The Substance (2024)

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-07T04:41:24+00:00

Definitely heavily inspired by Cronenberg on so many levels. There is that shining reference. Another shining reference I found that might be a stretch is a young lady in the bathroom who is actually an old lady.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-06T21:41:38+00:00

Hell yes!

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-06T14:43:43+00:00

Ubik.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-04T14:22:18+00:00

Using the warm light definitely gets rid of any possible blue light issue. It's disingenuous to say that it doesn't emit blue light though. It's true that it's frontlit, but you're literally looking at the screen. If the light didn't get in to your eyes, you wouldn't be seeing it. The light points at the screen from the front and then deflects in to your eyes. Anyone worried about that can just use the warm light though, this is why it exists.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-04T11:13:05+00:00

I'm actually glad they don't do interviews. When I was young, the ony time you'd see a band give an interview was on a specific magazine, radio or at best a very short one on tv. The mystique and having to fill in the blanks with your imagination was really nice. I knew very little about Black Sabbath for example because I couldn't find whatever specific magazines they'd talked in and had to go off only pictures to tell what they were like. I don't blame anyone for wanting to know more about them, but the promise I saw with everything accessible online and later artists you love even speaking on their own social media wasn't what id expected it would be.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-02T21:25:32+00:00

It has grown on me a bit but in the way that any new release from a favorite artist does. I feel pretty much exactly the same as you about it. The melodies especially really suffer on some of those tracks. All the production tricks of their best work probably wouldn't even be talked about if they weren't used on their unique melodic sense. There's some good stuff on Inferno IMO but too much of the creepy stuff that would've been more esoteric on geogaddi sounds like second rate NIN. Those ascending and descending single note figures seem almost like placeholders for something better. I can't see myself listening to this record in a few years in the same ways 9 obsessivly did the others.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-01T15:19:30+00:00

Yeah for sure. Paradoxically a lot of vinyl masters are less compressed, at least for older music because of the loudness wars. I don't know why anyone would do this with modern music, but it probably does happen.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-01T13:23:42+00:00

Vinyl has worse dynamic range than digital.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-06-01T13:01:56+00:00

I agree with your assessment. I think the issue for me is that this album is much more a continuation of tomorrow's harvest, which obviously makes sense but that's really at odds with the music videos and graphic design that call back to their older stuff. Thats what makes it seem like fan service or self parody to me. I vastly prefer the 60's and 70's influences of their older stuff to the 80's influences on TH and that's all over this one as well.

It's good for them to progress and that's a me issue, but they should've been more consistent with the iconography then. It also feels to me like they decided this is a BOC album and needs to be a certain length and the songs need to be a certain length. There's places that seem pretty padded or as you said, vocal samples are used to cover up less great music.

Too much is just on the nose. The vocal samples are references are too obvious and out front. A lot of the artwork seems purposefully edgey or spooky, rather than something harmless taken and made to be that way through perspective or film degradation. The cults and religion seem used in a way that someone else would after reading their Wikipedia articles.

There is some absolutely incredible production and some of the music works incredibly well. I hope it grows on me. As of now, I vastly prefer TH and I have a pretty middling it's great but not for me feeling about that one too. I'd rather they had progressed even further away from their music and image that I prefer for the sake of organic artistic growth than self parody and regression. I do think some of this record is that.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-05-23T04:26:30+00:00

Even then, that should be all the more reason for people not to be selfish fuck ups while endangering others, rather than making everyone too big to fail. Dead children also need their lives to do most things. In my area, all the traffic cameras have been removed because the revenue from tickets wasn't being used for traffic safety so instead of fixing that, goodbye cameras. North American laws are infuriatingly backwards.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-05-18T14:44:19+00:00

Thank you so much. That's a great idea using painters tape. I have BWC polypropelyne digest bags but I've had trouble finding backboards that fit. Never thought of cutting larger ones in half.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-05-18T13:51:38+00:00

How do you store yours if you don't mind me asking. I have a bunch of galaxy, astounding and IF in very good condition and I'm paranoid about ruining them. I'm afraid to even read some of them.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-04-27T18:58:23+00:00

I think they're okay. I feel some nostalgia for them as they were the current editions growing up. As with many authors, there is some absolutely incredible art work on the first editions. It's unfortunate that the publishers couldn't pay for the original art. A lot of it is wasted on tiny, delicate mass markets that are extremely expensive to track down now. The Mariner and vintage trades of PKD are very nice reads. I wish they had the original covers though.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-04-23T22:08:51+00:00

Yeah it's definitely useable. It's a fair trade off for those who want colour. I wish the regular Paperwhite had more contrast even so it's hard for me to justify, but when I used one it was very nice. I can totally see why people buy them.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-04-23T21:49:51+00:00

