Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for February, 2015

Romesh Gunesekera–“Road Kill” (New Yorker, December 2, 2013)

Posted in Cars, Death, Jimmy Cliff, Mötley Crüe, New Yorker, Romesh Gunesekera, Short Story, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Beatles on February 8, 2015| 1 Comment »

dec2SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-The Beatles (1968).

220px-TheBeatles68LPDespite the sound effects, it’s clear from the start that this album is going to be different from the psychedelia of previous albums.  And the whole album is very stark—guitars, bass, drums, occasional piano and organ but not much else.  True there are some strings and horns, but it’s all very much in the vein of rock and roll–nothing trippy.  Turns out that most of the songs were written during a Transcendental Meditation course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, India–a period that was free from drugs (except or marijuana of course).

“Back in the USSR” is a fun rocker, although it always confused me and there’s some explanation that this is sort of a joke on the Beach Boys.  “Dear Prudence” is a mid tempo song (with some cool bass lines).  I should have been keeping track of all the Beatles songs that I know better from other artists.  This one I know better from Siouxsie and the Banshees.  I had no idea what this song was about, and the story is weird and fascinating.  I love the way it builds band builds. “Glass Onion” has a really groovy sound, and I love all the self referential nonsense in it.  “the walrus was Paul” and “I told you about the Fool on the Hill” (McCartney overdubbed a record part to reference the original)–sounds like Lennon goofing around but making cool music out of it.

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”is a goofy song (Paul is good at those it seems).  Evidently it was meant as a pastiche of ska (with Jimmy Cliff contributing initially).  According to Wikipedia this song is one of the factors that led to the break up of the band because they got so sick of it.  “Wild Honey Pie” is a weird 50 second snippet of a song.  This seems to foreshadow the medley tracks on Abbey Road.  Evidently it was just McCartney goofing around and referencing “Honey Pie” from later in the album.  “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” is a song that I always sort of liked because it’s so weird.  But I never understood it.  While it may not be necessary to know all of the details of songs, it’s fascinating to learn that this one was written by Lennon after an American visitor to Rishikesh left for a few weeks to hunt tigers. The recording features vocals from almost everyone who happened to be in the studio at the time. Yoko Ono sings one line and co-sings another.  The Spanish guitar at the beginning of the recording was overdubbed later by Harrison.

I’ve always really liked “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and thought Harrison was an underrated songwriter because of it (although I find that I don’t really like most of his other stuff that much).  I never knew that Eric Clapton played the leads on this song, which may be why I like it so much–not that I’m a huge fan of Clapton but he really scorched this song in a way that I don’t think Harrison every would have.

“Happiness Is A Warm Gun”always surprises me because the first verses sound so unlike the rest of the song–I really don’t recognize it as this song, always assuming it starts at the “I need a fix” part.  Of course, there are so many different parts that it’s really more like several different songs.  And that was all for side one.  Side Two opened with “Martha My Dear” a jaunty piano ballad played entirely by McCartney.  “I’m So Tired” reminds me a lot of “Bungalow Bill” and seems unnecessary.  “Blackbird” is, simply, a beautiful song.

“Piggies” is an interesting criticism of modern society–I love that they used a harpsichord for it (evidently Charles Manson was inspired by it as well as “Helter Skelter”).  Like “Bungalow Bill” I never really understood “Rocky Raccoon.”  McCartney’s crazy accent at the beginning and the whole premise of the song is peculiar–unless of course you don’t think of Rocky Racoon as a raccoon (which I have a hard time getting past).  It’s a pretty decent folk song. though, I suppose.  “Don’t Pass Me By” is a song I really don’t know at all–a honky tonk piano (which was the first solo song Ringo wrote).  It’s fine and kind of nice.

I had always assumed that “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” was a Lennon song, but it was all McCartney–Lennon didn’t even play on it.  It’s  just a weird noisy track (written when Paul saw monkeys doing it in the road in India)  Despite its brevity (less than 2 minutes), I actually find it goes on too long.  “I Will” is a sweet acoustic song.  I always assumed that “Julia” was a McCartney song, but it’s a beautiful Lennon ballad.

I asked Sarah, who was a huge Beatles fan, if she listened to sides 3 and 4 as much as sides 1& 2 because listening to these sides, I feel like I don’t really know them that well.  She says they did, so what do I know?

Of course I know “Birthday.”  i find it to be a weird song–why would you write a song about a birthday unless you didn’t want to sing the Happy Birthday song anymore?  It is evidently meant to be in the style of Little Richard.  I didn’t know and rather dislike “Yer Blues,” which I simply don’t believe the lyrics of.  And um, what is the reason why? It’s a pretty dull blues song although the guitars solos are pretty good.

I don’t really know “Mother Nature’s Son” that well–I feel like I know the little bass line between verses as significant but not the song itself.  It’s a pretty acoustic song that kind of reminds me of “Julia.”  “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” has some really sharp piercing guitars on it.  I like the ringing bells and c’mon c’mon section. The whole song is fun, whatever it’s about.  “Sexy Sadie” is a song I’ve never been too crazy about.  I like the middle part better than the verses.  Apparently this was originally called “Maharishi” and was written about him–he changed the words later–which makes it all make a bit more sense.

