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Archive for the ‘Romance’ Category

Jamie S. Rich & Marc Ellerby–Love the Way You Love Side B: “Songs of Devotion”

Posted in Arcade Fire, Belle and Sebastian, Books about music, British Sea Power, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jamie S. Rich, LGBTQ, Marc Ellerby, Oni Press, Romance, YA Books on January 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BRITISH SEA POWER-Do You Like Rock Music? (2008).

I’ve heard a lot about British Sea Power over the years, and I’ve enjoyed their smarty-pants attitudes.  I think that their first album is most highly recommended.  But I was able to get this disc with an autographed booklet from my favorite record store of all time, the long-missed (since they have no locations near me) Newbury Comics.  So I tried them out.

I can’t speak for their earlier discs, but I’m surprised by how much this disc reminds me of The Arcade Fire, which is odd given their Britrock pedigrees.  It opens with “All In It” which sounds like it could be an Arcade Fire outtake.  And as the rest of the disc continues, I found myself hearing bits and pieces of other bands.  I couldn’t put my finger on anything specific, but I kept thinking, ‘hey, that sounds like–.”

The biggest problem I had with the disc was that even after a few listens, most of it didn’t stick with me.  There were definitely moments where things really stood out (chanting choruses and whatnot), but overall, I kind of felt a lack of anything special.

The album closes with “We Close Our Eyes” which is a reprise of sorts of the awesome opening track.  Whereas the first track is 2 minutes, this one is 8, and it has lots of silences or quiet sound effects and it ultimately ends with a similar chant to the beginning.  But by the time that kicks back in, you’re just sort of annoyed by it.

I wish I could use that as a metaphor for the disc, but I can’t.  I enjoyed some of it, and didn’t dislike any of it really, but it doesn’t make me want to rush out and get their first album, even if it is supposed to be much better (and actually rather different).  I just wanted this disc to be better.

[READ: January 23, 2010] Love the Way You Love: Side B

I really enjoyed part A of this story.  And, at the end of that review, I had asked if Jamie S. Rich had recorded any of the Like a Dog songs.  Jamie wrote back to say that “Love the Way You Love” is available, on MySpace.  Now, I only wish he had included the wonderfully scalding punk B side, “Mighty Joe Marxism” that is featured in this second book.

But back to the story.

When we left off in Book A, Tristan has successfully wooed Isobel away from the evil record producer, Marcus King.  And he had successfully signed his band Like a Dog to a righteous indie label.

But all is now not well.  Marcus has pulled strings and caused a huge backlash on Like A Dog.  No clubs will book them and no distributors will carry their soon-to-be recorded first single.  And Isobel feels responsible for Tristan’s sadness.  This becomes even more apparent when Marcus basically says that he’ll lift the ban if Isobel goes back out with him. (more…)

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Jan Van Meter, Andi Watson, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Christine Norrie & Chynna Clugston-Major–Hopeless Savages: Ground Zero (2003)

Posted in Andi Watson, Books about music, Boredom, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Christine Norris, Chynna Clugston-Major, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jan Van Meter, LGBTQ, Marriage (Happy), Oni Press, Punks, Romance, Set at School, Tom Waits, YA Books on January 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK:  TOM WAITS-Glitter and Doom Live (2009).

Sarah bought me Tom Waits’s 3 disc collection for Christmas last year and I was sure it would be another Waits Xmas since this was nicely timed for an under the tree gift.  But no!  I had to buy this one myself (she says she forgot, but as punishment I may just make her listen to this one).

It’s a two disc set.  The first is a collection of live tracks from all over the world (well actually Birmingham, Edinburgh, Tulsa, Knoxville, Milan, Jacksonville, Paris, Dublin, Atlanta and Columbus–a strange Western Europe-Southern U.S. Tour, apparently).

I’ve never seen Tom live, although I have seen videos from Big Time.  And this is the first batch of live tracks I’ve heard in these latter days of his career.  And I have to say he sounds great.  The gravel in his throat is thick and gritty, yet he still hits all the notes.   And while his studio tracks are full of all kinds of cool instrumentation and embellishments, the spare live band (who sound fantastic) shows that his songs are great even without the bells and whistles.

