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Archive for the ‘Supernatural’ Category

What I learned (26)… Eartha Kitt

Posted in Digression, Eartha Kitt, Funny (strange), Harold Pinter, Paul Debraski, Supernatural on December 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Eartha Kitt died yesterday.  And, yes, I trashed her song “Santa Baby” just days ago.  Andrew pointed out in a comment to that post that, no doubt, it was the last thing she read, and it was the end for her.  And for that I am truly sorry.  It also explains why I have had the song stuck in my head for two days.  It seems that everywhere I go for the last two days…even though I have listened to about a dozen different Christmas CDs without that song on it…it keeps coming back.  To haunt me.  Eartha, I meant no offense.  Please rest easily, and allow me to as well.

Oh geez, and Harold Pinter died, too.  I wasn’t plagued by Pinter, but he was influential to a lot of the authors I enjoyed.  And he was an amusing punchline in Red Dwarf.

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J.K. Rowling–The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Children's Books, City and Colour, Entertainment Weekly, Fables, Fantasy, Harry Potter, Illusion, J.K. Rowling, Magic, Meta, Short Books, Supernatural, Technology on December 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

beedleSOUNDTRACK: CITY AND COLOUR-Live (2007).

ccliveCity and Colour is the solo project of Alexisonfire singer Dallas Green (get it?).  I was really impressed by Dallas’ voice within the noisy metalcore of AOF.  And I wondered what his solo stuff would sound like without the dissonance of the rest of the band.  I saw this disc was available from Maplemusic and it was considerably cheaper than on Amazon.  A live record isn’t always the best venue to check out an artist but in this case, I figured his solo stuff probably translated fine live as well.  (Still haven’t actually heard a solo record so I can’t say).  The set is also not entirely solo, as he calls out an accompanist for a few tracks (the DVD gives more information about who he is).

In AOF, Dallas’s voice is strong and powerful and yet totally catchy.  His voice is the reason that I like AOF so much.  So I was a  little disappointed in the live release because he seems to be holding back.  As I said, I haven’t heard the original discs, so I don’t know how it compares.  But on some of the songs, he seems too restrained.

The songs are all very catchy, and the between-song banter is fun (it was excised from the CD but is available on the DVD) .  But as I said for some of the songs it’s almost as if he’s inhaling rather than exhaling when he sings.  I guess I find it weird for a punk rocker to be so restrained.  Despite that, several songs do stand out as excellent.  “Comin’ Home” (there are two versions on the disc), “Save Your Scissors” (the second version on the disc is especially fun because the crowd sings along).  And lyrically Green is very interesting.  “Comin’ Home” has some nice name-checking of cities around North America (poor fans in Lincoln, Nebraska, though).

Despite my reservations about his singing, his voice still sounds great.  I’m interested in checking out a studio release to see how it compares.

[READ: December 18, 2008] The Tales of Beedle the Bard

There’s two funny stories about this book:

1) At my library, we received a notice from Scholastic Books that this book COULD NOT be put out before the release date of December 4.  We had to sign a release form promising it would not go out any sooner.  We all laughed about that because, while we knew that Book 7 of the Harry Potter series was going to be HUGE (and we had the same release form to sign for that book) we also knew that this was, at best, an esoteric addendum to the series for die-hard fans only.  (As of this writing our copies haven’t even arrived yet, and there are only eleven holds in our entire system). (more…)

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12 musical things I (we) like about Christmas

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Brian Wilson, Canadian Music, Christmas Album, Comedy Album, Consumerism, David Bowie, Dreams, Funny (ha ha), Holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, Magic, Marriage (Happy), Military, Paul Debraski, Radio, Religion, South Park, Supernatural, War on December 22, 2008| 3 Comments »

After getting the dislikes out of my system, it’s time to bring in the positivity.  Now that I have a lot of different Christmas discs to choose from, I don’t get inundated with the same songs over and over.  This has really allowed me to appreciate the old songs for what they are.

