Top Ten Comics/Music Crossovers Moments

New York Comic Con is gonna kick off in just a few days, and as I get ready for the convention, I find myself thinking quite a bit about the points where music and comics intercept. So I now present my Top Ten Comics/Music Crossover Moments

10) KISS the comic book

They put their blood in the ink. Whether you like Kiss or not they pretty much had to make the list.

9) Josie and the Pussycats

Straight from the pages of Archie Comics, Josie and the Pussycats are a classic example of music in comics. Archie already had a band (Remember Sugar Sugar), they didn't actually need to create an all new band... But they did. And thus the world was introduced to Josie and the Pussycats. They spawned a comic series, a TV show, band and very under-rated movie starring Rachel Lee Cooke. But surprisingly, they never did climb the charts like the Archies.

8) R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, and Country

Pretty much everyone in the comic book community knows R. Crumb as one of the original and quintessential alternative comic book creators. And as a longtime music fan Crumb has often found ways to integrate the two, including fronting his own band. For those of you who haven't heard R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders, do yourself a favor and look them up.

7) 110Per Cent

The pull quote on the back of the book pretty much sums it up. "In much the same way that Alan Moore's Watchmen is the final word in modern superheroes, Tony Consiglio's 110Per Cent closes the book on the entire middle-aged-housewives-obsessed-with-boybands genre."

6) The Umbrella Academy

Whether you liked My Chemical Romance or not, there was no denying that Gerard Way came up with something really special when he wrote The Umbrella Academy. And though the celebrity comic book writer has become somewhat of a failed gimmick as of late (*ahem*) Mayhem (*ahem*), Way truly earned the credit he got for this book

5) Tricked

One of the many interwoven story lines in this book is of a washed-up musician trying to make a comeback. It's a great story of the pressure to create and what it can do to a fragile ego, but what's more impressive is the depth Alex Robinson went to in creating an entire musicology for the book. Every band, label, song, lyric that appeared was an original.

4) Freddy and Me

Creator Mike Dawson chronicles his life through the music of Queen. And what sounds like a very odd concept for a graphic novel is actually an amazingly executed autobiographic comic that turns one boy's love of Queen into a really thought provoking and interesting take on the idea of personal history.

3) The Amazing Joy Buzzards

A lot of people have tried to make comics about adventuring rock bands, but hand down none are better executed than The Amazing Joy Buzzards. Dan Hipp's artwork manages to capture the energy and excitement of a rock concert on every page, while Mark Andrew Smith's writing is hands down some of the most fun out there.

2) Scott Pilgrim

The story of a hapless bass player for a crappy garage band fighting to win a girls heart, Scott Pilgrim is as much as homage to the Canadian indie music scene as it is to comics, video games, and pop culture. Plus creator Brian Lee O'Malley has recorded some pretty great music himself under the name Kupek.

1) Phonogram

Not only is this a wonderful use of music in comics, but it's also just an amazing concept in general. Who hasn't heard a song that changed them, made them feel something deep down, a song that just spoke to them on some deep and personal level. There's no denying that music has a sort of power to it. Music is magical, and nowhere is that more perfectly portrayed than in Phonogram.

Top Ten Albums That Had to Grow on Me

Now sometimes an album just hits you. From the first few notes you know it'll be on heavy rotation for a while. Other times it takes a while and a few listens before you realize just how much you like it. So in honor of these albums, I present my Top Ten Albums That Had to Grow on Me

10) The National - High Violet

The National have been one of my favorite bands for a while now, so maybe my expectations were a bit high for this album. But when I first listened to it I felt a bit let down. Then for some reason all these great songs started showing up that just happened to appear on the album. I don't know where these songs were on my first listening, but when I went back, sure enough they were there.

9) Blonde Redhead - 23 (Dig)

Sometimes you just have to be in the right mood for a certain album. When I first listened to this, I was definitely not in that mood. The second time though, I definitely was.

