Sunday, September 30, 2018

2018: September 30th



One of the trailers that has been recurring at Beyondfest. Looks great. Free Screening at the Egyptian later this week, but it's a school day and a late show. Debating...

I can never fit enough Beyondfest in. I cherish everything I do get to attend, but I'm always left wanting more. Last night was brilliant: a pristine 35mm print of Dead Ringers, followed by Mick Garris interviewing Cronenberg and composer Howard Shore. The interview was recorded for later airing on Garris's podcast Post Mortem. The conversation covered everything - from Dead Ringers to The Fly, to Shore's work on Silence of the Lambs and Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations, to Cronenberg's role in Clive Barker's Nightbreed to his early short films Stereo and Crimes of the Future.

And everything in between.

What can top that? Well, there's a few more showings this year I may try and attend, Boat being one of them. Some of the others:







And one Cronenberg double feature remaining:





Playlist from yesterday was non-existent.

Card of the day:




Saturday, September 29, 2018

2018: September 29th - Hold The Dark



Hold the Dark is exceptional; in my mind this is Saulnier's first masterpiece. Nothing against his other films, but this is just... a level beyond. I've written the inaugural installment of my new column on Joup, The Horror Vision, about the film. Read it HERE.

But wait, The Horror Vision is not only a column on Joup. In fact, the column is just a tributary to a much greater endeavor! In just one day (if all goes well with backend website design) my friends Ray, Anthony, Chris and I will be unveiling the newest podcast in the DwC catalogue: The Horror Vision. Here's a promo clip we threw together:



That beautiful logo is courtesy of Chris Saunders and the theme music is by me!

Tonight! More Beyondfest 2018 as K and I head into Hollywood to see Dead Ringers on the big screen, with director David Cronenberg in attendance to discuss the film. Can. Not. Wait.

Playlist from Friday, 9/28:

Mayhem - Deathcrush EP
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
The Ocean - Anthropocentric
Waveshaper - Station Nova
Mad Love - White With Foam

Card of the day:


From the Grimoire: "If we struggle against the seasons, the ebb and flow of life, we will fall. However, when you turn (Change) with that flow, you will reach a stationary peace from which your actions can harmonize with the power of Life's turning wheel."

How does that apply to me today? That's kind of the greatness of the card, isn't it? A broad stroke reminder to 'roll with the punches.' I'll be keeping that under advisement.


Friday, September 28, 2018

2018: September 28th - More New Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats



Really can't wait for this record.

Jonas Åkerlund's Lords of Chaos is excellent. The film goes out of its way to humanize Euronymous, played by Rory Caulkin, and conversely sets Varg up to look pretty much like a bit of a wallflower. The cinematography is gorgeous - especially the church burning scenes - and the murder scenes are brutal. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre - which I'm on the fence with as far as the old, second wave stuff - or anyone fascinated by sociological oddities.

Being that it's Beyondfest time, I've been reflecting on some of the other films I've seen there over the last few years. At the same time, while catching up on the always brilliant Shock Waves podcast, Episode 112 has Gigi Guerrero as a guest. I didn't realize who she was until the hosts brought up her short film El Gigante, which I saw a few years ago at Beyondfest and LOVED, kind of a Luchadore-meets-Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre hybrid. Here's the trailer:



Ms. Guerrero's production company El Luchagore's website is chock full of awesome content, and she says they are still in the early stages of making a full length out of the short. Also, there's a comic!


Playlist from 9/27:

Sunn O))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
Chris Connelly - The Tide Stripped Bare
Perturbator - Dangerous Days
Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - Le Mani Destre Recise degli ultimi Uomini

Card of the day:


With this many recurrences of late, it's face value time: what am I being foolish about?

Thursday, September 27, 2018

2018: September 27th



File that one in the #currentlyspinning category; I have it up loud in my office and people who walk by look a little creeped out. Good. It's almost October - the perfect chance to be creeped out!

Super excited to be going to see Jonas Åkerlund's new film Lords of Chaos on the big screen tonight at my favorite theatre ever, The Egyptian in Hollywood (There's no trailer - not sure why, but I find that kind of cool). Having just read the book a few months ago, this is perfect timing!


