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Archive for the ‘Funny (ha ha)’ Category

Joe R. Lansdale–“Steppin’ Out, Summer ’68” (1992)

Posted in Bubba Ho-Tep, Canadian Music, Craig Northey, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Joe R. Lansdale, Sex, Short Story, Stripper's Union, The Kids in the Hall, Violence, Yuck! on September 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STRIPPER’S UNION-Local 518 (2005).

This is a collaboration between Craig Northey from The Odds, and Rob Baker from The Tragically Hip.  Really, it comes across as a showcase for Craig Northey because, and I mean no disrespect, I’m not sure that Rob Baker has a very distinctive guitar style.  Or, put it this way, I couldn’t pick Baker’s guitar our of an audio line up.  And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.  I think it really highlights his wide range of skills.  This is evidenced also by how different The Hip sounds on different albums.  Their last 3 are vastly different.

And so, this collection allows Baker to showcase his varying styles, and probably some things he doesn’t do in the hip, and it allows Northey to sing in some styles that he doesn’t always use.  Basically, it’s a good chance for both guys to stretch out.

My first thought when listening was that the album was just a collection of good rock songs.  But as I’ve listened more, I find quite a lot of fun and interesting things going on.  The two opening tracks are pretty rocking, with “Full Flow Angry Boy” being a good shout-along.  The album changes as it moves along: “Bullet Proof White Limo” is a smooth, almost creepy song.   “Give up and Go Away,” co-written by Kid in the Hall, Dave Foley, has some great shouted “Hey’s” which always make a song fun to sing along with. “The Radio (foggy hill)” is one of those songs that seems simple and is easy to ignore, but once it gets inside of you it sticks (Imagine a droning singalong of “Na-na-na-na-na-na-na goes the radio”).

In general, Northey is a witty lyricist, and this album is no exception. The lyrics aren’t always easy to hear, but some of my favorites include:

Gang vocal with the fist up, into German porn; Peter Band caught fire, warming up for Korn.

We did 22 bucks a head; That’s better than the Grateful Dead; They picked our stock of swag so clean; As they raged against the old machine.

When I was born your time was through, now it’s my generation too; I care so I rehearse, cause everybody knows the words.

You don’t get a sense for the catchy melodies with these snippets but you do get a sense for the tone and themes.  There’s a lot of songs about being in a band, but they aren’t really navel gazing.  I mean, I’ve never been in a band, but I enjoyed the lyrics.

Any fan of The Odds or The Hip should track this down, but really, anyone looking for a diverse collection of well-crafted songs should really give this one a try. You can check out the disc from Maplemusic. There’s even a band website (which hasn’t been updated in over two years!)

[READ: August 19, 2008] “Steppin’ Out, Summer ’68”

My coworker recommended this story to me, as one of the only stories that ever made him laugh out loud (he claims he has no sense of humor). (more…)

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J.M. Kearns–“The Eagle Has Landed” (The Walrus, July/August 2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Hockey Night in Canada, J.M. Kearns, Moxy Fruvous, Political Humor, Rheostatics, The Walrus, Time Travel, Violent Femmes, War, WMDs on August 31, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MIKE FORD: Satellite Hotstove (2007).

I was going to say I didn’t know what the name of this album meant, but then, while looking for a photo of it, I discovered it’s a part of Hockey Night in Canada. Shame on me for not knowing that.

Anyhow, Mike Ford is a member of the fabulous Moxy Fruvous.  He has released a few solo albums, and this one I just picked up from MapleMusic.

This is a very solid folk album.  Mike wrote some of these on the Trans-Canada train, so as you might expect there’s a lot of Canada packed into the 8 songs. Although Ford and Fruvous liked to throw humor into their songs, there’s no much of that here.  “Huge on the Luge” being the exception, which is very funny and quite silly (and was actually written in 2001).

