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Archive for the ‘Set at School’ Category

Chang-Rae Lee–“Immovable Feast” (New Yorker, November 3, 2014)

Posted in Chang-Rae Lee, Essays, Food, New Yorker, Oysterhead, Set at School, Tiny Desk Concert, Trey Anastasio on January 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

nov3SOUNDTRACK: TREY ANASTASIO-Tiny Desk Concert #414 (January 5, 2015).

treyI’m introducing this delightful little Tiny Desk Concert here because Trey Anastasio joined up with Les Claypool and Stewart Copeland for the band Oysterhead, coming up next.

Anastasio is the lead singer and guitarist of Phish (and several side projects).  Because I tend to hear him amid the noise and jamming of Phish, it’s easy to forget that Trey has a very nice, delicate voice.  It’s also easy to forget amid all of his jamming guitar solos that he plays a lovely acoustic guitar as well.

He plays 3 songs in 12 minutes and is as affable as ever.

“Sleep Again” is a really pretty song.  In introducing the second song he says that he and his wife lived in a farmhouse in Vermont and listened to NPR all the time–the radio was tuned to Vermont Public Radio 24 hours a day.  And he says that NPR entertained his family for so many years that it’s an honor to do something for them.  This song, “Summer of ’89”  is a tribute to his 20th anniversary of being married to his wife Sue.  It’s quite lovely and moving.

He ends with a sweet version of “Backwards Down the Number Line,” one of my favorite new Phish songs.  I don’t think I ever quite realized what the lyrics were before.  I prefer the album version (mostly because of the gorgeous backing vocals) but this is a really nice version.

As they say in the write up, it’s interesting to hear him in this very quiet setting rather than in big arenas or in collaboration.

Check it out here.

[READ: January 20, 2014] “Immovable Feast”

This week’s issue of the New Yorker was its semi-annual food issue.  As such there were four food-related essays by writers who I’ve written about before.  The section was called “Rations.”

The third was by Chang-Rae Lee.

Lee talks about eating in the dorms at Phillips Exeter and how the food was universally disgusting.  [When I was in school there were rumors that the meals were consistently labelled Grade D But Edible (this from our food provider: ARA (which we named American Retards of America–such is the cleverness of college)).  Of course, now that I work at Princeton, I can report that the food here is outstanding.]

He offers one of my favorite quotes about dining ever: “You could fix yourself a basic salad or a bowl of cornflakes, but I always wanted hot food for dinner, and still do.  A cold supper for me is like being dipped in a melancholy sauce.” (more…)

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Charles Dickens–Christmas Stories [1-6] (1850-1853)

Posted in 19th Century, Charity, Charles Dickens, Christmas, Christmas Album, History, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, Set at School, Short Story on December 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

storiesSOUNDTRACK: CHRISTMAS: 16 Most Requested Songs (1992).

16This album features 16 “most requested” songs, but I don’t believe that they are the most requested versions of these songs.  These versions come from Colmbia’s back catalog and as such, none of them features any of the real Christmas heavy hitters.  Not that the version are bad, they’re pretty much all really good, they’re just not the “classic” versions.  Well, except for one or two.

GENE AUTRY-“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Starting with the “You know Dasher and Dancer” verse, this is a nice, traditional version of the song and one I don’t hear as much as I’d think I would.  DORIS DAY-“Here Comes Santa Claus” Opens with a nice booming Ho Ho Ho from Santa. I like that there are ample sleigh bells in the song, even if the words are vaguely menacing (somehow even more so in this version). I’ve also always found the aggressively religious aspect of the song about Santa to be a bit peculiar.  JIMMY BOYD-“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” This is an inherently goofy song and I don’t care for the “serious” rendition this is given.  I also don’t care for songs sung by “kids.” Although I do admit to thinking this song was cute when I was a kid.  ROSEMARY CLOONEY-“Winter Wonderland” This version is a little too precious for my liking.

