I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: WEAKERTHANS–Reconstruction Site (2003) & Watermark (single) (2001).

I heard about the Weakerthans in, I think Esquire, of all places, in their Canadian Bands You Must Listen To article. They were described as more literate than The Decemberists, and even thought I have not actually included a Decemberists album yet, my love for them is pure. So I thought I’d check them out. Turns out the main Weakerthan used to be the main guy in Propagandhi, a fun, overly political punk band that I enjoyed when I was feeling overly political myself. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the Weakerthans keep a similar musical sensibility: catchy pop punk stylings, yet they are less angry and more introspective. The music is not as brash as other pop punk bands, in fact there are even some quiet parts! The music is never complicated, but it’s not derivative either, at least as un-derivative as pop punk can be. But it’s the lyrics that really stand out, and even bring something extra to the rather simple musical arrangements. Sometimes bands will have elaborate titles to songs that turn out to be either instrumental, or even about nothing much at all; however, the Weakerthans mean what they say in their elaborate titles. “Plea from a Cat Named Virtue” is a funny/sad story about a cat speaking to his new owner who “drinks beer and watches TV, and this isn’t really interesting to me.” Meanwhile “Our Retired Explorer (Dines With Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961)” discusses Derrida, as well as Antarctica. And, then of course there is “One Great City” with the repeated line of “I…hate…Winnipeg.” The single is 3 songs, two of which are live. It’s a slight work, and certainly nowhere to begin appreciating the band, but the live pieces are quiet and really show of the lyrical quality. Stick with the full length though!

[READ: June 18, 2007] McSweeney’s 23.

After a day, I decided I couldn’t leave my review of McSweeney’s without talking about the stories. It just pressed on my mind too much. So here goes:

WELLS TOWER-“Retreat”
An odd little tale (aren’t they all, though) about a man who visits his brother in the woods of Maine. A tale with three characters, lots of booze and hunting. Not my usual preferred genre, but the end scene with the moose is pretty riveting.

RODDY DOYLE-“Black Hoodie”
As I said before, this story is great. The selling point is the style. Roddy is able to capture the young Oirish lad’s voice very convincingly, accent and all. It concerns a couple of kids who start the Black Hoodie Program (I think it’s called that) for a class project, wherein, he and two friends steal items from shops and then return them to show the shop owners how poor their security is. Of course, it goes horribly wrong. Funny!

SHAWN VESTAL-“About as Fast as This Car Can Go”
A disturbing little story about a boy whose father gets out of jail and continues to be a very poor father, indeed. The writing is sharp and vivid, even if the story is morally ambiguous.

ANN BEATTIE-“Girls in Bad Weather”
There are really two parts to the story: the old folks on their way back to hurricane-ravaged Miami, and the young lad they put in charge of returning their dog to Miami; and the behavior he gets up to during the hurricane. What makes the story work is how, somehow, you can practically hear elevator music in the background of the part with the old folks talking to their realtor, and then heavy techno when the story returns to the boy and his suddenly quiet “date.” The dog survives, by the way.

CHRIS BACHELDER-“My Son There Exists Another World Alongside Our Own.”
Essentially a note from father to son encouraging the son to not be afraid of scoring with the ladies. It is funny and dark, and very short.

DEB OLIN UNFERTH-“Bride”
A story that takes a weird right turn on the highway. Essentially a man decides to visit his former love on her son’s birthday to try and whisk her back into his arms. Clearly a doomed idea from the get go, but when he runs into a wedding party at a bar…. Weird and unnerving.

CHRISTOPHER STOKES-“The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller”
Not an allegorical title, by any means. A highly amusing story about native New Guineans who host the son of the wealthy patriarch. M Rockefeller is an excitable lad interested in native cultures. So much so that he learns the language well enough to mispronounce “I love this food” as “I am a monkey fucker!” The poetic side of the native carver is well explored, making this story deep as well as funny.

APRIL WILDER-“The Butcher Shop”
A story of a man slipping into dementia as his (unwanted) divorce begins to take its toll on his friendship, and specifically his dinner. The title refers to his desperate need to send back his enormous porterhouse steak because it is not rare enough. Once again, weird, and yet somehow, insightful.

CLANCY MARTIN-“How to Sell”
I never really got into this story, for some reason. It plodded along a bit too much for me. It focuses on some small time jewelers/con men and their exploits with The Polack, a woman who beguiles the narrator.

CAREN BEILIN-“I’m the Boss So Do What I Say.”
This is a trippy little story of a young lad on the Jersey Shore who overstays his welcome and definitely over thinks his actions. Again, a weird little story, but familiar to lovers of the Jersey Shore.

To see the original post about this issue, click here.