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Archive for November, 2008

Simon Rich–Free Range Chickens (2008)

Posted in Faith No More, Funny (ha ha), Kid Koala, Kool Keith, Mike Patton, Mr. Bungle, New Yorker, Norah Jones, NPR/PRI/PBS, Peeping Tom, Religion, Set at School, Short Books, Simon Rich, Smarty Pants, The Sound of Young America, Time Travel on November 28, 2008| Leave a Comment »


GsimonSOUNDTRACK: PEEPING TOM-Peeping Tom (2006).

peepingPeeping Tom is one of the many side projects that Mike Patton (known mostly as the vocalist for Faith No More) has created in the last few years.

As Faith No More moved past “Epic” into their later releases, it became increasingly clear that Mike Patton was one wacky little monkey.  And as he moved into projects like Mr. Bungle and his solo releases, he really let his freak flag fly.

Peeping Tom has Patton collaborating with all kinds of people.  And it is a surprisingly accessible record (even though it is still pretty unusual).  The album has a sort of hip hop feel to it with loud pulsing drums on most of the tracks as well as collaborators like: Kool Keith, Amon Tobin, Doseone, Kid Koala, and uh, Norah Jones.

“Five Seconds” starts as a pretty straightforward song, but the chorus of him counting/shouting 1 second, 2 seconds… faster and faster, takes on a new meaning of sinister.  “Mojo” has fun with Britney Spears, although the fun is in lyrics only, as the song is a heavy blast of illicit substance references.  The third track “Don’t Even Trip” continues this carnival of dementia with the wonderful lyrics, “I know that assholes grow on trees, but I’m here to trim the leaves.”

The middle of the album is less manic, it slips into some really catchy trip hop moments with the guests taking some control of the songs.  Kool Keith raps on “Getaway” allowing Patton to take charge on the choruses, while “Caipirinha” sounds very smooth and jazzy, as any song with Bebel Gilberto should.  “Celebrity Death Match” has a very funny vibe to it, not unlike Kid Koala’s tracks. The final track “We’re Not Alone” says it’s a remix, although it’s not a remix of any tracks on the disc.  It returns to the heaviness of earlier in the album.  And near the end it sounds not unlike a Foo Fighters track (despite its slow-paced and falsettoed verses).

But probably the most fun/giddy song on the disc is “Sucker.”  In it, a whispering, sultry, derisive Norah Jones sings the line, “What made you think you were my only…lover?  Truth kinda hurts, don’t it mother…fucker?”

There are many many moments on this record that seem borderline commercial, yet the schizophrenic nature of Patton’s songwriting means that those moments are quickly replaced by something else.  Compared to say Fantomas, this is a very commercial disc, but fear not, Patton fans, there’s enough weirdness on here to keep you coming back.

Plus, the album packaging is really cool. You pull open the tab on the right side and the disc slides out on the left side. There’s a keyhole cutaway that reveals different layers as the package opens, too.  Very cool.

[READ: November 22, 2008] Free Range Chickens

I had forgotten my book for lunch time reading today, and I didn’t want to start anything big, so I was thrilled to see that we had gotten in Free Range Chickens (at my request, of course).  It was the perfect lunchtime book as I finished the whole thing in 40 minutes.  (This may be a warning not to buy it, unless you intend to re-read it). (more…)

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Vladimir Nabokov–Pnin (1957)

Posted in 19th Century, Elvis Costello, Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, Russia, Set at School, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Universities, Unreliable narrator, Vladimir Nabokov on November 27, 2008| Leave a Comment »

pnin1SOUNDTRACK: ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS-Momofuku (2008).

momfukuI’ve enjoyed Elvis Costello for many years.  I’m not a die hard fan, but his Best of is often in play in our house.  I got into a little phase where I was buying a bunch of his things, but that has more or less subsided now.  And, since he has become somewhat more classically oriented I’ve basically just stopped listening.  So, when I heard that on this release he was returning to his rocking days, well, I figured I’d give it a go.

My initial reaction was somewhat muted as I thought I’d be getting a whole disc of “Pump It Up”s and “Oliver’s Army,” which you don’t.  But what you do get is almost costelloa condensation of his albums from My Aim is True through to about Spike (a long period, granted, but it makes sense).

