I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS-Mass Romantic (2000).

I was introduced to this album via “Letter to an Occupant,” the great sing- along-at-top-volume song that features Neko Case. The title track also features Neko, and her voice is just so dynamic that I really never listened that much to the rest of the album, which features the boys’ singing. Well, after looking up some information about Destroyer, I learned that he was part of the New Pornographers, so I figured I’d give another listen. I was really pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the album. I still think that Neko’s songs really stand out, but that seems to be because she really belts out her vocals, while the guys seem to be more subtle, I guess. There’s only one track with Dan Bejar’s vocal stylings, and it really gets kind of lost in the mix; but it is a really solid song. And, the rest of the non-Neko tracks are equally catchy. I’m glad I re-discovered this album. I had put Twin Cinema on my list of records to get, and now I think I’m going to move it up a little higher. Funny, in all this time, I haven’t listened to any of Neko’s solo work. I keep hearing the “country” music tag attached to her solo work which makes me leery; however, her voice is really great so perhaps I’ll break down that barrier next. (I also wonder how many non-music related hits I’ll be getting from this band name!)

[READ: Summer 2006] Liars and Saints.

It’s often not fair to compare a writer or artist to his or her siblings, especially if they work in separate media. However, in the case, it is essential that I speak of Maile Meloy’s sibling, for were in not for the fact that her brother is the lead singer and songwriter of The Decemberists I never would have heard of her. So smitten am I with The Decemberists, that I would have read anything by any family member. How lucky for me that the family is full of wordsmiths!

Liars and Saints is a fully realized exploration of the Santerre family from Yvette to her great-grandson T.J. Each chapter is written from the point of view of one of the characters (hmm, we’ve seen this before, right Mark Haddon?) But what makes this book really shine is that each character, set in his or her own era, has the right tone for that era. It sounds obvious, but it brings real verisimilitude to the story. And what is the story about, you ask. Primarily, infidelity: sexual, familial, marital; both perceived and realized. While Yvette’s husband Teddy is convinced that his wife is cheating on him while he is at war, Yvette herself is convinced she has cheated on her husband, even though her “rendezvous” with a salesman is largely imagined. While these infractions do not have a direct bearing on the lives of their children, the implication that secrets beget secrets comes to dramatic fruition with the birth of Yvette and Teddy’s late in life baby. And the secrets that are tied up with this young boy who was born in a convent in France…. Intrigued? I hope so. It’s a short book with a lot inside it. And just wait till you read the “sequel!”