Fangless

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is a memoir written by Carrie Brownstein, but if you are looking for details about her time in the band Wild Flag or her show Portlandia you are going to be disappointed. This memoir is all about Carrie’s love of music and her band Sleater-Kinney.

The book starts with Carrie telling about her family, her upbringing and how her love of music began. The way that she talks about being a fan is something that I have tried to describe to others and until now have not heard a proper description of outside of Almost Famous. Soon we transition into how Carrie became involved in the Olympia scene and how she met Corin Tucker.

The rest of the book documents Carrie’s time with Sleater-Kinney moving from the formation into descriptions of each album and finally the ultimate demise and breakup of the band. I love the chapters in which Carrie’s talks about how they wrote and recorded the songs for each album. There are some really great insights into what the songs are written about and also how they came to create the sound of Sleater-Kinney. The chapters that talk about touring are also really interesting…it is not as glamorous as people think. As a fan of Sleater-Kinney I love getting an inside look of the creation of the songs that I love.

Carrie also talks about the relationships she has with the other members of Sleater-Kinney. Carrie has such an interesting connection with Corin Tucker, it has not been an easy road for them but they have such an incredible respect and love for each other. Sleater-Kinney, and also Carrie’s music career, could not have happened without Corin. I think that this book made me love Janet Weiss more, if that is possible. Carrie really only has good things to say about Janet and really Janet is one of the best drummers ever.

Throughout the book Carrie openly talks about her mental health and everything that she says is completely relatable. It blows my mind that someone who is so confident on stage can suffer from anxiety and depression…it made me feel a little bit less alone. I believe that it is so important that people like Carrie talk about metal health, you never know who it might affect.

The writing is engaging, thoughtful, and poignant. I was never once bored while reading this book…which is saying a lot for a memoir. I know that for years to come I will reread Hunger and will find new things held within the pages. I believe that this should be required reading for not only fans of Sleater-Kinney but fans of music.

Circle of Friends Review

My Mom bought me Circle of Friends for my birthday because Mauve Binchy is her favourite author. I had never read a Mauve Binchy book before and I am someone who loves to get recommendations. Circle of Friends is set in 1950’s Ireland in the small town of Knockglen and the city of Dublin. The story starts out with best friends Benny and Eve who grew up the small town and are now heading to Dublin for University. This is where the other characters enter the story and things really start to happen.

The characters are great! Each person is believable, their actions make them realistic, and they are straight forward. Benny was the most relatable character to me, the way she saw the world and the struggles that she had to face really hit home for me.  I loved how each character got their say; each chapter was spilt up into sections that were narrated by a different character which gave an interesting and unbiased view of the events that were taking place. The characters became fast friends and then as the story unfolds they become closer and I felt like it was such a natural progression and that never seemed forced by the writing.

When I first started to read Circle of Friends I wasn’t really into it, but after about 100 or so pages things really started to happen and I was hooked. All of the events that take place in the story are interesting, but never outrageous. Everything that happens is completely plausible and I think that is what makes it such a captivating read. I honestly had no idea how things were going to turn out for the characters and some of my guesses were completely off the mark. I loved that the story was not predicable, it had the option to be something cookie-cutter but was a pleasant surprise by being something fresh.

I for sure recommend Circle of Friends; even though it took me a bit to get into the book it was worth it! It was such a great read and I really enjoyed the journey that characters took me on.

Heartthrob

So, this week I really wanted to pick my favourite song of off the New Tegan and Sara album Heartthrob but I am having a really difficult time choosing which one is my favourite. I have been a fan of Tegan and Sara for a long time now, I remember seeing the music video for Living Room on Much Music when I was in High School, and I was so excited to hear that they were releasing a new album. My first listen of Heartthrob I wasn’t really sure what I thought about it. This album is quiet a departure from what Tegan and Sara have done previously that I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but after a few more listens and seeing the interview on Q I am so sold on this album! I love it! I think it is so great! I can’t choose which song is my favourite because they are all so awesome.  I really don’t think that I can express just how much I love this album.