It’s a shame that Manson has co-opted “Helter Skelter” because it’s a wonderfully blistering song.  The guitars and vocals are just awesomely rocking and raw.  I also love that a helter skelter is just a slide and not something sinister (duh, Charles–see what happens when you try to read into Beatles lyrics).  I actually knew Siouxsie and the Banshees and Mötley Crüe’s versions before the original, but now I think the original is the best version.  I love that the song just never really ends–it’s got codas and extras and blisters on fingers.

“Long, Long, Long” is a song I don’t really know.  I like the melody although it’ a bit too slow for me.

“Revolution 1” is weird to me because I knew the more rocking version first and this sounds like a kind of jokey version (with the shoobie doo wops)–although it was actually recorded first.  “Honey Pie” is a cute dance hall/1920s era song–Lennon played the guitar solo on the track, but later said he hated the song, calling it “beyond redemption”.  (He was quite nasty about a lot of Paul’s silly songs).  “Savoy Truffle” is yet another Harrison song that I just don’t know–did radio stations ban his songs?  It’s a decent rocker with electric piano and saxophone.  “Cry Baby Cry” is a song that I kind of know. I like that there’s accordion on it.  It builds very nicely.  The end has a little coda called “Can You Take Me Back.”

“Revolution 9” is probably the most notorious track on the disc.  I have to assume it was left on because there was a lot of empty space to fill in order to make the album a double album.  It’s such a strange creation and has really been responsible for so many cut and paste songs I’m sure.  There’s some sophisticated tape manipulation going on, but at 8 minute sit is just too long for what it is.

“Goodnight” is a sweet song that I have to assume was often ignored by fans who took the needle off the record during “Revolution 9.”  i actually didn’t even know there was a song after revolution 9.  Indeed, I only know the song because it was on a children’s CD that I used to play for my kids every night.  And while Ringo’s voice is nice, I like the other version (which I can’t think of) a little more.

So there’s the big white album–an album I never owned until recently.   It could probably have been reduced to a single album, but there are some undoubtedly brilliant songs on it.

[READ: July 3, 2014] “Road Kill”

I was curious to see how many short stories of older New Yorker magazines I had read.  It turned out that I have read nearly every story in every issue for the last several years from 2009-2014 (and many from 2008).  However, I have missed a few over the years.  Like this one.  I had typed up a post but just never finished it for some reason.

So, I’ve decided that I will go back and make sure that I’ve read each story from each issue from 2008-2015 (but not right away, I’ve done a lot of New Yorker stories recently.  So, I’ve got 13 from 2009, 6 from 2010, 2 from 2011, 1 from 2013 and 1 from 2014 (and, uh 27 from 2008–that’ over half, so maybe I wasn’t quite in the spirit of things yet back then).  But in the meantime, here’s one from 2013.

This is a brief story about a taxi driver in Sri Lanka.  He has been traveling the same route (across country) for two years.  This necessitates a stop in Kilinocchi, a town associated with the nerve center of terror (it is even commented on that it sounds brutal in English).  But the driver is a pro now—he says all you have to do to stay safe is keep your eyes open to drive all night.

On this trip, he is driving Mr and Mrs Arunachalam to see their soon-to-be house.  She is hugely pregnant and complains much of the way and they are both relieved when the hotel pulls into view. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Kathy Page–“Red Dog” (The Walrus, December 2014)

Posted in Christmas, Death Cab For Cutie, Dogs, Kathy Page, Our World, Parenting, Short Story, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Rutles on February 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »

walrusdec SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-Magical Mystery Tour (1967).

I have never remmtally thought of Magical Mystery Tour as a real album.  And it turns out I had good reason to feel that way.  It was originally released as a double EP in Britain (with the first six songs).  The rest of the tracks only ever appeared on the American release.  Those five songs were released as singles before this album In Britain and the U.S.), which means that this was the only place you could get these songs unless you bought the singles (eventually they were put out on the “blue album”).

So the first six songs are from the soundtrack to the TV movie Magical Mystery Tour (which was a flop as a film, but a hit as a soundtrack).  And the last five songs were released in different ways.

I’ve always liked “Magical Mystery Tour” it’s bouncy and fun with good harmonies.  I never much cared for “The Fool on the Hill” I tend to not like Paul’s piano ballads that much (they remind me too much of his solo and Wings material), although I do enjoy the way he wails the vocals later in the song.  The slide whistle solo is quite a treat and I also like the bass harmonica (my new favorite weird instrument).

This album also features two songs that I don’t know well at all (and I assumed I knew every Beatles song).  “Flying” is a weird fun little instrumental with “La La Las” at the end I really like it, and if I still made mix tapes I would often find a place for it on them.  And “Blue Jay Way” a song I don’t know at all.  It’s another George Harrison vaguely Indian song, although this one has more guitars than his other songs.  I find I can’t really get into it.  “Your Mother Should Know” is one of those songs that I like but I don’t love and don’t really think about too much.

But then there’s”I am the Walrus (“No you’re not, “said Little Nicola).”  It’s a cliché to really like this song but I really do.  It’s weird and goofy and the music is just fantastic.  I love all the elements (and didn’t realize that the spoken section at the end is King Lear).  I feel like The Beatles must have been huge to make a such a weird song become such a big hit.

And then came a bunch of singles: “Hello Goodbye” which I think hearkens back to the earlier Beatles, songs but which has a bit of the psychedelic elements form later Beatles thrown on top (including Paul’s shouting vocals in the background).

