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Archive for February, 2014

Jennifer Egan–A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010)

Posted in Adventure, Africa, Books about music, Bowerbirds, Death, Drinking, Drugs, Funny (ha ha), Jennifer Egan, Marriage Trouble, Neurotics, Tiny Desk Concert on February 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

goonSOUNDTRACK:BOWERBIRDS-Tiny Desk Concert #35 (November 16, 2009).

bowerThis show was recorded July 7, 2009.  It’s fascinating that it didn’t get posted until four months later.

As the Bowerbirds first started I didn’t think I would like them primarily because of the opening lyrics of “Hooves” “Back to when I was born on a full moon, I nearly split my mama in two.” It just seemed an offputting way to start especially when sung over very simple acoustic guitar.  But after the first verse, the band joins in with some Ahhs, which flesh out the song very nicely.  The accordion and violin fill in where necessary and make this a much more compelling-sounding song.

The second song, “Teeth” opens with a very full sound–I really like it–bowed double bass, violin, accordion and guitar and when the backing vocals complement the lead vocal, it’s really quite beautiful.  “House of Diamonds”  is a folkie song, but the final track “In Our talons” (which comes from their first album) is really dramatic, with a some great vocals, a cool section that slows down the tempo and rousing accordion-driven conclusion.  (There’s something a bout an accordion that when played right can add incredible tension to a song).

You can watch it here.

[READ: February 13, 2014] A Visit from the Good Squad

This book made many best of list at the end of 2010.  I’ve wanted to read it for some time now, so when I saw it remaindered at Barnes & Noble, I grabbed it (yes, the library is cheaper, but I find that sometimes I will read things more quickly if I buy them).

I was expecting to be blown away by the book.  But I wasn’t.  At least not at first.  And the real reason for that was because I read it over too long of a span of time.  There are a lot of intricacies in this book that demand attention.  It’s not a difficult book, but the structure of the book is not linear, and there are connections that are made and lost and resumed.  And if you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to miss them.  I enjoyed it quite a lot and I really liked the way the story filled in parts as it went along (you’ll see why that is significant shortly).  And I loved the way the end tied everything together so nicely.  But I found that I got even more out of it while writing this recap because it helped me to make connections I initially missed.  So definitely read this, but either read it quickly or read it twice in a row.

So this book is set up that every chapter is narrated by or focuses on a different person at a different time in the story’s history.  It’s a fascinating way to tell a story for the obvious reasons, but also because most of the characters are interrelated in some way (which was the clever part).  And other characters arrive and disappear while still keeping continuity in the story.

There are thirteen chapters, which means 13 stories.  Naturally there are more than 13 characters, so this makes for an interesting look at this world.

The first chapter and more or less the thread throughout the stories is Sasha.  In the first chapter, (which is third person but in which Sasha is the protagonist), we see her planning to steal the wallet from a woman in the bathroom stall next to hers.  She is on a date with a man named Alex, who is new to New York and is still kind of wide-eyed about it.  He is amazed when later on he sees that Sasha has a bathtub in her kitchen (which she never uses).  Sasha’s chapter is interspersed with her at the therapist’s office as she talks about her kleptomania and about her life as the assistant for Bennie Salazar–THE Bennie Salazar, record producer extraordinaire who discovered The Conduits. (more…)

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Yoko Tawada–The Bridegroom Was a Dog (1994) [translated 1998–New Directions Pearl, 2012]

Posted in Advice, Africa, Dogs, Fables, K'naan, Margaret Mitsutani, New Directions Pearls, Sex, Short Books, Short Story, Small Books, Tiny Desk Concert, Yoko Tawada, Yuck! on February 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

   bridegroo,SOUNDTRACK: K’Naan-Tiny Desk Concert #34 (November 9, 2009).

knaanI really only know K’naan from his song “Wavin’ Flag” which was the World Cup anthem in 2010.  It’s an uplifting anthem which would be schmaltzy except that K’naan is Somali-born, spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there until the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991, when his family moved to Canada.  “Wavin’ Flag” was for the people Somalia and their aspirations for freedom.

