Weekend Music Roundup

The holiday weekend marches on, the weekend that began two days ago for most of you. After the blockbuster new releases that made up last week's Roundup, this week is also made up of new releases from bands that I've followed for a long time, though less blockbustery. I was really pleased with these albums, most exceeded my expectations. There's a nice mix of varying rock here, so hopefully you'll all find something to listen to out of this offering. Enjoy.

Buffalo Killers - Alive and Well in Ohio: Eleven years after their debut the Cincinnati band release their sixth studio album (which this is, despite the title that would suggest it's a live album). This has always been a throwback band, bringing a classic rock sound that is authentic and engaging. They channel their John Lennon on this album as many of songs fit the type of groove he went for on his solo records. This is my favorite of their albums thus far, and I've been following them since the beginning.

Nik Turner - Life in Space: The former Hawkwind frontman continues his space odyssey on his new album, released at the end of September. His last three records, released over the past four years, have revived the legendary Space Rock sound that Hawkwind trademarked back in the '70s. It's a guitar filled soundscape that tours through the regions of the mind's outerspace. "Why Are You?," "Back to Earth," and "End of the World" are standouts on this groove fest. 

The Horrors - V: The London neo-psych band's fifth album, not so cleverly titled V, is their first in three years. They don't stray far from the sound they worked to develop for the last record, a sort of psychedelic version of shoegaze. The result is that music that can sometimes lean toward the boring is kept interesting. They also throw in enough elements of their earlier punk style, albeit updated with an 80's vibe, to make the album flow. "Pres Enter to Exit" "Machine," and "World Below" were standouts for me.

Stars - There Is No Love in Fluorescent Light: The Montreal indie pop band's first album in three years is the first of theirs that I've checked out since 2010's The Five Ghosts. I was pretty into this band during the last decade but got kind bored, I guess. This album reminded me why I was into them to begin with. They embrace their pop and disco sound, much like St. Etienne, and don't try to disguise it as artrock the way fellow Canadians Arcade Fire have done. "Privilege," "Alone," "The Gift of Love," and "California, I Love That Name" are my personal favorites on this enjoyable album.

Carved in Bone - Higher Consciousness: The second album from the Spokan WA metal band is heavy sludge metal that is is one riff after another that pounds out of the speakers. It holds some similarities with fellow Pacific Northwest band Earth with their instrumental soundscapes. It can get a little repetitive but that speaks a little to my patience with instrumental drone metal. "Mountains of God," and "Against the Grain" were my personal favorites. 

Fiction Friday (64)

On this Black Friday, my tour of recent reads continues with the first in a string of graphic novels that I'll be posting about in the coming weeks. I begin with this one as it is considered the first modern graphic novel and because the award for best graphic novel is named after the author. This was an interesting read for that historical context alone, as well as being an interesting read on its own merit. Enjoy.

A Contract with God by Will Eisner
(Norton, 1978)

Billed as the "first" graphic novel, though that claim is debatable, this was a groundbreaking collection of four interwoven stories that offer glimpses into the lives of fictional inhabitants of a Bronx tenement building during the Great Depression. Like any great storyteller, Eisner blends humor with desperation, love with lust, and success with failure, giving these stories a depth that goes beyond the slimness of their pages.

As with any well-done graphic novel, the art adds to the meaning of the text in dramatic ways. The characters expressions tell the real emotional story of their plight. And what a great cast of characters it is! Having lived in NYC for a decade, granted 70 or so years after the story takes place, these types of people still existed in the city...though I believe they exist less so today than twenty years ago. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend has arrived and the Roundup has returned after a week off. This week's list is another look at some recent releases that I'd been looking forward to hearing. Some of these are bound to be big albums of the year and deservingly so. Others are more nostalgic listens for me, but didn't disappoint. As the holiday's approach, I enter my mad rush to listen to the albums from the year that I might have missed in order to finalize my thoughts on the year that was in music. Hopefully you are all doing the same. Enjoy.