“Strawberry Fields Forever” was intended to be included on Sgt Peppers‘ but they needed a single to release during in the lengthy amount of time it was taking them to record the album (a whole nine months!).  This song holds up really well, with some really interesting chord progressions and mild dissonance.  And the middle of the song is fascinatingly split in the stereo version so that it’s all drums and sound effects in the left ear.  It was released as a double A side with “Penny Lane.”  Although I said I don’t really like Paul’ piano songs, I do like “Penny Lane” quite a lot, I find it very satisfying.

“Baby You’re A Rich Man” was the B-side to “All You Need is Love.” I always felt the song was kind of weird and it turns out that the two parts were two different songs (Lennon: verses; McCartney: chorus) that they just stuck together.  It’s a weird mic of fun sing along rocking chorus and peculiar Eastern melody in the verses.  “All You Need is Love” was first performed on Our World, the first live global television link watched by over 400 million in 25 countries.  The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the United Kingdom’s contribution.  They apparently wrote a song that was simple enough for it to be universal, and man, were they right.

So, there’s all of these fabulous songs sort of tacked on to the end of this soundtrack.  Beatles releases were sure weird.

Incidentally, the film also used “Death Cab for Cutie” performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in its soundtrack which you can see here.  Obviously, this is where Death Cab for Cutie got their band name, but also, Neil from thee Bonzos was involved in The Rutles, who did such great parodies of Beatles songs.

[READ: January 15, 2015] “The Red Dog”

This was a sad holiday story about an eight year old girl with learning disabilities.  She evidently lives away from her family for most of the year but is allowed to come home for Christmas and the summer vacation.  It’s clear that Katie is a handful.  She tends to lash out easily, but she also seems to be able to control herself as well.

There’s some weird aspects of the story that I didn’t fully understand.  Like the fact that while her family ii shopping they tell her to stay outside because they’re afraid she will damage things in the store.  But her family leaves her outside for at least a half an hour, just standing in front of the store (“don’t move an inch”).  And she behaves, even though it is rather difficult.  But really, they leave her standing outside of a store for over half an hour? (more…)

Read Full Post »

Saïd Sayrafiezadeh–“Last Meal at Whole Foods” (New Yorker, July 28, 2014)

Posted in Death, Football, Futility, Life of Pi, New Yorker, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Short Story, The Beatles on February 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

july 28SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1967).

pepper A few years ago I started writing about Beatles records–a thankless task if ever there was.  I got held up at Sgt Pepper, so it seems fitting to get back to the Beatles after enjoying the cover album from the Flaming Lips.

I have long thought that this was my favorite Beatles album–it was the first one I bought on vinyl, after all.  But when I was writing about the records last time, I discovered that I like Revolver a little better.  I’m surprised by this especially since I really enjoy all of the amazing musical advances the band made with this album (and the psychedelics too).  I mean, to pretend to be another band, to add a full orchestra–the band had pretty much given up touring at this point–and to have added so many interesting things to this record is really amazing.  And I don’t mean to say that I dislike the record, just that I think Revolver is better.

The title opening is great with the horns and sound effects (just so you know, Paul’s voice is all in the right channel, something that sounds really weird if you only listen to the left!).  In fact the whole album has all kinds of fun stereo manipulations.

“With a Little Help from My Friends” has so many great vocal parts and I love the bass–slow and simple but playing unexpectedly high notes.  This apparently also means that Ringo is Billy Shears.  Speaking of the concept, this album doesn’t really work as a concept album–I mean, overall, what’s the “message”?  There are some songs about love (the lonely hearts club) but there’s also some songs that are not at all about love.  And how does say “She’s Leaving Home” connect to “Mr. Kite?”  It doesn’t really matter, I suppose.

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is just great–everything about it from the harpsichord to the weirdo processed vocals and the big drums for the chorus (the chorus could actually be a bit bigger) still sound tremendous.  “Getting Better” sounds very old school Beatles to me–I like it but it doesn’t really fit the psychedelic nature of the album.  The harmonies are great (“it can’t no worse”).  It’s also a strangely simply love song I believe, even though it seems like it’s about life in general.  On a sour note, what’s with the Beatles beating their women?

“Fixing a Hole” has a great melody line and instrumentation.  I have always liked “She’s Leaving Home,” I think it’s pretty and the lyrics are great.  But I suddenly find it to be a bit too slow and string-heavy–guess I’m just a rocker at heart?  Interestingly there’s no other Beatles playing instruments on the song.  “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” is all sung in the right speaker. It’s a wonderfully weird song with great instrumentation.

I’m constantly surprised by “Within You Without You” just because it is completely Indian–no Beatle plays on the song at all, expect for George.  There are also uncredited Indian musicians on swarmandal, dilruba, tabla, and tambura–imagine that there are Indian musicians who can actually say they played on Sgt Pepper, and be telling the truth!  I feel like with a 5 minute song (twice the length of any other song on the disc, except the closing) that Indian music should have become much more popular (or maybe people just skipped the track–it was track 1 on side 2 after all.

The delightfully silly, but somehow profound “When I’m 64”–vocals sped up a bit and bouncing from left to right ear seems like a trifle but is still fun.  “Lovely Rita” is a fun jaunty song.  I like that he thought she was cute dressed as a military man.  Interestingly, she pays for dinner.  “Good Morning” I feel is more known for the chorus, while the verses are a bit obscure.  Although it’s interesting to hear the kind of fast verses that Lennon sings (and that scorching guitar solo (from Paul!) is pretty cool).

