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Saturday, August 29, 2009
Music is and always has been an important part of my life. Unless I'm reading, writing, watching a movie or sleeping, there is music playing in my house. I think it's critical for people to love and appreciate music. I hate to see people 'grow up' and lose their passion for it. I think the soul dies when people stop listening to music.
I think it's equally important to continue to listen to new music. There's little worse than an old fogey going on about how today's music sucks and back in his day they had real bands and musicians. Sure, popular music is a wasteland, but there is probably more good music being produced today than ever before. If anyone thinks otherwise they simply aren't looking hard enough.
Here's a list of the ten albums that I've been spinning lately. In no particular order,
Arlo Guthrie and The Dillards, Thirty-Two Cents Postage Due (2008). I always liked Arlo and I had some of his records when I was a teen. I hadn't really kept up with his career, but he played at a small theater a few miles from my house last Spring. I saw the show and thought it was fantastic and now I'm catching up on him. TV Land viewers will undoubtedly know The Dillards as the stoic Darling Brothers from The Andy Griffith Show. These guys are amazing musicians. Thirty-Three Cents Postage Due is a collection of Woody Guthrie compositions. American songwriting and performance simply do not get better than this.
Miniature Tigers, Tell it to the Volcano (2008). Miniature Tigers are a young band from Phoenix, Arizona. They're wowing a lot of people on their tours and are a favorite on the college stations. Their music isn't what you'd call brilliant or innovative, but the melodies are sweet and infectious and the songs have clever lyrics. Tell It To The Volcano is highly additive stuff. In a just world Miniature Tigers would be huge. Too bad we don't live in a just world.
The Aquabats, The Return of The Aquabats (1995). This is a band I recently fell in love with. They have a ska/punk beat with a healthy dosage of retro new wave. The Aquabats have energy, wit and talent to spare. Think early Oingo Boingo, but even more frantic. The Return of the Aquabats is the intentionally misleading title of their first album.
Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band w/The Rootettes, Zoom (1979). Root Boy Slim was a DC-based singer who was quite a phenomenon in the 70's and 80's. He was kind of like GG Allin with a sense of humor and a kick ass southern blues rock band. Root Boy was the real thing: A true madman of rock. As unbelievable as it may seem, Root Boy was a Yale student who was banned from his own Frat House and the entire campus by none other than George W. Bush. After graduation Root Boy ate an insane amount of acid and climbed the White House fence and was arrested and committed to a mental institution. He was released after receiving various treatment and he started a band. Steely Dan's Donald Fagen discovered him and helped him get his first record contract with Warner. You may know Root Boy from his signature song, Boogie 'til You Puke.
Weird Al Yankovic, Internet Leaks (2009). This is a download-only EP of songs from Al's next full-length album, coming next year. Rather than let some asshole leak them, he did it himself. Many probably assumed that Weird Al was a flash-in-the-pan when they heard Another One Rides the Bus or Hey Ricky. But AL has stayed on the scene, managing to lampoon musical styles and trends for over three decades. The truth is, Al Yankovic is smart as a whip and is one hell of a funny guy. He has kept the same band members the entire time and they are as versatile as any group in existence. Internet Leaks is prime Al and the songs parody T.I., The Doors, The White Stripes, Fountains of Wayne and (I think) Queen.
Ween, Chocolate and Cheese (1994). These guys have been around for a long time, but I'm just now getting around to listening to them. Wild stuff it is, with musical diversity and genuinely outrageous songwriting. Many of their tunes seem to have been created to fuck with people.
Tom Tom Club, Self Titled Debut (1981). When Talking Heads' David Byrne was doing side projects for the stage and screen and with Brian Eno, some of the other members of the band created the Tom Tom Club. This music is joyous and danceable, and they were among the pioneers of hip hop. This album always cheers me up when I'm down.
Harry Reser, Banjo Crackerjax 1922-1930. The banjo was the guitar of The Jazz Age and Harry Reser was arguably the finest player of the time. Or all time. Imagine if Steve Vai played banjo and was born 60 years earlier. Reser did a lot of what now seem like novelty songs, but these recordings are all instrumental. It's difficult to believe sometimes that there is only one banjo playing at times, but it is solely Reser on the instrument.
