Alternative: Tales from a lonely planet

I’ve never pretended to be a comic book expert – I’m not – but thanks to the explosion of films which were inspired by the medium I have started to appreciate them a lot more.

It is all about storytelling and like TV and film, some of the best stories can be found at the grassroots level.

“Tales from a lonely planet” is a collection of stories by grassroots comic book writers and artists put together by Stu Perrins. Importantly, all proceeds from the anthology will go to Cancer Research UK.

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It is the editor of the anthology that kicks off matters with his satirical strip “No such thing as bad press”. I must admit, the artwork of Nick Gonzo put me off at first but once I started to read the story his contribution became evident. 

Gonzo adds a lot of charm to Perrins’ funny and sharp writing and by end of the story you want to read more about the adventures of Harvey Spig.

But it is the next strip, “Dogs” by Niall Doonan which is the stand out piece of the anthology. Inspired by the characters of Tarantino’s iconic debut film, it follows a hilarious conversation about one of the Dogs becoming a vegetarian. It is a little gem of a strip – it’s surreal, laugh out loud funny and also strangely familiar. The art work by Trystan Mitchell is just fantastic and adds even more quality to the strip.

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Every story in ‘lonely planet’ is peppered generously with humour, but I also enjoyed how different the art in each story was. No story looks the same and this makes starting a new strip feel like a breath of fresh air. There will probably be some strips in this book that may not be to everyone’s taste, but that’s fine – that’s the point.

What this book demonstrates is just how unique comics are. There are ideas and little fables in this anthology that will stay with for a while (Blas Bigatti’s piece is just beautiful) and they show you that comics can be so much more than your Batmans or Supermans.

I loved “Tales from a lonely planet” and I applaud Mr Perrins for putting this together. Importantly, I can’t wait to see what these artists come up with next. 

Alternative: The Three Unicorns part 2

2 - Ms Hill

Lauryn Hill wrote another book for the bible in 1998. Nothing short of divine intervention could have caused a mere human being to produce such a (almost) perfect album.

I distinctly remember the first time I heard the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. I was too young –  I wasn’t ready for what I experienced. I wasn’t in the car, I wasn’t chilling out somewhere – I was smack bang in front of our family’s portable stereo, with my nose to the speakers. I was unable to move. I was transfixed. 

That album is vitally important to black music. It is rare to hear a confident and intelligent black woman talking about religion, relationships and her life without sexualising herself. Ms Badu is probably the only other artist to come close to Ms Hill. I didn’t have an overbearing need to shag Ms Hill when I was listening to her album, I had an urge to listen to her and by the end of it I was awe struck. You compare this album to any hip-hop/ RnB offering of today and you start to realise how far black music has fallen.

To this day, I had never heard anything as fierce, as delicate, as raw or as beautiful as The Miseducation. It was and it still as an extraordinary album.

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The problem is the greatness of Ms Hill’s debut solo album. The Miseducation was/is so great that expectations were impossible for Lauryn Hill to meet. In other words – the only way was down. The music that she did release after that act of God, such as that MTV Unplugged album that had no beats (word to 50) didn’t come anywhere close to meeting the standards she set for herself. Not even close.

Then she went on a decade long hiatus. A hiatus which saw all sorts of rumours about Ms Hill starting to swirl. A hiatus which saw her fellow Fugees add fuel to the fire by feeding those rumours. I started to lose hope that we would ever see Lauryn Hill come back into the public spotlight.

Then she, along with Pras and Wycleff, took part in David Chappelle’s Block Party and her performance was nothing short of magical. I started to dream again. Then every song she released since, every performance she has done has been substandard. It breaks my heart to say it, but there it is. Substandard.

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I went to a gig she did in London. Ms Hill was late, but I didn’t mind. What I did have beef with was what she did during her performance. The majority of her set was double timed and most of the singing tracks she did was a hybrid of untimed rapping. It hurt so bad watching that performance – but it didn’t feel good (I’ll get my coat).

To make it worse, my experience at this gig wasn’t the exception, it was the rule. The reviews she got from her own fans were just hard to stomach.

Also hearing her talk lately is even more  heartbreaking. She sounds pretentious and has lost her ear to the ‘streets’. One of her biggest asset was that you related to everything she said and I don’t get that impression when I read her open letters.

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So why I'm hopeful that she’ll release a new album and I’m I hopeful that album will be any good? The answer is... I don’t know. I am more hopeful of a Lauryn Hill album than I am of a Dr Dre album, that is for sure.

In the past 5 years, Ms Hill has tried to engage more with her fans, which is a start. Yes, there have been moments of madness, but it is a start. Also, her latest track Neurotic Society isn’t half bad – she’s trying to say some real shit on that track.

Importantly, as cruel as it sounds, I think we’ll get an album because she needs the money. Her tax woes have forced her to sign a new music deal which I hope gets her to focus making a stellar album.

I am well aware that this all sounds very selfish, hoping that another human’s plight forces them to do something that might benefit my life – but bloody hell does RnB need Lauryn Hill. All I know is that Janelle can’t do it by herself and Beyonce sends to many mixed signals for my liking.

Importantly, hip-hop needs her because Nicki Minaj is doing Ms Hill's legacy of female MC-ing an injustice that smacks of disrespect. 

Alternative: The Three Unicorns

Music, for me, is intensely personal – even more so than films. It seems like the older I get, the more serious I take music. No longer do I consume singles and albums like I do a chocolate bar – I now think long and hard before make a purchase. And yes, I still legally buy albums.

