Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘NPR/PRI/PBS’ Category

Charles M. Schulz–The Complete Peanuts: 1950-1952: The Definitive Collection of Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip masterpiece: Dailies & Sundays (2004)

Posted in Baseball, Be Good Tanyas, Charles Schulz, Comic Strips, David Michaels, Fantagraphics, Figure Skating, Football, Frazey Ford, Funny (ha ha), Garrison Keillor, Peanuts, St. Paul Pioneer Press, The Saturday Evening Post, Tiny Desk Concert on September 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

1950SOUNDTRACK: FRAZEY FORD-Tiny Desk Concert #73 (August 15, 2010).

frzeyFrazey Ford used to be in the Be Good Tanyas.  Here she is touring her debut solo album Obadiah.  She is quite a character, wearing a leopard print outfit.

But her music is really complex and interesting.  On the opener, “Firecracker” she plays the guitar with unusual chord progressions but it’s her voice that is so arresting.  She use atypical phrasings and pronunciations that belie her origins (I could never guess where she was from).  Strangely, I get a kind of Cat Stevens vibe from the way she says words, but also another inexplicable emphasis: the way she pronounces exploding as explohdun.

She talks briefly about her new record while apologizing for having to tune her guitar.  “Lost Together” slower, pretty song.

“If You Gonna Go” is a breakup song which she messes up and then apologizes for, saying she’s nervous and very tired.  And she mocks herself for wearing a ridiculous cheetah outfit.  She says she bought it in London where everyone was dressed like this.  Stephen Thompson chimes in that if it was cooler they’d all be dressed like that.

She asks if they want one more and she ends with “The Gospel Song.”

It’s a really good introduction to an unusual voice.

[READ: September 10, 2015] The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952

After reading the Sunday Peanuts books, I had to go back and start the series from the beginning.  Holy cow, Peanuts started in October 1950 and ran into the 21st century!  That’ amazing.  It’s also amazing to see how different everyone looked back then.  It’s very disconcerting.  The only thing more disconcerting is to immerse yourself in the old comics, start to really appreciate them, and then see a contemporary version and wonder why he changed them so much.

When the strip first started there were just three of them: Good Ol’ Charlie Brown, Shermy and Patty (not Peppermint Patty) and they are all four years old.  Those first comics are really really different–the kids are practically stick figures.  (Although Charlie always had that little wisp of hair).  The kids all have huge heads and tiny bodies and are very minimal in their expressions.  Snoopy is there too and he looks very much like a real dog.  As it turns out I like this version of snoopy better than the current one.  He looks much more like a dog and he acts alike a dog–Schulz gets some great jokes out of doggie behavior.  Things like Snoopy hearing and smelling food and running over to beg started almost from the beginning.  As did they ways that Snoopy interacts and often drives the other characters crazy.

peaWhat’s mostly different about the early ones is that the kids are all mean to each other and CB sometimes wins in the verbal sparring.   He’s as much of a buster as the others.  It’s really fun and funny. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Richard Ayoade–Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey (2014)

Posted in Biography, Boom Goes the Neighborhood, Funny (ha ha), Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Hot Sauce II: Afterburn, Inside the Actor's Studio, Interviews, Man to Man with Dean Learner, Richard Ayoade, Submarine, The Double, The IT Crowd, Tiny Desk Concert on September 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ayoade SOUNDTRACK: MAVIS STAPLES-Tiny Desk Concert #72 (August 9, 2010).

mavisMavis Staples is a legend.  She has been singing for decades.  And her voice still sounds amazing.

For this Tiny Desk Concert, it’s just her singing and Rick Holmstrom playing guitar.  Staples sings two songs from her then new album (recorded at Wilco’s studio).  In fact, the first song she sings “Only the Lord Knows” was written by Jeff Tweedy.  It’s a great bluesy number.  And Staples hits notes all over the place–it’s great.

Before the second song, she calls Rick Holmstrom “Pops Jr.” and he says “I wish.”

Next she plays “You’re Not Alone.”  There’s a funny moment after the first verse where she forgets the words–she shouts “don’t tell nobody.”  She says she was busy looking at all the friendly faces and got lost.  But she comes back and knocks the song out.

For a brief encore she does a few verses and a chorus of “I’ll Take You There.”  And you can hear the disappointment in the audience when she sings, “And that’s all for today” after a chorus.  She is happy and claps and does apologize saying “you all will make me hurt myself.”