This is the first of several Beyondfest screenings I'll be attending this year, so that only adds to my fervor. I love Beyondfest. So much so, I used it in one of my stories. Sort of. If anyone out there has read A Collection of Desires: 7 Tales of Modern Horror, the first story in the book - Scare Me - is set partially at the Egyptian, and the screening Apple and Lucas are attending is in many ways based on my first experience at Beyondfest - three years ago now if my math is correct - where my friend Missi and I saw an amazing double feature of Evil Dead 35mm and Evil Dead 2, with an interview set in between where Edgar Wright interviewed Bruce Campbell and surprise guest Sam Raimi. Before the show, representatives from Shudder worked the crowd, trying to get people to sign up for the just-launched horror streaming service. I used all that - tweaked it for my nefarious tale of course -  as well as much of the surrounding Hollywood neighborhood - one of my stomping grounds for years now - as a setting for the story. It's one that I am very proud of.

Playlist from yesterday:

Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
Perturbator - New Model
Perturbator - Terror 404
Waveshaper - Station Nova
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Sunn O))) - 
Brand New - Daisy
Waxwork Records - House of Waxwork Issue #1 OST
Zombi - Shape Shift

Card of the day:


Reading about this card again after not seeing it in a while, I feel this is a harbinger for me. I've been physically hurting for a while, with various issues resurfacing just in time to slow me down. The yoga isn't doing a hell of a lot, but it's doing something. However, while none of my setbacks are serious enough to cause alarm, they do add up to an exhausting daily toll. The Empress seems to suggest I need to nurture myself a bit more, and in a period of withdrawal I should be able to reclaim my health.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

2018: September 26th



I messed this up and should have posted this yesterday, as September 25, 1980 is the day John Bonham passed away. 38 years... wow.

A week or two ago, the new Grady Hendrix book came out. Author of My Best Friend's Exorcism, Paperbacks from Hell, and Horrorstör, this guy has become a recent favorite of mine. Looking forward to this new one. Why?


Right up my alley. That said, I still have a lot of books to tackle before the year is over. My list of "To-Read" goes a little something like this:

Neil Gaimen - The Graveyard Book
Robert Payne Cabeen - Cold Cuts
Dead Reckoning - Dino Parenti
David Lynch - Room to Dream
Gemma Files - Experimental Film

That's not all of them, but it's the ones I really want to read before the end of the year.

Playlist from 9/25:
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
Boy Harsher - Country Girl EP
Mad Love - White With Foam
Briqueville - II
Godflesh - Post Self

Card of the day:



As often as it appears in my daily pulls, I'm going to have to dig deeper on this card. I'm not getting a 'journey' vibe, literally or figuratively for today, so let's look at the Grimoire:

"Everything within. No external or obscured (The Moon) influences. Trust you gut. Materiality can point to eccentricity or folly."

Hmm. The materiality bit rings a bit true to some of my deep-rooted neuroses about money; I tend to buy to much stuff. Or this may be a resolution to a certain fatigue that has haunted me of late, making it more difficult than usual to walk down to my local coffeehouse and write (I drove yesterday, but only just convinced myself to go).

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

2018: September 25th - Cold Showers




Cold Showers is a band I discovered a few years ago via KXLU. They fell off my radar shortly after, but I've rediscovered them recently. Matter of Choice is a solid album that lines right up with Drab Majesty's sound, a modern example of that wonderful spot where Post Punk and New Wave meet.

NCBD - this week, nothing I have in my pull comes out, so my intention is to catch up on the newest Marvel Venom series.

Yep. A Marvel series.

A few weeks ago when my friend John was out visiting, we stopped in the comic shop. John is a huge comics fan, and I tend to get more excited about comics in general when I'm around him, so I ended up looking at a lot of the stuff I normally ignore, i.e. the Big 2 section at the Comic Bug. I'm not about to go see the Venom movie, but I have a soft spot for the character, especially after Rick Remender's brilliant run on the book back circa 2012-2013. A lot of this newest series - which predictably puts Eddie Brock back in the Symbiote suit to coincide with the movie - feels heavily inspired by Remender's run. The art by Ryan Stegman is gorgeous, and both it and the character designs pick right up on where I left off with the characters, especially Jack O'Lantern, a D-lister Mr. Remender permanently endeared me to. I've only read two issues, but it's kind of insane, with the Symbiote speaking in an alien language (is this the first time we've heard its native tongue?), and prophesizing that its race's 'god' is coming.



