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Archive for the ‘Graphic Novel’ Category

Jamie S. Rich & Marc Ellerby–Love the Way You Love Side A

Posted in Books about music, Canadian Music, CBC Radio 2, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jamie S. Rich, Marc Ellerby, Oni Press, Rheostatics, Romance, Short Story, YA Books on December 31, 2009| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Nightline Sessions (1998).

This is a fascinating document for any Rheostatics fan.  I wound up buying it at the same time as Double Live, even though I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because it was really cheap.

And what it is is a night of the Rheostatics playing on the final night of the CBC Radio show Nightlines.  The notes state that the host of the show had been a huge fan for years and had tried to get the band on a few times.  He ultimately decided that they would be the prefect guest for the final show of the series.

It opens fairly seriously with some very simply orchestrated (guitars, bass, drums) versions of Rheos songs: “The Junction Foil Ball” would be recorded officially on Night of the Shooting Stars.  And “Stolen Car” only otherwise available on Double Live, absolutely kicks in this version.

The bulk of the disc is the Rheos fooling around in the studio. There’s some improv, there’s some tape manipulation, there’s a lengthy rap (“Trans Jam”), there’s Bidini being silly on the mike (“This is Nightlines”) and even a quaint little ditty, “Henry’s Musical Beard.”

I’m not sure if an album has ever been released that was so specifically just for fans of a band.  And not even casual fans, but die-hards who would enjoy hearing the band goofing off.  The “proper” tracks are definitely enjoyable, but there’s a lot of nonsense here (okay, yes, some of it is quite funny).

[READ: December 24, 2009] Love the Way You Love: Side A

I’ve always liked Jamie Rich’s stories.  He’s written some full-on fiction in addition to his comics.  And they’re both solid, romantic works.  Ellerby’s drawing style is rather cartoony (big eyes and often outlandish hair, but it works in context).  This is especially so since this story is about teens/post-teens and rock bands.

This book collects the first three (of six) volumes of this series.

The plot is fairly straightforward: Tristan is lead singer of the band Like a Dog.  The band is on the verge of breaking big and the labels guys are on the prowl. One particular label guy is drooling to get his hands on Like a Dog.

At about the same time, Tristan saw the woman of his dreams at the airport. She then showed up at that evening’s Like a Dog gig.  Tristan is blissed until he learns that Isobel, for that is her name, is engaged to the same awful label guy.  Boo.  (more…)

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Ross Campbell–Wet Moon: Book 1: feeble wanderings (2004)

Posted in Alison Bechdel, Books about music, Boredom, Demons, Drinking, Funny (strange), Goths, Graphic Novel, Kiss, LGBTQ, Ongoing, Oni Press, Ross Campbell, Set at School, Toilets, Universities, YA Books, Yuck! on December 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Dressed to Kill (1975).

I feel like I used to  give this disc short shrift because (horrors) its cover is in black and white.  But, unlike the first two discs which were heavy (poppy, but heavy), Dressed to Kill is very anthemic and, well, a little wimpy.  Despite these caveats, I still know every word to the disc, and I do rather enjoy it.

In fact, the first four songs on the disc are not featured on Alive!.  It starts out really poppy with “Room Service” which has a pretty wild guitar solo.  The next track, “Two Timer” is a Gene-sung slow track which even has Gene getting into a spoken word bit: “That’s the truth baby, you’re a two timer.”  “Ladies in Waiting” is one of those fun Kiss songs that starts out a little off-sounding but ends up being a really poppy singalong.  “Getaway” continues a trend of songs that Ace wrote but which Peter sings.  (Evidently Ace didn’t feel confident in his vocals yet).  The side ends with the cool “Rock Bottom,” a slow, pretty guitar intro opens into a rocking song.

This is the rare Kiss disc where Side Two has more hits than Side One.  “C’mon and Love Me” (an unusual request, frankly) is a fun rocker with a lot of baby baby’s.  “Anything for My Baby” is a really upbeat song which amuses me for all of the things that he swears he would do for her: steal, wheel and deal, crawl or kneel, etc.  Next is “She,” one of the all-time great Kiss songs.  It’s heavy, it’s menacing, it has an awesome guitar riff and a great guitar solo.  The fact that they tucked it away in the middle of side two is really weird.  “Love Her All I Can” is a fast rocker that’s followed by Kiss’ most popular song of all time, “Rock And Roll All Nite.”  At this point in my Kiss listening career I’m a little tired of this song.  It’s a very catchy anthem, no doubt, but it’s really not a very good song as far as Kiss songs go.

