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Archive for the ‘Authors’ Category

J. Torres & J. Bone–The Collected Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures 2 (2005)

Posted in Adventure, Boredom, Children's Books, Egyptology, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, J. Bone, J. Torres, Marriage Trouble, Nazis, Pirates, Portlandia, Religion, Short Books on February 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

alsion1SOUNDTRACK: THE DOUBLECLICKS-Pirates!  The PPDXYAR EP (2012).

pdxyarI wanted to explore more of The Doubleclicks’ music, and their site showed off this EP.  It was made for Talk Like a Pirate Day (you’re already sold, right?) and EP is a tribute to the Portland Pirate crew of PDXYAR (whatever that is).  The first song is “The Pirates of PDXYAR highlights what I’ve come to understand is the real Doubleclicks sound: ukulele and cello.  But this one also has a host of backing vocals (make and female).  The song is all about the pirates of PDXYAR and how they came to be and how the represent Portland.

The second song “How Not to Touch a Pirate” is a simpler song which insists that, tempting as it may seem, you should NOT be touching any of the pirates (this seems like a real inside joke).  Its amusing and would probably be funnier if I knew more about PDXYAR.  And oops, this song even has an F-bomb at the end–watch out!

The final track is a remix of “The Pirates of PDXYAR, ”  And mostly it allows more funny backing vocals.  It’s a better, funnier track because of it.

I’m not sold on The Doubleclicks yet.  I like them, but I think more in small doses.

So it turns out that PDXYAR is a Portland-based pirate crew, which you can read about on their website.  The lyrics to the song seem to explain  the origins of the pirates (kickstarter).  Frankly, I don’t know why the pirates (and the Doubleclicks) haven’t appeared on Portlandia yet.

[READ: February 7, 2013] Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures 2

Volume 2 of Alison Dare is just as fun as Volume 1.  Although I admit the first story was a little confusing (I was never really sure exactly how these books were published originally, so it wasn’t clear that the first few stories were connected.  Although in retrospect it seems obvious enough.

In the first story, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” it’s obvious that Alison doesn’t have much in the way of the excitement that girls expect from her.  So she makes up an elaborate story which all of the girls (except her two close friends) find wonderful   In “The Unbelievable Truth” we see what really happened (and we see that Alison’s story wasn’t far off, but that details make all the difference).

In “The Perfect Gift” the Blue Scarab (aka Alison’s dad) searches for the perfect gift for his daughter.  But that proves harder than he thought, especially when she accidentally takes a precious jewel that he has recovered in a mission.  In “A Day at the Museum” the girls open something they shouldn’t and unleash a plague.  This ties to the previous story in an unexpected way.  And in “The Gift Exchange” the previous two stories come together for a satisfying conclusion. (more…)

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Hergé–Tintin: The Blue Lotus (1936) [translated 1983]

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Culture Shock, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Hergé, Kids Corner, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, Racism, The Doubleclicks, Translation, Travel on February 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

TintinLotusSOUNDTRACK: THE DOUBLECLICKS-“The Internet National Anthem” (2012).

inatThe Doubleclicks are a sister duo from Portland, Oregon.  They are nerdy and fun (perhaps we can think of them as non-accordion, female They Might be Giants?).  Take “The Internet National Anthem”,” a song  with a steady four/four beat, cellos and  a suitably anthemic chorus, that’s all about the internet.

I was introduced to this band from Kid’s Corner, although I feel that perhaps their songs aren’t really for kids (not that they’re inappropriate but they seem more sophisticated than a typical kids song.  Like this song has big words and it is quite funny.  Although in all honesty it’s not laugh out loud funny, just mildly funny.  It’s got the vibe of Garfunkel and Oates, but not the big guffaws.

Check out their albums here .

[READ: February 8, 2013] The Blue Lotus

This third (technically fifth) Tintin book is the continuation of Cigars of the Pharaoh.  One of the characters from Pharaoh returns in this book, despite the fact that it is set in China.  This book also continues with Hergé’s having it both way in terms of other races.  His drawings are caricaturey and depending on your sensibilities/appreciation for drawing skills/tolerance are either really racist or simply in poor taste (although it does seem to be that the bad characters of other races are the most offensive–the good people are less crazy).