Playlist from September 24th:

White Lung - Eponymous
White Lung - Sorry
Drab Majesty - Careless
Cold Showers - Matter of Choice
Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
Sunn O))) - Kanon
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field

Card of the day:


From the Grimoire: "Denotes a situation to know yourself, what you want, and throw your self doubt and fear away." This may be telling me to rethink submitting Please Believe Me.

Monday, September 24, 2018

2018: September 24th



'cuz I'm kinda obsessed with this man's brain at the moment. And because Mr. Cosmatos highlights an album his movie Mandy has had me wanting to dust off:



Playlist yesterday was a single album:

Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST

No card today - I'll get my shit back together again tomorrow.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

2018: September 23rd - New Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats!!!



Jesus. I'm going to go broke with all the new music on the horizon. Good problem to have, eh? The new album is called Wasteland and there is not a pre-order up yet that I could find.

Drove 35 miles both ways out to Santa Ana to see Mandy on the big screen again. The Frida Theatre is the only place anywhere even remotely close by - if at all - still playing it nightly, 10:00 PM shows until the 27th. So worth it!

Going to see Rebel Without A Cause today, thanks to AMC and the TMC's monthly movie. This is such an amazing program, and it's available at almost all AMCs and I think some Regal (Or at least in Southern California it is. Check the TMC website for details about theatre's near you - it's worth it!).


Playlist from Saturday, 8/22:

White Lung - Eponymous
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Digipak Version)
Sunn O))) - Domkirke

No card today.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

2018: September 22nd - New Music from The Black Queen!



Bunch of new music on the way. My good friend Jacob alerted me to a new album from seminal Witch House group White Ring. They haven't been on my radar in ages, so it's cool to reconnect with their music, especially when some of is so indicative to me of what the mid-00s sounded like.

Memories of listening to music.

That's something you don't think about often, or at least I don't. Memories of listening to music. I mean, usually music evokes or scores memories, but to just reminisce on sitting in front of the computer on a day off from Borders and flipping around the internet looking for new stuff. I've lost a lot of the online gate keepers I that helped me find music back then (Not the best one, though), and tech has changed the hunting process greatly, what with the advent of Apple Music, so it feels further away than it is. And the tones White Ring utilizes, the actual synth and drum patches, they still sound right out of 2007, so it triggers these sometimes intense reveries.

Going to see Mandy in the theatre again tonight. It's such a shame this film is getting so small a theatrical run - I'm driving 35 miles each way to the Frida Theatre in Santa Ana so K can see it. This film was meant to be seen on the big screen, incredibly LOUD (thank you, Egyptian!). I ordered the vinyl a few days back, thought it wasn't coming out until November for some reason, but apparently they've already shipped, so I'm super happy about that. And, as you have hopefully already noted above, new music from The Black Queen. I don't know if all the guys from Dillinger Escape Plan's new bands can fill the DEP-sized hole in my life, but it's awesome they are moving on and trying!

Yesterday was apparently national Sunn O))) day, because that is most of what I listened to. Interesting first listen to Flight of the Behemoth, as a lot of it reminded me quite a bit of Throbbing Gristle.

Playlist from Friday, 9/21:

Sunn O))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
Sunn O))) - Void 00
White Ring - Gate of Grief
Sunn O))) - White1
Queens of the Stone Age - Villains
Sunn O))) - Flight of the Behemoth

Card of the day:


As usual, perfectly relevant to me at this moment, as I've just spent a large part of my morning working out the logistics for a new 'journey' I'm poised to begin with three very good friends. What is it? You will know soon enough.


Friday, September 21, 2018

2018: September 21st



I first came to know this track as Canon, on 2009's Domkirk record. That was my first Sunn O))) album; I saw it advertised in an issue of Wire and immediately knew it was something I had to own. Yesterday I went searching through the band's catalogue on Apple Music to dive into some of the albums I don't know. 2015's Kanon was one of them. I was stoked to rediscover the track in studio form. There's something about it that, to continue the purple prose metaphor from yesterday, sounds like you're staring into the abyss. A lot of Sunn O))) stuff is like that, but this one especially. Listening to it during the second of a surprise, 3-day FDA inspection at work, I realized the band's music relaxes me, almost feels like a form of meditation. It was a valuable epiphany.

