I know it's summer now, as one of the rituals that eased in last year during my first full summer in Tennessee was Black Sabbath's Eponymous debut becoming my 'first thing in the morning' listen. This is no doubt because, for as long as I've loved this record, it will always remind me of two very particular summers—one when I was a Junior in High School and one when I was a year or two out of High School. I listen to this year-round, but since moving back to the middle of the country and the climate I grew up with Sabbath's debut has come back to an association of hanging outdoors in the green environment of the midwest's humid, sub-tropical environment.
Watch:
Holy cow! I completely missed that Larry Fessenden's Blackout hit VOD this past Friday! I remedied that right quick, let me tell you!
I really dug this one, but at this point, that's no surprise. I wouldn't say this is anywhere near my favorite film by Mr. Fessenden, but its ability to mix an almost regional approach with a fairly stacked cast reminded me of Harmony Korine's Gummo - although the subject matter and tone are nothing like that film. This environmentally conscious, small-town set film does some pretty interesting things with the concept of lycanthropy, in a tone that will feel familiar to those viewers who have been with Mr. Fessenden for a long time. Reminded me quite a bit of his 1991 film No Telling, a favorite of mine from the Director's oeuvre.
Playlist:
Black Sabbath - Eponymous
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Barry Adamson - Cut to Black (pre-release singles)
Zen Guerilla - Positronic Raygun
Adam Egpy Mortimer - The Obelisk
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• II High Priestess
• VII The Chariot
• Page of Cups
Of particular interest to me this morning is the High Priestess in the starting position. This is the middle pillar of the sephirothic Tree of Life, and thus concerns concerns the descent of the Supernal into the lower, knowable realms and the ascent of the aspirant to higher plateaus. Taken with The Chariot - the origin of ideas - and the Page (Princess of Cups), which can indicate "Dreams become Reality," I would say this is a nice nod toward a path that might provide the possibility for my work to emerge into a higher (more successful) realm.
One of the best covers I know and perfect for this rainy lead-up to Halloween.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) When Evil Lurks/VHS 85/Adam Chaplin
2) Tales From the Crypt Ssn 1, Ep 6 "Collection Complete"
3) VHS
4) All You Need is Death
5) Slashers (2001)
6) The Beyond/Phenomena
7) The Convent
8) Evil Dead 2
9) The Autopsy of Jane Doe
10) Totally Killer
11) Ritual (Joko Anwar)/The Final Terror/Grave Robbers
12) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (w/Joe Bob)
13) Never Hike Alone/Never Hike in the Snow/Never Hike Alone 2
14) Puppetman
15) Creepshow Season 4 Episode 1
16) Return of the Living Dead
17) Don't Look Now
18) When Evil Lurks
19) Barbarian
20) Demons 2/All Hallows Eve (w/ Joe Bob)
21) May
22) Let's Scare Jessica To Death
23) The Birds/30 Coins Ssn 1 Ep 1
24) 30 Coins Ssn 1 Ep 2/The Church
25) Elvira Mistress of the Dark
26) To Kako (Evil)/To Kako: Stin Epohi Ton Iroon
27) Tourist Trap (w/ Joe Bob)/Totally Killer
28) Amusement
29) The Rocky Horror Picture Show/There's Nothing Out There
Read:
I finally started reading the collected Mike Baron/Kelley Jones Deadman I picked up a few years ago after Chris and I interviewed Mr. Jones on A Most Horrible Library.
Deadman is one of the DC characters I don't hate, but I also don't really care about all that much. UNLESS Kelley Jones is drawing him. And Mike Baron has been a favorite since his run on the original ongoing Punisher series circa... 1987? Either way, I blew through this in a little over a day and absolutely loved its ghoulish flair.
From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• King of Cups
• Four of Cups
• Seven of Pentacles
Lots of emotion will threaten Victory in Earthly matters. I know this has to do with the house hunt for my folks, which just makes me not want to go any further in-depth with this.
From 1973's Master of Reality, a perfect record. I leaned heavily into this one last weekend while in Chicago, so when I walked into Rick's Comics City yesterday and saw that variant cover of Dan Panosian's new book Black Tape, I kind of felt as though I manifested it.
Tulpas have been on my mind again because, you know, Department of Truth.
