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Archive for August, 2009

Joshua Ferris–“The Valetudinarian” (New Yorker, August 3, 2009)

Posted in Death, Funny (ha ha), Godspeed You Black Emperor, Joshua Ferris, Neutral Milk Hotel, New Yorker, Old Age, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Sex, Short Story on August 5, 2009| 1 Comment »

nySOUNDTRACK: Living with Music: A  Playlist by Joshua Ferris (New York Times September 19 2007).

ferrisWhile searching for Joshua Ferris (see below) I came across this playlist from The New York Times.  While I don’t agree with everything on the list, indeed, I haven’t heard of about half of the songs, I was delighted by several of his selections: Neutral Milk Hotel, Pearl Jam, and of course, Godspeed! You Black Emperor.  I also really enjoy the unusual Pink Floyd selection, too (Meddle being a favorite album of mine).

What I enjoy most about the list is that he tacks on a book that you might read that somehow ties to the song (I don’t know what the specifics are as I have yet to read any other “Living with Music” Playlists).  But it reminds me of an inverse of this very blog.

The article is available here.

[READ: August 3, 2009] “The Valetudinarian”

I knew the name Joshua Ferris sounded familiar, but couldn’t remember exactly why. Then I remembered that he wrote Then We Came to the End which I liked quite a bit. So I looked him up and found out that in addition to that novel, he’s only had a few short stories published in total. And now I’ve read two out of the seven. In terms of ratio of books read, that practically makes him my favorite author!

I should have looked up the definition of the title of this one: valetudinarian
which basically means invalid. (more…)

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Periodical: Radar

Posted in Books about music, Britney Spears, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Drinking, Drugs, Funky Web Sites, Political Humor, Radar, Technology, The Future on August 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

radarRadar Magazine has folded.  Yet again.  They launched the magazine a few years ago, and I subscribed.  And it folded.  Then they relaunched it a second time, and they continued my subscription (wasn’t that nice).  And now it folded again.  They still have an online presence, but I’ve never looked at it.

Whatever you say about the magazine itself, they sure had fun with their covers! (more…)

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Danica Novgorodoff, James Ponsoldt & Benjamin Percy–Refresh Refresh (2009)

Posted in Benjamin Percy, Death, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Kiss, Military, Sonic Youth, Threats, Unlikable main character, Violence, War, YA Books on August 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

rerefreshSOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Sister (1987).

sister

It’s surprising how catchy Sister starts.  “Schizophrenia” is wonderfully sing-songy.  And “Catholic Block,” while noisy, is certainly single-worthy (and would likley be one if it were released today).  Kim has two tracks, “Beauty Lies in the Eye” which is a spoken word piece ala “Shadow of a Doubt.”  While “Pacific Coast Highway” is one of her scarier/noisier pieces.

Track #5, “Pipeline/Kill Time” is Lee’s first entry on the disc.  It starts as an instrumental and continues into a raucous Lee track.  “Kotton Krown” is a mellow mantra-like piece, while “White Cross” returns the band to its noisier roots.  The disc ends with “Master-Dik.” It’s a noise fueled riotous song.  It starts in something of a rap style (hard to call it actual rap).  It features a Kiss sample (from “Strutter”) as well as some of the first references to Ciccone Youth.

Overall it’s a rocking, great album, and it contains everything from poppy singles to outright noise.  It’s  an excellent middle piece to the great triumvirate of EVOL, Sister and Daydream Nation.

[READ: July 20, 2009] Refresh, Refresh

Sarah received a copy of this book, and since it came from the very cool comics press First Second, I was very excited to read it.

I have to say right up front, the content of this book is just not my thing.  It concerns teenaged boys whose fathers are in the Iraq war.  Violence is all they know, and violence is what they do.  I just don’t read this kind of book at all.

However, the story was very gripping.  First, of course, because it could very well be real, but second because it is told so well.

The three boys of the story have started a fight club of sorts to toughen each other up.  And despite the possibility of that being an overused premise, you can almost assume that the boys aren’t trying to copy the movie Fight Club.  They are Oregon youths with virtually nothing to do.  They’re not trying to be hip and cool like Brad Pitt, they’re just bored.  And they’re angry. (more…)

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Neal Pollack–The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature (2000)

Posted in Adventure, Airlines, Books about writers, Death, Demons, Dip-in Books, Drinking, Drugs, Essays, Eyes Wide Shut, Funny (ha ha), Henry Louis Gates, James Joyce, LGBTQ, McSweeney's, Neal Pollack, Oprah, Racism, Sex, Smarty Pants, Sonic Youth, Threats, Toni Morrison, Violence on August 3, 2009| 1 Comment »

nealSOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Made in USA (1986 released in 1995).

usaThe liner notes explain a lot of what was behind this disc.  The then largely unknown Sonic Youth was asked to score a cool indie film, which later became a less cool more mainstream film and ultimately went straight to video.

The CD is mostly background music, but it is notable for how mainstream it sounds (for Sonic Youth in the mid-80s) and for how bad it sounds–like it was recorded in a can.

It’s mostly completely listenable soundtrack mood music.  It’s nothing to rush out and buy, especially if you like the noisier SY stuff, but, and this is something of a shock, its sounds quite nice, almost ambient at times.

If you’re interested in this sort of thing, it’s worth noting that “Secret Girl” from EVOL appears in a slightly different form (twice actually).

[READ: July 29, 2009] The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature

This is the first book published by McSweeney’s Books.  And it is indeed handsome, with a nice yellow ribbon for marking your page.

And so, who is Neal Pollack?  Well, as you all know, Neal Pollack is the greatest living writer today.  He has been writing for decades and has written some of the most important books, and the most important articles that anyone has ever read. His book on life as an African America has not only impressed Oprah, but it has inspired Toni Morrison and Henry Louis Gates.

And, as you can see from the back of the book, everyone from Hunter S. Thompson to Normal Mailer sings his praises. (more…)

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