The rest of the album deals a lot with Canadian water images: The Eastern Gap in Toronto, The Credit River in Ontario, The Seaway in the St Lawrence, and The Fraser River in BC.  And, there’s the rather obviously titled Saskatchewan (not a cover of the Rheostatics song).

I’m very fond of the song “Late of October,” a sweet celebration of Autumn, which is probably my favorite season, too.  There’s not a lot more to say about this record.  Mike has a great voice, perfect for folk songs, and his lyrics are thoughtful.  If you’re looking for good folk music by someone you may not have heard of before, definitely check this one out!

[READ: July 5, 2008] “The Eagle Has Landed”

The Walrus is a magazine I’ve subscribed to since Issue 2. It’s a great general magazine from Canada. They cover everything from politics to the environment, to arts and culture, and they don’t only cover Canadian issues.  It’s one of my favorite magazine.   They write about things that I don’t think I care about and then I find my self totally engrossed by it. (more…)

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Kurt Vonnegut–Player Piano (1952)

Posted in Consumerism, Dystopia, Funny (ha ha), Kurt Vonnegut, Marriage Trouble, Technology, Universities, Yo La Tengo on August 30, 2008| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: YO LA TENGO-I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006).

I’ve liked Yo La Tengo for a really long time.  And not only because they’re from Hoboken and play Maxwell’s pretty much every week.  I wouldn’t call them a favorite band, but most of their singles from the 1990s are some of my favorite songs.  I find that they don’t really release great albums, and they don’t really release bad songs: they release great songs and good songs, and their albums are made up of some combination of these.

The great title of this album, is something of a misnomer, as you might expect a riled up and raucous record.  And the first song, the nearly 11 minute squealing guitar rave-up “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” goes along with that premise.  But some of the middle songs like the piano ballad “I Feel Like Going Home” and the 8 minute instrumental ballad “Daphnia” are mellow, and rather pretty.  In fact, the album is kind of all over the place.  Some songs really stand out: “Mr Tough” and the long opener and closer are really great.  The middle is a bunch of solid, well-crafted songs.  For some reason, not too much left an impression on me, even though I enjoyed the disc while I was listening to it.

[READ: July 18, 2008] Player Piano

When Kurt Vonnegut died, I made a note to myself to read more, if not all, of his books. I had read Slaughterhouse Five and Time Quake maybe one or two others, but I figured I’d make the effort and start from the beginning.

Player Piano was his first book. And what a way to start. The time is the future, after the next war; the second industrial revolution. Machines now do most of the work that people used to do. In fact, machines now determine what job you are allowed to do. If your IQ is tested high enough, you can become an engineer (or manager) of the machines. If not, you get assigned to the Reeks and Wrecks: Reconstruction & Reclamation Corps, or basically, manual labor: fixing the roads and other maintenance projects. It imagines a future in which machines can do everything. And, it’s pretty horrible. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #28 (2008)

Posted in Art, Austin City Limits, Children's Books, Consumerism, Fables, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), McSweeney's, My Morning Jacket, NPR/PRI/PBS, Sarah Manguso on August 27, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MY MORNING JACKET-Evil Urges (2008).

Looking back, I see that My Morning Jacket is the first band that I talked about.  And I also see that I didn’t say anything about the CD.  Which was not a criticism, it was just something I hadn’t realized I’d be doing yet.  Well, now let’s make up for it with the review of their latest album, Evil Urges.

Their live album Okonokos was my first introduction to MMJ (after seeing them live on the PBS show Austin City Limits, which blew me away).  This is my first listen to a studio record from them and I can’t say enough about it.  I’ve been listening to it in the house all the time.  What’s so impressive about Evil Urges is the utter diversity it contains, yet it also sounds unmistakably MMJ.  I’m sure this is mostly due to Jim James’ voice, but I think it goes beyond that.

