I've never really kept up with Rammstein, but I would definitely consider myself a fan. Ever since David Lynch introduced the German metal icons to popular culture in Lost Highway I've had an on again off again fascination/appreciation of their sound. That said, the only album I own is 2005's Rosenrot, which I adore, but which never prompted me to purchase any others. Because, I think, Rammstein is a little bit like ACDC to me; one album is really all I need. That said, the keyboard that kicks in at 0:34 on Radio essentially guaranteed I'd get excited for their new eponymous album, which can be pre-ordered HERE, and has a release date of May 17th.
Interestingly enough, Radio bled directly into another track the band released at the end of March. I like Deutschland even more than the previous, and holy smokes - the video! If you read these pages on a regular basis, you know I'm not much of a music video fan - I'll post them for songs, but end up never actually watching many of them. These two Rammstein videos though, wow! Talk about production value!
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Jonathan Grimm and I trekked out to Hollyweird yesterday afternoon to catch Avengers: Endgame. Those who know me, know my relationship with the Marvel movies has been complicated. I began an enormous fan, but somewhere around Civil War I checked out, due primarily to fatigue, but also a host of other, slightly convoluted problems. My main issue began to take root following an interview with American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast, where Mr. Ball talked about how, in the studio system today (and this was at least four years ago), a movie like American Beauty would never be made at the level it was almost twenty years ago. I have long considered Mr. Ball's breakout opus to be one of the finest examples of filmmaking in decades, and the idea that a film of that calibre would be made on a considerably smaller scale to make room for more comic book movies terrifies me. I feel like, soon, there won't be any major movies that aren't comic book or pre-branded films (remember when this was only a concern for genre flicks? When there was still a corridor for studios to invest major funds on what we now collectively refer to as 'Prestige' films?)
Anyway, soapbox digression aside, I freakin' LOVED Endgame. Infinity War was a begrudging watch a few months ago on Netflix, just to make myself ready for this one, and I didn't love it. Maybe War suffered from home viewing - every time you pause it you see where you are in the egregious run time - but Endgame felt like such a better movie! And I had that feeling I did watching Age of Ultron four years ago, namely that I wasn't watching a movie so much as a comic book brought to life. I didn't know if I would dig Endgame or not, I was just rabid to know how this thirteen-year first phase ends, and let me tell you, it ends magnificently. I wept several times; not Logan sized tears, but sentimental, gooseflesh, 'This is my childhood right flashing before my eyes' tears, and it felt wonderful.
Now, I can't wait to see what they do next. And maybe I'll check out a few of those Marvel flicks I've passed over, starting with Spiderman: Homecoming, which Grimm considers his favorite Marvel movie.
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Playlists have been all over the place with Grimm in, but here's a smattering of the last two or three days:
Type O Negative - Origin of the Feces
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Wasteland
Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Blackwater Holylight - Eponymous
John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - Prince of Darkness OST
Richard Einhorn - Shockwaves OST
Turning Teeth - Jesus & The Brides of Dracula (single)
Card of the day:
Okay, I pulled this card two days ago as well, but in spite of previously ascribing it value enough to log here, I skipped it an re-pulled. Getting this again today though, I'm going to log it and maybe spend some time reading randomly about the OTO. I'm not about to join, but it's been a while since I immersed myself in their lore, and maybe there's something there that can help one of my current projects.
