Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Set at School’ Category

Dinaw Mengestu–“The Paper Revolution” (New Yorker, January 13, 2014)

Posted in Africa, Dinaw Mengestu, New Yorker, Phish, Racism, Set at School, Short Story, Threats, Violence, War on June 17, 2014| 1 Comment »

CV1_TNY_01_13_14McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: PHISH-Live Bait 7 (2012).

bait7This free sampler from 2012 is practically a greatest hits collection for me.  There are 8 tracks on the collection and none of them is shorter than 15 minutes.

It opens with a 1995 concert in which “Wilson” segues into “Tweezer” (for a combined total of 30 minutes).  Then there’s a 13 minute version of “Stash” from 2010 and an 18 minute version of “Split Open and Melt” from 1999.  The songs meld very nicely together with just the slightest change in recording sounds making any notable difference.

“You Enjoy Myself” comes from way back in 1992, and it ends with an extended vocal nonsense section–all four of them mouthing crazy sounds in a rhythmic pattern.  The only song of the set that I don’t love is “Runaway Jim,” but the jam section is great in this one.

“Reba” from 1996 works perfectly with “Gumbo” from 1998.  And the set closes with another 1992 recording.  The band opens with “All Things Reconsidered” which Trey explains is a reworking of the NPR theme.  But he then tells the audience that they can sing along to the next song, David Bowie” (which opens with a little nod to the Simpsons).

There’s no sign of a Live Bait 10, unfortunately, but having 9 free releases of highlights from live shows is still pretty sweet.  If only their show in Philly hadn’t sold out.

[READ: June 12, 2014] “The Paper Revolution”

Dinaw Mengestu’s first story (in the 20 under 40 issue) was about a refugee which I felt was more than a stereotypical refugee story.  This new story is about student revolutionaries, and it looks at them in a different (and somewhat confusing) way.

The narrator, who is eventually called Professor Langston by his friend Isaac, is at the University in the capital city, Kampala.  When he first meets Isaac, he finds him an interesting fellow–a man studying politics, because what else is there to study in Africa?  When the narrator says he’s studying literature, that’s when Isaac calls him the professor.

Isaac is full of information that he loves sharing (starting his sentence with “Did you know?”) He lectures about the British rule and their plan to turn this city into a new London if they lost the war.  Isaac fills him with political theory, and the university was the ideal place for it “Every aspiring militant, radical and revolutionary in Eastern and Central Africa was ran to the university.”

He and Isaac watch the “radicals” and can tell from their shoes which ones are truly poor. But there is one boy–so rarely seen as to possibly be invisible–who was the genuine article.  And soon enough there is graffiti on the walls which everyone attributes to him.  But the graffiti is whitewashed and a sign is put up admonishing: “It is a Crime against the country to deface our University walls.” (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Squish: Super Amoeba (#1) [prepub] (2011)

Posted in Children's Books, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, I'm from Barcelona, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, Yo Gabba Gabba on May 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

squish1SOUNDTRACK: I’M FROM BARCELONA-“Just Because It’s Different Doesn’t Mean It’s Scary” (2009).

miaI like I’m From Barcelona, although I don’t know too much about them.

This song opens with ukuleles (or small guitars anyhow) and a big farty bass line. It offers a sensible lyric about things being different and offers suggestions of new things you might enjoy, like fruit or a park.

The band has some fun backing vocals (“let’s taste it baby”), (“run run run run”) and have made a fairly complex song out of what is a very simple concept.

For these Yo Gabba Gabba songs I have to wonder if the bands have taken old songs and made them kid friendly or if they have written all new (fairly complex) songs just for the show.

This is a good one.

[READ: May 16, 2014] Squish: Super Amoeba

I thought I had written about all five of the Squish books so far (there’s a sixth one coming soon).  Except, I realized, that I never wrote about the first one.  So, here, three years after I first read it (I received it as a prepub for crying out loud, so I’ve had it for over three years), I’ve read it again for this post.

