Best Songs of 2005, #6: "Amazing Glow" by THE PERNICE BROTHERS (formed 1998, Massachusetts - indie pop) As soon as you hear the plaintive guitar solo - you know to pass the hankies around. Sad tale of a broken relationship. "And when it came to the wrecking ball . . . She swung it effortlessly like it had no weight at all."
Saturday, November 30, 2024
The New Pornographers - Use It
Best Songs of 2005, #5: "Use It" THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS (formed 2000, Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA) - indie rock: Another crazy drummer leading the way throughout the song. An incredible example of pop song craft. Multiple singers, superb harmonies. "Two sips from the cup of human kindness . . . and I'm shit-faced, just laid to waste."
My Morning Jacket ~ Anytime ~ live Conan
Best Songs of 2005, #4: MY MORNING JACKET (formed 1998, Louisville, KY) alternative country-rock: The most accessible song from their genre-defying album "Z". They love reverb. "I hope I didn't wait too long."
Review: MEMENTO MORI INK magazine
MEMENTO MORI INK magazine Fall 2024 edited by Lisa Vasquez (Crystal Lake Publishing, August 2024) Paperback, 99 pages. ISBN # 9781964398167
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
With each issue, Memento Mori Ink Magazine strives to curate a diverse and compelling collection of content that appeals to the discerning tastes of our audience. Whether you're a fan of literature, visual arts, or the intersection of both, our publication promises to deliver an unforgettable journey into the depths of the macabre and the mysterious.
My Four Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .
I ordered this magazine because it's Crystal Lake Publishing's first endeavor into magazines, and I wanted to support those efforts. I'm a fan of their imprint. Crystal Lake has introduced me to many excellent writers in the horror and dark fantasy genres.
Memento Mori Ink magazine is a rebranding of House of Stitched Magazine, formerly published by Stitched Smile Publications (an indie publisher I need to check out).
This is a fascinating non-fiction magazine (except for some flash fiction) that is "aimed at elevating the voices of indie artists across various mediums."
There are many diverse and interesting articles in the debut issue that make it worth investigating for horror fans looking for some less-recognized creators to support: book and game reviews, a fictionalized "interview" with Primal (the burly cosplayer featured on the cover), columns on writing, a moving memoir by an indie writer, a feature on a dark fashion designer, a profile of a paranormal investigator, some author spotlights, and a music review.
Well done, and engaging reading.
Friday, November 29, 2024
Doves - Black And White Town (Director's Cut)
BEST SONGS OF 2005, #3: "Black & White Town" by DOVES (formed 1998
Manchester, England - dream pop) It begins with the beat, aneurysm-inducing
drums that carry you forward to the end of the song. No, it's not a drum machine.
The drummer always plays with steady, vein-popping intensity. Add piano, then
background electronics and keep piling on the layers of sound. "When you leave
to find your place in the world . . . you better make sure you don't crack your
head on the pavement" Motown should tribute. Martha And The Vandellas =
"Heat Wave!" Sweet guitar solo.
Spoon - Sister Jack
BEST SONGS OF 2005, #2: "Sister Jack" by SPOON (formed 1994, Austin TX -minimalist pop/rock) One of the catchiest songs of the year.
The riff stays with you. I'm not sure what this is about but it doesn't matter. I think it may be autobiographical. "But I can't relax . . with my knees on the ground and a stick in my back". The electronics/guitar feedback near the end make it sound like someone is trying to take apart the stage while the band continues to play on.
The riff stays with you. I'm not sure what this is about but it doesn't matter. I think it may be autobiographical. "But I can't relax . . with my knees on the ground and a stick in my back". The electronics/guitar feedback near the end make it sound like someone is trying to take apart the stage while the band continues to play on.
Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body (video)
BEST SONGS OF 2005 PLAYLIST, #1: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
: A really good year for music, which I recently revisited.
These songs were picked as my personal favorites for various reasons: a great
melody, a great lyric, superb musicianship, a remarkable riff, outstanding vocals
and harmonies, etc. The common factor is that these songs have stayed with me,
and I continue to enjoy them long after they have become familiar.
#1 "Soul Meets Body" by DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE (formed 1997 Bellingham, WA,
indie pop) A perfectly crafted song. Everything works together, and nothing is wasted. A
sad story capable of making the eyes water. "Cause in my head there's a Greyhound station . . .
where I send my thoughts to far-off destinations." The lyrics are cryptic enough that they
could mean anything, leaving it open to personal interpretation (purgatory, suicide
contemplation, deeply rooted love, etc).