The album opens with a few rocking tracks that hearken back to his earlier punkier songs.  Although “No Hiding Place” sounds “fuller” than his 1970s records, it doesn’t sound out of place with classic tracks.  But really, it’s “American Gangster Time” that brings back that classic Costello organ sound.  This track could have been written thirty years ago and would easily fit on any Best Of.  “Harry Worth” hearkens back to Costello’s ballads.  It’s a bit less punchy than say “Everyday I Write the Book,” but the wit is in high marks. “Drum & Bone” has the fun tongue twisting chorus of “I’m a limited, primitive kind of man.”  One of the highlights is “Flutter & Wow” a potentially timeless love song that somehow rings of Van Morrison.  It’s really stellar track.

Side Two (his phrase not mine) starts off rocking once again, and, while “Stella Hurt” rocks pretty hard, it tends to drag on a bit long.  But it quickly moves to another beautiful ballad, “My Three Sons.”  The album ends with “Go Away” another organ-heavy rocker.

And so the album is mixed nicely with some rockers and ballads balancing out the totality of the disc.  Lyrically, the songs are tight and witty.  The ballads are lovely.  I don’t know if Costello’s work with more more mature performers has affected him a lot, but it certainly hasn’t impacted his ability to write good rock songs.  Welcome back Elvis.

[READ: November 20, 2008] Pnin

pnin2

I harp on the appearance of book covers a lot.  I know that the contemporary covers are fine and they try to retain a consistency for each author.  But, I love this early cover.  I especially like that there’s an artist’s rendering of Pnin himself.  It really paints an immediate picture of the man.

I bought my copy of Pnin many, many years ago, probably right after I had read and enjoyed Pale Fire so much (I had a coworker who really loved Nabokov and insisted that I keep reading him).  It has been sitting on my bookshelf for all this time just waiting for me to read it.  About three months ago, I decided I would like to read all of Nabokov’s works, so I brought it out of the basement and left it next to my bed.  Then, I got the October 2008 Believer.  The first article, “Amerikas,” by Adam Thirwell (excerpted here) was about novels and translations.  And, since Nabokov is a novelist and translator, he was included in the article.  About seven pages into the article is an excerpt from Pnin.  And the excerpt was quite amusing, so, I took it as a sign to read Pnin next.

The most fascinating thing to me about the book is that is told by a narrator whose name we never learn, and whom we don’t actually meet until the last chapter. (more…)

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Eoin Colfer–Artemis Fowl And The Time Paradox (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Broken Social Scene, Canadian Music, Eoin Colfer, Fantasy, Feist, Magic, Supernatural, Technology, Threats, Time Travel, YA Books on November 27, 2008| Leave a Comment »

fowlSOUNDTRACK–BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE-Bee Hives (2004).

bssB-side collections come in a couple of forms: the awesome collection of fantastic rare tracks, the self indulgent crap that only true fans would like, and the middle road.

This collection fits nicely into the middle road.  I’ve enjoyed Broken Social Scene’s two later discs (I haven’t heard their first one).  This collection comes between the second and third.  And it contains remixes of songs from the first two, as well as some instrumental tracks.

The tracks are all dreamy and sort of atmospheric.  It’s definitely the kind of disc that requires the right mood, as the instrumentals are pretty but not exactly pulse-racing.  The highlights are Feist’s rendition of “Lover’s Spit” which is ghostly and haunting.  And “Backyards,” a wonderfully catchy, beautifully sung song that could easily be one of their best.

This collection is not for the casual fan, but if you really like BSS, it’s a worthy addition to their catalog.

[READ: November 1, 2008] Artemis Fowl And The Time Paradox.

fowl2Just another example of how the British cover, while not drastically different, is still much cooler than the US cover.

This is the sixth book in the Artemis Fowl series.  Sarah asked me if you could read any of them without having read the previous ones.  Aside from the first, which you should read just for background information (and because it’s a great story), it doesn’t REALLY matter which you read next.  Although references to previous events do crop up in the subsequent stories, the plot events of each book are not dependent on previous knowledge. (more…)

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Vladimir Nabokov–“Natasha” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2008)

Posted in Loudon Wainwright III, New Yorker, Paul Debraski, Russia, Short Story, Vladimir Nabokov on November 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

ny060913SOUNDTRACK: [REVISITED] LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III-Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up (2008).

loudoWe used Loudo’s “Daughter” from this soundtrack in the birthday video that we made for my daughter.  (We also used Dolly Parton’s “Shine” for the first half).  Because we were listening to the song, I listened to the rest of the disc as well and wanted to make a few extra comments from the last review.

