SOUNDTRACK: TOM BROUSSEAU-Tiny Desk Concert #347 (April 12, 2014)
I only know of Tom Brousseau from NPR–both All Songs Considered and WNYC’s Soundcheck have played him a lot. Of course, I had no idea what he looked like (an didn’t expect what he does look like either). His voice is a little high-pitched (the Tiny Desk site says people think he’s a woman, although I don’t really hear that), but it’s very compelling. Mostly you listen to Brousseau for the storytelling lyrics.
“Cradle Your Device” is a very funny song about how technology can interfere with your romantic life. The second song “Stuck on the Roof Again,” tells a true story about the octogenarian newspaper columnist Marilyn Hagerty, who got stuck on the roof of her home in Grand Forks, N.D., after a heavy snowstorm. He introduces the song with a lengthy story about Hagerty and her food critic reviews (of The Olive Garden of all things) which have suddenly gained her fame. There are some pretty harmonies by his accompanist Sean Watkins
Brousseau is a charming and earnest storyteller, and it’s fun to hear what he has to say as much as what he has to sing. The third song is “Today is a Bright New Day.” He says it’s early in the morning for him to hit the high notes, and he does struggle some. But he gives a great performance nonetheless of this pretty, earnest song.
I’m not sure if I’d want to hear a lot more of him, but I enjoyed this set quite a lot–maybe a live record is the way to go.
[READ: June 18, 2014] NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette
I found this book at work and couldn’t pass up reading it. The fact that it’s small and has few words meant I read it in about 20 minutes. But don’t let the brevity fool you, there’s a lot of useful information for novice New Yorkers, tourists and maybe even some old school New Yorkers (although they won’t admit it). The audience seems to be primarily those who have just moved to the City, although as I say, tourists will find it useful, too.
There are two components to this book: Tips and Etiquette. I have worked in NYC so I am certainly familiar with the City, but I found some of the tips (especially subway tips about unfamiliar areas) to be very helpful. Even simple things like mnemonic devices for streets in the Village or recognizing buildings or bridges (Manhattan made of metal; Brooklyn built from bricks) were quick and easy devices. And he lets us know that even if NYC is much safer than in days of old, we should still be aware of some common scams.
But the bulk of the book is about etiquette. It is designed for people n New York, but at least 80% of the etiquette is useful anywhere.
The more specifically New York based items are things that remind you that New Yorkers are often in a hurry–oftentimes they are not being rude, they are simply commuting and need to get where they are going. So, you should a) be decisive and b) be assertive. People are probably waiting behind you and they will certainly try to go around you if you are too slow. So order your food quickly and move up a line quickly. The one etiquette thing I liked best was his comments about not looking at your phone while you are on the streets. Not only are you distracted and might bump into someone, but you might miss your soulmate. (more…)
Re: creates soundtracks for a dystopian world. Where metal and computers are integrated with nature. So a track like “Golem” which opens this album starts with what sounds like a golem walking–trudging desolate feet. Then there’s big bells that echo throughout. The multi-note music that anchors the song is eerie and enticing.
This album does not use the same “gimmick” as the previous one, where song titles were all words that should have the re prefix. So song two is called “Orientalism As A Humanism.” It runs nearly 9 minutes and opens with what sounds like an alarm but may actually be mechanical sounds (a saw perhaps?). But it is softened to make it a very interesting sound that swirls around half of your head. Meanwhile the other half of the song has a totally different sound. By the 5 minute mark it is primarily drums and noises. Until that all drops off for a bit of static. Some loud percussive noises fill the song until it turns into a fast paced drums beat which lasts for just a few seconds before the songs ends.
‘On Golden Pond” opens with more footsteps. Then there some squeaks and a splash and a voice saying “splash it.” And later a voice saying “You should see our house” These recordings are so clean, I have to wonder what they are from. “Radio Free Ramadi” opens with near silence. After about a minute of gradually increasing sounds, the big noisy electronics come in. It is a big noisy blast of noise like the first album. “Lasers, Tracers, Radar Drones” opens with gentle chimes and slowly melds different noises and electronics. “Pawk” opens with an acoustic piano–a nice relief from the electronics. It’s a simple melody, stark and bare, and is interrupted by what sounds like people making seagull sounds. The disc ends with “Home Security” a song with a huge burst of noise and electronic malfunctions.
