Bon soir. Comics commentary, reviews, whatever the hell you want to call them, coming later- I'm going to my comics shop after I get off work, and I'll look to see if anything came out, like Sleeper and Powers, that I didn't get in my holds folder last Wednesday. So I'll wait until tonight or tomorrow. As if you were wondering...
Say, why not go affix your virtual signature to the Seaguy petition?
Happy to see that Alan David Doane is back on the blogging warpath; he's been missed.
And with that, having run out of anything else to say, he abruptly stops typing and hits the "publish" button.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Remember walking with you by my side
You were my Papa and I was your pride
Now I've got children and I'm going grey
No time for talking I got nothin' to say
Those Sunday dinners that we had at home
Now I've got a house and I've got friends of my own
We can't do tomorrow what we did yesterday
It's best that we're going our separate ways, OK
How is your rheumatism (nothing to say)
How are your chilblains (nothing to say)
How's Aunty Mabel (nothing to say)
So far Papa, I got nothin' to say, OK
Those happy days we spent together
We thought our world would never change
How the days go by
And things will never be the same
You keep pretending that everything's fine
So you make small talk to help pass the time
But all the words that you spit from your face
Add up to nothin' you got nothin' to say
How are those noisy neighbors next door
I'll have to go soon 'cos I'm getting bored
I gotta be home early to see a good play
So far Papa, I got nothin' to say
How is your life insurance (nothing to say)
How is your trade union (nothing to say)
How is your Independence (nothing to say)
So for Papa, I got nothin' to say
-Nothing To Say, by Raymond Douglas Davies on the 1968 album Arthur: Or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire.
Kinda summing up my attitude today, sorry to say. Not that I have a father around to sing this to, mind you...I'm just referring to the title more than anything. I really need to get a copy of that album one of these days...
But since you probably came here via the Comics Weblog Update-a-Tron 5000, I suppose I should write something, to justify your faith in me to post something readable. I bought some comics yesterday, including most on my list from Monday, but not all. Happy to report that my copy of Demo 8 showed up...but I didn't get Powers 2 or Sleeper 2. Sigh. A new Mojo came out as well, but I didn't buy it...I'll save it for a less heavy week. Of course, I will review them right here as soon as I can finish reading 'em. Really enjoyed the latest New Frontier, despite the emphasis on that ridiculous Green Lantrin character, or whatever his name is. As a tiny part of the Great Basement Cleaning Undertaking, I took a box of about 45 Playboys and Penthouses from the late 80s-early 90s to my shop, to see if they'd give me something for 'em. We shall see. Hopefully they'll give me enough to turn around and give it right back to them in exchange for some TPB's and CD's...
Been listening to some music that I obtained through...shall we say, less than upfront methods- Goldfrapp's Black Cherry, downloaded in its entirety via LimeWire (don't worry- I will still buy this ASAP. The files have some defects in places), and Morning Glory-The Tim Buckley Anthology, copied from a friend's copy. I've been dying to hear Cherry since it came out last year, and I'm not disappointed. It's a different direction for Alison G and Will Gregory, more harsh electro-funk than the sweeping lushness of their first album Felt Mountain. Kinda like Human League meets Trent Reznor meets Eurythmics meets Bjork meets Shirley Bassey, I guess. Memo to the James Bond people: you need to let Goldfrapp do the next Bond song, pronto. Buckley I've known about for years, but have never been moved to check out his albums, although I did get real curious right about the time his son Jeff did Grace. I downloaded a track or three, but I wasn't bowled over by what I heard. That being said, I knew that I had only scratched the surface of his work, so when I got the opportunity to sample this set, I jumped. Buckley's mostly folk-rockish music is said to be very diverse...and I'm beginning to believe it after a couple of listens to the two-disc set. I haven't really processed it all yet. Hopefully more on that topic later. One kinda cool thing- included in this set, the last track even, is his acoustic performance of "Song of the Siren" from The Monkees TV show, which I remember very well.
Watched a movie last night, The Italian Job. Last year's remake, that is. Good-to-great cast, but the script's never as clever as it thinks it is and there are very few thrills to be had, after all is said and done...but strange thing- it's never boring. Nice opening heist, and the finale's moderately rousing as well. I wouldn't go out of my way to rent it, but an agreeable time-waster. Ed Norton is certainly making a career out of playing creeps and jerks, isn't he? I kept wondering where the hell the police were while all of this was going on. I know Sean Green's character had buggered up the traffic lights, but geez, the NYCPD has helicopters, don't they? And officers on foot? Charlize Theron is nice to look at, but who the hell keeps telling her to shave her eyebrows? I mean, where are they anyway? Oscar ceremony pictures? Nope, no eyebrows. Monster? Barely there, but hell, she's in heavy makeup. I know, I know, what it is really is that they're too light to be seen easily. But she just looks creepy...she should do something to darken them. Yeah, like she's gonna take my advice. Y'know, I've never seen the original version of this flick. Maybe I will someday.
Geez. Nothing to say, huh? Guess you get on a roll, then you're butta. Guess I'm done now. Gonna sit down and do the Sketch of the Day for the Sketchblog before the day's over!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Holy Mackanoley, do I love Alex Toth art. And funnily enough, the work of his that I love the most is his 60s and 70s work for DC, Warren and others. Over at tothfans.com, they've posted part one and part two of a 70s Black canary story that Toth did with Denny O'Neil in Adventure Comics, which I could swear I used to have, but the cover for part two doesn't look familiar at all so I suppose I saw it reprinted somewhere a little later. It's presented here with interesting annotations by Toth. You, little misses and misters, should go check it out, 'cause it's GOOD. If a little dated.
In the spirit of credit where credit is due, Graeme at Fanboy Rampage first pointed it out.
Well. It seems like I have a new name (as if I didn't have enough already, oy my aching head). Per General Smallnuts, I am now Commander Bushytail of the Squirrel Army!
I am honored and will fulfill my duties to the best of my ability, SIR!
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Hang on, I'm gonna skip around from topic to topic. I haven't done a rambling post in some time now, intentionally that is, so here goes.
After looking at several of the San Diego Comicon reports online, I can see that a very good time was there for the having, and many did just that. However, on the other side of that coin, I come away with two observations. One, after looking at the pictures posted at 4CR, one of which I stole and posted above, I'm not so unhappy about not being able to attend. That is one humongous mass of humanity, and I'll bet it was heck trying to get around. Second, I have rarely felt as much like an ancient old geezer as I did when I was looking at some of the Pants Presser's photos, and saw the pic of Scary-Go-Round's John Allison, not to mention some of the pros I've seen in other places. Allison, whose SGR and Scareodeleria online comics remind me a lot of Friends as done by Charles Addams, writes and illustrates with a tone and skill which would belie his apparent callow youthfulness. Then again, he may just be a really young-looking 30-year-old. Who the hell knows. Anyway, if you would viddy these photo reports I've been gazing upon yourselfs, go here. And here. And here. Ian Brill has some interesting reports as well, not to mention a dynamite-looking page design.
Some, not a lot, of interesting announcements from the big companies came out at the SDCC, and as usual I found myself most intrigued by many of the upcoming Vertigo projects. I keep thinking I'll list them and post my thoughts on them and other Comicon announcements, but I'll probably keep thinking about it and thinking about it until several months have gone by and it will be beside the point.
What am I listening to today, you may ask? Besides the voices in my head? Stone Temple Pilots' No.4. Camper Van Beethoven-Key Lime Pie. Deep Purple-Who Do We Think We Are?. Bjork's Vespertine. Just can't warm up to that one. Another I've been listening to today is Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily. Now Natalie is an artist who has always appealed to me despite my better judgment. Her music on her own (that I've heard- more on that later) and with 10,000 Maniacs was usually listenable, despite often being somewhat bland & slick. Natalie's contribution was usually the most problematic- her lyrics are groaningly pretentious when they're not stiff, clumsy and awkward, and she sings them in a voice that more often as not reminds me of Zsa Zsa Gabor, dahlings. You know- "They say I must be vun of the vonders, God's own creation". Anyway, even after all this, there's something in the sheer stubborn determined earnestness of what she does that wins me over, even though I fully recognize that I should know better. Case in point, the righteous lather she works herself up in way back on 1987's "What's The Matter Here" from the In My Tribe album. She is positively fervent and convincing as she reads a child abuser the riot act, and that song more than any other made me tolerant of what she's about. Tigerlily was her first solo release after she dumped the other Maniacs, and it's a low-key affair, quiet, folky and often even jazzy in places. Of course, you remember the hits, for good or ill- "Jealousy", the aforementioned "Wonder", and "Carnival", with a jazzy, laid-back vibe that I liked. I don't think this is a bad album, but outside of those songs and about two others, the other tracks just don't make much of an impression, and I think that's why I didn't go out of my way to pick up its follow-up Ophelia, or the two or three albums she's done subsequently. Oh well, maybe I'll remedy that someday. And that's what I've listened to today. So far.
Go here for morethanweimagine.com, the official Mike Nesmith lyric site. One of my favorite Nez songs and lyrics: St.Matthew.
Saw a couple of movies over the weekend, well, actually one and a half. The one, S.W.A.T., the Sam Jackson/Colin Farrell profit-taker which managed to keep me diverted for most of its 2 hours plus. Lotsa shooting and explosions and attitude, completely predictable in every way, but all in all a passable way to kill some time if you're in need of that sort of thing. Later that evening, I caught a screening of the John Cusack film Max, about young pre-horrible dictator slash struggling artist Adolf Hitler's art dealer. I had heard about this odd film for a while, but this was my first opportunity to view it. I wish I could tell you what I thought about it, but I fell asleep before it was over, at about 2 AM. It's not that the film was dull, actually far from it- it was very interesting and well acted. But at some point I laid my head back and shut my eyes, and I was done. Hopefully, it will come on again and I can finish it. Only my twisted mind could process such disparate films in the same evening. Maybe that's why I went to sleep- my brain overloaded. Also over the weekend I was delighted to see the season two premiere of Showtime's Dead Like Me, which, despite showing a little rust in a few subtle places, was still very enjoyable. Can't wait to see where it's all going this year.
Haven't done any sports rambling for a while, either, so here goes. My White Sox are dead but just don't know it yet without Magglio Ordonez and Frank Thomas, out until September at the earliest. The body's still stumbling around, but it won't be long before it collapses, and the first sign was the loss to the Twins last night. My fantasy team in the money league is the same way...injuries and bad luck have completely negated my hot start and now I find myself in 5th place, 24 points out of 1st and 6 1/2 out of fourth. Stick a fork in me. Ricky Williams? Oh jeez. As with Barry Sanders, he was perfectly within his rights to walk away, but his timing couldn't have been worse. Fortunately, I'm neither a Dolphins fan (quite the contrary) or his fantasy owner, so I'm not as bent out of shape about it as some, I'm sure, are. Speaking of the NFL, my Atlanta Falcons open training camp today, oh boy oh boy. And that's the sports post of the week.
I've posted another sketch on my sketch blog, first in a series that I hope will keep me drawing more often. The plan is to do a "Comic Book Character of the Day" series, in which I shall do a daily drawing of a, that's right, you guessed it, comic book character. I take requests, so go over to the JBSB and make it known! I'm kinda toying with the notion of accepting commissions, in case there's some sucker, I mean some nice person crazy enough to commission me to draw them something...but I haven't decided what to do about that yet. I'm also trying to get a couple of spot illos done for a story written by recent burglary victim Rick Geerling of Eat More People renown. Go visit his Amazon wish list, link at his site, and buy him something, mkay?
On a personal note, nothing new on the job search front. There have been a few things pop up lately, and I've dutifully submitted resumés for each and every one, but have had no response so far. I even had the frustrating displeasure of submitting a resumé for a graphics job with Plus Mark, a Franklin, Tennessee American Greetings affiliate. That's not the bad part, obviously- here's what made it such an incredible bitch- I was contacted a few days later by someone from their HR department, and she left a message. Now, I work roughly 8 to 5, then drive 40 minutes home and stop by to record voice tracks for my radio station job. I get home about 6:30-7, of course too late to return the call and have any hope of speaking to her. I call back anyway, and leave a voice mail message telling her when I can be reached at home. She calls back a couple of days later, of course when I'm not home. Complicating things is that the Daily Snooze has a "no long distance phone calls" policy, which makes it impossible for me to call her during her office hours.. I return the call, and leave another message including my number here at the Snooz (something with which I'm VERY uncomfortable, since I have no privacy here) and even my email address, if she'd care to contact me that way. Since then, nothing. I've called several times, even borrowed a friend's cell phone and called during what should be her office hours, and left messages every time...but have never reached her in person. This went on for about 2-3 weeks, so I can safely assume that by now they've hired someone who's a bit easier to reach on the telephone. This just pisses me off no end. People, I HATE the gorram job search process.
