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Archive for the ‘Aliens’ Category

Jason Walz–Last Pick (2018)

Posted in Aliens, Chris Dave, Drumhedz, End of the World, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Jason Walz, NPR/PRI/PBS, Slum Village, Tiny Desk Concert on March 20, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CHRIS DAVE AND THE DRUMHEDZ-Tiny Desk Concert #949 (February 21, 2020).

I was pretty intrigued by the introduction that Chris Dave said before this Tiny Desk Concert

“If you’ve never been to a Drumhedz show… …we’re gonna take you on a quick journey as if you’re going through a record store,” Chris Dave told the NPR Music offices at the top of his set, “picking up different genres of music and putting it in your bag.”

So I was a little disappointed that this Tiny Desk proved to be pretty much a rap showcase.  Although musically they do explore a lot of different sounds and tones.

I love that they open with flute from Kebbi Williams (who is introduced as a “this insane dude”).  It’s some great flute sounds with a cool 70s vibe.

The set snuck in with a serpentine flute line that any ’70s heist flick would be proud to have. Sonic smash-cuts between the musical ideas whisk away the misconception you’re in control of the ride you’re about to take.

There’s very cool sound effects from the keys and guitars as Chris Dave gives his introduction.  I’ve never heard of him, but the blurb says

Chris Dave is reasonably described as your favorite drummer’s favorite drummer, or better yet, your favorite musician’s favorite drummer. … The Houston native leads the Drumhedz behind a trap set, with his unorthodox, stacked crash cymbals and percussive toys.

That cymbal set up is very cool.  One of Chris Dave’s cymbals seems like a bent piece of metal which makes a neat clanging sound.

Out comes vocalist and new Drumhedz member, Aaron Camper who raps over “Black Hole.”  There’s some great wild bass from Thaddaeus Tribbett, who coincidentally recently performed a Tiny Desk Concert with Snoh Allegra.

For the next three songs, Elzhi, formerly of Slum Village, surprised the room with an unannounced cameo, on “Whatever” and inciting the crowd to nod along as the Drumhedz segued into “Tainted,” Slum Village’s turn-of-the-millennium jam.

There’s high-pitched slinky guitars from Isaiah Sharkey and guitar stabs from Tom Ford.  But the most fun person to watch is definitely Frank Moka on percussion.  He’s in a pair of overalls with no shirt on and he seems to have limitless piles of cool percussion instruments back there from shakers and congas to unseen things that make cool sounds.

“Clear View,” is my favorite song of the bunch because Camper sings and he has a fantastic groovy singing style.  The song has a more psychedelic sound with both guitarists playing wah wah chords that rise and fall.  And yes, it’s fun to watch Chris Dave smack all of those cymbals.  The end of the song has a wicked instrumental section while Moki goes crazy on the congas and Thad plays some fast and frenetic rumblings on the bass.

The set ends with a song of gratitude and love of family called “Job Well Done” which he Camper dedicates to his mother.

I did enjoy the musical diversity of this set, although I guess having a guest rapper would necessitate that the set was predominately rap.

[READ: March 15, 2020] Last Pick

This book is the first in a series.  When I saw the thumbnail cover, I assumed it was going to be about unpopular kids who were not picked for teams at school.  Zooming in on the cover, however, will reveal big scary aliens.  And that’s what this story is about!

Recently aliens landed on our planet and took away most of the people between the ages of 16 and 65 (it’s a bit of a scary time to be reading this actually).  Everybody outside of those age groups and those who were sick or “useless” in some way were left behind.

