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Archive for June, 2012

Kanata Konami–Chi’s Sweet Home: Volumes 1-5 (2009-2010)

Posted in Cats, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Kanata Konami, Manga, Marriage (Happy), Satomi Kōrogi, Short Books, Translation on June 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SATOMI KŌROGI-“Home is the best!” Ouchi ga ichiban (おうちがいちばん) (2008).

Sweet, over the top and not as catchy as one might expect, this is the theme from the animated Chi’s Sweet Home.  You can watch all 104 (!) episodes (they’re 3 minutes each) at Crunchyroll.  They’re in Japanese, subtitled in English, which is only a shame if your four-year old can’t read.

The show is basically the episodes from the books.  And the animation looks just like the books.

The theme song is sung in Japanese, which isn’t the problem–it’s just not as adorable as Chi is.

[READ: June 18, 2012] Chi’s Sweet Home

I saw Chi’s Sweet Home at the library and grabbed books 1 and 2.  I didn’t realize that there were 8 books!

Clark loved books 1 and 2 very much (it was quite his obsession for about three days–that’s pretty good for a seven-year old).  I wanted to read it too, and I am totally hooked.

Each book is comprised of twenty episodes, each is 8 pages long.  And they follow the adventures of Chi, a small kitten.  Kanata Konami is renowned for her cat manga, and it’s obvious why.  Chi is incredibly expressive–I love the way her feet go crazy when she is excited and the big smile she gets when something pleases her.  Of course, her angry face is also precious.

But unlike so many other animal stories, the adventures of Chi are simply the realistic adventures of a little kitten as she explores her new home and her environment.  The whole five that I’ve read so far seems to cover about a month, so Chi never grows up (although the family goes through quite a lot in that short time). (more…)

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Brendan Connell–The Architect (2012)

Posted in Artists, Brendan Connell, Death, Decadence, Greed, Mastodon, Religion, Short Books, Supernatural, Surreal, Violence, Yuck! on June 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: MASTODON-Crack the Skye (2009).

I’ve really enjoyed Mastodon’s previous records, and this one ranks way up there in intensity and songsmanship. There are 7 songs on the disc, with two over ten minutes long.  “Oblivion” opens with a great minor key chord plucked with single notes and a dropped E.  And when the vocals come in, they highlight the different vocals styles in the band–from a more screamy, almost punk voice to the more melodic/echoey voice of the chorus (kinda like Alice in Chains).  At about 4 minutes the solos play off each other wonderfully, both blistering and then melodic (with almost a Pink Floyd feel at one point).  “Divination” has some amazing guitar play both in the intro and the way the bridge soars with great guitar lines underneath the vocals.  “Quintessence” opens with furious drums and a great prog rock kind of guitar opener.  I love the way the bridge is a gentle (albeit fast) almost trippy section before the chorus bursts in with heavy, heavy chords and chants of “let it go let it go let it go”  It’s the kind of song where the parts work so perfectly together but which wouldn’t seem to.

“The Czar” is a four-part, ten-minute epic.  It opens with a creepy keyboard melody.  The first section is slow and heavy, and when part two comes in the guitars are loud and fast.  Part three has a great riff.  And the end has some gorgeous solos.  It amazes me that ten minutes can pass so quickly. It’s followed by the very heavy (lots of double bass drums) “Ghost of Karelia” the pretty much heaviest song on the record (with a nod to Voivod in the descending guitar solo about three minutes in).  “Crack the Skye” opens dark, but throws in some contradictory keyboard notes that lead to another cool extended guitar riff before jumping into a super heavy death metal verse.  This gives way to some more soaring vocals–the juxtaposition of these two vocalists is amazing.  Imagine the surprise then when the last third of the record has the vocals sounding completely robotic and phased–followed by a mess of guitar solos and concluding with some pretty guitars.

They fade into the final epic, the 13-minute “The Last Baron,” which is one of my favorite metal songs.  It opens with some great guitars and some really cool singing.  The vocals soar, the bass plays a great melody.  There’s a great heavy instrumental section but it keeps returning to the wonderful rising vocal melody line that will get stuck in your head for days.  It’s an amazing end to a great album.

