SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1967).
A few years ago I started writing about Beatles records–a thankless task if ever there was. I got held up at Sgt Pepper, so it seems fitting to get back to the Beatles after enjoying the cover album from the Flaming Lips.
I have long thought that this was my favorite Beatles album–it was the first one I bought on vinyl, after all. But when I was writing about the records last time, I discovered that I like Revolver a little better. I’m surprised by this especially since I really enjoy all of the amazing musical advances the band made with this album (and the psychedelics too). I mean, to pretend to be another band, to add a full orchestra–the band had pretty much given up touring at this point–and to have added so many interesting things to this record is really amazing. And I don’t mean to say that I dislike the record, just that I think Revolver is better.
The title opening is great with the horns and sound effects (just so you know, Paul’s voice is all in the right channel, something that sounds really weird if you only listen to the left!). In fact the whole album has all kinds of fun stereo manipulations.
“With a Little Help from My Friends” has so many great vocal parts and I love the bass–slow and simple but playing unexpectedly high notes. This apparently also means that Ringo is Billy Shears. Speaking of the concept, this album doesn’t really work as a concept album–I mean, overall, what’s the “message”? There are some songs about love (the lonely hearts club) but there’s also some songs that are not at all about love. And how does say “She’s Leaving Home” connect to “Mr. Kite?” It doesn’t really matter, I suppose.
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is just great–everything about it from the harpsichord to the weirdo processed vocals and the big drums for the chorus (the chorus could actually be a bit bigger) still sound tremendous. “Getting Better” sounds very old school Beatles to me–I like it but it doesn’t really fit the psychedelic nature of the album. The harmonies are great (“it can’t no worse”). It’s also a strangely simply love song I believe, even though it seems like it’s about life in general. On a sour note, what’s with the Beatles beating their women?
“Fixing a Hole” has a great melody line and instrumentation. I have always liked “She’s Leaving Home,” I think it’s pretty and the lyrics are great. But I suddenly find it to be a bit too slow and string-heavy–guess I’m just a rocker at heart? Interestingly there’s no other Beatles playing instruments on the song. “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” is all sung in the right speaker. It’s a wonderfully weird song with great instrumentation.
I’m constantly surprised by “Within You Without You” just because it is completely Indian–no Beatle plays on the song at all, expect for George. There are also uncredited Indian musicians on swarmandal, dilruba, tabla, and tambura–imagine that there are Indian musicians who can actually say they played on Sgt Pepper, and be telling the truth! I feel like with a 5 minute song (twice the length of any other song on the disc, except the closing) that Indian music should have become much more popular (or maybe people just skipped the track–it was track 1 on side 2 after all.
The delightfully silly, but somehow profound “When I’m 64”–vocals sped up a bit and bouncing from left to right ear seems like a trifle but is still fun. “Lovely Rita” is a fun jaunty song. I like that he thought she was cute dressed as a military man. Interestingly, she pays for dinner. “Good Morning” I feel is more known for the chorus, while the verses are a bit obscure. Although it’s interesting to hear the kind of fast verses that Lennon sings (and that scorching guitar solo (from Paul!) is pretty cool).
I’m intrigued that “A Day in the Life” comes after the song that seems like it should end the record (the Pepper reprise). “A Day in the Life” really does get better with each listen–the closer you listen, the better it gets, too. It’s a great way to end any disc.
So yes this album is great and incredibly influential. I love listening to it. The biggest surprise to me is that the album is only 39 minutes.
Thirty-nine minutes!
[READ: January 24, 2015] “Last Meal at Whole Foods”
This story is set in a Whole Foods (duh). The narrator is eating dinner with his poor mother. He says that she is till young which is the tragedy, since she is close to death. They had a doctor’s appointment earlier which was meant to be “a formality.”
While they are eating he tells us that she has maintained an appetite even though she was always just a nibbler. But as of late her apatite has been voracious.
The man then reflects back on the location of the Whole Foods. Twenty years ago this street was apart of a dicey neighborhood. The only building was the Goodwill. The Goodwill that he and his other shopped at when they first moved to the area.
On their first outing there (his mother was so excited to get to building) she bought him a football jersey–even though he didn’t follow the local team. But the jersey proved to be a very cool item and the boys all talked to him about football because he wore it–there was even a rumor that he was related to the name of the back of his shirt. (more…)
This is the first proper solo album for Steven Page, former Barenaked Lady. He did have a side projet while he was still a BNL guy, called The Vanity project, but this comes after he left the band. As a lead songwriter for BNL, this album sounds an awful lot like a BNL album. But he does branch out a bit for better and worse, on a couple of songs. I like that the record is designed sort of like a book. And that there’s a library check out sleeve and that one of the names who checked out the “book” is Leland Palmer (ha).
