In just a few hours, people are legally allowed to throw off their shrink wrap, and enjoy the breezy scent of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows.
Far as I know, comic author Warren Ellis' only comment about this is "Fuck Harry Potter." Mind you, he's actually allowed to say this. His publishers decided to put out his first novel, Crooked Little Vein, on the same day. Either they thought:
1- Readers of Harry Potter and people who read comic books do not overlap.
2- Readers who buy Harry Potter will have an extra twenty bucks on them, and will have a burning desire to use it.
These publishers are the same ones who decided to bill the book as being perfect for "hardcore comic fans, mystery aficionados, and all readers looking for a riotous summer reading adventure."
This might be true. But when you're publishing a book for a mass market, I'm not sure I would start off part of my sales pitch by saying it's great if you're a hardcore member of a very small audience of readers. Oh, mystery lovers should like it too... as well as people who like books.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Whatcha Been Listening To?
The Else by They Might Be Giants has just been released, and I bought it on blind faith. It had to be blinded, because Here Come The ABC's was the first album of theirs that made me wonder what the hell had gone wrong. (As opposed to Factory Showroom, where I damn well knew what had gone wrong. Legal disputes rarely bring out the best from people.)
The album has a sticker proclaiming that it's been produced by The Dust Brothers. You know. They're the brothers who aren't chemical. Anyway, there were a couple of moments when I did look up, and say to myself, "I know that drum loop," but that "this is slightly different" feeling faded by the end of the album. It's a lot like The Spine... there are some tracks I found myself going back to and a few that I feel no compunctions about skipping.
The first release of The Else also includes a bonus CD filled with the kinds of tunes They Might Be Giants don't feel like charging you for. In other words, it's a mixed bag.
Also, I'm still listening off-and-on to a pair of CDs by Khate, Field Report and Composition of a Recorded Mass. Unfortunately, the music begs to be listened to in the dark, and most of the time I'm at work by the time the sun finally hides its face.
(A note about Khate: Her music varies between industrial/techno, the aforementioned soundscapes, and noise that sings. In other words, it's that perfect for me, but a hard sell for most of my friends.)
That prohibition doesn't apply to Those Poor Bastards, though. There's never a bad time for evil cowboy music.
And then there's Rammstein. When Du Hast came out, I enjoyed the single well enough, but didn't care for the rest of their work. Now, through the magic of youtube, and the gateway video of Sonne, I'm now enjoying them quite a bit. I have no idea how this happened, and promise to do better in the future.
The album has a sticker proclaiming that it's been produced by The Dust Brothers. You know. They're the brothers who aren't chemical. Anyway, there were a couple of moments when I did look up, and say to myself, "I know that drum loop," but that "this is slightly different" feeling faded by the end of the album. It's a lot like The Spine... there are some tracks I found myself going back to and a few that I feel no compunctions about skipping.
The first release of The Else also includes a bonus CD filled with the kinds of tunes They Might Be Giants don't feel like charging you for. In other words, it's a mixed bag.
Also, I'm still listening off-and-on to a pair of CDs by Khate, Field Report and Composition of a Recorded Mass. Unfortunately, the music begs to be listened to in the dark, and most of the time I'm at work by the time the sun finally hides its face.
(A note about Khate: Her music varies between industrial/techno, the aforementioned soundscapes, and noise that sings. In other words, it's that perfect for me, but a hard sell for most of my friends.)
That prohibition doesn't apply to Those Poor Bastards, though. There's never a bad time for evil cowboy music.
And then there's Rammstein. When Du Hast came out, I enjoyed the single well enough, but didn't care for the rest of their work. Now, through the magic of youtube, and the gateway video of Sonne, I'm now enjoying them quite a bit. I have no idea how this happened, and promise to do better in the future.
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