I’ve not heard of Maita. The NPR write up speaks about the electronic flourishes and deep grooves of her songs. Felix Contreras worried that their stripped down ensemble (only guitar, bass and fascinating bongos) would have a hard time creating that sound.
And in one way they do. Except that it’s clear they didn’t even try. Rather, they play a simple, but engaging kind of mellow Brazilian dance music. In the first song, “Ai Vem Ele,” the guitar and bass play the same grooves except when they each take some meandering moments. The percussion keeps a quiet but steady rhythm and Maita sings vocals and accent notes all over the place to keep the song interesting. I really enjoyed at the end of the song when the bassist played exactly the vamping solo that she was singing.
“Alento” is a much faster song, with quickly sung lyrics. It allows for rapid guitar playing and more uptempo feel.
They only play two songs (about 8 minutes long), but it really shows the kind of range she is capable of.
[READ: December 1, 2015] Resistance
This First Second graphic novel is about the Nazi occupation of France. It’s not exactly light reading and yet Jablonski has taken this incredibly dark story and found an excellent and compelling narrative about one family who works as part of the resistance to fight back against their oppressors.
This is the first book in a trilogy and I am curious to see what the next two books bring as this story was nicely wrapped up but there are so many more stories which could be told.
Jablonski also helpfully sets up the situation in the introduction. She explains how France was split in two as a result of the armistice agreement. She gives a very brief but powerful explanation for why they would agree to splitting their country in half. Paris and the upper portion of France became Occupied while Vichy and the southern part of France were “Free” (but still with a large Nazi presence).
This story is about an average family. Paul Tessier and his parents and little sister live in the free part of France. Paul is an artist, and I love the way Purvis juxtaposes Paul’s art with what is actually happening (placing Paul’s “drawing” in the middle of the action so we know he is observing everything. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE MUSIC TAPES-Tiny Desk Concert #182 (December 20, 2011).
Julian Koster released an album in 2008 called The Singing Saw at Christmastime. It was a complete CD of Christmas songs played on the saw. That should tell you that Koster is an unusual fellow. But that doesn’t prepare you for what he unleashes during his Tiny Desk Concert with The Music Tapes.
Koster has a very high-pitched voice (I have a recording of him doing “I’ve Got My Love to Keep me Warm,” which is almost unbearable. His singing is really close to the fine line of unique and bad (and I imagine for many it crosses the line). He’s also got a fascinating way of looking at things and of storytelling. So this Tiny Desk show winds up being quite long (20 minutes) with quite a lot of different things going on.
First he tells a lengthy story about his great grandpa. And how his great grandpa told him that baby trees can walk. But they are tethered to the ground by an umbilical cord. And when we cut them down, we sever the cord. And a Christmas tree is adorned and worshiped for two weeks and then set free to roam the earth. It is a warm and strange and delightful.
Then he and a second member of the group play “The First Noel” on two saws. It’s weird ad wonderful. At the end of the song he has his saw bow, and Bob says he didn’t know a saw could bow. Julian says they do and in fact that singing saws sing by themselves but we encourage them by petting them and placing them in our laps.
I don’t enjoy everything Koster does, so the second song “Freeing Song For Reindeer,” a banjo based piece about a tired old reindeer transporting Santa is slow and kind of sad and not my thing.
But then he tells a story of growing up with all kinds of culture and Holiday traditions which leads into a version of Gavin Bryars’ “Jesus Blood.” I enjoy the original and didn’t know what to expect here. They begin with a tape loop of an old man singing the song (possibly the one Bryars used, but I don’t know). And then Koster starts playing the banjo with a bow. And then a second guy does the same. Then the percussionist stars playing the toy piano and the noises build. He switches from piano to trumpet and plays along. Meanwhile the second banjo player switches back to the saw for the end. It’s really quite a lovely performance.
“Takeshi And Elijah” is another slow and keening banjo based song. It’s pretty long, I don’t really like it, but by the end, as it builds with trumpet and toy piano, he ends the song sith a puppet Santa doing a tap dance as percussion. It’s a great ending to an okay song.
The final song is “Zat You, Santa Claus?” It’s played on bowed banjo and sousaphone. It’s a fun and crazy rendition. It’s one of the weirdest Tiny Desk shows and certainly the weirdest Christmas set.
