[LISTENED TO: June 2014] The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
Holy cow, did I love this audio book!
I was looking for an audio book that the kids would enjoy on a long car ride. The title sounded terrific and when I saw that it was read by Bronson Pinchot, I didn’t wait another second to download it. And yes, Pinchot’s reading was stellar and amazing, but in addition, the story was hilarious and fantastic.
And I’ll get out of the way that the book is completely kid-friendly. There’s nothing objectionable (the harshest word is crud). Some of the violence is cartoony (and Pinchot makes it pretty visceral) but it doesn’t last long. My nine-year old and six-year-old were just as hooked as the adults.
This book aims to set the record straight about Prince Charming. Prince Charming is of course in every fairy tale, but you did know that they are not the same Prince Charming, right? Those lousy bards who created the songs about the female leads certainly got the Princesses names correct, but they never bothered to get the Princes’ names into the songs. (Charming is an adjective, not a name). So, meet Prince Liam, Prince Frederic, Prince Duncan and Prince Gustav. They’re the Prince Charmings (actually it is Princes Charming–the book is very much a stickler for proper grammar), who saved–Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively. And they are out to make names for themselves or at least make their names known.
Each one of them starts as an outcast for a different reason. The only thing I found confusing about this story was trying to keep the kingdom names straight. So I’m trying to outline them here. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: HAUSCHKA-“Improvisation,” “Random Gifts” and “Mt. Hood” in the NPR studios (2010).
Hauschka is German composer Volker Bertelmann and he plays the prepared piano. What that means is that he places things on and in the piano to alter the sound of it. (Nothing he does creates any permanent damage).
Mostly he creates percussive sounds with things like bottle caps,Tic Tac boxes and skewers. And while it sounds simple, it is really quite ingenious.
This Vimeo link shows him talking to Guy Raz at NPR about the random materials that Raz has given him and then demonstrating how they change the sound of things. Then he plays the “Random Gifts.”
The Youtube Video below shows another improv piece from the same day using different items.
This Vimeo link to him playing “Mt. Hood” shows off his use of ping pong balls.
All of his songs are fairly simple and fairly slow, primarily because the preparations add resonances and percussion that would overwhelm if he played faster. Thus his pieces are often moody and reflective
Hauschka has a new album out as of this month called Abandoned City. Every track on the new CD is named after a city that has been abandoned, that is vacant. And his spare oftentimes eerie music goes very well with that theme.
There’s lots more videos of him on YouTube which are worth checking out.
[READ: June 23, 2014] Flinch
I was grabbed by the cover of this graphic novel. The book is so short that I was really surprised to see that it was actually a collection of short stories. As you can tell from the subtitle, this work is going to be dark and more than a little creepy. And it is. And while there are some similar visual styles, it’s interesting to see just how different these 13 stories can be. Most of the stories use very few words, relying instead on the power of the visuals. And it works pretty well.
I didn’t think any of them were especially creepy or dark, although the first one is kinda gross. I enjoyed them for what they were, short stories that revel in the darker side of life. I hadn’t heard of most of the artists. The only one I knew was Shaun Tan. (more…)
Man, I love Moon Hooch–that loud crazy baritone sax and the other skronky sax. But there’s also the great drumming. And, in this song, there’s so many stops and starts, it’s amazing they can do so much with just 2 different types of instrument.
Just how many different things can one band do with two saxophones and a drummer? Well, in the case of Moon Hooch, the answer seems to be limitless. This song jumps and twists–it has a heavy loud section and a smooth groovy section, it even has a loud thunderous section. Between Colin Stetson and Moon Hooch, the saxophone is definitely cool again.
And why not watch Moon Hooch play this song at a scenic rest stop on a Pennsylvania highway:
[READ: June 10, 2014] “Balfour and Meriwether in The Adventure of the Emperor’s Vengeance”
After having read the other two Balfour and Meriwether stories, it seemed only natural to track down the first of the stories. And it happened to be collected in this Steampunk anthology. I didn’t read anything else in the anthology even though I like steampunk, mostly because I didn’t have time.