I hadn’t even read Babymouse when I read this book, although in retrospect it’s easy to see the similarities between the two (especially in the drawing style).  Of course, while Babymouse is colored primarily in pink, Squish is colored primarily in green.  And of course, Babymouse is a girl and Squish is a boy (well, a boy amoeba, but still a boy).  But there are kid friendly hardships and valuable (if not necessarily obvious) lessons to be learned.

All the characters who have been with us for the duration of the other books were introduced here: Pod another amoeba, who is Squish’ best friend and who is super smart, Peggy (a paramecium) who is happy all the time and Principal Planaria, who is a flatworm (and like all flatworms is really crosseyed).  This issue also introduces us to The Adventures of Super Amoeba, the comic book which Squish loves and the guy who acts as a role model for Squish. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Happy Birthday, Babymouse [#18] (2014)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, The Shins, Yo Gabba Gabba on May 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

18SOUNDTRACK: THE SHINS-“It’s Okay, Try Again” (2009).

mia“Sometime you win, sometimes you lose.  But it’s okay, you try it again.”

A simple idea that no kid will ever believe in no matter how many times he or she hears this song.  Nevertheless, the song is poppy and fun, it’s pure Shins and it is infectious.

The song also feels a lot longer than 2 minutes.  They have really packed a lot into their choruses and verses (and middle third).

Yo Gabba Gabba has been excellent at getting great bands to play simple quickie songs for their records (and shows).

[READ: May 16, 2014] Happy Birthday, Babymouse

It’s hard for me to believe that it took 18 books before Babymouse had a birthday!  I got a chuckle out of the fact that in the book it acknowledges that we don’t even know how old she is [and that they break the fourth wall, too].

As the book opens, Babymouse imagines a full-on Times Square countdown for her birthday.  But that only makes sense because every other birthday that she has had in recent years was a disaster (no idea what season it’s supposed to be in since the disasters span just about everything you can imagine).

But this year she is planning something epic–she sends out a mailbox-filling pile of invitations (including to people in the Squish series–nice cross platform mixing there).  Everyone gets invited except for the gnomes–“they’re too troublesome.”  Of course then comes the dreadful information–Felicia Furrypaws is having her party on the same exact day.  And it promises to be everything Babymouse dreamed her party would be. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Faith Erin Hicks–The Adventures of Superhero Girl (2013)

Posted in Canadian Content, Carla Bozulich, Constellation Records, Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Faith Erin Hicks, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Kurt Busiek, Set at School, Supernatural on April 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 superheroSOUNDTRACK: ELIZABETH ANKA VAJAGIC-Stand With the Stillness of This Day [CST028] (2004).

eavlpElizabeth Anka Vajagic is a singing in the vein of Carla Bozulich (whose solo album CST would release a few years after this one).  She has a powerful, raw voice that can go low but can also rage.  She has a lot of control over her voice (which is seems sometimes Bozulich doesn’t) which leads to a lot of tension-filled songs.  EAV plays guitar and some piano.  These songs are also filled with cello, harmonium and an oud.  The songs are slow but powerful, and her voice suits the melodies very well–dark and full of longing.

“With Hopes Lost” has that mournful keening vocal, and the cello really provides that hopeless-feeling component.  “Around Here” is a dark stormy song with aching strings and piano.  “Where You Wonder” is a dark song but with a fight left in it–resistance to the darkness it feels.  The song feels mostly sparse until 4 and half minutes when it rages with a screaming guitar solo and big bold chords.  “Iceland” has probably the most fun chorus of the bunch, something actually sing-alongable.    The next song is called “Why.”  I’m always suspicious of a song called “Why” and this one is a little deservedly so–vague statements are not really anyone’s forte.  She has the keening down well, but it feels a little flat–brevity helps on this one.  “And the Sky Lay Still” opens with a slow echoing guitar, and as it slowly builds, ther’s a great vocal melody that builds for the verse  “Sleep with Dried Up tears” is an acoustic song.  It’s definitely a bit of a downer after the intensity of the album (which is dark but powerful).

