I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT-compilations and live releases (1978-2010).

For a band that had basically two hits (“Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Burnin’ for You”) and maybe a half a dozen other songs that people might have heard of, BOC has an astonishing number of “greatest hits” collections.

Starting in 1987 we got Career of Evil: The Metal Years (1987), Don’t Fear the Reaper (1989), On Flame with Rock n’ Roll (1990), Cult Classic (which is actually the band re-recording their old tracks (!)) (1994), and the two cd collection Workshop of the Telescopes (1995).  There’s even Singles Collection, (2005) which is a collection of their European singles & Bsides.

This doesn’t include any of the “budget price” collections: E.T.I. Revisited, Tattoo Vampire, Super Hits, Then and Now, The Essential, Are You Ready To Rock?, Shooting Shark, Best of, and the 2010 release: Playlist: The Very Best of).

The lesson is that you evidently won’t lose money making a BOC collection.

I don’t know that any of these collections are any better than the others.

The 2 CD one is for completists, but for the most part you’re going to get the same basic tracks on all of them.

And, although none of them have “Monsters” for the average person looking for some BOC, any disc is a good one.

Regardless of the number of hits they had, BOC was tremendous live.  And, as a result, there have also been a ton of live records released.  Initially the band (like Rush) released a live album after every three studio albums. On Your Feet or On Your Knees (1975) Some Enchanted Evening (1978) and Extraterrestrial Live (1982) were the “real releases.”

Then, in 1994 we got Live 1976 as both CD and DVD (which spares us nothing, including Eric Bloom’s lengthy harangue about the unfairness of…the speed limit).  It’s the most raw and unpolished on live sets.  2002 saw the release of A Long Day’s Night, a recording of a 2002 concert (also on DVD) which had Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma an Allan Lanier reunited.

They also have a number of might-be real live releases (fans debate the legitimacy of many of these).  Picking a concert disc is tough if only because it depends on the era you like.  ETLive is regarded as the best “real” live disc, although the reissued double disc set of Some Enchanted Evening is hard to pass up.  Likewise, the 2002 recording is a good overview of their career, and includes some of their more recent work.

If you consider live albums best of’s (which many people do) I think it’s far to say that BOC has more best of’s than original discs.  Fascinating.  Many BOC fans believe that if they buy all the best of discs, it will convince Columbia to finally reissue the rest of the original discs (and there are a number of worthy contenders!) in deluxe packages.  I don’t know if it will work, but I applaud the effort.

[READ: October 2009-February 2010] State By State

This is a big book. And, since it’s a collection essays, it’s not really the kind of big book that you read straight through.  It’s a perfect dip in book.  And that’s why it took me so long to get through.

I would love to spend a huge amount of time devoting a post to each essay in the book.  But, well, there’s 51 (including D.C.) and quite a few of them I read so long ago I couldn’t say anything meaningful about.  But I will summarize or at least give a sentence about each essay, because they’re all so different.

I’ll also say that I read the Introduction and Preface last (which may have been a mistake, but whatever).  The Preface reveals that what I took to be a flaw in the book was actually intentional.  But let me back up and set up the book better.

The catalyst for the book is the WPA American Guide Series and sort of Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley.  The WPA Guides were written in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration.  48 guide books were written, one for each state.  Some famous writers wrote the books, but they were ultimately edited (and many say watered down) by a committee.  I haven’t read any of them, but am quite interested in them (and am looking to get the New Jersey one).  Each guide was multiple hundreds of pages (the New Jersey one is over 800).

State By State is written in the spirit of that series, except the whole book is 500 pages (which is about 10 pages per state, give or take).  And, once again, famous writers were asked to contribute (no committee edited this book, though).  I’ve included the entire list of authors at the end of the post, for quick access.

