Critical Myth-Interpretations

When I returned to “Interview With the Vampire” quite some time after first reading it, I was shocked to discover how poorly it held up.  The writing was horribly pretentious, the novel aspects of the story seemed to be missing, and it was hard to reconcile my fond memories of the book with the reality on the page.

Upon re-reading this follow-up novel, it was immediately apparent that this was the book upon which all those fond memories were truly formed.  It’s not perfect, by any means, but the writing style seemed to be more polished and the ideas were far more substantial.  The character of Lestat was always more interesting than Louis, of course, and that makes his long and tortured narrative a lot more involving.

I’ve always enjoyed stories that delve into “secret histories”, and that is a large part of the appeal of this novel.  In the strictest sense, the story takes place in “modern” 1984; Lestat has decided to reveal the existence and history of the vampires to the mortal world through the 80s version of a cutting edge Goth band.  Those framing sections haven’t aged well at all; they seem cheesy and self-important (which, frankly, fits Lestat like a velvet glove).

Once Lestat starts telling his autobiography, however, the story becomes almost timeless.  The French world of Lestat’s young mortal life is rendered in compelling detail and his libertine sexual tastes are explored just enough to communicate Lestat’s serious psychological needs.  Two things stand out as nearly perfect: the exploration of Lestat’s unique role in the vampire world, and the use of Lestat as a window for the reader into that world.

While “Interview” certainly gained the attention of millions of readers, this is the book that cemented Anne Rice as a mainstay in the “erotic horror” genre, something that she all but jump-started in the first place.  It’s also interesting to note that the quality of her novels is in direct proportion to the depth and extent of the history that her characters are led to explore.  “The Vampire Lestat” was the first substantial look into her vampire universe, so as one would expect, this is one of the strongest novels she produced.

Rating: 9/10

When I began reading this trilogy, I considered tackling each volume individually.  I discovered, soon enough, that it would be a mistake to see this as anything other than one massive tale.  This is more than just the culmination of the recent Next Generation relaunch; this is the culmination of several years worth of novels published in the post-“Nemesis” era.

As many know, I’ve grown tired of the Borg as the stock villain of the modern Trek era.  They had become ravaged by internal contradictions of purpose and watered down by the vagaries of convenient depiction.  In the wake of a few disappointing efforts to restore them as a threat, notably “Resistance” and “Before Dishonor”, I was disappointed when “Greater Than the Sum” failed to bring the Borg to their final and deserving end.

The Borg were also the subject of the initial attempts at a “Voyager” relaunch.  Those books stalled before they had a chance to find their own identity.  Instead, the threads that began in those novels were ultimately subsumed or ignored in the Next Generation relaunch.

This trilogy takes all of that into account, adds unexpected connections to the “Deep Space Nine” and “Enterprise” relaunch novels, and brings it all together into one unifying concept.  The resulting conflict not only brings about the best depiction of the Borg since their original appearance, but manages to resolve their threat and expose their origins in one fell swoop.  More impressive by far is the deft management of those aforementioned contradictions; the nature of the Borg now makes sense, as compared to those muddled depictions of the past.

There have been some complaints about characterization in the novels, but I disagree.  What is often forgotten is that the characters have grown and changed since their last on-screen appearance.  They’ve evolved.  And frankly, this trilogy places them in the worst crucible imaginable, with no expectation of success (except, of course, on the part of the reader).  Who wouldn’t seem out of character under that kind of pressure?

And that was another thing I found remarkably about this trilogy.  It’s impossible not to recognize this as a major cataclysm for the Trek universe.  It reminds me, in a good way, of “Unity”, the novel that culminated a few years worth of books in the “Deep Space Nine” relaunch.  Everything since “Nemesis” has been leading to this.  The trilogy delivers on that promise.

Rating: 9/10

I’m relatively new to the Harry Potter fandom; it’s only been about a year since I first picked up one of the books, let alone finished reading the series.  So much of what is described in this memoir is enlightening to me.  I heard of some of it from friends devoted to the series, and I’ve been basking in some of the fruits of those frantic fandom labors (particularly wizard rock), but I’m well aware of the fact that the peak years of the fandom have come and gone.

This book provides a glimpse into how the fandom emerged, how it grew, and the best and worst of the response to Harry Potter.  It’s built around the framework of the “Deathly Hallows” release in July 2007, and for me, that was a nice touch.  That it was one person’s journey through the fandom, and the journey of someone at the center of the maelstrom, gave it an educated perspective.