[READ: December 5, 2015] The Bassoon King
I really liked Rain Wilson in The Office, but I haven’t seen him in much else (I forgot he was in Six Feet Under and Galaxy Quest) . I wanted to like Backstrom, but it got cancelled before we even watched an episode.
So why did I check out this memoir of an actor I like a little bit? Well, primarily for the title. The Bassoon King had an absurd ring that I really gravitated towards. When I saw there was an introduction by Dwight Kurt Schrute, I knew this would be a good book.
The introduction (by Dwight) is very funny. I love Dwight and I love thinking to myself “FALSE!” whenever I disagree with someone. Dwight wondered why anyone would read a biography of a young semi-famous actor. “Fact. NO. ONE. CARES.” But then says he doesn’t care either because he is making a lot of dollars per word for this thing.
Rainn begins his memoir by making fun of his big head (especially when he was a baby). It’s pretty funny. And then he describes his hippie family and his weird name. His mom changed her named from Patricia to Shay in 1965. She wanted to name Rainn “Thucydides.” But his dad always liked Rainer Maria Rilke. Now, they lived pretty close to Mt Rainier, so they went for Rainn (“Tack an extra letter on there for no apparent reason”). (more…)
I’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.
Promtomartyr’s Under Color of Official Right has been one of my favorite albums of the last few years. Joe Casey’s vocals are more or less spoken (and angry) while the music is propulsive and rocking. Sometimes punk, sometimes something else entirely. It’s a weird pairing but it worked wonderfully.
I hadn’t heard their new album yet–I am a little afraid that they’re going to mess with the perfection of their second album–but as soon as I saw they did a Tiny Desk Concert I had to check it out.
“Singer” Joe Casey stands at the front. He wears a suit and sunglasses (evidently he has some stage fright issues) and he barely moves. And then there’s the rest of the guys–each wearing all black, looking like the backing band for someone else entirely (the bassist has super long blond hair). And yet, man, do they play great together.
The band plays three songs. The first two are from their new album. “Why Does It Shake?” has a cool interesting bass line and sharp, occasional guitar chords along with drums that are mostly played along the rim. The song unexpectedly slows down for a middle section. And all along, Casey asks his tough, threatening lyrics. The song is over 4 and a half minutes, perhaps one of their longest tracks.
The second song, “”Devil In His Youth” is a fast propulsive song with a great catchy riff that leads to the simple spoken chorus of “the devil in his youth.” This song is much more familiar in terms of Protomartyr songs and is only two and a half minutes long.
The final song comes from their debut album, No Passion All Technique (which is hard to get and which I’ve never heard). The song doesn’t sound drastically different from the others, but you can hear a different tone, perhaps a little less abrasive?
Naturally for a curmudgeonly band, they don’t play anything from the album I love, but this set is really good nonetheless. And yes, it may be time to investigate the new album.
[READ: October 28, 2015] Super Mutant Magic Academy
I saw this book when we were visiting Toronto and I wrote down the title to check it out. I didn’t know anything about it, and didn’t realize that I knew the work of Jillian Tamaki from several great graphic novels
I also had no idea that this was actually a long in progress webcomic that Tamaki has put into book form.
And finally, I didn’t expect it to be a series of one page funny strips that tell an overarching story. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: NICK BUZZ-Lula Lounge, Toronto ,ON (Mar 23 2011).
There is only one Nick Buzz concert at Rheostaticslive (although there are a number of videos online from an earlier show (from Dec 9, 2010) which could be turned into an audio download, I’m sure.
Anyhow, this show occurred nearly two years before the release of the (thus far) final Nick Buzz album. It’s interesting that there are some songs that will appear on that album performed here (and there is no mention of it, of course).
As with many of the Tielli solo shows, the band plays songs from Nick Buzz, from Tielli’s solo albums, and even two Rheostatics albums. But this is primarily a Nick Buzz performance (with Tielli, Goldsmith, Marsh and Piltch). What I find interesting is that I believe that Martin is only singing (maybe a guitar here or there?) with Pitch on guitar, Goldsmith on piano and Marsh on violin and effects. It’s a very different dynamic (no drummer!) and really changes the nature of some of these songs.
