I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: ST. VINCENT-Actor (2009).

I had seen St Vincent on Austin City Limits, and her juxtaposition of waif-singer with noise mongering guitar player blew me away.  So I was a little disappointed when this album opened up with this gentle, practically 1950s sounding vocal and string line in “The Strangers.”  It takes two and a half minutes, but the noise eventually comes and it totally changes the texture of the song.  Of course now, “make the black hole blacker” is a fun thing to sing along with (and the lyrics in general are pretty great).  “Save Me from What I Want” is another quiet song with a catchy chorus.  “The Neighbors” has a great melody with interesting strings over the top of it.  “Actor Out of Work” brings in some stranger sounds to the album.

There’s something interesting about the songs on this album, like the way “Black Rainbow” has these sweet string sections but for the end half builds a crescendo of tension. I also love that a seemingly delicate song can be called “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood.”  Perhaps the strangest song on the disc is “Marrow” which has a strange horn section and the chorus: “H.  E.  L.  P.  Help Me Help Me.”  “The Bed,” “The Party” and “Just the Same But Brand New” continue in this vein–like a Disney princess song with a horrible threat underneath: “Don’t Mooooove, Don’t Screeeam.”  But that sense of princess who are slightly askew really resonates on this record.  It’s not as willfully dissonant as her first record, but lyrically it’s a knife covered in cotton candy, it’s still a gem.

[READ: March 20, 2012] McSweeney’s #39

One of the bad things about having a job with actual work is not being able to write complex posts about compilation books.  It’s hard to have your book open while bosses walk by.  So, its been a while since I read this and I’ll do my best to remember it all.  Incidentally, if you’re keeping track I skipped 38, but I’ll get to it.

Issue #39 is a hardcover and a pretty one at that. It has a front cover photo (as well as many interior photos) taken by Tabitha Soren.  Yes, forty-somethings, THAT Tabitha Soren, from MTV who has a new career as a photographer.

This issue continues with the recent return of the Letters column (as the magazine and front matter become more serious the return of the Letters adds an air of silliness).

LETTERS-

BENJAMIN COHEN
Updates us about his neighborhood in Charlottesville, specifically the neighbor catty-corner to him whom they haven’t seen in five years and the neighbor boy Billy who let his dogs shit on their lawn.  Benjamin’s wife accosted him about that and Billy stopped to say he respected that.

MARCO KAYE
Wonders just how responsible he is for leaving a crime off of a job application if he didn’t rally realize it was a crime–like trespassing.

DICKY MURPHY
Did you know that Civil War hero David Glasgow Farragut had a test to see if you were young or old (there was nothing in between) Can you perform a handspring?  When he could no longer do one he retired from the military.  But Abraham Lincoln had his own test–balancing an uncooked egg on a wooden spoon which Farragut passed and was reinstated.

ELIZABETH SANKEY
How the Twilight books have changed Sankey’s criteria for the men she will date.

DAVID-IVAR HERMAN DÜNE
A lengthy letter about finding a flat in Paris and learning that spider blood is the key to eternal life.

AVERY LEE
A personalized request for a large print edition of McSweeney’s

STEPHEN ELLIOTT
Stephen play Settlers of Catan with some beautiful women while working on his debut film.  But they are too beautiful and he is like their gay friend.  What should he do?

THE MAIN PIECES

JULIE HECHT-“They All Stand Up and Sing”
This is a nonfiction piece about the joys of  wearing a Marimekko cotton dress.  That memory leads to as series of related items–her viewing of Casablanca, a German therapist, and a hilarious letter from Richard Nixon’s secretary about a piece of “art” that was sent to hm.  I love nostalgic rambling pieces like this especially when they are well written.

JENNIE ERIN SMITH-“Benjamin Bucks”
This is a non-fiction piece about Benjamin Bucks (not his real name), a professional smuggler of small animals.  Gripping and a fascinating insight into this world that is quite illegal.

ROBERTO BOLAÑO-“The Neochileans”
This poem is in Bolaño’s Tres and I mentioned it here.

TOM BARBASH-“The Shah’s Man”
This is a nonfiction piece about Bobby Armao, bodyguard to the Shah of Iran in 1980.  And what he has been up to since then.  But mostly it looks back on what it was like to be with the Shah in his last days–especially on his trip to New York.  It includes pictures–I never knew the Shah was such a handsome man.

