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.

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.

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.

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.

SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT: This Disc (2009).

This compilation was released to benefit the Red Hot organization, who raises money to fight AIDS.  I’ve gotten about a half dozen or so of their compilations over the years (and was surprised to see that they have released about 2o of them!).

This collection is a two disc set of contemporary cutting edge indie rock bands.  And, when it came out it was definitely billed as a who’s who of cool.  The first disc is more or less an acoustic/folky collection of songs.  While that’s not entirely true, the discs are more or less broken down that way.  The artists include David Byrne & The Dirty Projectors, Jose Gonzales, Feist (on two tracks), Bon Iver, The National (a band I don’t know but whose song I love) and Iron & Wine.

Probably the coolest song of the disc (although not my favorite) is Kronos Quartet’s take on Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark was the Night.”  For years, Kronos has been interpreting rock and other genre songs to fit into their string quartet style.  And this song sounds amazing.  I’ve no idea what they’re doing, but they turn their standard quartet instruments: violin, cello, etc into really cool blues sounding strings (even a slide guitar at one point).  It’s really amazing.  As I said it’s not my favorite track, but it sounds great.

The Decembersists contribute a 7 minute song (that I believe is new as I don’t recognize it).  It’s very good, but it seems like the kind of song that normally would have had a lot of effects/orchestration on it.  And this is an acoustic rendition, so it sounds more sparse than I would think.  It’s still very good though.

Finally, the disc ends with the weirdest track, an 11 minute freak out by Sufjan Stevens.  Every time you think it’s going to end, it morphs into a new instrument which continues the track.  It works well as a soundscape, although it’s a bit tedious in comparison to the rest of the disc which is largely concise acoustic gems.

Disc one is a great collection of tracks, and the overall style works well together.  It’s a very worthy collection of songs and it’s for a good cause.

[READ: December 18, 2009] Love as a Foreign Language 1

This graphic novel is the kind of great romance story that I’ve come to expect from Oni.  It is clever, it is funny, it plays games with pop culture and, of course, the writing and art are fantastic.

Joel is a Canadian living in Korea teaching English to native Koreans.  The book opens with the 4 H’s of culture shock: The honeymoon (you love the place), the horror (you hate the place), the humor (you accept the place and its flaws) and the home (you see yourself living there).  Joel is clearly in the horror stage.  He hates everything about Korea, especially the food. Joel has a few months left on his contract but he wants to get out of it and just go home.

He is sick of eating take out, he is sick of eating the red (spicy) things in every meal, and he is sick of standing out (he is blond and about 6 foot tall, easy half a head taller than most of the Koreans).  He also speaks virtually no Korean, so he imagines that everyone is talking about him (a glossary in the end of the book explains what everyone is really saying around him).

But if he leaves early, he loses a lot of money as well as airfare home.  To complicate matters, the owners have asked him to stay on for another year because they are so busy.

There are a few other teachers at the school as well, of course. There’s a loud Korean-American (this is his first time to Korea) who just wants to go out and party, there is a very helpful British woman (still in the honeymoon phase) and of course, there are the owners of the school: Mrs Park, Miss Park and Mrs Park (no relation).

He has finally made up his mind to leave early, when a new secretary is hired.  She is a beautiful woman named Hana.  Joel met Hana once before and he has been awkward and tongue-tied every time they are together.  He knows (or is told) that he has pretty much no chance with her (no Korean family would let their daughter go with a Westerner), but he is smitten nonetheless.

And, it seems, she is quite fond of him, as well.  What’s a young Canadian to do?  Wait for Volume Two, evidently, because Volume One ends on a great cliffhanger.

The story line in this book is fantastic.  Joel is likable, despite his grousing, and the other characters round out his experience well.  But it’s the art that really sells the book. The lines are thin and very detailed, the drawings and backgrounds are gorgeous.  The expressions are breathtaking.  Most of our encounters with Hana show just how shy she is, and they are stunning.  And Joel himself is given amazing breadth of emotions.  Even the cockroach that lives in Joel’s apartment is rendered wonderfully (I especially enjoy that the cockroach is given a “love heart” even when Joel tries to flush it down the toilet).

There’s also the wonderful introduction of Let’s Go the “learning English” TV show for kids.  It is wonderfully surreal (and made even more surreal when Joel dreams about the show) as the children chant a phrase of the day, like “big eyes!” (from red riding hood).  Many of the background characters speak Korean, with Korean characters.  So you get an idea at least of what the language looks like, even if you have no idea what they are saying (there is a translation guide in the back).

I’m really excited to finish the story, all the plot points are in place to make this a very satisfying conclusion.

SOUNDTRACK: SONG OF THE SILENT LAND (2004).

This is a compilation from Constellation Records.  It features mostly unreleased tracks and turns out to be a great sampler for both the fan of the label and the novice.

Since the label never had any “hits” per se, they couldn’t really release a “greatest hits” collection.  But they went the extra mile by selecting rare tracks rather than just a songs from their albums,.

