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Archive for the ‘Authors’ Category

Douglas Coupland–Marshall McLuhan (2009) [Extraordinary Canadians Series]

Posted in Annie Hall, Biography, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, CBC Radio 3, Consumerism, Death, Depression, Douglas Coupland, Extraordinary Canadians, Marshall McLuhan, Shad, Short Books, Technology, The Future on February 7, 2011| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SHAD-TSOL (2010).

I first heard Shad on CBC Radio 3 online.  The track was “Yaa I Get It” and I really enjoyed it.  I haven’t listened to a lot of rap in the last few years; I’ve more or less grown bored by the genre, especially all the violence.  So, I was happy to hear this track, which was boastful but funny.

I decided to get the whole disc, and I wasn’t disappointed.  “Rose Garden” features a sample of “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” which sets some of the tone of the disc.  But it’s on the next song “Keep Shining” that Shad’s uniqueness shines through.  This song is about women.  But not in any way that I’ve heard in rap before: “I can’t speak for women.  We need more women for that.”  And the inspiring final verse:

My mom taught me where to keep my heart.
My aunt taught me how to sing two parts.
My sis taught me how to parallel park,
and tried to teach me math but she way to too smart.
My grandma in the 80’s is still sharp.
My girl’s cousin is in activism in art.
They taught there’s no curls to tight, no mind too bright, no skin too dark to keep shining.

Later on the disc is “We Are the Ones” an oddball jam that sounds like one of those bizarre Atlanta rap tracks (funky vocals and all) and an amusing line about being Lost like Matthew Fox.  But his name checks aren’t all pop culture (Moredcai Richler gets a mention as does Glenn Beck (he “better duck like foie gras”).

And of course, there’s the wonderful “Yaa I Get It.”  With great horn blast samples and all kinds of noise competing for our attention.  Yet, throughout the lyrics stand out: “Maybe I’m not big cus I don’t blog or twitter…Dawg, I’m bitter.”  And there’s this wonderful couplet: The precision of my flows in terms of tone and diction/Is akin to that of the old masters of prose and fiction.”  Or take this lyrics from “Call Waiting,” “But what they say is hard for a pimp is harder for a man of faith.”

“Listen” has some great scratching on a heavy rocking track.  It’s followed by “At the Same Time.”  This is a mellow, sad song, which I don’t really like, yet which I find very affecting.  And lyrically, it’s great: “I never laughed and cried at the same time… Until, I heard a church pray for the death of Obama.  And wondered if they knew they share that prayer with Osama.”

The disc ends with “We, Myself and I” another noisy rocker and the one minute “Outro” an acapella rant.

Shad is a great rapper, doing interesting things and trying to make a difference.  He’s worth checking out.

[READ: November 1, 2010] “Marshall McLuhan”

I learned about this book because I’m a fan of Douglas Coupland.  And, as it turns out I’ve always had a vague interest in Marshall McLuhan, so it seemed like a sure thing. The problem was that the book was not readily available in the U.S.  So, I had to order it from Amazon.ca.  And, since you can’t get free shipping to a U.S. address from amazon.ca, I thought it would make sense to order 6 titles in the series, all of which I’ll post about this week.

So, here’s a shameless plug to the folks at Penguin Canada–I will absolutely post about all of the books in this series if you want to send me the rest of them.  I don’t know how much attention these titles will get outside of Canada, but I am quite interested in a number of the subjects, and will happily read all of the books if you want to send them to me.  Just contact me here!

Each book in the series has an introduction by John Ralston Saul, in which he explains the purpose of the series and states globally why these individuals were selected (“they produce a grand sweep of the creation of modern Canada, from our first steps as a democracy in 1848 to our questioning of modernity late in the twentieth century”).  It also mentions that a documentary is being filmed about each subject.

Perhaps the most compelling sentence in the intro is: “each of these stories is a revelation of the tough choices unusual people must make to find their way.”  And that’s what got me to read thee books.

