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Archive for the ‘Supernatural’ Category

Lars Jansson–Moomin: Volume Six (The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip) (2011)

Posted in Adventure, Animals, Boredom, Children's Books, Circus, Constellation Records, Cute, Do Make Say Think, Drawn & Quarterly, Evening News London, Funny (ha ha), Lars Jansson, Magic, Moomin, Supernatural, Surreal, Tiny Desk Concert, Tove Jansson on February 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »

6SOUNDTRACK: DO MAKE SAY THINK-Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord Is Dead [CST010] (2000).

330px-DmstgoodbyeenemyAfter their debut album, Do Make Say Think made this second album which sonically fits together perfectly and really explores instrumental post-rock.  Most of the songs were recorded in a barn giving it a very big sound (complete with insects chirping).  While there were horns in the debut, they seem to be punched up a bit more on this record, and they really seem to help the record rock more.

“When Day Chokes the Night” song is 6 minutes long and I love the way the opening is a simple guitar melody slowly picked and strummed for 3 or so minutes. Then at 3:30 there’s a noisy “drum solo” that sets you up for the second half of the song which introduces wailing saxophone and it all really rocks out.

“Minmin” is 8 minutes long.  It opens slower but adds a steadily propulsive bass and drum pattern. Around 5 minutes the drums become martial and a new rhythm and bass pattern enters as the song gets bigger.  The riff is a solid rock riff and there’s some interesting feedback behind it.  It’s some of a classic construct of a slow building song that shifts gears midway through.

“The Landlord is Dead” (at a brief 5 and a half minutes). opens with a similar echoing riff, this one is more catchy than the others. Some horns fill out the background.  The song builds properly to a screaming guitar soloing wild ending.  It’s easily my favorite song on the record.

“The Apartment Song” is slower, with echoing guitars and a more trippy feel.  I love the way the really noisy guitars blast out for 8 notes and then recede again.  It’s the first of two songs under four minutes

“All of This is True” starts out with a noisy drum beat, open chords and a distant horn.   This song slowly builds for about two minutes before pausing entirely and then resuming as something else—more slow horns layering on each other the horns drift away and guitars take over again.  There’s something of a dancey beat on the drums all along.  The song ends with crowd noises and someone shouting “Merry Christmas Everybody” before seguing into “Bruce E Kinesis.”  “Kinesis” opens with a heavy bass line and insistent drum beat before the interesting guitar counterpoint plays over the riff.  For the first time, really, a keyboard riff takes over  It feels slightly sinister.  This song has a kind of claustrophobic feel, but with a kind of funky drum all the way through.  At only 3:40 this song feels compact and efficient, and as something of a lead in to the 12 minute album closer “Goodbye Enemy Airship”

The final takes a while to get where it’s going.  After some introductory drumming there’s plenty of one-note guitar and horns which keep growing louder and more insistent for the first 4 minutes.  It turns into a very bright guitar melody–bouncy and fun.  (This is one of the two songs not recorded in the barn).  It develops a distinctly jazzy feel.   The song gets bigger with some great bass chords alongside the repeating riff on the guitar.  At around 9 minutes the song morphs into the third part of this exploration of similar riffs and textures. This one is a bit trippier. The disc ends with some mildly dissonant keyboard notes as the guitar echoes to halt.

While I do enjoy their debut, this album feel like a giant stride forward in terms of composition and cohesion.

[READ: February 3, 2015] Moomin Volume 6

Moomin Book 6 is composed entirely of strips written and drawn by Lars Jansson.  Lars was 12 years younger than Tove.  He was a writer, translator and gold-miner (!).  He wrote his first novel at fifteen and then proceeded to write 8 more.  Lars translated the earlier strips into English as Tove wrote them in Swedish.  Tove’s contract was to expire in 1959, so he began teaching himself how to draw Moomins (Tove didn’t know).  Tove’s creative fatigue set in and so Lars wrote his first comic in 1956 and by 1960, he was ready to take over.  The newspaper syndicate approved the switch and so these final strips all belong to him.  He created Moomin for fifteen years–twice as long as Tove worked on it.  These stories originally ran in the Evening News, London 1960-1975.