GENE AUTRY-“Frosty the Snowman” This is another straight reading of this silly song—very children friendly and a good version.  JOHNNY MATHIS-“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” I don’t care for Mathis’ voice so I don’t like this version.  THE RAY CONIFF SINGER-“Silver Bells” This is ajoyful, sweet rendition of the song, even if it is extremely uptight sounding. (it evidently comes from “The Lemon Drop Kid”).  ROBERT GOULET-“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (from “Meet Me in St. Louis”).  Goulet’s voice is pretty magnificent, it might even be a little too much for this little song.  PATTI PAGE-“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” This is a version with kids singing along. And with Patti telling them to behave, it also has a menacing feel to it. I guess Santa really could be kind of a nasty guy huh?  MITCH MILLER & THE SING-ALONG GANG-“The Twelve Days of Christmas” It’s hard to make this song not sound really tedious, but these guys do it pretty fast and in a very specific, marching style. It’s almost military in it’s seriousness, which does take some of the romance out of the song, but I like it nonetheless.

ANDY WILLIAMS-“Sleigh Ride” Andy Williams has a quintessential Christmas voice.  I’m glad Columbia has him for this collection. It’s fast fun and joyful. ANGELA LANSBURY, FRANKIE MICHAELS, JANE CONNELL and SAB SHIMONO-I love that Lansbury has such a great singing voice since in my mind she’s only ever been Murder She Wrote. And she wails this. (This version comes from “Mame.”  I didn’t know it came from a musical.  And I love th eline that I never noticed before: “But it’s one week past Thanksgiving Day now”).  MEL TORME-“The Christmas Song” The Velvet Fog’s version is quite nice, but doesn’t quite match Nat “King” Cole’s for pure classicness (although, huh, Torme wrote the music for this song).  TONY BENNETT-“White Christmas” I’m not a big fan of Tony Bennett and I don’t like this version of this song—it’s too spread out.  JULIE ANDREWS-“Silent Night” a very pretty and pure version of this song. Although I don’t find it as moving as other versions.  MAHALIA JACKSON-“Joy to the World” I know she’s a legend, but I really don’t like Mahalia’s versions of songs—she’s a just too over the top for me.

So, overall, this is a good, if safe collection of Christmas songs. Not my favorite bunch but a lot of good versions here, and one or two great ones.  And there are even a couple of under-played ones.

[READ: December 8, 2014] Christmas Stories

I intended to read A Christmas Carol last year during Christmas time but since we saw the play, I decided not to.  So this year I figured I would read as much of Dickens’ Christmas Books as I could during the month of December.  Then I misplaced Christmas Books, so I picked up Christmas Stories.

Christmas Stories does not include “A Christmas Carol.”  Rather, it includes 21 “stories”  ranging from a few pages to over a hundred pages long.  They appeared in Household Works, a publication which Dickens created to “bring himself even closer to his many followers.”

I chose to write about these first six together because they are the shortest pieces in the book and they can kind of be lumped together.  These are strange pieces because they are not really stories.  They are more like nostalgic or even moralistic moments in which Dickens conveys the Christmas spirit through some characters.

For frame of reference Dickens was born in 1812.  He wrote Oliver Twist around 1839 and “A Christmas Carol” in 1843. (more…)

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Vera Brosgot–Anya’s Ghost (2011)

Posted in Christmas Album, Death, Сырники, First Second :01, Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Russia, Set at School, Short Books, Supernatural, They Might Be Giants, Vera Brosgot, Violence, YA Books on December 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

anyaSOUNDTRACK: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS-Holidayland (2001).

tmbg This was one of the first Christmas albums I bought, and i would have bought it regardless because it is They Might Be Giants.  As far as Christmas records goes, it’s pretty short: 5 songs in 11 minutes.

“Santa Claus” has a funky bass line and a snotty attitude. There’s loud guitars, a honking horn and plenty of NOTHING!  “Santa’s Beard” is an old super fun song, classic TMBG.
“Feast of Lights” is a simple song on toy piano and real piano, a Hanukkah-based kinda sad song with a bit of hope in the end.  “Careless Santa” is an upbeat song about Santa spoiling Christmas for him (cops are involved!). It has some loopy synth sounds and wild drumming at the end.

“O Tannenbaum” The only traditional song, this is a slow version.  It opens with horns in the vocal melody for the first minute and then John F’ sings in German for the final minute.

I’ve always enjoyed this admittedly slight holiday record.

[READ: December 18, 2014] Anya’s Ghost

Sarah was surprised to see that I’d brought this home because she read it for her YA contest this year.  She also liked it quite a lot.