This volume was probably a bad place to start in the Extraordinary Canadians series if only because it appears that Coupland’s volume is markedly different from the others.  Coupland being Coupland, he has all manner of textual fun wit the book.  The other authors seem to write pretty straightforward books, but you know something is up right away when you open the book and the first six pages comprise a list of anagrams of “Marshall McLuhan.”

On to Marshall McLuhan.  The Medium is the Message.  That’s about all anyone who has heard of McLuhan knows about him (and that he has a hilarious cameo in Annie Hall).

When I was a freshman in college, I took a class in Communications which focused an awful lot on Marshall McLuhan.  I didn’t like the teacher very much, but the message stayed with me all these years.   And so even though I’m not a student of McLuhan or anything, I was happy to relearn what I should have known about the man and his ideas.

(more…)

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Frances Itani–“What We Are Capable Of” (The Walrus, April/May 2004)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Dallas Green, Frances Itani, Romance, Shad, Short Story, The Walrus on February 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SHAD & DALLAS-“Listen (remix)” (2010).

The other track on the Shad and Dallas EP is a remix of “Listen” from Shad’s TSOL album.  I like the original song quite a bit.

The remix is marginally faster than the original.  And Dallas Green adds a few lines over the “chorus” (in the original, Shad just says “listen” over and over). It’s a nice addition to a good song.  In fact, I went back to the original and realized that I kind of missed Dallas’ section (and that was after only two listens).

This single benefits Skate4Cancer, so it’s for a good cause and worth checking out.

[READ: January 24, 2011] “What We Are Capable Of”

This is the second story that The Walrus published.  And this author (who I’d never actually heard of) is also a bestseller (with at the time nine books out).

I found this story a little confusing at first (there are many different people introduced without context in the opening paragraph or two).  But once I sussed out who Em had broken up with, who her ex husband was and who her daughter’s ex-boyfriend was, the story came together quite nicely.

Basically this is the story of two breakups.  Em, a widow, has recently become involved with Michael.  (Who is married).  When her daughter, Sarah, calls to say that she wants to come back home, Em soon realizes that Sarah is in a similar heartbroken predicament (although at least Sarah’s boyfriend isn’t married).

(more…)

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David Bezmozgis–“Choynski” (The Walrus, November/December 2003)

Posted in Alexisonfire, Boxing, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, City and Colour, Dallas Green, David Bezmozgis, Death, Sergio De La Pava, Shad, Short Story, Skateboarding, The Walrus on February 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SHAD & DALLAS-“Live Forever” (2010).

Shad and Dallas Green (from Alexisonfire) recorded an EP called Two Songs and the profits go to Skate4Cancer.  The A Side is the new song “Live Forever.”  Shad is a great rapper, and make no mistake, this is a Shad song.  Green sings the hook-filled chorus (and an intro line).

Shad’s rapping is great and his rhymes are clever and interesting (he even does a fast double-time section which I’d never heard him do before). But the music itself is kind of bland.  I listened to it three times and I never really got into the flow of it.

I rather hope that sales are good (for the charity’s sake) but I’m afraid I’m not that excited by the track.

[READ: January 23, 2011] “Choynski”

I recently noticed that I had reviewed a whole bunch of stories from The Walrus.  So I wondered just how many stories there were in previous issues of the maagzine that I hadn’t posted about.  The magazine only started in 2003, and I still have all the issues (yes, that’s right…  I bought Issue 1 on the newsstand), so it wasn’t that hard to figure out.  In the early days, not every issue had fiction in it.  I started calculating and discovered that there were only about 25 stories to go.  So I thought, why not go back and read them all, eh?

This story was in Issue #2, and I have to say, good for them for picking David Bezmozgis to be their first author.  His issue bio reads that his first short story collection Natasha will be published in June.  And if you check now, you’ll see that Natasha won a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was a New York Times Notable Book.  Not bad.

