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Archive for the ‘First Second :01’ Category

Thien Pham–Sumo (2012)

Posted in Buffalo Springfield, Chris Squire, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Japan, Richie Havens, Sumo Wrestling, The Big Country, Thien Pham, Yes on July 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

sumoSOUNDTRACK: YES-Time and a Word (1970).

yes timeThe second Yes album feels like a step towards what we know of the prog masters, but it’s more of set sideways as they have added an orchestra to the mix. Chris Squire’s bass sounds a lot more like the Yes we know, but those strings kind of mess with the synergy.

Opening track “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” is a cover of a Richie Havens song (it’s hard to imagine such an original band doing so many covers). In this one, Chris Squire shows the kind of bass he’s capable of—big deep bass notes, high fast riffs and far more complex rhythms. It’s just odd that the song opens with a string version of title music from the movie The Big Country. There’s some cool bass sounds and drum fills. It’s a great opening song. The strings are a weird addition but I think they work here (mostly).

“Then” opens with some interesting descending keyboard chords. There’s some wonderfully dramatic moments in the verses and the chorus gets nice and big and catchy.  The middle section has some good rumbling bass (with a strange addition of horns that give this a kind of soundtrack quality) and lot of keyboards. The lyrics are still pretty hippy “Love is the only answer hate is the root of cancer, then.”

“Everydays,” is another cover (Buffalo Springfield) is a kind of jazzy song with 70s keyboards and quiet jazzy drums. But after two minutes it turns into a heavy staccato riff that’s all bass and keyboards (and very cool).  This is followed by a big jam with wild drums, keys and bass. It then jumps back to a mellow section of mostly vocals. It’s a pretty wild song.

“Sweet Dreams” opens with some very distinctive Chris Squire bass.  The keyboards are big again.  “Prophet” opens with some ponderous keyboards and then the string section playing.  Then there’s some great loud bass playing.  The main body of the song is nearly all strings, which is an unusual sound for Yes.  But it’s just waiting for the bass to rumble in (opposite horns again). “Clear Days” is a 2 minute song which is all strings and Anderson’s voice.  It’s an unexpected track on this album for sure.

But the final two songs are once again real highlights.

I love “Astral Traveller” or (as-ter-al trav’lr as it is sung).  The opening chords are sharp and unusual. There’s some great rumbling bass and the chorus has some really interesting dissonance–really the first for the band who is usually pretty sweet up til now. There’s a keyboard section which feels a little displaced from the rest (later albums would make this kind of segmentation a bit more seamless) although Squire’s super high bass riffs are a fun addition. There’s also a great bass riff as the song heads to the final chorus.

And “Time and a Word” ends the album quite nicely.  Although this song is more delicate than others, it has some great elements—guitar harmonics, some cool bass and a very catchy chorus.  This record is pretty well overlooked (and is deservedly in the shadow of its successors, but there is some real quality stuff here).

Yes_-_Time_and_a_Word_-_UK_front_coverI also just leaned that the original album cover was quite different from the one that Americans are familiar with.

Since almost every Yes album had different personnel, I’m going to keep a running tally here.  Interestingly, it was the same lineup for these two records, but Peter Banks left right at the end of recording to be replaced by Steve How on the next album:

Chris Squire-bass
John Anderson-vocals
Bill Bruford-drums
Tony Kaye-keyboards
Peter Banks-guitar

[READ: January 15, 2015] Sumo

I loved this book.  I loved the illustration style (which was so very cool) and I loved the story which was simple but poetic.

The simple story is this: Scott is a football player with potential.  But when things don’t pan out (and his girlfriend dumps him) he decides to try a different route.  What if he becomes a sumo wrestler?

Scott is a blond haired American, but evidently this is not an unheard of transition, and so Scott decides to fly to Japan to try it out.  Scott is blond with a big square head.  Actually Pham’s drawing style is very blocky, which give it  an especially memorable and interesting look

The book si told in 4 sections (and the pages are designated by the color/symbol of that section.  The first is a circle in a square, which is primarily where we see Scott, in Japan, working out with the sumo.