I love that they must have agreed that each strip would open with a big Moomin behind as well.

The chapters are “Moomin’s Lamp” “Moomin and the Railway and “Moominpappa and the Spies” “Moomin and the Circus”

(more…)

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Dave Roman–Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry (2013)

Posted in #10yearsof01, Adventure, Dave Roman, Dave Roman, First Second :01, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Humiliation, Set at School, Supernatural, The Black Angels, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfinished series on February 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »

aareentry SOUNDTRACK: THE BLACK ANGELS-Tiny Desk Concert #132 (June 8, 2011).

I hblakangelsave The Black Angels’ 2013 album Indigo Meadow and I like it a lot.  It has a cool retro psychedelic vibe while still retaining a heaviness that sounds great.

For this Tiny Desk Concert, which is more or less in support of their 2010 album Phosphene Dream, the band strips down to almost a folk band.

There is an acoustic guitar, and hollow-bodied electric which I think is not plugged in (one guitar plays the bass lines and other one plays the solo notes), there’s a harmonium (the second one in a few weeks on the Tiny Desk), there’s a drummer (with basically a floor tom) and the lead singer with a tambourine.

No one is amplified except the singer–whose voice is processed to sound extra trippy (note especially the first lines of the second song, where he sounds like he’s singing from outer space).  His singing is very gentle (especially since they are basically unplugged, which makes the effects seem even more powerful).

The band plays four songs, “Bad Vibrations” which is a great way to start off.  “Haunting At 1300 McKinley” showcases that echoing voice very well.  One of the guitarist sings nice harmony vocals as well.  The harmonium has that vibrato sound that also makes the song seem trippy.

“Entrance Song” has the other guitarist singing harmony (deeper voice compared to the singer’s rather high voice).

For the final song, “Too Much Hate,” the singer plays the guitar (leaving the former guitar player with nothing to do).  The sentiment of the song is excellent, really showing off a hippy vibe.

I really like The Black Angels a lot, and this makes me think I need to check out their earlier stuff too.

[READ: February 3, 2016] Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry

I enjoyed Book 1 a lot but I enjoyed this sequel so much more.  I’m glad that I put off reading this one until after the first because even though there were no mysterious things that I wouldn’t have gotten, the whole experience is definitely greater if you read these in order.

This book opens with a similar style–brief episodes about each person–and what they have been up to over the summer.  I enjoyed that Hakata Soy has been spending his time on earth (such a novel idea).  But that’s when he gets the devastating news that Princess Boots, the girl he gave his second heart to in the backstory, actually gave it away and is now dating his arch-nemesis Rick Raven.

Scab Wellington was released from prison (which makes Maribelle Mellonbelly happy).  And Thalia Thistle still hasn’t told her dad that she plays Fireball. (more…)

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Dave Roman–Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity (2011)

Posted in #10yearsof01, Dave Roman, First Second :01, Funny (ha ha), Future Islands, Graphic Novel, Jack Black, Outer Space, Raina Telgemeier, Set at School, Supernatural, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfinished series, Video Games on February 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

aazero SOUNDTRACK: FUTURE ISLANDS-Tiny Desk Concert #128 (May 16, 2011).

futureI don’t really know that much about Future Islands.  I know they were huge in 2014, but this Tiny Desk comes from three years earlier, when perhaps they were less known?

I didn’t really like the single that was very popular in 2014, but I can’t recall how it compares to this show. The band consists of a bassist and a keyboardist/electronic drummer and Sam Herring the lyricist/vocalist/melodramatic front man.

It’s odd seeing him sitting casually on the edge of the desk before he starts singing.  He seems so mellow and then he sings with a crazily arch voice and unexpected dramatic flourishes.

Given his general appearance and some of the faces he was making I kept thinking that Jack Black would do an aces impersonation of him.

The songs are simple musically–simple keyboard lines and, it must be said, some solid bass holding things down.  All the drama comes from the lyrics, like in “On the Water”: “Body of mine, body of Christ, can I be the one who saves your life.”

It’s funny to hear him talk between songs so deadpan and unaffected, before resuming that unusual singing style.

