Weekend Music Roundup

It's another Sunday, and time for another list of all new releases. Once again there are a bunch of albums here that I'd been anticipating for quite some time. Over the past several weeks, it's been like Christmas with all the new music that has come out. As is typical, some surpassed expectations, others missed the mark, and some were just complete surprises. There's a lot country folk rock on here, but I'm keeping it real with a little metal and psych rock thrown in. Enjoy.

Bill Callahan - Dream River: This is the fifth album from Texas alt-country singer/songwriter. His strength is the rich sound of his voice which sinks into the laid back flow of music like the heavy plop of raindrops on metal during a storm. At times, it can also be a weakness, because there is little range to his voice and song structure. I've always found his work to be a pleasant enough listen, but nothing that I gravitate strongly toward. This album feels the same way. When it's on, I find it enjoyable. When it's not, I don't miss it. That said, I know a lot of others will enjoy this much more than me.

Korn - The Paradigm Shift: Twenty years after their first album, the nu-metal pioneers are still at, releasing their eleventh album this past week. As with their previous few albums, the band brings a melodic sound to their heaviness, which makes it very entertaining metal. There are flat moments, as with all of their records, but when they are on, they sound amazing as ever. "Prey for Me," "Love & Meth," and "Mass Hysteria" are stand-outs.

Johnny Flynn - Country Mile: Just released last week is the London folk singer's third album. Back ins 2008, Johnny's debut A Larum was one of the best releases of the year, marking the return of British folk, before Mumford & Sons. His traditional approach to folk music, much like Alasdir Roberts', provides for bare and beautiful songs. Not as much of as a revelation as his first album, mostly because of the flood of folk since that time, but Johnny definitely is among the best of the bunch. "Fol-de-rol" is a real stand-out track for me.

Blitzen Trapper - VII: On their seventh album, the Portand based indie folk band goes way country. This is a toe-tapping kind of 70's country rock album. It almost sounds like Seasick Steve meets Grateful Dead. I'm not totally in love with it, but it grows on me with every listen. There's an undeniable groove to the record that sounds pretty darn good. "Ever Loved Once," "Thirsty Man," and "Don't be a Stranger" are my favorite tracks.

The Fratellis - We Need Medicine: With their breakthrough debut, Costello Music in 2006, this Glasgow pub rock band seemed destined for huge things. They followed that album up with another great record in 2008, Here We Stand. Then Jon Fratelli went off on his own to release a solo album and an album under the name Codeine Velvet Club. The band split for a time, but have wisely come back together for this album, one of my most anticipated releases of the year. This is another album packed with pub rock enthusiasm, catchy choruses, and pounding rhythms. It doesn't feel as fresh as it did seven years ago, but it still sounds pretty good.

Nik Turner - Space Gypsy: The founding member, and driving force, of Hawkwind just released this solo album of all new material and it's my biggest surprise of the year so far. Teaming up with other members of Hawkwind, the album returns to the space rock roots of the '70s band. This is pretty flawless, and could easily pass for a classic Hawkwind album. Could definitely be a contender to make the best of the year list.

Fiction Friday (22)

Against my better judgement, I've been trapped in a pattern of reading series books for practically this entire year. About a month ago, I was desperate for the second book in The Invisible Order series by Paul Crilley, but when I went to the store, they didn't have it. I ordered it, and have since started reading it, but while I was there I bought the second book in The Mysterious Benedict Society to tide me over. As you've probably gathered, I'm also in a Middle Grade kick as well. I feel that's where my imagination resides these days, I'm all too willing to feed it. 

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
by Trenton Lee Stewart
(2008)

The second book picks up a year after Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance foiled Mr. Curtain's plan to brainwash the world. After spending the time apart, starting their new lives with new families, the kids are finally getting together for a reunion. Little do they know, their adventure is about to take a dangerous turn.

Upon arriving at Mr. Benedict's house, the kids discover that their kindly mentor has been kidnapped, along with No. 2. There's no doubt that Mr. Curtain is behind this dastardly plan, with the help of his dreaded Ten Men. Now it's up to the kids to save them using their unique skills, and the cryptic clues left behind by Mr. Benedict.

This book moves at a much faster pace than the first, though it's still a whopper, clocking in at 440 pages. The first book spent so much time setting up the story that it dragged a bit in the beginning. This one has the luxury of not having to introduce the characters, allowing the action to begin quicker, making it a much faster read. 

The scope of the adventure is much bigger in this story, and the pace is helped by having the children follow a trail of clues across the globe, rather than staying stagnant as in the first story. At times it did feel as though it moved a little too fast, and sometimes things were a little too convenient for the kids, but overall I found it quite enjoyable.

