white label / lit literature

I am playing at White Label on June 14th, in Victoria.  I appear to be both opening and closing, and tagging with the legendary Kenzie Clarke in both slots.  If you like the techno, you should come.
I’ve been reading.  Ooops.  Kind of a lot.  I can say that the ‘The Best American Comics’ yearly anthologies, populated by people like Chris Ware, Robert Crumb and Jamie Hernandez, are very, very good.  I can say that ‘Empire’, by NOZONE, is a really lovely piece of work.  I can say that MAUS is amazing.  I can say that BLACK ORCHID is very obvious an early work of Gaiman’s and McKean’s – see in that light, it’s very good.  See in the same light as SANDMAN, it feels like a stepping stone.  I can say that FABLES, or at least the first book of FABLES, is like LXG meets SANDMAN…and not as good as either.

Whew.  I can also say that THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON MUSIC, by Daniel Levetin, is very good – I would have liked a dash more science, but it’s a lovely read.  I also enjoyed a random single of DOKTOR SLEEPLESS, despite the harpings of my friends – I think Ellis is going somewhere with it.  Buy the ticket (or the trade), and take the ride.  I’m struggling through WORDS & MUSIC, by Paul Morley.  It would be a better book, I think, if Morley hadn’t been totally high when he was writing it.  I also need to finish THE MODERN CENTURY, by Northrop Frye….which is dry, but interesting.