The disc also comes with a DVD that’s all about the recording of the album.   I watched a few minutes and it seemed kind of fun, so I hope to watch it more soon.

[READ: June 17, 2012] The Architect

In the past, Connell’s books have explored all manner of depravity. His books were violent, often sexual and dealt with an otherworldliness that may or may not be internalized. Despite all of this transgressive material, his work was never schlocky, especially his later pieces which show an amazing growth in topics, word choices and imagination.

Connell’s previous books The Life of Polycrates and Metrophilias featured short stories that dealt with all manner of topics.   In Metrophilias, the stories were very short, and it allowed Connell to really explore an idea to its fullest without having to make a “book” about of each one. The short length also allowed him to make the words choices and descriptions more effective.

All of the benefits are reaped in this book, a novella.

Although I enjoyed Connell’s previous longer works, I really loved the way this story started with one idea and stayed with it. Some of his other books are a bit more episodic, which worked for those stories, but in this one, we’re in one place and we are pretty much going to stay there.  And that focus makes this story all the more powerful.

The one thing that hasn’t changed is Connell’s scholarship (both real and fake). For this book is a celebration of Dr Peter Körn (1849-1924), visionary and spiritual scientist. As the story opens, four members of the Körn Society are discussing plans for the new Meeting Place, a central location where all members of the Körn society can gather. They are disgusted by the pedestrian, commercial and rather offensive submissions that they have received for their building—a building that should reflect the spiritual visions of Körn.

Dismayed at the architects who have submitted, one of the members of the Society, Maria Venezuela tells the other three that her nephew Peter De la Tour will soon be arriving with something special.  Peter brings them a book of architecture designs by Herr Nachtmann.  These designs are bizarre and wonderful–organic, amoebic, gravity-defying gorgeous monstrosities–exactly the kind of thing the Society is looking for.  Although one member feels that they are impossible to build, the others are firmly on board.

The challenge then is to find the man. There is some history about the man himself–his genius in and out of school followed by his utter inability to have his work taken seriously by the establishment.  He even had one of his more ingenious ideas stolen by the very teacher who said it was terrible.  And so, when Peter finds him, he is little more than a drunk at the end of the bar.

Yet his ego has never been diminished, and when he is presented to the Society he dismisses their concerns and even tells them that he will not wait for their decision–they have 30 minutes to say yes or he walks.  They agree and he begins working on his masterpiece.

The Society loves the sketch–they know it will be expensive, but Nachtmann promises fast work, effective designs and world-wide acclaim.  Amazingly, he delivers.  He works his men hard.  All through the spring and summer and into the fall, the men work carelessness and the building rises at a phenomenal rate.  Even if it seems to be growing larger than designed. (more…)

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Margaret Atwood–I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth (2012)

Posted in Bad Company, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Death, Dogs, Ghosts, Kathleen Edwards, Margaret Atwood, Marriage Trouble, Short Story, The Walrus, Tom Petty on June 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Voyageur (2012).

This is Kathleen Edwards’ latest album.  And every time I listen to it, it gets better.  Her songwriting has reached amazing heights.  The lyrics are wonderful and the melodies are just outstanding.  “Empty Threat” (“I’m moving to America…it’s an empty threat), opens the disc with a bouncy acoustic guitar and, eventually, a full band.  The lyrics for “Chameleon/Comedian” are wonderful: the juxtaposition between these two ideas is just amazing—each verse gets more complex.  I would quote them, but the whole song is great.  And, amazingly, the “I don’t need a punchline” is easy to sing along to as well.  “Soft Place to Land” is a nice ballad—a full band that never gets overwhelmed by any of the instruments—the violin adds a nice texture as do the military drums mid way through.  “Change the Sheets” is one of my favorite songs of the year.  It starts out slow, with simple guitars and more great lyrics.  As it builds (of course it builds) it grows into an amazing bridge/chorus that just dares you not to tap your feet.

“House Full of Empty Rooms” is like a minor palate cleanser before “Mint.”  “Mint” opens like a classic 70s rock song (Bad Company or Tom Petty), but she brings in her unique voice and phrasings and changes the song into something very different.  But again, that chorus–how can you not sing along to the catchy/voice-breaking chorus after the minor key verses?  The tension builds wonderfully.  “Sidecars” is a fun poppy track (“You and I will be sidecars, we chase down the hard stuff”).

