LIKE MAKING COMICS ABOUT ARCHITECTURE

I came across this entry on Paul Pope's blog about the plight of the modern cartoonist in need of a photocopier, and it made me laugh. I think anyone working as a freelancer in comics will relate to this tale. It's so frighteningly universal, there is even a Kinko's encounter in The Everlasting, when Lance has a run-in with a shoe-obsessed nutjob.

That little scene in the book is actually based on real life. It was an encounter I had, written as best as I could remember it. For years, Oni Press didn't have its own photocopier, and James Lucas Jones and I would make daily trips to the Kinko's on 2nd Avenue in Downtown Portland. I was there so much, I could operate the machines better than most of the people who worked there. At one point I was so frustrated with a copier I couldn't get to work right, an employee was sent over to timidly ask me if I needed to take a break and step outside. I had been doing air punches and mock kicks in the machine's direction, and they were afraid I would end up following through and breaking it.

The worst guys in a photocopy place are always the construction dudes using the blueprint machine. For one, it takes a long time to run the prints through, and so they have a lot of time to look around. For two, they are fascinated by how things are put together, and to them, comic book pages are a bizarre combination of construction and the ephemeral elements of art that often elude people who work with their hands. (I say this as the respectful son of a carpenter, and I spent many a summer out on job sites, complaining that the specific elements of workign with one's hands eluded my ephemeral brain.) Imagine not being Paul Pope, imagine being Jamie Rich and you're not the guy who drew what you were photocopying. I then had to explain what being an editor meant. It's a job that baffles comic book fans, so it really perplexes the layman.

There were times when I just lied and said I did draw the pages, but that was a tactic fraught with danger. Blueprint guys invariably needed something drawn for themselves or they had a friend who had some kind of illustration job that needed to be filled. I think once we almost got Steve Lieber a gig drawing someone's company newsletter, until Steve informed them that illustrators actually get paid for commercial work. A freelance artist can get out of any awkward professional negotiation with amateurs by bringing money into the picture.

I know there are other places that creative people go to for either practical means or looking for some kind of work space that are also dangerous. I often get bothered in bars if I try to write in my notebook, and while it's pretty commonplace to be seen in a coffee shop with a laptop, I know plenty of cartoonists who get people peering over their shoulders or get chatted up by creepy boy baristas who read comics. If I'm proofreading a large manuscript, like the aforementioned The Everlasting, that tends to invite inquiries, as well.

Parents can be troublesome people to meet for the artistic professional. Mothers have no problem telling you how good their children are, even though there is actually something insulting about comparing the efforts of a ten-year-old to that of a seasoned pro. I wonder if they ever tell a blueprint guy that their offspring is particularly adept with Lincoln Logs and expect him to nod along as if impressed? In the old days, Dark Horse used to make us put stickers in the back of our cars to show that we could park in their tiny parking lot. This was way back in 1994, because I only had a car for about the first six months I worked there. In Oregon, it's against the law for drivers to pump their own gas. If you've ever wondered how politicians create jobs, this is one of the ways. Being fresh from California, it made me uncomfortable to sit in my car while someone else filled it up, so I'd get out and stand around and hope that the guy wouldn't chat with me, because then we'd have a clash of things that make me uncomfortable. Well, I don't think I'd had that sticker for more than a week before the dude pumping my gas was telling me how his kid loved to draw and maybe I could get him in at Dark Horse. I suddenly got real comfortable with staying in my vehicle.

Current Soundtrack: Paul Weller, Catch-Flame!

Current Mood: amused

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

THIS FILM'S CRAP, LET'S SLASH THE SEATS

TOP MOVIES 2006

I saw most of the films I wanted to see this year, with a few exceptions (Babel, The Fountain, and When the Levees Broke immediately spring to mind), so for once I feel pretty secure in making my choices. The movies that make up my top 25 would be hard to kick out of their slots. A lot of good stuff came out in 2006.

Since I reviewed most of these for DVD Talk, I'm going to go ahead and link to those reviews for the bulk of the list. If there is no review, or if further explanation is needed, you will find a short blurb here.

1. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, dir. Larry Charles
2. Marie Antoinette, dir. Sofia Coppola
3. Pan's Labyrinth, dir. Guillermo del Torro

4. Dave Chappelle's Block Party/Science of Sleep - Michel Gondry is the first of five directors on the list to score big by putting out two movies in one year. In this case, they are very different. Block Party is a documentary of a musical event, and Science of Sleep is a surreal journey into the mind of a manchild. Both convey a real joy in art, however, even when the fictional film gets a little dark in tone.

5. Manderlay, dir. Lars von Trier
6. Flags of Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima, dir. Clint Eastwood
7. The Departed, dir. Martin Scorsese
8. The Prestige, dir. Christopher Nolan

9. Brick - Writer/director Rian Johnson created a movie mash-up. The script is classic film noir, the setting is 21st century high school. It's amazing how well the melding works. A labyrinthine plot pushed along by tough-guy dialogue and the hottest femme fatale to come alone since Rita Hayworth went down in Lady from Shanghai.

10. Curse of the Golden Flower/Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles - Zhang Yimou showed his range with an elaborate historical drama and a far more down-to-earth contemporary story about family.

11. Three Times, dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien

12. Stranger than Fiction - A real surprise, this one. At the urging of a couple of lit nerds I know, I went to see this. I was convinced the writer element would turn me off and that the film would have no idea how to deliver on the concept. The trailer was also really not funny. Well, that's because they tried to dress it up as a silly Will Ferrell vehicle, when really it was so much more. For fans of metaficton or smart, reality-bending comedies a la Charlie Kaufman's scripts (though, not in that league, it should be said), then do yourself a favor and give this one a go.

13. Volver, dir. Pedro Almodovar

14. The Good German/Bubble - Like Zhang Yimou, Steven Soderbergh did two movies that were vastly different in tone and timeframe. German is a period film with style in excess, while the modern-day murder mystery, Bubble, was an experiment in the Neorealism theories of post-WWII Italian directors using current technology. Bubble isn't entirely successful, but you've got to admire Soderbergh for trying.

15. Dreamgirls, dir. Bill Condon

16. Inside Man - Spike Lee goes all commercial and creates a smart, energetic heist picture starring Clive Owen and Denzel Washington. You're going to be wondering how Owen is going to pull it off right up until the end, and Washington is great as an easygoing detective who is putting more sweat into it than he's willing to show outright.

17. V For Vendetta - An example of how to do a proper adaptation, changing just enough of the Alan Moore and David Lloyd graphic novel to make it feel contemporary and work as a movie. The action is exciting, the story intriguing, and Hugo Weaving proves you can give a nuanced performance without ever showing your face.

18. Jackass 2.0 - What can I say? I laughed from when the lights went down to when they came back up. My face hurt when it was all over.

19. Water, dir. Deepa Mehta

20. The Devil Wears Prada - Anne Hathaway stars as the idealistic reporter sucked into Meryl Streep's fast-paced, image-conscious world of high fashion. While its moralistic streak is a little off track, the movie looks great and is incredibly fun. Stanley Tucci steals the show as the top art director at Streep's magazine. Though, why don't they ever say he's gay? For a movie about fashion, Devil Wears Prada is ridiculously straight.

21. Match Point/Scoop - Woody Allen does two films that center around a murder: one the frothiest of comedies, the other darker and more emotional. Many counted him out, but the old guy is back on form.

22. Russian Dolls, dir. Cédric Klapisch

23. The Proposition - Nick Cave penned this dirt smeared Australian western about family ties and revenge. Not for the feint of heart, because it's violent and bloody, but the gutsy among you will appreciate how The Proposition pulls no punches. Plus, a fantastic score by Cave and violinist Warren Ellis.

24. The Good Shepherd, dir. Robert De Niro
25. The Black Dahlia, dir. Brian De Palma

Current Soundtrack: PJ Harvey, The Peel Sessions 1991-2004

Current Mood: judgmental

AREN'T I BETTER THAN A BOY WHO CAN'T READ?