Brosgol wrote and drew the book and I love her illustration style.  It is simple but very effective.  She draws a normal looking girl quite effectively (and the embarrassing underwear shot is quite funny).  But she also knows how to draw the skinny, “hot” girl and make her look sweet as well.  And lets not forget how well she conveys the ghost in the story, too.

Anya is in a private high school (which her mother can barely afford).  Anya’s family moved to America (from Russia) when she was little.  She learned to speak English and does not have an accent.  But she is nervous about being seen as a FOB (fresh off the boat).  And as such she avoids Dima, a new to America Russian boy who studies hard and is a real dork (and suffers accordingly).

As the book opens, Anya’s mother is making Сырники (Syrniki–fried quark (a dairy product) pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey, or apple sauce–YUM!).  But Anya is upset that she’s making yet another fattening food.  Now that she’s in America she’s not interested in her mother’s claims that “in Russia being fat meant you were a rich man.”

She takes a bag but throws it out on her way to school (travesty).  Then she meets her (only) friend Siobhan.  Siobhan is kind of bitter and a little nasty (but funny).  She is drawn very angrily though–she’s the one character I don’t like the look of.  When Anya doesn’t let Siobhan bum a cigarette, Siobhan gets mad and stomps off.  Anya goes off in the other direction and…falls into a hole. (more…)

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Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang–In Real Life (2014)

Posted in Adventure, Cory Doctorow, Daniel Radcliffe, ELO, First Second :01, Graham Linehan, Graphic Novel, Greed, Huh?, Jen Wang, Joe Elliott, Matt Berry, Michael Penn, Neil Finn, Neil Hannon, Pugwash, Set at School, Stephen Fry, Technology, The Divine Comedy, The Duckworth Lewis Method, The Future, Thomas Walsh, Threats, Video Games, YA Books on November 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

irl  SOUNDTRACK: THE DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD-Sticky Wickets (2013).

stickyThe cricket-loving songwriters are back with their second disc.  Although I bought their first disc because I love Neil Hannon, I found myself enjoying the songs by Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh even more.  (Which led me to get some discs by Pugwash, a great, sadly unknown band).

I’m inclined to say I like Walsh’s songs better on this disc as well–his title track has a groovy classic ELO-inspired guitar riff and Walsh’s great falsetto vocals.  But I also love the bouncy fun of “Boom Boom Afridi” (written by Neil Hannon). So maybe I just like the two of them together.

These are followed by the amusing “It’s Just Not Cricket” which features a group of rowdy indignant cricket fans singing along. See the awesome accompanying picture below which shows the kind of sort of naughty but not really way the sport is portrayed on the disc.  cricket“The Umpire” gives some real sympathy to the Cricket umpire (who eats his eggs and soldiers) as his position is taken over by machines.

I don’t know much about cricket, so I don’t claim understand what most of these songs are about, but the awesomely bouncy and catchy “Third Man” is a total mystery to me.  But that doesn’t stop me from singing along. It’s like a classic lost Pugwash song.  It even has a (weird) narration from Daniel Radcliffe.  “Chin Music” is a pretty, carnivalesque instrumental.

“Out in the Middle” is a slower Walsh song which is also very pretty.  “Line and Length” is a silly song which (in spoken word) explains how line and length are used in cricket. It has a very discoey chorus which differs nicely from the formality of the verse. “The Laughing Cavaliers” is a march with a big choral vocal line. “Judd’s Paradox” has a lengthy spoken section by Stephen Fry (at his most formal). It’s a very enjoyable song with an interesting perspective on cricket and history.

“Mystery Man” is a pretty, sixties-sounding song with bouncy jaunty keyboards and a catchy chorus–except that the verses are all about how he’s a tough bowler.  It’s also got a hilarious spoken word section read by Matt Berry “trod on wicket.”

“Nudging and Nurdling” ends the disc and is more or less 5 minutes of people saying the words “Nudging and Nurdling” set to a boppy silly melody.  The list of contributors is extensive, although I’ve only heard of Daniel Radcliffe, Neil Finn, Joe Elliott, Matt Berry, Graham Linehan, an Michael Penn (!) who sounds so American. I love they way they build something so simple (and kinda dumb) into such a big song by the end.

Hannon and Walsh know how to write gorgeous songs (even if they can be rather silly).  This is a great collection–even if you don’t know anything about cricket.  You too will soon be shouting along with the Laughing Cavaliers.

