Et tu, Scarlett?

I remember the confusion when I first heard about it. Wait, Scarlett Johannson is going to put out an album of Tom Waits covers? Seems a little odd. Seems a little random. Then she goes and picks a bunch of very obscure songs, like Falling Down and Green Grass and Town With No Cheer, with the most well known song being I Don't Wanna Grow Up. Seems a little odd. Seems a little random. It came out today. I've now heard it...

It sucks.

I get it. She's trying to be Nico. It's cute. She can't pull it off, but she tries. Here's the thing. Tom Waits is often dismissed by a lot of folks due to his voice, which can at times be an unholy union between Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong and can at other times be simply unholy (any time he beat boxes on Real Gone legitimately sounds like the devil has taken over your stereo). But there's another side to him. Despite the gruff voice and the often bizarre instrumental choices, Tom Waits can make extremely emotionally affecting songs and albums. From the early work with "Invitation to the Blues" and "Blue Valentines" to "Who Are You?" and "Make it Rain" from more recent years, Tom's been very capable of resonating with his ridiculously rabid fan base. As such, we have a tendency to react pretty fucking negatively when other artists try to mess with his songs. Rod Stewart cannot pull off the emotional complexity of "Tom Traubert's Blues," especially when he decides to be a bastard and cut the verse with the stabbing in it. The only one who came close was Springsteen, and that was mostly because Waits managed to out-Springsteen Springsteen when he wrote "Jersey Girl." So we're pretty protective of our boy Tom.

But Scarlett can't pull it off. Her Nico-esque delivery would work for songs that were, you know, designed to be sung by Nico, but it doesn't work for Tom. She squeezes all the emotion out of everything. It just comes out like a monotone. You can't take the emotion you hear in Waits' voice out of a song like "Who Are You?" It doesn't work. The skeptic in me really believes that the indie cred Scarlett built up on Ghost World is pretty much diminished, so she made a surgical strike by putting out an album of obscure Tom Waits songs. I hope I'm wrong, and I hope she legitimately likes Tom Waits, but at the same time, why would someone who legitimately likes Tom Waits completely butcher his songs over and over again? Doesn't make sense.

There is one good thing here. The musical background supplied by the guitarist from TV on the Radio (there's that indie cred!) is pretty good stuff. It's quite ethereal, and evokes a strong sense of a dream state. But it also overpowers Scarlett on numerous occasions, making it nearly impossible to hear her intonation (which, to be honest, isn't exactly a bad thing often times...). To be frank, the entire album's a mess. If you're even a basic fan of Tom Waits, skip it. If you're like me, and your ring tone is the chorus from "Tom Traubert's Blues," definitely skip it. If you're not a fan, check it out, but listen to the originals to hear what it's supposed to sound like.

I will be getting back to the VS talk soon, mostly based around thoughts about the cosmicky goodness currently going on in previews this week, as well as my terrible, terrible mistakes at the Bring Your Own Set this past Sunday.

The Wonders of Modern Medicine

Two years ago, Jon Lester was diagnosed with lymphoma. Tonight, he threw a no hitter. Ain't life grand?

Musical Seasons

One of the things I love to death about music is the way that just listening to a song can be such a memorable experience that it transports you to where you were when it first really struck you. You can see everything playing out in your mind's eye. This can, of course, be for good or ill. Just as much as that one uproarious song can take you back to an awesome concert experience or a night out with friends, the depressing stuff can just as easily take you back to a failed relationship or a death in the family. It's powerful stuff. When I was studying Philosophy at Boston University as an undergrad, I immediately became enamored with Friedrich Nietzsche, mostly because of what he said about music in The Birth of Tragedy. He talked about how music is the most immediate art form. If you're reading a book or a poem or looking at a painting or sculpture, you can always simply close your eyes and it all goes away. You can't do that with music. You can't close your ears. Sure, things like earplugs exist, but music is persistent, and at the right volume can penetrate even the staunchest of earplugs. And this is why I love music. It's inescapable.

I wanted to throw something out here, which I was reminded of when I put my iPod on shuffle the other day at work. A certain song came on, and it immediately made me think of Winter. Not just the moment that the song first affected me in the winter months, but the actual notion of Winter itself. As an idea. A thing in itself. I started to think about how there are definitely songs or albums I own that immediately evoke the various seasons of the year. And I thought I would share them with everyone.