So I started the book with New Jersey, of course.  I didn’t realize who Anthony Bourdain was until I looked him up in the contributor’s list (I’m sure he is thrilled to hear that).  And his contribution was simultaneously exciting and disappointing,.  Exciting because he and I had quite similar upbringings: he grew up in North Jersey (although in the wealitheir county next to mine) and had similar (although, again, more wealthy) experiences. The disappointing thing for me was that Bourdain fled the state  for New York City (and, as I now know, untold wealth and fame (except by me))  I felt that his fleeing the state, while something many people aspire to, is not really representative of the residents of the state as a whole.

And that dissatisfaction is what I thought of as the flaw of the book (until I read the Preface).  In the Preface, Matt Weiland explains that they asked all different authors to write about states.  They asked some natives, they asked some moved-ins, they asked some temporary residents and they asked a couple of people to go to a state for the first time.  In reality, this decision makes for a very diverse and highly entertaining reading.  In my idealized world, I feel like it’s disingenuous to have people who just stop in to give their impression of an area.  But hey, that’s not the kind of book they wanted to compile, and I did enjoy what they gave us, so idealism be damned.

For most of the book, whenever I read an essay by someone who wasn’t a native or a resident of a state, I assumed that there weren’t any famous writers from that state.  I’ve no idea if that played into anything or not.  From what I gather, they had a list of authors, and a list of states (I was delighted to read that three people wanted to write about New Jersey-if the other two writers ever decided to put 1,000 words  to paper, I’d love to read them (hey editors, how about State by State Bonus Features online, including any extra essays that people may have wanted to write).

From New Jersey, I proceeded alphabetically.  And, I have to say that I’m a little glad I did.  I say this because the first few states in the book come across as rather negative and kind of unpleasant.  Alabama (written by George Packer) comes across as downtrodden, like a place you’d really have to love to live there.  Even Alaska, which ended up being a very cool story, felt like a veil of oppression resided over the state (or at  least the part of the state that Paul Greenberg wrote bout.)  But what I liked about this essay and the book in general was that the authors often focused on unexpected or little known aspects of each state.  So the Alaska essay focused on Native fisherman and the salmon industry.  Obviously it doesn’t do justice to the rest of that enormous state,  but that’s not what the book is about.

The book is meant to be a personal account of the author’s experiences in the state.

So Arizona, in continuing the scary A’s theme, is described as a spooky place where rednecks degrade the environment and smoke all day long at the quick check.  What was interesting about this essay though was that the Lydia Millet, a liberal New Yorker who impulsively bought a cabin in the Arizona woods doesn’t mind these people even though they horrify her.  (That does no justice to Lydia Millet’s essay and makes it sound snobby and makes her sound condescending, which she isn’t and it isn’t).  But the picture it paints is a far cry from the metropolis of Tuscon.

In Arkansas, Kevin Brockmeier focuses on the blue/red split that was prominently displayed on bumper stickers when he was  kid.  Out of nowhere, stickers appeared on cars: “Speak Up for Decency.”  Followed soon after by a flurry of stickers: “Speak up for liberty.”  Without knowing any specifics, we know exactly what that debate is about.

William T. Vollman writes at length (big surprise) about California (big surprise).  Vollman travels all over his state, up and down the Pacific coast (including a comment about the editor being displeased with his original essay) and even winds up in an S&M club in San Francisco.  This was easily the most salacious essay in the book, and I would suspect the furthest afield from the original WPA guides.  It was quite entertaining.

Sorry Benjamin Kunkel, I don’t remember all that much about Colorado, which is almost the point of his essay.

Rick Moody writes wonderful piece bout Connecticut (it opens “Connecticut is a state that’s hard to love”).  And it’s all about his love of, of all things, the Merritt Parkway, a road I have often seen but which I may have never been on.  I enjoyed the way he listed exits and what they meant to the state

Anyone who has seen Wayne’s World knows the abusive Delaware joke: “Hi (pause) I’m in Delaware.”  Craig Taylor belies this joke by interviewing random people around the state and learning insider opinions abut their home.  This was an interesting insider’s look at the many elements of the state from an detached observer’s perspective.

