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Archive for the ‘Funny (ha ha)’ Category

Kurt Vonnegut–Mother Night (1961)

Posted in Coldplay, Funny (ha ha), Kurt Vonnegut, Meta, Mogwai, Prison, R.E.M., Racism, Religion, The Verve, Threats, Travis, U2, War on March 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

mothernightSOUNDTRACK: COLDPLAY-Viva la Vida(2008).
viva-la-vidaI have a very vivid memory of listening to Coldplay for the first time.  I was driving a very annoying person to her revolting house in upstate New York.  I was delighted to be getting her out of my life, and I was listening to Coldplay’s first album, Parachutes.  I knew “Yellow” from either the radio or from some Britpop fascination of mine.  AT the time, Coldplay were considered the next Travis, whose “Why Does It Always Rain on Me” had just soared up the charts. “Yellow” was described as Travis-like and something of a rip-off (a claim thrown at Coldplay to this day).

As an indie guy, Coldplay should be anathema to me. And yet since “Yellow” I’ve always liked them, despite their ridiculous name.  And I’ve always thought of them as a sort of underdog (that whole Travis thing), even though all the entertainment magazines say they are the biggest band in the world (even bigger than U2!)

And so, here is their latest disc.  Amusingly, we had played it in the house and then suddenly the disc was gone.  Couldn’t find it for a month.  (It eventually turned up in the REM Accelerate case (those cardboard sleeves with two openings tend to hide discs).

And now I’ve given it a listen, and man is it good.  Yes, I know, they’re huge stadium anthem rock, but even though I like lo-fi indie, I also like stadium rock when it’s done right.  It’s also funny about their backlash because they haven’t really changed their style over the course of their career.  It’s not like they’ve suddenly become commercial.  They’ve just been commercial-in-waiting.  And frankly, I’d rather them be on the radio than some other Top 40 bands.

So Viva la Vida is chock full of hits, and chock full of great songs. It opens with a short instrumental “Life in Technicolor,” a string-filled 2 minute intro that sets the tone quite well.  And each of the following 3 minute pop songs are great: swells of orchestra, great punchy choruses and then…done; leaving you wanting more to sing along to.

The amount of strings on this record is really notable.  And surely the breakout single “Viva La Vida” is the most string-heavy rock single since The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony.”

The only compliant I have about the record is the three songs that last over 6 minutes.  Despite the bombast of their songs, most of Coldplay’s work fits comfortably under 4 minutes.  These three 6 minute songs are really 3 minute songs with a 3 minute coda tacked on at the end.  And, the problem is that those codas are usually just repeated instrumental moments that slow down the proceedings.  (And since I dig bands like Mogwai who make fantastic instrumental music, I know from instrumentals).  This doesn’t ruin the disc by any means, although it does tend to wreck the flow a little.  Nevertheless, the next song kicks in and you’re back to singing along.

[READ: March 19, 2009]: Mother Night

It was with some trepidation that I started this Vonnegut novel. The reasons being A) I had never even heard of this title. B) Cat’s Cradle, regarded as one of his masterpieces comes next in order, and C) it’s about Nazis…how much fun could that be?

Well, as it turns out, my fears were unfounded.

Mother Night has a few layers to it. So we’ll start with the basics. The book is written by Howard W. Campbell. The book has been edited by Kurt Vonnegut, and Vonnegut’s introduction makes clear that he tried to follow Campbell’s wishes as best he could. (All of this, of course, is pure fiction, but it’s a good one). (more…)

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John Hodgman–More Information Than You Require (2008)

Posted in 19th Century, Boston, MA, Corporate skewering, Dip-in Books, Frank Zappa, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), History, Jennifer Toth, John Hodgman, Jon Stewart, Political Humor, Sigur Rós, Smarty Pants, Swedish Music, Technology, The Daily Show, The Sound of Young America, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, Time Travel, Unreliable narrator on March 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

more-infoSOUNDTRACK: Dungen-4 (2008).

4Vill du tala svensk?

Even if you don’t speak or understand Swedish, Dungen plays music that is pretty universally understood.  The album feels more or less like an all instrumental affair.  There are some songs with words, but they are all sung in Swedish. So, no, I have no idea what he’s singing about, and in that respect it feels all instrumental.