[READ: November 9, 2014] In Real Life

I was pretty excited when I saw this book.  I really like Cory Doctorow and here was a comic of his published by First Second, one of my favorite graphic novel publishers (I need to make a category for them…there, done).  I didn’t know Jen Wang’s artwork, but that hardly mattered as the cover was gorgeous.

So the story is an interesting one.  It begins simply enough with Anda, a young girl who has moved from San Diego to Flagstaff (of course, we don’t learn that she moved to Flagstaff for a few pages, so the fact that we are introduced to Flagstaff by a snowfall was confusing to me–I assumed she was on the East Coast).  However, this was not as confusing to me as the other character in the book who doesn’t know where Flagstaff is.  What high school aged person doesn’t know that Flagstaff is in Arizona?

Anyhow, we see Anda in school and her class is given a presentation by Liza the Organiza, a woman who is introducing the class to an online virtual game called Coarsegold (I’m also confused as to why this woman would be allowed to give this presentation in school, but maybe I’m too nitpicky here?).  Incidentally, I really enjoyed most of the art in the book, but the picture of Liza the Organiza on this same page is quite disturbing to me.  In fact, a few pictures in “real life” seem a little “off” to me, and I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy the visual aspect of the book.  But when we get into the game, the pictures are simply fantastic, so I don’t know what that’s all about. (more…)

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Tom Angleberger [Sam Riddleburger]–The Qwikpick Papers: Poop Fopuntain! (2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Children's Books, Daniel Pinkwater, Funny (ha ha), Ghosts, John Congleton, Molly Hatchet, Poo, Set at School, Short Books, Surreal, Thurl Ravenscroft, Tom Angleberger, Witches, Yuck! on October 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 qwikpSOUNDTRACK: THURL RAVENSCROFT AND DISNEY FRIENDS-“Grim, Grinning Ghosts” (1960s).

hauntThis song is the theme to Disney’s Haunted Mansion.  I’ve been to the Haunted Mansion perhaps a dozen times and I recognized a line from it (when the ghosts appear next to you in the ride), but I can’t say I ever paid attention or even thought about to this song before.

It was brought to my attention by John Congleton during his excellent interview with Bob and Robin on NPR.  The whole interview was outstanding–I learned so much from him–but I wanted to focus on this song because he raves about it (and because it is Halloween).  And because I absolutely wanted to type the name Thurl Ravenscroft.

  He loves the vocals by Thurl (who was also the singer of The Grinch songs) and the bizarre chord progression: Am, B, Am, B♭, Am, F, Am, F7, Am, E7, Am.  And about the song, he says:

When I was a kid, I was so attracted to this song, but I was scared of it. The record would sit with my other records and I would see it in there, and I would be like, ‘Do I have the bravery to listen to it right now?’ And sometimes I would, and I was mesmerized by it. But the then I grew up, and I went back and listened to it, and was like, ‘This is brilliant. This is really, really well done.’ I never in my entire life heard background vocals that sounded as tight as that. Never in my life. The harmonies are the tightest harmonies I have ever heard ever. And it’s like, this is for a silly kid’s record — but they were committed to making something special. Everything about that song is incredible to me.

So yes, it’s a goofy song, and if you don’t pay too much attention to it, it’s just a not very scary ghost song, but there’s a lot going on (hand it to Disney for being really into their production values).  Like this note from Wikipedia: “the organist actually played the song backwards to achieve the discord that the composer intended.”

Not bad for a song you only hear if you go on a ride.

[READ: October 19, 2014] Poop Fountain!

I have enjoyed just about everything that Tom Angleberger has written (interestingly, he is famous for his origami Yoda series, which I actually like less than his other books).  This book was actually his first book published.  But he published it under the name Sam Riddleburger and it was called The Qwikpick Adventure Society.  It has clearly been republished since he is now famous.

I brought the book home for Clark but he said he didn’t really like the way it was written (it is typed with handwritten comments).  I actually found it very easy to read and thought it was a super fast read–two hours at most.

So the book starts with a note from Tom Angleberger in which he says that before he wrote books he was a reporter and one of the stories he wrote was about a sewage plant in Crickenburg, Virginia (which is not a real town).  His original article was about how the local sewage plant was getting over-burdened by all the new residents and so it would need to be enlarged.  He went to interview the manager and man did it stink.