But despite the visual insensitivity, there are several section where Hergé explicitly talks about tolerance and understanding between races.  Like when Tintin saves the young Chinese boy, Chang, who says he thought all white devils were wicked.  Tintin explains that white people believe stupid things about Chinese people too  (eating rotten eggs, tons of unwanted babies in their rivers, etc.).  Chang says “They must be crazy people in your country).  As it turns out (quoting Wikipedia ), “The Blue Lotus is a pivotal work in Hergé’s career, moving away from the stereotype and loosely connected stories and marking a new-found commitment to geographical and cultural accuracy. The book is also amongst the most highly regarded of the entire Tintin series, and was the 18th greatest book on Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century list.”  It’s quite progressive for the 1930s.

The plotlines from the previous book are continued: there is the poison that makes you crazy, the Pharaoh’s logo shows up and there are Indian characters returning as well.  And by the end Thompson and Thompson, the twin policeman who complicate each others sentences and prove to be more bumbling than we originally thought arrive to capture Tintin (although they believe in Tintin’s goodness–they’re only following orders, you see). (more…)

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Bannister & Nykko–The ElseWhere Chronicles Book Four: The Calling (2009) & Book Five: The Parting (2011) [translated 2010/2011]

Posted in Bannister, Boredom, Carol Klio Burrell, Children's Books, Fantasy, Fears, Garbage, Nykko, Short Books, Supernatural on February 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

elsewhere4SOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Not Your Kind of People (2012).

notyourkinddAfter Bleed, I had basically given up on Garbage.  And they had given up as well, so it made the breakup easier.  For seven years they stayed away, but in 2012 the band reunited and released Not Your Kind of People.  I wasn’t planning to get it–two great albums and two very mediocre albums l leave a listener with a tough decision   But I heard good things–a return to form, less dance more rock and I gave in.

And it was a good choice.  The slickness is still there, which makes sense given who we are dealing with, but it feels more powerful than recent albums and, even better, Manson seems angrier which always makes her vocals better.

“Big Bright World” could have been a hit (for a new band) although it’s a little generic.  “Blood for Poppies” returns to that good grungy guitar sound and yet with its “Wo Ho Ohs” it also has pop song trappings.  “Control” is big and loud with some interesting sounds thrown on top.  It’s probably the closest to 2.0  Even the chorus is very old school Garbage, something they seemed to shy away from on the last two albums.

“Not Your Kind of People is a slow ballady type song but it stands above their recent ballads–the song is cleaner and darker, much more interesting.  And given how sweet the backing vocals of the chorus sound, I’m surprised I like it as much I do.  “Felt” has a real “Stupid Girl” feel to it, except for the poppy bridge.  I don’t like the end where she repeats the Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh bit, but that’s just something I dislike about pop music in general.  “I Hate Love” brings in all of the glitches and electronics that the band uses so effectively, and despite the retro-90s feel of that, it really adds to the music.  “Sugar” is a beautiful slow song. The kind that, when they do it well, sounds great.

“Battle in Me”  is almost a great song.  The guitar builds and then stops short–it worked so well on “Supervixen” but sounds just too sterile here–the technology too crisp or something   But “Man on a Wire” does everything right–the guitars, Shirley’s screaming/singing, the rough guitars–it’s a shame this is buried so far down on the album.  “Beloved Freak” is a nice closer although as I complained from “Special” quoting someone else’s song in your song is cool once, but dong it again sounds lazy. So here we get her ending the song with a line from “This Little light of Mine” which doesn’t work and rather than making you smile like it did on Special it makes you go, “Huh?”  Plus as anyone who ever wrote a paper knows, never end with someone else’s words!

Still, this is a nice return to creative excitement from the band.  And while it never reaches the majesty of their first two albums it comes close to some of their past glories.

[READ: February 1, 2013] The ElseWhere Chronicles Book Four and Five

After a hiatus, Bannister & Nykko return with what feels like a new version of The Elsewhere Chronicles.  The look of the art is slightly different.  It’s clearly the same artist but the lines and angles look a little different on the characters–just a wee bit harsher.  It’s odd.  But it shows that things are a little different now.