That's all I can think of right now. Kinda slow at work today, can't you tell? Maybe more later.
Although I'm actually encouraged by the comics blogsphere, if for a different reason. I like the idea that the folks who go on every day and write and rant and comment are doing it for no other reason than they seem to be compelled to put their thoughts down in some sort of permanent record. I like that commitment to flying your flag to see who salutes it. I mean, it's not like anyone's paying them to do it. On my better days, I have to believe the blogs are all about passion, and I can dig that.
Joe Casey sums up the reason why I continue to bring you the Show, in a new column appearing at CBR by him and Matt Fraction, "The Basement Tapes". Official theme song of this column: "Million Dollar Bash".
Years ago, I once read something about Axl Rose, of all fucking people... how he'd read CIRCUS Magazine (not exactly ROLLING STONE or CREEM in rock journalism spheres) as a kid, filled with depthless articles and insipid interviews with Elton John or Robert Plant or whoever... and he'd take that shit seriously. He didn't know any better? he didn't know that CIRCUS was mainly the home of mindless fluff pieces extolling vapid musical virtues and the perception of the "kewlness" of the rock n' roll lifestyle. The way lil' Axl perceived it was, as you say, gospel without irony. That informed his worldview, and that gave us the Axl Rose we all know and love today...
I love this observation as well. I used to read Circus, and actually enjoyed it to a point, but around 1975 or so I had also begun to read Creem, Crawdaddy, and Rolling Stone (it was worthwhile back then, trust me)...and I knew right away that Circus wasn't quite in the same league as the others, so I stopped. Some do this with a lot of information sources, many don't...and that's why we get so many folks who are geared to the average rather than the exceptional. I vividly recall friends asking me, back in our teenage years, "How do you know about these people? These Mott The Hooples and Pentangles and Lou Reeds? I ain't never heard of them!" The answer was simple, I said...I read about them, they sounded interesting, so I bought something. This was usually greeted with a blank stare, or a reaction like I had told them that they should eat broccoli.
Anyway, an entertaining column, and one I look forward to reading each week or month or whenever they put it out.
While visiting my good friend Dave Puckett the other evening, our coversation turned (as it so often does) to comics, and 60s DCs and Marvels in particular. We were discussing favorite covers, and first issues read of a particular title, and when I tried to recall my first issue of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, I couldn't do it. I remembered that it involved Baron Strucker, but that's all I remembered. Now, thanks to the Silver Age Marvel Covers Index, I now know which one it was- Sgt. Fury 14, top. Also, below it is a cover that is one of my favorite old Marvel comics covers, Sgt. Fury 16. I think it's the near-monochromatic color scheme of the whole thing, which certainly made it stand out to 5-year-old me. Makes me thirsty just looking at it. Ironic, isn't it, that I'm now constantly bitching about colorists Lee (Gotham Central) Loughridge and Bryan (Bite Club) Miller doing essentially the same thing?
Monday, July 26, 2004
Very cool images and mp3s from the Firefly, I mean Serenity, panel at SDCC can be found right 'cheyre. Looks like they managed to get the entire cast for the occasion, even Ron Glass in his natty hat, and oh to be that close to Morena (Inara) Baccarin...
DC THE NEW FRONTIER #5
HELLBLAZER #198
LOSERS #14
PLANETARY #20
SLEEPER SEASON TWO #2
WITCHING #2
WALKING DEAD #9
POWERS #2
EVIL EYE #12
My haul Wednesday, according to the latest Diamond shipping list. Also add, with any luck, Demo 8, which of course I didn't get thanks to UPS or my shop, or both. They're supposed to be sending me a copy from Nashville. Again. Sigh. Anyways, tickled to see the new Evil Eye, with the finale of the "Reflections in a Glass Scorpion" storyline, listed. Always a happy day when I get new Richard Sala comics.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
BEST OF THE WEEK
What I bought and what I thought, week of July 21
DAREDEVIL 62
Ho hum. Another month, another issue of Daredevil at the top of my weekly ratings pile. I've read three dozen or more reasons, in a variety of places, why Bendis' writing is subpar, why everyone who doesn't think so is blinded by some sort of cult of personality or just doesn't know shit from shinola, and this comic sucks...so I suppose I'm either an idiot or just a contrary mofo because nine times out of ten, when I crack open the new DD by Bendis and Maleev, I'm hooked from page one. This issue extends the situations in which Matt deals with his divorce from Milla and having the Black Widow using him, essentially, for cover from the political machinations of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the US government. The former is represented in a five page sequence made up of two conversations with the Widow and Foggy Nelson, the latter by a humorous conversation between a general and the director of the CIA on pages two and three. Mr. B even throws the fanboys a bone by letting DD and the BW put on thier suits, leap around, and hit someone. Alex Maleev turns in another fine job, as usual better with the conversations and mood than the leaping and hitting. If I must critcize, I suppose that one could say that the proceedings have a somewhat lugubrious pace, but that doesn't bother me. And the beat goes on, dee dee dee. A
LUCIFER 52
Mike Carey is once again taking all his standard mythological and theological, not to mention Gaimanological, ingredients and is cooking up a stew in which the titular character must needs deal with some particularly nasty dieties who are roaming around killing people for some unclear-as-yet motive even as existence ("our" existence, anyway, and not Luci's universe) slowly unravels. I think Carey does very well by all of Gaiman's concepts, and of course has few peers these days in mainstream comics when it comes to dialogue and character interaction. I especially enjoyed the Lucifer-Destiny confrontation at the end. The Gross/Kelly art team turns in its usual solid, if not terribly exciting, job. Nice cover by Chris Moeller, which reminds me a little of the cover theme DC adopted for all its covers about 5 or 6 years ago. When Mike Kaluta begins his cover run, I'm going to be having severe 90's run of Books of Magic flashbacks. A-
HUMAN TARGET 12
The theme, speaking of themes, for this week seems to be "consistency", like in that I always seem to be saying the same things each month. As usual with Milligan's Human Target, I find some plot point or another which leaves me skeptical and unbelieving (besides my usual misgivings about the core conceit behind the Christopher Chance character in the first place), and this issue, it's love interest Mary White's secret life as a "family reuniter", which, admittedly, she glibly explains early on...but I'm still unconvinced at the likelihood that a Hollywood producer's wife (or anyone, for that matter), regardless of how deep their pockets were or how connected they were, could become such a player in a very nasty, dead serious game in such a short amount of time. Oh well, as usual, I just take a deep breath, activate my secret "disbelief suspension" abilities, and find myself enjoying a tautly written thriller with some interesting characters (such as the downright reprehensible slave-trading brothers) and a genuinely tension-filled cliffhanger. Javier Pulido's deceptively simplistic but always outstanding art helps me with this a lot. A-
SEAGUY 3
I am by no means one of those who expects a happy ending or even a favorable resoultion out of his fantasy fiction, even fantasy fiction dressed in social commentary's clothes, but Grant's finale here is so distressingly downbeat, so bleak, and so defeated that my reaction to this, the final issue, was one of disappointment, stunned disbelief even...then concern for Grant's psyche. Now, I realize that Morrison works on a lot of different levels, and I fully concede that I may be missing, or completely misinterpreting the point...but the impression I got from the ending of this issue is that no matter what you do, how many adventures you want to have, how enlightened you may become, and how many good works you may do for whatever cause, it will all come to naught and is ultimately pointless because the system that stifles individualism and creativity will eventually grind you under its benign heel as sure as rain is wet and heat is hot. And I don't know about all of you, but that's the last little moral I expected to get from our Grant. Which makes me suspect that I did indeed miss something. Maybe re-readings will bring ths out, but for now all I can do is shake my head and hope Grant gets a little optimism back into his life and work, whether or not it can make any difference against the machinations of Mickey Eye. One thing I do know- Cameron Stewart did a wonderful, imaginative job of illustrating the epic proceedings. A-. Entire series: A-
JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE 1
Funny. All I ever read, and I suspect that this is a kneejerk reaction sometimes, is how convoluted and hard to follow Joe Kelly's scripts are. And it's not always unwarranted- internal logic and sequential clarity are not always Joe's first priority. This being said, I found the debut issue of Kelly's Authority-lite superteam surprisingly easy to keep up with. Of course, his dialogue and characterization is always sharp, even though most of these new characters haven't made a real impression on me yet, except for Jenny- I mean Vera- who seems to have the requisite bad attitude that the role she fills requires. I found myself liking the unpleasant, arrogant Naif character, who seems to be a liason of some sort for the group. He gets many of the best lines. I'm hoping that Joe K can keep it up for 11 more issues. The art? Oh yeah, I liked the art. Very much, thank you. A-
EX MACHINA 2
Brian Vaughn and Tony Harris spend three-quarters of this issue continuing to set the stage for what I assume will be the future conflicts and relationships our Superhero mayor will be dealing with in time, then abruptly shoehorn in an attempt to discuss the nature of confrontational art, which is a worthy enough goal, I suppose, and the image (a portrait of Lincoln with the N-word emblazoned in the foreground) is certainly provocative (especially if you're a Civil War scholar, I suppose, or were alive in 1865), but the effect of shoving this in from left field is to leave you scratching your head and wondering "What's this got to do with that?" Guess it's just me, but as with Vaughn's Swamp Thing and Y: The Last Man, there's just a blandness about his scripting that keeps me from getting hooked by the stories he writes. Fortunately, he has a capable, imaginative artist in Tony Harris to illustrate his scripts, unlike before, and that makes a huge difference...especially when Harris manages to match his characters' facial expressions to the events they're supposed to be reacting to, a neat trick he sometimes fails to do. B
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Checked my email just now, and what to my wondering (no pun intended) eyes should appear but an email from Justice League Elite inker Tom Nguyen, with this absolutely kick ass, unbelieveably cool illustration of Wondy attached! This refers to my, shall we say, intense admiration for the Amazon Princess as rendered by Tom and Doug Mahnke. And, of course, when I review JLE 1, this will in no way influence my fair and balanced (now where have I heard that before?) opinion of that comic. Besides, I already thought that Mahnke and Nguyen were among the very best, if not the best, mainstream superhero comic illustrators working today, so that much you can take as a given, right?
Anyway, domo arigato, merci beaucoups and muchas gracias to ya, Tom! Wish I could afford the original...
Very tired this evening...been helping out at an auction for my father-in-law's auction/realty business. You never appreciate the true meaning behind the old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" until you've been to an auction to liquidate someone's home and belongings. Anyway, hot, sweaty work all day long. So not much bloggy goodness from me today. BUT.
A very special BSBdG goes out to Theresa Ann Doyle-Jones, aka Mrs. B, who turns the same age as her somewhat less-than-better half this very day. The old saying "Behind every successful man is a woman who loves him" has never been truer, except I haven't been all that successful.
Also,
BSBdG's also go out to Thriller artist and helluva nice guy Trevor Von Eeden. I'm not sure how old he is, I think it's a couple of years more than me. Anyway, he's not quite the red-hot, up-and-coming golden boy artist he used to be, but somehow I think there's still great work to come from TVE. And rest assured I'll be along to let you know when.
Friday, July 23, 2004
But seriously, Hugh- what's my motivation in this scene?
Longtime readers may recall that waaaay back in March of 2003 I posted an entry about a news item I had spied on Ain't It Cool News about the upcoming wannabe Hugh Jackman potential franchise film Van Helsing, stating that it would either be (as I so cleverly put it) "either a colossal cluster fuck or one of the greatest action/adventure/horror/fantasy films ever". So, of course, the final result, which I saw Saturday for one dollar, was neither.
I'm sure most of you reading this are familiar with the Van Helsing of print, screen, stage and film so far, mostly personified by Peter Cushing's reserved English gentleman, who was always ready to whip out a silver crucifix on a moment's notice. Anthony Hopkins gave us an eccentric, almost unhinged Doctor, in a lot of ways closer to Bram Stoker's original conception than either Cushing or the Lugosi film's Van Helsing, played stiffly, but with a reserved kind of competent cool, by Edward Van Sloan. Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing is nothing like any of these portrayals; he's a grim, quiet man of action who has no memory of who he really is or how he came to be a supernatural monster hunter for the Vatican, all decked out in his finest Solomon Kane-like black leather. All heroes have to wear black leather in the movies, you know- it's as ubituquous now as white hats used to be. Turns out he has some connection to Count Dracula and the vampiric goings-on in Transylvania, which comes in handy because that's where the Pope sends him next.
Basically, this flick was like James Bond, Raiders of the Lost Ark, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Moulin Rouge! all mashed together in a big lump. It's big, loud, and relentless as it hurtles from this battle to that battle to this cliff-hanger to that cliff-hanger, helter-skelter, as if it's afraid we'll get bored if it gets quiet and leave. Kind of like an overactive child throwing a temper tantrum. The overriding concern here seems to be a prototype for the next potential Universal Theme Park attraction, and certainly to establish a franchise of some sort. There's not much room for wit or subtlety...but obviously we're not supposed to expect that sort of thing from a movie like this, are we?