“The Ink Well” has some weird echoing keyboards sounds before the solid bass comes in again.  I have a hard time taking his vocals seriously, it seems so over the top.  Although the blurb says that “What Future Islands is really going for, with the mordant wit in the lyrics, the melodramatic chord progressions and Herring’s yowling, scratchy voice [I wouldn’t describe it like that, actually], is catharsis. And catharsis can happen in your head and in your heart.”    And I do like the line “the ghost of you still haunts me at night and that’s enough to keep me happy, sometimes.”

He says that the second song is hard to song quiet.  Perhaps his singing style would work better if the music was bigger, fuller (matching the size of the amp they brought with them).

“Walking Through That Door” works best of the three songs.  It is a little faster, with a more propulsive bass and it feels louder, so that Herring’s voice seems to work better. And when he wails his lines at the end it seems appropriate.

Still not sure if I’m a fan, but I appreciate them a little more than I did.

[READ: February 1, 2016] Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity

Both of the libraries that I go to had copies of the second book in this series, and I waited and waited for the first book to be returned, but it just appears that neither one ever arrived.  So I finally put in a request for book one (I couldn’t read the second first even if this is from First Second).  #10yearsof01

I really didn’t know what this story was about, but I was surprised to discover that it was a series of small incidents (each with an End). Was this a series of single web comics, or is it just a fun way to tell a bigger story?  I’ll never know.  The whole story is set at the astronaut academy.

As the book opens we see a promotional guide to Astronaut Academy from the principal (who carries a big sword and has big spiky hair).  We learn what the school has to offer and we see some of the teachers like Mr Namaguci who has even bigger hair than the principal and “may or may not have magical powers but is still handsome.”  There also Señor Panda (still not extinct) who has a secret.

We also see that the application is for Hakata Soy. (more…)

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Joey Weiser–Mermin Book Three: Deep Dive (2013)

Posted in Aliens, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Booker T. Jones, Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Joey Weiser, Ocean, Oni Press, Supernatural, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfinished series on January 24, 2016| Leave a Comment »

mermin2SOUNDTRACK: BOOKER T. JONES-Tiny Desk Concert #125 (May 2, 2011).

Booker T. Jones is the Booker T from Booker T. & the M.G.’s whose classic “Green Onions” is one of my favorite instrumentals ever (and probably why I enjoy the Hammond sound so much).

And he plays it here.  He says he wrote it when he was 17 years old (in 1962)–a senior in high school.  And he still enjoys playing it.

They did some furniture moving to get the desk-sized Hammond B3 organ and its sturdy wooden Leslie speaker cabinet to where Bob’s desk normally goes, and it is worth it.  Booker T. even gives a brief lesson about “crawling” on the organ and what drew him to it in the first place when he was ten years old.

After playing “Green Onions,” he switches sounds on the organ to play a wonderfully menacing version of “Born Under a Bad Sign” (a song he also wrote).  It’s so very different on the organ–and I much prefer this version to the familiar one.

The final song is called “Down in Memphis.”  It was a new song in 2011 but it is the song I like the least.  There’s nothing bad about it–it’s just kind of plain and simple.  It’s more of him singing (about Memphis, which doesn’t mean much to me) and less of his organ playing.  But that’s okay.  His voice is still amazing.

I’m all about that Hammond.

[READ: January 21, 2016] Mermin: Book Three

After waiting nearly three years between books one and two, I waited one day between books two and three.  I actually assumed that this series was a trilogy, but I have learned that there is a part four already out.

Book three opens up in the Kingdom of Mer.  Mermin is a little boy (uh, fish, uh, whatever) and he is having a really hard time learning to control the sea.  He should be able to use his thoughts to make the water move.  But he stomps out in frustration.

Then we jump back to the present where our gang (Pete, Toby and his sister Claire and Penny) along with Mermin and Benni are being driven in a ship to Mer.  And Mak is driving the ship (I don’t think I knew that my favorite walking whale had a name).

