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Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

David Petersen–Mouse Guard Fall 1152 (2007)

Posted in Adventure, All Songs Considered, Amiina, C., Children's Books, David Petersen, Death, Fantasy, Fears, Lee Hazlewood, Military, Short Books on December 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

mouse fallSOUNDTRACK: AMIINA-“Hilli” (2006).

220px-HilliThis song (and the single version which features a spoken word track by Lee Hazlewood) was featured in NPR’s 2007 Holiday Music special.  I’m not exactly sure that there’s anything particularly Christmassy or Holiday about it, but it is certainly pretty.

Amiina are an Icelandic band who are known mostly for their strings.  They have played string accompaniment with Sigur Rós on albums and on tour.  I had known about them as a string quartet so I was surprised by this beautiful song which has no real strings (at least quartet strings).  The “strings” sound more like hammered dulcimers and plucked violin strings.  It has a very simple melody played delicately.  And then the voices–layers of sweet female voices–sing notes over the music.  It is calming and a perfect antidote to hectic Christmas time and treacly Christmas music.

I still don’t know if it has anything to do with the holidays, but it’s part of my holiday music collection now.

[READ: December 5, 2013] Mouse Guard Fall 1152

I saw this book in the library and decided to get it for C.  But I also thought the artwork looked amazing so I decided to read it for myself.  I feel like he may be a tad young for the book (it’s kind of slow and vaguely “political”), although I’m sure he’d like the artwork (and some of the fighting).  But I thought the book was absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed every page of it.

The story itself is quiet simple (and feels like it could be much much longer).  It covers six books (and an epilogue) and is all about the mice of Lockhaven as they struggle for survival in the Fall of 1152.  Now these are normal sized mice—their homes and mansions and everything are hidden from view inside trees and ivy, but their problems are very real.  And very dangerous.

So dangerous that they have formed the Mouse Guard.  The Guard is there not only to fight off intruders but also to assist citizens as they wander through the territories.

This book follows three of the Guard: Lieam, Saxon and Kenzie as they become aware of a traitorous plot that threatens all of Lockhaven. (more…)

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Tony Abbott–Underworlds series [Books 1-4] (2012)

Posted in Adventure, C., Children's Books, Death, End of the World, Fables, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Gods, Kids Corner, Myths, Ozokidz, Ozomatli, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Tony Abbott, Violence, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on November 3, 2013| 1 Comment »

underwSOUNDTRACK: OZOKIDZ-“Germs” (2013).

ozokidsThis 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…)

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Lara’s Book: Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider Phenomenon–with thoughts and story by Douglas Coupland and Strategies from Kip Ward (1998)

Posted in Adventure, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Douglas Coupland, Fantasy, Funny (strange), Kip Ward, Kris Renkewitz, Sex, Technology, The Future, Tomb Raider, Unfinished, Voivod on August 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

laraSOUNDTRACK: VOIVOD-War and Pain (1984).

warandIt was easy to know that Voivod were going to be an unusual band.  Their name is crazy.  All the members had nicknames like Piggy, Blacky, Snake, and, confusingly, Away.  And they were French Canadian, which meant that their singer’s first language wasn’t English–I love the way he stresses things in his vocals especially on later albums, and he had the guttural French that sounds like a cookie monster vocalist even when he is just speaking.

Later on, their prog and psychedelic leanings would come out more, but on their debut, they were just a noisy, screamy pounding metal band.  And this debut has typically bad mid 80s metal production to top it off.

In 2004 the album was remastered with bonus tracks, a full live concert and a CD ROM with all kinds of goodies.  I originally thought the remaster didn’t sound that good, but there is definitely some clarity that the remaster brings.  It allows you to hear a lot of the subtleties (and there are some) that were lost in the original.

There are hints at the kind of weird sounding noises the band would make on future albums, but this is mostly just fast, pounding music.  I’d have liked them to re-record this stuff before Piggy died, just to see what a proper recording studio could do with these earlier songs.

Of course, now that I have listenedto it again with better equipment, I’m changing my assessment somewhat.  Despite the very heavy nature of the songs there are some very cool sequences in here.  They are nothing compared to the complexities that the band would undertake in just a few short years, but there are some really interesting things underway and the remaster definitely highlights them a little better. It still sounds pretty bad 9especially compared to their later records), but hey, they only spent $2,000 and recorded it in a studio where the engineer had never heard a metal band before.

