2019: July 31st El Gigante now on Shudder!!!

Super psyched for Luchagore Productions' short film El Gigante to hit Shudder! This one needs to be seen by more people. If you dig it, check out Luchagore's website, youtube channel, as well as Culture Shock, their entry into the Blumhouse/Hulu anthology series Into the Dark. And if you have Shudder, El Gigante is live now, so brace yourself.

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NCBD this week sees the release of the final issue of Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's mind-bending, hellofagoodtime Paper Girls. I can't wait to see how this one resolves...

And if you haven't already heard, we're apparently getting a pretty big surprise in the fourth part of TMNT: City at War. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's kind of a big thing for long-time fans of the four:

NCBD has been light for me of late, as like Paper Girls, quite a few series I've read for years have ended (some rather unexpectedly), and I've eliminated others that had, for whatever reason, grown stale for me. It's weird, not having a bunch of books to look forward to every month, but I'm trying like hell to resist adding new ones after that existential crisis a month or so back. In most cases, comic chastity has become easy. In others, however, restraint takes work. Case in point; two weeks ago in his weekly newsletter, Warren Ellis announced that he and Bryan Hitch are doing a year-long, monthly Batman series, Batman's Grave.

I know, right?

Batman's Grave #1 drops October 9th, and it will be oh so difficult not to buy it monthly. I may end up doing just that, except, Ellis reads much better as a trade. Not to say the issues are bad, however if trying to read his Wildstorm monthly and eventually switching to trade (one left that's out November 9th) reminded me just how awesome Ellis reads in collected volumes. Night and day. Plus, no fucking ads. I will try to keep this in mind come October 9th, "Wait for trade Wait for trade Wait for trade..." my mantra...

Here's the only real image DC has released so far, aside from what look like some unfinished B&W stuff floating around out there on the comic news sites.

Playlist from 7/30:

Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Soundgarden - Superunknown
The Jesus Lizard - Liar
The Jesus Lizard - Lash EP
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land
Cibo Mato - Stereotype A
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Tinderbox

Card of the day:

This looks like good news to me. After a five or six day streak last week working on Ciazarn, building momentum that seemed to really help me crack into the tone of the story, I had to take Sunday off to attend a benefit for a friend. That break in the inertia that had begun to bring things on the project together was a set-back. This is how it is, especially when writing in the early stages of something not yet fully developed. Monday was another wash, and then yesterday I started over. And of course, that first day back on is anything but productive; it's really just breaking fresh ground to begin building momentum again. So seeing the "Breakthrough" card, well, it makes me feel good about what's coming.

2019: July 30th - The Lighthouse Trailer

I know a lot of folks hated Robert Eggers debut film The Witch. I love it, and I am very much looking forward to Egger's follow-up The Lighthouse. And after what feels like forever, we now have a trailer. With a New York and Los Angeles release date of October 18/19th, I'm expecting this to be at this year's Beyondfest, and it will definitely be one of the major screenings I attempt to get tickets for.

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Rick Remender's Black Science is ending in September with issue #43, and that means it's time for me to re-read this reality-shattering opus from the beginning. I've loved this series, however at some point I coasted a few months without reading a few issues and when I came back, I realized I was lost. It happens when you have a story with so many different dimensions. Thus, I figured I'd wait until we were a month or two out from the end, and then re-read. Starting from the beginning again really re-triggered everything I love about the series: Matteo Scalera and Dean White's art; Grant McKay's narration and dialogue; and the 70s-ish deep fantasy overtones. The creatures/world building in this one are INSANE. Case in point:

Black Science is available from Rick Remender's Giant Generator via Image Comics in a variety of formats. If you love deep, non-Tolkien derivative fantasy, give it a try.

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Playlist from the last few days:

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Ministy - Psalm 69
Shellac - The End of Radio
Lightning Born - Eponymous
Golden - Eponymous
TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun EP
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land
Revolting Cocks - Cocked and Loaded
Gibby Haynes and His Problem - Eponymous
Tamaryn - The Waves

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No card today.

2019: July 27th - Shellac The End of Radio Live 2004

It's been a few weeks since Shellac dropped The End of Radio, a really nice collection of live tracks culled from Peel Sessions in 1994 and 2004. Being that the band's 2007 album Excellent Italian Greyhound just might be my favorite of Shellac's records (or it's tied with 2000's 1000 Hurts), and I think Greyhound has one of the best opening tracks of all time, this is my favorite on this new album. The Martina Navratilova aside near the end of this performance makes me so happy I can often hardly stand it.

You can order The End of Radio on Vinyl - as it was meant to be heard - from Touch and Go Records HERE.

I really need to see Shellac live again. It's been a while.

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I'll admit that I fully expected to hate Amazon's adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys, but after watching one and a half episodes last night, I can tell you that is most definitely not the case. In fact, so far, I LOVE it. Karl Urban remains a perfect actor, in my book.


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Playlist from 7/26:

Primus - Frizzle Fry
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
Grand Duchy - Let the People Speak
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Numenorean - Adore

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Card of the day:

Being that I've ended up working Tarot into Ciazarn considerably more than I expected, I'm going to continue interpreting these draws that occur while I'm on a writing streak with it as direct influences on the story and/or characters. In this case, I have two 'set pieces,' but I believe I need two more in order to have a solid first act.