The funny thing to me is how “Dirt in the Ground” an older song that I love sounds so very different, even though Tom’s voice isn’t all that different.  Of course, he plays some even older tracks that are totally reworked. And they sound great, too.  This all keeps the tracks fluid and seamless, and while the older tracks wouldn’t sound dated anyhow, it makes them all sound new.

Disc Two is a 35 minute track called “Tom’s Tales.”  It is a spliced together “story” of all the interstitial talking bits that Tom throws into his shows.  There’s jokes, there’s stories, there’s nonsense, and it’s all good fun.  For all his dour music, he;s quite a funny performer.  It’ll probably get one or two plays at most, but it’s certainly fun to listen to.

I just read a review of the disc that complains about the separation of music and talk.  And I see the critic’s point: cutting out the banter removes an essential part of Tom’s shows, while having all the talking bits together kind of dooms that disc to be listened to only once or twice.

While I agree with the sentiment, I’m not sure about the musical disc lacking something without the banter.  While it would be fun to have it in there, there is something nice about having just the music.  (And of course, there is one tale tacked on like an encore break (and one song at the end of the music disc, too).  It keeps the flow very solid and makes for an excellent song collection.

It’s a great place to find out what Tom has been up to on the last half dozen or so albums.

[READ: January 17, 2010] Ground Zero

Trade paperback #2 of Hopeless Savages collects the entire second series, with a few extras thrown in (and a very nice introduction).  And while I enjoyed the first series, Ground Zero is leaps and bounds more sophisticated and satisfying.  Even the title is a pun, what with Zero, the youngest Hopeless-Savage being grounded for most of the story.

The main focus is Zero’s burgeoning romance.  She is mostly off the boys at her school (typical comment: Your name is Skank, you must be easy), until she meets a boy in her science class who totally impresses her.  He’s named Ginger, after Ginger Baker, nice touch there.  And in a flashback we learn that although she hasn’t paid him any attention, he has loved her for years since their first accidental meeting.

I’m going to quote from Andrew Wheeler’s introduction because he sums up exactly what I think of the story: “It tells us that the most courageous thing of all is simply to fall in love.  The bravest thing to do is to place your heart in someone else’s hand.”  And that hits the nail on the head.  Pretty good for a comic book. (more…)

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J. Torres & Eric Kim–Love as a Foreign Language Volume 2 (2007)

Posted in Arcade Fire, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Blonde Redhead, Cat Power, Conor Oberst, Culture Shock, Eric Kim, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, J. Torres, My Morning Jacket, Oni Press, Paul Westerberg, Riceboy Sleeps, Romance, Set at School, Sigur Rós, Spoon, Stuart Murdoch, The New Pornographers, The Replacements, TV on the Radio on January 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT-That Disc (2009).

The second disc in this set is a somewhat more raucous affair than the first (which was pretty much all acoustic performances).  On the surface, this seemed like the better disc of the two.  I like so many bands on this disc: Spoon, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers, Stuart Murdoch, Blonde Redhead.

And the disc starts out really great. The Spoon track, “Well Alright” may just be my favorite song on the whole compilation.  The Arcade Fire are typically great.  Beirut, whom I’d not heard before have a great track and My Morning Jacket’s song is very good, in a mellow sort of way.

From there, though, the disc kind of goes downhill. The Sharon Jones track is okay.  Dave Sitek’s (of TV on the Radio whom I love) track is fine.  It’s very basic, especially for him.  It has grown on me somewhat, but it’s nothing too exciting.  The New Pornographers track is catchy but nothing amazing.  Even the Stuart Murdoch (who has never done a bad track) song is mild at best.

But Riceboy Sleeps, which is a side project from the amazing Sigur Rós just kills the disc in its tracks.  The thing about Sigur Rós is that if you’re not in the mood for them, they are too ponderous by half.  So, in the midst of these kind of rocking songs, this 9 minutes ambient instrumental is just death.  And, it’s followed by a dreadful version of “amazing Grace” by the usually delightful Cat Power.