EAV is definitely not for everyone.  It depends on your taste for screaming and, your taste for strings instead of heavy guitars to accompany those screams.

[READ: April 23, 2014] The Adventures of Superhero Girl

I grabbed this book from the library because I like Hicks’ work.  When I brought it home, Sarah thought that I brought it for her because it is on her Hub Reading Challenge List.  But no, I liked Hicks enough for myself (so selfish–although I did let her read it first).  She loved it, and so did I.

The Adventures of Superhero Girl is an online comic which Hicks seems to have started in 2010.  Online it is black and white (this book is done with colors by Chris Peters). I didn’t check to see if this is the entire series, but I assume it is. It went on hiatus in 2012 and has been eerily silent ever since.  So at least we have this pretty hardcover document of this hilarious series.

The strip is a genuine, honest to god, comic strip–8 panels and a punchline!  (okay most have fewer than 8 panels, but that’s the set up).  It’s sort of a goof on superheroes, but as the introduction by Kurt Busiek points out, it is really not a parody of the genre.  Superhero Girl is a superhero, with powers (but not amazing powers) and she does help people and she suffers angst from it.  But Hicks plays around with the most basic tropes of super heroes.

Superhero Girl, first of all, doesn’t have a superhero name.  She’s not hugely muscular, she’s not super sexy, she doesn’t wear a sexy costume.  She’s a young Canadian girl in a mask and (sometimes) a cape. She doesn’t have an agonizing backstory.  She just has superpowers and wants to help people. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Mark Haddon–Boom (or 70,000 light years) (2009)

Posted in Children's Books, Fantasy, Kids Corner, Mark Haddon, Ratboy Jr., Set at School, Short Books, Technology, UFOs on January 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

boomSOUNDTRACK: RATBOY JR.-“Champion of the Universe” (2013).

ratboyRatboy Jr was also in the Top Ten of WXPNs 2013 Kids Corner countdown (and was also on the Kids Corner CD).  This is a fun song told in a story.  It opens slowly with acoustic guitars and tells the story of a young boy with a very big head who wants to be a luchador.

When the chorus comes around, it kicks into full Mexican style swing with horns and flamenco style guitars.  Young Santos goes to a store where he gets a beautiful red wrestling mask.  And we all sing “La Cabeza Grande, champion of the universe!” in full chanting chorus (complete with yips and yee hees!).

I actually wish the songs was about five minutes longer.  But at just under 4 minutes it tells a good story and is super catchy.

[READ: January 2, 2014] Boom

I’ve read one adult book by Mark Haddon (but not his famous Curious Incident…).  I didn’t know that he wrote kids books at all.  But when this came out I learned that this was originally published in 1992 under the title Gridzbi Spudvetch! (and yes it was in English).  He says in the Foreword that kids and teachers loved it, if they were able to pronounce it (and that with a title like that he was lucky that 23 people bought it).

So it went out of print.  But fans said he should get it back in print.  So he decided to rename it a more reasonable name.  He also says the technology in the book was horribly out of date (which shouldn’t really matter, but if you’re going to update it, you might as well do it all).  And as since he was updating, he decided to rewrite, as he puts it, “every sentence.”  So I gather the story is the same, but it’s a very different book (and me being me, I’m very curious to read the original).

But now with the simple name of Boom, we get this fast paced and very enjoyable story.  (And yes, gridzbi spudvetch is still in the book). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck [#8] (2013)

Posted in Babies, Children's Books, Death Cab For Cutie, Dogs, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Jeff Kinney, Kids Corner, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Parenting, Poo, Set at School, Short Books, Yuck! on January 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

hardluckSOUNDTRACK: LUCKY DIAZ AND THE FAMILY JAM BAND-“Thingamajig” (2013).

luckyThis song made the XPN Kid’s Corner Top ten.   When the played it on the radio, I was surprised at how ..quiet it was.  Even now listening to it, it just seems like all of the sounds are at the same level, it all kind of blends together, which is a shame because the song is really kind of fun.