The main characters are Sam and Wyatt, twins who are on the cusp of turning 16.  Sam has always been outgoing and charming, but she also has a temper.  Wyatt is presumably on the autism spectrum.  He is very smart but is socially awkward. It was hard for Sam growing up but she has come to appreciate him over the years.  Especially now that the aliens have taken their parents and they need his brains to survive. (more…)

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Ernest Cline–Armada (2015)

Posted in AC/DC, Adventure, Aliens, Battlestar Galactica, Canadian Music, Consumerism, Death, E.T., Ernest Cline, Galaxy Quest, Golden Earring, Heart, History, Iron Eagle, Joan Jett, Kenny Loggins, Nazareth, Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rob Base, Run D.M.C, Rush, Sci-fi, Scientists, Star Trek, Star Wars, The Future, The Scorpions, The X Files, Top Gun, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, Video Games, Violence, ZZ Top on August 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

armadaSOUNDTRACK: RAID THE ARCADE PLAYLIST (2015).

raidIt should come as no surprise that Cline’s media campaign would include a Spotify “Raid the Arcade” playlist.  A playlist of the mixtape that the protagonist’s father made when he was a teen.

And I can pretty much see how this would have been a very satisfying mixtape for killing aliens and generally rocking out.  Of course, I had to have a listen and add my thoughts.

Side A: Track:

  1. One Vision – Queen (I was never a big Queen fan, particularly their later poppier stuff)
  2. Crazy Train – Ozzy (A classic, of course)
  3. Chase the Ace – AC/DC (I find it odd that the two AC/DC songs are instrumentals from the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack.  It makes sense given the guy who made them, but there’s so many better AC/DC songs)
  4. Hair of the Dog – Nazareth (One of my favorite classic rockers)
  5. Get it On – Power Station (I really hate Power Station a lot, and this version of an already pretty stupid song song is pretty dreadful)
  6. Old Enough to Rock and Roll – Rainey Haynes (I didn’t know this song.  It comes from the Iron Eagle soundtrack.  This song is not on Spotify and I imagine that’s because it’s terrible)
  7. Danger Zone – Kenny Loggins (This song is such a punch line that even if I did like it I’m not sure I could take it seriously)
  8. Vital Signs – Rush (I was totally psyched that he chose this Rush song)
  9. Barracuda – Heart (I’ve mixed feelings about Heart, but I do like this song a lot)
  10. T.N.T. – AC/DC (Now this is more like it for AC/DC songs–not an overplayed one either)
  11. You Really Got Me – Van Halen (Not my favorite Van Halen song, but a good rocker)
  12. Another One Bites the Dust – Queen (I loved this song when it came out.  It holds up pretty well (there’s some interesting sound effects in the background, but it’s nowhere near as good as the songs below)
  13. One of These Days – Pink Floyd (I love this song but never would have considered it particularly rocking–in the way these other songs are.  But it does rather work)
  14. Top Gun Anthem – Harold Faltermeyer (seriously?  Well, I guess if you like piloting video games, this makes sense.)

Side B: Track:

  1. I Hate Myself for Loving You – Joan Jett (I don’t care for this song, although the guitars sound good for the mix)
  2. It Takes Two – Rob Base (I’m surprised and pleased that this song made it into what is basically a metal compilation.  I never would have had such diversity at that age.  Although I got really sick of this song in college.)
  3. Hammer to Fall – Queen (I don’t really like this era of Queen)
  4. Twilight Zone – Golden Earring (I don’t love this song, but it is cool to hear once in a while)
  5. We’re Not Going to Take It – Twisted Sister (I loved TS back in the day, although I wince at them now. If this song wasn’t overplayed I could probably really get into it.)
  6. Rock You Like A Hurricane – Scorpions (I loved the Scorpions back in the day too. I certainly tapped my foot along to this one.)
  7. Black Betty – Ram Jam (This song is in a Rayman video game that Clark plays and while I think the song is really dumb, it certainly rocks.)
  8. D.T. – AC/DC (see above for instrumental AC/DC)
  9. Delirious – ZZ Top (I never got into ZZ Top, and while I do like some late 70s ZZ, I really don’t like mid 80s ZZ)
  10. Iron Eagle – King Kobra (Wow, this was obscure even to me–more pop metal from Iron Eagle)
  11. Run’s House – Run-DMC (Whose house?  It’s funny how stripped bare Run-DMC songs sound compared to contemporary rap.)
  12. We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions –Queen (overplayed but classic)

Bonus Track: Snoopy versus the Red Baron – The Red Guardsmen (a goof y novelty song that I think overstays its welcome.)

