Reviews

Screw those arty-farty reviews! My reviews will be down-to-earth, focused on entertainment value and does away with all those oh-this-is-a-work-of-art-because-it-uses-so-and-so-literary-devices.

For today, a song, a book and a graphic novel.

Song: Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Live in Melbourne 1992)

A short note on this song. This song is one of the most iconic of the grunge era, because, well, it's catchy, it exudes angst and its style broke most of the rock-music conventions of that time.

Kurt's screaming into the microphone "Here we are now, entertain us!" while Grohl pelts out beats so frantic you're so sure his bass-drum foot would be numb by now.

Truly a masterpiece of its time. You gotta listen to it here, along with the other tracks from Melbourne '92. http://www.bigozine2.com/archive/ARrarities06/ARnirmelb.html

Book: Ron Mclarty - A Memory of Running

This book is about a loserish guy who loses his parents in a car crash. And by riding across the USA on a bicycle he rediscovers his life. I like losers. I like bicycles. I like this book.

A little like Annie Proulx's Shipping News since both books have its protagonist rediscovering themselves by understanding their past.






Graphic Novel: V for Vendetta

I don't like it. It's one of those new age graphic novels with corny goth/romantic themes such as the Sandman, and I can never dig the pretentiousness of such works.

V for Vendetta is about a modern Britain where freedom, and the idea of it no longer exist. It's sort of an Orwellian 1984. They cull prostitutes, they write their own news and music doesn't exist. This guy V is a masked man who's supposed to save Britain from that tragedy by using acts of violence to shake up society. Or something.

Gave up on it after 10 chapters.