Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Terry Moore’ Category

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #10 (2019)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Completed Series, Death, Egyptology, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Lilith, Math, Murder, Neon Indian, Parenting, Supernatural, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Violence on August 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

download - 2020-05-20T121917.708SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Is David Bowie Dying” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

This six minute track starts with scraping and electronic sounds and a two note guitar melody that rise sand falls. Neon Indian, an electronic chillwave band, is the guest on this song

Around 2 minutes the music turns optimistic and soaring and then it  mellows out with trippy sounds. The lyrics change to

At the mountain, you scream
Now the fountain reveals
As you do want and make you whole
Goodbye, goodbye

The mellowness lasts for about a minute then the angular guitars returns.  This second half feels less harsh and more trippy, although the wild effects are still in place.  This sequence runs through to the end as they repeat

Take your legs and run
Into the death-rays of the sun

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #10

This limited series ends with this issue.

Katchoo is the voice over as she worries about the five years the earth has left to exist–she will have this hanging over her head as she returns home.

Francine reports that her mother is doing fine–she has the will to be alive to watch her grandchildren grow up.  This, of course, makes Katchoo even sadder.

Back home, the girls are up in the air vent wondering why Aunt Libby is crying.  But she’s not.  It turns out that there is a heavily tattooed man with a gun telling her that he plans to kidnap the two little girls because the dykes who live there have a lot of money and he intends to get the ransom for them. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #9 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Death, Egyptology, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Lilith, Math, Murder, Parenting, Supernatural, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series, Violence, Yoko Ono on August 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

download - 2020-05-20T121901.285SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Do It!” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

This three-minute interlude is mostly thumping drums and percussive noises with a repeated sample of someone (I assume Yoko Ono) saying “Do It!”

There’ a grooving bass line.  With all of the attention paid to Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, it’s easy to overlook how good a bassist Michael Ivins (and has been with Wayne from the beginning).  I assume that’s him playing on this song.

The samples are tinkered with as the bass propels the song forward.  It’s a nifty little transition piece.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #9

The cover image of this issue has nothing whatever to do with the contents.  That is true for many of the issues, but it’s disturbing for this one because it suggest something is going to happen but it’s actually something similar but ultimately very different.

In New England, Katchoo doesn’t want to believe that the woman walking across the snow is Lilith.  She doesn’t want to believe any of this.

They go inside and there’s a cookie jar.  Zoe goes to take one but Lilith says that they are for the raccoon who likes to sneak in at night and pillage my kitchen.
Zoe: “You have a raccoon?”
Lilith: “Not anymore.”

They look at the scroll  Rachel reads it “This is how he did it and this is how you undo it”  Then she looks at Lilith and snarls, “Why did you write this?”

Zoe asks He who?  Jet say they’re talking about God an how to blow us all kingdom come. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #8 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes, David Bowie, Death, Egyptology, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Lightning Bolt, Lilith, Math, Murder, NASA, Parenting, Supernatural, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series, Violence on August 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“I’m working at NASA on Acid” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

This song starts out with NASA voices and beeps.   The beeps turn into a rhythm and after a cool echoing guitar the song takes on almost a spaghetti western feel.  even with the bowed cello

The song features Lightning Bolt, a noise rock duo, and I assume they join in the fun in the middle of the song.

After three minutes, a pretty guitar melody leads to a sped up voice saying 1, 2,3, 4 as it soars into the next chaotic and wild section.  The riff speeds up, the drums and distortion increase and the song feels like an epic take off into outer space.

It runs for about two minutes and then slows down.  Way down.  After a backwards countdown 4,3,2,1, the song resumes as a gentle folk song kind of like “Space Oddity.”  It’s pretty cool.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #8

Katchoo is flying to Boston.  The voice over has a nice moment where we see just how much she loves Francine.

She lands and heads to Jet’s garage.  She tells Jet that she has something to give her.

They get into Katchoo’s car which is surrounded by ravens.  They seem to be following her.  I love Terry Moore’s art throughout this series.  He does realistic portrayals of women perfectly (even if sometimes I can’t tell some of the women apart).  I love the way he draws Jet so distinctively as well.  But those ravens, um, not so much.

