42.

If I haven’t already told you, or if you hadn’t figured it out: I don’t read a lot. I would like to, and I really do enjoy books… but my attention span is so flighty, and my standards are pretty high I guess, because nothing seems to captivate me. Usually nothing does capture my mind unless it’s Harry Potter (no, seriously), and it’s been like that since the books first came out. I used to read all the time– I was one of “those” kids. I never minded when my parents made me spend the evening in my room, or when my gift for Christmas was secondhand books. But when the Harry Potter books came out, I started reading them over and over again and disregarding all other literature in the world. I have hazy memories of the books I was assigned in high school– Snow Falling on Cedars, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Moby Dick, Atlas Shrugged, Pride and Prejudice, various others– but mostly what I remember are the midnight book release parties at bookstores, loading up on Gobstoppers and my brand new hardback, and holing myself up in my room for hours. In fact, the only downside to the Harry Potter books for me was that they only took me about 6 to 12 hours to read (less when I was reading them for the 18th time, of course).

Yes, I realize now that all this is quite lamentable. It’s like only listening to one band for years and years: Even if that one band is the Beatles, one’s senses need to experience new and different sounds. Avid music listener that I am, I’m appalled at people who don’t branch out of their musical comfort zones. I’m sure that avid readers have the same feeling about people like me, who read minimally, and only read Harry Potter at that.

So that’s why I’m glad are different for me now. I’ve been reading.

This summer, I burned my way (quite figuratively!) through several enlightening books, including The Catcher in the Rye, which quickly became one of my favorite books of all time, Siddhartha, which I did not enjoy as much as I thought I would, and a few others. I even made some notable progress in Thus Spake Zarathustra. I was so grateful for the time I was able to spend reading this summer, because it reminded me that though I am slow as a lame turtle when it comes to reading, I thoroughly enjoy it when I have the time to sink my teeth into something.

I finished The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy this week and cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was different than anything I’d read before, but it also combined elements of my favorite books. It had the surreal, fantastical fictional element that makes me love Harry Potter so much (ok, ok, they’re completely different ball parks, but they both keep my attention, which is what counts). THHGTTG also had the witty, remarkably pertinent quality that I loved about Catcher in the Rye. Everyone knows that a good comedian’s tactic is to touch on things that everyone experiences but never comments on and turn them into humor, like awkward moments waiting in line or sneezing. Well, a great author does the same thing, but (sometimes) without the element of humor. If you’ve ever read Catcher in the Rye, you know what I’m talking about. The narrator is amazing at getting to the heart of everyday things we don’t realize are (or should be) abnormal– like going to the movies, or prostitution. His ability to remove himself from the story enables us to see the story almost from the perspective of third person omniscient as well as first person.

THHGTTG is like that, but on a larger scale. Instead of commenting on a few days during a seventeen year old boy’s winter in New York City in the 1950s (1940s?), its perspective is of all mankind, all universe-kind, in the future. Because of this, we may think Douglas Adams makes silly, 1984-esque predictions about life. In my opinion, Adams is actually making incredibly real, timely observations. I think he offers an astute critique of life on Earth today as well as ironic, humorous, chillingly real analyses about human behavior that will always apply.

Adams uses an obscene amount of variations of the phrase “entirely coincidental” throughout the book, enough to convince us that nothing is coincidental. I love this sort of mind game with the author. I’m not sure if he meant to make such intelligent observations about people in general, or if he just meant to tell a story, but since the book insists that coincidence exists, I wonder if perhaps the author’s observations exist only in my reading of the book…

Most of all, I love that this book makes me think (perhaps too hard). I wish I could talk about it with people, but I know this is just the way things work– I never read books like this in high school (though they were assigned) when I had the opportunity to discuss them, but now that I am reading them, no one else can talk about them because they are all engrossed in program work. Nevertheless, I plan to just keep reading. I haven’t decided on my next book yet, but I’m thinking it will probably be the sequel to THHGTTG.

I will leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from THHGTTG:

“I don’t know what I’m looking for.”
“Why not?”
“Because… because… I think it might be because if I knew I wouldn’t be able to look for them.”

“Zaphod couldn’t sleep. He also wished he knew what it was that he wouldn’t let himself think about. For as long as he could remember he’d suffered from a vague nagging feeling of being not all there. Most of the time he was able to put this thought aside and not worry about it, but it had been reawakened. … Somehow it seemed to conform to a pattern that he couldn’t see.”

“He had turned unfathomability into an art form. He attacked everything in life with a mixture of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence and it was often difficult to tell which was which.”

“Last night I was worrying about this again. About the fact that part of my mind just didn’t seem to work properly. Then it occurred to me that the way it seemed was that someone else was using my mind to have good ideas with, without telling me about it. I put the two ideas together and decided that maybe that somebody had locked off part of my mind for that purpose, which was why I couldn’t use it.”