Like the previous discs, 4 feels like a blast from the psychedelic days.  It is trippy, at times loud and raucous, (with some amazing guitar workouts) and even has flutes on a few tracks.

The big difference between this disc and the previous releases is that there’s a lot more piano.  This has an overall calming effect on the music.  And in some ways, I think I don’t like this disc as much as previous ones.

The piano really comes to the fore on track 2 “Målerås Finest” which to me sounds like a a tribute to one Zappa’s instrumentals (it reminds me of “Peaches en Regalia,” although I don’t mean to suggest it’s a rip off at all). “Samtidigt 1 an 2” are the major instrumentals of the disc.  They also remind me of Zappa in that they feels like a snippet from some crazy guitar jam session.  (Zappa releases a lot of  “songs” like this on his …Guitar… albums. On this disc, we’re privy to about 3 minutes of wild guitar solo but since they fade in and then fade out at the end we have no idea how long the jam went on.  The final track “Bandhagen” also feels Zappaeque, but maybe it’s just the staccato notes that Zappa also uses to such good effect.

“Fredag” has a feeling like some of the more otherworldly Flaming Lips songs.  And “Mina Damer Och Fasaner” has a choppy heavy metal sound that really stands out from the disc.

Really there isn’t a bad song on the disc, but for some reason it doesn’t move me quite as much as the others.  I don’t want to bring a negative vibe to the review.  I’m sure if this was the first Dungen CD I had, I’d think it was amazing, I just got spoiled by them.

[READ: February 14, 2009] More Information Than You Require

John Hodgman is a man you will no doubt recognize from the Mac Vs PC ads (he’s the PC). He’s also a contributor and guest on The Daily Show. When this book was released he promoted it on The Daily Show, and on the Sound of Young America. It sounded really funny. And I was delighted that Sarah got it for me for Christmas. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #2 [Blues/Jazz Odyssey? “Pollyanna’s Bootless Errand.”] (Late Winter/Early Spring 1999)

Posted in Adventure, Amanda Davis, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Ana Marie Cox, Bill Clinton, Brent Hoff, Colleen Werthmann, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, Flash Fiction, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Glasgow Phillips, GQ, Graphic Novel, Heidi Julavits, John Hodgman, Jonathan Lethem, McSweeney's, Mekons, Meta, Neal Pollack, Paul Collins, Paul Maliszewski, Politicians, Sarah Vowell, Short Story, Sigur Rós, Smarty Pants, Supernatural, The Baffler, The Believer, Zev Borow on March 17, 2009| 3 Comments »

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SOUNDTRACK: SIGUR RÓS-Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (2008).

sigurSigur Rós are nothing if not ethereal.  Their music is constantly floating up in outer space somewhere.  So imagine the surprise when the first song of this disc opens with some thudding drums.  And, there are acoustic instruments aplenty this time around.  Their previous disc Hvarf/Heim had them playing a number of acoustic pieces in various unexpected settings.  And clearly the experience must have been a good one.

“Illgresi” is largely played on an acoustic guitar and “Ára Bátur” opens with a very pretty piano melody.  But lest you think this is Sigur Rós unplugged, “Ára Bátur” turns into a nearly 9 minute epic complete with orchestra, choir and as much ethereal sounds that you can cram into one song.  Indeed, a few songs before that is “Festival” another nine minute epic.  Although like in the beginning, there is a lot of bass, and a lot of drum.

But despite all of the musical changes, the band is still clearly Sigur Rós.  Jon Thor Birgisson’s voice is still unmistakable, and his lyrics are still inscrutable.  In fact, the final song, “All Alright” is sung almost entirely in English(!) and I didn’t realize until I just read about it recently.

In some ways this disc is not as satisfying as previous Sigur Rós releases as it doesn’t take you to quite the same planes of existence as past discs have.  And yet, in other ways it is more satisfying as it shows an earthbound side of them, allowing us to see their craft in action.

Despite any criticisms, Sigur Rós is still an amazing band, and this is an amazing record, too.

[READ: March 14, 2009] McSweeney’s #2

McSweeney’s 2nd issue retains some of the features from the first, and yet, some things have changed.

Similarities:

First: The cover retains that very wordy style that the first issue had.  There are more jokes (a good pun about Big Name authors).

