object in Motion




Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.


• Queen of Pentacles
• Ten of Pentacles
• II: High Priestess

Low bandwidth. Lots of Feminine energy, which is almost always a good thing. Earthly matters. Fertile interests.

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

RIP David Johansen


Originally debuted on the New York Dolls' 2009 album Dancing Backward in High Heels, this live version is taken from the 2011 album Live From the Bowery. HUGE loss. David Johansen became a pop culture icon in the late 80s/early 90s, appearing in movies, paling around with Bill Murray, and just generally being a 'personality.' Normally, those are folks that don't have a lot to offer. Not the case here. 



Watch:

They had me at "Tom Hardy."


Drops 4/26.




Playlist:

Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
Firewater - The Ponzi Scheme
Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum
Ween - Paintin' the Town Brown: Ween Live 1990 - 1998



Monday, March 3, 2025

Me and That Man - Burning Churches

 
This song makes me unbelievably happy. Not condoning arson, mind you. 




Watch:

I have not been excited about anything Marvel has done in a long time. Feels really good.


I never did get around to watching Season Three. Back when it aired, the cancellation had already been announced, so I figured, why bother? Now, I'd like to go back and do all three seasons in a tight burst. 




Read:

I am completely unfamiliar with Author Cory O'Brien's work online, but this forthcoming debut novel Two Truths and a Lie, sounds particularly inviting:


"... a debut novel that introduces an unforgettable investigator to the drowned streets of LA in a hugely imaginative and heartfelt blend of Noir and Cyberpunk."

This one drops tomorrow, March 4th! Already added it to my list.




Playlist:

Firewater - The Ponzi Scheme
The Delta 72 - Ooo
The Jesus Lizard - Down
Drug Church - Prude
Me and That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
Cop Shoot Cop - Release
The Raveonettes - Blackest (pre-release single)
The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control
Turnsile - GLOW ON
Eels - Beautiful Freak
New York Dolls - Dancing Backward in High Heels




Friday, February 28, 2025

New Music from The Raveonettes!

 

New Raveonettes! In fact, check out this note from the band on YouTube:

 "We're back!!! Pa'ahi II will be released shortly followed by another new album later in the year! US/EU/Asia tour dates will be released shortly! RAVE ON XXX SUNE & SHARIN"

Having just seen them live last May, I can attest The Raveonettes are still in perfect form! Can't wait! No pre-order I see yet, but all those old, OOP albums are back up on The Raveonettes Merch Bar site HERE.

Now, important... The DEI blackout is today. Don't know what that is?

So, if you're conscious of this (you may not be, that's okay), wait until tomorrow to order anything because, although the Blackout doesn't boycott an independent band like The Ravenoettes, it does boycott credit card/Debit usage. It'll still be there in the morning.




Watch:

I had not heard of The Rule of Jenny Penn until now. However, I only had to make it 27 seconds into the trailer before I was sold on giving it a shot, especially with John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush in the cast.

 

This hits theatres next Thursday, and I've already got my tickets.


Playlist:


Drug Church - Prude
Drug Church - Cheer
Me and That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1
Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Spotlights - Seance E.P.
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia




Wednesday, February 26, 2025

New Music From Deafheaven

 

I haven't listened to this yet and likely will not in an attempt to preserve the album experience when Lonely People With Power drops on March 28th. You can pre-order your copy directly from the band HERE.




NCBD:

Short pull this week, although I'm hoping some of those outstanding books start to filter in today.


I'm still waiting on issue #6 with that awesome cover, so maybe that will show up today, too? 


LOVE this cover. It's not the "A" cover, so I may not find this in the wild, but I'm going to try. Stalker fucking rocks!


I did not love The Seasons issue #1. In fact, I struggled quite a bit to get through it at first, and about halfway through, I began to grow listless, flipping to the backmatter where I saw Rick Remender reference  Miyazaki as an influence. 

This doubly convinced me this book would be a hard pass for me. I can recognize Miyazaki's grandeur, but his work is just not for me. Then I begrudgingly finished the issue and actually found myself drawn in at the end. So, in the interest of always supporting independent comics and giving Rick Remender the benefit of the doubt (he's earned it for sure!), I'm jumping into issue #2 with an open mind and will reassess after I read it. 


Also from Remender's Giant Generator, I'm very much digging Phil Bram and JG Jones' Dustbowl slow-burn Horror show Dust to Dust.  




Peaks:

The Twin Peaks Day/David Lynch Tribute at the Eastside Bowl on Monday night turned out to be pretty fun. K and I didn't stay long due to a general creeping exhaustion from long days at work, but here are a few pictures we snapped.




