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Name: Dan
Country: United States
State: North Carolina
Birthday: 6/3/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: making comics, listening to music, doing school work
Expertise: I know more about comics, indie rock, movies, anime, and other useless trivial items than most people will ever remember
Occupation: Student
Industry: Art
Message: message me
Member Since:
10/24/2002
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| Geez, I haven't updated this thing in like two years. I figure I might put something in here. I've decided to share my love comics with you folks and hopefully this will inspire some of the people here to pick up some new stuff. Also I plan on updating with this thing with regular reviews of comics I've been reading recently. I think the next entry will be a review of Dan Clowes' Ghost World which I just recently reread.
First off it should be said that I read a ton of comics each week. At the moment the amount of comics I buy greatly outnumbers the amount of CDs I've been getting recently. I know a few people here don't read comics that much or if at all. One of the hardest things about recommending comics is realizing that what I like not everyone else will. There isn't one surefire guarantee comic that will get people hooked or at the least get a non-reader interested in reading more comics. However what follows are five comics that I think cover a variety of interests and subject matter that I would think might be interesting to people. They are also pretty easy to find at Amazon.com or will be reprinted in the immeadiate future.
 V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
The best way to describe this comic is as Batman meets 1984. A mysterious vigilante going by the name of V has begun destroying goverment buildings in a post-nuclear holocaust England. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that England has become a facist state in the aftermath of a nuclear war. The comic seems more and more relevant to me as America starts to more and more give up it's freedoms in an effort to "feel safe" from terror. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving!
 Queen of the Black Black by Megan Kelso
I just bought this comic a few months ago and I recommend it to anyone looking for something interesting in comics but at the same very accesible. I haven't read many comics by women which has mostly been an unconscious but I decided to pick up this comic for that very reason. I'm glad I did because for me this comic was an utterly refreshing read. I guess I found this comic such a change of pace because while the material it covers isn't exactly new ground in subject matter the way Megan Kelso tells her tales is what makes it interesting. Kelso's material is honest, funny, and human in a way most male comics aren't and I really can't say enough good things about her comics.
 The Complete Concrete by Paul Chadwick
The only superhero comic that I put on this list (I'd list V for Vendetta more as sci-fi) and even then it's not really that much of a superhero comic. Paul Chadwick's story of Ron Lithgow, former senatorial speechwriter turned into walking sidewalk, is a comic that seems to accomplish several things that normal superhero comics don't do. It's thoughtful and thoughtprovoking. The characters are human beings that gasp make mistakes and have to live with their consequences. Most important of all Concrete is exciting and interesting, things most superhero comics forget to be nowadays. Concrete is the kind of comic there should be more of in the mainstream.
 Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
I'm sure a lot of people have seen the movie, but I wonder how many have the source material? If you've seen the movie, don't be afraid to check out the comic since the movie and comic differe greatly. Clowes does what's difficult for any storyteller to do, convincingly tell a story from the opposite sex. Moreso than the movie this a tale of both Enid and Rebecca's growing up and how they grow up. It's sad and funny in a way comics usually aren't to most people. <i>Ghost World</i> is a very subtle and beautiful story that definitely rewards on each rereading.
 Louis Riel by Chester Brown
Ah the lone historical comic I have on here. It's also the only Canadian comic I have on here too which is a shame since Canada has routinely been producing some of the finest cartoonists and even the best publisher (Drawn and Quarterly folks!). Anyways, this story tells the tale of Canadian rebel Louis Riel in his attempts to lead his people the Metis in their efforts to attain equal rights and land. Brown's trademark restraint makes this comic oddly enough exciting and pertinent to current events.
All of these comics can be found at Amazon.com. If you like them, Megan Kelso and Dan Clowes are published regularly by the fine folks at Fantagraphics Books along with great cartoonist like Chris Ware, Peter Bagge, and many others. Chester Brown is published by the previously mentioned Drawn and Quarterly who publish a ton of great cartoonists like Seth, Adrian Tomine, Kevin Huizenga, and Joe Sacco. Concrete is published by Dark Horse Comics who publish comics by Stan Sakai and Matt Wagner but also a ton of Star Wars stuff. Finally V for Vendetta is published by DC Comics but I'm going to direct you to the site for America's Best Comics which really does have some fantastic fantasy comics on top of being Alan Moore's most recent outlet for material. I recommend reading League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which made for a much more interesting comic than it did movie.
