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Archive for the ‘YA Books’ Category

Nick Hornby–Slam (2007)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, Nick Hornby, Pregnancy, R.E.M., Set at School, Skateboarding, The Believer, Tony Hawk, U2, YA Books on August 22, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: REM-Accelerate (2008).

I was thinking about the parallel careers of R.E.M. and U2 the other day.  The both started at around the same time: R.E.M. on an indie label and U2 on a major.  R.E.M. was a college band loved by critics but not really a big seller.  U2 had some huge hits in their early days and slowly grew to be college darlings too.  Then in 1987, they both hit it big time: R.E.M.’s Document had “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “One I Love” and of course, U2’s The Joshua Tree was the hugest album in the world.

R.E.M. and U2 became the hugest bands of the 1990s, selling millions of copies of records, becoming the biggest most famous people in the world (well, the singers did anyhow).  And then in the 2000’s, something happened.  U2 became even bigger and R.E.M. sort of drifted.  And their records got critically panned.  Even if they had a hit or two, overall the records received very bad reviews.

I didn’t even bother picking up R.E.M.’s previous record (and I guess no one else did either…its their ONLY record not to go at least gold (and that includes their early IRS label stuff).  So, who held out any hope for a new R.E.M. album?

Well, the good news came when I put on Accelerate.  After the initial guitar lick, the bass kicked in and Sarah said “Is that R.E.M.?” Now THAT’s a good sign.  And it is.  This album is the closest they’ve come to classic R.E.M. in a long time.  I’ve concluded that the defining characteristic of R.E.M. is not Michael Stipe, it is Mike Mills.  It’s his basslines and his glorious backing vocals that make a song stand up and say R.E.M.  And, they’re usually the most interesting parts of the songs.  (His “It’s time I had some time alone” is such a great counterpoint to “It’s the End of the World…” that the song wouldn’t be half as good without it.)  This is not to say that Mike Mills should be the lead singer or be placed more prominently, (he shouldn’t, he’s like a great supporting actor who would be too much if he was the lead), but his contributions make them even better.

And Accelerate is full of Mills, in ways that I feel have been absent in recent years.  His high bass notes, his great backing vocals, it’s like the R.E.M. of old.  Except that it isn’t.  The difference here is that Peter Buck has not returned to the reverby, picked-guitar of old.  He’s got more of the aggressive style of playing that he’s used on Monster and New Adventures… so what you get is a classic R.E.M. updated for the 21st century.

Another thing that is great about this record is its length.  At just over 30 minutes, it’s one of R.E.M.’s shortest releases.  And, after some of the bloated discs they put out lately, it’s a great change of pace–because really nothing overstays its welcome like too much R.E.M.  I mean Reveal has some good songs on it, but after six or seven tracks you can’t believe there are still six more to go.  But on Accelerate, none of the songs overstay its welcome; many of them could go on even longer (always the sign of a good song)–5 of them are under three minutes long!

But enough bashing R.E.M.  Accelerate is a short blast of rocking pop.  In fact, the first 3 songs are the best songs I’ve heard from R.E.M. in years. (more…)

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Faith Erin Hicks–Zombies Calling (2007)

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

SOUNDTRACK: Sirius Radio-The Grateful Dead Channel

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

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

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

[READ: June 10, 2008] Zombies Calling

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

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Lost at Sea (2006)

Posted in Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, David Bowie, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, NPR/PRI/PBS, Oni Press, Short Books, Sirius Radio, Universities, YA Books on June 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK–SIRIUS RADIO

We bought Sirius Radio for my mother-in-law a couple years ago. One day we found the radio safely unplugged and tucked away in the closet, so we took it home with us. We tune it in from time to time, and in general have found it to be quite enjoyable. I’ve made some very specific observations though:

1) Narrowcasting can REALLY limit your selection. Man, some of those stations you can hear the same artist 3 times in two hours. Not the same song, which is nice, but quite often the same artist. And, you can usually tell which artists were doing the ads for it way back when…hi David Bowie, I’m looking at you.

2) Sometimes the channels try to be so unique, that they’re actually just irritating. The Coffeehouse channel, which is overall pretty good, is constantly playing rare live versions or, worse yet, cover versions of the songs that you actually want to hear.

3) The Canadian channels are quite fun, especially The Iceberg. Its a good way to get exposure to bands that you don’t hear very often down here.

4) As with cable TV, there are hundreds of channels but almost none that I will listen to. There’s 10 program channels you can set, and we filled 9 of them. And yet, despite all the variety, there’s no prog rock channel! I put in a request for one, so we’ll see.

5) DJs on Sirius are just as irritating as on commercial radio. I’m glad they’re there, but why must they all be so vacuous? I mean, the cool alternative channel, which plays great music, actually gives us updates that it calls the “Daily DL.” Come on!

