I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-The Reality of My Surroundings (1991).

This was my first real exposure to Fishbone (except for John Cusack wearing the fish skeleton shirt in Say Anything, of course–which, no images available on the web?  How is that possible?).  At 60 minutes it’s one of  the first really long alternative discs to come out.  It does run a little long, but there’s so much packed into it that it’s easy to forgive their self indulgences.

Reality starts with the heavy, thrashy “Fight the Youth” an amazing guitar workout.  It’s almost not the same band as on Truth and Soul, except that all the Fishbone elements are still in there.  I listened to this album a lot in college.  I distinctly recall singing the line “Dooooo the Howwwwssssswork!” from “Housework” a fun return to the Fishbone of old.

But two other big highlights come near the end: “Everyday Sunshine” is just a beautiful song.  But even that doesn’t compare to “Sunless Saturday” a fantastic catchy and wonderful song.  It starts like a ballad but turns into a speedy rocker by the end, never too heavy, just perfect for what should have been a massive single.

The album has 18 songs, and interspersed throughout are silly songs that are about a minute each.  “Asswhippin” is 37 second of well, asswhippin.  But it’s the 4 “If I Were A…I’d” pieces that shows the band taking things they dislike and throwing them into a thrash song explaining what they’d do.  They were always fun back in the day, and even though, as songs, they are pretty silly, I enjoyed hearing them again.

This is a pretty massive record, and will always remain a favorite for me.

[READ: December 26, 2008] Practical Demonkeeping

After reviewing You Suck, I was inspired to read some more Christopher Moore (even though I have SO MANY OTHER books to read).  Anyhow, I put this book (his first) on hold, and it came much sooner than I expected. So, I decided to read this one instead of what’s next on my list.

But anyhow.

This book is set in Pine Cove, California.  A tourist trap that prides itself on being touristy.   As the book opens, one of Pine Cove’s residents is driving The Breeze around town looking for action. The Breeze is a small time drug dealer and trailer resident awaiting his big score tomorrow.  And so, he is obviously bummed not to make it through the night when he is swallowed by a giant demon.

The giant demon’s name is Chase.

DIGRESSION: Chase is the name of the boyfriend in Lethem’s “Lostronaut” that I just read.  That’s a fairly random coincidence.

Chase has been around since time began (his back story is given in some detail by a djinn who shows up later).  In order to be of the earth, Chase needs a master. Chase’s owner and master is a man named Travis, a former apprentice priest who stumbled upon the incantation to summon a demon and was suddenly turned immortal. Chase really doesn’t care for Travis as a master since Travis isn’t looking to rule the world, or much of anything sinister.

The reason that Travis brings Chase to Pine Cove is that he thinks he can finally find a way to free himself from the bond of Chase.

But the story isn’t really about Travis so much.  Well it sort of is, but it’s also about several residents of Pine Cove, including Jenny, the woman that Travis falls for.  She is a waitress and recently (like three days ago) separated from Robert.  Robert is a drunk and a photographer (pretty much in that order)  He is currently staying in The Breeze’s trailer, although he has no idea where The Breeze presently is.  He is super pissed that Travis has fallen for his wife, and spends much of his time drinking at the Slug.  The Slug is a local bar run by Mavis, an octogenarian with a bad temper, a baseball bat, and a tape recorder for eavesdropping.  She also has a thing for Augustus “Gus” Brine.  Gus is the owner of a bait shop, and is a consummate practitioner of zen philosophy (ie: fishing=relaxing).  Gus is called upon by the djinn to help him hunt down Chase.

There’s also Effrom and Amanda.  They are an old married couple (and grandparents to Jenny).  Amanda (presently out of town) met Travis briefly on a train before World War I, and may be able to help  him with his Chase problem.  Oh, and there’s also Rivera, a detective who is bent on nabbing a drug dealer named The Breeze in Pine Cove.  There’s also Rachel, a coven leading witch who is assisting Jenny with her relationship problems.  And there’s The Nailgun, a computer whiz on the police force, who is in love (virtually) with Roxanne (who is actually a man when not pretending to be Roxanne online).

The fact that all of these threads tie together in a web of plausibility (accepting the existence of demons of course) is a marvel of craftsmanship.   The writing is clever.  The story is well thought out.  And the characters are believable.  He really gets different perspectives down very well, be they male, female or demon (well, I’m assuming the demon is correct).

He keeps the pace moving very quickly by switching between character story lines every few pages, but it’s not choppy or hard to follow, it’s a good way to see different aspects of a story.  For instance, there’s a supernatural scene with an owl that is talked about before you actually read of the event itself a few pages later.  It’s a little confusing, but it’s a much funnier way to reveal the events of the story.

Moore also ties up all of the loose ends very nicely. But better than just tying things up, he throws in a few twists at the end (with the help of the djinn) so that the ending is not as you might expect.  It’s a very satisfying story and an excellent start to an enjoyable author’s career.  I look forward to reading the rest of his books.