What are you listening to?

My "The Mandrake Project - Year One" comic arrives today, so I will be jamming Dickinson's soundtrack while I read. 🧑‍🎤


Seeing him next month. 1st time I'll see him solo.
 
During the Guild strikes in 2023, the YouTube channel Dead Meat pivoted from doing their trademark "Kill Counts" on horror (or horror-adjacent) movies, to non-struck horror (or horror-adjacent) "media" like video games, Adult Swim shorts, and music videos, to support the workers striking. They did a video on the album "The Silver Scream," by metalcore band Ice Nine Kills, since the songs are all based on horror (or horror-adjacent) movies, and the videos are not only based on their movie counterparts, but also have an interconnected narrative with horror elements as well. I'd heard the band's name before, but assumed they were mumble-rappers lol. I watched the KC anyway, because I'm just that much of a fan of the channel.

(Last Saturday, the 2nd, I got to meet James & Chelsea at Flashback horror con here in Chicago, thanks to one friend, and I got to thank James for introducing me to the band)
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(What really sucks is the lead singer, Spencer, was also supposed to be at that convention, but he'd woken up that Friday morning with a sinus infection, and had to cancel, unfortunately. The INK table [still manned for merch] was even next to Dead Meat's, which is doubly funny since J&C have become close friends with Spencer & his fiancée.)

Welp, they are decidedly NOT mumble-rap, thankfully, lol (they started as a ska band, and then gradually got more & more "screamy" & harder as time went on). I'm not huge into screaming in music, but the theming to movies, clever puns/in-jokes/references from said movies, and just really catchy (non-screaming) vocals, I fell in love, and I fell HARD. I quickly dove headfirst not only into the entire album (the videos don't cover every track, obviously), but the sequel "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood," as well. The more I listened to these two albums, the more I fell in love. And not just with the gimmick, but amidst the movie references, the other lyrics started hitting home emotionally more and more (the Edward Scissorhands song "The World in My Hands" fits being physically disabled & Neurodivergent in an able-bodied Neurotypical world quite fucking succinctly, and the Jaws song "Rocking The Boat" is a PHENOMENAL "Eat The Rich" song [plus, they also manage to seamlessly work in all their previous album titles into its lyrics as well]).

I started reading up on the band, and watching videos about them on YouTube (if you can watch Finn McKenty's video on them without giving that fake asshole the views, I'd recommend it lol). I ended up discovering their previous album, "Every Trick in the Book" is all based on novels (with some of them, Dracula, The Exorcist, Carrie, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, even ticking that "horror" box that drew me in). Most of the songs are identical in style to their following Silver Scream installments, with only a little bit of emo bleeding in (and man, being a massive Shakespeare fan, their song "Star-Crossed Enemies" is AMAZING).

It wasn't long until I then started just working my way backwards through their catalogue. Before long, they'd replaced Thirty Seconds To Mars as my "favorite band of all time." I've gotten a few friends into them since, including my best female friend, Kat (who quizzes me in my own YouTube trivia videos - shameful self-promotion).

Who, on my birthday, this past Saturday, "kidnapped" me to drive us two+ hours away to surprise me with seeing INK in concert for the first time.

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I am vehemently NOT a concert person, and the heat that day in IL was particularly horrific, but it was really incredible. Not only are they good live (most of my concert going experiences have coincided with "off their game" singers), but they put on a hell of a show, really playing into the horror aesthetic, as well as imagery & skits from the beloved films (and they also satisfied a question I'd had if they'd still do the horror-connected songs from ETitB with their current sets, as they played "Me, Myself & Hyde" and "Hell in the Hallways" [Carrie]!). (They also played a non-themed song from their further back catalogue, though while I recognized it, it wasn't one of the ones I'd latched onto, but still a great performance, and enough of the crowd knew enough of it to sing along.)

As someone who takes a long time to learn songs, I was especially proud that when they played their newest song, "The Great Unknown" (The Matrix lol), when it came to the lyric "there is no spoon" and Spencer turned the mic to the crowd, I was one of only, like, 12 people who knew to sing along, haha. ☺️

Sorry for the novel, but I wanted to share with you all, as I'm really loving this board & community (like, I had no idea so many of you actually liked me over on Fwoosh lol 🥹), and since there was no concert thread, I felt this was the best fit for such a post.
 
