I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Backspacer(2009).

In 2009, Pearl Jam came out with Backspacer, a 36 minute album of short songs (most are under 3:30, with three approaching the 4 minute mark).

It’s tempting to call this a return to form, but the songs have a lot more bite and punch than the tracks on Ten (which were fast, but were often quite long with lengthy guitar solos).  Overall, the album feels like a fun album, a good chance to let their hair down (those who still have any) and rock out.  And on the opening four tracks they rock really hard.

“Gonna See My Friend” is a furious blast (and the guitar solos are tucked into the verses for maximum expediency).  “Got Some” slows the pace incrementally, and there are some interesting sparse sections where just the guitar plays.  “The Fixer” has a catchy “yeah yeah yeah” bridge which seems like a perfect fit for concerts.  And “Johnny Guitar” is another hard rocker, but it features a mid section that is a major departure from the other songs: a quiet section with bass and scratchy guitars.  It lasts but a moment but it lets you know the whole album won’t be heavy and furious..

Because even though the disc seems like it’ll be all punk, “Just Breathe” is a mellow acoustic song that sounds like it came from Vedder’s soundtrack for Into the Wild–complete with strings.  “Among the Waves” starts out similarly mellow, although it has some big choruses, and sounds like the most typical Pearl Jam song.  And “Unthought Known” is kind of a mix of these two–a big arena song with pianos, swelling verses and a guitar solo

But just when you think the rest of the album is going to just mellow out, “Supersonic” rips the pace back up.  It’s a fast rock song not unlike “Spin the Black Circle”.  Then there’s a return to the mellower songs (despite the title) with “Speed of Sound.” It starts off with an interesting minor chord progression, but returns to the upbeatness of the rest of the disc for the choruses.

“Force of Nature” introduces a wah-wah (!) and a killer chorus.  And the last song “The End” is a gentle acoustic guitar song (like “Just Breathe”) which ends the disc on a quiet note.  This isn’t a classic album, but it is good and it’s a lot of fun.  And it has a bunch of songs which will remain concert staples for a number of years.  And for those who like Pearl Jam’s poppier side, it’s an intriguing re-introduction to the band who has been out of the spotlight for some time.

[READ: January 13, 2011] The Guild: Vork

I love The Guild.  It’s a very funny and very clever show.  I also enjoyed the first comic book, especially when it turned out to be not a retelling of the show, but a sort of prequel to it.  This issue is a one-shot that focuses on Vork (played by co-author Jeff Lewis).

And in the way of One-Shots, this story is a cute and fairly amusing story about Vork’s home life.  Vork lives with his grandfather, a ninety-something year old guy who is full of vices (smoking, drinking, porn) and who lives his late years to the fullest (there’s a very funny scene of him at a rave).  His grandfather stresses Vork out to no end and he winds up taking it out on his Guild-mates (even more than usual).  And they’ve basically had it with him.  So they ask him, no tell him, to get out of the Guild. 

Vork is shocked, but quickly recuperates and starts his own Guild, a solo Guild but with 6 Vork-like characters.  I would have rather enjoyed watching Vork try to work his Guild.  In the book they show him trying to use 6 machines at once.  I would have also liked to meet the different characters he created for himself–the über Guild, no doubt.  Seeing all that wouldn’t work in the comic (too space-consuming), so I’m glad they didn’t put it in, but it would have been really funny to see in the Show.

The book itself is not as original as most of the rest of The Guild plots.  I mean, the horny old grandpa is practically a sitcom staple.  They do have some fun within the confines of that character (I like the store Huge Amountasaurus).  But most of the fun comes with the interaction with the other characters (which is really the heart of the show after all).

I look forward to more issues of The Guild (and I have to watch Season 4 one of these days too!).