My new favorite writer, Joshua Ferris, writes bout Florida, where he grew up.  He talks about working in bars, meeting all kinds of fascinating subculture folks and even winning an essay contest which earned him a ride on a boat with Jimmy Buffet.  It revealed an underbelly of Florida that I’d seen glimpses of but had never confirmed.

I enjoyed Ha Jin’s article about Georgia primarily for how utterly unexpected it was.  He immigrated to Georgia from China.  He stood out like a sore thumb but soon became the pride of the community (I especially enjoyed the section about him building a rock wall in his apartment complex, in which the rest of the residents watch him from afar, but then one by one decide to do the same thing).  Hawaii was similarly unexpected and the essay itself was sort of a nutshell of the state: a little island that you know nothing about.   In this case, Tara Bray Smith relates her experiences traveling to a privately held island, which is officially part of Hawaiian domain.  It has gained mythological status in Hawaii as a place that outsiders are not welcome.  The essay was totally fascinating.  I mean, I know virtually nothing about Hawaii as it is, but to have this weird insider story was pretty awesome.

Idaho was a tough essay, it was heavy on history, and light on charm.   I don’t fault Anthony Doerr’s perspective but I didn’t find it that welcoming either.  On the other hand, Dave Egger’s essay about Illinois was great fun.  His is the only essay that claims unreservedly that his state is the best. And this was another thing I liked about the book…there was no promotion, boostering or other kinds of in-fighting, nobody disparaged another state to make theirs look better).  Even Eggers’ piece wasn’t really braggadocio, it was more of a joking pride, especially when he reveals that in all the things they are number one in, they are also number one in urban segregation, nothing to be proud of, especially in the state of Abraham Lincoln.  Eggers is always an engaging writer, and this essay in no exception.

Indiana was all bout a Korean immigrant and his daughter (the writer Susan Choi).  They take a literary tour of the state where they bond over her fiction (which has been largely about him).  Another unexpected treat was Dagoberto Gilb’s take on Iowa.  The entire piece was about the Mexican immigrant population that has exploded in Iowan corn fields. Because even though the money is good, white people won’t do the backbreaking work.  And so, he spends an entire essay in what can only be described as a Little Mexico in the heartland of America.

Jim Lewis’ tour of Kansas comes as a roadie for a band and shows a completely unfamiliar side of Kansas for most of us non-Kansans.  John Jeremiah Sullivan’s tale of Kentucky was laden with history.  While Joshua Clark’s portrait of Louisiana was fully otherworldly: specifically he speaks to a medium who looks for signs of ghosts in New Orleans’s 9th ward after Hurricane Katrina .

Heidi Julavits, another favorite writer talks about the down home charm (and stubborn ignorance) of Maine.  How, even if you have lived in Maine all your life but you simply move to a new town, you’re still “from away.”  Her story is funny and charming and makes you glad that Maine is there even if it also makes you not really want to go there.  Myla Goldberg’s portrait of Maryland is similarly charming, She talks of growing up just outside of military bases where she was largely unobserved by the military men keeping watch over the place.  (And reveals the dark secret of the Maryland state song: Huzza! She spurns the Northern scum!”).

John Hodgman is at his hilarious best.  I loved the sentence “Why don’t you have an accent? This happens especially when I tell them as I often do, that I park my car in Harvard Yard.”  Hodgman mocks his state for thinking it’s more important than it is (even though he clearly loves it).

Mohammed Naseehu Ali spent three years in Michigan as part of an arts school scholarship.  The coldness of northern Michigan was massive culture shock after living in Ghana all his life, but he was delighted by the warmth of the people.  Philip Connors writes about Minnesota.  I especially enjoyed the story about Garrison Keillor standing on line in front of him at a  Twins game,  buying the last corn from an arena stand.