The setting is nine moths after the end of book three.  Max has not spoken to any of the others since the lat book when his mother slapped him. Indeed, he’s been hanging around with his brother and his brother’s friends who are no good (especially to Max).  But Theo and Noah had rescued a bunch of things from Grandpa Gabe’s house.  They stored them safely somewhere before the house was demolished.  Meanwhile, Rebecca has been ill and hasn’t seen any of them.  She believes that the illness was caused in the other world and knows she needs to return there to get better.

Max is having a hard time with his new gang  They don’t respect him at all and he actually hates hanging around with them all.  In fact they just kicked him out of their gang and he is sulking when he believes he sees Rebecca.  Could she really have returned?  He follows her as she goes to her grandpa’s house.  She starts to break down when she sees that it was demolished.  She’s about to despair when and old friend sees her and gives her comfort.

Noah and Theo show her that they have Gabe’s possessions.  And they show her that the have figured out how to use the machine.  So they reactivate the passageway and the three of them return to the other world.  Before we can really see what happens over there, Max heads off to the hiding place.  He also passes through the passageway where he runs into Gabe who (after threatening to kill Max) offers to drive him to where Rebecca and the boys must be.

They arrive just as Rebecca and friends sneak into a cave.  Gabe says that the cave leads to nothing but danger.  And as the book ends, we see that that is true…. (more…)

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Nicole Krauss–“Zusya on the Roof” (New Yorker, February 4, 2013)

Posted in Babies, Books about writers, Death, Garbage, LGBTQ, New Yorker, Nicole Krauss, Nirvana, Religion, Short Story on February 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_02_04_13Schossow.inddSOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Bleed Like Me (2005).

Wbleedhat happens when you take something slick and shiny and remove the shine?  You get something slick and dull.  And that’s the overall feel of Garbage’s fourth album.  After the dance pop of Beautiful Garbage, Bleed Like Me was d described as a return to the rock roots of Garbage.  And it’s true that there’s a lot more guitar.  But as in the production of Beautiful, the guitars feel really anemic–again, coming from Bitch Vig who made Nirvana’s guitars roar, this is a major surprise.

Worse than the production though s the utterly generic feel of the songs and the lyrics.  Manson was most powerful when she was personal.  Even if the songs were oblique, you knew they were about something.  But these songs just feel like words, and she sings them as if they were just words.

The single was “Why Do You Love Me” and it opens with a powerful heavy metal guitar riff.  But the verses quiet down and the chorus is fast but without any oomph.  It’s quickly forgotten and even the lyrics: “Why do you love me it’s driving me crazy” don’t really make you want to learn more about it.  “Run Baby Run” had potential for a radio friendly hit but it’s also quickly forgotten.

Then there’s the songs that seem to be about something.  “Sex is Not the Enemy” seems like it could be transgressive but it’s really not–it feels like a last stand from a beaten person rather than a rocking anthem.  Musically it’s mediocre and even lyrically it’s not that shocking/surprising.

“Boys Wanna Fight” brings some of that electronic feel back and it injects some life into the disc, but again the song isn’t that inspiring.

I wonder how much I would have liked this album without the history behind it.  I know that bands need to experiment and try different things, but it felt like Garbage fell especially far from the heights that I held them.  Garbage tool a pretty lengthy hiatus after this album–Shirley went into acting (catch her on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and it seemed like the band was finished.

[READ: February 7, 2010] “Zusya on the Roof”

I read a story with a very similar setup recently (not implying that Krauss read it or anything).  In Russell Banks’ story “Christmas Party” a divorced man goes to his ex-wife’s new house and takes her newborn baby and…  the story ends.  [Spoiler, sort of].  This story has a similar arc.  And I guess I don’t understand this arc.  Or maybe, although I’m usually okay with endings that are vague, when you have a person with a baby, there are so many different possible endings that not leaning in one way or the other is just unfair–yes we can get clues from the story, but one never fully knows what a person’s intentions are.

This story also relies a lit on Jewish tradition.  And I find a lot of Orthodox behavior inscrutable (as Zusya seems to).  So I tend to get lost in the traditions.  Especially when, as in this story, names are used to indicate a tradition that I simply don;t know (and yes, this is my fault, not the author’s, unless she wanted to appeal to a goyish crowd).

