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Archive for the ‘History’ Category

Joshua Ferris–“Good Legs” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2014)

Posted in Essays, History, Humiliation, Joshua Ferris, New Yorker, Romance, Sex, Slothrust, You're the Worst on September 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

jun9SOUNDTRACK: SLOTHRUST-7:30AM (2011).

slothThis song is the opening theme to the FX show You’re the Worst, which I like very much.

The theme is only a few seconds long although the song (which has been around since at least 2011) is considerably longer (although it doesn’t reach 3 minutes).

Every time we’ve watched the show, I’ve tried to imagine who the guy is singing this song–he sounded strangely familiar.  Well, imagine my surprise to find out that the music from the band Slothrust is pretty much written and sung by a woman, Leah Wellbaum.  Well who would have guessed (it’s more evident in some of their other songs).

I love the simplicity of this song–repeated lyrics set to a ramshackle guitar which bursts forth into loud wailing in every repeated section.  There’s even a guitar solo (equally as uninhibited).  The band is a typically more punky than this folk song might hint, but you can feel all their glorious chaos in this one track.

 It’s funny and rather catchy.  Check out the song on bandcamp.

[READ: June 17, 2014] “Good Legs”

This year’s Summer Fiction issue of the New Yorker was subtitled Love Stories.  In addition to the two graphic stories, we have a series of five personal essays which fall under the heading of “My Old Flame.”  I liked that all five writers have slight variations in how they deal with this topic.

Joshia Ferris has written a number of things that I enjoyed.  This piece, which  found very peculiar, takes a very different approach than Kushner did.  Where Kushner focused on different people in her past, Ferris Ferris focuses on one old flame. Or is she?

He says he met her in the hallway of a dorm.  There’s this near-opening line that sets the tone: “I didn’t think much of her, but I was sure she had never seen anyone quite so handsome.”

It turns out that she was dating someone else anyhow.  And then she graduated, leaving him behind (perhaps unbeknownst to her).  He says, “I didn’t miss her,”  because he was “in this terrible on-off thing with Sisyphus, who kept dragging me up a pretty blond hill and hurtling me down.” (more…)

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Rachel Kushner–“The Adolescents” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2014)

Posted in Essays, Ex-Cops, Funny (ha ha), History, Humiliation, LGBTQ, New Yorker, Prefab Sprout, Rachel Kushner, Romance, Sex, The Replacements on September 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

jun9SOUNDTRACK: EX-COPS-“Ken” (2014).

excopsIn this song, I get a vibe of Prefab Sprout singer over a swirly indie band (at least for the verses).  The chorus is bigger–swirling guitars and fast drums, with Ooohs building and building.  And yet the song never quite launches the way “Black Soap” did.

Amalie Bruun doesn’t really contribute to this song.  And while I wouldn’t say she is crucial to the band, something is definitely lacking without her sharing vocal duties.

I wanted this song to be a bit…more, somehow.  I’m not quite sure about Ex-Cops after two songs.  We’ll see if I get blown away by something else later on.

The whole reason I checked out this song was for the video, which is a tribute to The Replacements’ “Bastards of Young” video.

[youtbue=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgRil7yidDg]

[READ: June 17, 2014] “The Adolescents”

This year’s Summer Fiction issue of the New Yorker was subtitled Love Stories.  In addition to the two graphic stories, we have a series of five personal essays which fall under the heading of “My Old Flame.”  I liked that all five writers have slight variations in how they deal with this topic.

Kushner presents a series of past boys that she had crushes on when she was young.  Each one is presented with a “random initial.”  First there was B who looked like an angel.  He asked to carry her books in sixth grade.  It is a sweet introduction until the conflict: an eighth grade girl, she was stridently white, says something about his race.  And in the span of one paragraph, “many things were new to me that day.  B and I never reconnected.”

Next there was D.  D was white and proclaimed that he would hurt others (presumably those who were black).  The race issue was complicated then.

She once kissed M, who was black, although R would have been a better match.  R flirted with her on the playground and treated her like a sexy woman.  (more…)

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Chris Ware–“Possession” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2014)

Posted in Chris Ware, Circus, Graphic Novel, History, Huh?, Humiliation, New Yorker, Romance on September 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

jun9SOUNDTRACK: EX-COPS-“Black Soap” (2014).

blackAfter listening to Myrkur yesterday I wanted to check out Amalie Bruun’s other band, Ex-Cops.

