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Archive for May, 2013

Wim Wenders–Places, Strange and Quiet (2013)

Posted in Culture Shock, Essays, Giraffes? Giraffes!, McSweeney's, Photo Essays, The Who, Travel, Violence, War, Wim Wenders on May 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

wim SOUNDTRACK: GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES!-“Fucking Ants Man! Where They Coming From? (Let’s Hang The Carroll Footnoteitsists)” (2005).

girafI just learned that there is a band named Giraffes? Giraffes!, which is the name of a silly book published by McSweeney’s.  I was so delighted to find out about this band, that I immediately went to their band camp site, where I was further delighted to find out that they are an instrumental post-rock kind of band with some great tunes.  And, of course, when your songs are instrumental, you get to make up the best titles.  Like this one.

There’s only two guys in the band which must mean overdubs (I hope so, otherwise they defy physics).  This song starts out with a riff in what I think is 5/4 time which discombobulates for a while until it becomes a wild guitar riff (and the drums come more to the fore).  While that speedy riff is going on, another more pleasant solo plays over the top.  Then the song plays some really fast drums with chords that sound like mid 70s Who, which is followed by another pretty guitar solo.  The end resorts back to some mild chaos and fun until it ends very prettily.

If you like post rock, give Giraffes? Giraffes! a try.

This song comes from their debut album, Superbass!!!! (Black Death Greatest Hits Vol. 1).  Which you can hear here.

[READ May 5, 2013] Places, Strange and Quiet

This is a book of photographs by Wim Wenders, filmmaker extraordinaire.  What I fouond very interesting about this book is that it is not a book of art (as far as I define it).  It is rather a book of documentation.  These pictures are not beautiful, they are not artistically arranged, they are not profound.  Rather, it is the combination of picture and text that really makes the story.  In some ways this becomes a book of stills from a never-to-be-made film.  And as such, it’s very cool.

The first one is a picture of a family in front of a dinosaur (which looks like it is from the 1970s—huh turns out to be 1983).  It is under-lit and not very impressive.  Until you read the sidebar: “A picture is defined twice.  When you see the whole at first glance: “A dinosaur!  A family!” And then when you find a detail that changes everything…Mom reading in the backseat.  He’s absolutely right.

I loved “Sun Bather” with a crazy scene of polka dotted sun benches in Palermo.  Wender’s text: “Nothing exists without its opposite…But what could the opposite of this be?”  To me the most profound pictures are the series Ferris Wheel from two different angles. His comment “Sometimes only the reverse angle tells the truth” is really powerful, because from one angle the Ferris Wheel shows one scene and yet from the other the background is entirely different.

I loved the wall with sink and the Armenian alphabet—although the Armenian cemetery was even more impressive.  And the gorgeous gorgeous (this one is art) pictures of the islands off of Japan is simply beautiful. (more…)

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Joshua Ferris –“Fragments” (New Yorker, April 29, 2013)

Posted in Canadian Music, Gord Downie, Joshua Ferris, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Sarah Harmer, Sex, Short Story, The Tragically Hip on May 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_04_29_13Drooker.inddSOUNDTRACK: THE TRAGICALLY HIP-“Now for Plan A” (2012).

hip manWhile I was enjoying the Hip’s new album, I recognized a voice in a couple of duets.  That voice is Sarah Harmer’s!  I love Harmer and realized that I haven’t heard much from her lately (her last album was three years ago).  I looked up to see what she’s been up to and it appears she’s been on some human rights trips, which is quite cool.  But it’s nice to hear her voice again.

This is the title track to the album.  It starts slow with a wah wah’d guitar.  The sounds slowly build as more layers are added and after a minute Gord starts singing.  By the second verse Harmer sings along with Downie–their voices complement each other very nicely, although it’s funny that in this song neither one of them is really showing of his or her chops–their vocals are mostly quiet.  Although I like when it seems like Harmer is taking over in the final verse.

I don’t love Hip ballads as a rule, but this is a good one.

[READ: May 9, 2013] “Fragments”

This story is indeed about fragments.