While Heartthrob may be a departure for Tegan Sara at the same time it is so them. Tegan and Sara have always been very unique and that is exactly what has carried on into this album. Yes, this album is more poppy and uses synthesizers, but in no way are Tegan and Sara selling out! Just the opposite, it seems like a natural progress for their music. In the Q interview they flat out said that it was contrived and that is what I love about them! The music change but they didn’t make excuses or say that it just happened; it was thought out and planned!

What I love the most is that it still sounds like Tegan and Sara. The vocal, melody and harmony are undeniable their style. The music even sounds like them but more pop infused, and not at all like the music you will find on Much Music these days! Tegan and Sara are still as unique as they ever were, but they have opened themselves up to a broader audience. I have to say that the more that they have taken feels completely natural to me, and I am so glad that they did it.

The first song that I heard of off Heartthrob was, of course, the single Closer. I like it right away, I thought that it was different but interesting and couldn’t wait to hear what the rest of the album would be like. Yes, at first I wasn’t sure about the rest of Heartthrob, but now I love it. The lyrics are amazing, they are so honest. Tegan and Sara have really put their hearts on their sleeves for this album and every word hits home with me. I never thought that I would ever listen to an album that would make me want to dance and cry at the same time, but here it is and I want to do just that! I can’t say enough about the lyrics they are that good, and it is consistent in every song! Please just take the time to really listen to the words.

Since I started to write this blog I have listened through Heartthrob and I can say that I think that my favourite song is a tie between I Was a Fool and How Come You Don’t Want Me. Both of these songs are heartbreaking and beautifully written. I strongly urge you to at least check on these two songs and them purchase the rest of the album.

 

Downtown Owl Review

Downtown Owl is Chuck Klosterman’s first novel. I have been a fan of his non-fiction writing for some time now, and when I discovered that he had penned a novel I decided to put it on my must-read list. Downtown Owl is sold as a snapshot of a small town, and while this is basically true, it made for a very uninteresting read.

Downtown Owl is told through three different perspectives: Horace, Julia and Mitch. Horace is the typical widower who goes to the coffee shop at the same time everyday and talks with other men about the people who live in town. Janet is new to Owl and has come to teach history at the public school. She soon becomes the object of every single man’s desire and therefore spends the evenings getting drunk on the free drinks that they buy her. Mitch is a, somewhat, typical high school kid who spends time with his friends and plays football. The only strange thing about Mitch is that he is obsessed with his football coach/English teacher.

I believe that Downtown Owl has the basis for a good story, but unfortunately Chuck Klosterman doesn’t really flesh out a plot. Nothing actually happens in this book until about 20 pages before the end. There is a lot of remembering things that happened in the past, but nothing actually happens. There also isn’t any character development at all. All three characters start and end in the same way, but I guess that is what happens when you don’t have a plot. In the end you read these three perspectives on life in a small town and in the end it all seems pointless.

I will say that there were some things that I enjoyed. For the most part I liked Klosterman’s writing style. Sometimes it seems a little bit to “flowery” or pompous for a novel, but it did seem like he at least knew about the subject that he was writing about. I grew up in a small town and from time to time the situations in the book felt familiar, however, I don’t believe that is enough to make this book readable.

I the end I was disappointed by Downtown Owl. I high expectations for a novel by Chuck Klosterman and I feel like he let me down. It was a struggle to actually finish this book. I wanted to find out if the book was going anywhere and it didn’t. While Downtown Owl did paint a good picture of small town life it didn’t have a plot or character development. I don’t recommend this book to anyone; even if you are a fan of Chuck Klosterman’s other writing.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Seven

Across the Universe by Beth Revis is about a seventeen year old girl who is cryogenically frozen so that she can go on a mission to new earth with her parents 300 years into her future. The girl, Amy, gets reanimated 50 years to early and is thrown into the world that exists on the spaceship that she has been traveling on. Amy meets the future leader of the people who lives on the ship named Elder and together they begin to discover that the society that has been created within these steel walls isn’t what it should be.

