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Archive for the ‘Alice Munro’ Category

Patrick Lane–“Red Dog, Red Dog” (The Walrus, October/November 2008)

Posted in Alice Munro, Canadian Content, King's X, Marriage Trouble, Patrick Lane, Short Story, The Walrus on November 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

walrus-octSOUNDTRACK: KING’s X-XV (2008).

xvIt’s funny that it was the release of this King’s X album that got me to re-listen to all of them.  I was really pleased with this record when it came out because I had felt that I wasn’t enjoying King’s X as much as I used to.  But upon listening to this one again, I found I didn’t like it as much as some of their other more recent releases.

I’m not sure what it is, but something seems slightly less substantive on this record than say, Ogre Tones.  But I don’t think it’s the songs themselves, if that makes sense.  It has to be something about the overall feel of the disc or the track listing or even the production that detracts, because there’s not really a bad song on the disc.

“Pray” is as excellent a rocking single as you’ll hear these days: the bass is that cool watery sounding bass that Doug has been experimenting with lately.  And, while some may think it is a return to religious songs, I think it is just the opposite.  “Blue” and “Repeating Myself” are decent ballads from Doug and Ty respectively.  While “Rocket Ship” is another one of their Huh? songs, with the inscrutable chorus “Would you like to spend the night in my new rocket ship?”

But overall, the album seems to spend more time with their softer side.  Not that’s there’s anything wrong with their softer side, but their softer side has changed somewhat.  On earlier discs, the softer songs were beautiful, layered, harmonized ballads, but these seem to be mid-tempo rockers.  “Julie,” “I Just Want to Live,” and ” I Don’t Know” are mellow certainly but they lack the celestial quality of their earlier songs.  Again, they’re not bad, but they’re just good songs.  But lest you think they’ve gotten too old to rock, there’s still “Alright” and “Move” which get things back on the harder/faster track. The album ends with the raucous, awesome sing-along “Go Tell Somebody.”

There are two bonus songs (what does a bonus song mean anymore anyhow?  They used to be there to get people to buy CDs over LPs, so, where are these “bonus” tracks NOT available?”).  Love and Rockets (Hell’s Screaming)” is the heaviest/darkest thing on this album, or possible any album by them.  While “No Lie” is a fun little blues jam.

In re-listening, I can’t say that I dislike any of the songs and hearing any song by itself would be great. And even a few days later while writing this, “Alright” (one day (one day) it’s gonna be (it’s gonna be) alright (alright) alright! (alright!) just won’t leave my head.  But somehow the flow of the album is just not quite perfect.  Maybe I miss the gorgeous harmonies, or some of the real highs and lows of a typical KIng’s X album.  In fact, this may be their most mainstream sounding disc, suitable for all, and maybe that’s why I don’t like it quite as much.

[READ: November 6, 2008] “Red Dog, Red Dog”

This story follows in a tradition of rural Canadian stories full of bleakness and despair. Its temperament reminded me somewhat of Alice Munro, except there was no really redemption, which you often get from Atwood. (more…)

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Alice Munro–“Face” (New Yorker, September 8, 2008)

Posted in Alice Munro, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Canadian Content, King's X, New Yorker, Short Story on September 9, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KING’S X-Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (1989).

I loved Out of the Silent Planet and never thought there’d be anything better.  But then just a year later, King’s X put out Gretchen Goes to Nebraska.  It ranks up there with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of weird titles the belie how wonderful the contents really are.  I still have no idea what the title actually means, but that’s okay.  I put on the disc, and relish the music.

The opening is as otherworldly as the cover.  It starts with a sitar chord that plays long and slowly fades…into a great high pitched bass line.  And, then comes the dissonance once again.  The dissonance isn’t quite as harsh this time around, but it plays off the other instruments even more.  And just as the dissonance ends, you get the harmonies.  All of the elements of King’s X are back, and even better!

