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Archive for the ‘David Hering’ Category

Consider David Foster Wallace [essays 4-6] (2010)

Posted in Books about writers, David Foster Wallace, David Hering, Essays, Letters to Cleo, Math, Research, WFNX 101.7 FM--Boston, MA, Word usage on November 22, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LETTERS TO CLEO-“Cruel to be Kind” (1999).

I’ve liked Letters to Cleo since I first heard them back on WFNX radio in Boston.  And since I had a dog named Cleo and their album was called Aurora Gory Alice, how could I not love them?

This cover of Nick Lowe’s song comes pretty close to the end of their career when they were poppier and slightly less indie.  In fairness, they were always a poppy band and their hooks were irresistible, but they had a bit more of an edge in the beginning.

This cover is pretty spot on.  There’s not a lot of “Cleo” put into it.  It sounds a lot like the original, only sung by the wonderfully voiced Kay Hanley (she sang Josie’s parts in the (terrible) Josie and the Pussycats movie, the title song for My Friends Tigger & Pooh and (gasp) as a backing singer for a Miley Cyrus tour (that’s the sound of my indie heart breaking).  I love her voice (she has a strange pronunciation/accent of some words that I find endearing), so I find the LTC version better than the original, but it’s honestly not all that different.

[READ: Week of November 16, 2010] Consider David Foster Wallace [essays 4-6]

These three essays cover the novella “Westward…” and Infinite Jest.  I was pleased to begin the essays about IJ because I know that novel far better than I know the short stories or Broom of the System.

As I mentioned in the previous entry:  because I don’t have a lot to say about the pieces, I’m only going to mention things that I found puzzling/confusing.  But be assured that if I don’t mention the vast majority of the article it’s because I found it interesting/compelling/believable.  I don’t feel comfortable paraphrasing the articles’ argument.  Besides, what would be the point of that? (more…)

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Consider David Foster Wallace (2010) [Preface & Introduction]

Posted in Big Books, Books about writers, David Foster Wallace, David Hering, Essays, Fun Boy Three, Language, Research, The Specials, Universities on November 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FUN BOY THREE-“Our Lips Are Sealed” (1983).

In an interview with David Foster Wallace’s sister, she says that David spent an entire summer listening to this song.  Most of us know the Go-Go’s version which is bubbly and playful (even though the lyrics–which are the same–are quite dark).

I’ve had this song on some compilation or other for years and I’ve alway thought of it as a kind of novelty.  And yet the more I listened to it, the more I liked it (and the more I liked it more than the Go-Go’s version).

Terry Hall, the singer of Fun Boy Three (and The Specials), co-wrote the song with Jane Wiedlin.  And it’s funny to hear how very different the two cowriters made their versions.

There’s definitely a new romantics vibe to the Fun Boy Three version, but the great bass backing vocals bring a coolly mysterious element to the song.  And if you check out the live version, you can see the polar opposite stage manner from Belinda Carlisle.  Terry Hall makes Robert Smith seems gregarious and silly.  And yet, for all of the darkness of the song, it’s still hard not to bop along to.  It’s pretty wonderful.

[READ: November 7, 2010] Consider David Foster Wallace

A group read of Consider David Foster Wallace is currently underway.  I had planned to read along and contribute weekly posts here.  I read the first two articles and, as it turns out, I have literally nothing useful to say about them.  And I certainly don’t have enough to contribute a weekly opinion about them.

It’s not that they are bad, not at all.  The onus is mine.  I am out of academia for something like a decade now.  I am totally out of practice for coming up with clever arguments and rebuttals to well researched pieces.  I have also seen a few people’s comments and critiques of these pieces and I realize that I am just not in the right mindset to be a productive member of the academic community.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to read it and write a post when I’m done (I’ll likely follow along with the discussions, so this book won’t get posted for quite some time).

In the meantime, I wanted to say a few words about the preface and introduction.  (more…)

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