Across the Universe started out pretty good, the first few chapters drew me into the story and I was interested in the characters. Unfortunately, about half way through the book there was a turn of events that turned me off and I didn’t really enjoy the book from then on. The incident, which I won’t describe in case someone wants to read this book, seemed unnecessary and I feel like the same effect could have been achieved in a different way. I think that the reason that I didn’t like the incident was because it was too graphic for a young adult novel. I could have done without this certain part and I wish that Beth Revis had written it differently.

The characters were alright in this book, there really were only five characters in the entire story. The chapters are divided between the two main characters Amy and Elder and I’m not sure how much I liked either of them. Amy seemed weak to me, she emerged into this completely different world from the one she knew and started to notice things that were right. However, she doesn’t really start to talk about those things until after the incident, when it directly affected her. After Amy noticed how things were different she never really tried to explain why things on the ship weren’t right, she just said that were right. Never once did Amy do something heroic or out of character, it seemed like her only purpose on the ship was to stir things up.

Elder had lived on the ship for his entire life and just started to realize that the way things were being run might be corrupt and even after his realization he still often agreed with the corrupt side. I did like Elder better then Amy because he was acting out of turn and was trying to get answers, he had a rebellious side. The thing that I really liked about Elder is that he seemed to put everyone else’s well being ahead of himself. It was right at the end of the book that I ended up not liking Elder as much, he did something that made me think about the story completely different. It was the one thing that ruined Elder for me and also ruined the book a bit as well.

The other characters are hardly worth mentioning, they are the stock people that you expect in a story of this sort. There was the best friend, the bad guy and the bad guy’s henchman. Other than that there was the mindless masses that had no idea that anything life changing was happening. The characters were a bit predictable, and not at all interesting.

The writing was ok, but near the end it seemed to be overly emotional. I feel like that whole feel of Across the Universe is that it started out good and then it end really bad. I’m not sure that I want to continue reading the rest of the books in the trilogy. To me I can’t see where the story could possibly go after this; I honestly can’t believe that there are two more books written about these characters.

I gave Across the Universe a three out of five because I really did enjoy the beginning of the book, but I really did hate the end of the book.

BEDA - Day Twenty-Five

Divergent by Veronica Roth is set in Chicago during a dystopian future. Something has happened that has shut the city off from the rest of the world, and the people have created five factions which each have a different purpose in governing the city. At the age of 16 a test is administered to see if the faction that you were born into is the faction you should stay a part of. This is when we meet the main character Beatrice, and the story follows her through her choice.

I really enjoyed Divergent; I read half of it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. The writing really draws you in and I wasn’t able to figure out what was going to happen next, it was always a bit of a surprise.  I found the idea of different factions where you are raised to believe a certain thing, and to act a certain way really interesting. The idea of factions make you think about society and how it works, and why it works.

I loved the characters in Divergent. The main character Beatrice is awesome; she is so brave and kind. I like the journey that she takes and it is fascinating how she continues to have an internal struggle even after she makes her decision about which faction she belongs in. Beatrice seemed too real to me, like her thoughts and feeling could be exactly what someone would actually have, and it made her more believable. I wish that more female heroes were written like her.

The male lead, named Four, is completely swoon worthy and I’m not talking in an Edward Cullen sort of way. Four really cares about Beatrice, and works really hard to make sure that she gets through all the hard ships she encounters. The thing about Four that is really cool is that he doesn’t coddle Beatrice, he helps her, but in a way that makes her able to deal with things better on her own. Four never once tries to save her from pain, because he understands that it is part of life, and he never puts her up on a pedestal.

I gave Divergent a four out of five on Good Reads, and if you enjoyed The Hunger Games you will definitely like this book.  It is a dystopian novel, where the world is different and the government is bad, but I enjoyed Divergent and would recommend it to anyone.