In this set (the first ever hip-hop Tiny Desk Concert–although there is very little hip-hop in the set), K’naan plays three songs. “Take a Minute” is quite beautiful.  It’s funny to me the rap section kind of spoils the song  but because K’naan is a much better singer than rapper.

“Fatima,” which has a less interesting musical style than the other songs (perhaps it’s better when not in this Tiny Desk format) is startling lyrically.  It’s about childhood friend of his, with the harrowing line–“what did the gunman say before he took you away.”

The final song is “Wavin’ Flag” (which was popular but nowhere near as big a hit as it would be soon enough). The anthemic nature of the song still sounds inspiring in this stripped own format.

I’m not a big fan of this style of music in general–poppy/R&Bish, but K’naan has a great sense of melody and brings a very interesting perspective that makes his style unique.  And most importantly, he has a good, subtle voice.  This is a good introduction to his music.

[READ: January 3, 2014] The Bridegroom was a Dog

In continuing the “small book” idea, I recently subscribed to the New Directions Pearl series.  It is a collection of smallish books–novellas or short stories–in starkly beautiful binding.  This was the second book I received in the series (I haven’t read the first one yet).  Incidentally, this book has a list of the other pearls, and I rather hope they will send me some past Pearls as well, as they are quite a great collection.

This was an interesting selection to me because I actually own this book already (it’s the same translator, Margaret Mitsutani).  Although as it turns out the book I own (which has the same title) is actually three short stories while this one is only the title story. I bought the book in 1998 and never read it (there is a bookmark that suggests I read a few pages, but I didn’t remember a thing).  So I was happy to get reintroduced to the book and to finally read it.

And I intend to read the other two stories in the near future as well.

This is a peculiar story (as the title indicates).  In it a teacher, Mitsuko Kitamura runs the Kitamura School which is described as a cram school–an extracurricular school.  And the students learn some interesting things.  Like “snot paper.”  She suggests that using used tissues is better because they are warm and wet.  And indeed, she goes so far as to say that you should use “snot paper” when wiping your behind because “it feels even better.” (more…)

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Matt Phelan–Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton (2013)

Posted in Acrobats, Baseball, Buster Keaton, Circus, History, Matt Phelan, Michigan, Short Books, Sondre Lerche, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence on February 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 bluffSOUNDTRACK: SONDRE LERCHE-Tiny Desk Concert #33 (November 2, 2009).

lercheSondre Lerche is a Norwegian singer songwriter.  For some reason, without knowing anything about him, I pictured him as someone totally different–perhaps a French woman?  So I was quite surprised to hear him play these great folky songs.

“Hearbeat Radio” is a catchy love song, with a great melody and many chord changes.  I mention this because after the second song, “Good Luck” Bob Boilen also mentions the “handful” of chords in that song.  And there are a lot, which really makes for an interesting melody.  And indeed, Lerche is a very good guitarist, throwing interesting chords all over the place (although in his banter he complains that he puts too many chords in the songs).

Speaking of banter, Lerche is quite funny, introducing the first song by complaining about radio (but not you guys).  And also that a reviewer felt the second song was funny, even thought he thought it was depressing.

The final song, “Easy to Persuade” is a fast-moving, multi-chord song with a fun chorus.  It completes the set very nicely.

I have enjoyed this Tiny Desk Concert many times, and am interested to hear more by him.

[READ: February 13, 2014] Bluffton

I want to call this book Bluffington for some reason, but that’s my fault.  Because Bluffton is the name of the (actual) location where the book is set, so I just need to deal with it.

The subtitle of the book was not readily visible when I read it, so I didn’t know it was about Buster Keaton (sorry for the spoiler).  It quickly became apparent that that’s who it was about though.  But what I really liked about the story was that it wasn’t about Keaton per se, it was about a boy who knew Keaton during the summers and how this enigmatic performer impacted his life.