6) Overall, it’s a pretty good idea. But we listen to CDs and NPR (NPR on Sirius is just not the same) more often than not.

[READ: June 8, 2008] Lost at Sea

I received a shipment of comics from Oni Press. I don’t get to see many of their books at the store, so I have to order them online. Anyway, I was somewhat taken aback by how this shipment was filled with books that were so similar in style. I realized that I don’t typically judge a graphic story by the content but more by the art style…which may not be such a bad thing really. (more…)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Gordon Korman–Born to Rock (2006)

Posted in Books about music, Consumerism, Digression, Gordon Korman, Holidays, Knocked Up, LGBTQ, Loudon Wainwright III, Set at School, Short Books, Undeclared, YA Books on April 8, 2008| 2 Comments »

born.jpgSOUNDTRACK: LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III-Career Moves (1993).

I first discovered Loudon Wainwright III through the great short-lived TV series Undeclared. Wainwright was the main character’s dad, an unlikable lout who, over the course of the show, became a really funny, interesting character.

Wainwright has become something of a staple in the Judd Apatow world, and he did the soundtrack for Apatow and Seth Rogen’s film, Knocked Up. And, as synchronicty happens, I thought I’d check out his music as well. I’ve gotten some records from various points in his career. This live collection, Career Moves, is a definite highlight. Wainwright writes poignant songs that are often, inexplicably, funny. He’s not a “funny” songwriter or a “novelty” singer (although his first big hit “Dead Skunk” is pretty close) but he writes in a wry tone that often brings a really funny couplet into a moving song.

(more…)

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Gordon Korman–Son of the Mob (2002)

Posted in Adventure, Barenaked Ladies, Gangsters, Gordon Korman, Gordon Lightfoot, Moxy Fruvous, Set at School, Short Books, The Sopranos, YA Books on April 4, 2008| 8 Comments »

sonmob.jpgSOUNDTRACK: GORDON LIGHTFOOT-The Complete Greatest Hits (2002).

gordon.jpgIn keeping with the Gordon theme of this post, I’m going to mention Gordon Lightfoot. He is an iconic Canadian folk singer that I was sure I must have heard in the past. He seemed to be mentioned a lot recently, so I decided to get a hits collection and see what’s up. I was somewhat surprised to see that I knew only one song by him (“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”) and one other one “For Lovin’ Me” because it was covered by Peter, Paul and Mary.

So, after a few listens, I find that Lightfoot’s melodies are really strong, and I found myself singing along to most of the catchy choruses. It’s interesting to see his career evolve over the years: from the 2 minute folkie to some longer, more complex songs, to the 70s AM radio songwriter, to the very unfortunate 80s period, and finally back to basics in the 90s.

I know I won’t need any other records by him, but he’s a great addition to my folk collection. This album seems to cover a track or two from most of his records (although he was quite prolific). I prefer the earliest, most spare folk tracks, especially the “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” but some of his later songs, while more produced, are even catchier: “Summer Side of Life” “Sundown.” And, even though some of these later songs are a little cheesey (in a 70s AM radio way), they’re still pretty good: “Cotton Jenny” and “Daylight Katy.” But still, the highlight is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” what a great great song. And what a great great mustache too!

[DIGRESSION]: There’s a song on Moxy Fruvous’ b record called “Gord’s Gold” which I never understood. It was only after investigating Gordon Lightfoot that i realized he has two greatest hits records called “Gord’s Gold.” The Moxy song must be some kind of light footed parody of Mr Gordon. Also, Barenaked Ladies’ first record is called Gordon, and in the back of the liner notes they list all kinds of famous people named Gordon.

We figure that Gordon must be the quintessential Canadian name. I was surprised to find out that Gordon Korman is from New York.

[READ: March 2008] Son of the Mob

This is the YA book that Sarah has talked to me about the most. When we were first dating she used this book in her booktalks to the local teens in school. A booktalk is a compelling introduction to a book, designed to whet your appetite for more. Her booktalk for this title stuck with me, even if I didn’t remember the whole thing. But I knew I’d be checking this one out. (more…)

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Blake Nelson–Rock Star Superstar (2004)

Posted in Blake Nelson, Books about music, Queensrÿche, Set at School, Short Books, Tiny Masters of Today, YA Books, Yngwie Malmsteen on April 2, 2008| 4 Comments »

rockstar.jpgSOUNDTRACK: RADIOHEAD-In Rainbows (2008).

inrainbow.jpgOK Computer has been my favorite album for many years. And since then, I’ve been consitently blown away by Radiohead. Even their willfully obscure phase is pretty awesome in my book.

I’m not going to say much about Radiohead’s decision to sell this record online. I congratulate them for going on their own and selling so many copies. Good for them.

I bought the CD.  I would have bought the crazy expensive package, except that it was crazy expensive, so…no.