Kathleen Edwards Voyageur - Review

Today Kathleen Edwards released her fourth album Voyageur. I have been waiting for this album to come out since the summer when I first heard that she was recording new music. I was lucky enough to get the album a few days early courtesy of the record store Rotate This which is just down the street from where I live. Now that I have a few days to process the album I can honestly say that it has exceeded my expectations.

 Voyageur starts off with song Empty Threat. This song starts with just guitar, and I don’t know how Kathleen does it but it sets the tone for the entire album. This song is so great; it is rocking with a hint of country, and has a catching chorus to boot. This is the sort of song that makes me want to pick up the guitar and start to play, granted that I am not very good, but still I just want to rock out.

The next song is Chameleon/ Comedian. I have bootleg copy of this song from her performance at the Drake, and I have to say this song it so different. I really love the changes that she made. It is slower and more intense. You can really feel the emotion coming through within the instrumentation. I love the lyrics of this song, they really just make sense. It is almost like an epiphany happening within a song. The metaphor is that strong.

Next up is Soft Place to Land. I heard this song for the first time on the Drake bootleg, and I loved it at first listen. This song is one the most emotional songs I have ever heard in my entire life. It is so sad, and its impact is so strong. I feel like I have been in this situation before, more than once and this song just sums everything up perfectly. Every time that it plays I have to stop and listen and sing along to chorus. It is becoming one of all time favourite songs.

Change the Sheets is one of those songs that you instantly love; at least it was for me. From the second that I heard this song I was sold! The build up is dramatic, the guitar is beautiful, and the lyrics really hit home. This is probably the song that I am most excited to hear live.

The song House Full of Empty Rooms is one that is full of feeling. When I first heard it I thought of my Grandparents. I know that it isn’t about Grandparents, but I feel like they are the people who really experience a house full of empty rooms. I have three Grandparents and they all live in these big houses, and they don’t really use all of the space that they have. This song made me really think about what would you do with a house that is mostly empty.

Mint was also a part of the Drake bootleg and I can tell you that I didn’t like that first version that I heard, but I really like this new version. It is bluesy and gritty; I love the raunchy side of this song. The melody is really cool, and whenever I hear it I start to sway back and forth. I didn’t expect to love it, but I really love it.

One of my favourite songs is Sidecar. It is rocky and poppy and I love the sounds that are produced in this song. It is one of the only upbeat songs and it makes me want to dance when I hear it. This album is full of sad and insightful songs, which I love, but it is nice to get an upbeat pop rock single. This is one of those songs that during the summer you want to roll down the car windows and crank as you cruise around town. It really just makes me happy.

Pink Champagne…I really don’t know what to say about this song. It really is amazing. Every time I hear it I just want to cry. The lyrics are so poignant, and emotionally raw. This song really came out of left field for me, and it is by far my favourite on the album. I love the way that Kathleen sounds like she is crying during the chorus. It really makes my heart hurt, which is not something that I can say about any other song.

The song Going to Hell was one that I wasn’t sure I was going to like, but after listening to it I really do. I love the imagery that is within the lyrics. The thought of going to hell because of some else is probably a familiar thought of too many people and it was one that I loved. I honestly don’t think that I have heard this thought expressed by someone else, which is something that I love about Kathleen Edwards…she goes there.  I love instrumental part to this song; it grips you and holds on tight. The whole song makes you feel like you are on a journey, one that you don’t really know where you destination is.

When this crazy piano sound started at the end my first listen of Voyageur I wasn’t really sure what to think. For the Record is one of those sad soulful songs that hit you when you least expect it. It wasn’t the first time that I heard this song that made me love it but the tenth time. I wasn’t expecting it but there is was, bluesy guitar in your face saying: I understand how you feel. I still don’t understand what this song means to me, but I do know that I love it.

