Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Full Cast Audio (Audible, 2025)

One last Short Take for 2025. I finished listening today to the adaptation of the first Harry Potter book.  I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies, basically once. (My wife can quote whole passages by heart.)

We have been fans of HP from near the beginning.  I have the dubious honor of having gone to a bookstore at midnight to pick up each of the last two books, which my wife started reading until she couldn’t keep her eyes open, and leaving the next day open until she was finished. (At which point I was allowed to read them.)

This production is well-done, clocking in at a little over eight hours.  None of the voices are jarring.  Part of the fun is coming upon some of the more well-known names as you hear them for the first time, but I have to give special kudos to Michelle Gomez as Professor McGonagall.  I enjoyed her performance the most!  “Full-cast Audio” means there is some music, background noise/effects, and ‘Foley’ effects like footprints or creaking doors, with many different voice actors for the characters.

I got this free from Audible on a special sale.  With all of the controversy that J.K. Rowling now stirs up, she’s joined that category of creators where you really wish they’d just keep their mouths shut.  In hearing this audio version, it’s nice that her work still brings enjoyment.  I’ll be looking for more sales or deals to hear the rest of the series.

 

The Dirk Gently Graphic Novels (IDW, 2016-2017)

After hearing the Douglas Adams audiobook earlier in the year, I was again interested in the ancillary Dirk Gently stories published by IDW starting in 2016.  These were tie-ins and publicity to the BBC America series that ran for two seasons.  I had collected most of the stories as individual issues but not all of them, so I was delighted to receive the three volumes collecting three separate story arcs: “A Spoon Too Short,” “The Interconnectedness of All Kings,” and “The Salmon of Doubt.”

If you’ve never read Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency or The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, the original novels by Douglas Adams, start with those. The comics play in that world but are not adaptations.

I am more of a Hitchhiker’s Guide fan, but as an adult I have come to appreciate the absurd, and Adams did well with Dirk Gently. Arvind Ethan David has acquitted himself honorably with the characters and tone of the original.  In particular, the Salmon of Doubt intertwines the TV version of Dirk Gently somewhat and I find myself wanting to go revist the 18 episodes of the show.  (In researching I found a 2010 version done on the BBC that was just four episodes that is on BritBox. More to watch!)

Back to the comics: these collections are good, filled with the variant covers of individual issues and a couple of actors introducing the volumes.  I’m not a huge fan of the artwork but it’s not bad.

 

Some Thoughts on Al Jardine and The Pet Sounds Band

Live at Maryland Hall, Annapolis, MD September 13, 2025

The older I get, the more I treasure experiences. This is apparently not an uncommon way to age.  I think that Al Jardine must feel the same way. How else to explain someone that would take a ‘new’ band out on the road at age eighty-three, except that he wanted to keep building new performance memories?

I had the joyous experience of watching Al front the core of what had been Brian Wilson’s backing band, with some newer players. Most band members are no stranger to Al, as he toured with Brian as a featured player for the last several years Wilson toured.  I was lucky to get a front row center seat for the concert at a remodeled high school now used for a variety of performing arts performances and education.

In what had been a model used by several of Wilson’s tours, the first set of the performance was an overview of the ‘greatest hits’ of the Beach Boys with some deep cuts thrown in the mix.  I was happy to realize that the band expanded their tour setlist with an energetic “Dance, Dance, Dance” in this set.

I’m the kind of fan that likes to hear the ‘deep cuts’ even more than the hits. This show brought out three songs from the maligned “M.I.U. Album” of 1978. While “Come Go With Me” has been a staple for some time, it was wonderful to hear “Sweet Sunday Kinda Love” and “She’s Got Rhythm” done live after all these years!

After a brief intermission, in the second set the band played about three-quarters of the Beach Boys’ Love You album.  Overlooked in its 1977 release, the album has gained ‘street cred’ as the most heavily-influenced by Brian Wilson in the band’s later years.

Why does a band need three people on keyboards? Well, when you areDarien lead playing the synth-heavy Love You one needs Debbie Shair along to help replicate the sounds, besides all that she did for synth horns etc. on other songs.  Debbie’s energy all night was entertaining to watch, and she’s been playing with Al for several years.

The night ended with a quartet of songs that count among the Beach Boys’ most well-known songs. As popular as it is, though, I really don’t ever have to hear “Barbara Ann” again even as I acknowledge it’s a fun one.

One of the advantages of seeing a band up close is noticing the interactions. Matt Jardine had the sound crew adjusting his monitors throughout the night. Matt is the workhorse of the band, carrying most of the lead parts including the iconic falsetto originated by Brian.  It’s not easy to sing those parts but Matt’s determination rewards the audience with something beautiful to hear.

Darian Sahanaja handled several Carl Wilson leads; the biggest surprise of the night for me was how Gary Griffin sang the “low Brian” leads of Love You with an accuracy coming from a place of love and respect.

Rob kickin'Rob Bonfiglio handled his vocal parts well and shined on the guitar. It looked like he and Al had a good time playing together.  Filling out the band were Bob Lizik on bass, Mike D’Amico on drums, Jim Laspesa on percussion, Emeen Zarookian on guitar, and newcomer Brendan Carniaux on saxophone.

It’s time to talk about Al!  His voice has held up very well. My observation is that older singers fall into a mode of “talk-singing” and while Al did this at times, I saw him singing his parts just like Brian taught him all those years ago as well.  Al has made some concessions to his age and status as front man. He’s consistently using some kind of teleprompter, and even then had a few issues here and there with the rhythm of the vocals. A ‘prompter for vocals is understandable, with most of the Love You material not being performed in decades.  Much as he did for Brian, Matt is by his father’s side and ready to assume a steady lead to keep the show going.

Don’t get the impression that I am down on Al Jardine.  Several times during the night he talked about, and to, Brian.  With these performances he is showing his love and respect for the output of the band he helped found.  I had a blast watching Al perform, and a personal highlight of the night was when he acknowledged my copy of his Sloop John B children’s book that I waved at the end of the song’s performance.  An Al Jardine show is highly recommended!

John created a small playlist with video of songs and snippets shot during the concert on YouTube.