Beck - Colors: The long delayed new album from the funky Scientologist is his much anticipated follow-up to 2014's masterpiece "Morning Phase." This album is his interpretation of modern pop rock and it's quite fantastic. Having released the first single from this album over a year and half ago, and subsequent releases over the past year, many of these songs are familiar, but it's nice to hear them as intended. "Wow," "Dear Life," "Up All Night," "No Distraction," "I'm So Free," and the title track are my personal favorites.

Queens of the Stone Age - Villains: For their first album in three years, the stoner metal band turned to Mark Ronson to produce it and give them a fresh sound. The combination works much better than I would've imagined. It has a more radio friendly sound that actually suits them well, while keeping their signature creepiness and rock riffs. "Feet Don't Fail Me Now," "The Way You Used to Do," "Domesticated Animals," and "Head Like a Haunted House" are standouts for me.

Wu-Tang - The Saga Continues: It's almost 25 years since the Wu burst onto the underground and ain't nuthin changed, still better protect ya neck because they're still coming. Their 11th studio album continues the material arts saga they began with, thought their lyrics take on a more conscious hip-hop feel, urging men in the community to step up and be fathers. The originals are back, along with great guest spots with Redman. "Lesson Learn'd," "Frozen," "Pearl Harbor," "G'd Up," and "Hood Go Bang!" are standouts for me. A definite for fans.

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Sketches of East Brunswick: This is the third album this year from the Austrailan psych band. It mixes elements of jazz fusion with indie psych and ends up sound like a funkier Flaming Lips or a wilder Beck. This is a California of the mind kind of record that sets up a groove that runs throughout the record, and like all of their work, it's definitely meant to be digested as a whole so the listener can be immersed in the atmosphere. It's different, and groovy, and for those reasons, I enjoyed it.

Sisters of Mercy - Some Girls Wander by Mistake: In the time before their debut, the goth band invaded the goth clubs with single after single that developed their trademark sound. Like The Cure and Joy Division, they reworked punk into something new, dark, and danceable. This '92 compilation captures the early years and some of their most iconic songs. "Floorshow," "Alice," "Temple of Love," "Anaconda" and their cover of The Stooges "1969" are my personal favorites.

Fiction Friday (63)

Hello again! It's another Friday and that means another book review thanks to the imposed reading placed on me by my desire for self-betterment via graduate school. One of the great things about the YA Literature class that I'm taking is that it's forcing me to read books outside of my usual interests. This week I had to delve into Chick Lit, a genre I'm not well-versed in or have any particular curiosity in discovering. I decided to read something by Meg Cabot, given her wide ranging popularity in the genre. I really hated this at the beginning, but grew to not hate it by the end. Enjoy.

How To Be Popular by Meg Cabot
(Harper, 2006)

Everyone wants to be popular, right? Well, maybe not everyone. But nobody wants to be the person whose name has become synonymous with making a blunder. That has been 16 year old Steph Landry's fate for the past five years, but she's determined to change fate with the help of an old self-help book found in the attic of her soon-to-be stepgrandmother's house. She diligently studies the lessons in the book as it directs her towards achieving popularity.

Becoming popular turns out not to be as complicated as Steph had always thought. Sure, it takes hours and hours of work, a complete attitude and fashion make-over, and sort of dissing the friends you currently have, but in the end, it's all worth it...or is it? As her master plan progresses and things begin to fall into place, Steph suddenly has everything she could have hoped for, except that it doesn't feel that way. And are the popular kids really into her, or just using her? Is she really in love with the most popular boy in school, and if so, what is she actually feeling for the boy who has always been her best friend?

The is a quick read, one that reads like a mash-up of every 80's John Hughes movie. It is extremely predictable for anyone who has seen those movies, and some major plot points feel far-fetched. It also simplifies the motives the behaviors of teens to a point that may feel condescending.

This is like junk food, but we all like junk food every now and again. 

Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here, actually it's more than half over but for some unexplained reason, I forgot to post this yesterday. I'm continuing to work my way through some recent releases, and will continue doing that for the next few weeks. There's most rock on here, from space rock to lo-fi to garage rock. All in all an interesting week of music with promises of great things to come. Enjoy.

Ruby the Hatchet - Planetary Space Child: The third album from the Philly heavy psych sees them venturing into space rock, as the title would suggest. As a result, it's much more wandering than their previous records, and less heavy...but not any less entertaining. They show growth as musicians on this record. It has some 70's groove metal influences that really make it standout. "Killer," "The Fool," "Symphony of the Night," and "Lightning Strikes Again" are my personal favorites on this solid record.

Guided by Voices - How Do You Spell Heaven: Released back in August, this is the second album this year from the legendary indie lo-fi band. They continue to be in top form on this record and cease to run out flashes of brilliance to release on records. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish one record from another, but this one stood out as one of the best in a long time. "King 007," "Steppenwolf Mausoleum," and "Tenth Century" were my personal favorites.

Thee Oh Sees - Orc: The San Fran lo-fi pysch band has been one of the most prolific bands in recent years and they return with another quick flash of an album. While their earlier stuff was always a little hit or miss, they've really come into their own over the past few years. They keep up a frantic pace here, with tunes that slightly heavier than they usually do, but just as strange and enjoyable. "Jettisoned" and "Drowned Beast" are my personal favorites.

Lords of Altamont - The Wild Sounds of Lords of Altamont: Based in L.A., the four piece hard rock band have a raucous sound that is very L.A. glam rock influenced, which was always based in punk. It's no wonder they remind me of early L.A. Guns mixed with Dead Moon.  It's raw and fast, and good. These are short songs that pack a punch and was a nice surprise, given that I'd never listened to them though they've been around for nearly two decades. "Like A Bird," "Going Downtown," "Death on the Highway," and "Where Did You Sleep," are standouts.

Josh Ritter - Gathering: This is the indie folk rocker's ninth album, and while I'm familiar with his work to some degree, I admit to not having listening to much of his work. This album is steeped in Midwestern Americana roots that gives it a country folk feel, which I found refreshing in the current world of indie singer songwriter output. There is nothing here that is groundbreaking, just good folk music. "Showboat," "Train Go By," "Dreams," "Myrna Loy," and the great "When Will I Be Changed" with Bob Wier are standouts for me.

Fiction Friday (62)

Well, one good thing about taking a graduate course that requires the reading of two novels per week is that I'm back into the reading groove and have been encountering YA books that I never would have picked up or come across if I hadn't been forced by way of assignments to chose them. This week we did Fantasy and instead of the usual fare, I picked up this book which was fascinating and about JuJu magic, something I knew little about but am certainly intrigued by. This book is packed with imagination, something you all know that I admire. Enjoy.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
(Viking, 2011)



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Sunny is a bit of an outsider in her Igbo community in Nigeria. As she states in the beginning of the novel, she confuses people. She was born in America, then her parents returned to Nigeria. So she is American and Igbo. But neither of those qualities are what truly make her an outsider, being an albino is mostly to blame for that. In Igbo communities, albinos are thought of as people who are half ghost, having one part of themselves existing in the spirit world.

Sunny never believed that superstition, at least not until she sees a vision of the end of the world in the flame of a candle. With the help of her mysterious new friends, Orlu, Chichi and Sasha, she begins to learn the secrets hidden within her community, and in her own past. Perhaps the superstitions are more than simple folklore? Perhaps Sunny really does have a connection to the spirit world? But will her connection, and the juju magic that she learns really be enough to put an end to the Black Hat killer's murder spree or prevent the end of the world from actually happening?

This was a unique kind of fantasy novel, one that was so full of effortless imagination. Nothing felt forced or over-explained. There were moments where I wished it would have gone into more explanation, but I also enjoyed how it left a lot for the reader  to imagine. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.