Brian James's Blog, page 19

Under My Umbrella

I finished watching Season 1 of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix the other day. I'll admit that I haven't read Gerard Way's graphic novels on which the show is based, despite having wanted to read them, being a fan of his. So I came into this show blind, and cannot compare it to the books, just throwing that out there.
The show is definitely entertaining. The story is big, and gradually gets bigger as the season goes on. It's a little derivative of some other things, Heros definitely comes to mind, but it was original enough that it didn't bother me. It also hints at a much bigger story that hopefully will be touched on in the second season. The time travel aspect was enough to set it apart, and given that I'm a sucker for time travel, it was definitely enough for me. 
The characters are all intriguing, though the acting is sometimes uneven. There were episodes when the acting definitely brought it down a little, but I liked that there were characters that you could gravitate to. Ellen Page was fantastic, but some of the other characters fell too much into cliche. Thankfully, it was never enough to dampen interest in watching the next episode.

Another Hard Goodbye...

Saying goodbye to a pet is one of the hardest tasks that we have to do in life. I've had to do it many times and it never gets easier. But one of the biggest responsibilities of being a pet owner is having to make the decision when the time comes. For our beloved Mitzie, that time came this past weekend.

Almost exactly 13 years ago, we brought this adorable fuzzball into our lives. She was all candy cane tail and squeaky meow, and a bundle of trouble...T-R-U-B-B-L-E kind of trouble. When she came home, we had another cat, Doggie. Mitzie loved to terrorize the Doggie with her kitten instincts. She loved the Doggie, but Doggie didn't particularly care for her. Doggie passed about a year later and that's when Mitzie become our little snuggle bug. 

Mitzie grew into a regal cat lady, but never lost her kitten ways. She would often climb into places where she couldn't get down, meowing until I came to rescue her with the ladder (though that never stopped her from going back to the same spot). She was fond of water experiments, tipping bowls, knocking glasses off tables, etc. She also dabbled in fire experiments, frequently trying to shove things in our old furnace. She had no manners whatsoever and would jump on the dinner table and eat off our plates. She once stole a chicken bone off my plate and growled at me when I tried to take it away. But she was also incredibly sweet and cleaned our hands with the scratchiest tongue ever, and always made sure my beard was spotless. 

Earlier this summer, we learned that she had a tumor in her belly and were completely heartbroken. We always jokingly told her "we're going to get you the help that you need" whenever she did anything crazy, but now it was real. We weren't going to put her through chemo, not at her age and not when it involved an hour long car ride (car rides literally scared the poop out of Mitzie). So we put her on a regiment of medicines, both natural and pharmaceutical. We tried Rife treatment. And we gave her plenty of love. Being the miracle cat that she was, we got three more months of Mitzie being Mitzie.

About two weeks ago, we noticed Mitzie was getting weaker. The steroids began losing their effect and she stopped eating. We increased the dose and gave her some other medicines, and for another week, she was back to normal. Then last week, we could tell she was getting tired. Her appetite had vanished. She slept more than normal. She even stopped hissing at our white cat, whom she's always hated. But she never stopped being affectionate. She never stopped curling up in my arms at night like a teddy bear. But she simply stopped being herself and it was time. We couldn't bear it if we had to watch Mitzie suffer.

A little over a year ago, we lost our Mr. Mowgli. I'm not sure Mitzie ever really got over his absence. They were constant companions.  I like to think they are together again now. Though I miss them both terribly, at least that thought gives me some comfort. 
Sleep Tight, Sweet Mitzie

Fiction Friday (92)

With five out of six required YA reads out of the way, get set for a long pause to come before I read another YA novel. There's still one more to go, so it's not coming yet, but I do believe I will invest in another genre next, even though I have enjoyed all of the five books so far. But I am starting to remember some of the things I grew to not like about a lot of YA fiction, mainly their lack of literary writing and tendency to veer toward popular fiction. That I'm seeing this in books that are widely acclaimed tells me something about the vast glut of publishing for the age group. But, I'm ranting and what I really want to do is rave (a little bit) about the latest book I read. Enjoy.
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
(S&S, 2015)

