Halloween is over, but the boys have one last treat for you — our Trick-or-Tangent episode! This week, you steer the course of the show, as the guys answer your e-mails. Artist chatter, the state of the Shazam! family, spacefaring with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even a letter in support of Twilight. Plus, Blake asks (okay, begs) your help in supporting his latest creative enterprise. In the picks this week, Kenny chooses the Justice League of America: The Lightning Saga graphic novel, and Blake is happy about the return of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories! Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@Comixtreme.com!

Episode 143: Trick or Tangent
Inside This Episode:

Moonshadow-Cat Stevens
tab1

lyrics

Moonshadow Chords by Cat Stevens, www.Ultimate-Guitar.Com // Learn to play “Moonshadow” with online video lessons // #----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------# #This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the # #song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. # #------------------------------------------------------------------------------## From Fri Jun 26 11:04:50 PDT 1992 Article: 355 of alt.guitar.tab Newsgroups: alt.guitar.tab Path: nevada.edu!uunet!darwin.sura.net!mips!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!batcomputer!reed!henson!news.u.washington.edu!news From: ihateuw@u.washington.edu (David Wong) Subject: Another Cat Stevens' post Message-ID: <1992Jun26.025801.15009@u.washington.edu> Keywords: Moonshadow Sender: news@u.washington.edu (USENET News System) Organization: University of Washington Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1992 02:58:01 GMT Lines: 55 Here's another one by Cat Stevens, this one's not too hard to play: MOONSHADOW Refrain: D A7 D G A7 Oh, I'm bein' followed by a moonshadow, moon shadow, moonshadow--- D A7 D G A7 D Leapin and hoppin' on a moonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow--- Verse 1: G D G D G D Em A7 And if I ever lose my hands, lose my plough, lose my land, G D G D Em A7 D F#m Bm Em A D Oh if I ever lose my hands, Oh if------------- I won't have to work no more. Verse 2 (use same chords as Verse 1 for all verses): And if I ever lose my eyes, if my colours all run dry, Yes if I ever lose my eyes, Oh if------------- I won't have to cry no more. Refain Verse 3: And if I ever lose my legs, I won't moan, and I won't beg, Yes if I ever lose my legs, Oh if------------- I won't have to walk no more. Verse 4: And if I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north and south, Yes if I ever lose my mouth, Oh if------------- I won't have to talk... Verse 5: E7 A E A Did it take long to find me? I asked the faithful light. E A E7 A Did it take long to find me? And are you gonna stay the night? Refrain G A7 D G A7 D moonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow. Oh, by the way, the chords aren't played in basic position. For example use a D by barring the fifth fret and using the remaining fingers in an "A" formation. Try fooling around with alternate chord shapes at different parts of the neck and throwing in some hammers-on to more closely resemble the recording. # EDWARD LEAR 1812-1888 ## __________________________ The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea # # | | In a beautiful pea-green boat. # | David V. Wong | They took some honey, and plenty of money # | ihateuw@u.washington.edu | Wrapped up in a five-pound note. # | University of Washington | The Owl looked to the stars above ### | Seattle, USA | And sang to a small guitar, #### |__________________________| `Oh lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, ## What a beautiful Pussy you are.'

Moonshadow-Cat Stevens Tabbed by David Yashar. I’ve looked all around the internet for this song and this seems the most correct. Tuning: Standard |-5—5-5—–3-2–|-3——-2——–|—–3————–| |—3—3—3——|—3—3—3—3–|—0—0—0—3—-| |——————|——————|——————–| |-0—0—0—0—-|-0—0—0——–|-0——————| |——————|——————|——-2—0——–| |——————|————-2—-|——————–|

|—–0h2h———|——————|——0h2——-| |—3—–3—–3–|——-0———-|————3—| |—–0h2h———|-0—–0—–0–0-|—2———–*| |-0——-0——–|—-0—–0——-|0————–*| |——————|————2–0–|—————-| |——————|2–3————–|—————-|

To tell you the truth. I still can’t find out how to play the chorus. If anyone knows to play it the right way, please email me–Davidyashar@yahoo.com