8) The Magnetic Fields - Distortion

The problem with being a band that likes to experiment with their sound is that at times you can alienate fans. Knowing this in advance though does make it easier on fans. Cause then you know that it's possible you might not like an album that much at first and that's okay. Just cause the album is different doesn't mean its any less good.

7) Raveonettes - Whip It On

Sometimes something as simple as the first song you hear can start you off on a bad foot with a band. Had I heard Veronica Fever first instead of Attack of the Ghost Riders, my experience with the Raveonettes would probably have gone quite differently.

6) Anything by Will Oldham

Other times it's just a random association that has nothing to do with the music. Being that I was not a fan of my college roommate Junior Year, it was hard for me to take interest in any of the music he liked. But after we went our separate ways, Will Oldham's music suddenly started appealing to me much more.

5) Lily Allen - Alright, Still

Then there are cases when an artist's reputation precedes her. With so much about Lily Allen the drugged up party girl from across the pond, I really could have cared less about her music. But when the gossip columns started to quite down and her music finally got a chance to speak for itself, it actually had some really good things to say.

4) Bloc Party - Weekend in the City

And sometimes all it takes is the right music video to remind you how much you like a band. I'd all but written off Bloc Party by the time Weekend in the City came out, but after seeing the video for Flux, it reminded me that they were a band worth listening to.

3) The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell

Now a performance on a major late night show can go a long way to help improve a band's exposure. Of course when yo do that performance, make sure you pick the right song and make sure you play it well. Otherwise you're just doing yourself a disservice.

2) Broken Bells - Broken Bells

So their first single The High Road was admittedly awesome, but the rest of the album really didn't appeal to me that much at first. But being such a big fan of the Shins I gave it a few more tries and sure enough, before long it was the soundtrack to every long car ride I went on.

1) Arcade Fire - Funeral

This album took a couple dozen listens over the course of several months, recommendation from about a dozen friends, David Bowie, and the Gilmore Girls before this album hit me the right way. It's since gone on to become one of my favorite albums, but it really had to work for the honor.

Straight From the Review (Interpol - Barricade)

The Bright Lights are Back on

Artist: Interpol

Album: Interpol

Label: Matador Records

Release Date: September 7th, 2010

Website: http://interpolnyc.com

Stand Out Tracks: Summer Well, Success, Barricade, Memory Serves

Sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint just what it is that makes an album great. You can have a band who puts in place all the same elements they've used before and while on one album it might be a huge success, on another it might fail miserably. There's just something undefinable in the band's music that while you can't pinpoint what it is, you can feel whether it's there or not.

Interpol is just such a band. Their first two full length albums, Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics were downright amazing. There were few who could deny that they captured something special in those recordings. But then came Our Love to Admire and it just wasn't the same. A lot of people seemed to think it had to do with them signing to a major label, that the album was probably over produced or too many people were influencing the sound, but that wasn't it. They were just missing that undefinable element that made their first two albums so important. And again, you can't really say what it is but you can tell it's missing.

But whatever that is, they've found it again. With the release of Interpol the band shows that just having all the elements in place isn't enough to make a great album, there's something more. And with this album they've once again managed to recapture it. So while there are many people whose faith in Interpol may have been shaken, be rest assured that Interpol gives fans a reason to believe again.

RATING: 8/10

Top Ten YouTube Songs

So as many of you have probably already noticed, there's a lot of YouTube videos on here. And I do this on purpose. Partly I do it because I want to give you guys something more to do than just read my poorly scribed blatherings, but also I do it because there aren't many places to go where you can watch music videos on a regular basis anymore. MTV and VH1 have both gone the way of the reality show, even MTV2 and Fuse have cut back substantially on the number of videos they show. In a way, YouTube has kind of become the place to go for people interested in experiencing their favorite bands music outside of just listening to their songs.

But by the nature of YouTube, being completely user generated, we've also gotten a chance to discover some amazing talents that may have never existed were it not for the site. Things that, even if MTV was still playing music videos, we'd never get to see. So in honor of Youtube, I now present my Top Ten YouTube Songs/Musical Performances.

