Sunday, October 31, 2021

Prime Directive: Happy Halloween

 

A little Misfits to round out the night on this All Hallows Eve, 2021. It's weird hearing this remastered version, I'm so used to the old cassette I had, I guess. Still, they didn't clean it up too much.




31 Days of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
27)  Ghoulies
28) Titane/Boys From County Hell
29) Arachnophobia 
30) Possessor
31) The Final Girls/Donnie Darko/Witching and Bitching




Playlist:

Manuel Galban & Ry Cooder - Mambo Sinuendo
Mastodon - Hushed and Grim
The Misfits - Collection I
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
Ritual Howls - Into the Water
Ritual Howls - Rendered Armor
John Carpenter and Alan Howarth - Halloween III: Season of the Witch OST
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
The Misfits - Legacy of Brutality




Card:


Ch-Ch-Cha-Changes.

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Vera Sola's Skulls

Thursday night, I returned to the Landmark Cinema in West L.A. for a second theatrical viewing of Julia Ducournau's Titane, now holding steady as my second favorite film of the year. I brought two friends, stopped into the closest thing LaLaLand has to a neighborhood joint next door afterward for a beer and some discussion. All in all a great night, and one that was made even better when, on my drive home, I tuned into KXLU and found Fistful of Vinyl doing an all Misfits-covers set. Holy smokes, some great stuff. You can check out the full playlist HERE. In the meantime, this cover of 'Skulls' by Vera Sola ranked right up there near the top of what I heard, and every song I heard was fantastic. Check out her Bandcamp HERE,




Watch:

My favorite show that K and I discovered in 2021 is Tony Basgallop's Servant. The experience we had watching this show was so fantastic - the casting alone won me over after about the first two episodes, especially Toby Kebbell, Lauren Ambrose and Rupert Grint, who probably proved to be my favorite character. It felt like we inhaled the first two seasons, and thankfully, before my free year of Apple TV+ runs out in March, they're dropping a new season in January! Here's the trailer, which no, I'm not watching:


If you haven't seen this, it's worth subscribing to Apple + for a month and binging it, maybe just wait until after all of this third season lands. And if you're put off by the fact that all the press says, "From M. Knight Shamalamadingdong, don't be. He is only the producer. This is Basgallop's baby, and the tone he holds for the 20 episodes that comprised seasons 1 and 2 is nothing short of breathtaking. 

Plus, there's a pizza place named Jesus Crust. Come on!




31 Days of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
27)  Ghoulies
28) Titane/Boys From County Hell
29) Arachnophobia 




Playlist:

Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
White Zombie - La Sexorcisto Vol. 1
Emilie Levienaise-Farrrouch - Censor OST
Pink Milk - Ultraviolet
Mastodon - Hushed and Grim
Deftones - Ohms
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Misfits - Collection I
Steve Moore - VFW OST




Card:


Having the feeling of deja vu as I struggle to come to terms with all the shit I have, how much I want to keep, how much I want to get rid of, and what I inevitably jettison that will come back to haunt me later.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Naked Raygun - Living in the Good Times

A big thanks once again to Mr. Brown, without who I would not have realized Naked Raygun put out a new album on the resurrected Wax Trax Records! The album is called Over the Overlords and it's pretty damn good. Great to hear from these guys again. 




Watch:

I really didn't think I was going to go for this live-action version of Cowboy Bebop, but after that first trailer and now this, well, holy cow am I in!


I love that they're still holding some cards close to their chest. Edward doesn't come into the original series until the ninth session - aptly titled "Jamming with Edward," so it's possible they might not show up in this first season. But I doubt that. A lot of the characters and images we're seeing in this new trailer and the previous one suggest this show is pulling very faithfully from the animated series, but it would be insane to wait to introduce the final person in the Bebop Ka-Tet until a later season, so I appreciate there's still some revelations to look forward to.

Speaking of trailers, howzabout this one?


My prediction, by the way, is that Eternals will not do very well at the box office, so it's good that this flick is poised about a month behind it. I have so many questions about where this Multiverse storyline will lead - we all do - so I'm chomping at the bit for this one.




31 Days of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)
27)  Ghoulies




Playlist:

Naked Raygun - Over the Overlords
Boy Harsher - Tower (The Runner pre-release single)
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch - Censor OST
John Carpenter - Halloween III: Season of the Witch OST
Goblin - Suspiria OST






Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Boy Harsher Made a Movie

 

So, apparently Boy Harsher made a movie called The Runner. Of course, there's an accompanying album as OST. This is the first track they've released off of it. Listening to it over and over today, all I can say is I cannot wait. Here's the trailer to the film:





31 Days of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (Same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23)Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills
25) The House of the Devil/A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
26) Freddy Vs. Jason (Ugh)





NCBD:

So, if this list looks familiar, it's because I accidentally posted this week's books last week. When I realized, I went back and adjusted the post. That said, last Wednesday's trip to the shop was super disappointing. However, today's will be glorious.


I ended up missing out on the Something is Killing the Children wave, however, I'm definitely grabbing this first issue of the new spin-off series.



If you had told me five weeks ago that I would be so psyched for the second issue of this new mini-series that reuses the name of my favorite X-Storyline of all time, I would have laughed. 