So there’s this song that I’ve been obsessing over lately. I’m dying to learn how to play or to at least be able to see someone else play it. You see, one of the main reasons I became so determined to learn how to play the guitar is because I have always been fascinated with watching people play. I stare at their hands and try to imagine what it must feel like to be able to do that. It can sometimes get distracting to the point that I hear nothing else of the song but the guitar. I have always been this way.
Well, this song is absolutely way out of my league and I realize that but I think it’s good to have lofty goals. I’m going to include a video of this song for the curious among you. I haven’t been able to find one actually showing someone playing it but the search will continue.  Nick Drake- Man in a Shed

Meanwhile, back here on earth I decided to find a song that I love that may be a little more reasonable for my total lack of skills. So I was watching some of my favorites and it finally happened. I watched a video and thought, I bet I could do that (with a lot of work). I have been watching the video over and over and found the chords for the song. The chorus is only two chords, one of which I already know, so I figured I could give it a try. To be honest, I’m not really even sure how well I did, it may have been fine but I don’t know. I can’t seem to manage to switch chords with any ease which is going to be an obvious problem. But then, I was not yet familiar with the second chord at all so it isn’t natural for my hand to go into that position either. I tried it a couple of times but gave up mostly out of embarrassment as Dan stared at me blankly wondering if I was done yet and could he get back to his game?
But I’m really convinced that this isn’t impossible. I believe that given some time and a little help I can get it. So, in order to force myself to work at it (in another room) I’m going to make a promise right now. I will figure out how to play this song, and I will record myself playing and post it to my blog (it make take a little time) but look for it and hold me accountable.
Here is the video: Cat Stevens- Moonshadow

Here are the chords:Moonshadow

It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine!

Olá a todos! Sou MoonShadow, e venho agora informar a vocês sobre uma nova parceria entre a World Japan e a NightWind Eventos, uma equipe que desde 2001 realiza atividades de anime e mangá em Mogi das Cruzes – SP e região. Traremos regularmente as novidades da J-Music para vocês!

Aproveitando a oportunidade, quero convidá-los a participar de nosso fórum no http://nightwind.secretstories.org, onde poderão conferir uma série se temas. Destaque para a entrevista de Acquarius, onde ele comenta sobre o Blog, e as caravanas da World Japan! ^^

Is it mean to name an animal, which is a male a female’s name?

My dog had 3 puppies 2 girls and a boy and i have given the girls names: Moonshadow and Fatacus (An affectionate way of calling her fat)

And the boy i had given names to but they never suited.

And i really like the song Eleanor Rigby and i think i would be a cute name for a little boy anyway.

It has come to my attention that i name all things male with girl names, is it because my subconcious thinks having single sex names is stupid or is there something else?

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters! www.henrymiller.org to make reservations.

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Renee Infelise, Ami-Sue Lawless, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, Barbara Smythe, and Jennie Tezak, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Special guests: Elaine Lee (Starstruck’s creator) and painter Lee Moyer (colorist of the new series from IDW Publishing).

So we’re in the home stretch re: the warm-up reading/benefit of Starstruck at The Henry Miller Library. There have been major cast changes in just the last two weeks with actors joining and then quitting and then joining and then quitting…and people say actors are flakey…but as you can see from the above cast list, we have our cast finalized, I’m right now pulling SFX, and we went through Act 2 earlier in the day…so it’s coming together. We also have a few more items for the silent auction!

Okay, here’s a question for you: we have Starstruck lined up for next year. We have quite a few adaptations in the pipeline with the aformentioned publisher in San Diego (secret identity to be revealed soon…), and once again, here is our wish list:

Doc Savage, The Escapist, Arrowsmith, The Dresden Files, The Elementals, A Killing in Comics, Torso, Coyote, American Flagg!, The Looking Glass Wars, The Waiting Place, Watchmensch, Grimjack, Ignition City, Jon Sable: Freelance, The Pilgrim, Hawaiian Dick, Noble Causes, Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Buckaroo Banzai, The Metamorphosis Odyssey/Dreadstar, Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, The Goon, Moonshadow, Spawn, Battle Hymn, Grendel, Ghost, Zenith, Madman, Athena Voltaire, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Black Coat, Crossfire, Leave it to Chance, Miracleman (now Marvelman), the complete Lensman series, Sabre, The Spider, The Yellow Kid, Rip Kirby, The Saint, Terry and the Pirates, Mandrake the Magician, The Green Hornet, Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom, Ghost Zero, True Story Swear to God, Tor, the Defiant Comics line, THUNDER Agents, The Red Circle/MLJ Heroes, Mage, Rising Stars, Mr. Monster, Nexus, The Phantom, and eventually Astro City, Global Frequency, Steampunk, Planetary, The Authority, Hellblazer, Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Shazam!, The New Gods, Batman, The Flash, Blackhawk, JSA, Capt. Britain and MI13, Werewolf by Night, Cloak and Dagger, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Squadron Supreme, The Fantastic Four, and of course New York City’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler…