This story opens, as the others do with Balfour and Meriwether sitting at home by the fire. Then Lord Carmichael bursts in with news. This means Balfour and Meriwhether know it is time to save Queen and country.
In this case, the crisis involves Napoleon and some old plundered Egyptian goods. This proves to be a similar premise as Tales from the Clockwork Empire and I have no idea if Napoleon’s plundering of Egyptian artifacts led to any clockwork machinery for real or not–I may have to look that up. But this story ups the ante by having a Jewish conspiracy as well.
The British museum has several Egyptian artifacts (taken from Napoleon’s army), but it is believed that Napoleon’s men included false items with the loot in order to discredit anyone who thinks that all of the items are real. One such falsity was believed to be a sarcophagus. Lord Abington (the anti-Semite) wants that sarcophagus opened while no one else around. But when he opened it the others in the next room heard a scream, a thud and then silence. Meriwther and Balfour speculate about what was in there–perhaps it was plague and the whole museum may need to be razed. This freaks out Lord Carmichael, naturally. (more…)
I loved Book I and Book II of The Grimnoir Chronicles immensely. The first was an amazing introduction to this new world and the second upped the scale and intensity to an amazing level (nearly destroying Washington D.C.).
And since the beginning of Book II picked up shortly after the events of Book II, it seemed pretty safe to assume that we would be heading into the giant conflict that was predicted at the end of Book II–fighting the creature that was coming to kill The Power. For real context, read the other two reviews first (I mean, really), but for simple context, a sizable minority of the population has the gift of Magic. This gift comes from The Power and it allows people to do all kinds of things–bend gravity, transport from one place to another, talk through animals, fade into walls, etc.
It has only been recently, through the work of our heroes, that people understood just how people got the power. It came from The Power, a creature that gave humans magic and then fed off of them when they died. It was a symbiotic relationship. But of course people who did not have Power hated those with Power. Even though the people with Power often use their power for good, there were of course people who didn’t. Consequently all people with The Power were scapegoated. This is all laid on a backdrop of alternate reality 1930s America, where the Nipponese are ascending and offer a very credible threat–especially since their Magicals are organized and brutal. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: An open letter to the Rheostatics (2014).
To Dave, Martin, Tim and assorted drummers:
I’ve been a fan of the Rheostatics for a long time. I recall traveling to Toronto from New Jersey back in the 90s and tracking down Introducing Happiness at Sam the Record Man. And then later driving around the Niagara Falls region listening to the strange and wonderful album. I’ve enjoyed all of the subsequent albums.
You were a unique band with a unique sound. I was sad when you split up, even if that meant that now there were three solo projects to enjoy. Of course, there’s been a lot of bands that have broken up, it’s just part of being a fan. But the thing about the Rheostatics breakup is that you three (or four or five or six) have remained friendly. You’ve done a few reunion shows since the breakup, which I think that’s super cool. It’s especially cool because RheostaticsLive tends to post them after a while so that those of us who don’t make the shows can hear them.
I’ve never seen you guys live, and I imagine I never will. And I’m okay with that. What I’m mostly bummed about is that there will be no more new music from you. You put out approximately ten albums (there’s a few miscellaneous things that are hard to qualify). Those records include soundtracks and live albums and all manner of things, so there’s really seven proper albums (the others are great, don’t get me wrong). Anyhow, my gut feeling is that there needs to be some new Rheostatics music. I know you’ve all been doing solo stuff (and I have it), but sometimes the sum is greater, etc.
Clearly I’m getting at that it’s time for a new album from the Rheostatics. Before you scoff, I’m not talking reuniting for a grand tour, or even any tour, I’m not even talking a live show. Heck, I’m not even talking about you guys hanging out for more than a couple weeks. Just an album of new songs. A decade ago it would have been unthinkable that you would get together for the expense of an album without major label support. But now, the cost is so much lower and with your fan base expanding, I assume it would be easy to recoup the expenses.
So what do you say? Since it seems like everyone is still friendly and creative, maybe you can throw some ideas around in the email, see if there’s anything magical happening. Obviously, if there’s nothing there or you just can’t work together, then don’t continue. No one wants to hear a crappy Rheostatics album. But if there’s even a chance that you guys can throw some ideas together and pull out another “Horses,” or “Northern Wish” or “CCYPA,” or holy cow, “King of the Past,” or, hell, anything you’ve done, then it’s absolutely worth it.