Overall, the disc seems much more upbeat lyrically than his usual fare.  He’s almost always funny, but on this disc, the humor isn’t as sarcastic.  Also, his voice seems gentler, too.  Is this the dawning of a kinder Loudon?  I haven’t heard his latest disc, so I don’t know.  But I really enjoy this whole disc.  The only exception is two tracks which are full band with backing vocals.  There’s something about the tracks being so polished that seem to take away from Loudon’s voice…and really its all about a guy with a guitar. But it’s a small complaint given how good the rest of the disc is.

As for our daughter’s video, we spent I’d say about ten or twelve hours editing, syncing, and making sure the video was more than just picture one, fade, picture two, fade.  We’ve made a video for each of the kids birthdays, but we’re especially proud of this one.  You can see it here:

[READ: November 25, 2008] “Natasha”

I read this story a few months ago, but felt I should re-read it given how little I remembered. So, I re-read it last night.  I think I was surprised by it because of how un-complicated it was (especially compared to Nabokov’s novels).  Well, I learned that the story was written in the 1920s, long before he had written Lolita or Pale Fire, or anything in English.  (more…)

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Christopher Monks–The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life® Or, The Video Game as Existential Metaphor (2008)

Posted in Christopher Monks, Contests, Einstürzende Neubauten, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Marriage (Happy), McSweeney's, Michael J. Nelson, Portishead, Set at School, Super Mario Brothers, Technology, Tekken, Universities, Video Games, Virginity (Loss of) on November 19, 2008| Leave a Comment »

yourlifeSOUNDTRACK: PORTISHEAD-Third (2008).

3rdThis is probably one of the spookiest albums I’ve heard in a long time.  And, boy, do I love it.

Portishead has been away from the music scene for about ten years.  They’d had a couple of hits, sort of gloomy trip hop all held together by Beth Gibbons’ otherworldly voice (“Nobody loves me, it’s true, not like you do”).  But frankly, after ten years I wasn’t even sure if I cared about Portishead anymore.  And then, I heard the songs!

Beth Gibbons’ voice sounds even more ghostly than before.  And the noises that Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley make are totally beyond the pale.  Some of the music sounds like pieces from a late night horror movie.  Take the bizarro verse music of “Hunter,” guitar chords stretched beyond recognition alternating with a keyboard riff straight out of “Revenge of the Cheapo Zombie Monster.” Or the aggressive soundtrack of “Machine Gun,” in which Gibbons sings over a musical piece that is more or less an electronic drum that sounds like a machine gun.  It’s pretty intense.

But just when you think the whole disc is nothing but uneasy listening, they thrown in the beautiful acoustic simplicity of “The Rip,” a simple acoustic guitar playing over Gibbons’ sultry voice, or “Deep Water” a minute and a half of old timey ukulele music.  Of course, these songs are bookeneded by two creepy tracks: “Plastic” in all its eeriness, and “We Carry On” some of the most unusual sounds ever to be called music (aside from Einsturzende Neubauten, of course).

Somehow all of the unsettling sounds work wonderfully together.  And, although I haven’t processed all the lyrics yet, previous Portishead albums would lead me to believe that things aren’t very peachy in Gibbons’ world.  And yet, despite that, I find the album very uplifting and not at all depressing.

Maybe every band should take ten years between records if it yields results this great.

[READ: November 16, 2008] The Ultimate Game Guide to Your Life®

I used to work with the author of this book.  Perhaps a dozen or so years ago, Christopher (just Chris back then) Monks and I worked at Wordsworth Books in beautiful Cambridge, MA.   When I learned that he was writing for McSweeney’s (and has since become the editor of their online website) I was very impressed and happy for him and not at all jealous or seething with envy at his wonderful, picturesque life in the Massacusetts suburbs.  But, more to the point, when I read his works, and his website, he displayed humor that was in little evidence at work.  (Talk about compartmentilization…).