Simon Spier is a junior in High School, and if that alone weren't horrible enough, he is also being blackmailed by a classmate. The deal is simple, Simon is to help this kid with the girl he likes, in exchange, this kid won't reveal to the world that he learned through snooping that Simon is gay. Seems totally fair, right? Needless to say, Simon half-hardheartedly goes along, mostly to protect the boy he's been emailing with. Things cruise along pretty okay for Simon, until that other kid breaks the deal and Simon suddenly finds his place in the world up-ended.
Despite the premise, this is a delightful read. The friendships between the characters are truly heartwarming. Simon is a joy to listen to in all his quirks and flaws and strengths. And on the surface, it's just a very fun book. The whole "falling in love over email" was beautifully done.
Digging deeper is where I found myself a little unsure of the book as a whole. As I mentioned, the characters are a delight to be around, and perhaps they are little too delightful. There is nearly no tension between characters in the book, and when it does arise, it's a little too easily overcome (with the exception of the blackmailer, which I thought was handled expertly). And while there is some amount of push back from others towards Simon's outing, everything was a bit too "in a perfect world" kind of thing going on. And while I know the world is far more accepting that it used to be, I still think this was a bit on the unrealistic side. There was also something about Bram's character that felt a lot less real once we knew him than he did when he was just as voice.

Weekend Music Roundup

It's the weekend and it finally feels like Fall here in the Hudson Valley. The leaves are changing, the weather is crisp, and the tunes are turning toward melancholy. These are a few of my favorite things and so it's no surprise that many of the albums on this week's list tend to fit that theme. There's some new highly anticipated albums, some older albums that I'd been searching for, and a couple of curiosities that are well worth sharing. Enjoy.
Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!: So last weekend, I mistakenly attributed my review of a Lana bootleg for a review of this, her fifth solo album since reinventing herself as Lana, but it still remains my favorite album from  the NYC native, L.A. transplant, artist since 2014's Ultraviolence.  It seems many of the tracks on the bootleg were rougher versions of songs on here (though some were apparently older songs). While I typically enjoy rough versions, there is something about the finished versions here that propel them to the next level. This is by far her most realized record and most sophisticated. Whereas on previous albums, she could sometimes sound like someone playing a part, this time around, it feels incredibly real. A true gem of an album!
Spiritualized - And Nothing Hurt: I'd been looking to find a copy of this for over a year, a copy that didn't cost a fortune, and I finally found one. I've been a Spiritualized fan for well over twenty years and it had been six years between releases before this came out last year. This is a masterpiece of an album that sees Jason Pierce at his vulnerable best. It doesn't have the bravado of Ladies and Gentleman, but a more mature sense of the same themes. "A Perfect Miracle," "Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go," "On the Sunshine," "Damaged," and "The Prize" are all brilliant songs, as are pretty much all of the songs on here. A true triumph.
Lions and Ghosts - Velvet Kiss, Lick of the Lime: This 1987 debut from the L.A. jangle rock band was a recent find in the 5 for $20 bin at a recent record show. Of course, jangle rock is more associated with the U.K, but there were a few college radio bands here in the U.S. making that sound. Being from L.A., they are able to mix this sound with the drenched burnout sound of that town, which makes for a great mix. This was a nice find, and opens with the wonderful "Passion." Other favorite tunes include "Mary Goes Round," "Girl on a Swing,"  "Love and Kisses from the Gutter," and "Contradiction."
Cranes - Self-Non-Self: The 1989 debut EP from the UK goth band. I've been a following this band since their first album. They were scheduled to open for The Cure during the "Wish" tour when I was a soph in High School and I bought their album before the show. Sadly, they didn't make it to the Philly show, but I loved the album. I have a huge collection of their albums and singles on CD, but not this one. I was shocked to find a mint copy of this on vinyl, especially considering they were never popular in the U.S. and this was very limited even the U.K. This is more goth industrial than they were end up being, but it's amazing. Someone described it as Skinny Puppy with your child signing, and though that's not exactly true, but a good starting point.
Steve Walsh - Schemer-Dreamer: The first solo album released by the singer of Kansas came out in 1980. It would twenty years before he released another solo record, so for all intents and purposes, this is the only solo album from the peak of his career. It opens with the great title track that is near perfect hard blues rock, and from there continues it's straight forward sound, something that probably felt refreshing after a decade of prog rock albums. Though it certainly does have some prog elements, they are more window dressing than any type of focus. Along with the title track, "You Think You Got it Made," "Every Step of the Way," and "Wait Until Tomorrow" are solid songs. But the real star of this is the way over-the-top 80s cover art, which is narcissistically BRILLIANT!
The Divine Comedy - Office Politics: This is the 13th album from Irish art-pop band that first came to prominence during the Britpop era. Even in their heyday, Neil Hannon blended humor into songs that were constructed with the importance of Baroque sophistication. This is no different, he takes the subject of office life and pokes fun at it in a series of songs that mask the triviality of the words, though as with all humor, there is real statements hidden in the humor. The one drawback to this album is that it is simply too long. A single disc made up of the best tracks would have been fantastic, but with so much filler, it's hard to get through.

