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Archive for the ‘Supernatural’ Category

Corey Sutherland Lewis (The Rey)–Peng (2005)

Posted in Corey Sutherland Lewis (The Rey), Digression, Graphic Novel, Live, NPR/PRI/PBS, Oni Press, Pink Floyd, Sirius Radio, Sports, Supernatural, The Stone Roses, TiVo, WRXP 101.9 FM--New York on June 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK–WRXP, 101.9, New York City

Since I’ve been talking about Sirius radio, I also wanted to mention this excellent station that was just added to our local lineup. WXRP 101.9 used to be smooth jazz. Then when they realized that people like rock, they went to this new format. It is something of a mix of classic rock and alternative (not heavy alternative, but 80s and 90s style alternative music). It is the only place (aside from my CD changer) where you could hear The Stone Roses, Live, and Pink Floyd back to back. I had the radio on the other day while I was working in the garage, and I couldn’t get over how much I enjoyed this station. It was actually a better collection of music than anything on Sirius (whose stations are actually too narrow to do this mix).

Of course, there were commercials…a lot of commercials. We’ve been living commercial free basically since we got TiVo and we listen to NPR radio stations (even 88.5 WXPN Philadelphia, a fantastic radio station in its own right is commercial free). So, it’s always a shock to hear radio commercials (they are just so terrible). What was especially weird about WRXP’s commercials is that there weren’t for the radio staples: cars and beer. All of the commercials seemed to be about debt consolidation, online dating, and free laptops:services rather than products. How weird. So, in a nutshell: great great great radio station guys. I guess I’ll put up with the commercials. (more…)

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Faith Erin Hicks–Zombies Calling (2007)

Posted in 28 Days Later, Art Spiegelman, Canadian Content, Cherry Garcia, Consumerism, End of the World, Faith Erin Hicks, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Grateful Dead, McSweeney's, Oni Press, Phish, Scream, Set at School, Sirius Radio, Supernatural, Technology, Universities, YA Books, Zombies on June 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: Sirius Radio-The Grateful Dead Channel

I’ve never been a big fan of the Dead (even though I like Phish quite a bit). I never really got into the subculture, and really the music seemed peripheral to their fanbase. I recall being very disappointed when I bought What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been back when I was a metal head and couldn’t believe that a band with that name and with skeletons all over the place was that wimpy.

Well, it turns out that Sarah was something of a fan, and, after all these years of listening to Phish, I’ve grown an appreciation for the Dead as well (and Cherry Garcia, of course).

So, as we have Sirius radio, we put on the Grateful Dead channel one night. It’s a fascinating channel, as it sounds like it’s some guy playing all of his Dead bootlegs. It was funny to not hear any LP tracks. I found the whole experience rather pleasant. It worked great as background music, and was utterly inoffensive (not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know but). I enjoyed the experience and would definitely do it again. Probably not anytime too soon, after all, that was a lot of Dead to ingest. But someday, I’m sure…

[READ: June 10, 2008] Zombies Calling

Aside from Oni Press, my favorite comics publisher is SLG, Slave Labor Graphics. They’re generally a little darker and weirder than the Oni stuff, so it suits my dark side when needed. (more…)

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Andi Watson & Josh Howard–Clubbing (2007) [Minx #3]

Posted in Andi Watson, Books about music, BritLit, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Consumerism, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Hex, Josh Howard, Marriage Trouble, Minx, Short Books, Supernatural, YA Books on May 24, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: X-More Fun in the New World (1983).

This is one of the first CDs I ever bought. When CDs first starting coming out, I was a freshman in college. There was a woman in a nearby dorm, Anita, who was super cool and had great taste in music. I, of course, had a major crush on her, but never said or did anything about it. Oh well…we’re each happily married now, so all is well. Before college I was big into…the metal. High school was all about getting into as many metal bands as I could. When I got to college, my eyes were opened to all kinds of interesting music. And, even though I liked punk as well as metal, I had never heard X before. Anita had some older brothers and they taught her well, and she, in turn, passed on the joys of X (and, interestingly, Cat Stevens). So, when I got my first CD player, I rushed out and bought a Rush CD and More Fun in the New World. Part of the reason I bought this was because I didn’t want to get something I already had on vinyl. And, over the years it has become a hugely favorite CD for me.