Anyhow, he recently sent a generic email to everyone who has ever written him to say that he has a book out (and would we all go buy it, please).  Well, I’m always game to help someone who over the years I have come to consider a former co-worker. (more…)

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Roddy Doyle–“Sleep” (New Yorker, October 20, 2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Marriage (Happy), New Yorker, Roddy Doyle, Short Story, The Go! Team, Tokyo Police Club on November 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

ny1020SOUNDTRACK: TOKYO POLICE CLUB: A Lesson in Crime EP (2006).

tokyoWhen Toronto’s Tokyo Police Club released their album Elephant Shell, there were quite a lot of rave reviews for it, but almost all of the reviews talked about how great this EP was.  So, I opted to check out their EP first.  And how can you go wrong with a seven song EP that totals about 16 minutes?  Even though I am fond of the long digressive progressive rock style, I also really love really short songs.  And these are short, and very good.

Despite the speed of the EP, and the shortness of the songs, the band isn’t hardcore, and is sort of barely even punk.  Rather, they play high energy, no frills rock.  Their sound is more high end with guitar lines playing melodies and the bass taking a back seat.  The start of the album is a little misleading what with the singer screaming “Operator. Get me the President of the World” suggesting that chaos is forthcoming.  But rather, the songs are very fun, with spazzy guitar lines and really catchy choruses.

“If It Works” even has a break for a second of silence (unexpected in a song that’s only 2 minutes long). “Citizens of Tomorrow” has a few softer moments in it (followed by a chorus that reminds me of The Go! Team). They fit in nicely with the rock revival bands that have been making the rounds lately.  I’m very interested in their full length.

[READ: November 12, 2008] “Sleep”

This is a short, affectionate story by Roddy Doyle.  I enjoyed it very much.  It concerns a long-married couple and how much the husband enjoys watching his wife sleep.  There’s some flashbacks, including the time she slept from Friday night until Sunday morning, as well as some medical revelations that are scary but which he believes they can get through.  It’s nice to read a short, sweet story that, despite the difficulties, ends happily.

It’s available here, and if you’ve not read anythign of Doyle’s (or anything since his earlier funnier works) this is a good story to get a feel for his more mature stories.

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George Saunders–“Hypocrites” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2008)

Posted in Essays, George Saunders, New Yorker, Religion, Short Story, Yo La Tengo on November 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

ny060912SOUNDTRACK [RECONSIDERED]: YO LA TENGO-I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2007)

yolaWhen I reviewed this record a while ago, I had enjoyed it, but it didn’t leave that much of an impression on me.  Well, I just listened to the disc again, and I was amazed by how much I remembered the riffs and choruses of just about every song.  I was also impressed thinking that no matter where you were to drop the needle (as it were) on the record, you’d get a different style of song, one that would be interesting and entertaining.

I think part of the reason last time why I felt nothing really “stuck” is because of the varied nature of the disc.  Typically, Yo La Tengo albums have a “feel” to them, but this one is so all over the place that it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.  But each song, taken by itself, is very strong and very fun: Piano pop (with horns- “Beanbag Chair” and without horns-“The Weakest Part”); Mournful ballad (” I Feel Like Going Home”); Falsetto faux funk (“Mr. Tough”); A winding, beautiful song (“Black Flowers”–which sounds uncannily like Arcade FIre’s “Celebration Guns”); Feedback/folksy 60’s style song (“The Race is on Again,” “I Should Have Known Better” “Point and Shoot”); Memorable keyboards (“The Room Got Heavy”); Garage/Grunge Rock (“Watch Out for Me Ronnie”).  It’s all done very well, and not at all like they are simply aping the styles.

Granted, it is a long album to listen through in one sitting, but it’s still pretty great.

[READ: October 25, 2008] “Hypocrites”

This is a short reminiscence about religion and the nature of hypocrisy.  I assume this is a true story, so I’ll say that young George stumbled upon a priest and a nun making out in the back of the chapel where he was supposed to practice a reading for the day.  He wondered if this one act destroyed all of Catholic faith, since these two were supposed to uphold all that was sacred. (more…)

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Wells Tower–“Leopard” (New Yorker, November 10, 2008)

Posted in Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Grinderman, New Yorker, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Short Story, The Birthday Party, Wells Tower on November 17, 2008| 1 Comment »

tny 11.10.08 cvr.inddSOUNDTRACK: GRINDERMAN-Grinderman (2007).

grindermanNick Cave has been making interesting and varied music for decades.  From his original noisemakers The Birthday Party to his countless albums with The Bad Seeds, there isn’t really a style that Cave hasn’t explored.  In fact his last four albums with the Bad Seeds cover some vastly different terrain right there.