He says that many years later a guy called him up to say that he had found a bunch of papers (including his article) in a Qwikpick gas station.  And that’s how he came across this first person account of an adventure to the same sewage plant.

He then tells readers that this was in 2000, before kids had cell phones or the internet, when kids basically just did stuff outside.  And that is how the Qwikpick Adventures Society’s trip to see the Fountain of Poop came about–thre bored kids looking for something to do. (more…)

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Jimmy Gownley–The Dumbest Idea Ever (2014)

Posted in Art, Basketball, Books about writers, Boredom, Children's Books, Disneyland, Dreams, Fantasy, Funky Web Sites, Graphic Novel, Jimmy Gownley, Memoirs, Set at School on October 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

dumbSOUNDTRACK: WALT DISNEY-Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House (1964).

hauntedJust in time for Halloween, I link to Disney’s 1964 LP Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.

I was unfamiliar with this record, but I gather a lot of people grew up being frightened by this.  The premise is simple–the narrator talks to you, yes you, as you are prepared to be scared by, well, everything you can imagine.  For 26 minutes, various sound effects are designed to scare you.

You go into a haunted house…and never come back.  Although despite the title, that’s all there is of a haunted house.  For there are more things to scare you….

There’s screams and creaks.  Gunpowder and dogs barking. A trip to Mars.

Tree limbs falling, cats going crazy.  A racist Chinese segment.

The back half of the disc is sound effects–I have no idea what that’s supposed to be around 20:49, though.

Basically every fear a kid could have (Disney was quite the sadist, huh?)

I imagine that if you were a kid (in 1964) this could be pretty darn scary.  Enjoy the whole thing…if you dare!

[READ: October 25, 2014] The Dumbest Idea Ever

I was pretty excited to see this book from Jimmy Gownley, creator of Amelia Rules, one of my favorite kids comic books.  I see that the books have been reissued, and that some new ones have been published since I last checked, so I’ll have to look for those.  He also has a new comic strip called Gracieland.

Anyhow, this book is a memoir about Jimmy growing up as a kid obsessed with comic books in a world where comic books were not appreciated (specifically: Catholic School).

It opens with young Jimmy being interviewed on TV–a seeming fantasy for any writer.  But this happens to be true (it’s local TV coverage of this young boy who has self published a comic book).  But before we get ahead of ourselves, we jump back two years earlier.

Jimmy lives in Girardville, PA.  He’s a great basketball player, an excellent student and a budding artist.  Sadly Girardville, PA is not the place for an artist–there’s not even a half way decent art store.  So, Jimmy relies on the few stores that carry comic books as his sole outlet for creative fun.  Even a good student can’t convince his teachers that a comic books is appropriate in school.  He even volunteers to do an oral report on the value of comic books.  He gets an A on the report but is still forbidden from having them in school. (more…)

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Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks–Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong (2013)

Posted in Basketball, Django Django, Faith Erin Hicks, First Second :01, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Marriage Trouble, Prudence Shen, Robots, Romance, Set at School, Super Furry Animals, Technology, The Soundtrack of Our Lives on October 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 nothing canSOUNDTRACK: DJANGO DJANGO-Django Django (2011).

220px-Django_Django_Album_CoverI heard about this band when “Default” became a kind of alt rock standard.  It got a little overplayed, but there was something so catchy and yet so slightly odd about it that I really wanted to hear more.  So when I heard how catchy and fun “Hail Bop” proved to be, I knew it was time to check out the whole album.

And the album is full of quirky, delightful songs.  In fact, despite how weird the album cover art is, it actually represents the sounds of the album pretty well.  It’s a kind of arid looking desert but with a futuristic weird alien thing scampering amidst it.  Thus, there are acoustic twangy guitars underpinning the songs that are liberally sprinkled with oddball sci-fi sounds and tweaks of gloriously fun synths.

The album has a completely cohesive feel (which I believe comes from the sunny vibe and the beautiful harmonies), and yet there is a great amount of diversity in the music.  Many of the songs are synth heavy and catchy, but not dance rock at all.  “Waveforms” is a strange song with synths being manipulated over a heavy drum beat.  But it’s those vocals (especially in the chorus) that elevate the song above the mechanical nature of the music.  “Zumm Zumm” is even weirder with the kind of sci-fi effects that get thrown around, and yet that chorus once again is really pretty.  And “Default” sounds like it is skittering and repeating as it pounds away–a strange and infectious single.

