I Hate to Say My Heart is a Chainsaw, But I Told You So

 

Here's a group I had all but forgot about. A big name to me in the early 2000s, The Hives still sound great today, and I was excited to hear this track at the end of Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley's Invincible. It put the band back on my radar and I'm excited to go through their albums for the first time in probably a decade.

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Read:

The new Stephen Graham Jones novel is out today. I had completely forgotten about this until, just before bed last night, I read an article SGJ contributed to the most recent issue of Fangoria, wherein he offers some pretty interesting theoretical methods to fix three problematic Slasher films from the past (Shocker, F13 V and Nightmare on Elm Street 2). Anyway, I grabbed this on Kindle (despite my growing dislike for the device) because I read both of Jones's novels last year and both blew me away. Here's to hoping that this one - with such an awesome title - will do the same. I have every reason to believe it will.

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Watch:

So, yeah, K and I finally finished the first season of Invincible. Initially, the first episode had a huge effect on me - it was engineered to do so - but then my interest tapered off. It's this thing I have about pretty much all animation sans Cowboy Bebop, 80s Transformers and... well, that's about it. I don't know why, I just don't connect with it, and I find it hard to finish any series. It was that way with Castlevania - made it up to about halfway through the third season and stopped, and even that took multiple attempts and a couple of years to do. Same with Trese, which I made it about halfway through. Anyway, if you haven't watched it, here's a trailer. However, I think it shows way too much, so maybe just go watch the first episode all the way through. In most cases, that should be enough. Unless you're like me.

 

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Playlist:

Mark Lanegan - Bubblegum

The Jesus Lizard - Liar

The Birthday Party - Mutiny/The Bad Seed

Grinderman - Eponymous

Gesaffelstein - Aleph

Old Blood - Acid Doom

Slipknot - We Are Not your Kind

Code Orange - Underneath

Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me

Sturgil Simpson - Sound and Fury

Metallica - ... And Justice For All

The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious

The Afghan Whigs - 1965

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Card:

I feel like this is referencing something bigger than me, something I'm hopelessly caught in a repetitive dance with. I'm just not sure what that is. 

Gesaffelstein - Aleph

 

Heard this the other day and it sent me down a Gesaffelstein rabbit hole. Love this track, as well as pretty much everything I've heard from this artist since. Here's the Gesaffelstein Bandcamp - check it out!

 

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Watch:

Last night, K and I watched the first two episodes of the new American Horror Story. The Season is dubbed "Double Feature," however, the first two episodes - part of what I'm assuming is the first feature and will comprise half of the new season - are titled American Horror Story: Red Tide.

I've always maintained that AHS is a mixed bag. While I genuinely like the seasons I've watched - Murder House, Asylum, Hotel, Roanoke and 1984 - all of those except Roanoke and 1984 suffer from being too long. One of the things about Roanoke that blew me away was that, after all the previous seasons clocking in with 12 -13 episodes a piece, Roanoke went 10 and finished cleanly, without dangling plotlines hanging around, needing cleaning up after the major arcs closed. I'm hoping the double feature format will mean both of the stories that will populate this new Season will at worst leave me wanting more.

So, Red Tide is Vampires, and I have to say, the explanation they give for the show's reinvention of the fictional species is possibly my favorite EVER. Yeah, if what Even Peters's character told Finn Wittrock's characters is true, this is some serious outside-the-box thinking on an iconic horror creature that has, frankly, been pretty tired for some time now (with a few exceptions peppering the last decade).

Can't wait for more!

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Playlist:

The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'N' Roll

The Rolling Stones, Nicky Hopkins and Ry Cooder - Jamming w/ Edward

The Dead Milkmen - Big Lizard in My Backyard

The Nerves - One Way Ticket

deadmau5 - Random Album Title

The Afghan Whigs - 1965

Zeal and Ardor - Calloway

Djecjotronic - - Randjo (single)

Covenant - Dreams of a Cryotank

Slayer - Love Undead/Haunting the Chapel

Slayer - Decade of Aggression

Gesaffelstein - Aleph

Abby Sage - Smoke Break (single)

The Hillbilly Moon - My Love for Evermore

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Card:

Breakthrough? Breakthrough!

R.I.P. Charlie F*ckin' Watts

 

Talk about a goddamn legend! So sorry to hear this man left us, but what a legacy he leaves behind. I'm not much of an Exile fan - I prefer pretty much every record the Stones released on either side of it by five years to this one - however, this track, as well as a few others on the four-sider, is a CLASSIC. Rest in Peace Charlie Watts. You'll be missed.

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NCBD:

I had mistakenly thought the opening story arc of Marvel's first Alien title ended in last month's issue #5. Not so, therefore, I am back this month to see how this wraps up and just what the heck Alpha is.