[READ: August 23, 2013] Lara’s Book

I have known of this book since it came out in 1998.  I was a huge fan of Douglas Coupland and yet I had zero interest in Lara Croft or Tomb Raider. So I simply ignored this book.  But because I’m being all completist with this blog, it was time to bite the bullet and see what this piece of nonsense was all about.

And it is just as weird and creepy as I feared.

There are several sections to the book, most of which are written by Coupland.  I will admit right up front that I did not read the strategies and secrets from Kip Ward–sorry Kip, it seemed like fun but between the crazy fonts and layout and the fact that I will never play the game it just seemed like too much. (more…)

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Larry Correia–Spellbound (Book II of The Grimnoir Chronicles) (2011) [audiobook 2012–Bronson Pinchot]

Posted in Alternate Reality, Audiobooks, Bronson Pinchot, Buckminster Fuller, Death, Decadence, Drinking, End of the World, Fantasy, Gangsters, Larry Correia, Noir, Oddities, Steampunk, Supernatural, Technology, Trilogy on August 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

[LISTENED TO: July 27, 2013] Spellboundspellbound

I enjoyed Book I of The Grimnoir Chronicles immensely.  I wasn’t really sure what Correia could do to top it.  There’s the inevitable dread for sequels that everything has to be bigger bigger bigger with the cost to the heart of the story.  (That’s more true in movies, but books can suffer as well).

And indeed, Correia does go bigger, but he loses nothing.  Indeed, the higher stakes make this story all the more exciting without sacrificing the characters in any way.

As the story opens, we learn that it is a few months after the events of Book I.  The Grimnoir are dispersed somewhat, with things falling into a somewhat logical place.  Francis Stuyvesant is the head of United Blimp.  Faye and Francis are more or less dating and Heinrich is more or less his bodyguard. The other team members are up to assorted states of resting and recuperating.  And Jake Sullivan is lying low.

But no matter how low he thinks he is lying, he’s still very big.  And he is soon found by a woman named Hammer.  Of course, at first the story maintains the trappings of noir, with Hammer being a (beautiful) woman in distress.  Surprisingly, she is in distress at the library and she asks Jake for help (he is there studying magic and, well, lying low).  He tells her to ask the librarian.  But later when he is leaving, he sees her being robbed by some thugs.  He goes to rescue her (and easy job for a big guy like him), and Hammer uses her power to determine that he is indeed Heavy Jake Sullivan.  And he can still do what he can do.

Hammer wrangles him into a government facility where he accepts a phone call from the dead Chairman.  This whole section is lovingly described and far too cool to try to summarize.  So let’s just say that Alexander Graham Bell created a phone that could talk to the dead–but only if they wanted to talk to us.  The Chairman found the phone and, of all people, he wanted to speak to Jake.  (I’m skipping so much stuff here that it hurts me, but I don’t want to spoil the story or the humor). (more…)

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Michelle Tea–Mermaid in Chelsea Creek (2013)

Posted in Adventure, All Songs Considered, Ben Gibbard, Birds, Death, Death Cab For Cutie, Fantasy, Funny (strange), Hey Marseilles, Magic, McSweeney's, Michelle Tea, Pigeons, Supernatural, Trilogy, Violence, YA Books on August 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

mermaSOUNDTRACK: HEY MARSEILLES-Live at the Newport Folk Festival (2013). 

heymar For reasons I’m unclear about, the first two songs (at least the first two listed on the NPR web page, (“To Travels & Trunks” and”Gasworks”) ) are not included in the download.  But we do get the band’s introduction of themselves.  So maybe the NPR list is wrong?  Weirder things have happened.

The band drove all the way from Seattle and are pleased to announce that they are the first band to play the Festival (a nice, if insignificant piece of trivia).

Regardless, we get a solid 35 minute set.  The band opens with “Heart Beats,” a folky song.  Indeed, Hey Marseilles continues the tradition of large bands (6 members at last counting) who play folk music with lots of unexpected(ish) instruments.  But the singer sounds quite a bit like Ben Gibbard.  Indeed that first song sounds like a less commercial Death Cab for Cutie—you keep expecting a big commercial chorus to come but it doesn’t, and there’s something very satisfying about them not giving it to us.

Although the band does sounds quite a bit like DCFC (both in the voice and the arrangements), their instrumentation brings an unfamiliarity to the songs that makes them so intriguing—like when the accordion pops up put of nowhere in “From a terrace.”  Or other songs where strings fill out a song–not in a “look we’re unplugged” sort of way but as  natural part of the song.  I really enjoyed their songs and may track down their CDs (and their cool scarf).

