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Archive for the ‘Funny (strange)’ Category

Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim & Pop–Nola’s Worlds #2: Ferrets and Ferreting Out (2010)

Posted in Beck, Carol Klio Burrell, Completed Series, Dick Hyman, Erica Olson Jeffrey, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Huh?, Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim, Pop, Supernatural, Trilogy on March 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

nola2SOUNDTRACK: BECK-Odelay! (1996)

220px-OdelayAfter the success of Mellow Gold (and those other releases) we didn’t hear from Beck for a while (there’s a joke about the title of this record referring to the delays in production).

Beck quickly went from one hit wonder to wunderkind with this release which had 5 singles and is generally considered a masterpiece of the 1990s.

I haven’t listened to it in a long time, and I was surprised to hear that “Where’s It’s At” is not the lead track (it’s actually #8).  Rather it’s “Devil’s Haircut” that opens the disc.  And it still sounds fresh and fun (and, it must be said, rather weird–the guitar solo and that screaming at the end are not typical “single” material.  “Hotwax” returns Beck to his folkier roots.  Although it is folk done Beck-style, with funk keyboards and rapped lyrics.  There’s a ton of interesting styles of music in the background (old timey pianos, distorted guitars, even a weird little trippy ending).  While not trying to ape “Loser” at all, there are even lyrics in Spanish.  It’s a simple song that might have been a hit if there weren’t so many other hit-worthy songs on the disc.  “Lord Only Knows” is a fairly conventional song, catchy and simple.

“The New Pollution” was another single.  It’s also pretty unusual for a single–the opening samples (it must be a sample, even though I don’t see credits for it) an old sounding do do, do do do vocal line, (the listed sample is the sax solo from Joe Thomas’ “Venus.”  It’s so hard to know what’s original and what’s sampled with Beck.  “Derelict” is a slow, unusual song which I quite like, although I can see it being the first song on the disc that people didn’t love.  The backing music sounds like it’s played on an old music box.

“Novacane” is a funky rap-style track.  It’s noisy but fun and has some great samples.  “Jack-Ass” was another single.  I especially like this song.  It’s a slow and fairly conventional song with s simple melody and Beck’s mellow vocals–it cuts through the clutter of Beck’s usual cacophony and shows that he can do simple as well (and hints at Mutations).  Even if he does throw in the donkey sounds at the end.  And then there’s 2 turntables and a microphone.

“Minus” has a big noisy bass and guitar–a punk song, if you will.  “Sissyneck” has a great whistling opening which comes from “The Moog and Me” by Dick Hyman.  I really enjoy this country-infused number (it’s strange that I enjoy the less weird songs more, given that the other singles were so much bigger) .  “Readymade” is a slow meandering song with some interesting elements, although it’s probably my least favorite song on the disc.  Especially since it’s followed by the raucous “High 5 (Rock the Catskills), which has some great samples (including Shubert), a noisy chorus (“rocking the plastic like a man from a casket”) and (apparently) a recreation of some old rap (I love the “Ooh, La La Sassoon” and “Sergio Valenti” call outs).

The disc ends with “Ramshackle” a simple folk song that feel slightly out of tune.  It’s a mellow end to this all over the place disc (well, aside from the obligatory “bonus” track which is less than a minute of repeated noise).  Although it is well-known for its sampling and pop creations, it also shows the real diversity of Beck’s songwriting.

Check out the Moog and Me, which has Dick Hyman playing the Moog synthesizer and whistling along.

[READ: March 9, 2014] Nolas’ Worlds #2

Nola’s World is a three-part graphic novel series.  I just noticed in this book that it was originally (in French) called Alta Donna.  This book was translated very naturally by Erica Olson Jeffrey and Carol Klio Burrell.

The book picks up right where book one left off.  Nola is wondering why, after the crazy events at the end book one (which involve a roller coaster and aliens) Damiano hasn’t called or texted her and Pumpkin can’t remember anything that happened.