The recordings for the Kiss Alive! disc were taken on the Dressed to Kill tour and yet the live album has the fewest songs taken from this album.  It’s kind of funny that their most popular song comes at the end of this disc.

[READ: December 22, 2009] Wet Moon

This is a fantastic goth-inspired graphic novel with the absolutely worst title ever.  Wet Moon is the name of the town the book is set in, but it is never mentioned beyond the welcome sign, and I just can’t imagine what inspired the name.

Okay, actually, I just looked up wet moon on Wikipedia, and found out that it is an astronomical term for when the “horns” of a crescent moon point up, away from the earth (like devil horns).  And so I completely take back my complaint, as I now think the term is pretty cool and very appropriate.

And that is the only thing that I find disagreeable about this book.  (Well, actually I don’t like the lettering either, but more on that on a moment).

The town of Wet Moon is a college town where goths live and thrive (and no doubt many fans of the book wish the could live there).  Our heroine is Cleo, a young, slightly overweight goth with a pierced nose and bottom lip.  She has just moved out of her parents house and is living on campus.  (There is an implication that her house is a dorm, but if so, it is the single most beautiful dorm ever, anywhere, so I’ll pretend it’s an apartment–I mean, there’s a walk-out balcony for cripes sake). (more…)

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Kim Dong Hwa–The Color of Earth (2003)

Posted in 19th Century, Big Books, Dreams, First Second :01, Food, Foreign Books, Graphic Novel, Humiliation, Kim Dong Hwa, Kiss, Manhwa, Nature, Romance, Trilogy, YA Books on December 29, 2009| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Hotter Than Hell (1974).

Kiss’s second album came out just 7 months after their debut (which explains why it is less than half an hour long).

In my mind the album sounds different because it is somehow Japanese (I mean the cover is something of an indicator).  But it’s not Asian in any way.  Although, the album definitely sounds different than the debut and it’s clearly a recording style choice.

But this is one of the beloved early Kiss albums and I love every track, even the really crazy ones (“Goin’ Blind” is about a 93 year-old man lusting after a 16 year-old girl(!)).

The album starts with the crazily poppy “Got to Choose” complete with whoo hoo hoos in the chorus.  It’s followed by the blistering “Parasite” a fantastic fast riff with some cool vocal tricks at the end of each verse.  “Goin’ Blind” also features some cool slow riffs that are quite distinctive.  The title track & “Let Me Go, Rock n’ Roll” are pretty well known, and “Let Me Go” was played for many years live.

The second side is a bit more odd and seems to showcase Peter a lot more.  “All the Way” is a poppy Gene track and I’m not entirely sure what it’s all about (surprisingly not that “all the way” since “one of these days you’ll push me all the way”).  “Watchin’ You” is a great, dark song which has a really cool cowbell-fueled midsection, and gives Peter a great workout on drums.  “Mainline” is Peter’s poppy vocal track (like really poppy), while “Comin’ Home” is a Paul-sung song about (sort of like “100,000 Years”) returning home to his beloved.  “Strange Ways” is Peter’s other contribution.  This one is dark and really quite cool, with an awesomely wild, freaky guitar solo from Ace.

It’s something of an overlooked record, which is a shame as there’s some good stuff on it.

[READ: December 21, 2009] The Color of Earth

This is my first manhwa comic and I adore it.  Manhwa is (if I may be offensively simplistic) basically Korean manga (at least it is often marketed that way).  However, there are many many differences in style and tone.  And, if this manhwa is in any way representative of them all, (and of course it isn’t, but we can simplify) they are gorgeous!

Sarah received this trilogy of books by Kim Dong Hwa (The Color of Earth, The Color of Water, The Color of Heaven) and after reading this first one, I’m really excited about the rest.

The story is very simple: it follows the growth and development of Ehwa from age 7 to age 15 as she matures in a Korean village several generations ago.  The setting is extremely rural, and there are almost no amenities to be seen.  Ehwa’s father died when she was very young, so she lives with her mother in their tiny house.

Her mother owns an inn, and she must tolerate the crude comments and innuendos of her drunken customers.  Unfortunately for Ehwa, she learns a lot about the world from what she hears there.  She also gets an education from the village boys, who are foolish and impetus as little boys are (asking her why she doesn’t have a penis, and, later, to show them her persimmon seed). (more…)

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Matthew Loux–Salt Water Taffy: The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny: The Legend of Old Salty (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Boredom, Canadian Music, Children's Books, Dave Bidini music, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Matthew Loux, Mystery, Ongoing, Rheostatics, Short Books, Summer on December 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Melville (1991).

