I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: MOSES SUMNEY-Tiny Desk Concert #678 (November 29, 2017).

I had never heard of Moses Sumney before this show.  And the blurb seems to anticipate this:

If you don’t know this Los-Angeles-based force of nature, and haven’t heard him on tour with James Blake or Sufjan Stevens or perhaps on albums by Beck or Solange, then this is your chance to watch one of the most thoughtful talents of today as he makes music that is outside the box but easy to relate and connect to.

I’m very curious to know what he did with Beck.

I found Moses’ voice to be mesmerizing–a gorgeous soaring falsetto that he seemed to effortless get to rise higher and higher.  But beyond that, the blurb talks about his lyrics:

Moses Sumney puts a great deal of thought into the heartfelt music he creates. On his debut album, Aromanticism, he was inspired by everything from the works of Plato and Aristophanes’ account of the origin of humanity to the Bible, particularly Genesis and the story of creation. It’s all in an attempt to understand human relationships and the sorts of couplings we tend to be drawn to.

He plays 3 songs in the 20 minute time frame.  I wanted to describe the first song, but Bob’s description is too good:

The concert opens up with Moses not behind my desk, but at the piano we keep in our office. As his team of sax, harp and guitar players set up, Moses sat at the piano and began to play “Doomed.” He had instructed the band, which had already perched behind my desk 40 or so feet away, to create a transition for him to walk from piano to desk, continuing one of the most inspired 8-minute stretches I’ve witnessed here at the Tiny Desk.

So he plays the pretty piano melody and sings with those gorgeous falsetto vocals for about a minute and a half.  Then he strolls (in his cape) to the desk.  He activates some looping pedals.  He plays a beat on the microphone and then Sam Gendel plays a cool modified sax solo.  After 2 minutes of set up, he sings again.  The beats are in full and Brandee Younger is playing some simple gorgeous harp and Mike Haldeman has some echoed guitar on top.  Meanwhile, Sam has switched to a synth and Moses is also playing some kind of synth.  The song builds beautifully and he sings in a  higher and higher register.  It starts to sound otherworldly with the harp and his voice and the loops going faster and faster.  And then the wall of noise abruptly ends and the final minute is delicate and lovely.

He introduces the band and then says “we’re going to keep making noise.”  And then “hopefully no one’s printer goes off” (wonder if that happened).

“Quarrel” opens with him looping his own voice and then playing it faster and faster so it sound like a skipping CD.  Sam has picked up a guitar to pluck out notes (the head of his guitar is fascinating and I want to see it better).  Throughout the song Moses hits that looped vocal section for one or two seconds to add texture–it’s pretty cool.  The mix of that harsh(ish) electronic sound and the angelic harp is wonderful.

For the final song, “Plastic,” he removes his cape.  Everybody else leaves and he says “I want to make more room… for me!”  He picks up a guitar and says, “This is the end.  The bitter end.  Although for some of you, it will be sweet because it’s ending.”  It’s interesting how self-deprecating he is when his voice is so gorgeous.

This final song is much more jazzy with him playing interesting chords and singing to the guitar.  Overall it’s a bit less exciting than the other songs possibly because the last minute or so is just him repeating the line “my wings are made of plastic.”

But overall, Moses Sumney really impressed me with this set.  Right up to the end where he sinks slowly below the desk, to much laughter.

[READ: March 6, 2017] Wade and the Scorpion’s Claw

The Copernicus Legacy is a four book series.  But, in an interesting diversion, there are also two “extra” books inserted between the first two.  They are smaller and do not exactly affect the continuity of the main story, but they seem to delve into one character a little further (and there is some plot advancement).

Interestingly, Book One of the main series ends with Kaplans and their friends leaving Guam for New York.  The second book of the series opens with them in New York.  But this book, the first of the The Copernicus Archives, takes place between Guam and New York.  The big difference is that unlike the main books, this is told entirely from Wade’s Point of view.

En route to New York, the family has to stop in Hawaii.  They are in the airport for a while and they trust no one.  They are waiting for the flight to San Francisco when there are two notable people in the airport around them.  There’s a German man (you can tell by his shoes, Lily whispers) in a leather coat.  The kids don’t trust him and call him Leathercoat.  And then there’s a Chinese man doing acrobatics and other tricks to amuse some children while they wait.

Despite Roald’s warning that the kids should never separate, Wade winds up going to the bathroom by himself.  Leathercoat is there.  He reveals a bit–that Galina Krause and her people know everything about them–that they have access to all kinds of technology and that he himself is sent to do whatever he wants to them–he has been given, carte blanche.  But he is not interested in harming Wade or his family… yet.

They get on the flight and make sure that Leathercoat is not on the plane.  Wade is next to a Chinese man who seems polite, mentions the protocol of talking to your seatmates.  But when Wade says that they should both sleep, they do.  And when they land, Wade discovers that this man is now dead.

Later Wade learns that the man slipped something into Wade’s pocket–a jade tile.

Bad snow in New York means they have a layover in San Francisco for the night. So they bring the jade to the Asian Art Museum.  The curator recognizes it immediately (they show her a tracing of the jade) and everyone learns it was part of a jade spice box.  There is writing in the box which the kids are able to translate.  It is a clue.

But while they are in the museum, it is attacked. They have been followed by Galina’s Star Warriors (I enjoyed that name, even if it is accurate since they throw ninja stars).  Turns out the acrobat at the airport has been following them as well and he is able to intercept the warriors before something bad happens to everyone.

The man, Feng Yi, proves to be a huge boon to them all.  He takes them to a friends restaurant where they get some food and are able to decompress while they talk about everything that has happened.  But Wade isn’t so sure about this h–everything about him seems too convenient.

And that’s when the Star Warriors attack the restaurant. Everyone flees.  Then they run into Leathercoat again. And some truths are revealed–Neither Feng Yi nor Leathercoat can be trusted–not even to each other.

All of this comes down to the titular Scorpion.  It is a jade scorpion. Five were made.  One is the real article that will be a part of the Copernicus machine.  The other four are decoys. Who will risk his or her life for this clue?

I wondered how this book, which was pretty exciting in itself, could exist without impacting the second novel–I mean, if they found a new clue, how would the second full length novel explain it?  They landed in New York but just happened to have gotten something else along the way?

Well, Abbott does a great thing with this novella–he fills in some background and adds new details but nothing that will run anything in book two.

One would not read this book without the main books, but at the same time you don’t need to read this to enjoy the series.  It also lets us get into the mind of one of the characters a little bit more.