The sloth of approval

FIDDLESTICKS (1930)

2012-02-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ub Iwerks made lots of great animations.They get the boring tag but the animation(eg fucking movement!) is brilliant. Heres a start. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCt7xQ4kRRM

ZAZEN BOYS-ZAZEN BOYS 2 (2004)

2010-12-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

You don’t need to know the latest DEVO album is cool ‘cos you know that already! You need to know about Japanese bands because we don’t get enough good pop in different languages. So the guitarist from number girl (you know them) forms Zazen boys way back when…Do you like really mucked up math rock? Well that’s we’re heading with these ‘boys’, its also very FUNKY! They then turned more into a techno band & I think the ‘main’ guy left.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ZjYq8-SH w

THE PENGUIN COLONEL PEWTER (1978)-ARTHUR HORNER

2010-12-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

Do you need to know Gary Panter is really really good? No, you need me to scour an op shop to find this sucker .Arthur Horner was a Melbourne boy who went to England & did Colonel Pewter there in the 50s and it ran to the 70s.In 76 he was back in Melbourne and was doing Colonel Pewter for The Age. I remember being a teen and seeing them in the paper. I love the drawing style and I’m sure it would pain him to compose these strips. I love to see an original.I like the ink wash as well.If I'm not wrong its done on a paper (don't know what the name of it is) that gives the appearance of zip o tone when you add water.Of course the paper stock wouldn't even be made now,darn computers! The narrative is really quite English & small townish (if that makes any sense).It also nice & subtle and not over the top in ‘cartooniness’!

A DIARY OF A WORK IN PROGRESS (2010 I guess)-CHRIS DOWNES

2010-12-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

Yay! My 1^st Australian mini review! Chris is a septic tank who lives in tassie.Anywhoo, Chris and a bunch of others & me were having dinner with young Dylan Horrocks who was in town. Chris said to me he wanted a copy of my graphic novelette ‘Dumpster’ to line his pussy cat Puccca’s litter tray. I said cool, and sent him one. Then he sent me his puppy ‘diary’. The work is auto bio slice of life type stuff and it ain’t too whiney (which is a good thing).The thing that makes it real good is that Chris can draw like a MO FO machine and makes me real jealous! He basically did this as a blog so he would draw & get a book together. See here to check out his woik, you probably can find out how to order said book as well.

http://sirwdchosen.blogspot.com/

MY SECRET SHAME.

2010-11-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

I really like these 2 ‘best of ‘Ayumi Hamasaki albums. It’s like saying you like Madonna. Please help me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri6rlzt23Nk&feature=related

HANG ON THE BOX-'foxy lady'(2004)

2010-11-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Chinese punk at its finest!You can complain about anything in song as long as its not the government!Its kind of like a 'best of',but everyone of their albums seemed to cull the best songs to stick on the next album.... Are no more now (boo-hoo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPrX3KEShbQ

Colin the Cow-boy (19 54)

2010-10-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

Enid Blyton wrote it R.Caille illustrated it.Its probably some Jimmy/Jenny lunchpail hacking out work , but its so skillfully done.Its a thick smooth use of a tempera which is watered down in sections.Really great use of muted colour as well.I like the compositions and balance too.Though at the end Colin & the Indian remove their clothing and sit round nudie it all goes abit breakback mountain!!!!

Syd Hoff

2010-09-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

I love Syd Hoff's stuff.There is a great sense of staging,yet it looks simple.Which means it was probably hard to do.He also did lots of single panel cartoons for Colliers,New Yorker,et al.Plus a gaggle of kids & adult books.These samples are from OOPS! WRONG STATEROOM & ALBERT THE ALBATROSS.

fly homer fly (1969)-Bill Peet

2010-09-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

Bill Peet is king! He went from grumpy Disney storyboard artist to great story teller & artist of kids books.Every time I find oneof his books at the Op-shop it's GOLD! Look at these illustrations!Dont you wish you could draw like this!