I’m intrigued that “A Day in the Life” comes after the song that seems like it should end the record (the Pepper reprise).  “A Day in the Life” really does get better with each listen–the closer you listen, the better it gets, too.  It’s a great way to end any disc.

So yes this album is great and incredibly influential.  I love listening to it.  The biggest surprise to me is that the album is only 39 minutes.

Thirty-nine minutes!

[READ: January 24, 2015] “Last Meal at Whole Foods”

This story is set in a Whole Foods (duh). The narrator is eating dinner with his poor mother.  He says that she is till young which is the tragedy, since she is close to death.  They had a doctor’s appointment earlier which was meant to be “a formality.”

While they are eating he tells us that she has maintained an appetite even though she was always just a nibbler.  But as of late her apatite has been voracious.

The man then reflects back on the location of the Whole Foods.  Twenty years ago this street was apart of a dicey neighborhood.  The only building was the Goodwill.  The Goodwill that he and his other shopped at when they first moved to the area.

On their first outing there (his mother was so excited to get to building) she bought him a football jersey–even though he didn’t follow the local team. But the jersey proved to be a very cool item and the boys all talked to him about football because he wore it–there was even a rumor that he was related to the name of the back of his shirt. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Greg Jackson–“Wagner in the Desert” (New Yorker, July 21, 2014)

Posted in Autumn Defense, Ben Goldwasser, Birdflower, Black Pus, Chuck Inglish, Def Rain, Dr. Dog, Drinking, Drugs, Electric Würms, Fever the Ghost, Foxygen, Grace Potter, Greg Jackson, J. Mascis, Julianna Barwick, Maynard James Keenan, Miley Cyrus, Moby, Morgan Delt, My Morning Jacket, New Fumes, New Yorker, Phantogram, Pitchwafuzz, Puscifer, Sex, Short Story, Spaceface, Stardeath and White Dwarfs, Sunbears!, Tegan and Sara, The Beatles, The Flaming Lips, Treasure Mammal, Wilco, Zorch on February 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

july21SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS 2014-With a Little Help from My Fwends (2014).

fwendsAnd speaking of covers.

Probably the least anticipated album of 2014 was the Flaming Lips’ cover of Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Although the biggest surprise (mostly in a bad way, it seemed) was Wayne Coyne’s embrace (metaphorical, we hope) of Miley Cyrus.  The fact that Cyrus appears on this record at all totally overshadowed the fact that so many other people and bands appeared here as well.  I literally had no idea at the names that contributed to this electronic psychedelic re-imagining of a very psychedelic album.

The biggest overall difference between the two is that the Beatles’ psychedelia was conveyed through organic instruments–strings, horns, sitar, piano–while The Fwends version is almost entirely electronic.  This of course means that the album sounds very different from the original.  But what I think makes the album a success overall is that the various artists involved all bring a slightly different vision to the proceedings.  This makes it less of a Flaming Lips record and more of a Friends of Lips-style psychedelia collection.  I’m not even sure why it’s a Flaming Lips record, except that they are credited with playing on a bunch of songs (and presumably produced it–which explains some of the excess noise on the record).

Obviously, they are not trying to improve on the original.  And obviously, die-hard Beatles fans are appalled at this travesty.  But anyone who knows the Beatles knows that they were all about experimenting themselves.  Rather than getting mad about this, perhaps listeners should see that  they are having fun with the originals–sometimes staying faithful, sometimes exploring other ways to do songs, and sometimes just throwing everything out the window for a chance to jam.  And some versions you may even like.