The section (set off by a water tower) shows Scott on his last night at home–getting drunk with his friends.  They are sad to see him go, but wish him well. Until his ex girlfriend comes in and wants to talk to him. (more…)

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Nursery Rhyme Comics (2011)

Posted in Aaron Renier, Alexis Frederick-Fost, Andrew Arnold, Ben Hatke, Bob Flynn, Craig Thompson, Cyril Pedrosa, Dave Roman, David Macaulay, Drew Weing, Eleanor Davis, Eric Orchard, First Second :01, Frank Fairfield, Gahan Wilson, Gene Luen Yang, George O'Connor, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, James Sturm, Jen Wang, Jordan Crane, JP Coovert, Jules Feiffer, Kate Beaton, Lark Pien, Laura Park, Lilli Carré, Lucy Knisley, Marc Rosenthal, Mark Martin, Mark Siegel, Matthew Forsythe, Mike Mignola, Mo Oh, Nick Abadzis, Nick Bruel, Raina Telgemeier, Rebecca Dart, Richard Sala, Richard Thompson, Roz Chast, Sara Varon, Scott Campbell, Stan Sakai, Stephanie Yue, Tao Nyeu, Theo Ellsworth, Tiny Desk Concert, Tony Millionaire, Vanessa Davis, Vera Brosgol on June 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »

nurserySOUNDTRACK: FRANK FAIRFIELD-Tiny Desk Concert #445 (May 29, 2015).

frankFrank Fairfield and friends Tom Marion (who plays mandolin on the third song) and Zac Sokolow (on guitar) play old-timey music (marches, polkas and mountain tunes).  Fairfield plays banjo and plucked cello (and apparently fiddle, although not here).

The first song “Tres Piedras” is an upbeat instrumental.  The second song “I Ain’t A Goin’ To Weep No More” was written by Harry von Tilser whose brother wrote “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

The final song “Campanile De Venecia/Sharpshooters March” has an overwhelming Italian feel (that mandolin, I gather).  I like that Fairfield yells “take it, Tom” so that Marion will play a lengthy mandolin solo on the for the final song.  There’s also a “traditional” Italian melody in the song that I know more from cartoons than elsewhere.

The songs feel like they leaped out of a 78 record (even Fairfield’s voice seems suitably “old” on “Weep” (although it appears that they were up playing late last night so he may not quite be up to par).

This was a fun Tiny Desk by an artist I’d never encounter anywhere else.

[READ: January 21, 2015] Nursery Rhyme Comics

This is a collection of Nursery Rhymes as drawn primarily by First Second artists.

The 50 nursery rhymes includes here are the traditional rhymes which remain unchanged.  So this was an opportunity for these artists to draw interesting visuals to accompany the traditional stories.  Some artists stayed traditional, while others went in a totally new direction.

It was fun to see that while I knew most of the nursery rhymes, there were quite a few that I didn’t know.

I always wanted to get a  collection of nursery rhymes for my kids when they were younger, and I feel like I never got one that would have been as satisfying as this one. (more…)

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Gene Luen Yang–Prime Baby (2010)

Posted in Aliens, Comic Strips, First Second :01, Gene Luen Yang, Graphic Novel, Math, NASA, The New York Times Magazine, Tiny Desk Concert, Young Fathers on June 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

primeSOUNDTRACK: YOUNG FATHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #442 (May 19, 2015).

youngfatherYoung Fathers may have the shortest Tiny Desk Concert ever.  It’s only 4 minutes long.  I know that these are edited down from the full show, but wow.

Young Fathers evidently sing a kind of hip-hop, but in these two songs they don’t really rap very much and are more soulful.  The members met in Edinburgh but are from distant exotic locales like Ghana and, um, Maryland.

Something must have happened with their technology.  As the blurb says, “Full-on drums and electronics weren’t going to happen on this day.”  So they chose a simpler path.