So, here’s 12 things I like about the holiday tune season (in no particular order)

1. “O Holy Night”
oholyI feel like I never really knew this song until I heard Cartman getting cattle-prodded for not knowing the words.   I listened to that version all the time (but I can’t tell if I like that version or the one on Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics better [“Fall on your knees, and hear the angels… something” “VOICES!”]), and what it did was give me a real appreciation for what a cool song this is.  The chord changes are very satisfying without being really obvious.  And, it’s not an easy song to sing.  But I have liked every tooversion I’ve heard: from Cartman to Avril Lavigne (whose first two verses on Maybe This Christmas, Too are the most vibrato-free singing I have ever heard.  I’m quite certain she’s flat all the way through, and yet her voice is so unaffected it’s totally disconcerting.  Tell me what you think…it’s available here).

Sarah: This truly is a beautiful song and I love all its versions as well, from Cartman to Tracy Chapman. I’m not a religious person but I always feel a little holy when I sing this. (more…)

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Chetan Bhagat–One Night @ the Call Center (2005)

Posted in Chetan Bhagat, Christmas on Mars, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, Racism, Religion, Short Books, Supernatural, Technology, The Flaming Lips on December 20, 2008| 5 Comments »

onenightSOUNDTRACK—FLAMING LIPS-Christmas on Mars (film & soundtrack) (2008).

marsI’ve been a fan of the Flaming Lips for a pretty long time.  I first heard them with “She Don’t Use Jelly” (a novelty hit from 1993…who would have thought they’d have become so amazing) but I really got into them from the time of The Soft Bulletin (and Zaireeka).  Since around this time, Wayne Coyne and the Lips have been working on Christmas on Mars.  It is a “home movie” of sorts that the Lips and some special friends made in their home town (and their backyard).  They recently released the film on CD/DVD.

The film, based on the snippets I saw and everything I’d heard about it was nothing like what I expected.  wayneChristmas on Mars sounds like a cheesy/funny movie about, well, what Martians do for Christmas.  And seeing Wayne as a Martian seemed to confirm my suspicion.  But rather, what you get is a much less joyful celebration.

The movie is structured around a space station on Mars. There are only a half a dozen or so humans on board, and they are all going slowly crazy from a lack of oxygen.  Also on board is a “virgin” mother who is incubating a baby that was born on Mars.  One of the crew believes that the fate of the baby will determine the fate of the entire mission.

It is Christmastime on Mars, and there’s going to be a Christmas party.  But the Santa freaks out and runs outside just as a Martian walks up to the station.  The Martian is “captured” but he serenely walks around the ship, observing, mending and just being there.

There is very little dialogue.  There are really far out-trippy images.  There are lots of really creepy images (the people who let their baby be in the film were VERY trusting).  And there’s lots of vaginal imagery (in whacked out dream sequences) which makes me wonder what kind of MPAA rating this would get.

The film is a little dull at times (especially in the beginning)–although it could have just been that since I didn’t know what I was getting into, I wasn’t in the right mind frame for it…kind of like Eraserhead.  But it definitely picks up, and gets rather suspenseful.  It’s also nice that some “real” actors are in it, like SNL’s Fred Armisen,  AdamGoldberg (!) and Blue’s Clue’s Steve Burns (!!).

What’s most impressive though is the look of the film.  From interviews I read, I learned that Wayne was constructing most of the set himself (and that he got to use an abandoned processing plant for many of the scenes).  He very wisely films in low light and black and white, (with occasional splashes of supervibrant color) but the sets look really amazing.

The Flaming Lips are usually pretty upbeat and positive.  This film is overall pretty dark and negative, although there is always a ray of light shining through it.  I’m not going to give away the ending, though.

The CD is the soundtrack to the film.  It is not for the casual listener, or even necessarily for the Flaming Lips fan.  There’s no lyrics at all.  And the score is very befitting of a “lost in space at Christmastime” movie.  Unlike the typical Lips’ mood, the soundtrack is quite dark (and short at about half an hour).  The overall feel is ambient, but restless ambient.  And there’s very little in the way of tunes.  That’s not a criticism, as it is a soundtrack to the film, it’s just a warning for those expecting another “Waitin’ for a Superman.”  Although I admit it won’t be getting a lot of play in my house.

[READ: December 16, 2008] One Night @ the Call Center

A patron asked me to order Chetan Bhagat’s newest novel for her.  In the process, she told me that this novel, One Night @ the Call Center was very funny, and had finally gotten released over here.  I don’t always listen to patron suggestions, but for some reason this one stuck with me, so I inter-library loaned it.

