...the blistering musical truth of today.

'Twas a briny night in The Castle, with 3/4 of Couch Slut in attendance, and their inviolable new album taking center stage. What the band have done, far from simply avoiding the sophomore slump, they have created a nonchalantly powerful, ferocious hard rock record—each song loaded with multiple, rousing riffs, moments of melodic, energized subtlety, and some off-brand instrumentation—with no sacrifice of the bite. Obviously, I can't say enough good things about Contempt, which releases today on Gilead Media.

My right index finger got a delete-button workout, and I'd guess that very few of you listening even knew what was happening, so seamless were the random edits, harhar...and so it goes, with musicians / artists I truly admire, the conversation should and did flow freely, winding down many a tangent. I don't "do" Q & A—much too tedious across the long table—I'm happier to just "clubhouse," and see where the night takes us. It was different for the band, even different for your horrorcast™ host. Thanks again to Theo, Megan, and Kevin, and the good people at Gilead, for making this LP premiere happen (Kevin W. was there too, in holographic, hearts 'n' minds form.)

We also heard from Led Zeppelin's Presence | Screech (our live guests on the upcoming 8-9 Aug. Castle show) | new Impalers | our good friends and former guests Yellow Eyes | new Brainbombs | Bill Orcutt | Sunk Cost ...

In movie-revelation news, my highest recommendation this week to Hostiles (2015) , a French out-of-sequence nail biter, wherein a reprobate couple, in betwixt flashbacks of their socially discomfiting behavior (the female lead reminding me a little too much of a former girlfriend—watch out for the ones with the naturally curly dark hair and angry eyes, all's I'm sayin'), take a floppy biking / camping trip, all the while unknowingly circling both a wild boar and a mysterious gravedigger. Stuff happens, to be sure.



Our screen capture this week comes from Amat Escalante's Heli; Escalante being a bold and brutal, wholly original new voice in Méxican cinema. Click there to reach the streaming archive for this week's show.  Back next week, with more blistering musical truth and blackened comedy.

this show cathartics me resplendently every week

Kevin Corrigan, (uncredited) as the soft, hairless, and dull-witted-but-lovable Mercutio to Vincent Gallo's aggro Romeo in Buffalo '66, will take you to the streaming archive of this week's My Castle of Quiet horrorcast™. I don't have to tell YOU that Buffalo '66 is an absolutely perfect movie, a 70s-style Cassavetes homage in tone, with unexpected musical numbers and frozen scenes like pages from one character's book of life; I just watched it again recently, so I'm excited, ok? Plus, any good director shooting in the city of their birth is near-guaranteed to strike gold—it's the home-turf rule of film.

Lots of lively chat and gracious praise on the playlist comments this week, notably for: Breakdancing Ronald Reagan | R. Nikolaenko | Wasteland Jazz Unit | Goblin's dirge from Zombi / Dawn of the Dead (RIP George A. Romero) | Huoripukki | Osculum Infame | SCREECH (LIVE on our show Aug. 8/9) | new Flowers of Evil | Irradiated | Superjoint | Developer | Abstructum | Arca | Jackie Ransom | ...like I said, lots of favorites this week on our different kind of hit parade, and the indulgence of my Butthole Surfers crawl under the covers continues, thanks!

I've also been on an Oshima kick, filling the holes in my viewing of the proto-trangressive Japanese director's filmography, having this week watched both Japanese Summer: Double Suicide and Violence at Noon, the latter being my favorite of the two, but they're both worth watching, if you favor that sort of mid-60s, postwar, b&w Japanese cine-madness.

Next week, special programming; the full-album premiere of Couch Slut's Contempt, their new LP on Gilead Media; thanks to all who helped make this happen, and do join us!