The next song, “Over My Head” is just an amazing bit of music.  It incorporates everything: gospel sing- alongs, great guitar riffs, he even mentions his grandma!  Fabulous.  “Summerland” may even top “Goldilox” in terms of fantastic ballads.  The harmonies on it are simply through the roof.

I’m going through the song list and there’s not a bad song to be found.  There’s still overtones of Christian rock in evidence, but the message becomes even more about spirituality than simple Christianity as on “Mission”: “What’s the mission of the preacher man, some are true, some do lie.”  There’s also the great “Pleaides” a song not sung by Doug Pinnick, which allows Ty to let his voice shine through.  The disc ends with “The Burning Down” a song that encapsulates the mellower side of King’s X, including an extended instrumental denouement which plays more with fun instrumentation (and shouts of Ow Sigh Planet).

Brilliant.

[READ: September 7, 2008] “Face”

I’ve talked about Alice Munro a few times lately, so I’ll skip any introduction and get to the heart of the matter.  This story concerns a young man born with an enormous birthmark on his face: the entire side of his face is covered with the  purplish mark.  His father is utterly repulsed by him, and as far as the narrator can recall, only looked him in the eye once when he was born, and that was it.  His mother tried to protect him by home schooling him until he was old enough to go to college.  By the time he went to school, he felt he was old enough to withstand any of the abuses that would be hurled at him.  Although, frankly, the disdain of his father was worse than anything the kids could dole out. (more…)

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Alice Munro–“Free Radicals” (New Yorker, February 11 & 18, 2008)

Posted in Alice Munro, Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Elf, M. Ward, New Yorker, She & Him, Short Story, Threats, Zooey Deschanel on July 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SHE & HIM-Volume One (2008).

If you’ve seen Elf, and I’m sure you have, then you know that Zooey Deschanel has a beautiful voice. This record is a collection of her songs, sung by her with instrumentation by M. Ward, whose music I don’t know. The thing I learned about her voice is that it comes across as a very naked sound. It’s a little bit disconcerting in this day of vibrato and AutoTune, to hear someone singing so purely and with no affectation. That was evident in Elf, but it is really brought to the front here, where she sings an a capella track as well as some songs with limited instrumentation.

The bulk of the record is done in a style like 50s & 60s girl groups–The Ronettes, The Shirelles, and the Phil Spector wall of sound style. Her voice is suited perfectly to this kind of material. Even the recording style is very clean–one or two tracks sound like they could be from that era, just recently rediscovered. The rest of the songs have a country feel, a stripped down heartbreaky feel. And once again, her voice sounds great.

The whole collection just seems so sweet and unaffected, it’s almost impossible to believe that it was all written and recorded in 2008.

The only problem for me is that I don’t really like 60s girl groups, and I don’t really like country that much. So, really, I don’t like the CD all that much. I’ve given it a couple of spins, and it definitely overcomes the things that I don’t like about those styles. I even found myself singing two of the songs to myself this morning. It definitely deserves the great press, I just wish it was more my thing.

[READ: July 1, 2008] “Free Radicals”

The second Munro story in two days for me. And many of the elements are in place: idyllic, Canadian life, female protagonist, and a fairly unspeakable horror. (more…)

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Alice Munro–“Deep-Holes” (New Yorker, June 30, 2008)

Posted in Alice Munro, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, The Weakerthans on July 11, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE WEAKERTHANS-Reunion Tour (2007).

I have talked about some previous Weakerthans albums, and this is their newest. I also think it’s their best. The sequencing of it is really fantastic. It has some catchy poppy songs followed by some of the quieter, more unusual tracks [“Elegy for Gump Worsley”, a very spare tribute using plucked banjo and little else, followed by “Sun in an Empty Room” a song that gets more catchy with each listen.] It also has a fantastic “single” in “Civil Twilight,” as well as what is without a doubt the best song ever to use curling as a metaphor for a relationship: “Tournament of Hearts.” Everything about “Tournament” is great. It’s catchy and fun, with all kinds of curling going on. And, maybe some folks will look up what a bonspeil is and get interested in the great sport. We also continue the saga of Virtue the Cat from the last album.

