I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Inactive” (2014).

As I mentioned, there are only four songs from Al’s new album that he didn’t make videos for.  The biggest surprise to me is that one of the songs is this parody of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (a song that, I’m not supposed to like but which I do).  Al’s parody is fantastic, but, given that it’s about being inactive (and is kind of gross) it would probably make for a very disturbing video.

The song begins sounding just like the original (of course) and we soon learn that the protagonist is, well, really inactive, (it makes me laugh that this song about inactivity is so upbeat and anthemic, although I think their “Woah oh ohs” are a bit more lethargic than the original.  I love how he spoofed the breathing-in section by saying he’s using his inhaler.

And then as with many of Al’s couch potato songs, this one gets into some funny details–he hates the show he’s watching but can’t reach the remote control, he’s growing cobwebs on his feet, etc.

The song ends “really inactive, not so attractive.”  It’s actually quite a depressing song, but strangely funny.  It’s also one of my favorite songs on a disc filled with favorites.

[READ: August 2, 2014] Token

Token was the final Minx book I read.  it was also coincidentally the final Minx book published.  I read it last because it was the hardest one to find (my library didn’t have it).  And that is a shame because it was easily the best book of the series.  I had complained earlier that there weren’t that many female authors in this series, so it was nice to see a female author and artist in this book.

Token is about Shira, a 15-year-old Jewish girl living in Miami Beach.  She is nerdy, she is overdeveloped (double D?) and yet unpopular.  The hot blonde girls make fun of her and she spends most of her time with her grandma and Aunt Minerva.  The popular girls even make a big point of disinviting her to their sweet 16s.  Shira’s 16th birthday is coming up, and it seems unlikely that she will have a big party at all.

Shira doesn’t mind all that much, because her dad is always kind to her and she and her old lady friends watch movies together and make her feel better about herself.   Although really that’s not a replacement for the kind of friends she wants.

Speaking of replacements. her father, a high-powered lawyer, has just started dating his secretary Linda (Shira’s mom is dead).  Shira and her dad have always been close, and she is suspicious of this new fling–she doesn’t understand the appeal of Linda (although Linda seems very nice).   Shira starts acting out a little which her father takes very badly.  But her father also starts breaking rules–encouraging Shira to eat an un-Kosher meal that Linda has made, for instance.

So Shira finds two outlets–shoplifting and a Spanish boy named Rafael.  Rafael is unappreciated in the area–lots of adult men seem very suspicious of him (no doubt because he looks Hispanic), but he proves to be very nice to Shira (although a bad influence, as he helps her to shoplift).

While shoplifting is a pretty common bad girl trait, in this case I enjoyed the way it was constructed that she just wants a token of her father’s affection–like the things he used to give her.  So she finds these tokens that she takes for herself.

The story ends with everything in flux as Shira and her family star a new chapter.  None of the little dramas in her life ended happily, but overall things are better. I really enjoyed the way this story interweaves the plots and characters.  And, more importantly I loved Jones’ drawing style.  She draws amazing faces, with expressive looks and reactions.  She has a very effective style–it actually reminds me a wee bit of the Disney style–men with big chins and girls with small noses.  And the eyes are somewhat Disney as well–especially when the characters are surprised and wide-eyed.  But there’s something a bit more realistic that moves the art away from the Disney realm, and I thought it was very nice to look at.

So, it is a shame that Minx ended its 12 book run, and I hope that other potential fans can find these good graphic novels.