It opens with a conversation. And it’s a pretty interesting one–about flying a helicopter over midtown Manhattan.  But then that conversation ends–the protagonist was just overhearing it.  We see that he is at work.  And then his phone rings.  His wife has butt-dialed him and he is able to hear fragments of her conversation.  Although we hear only snippets, it is enough for him (although not necessarily for me) to think that she is planning on having an affair with whomever she is talking to.

This fear is not helped by the fact that she is working extra late hours on a case.  She is out until very late often until he is asleep.  Although in one instance he only pretends to sleep to see what she will do.  She goes to sleep without waking him, which he takes as a bad sign (although honestly, what is she supposed to do wake him up to say she is going to bed?) (more…)

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Sarah Braunstein–“Marjorie Lemke” (New Yorker, April 1, 2013)

Posted in Babies, Canadian Music, Drugs, Funny (ha ha), Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Sarah Braunstein, Sex, Short Story, The Tragically Hip on May 9, 2013| 3 Comments »

CV1_TNY_04_01_13Gutierez.inddSOUNDTRACK: TRAGICALLY HIP-“Man Machine Poem” (2012).

hip manI received the new Tragically Hip album Now for Plan A a while back. I’ve listened to it a few times, but it got lost in the shuffle.  Then I put this song on and it really blew me away.

It’s a very typical Hip song–guitars that build but then retreat to let Gord Downie’s voice soar above the quiet verses.  There’s something agonizingly beautiful about the way he sings the verses, which almost feel like they are a capella, the music is so minimal.  Then for the second verse, the band kicks in and builds the song even more.

The chorus, which is very simple and is barely a chorus at all, punctuates the verses perfectly, with Downie’s voice being a great anchor.  The song doesn’t rock as hard as some Hip songs, nor is it as ballady as others, but it’s a perfect example of what the Hip do so well–a middle tempo song that is both passionate and also rocks.  (Although I could do without those weird little keyboard notes that dot the end).

[READ: May 8, 2013] “Marjorie Lemke”

At first I was unhappy about this story—it seemed like it would be another story of a young girl who gets pregnant and has a shitty life.  Especially when I found out the father is a junkie who has run off and that she herself was a huffer of chemical fumes.  Oh boy. And for some reason I thought the story was Irish (I guess there’s lots of down on your luck Irish girl stories out there–cheeky!)

But Braunstein transcends that story but giving Marjorie a support system.  Her aunt, who is very helpful (but doesn’t remove her responsibilities), and a job as a maid at a nice (but not too nice) hotel.  Her daughter, Della, is small for her age, but she seems mostly healthy.  And the hotel allows Marjorie to bring Della along on her cleaning cart (tucked into the clean towels).  Della pretty much sleeps all day (which is good for work, but not so good for nighttime), and no one has complained about her cooing or drinking a bottle when she does wake up.

Then Marjorie knocks on a door and a man is in there—he didn’t say anything when she knocked.  At first Marjorie thinks he’s masturbating, but he’s not, he’s just absorbed in the newspaper on his lap.  He tells her to just go about her work, don’t mind him.  So she does.  He’s not cold exactly just absorbed in what he’s doing.

The next time she goes to the room, he is there again, but this time his wife is there too. She is brusque and tells Marjorie that they will be in the room for about 4 weeks—she is an inspector and has several jobs in the area.  She asks that Marjorie come every two days to clean and says there will be a large tip waiting for her.

The story then jumps forward a bit.  In a way that is impressionistic more than telling, we learn that Marjorie and the man, Gabe, are getting close—talking, holding hands, comforting each other.  (more…)

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McSweeney’s #20 (2006)