Fiction Friday (91)

The YA blitz continues on with the fourth book in my required reading. This one falls under the theme of social media in teen romance, though social media plays a very limited role in this book. The focus is less on any form of social media interaction, but old school letters and notes, which essentially serve the same purpose. Social media is just modern form of communicating through the written word, but with photographs. Either way, it was a fun read.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
(S&S, 2014)

There are moments when every teenager feels his or her life has been completely undone by an embarrassment that is totally unrecoverable in scope. For Lara Jean, this happens when several old love letters she wrote to boys she's had crushes on are mysteriously mailed to them.  The very concept is brilliant, one that anyone could relate to. We all keep our crushes secret, and even if we are long over them, having them revealed can be mortifying...especially if one of them happens to be a close friend, who is also your sister's boyfriend, and who you happen to still be in love with. 
A twist of fate provides Lara Jean with a way to save face when dreamy Peter offers to pretend to be her boyfriend, in a relationship of mutual benefit. What was supposed to be a charade, leads to unexpected consequences and self-discovery in this page-turning read.
The strength of this book is the dialogue. Jenny Han has a great ear for writing dialogue that feels very real and be both touching and hilarious.

Seeing Double

A few weeks ago, the Missus and I were talking about Richard Ayoade and his wonderful movie Submarine and during that discussion, discovered that seven years ago he had made another more called The Double and staring Jesse Eisenberg. Of course, we immediately put it on our watchlist.
This is one of those delightfully and brilliantly odd movies. It's part Michel Gondry, part Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It has that feel like it's set in an alternate reality, a bleak one where dark things happen. But these dark, bleak things are told in such a way that you find the humor buried within them. 
Simon James is a person who barely exists. He works at soul sucking data company where nobody seems to remember him though he's been there seven years. Then James Simon, an exact look-alike starts working there. This double is the mirror image of Simon. Think an angel and a devil sitting on the shoulder of someone. 
This devil character ends up destroying Simon's life, however miserable it may have been. However, it also awakens real passion and real life within him. 

Certainly not a film for everyone, but for people who like these types of movies, it's basically a masterpiece.

Weekend Music Roundup

It's that time again, weekend time. I've been spending most of this week listening to Liam's new album, but have found time for a few other things. However, most of this week is stuff that I've been grooving to over the past few months, with the exception of the first album on the list, which is was new this week, and captivating. There's a broad range on here, with a lot less "rock" than usual. Hopefully there's something here you want to take a closer listen to. Enjoy.
Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!: The fifth solo album since reinventing herself as Lana, this is my favorite of the NYC native, L.A. transplant, artist since 2014's Ultraviolence.  To be clear, I enjoyed both her albums that followed, but couldn't connect to them in the same way as I did to her first two. No such problem with this one. I can see maybe why her "heartbreak" aurora might wear on people a bit, and by all means, this is another story of a heartbroken girl, but she does it so well and more importantly, still makes you believe it and feel it. 
The Bluebells - Cath: This is an early EP from the UK jangle pop band, released in 1983, a year before their debut, which would feature this single. This is a preview of bands that would emerge from the UK in second half of the 80's. It's the beginnings of indie rock over there, moving away from new wave, punk, goth, hard blues, and other dominant rock styles of the time. This is four really good songs by a band that never really found stardom. 
Eddie Money - Life For the Taking: Released in '78, one year after his break-out debut, this the second album from the NYC rocker. His sound was always very solidly FM rock radio, but he was a master of the genre. I was a fan of his during childhood and rediscovered his music about ten years ago. With his passing fresh on my mind, I picked up this album recently. It was missing from my collection and is another solid rock record. He's one of those artists who know what he was and didn't try to be anything other than that, and that's where his true cool comes from.