Second: The letters column is still there.  What’s different is that in addition to some unusual letters (including the complete address of a letter writer), there are conversational letters between Gary Pike and Mr. McSweeney.  There’s also several small entries from Brent Hoff.  We are also treated to a letter from Jon Langford of the Mekons, Sarah Vowell, and a piece from Jonathan Lethem (the last of which was put in the letters column because they didn’t know what else to do with it). (more…)

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Kasper Hauser–Sky Maul: The Unauthorized Catalog Parody (2006)

Posted in Arrested Development, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dip-in Books, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), How I Met Your Mother, Kasper Hauser, Oddities, Smarty Pants, The Cure, The Onion, The Sound of Young America, Time Travel on March 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

skymailSOUNDTRACK: THE CURE-The Cure (2004).

cureI’ve been a huge fan of The Cure since my friend Garry introduced me to them circa 1985.  I saw them twice in concert, I overplayed Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, and even got the giant Boys Don’t Cry poster.

And then I grew up.  I basically stopped getting Cure albums around Wild Mood Swings (which was only two albums before this one even though it was nearly a decade ago).  I eventually got Bloodflowers when a friend said it was very good, and I agreed.  But it took me a long time to get this one (I think I was tired of the persistent “last album ever” deal).  Nevertheless, I still like the Cure, and I do like this one.

This self-titled disc is very familiar sounding. In fact, it’s as if someone told Robert Smith: make a greatest hits album but with all new songs.  And that’s more or less what you get with this disc.  It doesn’t have a theme like Disintegration or The Top.  There are manic highs and lows all over the album.  In fact, on several songs Robert is happy and in love, and on others he will never be in love.  Rather than depression, it’s almost all schizophrenia.

It starts in a very downbeat fashion (“Lost”) with scowling, reeling vocals despite him singing about being “so happy and so young.”  The mood continues on “Labyrinth” with its sinister, somewhat Egyptian sounding guitar line.

And then you get two of Robert Smith’s upbeat songs, “Before Three” (“The happiest day I ever knew…”)  and “Until the End of the World” (“I couldn’t love you more!”).  You know they’re happy songs when he drifts into that impossible falsetto.  “Anniversary” is one of their dark songs like ” A Forest” with that great Cure drumming tribal drumming. And there’s the single “alt.end,” which is, simply, another great single from The Cure.

The sonic landscape continues with another falsetto song “(I Don’t Know What’s Going ) On.” And then we’re back to the aggrieved and angry “Us or Them” where Robert almost repeats a line from “The Kiss”  “get your fucking head out of my world” (the original being “get your fucking voice out of my head”).

The only questionable song is the final one, “The Promise”.  And the only reason it’s questionable is that it’s 12 minutes long. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for The Cure, since the aforementioned “The Kiss” is 6 minutes of delightfulness.  But I think 12 might be a bit too long.  Nevertheless, it lets the album end on an angry, bitter note, just as it began.  Symmetry, after all.

I guess I’m still a Cure fan after all these years.

[READ: March 8, 2009] SkyMaul

I heard about this catalog through a plug from The Sound of Young America.  They said it was selling cheap on Amazon, so I snatched up one of the last remaining copies.

This catalog is hilarious.  Obviously, it is a parody of the Sky Mall catalog that you look at on airplanes when you have run out of everything else to look at, and have no intention of purchasing anything from (unless you are Barney Stinson [I tried to find a link to his Sky Mall compulsiveness, but there are no official ones, so if you just Google “barney skymall” tons of things comes up].

Many parody titles don’t live  up to the hilarity they promise.  This boils down to a couple of reasons: They are so true to the original it’s hard to tell them apart; they require a deep awareness of the original in order to really appreciate the joke; most people who know they original that well actually LIKE the original, and don’t want the parody.

SkyMaul however, is that rare beast: a parody that is very funny but is also full of crazily inventive and absurd humor.  Unlike many of the very specific parodies that exist, SkyMaul allows for across-the-board humor, so it never gets bogged down in finding that “perfect parody moment.”

SkyMaul works similarly to The Onion, in that some of the items in this catalog are direct parodies of existing items (Atheist motivational posters; the first ever Milk vacuum–for when people put unwanted milk on your cereal), and others are simply utter nonsense (like the Llamacycle (a llama with a wheel for front legs, or the Air Straightener “Stop Breathing Disorganized Air!”)).

There were a number of things that had me laughing out loud and thinking of people who would love to read this (Happy Birthday, Matt).