Their back home “plan” for heading to the sea involved having Randy tell everyone that they were away camping.  Of course, Randy is a bad kid and can’t be trusted, so it should come as no surprise to see that he stowed away on the ship (we never actually find out what happened back home). (more…)

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Joey Weiser–Mermin Book Two: The Big Catch (2013)

Posted in Aliens, Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Joey Weiser, Ocean, Oni Press, Supernatural, They Might Be Giants, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfinished series on January 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

  mermin 3SOUNDTRACK: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS-Tiny Desk Concert #145 (July 28, 2011).

tmbgI have loved They Might Be Giants for decades.  But I have kind of fallen off the TMBAndwagon over the last few years.

I must have watched this Tiny Desk when it came out, but i didn’t really remember it at all.

John and John (and Marty Beller on drums) play 2 songs from their then new album Join Us (the last one I bought I think).

The first is “Can’t Keep Johnny Down” sung by Flansburgh who also plays keyboards.  It sounds very much like classic TMBG (that voice, of course).

“Cloisonné” is a slower song sung by Linnel while Flans plays a very long saxophone (seriously, it’s very long).  This also sounds very TMBG–Johns voice and the sax are right on).  I don’t know why I didn’t listen to this album more.

They wrap up the set with the brilliant 21 part “Fingertips” from Apollo 18.  And it sounds perfect–just like the record, only live and a little more fun.

[READ: January 19, 2016] Mermin: Book Two

I enjoyed Mermin Book One quite a lot.  And of course, I couldn’t wait for Book Two.  And then I forgot about it.  I need some kind of reminder system, I guess.

Anyhow, this book picks up right where the previous one left off.

Mermin (not to be confused with Moomin) has completed his adventure and is trying to settle in with Pete and his friends–you know go to school and be normal even he is a green fish type creature.  And Benni (the round goldfish like creature) is still around to watch over Mermin (even if he is not appreciated).

And now suddenly Penny is trying to hang out with the boys.  Pete and his friends are reluctant for her to join them because she usually hangs out with other people and besides, they are trying to keep Mermin a secret.  They are not doing a good job of it though. (more…)

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Drawn and Quarterly: Twenty Five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels (2015)

Posted in Adrian Tomine, Anouk Ricard, Archer Prewitt, Archer Prewitt, Big Books, Brecht Evens, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Canadian Content, Chester Brown, Chris Oliveros, Chris Ware, Consumerism, Daniel Clowes, Diane Obomsawin, Doug Wright, Drawn & Quarterly, Frank King, Funny (ha ha), Guy Delisle, Helge Dascher, Humiliation, Interviews, Jillian Tamaki, Joe Matt, Joe Sacco, John Stanley, Julie Doucet, Kate Beaton, LGBTQ, Library Related, Marc Bell, Marriage Trouble, Menstruation, Moomin, oshihiro Ratsumi, Pascal Girard, Peter Bagge, Seiichi Hayashi, Seth, Sex, Shigeru Mizuki, Supernatural, Surreal, The Coctails, The Sea and Cake, Tom Gauld, Translation, Unfinished series, Violence, Virginity (Loss of), War, Yuck! on January 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

dq25SOUNDTRACK: ARCHER PREWITT-“O, KY” (2005).

wikldernessArcher Prewitt formed The Coctails (a kitschy lounge act) in the early 90s, several years before the lounge revival.  Then he joined The Sea and Cake and has been making amazing music with them.  And he has also released several solo albums.

He has also published some comics (Sof’ Boy) with Drawn & Quarterly.

This song comes from his album Wilderness.  The title of the song is clever, too.

It’s upbeat and folky with a little psychedlia and rock thrown in.  I like Prewitt’s voice quite a bit–it’s simple but really strong.  But the selling point on this song (and others from this album that I have listened to) is the composition and arrangement of these songs.

I like the way this one goes from simple guitar to orchestration (although presumably not a real orchestra) for the chorus.  And how post chorus there are flutes and other instruments to pick up the momentum which adds a vaguely psychedelic feel to it.

At four minutes (the song is five) it changes direction entirely and turns into a nearly new song with big guitars and drums. And it rather rocks.

And just to make Archer the all around dude that he is.  He also drew the cover art.  Jeez.  He’s probably super nice and friendly, too.

[READ: January 3, 2016] Drawn and Quarterly: Twenty Five Years 

I have liked a lot of D+Q books for a long time, although I never really considered a comprehensive look at their publishing house.  This book–about 775 pages long–is about as comprehensive as it gets.