“A New Shore” sounds like classic Barenaked Ladies, with a big chorus (and Page’s great voice), strings and even a whistling section. If you imagine the harmony vocals are by Ed Robertson, this could easily fit on a BNL disc. “Indecision” sounds like latter BNL with the “whoo hoos” and the way the verses really slow down the craziness of the chorus. The big difference is the female backing vocals. “Clifton Springs” opens with a ba da da section and a very catchy melody that sounds like a sitcom theme song (hey sitcoms, check this out!). It’s a mellow song that really highlights Page’s voice.
“Entourage” is a kind of dance song. It has a kind of Pet Shop Boys feel (or else I’ve been listening to the Pet Shop Boys too much). It even has a line “I only love you when I’m drunk” which echoes Pet Shop Boys’ “You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk.” But I love the way Page says “Alright” at the end of the chorus and it could possibly have been a dance hit. It ends with a minute or so of a jazzy coda. “Marry Me” could also be a theme (to the new show Marry Me, duh). It’s energetic and poppy.
“All the Young Monogamists” has cello and violin and in some places, little else. It’s quite a different sound for the album, like a minor orchestral piece. It works mostly. “She’s Trying to Save Me” is a great return to the bouncy single that BNL did so well. “Over Joy” has a very sixties feel (the way Page’s voice is processed). I believe it is also the same melody as the Barenaked Ladies song “Hannukah Blessings” which Page wrote. And why not? It’s very catchy.
“If You Love Me” has a very synthy 90s pop feel. I can see it being on the far end of Page’s fun zone, but I don’t really like it. When the song ramps up to the next notes around 2:50, it is excruciating. On the other end of the spectrum is “Leave Her Alone” which opens like a big band number (and stays that way in the chorus) but has verses that are very electronic.
“Queen of America” is a big bouncy song, that I wish I liked more. The final song, the five and a half-minute “The Chorus Girl” is a sad ballad (the kind that Page also writes very well). The song seems to want to be an epic (with horns an extended coda), but I think it drags on a bit too long.
Anyone who misses Page in BNL will certainly like this album. And those who are a little disappointed in the Page-less BNL newer records could easily mix half a dozen songs from this and some of the best songs from the newer BNL records into a very satisfying BNL+Page disc which would sound totally coherent.
[READ: April 25, 2014] Further Joy
This is Brandon’s first collection of short stories and I enjoyed them all quite a lot. Brandon specialized in disaffected protagonists, settled and settling in the South. And there is a nice amount of diversity in these stories.
The Favorite
In this story, Gardner returns to his home town after ten years of being away. he was quite a success when he left, but his return is less than exciting. He lives in small town that was big into high school football and he was glad to be away from it. But now that he is back he goes to games with his mother. The locals are happy he’s back, they think it’s great that he returned to be with his mom and to look after her. But he is miserable.
The only thing that makes the return palatable is seeing Ainsley. They dated in high school but didn’t have a bad breakup when he left. She is divorced now and single. She works in a doctor’s office and tells him stories about patients (despite it being against HIPPA–although she ever gives names). Since he is short on cash, he uses some information that she gives him to bet on an upcoming football game (he was able to figure out one of the players from the injury she described). Now the question is, could he go through with the scheme. He calls on a favor from another former friend who has never had much success. It could all go horribly wrong, of course. I really enjoyed this story a lot, and I loved the way the title played into the story unexpectedly. (more…)
I can’t get over how much I’ve been enjoying this album for the last two years. Father John Misty is J Tillman from Fleet Foxes.
This disc is a gentle folk album with vaguely country leanings. The arrangements are spare and yet the verses and choruses are so great to sing along to. “Funtimes in Babylon” has this infectious chorus: “I would like to abuse my lungs, smoke everything in sight with every girl I’ve ever loved. Ride around the wreckage on a horse knee deep in mud. Look out, Hollywood, here I come.” “Nancy from Now On” has a great propulsive chorus with oohs and tinkling bells and pianos and Misty’s engaging falsetto.
I was introduced to this album by “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” which opens with the super catchy line, “Jeeeeesus Christ, girl.” I love the big crashing drum sound he has here. “I’m Writing a Novel” is a fun romp, with the great line “I’m writing a novel because it’s never been done before.” “O I Long to Feel Your Arms Around Me” introduces a great organ sound. It’s a full song at only 2 and a half minutes.
“Misty’s Nightmares 1 & 2” opens with a slide guitar and turns into a stomping song with more Ooohs and a great chorus. “Only Son of the Ladiesman” has a great chorus with the fun couple: “I’m a steady hand, I’m a Dodgers fan.” “This is Sally Hatchet” has cool guitar blasts and a great bridge.
