Cycling etiquette: When you are biking around town and you hear the first chords of a song you like coming from the car in front of you before they change the station to something they inexplicably prefer, it is not acceptable to shout, “No! Turn it back! I was listening to that!”
Because I only got two stanzas’ worth of the song on my ride in this morning, I offer the Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man” to you here:
Also, I wanted to alert everyone that The Green Album, a new take by modern bands on Muppets classics comes out tomorrow. Some of the songs are straight-up homages, while others are re-interpretations. I’d tell you which songs I like, but I fear it pretty much would look like the track list. That said, “Moving Right Along” (covered by Alkaline Trio), “Rainbow Connection” (Weezer and Hayley Williams), the “Muppet Show Theme” (OK Go), and “I’m Going to Go back There Someday” (Rachael Yamagata) are particular standouts for me after my first week of listening.
You can stream the album this week for free, but they leave the artists off their listings, so you’ll want to head here to see who’s singing. I recommend you give it a listen (every day if you’re like me) and then add the album to your collection in whatever format you acquire new music these days.
Peter and Max by Bill Willingham with illustrations by Steve Leialoha
From the jacket: “When an unspeakable tragedy befalls a family of traveling minstrels, they become stranded and left for dead. Here in the heart of The Black Forest, Peter Piper and his older brother Max encounter ominous forces that will change them both irreparably. Thus begins an epic tale of sibling rivalry, magic, music and revenge that spans medieval times to the present day when their deadly conflict surfaces in the placid calm of modern-day Fabletown.”
My take: Peter Piper and his wheelchair-bound wife, Bo Peep, live on a farm in upstate New York. Actually, they live on the outskirts of The Farm, which is an annex of Fabletown, the modern New York City neighborhood that is home to all manner of refugees from other, parallel worlds that inspire our fairy tales.
Peter (it was just one pickled pepper, not a whole peck, by the way) and Bo (she does love her sheep) get along pretty well in the modern world until one day Peter is informed that his brother, Max, has been sighted. Gathering intel from the Wolf (still huge and now married to Snow White) and the Witch (who has renounced her more wicked ways and these days is mostly just enigmatic), Peter sets out to track down Max — and to kill him.
Of course, there’s more to the story. Max is also looking to kill Peter. And he means business. Remember the Pied Piper of Hamelin? Cleared the town of rats and then took their kids, too? That was Max. He’s a charming fellow.
In case brotherly intrigue is not enough for you, there’s also a family heirloom in the form of a magic flute; a second, evil flute; a rebounded curse; and a curse on all of Fabletown. Max and Peter’s showdown might be secret, but everyone’s invested in its outcome.
The story, which alternates between Peter’s preparations to find his brother and flashbacks to his childhood and youth, is part of a larger Fabletown oeuvre by author Bill Willingham. I haven’t read the rest, most of which, I believe, are in the form of graphic novels, but this story has piqued my interest. I feel like this novel would be a good recommendation for reluctant teen readers, as it has the pacing of a comic, but in the fleshed out format of a novel. It would also be a good read for anyone who enjoys fairy tales or those who like alternate takes of classic stories.
Peter and Max by Bill Willingham with illustrations by Steve Leialoha