This book contains a few previously published cartoons and excerpts as well as a whole slew of previously unpublished pieces.  There are essays and histories and reminiscences and love love love for the little Montreal graphic novel publisher.

I didn’t know much about the history of D+Q–that Chris Oliveros started the publisher in 1989 out of his house.  That he was the only employee for years.  And that he was essential in getting the term “graphic novel” used by everyone–including the library of congress!

He weathered distribution problems, he weathered the rise and fall of indie comics in the late 90s and he has come through with some of the most beautiful books published.  D+Q has also brought attention to foreign artists as well as out of print artists.

Really, if you have any respect for graphic novels (that aren’t superhero-based) you owe thanks to D+Q. (more…)

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P. Craig Russell–Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung (2014)

Posted in Big Books, Books about music, Gods, Graphic Novel, HMSTR, Marriage Trouble, Myths, P. Craig Russell, Patrick Mason, Richard Wagner, Sex, Supernatural, Tiny Desk Concert, Translation, Violence, Yuck! on January 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

rhineSOUNDTRACK: HMSTR-Tiny Desk Concert #413 (December 24, 2014).

hmstrThe only thing I could think of to pair with a complete telling of Wagner’s Ring Cycle (aside from the entire thing itself, which… forget about it), was the smallest, most inconsequential music I could find.

Enter HMSTR.

HMSTR played the Tiny Desk Christmas show in 2014.  And really, they must be seen to be believed.  Not because they are spectacular, but because the joke isn’t really very funny if you just listen to the music.

Starting with some bizarre synth sounds, after 20 seconds the songs bursts into a lo-fi punk anthem.  It’s all buzzing guitars and a simple synth over some majorly lo fi drums.  There’s even a somewhat catchy “chorus” section.  After a minute, the guitars fade and sleigh bells signal the end of the song.

So whats the joke?  See for yourself

All in a tiny Tiny Desk setting.

[READ: May 20, 2015] Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung

Yes, this is a massive graphic novel depicting Wagner’s “Music Dramas.”  The text was translated by Patrick Mason and then Russell adapted the whole thing to fit his story.

Everyone loves “Flight of the Valkyries,” but hardly anyone has listened to the entire Ring (it’s 4 operas and 15 hours long).  Except for the Bugs Bunny version, of course.  I have been interested in the Ring for a long time, but I wasn’t willing to devote that much time to it either.  So this book is perfect. (more…)

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Dale E. Basye–Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go (2008) [audiobook 2010–Bronson Pinchot]

Posted in Adventure, Audiobooks, Boredom, Bronson Pinchot, Children's Books, Dale E. Bayse, Death, Demons, Fears, Goths, Supernatural, Yuck! on December 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: December 2015] Heck

heckI read this book several years ago.  I remember enjoying it but not loving it.  But when we were looking for an audio book and I saw that this was narrated by Bronson Pinchot, I knew we had to listen to it.  And the kids liked it a lot (although Tabby didn’t love the ending, which is sad, but is more of a set up for volume 2).

The premise of the book is that Heck is where you go when you die if you’re under 18.  They’re not quite sure where you’re going to wind up, so you have to go through Heck, which is basically school, until they can sort out which layer of Hell you’re going to wind up in.  Needless to say Heck is full of bad kids (and bad demons).

Our two bad kids are Milton and Marlo Fauster.  Marlo is a troublemaker from way back.  She is a petty thief and is always up to no good.  Milton is a good kid.  He never did anything bad in his life, and he always gets abuse from Marlo.  As the book opens, Milton and Marlo are sprinting down the corridor of a mall where Marlo has just stolen something. She is planning on wreaking havoc with Grizzly Mall’s centerpiece: The State’s Second-Largest Bear-Themed Marshmallow Statue (that cracked me up).

The kids run to the center of the mall where they are cornered by security.  Marlo is trying to think of an escape plan when Milton notices his classmate Damian.  Damian torments Milton every chance he can get.  And now, he is standing at the top of the marshmallow bear with matches.  Milton also notices a fuse sticking out of the bear.

