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Archive for the ‘Graphic Novel’ Category

Bastien Vivés–Polina (2011) [translated 2013)]

Posted in Ballet, Bastien Vivés, Constellation Records, Dance, Foreign Books, Graphic Novel, Joy Division, Polly McLean, Slint, Sofa, Transgender on April 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

polinaSOUNDTRACK: SOFA-Grey [CST002] (1997).

greyIt’s not nice to compare bands to other bands, because it seems like they are copying the original. But since I just mentioned Slint the other day, I thought it worthwhile to mention Sofa today. They have similar sensibilities—noisy guitars, spoken/screamed vocals and a decidedly quiet feel.

I love the way this disc opens with the song “On/Off”—it has a simple bass with syncopated drums. And then the buizziest buzz saw guitar thrown in counterpoint notes. And then the singer comes in, sounding like Joy Division never went away.  The song builds into a cool noise and then backs off again. But song two, “CH. 2 Chi.” changes everything—a blistering punk song with super fast chaotic drums and fast vocals. The guitars are again punctuating rather than keeping melody. And when it plays the two high chords it adds incredible tension. “Monotone” begins a simple song of two notes (and some great noisy guitars). The vocals are less Joy Divison and more spoken punk. But each verse adds something new to the music, which gets more complex. “Current” has a more conventional post-rock sound—buzzy guitars and quiet vocals. It’s a good calming moment.

“80 000” has a slow menacing vibe. It builds a few times into some really noisy chaotic sections, where the guitars are willfully out of tune—and all the while the spoken word lyrics are quiet enough to make you lean in closer. “Red Lake” is another slow number (they could maybe have used a faster one by this point), but I really like the riff and the way the guitars play off of it. And there’s an actual hummable chorus too.

The fast noise comes back on “Comma” with a frenetic guitar line and pummeling bass. Even the stop/start of the chorus are frenetic. And when the song occasionally slows down, the guitars still punctuate with astonishing noise. “The Fence” opens with a cool bass riff and simple but interesting drums. “Travel” is a slow song that opens with just guitar notes and spoken/sung lyrics. I don’t care for these more atmospheric songs (especially when they push 6 minutes) but the band does it well. “Stress” follows this. This is the shortest song on the disc just under 3 minutes of furious mayhem. “Medicine Hat” ends the disc with another slower song, but this one has a lot of interesting components, like the bass and guitar line that interweaves throughout the song.

This was Constellation Records second release (Ian, who plays guitar, co-founded Constellation).  Sofa broke up around the time of this release, which is a shame as it was a good one. I’d like to hear more from them (they have some earlier records with unknown availability).

[READ: April 5, 2014] Polina

This was a simple and enjoyable graphic novel about a young ballerina who grows up in the world of ballet.  (I admit I was attracted to the title because I thought it might be about Olympic figure skater Polina Edmunds who I remembered primarily because the name Polina which was unusual to me–it is not about her).

It is a bout a fictional ballet dancer.  When we first meet young Polina, she looks so tiny in the back seat of the car as she is driven to class.  And her teacher, Mr Bojinsky looks like such a large man next to her–with his full beard and large hands.  He is an intimidating figure and all of the girls are afraid of him.  And yet, it is an honor to be even considered by him.

So when Polina unexpectedly gets chosen for his class, she is elated and fearful at the same time.  At first Bojinsky seems really mean and the way his hand more or less covers her whole chest as he gets her into place portended all kinds of things.  But rest assured, and perhaps this is a spoiler, but if is, it is one that I would like to know–nothing bad like that happens to Polina.  Phew. She is not molested, or raped or left dying in an alley. It’s not that kind of story.  Rather, it is the story of a young girl trying to make it as a dancer. (more…)

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Christopher Ford–Stickman Odyssey, Book 2: The Wrath of Zozimos (2012)

Posted in Adventure, Alternate Reality, C., Children's Books, Christopher Ford, Fables, Funny (ha ha), Golems, Graphic Novel, Homer, Justin Roberts, Kids Corner, Phineas and Ferb, YA Books on April 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: stickman2JUSTIN ROBERTS-“Pop Fly” (2008).

popflyThis is a wonderful pop song from Justin Roberts.  Roberts is regarded as a top-notch children’s song writer.  I hadn’t heard him before, but i was totally sold by this one.

