[LISTENED TO: August 2016] Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye
I had grabbed this book for C. because it looked kind of interesting. He said he wanted to read it but hadn’t gotten around to it before we left for vacation. So instead, I grabbed the audio book for us to listen to.
The book itself had a lot of interesting illustrations by Will Staehle which were obviously not present in the audio book. Often times the audio book version of a book is a bit more fun because of the delivery, but I feel like we really missed out without the pictures. Indeed, the blurb for the book really talks up the design of it:
The first volume in a delightful new series, this middle grade adventure features an oversized hardcover format, gorgeous two-color illustrations on every page, and a lavish two-column turn-of-the-century design. We guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like it!
SOUNDTRACK: YUSUF/CAT STEVENS-Tiny Desk Concert #411 December 9, 2014).
As this Tiny Desk Concert opens, Bob Boilen tells his story of being 17 years old and saving up money to buy a guitar so he could learn Cat Steven’s “Father and Son.” He says he’s now old and has a son and the song still means a lot. And that introduction makes the song even that more emotional when he plays it later.
It’s a shame that he is so known for the controversy about the fatwa back in the 1980s, but his conversion to Islam is pretty interesting: “In 1976, Cat Stevens almost drowned off the coast of Malibu. In his panic, he says, he shouted, “Oh, God! If you save me, I will work for you” — at which point he recalls a wave that came and carried him ashore. He converted to Islam, changed his name and left the pop world after one last album in 1978.”
He released his first non-spiritual album in decades in 20o6. He released another one in 2014, which was a record of some originals mixed with standards and blues covers. He plays two songs from this album here (which is a bit of a disappointment, as I could have easily listened to him play the entire Greatest Hits album). But these two songs are quite nice. “I was Raised in Babylon” is a bit dark, although his voice sounds great. “Doors” was originally written for the musical Moonshadow. It’s a delicate ballad. And it also as a religious impact with the final line being “God made everything just right.”
In between these two he says he doesn’t know what to play next, but he has some kind of gadget that he scrolls through. And he chooses “The First Cut is the Deepest.” He comments maybe some people know I wrote this one, it wasn’t Rod Stewart. I really like this song a lot. It sounds different from the record because it’s just him and his guitar, but his voice is unmistakable. and he sounds great. And if it makes him feel better, I’ve never even heard the Rod Stewart version.
He dedicates “Father and Son” to Bob and it’s just as beautiful as the original. And yes, it should make you tear up, especially if you have a child.
After listening to this Tiny Desk I really wanted to see him play live. I know that he is currently on tour and will actually be in Philly on this very night. There are still tickets available, but since the cheapest seats cost nearly $200, I’ll be skipping this one.
[READ: April 4, 2016] The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Romeo and Juliet
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, in which the zoo animals put on a play of Macbeth. Well, the zoo is ready again for their next performance. I enjoyed that the audience is aware of the previous play–the kids are even wondering why it’s another tale of woe instead of something happy. Later when the lion (who was in Macbeth) comes out, someone addresses him as the character from that play.
What I thought was interesting about the way this play was done was that they made the story kid friendly. I liked this and that it allowed me to share this story with my kids. Rather than being lovers, Romeo and Juliet want to have a play date, and rather than killing themselves at the end, they wind up hibernating. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO-Tiny Desk Concert #407 (November 24, 2014).
I never liked Pat Benatar. Back in the day she was all over MTV (and even in Fast Time at Ridgemont High) and I just didn’t like her. I’m not sure why, although I was particularly bitter about “Hell is for Children” (being a child myself). Of course, I still know all of her singles really well.
But I haven’t thought about her in probably a decade. And then around 2014 that she was playing with Neil Giraldo in some kind of acoustic tour. I recognized his name but didn’t know they were married or anything like that.
And so here they are doing a Tiny Desk Concert–all acoustic–with him playing guitar and contributing backing vocals. Over the decades, Benatar’s voice has changed a bit–she sounds gruffer and it really suits her. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: AND THE KIDS-Tiny Desk Concert #452 (June 30, 2015).
I hadn’t heard of And The Kids before, but I was intrigued by their name and the lead singer’s look (is that a tattoo on her lip?).
But I didn’t like the way the first song started with a modified military “Glory Glory Hallelujah” musical refrain–it seemed strangely forced, especially for the first song I’d heard by them. Although I may have liked it better if I knew the band better. It was a weird way to start.