“Just Because” is a beautiful ballad. It’s sightly more raucous than on the record, but still sounds beautiful. Tielli’s solo song “I’ll Never Tear You Apart” sounds very different from the record–the awesome guitar line has been simplified and there’s a piano now. In fact, piano is the main instrument for most of these songs, which is quite different.
The band then plays three of the four songs from the Arnold Schoenberg record (Martin says he should put on gloves as this is forensic music that’s over 100 years old). They also sound great–I love they way they can recreate the weirdness from that short album.
When he introduces “Eliza” he says the music is by Schubert, although I don’t believe that is the case (unless the intro is).
In explaining “Milchig” he says that it’s about a dwarf-like creature who taught him “the relax.” “The relax” is how they describe it in Italy (he wishes he had learned more Italian as a kid but he was too obstinate).
“Spilling the Wonderful” is not as dramatic as on the record–it’s a bit smoother but still really good. And for “That’s What You Get for Having Fun,” a song which he has played in almost every solo concert, they really pare it down–it’s nowhere near as raucous.
The band goes for a cigarette break for 15 minutes and then comes back with “Beauty On” and the funny moment where Martin sings the intro, “I hate you all.” When he gets to the “Are you with me Cincinnati are you ready to rock?” rather than singing it, he slurs it. It’s a great effect.
The only song not on another album is “Now That I’m a Railroad Boy” which was done by John Southwith. It’s a pretty ballad that fits in perfectly with the other songs. “The House with Laughing Windows” and “Uncle Bumbo’s Christmas’ sound fanatic live. And then they play the fourth Schoenberg song “Galathea” which Martin says is his favorite.
“Farmer in the city” has been my least favorite Tielli recording, but this version is fantastic. It starts on piano and has melodies provided by the violin. Rather than being elliptical and standoffish, this new arrangement really brings you in with some lovely Marsh melodies. Then the play “Love Streams.” Martin says that their take on the record was the first time they played it. It’s gorgeous! This version is quite different with more violin up front.
“Sane, So Sane” adds a drum machine which is a surprise but a very welcomed one. It really picks up the tempo of the show and creates wonderful new textures.
For their last song Martin says “we’re going to confound you with this one.” It’s a Jacques Brel song, “If You Go Away.” It’s not unlike on the future record–slow and pretty.
When they come back out for the encore, Martin says they have played their entire repertoire. He seems at a loss for what to play so they play a lovely version of “Take Me in Your Hand,” and a shockingly different version of “Shaved Head.”
The setlist for that 2010 YouTube show is quite similar: Spilling the Wonderful, That’s What You Get For Having Fun, Just Because, Gigerlette, Persian Kitty, Boom, Hymn to the Situation, Milchig, Eliza, L’astronaut [a hilarious explanation of what the song is about], The House with the Laughing Windows, Sane So Sane, Love Streams, Uncle Bumbo [Martin on bass], If You Go Away
[READ: July 12, 2015] Mr Kiss and Tell
I loved Veronica Mars. The show was great. We supported the Kickstarter. And I was pretty psyched when the first post TV show novel came out. But I never actually read it. It is still sitting on my shelf (Sarah really liked it).
Well, Sarah got this one from the library and since it was due back soon I decided to push it to the front. The good news vis a vis the previous book is that they are unrelated. The better news is that this book follows up the events of the movie! And it has a new mystery as well.
The new mystery involves a man who has raped a woman and left her for dead. As with any good mystery there are dozens of twists and turns. And Veronica is not willing to let go. Unlike the TV show, this mystery lasts for months. She is fairly certain she has a suspect and even manages to get some DNA but his “confession” reveals a whole new twist to the story that Veronica was not expecting and which really undermines her case. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: NICK BUZZ-Arnold Schoenberg and the Berlin Cabaret (2003).
In 1901, Arnold Schoenberg wrote eight Brettl-Lieder (Cabaret Songs). The songs were short and fun with naughty (cabaret influenced) lyrics. Some 100 years later, inspired by the Art of Time Ensemble who commissioned Nick Buzz to play pieces for their Schoenberg show.
So the guys from Nick Buzz got together and recorded four of the eight pieces. Then Martin Tielli released this disc as number 2 of his Subscription Series. Some of us were a little disappointed when this came out since it was only 15 minutes of music, but the art is wonderful and I have recently rediscovered this disc and have enjoyed it immensely.