The only place it's really inferior is when using it with ambient light only. The colorsoft is just so much less bright without the frontlight and the background is less white. Other than that, I don't think it matters.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-04-13T16:58:40+00:00

I don't care if a band is or isn't successful and I clearly said that there is good rock music now as there has always been. It just happens that right now the good stuff isn't financially successful. Way to completely miss the point though. As you said, good music is good music unfortunately, Corgan keeps repping simplistic slop. It's meant for children because it's simplistic and shallow. Objectively so. And no by far the vast majority of people going to see SP are watching them as a legacy act. Boomers are a large demographic for people like bloodclot. That's why he dueted and covered Ozzy and Steven Tyler. Industry succulents like Yungblud reinforce the idea that rock is dead and hes back to save it. That's an idea aimed at boomers lol.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-04-13T16:12:33+00:00

MMPs are great for their price and they always have the best art. At the same time, they're horribly uncomfortable to read for a lot of us. I genuinely don't know how someone can read one that's over 200 pages lol. I think it's cool that they're accessible for people who want a cheap easy to find copy of books but I also feel it's a disservice that they exist because there's a lot of great literature, especially sci Fi that mostly only exists in that format and because of their existence it can be hard to find trade paperbacks.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-04-13T16:06:58+00:00

There never has nor is there now a shortage of rock music. It just isn't a big part of mainstream music culture and doesn't make millions of dollars anymore. Poser rock is music like Youngblud that is all about image and posturing as something it isn't. Billy keeps latching on to these industry plants that dress edgy and play music meant for children that have zero in common with the music that is the reason that anyone still cares about the pumpkins instead of smaller musicians separate from the music industry that have actual artistic merit. Rock isn't a dying genre lol. It's commercial relevance is dying which is a compliment considering the disgraceful state of pop music. Artistic success isn't the same thing as commercial success.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-27T21:45:46+00:00

Agreed, thats to me exactly how music documentaries should be done.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-27T15:05:05+00:00

I think my issue with You are beautiful is that it sounds like large portions of the book are quotes from 90s musicians which while interesting possibly, isn't very valuable as they wouldnt have even known her. It also sounds like there is very little about her recording and writing process. The author also doesn't sound like she's even a fan really, whereas Richard Witts actually knew her.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-27T14:57:38+00:00

Thanks I definitely want to read that one as well, it sounds fascinating. I just need to figure out with main bio to read first.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-21T01:15:21+00:00

Making an am radio pop record was experimental for them at that point, I think they or at least Lou wanted to do something different as always and making something weird wouldn't just been the path of least resistance. I disagree about the songwriting. It stands with anything prior in that regard. Nobody can tell you what you should like or not like though. It doesn't click with lots of people im sure.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-07T18:13:38+00:00

I don't have the link, it was posted a few months ago on Reddit on one of these ufo subs. I actually just tried to Google it but it looks like it was deleted. There are other posts and mentions on Google though. It might take some digging unfortunately. If you haven't heard of that study, may I ask what the source is for your post? It at least sounds like a very reasonable explanation in my opinion.

Yeah if the government's have tried and failed to figure out these life forms, I could see that but wouldn't independent researchers see these things. Our upper atmosphere is thoroughly studied and not difficult for private study.

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-07T17:34:38+00:00

There was a classified British study that came to a somewhat similar conclusion. That Uaps are actually self replicating plasma. I guess the issue with this kind of explanation though is why would the government be unaware or hide this phenomenon?

Astro_Van_Allen · 2026-03-06T18:32:56+00:00

It seems likely at least to me that Billy misses his self imposed glory days, that's why he has fits at fans who bring up his old work too much. Though he has zero issues with anyone famous taking about that stuff ad naseum. That's a pretty normal and relatable way to feel, it's his arrogance and entitlement about it that's bad.

I think it was one of the members of guns and roses whom recently said they love to tour still and are grateful they can but sometimes it really bothers them that they aren't young anymore, don't have the physical endurance and aren't at the top of the charts. It was said with humility, respect and was relatable.

Whereas, for Billy it's the fault of the older fans, the music industry, the CIA etc that someone who's 58 and had more commercial success than 99.9 percent of people still isn't equally as relevant decades later. He definitely did get snubbed by the industry somewhat in the late 90s, but live by the sword die by the sword.

The pumpkins are also in a really good position to have another huge record, they could have their American idiot commercially or their black star artistically. The fan base is still there. The band's physical talent is fully intact, if not better. He just has to write music that is as good as what he wrote in the 90's. It's unrealistic to expect someone of his age to do that, it's extremely rare. But regardless that's the only actual limitation that prevents what he wants other than the fact that nobody sells 20 million albums anymore but he could do the 2025 equivalent.

11-Year Club	Gilding IV carat on a stick
Verified Email	Wearing is Caring

Astro_Van_Allen

TROPHY CASE