Jet has no idea what the container is and when Katchoo explains the contents she thinks Katchoo is joking. Why did Stephanie send her to Jet if Jet doesn’t know what it is? (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #7 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Colombia, Death, Egyptology, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Grinderman, Math, Murder, Nick Cave, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Parenting, Skottie Young, Terry Moore, The Birthday Party, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series, Violence on August 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“You Man? Human???” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

Nick Cave’s most recent music has been quiet pretty and tender.  It’s easy to forget that he has often been a wild man of Australian punk.  His Grinderman albums emphasized that noisy history of his and this song seems perfect for Cave.

In fact, this track seems like a song he could have released with the Birthday Party forty years ago. It’s abrasive and kind of rambling–although with more modern production and sounds. It also has a slow pummeling bass notes with lots of chaotic drumming.

Unlike most of the songs on the record which have falsetto vocals, Cave’s deep voice really stands out.  He is reciting a fairly crazy story of pools and chlorine and how you can touch him if you want.

Quintessential Cave mixed with a few Lips.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #7

Katchoo was falling off a cliff.  In the wide shot we see there is water down below (and a small boat).

She lands in the water and rockets down pretty far (some creepy eels greet her before she takes off back up to the surface).

The man on the boat tries to fend her off with a long pike, but he’s no match for Katchoo who avoids the gun shots until the boat takes off.

Back home, we see Francine and her (cool) Aunt Libby in some relative domestic happiness–Katchoo hasn’t warned her about he gunman yet.

Koo resists taking out the garbage. Francine asks, “when do you want to do it”  “Later when I grow up.”

When she puts the trash in the bin, she smells…something.  Which we see is a pile of cigarette butts and a shoe.  But she is called in before she sees what it is.

Katchoo goes to a small hotel.  There’s a man sleeping in the tub.  I’m unclear what that is meant to signify, but Katchoo leaves before he wakes up.

The book ends back home with Koo unable to sleep (she is reading I Hate Fairyland, by Skottie Young).  She heads downstairs (at 3AM) and sees a male shadow looking in their glass windows. Yipes!

Don’t mess with these cute kids, you hear me!

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #6 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Colombia, Death, Egyptology, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Hospitals, Jim James, Math, Monkeys, Murder, My Morning Jacket, Parenting, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series, Violence on August 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Children of the Moon” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

Lately, Jim James has been going in a more mellow direction after the pretty heavy psychedelia of Circuital in 2011.  But this song stays in that heavy psychedelic vein with a big distorted guitar riff and distorted vocals from James (and Coyne, I assume).

It’s that weird mix of creepy and catchy that the Lips do so well.  You can clearly hear James on the lead vocals, but who knows who is contributing vocals to the rest (the oh oh ohs).  The guitar solo is all distorted and reversed–a noisy explosion of sound.

This song is barely four minutes and it’s followed by another noisy short one before the album segues back into quieter terrain.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #6

Katchoo was given coordinates to meet Stephanie.  The coordinates put her way off the grid in Colombia.  As she waits, a guy on a moped drives up and a monkey hops off and delivers a package (that’s pretty adorable, honestly).

Katchoo can only assume things are bad since Stephanie didn’t show.  She can’t imagine what is in the satchel (she hopes it’s not Francine’s head).

But no, it is a tube and in the tube is an ancient piece of papyrus–Cleopatra’s mathematical ideas. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #5 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Death, Egyptology, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Math, Murder, Parenting, Sci-fi, Tame Impala, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series, Violence on August 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Children of the Moon” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

I’m not exactly sure when Tame Impala became huge.  I actually didn’t even realize they were huge until this past summer when I saw them. I’d always just liked their modern psychedelia.  I gather they’ve been huge for a while.  But I don’t think they were huge in 2012 when this album came out.  So really, Tame Impala was just another cool indie rocker singing along with the Flaming Lips.

