SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Static Journey 1980-2007 (2008).

I just stumbled upon this awesome site for Rheostatics fans.  Although I’m unclear who exactly runs this awesome repository of Rheostatics wonderment (oh wait, according to the Rheostatics own page, his name is Darrin Cappe).

The Static Box is a FREE 9-volume downloadable collection of all manner of Rheostatics audio: early recordings, interviews, live recordings, studio recordings, demos, everything.  I downloaded the whole shebang and it fit onto 11 CDs.

The site also has a ton of videos (including a downloadable concert from Massey Hall.

I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet (I think it clocks in around 14 hours).  But what I’ve heard is great.  The sound quality is very good (even from the older cassette demos), and the comprehensiveness of the undertaking is amazing.  If you’re a longtime fan or even just a causal listener, the amount of stuff here will be more than enough to keep you busy.

As I go through the discs I’ll post some comments about them all.

[READ: December 22, 2009] Maintenance Volume 2

Volume 2 of the series is not very different from Volume 1, and that’s a good thing.  TerroMax, Inc is still the world biggest evil think tank!  The jokes are still pop culturey (and often quite gross).  The art is very fun and conveys the action perfectly.  And, there’s still a lot of mad scientists on the loose!

This volume collects issues 4-6.  Issues 4 & 5 are a two-part story called, indeed, “Fantastic Sewage.”  The premise is that one of the mad scientists has created killer nanobots which have disobeyed him.  So he flushed them.  Where they thrived!  And our heroes are shrunken down and flushed into the sewers to find/fight them.  Yup, “ew.”  But a very funny “ew.”  You’ll never look at poop the same way again (if you ever bothered to look at it before, of course).

The second story is a self-contained one in which the TerroMax, Inc heater is on the fritz.  But Doug and Manny can’t fix it because they must attend the first annual meeting about Employee Morale (which of course is pretty low).  The delightful thing about this is that the entire cast is represented in the scene and the crazy (but deadly) creature that escapes interacts with a lot of them.  The plot is thin, but it’s great to see so many of the supporting cast.

There’s also a bonus strip. It’s only a page, but it’s even more Doug and Manny!

I’m really enjoying this series an am looking forward to Volume 3.

Sarah and I have started a new photo blog. It’s called The Fair View (since we live on Fairview Drive, you see). Every day (starting Jan 1!) we’re going to upload a picture that we take that day. Well, mostly a picture that Sarah takes.

We typically take about a dozen or so pictures of the kids, or nature or a creation or something, so every day should bring something different.  So, Tuesday’s picture was of this hawk in our backyard

And unlike this site, there will hardly be any words!

Thanks for viewing!

SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT-That Disc (2009).

The second disc in this set is a somewhat more raucous affair than the first (which was pretty much all acoustic performances).  On the surface, this seemed like the better disc of the two.  I like so many bands on this disc: Spoon, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers, Stuart Murdoch, Blonde Redhead.

And the disc starts out really great. The Spoon track, “Well Alright” may just be my favorite song on the whole compilation.  The Arcade Fire are typically great.  Beirut, whom I’d not heard before have a great track and My Morning Jacket’s song is very good, in a mellow sort of way.

From there, though, the disc kind of goes downhill. The Sharon Jones track is okay.  Dave Sitek’s (of TV on the Radio whom I love) track is fine.  It’s very basic, especially for him.  It has grown on me somewhat, but it’s nothing too exciting.  The New Pornographers track is catchy but nothing amazing.  Even the Stuart Murdoch (who has never done a bad track) song is mild at best.

But Riceboy Sleeps, which is a side project from the amazing Sigur Rós just kills the disc in its tracks.  The thing about Sigur Rós is that if you’re not in the mood for them, they are too ponderous by half.  So, in the midst of these kind of rocking songs, this 9 minutes ambient instrumental is just death.  And, it’s followed by a dreadful version of “amazing Grace” by the usually delightful Cat Power.

And then comes the Conor Oberst song.  This is the second song by him that I’ve listened to in a short period of time (the other was on Future Soundtrack of America).  And I just don’t get this guy’s appeal.  I feel like I must be a crotchety old man thinking this but I’ll say it: he sounds like a total knockoff of Paul Westerberg.  And the weird thing is, he sounds like a 19 year old P.W. singing the songs of the middle-aged P.W.  “Lua,” the track on here has some clever wordplay, but the melody of the song is pretty much note for note of The Replacements “Sadly Beautiful.”

And at this point in the disc I never even give Blonde Redhead and Kevin Drew a fair chance.

Track sequence means a lot, and I fear they do a disservice to the disc on this one.  I’m still a fan of Disc One and there’s a number of great tracks on Disc Two, but I was rather disappointed by this one.

[READ: December 22, 2009] Love as a Foreign Language Vol. 2

This volume concludes this engaging romance from Oni Press.

I was a little concerned as the volume opened because the Joel-Hana budding romance is derailed by a couple of silly misunderstandings.  (I was afraid we were heading towards TV-slapstick territory).  But, they proved to be just a few moments of comic relief in what was heading into a pretty emotional conclusion.

There’s also the sudden realization/crisis that his fellow teacher, the fun and flirty British woman also has a thing for Joel (what’s a guy to do with two women into him?  And realistically a British romance seems more feasible than a Korean one).