2019: July 26th Spegetti Western Live '90

One of my all-time favorite Primus tracks. The sound on this one is HUGE. I've always loved the way Frizzle Fry ends: Sathington Willoughby into Spegetti Western into Harold of the Rocks. Hard to snip one of those tracks out and place it here, removed from that beautifully odd context, but I'd never seen this live version before and it's fantastic to see a camera on Ler and Herb for this long. Looks like NewWaveVault has some other cool old school stuff on their channel as well, so check it out and maybe subscribe. I did.

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Last night I watched Hobo with a Shotgun for the first time since its original release. Man, I dig the flick, but it seriously reminds me of Robocop, which I have some problems with. My micro review - which contains my thoughts on Robocop - is up on my Letterbxd account HERE.



Also, I still really like the original trailer that writer/director Jason Eisener made in 2007:



The Blu Ray has a really cool "Shotgun Feature" where gun sights appear on the screen at times where you can click them and segue from the movie into behind the scenes stuff. Lots of detailed video of the practical FX and performances.

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Playlist from 7/25:

PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Motörhead - 1916
Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Wasteland
Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Revolting Cocks - Big Sexy Land

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Card of the day:

Two days in a row. Taking this as another nod toward my progress on Ciazarn and my basing one of the most enigmatic characters in it after the King of Swords. Perhaps he needs a Queen?

2019: July 25th Zombieland: Double Tap Trailer

I almost didn't post this. For one, I usually do not post entries this late in the afternoon (it's 5:30 PM as I edit this). Second, I don't love this trailer, and I absolutely adore the first Zombieland. I'm hoping this long-overdue sequel is better than it looks; Harrelson is about as close as I come to a big-name actor who can do no wrong with me, so I really want to like this. We'll see.

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So Rutger Hauer passed away yesterday. I can't say I know a lot of his films, however, like so many other men my age, Blade Runner is near and dear to me, and a lot of that is Hauer. I know everyone is posting this scene as a memorial, but my upkeep on this site is primarily for myself, as a sort of diary or historical record, and I'd regret it if I didn't follow suit with "Tears in Rain" speech:



And let's chase that with a favorite musical reference to the film:



I've not been in a Blade Runner mood of late, but I have a Hobo With a Shotgun viewing coming real soon.

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I've watched SO much Friday the 13th lately, and while I found The Final Chapter (IV) a chore, Five went down pretty smoothly. Not Sierra Nevada smooth, but, say, Coors Light. Which is to say not very, but at least I got through it in one sitting. Part Six though, I remember watching Friday the 13th Six: Jason Lives a couple years ago with a friend and both of us realizing, A) if we'd ever seen it before the details were completely lost to the fog of time, and B) it's a marginally self-aware comedy. Which means, thus far, it's my favorite of these first six Friday flicks. I'll be continuing with the viewings soon - this is all research for something I'm going to write, and, a bit of a self-dare, as I've never watched the Fridays in chronological order before.

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Playlist from 7/24:

Sausage - Riddles are Abound Tonight
Ghost - Prequelle
Zeal and Ardor - Stranger Fruit
Telekinetic Yeti
Spotlights - Love and Decay
Sleep - The Sciences

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Card of the day was

Interesting, in that I just referenced the King of Swords yesterday in Ciazarn. Modeling a character after that Court Card's attributes.

2019: July 24th Telekinetic Yeti - Colossus

Just discovered Telekinetic Yeti via photographer FlowerfromStatic's IG page, which you can link to and check out from her website HERE. Telekinetic Yeti's album Abominable is available on their Bandcamp HERE. I've been listening to it for several days straight - it's fantastic!

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NCBD - yet another title on my already trimmed-down pull list ends this week with A Walk Through Hell #12. And the return of the now-quarterly Lazarus, a book that packs so much extra material in this format I would NEVER even think of giving it up:

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Watchlist continued over the last few days as K and I continue to plow through Veronica Mars Season One; it's been so long since I've seen this, I forgot how good it is. I mean, I knew it was good, but really, the writing on this show is kind of ridiculous. Can't wait to get through to the new season on Hulu.

Other than that, I've been taking spare time here and there over the last month or so to re-watch/watch all of the Friday the 13th flicks in order. I've seen a bunch, not seen a few, and can never remember which is which, other than part one (for obvious reasons) and Jason Goes to Hell, which I stand by as my favorite of the series.

RE: the rest of the series, there are highs and lows. I'm a bit stuck at the moment on number IV, The Final Chapter. This one's rough, and I'm really only picking at it in ten minute chunks. That said, Part IV does contain the single greatest scene in motion picture history:



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Playlist from the last few days:

Sausage - Riddles Are Abound Tonight
The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House
The Dandy Warhols - Essentials
Aerosmith - Pump
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Telekinetic Yeti - Abominable
Willie Nelson - My Way
Fast Romantics - American Love
Lightning Born - Eponymous
Class Actress - Journal of Ardency EP
Deafheaven - From the Kettle Onto the Coil
Deafheaven - Sunbather
U2 - War
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Ghost - Prequelle
The Jesus Lizard - Liar

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Card of the day:

Hmmm.. I don't have time to decipher this at the moment, but interesting that it keeps coming up lately.