So I guess my verdict is that I really don’t like the Raid the Arcade mix all that much.  That’s kind of a shocker, actually.

[READ: July 31, 2015] Armada

I loved Cline’s first book Ready Player One.  And Sarah and I were understandably excited about his latest book, Armada.  I was surprised about the content of the book which is of similar plot to the new movie Pixels (I say similar based on what little I know of Pixels–that video game characters attack the earth).  This is surprising to me because Cline has already sold the rights of this book to Spielberg–and I have a  hard time believing someone would try to cut Spielberg with an idea.

Of course, Armada is rather different from Pixels in that the characters that attack the earth are not classic 80s video game characters.  Indeed, there is a whole back story that shows how very different these two premises are.

In a recent interview, Cline talked about how you have to include all the pop culture sci-fi and video games in his book because there’s no way you should be able to make a sci-fi book or movie on earth and not reference all of the pop culture that the protagonist grew up with.  So this story is not set in a vacuum.  In fact, it the pop culture establishes the plot.

Zack Lightman is a senior in high school.  He’s had a pretty crappy life.  His father was killed in a sanitation explosion when Zack was just a month old.  The death set him and his mom up for life, but he has spent his whole life immersed in his father’s life (he is close to his father’s age when his father died).  Zack has a lot of his father’s effects.  His dad was a huge gamer, spending a lot of time at the arcade, and loving all things sci-fi and fantasy.  His father would have been born around 1970, making the pop culture references perfect for those of us around the same age.

One day, while looking out the window of school, Zack sees an alien ship.  But not just a generic cigar shaped UFO.  Rather this is a ship directly from his favorite videogame, Armada.  Zack plays this game pretty much every day. In fact, he is ranked sixth in the world as a pilot protecting the earth from alien invaders.  Naturally he assumes he has gone insane–especially since no one else has seen it. (more…)

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Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell–Speak, Commentary: The Big Little Book of Fake DVD Commentaries, Wherein Well-Known Pundits Make Impassioned Remarks About Classic Science-Fiction Films. It’s a Gas! (2003)

Posted in Aliens, Anachronisms, Brad, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Jeff Alexander, Lord of the Rings, McSweeney's, Pearl Jam, Planet of the Apes, Political Humor, Religion, Short Books, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stone Gossard, Tom Bissell, Violence, War on June 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

speakSOUNDTRACK: STONE GOSSARD-“I Need Something Different” (2013).

stonegossardmoonlanderStone Gossard is the rhythm guitarist for Pearl jam.  He’s also one of their major songwriters.  He has one or two songs that he sings with the band.  This is a solo effort which indicates that he might be a heavier influence on the band.

Stone Gossard last released a solo album 12 years ago.  There’s a new Pearl Jam album in progress and Stone’s other band Brad put out an album not too long ago, so why not release a solo album?

I don’t know how much Gossard does on this song, but I rather imagine he plays everything (the solo is fine but not amazing and the drums are solid but don’t really standout).  And while that sounds dismissive, it’s not meant to be.  Gossard creates a solid sound of simple rock.

The guitars are loud and bouncy.  Stone’s voice is rough and workmanlike—there’s a reason he’s not a lead singer.  But his voice works great for this aggressive slice of rock.

The riff is continuous and non stop, while he sings I need something different.  And then at the mid way part the keyboards start—perhaps this is the something different.  The keys break the propulsion with a poppiness that you wouldn’t expect in the song.

Then the song returns to its original style.  It’s not a terribly original song, but it would be a fun bar anthem.

[READ: June 10, 2013] Speak, Commentary

When this book first came out I was pretty delighted.  What a funny concept—overblown writers and political pundits do DVD commentary about films they had nothing to do with.  It seemed like it would be very funny indeed.

And here’s the thing.  It is. For a few pages. But each one of these things feels as long as the actual movie they are commenting on.  Alexander and Bissell have done their research—they know what these figures will say.  And say.  And say.