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That's friggin' great, Tenime! I love INK! Fun band that I have (unfortunately) never seen live. I've really enjoyed their recent videos that have had horror alumni like Bill Mosley, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Joe Bob Briggs show up.
 
Paul Soter of Broken Lizard fame shows up in the Great Unknown video, and Spencer just wrote a script with Paul for a movie coming soon called "Slashin' of the Christ"! 😂

Also, I kinda got a picture with Spencer while waiting in line for Dead Meat lmao:
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EDIT: The back of the shirt, since I keep showing the front, lol
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Shining is my favorite horror movie ever, and even though I knew Spencer wouldn't be there before getting dressed, I still wore it for Dead Meat.
 
As I was heading toward the exits during my only trip to Warped Tour (2008), a guy was handing out free, hand-made mixtapes (CDs at that time). I'm not sure if it was a friend, someone from their label, or a member of the band, but the CD was an entire mix of INK songs.

It's been kind of a trip for me to watch them blow up since then.

I wish I still had the CD, it'd probably be worth some money. That, or it'd be worth sending to Tenime.
 
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Ice Nine is good shit. I dig 'em.

I listened to a bit of the new Halestorm today. I love the band, but this definitely isn't my favorite album by them. I don't know what it is exactly, but it's just not jiving with me. Also been listening to the most recent Born of Osiris album (Through Shadows). It's really good. Ashes of Ares AND Sinsaenum both have new albums that I'm pretty excited to get to.
 
I heard their new single on Sunday coming back from the INK concert, and yeah, if the DJ hadn't said it was them beforehand, I wouldn't have thought it was.

I also was telling Kat, I LOVE Halestorm's music & vocals...but I HATE the pro-toxic, pro-abuse lyrics, lmao. My favorite song is "Miss the Misery." I DON'T MISS MISERY!! MISERY CAN FUCK OFF AND NEVER COME BACK!! 😅
 
That's definitely a different reading of Halestorm's lyrics than I have.

Also, to be clear, I'm totally in favor of artists experimenting with their sound. In case it read wrong, I didn't want people to think I was suggesting that because I like Halestorm generally, that every album they produce has to appeal to me or something is wrong with it.
 
Just randomly heard a song from someone/band I hadn't listened to in at least 3 years and now I am down the rabbit hole of catching up on Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. I forgot how much fun they were as a band and their songs were great. So far I am really impressed with a bunch of his newer stuff because it shows such growth from the early days and their sound kind of evokes a classic "Americana" vibe.

Always fun to come back to a band/singer that you had strayed away from.

Up next is The Monkees because of a Youtube clip that popped up. Loved the reruns growing up and thanks to Youtube I was able to explore pretty much their whole catalog over the years. Going down a second rabbit hole now....What am I doing hanging round? haha
 
Up next is The Monkees because of a Youtube clip that popped up. Loved the reruns growing up and thanks to Youtube I was able to explore pretty much their whole catalog over the years. Going down a second rabbit hole now....What am I doing hanging round? haha
It wasn't "Trooper Believer" by any chance? :) That one cracks me up, but I'm a fan of both bands. Micky Dolenz has one of my all-time favorite voices.
 
It wasn't "Trooper Believer" by any chance? :) That one cracks me up, but I'm a fan of both bands. Micky Dolenz has one of my all-time favorite voices.
Ha no unfortunately not. Though that is a great mashup.

It was actually their version of Riu Chiu. It was one of the video suggestions they pushed on me that day so of course now I am starting back down the rabbit hole with them. They really did have a great catalogue and probably should have been held in higher regard during their first run.
 
Oh damn, am I going to have to go see Bruce when he comes to Boston in a couple of weeks? "Flash of the Blade" is at the top of my "Most Wanted" list for a live Maiden set, but I'd take this in its place.



EDIT: The answer is "Yes."
 
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Looking forward to the "Electric" version of Nebraska, long rumored but never released. I think Nebraska is an all-time classic as is...

For those who don't know most of the songs on "Born in the USA" was written during the sessions, and this version of the title track will be on the "Electric Nebraska" album:

Listened to this a few times already.
 
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