We're barely into the third month of 2015 and already two new albums are strong contenders for my Top Albums of the Year - they're that good! To be fair, one of them isn't even out yet - getting ahead of myself a bit, for sure. The way this music is hitting me right now, though? Gonna take some mind-blowing new stuff to nudge these from my players. Kind of glad to love two new albums - means less danger of burning out on 'em too quick from repeated listens. Do get a little obsessive falling in love with new music, sometimes...
First? Ryler Walker - Primrose Green (Dead Oceans) - Ryley Walker is from Chicago, and his second album in as many years comes out March 31st - Primrose Green. It's brilliant! Can't wait for the rest of the world to hear this album. For now, it's a personal pleasure, though I've played title track "Primrose Green" on the air a couple times. It opens the album and instantly charmed me first listen. The pastoral vibe here sets the tone much as the lush vegetation on the album cover does. Could talk about how it stirs parts of my musical soul not touched in a long time, and try to dance about architecture - but better yet, hear it yourself:
Walker is a talented finger-picking guitarist, able to elicit full, complex leads and rhythms. While "Primrose Green" has a fairly traditional approach, other tracks on the album play to the improvisational strengths of the jazz musicians Walker has gathered around him, giving a freewheeling feel to the material at times. And though he hails from the states, there's something that feels almost English about this album, as if it's kindred to albums from the late 60s, early 70s, when British bands would sequester themselves off in the countryside to experiment and create their masterpieces.
Vocally, Walker reminds me of folks I hesitate to name- like Van Morrison. I mean, that doesn't seem fair to Ryley. It's not that he sounds like Van. But as he loosens up on songs like "Same Minds", "All Kinds of You", "Sweet Satisfaction" and "Summer Dress", I'm reminded of Van's jazzier period. Again, perhaps better you judge for yourself - "Sweet Satisfaction" is out:
(Edit - "Summer Dress" is up, too!)
There are some nods to folk traditions here, too. "Griffiths Bucks Blues" is an instrumental exercise in furious finger-picking, "On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee" feels timeless and earthy - and very American, actually. But "Hide in the Roses" or "The High Road" wouldn't be out of place in a set of English folk rock by Fairport Convention.
While we hear some echoes of earlier folk rock rock efforts, there's a unique, singular talent at work here, a hybrid vision melding so many things that have come before into a stunning - yes, brilliant - new whole. When it arrives on March 31st, I'll be reminding you - you need to get this album.
Second? The Amazing - Picture This(Partisan) - The Amazing are from Sweden. On their third album they bring shimmering, breathy, shoe-gazey pop to a new pinnacle - and then twist it ever-so-slightly. A few of the songs here seemingly have two parts - for example, the title track opens with a perfect pop tune, then shifts gears and jams for another five minutes or so with a relentless, guitar driven groove. The video is oddly compelling for simply following folks down the street, though the girl we follow through most of it is awfully sweet, might have something to do with the attraction:
I'm a fan of albums - and Picture This has a proper album's cohesion and flow. Much like the songs themselves, the album takes some odd turns and goes darker places than you might anticipate given the ethereal quality of the poppier material - if they occasionally stray into sounding a bit like Snow Patrol, they compensate by veering into early Pink Floyd territory - sometimes within the same song, as on "Fryshufunk" or "Safe Island":
If you're intrigued, here's another that's out for listening:
Lucky for you, this one has been released! Came out just about two weeks ago as I write. Start with the title track - check out that "Picture This" video. Don't mean to suggest the whole album is "out there" - there are a few straight ahead songs as well as the twisty-turny ones, like strummy guitar piece "The Headless Boy" or that clever "Tell Them You Can't Leave". And "Winter Dress" is the perfect closing track - the album's flow wraps and finishes strong with an almost-traditional sounding, beautiful slow-dance of a song.
