Personal Picks: By The Numbers

 

When I started doing the personal picks, I wondered how much my favourites would enter into the equation. Well I kept a count and I decided to share after last week's first leftovers episode. I think I'll probably do one of those every 10 shows or so for songs that don't quite fit or I just plain forgot. You know how these things pop into your head after you post these things.

Here's the top musical acts by appearance:

Bob is by no way a surprise considering I did a Bob centric show but he'd still be tying with the others without that one. I've seen him live 6 times. Arcade Fire, Gorillaz and R.E.M. are all favourites that I've seen in concert. Only once in their cases. a-ha fits the cheesey pop portion of my brain. Seu Jorge is there just for his Bowie covers. The only surprise is Richard O'Brien. He's there for 3 songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I've had 5 songs from that show in the picks and only 2 of those appeared in the musical episodes (the other two were performed by Tim Curry). 

Of course, several people appear in bands or acts so I kept track of that also. It is only for vocalists as keeping track of some band members would be a bigger task(<cough> Gorillaz <cough>). Here's their list with solo in the first column and group / duo in the secomd:

Bob gets another point as he was in The Traveling Wilburys, who have had one appearance. Damon Albarn is there for Gorillaz (I've included him as he's the lead vocalist and has done solo work and had Blur so he may appear for those). Paul Simon gets 2 points for Simon & Garfunkel and with his one solo appearance brings him to 3 (his partner logically is just below this on 2).

I am working away on future episodes. It is actually fun working on the playlists. Here's some upcoming playlists for the rest of 2020:

• Must Be Christmas - Obvious what this is about. It turns out a few of my favourites have Christmas albums. Find out who next week!
• Home - Songs about home and going home. (I thought people would be thinking about it).
• Irish Acts Through The Years - This is a nostalgic time so I thought I'd pick some Irish mainstream songs. Couple of Eurovision tunes of course.
• Night - Songs about the night
• New Year's Resolutions - Songs about different New Year's Resolutions people have

If you look up Personal Picks on spotify, you may find some upcoming playlists that I'm still working on.

Personal Picks Episode Eleven - Thanksgiving Leftovers

Starting the holidays in November.

Eating Turkey.

Those crazy Americans.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to a very special edition of Personal Picks where we look at the songs that didn't quite make it on the first ten shows. It's time for some leftovers.

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) Ghost Town - The Specials ("Halloween")

2) Dare - Stan Bush ("Super People And People")

3) Moonage Daydream - David Bowie ("Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)")

4) Music To Watch Space Girls By - Leonard Nimoy ("Science Fiction & Fantasy Features")

5) The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel ("All Across America")

6) Can You Please Call Out Your Window? (BBC Sessions) - Jimi Hendrix ("Under The Covers")

7) Baby, Stop Crying - Bob Dylan ("Caring Not Scaring")

8) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. - a-ha ("Some Translation Required")

9) Under Attack - Lisa Stokke, Nightmare Chorus ("A Musical Interlude")

10) The Times They Are Changin' (Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February/March 1978) - Bob Dylan ("Bob Dylan Rare & Remade (1960s)")

Ok. I'm heading off to work on another festive playlist. There's only on suggestion for today...

Personal Picks Episode Ten - Bob Dylan Rare & Remade (1960s)

 

 A performer blows his tambourine.

To clear out the halls.

There's a battle outside raging.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to a very special edition of Personal Picks where I let my Bob Dylan fandom fly. All today's picks were originally recorded in the 1960s. Half are songs that were left off studio albums or live versions, performed by the man himself. The other half are covers of his 1960s catalogue. To give you an idea of what I had to work with, here are his studio albums from that decade with some songs that appeared on them:

• Bob Dylan (1962) - House Of The Risin' Sun
• The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) - Blowin' In The Wind, Masters Of War, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
• The Times They Are a-Changin' (1964) - The Times They Are a-Changin'
• Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) - Chimes Of Freedom
• Bringing It All Back Home (1965) - Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm, Mr. Tambourine Man, Gates Of Eden, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
• Highway 61 Revisited (1965) - Like A Rolling Stone, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, Desolation Row
• Blonde on Blonde (1966) - Visions Of Johanna, Just Like A Woman
• John Wesley Harding (1967) - All Along The Watchtower, I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
• Nashville Skyline (1969) - Girl From The North Country (with Johnny Cash), Lay Lady Lay, Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You

You might notice that I took a lot of Bob's performances from the album Side Tracks. This is one of my favourite albums and might not be known to non fans. I've also included a song from my favourite Dylan live album, Live At Budoken. For covers, it is mostly the soundtrack from I'm Not There. A strange movie with some great performances. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger (his final film to be released during his lifetime), and Ben Whishaw.