If anyone who doesn't normally read comics decides to pick these up, please feel free to let me know what you think of them or if you want some more suggestions for comic book reading. | | |
| Very few bands can lay claim to the fact that they've made 3 or 4 masterpieces let alone 3 or 4 stone cold classics. The Beatles could but only later in their career. The Velvet Underground never seemed to run out of ideas during their original run. The Rolling Stones in the 70s seemingly crapped a classic album out almost everytime. Every Pixies album is nearly flawless (yes I do think that Bossanova is a terrific album though I wouldn't put "classic" status on it). I'm certain that if Joy Division lasted longer than two albums that they would have made more classics like Unknown Pleasures and Closer. The same could be said about Nirvana. The problem is though that all of these bands stood the test of time and so have their albums.
Radiohead seems to be one of those bands. The Bends completely reinvigorated guitar rock in the mid 90s. OK Computer is simply one of the greatest albums of all time. Kid A was an album that showed us that electronica didn't have to be mindless droning or looping. Still after Kid A Radiohead seemed to slowly be less of a band and more of "The Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood Show". Amnesiac hinted that the band could still function as a unit but a lot of people (myself included) remained a bit skeptical especially since interviews came out and said that the band was more under the influence of Thom Yorke than as a collective. Did they have it in them to work as a unit again? Or would we see more of the control of Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood creating an even more inaccessible album than Kid A and it's follow up Amnesiac?
Well if it's any indication Hail to the Thief seems to be more of a group effort. It's the band not only embracing their recent excursions into Krautrock-style experimentation but also embracing their guitar rock roots of The Bends and OK Computer. It's a return to the themes of Ok Computer but with the experience of a band much older. At its core though Hail to the Thief is a political album but not a concept album mind you. With climate in today's world how could a band of Radiohead's status and stature not comment on the state of affairs. It details the dangers of an Orwellian goverment and is far more claustrobic than the aforementioned OK Computer. Once again Thome Yorke continues to show that he is one of today's best lyricists in the vein of writers like Frank Black, Kurt Cobain, and Michael Stipe though far more surreal and alienating than any of those writers. Songs like "Sitdown. Stand Up", "We Suck Young Blood", "2+2=5", and "I Will" detail Thom Yorke's fears of being trapped in a world where free thought and privacy are no longer options. It doesn't help that the music often feels as claustrophobic and paranoid as the lyrics.
At the same time though, it's album about recovery and letting go. "Sail to the Moon", "There There", and "Scatterbrain" all seem to about letting go of things and have this general feeling that people need to move on from things in the past. It's a cathartic experience something that most Radiohead albums don't have though OK Computer did explore this to some degree before shelling up again. This time the band seems a little more open to letting people get a look at them and scrutinizing them. Some of this album feels almost like a response to all of the acclaim and attention that they seem to have gotten over the course of their career. Other parts seem like Thom Yorke coping with being a member of the human race something that lyrically he's been getting at throughout Radiohead's career. Of course as with any Radiohead album several number of meanings could be gleaned from the lyrics.
Musically the band is top form. "2+2=5" is one of the best Radiohead opening tracks ever not to mention one of their best guitar oriented songs. It opens the album on a high note. "Sail to the Moon" is quite possibly one of the more beautiful songs that the group has produced along the lines of "True Love Waits" and "Exit Music (For a Film)". "Myxomatosis" is probably the first Radiohead song that could be called stomping. The band really embraces it's earlier days as a guitar rock band and recent excursions as an Krautrock devotees. Textures both guitar and electronic get explored and expanded on throughout the album. It's a band that's once again doing things together and sounding like it rather than a group being dictated to on what to do. They're making lyrics and music work together to create music that creates an experience and doing so as a band.
The group is acting like a unit once again and it shows which is both a blessing and a downside to the group. The last two albums as I said were really just showcases for Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood to play with their laptops and drums machines. Since they didn't tour much in support of their last two albums and didn't see them live, I don't know how they performed together. It's sort of obvious that the group is still settling in one man sounds of the electronica and Krautrock territory. It's obvious when these situations come up because the band sounds so much better together than when they let Thom and Johnny do their own thing (with the exception of "Myxomatosis"). However it is obvious that the band is learning to fuse the elements of The Bends and OK Computer albums with what they accomplished on Kid A and Amnesiac. Given another album I'm sure that they'll craft this sound down to perfection.
