I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: T-PAIN-Tiny Desk Concert #400 (October 29, 2014).

A while back I was writing about all the Tiny Desk Concerts.  Then they started airing new ones several times a week and I realized the goal was futile.  Of course, since I like to complete projects, I may go back to it again, but not for a while.  Nevertheless, while I was looking up the Tiny Desk Contest winners I came across a list of superlatives from 2014 Tiny Desk Concerts.  And the one that struck me was that the T-Pain Tiny Desk Concert had been viewed over 6 million times (3 times more than the previous high water mark).  It was over 7 million when I watched it). So I decided to check it out.

I don’t know anything about T-Pain other than that he is associated with auto tune and even has an auto tune microphone for sale (which I would totally buy if I saw it for cheaper than retail). I don’t think I’ve ever even heard a T-Pain song.  So I assumed he couldn’t sing.  Which is a pretty common reaction: “People felt like I was using it to sound good,” says T-Pain.  “But I was just using it to sound different.”

And indeed. T-Pain has a beautiful voice.  The Tiny Desk Concert is just him and a keyboardist (named Toro). They play 3 songs
“Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” “Up Down (Do This All Day),” “Drankin’ Patna.”

I don’t know what the originals sound like (given the spelling, I assume they are not as sweet and tender as these versions were). But these are very simple, stripped down songs.  The music is just keyboard notes, no rhythm tracks or any effects.  And then T-Pain singing.

He is charming because the setting is so weird to him (as I imagine it is) and he even “censors” a line in a very funny way. I’m not going to be buying a T-Pain CD or anything, but I was delighted by this Tiny Desk.

[READ: March 2, 2015] First Year Healthy

I saw the cover of this book at work and decided I had to see what it was all about.

The artwork in this book is so bizarre–delightful and creepy at the same time.  For instance, the cover image up there is a baby and a cat (I love that the cat’s eyes are “sideways”).  Even more interesting is the way the main character looks.

That image below is the main character.  That is all her hair.  So weird and yet so interesting at the same time.

The story is a bit less sweet than the drawings.  But it is no less unusual than the drawings.

For it is the story of an unnamed narrator who has been released from “a hospital.” We never learn exactly why she was in the hospital (although we all have ideas), but her small Canadian town sure knows what she did.

Shortly after being released, she started working at the fish market with her brothers.

She eventually starts hanging around with another employee a Turk who lives illegally in Canada.  The Turk had a son with another woman.  She took care of the boy.  But that didn’t stop the narrator and the Turk from moving in together.

Eventually they move in together, and the story adds an introspective element as she realizes it can’t have been easy for him to live with someone with her notoriety.  After they moved in together, she dreams of the cover image cat.

The Turk has a friend from the old country who comes to visit (his diamond eyes are creepy!).  He is clearly up to no good, but since the Turk is illegal, he can’t do anything above-board to earn money.  He starts bringing in a lot of money but she doesn’t ask where it comes from.

Eventually the boy’s mother is killed and the narrator and the Turk take his son in.  The Turk is called away on important business, but a few days later his friend shows up and demands to know where he is.  Then he threatens the narrator.

At some point, the reader has to wonder what is real and what is imaginary and just what the narrator did to get into the hospital.

This was an unusual tale.  And I appreciated it for its complexities and for leaving me with so many questions.  I’m curious to see more from DeForge and his unusual artistic style