Once again, this album is not for the timid or those who dislike dissonance, but if you’re open to experimentation, Re: proves to be a very interesting band.
[READ: May 13, 2014] The Wawa Way
For my birthday, I jokingly told my family that I wanted a Wawa Sizzli for breakfast, a Wawa Shorti for lunch, a Wawa Bowl for dinner and a Wawa chai latte for dessert. We didn’t have any of that (although I did get some Wawa chocolate milk before work), but suffice it to say I love my Wawas (most people have one, but I have two—the one by my house and the one by my work).
I grew up in North jersey where 7-11 was the king of convenience. I loved the 7-11, it was handy and had all kinds of junk food available. But once I moved to Central Jersey, I discovered the amazingness of Wawa. (In truth I knew about Wawa from trips to South Jersey, but it was more of a novelty then).
What makes Wawa so superior? Most people would say their coffee. I don’t drink coffee, so I can’t address that. But what I do like is their stuffed pretzels, their hoagies (and their touch screen for ordering), their milk and chocolate milk, their hot (non coffee) drinks and their newish cold drinks—all made to order. I also like their brightness and their cleanliness. And, when I go to the third Wawa (which is out of the way but close), I think their gas prices are fair and the people who work them are always nice. And, more impressively, they were open during Hurricane Sandy when so many other places were closed.
So when the family saw that a book about Wawa was coming out, it seemed an obvious choice for my birthday (purchased, I hope, at a Wawa for ½ off the cover price). (more…)
I never watch the ads that come before Youtube videos. But this came on as an ad and I was utterly mesmerized by it.
I didn’t even know what it was for. Turns out that Univore is a band and “Vampire” is one of their songs. The 1 minute ad video was actually the whole thing.
It’s got a simple buzzy synthesized riff, backing vocalists singing “Oh yea” when appropriate and an occasional deep voiced man saying “vampire.” The video is of an older gentleman (who a little research suggests is Marco Casale) dressed like a vampire running around a small green space on a campus. The whole video looks like it took 15 minutes to film. It is weird and wonderful.
I still know nothing about Univore, which may be for the better, but I did enjoy this video.
[READ: April 6, 2014] Grantland #9
I’m surprised that there aren’t better cover images online for these books. For #8 i had to use one with a big flash in the middle of it and this one is the illustration from the Grantland website. The books are quite pretty so why uses these pale imitations?
So this issue proved to be a lot better about weird typos and “we just took this from the web and pasted it and never bothered to check to see if there was anything weird” problems. So thanks for at least running it through Spellcheck. The only other thing left is to either remove the lines that talk about attached links/images if they are not there or to include the url or make up a tiny url (but that would be actual work!). Oh, and please make sure all of the footnotes are included.
I have given up on ever finding out how these things turned out several months after the fact–I’ll just happily live in ignorance of reality there.
This issue was taken from during basketball’s downtime which was a nice change (even though the still managed to talk about basketball). There was more pop culture and some wonderful articles about team nicknames and mascots–something I absolutely love. So this is one of my favorite issues overall. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Music Hall, Toronto, Ontario (May 2, 1998).
This show sounds different from all of their other live shows on Rheostatics Live around this time. I don’t know much about The Music Hall, but it sounds like a more formal venue–like a bigger, perhaps seated, crowd.
There is also a string section and the ever reliable Kevin Hearn playing along with them. Well, string section might be stretching it–there are musicians from UofT playing along with them, including beautiful violins on “Self Service Gas Station” and a surprise flute on “Take Me in Your Hand.” There’s also a bunch of the musicians playing along on “King of the Past” which means I finally get to hear the great end section with a violin–but it gets cut off! Agh.
With Kevin playing with them, they showcase some tracks from the Group of 7 release (which they explain didn’t have titles but now sort of do). So they play “Boxcar Song” and “Yellow Days Under a Lemon Sun.” They also play “Monkeybird” which they say is from Harmelodia (even though it’s not out yet).
There are a lot of glitches and weird things happening with this tape which is kind of a shame as it is a pretty unique concert. It’s also only 90 minutes, which might just means a lot of the show was cut off.
