"World War Z" - Max Brooks
There's been a bit of hype about "World War Z" (and zombies in general, as discussed here previously), so when I found a used copy for cheap I thought I'd check it out. That was way back in September an
d I'm still trying to slough through it. I'm having a weird relationship with this book: sometimes I pick it up & have a hard time getting through a chapter. Other times I get really "into" it & dig it. Suffice to say it's not great "literature". My biggest complaint about it is that although it's an interesting concept, it's not great writing. Let me qualify that: "logistically" and "technically" it's really good. It has a great concept and the story is quite ambitious. All the individual "threads" tie together nicely and it seems like the author did a lot of research (scientific, military, political) to make the whole zombie pandemic thing seem plausible. My complaint is largely that although every chapter is supposed to be "spoken" by ethnically and geographically diverse characters, to me, they all have the same literary "voice". Maybe I'm just expecting too much. It is just horror fantasy, and admittedly I'm not even finished it yet. Damn all those undergrad English lit courses I took for inhibiting my enjoyment of pulp fiction! I keep looking for symbolism and meaning instead of just entertainment!And now having just poo-pooed on "pulp" fiction....
"Concrete" - Paul Chadwick
The editions I'm reading are not the same as pictured here, but I've been devouring volumes of Paul Chadwick's "Concrete" comics. If you're not familiar with the series,
here it is in a nutshell: These are the adventures of Concrete, formerly political speech writer Ron Lithgow, whose brain is transplanted by aliens into a massive clay-like and seemingly indestructible body. Concrete is a sensitive, introspective fellow who attempts to "make lemonade" from the lemons he's been handed, and embarks on extraordinary globe-trotting adventures (eg., climbing Mt Everest solo, swimming across the Atlantic ocean, etc.), or sometimes just use his new abilities to help out people in need. Problem is there are always complications. In lesser hands, this premise would invite heavy handed slapstick, but what Chadwick gives us is just the opposite. In the style of what's good about "indie" comics, it's done in a touching, sometimes philosophic, and ever so "human" way. Another thing that appeals to me is that it's just so 1980s America. Get your hands on a copy & see what I mean. My only complaint: I am baffled as to how Concrete's assistant Larry Munro manges to score so much tail...Currently listening to:
To be honest, I've been kind of "off" music lately.
I'm bored with my old music collection right now (I still love it mind you, just bored) and haven't found anything new that's piqued my interest. The only "current" b
and that I'm digging these days is Death Cab for Cutie. But as much as I like them, I really need to be a certain mood or frame of mind to listen to them because my gawd they can depress me! And yes, I'm a Morrissey/Smiths fan from way back, so I am fond of melancholy pop!On a related note: Why do people take their taste in music so personally? Why do people take pop music so seriously? Is it because when they listen to their earphones, the music becomes the voice in their head, in essence "their" voice and it incorporates into their personality? Seriously, let's discuss this! I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
Well, anyway, as a result, I've been listening to "talk radio" more and more. And yes, most of it is really bad. Most radio phone-in shows seem to be an open forum for the ignorant and ill-informed to shoot their mouths off. Beyond that, you do occasionally learn some interesting things, mostly from science programs. But again, news and current affairs are depressing too.
My plan for this winter is to become a real homebody. Recently we moved the tv out of the room that was originally earmarked as mine, and I've starting setting it up as my drawing studio/projects room. Hopefully I can get some time & concentration in the coming months & start working on some arts & crafts. I feel better when I'm producing something but sometimes I just seem to lack the inspiration or the focus. There are so many distractions. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a little ADHD...
I think that people take their music so seriously because they let it become part of their identity, of who they are. They feel as though they are a better person because they listen to such and such a band, like they're a member of an exclusive club. Therefore, when someone insults their favourite band, they take the insult personally, as though the insult is directed at a special, emotional and private part of themselves (sometimes what they might consider the best part of themselves). Just watch a Cure fan cringe when they're told that Shakira or Amanda Palmer is a huge Cure fan (https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1886767188052333210&postID=6253085803045062565)
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Trekkies & Star Wars fans do the same thing & they're vilified for it! But if someone "sells their soul to rock & roll" they're considered a hipster or cool...? :)
ReplyDeleteFurther to all of this: Apart from a Medieval Music course I took in university (a hundred years ago) I admittedly know or understand very little about music. I guess pop music now is pretty much exactly the same as the Troubadours back then (they even did "covers" back then!) Still, then as now it's just entertainment, right?
Does anyone consider pop music to be anything more than disposable? Or is it something that really gives our lives meaning ("the soundtrack of our lives")and for that reason it's important? Just hashing around thoughts...
IMO, most of the current music playing, whether pop or not, is disposable. (Rap is 100% disposable.... yet we can't seem to be rid of it, at least not for the present. Maybe soon. Hopefully, very, VERY soon... but let's not go back into another Country phase, please.) I find most songs have the same beat and lyrics are poorly written... but that's me.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for anyone else, but I like pop because it usually cheers me up after a crappy day at work, or puts me in an 'up' mood to be able to slog through said work. Country makes me want to make like a lemming (the jumping off a cliff part, not the reproducing at exponential rates part). Rap makes me want to rip my ears off (except for a few select songs). Classical, depending on my mood, will either put me to sleep or pick me up. Rock usually has the same effect as pop. Hard Rock/Light Metal ups my mood, but also makes me very aggressive if I listen to it excessively. Most Heavy Metal makes me want to rip my ears off (oh, my poor ears! :[ ) Maybe I'm too easily influenced by music in general?...
Of course, that's me...
I consider pretty much all of those genres to be pop (in the sense of "popular music"), so they're just different shades of the same thing. There are examples of things I like in pretty much any style of music, even if I'm not a fan of the genre as a whole.
ReplyDeleteSo why does music have such a huge psychological effect on us?
PS - Mike Shinoda raps, and I seem to recall you were a card carrying member of the Linkin Park fanclub so don't even front about rap, girl! :)
PPS - We are back in a country phase: Taylor Swift.
I think this is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI often tell people that I love "pop" music, but I often suspect that the word "pop" carries very different meanings for different people. "Pop" to most people nowadays is equated with the likes of Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Lights, etc. But when I say I like "pop", I guess I am referring to the more classic sense of the term (ie- Neil Finn, Beach Boys, Killers, etc). I think therein lays the problem, that one category can have many sub-levels, and people feel an affinity with a specific level, not the entire genre.
I think any genre (in fact pretty much EVERY genre) has artists who get it right and those who get it wrong. But again, that's strictly a matter of opinion. As I mentioned, there is good pop (Crowded House, OMD, etc) and bad pop (Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, etc). Same with country...good: Johnny Cash, bad: Taylor Swift. Even rap...good: De La Soul (who are auteurs) and bad: just about every bling-bling poser out there.
Why does music have such a huge psychological effect on us? That's a great question. I have no idea why...it just does. I did watch a documentary one time on the science of music and how it effects the brain, and it blew me away. Essentially, there are synapses that only fire when we listen to music. So I think just referring to music strictly as entertainment is quite an inaccuracy. I think to be human is to innately have a fixation with music in one form or another.
I should probably clarify: I consider bad rap to be the 'bitches and hoes and bling bling bling' type - which is the type that's all over the damn place - glorifying a stupid ('gangsta') lifestyle. Intelligent rap that makes a political statement (a few LP songs), or a statement about society ('Stan' or 'Toy Soldiers' by Eminem), or anything by Will Smith is ok.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a card-carrying member of the LP fan club... because I can't afford the membership fees ;_;.
Yet. *-*
I am hiding under my rock until the Country phase blows over. Hopefully it won't take a decade.