I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: CAESARS-Strawberry Weed (2008).

This Caesars disc is the final of the donated library discs that I received.  And the guy who donated these has some great taste. I feel like I need to track him down and see what else he likes.  I was initially skeptical of this disc because it is so crazy poppy, but it has a few cool elements to it that make it more interesting than typical pop music.  I’ll claim that it’s because they’re from Sweden, where they skew things a little differently.

The melodies are wonderfully catchy, and yet “Fools Parade” starts with some crazy noises and wild drumming before switching over to pure pop sensibilities.   “Waking Up” features that sure-fire sign of a pop hit, the word “alriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight” sung with many changes in pitch.  It’s not always easy to pull off but they do it perfectly.

“Boo Boo Goo Goo” is as crazily catchy as its title suggests it would be.   The lyrics aren’t as inane as the title suggests with the catchy ender: “you’re not gonna get that far climbing those monkey bars”.  “Crystal” has some great old-time Farfisa organs on it which make it sound simultaneously retro and (because of the guitars and such) very contemporary.

It’s actually hard to write about this disc effectively because there are so many great catchy pop songs on it–it would just be “this is poppy and fun” over and over again.

I think the poppiness of Caesars can be summed up by “Stuck with You” in which there’s a wonderful “ooh ooh ooh ooh” section, but it’s a little fuzzy and distorted, just slightly off from pristine.  Similarly, “No Tomorrow” has great fuzzy guitars and more oh oh ohs, this time ending in a super catchy “oh yeah!”  Or how about the “oooh wee oooh” that opens “In Orbit” which sounds spacey and otherworldly.

“Up All Night” introduces a minor key song to this intrinsically poppy album, and even the minor key song is upbeat.

This is a great album if you’re looking for something catchy and easy to sing to, but which isn’t completely made of bubblegum.

[READ: March 11, 2012] “Citizen Conn”

Michael Chabon does not shy away from comics.  I almost fear he’s endangering himself as being the guy who writes about comics (fortunately he has written very well about other topics too).  But for this short story he’s back in that familiar realm.

This story is about two men, Morton Feather and Artie Conn.  They were comic book artists back in the day, writing failing books for a failing company.  But they’re in the right place at the right time when an accidental mailing reveals that men in tights are making a comeback.

So Feather and Conn work together to creator some of the most powerful and long-lasting comic book superheroes.  They ride so high that they are offered to sell their creations to a very high bidder.  Feather refuses but Conn accepts.  And so begins the rift between them.  Later, since Feather lost the fire of his convictions after the sell-out, he is fired and Conn becomes solely responsible for these creations.

As the story opens we see that Feather is at a nursing home with terminal cancer.  Indeed the story is told from the point of view of the rabbi a the home: Rebecca Teplitz.  She doesn’t know from comics, but her husband was a huge fan of Feather’s work (and has been annoyed by Conn all these years).

Because of her husband, Rebecca gets to know Feather very well–well, that’s not entirely true, she is a good, caring Rabbi and takes a personal interest in all of the patients, but now Feather has a real attachment to her.

In the first fee paragraphs, we see an old man (who turns out to be Conn) trying desperately to talk to Feather.  He pounds on the door and, when it goes unanswered, he slips something under it.

It turns out to be a payment, an attempt to make restitution.  But Feather has no truck with it.  He has given up on that life and now simply paints paintings (and doesn’t let anyone see them) as he waits to die.

And the rather simple (in plot) story follows this former friendship as it tries to reestablish itself.

The story is quite long, but it never feels long.  Chabon is a master at creating characters and these two (well, four, really) are wonderful.  Chabon clearly loves these characters.  The story is vibrant and alive–from their first meeting to the final scenes with Conn on a late-night talk show humiliating himself to try to win back Feather.

This doesn’t seem like there’s going to be a novel developed from it (it feels very complete), but I would certainly read it if it were.