blur - live at the bbc: Recorded in '94, this four song archival EP was just released and of course I had to by it for the Missus whose favorite band is blur. As with all Live at the BBC albums, the quality is amazing. Bands really seem to bring their best when recording live there, especially British bands who know the importance. Includes the mega-hit "Boys and Girls" and three other lesser known, but no lesser brilliant songs.
Pat Metheny Group - Pat Metheny Group: Released in 1978, this is the first Pat album to be released under the Group moniker. Metheny is one of the pioneers of the ECM jazz movement, which emerged in the late 70's from jazz fusion, and is seen as a split from the free jazz of the era. Contemporary jazz has never really been my thing, as it often veers into easy listening, but as with any genre, when a great musician takes it on, it's worth hearing. This is the kind of super mellow album that is great for an early morning listen. It has a warm, peaceful 70's sound and just feels...right. 
Talking Heads - Little Creatures: This is the sixth album from the iconic post-punk new wave icons. Released at the height of their mainstream popularity, this album still holds true to their early sound, and features some of their biggest hits, such as "She Was" and "Stay Up Late." I've recently been into this band, so it was good fortune that this album came to me through the generosity of a friend recently. David Byrne's gift has always been being able to make the bizarre incredibly appealing to the masses. In addition to the hits, other great tunes on here are "Give Me Back My Name," "The Lady Don't Mind," and "Television Man." 

Fiction Friday (90)

Well, now I'm half way through my required YA reading and each book keeps getting better. I can only hope the next three books I need to read are as enjoyable as the first three. This review is of the second book in the "Who Can You Trust" theme and it was a great one. I love discovering books that I probably would never have picked up on my own.
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
(MacMillan, 2015)

Faith's world has always been a rather limited one. The adolescent daughter of a Reverend in Victorian England, the world does not contain many open doors for her. But all of that changes when her family moves to a small island in the English Channel under the pretense of her father, a respected natural scientist, joining a fossil expedition.
On the journey to the island, Faith discovers the first of many secrets that will soon be revealed to her. Desperate to know the truth, to not be shut out from the world simply because she's a girl, Faith resorts to stealth and prying. It isn't long before she finds herself in the middle of events far more complicated than she could've imagined.
This is a very well written piece of literature. On the surface, it's a murder mystery involving religious and scientific intrigue. Under the surface, it's a compelling story about a young girl who refuses to accept the place of women in her society, and a revelation that there were many women working very hard within those rigid rules to circumvent them. In many ways, it's a feminist text, turning ancient religious stories condemning female curiosity (Pandora's box, Eve and the Tree of Knowledge) while turning them on their head.
Absolutely engrossing and clever.

