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Archive for December, 2008

Richard Van Camp–“Show Me Yours…” (The Walrus, November 2007)

Posted in Canadian Content, Consumerism, Dreams, It's a Wonderful Life, Richard Van Camp, Short Story, The Walrus on December 31, 2008| Leave a Comment »

walrusnov07SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Fishbone EP (1985)

fishboneAfter listening to “It’s a Wonderful Life (Gonna Have a Good Time)” at Christmas, I had to bust out the old Fishbone discs, which I haven’t done in quite some time.  So I’m beginning with the EP that started it all.

This EP will always have a special place for me. It is fast, funny, energetic and is an awesome mix of ska, punk and just plain old offensive silliness.  There’s 6 songs.  “Ugly” has the chorus “U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi, you’re just ugly.”  They are surely not the first bunch of people to say that (I seem to recall saying it as a kid myself), but they certainly do it in the most catchy fashion.  It also sets the tone for the EP: fast ska, silly lyrics and totally fun.  “Another Generation” is more serious, but as a good sign for things to come, it is no less catchy, and it highlights the various singers in the band.  “? (Modern Industry)” is a favorite.  It’s just a list of radio stations, but it’s set to an awesome skanking rhythm.  And it’s fun to pick out the stations near where you live (if any are still around 22 years later).  “Party at Ground Zero” will always be an amazingly fun song.  The horns are great, the tune is great.  Everything: great.  “V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.” Twenty-two years later I finally learned that this title stands for Voyage to the Land of the Freeze Dried Godzilla Fart. Thanks internet.  And of course, the last track “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” always made us laugh in college.  It is silly and rude.  As a sensible grown up, of course, I disapprove of the lyrics, but really it’s very funny.

Fishbone was headed for greatness in just a few short years.

[READ: December 26, 2008] “Show Me Yours…”

This story comes from the special Arctic issue of the Walrus.  When the story began I was concerned that it was a story steeped in Inuit tradition as I was pretty lost for the first couple paragraphs. (more…)

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What I learned (26)… Eartha Kitt

Posted in Digression, Eartha Kitt, Funny (strange), Harold Pinter, Paul Debraski, Supernatural on December 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Eartha Kitt died yesterday.  And, yes, I trashed her song “Santa Baby” just days ago.  Andrew pointed out in a comment to that post that, no doubt, it was the last thing she read, and it was the end for her.  And for that I am truly sorry.  It also explains why I have had the song stuck in my head for two days.  It seems that everywhere I go for the last two days…even though I have listened to about a dozen different Christmas CDs without that song on it…it keeps coming back.  To haunt me.  Eartha, I meant no offense.  Please rest easily, and allow me to as well.

Oh geez, and Harold Pinter died, too.  I wasn’t plagued by Pinter, but he was influential to a lot of the authors I enjoyed.  And he was an amusing punchline in Red Dwarf.

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J.K. Rowling–The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)

Posted in Canadian Music, Children's Books, City and Colour, Entertainment Weekly, Fables, Fantasy, Harry Potter, Illusion, J.K. Rowling, Magic, Meta, Short Books, Supernatural, Technology on December 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

beedleSOUNDTRACK: CITY AND COLOUR-Live (2007).

ccliveCity and Colour is the solo project of Alexisonfire singer Dallas Green (get it?).  I was really impressed by Dallas’ voice within the noisy metalcore of AOF.  And I wondered what his solo stuff would sound like without the dissonance of the rest of the band.  I saw this disc was available from Maplemusic and it was considerably cheaper than on Amazon.  A live record isn’t always the best venue to check out an artist but in this case, I figured his solo stuff probably translated fine live as well.  (Still haven’t actually heard a solo record so I can’t say).  The set is also not entirely solo, as he calls out an accompanist for a few tracks (the DVD gives more information about who he is).

In AOF, Dallas’s voice is strong and powerful and yet totally catchy.  His voice is the reason that I like AOF so much.  So I was a  little disappointed in the live release because he seems to be holding back.  As I said, I haven’t heard the original discs, so I don’t know how it compares.  But on some of the songs, he seems too restrained.