“Well You Can Do It Without Me” is a countrified 2 minute stomper. “Tee Pees 1-12” is a big stompin’ honkey tonk song with fiddles and slide guitar. The disc ends with “Everyman Needs a Companion” a slow ballad with a great piano melody and a fun to sing along with verse and chorus.
I love the lyrics on this album, especially the song “Now I’m Learning to Love the War” a slow ballad with a great story:
Try not to think so much about
The truly staggering amount of oil that it takes to make a record
All the shipping, the vinyl, the cellophane lining, the high gloss
The tape and the gear
Try not to become too consumed
With what’s a criminal volume of oil that it takes to paint a portrait
The acrylic, the varnish, aluminum tubes filled with latex
The solvents and dye
Lets just call this what it is
The gentler side of mankind’s death wish
When it’s my time to go
Gonna leave behind things that won’t decompose
In addition to all of the great music on here, the CD packaging is fantastic with that great cover, done in a cardboard gatefold sleeve including two huge books full of words and drawings and lyrics and everything. I’m really looking forward to his next release.
[READ: September 14, 2014] Grantland #10
Despite my being in the middle of reading several other things, I was looking for a short article to read the other night and grabbed my Grantland 10. And, of course, once I started, I couldn’t stop. I put everything else on hold and blasted through this issue.
And so all of my loves and hates are the same with this issue. I never know how anything they talk about nearly a year ago turned out, which stinks. And yet I get so wrapped up in the writing that I don’t care. I’m not sure what it is about the writing for Grantland that i enjoy so much. It is casual but knowledgeable. Often funny but not obnoxiously silly. And I suppose that now I feel like I’m in on all of the secret stuff they talk about so I’m part of the club. I fear that if I were to ever go to the website I would get sucked into a black hole and never emerge.
I often wonder how they choose what goes into the book. This issue has some new writers and the surprising absence of some regulars. I wonder what went on there. And as always, the book could use some editing and maybe actually listing the urls of the links that were once in the online version. But I think I’m talking to deaf ears on that one.
This issue covers October-December 2013 (that’s ten-twelve months ago! Some of this stuff feels ancient!)
Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was another super catchy and ubiquitous track from recent days (content notwithstanding). Dozens of parodies have been made of it already (many of them mocking the terribly sexist nature of the song), so what is Al to do? He goes for a personal pet peeve: bad grammar!
And he makes one of my favorite songs in years. My goodness there’s some great lines in this song. (B,C,R,U are words not letters; You should never write words with numbers, unless you’re 7. Or Prince).
This video is an animation which is very text heavy. Typically I don’t care for this type of animation, but there’s so much going on, it’s really funny, both lyrically and visually. This is one of my favorite Al songs of all time.
[READ: July 1, 2014] Whirlwind Wonderland
I’m continuing this recent spate of new and unheard of comics with Whirlwind Wonderland by Rina Ayuyang. Ayuyang is from Pittsburgh and is of Filipino descent. This piece of information informs some of the story-telling in interesting ways
Most of these stories are brief pieces that she wrote from 2001-2009 for with names like SPX 2005, A Girls Guide to Guys Stuff, Stripburger, #43 Do You Like TV? and issues of Namby Pamby.
There are too many single stories to try to explicate here, but some of the larger ones can be explored. Like “Here and There” which talks about her childhood growing up in town where it was obvious that they came from “Someplace Else.” So she didn’t let her friends come over to see all of their weird cultural artifacts (until she finds out that her mom bought them from a local thrift store). (more…)
I never watch the ads that come before Youtube videos. But this came on as an ad and I was utterly mesmerized by it.
I didn’t even know what it was for. Turns out that Univore is a band and “Vampire” is one of their songs. The 1 minute ad video was actually the whole thing.
It’s got a simple buzzy synthesized riff, backing vocalists singing “Oh yea” when appropriate and an occasional deep voiced man saying “vampire.” The video is of an older gentleman (who a little research suggests is Marco Casale) dressed like a vampire running around a small green space on a campus. The whole video looks like it took 15 minutes to film. It is weird and wonderful.
I still know nothing about Univore, which may be for the better, but I did enjoy this video.
[READ: April 6, 2014] Grantland #9
I’m surprised that there aren’t better cover images online for these books. For #8 i had to use one with a big flash in the middle of it and this one is the illustration from the Grantland website. The books are quite pretty so why uses these pale imitations?
So this issue proved to be a lot better about weird typos and “we just took this from the web and pasted it and never bothered to check to see if there was anything weird” problems. So thanks for at least running it through Spellcheck. The only other thing left is to either remove the lines that talk about attached links/images if they are not there or to include the url or make up a tiny url (but that would be actual work!). Oh, and please make sure all of the footnotes are included.
