I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE REPLACEMENTS-Pleased to Meet Me (1987).

My friend Al introduced me to the Replacements with this disc way back in 1987.  He was so in love with the song “Alex Chilton” that he must have played it all summer.  And for me, this album is the soundtrack to our summer house at LBI (along with the Surf Punks’ My Beach).  As such, this is my favorite Replacements album.  Whether or not I would feel that way objectively, I can’t say.  But to me this disc is perfect, even without Bob Stinson (blasphemy I know!)

And I have to say that even without Stinson, there’s a lot of screaming guitar solos on this disc, presumably from Paul Westerberg, as I can’t find anyone else who they’re attributed to).  I’m only surprised by this because I thought of Westerberg as more of a rhythm guitarist.

It’s even hard for me to describe this record because it’s so a part of me.  “I.O.U” is a fast and furious opener.  “Alex Chilton,” has everything, rocking guitars, mellow bits and hooks galore.  “I Don’t Know” is a sloppy song, and yet it is a polished kind of sloppy, like they are trying to recreate their wild days.  And yet, it works–the opening drunken laughter and crashing noises, the call and response of disinterested “I dunno” after each line.  hey seemingly get lost during the chorus, but manage to pull it all together, of are pretty perfect.  Even the horns (!) really work on this track. “Nightclub Jitters” is a jazzy, slow song, it sounds a bit out of place, yet it foreshadows Westerberg’s slower pieces.  “The Ledge” is a catchy song about suicide (!).  Whoo hoo, but it’s a really powerful track.

“Nevermind” is a poppy little” number with a catchy chorus (of course they all have catchy choruses).  “”Shootin’ Dirty Pool is a dark and dirty track and “Red Red Wine” is a fun shout along.  “Skyway” is the tender song.  An acoustic guitar ballad that fits nicely on the disc after the raucousness of the last few tracks.  And of course, “Can’t Hardly Wait” is a fantastic closer.

There’s not a bad track on the disc, and I could listen to it over and over and over.  And heck, it’s barely over 30 minutes long.

[READ: June11, 2009] God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

In Palm Sunday Vonnegut rates this book as one of his best, so I was pretty excited to read it.

I was surprised that while reading it that I didn’t fully enjoy it as much as I wanted to.  However, once I finished it, upon reflection, it was a very substantial book, and it will stay with me for a while.  I think that’s because the book deals with really heavy topics: wealth, greed, humanity, love.  And even though it is funny, it’s not as wacky as his other books.  In fact the opening chapters are practically genealogical, and you don’t really realize that the action has started until you’re in the throws of it.

Before I get to the plot, though, I’m going to mention the first appearance of Kilgore Trout, author of science fiction of dubious morality. His books appear on the spinner racks with other morally questionable paperbacks.  Trout appears throughout Vonnegut’s work, often as an alter-ego.  In this novel, Trout’s work is liberally quoted, and it all sounds very compelling.  Trout also makes a physical appearance at the end of the book.  Eliot Rosewater is quite a fan of Trout’s books, and Trout assists in determining Eliot’s sanity.  But more on that in a moment.

This book describes the history of the Rosewater family. The Rosewaters are so wealthy that they have a  town named after them in Indiana.  They are so wealthy that they started a charity that gave money everywhere it was needed.  The Rosewater in charge had no say in how the fortune was invested or what was done with the corporate side of things, but he could say where the charitable money went.  The honor was passed down from son to son.

Enter Eliot Rosewater.  Eliot is the son of loudmouth Republican Senator Lister Ames Rosewater.  Lister suffers no fools, nor does his suffer charity, handouts or welfare.  He spouts aphorisms about how people on welfare begin to expect handouts for everything.

Eliot, on the other hand, is generous to a fault.  Too many faults, some might say.  One day, he has had it with his New York lifestyle.  He leaves his wife, Sylvia, and moves back to Rosewater, Illinois, where he opens up the Rosewater Foundation.  He embraces everyone regardless of their sanity, need or personal odor.  He listens to everyone who calls, empathizes, determines how to fix what ails them, and then gives them some money.  Eliot loves everyone, with no degree separating his family and friends from strangers.  The above information is what prompts several characters in the book to state the title, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.”

Oh, and he’s also the head of the volunteer fire department.  ((Eliot has a long fascination with fire departments, and he more or less toured several local stations before settling back in Rosewater).  He also owns the country’s loudest fire siren, which he dutifully sets off at noon (to the dismay of everyone for miles around)).

Sylvia files for divorce, not because she thinks Eliot is a bad man, but because she thinks he is too good, and she feels unworthy of his generosity. Sylvia has a history of checking into institutions to calm her nerves.

The lawyers involved in the divorce are also the lawyers who handle all of the finances for the Rosewater charity and companies (so they know everything about every Rosewater).  One particular lawyer, Norman Mushari, decides that this is a great opportunity to get involved while money changes hands.  He follows the maxim that a lawyer should always be present when money changes hands–so that his own hands can get in on the exchange.

For you see, the one stipulation that gets people kicked off of the Rosewater hierarchy is to be declared insane.  And who could be more insane that Eliot?  Mushari learns that if Eliot is declared insane, the next in line is Fred Rosewater of the Rhode Island Rosewaters.  These Rosewaters are once- removed from the Illinois clan, and are not entirely sure if they are related.  In fact, Fred has no idea that he could be inheriting a vast fortune.

Even though they live in a chichi part of Rhode Island, the Fred Rosewaters are definitely not chichi.   Fred is an insurance salesman.  Fred’s wife, Caroline, has befriended a snooty lesbian, Amanita Buntline.  [She’s friends with a snooty gay restaurant owner named Bunny Weeks].  Caroline trails Amanita around often receiving handouts and other benefits.   Caroline is quite unpleasant and never lets her husband forget that he is not worth much.  So downtrodden is Fred, that were it not for his son, he would have offed himself years ago.

There are many likable characters (who are balanced by quite reprehensible characters) that you don’t really know who to root for.  The townsfolk of Rosewater have so benefited from Eliot that they fear he will leave.  And Fred is so oppressed that an influx of great wealth could only help his life.  And yet no one wants to see the Senator get his way.  Or do we?  He makes some valid points.  Oh, if only there had been an heir to the Rosewater empire, that would have made things so much easier.

And that’s where I leave off before I give away too much.  As you can see, the book covers a lot of ground.  There are no black and white characters.  They are multileveled, each with his or her faults and saving graces, and each makes valid points when he speaks.  And maybe that’s why at first I didn’t fall in love with the book.  I was absorbed without being fascinated (as I was by his other,wilder stories).  But once I was done it all sank in and proved itself to be a really great book.

And check out this trippy original cover.  It had to be the 60s, right?

Oh, and as for the subtitle.  It is uttered in the book twice.  And while the phrase is familiar enough, it also works quite well in the context of the book.

And the next Vonnegut book is Slaughterhouse Five.