2019: July 22nd - The Dandy Warhols Used to Be Friends

It's not surprise that once K and I began Veronica Mars (from season 1 because she's never seen it and I haven't seen it in a long time), I'd gravitate back toward The Dandy Warhols. These guys helped define my early 2000s, and although it's not exactly where my head is at the moment, it's great to get back into the mood for these guys in the height of summer. Fits.

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Saturday morning I caught Peter Ricq's horror comedy Dead Shack on Shudder TV. Fun little flick; parts of it irritated me initially, but I've grown a bit fonder of it in hindsight. And it has a fantastic concept. You can check out my brief review on my new Letterboxd account HERE.

Yeah, just what any of us need - more social media. But it's movies... anyway, here's the Dead Shack teaser trailer the director uploaded to his youtube account:



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Sunday, K and I went to the theatre and saw Crawl. Absolutely fantastic, fun flick to see in a theatre. The storm effects are amazing. And there is zero fat on this one - as Anthony from The Horror Vision said in his review, it is a tight 87 minutes that does not mess around.



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Playlist from the last few days:

Black Polygons - Lobélia
Public Image Ltd. - This is What You Want...
Sigur Rós - Variations on Darkness
Aerosmith - Pump
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Zombi - Shape Shift
The Soft Moon - Zeros
Drab Majesty - Moder Mirror

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Card of the day:

A little troublesome; I finished that final read-through/edit on Shadow Play the other night, but advice from a friend in the biz is making me reconsider releasing it myself. This is a highly respected, published horror author who advised me once a book is published, no publisher will touch it, unless, like Hugh Howey, you sell a million copies on your own. I hadn't really considered seeking a publisher that seriously, but it was never out of the question. I find myself reflecting on whether this card is warning of trouble if I do self-publish, or if I don't.

2019: July 20th Shudder's New Creepshow Series Get A Trailer!!!

I've been pretty excited for the new Shudder Creepshow series, and if this first trailer is any indication, it's going to be better than my expectations even. Not easy to do, when reviving something so iconic, but based on everything I've seen from the streaming service so far, they are 100% up to the task.

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New episode of The Horror Vision went up yesterday. This is a special 'Double-sized' edition, where Ray, Anthony, Tori, and myself tell our listeners a little bit about ourselves. After that, topics of discussion ended up revolving around Luca Guadagnino's 2018 Suspiria remake and the merit/non-merit of remakes in general. Finally, our movie of the episode reaction bit is on Matthew Holness' film Possum.

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

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Continuing on into the heart of Robert S. Wilson's Ashes and Entropy anthology, I read John Langan's short, Breakwater earlier today. Fantastic short fiction; kind of a mash-up of the Crime and Horror genres, I blew through Breakwater at a pretty quick clip, and caught my breath when it ended. After a complicated relationship with Langan's novel The Fisherman, I'd been wanting to read something else by the man, and this story definitely pointed me in the direction of his newest collection, Sefira and Other Betrayals:

Look at that cover art - unnerving is an understatement for artist Santiago Caruso's image, more of which you can find on his website HERE. Mr. Langan's website is HERE and you can order a beautiful limited cloth edition of Sefira directly from Hippocampus Press HERE.

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Playlist from the last two days:

Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Iggy Pop - The Idiot
High On Fire - Snakes of the Divine
Godflesh - Post Self
Crystal Castles - II
The Soft Moon - Criminal
The Soft Moon - Deeper
The Raveonettes - 2016 Atomized
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Vol. II Philosophy of Beyond
Blur - 13
The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues
Bavaria Buam - Live

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Card of the day:

Balance. I need this right now. Trying to balance my interests has put things out of whack, creatively.

2019: July 18th IT Chapter Two Final Trailer

I've been avoiding a lot of trailers of late, as I find they usually give too much of the movie away. I find the best viewing experiences are the most uninformed ones. That said, I'm glad I watched this IT Chapter Two final trailer, simply because after the disappointment of Pet Sematary, I needed something to remind me how good this IT adaptation has been. This looks fantastic, plus I don't really feel like the trailer gives too much away. September 6th is not that far away...

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As soon as I finished my re-read of Grant Morrison and Richard Case's Doom Patrol run, I jumped back into the Robert S. Wilson edited anthology Ashes and Entropy and read Autumn Christian's The Shadowmachine. Awesome story. Probably my favorite in the collection so far. There's an almost Neil Gaiman-esque approach to reality here, without the more baroque or 'flowery' aspects of Gaiman's writing (not a shot - I love Gaiman. I'm merely making distinctions). The story itself doesn't tread Gaiman territory, though; Christian spins a pretty terrifying tale of technological seduction and it's eerie as all hell. Based on this I've added her newest novel, Girl Like A Bomb, to my must-read list; it's available HERE.

Ashes and Entropy is turning out to be my favorite anthology in ages, and I can't recommend it enough. Available directly from Nightscape Press HERE.

Also, Nightscape Press has started an emergency GoFundMe anthology titled Horror For the Raices, where a $10 donation or more will get you an advance, uncorrected book copy of the anthology as soon as it's ready. The book is edited by Robert S. Wilson and Jennifer Wilson. Donate HERE.
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Playlist from 7/17:

Frank Black - Teenager of the Year
Jenny Hval - Blood Bitch
Adam Kesher - Local Girl (Hatchmatik Remix)
Beak> - L.A. Playback
M83 Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Track Back The Radiance

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No card today.