Especially since I ultimate liked “Glory Glory.” (I am hearing a chorus of “I’ve been picking up floor milk” which is as fascinating as whatever the lyrics really are). The drummer has great harmony vocals that really adds something to the song. I also love at around 2 and half minutes when the song turns into something very different—faster guitars with lead vocals by the drummer. And even the bassist who has been quiet thus far chimes in with another layer of voices (and some interesting bass lines). It’s very cool. So the song which started out kind of shaky really rocks out at the end.
The band trio, with a singer/guitarist, bassist and a great drummer. There’s something about the lead singer’s guitar–it seems really big (maybe it’s just the head of the guitar?). And the sound that the drummer gets is really great too—it may just be this recording, but the snare is really sharp.
For “All Day All Night” the drummer busts out a glockenspiel. It has a kind of shouted chorus that borders on dissonance but isn’t quite. I like the way the song slows down (with the guitarist playing keyboard as it builds back up), the drummer plays the glockenspiel and the drums at the same time. And the all three start singing with interesting harmonies. The ending whoo hoos are sharp and distinct as well.
“Cats Were Born” has a very interesting lyric: “The cats were born to kill for fun.” But perhaps even more interesting than the words are the yodels and screams and yips that punctuate the song. What’s also strange is the way the bassist seems so reticent to look goofy while the other two are wild. The guitarist busted out a small four string guitar for this song which sounds really distinct. And the drummer really shines. Through many of the songs she’s playing rim shots which is a distinctive sound in itself, but when she switches over to a faster style for the middle section, it’s really intense.
I don’t think any bands has gone so far from me not thinking much of them to being really won over by the end of their Tiny Desk.
[READ: February 26, 2015] Gunnerkrigg Court [1-14]
I discovered this book through my Goodreads account. It was suggested because, well, I don’t recall, it had something to do with schools and supernatural and graphic novels or whatever. There was also one that was suggested for Sarah (it was about boarding school and tea) which turned out to be Japanese softcore porn, so beware the Goodreads suggestions.
Although there was nothing to beware of with this book.
I actually thought Sarah would like it more because she loves boarding school fiction. But she gave up on the book after a few stories. Interestingly I almost did as well. It wasn’t that it was bad, in fact we both enjoyed the beginning. But it was the kind of book that once you put it down, you didn’t feel compelled to pick it up again. Perhaps because each chapter feels so self-contained–with no real cliffhanger–that it seemed like the stories were done. And while the stories were good they weren’t awesome…so. She gave up, but I continued
Man, I love some Andy Williams at Christmastime. I don’t really know much about him at other times of the year and I imagine that I would never listen to him, but he is one of the voices of Christmas. I like his voice so much even if I don’t love all the songs on this record.
His “Sleigh Ride” is the essential version–boppy and fun–you can imagine zipping along on a sleigh with jingle bells bouncing along.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a bit slow, but “Winter Wonderland” sounds great. His “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” is fun–he can really belt out those notes and “Silver Bells” is also a highlight.
The choice of “My Favorite Things” (from The Sound of Music) is unexpected, as it has nothing to do with Christmas, but his rendition is wonderful. “Christmas Holiday” is a song I don’t know but Williams belts it out as well. “Do You Hear What I Hear” is also great.
“Some Children See Him” is a fascinating song that I haven’t heard too much (although Rivers Cuomo does a cover of it(!)). It’s all about how children from different countries see Jesus a different way (a rather progressive idea).
“Little Altar Boy” is a slow and somewhat ponderous song that I’m unfamiliar with. The final two songs “Mary’s Little Boy Child” and “The Bells of St. Mary” are pretty but not fun (as you would assume from the titles).
So I love about half the disc and like most of the rest. Williams has an earlier Christmas album as well. I think I’d like to pick and choose between the two discs for a great Williams collection.
[READ: December 23, 2014] The Night Before Christmas
I had intended to read all Dickens stories this week. And then my latest New Directions Pearl arrived and it was this one: The Night Before Christmas (also translated as Christmas Eve) by Nikolai Gogol. Well, that put a change in my plans.
I don’t know much about Gogol, although apparently he wrote only short stories (no novels). My book has a quote from Dostoevsky that says, “We all came out of Gogol’s overcoat.” So imagine my surprise when this night before Christmas is actually about witches and the devil and affairs with beautiful women!