Quite a large majority of the album feels like, as Sarah said, songs her parents used to listen to back in the 1970s.  And I can’t help but agree. The middle songs “Thank You, Too!” “Sec Walkin'” and “Two Halves” sound very much like treacly 70s AM radio, and yet, none of these songs sounds treacly, and…they all maintain enough of a contemporary feel that they don’t seem retro at all.  How do you make a retro song without it sounding retro?

But really, the whole album is fantastic.  “Evil Urges” is a funky opening, which segues into the almost unbelievably smooth sounding “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Pt 1.”  This is followed by the most controversial song of the collection: “Highly Suspicious.”   I’ve read a lot of reviews in which they deplore this song.  It’s unlike anything else on the record: a heavy, fuzzed out, staccato guitar riff with the chant of “Highly Suspicious” and Jim James singing some lines in an insanely high falsetto.  It seems to devolve into just shrieks of laughter by the end.  When I first heard it, I found it somewhat unsettling, and it really doesn’t fit the album at all; however, it is the song I find myself singing the most from the album. It’s a truly unforgettable song.  And, of course, I like it.

“Librarian” is a lovely, if somewhat outdated and cliched look at librarians (hey, I have to say it, I’m a librarian) but it’s ultimately a sweet, beautiful song about libraries and their employees.  And “Look at You” finishes up the “soft” portion of the record.  There’s about 6 of these soft/mellow songs and if “Look at You” wasn’t such a great singalong of a song, it would be one song too many, because of the anticipation of the rocking follow up: “Aluminum Park.”  I have no idea what its about, but the guitar riff is spectacular, and it brings a great change of pace to the record.  We finish up with two more heavier songs, and the penultimate song “Touch Me, I’m Going to Scream, Pt 2.”  This doesn’t reprise the opening song, but rather adds a new dimension to it.  It winds up being about 8 minutes long because the end just… keeps… getting…… slower……… and……… slow………. er……… AHHHHHHH!

Overall, a great album.  I always assumed I’d get Z someday, but since almost the whole record was recorded live for Okonokos, I never did.  I’m glad that Evil Urges has rekindled my MMJ fix. And Z will be coming soon.

[READ: August 23, 2008] McSweeney’s #28

McSweeney’s #28 is a beautiful creation to behold.  It is designed as 8 separate small volumes.  Two sets of four volumes are placed in a cardboard box (with no top).  They are held in with an elastic ribbon.  When all four are placed in correctly (with their backs face out) they create a beautiful painting.  The next four are held in with the same ribbon to create two paintings on top of each other…suitable for mounting! (well, not really, but it would look very nice face out on the shelf.)

Danica Novgorodoff painted the two beautiful puzzle pieces that make up the back covers of the books.  One (comprised of the books marked with *) is a predominantly yellow painting of a girl huddled in the woods.  The second is of coal miners working in the dark.  Both are evocative in very different ways.

There’s an introductory essay in the bottom of the “box.”  The essay was written by Jess Benjamin, a one-time intern at McSweeney’s, whose idea it was to create this volume.  Her idea was to showcase fables because:

Once upon a time, there was a simple, straightforward way of telling a story.  It was known as a fable.  All you needed were some talking animals, a human or two, a moral take-away, and a pithy delivery.  Space out the text, include some colorful illustrations, and you were in business….

The power of the fable lies in its ability to say what it means and mean what it says.  Its messages are compelling because they are not hidden, elegant because they are uncluttered, timeless because they are honest.  A fable does not discriminate; a fable loves everyone equally….

And, so, what we have is 8 volumes of fables.  Each volume is written by a different author.  And, each volume has illustrations (by different artists) on just about every other page.   As with all fables, each one is short and teaches a moral.  These are by contemporary authors and have a more contemporary, yet still globally applicable message.

Overall, this issue is light on words, but it more than makes up for it in illustrations and morals. (more…)

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Nick Hornby–Slam (2007)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, Nick Hornby, Pregnancy, R.E.M., Set at School, Skateboarding, The Believer, Tony Hawk, U2, YA Books on August 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: REM-Accelerate (2008).

