We here at Graphic Policy loved Love Buzz from Oni Press.  We’ve been talking it up to everyone we know and can’t praise it enough.

Richard Caldwell  from Bleeding Cool talks to creators Len Wallace and artists Michelle Silva and Dave Tuney, creators of one of our surprise favorite graphic novel of the year.

Check out the interview at http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/12/16/richard-caldwell-talks-to-love-buzz/.

Frank Zappa said romantic movies were some of the biggest dangers as they set up expectations that can’t be met.  How true his words are. Love Buzz is a graphic novel released this week that tells the tale of love, romance and all of the hurt and baggage that comes with it.  As the novel says itself it’s “not a story of true love, but a true love story.”
In close to 200 pages writer Len N. Wallace and artists Michelle Silva & Dave Tuney bring you a whirlwind tale of love gained, lost, and gained again that seems like it could of been ripped from my life at least.  I don’t know if anyone else’s life was like this but throughout my reading I had flashbacks to high school, college, and beyond.  The story definitely nails the stupid things we do and the pain we go through.

I’ll admit I was skeptical going into reading this graphic novel.  But in a few hours I found myself tearing through it cover to cover and wanting to go back and read it again.

This is one of the best graphic novels of the year, and definitely a sleeper you should not miss.

Oni Press’s official synopsis:

What if the one that got away kept coming back?

Norm Raymer, an aspiring comic artist, has a turbulent relationship with Maggie. With their passionate ups and chaotic downs, is this love, or a youthful lust? For better or worse, Norm and Maggie must discover whether or not they can ever really make it as a normal couple. Can you really be a normal couple when your whole life is just fodder for your comic book? A new romantic comedy graphic novel for young comic nerds in love.

It’s one of those great reads that hits your heart and mind just right.  Now excuse me while I go and call the one that got away….

Story: A story is good when it gets you to start reflecting on your loves lost and the stupid things you’ve done in life.  The characters are multi-layered and are very real in their actions and dialogue.  This is how I remember high school and college, pain and all.  The writer and artists blend the actual story with the main character’s own artistry and his interpretation of his thoughts and events on his own drawn page.  Rating: 10

Art: I loved the art.  A mix of styles between the main story’s anime-esque style with varying styles of the main character’s own doodles.  There’s a fantastic balance of detail and not cluttering the page with too much clutter.  You’re given just enough to look at and focus on the story.  Usage of the panels is fantastic with some great page layouts.  Top notch work. Rating: 10

Overall: This graphic novel is fantastic.  To me, it holds the angst and focuses on real relationships like Kevin Smith’s movie Chasing Amy, but in graphic novel form.  I can’t praise this piece of story telling enough, but I’m a sap for these types of stories, and I’ve loved and lost a decent amount (I’ll admit it, I choked up at the end.  Wanna make something of it!?).  I just think the work speaks for itself and this graphic novel is really the surprise of the year for me.  Stop reading this review and go purchase it now, I can’t recommend it enough.  Why are you still reading?  Go to you’re shop now to purchase it (or you should be checking it out on Amazon). Overall Rating: 10

Recommendation: Buy

168 page Graphic Novel $14.95

Oni Press provided Graphic Policy with an advance copy of this issue for FREE for review.

Is anyone here ever think such possessiveness and jealousy is another side of love ? well, i think so..but sometimes it could be more than just that..
it’s another side of the coin. So Love itself has an opposite side which sometimes people see it so badly and to think it was terrible to be on the other side..
but,love is like a double sided knife..it sharp and still have opposites sides..

But why would most people always want it just the sweet side rather than the other ? because you wanted to..because you think love is all about happiness not sorrow..because love is ..(fill it yourself what you might think of.. heheh)

But for me,we just have to see,feel and have it both ways to really understand what love is.. sometimes love just stuck our live with agony,pain,loneliness and depressed. on the other hand,it could be more compelling,worth trying and dying to feel the happiness and joy created within ourselves with such a comfy feelings.
even for some people wouldn’t mind having it with more than just 1 person to be in love with..it is true and it is not wrong for some point. (who’d be judge if it’s right or wrong anyway..you ? or yourself ? )
in a way of understanding that ‘the more the merrier’.. i guess

may worth to think about it..

This is my favorite show all year. I play songs about love, hate, breaking-up, and female/male angst. If you want to call and make some requests for your favorite sappy or angry love songs, Wednesday from 8 to 10pm at KRUI 89.7 is the time to do it.