Now that I’ve listened a few times I like it more.  It actually has a kind of Death Cab for Cutie feel.  The bass is particularly nice, but of course the fun part is the lyrics (a thingamajig, a whatchamacallit, who what where why).

So a couple of listens and I’m won over by the song.  I wish it was a bit more dynamic in the production, but it’s a catchy little number.  And I’m curious to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.

[READ: December 27, 2013] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

Clark was so excited for this book!  This is the first one that he knew about before I did.  We decided to save it for a Christmas present, and man was he chomping at the bit.  He even borrowed it from a friend (because there were 100 people on the waiting list a the library).  And yet, even though he had already read it, when it arrived on Christmas, he was still really excited.  And has already read it four times.

And what was sweeter was that he really wanted me to read it.  He thought it was the best one yet.

I was surprised by this as the whole first section is about how lost Greg feels now that Rowley has a girlfriend, Abigail.  I can’t really imagine how he related to that as it’s not an issue for an 8-year-old (in fact the whole series is skewed a little old for an 8-year-old, but he still loves it).  Mostly Greg isn’t so much jealous that Rowley has a girlfriend so much as he is jealous that she is keeping Rowley from being Greg’s slave, I mean, friend.  Normally, Rowley walks in front of Greg to look out for the (newly added, I think) Mingo kids who threaten anyone who comes close to their wood (which is on their way to school) or for dog land mines–the scene where the dog figures out how the electric fence works is so funny.  And speaking of dogs, Clark absolutely cracked up about the joke with the little dog Sweetie who sniffs herself if you make a raspberry sound near her. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Tom Bissell–3 book reviews (Harpers, April 2013)

Posted in Alison Krauss, Austin Grossman, Benjamin Lytal, Book Reviews, Harper's, Rachel Kushner, Richard Thompson, School Library Journal, Set at School, Tom Bissell, Video Games on October 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

april 2013SOUNDTRACK: RICHARD THOMPSON-Electric (2013).

electRichard Thompson is remarkably consistent in his albums.  Especially his most recent ones.  The songs are all solid—both musically and lyrically.

Despite the name Electric, this album is no more or less electric than his other records.  Indeed, while this name may imply a much faster, heavier album, there are a number of ballads (and acoustic guitars) as well.  But if you like Richard for his amazing solos, you won’t be disappointed.

“Stony Ground” and “Sally B” are dark rockers (both mention gutters) with great fast solos.  “Treadmill” is one of RT’s class/money songs which are always spot on, even if he’s singing about sheet metal rather than playing guitar (great riff on this one too).

“Salford Sunday” is a more gentle rocker and “My Enemy” has a wonderful circular-feeling delicate melody and a gorgeous solo.  Both songs have female harmonies from Siobhan Maher Kennedy.  Indeed, Siobhan sings backing vocals on “Where’s Home” (an acoustic guitar ballad complete with violin solo), “Straight And Narrow” (a rocking song with aggressive guitars) and “Saving The Good Stuff For You.” “Good Stuff” Is a beautiful album ender, a sweet and tender ballad which I enjoyed even more live.

Alison Kraus sings backing vocals on “The Snow Goose,” a slow, somber song–the kind of which RT does so well.  “Good Things Happen to Bad People” is so unfailingly catchy, practically an earworm, that if there were any justice, this song would have been huge.  It’s got a great melody, cool lyrics and a really rocking solo.  “Another Small Thing in Her Favour” is a mellow acoustic/country song.  The end of the album goes a little too mellow.  Even though I like the songs individually, as a record it kind of trails off, which is a shame since “Good Stuff” is such a beautiful song.

