Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Nikita Khrushchev’ Category

Nick Abadzis–Laika (2007)

Posted in Death, Dogs, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Laika, Nick Abadzis, Nikita Khrushchev, Outer Space, Rana Santacruz, Russia, Scientists, Sergei Pavlovich, Tiny Desk Concert on November 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

  laikaSOUNDTRACK: RANA SANTACRUZ–Tiny Desk Concert #88 (November 2, 2010).

ranaThis is a fascinating Tiny Desk that was posted exactly five years ago as a way to celebrate the Day of the Dead.  Rana Santacruz plays ranchero music.  I did not know what to expect from ranchero music but to me there is a very bluegrass feel.  There is a banjo and a fiddle!  And then there’s trumpet and Santacruz’ accordion playing and Spanish lyrics.

The first song “Tacho El Gacho” begins with horns and has a kind of mariachi feel (Santacruz is dressed like a mariachi), but the song soon switches to that bluegrass feel and is very fun.

He introduces the next song by saying “The next song is called ‘Death.'”   And they play a ten second piece.  They laugh and joke that the real next song is “Dejala Entrar” about a sailor who leaves with death willingly  because of his happy life.  The chorus: “open the door let her in, death herself is here to pick me up.”  This one is like a sea shanty.

The third song is “El Funeral De Tacho” which has more trumpet and feels more mariachi in the opening.

He jokes about all their death songs but says that their songs that deal with death are happy ones.  And indeed, “El Ranchero Punk” feels like a real hootenanny.   The bass player even plays drums on the bass.

I enjoyed this set a lot, and even not really knowing what he was singing about, I totally got into the songs.

[READ: July 7, 2015] Laika

If you know who Laika is, you know that this is not going to be a happy story.  If you don’t know who Laika is, shame on you.  Laika was the first living creature shot into orbit.  She did not survive but she has become legend.

Abdzis has done a ton of research into Laika and the communist/American space race of the 1950s and 60s.  And he has created a wonderfully researched and nicely detailed account of the life of Laika and the people who handled her (and the women who loved her).

The story opens on a man walking through the snow. He has just been released from the gulag and is walking to the nearest town (in freezing weather).  It is Sergei Pavlovich, the future creator of Sputnik (he was falsely accused of treason).  And as the first chapter ends we see his success–Sputnik was the first satellite launched into orbit.  And we see that Nikita Khrushchev wants another satellite in one month. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Peter Carlson–K Blows Top (2009)

Posted in Alexisonfire, Attack Attack!, Communists, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Culture Shock, Drinking, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Fears, Free Speech, Funny (ha ha), History, Military, Nikita Khrushchev, Peter Carlson, Religion, Translators on September 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ATTACK ATTACK!-“Stick Stickly” (2010).

I discovered this video (again, considerably later than the controversy for it) because my friend Rich said he didn’t know there was a genre called “crabcore.”  A search for crabcore suggests that it is a goof “genre” named specifically for this band and the goofy way they dance around.

This song starts with very heavy riffing and some growls and screaming and then jumps quickly into an auto-tuned very catchy chorus (they sound like a more polished and poppy version of Alexisonfire).

Then comes the verses which are screamed very loudly and heavily followed by a bridge (?) that is even more cookie monster-vocals like (with a strange cartoon effect thrown at the end of each line of the chorus).  It’s almost like commercial death metal, and I kind of liked it.  They’re pushing boundaries

Then there’s more chugga chugga heavy riffing and the song is reaching the end and then WHAT? the songs shifts gears into a keyboard fueled discoey dance song.  First it’s hi energy and then it slows into a mellow auto-tuned bit that proceeds to the end.

What the hell?  I’m all for a band pushing the boundaries of genres, but holy cow.  And just to add one more gimmick, they’re a Christian band as well (although you’d never know from the lyrics, whatever the hell he’s singing about).  This is no “Jesus is My Friend,” let me tell you.

So yea, I don’t really know what to make of it. The video makes me laugh with their all black outfits and synchronized everything–and that may be why they have replaced it with a new video which is much more boring.  I assume they’re just anther trendy band that will disappear soon enough (there’s a lot of snarky fun at their expense at this definition of “crabcore“).

I don’t have a clue what the title is supposed to mean, nor half of their other titles on the album: “Fumbles O’Brian” “Renob, Nevada.”  I listened to some samples of the other songs and they seem far more dancey/discoey than death metal, so I’m not really sure what’s up with the rest of the record.

But whatever.  In the meantime, enjoy the silly video

[READ: July–September 10, 2010] K Blows Top

I heard about this book through a great interview on NPR in June of 2009.  It sounded like a really funny book and I was seriously considering reading it.  Of course, then I forgot about it.

About 8 months later, the library received a huge donation of books, and this was right on top, just begging me to read it.  So, I saved it for myself and decided it was about time to crack it open.  Several months after that I finally opened it and was totally hooked.

I didn’t know much about Khrushchev before reading this.  I knew vaguely about “the shoe” incident, but that was it.  In fact, the whole beginning of the cold war era was a bit of a mystery to me.  Since I lived through Reagan, I never felt compelled to find out what had caused the 80s.

But I’m super glad that I read this.  The book follows Khrushchev’s visits to the United States when he was premiere of  the Soviet Union. Carlson combed through tons of newspaper reports about his visit here (ostensibly to visit with Eisenhower, but more just to enjoy himself in the American heartland), and pulls together a fascinating story from a number of sources.

But more than just an interesting look at history, this book is very funny. (more…)

Read Full Post »