2019: July 17th 3 From Hell Trailer

Although I've been waiting for this, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Rob Zombie returning to the Firefly Clan characters. Why? Well, A) they pretty clearly died at the end of The Devil's Rejects, and B) it's weird when filmmakers put you in a position of rooting for such ultimately disgusting characters. Also, this looks like Zombie has added Natural Born Killers into his blender, so that may run the risk of feeling overly borrowed from. We'll see. Normally, Zombie can more or less mix in the stuff he 'samples' from his influences in a way that feels like homage instead of theft. Hopefully, that will be true here as well.

As for the 'how did they survive?' question, I noticed a quick flash at 0:20 in the trailer of a newspaper headline that reads, "Satanic Recovery," and I'm wondering (Read: Hoping) the recovery is pulled off via some weird call-back to Dr. Satan and all the strange, quasi-supernatural stuff that happened in the final segment of House of 1000 Corpses, all of which was completely ignored for The Devil's Rejects. That absence was disappointing at the time Rejects was released, however, over the years I have grown to understand and applaud the decision as a matter of tone - Dr. Satan and all related characters would never have fit into Rejects; the one deleted scene with the Doctor was definitely best left out. Now, however, this might be a great way to bring him back.

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Frank Black Appreciation Week concludes today with another of my favorite songs from The Catholics-era Black. Released on the album Dog in the Sand, this was, I believe, the first time Black had recorded with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago since the break-up of the band. The resulting material - especially this particular track - is a doozy. I remember hearing around the time of this album's release that the lyrics were about how, after Black's father passed away, when it came to the task of going through his home, dozens of guns were found, all loaded with only a single bullet.

Creeeeeepy, but awesome.



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Playlist from 7/16:

Frank Black - The Cult of Ray
Preoccupations - Eponymous
Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Va Wissen - The Mystery of Heaven
The Jesus Lizard - Liar
White Lung - Eponymous
Uniform and The Body - Penance (Pre-release single)
Uniform and The Body - Mental Wounds Not Healing*
Sunn O))) - Life Metal


*I totally just figured out that this album is named after a lyric in Ozzy's Crazy Train. It made me love both these bands even more than I already do.

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Card of the day:

Feeling like this is a good sign that I cross a finish line today.

2019: July 16th New Chelsea Wolfe!

New Chelsea Wolfe Video, from the forthcoming album Birth of Violence, out September 13th on Sargent House. Pre-order HERE.

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Frank Black Appreciation Week continues today with a live rendition of my favorite track off the third Frank Black solo record, The Cult of Ray. Filmed in 1996, this footage isn't great, but the performance sure is. Great to see Lyle Workman in his prime here.



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Playlist from 7/15:

Aerosmith - Pump
Motörhead - 1916
Frank Black and the Catholics - Eponymous
Pixies - Bossonova
Pixies - Come On Pilgrim
Pixies - Head Carrier
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Shellac - The End of Radio
The Misfits - Static Age
Minsk - The Crash and the Draw
Spotlights - Love and Decay
The Bangles - In Your Room
David Bowie - Hunky Dory

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No card today.

July 15th - Frank Black/Teenage Fanclub

Day 6 of Frank Black Appreciation Week, and I'm trying to dig deep. Like I said previously, I could easily just post 7 days of The Catholics, or Pixies, but this man's catalogue winds deep, and I really wanted to try and represent that, so here's a track off Frank's 1994 John Peel Session, where Glasgow band Teenage Fanclub acted as his band.

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I finished my re-read of Grant Morrison and Richard Case's six-volume Doom Patrol series from late 80s/early 90s DC Vertigo. SO good, and reading the source material just confirms my belief that the DCU television adaptation of Doom Patrol is the best comic adaptation I have ever seen.

The final volume, Planet Love, has such a harrowing example of an Apocalypse scenario, I dare say I read it in a quick, edge-of-my-seat burst. The Candlemaker is an example of a comic book foe who gestates quickly and thrives on being somewhat two-dimensional.

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I was so very wrong about Drab Majesty's Modern Mirror the other day when I said it would drop July 26th. I came home later the same day to find the vinyl I'd ordered months ago on my doorstep, and I spent Friday night and several hours over the subsequent weekend listening to it. Really good, if a bit short. The vinyl is a little bit annoying, in that it's a double LP, so there are literally two songs on each side. That's a lot of superfluous flipping, and a very start/stop listening experience, if you ask me.

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Friday's episode of The Horror Vision, wherein we discuss Possum, as well as Luca Guadagnino's 2018 Suspiria, which we've talked about before, but here go into at length and a host of other films, will be up in a few days. In the interim, my co-host Anthony Guerra caught the Aja/Raimi flick Crawl the other night and did a quick reaction piece. Check it out:

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

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Playlist from the last couple of days:

Frank Black and the Catholics - Pistolero
Boy Harsher - Careful
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Motörhead - 1916
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Up Your Alley
The Monkees - Eponymous
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Ritual Howls - Rendered Armor

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Card of the day:

Gonna need it. Two potentially stressful weeks coming up at work, and I'm still slogging through this final read of Shadow Play - which, by the way, is turning out very good. It's just difficult to re-read this for a third time in a row now. It's affecting all my other reading as well.

2019: July 14th - Frank Black Appreciation Week Day

Day 5. LOVE this track, despite the mispronunciation of Bowie's name.