Basically the Buzz guys have interpreted the songs in their own style, but they have remained faithful to the original melodies and lyrics (which were in German but are now in English).
“Gigerlette” explores electronic manipulations (presumably by Hugh Marsh) and offers lots of fun samples (what I assume is some earlier recordings of the song in German). It opens with sampled female singing and staccato piano as well as other unusual effects. Then Martin’s vocals come in and the effects clear out and the song becomes simple piano ballad for a brief moment. Then the noises come back in again, playing around with this amusing song. It’s a song of romance and love with the sweet punchline being that cupid is driving their coach and four. At over 5 minutes this is the longest song by far, even if the basic song is just over two minutes.
“Der genugsame Liebhaber” (The Modest Lover) opens with what sounds like a distorted harp (presumably the piano) and scratchy records (from Marsh). This song is about a man going to see his lover, but his over’s pussy loves his bald head so much that she continually climbs atop it. It is charmingly naughty. There’s some wonderful violin from Hugh Marsh on this song
“Galathea” is the most conventional of the three songs. A lovely piano ballad to Galatea.
“Arie aus dem Spiegel von Arcadien” (Aria from the Arcadian Mirror) is super fun. The music is weird and goofy with a very drunken feel. And the chorus is just wonderful “my heart begins to thump and dance just like a hammer’s blow it goes boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom (getting faster and faster). I’ve listened to the original and it is very much the same, although Nick Buzz’s version is much better.
You can find some of these songs on line from a recording at Lula’s Lounge (Dec 9, 2010)
It’s cool to see how they recreate the album so faithfully in a live setting. It’s only a shame that the video isn’t a little closer so you could see just what they are doing.
Nick Buzz-December 9 2010 Lula’s Lounge
[READ: September 1, 2015] My Documents
I have enjoyed some of Zambra’s stories in other locations, so I was pretty excited that McSweeney’s released this collection (translated by Megan McDowell). The book is pretty much all short stories, although the first items feels a bit less fictional and more memoirish.
“My Documents”
This is a brief historical account of Alejandro as a child and as a writer. He talks about when he started working on computers and what happens when the computer dies with the information inside. He explains that this file is in his My Documents folder and he’s going to publish it “even though it’s not finished. Even though it’s impossible to finish it.”
“Camilo”
I read this story in the New Yorker. It concerns the relation of a man and his godfather, whom he has not seen since his father and godfather had a falling out years ago. See my link for a more complete synopsis. I enjoyed it just as much the second time.
“Long Distance”
The narrator worked as a phone operator in 1998. He liked the job–his boss was cool and would let him do anything he wanted so long as he answered the phones quickly. The job was in a travel insurance office and one day he received a call from a man named Juan Emilio. After speaking for a time about various things, the narrator realized it had been 40 minutes since they first started talking. They were expected to call clients back 14 days later as a follow-up and this time Juan Emilio talked with him foe a while and, upon learning that the narrator studied literature, asked if they could meet and discuss books. The narrator was already teaching classes at night, and these two situations overlapped somewhat. I loved the way all of this information is used as backdrop to a romance he has with a student known as Pamela. And the final line is great.
“True or False”
The titular phrase is uttered by a boy, Lucas, who declared, based on an inscrutable internal feeling, that things were True or False. An armchair might be true, while a lamp might be false. Hid father Daniel had a cat, Pedra, even though pets were forbidden in his building. Lucas loved the cat. Then the cat had kittens. There is a metaphor at work about the fatherless kittens and Daniel’s own behavior toward his son. I really enjoyed this story and the strangeness of the true or false brought a fascinating childlike quality to the story
“Memories of a Personal Computer”
The conceit of this story is great. A PC remembers what it was like to observe a relationship as it begins and then ebbs–and how the PC was moved around into different rooms as things changed in the relationship.
“National Institute”
At the school where the narrator went, they were called by number. He was 45. The main subject of his story was 34, although he doesn’t know the boy’s real name. 34 had failed the grade and was made to repeat it, but rather than being sullen about it, he was popular and fun. All of the students were worried about failing–the final test was very hard. But one day 34 approached 45 and told him he had nothing to worry about. The other students didn’t know what to make of it, but he slowly assessed everyone and told them whether they had anything to worry about. By the end of the story, when 45 is brought to the inspector of schools, he is told a lesson he will should never forget.
