Linger Fickin' Good, Baby!

 

Getting psyched to see "The Revolting Corpse" at the end of the month, courtesy of Mr. Brown. I'm not entirely sure who will be on stage, but either way, it's sure to be amazing.

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Watch:

K and I wrapped up Evil season 3 on Paramount Plus the other day. As always, this show leaves an ENORMOUS void when it's off. I have a feeling the next season may be the final; either way, with the low-grade anxiety Netflix is resonating with its coy attitude toward Sandman's renewal, it's good to know that the next season of Evil has already been announced. 

Next up, Feud!

 

We'd been meaning to watch this since it aired back in 2017, and our timing proves fortuitous, as a quick look-up on IMDB surprised us with the listing for an upcoming season two slated for next year.

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Read:

I finished Irvine Welsh's Marabou Stork Nightmares. Jesus. This was easily his darkest book, and that's bloody well saying something. Still, I loved most of it; it always feels like slipping into a favorite Marathon Shirt when I tackle one of Welsh's novels, and despite several absolutely soul-searing scenes, this was no exception. Next up, Welsh's long-time friend Sandy McNair's tell-all book Carspotting: The Real-Life Adventures of Irvine Welsh.

Like Marabou, I've had this one for over a decade. After this, I'm thinking I may re-read Welsh's 2006 novel Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chiefs, which I haven't read since it came out.

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Playlist:

King Woman - Celestial Blues

Charles Bradley - Changes

Cocksure - Corporate_Sting

The High Confessions - Turning Lead Into Gold with the High Confessions

Corrosion of Conformity - Deliverance

Willie Nelson & Leon Russell - One For the Road

The Black Angels - Eponymous EP

The Black Angels - Death Song

The Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn? (pre-release singles)

The Afghan Whigs - In Spades

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

The Bangles - Different Light

Joseph Bishara - Malignant OST

Ordinary Fascist

 

A little Bells Into Machines to start our Wednesday. If you're unfamiliar or haven't heard their 2018 Eponymous full-length, I cannot recommend it enough. I kind of forgot about this one after hearing it initially around the time of its release, almost like it made a lackluster impression on me. After digging it back out earlier in the week, I can't stop listening to it. 

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NCBD:

Seriously, I don't know how this many issues of ASM in such a short succession isn't getting on my nerves, but there's such a big picture going on at the moment, I just want to read a new one every damn week, and Marvel is pretty much accommodating me.

Finally! Home Sick Pilots returns with a new arc. Love this book; its weird mash-up of Horror tropes and Mech fiction is so unique and darn right amazing to take in at the eyes.

The climax of what is undoubtedly the best mini-series of 2021, and I absolutely MUST have this cover!

Not 100% certain I'm going to dig this book, but I'll give it a shot. We must be in the golden age of Comic Book Cover art, 'cause here's another great one.

I feel like TMNT must be bi-weekly at this point, because I just read 117 like a week ago.

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Playlist:

Bells Into Machines - Eponymous

Anthrax - I'm The Man EP

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

Vreid -  Wild North West

Tennis System - Technicolor Blind

Steve Moore - VFW OST

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Card:

 

Two separate but easily juxtaposed events that directly preceded my pull last night caused me to have a breakthrough. I now believe I know what the Devil/Wheel cycle I've been caught in for the last week or so was trying to tell me, and I drew IV: The Emperor with that query in mind - am I correct in this revelation?

I'd say this means yes. 

Joe Begos Double Feature at Beyondfest!

Let's start the day with something from Chris Connelly's pre-Ministry project Finitribe, from his Edinburgh days. I dug out an old single I have on vinyl yesterday and enjoyed the hell out of it, and was super pleased to see some of their stuff up on Apple Music.

**

Another wonderful evening at Beyondfest last night, where we saw a double feature of Joe Begos' two new films, Bliss and VFW. Both are FANTASTIC! Bliss is on VOD right now and I urge you to support it; VFW is slated to drop sometime around the end of the year; I'm sure I will post about it again then.



We were able to record a quick-take review of both of these, plus Joe Bob Briggs' How Rednecks Saved Hollywood and Stewart Raffill's Tammy and the T-Rex for The Horror Vision - check it out!

