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Archive for the ‘Uncut’ Category

Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Ted Brandt–Princeless, Vol. 3: The Pirate Princess (2014)

Posted in Action Lab Comics, Children's Books, Dragons, Feminism, Graphic Novel, Jeremy Whitley, Low, Pirates, Rosy Higgins, Sexism, Ted Brandt, Uncut, Wilco, YA Books on February 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LOW-“War on War” (from WILCOvered, UNCUT Magazine November 2019).

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco.  It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered).  I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

This is a slow, spacey, trippy cover with gently echoing synth, big echoing drums and a processed echoing voice.  I really like the original of this song and I find this cover to be a little too slow for my liking.

However, the overall sound of the song is very cool, especially the chaotic ending.

[READ: February 2, 2020] Princeless, Vol. 3

This book said Book 3 on the label but it seemed like it was starting form the very beginning.  It wasn’t until after I finished it that I read that this is in fact book 3 but it is a kind of spin off of sorts.  The main character of this story, Raven Xingtao, is actually not the main character of the series.  I did wonder why the two other characters on the cover, Adrienne and Bedelia, are not really introduced here–they are introduced in the first two books, obviously.

So this story starts with a story.  We learn of Ming Two-Tails the fiercest pirate to ride the sea. Her ship was called The Just Wind because she and her crew were so silent sailors thought it was just wind they heard.

The man who is telling the story ends with “And that’s what you’ll be like someday, my little Raven.”

Turns out Ming was Raven’s great-grandmother and Raven was so inspired that even as a little girl she was ready to fight.  She asked her dad to show her how to use a bow.  Her dad smiled and said she will not be a helpless princess.

Cut to the next scene and Raven is in a tower.  She had been there 90 days with no one looking for her.  Until a pink dragon flown by Adrienne Ashe and Bedelia Smith flies in.  They ask if Raven needs help. She does. So Adrienne lands and looks for a fight. (more…)

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John Allison, Christine Larsen, Sarah Stern–By Night, Volume One (2019)

Posted in Boom! Box, Christine Larsen, Goblins, Graphic Novel, John Allison, Kurt Vile, Sarah Stern, Science, Supernatural, Surreal, The Moon, Uncut, Unfinished series, Wilco, Wolfman, YA Books, Yuck! on February 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KURT VILE-“Passenger Side” (from WILCOvered, UNCUT Magazine November 2019).

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco.  It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered).  I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

Kurt Vile is a pretty obvious and delightful choice to cover this loping song about drinking and not driving.

It’s a full band recording (even though it’s only two people playing).  Kurt plays some delightful meandering guitar throughout the song while Adam Langellotti plays bass, drums and keys.

It’s a fun cover and Vile’s delivery is perfect.

[READ: February 9, 2020] By Night

I am so taken with Giant Days, that I’ll pretty much read anything by John Allison.  This three-book series has a pretty uninspired title, but the story inside is trippy and very cool.

The story opens “in a commercial lab in Spectrum, South Dakota.”  We are looking at Jane Langstaff who has a masters in chemistry.  As the exposition continues Jane turns to us and says “Stop narrating my life, Barney.”  She sighs and says that she’s basically a restaurant dish washer but with biohazard.  Her best friend is now the autoclave.

As she walks outside she sees “ghost lady” and as she is looking at her she almost stumbles over Heather sitting on the stairs.  Heather has been waiting for Jane.  Jane lies and says she didn’t know that Heather was back in Spectrum.  They quickly catch up.  Heather is no longer with Shawn–who cut his hair and got a law degree.  Jane is shocked: “he cut his hair?” (with an accompanying picture of his gorgeous locks).  Heather reacts: “Of those two things that’s not the one that should blow your mind.”  Heather invites her for drinks.  Jane agrees but instantly regrets it.

Later Heather tells her that she wants to tear it up which means going to a local bar.  It is dark and depressing and no one is tearing up anything.  In fact, Heather’s s dad Chip is there drinking.

