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Archive for October, 2012

Periodical: Outside

Posted in Adventure, Biking, Canoeing, Daredevils, Essays, Fishing, Food, Hunting, Outside, Shooting, Skiing, Surfing, Swimming, Travel, Wells Tower, Yuck! on October 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

After enjoying yet another article from Outside, I figured it was time to subscribe, you know, give the magazine makers some money for their work.

I decided to wait for three issues to offer a verdict because the first two were really disappointing.  Subscriptions run $2 an issue with a list price of $7.  I haven’t really talked about subscription prices of other magazines before but this one is quite high.  It’s staggeringly high for the amount of ads that are in the magazine, too.  They have a half a dozen advertorials which look like articles (which I hate) and all those personals in the back.  Plus the mag is littered with ads for gear (which I know gear people love but still  it should impact the price of the magazine.  Sheesh).

So the articles I’ve enjoyed in the past were personal stories (from the likes of Wells Tower, etc).  They are extended pieces by reasonably famous authors and they have a great voice.  In the issues I’ve received so far, the feature stories have been the 50 Best Jobs and Are You Tough Enough?  That Jobs one seems like a fun article and indeed the places they chose were interesting.   Although this was more of a fluff piece than a real article–no one is getting a job looking at these companies–certainly not just because they read about it here.  Also, note that none of the companies are East of the Mississippi.  There’s also later article on adventure seeking entrepreneurs.  Yawn.  I gather that the Are You Tough enough type of article is the real meat and potatoes of the magazine, with headlines like “Eat Like a Champion” and “Surfing Monster Waves,” the actual target audience for this magazine must be slim indeed.  I know it’s not me. (more…)

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Douglas Coupland–Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work! (2010)

Posted in Annie Hall, Biography, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, CBC Radio 3, Consumerism, Death, Depression, Douglas Coupland, Extraordinary Canadians, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Marshall McLuhan, Short Books, Silversun Pickups, Smashing Pumpkins, Technology, The Future on October 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SILVERSUN PICKUPS-Live on KEXP, May 11, 2012 (2012).

Following the other day’s review of Silversun Pickups, I have this more recent show.  In this one, only two members of the band are here–singer/guitarist Brian Aubert and bassist Nikki Monninger for a stripped down acoustic show.

This set is much more enjoyable than the older set.  The songs are certainly stronger, especially “Bloody Mary” and “The Pit.”  But there’s also something refreshing about hearing this band who is usually so fuzzed out sounding clean and simple.  I wouldn’t want an entire acoustic album from these guys, but it’s so dynamic in this version.  You can really hear the construction of the songs in this simple setting.

And the rapport between Brian and DJ Cheryl Waters is relaxed (they are very funny) and engaging–I really want to like these guys.

It’s interesting that in the five years from the previous set the Billy Corganisms have not gone away at all, but I guess one can’t help what one’s voice sounds like.  It’s kind of hard to get past that, but it’s not impossible, and the songs are so good, you can overlook it.  This makes me want to check out their latest album.  You can hear it here.

And for  those who watch TV, Silversun Pickups were on Up All Night this week (in a very weird mash up of pop culture).  Is that how lesser known bands get publicity, or was that meant to be a draw for the show (I don’t know how popular they are–Sarah had never heard of them).

[READ: October 18, 2012] Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!

I had not heard of this book until I saw it in my local library.  I wasn’t prepared to read another biography of Marshall McLuhan, and indeed, this isn’t one.  This is the American edition of Extraordinary Canadians: Marshall McLuhan with a spiffy new title.  And it is virtually identical.

There are several things that were in the Canadian edition that were left out of the American edition (although they did leave in all of the “u”s in words like “colour”).

The things that were left out are: (more…)

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Tony Earley–”Jack and the Mad Dog” (New Yorker, October 1, 2012)

Posted in Dinosaur Jr., Fables, Henry Rollins, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Meta, New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, Tony Earley on October 19, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK:  DINOSAUR JR and HENRY ROLLINS-Live on KEXP, December 27, 2011 (2011). 

Back in 2011, Dinosaur Jr did several shows in which they played their Bug album in its entirety.  They also brought Henry Rollins along.  Not as an opening act–he rightly suggests that rock audiences wouldn’t want to hear him talk for 45 minutes, but as an interviewer.  Before each set he asks the band a few questions that a long-time fans might want to know.

In this concert spot he asks some questions as well, although none are all that interesting (I assume he saved the good ones for the paying audience).  But that’s neither here nor there because what we care about is the reunited Dino playing songs.  And they sound great!

