Watchmen

Death Of The Superhero (Alan Moore)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Another month, another post about The Reading List, my ever-faithful and dear readers!

In case you haven’t read that article yet, which is okay, because I’ve only been writing about it once a month, I’ll give you a quick update.

The Reading List

Every month, I turn back to The Reading List for another book to read and another artist for you to consider in your own personal journey. My goal with this project is simple, I am challenging myself to read one book a month from 5 particular groupings. The 5 L’s of Language as I’ve come to call it.

  • LIFE – Biographies/Art/Music
  • LOVE – Classic Fiction/Non-Fiction/Graphic Novels
  • LEARN – Business/Leadership/Self-Help
  • LABEL – Philosophy/Sociology/Psychology
  • LEET -The Internet

But before I dig into this month’s grouping, I’m going to share with you something of an anecdote.

Alan Moore and The Killing Joke

A few weeks ago, I wrote a film review about a movie which had finally been adapted from a beloved stand-alone graphic novel. A story which has since inspired a generation of artists and furthered an ethos about the importance of Batman as a popular cultural icon. That review was on The Killing Joke, originally created by Alan Moore and Brian Bollard.

You see friends, the movie I reviewed was not endorsed by either party, and is definitely not a faithful adaptation.

The Killing Joke is well known in the comics community and has slowly been incorporated into other Batman media outlets like film and video games. Many critics considerate it to be the best Joker story of all time and one of the key Batman stories to read. I happen to agree with that last statement. And as I also mentioned in that review, Alan Moore has expressed personal regrets about ever having written it.

The logic from Moore being that he wanted to expand upon ideas of what superheroes were and could be, to reinvigorate the industry with silly and fun stories, radical stories, stories that made you consider them and recognize how bizarre comic books truly are. A challenge to the continuity and mythos of superheroes. But after Alan Moore made that story, the industry continued to darken and darken as a consequence, and the industry has never really snapped back since that dramatic shift.

But did you know that The Killing Joke was made in 1988 and is preceded by two other well known stand alone stories that Moore wrote? V For Vendetta also came out in 1988, and the  Watchmen series had previously wrapped up in 1987. Watchmen is in fact the first story to really breakdown the superhero genre in an epic way.

And both of those films enjoyed their own adaptations, also criticized by Moore for stripping the source and energy of the original stories. You see, dear readers, Alan Moore is the type of artist that believes in comic books, but has such a respect for them that he would rather he remove has name from any film adaptations then work with movie studios to produce a variation.

As a consequence of that rationale, rights have been sold for other Alan Moore works – From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Constantine.

This demonstrates rather well the power of his storytelling ability, the success he has had in the comic industry, and also the confidence he has in not compromising his art in order to make money.

Which is why if you haven’t guessed it yet, the grouping of the month is LOVE, because I love Alan Moore’s graphic novels. His spiritual and political views are somewhat different than my own,  him being a ceremonial magician and anarchist, but I think that adds to his value as an artist you should watch, because he brings an incredible dedication to his work and the best way to become a well rounded individual is to remove barriers and ignorance.

I’ll leave you with this quote from The Mindscape of Alan Moore, and let you ponder his frankness.

Yes, there is a conspiracy, indeed there are a great number of conspiracies, all tripping each other up … the main thing that I learned about conspiracy theories is that conspiracy theorists actually believe in the conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is chaotic. The truth is, that it is not the Jewish banking conspiracy, or the grey aliens, or the twelve-foot reptiloids from another dimension that are in control, the truth is far more frightening; no-one is in control, the world is rudderless.

What do you think? Have you read any of his work? Do you think he’s a genius, a lunatic or a bit of both? I have a theory or two on it.

Tim!

What Doesn’t Kill You, Only Makes You Stranger (Paul Simon, Stranger to Stranger review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Ever watched a movie JUST for the soundtrack? No? Well me neither, but there are tons of posts on the internet which claim that exact practice is worthwhile, and I will strongly disagree.

However, I do believe that a great soundtrack can help define and reinforce the ideas of a film. And the reason for this is that it usually comes down to the storytelling ability of the musician(s) behind the scenes.

This week we review an album that I could very easily see in a soundtrack in the near future.

 

 

 

Paul Simon – Stranger To Stranger
released June 3, 2016
****** 9/10

Paul-Simon-Stranger-To-Stranger

Paul Simon is an American musician, singer, songwriter and sometimes actor. He got his start as part of the duo known as Simon & Garfunkel, which performed together for six years in the 1960’s before splitting up at the height of their success – Simon is known to have been the predominant writer of Simon & Garfunkel and should be especially proud of Mrs. Robinson, The Sound of Silence, and Bridge over Troubled Water, which were all no.1 singles in their time.

He has also successfully managed a solo career, including 12 Grammy awards, a Lifetime Achievement award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and various other accolades.

Stranger to Stranger is Simon’s 13th studio outing and what I would consider a fantastic representation of him as an artist, given that I haven’t really followed his work. At. All.

Yes, my personal experiences with Paul Simon have mostly revolved around movie soundtracks that sampled his work in Simon & Garfunkel, so that means I’ve enjoyed the tranquillizer scene in Old School all the more thanks to The Sound of Silence, was bemused by Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate while Mrs. Robinson played and played with him, and even Bridge Over Troubled Water has a movie title named after it, it is the quintessential S&G song, after all.

But I think that recognizing a well made and ambitious album has less to do with knowing the artist’s catalogue of work and more to do with understanding the broader soundscape that is music.

Songs range from the hilarious opener The Werewolf, which is about a midwest murder in suburbia, to the lightly spread Wristband (with hints of darkness), to the very direct phone problems of In A Parade.

Though one track that manages to stick out like a sore thumb for me is Cool Papa Bell.

It’s incredibly absurd and paints a portrait of a man who has lost touch with reality, and it’s full of swear words. Which is kind of hard to imagine if you think about Simon’s vocals for too long. He lays it on in his typical indie folk style, but the lyrics combined with the world music tone create a very interesting and satirical final product.

And he takes life experiences as well to produce these songs, which tells me Paul Simon isn’t quite done experimenting like The Riverbank, which is the result of visiting vets at a Boston hospital.

And then we have the closing track, Insomniac’s Lullaby. Which is my personal favourite. It’s silly, sincere, sweet, and surprisingly sinister. And yes, I apologize for all of the alliteration, but Paul Simon says so, so I shall share. Now I’m done.

Should you listen to this record? Hell yes, you should. Paul Simon may be in his 70s but just as relevant today as he was 50 years ago and that shouldn’t make him a stranger to anyone.

 

 

 

Fortunately for Paul Simon, his glory days are not behind him. He is still creating music that can entertain and tell a wonderful story. Which is why it should surprise no one at this point that Mike Nichols knew what he was doing when he grabbed Simon & Garfunkel hot off the press and inserted it into his movie. Hopefully there is an indie more or 3 out there that will sample from this album and further cement it’s value in pop culture. And that’s all the theories I’ve got for today, see you tomorrow with a review that should be in a zoo.

Tim!