“I Smoked Very Well”
A look back on smoking and how quitting smoking made him a different (though not necessarily better) person.
“Thank You”
She is Argentine, he is Chilean and they are not together (even though they sleep together). They were in Mexico City when they were kidnapped together. The incident has unexpected moments. It’s a weird story (with some really unexpected moments) but a really good one.
“The Most Chilean Man in the World”
A Chilean couple has decided to separate once she was accepted to school in Belgium. After several months he is convinced that she wants him to visit, so he spends a ton of money and heads out to Belgium. Without telling her. And it goes very badly. But he can’t just leave Belgium, now can he? So he goes to a pub where he meets some new friends who call him the chilliest man in the world. The story hinges on a joke, but the story itself is not a punchline.
“Family Life”
I read this story in Harper’s. I thought it was fantastic–it was one of the stories that made me want to read more of his works. This is story of a man house sitting and the false life that he constructs around him. It was surprisingly moving.
“Artist’s Rendition”
I loved the way this story began. It tells us that Yasna has killed her father. But we slowly learn that Yasna is character in a detective story that an author is trying to write. We learn how the author constructs details about this character and the things that she has experienced which make her who she is. As this story unfolds we see how those first lines proved to be true after all.
This was a great collection fo short works and I really hope to see more from him translated into English.
Trombone Shorty is from New Orleans and his backing band is called Orleans Avenue. I can’t think of too many bands that are fronted by a trombone player.
This is a super fun set. It opens with “Dumaine St.” a short (just over 2 minutes) jazzy number that comes from his then recent album For True. There’s some great rhythm in the low end–the baritone sax and bass guitar keep a great groove, especially during the trombone solo (!). It’s short, but it’s great.
Dan “Uncle Potato Chip” Oestreicher, opens the second song with a great bass line on the baritone sax. The song is called “Lagniappe“ which is “a little gift you get for buying something. It’s an especially common practice in certain corners of the world, including Louisiana, where the term originates.” It’s an improvisational piece built around the great bass line. It features a trombone solo and great tenor sax solo by Tim McFatter. The song builds (for about 5 minutes) to an exciting conclusion (“a light workout,” Shorty calls it).
The final song has lyrics sung by Shorty. It’s probably my least favorite of the three as the lyrics aren’t that great (although his voice is good). It’s got a good funky rhythm, but it slows things down when he is singing. And I just want to hear him play. Once he picks up the trombone again, the song springs to life and is a super amount of fun–with another great melody.
I wasn’t sure I’d like this set but I enjoyed it a lot.
[READ: November 22, 2015] The Titan’s Curse
The good news was that I could get both the second and third graphic novels at the same time (both with art by Attila Futaki). The bad news is that apparently the fourth (and fifth) books were never made! I don’t know if there are plans for them to get made but as of right now, we’re stuck at a to be continued.
Of the three, I found this book to be the most confusing because so many characters looked alike. There was also the addition of several new characters (and as with the previous book, there was very little in the way of introduction).
We don’t know why, but Percy and Annabeth have gone to a specific place to rescue two orphans, Bianca and Nico. They are both half-bloods, unbeknownst to them. Bianca is initially suspicious of the heroes, but Nico is right on board.
In terms of action, there’s quite a lot. We meet Artemis, goddess of the hunt who has arrived with her hunters. She speaks formally and is suspicious of men.
After careful consideration Bianca decides to join Artemis’ hunters (which gives her immortality–death may only come in battle–as long as she forswears romantic love, which she has no problem doing). Meanwhile, Nico decides to return to the camp with the others.
Oh and Annabeth, while fighting a manticore, is thrown over the side of a cliff, presumably lost forever. Percy is freaking out but they convince him to head back to camp for reinforcements.
A new quest is decided upon, but Percy’s first goal is to rescue Annabeth. Although we soon see that she is not dead, she just has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Literally.
And then Apollo shows up in his golden chariot (which is a sports car naturally).
Back at camp, the director has them don helmets for more training, this time hunter against half-blood. The hunters win every time. This was a hugely confusing scene since everyone is in battle gear. The book is also hugely confusing because several of the scenes are done with characters in close up and Zoe (whose origin I can’t even recall) and Percy look quite a lot alike
But there’s some really wonderful scenes, like when the horse speaks to Percy and later when Percy rescues the Ophiotaurus (which he calls Bessy).
