Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiders...

I'm not the biggest Marvel fan. I was never a comic book guy. I have not kept up with their cookie cutter blockbuster franchise...actually, I've only seen maybe three Marvel movies. It's just not my thing. But animated movies are my thing, and if they involve Spider-Man, that's even more so my thing. 

I'd been wanting to watch this movie even before it shocked everyone by winning Best Animated Feature at the Oscars this spring, and I finally got the chance to watch it last week. I was totally blown away by the sheer brilliance of this movie, both in its storytelling and in the animation. The story was complex and compelling, and best of all, kept you thinking even after the film ends. 

I loved the varied Spider-Men (and women) from the various dimensions and how they came together in the end. They each had their own quirks, but were unmistakably Spidey. It mixed edge-of-your-seat action with touching relationships and hilarious one-liners. Basically, it's the perfect Spider-Man movie.

Weekend Music Roundup

Welcome back to the Roundup. The heat has fled the area and the listening is easier. This week's list features a couple of new releases, and a good deal of records that I would call catalog completion pick-ups. As I"m sure you're all aware by now, several years into the roundup, that I'm a completest. If there's an artist I like, I will listen to most of their catalog, at least until a cut-off point. However, as recent readers will note, my cut off points have been in the process of changing lately. I'm expanding deeper into a lot of catalogs of artists from the past and have been gifted with great finds in that regards. Enjoy.

Silversun Pickups - Widow's Weeds: The fifth album from the L.A. indie rock band is their first since 2015. This is a band that averages a good three years between releases and I think that helps keep the quality of their records consistent. With each album, they manage to create songs that are catchy in a unique way, and manage to make records that are incredibly even throughout, never having throw-away songs. That's something that takes time, and I imagine they work hard to craft an album, which creates the lag. This is another fine addition to their catalog, and possibly their most consistent to date. "Bag of Bones," "Simpatico," "Songbirds," and the title track are standouts for me.

Elton John - Legendary Covers '69/ '70: Before becoming a star, Sir Elton did what he needed to do to make ends meet, which meant recording covers of hit songs for a label so they could release them and cash in on success. Now they get to cash in on Elton's success, and have been for 30 years since the first compilation came out. The was recently re-released on rainbow splatter vinyl (limited to 500) and I picked one up to complete my Elton collection. There are some songs on here that simply fantastic, and others that are just okay. But it's great hearing these songs sung by Elton and giving it his all.

Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows - Death and Flamingos: The German darkwave band's career has spanned thirty years. Led by the iconic goth, Anna-Varney Cantodea, the band has consistently released eerie neo-classical music that I was first introduced to a few years back. This record isn't as profound as some of their earlier records and feels like perhaps, after 30 years, they are attempting to gain a slightly wider audience. An interesting listen, but I'd stick with some of the older stuff for an introduction. 

Mott the Hoople - Mott the Hoople: The 1969 debut album from the band that would become one of the leading glam rock bands of the early-to-mid 70's is a much different record than their later Bowie sounding albums. This is more a hard-rock guitar driven Bob Dylan than a David Bowie. This is not an iconic record, but is one of those key albums for understanding how blues/folk hard rock morphed into glam rock. This is a band trying to sound like other artists of the time, yet still striving to find their own unique fit, which eventually they would. Not essential, but a solid album to pick up for a few dollars. 

Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly: The fifth album from the Southern soul singer was released in 1973 and features her best known song as the title track. As readers here are aware, I've been a bit of a Roberta kick lately, so when this record turned up in a free box of records I picked up a few months back, I was pretty excited. As with her earlier albums that I've enjoyed, this is more beautiful sadness, and she has a voice that can do that better than most. But the upbeat soul music keeps the record from being a downer. It has a little more of the 70's pop soul sound than her earlier records, but still good stuff. 

The Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head: Released in 1971, this is the third album from the San Fran garage rock band. This is a raw blues based, proto-punk record that I'd been waiting to hear for some years. There's a Captain Beefheart meets Jefferson Airplane sound that they cultivate on here, but completely interpreted through garage rock aesthetics. This extended version, released in 1999, includes a ton of bonus tracks including great covers, including one of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day." Other great tracks included "City Lights," "Yesterday's Numbers," and "Whiskey Woman."