And then comes the Conor Oberst song.  This is the second song by him that I’ve listened to in a short period of time (the other was on Future Soundtrack of America).  And I just don’t get this guy’s appeal.  I feel like I must be a crotchety old man thinking this but I’ll say it: he sounds like a total knockoff of Paul Westerberg.  And the weird thing is, he sounds like a 19 year old P.W. singing the songs of the middle-aged P.W.  “Lua,” the track on here has some clever wordplay, but the melody of the song is pretty much note for note of The Replacements “Sadly Beautiful.”

And at this point in the disc I never even give Blonde Redhead and Kevin Drew a fair chance.

Track sequence means a lot, and I fear they do a disservice to the disc on this one.  I’m still a fan of Disc One and there’s a number of great tracks on Disc Two, but I was rather disappointed by this one.

[READ: December 22, 2009] Love as a Foreign Language Vol. 2

This volume concludes this engaging romance from Oni Press.

I was a little concerned as the volume opened because the Joel-Hana budding romance is derailed by a couple of silly misunderstandings.  (I was afraid we were heading towards TV-slapstick territory).  But, they proved to be just a few moments of comic relief in what was heading into a pretty emotional conclusion.

There’s also the sudden realization/crisis that his fellow teacher, the fun and flirty British woman also has a thing for Joel (what’s a guy to do with two women into him?  And realistically a British romance seems more feasible than a Korean one). (more…)

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Jamie S. Rich & Marc Ellerby–Love the Way You Love Side A

Posted in Books about music, Canadian Music, CBC Radio 2, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jamie S. Rich, Marc Ellerby, Oni Press, Rheostatics, Romance, Short Story, YA Books on December 31, 2009| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Nightline Sessions (1998).

This is a fascinating document for any Rheostatics fan.  I wound up buying it at the same time as Double Live, even though I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because it was really cheap.

And what it is is a night of the Rheostatics playing on the final night of the CBC Radio show Nightlines.  The notes state that the host of the show had been a huge fan for years and had tried to get the band on a few times.  He ultimately decided that they would be the prefect guest for the final show of the series.

It opens fairly seriously with some very simply orchestrated (guitars, bass, drums) versions of Rheos songs: “The Junction Foil Ball” would be recorded officially on Night of the Shooting Stars.  And “Stolen Car” only otherwise available on Double Live, absolutely kicks in this version.

The bulk of the disc is the Rheos fooling around in the studio. There’s some improv, there’s some tape manipulation, there’s a lengthy rap (“Trans Jam”), there’s Bidini being silly on the mike (“This is Nightlines”) and even a quaint little ditty, “Henry’s Musical Beard.”

I’m not sure if an album has ever been released that was so specifically just for fans of a band.  And not even casual fans, but die-hards who would enjoy hearing the band goofing off.  The “proper” tracks are definitely enjoyable, but there’s a lot of nonsense here (okay, yes, some of it is quite funny).

[READ: December 24, 2009] Love the Way You Love: Side A

I’ve always liked Jamie Rich’s stories.  He’s written some full-on fiction in addition to his comics.  And they’re both solid, romantic works.  Ellerby’s drawing style is rather cartoony (big eyes and often outlandish hair, but it works in context).  This is especially so since this story is about teens/post-teens and rock bands.

This book collects the first three (of six) volumes of this series.

The plot is fairly straightforward: Tristan is lead singer of the band Like a Dog.  The band is on the verge of breaking big and the labels guys are on the prowl. One particular label guy is drooling to get his hands on Like a Dog.

At about the same time, Tristan saw the woman of his dreams at the airport. She then showed up at that evening’s Like a Dog gig.  Tristan is blissed until he learns that Isobel, for that is her name, is engaged to the same awful label guy.  Boo.  (more…)

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Kim Dong Hwa–The Color of Earth (2003)

Posted in 19th Century, Big Books, Dreams, First Second :01, Food, Foreign Books, Graphic Novel, Humiliation, Kim Dong Hwa, Kiss, Manhwa, Nature, Romance, Trilogy, YA Books on December 29, 2009| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Hotter Than Hell (1974).