More Fun in the New World is a great bit of Reagan-era punk. I mean how great an opening line is: “Honest to goodness, the bars weren’t open this morning. They must’ve been voting for the president or something.” Or, an even better chorus: “It was better before before they voted for whatshisname. This was supposed to be the new world.” The saddest bit is how relevant the lyrics still are today. This song was recently reintroduced to me on the Pearl Jam Live from Easy Street EP, when John Doe duets with Eddie Vedder and they ad lib “It was better before before they voted for whatshisname (and his dad).”

Some interesting things about X are their country roots (they created a side project called The Knitters, that was much more countryesque than X) and the great duets of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. They brought great off-kilter harmonies to their songs of despair and longing.

Despite the “punk” label, the songs are only punk in attitude, not music. (more…)

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Salman Rushdie–“The Shelter of the World” (New Yorker, February 25, 2008)

Posted in Gruff Rhys, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Salman Rushdie, Short Story, Super Furry Animals, Supernatural on March 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »

tomine.jpgSOUNDTRACK: GRUFF RHYS-Candylion (2006).

candy1.jpgI’ve mentioned before that I really like Super Furry Animals. This is the lead singer’s solo album. It sounds very similar to an SFA album, although it’s a little less bizarre, a little less indulgent (which somehow seems odd for a solo album, but whatever.) Overall, it sounds somewhat more mellow, but it’s not exactly a mellow affair. The title song is a pretty little ballad. However, the album also has some great, if not rocking, then certainly rollicking songs that are great to sing along to like “Cycle of Violence” and “Now That the Feeling is Gone.” There’s lots of la la’s and Whooos! to add to the exictemnet.

And, even better, there are two songs in Welsh: “Gyrru Gyrru Gyrru” (that’s most of the lyrics, and it means “Drive”) and “Ffwydruad yn y Ffurfafen” which is just fun to imagine how to pronoucet. So, overall it sounds not unlike any other SFA album,

There is one thing though, the last song is a near 15 minute epic story called “Skylon!” It tells the tale of a mundane flight that turns into a near plane crash. There’s an actress on board as well and a bomb, and, well frankly, between Gruff’s accent and the meandering nature of the song, I’m not exactly sure what’s happening. And yet I like and learn more of the song with each listen.

I accept that this record will never be a big seller, except maybe in Wales, but you can do your part by ordering it and enjoying all of the coolness that is Gruff.

[READ: Feb 29, 2008] “The Shelter of the World.”

When the Satantic Verses came out, I was in college, and was somewhat friendly with an Indian guy (who two years later turned out to be the best friend of my then roommate…small world? Nope, small campus.) Anyhow I was talking to him about the hoopla and the fatwa and, he, very smugly, I felt, told me that I would never understand the book because it was very Indian, and an American like myself simply couldn’t get what was going on. I was rather offended by this, (and I’m sure I remember it being much more insulting than it actually was). But, when I finally read the Satanic Verses a few years after that, it turns out he was completely right. I had no idea what was going on in that book. And even though I may someday try again, I’m still pretty sure I won’t get it. That didn’t stop me from reading and enjoying Rushdie’s other books. However, I haven’t read much by him lately. So, when I saw this story in the New Yorker I thought I’d give it a go. (more…)

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Pseudonymous Bosch–The Name of This Book is Secret (2007)

Posted in Adventure, Egyptology, Flight of the Conchords, Funny (ha ha), Meta, Pseudonymous Bosch, Supernatural, Synesthesia on November 26, 2007| 74 Comments »

bosch.jpg SOUNDTRACK: FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS-The Distant Future EP (2007).

conchords.jpgWe really enjoyed the Flight of the Conchords series on HBO. Although the stories weren’t always great, the music and music videos were hilarious. Probably better than the show itself was the live special that they showed on HBO before they aired the series. Their comedy/music performance is simply great. What works best about the songs is that they can be funny repeatedly, but that they are also great songs too.

This EP is a good taste of their music, and I understand they have a full length coming out soon too. The only disappointing thing about the EP is that the song “Business Time” does not contain all of the lines from the show and the live rendition (where he trips getting out of his pants, which is the funniest thing ever). So I may have to look for the older live CD they have out.

