Grasshopper live video @ the Castle, 26thAug09

Josh and Jesse create immense, frightening horrorscapes™ that rattle the walls and bubble the floor into molten lava. By dramatic contrast, when not playing, the two make a dynamite comedy team. Note Josh's Coney Island-style disco-spraypaint Telecult Powers t-shirt.

Stay tuned to WFMU's Beware of The Blog and Free Music Archive, where I'll be posting the live session as mp3s on 9/22, along with some stills. In the meantime, you can listen to the streaming archive of last Wednesday's full horrorcast.

That Coke is worth living for.

The Ten of Pentacles is a very good card. Thank goodness I finally drew some modest good fortune. Everything went splendidly with last night's horrorcast, too—though I nearly stepped into the blazing pit of magma that opened up in the floor when Grasshopper started playing.

How do you combine death metal, psychedelick horror/noise and black metal with chit-chat about Ratner's and the dreaded Facebook? Listen and find out. That poor innocent woman above, she's pretty messed up—the Werewolf Woman didn't really give her much of a chance, but she can still guide you to the playlist/archive page with a simple click.

Choose "MP3 - 128K" or "Pop‑up player!" to listen.

Grasshopper were the obvious stars of the night; also starring Pocahaunted, Obligatorisk Tortyr, and Wolfmangler.

Fucking Bowler Hat, excerpt #3

(Cradles mobile phone in right palm, begins to dial, then with expression of disgust, pulls back phone with left hand, looks at right palm, then at back of phone. Blood. Not too much. Wipes both phone and palm simultaneously on sides of suit jacket. Pulls up phone again in right hand, resumes dialing, holds to ear waiting, with left middle finger in left ear, as El train screams overhead. Walking now.)

"Dad...I'm here, in town."
"What? Uh, uh, how the fuck did you get here?"
(Cuts him off) "Listen Dad, I'm in trouble, I've done some bad stuff, hurt some people. I think the police are after me (whimpering a bit)"
(brief silence) "You want me to pick you up? Can you get here?"
"Naw, I'm on my way."

(Bounds up El stairs.) [Note: add scene of him on El, sitting or standing, looking impatient, and a bit sad?]

(We see him get buzzed into Dad's building, hand pushing door open is lightly smeared with pinkish blood.)

Dad was married four times after Mom. The fourth was this 35-year-old tight-bodied blonde from SoCal. God knows why she came to Chicago, but he found her. After banging his brains out, cooking him organic meals, and generally making him happy for about three years, she up and died on him from ovarian cancer. After that, he kind of gave up. I don't blame him, not for that anyway.

(On his way up in elevator, we see him pop out clip on gun, check it, pop it back in. Sighs audibly, puts both hands in pockets (one holding gun) and looks down at elevator floor impatiently.)

(Arrives at floor. Spins around, walks down hallway with a deliberate gait; we also hear him, viewed from behind, sucking back tears.)

(Now waiting at door. A completely gray, slight man opens the door.) "Ed, what the hell?" "Dad, please."

(Older man walks slowly, with some difficulty, to easy chair on left side of a table and lamp. Furnishings are spare, but also obviously expensive and tasteful. There is a similar chair to right of table. Edward flops down in it.)

(There is now a long silence, where Dad stares at Edward, not speaking. [add closeups?] Close up on Ed, who carefully, without looking at Dad, removes bloody cell phone and sets it on table. Then, reaches into his jacket pocket, pulls out Glock, also a bit bloody, looks at it, and sets it down on same table. Close up on Dad's face, whose eyes noticeably bulge at sight of gun.)

Edward drops his face into his hands. (This action is followed by a protracted silence.)
Dad: "So?"

From Fucking Bowler Hat, ©Wm. M. Berger 2009

Screen Capture of the Day - Life the Way It Is (1978)

The striking Lisa Heredia, in Life the Way It Is, a dark, French, apartment-block/office comedy from 1978. Though not strictly a horror film, it's riddled with suicide, homicide and crime, and does have a superb Jean Rollin-meets-Little Murders vibe about it. Life the Way it Is (French title: La vie comme ça) also serves as a provocative wedge of human drama, amidst all, or perhaps aided by, its Kafkaesque chaos.