Kiss’s second album came out just 7 months after their debut (which explains why it is less than half an hour long).

In my mind the album sounds different because it is somehow Japanese (I mean the cover is something of an indicator).  But it’s not Asian in any way.  Although, the album definitely sounds different than the debut and it’s clearly a recording style choice.

But this is one of the beloved early Kiss albums and I love every track, even the really crazy ones (“Goin’ Blind” is about a 93 year-old man lusting after a 16 year-old girl(!)).

The album starts with the crazily poppy “Got to Choose” complete with whoo hoo hoos in the chorus.  It’s followed by the blistering “Parasite” a fantastic fast riff with some cool vocal tricks at the end of each verse.  “Goin’ Blind” also features some cool slow riffs that are quite distinctive.  The title track & “Let Me Go, Rock n’ Roll” are pretty well known, and “Let Me Go” was played for many years live.

The second side is a bit more odd and seems to showcase Peter a lot more.  “All the Way” is a poppy Gene track and I’m not entirely sure what it’s all about (surprisingly not that “all the way” since “one of these days you’ll push me all the way”).  “Watchin’ You” is a great, dark song which has a really cool cowbell-fueled midsection, and gives Peter a great workout on drums.  “Mainline” is Peter’s poppy vocal track (like really poppy), while “Comin’ Home” is a Paul-sung song about (sort of like “100,000 Years”) returning home to his beloved.  “Strange Ways” is Peter’s other contribution.  This one is dark and really quite cool, with an awesomely wild, freaky guitar solo from Ace.

It’s something of an overlooked record, which is a shame as there’s some good stuff on it.

[READ: December 21, 2009] The Color of Earth

This is my first manhwa comic and I adore it.  Manhwa is (if I may be offensively simplistic) basically Korean manga (at least it is often marketed that way).  However, there are many many differences in style and tone.  And, if this manhwa is in any way representative of them all, (and of course it isn’t, but we can simplify) they are gorgeous!

Sarah received this trilogy of books by Kim Dong Hwa (The Color of Earth, The Color of Water, The Color of Heaven) and after reading this first one, I’m really excited about the rest.

The story is very simple: it follows the growth and development of Ehwa from age 7 to age 15 as she matures in a Korean village several generations ago.  The setting is extremely rural, and there are almost no amenities to be seen.  Ehwa’s father died when she was very young, so she lives with her mother in their tiny house.

Her mother owns an inn, and she must tolerate the crude comments and innuendos of her drunken customers.  Unfortunately for Ehwa, she learns a lot about the world from what she hears there.  She also gets an education from the village boys, who are foolish and impetus as little boys are (asking her why she doesn’t have a penis, and, later, to show them her persimmon seed). (more…)

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J. Torres & Eric Kim–Love as a Foreign Language Volume 1 (2006)

Posted in Bon Iver, Boredom, Culture Shock, David Byrne, Dirty Projectors, Eric Kim, Feist, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, J. Torres, José González, Kronos Quartet, Romance, Set at School, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, The National on December 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT: This Disc (2009).

This compilation was released to benefit the Red Hot organization, who raises money to fight AIDS.  I’ve gotten about a half dozen or so of their compilations over the years (and was surprised to see that they have released about 2o of them!).

This collection is a two disc set of contemporary cutting edge indie rock bands.  And, when it came out it was definitely billed as a who’s who of cool.  The first disc is more or less an acoustic/folky collection of songs.  While that’s not entirely true, the discs are more or less broken down that way.  The artists include David Byrne & The Dirty Projectors, Jose Gonzales, Feist (on two tracks), Bon Iver, The National (a band I don’t know but whose song I love) and Iron & Wine.

Probably the coolest song of the disc (although not my favorite) is Kronos Quartet’s take on Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark was the Night.”  For years, Kronos has been interpreting rock and other genre songs to fit into their string quartet style.  And this song sounds amazing.  I’ve no idea what they’re doing, but they turn their standard quartet instruments: violin, cello, etc into really cool blues sounding strings (even a slide guitar at one point).  It’s really amazing.  As I said it’s not my favorite track, but it sounds great.