I felt like the beginning of the book was a little too pre-teen angsty for me, but it quickly snapped out of it and moved on the to fun and weirdness that this series presents in spades. We basically learn that Damiano and Inez are avoiding Nola because she can’t know their secret.  We also learn (and I guess we knew this already but I missed it) that the man controlling the aliens at the end of book one is Nola’s father. –WHAT??! (more…)

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“Some Instructions” (The Believer, November/December 2013)

Posted in Alexander Waterman, Ann Liv Young, Ant Hampton, Beck, Brian Belott, Brian McMullen, Buddy Wakefield, Christian Bok, Dawn Kaspar, Dynasty Handbag, Fluxus, Funny (strange), George Brecht, Huh?, Jericho Brown, John Beer, K. Silem Mohammad, Lauren Brincat, Luke Dischbeck, Matthew Dickman, Matthew Zapruder, Noah Eli Gordon, Olivia Plender, Sarah Rara, Sasha Archibald, The Believer, Zubair Ahmed on March 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

beelievrSOUNDTRACK: BECK-“Beercan” (1994).

I beercanhad forgotten how much I liked “Beercan” as a song until I played Mellow Gold again.  It’s incredibly catchy, has some wonderfully weird elements (like the sample of the girl saying “I’m Sad” over flamenco music), and deserved to be heard more.

The B-sides for this single really run the gamut of everything Beck does.  The first track “Got No Mind” is a reworking of “Pay No Mind.” It’s done as a very simple folk song.  The words are largely different and the music is played differently, but the chords are the same.  It’s an interesting conceit to redo a song almost entirely like that.  The second song “Asskiss Powergrudge (Payback ’94)” is just a dirty slow abusive song. The guitar strings are totally muted, just making noise.  The vocals are slowed and sludgy.  And it’s just heaps of abuse.

“Totally Confused” is also on the “Loser” single and is such a pretty, mellow folk song (with Anna and Petra from That Dog singing backing vocals).  And the final song, “Spanking Room” is just a pile of sheer noise and feedback.  It is loud and crazy and goes on for some 5 minutes.  There’s a “bonus” track of which I have learned is called “Loser (Pseudo-Muzak Version).” It’s Loser sampled and played behind some weird keyboard “muzak.”  It sounds like it was done live in a small club.  Really weird.

[READ: February 28, 2014] Some Instructions

This little booklet came with the Believer 2014 Art Issue.  It is called “Some Instructions.”   It is inspired by George Brecht, a Fluxus artist who is credited with creating the written form of performance art (called the “event score”).  Brecht was bored by didactic instructions in art so his creations were utterly open to interpretation.  The example they give is his “Three Chair Events” which is in its entirety:

  • Sitting on a black chair. Occurrence.
  • Yellow chair.  (Occurrence.)
  • On (or near) a white chair.  Occurrence,

–Spring 1961

This is the kind of thing that I think i would have enjoyed in college, being pretentious an d obnoxious, now I realize it is just navel gazing and (in many of the examples below) barely even thought out.  You can kind of see what Brecht was getting at (although why he needed to do more than one or two is beyond me), as a kind of thought-provoking questioning of what we know of as art.  But some of these below are just, well, stupid. (more…)

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Lemony Snicket–29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy (2014)

Posted in Beck, Children's Books, Funny (strange), Huh?, Lemony Snicket, Lisa Brown, McSweeney's, Oddities on March 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

29mythsSOUNDTRACK: BECK-One Foot in the Grave (1994).

beckoneIt’s pretty well established that Beck’s Mellow Gold came out before One Foot in the Grave, although the recordings for Grave may have been earlier.  This is Beck’s other indie label release that came out just as he was selling millions with DGC (One Foot in the Grave is another one that has barely sold 100,000 copies).

I have the earlier release with 16 songs, but it has since been re-released with 16 bonus tracks.  The album was recorded with Calvin Johnson at his Dub Narcotic studios.

In contrast to the chaos of Soulmanure, this album is a lot more focused on Beck’s anti-folks style.  And while there are some silly freakouts, the disc is largely a straightforward indie folk release.  The disc even opens with a traditional track.  And he has another song that sounds traditional (with slide guitar) but isn’t.