So, there’s not a lot more to say about this book without giving away the various exciting plot points.  Suffice it to say that the ending is quite dramatic.

I was not at all disappointed with this volume, and the author’s note at the end was kind of an unofficial epilogue that explained the origins of the story in very satisfying detail.

It’s a great, tender book and a fantastic graphic novel.

Mark Barrowcliffe wrote a very nice comment about my review of his book.  But he made me aware of some things that I thought about saying then but which I didn’t.

Sarah always comments that my posts are long (not that there’s anything wrong with that), so I’m conscious of not getting too verbose.  And in this case I censored out a few things that I thought about including but that I didn’t, in the interest of shorter posts.

I mentioned that I don’t really like memoirs as a genre.  While I think it’s great that so many stories are being told, I think the memoir genre is somewhat disingenuous.  They are presented as nonfiction and yet they aren’t quite autobiography.  We’ve already seen the trouble that arose with A Million Little Pieces. I don’t really care about that all that much.  I mean, if Mark Barrowcliffe makes up some details about what he did as a teenager, what do I care?  Same with James Frey.  (Not that I’m comparing Barrowcliffe & Frey, it’s just a prominent example).  If the details were fake, well, I’d never heard of him before the book, so it’s not like he made up facts about, say, George Washington’s life.

However, I was planning on including a little section about memoirists.  What I find most interesting about the memoir genre, and which directly applies to Barrowcliffe’s comment is author vs. main character.  His comment was “I’m glad you liked the book, even if you didn’t like me!”  And yes, I was pretty harsh on Barrowcliffe the character in the book.  But I don’t really believe that book Barrowcliffe IS the same as Mark, who wrote the letter.

[I'm going to keep the rather forced convention that "Barrowcliffe" is the guy in the book while "Mark" is the guy who wrote the book, in part because it's easier but also because, hey, that's how he signed his comment, so we're like pen pals now!  (I'm such an author whore)  Actually this naming convention was used in a recent piece I read about David Foster Wallace so I didn't make it up].

So, yes, memoirs are obviously about the person who is writing the book.  But the character in the book is also clearly not the whole person.  Logistically, it wouldn’t be possible to include every aspect of your personality when writing a memoir.  It also wouldn’t make for a very focused book.  So, you keep what’s pertinent and exclude stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with your thesis.

In The Elfish Gene, Barrowcliffe is rather unlikable.  And that’s sort of the point.  Even as he gets older and “learns” from his mistakes, he’s still judgmental.  And as a character, that works out well.  I’m not going to speak for Mark, as I don’t know him at all (except that his letter was very polite),  but I rather assume that he’s not as judgmental as Barrowcliffe.  This is not to say that I think Mark lied about Barrowcliffe, just that as an author he can’t suddenly present himself as a super nice, mature adult who won over the heart of a beautiful, intelligent woman.  [For example, "After I gave up D&D, I matured, learned the error of my ways and became a charming hunk" just doesn't have the authorial integrity of the rest of the book (even if, as Mark points out in his comment, "An Englishman who says ‘I’m a bit of an idiot, really’ is saying the same, though in code, as an American who says ‘I’m one helluva guy!’"].

So what’s my point?  Well, I feel like in memoirs, even if you are talking about yourself, you have to create the character of yourself.  Even if you tell the truth, it’s your version of the truth.  If you make yourself look bad, you’re aware that you’re making yourself look bad, so you’re downplaying your maturity (even if it is retrospective). So, in many ways it’s not too far off from writing fiction.  I mean, really how many novels are just thinly disguised fiction anyhow?

So, there’s something weird to me about why memoirs are so much more popular than fiction.  Why do reader feel that memoirs are more authentic (if that’s even why people read them)?  What is it about the marketing of a book that somehow makes a memoir more marketable than a novel?  Would I have read The Elfish Gene if it was a novel about a loser who played D&D?  You bet I would!  But, how exactly would that get marketed?  Would it have gotten the same kind of publicity that this book received?  Somehow I doubt it.

Of course, if this book were a novel, the ending would have to be different and would have to be more novelistically satisfying.  Memoirs don’t have to “end properly.”  And that’s why I find them a little bit lazier than fiction.  For a novel to be successful it must meet certain criteria.  With a memoir, well, that’s just life, right.

The Elfish Gene was a memoir that I really liked.  Could he have written it as a novel and included the detailed scenes of intense D&D action?  I’m not sure.  Although he does have a new novel coming out, so we’ll see how he handles the issue.

I guess I’m conflicted about the whole thing.  And I do wonder if anyone else has this internal conflict or if I’m the only one who obsesses over things like this.

Oh, and the name Barrowcliffe is simply too perfect a name for a D&D player.

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Alive! (1975).

This was the first Kiss live album and was the album that broke Kiss worldwide.  I’m not entirely sure why a live album of songs that didn’t sell very well would do better than the original studio albums, but so it was.

And, yes, the live recording is pretty awesome.  It is clearly a collection of greatest hits off their first three records, and the band sounds on fire: the songs are heavier and faster and largely more consistent than some of the odder tracks on the original records.

There has been considerable controversy about whether the album was overdubbed.  Wikipedia lists a few different possibilities for what originally recorded sounds were kept for the disc.  It never occurred to me that the disc might be overdubbed (and honestly that doesn’t bother me all that much).  But since I had the pleasure of watching Kissology recently, and I could see the state of their vocals live, it would surprise me entirely if the vocals were not overdubbed.  Not because the band didn’t sound good live (they did), but because they were very sloppy with their vocals, consistently leaving off the ends of lines and things like that, and the disc sounds perfect.

