SOUNDTRACK: REAL ESTATE-Tiny Desk Concert #202 (March 12, 2012).
I enjoyed some Real Estate songs, but i never listened to their whole albums. I thought this Tiny Desk show would give me more sonic information about them.
This three song set is very pleasing. The music is soft and nonabrasive, with a very smooth feel (as you can see they are dressed in sweaters and cardigans, so this is not really a shock). It’s poppy without having any real hooks. They remind me of a less catchy Guster or a less dramatic Smiths (“Green Aisles,” especially for the bass and guitar solo) or gentler Death Cab for Cutie (“Municipality”).
There’s nothing to radically distinguish these three songs (radical is not a word that would apply to Real Estate), although “Green Aisles” has a few more dynamic moments (mostly from the change in drum patterns).
This review sounds like I didn’t like the set, but that’s not true. As I said, it’s very pleasant. And sometimes pleasant is what you want.
You can hear it here.
[READ: March 11, 2012] Same Difference
First Second continues to publish some of the most beautiful and thought-provoking graphic novels around. This is a republication of a story that first appeared in a collection (and proceeded to win an Eisner, Harvey and Ignatz Award).
The story is about Simon and his close friend Nancy. It opens with them in a Vietnamese Restaurant in Oakland, CA. The first scene of the book is wonderfully drawn–we look in on the characters through a fish tank–fish are practically littering the panels–it’s very cool.
The two of them are with their friend Ian and they are shooting the breeze, talking nonsense. And then Simon sees a woman that he knew from high school. She is sitting at the bus stop and Simon wants to, but can’t, talk to her. Her name is Irene, she seems sad, eyes downcast looking at the ground. And then Simon reveals that she is blind.
In high school, he and Irene were very close. He helped her out, described films to her in class, and “rescued” her from bullies. And then she invited him to a Sadie Hawkins dance. He doesn’t like her that way, so he lied to get out of it. She never found out about the lies, but it has haunted him for the last seven years.
Later, Nancy figured out the truth of the matter, and even though we the readers probably guessed it as well, it still hit hard when it was spoken aloud. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 