That being said, there are a few good ideas in the script, and some very nice production design is evident throughout. Someone in the decision making process had his heart in the right place, because the movie looks good, and there aren't too many groanworthy moments. I was honestly surprised at the ending, which kinda goes against the grain of this sort of adventure film. The CGI are pretty good, too- rarely did the action involving Dracula's annoying vampire brides, the Frankenstein monster, or the werewolves look excessively stiff or fake. There were some rousing set pieces, like the skirmish between Van Helsing, Beckinsale's character and the vampire brides in the village, or a humorous fight between VH and Mr. Hyde, who looks like he walked over from the set of LXG.
Jackman isn't asked to do a whole lot, acting-wise, and that's pretty much what he does. He projects intensity, which is all the filmmakers were looking for. But he looks like Olivier, Brando and Cary Grant all rolled into one compared to his co-star Kate Beckinsale, who is a lovely woman but does not possess one ounce of acting ability in her shapely body. She couldn't act annoyed in a traffic jam. Richard Roxburgh, the wimpy Duke in Moulin Rouge!, is almost unrecognizable and often unbearable as Dracula. He overacts throughout, and adopts a thick accent that gets overbearing sometimes. He does have some effective moments here and there, though, to be fair. Comic relief is provided by David Wenham as Carl, who functions like Bond's Q to Van Helsing, providing him with neat almost-anachronistic gadgets like the rapid-fire arrow shooter you see in the picture above, which he uses to great effect in the aforementioned village scene. He gets some funny lines in here and there, plus gets to pitch woo with a cute villager, so he winds up as the coolest character by default.
So even as my brain told me I shouldn't, I was entertained by Van Helsing. It's overblown and as overstuffed as Beckinsale's snug corset, but it's never boring and, wonder of wonders, doesn't insult the intelligence all that much. In a lot of ways, it's a energetic spin on those moldy old monsters of yore, but I just wish it hadn't been so eager to be a rollercoaster movie and nothing more. I'll give it a B+, but remember that I only paid a dollar to see it. If you spend more than that, you might be a bit less charitably inclined than I.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
I've noticed a lot of fine folks (well, not a lot, but there have been a few) posting on the proposed (threatened) Green Lantern flick that's set to star Jack Black in the title role, and the prevailing attitude seems to be "Sure! Why not! What the hell! Green Lantern's ridiculous, and Jack's cool, so why not embrace the inherent cheesiness of the Lantern Corps and go with it?".
Uh...no. C'mon. Aren't Catwoman, Constantine, and of course those timeless classics Batman and Robin and Superman III enough to satisfy that need to see the super hero ridiculed and made fun of?
Now, don't get me wrong: I'm no GL fan, never really have been, although I liked those old O'Neil/Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrows, and enjoyed the occasional Broome/Kane GL's back in my childhood. But I've never really been all that enamored of the character, be it Jordan, Rayner, Stewart, Kilowog, or G'nort even. So I don't have any real vested interest in how he's portrayed, unlike some. I also like Black, although I wish his film role choices were better sometimes. He's great in Tenacious D, was great in High Fidelity, and I'm sure is wonderful in School of Rock (haven't seen it yet). But c'mon. He's more Pieface than GL, and if you just can't get enough of the Starsky and Hutch (2004) school of filmmaking, then there are plenty of places to get your jollies than to see poor GL made into a joke.
If this is the best way they can come up with to bring the Lantern onto the silver screen...then I just wish they'd decline. Forget it. Hopefully, the aforementioned Catwoman and Constantine flicks will bomb so spectacularly that they'll make every producer in Hollywood abandon the comics ship. Of course, I won't hold my breath. But really. Jack Black. Green Lantern. Do you really hate genre comics so much that you would want to see this perpretated in the cinemas of the world? Not me, buddy.
Wanna take a minute and send out a BSBdG to Annie the CzelticGirl, who's also changing demographics as a result of this landmark. I'm feelin' ya.
Thanks to recently-added-to-links-list Jon Silpayamanant's Mae Mai blog, I've discovered an art site by someone who calls himself "Falcoon", and it's beautiful stuff, as you can see from the sample above.. Go check it out, but be warned that the site uses Japanese characters, so you won't be able to read anything. Unless, of course, your browser's set up for them. All right, I'll shut up. Click on the image and go check it out!
Well, since it's been over a week since Larry Young announced the upcoming AIT/PlanetLar titles, it's time for Johnny "Late For the Party" Bacardi to hold forth upon them.
1000 STEPS TO WORLD DOMINATION, by Rob Osborne
TALES FROM THE FISH CAMP, by Danielle Henderson
Don't know much about the creators behind these. hell, don't know anything,as a matter of fact! They both look like they could be fun, though. Tales is about a NYC girl working in an Alaskan fishing village. I used to want to move to Alaska, when I was feeling anti-social (which was quite often) a few years ago. I'd still like to visit there someday before my time is up.
PROOF OF CONCEPT, by Larry Young and with art by John Flynn, Paul Tucker, Damian Couciero, Jeff Johns, and John Heebink.
Another potentially interesting collection of the competition that's been running on www.comicsworldnews.comin which Larry Young writes a script, people draw it, and the ones deemed best get published! Wish I had the wherewithal to do one of these myself. Anyway, I like the art of that Johns fellow, more on him later.
SCURVY DOGS: RAGS TO RICHES, by Ryan Yount and Andrew Boyd.
Hey,you already know what I think about this book, and now here they are all collected for you. If you don't have #'s 1-5 already, you have no excuse now.
SMOKE AND GUNS, by Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon
This looks about two dozen different kinds of sweet, and right now I'll pickup anything that Moon illustrates. So much for being impartial and objective, eh! Subject matter sounds quirky and fresh, too. I'll be getting this, if at all possible.
THE BLACK DIAMOND, by Larry Young and Jon Proctor
I don't know a lot about artist Proctor, but the cover looks interesting and the one or two illos I've seen from him on other projects look OK too, so I think I'll get this...but I want to see more interiors before I commit. I'm funny like that. The writer, him I've heard of.
WILL STARR!, by Stuart Moore and John McCrea
I was a big Hitman fan, moreso for Ennis' writing than McCrea's art especially at first. Eventually McCrea's flooby style wore me down and now I can't imagine anyone else that would have been better for that title. Well, OK, there was Doug Mahnke and the excellent Hitman/Lobo one-shot...but that was just one issue. Anyway, Stuart Moore's story sounds a lot like those that used to appear in the old Warren magazine 1994, just kinda silly and crass, and McCrea's not the type of artist I'll buy on just anything. So I suppose I'll pass. However, this does sound like it could be fun in a not-so-nice way, so if you like, then by all means.
FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE, by Matt Fraction and Steve Sanders
The concept sounds like fun, and the art sample looks OK, but I've never really made it a point to pick up Fraction's work (just hasn't really made an impression on me, in the occasions I've had to read it) and know less than nothing about Sanders, so this is another I'd like to see more of before I commit.
THE TOURIST, by Brian Wood and Toby Cypress
THE COURIERS 03: THE BALLAD OF JOHNNY FUNWRECKER, by Brian Wood and Rob G
DEMO SCRIPTBOOK, by Brian Wood
Again, it's hard to tell without seeing more than this single-page oil rig illo, but the plot of The Tourist sounds interesting enough. That's right, wanna see more before I commit. I will most likely do whatever it takes to get the latest installment of The Couriers, even though I'm a tad disappointed to see that Rob G. is back on the art duties. perhaps he's studied up on his anatomy in the interval between the last book and this. I hope. Johnny Funwrecker. Whatta name! Isn't it amazing how you can stick almost anything after "Johnny" and it sounds cool? The Demo Scriptbook sounds like a really nice package that will most likely be out of my price range, especially since I will most likely have the individual issues anyway- hardly a given thanks to my comics shop (which failed to get in copies of #8 yesterday).
MOONSHINE, by Dan Curtis Johnson and Jeff Johns
Now this excites me- I've been a fan of Johnson's work ever since his excellent DC series Chase passed through, like a shooting star, back in 1998. Plus, Proof of Concept winner Johns has a nice style, a little stiff but otherwise excellent and I think he's only gonna get better. The pitch-line "They Live" as a Western doesn't change this in the slightest.
WARHEAD, by Joe Casey and Ian Richardson
KRASH BASTARDS, by Casey and Axel 13
FULL MOON FEVER, by Casey, Caleb Gerard, and Damian Couciero
I liked Casey's Codeflesh, and a little part of me is annoyed at him that he isn't doing more instead of batting out new projects like these. Billed as "Patton-in-space", Warhead sounds somewhat interesting, but not so much that I'm gonna go out of my way to pick it up. Same for Bastards, the title of which brings to mind, for some reason, old DC series like Sonic Disruptors, Electric Warrior, and Slash Maraud. I'm just weird like that. Anyway, I'd like to see some samples from Bastards before I lay my money down. regarding Fever, can't wait to see Tom Petty starring in his first full-length illustrated adventure and...what? Oh. Heh. Never mind.
Allrightely-dightely, that's my rundown of the upcoming AIT/Planetlar offerings. Hope I'll get to read more than a few, and so will you!
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
What to do when you're too busy to write anything of any length, plus you don't especially feel like weighing in on all the current controversies going on around this great big old Blogosphereiverse? Why, you send out a big old BSBdG to Stephen Demetre Georgiou, aka Yusuf Islam, but better known to most of us as Cat Stevens, who turns an oh very young 56 today.
Favorite album: 1974's Buddha and the Chocolate Box.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
As is my habit, I checked out the Pants Press Sketchblog last night and noticed that the amazing Vera Brosgol has printed a sketchbook, available at the San Diego Comicon, the cover of which you see at left. Bet your ass if I had the resources to fly across the country and stay for four days, I'd be stopping by the Flight table #1231, in the Image suite, toot suite and grab one right the funk up.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Just wanted to pass on that Scary-Go-Round creator John Allison will be at the San Diego Comicon, and while he's gone he put SGR on hiatus...but he's done a bunch of Scareodelerias in the meantime, and they'll be running during his hiatus. What's the diff, you ask? Well, SGR is done with (I assume) Illustrator, or some other vector-based computer drawing program, and SOD is done by hand. And while Allison's pretty good with the mouse, or tablet, or whatever, I kinda like his organic style too. Anyway, check it if you so desire.
EX MACHINA #2
HUMAN TARGET #12
JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE #1
LUCIFER #52
SEAGUY #3
DAREDEVIL #62
DEMO #8
My haul Wednesday, according to the latest Diamond shipping list.
I'd like to get SPAGHETTI WESTERN, too, but it looks like I'll be over my limit. Oh well, maybe there will be another 25% off sale soon...