The genius of the book is dividing the catalog into smaller subsections (just like the real thing) which allows them to diversify their products.  Some subsections include: The Image Sharpener; The Statuetory (Meeting and Exceeding Your Home Statue Needs); J. Crewcifix (Extreme Religion Since A.D. 33); Tomorrow’s Garage Sale (Filling up you home, office, and storage areas); NASCAR Stepdad; WhadjaGITme? (Toys for demanding kids…); Shemail (Doodads for ladies) [Although that’s not as good as Arrested Development’s designer Shemále]; Heavy Petter (pushing animal product on people]; The Nicest Gift (is to let people deal with stuff on their own); Coming Soon (the store 4 sex toys ‘n’ stuff).

You get the idea of where this catalog is going. And to top it off there’s even a crossword puzzle in the back.  This may have been the funniest part of the book, so don’t skip it!  Sample entry: Q: Superman’s weakness. A: Chocolate.

To see some examples from the book, click here.

Oh, and in case you’re like me, you didn’t know that Kasper Hauser is not a person but a comedy troupe.

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Jory John (editor)–Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids’ Letters to President Obama (2009)

Posted in Art, Barack Obama, Buggles, Children's Books, Consumerism, Donuts, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gravy, Jory John, McSweeney's, Military, MTV, Political Humor, The Art of Noise, War, Yes on March 11, 2009| 1 Comment »

thanksSOUNDTRACK: YES-90125 (1983).

90125We had a snow day Monday, and since we were all home, I thought it would be fun to bust out some old records.  As soon as the opening chords of “Owner of a Lonely Heart” crashed out, Sarah gave me a “What made you think of playing this?” look and then said “What made you think of playing this?”

And there is no answer.  I saw it and figured it would be fun to hear. And it was.

Now, as an olde Yes fan, I should probably not like this album.  My favorite Yes album is Relayer, so really I have no business liking this.  First, it has no really long songs, second, it’s totally poppy, and third, it tries so hard to create hit singles.  And yet, I loved it then, and I still enjoyed now.   What’s interesting about it is that even though it was rather state of the art at the time, it doesn’t sound dated now.  Probably because, for instance, the orchestral hit in “Owner” has been sampled so much, it still sounds contemporary.

And so side one (for so it was at the time) has three songs that were hit singles: “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “It Can Happen,” and “Changes” (which is probably the most “Yes” sounding of the bunch).  Even “Hold On” while not a single, gets recognition for being on the popular side one of the disc.

Side two features another great hit song, “Leave It” (with vocal sampling galore).  Although I think by the end, the disc loses some steam, and “Hearts” is a bit of a drag.

I knew that Trevor Horn was involved with this disc.  But since there have been multiple members in Yes, including two Trevors (!), I’d never really kept it all straight.  So, Trevor Horn was responsible for The Buggles (“Video Killed the Radio Star”) as well as The Art of Noise.  Their song “Close (to the Edit)” was a great video staple on MTV back in the 80s.  It features three gentlemen in suits and a very disturbing little girl smashing the hell out of musical instruments.  This song, which came out the same year as 90125 samples “Owner of a Lonely Heart” so the circle is complete.

Trevor Horn clearly had a big impact on the band and on 80s music in general, which is probably why the disc sounds so good all these years later.

[READ: February 27, 2009] Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country

I couldn’t recall the exact title of this book, so when I typed on Amazon.com “letters obama” I was surprised (although I shouldn’t have been) to see TWO books that fit this description already.  I suppose it makes sense that such compilations are being made (in fact, it seems that Obama could reignite the economy through merchandising of himself alone).  The second book isn’t due out till April, so I guess McSweeney’s have expediency on their side. (more…)

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Karl Shaw–5 People Who Died During Sex: And 100 Other Terribly Tasteless Lists (2007)

Posted in Books about music, Books about writers, Contests, Dip-in Books, Drinking, Food, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Karl Shaw, Oddities, Political Humor, Religion, Sex, Smarty Pants, Suicide, The Flaming Lips, Violence, Virginity (Loss of), Yuck! on March 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

5SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell (2003).

ego1This was the second EP that came from the Yoshimi disc.  This disc contains four original tracks and three remixes.