Talk about an effective trailer. Watch this in the dark, with headphones on and tell me you don't get chills.



It's difficult for most filmmakers to create and sustain a truly scary tone for 80 minutes, imagine if this show does it for multiple episodes? Getting my hopes up? Maybe. But you never know.

Playlist from yesterday:

Lake Trout - Another One Lost
Avenged Sevenfold - Eponymous
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Sunn O))) - The Grimm Robe Demos
Sunn O))) - Kanon
Earth - Primitive and Deadly

Card of the day:


From the Grimoire: "Rapid, clear communication. Ending of confusion. Divine or otherworldly communication.  A swift action toward goal; decisiveness." Not sure what this concerns yet, but I'll keep my head up.

Thursday, September 20, 2018

2018: September 20th



This song has seemed especially haunting to me lately. There's a cosmic reverie to the lead guitar that  reminds me of Zeppelin at their most mysterious, and also sounds - if you'll pardon the purple - like an impossible gaze into the abyss.

Issue #1 of Batman: Damned blew my expectations out of the water. The story at this point, which is teaming Batman up with John Constantine, begins perfunctory enough. What really seals this one is the art and the format - it's the over-sized magazine size Brubaker and Phillips use for the Criminal Specials, and Lee Bermejo's renditions of everything, especially the design for Batman's suit and his dark depiction of Gotham, are absolutely gorgeous.



Playlist from 9/19:

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me OST


Card of the day:


From the Grimoire: "Not knowing when to stop for the love of the "battle". Loud and clear.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

2018: September 19th - New Cocksure Album!



Holy cow, there's a new Cocksure album out! Listen to the way that synth comes in at 1:19 - old school never sounded so good!

NCBD and I am SUPER excited because the first installment of Batman: Damned hits today:


Also, I've been eager for more Seven To Eternity since it returned from hiatus last month (feels longer), so it's nice to see a new one. And what an awesome, Saga-like cover, despite the fact the book bears little resemblance to Saga; they are both awesome in very different ways.



It's going to be a good week!

Playlist from Tuesday, 9/18:

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Cocksure - Be Rich
Elder - Dead Roots Stirring
Tennis System - Pain EP
Jucifer - War Bird
The Atlas Moth - The Old Believer
Yob - Our Raw Heart

Card of the day:


Second iteration of this card in a row (I didn't pull yesterday). I finished Please Believe Me, however became reticent to submit it to the magazine I had planned to due to the fact that in their voluminous "What we don't want" list - which is hysterical reading - they mention anything that requires a 'vestigial belief in Judeo-Christian beliefs'. My story does not, however, the first line of the story, which is meant to be ultimately metaphorical and initially disorientating, is "It was a Thursday in September when seventy-three-year-old Heddie Larsen met the devil." I can just see an overworked slush pile operator reading that and moving no further with it. I thought about changing the line, but it would change the story, so in keeping with my draw today, I will wait and send them the results of the next journey, read: story, which I've already begun mapping out and is tentatively titled "Growth Spurt." It's the closest thing to hard Sci Fi I have written thus far. Think Primer meets Slither.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

2018: September 18th - Lost David Lynch/Angelo Badalameni Album Coming!!!


Pre-order it from Sacred Bones Records HERE. This is the album that contains two tracks we already know from the FWWM OST, The Black Dog Runs At Night and A Real Indication. I had NO idea this was on the horizon, and give many thanks to Mr. Brown for the early morning tip-off.



Playlist from Monday, 9/17 was tiny. A lot of radio in the car where I heard some great tunes (rare for me), and then this Yob record over and over again. This song, in particular:


Yob - Our Raw Heart

No card today.

Monday, September 17, 2018

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.

Saturday, September 15, 2018

2018: September 15th - Emma Ruth Rundle Light Song



Still haven't had a chance to sit down and ingest that Emma Ruth Rundle. Hopefully today.