The story is set in Dikanka, Ukraine. It is Christmas Eve and, according to legend, that is the night in which the devil is free to perform tricks and torment people. Before the devil comes, we see a witch flying around the sky collecting stars. The devil decides that he is going to steal the moon–this will make it very dark so he can create even more mischief. The moon proves to be very hot, and he winds up juggling it a few times until he gets it into his pocket.
The devil decides to get back at Vakula, the village blacksmith. In addition to being the blacksmith, he is also an artist and he has painted some really cruel pictures of the devil on the side of the church. And the devil is pretty miffed about this. So he sets an elaborate plan in motion. (more…)
I love big band music. It’s what I grew up listening to. So this seemed like an ideal collection for the holidays. I mean all of the big names in big band are here. It’s a little less raucous than I would have imagined, but for a low key kind of swinging party, it works very well
GLENN MILLER-“Jingle Bells” starts off the collection right, with big horns and fast beats. I don’t love the main singer (I do like the way he twists some of the lyrics), but I do enjoy the really really un-hip backing vocalists.
RALPH FLANAGAN-“Winter Wonderland” is the kind of swing I like–big horns, more horns, all louder than the last. I also tend to like my big band as instrumental, so this one is aces for me.
TOMMY DORSEY-“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” opens with a verse that I’d never heard before. It sounds like it is coming from a tiny transistor radio, but is fun nonetheless.
FREDDY MARTIN-“Sleigh Ride” sounds like a very traditional version of this with pizzicato violins and smooth orchestration. When the vocals come in, it sounds like it may have been used in every Christmas TV special during the 1940s and 1950s (the “horse” whinny at the end especially). Perhaps a little too smooth for my liking.
VAUGHN MONROE-“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” features Monroe’s deep bass voice. They tinker with the standard melody somewhat–singing on an occasional minor note, which is interesting. But it’s still a nice romantic version of the song.
CLAUDE THORNHILL-“Snowfall” is a slow piano instrumental. It definitely does not swing.
SAMMY KAYE-“White Christmas” is, as I’ve said, really a sad song underneath, but this one actually sounds like it could have the backing vocalists wailing in tears as Kaye sings along. Again, there will be no swinging here. Never have the words “merry and bright” sounded so sad.
LARRY CLINTON-“Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” is a big swingin’ horn fueled romp (it has nothing to do with the The Nutcracker). It always makes me laugh when the first minute or so of a big band song are rollicking and wild, and then when the vocalist comes in, the horns drops out and the song becomes really quiet (that happens here).
FATS WALLER-“Winter Weather” is not really a swinging song, but Waller’s voice sounds great and raspy in this piano and guitar based song.
BENNY GOODMAN-“Santa Claus Came in the Spring” is a song I’m unfamiliar with. It’s got a good swinging feel, although lyrically it’s a bit suspect (if not sweet).
FATS WALLER-“Swingin’ Them Jingle Bells” is a swing version of Jingle Bells, with a lot of rollicking piano. It’s good fun until the really weird vocals come in. I guess it was something of a novelty (Waller seems to be having a lot of fun at any rate).
SPIKE JONES-“All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” is one of the oldie songs that I really don’t like. I love Spike Jones, and I appreciate that it was a novelty hit (my father used to say this line every year). But at 3 minutes of that weird squeaky voice, it feels way too long–and the fact that the middle just goes on and on is so weird.
GUY LOMBARDO-“Auld Lang Syne” is a pretty orchestral version of the song–probably the one you’ve heard every year. A nice end to the party.
[READ: December 3, 2014] The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth
I grabbed this at the library, not entirely sure what it was. Could it really be a version of Macbeth? Set in a zoo? Well, yes it is. It’s a version of Macbeth for kids as performed by animals in the zoo.
The plot is the same, but it is utterly simplified and made not only kid-friendly, but also funny. Yes, Macbeth as comedy!
So the lion is Macbeth, a heroic figure if ever there was. And the owl is the king. Everything is great until th elion is hungry for…power! Various other animals play different parts (some of them very humorously–like the blind mole as the guard). And many other animals are in the audience (of course) and they get to comment on the performance too. I particularly enjoyed the two tiny creatures (no idea what they are), one of whom loves the violence and the other one hates it. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THURL RAVENSCROFT AND DISNEY FRIENDS-“Grim, Grinning Ghosts” (1960s).