Saturday, July 17, 2004
BEST OF THE WEEK
What I bought and what I thought, week of July 14
GOTHAM CENTRAL 21
There's something to be said for consistency, and this issue of GC is a great example. Like Johanna Draper Carlson says, if you like recent issues of this title, then you'll like this...it's as consistently good as the previous Brubaker/Lark issues have been. It helps that there's an honest-to-goodness mystery to solve here; I have no clue who's behind the crime that's driving the plot, and I'm enjoying watching the GCPD go through the paces of figuring it out. We get good dramatics between the characters, especially in scenes involving disgraced former cop Harvey Bullock, and even the Arkham action (is it me, or are Arkham scenarios getting overused and tired?) seems fresh. And as always, the ugly Loughridge colors are a serious drawback, making the story harder to read than it should be. Consistency is one thing, I suppose, but perfection is another. A
100 BULLETS 51
We get reacquainted with self-loathing potential Minuteman Wylie Times in this issue, set in New Orleans and given a jazz theme from its brief dissertation on Miles Davis to this issue's title. To continue with the jazz metaphors, this issue is a veritable compendium of the riffs Azzurello and Risso have used so far to great effect, in its pacing, dialogue and style. Risso is amazing as always- he seems to channel the best impulses of Will Eisner effortlessly, placing realism and grotesque caricature side by side with no difficulty, and oh, boy those shadows and crazy camera angles. I suppose if I were to continue the jazz theme, I would rate this album as Miles Smiles, a solid, innovative album that continued in the interesting direction that Davis was working towards with his second Quintet. A
FABLES 27
The grande finale of "March of the Wooden Soldiers", and it stacks up as this series' finest moment to date, even though I was a bit dismayed at how rushed the last half of the story seemed to be. I didn't see the identity of the Big Bad (and I don't mean Wolf, he's a good guy) coming, either, and that's good...but I didn't really buy the motivations of the character who defeated her, not after her conflict with Snow White and that's not so good. Oh well, minor quibbles. Nice work by all involved, including the Buckingham/Leialoha duo, whose work on this book has finally begun to grow on me. A-
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN 2
So that's why they called it "Challengers of the Unknown"! Seems that Rocky, Red, Prof and Ace were just four of a group of operatives that has existed for years and years...but apparently they're designed to be sleeper agents or somesuch. Anyway, it's pretty clear that as is evidenced by the complicated plot, cynical characters with snarky dialogue, and complex art that Howard hasn't lost much, if anything, from his 80s heyday. Looking forward to what he brings next. A-
DC COMICS PRESENTS: MYSTERY IN SPACE 1
Didn't really plan on picking these Schwartz tribute comics up, but after I saw the creators involved with this one I couldn't pass it up. Taking a cue from the Adam Strange cover story in the Schwartz-edited Mystery In Space 82, two writers and two artists are asked to provide stories with their own spin. Elliot S! Maggin, MIA for too long, and Promethea's J.H. Williams III are up first, and they provide a fun story tempered somewhat by recent events in the DCU involving co-stars Sue and Ralph Dibny, making this story much more ironic and pathos-filled than it really should be. Still, Maggin does a great job emulating that stiff Fox/Broome dialogue style, and Williams is amazing as always. Story two finds Grant Morrison working with Jerry Ordway, and turns in a winning tale with Kavalier and Clay-style captions which describe the background behind DC's early 60s sci-fi/superhero renaissance. Ordway illustrates in his solid, in unexciting fashion, but the end result is actually a bit moving. I don't know if I'll buy any others in this series, but for my money this is as good a tribute to Schwartz as one could ask for. A-
SCURVY DOGS 5
After giving us four straight issues of inspired straightfaced lunacy, it was inevitable that there would be a letdown sometimes, and this issue is the closest that Boyd & Yount have come so far. There are still plenty of laughs and strangeness, especially at the expense of poor Rod Stewart...but the TV satires are a little past their born-on date, and their hiatus announcement comes as no big surprise. Oh, if only more creators would step back for a while when inspiration wanes! Hurry back, mateys, I'll be here when you do. A-
IDENTITY CRISIS 2
BEWARE OF SPOILERS...hard to be neutral about this series, I suppose. Writer Brad Meltzer, apparently not content with killing off an obscure but well-liked female character, has upped the outrage ante by revealing that she was raped some time previous, and the League at the time decided to magically mess with the perpretator's mind as payback, all in the name of dramatic heft. All that's left for him to do is have heinous acts committed to children, and at this stage it wouldn't surprise me a bit if that wasn't next. Still, ya gotta be objective about this- it's only a story, and they're only superhero characters after all- but it's gonna make it damn hard to read about many of these corporate properties in the future, if this remains canonical. I can't dislike this comic as it is, 'cause it definitely sets out to involve the reader and succeeds, and even introduces some interesting ideas like the merc's club set up in the Injustice Gang's old satellite. And I am interested in the core mystery- I didn't think it was Doc Light what did the deed, murder that is, but I still don't have any idea and I kinda wanna know. It's also full of well-done character interaction such as the back-and-forth between Hawkman, Wally West-Flash, Kyle Raynor-GL, and Green Arrow. Plus, this is excellently illustrated by the Rags Morales-Michael Bair team. I suppose if I were inclined to indulge myself in wistful nostalgia for the characters of my teenage years, I'd be more upset about this series than I am...but everything changes, and I learned long ago that it's rarely for the better. I'm probably more annoyed that this series has pretty much killed any possibility of getting any new Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League- now that's a shame. I remain a Identity Crisis reader...but I can't say if I'll respect myself in the morning. B+
H-E-R-O 18
In which Pfiefer gives us a book-long fight scene, and I get bored about four pages in. It's well-drawn. despite what would appear to be a major gaffe on the last page. But this is essentially a twenty-some-odd page book full of explosions and punching and hitting and boom and argh and blood and...it got real monotonous after a while. I've been interested in this story arc so far, and I suppose an issue like this was inevitable...but that didn't make it any easier to get through. Here's hoping my interest perks up again real soon. C+
BITE CLUB 4
I don't know, maybe it's me. This should be a lot of fun, but it's just kinda...dead. Appropriate, I guess, for a book about the Vampire Mafia, but that doesn't make it any easier for me to stay interested. The ChaykinTischman script tries really hard at maintaining the right tone, and sometimes characters like Risa, by far the one that Tischman seems most interested in, do or say something noteworthy. But Tischman isn't Chaykin, and he just can't output that sort of dialogue by osmosis...it just isn't in him, as one look at Angel and the Ape or American Century bears out. Mostly this just seems to be a lot of HBO-movie types walking and driving around, talking to each other with dramatic one-liners at the end of the conversation, and boy does that get old after a while. The art by David Hahn doesn't help a bit- I like his style well enough, he's not terrible; but it's too stiff, lifeless and bland to give these proceedings the goose it needs. He may kick ass on other projects, but he's all wrong for this, as I've said before. And the colors- gah! Perhaps this Bryan Miller should change his name to Bryan Crayola. C
Take a deep breath...it's catch-up review time!
Malinky Robot 1-Stinky Fish Blues by Sonny Liew
I first became aware of Liew's art via My Faith With Frankie, the recent DC mini-series written by Mike Carey and inked by Marc Hempel. Liew did the pencil art, and showed that he had a strong, energetic, and whimsical style. This is very much in evidence here on his own, and unrestrained by Hempel's idiosyncratic ink style, even more so. Malinky is done completely in pencils, and it's very, very loose- layouts and characters are always surrounded by movement lines and unerased contours, and they fairly threaten to jump off the page at you sometimes. Basically a shaggy-dog story of sorts about a couple of diminutive fellows named Atari (he of the pointy-eared skullcap, looking kinda Yellow Kid-ish) and Oliver (who appears to be a mouse-man of some kind) who live with a bunch of other odd characters in a sort of shanty town named San'Ya. Atari and Oliver catch a fish one day, which they identify as a "stinky fish", an endangered species that eats sewage in the water and has apparently been on the wane, causing an increasingly bad smell in the air. Atari and Oliver endeavor to find out what they should do with the fish they caught, and yearn to go to school, presumably to get out of San'Ya. That's it. Not exactly War and Peace, but this is a very enjoyable little short vignette with some winsome humor, and it's never dull. Looking forward to Malinky 2, when it comes out, which should be anytime now. A-
Me and Edith Head by Sara Ryan and Steve Lieber
Sharp, smart, even moving little slice-of-life story which was particularly interesting to not only me, but my daughter as well. My daughter Abby is an attractive young lady with acting skills and an above-average singing voice who unfortunately does not have the perceived looks, body type, if you will, to play lead roles in the local repertory theatre in which she's participated, in various capacities, for almost ten years now. Don't worry about her, though- she realizes that there's a world with opportunities outside Kentucky Repertory Theatre and she's determined to see what she can find. She has, I think, a lot on common with the protagonist of this story- one Katrina Lansdale, who wishes to play Titania in a staged version of A Midsummer-Night's Dream, but gets passed over and (much to her disappointment) is tabbed for costume design instead. She takes this setback and makes a positive out of it, and learns a few life lessons in the process. What could easily become preachy or "afterschool special"-ish goes down smooth thanks to Ryan's assured soft-pedaling of the dramatics and Lieber's subtle art, which surprised me a little in its deftness, especially with facial expressions, hand gestures, and so on. A modest masterpiece, this is! A
Family Reunion by Sean Stewart and Steve Lieber
Basically, this is an introduction to Stewart's character William "Dead" Kennedy, who's kinda like the little guy from The Sixth Sense all grown up: he sees dead people. Or their ghosts, to be precise. in this particular story, Bill attends a family reunion and sees the ghost of a cousin who died in the Vietnam War, and spends time finding out his story. There's an amusing joke at the end that will appeal to college football fans. I suppose this is intended to whet our appetites for Stewart's Perfect Circle novel, and on that score it failed with me...whichis not to say that this would be the case with you. The premise of the novel as described on the inside front cover didn't sound especially fresh to me, but for fans of this sort of supernatural mystery-type story, it could be well worth checking out. As with Edith Head, Lieber does a great job on the art, giving us normal, everyday goings-on in a convincing fashion. Most comic-book artists have a hard time depicting real life, non-fantastical situations, but Lieber shows a knack for defeating his "comic-booky" inclinations and does very well by the average folks he draws. B+
Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden-Borrowed Magic
Jax Epoch, short for Jacqueline, don't know what ethnicity "Epoch"'s supposed to be, is a stubborn, mischevious teenage girl (who apparently goes to the same optometrist as The Sandman's Thessaly) with klepto tendencies who, through a series of convoluted circumstances, "acquires" several devices which assist her in traveling between dimensions. Apparently something in her genetic makeup enables her to do this, and naturally a government research agency wants to capture and study her and find out how she does it. Adding to the trouble is that her dimension traveling has caused reality to unravel, and she's being held on trial by a bunch of extradimensional types. This is all very imaginative, but it's kinda slight at the same time...Jax herself is rarely likeable, and becomes hard to identify with as the proceedings go on. Art-wise, John Green and a couple of inkers have an agreeably cartoony style, reminiscent somewhat of Phil Foglio, competent but not overly outstanding. It's just not a style that excites me, I suppose. In fact, nothing much about Jax really excited me all that much, and it took me a while to finish this one. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this, which would seem to be pre-teens, perhaps. I think it would have more appeal to the Harry Potter demographic, perhaps, more so than the cranky old cynical man demographic that I belong to. Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden has a nifty title going for it, but not much else (at least as filtered through me), I'm afraid. C+
This is me, now, doing the "All Caught Up With Overdue Reviews" dance! Break it down now! Later, reviews slash commentary on this week's new comics including Identity Crisis, DC Comics Presents: Mystery In Space, and Scurvy Dogs. I also went to see Van Helsing earlier today at the $1.00 theater in town, and as soon as my headache goes away I'll write about it as well.
Friday, July 16, 2004
Ursula is a story about a young prince named Miro, and the girl he befriends and falls in love with when they were children. When she turns 11, she has to go away to a "special school", and they are separated. The prince never forgets her, though, and when he becomes an adult and is expected to assume his father's throne and choose a wife, he sets out to find her again and make her his. Complicating things is the fact that Ursula is actually a fairy princess, and to cause a fairy princess to fall in love is, shall we say, somewhat risky. Miro and Ursula (accompanied by Miro's right-hand man Boris, who provides some needed levity) go through an metaphysical odyssey of sorts, and I'll leave it up to you to find out if they live happily ever after.
Art-wise, this is impeccably drawn. Moon and Ba (I'm still not sure who does what, pencil/ink/script-wise) nimbly skip between whimsical fantasy and stylized reality apparently without effort. I'm reminded somewhat of Baz Luhrman's re-imagining of Romeo & Juliet in its mix of the contemporary, grandiose and idealized. The iconic graphics of the star and tree, or the cartoonishness of the scenes with the pair as children, along with their bird, Pip, couldn't be more different, style-wise, from the scenes with Miro as an adult and his father...but they all fit together seamlessly.
Didn't get my new comics till yesterday; apparently UPS was unable to deliver their shipment on Wednesday due to the severe storms that passed through this area back on Tuesday. Wusses. I wound up getting a couple I hadn't planned on getting, and of course I'll write about them in due time. I have GOT to get caught up on reviews in general; hopefully I'll get the opportunity this weekend.
Blogger has screwed those of us still on our Flintstones-like IE5 Mac OS 9.2 browsers...they've provided all sorts of neat bells and whistles on their "create post" page...but of course I see none of them.
Oh well. Hopefully more later. Chin-chin for now.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Everybody's talkin' 'bout it...The Hulk's Diary! It's funny as hell, check it out.
Always like to sneak a Nilsson (well, to be exact, a Fred Neil) quote whenever possible.
Anyway, I remember someone posting a lot on the DC message boards as "THE HULK"...wonder if it's the same person? He was great there, and this blog is every bit as funny.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
I was watching the All-Star Game until they aired some sort of cheesy clip montage set to a fuggin' Journey song ("Faithfully", no less), which hit me like holy water does a vampire. I had to get away from the TV, probably a good idea since we are having severe thunderstorms around here right now...so I went to the computer. Good move, Dave-o. Anywho, I wanted to post something, but didn't feel like committing to reviewing anything right now, and I had no idea what until I remembered the first thing I looked at when I got settled in at work this morning, after Scary-Go-Round, of course- Jeff Parker's Mystifying Oracle blog, on which he mentioned the blog/website of artist Mike Wieringo. Curiosity provoked, I followed the link and spent some time checking out his gallery pages, and enjoyed them quite a bit.