They sing two songs virtually a capella.  I don’t know any of the members’ names, but there’s one singer for “Am I Not Your Boy” (the guy in the photo above).  He has a soulful voice (more or less R&B) and there’s a simple keyboard backdrop.

On “Only Child” there are three vocalists, each taking a turn with a verse.  It is surprising that the man who sounds Jamaican (the first singer) is white.  The final vocalist raps, and then all three harmonize very nicely over the final chorus.

Bob Boilen raved about them when he saw them live.  I’m not all that impressed, as they sound like any other R&B band to me, but a four-minute sampler isn’t all that much to go on.

[READ: February 12, 2015] Prime Baby

I’ve enjoyed just about everything that Gene Luen Yang has done.  But I had no idea that a) he wrote a serialized comic strip and b) that it appeared from 2008-2009 in the New York Times Magazine!

It’s interesting to see these strips presented in one strip per page format.  But far more interesting is the very strange direction that this story goes in.

It begins with the main character, a boy named Thaddeus K. Fong.  He is a reasonably selfish young man with a penchant for saying things to get him in trouble.  (He calls himself a martyr for truth).  And then his parents have a baby.  And his whole life is upended.

The baby girl only says the word, “ga.”  His parents say that everyone develops in their own time, but he is not convinced.  And one day, when he learns about prime numbers in math class, he realizes that his sister only says “ga” in increments of prime numbers.    That is kind of interesting, but even more interesting is when his math teacher says that NASA has theorized that if aliens were to make contact with us it would be through prime numbers. (more…)

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Lat–Kampung Boy (1979)

Posted in Camané, Comic Strips, First Second :01, Lat, Parenting, Religion, Tiny Desk Concert, Translation, YA Books on June 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

kampung SOUNDTRACK: CAMANÉ-Tiny Desk Concert #441 (May 15, 2015).

camaneCamané is a Portuguese Fado singer. The NPR blurb says that fado, “which means “fate” in Portuguese, emerged from the gritty barrios and docks of Lisbon in the early 19th century and has evolved in fascinating ways. Think of it as the Portuguese blues.”

The songs are sung in Portuguese and I don’t know a word of what’s he’s saying, but as the blurb continues: “[The songs] flow with an ineffable mix of longing, loss and melancholy, framed in resignation. It’s a kind of glad-to-be-unhappy feeling the Portuguese and Brazilians call saudade.”

The most interesting part of this to me was what I thought was a bouzouki but which I see is actually a Portuguese guitar–12 steel strings, played in very fast runs.  While Camané’s voice is clearly the focus (and it is amazing), José Manuel Neto’s Portuguese Guitar is pretty darn awesome.  And the accompaniment by Carlos Manuel Proença on guitar is lovely too.

[READ: January 7, 2015] Kampung Boy

This book was written (and drawn) in 1979.  First Second books had it translated and published in 2006.

This is the story of a boy growing up Muslim in rural Malaysia in the 1950s.  Evidently it was serialized in Malaysia back in 1979 (it does feel kind of episodic, but it holds together very well).

It is a charming story of a simple life in the village that is slowly being changed by progress.

It starts with Kampung Boy’s birth and the simple way he was born (midwifed by his grandmother for which she was paid $15) and how he slowly grew from a baby into a naked toddler running around the village.  His aunt worked at the local rubber factory (his parents owned the rubber plantation) where they removed latex rubber from the rubber trees. (more…)

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Paul Pope, JT Petty & David Rubin–Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West (2014)

Posted in Bob Mould, Cheap Trick, David Rubin, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Graphic Novel, JT Petty, Kaki King, Pat Smear, Paul Pope, Superheroes on June 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

auroraSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007).

330px-Foos-ESPGIt would seem that after recording the split acoustic and rocking In Your Honor and then touring a lot of acoustic music that the Foos were ready to make an album that combined both of these dynamics into one disc.  For many of the songs it means acoustic openings and super heavy end sections.  But some, particularity at the end of the album are completely acoustic.