So, why, one wonders, does he need to create a side project?  I’m not sure if the project was his idea or for some of the Bad Seeds to get a chance to play without the others (the other three members of Grinderman are in the Bad Seeds), or if it was just a fun and loose way  to play some tunes, but regardless: with Nick singing, you’ve basically got a Bad Seeds project.

Nevertheless, this project experiments with music in a way that the Bad Seeds haven’t really, or for that matter, in a way that Cave hasn’t since The Birthday Party.  There is a lot of distorted/feedbacky guitar, and strange effects that fill these songs.  In fact, there is no acoustic instrument on this disc…not even Cave’s piano!

“Get It On” starts the record in a suitably raucous way: “I’ve got some words of wisdom. (He’s got some words of wisdom)”.  “GET IT ON! GET IT ON!” etc.  And “No Pussy Blues” is a wonderfully funny blues about, well, the title says it all.  I particularly like that he sings the verses of the song seemingly too long, so that they overlap the “But she didn’t want to” parts where the music changes at the end of the line.  “Depth Charge Ethel” is all chaos and noise and “ooh ooh” backing vocals.  And “When My Love Comes Down” and “Love Bomb” keep up the rocking, noisy experiment.

“Electric Alice” slows things down, but adds to the noise and distortion.  And “Go Tell the Women” is a very funny, borderline spoken-word piece: “We are scientists We do genetics We leave religion To the psychos and fanatics But we are tired We got nothing to believe in We are lost Go tell the women that we’re leaving.” The guitar is simple and plunky and might even come from something Tom Waits did, and it works perfectly.  “Man in the Moon” is a sad ballad, where you might expect the piano, but which keeps the electronics high.

“I Don’t Need You (To Set Me Free)” is the most Bad Seedsesque song of the bunch, and could easily have been on, well, any of his recent records.

I guess in answering my initial question, if there’s a reason to make this a side project release it is to let the Seeds have a lot of fun.  You can feel how loose this record is and tell that it was a blast to make.  Not that his Bad Seeds records are a tight ship of control (see the 15 minute “Babe, I’m on Fire” from Nocturama for an anything-but-tight ship).  This collection also really lets Warren Ellis shine.  I don’t know how much he contributes to the Seeds in general, but his work is all over this, and it’s a fun difference for Nick’s voice.

[READ: November 13, 2008] “Leopard”

Wells Tower is a name that you don’t easily forget. I had read a story by him in McSweeney’s and enjoyed it.  But I think his name stayed with me more than the story.  When I saw his name again, I was intrigued.  The first few paragraphs were also very intriguing so I read on.

The story starts with a youngish boy not wanting to go to school (in a very funny scene, his cold sore is described as a hamburger).  He finally convinces his mother to let him stay home.  But, unlike Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, the story takes a rather dark turn.

We learn about the youngish boy’s stepfather who is a tough disciplinarian and who expects hard work out of him.  He does the work but resents his stepfather greatly.

On this, his day off from school, the young boy tries to avoid his stepfather.  However, he is put to the task of getting the mail—half a mile down the driveway.  He tries to make a point and show up his stepfather by faking an accident in the driveway.  His plans go somewhat askew when it’s not his mother who pulls in the driveway, but a stranger.

The story, although dark, was enjoyable.  It won’t be hard to remember Wells Tower’s name, but I’ll keep an eye out for it in the future. This story also happened to be the second story I read that day (I had just finished the last few pages of Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach) that mentioned splitting logs for the “wood burning furnace.”  Not exactly an unheard of activity, but not entirely common either.  What a weird coincidence.

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Ian McEwan–On Chesil Beach (2007)

Posted in Books about music, Funny (ha ha), Ian McEwan, Jonny Greenwood, Kronos Quartet, Marriage Trouble, Radiohead, Short Books, There Will Be Blood, Virginity (Loss of) on November 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

chesilSOUNDTRACK: There Will Be Blood Motion Picture Soundtrack (2007).

therewillbeThis soundtrack was composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.  I have not yet seen the movie so I can’t speak about its use in the film (which I assume is very good given all the raves I’ve read about it).

Anyone expecting something Radioheadesque will be disappointed in this soundtrack.  There’s nothing electronic or weird (well, not too weird), or anything resembling any of the work he’s done with Radiohead.  Rather, the entire work is “classical”: strings abound!  Now, I like classical music, and I have some favorite composers.  I also like some younger/avant garde composers.  So, the fact that this release is on Nonesuch Records, home of Kronos Quartet (one of my favorite classical artists) among other similarly minded artists should tell you something.