Posted in Aaron Gwyn, Amy Cutler, Andrew Schoultz, Angelina Gualdoni, Anna Conway, Anthony Schneider, Art, Ashley Macomber, Ben Jahn, Bob Mould, Chris Duncan, Clare Rojas, Corinna Valliantos, Culture Shock, Death, Drinking, Drugs, Echo Eggebrecht, Ernst Haeckel, Fears, Franz Ackermann, Fred Tomaselli, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Håvard Homstvedt, Henri Rousseau, Holly Coulis, Huh?, Humiliation, J. Erin Sweeney, Jack Pendarvis, Jacob Magraw-Mickelson, Jason Holley, Jeff Gauntt, Jodie Mohr, Jules de Balincourt, Keith Andrew Shore, Kevin Christy, Kevin Moffett, Kuniyoshi Utagawa, Laura Owens, Law, Mamma Andersson, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Nazis, Niklas Eneblom, Prison, Rachel Salomon, Rachell Sumpter, Roderick White, Roy Kesey, Sam Miller, Sarah Raymont, Short Story, Sugar, Surreal, Susan Logoreci, Susan Steinberg, The Believer, Tony D'Souza, Universities, Unlikable main character, Violence, Wendy Heldmann, Yuck! on May 8, 2013| 2 Comments »

#20SOUNDTRACK: SUGAR-File Under: Easy Listening (1994).

fuelI  always thought File Under: Easy Listening was a very funny title.  But it’s possible that people took it too literally as it didn’t sell all that well. And in Mould’s autobiography he says he didn’t have much time to write songs for this disc and he thinks it suffered.  Of the three Sugar discs, this is definitely the weakest, although there are some great moments on it.

The disc opens with “Gift” which has some ragged distorted guitars. It’s got some noises and grungy sounding solos showing that FU:EL was a joke.  Although, the overall sound is kind of a cleaner version of the angry songs on Beaster.  “Company Book” is kind of a pounder, until the voice comes in and you realize…it’s not Mould!  It’s got a catchy chorus, but after the kind of underwhelming opener, it’s a strange place for a song that’s also not so dynamic.  Especially when it’s followed by “Your Favorite Thing” another great pop song from Mould—not top tier but a really strong second tier (although that bright, simple guitar solo is a real winner).  “What You Want It To Be” is a another decent song (the addition of that extra guitar playing the melody line really makes the song shine.  “Gee Angel” is also a high point.  A catchy song, but which never quite reaches the heights of the previous albums.

“Panama City Hotel” has the same feel as the opening of Beaster: bright acoustic guitars and a similar riff.  But it never really goes anywhere, and the 4 minutes seem.  The “do do do do’s” that open “Can’t Help You Anymore” are certainly the brightest spot on the album, and a big pop song as well.  “Granny Cool” has a nicely abrasive riff although it seems kind of mean spirited.  It’s funny that he tucked “Believe What You’re Saying” at the end of the album.  It’s a minor song but it sounds so bright on this album after the other songs. It’s really quite pretty.

And the closer, “Explode and Make Up” is one of Mould’s great angry songs.  Unlike Beaster, this one has a happy acoustic field—bnright guitars with that raging distorted guitar underneath.  It’s a great slow burner of a song and at five minutes it ends a somewhat lackluster album in a great way.

[READ: March 31, 2013] McSweeney’s #20

McSweeney’s #20 is an issue that I have read before.  At least I think I have.  My recollection is that it was the last one I read before I started writing about them on this blog.  I was hesitant to read it soon again, which is why I waited until now.  And while I remember the issue itself (with all of the art), I didn’t remember the stories.  So who knows if I actually read it six years ago.

Anyhow, this issue comes jam-packed with art.  Every fourth page has full-color artwork on it–many of them are quite famous.  It makes for a very beautiful book.

In between these artworks are a number of stories–ranging in size from 2 pages to 30-some pages.  There are no letters, and the explanatory and copyright information is on the cover of the book–which would be fine, except that it is covered up by a kind of 3-D artwork.  I wonder if the whole text is available anywhere?

The book also comes with a separate pamphlet–an excerpt from Chris Adrian’s Children’s Hospital.  I intend to read the novel eventually so I didn’t read the excerpt–although maybe if I put off the novel for six years I should just read the excerpt now. (more…)

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Mcsweeney’s #16 (Summer 2005)

Posted in Adam Levin, Ann Beattie, Bob Mould, Boredom, Brian Evenson, Death, Denis Johnson, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Hannah Pittard, Harry Mathews, Hüsker Dü, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Miranda Mellis, Nathaniel Minton, Native Americans, Neurotics, Pia Z. Ehrhardt, Psychiatry, Punks, Religion, Robert Coover, Roddy Doyle, Short Story, Sugar, Surreal, Violence, Yuck! on May 7, 2013| 1 Comment »

#16SOUNDTRACK: SUGAR-Beaster EP (1993).

beasterI didn’t know that Beaster, the Sugar EP was recorded at the same time as Copper Blue.  Mould’s biography was very helpful in explaining all the details of the timing and styling behind these two recording.  As well as how the super pop of Copper Blue could be followed right on the heels with the very very dark EP of Beaster.