There you have 'em - my two new favorites, two early 2015 standouts - and there's a lot of strong, new material coming out every day! I've made a playlist anyone can listen to - no apps or subscriptions needed - of many new favorites at 8Tracks.com: http://8tracks.com/brotherzag/new-loves-2015
Close Encounters of the Mob Kind... The purported Godfather of the Depot Fringe just introduced himself to Alibi Jones. See how the conversation between Billy Gentry and Alibi turns out on this episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio!The Adventures of Alibi Jones continue with Chapter Fifteen of the exclusive draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest! Author, reader and host Mike Luoma has a quick "story-so-far", some book news, and then reads you more free audio science fiction adventure – Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Travel to the homeworld of the cat-like race the Dakhur on this episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio! Catch up with Alibi Jones' ex-girlfriend Katie Ramsey and his former Dakhur friend Kit – Kat's brother – on the planet Hur, as The Adventures of Alibi Jones continue with Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest! More free audio science fiction adventure, as author, reader and host Mike Luoma gets you up to date on the story-so-far, shares book news and more, then reads you Chapter Fourteen of the exclusive draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
The Adventures of Alibi Jones continue on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio! Lucky Chapter Thirteen of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest with author, reader and host Mike Luoma. Get a little story-so-far and join in as Alibi Jones,Kat, EmilyandBrisby leave Argentium and head back to the Nest– hear a new episode with the exclusive draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Ryley Walker "Primrose Green"
Tor Miller "Midnight"
Rhiannon Giddens "Black Is The Color"
The Amazing "Picture You"
Lord Huron "Fool For Love"
Laura Marling "False Hope"
Strand of Oaks "Shut In"
Sharon Van Etten "I Don't Want To Let You Down"
Madaila "Give Me All Your Love"
Catfish and the Bottlemen "Kathleen"
Alabama Shakes "Don't Wanna Fight"
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors "Shine Like Lightning"
*(note - I like using their site because anyone can listen to the playlists I create in their browser. Sure, they have mobile apps if you need them, but you don't have to download something just to listen - this is not a paid endorsement, just me saying they're cool. There are restrictions - it will play through in the order created once, but then it changes it, randomizes the order. And you are limited in the number of songs you can include by an artist and from an album).
There's a similar playlist up at YouTube, if you'd rather use their site:
CRUNCH! The last chapter of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest ended with a cliffhanger – or a "crunch-hanger" – find out what damage has been done on this new episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio! Alibi Jones,Kat, EmilyandBrisby found the kidnapped Krish – Dr. Krishnavurti – and the Devrizium power source. But now they must escape small-time crime lord Tony Yang's manor as Solar Alliance forces attack! Can they make it out alive? Find out in Chapter Twelve of this exclusive first-draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Author, reader and host Mike Luoma also gives a little insight into how he writes women and characters in general after the chapter. Plus the usual story-so-far at the start so you can dive right in!
Alibi Jones and Kat have just snuck into small-time crime lord Tony Yang's manor grounds with plans to steal a Devrizium power source and rescue a kidnapped Krish – Dr. Krishnavurti. Emily and Brisby are already at Yang's under the pretense of selling him Haggis. Solar Alliance forces are on the way as well. What could go wrong? Find out in Chapter Eleven of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Our Glow-in-the-Dark Radio exclusive continues – author and reader Mike Luoma runs down the story-so-far, gives you a little news, and reads you more of the first-draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Small-time crime lord Tony Yang has kidnapped Krish – Dr. Krishnavurti – to get the old scientist to make a Devrizium power source work. Emily and Brisby are at Yang's negotiating a sale. And Alibi Jones and Kat are trying to sneak into Yang's manor grounds to try to steal the power source and rescue Krish. Simple, right? Chapter Ten of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest exclusively on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma!
Listen in as Mike gives a short story-so-far, a little news – he did his reading in Montpelier earlier – and then reads you more of the first-draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Alibi Jones and his crew's business manager, Emily, about to leave the manor grounds of crime lord Tony Yang, are stopped at gunpoint – does Yang know Alibi ran a covert scan for the power source he hoped to steal while they dropped off cargo? Find out in Chapter Nine of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest exclusively on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma!
Listen in as Mike gives a short refresher on where we are in the story, a little news – remember, there's' a reading in Montpelier next Saturday, January 24th – and then reads you more of the first-draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Time to deliver the goods! Actual goods. In this case? Lobster... Alibi Jones and his covert-ops team's first mission continues on Argentium, under cover snagging a Devrizium Power Core from the crime boss who runs the planet. More of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest exclusively on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma!