I was thinking about the parallel careers of R.E.M. and U2 the other day.  The both started at around the same time: R.E.M. on an indie label and U2 on a major.  R.E.M. was a college band loved by critics but not really a big seller.  U2 had some huge hits in their early days and slowly grew to be college darlings too.  Then in 1987, they both hit it big time: R.E.M.’s Document had “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “One I Love” and of course, U2’s The Joshua Tree was the hugest album in the world.

R.E.M. and U2 became the hugest bands of the 1990s, selling millions of copies of records, becoming the biggest most famous people in the world (well, the singers did anyhow).  And then in the 2000’s, something happened.  U2 became even bigger and R.E.M. sort of drifted.  And their records got critically panned.  Even if they had a hit or two, overall the records received very bad reviews.

I didn’t even bother picking up R.E.M.’s previous record (and I guess no one else did either…its their ONLY record not to go at least gold (and that includes their early IRS label stuff).  So, who held out any hope for a new R.E.M. album?

Well, the good news came when I put on Accelerate.  After the initial guitar lick, the bass kicked in and Sarah said “Is that R.E.M.?” Now THAT’s a good sign.  And it is.  This album is the closest they’ve come to classic R.E.M. in a long time.  I’ve concluded that the defining characteristic of R.E.M. is not Michael Stipe, it is Mike Mills.  It’s his basslines and his glorious backing vocals that make a song stand up and say R.E.M.  And, they’re usually the most interesting parts of the songs.  (His “It’s time I had some time alone” is such a great counterpoint to “It’s the End of the World…” that the song wouldn’t be half as good without it.)  This is not to say that Mike Mills should be the lead singer or be placed more prominently, (he shouldn’t, he’s like a great supporting actor who would be too much if he was the lead), but his contributions make them even better.

And Accelerate is full of Mills, in ways that I feel have been absent in recent years.  His high bass notes, his great backing vocals, it’s like the R.E.M. of old.  Except that it isn’t.  The difference here is that Peter Buck has not returned to the reverby, picked-guitar of old.  He’s got more of the aggressive style of playing that he’s used on Monster and New Adventures… so what you get is a classic R.E.M. updated for the 21st century.

Another thing that is great about this record is its length.  At just over 30 minutes, it’s one of R.E.M.’s shortest releases.  And, after some of the bloated discs they put out lately, it’s a great change of pace–because really nothing overstays its welcome like too much R.E.M.  I mean Reveal has some good songs on it, but after six or seven tracks you can’t believe there are still six more to go.  But on Accelerate, none of the songs overstay its welcome; many of them could go on even longer (always the sign of a good song)–5 of them are under three minutes long!

But enough bashing R.E.M.  Accelerate is a short blast of rocking pop.  In fact, the first 3 songs are the best songs I’ve heard from R.E.M. in years. (more…)

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Terry Moore–Echo [Issues 1-5] (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Knocked Up, Loudon Wainwright III, Marriage Trouble, Military, Pregnancy, Sci-fi, Supernatural, Technology, Terry Moore, Threats, War on August 21, 2008| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III-Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up (2008).

I can’t say I really noticed Loudon’s music during the movie.  Of course, when I read about it later, it turned out that the versions in the movie were instrumental.  Ahhh.  So, this “soundtrack” contains the instrumental tracks from the movie with words added (which is how they were originally recorded, so all is right once again).

This collection of songs is, to my ears, Loudon’s least funny collection.  Which is fine.  There are a few turns of phrase that raise a smile, but mostly the songs are thoughtful and thought-provoking.  They work very well with the theme of the movie: parenthood, children, relationships, love.  (Even though the movie is funny, these songs aren’t).

