Really digging this new track from Preoccupations that not only did Heaven is an Incubator post about recently, but both my good friends Jacob and Mr. Brown sent me last week (or the week before, we are now officially in a blur, ladies and gentlemen). It's been some time since we had new music from these guys, and I'd forgotten just how much I love their Eponymous and New Material Records (not to mention the Viet Cong stuff).
The new album Arrangements is out September 9th, and you can pre-order it now HERE. I'm currently on a ban from anything pending our move, but that shouldn't hold you back.
Watch:
I feel like someone sent me something about this one a few months back, as the title rings familiar. After watching this trailer, however, I don't know. The first feature from Writer/Director Zach Cregger, this is new to me:
Holy smokes. SOLD. What a fantastic trailer - it gives us so much of the aesthetic but gives NOTHING away (I'm assuming). Bill Skarsgård is beginning to be enough to make me stop and consider anything he's in, so there's that, and the 'tunnels under suburbia' angle is right in my sweet spot, so my arse will be in a seat come 8/31.
Playlist:
Black Sabbath - Eponymous
The Mars Volta - Blacklight Shine (pre-release single)
The Soft Moon - Him (pre-release single)
Preoccupations - Ricochet (pre-release single)
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - 1957-1972 (Live)
Card:
Fortify your position. Definitely apt. I'm having massive "is this the right thing?" thoughts as we look at houses.
Holy cow - NEW MARS VOLTA! This news still caught me by surprise, despite the fact that Mr. Brown sent me a message yesterday about a show at Chicago's Aragon Brawlroom in early October. I'm hoping this heralds a new album on the horizon, which it almost certainly does because even though this official video for "Blacklight Shine" is over 11 minutes long, well over half of that is the percussive section that accompanies the images of dancers; the actual single on streaming services isn't even three minutes in duration, and thus, just about the shortest Mars Volta song that's not a 'lead-in' track EVER.
Oh yeah, how cool is it that Omar directed the video?
NCBD:
Since I'm traveling, a lot of these will be waiting for me in my pull box back home. Some of them, however, are books I haven't yet added to my official list, and instead have been scooping up off the shelf with reserve the last few months. Those, I'll be stopping at a local shop to pick up. I'll probably go with Rick's Comic City.
I'm still reeling from how awesome issue three of this new iteration of The Amazing Spider-Man was; hoping number four continues on the same path. There's really something classic about seeing Spidey duke it out with a bunch of street-level hoods, even the goofy ones like the Rabbit or whatever the chick with white rabbit ears calls herself.
Three issues of Deadly Class remain after this one. I'll admit, because of all the time jumps in "A Fond Farewell," I began to lose my compass as to where we were a few issues back, but I'm assuming this comes from not seeing the big picture to the final arc yet, and also, reading it monthly.
The final issue of Homesick Pilots, and another one I kind of got lost in a few issues back. I'm planning a series re-read as soon as I get home. This book has been nuts in the best possible way, and there is nothing else out there that even remotely resembles it. I mean, Grunge-era haunted house ghost mech suits employed by the military to fight other ghost mech things? It even sounds nuts. I'll miss this one, but I'm always glad to hold a completed story in hand and relish its completion. Better to leave 'em wanting more than to overstay your welcome.
The first issue of I Hate This Place was great. Let's see where we're going, because all signs point to cattle mutilation - which is disgusting and terrible, but a part of alien mythology that always fascinated me for all its oddness. I mean, why cattle? Regardless, I'm digging the way this one seems to be mixing that Alien lore with haunted houses and a classic slasher set-up. Kind of a kitchen sink aesthetic, which can be tricky, but so far here, has me intrigued.
Do I even have to talk about how I wait for every issue of Kieron Gillen's Immortal X-Men with bated breath? I thought not. On my pull, but I'm picking it up anyway, cuz there's no way I want to wait.