This story is a delightful graphic novel, drawn in very delicate colors (like the cover).  Set in the summer of 1908, in Muskegon, Michigan, young Henry is pretty excited to learn that a troupe of vaudevillians is coming to stay for the summer in the artists’ colony at Bluffton.  The whole town is aware of them–how could they not be when a zebra and an elephant got off the train with them?  But Henry is more interested in a boy named Buster.  He’s Henry’s age, and although he’s a star of the show, Buster is far more interested in paying baseball.  And Henry is more than happy to do that too. (more…)

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Trinie Dalton–Sweet Tomb (2010) [Madras Press: Series One, Book Three]

Posted in Canadian Music, Madras Press, Rheostatics, Short Story, Small Books, Surreal, Trinie Dalton, Vampires, Witches, Yuck!, tagged on February 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

madras3SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Barrymore’s Ottawa, ON (January 17, 1997).

barryAfter two recordings in Barrymore’s in 1996, Rhesostatics Live has another concert from Barrymore‘s to open 1997.  And this one is fantastic.  The sound is perfect, the band sounds great and they play a wonderful selection of songs.

They open with a long version of “Record Body Count,” and a rousing “Dope Fiends and Booze Hounds.”  They are also having a lot of fun on stage with the lengthy introduction to “Sweet, Rich, Beautiful and Mine” and the fun teasing that opens “Saskatchewan.”

But the most fun comes in “Fan Letter to Michael Jackson” which sees the band joking around and sounding almost giddy. It’s not the best rendition of the song for novices to the band, but for long time fans, this must have been fun to see.  It’s also amazing that the band has played yet another 2 hours plus show.

[READ: January 8, 2014] Sweet Tomb

I don’t usually mention the book publisher when I post about books, but I’m quite taken with Madras Press.  From their website:

Madras Press publishes limited-edition short stories and novella-length booklets and distributes the proceeds to a growing list of non-profit organizations chosen by our authors.  The format of our books provides readers with the opportunity to experience stories on their own, with no advertisements or miscellaneous stuff surrounding them.

The format is a 5″ x 5″ square books that easily fit into a pocket.  At present there are four series with four books in each series.

Proceeds from Dalton’s book go to the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants.

I have a lot of strange synchronicites with the books I read.  As it turns out, yesterday’s comic book was about a witch and this collection of related short stories is also about a witch.  It’s especially strange because I didn’t know that either book would have a witch character at all (even Zombillenium–it seems like it would be about zombies not witches).  So it’s funny to read two different stories and to see two entirely different attitudes about witches.  In Zombiellenium, she says that being a witch is not hereditary and yet in Sweet Tomb, she says it is (and then wonders why anyone would pass that on to her children).

So yes, these are linked short stories (I assume, and not a novel with chapter titles).  They are all about Candy, a witch, and her exploits.  Typically, I summarize each short story, but it’s more interesting to talk about this narrative as a whole. (more…)

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Arthur de Pins–Zombillenium: 1. Gretchen (2010)

Posted in Arthur de Pins, Canadian Music, Demons, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Magic, Rheostatics, Vampires, Witches, Zombies, tagged on February 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

zombieSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Record Runner, In Store Acoustic, Ottawa, ON (November 29 1996).

I haverecord already posted about this show before.  And I concur with my assessment of what I said last time.

But I wanted to add a few things.  This was recorded by someone in the audience, I assume.  The sound is good (you don’t hear the audience at all, which strangely almost makes it seem like there is no one there).  But it’s not perfectly clean.

This is an acoustic set done on the morning of their second night opening for The Tragically Hip.  (Dave says that you shouldn’t buy their new shirts at the show that night because they had to charge the same amount as the Hip and you will be able to get their stuff cheaper when they come by again in a few months).

In addition to some interesting renditions of fan favorites, we have a fan singing “The Ballad of Wendell Clark.”  It’s notable not only because of the fan singing it but because they doesn’t really play that song live, at least not circa 1996/1997.  They also throw in some Stomping Tom Connors during the song.

As an intro to “Four Little Songs” Dave says that they were planning on writing a bunch of different little songs so that you might never know which ones they would play on any given night.  He says it’s very easy to write little songs like that and it would be fun.  That seems to have never happened though.  You don’t hear too many acoustic Rheostatics shows.  You can download it here.