It’s interesting how many musicians can enjoy playing in so many different styles.  Because Ex-Cops sounds absolutely nothing like Myrkur.  Indeed, an Ex-Cops fan may be shocked by the sounds of Bruun’s black metal alter ego.

Ex-Cops remind me a lot of Garbage and The Cardigans sort of mixed together.  Bruun shares lead on this track with Brian Harding and her voice is pleasant and at times sounds like Aimee Mann’s.  The song is simple enough, with an easy melody for the verses and a big powerful chorus (stadia await).

The thing that I do like about this song is that Bruun and Harding exchange lead vocal duties.  But they duet with each other with the other in backing vocals.  It keeps the song from being very obvious.  I have no idea what they’re singing or where the title comes in, but that’s okay.

Depending on what other songs on this record sound like, this band could either be a cool indie band with pop leanings or a blatantly pop band. And I’m curious to hear more.

[READ: June 17, 2014] “Possession”

This year’s Summer Fiction issue of the New Yorker was subtitled Love Stories.  And thus, we have a series of personal essays which fall under the heading of “My Old Flame.”  There are several short pieces.  And this year there are two illustrated stories by two wonderful artists.

The second is by Chris Ware.   I love Ware’s style, despite how depressing his stories usually are.

This story is about the narrator’s fixation on a girl named Daisy.  When he was a kid, she lived right across the street from them.  He says that he knows her, he has all of these memories of her, but he cannot picture her.  He can picture the street and a few concrete memories, but little else.

The first odd thing comes when the narrator was a little older.  His family had moved across town.  But when his mom asked who he wanted to invite to the circus with them, he said Daisy.  (I’m trying to imagine what he parents thought of that).  However, when they stopped at her house, the girl who emerged looked nothing like Daisy (what?).  And they said nothing to each other the whole time they were at the circus. (more…)

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Alison Bechdel–“Gradual Impact” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2014)

Posted in Alison Bechdel, Ex-Cops, Graphic Novel, History, Humiliation, LGBTQ, Myrkur, New Yorker, Romance, Sex on September 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

jun9SOUNDTRACK: MYRKUR-“Nattens Barn” (2014).

myrkurMyrkur is a black metal band whose sole member is a woman–Amalie Bruun, a Danish model who co-leads the Brooklyn indie-pop band Ex-Cops.

This six-minute song has elements of black metal (loud guitars, fast drums) and elements that transcend the genre (the first entire minute of beautiful choral voice).  As the song opens, multilayered voices sing (presumably in Danish) about what I imagine is the heavens (I’m curious about a translation, but won’t look for one).  After a minute the heavy guitars kick in–loud, but not scary loud (a kind of pleasant black metal, if you will).

Until 1:43 when she creams, the drums kick in, and it becomes black metal as we all know it is meant to be.  The song is loud fast and heavy.  But unlike most black metal, there are no vocals (at least that I can hear).  So the song cycles through a few sections.  After returning to the more melodic style, that heaviness keeps pushing its way back in.  It all ends rather suddenly after that five minute buildup.  Although there is a return to the choral voices of the beginning.

I’m intrigued by this and I love that the choral voices (something black metal has done in the past) are done (I assume) by Bruun herself, rather than a male band tacking on the ethereal voices.   Her new release is an EP, and I would like to hear some more of it, just to see what kind of vocals she uses.

[READ: June 17, 2014] “Gradual Impact”

This year’s Summer Fiction issue of the New Yorker was subtitled Love Stories.  And thus, we have a series of personal essays which fall under the heading of “My Old Flame.”  There are several short pieces.  And this year there are two illustrated stories by two wonderful artists.

The first is by Alison Bechdel.  Although I honestly don’t know if Dykes to Watch Out For is still an ongoing concern (which is a shame since i have so many of the early books), I love that Bechdel’s “self” character looks an awful lot (bit not identical to) DTWOF‘s Mo.  It brings a sense of comfort to the story (which I know is not her intention, but still).