I have given up on ever finding out how these things turned out several months after the fact–I’ll just happily live in ignorance of reality there.
This issue was taken from during basketball’s downtime which was a nice change (even though the still managed to talk about basketball). There was more pop culture and some wonderful articles about team nicknames and mascots–something I absolutely love. So this is one of my favorite issues overall. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).
Ralph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him. He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).
The concert lasted only 6 minutes, but in that time he sang three a capella songs: “Gloryland,” “Turn Back, Turn Back” and “Amazing Grace.”
It’s hard to assess a legend based on this performance. I’ve no idea how good his voice was back in the day. He sounds fine here, albeit understandably quite old. I’d have liked to hear his banjo.
[READ: January 3, 2014] Grantland #8
It is becoming apparent to me that Grantland loves basketball. Like, a lot more than any other sport. This issue had a ton of basketball in it. And, I have to admit I was a little tired of it by the end–there was a lot less pop culture stuff, too. So, it felt especially basketball heavy. I realize of course that the time frame covered was the playoffs, but still.
BILL SIMMONS-“Searching for a Superman”
A lengthy article about Dwight Howard, discussing the pros and cons of signing him again.
MARK TITUS-“How Did He Get So Good?”
A look at Paul George and Danny Green doing better than expected in the NCAA playoffs.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“A Dark Day in Boston”
Pierce wonders about Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing–he says the city will come back stronger. (more…)
Today is the release date for Pearl jam’s new album, Lightning Bolt. I have heard two songs from it (the fast and furious “Mind Your Manners” and the gorgeous “Sirens”) and I’m quite excited to hear the whole thing. For the release of the album, Pearl Jam has decided to do some interviews. But not with the usual suspects. Rather, they have done four exclusive interviews with surfer Mark Richards, NFL player Steve Gleason, all around awesome lady Carrie Brownstein and director Judd Apatow.
The Mark Richards interview is available in excerpted form here. I’m not sure how long the whole interview is. But from the edited down video, we see that he interviewed all five of them for a bit (and then Stone, Jeff and Mike) and then Eddie. A surfer seems like a reasonable person t ask them about their music and they clearly feel very comfortable with him. (The video above is about 5 minutes). (more…)
After Angel Rat, original bassist Blacky left the band. That’s never a good sign. After the tour for this album, original singer Snake left the band. That’s an even worse sign. I still can’t quite figure out exactly why Snake left (personal problems) but he went on to form the band Union Made. For a very detailed history of the band, check out this very cool timeline at Voivod dot net.
The Outer Limits got a pretty big release. I have an original copy that came with 3D glasses and all of the illustrations in 3D. But I was a little disappointed in Angel Rat and I don’t think I gave The Outer Limits much of a chance. It was no Nothingface. But the band was always morphing. Since Angel Rat went very commercial, this album brought things back into the prog realm (with a 17(!) minute song) but also had a lot of commercial songs.
The album opens with “Fix My Heart” which starts out much heavier than anything on Angel Rat. It’s also got some metal guitar pyrotechnics (squeaks and harmonics). Snake’s voice isn’t quite as pretty as on Angel Rat either—he growls a bit, but maintains his nicer voice overall. Nevertheless, “Fix My Heart” is a pretty commercial enterprise (as the title might even suggest). There’s some good “spacey” guitars sounds which bode will for the sci-fi angle of the album (and there’s some cool effects that reward headphone use). “Moonbeam Rider” starts with a very classic rock sounding riff and then morphs into a kind of pretty, mellow verse. But the interstitial guitar is all speed. It’s a nice mix of fast and slow. This song features some interesting bass work—nothing fancy but for the slow parts it is actually keeping the beat instead of the drums. The bassist was a studio musician for this album. There’s also what sounds like a bong during the pre-guitar solo section (the solo is fairly traditional).
“Le Pont Noir” is a mellow, slow guitar song with a very cool delay effect and Snake’s whispered vocals. The bridge gets heavy with a wonderfully weird Piggy guitar riff. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album.
Then the band’s second Pink Floyd cover appears. This time it’s the even more obscure “The Nile Song.” They have rather heavied this one up with crunching guitars and Snake’s distance screaming filling in the void (although in fairness the original vocals are also screamed). It’s not as dynamic or exciting as “Astronomy Domine,” but it’s still a cool cover. “The Lost Machine” starts off heavy with Away’s double cymbal work (a noisy splash and a fast ride cymbal). Then Piggy’s guitars have a slight delay on them which makes the opening chords sound especially odd. The bridge is a place for Piggy to show off some more weird spacey chords and some very cool guitar riffs. There’s even a spoken word narrator in the middle of the song that explains the “mission” “Time Warp” opens with a very bright and up beat sounding verse. But it quickly disintegrates into (intentional) musical chaos as the narrator gets lost in space.