Of course this is all nitpicking.  Alive! is a fantastic document because the live versions add a lot of punch to the originals.  But on top of that, you get fun extras like the drum solo and banter of the 12 minute “100,000 Years” as well as Paul’s drinking banter: “I know there’s a lot of you out there that like to drink…vodka and orange juice!” (How can you pass that up?).  It’s hard to pick highlights from such a good record, but “She” is a particular one with Ace’s wild guitar pyrotechnics.  Right on to the end, the disc is a rocking good time.

It’s also funny to hear that “Rock And Roll All Nite” is not the final encore; rather it is the next to last track with “Let Me Go Rock n Roll” being the BIG FINISH.  That’s the last time that THAT would happen!

[READ: December 28, 2009] The Elfish Gene

I happened to pass this book in the New section of my library and I loved the title.  I read the blurb, made a mental note of it, mentioned how much I liked the title to Sarah and then more or less forgot about it (although, actually, I still see it every day, as it’s always facing out, cover forward).

Imagine my surprise to see that Sarah got it for me for Christmas!

So, yes, this is the best parody-titled book that is not a parody or a make-a-buck joke book that modifies a popular title.  Rather, it is a memoir of a British guy who spent his teen years utterly absorbed in Dungeons & Dragons.  But I must disagree with the Christian Science Monitor’s review as “laugh out loud funny.”  I only laughed out loud once in the book (the dog walking scene is hilarious), but that’s because I don’t think it was meant to be funny (at least I hope it wasn’t).

I’ve said before that I’m not a big fan of memoirs in general.  I find them mostly to be a big “so what,” and often without the subtlety required for a good novel.  But the topic here was delicious enough for me to dive right in.  And I think that this book, which I absolutely enjoyed, sort of proves my theory.

Barrowcliffe has done nothing worthy of anyone caring about.  He’s just a guy who played D&D, so when checking out the book, you kind of feel, so what?  Plus, the book is completely unsubtle, with him summarizing his attitude over and over and over.  But nevertheless, I could not put it down. I was hooked from the opening and was totally intrigued all the way to the end.  (I even put down the book I had been reading to speed right through this).

And yet, Barrowcliffe himself is so unlikable.  And not, as he suggests, because of the D&D.

From the get go, Barrowcliffe basically says that his obsession with D&D made him a loser, and worse, an unlikable loser.  And so what we get is the author’s detailed love affair with fantasy which is perpetually undermined by him regretting that he spent so much of his life doing it.  But as you read the details of his obsession and the fun that he was having in chapter after chapter, this regret, this embarrassment, this humiliation is totally misplaced.  For it is not the D&D that makes him the way he is, it’s a combination of where he lived, the time he grew up, and his rather bad personality.

But let’s get back to basics.  Barrowcliffe grew up in the 70s in Coventry, England, which was pretty much the middle of nowhere.  And this was a time when there was no way to connect to other people aside from going up and talking to them (phone were prohibitively expensive, and obviously there was not internet).  The author was a nerdy kid who willingly accepted the nickname “Spaz” and actually told people to call him that well into his teenage years.

In school, he found a fantasy wargamers group and discovered that he really enjoyed it.   They would create alternate histories of battles and conflicts (I imagine it like an advanced Risk).  One of the main guys in the wargamers group told Mark about D&D.  None of them could afford it as it was an import from America (and cost like £7).  But the author had saved up a few pounds and mail ordered it (the small white box of original D&D which I have, although I ordered it much later).  And what happens when the set arrives is a nutshell version of Barrowcliffe’s life: the other kids are thrilled that he bought the game, but unfortunately since it’s his game, that means that he has to play with them.  He is loud, obnoxious and opinionated.  And unfortunately he doesn’t have that much original thought to keep up with anyone else.

Around the same time that Barrowcliffe was playing D&D, so was I. I’ve included the covers of the 5 first edition books that I own at the side here.  If yo click on them you can buy them too!  Sadly, my original copies are obviously worth nothing if you can buy them for $12, eh?

I started a few years after him and I am also about five years younger than him.  But I am well aware of the mania that D&D produces.  I created characters all the time.  I played with friends.  I joined a group at the library and I read a bunch of fantasy.  So I know what the author is talking about.  The big difference between us is that I didn’t get outrageously obsessed with the game.  The friends I had also liked playing the game, whereas Barrowcliffe made friends through D&D.

D&D attracts all manner of people, but without a doubt the most obsessive gamers tend to be obnoxious, opinionated, condescending and persnickety.  And that’s fine (the game encourages people to feel superior about themselves).  if you act this way while wargaming.  But once you start acting this way in real life, well that becomes a problem.  And if all your friends act that way and you have no other friends to temper them, you become that person yourself.  And this is what happened to him.

So, for Barrowcliffe to blame D&D for his lack of social life is just false.  Not to mention he got a girlfriend at a far younger age than I did, so his social life was better than mine.  It’s quite clear that he has a certain personality which was magnified by the people he played with. And that judgmental personality is still evidence as he writes this book.