Of course having said that, the album opens with a great heavy classic Grohl song, “The Pretender.”  A fantastic opener with the great chorus of “what if I say you’re not like the others.”  The next song, “Let It Die” opens with a real acoustic opening–not just mellow electric guitars but full on acoustic guitars (which Grohl has clearly become quite proficient at).  The switch to the really heavy chorus (not until almost 3 minutes into the song) is pretty intense–they pack everything into one song.

“Erase/Replace” is another great song–there’s an interesting twisting riff and an awesome chorus.  There’s some very nice contrasting with the smoother sections and even a cool guitar solo (there’s not too many solos in early Foos songs).  “Long Road to Ruin” is one of my favorite Foo Fighters songs–the chorus pushes all my yes buttons with the way it speeds up and has and the staccato stops in the middle of the chorus.  Fantastic.

“Come Alive” is another song with a slow mellow acoustic opening.  It builds slowly over 5 minutes to a noisy end.  “Stranger Things Have Happened” is the first fully acoustic song on the album that stays acoustic–there’s nothing heavy in it.  It’s got a classic Unplugged type of feel with two acoustic guitars playing off of each other, and a soloing section that has several pause click click resume moments.

“Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)” has a great riff and very poppy verses. It sounds like earlier Foo Fighters songs and reminds me of Cheap Trick with the “stop, stop” backing vocals.  There’s also several different sections which hearkens back to earlier songs.

And from this point on the album mellows out but in different ways.  “Summer’s End” has a folky jam band feel (even though it’s not acoustic.  It’s got a such a wonderful chorus.  It’s the first of three songs to feature Grohl on piano!  Taylor Hawkins plays piano on it too.  “Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners” is a 2 minute instrumental written by Grohl.  There’s some lovely finger picking in the song and you can hear that Grohl has really developed his guitar playing.  Kaki King plays rhythm guitar on this song which is surprising as she is such a much better guitarist than he is.

“Statues” is a piano ballad (played by Grohl).  It feels totally classic rock, with the sound of the opening guitar solo and the chord progression.  “But, Honestly” is fast acoustic song.  The melody and backing vocals remind me a lot of Bob Mould’s style of song writing.  The song feels like it’s just going to stay in a mellow vein, but this song really ramps up at around 3 minutes with some simple but cool riffing and a big growling end.

The final song, Home,” is a pretty piano ballad (Grohl on piano and vocals) with strings.  It’s almost cheesy but avoid that trap.  It doesn’t have a  big chorus, and is rather understated.  It also provides the album with its title.

This is a really complex album that works to all of the band’s strengths and even lets them explore different styles a bit. Guests on the album include Rami Jaffee and Drew Hester from the live shows as well as Pat Smear (who is a sometimes member of the band, but only plays on one song here).

[READ: January 26, 2015] The Rise of Aurora West

I really enjoyed Paul Pope’s Battling Boy, but I didn’t really like the art work. So here’s the second book in the series with a different artist (and no color)–perfect!

I enjoy this David Rubin’s art a lot more because of his much cleaner page–it’s far easier to understand what’s happening here.  But at the same time I don’t really like the way he renders faces.  For instance, on the very first page, the bottom right image of Aurora–it’s really hard to tell what she is thinking in that image–is she angry or what (and her face seems kind of oddly misshapen).  And that is fairly consistent throughout–the eyes are too big or something?  I found it distracting but it didn’t really hinder my enjoyment of this story.

This story looks at the early life of Aurora West, the daughter of Acropolis superhero Haggard West (so Battling Boy does not appear in it at all). (more…)

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Paul Pope–Battling Boy (2013)

Posted in Dave Grohl, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Paul Pope, Petra Haden, Superheroes, Violence on June 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

battlingSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-Skin and Bones (2006).

330px-FFSkinBonesI totally missed this album when it came out.  Although since I prefer the heavier Foo Fighters songs, it’s not like I was queuing up to buy an acoustic show from them anyhow.

