I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Yield (1998)

This Pearl Jam disc is something of a return to form after the experimentation of No Code.  Part of me feels bad that they experimented less, because I do enjoy a band’s wild side, and yet these songs are uniformly fantastic, and they include some of my favorites by Pearl Jam.

“Brain of J” bursts out of the speakers, as one of their heavier opening tracks.  Catchy and fast.  “Faithful” starts as a ballady song but the choruses once again build into a great sing along.  “No Way” is a more experimental sounding song.  It’s right in the middle of their speeds, but the guitar has a mysterious echo on it that gives it an eerie feel. “Given to Fly” is a classic: slow, building, anthemic.  “Wishlist” is another of Sarah’s favorites: a simple, catchy melody that builds and builds.

“Pilate” is a rather confusing song: “Like Pilate, I have a dog”  Okay.  A gnashing rocking chorus with verses that are actually catchier.  “Do the Evolution” quickly became my favorite Pearl Jam song from the live sets.  This studio version is a little slower, and to me it sounds off.  But it’s such a weird little song, what with the “choir” singing “alleluia” and yet it is just a perfectly tidy punk song.  Certainly one of my favorite PJ songs.  The next untitled song (a red dot) is one of those weird, forgettable tracks that PJ throws on their albums, it’s less than a minute of steel drum inspired chanting.  It’s quickly followed by another of my favorite songs “MFC” a rocking song that sounds like its subject matter (driving).

“Low Light” is a slow song that builds, but it is a very full song; the whole band plays, keeping it from being dull. “In Hiding” has a great guitar opening and one of those great Pearl Jam singalong choruses. “Push Me, Pull Me” is another weird little track, that reminds me of some of the Who’s wackier numbers. “All Those Yesterdays” ends the disc on a quirky song.  It’s catchy but not as catchy as some tracks.

The album ends with an untitled hidden track. It’s a Middle Eastern style guitar solo. Amazon says the song is called “Hummus.”

I really enjoy this disc, it’s a shame it took me so long to discover it as I had given up on PJ after No Code.  But now it ranks as one of my favorites.

[READ: April 24, 2009] “Two Cosmicomics”

I’m not sure why all of these Calvino stories are appearing in magazines all of a sudden.  But after the one in the New Yorker not to long ago, I figured I’d give this one a try, too.
I have to say I’m not all that impressed by Calvino’s writing. I rather like the concepts he’s throwing around, but I find the stories a little tedious in the execution.  This could be a translator issue, or it could just be the nature of the writing itself.

This “story” is actually two short stories grouped together. Both of these stories feature Qfwfq, the same character from the New Yorker story. [I have since learned that Qfwfq is the narrator of all of his Cosmicomic stories in the book of that title.  All of those stories start with a scientific fact (that was correct as of the book’s conception, but may no longer be correct)]. The conceit here is that Qfwfq is an alien who has been living on the earth for billions of years. And yet, anachronisms seems to pop up whenever he tells his stories (leading to humor and often a joking look at current society through the lens of aliens).

The first story is “As Long as the Sun Lasts.”  The premise is that Colonel Eggg traverses the universe to find the ideal place for himself and his family to settle. He chooses the Earth primarily because of the Sun. [The scientific introduction is about the nature of the The Sun and how long it is expected to exist (billions of years)].  After, having landed on Earth Eggg is quite pleased; however, his wife, Ggge is perpetually unhappy.  She is itching to move on, to travel.  Yet all Colonel Eggg wants is for her to say he did a good job finding this place.  To just once say something nice. Obviously, the transplanting of a mundane family squabble is funny in the context of this supernatural setting and yet the kvetching just doesn’t pack the wallop that you’d like. When Gggg finally gives in and says that they will consider moving when the sun looks like it will burn out, Ggge gets so excited that she starts packing even though it’s not for billions of years.  And Eggg gets caught up in a new fight.

The second is “The Meteorites.”  The scientific introduction of this one states that it is believed that the Earth was formed from the dust and detritus of passing meteorites. And so, Qfwfq relates the story about how he and his first wife Xha were the first inhabitants of Earth.  This is back when the Earth was small enough that two people could inhabit it and keep it clean (sweeping and removing debris…Xha is a major neat freak).

Soon though, the debris starts to overtake their cleaning, and the planet begins to get bigger and bigger.  Among the litter that comes onto the planet are Romanesque cathedrals, crypts, coal deposits, and eventually the river Po.  Anachronistically, most of the things are contemporary Earth creations.  He describes trying to store them away to keep the planet neat.

Then one day a woman appears on the Earth. Her name is Wha, and she is not interested in keeping the Earth clean.  She lets the mess pile up and just lives with what she has. He doesn’t tell his wife about the new arrival, and now the Earth has gotten so big that Xha doesn’t know she’s here. Inevitably, he leaves Xha and marries Wha. This story sort of just ends without any great revelation.

Both stories are kind of interetsing and certainly unusual, but I can’t imagine that Calvino gained fame by writing stories like this. They seem like interesting ideas, but not much more than that.