Fiction Friday (84)

It's that time again, time to spew my thoughts on another book that I've read. This is a book that had been on my "To-Read" list for over 20 years. I came across a free copy recently and decided now was as good of a time as any. I have to say that this is a book that I'm glad I didn't pick up as a teenager (the age when I think most people probably read it), because there is a complexity to it that might get lost. A teen reader would certainly be able to understand Ender's frustrations, but not sure they'd be able to fully appreciate the actions of the adults and the difficulty they had in making their choices.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
(Tor, 1984)

Ender is a child, only in body and years. The truth is, Ender never had a childhood and was never destined to have one. He is a Third in a future where two children is the law. He was allowed to be born for one purpose only, to become the ultimate weapon in humanity's war against the "buggers", and alien race that had twice invaded our solar system, and twice failed.

Unable to conceive of an enemy that would abandon its desire to destroy, and unable to communicate with the enemy, humans have launched an invasion of their own to destroy the buggers before they return to destroy us.  As the ships are own their way, armed with an ultimate weapon, the race is on to train the perfect commander. As time runs out, Ender Wiggin is the last hope.

Unlike many sci-fi novels that I've read, this is beautifully written and holds literary value. It is able to bring the action scenes to life, but also reveal Ender's inner turmoil. A very powerful story that stays with the reader, leaving him or her to contemplate the moral complexity and ambiguity that exists in this very plausible vision of a future that could come to be.

Mary and the Witch's Flower

Based on the book The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart, this Japanese film was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Formerly an animator and director with Studio Ghibli, this project sees him now associated with Studio Ponoc. Not surprisingly, it looks like a Ghibli film and has the same heart for magic as a Ghibli film. 

This tells the story of a young girl named Mary, who has been sent to live with her Great Aunt. One day, she enters the woods to escape her boredom and finds a mysterious flower. Unknown to Mary, the flower holds incredibly power...the power of magic.

Mary is my favorite kind of children's story character. She's brave, though she doubts herself. She's intelligent and resourceful, and she's loyal to her beliefs. It is the kind of character that can overcome any obstacle through will and determination.

After she discovers a secret world of witches and warlocks engaged in dangerous experiments, she will stop at nothing to save her friend and put an end to the horrible things taking place. This is a delightful, slow-paced movie that transports the viewer wholly into its world.

Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here, though it appears to be melting before my eyes as the thermometer creeps up near 100º around these parts. Two things you need on a weekend like this is a cool place to hide in, and lots of music to pass the time. I've been catching up on some new releases this past week, as well as catching up on music from the past. I'm been finding my tastes evolving and expanding lately, not that they haven't been forever evolving and expanding my whole life, but that has been accelerated in the past few months. Hopefully there's something here to aid your expansion. Enjoy. 

Yeasayer - Erotic Reruns: This is the fifth album from the indie psychedelic pop band out of NYC. This is a band that I've been following since their 2007 debut and with only one exception, have really loved their albums. This is another great record that combines psych elements with pop rock in a way that creates a sound that I love. "People I Loved," "Blue Skies Dandelions," "I'll Kiss You Tonight," and "24 Hour Hateful Live" are my personal favorites.  

Sir Lord Baltimore - Sir Lord Baltimore: The second album from the legendary NYC heavy psych band was released in 1971 and it would be their last. This has been on my search list for years and I stumbled across a reasonably priced copy at the local shop and snatched it up. Way ahead of their time, these guys must have sounded incredibly dangerous in the early 70s. An epic record, as is their first. If you ever come across one their albums, do yourself a favor and buy it. I passed on their debut a few years back at a record fair because the price tag was a bit steep...haven't seen it again.

The Last Internationale - Soul on Fire: The fourth album from the NYC trio was released last month, five years after their last album. Shockingly, this is my first encounter with them. This is a blues based indie rock album that veers towards pop rock on a lot of tracks, especially the title track. It's not as gritty as I'd hope, but it's a decent rock album. Delila's voice is powerful and soulful, and there are a few great tracks. "Mind Ain't Free," "Tempest Blues," "Modern Man," and "5th World" are my personal favorites.