I have often thought of this disc as being really dark and insular and Mould confirmed as much—he was really airing out some demons with this disc.  But they thought it would be better to put them all in one place rather having them bounce around the poppier full length.  What must fans (like myself) have thought to hear this dark album after the pop of Copper Blue.  I mean just look at the cover!

I hadn’t listened to this in a long time, so I was surprised by how cool “Come Around” sounds—Mould’s acoustic guitar high in the mix with some appropriately grungey guitars in the background.  There are lyrics but for the most part I think of it as just Mould making sounds with his mouth.

It’s followed by the blistering “Tilting.”  It’s got superfast drumming with aggressive guitars, it’s like we’re back to the early Hüsker Dü punk sound (with a little more clarity).  The drumming is great in this track.  The song ends with a preacher being interrupted by dissonance and what sounds like electronic interference. And this song morphs into “Judas Cradle” one of Mould’s darkest songs.  It’s very claustrophobic-feeling with echoed vocals, lots of feedback and lots of compression on the overall sound—quite different from the big open sound of Copper Blue.  And yet for all of that, the chorus, “Have you seen the Judas Cradle, ah”is really quite catchy.

“JC Auto” has some buzzsaw guitars which make it seem like it’s going to be quite an angry song and yet the bridge is quite welcoming (all this talk of holidays) and then the chorus is amazingly fun to sing along to (Mould always finds pop in anger): “Passing judgment on my life you never really got it right/I can’t believe in anything / I don’t believe in / Do you believe in anything / Do you believe me now…  Look like Jesus Christ / act like Jesus Christ I Know I Know I Know Here’s Your Jesus Christ I’m Your Jesus Christ I Know I Know I Know.”  And, as always, I love when Mould repeats his lyrics in the background (the “I Know I Know” surfaces throughout the end of the song).

“Feeling Better” has weird synth blasts that kind of works in the song but sounds out of place on this record.  This song flips between really aggressive guitars and a very bright poppy chorus.   At 6 minutes this song is a little long (because it’s primarily repeating itself by the end), whereas Judas Cradle and JC Autos’ 6 minutes are well justified.

The final song “Walking Away” is a strange one. It is comprised entirely of organs (church organ it sounds like) with Mould delicately singing “I’m walking away back to you”  The end starts to wobble giving a bit of a nauseous feeling but then it’s over.  So even in his most downtrodden and questioning, Mould still has the chops to write some great music.  Down be put off by the cover, Beaster is a great album.

[READ: March 28, 2013] McSweeney’s #16

After the fairly straightforward Issue 15, McSweeney’s was back to fun with Issue #16.  The issue opens up into a kind of quad gatefold which has , in order–a comb, a book, another book and a deck of cards.

The main book contains nine stories, by the typical McSweeney’s roster at the time.  The other booklet contains a lengthy story by Ann Beattie.  The deck of cards is for Robert Coover’s “Heart Suite” and the comb is a comb.  It’s a nice one, although it has never touched my hair.

The MAIN BOOKLET (more…)

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McSweeney’s #15: “The Icelandic Issue” (2004)

Posted in Andri Snœr Magnason, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Bernard Scudder, Birna Anna Björnsdóttir, Birna Anna Björnsdóttir, Bob Mould, Boredom, Bragi Ólafsson, Corporate skewering, Culture Shock, David McDuff, Death, Einar Már Guomundsson, Eric Hanson, Fantasy, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Guðbergur Bergsson, Gyrdir Eliasson, Hallgrímur Helgason, Hüsker Dü, Humiliation, Janice Balfour, Jimmy Chen, Judy Budnitz, Kiara Brinkman, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Oddný Sturludóttir, Padgett Powell, Póragrinn Eldjárn, Roddy Doyle, Roy Kesey, Scholarship, Set at School, Seth Fried, Sex, Short Story, Silja Hauksdóttir, Sjón, Steven Millhauser, Sugar, Surreal, Susan Pitts, The Beatles, The Sugarcubes, The Who, Victoria Cribb on May 6, 2013| 1 Comment »

