I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: SUPERCHUNK-Superchunk (1990).

Some time ago, I reviewed all of the Superchunk EPs.  After progresing to their most current music, returning to their first album is a bit of a shock.  Superchunk’s first full length album is incredibly raw, with lots of screaming (two vocalists at once, even) and a very grungy attitude.  It has a DIY aestethic, in keeping with the undeground scene at the time.

The first four songs fly past in a pretty quick blur of adrenaline (the longest is just over 3 minutes).  The fifth song, the aptly named “Slow” slows things down and strecthes things out with a five minute track of slow distorted chords and a long solo.

Of course, the pinnacle comes with the next song “Slack Motherfucker” one of the best grunge anthems of all time. 

The last four tracks speed things up again with the bratty attitude that Superchunk is so good at (see especially “Down the Hall”).  But it’s not all just blistering speed.  The band has some dynamics down and there are a couple of tempo changes as well.

The album is a lot of fun to listen to, especially if you’re lookig for grunge before it became Grunge.  Although there’s very little indication that they would become the indie superstars that they eventually became you can clearly hear proto-Superchunk chunks–Mac’s voice is as it ever was and the noise is present but not overpowering.  There are even hints of melody (although nothing as catchy as later albums).  And yet for all that it sounds like a criticism, the album is really quite solid.

[READ: June 15, 2011] The Hollow Planet

Yes, THAT Scott Thompson, from The Kids in the Hall.  I found out about this comic book from my good friend Jessee Thorne at The Grid.

The backstory is that Scott Thompson had been working on this story for years and years.  He imagined it as a movie (starring him, of course).  When that didn’t pan out, he decided to sell it is a comic book.  And while he was recovering from cancer, he worked on it extensively with Kyle Morton–character likenesses and whatnot.  And now we have a cartoon rendering of Scott Thompson!

This story focuses on Scott’s character Danny Husk…

The book opens with Danny and his wife and kids at a carnival.  After a few moments, Danny’s son gets lost on the merry-go-round.  In the next scene we see just how much his wife is estranged from him (she may even be cheating on him), and how little his daughter thinks of him.  Soon after, Danny goes to work, inserts a disc into his laptop and more or less brings down his company.

So far nothing out of the oridnary for this type of  story–henpecked husband on a quest for revenge that he doesn’t know he wants yet.

Then Danny visits with his old friend Steve.  They talk, they bond over Danny’s concern about his wife.  And Danny feels better.  Until he gets home.  After a scene which I won’t spoil, the story suddenly takes off with a high speed car chase (no kidding) and with Danny entering the titular hollowness of the planet.

The bulk of the story is set within this hollow land,where a totally hairless (yes, everywhere) Danny is held prisoner.  In this hollow earth, he meets a fascinating cast of characters: a troll (who is basically his cellmate/helper), a blue giant named Ashabali (she is really big) and a very small giant named Hoblygall (he’s the same height as Danny), there’s even a super-hot scantily-clad elf-type woman nammed Killa.  There’s also a group of people who appear human enough: Prince Apted and his parents, and stable master Tondi (who can speak with a mastodon!)

And so basically, Danny Husk has fallen into an old world in which regicide may be afoot and all manner of violence is at hand.  When he relaizes that his own life is in danger, he starts helping out the assorted cast and (as the cover depicts), he becomes a sword weilding fighter (once his moustache grows back of course).

The story is funny and there’s some good excitement to it as well.  The ending of the story sets up things in a fascinating way for not a possible sequel (I wouldn’t think), but for imagining what is to come.  I was delighted with how enjoyable this story was.  And the artwork is really good as well.

And just as a caveat: as with anything by Thompson, sex is never far from the mind, or the eye.  There’s nothing explicit, but there’ a lot that’s more than implied (most of it comic).  And, of course, with Thompson, you can be sure there’s at least some bisexual characters as well. 

I just read that there are plans for two more books in the series. Well how about that!

And here’s two parts of Danny’s trip to ComicCon.

Part Two (the more exciting part):