His work inspired the name of this site. I thought it was important to begin sharing the work of the French artist from Random-Earth 2012 who had somehow gained knowledge of the Grubehrt Effect and other insights outside his multiplicity. Unfortunately, because of the dismissive status given to comics, few outside France noticed. After being serialized in the Heavy Metal beginning in 1977, his work was collected for the first time in the US beginning with this volume. Today, all of his work remains out of print there. A recent introductory documentary can be found here.Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Moebius - Moebius 1: Upon a Star (1987, Epic/ Marvel)
His work inspired the name of this site. I thought it was important to begin sharing the work of the French artist from Random-Earth 2012 who had somehow gained knowledge of the Grubehrt Effect and other insights outside his multiplicity. Unfortunately, because of the dismissive status given to comics, few outside France noticed. After being serialized in the Heavy Metal beginning in 1977, his work was collected for the first time in the US beginning with this volume. Today, all of his work remains out of print there. A recent introductory documentary can be found here.Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum: Chaining the Katechon (2009, Norma Evangelium Diaboli / Ajna)

This new EP from the progressive black metal group from France features one twenty-two minute track with more content than most full-length albums. The more unusual or esoteric black metal gets, the more the genre improves. Of course, that's a given rule with all things in this garage. This EP was also issued as a split with French duo S.V.E.S.T. If your wondering what the Katechon is, look here.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Samples from the 3rd Level: Classic Hip-Hop Albums
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Junji Ito - Uzumaki, Vol. 1 (2001, VIZ Media)

This essential horror manga involves a town whose inhabitants become victims of the unusual recurrence of spirals. Previously successful with the series Tomie, Ito juggled his dentistry job and his hobby (inspired by reading Kazuo Umezu's comics) well into the 1990s before both Uzumaki and Tomie were made into films. After this, he did Gyo which centers around the "death stench", a revolting smell first encountered in connection with creatures appearing to be bizarre fishes with scuttling, sharp metal legs. Gyo and Uzumaki have been recently reprinted by VIZ Media here.
Report from the 3rd Level: "Our world may be a hologram."

"...The idea that we live in a hologram probably sounds absurd, but it is a natural extension of our best understanding of black holes, and something with a pretty firm theoretical footing. It has also been surprisingly helpful for physicists wrestling with theories of how the universe works at its most fundamental level.
The holograms you find on credit cards and banknotes are etched on two-dimensional plastic films. When light bounces off them, it recreates the appearance of a 3D image. In the 1990s physicists Leonard Susskind and Nobel prizewinner Gerard 't Hooft suggested that the same principle might apply to the universe as a whole. Our everyday experience might itself be a holographic projection of physical processes that take place on a distant, 2D surface.
The "holographic principle" challenges our sensibilities. It seems hard to believe that you woke up, brushed your teeth and are reading this article because of something happening on the boundary of the universe. No one knows what it would mean for us if we really do live in a hologram, yet theorists have good reasons to believe that many aspects of the holographic principle are true."
- Marcus Chown from New Scientist
Ersen - Ersen (2008, Finders Keepers)

Ersen Dinleten, who along with Erkin Koray and Selda, recorded a form of Turkish rock known as Arabesk or Andalou Pop (a fusion of regional sounds and Western psychedelic rock and funk influences) in the 70s. This recent collection highlights the stripped down, three-piece, rock-break sound of his backup band Kardaslar which has recently created a renewed interest as a source of breaks and beats among DJs. Ersen's eclectic 40-year career has even more to offer, for those interested visit O Zamanlar here.
Various Artists - Kung Fu Super Sounds (2007, de Wolfe)

Cuts from the de Wolfe music library containing unreleased cues from films such as Invincible Shaolin and Dirty Ho along with other Shaw Brothers' classics from 1976 to 1984. Shaw Brothers viewing essentials mentioned in the liner notes: One Armed Swordsman, King Boxer, Killer Snakes, The Mighty Peking Man, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, Enter the Seven Virgins, The Spiritual Boxer, Shaolin Challenges Ninja, and unquestionably Legendary Weapons of China and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The rights to the Shaw Brothers catalog for the DVD market were bought by Celestial Pictures in 2000. Many of these classics are already available in other regions in their original form (minus dubs) and are slowly being released by Image Entertainment in the US. A list of what they've released so far is located here.