Listening amongst the hipsters

I promise not to get preachy this week, at least not here. Getting preachy, it just wears me out—do I get a few "Amens"? Sure. Do I change anyone's mind? Almost definitely not. Most have already chosen a narrative (or wisely chosen NOT to choose a narrative), and my singular voice is not going to take down political correctness or flip anyone's script in a single blow, or even a few blows. Life experience will get you there, if at all. Many seem so married to hard-left or hard-right stances, at least those are currently the loudest voices, not realizing that all the nuance (not to mention most of the population, here and abroad) exists in the massive grey area in the middle, the unconfigured soup, the lengthy festoon that hangs both between and connecting the fixed obelisks on either side.

Did I get preachy after all? Ah well... news a of a Tarantino-ized film adaptation of the Manson story has me riled, and I'd rather get mouthy about film at this point than social politics. I'm displacing, please excuse me.

This week's horrorcast™ was "dirty," so said The Countess, and yeah, I was working out a lot of stuff, with a big fat dose of grind, and noise...and thanks to everyone for not only indulging, but encouraging, my ongoing weekly Butthole Surfers time-capsule, because ah, it just seems so like the right time for that.

Other listener favorites included: the great Theologian piece from the Rise William Rise v/a collection | always stellar improv from the unclassifiable Moth Cock | older & newer favorites from Bleak, Vexx, Irradiated, Screech, The Kill, and Friendship. Also, always happy to share anything by Jason Lescalleet | anything by Bloodhammer | Panos Alexiadis | and the new Sects on Oxen.

Enjoyed the lively discourse on cult film, New Jersey towns, hipsters and other nonsense on the My Castle of Quiet comments board; always a distinct pleasure to engage with the tribe!

Upcoming special programming:

Couch Slut / Contempt full-album premiere on our 25/26 July show

Live set from Screech on our August 8/9 show

Click on the gas-masked "pervert" from Michael Findlay's The Ultimate Degenerate to stream this week's full program. And for now, I leave you with this, the trailer for Joel Potrykus' Buzzard:

You had me at orphans

Open and enthused dialog is always encouraged at My Castle of Quiet—butts v. boobs, how The Jam's music has not aged well, weevils ... it's all good, very very good; group share, without hugs or the gut-stab of the serenity prayer at the end. Did I ever mention how much I dislike the serenity prayer? How it plays into our already-rooted Judeo-Xtian programming; another backhanded slap of prostration before the misty "Lord," who we invented to shoulder the burden of our natural, human weakness. "Accepting the things I cannot change" never got a bridge built. You know what else "works if you work it?" You get the idea.

"Fist in the Air" has to be the anthem of 2016, and who better to serve it up than Cherubs, who after 20 years, just decided to start making amazing music again. Also remarked upon were a classic track by Renegade Soundwave | Magnetic Systems w Fabio Frizzi | the trailer for Blood & Lace (see below) | the always-amazing Couch Slut (ferocious live set video below)(Couch Slut on My Castle of Quiet 2015 @ the Free Music Archive) | NJ's Null & Void [coming soon to MCoQ for a live set!] | Ustalost ... personally, I can't escape the new releases from True Love | Haxen | Verminaard ...my year's favorites are lining up fast, just past the halfway mark.
 


I'll be tending to family business next week ... please lend new WFMU DJ Carol McCrossen your ears & indulgence; she's got a fine radar for what's good.

Want to close with a double-down on my recommendation of 2008's Plague Town (director David Gregory also known for the excellent Richard Stanley documentary, Lost Soul), a film of humble means, rich in great atmosphere, resonant visuals, and brutal gore. Back in two weeks!

i was listening to this while trying to sleep, it was great

The Female Chimera was the title of last night's horrorcast™. Chimera? "...a fire-breathing female monster, usually part lion, goat, and serpent. Because of this derivation, chimera and its adjective, chimerical, came to mean something illusory, fantastical, hoped-for but impossible." Sometimes I don't know what I'm saying or writing really, until sometime later when I reexamine my choices. Inspired by that beguiling screen capture above from Spring, I plucked the title from the air, true significance to be filled in later.