This all leads up to the 17 minute “Jack Luminous.” If anyone doubted their prog rock leanings, this should dispel that immediate. 17 minutes, multiple parts, a sci-fi epic, it is prog (but heavy prog) at its finest. There are some incredibly catchy parts as well as some less catchy parts, and sections seem to change every two minutes or so. The slow down at 10 minutes is very cool—different guitar effects and the suspenseful bass line. There’s repeated sections as well, which means if you like some guitar line (the spacey part near the end) it comes back! It’s not quite as dynamic as say 2112, but it’s a very successful sci-fi epic.
“Wrong Way Street” returns to the normal and more conventional. The bass that opens the song sounds great and the chords are fairly conventional–the chorus is even really catchy. “We Are Not Alone” is a break-neck metal song, The drums are super fast, the guitars are relentless and the chorus even has an echoed “Hey!” that gets you to sing along. The song also features a cool slow, almost jazzy bass and drum section that lets Piggy throw some soloing in before returning to the fast paced verses.
There’s lots of theories about what happened to Voivod after this album. The success they had achieved earlier was now gone and the band seemed like they couldn’t decide to be metal or prog or is they should go for more pop music. The problem of course is that they were too weird to get mainstream acceptance anyway.
So Snake left and then there were only two original members. The next step would be a drastic one.
[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #7
This issue seemed to come hot on the heels of #6. But I enjoyed it just as much. A few notes: no Jeremy Lin in this issue. Lots of LeBron James, three articles about soccer! And a few pop culture moments that I had forgotten about.
REMBERT BROWNE AND DUSTIN PARKER-“The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament JUST. GOT. REAL.
Leonard Cooper didn’t know the final Jeopardy answer but he still won and he made a hilarious joke at the end (in cartoon format);
BILL SIMMONS-“Daring to Ask the PED Question”
Simmons talks a lot about PED’s in this forum. Of course, to me PED is my initials. For him (and sports fans) it is performance enhancing drugs. He asks why sports doesn’t do more about it. There are so many people who do it that every time we see someone who might be doing it or who suddenly has a good season, we assume they are doing them too. It would be a service to the players and the fans to have rigorous testing or none at all.
CHRIS RYAN AND ROBERT MAYS-“The NFL Coaches Family Portrait By the Numbers”
A silly analysis of a photo of NFL coaches.
WESLEY MORRIS-“Jodie Foster’s Big Night”
What exactly did Jodie Foster say at the Golden Globes? (This was in January and everybody talked about it and now it’s September and I’ve completely forgotten about it—funny ephemera of pop culture).
JONATHAN ABRAMS-“Out of Africa”
A serious look at trying to bring basketball to Africa. How the culture and language problems make it very difficult to establish any real cohesion in the diverse country. But there are a few examples of boys coming from Africa and benefiting from host families and then heading back to help those who love basketball back home. The main focus is on a 15-year-old Alexis Wangmene who came to the States (and left his family!) to try to gain an education and basketball skills. It’s a heartfelt story.
MOLLY LAMBERT-“Modern Love”
About the show Catfish which just goes to show we can sink even lower as a culture.
CHUCK KLOSTERMAN-“Mental Health Protocol”
About Royce White again. Last time there was a lengthy look at him. Now we get to hear that he thinks that everyone has some kind of mental health issue.
ANDY GREENWALD-“Eat Bray Love”
How cooking shows have gone from educational to crazy and annoying. He dislikes Top Chef and the new Anthony Bourdain show The Taste (which he says is awful) but he likes a decent show called Chopped.
ZACH LOWE-“The Fragile Science of Basketball Chemistry”
Sure the Heat were great this year, but it’s the way they evolved as a team, creating chemistry, that is so impressive.
RAFE BARTHOLOMEW-“The Pariah”
Timothy Bradley beat Manny Pacquiao in a disputed judges call. Instead of rising to fame, he has been avoided like the plague.
BILL SIMMONS-“The All-Manti Te’o Mailbag
Remember that crazy story about the football guy with the dead girlfriend who turned out to be fake? I never really understood the story and while they spend a lot of time talking and theorizing about it I still don’t get it. Did they ever find out the truth about it?
CHRIS BROWN-“Speak My Language”
When you play for the Patriots, you learn their way of doing things—it is simple and efficient, a streamlined version of what other coaches try to do.
KIRK GOLDSBERRY-“The Evolution of LeBron James”
Using diagrams, we see how much of a different player James is in just the last few years with The Heat. This article has made me want to watch James in a game while he is at his peak. So, Heat vs Bulls at the end of October, you’re on my schedule.