2019: July 13th - The Pixies: Tame

I may have made you wait longer than other folks would have to get to a track by The Pixies, here during my Frank Black Appreciation Week, but you knew I'd get there, right?

I won't lie, I thought about not posting any. I could fill a couple months posting beloved Black Francis songs and completely eschew his first major band, but then, well, I'd be lying to myself. It's weird; for some reason I have a bit of a grudge against the Pixies. I'm not sure when that happened, or why exactly. I think it's a combination of a few factors. Bear with me while I dig around in my mind and see if I can explain this, really more to myself than to you, but thanks for being here for me to bounce this stuff off, sometimes that just works better, talking out loud to someone else.

I'll never forget when Mr. Brown turned me onto The Pixies back in the mid-90s - he lent me Bossonova and it completely bowled me over. The first few tracks are epic, packed with that wonderful madness that Joey Santiago and Frank Black bring out in one another when things really get going. Then you get to Digging for Fire and Down to the Well, and they're so sweet and sugary, I was in love instantly.

I should specify that my introduction came well after the Pixies were over, and so at the same time Brown lent me Bossonova, he also lent me Frank Black's third solo album, The Cult of Ray. I loved that too, but it paled in comparison to how Bossonova made me feel. As I began to consume the other Pixies records, they became my band. Not just my band, but one of our bands - the music I shared with Brown and Sonny, my two best friends. Mr. Black and company were part of what seemed to us, a secret handshake. I didn't know anyone else who was into The Pixies, or Soul Coughing, to name two, and those bands became ours. This was while we were building our first band, Wink Lombardi and the Constellations, and it was an amazing time in my life. I'd just gotten out of a three-year, high school relationship, and I had amazing friends I saw every day. We'd play music, go to obscure diners for coffee and pie, stay up to all hours getting stoned and recording bizarre acoustic tracks, or noise sessions on my Tascam 4 Track. It was amazing. And The Pixies were one of the major soundtracks to that, so I'm protective of it, now, many years later.

I suppose that's another thing about The Pixies that I'm protective of - it can be hard for me to go back and really immerse myself in listening to these albums that I absolutely love because they trigger massive nostalgia pulses in me. And I guess I want that kept in its place. Couple with that the fact that directly after Cult of Ray, Frank Black formed The Catholics and began releasing albums that I actually got to see him play live, and that helped shape the next chapter of my life. Those Catholics records are HUGE to me.

So, I guess it's actually kind of obvious why I prefer Frank Black to the Pixies, and why, as much as I LOVE Indy Cindy, the first Pixies reunion album, I would rather Black keep moving forward than trying to go home again.

Anyway, every song on every Pixies album rules, but this is one today rules a little bit more than most.

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Had The Horror Vision folks over last night and recorded a new episode that will hopefully be up later today or tomorrow. Our movie reaction for the episode? Possum. Here's the trailer:



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Playlist from 7/12:

M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Motörhead - March or Die
Motörhead - Eponymous
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Boy Harsher - Careful
Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
Frank Black and the Catholics - Pistolero

**

No card today.

2019: June 12th New Drab Majesty!

The Youtube description for this track calls it the fourth single released so far from Drab Majesty's forthcoming Modern Mirror album. Really? I hadn't realized we were up to four already, I guess primarily because other than the first single, I'm not listening to anything until my actual physical copy of the record arrives. Modern Mirror drops in two Fridays - can't wait.

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Frank Black Appreciation Week continues in these pages with my favorite cut from 2007's Bluefinger, which marked a return to Frank's Black Francis persona. Well, not really a persona in the way, say, Bowie had personas, but Bluefinger definitely marked a change from the post-Catholics Americana vibe Black had been doing. Compared to Fast Man Raider Man, Bluefinger goes back to what I consider a more Pixies-ish approach to songwriting. Several of the tracks on Bluefinger - including this one - veer into similar territory as some of The Pixies' more unstable songs; Threshold Apprehension is nuts in the way Broken Face or Rock Music are nuts.



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So, Slayer is on their "Final Tour." I've lived through this with so many bands, so many times - I was in High School and fairly new to concerts when I attended Ozzy's No More Tours tour, thinking, "Oh my god, I'm going to see Ozzy Osbourne's final tour!"

Hahah.

And so it goes. Fool me once, yada yada. The point being, I doubt this is Slayer's final tour. And in my opinion, the band should have been over when Jeff Hanneman died. But here they are, dry humping a dead and bloated cash cow. I'm not going to say that Slayer doesn't still rule, because despite the fact that I haven't cared about almost any record they've released since Seasons in the Abyss - though Christ Illusion was a pretty nice return to form - I'd wager they still tear shit up live. And so it was that fact and the idea of the possibility the Forum show in Los Angeles - billed as their final show ever - might actually be Slayer's final show - that I tentatively went to the band's website to sign up for their newsletter and get the pre-sale passcode. You know, just to see what tickets are going to cost. And you know what I found? Slayer is charging $20 to join and get the passcode. $30 if you want some stupid poster with the code.

How completely un-fucking-metal.

Retire now guys, before you end up fucking up your legacy. PLEASE.

**

Last night I happened to turn on one of Shudder's tv stations just as Ana Asensio's Most Beautiful Island began, so I dug in and followed it with absolutely no expectations. I do not believe I had ever even heard of this film before.