Funny: That makes me think that way back HERE in April I was holding out listening to the latest Sleep record for a quiet moment where I could smoke and quietly absorb the record on vinyl. Well, I still have not heard more than a note or two on The Sciences. The one time I made it to Fingerprints to look for the vinyl they were out, and the quiet, stoned alone time is a fleeting commodity. I may just break down and order the fucker off Amazon, but I had this entire scenario built in my head for buying the new, unexpected Sleep album at an actual record store, and then sitting with it the way I sometimes - not so much any more - sit with brand new records from bands I love, undivided attention focused as the first listen washes over me...

Hopeless music romantic, or curmudgeon? You decide.

Drinking with Comics was a blast last night, even though I really didn't get to talk about one of the main things I wanted to talk about: re-reading the first six issues of Gideon Falls. This book is spectacular, and feels so close to HBO level execution that I honestly feel the experience of consuming it is less like reading a comic and more like watching True Detective (season 1, of course). Not that there's any overlap story-wise; you know how Warren Ellis makes extremely widescreen, cinematic comics that feel very much like you're 'watching' them on a big screen? Well, Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Dave Stewart have created something similar, but it's an analog to the micro-screen revolution that has served as the only viable, professional, top-tier level outlet for dramatic roles since Disney and the franchise machine stole Hollywood from us. Gideon Falls will no doubt be converted to a cable show soon, and reading it again, I realize the blueprint for that show exists perfectly in the comic.

Playlist from yesterday:

Earth - Primitive and Deadly
White Lung - Eponymous
Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
Windhand - Split EP
Touche Amore - Eponymous
King Woman - Doubt EP
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST

Card of the day:


Face value for sure. Busy few weeks. Today is a day dedicated to my baby!

Friday, September 14, 2018

2018: September 14th



Last night, I scored a ticket to the Southern Lord 20th Anniversary show coming up on November 18th. Sunn O))) is the only announced act at this point in time - I've never seen them live and the show is at the Echoplex, so there was no debating my attendance. That said, I'm holding out hope a Burning Witch reunion might be in the works, so I'm throwing this live performance out to the Universe as a suggestion/nudge. Let's see if it works.

New Emma Ruth Rundle dropped today; I woke up to find it loaded in my Apple Music. Can't wait to chow down on this one later today, preferably at night, stoned. I have make it through work and Drinking with Comics first though.

I have it on good authority the new Predator movie is not good. My friend Anthony sent me a text about it last night directly after leaving the theatre. I trust Anthony's opinion 100%, so despite my initial fervor, I will now be skipping it.

Playlist from 9/13:

Pallbearer - Fear & Fury EP
Type O Negative - October Rust
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Emma Ruth Rundle - Fever Dreams Pre-Release Single

Card of the day:


I guess I will need to be ready to act on unexpected opportunities.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

2018: September 13th



Beach House have apparently agreed to tell the story of my life in song.

I am still living HIGH off that Mandy screening on Tuesday night. There are so many people I'm trying to reach out to and tell them they will love it, moreso even if they see it in a good theatre with great sound. I'm already planning to see it again either this weekend or next.

NCBD yesterday:


And a preview for a new book coming out from Image/Top Cow on October 10. Infinite Dark feels like an awesome space Sci Fi rumination on the end of the world and humanity in general, but set in outer space, and I'm pretty excited to have creator/writer Ryan Cady will be our guest tomorrow night when we take Drinking with Comics on the road to El Cuervo Gallery in El Segundo!


Playlist from 9/11:
Ghostland Observatory - See You Later Simulator

Playlist from 9/12:
Dead Rabbits - The Ticket that Exploded
The Ocean - Permain: The Great Dying Pre-Release Single
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST
Sinoia Caves - Beyond the Black Rainbow OST

Card of the day:


I'm going with change of mood on this one, as something happened yesterday that totally revamped my current outlook on a project.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Mandy

I was fortunate enough to see the Los Angeles premiere - thank you Beyond Fest and American Cinematheque - of Panos Cosmatos's Mandy on Tuesday night and I can wholeheartedly say it was possibly the best cinematic experience I've had in over a decade. See this movie IN THE THEATRE.






Tuesday, September 11, 2018

2018: September 11th - Melvins Cover Sabbath



With Al Cisneros from Shrinebuilder/Sleep!