There are essentially two stories in this piece and they tie together quite nicely.  The first arc concerns the narrator’s dying grandmother.  She is an old Russian Jew whose English isn’t great so she tries to speak in Yiddish to make up for it.  Her family understands but few others (like her doctor) know what she’s talking about.  As the story progresses, her family tries to keep the truth of her condition from her, but she is no dummy.

The second story concerns the narrator’s attempt to learn more information about Joe Choynski.  Choynski was being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (Old Timers division) and the narrator was going to the ceremony.  In trying to learn more about Choynski (considered America’s frst great fighting Jew), he enlists the help of Charley Davis, an old man who knows more than just about anyone else about the Choynski.  (more…)

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Lawrence Hill–“Meet You at the Door” (The Walrus, January/February 2011)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Death, Demons, Lawrence Hill, Racism, Short Story, The Dears, The Walrus on February 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DEARS-Live on QTV (2008).

The Dears are a wonderful band from Montreal. They create epochal noise, make concerts that are unholy messes (and yet totally amazing) and they seem perpetually about to self-destruct.   Murray Lightburn, the singer and song writer of the band is has an amazing voice and great songwriting skills.  They create full blown orchestral rock, but they’re not afraid to totally rock out (see the 20-minute live version of “Pinned Together Falling Apart” on their live album.)

These three tracks are acoustic and totally stripped down.  It’s just Murray on guitar and his bandmate (and wife) Natalia singing backing vocals.  These three songs come from the album Missiles.  Although I am partial to their over the top renditions, these stripped down version showcase how great the songs themselves are.

“Dream Job” is a slow track with limited backing vocals.  “Lights Out” is a bit faster with some really great chord changes.  And finally, “Money Babies” is an amazing duet, really letting Natalia harmonize brilliantly.

You can hear more songs from The Dears at All Songs Considered.

[READ: January 11, 2011] “Meet You at the Door”

This is easily my favorite story in The Walrus in years, possibly ever.  It’s also one of my favorite stories that I’ve read in a long, long time.  It has so much to recommend it: it is wonderfully paced and it is really engaging.

The basic story is of a twenty-something black man who must travel to Gull Lake, Saskatchewan to start a job at a railroad junction house.  But that simple plot doesn’t do any justice to the multifaceted aspects of the story’s construction.

First, the position requires excellence in typing (relays that come from the main train location must be typed on an old manual typewriter in carbon.  With no typos.  And they must be typed fast!  Split second decisions must be made and any errors could be fatal.  So the employee must be smart and skilled (there’s a 75% failure rate on the test).

When the narrator passes the test he must ship off to Gull Lake that night.  And, this being “in the age of dinosaurs” the narrator is carrying his portable typewriter, a guitar and a huge afro.  And he needs a place to stay.  Fast.

He’s obviously not well received at first, until we meet the lady who will take him in.  And she is the second great aspect of this story.  She is a wonderful character (and could easily have many more pages written about her, but Hill is concise which really moves the story along).  She sizes him up, deems him worthy, and lets him have the spare room. (more…)

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Deborah Willis–“Hard Currency” (The Walrus, December 2010)

Posted in Books about music, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Deborah Willis, Drinking, Prostitution, Russia, Sarah Harmer, Short Story, The Walrus, Weeping Tile on February 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: WEEPING TILE-eePee (1995).

Canadian singer Sarah Harmer was originally in the band Weeping Tile.  As far as I knew, they had only released this cleverly titled EP.  Further research at Sarah’s site proves this to be incorrect.  They released two albums and this EP, all of which are available at her site (and elsewhere).  There’s also mention of something called Secret Sessions although there is no evidence of its physical existence on the net.

So this EP is 7 tracks and features two songs that were recorded later on Sarah’s solo discs.