This fantastic Rheostatics album was one of the last ones I bought for some reason.  It came after their debut, Greatest Hits, and is quite a departure for that more simplistic disc.

It opens with the two minute “Record Body Count,” which sets the tone for the disc.  It’s quirky, with different pacings and loud/soft parts, and is quite affecting.  In fact, the entire rest of the disc is quirky and off beat, as befits a disc with a big whale on the cover.

Three great tracks on this disc are “Saskatchewan,” “Horses” and “Aliens (Christmas 1988).”  And the CD comes with a bonus track of their cover of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” which is rocking and swaying as a good nautical track should.

The CD ends with “You Are Very Star” a track that ended their live shows.  On the disc, the track is a series of hockey announcements with quiet whistles as the song fades away,

Rheostatics are definitely an unusual band.  Martin Tielli’s voice goes into high registers at unexpected times, he also sing-speaks (and you can hear the Canadian accent) at times.  Tim Vesely and Dave Bidini also have vocal duties, and their more mellow style adds for a nice contrast.  But basically, what you get is unpredictable rock.  And really, there’s nothing better than that.  Especially when, once you get comfortable with the songs, you realize just how catchy they are.

Melville, it’s in Saskatchewan, and it rocks.

[READ: December 21, 2009] Salt Water Taffy: The Legend of Old Salty

This is a delightful all ages comic set on the coast of Maine.  As the story opens we see brothers Jack and Benny (I did wonder if there is some connection to Jack Benny, but I’d have to say no) driving to their summer house in Maine.  Benny is younger and having fun playing the license plate game while Jack is absorbed in his gameboy. (more…)

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J. Torres & Eric Kim–Love as a Foreign Language Volume 1 (2006)

Posted in Bon Iver, Boredom, Culture Shock, David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, Eric Kim, Feist, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, J. Torres, José González, Kronos Quartet, Romance, Set at School, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, The National on December 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT: This Disc (2009).

This compilation was released to benefit the Red Hot organization, who raises money to fight AIDS.  I’ve gotten about a half dozen or so of their compilations over the years (and was surprised to see that they have released about 2o of them!).

This collection is a two disc set of contemporary cutting edge indie rock bands.  And, when it came out it was definitely billed as a who’s who of cool.  The first disc is more or less an acoustic/folky collection of songs.  While that’s not entirely true, the discs are more or less broken down that way.  The artists include David Byrne & The Dirty Projectors, Jose Gonzales, Feist (on two tracks), Bon Iver, The National (a band I don’t know but whose song I love) and Iron & Wine.

Probably the coolest song of the disc (although not my favorite) is Kronos Quartet’s take on Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark was the Night.”  For years, Kronos has been interpreting rock and other genre songs to fit into their string quartet style.  And this song sounds amazing.  I’ve no idea what they’re doing, but they turn their standard quartet instruments: violin, cello, etc into really cool blues sounding strings (even a slide guitar at one point).  It’s really amazing.  As I said it’s not my favorite track, but it sounds great.

The Decembersists contribute a 7 minute song (that I believe is new as I don’t recognize it).  It’s very good, but it seems like the kind of song that normally would have had a lot of effects/orchestration on it.  And this is an acoustic rendition, so it sounds more sparse than I would think.  It’s still very good though.

Finally, the disc ends with the weirdest track, an 11 minute freak out by Sufjan Stevens.  Every time you think it’s going to end, it morphs into a new instrument which continues the track.  It works well as a soundscape, although it’s a bit tedious in comparison to the rest of the disc which is largely concise acoustic gems.

Disc one is a great collection of tracks, and the overall style works well together.  It’s a very worthy collection of songs and it’s for a good cause.

[READ: December 18, 2009] Love as a Foreign Language 1

This graphic novel is the kind of great romance story that I’ve come to expect from Oni.  It is clever, it is funny, it plays games with pop culture and, of course, the writing and art are fantastic.

Joel is a Canadian living in Korea teaching English to native Koreans.  The book opens with the 4 H’s of culture shock: The honeymoon (you love the place), the horror (you hate the place), the humor (you accept the place and its flaws) and the home (you see yourself living there).  Joel is clearly in the horror stage.  He hates everything about Korea, especially the food. Joel has a few months left on his contract but he wants to get out of it and just go home. (more…)

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Satoko Kiyuduki–Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro 1 (2008)

Posted in 1-Speed Bike, Canadian Music, Death, Do Make Say Think, Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Fly Pan Am, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Graphic Novel, HangedUp, Manga, Satoko Kiyuduki, Sofa, Supernatural, Vampires on December 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONG OF THE SILENT LAND (2004).