Wow. One of my favorite covers yet. Not gonna lie - I'm not digging the Sinister War title all that much, as it seems extremely superfluous. That said, I still love this core AMS title, and especially after the excitement generated by THIS, I'm in the mood for some Spidey!

This title disappeared for a few months, but it's back, and I'm hoping the cover means we're actually going to see Baron Zemo take on Peter with a sword. That would be awesome

This title has quickly risen to the top of my 'must read' list every month. Can't wait to see where this current arc goes.

If issue #120 really is Raph vs. Hob, there's not much more that I need to hear. The textbook definition of the classic 'Nuff said.

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Watch:

After what feels like forever, The Last Matinee finally hit VOD yesterday. Maximiliano Contenti's gory A.F. Neo Giallo is slow-moving almost to a fault at times as it stumbles through attempting to recreate the tone of classic Argento/Lenzi/Martino black-gloved kill-fests, but that's okay. Overall, K and I both really enjoyed the film, and once it gets moving, it really gets moving.  If you're so inclined, and you're in for a slow burn, The Last Matinee is currently a $4.99 rental on Prime, and would especially make good viewing for a group.

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Playlist:

Quicksand - Slip

Abby Sage - Wasting Away (single)

Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch

Abby Sage - Smoke Break (single)

College - Teenage Color EP

Chromatics - Faded Now

Massive Attack - 100th Window

Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

Mrs. Piss - Self-Surgery

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Card:

The elevated perspective will shed new light. I could totally use that on this short, which I am hopelessly drowning in at the moment. 

Abby Sage - Smoke Break

 

I love love love this song! A random dalliance with NPR this past Saturday introduced me to Abby Sage's Smoke Break, and since, I have been unable to get it out of my mind. This appears to be a single, as with the other tracks I've found on Apple Music by Ms. Sage, so I'll be following her and can't wait until she releases a full album!

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Watch:

 

I went back into a bix box theatre this past Saturday and saw David Bruckner's The Night House. An all-around good experience (We hit a matinee, so there were about five folks other than us there), and the movie was outstanding. A SUPER slow burn, to use a somewhat tired term, The Night House trusts its audience enough not to over-explain everything. This one's sure to spark some "What the fuck?" conversations in all the right ways. There's also a certain logic to its mechanisms that really drives home the fact that Bruckner and screenwriters Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski are exactly the right folks to be working on the new iteration of Clive Barker's Hellraiser.

Rebecca Hall and Barry's Sarah Goldberg turn in great performances, and the story goes places you're never gonna see coming, always an added plus.
 

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Playlist:

The Plimsouls - Everywhere All At Once

Etta James - Eponymous

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full 

The Jesus Lizard - Liar

White Lung - Eponymous

White Lung - Paradise

The Joy Formidable - Into the Blue

Deafheaven - Infinite Granite

Yola - Stand For Myself

Zeal and Ardor - Calloway (Single)

Boy Harsher - Careful

CCR - Bayou Country

David Bowie - A Reality Tour (Live)

Nicholas Elert - The Stylist OST

Abby Sage - Smoke Break (Single)

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit

Deafheaven - New Bermuda

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Card:

Strength in what you know. Words of wisdom Lloyd, words of wisdom. I could use them. Short story is driving me CRAZY.,

Knocking on the Skeleton Tree

 

I fell back into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 2016 album Skeleton Tree album unexpectedly yesterday. I had forgotten how good this record is. Definitely for the quieter moments in life, but exquisite in a way nothing else Cave has done. This is part of the reason I've been unable to get into the 2019 follow-up, Ghosteen - the two albums feel so much alike, Ghosteen strikes me as redundant. I'm certain this is my problem, and that I've just not hit on it at the right moment yet, so I'll keep trying.

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Watch:

Hungry for new on new Horror movies coming out, I found this teaser for Frida Kempff's debut feature Knocking on Bloody Disgusting. This one looks fantastic!

 

This is totally one that would play for free at this year's Beyondfest in the Speilberg theatre space at the Egyptian if that theatre wasn't under construction by new owners Netflix until 2022. As is, because of how I scheduled my first trip back to the Midwest since February 2020, I may not be heading to Beyondfest this year, but if by some miracle the switch of venue to what I'm assuming will be the Los Feliz 3 and Aero Theatres moves the annual fest to a different spot on the calendar, I'll definitely be trying to see Knocking on the big screen. If not, it hits VOD on October 19th.

