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Archive for the ‘Violence’ Category

John Layman & Rob Guillory–Chew: Volume Seven : “Bad Apples” (2013)

Posted in Chastity Belt, Food, Graphic Novel, John Layman, Marriage Trouble, Rob Guillory, Sex, Violence, Yuck! on February 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

chew7SOUNDTRACK: CHASTITY BELT-Fuck Chastity Belt (2012).

chasThis is the worst music you will ever hear.
Chastity Belt is the worst band to ever exist.

So says the Chastity Belt band camp site for this EP.  Which also states that: The album was produced by Peter Richards. Peter Richards is deaf in one ear.
The cover photo was taken by William Newman-Wise. William Newman-Wise is blind in one eye.

Chastity Belt are not the worst band I have ever heard, not by a long shot.  But they sure do love to provoke, like their band photo (see below).  And the fact that is you try to look them up online, you will find many many images that you don’t want to see (not their band photo).

This four song EP is pretty representative off their full length album–intertwining guitars, catchy (if not vulgar) choruses, and a lead singer’s voice that soars above the music (and reminds me a bit of Grace Slick, although not exactly).  The band comes from Walla Walla Washington.  That and the cover photo reminds one of the Pacific Northwest riot grrrl scene, and there is so me of that slightly abrasive and yet still catchy feel to their music.

The biggest difference seems to be that although their lyrics are feminist and take-no-shit, there is still some humor in the lyrics too.  Not that the original riot grrrl scenes wasn’t funny, but it was much more intense, and unlike to include lines like: “God damn, that boy is hot damn, he makes me so stupid crazy and drunk.”

Of the four songs, I like them all, but the second, Dodge Ram is the least exciting for me, although I do like the “lead” guitar line that runs through the track (perhaps 4 minutes is too long for the song?).  “God Damn” is a great lead off track a simple guitar riff played slowly with an air of sloppiness that may be more of the recording sound (which is a bit staticky).  The segue into chorus really pretty.

On a far more serious tone is “A Bloody Spiral of Unyielding Fury” which is not a super fast belligerent death metal song, in fact it starts with a rather sweet high-pitched guitar melody.  But then lyrically, the chorus of “he wants me dead but I don’t want to die” informs the rather scary song about a guy with a knife (yet always with that rather happy guitar riff).

The one thing I don’t like about the record is the rather tinny sound of it.  There is bass, but it’s not very loud, and the two guitars are certainly turned up in the mix (and play mostly the high strings).  Having said that, “James Dean” (which also appears on their full length) has a much fuller sound, bigger chords and some of the most straightforward lyrics yet (all in Julia Shapiro’s keening voice)

chastityYou’re a slut
I’m a whore
we’ve fucked everyone before
Oh boy, when I fuck you
you make me feel like a prostitute
yeah, when you fuck me
I make you feel just like James Dean

You can check the EP out on their bandcamp site.

On this recording, Chastity Belt was On this record: Julia Shapiro, Lydia Lund, Annie Truscott, and Gretchen Grimm.

[READ: January 21, 2015] Chew: Volume Seven

After the horrible events at the end of Book Six, Book Seven was a chance for Revenge!

Tony Chu has not taken the event of book six lightly, and he is ready to get the bastard–the “vampire”–who has caused such distress to his family.  In fact, things are so serious that Tony (and Colby) have been reinstated to the FDA (and their boss doesn’t seem to mind).

And remember the high priestesss from the church of the super ova? (I had forgotten about her, but she’s back with all those writings in the sky and whatnot).  Well, she is looking to cause a lot of trouble.

But not everyone is happy that Colby has been transferred back. His former boss at the USDA is terribly sad to see her bed partner go. Of course, Colby’s new boss (who was his old boss) is suddenly also quite keen on having him back…I love how that is resolved with a nod and wink from the authors several chapters later. (more…)

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John Layman & Rob Guillory–Chew: Volume Six: “Space Cakes” (2012)

Posted in Alvvays, Canadian Music, Food, Graphic Novel, John Layman, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Marriage Trouble, NASA, Rob Guillory, Sex, The Decemberists, Violence, Yuck! on February 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

chew6SOUNDTRACK: ALVVAYS-Live at KEXP (December 2, 2014).

alvvays I’ve been enjoying the Alvvays album quite a lot.  They will be opening for The Decemberists this summer, so this was a good way to hear what they sound like live.