Chip reveals that he was terminated today.  He has worked at the Charleswood Estate for his entire life.  Heather realizes that this means that the Charleswood Estate is unguarded (he was the only guard left at the Estate).  With some sleight of hand, Heather steals her fathers’ keys and tells Jane they are going to sneak in.

After some persuading, Jane agrees to go.  They both know Charleswood Estate because every year the school would take them there for a class trip because Chet Charles more or less created the town.  When they sneak in the first thing they do is watching the old welcome video that they’ve seen so many times before.

They sneak into Charles’ private office, where he has a projector and a comfy looking chair.  They are pretty delighted with this find.  but when moonlight hits the projector it turns on and projects a hole in the wall which Heather and Jane walk through … into another world. (more…)

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Anthony Veasna So–“Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts” (New Yorker, February 10, 2020)

Posted in Anthony Veasna So, Cambodia, Donuts, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, Uncut, Violence, Whitney, Wilco on February 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: WHITNEY-“Far Far Away” (from WILCOvered, UNCUT Magazine November 2019).

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco.  It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered).  I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

I have only recently heard of Whitney, although I understand they are quite popular.

This is a muted bedroom-sounding recording.  There’s a folky acoustic vibe with acoustic guitar and piano and slide guitar.  It’s weird that the sound is all kind of compressed together making it sound really small.

The (double) slide guitar solo is quite pretty.

[READ: February 9, 2020] “Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts”

The title of this story gives you no indication at all what the story is about, which is pretty interesting.

The only connection is that the story is set in Chuck’s Donuts.  We learn pretty quickly that there is no Chuck.  Indeed, the owner never knew anyone named Chuck, but she thought that name sounded nicely all-American.

The owner is a Cambodian woman named Sothy.  The other two women of the store are her daughters Kayley and Tevy (who is four years older an Kayley).  Sothy wonders if her shop should be open 24 hours a day or just normal business hours.  Should she really have her daughters work the night shift?

A couple of weeks ago the night employee quit.  For the summer the girls would work the night shift with her and all the saved money would go to their college fund.

As the story opens at 3AM, a man walks in and orders an apple fritter.  He sits at a booth and stares out the window.  He doesn’t respond to their chitchat, he just looks out the window until he stops looking out the window, then he leaves, fritter untouched.

Kayley wonders if he is Cambodian, but Tevy says that not all Asians are Cambodian.

Three days later the man returns and does the same thing

The girls cant stop talking about him.  They even squabble about him. Sothy sees that the man is distracted by them and that he soon leaves.  But she tells them not to worry, that he’s Khmer.

They desperately want to know how she knows that.  “Of course he is,” Sothy says. (more…)

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Natalie Riess–Space Battle Lunchtime: Volume Two: A Recipe for Disaster (2017)

Posted in Aliens, Children's Books, Contests, Cook Book, Cooking, Courtney Barnett, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Natalie Riess, Oni Press, Supernatural, Uncut, Wilco on February 9, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: COURTNEY BARNETT-“Dawned on Me” (from WILCOvered, UNCUT Magazine November 2019).

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco.  It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered).  I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

This is a pretty standard cover of this song with Courtney Barnett on acoustic guitar with no accompaniment..  Her voice sounds great and it’s fun to hear her sing this in her Australian accent.  I definitely miss the wonderful bass line in the song, but her version is lovely.

[READ: February 2, 2020] Space Battle Lunchtime Volume 2

The book opens with Peony in a cell.  The disembodied voice shows that she signed a contract to be on Cannibal Coliseum. It is signed Peggy, ha.  They tell her she’ll be chopping or being chopped in an hour.

She says that she can’t cut up and cook someone.  The voice says “It’s called Can-nibal Coliseum not Can’t-ibal…”

Peony realizes the she has her phone so she turns it on and sees NO BARS.  You’re in space, what did you expect.