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Playlist:

Pilot Priest and Electric Youth - Come True OST

Soulsavers - The Light the Dead See

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

The Twilight Singers - Powder Burns

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Tropic of Cancer - The Sorrow of Two Blooms 

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers be Full

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit

Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine

Code Orange - Underneath

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Card:

Follow my intuition? It's funny, at this exact moment, that would line up perfectly with the post I did earlier in the week where I mentioned blowing up my life. I'm chomping at the bit to leave L.A., to leave my job, for everything in my professional life to change. I just don't know how to effect that change. 

Sabotaging Tommy Jarvis

 

Quite possibly, my favorite Black Sabbath song. Although that is probably as difficult to stick by as a mother picking a favorite child.

Sabotage is without a doubt my favorite of the band's albums. The music is phenomenal - really a step beyond anything they'd done before. They kind of split the difference between their blues roots and the shaping of Heavy Metal they began on Paranoid. However, it's the lyrics that really seal the deal on this one for me. There's such an air of prophecy and revelation. 

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NCBD:

Jesus, my wallet just jumped out of my pocket and took off down the street. Look at this list!

So I was wrong about issue #4 being the finale. Here we go.

This series is so imaginative, so original, and so f*&king gorgeous I just can't believe it. Every issue gets weirder, but never at the cost of the story's inner logic.

I have to have this Skottie Young cover. I'm not generally one of those folks who feel the need to have everything he does - his work is always cool, but it's only when he draws certain classic, larger-than-life Marvel characters that I feel the need to add them to my collection. 

 

Been a minute. Since Lazarus moved to this format, I enjoy the individual issues so much more. That said, with the gap between, I lose A LOT. It's about time for a re-read (which I've been saying for like three years now).

Love this Peach Momoko cover. I dug the first issue of Moon Knight's new ongoing, so I'm interested in where the story is going.

I am really digging this book, and it's great to be back on something with Tony Daniel's art. Waaay back in the day, he was the highlight of Todd McFarlane's Spawn series when I still read it in the mid-90s. I traded in all those Spawns back when I moved to LaLaLand, however, I'd be lying if I didn't say I've actually thought about rebuying a few, just to revisit Tony's art. Now, thankfully, I don't have to. Instead, I can read a well-written book that he illustrates. Win-win.

Coming down to the final days of Nick Spencer's run. I just learned that after he leaves with Amazing Spider-Man #74, the new series will feature Ben Reilly instead of Peter Parker. 

Yeah, I totally did a double-take on that one, too. 

I'm tempted to jump off again, however, the idea of bringing the clone back (or was Peter the clone?) is too interesting to pass up. At least for a while.

Sweet Declan Shalvey cover on this one. This series is fun as hell, and I love seeing the various bounty hunters whose figures I coveted trying to fuck Fett over. Makes for a helluva story.

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Watch:

Last week my copies of Never Hike in the Snow and Never Hike Alone arrived. I missed out on backing Alone, but was able to make it in on Snow. Monday night, I finally had some time to sit down and watch both films.

 

I'll take this over almost any other F13 feature film any day of the week. F13 is one of those franchises that I want to like so bad, but I almost never do. 

 

Vincent DeSanti does such a fantastic job, not only in stripping these down to what makes the concept of the series great but as Jason himself. Yes, that's the director lumbering in for every kill! And bring back Thom Matthews reprising his role as Tommy Jarvis!

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Playlist:

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper

MadLove - White with Foam

Danzig - Thrall - Demonsweatlive

Danzig - Danzig 4

Deftones - Ohms

The Neverly Brothers - Dark Side of Everything

Razor - Armed and Dangerous

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Card:

Harnessing the raw power of an idea and honing it into something tangible. 

The Joy Formidable - Interval

Another single from the forthcoming album Into the Blue, which is out Friday, August 24, but which you can still pre-order on the band's website HERE.  

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Watch:

I don't know anything about this new Mike Flanagan Netflix show Midnight Mass except that it's Mike Flanagan. 

What else do I need to know?

Also, it looks like this might fit into the Seaside Horror subgenre I've grown rather fond of recently, so that's pretty cool. And really, Netflix has a damn good track record with Horror these days, so I'll definitely be watching this one when it drops.

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Listen:

The new episode of The Horror Vision is up. This time, we do a deep-dive into James Gunn's Horror DNA. From writing the screenplay for the Dawn of the Dead remake to Slither, Belko and even a bit on his Troma roots. Check it out!

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Playlist:

Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog

The Black Queen - Infinite Games

The Joy Formidable - Into the Blue (pre-release singles)

Deftones - Koi No Yokan

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Card:

A larger perspective. Ritual and union. Hmm... not entirely sure how to read this. It may point toward an idea I've had kicking around in my head now for about a week, but I'm unclear if it would be an allusion to it being a valid engagement, or a waste of time.