So in this story, Zusya is about to become a grandfather.  But he falls ill just as his grandson is about to be born.  In his haze of hospital care, the grandson is born and he imagines that he gave birth to the boy–a kind of my life for his deal.  And when the grandfather recovers, he has strong emotional ties to the boy. (more…)

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Zadie Smith–“The Embassy of Cambodia” (New Yorker, February 11 & 18, 2013)

Posted in Africa, Boredom, Garbage, New Yorker, Racism, Short Story, Swimming, Zadie Smith on February 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_02_11_13Greiner.inddSOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Beautiful Garbage (2001).

beautifulI loved Version 2.0 but never really absorbed just how poppy it was.  So Beautiful Garbage took me by surprise.  It seem like more of a natural progression if you listen in sequence but it’s impossible to imagine that the buzzing guitars of “Queer” would morph into something like “Can’t Cry These Tears” in just two albums.  “Tears” is practically girl groupy, it is so poppy and Spektorish.  Yes, there are some buzzy guitars, but wow.  What’s more surprising though  is the amount of manipulation that is done to Manson’;s voice.  Garbage was always about deconstruction and technology–they always mixed genres, but “Til the Day I Die” uses some pretty generic voice scratching  as if trying for a pop hit.  Or more specifically a dance hit.

The single from the album, “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)” doesn’t even sound like Garage–Manson’s voice is so treacly it has to be processed (and indeed it was sped up for the song).  “Shut Your Mouth” also seemed to head straight for the dancefloor and the rather anemic introductory sounds of “Androgyny” were a surprise.  What’s weird is that even the aggressive guitar riff is really so wimpy compared to the earlier albums.   Which is not to say that the song is bad–the riff, wimpy though it may be is still a good one and the chorus is catchy as anything.  It’s just a different audience.

“Cup of Coffee” removes all of the dancey/techno and is a simple ballad.  And it sounds like the Garbage of old.  It’ a very pretty, sad song.  “Drive You Home” is also a beautiful natural-sounding ballad.

But “Breaking Up the Girl” is the closest to the Garbage sound of old(ish) it could easily have come from 2.0.  “Nobody Loves You” has a much more interesting guitar based sound as it opens–implying something grand.  But after the opening, the song slows down into a more dark feel.  “Uncountable” returns to the dance floor (and even has some”uh uh”s).

So, overall this is a weird and unsatisfying album.  It sounds like they gave up on the rock side of things because their poppy songs were such a hit. But at the same time it sounds like their hearts just aren’t in it.  Even Manson’s lyrics are kind of lame.  Which is not to say the album is a disaster, it’s just…different.

[READ: February 6, 2013] “The Embassy of Cambodia”

In Zadie Smith’s previous piece in the New Yorker (which was an excerpt from her novel), she broke her story into a series of small sections.  It was unexpected from her.  And now she  has done it again.  The story has as a basic plot point a game of badminton.  Accordingly, all of the chapters are listed as a badminton score (a one-sided rout actually): 0-1, 0-7, 0-21.

The sections are mostly brief and kind of bounce back and forth between the main character of the piece, Fatou, and the citizens of Willesden (represented by a a single person–who took it upon herself to represent them, even if they didn’t want her to).  This unnamed narrator gives background information about Willesden and the eyes of the community who watch Fatou go about her business.  The narrator also talks about the titular embassy and how it’s not that unusual to see a building like it on their street, even if they never really see anyone Cambodian going into it,

The only thing that people can really see from the outside of the embassy is the shuttlecock which can be glimpsed over the top of the wall that surrounds the embassy   Clearly there is some kind of field there, although no one has ever seen it.  They just see the birdie arc over (and then get slammed back).

And Fatou enjoys watching it and imagining the people inside.  For Fatou is a housekeeper and sort of child watcher for a family that lives down  the street (the Derawals).  Fatou is African and her prospects are bleak.  She is not paid to work for them–she gets free room and board in exchange for her services.  In fact she does not even know where her passport is (Mr Derawal took it and she hasn’t seen it since).  At one point, after reading an article about a slave girl, she even wonders if she might be a slave.  (She decides she is not). (more…)

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Zoey Leigh Peterson-“How Long and What a Marvel” (The Walrus, March 2013)

Posted in Death, Garbage, Native Americans, Salt-N-Pepa, Short Story, Sports, The Walrus, Zoey Leigh Peterson on February 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

2013-03SOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Version 2.0 (1998).