Although they have some information on their official site, http://www.conchords.co.nz/, you’re better off going to What the Folk!, where you can hear a lot of great downloads. There are some great tracks available here like “Business Time” (several versions) and “Hiphopapotamus v Rhymenocerous.”  I suppose your tolerance for this depends on your tolerance for “novelty” music, but I think they’re pretty great.

Oh, and Mel, from the show was featured in this month’s Radar magazine.

[READ: November 21, 2007] The Name of This Book is Secret

Sarah received a copy of this book, and it was sitting on top of a pile in our office. I was very intrigued by, well, everything about it, and it was the author’s name Pseduonymous Bosch, that really caught my attention. Actually, the entire design of the book is eye catching and interesting. (more…)

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Eoin McNamee–The Navigator (2006)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, End of the World, Eoin McNamee, Hüsker Dü, Marillion, Supernatural, Technology, Time Travel on October 5, 2007| Leave a Comment »

navigator.jpgSOUNDTRACK: HÜSKER DÜ-Warehouse: Songs and Stories (1987).

husker.jpgMy friend Al, who introduced me to Marillion, also introduced me to Hüsker Dü (go figure). And he did so with this album. I think for big time Hüsker fans, this is something of a sellout, but for me, it is such a great poppy punk record. And it is clearly a lead-in to Bob Mould’s far more commercial solo stuff. I guess what is amazing to me is how it’s a pretty noisy album, and yet it was considered a sellout. By today’s standards, sure, it’s pretty commercial, but back in 1987, it was still cutting edge.

This album got me to check out the back catalog of Hüsker Dü records on SST. Even the crazy Land Speed Record on Alternative Tentacles (it’s a live record that is basically a blur, 20 minutes of noise, listed as 20 songs or something…a huge leap from that to Warehouse!). Their SST records aren’t recorded very well, which I think is why I don’t listen to them as much. They sound kind of tinny to me. Nevertheless, the song craft is great throughout their catalog.

Warehouse in particular is full of great songs. I hadn’t listened to this record in a while, but when I popped it in, I remembered the whole thing, and could still sing all the choruses, if not the verses. Mould and Grant Hart (what ever happened to him?) seem to be feuding for who could write the catchiest chorus, and as they broke up right after making this, I’m not sure what it says about their songwriting. Again, it’s an amazing departure from their earliest stuff, and man this one rocks!

[READ: October 3, 2007] The Navigator.

I stumbled upon this book when I saw that the author was going to be signing at my local Borders. I didn’t buy it, but I took note of the author (apparently I like to read books by Eoins). (more…)

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Jasper Fforde–First Among Sequels [Book 5] (2007)

Posted in Adventure, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Digression, End of the World, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Jasper Fforde, Meta, Sci-fi, Supernatural, Technology, Time Travel, Tori Amos on September 14, 2007| Leave a Comment »

firstamong.jpgSOUNDTRACK: TORI AMOS-American Girl Posse (2007).

americandoll.jpgI had been pretty down on Tori records since Scarlett’s Walk, which I felt was kind of blah. The Beekeeper followed and it didn’t do that much for me either. So, I was basically not that excited when this latest record came out. I probably would have gotten it eventually, but then my wife bought it for me for my birthday. Thank you!

Because, this is easily her best album since From the Choirgirl Hotel. It has everything that I felt her last two albums were missing: real tempo changes, really powerful singing, and great, great hooks.

(more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Wintersmith (2006)

Posted in Adventure, Discworld, End of the World, Inverse Room, J. Robert Lennon, Supernatural, Terry Pratchett, They Might Be Giants, YA Books on September 5, 2007| Leave a Comment »

wintersmith.jpgSOUNDTRACK: INVERSE ROOM: Pieces for the Left Hand (2005).

inverse.jpgInverse Room is the musical alter ego of J. Robert Lennon, author of The Funnies, Mailman, and other works. A few years ago he wrote a collection of short stories called Pieces for the Left Hand. The book is only available in England as far as I can tell. This CD, available from his site, is a companion piece of sorts. I had enjoyed The Funnies many many years ago, and was delighted to see that he still had some works being published. It was only when I stumbled onto his site that I discovered Inverse Room.