The Decembersists contribute a 7 minute song (that I believe is new as I don’t recognize it).  It’s very good, but it seems like the kind of song that normally would have had a lot of effects/orchestration on it.  And this is an acoustic rendition, so it sounds more sparse than I would think.  It’s still very good though.

Finally, the disc ends with the weirdest track, an 11 minute freak out by Sufjan Stevens.  Every time you think it’s going to end, it morphs into a new instrument which continues the track.  It works well as a soundscape, although it’s a bit tedious in comparison to the rest of the disc which is largely concise acoustic gems.

Disc one is a great collection of tracks, and the overall style works well together.  It’s a very worthy collection of songs and it’s for a good cause.

[READ: December 18, 2009] Love as a Foreign Language 1

This graphic novel is the kind of great romance story that I’ve come to expect from Oni.  It is clever, it is funny, it plays games with pop culture and, of course, the writing and art are fantastic.

Joel is a Canadian living in Korea teaching English to native Koreans.  The book opens with the 4 H’s of culture shock: The honeymoon (you love the place), the horror (you hate the place), the humor (you accept the place and its flaws) and the home (you see yourself living there).  Joel is clearly in the horror stage.  He hates everything about Korea, especially the food. Joel has a few months left on his contract but he wants to get out of it and just go home. (more…)

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Ian Shaughnessy & Mike Holmes–Shenanigans (2007)

Posted in Aceyalone, Animal Collective, Beat Konducta, Busy Signal, Concept Albums, Dirty Projectors, Drinking, Googoosh, Graphic Novel, Humiliation, Ian Shaughnessy, Le Mysterè des Voix Bulgares, Mike Holmes, Oni Press, Romance, Short Books, The Believer, Unlikable main character on December 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer July/August 2008 Music Issue Compilation CD: The Volatile But Symbiotic Relationship of Mabel and Anabel (2008).

The previous Believer CD expanded the palette of music by introducing a lot of hard-edged bands.  But this CD smashes any complaints about one-dimensionality.  It is designed around a concept of “world” music which they have designated as MABEL (Musicians of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage) and ANABEL (Artists Not of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage).

The internet has introduced a huge amount of ANABEL music to MABEL musicians.  And this has led to Western musicians experimenting with very different musical styles.

The problem, such as it is, with this disc is that it is comprised almost entirely of ANABEL songs.  So, although the disc is designed to show the influences of these artists there’s not a whole lot of tracks that show the western bands using them.  (In fairness, you can only do so much with 72 minutes).  And yes, there are a number of clearly MABEL artists here: Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors.

However, as an introduction to a few cultures’ worth of music, it’s pretty great.  I admit that I don’t love every song on this disc.  But after a few listens I’ve really grown to appreciate these tracks from Iran, Jamaica (dancehall), India and Bulgaria.

Some artists that really impressed me were: Googoosh, and her traditional Iranian track from the 70s.  Enemble Pirin, a subset of the Le Mysterè des Voix Bulgares (whom I’ve liked for years).  And Beat Konducta.  It also introduced me to Aceyalone, who I’ve heard of but never listened to.  And I really enjoyed the superfast rapping in the start of Busy Signal’s track.

I wouldn’t listen to this disc a lot, but it would be fun to throw a track or two from this on a mix CD and see how well it fit.

The track listing is here.

[READ: December 15, 2009] Shenanigans

I usually really enjoy the slice of life/romancey comics from Oni Press.  But I have some major gripes with this one.

The art is pretty cool.  I’m intrigued by the fact that the pupils of the characters are white (like L i’l Orphan Annie).  I found it very disconcerting at first, but once I got used to it, I rather liked it.  And the characters were always very expressive.

It’s the story that I have a problem with. (more…)

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Ian McEwan–“The Use of Poetry” (New Yorker, December 7, 2009)

Posted in Colin Meloy, Constantines, Death Cab For Cutie, Ian McEwan, New Yorker, Romance, Sex, Short Story, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, The Believer, The Mountain Goats, The Walkmen, TV on the Radio, Universities, War on December 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer June 2004 Music Issue CD (2004).