This song is the theme to Disney’s Haunted Mansion. I’ve been to the Haunted Mansion perhaps a dozen times and I recognized a line from it (when the ghosts appear next to you in the ride), but I can’t say I ever paid attention or even thought about to this song before.
It was brought to my attention by John Congleton during his excellent interview with Bob and Robin on NPR. The whole interview was outstanding–I learned so much from him–but I wanted to focus on this song because he raves about it (and because it is Halloween). And because I absolutely wanted to type the name Thurl Ravenscroft.
He loves the vocals by Thurl (who was also the singer of The Grinch songs) and the bizarre chord progression: Am, B, Am, B♭, Am, F, Am, F7, Am, E7, Am. And about the song, he says:
When I was a kid, I was so attracted to this song, but I was scared of it. The record would sit with my other records and I would see it in there, and I would be like, ‘Do I have the bravery to listen to it right now?’ And sometimes I would, and I was mesmerized by it. But the then I grew up, and I went back and listened to it, and was like, ‘This is brilliant. This is really, really well done.’ I never in my entire life heard background vocals that sounded as tight as that. Never in my life. The harmonies are the tightest harmonies I have ever heard ever. And it’s like, this is for a silly kid’s record — but they were committed to making something special. Everything about that song is incredible to me.
So yes, it’s a goofy song, and if you don’t pay too much attention to it, it’s just a not very scary ghost song, but there’s a lot going on (hand it to Disney for being really into their production values). Like this note from Wikipedia: “the organist actually played the song backwards to achieve the discord that the composer intended.”
Not bad for a song you only hear if you go on a ride.
[READ: October 19, 2014] Poop Fountain!
I have enjoyed just about everything that Tom Angleberger has written (interestingly, he is famous for his origami Yoda series, which I actually like less than his other books). This book was actually his first book published. But he published it under the name Sam Riddleburger and it was called The Qwikpick Adventure Society. It has clearly been republished since he is now famous.
I brought the book home for Clark but he said he didn’t really like the way it was written (it is typed with handwritten comments). I actually found it very easy to read and thought it was a super fast read–two hours at most.
So the book starts with a note from Tom Angleberger in which he says that before he wrote books he was a reporter and one of the stories he wrote was about a sewage plant in Crickenburg, Virginia (which is not a real town). His original article was about how the local sewage plant was getting over-burdened by all the new residents and so it would need to be enlarged. He went to interview the manager and man did it stink.
He says that many years later a guy called him up to say that he had found a bunch of papers (including his article) in a Qwikpick gas station. And that’s how he came across this first person account of an adventure to the same sewage plant.
He then tells readers that this was in 2000, before kids had cell phones or the internet, when kids basically just did stuff outside. And that is how the Qwikpick Adventures Society’s trip to see the Fountain of Poop came about–thre bored kids looking for something to do. (more…)
I don’t love the saxophone in rock music. In fact, I often find the saxophone to be the single source of cheese in a lot of good music. And yet when a saxophone is done right–Colin Stetson, John Zorn, Morphine, it can be an awesome instrument.
What about two saxophones? And only a drummer with them? Well, that’s Moon Hooch. They play a bass saxophone and a squawking tenor (I guess) saxophone. And, more like Morphine of the above bands they play fairly heavy riff rock songs like “Number 9.” But these songs also make you move–dance, tap your foot, whatever it is. After just a few notes, you’ll be hooked.
There’s not too much more to say about this song. With the opening sounds of a subway platform, this song really sounds like a couple of guys busking o the platform, but man, it’s much more than that. There’s some excellent drum work keeping this song grounded, but the stars are the two saxophones played off of each other. There’s no words, just horns. Get moving!
[READ: March 15, 2014] Ballad
This is a beautiful and fascinating book. It is a children’s book but it demands some close reading. And yet there aren’t all that many words in the book. It is the design of the book that is the “selling point.”
The story is a fairly simple one (although I admit I found it a little confusing). There is a preface which explains that the story is about a child who goes home the same way every day. And yet suddenly his whole world balloons around him. [And yet there is no child in the book]. Chapter 1 begins with a paragraph explanation that the school clock has stopped and no one seems to care.
