Strange Musical Tales: The September 2023 Vinyl Spin Challenge Thread

Turbo

Turbo

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The theme for this month is cosmic horror!

Each day features a story related to the genre. I added a link to the work in question if you’re interested in checking it out.

The challenges are tentacular! There are multiple options for each challenge. You can elect to complete one, or more, with one, or multiple spin selections. But be careful, trying to complete too many challenges at once could drive one to MADNESS!

The usual challenge rules apply.

As a default rule, you can always interpret the themes any way you like.

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Day 1 - THE KING IN YELLOW (Robert Chambers, 1895)
Collection of stories that predates Lovecraft and one of the first introductions to the concept of cosmic horror and “Great Old Ones”. The King In Yellow, Carcosa and black stars were famously referenced on True Detectives Season 1.
Play something that references kings and/or stars, preferably black, and/or references or is related to the colour yellow.

Day 2 - THE DUNWICH HORROR (Lovecraft, 1928)
One of the central tales in the Cthulhu mythos, and one of the few where the protagonists defeat the monster of the story. Along the way, the protagonists consult the Necronomicon at Miskatonic University.
Play something that references a weird creature and/or a legend that you might find in a dark book in the library at Miskatonic University and/or play something that is based on a book, or references books and/or libraries.

Day 3 - AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (Lovecraft, 1931)
One of the most influential Lovecraft stories, featuring the discovery of mysterious alien ruins that the protagonists cannot understand, a trope that reappeared in countless sci-fi works like Alien, The Thing, or The Expanse.
Play something related to sanity/insanity and/or about the frigid cold of winter and/or makes you think of winter and/or aliens.

Day 4 - LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (Matt Ruff, 2016)
Lovecraft’s stories have influenced a lot of science-fiction, horror, and fantasy, but the elephant in the room is that he was known to have racist beliefs. As a response to this, various authors have reappropriated the cosmic horror themes and ideas from his works into empowering storylines. Examples of this are Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country (which was also adapted into an HBO series) and Victor LaValle’s The Ballad Of Black Tom.
Play something empowering and/or something by a black artist.

Day 5 - BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP (Lovecraft, 1919)
The story features an asylum intern that used a two-way telepathic communication machine on a nearly dead criminally insane patient.
Play something that references dreams and/or nightmares and/or sleep and/or asylums.

DAY 6 - THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD (Lovecraft, 1927)
Depicts the obsession of Charles Dexter Ward with an old ancestor that practiced dark magic.
Play something that references magic and/or wizards and/or ancestors and/or the occult.

Day 7 - REVIVAL (Tim Seely & Mike Norton, 2012)
Comic series centered around the idea of the dead coming back to life in a small Wisconsin town, and the investigation into why this is occurring, along with the religious zealots that latch on the phenomenon and the media and government response.
Play something that references zombies and/or the undead and/or any sort of news media and/or small towns and/or the government.

Day 8 - TRUE DETECTIVE (Nic Pizzolatto, 2014)
The first season of True Detective makes various references to the cosmic horror of The King In Yellow, most notably with the villain inspired by the story and Carcosa and the existential dread hovering about the story, but also with deliberate imagery placed in the various scenes, from black stars on the walls, to a flock of birds flying in a spiral and a fast-food sign with a yellow crown placed above the characters’ heads. And there is Detective Rust Cohl’s nihilist philosophies.
Play something about detectives, police and/or mysteries and/or, if all else fails, anything on a flat circle.

Day 9 - PICKMAN’S MODEL (Lovecraft, 1926)
The story centers on the disappearance of Richard Upton Pickman, a painter that creates horrific images and who was shunned by his peers.
Play something related to painting, a painting or painters and/or play an album with a “horrific” cover.

Day 10 -THE X-FILES (Chris Carter, 1993)
The X-Files drew on cosmic horror several times throughout its run, beginning with the whole “investigators of the unknown” format, various references to weird creatures, cults and conspiracies, and other inspirations in specific episodes, for example “Our Town” (The Shadow Over Innsmouth), “Tooms” (Cool Air), “Dreamland” (The Thing On The Doorstep) and “Ice” (At The Mountains Of Madness).
Play something that starts with the letter “X” and/or that mentions conspiracies and/or cigarette smoking and/or aliens.
 
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Day 11 - FATALE (Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips, 2012)
Limited graphic novel series featuring numerous cosmic horror elements. Centers around a femme fatale protagonist that does not age, that drives men and women that stay with her to madness, and who happens to be pursued by cultists that want to sacrifice her to their Great Old One deity.
Play something by a solo female artist. There is no other option today because you are ensnared in her tentacles.