New York Dolls, 'Cause I Sez So (2009) This album reunites The Dolls with legendary producer Todd Rundgren for the first time since their debut way back in '73. The New York Dolls were forerunners of both punk and glam and despite lead singer's change of style for years as Buster Poindexter, they have maintained their style and attitude nicely. Sadly, most of the original members are no longer with us, but Johansen rasps through the songs with spirit and gusto. The music is basic and rather primal, sort of like early Stones.A high point is a cover of their own early hit, Trash.
Finally, the one that stays in my player more than any other in recent memory. This Gigantic Robot Kill, by MC Lars (2008). Lars is the self-described inventor of 'Post Punk Laptop Rap', but the album is a wonderfully eclectic mix of styles. Lars is smart (a Stanford grad) and a very funny guy. He skewers many worthy targets, such as the record industry, Emo, hypocritical 'green' celebs, Guitar Hero and Hot Topic. Lars also puts his English degree to good use with songs about Moby Dick, Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare. This Gigantic Robot Kills has a multitude of guest players, from guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert to Weird Al Yankovic, Jaret Reddick of Bowling for Soup and other indie rockers and rappers.
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Apocalyptic fiction is all the rage these days. If it's not zombies, it's zombie-like beings terrorizing survivors. It sometimes seems like everyone is doing it.
Why? Maybe it's a residual of the shock and horror of 9/11. That awful day made most Americans feel that the society that they loved to hate, but took for granted, could crumble.
Or maybe it's just a trend. Either way there are so many zombie/apocalyptic stories in the horror genre that it has become a cliche. It reminds me of the hoary old Indian Burial Grounds and Evil Tots of the 80's.
But you know what? As hoary and predictable as those 80's cliches were, I had a lot of fun reading many of them and I now look back upon them with fondness. And today I enjoy some of these post-apocalypse stories. I enjoyed J.F. Gonzalez's Primitive recently and I liked Lisa Morton's The Lucid Dreaming even more.
The story begins in a mental health facility, where a girl named Spike is staying. Spike is a schizophrenic with violent tendencies. The staff begins acting very strangely and
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Friday, August 21, 2009
I don't like Summer a bit. I hate the insects, loathe the heat, despise how the neighbors are out cooking themselves and their dinners. And I can't stand Summer Movies.
It's the biggest season for the cinema and all the blockbusters are rolled out in the hot months. And I usually find that I cannot even bear to take a chance on any of them. Lame action, superhero tedium, endless animated family fare, boring eye candy. I much prefer the Fall and early Winter. I don't care for all the Oscar Bait that comes then, but it's preferable to the Summer fare. Last year I couldn't hardly bring myself to see anything and I was grateful when Fall arrived.
This Summer, 2009, has been different. There has been plenty of movies that I at least have been interested in seeing. And for the most part I have had a great time seeing them.
I go to the movies to enjoy myself. It seems that many so-called critics go to them looking for a fight. Just ready to tear into what they see and then gleefully rip it apart for their readers. I'm not saying I like everything, but I can be reasonably easy to please. I don't expect or even want every film to be Bergman or Scorsese. I just want to have a good time.
The season began for me with Sam Raimi's return to horror, Drag Me To Hell. I adored this movie and felt that it managed to be traditional and modern at the same time. A good, old fashioned shock show. Many fans didn't like it and I can't comprehend that.
The Hangover was almost too raunchy and over-the-top for me, but I found myself laughing my ass off during it. This was an enormous success for director Todd (Hated: GG Allin & The Murder Junkies) and it's still making bucks in theaters.
I Love You, Beth Cooper was based on an award-winning novel and it didn't quite get the subversive tone that its source had. But it was sweet and funny and I had a blast watching it.
Moon was a genuine rarity in science fiction films: It's intelligent, original and is based upon ideas. Sam Rockwell is excellent as a man on a lunar base who develops a bizarre identity crisis.
Woody Allen's Whatever Works is far from his best movie, but it's a lot better than some. It breaks no new ground for my favorite director, but it's outrageous and hilarious and makes some pointed observations on life and relationships. And Larry David was splendid as the Woody Allen surrogate.
The Collector wasn't really my cup of tea, but I'll admit that the film does what it set out to do. Disturb and horrify the viewer. This is a modern grindhouse/drive-in exploitation movie.