SEAN McINDOE-“The Non-Hater’s Guide to the NHL”
Even people who hate everyone in the NHL (which is everyone) can agree that there are some players who are universally admired: Martin Brodeur, Pavel Satsyuk. Teemu Selanne, Jarome Iginla, Jonathan Toews, Martin St. Louis, Gabriel Landeskog, Patrick Elias (Devils get two!), Ryan Smyth, Steve Sullivan, Saku Koivu, Henrik Lundqvist.
ALEX PAPPADEMAS-“God Needs a Hobby”
A look at Dan Harmon and his podcast Harmontown. Harmon seems like he might be a crazy alcoholic, but he’s also pretty darn funny.
MARK TITUS-“Duke’s Ignominious Son”
Everybody hates Christian Laettner, but that’s only because he’s pretty and he made The Shot
MARK LISANTI-“Three Days in Austin”
Dealing with the craziness of the South by Southwest film festival. Sounds awful.
HUA HSU-“The Alien Has Landed”
Soccer legend Ronaldo returns to Old Trafford
BILL SIMMONS-“The Greatest Action Franchise That Ever Was”
Live blogging the Fast and Furious 6 trailer. I admit I may have to see these films after reading this.
ZACH LOWE-“Lights, Camera, Revolution”
There’s some kind of new technology that will change the NBA forever. I pretty much don’t care.
TESS LYNCH-“Nostalgia Bites”
Watching old Real World episodes shows how much things have changed in reality TV, but also how much certain behaviors are not new.
BRIAN PHILLIPS-“Maradona, Then and Now”
Maradona was an amazing kid—at 15 he was remarkable at his ball control. Now at 52 he’s a crazy loon. What exactly happened in between?
ANDY GREENWALD-“From Big to Small, From Movie to TV”
Why not make Men in Black into a TV show—with some other film recommendations.
AMOS BARSHAD-“How Soccer Explains Israel”
I didn’t expect to enjoy this but I found it very interesting. An Israeli soccer team has signed two Muslim players and it has caused incredible animosity and even arson. How this look at a team is like a microcosm of the whole Israeli situation.
LOUISA THOMS-“Back to School”
Missy Franklin won a ton of medals in the Olympics. And then she went back to high school. What’s it like to be on her team at Regis Jesuit?
WESLEY MORRIS-“Run, Frank, Run”
Frank Ocean apparently wasn’t as huge as I thought he was.
MALCOLM GLADWELL AND CHUCK KLOSTERMAN–“The Lies He Told”
More about Manti Te’o. This discussion was a bit more helpful about what happened and how crazy it is.
CHRIS RYAN AND REMBERT BROWNE-“A List of Possible Reasons for Rob Gronkowski’s Arm Infection”
Hypothetical humor.
JORDAN CONN-“The Invisible Man”
Marc Gasol is extremely respected by scouts and agents, but the fans all think of him as Pau Gasol’s chubby little brother.
REMBERT BROWNE-“French Quarter Lessons”
While in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Browne decided to go to a bunch of used bookstores. This is very funny and enjoyable.
JAY CASPIAN KANG-“Fiercely Disputed”
Mike Tyson’s one man show is weird and strangely affecting.
KATIE BAKER-“Do Svidanya to All That”
Several NHL players went to Russia’s KHL during the lockout. And some don’t want to come back.
CHRIS RYAN-“The All-Star Circus”
NBA All-Star weekend is a crazy circus (and sounds worse than the above SXSW festival).
CHUCK KLOSETRMAN AND ALEX PAPPADEMAS-“The Nobituary”
There was a serious rumor that David Bowie was on death’s door. Klosterman and Pappademas imagine writing his obituary.
DAVID SHOEMAKER-“Glenn Beck vs. WWE”
The WWE has always had racists as part of the act. What happens when some goons start acting like the Tea Party?
DAVID JACOBY-“The Pure Heart Meets The Bachelor”
Jacoby’s grandmother watches The Bachelor and he feels badly for her.
STEVEN HYDEN-“Is This It?”
The Strokes’ fifth album had just come out [really?]. It could be their last, but Hyden thinks their last two have been quite good.
BILL SIMMONS-“The Heat in Hindsight”
The Miami Heat came close to breaking the longest winning streak in the NBA. Simmons looks at the fallout and who “wins” and “loses” in the effort.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“Bleu, Blanc et Rouge”
I had no idea that Charlie Pierce was a Canadiens fan!
KATIE BAKER-“The Ethics of a Family Plan”
Is it ethical to pretend that you are married to your roommate to get a family discount a ta gym? Hell yes.