“How many roads must a man walk down? Forty-two.”

Observing Ghostland

I don’t think it’s possible to describe a laser light show to someone who has never seen one, but I’m going to try anyway.

Saturday night was the first time I’d gone to a concert where I had no idea who the headliners were or even really their genre. I didn’t pay for the ticket, which is a plus, but it would have been worth it even if I had. I was a little bored waiting for the show to start, but there was a DJ and it was a woman, which was cool to experience.

For …various reasons, I was pretty apprehensive once the show was about to start. We were right in the middle of the crowd, and I was terrified that the scene was going to turn into a mosh pit and we were going to get trompled and stepped on, and I was going to get sick and hot and miserable. My friends said, “it’s not that kind of show.”

Then the music started, and it became a little more clear that the crowd wasn’t going to be such a problem… but was the music going to be too loud? I was a little afraid that it was going to be a little too intense. My friends didn’t say anything– they were pretty wrapped up in the show, being the ones who actually knew what they were hearing.

Then… the laser light show started. My breath caught momentarily and I got nervous about getting sick again, but then it was too cool to miss by being sick, so I decided not to be sick, and instead to immensely enjoy this new experience.

Ghostland Observatory played for maybe an hour and a half, and it was the fastest hour and a half concert I think I’ve ever been to. I don’t remember being at a concert where I liked the music less, but wanted it to go on more.

It’s not my favorite genre, I must admit. It’s sort of electronica/rock/experimental, which I generally have very little patience with. I’m not sure whether the light show is what made it amazing, or just my state of mind, or what. I got home and tried to listen to the band on eMusic, and I could barely get through one song.

I don’t care. From now on, I have a resolution to broaden my horizons, even if it pegs me as a hipster (which, actually, I take a forbidden pleasure in–and I think that means I don’t really stand a chance of being a hipster anyway).

Are You Onboard?

I just discovered a great new artist, Eric Bibb. His style is a right-on mix of folk, blues, and gospel, without being boring, too roots-y, or too preachy. I came across his website by way of StumbleUpon, which is another newfound joy that may just deserve its own post later. So the first song I heard, which came up instantly on the website, was “New Beale Street Blues.” It was such a great introduction. It reminded me a little of New Orleans (even though it’s about Memphis).

Besides having a great style, his songs and the album I downloaded (and frankly, the only one I have listened to) are very smooth. Not in a lame “smooth jazz” kind of way, but in a way that flows extremely well. He has a beautiful voice and his guitar work compliments it perfectly.

iTunes categorizes Bibb as Blues, which I would say is correct. I was a little worried that he would be pegged as gospel or Christian, and I don’t think his style exemplifies that slant all the time. Even if this isn’t the sort of thing you’d normally check out, I would look him up on eMusic or just at his website.

I have downloaded “Get Onboard” and “Natural Light,” along with only 9 tracks of “A Ship Called Love,” because I ran out of credits at eMusic (and already bought a booster pack today for the first album. sigh), and I highly recommend all of them so far. I will say that “A Ship Called Love” seems to have a little weird drumwork… a sort of monotonous, Stevie-Wonder-esque new age-y-ness. But other than that, I am very much enjoying it all. Plus, all the song titles are great, and in my book that goes a long way.

Like She Was a Guitar: A Review of Tom Felton’s EP

This is a complete, comprehensive review of Tom Felton’s EP, In Good Hands. All 6 tracks of it. It’s not one of the ones by Feltbeats, just the one Tom Felton released on March 10, 2009.

To see where you can obtain a copy of any of Tom’s works, see the post below this one, “Re: Tom Felton: Where to Find…”

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Tom Felton's EP: "In Good Hands"

At Face Value: There is nothing missing from the cover of this album, except perhaps color. But who needs it? You can’t really tell whether it’s water or grass in the background, but it looks very fluid. I think that’s what counts, picturesquely speaking. You get Tom’s guitar, his signature baggy sweatshirt, the sturdy tree, and the dangling leaves in the foreground. And then there’s something metal, like a tool or something, in the tree. Don’t quite know what it is, but it looks very rustic. It’s like you’re catching Tom on a typical day, except that we all know that Tom, on “a typical day” is surrounded by Potter pals.

Track 1 “If You Could Be Anywhere”: I love the way this song starts. It almost sets you up for something different; that first bar of music sort of asks a question, perhaps “where would you be?” What follows is energetic strumming and a not-so-intricate picking style that comes in a bit late at times, cluing fans in to the fact that really, he’s just having fun. At least for now. I’m going to pass over the incorrect grammar of “where would I fly to?” and move right on to… who is that lady in the waiting room? The strangest part of this song is the sort of sighing in the background. At some places it’s pretty clear that it’s a supplemental sort of harmony part, but at others it just sounds… maybe like a mimicry of Tom’s biggest fangirls? and who is that lady in the street? My favorite part of this song comes at the very end, with the harmonica–simply superb.