It’s a poppy almost dancey song–it certainly makes you want to move around, anyway.  There’s a catchy acoustic guitar and a fast beat and Roberts’ voice is really solid and warm.  Interestingly I didn’t even realize this song was about baseball when I heard it on the radio (I missed the song title).  I was totally hooked by the pa pa pa pa pa pa chorus.

And there’s a great third section of the song that changes the mood but not the tempo.  This reminds me a bit of Ralph’s World, but a bit…more full, perhaps?  Or maybe like something from Phineas and Ferb.  I’m going to have to check out more from him.

Oh, and the video, while cheaply made, is quite funny when the chorus kicks in.

[READ: April 8, 2014] Stickman Odyssey, Book 2

I enjoyed Book 2 of this series more than Book 1. It felt like it had a little more plot and was a little less slavish to the original myths.  or maybe I just like quests.

The story starts in the middle, with Nestor having captured Zozimos and having tied him up for failing to avenge Sticatha (which was Nestor’s plan all along).  He says that Zozimos has been doing nothing all this time. But Zozimos says no, he has been on an epic adventure.

Which brings us to where book one left off.

Praxis (the strongest man in the world) Atrukos (a guy who looks like a frog) and Zozimos set off to find a piece of the sky.  In book one, Praxis had knocked a piece of the sky out when he hurled a cyclops at it.  He wanted to retrieve it to prove to his love that he was actually a worthwhile person.  This story is left all of a sudden (in a very funny way) so they can help Atrukos with the witch who cursed him before Book 1 even started.  That’s when Nestor captured Zozimos, as he was on his way to help Atrukos. (more…)

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Christopher Ford–Stickman Odyssey, Book 1: An Epic Doodle (2011)

Posted in Adventure, Alternate Reality, C., Children's Books, Christopher Ford, Danny Weinkauf, Davy Jones, Fables, Funny (ha ha), Golems, Graphic Novel, Homer, Kids Corner, They Might Be Giants, YA Books on April 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

stickman1SOUNDTRACK: DANNY WEINKAUF-“Archaeology” (2014).

noschoolDanny Weinkauf is one of the Band of Dans that plays with They Might Be Giants.  In 2014 he successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign to create his solo album, No School Today.  (I knew nothing about the Kickstarter campaign).

The album comes out this month and I have to say I really like what I’ve heard so far.  This song has been played on Kids Corner a lot.  It’s very catchy and reminds me of good indie pop music.  There’s even a feel of 70s British pop (or like Davy Jones singing).  It’s super catchy.  The chorus and the oft-repeated “arc” “arc” “arc” before “archaeology” can be a bit much at the end of the song, but for the most part this is a real winner.

Danny also wrote “I am a Paleontologist” from They Might Be Giants Here Comes Science album, so his bona fides are good.  And the lyrics are clever and smart, too:

Archaeology It’s human evolution From the Caveman to you and me analyzing their solutions (yeah now)
/Archaeology the secrets they left for us We can study activities Of those who came before us

[READ: April 7, 2014] Stickman Odyssey, Book 1

While I was looking for Stickdog books for C., I came across Stickman.  There are two books in this series (with book two being set up for a third, but no sign of it yet).

This book is a kind of spoof of Homer’s Odyssey, but not really. It is set in the time of the ancient Greek gods and some of those gods make appearances.  Even the style is done in a generically Homeric epic storytelling style.  But none of the characters from Homer appear.  This is an alternate reality of sorts.  The Great Whirlpool exists (shades of Scylla and Charybdis), but so does Candy Island and a place called Odonoros and Stickman’s home world of Sticatha (which made me laugh once I pronounced it correctly).  So, you don’t need familiarity with Homer to appreciate this, indeed, it kind of confused me at first because I wasn’t sure if I should be looking for parallels.