EMILY YOSHIDA-“A Dark Force”
J.J. Abrams is going to direct the next Star Wars films. Why, when sci-fi is so multifaceted and so different is everything coming down to J.J. Abrams?
SEAN FENNESSEY-“The Case Against Justin Timberlake”
Timberlakes’s previous album was amazing. Then he took years off to make (bad) film and (good) TV. His star would only continue to rise if he stopped making music and only hinted that he would make another album. But the release of his new album (which isn’t that good) can only hurt him.
BRYAN CURTIS-“Waiting for Bettman”
While many New Yorker’s didn’t care about the NHL strike, Canadian writers camped out waiting for Bettman to announce the strike was over.
WESLEY MORRIS-“30 Rock Landed on Us” 30 Rock was many things, but it dealt with racial issues (at least between blacks and whites) better than any show.
RANY JAZAYERLI-“Fall of the Evil Empire”
The New York Yankees look like they won’t make the playoff this year (this was written in March and as of my writing this they have a slim chance at getting the wild card slot). It will be the firs time in a while, perhaps, just perhaps, it’s the start of a new drought for the Evil Empire.
BILL BARNWELL-“The Master Raven”
Ozzie Davis knows how to pick players for the Baltimore Ravens.
REMBERT BROWNE AND DUSTIN PARKER-The Best Chappelle’s Show Sketches of All Time”
Done as a series of cartoons (by Parker); Browne picks his eight favorites:
Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Prince
Wayne Brady’s Show
Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Rick James
Black Bush (especially now that Obama is president)
Clayton Bigsby: Black White Supremacist
Making the Band (P. Diddy)
The Racial Draft (Tiger Woods Now 100% Black)
The Niggar Family (uncomfortable and hilarious no matter how many times you watch it).
Once again, there’s another great issue of Grantland. Once again, I wish they would follow up on some of their speculative stories. But it’s fun to have a time capsule of events that occurred just a few months ago and yet which I have totally forgotten about.
And here’s the cover of The Outer Limits in non 3D style (which I haven’t see before)
As I said, this album’s art looks much better. And you can hear from the first notes that this album is better produced and is going to be a lot more interesting than the previous two. It’s hard to know just how much of a leap this is from Rrröööaaarrr because that album was so muddy–maybe there were gems of guitar chords under all that noise. Like the previous openings, there’s a sort of prologue to the album. But unlike the previous album’s swirls, this one is beeping with a computer voice announcing “we are connected”
The opening chords are heavy, but man they sound clear—like they weren’t recorded underground. You can also hear all of Piggy’s weird higher notes—he’s playing complicated chords, not just solo notes. And when the chorus of “Killing Technology” rolls around, it offers stop and start rhythms and Snake’s voice even goes up an octave at the end. But the first real indication that Piggy is on to something new comes in the bridge. Underneath the robotic voice, Piggy is playing some really strange-sounding chords. The story is that he had been admiring Robert Fripp’s guitar work and so he added some of those King Crimson-y angular weird chords to his repertoire. And he melds them perfectly with the heavy thrash that the band had been playing.
Lyrically also, this album has moved away from killing and headaches. “Killing Technology” while having “killing” in the title is a very different subject:
The star wars have started up
The new invention is coming out
Making a spider web over the atmosphere
To make them sure that we can’t get out of here
Computers controlling your functions
Seems like we got electronic alienation
Trading children for a new kind of robot
Waiting for the old people to disappear
Quite a departure from Rrröööaaarr’s “Fuck Off and Die”
Stand up, right now, kill
No pleasure, the pain comes down here
No return, don’t look back, there’s no tomorrow
And if you’re a fucker and don’t believe it
I’d say fuck off and die, fuck off and die
“Overreaction” leans more towards the heavier side—Snake screams a bit more—but the subject (nuclear disaster) is thoughtful. Then comes their first truly amazing song: “Tornado.” Not only building like a tornado, this song allows them to talk about violent imagery without resorting to bloodshed. It’s even scientific:
Cumulonimbus storms arrive
Lightning flashes a hundred miles around
Electrical collision course
Creates the elephant trunk
But the best part is the chorus—it’s simple enough (just the word Tornado repeated) but it’s completely catchy and sing-alongable with bright major key chords.
“Forgotten in Space” features some great drumming from Away—he’s really quite underrated both in speed and technique—which explands even more on later albums. “Ravenous Medicine” is another highlight—an interesting series of uncomfortable chords opens this track about scientific research. It’s a pretty fast, heavy song. Although not too complicated except for the occasional breaks as the story progresses.