One explosion later, the kids find themselves no longer attached to their bodies, as they are rapidly sliding down to Heck.  Marlo deserves to be there, she’s a bad egg.  But what about Milton?  It turns out that Marlo had slipped an item into Milton’s backpack, and therefore he technically stole something as well.  A technicality but true nonetheless.

The rest of the book shows the kids in their gender-segregated classes.  The boys learn physical education from Blackbeard the pirate and ethics from Richard Nixon (the Nixon bits were hilarious, and yet I can’t imagine many kids getting the jokes).  The girls, meanwhile, learn home ec from Lizzy Borden (do kids know who that is?) and singing from an angel who is on a teacher exchange program. (more…)

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Robert Beatty–Serafina and the Black Cloak (2015)

Posted in Adventure, Catamount, George Frideric Handel, Horror, Jackie Evancho, Magic, Robert Beatty, Sarah McLachlan, Supernatural, The House of Flying Daggers, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfinished series, Violence on December 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

serafinaSOUNDTRACK: JACKIE EVANCHO-Tiny Desk Concert #130 (May 23, 2011).

jackieI’d never heard of Jackie Evancho, even though she apparently was viral for a while.  Jackie was (at the time of this taping) 11 years old.  And she has an amazing operatic voice.  Not like, oooh, the 11 year old can sing, but like holy cow, that voice comes out of an 11 year old?

Her voice is beautiful in the audio format, but you really have to watch that voice come out of this adorable little girl (while she sings Handel’s “Ombra Mai Fu”) for it to really blow your mind.  Especially when she giggles at the end.

For what I am sure are licensing reasons, there is only one video available, but there are three songs available to download.  “Lovers” comes from The House of Flying Daggers (one of her favorite movies).  If you have watched her sing, it is staggering to imagine her singing this song (which is intensely grown up).

The third song is Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and she sounds so much more “mature” than McLachlan’s more passionate version.  It is uncanny to watch this girl sing.

[READ: December 6, 2015] Serafina and the Black Cloak

I saw this book reviewed and it was talked about as being the next big franchise for Disney.  Since our library had it in I thought I’d read it before it took off.

To my knowledge it hasn’t taken off yet, but I’m glad I’m ahead of the curve.

This book has many dark elements including a very violent, scary opening that I feel makes this an unlikely children’s book series.  Maybe tweens, but certainly not for young readers.

I brought the book for Sarah because it is set in Biltmore Estate (Sarah’s mom had just visited there and Sarah would like to go).  I think she was intrigued until I read the next paragraph which talked about a lot of supernatural elements (she was intrigued for different reasons then).

So Serafina is the daughter of the man who works on the “Edison machine” in the basement of Biltmore.  He doesn’t want the Vabnderbilts’ to know he lives there and doesn’t want them to know about Serafina at all.  All Serafina knows is that her mother is dead and her pa is all she has left.  So he hides her and tells her she is the CRC, the house’s chief rat catcher.  Despite her living conditions, she doesn’t feel any ill will towards the Vanderbilts.  She has never really interacted with them so she has no opinion of them.  She just thinks they are fascinating.

Serafina has very keen senses, especially in the dark–she can catch mice an rats like no ones business and she thinks that everyone else is loud and clumsy.  She also has amber eyes and only four toes and she is able to move her body into uncannily small spaces.

Her father, protective of her and of his livelihood, tells her to never go out except at night.  And she must also never go into the forest which is magical and dangerous. But Serafina is constantly drawn to the forest,

Then one night she hears someone walking around and a little girl scream.  The man is in a black cloak and she watches as he grabs the girl, says she won’t be hurt and then proceeds try to…do something to her.  Serafina tries to help, but she is thwarted and soon the little girl  screams and is gone.

She tries to tell her pa but he doesn’t believe her–he doesn’t want to hear anything about supernatural nonsense.  He even gets mad that she was out and about.  Finally when word gets out that the girl is missing, the house organizes a search party and Serafina runs into a boy, Braeden (a terribly unlikely name for the time, I must say).  Braeden is the nephew of the Vanderbilts.  Braden is an orphan , and his aunt and uncle have taken him in.  But he is a loner and spends more time with his horses and dog.  He is intrigued by Serafina because she is obviously a loner too.