2.0Garbage toured and promoted their debut for a long time.  And then they went back in the studio for the follow up.  After the success of the first one, the producers evidently tinkered and retinkered and reretinkered with Version 2.0 for ages.  I seem to recall Shirley Manson complaining that she had done her parts ages ago and was just waiting for the boys to stop playing with it.

And when they did, it was beautiful.  Look at the shiny packaging   The album cover was very graphic. All of the singles were very graphic and literally icon-ic. It was an amazing visual assault of a campaign.  And the album was like the debut only bigger slicker brasher more.  And I loved it.

In retrospect it is still good.  Quite good in fact.  But when pinpointing why the Garbage of today sounds so different, you can see it in 2.0.  The band definitely sounds more poppy, more dancey.   And Manson’s voice sounds more confident.  Less hidden behind gothy trappings.  She’s way out in front and indeed became the central focus of the band (despite the big names of the producers).  I was so enamored of Garbage and 2.0 that I never realized quite how poppy 2.0 was compared to the first.  The gothy dark side was replaced by a poppier sheen.  True, the lyrics were dark, but not quite as angsty (and they were a lot more about sex this time around).

Even though the music sounds similar there is a world of difference in the vocal styles of “Queer” and “I Think I’m Paranoid” which has her doing all kinds of vocal tricks   And “When I Grow Up” is practically all pop (with bright bah bah bah bahs).  “Medication” has an incredibly sweet section–Shirley’s gentle falsetto singing the “co-dependent” section is the great example of the dichotomy of Garbage.

“Special” is a slinky sexy song that quotes the Pretenders (something that was very cool at the time but which I feel has become something of a crutch for Manson/Garbage–quoting too literally from their sources rather than mashing them up).   “Hammering in My Head” has a cool keyboard riff and more of Shirley’s whisper/singing.  “Push It” references the Salt-n-Pepa song which is a little weird, but there’s great noisy guitars and slinky bass that makes the song it own.”The Trick is To Keep Breathing “is a the surprise song where the whispered quieter verses turn into a really pretty and prettily sung chorus.

 “Sleep Together” plays on that aggressiveness sexuality that Manson is so go at.  “Wicked Ways” ends with some really cool sequences (I don’t like the beginning that much for some reason).  And the disc ends with “You Look so Fine” a sweet track with a nicely multi-tracked vocal.  Although the album and song just kind of drift away at the end.

2.0 is an apt title, more of the same but bigger and sleeker.  But it seems to also point them in the direction of more technology that would come next.

[READ: February 5, 2013] “How Long and What a Marvel”

This is a very short story (about a page) and it is a very simple one.  But there’s a surprising amount of depth included.

The simple plot is that the narrator’s grandfather died and caused a seven hour delay of game.  What’s fascinating is that the game is never specified and I’m not exactly sure what game it might actually be.

The men from Three Mile came to their valley to play the first game of the season.  After a big meal, it was customary to start the game by having one of the old men come out, take his bat and challenge the slinger.  Many of the old men hadn’t survived the winter, but the narrator’s grandfather had and he went up to bat.  He was slow and dragging as he got up there.  (This sounds like baseball right?  Except the thrower is called a slinger and the innings are called frames.  Is it cricket?). (more…)

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Maria Semple–Where’d You Go Bernadette (2012)

Posted in Dentists, Garbage, Letters, Maria Semple, Marriage Trouble, Travel on February 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

bernSOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Garbage (1995).

garbageWhen the debut Garbage album came out I was totally hooked.  I was initially skeptical of the album–the sneaky release of “Vow” with no hype (but hype), the Butch Vig connection.  But I heard it and wow.  Then the rest of the album did not disappoint.  I listened to this album so much it’s hard for me to even be objective about it.  For a time this was my favorite album.  My biggest celebrity bummer was when I found out that they were appearing at a Newbury Comics and I went to the wrong one.  By the time I got across town to the real location, the line was huge and the clerk cut off the line about four people in front of me.  Ugh.

