I thought I'd post a song and a card for the next year of my life, or perhaps to sum up the half-century that's served as prelude to the remainder of my time on this plane.
For the song, I chose Mr. Bungle's "Dead Goon." Not just because it's probably my favorite non-Volante Bungle track, but because it was referenced in my dream last night, when a long-deceased friend handed me a 16 oz. can of Dead Good Ale, the label for which was decorated with art reminiscent of Dan Sweetman's art from A Cotton Candy Autopsy, the source of the album art for Bungle's first album.
For a card, I used my old-school Thoth deck and drew the 6 of Cups:
I'm not going to attempt to contextualize this now, just logging it here for contemplation over the next 365 days.
I've been on a Low Cut Connie binge all weekend and it's definitely helped elevate my mood. I'm turning 50 tomorrow, and, although that doesn't bother me the way it might a lot of people, it still kind of staggers the view I take of myself. On one hand, I'm still here and do not expect to be going anywhere for quite a long time. On the other hand, in ten years I'll be 60, and ten years after that - should I be lucky enough to live that long - 70. You see where this is going, right? I'm getting long in the tooth, and while that's definitely better than the alternative, well, it's fucking weird and a little scary if you don't find a way to keep it from your mind. And what better way to keep it from the mind than with some awesome, soulful Rock n' Roll!
Watch:
I had my third-ever viewing of Kevin Tenney's 1985 debut film, Witchboard, last night. Here's one of the original 1986 TV spots for the film, which, back in the day, made me think this movie was hardcore intense (I was 10).
I never did see this back in the 80s. Or the 90s. It was sometime in the early 2000s that I picked up the Witchboard DVD secondhand, tried to watch it, and found it incredibly disappointing (that was nearly 25 years of anticipation based on what 10-year-old Shawn thought the film would be - hard for anything to live up to that). Then, a couple of years ago, Joe Bob did this one as part of his Walpurgisnacht episode, and I gave it another shot.
Still not much.
Last night, though, I really tried to look at this as Kevin Tenney's first film - followed soon after by Night of the Demons, which I love - and it kind of gave me a different perspective. I still don't think Witchboard is a very good film, but it's definitely a product of its time and entertaining enough if you have the right context (and alcohol - don't forget the alcohol).
This is all run-up for an upcoming episode of The Horror Vision, where we'll compare the original film with the 2025 remake. I've heard it's completely different, which can only be a good thing.
Read:
It's going to be some time before I get around to it, but I found a nearly perfect copy of the original, 1989 hardcover release for Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show a few weeks ago, and it arrived in the mail over the weekend.
I read this when I was in early High School, and it was another of those books that completely changed the way I looked at fiction writing. The idea that the main character discovers the secret tapestry beneath the everyday world by working in the Dead Letters Office of the Post Office always felt like such an interesting and unique angle to take as a way into such a vast and epic story. This should serve as a perfect digestif after I finish my rereading of the Dark Tower/Talisman series late this year.
Playlist:
Low Cut Connie - Art Dealers
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Low Cut Connie - Dirty Pictures (Part 1)
Low Cut Connie - Livin in the USA (pre-release singles)
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
Various - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Album
High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves
High on Fire - Death Is This Communion
Stephen O'Malley - Spheres Collapser
sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)
sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Queen of Swords
• Five of Cups
• I: The Magician
Emotional aspect of the Intellect, which can be a bit of an oxymoron, right? The conflict inherent in the emotional realm of thinking people - and we're not all thinking people in 2026, are we? - is exactly what gets in the way of things. In other words, emotions are important for ruling your heart and interfere with your brain. What the hell does any of this tell me today?
Keep my mouth shut at work. That's all. Sounds easy, or maybe it doesn't, right? That's the emotional end of things. Everyone has someone they want to tell to go to hell, but just don't do it. Or maybe you will, but I won't. Or shouldn't. Maybe.
Last week, another song from the Melvins/Napalm Death collaboration album, Savage Imperial Death March, dropped and it's another doozy. There's still time to order the album, which is out April 10th on Ipecac Records, HERE. Technically, this is a reissue, as this one was originally released last year on Amphetamine Reptile and sold out in seconds. But those AMREP releases don't get digital distro, so, if like me, you weren't one of the lucky ones who acquired a copy in those few moments before the record sold out, this is the first chance we've had to hear this stuff and it's awesome!
Can't wait for this full album!
Watch:
Last night, K and I hit the local theatre for Radio Silence's Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. I have to say, as usual with RS, I was subjected to this trailer ad nauseam leading up to this film's release; however, it did not ruin anything about the film. This has been true of pretty much every RS film, so that's a rare bird, indeed. Here's one of those trailers.
I will say, at first, the idea that Samantha Weaving's character survives the first film only to go directly back into the exact same scenario seemed like a bit of a, "Dad, your hands in the toaster! Dad - You're hands in the toaster again!" idea, but as usual, the trailer tells you only a fraction of what you think it does. Also, HUGE props for putting Kathryn Newton in the mix as Faith's sister is a much-welcome move and their chemistry - it just works SO WELL!