Nevertheless, someone had uploaded the first half of the DVD (part 2 never made it online) so that was my first exposure to this collection.  Comparing the DVD to the CD, I imagine I prefer the DVD because I really enjoy the silliness and banter (I do love banter) that Grohl brings in the live show (which seems like it may have been edited out of the CD).

The songs do sound good in the acoustic format.  Unlike many shows, these song are not stripped down.  In fact they are build up with eight people in the band, including Petra Haden on violin and Drew Hester on percussion.

I really enjoyed Grohl’s banter with the audience.  And I really enjoyed the end of “See You” (about where the first part cuts off) where everyone plays solos.  Grohl laughs at his inability to solo and then encourages Hester to do a percussion solo.  I really laughed how silly Grohl is (reminding me a lot of Jack Black) yelling at Hester for the various things he tries–no, I don’t like that do something else.  And even asking if he paid money for one of his little blocks.

Maybe one of these days I’ll see if the edited CD version is as enjoyable.

[READ: January 15, 2015] Battling Boy

Paul Pope is a famous graphic novel artist.  I’d heard of him and seen some of his work although I never knew exactly which stuff was his.

And as it turns out I really don’t care for his artistic style all that much.  It is quite distinctive, but it is very dark and kind of “sloppy/ugly” and I find it very unsettling to look at.  This book also has a very “superhero” look, which I have recently discovered I don’t like in general.

Which is quite a shame because this story is really interesting.

Set in the city of Acropolis, there are monsters everywhere (these monsters wander around with purple hoods on).  They seem to be after young children especially, so the kids are naturally afraid to even go get their soccer ball when it rolls into dark alley.  But when the monsters strike, Harggard West is there to save them. (more…)

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Farel Dalrymple–The Wrenchies (2014)

Posted in Dave Grohl, Farel Dalrymple, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Graphic Novel, Huh?, John Paul Jones, Josh Homme, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, Meta, Norah Jones, Peter Criss, Taylor Hawkins, Violence on June 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

wrenchiesSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-In Your Honor Disc Two (2005).

Foo_fighters_in_your_honorSo disc two is an all acoustic collection (and is actually a little longer than the rocking side, bring the total time to about 85 minutes).  Because of the guests, I tend to think of this as a less than exciting collection of songs.  But it is actually quite solid.  And even though I have always preferred Foo Fighters’ louder songs, Grohl’s voice is well suited to acoustic songs and his songwriting withstands stripping away the noise.

“Still” is a mellow acoustic opener.  Grohl’s voice is gentle.  It’s the kind of opening that on later records would lead to a big loud chorus, but this album is all mellow.  I like the way the song unexpectedly shifts chords about half way through.  The song also has keyboards done by Rami Jaffee (I believe a first for a Foo Fighters record).  It’s 5 minutes long and perhaps a little samey.

But the album perks up with “What If I Do?” a brighter song with a catchy chorus.  It is also 5 minutes but doesn’t feel long. It’s followed by “Miracle” a lovely ballad with a great chorus (and John Paul Jones on piano).  I really like the entire composition of “Another Round,” the clear guitars and the bright chorus.  And John Paul Jones plays mandolin on this one!

“Friend of a Friend” is done on just a quiet acoustic guitar. It’s a lovely, dark song.  Although it is always tempting to assume Grohl’s songs are about Kurt Cobain, this one apparently was.  According to Wikipedia, this was the first acoustic song Dave Grohl had ever written.  “The song was written by Grohl in 1990 (and recorded in secret the same year), and it was about his first impressions of new bandmates Kurt Cobain, and Krist Novoselic.”  The way it is so sparsely recorded was a really good choice.

“Over and Out” has a cool and interesting riff and a nice big chorus.  “On the Mend” has some lovely acoustic guitar pairings.