I talked a bit previously about my friend John being in town. This is John of Jonathan Grimm Art. His work is amazing, and he's also the artist and co-creator of The Legend of Parish Fen, the swamp monster comic we hope to have the first volume out of mid next year. We spent the day yesterday working out the entire 2nd issue and it is grand, much better than what we had when we originally beated out this 3 issue arc about a year ago. We also came up with something else, something that's not quite a comic and not quite prose, and should prove considerably easier to release in a more expedient fashion. More on that later, but for now I'll leave you with the title.

CIAZARN

There was no playlist yesterday, as we chose to work on Fen without music. Weird - a day with no music. I'll make up for it today.

Tonight - the Los Angeles premiere of Mandy! I can NOT wait! Here's the recently released Japanese trailer - I'm not watching it, but I'm on trailer ban.



Card of the day:


Always good to see you pop up, especially after a week off working on my current project. I'll be back to that tomorrow, until then, TO VICTORY!!!

Monday, September 10, 2018

2018: September 10th



Had this pretty little ditty in my head when I woke up, probably because it's used in a fantastic film John and I watched last night.



My friend John Grimm is still in town and we drove out to Hollywood last night. I brought him to the HWA meeting so he could make a few connections, and then we hit Scum and Villainy and The Beetle House, both pop-up bars that have hopefully become permanent. Scum and Villainy is designed after the Cantina from the original Star Wars. It's cool but small. The real joy was Beetle House, which is a bar/restaurant themed around Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. Really, really cool place.

Playlist from 9/09:

John Carpenter - The Thing OST
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Zen Guerilla - Positronic Raygun

Card of the day:


Twos represent balance and harmony. They are also of the Crown of Creation and not of the physical world. I'm taking this two ways right now. First, my interest in the idea of a Prime Mover has become more influential, so that it's working it's way into my daily thoughts. Not sure how that will play out with my writing, but I have several older projects that deal with this, so maybe I should think about dusting one off. Second, I've been doing yoga and it's helping me immensely, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Dominion can be seen as rule over self. Control.

Sunday, September 9, 2018

2018: September 9th



Starting the day off with a little Led Zeppelin.

Watched a couple great 80s horror flicks yesterday with K and my good friend John who is out visiting. First up:



I love both of the original Demons flicks by Lamberto Bava. The first would rank as my favorite, but mechanics of the horror in two is perhaps odder than the first, with the Demons coming through the television instead of the giant movie screen. In both films, I love the tone of the movie/show the audience is watching and how it kind of reflects their real world and kind of doesn't. There's a weird trans-meta element I can't quite explain, but it really works to make the entire thing creepier. And that's a lesson I often hear repeated - in horror, you don't have to explain everything. Sometimes that takes away from the story (I'm looking at you, Babadook).

Next:



Considerably more solid than you would think, I really enjoyed what I put on expecting a goof from.

Playlist from yesterday:

Secret Chiefs 3 - Book of Horizons
Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave - Phantasm OST
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
The Thirsty Crows - EP
Stellar Corpses - Hellbound Heart EP
Stellar Corpses - Respect the Dead EP

Card of the day:


Reinforcing the reading from September 3rd.


Saturday, September 8, 2018

Perturbator has a Side Project: L'Enfant De La Forêt

Translating to "The Child of the Forest," I immediately feel a kinship here due to my old band The Forest Children's name. This is dark ambient, not like Mr. Kent's Perturbator at all, and I love it. The digital album is available on the bandcamp:



And physical copies can be pre-ordered on Neuropa Records's website HERE.

Spooky shit, as one would expect from Mr. Kent.

2018: September 8th



Ghostland Observatory released a new album today. This is a band I very much dig, but who fell off my radar quite a few years ago. Good to see them back in action.

I've been thinking quite a bit about the bands that kept me afloat in the 00s. These guys were definitely one of them, along with a lot of more electronic-based artists. My general musical inclination has shifted over the last seven or eight years, so that I generally listen to heavier music these days (although Sunn 0))), The Ocean and High on Fire were staples for much of the 00s). That has a lot to do with writing - I just find it easier to write to heavier stuff. Most of the time. Also, it tends to fit my tone.