Fall: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
Specifically the song "Lovely Creature." There's a detachment to this song. It features a constant, almost galloping series of snare drum rolls backed up by a walking bass line and otherworldly choir. Every now and then, a sharp intrusion by Blixa Bargeld's electric guitar punctures the trancelike rhythm section. This song has always made me think of those chilly fall nights in late October that signal the coming of Halloween. And this isn't even a case of hearing it for the first time in the fall. I bought that album in the summer. A sample lyric: "Oh through the night, through the night/The wind lashed and it whipped me/When I got home, my creature was no longer with me"


Winter: The Knife - Silent Shout
Specifically the title track, "Silent Shout." My brother bought me this album for Christmas two years ago, and I can't help but notice how much of a quintessential winter record this really is. I mean, coming from a duo of Swedish techno artists, you're not surprised that they can make music that chills, but I can't really explain more strongly how much I think of ice when I hear the title track. I just get a picture in my mind of a camera tracking over a large, blank, chilly frozen meadow. It's a song and an album that gets a lot of play for me during the winter months, especially when it snows. Sample lyric: "In a dream I lost my teeth again/Calling me woman and half man/Yes, in a dream all my teeth fell out/A cracked smile and a silent shout"


Spring: The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia
Specifically the song "Backstabber". I always think about those days in March and April where the temperature finally breaks and gets up into that high 50's to mid 60's range. That's my wheelhouse right there. And when it's that temperature and a bright, sunny day, there's nothing nicer than taking a drive with all the windows down. That's made even better if the Dolls are blasting their percussion heavy, bouncy music through the stereo. Their second album is a lot lighter than their first, and it definitely shows. Great spring record for those days where you step outside and just become invigorated. Sample lyric: "You always struck me as the type to take it lightly/But now you're going to have to shut your mouth or fight me"


Summer: Firewater - The Man on the Burning Tightrope
Specifically the song "Dark Days Indeed." I don't think it's possible for me to write a post about music and not bring up Firewater in some fashion. Even still, "Dark Days" is arguably of my college years. The album came out in the summer, and while we didn't adopt it as the anthem of our quad Sophomore year until a different season, it was always a fixture when I would make trips up to Boston over the summers to relax with the crew, have some drinks and dance and sing like idiots to "Dark Days." It's the ultimate drinking song. A chorus that demands sing alongs, great lyrics throughout, a ripping sax solo right in the middle. It's all good. I think for the rest of my life, I'm always going to think about those summer trips whenever "Dark Days" comes up. It's such a defining moment for my social life. And that'll never change. Sample lyric: "We don't know who put this cup/Of life into our hands/But when we go our bones will bake/Upon the burning sands/Cause we walk but once among the living/So no regrets and no forgiving/Hard to dance when you're down upon your knees/And these are Dark Days Indeed"

That felt good. I should write about music more often. But we'll be getting back to VS in the next few days with some new thoughts about my Red Skull preview card from last week in light of Acts of Vengeance, as well as a hopeful tournament report on Bring Your Own Set Modern.

Crazy Month

I am officially entering a very exciting span of weeks chock full of travel and concerts and card playing and all sorts of things. Not really going to have much weekend time until, oh I don't know, July, but that's probably for the best. Here's what we're looking at.

Sunday, May 18th - Bring Your Own Set Modern event at Great Traditions

Sunday, May 25th - Firewater live at the North Star Bar in Philly

Friday, May 30th to Sunday, June 1st - Wizard World Philly at the Philly Convention Center (complete with plans to meet up with a certain Clifford Parmiter for some VS goodness)

Saturday, June 7th - Ring of Honor at the National Guard Armory in (technically) Philly.

Saturday, June 14th to Sunday, June 15th - Megaweekend New York

Friday, June 20th to Sunday, June 22nd - NEARfest in Bethlehem, PA

Friday, June 27th to Sunday, June 29th - VS World Champs (sure, I'm most likely not going, but it's still a possibility, so I'm keeping it on the schedule)

Gonna be busy. And there's this "Marvel Universe Set Release" thing I keep hearing about.

Crazy go nuts.

The Greatest T-Shirt Ever?

I found out about this little gem on the Comic Geek Speak forums, and immediately bought one.


R Stevens, you are one magnificent bastard.

Linky

Best DCBS Box ever?

SERIOUSLY looking forward to Friday's box of comicky goodness. Let's take a peek at the shipping list, shall we? Super Awesome books are in caps and bolded.