Back at the Space Battle Lunchtime set, it is revealed that Peony left a note–she forfeited.  But the cameraman says that doesn’t sound like her. Neptunia says that Peony bailed on their date as well.  And, what a surprise, Chef Melonhead has offered to fill in for the missing Peony.

Neptunia and the camera guy look at footage of the  loading doc and see that Peony was taken by a Cannibal Coliseum van.  (more…)

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Royden Lepp–Rust: Volume 3: Death of the Rocket Boy (2017)

Posted in Archaia, Chickens, Children's Books, Death, Graphic Novel, Parenting, Parquet Courts, Robots, Royden Lepp, Technology, The Future, Uncut, War, Wilco on February 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PARQUET COURTS-“I Got Drugs (at the End of the Century)” (from WILCOvered, UNCUT Magazine November 2019).

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco.  It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered).  I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

This track is about as far from the Wilco sound as I can imagine.  Plus, this is a mash up of two Wilco songs, “Handshake Drugs” and “I Got You (at the End of the Century).”  The song opens with Austin singing the lyrics to “Handshake Drugs” while the rest of the band chants the backing vocals of “I Got You” at the end of each verse.

Musically it’s very un-Wiclo as well.  There’s a drum sound which sounds like a sample of a person making a drum sound.  There’s a chiming repeating guitar sound and a big rumbling bass. And of course the vocal delivery is about as far from Jeff Tweedy as you can get.

Austin sings the first two verses while the responding chants move further down the lyrics of “I Got You,” now chanting something else.

There’s  simple weird synth solo in the middle.  Then the end half of the song is loud and dancey with a lot of chanting, “It’s the end of the century” and an unhinged guitar solo.

This song sounds like neither of the two songs it’s taken from, making this a fascinating and ultimately very cool cover.

[READ: February 2, 2020] Rust: Volume 3

Volume three is the penultimate volume of the series.  I can’t believe how short this series is.  It seems like so little has actually happened and yet so much has gone on.

The story continues where volume 2 left off–in fact the first thing we see is the robot that Jet has destroyed.  But it is not destroyed, it easily rights itself and takes off after Jet.

Jet returns to the train to get Oz, but the robot is right behind them.  Jet uses a clever maneuver to avoid the robot who crashes into the train while it is on a huge bridge.  The train starts to goes over, bringing Oz (and presumably the conductor(!!) with it.  Jet is able to rescue Oz at the last second (no word on anyone else).  Nevertheless, Oz refuses to give Jet the oil cell, even though Oz is clearly dying.   Finally Jet has to punch Oz to save himself.  Jet flies Oz back to his family.

But Oswald is still not happy about Jet and he reveals what he knows to Roman and Jesse.  They drive off leaving Jet n a field.  And that’s where the man with the beard finds him.

He says this is the longest that Jet has stayed in one place. Jet reveals that he thinks the family needs him and he want to stay.  But the man says that is he stays he will bring the entire military to their doorstep. (more…)

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Royden Lepp–Rust: Volume 2: Secrets of the Cell (2017)

Posted in Archaia, Blindness, Canadian Content, Cate Le Bon, Children's Books, Death, Graphic Novel, Parenting, Robots, Technology, The Future, Trains, Uncut, Violence, Wilco on February 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CATE LE BON-“Company in My Back” (from WILCOvered, UNCUT Magazine November 2019).

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco.  It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered).  I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

Cate Le Bon is a fascinating character, an esoteric Welsh singer who experiments with interesting sounds.  I don’t know that there’s many people like her.  I’m looking forward to seeing her live with Kurt Vile in a couple of months.

Her take on this familiar song is pretty simple—she sings with a kind of deadpan delivery which really accentuates the words.  The verses are a sort of repetitive sound that sounds like a full-sized toy piano with some cool bass lines throughout.

When the chorus kicks in there’s all kind of unexpected horn sounds flitting about.

It’s pretty far from the original but is really fun.