Last night's show was certainly female, and serpentine; the path clear for a while, only to suddenly spur off elsewhere. I say this with deference to Hercyn, whose live set was delayed some 20+ minutes (and no, they were not standing right there, waiting to play—I'm not that much of a bastard) by organic, free-flowing conversation with our guest Tiffany Minx, the formidable / former proprietor of Apop Records in St. Louis, a store with a history of great taste, integrity, celebrating music's farthest fringes, and hosting many a memorable live show. WE GOT TO TALKIN'...things happen; and we hope some or all or most of our banter was engaging for those listening.

When you meet another high-ranking member of your tribe, so much simply being understood, conversations happen—not necessarily on the radio, of course...but Ms. Minx and I found ourselves quite engaged and engaging, hoping that some of you did too.

Then came Hercyn's mighty, barely contained exuberance. "That was superb stuff" as one listener commented.... I'm finding more and more that good, thoughtfully rendered rock music is just good rock music, that definitions are not at all important, and that genre reductions only attempt to corner something that's just happening, because the right players got together in the right room at the right time (Couch Slut also come to mind, as in "what do they do? Who cares, it's amazing (live set from MCoQ, January at that link ^) ...

So, Hercyn, riffs and arrangements that, at least at first, take me to wispy thoughts of prog heaven, perhaps something like Anekdoten—then suddenly I'm riding an air-chariot with forgotten gods, screaming at the wind that yes, we're coming. It's rich, heady stuff, perhaps not for short-loud-fast-type attention spans, but there's a lot of reward for those who listen, raw-but-baroque shanties that recall perhaps Enslaved, or vintage Wolves In The Throne Room. Maybe I'm reaching, but regardless, I admire the romance of what they do and its many layers. Hercyn's set is slated for release on cassette, sometime soon.

Other playlist nods went to Tyrants of Hell (Wohrt Records) | Cape of Bats | Black Aura | while personal highs included new popnihil cassettes, from Warground / Hithaeglir, Crowhurst, and Burnt Hair; Leash; Cuntz; Infernal Stronghold; Unspeakable; and an excerpt from one of my year's favorite releases on cassette, a sprawling, hypnotic piece of articulated gloom by Ateh Gibor Le'olam Shaitan.

Thanks for listening, regards to Hercyn, and Tiffany Minx.
...back next week with more face-punching diversion.

Special Victims Team

Last night's live set by Couch Slut was so gloriously heavy, it had a blast radius—which means I'll be thinking about it, musing on it for weeks, months to come. It was without question the most anticipated, in sheer numbers—the most talked-about and keenly discussed of all our live My Castle of Quiet sessions. The Castle is at its very best when there's a real-time sense of community and open exchange, via our playlist, event page and Facebook group. That the band themselves turned out to be awesome, relatable individuals was / is one of the great benefits of doing what I do at WFMU. Don't miss the chance to pick up their album, via handshake inc., and if you're in the NY area, catch them live this Friday @ Saint Vitus, their record-release show.

Much love on our playlist also for The Frogs | Guilty Feelings (an amazing album for $1!) | and sets that included Young and In The Way | the legendary and under-appreciated Cherubs | Alucarda | Shaved Women | Deformity | Ivy | Energy Vampires | Contact | Zombies Under Stress (great Netherlands eerie-electronics project, still active! The track we heard was from 1987.) | and a terrific new 7" by our friend and former guest Lea Bertucci.

Not much to add at this point, as I'm still recovering from last night's seminar of heaviness.

Click on this week's screen capture, the ghostly final scene from Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974; a personal favorite, and the first ever "the calls are coming from inside the house" movie) to reach the streaming audio archive, brisk and lively discussion board, and playlist from last night's horrorcast™.

In two weeks, we'll have live music again, with guests NightBitch!

lets build a palace .... and drag our shit through the halls!

And here I was, thinking that there should be a metal band named "Tipper Gore," turns out there already is. No worse a name for a band than Form A Log, or Personal and The Pizzas.