Mike sets you up with a run through of the story-so-far, fills you in on a little news – including a Reading in Montpelier January 24th – and then reads you Chapter Eight of the first-draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
Hear more of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma!Get a quick update on the story-so-far and then listen in as Alibi Jones and his new covert-ops team get into their first mission – delivering seafood as a cover so they can snag a Devrizium Power Core from the petty crimelord who stole it! Chapter Seven – exclusive to this podcast – of the first-draft run-through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
1/22 - Good Samaritan: Unto Dust #1 with Federico Guillen and Ken Lateer and The Adventures of Alibi Jones (Expanded) #1 with Meisha, Rhys ap Gwyn, Juan Carlos Quattordio and Federico Guillen Released at ComiXology!
1/29 Vatican Assassin – The Graphic Novel with Cristian Navarro Released
2/1 Geek Mountain State Presents Vermont Science Fiction – Vermont SF Writers Series – Reading at Phoenix Books in Burlington along with Dean Whitlock, Rob Friesel, Rachel Carter, Ryan Meath and Rachel Mullis
Alibi Jones and his new covert-ops team leave their base - the Hornet's Nest – on their first mission. Find out along with the rest of the ops team where they're headed –and what they're up to – in Chapter Six of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest – on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma – another new chapter exclusive to this podcast!
Finding himself in sudden disfavor with most of humankind within the Solar Alliance, Alibi Jones is glad for his reassignment to a covert-ops base beyond its borders - the Hornet's Nest! Meet his ops team as it comes together in Chapter Five of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma! Mike catches you up on the story-so-far, gives you a little book news, and then narrates the new chapter – exclusive to this podcast!
Alibi Jones thought that the hero rescued the girl and his friends in a blaze of glory and explosions and everybody lived happily ever after – right? Well, there were plenty of explosions... but the girl broke up with Alibi, his other friend hated him, and the fact he – accidently – blew up a crime lord's city all of a sudden became public knowledge. He's public enemy number one? Find out what Alibi Jones' next move might be on a new episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma. Chapter Four of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
There they are, sprouting up all over: end-of-the-year album lists! Looked over Rolling Stone's "Top 50" saying "nope, nope, nope..." Had a teensy bit more in common with Paste's "50 Best" - their Number One is right up there for me, too, for example. Still many "nopes" - but I'd listened to more of their choices. Don't think you'll find another list like mine, however.
Making year-end lists is a fun exercise for music heads. My Top Ten Albums of 2014 are each solid, deep albums, highly subjective choices that spoke to me as a music lover beyond just one or two tunes. I'm allowing for serendipity of time and place, too - I don't think it's a coincidence that the metal of Mastodon's new album was just the thing for me to hear after I'd been in my car crash in April, for example.
2014 was another great year for music! Here's what I thought was good.
10. Greylag - Greylag. After hearing their "Yours To Shake" at a radio music conference in early August, I managed to get my hands on an advance copy of the self-titled debut album from Greylag and loved it!. Had it for two months before I could share it - the album finally came out in mid-October."Another" was released first, as a "teaser track" - a killer track, like "Shake" which followed as the first "single". Clear these guys have something real going on. They're based in Portland, Oregon, have a sort of Northwestern flavor. Lead vocalist Andrew Stonestreet sounds a bit like the late Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, at times Perry Farrell.
Some reviews have described Greylag as a folk-rock band, doesn't seem accurate. Their "folk" sounds more like an acoustic Led Zeppelin influence on tunes like "Black Sky" and "Mama"... is III a folk rock album? They play with some Zep-y chords, but also do their own thing. Greylag know how put an electric guitar to good use, too, bringing menace and tension to "Shake" with its subtle threat, for example. On "Burn On" and "Arms Unknown" they certainly assert their right to shake off the "folk-" appellation. Closer "Walk the Night" is acoustic, but it's like so many album closers in rock history, the the quiet - and satisfying - ending to a rock album. Damn fine one at that.
9. Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun. Have a bunch of friends into hard rock and metal. My taste in that arena runs towards the Progressive Rock variety, when it does at all. Knowing that, many of those friends have recommended Mastodon to me over the last couple of years. I've checked out some videos, cool science fiction stuff, but nothing connected. All it took was a high-speed car accident. Got rear-ended when I was going 65-70 mph traveling down the highway to work one Monday morning in April. Guy who hit me got a DWI. The Camry bounced off the railing a couple times but I kept it together and walked away. Got this album right about then.
