SOUNDTRACK: PUGWASH-Giddy (2009).
I found this CD through a connection to The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon plays on a few of their tracks). Pugwash (what a crazy name–it comes from a series of children’s books (and a TV show) called Captain Pugwash) is an Irish band with four CDs (and this collection). And man, it’s hard to find their stuff over here (although their website has a wonderful collection of videos and such).
Giddy is a collection of songs from all of their albums. Their first album is represented by two songs here “The Finer Things in Life” and “Two Wrongs.” These two songs sound, with no disrespect intended, like great Oasis ballads. Say what you will about Oasis’ originality, they wrote some great songs, and these two sound like the best Oasis songs you’ve never heard.
Their other three albums sound far less like Oasis and far more like XTC. In fact, the XTC comparisons are well-founded as Andy Partridge eventually co-wrote a song with them and eventually signed them to Partridge’s Ape House records (which is how this collection was released in the U.S.).
The XTC comparison is unavoidable on a few tracks. The opening of “Song for You” (the “when we die” part) sounds like an uncanny XTC outtake, but when the chorus kicks in it sounds nothing like them and moves into more of the gorgeous orchestral pop that overflows on this disc. And the Partridge co-written “My Genius” is also a wonderful near-XTC outtake, clever, witty, and perfect.
And the song “It’s Nice to Be Nice” is just a wonderful cheery pop ditty. It sounds retro and charming; if the simple lyrics (and gorgeous harmonies) don’t bring a smile to your face you must be made of stone.
Although the album is primarily orchestral pop, there’s a wonderful array of styles on here. “Anyone Who Asks” has chipper keyboard bits in the verses, but the chorus is a wonderful mix of dark minor chords. And then, the absolutely bizarrely wonderful “Monorail” sounds like a fantastic Beck song (with lyrics that are as decidedly unusual as anything Beck himself might write). It even opens and closes with wonderful circa 1920s banjo.
Despite the obvious nod to XTC, Pugwash does something that XTC doesn’t. XTC is a very mannered band. They always seemed very rigid and formal (and were wonderful because of it). Pugwash uses XTC as a springboard, but Thomas Walsh seems like a guy who likes to let loose with unchecked silliness, so he can move past the strictures of XTC (and sound like Beck!)
And the packaging is just wonderful. The carnivalesque appearance of the cardboard case is enhanced by not just a cardboard sleeve but also by a second cardboard half-sleeve that you slide on top. Depending on which way you slide it on, it creates a different set of pictures. It’s a little thing but it’s a nice nod to the fun of non-digital products.
This is certainly one of my favorite albums this year (even if it came out last year).
[READ: September 21, 2010] One False Note
I enjoyed the first book of the series so much, I couldn’t wait to get to Book Two. In particular, I was interested to see if Gordon Korman’s writing style would differ much from Rick Riordan’s. As I said last time, I hadn’t read Riordan before, (although I have read a few by Korman) and while I wasn’t expecting them to write in the same manner, I wondered if they would try to keep the style the same (or if it would be really obvious that they were different writers).
I have to say that I didn’t notice the difference between the two. Korman’s seems a bit faster paced (but he had no exposition to deal with), and it’s possible that he made things seems a bit more scary/dangerous than Riordan, but not much.
The question I have with the series is three-part: Is the basic plot given to each new writer–like the writer is told what the 39 Clues are–or, possibility two, are they told very specifically, the clue is this and it is here and the writer has to figure out how to get the kids there, or possibility number three, they are free to do whatever they want.
Either way, this is an exciting series, and I’m looking forward to Book Three.
So in Book Two, Amy and Dan continue their adventure. This time, they go to Saltzburg and Venice. The Saltzburg trip leads them to the Mozart house. There’s a wonderful sorta subplot about Mozart’s sister, Nannerl (real name Maria Anna), who was also a great pianist and harpsichordist, oftentimes getting top billing when they played together. I’s never heard of her, and didn’t know of her talent, and that’s the point of the subplot–how Nannerl had to put her musical skills to the side because she was a woman. This works nicely with the pairing of Dan and Amy and how they are both good at different things and are both very useful on the quest. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 