I've been aware of Wieringo's work for years, and liked it just fine even though I'm not sure if I own a single comic containing it. He has a dynamic, attractive, easy-on-the-eyes style that I like a lot, so I suppose it's just the projects he's attached himself to that haven't quite captivated me. To be honest, I wish that I could get my own pitiful doodles to look half this good. "They could if you'd PRACTICE", I hear my art teachers saying...
I thought I would post the above Wonder Woman illo, very very nice even though I like my Wondy with straight hair a la Mahnke & Nguyen, and hopefully the traffic I may or may not generate for his site will compensate for me poaching his illustration! Click on the sketch above to go to his home page; go here for the gallery, and go here for the blog.
I hope to God the Journey montage is over now and it's safe to go back to the living room.
Oyasumi nasai. Y'all.
Update: Domo arigato to Mr. Wieringo for the namecheck on his blog! And then what does he do but post the above killer sketch of Saturn Girl that had me slack-jawed in amazement. Just like Cletus. Anyway, I wanted to post it here for all of youse to look at, but by all means go to his site too see it in the size it was meant to be seen. As you may recall, I dropped Legion a few months ago after buying it for well nigh 7 years, and have no intention of going back...but let me tell you, if they did tab Mike Wieringo to draw Mark Waid's tenure on that book, I'd be on it in a sprocking minute.
I just read over at La Isla Fanboy Rampage (ay caramba) about Alternative Comics publisher Jeff Mason's open letter of appeal for his financially strapped enterprise. While I have sampled a few of AC's wares via Free Comic Book Day over the last few years, their comics tend to be the kind not usually ordered and stocked by my shop so it becomes a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" thing. I was unaware, or had forgotten, about the Tomer Hanuka (well, Tomer and his brother Asaf) book Bipolar, the cover for #4 you see above...I like Hanuka's work a lot, and would probably be getting this if I hadn't totally let it fade from my memory! Alternative has books by a lot of other outstanding creators like Dean Haspiel and James (Mr. FCBD) Kolchalka, so if you're looking for something fresh to read, you might want to visit their website and drop a buck or three on something. I'm thinking I'll get those Bipolars one of these days...
Some Beatlenooz: seems like someone's lucked up on the Lost Mal Evans Archive!
It's a suitcase full of presumed Beatle souvenirs and recordings, one of which is an alternate version of "Cry Baby Cry", one of my fave Fabsongs. Hopefully we'll find out more eventually.
Monday, July 12, 2004
DC has released their October solicits, and as is the custom, many have already posted about them. I think I will too, later, but I wanted to spotlight this excellent Jae Lee cover for Manhunter 3. I don't creep out easily, as you may remember from my horror movie postings form last year, but the Shadow Thief's disembodied head floating there with that expression kinda gave me the willies when I first saw it! Haven't signed up for this title, because I'm not too crazy about the interior artists- but I am a little curious. I may check out #1 when it hits the stands...
Marc Hempel's gonna be doing a guest stint on Lucifer, too, and that rocks my world as well.
More stuff on this subject later. It's getting late and I gotta set my VCR timer to record The Taking of Pelham One Two Three on TCM tonight. I'll get the DVD someday, but this will do until then.
OK, now it's time for me to do the Bookshelf Thing (don't wanna call it a "meme"...whoops, just did) that Rick Geerling started. Basically, it's an excuse to let people know what's on your favorite bookshelf, or your only bookshelf, or the one on which you put those special books, you know the ones.
Now Casa Bacardi, it's kinda small. Not a lot of room for bookshelves and stuff. I do have a large three-section set of shelves I had custom made, but they're for albums and CDs, and while once upon a time I had books on it, that's no longer the case as the audio army thoroughly routed the print army and forced them to retreat to storage in boxes in my basement, where they await the glorious day when General Bacardi will return and bring them up into the light and have the room to display them properly once again as they deserve. But this is not to say that I don't have any books upstairs; we actually do have one smaller shelf in the living room, which holds probably 150-200 books (a conservative estimate), so I have a lot of my relatively recent acquisitions and some which I've brought upstairs to peruse over the years...plus I share it with several of Mrs. B's reference and craft books. So basically, what I've got is about three shelves, plus the top of the bookcase, with books crammed in in all sorts of directions. In order? Hah! Not a chance. Anyway, what I'll do is list the first, oh, 35 titles I come across. Many of my absolute favorites will not make this list, due to circumstances beyond my control. Any conclusions you draw from this list is up to you. And I strongly encourage you to ask me about any of them you may not already be familiar with. Here we go...!
1. The Beatles Anthology by...the living Beatles, plus a bunch of ghost writers.
2. The Rolling Stones: An Illustrated Record by Roy Carr
3. The Art of Nick Cardy by John Coates with Nick Cardy
4. The Nearest Faraway Place by Timothy White
5. The Beatles Unseen Archives-compiled by Tim Hall and Marie Clayton
6. The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film by Michael Weldon
7. The Psychotronic Video Guide by Michael Weldon
8. Christgau's Consumer Guides of the 70s by Robert Christgau
9. The Phantom's Ultimate Movie Guide by "The Phantom" (Joe Kane)
10. The Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker and Leonard Wolf
11. Rock Family Trees-Pete Frame
12. The Studio- Barry Windsor-Smith, Mike Kaluta, Jeff Jones, Berni Wrightson
13. Nightmare of Ecstacy- The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. by Rudolph Grey
14. I'm A Believer by Mickey Dolenz and Mark Bego
15. Slovenly Peter by Dr. Hans Hoffmann
16. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell
17. Tell Me Why-Tim Riley
18. Hollywood Rock-Marshall Crenshaw and others
19. Nick Drake-The Biography by Patrick Humphries
20. Wild Cards vol. 1-Various, edited by George R.R. Martin
21. Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams by Nick Tosches
22. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
23. The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLillo
24. Neuromancer by William Gibson
25. The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney
26. It Was Twenty Years Ago Today by Derek Taylor
27. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
28. Von Bek by Michael Moorcock
29. Clockers by Richard Price
30. Kink by Dave Davies
31. Blake by Peter Akroyd
32. Loose Balls by Terry Pluto
33. Vineyard by Thomas Pynchon
34. The Secret History of Kate Bush by Fred Vermorel
35. I Me Mine by George Harrison
And there you have it! Can't tell you how tempted I am to take some of these off and put others on which are on the shelf below...but I'm determined to remain true to the spirit of the meme if not the letter.
New Diamond shipping list up, here's what I'll have waiting for me on Wednesday:
100 BULLETS #51
BITE CLUB #4
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #2
FABLES #27
GOTHAM CENTRAL #21
H-E-R-O #18
IDENTITY CRISIS #2
And that's it! Thanks to the magnanimous generosity of Larry Young, I've already got Scurvy Dogs 5 and the Ursula GN, and I'll write about them either when I review the above, or maybe sooner. I will say this, though- Ursula is as good as the hype. I also note where Eightball 23 is listed as coming out this week, but I got my copy, through my shop, last week. So. Of the titles on my list, I'm always up for a new issue of 100 Bullets, I liked Challengers 1 enough to be fired up for the rest of the series, The sharks are circling in the water for Identity Crisis- will it choose to swim or jump? Fables continues the best story arc in its brief history, and Gotham Central is always a good read. H-E-R-O's been pretty good lately, and Bite Club...well, Bite Club sure has some nice covers, don't it?
Just finished reading the Grant Morrison interview over at PopImage, which everyone else in the Comics Blogosphereiverse read and commented on at least a week ago. Can't really add much to the discussion, but this piece has left me with the urge to sit down and try to re-read The Filth. Also, I can't wait until We3 and Vinanarama come out, and the Seven Soldiers project sounds like something I want to pick up as well. Grant sure does give great interview, doesn't he? In this day and age when most "interviews" feature mindless questions and predictable, rote answers, you gotta love it when the interview subject comes off with something like this:
...As the rush to convert comic books into handy illustrated movie pitches becomes less chaotic and more transparent, I think we've all become aware of a kind of betrayal, a public strangling of the exotic strangeness and uniqueness of American comics, as publishers, creators and readers confuse their media and expect comic book stories to conform to Hollywood storytelling conventions. Wise up: the more comics imitate movies, the less need movies will have for comics as a source of imaginative material; let's remember that the movie industry is ONLY NOW learning to simulate the technology and imagination Jack Kirby packed in his pencil 40 years ago. As I've been saying to the point of boredom for the last couple of years, our creative community owes it to the future to produce today the insane, logic-shattering, side-splitting day-glo stories which will be turned into all-immersive holographic magic theatre experiences in 40 years time.
Wow. God bless Grant Morrison...he's speaking gospel, boys and girls. Flat out fucking testfying. He also namechecks Alison Goldfrapp. Twice. And also quotes lyrics from the Goldfrapp song "Utopia", one of my faves. He's my hero.
I've noticed some interesting blogfodder here and there in the infrequent opportunities I've had to actually read other people's pages. Here's one. If you wanna read comics reviews, scroll down...
|
In 1960 (the year you were born) |
|
Dwight Eisenhower is president of the US Sit-ins begin after 4 black college students in North Carolina refuse to move from a deli counter when denied service A U-2 reconnaissance plane belonging to the US is shot down in the Soviet Union Hurricane "Donna" strikes the East Coast causing over 100 deaths in the US and the Antilles John F. Kennedy defeats Vice President Richard Nixon in the presidential race Cassius Clay (who later took the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight Michael Stipe, Tony Robbins, Bono, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Jeffrey Dahmer are born Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL championship Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is the top grossing film To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is published The Beatles make their debut in Hamburg, Germany The Flintstones debut |
Dwight Eisenhower. Holy shit.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
BEST OF THE WEEK
What I bought and what I thought, week of July 7
POWERS V2 1
Appearances to the contrary, I'm not the biggest Bendis fan in the world. You won't catch me singing the praises of Avengers Disassemble or Ultimate Spider-Man 'cause I don't read 'em. Bendis is not a writer that I'll buy every time no matter what he does. But I do like what he does when he's trying to be all hard-boiled and noirish as on Daredevil and his real labor of love, Powers. This, the first issue on Marvel's new "Icon" imprint, isn't really all that different from the Image run, thank God, nor is it one of those "good jumping-on points" that you read so much about. It presupposes the reader's familiarity with the unfortunate Detective Kutter, leads Pilgrim and Walker and how they all interact, not to mention the surprise guest at the end, and you're not given a lot in the way of explanation. And that's just fine with me, but then again I've been on board since #7 or so. Bendis doesn't really break any new stylistic ground here, either- frankly, the plot so far for this new arc is alarmingly similar to the previous three, or at least familiar enough to be somewhat disappointing. What gets all this across is the as-always rock-solid art by Mike Avon Oeming, whose work stimulates the eye when the plot lets down the brain. It's a good start, and it's amusing to see the f-word used so liberally in a comic published by the House That Jack Built, but the crowd is getting restless, methinks, and a new, fresh trick is in order to keep us from launching vegetables. A-
EIGHTBALL 23
Last issue was a hard act to follow; Eightball 22 might be one of the best examples of sequential storytelling ever published, it was that good. So it stands to reason that this will be a letdown- expectations are too high. This being said, this issue is still up to his established standard, and the standard of issues past- especially artwise, where Dan Clowes is on top of his game. He nimbly skips around from one set piece to another, often drawing in different styles, but always maintaining the unique feel of his work. The biggest problem I had with this issue, after all is said and done, was its tone. Clowes always keeps us at arm's length from his characters; his stance is usually so objective that many of them touch us almost in spite of him. I never really could get a good feel for any of the principles in this issue...they behaved in contradictory, often puzzling ways, and Clowes' distancing effect prevented me from feeling any real empathy for them. It's incredibly imaginative, and often funny, but after all is said and done, I reacted with the same apathy that Andy exhibits as an adult- I just didn't really care about what he did or why he did it, and my interest was only held by the desire to find out how it was all resolved. And knowing this, I don't really have any desire to re-read. This can't be the effect Clowes wants...can it? On second thought... Now, I don't often go back and revise my reviews; usually what I manage to get out here in "print" is pretty much my carefully considered opinion. But that doesn't mean I stop thinking about the subjects, and that's the case with this issue. After having read several other opinions, I have a better idea about what Clowes was aiming at...but I still don't think he hit the bullseye, not even with a death ray shaped like a bicycle horn. Still, at the end of the day, Eightball 23 has left a definite impression on me (something which most comics, even the ones I really, really like fail to do), so I'm leaning towards bumping my letter grade up a notch. Clowes didn't make me care about Andy and Louie and all the others, necessarily, but he did succeed in giving us an effective notion of the mindset of a serial killer, even one that uses a death ray shaped like a bicycle horn. Sure, it may have been intended as a metaphorical death ray, but by presenting it to us in this fashion, he effectively locks me in to the actual rather than the theoretical. And it's true that this may be a big piss-take aimed at the superhero comic reader. Whatever it may really be, and since it's not so clear that's a slight drawback too, I'm convinced that this issue's better than I originally thought- it's not a failure, but I'm not convinced it's as successful as it should have been and it's still nowhere near as good as some would make it out to be. Therefore...original grade B+, revised grade A-.