It’s a four song set: “Little Fury Things” an absolute scorcher of a version of “Yeah We Know.”  And great version of “Freak Scene” and (a surprise for me) their cover of “Just Like Heaven” (which I think of as a novelty but which still sounds great).  I love that it still ends with the roared “YOU!!!”

The band sounds great–the guitar is loud and overwhelming -Murph and Barlow sound great too.  And Mascis’ voice sounds exactly the same–which is a good thing.  It’s hard to believe they were separated for so long.   This set is totally worth hearing.

[READ: October 16, 2012] “Jack and the Mad Dog”

This is a strange story in which the protagonist is “Jack, that Jack, the giant-killer of the bean tree.”  This story works to update the Jack story now that many years have passed and Jack is older, less mythical.

It begins with Jack waiting for a farmer to fall asleep so he can have sex with the farmer’s wife (for $4).  Then we see that Jack had drunk some moonshine on the way there (he is drunk for the first time).  He waits and waits for the farmer to leave, but the farmer is on to him and tells him to go home.

Frustrated, Jack leaves only to run into the Mad Dog.  The Mad Dog is sent to bite Jack and give him rabies–in other words, the fairy tale is over.  But Jack has a few resources left and he evades the dog’s bite.  As he flees, with the dog in hot pursuit, Jack sees a number of maidens and he runs with them until they catch him checking out their asses.  They turn tables on him and ask him to defend his past of lechery and debauchery. (more…)

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Lara Vapnyar–“Fischer vs. Spassky” (New Yorker, October 8, 2012)

Posted in Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky, Chess, First Aid Kit, History, Indigo Girls, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Lara Vapnyar, New Yorker, Russia, Short Story, Swedish Music on October 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FIRST AID KIT-Live on KEXP, April 1 2012 (2012).

I’d never heard of First Aid Kit before listening to this set.  They are primarily comprised of two Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg– although there are other musicians on the album and live here.  And they’re quite a formidable band. They play a kind of folkie alt-country, but when the two sisters harmonize (one with a slightly disconcerting low voice) is sends chills up my spine   The chorus of  “The Lion’s Roar”: “I’m a god damned coward but then again so are you” makes the hairs on my next stand up.  “Emmylou” really highlights their songwriting skills.  They talk about this song in the chat with the DJ, and she admits that she wasn’t sure if the metaphor worked, but the DJ and I agree it does.

The harmonies on “Blue” are just spectacular and the subtle application strings and glockenspiel really flesh out the sound.   I’m thinking of them as a maybe a more dynamic/indie sounding Indigo Girls.

They DJ also mentions their cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,” which has garnered the attention of Fleet Foxes (and millions of views).  You can add to that number :

You can also hear their set.

[READ: October 16, 2012] “Fischer vs. Spassky”

This story opens with the unusual note that Marina cried for a long time after her husband died–she would bite her arm in grief, leaving marks that looked like “irregular postage stamps.”  Her husband died 30 years ago and she can still feel the marks tingle.

I say that note was unusual because the story is a flashback that is brought on by the death of Bobby Fischer.  Marina remembers back to  the monumental chess match between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky.  Although most of Soviet Russia supported Spassky, many Russian Jews supported Fischer because of the freedom he represented.

Indeed, Marina and her husband followed the match very closely and her husband even made a pact that if Fisher won, they would flee Russian for America.  Marina didn’t believe that he was serious, so she went about her daily life as any practical person would. (more…)

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Mohsin Hamid–“The Third-Born” (New Yorker, September 24, 2012)

Posted in Culture Shock, Kathleen Edwards, Mohsin Hamid, New Yorker, Short Story, Tiny Desk Concert on October 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Tiny Desk Concert #206 (April 5, 2012).

Kathleen Edwards has a great voice and she writes great songs.  There’s not much more to this set than her singing four fantastic songs in the Tiny Desk setting.  Although her songs have full band arrangements on records, they do not sound out of place in this smaller, acoustic environment.

As she introduces the final song of the set “Change the Sheets” she says it’s the first time they’ve played it acoustically.  You’d ever know.  It sounds great.

There’s not a lot more to say about this Tiny Desk set–it highlights a great songwriter with a great voice.

[READ: October 15, 2012] “The Third Born”

I had a wee bit of trouble following this story, although I admit I didn’t give it my undivided attention at first.

If this isn’t an excerpt, then it’s a fairly disconnected story with large gaps–it reads like a few distinct scenes that happen so far apart as to be almost disconnected.  (I re-read it to make sure).