[READ: January 3, 2014] The Bridegroom was a Dog
I bought this book years ago based on some recommendation or other. Then I recently received a new version of it from New Directions. Their version was just the title story. This original book (which had the same translator, Margaret Mitsutani) contains the title story and two other longish stories.
Because I just read the other book (and its the same translation) I didn’t re-read “Bridegroom.” But I did read the other two stories “Missing Heels” and “The Gotthard Railway.”
“Bridegroom” was certainly a weird story. But “Missing Heels” may be even stranger. I say this because of what may or may not be deliberate ambiguity in the word heel. As the story begins the protagonist is stared at by people because of her heels. I assumed she meant the heels of her shoes. But by the end of the story it seems that she means the heels of her feet, which is even stranger. (more…)
I really only know K’naan from his song “Wavin’ Flag” which was the World Cup anthem in 2010. It’s an uplifting anthem which would be schmaltzy except that K’naan is Somali-born, spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there until the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991, when his family moved to Canada. “Wavin’ Flag” was for the people Somalia and their aspirations for freedom.
In this set (the first ever hip-hop Tiny Desk Concert–although there is very little hip-hop in the set), K’naan plays three songs. “Take a Minute” is quite beautiful. It’s funny to me the rap section kind of spoils the song but because K’naan is a much better singer than rapper.
“Fatima,” which has a less interesting musical style than the other songs (perhaps it’s better when not in this Tiny Desk format) is startling lyrically. It’s about childhood friend of his, with the harrowing line–“what did the gunman say before he took you away.”
The final song is “Wavin’ Flag” (which was popular but nowhere near as big a hit as it would be soon enough). The anthemic nature of the song still sounds inspiring in this stripped own format.
I’m not a big fan of this style of music in general–poppy/R&Bish, but K’naan has a great sense of melody and brings a very interesting perspective that makes his style unique. And most importantly, he has a good, subtle voice. This is a good introduction to his music.
[READ: January 3, 2014] The Bridegroom was a Dog
In continuing the “small book” idea, I recently subscribed to the New Directions Pearl series. It is a collection of smallish books–novellas or short stories–in starkly beautiful binding. This was the second book I received in the series (I haven’t read the first one yet). Incidentally, this book has a list of the other pearls, and I rather hope they will send me some past Pearls as well, as they are quite a great collection.
This was an interesting selection to me because I actually own this book already (it’s the same translator, Margaret Mitsutani). Although as it turns out the book I own (which has the same title) is actually three short stories while this one is only the title story. I bought the book in 1998 and never read it (there is a bookmark that suggests I read a few pages, but I didn’t remember a thing). So I was happy to get reintroduced to the book and to finally read it.
And I intend to read the other two stories in the near future as well.
This is a peculiar story (as the title indicates). In it a teacher, Mitsuko Kitamura runs the Kitamura School which is described as a cram school–an extracurricular school. And the students learn some interesting things. Like “snot paper.” She suggests that using used tissues is better because they are warm and wet. And indeed, she goes so far as to say that you should use “snot paper” when wiping your behind because “it feels even better.” (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS-Tiny Desk Concert #32 (October 26, 2009).
I have recently begun to really enjoy Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (watch those e’s people). Interestingly, I have gotten into their song “Home” which is actually from 2009 and is included in this Tiny Desk Concert.
There is no Edward Sharpe. Sharpe is the alter ego of singer Alex Ebert. Ebert and Jade Castrinos form the core of this expansive ensemble. There are ten people in the band making this the largest (and judging from their appearance, smelliest) Tiny Desk Concert to happen yet. There are a few guitars, accordion, bongos, drums, keyboards and lots and lots of singing
Everyone seems very happy in the band, especially Castrinos, whose bliss is either delightful or disturbing to watch here.
“Janglin'” opens with the whole lot of them bopping along to the janglin song. Alex Ebert has a folky, husky voice. There’s lots of shouted “heys” and a fun, nearly-bass vocal section where they all sing “Mag-ne-tic-zeros.” “Home” is a wonderful song with a catchy whistle and a fun horn section. The catchiness of the chorus is undeniable. And this live version is infectious. The final song, “40 Day Daydream” is a big rambling piece. There’s a moment near the end that allows Ebert to sing unaccompanied and you can hear that his voice is quite nice.
I always enjoy seeing performers having fun and it’s clear that these Zeros are doing just that.