BOOKS I READ 2006

While I feel comfortable picking my top movies and albums in a given year, I’m not nearly well read enough to do the same for books. So, instead, I will list the comics and books I read over the year that I would recommend to others. Granted, this means I read more than what is on here. Also, I read more comics than are here, but if it was in issue form, I only listed series with significant amount released in the year (at least six issues). I also didn't list short stories (read many by Cornell Woolrich out of Night & Fear) and poems (lots of Baudelaire).

12 Days by June Kim
The Abandoned by Ross Campbell
Batman & the Monster Men/Batman & the Mad Monk by Matt Wagner
Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope
Benkei in New York by Jinpachi Mori & Jiro Taniguchi
Bonjour Tristesse by Francois Sagan
The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer
Breaking Up by Aimee Friedman & Christine Norrie
Bumperboy & the Loud, Loud Mountain by Debbie Huey
Casanova #1-5 by Matt Fraction & Gabriel Ba
Chewing Gum in Church by Steven Weissman
Comics & Sequential Art by Will Eisner
Complete Dennis the Menace: 1951-1952 by Hank Ketcham
DC SOLO: Mike Allred, Teddy Kristiansen, Brendan McCarthy
DE: Tales by Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon
Demo by Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan
Ex Machina vol. 1-3 by Brian K. Vaughan & Tony Harris
Five Fists of Science by Matt Fraction & Steven Sanders
The Girl I Waned to Be by Sarah Grace McCandless
Gray Horses by Hope Larson
Gun for Sale by Graham Greene
Immortality by Milan Kundera
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto
Lady Snowblood vol. 1-3 by Kazuo Koike & Kazuo Kamimura
Local #1-6 by Brian Wood & Ryan Kelly
The Long Hot Summer by Eric Stephenson & Jamie McKelvie
Making Comics by Scott McCloud
Miss Misery by Andy Greenwald
Monster vol. 1-2 by Naoki Urasawa
Noble Boy by Scott Morse
Now and On Earth by Jim Thompson
Off Road by Sean Murphy
Path of the Assassin vol. 1-2 by Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima
Past Lies by Nunzio DeFilipis, Christina Weir, & Christopher Mitten
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon
"The Rape of Lucrece" by William Shakespeare
Sexy Chix comics anthology
Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Shojo Beat manga magazine (year 2)
Side Scrollers by Matthew Loux
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Solstice by Steven T. Seagle & Justin Norman
Summer Crossing by Truman Capote
The Ticking by Renée French
Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Usagi Yojimbo #90-99 by Stan Sakai
Wet Moon: Unseen Feet, vol. 2 by Ross Campbell
X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl by Peter Milligan, Mike Allred, & Nick Dragotta

Current Soundtrack: Border Radio: Criterion Collection, director's commentary with Allison Anders and Dean Lent

Current Mood: intimidated (by all I haven't read)

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

THE STARS ARE BLAZING LIKE REBEL DIAMONDS

IN THE THEATRES...

* Inland Empire, the latest from David Lynch is long and confusing, but I'm not sure yet if that's a bad thing

* Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Torro's dark fairy tale is one of the best movies of 2006

* Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, a disappointing, overlong trip by Tom Tykwer

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Moscow Elegy, a tribute to Andrei Tarkovsky by Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark)

* Quinceañera, a coming of age story that eases into predictable territory

* Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies - Volume Two: 1929-1938, the second collection of the early Disney series of musical cartoon shorts

Current Soundtrack: The Killers, Sam's Town

Current Mood: groggy

PERMANENT RECORDS: I GUESS THIS IS THE END, THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

Permanent Records is a year-long project. Each Friday (or thereabouts), I will post a new entry about one specific album, chosen due to its significance to myself as a fan. Though the list is numbered, a particular record's placement should not be considered a ranking. There will be 52 albums in all--of which this is the last one.

01. SUEDE - COMING UP (1996)
Personnel: Brett Anderson, vocals; Richard Oakes, guitar; Mat Osman, bass; Simon Gilbert, drums; Neil Codling, keyboards
Producer: Ed Buller/Label: Nude

It was a small affair by request, but as the start-time grew near, the head undertaker began to fear that no one would come at all. It seemed almost more sad that no one would show up when the departed had expected it to be modest already. A man who dreams of a funeral with a large crowd has delusions of grandeur, but for someone to think that he has a few people in life he can rely on, and then for those people to let him down, that's a whole other level of pathetic.