The story begins with a boy in a village in India.  He is sick and his mother knows how to help him with this not uncommon rural disease.  He watches the village as he lays there, more or less immobile–how the women seem to do a lot of work, although his mother doesn’t work outside the house.  Eventually his father returns from the city where he is a successful cook.  The boy’s mother asks if the whole family can move to the city.  He balks at the idea–he spends several month sat a time in the city where he makes good money, although he claims it is not enough for a family to live on in the city. (more…)

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T. Coraghessan Boyle–“Birnam Wood” (New Yorker, September 3, 2012)

Posted in Boredom, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, New Yorker, Short Story, T.C. Boyle, The Lumineers on October 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE LUMINEERS-Live at KEXP, April 3, 2012 (2012).

This was the first I’d heard of the Lumineers.  I found their second  song “Ho Hey” to be really engaging so I’ve since gotten their record.  There’s no denying that they are falling under the Mumford and Sons stomping folk-revival banner.

This four song set is good fun.  It features two catchy folkie songs up front “Flowers in Your Hair” and “Ho Hey” both of which total less than 4 minutes, but which really show what kind of music they make.  (Shall we call it Mumford without the banjos?  That’s dismissive but not inaccurate).  “Dead Sea” is a longer song and the length really shows the depth of the song.  The final song, “Stubborn Love” is even better than the others, with the whole band really rocking out with harmony vocals   It’s a great introduction to this band who have really been gaining a lot of airplay on the radio around here lately.

In the chat with the DJ, the guys reveal that they grew up in Ramsey, NJ!  Of course, they ran away to Denver to become famous.   Listen here.

[READ: October 12, 2012] “Birnam Wood”

I don’t quite know how authors get selected for the New Yorker.  Is it blind?  Do they just say, well, so and so has a new book out, lets put two of his stories in this year?  I ask this because Boyle had a story published in February and now another in September.  Perhaps he’s their equinox.

I liked this one quit a bit.  It opens with a destitute couple staying in a summer lodging past the end of the summer.  [I immediately related this to the place where we recently vacationed which would certainly not be habitable in November].  Nevertheless, they press on, freezing and cursing each other until the owner catches them.

They go seeking other lodging.  Keith works minimum wage and Nora doesn’t work, (which is a bit of  sticking point for him), so of necessity the new place has to be cheap.  Their first location proves even worse than their current place.  But then his friend Artie tells him of a basement apartment that a couple is looking to lease for the winter.  It’s part of a much larger house and they need people to watch over the whole property for the winter. (more…)

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Douglas Coupland–Girlfriend in a Coma (1998)

Posted in Babies, Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Douglas Coupland, Dreams, Drinking, Drugs, End of the World, Hospitals, Kurt Vonnegut, Sex, Supernatural, The Smiths, Violence, Virginity (Loss of), Yuck! on October 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE SMITHS-“Girlfriend in a Coma” (1987).

Big bouncy basslines open this poppy little ditty that belies its happy music by saying “I know it’s serious.”  The song is catchy and poppy and then there are some strings and martial drums and in 2 minutes it’s over.  What a strange and wonderful single from the Smith’s final album.

The single came with two B-Sides.  “Work is a Four Letter Word” which I never realized was a cover until reading about it now.  Of course it does seem very un-Smiths upon reflection.  And apparently Johnny Marr hated it.  “I Keep Mine Hidden” is the second B-Side.  I thought I had heard every Smiths song, but I don’t recognize this one at all.  It’s an okay song, not exactly a great hidden gem or anything.  If it were on the album, you;d say it should have been a B-side.  So, well done, lads.

The craziest thing about this whole single–three songs–is that it is under 7 minutes long in total.    Ah, I remember the 80s.

[READ: October 14, 2012] Girlfriend in a Coma

I’m glad I watched the short film Close Personal Friend just before reading  this because it really did put forth a lot of the ideas in this story.  The crazy thing is that I read  this book in 1998 but I didn’t remember very much of the story until the very end (which is surprising given how over the top some of the scenes are!).

And, let’s not overlook the Smiths connection.  Not only is the title a Smiths song, but there are dozens of instances where Coupland includes Smiths song titles and lyrics, sometimes in conversation.  In a short succession I saw: the queen is dead, oscillate wildly, bigmouth strikes again, hand in glove.  It’s like a scavenger hunt.