Watch:
Rob Savage's Host impressed me to no end, and I've been waiting to see what he does next. Somehow, I missed that he followed Host with a film called Dashcam, however, I think I'll leave that off the list until after I see what he does with a non-found-footage film. And Savage has a big one coming out in June:
This adaptation of Stephen King's short story The Boogeyman is receiving a lot of hype - word is it's terrifying, so I am excited at the prospect of seeing a film in theatres that might actually induce some fear in me.
Read:
Here's a book I did not mention as one of my picks for yesterday's NCBD simply because I was on the fence and trying very hard not to start new series. How do you say no to this cover, though:
Black Tape #1 is all set up, but that's fine. Even if I don't continue with the series - which I'm betting I will - I'm happy as hell to own this cover. Here's the press description of the book:
"Jack King was a rock'n'roll god who projected a stage
persona on par with the devil. After Jack dies on stage, his widow, Cindy, grapples with grief and struggles to protect his
legacy, unaware that she is being surrounded by dark forces that covet the master tapes to Jack's final,
unreleased album - a heavy metal masterpiece that just
might open a doorway to hell."
Great premise, so let's see where it goes.
Playlist:
Thought Gang - Eponymous
Anoni Wit & Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra - Pendereck's Polymorphia
Krzysztof Penderecki - Metamorphosen
Krzysztof Penderecki - A Polish Requiem
Miranda Sex Garden - Suspiria
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Somnium Nox - Apocrypha EP
Karl Casey - White Bat XVIII EP
Karl Casey - XX EP
King Woman - Doubt EP
Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
Metallica - ...And Justice for All
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
Tens in Tarot are interesting. On one hand, there's a sense of closure, of completion and accomplishment. On the other, you realize when juxtaposing the Tarot with the Sephiroths on the Tree of Life, Ten is where we enter Malkuth, and thus, the most materialized in the regular, physical world. This tells us that, what we consider a success or accomplishment in our physical lives, can conversely be seen as the farthest movement away from anything spiritually compelling. Which makes sense in a lot of ways. Today's pull builds on yesterday's Emotional question, suggesting that to transform from yesterday's Eight of Cups to today's Ten, a transformation of Will in order. What's more, there is a decision or leap of faith that will be involved.
So today's Pull gives me the insight into yesterday's that I never arrived at. This is a direct nod to the fact that I'm attempting to change my daily writing routine - which has never been in better shape - by moving from driving to a coffee shop and paying $4.22 a day to sit and write to staying at home and saving that money but getting the same level of removal and concentration. I know this can be done because I did it during the pandemic when I wrote/re-wrote a novel sitting at the kitchen table in our Redondo Beach apartment. I just have to do it here now.
Quick reminder: if you dig those cards above from Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, he has an insanely awesome Kickstarter going on at the moment:
Andrei Tarkovsky has only ever barely been on my peripheral, but thanks to Criterion Channel, I just had the opportunity to watch his 1979 film Stalker.
I still need time to unpack this one before I can talk about it, however, let it be said that I absolutely LOVED this film. Talk about 'location porn.' The visual aesthetic of this film perfectly aligns with my innermost aesthetic - something that goes back to when I hunted around my yard for half-full culverts and dirt mounds, shattered bricks, twisted metal, anything to have a location for my action figures.
I've been obsessing over Stalker in my head for the last two days, and this inspired me to look for a podcast discussion of it. Well, boy did I find it.
The Weird Studies podcast is fantastic! Hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martel not only deep-dive the film, but their discussion of philosophy, art and life feels absolutely refreshing in the stifled academic pretense of our time. I've already subscribed, and intend on Weird Studies keeping me company for many a commute to come (while I still have a commute, that is).
Watch.2:
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I cannot wait for this movie!
Against all odds, this really moved the needle for me. I "broke up" with Kevin Smith about the time I sat through Tusk, which could have been fantastic, but had James Laxton's gorgeous cinematography and a stellar Michael Parks performance destroyed by adolescent whimsy. I used to be a big fan of his films, but now, well, I still hold Chasing Amy in extremely high regard - the acting! - but other than that... not so much. Clerks II had its moments but was overall depressing. I'm not saying Smith makes bad movies (sometimes, sure), but overall I feel like I just outgrew him. This, though, looks like it will be a nice way to revisit that original film and these characters. My mileage varies with most of them, but it's been a minute and I didn't go within ten feet of that Reboot movie, so I think I may enjoy the Quick Stop one last time.
