Archives for November 2016

35-for-35: 1983 – “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” by Culture Club

November 3, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug] culture-club-kissing-to-be-clever 1983 was an obscenely good year of the music I love. Seriously, check out this list of releases at the top of my personal iTunes charts:

David Bowie – Let’s Dance, Billy Joel – An Innocent Man, Cyndi Lauper – She’s So Unusual, Madonna s/t, The Police – Synchronicity, U2 – War, plus singles like “1999,” “Sweet Dreams,” and “Flashdance What A Feeling” – plus, the music video of “Thriller”!

(Sadly, they were all shut out at the Grammys by Thriller, which arrived on November 30, 1982, after the end of the 1982 Grammys eligibility period.)

How to choose? As much as my heart lies with Madonna when it comes to 1983, I’ve already done a lot of writing about her best songs. Cyndi Lauper’s album is an all-time classic, but I didn’t have ears for it until after I met Lindsay. I love the singles from An Innocent Man, but in 1983 we were still spinning Glass Houses.

After agonizing over the decision, I realize I was making the mistake of looking for songs that I love now, when really I should be searching my earliest memories for songs I loved then. And, after “Thriller,” the great love of my three-year-old life was “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya.”

Yes, by Culture Club. I was so addicted to that song as a kid. It was the earliest example of my childhood choreography, as I’d launch into a series of somersaults during the chorus.

But, what is this monstrosity? It begins with mariachi horns and castanets, it briefly turns into a sort of lounge song, before turning into queer calypso elevator music on the chorus. And, check out the lyrics to the verse:

Downtown we’ll drown
We’re in our never splendour
Flowers, showers
Who’s got the new boy gender?
I’ll be your baby, I’ll be your score
I’ll run the gun for you and so much more

Holy crap, tiny Peter, was your first favorite song really an ode to blurred gender roles and sexual innuendo? And, also, how was Culture Club so deeply weird yet also so incredibly successful?

I cannot answer any of those questions, so I turned to the next closest source of information: my mother. Yes, my beloved readers, you about to witness a Crushing Krisis first: A BLOG POST FROM MOTHER OF KRISIS.

Take it away, Mom:

I first heard and saw Culture Club on MTV, which was new at the time. We didn’t have a big income, but we did have cable TV. There was something about their sound that grabbed me.

You were a music lover from a very early age. You definitely had your favorites and I can safely say “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” was one of them. You would become a little animated dancer when it came on. You were a little young for a full fledged somersault, but you gave it your best try.

We lived in South Philly, and I used to take you to the playground off of 13th & Oregon and push you on the swings while I sang you my newest favorite song, like “Electric Avenue” and “I Can’t Go For That.” Through the process of elimination, perhaps I bought Kissing To Be Clever at a record store on East Passyunk Ave? Sometimes, when the weather was nice I would take you for a walk there. [Ed Note: See, my mom was a hipster before all of y’all were hipsters, okay?]

As far as the club music I was exposed to, the most important aspects of a song were:

Does it have a good beat? and
Can you dance to it?

Calypso, Caribbean, reggae, soul, funk, etc … they generally have a beat and you can dance to them. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” fit those parameters.

I suppose I noticed Boy George’s way of being different, but I didn’t care one way or another. I just liked the music. I guess different was ok with me. Bear in mind, I had spent a considerable part of my young life being a huge Bowie fan, so I wasn’t phased much by Boy George’s gender-bending feminine look (though, in no way did Boy George remind me of Bowie).

Not to blow my own horn, but I don’t think I was ever judgmental about how people looked or acted. Perhaps I developed a tolerant attitude as it relates to gender and sexual orientation. I mean, I was about 10 years old when my parents took me to visit my cousin D and her partner [a woman]. This was 1965. Also my cousin W was gay. The family just accepted it. Even my parents.

(I am the same person who bought you no less than two baby dolls, Care Bears, Jem, and both He-Man and She-Ra.)

That was… actually pretty awesome. Thanks, mom! Perhaps we can tempt her into another guest appearance as the month presses on. I love that last little aside, in case any of you ever doubt me saying I was all about inclusivity right down to the toys I played with as a toddler.

From The Beginning: Dr. Seuss – And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (Book 01)

November 2, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]Welcome to my “From The Beginning” read of Dr. Seuss’s entire bibliography!

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was the second book released by the pseudonymous Dr. Seuss, and his first written explicitly for children.

(His first publication being his not-at-all sexual The Pocket Book of Boners, which was more of a joke book.)

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937) – Dr. Seuss

CK Says: – Borrow It

Gender Diversity: None – every single character depicted is male; one woman is mentioned

Ethnic Diversity: “Rajah” riding an elephant, a Chinese man eating with chopsticks

Challenging Language: keen, outlandish, minnows, charioteer, Rajah, fleet (adj), Alderman, confetti

Themes to Discuss: Truth vs Exaggeration, racial stereotypes

Reading Time: 5-10 minutes

Young Marco has a problem. Every day he walks to and from school, and every day his father asks him to tell him what he’s seen, but after he relates his tale his father always replies, “Your eyesight’s much too keen.”

