RED LIGHT BYTES: Red Light Roundup (7-10-2024)

Classics, Deep Cuts & All-New Killers in Art & Entertainment...

This week’s newsletter is the equivalent of Christmas Eve shopping.

Some work-based pandemonium has kept Episode 8 of Quality Candor tied up in post-production limbo (hence my presentation of Episode 6, a passionate treatise on the merits of giving up on shit you hate + some globe-trotting music recommendations), and has kept me from doing a more in-depth presentation for today. And with Kickstarter shenanigans to contend with, plus our 10th issue revving up, it’s sometimes tempting to phone it in or hang up the Wednesday roundup for a few.

That said, someone has to feed you malnourished troopers! The Red Light Roundup is a sort of our public service, here to bring out the best, the weirdest, and the coolest shit we can dredge up, and even if I have to eschew depth from time to time, the Roundup doesn’t stop for shit, especially in a world where it feels like all art and entertainment is ambient content, shit to dump in the background and forget about. And while we’ll sometimes showcase titles that are more curio than classic, they are all worth your time and attention.

The writeups will be brief, we’ll try to get more indies in the future, but the recommendations shall be plentiful all around. Let’s ride!

MOVIE: The Wraith (1986)

A hot-rodding cult classic. A mysterious driver taking revenge on a skeezy street-racing crew with a positively unreal car. Bizarre cast includes a young Charlie Sheen, a killer Nick Cassavetes, a likeable Randy Quaid, and some Clint Howard for extra B-movie bonafides. Loads up on hard-rocking 80s soundtrack, and those sweet desert vibes. Unfortunately, can’t find it free anywhere, but home media releases are cheap, and yours truly owns it on VHS.

SONG: “The Hunt” by New Model Army

Top-shelf post-punk from a band that defies categorization, but always delivers the goods. From the 1986 album The Ghost of Cain, this number really speaks to certain verve you’ll find among the street-fighters of Haven. A scrappiness incarnate, one willing to take to task those who run against them. Definitely on Lita’s tape deck while driving the Red Devil; music to put your paw down to.

BOOK: Greatest Hits by Harlan Ellison

As many of you may know, Harlan Ellison was many things. Brilliant, brutal, troubled, terrifying, a mensch and a maniac. But above all else, his firebrand speculative fiction is foundational to our openness to experiment on this series. Going to finally take this audiobook collection for a spin on Audible and see how the maestro’s work has been handled. We have quite a few original Harlan recordings, and others mounted with new readers, not to mention so many classic stories, including “‘Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” and the incomparable “Jeffty is Five.” Will likely do a proper review upon its completion.

COMIC: DAREDEVIL Love & War (1986)

Didn’t plan on being stuck in 1986 for most of the column, but sometimes, all the cool shit gets released in the same year. Just look at 1982 in film and your eyes will water five second in. Here, is me officially committing to looking at a book I’ve been wanting to for ages.

From the pen of Frank Miller and the impressionist imagination of Bill Sienkiewicz we take a look at the Man Without Fear’s dynamic with his most powerful foe, Kingpin, and how his love of wife Vanessa is a powerful motivator in the actions he takes. I have never been a cape-comic guy, but the art of Sienkiewicz and the dynamism of Miller makes for a grand impressive tag-team during the golden revival of Marvel’s noir-like hero. If you can’t get it used (or you can’t sail the seven seas), $5 over on Kindle/Comixology is your ticket to ride.

That’s it for now, off to get the rest of this madness sorted! Be seeing you!

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