Okay, so you know what we’re interested in. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds, nay thousands of other titles out there. So our question of the day:

What comics. comic strips, and graphic novels, would YOU like to hear as full-cast state-of-the-art audio dramas? Let us know by responding below!

“Being followed by a Moon_shadow? Leaping and hopping
on Moon_shadow……are you? Well to the right place….. you have come!
Here is the vintage song from the Tea for the Tiller_man himself …….circa 1971.
Enjoy!”

80-talet var på många sätt en guldålder för DC och Marvel: Miller och Moore slog igenom hos en bredare publik än bara de seriebitna, men förutom dem finns det flera andra godbitar från samma tid. Jag har skrivit om några av dem förut, som Baker & Helfers The Shadow och Mills & O’Neills Marshal Law, och häromdagen plockade jag fram en till från samma tid och läste om: J M DeMatteis & Jon J Muths Moonshadow.

Moonshadow gavs ut av Epic som Marvel använde sig av för att ge ut serier som inte passade in i det vanliga superhjältefacket. Under några år publicerades där en ström av utmärkta serier som redan nämnda Marshal Law, Elektra: Assassin (som jag tänkt ta och läsa om, så mer om den senare), en nästan komplett samling Moebius (inklusive Blueberry), The One, Akira, Groo, Elfquest och alltså även Moonshadow. Tyvärr sålde Epic-serierna inte alltför bra, och efterhand blev det mer av ett förlag för målade lyxigare versioner av de vanliga superhjältarna, men innan dess var det en allsköns blandning av serier.

Moonshadow, med undertiteln A fairy tale for grown-ups, är en coming-of-age-historia om en tonåring med en något ovanlig bakgrund: Hans mor är en vilsen flower-poweranhängare medan hans far är en G’l-Doses, en månliknande utomjording som främst utmärks av sin oförutsägbarhet. Vad som sedan följer är en klassisk roadtrip genom galaxen med Moonshadow, hans katt Frodo, och Ira, en vulgär erotoman som Moonshadow fattar tycke för.

DeMatteis historia är i grunden mysticism; han har senare gjort flera serier som känns som upprepningar av samma tema om sökandet efter de stora sanningarna, som The Last One och Seekers Into the Mystery, även om de mesta han skrivit är  vanliga superhjälteserier. Ovanpå mysticismen lägger han till humor, sex och död i sagoformat, men allting finns där för att addera till den religiösa grundtonen; det är ingen uttalad religion som det handlar om, utan snarare en allmän-religiös ton.

Och det hela fungerar rätt så bra, förutsatt att man inte har någonting emot DeMatteis mysticism, som framförallt i slutet helt tar över. Det som hackar en del är dels sådant som har att göra med att idén med en mini-serie var relativt ny när Moonshadow skrevs, vilket gör att serien blir lite enformig när man sträckläser den, dels att DeMatteis överanvänder en del stilistiska konster, som att förvarna om vad som komma skall (hela handlingen återberättas av en gammal Moonshadow, om hans yngre dagar):

What his faith WAS I would later discover… to my everlasting regret.

Och så vidare. Överlag skulle serien må bra av att korta ner textmängden betydligt; DeMatteis är uppenbarligen inte någon vän av att låta bilderna tala för sig vilket är synd eftersom Muths målningar är bland de bästa som gjorts i serieväg.

