SOUNDTRACK: RUSH-“Headlong Flight” (2012).
A new single from Rush came out on Thursday. And it’s seven minutes long! Yeeha! It’s also really heavy.
It opens with a cool bass riff and then thundering guitars. This song continues in the heavier, grungier sound from Vapor Trails. The middle section sounds distinctly Rush (late 80s style), and Geddy’s voice hits some pretty high notes.
There’s a brief extra section with a spoken word part–I’ve not been able to make out what it says, but the instruments (especially the great guitar sound) is fantastic behind it. That’s followed by a great solo from Alex (that hearkens back to his wild solos from the 70s). Geddy throws some cool bass fills–although he’s not showing off as much as he might). And, of course, Neil is doing some cool drum things through the song–little fills and whatnot–and he sounds like he’s pounding the hell out of the drums.
Here’s the video
[READ: April 14, 2012] Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
As I mentioned yesterday, I bought a book to have David Sedaris sign it, but decided the wait wasn’t worth it. This is the book I bought. It very excitedly claims to “with one new story” which I thought was funny both in itself and also because I hadn’t read any of the other ones (I gather they are from This American Life, although they’re mostly too vulgar to have read on the radio). It also has illustrations from Ian Falconer, who is the guy behind Olivia, the children’s book series.
Anyone who has read David Sedaris essays knows what to expect–funny, presumably exaggerated stories about his family and loved ones. Indeed, the stories that he read from during the show were just that–dark and funny and about his loved ones. So imagine my surprise to find that these were all short fictional stories about animals! No Sedaris’ are harmed in this book.
All of the animals are behaving like people, so Sedaris’ caustic wit and attacks on hypocrisy are all in play. However, because they are animals, Sedaris can go much much further with them. Matt Groening said that he could get away with a lot more social criticism because The Simpsons were cartoons; the same applies here. Indeed, these are some of the darkest stories that I have ever read from Sedaris.
Some of them are kinda funny, but most of them left me mildly bemused at best. Because while they seem to be a kind of laugh-at-the-recognition-of-our-foolish-behavior (as done by animals), really they are preachy and seem generally disappointed in us. And who wants to read that? It basically seemed like an opportunity for Sedaris to make fun of things that he doesn’t like about people. But he knew it would be obnoxious to makes stories about people acting that way, so he made them animals instead. And perhaps he thought that would make it funnier. At times this was true, but not very often. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RUSH-A Farewell to Kings (1977).
Although I recently said that Caress of Steel is one of my favorite Rush albums, I’m really torn between a number of their albums from the 1970s. I’ve loved A Farewell to Kings since the time I got it: it’s over the top, and it showcases all of the band’s strengths.
SOUNDTRACK: RUSH-Caress of Steel (1975).
Despite the fact that this album is largely considered a failure, it’s one of my favorite Rush albums. There’s so much weirdness about it that I can see why it isn’t terribly popular but there’s so much goodness that it makes me a bit bummed that some glorious tracks are overlooked.
SOUNDTRACK: BARENAKED LADIES-Snacktime (2008).
The Barenaked Ladies have always been like naughty kids. So, it seems almost too obvious for them to make a kids’ album. But almost as if they want to continue being naughty, this kids album is quite smart, not just a collection of cute kids songs.
I Just Read About That... 