We were very much in expected Castle territory last night, starting off with the most-unholy quartet of tracks by Ancestors (grimy, horror-basement "bonus material") | Abruptum (antique 10") | Swallowed | The Body and Thou. Followed in short order by a set that included comment-worthy tracks by Pest | the ever-present Orthank | Smorzando (anyone else notice that the signature riff recalled "Another Brick in the Wall"?) | Lalo Schifrin | Young And In The Way | Ivy | the ever-present Raspberry Bulbs | Shaved Women (new album!; band link is to live 2012 MCoQ set) | the ever-present Impalers | and the trailer audio for Jerzy Sklimowski's great film The Shout.

Lots more followed; including new tracks by Luciferum Penis | Bog Oak | the ever-present R. Nikolaenko | ex-WFMU staffer and supergenius John Schnall | Excepter | and the welcome surprise of a great 1968 Philip Glass recording, new on LP / CD / mp3.

Thanks to artist Gea Philes for finding / sharing this week's screen capture, from Leos Carax's Pola X. A love-dance slog through tomato soup! Click there to reach the playlist, audio archive, and your always-appreciated Castlehead commentary.

NEXT WEEK! LIVE MUSIC FROM COUCH SLUT!!!

...less enforced cheer

 

Bowie, Bowie, Bowie. When strangers ask me what I like in music, I state all the obvious Castle choices, but Bowie is always in there, too. At least up to and including Scary Monsters, his albums were groundbreaking, way ahead of anyone's "time," the ideal melding of rock, pop and art. As I eagerly received each new release as a lad, every one was a dazzling, innovative, cold fish slap in the face of music-industry expectations; I reveled in his "Berlin phase," Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, all of it. Glad that our opening selection of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" made an impression.

Going to try and keep this short, been blogging my fingers off, but there was listener appreciation for many selections last night, and I wholly concur:

Doomsday Student new! | Fear (my singular nod to the holiday) | Swallowed | Couch Slut (live on our show 1.20-21) | Dope Body | Zepulkr | Axnaar | Durazis | new Dhampyr | Choke Thirst Die | new Alraune | Orthank | ...and an absolutely great, new tape side from Australia's Half High.

Tracks by R. Nikolaenko, Grasshopper, and Antonius Rex were also personal highs. ...

I'm not much for the "enforced cheer" of the holidays, as listener SeanG put it, and our playlist topper (see above), by Lulu Cipher, sums up my general sentiment. Some people are nicer this time of year, kinder to one another, to strangers, while many more seem to pull inward, looking after their own interests even more than usual, stealing packages right off my porch, and driving like maniacs across our area, to secure every stocking-stuffer, and make sure Aunt Tillie has her Diet Sprite.

Take care of the ones you love, hold them close, remind them that you love them. Reach out to a lonely friend.

Click on Lulu's Darkwave Holiday Card to reach our archived audio, playlist and listener comments for last night's horrorcast™.

Pass me some of that dumbass!

I'm going to try and keep this one brief, for two reasons...working on my year-end "best of" film and music list, trying to put writing energies there, and...if I get going with "thoughts and feelings," I'll be hitting the everything-is-shit buffet hard, and nobody needs to hear more of THAT. ...The world is currently in a horrible state, I've got my own mini-mess going over here, too, and don't want to add to the rampant negativity, nor do I have any solutions to offer. ...

Playlist faves included:  "classic" Birthday Party, Butthole Surfers, bed music from The Queen of Black Magic, and the films of Michael Findlay, always a worthy topic in The Castle.




Personal highs included, but not limited to:  Swallowed | Doomsday Student | Couch Slut (live set coming on our 1.20-21 show!) | Axnaar | Death Factory

Our screen capture this week comes from the almost-final scene of the UK series Broadchurch, a downer, but a very-well-done downer. The hatch on a cell door, seemed appropriate. Click there for audio archives, playlist and comments for last night's horrorcast™.