Sen är det också synd att originalslutet inte längre finns med i nytrycken: I originalet avslutas serien med ett tiotal ordlösa sidor som skildrar Moonshadows invigning i mysterierna, och enligt mig är det ett passande slut för serien. Men när den först gavs ut i samlad utgåva så lade DeMatteis till några sidor efter dem, och även om de passar in i stilen av resten av boken är det tråkigt att inte slutet fick fortsätta vara mystifierande. Värre ändå är att när DCs Vertigo gav ut serien igen på 90-talet så lade DeMatteis till text på de tidigare ordlösa sidorna; orsaken enligt honom själv:

What happened at that point was that the books were getting so late towards the end of the first run that I often wouldn’t see J’s <Jon J Muths> finished art until the book came out. I think if I had seen it – like the tightrope scene which is some of the most beautiful art in the book – I would have thought it just wasn’t clear enough in terms of what I was trying to communicate for the ending.

Det är helt korrekt att målningarna i slutet är några av de bästa i hela boken, vilket bara gör det ännu sorgligare att de förstörs av övertydlig text; DeMatteis ansluter sig därmed till den långa raden av artister som inte är särskilt bra på att bedöma sina egna verk.

Slutligen måste jag skriva lite mer om Muths bidrag. Vanligen är jag inte så förtjust i serier som är målade som tavlor eftersom resultatet ofta blir rätt stelt (med exempelvis Segrelles som skräckexempel), men Muths akvareller lider inte av det problemet. Överhuvudtaget gör sig Moonshadow kanske allra bäst som en visuell upplevelse snarare än en läsdito; det är som sagt inget större fel på manuset, men problemet är att teckningarna utklassar det. Varierad i stil från klassisk akvarell till regelrätta skämtteckningar visar Muth upp hur väl han behärskar seriemediet (med viss hjälp av George Pratt och Kent Williams); förutom Moonshadow har han varit ytterst sparsam med serier (Mystery Play och M är några av de få undantagen), och istället koncentrerat sig på barnböcker.

Jag är svag för Moonshadow som var en av de första serier jag läste som gav en vink om vad som är möjligt med serier inriktade på vuxna; även om jag läste exempelvis både Watchmen och The Dark Knight i samma veva är de mycket närmare “vanliga” serier än vad Moonshadow är, oavsett kvalitéer i övrigt. Den är inte lika bra nu som då eftersom den inte längre är unik, men den är fortfarande väl värd att läsa, och än mer att titta på.

It’s not exactly life on mars, but one of those weird little movies that I’m looking forward to this year is director Duncan Jones’ simply titled Moon.

Jones, by the way, is the son of David Bowie, a musician who is of course no stranger to space and it’s oddities. When I realized their connection, my mind immediately flashed to Bowie’s song, “Moonage Daydream,” which has to be one of the most alien love songs ever:

The film itself looks very interesting to me, like an art house sci fi piece set on the truly desolate lunar satellite. I was scanning the Wikipedia page on the film, and I liked Jones’ mention of the contrast between the mythic nature the moon holds for us while at the same time utterly lacking romance and beauty. It’s just pure desolation up there, and he cites the images that have come from Japan’s lunar orbiter, SELENE, when talking about it.

Here’s the trailer:

And the plot description from Wikipedia, if for some reason the trailer doesn’t picque your curiousity:

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is an employee contracted by the company Lunar to mine on the Moon the natural gas Helium 3, which could reverse Earth’s energy crisis. Sam is stationed at the lunar base Sarang with only a robot named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey), but two weeks before completing his three-year assignment, he begins feeling out of place. An extraction goes wrong, and Sam suspects Lunar of trying to replace him as he realises someone else is on the Moon

Interesting stuff. The film also stars the truly lovely Kaya Scodelario, from one of my favorite shows (if you’ve never noticed from reading this blog), Skins.

I think you can see her very briefly in the trailer.

It reminds me of Danny Boyle’s Sunshine from a few years ago, but hopefully better. The thing about Sunshine was… you really wanted to like it. You didn’t want it to be a mash up of a lot of better films, but it kind of was. It had some beautiful imagery to it, but over all… I just don’t know if it worked. If it failed, it was certainly an interesting failure, but even still…

Let’s hope that the differences between Boyle’s film and Jones’ are night and day.