It’s amazing how good Mavis sounds after all these years, and how she wins over the crowd in an instant.

[READ: July 15, 2015] Ayoade on Ayoade

Richard Ayoade is best known by me as Moss on The It Crowd.  Probably the most frequently asked question by me about him is how the Rhell you say his last name.  The book does not help with that, although online searches reveal eye-oo-WAH-dee to be pretty accurate.

Ayoade cracks me up whenever I see him.  And he even starts the funny before you open the cover of the book.  The cover sticker notes: “Once in every generation, a man writes a book.  This is that book. I am a man.”

I knew that Ayoade had recently released The Double (I read the screenplay), but I wasn’t aware of his previous film, Submarine.  (I have subsequently watched it and enjoyed it very much–it’s an unusually dark comedy about young love).  And these facts, along with maybe one or two others are what I gleaned from this book.  The rest is pure nonsense–a right silly lark, full of Ayoade’s outrageously self-deprecating wit and scathing comments about his own writing, acting and directing skills. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Samantha Matthews–That Thing You Do with Your Mouth: The Sexual Autobiogrpahy of Samantah Matthews as told to David Shields (2015)

Posted in David Shields, McSweeney's, Memoirs, Nell Zink, Samantha Matthews, Sex, The Holmes Brothers, Tiny Desk Concert on September 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ttydwymSOUNDTRACK: THE HOLMES BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #71 (August 2, 2010).

brosI’ve never heard of The Holmes Brothers.  So I was a little surprised to hear that they have been playing together for 30 years.

The trio consists of Sherman Holmes on bass, Wendell Holmes on guitar and Popsy Dixon on drums (in this case, just a snare and a lot of rim shots).

They play soul music steeped in Baptist hymns, blues and spirituals.  Wendell is a great guitarist, playing effortless solos–playing with the volume and creating interesting effects.  Sherman plays a fun bass with some cool bass lines (although felt he may have been a tad too loud in the mix).  And Dixon keeps the beat–nothing fancy, but he propels the song along and it would never sound as good without him.

They play three songs from their then new album.  Sherman sings lead on “Dark Cloud” while Wendell sings lead on “Pledging My Love” and “Feed My Soul.”  Especially noteworthy on the latter two tracks is Dixon’s falsetto which is really amazing (I thought they had a female backing vocalist hidden somewhere).  In fact, the three of them sound like there might be four or five people in the band.

They put on quite a show.

[READ: August 7, 2015] That Thing You Do with Your Mouth

I often don’t know what McSweeney’s books are about before I read them.  I had a vague inkling that this book was about sex (I’d read that Matthews did voice over for Italian porn), but I didn’t know that this was going to be a kind of biography of Matthews and her history of sexual abuse.

According to the introduction, Matthews told her story to David Shields (author and also Matthews’ cousin) who says that the interview garnered 700 pages worth of material.  Thank goodness he edited it.  I felt this book (which comes in at 113 large print pages) was way too long as it is.

Despite all of the accolades on the cover, Matthews is not a very compelling individual.  It’s strange to read personal incidents from a person that you’ve never heard of or, for that matter, was someone who hadn’t done anything terribly interesting. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Grantland Quarterly, Number 12 (2015)

Posted in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alex Pappademas, Amélie Mauresmo, Andrew Sharp, Andy Greenwald, Andy Murray, Anthony David, Baseball, Basketball, Bela Fleck, Bill Simmons, Books about music, Books about writers, Bryan Curtis, Chris Ryan, Chuck Klosterman, Culture Shock, David Shoemaker, Death, Edgar Meyer, Essays, Game of Thrones, Grantland, History, Hockey, Jonah Keri, Jonathan Abrams, Jordan Conn, Katie Baker, Kirk Goldsberry, Kiss, Lana Del Ray, Louie, Louisa Thomas, Mad Men, Mark Harris, Mark Titus, McSweeney's, Molly Lambert, Nostalgia, OutKast, Rany Jazayerli, Rembert Browne, Sam Knight, San Antonio Spurs, Shane Ryan, Soccer, Stanley Cup, Steven Hyden, The Other Woman, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, Wesley Morris, World Cup, Wrestling, Zach Lowe, Zakir Hussain on September 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

grant12SOUNDTRACK: BELA FLECK, EDGAR MEYER, ZAKIR HUSSAIN-Tiny Desk Concert #70 (July 26, 2010).

belaBela Fleck is a rather legendary musician, and yet I realized I don’t really know that much about him.  And somehow I never knew he was a banjo player (that’s a pretty serious omission on my part).  I had never heard of the other two musicians, although they are apparently world-class masters of the bass fiddle and the tabla.