I’m not sure what it was about this album–it’s slick, it’s technically overproduced (three producers who spent countless months tinkering with it) but it doesn’t really sound overproduced. It’s an interesting pastiche of pop, grunge, electronic and goth.  It’s a dark album for sure, but it has pop tones all over it.  It’s also musically interesting, like the way the disc opens.  The opening riff of “Supervixen” is a few notes and then just stops                            and then resumes.  It’s weird and off-putting for the opening of an album and it immediately grabs you.

Then you get the sultry goth-lite of “Queer.”  Overtly sexual, dark and sneaky it’s a perfectly naughty radio friendly alt rock song.  This was released during a time when women were ruling alt-rock, so it wasn’t singular in any way, but it certainly led the way for more women fronted gothy bands.  And so did “Only Happy When it Rains” –the surprise mope rock hit.

“As Heaven is Wide” is a really dark song, understandably not a hit, but really sexy and groovy.  “Not My Idea” brings in some of the first non minor key chords–where Manson sings in her sweeter voice until the raucous chorus.  “Vow” seems like such an unlikey first single–the stuttering guitar the nonsinging vocals, it really doesn’t showcase Shirley’s voice all that well.  But as a middle of the album song it’s nice and hard hitting.  “Stupid Girl” was also pretty huge–it’s got some wonderfully raw sounds to keep it from being too treacly (well and the lyrics do too, of course).

“Dog New Tricks” has a lot going on musically underneath Manson’s voice that I still find it really compelling–like the staggered guitars that don’t seem to fit, but do.  “My Lover’s Box” (which I always assumed was called “Send Me An Angel”) is another slow sultry number although the guitar riff is way too reminiscent of Aldo Nova’s one hit (“Fantasy).  “Fix Me Now” is one final loud, oddly upbeat song, followed by the wonderful gothy closer “Milk” which emphasizes keyboards in a way that the rest of the album doesn’t.

It’s a great debut, an album that I still regard very highly even if I don’t listen to it all that often anymore.

[READ: February 3, 2013] Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Sarah brought this book home and said I would like it.  And I was able to read a few pages when she ran into a store and it was very funny so I couldn’t wait to read the whole thing (despite the rather stupid cover).  Maria Semple was a writer for Arrested Development among other shows and recently turned her pen to novels (this is her second book).

One of the delights of this book was having literally no idea where it was going.  Meaning that by the end of Part Two (there are six parts), I really had no idea where it would end.  By the time it ends it all makes sense, but it wasn’t telegraphed, which is pretty cool.  This book also ties nicely to Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore.  In Penumbra, much of the action took place at and around Google.  In Bernadette, much of the action takes place in and around Microsoft.  Based on these two fictionalizations, it sounds like Google is a more enjoyable place to work as Google gave you free food made to your specifications whereas in Microsoft all they had was free candy machines (and lots of layoffs and jealousy that they can’t use an iPhone).

The story is narrated by Bee, and eighth grader who scores all S’s on her private school report card (S is the highest you can get, since they don’t believe in grades).  The note accompanying the report card raves about Bee’s intelligence, generosity and helpfulness around the school).  That night at the dinner table, Bee tells her parents what she wants for getting such a great report card (she had always wanted a pony, but has changed her mind): She wants to go to Antarctica on a cruise with the family.

This presents a problem for Bee’s mother Bernadette because she pretty much never leaves the house.  Well, she does, but only to drive Bee to school.  She has recently started outsourcing her life to a woman in India (for 75 cents an hour). The woman does literally everything for her, including making reservations at a restaurant 1/2 a mile from Bernadette’s house.  But Bernadette wasn’t always like this.  Indeed, she was once a future star in the architecture field until the tragic event that changed everything for her.

That change inspired a move with her husband, Elgie, to Seattle (a city which she now loathes–in great detail) where he found a job at Microsoft.  He thrived there and soon was put in charge of the Samantha 2 project–a program that allows you to interact with all your devices using only your mind (his TED talk is the fourth most viewed ever!). (more…)

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Bannister & Nykko–The ElseWhere Chronicles Book Three: The Master of Shadows (2008) [translated 2009]

Posted in Bannister, Carol Klio Burrell, Children's Books, Fantasy, Fears, Nykko, Short Books, Supernatural, The Amoeba People on February 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

ElsewhereBk3_C1SOUNDTRACK:  THE AMOEBA PEOPLE-“The Geologists Are Coming” (2012).

geologistThis is, “a special audio poem from The Amoeba People in honor of those hard-working scientists who carry tiny hammers and chip at the crust.”  It’s a very simple rap and drum song about Geologists (of course).  The middle section gives a nice alphabetic breakdown of the letters of the word.

