I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE-Tiny Desk Concert #389 (September 8, 2014).

 I had an idea that Justin Townes Earle was a country singer.  Although I’m sure I’m conflating him with Steve Earle (his father) and Townes Van Zant (whom he’s named after).  But I realized I’d never heard him.  He’s more of a folk singer and he’s very charming.  He implies that he flew from Nashville just to play the show (“a quick trip just for y’all”) which gets an awww from the crowd) and like Trampled by Turtles and Jessica Lea Mayfield, he’s heading back home right after he’s done.  He also had his guitar maker send his guitar to him in DC so he didn’t have to travel with it.

He has an interesting percussive strumming style (he doesn’t use a pick) and he sings about love and loss.  The first song, “Burning Pictures” has a great line about how he doubts you even remember your love’s name since it’s another girl in the picture frame.

“When The One You Love Loses Faith In You” is a bit more bluesy sounding.  He picks some melodic notes between full-fingered strums.

Amazingly, he seems like he might quit after just two songs.  Bob asks him to do one more–doesn’t have to be new–it can be one he loves.  His favorite so that he ever wrote was “White Gardenias” (for Billie Holiday).  He says it feels like he’s about to miss the beat as he’s starts singing–which scares the shit out of a rhythm section.

Before beginning, while tuning, he says he has to learn a lot of his old songs for the upcoming tour.  Bob asks if he listens to the records, and he laughs and says he Googles the songs, which is just so ridiculous.  Bob asks if he illegally downloads them but he says no he just streams them.

“White Gardenias” is a lovely song with beautiful lyrics although I don’t really get that Billie Holiday vibe from it.

[READ: July 22, 2016] The Lost Colony 2

The inside cover of book 2 gives a little summary of book 1 (which is helpful). It also give s little recap of all of the main characters (which all series should do, frankly).

I loved that book 2 also starts with someone asking “where the %#!* are we,” it’s a man and a very large woman.  They also convinced Fud’na (the screeching violin playing guardian of the ferry) to ferry them to the island.  The large woman reveals that she is wearing a  stars and stripes dress which is very tacky.  But more importantly, she is a singer herself (almost as bad as Fud’na perhaps).

As the bok opens, Louis the slave boy is being set upon by the rocks bugs (although we dont know why).  He is recused by Jo’Pa an Indian who lives on the island (it is rumored that he used to be a real savage Injun).  And there’s Birdy, she is dressed as Squinto, compete with feather and bow and arrow.

Then we meet the Snodgrass family and Birdy’s heretofore unmentioned Gramdy, a cantankerous old man (who is her mother’s father). Turns out that Grandy hates the Injuns and is very mad that Birdy is dressed like one. “We’re at war with the Indian, dont you know they’re evil.”

While that situation is being resolved, the strangers come to meet the mayor.  The mayor is dismissive until he realizes that the stranger is a fellow war profiteer planning to make big money off of the name of Johnny Crevasse (a war hero so popular he has a comic book written for him).

When Stewart (Dr. Wong’s huge henchman) sees the big-bosomed woman, he immediately tries to flirt with her, but she wants nothing to do with him (we’ll find out why later).  For right now she is there to make some money singing about America and Johnny Crevasse.  About midway through the book we see an old-fashioned looking comic of Johnny Crevasse (I love that Klien did this).

At some point in the festivities, Jo’pa asks why the singing woman is really a man pretending to be a woman, which gets Stewart really mad, and which leads to a fight and a very dramatic conclusion.

Meanwhile, Grandy and the Mayor (his son-in-law) are out hunting buffalo (I love the look of the buffalo–like beasts draped with carpet).  The trip is very awkward.  The Mayor is quite afraid of the bossy old man who says “my daughter didn’t marry no wimpy chimpy, did she chunko?”

Back on the island we learn a bot about Louis’ adoptive father.  At one point Louis cut off the man’s queue (and his pride) and was nearly flayed alive.  So he fled and that’s when he was caught and sold as a slave).

And then we return to the hunting trip to see what Mayor Snodgrass was really up to.  He has fixed up Rex’s metal man and proposed that he be a soldier–an iron solider to save the lives of our own men.  Well, this pisses off Grandy something fierce–he turns pink he is so mad.  He is already furious  about the Indian problem on the island.  And he plans to do something about it–Mayor be damned.

Thing come to a head when the truth about the Johnny Crevasse players  comes out and Jo’Pa reveals himself to be an Indian.  When Grandy plans to do something  bout it he is attacked.  And no one is exactly sure what just happened but everyone saw what happened.

I loved that the rock bugs became more prominent in this story even if they don’t speak English and their motives are, once again, peculiar to say the least.

Book 2 ends with a forthcoming note for book 3

While helping Doctor Wong investigate the islands mysteries, Birdy unleashes the terrible but tantalizing secret about her family.  And Louis in the only one who can save her.

Meanwhile Olympia once again breaks the code of secrecy by inviting her old confident Buck Swagger to the island to minister over her mourn.  This dreadful mistake will cost her dearly and spark Patricia’s newfound wrath.

How exciting!