The collection is certainly one of Loudon’s strongest.   Many of Loudon’s musical partners in crime are here: Richard Thompson, Patrick Warren, Van Dyke Parks and, special guest Joe Henry (who I don’t know too much about, but who plays a lovely guitar).  The first three songs, “Grey in L.A.” “You Can’t Fail Me Now” and “Daughter” are possibly three of Loudon’s strongest songs in years (He didn’t write “Daughter” but he sings it wonderfully…and I think better than the original, which is a bit too jazzy for my tastes.)  The rest of the album continues in that vein: mellow folk music but with enough of an edge to keep it from sounding monotonous.  Loudon is releasing another new album this month, and I hope he keeps up this high quality!

[READ: August 14, 2008] Echo

When Strangers in Paradise ended, I was quite sad.  One of my favorite comics by one of my favorite artists was now out of my life.  And slowly, I forgot about Terry Moore, and moved on to other things (like the Buffy Season 8 comic).  Well, while I was at ALA this year, Michele Gorman, the wisest person in the graphic novelverse, asked me how I liked Terry’s new book.  Wha?? I said.  She said, it’s called Echo, and it’s fantastic.  And, so I got home, looked it up online and immediately subscribed and got the back issues.  1-4 came right away and #5 just arrived.  And I’m all caught up. (more…)

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Anya Ulinich–Petropolis (2008)

Posted in Anya Ulinich, Art, Coheed & Cambria, Consumerism, Dystopia, Foreign Books, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, NPR/PRI/PBS, Russia on August 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: COHEED & CAMBRIA-In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003).

I had recently reviewed Co&Ca’s Good Apollo… CD which is the part that comes right after this one. I have yet to hear the one that comes before this one (I’m being vague about the numbering since the first album is called …2, the second one is this one (3), the third one is IV, Vol. 1 and the fourth is IV, Vol. 2.  I understand that Part 1 will come out later as the fifth album, so…try to keep it all straight, okay!

Anyhow, as I said, my only exposure to Co&Ca was Vol. IV, Part 1, an album I enjoyed very much, with its combination of metal, prog rock, guitar wailing, and catchy emo-like lyrics.  This record was slightly less enjoyable for me.  I almost feel like they really perfected their sound with IV, and on this one they were still playing around with a suitable style.

There’s something a little tentative about this album overall, and perhaps its not fair to have listened to IV before 3, but that’s what I did.  There are a couple of slower ballads on this one which suit Claudio Sanchez’ voice really well.  But overall, this one seems to be a bit heavier, but also less catchy and less prog rockish….and yet there are elements of both here.  It just feels like they weren’t quite ready to blow our minds yet.

I still have yet to figure out what the story is about. This is mostly my fault as I haven’t had a chance to really peruse the lyrics (and his voice is high enough that it’s not always apparent what he’s saying).  But I gather that it is still a pretty violent story (there’s even a disclaimer at the end of one song to not take it literally, as it’s only a story).

Despite my less than stellar rating, I’m still intrigued enough to get the whole series.  I can’t decide whether to go back to 2 or forward to IV Part 2 next….

[READ: August 5, 2008] Petropolis

I picked up this book based solely upon the cover and title.  I saw the graphic way that Petropolis was written, and I assumed that it has something to do with gas, (petrol-opolis).  Which sounded funny.  Well, my instincts were utterly wrong.  It had nothing to do with that, and while it was a little funny, it was not anything like what I was expecting (some sort of dystopia ala Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan.)

This is the story of Sasha Goldberg, a young girl growing up in the unbelievably named town of Asbestos 2 in Siberia, Russia.  (more…)

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William H. Gass–The Tunnel (1995)

Posted in Big Books, Books about writers, Consumerism, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Marriage Trouble, Pixies, Starlight Mints, William H. Gass on August 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STARLIGHT MINTS-Built on Squares (2003).

The Pixies were a weird band….  They wrote fantastically catchy alterna-rock, and yet, deep down, they were pretty weird, with shouty parts and quiet parts and bizarro lyrics about slicing up eyeballs and monkeys going to heaven.  Well, imagine if their music was REALLY weird, going beyond guitar/bass/drums to incorporate cellos, triangles and samples.  That approximates the Starlight Mints.  I first heard them on a sampler.  Their track “Submarine #3” blew me away.  It was under 2 minutes long and was weird and wonderful.  I can’t recommend that song highly enough.  Their debut album was solidly weird too.