I enjoyed this album tremendously and hearing him play some of those songs live was a treat.

[READ: October 10, 2013] 3 book reviews

This month Bissell reviewed three novels.

grossmanyouThe first is YOU by Austin Grossman.  Bissell explains that this is a book about a middling video games company circa the 1990s (Grossman was born in 1969 so he knows the territory well).  Bissell really enjoys the philosophical attitude of the book, specifically the narrator’s thoughts on making and playing games, although he fears that some of the characters are rather two-dimensional (and can’t decide if this is a flaw or if it’s intentional since the book is about video games).

grossman soonBissell is largely very positive about the book although the excerpt he quotes about human duality and videogames was not terribly exciting to me.  However he casually raved about Grossman’s first book Soon I Will Be Invincible (which is a literary work about superheros) which I think I’d be more inclined to read. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Pierre Huyghe & Douglas Coupland–School Spirit (2002)

Posted in Boredom, Canadian Content, Death, Douglas Coupland, Ghosts, Photo Essays, Pierre Huyghe, Pink Floyd, Set at School, Short Books on October 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

school spiritSOUNDTRACK: PINK FLOYD-Live BBC 1970-1971 (1970/1971).

pink-floyd-paris-theatre-london-bbc-archives-back-cover-17638Since I am delving deeply into early Pink Floyd, I came across this bootleg of Floyd on the John Peel show.

The first show is Live at Paris Cinema, London 07-16-1970, just before the release of the album Atom Heart Mother (which we know because Peel says the song will be on their forthcoming album).  The first set includes “Embryo” (which only ever appeared on their compilation Works, in a much shorter version), “Fat Old Sun” (from AHM), “Green is the Colour” (from the More soundtrack), “Careful with that Axe, Eugene” (available on Relics and in live formats), “If” (from AHM) and “Atom Heart Mother.”

The version of “AHM” here is interesting  because the cello solo is played by a horn instead.  The reason for this is because it allowed them to have fewer musicians on tour.  It’s the same theme but the horn brings a very different feel than the cello did.  It’s also interesting to hear that the horn players are nowhere near as polished as they might be.  (In Geesin’s book he does talk about the lack of rehearsal the orchestra had for their live shows).

The second show is Live at Paris Cinema 09-30-1971, just over a year later.  They once again do “Fat Old Sun” but in 1970 it was 6 minutes and in 1971 it is now 15 minutes long with a lot of jamming and keyboard stuff thrown on top.  Next up is “One of These Days” (from the forthcoming Meddle) a favorite of mine. From this set I learned that the distorted voice that says “one of these days I’m going to cut  you in to little pieces” is actually that of Nick Mason (and interestingly, in this version, the quote comes at the end of the song rather than the middle).  Then they play “Embryo” again (it was clearly a concert favorite even if it never got a proper release (same length for each show and not drastically different).  Then comes “Echoes,” the big side long epic from Meddle.  And the set ends with “Blues,” which is indeed a blues.  I don’t really expect to hear a blues from Pink Floyd, but here it is, and it’s a good one (Gilmour clearly can jam to anything).

The video below contains the two complete shows running at over 2 hours.

[READ: September 29, 2013] School Spirit

This is the final obscure Douglas Coupland book that I’m aware of and will be the final DC book that I need to hunt down for this blog (I have three other proper novels that I haven’t posted about, but those are proper books and will be dealt with in turn).

This book has about the least amount of information about it that I’ve seen in a book.

The (I assume) official description of the book (which I get from Amazon and Google Books) says

Dis Voir’s Encounters series invites a well-known contemporary artist to choose a subject for a book. The artist also selects a person with “elective affinities”–someone with whom he or she would like to share this exchange. The resulting collaborative volumes serve as an artistic and political laboratory of the present. For this first installment, French artist Pierre Huyghe choose Canadian writer Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X, for the influence that Coupland has had on his generation, and on Huyghe’s own work. Using a high school yearbook as scaffolding for their meditations, they discuss the construction of character, narrative techniques based on chance and the political dimensions of Coupland’s work–themes that are also fundamental questions for Huyghe’s projects.  Using a high school yearbook as the framework for a meditation on memory.