The band (pronounced Always) is from Canada and they play four songs and have a little chat.

The four songs are all on their debut album and while none of them are mind blowingly original, they scratch an itch that I have for poppy 90 s alt rock (female singer division).

Molly Rankin has a delicate voice that blends in beautiful with the washes of music (guitars and keyboards).  They remind me a bit of Lush, although less rocking.  There’s a bit more angst and yearning in her voice and lyrics.

Their hit is “Archie, Marry Me” but I find the other three songs, “Ones Who Love You,” “Dives” and “Party Police” to be just as catchy and delightful.  In fact I think the best song in this set may be “Party Police.”  The only real downside to this set is that they don’t have a live drummer.  No idea why, and it doesn’t really detract from the performance, it just makes it a but flatter than it might be.  I assume they’ll have a live drummer when I see them this summer.

[READ: January 22, 2015] Chew: Volume Six

Volume Six brings a very exciting return and a devastating loss to this awesome series.

The good news first: POYO!

The book opens with Toni (Antoinelle), Tony Chu’s sister in bed with Paneer, a man who is in love with her.  She, of course, needs to bite him to see what his future holds (which rather freaks him out).  Toni is (like her brother), cibovoyant and can read the future of everything she eats.

Toni is asked by her other brother Chow to help with a case.  A guy has out-bid him for a painting and he fears that the guy is just going to destroy the masterpiece.  As an agent of NASA surely Toni agrees she must help.  It turns out the artist is a sabopictor–his paintings taste delicious.  Of course it turns out that Chow has an ulterior motive–the guy has also stolen his cookbook, that’s all he cares about–he doesn’t care about the painting at all.  Toni is annoyed, but always happy to see her brother.

While she is visiting Tony in the hospital (from injuries suffered in book 5), Caesar walks in. Caesar used to work with Tony and he is quite certain that he recognizes Toni from somewhere (I loved this ongoing joke and that we keep flashing back to the number of times they met (and even hooked up) in their lives).

Then Toni gets called onto another case, involving mutated chicken frog (chogs) and a gangster named D-bear.Poyo-rules-the-Chew-roost-in-Secret-Agent-O31R1IQP-x-large

Of course the real excitement comes from the interlude which features POYO! the cybernetically enhanced rooster.  He is on a mission to stop Dr Albrecht Regenbigen, a ranapuliva who can recreate the meteorological phenomenon in which animals rain from the sky.

Back in our main story Poyo proves to be a great partner for Colby especially in the story of Judy Heinz-Campbell a victuspeciosian, who can craft a concoction out of food that temporarily changes your appearance (useful for supermodels and supervillains).

The final book shows the unthinkable–a wedding for Toni and Paneer?  Or something much more horrific and unimaginable.

I’m not sure I can forgive this series. Book 7 better bring something happy.

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John Layman & Rob Guillory–Chew: Volume Five: “Major League Chew” (2011)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Fantastic Negrito, Food, Graphic Novel, John Layman, Marriage Trouble, Rob Guillory, Sex, Tiny Desk Concert, Tiny Desk Contest, Violence, Yuck! on February 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

chew5SOUNDTRACK: FANTASTIC NEGRITO-“Lost in a Crowd” (TINY DESK CONTEST WINNER 2015).

negrtitoFantastic Negrito won this year’s Tiny Desk Concert contest.  About 7,000 people submitted entries and Negrito was chosen.

On the surface this song is pretty simple–a basic blues riff and some simple percussion, but man there’s some gritty power and conviction in this performance.  The way he sings “rage” in a late verse is really great.  I also really like the way the chorus is so very different–it really changes the dynamic of the stomping verses.

A couple other things I like about this song: the drums appear to be done on a box, but they sound great and there’s a super cool piercing sound he gets when he claps.  This was a really good song and I’m looking forward to his upcoming Tiny Desk Concert.

[READ: January 19, 2015] Chew: Volume Five

I had been enjoying Chew so much that I’m shocked that I not only forgot about it but forgot about it for over three years!  This is the trouble with annual publications.  I’ve decided to try to find all of the series that I forgot about, so if you can think of something I’ve ignored for a while, let me know.