This is the follow up, several years in the making.  And, all the parts are in place. The orchestration is a bit bigger, and yet it is still a somewhat unsettling listen.  Just as you think you get the pace of a song, they’ll throw in an unusual cello riff, or some unexpected sample.  This is not to say that the songs aren’t catchy, you just have to listen carefully for the catchiness.  And, since the songs are all under 3 minutes or so, you have to listen quickly.

I mentioned the Pixies because the second half of the album (and most of their first one) really sounds like a Pixies record.  In fact, there are parts of the songs (surf guitar, sparse solos, and Alan Vest’s voice which at times is an uncanny match for Black Francis’) might make you think you found a long lost Pixies track.  Then, of course, they throw in a trumpet, and you say, nope, not the Pixies.  So, if you like the Pixies, but wish they were just a bit more odd, definitely check out the CDs by these guys.

They released one other album after this one.  I’ve no idea what they’re up to now.  They have a MySpace page, but there’s not much on it except for a couple of songs.

[READ: June 2008] The Tunnel

I bought this book when it came out way back in 1995.  (more…)

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Julie Hecht–Do the Windows Open? (1998)

Posted in Consumerism, Frank Zappa, Funny (ha ha), John Zorn, Julie Hecht, Neurotics, New Yorker, NPR/PRI/PBS, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Ornette Coleman, Short Story, The Mars Volta, Unlikable main character, Unreliable narrator on August 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MARS VOLTA-The Bedlam in Goliath (2008).

I’ve liked Mars Volta more in theory than in actuality for their first few albums. I enjoyed them, but they didn’t make me want to listen all the time. I had heard good things about this new one, so I gave it a shot and WOW. The Bedlam in Goliath is off the charts in its craziness and its masterfulness.

Bedlam has most of the same components of a Mars Volta disc: chaos, noise, fantastic instrumentation, bizarre lyrics, jazz-like elements and metal, sweet metal. But for some reason, Bedlam seems to cohere into a masterful project. I haven’t listened to the first two discs in a while (but I’m sure going to check them out again), and I never got the third one, so I can’t really compare them. This one just seems to have something special to it.

The overall sound makes me think of someone tuning in a radio. Some parts are (deliberately) fuzzy, some are crystal clear. As the sound of one segment fades out a new, entirely different section blares in. Anyone who channel surfs can appreciate the sound of this.

All of the literature about this record talks about their use of a Ouija board during their tour and while recording. They bought it in Jerusalem and they say it had a horrible impact on the recording process. (Check out this NPR story…yeah, that’s right, I said NPR.) And, in many respects, rather than a radio, you could think of the album as the voices and sounds from the Ouija board coming through. Some are crystal clear and other are mechanized and ghostly. Spooky, eh?

But what of the music? It is fast, fast, fast. Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s voice is a powerhouse of high-pitched, operatic notes. And the music keeps pace. And yet, despite the speed the album isn’t thrash metal or speed metal necessarily. It doesn’t all have that heaviness, it just has a lot of speed. It lets up once in a while, but for the most part in every song something is going fast: drums, bass, voice, something.

One of the perplexing things about the record is how each song seems to have multiple parts that are unrelated to each other…some songs even have longer breaks within the track than between them. For instance, tracks one and two, the nearly 6 minute “Abernikula” and the over 8 minute “Metatron” blend seamlessly into one long track. However, midway through “Metatron” the song stops for a good second or two and then begins with a brand new, wonderfully catchy riff, which runs through the rest of the song. Truly masterful, and yet impossible to know what track you’re on, half the time.

