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Archive for the ‘Marriage (Happy)’ Category

12 musical things I (we) like about Christmas

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Brian Wilson, Canadian Music, Christmas Album, Comedy Album, Consumerism, David Bowie, Dreams, Funny (ha ha), Holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, Magic, Marriage (Happy), Military, Paul Debraski, Radio, Religion, South Park, Supernatural, War on December 22, 2008| 3 Comments »

After getting the dislikes out of my system, it’s time to bring in the positivity.  Now that I have a lot of different Christmas discs to choose from, I don’t get inundated with the same songs over and over.  This has really allowed me to appreciate the old songs for what they are.

So, here’s 12 things I like about the holiday tune season (in no particular order)

1. “O Holy Night”
oholyI feel like I never really knew this song until I heard Cartman getting cattle-prodded for not knowing the words.   I listened to that version all the time (but I can’t tell if I like that version or the one on Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics better [“Fall on your knees, and hear the angels… something” “VOICES!”]), and what it did was give me a real appreciation for what a cool song this is.  The chord changes are very satisfying without being really obvious.  And, it’s not an easy song to sing.  But I have liked every tooversion I’ve heard: from Cartman to Avril Lavigne (whose first two verses on Maybe This Christmas, Too are the most vibrato-free singing I have ever heard.  I’m quite certain she’s flat all the way through, and yet her voice is so unaffected it’s totally disconcerting.  Tell me what you think…it’s available here).

Sarah: This truly is a beautiful song and I love all its versions as well, from Cartman to Tracy Chapman. I’m not a religious person but I always feel a little holy when I sing this. (more…)

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Christopher Monks–The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life® Or, The Video Game as Existential Metaphor (2008)

Posted in Christopher Monks, Contests, Einstürzende Neubauten, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Marriage (Happy), McSweeney's, Michael J. Nelson, Portishead, Set at School, Super Mario Brothers, Technology, Tekken, Universities, Video Games, Virginity (Loss of) on November 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

yourlifeSOUNDTRACK: PORTISHEAD-Third (2008).

3rdThis is probably one of the spookiest albums I’ve heard in a long time.  And, boy, do I love it.

Portishead has been away from the music scene for about ten years.  They’d had a couple of hits, sort of gloomy trip hop all held together by Beth Gibbons’ otherworldly voice (“Nobody loves me, it’s true, not like you do”).  But frankly, after ten years I wasn’t even sure if I cared about Portishead anymore.  And then, I heard the songs!

Beth Gibbons’ voice sounds even more ghostly than before.  And the noises that Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley make are totally beyond the pale.  Some of the music sounds like pieces from a late night horror movie.  Take the bizarro verse music of “Hunter,” guitar chords stretched beyond recognition alternating with a keyboard riff straight out of “Revenge of the Cheapo Zombie Monster.” Or the aggressive soundtrack of “Machine Gun,” in which Gibbons sings over a musical piece that is more or less an electronic drum that sounds like a machine gun.  It’s pretty intense.

But just when you think the whole disc is nothing but uneasy listening, they thrown in the beautiful acoustic simplicity of “The Rip,” a simple acoustic guitar playing over Gibbons’ sultry voice, or “Deep Water” a minute and a half of old timey ukulele music.  Of course, these songs are bookeneded by two creepy tracks: “Plastic” in all its eeriness, and “We Carry On” some of the most unusual sounds ever to be called music (aside from Einsturzende Neubauten, of course).

Somehow all of the unsettling sounds work wonderfully together.  And, although I haven’t processed all the lyrics yet, previous Portishead albums would lead me to believe that things aren’t very peachy in Gibbons’ world.  And yet, despite that, I find the album very uplifting and not at all depressing.

Maybe every band should take ten years between records if it yields results this great.

[READ: November 16, 2008] The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life®

I used to work with the author of this book.  Perhaps a dozen or so years ago, Christopher (just Chris back then) Monks and I worked at Wordsworth Books in beautiful Cambridge, MA.   When I learned that he was writing for McSweeney’s (and has since become the editor of their online website) I was very impressed and happy for him and not at all jealous or seething with envy at his wonderful, picturesque life in the Massacusetts suburbs.  But, more to the point, when I read his works, and his website, he displayed humor that was in little evidence at work.  (Talk about compartmentilization…).

Anyhow, he recently sent a generic email to everyone who has ever written him to say that he has a book out (and would we all go buy it, please).  Well, I’m always game to help someone who over the years I have come to consider a former co-worker. (more…)

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Roddy Doyle–“Sleep” (New Yorker, October 20, 2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Marriage (Happy), New Yorker, Roddy Doyle, Short Story, The Go! Team, Tokyo Police Club on November 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

ny1020SOUNDTRACK: TOKYO POLICE CLUB: A Lesson in Crime EP (2006).

tokyoWhen Toronto’s Tokyo Police Club released their album Elephant Shell, there were quite a lot of rave reviews for it, but almost all of the reviews talked about how great this EP was.  So, I opted to check out their EP first.  And how can you go wrong with a seven song EP that totals about 16 minutes?  Even though I am fond of the long digressive progressive rock style, I also really love really short songs.  And these are short, and very good.

Despite the speed of the EP, and the shortness of the songs, the band isn’t hardcore, and is sort of barely even punk.  Rather, they play high energy, no frills rock.  Their sound is more high end with guitar lines playing melodies and the bass taking a back seat.  The start of the album is a little misleading what with the singer screaming “Operator. Get me the President of the World” suggesting that chaos is forthcoming.  But rather, the songs are very fun, with spazzy guitar lines and really catchy choruses.

“If It Works” even has a break for a second of silence (unexpected in a song that’s only 2 minutes long). “Citizens of Tomorrow” has a few softer moments in it (followed by a chorus that reminds me of The Go! Team). They fit in nicely with the rock revival bands that have been making the rounds lately.  I’m very interested in their full length.

[READ: November 12, 2008] “Sleep”

This is a short, affectionate story by Roddy Doyle.  I enjoyed it very much.  It concerns a long-married couple and how much the husband enjoys watching his wife sleep.  There’s some flashbacks, including the time she slept from Friday night until Sunday morning, as well as some medical revelations that are scary but which he believes they can get through.  It’s nice to read a short, sweet story that, despite the difficulties, ends happily.

It’s available here, and if you’ve not read anythign of Doyle’s (or anything since his earlier funnier works) this is a good story to get a feel for his more mature stories.

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