Grasshopper live on the Castle, this Wed. 8/26

Tune in at 8 p.m. ET for the usual nihilistic resonance, and stay tuned for my special live guests Grasshopper; their first set begins at 9 approximately.

Grasshopper make potent, nightmare-inducing, torture-dungeon music of the very highest order, using two trumpets and signal processing. This I just had to see. This you just have to hear.

http://wfmu.org/
91.1 FM NYC/90.1 Hudson Valley

Yes, There is Now a MCoQ Twitter Page

http://twitter.com/Mycastleofquiet

Tried to get http://twitter.com/mcoq — already taken, probably by some guy who thinks it's funny, because it reads like "my cock."

Follow for even more reductive, sometimes oracular, messages on horror films, horrible noise and metal.

Luv ya.

This is cool and somewhat disturbing

As I navigate my darkest Dark Night of the Soul yet, the Nine of Swords is truly my card. And though, as a working, My Castle of Quiet horrorcast No. 9 reached new heights of calamity in technical production, we did manage to invoke a few hard laughs, as well as put a lot of great metal and noise out there.

Sucking of the very life essence...cool and somewhat disturbing indeed. Click above to navigate to the playlist/archive page, then choose either "MP3 - 128K" or "Pop-up player!" depending on your preference. I'll leave it to you to decide who the real stars were, this time.

Next week, Grasshopper.

Fucking Bowler Hat, excerpt #2

(We hear him, thinking) "It used to come naturally to me, that cooperation, and the thing was, I was actually sincere! Maybe that's why it was easy, because I wasn't lying. I actually really liked most of the people I met—we met...navigating their faults, as I could feel them navigating mine. But it's like street smarts, relating to people. If you don't use it, it's gone. Gone so badly that you can never get it back."

(We see him, but only from the chin down, lurching about the large, white room, tie dangling, holding gun in left hand. A female body, in wife-beater tee and panties, is visible slumped in corner of room, lower left of screen. Modest blood spatter on wall and floor around her.)

(Moves over to computer desk. Lays gun down to right of keyboard. We see his face, eyes flitting back and forth, looking for something, his right hand on the mouse, clicking frantically; mouse hand is visible in periphery lower right.)

(Close up on computer screen. We see cursor hover over browser icon and select. We see cursor select "Bookmarks." Body in corner suddenly moans, building slowly.) "UhhhhHHHHH!"

(The next thing we see is the familiar Facebook status field. Cursor clicks in field, as words "What's on your mind?" appear briefly, long enough to be read. Typing is heard gently. We see, "is dead. Edward shot me.")

(Cursor hovers over "Share" button, then selects.)

(Pushes away from desk, picks up gun, lets out a sigh) "Unhhh." (Blood smear that gun has left behind is seen on desk right of keyboard.)

(Lifts to feet, and lurches over to corner, where body is still slumped as before.)

From Fucking Bowler Hat, ©Wm. M. Berger 2009

Fucking Bowler Hat

"Listen, I'm a fucking millionaire, and I want to know where to get some heroin!"

What movie is this from?
My movie.

It goes on:

(Holding a 9mm pistol disturbingly aloft in left hand, swaying a bit) "...and I'm never going to eat food, or go near another woman again."

(La Chica, on the bed, frightened) "Whyy?" (and I wanna hear that second "y" — in tears.)

(Stops swaying, drops gun arm to side) "Why?" "You have the nerve to ask me why? Who the fuck are you, some drug dealer?!" (waves gun clumsily) "Why?" "You wanna know why, you fuckin' idiot?" "Because I don't deserve it!!!" "Any of it!!!!!" (his speech dissolves into tears there, while simultaneously, shakily, he empties about nine rounds into the person on the bed.)

(Stumbles around now, lazily turning the place for the stash, mumbles) "fucking idiot...."