Quite possibly, my favorite Black Sabbath song. Although that is probably as difficult to stick by as a mother picking a favorite child.
Sabotage is without a doubt my favorite of the band's albums. The music is phenomenal - really a step beyond anything they'd done before. They kind of split the difference between their blues roots and the shaping of Heavy Metal they began on Paranoid. However, it's the lyrics that really seal the deal on this one for me. There's such an air of prophecy and revelation.
NCBD:
Jesus, my wallet just jumped out of my pocket and took off down the street. Look at this list!
So I was wrong about issue #4 being the finale. Here we go.
This series is so imaginative, so original, and so f*&king gorgeous I just can't believe it. Every issue gets weirder, but never at the cost of the story's inner logic.
I have to have this Skottie Young cover. I'm not generally one of those folks who feel the need to have everything he does - his work is always cool, but it's only when he draws certain classic, larger-than-life Marvel characters that I feel the need to add them to my collection.
Been a minute. Since Lazarus moved to this format, I enjoy the individual issues so much more. That said, with the gap between, I lose A LOT. It's about time for a re-read (which I've been saying for like three years now).
Love this Peach Momoko cover. I dug the first issue of Moon Knight's new ongoing, so I'm interested in where the story is going.
I am really digging this book, and it's great to be back on something with Tony Daniel's art. Waaay back in the day, he was the highlight of Todd McFarlane's Spawn series when I still read it in the mid-90s. I traded in all those Spawns back when I moved to LaLaLand, however, I'd be lying if I didn't say I've actually thought about rebuying a few, just to revisit Tony's art. Now, thankfully, I don't have to. Instead, I can read a well-written book that he illustrates. Win-win.
Coming down to the final days of Nick Spencer's run. I just learned that after he leaves with Amazing Spider-Man #74, the new series will feature Ben Reilly instead of Peter Parker.
Yeah, I totally did a double-take on that one, too.
I'm tempted to jump off again, however, the idea of bringing the clone back (or was Peter the clone?) is too interesting to pass up. At least for a while.
Sweet Declan Shalvey cover on this one. This series is fun as hell, and I love seeing the various bounty hunters whose figures I coveted trying to fuck Fett over. Makes for a helluva story.
Watch:
Last week my copies of Never Hike in the Snow and Never Hike Alone arrived. I missed out on backing Alone, but was able to make it in on Snow. Monday night, I finally had some time to sit down and watch both films.
I'll take this over almost any other F13 feature film any day of the week. F13 is one of those franchises that I want to like so bad, but I almost never do.
Vincent DeSanti does such a fantastic job, not only in stripping these down to what makes the concept of the series great but as Jason himself. Yes, that's the director lumbering in for every kill! And bring back Thom Matthews reprising his role as Tommy Jarvis!
Playlist:
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - The Night Creeper
MadLove - White with Foam
Danzig - Thrall - Demonsweatlive
Danzig - Danzig 4
Deftones - Ohms
The Neverly Brothers - Dark Side of Everything
Razor - Armed and Dangerous
Card:
Harnessing the raw power of an idea and honing it into something tangible.
For my fellow Sabbath Lads. Ozzy has never sounded so serene.
Watch:
The season opener of John Favre's The Mandalorian was so chocked full of goodness that I thought, for a moment, I might explode. Thankfully, someone is doing something cool with Star Wars.
Also, now that I've restarted my Disney + sub, I'm really looking forward to Wandavision. So much so, I think I'm going to start re-watching the MCU from the beginning, filling in those gaps I've missed along the way. What stoked my excitement?
I feel like I am about to very much re-engage with Marvel.
NCBD:
Pretty light week.
A new series from Aftershock Comics, Miskatonic looks like it will pit J. Edgar Hoover's "Red Scare" against the seedy underground world of Lovecraftian Death Cults. How could I not want to read this?
The old reliable, every-month-is-better-than-the-last.