I also didn’t expect this Tiny Desk Concert to be so interestingly world-musicy.

This set is only two songs but each is about 7 minutes long and they are both very cool (and from the album The Melody of Rhythm).

Fleck’s playing is amazing, with a tone that is often unlike a standard banjo sound.  And I absolutely love the tabla–I am fascinated by this instrument.  The first song, “Bubbles” is an amazing demonstration of Fleck’s banjo.  About midway through he is playing in a decidedly middle eastern style (which works great with the tabla).  And when the bass starts getting bowed around 1:50, it adds an amazing richness to this already cool song.   There’s a cool bass solo (I love that the tabla pauses a few times during the solo).  The ending is just wonderful.

Before the second song, “Bahar” (which means “springtime”) they talk about being nervous, which is pretty funny.  This song opens with the bass fiddle’s bowed notes (including a very very high note).  This one seems to be a more solo-centered, with some elaborate work from Fleck after the introduction. And the tabla solo, while brief, is really cool to watch.  I prefer the first song, but the more traditional nature of the second song is a nice counterpart to the first.

[READ: August 24, 2015] Grantland #12

I enjoyed this issue as well.  This was mostly the spring and summer of 2014, which sounds so long ago, and yet so many things seem so current.

CHUCK KLOSTERMAN-“The Life and Times of Kiss”
I love this article about Kiss.  And I wrote about it back here.

WESLEY MORRIS-“Poison Candy”
This is about the disastrous state of female comedies.  It focuses on the movie The Other Woman which is ostensibly a female centered comedy but is entirely other.

BILL SIMMONS-“Sterling’s Fold”
A drumming down of Donald Sterling.  It’s hard for me to believe that this happened over a year ago.

ZACH LOWE-“Building the Brow”
An article about Anthony Davis of the Pelicans, who is proving to be better than anyone imagined. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jeff Bartsch–Two Across (2015)

Posted in Crossword Puzzles, Felicia Day (author), Jeff Bartsch, Johann Sebastian Bach, Smarty Pants, Tiny Desk Concert, Zuill Bailey on September 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

2across  SOUNDTRACK: ZUILL BAILEY-Tiny Desk Concert #63 (June 4, 2010).

baileyZuill Bailey plays a cello.  Well, actually, that’s not right.  The cello he plays is old “very old — but it’s also special, built by the renowned Venetian maker Matteo Goffriller in 1693. That means Johann Sebastian Bach was all of 8 years old when Goffriller slapped on the final layer of shellac.  The instrument is unusually large, with a tawny orange hue, and one of only two Goffrillers which can boast an intricately carved Rosette under the fingerboard [see below].  And its sound? A full, round, burnished tone that pours forth with remarkable volume.”

Bailey plays three pieces from three of Bach’s suites (he had just released an album of six suites).  And they sound amazing.  The first piece is instantly recognizable and sounds incredible on this instrument.

But beyond playing a gorgeous cello, Bailey is a great storyteller.  He describes how when Bach started writing suites for cello, the instrument was considered a church bass–basically a piece of furniture and not something to write gorgeous suites on.  He also says that people have asked him if he has named his cello and he says that he calls it J.Lo. because it is “robust in the bass tones.”

Introducing the second piece he says that the sarabande was banned from polite society because it was considered too slow and sensuous in those times (which is why he’s going to play it now).

bailey2And then he describes the feeling of the sound that comes from that cello–it resonates through the maple in the instrument and vibrates his body. It is clear how much he loves this instrument.

Obviously the pieces are beautiful, but his renditions are really stunning.

