I was never really exposed to my of Fall Out Boy’s back-catalogue. I think I only heard the two main singles from Infinity on High (2007) – “This Ain’t A Love Scene, It’s An Arms Race” and “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”. Anything else I heard by them was accidental or unacknowledged. They always struck me as a curiosity, and nothing really more than that, despite so many of the music magazines I read devoting pages and pages of space to writing about them.
Then again, I’ve never been someone who listened to the radio, so I often missed things. At the same time, I never really got tired of songs, either. (Maybe that’s why I’m one of the few people who will admit to liking Nickelback songs…?)*
Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent… I have periodic Music Videos on YouTube Binges, and I stumbled across Fall Out Boy’s latest single. And it’s actually rather good. So here’s the video for your enjoyment…
The song is taken from Save Rock and Roll, the band’s latest album – out now.
Here’s a bonus video, from another Save Rock and Roll single, the brilliantly named “My Song Knows What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)”…
* I say “admit”, because despite the fact that everyone I know readily, gleefully mocking the band, they are consistently one of the highest selling bands on either side of the Atlantic. And that’s not including illegal downloads. Millions of people are actually buying their albums. Who are these seemingly-mythical buyers…?
Author Wisdom: Michael Chabon
This quotation was passed on to me by Alyssa, who found it on Sarah Rees Brennan’s blog, and which originated on a New York Review of Books piece Chabon wrote on Janury 31 2013 (the piece is about Wes Anderson’s movies):
“The world is so big, so complicated, so replete with marvels and surprises that it takes years for most people to begin to notice that it is, also, irretrievably broken. We call this period of research ‘childhood.’
“There follows a program of renewed inquiry, often involuntary, into the nature and effects of mortality, entropy, heartbreak, violence, failure, cowardice, duplicity, cruelty, and grief; the researcher learns their histories, and their bitter lessons, by heart. Along the way, he or she discovers that the world has been broken for as long as anyone can remember, and struggles to reconcile this fact with the ache of cosmic nostalgia that arises, from time to time, in the researcher’s heart: an intimation of vanished glory, of lost wholeness, a memory of the world unbroken. We call the moment at which this ache first arises ‘adolescence.’ The feeling haunts people all their lives.”
Fantastic Page from JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2 (DC)
I just caught this over on iFanboy’s “Best of the Week in Panels… 03/20”, and it made me laugh. So, naturally, I’m sharing it here:
The story is written by the great Geoff Johns, with artwork by David Finch, Sonia Oback, and Rob Leigh. It’s always nice to see that some writers haven’t lost their sense of fun. Justice League of America #2 is out now.
Comic Cover Conformity…
While I understand that there are certain images that are iconic or eye-catching, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at the similarities between the covers for Brooklyn Animal Control (a one-shot from IDW) and Garth Ennis’s new series, Red Team #2 (Dynamite):
I’ve read neither comic (though I’d like to give the series a try). But damn, those compositions are similar…
Look at all the Pretties Coming from Orbit…!
That’s my rather fanboy-esque way of titling a post featuring a LOT of new artwork. I missed the original post, when it went up in March, but I thought I’d share some of the images on here. Because they’re pretty marvellous:
Ones that really stand out for me are Peter Higgins’ Truth And Fear (I assume this will be published by Gollancz in the UK, as Wolfhound Century was):
Simon Morden’s Arcanum, which I’ve never heard of (but his Sci-Fi has been very well received)…
And the third book in Francis Knight’s debut trilogy, Last to Rise:
Awesome Wonder Woman (unofficial) Art
Spotted this on Project: Rooftop, and thought I’d share it on here, too. The piece is by Rahzzah, who also does the art for Moon Girl:
If you like Comics, you really should be reading… InkPen
A syndicated daily comic strip by Phil Dunlap, I’ve been reading InkPen for longer than I’ve actually been reading comics. Nevertheless, it’s great fun, poking fun at super-hero tropes, comic standards and so much more.
We’re Going Through Changes…
So, I mentioned on Twitter that I had a new part-time job. One from which the issue of Conflicts of Interest could arise. It is a job with a Literary Agency in the UK, and it does pose an ethical and practical conundrum for the website.
First, of course, is that any review I write for an author we represent will be automatically suspect. This is, of course, self-evident. However, seeing as I’ve already reviewed an absolute ton of the authors represented by this agency (most way before I ever considered applying for a job at the company), I wonder just how much of a problem it could be? If I were to include a disclaimer, would this be enough? I applied for a job at this agency because I loved so many of their clients’ work. Something to ponder, certainly.
Second, what about negative reviews of novels and authors we don’t represent? Could this be construed as an attempt (however small and futile) at professional sabotage? That would certainly never be my intent – longtime readers will know that I am leery of posting negative reviews to begin with (save for Big Names and Classics, which I do believe add to the discussion).
Third, I don’t know how much time I’m going to have. True, the job is currently part-time, and I will always want to keep reading books (comics, novels, and non-fiction) and probably never tire of writing about what I’ve read – under the perhaps-delusional belief that people give a monkey’s about my opinion.
Therefore, I have decided that I will keep reviewing novels, and remain open for review copies. We may see a slight tilt towards more thrillers and other non-SFF novels featuring on the blog (more of a mix, in other words), but the there will still be plenty of comics and graphic novels reviewed, and I don’t see how there would be a conflict if I were to keep featuring interviews, news posts, art posts, guest posts, and other non-review content.
My first literary love remains SFF (and politics/history, but that’s on another website), so the chances of them disappearing from my shelves and therefore blog are next-to-zero. I will always indicate if a book is represented by the agency I work for – up-front and clearly, but I don’t think there is anything that will stop me wanting to write about what I read.
Welcome your thoughts, if you have any. I would also welcome more guest reviews, if anyone’s interested in writing for CR.
[NB: Anyone who sends me a submission through any email connected to this website or my personal one will be automatically blacklisted in my mind. Just so you know…]
Marvel: THREE New Wolverine Titles…?
Last year, I had a chat with the President of a comics company in the US, and we joked about Marvel’s addiction to Wolverine and how he features in an ever-increasing number of their titles. With the roll-out of the Marvel NOW not-a-reboot-honest, readers will (of course) be offered some more titles that are all about Wolverine: Wolverine, Savage Wolverine and the soon-to-be-launched Ultimate Comics – Wolverine. Can there be too much of a great character? After all, he is a member of the Avengers, too…
Wolverine is written by Paul Cornell, with art by Alan Davis – the first issue of this series will be published tomorrow.
Savage Wolverine (first two issues already available) is written and drawn by Frank Cho.
Ultimate Comics – Wolverine is written by Cullen Bunn (one of my favourite comic writers – see The Sixth Gun), with art by David Messina and Gary Erskine. The first issue of this series is also published tomorrow.
Reviewer Emotions: When We’re Asked if We’d Like a Book/ARC…
This is pretty self-explanatory:
But, you know, in this case where there’s a will there is not necessarily a way. I love that people offer me free books, and that many do so with a comment along the lines of “If you could just give it a look-see? Please?”
But, if I do say yes, but don’t review it IMMEDIATELY, then it’s probably because I’m busy. Or I ended up not liking it.
Civilian Reader 