[READ: July 3, 2013] Mermaid in Chelsea Creek

This was the second YA book that McSweeney’s has released.  It is (say it with me) the first book in a trilogy.   And I have to say that I really didn’t like the first 100 pages.

There were a number of small things that kept me interested, but for the most part I found the story pretty dreadful.  On a personal note I really didn’t like that the Chelsea Creek was not revealed to be in the Boston area until very far into the story.  I hated that it was so specific (Chelsea) and yet so generic (which of the dozens of Chelseas was it?).  But more importantly I hated that Sophie (the protagonist) and her friend Ella, play the ‘pass-out” game.  In the game, one of the girls chokes herself until she passes out.  The other girl watches and wakes the first up after about 30 seconds.  This is what they do for fun  This is their cheap high.  And it constitutes a large part of the beginning of the story.  So much so that when her mother finds out about it, she tells her doctor.  And what made it all the crazier was that her doctor reveals that not only did she play the pass out game as  a girl but she is sure her mother did too.  And her mother says yes.  What the fuck?  Oh and her mother is mean and overworked and exhausted and generally always ready to fight with Sophie.

I imagine that if I had another book with me on vacation I would have put this down and read that one instead.  But I pressed on, mostly because when Sophie passed out she saw a mermaid in Chelsea Creek, a filthy sewage filled river.  (The fact that Ella is a germophobe is quite funny, especially when Sophie falls into the creek when she passes out).  That kept me interested as did Dr Chen (the above doctor).  Because the Doctor keeps pigeons on her roof and she has tied flutes to some of their tails so that they make beautiful music when they fly.  This scene was so good–so briefly magical–that I forgave the rest of the book and gave it a blank slate.  I was bummed when the pigeons went away, but was delighted when they came back a little later, once the magic began for real.

And there is magic aplenty.  Especially as Sophie learns more and more about her family and neighborhood. (more…)

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Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth–Retold by Davis Worth Miller and Katherine McLean Brevard; illustrated by Greg Rebis (2008) & Journey to the Center of the Earth (film 200)

Posted in Adventure, Alfred Hitchcock, Bernard Hermann, Brendan Fraser, Davis Worth Miller, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Greg Rebis, Hollow Earth, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne, Katherine McLean Brevard, Oddities, Orson Welles, Sci-fi on August 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

comicSOUNDTRACK: BERNARD HERMANN-Journey to the Center of the Earth soundtrack (1959).

Herhermannmann is best known for scoring amazing pieces of music for Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.  And during his prolific period with Hitchcock, he scored the 1959 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth.

I have always admired Hermann’s scores as being very effective, although I’m not sure how enjoyable they would be to simply listen to (the opening to Psycho is pretty great as a piece of music though).

Because this is a ponderous sci-fi film that plumbs the depth of the earth, Hermann’s score is very ponderous as well, with long held very deep notes.  Although I haven’t actually seen it, so I don’t really know what is happening during the various score moments.  The opening sequence is very over the top, but it has some really great sounds in the organs (the bass notes are really ominous).

But it’s not all ponderous–there are trumpet blasts and harps.  The harp is quite a breath of fresh air and I can just imagine its revelation of something mystical.  Although the “march” is rather silly sounding and seems like something out of the Wizard of Oz (again, what could be happening in the film at this point?).  “False Arrow” is very uplifting (in a contemporary film sorta way) although with that title, I’m not too happy for them.

There are some moments like in Lost City/Atlantis where he sort of predicts prog rock.  There’s a  very cool organ sequence with single notes thrown in, that could easily come from mid period Pink Floyd.  While I wouldn’t want to listen to this soundtrack on its own for much of it, this sequence in particular could easily be played on a mix of trippy new age/prog rock music playlist.

Interestingly the soundtrack also has three songs sung by Pat Boone.  I didn’t actually listen to them so i don’t really understand how they fit in.  Especially in the soundtrack where they are interspersed with Hermann’s score.

[READ and WATCHED: mid July 2013]: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Recently re re-watched Journey to the Center of the Earth, the Brendan Frasier vehicle, with the kids.  It was a fun, kid-friendly adventure film—totally inoffensive and with a goodly amount of humor.  Aside from the gratuitous 3-D showoffiness (which just looks dumb in 2-D–can you even watch an old movie in 3-D on DVD?), the movie was enjoyable and, in its own way, faithful to the book.

I think.