But for all the weirdness, “Hail Bop” is a supremely catchy sweet song.  And “Firewater” is propelled by a low bass with acoustic guitars on top.   Reference points for me include Super Furry Animals and The Soundtrack of Our Lives, neither one glaringly obvious sign posts but they have that same harmony filled vibe.  See especially “Love’s Dart” another catchy song with a fun twangy Western feels.  There’s mellow guitar on “Hand of Man” and there’s a surf guitar stomper in “Wor” and more stomping drums in “Storm.”

My album contains some extra remixes.  I’m not a big fan of remixes so these are needless additions (and add about 20 minutes  to the total running time).  But that’s got little to do with the album itself, which is really a treat for fans of poppy quirky rock.

[READ: August 2014] Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

Sarah gave me this book for my birthday because we both like Faith Erin Hicks (and we both like First Second books).  And I was not disappointed.

Obviously, a title like this leads you to conclude that everything will go wrong, and it pretty much does.  The cover image doesn’t quite convey what’s at stake in the story, although closer inspection reveals a kind of geeks (the ones with glasses) and cheerleader (the ones in uniforms) vibe.  Which this story certainly has.

Nate and Charlie are old friends.  Charlie is the captain of the basketball team and Nate is the president of the robotics club.  But unlike a typical pairing of these two types, Charlie is laid back and totally mellow while Nate is neurotic and angry with a huge chip on his shoulder.

As the story opens, Charlie has just been dumped by his girlfriend, the head cheerleader. Charlie doesn’t seem so upset by it but Nate is furious (as usual).  Of course, he is mostly furious because he thinks that Charlie is still with Holly and because the cheerleaders have declared war on the robotics team.  Specifically, they are trying to take the science funding to use for new uniforms (can this actually happen in school?  It happens in fictional schools all the time).  Obviously there’s nothing that Charlie can do about it, so he just goes home, allowing Nate to stew.

But mellow Charlie also has a dark storyline.  There’s a note from his dad telling him to call his mom to which he says “Yeah, that’s not happening.”  We learn a smattering of information about why Charlie is mad at his mom, and it is clear that their feud is going to build to a head before the story ends.  So tension is definitely present in the story. (more…)

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Patrick Jennings–My Homework Ate My Homework (2010)

Posted in Acting, Beastie Boys, C., Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Muckaferguson, Patrick Jennings, Set at School, Short Books, T., They Might Be Giants, Unlikable main character, Wonder Showzen on August 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

myhomeSOUNDTRACK: MUCKAFERGUSON-“MC Speller” (2010).

muckaI had never heard of Muckaferguson.  Okay, that is not true, as I see I made a post about them because of the They Might be Giants song “John Lee Supertaster.”  Because the real John Lee is a indeed a supertaster and was in the band Muckaferguson. (And John Flansburgh of TMBG produced this album).  So there.  But I still hadn’t heard them until now.

This song comes from that album.

The album is a flurry of genres and styles, and amid all of this, we get this old school beat box rap (sorta early Beastie Boysish).  And I like it because it is quite funny.  And since it’s only a minute and a half long, I’ll put all the lyrics, because I can’t pick a favorite line:

my name is mc speller and i like to spell…s p e l l spells spell. mc speller and i love to spell…q u e u e spells queue.

he’s a maniac, ya’ll. here comes the heart attack, yo. chris likes food. andy like atari. i like the work of john baldessari. my rhymes are fresh and my moves are hard. i play the plastic guitar like baudrillard.

my name is mc speller and i like to spell…d a d spells dad. mc speller and i love to spell…r h o n g spells wrong.

i’m mc scared of bees, ya’ll cause you know that i’m scared of bees, ya’ll. when i see a bee i run because by definition i’m scared of bees.

yo, i’m comin’ to you straight out of sutton in suburban south london. white, middle class, educated 20 something. i got me degree in pure mathematics. i don’t like to rap i’m just being sarcastic.

r i g h t spells right, mc speller’s gonna spell all night, talkin’ about. n i g h t spells night, mc speller spells everything right

Despite the kid friendly nature of some of some of these songs, the album as a whole is definitely not kid friendly (I mean, look at the cover and, frankly the band’s name).  The song “I Wanna Get…” is all about getting, well, F’d up, so be mindful.  But many of the songs are delightfully witty.