Playlist:
Selim Lemouchi and His Enemies
Opeth Deliverance
I found an excellent podcast recently that has become increasingly important to the research aspect of writing Shadow Play Book II and spent some time listening yesterday. Mexico Unexplained is a series of quick but amalgam of informative historical facts and subsequent conjecture, and it's fascinating. Go to their site HERE.
Card:
Patient and stable. Also, coming out the other side of that solitude we started today's post off with.
Last Friday, seminal LA punk rock group X released their first album with the all-original line-up in, well, I don't really know how long, but a pretty damn long time! Especially good news is the fact that founding guitarist Billy Zoom has conquered his health problems and returned to the fold. I saw X live (with Dwight Yokam!) five or six years ago and Billy was not present. They were great, but it's just not the same without that man.
A couple of days ago I finally watched V/H/S/2 and V/H/S: Viral. Part 2 is more or less fantastic, the Indonesian segment being one of the scariest things I've seen in a while. Viral is, as several friends warned me, not all that great. The one segment I absolutely loved though was "Bonestorm," and turned out to have been done by Benson and Moorhead, the guys responsible for Resolution and The Endless, which I talked about recently in these pages.
I finished Preston Fassel's fantastic novel Our Lady of the Inferno and have moved on to Clive Barker's Damnation Game and Al Jourgensen's autobiography Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen, the latter of which Mr. Brown lent me months ago and I've been chomping at the bit to read since.. I'm not huge on reading multiple books at a time, but I'm stumbling through the last three chapters of the novel I'm editing/re-tooling, and when I write, I tend to need to be reading fiction at the same time. I actually consider this part of the writing process. I don't punch-in and out for it, like I do with actual writing writing (I use two apps, ATracker PRO and Focus Keeper), but I recognize that it's most definitely an integral part of my process. That said, Jourgensen's biography is conversational, not prosaic like Juan F. Thompson's Stories I Tell Myself, thus it's not fitting the bill. So I'm splitting my time, treating Uncle Al's book like having a beer, and Barker's like sharpening my craft.
The Damnation Game is actually one I read long ago, back when I first discovered Barker's work in the early 90s. I believe I was a Sophomore or Junior in High School when I checked The Great and Secret Show out of the library. That one blew my mind - still meaning to re-read it and hit the sequel Eversville - and I went straight into The Books of Blood and subsequently The Damnation Game afterward. Funny thing, although I remember quite a bit of Great and Secret and Books of Blood, but I remember next to nothing about Damnation. Which is cool, because already, only a handful of pages in, and Barker's sumptuous prose has already had a massive effect on me.
**
Cocksure - Operation C.O.C.K.S.U.R.E.
X - Alphabetland
X - Under the Big Black Sun
The Neighbourhood - I Love You.
The Neighbourhood - Wiped Out
Blut Aus Nord - The Mystical Beast of Rebellion
Void King - There Is Nothing
Despite the holes in my memory that surround my viewing of Andy Muschietti's first chapter of IT, I'm excited as hell for the sequel. This trailer was an interesting choice, and I think I much prefer seeing what appears to be an almost full scene from the film instead of a three-minute montage that really just ends up showing us too much.
**
I'm working all weekend, so today is my day off. I've learned to look forward to these weekday mornings - I can wake up, read for a bit while I brew some coffee, then settle in with a movie. Two weeks ago my Friday morning movie was David Robert Mitchell's Under the Silver Lake, and I'm still humming from that one. For today, I'd previously set my sights on Emma Tammi's The Wind. Really good. I feel like my open air viewing on the tv in our bedroom - which is not hooked to a proper sound system, as the one in our living room is - cheated me of a more enriching sonic experience then I first realized. But the logistics of watching the flick in the better room were a toss-up since I'm not the only one home, so I opted for the more isolated room despite its subpar audio set-up. I can see where a theatrical viewing, or headphones perhaps even more so, could make this film an even more intense experience. That then, is what my eventual second viewing will be focused around (so sorry I missed this at Beyondfest last year).