I ain't laughing no more. After reading and loving House of X/Powers of X, and not wanting to read all the X-Books that came after it, and reading the solicitations that this is where Hickman's run ends, I am super into this one. 


A book whose first issue I initially skipped, I went back and grabbed Primordial #1 a few weeks ago and ending up really digging it. When you consider how much I dug Lemire and Sorrentino's previous collaboration Gideon Falls, it seems like a no-brainer. 


Super psyched for a new Two Moons story arc!


The final issue of this series. Not fantastic, but at a paltry 4 chapters, a fun little romp through nostalgia.



Playlist:

Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me
Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
Boy Harsher - Tower (pre-release single)
Boy Harsher - Careful
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Infectious Grooves - The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move
Slayer - Reign in Blood
The Nerves - One Way Ticket
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir




Card:


Reminder that sometimes, I DO know what's best. 

Monday, October 25, 2021

Halloween Kills Pink Milk

Heaven is an Incubator recently posted a new track by Pink Milk, a band I'd never heard of before, but which knocked me out upon first listen. The new album - Ultraviolet - spun about six or seven times this past Saturday afternoon. I literally could not turn it off.




31 Days of Halloween:

K and I finally saw Halloween Kills. In my world, the only truly necessary Halloween flicks are the original and then Part III: Season of the Witch. But in this world, where there will no doubt always be new Halloween movies, this was a fairly good entry. I'm not sure why so many people dislike it - I actually liked it better than Halloween 2018. The lynch mob stuff strikes me as exactly how that situation would go down in real life. I could have done without the last ten minutes or so, otherwise, solid entertainment. 


1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
23) Muppets Haunted Mansion/Freaky
24) Halloween Kills




Playlist:

Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears
Pink Milk - Ultraviolet
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man




Card:


I'm not seeing the entire scope of something that's concerning me.  Something is off. Not sure what that is.

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Alice Cooper's Poison

 

You know what I remembered earlier today? I unabashedly love this song. Sure, there's severe nostalgia - my second concert was Operation: Rock n Roll and featured a duel headlining bill of Cooper and Painkiller-era Judas Priest, along with openers Metal Church, Dangerous Toys and Motörhead. Trash was the album Cooper was supporting at the time, and although I'm not super partial to the rest of the album, this song has got to be one of the greatest 80s rock anthems ever. It's just so good, from the guitar to the vocal melodies on the chorus.




31 Days of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers




Playlist:

Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
Alice Cooper - Trash
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Dr. John - Gris-Gris
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Belong - October Language
Beth Gibbons, The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra & Krzysztof Penderecki - Henryk Górecki: Symphony N. 3




Card:


This is definitely a reminder that I will no doubt need to tap my reserves of patience tomorrow when we journey back to San Pedro to being going through K's Mother's storage space. 

Friday, October 22, 2021

Scary Little Green Men

 

Mr. Brown recently mentioned how much he liked the latest album from Rock Icon Ozzy Osbourne, and it piqued my interest. I haven't really engaged with Ozzy's music in decades, or at least not the music made during those decades. I've always championed No More Tears, and over the last few years, I've grown to have a renewed love of Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman, as well as a new appreciation for two albums I had previously no interest in, 1986's The Ultimate Sin (I've always loved "Shot in the Dark", but the rest of the album fell flat for me in comparison until just a year or two ago) and 1983's Bark at the Moon, even if, yes Sonny, it definitely looks like someone shaved a poodle and then glued the fur to him for the cover shoot. This is the ridiculousness of Cocaine-fueled Hard Rock, and while many of us that grew up loving it as kids reached a point where we simply had to turn a blind eye to the escalating foolishness, there is comfort for some of us in going home again later in life.

My aversion to Ozzy probably also comes from the fact that my high school girlfriend and her two older sisters were SO into the man that one of them had a boyfriend who literally thought he was Ozzy. I mean, he knew he wasn't Ozzy, but he also put it out that he was him, going so far as to have the license plate "I'm Ozzy 1" on his mustang. Perfect for the time, yes, but he was a good guy and I hope he's done well.

Anyway, I guess enough time and distance has come to pass, because in firing up 2020's Ordinary Man, I found I quite liked it. Definitely not going to be a daily jam, but for this morning it's found a place with me, and no song made me smile more than Scary Little Green Men, which seems to encapsulate so much about Ozzy defying ALL expectations - even his own - and making it into his 70s.

Rock on, Mr. Osbourne! I'm glad you're still with us.




31 Days of Halloween:

1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons 
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)




Playlist:

Ritual Howls - Into the Water
Electric Youth and Pilot Priest - Come True OST
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
Hank III - Straight to Hell
Vreid - Wild North West
Mastodon - Sickle and Peace (pre-release single)
X - Under the Big Black Sun




Card:


Because this weekend begins the work of preparing to move across the country. Fuck, this is going to take a long time, because we have to help K's Mom prune her belongings, an entire cache of which resides in a storage facility in San Pedro. So guess where I'm spending my Saturday. Considering how fucking exhausted I am from work of late, this is going to Hurt. As good friend Missi would advise - remember to breathe. So simple, but something that we always forget. Or at least I do.