Sometimes the guitars are out of tune or overly twangy, but the songs are all serious and real, not noisy freakouts or nonsensical whaling.  That’s not to say there’s aren’t a few silly songs. “Cyanide Breath Mint” is certainly weird  and “Ziploc Bag” is a cacophonous blues song.

But this album is more consistent.  Calvin Johnson sings vocals on the album with him (I don’t actually know which voice is his as there are a number of people credited with vocals).  There’s a deep voice doing backing vocals on some tracks and there even a duet, on “Forcefield” in which Beck does not do lead vocals.

Probably the best song is “Asshole” which has a good melody and has lyrics that are somewhat surprising given the title: “She’ll do anything to make you feel like an asshole.”

It’s tough to say that the album is a precursor to Sea Change, because it is so lo-fi and under-produced and because the lyrics are more absurdist/funny, but the vibe is strong enough to make Sea Change a possibility rather than something that came out of left field.

[READ: March 1, 2014] 29 Myths of the Swinster Pharmacy

In continuing with the McSweeney’s McMullen’s children’s books series, this one is yet another weird book that my kids didn’t really like.  I enjoyed it, but felt that the ending lacked somewhat.

Lemony Snicket books are often peculiar, and it seems like he’s really pushing the levels of what counts as a story with some of his books.

I love the conceit of the story–these two kids just don’t understand what is up with this building–what do they sell? And in trying to learn more about it, they have come up with all of these notions.  Some of them are funny, some are absurd, some are serious, some are even true.  But there’s no real sense of completion at the end, which is kind of a bummer. (more…)

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Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim & Pop–Nola’s Worlds 1: Changing Moon (2010)

Posted in Completed Series, Erica Olson Jeffrey, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Huh?, Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim, Pop, Supernatural on March 11, 2014| 2 Comments »

nola1SOUNDTRACK: BECK-“Loser” singles (1994).

loserBeck has a new album out so I decided to listen through his back catalog for some context.  Which meant going back to “Loser” and beyond.  The first few things he put out all came around the same time.  So even though there are dates for when things were recorded, it’s not always clear what really came first.  Since the three full lengths all came out in 1994 and this single came out before Mellow Gold, I have arbitrarily decided to start here.

I own two “Loser” singles.  They both have the same cover, although one was an import.  The first one was the obligatory “this song is huge” single.  The second was because it had the delicious B-side “MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack.”

The US CD features 4 B sides, which really demonstrated the variety of styles that he would bring to the album.  They don’t quite span the gamut of the things he had recorded on his other records, but you hear the catchiness and the weirdness as well as the utter chaos (at the end of “Fume”).

All of the songs are well-produced but not glossy.  “Corvette Bummer” seems like it should have been on the album.  “Soul Sucking Jerk (Reject)” is a different version than the album version.  It’s less interesting musically (it’s quite stripped down) and the chorus is really quite different.  I prefer the album version, but it’s interesting to hear this variant.  “Fume” is a funny song about huffing fumes (I thought Scientologists were anti-drugs).  It’s a silly song that is kind of anti-folk until the screaming noise that takes up the large portion of the end.

My UK single also has “Corvette Bummer” but it includes the mellow folky song “Totally Confused” which really shows the more folky side of him that he demonstrated before releasing Mellow Gold (and later on subsequent albums).  “MTV” is a bizarrely wonderful song. It starts off as a kind of spontaneous (so many of his early lyrics seem spontaneous) dis of MTV.  After a verse, the song stops, the engineer asks, what’s the matter, and then the song morphs into a lounge piano song also called “MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack.”  Beck totally morphs his singing voice into a lounge lizard style and the song just gets goofier and weirder  It’s a wonderful B-side.  And these two singles really show what early Beck would be all about.

[READ: March 9, 2014] Nolas’ Worlds #1

Nola’s World is a three-part graphic novel series. I never would have guessed it was originally French (true, author Mathieu Mariolle’s name should have clued me in, but you never really know).  Anyhow, it was translated very naturally by Erica Olson Jeffrey.