The first two tracks are the most gripping.  I assume that “Open Spaces” is the “theme” of the movie, and the strings are really arresting.  It certainly sets the tone for the movie and the music within.  While “Future Markets” presents a very tense, fast score.  Another interesting track is “Proven Lands” which is primarily percussion with some pizzicato strings thrown in as well.  The rest of the disc consists of very moody, very scene-setting pieces.

By itself the music is rather tense, and you certainly don’t expect a happy ending by the time “Propectors Quartet” finishes up the disc. It sets a dark mood.  As Sarah asked when she walked into the room, “What’s this depressing music?”  That sums it up right there.  I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s used in the movie.

[READ: November 13, 2008] On Chesil Beach

My friend Ailish encouraged me to read an Ian McEwan book several years ago called Enduring Love.  I really enjoyed it.  And they have now made his book Atonement into a film.  But I hadn’t read any other books by him until now.  This book was on our donations shelf at the library, so I grabbed it.

It’s a tiny book…200 pages and the dimensions of a paperback, but it seems even smaller.  I was able to polish it off in a couple of days.

This is the kind of story in which, as they say, nothing happens.  (more…)

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Louise Erdrich–“The Fat Man’s Race” (New Yorker, November 3, 2008)

Posted in Cat Stevens, Dreams, Glen Hansard, Louise Erdrich, Marketa Irglova, New Yorker, Once, Short Story, The Frames, Van Morrison on November 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

tny 11.3.08 cvr.inddSOUNDTRACK: Once Motion Picture Soundtrack (2007).

onceSarah and I saw a preview for this film a long time ago and promptly forgot about it.  Then, she remembered it was called One or The One or something….  Luckily Netflix set us straight, and we rented Once.  We were amazed at how much we liked it.  It’s clearly a labor of love for the creators.  You can tell it didn’t cost a lot of money to make, but the performances are top notch.  What was particularly cool about the movie (aside from the music) was that it starts like a typical romance of boy meets girl: they play music together and he falls in love.  But it very quickly deviates from that path and turns into a much more complex storyline.  It’s not hard to follow, but it’s a lot more complex than you’d at first think.  But clearly the movie is a showcase for these songs.

We were also delighted that about a week after we watched the film. “Falling Slowly” won the Academy Award for Best Song.  That was nice synchronicity for us.

“Falling Slowly” is a beautiful song, as are just about all of the songs on this soundtrack.  Glen Hansard (the redhead in the Commitments, currently of The Frames–who I’ve not heard aside from this disc, but who I’m led to understand are quite good) has a great, strong, rough voice that sounds a bit like Cat Stevens mixed with some Van Morrison.  Marketa Irglova (about whom more in a moment) is a Czech singer with a really heavenly voice.  Together, their harmonies are really something.  His, rough and strong, hers soft and delicate.

One of the strongest songs on the disc, and in my opinion better than “Falling,” is “When Your Mind’s Made Up.”  The movie shows the band recording this song in full in the studio.  I was happy that the scene wasn’t one of those where the band screws up and they do take after take.  Rather, they play it through solidly and it sounds great. It really makes the song stand out in the movie.  And, there’s something about the way that Hansard screams the chorus as it builds to an impossible crescendo that is really breathtaking.

The rest of the disc features more songs from the movie (there’s a special version of the disc with extra tracks but we didn’t feel compelled to get it).  And the selection is fairly diverse within the strictures of his acoustic guitar and her piano.  She has a ballad of her own, and they do many duets.

As for Marketa Irglova, I didn’t know this until I just looked her up, but apparently, she was “discovered’ by Hansard when she was 13, and she toured the Czech Republic and Ireland with the Frames.  Evidently she and Hansard started dating sometime around the filming of the movie.  I’m not really prudish but there’s something about the 38 year old Hansard dating the 19 year old Irglova that’s a little creepy.  Nevertheless, the music they make together is pretty great.

[READ: November 6, 2008] “The Fat Man’s Race”

The author’s name sounded familiar so I thought I’d give this a read.  Then when I saw it was about a page and a half long, how could I refuse?

Recently I’ve read a number of stories that seemed like the weren’t finished.  I am happy to say that despite its length, this story was clearly done.  (more…)

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