VÁCLAV HAVEL-“Politics and Conscience”
I have great respect for Havel.  When he became president I was overjoyed.  This essay about politics and conscience is very effective, although the writing is a bit dull.

E.C. OSONDU-“Bumsters”
This is a cool story about a woman who is on vacation in Gambia, mourning her recently deceased husband.  She befriends some a questionable locals–a bumster.  He gives her ataya, which he promises is good for you–for all of you.  She drinks it and feels good for the first time in a while.  But when she gets a bill for 200 dollars and more threatening notes as well, she doesn’t know what to do.  Her friend tells her later that ataya is for bush people–how could she possibly have found it?  It’s a dark but satisfying story.

ELMORE LEONARD-“Chick Killer”
I haven’t read that much Leonard, but I really enjoyed this story for being so very different from anything I might normally read. Today was Karen Sisco’s last day as a federal marshal.  She’s sharing a drink with her dad.  They talk at cross purposes in a very natural manner (the dialogue is wonderful).  She tells him about her last take down. And the ending is a nice  twist.  This was an interesting story that kept me guessing.

YANNICK MURPHY-“Secret Language”
Adele is married to Jesus.  She feels like she is a failure–her daughter only eats chocolate, she can’t knit or so or do anything like that.  When she finally meets another “failure” in the park, they become friends.  But she decides to learn to cook–to learn something–from Jesus’s mother.  And the lessons are long.  But Adele learns something about herself and about her daughter and how to end her chocolate eating ways.

AMELIA GRAY-“Fifty Ways to Eat Your Lover”
This is a very literal title for this piece, which is indeed a list of 50 ways to eat your lover.  Not very satisfying I’m afraid.

JESS WALTER-“Anything Helps”
Bit is trying to find the best thing to write on his cardboard to get people to give him money.  He settles on Anything Helps.  And when someone asks him what he’ll do with the money he says he’ll buy the latest Harry Potter book  And he is serious. But it’s not for him It’s a gift for his son.  And as more details unfold, the story becomes even more heartbreaking.  This was excellent.

TABITHA SOREN-“Running”
It’s hard to judge a photographer from a brief series of photographs.  I’d like to be able to make a more determined observation about Soren’s work, but it is just people running. It’s interesting in concept but not really that wonderful to look at.  Her pictures are well composed but I’d like to see more from her.

BENJAMIN WEISSMAN-“Louella Tarantula”
This is a pretty crazy story. It opens with a huge tarantula resting on the narrator’s mother’s face and her father saying not to touch it, it makes her happy.   They name the tarantula Louella.   Their mother s sick–cancer–and somehow Louella has a soothing effect on her.  The strange story is full of pathos as it nears its end–sad but strangely uplifting as well.

ABI MAXWELL-“Giant of the Sea”
This is a wicked story about a young girl committed to escaping her situation and willing to say–or do–anything to see it happen.  Eleanora’s father was a sea captain who died when she was just 14 (in 1878).  When she and her only friend in the world Kristina decide to voyage to America, Ellie hatches a very devious plan.  This was a little convoluted, but the scenes were excellent.

J.T.K. BELLE-“Carlos the Impossible”
I was concerned about this story because it is about bullfighting.  Typically bullfighting stories are violent and bloody. But this one was different. It was about a giant of a bull who simply could not be broken.  His name is Carlos.  We learn all about this bull from the day it was born to the day its owner realized he was too big to be useful.  Finally the bull winds up facing the genius matador Hernando.  When a deal is struck for them to face off in the ring, a fortune in bets is placed on the event.  In the first meeting, the bull wounds the great matador.   Hernando is hospitalized for  days, but he promises a rematch.  But when Carlos is victorious again and another match is called, the fans grow weary of the faux spectacle.  Soon, Hernando becomes like Ahab, questing to defeat this massive creature.  And the end comes with a whimper not a bang.  I really enjoyed this story a lot.

~~~~

This was another enjoyable issue of McSweeney’s.  The mixing of fiction and non-fiction was superb.

This book was bundled with a non-fiction title: In My Home There is No More Sorrow by Rick Bass.  Which I have not yet read.  I anticipate reading it eventually but not any time soon.

For ease of searching, I include: Vaclav Havel, Roberto Bolano, David-Ivar Herman Dune