The book is set in Alta Donna, a beautiful peaceful paradise on the water.  Which is utterly boring.  Nola’s parents are divorced and Nola’s mom works so much that Nola barely sees her.  (her parents are peripheral to the story but essential to Nola).  No unrelated, she also tends to be late for school a lot.

There’s a new boy at school named Damiano.  He’s a good-looking and interesting guy.  He also has a sister Ines, who seems to get away with whatever she wants–in school, out of school, everywhere.  And Nola makes it her mission to find out what is going on with them. (more…)

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Betsy Byars–Little Horse (2002) & Little Horse on His Own (2004)

Posted in Adventure, Betsy Byars, Children's Books, David McPhail, Funny (strange), Short Books on February 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

little horseSOUNDTRACK: “Chopsticks.”

chopTabby has started taking piano lessons.  She learned a few notes in the first class.  Her second class is next week.  I’m very curious to see if she likes it.  She enjoyed the first lesson (I was especially happy about this because Clark shows no interest in playing an instrument).

However, I know from guitar lessons (which I took in 8th grade) that the first few months of lessons are kind of lame because you don’t really learn how to play anything except scales.  So we’ll see how tolerant a 6-year-old is of doing this.

I look forward to hearing her play “Chopsticks.”

[READ: February 23, 2014] Little Horse & Little Horse on His Own

Sarah brought home Little Horse the other day and read it to Tabby.  She said it was so surprising (she hadn’t read the blurb) that she wanted Clark and I to read it.  We were equally surprised by the strange and literal way the reveal was written.  And overall, there was something so charming and old-fashioned about the story that I was really surprised that it had been written in 2002 and not 1970.

So this is the story of Little Horse.  He wanders away from his family and gets swept into a current where he is dragged away.  He encounters many dangers and a surprising truth is revealed–and revealed so simply and in such a deadpan fashion in the book, that it made the whole story all the more intriguing.

With this revelation at hand, the end of the book becomes charming and bittersweet.  It certainly set up a sequel.

And so in 2004, the sequel was delivered.

little horse2It’s not clear to me how much time has elapsed since the first book.  It’s not exactly relevant, but it is certainly an interest, and it would make a difference if he was gone for a week or a year.

At any rate, the surprise is no longer a part of this book, which may be why I found it a little less satisfying.  In this one, Little Horse gets away from his “captors” and makes his way back to his family.  He goes through a  lot of trouble, including a large and dangerous fall, but he is spared any serious injury.

I hate to spoil the book, but as it is the second of presumably only two books, it is not hard to imagine how it ends, and this book is all about the journey anyway.

I guess because there was less magic and mystery in this book it wasn’t quite as engaging.  But it was a satisfying conclusion.

The illustrations by David McPhail also have a very old-fashioned feel.  As with many books, the placement of the illustrations can act as a bit of a spoiler, which is kind of stinky, but overall they do wonders to convey the mystery and the struggle.

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Douglas Coupland–Eleanor Rigby (2004)

Posted in Babies, Bill Callahan, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Death, Douglas Coupland, Drinking, Drugs, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Parenting, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Religion, Short Books, Smog, The Beatles, Tiny Desk Concert, Virginity (Loss of), Wax Fang on January 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

eleanorSOUNDTRACK: BILL CALLAHAN-Tiny Desk Concert #21 (July 13, 2009).

billcBill Callahan (formerly known as Smog) plays beautiful slow ballads.  He has a deep, calming, gorgeous voice.  And his songs have a very traditional acoustic feel (even when he plays electric guitar).  He is excellent at what he does.

But I’m afraid I just don’t really like his style all that much.  I can absolutely appreciate why he is so well-regarded, because even as I’m listening to this Tiny Desk set I keep thinking how good everything he is doing is.  Man, his voice is so interesting, and his music is so pretty (the strings add a very nice touch).

But I just can’t imagine myself ever choosing to listen to his album.

In fairness, a song on a mix tape would probably be awesome, and I did enjoy the three songs here: “Jim Cain,” “Rococo Zephyr” (great title, and my favorite of the three) and “Too Many Birds.”  And I can imagine if I was ever on a mellow music kick that this would be where I’d start.  So if you enjoy pretty, mellow music done incredibly well, Bill Callahan is definitely your guy.  I feel like he is not as well-known as he ought to be, so check him out.