[READ: January 3, 2014] Judy Blume and Lena Dunham In Conversation
I considered the idea of writing only about tiny books in February. (I have a number of tiny books that have come along recently and I thought February would be a good time to read them all). Of course, it’s already the 11th, so there goes that. But I can still do some, right?
So this little book (6.5 x 4.5 inches, 77 pages) is the full (and enhanced) interview with Judy Blume and Lena Dunham. The excerpted version appeared in the January 2014 issue of The Believer. For this book we have the full interview (I assume) and the authors were given a chance to add comments to the interview afterward.
What we get here is Dunham, more or less a fangirl of Judy Blume, talking to her idol. But Dunham is not just fawning, she is direct and inquisitive and they seem to hit it off immediately, which makes for a great interview. Blume talks about her phobias (thunder, loud noises). And their fear of the blank page. And we also learn of Blume’s writing and daily routines (which are very different from Dunham’s). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).
Ralph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him. He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).
The concert lasted only 6 minutes, but in that time he sang three a capella songs: “Gloryland,” “Turn Back, Turn Back” and “Amazing Grace.”
It’s hard to assess a legend based on this performance. I’ve no idea how good his voice was back in the day. He sounds fine here, albeit understandably quite old. I’d have liked to hear his banjo.
[READ: January 3, 2014] Grantland #8
It is becoming apparent to me that Grantland loves basketball. Like, a lot more than any other sport. This issue had a ton of basketball in it. And, I have to admit I was a little tired of it by the end–there was a lot less pop culture stuff, too. So, it felt especially basketball heavy. I realize of course that the time frame covered was the playoffs, but still.
BILL SIMMONS-“Searching for a Superman”
A lengthy article about Dwight Howard, discussing the pros and cons of signing him again.
MARK TITUS-“How Did He Get So Good?”
A look at Paul George and Danny Green doing better than expected in the NCAA playoffs.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“A Dark Day in Boston”
Pierce wonders about Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing–he says the city will come back stronger. (more…)
The single opens with “Rafmagnið búið” a kind of brass introductory piece. There’s lots of horns building slowly, growing louder but not really playing a melody. By the end of five minutes, it segues into “Ný batterí” which opens with horns as well. Then the bass comes in, a slow, deep rumble of simple melody. After 4 and a half minutes, the drums are a powerful counterpoint to the sweet melody.
“Bíum bíum bambaló” is a slow piece (aren’t they all) that is mostly percussion. Apparently it is an Icelandic lullaby. The final track, “Dánarfregnir og jarðarfarir” was a theme used for death announcements on Icelandic radio. I love the way it builds from a simple melody into a full rock band version and then back again. It’s very dramatic.
Both tracks were used in the film Angels of the Universe (and appear on the soundtrack).
That certainly makes this single less interesting than the first one (although I’m not sure that the soundtrack was readily available at the time).
[READ: December 1, 2013] Breakfast on Mars
This is a collection of 38 essays (and an introduction by Margaret Cho). It also includes an introduction geared toward teachers–an appeal that essays do not need to be dull or, worse yet, scary. The editors encourage teachers to share these essays with students so they get a feel for what it’s like to write compelling personal nonfiction. The introduction proper gives a brief history of the essay and then talks about the kind of fun and funny (and serious) essays that are included here.
This was a largely fun and largely interesting collection of essays. When I grabbed it from the library I didn’t realize it was essays (I was intrigued by the title and then looked at the author list and immediately brought it home). I know it says essays on the cover, but I chose to ignore that apparently. When Sarah saw the authors (she knows more of them than I do) she had to read it first. This proved to be a great counterpoint to the very large novel that I was reading at the same time.
The essays each take on different topics. And what I liked was that before each essay, they include the question that inspired the essay. I have included the questions here. (more…)
The Story of the Ghost is one of the first Phish albums that I was aware of when it came out. I remember buying it and liking it, especially the first few songs. This is not surprising as the first few songs are much more electric and funky. By the end of the album there’s a lot of mid tempo songs that feel like they’re somewhat incomplete—good ideas but the songs feel…unfinished?
“Ghost” has a funky guitar and drum section, it’s a song I’ve liked from the day I bought the disc. But the real hit was “Birds of a Feather,” which has an amazingly catchy chorus. This version (as opposed to the live one) is weird in that Trey is kind of whispering the vocals, but the guitar is ferocious.