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Book Review: CUNNING FOLK by Adam Nevill
CUNNING FOLK by Adam Nevill (Ritual Limited, September 123, 2021) Paperback, 336 pages. ISBN # 9781838378912
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
Money’s tight and their new home is a fixer-upper. Deep in rural South West England, with an ancient wood at the foot of the garden, Tom and his family are miles from anywhere and anyone familiar. His wife, Fiona, was never convinced that buying the money-pit at auction was a good idea. Not least because the previous owner committed suicide. Though no one can explain why.
Within days of crossing the threshold, when hostilities break out with the elderly couple next door, Tom's dreams of future contentment are threatened by an escalating tit-for-tat campaign of petty damage and disruption.
Increasingly isolated and tormented, Tom risks losing his home, everyone dear to him and his mind. Because, surely, only the mad would suspect that the oddballs across the hedgerow command unearthly powers. A malicious magic even older than the eerie wood and the strange barrow therein. A hallowed realm from where, he suspects, his neighbours draw a hideous power.
My Five-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . .
When I am in the mood to read folk horror steeped in local research the writings of Adam Nevill instantly come to mind. He rarely disappoints in this respect. With CUNNING FOLK he introduces an entity straight out of the cosmic horror playbook and this mesh of folk horror and cosmic horror is spot-on.
Terrifying. The dread is palpable. You will fear for these characters. Not for the squeamish. Nevill's ability to make even a mundane forest seem threatening is brilliant. This is a novelization of a screenplay that never came to fruition, and it is an extremely visual read. I loved this story.
Maybe my favorite Nevill novel so far, with stiff competition coming from THE RITUAL. Never mind, I think CUNNING FOLK is better. Read them both, and then decide for yourself.
Abstract Crimewave - The Longest Night (with Chrissie Hynde) - Official ...
ABSTRACT CRIMEWAVE 2 of 3
Abstract Crimewave - The Gambler (with Lykke Li) - Official Video
Music of 2024, #62: ABSTRACT CRIMEWAVE
FLASHBACK: Interview with PETER TOMASI (2012)
NOTE: While Peter Tomasi had agreed in advance to an interview, there was no set time scheduled. So, right after the Baltimore Comic Con opened up on Saturday (September 08) I went straight to his booth on the convention floor. I was surprised to see a line already there, including another reporter waiting to begin an interview with him. So, I introduced myself and said that I would return in approximately 45 minutes. When I got back, there was still a line (but not as long as before) and it moved quickly. When I told Peter about the line and how glad I was to not have to wait too long to meet him, he made a funny comment to me: “When you’re an writer here the problem is nobody wants to come at you too much because you’re not going to give them anything, like sketches. Nobody comes up for commission stuff and asks me - - - "can you write me a page?” . Peter Tomasi seems like an easy-going, down-to-earth guy who engages in conversation easily.
We started things off by sharing our opinions on the Baltimore Comic Con . . . . . . . . . .
TOMASI: It’s amazing! I like this show. It’s a good show. It’s ALL comics and it’s not the media. You know, the San Diego show is all media now. It’s all Hollywood and it gets insane. I like it THIS WAY. It’s a little more relaxed.
PGHHEAD: If I understand your bio correctly, you’ve been in comics for a long time - - 20 years - (Editor's Note: It's now 32 years and counting) - on the editorial side. And in 2007 you decided to start writing, correct?
TOMASI: It was 2006 or 2007 - - I don’t remember. It’s been awhile.
PGHHEAD: All that time you were in the business . . at what point did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
TOMASI: I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I’ve written a lot of screenplays. Back in 1993-94 when I first started at DC as an assistant editor I had done a few comics. They actually allowed me to write a few comics. So, I’d been writing all along at DC and throughout the years peppering it with certain projects. DC is always good at keeping you busy. I’d just come off a project called BLACK ADAM. And, I said “What can I do next?” Dan Didio says: “You know what? I could use you on the other side.” And I replied: “I am.” And he says: “No, I mean all the time.” I said” Sure. Why not?” and then . . “How much?” . . . . . “Oh, that much?” . . . “OK, I can do that.”
PGHHEAD: So you then went from doing that part-time to full-time writing.
TOMASI: Yes, that’s it exactly.
PGHHEAD: You were actually writing some BATMAN AND ROBIN issues before The New 52 broke.