But the best part of the song is clearly the chorus which is very very catchy.

The problems (such as they are) with the song are these: it’s very very short (under two minutes) and it could use some extra kind of musical sound to it–maybe a five minute version with guitars is  in order.  But, even without the guitars, the song is fun to sing along to:

[READ: January 21, 2013] The ElseWhere Chronicles Book Three

Had I known that the series would come to a major halt with book three (and then resume a year later) I would have included Book Three with 1 & 2.  As it stands, Book Three gives what would be a decent but unsatisfying conclusion to the story, although since it ends with The End…? readers may have been not too upset by the conclusion.

The book opens with Rebecca, Max, Noah, and Theo are reunited and taking pictures of themselves in their elsewhere location (although the one just shows them on a beach–not really proof of anything otherworldly (other photos do show otherworldly scenes).  They find a boat and sail across the sea.  But in the process their mynah bird (the one who alerts them to t he presence of danger) is killed by a seagull.

They land in a village where thy are given gifts (we later see a statue that looks a lot like Rebecca o their grounds).  They find their way to a cave where Grandpa Gabe had a lot of his supplies (and which was currently inhabited by a very large and scary creature.  They find a map and instructions about how to jump between worlds.  But that night they are attacked by the Shadow Creatures and even see the Master of Shadows himself.  During the confrontation Doleann returns to assist but Ilvanna, recognizing someone in the shadow spirit, embraces it, which kills her instantly.  Doleann says that Minervale the dragon is about to give birth to two dragons, which will help in their fight against the Master of Shadows.   (more…)

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Maria Semple–“Dear Mountain Room Parents” (New Yorker, October 24, 2011)

Posted in Defiance of Anthropomorphic Sea Animals, Dinosaur Jr., Maria Semple, Modest Mouse, Neu!, New Yorker, Portlandia, Set at School, Short Story, Squiggleman, Talk Talk, Temple of the Dog, The Clash on February 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_10_24_31.inddSOUNDTRACK: DEFIANCE OF ANTHROPOMORPHIC SEA ANIMALS-“Untitled” (2013).

brockIt’s hard to review a band that you only saw once.  It’s also surprising that said band, which appeared on Portlandia has virtually no web presence–not a video to be found!

In a previous episode, two parents at Shooting Star Preschool are distraught that the music in their children’s classroom includes the likes of Mike + The Mechanics (a gateway band) and are “getting very stressed out that the head of our school does not know about Neu!”  (and doesn’t know that there’s Clash songs before “Rock the Casbah”).  The parents stand up for indie rock: “Who’s to say a kid can’t appreciate a guitar solo in a Dinosaur Jr. song?”  And then Modest Mouse’s Issac Brock brings in a crate of LPs (from the likes of Talk Talk and Temple of the Dog) and is more or less drummed out.

Well in the continuation of this skit, the four parents decide to form a band.  It is atonal and noisy and utterly devoid of melody and at one point Carrie Brownstein screams out “Everyone leaves me!” (all of this to a room full of stunned children).  I would love to get a link to the video, but there are none as of yet (nor of the amazing Squiggleman who headline the concert).

But just remember, kids prefer repetition like Philip Glass rather than Top 40 pop.

[READ: February 3, 2013] “Dear Mountain Room Parents”

Sarah and I have just finished a book by Maria Semple called Where’d You Go Bernadette.  Semple’s bio said that she had written for the New Yorker (and Arrested Development which is all the cred I need).  Interestingly she has only written one thing for the New Yorker (but it still counts) and it’s this Shouts and Murmurs piece (which I read and enjoyed when it came out).