“Meat” is a weird skittery song that sounds cavernous here. The weird processed vocals are certainly something that keeps this song like more of an oddity. “Guyute” sounds an awful lot like early Phish—like it has come from Gamehendge, it’s a nice return to old form. It’s a great song with a really lengthy instrumental section. This features one of Trey’s great extended pretty solos.
“Fikus” is a strange little song (2 minutes), with lots of percussion and a quiet bass line. “Shafty” has got some cool wah wah guitars, and is also only 2 minutes long, but it shows that there is a bunch of funk on the disc. “Limb by Limb” is a fun if simple song that seems sparse until the chorus kicks in. “Frankie Says” is a kind of circular song that is interesting but doesn’t really go anywhere. “Water in the Sky” is a short piece but it is full of ideas—percussion, slide guitar, and nice harmonies. “Roggae” is a fun little song with some fugue like vocals.
“Wading in the Velvet Sea’ is a very pretty song with very nice harmonies. “The Moma Dance” is a funky wah wah guitared track which really comes to life live, although I like the way they reprise “Ghost” at the end. The final track is called “End of Session,” it’s a very mellow little number (also less than 2 minutes) with organ and gentle guitars. There’s a small verse of harmonies as the albums drifts off.
This album is one of the band’s less popular recordings, but i think it’s quite good.
[READ: October 30, 2013] Lives of Notorious Cooks
Brendan Connell is back with a book which demonstrates that whatever subject he writes about, he delves in deeply and with great relish.
Connell’s new book is, as the title says, a series of brief lives of fictional cooks. There are 51 biographies in this book. From Connell’s previous works and from the title, I expected that these cooks might be somewhat less than savory characters. But Connell makes these chefs genuinely impressive—making delicious meals from both the finest ingredients or the lowest of items.
As with previous stories by Connell, the depth of his knowledge is impressive—he includes not only recipes but complete menus of feasts. And as usual, his word choices are wonderful—exuberant when necessary, obscure if useful and always spot on.
Although I am normally inclined to make a comment about each “story “ in a collection, this one really resists that. There are not enough distinguishing characteristics between cooks for me to write enough about each one (without rewriting the book). This is not in any way to say that each is not unique, but that they are all cooks, each specializing in a different food or style. But rather than from saying “Agis cooks fish” it’s better to take this book as a whole rather than in pieces. (more…)
After Angel Rat, original bassist Blacky left the band. That’s never a good sign. After the tour for this album, original singer Snake left the band. That’s an even worse sign. I still can’t quite figure out exactly why Snake left (personal problems) but he went on to form the band Union Made. For a very detailed history of the band, check out this very cool timeline at Voivod dot net.
The Outer Limits got a pretty big release. I have an original copy that came with 3D glasses and all of the illustrations in 3D. But I was a little disappointed in Angel Rat and I don’t think I gave The Outer Limits much of a chance. It was no Nothingface. But the band was always morphing. Since Angel Rat went very commercial, this album brought things back into the prog realm (with a 17(!) minute song) but also had a lot of commercial songs.
The album opens with “Fix My Heart” which starts out much heavier than anything on Angel Rat. It’s also got some metal guitar pyrotechnics (squeaks and harmonics). Snake’s voice isn’t quite as pretty as on Angel Rat either—he growls a bit, but maintains his nicer voice overall. Nevertheless, “Fix My Heart” is a pretty commercial enterprise (as the title might even suggest). There’s some good “spacey” guitars sounds which bode will for the sci-fi angle of the album (and there’s some cool effects that reward headphone use). “Moonbeam Rider” starts with a very classic rock sounding riff and then morphs into a kind of pretty, mellow verse. But the interstitial guitar is all speed. It’s a nice mix of fast and slow. This song features some interesting bass work—nothing fancy but for the slow parts it is actually keeping the beat instead of the drums. The bassist was a studio musician for this album. There’s also what sounds like a bong during the pre-guitar solo section (the solo is fairly traditional).
“Le Pont Noir” is a mellow, slow guitar song with a very cool delay effect and Snake’s whispered vocals. The bridge gets heavy with a wonderfully weird Piggy guitar riff. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album.