As I said the premise is awesome, check out these wonderful combinations:

  • NOAM CHOMSKY & HOWARD ZINN on The Fellowship of the Ring
    ANN COULTER & DINESH D’SOUZA on Aliens
  • TERRY DWIBBLE & STEVEN McCRAY on Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  • JERRY FALWELL & PAT ROBERTSON on Planet of the Apes (1968)
    WILLIAM BENNETT & DICK CHENEY on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

[Terry Dwibble & Steven McCray are (presumably) fictional characters—die hard Trekkies who are thrilled to be able to add this commentary and, frankly, this is the best one of these pieces.]

I think part of the problem with the book is the sequencing.  The first piece is incredibly dry.  I recall reading this when I first got it.  I don’t know if I read all the way through Chomsky and Zinn.  And I know I didn’t make it through all of the second one (Coulter and D’Souza)—my d0g eared page failure still lingers to this day.

But I finished this time. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–short uncollected pieces (with titles): “Other Math” (1987); “The Empty Plenum: David Markson’s ‘Wittgenstein’s Mistress'” (1990); “Rabbit Resurrected” (1992); “The Nature of the Fun” (1998); “F/X Porn” (1998); “Peoria (4)” (2002); “Peoria (9) ‘Whispering Pines'” (2002); “Deciderization 2007” (2007)

Posted in Aliens, Book Reviews, Canadian Music, Concept Albums, Constellation Records, Corporate skewering, David Foster Wallace, David Markson, Essays, Harper's, Infinite Summer, James Cameron, Land of Kush, Robots, Sci-fi, Shalibi Effect, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Terminator, Terminator 2, Thomas Pynchon on September 26, 2009| 2 Comments »

dfwshelfSOUNDTRACK: LAND OF KUSH-Against the Day [CST058] (2008).

kushLand of Kush is a huge orchestra created by Sam Shalibi.  Shalibi is a maniac of independent releases, creating everything from orchestral pieces to solo records all with his unique blend of middle eastern tinged music (featuring his oud playing).

This album is inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day, a book I have not read.  As such, I can’t say if the music works with the book, or indeed if the songs with lyrics have anything to do with the book at all.  The liner notes essay that Shalibi wrote reveal his deep appreciation for the book and how it made him hear this music.  Pretty neat.  Against the Day the book is over 1,000 pages, so I won’t be getting to it anytime soon.

The CD has 5 tracks: three of them about 8 minutes, one at 14 minutes and the centerpiece comes in at 21 minutes.  To read more than I’m going to say about this band and the album, check out the Constellation Records page.

In general, I find Shalibi’s music to be fascinating, but sometimes a bit much.  He is not afraid to pull out all the stops.  And I think that’s to his credit.  He does free jazz, psychedelic and middle eastern phrasing, often within one song.  And while it’s often very enjoyable, it can also be exhausting.

And that is the case with this disc. The 21 minute “Bilocations” is such a brilliant piece of music.  The main musical line is just fantastic: middle eastern instruments playing a sort of James Bond type suspense theme.  And the vocals are simply amazing.  The singer (and I regret to say I’m not sure which one she is) is snarling and sexy and brings the whole piece to life.  I’ve never heard anyone say “economics” with such emotion before.  And I enjoy probably the first 15 or 16 minutes of it.  The last five drifts into a sort of solo for voice which gets a bit tiresome, actually, especially after the intensity of the first part.

And yet it is then followed up by the last two songs, each about 8 minutes long, again with fantastic motifs that propel these weird and wild pieces beyond the middle eastern psychedelic soundscapes into actual songs.

Despite my amorphous criticisms (I think that the disc is just too long to appreciate in one sitting (and I find middle eastern music is hard for me to digest in more than small doses)) this is my favorite of Shalibi’s releases.  And some day I hope to read the book, too.

[READ: September 19th ish 2009] short uncollected pieces

This is my second (and final, I think) review of multiple DFW uncollected pieces.  There are a few uncollected pieces left that I’m going to read, but they’re all longer and will likely deserve their own post.  Most of these pieces are very short, and I don’t have all that much to say about them.  But, heck, I’m a pseudo-complestist, so I want to have them all here.

All the text in bold, including the links comes from (where else?) The Howling Fantods.  Thanks! (more…)

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