SWAMP THING 5
In which we find out what the not-so-surprising plot twist is, and react with a deadpan stare worthy of one of Daniel Clowes' characters. This isn't really all that bad- Diggle's dialogue is, as usual, sharp (I particularly like his John Constantine), and artist Breccia has his moments as well (almost none of them involving figure drawing). But it's all strangely yawn-inducing, even the presumed "death" of Tefe- if she's dead, and I won't believe it until this title reaches 30 issues without a glimpse of her spiky head, and even then I'll remain skeptical. B
B.P.R.D.: A PLAGUE OF FROGS 5
Not plague, or bird, or even frog...just li'l ol' me... Oh, forget it. You didn't really think Abe was gonna stay dead, didja? Odd, anticlimactic (to say the least) finale to what I originally thought was a four-issue series, but apparently has been stretched to five issues so we can get more vague half-clues about Abe Sapien's history before the inevitable revival. Impeccably drawn by Guy Davis, who's really gotten good over the last couple of years, and actually well scripted by Mike Mignola, whose minimalist dialogue (he makes Bendis read like Don McGregor sometimes) scans like no other...but this issue was just so darn unnecessary. Nice cover, though. Love the coloring. B- Entire series: A-.
ALEISTER ARCANE 3
Speaking of anticlimactic, the conclusion of my first exposure to the work of Steve Niles didn't live up to the promise of the first issue, to say the least. The resolution was hasty, far-fetched, much too neat, and left me very disappointed. That being said, the most remarkable thing about this miniseries was the outstanding, moody painted art by Breehn Burns, who manages to be grim and playful at the same time. Can't wait to see what he does next- hope it won't be a sequel to this. C+ Entire series: B-
That's it for new comics I bought Wednesday. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll get caught up and write about some other books I've acquired lately through various means...stay tuned!
Captian Eclectic Strikes Again!
I didn't get a lot of what I had planned to do, well, done over the holiday weekend, but I did take the time to create another mix CD out of the accumulated mp3s on the good ol' indigo iMac. Hey! Why don't I share the track list with all of you!
Prince-Musicology
Prince is kinda like the Dale Murphy of funk-rock music, someone who was awesome, one of the greats...but when he lost it, he lost it fast and just can't seem to get it back no matter how hard he tries. This is a not-bad, not-great James Brown-inspired workout from his latest album of the same name. He gives a lot of namechecks to other funk artists in the lyrics, making it his answer to Charlie Daniel's "The South's Gonna Do It Again". Looking at the CD from whence this came in the store, I've come to one conclusion: Mr. Rogers Nelson is in dire need of a graphic designer with more than a rudimentary knowledge of Photoshop and more imagination and smarts than to do the cheap-looking type effects he's used on just about every release since, oh, 1993's Come. I volunteer, for half of what he's been paying the people that have been churning out the crappy package designs of his last five dozen or so releases...
Air-Playground Love
Don't know much about these guys, although the person who worked at my computer at the Snooze before I came along had their Moon Safari album on the iTunes and I've given it a listen or three. It's OK, but I'm not crazy about it. I heard this cut on a car commercial or something like that, liked it a lot, downloaded the mp3, and now here it is. Bluesy, almost Floyd-ish track with sax'n'synths throughout.
BBC-Ming Tea (from the Austin Powers- International Man of Mystery soundtrack)
Mike Myers assembled a band which featured, among others, Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs for his goofy spy movie satire. They named themselves Ming Tea, and recorded a couple of tracks which made their way into the film. If I recall correctly, this is the cut they performed over the end credits, and I've always liked it, if nothing else than for Myers' vocal. BBC One! BBC Two! BBC Three! BBC Four!...etc.
Hall & Oates-Wait For Me
Everybody makes fun of Hall & Oates these days, but when we're done imitating VH1 pseudo-celebrity talking heads the fact remains that these fellas made some great pop-soul-rock back in the late 70s and early 80s, and this is the one cut which I always felt deserved to be a big hit. It reminds me a lot of Todd Rundgren for some reason, even down to the melody that sounds inspired by Todd's "A Dream Goes On Forever". From the 1979 album X-Static, which contains more than a few catchy tracks but failed to hit big and was completely forgotten in the wake of its successor, Voices, which made them huge stars for a while there.
George Harrison-Miss O'Dell
The mega-obscure b-side to 1973's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" single, it's an agreeable acoustic guitar-and-slide ditty as only George could do 'em. It's a what-the-hell kinda cut that is part social commentary and part piss-taking- I'm thinking that "Miss O'Dell" is actually Dennis O'Dell, a business partner of some sort. Anyway, I ran across this via Limewire and couldn't resist downloading it 'cause you can't find it on legitimate releases. Sound quality is not so good.
Sabotage- the Beastie Boys
Irresistable hard-rocking track, which benefitted from the goofy retro-70's-cop-show video it sported. I really don't have a good excuse for not owning the album from whence this comes, but there ya go. I remember seeing the Beasties do this on an MTV awards show, and it rocked harder than this cut did. Like to have a file of that one!
Like A Feather-Nikka Costa
Costa is Sinatra's goddaughter, or something like that, and she came on like a funky young Janis, with flying red tresses, fringed vest and aerodynamic dance moves in the video for this song from her debut album a couple of years ago. It troubled the charts, but she wasn't able to follow it up and is now destined for obscurity as other young riddim and blooze singers like Joss Stone take her place. I liked this song well enough to download, but not enough to make me curious about the rest of the record, so it remains unheard by my ears and is most likely to remain so unless I run across a copy for a buck or something.
Aztec Camera-The Crying Scene
A poprockish Brit band led by one Roddy Frame, Aztec Camera made some noise during the late 80s and early 90s over here. I was familiar with their Love album, from whence came the very 80s-with-syths-and-syndrums-all-over-everything track "Deep and Wide and Tall", which had a great melody, and this was the single from their subsequent album Stray. I was working at the radio station when Stray was released, and played the hell out of this, but as with so many records I played a lot at said radio station, I got kinda tired of it and didn't buy it...so when I quit the station, I never got around to picking it up and finally, years later, I got all nostalgic and downloaded it. "Crying Scene" is a sharp, snappy rocker with a great melody and a nice guitar solo that probably should have been a huge hit. It was a smallish one, but not huge. The Camera have released a few albums since, but I haven't heard 'em. C'est la vie.
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel-Understand
Harley was a post-glam pre-punk UK rock singer who fronted a band called Cockney Rebel. Of course, there was very little rebelliousness about the band's output, and very little of it sounded Cockney, for that matter, but that's neither here nor there. Harley had a couple of hits across the pond back in the mid-70s, including a song titled "Make Me Smile" (Come Up and See Me). I used to own five SH/CR albums, got most of 'em for a buck somewhere, and I'll be damned if I can remember much of anything from four of 'em except a brash cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" from one of the two 1976 albums he issued, Love's A Prima Donna. It's the other release from '76 that grabbed me, Timeless Flight, and that's the album from whence this cut came. It was kind of a pretentious, arty, folkish, understated album that wasn't perfect by any stretch but had its share of remarkable cuts, and "Understand" was my favorite. It's a long (over 7 minutes), lilting track with nice backing vocals and a squiggly synth solo in the middle that is quite wonderful. Until recently, Timeless Flight was unavaliable on CD, and my son, when he was a baby, kinda got ahold of my vinyl copy and destructatated it, and finding new vinyl copies has been problematic and difficult at best...so I haven't heard this album in over 20 years. When I saw this track available for download, I pounced.
Roy Wood's Wizzard-Are You Ready To Rock?
Recorded when Roy was still working out his obsession with emulating the sounds of classic rock 'n roll (see Introducing Eddy and the Falcons, which included this cut as a bonus track when rereleased in 1996), and this particular form of flattery involves Bill "Rock Around The Clock" Haley. It's a fun tune, and went unheard by me for many years (many of Wood's Wizzard hits were UK singles-only) before I ran across the mp3. It's got a wicked cool bagpipes solo in the middle. You heard me.
Fleetwood Mac-Albatross
Muted, lovely instrumental from the 1969 Peter Green-era Mac. Was said to be the inspiration for John Lennon's "Sun King" from Abbey Road, and after listening you'll see why.
The Alan Parsons Project-Don't Answer Me
I first became aware of the musical endeavors from the former Fabs/Floyd engineer and friends with the 1975 release of their Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe LP. That was an imaginative spin on Poe's works, ably fleshed out by Parson's studio expertise. Subsequent albums, though went of on Sci-Fi tangents and got progressively (no pun intended) lamer each year, and I had completely written them off. Then, out of the blue, they hit the airwaves with this gorgeous Phil Spector pastiche, and I loved it. But burnt child that I am sometimes, I bought the 45. So years later I decided I would like to have it on CD, so I looked for the mp3, and now I do. And I still own the debut album only.
Madonna-Music
Miz Ciccone's last worthwhile single to date. I just haven't worked up much enthusiasm for getting the album it's from or its predecessor, but this never fails to make me bob my head and dance around in that awkward geeky fat white boy way when I hear it. I loved the video, too, with it's neat animated sequence and Ali G ("...is you Madonna?").
I Hate My Frickin' ISP-Todd Rundgren
When observing Todd's birthday a week or two ago, I noted that I haven't heard any albums from him in a long time that I cared to buy...but that doesn't mean I've been left cold by everything he's done. Case in point, this funny rocker from the 2000 effort One Long Year. Again, I haven't been provoked to try and get a copy of this disc, which was initially released through his website, but I sure like this cut.
Gosh, there are a lot of tracks on this CD...oh well, onward...
Monkey Gone To Heaven-the Pixies
Despite the fact that I love several of their songs, I don't own a single album by this group. This is probably my favorite, for its "Then GAAAAHD is seven! Then GAAAAHD is seven" refrain.
The Moon and St. Christopher-Kate Rusby
Now here's a great recording. Rusby's basically a Britfolkie, who has released several albums which mix originals with traditional tunes in that time-honored FairportSteeleye style. She is, of course a drop-dead gorgeous young lady with one of those slightly raspy English young lady singing voices which always yank my crank. Anyway, this one's a cover of a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, one of those slick country artists who I have little or no use for, even though I understand she was more listenable early in her career...but Rusby combines a beautiful arrangement with an amazing vocal performance, and makes this one a keeper. This isn't on any of her proper solo releases, it appears on Intuition, a CD on which she appeared with several other artists that she was affiliated with. I found this out when I emailed her website a year or two ago, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a reply from Kate's sister giving me the skinny on where I could find this song.
U.S. Blues-The Grateful Dead
Never been much of a Dead head, but a buddy used to have the album from whence this came, The Grateful Dead at the Mars Hotel, and this was the one cut which jumped out and stuck with me. Never wanted to take the plunge ad get the whole thing, so here I am with the mp3. An agreeable bluesycountry shuffle with amusing lyrics. I always liked this album's cover.
Solsbury Hill-Peter Gabriel
Gabriel used to name each of his solo releases "Peter Gabriel". These days, he's worked his way up to one word titles. Pete's albums tend to leave me mostly cold, even though there's usually two or three tracks I really like on each of them. This is a oddly haunting, flute (or mellotron imitating one)-driven track from his first album. You know, the one that has him sitting in the car and looking through the rain-beaded windshield. I think a live version of this song became a hit ten or so years later. Just to demonstrate the totally irrelevant associations I make sometimes, I think Ian Anderson ripped this off for his song "Moths" from the 1978 Jethro Tull album Heavy Horses As if anybody cares.
Getting Better-Gomez
Gomez is a British band that combines rootsiness with an adventurous (to be kind) arrangement style that fails as often as it works. When I like 'em, I love 'em, and when I don't, they can be an endurance test. Anyway, this is a cover of the Beatles song that I first heard in a General Electric commercial. I fell in love with the vocal (the growly, elastic style of Ben Ottewell) I heard on the 1 minute (or less) snippet, and that led me to discover the band. This eventually ended up on an odds-and-sods compilation titled Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline, the most Camper Van Beethovenish title I've ever heard that wasn't by Camper Van Beethoven.