For I have never read the book.  Despite the fact that I have a category called “Hollow Earth” and had a plan to read as many hollow earth-based books as I could find and have even read a few of the more obscure ones, I have not read the famous one.  (One of these days).  But as we were watching the movie Clark said that he recognized the giant mushrooms.  I had gotten him this graphic novel a few weeks before and he read it and said it was really good.  Then he said that I should read it, too.  Not one to turn down a recommendation, I did.

Now I have to admit that I found the story a bit jumpy and disjointed.  I felt like there needed to be some transitions between scenes and more than once I turned to see if I had skipped a page.  Of course, since I don’t know the original, I don’t know if this is how the book is written (I  would doubt it), nor do I know how faithful this is to the book.  I realize that it is a major abridgment and is just meant to convey the essence of the story.  And if it makes readers want to delve into the full book, that’s pretty cool.  Of course, the story is such an integral part of historical storytelling, that just having this basis is good. (more…)

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Michael Chabon–The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man (2011)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Fantasy, Jake Parker, Michael Chabon, Parenting, Ralph's World, Ramones, Short Books, Superheroes on July 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

awesomemanSOUNDTRACK: RALPH’S WORLD-Green Gorilla, Monster & Me (2005).

gorilaI remember being pretty excited about this album because it was Ralph’s newest album after Clark was born.  And it was fun to have a “new” children’s album (they were of course all new to us since we hadn’t bought any children’s music before but the fact that Ralph was still putting new stuff out was good news).

And so it will always be cool (and has a couple of my favorite Ralph songs).  And yet, overall it’s not quite as exciting as some of the other ones.

“Dance Around” is a fun upbeat song that should get everyone moving as each verse gets progressively more energetic.  This would certainly be a favorite.  “Hideaway” sounds like any jangly pop song on the radio—even lyrically it’s not really geared to kids exclusively.  This could have had crossover appeal.  “Red Banana” is a fun song full of absurdities—catchy and wonderful.  “Guitarzan” is a song I never much liked, although this version is a bit more fun than the original.  Nevertheless, it’s so much longer than the better songs, that I get tired of it pretty quickly!  “Me & My Invisible Friend” is  sweet song about having an invisible friend, but I find that I clearly like the more upbeat songs like “Old Red #7” a cool song about making and racing a car.

“River Flow” is a fun travel song, but “Liesl Echo” is our favorite Ralph’s World song of all time! We even named our cat Liesl Echo. in honor of the song.  Ahhh.  “Monster” is a wonderfully funny song about a “scary” puppy.  It’s on a song like that this Ralph’s details shine.  “Tim the Boy” is actually about a series of kids who are contrary and refuse to change their minds.  The end shows how being so stubborn never works out quite as they wanted.  “I Don’t Wanna” is a great punk song (gentle punk of course, but in the spirit of The Ramones).  It’s all about saying you don’t want things because you have to do some work to get them (I don’t want dessert, I don’t want to watch TV).  It’s very fun to sing along to.

“Tower of Blocks” is about the man on the moon, but it pales in comparison to “Yum! Yuk!” which is just fun to sing a long to and gets very silly by the end.  “Swingset” ends the album in a rather generic way—which reminds me more of the kind of music that Ralph’s adult band plays.   So the highs on this disc are pretty great, but there’s a bunch of songs that don’t really grab me.  This was actually Ralph’s last disc on beloved indie label Minty Fresh before he made the jump to Disney.

[READ: July 21, 2013] The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man

Since I’m a fan of Michael Chabon, I’m including this children’s book since we read it this past week.

I’ve enjoyed most of everything I’ve read by Chabon, and I know he has a connection to the comics world.  So a children’s superhero book seems like an obvious hit.

And it is a clever idea.  Awesome Man talks about all of the things he can do (fights bad guys has cool powers), but also talks about the frustrations of being a super hero.  Awesome man gets mad and wants to break things, and sometimes he needs to sit on his bed and relax to calm down.  So the secret identity is not too hard to figure out.  Indeed, the idea of the narrator imaging a super hero identity is cool and fun.

But if the secret identity is pretty easy to figure out, I guess it is therefore not really astonishing?  And that’s just one thing that’s a little unsatisfying about this story. (more…)

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Tom Gauld–You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack (2013)

Posted in Art, Books about writers, Comic Strips, Consumerism, Death, Demons, End of the World, Fables, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Golems, Meta, Myths, Nature, Neurotics, Noir, Short Books, Smarty Pants, Surreal, Technology, The Future, The Guardian, Time Travel, Tom Gauld, Travel, UFOs, Video Games, War, We Were Promised Jetpacks on July 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

jetpackSOUNDTRACK: WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS-“Quiet Little Voices” (2009).

jetpacksWhen you have a book with “Jetpack” in the title, the appropriate band is We Were Promised Jetpacks, no?  I’ve heard a lot of good things these guys.  But all I knew for certain was that they were Scottish.