I honestly don’t understand some of the negative comments I’ve read about the book.  A lot of criticism seems to be devoted to the author’s supposed attempt to ride on J.K. Rowling’s coattails.  I don’t see it that way at all.  Throughout the book is a sense of awestruck humility.  It’s a testimony to one of the best aspects of fandom: literally anyone can end up being a voice for thousands, even millions, who share a common passion.

The book is riddled with dozens of examples of people who believed in the Harry Potter concept, believed in the world that J.K. Rowling has created, and have wanted to honor that through action and homage.  As a fan of the Leaky Cauldron and a regular listener to Pottercast, I believe the author to be someone devoted to Rowling.

Sadly, the book doesn’t shy away from those who have sought, or continue to seek, some reflected personal fame and glory.  Frankly, the author goes to great lengths to be fair and balanced, even when talking about certain individuals who have parleyed their connections to the fandom (or just the existence of Harry Potter novels) to their own ends.

This is not, in my opinion, a book written by someone who wants to make money off of Harry Potter.  This is one person’s amazing accounting of how a fan came to experience some amazing things in the name of supporting something she loves.  In the process, she gives voice to those who seem, to Muggles, a bit odd and a little frightening.  But, as J.K. Rowling says herself in the foreword, this is a perspective that should not be missed.

Rating: 8/10

The previous album by Keane, “Under the Iron Sea”, was an eclectic mix of different sounds, even as it was an evolution from the relatively simple songwriting of their debut.  I was left wondering, as the release of this album began creeping up, if Keane would continue along the more contemplative and layered path with fare like “Atlantic”, or if “Is It Any Wonder?” was a hallmark of the future.

1) Spiralling – This song certainly answered my question.  It took a moment to realize that this was, in fact, Keane, but it didn’t take long to appreciate what they were trying to evoke.  This may sound too much like “The Killers” for some, but I love this song and could listen to it all day long.  (9/10)

2) The Lovers are Losing – The same applies to this song.  Keane has always been good at harmonizing, and the chorus is no exception.  I can’t help but note that they went with a Jeff Lynne vibe with the production of this song, which is usually a bad sign, but I think it worked in this case.  (9/10)

3) Better Than This – The first half of this song is a bit rough for me.  I don’t like the vocal effect, and it feels like something is missing.  That’s because it is, and when the additional layers come in later in the song, I like it a lot better.  (7/10)

4) You Haven’t Told Me Anything – I find this song to be like many of the lesser entries in the Keane catalog: inexplicably repetitive, and not in particular interesting ways.  This is one I tend to skip or leave off the Favorites list.  (6/10)

5) Perfect Symmetry – Now this is more like it.  Some of the lyrics may be a tad trite, especially in the choral section, but this is like some magnificent overwrought 80’s anthem, and I couldn’t love it more for it.  I know it will sound pretentious to many, but wouldn’t this be awesome live?  (9/10)

6) You Don’t See Me – I have to be in the right mood for the slower songs by Keane, and that applies to this song as well.  The vocals are gorgeous, however, and the lyrical style is a bit more akin to the earlier albums, so it’s definitely a decent track.  It’s just not one of the highlights for me.  (7/10)

7) Again & Again – I love the anger of this song, how it almost attacks the listener.  It’s also very energetic.  This is about as close as Keane has ever come to a full-out rock song, and it works tremendously well.  (9/10)

Playing Along – This sounds like a mixture of tracks from the previous album and some of the production effects introduced to their bag of tricks for this album.  While it works, it’s not the kind of song that demands my attention.  (7/10)

9) Pretend That You’re Alone – This sounds like something in a pseudo-classic style, perhaps 80’s era David Bowie.  The message of the song is interesting, to say the least.  Depending on my mood, this can be a fun song.  I’d love to see how this would do as a single!  (7/10)

10) Black Burning Heart – Take away the synthesizers and slow down the beat, and this would have easily have been one of the most powerful Keane songs imaginable.  As it stands, it’s still a great song, but it could have been so much better in the vein of “Bedshaped” or “The Frog Prince”.  (8/10)

11) Love is the End – This is more in the older Keane style than any other song on the album, with soaring backing vocals and beautiful towards the end.  I’m not sure that it meshes well with the rest of the tracks on the album, but it’s a gorgeous song.  (8/10)

12) Time to Go – Some albums don’t end quite right.  Keane has not had that problem in the past, but I’m not sure about this as a final track.  The previous song was, in my opinion, a better closer.  The theme of the song makes sense of its placement, but the style of the song just didn’t hit the right note for me.  (7/10)

Starting with a furious new sound, this album is not quite what I expected from Keane, but I can’t deny that it worked for me.  Every Keane album has a handful of songs that don’t quite tickle my fancy, and that was true in this case.  But it also had a few songs that I could sing along to all day.  What else could I ask for?