I feel like the art in this Moon Knight book is getting a bit cartoony, which is something I usually don't go for in comics (there are exceptions and East of West springs immediately to mind), but so far, I love what MacKay is doing with the characters, so I'm hanging on.
A new limited series continuing one of my favorite one-off storylines from back in the early 90s?
If you don't know or remember, back in late 90/early 91, for three issues the world thought Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben were dead, and in their wake, Spidey, Grey Hulk, Logan and Danny Ketch as Ghost Rider took over to avenge their deaths. I haven't re-read this one in a long time, and it was clearly a gambit to boost sales on "The World's Greatest Comics Magazine" and garner ever more exposure for four of the most popular characters of that era (Punisher would fit that bill too, but he doesn't show up until the last page of the final issue in a kind of meta-commentary on the situation by writer Walt Simonson).
Anyway, Marvel's doing a lot of these 'in-continuity' throwback series lately: iconic writers of the 80s and 90s go back and flesh out these classic eras. I've dug Symbiote Spider-Man by Peter David and the X-Men Legends that Walt and his wife Louise wrote for their OG X-Factor team, so of course, I'm giving this a try.
I hadn't been reading this current New Mutants until last issue, when "The Labors of Magik" storyline began. Look, reading the X-books in the 80s, I was... twelve when the original "Inferno" came out. It is still, to this day, the best X-Men Event or Crossover ever. Also, as a pre-pubescent male, The Goblin Queen and Ilyana Rasputin gave me something to live for in some ways, if you know what I mean and I think you do. So all of that is imprinted on me pretty deep. Thus, anything that references back to that storyline is immediately on my radar. They've toyed with this stuff before - wasn't Maddy or Magik or both Queen of Hell before? Or wasn't there another Inferno, before Hickman's new masterpiece that had nothing to do with Limbo or Magik at all? I believe so, but I ignored them. And if the first issue of "Labors of Magik" hadn't been as good as it was, I would have bowed out right away. But it was good, and I'm here again for part two.
Man, I remember when great indie books like Newburn were all I read. Now, they're kinda the minority in my monthly spending habit. Doesn't change the fact that Newburn is awesome, though.
HORROR. That is all.
Being that this is the final issue of X-Men, volume five for Duggan and Larraz? I hope not, but being that A) this is the last issue before the now annual Hellfire Gala, B) this is the final issue before Judgment Day, and C) no writer/artist are listed in Comics CLZ for issues 13 and 14's solicitation, I'm inclined to think maybe. I hope not, as I've LOVED this run. Either way, last issue dropped a BOMB, so let's get to picking up the pieces.
Playlist:
Black Sabbath - Eponymous
Card:
There's no surprise to me that I pulled this one again today. Got the news that my boss's boss is leaving the company, and that puts my keeping my job once I move in question.
I should clarify: I'd previously worked out that I'd be stepping down as Assistant Manager and taking a pay cut to focus on the international logistics side of my job, which exponentially increases every year and leaves me little time to actually 'manage' anyway.
Receiving this news shook me a bit, but it really hit K hard. Which I totally get. But receiving this "Temper Emotion with Reason" message two days in row indicates that we shouldn't make the assumption that I won't be able to keep the job. We also shouldn't assume I will. We have to approach the entire situation reasonably, which I definitely had flashes of yesterday. We looked at a lot of houses yesterday, several with our Real Estate Agent Josh (who is awesome), and several more just using Josh's portal. Zillow and Google Maps to triangulate areas where we saw things we wanted to look at. During those drives, we saw a lot of industry here with positions open. When K dug around online after we got home, there's a lot of stuff out there - whether local or 'remote' - that I more than qualify for. And I won't lie - I got a huge ego boost from totally crushing my officiating speech/duties at my Sister's wedding on Saturday. So I know I could find something good. Maybe better. The downside to losing the position I have now - or rather the new version of it I would have upon moving - is that, despite the fact that it's challenging, once I drop the management side of things - which is KILLING me at the moment - my job will be very cush in that I will have a large workload that will keep me on my toes, but it's a workload I am familiar with and enjoy.