The good thing is that there have been four more books published since I last read them, so I get to indulge in four whole books rather than just one at at time.

As this book opens we learn that Tony Chu’s boss is super happy because he finally got rid of Tony Chu–his most hated agent.  That’s right Tony Chu is now a traffic cop and his partner, Colby, has been transferred to the USDA–and his partner is a lion.  If this whole USDA/FDA business seems weird, it is, and you need to get caught up on the series and the poultry ban. (more…)

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Grantland Quarterly, Number 11 (2014)

Posted in Advice, Afternoon Delight, Alex Pappademas, Amos Barshad, Andrew Sharp, Andy Greenwald, Baseball, Basia Bulat, Basketball, Ben Lindbergh, Bill Barnwell, Bill Simmons, Books about music, Books about writers, Bryan Curtis, Chris Ryan, Culture Shock, Daniel Kellison, Danny Chau, Dave McKenna, Death, Emily Yoshida, Essays, Football, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Grantland, Harris Wittels, History, Hockey, Holly Anderson, House of Cards, In a World, Jason Concepcion, Jason Schwartz, John Lopez, Jonathan Abrams, Jordan Conn, Katie Baker, Kirk Goldsberry, Looking, Louisa Thomas, Mark Harris, Mark Lisanti, Mark Titus, McSweeney's, Molly Lambert, Nostalgia, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rafe Bartholomew, Rany Jazayerli, Rembert Browne, Robert Mays, Sean McIndoe, Shane Ryan, Steven Hyden, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Top Chef, Veep, Violence, Wesley Morris, Work of Art, Wrestling, Wu-Tang Clan, Zach Lowe on February 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

11SOUNDTRACK: BASIA BULAT-“Tall Tall Shadow” and “It Can’t Be You” live at Polaris Music Prize (2014).

basiaSwinging to the other side of the musical world from Tanya Tagaq, Basia Bulat also performed at the 2014 Polaris.  I like Bulat a lot, she comes across as a sweet singer (no idea if she is actually sweet).  And I love that she can make really complex songs out of such random instruments (she plays autoharp, hammered dulcimer and others).

In this performance, she is fairly traditional for “Tall Tall Shadow” on the piano (although the french horn accompaniment is a nice twist), but “It Can’t Be You” on charango really highlights just what you can do with, essentially, a souped up ukulele.

“Shadow” highlights her voice which she holds for some quite long notes.  The song is really pretty with a great chorus.  “It Can’t Be You” is just her and the charango (which looks like a ten string ukulele but is Andean in origin).  It’s quite a song–her voice and that instrument are lovely.

[READ: February 4, 2015] Grantland #11

I enjoyed this issue quite a lot, even if I didn’t know who half of the people profiled were (and won’t remember them in two days time).

I am very curious why Grantland is just so obsessed with basketball than other sports.  It’s a little crazy how one sided these books tend to be.  They obviously love all sports but the preponderance of NBA articles is really staggering.

I do wish there’d be a bit more about TV and movies (and even more about the shows that I watch), but it is a fun way to learn about shows I would never watch.  And maybe that’s why I like these books so much, it’s my chance to vicariously enjoy sports without having to care about any of it (especially since it is all a year old, I never know if anything they talk about actually came to fruition or not).

This issue covers January-March 2014 (it’s fun reading about things almost exactly a year apart–to read about Oscars and Super Bowl stuff but have it be last year’s Super Bowl (especially since it too had the Seahawks) was very trippy indeed).

(more…)

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Etgar Keret–“One Gram Short” (New Yorker, December 1, 2014)

Posted in Drugs, Etgar Keret, Nathan Englander, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story, Violence on January 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

dec12014SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People (2003).

animalsWhile the EP section oft he release was disappointing, the DVD portion was fantastic.

In addition to all of the band’s videos (which have held up quite well), there’s commentary for all three guys on some of them.  But beyond that, they have compiled most of the footage from the previously released VHS recordings: Cheesy Home Video and Horrible Men, as well as the fan only Horrible Swill.

And for the real fan, there’s all kinds of live performances, some dating all the way back to 1986, with the original band playing together.