“Pink Champagne” is a five-minute piano ballad.  It’s more akin to her earlier more country songs.  It’s a wee bit long but never overstays itself.  It’s followed by “Going to Hell,” which features some great screaming guitars in the midst of more delicate singing.  “For the Record” closes the album with a seven minute slow burner.  It begins quietly, and builds and builds–never the ecstatic heights–but with a chorus that is as catchy as it is mournful.

I have this CD in my car and every time it comes up, i just can’t stop listening.

[READ: June 18,2012] I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth

I received this limited (autographed!) chapbook from The Walrus when I re-subscribed recently.  That’s pretty cool.  It has been sitting around because I thought it was a much longer piece.  When I received the latest issue of The Walrus, and saw that the same story was in there, well, I realized that this was just a short story and could be polished off pretty quickly.  The issue of The Walrus also told me that this story is a kind of follow-up to The Robber Bride.

I have never read The Robber Bride (I like Atwood quite a lot and yet have never read her most iconic books!).  So I would never have known that this was a sequel (of sorts).  As I said, I don’t know The Robber Bride, (and hope to read it maybe this year).  I don’t know exactly how it ties to the novel (the first line of the Wikipedia entry tells me that the three main characters are the same), and given the tone of the story, I assume it is simply catching up on them some twenty-five years later.

In this story, Claris, Tony and Roz (who are all women, I didn’t realize that right away) are going for their weekly walk in the woods together (because it’s good for you and Roz hopes to increase their cellular autophagic rates).  Tony and Roz bought (from a shelter) a dog for Claris called Ouida.  Ouida is a wild terrier mix (who hops on Roz’s orange coat and leaves footprints).

It quickly becomes apparent that Claris is something of a hippy—organic, vegetarian, communing with spirits and whatnot.  Claris just had a dream about Zenia.  Zenia (who I assume is in The Robber Bride, because why wouldn’t she be), was a woman from their past.  She stole a man from each one of them—with varying outcomes in each woman’s case.  Zenia died about twenty years ago but she has come back, Claris believes, to tell her about Billy. (more…)

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William Gibson–“Olds Rocket 88, 1950” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in Depeche Mode, Essays, History, J.G. Ballard, Jack Kerouac, Michael Moorcock, New Yorker, Nostalgia, Outer Space, Sci-fi, Surfer Blood, Technology, The Future, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, William S. Burroughs on June 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SURFER BLOOD-Tarot Classics (2012).

I really enjoyed Surfer Blood’s debut album.  This EP is a little stopgap until the next one. Although the sound is unmistakably Surfer Blood–poppy hooks and a very recognizable singing voice, the band sounds a little bit different here.  They haven’t lost any of their catchiness–there may be even more on the opener, “I’m Not Ready” (who doesn’t love when the guitar and vocals match each other?)  “Miranda” has that fun thumping chorus that is always fun to sing along to.

“Voyager Reprise” moves away from the surf-styled songs of their debut into an alt-rock of the 90s sound–when guitars were noisy (until they were quiet for a bit) and guitar solos happened between verses instead of as the third verse.  And “Drinking Problem” has a kind of early Depeche Mode (in vocals, not synths) feel–quite a departure from their debut.

In the way of EPs, the final two songs are remixes.  I’ve never been a fan or remixes and these don’t do much for me, but i do wonder if they will have any impact on their future sound.

[READ: June 14, 2012] “Olds Rocket 88, 1950”

All this time I thought there were only five of these short essays in this sci-fi issue of the New Yorker.  And yet tucked away near the back was the sixth one by William Gibson, a pioneer in science fiction.

Gibson’s recollection is of being a child and having everything seem like science fiction–something that is notably absent these days.  Like the chrome trim on his father’s Oldsmobile Rocket 88, the prevalence of spacemen and space-themed ideas everywhere.  Even the word Tomorrow was capitalized.