Anyway, enjoy the picks

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Studio Outtake, 1963) - Bob Dylan

2) Moonshiner - Bob Forrest

3) Percy's Song (Studio Outtake, 1963) - Bob Dylan

4) Silver Dagger (Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York, October 1964) - Joan Baez, Bob Dylan 

5) Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Live at Town Hall, New York, April 1963) - Bob Dylan

6) When the Ship Comes In - Marcus Carl Franklin

7) If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got to Stay All Night) (Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York, October 1964) - Bob Dylan

8) Fourth Time Round - Yo La Tengo

9) Blowin' in the Wind (Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February/March 1978) - Bob Dylan

10) The Times They Are a-Changin' (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, October 1992) - Tracy Chapman

I'm gonna delve some more into Dylan's catalogue. While I'm busy, check out these rollin' reads and all the watches.

Recommended reading: Tarantula, Chronicles

Recommended viewing: Masked and Anonymous, No Direction Home, I'm Not There

Five Weird Manga Series I'd Recommend

For this post, I decided I wanted to share five Manga series I have enjoyed. I think I first discovered Manga in the 1990s. I had seen a lot of Anime as a kid but the first Manga I read was Guyver or Bio Booster Armour Guyver to give it the full title. My best friend had picked it up somewhere. We had seen the over the top violent Anime and had really enjoyed it. It was pretty good but I can't say it made me a huge fan of Manga as a genre. Later on, the same friend got Priest as a gift (his friend thought it was Preacher). It fuses the Western with horror and dark fantasy. It also had a unique unusually angular art style that set it apart from other Manga (and possibly made it easier for me to get into). The film of the same name bears little resemblance to the book and is pretty bad. It was Karl Urban's last movie before Dredd. 

Coming to my list... I think my next foray into Manga was Assassination Classroom, which was recommended by another friend. It was years after Priest and kind of opened my mind to how good (and weird) Manga could be. Monster was next, recommended by my husband, and it opened my mind even more. Devilman came from watching the Anime on Netflix. Way Of The Househusband I picked up based on the name and the cover. Dorohedoro was another I want based on an Anime on Netflix (I can NEVER remember the name). These five series are very different but they are all the weird kind of thing I enjoy. The list is ordered based on release date.

DEVILMAN

• Creator: Go Nagai (pen name of Kiyoshi Nagai)
• Original run: June 1972 - June 1973
• Volumes: 5 (I collected it in two beautiful hardcovers)
• Demographic: Shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (July 1972 - April 1973, Netflix version January 2018), Novels (4 from May 1999 to August 1999), Live action film (2004)
• Premise: Akira Fudo's life is turned upside down by his friend Ryo Asuka when he reveals to him that the Earth is about to be invaded by demons, monstrous beings hibernating for centuries in the ice and are about to return to the surface. According to Ryo demons would have lived on Earth before the appearance of man, and now they would claim possession. The only way to defeat them is to take control of the powers of the demons themselves to fight them on equal terms. 
• Opinion: I actually saw the Netflix show (which for some reason was called Devilman: Crybaby) first and, when I spotted the two hardbacks in a shop, I felt compelled to get the manga. Definitely consider this a horror book. The creator, Go Nagai, is credited with creating the super robot genre and for designing the first mecha robots piloted by a user from within a cockpit with Mazinger Z. No mechas in this but there was a 1973 film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman.  