#15SOUNDTRACK: SUGAR-Copper Blue (1992).

copperblueAfter Bob Mould made some solo albums, he created another band.  Another trio, this one called Sugar.  Sugar seems to take Mould’s poppiest elements and wrap them in a big 90s grunge sound–a sound that Mould pretty much invented in Hüsker Dü.  And in many ways Sugar is not all that different from Hüsker Dü–maybe a bit less experimental and a little more commercial.

One thing I noticed about this album that, once I noticed it I couldn’t avoid it, was that when the drummer plays the cymbal (it might even be a hi hat with a tambourine on it), which he plays a lot, the tinny shimmer of that sound is so pervasive, I find it rather distracting.  Or should I say it adds an almost minute level of static over the proceedings.

The disc opens with “The Act We Act,” where big grungy guitars and a simple chugga chugga riff burst out of the speakers. I love the Pixies feeling of “A Good Idea” both that up front bass and the buggy sounding guitars provide an almost false introduction to the catchy verse and chorus that’s to come.  I also enjoy the unexpected break after the chorus.

It’s followed by the ringing guitars that introduce “Changes” a classic poppy rock song that is unmistakably Mould.  The uneasy almost nauseating sounds at the end of the song are again like a feint in the wrong direction as “Helpless” easily the most pop song Mould has ever written comes out.  Of course, as with Mould, this outrageously poppy song is all about feeling helpless.

Keyboards open the next song, “Hoover Dam” (something of a surprise for this album), which proves to be yet another big Mould single.  The song is so open with multiple acoustic guitars (and that cool synth solo) and a really wild reverse guitar solo.  It’s one of my favorite Mould  songs and yet another example of why this album was such a huge hit.

“The Slim” brings back the darker songs that Mould is also known for.  And just when you think that Mould can’t pull out another huge big single, he gives us “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” one of his great big bouncy acoustic guitar songs.  It is almost obscene how catchy this song is, right down to the simple scale solo at the end.  Mould has this little technique that I find irresistible where he plays a song normally and then plays two fast chord changes segueing into another section.  It’s so cool.

“Fortune Teller” is a fast rocker with Mould’s trebly guitar taking the lead.  “Slick” is the only song I’m not crazy about. There’s something about it that kind of slows the momentum down, which is odd for a song about a car.  It’s got a real middle-period-Who feel to it, which I do like (and I really like the bridge) it just feels odd in this place in the disc.  The end of the song has some snippets of chatter that could have been edited out but lend an amusing air to the final track, “Man on the Moon” which ends the disc with that same air that the rest of the album has—big guitars and Mould’s slightly distorted vocals.  The solo is weirdly processed and kind of fun.  The end of the track with its repeated half step has a very Beatles feel to it. And the very end of the disc has the sound of tape rewinding, an amusing nod to the digital era.

Copper Blue was Mould’s first huge success and in his book he talks about not realizing quite how huge it was until he was in the middle of it.

[READ: March 20, 2013] McSweeney’s #15

I was a little disappointed with McSweeney’s #14, but #15 was once again fantastic.  This issue is a smallish hardcover (I like when their books are this size).  The bottom half of the cover features a cool 2 color painting by Leif Parsons.  The issue is known as the Icelandic Issue because of a few things.  The first half of the book features stories by the usual suspects.  Each of these stories is accompanied by an illustration of a Scandinavian rune that dates to the Viking era.  The stories in the second half of the book have illustrations that are taken from Icelandic grimoires–magician’s handbooks.  It is these second half stories that are all from Scandinavian authors.  It’s a fascinating peek into a culture few of us probably get to read.