[READ: January 23, 2014] Eleanor Rigby

Completing three Douglas Coupland novels in two weeks may seem daunting, and it is especially so when the books are as dark as these have been.  (With Coupland’s follow up book, JPod, he would go in a different direction and kind of break the darkness somewhat.  And the new book which just came out seems like it is more humorous than dark).  This book is perhaps the most insular of his career and perhaps the most insular book I’ve read.  The title is puzzling (and is ultimately revealed), although Coupland says that he was inspired by wondering what happened to Eleanor Rigby after the (Beatles, duh) song was over.

So in this story, the main character is named Liz Dunn.  Liz is a blank.  She claims that she is so dull that if she were an extra in movies, she would be asked to leave the scene because she is too devoid of character to even be an extra.  (Actually, Liz lays the self-pity on a little too thickly throughout the book–we got the point).  Liz has a brother, who is an accomplished world traveller, and a sister who lives nearby and pops in to check on her once in a while.  Both are married and have their lives together, unlike Liz who lives by herself in a room with no personality at all.

Liz’ sister is beautiful and got up to all kinds of trouble in school and William has always been successful, but Liz was…nothing.  She didn’t like to do much.  And she pretty much holds herself up as the antithesis of her sister.  She watches movies all the time in her living room. And then she goes to sleep.  She works at a well paying but dull job and she has saved a ton of money because she never spends it on anything.

As the story starts, she is getting wisdom teeth out. She takes a week off from work, but he boss (the Dwarf Whom I Report To) calls to say that someone will bring some work over to keep her busy.  She has bought a bunch of tear jerker movies in hopes of riding out the painkillers with them.  And then she gets a phone call.  A man named Jeremy has her name on his medic alert bracelet and he is in the hospital.

Liz doesn’t know who he is, but then takes a guess and goes to see him in the hospital.  And it turns out to be…her son. (more…)

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Douglas Coupland–Hey Nostradamus! (2003)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Death, Douglas Coupland, Drinking, Drugs, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Julie Doiron, Nostalgia, Parenting, Religion, Sex, Short Books, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, Yuck! on January 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

heynosSOUNDTRACK: JULIE DOIRON-Tiny Desk Concert #20 (July 6, 2009).

julieI don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed her Tiny Desk Concert.  Unlike most of the musicians, she busts out an electric guitar, and although it’s quiet, there’s some good buzzy distortion on it, especially in the first song “Heavy Snow.”  And it sounds good with her voice, which is powerful, even if she does seem nervous.

On “Ce Charmant Coeur” she sings in French and then messes up when she admits she’s thinking of other things and is distracted by the intimacy of the setting.  Bob and company calm her by saying that she is sweating less than Tom Jones did (and there’s very funny joke about her breasts popping out (they don’t)).

She plays “Tailor.” It seems like she tried earlier and stopped half way through and is now trying again (the Concert itself starts midway through, so I assume that’s what was cut off).  It’s a pretty, mellow song (very different sounding from “Heavy Snow”).

For the last song she plays “Consolation Prize” which she says is unlike any she’d written before.  There’s a chaotic section in the middle which they agree we can just imagine because shes not going to play it in this setting.  The blurb with the show says that she normally rocks out pretty hard–something that I’d like to see.

In looking up Doiron’s past she was on Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop, so I must have seen her name a lot back in the day.  I now see she has recorded with all kinds of bands that I like, and I’m curious to hear her more rocking edge (especially since she is so polite and sweet and nervous here).

Check it out here.

[READ: January 11, 2014] Hey Nostradamus!

After finishing the exciting All Families are Psychotic I moved on to his novel with my least favorite title and with a horrendous cover.  You’d think that I would remember these books but I had no memory of this one either, and I’m fairly certain I read it within the last ten years.

Coupland must have been in a very dark place with this book as well.

There are four sections, each from a different person’s point of view.  This technique of having a person tell his or her story is something Coupland does very well in all of his works–he loves to tell stories about telling stories.

But the darkness about the book is that it is set in a school just as three student gunman come in and shoot up the cafeteria, killing dozens of students, including the first narrator, Cheryl.  This was written with the Columbine shootings in mind, although it has nothing specifically to do with Columbine.

In Part 1, Cheryl has already been killed as she is relating this story to us.  She tells us about herself and her decision to join Youth Alive! a religious group in school.  She and her friends in the group are very moral and are quite clique-y (and they are not widely liked).

The latest thing in Cheryl’s life which has her preoccupied and which has her Youth Alive! group very upset is that she has been spending a lot of unchaperoned time with Jason.  Everyone knew they were dating, but it seems to have gone further now.  And Cheryl explains to us (but not them) that she and Jason have started having sex.  But not until after they rushed off to Vegas and were quickie-married (which no one knows, not even their parents). (more…)

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Douglas Coupland–All Families Are Psychotic (2001)

Posted in Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Diff'rent Strokes, Disease, Douglas Coupland, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Maria Taylor, Marriage Trouble, NASA, Nostalgia, Outer Space, Parenting, Religion, Surreal, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence on January 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

familiesSOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).

mariaI’d never heard of Maria Taylor before this Tiny Desk Concert.  She was part of the duo Azure Ray (who I also don’t know).  Then she went solo and as of this recording has released three albums.

Taylor has a pleasant voice (she reminds me of a number of different Lilith Fair singers, although I can’t pinpoint who specifically), but it’s not especially remarkable.  The first song “Ladyluck” I found to be nice.  The second song “Time Lapse Lifeline” fared better–the guitar melody was a little stronger, and the harmonies really helped.

The final track, “Clean Getaway” is another pretty gentle ballad (the two guitars really help add texture to all of these songs).  Although even the end seemed to just stop without actually ending.

I didn’t find Maria Taylor to be terribly memorable.  However, the Tiny Desk setting seems to be the best way to hear Taylor as her voice is well suited for an intimate location.

[READ: January 17, 2014] All Families Are Psychotic

I saw recently that Douglas Coupland had a new book coming out in 2014.  And I also knew that I had three of his older novels to re-read, so I decided to make this the Winter of Douglas Coupland and read all three of those books before his new one came out.  Then I got to work and saw his new book on top of a pile of newly delivered titles.  Sigh.

Well, there was still no reason I couldn’t read the other three in a row, possibly even before anyone wanted his new book.  So, off I went.  And indeed, I finished this book on our little vacation.  And even though I’m fairly certain I’ve read it before (it came out just before or after 9/11/01, gasp) I didn’t remember a thing about it.

This book has a title that I’m mixed about.  It’s a great sentence, but I’m not sure it’s a great title.  And although someone speaks the title in the book, it doesn’t really explain the book very well.

In fact it’s pretty hard to explain the book quickly. (more…)

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Lemony Snicket–“Who Could That Be at This Hour?” : All the Wrong Questions #1(2012)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Heywood Banks, Huh?, Lemony Snicket, Mystery, Seth, Word usage on January 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

snicketSOUNDTRACK: HEYWOOD BANKS-“Toast” (1995).

toastI found this song when I was reading an article about Chris Christie.  Someone said he’s toast after his recent scandal.  And someone else posted this video.  Evidently it is taken from a morning radio show (ew), but the song is funny despite the morning nimrods laughing along.

I prefer the audio quality of the radio version, but I like this live version better (the dark toast intolerant joke is very funny (it’s new to this version)–as is the punchline to the Eifel Tower verse).

The excitement that he brings to this nonsense is wonderful.

[READ: September 20, 2013] Who Could That Be at This Hour?

I have a few books lingering around from last year that I have yet to write about.  This is one of them.  I’m not sure how a book gets neglected in my writing.  Usually I feel like I need to devote some time to it and I feel like I don’t have enough time at the moment.  And then it gets pushed back and back until months have gone by and then I wind up writing a half-assed review anyhow.

Alas.

So this begins a new series from Lemony Snicket.  It is a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it is a very early prequel.  The main character is a thirteen year old Lemony Snicket who has just finished school and is on his way to a certain destination when all of his plans are thwarted.  And the way the opening is written is confusing and funny at the same time.  Like, “You’ll see her soon enough in any case, I thought, incorrectly.”  Or that he is given a note from a stranger which says to go out the bathroom window.  When he gets into the bathroom he finds a small package: “It was a folding ladder.  I knew it was there.  I’d put it there myself.”  Young Snicket is sitting with his parents–they insist he drink his tea while he waits for the train.  But while he is waiting, a woman breezes into the station and drops a note in his lap.

The mysterious letter writer turns out to be S. Theodora Markson.  She is to be Snicket’s chaperone.  Snicket uses the “a word which here means…” trick from the Unfortunate books but there’s a funny twist

“I’m contrite, I said, a word which here means–”
“You already said you were sorry,” S. Theodora Markson said.  “Don’t repeat yourself.  It’s not only repetitive, it’s redundant and people have heard it before.” (more…)

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Allie Brosh-Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened (2013)

Posted in Allie Brosh, Biography, Cake, Depression, Dogs, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Okkervil River, Shearwater, Short Books, Swans, Tiny Desk Concert on January 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

  hyperSOUNDTRACK: SHEARWATER-Tiny Desk Concert #9 (November 14, 2008).

shearwaterI didn’t really know Shearwater before this Tiny Desk Concert.  I’d heard of them but wasn’t familiar with their music (I assumed it was more countryish).  I was also really surprised to find that Thor Harris was in the band (he is currently playing with Swans–it doesn’t get too much more different between Swans and Shearwater (even if they are both birds).

Jonathan Meiberg is the singer–he was formerly in Okkervil River for a number of years before Shearwater became too big to be a side project.  The setting is perfect for the band as they get to showcase some really quiet insturments.  Like the Waterphone (designed by Richard Waters, although Thor Harris made the one they are using).  It is based on the calimba and they describe it as the sound you hear when something weird happens on Lost.  Thor also plays the clarinet (!).

Meiberg has a great voice, and it perfectly complements these delicate songs.  “Rooks” has melodies on xylophone and Hammered dulcimer (which also looks homemade).  “Leviathan, Bound” is based on the documentary “Blue Water White Death” about great white sharks and whalers.  They explain that this is a new version of the song with banjo.  And before they start the song they nearly knock something over (it is a Tiny desk after all).

“North Col” is the less commonly use approach to Mt Everest.  And this song is just as spare and pretty.  Before playing the final song, they show the album cover (of Rook) and talk about Kahn & Selesnick, the artists who made it (it’s quite striking).  Then he explains the origins of “I Was a Cloud” which he wrote when he was in the Falkland Islands.  They were birding and found a tiny bird living under the wreckage of a fighter jet.  It’s a beautiful image and a beautiful song.

And I definitely need to hear more Shearwater after this.

[READ: December 29, 2013] Hyperbole and a Half

The whole blogs-into-books thing is weird.  You can read everything in these blogs for free on the internet, so why do they come out in books?  Is the internet insecure when it comes to publishing?  Are these things more legitimate as books?  Is it just a way to make money?  Are they in print just in case the internet explodes?  It certainly undermines the concept that books are dead.  Well, whatever, some blogs translate very well to print.  Like this one.

I have enjoyed Hyperbole and a Half a number of times, but I never thought to check it regularly.  So I had no idea that Allie had taken a year off.  And I had no idea that she suffered from Depression so people were concerned about her.  I always just thought her strips were very very funny and didn’t read anything in them.  Of course, knowing she was Depressed (she admits as much in the book) makes the darker stories seem darker, but the funny ones are still really funny.

I mean, just look at drawings! No really, look at the drawings–they are so weird and creepy and so freaking funny.  It seems like she can’t really draw, because the pictures are crazy.  And yet she is so consistent with her lines and styles that I have to assume she is a masterful artist and has chosen this crazy style to accentuate her crazy stories.  And it is genius. (more…)

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