On HU
Caroline Small talks about SPX and expanding the audience for comics.
Ng Suat Tong discusses Anders Nilsens’ Big Questions.
Robert Stanley Martin on D.B. Echo’s Paul Krugman joke.
Anne Ishii on continues her Elfquest re-read.
Utilitarians Everywhere
At the Atlantic I discuss the sublime irrelevance of the Bangles.
Also at the Atlantic I talk about superhero sexism and a bunch of non-superhero comics that you should read instead of DC and Marvel.
At Splice Today I review the assassin movie Killer Elite.
Other Links
Alyssia Rosenberg on whether feminists should give up on comics.
Deb Aoki on DC’s sexism.
A 7-year-old reviews the new Starfire.
A review of Michael Kupperman’s Mark Twain.
Women in Marvel Comics.
Alyssa Rosenberg on Frank Miller’s Holy Terror.
“It’s hard to think offhand of a band more irrelevant than the Bangles.”
Ummmm…. Glass Tiger? Escape Club? Johnny Hates Jazz? Bloodhound Gang?
Or did you mean “band” in the loftier sense as an outfit that has actual artistic credibility?
It is kind of curious why they’re not name-checked more often these days. But that’s probably the case for most singer-songwriters one can think of. They did the Beatles better than a lot of other bands. They did 70s Alex Chilton/ better than Alex Chilton. And they held their own against Jules Shear quite nicely. But they weren’t quite definitive enough in their own sound to stake a claim.
Actually, though, “Walk Like an Egyptian” was kind of an aberration as far as their earlier records are concerned. If that one and “Manic Monday” grated, then one could always turn to tracks like Return Post.
I never did get around to listening to their third (1988) record. In interviews one of the Petersons was adamant that they’d be going for a rawer vibe, but the first few singles sounded like the more annoying and slicker side of the band won out. I’m not entirely sure that the production was the problem at that point in time, unlike like with their famous big hit.
The third album is gloppy, though I kind of love that about it.
I’m not familiar with those other bands, so I cannot speak to their relevance or lack therof! I think in a lot of ways being less popular makes rock bands more relevant to rock today, when rock is less popular.
Ironically, Glass Tiger’s biggest hit is “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone.” Their hair was nowhere near as good as the Bangles, which is important in 80s rock, I feel. I’ll have to check out their new album.