I'm traveling, so any posts here will probably be abbreviated and sporadic. I'm not really a Skynard fan, however, after hearing the Deftones cover this one on their B-Sides collection that came out a few years ago, I realized I very much dig this song.
Watch:
I don't know anything about Luke Boyce's upcoming flick Revealer, which debuts on Shudder this coming Friday, however, here's the trailer:
Being that I'm traveling and have had a lot of my time spoken for over the last week, I missed last Friday's penultimate episode of Joe Bob Briggs' The Last Drive-In, where the trailer for Revealer played between movies. The following day, however, I saw this tweet and subsequently looked into the film:
This entire thing just makes me so happy, for Luke Boyce, for the movie, and for us, because this flick looks awesome! 80s Chicago? Mandy color-palette? I'm in.
Read:
I finally began reading The Song of Salome by Tom Johnstone, published by the always wonderful Omnium Gatherum.
Playlist:
Black Sabbath - Eponymous pretty much on repeat, all day, every day. When I have a chance to listen to music, that is.
Card:
Bridging emotion (Cups) and reason (Air, Princes).
I feel like there's a lot of that right now, as we set up shop in Tennessee looking for houses, my parents in tow. I love my parents but haven't lived with them in over twenty years, or near them, aside from when I come home to visit every year, and I'm finding they are... a little bit of a challenge. Prince of Cups is one of the cards that represents me pretty well, as I'm pretty good at mitigating emotion with reason. Let's hope I can
I had no idea Julee Cruise did an album with Kid Congo Powers. Holy cow - what a fantastic pairing of musicians.
Watch:
Whoah:
Kudos to Shudder for putting this one out there. I've never been a rabid Gwar fan, as some of my friends, but I love them, and the one time I saw them live - Halloween (I think) circa 1999 (again, I think), they were awesome. Dave Brockie's death was a sucker punch from out of nowhere, but I've admired the band's perseverance and can't wait to see the band's history from start to present, as I have a lot of gaps in my knowledge of them.
NCBD:
Here's the haul; I've got a lot of reading to do before I head to the airport this afternoon:
The first issue of Moon Knight's turn at the Black, White & Blood series was fantastic, so I've really been looking forward to this second issue.
Love that cover; turns out it's more disturbing seeing The Corinthian's eye-mouths eat meat than the human eyes we're used to seeing them gorge on.
Really hoping this issue quells my reservations about where this one is going, because I like A Town Called Terror quite a bit so far.
I dig West of Sundown A LOT. There's a lot of Penny Dreadful influence, but not in a bad way.
I'm just loving the idea of setting this book primarily on Arrako, the former planet Mars. Also, I love both these damn covers, but that second one - I so want to see Storm and Brand go head-to-head.
And finally, the book I've been anticipating for months hits shelves this week:
With the success of Brubaker and Phillips' Reckless hardcover graphic novel series, I'm excited to see more creators go that route. And after the absolute creep-out of last month's Bone Orchard preview, I have super high expectations.
Here Julee Cruise's haunting vocals and Angelo Badalamenti's equally compelling music provided the soundtrack to one of my favorite scenes from Twin Peaks, Season One: The hike to find Jacques Renault's cabin!
Watch:
To once again refer back to that Netflix trailer dump from last week; GDT and Panos Cosmatos working together as part of a GDT anthology series?
Sold! Also helming episodes are Jennifer Kent, David Prior, Guillermo Navarro, Keith Thomas, Catherine Hardwicke (on a thus-far untitled episode that has H.P. Lovecraft credited as a writer), Vincenzo Natali, and Ana Lily Amirpour!
Playlist:
Julee Cruise - The Art of Being A Girl
Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks...