Little Lulu: Bargain Counter Attack

2010-08-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Little Lulu: Bargain Counter Attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-0b0oFsDuU

It’s not a great cartoon narrative wise……but it’s a bunch of the old animators from the black & white Fleischer Popeye series. Note how every guy looks like Popeye! Love the layouts & extreme angles to convey the story to the audience.Theres also some great takes and animation in general. Beautiful squash & stretch. I love the policeman’s hand covering the screen at the beginning; also the way Lulu stops her scooter on the store manager. When the manager falls on the ice (slow mo this one!). Lulu skiing down the escalator & the flood of the store. As I said a average cartoon with beautiful animation.

LIMITED EXPRESS (HAS GONE?)-Makes you dance (2004)

2010-07-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Found this puppy in a 2^nd hand shop. I think this Japanese band came out here to Melbourne during 2006.Anyhoo it’s signed by the bass player Yukari & guitarist Jinichiro, so the covers a bit different. More noise & yelling by a bunch of Japanese kids! Kind of reminds me of Afrirampo, but 10 times more poppy & more structured song wise. As written on the cover, its ‘good rock!!’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzJi4IGJ5Vg

FELIX SAVES THE DAY (1922)

2010-06-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

Other than its racist overtones it’s a great animation. Felix’s baseball team vs. ‘the tar heals’, who of course are stereotype black kid characters. But I was surprised (and real sad!) to learn that all those early animation characters (Felix, Mickey, et al.) are blacks with ‘white face’ compared to the black & white minstrels which were white guys doing black face. Apparently black domestic slaves also wore those white gloves, to check out dust within a house hold. But also the design function of these things worked well in animation e.g. white hands on a black body.

So after all that this is a great animation! The ‘multimedia’ used in it, black & white photos and live action film are infused with a story of to baseball teams playing and Felix’s team losing their best players. Visually it’s a brilliant fusion and some great gags. Felix cartoons of this era have great pantomime acting by Felix. Its stock standard that Felix will use his tail as a hook or ladder or something! Also I love the little jig Felix & his mate do at the end of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kce6ecPDtno

2010-05-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

HUBERT’S HAIR RAISING ADVENTURE-BILL PEET (1959)

Bill Peet was a storyboard & story artist for Disney in the late 30’s to the mid 60’s.He worked on a ton of my favorite Disney stuff Dumbo, Lady & the Tramp, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, & heaps more. Anyway, apparently he was really frustrated about working with the studio and argued with Disney a lot!! It’s said that his 1^st storybook is a reflection of that frustration (I don’t know!!).

Hubert loses his mane. A bunch of animals try to think of a cure. Rubbing crocodile tears into his head is tried. His mane grows like crazy tangling the jungle animals in it. A Baboon barber cuts it perfectly square. Hubert is proud of his individual style.

All those years of storyboarding did Peet good! The story’s great, really well paced. But it’s the drawings that kill me. They look really easily done, but I’m sure like most artists he pained over them. The inked lines looked as if they were quickly done, but the layout is incredible! It looks really appealing mainly as he knows where to place objects & characters. Also within the space of a storybook he was skilled at positioning the characters so they looked like they were acting. Look at the Elephant & others sitting & thinking on the log.

There’s a beautiful use of colour as well. You notice that he keeps his palette limited to certain characters or objects. It’s usually about two though he may use different hues of a colour. Even then, there is not a huge amount of different colours used for each character. It’s something like about 10 or so individual colours for all the characters. Also the background colour really helps push the characters forward. I really wish I had that kind of knowledge! But I’ve found looking at a bunch of children’s books from the 1960’s backwards helps educate me!

THE MERRYMAKERS-BUBBLEGUN (1997)

2010-05-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Band with the world’s worst name are actually a great pop band! Swedish duo who wrote songs (Boom Boom Beat, My Story, etc….) for another great pop band Japan’s Puffy. Anyway, they hook up with Andy Strummer (Jellyfish, Godfather of Puffy) to create a bunch of Beatlesque (see Paul not John), 60’s inspired Pop. There’s even some Abba in there. For some inexplicable reason released locally on Shock in 2001.Found in a bargain bin, but good dancing in yer undies music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS5NZDRcia8

reg wink rocked!!!!

2010-04-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Great 80s japan band!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb4zi7OjIAI

The Rakes Progress – Ronald Searle

2010-03-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Recently it was Ronald Searle’s Birthday, 90! Cartooning prolongs your life! Anyway over the last ten years this has been a favorite book (thanks to the ex for finding this puppy!).Its frame work is ‘The Rakes Progress” a work by Hogarth. If I’m not wrong Hogarth’s was a set of prints (1800s?). Searle has taken different professions & used the same idea of progress to defeat. I love his artwork particularly of the 50’s&60’s.His style hasn’t changed that much but seemed to peak at this period. At times there is scribble & scratchy outer pen lines. But he certainly knows his anatomy and composition. He also has great control of pen wash as well. The books rhythms are great as well. Because it’s the same set up each time to a different profession and it’s really funny! I wish cartoonists had more opportunity to do stuff like this, than ‘serious’ graphic novels any day!

Searle looking spunky.

QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!

2010-02-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

As a kid I was obsessed by ‘Donald Duck & the Mouseketeers’I found it unsettling that Donald was in the ‘real’ world with ‘real’ people. I mean… just look at that imagery! Even as a kid like today I love those images of Donald looking at little kids drawings of him. The story is about Donald going to the Disney studios to his office. He meets up with story board people to discuss his latest film. Donald chucks a hissy fit because he feels he’s not in his own film enough. Walt Disney rings him to show a bunch of Mouseketeers around the studio. Donald shows them various departments around an animation studio. He has a big sook that the Mouseketeers think Mickey is a big star. The Mouseketeers write Donald a song (quack! quack! quack! Donald Duck). Then Donald gets fan mail from around the world, he is happy….. Samuel Armstrong did the art, well its ‘adapted’ by him. .I think its like a poster paint with washes, rather than water colour.As a five year old, I thought this was a documentary of Donald Ducks life. I still love this book, it’s a tad hard to find these days. But I want to buy a bunch to give to animation mates as Donald vaguely takes you through the process of an animation.

Wall of Voodoo

2010-02-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

Jeez,Ive been trying to get hold of wall of voodoo's 1st album Dark Continent for ever.Its a great mix of drum machine and minimal instrumentation.Well Raven records (an Australian company!!??) Have released the 1st two Wall of Voodoo albums on one CD. Call of the West is their pop album in a twisted way.It includes the 'hit' Mexican radio,but there are such better songs!!!I saw them in the mid 80's Stan Ridgeway had left & Andy Prieboy was lead singer. What can I say...The bass player Bruce Moreland spent alot of time hitting his bass with a hammer!They were OK....

The Lonely Ones (1942) by William Steig

2010-02-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine had just made a trip to New York and got me this as a pressie! I’m the lucky one! William Steig was a New Yorker cartoonist, I’m too sure if he did a lot of work for other publications. I’ll have to have a hunt through my old compilation books. The theme is loneliness, with quotes pertaining (obviously) to the theme. I guess the humor is psychological, which was seen as cutting edge at the time and very contemporary for the New Yorker. Which if I’m correct the New Yorker was kind of the birthplace of that one panel, short line humor.

The book is about an A5 size with a caption on the left hand side page & an image on the right hand size. This gives the book a usual pacing and a lot of space between ‘jokes’. It works really well to give a feeling of isolation, yet the quotes work in being obvious (heard them before).Somehow this operates so the work isn’t twee. The work seems to be in brush & ink, there’s a lot of skilled dry brush technique used as well. The design of the characters looks simple yet is quite intricate; particularly with minimal use of props I’ve modified the drawings/captions for space sake.

