I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: SELF-“Trunk Fulla Amps” (2000).

I bought an album by Self many years ago.  They had since released several other discs, but I hadn’t heard any of them.  Then, they came out with this fantastic and very vulgar song.  It reeks of one-hit wonder status and yet it is super catchy (and rather funny).

The lyrics, simply enough: “I got a trunk fulla amps motherfucker.”  But each verse showcases the main guy from Self’s vocal tricks.  “I gotta trunk fulla amps motherfucker, like E.L.O. (Mama!)” or “like Glenn Danzig (Mutherrr!)”.  Plus the song itself rocks like nobody’s business.

I don’t even remember of the rest of the album is any good, but this song will spruce up any mix CD (that’s not afraid of dirty words).

[READ: July 3, 2010] “The Pilot”

What a perfect time to read the New Yorker‘s 20 under 40 stories than a 4th of July holiday at Long Beach Island?

This first story, “The Pilot” is by one of my new favorite authors, Joshua Ferris.  This piece is a simple story about an invitation to a party.  But the twist in the story is that the invitation is sent by email, and the recipient of the email, a neurotic Hollywood guy, spends the bulk of the beginning of the story wondering whether he really should have received the invitation or if it was some kind of mass mailing mistake (since the invite was sent to a large group that was bcc’d).

The party is given by Kate Lovelt.  She’s celebrating the wrapping of the very successful third season of “Death in the Family,” a sitcom with an excellent premise that will no doubt be turned into a show in real life soon enough.   Really, read the story just for the description of “Death” and let’s see how quickly it comes true.  Lawrence is trying to put the wraps on his pilot, but he keeps procrastinating.  He’s also a recovering alcoholic.

All of these plotlines intermingle at Kate’s party, reaching a rather dark ending.

The story was very clever.  The beginning, which examines the neuroses that everyone has gone through about an important party, or even a confusing email, was right on target and very funny.  The Hollywood teasing is also rather amusing.  But it’s the awkward party, and Lawrence’s struggles with his very identity that bring out surprising depth to the story.  It’s really fantastic.

And here’s a short Q & A with Ferris.

Another great story by Ferris.