March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell The March series is one of those books that shows how comics are an art form to be taken seriously. I’m happy to see also that it’s getting the attention it deserves, hopefully because it’s got the story of John Lewis being driven by the stellar artwork of Nate Powell. Now if we could only start saying the word “comic” more and not desperately cling to “graphic novel.” Anyway…...
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life Vol. 1 Hardcover by Bryan Lee O’Malley It’s about time we highlight Scott Pilgrim in this column. Simply because it’s one of the best comic book series ever written. Throughout the series, Bryan Lee O’Malley has found a way to mix romance, heartbreak, music, video games, and superheros all into one package, all with lightning speed pace. For what it is, Scott Pilgrim has made a remarkable impact on pop culture, and you can...
Savages Adore Life I have to say that I am impressed with Savages. Sure, when they appeared on Stephen Colbert I was a little blown away, but the fact that they chose to play Adore was even more surprising. Savages aren’t exactly easy listening, you know what I mean? And hot off the heels of their debut Silence Yourself, this band has established themselves as an intense and for lack of a better word, a very “dramatic” band. Have...
The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly makes Jennifer Hayden’s book The Story of my Tits so beautiful. Perhaps it’s the art itself which is childlike and charming, perhaps it’s the fact that she managed to fit so much story into this book, or perhaps it’s the fact that Hayden here expertly delivers a personal and relatable story arching her entire life (so far). Perhaps it’s all of these things. The Story of...
OBN III’s Worth a Lot of Money My relationship with the OBNII’s is complicated. I saw them open for Ex-Cult in Boston several years ago, and I’ll be damned if they didn’t steal the show. With a sound that I can only describe as Led Zeppelin-fueled garage rock, the OBNII’s looked and sounded like a bunch of homeless hooligans with nothing to lose. In other words, I had to get their albums immediately. Unfortunately, such a wild sound proved a...
Socialism . . . Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation by Danny Katch “Socialism… Seriously” might be a small book, but boy is it powerful. Unfortunately , ever since I decided to bone up on my Socialist/Communist/Anarchist literature I’ve had to piece together the basic idea of each movement from various other books by various other authors. I’m still looking for that perfect Anarchism and Communism book that lays it all out and I can recommend to friends, but...
On Power and Ideology: The Managua Lectures by Noam Chomsky I have been fascinated with the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua ever since learning about it from the Clash and reading Stephen Kinzer’s book Blood of Brothers. Can I admit that I really enjoyed the book and saw the Sandinista revolution with mixed feelings? Sure I can. Then, I happened to Google the author and Noam Chomsky (because I couldn’t calm the doubting beast) and found out that Chomsky has...
Propaganda and the Public Mind by Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian The world is a better place because it has Noam Chomsky and his books. And it’s in that spirit that Haymarket books has taken up the task of putting out a series of new Chomsky books and republishing and updating some new ones for our benefit. And Propaganda and the Public Mind is a good place as any to start with this collection. Composed of his interviews with David...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2016 vinyl reissue of the Psychotic Supper LP by Tesla. It’s a little hard to believe now but, twenty-five years ago, the music business seemed to be getting suddenly and violently pulled in several directions at once. At that time, glam metal and hard rock were still pumping out some pretty important albums – Guns N’ Roses would release both Use Your Illusion albums in ’91, Metallica released The Black Album,...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Basses Loaded LP by (The) Melvins. It’s mind-boggling how such a prolific band can be so under-appreciated. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana fame has said that the Melvins are the only band left standing from the grunge-rock cacophony of the Nineties (take that, Pearl Jam), and even the new kids like Mastodon have gone on the record as saying they’re one of the greatest bands on earth. Of course, the Melvins don’t...