This is a theme I can sympathize with, as EV has a keen memory of fine details. She will sometimes comment weeks after an event on a particular phrase or the color of the buttons on a shirt.

Marco’s problem is a bit different. You see, if he only notices his own feet and a horse-drawn wagon, it doesn’t seem like enough to report on to his father. Thus, the wagon is now pulled by a yellow racing zebra whipped into a frenzy by a charioteer.

I was cautious of this book on my first read. We’ve now reached the age where EV is beginning to exaggerate intentionally and we’re teaching her what it means for something to be true. I want to encourage her imagination while emphasizing the value of truth. And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street does exactly that – it suggests that you ought to engage every aspect of your imagination to create a fanciful tale, but that in the telling its best to relate on the truth of the matter.

The illustrations are quite tame as Dr. Seuss goes. They mostly depict only the action of one animal and its cart down the street from a fixed perspective, even if the processing behind the animal grows to be quite elaborate.

and-to-think-that-i-saw-it-on-mulberry-street-interior Also, there aren’t many fantastical things – the people are quite people-like and the animals are all real. It took me a moment to realize a pair of giraffes were just giraffes because I was so intent on figuring out how they connected to some future fanciful beast.

As with many early Seuss books, there is a casual racism employed in casting different racist tropes into obvious roles. Here were have a Rajah riding an elephant and “a Chinese man who eats with sticks.” Neither of these are caricatures or especially mean-spirited, so with some guidance on the trope I’d say they are still appropriate for modern readers.

While this book wouldn’t top my list of Dr. Seuss acquisitions, I think it has a worthy message and not too much confusing language, plus a pleasing rhyming scheme. Any kid who has spent time watching passing cars or telling you about their day will be able to relate.

I’ll be back next Wednesday with the second Dr. Seuss book, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins!

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Stormwatch #1-3 & 0

November 2, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch were the two halves of the WildStorm whole that Jim lee and childhood friend Brandon Choi had dreamed up over several years leading up to the formation of Image comics.

WildC.A.T.s played with the familiar “gifted one” trope of X-Men plus the alien conflict borne out in present day of Inhumans. From the start, Stormwatch was something much more nuanced even if it featured its fair share of X-TREME characters and powers and shoulder pads.

Stormwatch is ostensibly the Avengers or Justice League International of WildStorm. It wasn’t just one team, but a global, UN-sanctioned network of powered individuals governed by a central eye in the sky in the form of the all-seeing Weatherman One. Instead of focusing on a the customary holy trilogy of super-powers as both Marvel and DC’s analogues always had, Stormwatch starts as a personal story of the captain of the most-elite team – Jackson King, AKA Battalion.

The first three issues of Stormwatch are a satisfying blockbuster that compares favorably to the Claremont/Lee opening salvo on X-Men, Volume 2 in 1991. Even if it lacks the deep history of that arc, it has the same sense of scope and constant, kinetic action. The same can’t be said for #0, which is mostly filler wrapped around two or three intriguing pieces of information.

The book looked damned great under the pen of artist Scott Clark, who got plucked from the relative obscurity of producing art for the superhero RPG Champions to anchor this WildStorm co-flagship. His figures have all of the heft of Rob Liefeld’s biggest bruisers with the coherence of overblown anatomy of Jim Lee, plus detailed backgrounds. Brett Booth isn’t quite as good on the #0 issue, but he’s suffering from a too-dark set of inks and colors muddying his line work.

Battalion isn’t the only memorable character here. Headstrong Diva is striking with her chalk-white skin, pink one-piece swimsuit costume, and long blonde hair. She quickly emerges as Stormwatch One’s second-in-command. Fuji is more than a generic bruiser – he’s a mirthful being of pure energy contained in a bulky gray suit that gives the impression of an two-legged elephant. The pair gets only limited panel time, but they connect more meaningfully than the snoozy WildC.A.T.s team before Zealot and Grifter arrived.

In a line of unsteady books from artists turned auteurs and publishers, Stormwatch quickly distinguished itself as a title to watch.

Want the play-by-play? Keep reading for a summary of the team’s debut. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read – tomorrow we’ll go solo with Deathblow #0-4!

Need the issues? Stormwatch #1-3 & 0 have never been included in a collected edition! If you see a “Vol. 1” from this run, it’s actually the first volume of Warren Ellis’s later run on the title. You’ll need to purchase single issues – try eBay (#1 & 0, 2, 3) or Amazon (#0, 1, 2, 3)
[Read more…] about From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Stormwatch #1-3 & 0

From The Beginning: The Complete Dr. Seuss Bibliography

November 2, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]My daughter loves to read Dr. Seuss’s The Cat In The Hat.

