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Archive for September, 2019

John Updike–“Nelson and Annabelle” (Part 1) (New Yorker, October 2, 2000)

Posted in Death, Excerpt, John Updike, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, Thom Yorke, U.N.K.L.E. on September 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

10222000SOUNDTRACK: U.N.K.L.E.–“Rabbit in Your Headlights” (1998).

unkleI was looking for a “rabbit” song to include with this story and I remembered this one from U.N.K.L.E., an album I had completely forgotten about.

In fact, I had forgotten all about U.N.K.L.E. and was surprised to read that not only was the album Psyence Fiction not a one off, but that he (James Lavelle) has been releasing music up until now.

A slow, mournful piano plays a two chord melody as Thom Yorke sings his best Thom Yorke.  Thumping electronic drums slowly build from nothing and then a spare bass line which seems to circle the piano is added.

After two minutes, the music drops out leaving just a piano and a spoken middle section.  The drums slowly build back and then Yorke begins singing again. As Yorke’s voice soars and soars the song feels like it’s going to end (at five minutes)  but it hits a crescendo moment and then drifts back in to a chill trip-hop beat as the noirish piano fades out.

This song came out after O.K. Computer but before Kid A, and the trip-hop beats sure nod to where Radiohead would be going.

I’m glad to know that trip- hop is still hanging in there and I’ll have to check out some of the other U.N.K.L.E. albums.

[READ: September 1, 2019] “Nelson and Annabelle” (Part 1)

I have never read any of John Updike’s “Rabbit” novels.  I always meant to.  In fact, I owned a copy of the Updike Rabbit book that was always remaindered.  But I wanted to start with the first one and just never got around to it.

I feel like now it’s too late to read them.  I imagine that the stories are retrograde and old -fashioned and that I won’t appreciate the protagonists or the attitudes.  In fact, this story, which I enjoyed parts of, has some pretty unpleasant attitudes about women.

I initially felt I would have enjoyed this story more had I read the Rabbit books since the subtitle here is “the two children of Harry (Rabbit) Angstrom meet at last.”  There’s a lot of character introduction in the beginning–ex-husbands, ex-wives, lovers, children.  But once it settled in, I found it interesting and then re-read the first two pages to get everything straightened out.

So, in brief, Harry (Rabbit) was married to Janice.  They had a son, Nelson.  Harry died and Janice married Ronnie. Ronnie knew Harry for most of his life, but they seem to be somewhat antagonistic.

This story opens with the new that Harry slept with a woman, Ruth, and maybe have been the father of Ruth’s daughter, Annabelle.  Turns out Ronnie also slept with Ruth (before Harry did) and Ronnie describes her as the Brewer town whore.  Harry had also slept with Ronnie’s first wife (there’s a lot of convoluted infidelity going on). (more…)

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King Crimson (Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, September 21, 2019)

Posted in King Crimson, New York City, Pinegrove, Radio City Music Hall on September 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 21, 2019] King Crimson

It is hard to believe that it has been almost two years since I last saw King Crimson, because I feels like it was just a few months ago.

This was my fourth time seeing them in five years.  As I said last time, who knows when Robert Fripp is going to decide to end this iteration, so if they come to town, I’m going to see them.  In fact, I had a ticket for Monday night’s show in Philly as well but I decided not to go because I had been to a show Friday and now Saturday and I had four more shows lined up later in the week (seven shows in nine days is a lot, even for me).

This time I went with my friend Bill.  He drove us into the city for which I was thankful.  He told me he usually just looks for street parking but because he didn’t want to be late he booked a garage.  That proved to be a huge mistake because everyone who didn’t live in NYC also booked that garage and there were only two attendants.  We waited for 45 minutes for our car (which meant I got home at 2AM!).  This was Bill’s first time seeing King Crimson.

He was very impressed.  Of course.

This time the band was back down to a seven piece.  I’m not sure what happened to the eighth member.  It was going to be Bill Rieflin again and then he took a sabbatical and was replaced by Theo Travis.  But apparently he was not included on this tour “when the band opted not to have musicians deputising for Rieflin again.”

Even though these shows have a base of similar songs and players, each tour (and each tour date) has mixed it up somewhat.  So out of the eighteen songs they played that night, I hadn’t seen 5 of them.  That’s a pretty great evolution.   And honestly, the songs I’ve heard more than once (some every time) I’m more than happy to hear again and again.

The last time I saw them I wrote

after they tour Europe, if they came back I would see them again no question.  This time maybe from the front of the balcony for a whole new perspective.

Following my own advice, I scored front row balcony seats to this show, and they were really spectacular.  The band sounded great and it was easy to see what everyone was doing (where to look is a perennial problem).  [My seats in Philly were also exciting–stage left in a balcony box, staring right at Fripp–I’ll definitely try to get them again if they come around in 2020). (more…)

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Vida Blue (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 20, 2019)

Posted in Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell, Philadelphia, PA, Phish, Pink Floyd, Spam Allstars, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Trey Anastasio, Vida Blue on September 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2019] Vida Blue

I had seen two of the Phish guys’ side (or solo) projects, which meant I actually got to see them, and not just see them from a mile away.  Mike Gordon did a solo tour which I caught, and I’ve seen Trey Anastasio with his band and solo.  I assumed that would be it for small projects.  Fish has a band, Pork Tornado, but it’s been on hiatus since 2002 and Page McConnell has released a couple of solo albums, but his band Vida Blue stopped touring in 2004.

Until now.

Page announced that Vida Blue was going to reunite for THREE shows (although possibly more now).  And one of those three shows was in Philadelphia.  So of course I bought a ticket to see Page up close.

Driving into Philly has become something of a nightmare now that Girard Avenue is closed.  Especially if you want to get to the Fillmore.  Traffic and detours add at least ten minutes.  I had left early but still managed to get to the parking lot after 8 for an 8PM show with no opening band.  I was furious.  So I ran into the place and found out that they hadn’t started yet, phew.  Also, everyone seemed to be milling about, so I wended my way up near the front and got an amazing spot.  My only regret is that I didn’t keep going into that one last free spot in front of that one because it turned out the people around me were the worst people in Philadelphia. (more…)

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Steve Martin–“‘The Book of Directions'” (New Yorker, December 4, 2000)

Posted in France, Funny (ha ha), Los Lobos, New Yorker, Phish, Steve Martin on September 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

deceSOUNDTRACK: LOS LOBOS-“The Circus Comes To Town” (1992).

indexI have heard Phish play this song many times.  I never would have guessed that it was Los Lobos.

The original is a gentle folk song, with a delightfully strained vocal.

For all of the multicultural musical approaches that Los Lobos takes, this song is really quite straightforward.  It’s simply a well written and beautifully sung song.  This whole album is full of songs just like it.  Highly recommended.

[READ: September 10, 2019] “‘The Book of Directions'”

This is a short Shouts & Murmurs piece which is pretty funny.

It begins by saying that the new publication, “The Book of Directions,” looks at the oral tradition of direction-giving.  Examples include: “Go two block down the street, make a left, turn right at the light, and you’ll see the sign.”

The author of the book is “the French hothead Pierre Trout.”

So really this piece is about making fun of the French for their desire to not be helpful when tourists are lost. Trout finds American direction-giving to be amazing, elegant and, of all things, helpful. (more…)

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Tobias Wolff–“The Most Basic Plan” (New Yorker, November 27, 2000)

Posted in Cars, Death, Florida, Los Lobos, New Yorker, Parenting, Sex, Short Story, Tobias Wolff on September 19, 2019| Leave a Comment »

indexSOUNDTRACK: LOS LOBOS “Sabor a Mi” (1978)

220px-Los_Lobos_del_Este_de_Los_Angeles_coverThe other song from the Los Lobos debut album that nick Hornby mentioned was ” “Sabor a Mí” a beautiful acoustic bolero.

The rhythm is slow and stately, with nice use of an upright bass.  The guitars sound great–very clean and precise with no fuzz or distortion or loose sloppy playing.  This is respectful playing of a traditional song.

The vocals are by Cesar Rosas and some are wonderfully romantic sounding.  The solos are really great too.

I’m glad that Los Lobos branched out into so much diverse music over their career, but their early traditional songs are lovely.

[READ: September 15, 2019] “The Most Basic Plan”

In this story a man has traveled to Florida to be with his dying mother.

There was no question that she was dying and he had made appointments at local funeral homes.  He was itching to get away–he didn’t want to be late on Friday, as it would need to be rescheduled on Monday.

He fed her ice chips–it was all he could do for her.  He looked through her things–her photos–and remembered the past.  But the present could not be halted.

He asked the young woman on duty to look after his mother.  She was new and was clearly afraid of his dying mother.  She resented him and he assured her that he would be back soon.

He had rented a car at the airport, but once he got out into the warm air, he returned the car and requested a convertible Miata.  It was overpriced and, given the occasion, maybe a little festive, but he appreciated it. (more…)

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Nick Hornby–“The Entertainers” (New Yorker, April 23 & 30, 2001)

Posted in Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Essays, Houndog, Los Lobos, Los Super Seven, Marvin Gaye, Money Mark, New Yorker, Nick Hornby, Pete Seeger, Phish, Sheryl Crow, The Byrds, The Latin Playboys on September 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

april2301SOUNDTRACK: LOS LOBOS-“Guantanamera” (1978).

220px-Los_Lobos_del_Este_de_Los_Angeles_coverI never listened to much Los Lobos, although their recent tiny Desk Concert opened my eyes to the,

This review from Hornby made me want to check out some of their music.  I’m not interested in their rock n’ roll songs, but I am quite interested in their Mexicali and more diverse songs.

Their debut album was mostly traditional songs.  I hadn’t heard their take on “Guantanamera,” a song that is in my consciousness, although I’m not sure from where, exactly.  I know the Pete Seeger version, but that can’t be the one I am most familiar with, right?

The Los Lobos version is, surprisingly, slower and a but less catchy that the version I am familiar with.  Although I imagine their version is more accurate.  Los Lobos has three lead singers.  It’s interesting that the guy with the fewest lead vocal songs, bassist Conrad Lozano is the lead singer here.

[READ: September 10, 2019] “The Entertainers”

This essay is about Los Lobos and the art of box sets.

The turn of the century was a pretty big time for the box set.  I have too many of them myself.

You get home busting with anticipation, and sit down to listen to the first half-dozen songs of a beloved artist’s recording career, and to read the weighty accompanying essay and then, somewhere along the line, a vague disappointment kicks in.  You become irritated that your favorite song is represented only by a demo or a live recording or an alternate mix that omits the horns.  Pretty soon, you find that you’re playing only the last few tracks on the second CD–tracks that you probably already own.  A few weeks later, you realize, guiltily, that the fourth CD has not yet been removed from the box and that it never will be.

This is a bit excessive in my experience, but the general tenor is spot on. (more…)

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William Boyd–“Beulah Berlin, An A-Z” (New Yorker, November 6, 2000″)

Posted in A to Z, Artists, Berlin, Berlin Germany, Huh?, Language, New Yorker, Rhinoceros, Short Story, William Boyd, Zoos on September 17, 2019| 2 Comments »

2000SOUNDTRACK: BERLIN–“Sex (I’m A)” (2019 version) (2019).

berlinBerlin had a few more hits than most people remember.  There is of course, “Take My Breath Away,” and “The Metro” but also had and the infamous hit “Sex (I’m A)” which is the most 80’s song I can think of.

So here it is 2019 and the Terri Nunn has reunited with Berlin co-founders John Crawford and David Diamond for their first Berlin album together since 1984.  That album, Love Life, featured “No More Words” (I had forgotten that one).

I also didn’t know that Terri Nunn was not the original singer of Berlin.  Their first album, Information had Virginia Macolino on lead vocals.

But in 2019, the three got together to release Transcendance.  And this album has an update of “Sex (I’m A).”  Terri Nunn pointed out in an interview that she still wanted to sing about sexuality now that she is in her fifties, but didn’t want to make songs that made it sound like she was still in her twenties.

So why they decided to cover this song, I don’t know. It’s not very different.  The lyrics are (I think) the same (It’s hard to remember all of the things she “is”  in the song.

The music is different–the drums are bigger and the synth is a little less plastic sounding.  The vocals sound almost identical. Terri Nunn’s voice sounds great.

The one big difference is the inclusion of a lot of guitar. Both in the chorus (which rocks a bit more) and in the occasional solos after the verses.  And after the chorus there’s a more modern pulsing rhythm which sounds pretty good.

It’s a fine update–adding some things and not really losing anything, but it doesn’t seem entirely necessary.

[READ: September 10, 2019] “Beulah Berlin, An A-Z” 

This story was created with a kind of gimmick, but it works.

Almost every paragraph (some sections are longer than one paragraph) starts with an oversized capital letter, A to Z.  And each capital letter is the first word of the new section and (almost) the last word of the previous section.

So paragraph one begins with “Angst” and ends with “Berlin.”  Section two begins with “Berlin” and ends with “cooler.”  Section three opens with “Color” (so there’s a slight variant at work sometimes).

This formal structure sort of makes the story forced, but not really.  Mostly it’s fun to see how Boyd set it up. (more…)

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Garth Greenwell–“Harbor” (New Yorker, September 16, 2019)

Posted in Bulgaria, Drinking, Garth Greenwell, LGBTQ, New Order, New Yorker, Short Story, The Cure on September 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

garhSOUNDTRACK: CAYETANA-New Kind of Normal (2017).

cayetanOne of the worst feelings is when you find out about a band right after they’ve broken up.

I feel like I’ve been aware of Cayetana forever, but they only formed in 2011. I wonder if there’s another band I’m confusing them with.

Well, Cayetana played their last concert at Union Transfer this past August 3.  It’s nice that they played their final show in front of  a home crowd.  I would have gone had I known I liked them.  Which I now do.

Cayetana were Allegra Anka: bass guitar / back-up vocals; Augusta Koch: guitar / lead vocals; Kelly Olsen: drums / back-up vocals.  For a band with an exotic-sounding name, their music is pretty straightforward.  But boy is it good.

Their songs are pretty standard alt-rock with a 90’s feel, but there’s really interesting instrumentation under Koch’s satisfying vocals.

 One of the most immediately pleasing things is the sound of the bass guitar, and that the bass doesn’t simply follow the guitars–there are basslines galore on this record.  I love the counterpoint of the fast and complex New Order-like bass line and the ringing guitar notes on the opener “Am I Dead Yet?”

There’s great guitars (with feedback) and thumping drums on the really catchy “Mesa.”  There’s great drums on “Too Old For This” as well.

The harmonies are terrific like on “Easy to Love” where you can clearly hear all three of them.

Most of the songs are pretty catchy, but there are few with a twinge of discord.  “Bus Ticket” has some harsh notes and a thumping ending.   And “Side Sleepers” slows things down and feels more bass heavy, which is no bad thing when the basslines are as cool as this one.

“Certain for Miles” starts quietly with just bass and drums but adds a nice ringing guitar about midway through.  The wonderfully titled “Phonics Failed Me” is a midtempo rocker with a great instrumental break.

“Follow” has more of that great opening bass work like The Cure or New Order and “Dust” has an even better bass introduction–slow and moody with lots of bass chords.

“World” ends the disc with a slow moody tone with echoing guitars and lots of great bass lines and chords.  It’s quiet and ends with a car starting up and driving away.

A fitting ending to the bands final album.

[READ: August 22, 2017] “Harbor”

I read a story by Greenwell a couple of years ago.  It was written in 2017.  They are both set in Bulgaria. They both have a character named N.

I found this story confusing, probably because of the cultural information that I couldn’t quite parse.

Underneath all of the action, the narrator is coining for R. who just broke up with him.  Every couple of months he flew to Lisbon to be with R., but R. said he needed to figure things out.  The narrator wanted a new life too.  He was tired of teaching.  But he wanted the new life to come with R. in it.

As with the other story, the Bulgarians and Americans writers are hanging out.  The narrator explains there is no such thing as a Bulgarian professional writer–they all had other careers.  The Americans were younger and boring by comparison.They play spin the bottle.  But before they can finish, the waitress comes over and tells them to stop.  She removes the bottle.

(more…)

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Woody Allen–“On a Bad Day You Can See Forever” (New Yorker, November 13, 2000)

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Dante Alighieri, Funny (ha ha), Kawabata Makoto, New Yorker, Short Story, Unfunny, Woody Allen, 河端一 on September 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

30SOUNDTRACK: KAWABATA MAKOTO [河端一]-INUI 4 (2007).

a2911123677_16Kawabata Makoto [河端一] is the guitarist and mastermind behind Acid Mothers Temple. The band is hugely prolific. But he still had time to record solo albums. Often times without any guitar.

This was Kawabata’s fourth solo LP, now available on bandcamp

NUI 4 is the fourth volume in Makoto’s series of occasional solo releases for VHF. While widely and rightly known for ear-splitting Deep Purple style guitar demolition with Acid Mothers Temple, Gong, etc, Kawabata’s INUI works are highly personal and introspective, with lots of room given to cosmic atmosphere and acoustic instruments. INUI 4 is a single 68 minute track, a slow building and evolving multi-layered swath of acoustic & electric guitars, electronics, and hurdy gurdy. The final 20 minutes of the track features prominent “glissando” guitar, ala Daevid Allen, a very fine sound to be lost in.

This album consists of 1 hour-long song called RYO (01:07:51).

A piercing high note lingers throughout the track as a beautiful bouzouki melody plays and trippy space sounds swirl around.  The piercing note seems to fade into the background as soaring swirling sounds begin around 5 minutes with a kind of high whistling melody running through from about 8 minutes.

AS the song  continues, new sounds continue to enter.  At 15 minutes, warping and buzzing sound swirl in.  At 23 minutes, deep moaning sounds cycle through.  At 30 minutes swirling spaceship sounds float in.

Around 35 minutes a melody seems to come through the hazy distance (possibly from the hurdy gurdy).  Around 40 minutes a “beat” (made of possible reversed guitar chords) starts to come in.  This adds a kind of quiet propulsion to the sound as the soloing in the distance gets more intense (yet still quite).

Then at 46 minutes it shifts dramatically.  All the drones drop away and the song starts fresh with gentle swirling guitars.  Everything feels like it is ringing and chiming and it stays in this beautiful glissando style for the next 20 minutes.

Not a bad way to spend an hour.

[READ: September 13, 2019] “On a Bad Day You Can See Forever”

This story seems mostly like an opportunity for Woody Allen to throw in as many fifty-cent words as he can.  Which is kind of funny since it is about overpaying for renovations.

You’d never quite guess that’s where this story is going from the opening.  As it opens the narrator is at the gym and has just thrown out his back (“my spine suddenly assumed the shape of a Möbius strip”) trying to “tickle pink the almond-eyed fox” doing push ups near him.  Given Allen’s history, this is unfortunate to say the least.  Not the least of which is because this character is married.