PENCILMANIA (1932)

2010-02-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

I was shown this a few years ago its one of my favorite animations. This is a Van Buren cartoon starring Tom & Jerry (no not those two) .Who were great simple designs. The tall one (Tom?) is practically a stick figure! The animation is what’s called ‘rubber hose’ animation. Characters seem to have no hinging joints at all. The timing seems very consistent, but it certainly syncs to the sound. The animation hits to the beat of a jazz soundtrack & they will hold certain poses rather than radically speed up or slow down timing. It works in a rudimentary way. It’s probably compensated by the characters posing and relatively simple layout.

Morphing fruit to melodrama actors

I love the narrative which for the first half is a string of visual jokes with no relative meaning to each other. Other than they get a ‘magic pencil’. It starts with a cow dancing which Tom begins to paint. Suddenly his easel starts walking .I love how inanimate objects just come to life in 30’s cartoons (hmmm…animation). Enter Jerry who upsets him & a chase starts. Leading to our magic pencil. Which is used to draw fruit (who sing ‘we have no bananas’) which morphs into 3’She done him wrong’ melodrama type characters. At this point there’s more of a narrative involving these characters & Tom & Jerry playing God with their pencil. Tom saves the damsel which Jerry stops him from kissing .They chase each other. THE END! I’ve heard that such narratives weren’t so much story boarded, but a theme was organized then a string of gags were worked out. It works really well as how these jokes were strung together. For the life of me I can’t figure how they would work out a soundtrack & sync the animation to such material.
Love this knock out animation

cool train!

Tom punches villain, turns him to ink!
Jerry sucks up the girl with his magic pencil.

Hi Jinx prevail!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XTbA2ZFLLk

The Shower Scene From Psycho

2010-01-31T14:13:00.001-08:00

Probably my favorite local band from the 80’s was The Shower Scene from Psycho. What they could do with a 4 track, a bunch of keyboards, guitars, a Theremin and a box of sound effects was truly amazing! It’s funny to think that (and I didn’t realize this) that there was also a link to my 2^nd favorite local band the Primitive Calculators. As in The Calculators organized the ‘little band’ nights which various members of The shower scene from Psycho were apart of. Anyhoo somebody answered my prayers and released Exploding Hits (The complete recordings 1982-2000), Omni Recording, 2009. God bless David Thrussell for pumping out this puppy! Well it’s not ‘complete’, but it comes pretty darn close. If I remember correctly there was also a version of ‘cuddly toy’ (the Monkees) & ‘I think I love you’ (The Partridge Family) floating around as well. So you get all the cover versions from the 80’s, the Exploding Hits mini album, the vinyl single, the 2 flexi discs, Return to tomorrow mini album & some compilation tracks. You also get a swag unreleased cover versions. But what I was impressed with the most was all the unreleased original songs. It’s a pity they didn’t get a release ‘at the time’. The band seem to lovingly deconstruct songs, then play them at break neck speed leaving large gaps of silence or unexpected sound effects. I saw them live a couple of times in the 80’s and all I can say is even thought I love ‘em, it was quite a sound to injure over an hour or so live. I remember seeing Good Morning Melbourne during the 80’s and Kerri Anne Kennerly doing an interview with them. I think the single ‘Cara-Lyn’ had just been released. But Kennerly just wanted to interview Tim Costigan rather than the whole band. But the best bit was them playing at the Seaview Ballroom with a bunch of young things jumping around with Kerri-Anne dancing in the background! PRICELESS!

RICHARD SCARRY

2010-01-21T17:26:00.000-08:00

I’m a huge fan of Richard Scarry's work of the 60s.As a kid I loved his 70s work & its still ok. But that pen line work and what seems to be use of textas (?) turns me off today. But before hand he had a great sense of construction and use of colour. I really like his colour technique as well. I assume its watercolour. You can’t do better than to go to the local Op shop get to the kid’s book section, grab some of these books and study them.