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

**

31 Days of Horror:

10/01: House of 1000 Corpses/31
10/02: Lords of Chaos
10/03: Creepshow Ep 2/Tales from the Crypt Ssn 1, Ep 1
10/04: IT Chapter 2, AHS 1984 Ep. 3
10/05: Bliss/VFW

**

Playlist from 10/05:

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Digipak)
Testament - Souls of Black
Steve Moore - The Mind's Eye OST


**

No card today - it's late, I've been up for closing in on twenty-four hours, and I have a Tom Atkins triple feature to be at in Hollywood at 11:00 AM tomorrow. And hey, Tom Atkins will be there in person! How's that for a thrill, eh?

2018: August 21st

Really diving into all the back catalogue material I'd missed from Chris Connelly lately. Some of these I'll be ordering on vinyl, like 2011's Artificial Madness. The album runs a gamut of industrial-influenced tunes to more melodic but still fuzzy numbers like this one. Such a gorgeous track.

About 200 pages into the Silence of the Lambs. It's been solid from the start, however some of the chapter stops are so forced in order to adhere to a 'page-turner' profile I've rolled an eye or two. Still, better short than over for this kind of book and the momentum it establishes early on. I can't wait to watch the movie again after I finish; it's been years, as despite my love of horror, the serial killer genre, especially when executed this well, is one that burrows too deep under my skin for me to partake of often.

NCBD tomorrow! Super excited for the return of Days of Hate and the second issue of Die! Die! Die! My recent re-read of Nameless stoked the flames of my Chris Burnham love, so this arrives just in time.

Playlist from 8/20:

Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
Vaguess - Guilt Ring
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer
Algiers - Eponymous
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
Shostakovich - Symphonies Nos. 5 And 9
Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations

Card of the day:

Focus on Earthly, pragmatic considerations. Contemplation and fortification, exactly what I'm working on at the moment in terms of my writing. I'll have a big one in a month or two, and I am excited.

2018: August 18th

Not gonna lie, I had chills when the song kicked in.

I've been a bit obsessed with Connelly's solo career again, and was looking for a copy of Jackietowne, from his 2018 album The Tide Stripped Bare when I stumbled across this. Shocked, to a point. I'm a firm believer that other than the Smiths, everyone in music who parted ways will eventually come together again. I guess I'd just never imagined this reunion before, especially not after reading Connelly's amazing and long out of print autobiography, Concrete, Invisible, Bullet-Proof, and Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock. Speaking of that, I recently found out Uncle Al also did an auto, and I need to put that on my list:

Playlist from 8/17:

Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
David Bowie - Scary Monsters
David Bowie - Low
Chris Connelly - The Tide Stripped Bare
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
Chris Connelly - Night of Your Life


Card of the day:

I pulled two today. The first was Truce, which is also extremely relevant to current situations. The second, of course, was Victory, which has not been far off for a week now.

2018: June 15th

I recently dug out my disc copy of Phenobarb Bambalam, one of the earlier Chris Connelly solo albums. I'd forgotten how great this album is; Night of Your Life still holds such sway with me that it's often difficult to see past it.

I took my first day off writing yesterday for as long as I can remember back. It's no longer a matter of counting the days of my streak. Now I simply write everyday.

Playlist from yesterday:

Les Claypool - Of Whale and Woe
Andre Previn & London Symphonic Orchestra - Samuel Barber: Adagio, Violin Concerto
David Lynch & John Neff - Bluebob
Lustmord - Songs of Gods and Demons
Various Artists - Trainspotting OST

Two passages of note from the Grimoire:

"Life is about to get easier and brighter," and, "Create unto and within yourself a Universe, shaped of your strengths and built on your accomplishments as a foundation." - See my above observation about writing everyday. No wonder I pull this card so much. Also, no wonder it's my favorite.

2018: May 9th 8:00 AM

Holy cow! Chris Connelly has a new record that came out earlier this year. And of course, it's fantastic.