But my copy (which has a different cover and limited publication information so may possibly be a different version) does not have anything to say at all about “the construction of character, narrative techniques based on chance and the political dimensions of Coupland’s work.” (more…)

Read Full Post »

Tom Angleberger–The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (2010)

Posted in Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Origami, Pinback, Romance, Set at School, Short Books, Star Wars, Tom Angleberger on October 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

yodaSOUNDTRACK: PINBACK-“Fortress” (2004).

pinbackMy friend Jay just introduced me to this band.  I’m surprised I didn’t know them since they have been on Touch & Go Records and now Temporary Residence, two labels that I like.

He didn’t suggest any particular songs to start with, but this was the first one that came up with a search.

Over a simple guitar line a quiet voice sings near-whispered lines.  The bridge moves up an octave or so, but keeps the gentle sway of the song.  The chorus adds an angular dimension to the vocals but doesn’t change the gentle guitar melody–it’s an interesting example of contrasts working well together.

It’s a very pretty song and what I like about it is that based on just this one song, their other songs could go in any direction from here–more angular, more mellow, even heavier.  I’m looking forward to hearing more from them.

[READ: September 29, 2013] The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Clark brought home the second book in this series (Darth Paper Strikes Back) and seemed to enjoy it.  I didn’t really know anything about the series so I decided to check it out, especially since we enjoyed Angleberger’s other books so very much.

This is a fairly simple story of some kids in 6th grade.  Tommy is a sort of uncool kid.  He’s shy and has no luck with girls.  He’s not picked on (I liked that this story never got really nasty), but he’s certainly not a cool kid or a jock.  He’s the perfect underdog character.  For this book, he is assembling a case file about Origami Yoda.

Origami Yoda was created by Dwight.  Dwight is a weird kid.  We hear from his neighbor that she used to see him digging holes in his back yard and then sitting in them for hours.  Dwight doesn’t seem to care about much–he wears crazy clothes, doesn’t do great in school and, weirdest of all, he wears an origami Yoda puppet on his finger.  Seemingly all the time (possibly even in the bathroom).

But the thing is that people have been asking Yoda questions and he (well Dwight, with the worst imitation of Yoda ever) answers them.  And, weirder still, the advice seems to be very good.  Which is especially weird because Dwight is not very smart and doesn’t seem to follow any of the advice that Yoda gives to others.  So what gives? (more…)

Read Full Post »

McSweeney’s #15: “The Icelandic Issue” (2004)

Posted in Andri Snœr Magnason, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Bernard Scudder, Birna Anna Björnsdóttir, Birna Anna Björnsdóttir, Bob Mould, Boredom, Bragi Ólafsson, Corporate skewering, Culture Shock, David McDuff, Death, Einar Már Guomundsson, Eric Hanson, Fantasy, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Guðbergur Bergsson, Gyrdir Eliasson, Hallgrímur Helgason, Hüsker Dü, Humiliation, Janice Balfour, Jimmy Chen, Judy Budnitz, Kiara Brinkman, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Oddný Sturludóttir, Padgett Powell, Póragrinn Eldjárn, Roddy Doyle, Roy Kesey, Scholarship, Set at School, Seth Fried, Sex, Short Story, Silja Hauksdóttir, Sjón, Steven Millhauser, Sugar, Surreal, Susan Pitts, The Beatles, The Sugarcubes, The Who, Victoria Cribb on May 6, 2013| 1 Comment »

#15SOUNDTRACK: SUGAR-Copper Blue (1992).

copperblueAfter Bob Mould made some solo albums, he created another band.  Another trio, this one called Sugar.  Sugar seems to take Mould’s poppiest elements and wrap them in a big 90s grunge sound–a sound that Mould pretty much invented in Hüsker Dü.  And in many ways Sugar is not all that different from Hüsker Dü–maybe a bit less experimental and a little more commercial.