The opener, “Anyone” opens with a nice R.E.M. type guitar sound, but jumps into an uptempo alt rocker.  It’s a very satisfying opening and seems like it should have been a hit.  Interestingly, the next song, “Basement Apt” was a hit…six years later on Sarah’s solo disc.  This version is rawer and feels slower even though it is the same overall length.  The big difference is that Sarah’s solo version has a louder and faster drum track that really makes the song fly.  This version feels more aching though.

“Dogs and Thunder” introduces a more country sound (folk guitar and strings) that Harmer would experiment with off and on for years.    It’s followed by a great cover of Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down.”

Another highlight is “Westray” a very stark almost a capella track which highlights Sarah’s raw voice.  It’s very affecting.  And the disc concludes with “King Lion,” a great song that is back to guitar basics.  The chorus is wonderfully catchy.

This is a great EP from a short-lived Canadian band.  Sarah Harmer has always had great songwriting chops and it’s fun to hear her in her more youthful rock version here.

[READ: January 11, 2011] “Hard Currency”

This is one of the longest stories in The Walrus that I can remember.  It’s set in Russia and concerns Alexei, a Russian writer who now lives in America.  He has had great success internationally (and won a Pulitzer) for his novels, all of which were set in Russia.

And yet, for all of his connections to his motherland, he doesn’t really like Russia very much.  He has been back there several times but he is never treated with respect. In fact, he is never even treated as a Russian–despite his birth, people look at him and know that he’s not a Russian anymore.

The plot of the story is about prostitutes.  [I am pretty surprised at the proliferation of prostitutes in stories…do authors frequent prostitutes more than other people?].  When the story opens, we learn that Alexei’s very first sexual experience was with a prostitute.  And now, twenty-eight years later, after much success and a failed marriage, he has returned to Russia and has called upon another prostitute. (more…)

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Eden Robinson–“Minnows” (The Walrus, October 2010)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Death, Demons, Eden Robinson, Fears, Funny (strange), Jian Ghomeshi, Lights, The Walrus, Violence on February 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LIGHTS-“February Air” (2006).

Lights is a Canadian singer who is managed by Jian Ghomeshi.  She is a young cute pop singer and this was her second hit (I think–Wikipedia says it was used in an Old Navy ad).  I admit that I’d never heard of her before seeing her on Jian’s page.

I think of everything that Jian touches to be unique and always interesting.  And although this is certainly poppy and catchy, it’s only mildly  interesting and is kind of indistinguishable from a lot of other poppy catchy songs (the middle section stands out a bit, admittedly).

She’s received a number of accolades (best new artist at the 2009 Junos), so good for her (and Jian).  But I think I’ll be passing on her discs.

[READ: January 10, 2001] “Minnows”

This very short story (two pages) is dark and quite twisted.  Both in content and in structure.

The story opens with a woman seeing her daughter at the door.  We quickly learn that the daughter is not happy, but when the visit turns violent it’s unclear whether the older woman is crazy or hallucinating or if the violence is really happening.

Then we get some background story about their relationship.  Which sets things straight (sort of). (more…)

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Cory Doctorow–Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Cory Doctorow, Death, Destroyer, Drugs, Huh?, Neko Case, Sci-fi, Short Books, Technology, The Future, The New Pornographers, Threats, Walt Disney World on February 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: NEW PORNOGRAPHERS-Together (2010).

I enjoyed The New Pornographers’ debut album Mass Romantic, but I didn’t bother getting their later discs.  In the ensuing years, I’ve grown appreciative of both Neko Case solo and Dan Bejar’s Destroyer.  And, while I intend to get the NP’s middle discs, in the meantime, I am totally enamored of this one.

Their first disc sounded like a group of great songwriters doing their own thing.  This disc (their fifth) sounds like a group of great songwriters working together.  The album sounds cohesive and, frankly, wonderful.  It’s hard for me to pick a favorite song, because when the disc is over I find myself singing bits and pieces from so many of them.