In this story, the main character talks about falling for a woman in her karate class.  As it opens, the narrator berates herself for breaking off an affair with a woman who was “kind, beautiful, smart, interesting, sane and available.”  She asks, “What the fuck was my problem?” (more…)

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Gordon Korman–Flashpoint [The 39 Clues: Unstoppable: Book Four] (2014)

Posted in Adventure, Aphex Twin, Death, Fears, Gordon Korman, Greed, History, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Romance, Short Books, Sloan, Threats, Travel, Violence on September 5, 2014| 1 Comment »

39unstopSOUNDTRACK: SLOAN-“Get Out” (2014).

Sloan_CommonwealthSloan has a new album coming out next week.  It is currently streaming on Picthfork.  The album is like a small version of the Kiss solo albums (except that there is only one album) or like Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma (because it’s a double album and one side is kinda crazy). Each member of the band has written the songs for a side.  The imagery for the disc is a deck of playing card, and each member gets a suit:  Diamond (Jay Ferguson); Heart (Chris Murphy);  Shamrock (Patrick Pentland); Spade (Andrew Scott).  Even though I am a big fan of Sloan, I have honestly never been able to tell their vocalists apart. True, they do sound distinctive, but I can’t keep them straight at all.  So this album should help with that (and maybe see if there is one composer I like better–I don’t think so).

I chose this song primarily because it seemed to tie in well with this book and also because it a rocking song that last for less than 2 minutes.

The guitar comes rocking right at the start.  The verses are short and the bridge , a simple “Get out, you can get out” propels the song along nicely.  There’s a loud squalling guitar solos.  And a cool chorus with backing vocals.  And after two verses, two bridges and two choruses, the song ends.  A great soundtrack for an escape.

I’m looking forward to the release (although I won’t be getting the deluxe edition, sorry guys).

[READ: September 4, 2014] Flashpoint

In all of my time reading the 39 Clues, this is the first time I actually caught up to the series–I read this book almost in the week that it came out.  So if I was actually playing online with the clues, I may have been able to win whatever it is the online competition is.  Actually it’s quite rare that I read anything soon after it has come out, so that was fun in itself as well.

Okay, so this series has concluded with major 39 dude Gordon Korman taking over the reins.  And that made me happy, because he knows that the family working as a team is what is so important to the series.  And he got them working together again–even if it was because Amy was days away from death by the side effects of the serum.

As the story starts out (yes, I am still bitter about what happened at the end of Book Three–and I must report that that was not redeemed in any way, so yes, I am mad at the series for the senselessness of what happened to a favorite character of mine), Dan is being held prisoner by Galt Pierce.  (I love how nutty the Patriotist party is portrayed, and how easily susceptible people are to the platitudes Rutherford Pierce offers).  He and his sister Cara are trying to extract information from Dan.  Dan is given a truth serum and reveals some information, but then he takes a sleeping potion to knock himself out.

When he awakens, Galt threatens him, but Cara tells Galt to back off.  And then, unless Dan is mistaken, and he may be, she seems to help him escape from the plane that they are currently waiting in.  At the same time, Jonah Wizard’s plane is nearby (through some clever tracking by Pony), and they are able to rescue Dan.  Then they are off to Phenom Penh to find the final ingredient–the venom form a Tonle Sap snake.  Which means a trip through the amazingness that is Angkor Wat (more…)

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Natalie Standiford–Countdown [The 39 Clues: Unstoppable: Book Three] (2014)

Posted in Adventure, Aphex Twin, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Natalie Standiford, Romance, Short Books, Threats, Travel, Violence on September 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

39copuntSOUNDTRACK: APHEX TWIN-“minipops 67 [120.2]” (2014).

syroI can’t write the whole title of this because the rest of the words make it seem like it is xml code, so it is not printing properly.  Well played, trickster.

Aphex Twin videos have no business being anywhere near a children’s book (even a book as dark as this).  But the music itself is pretty safe since it’s instrumental (or unintelligible vocals if there are vocals).

Anyway, this is the opening track from the first Aphex Twin album in thirteen years (really? yes!).

“Minipops” is the first single from the album (due out later this month).

It is less aggressive than what I think of as Aphex work (like say “Windowlicker”) but it is no less warped.  It opens with some complex drums and a simple but warped keyboard riff.  Some voices come in, and there may be words but I can’t make them out.