I don’t imagine any of you will read this, but maybe if you google yourselves, Tim Vesely, Dave Bidini, Martin Tielli, you’ll see this and think that, yes, dammit, seven records of Rheostatics music is not enough.
Thanks for the music, Paul Debraski.
[READ: January 26, 2014] Worst. Person. Ever.
I told myself that I wanted to read this book before anyone requested it. And I did. In fact, I wanted to finish it before the weekend was up, which I did as well. It’s nice to meet a minor goal.
The last few Coupland books that I read (see last week) were very dark. Since those books, he has broadened his palette somewhat, including writing a children’s book and some more non-fiction. And then we get this. A vulgar, very funny sendup of modern culture. The introduction to the book says that it was based on a short story that he wrote for McSweeney’s #31 called “Survivior.” That story was written in the style known a biji which they described as
Biji is sort of a notebook, which contains legends, anecdotes, scientific notes and local wisdom. Accounts of everyday life mix with travel narratives as well as lists. It is meant to represent a picture of the culture at the time of writing.
I thought that this style was well suited to Coupland, because he includes all of that stuff anyway. And so he has taken that story and fleshed it out into this full novel.
The worst person ever is named Raymond Gunt. He thinks he’s Jason Bourne, but he’s really just a metaphorical extra in a Bourne movie (one who probably gets killed). Gunt is a cameraman working in England. He is divorced. His wife is a raging harpy (at least from his point of view, which is all we see). Since their divorce, she has become wildly successful in television production. He calls in on her at work and she tells him about a job working as a B cameraman on a show called Survival. He knows that the job must suck or she wouldn’t give it to him, but he needs to work. Of course, he is most upset at the thought of having to work with Americans (Americans are majorly abused in this story). Although by its very nature a B cameraman position is not as good as an A cameraman, Ray needs the work, so he agrees to fly to some godforsaken tropical island to watch beautiful people starve and try to have sex with each other.
On his way out of the building he sees a homeless guy. And since Ray is the worst person ever, he kicks him. But the homeless guy is no pushover and he chases after Ray. He catches Ray in an alley and pummels him, ultimately pushing his face into some garbage. The man is Neal and although he acts crazy, he’s actually quite sharp (why he is homeless is not addressed). After forcing Ray to sing the female verses of “Don’t You Want Me,” Neal gives him this sage advice:
“Stop being a cunt to the world and the world will stop being a cunt to you.”
Advice which Ray simply cannot follow.
When ray learns that he needs a personal assistant, um, slave, he immediately thinks of Neal. So he tracks him down, cleans him up and gives him a job. And off they jet to make some TV.
In the course of the book, a series of crazy things–the kind of things only Coupland thinks of–sidetrack them from Ray’s goal. (His real goal is to get laid, naturally). First, it turns out that Neal, despite being homeless, is a total babe magnet. And throughout the story, as he gets cleaner and fresher, he becomes irresistible This, of course, ruins Ray’s plans of bedding hot women. And as Neal gets cleaner, he becomes less and less Rays assistant and more and more Ray’s equal.
They jet to L.A., (he was supposed to be in first class, but was bumped and is super angry). He also gets in trouble with the airport bartender, Lacey, who comes back to haunt him in ways one could never predict. He gets first class seats on the way to Hawaii and he abuses the privilege. Then, because of unforeseen circumstances, they have to stay in Honolulu (with lots of Spam jokes). And because of those unforseen circumstances, they need to recast the show, which means Ray’s wife has to jet down and be around them. And Ray’s wife, Fiona, is delighted to make Ray’s life miserable. Eventually, they head to their intended island and prepare to set up for the show.
In the meantime, the U.S. has decided to destroy the Great Pacific Garbage Patch–in a very imaginative way. And ray is on hand to witness the destruction. This plan causes all manner of trouble with shipping and airplane traffic. Which has the effect of isolating everyone on the Survivor island–causing a literal survival situation.