My other problem though is the running time. Hail to the Thief is the longest album in the Radiohead catalogue and it shows. The album is a bit anticlimatic and while it closes strongly with the terrific "A Wolf At the Door" it still has several filler songs that could have either been rearranged at other points in the album. "Scatterbrain" is a decent song but it doesn't work going after "Myxomatosis" and before "A Wolf At the Door". Had three or four songs been shaved off this certainly would have been an almost flawless album and a much more satisfying listening experience. I mentioned earlier that Hail to the Thief revisited on some of the themes of Ok Computer. However OK Computer nailed these down succinctly and in a shorter running time. The more expansive running time makes the album occasionally wander in places both musically and thematically. Had it been shorter I'm sure that it could have made it's point more effectively.
I hate to say this but this may indeed be Radiohead's most personal album to date. They're exploring territory that obviously has hit close to home both on a national scale and on a individual level. It's exciting to see and they group seems to know it too. But the question is, is this album on par with their better work? Yes it is. Is it a masterpiece? Yes that can be said however it's not a classic yet you can't expect every group of an obvious level of quality like Radiohead to churn out one classic after another. The band has once again returned to being a band which is great to see and I think they're comfortable with just putting out great albums. While there are still kinks to be worked, it's great to see the group working together and in such good form. Here's hoping to an even more fruitful collaborative process with the next album. | | |
| 28 days later... is at it's simplest level a zombie movie. It starts off with animal rights activists attempting to free monkeys in a British lab. A scientist catches and warns them that these monkeys can't be released because their infected with, and I say this in all seriousness, RAGE!!! Yeah, the activists take no heed and as soon as one frees a monkey they're savagely attacked by the monkey. The scientists yells at them that they need to kill the activist but it's too late because the activist kills scientist before we cut to a screen that says "28 days later...".
We find our scene shifted to the story of Jim, a man who awakens from a coma at the end of that time period. What he awakens to is a seemingly abandoned London. No one is in the hospital. No one is in the streets. The only clue he has is a newspaper which declares "EVACUATED" and briefly states that the United Kingdom. Why? We don't know until Jim enters a church where he's attacked by a rage filled priest who tries to attack Jim. Jim knocks out the priest only to be attacked by more people in a mindless rage who are keen on attacking him. Jim is saved by two people Selena and Mark, two of the uninfected. They clue Jim in on what has happened as well as the possibility that other parts of the world may have become infected too but they're not sure.
After Mark is killed, Jim and Selena meet Frank and Hannah, a father and his daughter who have survived by sheer determination. Eventually they hear a radio broadcast that there maybe be military protection at least 27 miles outside of Manchester. It's decided that they'll go to the location the broadcast says to go to not sure if there will be anyone to meet them or if they'll only be attacked by the infected.
First off this is not your standard zombie movie. For one thing the zombies do not lurch. They run and they run quickly. They're fearsome and utterly brutal. Once you become infected, well it doesn't take two or three hours. It takes under half a minute before you become a frenzied maniac that has desires to just utterly destroy everything else. They don't come across as goofy looking or unthreatening because we rarely see them and when they do the attacks by them are nothing less than a blitzkreig. It's utterly horrifying to watch these creatures and nowhere in the movie do you feel safe watching the characters just sit because you have a fear that the infected will just pop out and kill them. There is a constant feeling of being on the edge of your seat which makes the movie so scary. The editing helps the movie immensely because everytime that the infected show up everything becomes chaotic and frenzied.
Another thing that adds to the unsettling atmosphere of the film is the almost guerilla look to the film. I'm not sure but I think that the film was shot almost entirely with what looks like low grade digital film. Think some of the grainier scene in the Blair Witch Project and you'll be on the right path. The grainy look of the film stock gives it this dirty industrial feeling in the city though when there are scenes outside of the city things seem to become a bit clearer. It's documentary like and gives a "You Are Witnessing Actual Events" type feeling to the proceedings. The grainy look also seems to be an homage of sorts to the original Night of the Living Dead which I've read has a similar grainy look to it as well.