It actually feels like a kind of verse chorus build up.  Just before the half way point the music almost drops away leaving a simple keyboard and an even more processed voice.  By the three minute mark a new voice comes in, it is deeper and scarier, and it is followed by the most clean voice of all (although it is still quite fuzzy).  Again, I have no idea if words are being spoken, but there is a weird melody being vocalized.  And the music floating around seems to slowly get more and more distorted as the song lurches to an end.

It’s not my favorite Aphex Twin piece as it’s not as dynamic as some of his others, but I’m happy that he’s putting out an albums worth of stuff.

This video has no actual visuals (except what you see), so it is totally safe for all ages.

[READ: August 28, 2014] Countdown

Book Three of this series has an aspect that I really like and an aspect that I, like less

I’m starting with the part I liked less because it involves the main plot.  As we left the Cahill family in Book Two, they were in big trouble.  Rutherford Pierce had taken the super mega strong serum and his henchmen were closing in on Amy and Dan and friends wherever they went.

As this book opens Amy and Dan are racing through an airport to get to their private helicopter, when they are spotted by the paparazzi (Pierce owns the media and sends the paparazzi after them wherever they are).  On the other side of the airport are some of his serum-fueled goons, who are looking to stop them at any cost.  The kids run through the airport and make it to the helicopter just in time.

They start flying to Guatemala, where they are looking for the next ingredient for the antidote to the serum.  Suddenly the pilot puts on a  parachute and leaps from the helicopter, leaving the kids to land the plane in the Guatemalan ruins.

This was all quite exciting and I enjoyed it very much.  What I liked less was that after what happened in the last book–Amy going off on her own to spare the lives of her family and nearly getting killed–the boys are mad at her.  They barley talk to her and consider that she has betrayed them.  One of the things I have loved about the series was the bond that Amy and Dan had.  And I hate that this series has dissolved the bond and that Amy has felt like an outcast.  I understand it builds the drama and that there are many exciting elements to this approach, but it’s not what I read this series for.  I also realize that as this book draws to and end, the isolation of Amy become almost the point of this series, but it still changes the series in a way I don’t like.

After they are nearly killed, though, the kids bond again, and set off on their quest to find this missing element. (more…)

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Jeff Hirsch–Breakaway [The 39 Clues: Unstoppable: Book Two] (2013)

Posted in Adventure, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Israel Nash, Jeff Hirsch, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Short Books, Threats, Travel, Violence on September 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

breakSOUNDTRACK: ISRAEL NASH-“Rain Plans” (2014).

rainI heard this song on a download of 10 Songs NPR Can’t Stop Playing.  The opening chords sounded so Neil Young and Crazy Horse that I was immediately hooked.  Then when Nash starts singing, it sounded even more like a kind of CSN&Y pastiche.  After the first verse, the powerful descending chords are a great introduction to the falsettoed chorus.  (No idea what he’s saying).

Nash is lumped in with the alternative country field, but I don’t hear any of that on this song.  It comes across as pure classic (maybe folk) rock.  The solo which starts at around 2:45 has elements of Pink Floyd in it.  It is a brief introduction to the much lengthier solo that takes the song out.  But what I especially like about it is that the in between section doesn’t have more vocals, just a bunch of whoo hoos before the bombastic solo (the backing music is bombastic as well) just keeps going.

It’s not a pretentious showing off solo, it’s just a lengthy jam that keeps jamming.  Until around six minutes when the band starts rocking faster and the solo grows more intense (the song is 7:19).

I’m really interested in what the rest of this album sounds like.

[READ: July 27, 2014] Breakaway

I was so hooked on Book One that I had to jump right into book two (which is considerably shorter than book one).

This book was a little frustrating (intentionally so I believe) because Amy is trying her best to distance herself from her family and friends.  She is so afraid of anyone else getting hurt (and anxious because Dan wants to leave the family) that she keeps trying to send them away, believing that they will be safer away from her.   And yet, as they have learned in each and every mission–they work best as a team.  So while Amy starts pushing the others away they not only get more frustrated, they keep making mistakes.  And by the end, Amy’s solitude nearly gets her killed and has her alienated from her closest ally, Dan.

