RED LIGHT BYTES: The Red Light Roundup (4-17-2024)
RED LIGHT BYTES: The Red Light Roundup (4-17-2024)
Classics, Deep Cuts & All-New Killers in Art & Entertainment...
Overview
We’re going to do away with the indie spotlight this week because I have some slightly self-serving news.
Item 1 — JD Cowan’s Star Wanderers will be launching its Kickstarter campaign on April 23rd! Eight extraordinary tales of planet-hopping adventure and cyberpunk intrigue, starring Galactic Enforcer Ronan Renfield, and the mysterious knight errant known only as “The Agent.” Published by the fine folks at Cirsova and featuring a special soundtrack single by yours truly.
Item 2 — ANVIL #4 is live for preorder! The Iron Age Magazine (and one of my places of employ!) is back with a mighty fistful of thrilling fiction. This latest issue is packed with 11 tales and one killer comic, with a select five stories supported by electrifying illustrations. All is headlined by a special LAND & SEA adventure, “The Coldest War,” penned by the brilliant Blaine Lee Pardoe. Available on its website in paperback & digital form and on Indiegogo. Subscriptions for the magazine are also available.
Now that we’re in with the new, time to bring out the old. And what an institution we have today!
Long May A Princess of Mars Reign!
“Edgar Rice Burroughs never would have looked upon himself as a social mover and shaker with social obligations. But as it turns out – and I love to say it because it upsets everyone terribly – Burroughs is probably the most influential writer in the entire history of the world. By giving romance and adventure to a whole generation of boys, Burroughs caused them to go out and decide to become special." - Ray Bradbury, The Paris Review
I am at the tip of Chapter 17, but even if I was only five pages in, this book would have my unreserved recommendation, for that is the power of A Princess of Mars. This legendary epic of planetary romance was brought to life by the great Edgar Rice Burroughs, remembered by many as the creator of Tarzan. The book that birthed many a modern legend in the world of fantasist fiction, from Jack Vance to Ray Bradbury, and inspired men of science in the quest for life on other worlds, including the great Carl Sagan, it is a tale that hasn’t lost an ounce of its incredible power, even a century-plus after publication.
Virginian war veteran John Carter, chased into an Arizonan cave to his final extremity, gets flung headlong into the strange culture of Mars, known to its natives as “Barsoom.” Having won the respect of the six-limbed green chieftain Tars Tarkas and his tribe, and smitten by the imprisoned red princess Dejah Thoris, Carter faces hardships in combat and love, with his Earthly values of kindness and friendship all too alien to his new surroundings.
Many men in this field will often read or hear a passage that makes them ask “what right have I to create when this has been achieved?” While the haunting beauty of a burning Martian war vessel gave me pause, it was upon the final words of Chapter 15 that I asked myself just that.
If you know, you know.
My only answer is to strive to have an ounce of the skill, imagination, and sheer ephemera of E.R. Burroughs and his gripping prose. There are passages in this book thick with exposition, but only in the capable hands of Burroughs could these otherwise interminable bores transform into fascinating, pseudo-historical extracts, in equal debt to their execution as they are to the rich detail of the world.
I eagerly await this book’s end, if only to fling myself upon the rest of this magnificent series, and start collecting the Marv Wolfmann/Gil Kane run of 70s John Carter comics at Marvel, with Annual #1 hurtling thru the mail as we speak. A masterclass of worldbuilding populated by characters you will love and care for, and villains you will so rightly despise, A Princess of Mars is a true classic of fantasist adventure fiction, and should be required reading for anyone who wishes to pick up a pen in this field.
For those who enjoy audiobooks, my current vessel of choice is Scott Brick’s immaculate 2012 reading published by Tantor Audio. Take a flying trip to Mars, and raise a glass to one of the great American storytellers.
The Force’s Top 10
We won’t go blow-by-blow on everything like last time, but this week’s Top 10 diversifies something fierce. New slices of metallic might from old and new guard alike, an unearthed gem from Glenn Hughes and guitarist/producer Robin George, a classic slice of Yngwie Malmsteen, and more!
Here are our Top 3 of The Week:
No. 3 - “Synthesized Sunset (Act 2)” by S.A. Music, from Tyme Machine: A piece of retro-styled electronica waist-deep in classic 80s R&B production. I was there for its original 2014 mix, and am delighted to have seen it grow into a quiet storm stunner.
No. 2 - “Minds Grey Eyes (Interlude)” by Windows 96, from 19999: One of the best in the vaporwave game and electronica full-stop dishing up an infectious downtempo track. The groove on this is DEEP in the pocket.
No. 1 - “BIOS” by Zorrovian: I’ve recently gotten into atmospheric DnB, and this extraordinary ode to gaming on the PS2 came fresh outta nowhere, bowling me over with its frenetic drums and airy synths. Pick of the week, without a doubt.
Go show all of this week’s artists some love!
Conclusion
Didn’t have an intro, not gonna have an outro. Stay searching, stay jamming, and always dig where no one else will. Lotta killer stuff out there, and we’re happy to shine a light when and where we can. As always:
May God Bless You and This Force. Be seeing you.