I think that by now you get that there is not one song on this album that I do not love. I think Kathleen Edwards wrote some really amazing songs and with the help of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver produced an amazing album. This album is different from Kathleen Edwards other albums, and yet at the same time is so Kathleen Edwards. I don’t think that I could explain that last sentence to anyone who wasn’t a Kathleen Edwards fan, but please just take my word for it. I love the way that Voyageur sounds, and especially how Kathleen used background vocals in a way that she never has before.

If you haven’t checked out Kathleen Edwards I encourage you to do so right now. And you’re listening and viewing pleasure here is the video for Change the Sheets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdTF_M-h1J4&list=FLIiNIT3Fu7YZHhK1GCFZ2Vw&index=3&feature=plpp_video

Thursday Night TV

Every Thursday night for the past few years I have watched Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. This year they added another show that I watch to that line up, The Big Bang Theory. I have to say this right now that at some point I have loved each one of these shows at one time or another, but this year, well, I’m just not feeling them.

First up was The Big Bang Theory. The show last night opened up with a classic Sheldon and Lenard scene. I enjoyed this scene because we haven’t really seen much of the relationship between these two characters much in recent episodes, and I feel like it the show needs to bring it back to them to make it interesting. I loved the story line with Howard and Bernadette; I think that they are a really awesome couple. I also really like that they have made Bernadette resemble Howard’s mother, it makes sense that Howard would pick someone like his mother since he is such a mama’s boy. I found the storyline with Will Wheaton to be underwhelming. I don’t believe that Wheaton would have given in on the feud so easily, and Sheldon didn’t freak out enough when the mint action figure got ripped opened. Over all this episode was fine, it held my attention and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Next up was Grey’s Anatomy. I have been having a love hate relationship with Grey’s since the beginning of the last season. I find that the writing is not as good as it used to be, and that the plots are lacking the interesting twists and learning experiences that they used to have. Last night’s plot revolved around two cases; the first was the “shocking” penis transplant. Yes, you heard me a penis transplant, if that isn’t grasping for straws then I don’t know what is. The only part of this case that I enjoyed was that Debbie Allen guest stared as Jackson Avery’s mother and was the head surgeon on the case. Debbie Allen is so cool, such a great actor and I really enjoyed seeing her as Katharine Avery. I liked that the mother-and-son relationship was believable, but didn’t really understand why Jackson felt that he had to ship Lexi off to save her from the crazy mother. Katherine Avery was cool, under control, driven, and definitely not crazy. The Jackson worrying about the impression she would make was overdone. The other case was one that involved Zola the baby that Meredith and Derek want to adopt. She had a seizure and was brought to the hospital to be treated by Alex and Arizona. Of course, they weren’t to tell Meredith and Derek that Zola was being treated because it would put the adoption in jeopardy, but of course Alex told they anyway. In the end Zola was fine, and the adoption agent saw Meredith and Derek holding hands in the elevator looking upset at the end of the episode. It’s obvious that they will get custody of Zola in the end, but I guess they really need to drag it out. The one thing that I wondered throughout this episode is why Kristina always steps up and helps out with Zola, but she doesn’t want to have a child of her own. It’s nice to see the writers move the plot along, and making it seem possible that reconciliation between Meredith and Derek might be coming soon. Unfortunately, it was sort of slow and predictable. I miss old Grey’s Anatomy.

Then we get to Private Practice, and the uterus transplant. I am not kidding you one bit, it was a penis transplant followed by a uterus transplant. I honestly let out a sigh when they said uterus transplant; either the two shows planned to much or not enough, but it was overkill. I really didn’t enjoy this episode; I was bored and didn’t really pay close attention to the plot. It seems that Private Practice is just trying to outdo Grey’s Anatomy in shock factor, and it is failing painfully. I think that the writers need to bring Private Practice back to what it was originally, a show that focused on a small practice and its patients.

I hope that The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice get better as the seasons move on. The writers of all three shows need to step it up this year. I’m looking for interesting plots, twist that I don’t see coming, and more emotion. I’m not going to stop watching these shows, let’s face it, I’m too curious to see what is going to happen next.