Oh! Mr. Brown sent me a link to the new film by Harmony Korine. Looks great, and I love the fact that Korine has kind of - for the time at least - reinvented himself with this Neon Beach Noir look.



Playlist from yesterday:
The Ocean - Permian: The Great Dying (Pre-release Single)
White Lung - Eponymous
Dead Rabbits - The Ticket That Exploded
Soundgarden - Super Unknown
The Cramps - Flame Job
John Carpenter - Big Trouble in Little China OST
Black Sabbath - Volume 4
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Card of the day:


Dogma. Well, what am I dogmatic about? I don't draw this card often, and when I do I don't always attribute it the respect and fascination it deserves. In my general temperament, I'm used to thinking of this card as being followed by or juxtaposed with XVI The Tower, as in law or dogma in a state of upheaval. Alone, I have to wonder if I am supposed to look deeper into my belief systems, which are ersatz for sure, as I decided long ago the word belief is much akin to the word prison. Maybe that doesn't have to be the case? Most people would read this - I think - as beware your belief structures. I'm wondering if I need to fine-tune my own, as lack of belief is still, ironically, belief.





Friday, September 7, 2018

2018: September 7th



A collaboration between Alain Johannes Trio and Mike Patton? Nice. Happy weekend peoples! My good friend John is in town and we are going to have some fun! First up - Night of the Creeps on the big screen in my friend Ray's front yard tonight. No, you didn't read that wrong. Ray has a very large inflatable screen and a killer sound system and he puts them up in his front lawn and plays movies until like 4AM. It's amazing. And it's ending soon, because Ray and his family rent and the landlord wants the place back, after like 15 years. These are the harsh truths of the modern world. They have a Go Fund Me and I wanted to post something about it (I just found out about it - I think they got talked into doing it but have trouble asking for help. Just like I would). Link to it HERE.

I watched a flick on Shudder last night called Observance. Very good. Totally a Weird Fiction novella done as a film; I could see the Laird Barron influence in it, which is definitely a good thing. Highly recommended.



Playlist from 9/06:

David Bowie - Reality
White Lung - Eponymous
Minsk -
Windhand -
Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - Le Mani Destre Recise degli ultimi Uomini
Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST

No card today.

Drinking w/ Comics #43 - Special Guest Dusty Grave



Co-owner of Batcave Records, Singer for Stellar Corpses, secret member of Bat! whose debut album is forthcoming on Cleopatra Records (when they're not fighting the forces of darkness!) - Dusty Grave joins us to talk Dylan Dog, Cemetery Man, The Sandman Universe, Unholy Grail and much, much more!


Thursday, September 6, 2018

New Music from The Ocean - Permian: The Great Dying



I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that it's actually been five years since the last album from The Ocean (they released a split 7" with Mono in 2015), or all the changes that have taken place in my life since. Either way, this track is MUCH anticipated and proves this band will never let me down. You can pre-order the new album, Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic on the Metal Blade Records site HERE. Release date November 2nd.

Props to my friend John for tipping me off to this release. Made my night!

New Windhand Single Diablerie



Windhand dropped the second single off the upcoming Eternal Return, out 10/5 on Relapse. You can pre-order this HERE. I for one cannot wait!

2018: September 6th



I am in love with this White Lung album! They used the track Wild Failure in that movie Excision I wrote about yesterday and I've been listening to the album since.

NCBD yesterday:




And, what I forgot came out and will no doubt have to hurry to grab a copy of:


Playlist from yesterday:

Reverend Horton Heat - Martini Time
The Atlas Moth - The Old Believer
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
Stellar Corpses - Respect the Dead
White Lung - Eponymous
Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST

I watched David Lynch's Inland Empire last night for the first time in probably over ten years. One of the most incredible theatrical experiences I've had when it came out back in 2007, I've never made it through the entire film on DVD, simply because it is long, fragmented, and requires very specific viewing criteria for me, criteria that usually means I end up falling asleep because of my early schedule. That criteria is

1) Absolute Darkness
2) Stoned
3) As few interruptions as possible

This usually means I have to watch it late at night, and I just don't make it through. Inland Empire really shines in a theatre, but at home it's a bit arduous. That said, it is a wonderful film, amazingly dream-like, and after reading this awesome little interpretation, I am contemplating another viewing sometime within the next week.