The songs are all very catchy, and the between-song banter is fun (it was excised from the CD but is available on the DVD) .  But as I said for some of the songs it’s almost as if he’s inhaling rather than exhaling when he sings.  I guess I find it weird for a punk rocker to be so restrained.  Despite that, several songs do stand out as excellent.  “Comin’ Home” (there are two versions on the disc), “Save Your Scissors” (the second version on the disc is especially fun because the crowd sings along).  And lyrically Green is very interesting.  “Comin’ Home” has some nice name-checking of cities around North America (poor fans in Lincoln, Nebraska, though).

Despite my reservations about his singing, his voice still sounds great.  I’m interested in checking out a studio release to see how it compares.

[READ: December 18, 2008] The Tales of Beedle the Bard

There’s two funny stories about this book:

1) At my library, we received a notice from Scholastic Books that this book COULD NOT be put out before the release date of December 4.  We had to sign a release form promising it would not go out any sooner.  We all laughed about that because, while we knew that Book 7 of the Harry Potter series was going to be HUGE (and we had the same release form to sign for that book) we also knew that this was, at best, an esoteric addendum to the series for die-hard fans only.  (As of this writing our copies haven’t even arrived yet, and there are only eleven holds in our entire system). (more…)

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12 musical things I (we) like about Christmas

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Brian Wilson, Canadian Music, Christmas Album, Comedy Album, Consumerism, David Bowie, Dreams, Funny (ha ha), Holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, Magic, Marriage (Happy), Military, Paul Debraski, Radio, Religion, South Park, Supernatural, War on December 22, 2008| 3 Comments »

After getting the dislikes out of my system, it’s time to bring in the positivity.  Now that I have a lot of different Christmas discs to choose from, I don’t get inundated with the same songs over and over.  This has really allowed me to appreciate the old songs for what they are.

So, here’s 12 things I like about the holiday tune season (in no particular order)

1. “O Holy Night”
oholyI feel like I never really knew this song until I heard Cartman getting cattle-prodded for not knowing the words.   I listened to that version all the time (but I can’t tell if I like that version or the one on Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics better [“Fall on your knees, and hear the angels… something” “VOICES!”]), and what it did was give me a real appreciation for what a cool song this is.  The chord changes are very satisfying without being really obvious.  And, it’s not an easy song to sing.  But I have liked every tooversion I’ve heard: from Cartman to Avril Lavigne (whose first two verses on Maybe This Christmas, Too are the most vibrato-free singing I have ever heard.  I’m quite certain she’s flat all the way through, and yet her voice is so unaffected it’s totally disconcerting.  Tell me what you think…it’s available here).

Sarah: This truly is a beautiful song and I love all its versions as well, from Cartman to Tracy Chapman. I’m not a religious person but I always feel a little holy when I sing this. (more…)

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12 musical things I (we) dislike about Christmas

Posted in Beck, Brian Wilson, Canadian Music, Christmas Album, David Sedaris, Eartha Kitt, Holidays, Johnny Cash, Paul Debraski, Radio, Religion, The Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, Wikipedia on December 22, 2008| 2 Comments »

Last year I listed my 12 favorite Christmas discs.  This year I figured I’d do 12 gripes and 12 raves about Christmas music in general.  Of course, I’ll start with my gripes.

Note: This list only includes songs that we personally own (mostly on compilations we’ve bought over the years).   This is why “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” and Paul McCartney’s “A Wonderful Christmas Time” are not included here, because I don’t own them, so I don’t have to hear them.

This is Sarah here, chiming in as the co-owner of all this Christmas music and lover of Christmas music and person who makes us listen to it all December long.  I felt compelled to butt in, so you’ll see my comments below.

In no particular order…

1. “Santa Baby”
earthaBoy I can’t stand this song.  I know it’s supposed to be cute and racy and risque or whatever, but I simply can’t stand how crassly materialistic it is.  And I’m not one who thinks Christmas is all about, like, Jesus’ birth or being good or anything.  I know it’s all about the presents; however, this song is just….so…wrong.  And if the Eartha Kitt version (the one you hear most of the time) veryspecialweren’t bad enough, the Madonna version (on A Very Special Christmas) is just abysmal.  She sounds like a sexually deranged Betty Boop (which I suppose is not unusual for her circa this release, but still).  Stop trying to seduce Santa!  Make it go away!