This is a compilation from Constellation Records.  It features mostly unreleased tracks and turns out to be a great sampler for both the fan of the label and the novice.

Since the label never had any “hits” per se, they couldn’t really release a “greatest hits” collection.  But they went the extra mile by selecting rare tracks rather than just a songs from their albums,.

It also belies the idea (put forth by me as well as many others) that Constellation had “a sound.”  While they have branched further afield since this collection was released, even prior to this you can see a lot of diversity.  From the epic instrumentals of Godspeed You Black Emperor, to the noise structures of Exhaust, to the sort of spoken word of 1-Speed Bike to the viola/bass duet of HangedUp.  This compilation contains one track from pretty much every artist on their roster from the (then) new artist Elizabeth Anka Vajagic to early bands Sofa.

The Do Make Say Think track, “Winter Hymn Winter Hymn Winter Hymn” is described as a condensation of the album of that name into 5 minutes, and I believe it is).  Many of the other artists’ tracks are remixed.  But the remixes aren’t dance remixes or dub versions, they are just remixed, usually by Efrim or one of the other Hotel2Tango individuals.

If you’re a fan of the label, hunt down this disc.  If you’re not familiar with the artists, this is a great place to start.  The bands’ tracks, even the remixes are representative of the bands.  So, you get a good sense of Exhaust, 1-Speed Bike, Fly Pan Am and HangedUp.  Although the real selling point is the live track by Godspeed You Black Emperor.  It’s not one of their “real” songs per se (as it is just an outro) but it’s a nice indicator of their live show (which was one of the best live shows I’ve seen).

[READ: December 18, 2009] Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro

I’m not sure how this book ended up in my house.  I was looking at a pile of graphic novels and there was this one.  I hadn’t really noticed it before and Sarah didn’t know anything about it, so…who knows.  Anyhow, I decided to just go ahead and read it.  It turned out to be my very first manga (awwww).  And it took me a few pages to understand the style at all.

Manga primer: First off it’s written right to left (so at first I wasn’t even sure where to start the book, as this one starts without a real “start”).  Then I realized that the 4-panel style means you read all four columns down on the right and then all four columns down on the left.  And, just to complete the culture shock, you read the speech balloons on the right of the panel before the ones on the left.  After about twenty or so pages it grew easier, and by the end it wasn’t an issue anymore.  But wow!

Oh, and for a little more confusion, there are occasional full color pages thrown in, but they aren’t chapter breaks or any special pages, they just seem to be in color.

So, anyhow, on to the story. (more…)

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Jim Massey & Robbi Rodriguez–Maintenance: Volume 1 It’s a Dirty Job (2007)

Posted in Ben Kweller, Blink 182, David Byrne, Elliott Smith, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Guided By Voices, Jim Massey, Jimmy Eat World, John Prine, Laura Cantrell, M. Doughty, Mad Scientists, McSweeney's, Nada Surf, OK Go, R.E.M., Research, Robbi Rodriguez, Sleater-Kinney, Technology, The Flaming Lips, They Might Be Giants, Tom Waits, When in Rome, Yuck! on December 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: Future Soundtrack for America (2004).

This CD came with the McSweeney’s Future Dictionary for America.  It was released on Barsuk Records (home of Death Cab for Cutie and other great bands) and it was compiled by Spike Jonze and one of the Johns from They Might Be Giants.

This is a solid compilation of indie rock tracks.  At the time of the release most of the songs were rare or hard to find (since then I’ve seen a number of these tracks elsewhere).

TMBG obviously include a piece (a rendition of the old political song “Tippicanoe and Tyler Too”).  Other featured artists include: OK Go, David Byrne, Jimmy Eat World (covering Guided by Voices), Mike Doughty (with a song called Move On, that I have to wonder if it was written for this compilation as proceeds went to MoveOn.org), Ben Kweller (great song title: “Jerry Falwell Destroyed the Earth”), Blink 182 (with the only song I know by them, “I Miss You” that reminds me When in Rome’s The Promise“), the much missed Sleater-Kinney, a remix by R.E.M., a great track from Nada Surf, a live piano version of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” from The Flaming Lips, a staggering song by Laura Cantrell (who I only know from her work with TMBG, this song is a cover of a John Prine song), Tom Waits’ amazingly powerful and very emotional “Day After Tomorrow,” and a rocking piece from Elliott Smith.