As the title suggests, this story is set in a call center, and all the action takes place in one night (with some flashbacks).  The characters are six twenty-something Indians living in Delhi.  They work for Connections, a call center for an American appliance manufacturer. And their shift is from 10PM-2AM. (more…)

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Christopher Moore–You Suck: A Love Story (2007)

Posted in Adventure, Christopher Moore, Fantasy, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Funny (ha ha), Green Day, Sex, Supernatural, The Kinks, The Rutles, The Who, Threats, Vampires, Violence, YA Books on December 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

yousuckSOUNDTRACK: FOXBORO HOT TUBS-Stop Drop & Roll!!! (2008)

fhtThis is the least cleverly concealed “side-project” in rock history.  At this point Billie-Joe Armstrong’s voice is so recognizable, that it’s impossible for him to hide.  But Foxboro Hot Tubs were a way for Green Day to release something different after their mega-successful American Idiot album.

I mean, how do you follow up a number-one reaching concept album?  Answer: drop all pretense, drop all complexity, and churn out a dozen songs that sound like they were written and recorded in your garage.

At first listen I didn’t like the album very much. Well, that’s not true.  I liked the first song, “Stop Drop and Roll” quite a bit, but the rest of the record got a little repetitive for me.  And, worst offense: they TOTALLY ripped off “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks for their song “Alligator.”  I mean, chord riffs, chord changes, even the chorus are so close as to be actually irritating.

It was only after listening more carefully that I realized that FHT rip off a lot more than the Kinks.  And, although not quite a pastiche like The Rutles, the ripping off is more of an homage/twist, rather than just cheesy thievery (because honestly, who thinks that Green Day could get away with ripping off the Kinks’ most popular song?)

On my last listen through I heard “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” in “Sally,” “Roadrunner” in “She’s a Saint Not a Celebrity,” some earlier Green Day songs (like “When I Come Around” ) in “Pedestrian” and “Run Run Run” by the Who in “27th Ave. Shuffle”

After getting past those “influences” the album is mostly fun (especially the flute (!) solo in “Dark Side of the Night.”  They’re clearly not trying to write the next epic, they’re just cleansing their palette before their real follow up.  And, heck, the fact that it actually did quite well in radioland didn’t hurt either.  Foxboro Hot Tubs make some fun garage rock.

[READ: Winter 2008] You Suck

Christopher Moore’s book covers are very striking.  That’s not a good reason to read his books, though.  The titles are also pretty funny.  Which is also not a good reason to read his books.  It’s the content inside that is the reason to read him.  A little while ago I had read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal and it was very fun indeed.  So, I picked up You Suck, which was his most current one at the time.

I didn’t realize it was a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends until after I started reading it, but I didn’t find that to be a problem.  (more…)

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Eoin Colfer–Artemis Fowl And The Time Paradox (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Broken Social Scene, Canadian Music, Eoin Colfer, Fantasy, Feist, Magic, Supernatural, Technology, Threats, Time Travel, YA Books on November 27, 2008| Leave a Comment »

fowlSOUNDTRACK–BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE-Bee Hives (2004).

bssB-side collections come in a couple of forms: the awesome collection of fantastic rare tracks, the self indulgent crap that only true fans would like, and the middle road.

This collection fits nicely into the middle road.  I’ve enjoyed Broken Social Scene’s two later discs (I haven’t heard their first one).  This collection comes between the second and third.  And it contains remixes of songs from the first two, as well as some instrumental tracks.

The tracks are all dreamy and sort of atmospheric.  It’s definitely the kind of disc that requires the right mood, as the instrumentals are pretty but not exactly pulse-racing.  The highlights are Feist’s rendition of “Lover’s Spit” which is ghostly and haunting.  And “Backyards,” a wonderfully catchy, beautifully sung song that could easily be one of their best.

This collection is not for the casual fan, but if you really like BSS, it’s a worthy addition to their catalog.

[READ: November 1, 2008] Artemis Fowl And The Time Paradox.

fowl2Just another example of how the British cover, while not drastically different, is still much cooler than the US cover.

This is the sixth book in the Artemis Fowl series.  Sarah asked me if you could read any of them without having read the previous ones.  Aside from the first, which you should read just for background information (and because it’s a great story), it doesn’t REALLY matter which you read next.  Although references to previous events do crop up in the subsequent stories, the plot events of each book are not dependent on previous knowledge. (more…)

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Terry Moore–Echo [Issues 1-5] (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Knocked Up, Loudon Wainwright III, Marriage Trouble, Military, Pregnancy, Sci-fi, Supernatural, Technology, Terry Moore, Threats, War on August 21, 2008| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III-Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up (2008).