J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 1 – “Prelude”

J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 2 – “Sarabande”

J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 3 – “Prelude”

[READ: September 13, 2015] Two Across

Sarah brought this book home and loved it.  She thought I’d enjoy it, too.  And why not?  The main character, Stanley, is a crossword puzzle maker (Sarah finished it on the day that puzzler Merle Reagle died, sad to say).  The other main character, Vera, is a math genius who also becomes a puzzle maker.  The fact that I just finished the Felicia Day book in which she (a real person) is a math genius, gave me strange parallels between Felicia and Vera.

If those character traits interest you, there is so much to like about this book.  We first meet Stanley and Vera as they are competing for the national spelling bee in Washington D.C.  They are both certain that they will win (we get alternating perspectives from each of them).  And we see their minds as they hate the other one who is trying to take the title from them.  When the bee ends, they are both rewarded for their efforts.  And they form a strange bond, because they both have a lot in common even though their lives are entirely different.

Stanley lives in a hotel.  His grandfather was a chef there and his father died in WWII, so the hotel has offered them their cheapest (crappiest) suite for the rent of $1 a month. Stanley’s mother never leaves the room… ever.  She had never recovered from Stanley’s father’s death.  The hotel staff is like Stanley’s family, and he is well looked after.  But his mother pushes Stanley very hard, insisting that he go to Harvard.  And Stanley is clearly a genius–he used to memorize the encyclopedia, and he has all kinds of facts at his disposal.  But he is also deeply wounded by never knowing his father.

Vera, on the other hand, is pretty much transient.  Her mother is working her butt off to become an IBM sales rep and so they travel everywhere.  Vera is also a genius, finishing her school work in a few days and then spending the rest of her time reading or doing challenging math.

They are both quite likable, even if neither one has any social skills at all. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Felicia Day–You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) (2015)

Posted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Felicia Day (author), Fredrik, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Geek & Sundry, Joss Whedon, Swedish Music, The Guild, Tiny Desk Concert, World of Warcraft on September 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

felciaiSOUNDTRACK: FREDRIK-Tiny Desk Concert #57 (May 3, 2010).

fredrikFredrik are a Swedish band.  They were a duo, then a sextet and then a duo again.  In this concert, they are in that duo state–Fredrik Hultin on vocals and guitar and Ola Lindfelt on electronics and percussion.

Their then new release was a dark album called Trilogi and was just the two of them.  They play two songs from that album and one form their debut.

“Ner” is quite dark, with the whispery vocals and the minor chord progression.  The simple thudding drum beat also keeps the song somewhat ominous.  Speaking of the drummer, he is using a microphone (into which he later whistles) as a drumstick (he hits the cymbal with it later).  But his main “drumstick” is a maraca.

“Locked in the Basement” is a bit louder but with the same percussion set up.  It maintains that ominousness (just see the title of song).  Although in the middle it quiets down to just a thumping drums and gentle guitar noises with Ola’s backing oohs.

“Black Fur” is a bit more upbeat (in the blurb Robin says it is a soaring song on their debut).  It is stripped down here and it quite catchy–almost upbeat and positive.  It’s quite different from the other two songs. You can hear their recorded version of it (when they were a sextet) here.

I enjoyed these songs, and wonder if Fredrik has continued as a duo in the last five years.

[READ: September 7, 2015] You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) 

Like most geeky folks, I love Felicia Day.  The Guild was an awesome show and her creativity behind it is really masterful.  And she was in Dr Horrible, which is how I found out that she was one of the slayers in the final seasons of Buffy.

So Felicia has the geek cred.  But I didn’t know anything about her.  And I wasn’t sure that I cared all that much.  I mean, Felicia is the bomb but do I need to know how she got to be that way?  Nevertheless, I was curious to see what she would put into this book.

If you’re looking for salacious stories about working on Buffy, you won’t get them.  Aside from an intro by Joss Whedon, there’s very little information about her time on Buffy.  Rather, she talks about her childhood (which is fascinating) and her Guild making days and her post-Guild success.  And there’s a rather dark turn near the end.

But really, this book is all about empowerment (as the title hints at)–all about embracing your inner loves and following what you want to do.  In the book, which is chock full of pictures, she calls these coffee mug moment sand Photoshops her aphorisms onto mugs for our edification.  There’s also a lot of very funny pictures of herself from throughout her life. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Sandi Toksvig–Peas & Queues: The Minefield of Modern Manners (2013)

Posted in Etiquette, Food, Funny (ha ha), Kissing, Sandi Toksvig, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Villagers on September 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

peasSOUNDTRACK: VILLAGERS-Tiny Desk Concert #69 (July 19, 2010).

villagersVillagers is the work of Conor O’Brien. On their debut album he played all the instruments and created the cover art.  Live, he has a full band, but in this Tiny Desk show it’s just him and his guitar.