In light of Bernadette, it seems like perhaps Semple has had some hands-on experiences with private school buffoonery.  In this story the teacher of The Mountain Room sends an email to the parents about their upcoming Day of the Dead celebration.  Immediately she has to reply that there’s nothing wrong with  Halloween and that the parents signed up “for Little Learners because of our emphasis on global awareness.”  But of course, it doesn’t get any better for her.
(more…)

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Roddy Doyle–Her Mother’s Face (2012)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Babies, Children's Books, Death, Dublin, Ireland, Fiona Apple, Freya Blackwood, Irish Writer, Roddy Doyle, Short Books on February 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

hermotherSOUNDTRACK: FIONA APPLE-The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do [bonus DVD] (2012).

idlerThe deluxe package of The Idler Wheel comes with a bonus DVD.  It also comes with a ton of idle scratchings from Fiona–lyrics, artwork (which is weird but good), postcards and all manner of things.  I wasn’t particularly interested in that stuff, although I am pleasantly surprised by her drawing skills.  Mostly I wanted to check out the DVD.

So the DVD is actually a five song concert excerpt from SXSW filmed by NPR.  I have to assume that the show was more than these five songs (because there are breaks in the video and because there’s no way she would do just five songs).  Also, the NPR page for the show says she played a few different songs from Idler Wheel.  There’s audio for the show on the site (three of the five songs) which kind of makes the DVD extraneous, except that you get to watch her perform.

When Fiona was younger there was much talk of her videos being too sexualized.  And I suppose “Criminal” fit that bill.  As such, she has become something of a visual artist by virtue of her body.  I’d always thought that she was too skinny, but she seems even more so now.  And yet for all the waifiness of her (are you still a waif when you’re 35?), her voice is till strong and powerful and she can belt the hell out of a song (perhaps with a little too much forced vibrato at times).

She seems a little at a loss when she’s in that awkward frontwoman space (my guitarist is playing a rocking solo–what do I do?).  She dances somewhat (which NPR describes as confidently but I read as awkwardly, huh).

In this live setting the songs take on a new, looser feel.  As I mentioned, the guitarist  really lets loose (and he sounds great–there’s even one moment when Fiona walks over to the piano and leans on it to watch the guitarist jam).  The band sounds great together and yes Fiona sounds great too.

I actually saw Fiona live in Boston on the tour for her debut album.  Unfortunately, the place was mobbed with tweeny girls (was that her target market?) who screamed and shrieked through the whole set.  It was one of the worst shows I’d ever seen, through no fault of the performer, who I honestly don’t remember at all.  I’ll bet without the devoted screamers the show would have been as interesting as this one seems like it was.

Tracks on the DVD include “Fast As You Can,” “A Mistake,” “Anything We Want,” “Sleep To Dream” and “Every Single Night.”  On the NPR page you can hear “Fast As You Can,” “A Mistake,” and “Every Single Night” as well as “Extraordinary Machine” (on which she hits some amazing high notes!).  There’s no “Sleep to Dream” (which has a very different style than on the record–I almost didn’t recognize it) or “Anything We Want” which sounds great live, especially since she (presumably) plays the introductory percussion (which I assume is looped?) on some strange object.  This was the first time most of us had heard “Every Single Night” and I remember thinking it sounded good but so uncomplicated that I was worried that the album would be a little…flat.  Boy was I wrong.  And now hearing it again, I can hear just how subtle and complex the song is.

[READ: January 28, 2013] Her Mother’s Face

This was Roddy Doyle’s first picture book (you can see that once I found out that he had written children’s books I had to get them all from the library).  I read this after Greyhound of Girl, and assumed that it was a slimmed down version of Greyhound.  But now that I see that this came first I’m inclined to believe that this book was the inspiration for Greyhound.

Many of the basic details are the same as Greyhound–a girl whose mother died when she was three years old; a ghost visits her and gives her solace.  That may not seem like a lot of similarity but in terms of plot that’s really all both books have (it’s the details that really make both stories).

But they are very different books meant for different audiences.  Face is a picture book and the illustrations by Freya Blackwood are simply gorgeous.  Really they are quite mesmerizing in their beauty.  I read it to myself and decided that it’s not really meant for my kids.  Neither of them are really old enough to get it (and the death of the mom at age three might lead to more questions than I need to answer at the moment).

It’s wordy for a picture book and it doesn’t have much of Doyle’s humor in it.  This is serious book. (more…)

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