I’m never entirely sure who these remixes are for.  I have a number of singles where there’s a 7 or 8 minute remix of a track.  And  I suppose they could be played on a dancefloor (it worked for Tori Amos after all) but really, few dance hall goers want to hear The Flaming Lips and few Lips fan are out boogeying it up (and for that matter, when you’re out boogeying it up, the Lips aren’t really want you want to hear anyhow (and really no one has been boogeying it up since 1976 anyhow)).  And, frankly it takes a pretty inspired remixer to do anything other than just sample a line from a song and put it on a fast 4/4 beat anyway.

So really, we’re here for the four originals.  And, as with the Fight Test EP, the songs retain that sense of Yoshimi through and through (even though these are new songs and not outtakes from the session).  “The Assassination of the Sun” and “Sunship Balloons” are two striking songs right out of the Yoshimi playbook.  “Assassination” is piano heavy and “Sunship” has a spoken word intro about love and space.

“I’m A Fly In A Sunbeam (Following The Funeral Procession Of A Stranger)” is an instrumental with a lengthy horn section (!).  It borders on a jazz piece but never loses it’s Lipsiness.  “A Change At Christmas (Say It Isn’t So)” is a spare track, although its Christmas message of happiness is always welcomed (and is a vast improvement over their “White Christmas”).

Many times EPs are just a way to tide you over until the next CD comes out.  But this one provides fans with a little more of that Yoshimi bliss before they move to a new sound on At War with the Mystics.

[READ: February 6, 2009] 5 People Who Died During Sex

This was another Christmas book from Sarah.  It is a collection of macabre lists.  Many of the lists also have a paragraph or two of explanation and/or context.

Some of the disgusting lists include:
10 Alternative Uses for Coca Cola [spermicide/windshield washer etc.]
10 Human Recipes [signs of cannibalism]
20 World Eating Records [12 slugs in 2 minutes]
10 Aphrodisiacs [lion testicles]
40 Syphilitics [J.S. Bach] (more…)

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Neal Pollack–Never Mind the Pollacks: A Rock and Roll Novel (2003)

Posted in Beck, Black Flag, Bob Dylan, Books about music, Books about writers, Creem, David Bowie, Drinking, Funny (ha ha), Iggy Pop, Joan Baez, Judas Priest, Lou Reed, Magicians, Mark Leyner, Meta, Neal Pollack, Ramones, Rolling Stone, Sex, Sex Pistols, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, Unlikable main character, Violence, X on February 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

nevermindSOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2003).

yoshimiHow do you follow up the fantastic Soft Bulletin?  If you’re The Flaming Lips, you simultaneously pull back and push forward.  I often thing of Yoshimi as Bulletin part 2 but that’s really not right or fair.  Yoshimi has a more Pink Floyd vibe: it’s quite mellow and folky.  But nothing the Lips do can be completely commercial, so you get things in every song that add immensely to the sound, yet prevent it from complete accessibility.

The opening song “Fight Test” begins with an ominous voice saying “The test begins…  NOW!!” with loud distorted crashes, and yet it quickly turns into one of their most delicate and catchy songs.  The only nod to peculiarity is the watery bass lines that fill the song.  It’s a mystery why this song wasn’t huge.

The next track, “One More Robot” is a delicate song reminiscent of Radiohead with the walking bassline and soft vocals.  This leads to the fabulous title track “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Ropbots Pt 1.”  In which yes, Yoshimi disciplines her body to take on the evil machines.  It’s another shoulda-been single, with strumming acoustic guitar and more of that fabulous fat bass. ” Pt 2,” on the other hand is a noisy cacophonous march depicting the fight.  It includes Yoshimi P-We from the Boredoms and OOIOO adding appropriate shrieks and screams.

Two more delicate songs follow: “In the Morning of the Magicians” is one of their longer songs and is quite mellow.  It also features a very lengthy instrumental section with more of that awesome bass.  “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” is the most techno sounding song I can think of by the Lips.  It seems like maybe that touring work with Beck influenced them a bit.

“Are You a Hypnotist??” is a little louder and plays with the ascending chord progressions that Wayne does so well.   An uplifting track, with fun, interesting notes thrown in.  “It’s Summertime” has some great rubbery bouncing bass noises in the beginning, and it slowly morphs into a heavenly chorus.

The real highlight is “Do You Realize??”  It’ a song that goes from happy to sad to happy all in the space of a few lines.  But musically it is uplifting, with choruses and swelling orchestration.  I gather this was used for some ads, but I’m just surprised it wasn’t everywhere!