The songs work well together, with different vocalists coming to the fore.  But there’s an overall cohesiveness to the disc.  Even the Dan Bejar songs (three on this disc), which sound very distinctly Bejar, act like a change of pace but retain the album’s style, rather than sounding like Bejar solo songs.

And I like the Bejar songs quite a lot (“Silver Jenny Dollar” is always in my head), but it’s the Newman songs (those sung by Neko Case and otherwise) which rise into the pop stratosphere.  The gorgeous delayed chorus of “Up in the Dark,” the beautiful cello of “Moves.”  Even a song like “Valkyrie in the Roller Disco” which opens a little quietly compared to the rest of the disc, pulls out a stunning chorus.

“A Bite Out of My Bed” is weird and wonderful and, of course, those first 6 songs are amazing.  “My Shepherd” is a stunning song and “Your Hands (Together)” is a catchy rocker which should have been a huge single.  Just when you think that “As a Rule” couldn’t possibly get any catchier, along comes a whistle solo.  Fabulous. And the album closer, “We End Up Together” has great group vocals and a nice return to those catchy strings from the opening.  It’s a great release from start to finish.

[READ: January 24, 2011] Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

I loved Doctorow’s Little Brother.  And when I recently said I would be going to Disney, an astute reader said I should read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (which I’d never heard of).

Knowing what I know about Doctorow (this and all of his books are published under a Creative Commons license and if you go to his site, you can download the entire book for free), I expected that this book might bash Disney (the main source for our current copyright extension laws–see The Copyright Extension Act also known as The Mickey Mouse Protection Act).  The title also hinted at is as well.  But in fact, this book does not bash Disney World in any way.

Rather, it embraces the Magic Kingdom as a sort of traditional refuge, something that should be immune to technological update.  Of course, since it is a science fiction novel, it is also futuristic, full of bizarre technologies and lots and lots of behavior control.

The book opens in the undetermined future (although later in the book we learn that it’s probably sometime around 2069).  The Prologue is full of words that won’t be defined until later in the book (if at all):  “Deadhead” as a verb, “Bitchun Society,” and this whole sentence: “I took a moment to conjure a HUD with his Whuffie score on it.”

So, we know that this is not a typical story.  And it stays atypical.  Chapter One opens:

My girlfriend was 15 percent of my age, and I was old-fashioned enough that it bugged me. Her name was Lil, and she was second-generation Disney World, her parents being among the original ad-hocracy that took over the management of Liberty Square and Tom Sawyer Island. She was, quite literally, raised in Walt Disney World and it showed.

The story is set in Disney World.  Julius, the narrator who is 100+ years old but has been rebooted several times and appears 40, is dating Lil, who was 19 or so when they met.  And despite her youth and apparent airheadedness, they really hit it off.

As stated, her parents were more in less in charge of portions of Disney.  So, when they decide to deadhead, it puts Lil (and by proxy Julius) in charge.  Lil’s domain is the Hall of Presidents (and there’s fun insider knowledge about the Hall, and Lil is often seen with her head inside Abraham Lincoln).  Julius, meanwhile, loves loves loves The Haunted Mansion (and the story of his first time(s) there is really great).  And he works behind the scenes there now, constantly trying to make it better (shave a few seconds off here, make this part a little scarier, etc).

And all is great until Julius is killed. (more…)

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John Edgar Wideman–“Always Raining, Somewhere, Said Jim Johnson” (Harper’s, December 2010)

Posted in Books about writers, Harper's, Huh?, John Edgar Wideman, Portlandia, Short Films, Sleater-Kinney on January 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PORTLANDIA: “Dream of the 90’s” (2011).

This is song that I think of as the theme song for the show Portlandia. (I’ve only seen the one episode so far so I don’t know if it is or not, but if it isn’t, it should be!).  This song is so indicative of the show that, if you like the video, you’ll likely enjoy the show too.  Portlandia is written by and stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney).