Island / Universal

Boah was stecken in dem Album für Erinnerungen… Vor einigen Jahren war das sowas wie meine Lebensphilosophie. Ich habe es wirklich jeden Tag gehört. Trotzdem muss ich immer an die tanzende Kate Hudson denken, wenn ich The Wind höre und nur selten an den Haufen kiffender Hippies, die ich damals kannte. Seltsam. Trotzdem. Wie geil (Verzeihung!) kann ein Album sein? Jedes Stück ein Treffer. Keine Längen. Bei Rubylove kommen sogar Stevens griechische Wurzeln durch. Schrieb ich über Yusufs / Stevens aktuelles Album noch, dass die Stücke zum Teil nerven und Längen haben kann ich das über dieses Album überhaupt nicht sagen. Eher sind die Stücke zu kurz – eigentlich haben sie sogar genau die richtige Länge. Wäre da nicht diese Stimme, würde man keine Verbindung zu dem Mann sehen, der sich jetzt Yusuf nennt. Wenn beim Stück If I Laugh (ab 1:37) das „Da Da Da“ losgeht ist das der emotionale Wahnsinn! „And we all now It’s better / Yesterday Is past / Now let’s all start living / For the one that’s going the last”. Der zentrale Punkt von Changes IV. Das hat mich vor 8 Jahren schon vom Hocker gehauen. Wahrheit, verpackt in seiner schönsten Form. Die Übersongs Morning Has Broken, Moonshadow oder Peacetrain… So viel gute auf einem Album (in der Folkmusik) ist man eigentlich nur noch von Bob Dylan oder Simon und Garfunkel gewohnt. Wer das Album noch nicht hat, sollte sich jetzt ganz schnell in den nächsten Plattenladen begeben! Solche Platten werden heute leider viel zu selten aufgenommen.

Want a left-field recommendation on a “new” artist to check out?  How about this – Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens and now performing simply as Yusuf. 

Yusuf

His new release Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night) brought Yusuf back to the stage last night in Los Angeles for his first US concert in three decades (save for a small private performance a few years ago in NYC). 

I won’t try to pretend that I was ever a Cat Stevens fan.  Sure, I can remember a few folks at my big public university enjoying a little Peace Train or Moonshadow with their varied selection of mood-altering substances.  Good for them, I thought.  But it never really grabbed me. 

And, of course, Cat Stevens didn’t even really exist anymore.  He had notably converted to Islam in 1977, changed his name, and disappeared from the stage after his final concerts in 1979.

But I have had reason to reconsider his legacy in the years since.  Too many artists that I respect have exhibited their interest in his deeper cuts by covering his songs on record or in concert (such as this epic clip of Eddie Vedder’s take on Trouble). 

Even with that, I had zero expectations when I heard that Yusuf was making a return to secular music.  It was an absolute revelation to listen to An Other Cup, released in 2006, and be drawn to this music that grows better with each listen.

Click here for an insightful interview that Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times conducted recently with Yusuf.  It covers a lot of ground, providing more details on how the British-born son (birth name: Steven Demetre Georgiou) of a Greek restaurateur has allowed his life experiences to shape his career, including the inspiration that US Homeland Security provided for the bonus track Boots and Sand.

Roadsinger was released last week and I’ll be the first to admit that an overwhelmingly positive review that references this new release as a “necessity to buy” for anyone who has “ever owned and loved a Cat Stevens album” would have got me rolling my eyes a few years ago. 

Not anymore.  I guess that makes me a convert to Islam, at least of the Yusuf variety.

Friday 17th April 2009

Today was spent in my pyjamas. Because I could. I also took full advantage of my extra day off. First of all I sat with my Mum and listened to Yusuf Islam on the radio; absolutely amazing and I would love to see Moonshadow when it’s showing. Then it was time to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas which I had a sing-a-long to and then I watched Beetle Juice. The rest of the day was spent getting a present together for a very special lady…

Saturday 18th April 2009

I made my merry way to the gorgeous Sarah’s house for her mega ace 1980s themed birthday party. It was amazing to see my Sarah again and I was treated to a ‘Shower In A Can’  en-suite room again. I was thoroughly spoilt!

Sunday 19th April 2009 – My Birthday!

I had a truly excellent birthday. Gorgeous presents (as seen in picture), visits from loved ones, the time spent with Sarah, profiterole cake, buffet dinners, phone conversations with loved ones and having Happy Birthday sung to me. Not only all that but I came home to a perfectly tidy and freshly hoovered bedroom. Heaven! Definitely one of my favourite birthdays. I am very lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life that mean everything to me. That is the biggest and best birthday gift possible.

‘Moonshadow’, Cat Stevens, en directo, 1971.