Then the band’s second Pink Floyd cover appears. This time it’s the even more obscure “The Nile Song.” They have rather heavied this one up with crunching guitars and Snake’s distance screaming filling in the void (although in fairness the original vocals are also screamed). It’s not as dynamic or exciting as “Astronomy Domine,” but it’s still a cool cover. “The Lost Machine” starts off heavy with Away’s double cymbal work (a noisy splash and a fast ride cymbal). Then Piggy’s guitars have a slight delay on them which makes the opening chords sound especially odd. The bridge is a place for Piggy to show off some more weird spacey chords and some very cool guitar riffs. There’s even a spoken word narrator in the middle of the song that explains the “mission” “Time Warp” opens with a very bright and up beat sounding verse. But it quickly disintegrates into (intentional) musical chaos as the narrator gets lost in space.
This all leads up to the 17 minute “Jack Luminous.” If anyone doubted their prog rock leanings, this should dispel that immediate. 17 minutes, multiple parts, a sci-fi epic, it is prog (but heavy prog) at its finest. There are some incredibly catchy parts as well as some less catchy parts, and sections seem to change every two minutes or so. The slow down at 10 minutes is very cool—different guitar effects and the suspenseful bass line. There’s repeated sections as well, which means if you like some guitar line (the spacey part near the end) it comes back! It’s not quite as dynamic as say 2112, but it’s a very successful sci-fi epic.
“Wrong Way Street” returns to the normal and more conventional. The bass that opens the song sounds great and the chords are fairly conventional–the chorus is even really catchy. “We Are Not Alone” is a break-neck metal song, The drums are super fast, the guitars are relentless and the chorus even has an echoed “Hey!” that gets you to sing along. The song also features a cool slow, almost jazzy bass and drum section that lets Piggy throw some soloing in before returning to the fast paced verses.
There’s lots of theories about what happened to Voivod after this album. The success they had achieved earlier was now gone and the band seemed like they couldn’t decide to be metal or prog or is they should go for more pop music. The problem of course is that they were too weird to get mainstream acceptance anyway.
So Snake left and then there were only two original members. The next step would be a drastic one.
[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #7
This issue seemed to come hot on the heels of #6. But I enjoyed it just as much. A few notes: no Jeremy Lin in this issue. Lots of LeBron James, three articles about soccer! And a few pop culture moments that I had forgotten about.
REMBERT BROWNE AND DUSTIN PARKER-“The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament JUST. GOT. REAL.
Leonard Cooper didn’t know the final Jeopardy answer but he still won and he made a hilarious joke at the end (in cartoon format);
BILL SIMMONS-“Daring to Ask the PED Question”
Simmons talks a lot about PED’s in this forum. Of course, to me PED is my initials. For him (and sports fans) it is performance enhancing drugs. He asks why sports doesn’t do more about it. There are so many people who do it that every time we see someone who might be doing it or who suddenly has a good season, we assume they are doing them too. It would be a service to the players and the fans to have rigorous testing or none at all.
CHRIS RYAN AND ROBERT MAYS-“The NFL Coaches Family Portrait By the Numbers”
A silly analysis of a photo of NFL coaches.
WESLEY MORRIS-“Jodie Foster’s Big Night”
What exactly did Jodie Foster say at the Golden Globes? (This was in January and everybody talked about it and now it’s September and I’ve completely forgotten about it—funny ephemera of pop culture).
JONATHAN ABRAMS-“Out of Africa”
A serious look at trying to bring basketball to Africa. How the culture and language problems make it very difficult to establish any real cohesion in the diverse country. But there are a few examples of boys coming from Africa and benefiting from host families and then heading back to help those who love basketball back home. The main focus is on a 15-year-old Alexis Wangmene who came to the States (and left his family!) to try to gain an education and basketball skills. It’s a heartfelt story.
MOLLY LAMBERT-“Modern Love”
About the show Catfish which just goes to show we can sink even lower as a culture.
CHUCK KLOSTERMAN-“Mental Health Protocol”
About Royce White again. Last time there was a lengthy look at him. Now we get to hear that he thinks that everyone has some kind of mental health issue.
ANDY GREENWALD-“Eat Bray Love”
How cooking shows have gone from educational to crazy and annoying. He dislikes Top Chef and the new Anthony Bourdain show The Taste (which he says is awful) but he likes a decent show called Chopped.