Queen - Queen II: The second album from the iconic British rock band was released in 1974. I've had a copy of this record for nearly ten years and had never listened to it, because I've never been a fan, but never truly hated them enough to get rid of it. I'm glad I didn't, because after watching Bohemian Rhapsody, I started to wonder why I never was a fan. I think it's because memories are mainly of their super hits (which I'm not a huge fan of). But in the spirit of revisiting bands, something I've been doing over the past several years, I've discovered that I love this record. These guys more rock n roll that I gave them credit for, and I can hear their influence on bands like GnR. "The March of the Black Queen" is phenomenal. 

The Black Keys - "Let's Rock": The Ohio garage rock duo's first album in five years was released last month. Of course, Dan Auerbach has been involved in other projects during that time, but it's still surprising that they'd wait so long...and then to return with an album that feels sort of flat. Don't get me wrong, this is a solid album with lots of belters, but kind of by-the-numbers. "Walk Across the Water," "Sit Around and Miss You," and "Breaking Down" are standouts for me.   

Jean-Michel Jarre - Zoolook: Released in 1984, this is the sixth solo album from one of the pioneers in electronic music. This is truly an experimental album that fuses elements of space rock, trance, and synth-pop. Like all experimental electronic music, it's a mood piece. This one has a darkness that hangs over it, something eerie and primal, yet entirely pleasurable at the same time. It's an album that was very ahead of it's time and would have been huge on the 90s underground club scene. A wonderful sound collage.

Hello, Stranger

So, I'm super late on this train, but I recently began watching Stranger Things the past week. After finishing Series of Unfortunate Events, I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. For years, people have been telling me to watch this show, that I'd love it, and I avoided it partially for that reason. I'm not sure why, but I really hate when people tell me that I'm going to love something. Subconsciously, I take that as a reason to avoid something. It's a disease, I know.

Now nearly through the first season, I can admit that I was wrong and I do actually love it. Everyone was right about that. I guess I should start trusting people more. What I love about it is what everyone loves about it. It's a perfect combination of 80's blockbusters. Strange things going on, smart kids being the only true believers. It's part Goonies, part E.T., part brat pack, part Aliens...and all fascinating.

Weekend Music Roundup

It's the weekend and that means more ramblings about the on-goings of my musical world. This week I'm looking at a mix of new releases and old discoveries. There's a bunch of genres, from rock to rap to jazz, and lots to love. I've been really go through a bunch of new releases of late and hopefully will have reviews for those in the coming weeks, until then, enjoy these picks.

The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger: The third album from the group featuring Jack White and Brendan Benson is their first in eleven years. I've loved their previous efforts and was super excited when this finally put into the works. There's something about the partnership of Jack and Brendan that just mixes wonderfully. There's a softness to Benson's songwriting that files off the rougher edges of White's impulses. "Only Child," "Shine the Light on Me," "Help Me Stranger," "Now That You're Gone," and the unexpected and brilliant Donovan cover of "Hey Gyp" are my personal favorites. 

Jethro Tull - The Broadsword and the Beast: The legendary band's 14th album, released 14 years after their debut. When I was younger, the idea of an album released 14 years into a career seemed silly to me. Now that bands that I listened to when I was in my 20's have been around for decades, 14 years seems pretty much in the heart of the career of a good band. I've been a Tull fan since my early 20's, but haven't ventured past Heavy Horses before listening to this recently. This has more of an 80's sound to it, with the inclusion of keyboards, but still retains the basic elements that make Tull what they are. "Fallen on Hard Times," "Flying Colours," "Broadsword," and "Seal Driver" are my personal favorites. 

Nacho Picasso - Nachferatu: The new album from the Seattle rapper isn't exactly a darker album, but slower tempo which adds an eeriness to it that suits his drawl and humor, while making it a bit more menacing. Nacho has always been a bit of Pacific Northwest version of Tricky. He has the same sort of swagger and attention to the style of the beats working with rhymes to create something more atmospheric. You can stream this on his Bandcamp and I recommend it. 

