I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: TARRIONA ‘TANK’ BALL-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #3 (March 26, 2020).

Tiny Desk loves Tank and the Bangas, who won the 2017 Tiny Desk Contest.  Of the five winners so far, they have certainly had the most success that I’m aware of.

I really enjoy their attitude, although their music is surprisingly repetitive for the amount of creativity in the band.

This Home Concert might be entirely improvised (there’s not “setlist” provided).  Tank seems to be riffing around a refrain of “don’t go out to the cookout.”  She is playing a rather cool electronic melody on “a version of Korg’s music software called iKaossilator.”

The rest of the music comes from percussive instruments that include a suitcase, [that she received when she was nominated for a Grammy.  She didn’t win but she got a suitcase, which is just as good], a jar of cocoa butter and a cassette box.

The middle of the song has a lengthy rap/poem/freestyle.

Mostly she is trying to convince everyone to stay home, bitch.  She even modifies the State Farm theme: like a good neighbor, stay over there.

It’s OK to be alone by yourself, eat by yourself, chill by yourself, read by yourself.

It is clear that she is having a really good time–laughing, clapping along.  She also says “I’m obviously practicing social distancing cause my group is not here.”

[READ: April 13, 2020] “The Other One”

I really liked the way this story was constructed.

When Heloise was 12, in 1986, her father was killed in a car crash.

Her father was supposed to be in Germany at a conference. But the crash happened in Paris.  In the car with him were his mistress (who also died) and her friend (who survived).

Heloise had false memories about this event.  She was sure she went with her mother to view the body (that never happened).

Heloise’s mother said that she never saw the lover–the car had hit a tree and her body was taken away instantly.  But her mother knew the friend’s name was Delia–although none of them could imagine why she was in the car on a lovers tryst.

Before the accident, Heloise’s home life was always filled with adult friends.  Her parents were attractive and dynamic and Heloise and her brother Toby and sister Mair would watch from upstairs as the adults got drunker and drunker.

She has a memory of her mother dancing topless to Joni Mitchell and her father burning five pound notes in the fireplace.

Now that she was an adult, she went to diner parties that were very different.  Heloise was divorced and shared custody of her children.  She was very friendly with another divorced parent Antony (they met in college).  She would have liked something to happen between them, but she didn’t want to push anything–there was no rush.

At Antony’s party, there was a woman named Delia there.  The coincidence in names struck her, but she didn’t think much of it. She liked Delia immediately.  Delia was a violinist.  She taught Antony’s kid.  Antony had nothing but praise for her.

Later in the night Delia admitted that she had harbored hopes of going pro as a musician.  She played with a quartet now, but she had been in car accident in France as a younger person and that ruined any hopes of going pro.

Heloise felt that the coincidence was too strong–this had to be her father’s mistress’ friend Delia, right?  But how to broach the topic?

She signed up her daughter to take violin lessons with Delia.  She and Antony hung out while the children played, although Delia never wanted to have lunch with them after.  Heloise often thought about talking to Delia about the accident, but it never seemed like a good time to bring it up.

Hadley does a wonderful job of fleshing out the extra characters.  Her brother Toby lives in L.A. and is much like their mother–gregarious and fun but a bit too much at items.   It was weird the way her mother flirted with her son–as if she constantly needed his approval.  He seemed to thrive on it too, but he did move across the world away from her.

While Toby was visiting, they got to talking about their father and the book he wrote “The Whatsit of Contemporary Capitalism.”  Heloise’s mother wanted to know why she was asking about it and Heloise said that maybe she’d try to read it. Her mother said if there were any copies left in the house she could have them all.

The book was sort of interesting, but Heloise soon found it too much for her.  So she gave it to Antony who was more financially minded and asked if he would tell her if there was anything valuable in it.

The next time she sees Delia, it is apparent that Delia has seen the book.  She has something to say to Heloise.  There’s some unexpected surprises as the story ends.

Tessa Hadley continues to write fantastic stories.