  •      “To Defy the Laws of Tradition,” “Too Many Puppies” and “Frizzle Fry” from a campus radio show in 1989.
  •      “Groundhog’s Day” and “Mr. Krinkle” from New Years Eve 1993.
  •      “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers” and “My Name is Mud (Bootleg Quality)” from Woodstock 94.
  •      “Pudding Time” and “Southbound Pachyderm” from 1995.
  • “Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread” for HBO in 1998.
  • “Lacquer Head” Family Values Tour 1999.

and these rarities:

  • “Sgt. Baker” – Recorded at a rent party  sometime between 1986 and 1988
  • “Groundhog’s Day” – Recorded at the Omni in Oakland in late 1988
  • “Tommy the Cat” – Recorded by Bob Cock and the Yellow Sock.

That’s a great collection of stuff for any Primus fan.

[READ: January 20, 2015] “One Gram Short”

Keret seems to specialize in short stories.  This one was just over two pages (translated from the Hebrew by Nathan Englander).

It opens with a man who confesses to only going to a certain coffee bar because he thinks the waitress is cute.  He wants to ask her out but is afraid that “the movies” sounds like too big of a commitment, plus if she says no, that’s the end of them.  He understands that she likes smoking pot so he figures he’ll ask her to share a joint with him.

The problem is that he doesn’t have any.  So he contacts his old friend (whom he hasn’t talked to in years).  The friend immediately tells him that he’s dry–the whole country is dry.  “They closed the Lebanese border on us because of the trouble in Syria, and they closed Egypt because of all that al-Qaeda shit.”  The narrator is a bit put off that his friend assumes he’s calling for pot (even if that is why).  He emphasizes that all he wants is enough for one join so he can smoke with this girl but the friend can’t help him.

The next day though, his friend calls back with a deal.  He knows of a guy who has a prescription for medical marijuana.  But he doesn’t like the stuff, so he’s not using it–he has like ten grams.  And he wants to meet with the two of them. (more…)

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Brad Watson–“Eykelboom” (New Yorker, November 24, 2014)

Posted in Brad Watson, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story, Threats, Violence on January 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ny2014SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People (2003).

animalsAnd then in 2003 Primus reunited-Ler, Les and Herb!  They did a tour and they got together and they jammed out an EP.  While Les has said that the songs flowed pretty easily and that they wrote them pretty quickly, the magic didn’t last very long and after a few shows they went their separate ways.

This release is a combination DVD/EP.  And this post is just about the EP.

There are five songs on the disc.  And my general opinion of the songs is that they would probably sound great live in a cool jamming situation.  But on record most of these songs, even the 4 minute ones, seem really long.  Claypool has been playing with a lot of jamming bands in the hiatus, so that makes sense.  But even when Primus played long songs in the past, they were nicely varied.  These 7 minutes songs are pretty much the same riff over and over with an occasional break for a solo.

And it’s a shame because the riffs are interesting and the solos sound great but none of these songs should be more than 4 minutes long.

The EP starts promising with “The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride.”  It has a fun crazy bass and a cool guitar intro before the vocals come in.  But its when the vocals come in that the song grows kind of uninteresting—they are whispered and a little hard to understand.  And the music is a little too simple for such a mellow section.  When the solo comes in–at 4:42–the change is welcomed, but it’s a long way to get there.  When the song restarts, it’s a little disappointing.  “Pilcher’s Squad”  is under 2 minutes.  It’s a nice change to have a short stomper.  The guitar squeaks are cool, but the song is not that memorable.

“Mary the Ice Cube”  was the single from the album.  The bass and guitar are interesting, but the lyrics are just so blah–almot like Les was trying to “do” a Primus song.  The song feels like it drags on for a really long time and yet it’s only 4:30.  “The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion” has cool big round bass and crazy guitars, but I really don’t like the vocals, especially the “don’t like…you” section which seems way un-Primus to me.  I do like the King Crimson guitar part and the wild solo at 3:30, (even if the songs feels like it should be over by then).  After all the solos its hard to fathom that the song starts up again, which it does.

“My Friend Fats”  ends the disc and is also kind of disappointing.  The whole melody of the song seems to be a few drum thuds with some occasional sounds from bass and guitar.  It also feels like it could have ended about 3 minutes earlier.  Lyrically it’s interesting though, I would have liked it with more interesting music (and for it to be a lot shorter).