But on to the book. (more…)

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Spencers: Theatre of Illusion (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, October 13, 2012)

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, C., Doug Hennig, Illusion, Magicians, RVCC Arts, Spencers: Theatre of Illusion, T. on October 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2012] Spencers: Theatre of Illusion

This past summer, we purchased some subscriptions to many performances coming up at Raritan Valley Community College   Last year I was impressed by the quality of the performances our little community college attracted, and again, this year, the stars are coming out!

We started off our series with this show, a family entertainment (although honestly going until 9 was a little long for T.  It did say that it was recommended for slightly older kids, although this wasn’t so much content as the pacing and lateness of the show).

The Spencers have a fascinating back story (told in the programme and during the show).  Kevin Spencer always wanted to be a magician.  Doug Hennig was a huge inspiration.  At some point in his career he was in a car accident and it changed the nature of his show (although we never learn what the act used to be like). (more…)

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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Berlind Theatre, Princeton, NJ, October 3, 2012)

Posted in Anton Chekhov, Berlind Theatre, Christopher Durang, David Hyde Pierce, Funny (ha ha), Play (Drama), Princeton, NJ, Sex, Sigourney Weaver, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike on October 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2012] Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Berlind Theater is on the back side of the McCarter Theater on Princeton University’s campus.  I’ve seen a number of shows at McCarter, but none at Berlind.  Berlind proved to be an even smaller and more intimate venue than the gorgeous McCarter.

What better place to see Sigourney Weaver and David Hyde Pierce in starring roles?  Especially when I managed to get $20 seats that were in row K.  That’s right, Row K, as in 11 rows from the stage.  All for $20 and free parking…suck it, Broadway!

Sorry, that was very unclassy.  Let me start again.

Christopher Durang wrote the play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike as a kind of loving nod to Chekov’s Uncle Vanya.  The booklet that came with the play is very funny in which Durang interviews himself and gets most of the details wrong (he keeps calling it a parody of Uncle Vanya, which he explicitly states it is not).

The play is set in Bucks County, PA (just a hop skip and a jump from Princeton).  David Hyde Pierce played Vanya, an older man who lives with his sister Sonia.  Sonia, who is played by Kristine Nielsen, was adopted as a little girl.  Their parents loved Chekov and named them after the characters in Uncle Vanya.  And when thy became infirm, Vanya and Sonia stayed in their childhood home to take care of their ailing parents.  Now Vanya and Sonia are much older, unemployed and curmudgeonly.  She and Vanya have a hostile, co-dependent relationship.   (more…)

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Douglas Coupland: Close Personal Friend (1996)

Posted in Canadian Content, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Douglas Coupland, Kurt Vonnegut, Meta, Reality Bites, Technology, The Future, Twin Peaks on October 12, 2012| 1 Comment »

[WATCHED: October 10, 2012] Close Personal Friend

While I was browsing Coupland’s bibliography on Wikipedia I saw this movie: Douglas Coupland: Close Personal Friend.  There is no information on Coupland’s site about it and there is precious little information about it anywhere else, frankly.  However, it has been uploaded to YouTube!

It’s a 24 minute film made for commercial TV.  It was made in 1996 and is very much of that time.  I’m not sure if Coupland was working on Girlfriend in a Coma at the time, but ideas in the film inform that book as well.

Basically it has Coupland, looking very clean-cut and smart–suit, skinny tie, hair parted hard–sitting in a white chair (a rounded chair that swivels–very “futuristic” looking).  He is sitting in front of  a white  background so his chair disappears from time to time (I’m willing to accept that that could just be the effect of a poor video transfer though).

There is an interviewer who asks him puffball questions, because it’s basically a chance for Coupland to talk about the his views of the late nineties and the future.  For instance: Do you consider yourself a citizen of the late 20th century?  (That’s just a weird question).  She asks him what the two dominant activities will be 20 years from now (which would be 2016).  His answer? Going shopping and going to jail.   Not too far off.

Coupland has always been concerned with the future (or more specifically, the millennium–I’m not sure how he has wrapped his head around the 21st century).  As I mentioned about his short story yesterday, he is very like-minded with Vonnegut about the state of humanity as we reach the millennium.   So he talks about lot of different topics including: individuality (and how we have lost it–he talks about a flock of birds seeing a group of people and finding them indistinguishable); the idea of not having a life–this was interesting, because as he points out even 20 years ago (1976), that expression would have been meaningless; consumerism; the uselessness of pop culture (how reading about Burt and Loni uses brain cells that could have been used to cure cancer).  And how technology can dehumanize us. (more…)

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