Sarah: I concur. (more…)

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Chetan Bhagat–One Night @ the Call Center (2005)

Posted in Chetan Bhagat, Christmas on Mars, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, Racism, Religion, Short Books, Supernatural, Technology, The Flaming Lips on December 20, 2008| 5 Comments »

onenightSOUNDTRACK—FLAMING LIPS-Christmas on Mars (film & soundtrack) (2008).

marsI’ve been a fan of the Flaming Lips for a pretty long time.  I first heard them with “She Don’t Use Jelly” (a novelty hit from 1993…who would have thought they’d have become so amazing) but I really got into them from the time of The Soft Bulletin (and Zaireeka).  Since around this time, Wayne Coyne and the Lips have been working on Christmas on Mars.  It is a “home movie” of sorts that the Lips and some special friends made in their home town (and their backyard).  They recently released the film on CD/DVD.

The film, based on the snippets I saw and everything I’d heard about it was nothing like what I expected.  wayneChristmas on Mars sounds like a cheesy/funny movie about, well, what Martians do for Christmas.  And seeing Wayne as a Martian seemed to confirm my suspicion.  But rather, what you get is a much less joyful celebration.

The movie is structured around a space station on Mars. There are only a half a dozen or so humans on board, and they are all going slowly crazy from a lack of oxygen.  Also on board is a “virgin” mother who is incubating a baby that was born on Mars.  One of the crew believes that the fate of the baby will determine the fate of the entire mission.

It is Christmastime on Mars, and there’s going to be a Christmas party.  But the Santa freaks out and runs outside just as a Martian walks up to the station.  The Martian is “captured” but he serenely walks around the ship, observing, mending and just being there.

There is very little dialogue.  There are really far out-trippy images.  There are lots of really creepy images (the people who let their baby be in the film were VERY trusting).  And there’s lots of vaginal imagery (in whacked out dream sequences) which makes me wonder what kind of MPAA rating this would get.

The film is a little dull at times (especially in the beginning)–although it could have just been that since I didn’t know what I was getting into, I wasn’t in the right mind frame for it…kind of like Eraserhead.  But it definitely picks up, and gets rather suspenseful.  It’s also nice that some “real” actors are in it, like SNL’s Fred Armisen,  AdamGoldberg (!) and Blue’s Clue’s Steve Burns (!!).

What’s most impressive though is the look of the film.  From interviews I read, I learned that Wayne was constructing most of the set himself (and that he got to use an abandoned processing plant for many of the scenes).  He very wisely films in low light and black and white, (with occasional splashes of supervibrant color) but the sets look really amazing.

The Flaming Lips are usually pretty upbeat and positive.  This film is overall pretty dark and negative, although there is always a ray of light shining through it.  I’m not going to give away the ending, though.

The CD is the soundtrack to the film.  It is not for the casual listener, or even necessarily for the Flaming Lips fan.  There’s no lyrics at all.  And the score is very befitting of a “lost in space at Christmastime” movie.  Unlike the typical Lips’ mood, the soundtrack is quite dark (and short at about half an hour).  The overall feel is ambient, but restless ambient.  And there’s very little in the way of tunes.  That’s not a criticism, as it is a soundtrack to the film, it’s just a warning for those expecting another “Waitin’ for a Superman.”  Although I admit it won’t be getting a lot of play in my house.

[READ: December 16, 2008] One Night @ the Call Center

A patron asked me to order Chetan Bhagat’s newest novel for her.  In the process, she told me that this novel, One Night @ the Call Center was very funny, and had finally gotten released over here.  I don’t always listen to patron suggestions, but for some reason this one stuck with me, so I inter-library loaned it.

As the title suggests, this story is set in a call center, and all the action takes place in one night (with some flashbacks).  The characters are six twenty-something Indians living in Delhi.  They work for Connections, a call center for an American appliance manufacturer. And their shift is from 10PM-2AM. (more…)

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Christopher Moore–You Suck: A Love Story (2007)

Posted in Adventure, Christopher Moore, Fantasy, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Funny (ha ha), Green Day, Sex, Supernatural, The Kinks, The Rutles, The Who, Threats, Vampires, Violence, YA Books on December 18, 2008| Leave a Comment »

yousuckSOUNDTRACK: FOXBORO HOT TUBS-Stop Drop & Roll!!! (2008)

fhtThis is the least cleverly concealed “side-project” in rock history.  At this point Billie-Joe Armstrong’s voice is so recognizable, that it’s impossible for him to hide.  But Foxboro Hot Tubs were a way for Green Day to release something different after their mega-successful American Idiot album.