Day 12 - DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (Gary Gygax, 1974)
The original role-playing game included various monsters and characters that originated during the early days of cosmic horror.
Play something that features dice in any way and/or features warriors and/or dragons and/or mazes and/or any creature out of D&D and/or is a treasure to you.

Day 13 - THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH (Lovecraft, 1936)
The tale of an antique collector on a tour of New England, who finds a mysterious relic and learns of the human-fish hybrid people of the town of Innsmouth. There’s a weird collection of sea shanties that has been released that draws inspiration from this story, the shanties being sung from the perspective of the sailors of Innsmouth.
Play something that sounds like a sea shanty and/or references the seas and/or aquatic life and/or play something that you could consider as being an “antique” collectible and/or something that features an object on the cover that could be considered a “mysterious relic”.

Day 14 - THE EVIL DEAD (Sam Raimi, 1981)
The three original films in this horror-comedy series feature the Necronomicon.
Play something that has comic lyrics, preferably darkly comic, and/or a cabin in the woods and/or any other horror film trope.

Day 15 - THE MUSIC OF ERICH ZANN (Lovecraft, 1921)
An old mute cellist named Erich Zann plays strange music at night to keep unknown creatures from entering his apartment building.
Play something that features a cello, a violin, a fiddle and/or a string section and/or you would consider as being “strange” music.

Day 16 - ALIEN (Ridley Scott, 1979)
Alien oozes with cosmic horror influence. From the discovery of the ruined alien ship being a trope out of At The Mountains Of Madness to H.R. Giger’s designs owing a clear debt to Lovecraft, Alien is basically a modern ode to cosmic horror.
Play something about space and/or features grotesque designs and/or monsters and/or aliens.

Day 17 - THE HAUNTER IN THE DARK (Lovecraft, 1936)
Story features a relic found in Egyptian ruins, the Shining Trapezohedron, which is in the possession of a cult, and which can summon a terrible being originating from the depths of time and space.
Play something that in any way features a trapezoid, pyramid, triangle and/or a prism and/or is related to Egypt in any way and/or cults.

Day 18 - UZUMAKI (THE SPIRAL) (Junji Ito, 1998)
Unsettling manga set in a small Japanese village that centers around the strange effects of spirals on the town folks.
Play something that features spirals and/or is related to Japan and/or comes from Japan.

Day 19 - THE CALL OF CTHULHU (Lovecraft, 1926)
The story is presented as a manuscript by a narrator that put together notes left behind by a deceased relative. This is where the extra-terrestrial being Cthulhu makes an appearance. Cthulu is referred to a “thing that cannot be described”, although hints are provided in that it is a green, sticky spawn of the stars with flabby claws, a squid-head with writhing feelers and appears like a stumbling mountain.
Play an album that cannot be described easily and/or that spans multiple different styles and/or genres and/or play something that references or is about the color green and/or tentacles and/or aliens.

Day 20 - THE SHADOW OUT OF TIME (Lovecraft, 1934)
The story introduces the Ythians, an alien race that can travel through space and time by switching bodies with other beings. They are long extinct but continue to persist through human minds.
Play something that references time and/or the past and/or the future and/or aliens.
 
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Day 21 - HELLBOY (Mike Mignola, 1994)
Hellboy draws inspiration from cosmic horror on many levels, whether it is the grotesque creatures, Great Old Ones, the gothic themes, connections to other worlds and dimensions and yes, lots and lots of drawings of tentacles.
Play something that references hell and/or demons and/or the occult and/or frogs and/or something with tentacles.

Day 22 - FROM BEYOND (Lovecraft, 1920)
The narrator relates his meeting with scientist Crawford Tillinghast, who created an electronic device that emits resonance waves allowing people to perceive other dimensions.
Play something that relates to science and/or includes an electronic instrument and/or a theremin.

Day 23 - GHOSTBUSTERS (Ivan Reitman, 1984)
Ghostbusters includes several cosmic horror tropes, notably the idea of an apartment building built by an insane architect as a gateway for the multi-dimensional being Gozer. But the protagonists actually win in this story.
Play something that references or reminds you of marshmallows and/or slime and/or ghosts and/or New York and/or features a cool car and/or anything related to Bill Murray.

Day 24 - THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE (Lovecraft, 1932)
Story of a mathematics student that rents a room in the attic of the “Witch House”, a building with a mysterious past. The protagonist discovers that the attic room allows for trans-dimensional travel.
Play something that references a house, preferably haunted and/or a room and/or landlords and/or tenants and/or mathematics and/or unusual dimensions and/or play something from a 10” record.

Day 25 - THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE (Lovecraft, 1927)
A meteorite crashed in the hills 50 years prior, poisoning the vegetation and animals. A sample from the meteorite obtained by a scientist emits a strange colour…
Play something that references colours and/or is pressed on multi-colored vinyl and/or is trippy and/or relates to aliens.

