Pistols wise, I loved Danny Boyle's Pistol. I've watched every doc I know of, read and re-read Noel Monk's tour biography 12 Days on the Road (can't recommend that one enough), but none of that prevents me from adoring Boyle's spin. K and I even teared up at the end, and not for the reasons you'd think.
Watch:
I had not even heard of this film, but it looks fantastic.
Charlotte Colbert's first full-length film comes to us as a "Dario Argento Presents," and from the visuals, I can see why he would be involved. A lush, Gothic aesthetic with a British sentiment.
NCBD:
A decidedly light NCBD. Thankfully.
I've decided I'm continuing with this new iteration of ASM at least until the legacy issue #900 hits in a month or two. After that, we'll see. So far though, this has been a pretty great title.
That Texas Blood returns with the start of it's third story arc. If it's even half as good as the previous one, well, look at that cover. How could it not be?
The cover says it all - a Hulkified God of Thunder! Banner of War has proven a super fun, big-swings story and I'm hoping that as it comes in for a landing, it just gets crazier.
Playlist:
Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks...
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
Tin Machine - Live at La Cigale, Paris, June 25th, 1989
This past Friday on The Last Drive-In, Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mailgirl hosted Hellbender, the sixth movie by the prolific and endlessly fascinating indie filmmaking Adams/Poser family.
During the interview segments of the broadcast, the family revealed that not only is H6llb6nd6r an actual band they play in, but Ship to Shore media are releasing their debut record on vinyl.
I immediately pre-ordered the vinyl, despite an estimated ship date of Q4 2022 and the fact that, hopefully, by that time I will no longer live at my current address or even in California. Because of this, I used my parents' address in Illinois. However, there is the very real possibility they may also end up near us in Tennessee, so I'm hoping that, when all this finally happens, I will have enough time to go into the order and change the shipping address.
You can pre-order H6llb6nd6r's Side A from Ship to Shore Media HERE. The entire record is currently streaming on all platforms, and it's fantastic.
Cast:
A new episode of Southside 90s dropped concurrently with the newest installment of my Newsletter, which appropriately enough features a "Giant-sized" 90s playlist that chronicles all of the bands and albums I associate with those long-ago days spent playing in bands and smoking pot, getting crazy and watching friends build flamethrowers out of fire extinguishers. Sound insane? Yeah, it kinda was.
The stories are only going to get weirder from here out, so if you're listening, buckle up.
Watch:
My good friend and Horror Vision cohost Ray kicked off his summer outdoor movie series Cineray this past Saturday with one of the coolest double features I've seen in a while. First up, my first-ever viewing of Tango and Cash:
Next, and I had no idea this movie existed, was John Stamos and Vanity in an all-out 80s action movie called Never Too Young To Die. Feat your eyes on this glory:
Yeah, it's ridiculous, and maybe it was the tall cans of Stone's Hazy IPA I was sucking down, but it really hit the spot.
Playlist:
H6LLB6ND6R - Side A
Various - Lost Highway OST
David Bowie - A Reality Tour
Duende and David J - Oracle of the Horizontal
Deftones - Gore
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Card:
I was SUPER excited to receive my copy of The Bound Tarot, which my friend and occasional co-conspirator Jonathan Grimm recently released. I'm extremely proud of Grimm - I watched him work on this deck over the last year and his skill never ceases to amaze me.
You can buy a set of these amazing cards on Grimm's site HERE.
Page of Cups indicates a predilection for following your Creativity, which, as of yesterday, is where I'm at again after weeks of spinning my wheels.
I'd be willing to wager there's another post on this page from about four years ago with the same title. I remember discovering David J's stunning tribute to David Bowie about as vividly as I remember receiving the text that told me of the Alien's passing. This is the perfect ode - sorrow at a passing lined the bittersweet memories of what that person meant.
Watch:
With only one-and-a-half episodes of the six-episode run, I can honestly say that despite the conundrum of seeing thumbnail advertisements for Danny Boyle's Pistol with a Disney+ watermark - because I'm assuming since Disney owns HULU and Pistol is a HULU original their network will distribute it in some foreign territories - I'm having A LOT of fun with this one.
This is very much Steve Jones' story, so I thought it only prudent to juxtapose my endorsement with John Lydon's rebuttal to the show. Because, you know, there is always creative license.
I'm always going to believe John over everyone else involved, however, the story is one that mesmerizes and recharges me enough that I'll listen to everyone's version of it.
Another awesome new song from the upcoming sophomore album Mirrorcell, by former Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato.
You can pre-order Mirrorcell from Puciato's Federal Prisoner Records HERE.
NCBD:
This week is another super fun one. Here's why:
I have NO idea where Rick Remender & André Lima Araújo's A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance is going. Hell, I'm not even sure how long this book will run. Is this a Deadly Class/Black Science, 30-50 issues kind of story, or a 10-and-done like Tokyo Ghost? I'm sure that information is available somewhere online, either in an interview with Remender or the book's solicitations, however, I prefer not to know. All I do know is it's swift, often disturbing, and yet still has a positive energy to it.
I surprised myself in the weeks since Ghost Rider #2 - I would say this may be my most anticipated book now, below of course Immortal X-Men. I definitely detected some Clive Barker influence in the second issue of old flame head's new series, and that was enough to make me want more. Think about it - why not apply a Barker-esque Horror vibe to this title/character?
See, you couldn't come up with anything there, could you? So here's to hoping the book delivers (that monster truck cover isn't doing the series any favors, but hopefully that's all it is - a cover).