Highly recommended literature:

I started this yesterday. Fantastic book. The character of Stigoi is so hilariously based on a certain Chicago Black Metal Musician who, while I love his music, is known for doing the kind of bastard shit Strigoi does. This just makes me like the book even more than I already do, with its urban-decay-as-lifestyle that often proliferates internally inside self-obsessed musicians in cities like Chicago (I know, I'm from and was a musician there for ten years).

Speaking of which, let's combine several topics from today's post:



Playlist from yesterday:

Darkness Brings the Cold - Human Me
David Lynch & John Neff - Bluebob
USSA - Eponymous
Alice in Chains - B-sides
Alice in Chains - Eponymous
Neon Kross - Darkness Falls
Ghost Bath - Moon Lover
Blut Aus Nord - Memorial Vetusta II - Dialogue With the Stars

Card for the day is coming from my back-up deck, the mini Hanson-Roberts:

I don't like this deck nearly as much - nothing wrong with it, it's just not my cuppa. I like my Thoth, but I hurried out of the house this morning and forgot to pull - this deck is pocket-sized and was something I found, so it lives in my bag for moments like this. As for the pull itself, XIX coming in hot on the heels of XVII The Star (yesterday's pull) suggests that while yesterday's writing session was a bit convoluted (occulted, to force a slightly square peg into a circular hole for the sake of the metaphor), today's will be better, with revelations aplenty.

Cocksure - Klusterfuck Kulture

Recently my good friend Chris turned me on to the fact that Chris Connelly has a new band with Jason Novak of Acuman Nation. The band is called Cocksure and their debut EP Klusterfuck Kulture is available for a mere $3.99 at the bandcamp linked above. This is easily my most listened to new music of the year, and I've only had the thing for about a week (Thanks again Chris!). It's fantastic - a perfect synthesis of everything great about old school industrial but without feeling like a throwback or re-hashed ground. I spent the week in the cryo-lab with this spinning over and over on my ipod, six, seven listens in a row, each time finding something new to love about it.

I read this somewhere however now I can't find the confirmation, but I believe the full album is apparently due next month in August on, of all labels... WAX TRAX! Now that is fucking awesome. Both Touch and Go and Wax Trax pressing new music for the first time in years this year? Awesome.

CORRECTION: The single was on Wax Trax, the album, out August 12th, can be pre-ordered now on Metropolis Records.
.........
* I love most incarnations of Ministry but Connelly-era is my favorite

Corrections House - Bullets and Graves

CORRECTIONS HOUSE - "Bullets And Graves"

New Corrections House to go along with their last two videos (Hoax the System and Grin with a Purpose).

Really dig this band but if we could just have Mr. Parker use this as a launching pad to go back and record a new record with his other "super group"I'd be one happy man. Corrections House is Sandford Parker (of Minsk, Nachtmystium) along with Scott Kelly of Neurosis, Mike IX Williams of Eyehategod and Bruce Lamont of Yakuza and Bloodiest. Meanwhile  that other group is almighty High Confessions, who have thus far released one album - Turning Lead into Gold with the High Confessions and Mr. Parker is joined therein with Steve Shelley (former Sonic Youth and Disappears drummer), Jeremy Lemos of White/Light and of course, Chris Connelly of Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Chris Connelly (w/ and w/out The Bells). 

So you see why I'd like The High Confessions to produce more music...

Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible + Fried

As I'm falling into an old school Ministry kick, let me cast this out there for those who might be interested: probably the best rock autobiography I've ever read is Chris Connelly's Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible and Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock. I read it shortly after it came out five or six years ago, stumbled upon it by accident and was subsequently super happy to have done so, as it went out-of-print pretty damn fast. Currently the book is still out-of-print but well worth whatever you have to pay for it if you're a Ministry/Revco/Bells/Connelly fan.

The High Confessions - Chlorine and Crystal

It's been nearly three years since the debut album by Chris Connelly, Sanford Parker, Steve Shelley and Jeremy Lemos, collectively known as The High Confessions. I want more.

This song, the album closer, reminds me a lot of the tone of The Cure's Pornography. Let's juxtapose this with a track so maybe you can see what I mean. A good creative day for me is sitting down and writing to first Turning Lead into Gold with the High Confessions, then Pornography. It doesn't get much moodier than that.