It also belies the idea (put forth by me as well as many others) that Constellation had “a sound.”  While they have branched further afield since this collection was released, even prior to this you can see a lot of diversity.  From the epic instrumentals of Godspeed You Black Emperor, to the noise structures of Exhaust, to the sort of spoken word of 1-Speed Bike to the viola/bass duet of HangedUp.  This compilation contains one track from pretty much every artist on their roster from the (then) new artist Elizabeth Anka Vajagic to early bands Sofa.

The Do Make Say Think track, “Winter Hymn Winter Hymn Winter Hymn” is described as a condensation of the album of that name into 5 minutes, and I believe it is).  Many of the other artists’ tracks are remixed.  But the remixes aren’t dance remixes or dub versions, they are just remixed, usually by Efrim or one of the other Hotel2Tango individuals.

If you’re a fan of the label, hunt down this disc.  If you’re not familiar with the artists, this is a great place to start.  The bands’ tracks, even the remixes are representative of the bands.  So, you get a good sense of Exhaust, 1-Speed Bike, Fly Pan Am and HangedUp.  Although the real selling point is the live track by Godspeed You Black Emperor.  It’s not one of their “real” songs per se (as it is just an outro) but it’s a nice indicator of their live show (which was one of the best live shows I’ve seen).

[READ: December 18, 2009] Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro

I’m not sure how this book ended up in my house.  I was looking at a pile of graphic novels and there was this one.  I hadn’t really noticed it before and Sarah didn’t know anything about it, so…who knows.  Anyhow, I decided to just go ahead and read it.  It turned out to be my very first manga (awwww).  And it took me a few pages to understand the style at all.

Manga primer: First off it’s written right to left (so at first I wasn’t even sure where to start the book, as this one starts without a real “start”).  Then I realized that the 4-panel style means you read all four columns down on the right and then all four columns down on the left.  And, just to complete the culture shock, you read the speech balloons on the right of the panel before the ones on the left.  After about twenty or so pages it grew easier, and by the end it wasn’t an issue anymore.  But wow!

Oh, and for a little more confusion, there are occasional full color pages thrown in, but they aren’t chapter breaks or any special pages, they just seem to be in color.

So, anyhow, on to the story.

Kuro (which means black in Japanese) is a young girl.  She is androgynous (and yet absolutely adorable).  She dresses all in black and caries a coffin on her back.  She travels around with a bat named Sen.  Sen is a wise-cracking scamp who brings much levity to the story.

Kuro is a traveler.  She is on a quest (but we don’t know what that is yet).  She encounters people all over the country, impacts their lives and then moves on.  Some think she is a vampire, others think she is a boy but most people are more than a little freaked out by her.

The book is done episodically, but there isn’t a lot of continuity between the episodes.  This is no big deal really, but it does get a little confusing (or maybe that’s just the trouble I had with the style).  About mid-way through the book, Kuro encounters two cat/children named Sanju (shortened version of 29) and Nikiju (ditto 30). They are some sort of manufactured creatures with tails but they speak and act like children.  She rescues them from captivity and they follow her on her quest.

The children try Kuro’s patience, as they are young children with no experiences and an impulsive nature.  And yet she feels responsible for these children, so she does watch them carefully (and Sen notes this is the first time he’s seen her smile).

As the story progresses, more and more details are given (as well as some cool secrets about what Kuro might actually be).  But it is all set up for volume 2.  And there’s a snippet of in the back of the book of volume two, so you can see it in the original Japanese, which is pretty cool too.

The artwork is great, of course.  Kiyduki makes his characters very expressive (and the close ups are gorgeous).  I also love the minimalist details, like Kuro wears glasses and they are often just represented by circles.

It’s a really good book, and I’m thrilled to have happened upon it.

SOUNDTRACK: Future Soundtrack for America (2004).

This CD came with the McSweeney’s Future Dictionary for America.  It was released on Barsuk Records (home of Death Cab for Cutie and other great bands) and it was compiled by Spike Jonze and one of the Johns from They Might Be Giants.

This is a solid compilation of indie rock tracks.  At the time of the release most of the songs were rare or hard to find (since then I’ve seen a number of these tracks elsewhere).

TMBG obviously include a piece (a rendition of the old political song “Tippicanoe and Tyler Too”).  Other featured artists include: OK Go, David Byrne, Jimmy Eat World (covering Guided by Voices), Mike Doughty (with a song called Move On, that I have to wonder if it was written for this compilation as proceeds went to MoveOn.org), Ben Kweller (great song title: “Jerry Falwell Destroyed the Earth”), Blink 182 (with the only song I know by them, “I Miss You” that reminds me When in Rome’s The Promise“), the much missed Sleater-Kinney, a remix by R.E.M., a great track from Nada Surf, a live piano version of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” from The Flaming Lips, a staggering song by Laura Cantrell (who I only know from her work with TMBG, this song is a cover of a John Prine song), Tom Waits’ amazingly powerful and very emotional “Day After Tomorrow,” and a rocking piece from Elliott Smith.

Proceeds for the disc went to MoveOn.org in an attempt to raise money to defeat Bush in the 2004 election. We know how that turned out.  But, as that is not relevant anymore, if you like your indie music good, this is a wholly worthy collection.