We did a Horror Vision episode on the flick right after the viewing, and one thing Ray brought up that I hadn't thought of - it's been a minute since we had that Samara Weaving savage scream in a flick. The last Horror film she did was 2024's Azrael, and she didn't speak in that. Impressive, for sure, for an actress with such a fantastic grasp of dialogue (The Babysitter, anyone?). But it was great to hear that soul-searing Samara scream again tonight.
Is Ready or Not 2 as good as the original film? Maybe not, but it's close, and this one has a third act that goes bigger in the best possible way. Do yourself a favor and see this on the big screen.
Playlist:
The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop OST
Drug Church - Prude
Motörhead - 1916
Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
Atticus Derrikson - Black Phone 2 OST
Dreamkid - Daggers
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta Sinoa Caves - Beyond the Black Rainbow OST
High on Fire - Luminiferous
High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense
High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Prince of Swords
• Prince of Cups
• 8 of Swords: Interference
Lots of big ideas, but something's getting in the way.
Calling it now - there's almost no way anyone will release an album I love more than the new and totally unexpected Gnarls Barkley record that landed out of nowhere (from my perspective, at least) on March 6th. I caught wind of this last week, and have been unable to stop listening to it multiple times a day. Talk about coming from out of nowhere for a win!
You can order a copy from the group's webstore HERE.
NCBD:
New Comic Book Day pulls for Wednesday, March 18, 2026:
I enjoyed the adaptation of Lovecraft's seminal short story in issue one of this mini-series, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story progresses toward its inevitable ending. Or rather, how exactly we reach that ending.
I LOVE that this cover was created sensitive to the HUGE change that occurred in Transformers 30, a book that literally floored me. Is this the beginning of an Autobot/Joe team-up? If Duke can get over himself, we might just get that.
We've winnowed away most of the killers and have a few spunky civilian survivors. Deals and agendas abound with the power elite behind the massacre and things are heating up for a final confrontation most will not walk away from. Need context? Check this book out! One of my favorites of 2025, we're poised to hit ground zero in two issues, so heads should really start to roll now...
And last but not least, Greg Rucka is writing a new Batwoman series and I am here for it. I don't really know anything about this character other than I've always dug this design. I did read some of the JH Williams III series from back in... I don't know, 2012, maybe? That was 100% about the art - I couldn't tell you anything about the story. With this new series, I'm here for Rucka. After recently reading his Lois Lane miniseries in TPB form and loving it, I'll follow this man to hell and back.
Watch:
Since we did our annual St. Paddy's celebration/State of Grace viewing this past Saturday, this evening we rewatched John Wright's Grabbers.
"Residents of an island off the coast of Ireland learn that the only way to survive an invasion of blood-sucking aliens is to stay drunk."
I originally saw this back circa 2019 for an episode of The Horror Vision. I really dug it that time, and did so again. The FX are mostly CG, but that's forgivable when you consider the size of this production and how much goddamn heart it has. Here's a trailer.
I can't stress enough what a good time I had with this one again. Wright's later film, Unwelcome, made my best-of list for 2023, and that's a very different kind of film, thus showing that Jon Wright is a filmmaker to keep an eye on. He doesn't currently have anything listed as "upcoming" on IMDb, but tonight was a good reminder to check in more often.
Playlist:
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
James Pants - Welcome
Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came
Atticus Derrickson - Black Phone 2 OST
High on Fire - Luminiferous
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
Godflesh - Purge
Card:
Setting aside Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot (which you can buy HERE.) for another Thoth pull:
• XV: The Devil
• Two of Wands: Dominion
• Queen of Wands
Two Queen of Wands in a row? What's she trying to tell me? I read this simply as don't believe what they tell you, avoid the patriarchy and focus on love. Feels like this is a spread for america, not me. Either way, two Wands and ol' Scratch tell me to trust myself, not what others say. Definite work-related spread.
Looking back, I don't think I even posted when Lemmy died. Not sure how that happened. I dig Motorhead, but I'm definitely not their biggest fan, simply from lack of exposure in the early days. I did see them for Operation Rock n Roll back in 1991. At the time, they were touring for the album 1916, and that and the first album are probably the extent of my experience. Still, both records are fantastic.
Anyway, RIP to Campbell. Love this song, and the guitars in it specifically,
Watch:
Since St. Paddy's is on Tuesday this year, we did our annual dinner/State of Grace viewing on this past Saturday. Instead of corned beef this year, we made a cottage pie with 1 lb. ground Kobe beef, 1 lb. ground chuck, a shit ton of vegetables, and some Guinness.
We had a fairly early start, so after State of Grace ended, I decided to watch Martin Scorsese's The Departed. I bought this 2-Disc DVD back when the film was first released on home video, circa 2007, but I haven't watched this one in a very long time.
Much to my chagrin, about 60% of the way through the film, the DVD froze. I tried restarting, using the scene selection, etc. Nothing worked. Then I realized who put this out.
Curse you, Warner Brothers!
