Adventures in Literature

listening to K-os: I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman

   I finished up volume nine of the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman, one of the few comic book writers (along with Alan Moore) that elevate the art form to literature. If you have a chance Sandman (again along with Alan Moore's Swamp Thing) is one of those few series, rather than stand-alone graphic novels, that consistently provide quality writing throughout. While the last volume was about a Canterbury Tales style meeting where inn patrons tell stories and stories within stories, this volume "The Kindly Ones" is a classic tragedy, right from the beginning Gaiman brings in an overbearing sense of foreboding. You know how the story will end right from the start, but it's a testament to his skill that he maintains a sense of mystery and wonder all the way through the tale.

   Tomorrow I'm heading off to the Timothy Encounter and I'm looking forward to being challenged on a lot of levels. There's one thing that really stuck with me from last year's Timothy Encounter and that is to come into these things with a sense of expectation. Expectation that God is going to meet you and that God is going to impact you, break you, and speak to you. And He will. 

   Another adventure in literature that I had recently was finishing a short story by Isaac Asimov, The Dead Past, which I heard presented as a radio play years ago. And then, as I was thinking about it today, I realized that there are almost never any original sci-fi or fantasy movies, almost all are adapted from some other medium. The only one I can think of right now that hasn't been adapted is Pan's Labyrinth (which happens to be somewhere on my top five movies of all time). Anyways it seems like that's something that should be broken out of (who am I kidding, people don't have original ideas anymore anyways (either that or original ideas just aren't commercially viable (and these days art seems to bow before the almighty dollar (this multi-bracket is full of cynicism)))). 

   As a closing statement it would be worthwhile to note that the song I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman has being playing for the better part of half an hour on repeat and it's still good. It's one of those few songs that actually sounds good on repeat. It's also a pretty good song in general. Keep it... Wait, who am I kidding, that saying is getting pretty stale.

Soundmime

Coming Back

Listening to The Pixies: Doolittle

Doolittle is a truly beautiful album, it's much more polished than Surfer Rosa, but it's got the same edgy sound. It's also just as addictive as Surfer Rosa, When I first got it I listened to it at least twice a day for the first week and since then it's still pretty much all I've listened to. It happens every once in a while, where I listen to an album that I like so much, that I compulsively have to listen to it every chance I get. It happened with albums like De Stijl, Highway 61 Revisited, and I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (along with Surfer Rosa itself). I'll dissect the album and hold it up to a million lenses, read the lyrics a dozen times over and find out what they mean. Of course, the first time I listened to Doolittle was around four or five years ago when Luc L'Heuroux loaned it to me for a few days after school. I gave it the worst listening ever, skipping over songs because it was all so repetitive in my mind. I distinctly remember telling Luc that it just all sounded the same and although it had some nice melodies sometimes (I thought I was being very open minded on this point) it was just a lot of repetitive static. Well the second time I listened to it, a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't believe how deaf I was to it the first time. I guess the first listen I just wasn't ready for the sounds, but more importantly I didn't understand where they were coming from. It's always a pleasure to find an artist and realize that this is where a lot of your favorite modern artists take their influence. I tend to do that a lot. I remember discovering blues to be a wealth of sound only after discovering the neo-blues of the White Stripes. They were like a gateway drug to a whole new soundscape. Now I don't know what the gateway drug to stuff like the Pixies was, but I do know that coming back to them I can hardly believe my ears. Anyways, the standout tracks would be Debaser, Monkey Gone To Heaven, Hey, and Gouge Away (that list is completely non-comprehensive because all the songs belong on it, but you've got to draw the line somewhere) so if you get the chance listen to one of those, but be forewarned, the Pixies aren't for everybody and they deal with some pretty heavy issues. I've got to go to Lordco today because I need to get a wheel bearing for Mindy's rear, right wheel so I'm gonna have to wrap this up. Keep it pregnant people.

Soundmime