There's also a lots of interesting themes and symbols that are brought up in the film. One thing that's brought up by one of the survivors brings up that they hope things go back to normal. Anotheer then bring up that all he has seen in the four weeks the infection spread is that people are killing people. In the four weeks before that he saw people killing people and doing the same in the four weeks before that and so forth. Another brings up that humans have only been on the planet merely a blink of an eye and when they go things would return to normal. While it's interesting to see the infected people function on an almost primative level, it's at the same time contrasted with how the survivors react who are fully in control of their functions. So as not to spoil anything, the infected may not show the best in the human behavior but the survivors certainly aren't learning to behave in a proper manner either.
It's the theme of saving one's own behind that really guides the film. I will spoil that there is no search for a cure to the disease nor that one of the characters is coincidentally enough a viral biologist and can figure out an antivirus that they can distribute to the rest of humanity. It's not a movie about a virus, that's just a background detail. It's a movie about survival pure and simple. It's amazing to see what some characters will do in order to continue living under the conditions that they have been given. They kill and at some points rather brutally and this is the uninfected mind you! They steal food so they can eat. Some even attempt rape so as to procreate and prolong the existence of the human race.
People do some rather deplorable things in this time of great darkness. At the same time though these people do find a brighter side to life learn that surviving isn't all about doing the negative things. Selena who at the beginning of the movie is one of the hardest characters to be seen in recent films becomes a person who once again feels and empathizes. She's a much a different character than when she started out not overnight mind but because she's gone through a series of believable experiences that have indeed changed her. Jim also goes through several experiences and isn't quite the same as when he went in but going into that too much would ruin the movie. These are characters that you come to really care about and hope that nothing bad happens to them as at the same time you live in a paranoid fear that they'll get attacked and become infected.
Another cool thing about the movie is how homage to films and literature of the past without completely aping them or making it obvious. There are bound to be references to Night of the Living Dead in the film being a zombie film and all but at the same time there are other more interesting references too. Towards the end one can't help but feel the influence of Apocalypse Now on Jim's own journey into the heart of darkness. A nice nod to Lord of the Flies shows towards the end. I'm sure that there are plenty more that I missed my first time around that I might catch on the second go around.
One thing that I really liked about the movie and I almost forgot about was the music. Yes there is Godspeed You Black Emperor! showing up early in the film (and if you watch one of the trailers it's on there too). A Brian Eno track pops up on the sound track. Grandaddy is there. It's a plethora of alternative music used to great effect throughout the film especially Godspeed. I'm not sure how much of the music in the film was made for the film but the music made for other purposes that was used in the film is used effectively. Makes me wish I had sat through the credits to see who had contributed to the soundtrack.
My only complaint is that at the end the pace of the film sort of sags. Events happen that sort of drag the movie a little before it picks up for the climax. However it's the only problem that I have with an otherwise flawless movie. It's truly the most terrifying movie I've ever seen in a theater and I saw The Exorcist during it's rerelease in theaters years ago! No one say anything about how The Exorcist isn't scary. You've probably only seen it on a tv screen, cruddy speakers, and with lights on. See it in a theater or DVD with a killer sound system. Then tell me you weren't scared in the least. The movie also happens to be the best so far released this year. Nothing else has seemed as inventive or well done. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes scary movies. | | |
| Everybody knows these are rock hard times
That quote appears on the back of the album not to mention that it is the title but it could apply to the band too. For awhile Mark Oliver Everett, that's the man called E to the rest of the world, seemed to be the preeminent pop singer/songwriter having written two great albums of purely unique pop songs and backed by his band the Eels it seemed that smart, well written pop tunes would have at least a good voice in the struggle against that menace called bubblegum. But with the release of the album Oh Inverted World by The Shins, a new kid came into town named James Mercer to steal that title. With the release of the more hard rocking Souljacker, it seemed that E has all but given up on writing another album of pop songs. Not so with the release of the band's latest Shootenany! which goes back to the band's exploration of the pop songwriting format and is it's strongest effort since the classic Electro-Shock Blues.