That’s true of a lot of kids, I’m sure. It’s probably the one book that has achieved the widest amount saturation amongst American toddlers since its original publication in 1957, aside from perhaps Goodnight Moon.

I’ll admit I had forgotten most things about Cat in the Hat when I first picked it up to read to EV a little over two years ago. I recalled that it rhymed, that it involved a home-invading cat, and that he brought a pair of Things with him.

I dimly remembered a few other Seussian tales – The Grinch, of course; The Butter Battle Book, which arrived in the throes of my toddlerdom; and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, which is very clever. The only other Dr. Seuss book we owned was Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, which was the last book the good doctor saw published in his life. It missed me entirely as a child, as it was published in 1990 – over 40 years after Cat! Actually, I only know it all all via Lindsay, who read it at a cast party in college.

That’s another story entirely.

Of course, at this point OCD Godzilla began to emit a mighty rumbling from deep inside my bowels. “Perhaps there is an everything Seuss box set you could acquire,” he growled from my innards. I looked, and there were quite a few – some as big as 20 books! None were close to being an “everything collection,” which would include more than 50 Dr. Seuss books.

(He also published many books under his own name, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and other pseudonyms – though he did not tend to illustrate those himself.)

Thank goodness for the library. They had every Seussian tale in their catalog save for The Seven Lady Godivas, which as you can imagine has been since censored from his catalog, and his hilariously titled first book, The Pocket Book of Boners, which really sounds like it might have more to do with a present day sports star or politician than be written by Dr. Seuss.

(“Boner,” by the way, is an early 20th century North American slang word that is a synonym to “blunder,” referring to “a clumsy or stupid mistake” – effectively, something a bonehead would do.)

dr-seuss-ew How did Dr. Seuss go from writing on the topic of Boners to inventing one of the world’s most famous cats to writing an inspirational masterpiece like Oh, The Places You’ll Go? I intend to find out in this special edition of “From the Beginning,” in which I read the good doctor’s entire oeuvre in order.

(Also, he was not an actual Doctor.)

I’ll start later today – not with Boners, but with Seuss’s first book for children, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Then, each week I’ll examine another Seussian tale. That’s a whole year of Seuss(!), unless you all love this feature so much that you want me to write it even more often.

Here’s the full reading list: [Read more…] about From The Beginning: The Complete Dr. Seuss Bibliography

35-for-35: 1982 – “Maneater” by Hall & Oates

November 2, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]When I was slightly older than EV I still did not have my own record player (I know – the injustice), so my mother was in charge of pulling out my favorite songs on vinyl and then dropping the needle into the groove.

One of my earliest musical memories is of her playing “Maneater” on repeat for us as we sat in our rocking chair. I know this was an early memory because the turntable was on a set of ramshackle shelves built by my father before my parents separated, rather than its later home on the other side of our living room.

Here’s what I understood about “Maneater” at the time: it was about a creature, like “Thriller.” She ate people! It had a throbbing bass line that was good for bopping along to. Also, it was on an LP called H20, which meant water but also meant Hall & Oates. Basically, it was the most clever thing anyone had ever thought of.

As a toddler, I may have missed a few entendres.

As with a lot of my early-in-life vinyl favorites, I completely lost touch with Hall & Oates as I grew older and amassed my own record (and, later, CD) collection. In fact, unlike Madonna and MJ, who I began spinning again in college, Hall & Oates didn’t make their return to my collection until 2010 inspired by the requests of my communications-buddy and cube neighbor, MK.

I was even listening to The Bird and The Bee’s H&O cover LP before I was listening to H&O again!

Revisiting “Maneater” as an adult and a musician, a whole new set of elements stick out for me.

The intro is a familiar Hall & Oates gimmick – a long minor-key instrumental that gradually adds additional instruments (bass, keyboards, a trickling water effect, and smarmy saxophone) and then pops into the relative major key for the verse.

The lyrics are as lurid as those of my other childhood favorite with an awesome bassline, “Billy Jean.” Here, H&O are unsubtly describing falling in love with a sex worker – or, at least a woman who is ready to devour any high-roller who enters her life.

What makes the song interesting to me today is this line: “If you’re in it for love you ain’t gonna get too far.” Who exactly is pursuing the Maneater, in the context of the song? Is it another rich boy, unware that he’s about to be drained dry? Or, is it someone who is genuinely falling for her.

If the latter, who are H&O to warn him off? Maybe he’s the true love that has been missing from all of Maneater’s conquests.

We’re not meant to know. Hall & Oates wrote fantastic songs, but they weren’t ever especially known for the complete narratives of their lyrics. If you don’t believe me, please share – what is the “That” for which “I Can’t Go For”?

Even without a coherent story, there’s no doubt that “Maneater” is one of Hall & Oates’ stone cold early-80s classics.