Understanding the Day: A Solid Foundation

Another new single/new album announcement my travels have left me behind on. After seeing The Soft Moon live several years ago for their 2016 album Criminal, I can attest to the fact that, as much as I dig Anthony Vasquez and crew's albums, they're way better live. Regardless, I'm psyched for the new album, Exister, which drops 9/23 on the always amazing Sacred Bones Records! Pre-order HERE. 

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Watch:

Saw this dropped and wanted to post it here for posterity's sake:

 

As per usual, I am not watching the trailer, just salivating until 4:2 drops. I still just don't understand how every season of this show is able to get exponentially better than the previous.

 

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Read:

I'm not really getting a lot of time to read while we're out here. Since we arrived, it's been pretty hectic. We almost made an offer on a house last night, but there were two we were interested in that didn't hit the market until today, so we held off. Thing is, the one we almost made an offer on has an open house today, and so does one of the two that goes on sale today. So we could end up screwed. Fine. That'll suck, but I always read shit like that as "Wasn't meant to be." I'm not a believer in Fate, but I have reservations about EVERYTHING at the moment, so I'm happy to let the Universe act as an Equalizer.

No, not that Equalizer. Oh well, you get it. 

Anyway... I haven't had a chance to read much, but I will say, I burned through the comics I bought the other day at Rick's Comic City - GREAT Shop and SUPER nice people - and I cannot get Immortal X-Men #3 out of my head.

Characters I've always loathed and found nothing but boring:

1) Charles Xavier

2) Magento

3) Mystique

4) Destiny

Characters I now find endlessly fascinating: 

See 1-4 above.

I love the graphic representation Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck used to show us Destiny's Precognitive sight and at the same time tease possible future events. Also, I loved how big they went with the one future they did show us, simply because they're never going to show us it again.

What the hell is that? Giant Exodus possessed by The Phoenix Force eating Mr. Sinister (who manages to re-set the timeline first anyway?) This is some crazy shit, but the craziness is fleeting compared to the "game of thrones" going on and the character development. As Dave Buesing from Comic Book Herald points out in the most recent "Talking Krakoa," this is the first deep or probably even good character study on Destiny EVER in X-comics. That says a lot. 

Then there's Mystique, I've never cared for her. When the original X-movies began to use her as a major character I always kinda scratched my head. Even for years after that, whenever I would dabble with an X-book again, I never bought Mystique's post-movies position as a now-major character. All that has changed. Hickman started it, and Gillen is CRUSHING it continuing this fascinating series.

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Playlist:

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - 1957-1972 (Live)

The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues

16 Horsepower - Low Estate

Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain

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Card:

Okay, based on my brief run-down of the last few days above, this is a sight for sore eyes. 10 of Disks: Wealth doesn't promise anything, but "A solid foundation" definitely equates to "A good home" in my mind, always has. So okay, let's go out and find a fucking house!

2018: September 17th

New Soft Moon remix by Imperial Black very much fits my mood today. I woke up with a taste for Industrial music, catalyzed by watching Julian Richards's Darklands. A document of its time, Darklands is sort of a 90s update on The Wicker Man, and is populated with some fantastic industrial imagery, reminiscent of the kind of thing Justin K. Broadrick uses for Godflesh records.

Screen cap from Darklands

Good flick, although much of the aesthetic of the 90s still seems overall cringe-worthy to me. But this definitely transcended those feelings. Darklands is available to stream on Shudder.

Finished John Palisano's excellent Night of 1,000 Beasts and before I jump into my next novel - Neil Gaimen's The Graveyard Book - I'm re-reading some Laird Barron as a pallet cleanser. Procession of the Black Sloth is one of those stories by Mr. Barron that I have read probably three or four times now, and I never grow tired of it. The tone borders on what I call Two A.M., flush with dim night-lighting and drunken reveries. It's a calm descent into terror and that's what I love about it and Barron's work in general.

Procession of the Black Sloth is available in Laird Barron's first collection, The Imago Sequence, which I cannot recommend highly enough.

Playlist from the last two days:

White Lung - Eponymous
Disasterpeace - It Follow OST
Canyons - Barrie single
Canyons - Michigan single
Canyons - Tal Uno single
Yob - Our Raw Heart
Legs Occult - Dark Rituals

Card of the day:

This I'm taking as a confirmation that I should follow my instinct and outline a new story bubbling around in my head. Oh yeah, that said, after putting it 'in the drawer' for a month, I came back to Please Believe Me and finished it the other night. Will be submitting it to a major Sci Fi magazine today or tomorrow, so keep those fingers crossed for me.

2018: April 14th 3:03 AM

Haven't been to bed yet. Drove into Hollywood after work, met up with Keller and talked shop for a bit before heading to the Teragram Ballroom in DTLA for The Soft Moon.

They were incredible. Here's the thing though, opener Boy Harsher - who I'd not heard of before - left a massive impression as well, almost too massive for The Soft Moon to top. Now, that sounds ridiculous when I re-read it, and really I think the exaggerated impact has to do with the fact that I'd never heard Boy Harsher before and they really just blew me away.



In love with this band right now.

Playlist from yesterday:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus Dig!
The Red Chord - Clients
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited
Public Image Ltd - First Issue
Boy Harsher - Yr Body is Nothing

Card for the day:

Definitely sated on experience after this weekend: the Nick Cave movie Thursday, Soft Moon/Boy Harsher last night and tonight (because it's Saturday, even though I haven't been to bed yet) is Emily Kinney at the Hotel Cafe. Gonna be ready to lay low for a bit until Windhand in two weeks.

2018: April 13th 12:03 AM

Friday the 13th and I'm going to see the Soft Moon!!! Here's some awesome F13 stuff to enjoy:





New Drinking, Fighting, F*&king, and Crying is up HERE.

Playlist from Thursday the 12th (a mention that will become ironic later this year):

Odonis Odonis - Hollandaze
Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears
Ben Frost - By The Throat
Monolord - Rust
Pigface - A New High In Low
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Distant Sky (Concert Film)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

Card of the day:

Always nice to see this one, especially when I just received the proof of my first book cover! Should I reveal it yet? Naw... not just yet.

The Soft Moon - Burn

Criminal, the new album from The Soft Moon was released earlier this month and so far, this is my favorite track on an outstanding album. Seeing these guys for the first time in April and I can't wait!

Tommy posted the pre-release Choke a few weeks back, check that out HERE.

The Soft Moon - Want

How did I miss this last week? I'll admit that I'm a little taxed on drugs and violence, however the frantic nature of the way this video is lit and shot fits the 'narrative'. Plus, I really like the Soft Moon.