I liked that the middle section takes place in the Museum of Natural History–which allows for some cool details. The dinosaur teeth are actually dragon teeth and the lion is really the Nemean Lion. And when the bad guys get some skeletons to rise from the earth, they are sent on a single mission–to destroy Percy. And they cannot be stopped by half blood weapons.
There’ a great scene with a large flying statue and then a cool scene at the Hoover Dam.
I typically enjoy when the scenes turn mystical but I was confused a bit when Artemis returned to her sisters. I think the character of Zoe perplexes me too much, even when she reveals her true identity.
And speaking of true identity, Nico’s reveal is pretty fantastic, too.
The final scene shows a meeting of the Gods again, which I liked. Unfortunately it seems to set the stage for book four, which we won’t seem to ever get.
More reason to rad the actual novels, then, right?
Jenny Lin is an amazing pianist. So it’s slightly disconcerting that she is playing these beautiful pieces on a Korg keyboard.
The write up says
It’s rare to see a world-renowned pianist willing to make such a sacrifice, but that’s how strongly Lin feels about getting the music out there, knowing that (with even more downsizing) folks could watch her perform this Tiny Desk Concert on their iPhones.
And while I wouldn’t think that a great pianist would have a problem playing an electronic piano, I had to wonder if the keyboard weight impacted her at all. It sure doesn’t seem like it.
She plays five pieces altogether. And they are all modern pieces. I don’t know a lot about Shostakovic, but the blurb says that Shostakovich, inspired by Bach wrote his own set of Preludes and Fugues in all 24 keys in 1950. I would have guessed they were Bach, but you can hear differences in his more modern style (and not just because of the keyboard). The notes are fast and furious (and beautiful).
I don’t know Federico Mompou at all, but the blurb says “Barcelona-born Federico Mompou was a contemporary of Shostakovich’s, but that’s where the comparisons end. In the 1960s, he completed four volumes of piano music he called Musica Callada, or “Silent Music.” Mompou’s sound, [features] austere beauty and emphasis on the spaces between notes.” And you can really hear the way the notes ring out (I’ll bet even more so on a grand piano).
The final song is an arrangement of Gershwin’s “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” which has been “souped up by the late American virtuoso pianist Earl Wild. His arrangement turns the Gershwin song into a kind of stride-jazz extravaganza.”
Watch Lin’s hands fly around the keyboard. It is hard to comprehend. I don’t know which hand I am more impressed by.
It’s amazing to be able to watch a master so closely.
The setlist:
Dmitri Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in A minor, Op. 87
Dmitri Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in A major, Op. 87
Federico Mompou: Musica Callada — Nos. 1, 15
Gershwin (arr. Earl Wild): “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”
[READ: November 22, 2015] The Sea of Monsters
Clark really liked the first graphic novel and asked me to get the rest. So I did. And then I had to see how the story continued, too.
Book two of the graphic novel series (also with art by Attila Futaki) begins with Percy at home. He is told he shouldn’t return to Camp Half -Blood, but his mom won’t say why. At “regular” school, he is still picked on, but he now has help from a huge boy known as Tyson. The bullies make fun of Tyson too, calling him a retard, but Percy sticks up for him. [The one problem with the graphic novels is they have to edit down so much, there’s no real introduction to Percy’s school or to Tyson].
On the next page, though, we learn that the bullies are actually demons and that Tyson is able to fight them off because he is …a cyclops. (It must be very hard to create a cyclops–visually, they are just so wrong–where do you put that eye? Do the normal eye sockets still exist? I always find them disconcerting to look at). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: LOCAL NATIVES-Tiny Desk Concert #113 (February 21, 2011).
I’ve decided to cherry pick some Tiny Desk shows for the end of the year–order be damned.
Local Natives are from L.A. They play (in this Tiny Desk Concert anyway), a folkie alt rock which really emphasizes the band’s gorgeous harmonies.
For this set there are two acoustic guitars, an acoustic bass, a drummer and some cool extra percussion. It also makes me laugh to see them all packed so tightly in that little space.
The first song “Wide Eyes” has lovely harmony vocals by the guitarist and the percussionist. But when the backing vocals kick in, the sound really soars.