Right now? Listening to it to write a sum up... it's not the right album, you know? But it was such the right album at the right time, it makes my list. It became my driving album, you see. Yeah. Even helped me get back and forth to Balticon at the end of May. These guys are talented, with three distinct voices and melodic and at times intricate song structures. The entire album may not be in my rotation anymore, but the title track - which reminds me a little of early Monster Magnet - and "Asleep In the Deep" - which I love - are still on my playlist. Sorry, I work in radio, those are my metaphors.
8. Phish - Fuego. They're baaa-aa-a-ack! There's a moment during "Wombat" when they break and sing - "discovered by a man named Wilson!" - and when first heard it flashed through my head - my band's back! No, they don't belong to me. But I have been seeing them play since the Nectars' days. And I was the first radio DJ in the world to ever play them on the air. So, there's that. I'm biased. But also? Picky. That said, "Fuego" - the title track - opens the album strong for me, launching right into a jam, no apologies, Fishman on fire - Fuego? - and Trey with a sweet solo. Great long phrase of a bass line from Mike, tasty key fills from Page. Strong group vocals. This is Phish.
Not a lot of extra stuff here, sound effects, guests - just the band playing music. Okay, some horn players and singers on "Wombat". Fine. Works for me. Different sounds of theirs work for me now, though, it's funny. Rockers like "Devotion To A Dream" used to be more my cuppa, but now it's "Halfway to the Moon" that sucks me in. Still, "Sing Monica" is fun in its simplicity.
7. Pink Floyd - The Endless River. An unexpected album makes an unexpected and late leap onto my list. Had no idea until the news leaked in early July that we'd even get one, final Floyd album. Turned out the late Richard Wright had recorded a great deal of material back during the Division Bell sessions, with David Gilmour and Nick Mason and solo, anticipating a companion release to that album, one comprised of ambient and instrumental music. But The Endless River isn't that album. It's more than that. "Louder Than Words" - the only track with words - sums it up pretty well at the end, giving we listeners the sense of scope and scale they're covered here - this is what's it's been like to be this thing, Pink Floyd.
Gilmour, Mason and company have put together the capstone to Pink Floyd, the swan song, a fond reminiscence of a band gone bye. Filled with Echoes of their musical past, The Endless River recalls every era as they meander through the instrumental soundscape, freely pulling out sonic references from their catalog and recombining them. There are 18 tracks, but many are under two minutes, flowing into each other. The "Things Left Unsaid" intro leads into the sort of "Welcome to the Machine"-ish "It's What We Do" and the Wall-esque "Sum", then "Skins" recalls pre-Dark Side Of The Moon "Saucerful of Secrets". "Anisina" feints towards "Us and Them" before becoming its own slightly separate thing.
Love what I'll call "Allons-y 1/Autumn '68/Allons-y 2" with its opening and closing "Run Like Hell" inspired riffs and tasty keyboard center - my favorite part of the album right now. "Louder..." is a quality Gilmour-era Floyd tune, good Polly Sampson lyrics capturing the mood. Does seem to take longer to get to know instrumental albums - notice repeated listens to this one have me appreciating it more and more. Finally, a Bonus track alert - "Nervana" is a killer little guitar jam. Sounds like they're having fun!
6. Dan Wilson - Love Without Fear. Dan Wilson writes songs my heart sings. Was looking forward to this collection for a while! Got the Deluxe Book version, full of Dan's own drawings and calligraphy - you see his art in his videos for the album, too. Having been a fan since his days in Trip Shakespeare, I'm completely biased - everyone should love this! Many talented friends on here, too: Sara Bareilles, Lissie, Natalie Maines, Sean Watkins, Oliver Krauss, and more. Wasn't a chance this album wouldn't make my Top Ten. Only reason it's not higher? Came out early this year and I hadn't heard it lately. Listening again writing this sum-up... love every song!