NOVA #13 (The Galactus Arc begins!!!!)
Punisher War Journal #19
X-Factor: The Quick and the Dead (This should be interesting. Haven't read any Quicksilver since Son of M)
Angel: After the Fall #7
Avengers/Invaders #1 (Should be tons of fun)
Franklin Richards: Not So Secret Invasion (Time to find out if these books are as good as I've heard)
Invincible Iron Man #1 (Hoping for the best)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #14 (Goddard's arc has been awesome so far)
Secret Invasion #2 (Yep, already have it)
Mighty Avengers #13 (Nick Fury!)
CASANOVA #14 (Absolute top of the stack. If the internet is to be believed, this is one of the best comic books to come out in a very, very long time. I LOVE CASANOVA)
Captain Britain and MI:13 #1 (British Skrulls!)
Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1 (Fantastic Skrulls!)
THE TWELVE #5 (It's still great. JSA, eat you heart out. Yeah! I said it!)
Green Lantern Corps #24 (MongulThanos continues his quest)
Sky Doll #1 (Super interested to see how this turns out. Loved the preview in the Soleil sampler)
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 (YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!)
Serenity: Better Days #3
Booster Gold #9

19 books? Two completely awesome (or so I assume) cosmic books? One of which has FUCKING GALACTUS in it? And the finale of the current Casanova arc, which has been absolutely mindblowing and amazing and deep and funny and all of the great things that make Casanova Casanova? Good, good, good times.

Plus, we've got the Modern Bring Your Own Set on Sunday. Dr. Strange will be my strength as I pilot my solo Defenders build into the fields of battle. Tournament Report will follow (if anyone else bothers to show up, of course).

Random Preview Review: SHIELD Helicarrier

Hold on a second there. That Helicarrier isn't on its side! What was David Finch thinking? Was he holding the Bristol Board sideways that day without realizing it? That was for Billy. Moving on to the card itself in some random bursts.

Woo! Terraform! And it makes perfect sense here, as a flying ship should pretty much be able to land wherever the hell it wants. Terraform is a fantastic mechanic, and it's nice to see it come back.

From my perspective, the card is good because there are no restrictions as to when you have to flip it. Sure, it's a pain that the characters you return have to be non-stunned, but SHIELD is very obviously a team that rolls with the off curve army love. Thus it's nice that you can flip in response to an attack and perhaps force them into attacking your giant Iron Man with all his delicious +1/+1 counters because you bounced back all his friends. I'm a little iffy on resource row cards that have hefty flip costs thanks to reusable non Team-Up resource row hate like Batman/Reality Gem/Unravel Reality/Planet Weapon, but it seems like the juice is worth the squeeze in this case provided you can protect it (*COUGH*Pathetic Attempt*COUGH*).

Look, we all know how good a blanket +2 ATK to your whole field is. Look at The New/Next Brotherhood. Look at Doomed Earth. Look at MTU Carnage. All of these cards have been part of decks that have either been at or close to tier 1 at various points in the grand VS metagame. Of course, there's a big difference here in that we're dealing with a unique location, which means no multiples, so you probably can't build a super potent rush deck based around this thing, but it does give flight, and we are heading towards a modern age devoid of Flying Kick. Global flight has never been a bad thing.

I think it's a good card overall, but a bit underwhelming compared to the other things we've seen (Kinda like The Great Arena in that respect). It will no doubt be powerful in the right deck, and Stu and Squire have probably been working overtime trying to figure out the perfect army deck for it and how to somehow fit it into Super Troopers (respectively), so it'll definitely find its place. Personally, I want to see more Iron Man love, because dammit, he's one of the most fascinating characters in the current Marvel U (I'm really tired of him being simply written off as a dick. It's a hell of a lot more complex than that).

I do like the feel that you've got this potentially gigantic Iron Man surrounded by hoards of little dudes that can come and go as he sees fit. It'll be interesting to see how far reaching the R&D fellas really take the SHIELD umbrella. Seems like with Squirrel Girl joining the party, SHIELD encompasses the entire 50 States Initiative, which means we're dealing with approximately two thirds of the Marvel Universe as active SHIELD agents. Allows for a lot of potential shenanigans in card choices. The only downside is the inclusion of Squirrel Girl (who sadly does not have the text I wanted for her, which was something along the lines of "Activate -> KO target character with cost 9 or greater" and the art from when she took down Doom. Imagine: Ditko on a VS card...), I now really want to see the rest of the GL(Insert flavor of the month initial here) crew, including silly things like a Mr. Immortal that auto recovers the second you stun him or something along those lines. A man can dream.

Oh, and for those of you that haven't read the manic and crazy awesome Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular one-shot from last year, try and find it on the cheap at a con. It's Fabian Nicieza and Dan Slott being as silly as possible with some of the silliest characters in the Marvel U. It's also the place where Stu got all the panel scans for his Squirrel Girl preview. Awesome, awesome stuff.