David Lynch shrine. Very cool. We stopped to pay our respects.


My cousin pointed out that in pictures, this bar looks a bit like Power and Glory from FWWM (when that name became available, I have no idea. I'd never heard it before a few months ago, but it pops up here and there. 


"It's kickin' in, Jacques!"


"A log for you, an owl for you. Presto!"

Special thanks to Easide Bowl and The '58 for putting this on. Hoping it recurs next year - I'll end up getting the day after off or something so we can properly celebrate (maybe wake up in Canada).




Playlist:

Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Melvins - Houdini
Various - An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music/Second-a-Chronology Vol. #2 (Disc 1)
The Ravenonettes - The Raveonettes Sing...
X - Under the Big Black Sun
Tennis System - Technicolor Blind
Hangman's Chair - Saddiction
Drug Church - Prude
Ritual Howls - Into the Water




Card:

Getting back to some more rigorous study interpretations - or as rigorous as I can provide at this point with my attention split between finishing a novel, an ever-increasing mental demand at work, and the encroaching apocalypse.


The Hermit reminds me of a lot of my friends. Also, myself, really. 

From the grimoire (within which, there's not a whole lot on this one): "Dark and lonely period of gestation. Fetal; a re-grouping."

Sounds like everyone with half a fucking brain in 2025, doesn't it? What's good ol' A.C. say? That the card is tied into the Hebrew letter Yod, the first letter in Yod Hau Vau Hau, the name of God. The figure on the card is shaped to resemble Yod, and the color of his cloak reflects Binah, the great Mother, tying this back into Fertility. Gestation is the result of Fertility; ideas are the result of Gestation. You get the point.


Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Refreshing New Pork Beverage Now Available!!!

 

Still probably the strangest song I've ever heard. And honestly, I've heard some pretty strange shit.
 


Watch:

Okay, this trailer for the upcoming Freaky Tales movie gives me serious reservations, but it also looks like it could be a banger. And hey, great cast. I guess I just feel like this is sandwiching into the 80s revival thing a little too much, too late. Also, the title feels... weak.



Still, I'll definitely see this in the theatre and give it a go. I want to like all movies, especially genre ones with ancient artifacts, katanas and copious amounts of blood. 




Read:

Over the last two weeks or so, I read about 3/4 of a book I'm not going to name here. It's an independent book/author, and although well-written (mostly, as a hefty amount of spelling and grammatical errors abound), I can't recommend this one because it's just gross. So I jumped off and started David Wong's John Dies at the End.


At around 90 pages in, I am really enjoying this one, and it should be said, I've never been able to make it even halfway through the film adaptation. Wong's tone is so smooth and funny; funny as in 'odd' and funny as in 'ha ha.' I very much recommend this to anyone who digs a little sarcastic, oddball humor with their Horror from time to time.



Playlist:

Marilyn Manson - One Assassination Under God Chapter One
Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks Season Two OST
Various - Twin Peaks: Music From the Limited Event Series
Primus - Pork Soda
Perturbator - Dangerous Days
Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!"
Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter




Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.


• 0: The Fool
• Seven of Swords
• Six of Swords

One thing I love about this deck is the imagery is all very meaningful to me in a Malkuth-kinda way. So it's possible on days where I don't really have the metaphysical bandwidth to dive deep into the occulted meaning of the Tarot, I can just see a spread like this and say, "Hey, pick up the guitar today and write a new song."

Monday, February 24, 2025

Happy Twin Peaks Day!


I tend to go through an emotional resurgence with Twin Peaks in December and January, so I often miss Twin Peaks Day. This year, as the first year without David Lynch, I feel a particularly strong need to celebrate the holiday. So here's Angelo Badalamenti's "High School Swing" from the Twin Peaks: Season Two OST. This is really just a 'More Music from the Series' kind of thing, not solely music from Season Two. Still need to grab this one on vinyl, as it's the only outlier.

Also, Fright-Rags has this little doozy on special today: 

Order here. I grabbed this AND this shirt, which kinda blows me away. You can check out their Twin Peaks items HERE.


Finally, I'm heading out to Eastside Bowl tonight (first time) for their Twin Peaks Day event. No idea what this will entail, but I'll report back and maybe share some pictures (maybe; I'm terrible about taking pictures).

And special thanks to the Twin Peaks Twin Peaks YouTube channel for posting this crystal clear scene we all love so much!!!


All right, in the words of the Little Man From Another Place, '!KCOR S'TEL"