First good sign was Glass Eye Pics put this out. Always a good thing. So I let the story take me for its ride, and I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended. Here's the trailer, which I've vetted to make sure it doesn't show too much. Not that there's a twist, but the film didn't go anywhere I expected it to go, and I loved it for that.



Also, Larry Fessenden has a small part, so that always wins me over.

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Playlist from 7/11:

Mazy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
Balthazar - Fever
Ministry - The Land of Rape and Honey
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Slipknot - Iowa
Zonal - Eponymous (Pre-release Single)
Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

**

Card of the day:

Normally, I don't have a particular question in mind when I do these daily pulls. Instead, I just kind of clear my thoughts for a second and let the card that comes up serve as a portent for the day itself. Today, I wanted to go specific, so as I pulled I thought about a current struggle I've had, namely doing this last read-through with the physical, paperback copy of Shadow Play.

My impetus for doing one last read-through, after just doing another, was the hunch (which proved correct) that reading a novel in physical book form rather than digital would be a drastically different experience, and thus, I would see or catch things I had not in that last digital pass over. And of course, I was correct. Nothing major, but I've already fixed a few minor grammatical errors, as well as at least two spelling errors, on this read. That said, I'm sick to fucking death of reading this book; between this and the short story I began in Spokane, love, but cannot seem to finish, I feel very much held hostage at the moment. Which is zapping my creativity. Ideas are floating to the forefront of my brain daily, and some of them seem so appealing. Plus, it's always invigorating to start something new. So, what do I do? Well, one interpretation of this card is a warning against succumbing to daydreaming, getting lost in flights of fancy, which I definitely take to mean - as my gut tells me - stay on course and do NOT get distracted.

2019: July 11th Nicolas Winding Refn Interview

Frank Black Appreciation Week continues here with probably my second favorite all-time Frank Black-related track, from the first Grand Duchy album, Petite Fours. With its men in black, government UFO cover-up vibe, this track always reminds me of a sequel to Space (I Believe In), from The Pixies Trompe Le Monde. Listen to Black's voice on those refrains - soul searing. I love everything about this and the album it's on.

**

After Stranger Things 3, K and I slipped back into episode two of Nicolas Winding Refn's bleak-as-all-holy-fuck Neo LA Noir, Too Old To Die Young. This show! It seems to me the second episode will be the firewall - anyone not in NWR will give up halfway through. Others will revel in the slow, contemplative nature of this hour-and-thirty-seven-minutes of a film maker drinking his setting and characters for tone and nuance. It's a fantastic piece of filmmaking and actually built up enough momentum that I had to force myself not to drift straight into the next episode, primarily because it was already past my bedtime.

Here's an interview with Refn; I'm leaving this here but not watching it until after we finish the series, just in case there are spoilers.



**

Ghost added a lyric video for Faith, my favorite track from last year's Prequelle record. I'm not usually into lyric videos, but this is pretty cool. Also, if the band's previous protocols are still in place, by my calculation we should be getting an EP from these guys any time now.



**

Playlist from 7/10:

Low - Trust
Tennis System - Shelf Life (Pre-release Single)
Tennis System - Pain EP
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Up Your Alley
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
David Bowie - Heroes
Drab Majesty - Careless
Judas Priest - Firepower
Johhny Marr - Call the Comet
Balthazar - Fever
Zonal - Eponymous (Pre-release Single)
Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Godfodder
Frank Black and the Catholics - Pistolero
Ritual Howls - Rendered Armor

**

Card of the day:

Paradigm shift. Not 100% on how this fits into my life at the moment; as usual, my inherent reaction is to read it as regarding my writing. Currently unable to mop up two things because of a hanging third. Does this say leave that third behind? Switch gears? Maybe, but an open loop is an open loop, especially when it comes to 'solving' something you've invested a lot of time and creative energy into.

2019: July 10th Frank Black Appreciation Week!

Man, you know how after someone whose music we love dies we start posting a bunch of stuff? I mean, of course we do, right? I certainly do. Well, hopefully we are NOWHERE NEAR a planet without Frank Black/Black Francis, but in falling back into a rotation with his music, I thought I'd spend a week posting some of my favorite Frank Black songs.

At least a week.

I mean, there's a lot to choose from. There's Frank Black and the Catholics - my personal favorite of his projects or 'eras'; The Pixies, Grandy Duchy, not to mention albums published under both Frank Black and Black Francis. I'm sure I'm missing something, but the point is that I love this man and I felt it was high time I represent that love on this blog.

We kick this off with a cut from my all-time favorite Frank Black-related album, the 1998, full-band direct-to-two-track-analog-tape Eponymous Frank Black and the Catholics album. I love this entire record SO much, and although I'd probably place I Need Peace and I Gotta Move as my favorite tracks, here's one that has felt especially fresh to me in this current FB jag I'm in.

**

NCBD:

Nothing for me, so I guess this is what my end-game goal of lessening my monthly floppy subscriptions is going to feel like: weird and a little unsettling.

**

K and I finally watched the Joan Jett documentary Bad Reputation last night. It's streaming on Hulu at the moment. Fantastic film. Jett's music is among the first that I can remember (I Hate Myself for Loving You and I Love Rock and Roll are early examples of Rock especially), and this really broadens my understanding of her place in Rock history. Really great doc, highly recommended.