Then comes “Virginia Moon.”  It has a slow jazzy feel, a shuffling drum sound and really delicate vocals.  The biggest surprise of course is that Norah Jones (no relation to John Paul Jones) sings a duet with him.  It’s a pretty song and, while I wouldn’t want a bunch more songs like this, it works well as a one off.  The next song “Cold Day in the Sun” was written by drummer Taylor Hawkins.  Evidently they tried to make a rocking version but it never really came off so they made it acoustic.  Hawkins sings lead vocals (and has a raspy Peter Criss type of voice–is that a drummer thing?) and Grohl plays the drums.  It’s got a super catchy chorus.

“Razor” ends this disc with a neat hammering guitar line.  Josh Homme plays rhythm guitar on this song.   It’s a very pretty song, although I feel like Homme is underutilized.

For an 85 minute album, this is mostly really quite excellent.  I tend to forget about it in the Foo’s discography but there are a number of stand out tracks here.

The band did some acoustic shows following this album, and made a CD and DVD from them.

[READ: January 20, 2015] The Wrenchies

Most of the First Second books I had been reading were either for kids or young adults. This one is squarely in the adult category–and I feel you can tell that by the rather ugly style of drawing on the cover.  (First Second does an admirable job of getting books that are pretty as well as ones that are ugly).

Dalrymple has a broad spectrum of styles in this book.  He has excellent realistic characters (warts and all) but he also has really nice pretty sections as well–where the characters are quite beautiful.  The fact that he chooses to pick the uglier style more is likely a matter of the location–a post apocalyptic hell–than anything else.

This story is (obviously) quite dark.  In fact I can see a lot of readers being turned off right from the get go with how dark and violent it is.  It’s also a little confusing because the post apocalyptic world that we are introduced to is not really explained.  There are also riffs on T.S. Eliot-with lines like “In the room the children a come and go.”

The story begins with Sherwood and Orson entering a cave. It all seems rather idyllic until we see just what kind of creepy thing lives in the cave–and what it does to Sherwood. (more…)

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Gipi–Garage Band (2005) [translated 2007]

Posted in First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Gipi, Graphic Novel, Hüsker Dü on June 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

garagebandSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-One By One (2002).

onebyoneFoo Fighters had a really hard time recording this album (it came three years after the previous one).  I understand the band nearly broke up during the recording sessions.  Eventually they scrapped the whole thing and wound up re-recording it in Grohl’s home studio in about two weeks.

The band says they loved the album when it came out although they are all pretty critical of it now.  Grohl says there are “four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life.  Not sure which ones he means, but I have some ideas.  This is also the first disc to include Chris Shiflett on lead guitar.

I love the opening song, “All My Life.” The guitars are aggressive and noisy and even though the verses are sort of whispered you can just tell the whole song is going to explode..and then it does.  This has some serious vocal shredding from Grohl.  “Low” has some more great aggressive guitars.  Once again Grohl whisper-sings in front of the aggro guitars giving a nice contrast.

“Have It All” has another good heavy riff complimented by a soloing riff over the top. It’s a heavy song that has a surprisingly mellow and sweet bridge.  It ends with a really heavy series of chords.  “Times Like These” has a bright guitar riff.  The inclusion of the line “I’m a New Day Rising” makes me think of Hüsker Dü again.  It has a really catchy chorus and is a really strong song.

“Disenchanted Lullaby” starts off kind of mellow but then offers a great yelling chorus.  There’s not a lot to “Tired of You” but the guitar sound is pretty cool and unexpected.  It’s a little long and samey though.  “Lonely As You” has an unusual sound.  I’m not sure that I like it, although it is strangely catchy.

“Halo” has a cool bridge and chorus.  “Overdrive” is one of their midtempo songs that might have been a huge hit, but there’s something missing.  I like some mellower Foo Fighters ballads, although sometimes their songs seem to drift a little too much which makes them sound a little stuck.  It’s especially notable because Grohl often writes some amazing choruses that when one doesn’t quite work it really feels flat.

The final two songs are fine, they just feel a bit like filler, especially “Come Back” which is quite long.  I do like that it’s in a couple of parts (with mellow acoustic section in the middle), but it doesn’t really hold up for 8 minutes.  Which is a shame because when it comes out of the acoustic part, t could have been really dynamic.