“All We Have is Now” is another delicate song, with gentle verses sung in an impossibly high falsetto.  The chorus is the most interesting part, with great bass notes interrupting the reverie.  The album ends with a gorgeous instrumental “Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)” which is an apt title (Pavonis Mons being a volcano of Mars) and it sounds quite interstellar.

What’s most notable about this album is that there’s nothing that stands out as peculiar from the rest of the record (except “Yoshimi Pt 2”). It’s a very  constant record, mellow and comforting.  And yet I’m not going to call it safe, because it’s not.  I don’t know if it made as many critical lists as Bulletin, but I know it sold better, and it seems like a really good place to start for latter days Lips.

[READ: February 18, 2009] Never Mind the Pollacks

After reading several Pollack stories in McSweeney’s I discovered that he had written a novel. This novel.

With an awesome title! Most of the awesomeness is purely luck that his name is Pollack (Never Mind the Debraskis doesn’t have the same ring). (more…)

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Pseudonymous Bosch–If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Dreams, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Magic, Mystery, Pseudonymous Bosch, Supernatural, The Flaming Lips, Threats, Unreliable narrator, YA Books on February 18, 2009| 18 Comments »

boschSOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-The Soft Bulletin (1999).

bulletinThis album brought The Flaming Lips out from the underground (or one-hit wonder status) into the spotlight of Well Respected Bands.  It made a whole bunch of best of 1999 lists and even a few best of the 1990s lists.

The album is a lot more commercial than their previous records.  The choruses are catchy and they swell in beautiful strings.  And the songs themselves display amazing songwriting prowess.    Lyrically, the songs are also much deeper and more sophisticated.   While writing this up, I learned that this record was something of a payback for Zaireeka. (They promised a more commercial release in exchange for the crazy experiment).

And yet despite all of that, in no way is this a sellout album, or an obvious contender for top 40 status.  The lyrics are neither cynical nor ironic, they are simply human, emotional pleas for friendship, for love.  It would be embarrassing if they weren’t so thoughtful.

“Race for the Prize” (two versions on the disc) is full of big, loud, brash drums, smashing away as a beautiful synth intro fades away into quiet verses and a very tender bridge. It’s followed by “A Spoonful Weighs a Ton” a  delicate ballad, with a minor orchestral feel to it.  At times the tinkling pianos are almost Disneylike.  And then the big brash heavily distorted, and yet not unpleasant, bridge crashes in, keeping you dizzyingly off balance.

“The Spark That Bled” is yet another song with several different sections that meld nicely together.  The opening is emotional and delicate: “I accidentally touched my head and noticed that I had been bleeding.”  This portion morphs into the uplifting, impossible no to sing along with:  “I stood up and I said Hey! Yes!” string chorus.  And just to show that that’s not all they have, the next portion of the song is a smooth and funky guitar/synth shuffle.

“The Spiderbite Song” is the most obvious, by hardly the only, use of really cool and wholly unusual drums on this album.  The track starts with an extremely fast (too fast for human) drum roll that flanges around into a martial beat.  And it repeats this way throughout the song.  The lyrics are an earnest appeal to friendship when one of the band members got a spider bite and there was concern that he would lose his hand.

“Buggin'” is a demented pop song about bugs.  More wonderfully brash drums underscore a poppy verse about mosquito bites…  This segues into “What is the Light?” a ponderous track with a drum like a heart beat.  During their live show, they projected a giant eyeball whose iris changed color with each beat.  The next track (the instrumental “The Observer”) uses the same heartbeat drum as its foundation too.

“Waitin’ for Superman” (two versions as well) is the most straightforward track on the disc.  I think of it as an uplifting song because it is musically so upbeat, and yet lyrically it is quite sad.  No wonder it wasn’t the huge hit it should have been.  It’s followed by “Suddenly Everything has Changed” has another fantastic bassline.  And, like the title, midway through the song everything changes into a spacey keyboard motif that is so airy it almost floats away.

“The Gash” opens with what sounds like some weird Beatlesey syncopation, but it continues with the heartfelt “will the fight for our sanity be the fight of our lives?”  “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate” starts with such a fantastic opening: a voice drumming “bah rup bup bup bah rup up up up up.”  And the drums eventually kick in following this same pattern.  And once again the earnest lyrics: “Love in our life is just too valuable, to feel for even a second without it.”  Fantastic.