Samson continues to write beautiful songs. They all seem so simple and effortless. It lulls you into either singing along or really listening to the lyrics. His lyrics are consistently above average too. He talks about “diabetic moons.” For sheer originality I enjoy the line ” So praise the things I can’t forget…with burgers and a silhouette” for rhyming silhouette, not cigarette (the obvious choice). And how many rock songs start with a line like this: “It had something to do with the rain leeching loamy dirt.”

I’m really quite delighted with this record, and although they seem to wait 4 years to put them out, I’ll be ready for the next one in 2011.

[READ: June 30, 2008] “Deep-Holes”

I have yet to read Munro’s Runaway, but I have now read maybe five of her short stories, and I consistently like them. Runaway is on my bedside, and I’ll get to it eventually. In the meantime, I guess I just have to keep looking in magazines and I’ll have more from her.

I hesitate to say there is something particularly Munro-like about her work, having read only a few stories, but I feel like I know what I’m to expect when I start one: a laid back pace, beautiful detail, and, it seems, a great sadness that looms over the characters.

In this case the sadness is brought on by the “deep holes” of the title. Sally and Alex go on a picnic to celebrate the publication of Alex’s first solo geology paper. They go to a site that figures largely in the work, a site with a caution sign warning of “deep-holes” The deep holes turn out to be, in fact, very large, very deep holes, which, predictably, one of their two boys falls into. Kent, the unlucky boy, is hurt quite badly, but is saved by his father. He and his father had a somewhat contentious relationship before, and this confuses things even more. All of this happens in the first two pages, and there is quite a lot left, so don’t feel that I gave anything away.

The remainder of the story concerns what happens to Kent after the accident. He distances himself from the family, corresponding only occasionally. At the time of the accident, Kent had a baby sister.  As she gets older, she wants to learn more about the brother she never knew.  She is the one who finally uncovers his whereabouts and tells her mom.  When Sally finally encounters him again, the conflict inevitably turns personal. Munro really gets into the mind and spirit of her characters. And, you can really see Sally grow older emotionally over the course of this short story.

Munro continues to impress me with her quiet, beautifully composed stories.

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Alice Munro–“Fiction” (Harper’s, August 2007)

Posted in Alice Munro, Antony and the Johnsons, Bjork, Canadian Content, Digression, Harper's, Marriage Trouble, Short Story, The Sugarcubes on September 17, 2007| Leave a Comment »

harpers.gifSOUNDTRACK: BJORK-Volta (2007).

volta.jpgOkay, so Bjork is from Mars. Volta is her newest album. I’ve been a fan of Bjork since the Sugarcubes, way back when. I’ve also really enjoyed her solo recordings. I used to get all of her singles and videos and things, but in recent years she seems to have released a new full length reissue of a concert or remastered disc on a monthly basis. So, I had to go cold turkey.

Then Volta came out. I saw a live performance of two of the songs on Saturday Night Live, and they were pretty different, even for her. It seems like Bjork has had a unifying sound on each of the last few albums. On Volta, it is a horn section. This is a more organic sound than some of her recent electronic releases. And, overall, I find that it doesn’t work all that well for her.

Bjork’s voice is, and I mean no disrespect because I love her voice, but it has many similar qualities to a horn. It is loud, she can hold notes for a long time, and it can often be quite brash. And, she is an alto, which many of the horns are too. So, I find that her voice blends in too much with the music. Whereas on previous records, her voice really stood out. There’s a similar problem in the duet with the ubiquitous Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons). Their voices are so similar, that any sense of conflict or drama is really lost. (I’m not mocking Antony’s voice. It is quite sublime on his own records, but I feel that it doesn’t do much for “Dull Flame of Desire,” even though the song itself is great.)

(more…)

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