Every year since 2004, The Believer magazine has published a Music Issue which comes with a CD.

I recently received the 2009 CD, but I thought it might be fun to go back through the previous ones and see what kind of music they put on them since the beginning.  I was delighted to see how many bands I like now that I was either introduced to or SHOULD have been introduced to by these discs.

The inaugural issue was a fantastic collection of then-underground alt-rock (the issue also featured interviews with a few of the artists–you can see the Colin Meloy interview here).

The collection contains all previously released songs (I think).  But for me it was a great introduction to a number of bands that I didn’t know: The Walkmen, The Mountain Goats, Ted Leo + Pharmacists.  It also contained a new release by a band I did know, The Constantines.   And, this was my introduction to a band that turned out to be one of my new favorites: Death Cab for Cutie.

There’s a lot of great songs on here, and it would make a great hanging-out-at-a-party-with-friends soundtrack.  There’s not a lot of diversity on the disc which is a bit of  a bummer (although it’s good for a mellow party).  However, the 19 second blast of “You Got the Right” by the Tiny Hawks does break things up a bit.

But with a great collection of songs it would be wrong to complain.  For a complete listing (and another review) check out this page.

[READ: December 9, 2009] “The Use of Poetry”

Ian McEwan writes fantastically engaging stories about relatively simple things, oftentimes relationships.  And he has these relationships so well sussed out that a simple six-page story like this can pack in a ton of humanity.

In a post some time ago I wrote about how World War II affected Britain much more than it affected the U.S.  And, how artists of a certain age have found great drama from the war.  This story is no exception.  Except that the war veteran is not the main character.  But I loved this summary of the main character’s dad, the typical “stoic British man.”

Like many men of his generation, he did not speak of his experiences and he relished the ordinariness of postwar life, its tranquil routines, its tidiness and rising material well-being, and above all, its lack of danger–everything that would later appear stifling to those born in the first years of the peace.

That’s an amazing encapsulation of a generation of men.  And it rings very true to me.  But what’s more amazing is that that description is not even about the main character Michael, it’s about his dad, Henry. (more…)

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Donald Barthelme–“The Balloon” from Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts (1968)

Posted in Consumerism, Donald Barthelme, Funny (strange), Romance, Short Story on December 2, 2009| 3 Comments »

actsMy original post for this story is largely correct (aside from the fact that the first version I read was lacking the final four paragraphs!)  And so I’m posting it here, but I’ll make changes as necessary:

In the story, a man inflates a huge irregularly shaped balloon in Manhattan.  It takes up several city blocks and, in places, it rests against the skyscrapers.

And that’s it.

Well, not exactly.  The story is about people’s reactions to this enormous thing that takes up the entire sky but about which there is no explanation.  The narrator states that people might have felt better about it if it had an ad or a “message” on the side, but no, his balloon is just soothing earth tone colors.

The story doesn’t end, exactly.  It just sort of stops. [THAT WOULD BE WRONG!]  But the discussion of people and their attitudes and reactions is certainly interesting and says as much about the author as it does about the narrator.  Most critics agree that the story is something of a metaphor for his own art, and that is pretty obvious to see.

Okay, so as I noted, a man inflates a balloon in New York City.  He does it in the middle of the night so when people wake up the balloon is just there, with no explanation.  And it is a large balloon, taking up many many streets.  It reaches up to building tops and kids play on and under the balloon.  But mostly people seem to wonder about it.

One thing I enjoyed about the story is the absolutely innocent nature of it.  I was trying to imagine such a thing as this story happening in 2009, and realizing that you could never do it.  You could never even propose a balloon aloft in the city with no explanation.  Security would be way too intense, and people simply wouldn’t stand for the mystery.

But in 1968, this premise (even if absurd) is delightful.

