2018: August 27th

My favorite song of the year, thus far. And the entire album is, after an intense day of listening to almost nothing but, clocking in at #2 of the year, right behind Zeal and Ardor's Stranger Fruit. Another great year for music (if you know where to look).

Finished Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs. Solid four stars. I'm still irked by some of the pacing manipulations, but that's a small thing. The end speeds by and is excellently paced. I definitely learned a thing or two here. Next up:

Playlist from 8/26:

Etta James - Second Time Around
Louvin Brothers - Satan is Real (vinyl - thanks Mr. Brown!)
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
The Damage Manual - >1
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer

Card of the day:

And yeah, my lust of result is interfering in my work process. So I'm at my CBTL trying to fix that now.

True Detective Season 3 Trailer

The fact that Jeremy Saulnier walked from directing the entire thing is troublesome. I won't make a judgement yet, but let's just say I'm skeptical.

2018: August 26th

Logged into youtube and found this in my recommended feed. I haven't watched it yet, but I can't wait to and wanted to share.

Late start both days this weekend; DwC took it out of me for most of yesterday, and today I'm just off. Also, bracing for a second showing of Panos Cosmatos' Mandy at the Egyptian, the first of which I missed catching a ticket for. I won't miss this time, especially because I want to bring my friend John with, who will be visiting, and who I want to do something insanely nice for, as his work on The Legend of Parish Fen is just ridiculous. Here's a taste:

That's a shrunken size, so it's a bit foggy, which the final art most certainly is not, but it should illustrate just why I am so excited about this project.

Time to get back to writing, but here's the playlist from the last two days (more or less):

Mastodon - Once More 'Round the Sun
Etta James - Eponymous
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
Stellar Corpses - Hellbound Heart EP
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot

No card today.

Also, I watched a handful of movies:

Liked, didn't love

Ridiculously delicious

Classic

Fell asleep and probably won't return

2018: August 24rd

Psyched to have Dusty Grave from Stellar Corpses and BAT on Drinking with Comics later tonight. Tune in around 9:30 PM PST for the show, which will be streaming live on our FB page. This little tune's been knocking around in my head for a few days, so I thought I'd throw it up here to pave the way for this evening.

Playlist from 8/22:

Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
My Bloody Valentine - MBV
Various Artists - Twin Peaks Season 3 OST
Second Still - Equals EP
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
John Carpenter/Alan Howarth - Big Trouble in Little China OST

Playlist from 8/23:

Tennis System - Technicolour Blind
Radiohead - Kid A
Fear - Live... For the Record
Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Glenn Gould - Bach: Goldberg Variations
Second Still - Equals EP
John Carpenter/Alan Howarth - Big Trouble in Little China OST
Carl King - Guns A' Blazin' Suite
Cocksure - TVMALSV
The Carpenters - Greatest Hits

Card of the day:

Five breaks stability and causes at worst strife, at best competition. There's some strife in my life right now, but it's background radiation, throbbing in the distance, lighting up my brain for a moment or two here and there, and inspiring competition for sure. Which is good - DRIVING FORCE.

2018: August 22nd

My musical day yesterday was an interesting dalliance in a lot of what I spun in the mid-00s. This song... takes me somewhere. There's a definite tone there, one that I miss, but one that puts me in a totally different headspace from the one I need to be in to write what I'm writing. Hence 'dalliance.'

Playlist from 8/21:

Doves - Lost Souls
Chris Connelly - The Night of Your Life
Chris Connelly - Pentland Firth Howl
Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat
Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Atlas Moth - Coma Noir
Atlas Moth - The Ache of Distance
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
John Carpenter/Alan Howarth - Big Trouble in Little China OST

I missed out on scoring tickets to the LA-Premiere of Panos Cosmatos's Mandy at the Egyptian, as hosted by the Beyond Fest crew. First world problems, I know.

Card of the day:

An abundance of enthusiasm and intelligence that can quickly sap the heart from things. I think this is exactly where I was last night with my writing. Luckily, I recognized the futility quagmire, closed up shop and had a beer. This morning? I drove to work in silence (as I do when I'm having problems with massaging plot) and figured out where my problem was. Thanks Knight of Wands!

2018: August 21st

Really diving into all the back catalogue material I'd missed from Chris Connelly lately. Some of these I'll be ordering on vinyl, like 2011's Artificial Madness. The album runs a gamut of industrial-influenced tunes to more melodic but still fuzzy numbers like this one. Such a gorgeous track.

About 200 pages into the Silence of the Lambs. It's been solid from the start, however some of the chapter stops are so forced in order to adhere to a 'page-turner' profile I've rolled an eye or two. Still, better short than over for this kind of book and the momentum it establishes early on. I can't wait to watch the movie again after I finish; it's been years, as despite my love of horror, the serial killer genre, especially when executed this well, is one that burrows too deep under my skin for me to partake of often.

NCBD tomorrow! Super excited for the return of Days of Hate and the second issue of Die! Die! Die! My recent re-read of Nameless stoked the flames of my Chris Burnham love, so this arrives just in time.

Playlist from 8/20:

Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Vaguess - Guilt Ring
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer
Algiers - Eponymous
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
Shostakovich - Symphonies Nos. 5 And 9
Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations

Card of the day:

Focus on Earthly, pragmatic considerations. Contemplation and fortification, exactly what I'm working on at the moment in terms of my writing. I'll have a big one in a month or two, and I am excited.

2018: August 20th

This looks great. Jim Hosking's first feature, The Greasy Strangler, ranks as probably the most interestingly off-putting movie experience I've had in the 7 or 8 years since I finally saw John Water's Pink Flamingoes. This is both a good and upsetting thing. As Mr. Brown pointed out, with this follow-up having Universal distribution, I'm sure some of the madness will be bleached away, and I'm okay with that.

Playlist from yesterday:

Etta James - Eponymous
Etta James - Second Time Around
Fugazi - 13 Songs
Deafheaven- Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Card of the day:

The Streak is broken, but everything is indeed, still coming up Milhouse.