And being that this is my day off, last night I stayed up and watched Pledge, a film that has already gained the reputation of being 'too much.' I loved the set-up, loved the camerawork, set design, everything. And although Pledge definitely dips a few toes into the 'torture porn' aesthetic, I ended up really enjoying it. As for the movie being, 'too much,' I know the exact scene that elicits this response from people. I'm pretty squeamish, however, if you've read and learned to love Bret Ellis' American Psycho like I have, you'll do fine. Incidentally, Ellis' work feels like it a very large influence on Pledge, which also added to my enjoyment of the viewing. Pledge is currently on HULU, which really kind of shocked me
**
These isolated mornings are when I normally get a hankering for some Black Sabbath. For being one of my favorite bands, Sabbath's music is an extremely personal experience for me, and thus usually best when experienced alone. So I don't clock nearly as many hours with the group that I used to. At this point however, their music is in my blood, and when I do get a few moments to give one of those first eight records my undivided attention, it always supercharges the music for me. After the movie this morning, I settled in with Master of Reality on my headphones, and today Sweet Leaf really did it for me.
**
Playlist from 5/09:
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
The Atlas Moth - An Ache for the Distance
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III (Saturnian Poetry)
Blut Aus Nord - What Once Was... Liber III EP
Hall & Oats - Apple Music Essentials
Melvins - Houdini
Soundgarden - Louder Than Love
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Earth - Cats on Briar (pre-release single)
Earth - The Color of Poison (pre-release single)
Blut Aus Nord - Deus Salutes Meae
Thought Gang - Eponymous
If you read the notes available in the description panel for this on youtube (or just go HERE and read it in full), the ideology, methodology, and execution the band describes for conceptualizing and producing Life Metal is staggering. Add to that the fact that this is an entirely analog project - I love the line in the description about the "air coming off the speakers in front of the microphones" - with the analog Master Steve Albini doing the recording duties at Chicago's Electrical Audio, and I haven't been this excited for a Sunn O))) record since Monoliths and Dimensions. I need a pre-order link NOW!
I've been sick as all hell the last few days; Saturday I didn't even leave my bed. During that time Had ample time to pick at the video cue. Here's what I watched, all of it excellent:
And a Sabbath Documentary named Black Sabbath: In Their Own Words, that is streaming for free on Amazon Prime. I couldn't find the trailer on youtube, but you can view it on Amazon HERE.
I also watched There Will Be Blood again for the first time in a long time. Totally holds up (not that I expected anything else):
Oh! And I can't forget this video Mr. Brown linked me to. A fantastic exploration/interpretation of Twin Peaks Season Three that shed a lot of new light and convinced me the premise of the video's title is 100% correct. Well, as 100 % correct as you can be interpreting David Lynch's work:
Playlist from 2/09 was non-existent.
Playlist from 2/08:
Flying Lotus - You're Dead
Bob Mould - Sunshine Rock
HEALTH - Vol. 4 :: Slaves of Fear
The Blueflowers - Circus on Fire
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Grinderman - Grinderman II
Ghost Bath - Moonlover
Card of the day:
Always good to see Netzach! I'm interpreting this card, it's six pristine wands overlaid by one roughly hewn but bursting with power one, as the insight I'll have from writing in my current diminished health capacity. We'll see.
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!!!
No music in my head this morning and I'm enjoying the quiet by sprinting through a couple chapters from this very enjoyable romp through 70s and 80s paperback horror:
I've mentioned Paperbacks from Hell here before, I think, but as I've moved into the last third of Thomas Ligotti's first two volumes of short fiction I wanted to take a break and chew through something fun. This is it. Highly recommended.
Yesterday was insanely productive. My own first Horror Anthology will most likely be hitting print and digital in April. Titled A Collection of Desires after one of the stories in the book, it's seven tales of modern terror. I hope you'll give it a try.
Playlist from yesterday:
Grimes - Visions
Black Sabbath - Eponymous
Disasterpeace - It Follows OST
Anthrax - Worship Music
Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL - PLECTRUMELECTRUM
Watched the first episode of AHS My Roanoke Nightmare. While I loved Hotel and Murderhouse, I've largely avoided or been disappointed by a lot of AHS. This one already has me.
Card of the day:
One of my favorite cards in the deck, both visually and philosophically. From the Grimoire:
"Will synchronized with the imagination. Dreams become reality. Areas of life coming together, falling into place."
All good signs for the endeavors I am currently undertaking, all of which pertain to my writing, or Art.