No More I Love You's-Annie Lennox
I suppose by now you're wondering why I didn't put something by Sting on here as well. Anyway, I've never been the most rabid of fans when it came to Eurythmics and Ms. Lennox; some things I like ("Missionary Man", "I Need A Man") and most of it I don't. This is one of the few solo things she did that I wanted to hear more than once...it's a cover of a sing by an obscure group named The Lover Speaks, and she gives it a great vocal arrangement over a vaguely funky beat. As with Sarah McLaughlin, God bless the inventor of the mp3, so I can have songs by artists I wouldn't otherwise touch with your CD player.
Don't Fuck With Me-Jill Sobule
Heh heh...she said "fuck". Ken Ringwood's favorite Jill song. Actually, I've heard her perform this live, but don't own the album on which it appears. I think I got this mp3 from her site. Anyway, it's her specialty- wry humor with a great melody, ably strummed on the acoustic guitar. If you've never seen her perform live, I sincerely hope you get to someday. She's great.
Whew! That's the end! And guess what. I don't think I have enough mp3s for another sampler disc...but fear not for Captain Eclectic, he's never down for long!
OK, I'm back. Not back like in a boxback, but back in time and space. Where did that line come from? Huh?
I'm as trivial as they come. Anyway, more stuff forthcoming. Tonight.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Hello, Johnny Bacardi Show readers! My name is Parminder K. Nagra. You may remember me from such fine feature-film fare as Bend It Like Beckham and Ella Enchanted. It is also my pleasure and honor to be the official Johnny Bacardi Show spokesperson for the month of July! And it is in this capacity that I appaer to you now, to pass on a message from Mr. Bacardi himself.
He'd like to apologize for the dearth of posting activity lately. You wonderful people out there come here to read his meandering observations about comics, films, music, and stuff and whatnot, and he just plain old hasn't been delivering. It seems Mr. B has simply been insanely busy for the last few days at his low-paying job, plus other things he's been dealing with that are best left unmentioned since they are of a personal nature and the notoriously reclusive Mr. B just doesn't want to share...and by the time he gets home he simply has no energy left for much of anything except staring at the telly. He has art projects, books to read and comment on, and all kinds of stuff awaiting his attention...and it all goes unfinished. He had enough left last night to squeeze out the Ringo BSBdG, but that was it.
But fear not- the end of the current production cycle at the LPJ is almost over, and he hopes to get back on track with the blogginess ASAP, no later than Sunday anyway. He's got another installment of the Captain Eclectic mix CD series coming up; and wants to get in on the "bookshelf meme" that's been going on. He bought some fine comics today (including the new Eightball, of which he was unaware of its release on this date) and of course will be commenting on them in due course. And who knows what else!
So thanks a million for your patience and continued support, and from all of us here at the JBS to all of you, have a great weekend! Peace out!
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
BSBdG's today to Richard Starkey aka Ringo Starr, 64 today. It's simply impossible to imagine how different the music of the (arguably, alright?) most influential pop group in music history would be if not for Ringo's rock-solid and imaginative drumming.
Ringo solo? Well, My favorite will always be 1973's Ringo, which assembled a cast of thousands in support of some pretty darn good pop songs and imaginative production, and remains, in my opinion anyway, one of the best, and enjoyable, albums of that decade. Underrated? Uh...well...actually, I've always enjoyed Ringo The 4th a lot more than the experts told me I should, so go figure. Must to avoid: 1975's Ringo's Rotogravure.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Well, I started a longish post this morning at work, got busy, and never got back to it. I don't feel like finishing it now, so you'll all just have to wait. Nyah.
Another week, another Diamond shipping list:
BPRD A PLAGUE OF FROGS #5
SWAMP THING #5
POWERS #1
And that be it!
I might pick up the Arrowsmith trade, if I'm feeling spendthrifty.
Gotta go. Chin-chin!
Monday, July 05, 2004
Talk to the hand, bee-yotch!
Went to see Spider-Man 2 today. Or should I say, Doctor Octopus 1?
Ironically, the film's biggest strength is also its biggest liability. Alfred Molina, as Doc Ock, acts rings around Tobey Maguire as Spidey. Admittedly, the script didn't really call for him to do more than react to a constant parade of hard knocks; but Maguire's somnambulent perf almost drains the life out of the film. In all fairness, he does a great job of getting teary-eyed a few times. But he remains lifelessly stoic and remarkably apathetic throughout. I seem to remember that Maguire had to be coaxed back to play the role; perhaps he is sharing his reluctance with the audience. Who knows.
But Molina- wow. I knew he was an excellent actor, but he breathes life into what could easily become a one-note, garroulous character, and gives him a lot of depth- even making him a far more sympathetic figure than his comic-book counterpart. Of course, the soap-opera script enables some of our sympathy by showing his wife's death (wouldn't it have been a hoot if Salma Hayek had played the part), but Molina's savvy enough not to go overboard with histrionics. Between Molina's perf and the outstanding CGE arms, Doc Ock pretty much steals this film.
My other big complaint is the soggy script, intent on tugging our heartstrings as often as possible. I realize that a big part of the Spidey mythos is the tribulations of hard-luck nebbish Peter Parker, and the inherent irony given his incredible abilities. But fellas- we got the point in the last flick! And for those of us with short memories, the first 30 minutes would have been enough of a reminder! The melodramatics weren't so bad that it kept me from enjoying the film as a whole, but geez, what a weepy flick!
Of course, and I suppose this should be preceded by a SPOILER ALERT, a lot of the discussion around the 'Net has involved the ending, in which Mary Jane does her best Julia Roberts and leaves Colonel John Jameson (blandly played by...aw, I forget) at the altar to run back to Pete, who she really loves. I can buy this, believe it or not, because it's pretty consistent with the tone set from the beginning. This didn't really come out of left field. I am surprised that they didn't decide to make Pete dangle on the hook even longer, but I guess that they figured enough was enough, and we gotta try to phanagle some sort of happy ending out of this thing...so hello Mary Jane, goodbye..what? Credibility, perhaps? I don't know.
I'm not looking forward to the next film, either, unless one of two things happens: they bring back Molina as Doc Ock (he didn't look dead as he sank into the harbor, y'know), or they bring in a third villain like The Lizard or perhaps Kraven to go along with James Franco's dull-as-dishwater Harry Osborne aka the soon-to-be New Green Goblin. I don't think he's enough of an actor to carry that much of a movie all alone, certainly not next to the perpetually dazed-looking Maguire!
OK, so what did I like? Besides Molina as Doc Ock? Well, the script, when it wasn't jerking tears, was pulling several laughs from me as well. Don't know how much to credit Micheal Chabon, but somebody with some ability was in the mix, and almost managed to strike a sufficient balance. The bank-robbing scene with Spidey versus Ock was thrilling, one of the best action sequences I've seen in ages. The elevated train battle was almost as good, but became a little far fetched before it was over. Rosemary Harris was very good as Aunt May, and had several good lines...along with one too-long-by-half speech. The effects in general were very good, better than the first flick...more natural-looking. Bruce Campbell gets a great cameo, as does Stan Lee. Kirsten Dunst's nipples were once again standouts (sorry, couldn't resist). Sam Raimi's direction is lively enough to keep the weepy script moving along briskly, and when he gets the chance to go nuts on us, like in the scene in which Ock breaks out of the hospital (did anyone else think of Ash when Dr. Connors was playing with that saw?), it's just like old times. Also, once again, great to see Steve Ditko getting co-creator credits. Wonder if the Sturdy One is getting any cash mon-nay from these films? Nah...what am I thinking?
In spite of all my bitching, though, I liked Spider-Man 2. I wish it had been a little less eager to indulge in the "poor miserable Pete" slant and more eager to give us some excitement...but what we do get, we get in spades, and I was entertained plus I never got the feeling that the filmmakers were disrespecting the source material, and that's important to me. It has strengths the first Spidey film didn't, and vice versa. So go see this film, if you haven't already...it's worth your time. If I were you, I wouldn't go out of my way or anything, but you'll come away entertained. A-
Sunday, July 04, 2004
How did I spend my Free Comic Book Day, you ask? Well, let me show you. I went over to my shop after I got off work yesterday. Every other Saturday, I work 8-12 or so. Newspaper deadlines, gotta be there in case something needs corrections, or whatever.
The exterior of my shop, the Great Escape in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Located in a strip mall, with a Kroger grocery store, a KMart, and a bunch of other stores. Notice the Hellboy display at far right, a remnant from the movie promotion display they had set up.
Shot taken as I went in. Fairly busy day so far. That's Megan at the register, she's a sweetie. But where were the free comics?
Not here! But here's a look at their rack of new arrivals, trades and back issues.
Oh, here they are! And that's Angela, whose turn it was to pass 'em out. Her nose kinda squinched up when I took the shot, so of course it looks nothing like her at all. They had already given away a lot of what they had by the time I got there. Previously, they had set the boxes up on the counter next to the cash wrap, and let us pick out what we wanted, but this year they had it set up where one copy of each book they had left was out on the table, and we pointed out what we wanted, and they got them out of the boxes under the table. Whatever works, I guess. Certainly cut down the traffic at the cash register!
Anyway, here's what I picked up, and I'll try to write a bit about them later on:
The Shield, 30 Days of Night, CSI, 24 preview book (IDW)
Uncle Scrooge/Mickey Mouse (Gemstone) I'm not really a Barks or Duck fan- I picked this up for a friend who didn't think he was going to be able to attend. Of course, when I dropped by to give it to him, he had gotten off work and went anyway! Oh well, I got a Duck book now.
Alternative Comics Sampler (Alternative)
AdHouse Books Free Comic Book Day Sampler (AdHouse)
Johnny Raygun Classics (Jetpack Press)
Top Shelf Tales (Top Shelf) When are they just gonna give in and rename Free Comic Book Day "Free James Kolchalka Comic Book Day"?
Slave Labor Stories (Slave Labor) Best of the bunch so far, especially the hilarious Milk & Cheese Q & A page.
Everest Preview/Love Fights (Oni) I've already got that Love Fights story, but I was curious about the Morse pages.
The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty (Beckett)
That's it! I've seen other titles elsewhere, so I guess I'll have to assume that my store didn't get a lot of them, or that they had all been given out by the time I got there.
I also bought a couple of CDs I had had my eye on for a while, just so's I wouldn't just go in, scarf up swag, then leave.
And this concludes my little photoblog essay. Thank you very much, and enjoy the rest of your holiday!
From all of me to all you you, Happy Independence Day. Remember to light, then get away to a safe distance.
Yeah, I know, Dorian used an Uncle Sam comic book cover too. I prefer to think of it as the "Great Minds Think Alike" syndrome, or even George Harrison-style unconscious plagiarism.