Then he recounts a personal incident.  He got in trouble with his parents for arguing with an Air Force man.  The man said space travel would never happen. But Gibson knew it would.  How could it not?  And science fiction shaped this worldview.  Not that he believed the stories would come true, but that his entire mindset was that in the future “things might be different…and different in literally any way you could imagine, however radical.”

What a wonderfully freeing notion.  To me, this sort of future-looking lifestyle accounted for the unprecedented achievements of post 1950 America.  Now that we no longer think of tomorrow with a capital T, we don’t seem as enchanted by the future.  Perhaps it was a naive outlook, but you need a certain degree of naiveté if you hope to do anything radically new.

Gibson ties in the sci-fi books he bought for a dollar to other fantasists: J.G. Ballard, Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Moorcock, and how these thinkers weren’t all that far off from the likes of Kerouac and William S. Burroughs.  And he believes that without science fiction, he might not have been interested in what these other radical writers had to say.

It’s a short piece, but it really made me wish for more chrome and space-age technology in our lives–when people weren’t afraid to dram big.

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Anthony Burgess—“The Clockwork Condition: The author comments on his most famous book, in 1973” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in A Clockwork Orange, Aldous Huxley, All Songs Considered, Anthony Burgess, Arcade Fire, B.F. Skinner, Bruce Springsteen, Dystopia, Essays, Fears, Free Speech, George Orwell, Japandroids, Language, New Yorker, Religion, Sinclair Lewis on June 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: JAPANDROIDS-“Fire’s Highway” (2012).

I regret dismissing the suggestions of the NPR folks the other day.  As the more I dig into their suggestions, the more I like–seems their selections are better than their descriptions of said selections.  Take this description of the Japandoids’ album: “snarling punk meets the fist-in-the-air anthemics of Born to Run-era Springsteen and his modern-day equivalents in The Gaslight Anthem.”  I’ve never really liked Springsteen (I know, a Jersey boy, too).  I think it’s more about production (and saxophone) than anything else.  So, comparing bands to him is never a sell for me (even if it may be true).  To me, this sounds much more like a low-key Arcade Fire (with literally no pretensions to anything–I mean, there’s only 2 Japandroids).  Granted, Arcade Fire owe a lot to Springsteen too, but they do something different with his sound, which is why I like them.  [I’m not going to be able to argue my way out of this].

Anyhow, this song is a four minutes of punky guitars and a stupidly catchy chorus.  The fact that it’s only two guys makes it all the more remarkable that it sounds like a full band.  And perhaps, the biggest difference for me is the singer’s voice which feels very early 90s alt rock/punk.  Whatever it is, I’m a fan and will certainly be listening to more of this album.

[READ: June 14, 2012] “The Clockwork Condition”

Like most young men of a certain bent, I loved A Clockwork Orange.  I’ve watched it dozens of times and I’ve read the book.  What I especially like about the story is that my feelings about it change as I get older—which, while not the point exactly, is certainly a theme in the story–how age makes things seem different.  The most important thing I learned from this article is that there was an epilogue in the British version of the book that was not available in the American version (or the film).  And it seems to be pretty important.  What a strange thing to leave out.

Incidentally, Burgess wrote the book in 1962 and the film came out in 1973, which is why he was wrote this in 1973.  He says he was asked about Issues that arose from the film.  And he talks a lot about them.

But he also gives a lot of background.  The title of the book comes from the expression “as queer as a clockwork orange” which is Cockney slang for something so weird it subverts nature.  It was a perfect title for an idea he was going to write about—how people suggested using aversion therapy to change juvenile delinquent behavior.

So this article goes on for a pretty long time, raising all kinds of questions.  It’s really articulate and fascinating and really makes me want to re-read the anti-authoritarian novels I read in high school: 1984, It Can’t Happen Here, Brave New World.   He even talks about B.F. Skinner, who proposed that aversion therapy (which is what Alex gets in the book/movie) was wrong and that positive reinforcement was always more effective.  Skinner worked with animals (Burgess jokes about that) and the whole “you get more flies with honey” attitude works better for training animals he says.  The same is true for people.  Besides, aversion therapy removes freewill. (more…)

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Jonathan Lethem–“My Internet” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Music, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jonathan Lethem, New Yorker, Short Story, Technology on June 15, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: CARLY RAE JEPSEN-“Call Me Maybe” (acoustic) (2012).

I had never heard of this song until about three days ago.  I’m led to believe that this song is massive, and yet somehow I missed it (which is fine).  I first read about it  as “the song that Justin Bieber made famous.”  So I listened to it and I hated the overproduction of it.  Then one of the folks at NPR picked it as her favorite song of the year (the discussion was split 50/50 between love and hate).  And I had to agree that after another listen, it was really catchy.  But I still hated the overproduction.

One of the people in the discussion said that an acoustic version would be great.  So I found one (there are actually a ton online…this song really must be huge).  And indeed, the acoustic version is pretty nice.  It is insanely catchy (and remarkably sweet).   And her voice is very intriguing–I think her voice really makes the song.  Absent all of that obnoxious production, this is an enjoyable pop song (although, the keyboards are pretty awful still on this version–loose the keys, Carly).

One acoustic version (that’s barely 2 minutes long) is available here.

[READ: June 13, 2012] “My Internet”

I was poisoned against the story because I read just one line of Karen’s review: “Let’s face it – without Jonathan Lethem’s name on this, it’d never get out of a slushpile.”  That was a pretty big hurdle for this story.  And it never cleared it.   I’m going to have to agree with Karen—possibly not as harshly, but with a general….huh?  I have a hard time believing that this found a publisher.

The idea is kind of interesting:  there is a another internet tucked away inside the internet we all know.  There are only 100 people who are on it, and they were all sent special invitations to join.  There are only two rules on this Internet—no money and no animals.  But for some reason (explained by the end), the narrator is unhappy here, and he wants to create his own internet within this other internet (which is within the global internet).

And that’s pretty much it. (more…)

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Karen Russell–“Quests” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in Consumerism, Contests, Fantasy, Harry Potter, Karen Russell, Neutral Milk Hotel, New Yorker, Phish, Pizza, Set at School, Terry Brooks on June 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” (2010).

My friend Jay sent me this clip of Phish covering Neutral Milk Hotel’s wonderful song.  He was at the show and sent me a link  to the YouTube video.

The original of this song is wonderful–always sounding like it’s going to collapse in on itself but never actually doing so.  It is full of angst and emotion and after the first listen, where you say, “is he really going to sing the whole thing like this?” you are totally hooked.

The Phish version evens a lot of that angst out.  It’s a strange thing to say about Phish, but they make this song far more commercial.  They turn it into a pretty ballad.  And that’s kind of a shame since the original is so iconic.

In Phish’s defense, this is part of one of their sets (they unveiled a new cover on every day of the tour), and it’s not like they are trying to record a definitive version of it or anything.  So they make it into a Phish song–with a long solo and everything.  And the solo sounds like a total Trey solo.  I’m not sure what songs surrounded this one, but it sounds like it fit perfectly into their set.

As the folks at Stereogum say, “If you’ve always felt “Aeroplane” needed more guitar solo, this is your lucky day.”  For me what it did was make me want to listen to the original–and that’s never a bad thing.

[READ: June 5, 2012] “Quests”

This essay opens up with a history lesson.  In the early nineties, Pizza Hut sponsored the Book It! program to promote reading.  For every ten books you read you got a free pizza.  Well, it turns out that they either still do this or they do it in a modified form because my son has been getting these free pizza coupons all year.  Of course, we live in New Jersey, where the pizza is plentiful and delicious (there are at least 4 excellent pizza places within ten minutes of our house).  And you’d be a fool to eat Pizza Hut, even if it is free.  My son is pretty bummed about this, because of course he wants to redeem his prize.  And I suppose one day we’ll let him do it, but it would painful.  I actually don’t even know where a Pizza Hut is by us.

But that’s got nothing to do with Russell’s essay.  She realizes the truism that there is no greater pleasure than reading for pizza.  Because it’s not just reading for escape and fantasy, now you’re a breadwinner. Literally.  Russell’s genre of choice was fantasy (Terry Brooks in particular–I love that she realizes later in life that he took his ideas from Dresden and Hiroshima and how it blew her mind). (more…)

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Sam Lipsyte–“The Republic of Empathy” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11 2012)

Posted in Concept Albums, Consumerism, Death, Funny (ha ha), Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Phish, Sam Lipsyte, Sci-fi, Sex, Short Story on June 13, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday (1987).

This record was created by Trey Anastasio as his senior project at Goddard College.  The thesis included an essay piece and this collection of songs (recorded by Phish) relating this epic tale from the band’s fictional land of Gamehendge.  It was never officially released, but since Phish is so free with the tape trading, it is pretty widely available online (heck, even Wikipedia has a link to the Lossless SHN download of the album).

This release is legendary in the band’s history because they have played all of the songs from this album many times in their live shows (some much more than others, of course).  And while they have more or less played the Gamehendge saga a few times in concert, I’d always wondered what the original story was all about (many songs have since been added to the saga as it grew larger).

So here in all its tape-hissy glory is the original.  My first thought is that I guess it was hard to get good sound recording equipment in 1987 (or else this is a multi-generational copy—the “white cassette” from a year earlier sounds better).  And there seems to be a few flubs in the narration (which could be from copying).  I actually surprised he didn’t use a more authoritarian voice for the narration.

For fans, this is fun to hear because of that narration.  Live, the narration varies all the time, not always explaining what is going on the same way (some live narrations are far better and much more interesting).  But here you get it straight from the source.  The narration is accompanied by rather pretty instrumental music (which varies depending on who he is speaking about).  But for those of us who know all of these songs, the biggest surprise is finding out that “AC/DC Bag,” “The Sloth,” and “Possum” were part of the story (or maybe the biggest surprise is learning from the narration what the hell an AC/DC bag is (a robotic, mechanized hangman, of course).

The story is pretty interesting (Wilson and the Helping Friendly Book and all that), although by the end it loses itself a bit.  And I’m not really sure that “The Sloth” and “Possum” fit into the story at all.   But hey, he was a college senior when he wrote it, one can forgive a little sophomoric nonsense, right?

[READ: June 11, 2012] “The Republic of Empathy”

This is the first fiction I’ve read of the sci-fi issue.  I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be sci-fi, because it’s not really, at least not in terms of genre (I’d say sci-fi fans would object to the designation of sci-fi for this).  But it is futuristic and neat.  I especially enjoyed the humor and the construction of the story—Lipsyte is usually good for both of these.

It begins with William.  Williams is married to Peg.  Peg wants to have a second child as a gift for their first child (who has just grown out of the new baby smell).  William thinks this is crazy, but Peg says it’s a dealbreaker.  The next day William, who works for a flip-flop company, smokes a joint with an ex-cop friend, Gregory on the roof of their building.  On the roof across from them, they see two men fighting. And then one falls of the roof—splat.

Gregory says he’s seen this before but that William will be traumatized.  And he is in his dreams, but he’s even more traumatized when he dreams that his wife is pregnant and they already have two kids.  Oh, and that the neighbors, the Lockhorns, masturbate each other in the living room with the windows open.

Section two is from Danny’s point of view.  Danny is Gregory’s son.  Every few weeks Gregory is dating a new, younger lady.  This one is only a few years older than Danny.  It’s gross (and Danny feels like a bad YA narrator as he relates the story).  This is all before (I assume) Gregory comes out of the closet.  Because William knows that he’s gay in the above scene. (more…)

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Doug TenNapel–Ghostopolis (2010)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Death, Doug TenNapel, Fantasy, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Pallbearer, Short Books, Supernatural on June 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PALLBEARER-“Legend” (2012).

For the past several years, NPR has been one of my favorite resources for new music.  They feature a new song every day, they play first listens of new albums, they have downloadable concerts and much more.   And every year their best albums picks invariably feature and album or two that I hadn’t heard of which prove to be amazing.

But this first half of the year’s album picks are really kind of disappointing. It’s a diverse mix (Leonard Cohen, Sharon van Etten, Bobby Womack, fun., some rappers I don’t know, a little classical, Spiritualized).  I’m not saying these choices are bad, I actually haven’t heard most of them.  But there was nothing that made me jump up and say, how did I miss that?