[READ: February 2, 2020] Rust Vol. 2

Volume 2 resumes right where the last book left off.  We’re at the Taylor farm and Roman is looking at the pitchfork that Jesse used to stop the machine that was heading toward the farm.  But Roman has more questions about the pitchfork than the machine.  After inspecting it he decides that only Jesse’s grandfather, Mr. Aicot could have made a pitchfork that could stop a machine like that.

Roman fixes up the machine so that it will repair his truck.  But it seems to go after Jesse–it stops short of doing anything to her but it sure gives her the creeps.  This is a good point to say how cool these machine robots are.  Their faces are essentially a triangular Venetian blind look.  Horizontal lines with a pointed front (like a nose).  They are dressed in long coats and look incredibly menacing.

Meanwhile Jet is feeling weaker and weaker.  Oz is spying on him and sees Jet remove his power cell–Oz realizes that jet is a robot!  This freaks him out.  He bikes to Mr Aicot’s house and reveals the secret.  Mr Aicot says that he knew already, but he never said anything to anyone because no one would believe him,

Then he has some things to show Oswald. (more…)

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César Aira–An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter (2000) [translated 2006]

Posted in 19th Century, César Aira, Chris Andrews, Foreign Books, Johann Moritz Rugendas, Nature, Robert Krause, Roberto Bolaño, Short Books, Translation, Travel, Uncut, Under Byen on March 30, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: UNDER BYEN-“Samme Stof Som Stof” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

Under Byen is a Danish band and has only one song on Viva Piñata.

I had originally written a review under the impression that it was different song (the CD and even iTunes confuses this song with “Kiss ME” by Uncut.  And you can see my initial impression below).  Now, knowing that this band is not singing in English changes a lot about my perception of what the sounds actually are.

This is one of the few remixes on the disc where I listened to the original first (to make sure I had the right song).  The original is an interesting mix of peculiar instruments and some cool soundscapes.  This remix chops it up into pieces and puts it back together.  It’s an interesting twist on the song but man, the original is so much better.

[Here’s my original thoughts, when I read a bit about the song when I thought it was by the band Uncut and I thought that it was not a remix.  And I saw that they were described as a poppy fuzzy band.

this song comes from one of their official releases.  “Kiss Me” is not a remix but it sure sounds like one.  It is kind of warped and the sounds feel manipulated in crazy ways. The vocals are mostly moans and noises. But it has a catchy beat and some interesting sounds. This is a weird song, and I’m not sure how it fits in with the rest of the album.  I do kind of like it, but I wouldn’t hunt them down for more.

Of course, now that I know it’s supposed to sound like that, I change my tune completely. And I will hunt down some other songs for comparison.

[READ: March 23, 2012] An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter

This is the third novel from Aira that New Directions has released (translated wonderfully by Chris Andrews). It’s the first one they published and the first one of his that I had heard of.  I actually heard of it long before I knew of Aira because the Preface is by Roberto Bolaño.  And if you do a search for Bolaño, this title always comes up.

And so now I finally got to read this mythical essay.  Sadly, it turns out to be an essay called, “The Incredible César Aira” which was recently published (2011) in Between Parentheses–bad timing for me.  It also has nothing to do with this novel specifically

But on to the novel itself.

This short book is about the German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas.  Little did I know that he was real.  He was a landscape painter (a profession which became obsolete with the invention of cameras) and he was very well-regarded.   Twice during his career he went to the Americas to paint the land.  On his second journey (from 1831-1847) he went to Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina, which resulted in thousands of paintings.

The opening of the book is rather philosophical (and a little dry).  But after about ten pages, the book picks up with the titular episode.  Rugendas and a German painter named Robert Krause set off in 1837 from Chile.  They got on well.  Rugendas was far superior technically and Krause, although also quite talented, was always respectful.  Rugendas had sold prints and books and his Picturesque Voyage through Brazil was printed on wallpaper and China. (more…)

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