One thing I did really like about this book was how it delved deeper into Kate and Constance's characters. The first book was definitely Reynie's tale, and though this one is primarily his as well, the two girls are given their own trials and tribulations. I wish Sticky had been given a bigger role. He's probably my favorite character, and he seemed absent a lot in this book. But these are all minor things that didn't affect my reading pleasure. I'm looking forward to continuing on their adventures in the other books.

Revolution Fallout

I watched the first two episodes of Revolution season 2 last night, and I couldn't believe how dark the story has turned. I'm not complaining. The show should be dark, and the situations should be grim, especially after how last season ended. I'm just kind of surprised, especially with the show moving to the 8pm slot. There were moments in these episodes when it was stressful viewing. I have to say, I'm very much looking forward to several months of this.

While last season took Star Wars as its major story inspiration, nodding to it in the first episode with the lunchbox, it would appear this season's influence is Fallout 3. There were so many references, especially in the different fractions popping up. From the warlords to the new U.S. government, the way the groups are defined by uniform and purpose felt so much like the groups in Fallout. And just as in the first season, there came the direct reference, as seen in the photo above. 

As for the episodes themselves, I felt they were very satisfying. The first episode was a unnecessarily choppy, doing a bit too much jumping around to fill in the blanks of the six months between last season and this one. But by the second episode, things were back in full swing. Each character seems to have an intriguing purpose and sustainable storyline. And just as with the The Walking Dead after its first season, the characters are more defined, giving their stories more depth. Currently one of the only high-concepts shows on prime time, Revolution has a chance to become the best show on television. Let's hope it does. 

Weekend Music Roundup

I missed last weekend's roundup due to being away, but I'm back again with another list of all new releases. Some of my favorite bands have put out new albums in the last few weeks, and there's still more to come in the next few. I'm just trying to stay on top and enjoy the wave. There's a nice mix of sounds on here, so hopefully you'll find something that intrigues you. Enjoy.

Dr. Dog - B Room: Due out this week is the eighth studio album from Philly's psychedelic folk heroes. As with last year's Be the Void, this album lacks the chaotic weirdness of their early work in favor of a more digestible sound. Though there are more moments on this record where they return to the sound that endeared them to me so many years ago. So far, I'm definitely enjoying it more than the previous album. "Minding the Usher," "Too Weak to Ramble," "Cuckoo," and "Love" are the real stand out tracks. A solid album that grows on me with each listen.

The Strypes - Snapshot: Released a few weeks ago, this is the debut album from the Irish mod/garage rock revival band. There's an obvious 60's feel to the record, with power chords, Jagger vocals, and pounding back beat. All in all, it works very well. By definition, it's not all that original, but it still sounds pretty good. It reminds a little bit of the first Arctic Monkeys album, at least in attitude. Just fun rock and roll that's definitely worth checking out and keeping an eye on.

White Denim - Corsicana Lemonade: It's been two years since the last album from the Austin based indie band. This is a very loose album, and definitely has has some funk/soul influences, but distorts them into groovy blues rock. The consistent feel is something that I like very much, and in that way it reminds me of Kurt Vile's newest record.  "At Night in Dreams," "New Blue Feeling," "Cheer Up/Blues Ending," and "Distant Relative Salute" are among my favorites.

The Underachievers - The Lords of Flatbush: The first official EP release from the Brooklyn hip hop duo, though they had a mixtape out earlier this year. There are flashes on this where both artists sound dynamic, where the beats are dope, and where they truly sound like they are the lords of Flatbush. But as a whole, it's a bit uneven. Even within the songs, it can be uneven. Still, it's good to hear that old New York sound again.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: For his 1000th album, Will Oldham has released this self-titled record. Of course, he doesn't really have a thousand records, though sometimes it feels like. Having been one of my favorite songwriters of the past twenty years, he always manages to put together a solid piece of folky goodness. This album is no different, but that's part of the problem. At some points it feels like he's just singing a list of things he sees in his house. A pleasant album, it just feels a little uninspired.

Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull: After two albums of arena stardom, the Followill brothers (and one cousin) have returned to their southern rock roots for their sixth album, and first in three years. It doesn't quite go all the way back to their raucous debut, but rather resembles their more mature third album, Because of the Times. Though I enjoyed their last two records, I certainly missed this sound. I've been listening to it all week. Definitely the comeback album of the year.

BONUS REVIEW

Kings of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood: After listening to the new album, I went looking up some performances from this 2003 debut and got swept right back into its gritty southern blues sound. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the year when it came out, I still rank it among one of the best debut records of all time. I pulled out the CD a few days ago and listened to it twice that day. I've since listened to it another three times. Every song is amazing, adding up to an incredible tale of disillusioned youth trying to make some sense of the world and finding little to none. It's just as powerful as it was ten years ago.