I listened to their debut EP, The Last Place You’ll Look, which I liked a little.  But I didn’t care for the sound of the EP itself, it was rather flat.  A few listens got me enjoying the melodies and such but it never grabbed me.  Especially when I compared it to “Quiet Little Voices,” the lead single from their debut full length, These Four Walls.

The vocals are a bit stronger, the guitars and bass are both more clear.  The overall feeling is just brighter.  Now this may be a sign of selling out (is that something bands still do?), but really I think it’s just a better production for this song.  Which has a big chorus (and good backing vocals).

I listened to a few more tracks from These Four Walls and they are all good too.  I guess start with the albums and save the EP until after you’ve absorbed the band.

[READ: July 5, 2013] You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack

Gauld makes comics like no one else I know.  Most of his people are silhouetted or are the most rudimentary designs–simple triangle-shaped clothes, circle heads with dots for eyes and little else–maybe a nose if it’s profile. (Okay, there’s a bit of Chris Ware, but more like a much more relaxed Chris Ware).  And the wonderful thing is just how much he can convey with these painstakingly simple drawings.

The content of his comics is usually quite clever and often literary.  While I admit there were some I didn’t get (Like the Eric Gill cartoon–shame on me?–Aha: “[Gill’s] personal diaries describe his sexual activity in great detail including the fact that he sexually abused his own children, had an incestuous relationship with his sister and performed sexual acts on his dog.”  Geez, now the comic is very funny.).  There were some in which I liked the set up but would have preferred something funnier (like the Tom Waits comic–shame on him?)

But overall this collection was really enjoyable.  And I laughed a lot. (more…)

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Yes is the Answer and Other Prog Rock Tales–edited by Marc Weingarten & Tyson Cornell (2013)

Posted in A Clockwork Orange, Anachronisms, Andrew Mellen, Asia, Be-Bop Deluxe, Beth Lisick, Caravan, Charles Bock, Death, Drinking, Drugs, Esquire, Essays, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Genesis, Guided By Voices, H.R. Giger, History, James Greer, Jeff Gardiner, Jim DeRogatis, Joe Meno, John Albert, King Crimson, Larry Karaszewski, Mara Lethem, Marc Weingarten, Margaret Wappler, Marriage (Happy), Matching Mole, Matthew Specktor, Nathan Larson, Nick Coleman, Paul Myers, Peter Case, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Rick Moody, Robert Pollard, Rodrigo Fresán, Rush, Seth Greenland, Shudder to Think, Soft Machine, Sonic Youth, Styx, Surreal, Technology, The Incredible String Band, The Nice, Todd Rundgren, Tom Junod, Wesley Stace, William T. Vollmann, Yes on July 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

yitaSOUNDTRACK: WXPN (88.5 Philadelphia) xpnand wxpn.org online-Prog rock Marathon (2012-??).

Every January, Dan Reed plays a prog rock marathon on WXPN.  This year I was able to enjoy portions of it.  I rather wish the playlist was still available (you can search, but only by artist), because I’d love to rave about the tracks they played (like the live “Supper’s Ready.”)

I was delighted by the great mix of songs they played and (as I learned from reading this book) I was surprised by how many prog artists I didn’t even know.

In 2014 I’ll be listening again and maybe this time I’ll copy the playlist to document what I’ve missed.

[READ: July 7, 2013] Yes is the Answer

This book was sitting on a cart outside of my cube.  I was intrigued by the title (it didn’t have that trippy cover, so I didn’t know what it was).  But “Yes is the Answer” was calling me.  Especially when I looked at the cover and saw that the cover had an excerpt from a William Vollmann story in which the protagonist plays In the Court of the Crimson King (track 5) for Reepah and watches her face as they band went Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!.

Quoting Vollmann (from The Rifles), playing King Crimson?  What could this book be?   Then I saw the subtitle and I knew I had to read it all.

I’m not going to review these essays because that would be like making a radio edit of a side long track, but I’ll mention the band the author focuses on and any other relevant details. (more…)

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Ben Hatke–Zita the Spacegirl (2010)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adventure, Barenaked Ladies, Beastie Boys, Ben Hatke, Children's Books, Chumbawamba, Eddie Vedder, End of the World, Fantasy, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Harvey Danger, Nine Inch Nails, Semisonic, Short Books, Terry Gilliam, The Rugburns on July 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

zitaSOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-Running with Scissors (1999).

