The new Richard Thompson CD is out, so what are you waiting for? Somewhat terrifyingly, it appears to come with a bonus CD, and Amazon claims that “Kiss” by Prince is on that CD. Dig if you will the picture. I’ll report back on that when I know more. What I know right now is that you can get a limited edition EP (original) at certain retailers, which has a couple live tracks on it, so the healthy thing to do would be to buy it. I did. ...
Much to my joy, Family Guy is out on DVD. The first set is season 1 and 2; season 3 is out in September. The video quality sucks, with way too much pixelation, but it’s not like the animation was the real attraction anyhow. I wouldn’t call Family Guy great art, but it does a nice job of parodying all the tired old sitcom plots while stuffing itself on pop culture one-liners. It’s also more surreal than almost anything else on television — utterly deadpan. Plus you gotta love Stewie, and Chris is voiced by Seth Green. What’s not to love?
Via Die Puny Humans, The 25 Best American Comic Book Covers (original). Also includes the 12 worst. Beautiful stuff.
I watched a couple of episodes of CSI over the weekend. Wow. Now, that’s what I call a cop show for the new millenium. It’s really one of the most overinflated things I’ve ever seen on television. Every single image is saturated with color, usually blues; the cast is shot so as to be both gritty and polished at the same time. It is, in fact, a pretty good embodiment of Vegas. The show doesn’t take place on the strip, but the design ethos is still very Vegasesque. ...
Rules of Attraction rocked; thought you’d like to know. Nah, really. It’s glossy and terribly calculated, but it’s also stark and unflinching, and I like that in a movie. The plot isn’t exactly much but you wouldn’t complain if it was a romance with this little plot. Think of this as the anti-romance. Come to think of it, pair it off with The Talented Mr. Ripley and maybe Igby Goes Down and you’ve got yourself a nice thematic trilogy. ...
Whoof, that was a whole lot of Malazan Empire. Yep, you betcha. I liked Deadhouse Gates a lot, and I am pleased to report that it continued to progress along lines quite different than Gardens of the Moon. The differences in setting and characters are most obvious, but around halfway through the former I realized that whereas Gardens is a novel about places, Deadhouse Gates is all about journeys. The centerpiece of Deadhouse Gates is the deeply harrowing march known as the Chain of Dogs, while Gardens revolves around the struggle for Darujhistan. ...
I saw the most egotistical band in the world last night. It’s hard to top the arrogance of calling yourself The Band, but they did it; these guys call themselves The Music. Bold claim. I can’t say they entirely lived up to it. Not that it was bad stuff, mind you. They’re unapologetic straight-ahead guitar-driven British hard rock, with a lead singer (Robert Harvey) who looks like Frodo and sounds like a youthful Robert Plant. The lead guitarist, Adam Nutter, derives his style from Hawkwind, and the rhythm section — Stuart Coleman on bass, and Phil Jordan on drums — seems antsy every time they have to slow below a hundred beats per minute. All very good and effective. ...
The last Mr. Sterling of the season and probably for good aired last night, and you know what I did? I watched it. You bet. Most of the hour was spent on the deeply gripping and action-packed story of the Senator’s filibuster, most of which was delivered to an empty Senate. There was a tense little subplot about whether or not he’d be able to go to the bathroom. I think the message of the episode was that if you don’t care whether or not you get reelected, and you can talk for 24 hours straight, you may be able to screw up the budget and cause the United States to default on loans. But the cost will be your hot actor girlfriend. ...
I got sick and tired of reading people talking about this cool Steven Erikson guy, so I drifted on over to Chapters.ca and picked up the first three books of his Malazan Empire series. It’s scheduled to be a 10 book series when all is said and done, with each book standing alone to a certain degree. When I got the first three, I found myself with about 2,800 pages of fiction sitting in front of me, which was a bit offputting. Stubborn, I tucked into the first one. Three chapters in and I was totally hooked. ...
Man, I was in a frustrated mood yesterday. Sorry about that. Lemme see if I can wean myself off politics for a bit with a contemplative bit on a TV show that strikes some interesting political chords. Last year, Salon told us in no uncertain terms that The Shield (original) was a right-wing love fest. Yeah, sure, Murdoch media empire, conservative arm of the media — sounded plausible. Still, a little while ago, the first season was released on DVD. The price was low, so I took a chance on it. ...