Stickman’s name is the awkward Zozimos (which I want to be significant but can’t figure out any reason why it would be).

The gods do play with the humans, though.  On the second page we see that Athena wields a giant pen and makes Zozimos a raft while he is struggling in the ocean.  Days later he lands on what he thinks is Sticatha, but no, he lands on an island with fair maidens.  He tries to charm one of them, Asteria, but is immediately grabbed by a golem and dragged to jail.  The evil King Marnox imprisons every castaway who lands on the island–he has his reasons.

But Asteria is mad that her father is locking up all of these eligible men, so he brings Zozimos out of the jail for him to tell his story.  And it is…epic! (more…)

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Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim & Pop–Nola’s Worlds #3: Even for a Dreamer Like Me (2010)

Posted in Beck, Carol Klio Burrell, Completed Series, Dave Eggers, Erica Olson Jeffrey, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim, Pop, Spike Jonze, Supernatural, Trilogy on March 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

nola3SOUNDTRACK: BECK-The Information (2006).

infoAfter Guero, Beck released Guerolito, a remix album.  I’ve basically given up on remix albums, so I don’t know anything about that one.

His next proper album was The Information which I have recently read was recorded at the same time as Guero. I remember when it came out that it had a whole bunch of stickers that you could put all over the cover (which was made like graph paper) so that each cover could be personalized.  Sadly I remembered that more than the music.  I hadn’t listened to the album in a long time either.  So when I played it the other day, after the first song I was afraid I didn’t remember any of it.

And even after a few listens, that first song, “Elevator Music” just never grabbed me.  Then came “Think I’m in Love” which was a reasonably big hit (surprisingly, not the first single from the album).  It’s what you expect from Beck–a cool bassline, catchy vocals and a great melody.  This one is a mid-paced song, but the chorus has a lot of bounce.  The next song, “Cellphone’s Dead” sounds a bit like “Hell Yes” with that watery staccato funky bass.  It’s definitely a fun song, and there’s a “sample” that I have to wonder if it’s not a sample at all–a neat idea to have something that sounds like sample but actually not be one).

“Strange Apparition” is a folkie song.  And this is the first song which made me realize what’s wrong with the album.  The sound quality of the whole disc is really flat.  It’s very sleek and smooth, so even though there’s some great guitars on this track, it’s the same loudness as the vocals.  And the drums are kind of lost in the mix too, it renders it really bland.  Which is shocking coming from Beck.  It’s also a shame because with a better mix this would be a great song.  Same with “Soldier Jane.”  The bass line is really fun, but it just gets lost in the muddle of everything else–which is not to say it sounds muddied, it’s just all the same.  “Nausea” was the first single from the album and I can see why–it’s funky and bouncy and has a catchy chorus an a cool bass.  But then it slowly dawns that this is basically a slightly less successful version of “Black Tambourine.”

“New Round” sounds pretty different for a Beck song–there’s layered waves of vocals and a lot of different sounds going on, including an interesting piano.  And I want to like it more, but it also seems to get lost in the washes of sound.  “Dark Star” rises above the washes with its slow and sultry sound.  It’s got a very cool 70s bass sound.  I wish there were a few more peaks on the song, but then it probably wouldn’t be so spacey.  “We Dance Alone” has some great sounds as well–again, that bass is very cool, but it just feels too smooth.

“No Complaints” brings back Beck’s old slightly out of tune guitar sound.  It stands out in this muddy middle of the album and is definitely a highlight.  “1000 BPM” is one of Beck’s weird skittery songs. There’s wild sounds and a seemingly improvised rap.  This would have probably sounded great on Odelay, but it feels odd to me here.  “Motorcade” has more acoustic guitar but by the time the chorus comes in, the only melody is on Beck’s vocals, while the strange music is almost a distraction from the melody.  There’s some cool sounds in “The Information” which is certainly an enjoyable song (and a lengthy end section of weird trippy vocals that foreshadows the very long bonus track).  “Movie Theme” opens with keyboards.  It’s nice, but just sort of meandering.