I was on the fence with Little Monsters simply because I'm trying - totally unsuccessfully, I might add - to limit what I buy until I move. But the first two issues got me to come back for three, and the first page of three dropped my jaw, so I'm in.
After my recent re-read of issues 1-8 of James Tynion IV's The Nice House on the Lake, I've been waiting for issue 9 with a lot more anticipation. Such a great character study of people at the end of the world. If, that's what this actually is, which is in question at the moment.
Maybe it was just momentum from Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but I loved issues 1 and 2, and this is a mini-series, so I'm sticking with Strange while Clea is running the show.
I know nothing about this one, but a Horror book called The Closet that shows a little kid playing in front of a closet that no doubt scares him seems like a great set-up. When you add in the fact that James Tynion IV is the author, well, count me in.
Just began re-reading What's the Furthest Place From Here last week, so issue 6's release is well-timed to say the least. I love this one.
Issue one wasn't really my thing, but I enjoyed it enough. I'm mainly buying this one because K is into it.
Playlist:
Ghost - Infestissumam
Alice in Chains - Eponymous
Various Artists - Lost Highway OST
The Mysterines - Reeling
Card:
Hopefully, this card bodes well for renewed creative energy. Because mine needs some renewal.
BIG thanks to Mr. Brown for cluing me in on the fact that there's a new John Doe record out on the always delightful Fat Possum Records. You can order Fables in a Foreign LandHERE.
Watch:
Warning: This trailer may give some plot points away.
Michael Shannon in the die-hard tropey creepy neighbor role? SOLD.
Read:
I gave up on the book I've been slogging through for the last few months, Helltown by Jeremy Bates. It's well written, it just did not connect with me. I've moved on to a novel I've been wanting to read for years, and which only recently came back into print via Drugstore Indian Press.
So far, at only about 200 pages into its 608-page runtime, this is every bit as majestic as I'd expected. Klein needs more credit - he's a master of his craft and appears to be setting up a magnum opus that I'd wager influenced Clive Barker's Great and Secret Show, another of my favorite novels. I'd commented on this edition back when I bought it last year, specifically on my fears for its binding, which for this many pages, seems weak. That said, so far so good.
Also, it's interesting to note that the first and for a long time only story by Klein I had read, Events At Poroth Farm, seems to have been a short born of the author excising and reworking a section of The Ceremonies, probably due to frustration with the novel in its original form, misgivings he has shared publically on more than one occasion.
Also, it should be noted that in checking out DIP's website, I realized they have also reprinted Klein's most heralded volume, the looooooong OOP Dark Gods, which I plan on ordering ASAP.
Playlist:
Yerusalem - The Sublime
The Bronx - II
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy
Deftones - White Pony
Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Bexley - Lost in the Moment EP
Bexley - Eponymous
John Doe - Fables in a Foreign Land
Cypress Hill - III: Temples of Boom
Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full
Def Leppard - Diamond Star Halos
Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Revocations - Teratogenesis
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Card:
I always equate this particular card with emotional strength and support, so I'm reading this as it pertains to giving someone else the support they will soon need.
My friend Eddie over at The Comic Bug attended the Cruel World fest a few weeks ago and it was on a video he shot that I first saw Peter Murphy's new look. Oh my god! These guys were already one of my favorite bands, but seeing Murphy here, I'm blown away. I mean, for a second I was like, "Why is Rob Halford singing for Bauhaus." Then I realized, no, I just hadn't seen a photo of Murphy since... well, probably some time around 2006 when Go Away White was released (an album I still defend vehemently).
Anyway, in looking around on youtube, I found alleyc8Cat's channel with this full set. So cool they posted, and in looking at the other videos on the channel, I subscribed immediately. If you dig, give them a like and a follow HERE.
NCBD:
I'd been wanting to see Jacob Gentry's Broadcast Signal Intrusion for some time now, so when it landed on Shudder recently, I moved it up the queue.
The film takes place in Chicago in 1999, so major props for doing a great job taking me back to that particular time and place. Also, Gentry is very good at lovingly incorporating his cinematic loves in a way that is pleasurable to those who share the same feelings (Videodrome!), and overall, the story and concept are really cool. That said, this film has its share of problems, and despite liking it quite a bit, I have to admit that BSI feels like it ultimately falls flat on knocking down a lot of what it sets up.
I’m not one who needs explanations - if you read these pages, you know that. However, there’s a certain pact a filmmaker enters with their audience when they introduce certain tropes/concepts into their film. By using certain known plot devices as red herrings, this film feels like it cheats a bit. Tone over substance, and while I’ll always err on the side of tone, elements of this film rub me a bit wrong. Ambiguity is fine unless it's substituted for story, and that's definitely the case here when it comes to anything other than the awesome setup:
"In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with discovering the dark conspiracy behind them."
I will say, there are three points in this film where it makes like it’s going to do something so tropey it knows the audience will roll their eyes, then it intentionally doesn’t do that. Those three instances helped BSI gain a lot of ground in my good book, but also made me wonder if the film is that self-aware, couldn’t it have been refined a bit more?
NCBD:
Playlist:
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual
Joe Doe - Fables in a Foreign Land
Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium
Peter Gabriel - Melt
Mastodon - Hushed & Grim
Zombi and Friends - Vol. 1
Zombi -Shape Shift
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Card:
Too tired to interpret this now, so just recording the Pull for posterity's sake.