Of course she is under a lot of pressure, especially since the media scrutiny of them has gotten so much more intense–Pierce has amped up his attacks against Amy and Dan and has brought her family members into the spotlight (basically saying they are all her thugs).  The Pierce foundation has even gotten to Evan’s family and Evan’s parents publicly denounce their dead son’s former girlfriend as a snake, someone who draws people in and doesn’t care what happens to them.  Basically, everyone hates the Cahills.

Including Jake and Atticus’ father.  For when they call on him for a favor, he is furious that his sons are still hanging around with the Cahills.  Until he sees that the book they are carrying has information about something near and dear to their father’s heart: the lost city of Atlantis. (more…)

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Jude Watson–Nowhere to Run [The 39 Clues: Unstoppable: Book One] (2013)

Posted in Adventure, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Jude Watson, Kanye West, Shabazz Palaces, Short Books, Threats, Travel, Violence on September 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

39SOUNDTRACK: SHABAZZ PALACES-“#Cake” (2014).

cakeI don’t know much about Shabazz Palaces, although I understand their debut was pretty popular in alternative circles (they were the first rap band released on Sub Pop).  This new song is from their new (also Sub Pop) album and I think it’s really weird and quite wonderful.

There’s a loping bass line echoey and almost spacey.  There’s rapped echoey fast words all over the palce (I’m having my cake and I’m eating cake–“eating cake” seems to be the refrain).  It’s all very spacey and weird.  And then at around 1:45 a whole new sound emerges out of static, as if a jazz radio station was tuned in and someone like Nina Simone begins singing a very standard-sounding jazz song.  What?  And after about 15 seconds it drifts out and the song returns to normal.

Around 2:48 a new style of song drifts in, also kind of early jazz (but a different song with lyrics, “let it waver why not savor the flavor”), but this time a bit more faint with twinkly sounds played over the top.

When the song return, there is a list of cities rapped over a more string heavy riff (but that same bassline).  It’s pretty darn weird.  It all reminds me of the way Kanye West introduced such weird elemnst on his Yeezus album.  This is less aggressive but no less unexpected.

I really have no idea what this song is actually about, but I really enjoy listening to it, and I want to explore Shabazz Palaces a bit more.

[READ: July 26, 2014] Nowhere to Run

There’s something about the first book in 39 Clues series that is just so good.  Although I did enjoy the end of Cahills vs Vespers, the end was nowhere near as exciting as the beginning of this book.

It is six months after the events of the last series.  Dan and Amy are not in any way over the deaths of their friends and family.  But they feel that the end of the Vespers leadership must give them some peace and quiet.  And things are starting to get back to normal.  (The awesome) Nellie is back with them, cooking and being generally cool.  But there is one last detail that they must attend to: the funeral of their lawyer, Mac.  He too was killed six months earlier, but they have just gotten around to dealing with the funeral (he was cremated).

But at the funeral, they are attacked by some really tough, like really tough guys.  Uncannily tough in fact.  And as they flee the cemetery a group of paparazzi comes into the cemetary looking to take pictures of the Cahill kids. And soon enough, their photos are posted all over the internet with crazy untruths said about them–that they are spoiled rich kids looking for thrills.  What the heck is going on?

Well, it turns out that J. Rutherford Pierce has found a bit of the serum that Dan was creating.  And unlike the dose that Isabel took, he seems to have tinkered with it just enough to make him superhuman but not freakish.  Pierce has been mostly an also ran–a failure at many businesses, and a failure at much more.  But since taking the serum, he has had many successes, including taking over a media empire (hence the headlines) and making ton of money.  And he has it in for the Cahills. (more…)

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Clifford Riley–Operation Trinity [The 39 Clues: Cahill Files #1] (2012)

Posted in Adventure, Clifford Riley, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Jan Van Eyck, Mystery, Religion, Short Books, Spies, Threats, Travel, Violence, WFMU 91.9 FM--Jersey City, NJ on August 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

trinitySOUNDTRACK: GREASY KID STUFF–WFMU 91.9, New York City (1997-2006).

grekidIn my vast exploration of Greasy Kid Stuff (seriously, at least 15 minutes at work), I found the WFMU website.  It turns out that Greasy Kid Stuff, the radio show broadcast weekly from WFMU from 1997 until 2006.  Then they moved to Portland and couldn’t manage the remote connections properly, so the show ended on WFMU.

