Bildungsroman

Main Entry: bil·dungs·ro·man
Pronunciation: ‘bil-du[ng](k)s-rO-“män, -du[ng]z-
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from Bildung education + Roman novel
Date: 1910
: a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character

np – Superchunk / Incidental Music : 1991-95

Shaolin Soccer

By far one of the nuttiest movies I’ve seen in a while. This one had it all – good versus evil, martial arts, betrayal, redepmtion, familial duty, yellow cards… Basic plot summary – a family of Shaolin-trained brothers enters a soccer tournament to gain family honour and win cash. Hijinks ensue.

The subtitling was dubious at best and some of the effects delightfully cheesy (Industrial Light & Magic it wasn’t) but the sheer energy and enthusiasm of everyone in the film made those quirks endearing rather than annoying. The signature over-the-top-ness of Hong Kong cinema is very much in evidence here… If you’re not scratching your head wondering, ‘what the hell?’ you’re laughing your ass off. Recommended.

…In other news, the Leafs and Raptors suck. I need a new city.

np – Ryan Adams / Demolition

I’ll Be Back

Found a link to the functioning part of the website for the new Terminator 3 film.

Neat.

np – Tobin Sprout / Carnival Boy

It’s Like Soul Man

This afternoon I felt compelled to go to Vortex. I can’t explain why, it’s not like I haven’t bought anything in a while (well, a week), but I just had to go. Sure, going to used CD shops is sort of my default activity when I don’t have anything else to do, but whatever.

Not a half block from my apartment, who do I see walking down the street than one Sarah Harmer. I had already walked on past but I did do a double take. Coincidentally, my brother and I had a discussion on the low-key nature of Canadian celebrity today. Perfect example, one of the finest singer-songwriters our country has produced in decades just wandering innocuously through downtown. I didn’t stop to say hello, because I’m always at a loss for intelligent things to say to people, but it was cool.

So my sixth sense about going to CD shops seemed to be well-founded. My haul for the day:

Mark Eitzel / Songs Of Love (Live At The Borderline 17.1.91) – A pretty rare live set from the UK, it’s just solo acoustic Eitzel doing material mostly from California and Everclear. This set predates the release of Everclear, so you get earlier versions of those songs. It’s an excellent recording and backs up my opinions of Eitzel’s live prowess from his show last month. Interestingly, a lot of the material on this disc was still on his setlist over a decade later. For the ages, I guess.

Tobin Sprout / Carnival Boy – GBV hasn’t been the same since Tobin left. His pop songs were always the perfect break in the Bob Pollard rawk song sequences, and I do miss them. I’d meant to hunt down his solo stuff for a while, so I was pretty pleased to find this disc and for cheap! $6.99, on account of some light marks on the outside of the disc. However, since the album clocks in at barely 30 minutes, there’s nothing recorded along the outside perimeter. Cha-ching!

Ryan Adams / Demolition – My current opinion on Ryan is as follows – great potential as an artist as long as he pulls his head out of his ass. He’s gotten too caught up in being a ‘rock star’ and his work is suffering as a result. First off, what he needs is an editor. The fact that this disc exists as it is and not as the four-disc box set he’d threatened to release earlier this year is probably a good thing. Further thoughts after I actually get to listen to it.

Elvis Costello / Cruel Smile – I will comment on this one after I give it a listen. But in Elvis related news, Mister Declan MacManus has a) been inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame (along with the Clash, the Police and ACDC) and b) will be on the Simpsons tomorrow evening. Huzzah!

np – Mark Eitzel / Songs Of Love (Live At The Borderline 17.1.91)

Ninjai

The latest chapter (number 10, for those keeping track) of Ninjai is up. I don’t follow many (or really any) online cartoons or such, but I really like this one.

It’s the story of a little guy who’s really more samurai than ninja, if you want to be picky. I’m not entirely sure what the overarching plot is yet, but it’s certainly engaging enough to keep me interested. The animation is really something else, and the little bird is cute. If you’ve got time to kill, head over and check out the past 10 episodes.

np – New Order / Substance