TOMASI: Only three issues before the New 52. We just started our run when The New 52 plans started to gestate. So then we realized that it was best to just write a three-part story and plan for the future with The New 52.
PGHHEAD: Did The New 52 change anything as far as your plans for the title and where you would take it?
TOMASI: Not really. The Bat-books weren’t as affected as a lot of other books were. BATMAN AND ROBIN and GREEN LANTERN CORPS - - - the two books I’m on - - - the reverberations weren’t as heavy. There were just ripples in the Batman universe. It allows us a certain latitude now to explore things that maybe we wouldn’t have explored in continuity previously. We have a little bit more of a free rein now. That’s how we’re looking at it, and we were lucky. We’ve already had a good solid foundation, so we didn’t need to blow up any bridges or anything.
PGHHEAD: So does that mean there was nothing you were planning to do with BATMAN AND ROBIN then that you weren’t able to do after the changes?
TOMASI: The only thing was the fact that Bruce (Wayne) becomes Batman again. My first three issues were Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian as Robin. There’s a certain brother dynamic there. So having Bruce come back changed that whole dynamic, and for me that was more fun to write.
PGHHEAD: I noticed that right after you finished the first arc with the father-son relationships, you went right to sibling rivalry. I like the way you handled that. So where are you planning to take BATMAN AND ROBIN now?
TOMASI: There’s some heavy stuff coming - - I can’t really say. We’ve got a big Joker storyline coming up. With the Joker event that’s coming through all the Bat-books. That’s going to have some repercussions . . . . and from there it’s ALL repercussions. It initiates in BATMAN #13 and hits all the other books. I’m not sure how they broke it down, but it hits all the other books.
PGHHEAD: I’m actually torn between which of two Bat books I like better - - - BATMAN or BATMAN AND ROBIN.
TOMASI: To my mind, that’s the book. Snyder’s book.
PGHHEAD: I like BATMAN AND ROBIN for the family interaction and I like BATMAN for plotting, the heavy mythos and darker side.
TOMASI: That’s good, though. I like the fact that there are these different Batman books out there with different things going on. It’s pretty cool. It’s a good time to be a Batman fan.
PGHHEAD: How about I let you do something different? I’ll let you be the critic instead of being the subject of criticism. I wrote this review and I’d like you to read it and tell me if I hit the marks or not. I promise not to defend what I wrote and you can be as critical as you want to be.
TOMASI: Ok. That’s different. Sounds like fun.
I show Peter the BC REFUGEES review of BATMAN AND ROBIN Issue #1-4 for his opportunity to critique the reviewer, and explain: “That’s from our website. I wrote this back in January after the first four issues were out. Some of my background on you was obtained from DC’s website and some from Wikipedia - - so please let me know if anything is wrong or needs corrected. After reading the review, he comments:
TOMASI: Yeah! That’s a rave, in a way. Thank you.
PGHHEAD: I don’t like to write negative criticism. IF the book doesn’t deserve praise then I’m not going to write about it. I want to draw attention to things that are worth it.
TOMASI: That’s a great way to look at things. Especially from our end, that’s appreciated.
PGHHEAD: So if I got it right you drew on your personal experience a little with your son?
TOMASI: Oh yeah. Absolutely. . . . . . My son’s going to be 10. You can’t write certain things - - - until you have a kid you don’t know what it’s like. Having a young son and knowing that whole dynamic now - - - it’s a lot of fun to write. . . . . . Sometimes you’ll be in a mode where you write a scene between them and look back on it and think = “that doesn’t feel real. Don’t get lazy!” Then I’ll shove it aside and think it over.
PGHHEAD: That should also allow you to exaggerate things and have fun with it.
TOMASI: Oh yeah, absolutely.
PGHHEAD: You have explored father-son relationships, family dysfunction, trust and responsibility. Then you went to sibling rivalry between Damian and the former Robins. Obviously, Damian wants to be known as the best Robin ever. So, what’s left to explore? What about the Mom?
TOMASI: The Mom is actually explored in the #0 issue, which comes out next week (September 12). I use that issue to explore the whole mother-son dynamic. Let’s see where Damian was carved from, where it all starts, and why he is the way he is today.
PGHHEAD: So you go right from the #0 issue to the Joker story?
TOMASI: Yeah. Issue #13 is a soft tie-in. It’s not a major tie-in. My first Joker issue kicks in on #15. Issues #15 and #16 are the hard cross-overs. Issues #13 and #14 are the soft cross-overs.
