Firstly, it'll be a new moon, and there will be a total solar eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere. You can see some of the technical shit in the footage above. If you've heard of a solar eclipse but don't know exactly what it is, basically it's a special time when the moon passes in between the earth and sun and appears large enough in the trajectory to blot out almost all the sun. It should look kinda like this (but you should witness a live one with special eclipse-viewing protective glasses) :
Many ancient folk beliefs attach great significance or power to a solar eclipse. Usually it is seen as an omen or as a time to be careful. Certain superstitions, such as avoiding chopping vegetables, staying indoors, bathing in holy water and so forth have been known. In the Far East, particularly China, belief has it that a great serpent or dragon is devouring the sun around the time of an eclipse. People would bang pots and pans or drums and attempt to scare the dragon away. The Ancient Egyptians would say the sun god Ra was being subdued by the evil serpent god Apep, though Ra would always escape once the eclipse was over. The Norse would say the sun goddess Sol was dangerously close to being eaten by the great fearsome wolf Sköll. When Ragnarök, or Armageddon would come, Sol would actually be caught and eaten, and the eclipse would last and a great flood and darkness would consume the Earth. The Twilight of the Gods and the last great battle would take place.
Also on Nov. 13th, the tenth and final volume of collected issues of Scalped will come out. Like most titles from Vertigo comics, it's real solid. The story is about Dashiell Bad Horse, a Native American man who returns to his destitute and poverty ridden Reservation after many years, where no one knew much of what he was doing. He becomes entangled in a web of deceit and power between the corrupt gangster/tribal leader Red Crow, the FBI, Red Crow's daughter (a love interest), the sheriff from the nearest town outside the Reserve, and others..including even Dash's own mother. I think the storytelling and art are great, and I'm sort of in a cliffhanger moment of reading, just itching to see the conclusion of the whole thing.
See that cool creepy looking skull-elk above? That kinda reminds me of the cover of Soundgarden's 'King Animal', which, you guessed it, also comes out on the 13th!
This will be their first studio album in 16 years, since they dissolved for the majority of that time (amicably)..and only more recently reunited. Out of the thousands of bands I've heard, Soundgarden stands out at the top of the heap. If I was forced at gunpoint to choose a favorite band, it's them. They find the perfect balance between bitter and sweet, loud and quiet, accessible and weird, and almost every other pair of opposites you could think of. To me, if you were to take all the legendary classic rock groups like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, etc. and condense them into a one super essence of awesomeness, adding in a few more elements for spice, that would be Soundgarden. All members are really good at their respective roles in the band, and pretty much all are multi-instrumentalists and songwriters, adding so much depth and dimension to the music. They are multicultural- passing through their ranks over the years is a mix of Japanese, East Indian, Irish, Jewish, American, and more. Also, they formed in my birth year, 1984! A 'desert island album' is an album you could listen to over and over while marooned on a desert island, without getting sick of it. My desert island pick out of all music out there is 'Superunknown', which SG released in 1994. When I saw them live after they reunited, I was blown away. Suffice to say although 'King Animal' may not be as cool as 'Superunknown', it'll definitely be worth hearing and buying.
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| ABOVE: If you can't read the tiny print it says (clockwise from left): Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron, Ben Shepherd, Kim Thayil-SG's most notable lineup |
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| Soundgarden the day they broke up (haha..I bet) |
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| Dig that trippy art.. |
Deftones have been purveying their unique brand of alternative metal since the mid 90's. They get better with age, I think, like a fine wine. 'Koi No Yokan' translates from Japanese to mean: "go feed your fucking koi fish, before they die alone and cold in the pond." Just kidding. It loosely translates as a feeling that you know you'll fall in love or have your destiny intertwined with someone you just met. Kinda like the English 'love at first sight' saying, but deeper. I hope this one grabs me as love at first listen. Also send your prayers and good vibes to original bassist Chi Cheng, still recovering from a traumatic car accident since 2008.
So I'm sure more cool shit will happen on the 'Lucky 13th', but this is all I can think of in the meantime!