I’m still hung over. Not from booze this time, you’ll be pleased to hear, but from watching The Chris Isaak Hour on Bio last night.

Bio used to be the Biography Channel, a go-to place for human interest stories. Then, presumably after someone wrote in and said, “Hey, man, this documentary crap you’re putting out is waaaay too interesting,” they had second thoughts, shortened the name, and filled their schedule with boring shows instead. Let me try to think of an example.

Oh yes – The Chris Isaak Hour.  

The idea is simple enough. Give a popular singer whose star has faded somewhat the opportunity to interview other popular singers whose stars have faded somewhat. Let him do it on a couch, give him a budget to dye his hair and eyebrows if he needs it, and pepper the interview with clips of the guest singing, wherever possible with Chris Isaak plucking at a guitar too, since he’s there already and might as well do something.

It’s basically a lot like any Jools Holland show in the UK. Only, Chris Isaak is no Jools Holland. In fact, I’d say he’s possibly the most boring interviewer that’s ever been on TV. In any country. Anywhere. And I’m including Antarctica, where  the interviewers on TV are all penguins. Yet even they manage to ask questions without mumbling them.  

I only watched it because Isaak wrote a blog for the Huffington Post yesterday, pleading with readers to tune in. And that doesn’t happen often. So, sensing desperation and the whiff of impending cancellation, I thought I’d better grab the opportunity while I had the chance. Now, of course, I wish I hadn’t. Oh my God, what a horrible show. 

The star guest was Cat Stevens, one of my all-time faves. If you recall, he became Yusuf Islam for a while, then, when the word Islam acquired a bit of an aftertaste in the West, and songs by an artist with Islam in his name would most likely be box office poison, there was a hasty rethink, I’m guessing, and he settled for just plain Yusuf instead. In any case, Cat – seriously, who’s going to call him Yusuf? -  is a brilliant songwriter.  Cute and a little chubby in his heyday, he now has a gray beard that goes straight down, and an old man’s voice when he speaks. Remarkably, though, when he sings – jeepers creepers! The magic comes rushing back again, like a tide that’s been out too long, and he sounds exactly like the records.  It was quite magical to hear.

But the problem is Isaak. When I made my travel show a couple of years back, a small number of angry, jealous viewers wrote in, saying, “What a terrible host. Replace him immediately with somebody better.” But they were wrong – obviously.

I, on the other hand, am not wrong about Chris Isaak.

He’s low-key to the point of comatose when he speaks. It’s like listening to a generator hum through a wall.  Almost as if he’s so intimidated when confronted with staggering (see below) accomplishment and talent that he clams up. At one point, he even brought his dog on and sat it on his lap, which was a sappy and silly moment and I wanted to rush in and confiscate it. Cat doesn’t like dogs, I’m assuming. By the look on his face, I think he’d have smashed it with his guitar if he could, and to hell with his peace-loving image.

Anyway, we learned fascinating snippets of background info about Cat’s old songs. (Moonshadow, for instance, was written after he stood out under a full moon one night and saw his “moon shadow.” His song Lost in Fog, about the time he got lost in fog, can’t be far off, I’m sure.) We also learned that his gift for writing magical tunes that haunt you for a lfetime didn’t extend into later years. His new stuff is a load of cock, quite honestly. Furthermore, last night he tried updating Peace Train, turning it into a laid-back blues number, managing at the same time to render it simultaneously boring and profoundly unlistenableto, which takes some doing. 

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was, top to bottom. Ghastly show, boring host, wishy-washy guest. I wanted to love it all, but I didn’t make it to the end. Switched it off, went to bed, and fell asleep oozing rivers of anger and regret at the hour I’d just wasted. Hopefully, Bio will take note and cancel this series before it does any more harm. The perfect example of life simply being too short.

The Chris Isaak Hour gets one magic carpet out of five.

TV Swami – he say NO.

www.cashpeters.com

UPDATE 4/14/09: I have amended one word in the above review, changing “real” to “staggering.” This was done, believe it or not, as a gesture of goodwill, to appease critics who’re insisting I was way too negative about the show and unfair to Chris Isaak.

For goodness’ sake! I’m not saying that Isaak is not a good or successful performer. He is very talented – of course – and his long track record proves that. It’s just that Cat Stevens is better. Period. What I am saying is that Isaak is not a good talk show host. He’s not peppy enough or effusive enough. That said, if Bio decides to renew the series, good. The TV Swami won’t be watching it, that’s all.