It's interesting to mention the album Electro-Shock Blues in the same review with this album because the truth is that this one seems like a complete 180 from the 1998 album, which is the best thing that the band has done to date, which was one of the most depressing albums of the 90s. Shootenany! however is an album that's well full of hope as if E had finally come out of the depression that he had been documenting on Electro-Shock Blues and was moving on to the greener pastures that he had finally seen on the track "PS You Rock My World". It's really if anything a complete 180 from what the band had previously done. The band isn't writing songs about outcasts like on Beautiful Freak and Souljacker nor are they being uber depressing like the aforementioned Electro-Shock Blues. It's an album of love songs and hope something that seemed beyond E since well the majority of the band's catalogue contained songs that seemed to be nothing but well songs about outcasts or being depressed. Song titles like "The Good Old Days", "Love of the Loveless", and "Somebody Loves You" seem to indicate that the band is heading into bluer skies. Still this is the Eels so you do have songs with titles like "Agony", "Rock Hard Times", and "Restraining Order Blues" but even in those songs there's an air of hope to the band. It's almost as if E is trying to tell everyone "Okay people, it's okay to be depressed every once in awhile but nowadays let's try to smile every so often too?"
Lyrically, the band is in top shape. E proves that he's as deft at writing tunes about being happy as he is being depressed. "Saturday Morning" probably the msot infectious track on the whole album is about being a kid watching cartoons and absolutely captures the joy and excitement that comes with well getting up at 6 in the morning to watch your Saturday morning cartoons. "The Good Old Days" seems to be E exploring nostalgia a bit. Even the darker tunes like "Restraining Order Blues" seems to exude a bit of hope to them with E just trying to explain "Everybody knows that I'm not a violent man/Just someone who know he's in love". The apologetic tone of the song is almost unnerving given the title but it's really a beautiful love song when you start listening to the song even if the protagonist is well a stalker. Lyrics like "Everybody knows these are rock hard times/I gotta make it through" just seem to be a spit in the face of any fan of their darker work. Honestly though I'm glad that the band has begun to move away from that into more joyful material. You can only be depressed for so long until you realize that you have move on someday and having read that E uses music as his therapy it's obvious that being as prolific a songwriter as he has helped the man immensely.
Musically the band is in top form. Even though the album is titled Shootenany! and country tinges do pop up, we are talking about the Eels who seem to be taking as many chances musically as they did on Electro-Shock Blues. They are songs that remain in some of the white boy funk that they have explored previously ("Agony", "Love of the Loveless") which as usual the band excels in but it's the songs where the band takes chances that seem more exciting. When the band dips into almost bluesy territory on the opener "All in a Days Work" and horns come in, there is a definite energy in the air. "Saturday Morning" is a power pop gem that exudes the excitement of waking up and watching tv on a Saturday morning. It's obvious that these guys know there musical genres and can take them on with the gusto of any good band.
My only gripe with the album is that it feels a bit overlong but any Eels album seems to be overlong so it's par for the course with these guys. Shootenany! seems to be an important step in the right direction for the band. While they certainly have earned the title of great pop group once again, are they best pop group at the moment? That's hard to determine. Call me after the next Shins album is released and then we'll talk. | | |
| Finally heard one of the tracks from Radiohead's upcoming album Hail to the Thief, the track "Myxmatosis". While it's only one song I hope that it's a good indicator of the direction that the new album will sound like. If you're curious as to what it sounds like the fine folks at Capitol Records (Radiohead's label) have been kind enough to stream the song here
http://capitolrecords.com/radiohead/player/
Personally I think that the song itself is a terrific synthesis of the dark electronica/Krautrock of Kid A with the straight forward rock of OK Computer. It's really the next logical step that the band could take to be honest. It's hard not to want the band to completely return to the brilliant Floyd-esque rock of OK Computer or retread the cold Krautrock of Kid A. Instead they meet somewhere in the middle on this track creating a hard rocker that relies heavily on electronics. The tracks are sung in Thom's usual mumble-speak so many listens are required to understand what he's saying though this time there is no feeling of surreality that was found on Kid A. In fact lyrically it seems to harken back to the epic "Paranoid Android" where everything seems cautious and almost Big Brother-esque. Whatever this track hints at, expect something extremely interesting from the band for this album, well for those of us who haven't heard the album at all thanks to our lack of and inability to procure filesharing programs. | | |
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