Can't leave you without a song. This is as relevant as it is awesome:
3:20 AM Thursday, May 18, 2017: I wake up sweating as the last of this damnable sickness that has stopped up K and my lives for the last week or so eeks its way from my pores. Unsure if it's near my alarm time I check my phone and see a message from Seth. I click it and read:
I find it hard to fall asleep again after this but eventually I do. This isn't world shattering like Bowie, but it's deeply terrible. And despite the sleep interruption I'm glad this is how I find out; just like when my friend Tori messaged me "David Bowie Died" early in the morning almost a year and a half ago now, seeing news of this magnitude while my brain is still halfway stuck in The Dreaming is a shock that helps cement the event as historical, i.e. I'll always remember where I was. All that said, the way in which I process this news is far more complex than I would have anticipated.
During their initial run Soundgarden was one of my favorite bands. This favor carried on well after their dissolution and although the feelings aren't quite as strong these days I wouldn't say they've waned so much as learned to share. They were one of four bands that Jake - my best friend in my late teens/early twenties - and I shared passionate attachment to the way late teens/early twenties friends often do. And there were layers to our love of these bands, Soundgarden in particular as it wasn't just Cornell as a frontman. They - along with these other bands* - were of the few where I learned to see how ever member of a group could bring something to the table to help construct such a staggering whole (for an example of this play the album version of Fourth of July really loud or on headphones). But Chris Cornell's voice - it defied description. I always 'got' why some people hated it, the sometimes grating, shrill ferocity of his attack. I loved it. Jesus Christ Pose remains a favorite and it's not annoyance I feel when Cornell hits those blistering high notes, it's a sense of joy as reality shreds around me.
I loved Badmotorfinger from the jump, managed to scoop it up in the original, limited release as a double disc with SOMMS, the re-release of which I was thrilled to pick up on vinyl during last November's Record Store Day. Their cover of Sabbath's Into the Void was arguably what also kickstarted my love of Sabbath, and as Jake and I fell into both bands we had a theory between us that SG was somehow the reincarnation of Sabbath in its perfect, original era. Sure other bands imitated the progenitors of metal, but SG didn't. They were of like-minds, the influence not so much blatant as inferred. And there were moments when Kim Thayil seemed to bleed Sabbath Volume 4 and Master of Reality through the pores on his fingertips...
I was a bit hesitant on Super Unknown at first. I still don't really care too much for Spoon Man, and Black Hole Sun took me years for me to come around to recognizing it for the odd, unsettling single that it is. But for years after its release I avoided the album; at the time I was young and probably just upset that all the jocks were suddenly into the same obscure band that I was. Ah youth and it's folly. Jake turned me around though, and he did so by drilling the rest of the album into my head, specifically Mailman, Limo Wreck, Fourth of July, Fresh Tendrils and Like Suicide. From there I really fell into the songs and production on Super Unknown hard; it was the first record I wanted to grab off my shelf this morning when I heard the news and goddamn the one of two people who stole it from me - it was Jake's copy that he gave to me shortly before he died on September 22nd, 1998. I've been hesitant to rebuy it since; Tommy wrote an excellent piece on the record last year for a Joup Friday Album and that almost sent it to my amazon cart but I hesitated, as if there was any chance in hell I'd be able to drive out to Joshua Tree and find my copy in a thrift store, where it most likely ended up after all the dust settled. Ravenous for it this morning I arrived at work and begrudgingly bought it from the iTunes store, 15 tracks of ones and zeros instead of a beautiful tactile fossil I'd touched and played and, honestly, snorted coke off of once or twice. Memories...
When Down on the Upside came out Jake and I had already been anticipating it for some time. He bought it first, on cassette, and I remember we smoked up and put it on and had a weird, 'umm, huh.' reaction to it. This nonplussed, sinking feeling lasted for a week or two, mostly because that first listen freaked us out so much we avoided the record. Then Jake took it on a fishing trip with his estranged father and returned a weekend later exclaiming its brilliance. He'd spent each night of the trip digesting the album through his headphones. This was the first time I figured out that sometimes you had to work for something great; sometimes passive listening lead to breakthroughs and sometimes it's one song that is the key to opening the rest of an album, like a flower. Again we smoked and sat down and he started the album at the beginning of the second side, with Apple Bite transitioning directly into the cyberpunk insanity of Never the Machine Forever. And from there I got it. I consumed the second side of Down on the Upside repeatedly and that eventually opened the first, more polished and 'accessible' side. For years it was my favorite SG album, might still be. Jake had a thing about lyrics; he would often latch onto the most bizarre and literary, or read interpretations into phrases that I would never have seen. Down's penultimate track, An Unkind has one I still think about on a regular basis.
"We lack the Moses, to look a Saint in the eyes."
And then Soundgarden broke up. I tried to like Chris Cornell's post-SG work but I just could not get into most of it. I loved "Seasons", his solo track on the Singles Soundtrack, but each of his subsequent three solo albums left me cold, as did his work in audioslave. That one's definitely not his fault; I'm not a RATM fan and the idea that those three meatheads basically just did exactly what they did with Dela Rocha at the helm behind a voice as amazing as Chris Cornell's... fucking travesty mate. The track used in Michael Mann's brilliant film Collateral is an exception, but otherwise I can't turn to any of this stuff to celebrate Cornell's life now because in my opinion it is indicative of the terribly sad fact that as an artist Cornell always seemed to shoot himself in the foot. A tragedy when he was as talented as he was and when he had already had such a great vehicle for that talent in his life. Soundgarden's break-up felt like they were frustrated and upset with their fans, with the industry and with themselves. They didn't see the forest for the trees. I once read Cornell refer to them as "Just a metal band" in a way that suggested it was Soundgarden holding him back. I've never understood that - from a fan's perspective they had continually evolved over the course of their career. That was what that whole A side of Down on the Upside was about, an evolution from a Sabbath to a Zeppelin, while the B side was darker and stranger than almost anything they'd done before (except maybe No Wrong No Right or 665). They could have done and been anything, could have made whatever music they wanted as they continued to evolve. But they felt expectations held them back. Maybe they were right; were their album sales tanking? Was A & M unhappy and manipulating them? As a band they were big enough that it didn't matter, they could have been the first Zeppelin of the new age of post-industry. Instead they all kind of disappeared and Cornell went on to search for himself publicly - NEVER a good thing. By the time that Timbaland produced monstrosity hit the shelves I was done. My ex-wife loved that record, but within an instant of hearing it my only reaction was, "Well, if this fails we'll have a Soundgarden reunion in short order."
And we did. And they gave us King Animal, which is okay, but in my opinion not worthy of their legacy. Who knows, maybe I just haven't given it the time to 'blossom' like I did with Down, but I don't think so. And their exorbitant pricing of live shows since reuniting has driven a 'Fuck You' wedge between the band and I so that I don't really want to give it a chance and I never got to see them live and honestly, do not regret NOT remedying that with the reunion at all.
All that said, here's footage of their last song, the last song of Cornell's life, last night at the Fox Theater in Detroit, MI. When I heard it was Zeppelin's In My Time of Dying I got chills.
Finally, whatever the reason for his death, this was the song that I wanted to hear immediately upon learning of Chris Cornell's death. May he rest in peace and know that he changed many, many peoples lives with his music. He certainly changed mine and Jake's.
............
* The others were Ozzy-era Sabbath, Type O Negative and Cypress Hill.
Coming back home to my native environment in the Midwest during August is a toss up, however it's one that's worked pretty much to my favor two years in a row. But I ain't pushing it; back to October from here on out. I miss Autumn, a season we don't have where we live now. That said, I can't complain; for two years in a row I've gotten a minimum of the hot, muggy crap and instead had some really nice thunderstorms and a generally cooler atmosphere than I would have expected. In the midst of that kind of cooler temperature I've been able to hit the woods and explore some old haunts. I spent a lot of time in the forest preserves of the greater Chicagoland area during my formative years and one of the things that always accompanied them - other than a particular green and leafy vegetable consumed via smoke inhalation - is Black Sabbath. It is, in a word, in my blood.