I can’t say I really noticed Loudon’s music during the movie.  Of course, when I read about it later, it turned out that the versions in the movie were instrumental.  Ahhh.  So, this “soundtrack” contains the instrumental tracks from the movie with words added (which is how they were originally recorded, so all is right once again).

This collection of songs is, to my ears, Loudon’s least funny collection.  Which is fine.  There are a few turns of phrase that raise a smile, but mostly the songs are thoughtful and thought-provoking.  They work very well with the theme of the movie: parenthood, children, relationships, love.  (Even though the movie is funny, these songs aren’t).

The collection is certainly one of Loudon’s strongest.   Many of Loudon’s musical partners in crime are here: Richard Thompson, Patrick Warren, Van Dyke Parks and, special guest Joe Henry (who I don’t know too much about, but who plays a lovely guitar).  The first three songs, “Grey in L.A.” “You Can’t Fail Me Now” and “Daughter” are possibly three of Loudon’s strongest songs in years (He didn’t write “Daughter” but he sings it wonderfully…and I think better than the original, which is a bit too jazzy for my tastes.)  The rest of the album continues in that vein: mellow folk music but with enough of an edge to keep it from sounding monotonous.  Loudon is releasing another new album this month, and I hope he keeps up this high quality!

[READ: August 14, 2008] Echo

When Strangers in Paradise ended, I was quite sad.  One of my favorite comics by one of my favorite artists was now out of my life.  And slowly, I forgot about Terry Moore, and moved on to other things (like the Buffy Season 8 comic).  Well, while I was at ALA this year, Michele Gorman, the wisest person in the graphic novelverse, asked me how I liked Terry’s new book.  Wha?? I said.  She said, it’s called Echo, and it’s fantastic.  And, so I got home, looked it up online and immediately subscribed and got the back issues.  1-4 came right away and #5 just arrived.  And I’m all caught up. (more…)

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Adam Gopnik–“The Real Work” (New Yorker, March 17, 2008)

Posted in Adam Gopnik, Alex Stone, Arrested Development, Bullshit!, Essays, Harper's, Illusion, Led Zeppelin, Magic, Magicians, Matt Pinfield, New Yorker, Paul Quarrington, Penn & Teller, Pink Floyd, Plasmatics, Radio, Set in New Jersey!, Smarty Pants, Supernatural, WRXP 101.9 FM--New York on August 13, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: WRXP, 101.9 FM, New York City (45 days later).

The past two weeks I have been listening to this station more because I have been doing work in the garage (building a chicken coop).  Without going into my neurotic music listening, I’ll just say that I listen to the radio rather than CDs when I do noisy work.  And so, WRXP.

I haven’t listened that much since my last post, but the most dramatic difference to me is that they seem to have real commercials now.  Wal-Mart seemed to be advertised a lot, and there were one or two other name brand items (with effective ads obviously).  They still have all of those weird ads for services rather than products (in fact if you need full term life insurance, just listen in for 20 minutes and you’ll hear that one).  But I guess they must be doing well if the real companies are showing up.

They still play way too many commercials.  But heck, that’s commercial radio for you.

They also seem to rely a lot on a few bands that surprise me: Dave Matthews in particular.  I’m not a big fan of his, so I’m surprised to hear him so much; however, overall I think their selection is quite good.  They seem to be off Pink Floyd and on to Zeppelin now, which, frankly would be a neat idea for this station: pick a classic rock artist that you will overplay for a week, and then move on.   What a cool thing: you could do all kinds of back catalog stuff, and less popular songs and then, just as people got sick of them, switch to someone else, and repeat.  Genius!

Anyhow, the other thing I wanted to mention is that the only person with any credibility to ever be on MTV, Matt Pinfield, is a morning DJ on the station.  He and his co-jock do a bit too much DJ banter for my liking, but mostly he’s just a dude who loves music and will tell you more or less fascinating stories about whoever he’s going to play, and then play good stuff.  I heard a fun interview with Supergrass the other morning, which was good.  Pinfield also knows his music enough to ask good questions and still be fun.

