Tell Me About Gary Haché!

This is kind of an old song, but it's new to me, and maybe it'll be new to you:
Gary Haché by Andrew Vincent & the Pirates

In a recent post, I wondered where the hell AV's new album is, and then my brother sent him an email, and AV replied that it was coming. So there you go.

"Gary Haché" is a nearly perfect song. I kinda wish the vocals were a little louder in the mix, cuz that wicked riff kinda overpowers them, which is a what a wicked riff like that will do, so, like, whatev. I like the way the perspective goes from third to first person after the first verse. It doesn't really make any sense, so it's rad. It reminds me of the time I went to Stratford with Chad and we got loaded and I got kicked out of some bar because a guy next to me dropped his glass and it smashed on the floor, and I...I think I had only just barely begun to booze it up at that point, but I got the blame. I may have even been waiting in line for my first drink. Regardless, there were many other places to drink in Stratford that night, and we hit most of them. I ended up falling down in the mud near one of those quaint stone footbridges Stratford seemed full of.

Newer and just as cool is Houdini: The Handcuff King by Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi, from The Center for Cartoon Studies.

That's right, introduction by Glen David Gold, who wrote one of my favourite novels of recent times, Carter Beats the Devil. It's a fun and deliciously illustrated biography of Houdini (whose corpse is in the news again) very much in the same vein (though a little more lively) of Chester Brown's Louis Riel comic biog.

And in newer MUSIC news, and also civic whateverhood, I STILL DON'T HAVE THE NEW RTX ALBUM. VANCOUVER HAS LET ME DOWN AGAIN. None of the stores I've visited have even ordered Western Xterminator yet. I know for a fact that if I was still in Regina, Dave woulda had that sucker in my hands within MOMENTS of its release. I guess that's what's cool about Regina.
Last month, Drag City was giving away "Black Bananas" from Western Xterminator away for FREE. This month they're giving away "Sycamore" by Bill Callahan, formerly known as Smog or (Smog). It's pretty great. AND IT'S FREE.

The new pink layout is dedicated to Lindsay, the world's coolest 14-year-old.

Things I'm Reading Lately

I really need to write here more, but if you've come here looking for interesting stuff to read--well, you've come to the wrong place. For now at least.
In the meantime, here's some of my favourite stuff from Los Internetos that's been turning my crank.
Jon Ronson's neuroses (as well as his books and his radio shows) make him my number hero these days.
Douglas Wolk's always worthwhile 52-Pickup blog really kicked some serious ass this week. I don't know if there are any awards for comics journalism, but this week's column/blog deserves one.

I've been blogging a little bit on my MySpace page, though I should really do it here, since (as any 14-yr-old will tell you) MySpace is LAME.