Orphan was controversial for various reasons, but most fans were won over the by the strong performances and the overall quality of the production. I thought it was terrific.
I had the highest expectations for Judd Apatow's Funny People and it surpassed all of them. A thoroughly entertaining and intelligent comedy-drama from one of the brightest filmmakers of the day. Too bad a lot of people didn't get it.
A Perfect Getaway isn't perfect, but it's stunningly shot and the performances are first rate. A superior thriller that came out of the blue for me.
(500) Days of Summer is on the shortlist of best romantic comedies in history. Sharp, acutely accurate, screamingly funny at times and gut-wrenching at others. A tour-de-force.
O'Horten was made a couple of years ago in Norway, but it was released in The States recently so I'll list it. This is such a refreshingly low key comedy. If only more American filmmakers could approach their films with this kind of subtlty.
At this writing I haven't seen District 9 yet, but I plan to. Hopefully before the week is out. I also haven't seen The Hurt Locker. See what I mean? Too many to choose from.
The season isn't over yet and there is still more to come. Tomorrow I'm seeing Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and I can't wait. I've enjoyed nearly everything this wild talent has given us to date.
I fully expect to be disappointed with rob Zombie's Halloween 2, but you can bet that I'll be in my seat at the theater for it.
I'm not a fan of the Final Destiantion series, but the new 3D process is amazing and I'll be in line for it too.
Paper Heart is the kind of movie that people call 'quirky'. I hate that term, but it probably applies to this one. It's coming to a nearby theater in a couple of weeks and I'll be ready for it.
I skipped all of the high profile releases, all of which look like cinematic messes to me: Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, Angels and Demons, Transformers, Night in the Museum 2, Land of the Lost, Bruno, Year One, GI Joe, Harry Potter and the other Rom Coms and animated pap. I'm probably missing out on some decent stuff, but I can live with that. I've had a great time at the movies this Summer.
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Saturday, August 15, 2009
At the time I'm writing this, the hottest topic in the horror fiction community is the rise of digital books. A prominent small press publisher has announced that it will discontinue its line of trade paperbacks in favor of digital books. In addition to that, the same publisher's line of limited edition hardcovers will rise to the unreasonable price of $80.00 each.
As always there are supporters and detractors to this decision. Many love the convenience and the progressive use of electronic fiction. Others despise the medium and love real books.
Guess which camp I'm in?
I was always in love with books. Even before I could read. My older brothers were science fiction fans and they had lots of books. I used to wistfully gaze at the exotic covers and long for the day I could actually read them. I wasted no time in doing so and I was already reading simple books before I was even in school.
For me the love of books is greater than the contents of them. Of course the words are first and foremost, but I love the look, the feel of them. I love to arrange them on my shelves and I've spent many an hour lovingly looking at them. Fondly looking through the titles, picking one or another out at random. Remembering the joy it gave me or perhaps anticipating the joy I would take from them when In would read them in the future.
I always felt that a book was more than just a collection of words. They take on lives of their own. Books have been some of the best friends of my life.
I like nice books. Love them. I enjoy sturdy hardcovers, for their aesthetic value as well as the actual practice of reading them. I've always preferred the feel of a hardcover in my hands than a paperback. Yet I never really got the whole thing about books being valuable works of art. That's almost definitely because I cannot afford lettered editions and what is sometimes called the 'extra crunchy' publications. Undoubtedly if I was rich I'd own an entire library of lettered books.
I don't mind that I can't afford them. I'm perfectly happy with trade hardcovers. Or the reasonably priced limiteds that I can obtain from places like Cemetery Dance Publications. If you subscribe to CD's email newsletter, you will receive regular news of sales and promotions where you can get beautifully crafted signed and limited editions cheaper than you can get the spit-and-toilet paper typical American mass market hardcover.
I don't mind paperbacks either. I enjoy the venerable digest-sized editions that have been the norm in publishing for decades. My least favorite is the oversize trade paperback, but I read a lot of them.
Mostly I like to read. Books. Real books.
As I said at the beginning of this piece, the message boards have seen quite a bit of debate in the digital vs. hardcopy question. Some passionately defend the printed word. Others are ready to leap into the future. Some of the ones that are on the digital side of things seem proud that they are embracing a bold (relatively) new technology. As if it's something superior.