None of the songs on this album are particularly “poppy” what with all the distortion and noise on them.  But this song is certainly one of the catchiest.  The guitar melody (which is very Flaming Lips) is simple and instantly grabbing.  The vocals are high falsetto–which are probably Wayne and Kevin Parker together.

After a trippy middle instrumental, the song resumes with acoustic guitar an a nice sing along.  It feels like a solid combination of The Lips and Tame Impala.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #5

The island that Katchoo woke up on is called Bonbi, a private island in the Riviera.  The person waiting for her is Tambi.

Tambi proceeds to give Katchoo a history lesson about Cleopatra and the history of Base Phi Mathematics.

I don’t know that much about Cleopatra, so I’m going to assume that the history here is true.  I don’t know a thing about Base Phi Mathematics, so I don’t know whether Cleopatra knew anything about it. I’ll assume Moore did his research.

Anyhow, Base Phi Mathematics is also the foundation for he Alaskan Collider that exploded and caused all the trouble for Katchoo.  (Yup, I’m skimming the hard science). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #4 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Death, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Murder, Parenting, Prefuse 73, Scotland, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series, Violence on August 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Supermoon Made Me Want to Pee” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

This is (almost) the shortest song on the album at just over 3 minutes. And it’s kind of a transitional song.

There’s not a lot to it.  It’s fast and propulsive with a never-ending bass rumble and vocals (singing the words “coming up”) going higher and higher in pitch which makes it all seem more intense.

After two minutes the song seems to peak, settling down in to gentle washes with swirling sounds floating around.  It segues nicely into the next song, “Children of the Moon.”

The collaboration on this song is with Prefuse 73.  Prefuse 73 is a producer known mostly for hip hop, but also other sound effects.  It’s hard to know exactly what he contributed, but I think the collaboration works well.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #4

This issue also feels like a transitional issue.

Issue 3 ended with Katchoo possibly chasing a guy who ran away.

But it also ended with her being very sick.

Those two facets combine right away as Katchoo tries to catch the man on foot but quickly succumbs to pneumonia.

This is some of Terry Moore’s most impressionistic drawing–even if the fields of Scotland’s Isle of Skye are beautifully rendered, the people are all in motion.

When Katchoo passes out in a field, a woman in a hat spies her and, upon seeing who she is, picks her up and brings her to a nearby cottage. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #3 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Drambuie, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, End of the World, Fears, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Parenting, Scotland, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Violence on August 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Helping the Retarded to Know God” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

After an intense dance song and a trippy synth song, why not follow it up with a (mostly) acoustic song with an incredibly offensive title?

Turns out this incredibly offensive title is actually the name of a (serious) book written in 1969 (you can see it and the rather amusing contemporary reviewed on Amazon).

I don’t think the lyrics address the book exactly (although I haven’t read it).  But with lyrics like

We can hear them laughing at us
Judging all the time
I wish I could be like you
You don’t pay them no mind

It’s hard to tell.

This song is sung by Wayne in his falsetto and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (the whole band or just the singer, I don’t know) singing along.

After a minute and a half some processed drum beats add some texture to the song which stays mostly quiet and pretty. The Lips can sure do pretty went they want.  There’s even birds tweeting.

After five and a half minutes, the song shifts gears to a repeated refrain of

And I am trying to know you.

The song is 7 minutes long, but it never drags, which is quite a compliment.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #3

Issue 2 ended with a literal cliffhanger–Katchoo hanging off the edge of a cliff.  She’s freezing. There are dogs above and even an eagle flying at her.  She’s in a bad way until a rope comes down.

It is from Jet and Earl.  Jet figured Katchoo might do something stupid so she went to the gated house and heard the screams.

Jet explains that the home owner is an asshole, but they may need him to get any information on Stephanie.  Katchoo has put up with assholes before and she pulls out a gun of her own.  After some threats back and forth (the guy was shooting rock salt as a warning and mostly wants to know who will pay for the fence that Katchoo drove through), Jet is able to calm things enough to learn that the man doesn’t know where Stephanie is.