Coming later, a photo essay, or an essay with photos, about my Free Comic Book Day. Betcha thought I'd forgotten about it, didn't ya. And it won't really be an essay, more like me just telling you what I got, but there will be photos becuase I went around like a big geek taking them and my geekery will not be for naught.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
BEST OF THE WEEK
What I bought and what I thought, week of June 30
SLEEPER V2 1
Well, no big surprise here, eh? As tautly written and solidly illustrated as ever, picking right up where we left off with V1 12, with Holden Carver perpetually between rock and hard place. This time, after settling in (but not so comfortably) with the "bad guys", he's once again invited in from the cold- but the poor sap is so conflicted that he can't trust the veracity of the mesenger. Like that Stones song and that Replacements song all wrapped in one, he can't get no satisfaction, he's so unsatisfied. Even his nominal "girlfriend" has to two-time him to get her kicks. I gotta believe there's gonna come a point at which Carver will just say ta hell with it and bring everybody's house of cards down...and getting there's gonna be a interesting ride. Unless you have a problem with superpowers stuck in your dramas- caveat emptor, as they say. A
JLA 100
Big drop in quality from Sleeper to this, sorry to say, although this isn't really all that bad on its own terms. Essentially a prelude to the upcoming Justice League: Elite book by erstwhile JLA writer/artists Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke & Tom Nguyen, this "Elite" is a sort of Authority-lite which strike me as a bunch of rather bland characters who are nowhere near as interesting as Kelly, or DC, would like you to think...especially compared with their counterparts in the real Authority. Makes me wonder why they judt didn't let K,M & N do the Authority in the first place. Be that as it may, there's lots of big widescreen-style explosions, hitting, bloodshed, snarkiness and so on, plus a resolution that evokes a shrug more than anything, just like when Kelly was writing JLA previously. One thing about Joe K- you can always count on him to zag, and then zag twice more, when you think he's gonna zig once in his pacing and stortelling style. Where he excels is in characterization, and I honestly believe he's gonna take these vanilla creations and eventually put them through some interesting paces, so I'll be picking up Elite when it does come out. Of course, the main reason why I'm even here in the first place is the excellent art by the Mahnke/Nguyen team. Mahnke manages the difficult task of taking the distorted, hypermuscled and often grotesque physiques of what most want from the modern super-hero and make them convincing, plus he can lay out a story like nobody's business. Anybody that can make Kelly's convoluted scripts more legible has gone above and beyond the call, for sure. Nguyen lays a beautiful line on top of his pencils, giving his figures a lot of that depth which makes them more convincing. And I don't think I've mentioned it for a while, but I think they draw the sexiest Wonder Woman this side of Adam Hughes. There's just something about the KMN JLA that I like, even though I'm hard pressed to explain why except to take the opportunity to rave about the art. Hopefully this will extend to the new JLA:Elite book as well. B+
BATMAN: HARLEY & IVY 3
The last hurrah, it seems, for the Dini/Timm version of Batman and Co., and like the first two issues it's a wonderfully illustrated, if kinda slightly scripted romp. Dini just can't do satire without coming across (to me, anyway) as heavy-handed...and this issue's Hollywood lark is proof of that. Still, there are one or two chuckles here and there as D & T send up their experiences with studios, more great Timm cheesecake (that guy really is in a league of his own), more Batman this time out, and overall this mini hasn't been a real disappointment. Unfortunately, neither has it been anything to write home about either. B+ Entire series: B+
STEVE RUDE'S THE MOTH 3
More and more this series is beginning to remind me of Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle what with its circus trappings, Rude's typically Kirbyesque art, and its hasty pace. As always, my delight in Rude's wonderful art is balanced by the effort it takes to get through 20 some odd pages of Gary Martin's clunky, awkward scripting with its wooden dialogue. Right now, I'm in the mood for Rude 'cause I love his stuff, and Martin's a good enough inker not to get in its way. But my patience is not infinite. B-
MIDNIGHT, MASS: HERE THERE BE MONSTERS 6
It's puzzling to me, given that this title had a wee "best series lately you didn't read" buzz about it after the first limited series came out, that John Rozum chose to script the follow-up in such a low-key fashion that this entire series has barely left an impression on me. He's got great leads, and a imaginatively conceived premise for them, but this LS was just one static scene after another, full of talky conflicts, with much of the actual action (you know, scenes in which things happen) happening "offscreen", between the panels if you will. Frustrating, more than anything, because it reduces most of the drama and tension, something a series like this needs in spades. Rozum's got to understand that if he wants us, the reader, to care, then he's got to make us care, and not just assume we will because we like Julia Kadmon or Jenny the secretary or Magellan or whomever. I suppose we can just chalk this series up to the sophomore slump, because while the first MM series had its share of nits as well, it moved a lot quicker than this one did. I'll keep my fingers crossed for next time, knowing full well that there may not be a next time. Art-wise, Paul Lee did a solid, dependable job- sometimes he was a bit Maleev-ish when it came to the conflict scenes we actually got to see, but he depicted much of this in an imaginative fashion, and I prefer his work to the fellow who did the first series. Better luck next time, I guess. C+ Entire series: C
TEEN TITANS GO! 8
Yeah, please, go. Whatta gyp. I was fired up for this one because of the appearance of my favorite old Titans villian, the Mad Mod, who made a clever return on the TV series a while back. Problem is with this, though, is that in the cartoon we saw the young, cocky cockney Mod for the majority of the episode, cleverly voiced by Malcolm McDowell, and to me he's a compelling character. It wasn't until the end that we saw him as he really was, a bitter old geezer- appropriate, but not as much fun. In this issue, the only place we get the cool Mod is on the cover- inside, he's a geezer throughout. Writer Adam (Hench) Beechen does a servicable job of updating the Mod's early Titans appearances, by giving us clothes that are used for sinister purposes, and on its own terms it's a readable, if not especially lively, script. The art team of Erik Vedder and someone or something named M3TH (as opposed to MST3K, I suppose, or TVC15) gives us a bland job, trying to ape somewhat but certainly lacking the flair Glen Murikami brings to the animated series. Big disappointment, but then again, I'm not really the intended audience here, am I? C-
Friday, July 02, 2004
I don't really know much about Rob Vollmar, but Alan David Doane spotlights him and his upcoming Bluesman in his latest 5 Questions. Lots of art samples are included. Reminds me a bit of Crumb, which is probably not a big surprise, and the subject matter looks interesting.
Couldn't find any neat-o keen-o images to go with this, but I was reading about the upcoming Justice League Unlimited series over at Comics Continuum and noticed that they're eactually going to work in the Hawk and the Dove (classic Ditko version, sounds like- thank goodness), Booster Gold (what? no Blue Beetle?) and...B'Wana Beast. B'Wana Beast??? Are they shitting me?
Hey, sounds great to me! Can't wait!
Speaking of Hawk & The Dove, but not really, check out these ass kicking prelim pages by Gil Kane for Hawk and the Dove 3. I used to have this issue, but don't anymore. In fact, I had every issue of the classic run in my original collection. Snif.
Goodbye to Marlon Brando, who died yesterday at age 80.
Even though he was a bit of a flake in his personal life, to say the least, he was always interesting in whatever project, good, bad or classic, he chose to involve himself in. He was one of the greats.
Don't know if I have a favorite Brando flick, not really- but I really liked On The Waterfront, and he contributed immeasurably to the Godfather films, which I finally sat down and watched in their entirety for the first time last year. Still haven't seen Godfather III though.
Anyway, I digress. RIP, Mr. Brando.
The Ongoing Adventures of CAPTAIN ECLECTIC!
Sat down at the ol' indigo iMac last night and noticed that it is full of mp3's that I, along with my son and daughter, have downloaded over the last few years. For my part, usually it's one or two tracks I'm curious about on a new release, or perhaps stuff I can't find easily somewhere else, or a track by an artist I liked, even though I'd never consider buying a full CD by him, her or them. Thinking that it might be a good idea to get some of these off my hard drive, I fired up the CD burner and grabbed a few at random to make a mix disc. And it went something like this:
A Little Less Conversation-Elvis vs JXL
Nice little funky update of a song that was pretty much under the radar of all but the hardcore Elvis faithful.
Girls Girls Girls- Jay-Z and a host of others
Hate to say it, but a little rap goes a long way with me most of the time...but despite the dodgy lyric, the backing track grabs me every time, especially the string-section driven chord change when he launches into each story about one of his "girls girls girls". Maybe a sample of some classic old soul song, I don't know, but it makes this great. In my opinion, of course.
(What A) Wonderful World-Terence Trent D'Arby
The first time I ever saw or heard D'Arby was when he performed this on the British music show that Jools Holland hosted that aired over here for a year or so in the late 80s...don't recall the name. He just sings the hell out of this old Sam Cooke classic, which oddly enough is available only (to my knowledge) on an EP released at the same time his debut Introducing The Hardline was out.
Jive Talkin'-The Bee Gees
Just to demonstrate how much my tastes have changed since 1976. If 16-year-old me knew what 44-year-old me was doing, he'd be deeply ashamed.
The Sweetest Thing-U2
I didn't feel like buying the profit-taking hits collection this was grafted onto, so I downloaded this track, the last one from Bono & Co. to make a positive impression on me. Love the arch tone of it all, and Bono's falsetto vocals. The Godley video didn't hurt, either.
Afterglow-Flo & Eddie
As I've reminded you on many occasions, the album from whence this grand (and somewhat grandiose) pop-rock cut came is not available on CD, but I think it was included on The Best of Flo & Eddie, and someone had it available for file sharing, so here ya go! Great song, great vocal.
'Cos I Love You-Slade
Great stomping glam song with some insane scraping fiddle leads. Completely irresistable melody.
Free As A Bird-Supertramp
Nice little gospelly-sounding breakup song, on an album released a couple of years after Supertramp's salad days. Hard to tell whether Rick Davies is singing this to a wife, girlfriend, or recently departed bandmate Roger Hodgson, who had bolted for a solo career...which didn't exactly go down in pop music history.
This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore-Elton John
Long after I had completely given up on hearing anything worthwhile from John again, he released the Songs From The West Coast album, in which he actually sounded like he (and Taupin) gave a shit about making significant music again. This one's a doleful, self-pitying wallow in which Elton muses on what a prat he was during his heyday- but fortunately it's wedded to a great melody and he sings the heck out of it. This cut and "I Need Love", from the same album, were quite good but I never got the nerve up to pick up the CD proper. Been burned too many times, and that's where this train stops.
Step Inside Love-Cilla Black with Paul McCartney
A mid-60s demo by Brian Epstein's other act, with Paulie accompanying her on acoustic guitar. Nice song (which I think he also gave to Peggy Lee), lovely vocal. Someday I should pick up a best-of by Cilla.
I Saw Nick Drake-Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn musing on the Drake legend, life after death, strawberries, and other stuff. Beautiful, beautiful song. "And when you're gone/you take your whole world with you".
Adia-Sarah McLaughlin
Ordinarily, I have little or no use for this self-important, weepy, boring singer and her songs, but the "we are all innocent" chorus got under my skin and no matter how deeply I dug I couldn't pry it out. Thank God for mp3 technology, that keeps me from buying entire albums by artists I feel this way about...
King Kong by Jean-Luc Ponty with Frank Zappa
Sprightly little jazz-rock instrumental, on an album that's extremely hard to find, and even harder to find at an affordable price. Don't think it's on CD, I may be wrong.
Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up-Jeff Simmons
While we're on the subject of difficult to find albums, here's the title cut from another. Simmons was Zappa's bass player in the early-to-mid 70s Flo & Eddie-era band, and much of the film 200 Motels is given to teasing Simmons about his solo career aspirations. Can't say much else, because this is the only track I've heard by him on his own, but it's a good one- a bluesy workout with excellent guitar by Zappa himself. Rhino should be all over this.
Wichita Lineman-Glen Campbell
Boys and girls, I flat out LOVE those great Campbell/Jimmy Webb hits of the 60s, and this may be the best of 'em all, "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" notwithstanding. Beautiful, surging strings, great guitar solo on the low end of the neck with just a touch of reverb, and Campbell's guileless vocal. My parents, especially my Mom, loved Campbell and his TV show in the 60s. Perhaps my attraction to his 60s hits is nostalgia for my childhood. Who the fuck knows.
Broke Down-Slaid Cleaves
Don't know much about Cleaves, except he has a few albums of no-frills folk-country out on a couple of indie labels. Hear this great song a lot on one of our digital cable system music channels. Acoustic guitar, organ distant in the background, a little slide, and quiet drums back a song about two young people in a dysfunctional relationship. Sounds like country music to me...
Waiting For The Great Leap Forward-Billy Bragg
My friend Ruth (who has a blog called Lil Truthie's, but she never updates it) is a fanatic about Billy Bragg, and a while ago she loaned me 2 or 3 of his albums. They weren't bad, and I liked a lot of stuff on them, but this was the only track that left me wanting to hear it over and over. Weird, huh? Anyway, I think it's the massed chorus vocals on the chorus at the end.
Spring-Song of Innocence-Alan White
The credits are kinda misleading on this cut- it originally appeared on the 1976 solo album by Yes drummer Alan White, called Ramshackled, but it features Jon Anderson on vocals so it's closer to a Yes proper song that any of the other bluesy cuts that appeared on that (after all is said and done) mostly unremarkable album, which I used to own but got rid of because one, the album pretty much sucks except for this cut, and two, the hole in the vinyl was punched slightly off-center, creating an unpleasant wah-wah-wah sound as the tracks played. One advantage the compact disc has over the vinyl LP, I'll concede this much at least. Anyway, this is essentially a William Blake poem set to music, with Anderson piping along in his la-de-da vocal style about sheep and children and whatnot, and the whole thing would be quite embarrassing if not for the fact that it IS a Blake poem, and transcends its subject matter; plus it's given a lovely orchestral arrangement with a great melody that gets it over. My friends all look at me funny when I play this for them, and I don't blame them.
Lark-Linda Lewis
Wrote about Linda a little over a year ago. I've had this mp3 for a long time and I never get tired of hearing this stately piano ballad.
Autumn In New York-Billie Holiday
After watching the Ken Burns Jazz documentaries, I was very impressed with Holiday, and was also impressed by one of the interviewees who spoke at length about his love for this particular track. So I decided to take him at his word and find a compilation with this cut on it. Problem was, it was difficult. I've kinda been rooting around looking for a cheap copy of the Ken Burns Jazz: Billie Holiday CD, which purports to give a decent cross-sampling of her work throughout her entire career and includes this cut, but I haven't really found one yet. So I finally said what da fug and downloaded the file the other day. It's every bit as good as the interview subject said.
And the scary part is...I've got enough files for at least one sequel! Stay tuned...
Thursday, July 01, 2004
I got a question for all you wonderful people out there. Part of my master plan of world domination is to start up a website or two, with my own domain name and everything...what's the best place to get affordable web hosting? Where I could preferably have at least two domains, maybe three?
Susan over at Easy Bake Coven has hers with Your-Site. Anybody else wanna recommend a better alternative?
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