Card of the day:


Again, let's go face value and say this means I'll finish the editing on DwC 43 today.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

2018: September 5th



This Yonatan Gat record is completely blowing my damn mind! Thanks to Mr. Wellman for the hesitant recommendation. I Love it!

Watched Excision on Shudder last night. Jesus, the description Shudder uses is perfect, "...blackly comic high school horror film that feels like Welcome to the Dollhouse if it were directed by David Cronenberg. Even the trailer is insane:



Richard Bates, Jr. has three movies and I love all of them.





Playlist from 9/03:

Etta James - Eponymous
Them Are Us Too - Remain
David Bowie - Black Star
Radiohead - O.K. Computer
Yonatan Gat - Universalists
Airiel - Molten Young Lovers
King Woman - Doubt EP
Them Are Us Too - Amends


Playlist from 9/04
Alice in Chains Rainier Fog
The Atlas Moth - The Old Believer
Danzig 666 - Satan's Child

Card of the day:



I can take this one at face value today. Feel really good. The best in a while.

Monday, September 3, 2018

2018: September 3rd RIP Conway Savage



Long-time piano player for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Conway Savage passed away earlier today, so I thought this performance was doubly in order.

Playlist from 9/02:

Stellar Corpses - Respect the Dead EP
Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

Card of the day:


As the final card in the suit, the Princess can be seen as the end result of the transformation begun in the Ace. Aces are always breakthroughs to me, in the case of Cups an emotional breakthrough. I feel like this describes where I am; I messaged a friend I haven't seen in a few years out of the blue earlier just to tell him I love him. My cup runneth over with emotion. But it's not schmaltzy or crippling; instead, I my emotional battery feels supercharged, while physically I remain somewhat drained and limited. My daily stretching - which falls by the wayside often of late - still tells me the damage from pulling my Hamstring almost a year ago has still not completely healed and it limits me. This of course causes unsought reflections on aging and mortality, which of course probably explains my current wealth of emotions.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

2018: September 2nd



Thanks to Jeff at the Comic Bug I found Vaguess. As you can no doubt hear from the above, they are awesome. Guilt Ring will definitely end up on my favorite albums of the year.

Long day of work and sinus infection yesterday. This iteration of the infection proved what the previous one (last year) suggested: the Z-pack antibiotic no longer works. The doctor I saw at the urgent care the other day backed this up, saying he has seen approximately 40% resistance to azithromycin. As a back-up, he prescribed me a secondary prescription of doxycycline hyclate. All this just further proves a theory I have had for about fifteen years now - being that bacteria lives generations for every day we do, eventually it will outrun our defenses and conquer us. The widespread proliferation of antibacterial hand sanitizers and a quick-to-subscribe attitude to antibiotics has expedited that outcome, so be prepared. And if you can't seem to beat your sinus infections, use doxycycline hyclate - until that no longer works.*

I watched a 1971 Italian Giallo last night called Black Belly of the Tarantula. Talk about an awesome title! Directed by Paolo Cavara and scored by none other than the great Ennio Morricone, I loved the flick and intend on hunting down the score on vinyl. It is gorgeous! Here's a taste:



Playlist from 8/31:
Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - Le Mani Destre Recise degli ultimi Uomini
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Roxy Music - Eponymous
Windhand - Grey Garden (single)
Kyuss - And the Circus Leaves Town

Playlist from 9/01:

Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
Yonatan Gat - Universalists
Vaguess - Guilt Ring
The Veils - Total Depravity
BeNNi -The Return
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
Bowie - Stage
Bowie - Outside


Here's a card I haven't drawn since I began doing these daily pulls. See how intoxicating the visuals are, with their soft pastels and robust female figure? The surreal aspect, where her lower half almost looks more like a mermaid's fin than legs? Of the Swan - which Crowley refers to as a Pelican, and although that may have been his intent, Lady Frieda Harris most certainly painted a swan - tending its young is motherly. I'm interpreting this as my nurture of my ideas, which are essentially like children to me.

*Yes, I realize I am both lambasting and advocating the use of antibiotics here. I only use them for sinus infections, which I get about twice a year.