I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: MUSIQUE FRAGILE 01 (2011).

Constellation Records released this 3 volume set of unsigned Montreal-based musicians in 2011.  It comes in a package of three LPs or 3 CDs (the CD package is the same shape as the vinyl, with the 3 discs inserted into the front–see picture).  Both version come complete with all kinds of cool artwork–posters and postcards–that really set the tone for each album.  You can see the contents here.

Presumably if they have an 01, they’re planning on an 02, but in the meantime, we have this collection.  The artists are Les Momies De Palerme, Khôra and Nick Kuepfer.  I’ve been listening to the discs over the holiday break and I’ll write about each one individually over the next couple of days.

But in the meantime, you can hear a sample at the link above.

[READ: December 30, 2011] “Things Critics Do That Piss Me Off”

I said that I’d be writing about a whole bunch of Max Barry things from his website.  I was going to focus on just the short stories, but there were only three.  So I figured I’d write about all of the things he had posted on this page (assuming they were his favorite).  He doesn’t write very often on the website/blog.  A cursory view of the front page shows a post every month or so.  So it’s not like he culled these posts from thousands.  But that’s okay.  They’re still interesting.  And they’re a nice corollary while I read his new book Machine Man.

Of course, not every post will blow your mind.  “Things Critics Do That Piss Me Off” is, as the title says, a little rant.  Now since, ostensibly I am a critic (sad fact must be faced) I actually get to read this as the target of his rant rather than the audience for the rant.  Of course, I always imagined I would write fiction myself, so I can also look at it from that point of view too.

Regardless of which side of  the coin you find yourself, these are pretty good things to hear from a writer.  And I’ll look at it as a kind of resolutions for 2012.

1) Reads my mind (his example is of a critic saying that Barry got bored at some point while writing the book).  I think I have done this once in a while (not the bored part, just tried to guess the author’s mindset).  It’s kind of fun to try to imagine what the writer is going through.  But I don’t do it very often and I shall try to do it less.

2) Spots Plot Holes That Aren’t There (his example is of a critic misunderstanding when something happened in the story).  This one is hard to know when you are guilty.  I would never do this on purpose (who would?), but if I make a mistake, I always correct it.

3) Spots Plot Holes That Are There (his example: shut the fuck up).  I admit I don’t often find plot holes unless they are glaringly obvious.  I like to give the writer the benefit of the doubt.

4) Rewrites History (his example is of a critic who trashed his previous book but now says it was good in order to trash the new one).  I don’t think I misremember what I wrote about a piece.  I try to confirm what I said before.

5) Doesn’t Like My Book. No worries about that so far, Mr Barry.  But I’m not done yet. 

In a later post he says that he means to add one more.  And it’s my favorite:

6) Giving away some of the ending.  I have been accused of this twice here.  The first time was during Infinite Summer, in which I was accused of posting information before the weekly read was up.  I don’t believe I did and have been confirmed in that.  Of course, it is moot now as the deadline is long past).  The other time was in Roger Thorpe’s The Glove Pond.  This is a book inside of a book by Douglas Coupland.  I took the assumption that anyone reading The Glove Pond had read The Gum Thief.  I mean, why wouldn’t you have?  You really wouldn’t even know about the book without the original text.  And, pretty much the entire text is given in The Gum Thief.  So my review was even kind of a joke.  Nevertheless, I was called out for spoiling the book.  And I feel bad about that.  By the time I was called out, I didn’t even remember much of the book, so I don’t know how much I did spoil, but it is a cardinal sin nonetheless.

I feel like I spend most of my time while thinking about the reviews wondering what to “give away.”  I mean, nobody wants anything spoiled, and yet you also have to say something to tantalize the reader into reading the book (or not).  So, is a plot point fair game?  A plot twist?  It’s hard to know.  I have often been totally shocked by something that it turned out was revealed on the jacket cover (which I don’t often read). 

So, that is Barry’s list.  It’s something to keep in mind.  And while the original post isn’t much more than what I wrote here (and yes, I did spoil it), there are a few funny lines that are worth checking out for yourself.