Final Rating: 7.8/10 (above average)

It’s been a long time since The Cure released an album, and this had a lot going against it from the start.  Originally this release was touted as a double album, but the story changed and apparently it was decided that the more upbeat songs would be collected and released instead.  Considering that I typically enjoy the harder, darker material from The Cure, I was not enthused.

1) Underneath the Stars – The album gets off to a good start with this track, but the production values are a bit worrisome.  The sound is a bit muddy to the ear.  The dreamy aural landscape of the song, however, makes up for some of the production shortcomings.  This sounds like it would be great live.  (8/10)

2) The Only One – This is a lot more upbeat, very much like the singles from “Wish”, right down to some truly inane lyrics.  It’s essentially harmless, but the muddy production really steals away its strengths.  (6/10)

3) The Reasons Why – The lyrics in this one are just plain bizarre, but I like the groove of the song.  It’s a bit darker than the previous track.  Once again, however, the song would have worked better without so much noise in the mix.  (7/10)

4) Freakshow – This reminds me of some of the less successful material from “Wild Mood Swings”.  That said, once the song gets going, I can’t deny that it has a certain charm.  This would be fun to play live, if nothing else.  (7/10)

5) Sirensong – This is another song that is practically ruined by the distorted production.  It also sounds like a B-side from the “Wish” era, which is not necessarily a good thing.  (6/10)

6) The Real Snow White – I have absolutely no idea what Robert Smith was thinking when he wrote this song (other than what the randy lyrics reveals).  But the song is a mess from start to finish, literally lurching all over the landscape between plodding repeats of the chorus.  And the end of this song is embarrassingly bad.  (3/10)

7) The Hungry Ghost – For whatever reason, this song mostly works for me, even with the production issues.  It’s one of the better songs on the album, which may not be saying much, but it has sections that sound like classic Cure material.  (7/10)

Switch – One of my favorite songs on “Wish” was “Cut”, because it was louder and harder than most of the album.  This song sounds like an attempt to add the same kind of variety to this album.  The difference is that “Cut” was a pretty good song.  This never really comes together, and the production makes it all slop together into noise.  (6/10)

9) The Perfect Boy – This is actually a good song, if a bit more upbeat in tone than I would prefer (the lyrics are a bit less so).  I like it quite a bit.  It sounds horrible with the distortion and noise, but I think the strengths manage to shine through regardless.  (8/10)

10) This.  Here and Now.  With You.  – Perhaps the most pretentious song title in recent memory (though given the title of the album, how could I be surprised?).  This song does nothing to make itself distinctive, and it practically begs the listener to skip ahead.  (6/10)

11) Sleep When I’m Dead – This has a much more distinctive sound, and actually reminds me of material from the “Head on the Door” or “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” era.  Let’s just say there were certain chords and layering effects the band loved back then, and they show up here.  If more of the material was like this, it might have been a better album.  (8/10)

12) The Scream – This is a darker song, so it worked a bit more for me.  It actually meshes well with the previous song, and that scream is just insane.  It’s not much of a song in and of itself, and the distortion completely ruins it in the second half, but it’s noble failure.  (6/10)

13) It’s Over – The Cure is usually good with its album closers, and this one is another attempt at a strong finish.  This would be great live, but once again, the production values undermine everything the band is attempting to do with the song.  This could have been a knock out of the park, but it falls short.  (8/10)

I can’t express enough how the production choices for this album completely destroy it from beginning to end.  Granted, some of the problems are a matter of song choice and style, but even the stronger songs become a noisy, distorted, muddy mess.  It actually sounds like the songs were recorded on a cheap cassette tape from a crappy radio transmission.  Some people might like that sound, but I found it very hard to enjoy.  Add to that the lack of any truly distinctive and powerful songs, and I cannot recommend this album to anyone…not even fellow fans of The Cure.

Final Rating:  6.6/10