DOROHEDORO

• Creator: Q Hayashida
• Original run: November 2000 - September 2018
• Volumes: 23
• Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men), shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (January 2020 - March 2020)
• Premise: The plot centers on a man named Caiman and his search for his real identity after a transformation by a sorcerer left him with a reptile's head and no memory of his former life. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, split in two separate dimensions; the Hole, a dismal cityscape where humans reside; and the Sorcerers' world, home of sorcerers. Sorcerers are capable of traveling to and from the Hole by summoning magical doors.
• Opinion: To be honest, I have only seen the first series on Netflix but is the kind of weird concept that I tend to enjoy. I will be getting the manga. The art style is a little different with a rougher look to it.

MONSTER

• Creator: Naoki Urasawa
• Original run: December 1994 - December 2001
• Volumes: 18 (I collected it in a 9 volume "Perfect Edtions")
• Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (April 2004 - September 2005)
• Premise: The story revolves around Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese surgeon living in Germany whose life enters turmoil after getting himself involved with Johan Liebert, one of his former patients, who is revealed to be a dangerous serial killer. 
• Opinion: A brilliant psychological thriller that really amazed me when I first starting reading it. I really enjoy how it slowly reveals the layers and how the story is told. Probably the one I'd recommend highest. It is crying out for a live action television version.

ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM

• Creator: Yūsei Matsui
• Original run: July 2012 - March 2016
• Volumes: 21
• Demographic: Shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (January 2015 - June 2016), Anime film (2016), live action films (2015 and 2016)
• Premise: The series follows the daily lives of an extremely powerful octopus-like being working as a junior high homeroom teacher, and his students dedicated to the task of assassinating him to prevent Earth from being destroyed. (He has already destroyed 70% of the moon) The students are considered “misfits” in their school and are taught in a separate building; the class he teaches is called 3-E. 
• Opinion: This one is quite bizarre (in a fun way). It just jumps into the story with teacher already in place and explains all the events pretty quickly. It is a comedy / action / sci-fi and the story covers the lives of the individual students and reveals more and more about their teacher. I love that is both out there and grounded too.

WAY OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND

• Creator: Kousuke Oono
• Original run: February 2018 - 
• Volumes: 6 (Not all released yet)
• Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men)
• Adaptation: Television series (October 2020 - ), Anime (2021)
• Premise: An infamous and feared yakuza boss nicknamed "the Immortal Dragon", retires from crime to become a househusband so that he can support his wife. 
• Opinion: Definitely a comedy. The humour comes from his intimidating personality versus his performing domestic chores. Also, how seriously he takes his performance of these chores. It is the one manga that makes me laugh the most. The cover kind of sums it up.

Personal Picks Episode Nine - A Musical Interlude

 

The dancers begin to tap their feet.

The spotlight hits.

Someone breaks into song.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this week's edition of Personal Picks. We're celebrating theatrical types from the stars of stage to the stars of screen and back again. They've all got a song in their hearts and a chorus in their souls. First up, we are looking to find the meaning of it all. Just for a change.

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) The Meaning Of Life - Monty Python (The Meaning Of Life)

2) Sweet Transvestite - Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

3) Springtime For Hitler - Mel Brooks, Various Artists, Patrick S. Brady (The Producers)

4) You're The One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta (Grease)

5) Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eddie Schwartz (Rock Of Ages)

6) Angel Of Music - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantom Of The Opera Original Cast (The Phantom Of The Opera)

7) Chim Chim Cher-ee - Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber (Mary Poppins)

8) The Day Before You Came - Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!)

9) You Give A Little Love - Paul Williams (Bugsy Malone)

10) I'm Going Home - Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Well I'm all tapped out. While I'm putting my feet up, check out these West End worthy watches.

Recommended viewing: Hairspray, Bugsy Malone, The Rock Horror Picture Show

Personal Picks Episode Eight - Some Translation Required

 

 A singer sings with a foreign accent.

The lyrics have a cheesy feel.

This almost a Eurovision show.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this week's edition of Personal Picks. This week we are looking at artists for whom English is a second language. There is something about English sung by certain nationalities and songs written in English by them. Most of these songs are in English but there is some translation needed. We start off with an Estonian duo who represented their country in the Eurovision with this song...

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) Goodbye To Yesterday - Elina Born, Stig Rästa

2) Slipping Through My Fingers - ABBA

3) La vie en rose (English Version) - Edith Piaf

4) I Drink - Charles Aznavour

5) Sounds Like A Melody - Alphaville

6) Lovefool - The Cardigans

7) Dynamite - BTS

8) Fairytale - Alexander Rybak

9) Changes - Seu Jorge

10) Take On Me - aha

Well I think it is time I brushed up on some foreign languages. Meanwhile, check out this overseas reads and foreign flicks.

Recommended reading: Crime And Punishment, Monster, Assassination Classroom

Recommended viewing: La Vie En Rose, Parasite

Punisher: Other Than Garth Ennis

I had fun compiling last week's post so I thought I'd do something similar this week. I've chosen a character I got into due to my best friend: The Punisher. Punisher was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr and Ross Andru as a Spider-man villain, who was going to be a hero later on. Conway also helped design the character's distinctive costume. Conway, who had developed the habit of sketching out costumes ideas for artists, had drawn a character with a small death's head skull on one breast. Marvel art director John Romita, Sr. took the basic design and blew the skull up to huge size, taking up most of the character's chest. Amazing Spider-Man penciller Ross Andru was the first artist to draw the character for publication. Gerry Conway had come up with the name the Assassin but Stan Lee felt the name would not work for a character that would become later on. He suggested a name he had used for a relatively unimportant character (one of Galactus' robots): The Punisher.

Now most people would agree that the best Punisher stories comes from Garth Ennis. I'd agree. I thought, to be different, I'd give you some non Garth Ennis story selections. I'm gonna through in a synopsis of each too. However, if you want to try Garth Ennis, I'd suggest the MAX series. I particularly enjoyed In The Beginning and Kitchen Irish. These are collected in Punisher Max: The Complete Collection Vol. 1, which also includes Punisher: Born #1-4. I also enjoyed the From First To Last trade which collects Punisher: The Tyger, Punisher: The Cell and Punisher: The End.  These stories are also collected in Punisher Max: The Complete Collection Vol. 4, which also includes The Punisher, vol. 7,#50-60 (Long Cold Dark and Valley Forge, Valley Forge) and Punisher Presents: Barracuda #1–4. I guess I'd recommend those complete collections. 

Here's a list of Punisher's main titles:

The Punisher, vol. 1, #1-5 limited series (January to May 1986). Steven Grant, with art by Mike Zeck and Mike Vosburg.

The Punisher, vol. 2, #1-104, Annual 1-7 (July 1987 – July 1995)

The Punisher War Journal, vol. 1, #1-80 (November 1988 – July 1995). Features early art by Jim Lee.

The Punisher War Zone, vol. 1, #1-41, Annual 1-2 (March 1992 – July 1995). Starts out with some John Romita Jr art.

The Punisher, vol. 3, #1-18 (November 1995 – April 1997). Marvel Edge. All issues were written by John Ostrander.

The Punisher, vol. 4, #1-4 (November 1998 – February 1999). Marvel Knights. Also known as The Punisher: Purgatory, it was written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, with art by Bernie Wrightson. 

The Punisher, vol. 5, #1-12 limited series (April 2000 – March 2001). Marvel Knights. It was written by Garth Ennis, with art by Steve Dillon. 

The Punisher, vol. 6, #1-37 (August 2001 – February 2004). Marvel Knights. Garth Ennis wrote all but six issues.

The Punisher, vol. 7, #1-75, Annual 1  (March 2004 – October 2009). Though often referred to as The Punisher MAX, it was initially published as The Punisher, and changed to The Punisher: Frank Castle MAX with issue #66. Written by Garth Ennis up to issue 60.

Punisher War Journal, vol. 2, #1-26, Annual 1 (January 2007 – January 2009). Written by Matt Fraction.

The Punisher War Zone, vol. 2, #1-6 limited series (February to March 2009). Marvel Knights. It was written by Garth Ennis, with art by Steve Dillon.

The Punisher, vol. 8, #1-21, Annual 1 (March 2009 – November 2010). The series was retitled Franken-Castle with issue #17. Written by Rick Remender.

PunisherMAX, #1-22 (January 2010 – February 2012). MAX Imprint. It was written by Jason Aaron, with art by Steve Dillon.

The Punisher, vol. 9, #1-16 (August 2011 – September 2012). It was written by Greg Rucka, with art by Marco Checchetto.

The Punisher: War Zone, vol. 3, #1-5 limited series (October 2012 - February 2013). It was written by Greg Rucka, with art by Carmine di Giandomenico.

The Punisher, vol. 10, #1-20 (February 2014 – July 2015). It was written by Nathan Edmondson, with art by Mitch Gerads.

The Punisher, vol. 11, #1 -17, Annual 1 (May 2016 – October 2017). It was written by Becky Cloonan, with art by Steve Dillon and Matt Horak.

The Punisher, vol. 12, #1-11 (November 2017 – July 2018). It was written by Matthew Rosenberg, with art by Guiu Vilanova.

The Punisher, vol. 13, #1-16, Annual 1 (August 2018 – October 2019) with one annual (2019). It was written by Matthew Rosenberg, with art by Szymon Kundranski.

After all that, I'm wondering which character has the record for most volumes. Maybe an investigation for another time. Anyway, I said I was going to give you guys some story recommendations of a non Garth Ennis nature. I think there is some nice variety. I particularly like Punisher: Noir.

• The Punisher: Assassin's Guild (1988) Frank Castle joins forces with a bunch of assassins to take on a mobster who fixes things for a price. This one was a recent discovery. I found the ideas fun. Weird to say for Punisher. Beautiful looking art particularly the colours by Julie Michel. Notable to me as an early Punisher story written by a woman. I looked writer Jo Duffy up and she had quite the Marvel bibliography in the late 80s and early 90s including short runs on Star Wars and Wolverine. Artist Jorge Zaffino later worked on Punisher: Kingdom Gone. 
• Punisher: The Prize (1990) While on a stakeout, Frank Castle learns that a volatile weapon will be up for grabs on the Black Market. Punisher teams with an American journalist to blow the lid on this story, but they’re inadvertently pulled into a criminal underbelly of thieves, cutthroats and stone cold killers. Recently recommended by a friend. Good build up and a fun pay-off. Written by Chris Henderson. Art by Mike Harris.
• Punisher: Noir #1-4 (August–November 2009) It's the Roaring Twenties and mobster Dutch Schultz's iron-fisted reign is about to meet its greatest challenge in the form of a man sporting a familiar skull symbol and a gun in his hand. Because once the Punisher hits the scene, the mean streets are about to get a whole lot meaner. The art really captures the noir feel and there is some clever character ideas in the 1930s versions. Easily my favourite Punisher story. Still waiting for a sequel. Written by Frank Tieri with art by Paul Azaceta.
• Space: Punisher #1-4 (July–October 2012). Punishment is a dish best served-in Space! Exactly what it says on the tin. The Punisher is after a space mob. Whacky space versions of various characters. I love how out there the story is. Frank Tieri at his insane best. The villain reveal was brilliant. Beautifully painted by Mark Texeira. 
• Punisher Max: The Complete Collection Vol. 6 (2017) Collects Punisher MAX X-Mas Special, Punisher: Naked Kill, Punisher: Get Castle, Punisher: Butterfly, Punisher: Happy Ending, Punisher: Hot Rods of Death, Punisher: Tiny Ugly World, Untold Tales of Punisher MAX #1-5. Frank Castle's relentless war on crime continues! It's Christmas, and the Punisher is checking off his naughty list! Frank gets creative to take down snuff filmmakers! In the United Kingdom, he takes on some of Earth's hardest soldiers, the SAS, and unleashes his war wagon against a biker gang! But when a hit woman releases her lurid tell-all book, will the Punisher be her salvation, temptation...or damnation? Plus: stories from the murky world that exists in the Punisher's shadow, starring an opportunistic psycho, a frantic father, a mild-mannered accountant and the young son of one of Frank's victims. An interesting and diverse collection of stories. Written by Rob Williams, Jonathan Maberry, Jason Aaron and Valerie D'Orazio. Art by Esad Ribić, Shawn Martinbrough, Juan José Ryp, Laurence Campbell and Roland Boschi.