Although this song is meant to be evocative of the 90s (the chorus is “The dream of the 90s is alive in Portland”), musically, it’s not a 90s-era song (despite the comment that flannel still looks good in Portland).  It is actually a keyboard-only song, kind of discoey (dare I say Pet Shop Boysish?).  It’s a simple musical motif, with a catchy chorus and spoken verse, but really you listen for the lyrics:

Remember the 90s when they encouraged you to be weird?

Portland is the city where young people go to retire.

It’s like Gore won, the Bush administration never happened….  Portland’s almost an alternative universe.

It’s all tongue-in-cheek (with a surprisingly catchy chorus).  But, oh to dream.  Sleep ’til eleven…

Watch the video here.

[READ: January 24, 2011] “Always Raining, Somewhere, Said Jim Johnson”

This second Harper’s story suffered from a similar problem as the previous one.  This story felt like several snippets that never tied together.  In any way.

We see a student at the Iowa writer’s program (this sent up red flags immediately for me–not a story about being in  writing program).  And we read a lengthy section about rain.  Except it’s not really about rain, it’s about a pub in Iowa City.  And the concreteness of it is very cool.  You can really see and smell the bar.   The bartender’s routine is so exact you can win bets on when he’ll finish.   He ensues that everything is tidy and that everyone gets the hell out.  Cool, I’m with you.

Then there’s more rain and the narrator and a guy named Rich crash at Rich’s place.  Rich’s wife, Liz is also there and we learn a word or three about her.  And then the narrator starts really checking out Liz, who is completely naked on the bed with Rich.  And there’s some interesting intense moments where he thinks he’s caught.

Then we jump to another bar scene and some pretty funny comparisons between Liz and Gayle Sayers.  These come from the titular Jim Johnson who is apparently dead by the above scene.  (You don’t have to know who Gayle Sayers is to get the joke, I don’t think.  But if you don’t know who he is, he was a football player).

(more…)

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Mark Slouka–“The Hare’s Mask” (Harper’s, January 2011)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Black Prairie, Death, Harper's, Mark Slouka, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portlandia, The Decemberists on January 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DECEMBERISTS-“The King is Dead Live from Portland” on OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) (2011).

NPR loves The Decemberists, and so do I.  Not only did NPR stream their new album before it came out, they are also showing the audio and the video of this hour-long concert of the band playing The King is Dead start to finish.

I haven’t really had time to digest the whole album yet, but I am quite fond of it.  I’ve listened a few times and it’s very different from their previous releases, it has a much more folk/country feel (with harmonicas!).  And from what I can tell this live set is quite faithful to the recording.

Interestingly, when they played the entirety of The Hazards of Love live (also available from NPR), they played that entire epic album straight through with no chatter in between.  This live set is much more cordial and relaxed (like the disc itself), with some amusing delays and chatter between tracks.  (There’s an amusing reference to the lyrics of the new IFC show Portlandia).  There are tuning and tech malfunctions, and everyone plays along very nicely.  It really shows the difference between the two albums and how adaptable the band is.

Much has been made of the fact that Peter Buck plays on the album, and I have to say that the live mixing of “Down By the Water” makes it sound even more like R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” (that guitar, wow).  But it’s the country and bluegrass really comes out in this setting.  Sara Watkins’ violin really stands out.  They also mention the band’s side project, which I’d not heard of before now.  The band is Black Prairie and features Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee and Nate Query (I guess Colin Meloy is  real taskmaster that they needed to escape?).

The middle of the set is an interview with the OPB DJ (unnamed as far as I can tell) and Colin Meloy.  They talk about Hazards and the new one.  And at the end of the set there’s a Q&A from the audience (hear of Jenny’s wardrobe malfunction!).

But stay until the end because they also play “We Both Go Down Together.”  It’s a great, fun, loose set.