But he provides a small clue–Scotland.  Stephanie loved Scotland. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #2 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Bon Iver, End of the World, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Parenting, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Unfinished series on August 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Ashes in the Air” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

The second song sounds a lot more like The Flaming Lips (latter period).  Starting out with spacey zaps and a super fast drum electric drums beat, the song is actually slow and trippy with interweaving heavily distorted synth lines.

Wayne sings lead (with his voice modified):

You and me we were both so fucked up
You’re fucked in a good way
I’m fucked up in a bad.

After the first verse, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon sings the echoing first lines in a highly processed almost unrecognizable voice.  This was before Bon Iver recorded his weirdo 22, A Million album so it’s safe to assume that either Wayne influenced Justin or Wayne allowed Justin to explore an arena he hadn’t before.

The song is catchy in that darkly sweet sounding style that The Lips create.  Despite the fact that the lyrics are quite dark:

We thought we could outrun them but they had robot dogs

So, yeah, The Flaming Lips in a nutshell.

It ends with those same spacey zaps fading out–a pretty solid Lips song.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #2

Issue 1 ended with Katchoo in a guy’s house.  Issue 2 opens with Katchoo hanging for dear life on the side of a mountain.

The story gives some background on the Parker Girls story.  Darcy Parker was the leader of a group of women–dangerous, deadly women who were selected for their beauty and their skills.  She mentored and paid for them and essentially owned them.  If they turned on her, they were killed with no mercy.

The woman from issue 1, Laura, whose real name was Stephanie was a Parker Girl.  She cut a deal with the Senate to revel the details of the Parker Girl operation.  Since Darcy was now dead, she assumed she could easily hide.  But Parker Girls don’t give up. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Terry Moore–Strangers in Paradise XXV #1 (2018)

Posted in Abstract Studio, Adventure, Biz Markee, End of the World, Fears, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Hour of the Time Majesty 12, Kesha, Parenting, Terry Moore, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, The Stooges, Unfinished series on August 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“2012 (You Must Be Upgraded)” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

The first song is I believe made by Kesha (who wanted to collaborate with Wayne Coyne).  I understand it is a kind of update of The Stooges’ “1969.”  I’ll have to assume that’s true.

It starts with Kesha saying, “Coz I want my ass.  Shit.  Sorry.”  And then the stomping electronic dancey but chaotic beat starts up.  “2012 (You Must Be Upgraded)” features Kesha, Biz Markie & Hour of the Time Majesty 12.

It runs along with Kesha singing (incoherently) and Biz Markee chiming in (also incoherently).  I don’t really know what they’re saying, but it’s oddly catchy.

The middle has some psychedelic flutes and a relatively clean vocal line from Kesha.  She sings nicely and It feels like the end of the song–like its just going to fade out–but no, after a beat, the noisy dance part starts up again.  At four minutes, it’s a relatively short song on this album.  And it certainly sets the tone for what follows (which means who the hell knows what’s going to come next).

This song is so unlike The Flaming Lips, I’m not even sure what they contributed to it.  Lyrics? Music? Anything?  Who knows.  The unknown contributors are Hour of the Time Majesty 12 who are Spooki Tavi and Ashi Dala an experimental pop group who “create cartoon-like psychedelic fantasy in the dusty shimmer of east Hollywood.”  They have two albums out which I may have to investigate.

[READ: August 1, 2019] Strangers in Paradise XXV #1

I loved the Strangers in Paradise series.  Terry Moore’s art is amazing and the story was incredibly affecting.  I was really saddened when it ended in 2012.

Then in 2018 he announced that he was restarting the story–a 25th anniversary update!  Hence the XXV in the title.

I subscribed to the monthly publication issues but wanted to wait until the ten issue arc was completed before I started reading it.

Issue 1 begins with a man on a subway looking at his phone.  When he doors open, a kid grabs his phone, and takes off.  The phone gets tossed around until a woman who looks a lot like Katchoo takes out the sim card and throws the phone down.

The man calls his wife from work to say what happened.  His wife, Laura, asks about the woman who took out the sim card.  He describes Katchoo and Laura freaks out.  She kicks a hole in a wall, takes out a bug-out-bag and flees.  Shortly, Katchoo goes into the house and sees that Laura has left already. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »