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Archive for June, 2015

Real Estate (Radio City Music Hall, New York, June 10, 2015) [BELLE AND SEBASTIAN]

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Death Cab For Cutie, New York City, Radio City Music Hall, Real Estate, Sloan, Stefan Knapp on June 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2015] Real Estate

relestateWe ordered tickets for Belle and Sebastian months and months ago (probably back in April before Sarah’s birthday).  We had no idea a) they would be playing in Philly as well and b) who the opening act would be.

In Philly the opener was Lucius, a band I like a bit, and who are quite dancey.  But at Radio City, the opener was Real Estate, a jangly pop band who I like better.

Real Estate’s previous album was selected on many 2011 best of lists.  Their new album I think may not be quite as catchy, but it has the same summery vibe.  (And the cover of the new album, Atlas, features Stefan Knapp’s mural that was on Alexander’s department store in Paramus–Real Estate are from Ridgewood, New Jersey, you see). (more…)

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Gipi–Notes for a War Story (2004) [translated 2007]

Posted in Dave Grohl, Death, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Gipi, Graphic Novel, Green Day, Spectrum, Violence, War on June 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

gipiSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-There is Nothing Left to Lose (1999).

Foo_Fighters_-_There_Is_Nothing_Left_to_LoseThis album introduces drummer Taylor Hawkins and is considered the first “band” record from the Foo Fighters. The album was recorded as a trio—Grohl, Hawkins and Nate Mendel on bass (who played on Colour as well).  As with a bunch of these middle Foo Fighters records, I feel that it starts really strong and then kind of fades a bit by the end.

I love the big fuzzy sound that opens this record. It doesn’t sound like anything Grohl has recorded before. “Breakout” is a poppy song with a very summery opening. It’s propulsive and super catchy. “Learn to Fly” is another wonderfully poppy song with a great chorus (and a hilarious video).

The opening riff of “Gimme Stitches” has a total classic rock radio sound, which really shows the diversity they were going for here.  “Generator” opens with a talk box—toally retro man. Even though it a silly thing to add to the song, the song is really catchy.

“Aurora” is a lengthy mellow song. I guess I never really thought to much about it, but on reading about it, it proves to be one of the bands’ (and Dave’s) favorite songs.

I feel like the second half of the album suffers a little bit as the songs don’t really stand out.

“Live-In Skin” is a solid song although there’s nothing too special about it (especially given the other songs on the album). The riff is pretty cool though.  “Next Year” is a mildly catchy mid tempo song. It seems like it could have been Foo Fighters’ version of Green Day’s “Time of Your Life” if they had played their cards right.

“Headwires” has an interesting 80s sound in the guitar and Grohl’s whispered vocals. But the big chorus returns to the Foo Fighters sound.

“Ain’t It the Life” is a mellow ballad. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Foo’s other ballads though the slide guitar solo is a nice touch.  “M.I.A.” opens quiet as well.  It has a chorus that is pretty typical of the Foo Fighters, but it seems to either lack some oomph, or it gets stuck at the end of the album.

[READ: February 10, 2015] Notes for a War Story

I’m fascinated by how many translated works First Second publishes.  And it seems like a great resource for non-English writers to get published in the United States.

Gipi is an Italian artist and writer (this book was translated by Spectrum) and as with many other European artists, I could tell right away that the style here was not done by an American.  I wonder why that is.

In general, I don’t really care for Gipi’s books.  They are a little too bleak, a little to “ugly” for my tastes.  And yet the stories are quite compelling.  This one revolves around an unspecified war that is happening around the countryside (but not, for some reason, in the city).

The protagonists are young men adrift in a world where they are clearly lost.  Guiliano is a slightly richer kid than the other two and he is the narrator.  The other two are his friends Christian and Little Killer.

They learn about a man named Felix, who is leader of a militia.  When they go see him, he immediately takes a shine to Little Killer.  They talk and bond while Giuliano and Christian feel left out (and are rather naive I feel–I mean its obvious that Felix is a killer). (more…)

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Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria & William Pleece–Life Sucks (2008)

Posted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dave Grohl, Death, First Second :01, Foo Fighters, Gabe Soria, Goths, Graphic Novel, Hüsker Dü, Jessica Abel, Pixies, Vampires, William Pleece on June 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

lifeSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-The Colour and the Shape (1997).

colourAfter the success of the debut album, Dave Grohl gathered a band and recorded the second album, The Colour and the Shape (British/Canadian spelling consistent wherever it was released).  The drums were recorded by a drummer (not the current drummer) but were eventually re-recorded over by Grohl.

“Doll” opens as a quiet 90 second intro.  It segues into the fantastic Hüsker Dü sounding “Monkey Wrench,” with one of the great super-long extended guitar riffs and a super long chanted single-syllable section ending on Grohl’s classic vocal cord shredding (whatever he’s saying) in the middle of the song.  “Hey Johnny Park” has a heavy opening and then some mellow verses.  The chorus is catchy with some cool harmony vocals over the top.

“My Poor Brain” opens with cacophonous noise and the segues into a rather delicate verse section.  Especially compared to the raucous punky guitars of the chorus.  “Wind Up” flips the dynamic with angry loud verses and a catchy chorus.

“Up in Arms” is a short song with a mellow acoustic first section and a fast second half.  Both are quite catchy and fun.  “My Hero” is yet another song in which Grohl finds multiple good parts and puts them in one song.  So while you’re enjoying the verses, don’t forget the catchy chorus coming up net.  Oh and the great bridge too.

“See You” is a jazzy folky number (quite short) which he says no one liked but him.  “Enough Space” opens with a lurching bass line and some really loud guitars.  The chorus is one of Grohl’s screamier moments on the record.  The verses are almost all bass guitar and remind me a lot of the Pixies.

“February Stars” starts with one of the quieter moments on a Foo Fighters record.   It builds over the first 3 minutes to a loud slow chorus.  “Everlong” is one of the bands best songs.  It opens with a cool little riff and big guitars.  The chord progression is wonderful and the gentle vocals at the beginning are fantastic.  Then comes that incredible hook of a riff.  No matter how many times I gear this song, I never get tired of it.

“Walking After You” is Grohl on everything–the whole band recorded it later for the X Files soundtrack.  It’s a lovely, gentle breakup song with a sweet riff and really nice vocals.  After “walking After You,” it’s surprising that there’s another song, (“Walking” seems like such a good album ender.  But “New Way Home” (which clocks in a nearly 6 minutes) starts out a little less than stellar and then turns out to end in a great fashion, with a loud fast repeat chorus of the “I’m Not Scared” section.

Amazingly, five singles were released from this album and it still holds up really well.

[READ: January 7, 2015] Life Sucks

In the beginning of the year I read a bunch of graphic novels from First Second, but never got around to posting them.  So here they are.

I wasn’t that excited to read this book because of the title–which seemed simply lame.  Interestingly, in the acknowledgments, she says it was originally called Night Shift (an equally poor title) and then someone else suggested Life Sucks.

Of course, once I realized the story was about vampires, the title was a little better and kind of funny.  Of course, I wasn’t all that excited to read a vampire story either (I loved Buffy, but vampires are kind of played out), but I enjoyed the way Abel focuses on some different aspects of the vampire life.  And of course, having a group of goths living nearby was a pretty great idea.

So the protagonist, Dave, is a vampire.   He was turned by the owner of The Last Stop convenience store, Lord Radu Arisztidescu.  But rather than being a brooding charismatic hottie, he’s a dorky kid (forever) who works at the convenience store.  He still gets grief from his boss who demands perfection in his “son” and who also has supernatural power over him to force him to do what he wants.  So, his undead life does indeed suck. (more…)

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Brett Morgen–Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015)

Posted in Art, Biography, Brett Morgen, Courtney Love, Dave Grohl, Drugs, Foo Fighters, Greg Dulli, Hisko Hulsing, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, Stefan Nadelman, Suicide, The Melvins on June 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

kurt-cobain-montage-of-heck-psterSOUNDTRACK: FOO FIGHTERS-Foo Fighters (1995).

ffDave Grohl was like the anti-Kurt Cobain.  How many photos do you see of him with a big stupid grin on his face.  He seems to be silly and fun all the time (despite some apparent angst in his life).  And how surprising was it to find out that not only could he bang the hell out of the drums, he could also write songs (and play guitar).  Of course we all looked for songs “about” Kurt, on this record, but I realize that Dave only knew Kurt for a couple of years, he likely didn’t even really know him that well.  Dave has other things on his mind.

And somehow, despite the really aggressive often heavy metal feel  of Foo Fighters albums, they are always popular.  Foo Fighters have gotten so big, it’s easy to forget that Grohl was even in Nirvana, which is saying something.

The Foo Fighters debut album was written and performed entirely by Dave Grohl.  I remember when it came out (well, after it was revealed to be Grohls’ album–it was a secret for a little while) listening to it in an apartment in Boston.  I must have listened to it a lot because I know the whole thing so well.

Grohl uses some of the loud/quite format of Nirvana, but mostly he just writes songs with simple lyrics (easy to sing along to even if you don’t know what he’s saying (bridge to “I’ll Stick Around” anyone?) and big catchy choruses.

If you like loud rocking songs, this album is fantastic.  “This is a Call” and “I’ll Stick Around” are super catchy heavy songs.  “Alone + Easy Target” is a bit less catchy, although the chorus has a very cool riff in it.  “Good Grief” is super heavy with an aggressive chorus.

But it’s also git some sweet songs.  “Big Me” is quite tender and it makes me laugh because the drums are so incredibly simple and gentle for a basher like Grohl.  “Floaty” is a really pretty song with some cool fuzzy guitars and a cool riff that goes from bridge to chorus.  The chorus has an aggressive punk riff which complements the rest of the song in an interesting way.

“Weenie Beenie” (I had no idea that’s what the song was called) is loud and aggressive with a massively distorted vocal. It’s kind of a throwaway but shows Grohl’s love of punk.  “Watershed” is a similarly fast punk track and is only 2 minutes.

“Oh, George” is a mid tempo song, with some very catchy moments and a classic rock style guitar solo.  “For All the Cows” opens with a kind of jazzy guitar and drum sound and then really rocks out.  It was released as a single but never did anything, which is a shame because it seems like a joke but is actually quite good.

Even though Grohl did everything on the album, he had a little help from Greg Dulli who played guitar on “X-Static.”  I would never have noticed it was Dulli, although knowing that it’s someone else playing, you can hear a different style in the guitar.  The disc ends with “Exhausted,” a song which sets a kind of trend of longish more meandering songs near the end of Foo Fighters albums.  I don’t love it but its a fine ending.

So many things could have been wrong with this album–a drummer writing songs, and an ex-famous drummer at that.  He even initially wanted to record it with Krist Novoselic, but was afraid that people would think it was a Nirvana band (and he’s very right about that).  Despite all of that, it turned out to be pretty great.  And it was the start of something of a phenomenon.

[READ: May 20, 2015] Montage of Heck

So I was a huge fan of Nirvana (like the rest of the world) when they came crashing forth on my speakers.  And yes, I knew that they saved rock.  But by the time Kurt killed himself, I was bummed but not distraught.  I was never going to have a poster of him on my wall or anything like that.

I was intrigued when I heard this documentary was coming out. But I didn’t have any plans to see it.  And then NPR played an audio excerpt from the movie in which a drugged up Kurt is getting yelled at by Courtney while their infant baby is lying next to them.  And I decided I didn’t need to see that film–it was brutal just to listen to.

Then I saw this book at work and thought it might be an easier dosage than the film.  (Although my friend Eugenie has seen it and says it’s excellent).

It turns out the book has a lot more stuff that the film does (although I can’t say what as I haven’t seen the film).  It consists entirely of interviews and illustrations (very cool ones by Hisko Hulsing and very creepy ones from Stefan Nadelman.   There’s lots of photos and a few excerpts from Kurt’ diaries and the like.

The interview subjects are listed on the page 18-19 spread of the book.  Each has a photo.  There’s Don Cobain and Jenny Cobain (Kurt’s father and stepmother).  Then there’s Wendy O’Connor, Kurt’s mom and she looks exactly like Courtney Love WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?  In her early younger photos she doesn’t.  It is creepy. (more…)

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Always Be Yourself. Unless You Can Be a Unicorn, Then Always Be a Unicorn : A Snapshot of the Weird and Wonderful World of the Tumblr Generation (2014)

Posted in Douglas Coupland, Els Dragt, Lionel Loueke, NASA, Perille Kok-Jensen, Short Books, Tiny Desk Concert, Tumblr on June 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »

unicornSOUNDTRACK: LIONEL LOUEKE-Tiny Desk Concert #56 (April 26, 2010).

louekeI had never heard of Lionel Loueke.   He is a West African jazz player with a wonderfully unique way of playing.  He uses low tuning, nylon strings electric guitars (the particular guitar he uses here is beautiful), and paper in his strings (to create a cool buzzing sound).

He also sings (but that’s not the right word), he makes sounds with his mouth–sometimes singing what he is playing, sometimes just making sounds.  He seems like he is having the best time up there.

According to the blurb, Loueke usually plays with a trio (with the bassist and drummer contributing to songs and shaping the direction of the band).  For this Tiny Desk only Loueke and drummer Ferenc Nemeth play.  Nemeth plays bells, bundle sticks and a little rig set up around a hand drum and a jangly tambourine–it’s a very cool percussive sound that perfectly matches Loueke’s guitar style.

They begin with of “Vi Ma Yon.”  It’s a five-minute traditional song that appears on Loueke’s album Mwaliko.  This is such a fun and interesting song, with Loueke’s voice floating above the interesting guitar styling he lays down (with that paper buzzing away).

The second song, “Merci,” feels more traditional–with what sounds like actual words done in a melody.  Although his guitar playing isn’t as interesting (the paper is gone), his skill is readily apparent as he flies around the neck.

This is yet another interesting Tiny Desk with a performer I’d never heard of who really impressed me.

[READ: May 29, 2015] Always Be Yourself.

The second bad book of the weekend is this one.  I have to admit I love the title of this book.  I don’t know exactly where it comes from (some Tumblr feed no doubt) but I think it’s very funny.  And that’s what attracted me to it.  But the book itself is really rather lame.

It’s always weird when a book tries to capture an online sensation.  Especially one that is completely of a time and basically ephemera.  So here we get this book about Tumblr.  Notice there is no “author” for the book.  Although on the inside we see that the text is by Perille Kok-Jensen and Els Dragt.

My guess is that it is striving to be like a Douglas Coupland book (the font is very similar) with pictures and pithy slogans designed to describe all that is Tumblr.  The blurb says this book is designed to look at today’s Tumblr generation who are “bold, dreamy and unfazed by the grim context in which they’re coming of age.”  And that it is written “to all the unicorns out there: perhaps you could buy the book for your parents so that they will understand that you are in fact not a freak but part of a greater movement.”

Okay, fine, but how is Tumblr (Tumblr? really?) a great movement?  And are people actually defining themselves by using Tumblr?  Because I can tell you that all kinds of stodgy places use Tumblr, too.

Anyhow, it starts with a pithy comment:  “The nineties called, they want their individualism back.”  Which seems like a direct contradiction to page 61: “Blending in is the new standing out.”  Whatever.

And then it quotes Farrell’s “Happy.”  In fact it quotes lots of song lyrics and other famous quotes (with no attribution, actually). (more…)

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Bruce Kluger & David Slavin–Dog on the Roof: On the Road with Mitt & The Mutt (2012)

Posted in Augustin Barrios, David Russell, Dogs, Francois Couperin, Isaac Albeniz, Political Humor, Short Books, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfunny on June 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

roofSOUNDTRACK: DAVID RUSSELL-Tiny Desk Concert #55 (April 19, 2010).

russellDavid Russell is a classical guitar player (or “god,” as they call him).  Although I am unfamiliar with his work, apparently he is huge.

And deservedly so. When he started playing the first song I assumed he was looping the low notes while he soloed the high notes.  But no, he is playing the low notes slowly with his thumb while he speeds along the nearly pizzicato notes with the rest of his fingers.  And that’s just his right hand.

His left hand doesn’t move fast–he’s not shredding–but man, the elaborate chords, the expanse of his hand covering so much of the neck at once–are really stunning to watch. The chords are complex and the way he can play solo notes and low notes at the same time is amazing.

The Couperin piece absolutely blew my mind–there are two melodies going at once.  And the Albeniz piece is simply lovely.

It’s also fun to listen to his Scottish accent when he describes what he loves about the guitar he is playing (and his unexpectedly baudy joke about why he doesn’t name it).

The set list includes:

  • Augustin Barrios: “Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios”
  • Francois Couperin: “Les Silvains”
  • Isaac Albeniz: “Granada”

You can watch it here.  It’s amazing.

[READ: May 27, 2015] Dog on the Roof

I usually try to only read books that I’ll enjoy,  but every once in a while you get a stinker.  So this weekend is devoted to two recent stinkers.

I saw this book on a pile at work.  And I thought why on earth did we get this completely out of date book in 2015?  I see now that it was donated to the library. My goodness, thank you random person.

So perhaps you remember that in the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney put his dog on the roof of his car or something. It was a minor scandal (or a major scandal if you love dogs).  And it was a jokey talking point for a little while.

Well, as happens in political cycles, some people decided to make a jokey book about it.  Kluger and Slavin are satirists who work for All Things Considered.  And, as the blurb on the back of the book says (not too overstate what was a minor incident) “It is the inside look at the Man Who Would Be President and the wild ride that’s sweeping and bewildering the nation.” (more…)

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Kamel Daoud–“Musa” (New Yorker, April 6, 2015)

Posted in Death, Kamel Daoud, New Yorker, Parenting, Regina Carter, Short Story, Tiny Desk Concert on June 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

april6SOUNDTRACK: REGINA CARTER-Tiny Desk Concert #54 (April 11, 2010).

reginaRegina Carter is a (jazz mostly) violinist (although I am unfamiliar with her).  Her then new album, Reverse Thread, was a collection of African melodies played via Carter’s jazz sensibilities.  She had been playing with a larger group on tour, but she decided to strip down the band to just herself on violin, Will Holshouser on accordion and Yacouba Sissoko on kora.

They only play two songs, although since the set is 12 minutes, they are long songs (about 6 minutes each).  And they are beautiful and meandering with many solos.

I have to admit that for the first s9ng, “N’Teri” (written by Habib Koite) I feel like the kora comes across as the main instrument.  I could listen to Sissoko play that all day.  Although by the middle of the song Carter and Holshouser trade off solos, violin to accordion, which is pretty cool.

“Kanou” (written by Boubacar Traoré) is a bit more upbeat and almost dancey.  In this song all three musicians get equal billing and its really cool the way each instrument seems to come to the fore a little.  I also enjoyed that even though this is Regina Catrter’s show, she puts her violin down for a bit while Holshouser takes a long accordion solo.  But mostly they all work together perfectly–a wonderful combination that I’ve never heard before.

[READ: April 14, 2015] “Musa”

This is a simple story of loss and how it can affect everyone around them.

Musa is the narrator’s older brother.  He is a strong figure in the family and the narrator respects him like no one else.   Their father had disappeared long ago and Musa was more or less the man of the family.

And then Musa was murdered.  The narrator was upset of course, but he was also offended by this because he imagined his brother was invincible and even worse, the way he died was so insignificant.

But it hit his mother even harder.  She acted as if she were widowed and she treated the narrator as an insignificant afterthought.  Her whole life was soon dedicated to mourning Musa and to finding his killer. (more…)

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Thomas Pierce–“This is an Alert” (New Yorker, March 30, 2015)

Posted in Dystopia, Jakob Dylan, Neko Case, New Yorker, Short Story, The Decemberists, The Wallflowers, Thomas Pierce, Tiny Desk Concert, War on June 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

march30SOUNDTRACK:  JAKOB DYLAN-Tiny Desk Concert #53 (April 2, 2010).

jakobI was not a fan of the Wallflowers–I had an unfair dislike of Jakob Dylan.  But I can appreciate his songwriting skills and that, although he looks and sounds a ton like his dad (especially with sunglasses on) he holds his own very well.

But for me the most interesting part of this solo band is his backup singers–Kelly Hogan (whom we just saw touring with The Decemberists) and Neko Case (!–there’s no photos available, so you’ll have to watch the video to see her awesome hair).  Joining Dylan on guitar is Paul Rigby.

There’s something old school about “Nothing But The Whole Wide World” (probably the refrain of practically spoken “nuthin”) that I really like.  I enjoyed the way the backing vocalists don’t do as much as you might think–their restraint is really infectious.

“Everybody’s Hurtin'” is a nice minor key song (obviously a downer) and the backing singers contribute a lot more to this one.

The final song, “Holy Rollers for Love” features Hogan and Case doing different things which really fill out the song.

I guess I’m not sure how successful he would have been had his name not been Dylan, but this is an enjoyable concert and makes me reevaluate Dylan’s career somewhat.

[READ: April 13, 2015] “This is an Alert”

Here’s yet another story from Thomas Pierce that I really liked.

The story is set in some future time (although it doesn’t seem that distant) in which there are wars going on in the upper atmosphere.  And it has a trope that I rather enjoy in short stories (although I would find annoying in a novel).  Pierce gives us no details about the war or the future or anything.  We are thrown into the story and we just have to deal with it.

It is written in first person and the narrator assumes we know what is going on. So, as the narrator (a mom) and her family are driving to her mother in law’s house.  They are all crouched down on the side of the road with gas masks on.  They are hot and cranky and they will definitely be late for lunch.  And all of this because of the speaker yelling “This is an Alert.  This is an Alert.”

She wonders whose voice it is coming out of those speakers and how he was chosen for the job.  But when the alerts stop, they pile back in the car and continue on their journey. Her husband, Neal, is sick of the drills, of the gas mask, of the constant interruptions.  They seem to have gotten worse lately–especially today.  And perhaps the most annoying thing of all is that you can’t see anything of this war–from the earth you have no insight into what is happening or what has caused the latest round of Alerts. (more…)

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Sarah Braunstein–“All You Have to Do” (New Yorker, March 16, 2015)

Posted in Canadian Music, Contests, Funny (strange), New Yorker, Parenting, Rheostatics, Sarah Braunstein, Short Story, tagged on June 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »

2015_03_16-400SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Snooks Pirate Radio: Raise A Little Band (2003).

snooksThis is one of the more unusual items on the Rheostatics Live site.  It is an evening of pirate radio by a guy named Snooks.

This is the explanation directly from Snooks as to what this is:

Hello,
In 2003 I had this hair-brained idea to run a radio station out of my bedroom. Two years previous, I attended Acadia University where I became the program manager of a thing called Radio Acadia nestled in the beautiful Nova Scotia Annapolis Valley, and was well aware of how to operate an online station. So, I set things up and ended up producing a show in my kitchen all about my favorite band, the Rheostatics. I had done numerous shows on them before, and I think I did a pretty good job with this one. I advertised the show on the Rheostatics yahoo list, but ended up with just one listener in Ontario I think.

Sadly, due to my rather busy work schedule, plans to take over the world with a pirate radio station that would change every music listener, and crush every commercial radio station into oblivion, had to be scrapped. Enjoy.

So this is 2 hours of Rheostatics music with some introductions by Snooks.  Snooks provides general information about the band, some chronology and band member lists.  But I think the best part is when he talks about meeting some of the guys and some personal anecdotes (especially about Tim Vesely).

I like the way he groups the songs thematically: History (songs from their early days and about the record industry), Acoustic Times (their more mellow numbers), Tim and I (songs by Tim), Bruce Willis and the Rheostatics (a great title if ever there was), Art (their more outlandish songs) and Reflective (their more reflective songs).  I am surprised that “Horses” didn’t make it, though.

There’s nothing new here–it’s all songs from the albums (including Double Live)–but it’s fun to hear them played in this order.

[READ: March 25, 2015] “All You Have to Do”

It’s 1972 and Sid Baumwell, aged sixteen,  is looking for more from his small town.  He was handsome and had a lot of potential (his teachers said so).  He genuinely believed he could be president.

One day at the grocery store he saw a card table offering a contest.  The man at the table asked him if he felt like a winner and Sid said yes.  The contest was for a lifetime supply of aluminum foil.  And the man at the table, Bill Baxter, said that Sid looked like winner. Bill smiled at him.  He gave him some sound if clichéd advice about school and made a slightly suggestive sexual joke.   And then Sid left.

On the way home, Bill pulled up next to him in his car and offered him a ride home.  Sid said sure.  They started talking about cars.  Bill laughed about his own car and after a few comments, Bill said that if Sid played his cards right the car could be his.  Sid is confused and Bill doesn’t really clarify.

As Bill drops him off, he suggests that Sid will want to get out of this town.  When Sid says it’s a nice town, Bill snidely remarks that nice is the kiss of death.  Sid if offended, but it makes him think about his town. (more…)

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Stephen King–“A Death” (New Yorker, March 9, 2015)

Posted in Death, Jane Siberry, Murder, New Yorker, Rheostatics, Short Story, Stephen King, Violence, tagged on June 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

march9SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Hillside Festival 20th Anniversary, Guelph ON, July 7, 2003 (2003).

hillUntil recently this was the only Rheostatics show listed on the live website for 2003 (a bunch have recently been added).  And there are none for 2002.  I don’t actually know if they didn’t tour much in 2002 or what.

But this is a fun set (and is just barely over an hour) with lot of guests and an interesting selection of songs.

The start with “Self Serve Gas Station,” and then “Song of the Garden” (since Kevin Hearn is with them and later “Monkeybird” too) and “P.I.N.”  Then they play “Marginalized,” the first time I’ve heard them play it live.  Tim says he wrote it the night George W. Bush was elected.

Since Kevin is therer, they play a Group of 7 medley.  I recognize “Wieners and Beans,” “Blue Hysteria” and “Yellow Days Under a Lemon Sun.”  Lewis Melville guests “on the ocean” for “California Dreamline,”  There’s a nice referential moment when the line “all the naked ladies” makes Dave comment “Steve, Ed, Kev, Tyler.”

More guests come out for”Claire” Chris Brown and Kate Fenner offer backing vocals.  And there’s a mellowish version of “Stolen Car” that is pretty cool.

“Horses” is a fun version since every guest gets to take a solo.  And at the end, Dave asks Martin to “ride the wild donkey” so instead of making horse sounds from his guitar he makes donkey sounds. How??

The set ends with a rollicking encore of Jane Siberry’s “One More Colour,” a rare treat.  This is a great show.

[READ: April 10, 2015] “A Death”

I loved this story.  King sets it in the past (the location they are in is soon to become a state: “although we are not one of the United States just yet, we soon will be”), in a place which I assumed was Maine since he writes so much about Maine, but which I see mentions Fort Pierre which is in South Dakota, so which makes more sense.

It is a deceptively simple story.  A girl has been killed.  The sheriff has a suspect.  The townsfolk assume the suspect did it.  So what’s the problem?

As the story opens, Jim Trusdale is working in his yard when the sheriff comes up to his house and  arrests him. Jim says he ain’t never heard of the girl who was killed.  The sheriff asks where his hat is and Jim can’t account for it.  That’s enough for the sheriff.

Turns out it was the girl’s birthday.  She was given a silver dollar.  Later that day she was found dead and Jim’s hat was found on her person. (more…)

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