Now that I have actually finished the story (and yes, I’m still annoyed that this version online was incomplete but somehow passed off as a complete story) my opinion of the ending is radically different.  It doesn’t “just stop.”  In fact, we (the readers) learn why the balloon was inflated (although the citizens of New York do not).  The narrator inflated the balloon for twenty-two days because his beloved was away.  And such a charming and surprisingly sentimental reason is delightful given the analytical nature of the bulk of the story.

This now being my third reading of the story, I find it very engaging.  And I can easily see why it is considered one of his best.

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Steven Heighton–“Noughts and Crosses: An unsent reply” (The Walrus, November 2009)

Posted in Canadian Content, Kate Bush, Language, Marriage Trouble, Meta, Romance, Short Story, Steven Heighton, The Walrus on November 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK:KATE BUSH-The Sensual World (2009).

It was three years between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love.  And this time it took four years for The Sensual World to come out.  This was the first Kate disc that I bought as it came out.  And I was such a huge fan of Hounds, that I was really quite excited about this release.

Kate has always been fairly forthcoming about sex/sensuality on her songs (even if it was metaphorical, the metaphors weren’t really labored).  So, the fact that she’s putting it all out there is not much of a surprise.  And yet, to me this seems like a much more explicit work than her earlier ones  (an older songwriter perhaps?).

The other thing that strikes me about the album is just how accessible it is.  Unlike her previous discs which featured flourishes and howls, headphone tricks and other show offy tactics (which I totally love), this disc comes across as a songwriter who is more confident in her songs so she doesn’t have to put frills on them.

I have a fndeness for this disc because it was the first one I bought as a fan, but I don’t listen to it all that much.  When I played it again, I had forgotten how much I liked it.  And, yes, I miss all the tricks and cool studio fun on this disc, but the songwriting makes up for it.

The opener “The Sensual World” is, yes, a very sensual song (with the “Mmmmmyessses” every line or so).  The second track, “Love and Anger” is a great, freewheeling Kate track.  The younger Kate would have had crazy wild fun with it, but the more mature Kate plays it fairly straight.  And it really showcases what a great song it is.

As “The Fog” opens, she says, “I’m all grown up now” (and there’s no headphone tricks accompanying it).  That seems to be a statement about the disc itself.  But, just so you know it’s npt a totally safe disc, “The Fog” has a wonderful otherworldly violin running through it.

The one thing that stand out on the disc, though is how rocking it is (relative to Kate, of course).   The guitars on about half of the songs quite loud and raucous.  And Kate is clearly having a lot of fun with the songs.

But there are some mellow songs as well.  “Reaching Out” begins as a delicate piano ballad (although it is full of some wild ethereal backing vocals) but it also builds to a louder chorus and finish.  “Deeper Understanding” is an interesting song in which she sings about a computer (which I thought would sound really dated twenty years later but which doesn’t).

“Never BE Mine” sounds like Kate of old (ah, fretless bass).  While “Rocket’s Tail” showcases the gorgeous sounds of the Bulgarian Choir, who would assist her on many future tracks as well.  The choir seems to take on a lot of the strange vocals that Kate herself used to perform. But they have an oddness of inflection that makes it sound otherworldly.  It also has the unmistakable sounds of a David Gilmour guitar solo.

The highlight has to be “This Woman’s Work.”  When all is said and done, Kate’s voice is what any fan comes back for.  This song is a simple piano based ballad.  Kate’s voice is clean and pure and rather magical.  And the emotional release as the song nears its end is phenomenal.

The Sensual World is an overlooked disc (its regular price on Amazon is $7).  And while it doesn’t have all of the flair and magic of Kate at her wildest records, the stripped down version of Kate is pretty wonderful too.

[READ: November 15, 2009] “Noughts and Crosses”

It took me a few paragraphs to realize what was going on in this story and then I liked it even more.

The story opens with an email.  Several of the words are in bold.  The email, from j to n, is a break-up letter.  It’s sort of generic and doesn’t really reveal all that much.  But the rest of the story is a reply to each of the bolded words of the email.

As n replies (presumably in her head, although it could also be written even if it is never sent) we learn more and more about the two of them and their relationship. The parties involved, the promises told and the little giveaways that show that the relationship was over long before this email (a breakup by email!) was sent. (more…)

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