He explains that when he was a kid his D&D friends got him into heavy metal (also true for me), but now, his adult self sets out dismissing heavy metal as a stupid genre, just as he dismissed non-metal when he was a teen.  I take personal offense at his mocking of Black Sabbath.  Because even though I like the band that his mature self is now into, I’m not going to dismiss the music that I loved as a kid.

Eventually, Barrowcliffe, grows up, goes to college, acts like a total jerk until he cops on that he’s being a jerk and then somehow gets married.  And yet even at the end of the book he’s still judgmental (against fatties).  His saving grace is that he realizes these errors and apologizes for them (as he retroactively apologizes for his bigoted views as a teen).

But I fear that he overcompensates by disparaging his entire life rather than just his bad behavior.  In fairness, he does include one line in the book where he says that D&D was not to blame for his behavior (phew), but that seems to be undermined by all of the preceding chapters which pretty much imply that it was all D&D’s fault.

What’s especially weird though is that he defends D&D against all the weirdos who were sure that it led to satanism and all that jazz.  It feels like he can’t decide if he’s bashing or enjoying his younger self.  And that conflict is a problem for a memoir.

The thing is that Brrowcliffe clearly is a creative person, and fantasy was  a perfect outlet for a creative kid in what seems like the wastelands of Coventry in the 70s.  The fact that he cultivated the role of an outsider is not surprising when you don’t like anything around you.  And I can’t help but think, with his personality, that if it were not for fantasy that he would have been doing far worse things than inventing characters.

Having gotten that gripe out of my system, I really loved the book.  I enjoyed reading about his obsessions, and about the characters he created, the games he played and even the unlikable people that he hung out with.  I would love to have heard more about Billy during the intervening years, and was sad to hear how he turned out).

Barrowcliffe became a professional writer of fiction and non-fiction (and a stand up comic? really?).  Although many of the example of his earlier writing he mocks as being over the top (which they were), no doubt the fantasy worlds he created were essential to his eventual career.

The strangest thing about this book which more or less trashes D&D is that the target audience has got to be D&D players.  I can’t imagine any non D&Der seeing that title and saying, ooh, just what I wanted to read!  Because yes, D&Ders are still the butt of jokes, except in Freaks & Geeks where even the cool guy gets into playing it with the geeks–hooray!).  And yes, even I find obsessive D&Ders to be offputting (but that’s more about obsessive personality types than what they are currently obsessed with).  So, to write this book and essentially mock D&D players (which he does) seems to be shooting your target audience in the foot.  Weird.

So, overall, I really enjoyed this book.  No, really, I did.  I honestly couldn’t put it down.  I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen to him next (and there are so many interesting friends and situations described).  And I loved remembering all of the books that came out and making sure to get the latest one (I’m surprised he never mentioned my personal favorite, The Fiend Folio).  I even enjoyed remembering the die rolling and seeing the cool campaigns that they go on.  I just flinched whenever he held D&D responsible for what was clearly his own personality defects.

So, if you like D&D be advised that you may be on the receiving end of some abuse.  But if you used to play D&D and have long since given it up, it’s an amusing book to reminisce about what you used to do (written by someone who was clearly more obsessed than you).  It’s also interesting to see it from a British perspective, where it wasn’t as readily available (even if all the best fantasy bands came from Britain.  Come on, Barrowcliffe, you’re going to mock Saxon?).

We all regret things that we did in our childhood, but to dismiss them and assume that they are the cause of our lameness is not a valid excuse. Of course, having said all that, I suppose a memoir about playing D&D with no regrets wouldn’t be quite as dramatic, so what do I know.

The book also made me go online and finally track down some Hawkwind (after learning about them from The Young Ones nearly 25 years ago: “Play some Hawkwind or Marillion!”).

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Nightline Sessions (1998).

This is a fascinating document for any Rheostatics fan.  I wound up buying it at the same time as Double Live, even though I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because it was really cheap.

And what it is is a night of the Rheostatics playing on the final night of the CBC Radio show Nightlines.  The notes state that the host of the show had been a huge fan for years and had tried to get the band on a few times.  He ultimately decided that they would be the prefect guest for the final show of the series.

It opens fairly seriously with some very simply orchestrated (guitars, bass, drums) versions of Rheos songs: “The Junction Foil Ball” would be recorded officially on Night of the Shooting Stars.  And “Stolen Car” only otherwise available on Double Live, absolutely kicks in this version.

The bulk of the disc is the Rheos fooling around in the studio. There’s some improv, there’s some tape manipulation, there’s a lengthy rap (“Trans Jam”), there’s Bidini being silly on the mike (“This is Nightlines”) and even a quaint little ditty, “Henry’s Musical Beard.”

I’m not sure if an album has ever been released that was so specifically just for fans of a band.  And not even casual fans, but die-hards who would enjoy hearing the band goofing off.  The “proper” tracks are definitely enjoyable, but there’s a lot of nonsense here (okay, yes, some of it is quite funny).

[READ: December 24, 2009] Love the Way You Love: Side A

I’ve always liked Jamie Rich’s stories.  He’s written some full-on fiction in addition to his comics.  And they’re both solid, romantic works.  Ellerby’s drawing style is rather cartoony (big eyes and often outlandish hair, but it works in context).  This is especially so since this story is about teens/post-teens and rock bands.

This book collects the first three (of six) volumes of this series.

The plot is fairly straightforward: Tristan is lead singer of the band Like a Dog.  The band is on the verge of breaking big and the labels guys are on the prowl. One particular label guy is drooling to get his hands on Like a Dog.

At about the same time, Tristan saw the woman of his dreams at the airport. She then showed up at that evening’s Like a Dog gig.  Tristan is blissed until he learns that Isobel, for that is her name, is engaged to the same awful label guy.  Boo. 

The label guy is high pressure.  Tristan is not interested, mostly because the guy is a dick.  But also because he’s looking for a better deal with full artistic freedom.  The rest of the band, although they love Tristan’s songwriting skills, are interested in getting a deal from the label guy, so they encourage him to come back around and speak more to Tristan.

Despite being engaged, Isobel is quite unhappy with the label guy, and she has no qualms with sneaking off with Tristan for a snog.  And the label guy really is a jerk, even her friends think she should break off with him.  They even try to arrange for a secret meeting between Tristan and Isobel (which gets compromised by the label guy).

So, will she see the light and leave him for Tristan (who has already written a song for her)?  I imagine we’ll find out in Side B.

Rich makes his characters full, with a wide emotional range.  The secondary characters are also quite good, especially Lance, Tristan’s younger brother, who wears a cool hat and has some of the best lines in the book.

It’s not the most original story in the world, but it’s very good for what it is: a teenaged romance with a  great soundtrack.

I wonder if Rich ever writes music for the lyrics he pens?

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Dressed to Kill (1975).

I feel like I used to  give this disc short shrift because (horrors) its cover is in black and white.  But, unlike the first two discs which were heavy (poppy, but heavy), Dressed to Kill is very anthemic and, well, a little wimpy.  Despite these caveats, I still know every word to the disc, and I do rather enjoy it.

In fact, the first four songs on the disc are not featured on Alive!.  It starts out really poppy with “Room Service” which has a pretty wild guitar solo.  The next track, “Two Timer” is a Gene-sung slow track which even has Gene getting into a spoken word bit: “That’s the truth baby, you’re a two timer.”  “Ladies in Waiting” is one of those fun Kiss songs that starts out a little off-sounding but ends up being a really poppy singalong.  “Getaway” continues a trend of songs that Ace wrote but which Peter sings.  (Evidently Ace didn’t feel confident in his vocals yet).  The side ends with the cool “Rock Bottom,” a slow, pretty guitar intro opens into a rocking song.

This is the rare Kiss disc where Side Two has more hits than Side One.  “C’mon and Love Me” (an unusual request, frankly) is a fun rocker with a lot of baby baby’s.  “Anything for My Baby” is a really upbeat song which amuses me for all of the things that he swears he would do for her: steal, wheel and deal, crawl or kneel, etc.  Next is “She,” one of the all-time great Kiss songs.  It’s heavy, it’s menacing, it has an awesome guitar riff and a great guitar solo.  The fact that they tucked it away in the middle of side two is really weird.  “Love Her All I Can” is a fast rocker that’s followed by Kiss’ most popular song of all time, “Rock And Roll All Nite.”  At this point in my Kiss listening career I’m a little tired of this song.  It’s a very catchy anthem, no doubt, but it’s really not a very good song as far as Kiss songs go.

The recordings for the Kiss Alive! disc were taken on the Dressed to Kill tour and yet the live album has the fewest songs taken from this album.  It’s kind of funny that their most popular song comes at the end of this disc.

[READ: December 22, 2009] Wet Moon

This is a fantastic goth-inspired graphic novel with the absolutely worst title ever.  Wet Moon is the name of the town the book is set in, but it is never mentioned beyond the welcome sign, and I just can’t imagine what inspired the name.

Okay, actually, I just looked up wet moon on Wikipedia, and found out that it is an astronomical term for when the “horns” of a crescent moon point up, away from the earth (like devil horns).  And so I completely take back my complaint, as I now think the term is pretty cool and very appropriate.

And that is the only thing that I find disagreeable about this book.  (Well, actually I don’t like the lettering either, but more on that on a moment).

The town of Wet Moon is a college town where goths live and thrive (and no doubt many fans of the book wish the could live there).  Our heroine is Cleo, a young, slightly overweight goth with a pierced nose and bottom lip.  She has just moved out of her parents house and is living on campus.  (There is an implication that her house is a dorm, but if so, it is the single most beautiful dorm ever, anywhere, so I’ll pretend it’s an apartment–I mean, there’s a walk-out balcony for cripes sake).

Anyhow, Cleo’s friends include Trilby, a rambunctious skinny punk (you can’t be blonde and goth, right?).  She is foul-mouthed and a ball-buster.   Audrey is a beautiful black woman who is the least punk of all the girls, but who is good friends with everyone.  Mara another black girl is a scary punk with spikes in her nose and under her bottom lip.

Cleo’s new roommates are Natalie (we don’t know much about her yet) and Malady (a black woman with blonde dreadlocks and a lip ring).  Their first introduction comes when Malady finds Cleo bent over the toilet throwing up.

And that introduction kind of sums up the way Cleo feels these days.

The story is largely plot-free in this first book.  We meet Cleo’s friends and hear them bicker with each other.  They go to a goth club where the underage Trilby gets drunk.  And Cleo goes to her first class, which she flees from as soon as she sees….

Well, actually I don’t know who the person is.  I’m not even entirely sure if the person is a man or woman (s/he’s very tall with long hair and an intense demeanor).  Cleo has seen this person a couple of times and s/he has made her nauseous each time (there is clearly a past between them, although it is not explained).

There’s also a scene in a Denny’s which I found rather amusing.  The kids are smoking and cursing while Trilby tells them that she is supposed to be meeting a guy for a possible date.  The reactions of the friends was totally believable.

Cleo also discovers the phrase “Cleo Eats It” all over town.  Since she’s the only Cleo any of them know, she assumes someone has it in for her.  (Although I secretly hope it’s a new band in town).  Cleo does have an enemy around town, however.  She’s a former friend and she is certainly spreading bad tidings about her.

The really fascinating story line concerns Fern.  Fern is a completely hairless (the only nudity we see concerns her) woman with crazy piercings (she has rings in her back (ow!)) and what I believe is an amputated arm.  It’s unclear who she is or what her story is, but as the book ends she expresses and interest in Cleo.  Hmmm.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this story.  I had my own tiny goth phase (although again, being blond is quite a hindrance) and am still friends with people who are, so I appreciate the scene.  All of the characters are compelling and interesting.  Not all are likable, and I think that’s what keeps the story believable.

But beyond that, the artwork is simply amazing.  Cleo is rendered so wonderfully, with such love and detail.  There’s even a sequence where Cleo is examining herself in the mirror and it’s a grand opportunity for Campbell to show off his incredible detail work with faces.  Cleo makes all kinds of funny faces that people make in the mirror, and the renderings are spot on.

And, of course, its nice to see normal looking people in a book.  These women are wonderfully shaped, they are believable.  Even skinny Trilby is believable-skinny not supermodel-skinny.

Emotionally, the story feels real too.  The cast is mostly women, although there are a few men in there too.  And the interactions between women and men are believable (although it is clear that Campbell writes women better than men, as the male characters are mostly peripheral). In many ways it reminded me of a punk version of Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For (and who would have thought when DTWOF came out that there would be anything more subversive than that?).  It is multicultural, accepting of different sexualities and is a fully formed, self-contained universe that gently pokes its head into the real world.  It’s fantastic.

The only gripe I had was with the lettering.  It feels very sloppy to me.  I suppose it kind of works in the context of these characters, but it doesn’t feel intentionally sloppy, it feels a little hurried (like words don’t fit properly).  I’m not sure what to make of it, but honestly it doesn’t bother me that much. It’s just at little surprising since he takes so much care with the rest of his page.

There are a total of five books in this series, and I can’t wait to read the rest.

Ross Campbell has written a few different graphic novels, but this is my first exposure to him.  I’m definitely going to be looking into some of his others, too (The Abandoned & Water Baby seem like good contenders).

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Hotter Than Hell (1974).

Kiss’s second album came out just 7 months after their debut (which explains why it is less than half an hour long).

In my mind the album sounds different because it is somehow Japanese (I mean the cover is something of an indicator).  But it’s not Asian in any way.  Although, the album definitely sounds different than the debut and it’s clearly a recording style choice.

But this is one of the beloved early Kiss albums and I love every track, even the really crazy ones (“Goin’ Blind” is about a 93 year-old man lusting after a 16 year-old girl(!)).

The album starts with the crazily poppy “Got to Choose” complete with whoo hoo hoos in the chorus.  It’s followed by the blistering “Parasite” a fantastic fast riff with some cool vocal tricks at the end of each verse.  “Goin’ Blind” also features some cool slow riffs that are quite distinctive.  The title track & “Let Me Go, Rock n’ Roll” are pretty well known, and “Let Me Go” was played for many years live.

The second side is a bit more odd and seems to showcase Peter a lot more.  “All the Way” is a poppy Gene track and I’m not entirely sure what it’s all about (surprisingly not that “all the way” since “one of these days you’ll push me all the way”).  “Watchin’ You” is a great, dark song which has a really cool cowbell-fueled midsection, and gives Peter a great workout on drums.  “Mainline” is Peter’s poppy vocal track (like really poppy), while “Comin’ Home” is a Paul-sung song about (sort of like “100,000 Years”) returning home to his beloved.  “Strange Ways” is Peter’s other contribution.  This one is dark and really quite cool, with an awesomely wild, freaky guitar solo from Ace.

It’s something of an overlooked record, which is a shame as there’s some good stuff on it.

[READ: December 21, 2009] The Color of Earth

This is my first manhwa comic and I adore it.  Manhwa is (if I may be offensively simplistic) basically Korean manga (at least it is often marketed that way).  However, there are many many differences in style and tone.  And, if this manhwa is in any way representative of them all, (and of course it isn’t, but we can simplify) they are gorgeous!

Sarah received this trilogy of books by Kim Dong Hwa (The Color of Earth, The Color of Water, The Color of Heaven) and after reading this first one, I’m really excited about the rest.

The story is very simple: it follows the growth and development of Ehwa from age 7 to age 15 as she matures in a Korean village several generations ago.  The setting is extremely rural, and there are almost no amenities to be seen.  Ehwa’s father died when she was very young, so she lives with her mother in their tiny house.

Her mother owns an inn, and she must tolerate the crude comments and innuendos of her drunken customers.  Unfortunately for Ehwa, she learns a lot about the world from what she hears there.  She also gets an education from the village boys, who are foolish and impetus as little boys are (asking her why she doesn’t have a penis, and, later, to show them her persimmon seed).

She also watches as her mother falls for a traveler.  He comes through the village from time to time and is welcomed by her mother.  Eventually, Ehwa learns to leave the house to give them some privacy.  And through all this, Ehwa is never judgmental or disdainful of her mother.  She appreciates her mother’s needs and is as helpful a daughter as she can be.

And that is one of the most delightful things about this story.  Here we have a mother and daughter, living together, growing up together and learning from each other.  There is incredible tenderness, and, although often metaphorical, a wonderful frankness about maturation and sexuality.

Over the course of the story Ehwa learns falsehoods about sexuality.  She then falls for several unattainable boys.  By the end of the book, she gets her first period, and becomes a more self-assured woman.

The artwork is absolutely beautiful. The lines are delicate and subtle. The backgrounds are intricate and realistic.  Scenes of gardens are practically alive on the page (and all in black and white too).  I could go on an on.  And when there are no backgrounds, the people are amazingly expressive.  You can see subtle changes of expression on their faces, you can even tell people’s emotions from behind.

I was totally blown away by the beauty of this book.

Although I have to say in the beginning, I was a little put off by the two men in the inn.  They are almost caricatured goofy Korean drawings.  But (from my limited exposure to Asian works) it seems like people who are inherently mockable are drawn (or made up in movies) to be outrageously loony looking. And, since he clearly CAN draw men, it is a stylistic choice.

And the story is delightfully engaging.  As I noted, there’s not much to it, but Ehwa is such a sweet child, full of innocence and curiosity that you can’t help but want to read more about her.  And I am delighted that we have volumes 2 and 3 in the series as well, because I can’t wait to see what happens to her as she gets older.

This book is another fantastic book from First Second Press.  They are rapidly becoming my favorite publisher of graphic novels.

[cue music]:

I saw these stats come sailing in, on Christmas Day on Christmas Day.
I hit 60,000 views on Christmas Day in the mor-ning.

I hit 30,000 views back in March, and I was quite thrilled.  When I started the blog in May of 2007 I didn’t expect to get all that many views, it was more or less a blog to keep track of my books and maybe have other people comment too.  And so, it took nearly two years to get to 30,000.  Imagine how delightful it is to reach the next 30,000 views in the span of just nine months!

So thanks everyone for checking out what I had to say.  And thanks also for all the comments.  As with the first 30,000, I’ve included the stats that have brought me to this hallowed (but random) spot.  And I must add that Infinite Summer, which is underrepresented in my top ten posts, was absolutely essential for this huge spike in views (thanks DFW fans).  But, by far the biggest surprise was the surge that came from the first book(s) on the list below.  I posted about the Ulysses Moore series in April.  And it was by far the most frequently sought and (presumably) read post on the blog.  So, Scholastic Publishing, if you read this, please note the craving that my readers have for the rest of the series!  And please update your site!!

So, anyhow, thanks all.  Listed below are the Top Ten (and a few extra) viewed posts on my blog.  Happy New Year!

1. 1663 views posted April 25, 2009 [not published as of 30,000 countdown]
Pierdomenico Baccalario–Ulysses Moore series Books 1-4
SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Vitalogy
As I mentioned in the introduction, this book has soared to the top as my most viewed post, flying way past Son of the Mob in half the time.  And the majority of people who have posted are demanding to know when the next book (number 5) in the series will be translated and published here in the States.  Are you listening Scholastic?  The website for U.M. is dreadful, indicating that only two books are out so far.  And if you search for the book on Google, my sight comes fourth!  It’s quite difficult to find any real information about this quite fantastic series (even Wikipedia needs to be updated).  So, please, someone pick up the ball on this and get the rest of the series published in English!  Please!

2. 1263 views posted April 4, 2008 [was #1 at 30,000: 819 views]
Gordon Korman–Son of the Mob (2002)
SOUNDTRACK: GORDON LIGHTFOOT-The Complete Greatest Hits
This is a very popular book in schools.  Most of the views are for people seeking assistance with papers.  Of course, if they would call their librarian instead of just browsing the internet, they could probably get real help!

3. 1055 views posted November 26, 2007 [was #2 at 30,000: 521 views]
Pseudonymous Bosch–The Name of This Book is Secret (2007)
SOUNDTRACK: FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS-The Distant Future EP
I’m still getting posts about the secrets in this book.  I’d love to help the desperate, but it’s been ages since I read it, so I’m not well versed with the answers anymore.  So, readers, if someone asks for help, I’m counting on you to supply it.  I’m also surprised the other P.B. books aren’t higher on the tally.  (If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late has only 203 views and This Book is Not Good For You has only 9!)

4. 798 views posted June 1, 2008 [was #4 at 30,000: 478 views]
McSweeney’s #27 (2008)
SOUNDTRACK-THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT-4 songs from MySpace
This was the only McSweeney’s that was in the Top 10 last year.  I’m still not sure why, although I expect it has something to do with The Airborne Toxic Event.

5. 766 views posted June 21, 2008 [was #3 at 30,000: 503 views]
Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007) & Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008)
SOUNDTRACK: DROPKICK MURPHYS-The Meanest of Times
This was totally expected, although I’m actually surprised it’s not a little higher (200+ views in 9 months seems rather low).  Everyone loves Wimpy Kid.  I only wish I had done a separate post for each book.

6. 739 views posted February 12, 2009 [not charted as of 30,000 countdown]
Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009)
SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Waitin’ for a Superman [US maxi single]
Not bad, book 3!  You almost surpassed your predecessors in a short period of time.  My only question now is, what happened to DoaWK Dog Years?  It’s only got 16 views.

7. 719 views posted March 4, 2009 [not charted as of 30,000 countdown]
The 2009 Edmonton Folk Festival
NO SOUNDTRACK
I’m led to believe that this Festival was a huge success.  I only wish I could have gone to it.  I also expect that this post has peaked (last view was in August), so the rest of you posts can look to move into 7th!

8. 667 views posted August 12, 2009. [not published as of 30,000 countdown]
Clash of the Gods (The History Channel, 2009)
NO SOUNDTRACK
Actually, this one has probably peaked as well (although I see views in December, so I guess not).  While this show was on the air, it was very poorly marketed on the History Channel Website.  So I think that sent a lot of readers my way.  Well, that and that I printed an actual schedule for the shows.

9. 658 views [was #9 at 30,000: 380 views]
About me
NO SOUNDTRACK
Narcissism Rules!

10. 652 views posted July 13, 2008 [was #5 at 30,000: 432 views]
David Goldberg, Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg–Superbad: The Drawings (2008)
SOUNDTRACK: Paul F. Tompkins-Impersonal
Everybody loves drawings of penises, even if McLovin’ isn’t present.

… … …

I was planning on doing only the Top Ten, but since these titles all managed to get over 500 views (and I did want to get DFW on this list too, after all) I’ve made it 14.

11. 599 views posted July 16, 2008 [was #6 at 30,000: 425 views]
Alex Stone–”The Magic Olympics: with tricks explained! (Harper’s July 2008)
SOUNDTRACK: JENS LEKMAN-Night Fall Over Kortedala
This post caused some serious activity when the article was written (even some heated debate!).  It still gets some views, but the heat has faded somewhat.

12. 529 views posted September 21, 2009 [not published as of 30,000 countdown]
David Foster Wallace–[Week 14/End] Infinite Jest (1996)
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-”Rather Ripped”
My final summary of Infinite Jest, after a wonderful Infinite Summer.

13. 517 views posted July 21, 2008 [was #7 at 30,000: 415 views]
Marisha Pessl–Special Topics in Calamity Physics (2007)
SOUNDTRACK: AGAINST ME!-New Wave
I was delighted at how many hits this title received.  I didn’t know that it was a widely read book.  Again, the fire has dimmed somewhat since last time, but i still see search terms for it.

14. 507 views posted April 8, 2008 [not charted as of 30,000 countdown]
Gordon Korman–Born to Rock (2006)
SOUNDTRACK: LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III-Career Moves
Finally, the second Gordon Korman book on the list.  I like to think that the kids who were fans of Son of the Mob read this book as well.  I enjoyed both of them and have been meaning to read some of his others too.

Thanks for all the support, and we’ll see you again at 90,000.

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Melville (1991).

This fantastic Rheostatics album was one of the last ones I bought for some reason.  It came after their debut, Greatest Hits, and is quite a departure for that more simplistic disc.

It opens with the two minute “Record Body Count,” which sets the tone for the disc.  It’s quirky, with different pacings and loud/soft parts, and is quite affecting.  In fact, the entire rest of the disc is quirky and off beat, as befits a disc with a big whale on the cover.

Three great tracks on this disc are “Saskatchewan,” “Horses” and “Aliens (Christmas 1988).”  And the CD comes with a bonus track of their cover of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” which is rocking and swaying as a good nautical track should.

The CD ends with “You Are Very Star” a track that ended their live shows.  On the disc, the track is a series of hockey announcements with quiet whistles as the song fades away,

Rheostatics are definitely an unusual band.  Martin Tielli’s voice goes into high registers at unexpected times, he also sing-speaks (and you can hear the Canadian accent) at times.  Tim Vesely and Dave Bidini also have vocal duties, and their more mellow style adds for a nice contrast.  But basically, what you get is unpredictable rock.  And really, there’s nothing better than that.  Especially when, once you get comfortable with the songs, you realize just how catchy they are.

Melville, it’s in Saskatchewan, and it rocks.

[READ: December 21, 2009] Salt Water Taffy: The Legend of Old Salty

This is a delightful all ages comic set on the coast of Maine.  As the story opens we see brothers Jack and Benny (I did wonder if there is some connection to Jack Benny, but I’d have to say no) driving to their summer house in Maine.  Benny is younger and having fun playing the license plate game while Jack is absorbed in his gameboy.

When they arrive, the kids run around the house investigating this and that (I loved the drawings of the kids stomping around), only to discover that there’s no TV!  Their dad is a writer and wants solitude, so they are shut off from all fun!  That is, until they meet Angus, an old sea dog who tells them the Legend of Old Salty, a gigantic lobster with whom Angus himself has had a very nasty encounter.

The rest of the story concerns Benny & Jack helping Angus track down Old Salty (and, of course, salt water taffy).  There is some absurd humor (wait till you see the seagulls) and anthropomorphic lobsters.  The art is fun: thick lines, very cartoony and exaggerated accentuating its frenetic pace. The story is appropriate for kids of all ages, and is very entertaining.

There are at least two more Salt Water Taffy stories currently in print.  And I’m looking forward to them both.