Hilariously, he also committed the hilarious gaffe that I used to commit in high school: pronouncing the Police album: “Outlandos DE Amoor” rather than the more accurate Outlandos Damoor (surely he must know that by NOW).  (Like pronouncing the Plasmatics album COOP DE AY-TAT, rather then Coo DAY TAH (I’m guilty of that too).  And, I found out that he grew up in East Brunswick, NJ, merely a few miles from where I now work.  So, Matt, if you ever used the North Brunswick Library, well, you should come back and see how nice we look now.

[READ: August 13, 2008] “The Real Work”

This piece was recommended by two people who commented on my post about Alex Stone in Harper‘s Magazine. They both said that this was a far better, far more appreciative article about magic.  And they were right.  I won’t really compare it to Stone’s except to say that Stone’s piece (whatever his credibility may be) was designed as a suspenseful tale following the events and the winner of “The Magic Olympics.” He also gave away some secrets to some of the tricks he did and saw there.

Gopnik’s piece is more of a loving appreciation for magicians and their work. (more…)

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Joyce Carol Oates–“Suicide by Fitness Center” (Harper’s, June 2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Funny (strange), Harper's, Joyce Carol Oates, Short Story, Stars, Supernatural, The Dears on July 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STARS-Do You Trust Your Friends (2007).

Stars released Set Yourself on Fire in 2005. It was a surprisingly good and catchy pop album from a band I hadn’t heard of before. It was lyrically downbeat, and yet the choruses were sweeping and grand. A great paradox of a record that I liked very much.

Well, they gave the master tapes to a whole bunch of their Canadian band friends and had them remix or redo the songs. This collection is interesting in that the collective work is very strong and everybody makes a remix that is fresh and interesting. I didn’t know too many of the bands before hand (only The Dears) so the sound was pretty new to me. The Dears do an interesting thing with their track: they split their song into two songs, since the original had two distinctive parts. It’s a fun thing to hear.

Most of the roster comes from the Arts & Crafts label, so that may give you an idea of the sound; they include some dance remixes, some indie rock remixes and some straight ahead pop ones. Obviously, the original is better if only for the overall continuity, but this is an interesting and enjoyable listen in and of itself.

[READ: June 30, 2008] “Suicide by Fitness Center”

Joyce Carol Oates must talk in her sleep, and she must have a dictation service that records all of it. (more…)

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George Saunders–“Antiheroes” (New Yorker, June 23, 2008)

Posted in Bad Religion, Funny (ha ha), George Saunders, New Yorker, Short Story, Supernatural on July 11, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BAD RELIGION-The Empire Strikes First (2004).

I’ve been a fan of Bad Religion for ages. And then a few years back they reissued all of their old CDs, and I got BR overload. I didn’t listen to them for a while. Then recently, I decided to check out their newest CD, and was delighted to find that I’d only missed this one in the interim.

So, Bad Religion writes eloquent, fast punk songs. They are typically political, anti-religion, anti-war, anti-Republican. And main lyricist Greg Graffin has a PhD in what is essentially evolutionary biology. So, basically, Graffin is well-read (the lyrics have footnotes!) and knows big words. All of this in a two minute punk song.

And it’s the poppiness that surprises. BR have always given credit to the “oozin ah’s” on the records, and there are always lots of ooh’s and ah’s in the background. The choruses are catchy as all get out. And the songs are over in under three minutes. Actually, it’s when the songs go past 3 minutes that they tend to get into trouble. Fortunately that doesn’t happen too often. I’m not sure why, but the record seems to be lined up almost in order from short to long songs. So you get suckered into these great under two minute songs and then they pile up the long ones at the end. But that’s okay too, as some of the longer ones do add nice complexities to their arrangements.

There’s not a lot one can say about Bad Religion albums from one to another. Either you like the style or you don’t. However, for a bunch of old men, they rock pretty hard and they rock pretty well. And yet for all of their aggression (“Social Suicide” “Atheist Peace” “Sinister Rouge”) they are often uplifting and get you to sing along (“Live Again”). With a little less guitar these might even be chart toppers (perish the thought!).

[READ: June 30, 2008] “Antiheroes”

I recently flew to California. I brought all of the back issues of magazines that have been piling up in my house. For some magazines it was four or five months! I didn’t finish them all but I knocked a good three or four pounds off of my carry on luggage by the time I arrived. (more…)

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