I mean, how do you follow up a number-one reaching concept album?  Answer: drop all pretense, drop all complexity, and churn out a dozen songs that sound like they were written and recorded in your garage.

At first listen I didn’t like the album very much. Well, that’s not true.  I liked the first song, “Stop Drop and Roll” quite a bit, but the rest of the record got a little repetitive for me.  And, worst offense: they TOTALLY ripped off “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks for their song “Alligator.”  I mean, chord riffs, chord changes, even the chorus are so close as to be actually irritating.

It was only after listening more carefully that I realized that FHT rip off a lot more than the Kinks.  And, although not quite a pastiche like The Rutles, the ripping off is more of an homage/twist, rather than just cheesy thievery (because honestly, who thinks that Green Day could get away with ripping off the Kinks’ most popular song?)

On my last listen through I heard “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” in “Sally,” “Roadrunner” in “She’s a Saint Not a Celebrity,” some earlier Green Day songs (like “When I Come Around” ) in “Pedestrian” and “Run Run Run” by the Who in “27th Ave. Shuffle”

After getting past those “influences” the album is mostly fun (especially the flute (!) solo in “Dark Side of the Night.”  They’re clearly not trying to write the next epic, they’re just cleansing their palette before their real follow up.  And, heck, the fact that it actually did quite well in radioland didn’t hurt either.  Foxboro Hot Tubs make some fun garage rock.

[READ: Winter 2008] You Suck

Christopher Moore’s book covers are very striking.  That’s not a good reason to read his books, though.  The titles are also pretty funny.  Which is also not a good reason to read his books.  It’s the content inside that is the reason to read him.  A little while ago I had read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal and it was very fun indeed.  So, I picked up You Suck, which was his most current one at the time.

I didn’t realize it was a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends until after I started reading it, but I didn’t find that to be a problem.  (more…)

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Brian McLachlan & Tom Williams–No Dead Time (2004)

Posted in Alfie, Books about music, Brain McLachlan, Canadian Content, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Oni Press, Smarty Pants, The Divine Comedy, Tom Williams on December 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

nodeadSOUNDTRACK: THE DIVINE COMEDY-Casanova (1996)

casanovaFollowing Promenade, Neil Hannon released Casanova.  Stylistically it is very different.  It features more of a band, rather than an orchestra (although it retains an orchestral feel).  Perhaps because of this, there were three singles from the album, all of which charted in the UK.  “Something for the Weekend” is a wonderfully fun song, full of twists and double crosses, sex and debauchery and, of course, something in the woodshed (all in just over 4 minutes).  It’s a fantastic lead off single.

The second track was the second single “Becoming More Like Alfie.”  This was long before the remake of the movie Alfie, so I had no idea what the song was referring to.  I have not seen either version of the film, but I know now that Alfie is a ladies man, as the chorus leads off, “Everybody knows that no means yes…”

In fact, the whole album deals with sex.  Loving sex, debauched sex.  Sex, sex, sex.

“Songs of Love” follows a few of the more debauched songs with a beautiful ballad of a shy young man who sits in his bedroom noticing that “while they search for a mate/My type hibernate/In bedrooms above/Composing their songs of love.”  The next song “The Frog Princess” was the third single.  It is a sweet and tender ballad of love.  Until you get to the end of the song in which the narrator wonders, “But how was I to know that just one kiss/Could turn my frog into a cow?”

The album is solid and wholly enjoyable.  And it’s clear that Neil wasn’t done with songs about love as shortly after Casanova he released A Short Album About Love.

READ: [December 2008] No Dead Time

From time to time I do an order directly from Oni Press.  I tend to order a bunch of graphic novels at a time, and this was one that sounded interesting.  The general premise is that Nozomi is a young girl who works in a record store.  She’s fed up with the stupid people she has to deal with all day.  (“You were looking for (Led) Zeppelin under Z, weren’t you?”) Meanwhile Seth is an IT guy who is sick of the corporate world, and sick of dealing with his boss.