Even though the end of the album is a bit flat, the beginning of the album is really great.  And four or five great songs is not too shabby.

[READ: January 8, 2015] Garage Band

Although I read this book before Notes for a War Story, it comes after War Story so here they are in order.

This is  simple story told in five chapters.  It revolves around a garage band.  Specifically, one of the band members’ (Guiliano)’s fathers has arranged for them to practice in a garage. We learn a bit about the peculiarities of each member (and how most of them are pretty unlikable).

Their drummer Alex, is really into Nazi memorabilia (he’s apparently not a Nazi himself, but he does have a poster of Hitler on his wall–weird!).  Stefano the lead singer is a general troublemaker–none of the adults like him, and he plays up his eccentricities.  When the adults first arrive to check out the garage, he puts on the veterinarian garb that is still in the garage and acts crazy.  Alberto is a hypochondriac, looking for diseases everywhere.

Guiliano (could he be the same Guiliano in War Story?) is the only one who seems kind of normal. He has a girlfriend and although he makes excuses for his band mates, he doesn’t seem to fall for any of their nonsense. (more…)

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Gipi–Notes for a War Story (2004) [translated 2007]

Posted in Dave Grohl, Death, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Gipi, Graphic Novel, Green Day, Spectrum, Violence, War on June 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

gipiSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-There is Nothing Left to Lose (1999).

Foo_Fighters_-_There_Is_Nothing_Left_to_LoseThis album introduces drummer Taylor Hawkins and is considered the first “band” record from the Foo Fighters. The album was recorded as a trio—Grohl, Hawkins and Nate Mendel on bass (who played on Colour as well).  As with a bunch of these middle Foo Fighters records, I feel that it starts really strong and then kind of fades a bit by the end.

I love the big fuzzy sound that opens this record. It doesn’t sound like anything Grohl has recorded before. “Breakout” is a poppy song with a very summery opening. It’s propulsive and super catchy. “Learn to Fly” is another wonderfully poppy song with a great chorus (and a hilarious video).

The opening riff of “Gimme Stitches” has a total classic rock radio sound, which really shows the diversity they were going for here.  “Generator” opens with a talk box—toally retro man. Even though it a silly thing to add to the song, the song is really catchy.

“Aurora” is a lengthy mellow song. I guess I never really thought to much about it, but on reading about it, it proves to be one of the bands’ (and Dave’s) favorite songs.

I feel like the second half of the album suffers a little bit as the songs don’t really stand out.

“Live-In Skin” is a solid song although there’s nothing too special about it (especially given the other songs on the album). The riff is pretty cool though.  “Next Year” is a mildly catchy mid tempo song. It seems like it could have been Foo Fighters’ version of Green Day’s “Time of Your Life” if they had played their cards right.

“Headwires” has an interesting 80s sound in the guitar and Grohl’s whispered vocals. But the big chorus returns to the Foo Fighters sound.

“Ain’t It the Life” is a mellow ballad. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Foo’s other ballads though the slide guitar solo is a nice touch.  “M.I.A.” opens quiet as well.  It has a chorus that is pretty typical of the Foo Fighters, but it seems to either lack some oomph, or it gets stuck at the end of the album.

[READ: February 10, 2015] Notes for a War Story

I’m fascinated by how many translated works First Second publishes.  And it seems like a great resource for non-English writers to get published in the United States.

Gipi is an Italian artist and writer (this book was translated by Spectrum) and as with many other European artists, I could tell right away that the style here was not done by an American.  I wonder why that is.

In general, I don’t really care for Gipi’s books.  They are a little too bleak, a little to “ugly” for my tastes.  And yet the stories are quite compelling.  This one revolves around an unspecified war that is happening around the countryside (but not, for some reason, in the city).

The protagonists are young men adrift in a world where they are clearly lost.  Guiliano is a slightly richer kid than the other two and he is the narrator.  The other two are his friends Christian and Little Killer.

