Sophie Says Sooth (2002.09.02): "Avoid graduation at all possible costs. This may sound crazy now, but by the time you're out of school for a year you'll know exactly what I'm talking about and you'll really start to miss caring about back-to-school sales. Enjoy this time while you can."

Sophie Says Sooth (2002.08.26): "When you call your children unexpectedly, do not express concern if they were out until 4, 5 or 6 AM. They are now the masters of their own bedtimes. If someone of the opposite sex answers the telephone at 7 AM on a Sunday, say nothing."

Sophie Says Sooth (2002.08.19): "It was once required that ten witnesses be present at a marriage ceremony to outsmart jealous demons. (I don't know who really thought this would work but let's play along for the sake of the story.) Bridesmaids dressed similarly to the bride and groomsmen's attire resembled the groom's in an attempt to confuse the spirits who wanted to harm the couple."


Silverchair / Diorama: "Musically, it is one of the best of the year. Rich orchestrations sweep across beautifully arranged songs, a feat quite remarkable for a band unaccustomed to such complex string and horn work. This is due, in part, to help from the legendary Van Dyke Parks, whose resume boasts such names as U2 and the Beach Boys."

Miniviews 2002.08.02: "While reining his noodling tendencies way in for the two Guided By Voices records released by TVT, his side projects exploded. The Fading Captain series, home to numerous collaborations and throw-away 7" singles, has probably had a release or three just since you started reading this piece."

Miniviews 2002.07.28: "If John Lennon and Yoko Ono had been in little-known power pop bands, then decided to do a record together with John's brother and a pseudonymous drummer for a Spanish label you've never heard of, Double Fantasy would've sounded a lot like Sound It Out."


San Diego Comic-con 2002: Part 1: "A lot of it sounded like standard conspiracy theory bullshit; I would like to believe him about the income taxes, though. Apparently it has something to do with the improper ratification of the 16th Amendment and taxing our privilege of earning money."

"Glamour Hose": A 14-piece photographic series from Natalie Meyer


"Pixel Worship": A new short narrative work from Aaron Veenstra





2002/05/29

My friend Natalie, of "Glamour Hose" fame, is going to Germany for June. Confluently, I discovered that Nico, of Velvet Underground & Nico fame, had recorded a version of the German national anthem, "Das Lied der Deutschen," on her 1974 release, The End.

You might expect such a performance to break from Nico's standard dirge format but it doesn't. This is the sort of national anthem you might hear at the Olympics not after a German gold medal win but after the entire German Olympic delegation, including athletes, dignitaries, fans and pets, is killed in a fiery boat crash. I doubt there's another anthem out there that could survive such treatment but Germany seems to come through it alive.
posted at 09:24



2002/05/28

"Spider-Man" is raking in all kinds of "Ooh, pretty!" action movie dollars these days, which means next year's release of "X-Men 2" (predictably promotitled "X2") is likely to get a big bump up in marketing. What better way to prepare than with the comics that made the X-Men franchise such a wealthy commodity in the first place? In the first of a series, Jesse Baker reviews The Essential X-Men, which collects the first couple years worth of Chris Claremont's mid-70's X-Men revamp.
posted at 08:56


2002/05/27

It's Memorial Day today and that means plenty of good, old-fashioned, American traditions. Cemetary ceremonies! Grilling out! Dumping bodies! And if you need help with any of that, you're in luck, because Sophie's latest batch of Sooth has totally got you covered.
posted at 08:55


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