The Past Becomes the Present

After the big rewrite project I recently completed, I'm ready for a change of pace. This past week I started the first chapter of my next manuscript. I wanted to write something younger, and something funny. So I'm returning to fifth grade memories for inspiration, hoping to chronicle that year which is still one of the more vivid years of my life. 

The inspiration for the story came from looking over several pages that I'd written a few years back. It was a few months ago when I found the story and read it, really enjoying the mood. But it wasn't thought out, which is probably why I abandoned it in favor of something else way back when. This time I went about it with a completely different approach, trying to create a very different book than the ones I've written before. And once I had that clear in my mind, I spent time thinking about what would happen during the course of the story and outlined the first few chapters.

I'm really excited to work on this. It's really the first time I'm writing a children's novel that is based on autobiographical material. I'm very interested to see how it will turn out. 

Patience in Excess

Over the past few days, I've been going through my posts from the life of this blog to pull out relevant thoughts pertaining to writing for a project I'm working on. And while I found a wealth of intriguing thoughts shared over the years, I also began to feel more than slightly defeated as I came across posts related to manuscripts that have still gone unread. 

Patience is a quality all writers must possess in abundance. The process itself requires near limitless amounts of it just to finish a single story. But the need does not diminish after the manuscript is done. There is still more waiting to be done. And sometimes the waiting feels endless, because sometimes it is. Through it all, one needs an abundance of confidence. When that well runs dry, there is nothing more to wait for.

Fiction Friday (21)

It's time for another installment of Fiction Friday. This week I'm sharing two reviews of books I read quite some time ago. Both are science-fiction, but they represent completely different elements of the genre. I think they illustrate the diverse nature of the genre, which is probably far too broad a term to encompass all that falls under its umbrella. One is science fiction in the traditional sense of space travel and aliens, while the other is literature that simply takes liberty with science. As a genre, I feel science fiction is one of the labels where most readers have preconceived notions, but as with all genres, there is a rich diversity to be found within it. Enjoy.

Sugar in the Air by E.C. Large
(1937)

A fascinating read in many ways and for many different reasons. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this novel is the fact that it was written in 1937, because it seems so current. While the idea of manufacturing a synthetic sugar from various particles around you would seem like impossible science fiction in the period this book was written, to modern readers, it won't seem very far fetched at all. We don't have to suspend our disbelief anywhere near to the degree of the book's contemporary readership, allowing us to focus on the real theme of the novel; a satirical critique of the workings of corporate capitalism.

The story follows a young man named Pry in a time of economic turmoil, which is one of the immediate ways in which the book connects to our present day. Pry is lucky enough to land a job, at a decent pay, with a company that has invested in an idea that sounds great, but seems to have little chance of succeeding. Pry eventually, through a series of brilliant innovations and blind luck, is able to turn that idea into a success, only to have this potentially new industry sabotaged by petty personal backstabbing and the ignorance of board members who don't necessarily care to know anything about the business they run. There are many parallels that can be drawn to our own corporate run world and how greed can so easily destroy innovation.

However, the heart of the story lies within Pry's personal struggle to keep a dream going in the face of so much stubborn and ill-informed opposition. Any one who has ever worked in a large company, or even for a boss who refuses to listen, can identify with Pry's frustration at how office politics can get in the way of productivity.

This book is certainly not for everyone. To be honest, it wasn't what I'd expected at all. Unlike the descriptions I'd read, it certainly does not feel like science fiction, and certainly has none of the outrageousness of a "mash-up." If you go into it with those expectations, you may be disappointed.

Babel-17/ Empire Star by Samuel R. Delany
(1966)

In my experience, Science-Fiction as a genre tends to emphasize plot and concept over character, which is one reason I don't read as much of it as I would like. I love the concepts, but as a reader and a writer, I'm drawn to character. Thankfully, Samuel R. Delany doesn't follow that mold. Babel-17, though heavy on concept, never loses track of the need for a intriguing character to be the heart of his story. Rydra Wong is a great protagonist, trying to solve the mystery of herself as intensely as the mystery of this new language Babel-17. In fact the two are interconnected in a wonderful way. The result is a fascinating book about the idea of how the language running through our internal monologues shapes our perception of the universe. Though certainly Sci-Fi in its tone, the book is just as much a profile in psychology. 

The inclusion of the brief novel Empire Star, though very loosely connected to Babel-17, did very little for me. Though it began with an interesting character, it soon felt rushed. Character growth leaped from chapter to chapter without earning it. And what may have been an interesting concept of applying a leveled structure to the perception of the universe simply became repetitive and inconsistent. The other large concept concerning time was lazily constructed. In my opinion, Empire Star reads like the first draft of what could become a really good novel.