Proceeds for the disc went to MoveOn.org in an attempt to raise money to defeat Bush in the 2004 election. We know how that turned out.  But, as that is not relevant anymore, if you like your indie music good, this is a wholly worthy collection.

[READ: December 17, 2009] Maintenance Volume 1

Now this is a comic that I can get into.  And I’m already delighted to see that there are two more volumes out.

The premise of the comic is that the two guys on the cover, Doug and Manny, work as maintenance men for TerroMax, Inc., the world’s biggest and best evil science think tank!  Their work is sometimes scary, often disgusting and always interesting.

There are three stories in this volume.  In the first one, the guys encounter a ManShark.  In the second, they are sent back in time to the cavemen era (where they learn that a scientist has already visited them) and in the third, a minor character from the first story comes back to play a large role in an alien invasion. (more…)

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Ian Shaughnessy & Mike Holmes–Shenanigans (2007)

Posted in Aceyalone, Animal Collective, Beat Konducta, Busy Signal, Concept Albums, Dirty Projectors, Drinking, Googoosh, Graphic Novel, Humiliation, Ian Shaughnessy, Le Mysterè des Voix Bulgares, Mike Holmes, Oni Press, Romance, Short Books, The Believer, Unlikable main character on December 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer July/August 2008 Music Issue Compilation CD: The Volatile But Symbiotic Relationship of Mabel and Anabel (2008).

The previous Believer CD expanded the palette of music by introducing a lot of hard-edged bands.  But this CD smashes any complaints about one-dimensionality.  It is designed around a concept of “world” music which they have designated as MABEL (Musicians of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage) and ANABEL (Artists Not of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage).

The internet has introduced a huge amount of ANABEL music to MABEL musicians.  And this has led to Western musicians experimenting with very different musical styles.

The problem, such as it is, with this disc is that it is comprised almost entirely of ANABEL songs.  So, although the disc is designed to show the influences of these artists there’s not a whole lot of tracks that show the western bands using them.  (In fairness, you can only do so much with 72 minutes).  And yes, there are a number of clearly MABEL artists here: Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors.

However, as an introduction to a few cultures’ worth of music, it’s pretty great.  I admit that I don’t love every song on this disc.  But after a few listens I’ve really grown to appreciate these tracks from Iran, Jamaica (dancehall), India and Bulgaria.

Some artists that really impressed me were: Googoosh, and her traditional Iranian track from the 70s.  Enemble Pirin, a subset of the Le Mysterè des Voix Bulgares (whom I’ve liked for years).  And Beat Konducta.  It also introduced me to Aceyalone, who I’ve heard of but never listened to.  And I really enjoyed the superfast rapping in the start of Busy Signal’s track.

I wouldn’t listen to this disc a lot, but it would be fun to throw a track or two from this on a mix CD and see how well it fit.

The track listing is here.

[READ: December 15, 2009] Shenanigans

I usually really enjoy the slice of life/romancey comics from Oni Press.  But I have some major gripes with this one.

The art is pretty cool.  I’m intrigued by the fact that the pupils of the characters are white (like L i’l Orphan Annie).  I found it very disconcerting at first, but once I got used to it, I rather liked it.  And the characters were always very expressive.

It’s the story that I have a problem with. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #6 [We Now Know Who. Timothy McSweeney’s Very Intense Heated Passionate Battle/Embrace With They Might Be Giants Resulting in This, Issue 6, Which Contains a CD Soundtrack] (2001)

Posted in Adventure, Ann Cummins, Ann Sillman, Art, Barry Blitt, Books about music, Boredom, Collecting, Corporate skewering, Death, Demons, End of the World, Graphic Novel, History, Ian Frazier, Johannes Vermeer, Judy Budnitz, Lawrence Weschler, Lydia Davis, M. Doughty, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Philip Glass, Saskia Hamilton, Sean Wilsey, Sheila Heti, They Might Be Giants, Violence, Work, Zadie Smith on December 9, 2009| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK:  McSweeney’s #6 comes with a CD.

