A likely entertaining read for fans, but nothing to entice the general reader.
Modest Mouse is an okay rock band with an unpleasant frontman. Intrigued?
Music journalist Goldsher (Hard Bop Academy, not reviewed, etc.) delivers an enthusiastic and somewhat unorthodox unauthorized biography of the indie-rock combo Modest Mouse; the book’s subtitle is a good indication of Goldsher’s off-the-cuff, digressive style, which finds room for lengthy asides on the personality flaws of jazz great Charlie Parker, the history and anatomy of the rock “side project” and the challenges and rewards of writing unauthorized rock biographies. These digressions, and Goldsher’s breezy, conversational tone, are most welcome, as the story of Modest Mouse’s uneventful climb to the middle is less than gripping for those not already in the fan club. Goldsher understandably places most of the focus on singer/guitarist/songwriter Isaac Brock, who possesses a grating sort of anti-charisma. A foul-mouthed, belligerent curmudgeon, Brock is presumably the voice of some generation or other, but excerpts from interviews prove him an inarticulate one, and the lyrics quoted fail to create an impression of poetic significance. Accounts of Brock’s seedy legal problems, which include a DUI conviction and rape allegation, do little to endear the man. Even the many photos included of the somewhat bloated and sullen-looking musician are off-putting. Goldsher, who is also a musician, effectively describes Modest Mouse’s off-kilter sound, and his song-by-song analysis is insightful and pointed. But such erudition seems misplaced—is a middling lo-fi band with a single hit to their credit (the yelping “Float On”) worth such careful attention? And who but the most fanatical of Brock’s following could thrill to a lengthy discussion of the bandleader’s side project Ugly Casanova, an obscurity even within the rarified confines of the indie rock scene? As well-written and researched as this material is, it is more naturally the stuff of fanzines.
A likely entertaining read for fans, but nothing to entice the general reader.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-312-35601-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin’s Griffin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2006
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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