ZACH LOWE-“The Fragile Science of Basketball Chemistry”
Sure the Heat were great this year, but it’s the way they evolved as a team, creating chemistry, that is so impressive.
RAFE BARTHOLOMEW-“The Pariah”
Timothy Bradley beat Manny Pacquiao in a disputed judges call. Instead of rising to fame, he has been avoided like the plague.
BILL SIMMONS-“The All-Manti Te’o Mailbag
Remember that crazy story about the football guy with the dead girlfriend who turned out to be fake? I never really understood the story and while they spend a lot of time talking and theorizing about it I still don’t get it. Did they ever find out the truth about it?
CHRIS BROWN-“Speak My Language”
When you play for the Patriots, you learn their way of doing things—it is simple and efficient, a streamlined version of what other coaches try to do.
KIRK GOLDSBERRY-“The Evolution of LeBron James”
Using diagrams, we see how much of a different player James is in just the last few years with The Heat. This article has made me want to watch James in a game while he is at his peak. So, Heat vs Bulls at the end of October, you’re on my schedule.
SEAN McINDOE-“The Non-Hater’s Guide to the NHL”
Even people who hate everyone in the NHL (which is everyone) can agree that there are some players who are universally admired: Martin Brodeur, Pavel Satsyuk. Teemu Selanne, Jarome Iginla, Jonathan Toews, Martin St. Louis, Gabriel Landeskog, Patrick Elias (Devils get two!), Ryan Smyth, Steve Sullivan, Saku Koivu, Henrik Lundqvist.
ALEX PAPPADEMAS-“God Needs a Hobby”
A look at Dan Harmon and his podcast Harmontown. Harmon seems like he might be a crazy alcoholic, but he’s also pretty darn funny.
MARK TITUS-“Duke’s Ignominious Son”
Everybody hates Christian Laettner, but that’s only because he’s pretty and he made The Shot
MARK LISANTI-“Three Days in Austin”
Dealing with the craziness of the South by Southwest film festival. Sounds awful.
HUA HSU-“The Alien Has Landed”
Soccer legend Ronaldo returns to Old Trafford
BILL SIMMONS-“The Greatest Action Franchise That Ever Was”
Live blogging the Fast and Furious 6 trailer. I admit I may have to see these films after reading this.
ZACH LOWE-“Lights, Camera, Revolution”
There’s some kind of new technology that will change the NBA forever. I pretty much don’t care.
TESS LYNCH-“Nostalgia Bites”
Watching old Real World episodes shows how much things have changed in reality TV, but also how much certain behaviors are not new.
BRIAN PHILLIPS-“Maradona, Then and Now”
Maradona was an amazing kid—at 15 he was remarkable at his ball control. Now at 52 he’s a crazy loon. What exactly happened in between?
ANDY GREENWALD-“From Big to Small, From Movie to TV”
Why not make Men in Black into a TV show—with some other film recommendations.
AMOS BARSHAD-“How Soccer Explains Israel”
I didn’t expect to enjoy this but I found it very interesting. An Israeli soccer team has signed two Muslim players and it has caused incredible animosity and even arson. How this look at a team is like a microcosm of the whole Israeli situation.
LOUISA THOMS-“Back to School”
Missy Franklin won a ton of medals in the Olympics. And then she went back to high school. What’s it like to be on her team at Regis Jesuit?
WESLEY MORRIS-“Run, Frank, Run”
Frank Ocean apparently wasn’t as huge as I thought he was.
MALCOLM GLADWELL AND CHUCK KLOSTERMAN–“The Lies He Told”
More about Manti Te’o. This discussion was a bit more helpful about what happened and how crazy it is.
CHRIS RYAN AND REMBERT BROWNE-“A List of Possible Reasons for Rob Gronkowski’s Arm Infection”
Hypothetical humor.
JORDAN CONN-“The Invisible Man”
Marc Gasol is extremely respected by scouts and agents, but the fans all think of him as Pau Gasol’s chubby little brother.
REMBERT BROWNE-“French Quarter Lessons”
While in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Browne decided to go to a bunch of used bookstores. This is very funny and enjoyable.
JAY CASPIAN KANG-“Fiercely Disputed”
Mike Tyson’s one man show is weird and strangely affecting.