The Deviants - The Deviants: The third album from the London psychedelic garage band was released in 1969. This was their final album before disbanding. Members would go on to play with bands like Hawkwind and Pink Faires. But this band is more garage, proto-punk based than space rock. I only got clued into this band about two years ago when their debut was playing at my local shop. I recently came across a copy of this one (in a different local shop) and snatched it up. This is certainly one of those lost bands that more people should dig around for. Great and groovy stuff. "Billy the Monster," "Broken Biscuits," "First Line (Seven the Row)," "Rambling B(l)ack Transit Blues," "Playtime," and "Metamorphosis Exploration" are all fantastic tracks. 

Art Pepper - The Omega Man: Released in 1974, this is a collection of material recorded in 1958. This the period right before the jazz icon's life grew increasingly chaotic. This falls in that pinnacle era of cool jazz that swirled around the Beats and brought everything into total wildness. But the players on this are true professionals and keep it tight even as they explore that side of the scene. A wonderful piece of music and well worth the $1 I paid for it. 

Cats in Space - Day Trip to Narnia: This is the third album from the London power pop act, and it should come as no surprise why I took a chance on giving this a listen...I mean, look at the cover, the band title, and the album title. 'Nuff said. I had no expectations except to hear a fun album, and that's what this is, and essentially what all power pop is meant to be.

Series of Unfortunate Events (The End)

There's a bitter sweet feeling that comes over me whenever I reach the end of something that I've thoroughly enjoyed, be it a book or a movie or a television series. That is the case with the Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I even waited a few days before hitting play on the adaptation of thirteenth novel, aptly titled "The End," because I didn't really want it to end, yet I desperately wanted to know what happened. And that folks, is how great storytelling works.

While we had been told over and over not to expect happy endings by the "author/narrator", we discover that he doesn't actually know the ending, because knowledge ended before the actual end. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of the amazing things about this epic is that despite what we know as spectators, we can't help but hope for better things to happen even as every chapter ends in tragedy. This is because we learn to trust and believe in the resourcefulness of the three doomed orphans and as refuse to believe that good won't triumph over evil.

Naturally, the saga does not have a traditionally happy ending, but it certainly isn't tragic. We do see some redemption for the arch villain who we loved to hate, and that was rewarding. As for the orphans, much of what happens to them is wisely left up to our imagination...allowing us all to give them our own happy ending depending on our imaginations. 

Truly one of the most rewarding television shows I've ever seen.

Weekend Music Roundup

Another summer weekend has arrived and I find myself thrown right into the HEAT of summer, a place I really do not like. Thankfully, the fall is only a few short months away and I can leave this dreadful season behind me. This week I'm listening to a bunch of new releases and still going through a ton of recent vinyl additions to the collection. I'll never understand people who only listen to albums from the past (or those who refuse to listen to albums from the past), because it's the mix of new and old and the co-mingling of sounds that reveals the true spectrum of that miracle we call music. Enjoy.

Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen: Released last year, this is the second album from the psychedelic soul artist out of L.A. I picked this up at the shop I used to go to as a teenager, which happened to be closing that location, so everything was 40% off, so I picked this up for a cool $6. Psychedelic soul in the U.S. sounds a lot like the quieter dreamy trip-hop of the late '90s, think Black Box Recorder and Scala and Portishead. Her beautiful, soulful voice blends perfectly over the smooth beats to create one of those fantastic dream soundtracks. "Delphine," "Joy," "Wings," and the title track are personal favorites on this gem of a record. 

The Kinks - Sleepwalker: Released in '77, this definitely falls in the final era of Kinks. By this era they had long moved away from their garage rock days, past the mod opera stage, and moved into their more introspective pop rock sound, which I'd avoided in the past, but have really been enjoying these days as I explore it more. It has the upbeat groove that was popular in the late '70s, people just wanted to feel good (except for the punks, who hated everything). There's some great rock tunes on here, including "Mr. Big Man," "Sleepless Night," "Stormy Sky," and the title track.