There’s no letters in this book, which removes some of the levity, but that’s okay.  The front page has a brief story that it was being written on November 2, 2004 in New Mexico, hoping to bring some voting power to “the good guys “in this “completely fucking terrifying election.”  (The bad guy eked out a victory 49.8 to 49.1).  They went canvassing door to door with an Iraqi veteran named Joey (who was 21).  He was very pro-Kerry and may have even convinced a young girl to vote (she thought her vote didn’t count because she was poor (!)).  It really evokes the feeling on that dark night in 2004 when the iota of hope was snuffed out. (more…)

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Cirque Zuma Zuma (RVCC Arts, Branchburg NJ, May 3, 2013)

Posted in Acrobats, Big Apple Circus, Branchburg, NJ, C., Cirque Zuma Zuma, Futurama, Peking Acrobats, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, T. on May 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 3, 2013] Cirque Zuma Zuma

zumaCirque Zuma Zuma was the final theater show of our 2012-2013 season.  When I bought tickets for this I didn’t realize that it was designed as an all ages show (hint, shows that start at 7PM are for families, shows that start at 7:30 are for adults only).  So I felt a little bad that the kids didn’t come as there were so many kids there.  And they would have enjoyed this, although it’s probably just as well that they had a nice night with their grandma.

So Cirque Zuma Zuma is an African-based show of dance and acrobatics.  There was a large banner that said that Cirque Zuma Zuma had been on America’s Got Talent.  Now, I don’t quite understand this as the announcer of the show seemed to say that the performers were from countries in Africa.  How could they be on America’s Got Talent if they are not American?  I don’t get it.

zuma2Anyway, the show got off to a rousing start with drumming.  Lots of drumming.  There was a man with two drums (big bass drum sounding drums) and then two drummers who were playing what I thought of as an African bongo but which I believe is called a Djembe.  And, man, they pounded the hell out of these things.  It was amazing how musical three (or four) drums can sound.  They played lead drum parts while the bass drum kept a steady rhythm.  And then the dancers came out.  Two women and a man dressed in what I assume is a traditional outfit.  And they danced.  Ecstatically.  Nonstop.  For about eight minutes.  And what frenetic and crazy dances they were.  They moved with such force and power.  It was really amazing and it looked exhausting.

Then came the acrobatics.  And was surprised at just how many of the acrobatic pieces were the same as ones done by the Chinese acrobats.  It strikes me as odd that two very distinct cultures would do the same kinds of things.  Are these just standard feats that contemporary performers learn?

The first was the climbing of and doing handstands on a stack of chairs.  The big difference here was that these chairs were very large (as opposed to the many tiny ones the Chinese acrobats use).  It was still impressive, and the chairs looked quite wobbly, but it was weird to open with a show stopper from another Cirque.

Other things that they did which we had already seen were jumping through hoops, spinning hula hoops, foot juggling and hat juggling.  It was very strange to see these same things.  The big difference was the music, which was African as opposed to Asian. (more…)

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Shaena Lambert–“Oh, My Darling” (The Walrus, May 2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Marriage Trouble, Savages, Shaena Lambert, Short Story, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Walrus on May 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

walrusmaySOUNDTRACK: SAVAGES-“She Will” (2013).

I fsavages-2013-382952pc8ound this song in heavy rotation on NPR.  I had never heard of Savages before (this is from their debut album coming out this week), but they seemed interesting.  And the description was intriguing–saying they sounded like Siouxsie and the Banshees.  And that is right on, from the shimmery 80s punk guitars that open the song to that strange goth-y wail that Siouxsie possessed, to the rumbling basslines, this song hearkens back to a darker, wonderful era.

It’s a really great sound–evocative without mimicking.  It’s certainly an uncool sound that Savages are pulling for (in the 2010s) and I like them all the more because of it.  I’m curious to hear what else they do.

And that ending note is a killer.  I want to hear this whole album.

[READ: April 30, 2013] “Oh, My Darling”

The “teaser” for this short story says “I am so close you could touch me.”  And with this piece of information in mind, this story is dark and creepy right from the start.

The story begins as a letter: “Hello, Vanessa.”  And the letter continues to compliment Vanessa on her name, those three satiny syllables (the letter writer won’t deign to use that silly “Nessa” that others do).