**

Playlist from 7/09:

Frank Black and the Catholics - Pistolero
Frank Black and the Catholics - Eponymous
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Ministry - The Land of Rape and Honey
Helmet - Aftertaste
M83 Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts
Spotlights - Love and Decay

**

Card of the day:

Holy cow - I haven't see this card in ages. Turning points. Decisions. Needing a better view. All this describes the rut I've found myself in for last week or so. Can't seem to overcome the inertia pushing at me, corroding my work. I've taken the first steps and forced myself to walk to the coffeeshop the last two days, so hopefully I'm building enough momentum to switch back to the good inertia. But my perspective is clouded by indecision on projects, and I need to commit and be done with it.

Thanks Hanged Man!

2019: July 9th New Tennis System!

Holy cow! New Tennis System out August 2nd. You can pre-order the LP from Graveface Records and Curiosities HERE!

**

Another short one today. Where the fuck is the time going?

Playlist from 7/08:

Alice Donut - The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - In Summer EP
M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Zombi - Shape Shift
Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley
Benny Goodman - Hits

**

No card today.

2019: July 8th - El Gigante is coming to Shudder!

A couple of years ago at Beyondfest, my good friend Missi and I went to a free screening of Jaron Henrie-McCrea's wonderful film The Gateway (previously titled Curtains), we were treated to not only the main feature - which I've just discovered is included with Prime and is definitely worth your time - but also a short feature titled El Gigante by Luchagore Productions. I believe I've posted about El Gigante here before, but I wanted to again because in their latest email update, Shudder announced El Gigante is coming to their platform this month!

Also, the latest in the Hulu/Blumhouse Into the Dark series, Culture Shock, is a Luchagore release, so congratulations to them for scoring so high profile a gig. Here's the trailer:



**

Finished Stranger Things 3 and it is by far my favorite season of the series. Loved the ending, loved the new additions to the cast, and absolutely loved the monster - probably my favorite monster ever. Well done, Duffer Brothers and crew, can't wait for Season 4!

**

Playlist from yesterday:

John Carpenter - Lost Themes II

**

Card of the day:

Lots of sixes, which implies stability. Which feels accurate. Lots of work ahead of me though, so now  I have to kick it into hyperdrive.

2019: July 7th Drinking w/ Comics Memorial Episode for The Walking Dead

Mike Wellman and I were joined by writer/director Adam Marcus this past Friday for a Drinking with Comics Memorial to Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's 15 year comic book epic, The Walking Dead. Losing my tentpole title after the thirteen years it's been my favorite comic comes at a strange time in my relationship with the medium, and although we won't really touch on that, Adam, Mike, and I look at the industry ramifications as well as our personal reactions.  I had a lot of fun doing this one, so if you're a fan of The Walking Dead, check it out.

**

Despite or perhaps because of lofty expectations, I had a hard time with the first two episodes of Stranger Things 3. Then, halfway through episode three, the story really got going and things clicked for me. Currently about to start episode six, I think this is definitely the best season of the show so far. I'm perhaps a bit biased because something about underground tunnels always wins me over, but here there's so much more. Without going into spoilers, the plot is great, the editing and pacing punchy and engrossing, and the way the Duffer Brothers continue to weave homages to the works they love into new and, frankly, inspiring genre idea off-shoots blows me away. And I love the way they add to the cast of characters on this show. Might be spending the rest of my day finishing this, although that's a huge hit to my timeframe. We'll see.

**

Playlist from 7/06:

Blur - 13
Paramore - All We Know is Falling
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Frank Black and the Catholics - Pistolero

**

Card of the day:

Seems to be a nod toward sitting in and binging Stranger Things. I don't really see how that's a plus though, other than it's obviously what I want to do. Which means I shouldn't do it. The body and the mind can err on the side of inactivity because, as we know, a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Let's fuck with some science and climb right up and over that inertia.

2019: July 6th

Short post today. I Really felt like opening this morning's post with some Frank Black, or Black Francis, in this case. From 2010's NonStopErotik, an EP that, despite rabidly collecting this man's material since the 90s - thank you to Mr. Brown for passing the obsession - I don't know all that well. This record kind of fell into the cracks for me, coming out shortly after Grand Douchy's 2009 Petit Fours, Black's collaboration with his wife, Violet Clarke, an album I was obsessed with and listened to near constantly for years after its release. I pulled NonStopErotik out recently, and have been reacquainting myself with it. Oh My Tidy Sum is probably the stand-out for me.

**

Via the might Bloodydisgusting. That scene with the buck is gnarly! I had not heard of this one before, but it looks great, so I'll keep my eyes out for release.

**

Playlist for 7/05:

Black Francis - NonStopErotik

Orville Peck - Pony

The Pixies - Bossonova

Preoccupations - Eponymous

Battle Tapes - Sweatshop Boys

**

Strong card, strong start to the day. Lots of work for me today, so I need to get one it.

2019: July 4th - The Soska Sisters Share Rabid Trailer!

RABID from FrightFest on Vimeo.

Big awesome surprise to wake up yesterday and see the Soska Sisters had released the trailer for their upcoming remake of David Cronenberg's Rabid. I'm a fan of the Cronenberg film, but definitely feel there's room to remake it. And who better than the body horror twins who gave us American Mary? Can NOT wait!