David House - Kick: The fourth album from the Philly indie artist was released back in the spring. I always like to take a chance on Philly artists this is a decent enough effort. It's very socially conscious, as David espouses on a long list of grievances with society, the music industry, and politics. It feels like John Cougar Mellencamp in that way, but he lacks the Cougar's ability to write a great hook that reels you in. Worth a listen, but fell short for me.   

Band of Skulls - Love Is All You Love: It's been ten years since the London indie rock bands debut, and they've just released their fifth album. It doesn't stray from the sound they've built over five albums, and while that isn't something I ever hold against a band, I will admit that this record feels a little uninspired. I really enjoyed their last album, and their first, but found this to be more on par with the second and third records which failed to impress me. "Gold" is my personal favorite. 

Supertramp - Crime of the Century: The third album from the London prog band was released in 1974 and was their big breakthrough album, and considered by many to be their best. This is really the early days of what I consider "real prog" which features structure complexity and multiple influences from blues, space rock, jazz and hard rock to form a style of art rock. It opens with the great tune "School" that really sets the pace for the album. From there it goes into one of their most well-known songs, "Bloody Well Right." Other great songs on here include "Asylum," "Rudy," and the title track. Definitely a missing classic of the genre from my collection. 

U.K. Subs - Subversions: The new covers album from the punk band that never died is a shocking display of fury and energy from a group of old punks (though only singer Charlie Harper is an original member, the rest of the band came on two years ago). This contains some expected covers, like "Roadrunner," "1969," and "Kick Out the Jams," but the inclusion of some more blues based numbers like the Yardbird's "Train Kept a Rollin'", and Bowie's "Suffragette City" are nice inclusions. All in all, this is a covers record that is the expected level of commitment. A fun listen.

Fiction Friday (83)

Most of the books I read come from my own tall stack of novels in my office that await my interest, but sometimes they come to me in other ways that open new topics for me. This is one of those book. The author had come into the library I work out, shortly before I started working there, to let the staff know that her debut novel had just been published and that she would be interested in coming in to do a talk. As our library did not have a copy, I requested one and it took some time for it to arrive. Once it did, I dove in and absolutely loved it, and happy to report the author will be coming in do that talk after all.

The House Children by Heidi Daniele
(SparkPress, 2019)

I went into this historical novel having never heard of Industrial Schools and being completely unaware of this practice. Now, having read it, I've been educating myself on this shameful piece of history where women were punished for having out-of-wedlock children, and even worse, the children were meant to suffer for it as well. AND this is in post World War II western Europe!

It would have been easy for Heidi Daniele to write about the well-documented horrors associated with the Industrial Schools, but she chose to tell a different story. Through her careful use of prose, she has crafted an absolutely beautiful story that deals with the emotional turmoil associated with the practice, but also examines the aspects of compassion that existed within the terrible setting as she tells the story of a young girl named Peg growing up in this world.

Through Peg (whose name was changed from Mary Margaret upon entering becoming a "house child"), we see the unfairness of it all. A childish confusion settles in as it concerns her real mother and the difficult relationship they share. The author handles this difficult situation with such tenderness and care that we are able to feel both character's pain, even when they are not quite able to understand each other's actions.

The American Experiment

It's America's birthday and every year it feels like she is getting closer and closer to dying, despite the endless stream of lies stating that we are getting great again. My biggest problem with our divided country these days is not the differences in opinions. Differing opinions is healthy for democracy. But we've entered an age where it's not differing opinions that are expressed, but different facts. 

When both sides are adhering not only to opposing ideals of what progress should look like, but are also adhering to opposing perceptions of what is truth, then democracy inevitably fails. One of the things that is not essentially new, but certainly more pervasive today, is the complete dismissal of opposing political views. There is no debate in that kind of atmosphere, there are only insults and accusations. 

Unlike some, I don't believe that Trump is the cause of this further breakdown, but rather a symptom and an enabler. He subscribes to a strengthened divide. Her perpetuates the division. He, like the GOP has done for decades, tries to paint the other side as Anti-America...which ultimately the most anti-american thing one could do. We've all fallen into the trap, and sadly, on this day of reflection, I don't see a clear way out.