John Lee, incidentally, is also responsible for the show Wonder Showzen, so if you know the show, you get a sense of the kind of mischief he makes.

[READ: August 9, 2014] My Homework Ate My Homework

Regardless of how I felt about Guinea Dog 1 and 2 (overall I liked them quite a bit), it was impossible not to snap up a book with a title like this.  Especially when the book is about a ferret.  (The cover is by the same artist as the Guinea Dog books, which led me to assume the style was similar, which it was).

This book is about 10-year-old Zaritza (the unusual name is never explained).  She is… dramatic.  And is a fan of dramatic….  pauses.  She is incredibly excited to be playing Calamity Jane in the upcoming traveling theater production of Calamity Jane.  She has watched the film dozens of times and has her “Calam” down perfectly.

The problem is that if she doesn’t bring her grades up she’s won’t be allowed to do extra curricular activities.  Like drama.  She is not the best student, so rather than actually doing her work, she decides to do some extra credit.  Like bringing the classroom pet Ferret home for the weekend.  She hates the ferret.  She hates its smell, she hates its look. Hates it.  But she needs the credit.  And so it comes home.  And then she forgets to close the cage door and the ferret gets out.

Panic!

While the ferret is out, and they are trying to catch it, Zaritza hears something–gnawing.  And that’s when her homework ate her homework. (more…)

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Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg–Janes in Love (2008) [Minx #10]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Art, Cecil Castellucci, Graphic Novel, Jim Rugg, Minx, Romance, Set at School, YA Books on July 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

jiloveSOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Handy” (2014).

handyI had never heard of this song until I heard that it was going to be parodied on Al’s new album.  (I have since heard that it is the song of the summer, so I am clearly living under a rock).  I listened to it a few days ago and hated it.  I couldn’t believe how much it is not a song.  It’s not even a verse, it’s a simple riff repeated over and over–even into the chorus.  By definition, the song should be catchy since if you hear the same four notes over and over for 3 minutes it will get stuck in your head.  Clearly, the selling point is her weird vocal delivery, but that’s more gimmicky than anything else–she doesn’t even have a vocal melody. I don’t get it.

So how did Al turn that not-a-song into this delight of home repair?  I’d say it’s because he actually sings the lines (in his funny delivery) and that his lyrics are interesting (and very funny).  I feel like he turned that idea of a song into an actual song.  And, since I believe his version is faster and shorter, it just feels better overall.

I love how much he throws into the song–he sure knows his handy man speak.  I also like the way he uses the “do dat do dat/screw dat screw dat” lines to his own purpose.  He really breathes life into the “song of the summer,” and in the fall when Iggy Azalea is in the one hit wonder bin, I’ll still be saying I’m so handy”

This video is not on YouTube yet, but you can watch it at Al’s site.

[READ: July 6, 2014] The Plain Janes.

I enjoyed The Plain Janes and this is the sequel.  The problem for me (and I suppose anyone who waits almost exactly 7 years to read the sequel is that there was no recap, even minor, of what went on in the first book.  So that made it a little had to get up to speed.  I mean, I remembered the basic story, but couldn’t remember at all the details.

I guess the story was simple enough, but I had forgotten about John Doe and that Jane’s family left Metro City after a bomb scare.  Regardless, it is a year later and P.L.A.I.N. the art collective is still active and the Janes are still together.

The John Doe from the first story is Miroslav and Jane is writing to him regularly.  Miroslav is an artist as well and he and his girlfriend have been applying for grants (and getting them) to create their one art.  Jane feels that her own group’s art stunts are not big or important enough.  However, the town, especially the Police Chief thinks that P.L.A.I.N. are a gang and he is looking to arrest them (I don’t think the book ever reminds us what P.L.A.I.N. stands form which is kind of a shame too as I can’t remember).

Jane has a new interest close to home as well.  Damon.  I don’t recall if he was in book one, but it sounds like he took the fall for her during a recent art prank.