The narrator pushes back to some months ago when Vanessa’s husband says he believes that he has Aboriginal bloodlines (despite his blue eyes and Scandinavian features).  Vanessa knew immediately it was because of the case he was working on—an Aboriginal case, obviously—with… Connie, a student of Haida birth.  She replies to it with a funny (to me) comment: “What part do you think is Aboriginal? I hope it’s something simple, like your foot.”  This comment from Vanessa’s husband, intimating infidelity is compounded by their daughter’s insolence: “You are a cruel fucking cow.”  (Vanessa has weight issues which makes this hurt even more).  Vanessa knows this is just how teenagers are, but it still hurts. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–“Mexican Manifesto” (New Yorker, April 22, 2013)

Posted in Foreign Books, Funny (strange), Laura Healy, Masturbation, Mikal Cronin, New Yorker, Roberto Bolaño, Sex, Short Story, Sloan, Surreal, Translation on May 3, 2013| 1 Comment »

CV1_TNY_04_22_13Pearson.inddSOUNDTRACK: MIKAL CRONIN-MCII (2013).

mciiMikal Cronin has a very pleasant middle range voice—conventionally good.  Indeed, there’s nothing especially unique about this record.  But it is a great summer pop album.  Lots of great big choruses that are fun to sing along to.  And, Cronin is a talented multi-instumentalist.  I believe he plays everything on the record, although I’m not sure about that.

The album is 37 minutes.  The first song, “Weight” has a simple melody and is incredibly catchy. There’s a nice falsetto before the big loud guitar chorus kicks  in.  “Shout It Out” is another great pop song—big fuzzy guitars and a wonderfully catchy melody.   And I love how it gets mildly chaotic at the end.  “Am I Wrong” is a straightforward rocker, with more big crunchy guitars.  There’s a fun fiddly keyboard solo (with lots of flubs, which is kind of endearing).  This song (and several others) remind me of Sloan.

“See It My Way” has a shambolic feel to it, I can do without the oddball sax solo, but there’s something so oddball about it that I think it works in the end.  “Peace of Mind” has a nice harmony vocal on it that gives this simple song a fuller sound.    There’s an unexpected violin solo in here.  “Change” opens with a real grungy loud guitar which is quickly replaced by a  speedy drum over a simple, catchy verse.  And a speedy chorus.  There’s an interesting middle section with another violin solo (and some unusual squeaky violin noises as well).  “I’m Done Running From You” is a fun fast bit of pop with a rocking guitar solo.  And “Don’t Let Me Go” is a slow ballady type song (as much as one can be on a rocking record like this).  “Turn Away” brings the rock back, although “Piano Mantra” ends the disc with a solo piano intro.  But the song builds and builds into a rollicking violin-fueled conclusion.

I’d never heard of Mikal Cronin before, and when i first started listening to the disc I thought it was an okay pop punk album.  But the more I listened to it, the more I enjoyed it.  It’s still as simple pop punk album but it’s done so very well.  I’m going to have to check out his debut as well.

[READ: May 2, 2013] “Mexican Manifesto”

I love that stories from Roberto Bolaño keep popping up.  I realize that most of these have been published in Spanish somewhere, but it seems like even if we know that his next book is going to be all poetry (Unknown  University coming out in June), somehow there’s at least one short story in it (I assume it comes from here, where else would it have come from?).  So, since it seems like there’s a new Bolaño book out every six months, I assume that barrage will come to an end now.

Unknown University is, as far as I can tell, the last thing that will be translated by Bolaño.  Wikipedia suggests that there are four other titles that could be translated: A Lumpen Novella (which he completed but which has not been translated), Diorama, an unfinished novel, something being called Part 6 of 2666 (who knows what that means) and an early book that he cowrote Advice from a Morrison Disciple to a Joyce Fanatic which I would really like to read–the title is so intriguing–but who knows is it will ever find a translator.

