I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: MOGWAI-EP +2 (1999).

There’s a fascinating release history behind this EP (which mostly means fans wind up with three copies of “Stanley Kubrick.”  First it came out as EP with 4 tracks (which I ordered on import).  Then it was released in the US as EP+2 with two songs from the Fuck the Curfew EP (which was not released in the US) and finally in 2000 it was reissued again as EP+6 with ten songs in total (compiling 1997’s 4 Satin, 1998’s No Education = No Future (Fuck the Curfew), and 1999’s EP–I didn’t buy this version because by then I had the original imports).

“Stanley Kubrick” is a slow burner with a great repeated mournful guitar.   It’s one of their best songs. “Christmas Song” is a slow, upbeat track with a very pretty melody.  “Burn Girl Prom Queen” opens with some really quiet guitar.  After about 90 seconds, a brass band kicks in adding amazing horns over the simple guitar melody.  It’s my favorite track on the disc.  “Rage: Man” is the first song on the album where Mogawai’s noise tendencies really come to the fore.  Once again, it’s a simple slow melody (with piano).  About two minutes in, the song is bombarded with noise guitars that take over the song but don’t obscure the melody.  There’s also a noisy guitar solo played over the noise.  Soon enough all the noise ends, and the simple, harmonic’d guitar comes back and the song ends peacefully.  It’s a great example of Mogwai dynamics.

The other two tracks, “Rollerball” and “Small Children in the Background” come from the other EP as I mentioned.  It’s odd to squeeze in songs from a different release, but Mogwai don’t sound terribly different on these early EPs, so these songs work well together.

Despite their length, Mogwai EPs are pretty uniformly wonderful.

[READ: June 1, 2011] Five Dials Number 8 bis

After publishing Five Dials Number 8, they quickly rushed out this addendum to the issue, which they’ve called Five Dials 8 bis.  According to the introduction: “The definition of ‘bis’ is a passage to be repeated, so here is a small bis for our eighth issue.”

It’s only 9 pages long and really only contains one long piece.  Primarily, this is a memento of their Paris-issue release party, which they held in Paris (duh).  The opening pages includes scans of postcards (“One of our volunteers waded into conversations and asked attendees to write down their own thoughts on Paris. We’ve reprinted five of our favourites.”)  The editor’s letter, which explains all about the party and this issue, is not credited to anyone, so I can’t so who is responsible.  [This lack of proper crediting is the one major flaw with this publication–just saying illustrations by, and then not saying which is whose, or not including the date of publication is maddening].

The big article is by Guy de Maupassant (translated by Siân Miles).

Before that, there is a cartoon titled “La Basca Part’!” which looks at a street scene (and is funny, but not hilarious).

GUY DE MAUPASSANT-A Parisian Affair
This was an enjoyable, if sad, story about a woman who desperately wants to do something “naughty.”  It opens with the narrator introducing the story with “Is there any keener sense known to man than a woman’s curiosity?”   The woman in question was very curious about Paris, and after years of doing nothing, finally hatches a plan to get her to the city.

When she arrives, the woman sees a famous writer haggling at an auction house.  The writer fails to buy an item, claiming it overpriced.  So the woman buys it from under his nose and then offers to give it to him if she can be with him all day.  He’s (understandably) freaked out by this, but she is very persistent,so he concedes.  The do everything together–meals, drinks and eventually bed.

When the next morning arrives, more than anything else, she is disappointed by the events of the previous day.

PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS

Illustrations by Marielle Durand, Baduade, and Leanne Shapton.  The final two pages include 4 color photos from the reading event.

This issue is a nice supplement (and a good excuse to read Maupassant).

The news feed updated me to the publication date of this issue.  There’s also a page of more illustrations from the issue’s artist.