PGHHEAD: I liked the story arc with Terminus in the last several issues.
TOMASI: Thank you. Yeah, me too. And, being critical of my own work on that one = That was going to be another issue or two longer, and would have allowed me to get into more about who Terminus was and why he had a bad score to settle with Batman. And, unfortunately I just ended up running out of pages because the Joker thing bumped in earlier than it was originally going to. It threw my story off a little bit. I couldn’t do as much as I wanted to. The Terminus issue was going to be a little longer. I had some more plans for the battle of the Robins to play out a little bit more. Everything got a little compressed.
It’s funny in a way. A lot of fans say = “Oh, it takes seven issues to do stuff! Why do you draw it out so much?” So, I do a wham-bam, action-packed issue and the fans say = “Aw man, there wasn’t enough of it!”
PGHHEAD: I’m sure you know you can never please everybody. That’s a shame because you apparently have Terminus expire and there’s no bringing him back for more.
TOMASI: For now - - - no bringing back Terminus. I like the character a lot and the name also. As time permits, somewhere down the line . . . . .
PGHHEAD: That last issue (#12) reminded me of the Batman movie, in the way that Batman uses his augmented suit to rocket off into the sky and take the catastrophic weapon out of harm’s way.
TOMASI: You know what the funny thing is? - - - - - I was actually shocked when I saw the movie. I didn’t know anything about it going in. Because, they didn’t allow us to see script back at the office. We didn’t see anything. I saw the screening after Issue #12 had just come out on a Wednesday, and saw the movie on a Thursday morning. I was like - - - “Oh, you gotta be kidding me!”.
Not only that - - I had Batman fight for the first time in the daytime. And he also fights in the daytime at the end of the movie. C’mon! I mean, . . . the zeitgeist to that is almost impossible!
I’m sure everybody is saying = “Sure, he was just trying to capitalize on the Batman movie.” . . . when I really didn’t know anything about it going in. Oh well, what can you do?
PGHHEAD: Out of everything that you have written, what are you most proud of?
TOMASI: With everything I’ve done? That’s a good question. I’d say - - - everything I’m working on now. That sounds like an easy answer, but I’m invested in it now.
My creator-owned books I’m really proud of – - - a book called LIGHT BRIGADE. Then I did another book called THE MIGHTY that DC also published. There’s some really great stuff in there with Chris Samnee as the artist. So, I’m proud of my creator-owned stuff and I’m proud of all the things I’ve done. It’s been a great ride so far.
PGHHEAD: Are there any questions that you’ve been hoping some interviewers would ask you?
TOMASI: No. (Laughs). No, not really. I guess that little bit we did about the Terminus stuff. Nobody had brought that up before. So, I’m kind of glad to get that out there to the ether.
PGHHEAD: Thank you so much for your time today.
BLACK FRIDAY: Meet Comics Veteran PETER TOMASI
SIGNING EVENT at CAPTAIN BLUE HEN COMICS - Friday, November 29 from 3-6 p.m.
Meet Peter Tomasi at the store (280 East Main Street; Newark, Delaware 19711)
Currently PETER TOMASI is a co-founder of the Ghost Machine imprint at Image Comics, and is writer of THE ROCKETFELLERS and HORNSBY AND HALO.
With 32 years in the comics business as a writer/editor, Tomasi began his career in the editorial department at DC Comics and later moved to full-time writing, scripting BATMAN AND ROBIN (40 issues, DC New 52 - 2011-2015) AND SUPER SONS (16 issues, DC Universe Rebirth - 2017-2018) and other titles (Green Lantern Corps, etc). Tomasi also wrote the screenplay for the animated movie THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN (2009).
Other notable works include THE MIGHTY (a world with only one superhero, DC- 2009), BLOOD TREE (crime/horror, Image -2023); LIGHT BRIGADE (WWII drama with descendants of fallen angels, DC-2004); THE BRIDGE (history of the Brooklyn Bridge construction, Abrams ComicArts -2018); and HOUSE OF PENANCE (historical fiction on The Winchester House, adding a horror element, Dark Horse - 2017).
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
LAST FLIGHT OUT OF WICHITA Comic Book Trailer
EDITOR'S NOTE: This looks like a cool crime comic, coming from DSTLRY
in February 2025. Sharing the video with you.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
IDW Upgrades APP For Digital Reading
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Monday, November 25, 2024
Sneak Preview of Oni/EC Comics CRUEL KINGDOM - - January 2025
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