I wrote about DVD disc rot back during Noirvember, when I pulled the special-edition Blade Runner out for a first viewing in years and found that none of the DVDs in the set worked. This sparked off an internet rabbit hole where I learned that this is quite common for DVDs produced 2006-2009. Apparently, this is an issue the world at large has known about for quite some time. A large part of my archival disc library is DVDs, and in cases where they are of good transfer quality - like most late 00s-era DVDs tend to be - I've always refused to rebuy them on Blu-ray. If there's a need to, sure. That's the rub - what I was able to watch of that Departed disc was still pristine for my standards. Alas, I have to replace it now anyway.
Only, maybe not.
In digging around again, I found that Warner Brothers has apparently acknowledged the issue and is even replacing the discs if you email them at whv@wbd.com. I emailed last night, so I'll update when/if I hear back. whv@wbd.com
Read:
I did my taxes Friday night, and seeing the return, I figured I could spare $350 to finally do what I've been hemming and hawing about for the last month - back the Hellraiser: Leviathan's Vault Kickstarter.
Really, the only level that interests me is the $350 tier, wherein you receive all the old 80s Marvel/Epic Comics Hellraiser stuff. I do own some of that in single, prestige format issues, but not even close to all of it. Plus, I did read the first trade of the Boom! series but have no idea where that trade is currently, and all of it is OOP and fetches a pretty penny on the second-hand market. The design of this piece is amazing - from the Lament Configuration outer box to the gorgeous slipcases. Can't wait to get my hands on this thing, just not sure where I'm going to display it at this point.
Playlist:
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came
Gylt - I Will Commit a Holy Crime: Tandem
Slow Crush - Thirst
Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March (pre-release singles)
James Brown - Hell
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy and the Lash
Motorhead - Orgasmatron
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Four of Pentalces
• Queen of Wands
• Ten of Swords
The mastering of one's reality takes a creative force that can also become destructive if left unguided. This is perfect, as right now, I'm absolutely rudderless, creatively speaking. I haven't had an actual writing session since March 8th - I did go this past Friday, but I had several open loops spinning mentally that served to distract me completely.
Wishing Mr. Biafra a speedy and complete recovery. Also, thanks to Punk Rock TV channel - check 'em out and think about subscribing if you dig their content. Lots of great stuff here.
Watch:
K and I hit the theatre today for the premiere of Ian Tuason's feature debut, Undertone, AKA The Undertone. This one is an A24 film that's getting a lot of hype. Here's the trailer, which I managed to avoid seeing until just last week, and which really doesn't give too much away.
This film is all about the sound design. As someone who studied and has done a bit in Sound Design, I was pretty excited for this, and aurally, it did not disappoint. The layers of sound are very complex at times and very well defined. Not easy to throw a lot of disparate sounds at an audience in a Horror film and not have the end result taxing or muddy. Not the case here. My one issue - and it ended up being a kind of big one - was that with all the focus on the sound, I really do not feel like this movie pays off what it sets up at all. That was pretty disappointing. Still, definitely worth seeing.
Celebrate:
Hey! It's Friday the 13th! Here's the original teaser trailer for one of my favorites of the series!
So tonight, in celebration, let's all go out and jam a large metal rod into the grave of whatever local legend masked killer took out a bunch of our friends and family and kick this party off with a bang!
Playlist:
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Carter Burwell - Blood Simple OST
Jospeh Loduca - Evil Dead II OST
Calderum - Mystical Fortress of Iberian Lands
Lou Reed - Street Hassle
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin - BBC
Mr. Bungle - California
Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March (pre-release singles)
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• VI: The Lovers
• Five of Wands
• Queen of Swords
Collaboration can bring the light, the inspiration that results in clarity.
I'm not entirely sure what this is pointing at--- wait. Yes. Yes I do! There's actually A LOT of collaboration coming up in my life as I've been invited to be a regular panel member on The Dread Broadcast! Next episode is on March 31st, 7:00 PM CST. Then I'll be on pretty much every episode (one a month, always on the last night of the month except when that's a holiday) until the holiday season. You can check out The Dreadbroadcast's YouTube page HERE.
Another new track from COC's upcoming album Good God/Baad Man, out April 3rd. Pre-order from Nuclear Blast Records HERE.
NCBD:
Pretty big week this week. Let's go!
An "inside source" tells me this 30th issue of Skybound's Transformers is a doozy, so it will be on top of my reading pile this evening!
Big story swings in the most recent issues of TMNT, and I'm cautious following the events, thinking about how many changes the brothers have been through since IDW launched this continuity. Is the current arc a way to revive a previous status quo, or something much darker? We. Will. See.
Will Ordained #2 actually come out this week? I've put this up here so many times in the last few months, I'd say all bets are off. Great first issue, I just hope the false solicitations don't wear us out before it can continue.
This is one of those, "'nuff said" covers, right? I'll say, while I'm happy that Skybound has kept old Snake Eyes out of the Energon Joe continuity, it's still nice to see him in Hama's hands.
A new Alias book not written by Bendis? Definitely giving this a try, but it's a "Red Band" book, so that instantly makes me think it will be overdone.