But really the first thing you notice about this comic, is the totally bizarre looking characters.  (more…)

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Berkeley Breathed–Opus: 25 Years of His Sunday Best (2004)

Posted in Art, Baby Snakes, Berkeley Breathed, Bloom County, Bruce Bickford, Corporate skewering, Frank Zappa, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), NASA, Opus, Political Humor, Secondhand Lions, Smarty Pants, Technology, The Mike Douglas Show, Time Travel, War on December 13, 2008| Leave a Comment »

opusSOUNDTRACK: FRANK ZAPPA-Baby Snakes [the movie & soundtrack] (1979).

babyThis is sort of a review of the soundtrack album to Baby Snakes, but really it’s a review of the film, which I just watched over the last 4 days.  Baby Snakes (A Movie About People Who Do Stuff That is Not Normal) was not as depraved as the subtitle (and the history of Zappa) would lead you to believe.  In fact, primarily it is a concert film.  There are a bunch of other things in the film as well, but easily 3/4 is a live Halloween concert in New York City.

More on that in a moment.

In today’s market, the other parts of the film would simply be packaged as bonus features on a DVD.  The claymation and subsequent interview with the artist Bruce Bickford would be a (somewhat) interesting short film, and a lot of the behind the scenes footage would also go well as a bonus attachment to the concert.

But I won’t get ahead of myself.  The claymation sequences are, frankly, amazing to watch.  There’s a clip on YouTube of Frank on the Mike Douglas Show (which is a trippy/weird thing to watch in and of itself) in which he shows an example of the claymation from the film and from elsewhere. Unlike the amazing work of Aardman on Wallace and Gromit, Bickford’s work is not polished.  However, each new image slowly morphs into the next in a series of mindblowing sequences…there are scenes of sex and violence and driving and mountains and flowers, and naughty bits and vomiting and you name it.  It is the most stream-of-consciousness looking visuals I may have ever seen.

During the sequences, Frank interviews Bickford.  The interview is pretty long, and it sounds like Bickford may be completely stoned. I tuned out a lot of what he was saying.

The backstage footage is the kind of sillydebauchery that you imagine happens back stage: there’s a blow up sex doll, there’s most of the band members telling little stories about what’s going on and there’s Adrian Belew dressing in drag.  But again, the editing is not great, and the footage is just sort of randomly inserted…the worst part is when Adrian Belew is actually talking OVER the Frank and the Devil negotiation during “Titties and Beer.”  Boo!

So, both of these segments could have worked very nicely as their own short films, rather than being inserted into this longer piece.  In fact, the haphazardness of the proceedings seems even worse when you realize that they are no longer inserted into the film after about the two hour mark: the last stretch of the concert is interruption free.  The problem is that the whole film is nearly three hours long, and since he intersperses these interviews/animations in between live footage, watching five or ten minutes of animation feels disjointed (overall, the editing leaves something to be desired)

The live footage, however, is pretty amazing.  Watching Terry Bozzio beat the crap out of the drums while singing/narrating is pretty fantastic.  And Andrian Belew is amazing to watch at any time. It’s also fun to see the percussionist going nuts on what must be a hundred different instruments (including the ever-present Zappa Xylophone.)

But clearly the highlight is watching Zappa.  Zappa conducts a whirlwind percussion jam, giving the musicians the key (A is a triangle of two hands, C is his hand shaped like a C) before getting them to strike their chords.  It is a fun improv moment, and shows that even back in the 70s, he was interested in composing music, not just writing rock songs.

Incidentally, the soundtrack, of Baby Snakes contains many of the live songs from the film,(but not the improv)  including the excellent “Punky’s Whips” and “Black Page #2.”  The soundtrack is short (especially compared to the movie) but is really great.

Watching Zappa solo on the guitar is also pretty amazing.  I’ve listened to all of his guitar solo releases.  And he simply knows the guitar backwards and forwards.  So, this concert is a good way to just sit back and watch him play.  But it’s also a good way to watch him interact with the fans.  Frank is right there with the fans, shaking hands, slapping high fives (and doing this while he is playing an extended solo as well).  His charisma is undeniable.

