SOUNDTRACK: TOOL-“Some Days It’s Dark” (2007).
I recently learned that Tool performed this cover of a song from The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy live.
In the movie Bruce McCullough’s character Grivo’s band Death Lurks plays this very heavy song (written by Craig Northey and performed by Odds). Lyrically it’s amusingly Dark
Some days it’s dark
Some days I work
I work alone
I walk aloooooooone.
Tool is considered to be one of the most intense metal bands out there with fans taking them very Seriously. So the fact that they covered this song (in Toronto) is fantastic.
The cover is great (of course). They get the sound of the original right on, especially when the big heavy part kicks in. The only problem I would say is Maynard’s delivery. It’s a little too deadpan, I’d like it to be a but more over the top. But maybe that wouldn’t be Maynard’s way.
You can hear it (no video) here.
There’s no word on if they also played “Happiness Pie.”
[READ: January 27, 2020] Extra Credit
When a beloved (and award winning) series nears its end, it is time to put out early and special features collections. Usually they come once the series has ended, but this one has come early. Whereas Early Registration was a good collection of early material, this collection is a bit more haphazard.
It collects some Christmas specials and some early “comic strips” from Allison. Given this seeming completest nature of this collection, I can’t imagine that there’s another volume planned.
The first story is called “What Would Have Happened if Esther, Daisy and Susan Hadn’t Become Friends (and it was Christmas).” It’s the 2016 Holiday issue drawn by Lissa Treiman.
We zoom in on DAY-ZEE on “the edge of the boundless sweep of space” as she zooms in one the title question. [It’s important to read Early Registration first as this story references that story].
Esther didn’t help Daisy move in on that first day. Esther was immediately grabbed by the popular girls. They are sitting under a tree playing music on their phones which wakes up Susan who curses them out.
The popular girls take Esther out for drinks and more drinks until she crashes at like 4 am. The same mean girls pick on Daisy (Lollipop) by dumping traffic cones in front of her door. It’s only the second time this week though so maybe they are losing interest. Then we see McGraw (with a full beard) come to her rescue “someone could easily fall down an unmarked hole.”
McGraw also gives Daisy a small tree for Christmas. She thanks him then ignores him, much to his dismay. As soon as she puts it down in her dorm, it is stolen. She is so upset, she has to put on Enya (the Winter Feelings album) to sooth herself. This freaks out Susan–she yells “what you are doing is morally wrong!”
Apparently Susan is dating Ed Gemmell (how did that happen?) but is not very nice to him. Ed sees McGraw in a cafe. He knows that Susan knew him from before school and tells his friend Steve that McGraw is “a very well-disguised Satan.” So when McGraw returns Ed’s dropped wallet, Steve can only mutter “Satan moves in Mysterious ways.”
The next day Ed is talking To Esther. It is very clear hat he has a crush on her so the popular girls run up and pants him. And then take a picture of him.
Susan is furious when she sees the picture (taped on the wall) and goes on the warparth. But she needs backup so she knocks on Daisy’s door looking for a brief truce with the Enya monster. When Susan asks if Daisy wants to be friends, Daisy is so grateful, Susan realizes, “I’ve been waging war through a wall of the most gentle person in the world.”
They decide to ask Esther to be a spy on the mean girls (Susan recognizes a weak link in Esther).
They hatch a plan to have the popular girls fight with each other at the big dance. It’s complicated and funny, but it fails to work. especially once McGraw gets involved.
He saves the day but it infuriates Susan.
Then we pull back and see why Daisy has been DAY ZEE all this time–she got hit on the head by a box.
Happy Holidays!
The second book in the collection is called “How the Fishman Despoiled Christmas” and it drawn by Canaan Grail.
It is set on December 23 at Esther’s house. Esther has been sent to pick up the family’s festive yuletide turkey. She waits on line for an ungodly amount of time and then finally gets the bird. On the way out she runs into her friend Shelley Winters (who will appear more in a later chapter). But while they are talking someone steals the turkey right out of her hands.
She quickly runs down the thief and it is a fish creature. This creature is Desmond Fishman and he was apparently a regular in Allison’s in the previous series Scary Go Round.
Esther invites him back to her house for a delightful(ly weird) meal. This also explains why Esther’s dad burnt the living room carpet in an earlier book.
Up next is “Love/ Ack, Shelly!”
This story is drawn by Jenn St-Onge. I love her beautiful style of illustration–everyone is drawn with soft colors and in relatively realistic style. But it is so different from the others!
In the story, Susan Esther and Daisy decide to visit Esther’s fiend Shelly Winters in London. Her flat is amazing–luxurious, all amenities–the thread count is off the charts, “this place is just one big hashtag life goal.”
Unfortunately Esther and Daisy are rather like rubes in the big city. Esther’s phone gets pickpocketed, but Susan is there to take the thief down.
Shelly works at the Ministry of History (I love this job). Esther wants to know all about Shelly’s job but Shelly can’t say what she does exactly. A co-worker, Sid, is filming Shelly (and now Esther) for a documentary.
But this holiday story is all about love. Shelly has three suitors. There’s Grant, a sexy guy with a motorbike who does as Susan puts it “level 5 mansplaining.” There’s also Cecil, a guy who lives in her building who is nerdy and adorable. Then of course Esther believes that Sid is making the documentary just so he can watch pictures of Shelly.
The trio want to help Shelly find love but they all agree that Grant is a tool. When Shelly says Grant is getting serous they hatch a plan to turn the serious romantic date into a disaster. It involves a cat (Shelly is allergic) and somehow the tablecloth catching on fire. Grant flees the scene, but luckily Cecil is nearby to help put out the fire.
The end become a showdown of three men vying for the affection of their loves. With a nice twist ending that recalls Love Actually.
“Fridge Raider” is an early comic done by Allison with his original drawing style in it. Susan, Esther and Daisy realize that someone has been stealing their food. It’s only three page story and the suspect is quickly found but it’s got some good humor to it.
The next short one is called “Music is Important.” Their friend Kully is supposed to be playing a show for a reviewer form The Wire. But the opening act has bailed and hes afraid they’ll cancel the show. So our heroines decide to help out (even though none of them know anything about music). They ask Ed to join them but he afraid to do anything on stage So the ladies try to cobble some music together. They call themselves Crimson Tsunami and manage to make music that Susan is 80% sure does not sound like Extreme’s “More than Words.” They finish their set to applause from two people (which wasn’t the validation they wanted)
Kully’s The Numerical Meritocracy is up and their music is nothing but noise and flinging pig blood on each other. The critics love it.
The final section is a series of 4 panel comic strips about Shelley and her job at the Ministry of History. I’m not sure if they come from Scary Go Round or not.
The piece is called “Destroy History!” and in it Shelley is sent back in time to help Hedy Lamarr give technological brilliance to the right people.
Shelley is given a Nemulon unit (which hilariously turns into a “Steampunk nightmare robot”) and before she can change her mind she is sent into the past. Nemulon says her current success projection is 4.8%.
Shelley locates Hedy Lamarr and tries to help her. But Lamarr is presently only interested in going to her endocrinologist to make her boobs bigger.
Desperate, Shelley shows Lamarr’s contact a keytar and promises its the future of music.
The ending is pretty funny. Shelley does succeed but the military ignore her work (just like in real life).
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