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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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