And his charisma is in great evidence during the audience participation section where some of the thronging masses are invited onstage to enact a scene out of Frank’s imagination (a young volunteer is “whipped” by a young woman whose face is painted white with flowers on it, and her friend Donna U Wanna).  The woman in the white makeup is all over Frank when she’s down in the crowd, too.  While Frank is singing, she starts kissing him and even taking his hair out of a ponytail holder–and he never flubs a word!  What a professional.

By the end of the film you kind of forget about the editing, but in the first 2/3, mostly you come away thinking that the editing is just not very good.  Much of the claymation is repeated (some is repeated three times).  While I understand that Frank reedited the film down to 90 minutes in a failed attempt to find a distributor, and I know everyone is happy to get this unedited version of the film, nevertheless I think the whole film should be broken up into smaller films for maximum enjoyment.

[READ: January 2008 ] Opus

I was a huge huge huge fan of Bloom County back in the day. It was one of my favorite comics, and I can recall doodling Opuses and Bill the Cats during downtime in class.  I sort of liked Outland, but then, I didn’t get a paper, so I never really saw those.  And, lo and behold, I didn’t even KNOW about the Opus strip.  I also just read that he just finished the Opus strip in November.  The final panel is supremely touching and is available here (what appeared in the Sunday paper) and then here (the link that’s in the cartoon).

I found this book remaindered, and figured I’d have to give it a try.  And it filled me with nostalgia! (more…)

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Joshua Ferris–Then We Came to the End

Posted in Books about writers, Cancer as plot device, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Joshua Ferris, Marriage Trouble, Michael Nyman, Pregnancy, Q, Sex, Smarty Pants, Technology, The Beach Boys, The Divine Comedy, Threats, Violence on December 12, 2008| Leave a Comment »

thenwecameSOUNDTRACK: THE DIVINE COMEDY-Liberation (1993).

libeartiuonThis is considered by many to be the “first” Divine Comedy album, even though Neil Hannon released a previous album under the name Divine Comedy (Fanfare for the Comic Muse).  He disowned that album, but, as you do, he reissued it several years later after much demand.

This is the second Divine Comedy album that I bought (after Promenade). And so, because I just reviewed Promenade, this review works as something of a comparison, which is of course, unfair, as Promenade should be compared to this, but so be it.

What I was most struck with, when listening to this disc after Promenade is how, even though the album covers are designed similarly, and everything about the discs suggests they should be similar, just how dissimilar the music is.  Not in a global “who is this band?” sense, but just in the particulars of the orchestration.

With Liberation, there’s no Michael Nyman influence.  Rather, you get some beautifully written orchestral pop music.  Although the orchestra is not terribly conventional: with harpsichord and organ being among the top instruments heard.

In a comparison to Promenade, Liberation is less thematically consistent but has more singles to offer.  “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” (the title of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story, so the literate songwriting is clearly in evidence) is a wonderful pop song.  As is “The Pop Singer’s Fear of the Pollen Count,” (“Even when I get hay fever I find, I may sneeze, but I don’t really mind… I’m in love with the summertime!”) the catchiest ode to summer this side of the Beach Boys.  “Your Daddy’s Car” speeds along on plucky strings and is just so happy, even when they crash the car into a tree.  “Europop” is a fantastic dressing down of Europop songs while still being hugely catchy.

Because I really enjoy Promenade (and Casanova) I tend to overlook this disc, but really it is just as good, and in some cases better than those two.  An air of pastoral glee pervades the record making it a real joy to listen to.  Especially in the summer.

[READ: December 8, 2008] Then We Came to the End

This book has the great distinction of being written in the first person plural (the narrator is “we,” for those of you who don’t remember eighth grade grammar).  This, of course, brings the reader into the story almost against his or her will.   Really, though, as you read it, you don’t think of yourself as being in the book, but rather, that the company that the unnamed narrators work for is something of a collective mentality.  And so it is.

The narrators work at an unnamed advertising agency in Chicago.  The time frame is the late 1990’s to early 2001 and there are lots and lots of layoffs.  Any time someone is laid off, “we” say they are “walking Spanish down the hall” (from a Tom Waits song).  And slowly they watch as one by one, staff are let go. (more…)

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