Anyhow, this album is really great. Really, really great. Radiohead have mellowed since the gorgeous cacophony of “Paranoid Android” but their songwriting has never sounded better. The songs all just sound so good. Which is sort of like saying I like eggs because of the way they taste, but the point is tsill there.

If you were to compress all of the things that Radiohead has done since OK Computer into one album this is what you would get. Not to say that it’s derivative, because it isn’t. I’m listening to it right now, and the amazing hook of “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” blows me away every time. The first time I heard “Werid Fishes/Arpeggi” I was instantly sucked into the groove. Even the opening song, which starts out with a weird staccato drum beat leading you to think here’s another techno-Radiohead disc is taken in a whole new fantastic direction by the great, weird and wonderful guitar lines that soon follow.

It’s just an amazing creation. It’s almost alike a greatest hits record of all new material. Great basslines, great harmonic vocals, astonishing guitar work, and best of all, crazy beats that keep you off balance and in the groove at the same time.

I’m curious to hear what some of these originally sounded like (there was a lot of talk of fans hearing these songs in different versions on tour, so if they ever release some live shows, that would be pretty neat. In the meantime, I’ll take this compact token of Radiohead’s output.

[READ: March, 2008] Rock Star Superstar.

So, this is my first serious foray into YA books. I got this book purely for the title. I was showing a patron the YA section, and this title jumped out at me. I’m thrilled that I took it out. In continuing with my YA theory (see What I Learned… (18)) this book is very short. It also cuts right to the chase. Our hero is Pete, a very talented bass player. He has been playing for years and is very skilled, and in the way of most high school musicians that I knew, he’s very uptight about the difference between “real” musicians and “amateurs.” I can recall having endless discussions with my fellow classmates about the merits of various musicians, (shout out to Al Crisafulli, Mike Hoblin, Tom Fitzpatrick and Steve Angelone…let’s see if you find this by Googling yourselves! “Is Geoff Tate a better singer than Bruce Dickinson?” “Is Yngwie Malmsteen a great guitarist or an overrated poseur?” (more…)

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What I learned… (18) [YA Novels]

Posted in Nick Hornby, Short Books, YA Books on March 26, 2008| 2 Comments »

Obviously I enjoy the books I read, and I look forward to the books I have on my pile of “to read” books. But recently, even though I am anxious to get a jump on Superbad, the book (no relation to the movie), I felt that I needed a change of pace. Something completely different to give my reading a shock.

As you all know, my wife is a YA librarian, and is the soon-to-be president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. Astute readers will have guessed where this is going by now, but the short version is that I decided to check out some YA books.

YA novels, in general, do not comprise a genre that I read much. Primarily because I am no longer the Y part of YA. However, I am not averse to them, and have enjoyed many teen-protagonist stories. The Inkheart series is great. The Golden Compass is fantastic, and of course, young Potter. But all of those books are of a more “literary” mindset than much in the YA world (at least that’s what my limited exposure to it suggests).

So I grabbed three YA novels based on the titles, and based on some past discussions I’ve had with Sarah about her favorite books. And this is what I’ve discovered about the genre:

1) The books are short. And fast. The three books I chose all clock in at around 250 pages. And, the type is much bigger than most of the adult novels I read. I’ve been able to polish off a good 80 or 90 pages at lunch. Think of how this will add to your “books I read this year” list! But this may also have to do with: (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Wintersmith (2006)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[READ: Fall 2006] Wintersmith

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

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Chynna Clugston-Major–Blue Monday Vol. 3: Inbetween Days (2003)

Posted in Chynna Clugston-Major, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Oni Press, Set at School, YA Books on August 31, 2007| Leave a Comment »

inbetween.jpgSOUNDTRACK: RICHARD THOMPSON-Sweet Warrior (2007).

sweetw.jpgI recently posted a bunch of reviews of RTs back catalog, and here’s his latest release. I almost feel like it’s a waste of time for me to review this because, what can I say? It’s great. Strong songs from start to finish. Catchy rockers, bitter ballads, everything is fabulous. My only negative mark is that the third song, a slow ballad, is really long, about 7 minutes, and there’s nothing remarkable about it to justify that length. It’s a pretty enough song, but could have a few minutes lopped off of it. Otherwise, the album is great.

During his earlier releases, he seemed to have a hard time finding producers who could really capture a sound that suited him. I’d say his last two or three releases, including this one, have found him with excellent production values. They really capture a full sound of RT’s guitar and his vocals are always strong in the mix. This is a great place to start for getting into the RT catalog, and no doubt, half of these songs will become classics. Just looking at the track list, I see these outstanding songs:

Needle and Thread, Mr Stupid, Dad’s Gonna Kill Me, Poppy-Red, Bad Monkey, Too Late to Come Fishing, Sneaky Boy, Johnny’s Far Away, and Guns are the Tongues.

Stellar collection again, RT.

(more…)

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