This CD contains 99 songs (the reviews all say 100, so maybe the Part I and II song can count for 100.) Obviously, the songs are short. Very short, in fact. There are only a couple that are over one minute long.

So, what does it sound like? Well, everything, really. In what is an amazing exercise in creating melodies, Lennon has crafted 99 different songs in different genres and different styles. It is an incredible hodgepodge of music, and it is very fun. Song titles include: “Political Song for Barney to Sing” (very funny), “Set the Controls for the Heart of Denver,” and “Heavy Metal Summer Camp.” Most of the songs are funny (but a joke that doesn’t wear out its welcome in 23 seconds), some are instrumental, and Lennon plays everything.

But what does it sound like? Well, to be honest it sounds like They Might Be Giants. Lennon’s voice is very close to one or both of TMBG’s Johns. And, considering that TMBG did a similar experiment on Apollo 18’s “Fingertips,” this album is not unprecedented. And if you liked “Fingertips” you will love this CD. I guarantee it.

If you’re not familiar with “Fingertips,” then you’ll have to go with the description above: 99 songs, no two songs sound anything alike, and they’re all really short. Still not convinced? The CD costs $5 from his website. There’s bound to be one song you’ll like, right?

[READ: Fall 2006] Wintersmith

Terry Pratchett has written a million books or so, most of them focusing on Discworld. I’m not even going to try to get you up to speed on Discworld. For a nice synopsis and a list of all of the books in the series, check out the Wikipedia entry. But to sum, it’s like an alternative universe to our own except that the world is flat and is held aloft by four elephants that are standing on the back of a giant turtle floating in space. Got it? Good. (more…)

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Eoin Colfer–Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony (Book 5) (2006)

Posted in Adventure, End of the World, Eoin Colfer, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Matthew Sweet, Supernatural, Time Travel, YA Books on August 9, 2007| Leave a Comment »

lostcolony.jpgSOUNDTRACK: MATTHEW SWEET-Inside (1986) & Earth (1989).

I think of Matthew Sweet as one of the quintessentially 90s musicians. He had a few pretty big hits during the 90s, and seemed to be on every compilation that came out. So, imagine what the quintessentially 90s guy sounds like in the 80s.

inside.jpgInside is so so keyboard heavy, it could be ANY synth band from the 80s. And, the keyboards are so loud in the mix that Sweet’s voice, which is not very powerful to begin with is almost totally lost. Sweet’s voice is not even that powerful on his 90s records. He has a very delightful, but very soft, voice. So, you can barely tell much about the songs, because it seems that every one has synth horns or whatnot masking what’s really happening.

earth.jpgEarth falls in line of what you think the Matthew Sweet sound is. It’s still pretty heavy on the synth, but you can see the song structures that Sweet perfected in the 90s. There’s nothing really striking on Earth, but it’s a good bridge to his 90s albums.

On both of these records it’s interesting to see who he gets to guest on them. Aimee Mann sings along with him on Inside. And Lloyd Cole joins Sweet on Earth. Sweet used to play with Lloyd Cole before going solo, so that makes sense. He was just so unknown at the time, its amazing he was able to get any collaborators.

(more…)

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J.K. Rowling–Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (2007)

Posted in Adventure, Big Books, Children's Books, End of the World, Fantasy, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Set at School, Supernatural, The Decemberists on July 25, 2007| 1 Comment »

hp.jpgSOUNDTRACK: THE DECEMBERISTS-Castaways and Cutouts (2002) & Her Majesty (2003) & Picaresque (2005) & 5 Songs (2003) & Billy Liar [single] (2004) & The Tain (2004).

The Decemberists were, in fact, the soundtrack for this book. The last 250 pages were accompanied by the entire Decemberists catalog [excepting The Crane Wife, which was out in the car]. Whether or not it was a good choice, I feel that it certainly set a mood for the book.

I feel that the Decemberists have been part of my cultural landscape for many years. Their name seemed to pop up from time to time in a way that said I should check them out. And yet I resisted. No real reason why; I just did. And then when Picaresque came out and was so widely applauded, I thought I would need to hear for myself what this band was about. I was immediately smitten: by the tunes, by his voice, by the subject matter. Everything. Such an odd band, yet so smart, so literate, so edifying. They are truly one of the great storytelling bands.

(more…)

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