Stay Out of the Basement was pretty good, actually. I think sometimes kids have much better taste in books than adults do, since they are more regularly expected to read literature. R.L. Stine did not disappoint and I'm really glad he got so many (other) kids reading. Still I wasn't scared. Let's get scary!
Look at these non-scary alternative covers!
Nice:
1. Pleasing; agreeable; delightful
3. characterized by showing, or requiring great accuracy, precision, skill, tact, care, or delicacy
5. minute, fine, or subtle
6. having or showing delicate, accurate perception
8. virtuous; respectable; decorous
Sometimes I say nice punk, referencing a type of exceptionally good punk rocker. They're good in the sense that they’ve done their homework and they dress just how they are supposed to. They are vegan and drive hybrid cars, careful to never offend or entice disapproval of any kind. In fact, they are probably too talented and well-to-do for a scene of alleged rejects who want to be heard but don’t intend to become good at their instruments. They are try-hards and have chosen punk rock because they need to recognized as the best in their field.
Other times a nice punk can be artfully sincere with a talent for kindness. They don't blame their problems on society. They practice love for everyone and genuinely care about the things they do and the things they create. In a better sense of nice punk, the name TRAGWAG (that really awesome guy with a guitar) seems to indicate a call for self love. However Tragwag isn’t just a group of slackers on the fence about quitting their band and moving to Austin or Philly. Instead, all of Tragwag's instrumentation is written and played by Tyler Bisson.
Every track demonstrates a clear respect for the work put into its conception. In fact, Tyler’s attention to detail is baffling. In riffs, beats, and feedback loops I know he is speaking my language in ways I cannot articulate. Stay the Same affirms my belief that sometimes if you are the one to start writing a song, then you should be the one to finish it.
I love the breakdown in Outlook and savored the clear rack tom and slick acoustic guitar while pondering nostalgia-injected verses. The quiet, anthemic vocals remind me of the first time I heard Rainer maria. Stay the Same is emo, but it’s not just emo. It’s a lot of things. It is the pacing and deep, dragging snare drum on Far. It is the singing that is pretty without trying to be sexy. It is that part in That Was Me that makes you remember the first scene you were part of and then that other part that makes you want to bob your head like you did at your first show and then the fade out to that gasp of fresh air as everyone piles out of the basement.
Everything sounds nice, natural, and practiced. For our enjoyment.
Please note that I would like to claim permanent credit for coining the term Nice Punk.
I don't know if I can ever trust Dreamworks again, after such a weak offering. The characters are cave people, which gives them an excuse to be the cliches that that every future character will vaguely embody. Still being cave people doesn't give every one of them an excuse to be ugly. Why do they shave their arm pits?
For some reason, my homemade gravy never feels official. It's not exactly what you would get in a can or from a chain restaurant. It's not like mom's.
Since October was coming and I've been reading a lot of books, I figured some thrillers were in order. This one was at The Salvation Army, which makes me assume it's more popular than if I'd seen it at Half-Priced Books. Also I could tell its been read, which is also a testimony.
In The Crib, Stuart Rice is an epidemiologist whose neighbor's crib is a family heirloom that kills babies. Later we find out when the babies are killed and later we find out why. Is Stuart going to save a baby from dying? Does it even matter? No.
Was I scared? No. In fact, I had a hard time finishing this one even though the chapters are all exactly 5 pages long. Perhaps I could have read a little chunk and found myself too scared to sleep so I'd pick it up again and get even more scared. Is that how it's supposed to work?
Bear in mind, this is my first adult thriller. The world itself, I think, is also a lot more scary than it was in 1987 when this book was published. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome doesn't scare me.
Vuduwasa is a four piece from my town, Bloomington. They play heavy music and call it Swamp Metal. It is slow, moody, and heavy. Unique in the sense that it is sometimes simultaneously so grungy and so sterile. I get the impression that everything is EQ’d to correct presets so that no instrument (or drum) oversteps their determined frequency range. I was troubled at the lack of buzz in their amps until I heard the intro to Return to Detritus and felt comfort in knowing I hadn’t transcended to a new dimension of magical demon guitar amps. Really though. It sounds super pro. Not in a bad sense. Just a sense. Don’t be fooled by the kvlt album title.
Not every riff will hit you hard and stick but every song has at least one moment that will make you remember to play it again. Even as I type this, I can’t help but clench my fist. Skunk Ape is not one to take sitting down. The grim poeticism in Rite of Reclamation will make you feel the world’s weight in a paper bag, trudging home from the Big Red, slower than you notice. Crushed. Interlude conjured feelings of younger days, with so much time to jam the old acoustic while my friends skated. Having a place to smoke usually made it worthwhile. Smoking set the riffs free.
As the album progressed, I kept thinking, “Wow. That sounds so metal. Why don’t I ever do that?”
Each track on ᏬᏙᏩᏌ is expertly arranged. As lengthy as some are, I haven’t once wanted the band to move onto something else. Each tune turns out more epic than expected.
Note for note, the vocals never sag but the loose doubling doesn't always do it for me. Still, they serve as a reminder that heavy music isn't really so serious. You might wear the face of a tragedy, but inside you are filled with the joy at the rumble of speakers.
Taylor Wood can hold a scream for a long time. Something we should all aspire to! At moments I think he sounds like Phil Anselmo but at other times I hear something so expressive, unique, and KVLT. Or is it cvlt? I’ve been saying it since 2009 and I don’t even know.
For a band’s first release, I was half-hoping for something more raw. Where will Vuduwasa even go from here? I would like to see them succeed in every intended sense but selfishly, I’d like to hear them make an album so wrong but so right, like Celtic Frost’s Cold Lake. I guess nobody makes an album like that on purpose.
I told the social media I’d like to review their new and unpopular albums. It seems like I should blog about things other than books and pizza. However I don't want anyone to care extra about me or think I'm an authority because I do this. I just want to practice writing.
I might not review more stuff from local Bloomington bands. We'll see. The zone likely won't be as fun if it enhances my decidedly minimal social life. I don’t want to be distracted by thoughts of other people more than I already am. So maybe I’ll just do this one Bloomington release. It’s hard to see things properly when they are so close up. I know this but wonder. Is there even such thing as an unbiased album review?
We do live in a weird town with a lot of bands. There are often famous bands here that I don't even know about. Why should I spend my time trying to plug them? On the other hand, I do know Vuduwasa. They’re probably the local band I’m most likely to just hang with. I’m stoked Evan sent me their tracks in advance so that I could do this review! Great work. I wouldn't change a thing.
