I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: MOBY & KELLI SCARR-Tiny Desk Concert #58 (May 4, 2010).

This is the first of a few Tiny Desk Concerts that break with the format we’ve come to know.

For unclear reasons, there is a video for only one song from this show.  Although there is a full audio feed in which you can hear all of the songs that Moby and Kelli play.  This video is also filmed at night, which is quite different from their usual mid-morning showcase.  It is very dark outside and in the studio, which is also unusual.

The song that they play is “Gone to Sleep,” a song they created for Project Song.  The premise behind Project Song is to write, record and complete a song in 48 hours.  As inspiration, they used the word Sunday and a picture of a man in the woods with clouds for a head (Moby describes him as a pedophile from another dimension).

It’s quite a good song with a really catchy, very Moby chorus.  And the dark video is interesting to watch.

There’s audio where you can learn a bit more about Project Song and how they created their song.  But there’s also audio from the rest of their set, which features covers and Moby originals all done on acoustic guitar.

They play a fun, surprisingly light version of “Ring of Fire” (with audience participation on “trumpet solo”).  Then the do Moby’s “Pale Horses” which is quite nice in this stripped down version.  Their next cover is “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.”  They do an interesting take–it’s almost upbeat and folky, which is unusual.  He switches from “and the colored girls say” to “and everybody here says.”  He also tells a funny story about campaigning for John Kerry and playing that song and seeing Kerry’s wife act horrified and maybe a little turned on by the lyrics.

The final song is CSN&Y’s “Helpless.”  It’s a pretty, very different version from the original.  It’s a good set, especially for those who think of Moby as a more dancey artist.

[READ: June 21, 2015] Mercury

I really enjoyed this book by Hope Larson, one of my consistently favorite graphic novelists.

And this book may be one of her best.  The book drifts back and forth between two timelines in Nova Scotia.  The older timeline is 1859.  We meet the Fraser family living in a house on French hill.  They have just had a visitor, Asa Curry and he seems taken with their daughter Josey.

The modern timeline is set 150 years in the future.  The Fraser family until recently still lived on the property at French Hill.  A few years ago it burnt down and the survivors had to move.

The 1859 story has a black border while the contemporary story has a white one, it a subtle but very cool way of distinguishing the timelines.

Technically the story starts in 1400 with Native Americans and then Europeans settling the property.  But the plot begins in 2009 with Tara Fraser jogging.  She runs to her the remains of her old house and asks if it misses her.  We learn that it has been two years since she has been back because her mother moved to Alberta to work on the oil sands.

Then we flashback to the Fraser house in 1859. We meet Josey and Connie and a boy named John.  The girls are seeking someone to marry, and are unsure what their prospects are.  And then they see Asa, a stranger who they figure must be a peddler.  But after a dinner (with some very funny moments) he reveals that he has found gold on their property and wishes to excavate.  We also see that Asa has a necklace on a chain.

Back in the present, Tara’s aunt (she is staying with her aunt and uncle) pulls down a box of jewelry from Tara’s mom (they were holding it when the house caught fire, so it was spared).  They find the very necklace.  It looks vaguely like an eyeball.  She puts it on as a kind of good luck charm before heading back to school.

School is a weird place because people recognize her (she hasn’t changed that much) and wonder what she’s been up to.  But they also know about her house (and that for instance one boy’s family donated clothes and he saw her wearing one of his T-shirts).  But the new concern is that she looks an awful lot like an Asian boy named Ben (from behind anyhow–they both have short hair).  It turns out that when she meets Ben, they kinda like each other.

Back in 1859, things between Asa and Josey are heating up, although Josey’s mom wants nothing to do with him.  And of course, we don’t know what Asa is really up to.  Is he just looking to scam everyone?  And when he says that he loves Josey, can he be telling the truth?

Back in 2009, Tara has problems of her own.  Her mom might have a job lined up in Edmonton.  And if she does, it means that Tara will have to leave again.  She wants nothing more than to move back to her family farm, but they are really quite broke.

About mid way through the book we learn the secret of Asa’ necklace–it is like a divining rod for gold.  We learn this through Tara, when a friend loses her keys and the necklace nudges her towards it.

Josey’s story progresses along with some tragedies followed by some hope.  But there’s always those suspicious looks from Asa (Larson does an amazing job with this character–you never know quite what he is up to).

The storylines converge with some mystical elements (a Larson specialty) as one line gets darker and darker and another one seems to brighten a little bit.

This was a great story and, I’m being very selfish because I can’t wait for more from her.