[READ: December 17, 2009] Maintenance Volume 1

Now this is a comic that I can get into.  And I’m already delighted to see that there are two more volumes out.

The premise of the comic is that the two guys on the cover, Doug and Manny, work as maintenance men for TerroMax, Inc., the world’s biggest and best evil science think tank!  Their work is sometimes scary, often disgusting and always interesting.

There are three stories in this volume.  In the first one, the guys encounter a ManShark.  In the second, they are sent back in time to the cavemen era (where they learn that a scientist has already visited them) and in the third, a minor character from the first story comes back to play a large role in an alien invasion.

The dialogue is great, with oddball pop culture references that come from far out in left field (a dream about Tom Bosley, a caveman who sounds like Phoebe Cates).  And the secondary characters are wonderful: mad scientists wandering around discussing their failed plans for world domination (the cavemen were meant to be an army of assassins) and their secret lairs (the one in Sacramento or Chicago?).  There’s even an unrequited love story between one of the guys and the hot secretary (who proves she can hold her own in a fight).

The story’s pacing is great.  It’s comical action sprinkled with funny dialogue.  The characters aren’t really fleshed out, but that’s sort of beside the point.  They’re just everymen in a crazy job, always wondering if they’ll need a mop to clean up what the scientists create.  It’s a funny look at work and mad scientists!

The artwork is also great.  It follows a pretty traditional style of humorous comic, with solid lines and shading.  The characters are also very expressive (I’ve enjoyed Rodriguez’ work in the past quite a bit).

With a great combination of art and dialogue, how can you go wrong?  I’ve already ordered books two and three and the series, and I trust there will be even more in the future.

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer July/August 2008 Music Issue Compilation CD: The Volatile But Symbiotic Relationship of Mabel and Anabel (2008).

The previous Believer CD expanded the palette of music by introducing a lot of hard-edged bands.  But this CD smashes any complaints about one-dimensionality.  It is designed around a concept of “world” music which they have designated as MABEL (Musicians of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage) and ANABEL (Artists Not of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage).

The internet has introduced a huge amount of ANABEL music to MABEL musicians.  And this has led to Western musicians experimenting with very different musical styles.

The problem, such as it is, with this disc is that it is comprised almost entirely of ANABEL songs.  So, although the disc is designed to show the influences of these artists there’s not a whole lot of tracks that show the western bands using them.  (In fairness, you can only do so much with 72 minutes).  And yes, there are a number of clearly MABEL artists here: Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors.

However, as an introduction to a few cultures’ worth of music, it’s pretty great.  I admit that I don’t love every song on this disc.  But after a few listens I’ve really grown to appreciate these tracks from Iran, Jamaica (dancehall), India and Bulgaria.

Some artists that really impressed me were: Googoosh, and her traditional Iranian track from the 70s.  Enemble Pirin, a subset of the Le Mysterè des Voix Bulgares (whom I’ve liked for years).  And Beat Konducta.  It also introduced me to Aceyalone, who I’ve heard of but never listened to.  And I really enjoyed the superfast rapping in the start of Busy Signal’s track.

I wouldn’t listen to this disc a lot, but it would be fun to throw a track or two from this on a mix CD and see how well it fit.

The track listing is here.

[READ: December 15, 2009] Shenanigans

I usually really enjoy the slice of life/romancey comics from Oni Press.  But I have some major gripes with this one.

The art is pretty cool.  I’m intrigued by the fact that the pupils of the characters are white (like L i’l Orphan Annie).  I found it very disconcerting at first, but once I got used to it, I rather liked it.  And the characters were always very expressive.

It’s the story that I have a problem with.

The story is an overly simple–cliched, if you will–story about a man who poses as another man to check up on his girlfriend.  Holden is a thoroughly unlikable character. When the story opens he is kicked out of his girlfriend’s apartment for ignoring her (while playing video games).  And, frankly he never proves himself to be anything better than the loser she describes him as.

Soon thereafter he meets and woos Casey, a beautiful woman who deserves much much better than him.  Inexplicably, she invites him to live with her, even though she was just fired from her job and she already has a roommate–I guess a freeloading guy seems like a good addition to the mix.  But Casey is very smart (although not smart enough to dump Holden) and she posts an ad that she’s offering her services as a math tutor.

Because she’s hot, she gets many takers.  This consumes most of her time and, of course, Holden becomes jealous, because who wouldn’t hate to hate his girlfriend earning cash?  And when he sees that the tutees are college hunks (but really, who else needs tutoring in math?) he gets enraged (see, why isn’t she dumping his lame ass by now?).  Even though he see her rebuffing their advances, he gets very jealous and hatches a bad TV plot to disguise himself from her.  Now, as with any preposterous story, somehow a hat, glasses and a fake goatee are enough to fool this woman who claims to love Holden so very much.

And, of course, later they end up at the same event where hijinks ensue.

I was really disappointed that nothing original happened here.  And, worst of all, Holden is such an unlikable character, it’s shocking to think that any woman would give him as many chances as she does.  Oh, and the whole subplot of her twin brother who thoroughly abuses her best friend (he even inadvertently sets her on fire) is never given any backstory or resolution.

It’s a very poor addition to any graphic novel collection.