Raymond Gunt may not be the worst person ever, but he is pretty darn close. He tries to sleep with anyone. He tries to screw over everyone else (but never seems to get anywhere). And he genuinely likes to torment others. And all the while he repeats his mantra, “I consider myself a reasonable enough citizen.” Despite Gunt’s personality, he (or at least the story) is funny enough that you want to keep reading (and maybe even to succeed in some of his designs). And that made this story a major page turner. And it was very funny as well.
Coupland really gets the feel for writing a British story. It doesn’t read like any of his other books and while it’s not full of crazy accents or overt Britishisms, his main character is defiantly not American. As I said, all Americans are fat, sweaty, stupid and prudish in Ray’s mind.
This is also the worst person that Coupland has ever written. He is such an abominable person with an incredibly filthy mouth. The above quote is just one of just many curses in the book. In fact there’s a whole subplot about how prudish Americans are about people saying “fuck” despite their cavalier acceptance of violence and other things (we say friggin, when everyone knows we mean fucking).
I have to assume Coupland had a ton of fun writing this. And it really comes through. I’m also going to guess that a lot of people’ won’t like this book because Gunt is so reprehensible. But if you can get past that, the story is funny, and makes some pointedly humorous observations about a lot of contemporary life. Like “Survival [sic] is a popular reality TV show… You’re either into this show or you’re not. It’s binary.” or “‘Come on Eileen’ was a single in 1982…What’s weird about this song is that it was so huge at the time and now you listen to it and wonder, what the hell was everyone thinking? Well, that’s pop culture for you.” It even has what seem like Wikipedia entries of things throughout in the book (and a YouTube link which is bizarre to see in print).
I really enjoyed this, and I’m thrilled that Coupland has unleashed his inner black humorist.
Watch him talk about the book with Jian Ghomeshi, a great interviewer
This is a 17 minute song that they played on All Songs Considered the other day. And it is quite an epic.
It begins with a heavy guitar riff that pretty much proclaims that the song will be epic. But it quickly morphs into a kind of Ok Computer-era Radiohead song for a few minutes. At 4:30, the guitar solo kicks in and it seems possible that the song will be about 6 minutes in total. Until the new bassline enters at 5:30.
Now the song takes on an epic space-rock feel. The guitar sounds get very spacey and 70s Pink Floyd, there’s soloing and crazy effects. And no more words. The steady propulsive bass keeps the song moving along, slowly building and building. Until the huge freakout at 11 minutes, when the drums crash in and the guitar gets noisy and then there’s a… saxophone solo? I like the way the sax adds a new level of unexpected noise, but I don’t really think it “fits” very well in the song. Luckily it’s not very long.
The song continues in this vein until it reaches the end where we get a big heavy metal crescendoed ending. It is epic, indeed.
I simply can’t imagine what else would be on this record.
[READ: January 8, 2014] Fortunately, The Milk
I was delighted to see this book in the new section at the library. I hadn’t realized that Gaiman was working on a new book, and this is a fun and light trifle of a tale.
It is a simple story about a how a carton of milk can save of the universe.
As the story opens, the kids’ mum has gone away to a conference. And their dad is to be watching them. She has given him a whole list of things to do while she is gone, like making sure they get to their appointed locations on time and that he reheats the food she has prepared. And, lastly, to make sure he gets some milk as they are almost out. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: LAURA GIBSON-Tiny Desk Concert #1 (April 22, 2008).
I have enjoyed many of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts over the years. And while I was listening to an All Songs Considered show, it was mentioned that there have been over 200 shows (I believe it is now over 300). And I realized that I had missed dozens of good ones. So, being the kind of person I am, I decided to start watching/listening to them all. I don’t typically watch most of them as they’re usually not very visually interesting–they’re fun to watch for a minute or so, but most of the artists are there to sing, not to do visual entertainment. So usually I just listen while doing something else.
I toyed with the idea of writing about one a day until I was done. But the logistics of that made my head hurt. So instead, I will write about them all over the course of however long it takes. (And since they don’t post one every day, I will catch up eventually).
Laura Gibson had the first ever Tiny Desk show, and there’s some notable things about the show itself. First, look how empty Bob’s shelves are! And the camera work is a little wonky, I think. I also enjoy how they introduce this performance without a clue as to whether there would be more of them!