But then the first couple arrived. Both were blonde, attractive, dressed nicely. The man was someone the undertaker had seen before, but he wasn't sure where. His hair was strange, almost like the curl of crème on a coconut pie. The woman was beautiful, large eyes, and they were filled with tears.

A smaller man came in behind, walking with a young girl in her early 20s. He wore a black-and-white suit, his hair a salt-and-pepper black and gray. His features were fair, his lips tight. When the first couple sat in the front row, the second followed and sat next to them. The girl was Asian, maybe Filipino. She was petite and pretty. Her gaze was cast low.

The departed had been a writer of some kind. He had requested his tombstone list only his name and the description, "An Unsuccessful Failure." A wry sense of humor, the undertaker guessed. They hadn't seen any creative types here before, the town was a pretty straightforward, traditional kind of place. Most of the tombstones listed family, accomplishments, sometimes a proverb. Most didn't find death to be witty.

A few more minutes passed, and another couple arrived. The man had dark hair and wore glasses; the woman had freckles on her nose and she was blonde, just like the first woman, but the undertaker thought this one maybe could be a model or on TV or something. She wore a scarf around her neck. She had already been crying, so her eyes matched her red lipstick.

It was an open casket, and the undertaker had learned in his career that you could tell what kind of a sleeper someone was even after death. This gentleman, this writer, you could tell he had many a restless night. His expression suggested that he was uncomfortable, that he was eager to roll over onto his side...if only he could.

At the prescribed start time, the undertaker went to the sound system and pressed play on the CD the departed had instructed him to play. There was to be no service, just this song.

"She can walk out anytime, anytime she wants to walk out, that's fine..."

The first man, the one with the strange hair. He smiled and nodded his head. When the words "And when I start my new life I won't touch the ground" came, he sang along, mouthing them quietly to himself.

The song was winding down. "Into the sea we'll bleed," the singer repeated over and over. That's when another man entered the room. He was wearing a dark suit and fedora, and when he removed the hat, he revealed a shag of black hair. He walked cautiously toward the casket, like he was unsure of what he was looking for. As he approached, he lost his composure. The man began to sob, and he threw his body on top of the coffin's lid. His body heaved, rising and falling with his tears.

Then the song finished, and the last man composed himself. He went to the others, greeted them. He and the first two pairs seemed to know each other. The other couple, they left quietly on their own.

Once everyone was gone, it was just the undertaker and the body. The living man liked the song the dead man had chosen, and so he played it again. Walking out of the room, he reached for the light switch, but before he turned the lights off, he looked back one last time at his customer. He hadn't noticed before, but there on top of the casket, the final man had left his hat.

The undertaker turned out the light and closed the door, the music humming softly inside. "So we sold the car and quit the job/ shook some hands and wiped the make-up right off...."

NOTABLE B-SIDE: One of the extra tracks on "Trash" is called "Another No-One." I figure that's pretty much self-explanatory.

#26 #25 #24 #23 #22 #21 #20 #19 #18 #17 #16 #15 #14 #13 #12 #11 #10 #9 #8 #7 #6 #5 #4 #3 #2 (The first 26) (Permanent Records iMix 1)

Reminder: As always, this post is full of links to Amazon. Click on any one of them when shopping, and Amazon will shave a few pennies off their take to give to me. So, if my reviews make you all hot and bothered and you just have to own one of the things I'm talking about, use my link and contribute to buying me more stuff to review. (Those reading a Live Journal feed will likely have to click to the actual blog page first before heading over to Amazon, though.) Either way, thanks for reading.

Current Soundtrack: 94.7 KNRK

Current Mood: finished

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

SUPERMASSIVE BIG MOUTH

You see this guy?

He talks too much, he never shuts up.

And sometimes people put what he says on the internet.

It was an honor to be interviewed by Tom Spurgeon over at The Comics Reporter. He didn't throw me softballs, but some really good, incisive questions. Please, click and read.