“Order of the Blackguards” is another fast song, but this one has so many parts that if you don’t like one, just wait a few seconds for the next one. “This is Not an Exercise” ends the disc proper. The middle section has a great heavy riff. But it’s the beginning of the ending sequence which is so perfectly sci-fi that really sets the tone of the album and looks towards the next one. It’s cool to think of Piggy playing these spacey chords on his guitar. And when Blacky’s bass rumbles in to resume the song, it’s quintessential Voivod.
By th way, this disc is a concept album as well. There’s a “Killing Side” (the first three songs) and a “Ravenous Side.” The strange thing about the CD though is that they have added two tracks from their Cockroaches EP which is nice. But they put one song at track 4 (the end of side one). How odd to put a bonus track in the middle of a sequenced album.
The EP came out before the album and it has a slightly different feel from the album proper. Although as a step towards Killing Technology it’s perfectly in sync. “Too Scared to Scream” is heavy and has some interesting time changes—I love the way the song feels like it is crashing to a halt around 3:30. “Cockroaches” feels like more traditional metal. It opens with drums and Piggy playing a typical sounding metal solo. Then the riffing starts and it’s very heavy indeed. Even the staggered section near the end sounds like a mosh section more than the prog time changes that Voivod uses on the album proper. The song ends with Snake screaming as the cockroaches are coming. A good ending to the EP and a pretty good ending to the disc.
The whole album has a very mechanical and robotic feel—the chords that Piggy plays just sound like mechanical failure, it’s very well constructed and foreshadows the music of their future.
[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #6
Grantland #6 covers from Sept 2012-Dec 2012. Despite the short time frame, this is the largest issue yet. And it maintains all the quality that I’ve come to expect from the book/magazine thing. Which means, I love the writing (especially about people/sports I’m not that interested in). And it also means that the editing is typically crap. In this issue the editing was crap more because they simply forgot to remove mention of hyperlinks. At least I assume that’s why sentences like “See here for ____” are included in any given article. But yes, there are some very simple typos that Word would correct pretty easily.
But beyond that, I really enjoyed this issue. And I’m finding it amusing how much certain people and shows crop up in a given time frame. So this is a four month period and Kobe Bryant still dominates (there will never be an issue without at least one Kobe article). But this time Homeland is the big show (since Breaking Bad has been on hiatus I gather). Basketball remains the favorite sport here (even though they speak of football as being the most popular sport).
Chuck Klosertman and Charlie Pierce continue to write thoughtful (sometimes funny) articles. And I like how there is still talk of Jeremy Lin even if Linsanity has gone away somewhat. (more…)
I have casually seen The xx on a few shows and I’m intrigued by them. I’ve never really given their albums any time though, so I can’t say anything much about them.
However, I really enjoy the sound they get live (which is funny since in the article below they talk about how much of a perfectionist Jamie, the studio tech guy, is about the recordings).
This set from KEXP (KEXP always has great audio quality) contains four songs “Fiction” “Reunion” “Sunset” and “Angels.” And I have to say the band sounds amazing. So close, so clean, so intimate. Oliver’s voice is right there, whispering in your ears, and Romy’s guitars sound gorgeous–gentle vibrato, chiming chords; her voice is also beautiful.
The thing that throws me about The xx is how spare their music is. Sometimes it’s almost like there’s no music at all. And I keep thinking of reasons why I wouldn’t enjoy such simple music (it’s usually not my thing). Or that it should only be experienced in a dark room by yourself. But the melodies are so beautiful that I think they’ve made a convert of me. I really adore these songs. And I must have heard “Angels” somewhere because it is completely familiar.
I wonder if they sound this good on record. You can watch the show here:
[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #5
Grantland continues to impress me with articles about sports that I don’t care about. They style that the writers have (and the humor they impart) is wonderful. And it goes to show that if you are passionate about something you can make it interesting to anyone. So, even if I don’t know who some of the people who they’re talking about are, I can still enjoy what they say about them. Plus, their entertainment coverage is really fun, too.
BILL SIMMONS-“Battle of the Olympic Heavyweights”
I really enjoyed this article which compares Olympic swimming and gymnastics to see which one “wins” in this battle for TV coverage and the hearts of Olympic fans (hint: it’s gymnastics, but Simmon’s categories are very good).
BRIAN PHILLIPS-“The Death’s Head of Wimbledon”
Phillips tries to cover Wimbledon and finds it very difficult to manage because it is all designed for TV, not in person coverage.
REMBERT BROWNE-“I Feel Like a Free Man”
The amazing decision of Frank Ocean to come out and how little it impacted his career. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1967).
A few years ago I started writing about Beatles records–a thankless task if ever there was. I got held up at Sgt Pepper, so it seems fitting to get back to the Beatles after enjoying the cover album from the Flaming Lips.
I Just Read About That... 