Track 2 “We Belong”: I’ll be honest: at first I thought it was going to be a cover of the Pat Benetar song. It’s not, of course. That said, there’s not much I can say about this song. It’s a pretty sweet love song. I think the drums are a little much at times, and again, the sighing background vocals are distracting. I like the lyric “we belong in the sands of the sky” the best in this song. Perhaps it’s just because I’m a cynic, but the song gets a little too sappy about halfway through. If I thought it was actually a parody of itself, like Jason Mraz might produce, I might stomach it a bit better. And indeed, the “you are the reason why…” bridge is reminiscent of some of Mraz’s work. “You are the reason why I won’t be sleeping tonight” is amusing… and it just gets a little too sweet after that. Also, he references his own song, which is a technique I’m not too thrilled about. Still, it’s a song that fangirls will like to listen to and pretend he’s singing to them, I’m sure.

Track 3 “When Angels Come”: Like the emphasis on the upbeat at the beginning, and also the slight falsetto throughout the song. Unfortunately, I have the same complaint with this song as the last one. “Makeup was designed for other girls to try and look like you.” Really, Tom? I have to wonder if he’s even talking about his current girlfriend, because really, who is she trying to look like with all that makeup? But I digress… I do like that he actually warns us that he’s not going to leave anything out about what he likes about this girl– “my words no longer cautious.” At first I also liked the idea that he was incorporating angels… but then it’s only to compare them to this girl, and it turns out that his girlfriend wins. And not to go completely Jesus-freak on everyone, but is that really realistic?

Track 4 “Convinced”: Ok, I have to reveal a pet peeve here: beginning a song with “and” or “cuz.” In all of Felton’s work (including his 3 other EPs under Feltbeats) he only does it about 3 or 4 times, but for some reason it made a big impression on me. So, barring that, this is one of my favorite songs on the EP. It’s actually quite hilarious. He has “makes you want to vomit” rhyming with “change the channel, nothing’s on it,” and for some reason those lines make me laugh every time I hear them. However, the line after that, which I believe is “it’s all ri-i-ight,” is exactly the same as “I’m yo-o-ours” from Jason Mraz. Catchy, but already used, Mr. Felton. (I know I’m picky, but “I’m Yours” was a huge hit everywhere, and this EP came out at least a year after “I’m Yours,” so he might have switched it up a bit…) I’m a little biased toward songs about honest girls, and this one is no different. I like the idea that “she’s as honest as can be; that’s why I’m convinced when she says she loves me.” I like the faded out guitar part.

Track 5 “Father of Mine”: [*Ahem*, bear with me here.] I like the opening guitar part. It sets the song up very well, and is extremely different from the other songs on the album. And after that… well, after that comes what I think is supposed to be a very touching song about divorced parents. First of all, I (fortunately) cannot relate to this subject at all. But I must give Tom kudos for singing about such a difficult subject and bearing his heart. Seriously, that takes guts, especially for someone who is known for his role as a “tough-guy.” As a singer, I can’t help noticing that I’m pretty sure he’s flat in a couple of lines, and I almost can’t tolerate the “father of mah-hiiine” whine. I guess in general, it’s just a little too specific. Its tone is a little too sad and it doesn’t make up for it with any biting cynicism or sarcasm or making fun of itself. I won’t lie: it makes me uncomfortable, for more reasons than one: My final issue with this song… it reminds me of Lucius Malfoy. Someone could write a parody of it and insert “Dark Lord” every time Tom said “divorce,” and poor Draco would easily be singing about his father. Please, Tom, put that on YouTube and make this song worthwhile!

Track 6 “If That’s All Right With You”: This EP goes out with a bang. This is my favorite track by Tom Felton, out of all of his EPs, and it gives me happy vibes every time I hear it. I love that it starts out with a kind of docile sound, with just quiet voice and guitar, and then it builds with a bit of drums, the vocal gets louder, and more drums, and he…! I really don’t want to give it away. It’s a bit surprising, considering every other song Tom performs. I love that it’s a bit rowdy, but with this underlying timidity: “I’ll kiss you on the lips… but only if that’s alright with you.” And, ok… if I was the girl Tom was singing to, I’d rather hear this than hear that he would tell all the angels that I was prettier than they are. The other best part about this song is the line “I’d hold you in my arms like you was a guitar.”

And just like that, just like the actual CD itself, the music comes full circle. On the album cover? Yes, Tom holds his girls like they’re guitars and he holds his guitars like they’re girls. And whichever he happens to be holding at the time, she’s in good hands.