Good Day / Bad Day

By Michael Seese

So first the bad: I received a rejection for the new and improved Nightmares. Bummer.

Now the good...

My first foray into steampunk (as a contributing author) is out. A Clockworks Orchard: Rivets & Rain is available on Amazon. And I am (ahem) the first author listed.

The publisher was nice enough to send me (and all contributors) a coupon for five free downloads from Smashwords. As soon as I figure out how to use them, I'll create a giveaway.

But in the meantime, stop by Amazon and write a glowing review...regardless of whether you've read it. And while you're at it, do the same at Goodreads.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

By the way, have a happy and safe Fourth of July everyone.

BUGS Funny

This is not one of my traditional "funny fotos." But it's funny, as in "funny strange," nonetheless.

BUGS is now available on Amazon:

From the above image, you can barely see that it's available new and used. The latter alone, I consider amusing, seeing as how the book has been out for about a week. Take a look at the used prices.

Hmmm. Should I buy it new for $13.13, or "used" for $87.59...or if I'm feeling generous, $89.39?

Completely seriously, I want to write those folks and ask, "How's business?"

Raven In The Grave...Rave On!

I just picked up the Raveonettes' latest disk, Raven In The Grave. Two words: love it! Of course, I'm not surprised. I had heard about half of the songs on WRUW over the past month or so and really enjoyed them.

If I were still doing music reviews, I would rate this an A+. To me, it's simply a great album. Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of songs with distorted guitars and dreamy, hard-to-decipher lyrics, all mixed together in a wash of sound. In other words, the shoegazer genre; Lush was my favorite band from the 90s.

But this is no exercise in "nu gaze" music-by-the-numbers. I immediately was struck by the musical, lyrical, thematic, and sonic range across Raven's nine tracks

Do you want fuzzy guitars and a driving beat? The album leads off with "Recharge & Revolt," an anthem to fighting (literally) for your love. As an aside, I have to admit that when I initially heard the tune's opening power chord, my musician's ear flashed back to the Raveonettes' 2003 release, Chain Gang Of Love, which bears the cover note "Recorded In Bb Major." And they weren't kidding...it's all in Bb. I'm happy to report that even though this disk has its fair share of songs in that key, they do use other chords as well.  :)

Do you want tender? How about "Forget That You're Young," which breaks down a relationship, start to end, using a string of simple monosyllabic verbs:

And I see

         chase

         meet

         get

         hold

         kiss

         need

         please

         hurt

         scare

         leave

         miss you, and I forget that you're young.

Do you want to drift off and dream? Then cue up "My Time's Up," the best sleepy-time song this side of Julee Cruise.

My personal favorite tracks are "Apparitions," with its hollow, nearly amelodic vocal, the lyrically spartan "War In Heaven" (which I would bet money started life as a work of poetry), and the aforementioned "Forget That You're Young." The latter is one of those songs that I could listen to, then hit the << button and listen to again. Who am I kidding? That's what I do.

In conclusion, two more words: buy it. Or "download it," since as I write this, Amazon is offering the MP3 for half price, which includes a bonus track.