Running_with_Scissors_(Weird_Al_Yankovic_album_-_cover_art)This is the first album Al released with is new look—LASIK surgery and long hair.  He looked quite different, but it didn’t diminish his song writing skills.  Running with Scissors is a pretty great collection of songs.

“The Saga Begins” is a genius parody taking the music of “American Pie” and merging it with the plot from Star Wars Episode I.  The way he retells the story is snarky and funny.  “My Baby’s in Love with Eddie Vedder” is a weird song—an accordion-based zydeco song about, well, a guy whose girl loves Eddie Vedder.  Vedder is kind of a weird person to pick (since he does make fun of him), although I guess it’s pretty mild abuse.  “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi” opens with a joke on a Def Leppard song (in Hebrew) but then moves on to “Pretty Fly for a White Guy.”  The original is pretty goofy and there’s not much Al could have done to it except this—changing it to being all about a rabbi. I like this version better than the original now.

The next track is the theme for The Weird Al Show.  It’s utter nonsense, but very funny.  And it packs a lot in to the 75 seconds that it lasts.  “Jerry Springer” is a parody of Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week.”  The original is pretty weird/funny, so this seems an odd choice, and yet Al’s specifics to the Jerry Springer show is pretty funny.  Of course I hate shows like that so I don’t love this song.

“Germs” is a style parody of Nine Inch nails (the song opens a like “Terrible Lie”, and then moves through some other songs).  The sound is uncanny in its soundalikeness (except perhaps the “microscopic bacteria” section which is a little too goofy sounding even for NIN.

“Polka Power” is one of the first medleys where the parodied songs seem utterly dated.  Like The Spice Girls, Harvey Danger, Backstreet Boys (which I only know because he says “Backstreet’s Back.” Smash Mouth.  Chumbawamba, Marchy Playground, and Semisonic.  Of course, there is also a Beastie Boys line (“Intergalactic”), but it’s a very era specific song.  “Your Horoscope for Today” is a ska song of horoscopes inspired by The Onion (which is hilarious).

Of course, nothing comes close to “Its All About the Pentiums,” Al’s first rap song about being a total dork  It is amazing—heavy guitars and lots of screaming.  It’s even more bad ass than the original.  And the smack talk is hilarious Asking about his computer: “You think your Commodore 64 is really neato.  What kind of chip you got in there, a Dorito?”).  I can listen to this song over and over.  It’s a wonderful precursor to “White and Nerdy.”  “Truck Drivin’ Song” has a remarkably deep voice for Al. It’s about driving a truck (as a transvestite).  The humor is childish but funny and with that voice it’s particularly so.  “Grapefruit Diet” is another series of jokes about being fat, but it works very well as a parody of “Zoot Suit Riot” with the jazzy horns and all.

That leaves “Albuquerque” an eleven, yes eleven, minute story song.  It’s a style parody of a song by The Rugburns which I didn’t know until recently (called Dick’s Automotive, but that song is much more “adult” than Al’s. The song is simple enough but the lyrics are wondrously absurd and very very funny.  And as it goes on and on and on you just marvel at the mind that created it.  And it’s catchy too.

Scissors is a great album which holds up quite well after 14 years.

[READ: June 23, 2013] Zita the Space Girl

I’d actually read the sequel to this book first, but I quickly found this first book and the family devoured it, too.

This is a charming and sweetly drawn series about a girl, Zita, who winds up in outer space.  As it opens, Zita is being a bit of a bully to her friend Joseph.  Not horrible but teasing in the way friends can do.  And when they find a giant meteor hole and a space-type gadget with a big red button on it, of course she threatens to push it in front to him,  He freaks out, but she does it anyhow.  And when she does, another dimension opens up and sucks Joseph away.  Oops.

So she pushes it again and winds up in the same place which she realizes is very very different from her own.  The thing that has Joseph is all tentacles in a diver’s helmet.  But that’s just one of the weird creatures here (as seen in Gilliam’s Guide to Sentient Species–which I take as a tribute to Terry Gilliam).  Like Strong-Strong, a large lumbering biped (who helps Zita), and a group of chicken creatures (who do not).  There’s also a man who plays a flute (called Piper) who may or may not be a friend.  She also meets a giant mouse named Pizzicato, but which Zita just calls Mouse.  Mouse is very sweet and communicates through a printer around its neck. (more…)

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