I saw the Lips on this tour and their show remains one of the top 5 shows I’ve ever seen.  Everything about the show was magical, from the band handing out little FM headphone sets so you could hear the whole show in stereo (!) to the video screens, to the simply jubilant atmosphere that the band sent out.  My only regret is that this was the tour BEFORE they used the giant hamster ball or the bunny costumes.  We did get hand puppets though (and real fake blood!)

I also just learned that the UK edition of the disc had a different song than the US version.  Huh.  And it was recently released in 5.1 surround sound mix.  Who hoo!

[READ: February 10, 2008] If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
This is the sequel to Bosch’s The Name of this Book is Secret. I was really hooked by the first book, and was pretty excited to hear that the sequel had arrived.  To see a summary of that book and for background info, click here.

At the end of book one, Cass and Max-Ernest were on the verge of joining the Terces Society. This book picks up several months later with the pair still waiting to hear from their secret contacts: either Owen or Pietro Bergamo.

One day at lunch, Cass receives a letter in secret code telling her to come to the docks. When they board the boat they are dismayed to see that it is full of Midnight Sun members (The Midnight Sun is the group of bad guys that they defeated in the first book. They include: Dr L. (twin brother of Pietro), Ms. Mauvais, and the Skelton Sisters). This boat trip puts in motion most of the events of the story. (more…)

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Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw [#3] (2009)

Posted in Children's Books, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Jeff Kinney, Set at School, Shel Silverstein, Short Books, Smarty Pants, The Flaming Lips on February 12, 2009| 12 Comments »

strwaSOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Waitin’ for a Superman [US maxi single] (1999).

supermanmaxiThis single contains the official stereo mixes of two Zaireeka tracks: “Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” & “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair.”  Unlike the downloadable homemade mixdowns, these were  created by the band.  The tracks are modified somewhat from the originals.

On the album, “Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” is 7:02, and on the mixdown, it’s only 5:54.  While “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair” is the same length: 4:59.

Because they are mixed down properly, they do not present the glorious insanity (out of synch items etc.) like the online versions, but they sound really good and allow you to appreciate the songs.

[READ: February 3, 2009] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Boy I love this series.

This is the 3rd book in the Wimpy Kid series.  I was very excited that it came out, and I plowed through the book in a couple of hours.  Although I can’t be certain, I think that this book may be even funnier than the first two. (more…)

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Ara 13–Drawers & Booths (2007)

Posted in Adventure, Ara 13, Christmas on Mars, Clifford Chase, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Joseph Heller, Meta, Military, Religion, Smarty Pants, Supernatural, The Flaming Lips, Threats, Unreliable narrator, War on February 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

drawersSOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Zaireeka (1997).

zaireekaOkay, get ready.  Zaireeka comes as a 4 CD set.  With a twist.  Each CD is meant to be played simultaneously.  So, you get yourself 4 boomboxes hit play at the same time and enjoy!

Each CD has some aspects of each song.  So, on one disc you may get some vocals, maybe another has some guitars and sound effects.  It all varies per disc.  In fact, on one disc, track 6 is given a warning, perhaps my favorite warning ever on a CD: “This recording also contains frequencies not normally heard on commercial recordings and on rare occasion has caused the listener to become disoriented.”

And if you do a search for Zaireeka you will read the gamut of opinions about the disc and its ridiculousness or its social coolness.  So I won’t go into that.  I will say that one fine day many years ago I tried the experiment.  I got 4 radios and synched up all the songs and it worked and it was a lot of fun.  I also listened to the set in many different ways:  Discs 1-4 individually.  Discs 1& 2, discs 1&3, discs 1& 4, discs 2& 3, discs 2&4, discs 3&4 and then discs 1,2 & 3, discs 1, 2 & 4, discs 1, 3 & 4,  and discs 2, 3 & 4.  Phew.  (I had a lot more free time on my hands back then).  And since then, I haven’t really listened to the discs at all.  Because, well, how often do you get a chance to listen to 4 discs at once?

So, online I found a stereo mixdown version of the disc.  I know purists argue that that is simply not the way to listen to the disc, and they have a point….  Many of the effects are certainly lost, and since part of the point of the experiment is that the tracks are going to wobble and go out of synch, the mixdown does ruin the effect.  However, if you actually want to hear the songs as songs, not as experiments, the stereo mixdown mix is the way to go (at least until they release the disc in a 5.0 DVD version (which evidently they might…maybe?  in 2000, or maybe 2007, or who knows.))

