I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: SARAH HARMER-I’m a Mountain (2005).

I first heard Sarah Harmer in 2000, with her “Basement Apartment” single (which always made me think of my friend Ailish who, at the time, lived in a basement apartment in Brookline, Mass.)

My wife Sarah has this CD playing in the car and I’d forgotten how much I liked it.  Unlike the You Were Here, I’m a Mountain is much more country music sounding. I’m not much of a fan of country music as a rule, but there is something about country music from Canada that just sounds better to me.  It tends to have more of a crossover sound, and is lyrically more interesting to me.  Maybe it has something to do withe Calgary Stampede.

While two or three tracks on here could easily fit on a country station, the album still got nominated for a Juno for Best Adult Alternative album.

To me, the album really kicks into high gear with the title track, which is funny and catchy (the line about Wal Mart is a good one).  The cover of Dolly Parton’s “Will He Be Waiting for Me?” is beautiful.  And the French song “Salamandre” sounds gorgeous even if I have no idea what she’s on about.”  The disc closes with my favorite song: “Luther’s Got the Blues” a wonderfully funny country song written by Luther Wright.  And in Sarah’s hands, it turns into a yodeling masterpiece.

You might hear Sarah’s voice backing up all kinds of bands.  And her voice really is fantastic.  So, should you tend to shy from country music as I do, this may be an entry way for you.

[READ: January 15, 2010] Hopeless Savages

I read this comic years ago, and loved it quite a lot.  I found it right around when I found Blue Monday. I recently tacked down the third trade paperback, so I figured I’d read all three again.

The premise here is that Dirk Hopeless and Nikki Savage, two old school punk rockers fall in love and settle down.  They have four kids: Rat Bastard, Arsenal Fierce, Twitch Strummer & Skank Zero Hopeless-Savage.  Each kid is a traditional punk: bad assed, fierce and take no shit.  But they are also pacifist by trade (Ronald Reagan took on the world with force, so force is for fascists, too right!).  Self defense is okay, mind you.

In this first story (there’s three trade volumes published so far), there’s not too much punks-in-proper-society comedy, because it’s all action.  The kids’ mum and da have been kidnapped, and its up to the four of them to find them.  Well, actually it’s up to the three of them to find Rat and then find their parents. For you see, Rat Bastard has sold out and gone commercial.

Ten years prior, he gave up his real name and started working for a coffee company, but not as a trendy baritsa.  When we meet him his a pretty high uppity up fellow, with a suit and a decent haircut.  Which is fine with most of the family, but not Zero.  The youngest member barely knew her big brother and she is utterly betrayed by his leaving (and going straight).

So, if they can get him back in the family, they can use his skills to find out who has their parents and how to get them back.

The mystery resolves itself over four issues.  And in those, we learn that one of their oldest friends may have something to do with the kidnapping.  But even worse, Dirk Savage has a secret past that he has kept from his family (and boy is it pretty!).

The focus of the story is Zero, who is young and spirited. She’s also in a band called Dusted Bunnies. The one quirk about her that I sort of like but which also gets a bit old is that she makes up words all the time.  Most of them are funny and work in context.  But I did get a little tired of her curse word “squalling” as an all purpose curse, as it’s on just about every page.

The story is fun and clever.  And the revelations and flashbacks are really well thought out. Although the characters are all punks, they each bring something to the family beyond solidarity.  And it’s an interesting voice in comics as well.

The real storytelling for this series comes in the second volume: Ground Zero. I also find Ground Zero’s art to be more satisfying.  There’s something about Norrie’s art that I find a little too… what, rough, maybe?  It works in context, as the story is all about punks and fighting.  But it’s a style that doesn’t appeal to me.  There are, however several flashback s which are drawn by the wonderful Clugston-Major, in her totally recognizable pseudo-anime style.

So, yes, this is a good starting point for the series, but it really takes off withe the next batch.   Nevertheless, you can’t enjoy the second one without this one, so try this one first, you sodden bastard.