Now, let’s step over this difficult moment as if it were an injured pedestrian and move on with our lives.  I thank you for your attention.

Whatsonstage.com has some more details on Yusuf Islam’s debut of his original musical “Moonshadow” at the Winners’ Concert for their Theatregoers’ Choice Awards this weekend. 

[T]he audience will get an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming world premiere of Moonshadow, a new musical by Yusuf Islam, the British singer-songwriter formerly known as Cat Stevens. As part of the stellar evening – hosted, as previously announced, by Gavin & Stacey’s James Corden and Two Pints of Lager’s Sheridan Smith at the Prince of Wales Theatre, the West End home of Mamma Mia!, at 7pm this Sunday 15 February 2009 – Siobhan McCarthy, the original Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia!, will sing the Cat Stevens’ ballad “Wild World” from Moonshadow.

The new musical is written by Yusuf Islam and features other Cat Stevens’ hits from the 1960s and 70s such as “Morning Has Broken”, “Peace Train”, “Father and Son”, “Oh Very Young” and the song from which the show takes its title.

They also give more information on Siobhan McCarthy:

Siobhan McCarthy’s other West End credits include Medea, Blood Brothers, Dancing at Lughnasa, Les Miserables, Chess, On Your Toes, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the lead role of Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia!.

Mail Online reports that Yusuf Islam is ready to debut an original musical based on his hit songs as Cat Stevens. “Moonshadow” is expected to debut in July in Northampton with hopes for a West End run.

On February 15, a preview of the musical will take place at the Prince of Wales Theatre during the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards. Siobhan McCarthy, who originally starred in the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!,” will sing.

The musical will feature songs like “Morning Has Broken” and “Wild World”.

Rewi Kemp with partner Janet Dougherty at Auckland Airport. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Kemp was purchasing the boat from a Fiji-based friend, and was expected in New Zealand on December 12, after which his convivant Janet Dougherty contacted New Zealand authorities. An electrical fault aboard the boat knocked out his communications gear, and then Moonshadow caught up in a storm.

The storm resulted in the boat going up on rocks, literally catapulting Kemp from his boat. He clambered up on rocks to get out of the sea, and sat huddling, hoping for rescue.

The rocks Moondance broke upon, he thought, were a part of Norfolk Island. It was Norfolk Island searchers who found debris from the boat, and from the size of the pieces they knew the boat had broken up and they figured they were now looking for a body.

But they also guessed where the pieces had drifted from – Nepean Island, about one kilometer south of Norfolk Island. Twelve hours after Kemp was flung from his boat, a Norfolk Island government vessel found him on his rock and rescued him.

He was treated in hospital with one foot broken and the other with urchin spines, but was packed aboard a plane and flown to meet his partner in Aukland, who announced there would be some new rules: “Next time he won’t be sailing without me or a single-sideband radio or a satellite phone.”

• theAge.com.au
• New Zealand Herald

Singer-songwriter Dan Wilson guest-blogs on Popdose.com about his desert island picks.

Joni Mitchell’s Hejira album. If it were one song I’d say “Hejira” — there’s something so heartbreaking about Jaco Pastorius’ bass melodies intertwining with Joni’s lyrics. And the song is about love, travel, the temporary fixes of modern life, and the quest for something lasting. What more could you ask for in a song?

Cat Stevens’ “Moonshadow” (from Teaser and the Firecat). What is this song about? Why is he threatened by all these terrible fates? And how can he stay calm about them? And what is a moonshadow? It’s nearly as nonsensical as “The Ocean,” and it’s just as great.

The link includes MP3s of his picks, which also include “Penny Lane” from The Beatles’ Magic Mystery Tour.

Ever wonder why I chose “MoonShadow” as my blog and Etsy store name.  Come on, I know you have (and by “you” I mean the one person who occasionally strays across one of my posts and hurriedly leaves confused and angry that I wasted their time).   I was going to preface this post with a video of Cat Stevens’ song of the same name.  Although I love the song, that’s not the inspiration for the name.  I was never followed by a moon shadow, I spent my time following it.  ”Moon shadow” refers to that which I hope to continue chasing some time in the future – a total solar eclipse.