One thing I noticed about this album that, once I noticed it I couldn’t avoid it, was that when the drummer plays the cymbal (it might even be a hi hat with a tambourine on it), which he plays a lot, the tinny shimmer of that sound is so pervasive, I find it rather distracting.  Or should I say it adds an almost minute level of static over the proceedings.

The disc opens with “The Act We Act,” where big grungy guitars and a simple chugga chugga riff burst out of the speakers. I love the Pixies feeling of “A Good Idea” both that up front bass and the buggy sounding guitars provide an almost false introduction to the catchy verse and chorus that’s to come.  I also enjoy the unexpected break after the chorus.

It’s followed by the ringing guitars that introduce “Changes” a classic poppy rock song that is unmistakably Mould.  The uneasy almost nauseating sounds at the end of the song are again like a feint in the wrong direction as “Helpless” easily the most pop song Mould has ever written comes out.  Of course, as with Mould, this outrageously poppy song is all about feeling helpless.

Keyboards open the next song, “Hoover Dam” (something of a surprise for this album), which proves to be yet another big Mould single.  The song is so open with multiple acoustic guitars (and that cool synth solo) and a really wild reverse guitar solo.  It’s one of my favorite Mould  songs and yet another example of why this album was such a huge hit.

“The Slim” brings back the darker songs that Mould is also known for.  And just when you think that Mould can’t pull out another huge big single, he gives us “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” one of his great big bouncy acoustic guitar songs.  It is almost obscene how catchy this song is, right down to the simple scale solo at the end.  Mould has this little technique that I find irresistible where he plays a song normally and then plays two fast chord changes segueing into another section.  It’s so cool.

“Fortune Teller” is a fast rocker with Mould’s trebly guitar taking the lead.  “Slick” is the only song I’m not crazy about. There’s something about it that kind of slows the momentum down, which is odd for a song about a car.  It’s got a real middle-period-Who feel to it, which I do like (and I really like the bridge) it just feels odd in this place in the disc.  The end of the song has some snippets of chatter that could have been edited out but lend an amusing air to the final track, “Man on the Moon” which ends the disc with that same air that the rest of the album has—big guitars and Mould’s slightly distorted vocals.  The solo is weirdly processed and kind of fun.  The end of the track with its repeated half step has a very Beatles feel to it. And the very end of the disc has the sound of tape rewinding, an amusing nod to the digital era.

Copper Blue was Mould’s first huge success and in his book he talks about not realizing quite how huge it was until he was in the middle of it.

[READ: March 20, 2013] McSweeney’s #15

I was a little disappointed with McSweeney’s #14, but #15 was once again fantastic.  This issue is a smallish hardcover (I like when their books are this size).  The bottom half of the cover features a cool 2 color painting by Leif Parsons.  The issue is known as the Icelandic Issue because of a few things.  The first half of the book features stories by the usual suspects.  Each of these stories is accompanied by an illustration of a Scandinavian rune that dates to the Viking era.  The stories in the second half of the book have illustrations that are taken from Icelandic grimoires–magician’s handbooks.  It is these second half stories that are all from Scandinavian authors.  It’s a fascinating peek into a culture few of us probably get to read.

There’s no letters in this book, which removes some of the levity, but that’s okay.  The front page has a brief story that it was being written on November 2, 2004 in New Mexico, hoping to bring some voting power to “the good guys “in this “completely fucking terrifying election.”  (The bad guy eked out a victory 49.8 to 49.1).  They went canvassing door to door with an Iraqi veteran named Joey (who was 21).  He was very pro-Kerry and may have even convinced a young girl to vote (she thought her vote didn’t count because she was poor (!)).  It really evokes the feeling on that dark night in 2004 when the iota of hope was snuffed out. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »