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Archive for the ‘Funny (strange)’ Category

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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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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Joyce Carol Oates–“Suicide by Fitness Center” (Harper’s, June 2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Funny (strange), Harper's, Joyce Carol Oates, Short Story, Stars, Supernatural, The Dears on July 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STARS-Do You Trust Your Friends (2007).

Stars released Set Yourself on Fire in 2005. It was a surprisingly good and catchy pop album from a band I hadn’t heard of before. It was lyrically downbeat, and yet the choruses were sweeping and grand. A great paradox of a record that I liked very much.

Well, they gave the master tapes to a whole bunch of their Canadian band friends and had them remix or redo the songs. This collection is interesting in that the collective work is very strong and everybody makes a remix that is fresh and interesting. I didn’t know too many of the bands before hand (only The Dears) so the sound was pretty new to me. The Dears do an interesting thing with their track: they split their song into two songs, since the original had two distinctive parts. It’s a fun thing to hear.

Most of the roster comes from the Arts & Crafts label, so that may give you an idea of the sound; they include some dance remixes, some indie rock remixes and some straight ahead pop ones. Obviously, the original is better if only for the overall continuity, but this is an interesting and enjoyable listen in and of itself.

[READ: June 30, 2008] “Suicide by Fitness Center”

Joyce Carol Oates must talk in her sleep, and she must have a dictation service that records all of it. (more…)

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Dan Martin–All Known Metal Bands (2008)

Posted in Bathory, Books about music, Canadian Music, Cirith Ungol, Dan Martin, Dip-in Books, Funny (strange), Kerrang, Manowar, McSweeney's, Slayer, Venom on July 11, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: Metal Shop (radio program 1980’s).

Back in high school, my friend Al and I listened to this syndicated radio show, which always came back from commercials with “MumumumumumuMetal Shop.” The more I listened to the show, the more into metal I got. And, in high school I rebelled against pop music by delving deeply into the metal scene. I had one of those denim covered 3 ring binders with nearly 100 bands inked on it. Whenever I saw a logo in Kerrang or some other place, I added it, even if I never heard the band. It was good fun.

I also liked to find weird heavy bands to shock anyone who cared to listen (which was no one, actually). So, I have some albums from Bathory, and Venom, Cirith Ungol, and Manowar, sweet, ridiculous, Manowar. These bands all predated the really crazy death and black metal scenes. Somehow, even though Venom were “satan worshippers” they were still pretty goofy. I have a great VHS of Slayer and Venom live at Studio 54. It has some interviews with them afterwards, and they’re just a bunch of silly dudes.

My musical tastes have expanded greatly since those days, but after reading the book below, I may have to dust off my Bathory vinyl and see what it sounds like.

[READ: June 30, 2008] All Known Metal Bands.

This is one of those strange books that surfaces from time to time. What you get is a list of some 50,000 names of heavy metal bands. And that’s it. (Well, there’s an epigram and a concluding remarks pages, but otherwise just an alphabetical list of every metal band that Marin could find while surfig the web.)

Probably not worth the $20some but I joined the McSweeney’s 10 for $100 program, so I got this for $10, so I got that going for me.

It is certainly fun to see the names that have been used over the years. He mentions that some names were used by many different bands, and I do rather wish he had put parenthetical notes for how many of each band, or perhaps a country of origin, but what can you do.

UPDATE:  Why you should never post before reading the book: Even better than parentheses, he lists all of the times that a name was used.  So, you get a list that inlcudes Paranoia eight times!  It is actually quite funny, especially when you see some of the really obscure names that have been used multiple times.  So, thank you, Dan Martin, for doing that.  (Country of origin would have been very interesting but would have ruined the flow, admittedly.)

The seling point, such as it is, is the design. The cover is a beautiful dark blue and silver cloth, and the interior pages are all black with silver writing on it (of course). That probably goes some way to explaining the cost.

My interesting side note is that I started to read it last night (and, yes, I’m actually writing about this without having finished it, but COME ON, it’s 50,000 names), and just as I read the first three names, we had a power failure and I was cast into utter darkness. There was none more black.

[Secret devil worship sign].

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Ben Greenman–Superworse (2004)

Posted in Ben Greenman, Books about writers, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), McSweeney's, New Yorker, Short Books, Tanakh, The Wizard of Oz on June 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: TANAKH-Tanakh (2004) [UPDATE]

I re-listened to this CD and actually changed my mind about my preference.  I prefer the 58 minute song to the 28 minute one.  And, even though I appreciate the duct-tape-as-musical-instrument aspect of “28,” it lacks a cohesion and a song structure.  “58” even though it is rambling and could have easily been 20 minutes shorter at least has the feeling of a song.  “28” feels just like a bunch of people improvising on whatever is at hand.  And while organized improv is great, sometimes noisy improv can just be noisy.

Incidentally, I notice don this listen that at the 54 minute mark of “58” the bassist hits a wrong note.  How much would that suck if the had to redo the whole song after 54 minutes!  I was amused by this quite a bit.  I guess that proves there were no overdubs.

[READ: May 29, 2008] Superworse

After finishing Superbad, I learned that there was a book called Superworse. It is a “remix” of Superbad. The premise is that for the softcover edition, Laurence Onge, the editor of the first book (and completely fictitious I am now certain), decided to reorganize Superbad and to include a Foreward, an Afterward and a Midward.

For the most part the rest of the book is the same. (more…)

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Ben Greenman–Superbad (2001)

Posted in Ben Greenman, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), McSweeney's, New Yorker, Political Humor, Short Books, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Superbad, The Beautiful South on May 16, 2008| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BEAUTIFUL SOUTH-Superbi (2007).

I reviewed all of the Beautiful South records a few posts back. This one had not been released in the US at the time, and as far as I can tell has yet to be. But I ordered the import and here it is. Reviewing this is somewhat irrelevant as the Beautiful South have officially disbanded. It’s quite a pity as this album shows no sign of creative drop off. In fact, this album is one of their best.

The variety of styles in songs is really impressive. And each song contains the trademarks of The Beautiful South: incredibly poppy/happy sounding songs with good verses and catchy choruses combined with acerbic lyrics about relationships breaking up, and, interestingly, inanimate objects.

Some songs: “Manchester” is such a wonderfully winning song, with the great line, “if rain made England great it made Manchester yet greater.” All along, with such a great catchy chorus…. Even a bleak song like “When Romance is Dead” comes out beautifully in a striking duet. And speaking of duets, there’s a new female voice added to TBS on this record. Alison Wheeler is number three. I guess the bitterness of Heaton’s lyrics are hard to take sometimes. Wheeler does a great job. She has a strong voice and maintains a continuation of style to the previous women:

Paul Heaton, the singer and de facto leader, released a solo album a few years back under the name Biscuit Boy, and it was much the same, if slightly more dancey. Story is that he’s got a new solo album coming out in July, and I’ll bet its pretty great too.

[READ: April 2008] Superbad.

I ordered this book from McSweeney’s and, as you’ve heard before, I didn’t know much about it. I did know it was not related to the movie of the same name, however. In fact, here’s a pretty funny letter from Greenman to Seth Rogen about the name Superbad. (more…)

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Stephen Dixon–End of I. (2006)

Posted in Books about writers, Funny (strange), Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Public Enemy, Short Books, Stephen Dixon, The Go! Team on May 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE GO! TEAM-Proof of Youth (2007).

I reviewed the first Go! Team record a few months ago. I really enjoyed it but I wondered what they could do for a follow up. And, indeed, I was right to wonder. This album follows very similarly to their first record. They use a similar style of cheerleader/chanting over fuzzed out dance songs. About half the songs are just as catchy as on the first record, but overall, the whole album just doesn’t live up to the first one.

Part of the problem is the guest rappers they add, and there are quite a few. On the first song. “Grip Like a Vice,” Lisa Lee does a rap that I’m still not convinced isnt’ lifted wholly from a 1980s rap album. The chorus ends: “Party people in the place, get ready for this To you! So what you wanna do? So do you wanna rock the house and turn this mutha out?” Really? That’s the best you can do in 2008? How many times have we heard this couplet before? I mean, heck, I understand the whole sound is retro but COME ON!

The second strike against the record is the use of Chuck D. Now, Chuck D is, simply, the greatest voice in rap. Or speaking, or anything. He has a commanding presence, he has great rhythm, and he really made Public Enemy a force to be reckoned with. So, how could I complain about his use on this record? Well, because his voice is completely lost in the cacophony. You can barely hear him. What a waste of talent! I’ve listened to the song about 6 times and I’m still not sure what he’s saying. Public Enemy told us to Bring the Noise, but you could always hear Chuck telling us to bring it. Gah!

So, anyhow, the rest of the album contains this cacophonous mindset; however, because the cheerleader singers are high pitched girls, you can hear them over the static, the bass and the general sense of noise. You can’t help but hear that everything sounds kind of staticky. I know it’s done on purpose, but it just sounds like there’s a white noise machine on in the background.

(more…)

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Eric Hoffman & Gary Rudoren–Comedy By the Numbers (2007)

Posted in Dip-in Books, Eric Hoffman, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gary Rudoren, Lush, McSweeney's, Mr Show, Pretty Girls Make Graves, X-Ray Spex on May 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES-Elan Vital (2006).

Every time I listen to this record I think I’m not going to like it, and that is because I really don’t like the first song. I’ve never had a record that rubbed me so badly off the bat and then turned out to be such a fulfilling record overall.

I first heard PGMG when they first came out. I knew their band name from the Smiths’ song, so I had to see what they were about. But I was surprised to hear how unSmithsy they were. Their first two albums were great and then they seemed to go away for a while. When Elan Vital came out I’d read a few mixed reviews of it and it took me ages to pick it up. And, then, as I said, that first song…. I’m not sure what it is about the song that rubs me the wrong way. In and of itself it’s a very generic sounding song, but after listening to the rest of the album I think I figured out what i don’t like about song one.

The rest of the album is very sparse, almost angular, and yet they maintain an incredibly catchy aspect. There’s always at least one interesting part of every song. “Pyrite Pedestal” reminds one of later Lush, but only in the vocals, because Lush has always been kind of smooth and, well, lush. This song keeps the attitude of Lush, but sticks in a very simple melody line and instruments. The simplicity really highlights all of the aspects of the song…nothing is lost. And this is true for the rest of the songs as well. Each instrument, each vocal line, everything is so crisp, it really stands out.

As I’m reliving the record I’m realizing why it’s so hard to describe. It’s because although every song sounds like PGMG, the vocals are very strong and consistent and there’s a punk edge to everything, the styles of the songs vary greatly within the record. “Domino” is practically disco (but angry disco). And yet overall they remind me of X-Ray Spex. Andrea Zollo’s voice is less shrieky and much prettier than Poly Styrene’s and they are clearly post-grunge in their sensibilities, but they hearken back to the 1970s punk scene quite clearly.

Two other things that have changed in the band since their first two great albums: they’d added a keyboardist, who contributes really nice touches, and even carries one of the songs…but the keyboards never “soften” the songs. And, they use horns from time to time. I don’t recall if they did before but it does stand out in the mix now. (They are used to their detriment on the last song however. The main body of the song is quite good, but then it degenerates into a weird 4 minute keyboard and horn jam session. It’s as lame as it sounds. I don’t know what they were thinking ending their album like that.)

Oh, and so why don’t I like the first song? The whole album is clear sounding and immediate. Each song, with its differing styles and sounds is so unique. However, the first song sounds like they threw all of these elements together. There’s so much going on that it turns the whole song into mush. It sounds like a generic 90’s alternative song with layers of noise. But, don’t let that fool you. Skip track one and enjoy the awesome songs of Elan Vital

[READ: February 2008] Comedy By the Numbers.

A sample chapter of this book came with McSweeney’s 23. It was pretty funny so I bought the book. This is one of those strange books that McSweeney’s excels at: It seems like a joke and yet it is quite serious, except when it’s funny. So the premise is that this is a list of 169 comedy tropes that, once you master, will make you funny.

(more…)

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Jonathan Lethem–This Shape We’re In (2001)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Dystopia, Funny (strange), Jonathan Lethem, McSweeney's, Neil Young, Short Books on February 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

lethem.jpgSOUNDTRACK: NEIL YOUNG-Live at the Fillmore East (1970) & Live at Massey Hall (1971).

I came to the Neil Young ballgame much later than lots of fans. I’ve always more or less liked Neil, I really liked his Weld live album, and of course, I knew all of his classic rock, um classics. It was Sarah who really turned me on to Neil’s more mellow side, especially Silver and Gold. And, once you’re into the raucous and the mellow, well, that’s the whole oeuvre, pretty much.

So, I’ve been getting various records by him over the years. And there was so much buzz about these archival releases that I had to check them out. I’m not going to go into whether they were “worth the wait” (some complained about waiting twenty some years for these releases to get only 6 songs on the first one…but I wasn’t waiting terribly long for them, so I don’t care).

fillmore.jpgLive at the Fillmore East. This is a fun, rowdy little disc. I’m confused as to why it’s only 6 songs, as surely they would have played more at the time, but I’m not going to spend any real time figuring that out. The first two songs, “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” and “Winterlong” are fuzzy, brief versions of these cuts. They’re a good opening in prep for the twelve minute “Down By the River.” Two more short songs, “Wonderin'” and “Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown” barely prepare you for the 16 minute “Cowgirl in the Sand” conclusion. I didn’t know that “Downtown” was a “Crazy Horse” song and not a Neil song. I’m not even sure where I know it from, but it was as familiar as most of his tracks. And it was interesting to hear one of the other guys sing the song.

This is Neil and Crazy Horse at their 1970s prime. They sound great, the extended tracks aren’t tiresome, and the quality of the recording is fantastic.

massey.jpgLive at Massey Hall. The same quality is evident on this recording as well. But this record is just Neil solo. It’s a more mellow affair, with the songs being pretty evenly split between acoustic guitar and piano. This disc has 17 songs on it and only one runs over 5 minutes (actually the closing “Dance, Dance, Dance” runs pretty long too, but it’s basically 2 and a half minutes of applause which Neil really should have cut).

What is most interesting/fascinating/cool about this recording is that so many of these songs, which at this point are rightly deemed classic, are heard here by this crowd for the first time. It’s really funny to hear a song like “Needle and the Damage Done” that doesn’t immediately generate a huge round of applause on the first note. You can hear the Toronto audience really listening to the songs. It’s pretty intense.

There’s two or three songs that he says something like, “I just wrote this song last week.” There’s also the really fascinating introduction to “A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold Suite.” I’ve never much like “A Man Needs a Maid” but when he explains the context for writing it (that he’s making a musical (and whether that is true I have no idea) and you can hear the orchestral version playing along in your head) it actually WORKS! The only confusing thing is that he busts into “Heart of Gold” in the middle of the song, and no one bats an eyelash because no one has heard it before!

It’s a really cool collection of songs. I’ve not heard Neil banter so much on record before, and he sounds so YOUNG. It makes sense to hear him write and sing “Old Man” since he wasn’t an old man at the time.

It’s hard to pick one or the other because they are so different, but I think for historical value Massey Hall is the winner. Plus, you get the home town crowd cheering every time he mentions Canada.

[Read: January 28, 2007] This Shape We’re In.

This is a strange little book. It’s about 55 pages. I had never read any Jonathan Lethem before, and since this book was cheap from the McSweeney’s store I thought I’d give it a shot. And boy is it strange. The pun of the title is that the characters are indeed in a shape. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #25 (2008)

Posted in Dystopia, Fantasy, Funny (strange), Joyce Carol Oates, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Sigur Rós, Steven Millhauser on February 4, 2008| Leave a Comment »

mc25.jpgSOUNDTRACK: SIGUR RÓS-Hvarf-Heim (2007).

hvarf.jpgSigur Rós put on one of the greatest live shows I’ve seen. There was nothing “special” about it , in that there were no real pyrotechnics, there was just a very simple film playing on a screen behind them, but somehow they took over the small theater I saw them in…I can’t remember which one, maybe The Limelight in NYC…and I had a tremendously trippy experience. Normally, I’d chalk this up to the surrounding smoke, but this time it was definitely the music. The high notes, the swirling tunes, the coda to a sing in which the singer snag into the pickup of his guitar (a very weird thing to see), and then used some of his guitar effects on his voice; wow. I actually had to sit down after the show.

If you really let it, a Sigur Rós CD will totally envelop you. There are many layers of lush strings and harmonies, and the Icelandic/nonsensical lyrics push it over the edge into an otherwordly realm.
But what do they really sound like? My blasphemous answer is they sound like Coldplay if you pushed Coldplay to the furthest edges of their sound. If you put acid in the Coldplay CD you’d get Sigur Rós. I have a friend who loves Coldplay and I burned a copy of the second Sigur Rós album; however, I’ve no idea if she liked it…great story huh?

So, anyhow, this collection, Hvarf-Heim, is a two disc set of rarities and an unplugged live performance. The rarities are nothing too different from a typical Sigur Rós collection. Which is not to say that they’re not great–they are–they’re just nothing out of the ordinary for them, more of a boon for collectors. It’s really the love album which is what stands out. I wondered, after seeing them fully plugged in, what an unplugged version of the band could do. What you find out is that the melodies are really strong, and the otherworldlyness comes not from studio trickery or something else, but from the excellent songcraft and the soaring vocals.

They use strings to play the swells that the songs usually contain, and the strings do a great job. The recording definitely sounds unplugged, but it still retains that otherworldly sound. There’s definitely something in the Icelandic waters that produces such wonderful music.

[READ: January 31, 2008] McSweeney’s #25.

This issue of McSweeney’s sees a return to the less audacious format. It is a smallish book with an overlaid cover of two different materials. The only color components of the work are a series of horses painted by. The series is called Horses say What and each story has a cover page of a beautiful horse.

And since this volume is all about the stories, so will this review, then, be.

CONNOR KILPATRICK-“Yuri”
This story of a Russian man who comes to work at a paper plant and befriends a slacker employee is very, very manly. It seems to be full of robust men, like Yuri who are fearless, until that fearlessness catches them off guard. The story is slightly off kilter in that the narrative watches the main action from something of a distance, which makes the story more compelling. The main plotline, such as it is, is pretty simple, so it’s really the oddness of the storytelling that makes you want to finish it.

STEVEN MILLHAUSER-“The Tower”
This is a cool story investigating the reality behind constructing the Tower of Babel (it never explicitly says that, but it is a tower that reaches heaven). It is neither mocking nor reverend, but it looks very much at the logistics that would be involved in creating such a tower. This is not to imply that it is a funny story, for it is not, it is actually a little sad, but it makes for a good look at the human condition.

EMILY ANDERSON-“Love, The Frontier”
A series of diary entries propels this story of a contemporary woman leaving the city (Boston) for the frontier. She buys some oxen and starts roughing it, all in search of love. Some funny anachronistic moments but I felt they were used so sparsely that the jokes were not as strong as they could have been. I the story wasn’t meant to be funny, then it just left me a little flat.

JOYCE CAROL OATES-“Magda Maria”
This is a sad love story. The unnamed narrator is madly in love with a seemingly mythical character named Magad Maria. In the beginning of the story she is a beautiful, mysterious woman who is beholden to a brute of a man named Danto. Through the course of the story Magda’s life grows grimmer and grimmer, yet the narrator continues in his unyielding love. While not the most original of storylines, the storytelling was very compelling and really made you want to see what was up with this mysterious woman.

DAVID HOLLANDER-“The Naming of The Islands”
I didn’t like this story at the beginning. It was a nautical story about sailors being allowed to name the islands that they “discover.” It seemed to be just a simple story of conquest. However, as the story progressed, we learn that the islands are in fact a surreal collection of little islets. Each one proves to be progressively more bizarre and frustrating to the starving, dehydrated sailors. Although in reality this was a depressing story, the inventiveness of the crazy islands made the story very enjoyable to read despite itself.

ALEXANDER MACBRIDE-“The Ape Man”
A funny (strange) short story about a man who is switched at birth with a dead ape’s child. The two, who are in some respects stepbrothers, both grow to be kings in their respective cultures: the man in the ape culture and the dead ape baby in the kingdom of the dead. Like I said, pretty strange.

KENNETH BONERT-“Peacekeepers, 1995”
This was the longest story by far in this collection. It concerns a Canadian journalist named Henry as he is sent to Bosnia to cover the peacekeeping mission. As soon as he arrives, he befriends a soldier called Pigeon. Pigeon’s advice gets Henry in grave trouble with the locals. While trying to figure out what to do, Pigeon “helps” him some more. His entire stay in Bosnia, less than 24 hours turns into a whirlwind of violence, hallucinations and utter mistrust. This would have been a subject I wouldn’t have cared about, but the story was really gripping, with a surprising climax. I was a little disappointed that it didn’t “end” per se, but the story itself was great.

TERRY WRIGHT-“The Butcher, The Baker”
A one page story/poem/ramble. I read it three times and am still not sure what to make of it.

CHLOE HOOPER-“A Death in Custody”
This is a follow up to a story in Mcsweeneys #21. It is yet more depressing information amount racial inequities in Australia. A ray of hope is presented but is ultimately shot down. The realities of this area are staggering.

PADGETT POWELL-“No Empress Eyes”
This was a surreal little story about a girl who loses her horse “No Empress Eyes” and then falls in with a boy who wants to create a new harvester that will spare the lives of the deer who happen to be in the fields. The farm boy’s family takes in the girl, and they live in a cave together. Surreal, indeed. It didn’t leave to much of an impression, although I did enjoy the boy’s discourse on trying to save the deer. In fact, I’ll amend my opinion to say that I enjoyed his half of the story but not so much the horse part. Fortunately it was only 5 or so pages.

[For ease of searching I include: Sigur Ros]

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