Barry Hannah can’t escape from Mississippi, despite its past infractions against blacks.  While NPR’s Jacki Lydon traveled to St. Louis to investigate its enormous Bosnian population (the largest Bosnian population outside of Bosnia!).  This was an amazing look into something I had absolutely no idea about.  And favorite author/NPR contributor Sarah Vowell writes about Montana from her unique living-history position.  Alex Payne, director of such great movies as Election and Sideways writes about his home state of Nebraska, where his films have been set.  And he laughs about how in the WPA guide the first words are about people traveling through the state, as if no one would consider stopping.

Charles Bock’s portrayal of Nevada was totally fascinating.  Rather than reveling in the debauchery of Las Vegas, he focuses on his family, who owned a pawn shop within the debauchery of Las Vegas.  It was an amazing story about someone who actually grew up in the town, and whose family tries to stay sane amidst the chaos.

Will Blythe was a little too cool for me during his visit to New Hampshire (a state I have visited but once and which I found very beautiful.  While Ellery Washington’s account of nearly being struck by lightning in New Mexico was personal and fascinating (it was a great 2nd article to read as it set a tone for the diversity of voices in the book).

Jonathan Franzen employs a unique device to write about New York (no doubt a coveted state to write about).  He “interviews” the state itself, or rather its publicist, personal attorney and historian.  And on the other end of the scale, Randall Kenan focuses on the importance of pigs and hogs for North Carolina.

Louise Erdrich offers some boosterism for North Dakota, a state that is often unfairly maligned and whose solitude is really a virtue. Susan Orlean defends her home state of Ohio.  I especially enjoyed her correction of the perceived naming of Chagrin Blvd.  It is not because the person who discovered the Chagrin river was so disappointed at what he saw.

S.E. Hinton was born and raised in Oklahoma (a state which has been enjoying a bit of a plug from Craig Ferguson these last few nights).  She wrote The Outsiders inspired by Will Rogers High School.  She loves her state and says it is great place for a writer to live.

Oregon has a wonderful comic from Joe Sacco that provides a personal insight into the state.  And Andrea Lee’s Pennsylvania is very personal, disconcertingly so, especially when she winds up the only black girl at a summer camp.  She also travels the globe and meets a family of Pennsylvanians where they share familiarities.

Rhode Island gets a wonderful write up from Jhumpa Lahiri.  I’ve driven through R.I. many times, and this article makes me want to stop and look around some time.  Jack Hitt looks at the eccentricities of South Carolina, but focuses on the effects of Hurricane Hugo on Charleston.  This disaster brought a huge influx of money and artificially spruced up the city.  Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, an author who I have just read for the first time, writes about South Dakota.  He and his wife go there for vacation.  And they are delighted to find that all of their dietary needs are met in the town they stop in.  They go to the Badlands and Mount Rushmore (both of which I hope to sees some day).

Ann Patchett, while writing about Tennessee, offers second hand advice which I found to be the single most useful financial advice ever: the secret to making big money “is to find that place at the edge of town where real estate stops being priced by the square foot and begins to be priced by the acre.”  Buy as many acres as possible and wait for the town to expand to you.  She looks at the differences between Nashville and Shiloh and how much one has changed but the other hasn’t.

Cristina Henríquez talks about moving to Texas where you’re either born there or you ain’t.  And she gives a brief lowdown of the major cities.  David Rakoff used Around the World in Eighty Days as a guidebook to the Mormon lifestyle of Salt Lake City, Utah.  But hilariously goes to see Robert Smithson’s sublime art piece Spiral Jetty, but winds up missing it by about 500 yards, looking instead at a pile of, well, nothing.

The wonderful Alsion Bechdel draws a great cartoon for her home state of Vermont.  While Tony Horwitz writes of the excessive amount of death that has taken place in Virginia over the years (his accompanying photo is quite something!–more on that shortly).

Carrie Brownstein of the beloved Sleater-Kinney writes about her home state of Washington, and the nebulous distinction between indoors and outdoors in the Evergreen State.  Jayne Anne Phillips writes of the strangely exotic nature of West Virginia, home to the National Inquirer’s Batboy, and some of the the X-Files more disturbing episodes.

