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Archive for the ‘Bryan Lee O’Malley’ Category

Bryan Lee O’Malley–Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (vol. 1)

Posted in Adventure, Books about music, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Oni Press, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sex Bob-omb, Short Books, Sonic Youth, Supernatural, Threats, Video Games, Violence, YA Books on August 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

pilgrimSOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH -SYR 1 Anagrama (1997).

syr1

After Washing Machine, Sonic Youth began recording a series of EPs (that gradually grew into longer discs) in which they explored their improvisation/longer piece needs.

And so SYR1 was released.

It contains for tracks and runs about 25 minute.  It’s not simply guitar feedback or waves of distortion.  Rather it is songs built around themes which are followed to their logical ends.

Thee EPs aren’t for everyone. There’s no lyrics, there’s no choruses.  It’s sort of like how the end of “The Diamond Sea” was a chance for SY to let loose and see what happened. I can’t even say that the songs and motifs are necessarily memorable (although I’m led to believe that some have cropped up on the proper albums).  I don’t listen to these a lot, but they are fun to put on from time to time, if you’re in an avant garde mood.

[READ August 9, 2009] Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

I had read this book a few years ago.  But I had read it in bits and pieces over several weeks, and so I didn’t feel like I had a real grasp of the story.  This is especially true because the story begins simply enough and then turns into a wild hallucinogenic story that is very funny, very very funny, in fact, but also incredibly surreal.

When I was at BEA in New York this year I ran into the guy from Oni Press who told me that they are making a film of Scott Pilgrim, which is pretty fantastic.  I’m rather looking forward to seeing it.  But because there are so many interesting visual things going on in th graphic novel, I can’t help but wonder how they will transform them.  And also, Book 6 of this series may be written with a different ending from the film, so that should be fun, too.

But speaking of the visuals….

O’Malley’s style is utterly fascinating.  When I first started reading, I felt like the artwork was “sloppy” in that sort of stylized sloppiness that people take some time to achieve.  (I think mostly this is because of the character’s eyes.  They are a refined sort of manga but the pupils are so large that i found it disconcerting.)  But when reading it through this time, I realized not only is it not sloppy, it is meticulously designed in a very cool way.  Take Scott’s hair, which is commented about through the series.  I’m not going to go and spout on about how long he must have spent getting his hair just right, but clearly there was effort and planning in the length and style, even if it is primarily drawn with a  few broad triangles. (more…)

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Hope Larson–Gray Horses (2006)

Posted in Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Foreign Books, Graphic Novel, Hope Larson, Oni Press, Propagandhi, Set at School, The Weakerthans, Universities on June 18, 2008| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: THE WEAKERTHANS-Left and Leaving (2000).

The Weakerthans are an interesting band from Winnipeg. They were formed by the founding one of the members of Propagandhi, a fantastic, very political punk band. And it’s clear that even though the sound of the Weakerthans is very different, the tone is quite similar. John Samson writes wonderfully literate lyrics (these are not overtly political as in Propagandhi, but nor are they apolitical either).

I found out about these guys with Reunion Tour, (their most recent release) and I decided to fill in the back catalog. The single from this album, “Aside” features a faster style (more rocking, less introspective) than the rest of the album, and is consequently, my favorite song. The rest of the album slows down quite a bit. It’s a great chance to really listen to the lyrics, and get absorbed in the music. I often don’t have opportunities to do this, (especially when driving), so the record loses something for me. However, Samsons’ vocals are always clear, which allows you to catch a great line even if you’re not paying attention.

[READ: June 10, 2008] Gray Horses

This was a fantastic book. That’s all there is to say about it. (more…)

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Lost at Sea (2006)

Posted in Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, David Bowie, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, NPR/PRI/PBS, Oni Press, Short Books, Sirius Radio, Universities, YA Books on June 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK–SIRIUS RADIO

We bought Sirius Radio for my mother-in-law a couple years ago. One day we found the radio safely unplugged and tucked away in the closet, so we took it home with us. We tune it in from time to time, and in general have found it to be quite enjoyable. I’ve made some very specific observations though:

1) Narrowcasting can REALLY limit your selection. Man, some of those stations you can hear the same artist 3 times in two hours. Not the same song, which is nice, but quite often the same artist. And, you can usually tell which artists were doing the ads for it way back when…hi David Bowie, I’m looking at you.

2) Sometimes the channels try to be so unique, that they’re actually just irritating. The Coffeehouse channel, which is overall pretty good, is constantly playing rare live versions or, worse yet, cover versions of the songs that you actually want to hear.

3) The Canadian channels are quite fun, especially The Iceberg. Its a good way to get exposure to bands that you don’t hear very often down here.

4) As with cable TV, there are hundreds of channels but almost none that I will listen to. There’s 10 program channels you can set, and we filled 9 of them. And yet, despite all the variety, there’s no prog rock channel! I put in a request for one, so we’ll see.

5) DJs on Sirius are just as irritating as on commercial radio. I’m glad they’re there, but why must they all be so vacuous? I mean, the cool alternative channel, which plays great music, actually gives us updates that it calls the “Daily DL.” Come on!

6) Overall, it’s a pretty good idea. But we listen to CDs and NPR (NPR on Sirius is just not the same) more often than not.

[READ: June 8, 2008] Lost at Sea

I received a shipment of comics from Oni Press. I don’t get to see many of their books at the store, so I have to order them online. Anyway, I was somewhat taken aback by how this shipment was filled with books that were so similar in style. I realized that I don’t typically judge a graphic story by the content but more by the art style…which may not be such a bad thing really. (more…)

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