From Fucking Bowler Hat, ©Wm. M. Berger 2009

Screen Captures of the Day - Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

Lately I've been watching a lot of horror films from the late 1950s. I'm not sure why, but perhaps it's because many of the films made during that time have an innocence, or at least a pretense of innocence, with less intricate plot lines and generally simpler pleasures and easily managed storylines. In short—it's hot, and I don't want to have to think very hard.

I must admit that until now, I'd never seen the well-liked UK feature Horrors of the Black Museum. It has much to recommend it, including a deliciously smarmy Michael Gough (above center), as a murder-obsessed tabloid journalist. There are also several scintillating kill scenes—unfortunately, these are broken up by long spans of tedious and totally unnecessary expositional dialogue. Still, the film moves along, and even takes one or two surprising turns.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Horrors of the Black Museum, and though it's far from a masterpiece, those of you who enjoy lighter Hammer fare (though this is not a Hammer film) will almost certainly get a good "Million Dollar Movie" vibe from this one.

dont do it

My Castle of Quiet horrorcast No. 8 is up and running, though not necessarily to the gun store. Jed and I contemplate shopping for a pistol, on-air suicide, low- and hi-grade Fulci, and scattering my ashes over a kiddie pool in Oakland, CA. Somehow, we still sound more like two guys in a diner than the magnificent black magicians we actually are.

Clicking on Susan K's photo (taken at Monumental Cemetery, Milan) will guide you to the playlist/archive page. With the stars Anubi, Gregor Jabs, and Métal Rouge.

Screen & Audio Captures of the Day - The Black Pit of Dr. M. (1959)

Though somewhat misidentified (i.e., there is no black pit), The Black Pit of Dr. M (aka Misterios de Ultratumba) nonetheless delivers the goods in a fashion that only a Mexican gothic horror film set in a sanitarium could—with disorder, murder, acid-throwing, and a ghost MD controlling everything from beyond the grave. The release is part of Casa Negra Entertainment's great series of remastered Mexican horror classics.

The orchestral score for Dr. M is also noticeably above average. Here are the main titles, music by Gustavo C. Carrion (yes, Carrion! -Ed.):

>>>The Black Pit of Dr. M - Main Titles

My Week

you granna was a fruckn liar

Man, woman, birth, death, infinity.

My Castle of Quiet horrorcast No. 7: Happy Birthday to Me! with special guests and selected readings. Emily (above) has seen better days, but she can still guide you to the playlist/archive page like a pro.

A very special thanks to all my special friends who did special things and helped to make the night as special as it was, especially all of you. I walk like a bearded rainbow.

Tune in Tonight...♌

...where I'll be taking a long, hard look at myself.

The My Castle of Quiet Wm.'s Birthday broadcast begins @ 8, with readings from Anton LaVey, John Milton, Aleister Crowley and Theron Q. Dumont, plus visits to the Castle from lost travelers. Phone? We don't have a phone, but you're welcome to stay the night. Maybe. And maybe I'll just slit my throat and gunk up the broadcast console with black blood....

My Desktop

This is what I look at all day while I write, review black metal and noise albums for airplay, and dick around on Facebook. I'm so keen on it, I just had to share it with you. On a 24-in. hi-def screen, I can tug at his beard, and actually feel the textures in his horns.

The wallpaper is a stock image entitled "Goat I" by photographer witchfinder. I found the image on deviantART. Here's witchfinder's stock gallery at deviantART.

Album of the Day - Grom

I was about to send this one to Jed, and I thought, "no, I have to share this with everyone."

Grom are an NSBM band, from right here in New York, with a particular bent for grinding (goose stepping? -Ed.), mid-tempo, early Tulus-like "catchy" black metal, with dramatic, melodic fast breaks. In relative terms (of course!) this has to be the most swingin' NSBM record I've ever heard; even old-school metalheads will appreciate headbanging numbers like "The Tower."

Plus you have to love the cover. When I was a kid, I had nightmares with that guy in them. He'd be slowly coming for me, clunking all that armor as he slowly and confidently approached, my terror increasing with each step. I would always wake up before he reached me. Now I'm listening to his record.

>>>Grom - Pagan War Machine

Originally downloaded from Wotan mit uns.