I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: SUPERCHUNK-Tiny Desk Concert #309 (October 7, 2013).

I’ve been a fan of Superchunk for years and I was excited to hear this Tiny Desk Concert.  Superchunk is a band full of manic energy.  Sorta punk, sorta poppy but mostly just fast, catchy songs.  So I was a little surprised to see them play an acoustic set for this concert.

I appreciated some context for this show from the blurb:

 The North Carolina band got its start in 1989, and here it is in 2013, with a new record called I Hate Music that demonstrates an undying passion for punk-fueled story songs with catchy phrasing. The band recorded its 10th album with a lineup that has held for most of its history: Mac McCaughan on guitar and vocals, Laura Ballance on bass, Jim Wilbur on guitar and Jon Wurster on drums.

At the Tiny Desk and on tour, it’s a shame not to have Ballance in the fold — her hearing problem worsens on tour and in loud venues — though Jason Narducy fills in admirably here. This set in the NPR Music offices includes songs from I Hate Music and 2010’s Majesty Shredding, but the group also digs deep to perform a song from 1995’s Here’s Where the Strings Come In. All in all, it’s a joy to have Superchunk translate its electric sound to acoustic instruments in such an intimate way.

It’s fascinating to see Mac sing so close up—you’d never expect that voice to come from him.  “Out Of The Sun” is so mellow.  I have I Hate Music, but I don’t actually know the original very well.  “Digging For Something”  I know this song well. I like the original of this so much that I find the slower acoustic version a little less fun than the original rocking version.  And yet it is still supercatchy and fun.  I love that the drummer has his wallet on the drum head—muffling the snare?  “Animated Airplanes Over Germany” is a great fun old song, I was really surprised when they started playing it and it sounds great regardless of the speed.  “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo” is a fun catchy song from their news album and it is well served acoustically.  Although the song title is pretty odd and I never could figure it out.

I’ve never seen Superchunk live and I assume I never will, so while this is a good look at the band, it probably doesn’t really capture their full live show experience.

[READ: July 8, 2016] Chew: Volume Nine

Man do I like this series.  It is so gross and yet so compelling.  Book Nine covers issues 41-45.  And it features a lot of Poyo!

I hate reading these books so far apart because it takes me at least an issue to get up to speed and by the time I’m flowing with the story again, it ends!

Chapter 1 opens with The morning after in Las Vegas.  And as Tony Chu is being woken with news of an emergency, we see that he and Amelia are in the honeymoon suite having just gotten married.  Then we flash back to the day before at the FDA convention.  Chu is being hailed as a hero, except by Director Applebee (who still hates Chu).

And then we flash to a bar in which Tony & Amelia are drinking together and Applebee and Colby are drinking together.

Tony answers the phone and hopes to not have to go on assignment.  Why not send in Poyo! (he is on special assignment–double splash pages–vs Unisaurus Rex).

Tony is called downstairs where everyone is covered in deadly fudge.  And we meet Professor Anazani, the FDA’s lead Armavictologist–he deals with weaponized food.  But this attack is not from the egg cultists, it is from the Collector.  Tony quickly solves that case and is even more of a hero much to Applebee’s eternal consternation.  The final page ends with a hilarious surprise.

Chapter two opens with a series of talking heads.  Including one of my favorite jokes in the book  All of the cyberanimals “talk” about what they know in animal grunts and when the kangaroo comes up it says Moooo.* (*writer has no idea what kangaroos sound like).  Turns out a seal named Sammich Harper has been killed.  And Chu has been sent on assignment to find out by whom.  In the meantime Colby is attending a “family party.”

We flash to Chu’s assignment, where he is posing as a scientist (with an elaborate mask on).  We learn all about the potential criminal (and that Poyo!!! is on assignment vs The Quacken), but Chu has no time for this.  He’s supposed to be on his honeymoon.  And although Applebee has blocked out three weeks for this assignment, there’s no way he’s taking that long.

We flash back to the party where we see that Colby has invited old friend (and enemy) Savoy.  Working outside of the law to capture The Collector and maybe find the truth about the bird flu epidemic (remember that?).  As the discussion nears its end, we learn that Savoy has been training Chu’s daughter Olive for heavy combat–and she’s good too.

There’s an awesome interlude devoted to Poyo!!!  It shows the amazing things he has done lately for his country. He saved the President, was shrunk to microscopic levels and was given a huge parade.  But it wasn’t actually him at the parade.  It was a stand in, because the real Poyo!!! couldn’t be in a parade, he has work to do.  “Warrior Chicken Poyo” shows this extra special assignment to a magical fairyland, with ogres and trolls and psychopathic vegetables. It has excellent titles like The Lion, the Witch and the Watermelon and Gourd of the Rings.

Only one wizard could help–he couldn’t stop the genius behind the attacks, but he could call forth dozens of heroes from other dimensions (a wonderful “spot the hero” page is included).  But soon there were but six, uh, five, uh four.) there is only Poyo!!! left.  (I love that the joke in this story is that “this is just a legend” there is no such thing as a Cibomancer.  But there is no time to celebrate because Poyo!!! is off on another assignment: Undead Apocalypse Poyo!!!* *Not coming soon

Chapter 3 shows us what Olive has been up to (becoming the smartest kid in school by eating teachers’ apples and licking dictionary pages).  While Colby and Savoy are bringing Olive to fight the Collector, Colby tells us that Tony will not be happy that his daughter is involved. But once again, Tony has been put on a 3-week assignment over the death of a penguin agent (fuck that shit).

Olive has been using her powers better than her dad ever did and she absorbs everything from what she eats.  She is deadly. And for good measure, Colby has brought along Poyo!!! as well.  Olive proves herself (without Poyo!!!) and says she is ready.

But the final page of the chapter tells us She isn’t ready for what’s coming in Chapter 4

We see a brief history of the Collector’s ancestry.  And then there’s the fight with the Collector.  Caesar loses an arm.  Colby loses more of his face.  When all else fails they release Babycakes, a cyber squirrel.  And Applebee is…well… hurt as well.   Even Olive proves incapable of fighting him.

Where as Poyo!!! is al of this?  Fighting a dark dimension doppelgänger.

Then we flash back to Tony telling them to call off the fight–he has a vision from his dead sister Toni of when the fight will be won and it is not now.  But do they listen?  Obviously not.

Chapter 5 ends this arc.  We see Paneer Sharma from NASA trying to follow his beloved deceased Toni’s wishes by looking out for her brother.  But which one?  Chow Chu the celebrity chef?  Harold Chu the burlesque star or Tony Chu the Special Agent?

But then he saw what happened with the Collector.  And he rushes to the hospital to comfort Tony.  Sharma and his men from NASA decide to move in, and while they were too late to catch The Collector, they did save people’s lives.

As the story ends, there is a showdown between Tony and Colby–Tony is obviously pissed that they didn’t listen to him and put Olive’s life in danger. That ends their partnership and friendship.  Done.  And then we see Colby in a bar with Poyo!!!–getting dunk, getting angry and then doing the unthinkable.

What will Book ten bring???  Aside from more officially licensed Chew gear from SkeltonCrew Studio I hope.