[READ: February 11, 2014] Zombillenium No 1

The cover of this book was so arresting I had to check it out.  I don’t know Arthur de Pins.  He’s a French artist and this is his first book to get distribution in America, I believe.  You can tell he’s European from the artwork–I wonder why that is.

Well, I loved this story.  It is very very funny and extremely twisted.  And there is something about the main character Gretchen that is so appealing (I love that her nose is so strangely bulbous, which makes her even cuter, somehow).

As the story opens, we see a man hitchhiking.  After a few panels, it is revealed that he is a mummy. One car speeds away from him, but another soon pulls up.  It is driven by a vampire and there’s a skeleton in the passenger seat. They know who he is, and they’re bringing him back where he belongs.  Which is to Zombillenium: “The Family Amusement Park for Chills and Thrills.” (more…)

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John Sayles–A Moment in the Sun (2011)

Posted in 19th Century, Anarchy, Big Books, Circus, Comic Strips, Death, Disease, Gambling, John Sayles, Joni Mitchell, Kurt Weill, Mark Twain, Martin Tielli, McSweeney's, Mr. Bungle, Native Americans, Newspapers, Nick Buzz, Political Humor, Racism, Rheostatics, South, Violence, War, Yuck! on February 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

momentSOUNDTRACK: NICK BUZZ-Circo (1996).

nickbuzzNick Buzz is a side project of Rheostatics singer/lead guitarist Martin Tielli.  This album was reissued in 2002, when I bought it  But it came out in 1996, right around the time of the concerts I’ve been posting about.  Martin says that this album is pure pop, and that he is genuinely surprised that people don’t see this.  Of course, when your album has screeching monkeys, cars honking and circus music, pop is not the first thing that comes to mind.  There are certainly pretty songs on here, but it is an album that resists easy entrance.  There are short manic pieces, slow, languorous, almost lounge music pieces, and an improved cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” And then there’s the instrumentation: piano, violin, guitar, voice (no drums, although there is percussion on some tracks) and other weird sound effects.

“Step Inside” opens the disc.  It seems like a normal, mellow song (with slightly falsettoed vocals).  But 34 seconds in the circus music starts—a deviant and unsettling circus that pushes its way into the song briefly then vacating and allowing the pretty melody to return.  It’s like a mild form of Mr Bungle (with more actual circus).  It’s unsettling at first but then strangely catchy after a few listens.  There is fanfare as the song ends, interrupted by the sound of a tape speeding up (or going backwards) until song two bursts in.

“That’s What You et for having Fun” is less than three minutes and while weird, it is certainly accessible and funny.  The guitar sounds like he is slapping the strings rather than strumming them.  The refrain of “there’s a monkey in my underwear” gives a sense of the absurdity (especially when the President of Canada (sic) says he has one too).  “Just Because” mellows things out a lot—simple guitar with a kind of lullaby feel (it’s a bout wishing on stars).  It’s so slow after the craziness of the first two songs.  After  3 minutes of a lounge type song, it ends with a distant radio sound of an even more loungey song which melds into the live version of “River.”

The mellow “River” is followed by a raucous bass clarinet solo and wild guitar solo that is interrupted by the long (nearly 6 minutes) “Sane, So Sane.”  This is the most conventional song on the record—a simple piano melody with repeated lyrics (conventional aside from the weird distant music in the background of course).  Although it does gone on a bit long.  “A Hymn to the Situation” is an eerie two-minute wobbly song.

“Fornica Tango” is indeed a tango presumably sung in Italian. This song features a crying baby, an interesting sounding “Italian” chorus and the screeching monkey at the end.  “Love Streams” is a pretty, slow ballad.  “Aliens Break a Heart” is another pretty song.  Although this is the song that ends with traffic sounds.  “The Italian Singer/Just Because I’m Nick the Buzz” has a kind of Kurt Weill atmosphere to it with spoken words and falsettos.

It took me several listens before I could really find purchase with these songs.  I find that I really enjoy most of them now–some of those slow ones are a little too meandering for my liking.  But it seems like a fun outlet for Tielli’s songcraft.