Almost doesn't feel like a 2014 album."Disappearing" came out as a single in the summer of '13, follow-up "Love Without Fear" over a year ago. Dan also released some demos earlier - "Songs From the Ballroom" - thru his mailing list, like the majestic "However Long", folksy ditty "Your Brighter Days" and bonus track "Patience". "When It Pleases You" is Dan's version of a tune Sara Watkins released on her Sun Midnight Sun solo album in 2012. Been hearing parts of this album for a while. Still, "A Song Can Be About Anything" came as a fresh surprise - and an amazing pop song - and "Even the Stars Are Sleeping" with Missy Higgins surprising and simply sublime. Nice - now that I've had a break from it, I can listen again fresh!
5. Opeth - Pale Communion. First heard Opeth when they worked with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson on their Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Damnation albums in the early 2000's. Originally Swedish metal, Opeth is evolving into a brilliant Progressive Rock band whose new Prog sound has hints of the old, mellotron and keyboards, soaring guitar solos - think early Deep Purple and Genesis, even The Dregs. On Pale Communion they fully embrace the progressive rock mantle and lose the death metal trappings almost entirely. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt leaves the cookie monster, er, "death growl" vocals behind. Would rather hear him sing - Åkerfeldt has a great voice, reminiscent of pre-Asia, King Crimson-era John Wetton. He's also a talented guitar player - and an unabashed fan of 1970's Prog.
Didn't know I needed a good, new Prog album until "Eternal Rains Will Fall" opened and began the unfolding - an inner chord was sounded. There's still a hard edge to much of the album - the hard rock side of Prog, not the neo-metal Prog of bands like Dream Theater. "River" is my favorite - opening with a delicate, Steve Hackett-esque acoustic guitar and layered harmony vocals, adding stately keyboards and intensity, the piecebuilds to a near-metallic crescendo before easing to a close. "Moon Above, Sun Below" is an almost 11-minute-long epic. Instrumental "Goblin" recalls The Dregs as it repeats a riff in diabolical fashion in a style also similar to Wishbone Ash on "The Pilgrim". This is Progressive Rock for 2014 and beyond.
4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Hypnotic Eye. Got this one early, but couldn't share the music right away. Embargoed by Warner Bros. until release time, all I could do is tell people how good it was - that Petty and the band had delivered some of his best stuff since Wildflowers! Great summer record, too. First song we could play was advance track "American Dream Plan B" - a pretty killer tune with a nice uplift to the chorus - but "U Get Me High" was the single, good Petty. Getting the entire album was a revelation.
I'm an old Petty fan - but Mojo didn't do a lot for me. To be honest, Echo, The Last DJ, Highway Companion... they've been good, some tracks keepers for sure - still have my "Swingin'" promo baseball bat - but as albums? Just okay. Hypnotic Eye doesn't weaken like those others. If rock ruled the radio as it did in the days of Into the Great Wide Open this would be a deep album on the air, with "All You Can Carry", "Red River", "Forgotten Man" and "American Dream..." all seeing play. And Petty's other facets are on strong display, too: funny on "Burnt Out Town", epic on "Shadow People"...named almost every track on the album! It is that good. Highly recommended for Petty fans.
3. S. Carey - Range Of Light. Love it when something hits me out of nowhere! I wasn't familiar with Sean Carey's work before listening to Range of Light - quietly unfolding, erupting, simmering - stark, yet surrounded by the silences - like walks in winter woods. He's best known as the drummer and back-up vocalist in Justin Vernon's Bon Iver - so I learned. This is his second solo effort, and Vernon appears in a back-up capacity, most clearly evident on "Crown The Pines". My favorite is "Fire-Scene", but "Creaking" is close - all of "side one" is strong. There is a serenity throughout the album, and the video for "Fire-Scene" captures visually the feelings the work evokes.
2. The War On Drugs - Lost In the Dream. Didn't know I was going to love this one. Some albums slowly sink in under the skin - this was one. Though "Red Eyes" was the first single heard from the whole, I grew to love Lost In the Dream because it was such a strong entirety. The flow of the album made it a great driving record - listened to it in the car a lot. Then it seemed I was hearing it many places as it caught on. "Eyes To the Wind", "Burning", "An Ocean In Between the Waves" and opener "Under The Pressure" - there are so many beautiful, spacey, guitar-filled moments! Was great seeing Adam Granduciel and the band bring the songs alive in the misty rain of a September night on the Burlington waterfront, too - their set during the Grand Point North Festival was sublime.
1. Midlake - Antiphon.Though the album appeared in late 2013, I first heard Antiphon's lush harmonies and stately keyboards in early January, making it my favorite album this year. My list, my rules. I'd not heard of Denton, TX's Midlake before, so was not at first aware Eric Pulido had stepped forward as frontman to replace departed singer and songwriter Tim Smith. Smith left, but the rest of the band persevered, not bringing in anyone new but instead drawing strength and inspiration from each other - and their determination to carry on. "Antiphon" means "call and response" - and the band's response is strong, creative, and an overall impressive effort.
There's a timelessness to the music crafted by the six-piece. Harmonies recall modern Fleet Foxes, but pre-1970's Prog Rock as well. With Smith at the lead, Midlake had drawn comparisons to Jethro Tull. There's less of a Tull feel here than on their earlier material, but it remains rooted in the progressive rock realm with echoes of early Pink Floyd and Moody Blues. "The Old And The Young" received some airplay - trust me, I know these things - and the video is pretty cool. You can listen to the entire album on YouTube. Set it for "HD" for best sound. From the opening title track, through gems like "It's Going Down" and "Aurora Gone", to the finishing "Provider Reprise" it's an aural treat!
That's my Top Ten! Completely subjective. Loving the music of 2014!
Want to go deeper into 2014? Check out this mix at 8Tracks - you can listen for free to almost 2.5 hours of 2014 tunes: http://8tracks.com/brotherzag/because-i-hear-everything 32 tracks, including selections from the albums above and a bunch more, curated by yours truly.
Last episode, a ghost appeared on the bridge of Hector Ruiz's spacecraft, the Libracampista. We also found out Alibi Jones' responsibility for blowing up Kismet had been newly made public, which can't be good. Find out how, and why the accident is now being used against Alibi Jones, and what Hector and his crew do next, on this new episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma. Listen to Chapter Three of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest – you'll only find the new podcast novel here!
"About Time" - "Remember Two Things" - "Memory, Yet Green" - and "The Last Battle" - tell the story of the time-travelling aliens The Devrizium and their attempts to wipe out Alibi Jones. Circumstances have somehow made Alibi's very existence in the current time-stream a threat to The Devrizium's own continued corporeality.
"About Time" - Alibi runs into an old... friend? She's brought a mysterious package with her and a whole lot of trouble on her trail!
"Remember Two Things" - The appearance of The Devrizium in "About Time" was just the beginning. The only problem is that now, Alibi remembers that incident happening two different ways! Time itself may be broken.
"Memory, Yet Green" - Alibi Jones is a 91 year old man waking up next to his wife as the blue sun rises on Rigel 4. Only problem? Alibi doesn't remember growing old!
"The Last Battle"- The Last Battle of the Time War! Alibi is captured and hauled before the ruling council of The Devrizium to answer for his "crimes".
Announced a new contest yesterday - a chance to win a signed print of Alibi Jones' Universe or a flawed-cover copy of VATICAN ASSASSIN - also signed.
The first person whose review of Mike Luoma's Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast appears in iTunes wins!
It's my attempt to add some incentive to the iTunes Podcast Reviewing
Process. There are no reviews on the podcast right now. The first person
whose review is posted will win a signed, limited edition print - one
of the three made of Alibi's Universe.
Just head over here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-luomas-glow-in-dark-radio/id428799466?mt=2 If
you want to get in on this, post a review, and then email me at
glowinthedarkradio@gmail.com to let me know you have. We'll watch the
iTunes page. The first person whose review appears win the print. The
second person whose review appears will win the runners-up prize - the
new bad proof copy of Vatican Assassin that arrived this week from Lulu!
The crew of the Libracampista investigates a mysterious, giant old spaceship that appeared out of nowhere. Meanwhile, Alibi Jones struggles with boredom, Krish fights for his budget, and Kit and Katie verbally spar on Dakhur. Conflict is in the air! Catch up with our characters as we get into more of the brand-new science fiction adventure Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest – our exclusive presentation of the podcast novel continues! Hear Chapter Two on this episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio, with host, writer and reader Mike Luoma.