I had never heard of Laura Gibson before listening to this. She plays simple but beautiful guitar (I enjoyed watching how confidently she played the chords and individual strings). But the big selling point is her voice. Her voice is very quiet (this was the impetus for the Tiny Desk concept–they saw her in a club and the crowd was too loud for them to enjoy her so they invited her up to their office). But her voice is also slightly peculiar (in a very engaging way), which you can especially hear on “A Good Word, An Honest Man,” where she is practically a capella.
She sings four songs: “Hands in Pockets,” “A Good Word, An Honest Man,” “Come by Storm,” “Night Watch.” The sing-along at the end of the last song is really pretty–shame the audience wasn’t mic’d. All four songs are beautiful and slightly haunting–her delivery is so spare you kind of lean in to hear more. She currently has three albums out, and I’d like to investigate her music further.
[READ: October 31, 2013] “A Comet’s Tale”
Despite the fact that this article talks about and more or less guarantees the end of the world by asteroid or comet it was incredibly enjoyable and staggeringly informative.
Bissell begins by talking about the Biblical Apocalypse and how in 1862 Premillennial Dispensationalism (premillennialism is the belief that Christ will return before setting up his millennial kingdom and dispensationalism divides up the Bible and human history into various eras or dispensations, based on how God deals with humanity) was smuggled into the Americas and it has never left. Fully 59% of Americans now believe that Revelations will come to pass (although what that could possibly literally mean is another question). [Incidentally the book is not called Revelations, it is Revelation or more specifically Revelation to John. And all of that numerology (666) must mean something right? Well, yes, it means that the Ancient world was obsessed with numerology. The bible makes great use of the trick of predicting the future by describing the past.
Bissell pulls back from the bible to look at planet Earth “the most ambitious mass murderer in the galaxy.” He then lists all the atrocities that have happened from natural causes to all species in the history of the planet. But even recent tragedies (which seem to only happen to people in far off countries says the westerner) are only by happenstance happening there. Between overpopulation and global warming we are preparing for our own apocalypse. Although we also mustn’t look too crazy like in The Late Great Planet Earth (which still sells around 10,00 copies a year). In that book Hal Lindsey predicted the end of the world but also the rise of a single world religion, a Soviet Ethiopian invasion of Israel and the obliteration of Tokyo, London and New York. But astonishingly, Lindsey also worked for the Reagan administration, much like Tim LeHaye (famed “author” of the Left Behind series) was co-chairman of Jack Kemp’s 1988 presidential campaign. Apocalyptos have way too much power in this country.
But even if we weren’t preparing for our own doom, there would still be space items to do it for us. Like 1950DA an asteroid that has near-missed the earth fifteen times and may just not miss us in the future. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: NEIL HALSTED-“Wittgenstein’s Arm” (2012).
Halsted was a founder of the band Slowdive, who I knew somewhat. I don’t know anything of his solo work, although his name rang a little familiar.
This is a very pretty, slow acoustic ballad. Halsted’s voice is whispery and with proper folk inflections. The chorus has a very catchy melody. And yet the lyrics are really dark and sad.
And while there is a mention of an arm in the song, there’s no mention of Wittgenstein.
You can check out the video here:
[READ: November 3, 2013] Wittgenstein’s Mistress p. 181-end
This peculiar book draws to a close in much the same way that it started. There are a few interesting revelations or, if not revelations, then perhaps ponderables as to the nature of just what our narrator (who is apparently named Helen) is doing.
As this last section opens, she is revisiting some more of the things that have been on her mind for the book—the waterlogged atlas that lies flat on the shelf and that blasted arthritic should/ankle .
I have been wondering about her constant references to her period. In addition to simply being something that happens to her which she is recording, I have to wonder if it is a nod to her fertility and the fact that since she is the last person alive she will never bear children. On a slightly related note, I also have to wonder if her focus on rape means she was once raped. It’s not necessarily the case of course, but there is a lot of it in the book, like this next mention: (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: PANIC-Requiem for Martin Heidegger (1978).
Panic was a Dutch punk band. Their album 13 came out in 1978 and “Requiem for Martin Heidegger” was the final track. I love the album cover (and no I had never heard of this band either).
The lyrics are wonderfully simple (and no you won’t learn a thing about the man) with the completely singable chorus of “Hi-Degger, Hi-Degger, Hi-Degger, Hi-Degger, Hi!”
There are some other lyrics (including ein, zwei, drei, vier) and “Is he in heaven, is he in hell, where has he gone? no one can tell.”
There’s some introductory chatter which I think is in German, but may be in Dutch. But that’s all irrelevant, because this is three minutes of classic 70s punk. And the video is a hoot too.
[READ: October 30, 2013] Wittgenstein’s Mistress p. 120-180
Although I read the first half of this book rather quickly, I took some time off before reading this section. The good news is that this book does not require constant attention. The bad news is that because there are so many details in the book (whether “relevant” or not) it’s easy to forget if she has talked about the different pieces before. And that is kind of the point from her a well, since she constantly questions whether she has talked about something or not.
I’m breaking from my normal summary for a minute because I wanted to bring up something that struck me as I was reading this. Several times throughout the book I found myself searching the web for ideas and facts that she mentions. And it struck me that, while yes, in her world, the internet wouldn’t be working anyhow—there’s no electricity even—but she would not even have the concept of being able answer her questions with a few clicks. This book wasn’t written that long ago, but when it was, the internet as we know it didn’t exist. So our narrator does not know that she could have answered all of her questions in just seconds. If this book was written now, it might even be seen as a “point” that the world no longer has such easy access to information. But that is not an issue in this book. Rather, our narrator simply knows that unless she is willing to dig through boxes or really wrack her brain to be able to remember where she found the information (and we know that’s not going to be successful), she simply won’t “know” what she knows. And it’s interesting to imagine what it was like to read this book back in the 1980s without being able to quickly confirm that indeed Wittgenstein said this or Heidegger said that or even that any of the artists she mentions really did what she says. And I find that really fascinating.
Vaguely connected to this idea is her wondering about some details of the Savona soccer jerseys and then saying “One is scarcely about to return to Savona to check on this, however.” (122). (more…)
This song is also on the WXPN Kids Corner CD. Ozokidz is related to the band Ozomatli, who I don’t know all that much about.
The music in this song is very upbeat reggae with the main melody done on kazoos (I suspect this is all one person, but i don’t know for sure). There’s also some kids’ instruments playing along. The beat is fast enough that I might consider this ska.
This song is a lesson about germs. It begins by telling us how to prevent germs from causing us trouble (washing your hands, mostly). The second half talks about how some germs—some bacteria—are good for us (bacteria is rhymed with healing ya). But certainly the most memorable part of the song is when he rhymes food with poo (and the song stops so a tiny voice can say “ew, he said poo”).
The message is a good one, and the delivery method is more fun than anything else. Although it seems a little half-baked of an idea to me.
[READ: August and September 2013] The Underworlds series
I was delighted when I saw that Tony Abbott had a new series and I couldn’t wait to start reading it to the kids. T. has been asking me to read the Droon series to her like I did for C. But it is such a long series that I was happy to find something shorter to start with. It turns out that this Underworlds series is aimed a little older than Droon. It gets pretty dark, and I was a little worried about some of the concepts in it (the Underworlds are the realm of death after all–and hmm, she has been talking a lot about death lately…). But in pure Tony Abbott fashion, this was an exciting series where nothing less than the fate of the world is at stake. And there’s humor as well (although somewhat less than in his other series). But what really sold me on this series was the way he uses classical mythology (accurately) to generate the basis and conflict of this story.
And even better than using these mythologies, Abbot merges them so that the different cultural underworlds run into each other and even join forces. It is a great way to learn some mythology if you don’t know it (there are handy maps of the Underworlds) or to gain a more in-depth understanding of the mythologies. By the end of the series, the kids will have encountered the Greek, Norse, Egyptian and Babylonian gods of the Underworld as well as some of the major scary guys that come out of the Underworld. (more…)
Holy cow, did I love this audio book!
I Just Read About That... 