A sample: "In truth, I think the comics community is still getting educated in romance. I remember back when I was editing Cheat by Christine Norrie, some people felt the story didn't bring anything new to the genre, and I felt like it did in that there isn't much to compare it to in comic books. I felt the same way about what Blankets did for coming of age stories in comics. We need to lay the groundwork for these genres that haven't traditionally been part of the sequential medium, and in that sense, we may have to tell some stories that might be considered conventional if done in a different format. Arguably, romance comics can work very well because comic books seduce through image and words, and most people are turned on by what they see and by what they hear. I think a beautifully executed drawing of the back of a man's hand brushing across a woman's cheek is a million times more effective than a drawing of a sock in the jaw. If you look at someone like Joelle Jones, she draws very sexy, and she can alter her line to make you feel a certain way. If you look at Reason 8 in our book, it's an extremely intimate sequence, composed entirely of tight shots and a sketchy, almost hazy look to how our lead female is drawn. It's very seductive, and I think for most readers, the point in the book where they know for sure they are in love with Gwen. That use of line, no other art form can compare."

Current Soundtrack: mash-ups: Muse vs. Booker T, Destiny's Child vs. Arcitc Monkeys, Christina Aguilera vs. Dead or Alive

Current Mood: embarassed

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

YOU BELONG TO A GANG

Mumps Ellerby is talking about Love the Way You Love over at Newsarama. Read the interview, look at the art. Big up to Chris Arrant for using an obscure Depeche Mode reference for his title. He knows just how to woo me.

Volume 3 is on the Diamond shipping list this week, so it will be in stores, don't you fear.

12 Reasons Why I Love Her has made Don MacPherson's list of the Best Graphic Novels of 2006 over at Eye On Comics. Don also gives me some action in the writer category.

Joëlle Jones has also cracked the top 10 in the Brian Bendis Message Board's end of the year poll for best artists. She's the only woman and the only non-superhero artist to do so. They screwed up the credits when typing up the ballot, but never mind. If you have a membership over there but don't visit regularly, go vote. Or sign up and give our girl a good showing. Here's the thread.

Joëlle did the Oni Press Christmas card this year, as well, with colors by Keith Wood.

Currently Reading: The first two volumes of Monster by Naoki Urasawa

Current Soundtrack: The Decemberists, The Crane Wife

Current Mood: blank

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE - Christmas Edition

For my Christmas present, Joëlle Jones drew me a picture for my Audrey Hepburn collection. She also framed it up in a custom-decorated frame, and it looks really smart next to the doll Ian gave me for my birthday.

(part I) (part II) (part III) (part IV) (part V) (part VI) (Jen Wang's Audrey) (part VII) (part VIII)

It's been an Audrey holiday. My friend Benrus sent me the amazing book The Audrey Hepburn Treasures.

It's not just a simple photo book, but an interactive object. Every few pages, there is a pocket full of all sorts of neat things, ranging from reproductions of her wartime identity card to programs from plays she was in and a letter from Cary Grant. For a subject that has been covered so exhaustively, it's amazing to see someone find a new approach.

He also tracked down a DVD burn of Green Mansions, one of Audrey's lesser-known films, directed by her then-husband, Mel Ferrer.

Now I can sit and look through my book, with the movie playing in front of me, the portrait next to it, and drink coffee out of the mug Chynna sent me:

Good times!

Current Soundtrack: Low, Christmas; Belle & Sebastian, Xmas Peel Session

Current Mood: cold

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

HOLLY, JOLLY MOVIES - pt. 2

Hey! Before I forget, 12 Reasons Why I Love Her was an Honorable Mention in the Top Comics of 2006 over at Publisher's Weekly. Go, 12 Reasons!

And Vroom Socko has picked The Everlasting as one of his gifts to give over at Ain't It Cool News' Christmas Guide 2006. He even suggests it as a gateway into comics, because if someone finishes The Everlasting and likes it, you can spring Love the Way You Love on 'em!

IN THE THEATRES...

Rounding out my reviews of stuff coming out in time for Chrstmas

* Chrildren of Men, a thinking-man's action movie with plenty of adrenaline, starring Clive Owen and directed by Alfonso Cuarón

* Curse of the Golden Flower, the new tragedy of royal indiscretions from Zhang Yimou, with legendary Chinese actors Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li as Emperor and Empress

* The Good Shepherd, Robert De Niro's tale of the formation of the CIA

* Letters from Iwo Jima is Clint Eastwood's second WWII movie of the year and it is as good as you've been hearing

For those of you too lazy to scroll down for the first part, click.

Current Soundtrack: not a creature is stirring...

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich

PERMANENT RECORDS: IT'S A MARSHMALLOW WORLD IN THE WINTER

Due to Holiday complications, we're posting early this week. But at least it's part of the festivities, and now you have time to score this record before the actual day!

The Ronettes

Permanent Records is a year-long project. Each Friday (or thereabouts), I will post a new entry about one specific album, chosen due to its significance to myself as a fan. Though the list is numbered, a particular record's placement should not be considered a ranking. There will be 52 albums in all. This is the penultimate edition. One more to go! (Thank Christ!)

02. VARIOUS ARTISTS - A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU FROM PHIL SPECTOR (1963)
Personnel: Phil Spector, Darlene Love, The Ronettes, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, The Crystals
Producer: Phil Spector/Label: Abcko

I'm not the greatest fan of Christmas. This should shock no one. I am a curmudgeon. I am a Grinch. People have even been known to replace "Grinch" with "Mr. Rich" in the song from the cartoon. (Yes, you're a mean one, Mr. Rich.)

I might like Christmas better if it weren't for Christmas music. Let's be honest, it's awful stuff. As with anything, exceptions prove the rule and some good things come along every once in a while. I like Low's holiday one-off for its many moods, though my real tastes gravitate to the darker tones, like Erasure's suicide-laced "She Won't Be Home."

That said, I could be fine with Christmas music if it was all produced by Phil Spector.

I have a deep and dirty love for Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. For all the influence of African American musicians, the Beatles, Pet Sounds, and Elvis on modern rock 'n' roll, I really think there would be no music as we know it today without ol' crazy Phil. Most hiphop backing tracks are nothing but digital-age versions of the Wall of Sound, piling on the instruments to create an ear-tickling melody out of cacophony. Let's not forget, too, that Phil produced the Ramones. Even punk dug his platters.

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector takes traditional Christmas music and hangs it on the Wall of Sound. Bing Crosby must have had to turn down his hearing aid to process Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans singing "The Bells of St. Mary's" as an R&B ballad, complete with orchestra, bells, pile-driver drums, and Soxx's soaring voice. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" just doesn't sound the same without the spoken intro the Crystals give their version, a quiet warning placidly leading us into girl group harmonies, various bells of both the jingle and ding-dong variety, and again, the most drums Spector can fit into one recording studio. Not to mention a sax solo that predates all sax solos being crappy. And only Phil would have real horse's whinnying on the Ronettes' rendition of "Sleigh Ride" while using coconut shells or something to make the sound of their hooves.

The album is a blast. The sound of it is upbeat and fun, and you have to love the sincere "thank you" that Spector delivers over the top of a "Silent Night" backing track on the final cut. It's goofy in the most honest of ways. I listen to this disc and I feel like I'm having Christmas dinner with the Goodfellas. Joe Pesci hit the turkey with his car and Martin Scorsese's mom cooked it.

Forget the choral pabulum, forget anything by a current diva (my lovely Christina A. included) or novelty junk taped off of Dr. Demento. This is all you need, the only Christmas record that doesn't have death in it that should even be allowed near your stereo.

Phil Spector made it for us. It says so in the title. Don't disappoint him.

#26 #25 #24 #23 #22 #21 #20 #19 #18 #17 #16 #15 #14 #13 #12 #11 #10 #9 #8 #7 #6 #5 #4 #3 (The first 26) (Permanent Records iMix 1)

Reminder: As always, this post is full of links to Amazon. Click on any one of them when shopping, and Amazon will shave a few pennies off their take to give to me. So, if my reviews make you all hot and bothered and you just have to own one of the things I'm talking about, use my link and contribute to buying me more stuff to review. (Those reading a Live Journal feed will likely have to click to the actual blog page first before heading over to Amazon, though.) Either way, thanks for reading.

Current Soundtrack: Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City

Current Mood: aggravated (by the holidays)

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * The Website * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2006 Jamie S. Rich