[READ: January 23, 2010] “The Hare’s Mask”

One of the fun things about vacations for me is that I bring all the magazines that have been idling around my house and I read them during down time.  So, I grabbed all of the magazines that were unread or half-read and put them in my suitcase.  After long days at Disney, when the family crashed, I took the time to finish those final pages.

I often find myself falling very far behind on my magazine reading, but I was delighted that after this vacation I was totally caught up (except for the 4 that awaited me when I got home).  This Harper’s story (and the next post) were the only stragglers from the trip.

And I find that I have much more to say about my trip and my magazines than about this story.  I feel like it was meant to be profound, and it certainly had the ingredients for profundity, but it failed to move me.

Perhaps it was the metaphor of tying fishing lures, which I don’t care about. Perhaps it was the rabbit killing, which was heart-string tugging, but was more distasteful than anything else. (more…)

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Felicia Day & Jeff Lewis–The Guild: Vork (2010)

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Felicia Day (author), Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jeff Lewis, Pearl Jam, Short Books, The Guild on January 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Backspacer(2009).

In 2009, Pearl Jam came out with Backspacer, a 36 minute album of short songs (most are under 3:30, with three approaching the 4 minute mark).

It’s tempting to call this a return to form, but the songs have a lot more bite and punch than the tracks on Ten (which were fast, but were often quite long with lengthy guitar solos).  Overall, the album feels like a fun album, a good chance to let their hair down (those who still have any) and rock out.  And on the opening four tracks they rock really hard.

“Gonna See My Friend” is a furious blast (and the guitar solos are tucked into the verses for maximum expediency).  “Got Some” slows the pace incrementally, and there are some interesting sparse sections where just the guitar plays.  “The Fixer” has a catchy “yeah yeah yeah” bridge which seems like a perfect fit for concerts.  And “Johnny Guitar” is another hard rocker, but it features a mid section that is a major departure from the other songs: a quiet section with bass and scratchy guitars.  It lasts but a moment but it lets you know the whole album won’t be heavy and furious..

Because even though the disc seems like it’ll be all punk, “Just Breathe” is a mellow acoustic song that sounds like it came from Vedder’s soundtrack for Into the Wild–complete with strings.  “Among the Waves” starts out similarly mellow, although it has some big choruses, and sounds like the most typical Pearl Jam song.  And “Unthought Known” is kind of a mix of these two–a big arena song with pianos, swelling verses and a guitar solo

But just when you think the rest of the album is going to just mellow out, “Supersonic” rips the pace back up.  It’s a fast rock song not unlike “Spin the Black Circle”.  Then there’s a return to the mellower songs (despite the title) with “Speed of Sound.” It starts off with an interesting minor chord progression, but returns to the upbeatness of the rest of the disc for the choruses.

“Force of Nature” introduces a wah-wah (!) and a killer chorus.  And the last song “The End” is a gentle acoustic guitar song (like “Just Breathe”) which ends the disc on a quiet note.  This isn’t a classic album, but it is good and it’s a lot of fun.  And it has a bunch of songs which will remain concert staples for a number of years.  And for those who like Pearl Jam’s poppier side, it’s an intriguing re-introduction to the band who has been out of the spotlight for some time.

[READ: January 13, 2011] The Guild: Vork

I love The Guild.  It’s a very funny and very clever show.  I also enjoyed the first comic book, especially when it turned out to be not a retelling of the show, but a sort of prequel to it.  This issue is a one-shot that focuses on Vork (played by co-author Jeff Lewis).

And in the way of One-Shots, this story is a cute and fairly amusing story about Vork’s home life.  Vork lives with his grandfather, a ninety-something year old guy who is full of vices (smoking, drinking, porn) and who lives his late years to the fullest (there’s a very funny scene of him at a rave).  His grandfather stresses Vork out to no end and he winds up taking it out on his Guild-mates (even more than usual).  And they’ve basically had it with him.  So they ask him, no tell him, to get out of the Guild.  (more…)

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