But then there was this cut from Pallbearer.  It’s a dirgey death metal song, slow and heavy.  Lately I’ve enjoyed death metal but I’ve been disappointed by the vocalists.  Pallbearer has a guy who can sing and whose voice rings through the sludge.  And there is sludge–some of the notes sound like the guitar is completely de-tuned.  But what’s cool about the recording is that it doesn’t sound sloppy or mushy–you can hear the sludginess in all its clarity.  The guitar solo is interesting too.  It also soars above the sludge, but it’s not a shredding solo, it’s melodic and quite pretty.

I’ll check out more from Pallbearer.  I’m always excited to see NPR promoting death metal.  It’s as good juxtaposition as the parts of this song itself.

You can see the NPR choices here.

[READ: June 10, 2012] Ghostopolis

Sarah gave me this book after reading it quickly and raving about it (this after our friend Megan gave it to her and raved about it).  And I read it quickly and will rave about it now too.

The book opens with an airplane that is having engine trouble.  The airplane, it turns out, is being flown by a little boy name Garth Hale.  Because it’s a toy plane (the reveal is great).  He’s being gross (barf bags everywhere) until his mother can’t take it anymore.  But she has reason to be gentle with him.  She has just found out that her son’s disease is incurable.

Meanwhile Frank Gallows is a special agent whose job is to send ghosts back to the afterlife.  He has a cool handcuff-like device that he has to attach to the ghosts’ arms or legs.  He then pushes a button and poof, back they go.  His first assignment today is to get Benedict Arnold (who plays a big role later on) out of the world.  Then he goes after a horse–a skeletal nightmare horse–which is overpowers for him.  As it floats through a wall, Frank manages to shackle its legs and poof.  Only after the poof does he realize that the horse was on top of a little boy.  A boy named Garth Hale.   Frank is in big trouble. (more…)

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#OccupyGaddis (2012)

Posted in #OccupyGaddis, Air, Big Books, Canadian Music, Concert, David Foster Wallace, Feist, James Joyce, Radiohead, Supergrass, The Velvet Underground, Thomas Pynchon, William Gaddis on June 11, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FEIST-“Femme Fatale” (2011).

The funny thing about The Velvet Underground is that it seems like it would be very hard to fail at covering them.  Their songs are pretty open to interpretation.  But, it’s even more true if you wanted to do it pretty straight.  I mean, while Lou Reeds voice is unique, Nico’s isn’t really.  It’s slow and languorous, sexy and distant.  I would never have thought to describe Feist that way and yet she fits into the Nico mold very nicely.

This cover comes from the Velvet Underground Revisited show from 2011, with a band comprised of members of Radiohead, Air and Supergrass.  Feist did vocals for this one.  It’s not an earth-shattering cover.  In fact it’s pretty spot on.  Maybe everyone who hears this will start a band too.

You can hear it here.

[PLANNED: Summer 2012] #OccupyGaddis

I had my books all planned out for the summer.  A series of smaller books to get through before trying to tackle any really big books that are on my shelf (and there are plenty).

And then came #OccupyGaddis.

William Gaddis is an author, like Thomas Pynchon, who writes large, unwieldy novels which are something of a bedrock for contemporary American fiction–like The Velvet Underground–not many people have read him, but those who have all went on to write wonderful books.  And he forms a kind of continuum of (among many many others) Joyce>Gaddis>Pynchon>Wallace which means that I ought to be reading him.

I read JR about a decade ago.  I remember a few things about it–basic plot details and the fact that you never know exactly who is speaking.  I wasn’t keeping this blog then, so I didn’t exactly take notes on it or anything.  It’s kind of a blur.

So Lee Konstantinou is running #Occupy Gaddis this summer.  It is meant  to be an Infinite Summer type-deal.  Unlike Infinite Summer which was weekly, he’s planning on posting every two weeks.  I’ll try to do my weekly post (work permitting), by picking a midpoint as a Spoiler Line.  Since my recollection is that JR is like one large block of text with no breaks anywhere, my spoiler line will be pretty arbitrary.   But here’s his:

June 29: pp. 150

July 15: pp. 300

July 31: pp. 460

August 15: pp. 610

August 26: done!

(more…)

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