The Ex

The Ex (Pinnacle Books Fiction)
$4.99
It's hard to believe that _The Ex_ was written by the same author who gave us the excellent Fred Carver detective series. Those books had memorable characters (who can ever forget the corrupt cop, McGregor?), compelling plots, a keen sense of place, and an anti-hero protagonist we could care about. The same can be said for his Alo Nudger series.

This book has none of that. It's like a script from a bad TV movie. The characters are cardboard cut-outs, and the plot is utterly predictable. The final scene is completely illogical. The prose style is prosaic and simplistic--very much unlike the wry, terse style in the Carver books. It wouldn't surprise me if this one was ghost-written.

Lutz has won many awards for his earlier detective novels. I suppose he's moved into mass-market commercialism so he can bank some money. Can't blame him--but too bad for his long-time fans.

Dizzy Spells
$14.98
I love this band, and think that they are among the most unique in all the history of post-punk. Here, they manage to continue to grow artistically, even though there is a definite continuum from their earlier recordings to this one. Combining polyrhythms, atonal guitar noises, and brilliantly incisive lyrics makes for a great recording, my favorite of 2001.This is a great place to start for those who want to check out this band.

Singles. Period. The Vinyl Years 1980-1990
$15.98
The Ex are committed philosophical idealists and political activists, who also happen to be a long existing and deeply influential punk band. The Ex - from the Netherlands - formed in the late '70s, and began recording in the early 80s, releasing singles, EPs and LPs on various indie labels, and participating in the creation and maintanence of politcal punk scenes in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere. This recording compiles much of their early work, and sounds very raw and abrasive, as well as minimalist and lo-fi. Most of the songs are sung in English (though some, such as Lied Der Steinklopfer, are not), and offer socially critical and political themes and topics. While a number of the songs sound a bit same-ish, some do stand out. Among these are Human Car, which explores the analogy of man:machine, and does so over classic hardcore punk riffs, and some of the more explicitly topical or political songs, such as Cells, Weapons for El Salvador, Enough is Enough (which also features a kind of Middle Eastern sounding motif within the song), and the dirgelike Memberhips. Highly recommended for fans of noise bands and/or leftist message oriented punk. Perhaps less so for the casual listener.

The Ex's members have included: G.W. Sok, Andy Ex, Tom Greene, Terrie Hessels, Terrie Ex, Katrin Bornfeld, Wineke T. Hart, Luc Klaassen, Jos Kley, Sabien Witteman, Ren���, and Geurt

Turn
$16.98
At first blush the music here seems too minimalist to maintain attention. After the first go round of this pair of CDs I put it in the "try again later" stack. Very rhythmic, predictable, and eventually, entirely enchanting punk rock. When I did pull it out again it struck me just right. Fans of skronky, nonmelodic, pulsing noise rock will rejoice.
What makes the Ex stand out from 10,000 other bands that can and do sound like this? Good question. You'll have to give it spin on your player to find out.
Execution counts for more than technique sometimes!
But the drumming is what keeps it lively. Rich pulsing percussion. At times reminds me Savage Republic, mixed with the non-casio side of Trio.