But that’s got nothing to do with this short story.  This short story is about a couple who frequent steam baths. The narrator is the man, and the woman, Laura, I the more adventurous of the two.  She is the one who encourages them to go to the baths in the first place and, while he also thinks it is wonderful, it is she who wants them to explore as many different baths in the city as possible. (more…)

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Paul Theroux–“The Furies” (New Yorker, February 25, 2013)

Posted in Dead Can Dance, Dentists, Humiliation, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Theroux, Reunion, Sexism, Short Story, Swedish Music, The Art of Noise, The Knife on May 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_02_25_13Ulriksen.inddSOUNDTRACK: THE KNIFE-Shaking the Habitual (2013).

theknife2Since I reviewed the 19 minute song from this album yesterday I thought I’d check out the rest of the disc (still a handful).  I kept bearing in mind that The Knife are pretty much a dance duo.  So this departure is not only radical, it pretty much undercuts the kind of music they make.  The progress is probably exciting but I imagine fans would turn away in droves.  I wonder how this record will play out for them in the long run.  Incidentally, I wasn’t a fan before, so I don’t really have a horse in this race.

“A Tooth for an Eye” opens the record with an interesting percussion sound an a pulsing keyboard melody.  The keening vocals come in sounding weird and distant and more than a little eerie.  “Full of Fire” is a 9-minute song with a weird skittery “melody” that seems to float above the battered mechanical “drum.”  The whispered vocals are strained and also a little creepy.  The middle section has the skittery music jump around while the vocals get even more processed—making it simultaneously more friendly and less so.  It’s probably the coolest weird song on the disc, with parts that are catchy and interesting and parts that are just peculiar.  This is the single, by the way.

“A Cherry on Top” is 8 minutes of reasonable quietude, with the second half introducing an autoharp.  It’s certainly the most mellow thing on the disc.  Although it’s not exactly relaxing.  “Without You My Life Would Be Boring” seems like it should be the single—it is propulsive and while the vocals are certainly odd, they are the most conventional thing on the album.  “Wrap Your Arms Around Me” has big electronic pulsing drums and whispered vocals.  It’s a fairly normal sounding song (at least for this album), and could easily play in a goth club.

“Crake” is 55 second of squalling feedback.  The album also has “Oryx” which is 37 second of wailing noise.  In between is the 10 minute “Raging Lung” which is not available on Spotify.  “Networking” a skittering beat with a second beat that may just be a sample of a person making noise in his or her throat.  The “voices” get stranger throughout the song, keening, twisting and spinning, reminiscent of The Art of Noise.

“Stay Out Here” is a ten minute song.  It starts with a fairly standard electronic drumbeat.  Whispered vocals come in giving it a kind of Nine Inch Nails vibe, until the female vocals come in (and are quickly manipulated to sound kind of male).  The switch from male and female vocals is interesting, giving it an almost modern sounding Dead Can Dance feel.

“Fracking Fluid Injection” has sounds like scraping, rusted gates as the beat with sampled voices overlaid.  Again, this is nearly 10 minute long.  The problem with things like this, aside from their relative tediousness, is that they aren’t all that original.  Now originality is nothing to hold a band to, we all know, but if you’re going to do non-form sounds that are echoed with little else to it, it would be more interesting if there was something original to pin to it.  “Ready to Lose” ends the album with a steady beat and a pretty standard vocal line (even if the voices are processed).

So this album us a pretty radical departure for the band and it’s a pretty radical departure for dance music as a whole.  I’m curious to see if this will lead to a anything or if this will be their one weird album.

[READ: April 15, 2013] “The Furies”

The story opens with a rather creepy man stating at his wedding reception that he is in an exclusive club: “There are not too many men who can say that they’re older than their father-in-law.” Ew.  He was fifty-eight, his new wife 31.  His father-in-law is 56.  The father-in-law seems okay with this, but really how could he be?

Ray is a dentist and his new wife, Shelly, had been his hygienist for years.  When Shelly told him she was thinking of getting a new job, he professed his love for her, and informed his wife, Angie that he was in love with Shelly.  Angie took it badly, but he was surprised when she seemed mad that he didn’t do this years earlier while she still had a chance to meet someone (rather than being distraught that he was leaving her).  As a parting shot she says that she wishes him ill.  And she hope he suffers with the woman who took him from her.

But they had no children, just assets, and things were divided evenly and cleanly.  And he thanked his lucky starts to be with a new woman, someone who was fun and so different from his first wife. (more…)

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