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Archive for the ‘YA Books’ Category

Josh Lieb–I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President (2009)

Posted in Beverly Hills 90210, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Corporate skewering, Devandra Banhart, Eoin Colfer, Funny (ha ha), Humiliation, Josh Lieb, Political Humor, Set at School, Smarty Pants, Thomas Pynchon, YA Books on November 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND-Trout Mask Replica (1968).
–Fast and Bulbous.
–Bulbous yes, but also tapered.
This is an infamous disc in the history of music.  Which surprises me, as I can’t imagine many people have ever listened to it in its entirety.  I learned about it though my Frank Zappa fascination (he produced the record).
This [...]

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Lars Brown–North World (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Anachronisms, Dungeons & Dragons, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Gross Pointe Blank, Kate Bush, Lars Brown, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats, Violence, YA Books on November 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KATE BUSH-Lionheart (1978).
Something about the late 70s seemed to make artists very prolific (perhaps it was studio pressure to capitalize on an artist’s success, hmmm?) Here’s Kate Bush’s 2nd record in about 10 months.
And, yea, the cover shows off her budding theatricality (the tour that accompanied these albums (which is available on DVD) is [...]

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Ray Fawkes & Cameron Stewart–The Apocalipstix (2008)

Posted in Books about music, Cameron Stewart, Danko Jones, End of the World, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Mad Max, Ray Fawkes, Short Books, Tank Girl, The Future, Violence, YA Books on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DANKO JONES-Never Too Loud [US edition bonus tracks] (2009).
I reviewed this disc a few posts ago.   Since then the disc has finally been released in the States.  And, naturally, since I bought the import version there are three bonus tracks added on this one.  The three tracks are “My Problems (Are Your Problems Now);” [...]

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Rick Spears & Chuck BB–Black Metal (2007)

Posted in Books about music, Chuck BB, Concept Albums, Death, Demons, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Possessed, Primus, Rick Spears, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats, Violence, YA Books on November 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: POSSESSED-Seven Churches (1985).
Back in high school I was really into heavy metal.  And I got into something of a contest to find the heaviest, scariest metal bands around.  (To counter the guy in class who was into Stryper, naturally).  Well, I think I hit the jackpot with this album.

Larry in Possessed

This is brutally fast [...]

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe (vol. 5)

Posted in Adventure, Books about music, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Cibo Matto, Contests, Death, Drinking, Fantasy, Free Kitten, Funky Web Sites, Funny (strange), Gay/Lesbian, Ikue Mori, Magic, Robots, Romance, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sex & Violence, Sex Bob-omb, Short Books, Sonic Youth, Supernatural, Threats, Video Games, YA Books on August 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 5: Sonic Youth Featuring Kim Gordon/DJ Olive/Ikue Mori (2000).
The fifth SYR disc is rather different from the others in that the only SY member is Kim.  This is a sort of side project for Kim, Ikue Mori and DJ Olive. They’ve played shows together as well.
This disc is also different because it [...]

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (vol. 2)

Posted in Adventure, Books about music, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sex & Violence, Short Books, Sonic Youth, Supernatural, Threats, Video Games, YA Books on August 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 2: Slaapkamers Met Slagroom (1997).
The second SYR release is like the other side of the coin from SYR1.  The premise is the same, the players are the same, but the result is rather different.
The first track is nearly as long as the previous disc (17 + minutes) and it seems to run [...]

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (vol. 1)

Posted in Adventure, Books about music, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sex Bob-omb, Short Books, Sonic Youth, Supernatural, Threats, Video Games, Violence, YA Books on August 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH -SYR 1 Anagrama (1997).

After Washing Machine, Sonic Youth began recording a series of EPs (that gradually grew into longer discs) in which they explored their improvisation/longer piece needs.
And so SYR1 was released.
It contains for tracks and runs about 25 minute.  It’s not simply guitar feedback or waves of distortion.  Rather it is [...]

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Danica Novgorodoff, James Ponsoldt & Benjamin Percy–Refresh Refresh (2009)

Posted in Benjamin Percy, Death, Graphic Novel, Kiss, Military, Sonic Youth, Threats, Unlikable main character, Violence, War, YA Books on August 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Sister (1987).

It’s surprising how catchy Sister starts.  “Schizophrenia” is wonderfully sing-songy.  And “Catholic Block,” while noisy, is certainly single-worthy (and would likley be one if it were released today).  Kim has two tracks, “Beauty Lies in the Eye” which is a spoken word piece ala “Shadow of a Doubt.”  While “Pacific Coast Highway” [...]

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Gene Luen Yang & Derek Kirk Kim–The Eternal Smile (2009)

Posted in Derek Kirk Kim, Fantasy, Gene Luen Yang, Graphic Novel, Minnesota, Replacements, Scrooge McDuck, Short Books, Short Story, Snappy Cola, Violence, YA Books on June 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE REPLACEMENTS-Don’t Tell a Soul (1989).
With this disc, the ‘Mats finally scored a hit.  “I’ll Be You” actually made the Billboard charts!  And why not, it’s a delightfully catchy, far more mature version of the ‘Mats now-adult-alternative music.
In my head, this is where the ‘Mats sold out entirely.  But, I listened to the disc [...]

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Oisín McGann–Daylight Runner [Small Minded Giants] (2006)

Posted in Adventure, Dystopia, End of the World, Free Speech, Harry Potter, Irish Writer, Modest Mouse, Oisín McGann, Roddy Doyle, Sci-fi, Set at School, The Smiths, Threats, Violence, YA Books, Yuck! on April 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE SMITHS-The Queen Is Dead (1986).
Years ago, when I was a young metal head, my friend Garry expanded my musical palette by introducing me to a lot of college rock (or whatever it was called back then).  The album that had the most impact on me back then was this one, The Queen Is [...]

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