I’ve included a shameless self promotion of a painting I did a long time ago about a relationship gone wrong. It’s my artistic contribution to Valentine’s Day:

by HeidiHehnly

Here’s a sampling of stuff I’m going to try and play:

1. The Kinks, Nothin’ in the World Can Stop me Worryin’ Bout That Girl
Possibly one of the best songs about relationships and cheating.
2. Buzzcocks, Why Can’t I Touch it?
I don’t know what they are trying to touch, but I can imagine.
3. Pixies, Here comes your man
4. Echo And The Bunnymen, Lips Like Sugar
I think we all enjoy lips like sugar.
5. Joy Division, Love Will Tear Us Apart
Every relationship goes through this on some level

6. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, I let Love in
7. Sleater Kinney, The size of our Love
8. The Smiths, How soon is Now?
A popular Smiths ditty about love and &*%@.
9. The Breeders, It’s The Love
10. Portishead, Wandering Star
11. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Anemone
12. Spacemen 3, I love you
13. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, 2 Kindsa Love
Damn, they rock.
14. Guided by Voices, Chasing Heather Crazy
15. Husker Du, I don’t Want to know if you are lonely
Way to have a heart Husker Du.
16. Nirvana, Love Buzz
17. Vaselines, Sex Sux (Amen)
I think they were catholic.
18. PJ Harvey, Send His Love to Me
I’ve included a performance below.

19. Morphine, I know you part two
20. Elliott Smith, Somebody that I used to know
Valentines day play lists everywhere should always have an Elliott Smith track.
21. Superchunk, Makeout Bench
22. Magnetic Fields, I think I need a new heart
23. Tom Waits, Sea of Love
Tom Wait’s version of the heavily covered song by Phil Phillips.

24.Yo La Tengo, Hanky Panky Nohow
25. Lyres, How can I make her mine?
26. The Replacements, I will dare
27. The Stone Roses, Love Spreads
28. Radiohead, True love waits

me creerías si te dijera
que eres la reina de mi corazón
por favor no me engañes cuando te hiero

simplemente no es lo que parece
puedes sentir mi zumbido de amor

puedes sentir mi zumbido de amor?

* esta canción es en realidad una versión del grupo Shocking blue

Staying with ’90s alternative rock today and, of course, there’s no bigger band to this genre than Nirvana.  In 2004, a box set of goodies was released called With the Lights Out and as is the case with most box sets I didn’t buy it.  I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the biggest fan of demos and outtakes so just apply that attitude to the list of reasons why I didn’t buy this collection, despite the fact that I always loved Nirvana.  Recently though, I stumbled across some videos taken from the dvd included in the set and now I’m pretty well convinced that I’ve been an idiot for the past four years.  I gotta own this.  Pronto.  Check out some vids, taken from what is supposedly the band’s first (or one of the first) “shows” they ever played.  They’re raw but God bless whoever had the foresight to videotape this. Here’s “About A Girl”:

I love that they taped a set list to the wall!  How great is that?  As if it would’ve been too dificult to just turn around and say “hey, what are we playing next?”  Nope.  Had to be professional.  Here’s “Love Buzz”:

And get this.  Nirvana even covered Zep’s “Immigrant Song”:

More than anything, I feel like these videos bring Nirvana back down from the rose-tinted clouds of rock n’ roll heaven that they’ve been placed upon since Cobain died.  I don’t feel sad watching these videos, I don’t shake my head and think “what a pity he’s dead”, I don’t feel nostalgiac, and I certainly don’t feel like I’m watching a genius.  The joy I get from these is just seeing dudes rock out in their mom’s basement.  The songs are better than most dudes rocking out in their mom’s basement, but the intention is the same.  They’re having fun playing music and we get to be right there with them at a time when no one would’ve probably paid more than three bucks to see them live.  How cool is that?

Enjoy the weekend.

Ada yang suka Lagu Nirvana yg judulnya “Love Buzz”? pastinya yg ngaku anak Grunge dah ga asing lagi donk dengan lagu yg masuk di Album Bleach ini, pasalnya ni lagu gampang banget diingat liriknya, lah cuma 5 baris sih. lagu Dengan distorsi dan riff2 gitar yg kerasa banget kotornya ini biar musiknya susah dicerna tapi mudah diingat lah…….

pastinya pada tau donk siapa pencipta lagu ini? buat yg ngertinya “Grunge itu Nirvana” pasti nebak2 “ni Lagu ciptaan Kurt Cobain kan…..???…siapa Lagi?”

tapi buat yang “Grunge beneran” dan punya or paling ga pernah dengerin album Bleach, pasti tau kalo pencipta Lagu Love Buzz tu “Robby Van Leuween”

tapi siapa ya Robby Van Leuween itu….????

