I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: JUANA MOLINA-Tiny Desk Concert #361 (May 31, 2014).

I had heard of Juana Molina but had never heard anything she sang. In fact I didn’t really know anything about her. So, she’s from Buenos Aires and is 51 this year. She has released 6 albums. I don’t know if they all sound like this, but these threes songs are really cool and interesting. The sounds are wholly unexpected—weird effects on guitar and on keyboard. Interesting samples (played by all three members) and delightfully odd backing vocals all accompany Molina’s pretty voice (she sings mostly in Spanish).

   “Eras” opens with a stuttering guitar line that proves to be not a guitar at all. By the time the song moves along there’s a groovy guitar line, spare vocals (at one point counting mostly in Spanish uno tres cuatro cinco seis (yes there’s no dos)) and a very catchy chorus.

   “Wed 21” has an insane guitar riff that in addition to being unusual in itself is also crazily wobbly. Then there’s processed vocals which act almost as a percussion instrument.  All of this once again leads to a super catchy chorus.  When the strange noises reappear after the chorus it sounds even more peculiar.

Molina proves to be very familiar with the Tiny Desk Concerts.  She is excited to be there, which is always fun to see in a performer. She also says that now she knows what people are looking at when the scan the audience.

   The same odd vibrato guitar opens “Sin Guia, No” as well. After a slinky voice (Molina’s voice is delicate and whispery for much of the songs but can get big and loud as needed) with some interesting backing vocals (that sound like they are coming from a well), Molina adds a new guitar line to the mix.  There’s a lot of music coming from this trio.  And I like it a lot.

[READ: June 4, 2014] “Hubcaps”

Stories about 70s families are pretty much always sad.  In the decade of smoking and drinking parents and of neglected children, there’s never going to be happiness there.  Although there is sometimes comedy.  And yet for all of the sadness of the fictionalized decade, I often enjoy reading about it.

This story opens with Owen knowing that when his parents break open their first cocktails in the later afternoon, that’s pretty much the end of the night for them–and a chance for Owen to sneak out.  Mostly he goes to the homemade baseball field(!) of his friends the Kershaws.  The oldest Kershaw boy is a good athlete, the middle one is working on his paper route and the youngest is physically and mentally challenged.  But they all love baseball, especially the youngest, Ben.  And given his specialness, he is excellent at remembering statistics of baseball.  Owen finds his knowledge fascinating, so he hangs around with him on the bus and sometimes after school.  Ben is also pretty good at baseball, so he is always picked for a team.  As is Owen.  It seems idyllic, except for Owen’s family life.

But Owen manages to catch and raise some tiny turtles (don’t get too attached to them).

There is more darkness coming–there are twin girls on the bus who are mean to everyone (especially Ben), but they are pretty and smart so they get away with everything.  There’s also church which Owen hates (and his dad gets through by bringing an Ellery Queen mystery and sticking it in the hymnal).  But after one too many crazy incidents (this one involving a fire truck), things come to a head in Owen’s house.

Owen’s parents announce that they are going to split up.  Mr Kershaw, obviously aware of what’s happening at Owen’s house (Owen’s father is in no way a secret drunk), takes Owen to the edge of the swamp to look for Indian arrowheads (which they find).  It’s a very tender moment, one of the few in Owen’s life, presumably.

The hubcaps of the title refer to Owen’s own secret.  He steals them from parked cars at the town’s football games.  He has quite a collection.  Much like the story, it seems harmless or even funny until you realize just how serious it is.  And a lot of seriousness happens by the end of the story.

I really liked the way this story fleshed out characters that could have been 70s stereotypes.