The album is about an hour long, and it’s such a roller coaster of rocking guitars and high speed chases.  And yet it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome, because the catchy bits are so incredibly catchy. I was amused to see that there is a “single” on the record called “Wax Simulacra.”  It’s the shortest song, possibly that MV has ever done at under 3 minutes, which makes it an ideal single.  Except that the last twenty or thirty seconds are taken up with a mind blowing saxophone solo that could be lifted from Ornette Coleman or John Zorn (and this is a single?).  In fact, the horns come into play a lot on the record.  There’s one or two motifs that sound like they could be taken from a Zappa piece (the Zappa song “Sofa” kept popping into my head during this record. And you can’t ask more from a record than to make you enjoy it while it makes you think of other great music too.

[READ: July 20, 2008] Do the Windows Open?

I read an interview with Julie Hecht in The Believer (some of which is available here). And boy did she come across as an unlikable person. (more…)

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Lawrence Watt-Evans–The Turtle Moves! Discworld’s Story Unauthorized (2008)

Posted in Books about writers, Carlos Santana, Dip-in Books, Discworld, Frank Zappa, Funny (ha ha), Jimi Hendrix, Laurence Watt-Evans, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smarty Pants, Technology, Terry Pratchett, The Mars Volta, Time Travel, Universities on August 2, 2008| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ-Calibration (is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far) (2008).

Typically a solo album means indulgence. But how can you be more indulgent than Mars Volta? They have fifteen minute songs with twenty-seven sections and operatic vocals and lyrics that are bizarre at best (they’re fantastic, don’t get me wrong, they’re just…out there!). So, if you’re the guitarist in a freak flag waving band, how do you let your freak flag fly on your own?

This solo album actually does prove to be more out there than Mars Volta. Primarily because whereas Volta stays more or less within the realm of their prog metal, this record sets no limits. There’s ambient noodling, there’s chaotic noise, and there’s beautiful extended pieces.

Omar (I’m not on a first name basis, his name is just long) plays a bunch of instruments on the record (he gets help from a bunch of folks throughout as well), but primarily he plays guitar. And I can’t help but think that Omar doesn’t understand how to play the guitar–he knows how to play, and frankly, he’s pretty amazing at it, but I’m not sure he understands it. His melodies are bizarre, he sense of what should come next is totally askew, it’s as if he learned how to play guitar by listening to vinyl records that were a little warped. It’s pretty fantastic.

In one song he sounds like Jimi Hendrix–not so much like a Jimi Hendrix song, but that he achieves the same sonic freakout sound that Jimi achieved in his live recordings–squalling feedback and amazing density. There’s another track where he channels Carlos Santana. (This track features John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on vocals. It is singularly bizarre because it cuts out right in the middle of a line–freaks me out every time!) The next song “Sidewalk Fins” ends with some of the noisiest, loudest, most crushing sounds. It sounds like an amplifier getting smashed by a giant microphone–feedback and thuds–repeated about 4 times before it’s over.

And yet the first few songs are amazingly restrained for Omar. They are short, ambient and, if not a little weird, then certainly quite pretty. But as the album moves along and the songs get longer, his freak flag comes out (see “Lick the Tilting Poppies”). And yet, the disc ends with a beautiful 11 minute instrumental song. it’s beautifully arranged, with intertwining guitar melodies. If there was any doubt about Omar’s skills, this track will knock down all questions. It’s also pretty clear that Omar respects Zappa, if not for his guitar skills, then certainly for his compositions.

This definitely isn’t for everyone–there’s a lot of weirdness afoot–but if you’re looking for something interesting or different, and you’re not afraid of something out there, this is a good disc to check out. Oh, and you don’t need to like or have even heard of Mars Volta to appreciate this record.

[READ: June 27: 2008] The Turtle Moves!

When I saw this book on Amazon, it never occurred to me that it was an “unauthorized” account. It seems that whenever someone or something gets popular someone else tries to make a buck off of it with an “unauthorized” publication. I never know how accurate they are, if they have dirt that the subject doesn’t want out or if “unauthorized” is just written there to sell copy. (more…)

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