I have witnessed a few solar eclipses and what one is watching is the shadow of the moon falling across the earth as the moon blocks the sun from our view.  If you ever have the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse jump on it.  I was introduced to the experience by a friend who spoke so glowingly of it that it convinced me to go along on the trip.  It didn’t really take much convincing as I will take any excuse to travel.  The first eclipse I witnessed was in Potosi, Bolivia.  I remember being sick as a dog – between the altitude sickness and some very nasty intestinal issues I was in a sorry state.  But all discomfort faded as the quality of the sunlight started to change and this otherworldly glow took over the sky that eventually turned into a darkness that is not quite night.  The air chills, the birds start roosting, the world gets quiet and you are enveloped in the experience as the great disk of the sun is slowly covered by the ever-so-much smaller moon. Click on the image below to go to a Fred Espenak’s site for a great explanation and more fun facts and images. I am not a scientist.  I never got one decent picture of the eclipses I experienced.  A photograph does not capture it.  Video does not capture it.  You need to experience it.  It is a like witnessing one hundred rainbows at once.  A total solar eclipse makes you realize that you’re just a speck in the giant scheme that is the universe (or universes – I’m still hung-up on that parallel worlds thing of Hugh Everett).  An eclipse brings home that we all live on a planet, a sphere on which we are only along for the ride and of which we have no control.  

So the video I’ve chosen to demonstrate the elation of witnessing the traversing of the moon shadow is not Cat Stevens’ song, its not Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” but “Chaiyya, Chaiyya” from the Bollywood film “Dil Se.”  It best describes for me the sheer joy, the energy and the happiness of witnessing the moon’s shadow.  Plus it reminds me of India, a beautiful, magical country where I traveled to stand in darkness for 20 seconds (the duration of totality for that particular eclipse).  

Hoje vamos falar sobre literatura. Resolvi escrever esse post porque reli Farewell Moonshadow, de J. M. DeMatteis e deu vontade de reler toda a série novamente.

O que é Farewell Moonshadow? Pra começo de conversa, é uma história em quadrinhos. Isso mesmo. “Gibi”. Só que feito pra adultos. Também é a esperada continuação da série Moonshadow, lançada lá nos states em 12 edições entre 1985 e 1987 e aqui no Brasil em 1994, também em 12 edições, pela editora globo. A série original é belamente ilustrada por Jon J. Muth, Kent Williams e George Pratt. Para o pessoal que acha que quadrinhos é coisa infantil, a simples arte dos caras acima citados, feita toda em aquarela, verdadeiros quadros, é o primeiro indício de que a coisa fica séria.

A série original mostra, através de um conto que mistura fantasia com ficção científica, a saga de um garoto chamado Moonshadow. A história acompanha o desenvolvimento do personagem de seus 14 anos até o “fim da inocência”, como ele mesmo chama, o início de sua vida adulta. É uma história sobre desenvolvimento humano que usa da fantasia pra se tornar mais interessante. Acompanhamos a dor do personagem ao ver sua mãe morrer, a tentativa (malfadada) de substituir a figura de um pai ausente, a descoberta do sexo e do amor, as dúvidas existenciais e religiosas. Enfim, um review decente desta história pode ser encontrado neste link.

Farewell Moonshadow foi publicado em 1994 (tô com preguiça de olhar a data certa na revista) nos EUA, mas nunca foi lançada aqui no Brasil, o que é uma injustiça. Você pode baixar o livro no link http://www.esnips.com/web/moonshadow/ . Lá também tem toda a série em 12 partes (o farewell foi traduzido por um grupo de fãs, e consta lá como livro 13 – a despedida). A série é tão boa que paguei R$ 80,00 reais por ela no mercado livre e comprei a edição nunca publicada no site amazon.com.

Imagem e texto extraídos da revista.

Se tiverem se interessado, recomendo bastante procurar por nomes como Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis e tantos outros nas livrarias. Gaiman já ganhou inúmeros prêmios, tanto como romancista quanto como escritor de quadrinhos. Se acharem, comprem Sandman – Fábulas e Reflexões dele. Pro pessoal mais liso, ou que queira conhecer o trabalho antes de comprar, procure em locais como o site Rapadura Açucarada por revistas deles pra download. O material é tão bom que após ler na tela vocês vão querer ter a edição impressa.