Most of the music on the CD is performed by They Might Be Giants (a rather perfect fit for McSweeney’s).  Some other musicians who appear are: M. Doughty, Philip Glass, Michael Meredith. Roger Greenawalt & S.E. Willis

Instructions included with book:

#3. The compact disc contains music.  There are 44 discrete pieces of music –“Tracks”–on this compact disc.  Each Track corresponds to a picture, series of pictures, or story–a Piece–in this journal.  When you are reading or looking at a certain Piece, we ask that you cue your compact disc to the corresponding Track on the disc.  The appropriate track number will appear prominently, usually under the title of each Piece.  Note: The track number will no appear on subsequent pages of the Piece.

#6. Please note that you may listen to Tracks without reading their Pieces and you may read Pieces without listening to their corresponding Tracks.  But this is not recommended.  You fucking bastard.

[READ: December 8, 2009] McSweeney’s #6

I’m finally getting back to reading some older McSweeney’s issues.  This was the final issue that I received from my initial subscription.  I distinctly remember being excited by the CD and maybe reading some of the book, but clearly never finishing it.

So yes, this issue comes with a CD.  The intro note explains that each Piece in the book has an accompanying  Track on the CD, and, you are to only listen to the Track that accompanies the Piece you are reading…never read a piece while listening to the wrong track.  Ever!  It explains that each Track has been created to be as long as it would take you to read each Piece.  But there are obviously many exceptions. The first story for instance is well over ten pages but the song is about 5 seconds long.  And, the Arthur Bradford Track is 8 minutes long when anyone could read the Piece much more quickly.

The bulk of the songs are by They Might Be Giants.  Anyone who knows TMBG knows you can’t summarize their work, and this book exercise is ideal for them: there are several pieces that are just a few second long.  But they also write some nice longer pieces as well.  And, of course, they are perfectly suited for mood music that works well with the writing.  Some of the songs have words which is a bit distracting while trying to read, but that’s okay.  I did try my best to follow the prescription about only listening to the appropriate song, but I admit to getting off pace from time to time.  (more…)

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Lars Brown–North World (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Anachronisms, Dungeons & Dragons, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Gross Pointe Blank, Kate Bush, Lars Brown, Oni Press, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats, Violence, YA Books on November 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

northSOUNDTRACK: KATE BUSH-Lionheart (1978).

lionheartSomething about the late 70s seemed to make artists very prolific (perhaps it was studio pressure to capitalize on an artist’s success, hmmm?) Here’s Kate Bush’s 2nd record in about 10 months.

And, yea, the cover shows off her budding theatricality (the tour that accompanied these albums (which is available on DVD) is crazy for the performance art).

There are some great tracks on the disc, although for the most part it feels like it was kind of rushed.  But despite that sense, there are some things that Bush introduced on this record that would remain with her throughout her career.  Her voice is layered a lot more (although it is still unbelievably high–the opening words of  “Symphony in Blue” are rather astonishing.)

She has also developed a wonderful ethereal sound.  Unlike new age artists whose ethereal style is without substance, Kate is definitely grounded (somewhere).  A song like “In Search of Peter Pan” with its twinkling pianos is absolutely suited to the fantasy she evokes (and when the chorus comes around, the real sense of foreboding in Peter Pan kicks in.  (So, yes, she may be out there, but she certainly knows what she’s doing).

And there’s the rather clever underpinnings of the seemingly trivial song “Wow.”  It’s another song where a sinister musical basis lurks underneath the seemingly silly chorus: “Wow wow wow wow wow, unbelievable” (which is actually pretty snarky in context).  But really it’s the cool vocals tricks (the deep almost subliminal “uh-huh” for instance) that introduces something new, and intriguing, and something she would explore more on later releases.

This is followed by the rocking (in Kate terms) “Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake.”  It has some pretty aggressive guitar in it which is matched with delay and echo.  It’s another element that foreshadows the kinds of sounds she would use extensively on future discs  (oh, and she really gets a good banshee wail later in the song).

And, of course, the final track “Hammer Horror” is fantastic, with a great sense of theatricality, befitting the song’s inspiration.

It’s Kate next album that blows me away every time, but I am still fond of these first two.

[November 5, 2009] North World

I really enjoyed the premise of this graphic novel.  The main character Conrad is a sword wielder straight out of Dungeons & Dragons (there’s even a panel which shows the same characteristics that you roll for in the game: Str–7, Agl–5, Stm–8 etc.).  He is a low level fighter (but he’s quite good and has defeated some huge animals) but he is seeking glory, fame and minstrels singing heroic songs about him.

And yet he dresses like a contemporary guy (button down shirt and jeans) and clearly lives in a twenty-first century world. (more…)

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