“Cards & Quarters” has a lovely guitar intro and fantastic three part harmonies. I love the way the songs builds and builds to the end–it’s very dramatic.
For the final song, “Airplanes,” the percussionist switches to guitar (and sings lead vocals) and one of the guitarists plays the mandolin. This song is very personal, with lots of details about the singer’s grandfather. Again, the harmonies are gorgeous.
I’ve heard a lot about Local Natives and now I need to check them out more closely.
[READ: May 23, 2015] The Lightning Thief
I have seen the Percy Jackson movie and now I’ve read the comic book, but I have yet to read the actual novel (or series). I figure I will some day. But for now I’ve had this cool graphic novel to flesh out the movie.
It’s interesting how the movie and graphic novel (with art by Attila Futaki) emphasize different things. It felt to me like the movie spent more time on introducing the characters once they got to “camp,” while the graphic novel seemed to gloss that. But there were some other adventures that the group went on which were different between the book and movie (which may have just been for expenses).
Okay, so the brief summary of the book is that Percy Jackson is a boy in school. He has trouble reading and his teacher gives him a hard time. As we open, the class is learning about ancient Greek myths and the teacher is emphasizing how important they will be for Percy. On the next page, one of Percy’s teachers turns into a demon and attacks him. But no one else is aware of it. Except maybe his best friend, Grover.
When school ends, Percy heads home to his mother’s house. His mother is living with a totally awful guy (there was more about this in the movie) and explains that Percy’s father left before he was born. But just as they settle in, Grover shows up and tells them they have to go. Now. (more…)
I’ve really enjoyed a lot about Torres’ music this year. Mackenzie Scott has an interesting delivery which reminds me of certain aspects of PJ Harvey, and her songs are angry but measured.
Her songs seem to have a lot of low-end in them (without being bass heavy exactly–in fact in this Tiny Desk, there is no bassist). And her singing voice is often rather low (and sometimes growly). There’s a moment in the first song “New Skin” in which the music drops out and then Mackenzie Scott starts playing her guitar anew and it’s a sound unlike any in the song before (even though she has been playing all along).
Guitarist Cameron Kapoor adds cool sounds to what I think is her best song, “A Proper Polish Welcome.” Erin Manning provides wonderful harmony vocals along with keyboards on this song which is as powerful as it is understated. The song gives me chills.
“The Harshest Light” is a slow song that has glimpses of light as she sings slightly higher notes in the chorus. And when her voice breaks near the end, you can hear the intensity in her singing.
It’s a great three song set that only leaves you wanting more.
I had resisted getting this album, but realizing just how good these songs are might tip the tables to a purchase.
[READ: Summer 2015] Olympians 1-6
While I imagined that I might read all of the First Second books this year, I paused about mid way through (more for me next year). But one of the last things I read from First Second was this series of outstanding mythologies about the Greek Olympians. It also turned out that a few years back I got these books for C., not realizing they were under the First Second imprint. I was intrigued by them then, but I’m really glad that I read them now.
George O’Connor is a massive geek and Greek scholar. He has done lots of research for these books, including going to Greece and visiting sites and antiquities as well as comparing all manner of ancient stories to compile the most interesting pieces. He explains that since these stories were orally passed down, they were modified over the years. He doesn’t change the myths, he merely picks the story lines that are most interesting to him. And then he adds a lot of humorous modern touches (and dialogue) which keep it from being at all stuffy.
O Connor’s drawing style is also inspired by superhero comics, so his stories are presented in a way that seems much more like a super hero than a classical hero, which is also kind of fun.
Each book ends with an author’s note which is hugely informative and gives plenty of context. It also has a bibliography, but more importantly, it has a list of notes about certain panels. Do not skip these notes! In addition to providing a lot of insight into the myths of the characters themselves, there are a lot of funny comments like “Greeks raced in the nude (point and laugh)” which really bring new depths to the stories. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: LUISA MAITA-Tiny Desk Concert #100 (December 26, 2010).
I’ve not heard of Maita. The NPR write up speaks about the electronic flourishes and deep grooves of her songs. Felix Contreras worried that their stripped down ensemble (only guitar, bass and fascinating bongos) would have a hard time creating that sound.
I Just Read About That... 