They wind up going on a coach ride together only to get trapped in the woods.  That’s when Braeden believes what Serafina has seen (because he has seen it too).  And they know they have to capture this man in the black cloak.

But how can the two people who aren’t even supposed to talk to each other work together on such a thing.  And who can the evil person be?  An outsider or one of his uncle’s friends?

The mystery wasn’t set up as a mystery–we learn who we think is the bad guy about half way through the book.  But there’s still the matter of catching him.  And then learning the secret of the cloak.  And the secret of the forest.

I also enjoyed the part about the catamount.  I have a personal funny story about catamounts and have never seen them in a story before.  I’ve also never heard of them as having mystical powers (or that the name was derives from Cat-a-mountains) either.  Which was cool.

Although there were elements of this story that were kind of samey to other stories like this, there was much originality.  And by the end of the story I was totally hooked.

And best of all, the ending feels like an ending, not a set up for a part 2.  I can’t quite imagine how they will make a series out of it, but I’ll certainly read book two if it comes out.

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Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater–Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures (2015)

Posted in Django Reinhardt, Fantasy, Fire, Funny (ha ha), Jackson Pearce, John Coltrane, Maggie Stiefvater, Magic, Manuals, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Turtle Island Quartet, Unfinished series, Unicorns on December 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

pipbartrSOUNDTRACK: TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET-Tiny Desk Concert #111 (February 26, 2011).

turtleTurtle Island Quartet (there’s no explanation for their name) are a quartet who play an interesting hybrid/jazz crossover. This is most evident in cellist Mark Summer’s playing.  Half the time he bows the strings but the other half he plays like an upright bass (including a percussive elements when he slaps the strings).

“Model Trane,” the opening tune is a John Coltrane-inspired piece, propelled by Summer’s running bass lines Despite the more classical set up (and three violins) it feels very jazzy.  It runs about 4 and a half minutes.

The band leader is David Balakrishnan who has written most of the songs.  He describes the second song, “Monkey Business,” as “loosely based on a sardonic view of Darwin’s theory of evolution.”  I don’t quite know what that means (it’s an instrumental after all), but it’s neat the way the music is all over the place stylistically.  The most notable moment comes when they quote (and fugue) “Strangers in the Night.”  Although other parts of the song remind me of the music in Bugs Bunny cartoons.

The final song has the funny title “Groove in the Louvre.” He says it was inspired by Django Reinhardt.  I don’t know enough Django to know if that is evident here, but there is plenty of soloing going on.  There’s jazzy fiddles (Balakrishnan plays a baritone violin on this song).  There is very jazzy bass (and even a bass solo on the cello) as well as classical elements.  The song is 8 minutes long.

They are definitely an unexpected quartet.

[READ: June 1, 2015] Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures

Pip Bartlett is a young girl (yes I was surprised that Pip was a girl, especially since it didn’t say so until nearly the end of the Prologue).  She can speak to magical creatures–unicorns, silky griffins, fuzzles–but no one believes her (because no one else can).  This is a drag because she loves magical creatures and her Aunt Emma is a veterinarian of magical creatures (people know magical creatures exits, they just don’t think people can talk to them).

The Prologue sets up that Pip loves unicorns but she never really encounters them.  Pip is an authority on magical creatures because she has read (and carries with her) Jeffrey Higgleston’s Guide to Magical Creatures.  She has actually been annotating it as she learns more stuff than is in the guide.  (The guide is good it’s just incomplete).  Then on field day, a classmate brings in four of her show unicorns.  Pip talks to them and discovers that they are incredibly vain and show-offy.  One of them demands that she ride her so that she can show off as much as the other unicorns.  So Pip does (against her better judgment) and all chaos reigns.  Pip is then sent to live with her Aunt for the summer.

As mentioned, Aunt Emma is a vet for magical creatures, and Pip is pretty excited to see them all.  Emma’s daughter Callie is less than thrilled.  She works in the vet’s office for long thankless hours.  And she is crabby when Pip sees her.  Within a few minutes, a couple of exciting things happy, though. (more…)

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