Sonic allegories for transitions, the soundtrack to a new beginning. Music to prepare for what comes next. Songs to recall precedent. A gift for the present.
A ritual, a soundtrack, a conjuring of the forces within, bone and blood, stronger than any god, the revelation that you are the god, the seed, the spear, the arrow through generations.
More Later. If you are reading this, Welcome to 2021!
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Edited to add: A little inelegant, dropping the entire tweet in there, but as long as the little gif film runs and the links work, we are happy. Bear with us as we still give the block editor and new format a shakeout drive.
It’s called Imago, Third Part, but I’ve decided this painting is about the birth/emergence of a soul. That, or possibly a promo for GHOST RIDER: GOTHIC from Marvel fucking Comics. Which is not a thing. But perhaps it should be.
But you know. Troopers. Life CAN be grand. I firmly believe we are all participants in a major change for this country. Something seismic and long overdue. Look at this photo.
Tiana Day, 17, of San Ramon, Calif., led a march across the Golden Gate Bridge. John G Mabanglo/EPA, via Shutterstock
Look at her. That’s Gloriana Blitz, baby. Seventeen fucking years old. The world she’s about to inherit is in pretty rough shape, mate. I don’t need to find the pictures, we’re seeing it all the time every day: the pandemic, the televised execution of George Floyd, the righteous cry of ENOUGH, The Black Lives Matter Movement, the daily idiocy of the Walking-Catastrophy-in-Chief… and the insistence on hate. Man, some people love their hate. And I think a lot of them are perfectly willing to die to defend their right to hate. Young Tiana Day and friends have much to do.
We all have much to do.
There’s more to come. Personal shit and the like. But for right now…
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Nick Mamatas’ MOVE UNDER GROUND Reissued!
“Can’t say I’m crazy about the paint job…” — Robert Neville, The Omega Man. But never mind that! “The instant cult classic MOVE UNDER GROUND is back! Kerouac, Lovecraft, more!”
“Readers will be enthralled, chilled, and astonished.” — Tom Piccirilli, author of A Choir of Ill Children
I guess these have been around for a while. I enjoyed them for the first time the other day. They’re excellent! Some rough spots. Obviously these 3 share a common lineage and financial parenthood. I should investigate, but I’m too lazy. Enjoy!
Which brings us to…
The Creep in the Art Department’s Pic of the Week
Devin Williams Photography
Um, The Creep says “the usual hate mail can be addressed to the same useless black box, lodged as it is with several thousand gobs of spam, unmet desires, stale dreams, nicotine, and beloved books nobody reads.”
When I was sixteen I turned in a self portrait that was easily as “strange” as this one. My teacher went berserk. She went out of her mind. My self-portrait wasn’t “realistic.” I didn’t accurately capture the mirror, I wasn’t “mature” enough to draw myself.
“But I feel distorted,” I told her. “I feel like a cyborg.”
(I implanted cybernetic elements to my face, WAY before TNG and the Borg.)
My art teacher wouldn’t have it. My self portrait was rejected from the art show.
Decades later, I am glad my son’s work is appreciated and shown to others. It’s better than mine! Far better. My former art teacher is somewhere… old and decrepit, no doubt, and I doubt she would even remember me.
But my son is only 16. He will produce marvels in the years to come.
ENTRY! We were pleasantly shocked by Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood. Nostalgic without tripping into sentimentality, outrageous but sidestepping the obnoxious, the enfant terrible’s 9th film is nothing less than a joy. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a fading TV star in 1969 L.A., aided and backed-up by Brad Pitt, his stunt-double, wingman, and de facto best friend. Also on hand is Margot Robbie as DiCaprio’s new neighbor, Sharon Tate(!), a very tricky maneuver that Tarantino handles with the gentle grace of a fairy tale. And hence the title. It’s a bold move but it surprisingly satisfies. Once Upon a Time delivers all the pleasure of a good novel written by a trickster who has at last revealed a tender heart.
Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
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ENTRY! Thank the Gods for John Coulthart, the artist, designer, and occasional writer who dazzles us each week with his Weekend Links. This time he wakes us from our stupor with the long out of print Blade Runner Sketchbook! It was more than just flying cars, kids.
Nobody does contemporary British neo-folk goth experimental better than Kemper. But don’t take my word for it, give him a listen. And while we’re talking music…
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ENTRY! Maiden’s mastermind Steve Harris speaks to Rolling Stone!
You’re also still doing “The Number of the Beast,” which got you in hot water with the far right in America in the Eighties for its satanic imagery. How did that one come together? It was things like watching The Omen but it was more inspired by a poem [by Robert Burns] called “Tam o’ Shanter.” I’ve just always liked reading books and watching horror films.