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Angelo Badalamenti - Dark Space Low (Hour-long version HERE)
Yard Act - The Overload
Card:
The watery, or emotional aspect of our Earthly drives/desires/needs. This is a presumption since I won't be house hunting in Tennessee for about another week, but I think this is a good reminder that we have to temper our emotional drive to get the hell out of California with the pragmatic realities of actually doing this smartly and successfully.
Also, the Queen of Disks always reminds me to survey my 'Kingdom' and appreciate where I am and how I got there, especially the people in my life who have helped. If you're one of them - and you very well might be if you're reading this and I know you - thank you. You've helped bring me to this point in my life.
Circa its release in 2002, Mr. Brown gifted me a copy of Julee Cruise's The Art of Being a Girl. This is Cruise's third album and her first since 1993's second collaboration with Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch, The Voice of Love. The sound of this one is all over the place in the best possible way, and I would argue slots in perfectly with that early 00s 'electronica' sound that eventually became ubiquitous. The light, almost mystical sound of this particular track always takes me places, in keeping with all of Cruise's previous work. What we see here and in the subsequent album My Secret Life, her 2011 collaboration with former Dee-Lite DJ Dimitry is an artist who is never content having one sound. Cruise knew her strengths, and she knew how to suss out the best partners to help that sound evolve.
Play:
I'm still playing The Game Kitchen's Blasphemy, and I've made a vow not to buy any new games until I finish it. I don't have a hell of a lot of time for games, but Blasphemy is addictive enough that, considering it's the first video game I've played in probably close to 30 years, I do find myself enmeshed when I pick it up. Because of this, I'm close. Close enough to figure that by the time Rose-Engine's Signals hits Switch on October 27th, I should be ready to embark on its gorgeously horrific journey, made evident with this trailer:
Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for introducing me to this one, as I'd not heard of it before. You can read their article HERE.
Watch:
I re-watched Summer of 84 last night for the third time, and I have to say, especially with this viewing following Stranger Things' amazing fourth season (part 1), I love this film even more. HERE is a link to the brief Letterbxd review I did last night that kind of sums up my feeling about the film, and in case you're unfamiliar, here's the trailer:
Afterward, K and I threw on Shudder TV and stumbled into Peter Carter's Rituals, a film I've been wanting to watch since just before it hit Shudder. Again, you can read my brief review HERE.
Very solid film, and as I say in the review, I'll need another viewing to fully 'get' it.
Playlist:
King Dude and Julee Cruise - Sing Each Other's Songs For You
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Various - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)
Brand New - Science Fiction
Mrs. Piss - Self-Surgery
Darkness Brings the Cold - Devil Swank, Vol. 1
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Blut Aus Nord - Dismarmonium: Undreamable Abysses
Card:
Page of Cups again, eh? Interesting that, in only three recorded readings so far with this deck, two of them are the same. I take this to mean that I really didn't pay close enough attention the first time I drew this card, two days ago. I'll also admit at this point that, since I am solely used to using the Crowley/Harris Thoth deck, I am not used to having Pages as part of the Court Cards.
Crowley famously reinterpreted quite a few aspects of the traditional Tarot for his deck. We can sum up his Court Cards as such:
Being that Grimm's Bound Tarot utilizes the traditional paradigm, I have not yet developed that ease with which my mind should read the Page as Princess, but in today's reading, I may have received such a solid example of interpretation factoring immediately into real life, that hopefully, the lesson will persevere.
From the grimoire:
The Earthy aspect of Water; Dreams can become Reality.
I literally woke up this morning after dreaming about officiating my Sister's wedding in less than a week and found my brain immediately transcribing the dream into what has now, several hours later, become the foundation for my speech. So I literally turned my dream into Reality. I'm assuming my first pull of this card the other day was the first indication - amidst my mounting anxiety at not having started the speech - that I needed to listen to the dreams of the event I've been having. I did not heed the first instruction, so the cards gave me the same recommendation a second time.
You can buy a set of these amazing cards on Grimm's site HERE.