Which leads to the 10 minute final track “The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton.”  This is sort of a recap of the whole album, with samples from different songs, long drawn out instrumental passages and dialogue.  There’s some interesting riffs, especially in the middle section (about 3 minutes in).  The third section of the song is dialogue between Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze, talking about space and other things.  One wonders where Beck got this or if he just asked them to talk for the record.  It’s a weird ending and feels like a bonus track but actually isn’t.

There’s a bonus version of the disc which I do not have.  It has some more songs and a DVD.

So overall this is the first Beck CD that I just didn’t love, especially coming on the heels of the excellent Guero. There’s definitely some good songs here, I just want it to be crisper.

[READ: March 14, 2014] Nolas’ Worlds #3

Nola’s World concludes with this book, which was also translated by Erica Olson Jeffrey and Carol Klio Burrell.

I loved the first two books of this series quiet a lot, but felt like the third one fell a little flat.  The ending felt like it was solved too quickly especially after the hugely lengthy set up.

The first nearly 50 pages are all a way to lead up to the ferrets finally meeting Damiano and Ines (with the inevitable we-can’t-tell-you-everything delays.  Then we finally get the explanation that Alta Donna is a town between the Human World and the Land of Stories.  Since Damiano and Ines escaped from the Land of Stories, they have messed everything up.  We learn all about how the ferrets control Alta Donna (the details of this are quite neat).

But the big thing missing from all of this is Pumpkin.  And Nola knows it, too. (more…)

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Blexbolex—Ballad (2013)

Posted in Adventure, Blexbolex, Children's Books, Claudia Z. Bedrick, Colin Stetson, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, John Zorn, Moon Hooch, Morphine, Translation, Witches on March 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

balladSOUNDTRACK: MOON HOOCH-“Number 9” (2011).

moonI don’t love the saxophone in rock music.  In fact, I often find the saxophone to be the single source of cheese in a lot of good music.  And yet when a saxophone is done right–Colin Stetson, John Zorn, Morphine, it can be an awesome instrument.

What about two saxophones?  And only a drummer with them?  Well, that’s Moon Hooch.  They play a bass saxophone and a squawking tenor (I guess) saxophone.  And, more like Morphine of the above bands they play fairly heavy riff rock songs like “Number 9.”  But these songs also make you move–dance, tap your foot, whatever it is.  After just a few notes, you’ll be hooked.

There’s not too much more to say about this song.  With the opening sounds of a subway platform, this song really sounds like a couple of guys busking o the platform, but man, it’s much more than that.  There’s some excellent drum work keeping this song grounded, but the stars are the two saxophones played off of each other.  There’s no words, just horns.  Get moving!

[READ: March 15, 2014] Ballad

This is a beautiful and fascinating book.  It is a children’s book but it demands some close reading.  And yet there aren’t all that many words in the book.  It is the design of the book that is the “selling point.”

The story is a fairly simple one (although I admit I found it a little confusing).  There is a preface which explains that the story is about a child who goes home the same way every day.  And yet suddenly his whole world balloons around him.  [And yet there is no child in the book].  Chapter 1 begins with a paragraph explanation that the school clock has stopped and no one seems to care.