KATIE BAKER-“Do Svidanya to All That”
Several NHL players went to Russia’s KHL during the lockout. And some don’t want to come back.
CHRIS RYAN-“The All-Star Circus”
NBA All-Star weekend is a crazy circus (and sounds worse than the above SXSW festival).
CHUCK KLOSETRMAN AND ALEX PAPPADEMAS-“The Nobituary”
There was a serious rumor that David Bowie was on death’s door. Klosterman and Pappademas imagine writing his obituary.
DAVID SHOEMAKER-“Glenn Beck vs. WWE”
The WWE has always had racists as part of the act. What happens when some goons start acting like the Tea Party?
DAVID JACOBY-“The Pure Heart Meets The Bachelor”
Jacoby’s grandmother watches The Bachelor and he feels badly for her.
STEVEN HYDEN-“Is This It?”
The Strokes’ fifth album had just come out [really?]. It could be their last, but Hyden thinks their last two have been quite good.
BILL SIMMONS-“The Heat in Hindsight”
The Miami Heat came close to breaking the longest winning streak in the NBA. Simmons looks at the fallout and who “wins” and “loses” in the effort.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“Bleu, Blanc et Rouge”
I had no idea that Charlie Pierce was a Canadiens fan!
KATIE BAKER-“The Ethics of a Family Plan”
Is it ethical to pretend that you are married to your roommate to get a family discount a ta gym? Hell yes.
EMILY YOSHIDA-“A Dark Force”
J.J. Abrams is going to direct the next Star Wars films. Why, when sci-fi is so multifaceted and so different is everything coming down to J.J. Abrams?
SEAN FENNESSEY-“The Case Against Justin Timberlake”
Timberlakes’s previous album was amazing. Then he took years off to make (bad) film and (good) TV. His star would only continue to rise if he stopped making music and only hinted that he would make another album. But the release of his new album (which isn’t that good) can only hurt him.
BRYAN CURTIS-“Waiting for Bettman”
While many New Yorker’s didn’t care about the NHL strike, Canadian writers camped out waiting for Bettman to announce the strike was over.
WESLEY MORRIS-“30 Rock Landed on Us” 30 Rock was many things, but it dealt with racial issues (at least between blacks and whites) better than any show.
RANY JAZAYERLI-“Fall of the Evil Empire”
The New York Yankees look like they won’t make the playoff this year (this was written in March and as of my writing this they have a slim chance at getting the wild card slot). It will be the firs time in a while, perhaps, just perhaps, it’s the start of a new drought for the Evil Empire.
BILL BARNWELL-“The Master Raven”
Ozzie Davis knows how to pick players for the Baltimore Ravens.
REMBERT BROWNE AND DUSTIN PARKER-The Best Chappelle’s Show Sketches of All Time”
Done as a series of cartoons (by Parker); Browne picks his eight favorites:
Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Prince
Wayne Brady’s Show
Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Rick James
Black Bush (especially now that Obama is president)
Clayton Bigsby: Black White Supremacist
Making the Band (P. Diddy)
The Racial Draft (Tiger Woods Now 100% Black)
The Niggar Family (uncomfortable and hilarious no matter how many times you watch it).
Once again, there’s another great issue of Grantland. Once again, I wish they would follow up on some of their speculative stories. But it’s fun to have a time capsule of events that occurred just a few months ago and yet which I have totally forgotten about.
And here’s the cover of The Outer Limits in non 3D style (which I haven’t see before)
SOUNDTRACK: TOM BROUSSEAU-Tiny Desk Concert #347 (April 12, 2014)
I only know of Tom Brousseau from NPR–both All Songs Considered and WNYC’s Soundcheck have played him a lot. Of course, I had no idea what he looked like (an didn’t expect what he does look like either). His voice is a little high-pitched (the Tiny Desk site says people think he’s a woman, although I don’t really hear that), but it’s very compelling. Mostly you listen to Brousseau for the storytelling lyrics.
Re: creates soundtracks for a dystopian world. Where metal and computers are integrated with nature. So a track like “Golem” which opens this album starts with what sounds like a golem walking–trudging desolate feet. Then there’s big bells that echo throughout. The multi-note music that anchors the song is eerie and enticing.
I Just Read About That... 