I still listen to Sabbath on a somewhat regular basis, going through seemingly unprompted jags from time to time back home in my adopted Los Angeles, but it's not quite the same. And usually there's a whole host of new music that demands my making new Chicago memories with when I come home to visit. This year though, maybe because of the rain and the forest preserves, I'm stuck on an Endless Loop of Sabbath while I'm here. And "After Forever", a song I've always loved as part of the overall oeuvre of the band but never really focused too much on for its individual traits within that oeuvre, has become something of an obsession for me at the moment. Master of Reality, the record upon which the track in question is found, has never been one of the go-to Sabbath records for me. Well, really the entire run of albums the band put out with John "Ozzy" Osbourne are go-to records, but within that run there are favorites I harbor. Mine have always been the Eponymous first record, Vol. 4 and the band's masterpiece, Sabotage. Surprisingly to many, even their often maligned second to last with John, Technical Ecstasy probably clocks more yearly spins that M.O.R. Which is interesting when you stop to consider that at least three of the tracks on M.O.R. are among my favorite Sabbath tracks. "Into the Void" was one of the first tracks I ever heard by the band and both that and "Lord of the World" have what might be my favorite riffs by Iommi. And the quiet "Solitude" has always captivated me with it's eerie, serene beauty. Despite all this, the record has always struck me as a bit abbreviated. "Embryo" and "Orchid", the two instrumentals that serve as introductions for longer, thicker tracks are both beautiful, but when you have a thirty second and a two minute instrumental that count as two of eight tracks that comprise a record, weeeellll... And yes, several of the other tracks are rather meaty, but I still always feel M.O.R. is over before it begins.
Anyway, because of this stigma I've created for my relationship with this record - still an amazing record - "After Forever" has spent the last fifteen years perpetually slipping below my radar. So I guess now, while the rain's flowing and the forest preserves of my hometown call to me, I'll give it its due.
I'm re-posting this from my favorite music blog, the brilliant Heaven is an Incubator. I had no knowledge previous to this of the band Gonga, but Beth Gibbons + Black Sabbath is just too good to be true.
I was a fan of Ms. Gibbon's band Portishead from back around the time of Dummy, but it wasn't until the release of Portishead's record Third in... ah, 2007 that one of their records became necessary to me. The pagan-like soundscapes of some of the darker corners of Third fell into that category of music that the first time I hear it some part of me feels as though it were made specifically for me. So it's really no surprise that I feel the way I do about this cover because Black Sabbath's Black Sabbath - along with much of their Ozzy-era catalogue - also hits me that way.
One of my favorite Black Sabbath songs. This all-star line-up consisting of Geezer Butler, Zakk Wylde, Charlie Benante and Corey Taylor was recorded at a Hartke Bass event held at LA's wonderful Henry Fonda Theatre. The event honored Geezer Butler, who is - in my opinion - one of the greatest bass players around.
The thing that initially caught my eye when I read about In Solitude on Brooklyn Vegan for the first time this afternoon (here) is the word Solitude - whenever I see it in a musical context I always think immediately of one of my favorite Black Sabbath songs, track seven on the band's classic third album Master of Reality. Anyway, I followed the link, hit play on the above widget and my ears perked up. "Sounds a bit like Ghost" I thought. Then I read the article and saw that the Vegan mentions that, "The band, which may or may not contain members of Ghost BC..."
Whoah.
Follow the link back to read more, but it looks like Metal Blade is releasing a long-player from In Solitude on 10/01 and there are tour dates.
Some of my favorite things in the world are the Liner Notes in old Black Sabbath albums. There's something so... clinical and pragmatic about the way they're written. Just their inclusion in the packaging flies in the face of anything you'd ever see in most of the music industry today, so they are very much evocative of the time and compliment listening to the records quite nicely.
I have no illusions that "13" - 3/4ths of the original Black Sabbath's first record since the late 70's - will be good, but hopefully I'm wrong. Sabbath's original "Ozzy" years are among the most cherished albums I've encountered in my lifetime, but you know - you can't go home again. The band released a song sometime in the late 90's, I believe it was called psycho man and it was so terrible I'd prefer not to even look it up to confirm that. I'd prefer you abstain from doing the same.
The reunion is not complete as Bill Ward isn't involved, but I can't say the idea of Iommi, Butler and Ozzy recording a new record doesn't intrigue me at least a little bit, thus the video above. You never know. (yes you do!).