After that first page, each subsequent page has a (nearly) full page image and one or two words underneath it (the script is also charming).  And so we see the school, the street, the forest, home.  Each new chapter works in the same fashion—a small paragraph explaining the setup and then several pages of pictures—each picture (the school, the forest) is exactly the same (they look silk screened) with the same caption underneath (although in subsequent chapters they are modified somewhat).  Chapter 3 introduces us to a stranger and, even more unsettling, bandits and a witch. (more…)

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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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Jason Jägel–Topsy Turvy (2012)

Posted in Beck, Graphic Novel, Huh?, Jason Jägel, Lemony Snicket, Mad Scientists, McSweeney's on March 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

topsySOUNDTRACK: BECK-Mellow Gold (1994).

mellowAnd then “Loser” happened and because of this preposterous song, over a million people have purchased a very peculiar album.  After listening to Soulmanure and One Foot, you can really see that Mellow Gold is a sort of greatest hits, or perhaps a most-commercial-potential collection from that period.  What’s especially strange about the album is that it includes scenes from the photo shoot for Soulmanure in the booklet.  I have also learned that “Loser” was done as something of a one-off, a goof that Beck threw together on the day of the recording–while the lyrics sure seem like it, the music is pretty spectacular–that slide guitar is instantly memorable.

The album does some very interesting things with stereo recording, which I never really noticed until I was listening with one earphone in–it rather changes the song, and that one channel may have more of the out of tune guitar noises too.

“Pay No Mind” has some crazy lyrics, although they do work, and, frankly, it’s a great acoustic folk song.  The noises and weirdness in the song make it more fun, but the melody is great on its own.  I can’t tell if his voice is slowed down or not, but the harmonica sounds great and raw.  “Fuckin’ with My Head” has a great garage rock sound (with more harmonica, this time distorted beyond all reason).  The verses are noisy but the chorus is so delicate.  “Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997” has a guitar which sounds decidedly out if tune.  It is probably the most anti-folk song on a major label album.

“Soul Suckin Jerk” has a cool funky bass line over a crazy noisy beat and weird effects.  It is also super catchy despite the crazy out of tune guitars and excessive feedback.  “Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)” opens with a fight (“c’mon motherfucker”).  Despite the chaos and vulgarity, it’s a very catchy song–the downward melody of “Shit kicking, speed taking, truck driving neighbor downstairs” is hard to resist.  That song is followed by one that opens with, of course, a music box and is called “Sweet Sunshine.”  It is the most distorted and unpleasant song on the album–as far from catchy as you can get and yet it still sounds completely Beck.

“Beercan” is a surprisingly awesome single tucked at the bottom of the album (even if it does have ear-splitting feedback in the middle. “Steal My Body Home” slows things down incredibly, a technique Beck would use a lot over the years–making a song sound very different by spacing it out more.  Especially when the solo comes in and there’s more out of tune guitars and a kazoo.

“Nightmare Hippie Girl” is a funny folk song (the lyrics are great), and again the melody is catchy and boppy.  It’s followed by one of my favorite songs on the album “Mutherfucker” which is a noisy piece of nonsense with the screeched chorus “Everyone’s out to get you motherfucker”.  It would get annoying really fast, but at 2 minutes, it’s an amusing and kind of fun to sing along to.  The album ends with “Blackhole” a slow and somewhat epic (5 minutes) acoustic song.  It feels big and the melodies evoke an epic song.  It’s quite pretty.  Naturally, there’s an obligatory piece of nonsense as a “bonus” track (apparently titled “Analog Odyssey”).  It’s just a minute or so of noise and is not worth mentioning).

Although this album is much more polished than the other to (the production is very clean which really lets all those weird elements stand out) it still shows Beck as a weird, freakish musician–extremely talented with a great ear for melody but someone who is not afraid to be loud and noisy just for the heck of it.  Mellow Gold is still an interesting listen twenty years later.

[READ: March 1, 2014] Topsy Turvy

Topsy Turvy came as a separate book with my copy of Lemony Snicket’s 29 Myths.  It was originally an insert in McSweeney’s 40.  At the time I said this:

This is an inserted graphic novel.  It has very simple illustrations, which I liked, although I didn’t really follow the story at all.

Since it is now its own entity, I’ll give it a bit more.