But whatever, it’s a comic story, right? (more…)

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Marisa Silver–“What I Saw From the Forest” (New Yorker, October 30, 2000)

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Babies, Cars, Death, Guns, Halloween, Kawabata Makoto, Marisa Silver, New Yorker, Short Story, Violence, 河端一 on September 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

indexSOUNDTRACK: KAWABATA MAKOTO [河端一]-INUI 3 (2005).

a0649002429_16Kawabata Makoto [河端一] is the guitarist and mastermind behind Acid Mothers Temple. The band is hugely prolific. But he still had time to record solo albums. Often times without any guitar.

This was Kawabata’s third solo LP, now available on bandcamp

Third volume in an acclaimed series by the Acid Mothers Temple leader. INUI 3 focuses on Kawabata’s highly personal brand of epic instrumental drone. Performing on bouzouki, sarangi, electric guitar, viola, and ECS-101, Makoto emphasizes the gradual build of monumental sound structures. Running 12 minutes each, “Sui” and “Ken” are darkly spun tales, with wisps of sound keening over a distant backdrop. Recalling the Speed Guru’s lovely 2001 collaboration with Richard Youngs, the 47 minute “Fuku” is based on a hypnotic arpeggio plucked out on the bouzouki over which Gong-style glissando guitar and other zonked sounds are carefully layered.

Sui (12.33) over a drone it sounds like he’s playing a hammered dulcimer, but I gather it is the bouzouki.  There’s a very pretty melody which seems to morph into a reverse-sounding musical style after about 5 minutes.  These pulsing waves slowly shift into washes of synths over the drone.

Ken (12.35) starts was a drone–whether electronic or acoustic is hard to tell.  Waves of sound like waves swoop through this rather relaxing piece.

Fuku (47.08) has more of that hammered bouzouki style of playing.  It’s a lovely melody with a drone behind it.  After 9 minutes the backing chords change the texture of the song.  Around 11 minutes the melody starts to grow slightly discordant as the backing chords start to morph and the bouzouki plays some discordant notes.

The discord seems to weave in an out–never growing too harsh, just enough to give the song some tension.

Around 30 minutes, waves of electronics start to take over, there’s a slightly sinister sound to them.  By the end things get a little intense and it feels like the closing credits to a dramatic film.

It’s amazing that he can keep this up for 47 minutes.

[READ: September 10, 2019] “What I Saw From the Forest”

In this story Charles and Dulcie have been together for a while.  They lost their baby when Dulcie was six months pregnant.  It was nobody’s fault but Dulcie can’t help but try to figure out what she did wrong.

Their relationship has been prickly ever since.

Dulcie hates to drive on freeways–she doesn’t like that she can’t exit when she wants, so they tend to take back roads.  They had been to a party and Charles was too drunk to drive home so Dulcie drove his car.

He woke up when they were rear-ended.  It was a a group of young men with a gun.  They asked for the keys.  Charles gave them the keys and his wallet and then he and Dulcie ran.  The police promised them they would not see their car again.  When Dulcie worried that they would come to their house since the registration was in the car, the policeman said not to worry, “crackheads never did that.”

Dulcie took a few days off (she was a teacher) so Charles drove her car to work.  When he got home she had moved the mattress into the living room.  There was a rat in the bedroom walls.  They could hear it and had gotten used to it because when they told the landlord he said he would take care of it –which means “there’re ten other people in line for your apartment.”

She insisted on leaving the lights on all night.  She even talked about getting an inflatable person to sit in a chair to let people think someone was home.

The next evening as he was driving home, someone threw an egg at his car.  He freaked out until he realized it was Halloween.  They hadn’t bought any candy, so when he got home Dulcie was cowering saying people kept ringing the doorbell and she couldn’t trust anyone.

A week after the holdup, police called to say their car was found. It was in a lot in South Central.  The policeman asked if he was white.  Charles said yes, and the polieman said to go early in the morning before “wake-up time.”  They arrived and the car was stripped–even the steering wheel–so they turned it in rather than having it towed.

Charles took a day off from work.  He drove to a park and sat, thinking.  He realized he could either stay or go.  He had a decision to make.

 

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