The problem is a lot of what is popular today just isn’t for me. Whether that is popularity in terms of album sales or critically - not a lot of music from today moves me. This is especially the case when I think about black music. Black music has lost it’s cool and it is heart-breaking to see. If your name isn’t Janelle Monae or Esperanza Spalding then you are likely not breaking any new ground.

But there are three artists that keep me irrational hopeful. There is something about these three artists that make me believe – that make me hope – that they will swoop in and save black music. I call them the Unicorns – you all probably know them as Lauyrn Hill, Dr Dre and D’angelo.

I consider all three of these artists legends who’s titan status within black music can never be questioned. All three of these artists have created music that mean the world to me, music that has changed their genre and music that I keep going back to. I love them all.

In the next couple of days I’m going to talk about why they are important and why I am still hopeful they can save black music. Of course I’ve also ranked them because I’m weird like that.

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3 – Dr Dre

Here is the thing, I am 90% sure that Dr Dre will never release another solo-album ever again. Yet it is that 10% that I keep obsessing about. I think hip-hop needs Dr Dre more than Dr Dre needs hip-hop and he’s making so much money off of those damn headphones that the chances of him making music ‘for the love of it’  are not likely. Yet, it is that 10% that keeps me hoping.

And why do I hope? The Chronic and 2001 is why. One of these albums would be able to buy and drink alcohol in America, while the other is a teenager but they are two of the best albums I have ever heard – from any genre of any generation. 

Although I am not a gangster, or a pimp, nor do I drink 40s (what the hell is a 40) and I’ve not smoked so much as a cigarette in my whole life, these two albums make you believe that you know that life, that you’ve lived it and you are part of that west-side gangster culture.

Now I am not trying to say that Dr Dre and co’s skill of making you feel like Tony Montana is a good thing (that is debatable of course), but the way Dr Dre makes you feel while all these gangsterisms are flying around is nothing short of magic. Dr Dre is simply one of the best producers to ever live. He’s the hip-hop’s Quincy Jones. I listen to songs like ‘Nuthing but a G thang’ and just wonder why I can’t help grinning and walking like I have a limp. Dr Dre’s beats almost force you to nod your head furiously and not many hip-hop producers can do that consistently.

I am also one of the few who believes that Dr Dre’s finest achievement is 2001. An album which has grown on me ever since it was released in 1999 and just like Chronic, this album changed hip-hop. This album introduced us to the ultra-gangster, a more polished gangster than the one introduced to us during Dre's Chronic era. This gangster was richer and more careless, but ultimately likeable. 2001 was Dr Dre basically introducing the world to the YOLO lifestyle before it was bastardised by the rest of hip-hop. 

 The older I get the more I listen to 2001. Just when I think I am too old to listen to such music, the summer comes along and suddenly Dre is telling me that “things just ain’t the same for gangsters”.

I personally don’t think that Dr Dre has anything to prove – the problem is that I am in the minority. If he came out after 2001 and told the world not to expect any more solo albums, I think no one would have batted an eye lid. But instead Dr Dre actively promoted his follow up album Detox for almost a decade. There have been so many false starts, so many singles that gave people hope that Detox may materialise that I understand people’s frustration with Dre.

These false hopes and rumours of Dr Dre’s anxiety about Detox not being up to scratch has opened the door to people questioning his legacy – unfairly so. People also point to Dr Dre’s age and the terrible ‘I need a Doctor’ song as evidence of Dr Dre losing his mojo.

While I think Dr Dre’s critics make worthwhile points, I listen at Dr Dre’s recent contributions

with Kendrick Lemar (Compton and The Recipe) and feel heartened. I listen to Dre's Detox single Kush and feel that certain uncontrollable urge to nod my head and grin. I listen to the whole of Eminem’s Relapse album and Dr Dre’s production and think that he’s still one of the best producers working in music (seriously listen to the beats on that album). I listen to the majority of hip-hop (2 Chainz anyone?) and I believe without a doubt that hiphop still needs the doctor. 

As long as there is still hope left that Dr Dre will release one more album, I am willing to wait patiently. If that album never comes, well, I am left with two outstanding pieces of art and an iPod full of classic songs and albums by other artists which the Doctor has had a heavy hand in crafting.  

@chocoteddyfilms

Alternative: Mind Palace

Season two of my film blog starts next week but before then I wanted to let you guys know about this cool comic I get a sneak peak of.

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The Mind Palace is a huge surprise. I went into reading the debut comic by Luke Halsall, one of my guest bloggers, with low expectations and came out actually inspired. Like I said, this comic is a surprise.

What is obvious from the get go is that this book is produced by talented people. The first story, Tick Tock, is a masterpiece; it introduces you to a dark and intriguing world, and before you know it, yanks you out of it. The artwork in ‘Tick Tock’ is amazing – it brings Halsall’s distorted Alice in Wonderland like world into beautiful life.

Once you’ve started to read ‘Defender’ you realise just how talented Halsall is. You can tell how steeped in comic book knowledge he really is and the joy of telling sharp and simple stories leak thorough out this piece.

And those are the real stars of this comic book, the stories. Each one is gem which sends you deep into their own unique world.

I’d recommend anyone, whether a comic book expert or novice to give this project a go. It may very well leave you in the same pleasant surprised state it left me.

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You can get Mind Palace from:

Forbidden planet glasgow http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/

Plan b bookshop glasgow http://planbbooks.co.uk/

American dream comics, bath http://www.americandreamcomics.co.uk/