The book has a drawing per page.  Most pages have one word or  a few words.  Like “Nighttime” and “Some Are Awake” and “Size is Uncertain.”  The story invites us to see the people who are awake making potions to turn things into other things. (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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Lucy Knisley–Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (2013)

Posted in Adventure, Big Sugar, Canadian Music, Cook Book, Culture Shock, First Second :01, Food, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Lucy Knisley, Marriage Trouble, Memoirs, Rheostatics, Travel, tagged on March 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

relishSOUNDTRACK:RHEOSTATICS-World Next Door Festival, Winnipeg, MB (September 5, 1998).

wndI was pretty excited to hear this outdoor festival version of the Rheostatics.  I knew the show would be short (and it is at about 45 minutes), but i imagined the entire feel of the show would be different in this setting.  What surprised me is that the recording is taken from a CBC radio broadcast of the show (which in and of itself is pretty cool).  But the recording is terrible!  The sound is bad and there are dozens of stops in the tape.  Bummer (especially when Aliens gets cut off).

Perhaps the most enjoyable part is when Dave says there’s going to be a double neck guitar war between Martin and Gordie Johnson (he was the front man for Big Sugar, a band I don’t know.  They apparently headlined the festival and he plays a mean double neck guitar).

Strangely enough I can’t find out anything about this festival which apparently doesn’t exist anymore.

[READ: March 5, 2014] Relish

Sarah read and really enjoyed this graphic novel. She said I would like it too and she was right.

This is a collection of memories from Knisley.  She writes about growing up in a family of foodies and how at a very young age she at anything.  She even began to crave unusual foods (in one short piece, she says that as a child she craved sautéed mushrooms).  But what’s cool about the story is that although she was raised in a snobby food way (you she see her father’s reaction to McDonald’s and her mother’s reaction to ketchup) she still appreciated junk food. She says, “Anyone who can fail to rejoice in the enticing squish/crunch of a fast food French fry or the delight of a warmed piece of grocery-store donut, is living half a life.”

At the end of each chapter is a recipe for something from the book.  The recipes are pretty simple, although some of them have extravagant ingredients (like her Chai Tea which sounds amazing, but is frankly too full of expensive ingredients for me to ever make–cardamom pods, star anise? No way.).  However, her recipe for marinated lamb sounds delicious and uses only the most basic ingredients. (more…)

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Gene Luen Yang–Boxers & Saints (2013)

Posted in Andrew WK, Culture Shock, First Second :01, Gene Luen Yang, Gods, Graphic Novel, History, Military, Religion, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, War on February 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

boxersSOUNDTRACK: ANDREW W.K.-Tiny Desk Concert #37 (November 30, 2009).

wkWhen I saw Andrew W.K. on the list of Tiny Desk players I was intrigued to say the least. W.K. is a maniac.  His first album was packed with full throttle, really dumb party anthems.  Later he made an albums of… piano instrumentals.  Then he became a motivational speaker.  He’s done children’s shows and he recently did an anthem for an internet cat.  He even played drums for 24 hours straight–setting a world record.  So who knew what to expect.

Well, I didn’t expect two lengthy piano improvisations (quite pretty, if a little scattered).  Holy cow, does he attack that keyboard!  The improvs are really unexpected–meandering and interesting (mostly), especially at the end where they kind of decay.

Then he plays a keyboard version of “I Get Wet” which sounds almost symphonic especially compared to the pummeling version on the record.

He ends with a faithful cover of “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” made famous by Linda Ronstadt.  He sings in a proper voice and if you didn’t know it was Andrew W.K., it would be a pretty normal song.

Nothing like what I expected, this is a most unusual (and slightly awkward–for a motivational speaker, Andrew seems a little distracted) Tiny Desk.

 [READ: February 19, 2014] Boxers & Saints

Gene Luen Yang is a wonderful artist and storyteller.  He has written several books that I’ve enjoyed quite a lot.  This is a two volume set that is meant to be read together (although each story is more or less independent).  I assume that Boxers should be read first since Saints has an epilogue, at least that’s the order I read them.

This story is about the Boxer Rebellion.  I knew literally nothing about the Boxer Rebellion, so for those who don’t, here’s Britannica: (more…)

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