Although Daphne Beal left Wisconsin when she was a teen, she wanted to write about her home state because she and her family return to the Chiwaukee Corridor ever summer.  And, alphabetically last, Wyoming is written about by Alexandra Fuller. She talks about cowboys (actually a washing machine repairman now) and Indians in a way that seems somehow historical, even though it is very contemporary.

The afterword, an conversation with Edward P. Jones about Washington D.C. talks about the inevitable: what a city with a majority black population is like.

The back matter includes 30Tables that show things like Population, (California: over 36 million, Wyoming only 509,000)!  Or population increase from 1950-2000: Nevada up 1,148%!  West Virginia, the only state to lose population, down 9.8%  Birth Rate: Utah 21.2; Vermont 10.6; Population claiming no religion: Washington: 25%, North Dakota: 3%. Public Education Expenditure per Pupil: New York: $14,000, and yah! New Jersey: $13,800.  Utah: $5,000  Oil Consumption per capita: Alaska: 77; Connecticut 0.2 (!).  Or this great stat: Classic Movie Theaters and Drive Ins per Capita: Rhode Island 143!; Arizona 10.1.  Violent Crime Rate: South Carolina 765,5 per 100,000 and Maine 115.  Toothlessness rate: West Virginia 40.5%; Hawaii 9.6

And in the middle of the book are a series of photos, one per state that the author has selected.  They are wide ranging and very fascinating.  From Virginia’s pile of skulls, to Maine’s naked backsides, to, my least favorite representation of New Jersey ever.  You know, Anthony Bourdoin, you could do you state some justice, huh.

This was a really enjoyable collection of essays.  Whether you know the state or not, it was always interesting to read what one person thought of it.  And certainly it’s worth reading about your home state to see if you can relate to the author in any way.

Here’s the list of authors per state.

* Alabama – George Packer
* Alaska – Paul Greenberg
* Arizona – Lydia Millet
* Arkansas – Kevin Brockmeier
* California – William T. Vollman
* Colorado – Benjamin Kunkel
* Connecticut – Rick Moody
* Delaware – Craig Taylor
* Florida – Joshua Ferris
* Georgia – Ha Jin
* Hawaii – Tara Bray Smith
* Idaho – Anthony Doerr
* Illinois – Dave Eggers
* Indiana – Susan Choi
* Iowa – Dagoberto Gilb
* Kansas – Jim Lewis
* Kentucky – John Jeremiah Sullivan
* Louisiana – Joshua Clark
* Maine – Heidi Julavits
* Maryland – Myla Goldberg
* Massachusetts – John Hodgman
* Michigan – Mohammed Naseehu Ali
* Minnesota – Philip Connors
* Mississippi – Barry Hannah
* Missouri – Jacki Lyden
* Montana – Sarah Vowell
* Nebraska – Alexander Payne
* Nevada – Charles Bock
* New Hampshire – Will Blythe
* New Jersey – Anthony Bourdain
* New Mexico – Ellery Washington
* New York – Jonathan Franzen
* North Carolina – Randall Kenan
* North Dakota – Louise Erdrich
* Ohio – Susan Orlean
* Oklahoma – S. E. Hinton
* Oregon – Joe Sacco
* Pennsylvania – Andrea Lee
* Rhode Island – Jhumpa Lahiri
* South Carolina – Jack Hitt
* South Dakota – Said Sayrafiezadeh
* Tennessee – Ann Patchett
* Texas – Cristina Henriquez
* Utah – David Rakoff
* Vermont – Alison Bechdel
* Virginia – Tony Horwitz
* Washington – Carrie Brownstein
* West Virginia – Jayne Anne Phillips
* Wisconsin – Daphne Beal
* Wyoming – Alexandra Fuller

Afterword: Washington, D.C. – A Conversation with Edward P. Jones

For ease of searching I include: Blue Oyster Cult