After that first page, each subsequent page has a (nearly) full page image and one or two words underneath it (the script is also charming). And so we see the school, the street, the forest, home. Each new chapter works in the same fashion—a small paragraph explaining the setup and then several pages of pictures—each picture (the school, the forest) is exactly the same (they look silk screened) with the same caption underneath (although in subsequent chapters they are modified somewhat). Chapter 3 introduces us to a stranger and, even more unsettling, bandits and a witch. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Barrymore’s Ottawa, ON (January 17, 1997).
After two recordings in Barrymore’s in 1996, Rhesostatics Live has another concert from Barrymore‘s to open 1997. And this one is fantastic. The sound is perfect, the band sounds great and they play a wonderful selection of songs.
They open with a long version of “Record Body Count,” and a rousing “Dope Fiends and Booze Hounds.” They are also having a lot of fun on stage with the lengthy introduction to “Sweet, Rich, Beautiful and Mine” and the fun teasing that opens “Saskatchewan.”
But the most fun comes in “Fan Letter to Michael Jackson” which sees the band joking around and sounding almost giddy. It’s not the best rendition of the song for novices to the band, but for long time fans, this must have been fun to see. It’s also amazing that the band has played yet another 2 hours plus show.
[READ: January 8, 2014] Sweet Tomb
I don’t usually mention the book publisher when I post about books, but I’m quite taken with Madras Press. From their website:
Madras Press publishes limited-edition short stories and novella-length booklets and distributes the proceeds to a growing list of non-profit organizations chosen by our authors. The format of our books provides readers with the opportunity to experience stories on their own, with no advertisements or miscellaneous stuff surrounding them.
The format is a 5″ x 5″ square books that easily fit into a pocket. At present there are four series with four books in each series.
I have a lot of strange synchronicites with the books I read. As it turns out, yesterday’s comic book was about a witch and this collection of related short stories is also about a witch. It’s especially strange because I didn’t know that either book would have a witch character at all (even Zombillenium–it seems like it would be about zombies not witches). So it’s funny to read two different stories and to see two entirely different attitudes about witches. In Zombiellenium, she says that being a witch is not hereditary and yet in Sweet Tomb, she says it is (and then wonders why anyone would pass that on to her children).
So yes, these are linked short stories (I assume, and not a novel with chapter titles). They are all about Candy, a witch, and her exploits. Typically, I summarize each short story, but it’s more interesting to talk about this narrative as a whole. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Record Runner, In Store Acoustic, Ottawa, ON (November 29 1996).
I have already posted about this show before. And I concur with my assessment of what I said last time.
But I wanted to add a few things. This was recorded by someone in the audience, I assume. The sound is good (you don’t hear the audience at all, which strangely almost makes it seem like there is no one there). But it’s not perfectly clean.
This is an acoustic set done on the morning of their second night opening for The Tragically Hip. (Dave says that you shouldn’t buy their new shirts at the show that night because they had to charge the same amount as the Hip and you will be able to get their stuff cheaper when they come by again in a few months).
In addition to some interesting renditions of fan favorites, we have a fan singing “The Ballad of Wendell Clark.” It’s notable not only because of the fan singing it but because they doesn’t really play that song live, at least not circa 1996/1997. They also throw in some Stomping Tom Connors during the song.
As an intro to “Four Little Songs” Dave says that they were planning on writing a bunch of different little songs so that you might never know which ones they would play on any given night. He says it’s very easy to write little songs like that and it would be fun. That seems to have never happened though. You don’t hear too many acoustic Rheostatics shows. You can download it here.
[READ: February 11, 2014] Zombillenium No 1
The cover of this book was so arresting I had to check it out. I don’t know Arthur de Pins. He’s a French artist and this is his first book to get distribution in America, I believe. You can tell he’s European from the artwork–I wonder why that is.
Well, I loved this story. It is very very funny and extremely twisted. And there is something about the main character Gretchen that is so appealing (I love that her nose is so strangely bulbous, which makes her even cuter, somehow).
As the story opens, we see a man hitchhiking. After a few panels, it is revealed that he is a mummy. One car speeds away from him, but another soon pulls up. It is driven by a vampire and there’s a skeleton in the passenger seat. They know who he is, and they’re bringing him back where he belongs. Which is to Zombillenium: “The Family Amusement Park for Chills and Thrills.” (more…)
I had grabbed this book for C. because it looked kind of interesting. He said he wanted to read it but hadn’t gotten around to it before we left for vacation. So instead, I grabbed the audio book for us to listen to.
I Just Read About That... 