Robby van Leuween adalah anggota dari satu band Blues asal Belanda yg Punya nama “Shocking Blue” belum pernah denger?

ya pastinya blom brur, pasalnya ni Band exist taon 70-an. berdiri pada taon 1967, band ini terdiri dari Robby Van Leuween: Gitar, Fred De Wilde: Vocals, Klasjee Van Der Wall: Bass, Cornelius Van Der Beek: Drum….Namun pada perjalanannya Vokalis ni band diganti ma Mariska Veres, cewek tu………

lagu mereka yg cukup ngehits n ngebawa mereka ke jalur internasional judulnya “Venus” mereka dah nelurin banyak album Dude (tapi kok gw tetep baru denger mereka ya?)

Nah kembali ke Lagu Love Buzz tadi ya. Love Buzz ada di album Shocking Blue yg judulnya “At Home” pas di album ini vokalisnya dah diganti si-Mariska Veres. cewek loh, jadi versi asli lagu Love Buzz tu dinyanyiin ma cewek, aransemennya yah tau ndirilah sound-sound 70-an kayak gimana. terasa kental banget Lick2 Blues di lagu ini + Dengan tambahan Instrumen “Sitar”. yupz, Pada lagu Love Buzz asli ada suara Sitar. pokoknya ga kayak Love Buzz yg dah diaransemen Kurt dah.

masih pada asing dengan Shocking Blue? maklum deh, gw juga baru tau ni. pas gw ngobrak-abrik kaset temen gw gitu, eh ada kasetnya Shocking Blue, katanya punya Om dia gitu. eh gw liat2 ada lagu Love Buzz, penasaran gw dengerin. lah ni lagu jadul banget……..

trus kira2 kenapa yah Kurt Mutusin buat ngecover lagu ini trus masuk ke album Bleach? well, maybe kasusnya kayak lagu Season In The Sun. lagu yg Kurt Suka, ya dia Oprek deh….

Yg masih penasaran silakan cari di Wikipedia saja……..

Hay grupos que, inexplicablemente, se quedan con una sola canción en el imaginario popular pese a que tienen un repertorio acojonante. Eso ocurre con estos holandeses de los años 60 prácticamente desconocidos en España (no he vivido en otro sitio para saber si también ocurre fuera). Que sirva este post como homenaje a la cantante Mariska Veres, una de las musas de esos años prodigiosos que falleció el año pasado; y a Robbie Van Leeuwen, el creador del sonido “Shocking Blue” y un tipo que si hubiera sido americano ya formaría parte del R’n'r Hall of Fame.

Fueron tres los escalones que tuvieron que subir para llegar al éxito mundial. El primero de ellos no tardó mucho, ya en su primer single ”Send me a postcard”:

Con el segundo alcanzaron fama en Europa y comenzaron a ganarse un nombre, si bien modesto, en el panorama americano. “Long and lonesome road” era una especie de blues-rock que nada tiene que envidiar a ningún grupo del género y en la que Mariska ofrece su mejor interpretación:

En el tercer gran paso, en 1969, alcanzaron el número 1 en todo el mundo … menos en su país. Nadie es profeta en su tierra. Ésta es la canción más famosa del grupo, aunque para mi gusto no sea la mejor: “Venus”. Si no sabéis cuál es bastarán un par de acordes del video:

“Venus” significó el fin de la ascensión de un grupo que no logró mantenerse en la cima pese a temas como “Never marry a railroad man” donde Van Leeuwen nos deleita con unos tremendos pases de guitarra española:

Finalmente, el mismo Van Leeuwen disolvió el grupo en 1973 y sus integrantes se dispersaron cada uno por su lado sin mucho éxito ninguno de ellos. Mariska fue bastante ecléctica, grabó desde jazz hasta música tradicional !húngara!.

Como anécdota señalar que Nirvana tomó uno de sus temas, “Love Buzz”, para su primer álbum “Bleach”. Ya puse el vídeo de Nirvana en otro post: http://raskolnikoff.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/nirvana/

Aquí os dejo la versión de Shocking Blue:

Siento que aparezcan las mismas imágenes en casi todas las canciones, debieron hacer sólo un par de videoclips. En todo caso lo importante es la música y esto va por ti, MTV. “Money for nothing and the chicks for free …”