The good news is that you can hear weekly playlists of all of the shows from 2000-2006 on the playlist page.  They have playlists that date back to the beginning, but there’s only audio starting in 2000.  The bad news is that you the shows are all archived in Real Audio.  Which, I don’t know, may or may not really work anymore.

But for a historical look at a funny and weird kids show check out the archives, and if you still have Real Player, give it a listen.

[READ: June 17, 2014] Operation Trinity

The Cahill Files were a series of “books from the vault” of the Cahill family.  They were originally released as e-books and some of them have been collected as print books.  The first was Operation Trinity.  And like Vespers Rising, it chronicles the history of the Cahill Family.

The story is broken into three parts, each one chronicling the “life” of a painting.  The painting in question is Jan Van Eyck’s altarpiece (see bottom of post for picture of it). The first part is set in Ghent in 1566.  In reality, the painting was finished in the 15th century and was installed in the Saint Bavo Cathedral.

The story follows Matheus Jacobs, an ordinary, some might say even less than ordinary, boy whose family doesn’t seem to think all that much of him.  Until one day when his mother says that she wants him to become an altar boy so he can protect this altarpiece from the Vespers.  (His father doesn’t think he is worthy, but she disagrees).  He doesn’t know why his mother chose him, or what his mother has to do with anything like this, until she reveals that she can speak several languages and is well versed in the history of the Vespers.  He rides his untrusty mule to the church, where he marvels at the beautiful painting.

He soon meets Father Gerard who sends him on an errand.  While away, he hears a man inciting a mob against the church.  The mob grows incensed, as mobs do, and sets out trying to weed out the Catholics in the village.  Matheus is freaked because they are heading for his home village.  And when he arrives, he sees that the mob is trying to burn down his house.  In the fracas, one of his family members is killed, and the rest of his family insist that he head back to the protect the altarpiece because the Vespers are behind the mob and they are headed for the church. (more…)

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David Baldacci–Day of Doom [The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers: Book Six] (2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adventure, David Baldacci, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Pixies, Short Books, Threats, Travel, Violence on July 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

doomsdaySOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“First World Problems” (2014).

fwp“First World Problems is what Al calls a style parody.  This is a parody of the Pixies.  I can kind of hear it (especially in the riffs), but his Black Francis voice is somehow off (he’s usually so spot on with his mimicking).  But as it is basically a Pixies song, it is loud and quite rocking.  And, better yet, it’s really funny.

I get a kick out of the expression “first world problems” because why should that make a problem any less invalid, and yet, Al’s first world problems are outstanding.

I couldn’t order off the breakfast menu, cause I slept in till two
Forgot my gardener’s name, I’ll have to ask him later
Tried to fast forward commercials, can’t – I’m watching live T.V
My barista didn’t even bother to make a design in the foam on the top of my vanilla latte

The opening bass and the female backing vocals are fantastic, and as always, guitarist Jay West gets their guitar sound perfectly.  The video doesn’t scream Pixies to me (although it is very very funny).  In fact at one point he looks more like Iggy Pop than anyone else (except with a shirt on), but that’s okay, it still makes me laugh a lot.  Who knew Al was a fan of the Pixies?

[READ: July 10, 2014] Day of Doom

This is the first book by David Baldacci that I have read.  Baldacci is typically an adult writer who I know is quite popular and prolific (he has done some kids books too).  I very much enjoyed the suspense and thrill of this book, but I have to say I feel like he really does not write very believably for his characters.  There is a romance that is played off quite flatly, there is an act of contrition which I don’t think anyone would believe, especially not a family member, and the bad guys are just so bad they are cartoonlike.

These characters have been through seventeen books now, so we know them pretty well, and I hated to see them get smoothed so much here.  I also didn’t care for the way Amy’s love dilemma was solved fairly easily for her.  And I was really surprised by the body count in this book.

Four major characters were killed by the end of the book.  It’s pretty brutal and really takes the series out of the realm of kids book and way into the realm of YA. (more…)

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