He looks incredibly young (that haircut), but when he sings, he sounds sophisticated and mature.  And his guitar playing is equally sophisticated (with some really interesting chords on the high notes of his strings).

His playing is crisp and clean and his voice is really lovely.  He doesn’t do anything fancy, he just sings and plays, but he has a lot of power and honesty in what he does.

And lyrically, he is quite clever.  He surpasses many singer-songwriters.

His three songs “Ship of Promises,” “Becoming a Jackal” and “Twenty Seven Strangers” are all on his debut album Becoming a Jackal.  He hits an amazing series of high notes in “Ship of Promises,” and the way the song takes some unexpected (albeit brief) pauses is quite dramatic.

I like the way he slowly and confidently states the title “Becoming a Jackal.”  This song is a bt faster and more dramatic, especially the quiet ending.

“Twenty Seven Strangers” is a story song about taking the bus.  It is an unexpected perspective and quite an interesting look at a mundane event.

[READ: August 2, 2015] Peas & Queues

I was disappointed with the previous etiquette book, which was supposed to be funny and I think wasn’t all that serious.  But this one, which is indeed serious, was also really funny, and was a real delight to read.

According to her bio on the book, Sandi Toksvig is “a well-known broadcaster for both television and radio.”  But I’d never heard of her.  It seems that she is big in Britain, but I believe is unknown here.  Nevertheless she has written over twenty books, including fiction, non-fiction and children’s.  So maybe I’m just out of touch.

Anyhow, I grabbed this book because it sounded interesting (and I liked the jokey spelling of the title).

Toksvig explains in her introduction that in 1520 when Erasmus wrote his book on manners it was dedicated to an 11 year old boy (a son of a prince).  This book is dedicated to “a delightful child in my life” called Mary who is currently 8.  But it is not a book for children, it is meant for Mary as she grows up.  And you can tell right from the start that Sandi is pretty funny as she says “I hope it will prove useful to anyone not planning to live as a hermit.  [Unlike Erasmus] I have made it easier for her (and you) by not using Latin (very much).”

And then Toksvig explores good manners from birth through death.  She even starts with “Why do we need good manners” (a question my kids currently ask).  The first thing to say is that basic manners apply no matter where you are or what you are doing.  They are even a good idea when no one is watching.  Having a code of behaviour will help you know how to react to the unexpected.

But it’s also important to know that rules about manners are not laws or rules, they are suggestions–propositions for behaviour to help grease the wheel of the great social machine. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Brummell & Beau–Manners for Millionaires (1900)

Posted in Brummell and Beau, Etiquette, Funny (ha ha), Laura Burhenn, Neil Young, Rick James, The Mynabirds, The Mynah Birds, Tiny Desk Concert on September 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

mannersmillionSOUNDTRACK: THE MYNABIRDS-Tiny Desk Concert #64 (June 21, 2010).

mynabrodI wish I liked The Mynabirds a bit more than I do, especially after hearing the origin story of the band’s name.  Laura Burhenn says she wanted to create a band that was sort of like Neil Young playing Motown.  She toyed with the name Myna and came up with The Mynabirds and then found out that in the 1960s Neil Young and Rick James had made music together for Motown under the name The Mynah Birds.  Cool.

Burnhenn has a sultry kind of voice, which is nice.  But I don’t really like Motown, so the “ooh la la” in the verses and the whole sound of the chorus of “Numbers Don’t Lie” is not my thing.

I prefer the second song “Let the Record Go” which is a bit faster and more rocking (and I like the oh’s at the end of each verse much more).  The final song is by request from Bob.  It’s the lead off track from the album “What We Gained in the Fire.”  It’s a slow broody opener with interesting lyrics.  It has a R&B feel and is a fine song.

It’s possible that I am confusing them with someone else, but I thought the band was more folky, so this was a little disappointing to me (although they are clearly very good).

[READ: June 19, 2015] Manners for Millionaires

I saw this book at work and thought it sounded really funny.  A 1900 British book about millionaires?  With that obvious pseudonym?