But what about the songs?  It’s hard to say that the songs are typical Flaming Lips songs, because that’s not really very meaningful.  (Lips songs being off the wall at the best of times).  However, the songs are designed to allow the different discs to go out of synch somewhat, creating echoes or even stranger sounds.  As such, they are rather meandering pieces, somewhat lengthy, without a lot of heavy beats (that said, there are sections with very loud chaotic drums, they just don’t have other parts to synch up to).  But this experiment allows the songwriting to shine through in th emost minute details.  And it pays off on their next album in big time.

A track by track rundown goes:

“Okay I’ll Admit That I Really Don’t Understand” opens with a big drum splash and a fantastic bassline. Intermittent piano chords let you know that this song  isn’t going to be typical.  Fun effects and a swelling chorus add to the ambience.  It’s a short song, but it sets the tone for the rest of the disc.

“Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” starts off in a chaotic jumble, but once it settles down it has yet has another fantastic bassline  to start.  The middle choral part is really beautiful, although that scream section is pretty jarring/creepy.

As the title, “Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair” suggests, it’s a sad song about a depressed pilot.  The effects include a plane taking off.  The song is propelled by a heartbeat-like drum, and the echoing voices suit the experiment very well.  There’s a “sane” vocal track and an “insane” vocal track.

“A Machine in India” is 10 minutes long.  It’s got a long meandering middle section, but the slow keyboard melody remains constant.  It’s also the first real occurrence of Wayne’s apparent obsession with vaginas (see Christmas on Mars).  It begins sweetly as a nice acoustic song but it explores many sonic areas (according to theliner notes, Wayne and his wife were discussing her menstrual cycle, and that was the jumping off point of this song).

“The Train Runs over the Camel but Is Derailed by the Gnat” begins with a fascinating cacophony of drums and ends in a very sweet “na na na” chorus.  In between you get yet another splendid trippy pop song.

“How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)” contains a shockingly high pitched sound (as warned) and yet the main body of the song is another of Wayne’s folky and very catchy melodies.

“March of the Rotten Vegetables” is probably my favorite track on the disc, despite the fact that it’s an instrumental.  It starts with some really interesting squeaky sounds and a cool guitar riff.  It morphs into yet another bombastic drum “solo” over a nice piano melody.  The liner notes indicates there are bats involved, but I’m not quite sure I hear it.

“The Big Ol’ Bug Is the New Baby Now” is a spoken word piece in which Wayne relates a story about how his dogs treat a stuffed toy like a baby, until they get a “Big Ol’ Bug” which becomes, as you may guess, the new baby.  Each disc has different ambient effects.  As the song ends, a swelling chorus sings the title until the loudly barking dogs bring an end to the song and the experiment as a whole.

As I mentioned, the stereo mixdown version is one way to enjoy the music.  But I must say that even listening one disc at at time can be fun (although really, that comes down to much more of an experimental music experience than anything else).  The social aspect of the performance certainly appeals, but I’m pretty antisocial and can’t imagine that I’d ever do it.

If you like the Lips at all but have been afraid of this CD because of how ridiculous it is, it’s probably worth the outlay of funds to buy the set or download a track or two.  It’s a fun disc that rewards patience, and, really, the songs are all very good.  You could also look for the stereo mixdown, but really, you’d only be getting half the story.

[READ: February 3, 3009] Drawers & Booths

Full disclosure: Ara 13 asked if I’d like to read his book and write about it. I looked up the book on Amazon, and it sounded cool, so I agreed.

Drawers & Booths is a work of metafiction.  A simple definition of metafiction, in case you don’t know, is: “a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction;  metafiction does not let the reader forget that he or she is reading a fictional work” (for the full Wikipedia explanation click here.)

SPOILER ALERT:  Generally I try not to give anything away when I review a book.  Some things are unavoidable of course, but any major plot twists or surprises I try to leave for the reader to discover by him or herself.  However, because this book is metafictional, and there are twists, surprises, and massive plot alterations throughout the book, the only way I can review it at all is to give some of these things away.  I don’t think I ruin anything for anyone, but tread lightly if you want nothing revealed. (more…)

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