Well, it's definitely not the first time I was unwilling to jump on a trendy bandwagon and it's just as definte that it won't be the last time.
Is it always better to reject the old in favor of the new? Would it be a good thing for me and others my age to start acting like the members of the igneration, who seem incomplete unless they have an electronic pacifier in their faces at all times? I say hell NO.
Despite what many would dupe you into believing, many things were better in the past. I'll take a drive-in theater over the most sophisticated home theater system on the planet. I think gaming was much, much better when kids actually left their homes and went to arcades. It was as much a social situation as it was about the games. Now so many live their lives in isolation. And I'll take the drive-in restaurants and family-run food stands over any of the phlegmburger fast food joints that despoil the roadsides.
Read or reread Harlan Ellison's masterpiece, Jefty is Five, and maybe you'll begin to see what I'm talking about.
The given argument is that it is inevitable. And I suppose that it is. The very nature of distribution is changing. Rapidly. Who knows where it all will end? I could see bookstores and even publishers becoming completely obsolete, as much as I would despise that. One day potential readers might browse various review sites and blogs instead of bookstores and even online markets. Choose the ones that they want and have them instantly downloaded to their palm devices. Directly from the homepage of the author. No middlemen whatsoever.
The United States Postal Service could conceivably crumble and it currently looks like that is happening. Bills, movies, books, music, legal documents all delivered direct to individual gadgets. Possibly have privatized courier services to deliver clothes and other sundry items from place to place.
All of this sounds pretty dystopian to me. And it's not like I'm some kind of Luddite. I've been heavily involved in the Internet for well over a decade. I wouldn't be writing these words in this magazine if it weren't for my activities on the web. It has improved our lives in countless ways.
I also took to electronic money like a fish to water. I no longer carry cash nor do I stroke out checks. I'm addicted to my debit card.
But damn it, some things of the past need to be preserved. And most importantly to readers of Cemetery Dance, books must not be allowed to become extinct.
Publishers do not set the state of the industry. Nor do writers. The power is in our hands. Or in our bank accounts. What the consumer chooses to purchase will set the tone for the future. The good things don't have to die. Not if we don't let them. Sure, we can apathetically roll over and allow the soul-deadening wheels of progress level what we love. If we were cowards.
Outside of my family, books are my greatest passion. They always have been, ever since I can remember.
So please, if you share with me the love, the joy, the rewarding experience of reading genuine books. If you reject the idea that holding a plastic device is exactly the same as holding a real tome, please, please support the publishers that continue to bring them to us. Buy your books from them direct.
Maybe, probably, hell, almost definitely I'll lose this war. But every year that I can help keep real books coming out, I'll fight. Please join me.
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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
J.F. Gonzalez is one of my favorite writers and I will gladly buy and quickly read anything he publishes. I enjoy everything Gonzalez does, but I must confess to having a preference to his crime/suspense novels. Fetish, Bully and especially Survivor are my favorites.
With Primitive, J.F. Gonzalez branches into Brian Keene territory. While not exactly a zombie novel, Primitive deals with the apocalypse and survivors being plagued by subhuman beasts.
One morning writer David Spires awakens to what appears to be another ordinary day in Los Angeles. Little does he know that civilization as he and everyone else knows it is about to end. A frantic call and shocking news from his son's day care center is the start of it and by the end of the day he and his remaining family are struggling for their existence against human beings that have somehow turned primitive.
The Spires join forces with other survivors of the inexplicable plague that has turned the majority of people into violent, bloodthirsty creatures that resemble nothing so much as primitive man. The group travels in search of sanctuary, but the primitives are always one step behind them. And it becomes increasingly aware that a malignant force is behind them. A force that is growing stronger and closer all the time.
The first person narrative in Primitive is exciting and poignant. David Spires is a normal guy who by circumstances is forced to become a hero. As I reached the end of Primitive, it felt like I had been on an epic journey myself. There is a lot of action in the book, but there is also a great deal of human warmth. It's a powerful story that at times felt to me like a metaphor for our own times.
I recommend Primitive very highly. For one thing the trade paperback is supposedly going to be one of the last that Delirium will be doing. But mainly because it's an outstanding book. I still think I like Survivor a bit more, but Primitive is a strong new direction for Gonzalez.
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