CONTEST! Mike announces a new contest, too – your chance to win a signed print by Mike – Alibi Jones' Universe. There's a runners-up prize, too – get all the details on how to win on the podcast. In case you need it, here's a link to this podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-luomas-glow-in-dark-radio/id428799466?mt=2
A brand-new installment in The Adventures of Alibi Jones starts on this show - a first-draft run through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest. Free science fiction audio adventure in a classic vein, narrated by writer Mike Luoma – exclusively here on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio! Alibi Jones rescued friends from Kismet, accidentally blowing up and destroying the place in the process. Fought a Time War against the Devrizium everyone strangely forgets. Now he's been sidelined, and the inactivity has him bored. Never good. What's next for Alibi Jones? Meanwhile, out beyond the border of the Solar Alliance an ancient, giant, derelict ship has materialized. What is it doing in human space?
Discovered a massive screw-up with the formatting on my VATICAN ASSASSIN this week - both on the eBook and the paperback. I *think* it happened a couple years ago when I switched from Open Office to Word for word processing, but I'm not sure. It's fixed, now.
About one-third of the text in the book – and so in the source file – which should have been in italics had, for some reason, reverted back to normal text at random, sporadic intervals! Where three paragraphs had been in italics, now only two would still be italicized, the other back to normal text. One sentence would hold its italics, the one after revert back to normal. Here and there formerly italicized phrases somehow reverted back to normal, throughout the book.
That meant much of BC's inner monologue was now out of context. And though thoughts can be in different tenses, as speech and dialog can be, with the italics removed the book now read with jarring changes in tense in what looked like the narrative, not BC's thoughts.
Discovered all of the new editions of VATICAN ASSASSIN I'd created at the end of 2012 suffered from this flaw, paperback and eBook. I was horrified. Baffled as well. Again, I don't really know how it happened, but I figure it was somehow tied into that change in word processors. Maybe switching from Open Office to Word caused the reversion? It's purely a guess.
Thursday night I started going through the source file re-italicizing BC's thoughts. Even spent some time on it before going out on Friday night. Saturday morning I started through the file a second time, catching phrases and words I'd missed first time through.
With the text corrected, I then prepped the files for all the different eBook stores and printers, uploaded them, and began getting the corrected version back out into the world again in the afternoon. That's why the podcast was so late on Saturday – wanted to get the text corrected first.
One consolation is that the eBook is Free and thus easy to replace.
The corrected eBook is already available at Amazon for the Kindle, at DriveThruFiction and at Smashwords. Other eBook retailers will catch up later as distribution filters the new version out. Paperback distribution takes longer. It will be a little while before the paperbacks arrive at Amazon and most other retailers. You can pick them up at Lulu right now.
The Vatican Assassin Trilogy – Omnibus Second Edition also suffered from this formatting error, and is also now fixed. As it retails for $6.99, I'll personally replace anyone's copy in the format of their choice. Just email me and let me know where you bought your original and in what format, and I'll send back a corrected copy. Although, if you purchased yours through Drive Thru you should be able to just grab the freshly corrected files from them. They're good like that. The Omnibus has been corrected at Drive Thru, Amazon and Smashwords, with distribution elsewhere in the pipeline.
Hear the conclusion ofVatican Assassin - Chapter Thirty-One - on a brand-new episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio! And get a preview of the next book in the Trilogy, Vatican Ambassador! The UTZ Battle Cruiser Eisenhower drops BC - the Vatican Assassin - off on the Moon. What's left of Lunar Prime after the attacks? Find out along with BC! Science fiction audio adventure narrated by writer Mike Luoma. Get a little story set up, hear the latest news - including some important format news - and then the end of Vatican Assassin!
Be sure to listen to our next episode as Mike presents a brand new installment in The Adventures of Alibi Jones - we get into a first-draft run through of Alibi Jones and the Hornet's Nest!
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Listen and find out what's going on... And hear Chapter Thirty – the penultimate chapter - ofVatican Assassin on a brand-new episode of Glow-in-the-Dark Radio! Science fiction audio adventure narrated by writer Mike Luoma.BC - the Vatican Assassin – escaped Fortune Station on the UTZ Battle Cruiser Eisenhower when the UIN attacked. They're heading to the Moon to reinforce the UTZ forces under fire there, with BC along for the very dangerous ride... Come along, won't you? Get the story-so-far, the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT with some other cool news, then Chapter Thirty of Vatican Assassin!
