366 Songs 306: Ponderosa

I’ve written elsewhere about how important 1997 was to me when it came to understanding and accepting music that wasn’t just “white boys with jangly guitars,” but listening to this again for the first time in some years, I realize that Tricky’s Maxinquaye album came even earlier and laid the groundwork. Listen to the backing of this song, and revel in how un-pop it actually is. Here, I’ll make it easier for you:

There’s a lot going on in there; it’s wonderfully layered, percussion playing off percussion to create something akin to melody at times, even when the organ sample isn’t leading you in the background to where it wants you to be. But by the time you get to the sampled, looped “Hey man” in the second half, followed by the piano loop sounding just a little bit off (Too fast, a little manic, especially when it gets overdubbed by itself, just a little out of synch), there’s an entire atmosphere to this track, a biosphere of story and feeling that’s punctuated with noises that come from places that we might not recognize as music elsewhere (The… what, roar of something that follows the piano?).

It’s a brave choice to put as the second track on a debut album (Especially considering that “Overcome,” the first track, is far more traditional in its construction and instrumentation – The pan pipes almost sound accidentally comedic now – and less abrasive to the untrained ear; It was the first single off the album, as far as I remember, although I may be wrong), but it works as the following track nonetheless, and serves as a warning and tease for what’s to follow: “If you like this, then there’s more to come,” if you will.

There’s something seductive about it, as music, even before you get to Tricky and Martina Topley Bird’s vocals on top. Again, this is Martina’s show, with beautifully scratchy, casual vocals that sound playful and sexy (That laugh at 2:36!) while Tricky’s murmuring behind her sounds like an ugliness hidden under the surface, some scary monster and super freak that’s on the same level as the animalistic roar/squawk, ready to jump out and bite when you let your guard down. The illusion of confusion, reflected from lyric to sound to feeling. The track as a holistic experience, disorienting and welcoming all at the same time: An invitation and reminder that it’s okay not to be certain and convinced of what’s to come.

Pro! Duc! Tivity!

Because I’ve just wrapped up all my October invoicing, I can now tell you that I wrote 198 stories of varying lengths last month* (Six for Time, which is a new record since I switched to longer-form Op-Eds for them), in addition to 4 podcasts and a live television appearance. All of that’s just work; there’s also been sick dogs, vet visits, regular gym sessions, trips out of town and more happening. Suddenly, the reasons behind my seemingly-permanent exhaustion last month become worryingly clear.

The funny/not funny at all thing about doing invoicing is that you suddenly realize how horrendously you’re undervalued, if you’re me. I worked out that I am making a stupidly low amount of money from two of my regular outlets, which makes me think that it may be time to start looking for other places to spend my time/effort…

(* It’s actually more; there are at least two stories I’ve written that haven’t appeared either yet or never will, for reasons that I don’t entirely understand. Plus, there are all the blog posts and things I wrote for this site, too, but they don’t really count because they’re not for work; I don’t even want to think about what happens when I add that to the list.)

“Pre-Impressions”

November 7 marks the first day of Marvel Comics’ initial wave of new releases for Marvel NOW! with a month including a number of high-profile relaunches with many more to come through January 2013. With all the hype and anticipation surrounding the three-month launch window of Marvel NOW!, we thought we’d share the CBR Staff’s impressions of the publishing initiative’s titles before the books hit stands. Check out the top picks of the CBR Staff below and then head to the forums to discuss what you’re most excited about in the coming months.

I wouldn’t normally note something like this, but this story on CBR today is the story that Chad Nevett described as “sucking Marvel’s cock and pretending it’s journalism” on CBR the other day. I don’t know quite why I am so surprised to see it go up, especially so close to Chad’s post calling it out for what it is, but I am. Somewhat proving Chad’s point about it in some way, it’s promoted twice on the front page of the site as I write.

“There’s No Silver Bullet Anymore”

 

I think the institutions that have a real commitment to journalism understand that there is a real future of journalism in interactive news and in interactive storytelling and multimedia storytelling. There’s no silver bullet anymore. There’s no longer just an article, or there’s no longer just a news report on television at 6 p.m. or just the radio in the evenings. There’s a whole bunch of different ways that people are consuming their news nowadays. That’s as affected by technology as it affected by the news and people.

From here. There’s something about that “there’s no longer just an article” that sticks with me. In an interactive media world, is there such a thing as a news story, or is everything “news cycles” these days? If it’s the latter, what is the purposes of being a writer, exactly?

 

366 Songs 305: Frankenstein

And, after I complain about Hallowe’en, I go for a monster-themed song. What can I say? I’ve been in a particularly Hallowe’en-y mood all day because of a thing I’ve written for Newsarama that will hopefully go up today, despite everything. Even so: I love Edgar Winters’ “Frankenstein” for the following reasons:

  • That riff is awesome.
  • There is something ridiculously wonderful about the way that the organ at 0:16 reminds me of the theme to Taxi.
  • The extended freak-out from 2:22 through to 3:54 is arguably the greatest argument against prog-rock ever recorded.
  • (Actually, this live version is even greater for the progginess of the whole thing:

    As they used to say on The Fast Show: “Nice.”)

    I actually discovered the song in the 1990s, through They Might Be Giants, and I have to admit, I may still prefer their version –

    – and yet, in whatever form it takes, there’s no denying that “Frankenstein” is one seriously weird, wonderful and stupid song that demonstrates in its own way the value of not caring what anyone thinks and following your bliss. Even if your bliss is a spectacularly grindy song that seemingly never ends.

    Boo! Hiss

    I don’t get Hallowe’en.

    I try, I promise, but I’ve never really been into it; I’ve never been the one who gets excited about dressing in outrageous costumes or drawing attention to myself and how I look, and I’ve never really enjoyed Trick’r’Treating, either (When I was a kid, lo those many years ago, it was still called “galoshing” in Scotland. Although, looking at that word there, I wonder how badly I’ve misspelled it. “Galoshin’,” maybe? “Galloshing”?), so the whole holiday feels like a strange waste of energy and attention to me. I feel like the Grinch saying that, especially now that I live in America, a country that seems to consider Hallowe’en a national holiday on par with Christmas and Thanksgiving, but it’s true; when people talk about going to parties or getting dressed up, I find myself shying away mentally and thinking “Eh, you’re all crazy.”

    I’d call it a sign of getting old, but I was always like this.

    Stay Positive

    I think I bristle at the “you’re so negative” thing that I get every couple of months because it ain’t true. I can be, have been, and will be negative, sure. But if you look at my work, you’d have to be crazy to come to that judgment. ‘cause, here’s the other thing about writing about comics: no one pays attention to everything online, but everyone pays attention to certain things, and posts that are going at someone or negative get a lot of attention. They can and will outshine the sloppiest kiss you ever laid on a comic.

    From here. Quoted for truth.

    Of course, sometimes positivity just doesn’t work, either. I started, the other week, just showing art from comics that blew me away on the Newsarama blog. They weren’t the best known comics, but they looked amazing. How quickly do you think I got accused of shilling for publishers? Spoiler: Very.

    Two For The Price of One

    This is a screenshot from the front page of Time.com as I write these very words. Those two un-pixelated stories? They’re both by me; weirdly and somewhat wonderfully, I ended up doing two stories for Time this week (Yes, the Lucasfilm/Disney thing was a last-minute thing, because I journalist well at times, thank you very much) and they both ended up on the front page of Time.com. I swear, I’m almost getting good at this writer thing.

    The stories can be found here (Disney/Lucasfilm) and here (Horror on Broadcast TV), respectively.

    “Usually, People Get Paid for Endorsements, Right?”

    I sure as hell won’t miss getting requests to participate in articles where you list all of the Marvel NOW! books you’re looking forward to and why. Oh, not a rundown of all of the titles and what you think of each. No, just what books you’re looking forward to! Because it’s a fun article! And it’s only fun when it’s positive and pretty flowers and free advertising for the largest comic publisher in North America! I don’t know if I’d like it more or less if money had been offered. I guess getting paid to participate in an article like that would be more honest. I mean, it’s a fucking ad for a bunch of comics — an endorsement! And, usually, people get paid for endorsements, right? Then again, it’s not like this is Marvel asking that this article happen, it’s just something that someone came up with, because it’s a ‘fun idea.’ How sad is that… ‘Fun’ equals ‘free promotion.’ Not actual balanced content — not even the illusion of it. Hey, if you genuinely love something, then shout it from the roof. I’ve never shied away from that. But, this… this is shilling pure and simple. Sucking Marvel’s cock and pretending it’s journalism.

    From here, where Chad Nevett writes about his decision to step back from writing for The Comics Internet and explains why. He’s not wrong, but I’m still surprised that this saw print on ComicBookResources itself, simply because it’s… I don’t know, pulling back the curtain a little bit too much for comfort, maybe? I can’t imagine that there aren’t as many CBR writers who’d see this and think “I am a sell out” as there will be people reading it and thinking “I KNEW IT!” (This isn’t just something that is restricted to CBR, by the way; Newsarama and iFanboy and other comic sites do it just as much, too. And, yes, I write for many of these comic sites, and I sometimes contribute to this type of thing, for the purposes of full disclosure). Nonetheless, I’m really glad he wrote it; I think it’s smart and passionate and needed to be said by someone who actually has experience in this field. I just wonder what the reaction will be, both privately and publicly, is all.

    …Somewhere in my head are thoughts about “fun articles” and positivity and the way in which they do serve a purpose beyond shilling or cowering to publishers/creators/whatever, but they’re nowhere near well-formed enough to actually write into anything coherent yet. One day. I still have to write about being on television last week, too.

    366 Songs 304: The Imperial March

    What can I say? It seemed appropriate for a day when people lose their shit over Lucasfilm being bought by Disney and a new Star Wars movie was announced, instead of, you know, continuing to lose their shit about a hurricane – Sorry, “super storm” – decimating the East Coast. But, putting aside the timeliness and the “Really, Internet? Really?” nature of things, there’s no getting away from the fact that John Williams’ “Imperial March” is kind of a spectacular piece of music. Even if it wasn’t amazingly evocative and nostalgic for anyone who’s seen the original Star Wars trilogy, there’s such a narrative power in this music: You listen to it, and you can hear an epic grandeur, a militaristic element and a growing intensity – The bit at 2:49! – throughout, and you can imagine a story, even if it’s not necessarily the story of Star Wars. Williams is famous for his well-known themes to Star Wars, Superman and Indiana Jones amongst many others, but it’s this piece of music that will always make me love his work without any doubt.

    Poh, hee. Poh, hee.