**

Wednesday night we saw Midsommar, Ari Aster's brilliant and crippling follow-up to last year's Hereditary. I loved it, probably consider it a modern masterpiece, a film in the ranks of an Apocalypse Now or The Shining. Aster is a visionary.

Before the show, the newest issue of Fangoria arrived on my doorstep. I took one look at the cover and knew I'd be waiting until after seeing Midsommar to crack this 40th Anniversary issue open.

When I did open the issue, I found a stunning article that consists of Jordan Peele interviewing Aster about Midsommar. Jesus, what the hell more could a horror fan ask for? Totally worth the price of subscribing, which you can do HERE.

Immediately after our Midsommar viewing, my co-host Anthony Guerra from The Horror Vision and I did a reaction episode. We split it into a non-spoiler and spoiler section, very clearly delineating it for anyone that wants to listen but hasn't seen the film yet. My advice is go in as blind as possible, then listen, but either way, here are those links:

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play


**

By now, hopefully everyone reading this who cares about the spoiler will have heard that Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead came to a surprise end with this week's issue #193. For the price of a regular issue, 193 delivered a triple-sized issue that was everything I could have wanted from the series finale for one of my all-time favorite comics, plus there's a long letter in the back of the book from Kirkman, talking about the reasons for ending the series here, the emotional tribulations of doing so, and a bit of a peek behind the curtain on his writing process over the years.

I can't even begin to describe the void losing this series creates in my life, but I will attempt to tonight at 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, when Mike Wellman and I do a surprise Drinking with Comics Memorial to The Walking Dead. We'll be streaming live on the Drinking with Comics Facebook Page, so stop by - you might just see me cry.

Funny thing, that this happened just after my existential crisis a few weeks back, the one about collecting comics and a life's worth of accumulated stuff. By my calculation, with all the books I read that are either definitively ending or are on indefinite hiatus, I'm going to be down to about six or seven monthlies by the fall, and that suits me just fine at the moment.

**

Playlist from the last two days:

Uniform and The Body - Mental Wounds Not Healing
The Body - No One Deserved Happiness
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Willie Nelson - My Way
The Go Gos - Beauty and the Beat
Calexico - The Black Light
The Beatles - Abbey Road

**

No card today.

2019: July 3rd Uniform and The Body - In My Skin

Yesterday's drop of a new Uniform and The Body track, a track that heralds a new collaborative album by the bands, sent me scurrying back to 2018's Mental Wounds Not Healing. It'd been a minute since I listened to this one, and in the course of several rotations in my headphones, I definitely gravitated toward track 5, In My Skin, as my favorite on the album. I spent the morning listening to this, and a sizable portion of my evening listening to that new track Penance, which I absolutely love.

**

BIG spoiler news in the world of comics hit me pretty hard yesterday. I won't go into it here, but suffice it to say this Friday night, Mike Wellman and I are planning, "A very special episode" of Drinking with Comics as a kind of memorial to something I love very much.

**

NCBD:

**
Playlist from 7/02:

Uniform and The Body - Mental Wounds Not Healing
The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer
Bob Mould - Sunshine Rock
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Minsk - The Crash and the Draw
Uniform and The Body - Penance (Pre-release Single)
Uniform - Wake in Fright

**

No Card today.

2019: July 2nd - New Collaboration from Uniform and The Body!

The Body is clearly the Brian Michael Bendis of bands, as they are more prolific than anyone I've encountered maybe ever. The new album - which is another collaboration with Uniform (see last year's Mental Wounds Not Healing) - is titled Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back and is available for pre-order from Sacred Bones HERE.

**

New episode of The Horror Vision is up! Topics of discussion include but are not limited to Godzilla: King of Monsters, The Perfection, The Dark Backward, and our movie of the week, Josh Lobo's I Trapped the Devil! Check it out:

The Horror Vision on Apple

The Horror Vision on Spotify

The Horror Vision on Google Play

**

K and I watched the first episode of Nicolas Winding Refn's Too Old To Die Young last night. Wow. I've been excited for this for a while, not only because it's Refn doing long form, but Criminal scribe Ed Brubaker is involved with the writing! What a collaboration, eh? Anyway, the first episode is eerie as hell in a completely down to Earth, Neo Noir way, which was exactly what I'd hoped for this series. Can't wait to dive back in!



**

Playlist from 7/01:

Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate
Black Polygons - Lobélia
The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
Thom Yorke - Anima

**

Card of the day:

Balance in a time of crisis. Unexpected Symmetry. Hmm... I'm reading this more about the little swords at the top and bottom, the small details you can overlook when focused on the major plot points.

2019: July 1st (Sweet) Mental Revenge

This song got me through some shit a few years back, and it came up in my mind last night. I hadn't realized it's actually a Waylon Jennings cover, so here's that version, too:



Gram Parsons and the Burrito Bros. have been drifting back into my thoughts, so I think I'm easing into a bit of a country jag. Been a while, and I'll welcome it. Also, my first pilgrimage to Joshua Tree National Park in about five years is coming up in August, so that's probably what's pushing me back to this music. Might even dust off the acoustic.

Might.

**

Playlist from 6/30:

Godflesh - Love and Hate in Dub
Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate
Thom Yorke - Anima
Black Polygons - Lobélia
Orville Peck - Pony
The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
Roy Orbison - Sings Lonely and Blue

**

Card of the day:

A storm's a brewing...