[READ: October & November 2013] A Moment in the Sun

I read this book last year…finished it just before Thanksgiving, in fact (I was proud of my pacing).  But it was so huge that I didn’t want to write about it until I had a good amount of time.  And now here it is four months later and I probably have forgotten more details than I should have and the post will be nowhere near as in depth as I was saving time for in the first place.  Bah.

When people see this book, they say, “That’s a big book.”  And it is a big book.  It’s 955 pages (and they are thick pages, so the book itself is nearly three inches thick–see the bottom of this post for an “actual size” photo); it’s got three “books” and dozens of characters whose stories we read about in full.  It is about the United States, racism, The Gold Rush, the assassination of a President, the Spanish American War, a World’s Fair and even the exploration of moving pictures.  This is a fairly comprehensive look at the Unites States from the 1890s to the early 1900s.  And, man was it good.

John Sayles is known more for his movies than his books (18 films directed, nearly as many different ones written and only 4 novels), but the cinematic quality that is clearly in his blood comes through in this book as well. (more…)

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Rebecca Lee–Bobcat (2010) [Madras Press: Series One, Book Two]

Posted in Canadian Music, Food, Madras Press, Marriage Trouble, Rebecca Lee, Rheostatics, Sex, Short Story, Small Books, tagged on February 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

madras2 SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Live at The Corel Center, Ottawa, ON, (November 28, 1996 & November 29, 1996).

core;There are two Rheostatics shows recorded at the Corel Centre (Nov 28, Nov 29).  This was a gig opening for the Tragically Hip, which was probably the biggest crowd they ever played to.  Gord Downie even mentions them on the live album that the Hip recorded from this tour (Live Between Us).

The Rheos usually play sets that are about two hours.  These opening slots are 45 minutes, so with the two shows together you get nearly a normal Rheos show.  And there’s only a little duplication among these two shows–their big hit “Claire,” their new hit “Bad Time to Be Poor” and, interestingly, “Motorino.”

Otherwise, between the two shows we get the other great songs: “Fat,” “California Dreamlime,” “Self-Serve Gas Station,” “Fan Letter To Michael Jackson,” “All The Same Eyes,”  “Aliens,” “Dopefiends And Boozehounds,” “Feed Yourself,” “Horses,” and the little instrumentals (48 seconds) “Artenings Made of Gold” and (1:41) “Digital Beach.”

The sound quality isn’t spectacular–it’s clearly a fan recording.  But the quality is certainly good enough to really enjoy.  These come across as a kind of best of from 1996.

[READ: January 10, 2014] Bobcat

I don’t usually mention the book publisher when I post about books, but I’m quite taken with Madras Press.  From their website:

Madras Press publishes limited-edition short stories and novella-length booklets and distributes the proceeds to a growing list of non-profit organizations chosen by our authors.  The format of our books provides readers with the opportunity to experience stories on their own, with no advertisements or miscellaneous stuff surrounding them.

The format is a 5″ x 5″ square books that easily fit into a pocket.  At present there are four series with four books in each series.

Proceeds from Lee’s book go to Riverkeeper.org.

I really enjoyed this story a lot.  It has many elements that seem disparate and yet they blend perfectly at the end.

The story is set at a dinner party.  The hostess is planning a tureen, although she acknowledges that it probably won’t be very good.  She is also picking a fight with her husband about the book he is writing.  In the novel, there’s a woman he fantasizes about and she knows it is not her.  She argues that it is really his editor, with whom he spends a lot of time (even though the character is nothing like her).  He denies it outright–laughs it off in fact. (more…)

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Aimee Bender–The Third Elevator (2010) [Madras Press: Series One, Book One]

Posted in Aimee Bender, Canadian Music, Dave Bidini music, Madras Press, Rheostatics, Short Story, Small Books, Surreal, tagged on February 12, 2014| 2 Comments »

13_Bender_TTE_Cover-300x300SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Live at Barrymore’s, Ottawa, ON, (February 2, 1996 & May 23, 1996).

barryThere are many many Rheostatics shows recorded at Barrymore’s in Ottawa.  These two are the earliest and, strangely perhaps, are only a few months apart.

The first show is over two hours long with a great set list.  The problem is the audio.  It was recorded from the floor and, like any bootleg quality show, you can hear more audience than band.  That’s not entirely true, but you can’t hear the band talk at all and during songs you hear clinking glasses and conversations.  It’s kind of a shame, because they cover Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” but you can barely tell what it is.  So, it’s not a great show except for diehards.

The May 23 show, on the other hand, sounds great.  The notes say it was also recorded from the audience, and yet it is crystal clear.  And the set list doesn’t differ too too much from the Feb 2 show.  The opening of the set sounds a little funny–the microphones are too loud or the guitars are too quiet, so “Claire” sounds off, but the rest of the show is very good.  And as it does not feature Dave Clark, but rather Don Kerr on drums, the zaniness that Clark brought is gone, although the band is still quite funny.

There’s a very funny story about chickadees being quite the bad ass in terms of birds, and Tielli drew a great banner featuring a bad ass chickadee (see bottom of post).  Tielli also mentions Nick Buzz, his side project which had an album out at this time.  Bidini tells a great story about meeting and interviewing Joey Ramone (and getting his glasses fixed).

There’s talk of “Four Little Songs” have multiple sections so you never know what they’ll play, but I don’t think that every happened.  And, finally, Tielli evidently had green hair that night (which leads to an impromptu version of “Heat Miser” (and his explanation of where the song came from).

This is a great show and a great introduction to an early Rheostatics setlist.

[READ: January 8, 2014] The Third Elevator

I don’t usually mention the book publisher when I post about books, but I’m quite taken with Madras Press.  From their website:

Madras Press publishes limited-edition short stories and novella-length booklets and distributes the proceeds to a growing list of non-profit organizations chosen by our authors.  The format of our books provides readers with the opportunity to experience stories on their own, with no advertisements or miscellaneous stuff surrounding them.

The format is a 5″ x 5″ square books that easily fit into a pocket.  At present there are four series with four books in each series.

Proceeds from Bender’s book go to InsideOutWriters.org.

For a first book from a new publisher, this is certainly a peculiar story.  It begins with a swan and a queen. The swan is the queen’s pet and never leaves her side.  She wants the swan happily paired off with another beautiful swan, but he is quite picky.  Until he meets a bluebird. The swan falls for the bluebird and they pair off.  Soon the bluebird is sitting on an egg.  But when it opens, it is not a bird at all, but a cloud, which hangs around and which the swan tries to protect.  So far, so allegorical.

Then the story shifts two miles away to a glassed in lobby of a building that has three elevators.  One goes into the ground where miners work.  The miners are not allowed to leave the mine.  They simply fill up the elevator with gold and send it up to the surface.  A second eevator opens into the forest.  The third elevator goes up into the sky.

Then we meet a logger.  The logger is amazing at cutting things down.  But whenever he so much as harms a tree it makes his insides burst. So he cuts down telephone poles and other man-made objects.  And he is soon asked to leave the logging community, despite his family ties to it. (more…)

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Judy Blume and Lena Dunham In Conversation (2013)

Posted in Advice, Books about writers, Children's Books, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Judy Blume, Lena Dunham, LGBTQ, McSweeney's, Nostalgia, Sex, Short Books, Small Books, The Believer, Tiny Desk Concert on February 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

   judySOUNDTRACK: EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS-Tiny Desk Concert #32 (October 26, 2009).

I haedve recently begun to really enjoy Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (watch those e’s people).  Interestingly, I have gotten into their song “Home” which is actually from 2009 and is included in this Tiny Desk Concert.

There is no Edward Sharpe. Sharpe is the alter ego of singer Alex Ebert.  Ebert and Jade Castrinos form the core of this expansive ensemble.  There are ten people in the band making this the largest (and judging from their appearance, smelliest) Tiny Desk Concert to happen yet.  There are a few guitars, accordion, bongos, drums, keyboards and lots and lots of singing

Everyone seems very happy in the band, especially Castrinos, whose bliss is either delightful or disturbing to watch here.

“Janglin'” opens with the whole lot of them bopping along to the janglin song.  Alex Ebert has a folky, husky voice.  There’s lots of shouted “heys” and a fun, nearly-bass vocal section where they all sing “Mag-ne-tic-zeros.”  “Home” is a wonderful song with a catchy whistle and a fun horn section.  The catchiness of the chorus is undeniable.  And this live version is infectious.  The final song, “40 Day Daydream” is a big rambling piece.  There’s a moment near the end that allows Ebert to sing unaccompanied and you can hear that his voice is quite nice.

I always enjoy seeing performers having fun and it’s clear that these Zeros are doing just that.

[READ: January 3, 2014] Judy Blume and Lena Dunham In Conversation

I considered the idea of writing only about tiny books in February.  (I have a number of tiny books that have come along recently and I thought February would be a good time to read them all).  Of course, it’s already the 11th, so there goes that.  But I can still do some, right?

So this little book (6.5 x 4.5 inches, 77 pages) is the full (and enhanced) interview with Judy Blume and Lena Dunham.  The excerpted version appeared in the January 2014 issue of The Believer.  For this book we have the full interview (I assume) and the authors were given a chance to add comments to the interview afterward.

What we get here is Dunham, more or less a fangirl of Judy Blume, talking to her idol.  But Dunham is not just fawning, she is direct and inquisitive and they seem to hit it off immediately, which makes for a great interview.  Blume talks about her phobias (thunder, loud noises).  And their fear of the blank page.  And we also learn of Blume’s writing and daily routines (which are very different from Dunham’s). (more…)

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Grantland Quarterly, Number 8 (2013)

Posted in Advice, Alex Pappademas, Andrew Sharp, Andy Greenwald, Baseball, Basketball, Ben Lindbergh, Bill Simmons, Blue is the Warmest Color, Books about music, Books about writers, Boxing, Brian Phillips, Bryan Curtis, Canadian Content, Charles P. Pierce, Charlie Pierce, Chris Ryan, Chuck Klosterman, Daniel Kellison, Dave McKenna, Dave Zirin, David Jacoby, Emily Yoshida, Eric Raskin, Essays, Football, Game of Thrones, Grantland, Harris Wittels, Hockey, Iron Man, James Gandolfini, Jay Caspian Kang, Jonathan Abrams, Katie Baker, La vie d'Adèle, Louisa Thomas, Mad Men, Mark Lisanti, Mark Titus, McSweeney's, Molly Lambert, Nostalgia, Poker, Rafe Bartholomew, Rany Jazayerli, Rembert Browne, Robert Mays, Sean Fennessey, Sean McIndoe, Shane Ryan, Shea Serrano, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, The Office, Thomas Golianopoulos, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, Wesley Morris, Zach Lowe on February 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

  grantland8SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).

ralpRalph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him.  He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).

The concert lasted only 6 minutes, but in that time he sang three a capella songs: “Gloryland,” “Turn Back, Turn Back” and “Amazing Grace.”

It’s hard to assess a legend based on this performance.  I’ve no idea how good his voice was back in the day.  He sounds fine here, albeit understandably quite old.  I’d have liked to hear his banjo.

[READ: January 3, 2014] Grantland #8

It is becoming apparent to me that Grantland loves basketball.  Like, a lot more than any other sport.  This issue had a ton of basketball in it.  And, I have to admit I was a little tired of it by the end–there was a lot less pop culture stuff, too.  So, it felt especially basketball heavy.  I realize of course that the time frame covered was the playoffs, but still.

BILL SIMMONS-“Searching for a Superman”
A lengthy article about Dwight Howard, discussing the pros and cons of signing him again.

MARK TITUS-“How Did He Get So Good?”
A look at Paul George and Danny Green doing better than expected in the NCAA playoffs.

CHARLES P. PIERCE-“A Dark Day in Boston”
Pierce wonders about Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing–he says the city will come back stronger. (more…)

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