The whole EP feels like a lot of good ideas that could be edited into something tighter and more exciting.

It’s a good thing that the DVD is so awesome.

[READ: January 19, 2015] “Eykelboom”

This was a strange story–the first I have read by Brad Watson.  Although perhaps it is strange because I didn’t have a sense of who or what Eykelboom was when the story started.   Even the first sentence, “Where had they comes from, the Eykelbooms?” wasn’t very helpful.

It turned out that the Eykelbooms were a family that had moved into the neighborhood.  The boys suspected they were from Indiana or Illinois: “some crude and faceless Yankee state” (!).  Mr Eykelboom owned a dump truck and he would roar up and down the road blaring his awful horn as he went, letting everyone know he was coming, even though no one cared.

But the biggest problem with the Eykelbooms was their son.  He hung around with the other boys but he never quite fit in.  He was clean and neat and not a troublemaker and he was fordbidden from dong many of the things that the neighborhood boys did like playing in the drainage ditch–a great hide out if ever there was.  Or to go in the forest (the man who owned the property before selling some for the extant houses also owned the forest and he hated the neighborhood kids). (more…)

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Thomas McGuane–“Motherlode” (New Yorker, September 8, 2014)

Posted in New Yorker, Primus, Sex, Short Story, Thomas McGuane, Violence, Yuck! on January 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ny98SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-“Me Llamo Mud” (2010).

me llamo mudThis recording is out of chronological sequence, because it is a re-recording of Primus’ hit “My Name is Mud” done in Spanish.

The big surprise for me was just how different the song sounds–it was recorded in a very different way with the instruments sounding much crisper.  The bass in particular is recorded quite differently.  And Brain is on drums instead of Tim Alexander, although I don’t think their styles are very different on this song.  But I love that those seemingly random guitar parts from Ler are played the same (even if they are recorded differently too).

It’s also impressive to hear Les forcing all those Spanish syllables into his fast wordplay.

¿Adonde va el chico de la ciudad?

[READ: January 7, 2015] “Motherlode”

I tend to think of McGuane’s stories as dark, and this one is no exception.

We start by looking at David Jenkins.  He is in a hotel room with his stetson on.  He goes to get some lunch and while he eats, he gets the sense that a man is watching him closely.

As David walks out to his car, Ray, the man who was looking at David, pulls a gun and says that David is going to take them for a drive.  They have an awkward two-hour road trip ahead of them.  Ray uses David’s cell phone to call his girl, whose name is Morsel (I don’t know why that tickled me so much).  After about two hours of driving a man in a small plane lands in front of them on the road and says they’ve missed the turn.  David backs up and heads down the “road” to a small house. (more…)

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Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez–Locke & Key: Volume Six : Alpha & Omega (2014)

Posted in Big Black, Butthole Surfers, Christmas Album, Death, Demons, Fears, Gabriel Rodriguez, Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Happy Flowers, Joe Hill, Record Labels, Revenge, Supernatural, Violence, Yuck! on January 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

locke6 SOUNDTRACK: HAPPY FLOWERS-“All I Got Were Clothes Christmas” (1986).

godsAfter all of this mostly respectful Christmas music, I had to throw in one crazy stupid ugly horribly song.  But that’s mostly because I forgot it existed until I stumbled on it the other day.  The Happy Flowers were a terrible band (seriously).  They were the kind of band that seemed to blossom in the late 1980s which don’t seem to exist anymore (for better or worse).  They were beyond noise, this was just a crazy noisy pile of sound with screamed lyrics that have nothing to do with the music.

I loved them.  But not really, because they were terrible.  But it was fun to know that people not only made music like this but that it could find a record label (and presumably an audience).  I used to enjoy playing their songs on my radio show.

The Happy Flowers were two guys from Charlottesville, VA.  They were in another band (the Landlords) so presumably they could play their instruments, although I don’t know that band at all.  Their stage names were Mr. Horribly Charred Infant, (drums, vocals) and Mr. Anus, (guitar, vocals), so you have a sense of what we’re dealing with here.  And yet you really can’t be prepared for it.

This song is basically just feedback and two adult men screaming about how they wanted to get toys for Christmas but all they got was clothes.  For four minutes.  And it made it onto the above compilation, God’s Favorite Dog, with Big Black and the Butthole Surfers.

If your Christmas didn’t live up to your expectations, perhaps you need to hear this.  Or perhaps not.

[READ: December 29, 2014] Locke & Key 6

I knew I couldn’t hold out until the new year to finish this series.  I was compelled to keep going.  There was nothing I could do to hold back, as if some kind of spirit kept pulling me towards the books.

And the ending did not disappoint.  Well, it did disappoint a little in that so many people ended up dead.  I couldn’t believe how many people who I grew to care about were killed in various ways.

There’s really no time for flashbacks in this book, although we do get occasional look-backs.  We see the Locke kids make up with the friends that they have alienated. We also see that the kids’ mom has been sober for 30 days (this whole series takes place over a much longer time than it seems).

We also see Rufus come to say goodbye to the Locke family. While he is waiting for Bode to come up from the water, Rufus sees Bode’s ghost who tells him that the person in Bode’s body is not him but is actually Scout.  Rufus immediately attacks Bode when he arrives.  This send Rufus to the same institution that Erin Voss is in.  While he’s in there we see him already making plans to escape.  And it turns out that Erin Voss is able to communicate with him (sort of) and she is able to help in her own way. (more…)

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Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez–Locke & Key: Volume Five: Clockworks (2012)

Posted in Christmas Album, Death, Demons, Fears, Gabriel Rodriguez, Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Joe Hill, Revenge, Supernatural, Violence, Yuck! on December 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

locke5 SOUNDTRACK: ULTRA LOUNGE: CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS Part Two: Another Sound of Cool Holiday Spirits (1997).

xmastails2I enjoyed Christmas Cocktails so much, it seemed foolish to pass on Part Two.  It could never be as good as Part One (that’s where all the best stuff went), but it’s still pretty solid with some great renditions of old songs and new (to me) songs.  And yes, one or two that are even better than disc one.

CAIOLA & ORTALANI/JIMMY McGRIFF-“Sleigh Ride/Jingle Bells” A cool easy listening version with guitars swinging and then switching two smooth violins/organ solo Hammond.  LENA HORNE-“Jingle All The Way” I like that the bass is playing the “I like the sleigh ride” without it being sung.  It’s a fun version (also on Pier 1 Imports).  LOU RAWLS-“Merry Christmas Baby” I don’t typically like Lou Rawls, and I don’t really like this song, but this version fits in good with the rest of the disc.  JULIE LONDON-“Warm December” I don’t know this song, it’s pretty and sweet.  London must be the sweetheart of the Capitol Records stable.

EDDIE DUNSTEDTER-“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!/Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” An ice-rink keyboard version of the songs—cheesey and awesome!  JUNE CHRISTY-“The Merriest”  I didn’t know this song.  It’s a fun unusual song that I like quite a bit, the words are unexpected and full of wordplay.  NAT KING COLE TRIO-“All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)” Also on the Pier 1 disc, I didn’t notice the backing vocalists as much on the other version—they almost drown out Nat on this one.

NANCY WILSON “ The Christmas Waltz” I feel like Ive only become aware of this song this year. I like this version a lot. With strings and Wilson’s lovely voice.  LES BROWN AND HIS BAND OF RENOWN-/FRANK DEVOL WITH THE STARLIGHTERS-“I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm/Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling” This is a fun instrumental, big band version until the second half when the Starlighters sing–in great 40s era style–Jing-A Ling which I’ve never heard before.  JIMMY McGRIFF-“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”  I don’t especially love this song, but this crazy Hammond organ version is awesome (is it different from the one on the first disc?)?

DEAN MARTIN-“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” A fast version of this with what sounds like a chorus of women responding to Deano.  GEORGE SHEARING/BILLY MAY-“Snowfall / Snowfall Cha-Cha” A pretty, string filled chill-out song that I’m unfamiliar with.   WAYNE NEWTON-“ Jingle Bell Rock” I don’t really like this song in general.  And this is a woman singing so I don’t quite get the Newton connection, but I am amused at how much this song does not rock.  THE VENTURES-“Frosty The Snowman” a fun surf version.  THE DINNING SISTERS & BOB ATCHER-“Christmas Island” I love this song and this version.  It’s always a treat to hear this at Christmastime.

MARTIN DENNY-“Exotic Night” I love Martin Denny and his weird “exotic” tracks. This is a wonderful version of “What Child is This” as done on vibes and possibly glasses? With a pretty piano.  PEGGY LEE-“Happy Holidays” Classic big band fun.  FERRANTE & TEICHER/LES BAXTER-“Sleigh Ride/Santa Claus’ Party”  Les Baxter is another great exotic music fan.  This is the great instrumental version with sleigh bells and cloppy sounds and all. The second half is a vocal rendition of a song I’ve never heard before (“a mountain of ice cream where everyone has his share!”).  Someday I’ll have to make a disc of “old” Christmas songs that are not part of the typical rounds

GUY LOMBARDO & HIS ROYAL CANADIANS-“ Auld Lang Syne” standard Auld Lang Syne fare, although a little slow.  STAN KENTON-“ What Is Santa Claus?” A sweet story about Santa Claus. It’s spoken word with the set up that children are always asking him what Santa Claus is.  Set over a backing chorus of “Silent Night,” it’s very sweet, although he says Santa has 7 reindeer—that’s odd.

[READ: December 22, 2014] Locke & Key 5

I’m trying so hard to pace myself with these stories, but I am so hooked.  I knew I would finish the series by the end of the year, even if I couldn’t post about them until January

This penultimate book opens with a flashback.  A very long ago flashback with a bunch of people who look a lot like the Locke family.  And indeed they are the Locke’s from 1776, when the parents of the family were killed by British soldiers for supporting the local militia.  The children watch the hanging and are told to go to the caves (where the militia is waiting).  When they get to the caves, they learn that the men hiding there have found a door.  The door is marked 11 and has all kinds of designs on it.  The men reveal that the children’s brother was killed fighting off whatever was in that door (so they lost three family members that day).

Behind the door is the creepy spirit dimension that Scout is trying to control.  After a staggering amount of bloodshed, we learn that if the spirits are incapable of taking over a body, they turn into a weird kind of metal.  Which the boy forges into the Omega key.  And, mind-blowingly, Ty and Kinsey are there as ghosts to watch the whole thing.  (And I have to laugh that during all the horror, the goat is just eating people’s hats and whatnot). (more…)

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Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez–Locke & Key: Volume Four: Keys to the Kingdom (2011)

Posted in Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes, Christmas Album, Death, Demons, Fears, Gabriel Rodriguez, Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Joe Hill, Revenge, Supernatural, Tori Amos, Violence, Yuck! on December 26, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 locke4SOUNDTRACK: TORI AMOS-Midwinter Graces (2009).

midwinterI had loved Tori Amos for many years, but I got bored with her mid 2000s works, they were too adult contemporary for my liking.  So I wasn’t that excited to hear this Christmas album.  But Sarah bought it for me that year anyhow, and I have really grown to like it a lot.  At the same time there are a few things about it that drive me insane–particularly the crazy and I’ll say it, stupid way she pronounces words in her songs.

If Tori were not a native English speaker I would forgive her (I love a lot of non native English speakers as singers).  But she was born in the US and now lives in England and none of the weird things she does reflect any “accent” nor do they reflect the way she speaks.  She has a very distinctive way of mispronouncing certain words (which she seems to have developed late in her career) which is maddening and often makes the words unintelligible. Why would one do that?

That aside, the melodies and (most) vocals are really lovely.  For this album Tori takes some bits of traditional carols and tinkers with them. The accompanying DVD has an interview in which she explains her inspiration. But without knowing this, some of these versions can be very upsetting.  The first time I heard the first song I just did not understand what was happening–it’s just so wrong.  And while I’m not saying I “get” it now, but I enjoy it more because it uses the carols as a jumping off point..

“What Child, Nowell” is very disconcerting because the song changes so many different things at once.  It has a string section opening and then lyrics to What Child is This (in a very different melody). When she switches the vocal line in the “this this” part, you know something’s up, and when it jumps to the Nowell section (which is also done differently), well, who knows what’s happening.  It’s an unusual track but lovely. “Star of Wonder” has a very cool middle eastern lick. It opens with the we three kings line, but is immediately changed into something different (lyrics and melodies). I just love the chorus of this which modifies “star of wonder” in a cool way.   “A Silent Night with You” is a romantic song (her voice sounds a little funny) But the melody is very pretty.   “Candle” Coventry Carol” I don’t recognize the melody of the Candle part but the Coventry Carol party has a wonderful Victorian melody (it could do with more olde instruments, I think).

“Holly Ivy an Rose” has a pretty piano melody.  I love the melody even more when the chorus comes in.  But I genuinely don’t like when Tash’s voice kicks in—it feels flat to me. I appreciate her using her daughter (and I feel bad criticizing a nine-year old), but I think Tori’s voice sounds so magical that her daughter’s voice just can’t match.  “Harps of Gold” I didn’t realiy like the musical opening of this (the guitars sound really pale compared to the rest of the disc, but I love the drums –simple but so effective). This song is the one where I really noticed how weird Tori emphasizes words now. I was sure that she she was singing “Napoleon” (Nah ha poh ho lee un) which I know made literally no sense for the song.  In fact she is singing “Gloria” (Gluh hoe hoe Ree uh). That speaks volumes about how weirdly she has been emphasizing words on the last few albums.  Despite that weirdness, I really like this song and I will continue to sing “Napoleon.”

“Snow Angel” is a bit adult contemporary for me, but I find myself singing it a lot, so I must like it.  “Jeanette, Isabella” is a pretty song with a lovely melody but for some reason it’s not very catchy.   “Pink and Glitter” is a big band type swing number.  It comes as quite a shock after the mellow song before it). I love the chorus—Tori’s voice works very well with this style of music.  But again, what’s with the weird emphasis. “honorable mention” is sung strangely:  “men she un.”  And worse yet, the song ends with the word “pink” and yet she sings it without the final k so I was sure she was singing “shower the world with pain.”  What gives?

“Emmanuel” begins with the “O come O come” lines. It’s a little too slow.  This is another song where she mispronounces words on purpose–the way she says Israel is crazy.  But as soon as it switches to her own song, it becomes quite lovely.  “Winter’s Carol” is actually from her musical ‘The Light Princess.”  It reminds me a bit of her song Marianne and it’s really quite nice musically, but again, the way the words are sung is insane: “first song oov the robin, i koh through the land” Its a shame her pronunciation is so awful because the song is quite lovely (and the lyrics are good too).  I love the backing vocals–her niece sings them and she is quite fabulous.  The disc proper ends with “Our New Year,” it is a pretty song with nice string arrangements but a rather sad sentiment and kind of a downer way to end the record.

My copy has two bonus tracks: “Comfort and Joy”  It plays on the lyrics of “let nothing you dismay” and “glad tidings.”  It’s a totally different with a slow angsty ballad.  “Silent Night” is a mostly straight but with some different lyrics in the later verses.  But why does she say “pierce” instead of “peace?”

[READ: December 23, 2014] Locke & Key 4

This book opens with a tribute to Bill Watterson, in which all of the scenes in Bode’s head resemble Calvin and Hobbes (somewhat).  Bode is ostracized in school because he’s pretty weird.  His mom wants him to have friends, but he doesn’t seem to be able to make any.  But when he finds the animal key (which Scout used to transform into a wolf), Bode transforms into a…sparrow?  He is bummed until he realizes the power of a group.  And when he and his bird friends are able to take on the wolf, that’s pretty awesome (this is, sadly the bloodiest section so far in the book).

Chapter Two introduces us to the color key, in which Kinsley is able to turn into a black girl.  She does this when she realizes that the woman who wrote her name next to her father’s in that underwater cave is in the nearby madhouse.  The woman, Erin Voss, is black.  And racism is rampant in this section of town (and in the asylum).  Of course, when she screams the word white, it’s not because Kinsey is white, but because of something that Scout has done to her.

Chapter Three is set up in an interesting way.  Each day of the month is represented by some event (with very little in the way of context).  So there’s an embarrassing hockey loss for Ty, a breakup between Kinsey and Zack, and on the weekends they fight shadowy evils.  They also find some more keys, one appears to be for a cupboard filled of all kinds of things, another is a Hercules key.  There’s a lot of tears (and bloodshed) in February. (more…)

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