We also see that there is tension among the Janes.  Theater Jane is pining for a theater boy named Rhys, although since he is far away, she doesn’t hear from him much (but she sure does talk about him a lot).  Jock Jane decides to ask a basketball player out, so she marches over and tells him that they are dating now.  And he agrees (she also can’t stop talking about him).  Science Jane is too shy to ask Melvin out (but keeps talking about him).  The gay boy (whose name I don’t think was given ) is pining for there to be another gay person in the school.

There’s also some drama at home.  There was an anthrax scare and Jane’s mom’s friend was killed by it (she worked at the post office).  This has put Jane’s mom over the edge and she refuses to go outside at all now.  So Jane’s dad is doing everything in his power to make her go outside, including sleeping in a tent.

Then the unthinkable happens P.L.A.I.N. are caught doing an art installation and are sent to do community service.

But what if Jane can actually get a grant like Miroslav?  Can she legally make an artistic change in the community  The arts council has ever given money to a high schooler before, and what could she possibly do that would impress them?

The end of the book is satisfying in many ways, although as with a lot of love stories, the love part doesn’t really make a lot of sense

I was once again mixed on the art.  I like a lot of it, but there were some choices that I didn’t love–sometimes the characters looked really cartoony and sometimes they didn’t, so I wasn’t exactly sure what look he was going for was.  It was clear that these were choices and not flaws, so it was just a matter of my not liking his choices.

Castellucci has a great sense of these characters, i think I’d prefer them in a more fleshed out scenario–maybe a series of novels where each character gets  more time to explore herself.

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Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki–Skim (2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Death, Graphic Novel, Jillian Tamaki, LGBTQ, Lowland Hum, Mariko Tamaki, Set at School, Suicide, Tiny Desk Concert, YA Books on July 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

skimSOUNDTRACK: LOWLAND HUM-Tiny Desk Concert #341 (March 6, 2014).

humLowland Hum are the husband and wife duo of Daniel Levi Goans and Lauren Plank from North Carolina.  He plays guitar and she plays (snare) drum and percussion.  They tour with a few homemade wooden platforms that have small metal jingles, so when they stomp on them, they get great percussive sounds.

They play three songs.  The first is “War Is Over,” a sweet folkie song with tambourine. Their voices meld very nicely (interestingly, her voice which I think is doing harmonies sounds stronger here–but that may just be a trick of the microphone).  There’s something interesting and compelling about they way the song starts–the verses are slightly unconventional, but when the “war is over now” chrous kicks in it sounds like a very different song.  It’s a good combination.

Before the second song, “Pocket Knife,” Daniel explains that this is the first song they wrote together.  It’s a funny story about wanting to write together but being afraid that their voices or styles would be incompatible and how would a husband and wife deal with that?  (Fortunately, they felt very compatible). The song is surprisingly short.  The verse is very quiet, especially his voice. Then the song gets loud–but there’s no vocals during the loud part.  She takes a verse and then it’s over.

Then they open it up for questions.  They explain that they are on stage together and in the van together and so with audiences basically staring at them, they decided to  open up a dialogue on stage.  So they often ask people for questions and comments.  Someone asks about the lyrics books.  They have made lyric books and passed them out before the show (something they do at all of their shows).  They like having something tactile or the audience.  The previous song was number 19 (which reminded me of a hymnal).

“Four Sisters, Pt. One” has many parts and is really interesting.  It has dynamic sound changes.  And when they harmonize on the “use your voice” section, they sound great.  I like the duo and would enjoy seeing them opening for someone, although I don’t think I like them enough to get a record.

[READ: June 29, 2014] Skim

In Skim we meet Kimberley Keiko Cameron who is called Skim (because she isn’t).  She is a heavyset Japanese woman into the goth scene and a wannabe witch.  Her best friend is Lisa, already a witch and, despite her blonde hair, also kinda gothy.  The witchcraft is wiccan lite.

As the story opens, we see that Skim has broken her arm tripping over the makeshift wiccan altar in her room.  But trumping that is the news that Katie Matthews, a super popular girl in school was dumped by her boyfriend, John.  She has drawn a broken heart on her hand with a Sharpie.  Lisa hates Katie and Skim does too, sort of (she doesn’t really hate anyone), but it is still super annoying.

The other principal character is Ms Archer.  Ms Archer is a hippie with red hair and flowing dresses who teaches drama and English.  Skim likes her because she feel a kindred freakishness. (more…)

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