The Emptiness of Space

It probably shouldn't come to a surprise for anyone who has followed this blog for a period of time that I'm a sucker for space flicks. Ever since I was four years old and saw Star Wars for the first time, I've been a sucker for space flicks. My childhood was consumed with space fiction, and I still find it captivating to the imagination. Also being a Brad Pitt fan, it seemed to make sense to go see Ad Astra in the theater.
The overwhelming feeling that this movie left me with was coldness. It's not an uplifting film about the achievements of humankind. It's an exploration into the heart of darkness and the emptiness of space. 
It reminded me of Apocalypse Now set in outer space. The film is told mostly in voice over narrative as Brad Pitt's character ends up retracing his father's footsteps. He is on a mission to end the destruction that his father's madness has created. It basically follows the same trajectory as Apocalypse Now and does it well.
The movie is about isolation, both physically and psychologically. It deals with this theme on the personal level and on the species level. A refusal to connect with others leads one to dangerous places in their minds. Likewise, the inability for the human species to connect with other life is preventing us from moving away from the destructive behavior that has always plagued us. 
This movie was visually stunning and definitely explored these themes in depth and compellingly. The one place it was lacking was in giving the viewer any sense of emotion. The viewer is just as disconnected and closed off watching the movie as the characters are. To some extent, I think was intentional. However, at places where Brad Pitt's character shows emotion, it didn't seem to earn that emotion. But is sure was pretty to look at....

Weekend Music Roundup

The first official weekend of Fall is upon us, and with it comes one of the most anticipated releases of the year in my world. This has traditionally been a time when a lot of big albums come out. It used to be timed with back to school and aimed at kids who were looking for a distraction, though I'm sure a bit of that history has been lost with the changes to the music industry of the years. However, it's still an important time for releases, gearing up for the holidays and making a mark in the world before the year changes. This list features a few new releases and some old albums of recent discovery. Enjoy.

Liam Gallagher - Why Me? Why Not: The second solo album from the rock icon is his follow-up to 2017's surprise hit debut. Like that record, this is another full-on album of belters that fans of Oasis want to hear. Liam has never tried to reinvent himself, he is who is, a rock 'n roll star. There is no letdown with this record. It's another full length of genuine Liam sound that will most certainly please his fan base, myself included. 
Stuff Smith - Black Violin: Released in '65, shortly before his death two years later, this is a fantastic record by one of the few jazz violinists of the hard-bop era. I picked this up on a whim, mostly because jazz violin is rare and I wanted to hear what it sounded like. Peter Witte on bass and Otto Weiss on piano complete the sound. Both are German musicians, as this was recorded in Munich, and they give it a different feel than American hard bop, but the violin is really what establishes this record and creates a sound that feels entirely new to me. Absolutely love this album.
Thoughts - The Last Summer: This is the second album from the psychedelic pop band out of Florida. It's a bit too much of the current indie pop sound for me to really love, but I'm aware that people do love that sound. I actually love the 80s influences on this and is what it made it stand out to me over a bunch of other indie pop. "Next to You," and "Listen to Me" were standouts.  
The Third Bardo - I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time: This archival EP from Sundazed Records, the leader in unearthing lost material from the '60s, came in in 2000 and contains the entire output from the NYC psychedelic garage band. Originally recorded in '67, the band, despite the clever title track, was not five years ahead of their time. They were very much a part of their time, albeit a part of very underground form of psychedelic rock. Clearly inspired by Syd Barrett era Floyd, but with New York brashness, this is definitely a band that deserved to be uncovered, though now that uncovering is 20 years ago and they've already been forgotten once again. 
Mountain - Flowers of Evil: Released in '71, ten months after Nantucket Sleighride, the third proper album from the New York proto-metal band features one side of new studio material, while the flip side is a live recording. It was clearly an attempt by the label to really build the band off the moderate success of Sleighride, but failed to reach the same level. The band would release another album in '74 before Leslie West would try a solo career. For a band that played a prime slot in the original Woodstock concert, this band never achieved the success they should have. They were the American Led Zeppelin, one of the founders of the heavy sound that would lead to the birth of metal. "One Last Cold Kiss" and "Crossroader" are killer tracks from the studio side. The live side is typical Mountain...blistering guitar and heavy blues.  
The Warlocks - Mean Machine Music: I've been following this L.A. based Neo-psychedelic band for well over a decade and have all eight of their albums, including this one, their new album. What's impressive is that they've never made a bad album, and never made an album that wasn't true to what they are. Of course, with that comes a little lack of improvisation, but that's okay. They make psych rock that isn't too heavy and not too sunny. It's dark and moody, and pretty great. "You Destroy," "It's Hopeless," and the title track are standouts. Oddly, the second side of this album is instrumental versions of the first side, so it's more of an EP, but still a must for fans.