They learn about a man named Felix, who is leader of a militia.  When they go see him, he immediately takes a shine to Little Killer.  They talk and bond while Giuliano and Christian feel left out (and are rather naive I feel–I mean its obvious that Felix is a killer). (more…)

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Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria & William Pleece–Life Sucks (2008)

Posted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dave Grohl, Death, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Gabe Soria, Goths, Graphic Novel, Hüsker Dü, Jessica Abel, Pixies, Vampires, William Pleece on June 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

lifeSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-The Colour and the Shape (1997).

colourAfter the success of the debut album, Dave Grohl gathered a band and recorded the second album, The Colour and the Shape (British/Canadian spelling consistent wherever it was released).  The drums were recorded by a drummer (not the current drummer) but were eventually re-recorded over by Grohl.

“Doll” opens as a quiet 90 second intro.  It segues into the fantastic Hüsker Dü sounding “Monkey Wrench,” with one of the great super-long extended guitar riffs and a super long chanted single-syllable section ending on Grohl’s classic vocal cord shredding (whatever he’s saying) in the middle of the song.  “Hey Johnny Park” has a heavy opening and then some mellow verses.  The chorus is catchy with some cool harmony vocals over the top.

“My Poor Brain” opens with cacophonous noise and the segues into a rather delicate verse section.  Especially compared to the raucous punky guitars of the chorus.  “Wind Up” flips the dynamic with angry loud verses and a catchy chorus.

“Up in Arms” is a short song with a mellow acoustic first section and a fast second half.  Both are quite catchy and fun.  “My Hero” is yet another song in which Grohl finds multiple good parts and puts them in one song.  So while you’re enjoying the verses, don’t forget the catchy chorus coming up net.  Oh and the great bridge too.

“See You” is a jazzy folky number (quite short) which he says no one liked but him.  “Enough Space” opens with a lurching bass line and some really loud guitars.  The chorus is one of Grohl’s screamier moments on the record.  The verses are almost all bass guitar and remind me a lot of the Pixies.

“February Stars” starts with one of the quieter moments on a Foo Fighters record.   It builds over the first 3 minutes to a loud slow chorus.  “Everlong” is one of the bands best songs.  It opens with a cool little riff and big guitars.  The chord progression is wonderful and the gentle vocals at the beginning are fantastic.  Then comes that incredible hook of a riff.  No matter how many times I gear this song, I never get tired of it.

“Walking After You” is Grohl on everything–the whole band recorded it later for the X Files soundtrack.  It’s a lovely, gentle breakup song with a sweet riff and really nice vocals.  After “walking After You,” it’s surprising that there’s another song, (“Walking” seems like such a good album ender.  But “New Way Home” (which clocks in a nearly 6 minutes) starts out a little less than stellar and then turns out to end in a great fashion, with a loud fast repeat chorus of the “I’m Not Scared” section.

Amazingly, five singles were released from this album and it still holds up really well.

[READ: January 7, 2015] Life Sucks

In the beginning of the year I read a bunch of graphic novels from First Second, but never got around to posting them.  So here they are.

I wasn’t that excited to read this book because of the title–which seemed simply lame.  Interestingly, in the acknowledgments, she says it was originally called Night Shift (an equally poor title) and then someone else suggested Life Sucks.

Of course, once I realized the story was about vampires, the title was a little better and kind of funny.  Of course, I wasn’t all that excited to read a vampire story either (I loved Buffy, but vampires are kind of played out), but I enjoyed the way Abel focuses on some different aspects of the vampire life.  And of course, having a group of goths living nearby was a pretty great idea.

So the protagonist, Dave, is a vampire.   He was turned by the owner of The Last Stop convenience store, Lord Radu Arisztidescu.  But rather than being a brooding charismatic hottie, he’s a dorky kid (forever) who works at the convenience store.  He still gets grief from his boss who demands perfection in his “son” and who also has supernatural power over him to force him to do what he wants.  So, his undead life does indeed suck. (more…)

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