The opening prefatory note says that “the coloured plates specially prepared for this volume had at the last moment to be omitted owing to the unfortunate indisposition of the Academician employed, but rather than disappoint the Public we have inserted instead a few specimen woodcuts from a forthcoming treatise on British Fishes.”

Great, so, silly, nonsensical fun, right?

Well, the problem for me with this book is that it supposes you know a lot about wealth and the aristocracy of England circa 1900.  Gah.  I’m not even exactly sure who the intended audience was for this book. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Nina MacDonald–Wartime Nursery Rhymes: A First World War Collection (1918)

Posted in Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Jimmy Cliff, Nina MacDonald, Nursery Rhymes, Poetry, Propaganda, Tiny Desk Concert, World War I on September 3, 2015| 1 Comment »

rhymesSOUNDTRACK: JIMMY CLIFF-Tiny Desk Concert #68 (July 12, 2010).

cliffJimmy Cliff is a treasure in reggae music.  Although I recently leaned that despite his Jamaican heritage and reggae connections, he actually does more than reggae music.  As in this Tiny Desk where Cliff (wearing some amazing glasses) sings and plays acoustic guitar in a more folk-like style.

he plays three songs–two are from the 70s and one in brand new.

“Sitting in Limbo” is classic song that sounds more like a folk song than a reggae song (although the original didn’t sound all that reggae, actually).

“I Got to Move On” is a new song about the present (the present is a gift, that’s why it’s called present).  The simple structure and Cliff’s vocal tone reminds me a bit of “Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

“You Can Get It If You Really Want” is another Cliff classic, instantly recognizable, but somehow sounding more profound with Cliff’s older voice singing it.

I can’t say that I listen to a lot of Jimmy Cliff, but this was a nice sampler of his positive vibe.

[READ: August 31, 2015] Wartime Nursery Rhymes

I love getting these unexpected reprints.  This is a collection of nursery rhymes that were created in 1918.  I don’t know who Nina MacDonald was (there is a foreword, but it doesn’t give any context), but I gather that she is the author of all of these pieces.

And so MacDonald has taken familiar (and unfamiliar to me, although perhaps they were common in England before the first world war?) nursery rhymes and songs and modified them for patriotic use–presumably among children.

There are renditions of all manner of nursery rhymes: “O Dear, What Can the Matter Be?” “Simple Simon”

Or this one of “Little Miss Muffet” (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Mad World of Sign Language: Adventures in Unfortunate English from the Readers of The Telegraph (2014)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Photo Essays, Tarrus Riley, The Telegraph, Tiny Desk Concert on September 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

madlangSOUNDTRACK: TARRUS RILEY-Tiny Desk Concert #59 (May 11, 2010).

tarrusTarrus Riley is a reggae singer with a delicate voice.  His accompanists are a guitarist and a sax player (on a cheesey sounding alto sax–although somehow it works).  And while the music is still quite reggae in style, it doesn’t sound too much like reggae–perhaps the light guitar strumming removes the backbeat?

So these three songs feel a bit more like pop.

“It Will Come (A Musician’s Life Story)” is a funny, but serious song from a woman to her musician boyfriend.  She has lots of complaints “Why don’t you get a job” “do you mind telling your plans to the landlord?” and he tries to explain how music is his work,

“Lion’s Paw” is not so much about the strength of his belief in Jah as it is about the strength of Jah’s belief in him.  He seems very happy and joyful during the song (sometimes drifting away from the mic while dancing).

“She’s Royal” is a pro-women song.  It’s the most pop sounding of the three.

I’m not a huge fan of reggae, but this is a good collection of sweet, positive songs.

[READ: August 30, 2015] The Mad World of Sign Language

This is a goofy collection of bad English on signs across the world.  It turns out that this is the fourth collection of said signs all generated by readers of the British newspaper The Telegraph.

This book is set up geographically.  They begin in The Americas, then on to UK & Ireland, The Mediterranean, Africa, Middle East, India, China, and end in South East Asia and Australasia.

Now I love this kind of thing, but there were a lot of pictures in this book that were mildly amusing at best.  (Could the fourth collection mean diminishing returns?).  Since this is a UK book there is a lot of mirth at British slang which other countries wouldn’t know anything about–which is kind of unfair, right?).  Anyhow, the signs are funny in a very limited way. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »