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Archive for April, 2015

Sarah Manguso–“Keeping Time” (Harper’s, December 2014)

Posted in Aurelio, Diary, Excerpt, Harper's, McSweeney's, Sarah Manguso, Tiny Desk Concert on April 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

dec2014SOUNDTRACK: AURELIO-Tiny Desk Concert #424 (March 7, 2015).

aurelioAurelio is from West Africa.  He plays a nylon stringed guitar (finger picking and chords) and is accompanied by traditional Garifuna musicians and an electric guitar.  The Tiny Desk blurb says he “weaves together intricate layers of acoustic guitar to capture the polyrhythms of West African and the Caribbean.”

He sings in what I assume is Garifuna.  He is not young and his voice sounds like it.  From his chat, I believe he may also have been mayor once.

They play three songs: “Lándini,” “Funa Tugudirugu,” and “Nari Golu”  The guitar solos are (surprisingly to me) provided by the electric guitar while the acoustic keeps the rhythms.  The maracas and drum (box) keep the beat.  This is my introduction Garifuna music, which doesn’t sound too different from any other music (except the vocals of course).

[READ: March 22, 2015] “Keeping Time”

I’ve read somethings from Manguso before, in particular her McSweeney’s book of flash fiction.

This is an excerpt from a book called Ongoingness: The End of a Diary.  At first I found the entry a little annoying.  “I started keeping a diary twenty-five years ago.  It’s 800,000 words long.”  Manguso basically got into a frame of mind where she felt like she had to record everything–the perpetual loop of recording things as they happen and then recording how you feel about when you are recording them.

She says “I couldn’t face the end of a day without a record of everything that had ever happened.”  The fact that this was 25 years ago certainly predates the live bloggers and the daily diarists who tape everything. And it is interesting to see that her rather unhealthy obsession has been around longer than the technology allowed for it.

Manguso says she didn’t want to miss anything and by writing it down it was proof that she hadn’t.  She says that “the trouble was that there was so much I failed to record.” (more…)

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Five Dials Number 35: Richard McGuire Makes a Book (9 February 2015)

Posted in Fantastic Negrito, Five Dials, Graphic Novel, Joel Smith, Raw, Richard McGuire, Set in New Jersey!, Tiny Desk Concert, Tiny Desk Contest on April 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

page_1_thumb_largeSOUNDTRACK: FANTASTIC NEGRITO-Tiny Desk Concert #425 (March 9, 2015).

fannegFantastic Negrito won the Tiny Desk Concert.  And now he gets a chance to play behind the desk for real.

He plays three songs (and looks amazingly dapper).  “Lost in a Crowd” is the song that won, and it sounds even better here–that live vibe really makes it shine.  I love that the drummer plays on a box, just like in the video.

He introduces this song by talking about the coma he was in (his life story is fascinating) and how everything was topsy turvy.  “Night Has Turned To Day” has a real soulful quality, with Negrito hitting some real James Brown wails.  I also like the way he gets the band to do “two times.”

“An Honest Man” is another great song with a fantastic blue chorus.  I also enjoyed the lyric: “I’m in love agin this time it’s not with my hand.”

The band sounds great–acoustic guitar, upright bass and keyboards, and yes, the drummer does get to move to the kit for the last two songs.

While I’m sure there were lots of other great bands deserving to win a Tiny Desk show, I think they made a good choice with Negrito.  he plays a style of music I wouldn’t normally listen to, and he does a great job with it.  I hope he gets a record out.

[READ: April 7, 2015] Five Dials Number 35

Five Dials Number 35 differs in many, many, many ways from the other issues.

First, it is almost entirely art.  Second it is devoted entirely to one artist.  In light of this, many of the pictures are full page sideways which means that the printing is different (this one is really best looked at online).

On page 54, there is an essay about the making of From Here to Here.  (more…)

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Five Dials Number 34: Jokes/Not Joking At All (18 December 2014)

Posted in Alternative Medicine, Arcade Fire, Art, Astor Piazzolla, Benjamin Rachlin, Caribou, Cats, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Christopher O'Riley, Cocteau Twins, Colin Barrett, Death, Dogs, Don Bartlett, Eliza Granville, Emily Berry, Essays, Five Dials, Gillian Mears, Jody Barton, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Karl Ove Knausgård, Kit Buchan, Leoš Janáček, Ludwig van Beethoven, Margaux Williamson, Matt Haimovitz, Nick Hornby, Noir, Parenting, Philip Glass, Short Story, Sigmund Freud, Stuart Evers, Sunita Solair, The Believer, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Tiny Desk Concert, Tom Basden on April 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

5dials34SOUNDTRACK: MATT HAIMOVITZ & CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY-Tiny Desk Concert #426 (March 14, 2015).

matthThere’s no introduction or fanfare for cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Christopher O’Riley’s Tiny Desk set.  They just start right in with a romping Beethoven piece.   I don’t know these two, but the notes say the duo has a new album out called Shuffle.Play.Listen., in which music by Stravinsky and Astor Piazzolla mingles with Cocteau Twins and Arcade Fire.  There’s no contemporary music in this set, but it’s very cool nonetheless.

The Beethoven piece sounds alive and wild and very modern.  The Glass piece is slow and beautiful  The final piece is lively and playful (with hints of darkness).  It introduced as reminding O’Riley of a scene in The Unbearable Lightness of Being when Daniel Day-Lewis gets a quickie.

It’s especially fun to watch how animated Haimovitz is.  The set list:

  • Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C – IV. Allegro vivace
  • Philip Glass/Foday Musa Suso: The Orchard
  • Leoš Janáček: Pohádka – II. Con moto

[READ: April 6, 2015] Five Dials 33 Part II

After several themed issues of Five Dials we get back to the ones that I really like–random things thrown together under a tenuous idea.  It’s got some great authors and a surprising amount of large scale doodles–full page scribbles and some drawings that go from one page to the next (which works better online than in print).  Some of the giant illustrations also are fun–they are of jokey images like a memory stick that states I have only memories.  The art was done by JODY BARTON.

As with a previous issue there is a page of contributors and “The Unable to Contribute Page.”  These are journalists unfairly imprisoned (see more at cpr.org).  The Table of Contents is back, along with the FAQ: (more…)

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Five Dials Number 33: Part II (3 October 2014)

Posted in Agata Pyzik, Anjum Hasan, Anne Garréta, Cari Luna, Christain Schad, Christiana Spens, Deborah Levy, Eliza Granville, Emma Ramadan, Emma Wilson, Essays, Five Dials, Jan Švankmajer, Joanna Walsh, Juliet Jacques, Marguerite Duras, Marina Warner, Masha Tupitsyn, Melanie Amaral, Molly McCloskey, Olivia Laing, Oulipo, Punch Brothers, Sexism, Short Story, Susan Sontag, Susana Medina, Suzanne Joinson, Tiny Desk Concert, Věra Chytilová, Zoe Pilger on April 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

5dails33bSOUNDTRACK: PUNCH BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #427 (March 16, 2015).

punchtinyIt is Chris Thile’s birthday and Bob and the gang brought him a cake, and Chris seems so genuinely touched, it is adorable.

Bob explains that they usually don’t invite artists back more than once but Chris has been on Tiny Desk four times by having five different “groups.” (Chris Thile And Michael Daves; Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile And Stuart Duncan; Nickel Creek and now Punch Brothers).

I had heard of Punch Brothers, but didn’t know them.  I instantly became a fan after watching Chris’ great mandolin playing and his familiar but always interesting voice. The rest of the brothers provide great harmonies and lots and lots of strings (violin, bass, banjo and guitar).  They play four songs, “My Oh My,” a great, fun original and a traditional song “Boll Weevil” which is a rollicking fast fun bluegrass song.  “Magnet” is a “fairly debauched song,” which is even more rollick and more fun.  And Chris’ visuals during the song are very funny.

The final song is longer and much slower.  “Julep” is a mellow song with nice harmonies and delicate playing.  This Tiny Desk Concert really showcases how diverse this band is and I’m really interested to hear more.

[READ: April 5, 2015] Five Dials 33 Part II

Five Dials Number 33 Part 1 was dedicated to women and part II, the more substantial of the two, continues that theme.  And it features illustrations by Melanie Amaral.

The issue opens with a Centenary Appreciation of Marguerite Duras, the ultimate writer of euphoria and despair.  I don’t know much about her although I am familiar with her titles The Lover and Hiroshima mon Amour.

There are brief accolades from SUSANA MEDINA; OLIVIA LAING; DEOBRAH LEVY; AGATA PYZIK; JOANNA WALSH; CARI LUNA; ZOE PILGER; SUZANNE JOINSON; MARINA WARNER and EMMA WILSON all of which makes me think I should stop reading Five Dials and read Duras. (more…)

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Five Dials Number 33: Part I (26 July 2014)

Posted in Anne Hathaway, Anonymous 4, Art in Manila, Beirut, Cari Vander Yacht, Dirty Projectors, Essays, Five Dials, Glee, Gypsy, Jenni Fagan, Lasorda, Lauren Elkin, Living in Oblivion, Once, Peter Dinklage, Poetry, Rachel Genn, Seabear, Sexism, Short Story, Steve Buscemi, Susan Barbour, Tiny Desk Concert on April 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

5dails33SOUNDTRACK: ANONYMOUS 4 and BRUCE MOLSKY-Tiny Desk Concert #428 (March 28, 2015).

anon4I first heard about Anonymous 4 way back in 1990 when they started.  I even have their debut album of lovely classical a capella.  Now, twenty-five years and twenty-one albums later they are calling it quits.

Their final album is 1865, released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. and containing songs from that era.

They sing three songs and, unusual as far as I’m concerned, they accompanied by Bruce Molsky, who plays banjo and violin and sings on “Hard Times.”  His voice mixes very well with their higher register–and they can hit some really high notes.

It’s unexpected to hear these singers whom I associate with classical music, singing these “traditional” songs.  But they do a wonderful job.

  • Listen to the Mocking Bird (Richard Milburn, Alice Hawthorne)
  • Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster)
  • Home, Sweet Home/Polly Put The Kettle On (Henry Bishop, John Howard Payne/Trad.)

As the site explains, the group is original members Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky and Susan Hellauer, plus Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek along with singer, banjo player and fiddler Bruce Molsky, who also appears on the album.

You can watch it here.

[READ: April 4, 2015] Five Dials 33 part I

This issue celebrates the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall and features illustrations by: Cari Vander Yacht.  They are cool colorful colored pencil drawings sprinkled throughout the issue.  Most of them are vaguely alien creatures sitting around, shopping, doing a head stand (or break dancing).  You know, as aliens do.

Rather than a letter from the editor, we get a link entitled What’s this issue all about?  It is a link to a Guardian article about #readwomen2014 asking Will #readwomen2014 change our sexist reading habits?  Of course, it is now 2015 and I missed the whole thing.  I wonder if it did. (more…)

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Five Dials Number 32B: New Zealand: ‘wā tāpiri’ (12 August 2014)

Posted in Art, Charles Brasch, Five Dials, Janet Frame, Justin Paton, Lail Arad, Letters, Shane Cotton, Sylvan Esso, Tiny Desk Concert on April 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

5dials32bSOUNDTRACK: SYLVAN ESSO-Tiny Desk Concert #429 (March 30, 2015).

sylvanI haven’t really gotten into Sylvan Esso (NPR loves them), although there was something about the show that made these songs, which I’d heard before, gel for me.  Perhaps it was seeing Amelia Meath dance (or make that hilarious face).  Or her commenting about how quiet the room is and that maybe everyone could “move like the seaweed in Ursula’s cave.”  Maybe it was the preposterous shoes she is wearing.  Or maybe it was watching Nick Sanborn play around with this new to him equipment.

Or maybe it was just time for me to “get” them.  They have a  great chemistry in this setting, and Meath’s voice is really pure and beautiful.  I love that she often sings without moving the microphone to her face.

They play three songs: “Coffee,” “H.S.K.T.,” and “Come Down.”

It’s also hilarious that her dad sends her texts messages during the show (which she reads to us while Sanborn is trying to fix the equipment).

This is a great set and funny banter from this charming band whom I should listen to more.

[READ: April 3, 2015] Five Dials 32b

The email that accompanied this issue explains what those words in the title mean.

In Maori, there’s a word for the extra bit of time added at the end of a game, perhaps after the final minutes of a rugby match. Wā tāpiri is the noun. We’ve decided to make this our wā tāpiri issue. At the beginning of June we released an issue dedicated to new New Zealand writing.  Our wā tāpiri issue offers extra time for you to read some of the wonderful Janet Frame’s correspondence and look at a few untamed paintings from Shane Cotton. We’re pleased to be able to include them in our extended New Zealand special.

So there’s only two things in this extra issue.  Some letters and some art.  I enjoy these little extra issues, and this one is especially cool.

JANET FRAME-Correspondence: Camping in Our House
This is a series of letters passed between New Zealand author Janet Frame and poet Charles Brasch.  In 1963 and 1964, they share some nice compliments.  And then in 1969 they talk about what home (New Zealand) is like, while she is away at Yaddo.  First off, it’s interesting to hear that a) Yaddo was around in 1969, b) just how many famous people were in residence and c) the interesting details of residence there.  We also learn about some troubles in New Zealand but how they pale in comparison to the troubles in the States where “West Virginia has just passed a law which reads ‘police or mayors shall be guiltless if anyone is killed or wounded in an attempt to put down a campus disturbance even if this victim is only a spectator'” (Jesus!).  Meanwhile she is happily staying for free in Yaddo and getting a lot of work done.   There is also a facsimile typed letter from 1967 (which is fun to read and to see that people made mistakes back then and just fixed them with pen) in which she talks about first going to Yaddo.

JUSTIN PATON-“Shane Cotton’s The Haymaker Series”
Paton introduces Cotton’s Haymaker series which is indeed 5 panels on the wall of a gallery (each piece is presented in this issue too).  He describes how the New Zealand artist references other artists well as his own previous works in these panels.  He references the carved heads from his Tradition History & Incidents (from 2009), in addition to many other.  But this is not a retrospective piece.  This introduction really gives some great context for the works (which I talk about below before having read this introduction).

SHANE COTTON-The Haymaker Series
From Page 10 is the Haymaker series, mechanical and geometric prints in front of a gray foreboding background which looks like a storm.

The final page shows some photos from the launch of issue 32, including a link to a video by Lail Arad who was at the launch.  It’s a quirky video for her song “Everyone is Moving to Berlin.“

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Five Dials Number 32: New Zealand (1 June 2014)

Posted in Alice Miller, Art, Ashleigh Young, C.K. Stead, Craig Taylor, Death Cab For Cutie, Doublehappy, Essays, Five Dials, Francis Upritchard, John Ewen, Katherine Mansfield, Look Blue Go Purple, Lynn Jenner, Micah Ferris, New Zealand, Paul Ewen, Paula Morris, Pip Adam, Poetry, Roy Colbert, Sarah Laing, Stella Duffy, The Chills, The Verlaines, Tina Makereti, Tiny Desk Concert on April 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

5dials32SOUNDTRACK: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE-Tiny Desk Concert #430 (April 6, 2015).

dcfcIt’s hard for me to believe that Death Cab for Cutie had not been on a Tiny Desk Concert before.  But they are here at last.  Well, three of them anyhow.  It’s simply Ben Gibbard (of course) on vocals, Nick Harmer on bass, and Zac Rae on piano (now that Chris Walla has left).  And what makes this concert so special is that all 4 songs are played on piano–there’s no guitar at all.  It gives all of these songs (familiar and new) a much starker feel.  Not better, but very different.

There are two new song from Kintsugi, “Black Sun,” and “No Room In Frame” which sound so much like Death Cab for Cutie (probably because of Gibbard’s voice), that they fit in perfectly with the other two songs. “Your Heart Is An Empty Room” from Plans and “Passenger Seat” from Transatlanticism.

It’s a little uncomfortable watching Gibbard sing close ups with his eyes closed, but he sounds right on.  He says some nice words about NPR (a station they actually listen to for news) and he gets a nice round of applause when they say they’ll do a fourth song.  And Gibbard can even hit those high notes in this quiet setting.  This is a must hear for any fan of the band.

[READ: April 2, 2015] Five Dials 32

Issue Number 32 is a thematic one–based around the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts.  And so many of the writers and artists are from New Zealand.  There are dozens of paintings by Francis Upritchard: colorful watercolors of monkeys, monocolor paintings of people and colorful masks.  They all look incredibly simple–like first drafts–yet are quite effective in their displays.

A Letter from the Editor:  On New Zealand Issues
Craig Taylor didn’t have a letter last issue.  This time he talks about the issue and about issues in New Zealand. He talks a bit sadly about how the New Zealand writer most often find a home in London even if the writers mostly think about national (New Zealand) issues. (more…)

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Five Dials Number 31: Tricks of the Light (12 March 2014)

Posted in Ann Arbor, Art, Beach Slang, Becky Barnicoat, Books about writers, Chad Harbach, Chris Garrecht-Williams, Clarence Brown, Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Eric Reinhardt, Essays, Evgeny Zamyatin, Food, Funny (ha ha), George Simenon, Goo Goo Dolls, Interviews, Jay Barnett, Joe Moran, John Updike, Julia Dinan, Laurence Howarth, Leanne Shapton, Lydia Davis, Paul Ewen, Philip Oltermann, Psychedelic Furs, Rachael Allen, Russia, Simon Wroe, The Notwist, Tiny Desk Concert, Trevor Quirk, Zadie Smith on April 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

5dials31SOUNDTRACK: BEACH SLANG-Tiny Desk Concert #431 (April 10, 2015)

beachslangI had never heard of Beach Slang before watching this Tiny Desk Concert.  Evidently they are a new band with only a couple EPs out.  The write up says they are a punk band.  But in this Tiny Desk show, it’s just lead dude James Snyder and his guitar.

He plays four songs.  They are all sort of jaunty acoustic songs.  They are almost anthemic, but not quite.  The strangest thing is Snyder’s super-raspy singing voice, especially since his speaking voice is gentle and his laugh is kind of high-pitched. He is very funny and nervous when he talks, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

Exploring a little their bandcamp site, I see that they do a cover of the Psychedelic Furs’ Love My Way, and that sound is pretty apt.

Their recorded versions are heavier and actually sound a bit like the Goo Goo Dolls.

This is a brief but enjoyable set.  I find him so charming that I like it more than I might normally.

[READ: April 1, 2015] Five Dials 31

It has been quite a while since I’ve read a Five Dials.  And that’s no fault of the magazine–its all on me.  I always think, I’ll just put it off till I have time, and then I realize that I can always find something to read…so I just need to actually make time for Five Dials because it is totally worth it.

So this issue came out about a year ago.  Maybe that’s not too bad?

It begins with the contributors page and is followed by the Unable to Contribute page which lists five journalists who are currently in prison (find out more at the Committee to Protect Journalists).  Page 5 is a Table of Contents which I feel they haven’t done before.  It has a cool drawing on the bottom.  All drawings from this issue came from The Public Domain Collection of the British Library.

Then there’s a Frequently Asked Questions page.  Many pertain to corresponding with Five Dials, but others, well: (more…)

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Jeanne Birdsall–The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (2005) [audiobook 2005–Susan Denaker]

Posted in Adventure, Audiobooks, Children's Books, Jeanne Birdsall, Summer, Susan Denaker, Vacation on April 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: April 4, 2015] The Penderwicks

penderEverything about this book feels like it’s an old story–from the cover (which is consistent in all versions as far as I can tell) to the tone.  It feels like a book that was set in perhaps the fifties or even the seventies.  Until we learn that the father has a computer and you see that the book was written in 2005.  Then you realize that Birdsall has simply captured an idyllic moment for a family and that although there are some trappings of modernism, it could be set at (nearly) any time (the computer is not really significant to the story).

Sarah had read the story and really liked it so she brought home the audio book and we all enjoyed listening to it.  (How upsetting to have about 30 minutes left in the 6 hour story when we got to the airport for our vacation and had to wait a week to finish).  The reader, Susan Denaker had a good selection of voices.  Sarah didn’t like her voice for the littlest girl, but I thought it was cute.  I was also impressed by her male voices–all similar (since they were from the same part of the country) but with enough different inflections so you could tell them apart.

So what is this story about?  Well, it is about the Penderwick Family.  Mr Penderwick is a scholar (he says Latin phrases to the girls all the time and they are not translated–so brush up!).  He has four daughters: Rosalind (12), Skye (11), Jane (10) and Batty (4).  The girls’ mother died shortly after giving birth to Batty (but not because of giving birth to Batty, she had cancer).  I always think it’s weird when a parent is dead in a story, especially if it said death is designed just to give the living parent a romantic interest.  But that doesn’t happen in this story. Their mother is dead, and the girls have to move on without her, but it also brings them together.  Rosalind more or less falls into the mothering role (poor girl) and their mother’s loss is felt throughout the book. (more…)

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Amy Poehler–Yes Please (2014) [audiobook 2014–Amy Poehler]

Posted in Amy Poehler, Audiobooks, Funny (ha ha), Parenting, Parks and Recreation, Patrick Stewart, Saturday Night Live, Seth Meyers, Upright Citizens Brigade on April 11, 2015| 1 Comment »

[LISTENED TO: March 29, 2015] Yes Please

amyI typically don’t read memoirs.  I don’t really care that much about celebrities to bother with most of them. I do like author and comedian memoirs, however, because they’re usually well written and/or funny accordingly.  I have recently been on a big Amy Poehler kick because of the end of Parks and Recreation, so I was really exited when this (finally) came in at the library.

If you have read the book, note that the audio book is chock full of things that are not in the book.  She talks a lot about the “studio” she is recording in (she says she built it).  She and Seth Meyers seem to have a fun improv banter going on (which I assume is not in the book).  And the final chapter was read live in front of a UCB audience.  To my ear this chapter is the funniest thing in the book, probably because it is the least formal sounding and the audience really enjoys it.  On the other hand, after having looked through the book in the store the other day, I see that the book is chock full of things (mostly pictures) that are not in the audiobook.  So choose wisely.

The audio book is read by Poehler, which is pretty cool.  She has help from Carol Burnett and Kathleen Turner (although I don’t think either one says more than a few lines) and Patrick Stewart who recites her poetry and epigrams.  Seth Meyers gets a chapter and Amy’s parents chime in a few times.  But here’s the thing, evidently her Leslie Knope character is almost Poehler’s talking voice, but not quite.  There is something disconcerting about listening to her sound not exactly as you are familiar with her sounding.  I think she talks a little more slowly and deliberately (which makes sense for an audio book) than Leslie does.  So that actually took some getting used to.

Here’s the other thing.  This book is not all that funny.  And it is not really meant to be all funny.  I mean, there are funny parts sure, but it’s not a laugh a minute story.  Poehler gets into some serious issues (a lengthy chapter about apologizing to a disabled girl whom she inadvertently offended on national TV, visiting a third world country, and various other dangers of growing up and being a parent).  Poehler sprinkles these humor but they are quite serious. (more…)

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