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” featuring My Morning Jacket, Fever the Ghost & J Mascis
The song starts out with a goofy falsetto rendition of the song which makes it seem like the whole album is going to be a big joke (I assume this is Fever the Ghost whom I don’t know).  But I loved the way the “record” slows down to let MMJ take over with a great noisy, respectful chorus.  The song could certainly use more MMJ.  When “Billy Shears” is introduced, it turns out be J Masics playing a totally song-inappropriate wailing guitar solo.
“With a Little Help from My Friends” featuring The Flaming Lips, Black Pus & Autumn Defense
I love that Wayne sings this verse (about being out of tune) with an auto tune on his voice.  He sings it really quite lovely.  I even enjoy that the response verses are done in a kind of out of tune crazy way.  But the problem is that they are too much–it turns the song into too much of a joke (which is to be expected form a band called Black Pus, I suppose).  It’s a shame because the idea could work really well if it didn’t sound like someone crashing a party.  Autumn Defense is a side project from the bassist for Wilco, and I assume he does the lovely harmony vocals.
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” featuring The Flaming Lips, Miley Cyrus & Moby
Miley so overshadows everyone on this song that I didn’t even realize Moby was on it.  Miley sounds really quite good in this version–not all that dissimilar to John’s falsetto voice on the original.  The removal of the big drum before the chorus is distressing, although I do like the replacement, the echoed “gone” part (which must be Moby).  I like that they are having fun with the song (the repeat of “Marshmallow Pie” is cute) I just wish the chorus wasn’t mixed so loud that it is so distorted.  I hate that about recent Lips releases, why do they do it?
“Getting Better” featuring Dr. Dog, Chuck Inglish & Morgan Delt
Dr Dog sounds great in this version, although I find Inglish’s recitation (in which he can’t seem to hit any notes on the few times when he  “sings” to be rather unsettling).  I don’t know Morgan Delt, but I find his trippy vocals to work quite well.
“Fixing a Hole” featuring Electric Würms
Electric Würms are the side project of Flaming Lip Steven Drozd.  This is claustrophobic but quite appropriate for the song (I wish it were a little cleaner though).
“She’s Leaving Home” featuring Phantogram, Julianna Barwick & Spaceface
This is a great, delicate version of this with Phantogram and Barwick sharing lead vocals duties.  It’s quite lovely.
“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” featuring The Flaming Lips, Maynard James Keenan, Puscifer & Sunbears!
Maynard does a great job reciting the song.  The song is not necessarily more trippy than the original (which is pretty trippy), it’s just a lot more electronic-sounding.  It’s a weird but cool rendition of the song.
“Within You Without You” featuring The Flaming Lips, Birdflower & Morgan Delt
I don’t know Birdflower, but she does a great job in a higher register with the Indian melody (it’s all electronic and not traditional Indian instrumentation but it sounds cool).  Delt sings alternate leads and is a good counterpoint.
“When I’m Sixty-Four” featuring The Flaming Lips, Def Rain & Pitchwafuzz
I don’t know Def Rain or Pitchwafuzz, but I think Def Rain is doing the voice.  The robotic voice that sings this song is kind of fun–a little too much at times, but overall fun.
“Lovely Rita” featuring Tegan and Sara & Stardeath and White Dwarfs
Tegan and Sara have fun with this song while the noise from Stardeath is much darker than the original.
“Good Morning Good Morning” featuring Zorch, Grace Potter & Treasure Mammal
This song is a little wild (although so is the original).  I don’t know any of the artists involved in it.
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” featuring Foxygen & Ben Goldwasser
Foxygen takes this one minute reprise and turns it into a five minute jam session. It has nothing at all to do with the original and it is a weird way to delay the final song.  I don’t know what Goldwasser contributes.  If you can get past the fact that it sounds nothing like the original, it’s an interesting noisy jam.
“A Day in the Life” featuring The Flaming Lips, Miley Cyrus & New Fumes
Wayne and Miley duet on this, with again, Wayne taking the vocals seriously.  Wayne does the “John” verses.  The switch to Miley’s take on the “Paul” verses is a pretty big shock the way it sounds so stark and electronic.  There’s a few too many echoes on her part, but again, Miley does pretty well with a detached reading.  And because The Lips are purposefully difficult, the end gets cut off before the final famous crescendo.

So is this a great record that people will listen to a lot? Nope.  Is it an interesting twist on a famous record?  Sure.  Is it enjoyable?  For the most part.  As long a you don’t think of it is a definitive re-make, and accept it as a way to raise money for a charity, which it did for The Bella Foundation.

[READ: January 28, 2015] “Wagner in the Desert”

This story reminded me in spirit of both Less than Zero and Generation X, but perhaps for Generation Y.

It’s about a bunch of friends getting ready to ring in the New Year in Palm Springs with a lot of drugs.

The narrator and friends were vacationing some friends from whom he had drifted.  Marta and Eli were trying to have a baby and were looking to do one more sort of wild night before it all became to real: “The Baby Bucket List they were calling it.”  So they all headed to Palm Springs, a group of “modern hustlers: filmmakers, ad writers (screen, Web, magazine), who periodically worked as narrative consultants on ad campaigns, sustainability experts, P.R. lifers, designers, or design consultants, social entrepreneurs and that strange species of human beings who has invented an app.”

Unlike the coke heads of the 80s, though: “We thought we were not bad people.  Not the best, a bit spoiled, maybe, but pleasant, inconstant, decent.”

The group were all paired off except for the narrator and Lily, who was pretty and neurotic, an executive in training.  And he soon filled the role of her gofer because “she needed a lot of things.” He had hoped to have sex with her–his only goal for the vacation.  But as of day three, they had only made out a bit. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Allegra Goodman–“Apple Cake” (New Yorker, July 7 & 14, 2014)

Posted in Allegra Goodman, Death, Essays, Food, New Yorker, Pink Floyd, Primus, Religion, Short Story, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on February 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 appleSOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY with THE FUNGI ENSEMBLE (2014).

Achoclnd after all of that, we catch up to present day Primus.  And this time Tim Alexander is back with them again!  I was supposed to see Primus at a small theater when they toured for the chocolate Factory.  And because of a planning snafu I didn’t get to go.  I had wanted to see the show live before hearing the album.  Sigh.

I was thinking about Les Claypool and covers.  He does a lot of them.  Even though he is clearly a creative tour de force, he also likes to revisit stuff.  His live albums are full of covers, and the Duo de Twang mostly revisited songs he had already done, not to mention how he has re-recorded almost all the songs from Primus’ debut at one point or another.

So it comes as no surprise to me that they would cover the entire Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack.

The thing to know right off the bat is that Les Claypool is a rather dark and disturbed individual.  And that means that this cover recording is really much more dark and nightmarish than the original (which is quite sweet).  Now true, Wonka is a really dark and creepy figure, and maybe that’s what Les was playing off when he constructed this carnivalesque, dark funhouse mirror version of soundtrack.

And your tolerance for that (and your love of the original) will say whether or not you enjoy this.

This is not fun goofy Primus, this is dark Primus of the “My Name is Mud” and Mushroom Men variety.

“Hello Wonkites” opens this disc with dark and slow bass strings and a slow and menacing melody.  “Candy Man” one of the sweetest songs ever is turned incredibly dark with hypnotic vibes and weird bowed bass sounds.  The way they speed up parts of the song are really disturbing and his vocals are creepy as anything.  This tells you all you need to know about this recording.

“Cheer up, Charlie” is a little bit sweeter as it opens with cellos. But Les’ vocal is weird and a little, yes, disturbing,  Although I don’t really like the original very much so this one works better for me.  “Golden Ticket” is also quite sinister with the mad carnival sounds and the stomping bass.  “Lermaninoff” is a cool 5 second reprise of the Rachmaninoff lock in the movie.

“Pure Imagination” is probably the least creepy of all the songs, although it is still dark and ominous.   It features a lot of percussion, and I read somewhere that Tim doesn’t really play drums on this record, he just hits all kinds of crap that’s around him.  There’s a long instrumental section that is pretty cool.

There are four versions of the Oompa Loompa song, just like in the movie.  Each one is about a minute and a half long.  They’re each quite similar and faithful to the original’s creepy vibe.  They might do better to be spaced out more, but it’s still fun.  The “Semi Wondrous Boat Ride” is actually not nearly as creepy as the original.  “Wonkamobile” is just over a minute long and it is just Les being Les.

“I Want It Now” features lead vocals by Ler!  I don’t know that we’ve ever heard him sing anywhere before.  He doesn’t have a great voice (or he’s trying to be bratty, it’s hard to tell), but it’s such a welcome change to have someone else singing on the disc.

My favorite track is “Goodbye Wonkites” which has a very cool Pink Floyd feel.  The instrumentation is the same as “Hello” but the guitars have this great echo, and the chords that Ler is playing (yes normal chords) sound very much like Pink Floyd to me.  It’s a cool instrumental.

Even though I don’t love this soundtrack, I’d still like to see the stage show that they create for it, which I imagine is just insane.

And that brings an end to the Primus land–a month’s worth of Les and the boys.

That there’s a bad egg.

[READ: January 29, 2015] “Apple Cake”

This story is about a woman who has just entered hospice care.  And yet surprisingly it is not all that sad.

Jeanne was the youngest sister.  Her to older sisters Sylvia and Helen are very different but both were quite upset that it was their baby sister who would die first (even though none of them was actually young).

Since she was in hospice, the family was gathered around pretty much all the time.  The sisters were there constantly and her sons and nieces and nephews all took time off to pay their last respects.  But Jeanne lingered–despite doctors saying that she had only a day or two left, she continued to seem rather strong and coherent.

And really this story turns out to be more about the fighting between the healthy sisters–and their children.  Will they defer to Jeanne’s wishes–like when she asks for a bagel even though she hasn’t eaten solid foods in weeks?  And, most importantly, will they honor Jeanne’s wishes about her death–she wants no funeral, no ceremony, not even a burial.  Or will they follow tradition and have a rabbi preside over her.

And so this fight comes down to Helen and Sylvia.  Even though Jeanne has made her intentions clear to her sons, Helen and Sylvia have always been at odds and will continue to be so: “There was simply the great divide between them: Helen told the truth, while Sylvia tried to paper over everything.”  Helen is insistent that Jeanne see a rabbi and have a proper burial.  But Sylvia and everyone else finds it disrespectful.

And in her grief, Helen begins baking.  After all, she was the baker of the family–Sylvia hadn’t baked in years because her husband was diabetic.  She made apple cake (which was pretty good), almond cookies (which were less so) and a pecan bar which was, well, left uneaten.  And so the food starts piling up, because Helen never threw anything away.

Then one day Sylvia brought in an apple cake, warm and fragrant.  Even Jeanne remarked on how good it smelled.  Which gets Helen indignant.

“It’s my recipe,” Helen said, “I gave that recipe to Sylvia twenty years ago.”
“Yes I remember,” Jeanne said, “she bakes a very good apple cake.”
“I bake the same one!  I brought you apple cake last week.”
“I know, but I like hers better,” Jeanne said.

Eventually Helen convinced the rabbi to see Jeanne.  The rabbi is friendly and accepts that Jeanne is an atheist–Jeanne was looking for a fight but he was very kind.  And she even concedes that she could be buried in her plot.

When Jeane eventually dies, they agree to a simple ceremony.  Helen tries to make it more religious–saying that Jeanne agreed to it–but she is unable to hijack the ceremony.  Sylvia is off course pot off by Helen’s behavior and gets rather sulky.

At the gathering afterward, they agreed it would be catered and no one would bring baked goods.  But as the day dragged on, there suddenly came the smell of fresh-baked apple cake.  The nuclear option had been pulled.

I really enjoyed this story and the inner workings of passive aggressive family troubles.  And the way that Jeanne seemed to supervise the whole thing.

Read Full Post »

Rebecca Curtis–“Pink House” (New Yorker, June 30, 2014)

Posted in Alice in Chains, Artists, Bee Gees, Death, Funny (strange), Ghosts, Jimi Hendrix, Les Claypool's Duo De Twang, M.I.R.V., New Yorker, Parenting, Primus, Rebecca Curtis, Religion, Sex, Short Story, Stompin' Tom Connors on February 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 june30SOUNDTRACK: LES CLAYPOOL’S DUO DE TWANG-Four Foot Shack (2014).

Four_Foot_Shack_coverAfter touring around for the then latest Primus album, Les Claypool and M.I.R.V. guitarist Bryan Kehoe.  They got together for a bluegrass festival and decided to keep going with it.

So this is just Les and Bryan each playing a resonator bass and resonator guitar and twanging up the songs (with extra mandolin and backing vocals on a few tracks by Wylie Woods).

The disc opens with the only new song, a 42 second bit that doesn’t quite prepare you for the nonsense inside.  Because this is really a fun record of covers (Primus songs, Les’ solo songs, and others).

I tend to like the proper Primus versions better, but I really enjoy the way he has transformed them in this format.  “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” totally fits in this format and I do like it (the yodel bit is perfect) I just happen to like the bass and guitar better in the original.

The covers include: “Amos Moses” which works fine in this format.  “The Bridge Came Tumblin Down” (by Stompin’ Tom Connors) sounds very Stompin’ Tom.  It’s quite a sad song (thanks Tom).  “Stayin’ Alive” is fantastic–it really works with that style and the “how how how” is funny without being mocking.  “Pipeline” is a surprisingly good surf song for these two instruments–they really rock it out.  Perhaps te second biggest surprise (after Stayin’ Alive) is “Man in the Box” from Alice in Chains.  It projects a “Rawhide” vibe, and works very well It’s also kinda funny with the lyrics: “for some reason I’m buried with my very own shit.”  “Battle of New Orleans,” sounds really familiar although I’m not sure where I know it from.

There are several songs from Les’ solo albums done in twang style.  “Red State Girl” works great in this format (although it makes me sad that we still know who Sarah Palin is).   “Boonville Stomp” I like this version better than any others I’ve heard–some great steel guitar soloing going on in the second half.  The intro to “Rumble of the Diesel” is funny where he says that Seattle people don’t know anything about fishing and they turn on him.  “Buzzards of Green Hill” works really well with the twang, as does “Hendershot” (although I like the way he says “Hendershot” in the original more).  “D’s Diner” is fun in this format, less weird (the original is pretty weird).  And I’d love some malted buttermilk pancakes all day long.

The final song is a cover of Primus’ “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.”  It feels very different.  The guitar solos are fun–there’s a Benny Hill vibe before the solo for Jimi Hendrix’ “Third Stone from the Sun.”

So while the album is goofy, it’s done in good fun, and the impact is really strong–Les’s songs have always been about rhythm and they translate really well.

[READ: January 29, 2015] “Pink House”

Rebecca Curtis continues to be one of my favorite recent discoveries.  Strangely enough I bought a copy of her short story collection and then proceeded to lose it in my house. How is that possible?

This story comes from a different narrator than the other stories, although she is just as bristly and straightforward as Curtis’ other narrators.  And in the way of delightfully convoluted stories, this one has an unusual setting to get to what it wants to say.

The narrator is at an artist’s gathering . None of the seven people gathered around–a Korean American crime-noir novelist, a Lebanese fantasy writer, a Thai journalist and three Brazilian painters–knew each other.  A foundation had flown them out together to practice their arts for six weeks.  “None of them knew who’d selected them for the residency, or why.”  I love that.

So the narrator decides to tell them a story about a ghost.

She had been living in Manhattan, although she was originally from Maine.  She was barely scraping by but then she was accepted into the MFA program in Syracuse.  She asked them to secure housing for her and she accepted an apartment sight unseen.

Before she left, she decided to have one last fling with her boyfriend.  She makes a point of telling everyone that he is black (she pretty much exclusively dates black men), and there’s an awkward moment where she says that her boyfriend half comic half angry asks, “”You like black cock?”” The rest of this answer is out loud: “I hesitated.  To me the question seemed off, since it was evident that I did.  Who I wondered wouldn’t like such a good thing?”  Meanwhile, the journalist asks her, “This relates to the ghost story?”  She says that it does.

Albeit somewhat tangentially.  She wound up oversleeping on the night she was supposed to pack.  Her parents drove down from Maine to help her move and her father was super mad that she wasn’t ready (he had no intention of sleeping in a hotel in Syracuse).  The whole relationship with her family: her angry father and her mother who believes that she will be going to hell because of her premarital sex is very funny.  It also takes up a large chunk of the story but has little to do with the actual ghost part, well, except for one important thing. (more…)

Read Full Post »

J. Robert Lennon–“Breadman” (New Yorker, January 19, 2015)

Posted in Humiliation, J. Robert Lennon, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story on February 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

1-19SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Green Naugahyde (2011).

greenAfter the EP and tour, the reunited Primus (with Jay Lane still on drums) made Green Naugahyde.  And the album sounds fantastic.  They veer away from the longer jammier songs and get back down to business–it’s also notable that Ler contributed music to a number of songs.  I reviewed it a while back when it came out and I’m pretty much all in agreement with what I said then.  I was a little critical of a few things which I find less annoying now.  I still admit to not loving Les’ deeper singing voice, but it seems here to stay.