10) Rob Paravonian - Pachabel Rant

Sure this isn't a YouTube exclusive, but let's be honest, were it not for YouTube I probably would have never heard of Rob Paravonion and probably missed out on this great song/rant. So thank you YouTube for helping me to discover that there's no such thing as originality in music.

9) Sam Hart - Mario Kart Love Song

There are a ton of musicians out there posting webcam performances of their original songs and it takes a lot to stand out in that crowd. Writing a touching song that strikes nostalgic chord with video game nerds all over the world worked quite well for Sam Hart.

8) Bo Burnham - My Whole Family...

The other day I was in FYE and saw a copy of the Bo Burnham CD. I've got to assume that means he's doing something right with his YouTube videos.

7) Parry Gripp - Fuzzy Fuzzy Cute Cute

I don't know what exactly inspired Nerf Herders lead singer, Parry Gripp, to start posting a series of catchy songs featuring baby animals, but one thing's for sure. They get in your head and you can never get them out.

6) Fredde Gredde - 32 Songs in 8 Minutes

Now a lot of these songs on this list so far could be written off as just kitchy little videos. And I guess that's true cause most of them do have an element of humor to them. They're designed to make you laugh. But that's not to say YouTube doesn't have its share of really talented musicians showing off out there. Like this guy who crams as many songs into 8 minutes as he possibly can.

5) Autotune the News - Backin Up!

Sure Bed Intruder may have been their breakaway hit, but I'd be hard pressed to say it's their best song. And while Autotune may be the scourge of the music industry, these guys prove that all it takes is a little ingenuity to figure out how to use it for good.

4)Allison Weiss - Bullshit Kid

Another webcam performance. Allison Weiss is probably one of the few musicians who has successfully parlayed her YouTube videos into some kind of musical legitimacy. She may not be as famous as some of these other YouTube celebrities on the list, but she's just as talented, if not more so.

3)Lasse Gjertsen - Amateur

And this just goes to show you don't even need to be able to play an instrument that well to make a great YouTube video, you just need to be really good at editing.

2) Pomplamoose - Telephone

But then again, for those of you who can edit well and play an instrument... Well that just puts you in a class all your own.

1) Autotune the News - Double Rainbow Song

Yes the Autotune the News guys have made it on here again. And with good reason. Here you have a ridiculous YouTube video made from an even more ridiculous Youtube video. It has come full circle and YouTube is now self-referential.

Now there are probably plenty of videos out there that didn't make the list. Some of them for good reason, others just because there wasn't enough room to put them on here. So feel free to share your personal favorites in the comment section.

Straight From the Review (The Thermals - I Don't Believe You)

Bonus Points to anyone who recognizes the woman in the video.

It's not a Comeback, it's a Promise Finally Kept

Artist: The Thermal
Album: Personal Life
Label: Kill Rock Stars
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Website: http://www.thethermals.com

Stand out Tracks: Not Like Any Other Feeling, I'm Gonna Change Your Mind, Only for You, You Changed my Life

Were I to list my favorite bands in college, The Thermals would easily rank in the top 3. Were I to rank my favorite post-college bands, I doubt they'd make the list. It's not that I grew out of them or that my musical taste changed. I just felt that no album they released lived up to Fuckin' A, my introduction to the band. Their subsequent albums were all good, but just never seemed to live up to the musical promises that Fuckin' A made. As such, with each new album they released I found myself just waiting. And before long they just began to slip off my radar.

But in listening Personal Life it became apparent even from the first track that it's finally happened. The band has released an album worthy of follow up Fuckin' A. They've managed to not only recapture everything that made it the soundtrack to my junior year of college, but improve upon it. The songwriting and music hasn't changed a great deal but you can hear the maturity of the band in each song. They seem to have changed quite a bit from Fuckin' A, but in doing so have managed to only improve upon what was already there. And because what was already there was already so good, it doesn't sound as though much has changed at all.

So for those of you who found yourself disappointed by some of the recent releases out there (I won't name names), don't feel as though your musical scene crumbling at your feet. Just look to The Thermals' Personal Life for reassurance that the bands you love won't let you down.

RATING: 9.5/10