Day 26 - THE SECRET OF THE TOMB (Robert Bloch, 1935)
Written by a Lovecraft protégé, this story is about a man who tries to unlock the secrets to eternal life that is supposed to be hidden in his family’s tomb, by digging through books from Lovecraftian lore like the Necronomicon.
Play something from an artist that seems to have been around forever and/or that features a secret and/or a code and/or a message in the run-out groove.

Day 27 - LOCKE & KEY (Joe Hill, 2008)
Limited comic series later turned into a Netflix show and oozes with Lovecraftian influence. The original comic names the fictional New England town where the story takes place as “Lovecraft”. After becoming more familiar with the controversial nature of Lovecraft’s personal legacy, Joe Hill switched the name of the town to “Matheson” for the TV show (to honor a different dark fantasy author). The story centers around a mansion with hidden keys (and their corresponding locks) that each possess different powers when opened. And a banished demon that wants to trick his way back into the real world.
Play an album that involved some controversy and/or mentions doors, locks and/or keys and/or relates to New England in some way.

Day 28 - THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH (Lovecraft, 1927)
Robert Randolph embarks on a dream-quest to find a majestic city that appears in his dreams. Randolph Carter is a recurring character appearing in 7 stories.
Play something that includes a recurring character, theme and/or motif and/or a recurring song and/or mentions a city you particularly appreciate returning to.

Day 29 - THE THING (John Carpenter, 1982)
Several of Carpenter’s films feature cosmic horror elements. The Thing in particular has elements of At The Mountains of Madness and an invading alien force that can mimic humans and is beyond comprehension.
Play something that mimics or sounds like another song, either as homage, happenstance or flagrant copying and/or play the song that it sounds like and/or play something from an artist that you would not trust in real life and/or features aliens.

Day 30 - STRANGER THINGS (Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer, 2016)
Stranger Things draws inspiration from many corners of fiction, but its creators admitted a Lovecraftian influence in the idea of the being that seems responsible for the events of the story – the Shadow Monster, an inter-dimensional entity of immense power that is beyond human comprehension.
Play something from the 80s and/or inspired by the 80s and/or that features bicycles and/or anything at all relating to any cosmic horror theme covered during the month and/or what the hell, aliens.
 
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gafacaode said:
Interesting

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Click to expand...

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Day 1 - THE KING IN YELLOW (Robert Chambers, 1895)
Collection of stories that predates Lovecraft and one of the first introductions to the concept of cosmic horror and “Great Old Ones”. The King In Yellow, Carcosa and black stars were famously referenced on True Detectives Season 1.
Play something that references kings and/or stars, preferably black, and/or references or is related to the colour yellow.

Christone Kingfish Ingram "Kingfish" (2019 Alligator Records)
Kingfish, with a yellow guitar and on yellow vinyl. The King in Yellow. That's two tentacles in one go I think. There's often a little something sinister with the blues too. I feel the madness creeping in but I should be able to hold up.

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Day 1 - THE KING IN YELLOW (Robert Chambers, 1895)
Collection of stories that predates Lovecraft and one of the first introductions to the concept of cosmic horror and “Great Old Ones”. The King In Yellow, Carcosa and black stars were famously referenced on True Detectives Season 1.
Play something that references kings and/or stars, preferably black, and/or references or is related to the colour yellow.

King Jeremy the wicked ~ Jeremy
I know you'll be a star, In somebody else's sky - Black

And I picked this over Ten since this also includes one of the few performances of Black, Red, Yellow. With Dennis Rodman repeating his answering machine message no less.

Pearl Jam ~ Let's Play Two

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Day 1 - THE KING IN YELLOW (Robert Chambers, 1895)
Collection of stories that predates Lovecraft and one of the first introductions to the concept of cosmic horror and “Great Old Ones”. The King In Yellow, Carcosa and black stars were famously referenced on True Detectives Season 1.
Play something that references kings and/or stars, preferably black, and/or references or is related to the colour yellow.

It's been a while for me for the challenge. I think I can jump in for a few of these!

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The Velvet Underground & Nico
 
Day 1 - THE KING IN YELLOW (Robert Chambers, 1895)
Collection of stories that predates Lovecraft and one of the first introductions to the concept of cosmic horror and “Great Old Ones”. The King In Yellow, Carcosa and black stars were famously referenced on True Detectives Season 1.
Play something that references kings and/or stars, preferably black, and/or references or is related to the colour yellow.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

The songs on this album all have parenthetical alternate titles, and "There There" has "The Boney King of Nowhere," which sounds like the kind of name local folklore would have for an Eldritch horror. The album art seems like something an unfortunate local who survived his encounter would make during craft hour at the asylum.

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