Some thoughts from the original post edited with new feelings added

As  they have done before, this album opens with a brief instrumental “Prelude to a Crawl” which sort of sets the tone for “Hennepin Crawler.”  As soon as “Hennepin” opens you know that this is classic Primus–bass loaded and crazy rhythms.  But it’s also apparent that Les is bringing some of the weird effects he’s been playing with in his various other bands to Primus–the bass is wonderfully distorted with crazy effects.  I love that he’s also playing harmonics on the bass.  It’s really hard to tell what is the guitar and what is the bass on this song.

Having said that, there’s some great musical ideas here.  I love the riff of “Last Salmon Man” (again, the lyrics are hard to decipher) and the way it changes from verse to bridge.  “Eternal Consumption Engine” is a great title.  It’s the first song where Les’ old vocals come back, and it’s nice to hear him.  It’s funny and frenetic.

“Tragedy’s A’ Comin’” is classic Primus, a funky rubber bass line, and group vocals.  I think what I really like about it is the openness of the music–so that you can really hear the fun things that original drummer Jay Lane  is doing.  There’s a live break in the middle of the song which is unusual and seems mostly to be for a bass solo.

When I recently wrote my thoughts on “Eyes of the Squirrel” they were exactly the same.  It is probably my least favorite song which is a real shame because the opening bass riffs are INSANELY wonderful!  I don’t know how anyone can play that fast.  I really like the way the song opens.  But it just seems to drag.  “Jilly’s on Smack” I like less this time around, although it does have an earworm quality to it.

So after two meh songs, the rest of the disc is great.  “Lee Van Cleef” is a fun stomper about missing Lee.  “Moron TV” is infectiously catchy (especially the dang a dang a dang a dang dang part) and the lyrics are wonderful.  The spoken word/jam section is also really fun.

“Hoinfodaman” is awesome and listening to Les pitch for fake products is hilarious.  It also features what may be a first for Primus: guitars in the lead melody line.  I especially love the crazy (and I think rather funny) guitar line that works as the bridge, it’s one of my favorite Primus songs.  As is “Extinction Burst” which ends the album on a major high note.  The harmonics from the bass jump into the really heavy main riff.  And Ler’s bizarrely fiddly guitar section is great–easily comparable to any of Les’ fiddly nonsense.  And on top of that, the outro is just great.

I have to agree with my earlier assessment: this makes for one of Primus’ best releases overall.

[READ: January 29, 2015] “Breadman”

I haven’t read a lot of J. Robert Lennon, but everything that I’ve read I have enjoyed.  And I would like to read more from him.  This story was fantastic, both in the plot and the way it was written.

It starts more or less in the middle with the narrator saying that “Of course he’d seen them, his customers.”  He proceeds to describe exactly the kind of people you’d imagine would line up in front of an artisanal bake shop.  He says he wouldn’t have gone there in a million billion years, but “My wife sent me.”

And of course he was late.  Which means he was there ten minutes before the store opened, but if you got there less than 30 minutes ahead of opening time you were pretty much guaranteed to miss out on the special focaccia.  (The fact that the store is inside another store front is a wonderful detail).

While waiting on line for bread, he made a joke about Soviet Russia which didn’t go over well.  Clearly the Breadman was far too good for jokes like that. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Robert Coover–“The Crabapple Tree” (New Yorker, January 12, 2015)

Posted in Death, Fables, Magic, New Yorker, Primus, Robert Coover, Short Story, Supernatural on February 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

jan 12SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-June 2010 Rehearsal EP (2010).

rehersalBack in 2010 Primus reunited (again).  And they released a free downloadable EP of their recent rehearsals.  It’s got 4 songs and the mix is interesting–Les in the left speaker and Ler in the right, so you can hear each individual part if you like.

Two of the older songs are some of my favorites: “Pudding Time” and “Harold of the Rocks.”

The other two songs are “American Life” which comes from Sailing the Seas of Cheese.  It’s a deep cut as opposed to the more obvious single, “Jerry was a Race Car Driver.”  This version is 3 minutes longer than the original, which means that Primus are still in jam band mode.  “Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread” is from The Brown Album.  It’s got a pretty good solo from Ler.

This EP features the drumming of Jay Lane who was in Primus before Tim Alexander.  This is the first official Primus release that he has been credited with.  And his drumming sounds really good.

Since tis is a rehearsal, some leeway can be given with the sound quality which is very crisp–perhaps too crisp.  But overall it’s great to hear these guys sounding so in tune with each other.

[READ: January 27, 2015] “The Crabapple Tree”

In my reading experience, Robert Coover likes to play around with fairy tales and turn them on their heads or, sometimes, inside-out–showing viscera and all.

To my knowledge, this one doesn’t mess around with an extant story, but it does have a very fairy tale quality to it.

I love that it happened “here in our town.”  Th narrator’s friend married a local farmer.  When the friend had her baby she died in childbirth.  The farmer buried her under the crabapple tree.  He proved to be a rough unpleasant guy: he drank too much and didn’t care much for the baby.  He soon found another wife who, maybe, was a hooker.   The kids in the area called her Vamp.

Vamp had a daughter from another marriage, Marleen.  She was kind to her stepbrother although their games were certainly unusual.  She’d put a collar on the boy and he’d walk around on all four with no clothes on–she taught him to pee by lifting his leg.  But she cared for him and when he got sick, she could make him well again, kind of magically. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts