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Archive for the ‘Fyodor Dostoyevsky’ Category

Sergio De La Pava–“One Defense: Twenty-five years of fighting mass incarceration on court” (Harper’s, October 2020)

Posted in Courtroom, Drugs, Essays, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Harper's, Non-fiction, Prison, Racism, Rage Against the Machine, Sergio De La Pava, Tom Morello on October 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE-“Killing the Name” (1991).

I was living in Boston when this song came out.  It was an electrifying shot across the bow of institutional racism–thirty years before that terms was on everyone’s lips.

This song was amazingly catchy and very vulgar.

It had few lyrics, but they were repeated over and over–a chant, a call to action.

Some of those that work forces
Are the same that burn crosses…
Well now you do what they told ya…
Those who died are justified
For wearing the badge
They’re the chosen whites
You justify those that died
By wearing the badge
They’re the chosen whites…

The song begins with a staccato opening, then some thumping bass and drums.  A cow bell and off goes the riff.  It’s as jagged and aggressive as angry as the lyrics.

The bridge is a pounding three note blast as the sections repeat.

Then comes a guitar solo.  One thing I remember distinctly when this album came out was that most of the talk was of Tom Morello’s guitar playing.  The album stated in the liner notes “no samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this record.”  It was an odd disclaimer, but with the bizarre sounds that Morello made, it was fascinating to wonder how he did it all.

The solo came at the four minute mark and, if radio wanted to play the song, they could fade it right there (that’s still plenty long for the radio).  But if they didn’t, then the chaos began, with crashing drums, and a slow build as Zach de la Rocha started quietly and got louder the simple but effective refrain

Fuck you. I won’t do what you tell me.

A band anda  room full of people chanting that song might just frighten the authorities a bit.

And that’s why in 2020, that song is being played a lot.

[READ: October 15, 2020] “On Defense”

A quote attributed to Dostoyevsky (who evidently never said it) is”

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.

This quote is in the visitor center of the Manhattan Detention Complex (known as The Tombs). De La Pava says The Tombs is “one of the most hideous places on earth.”

I have really enjoyed Sergio De La Pava’s fiction.  I knew that he was involved in the New York City court system (his novels were too detailed about the system for him not to be).  This essay is a non-fiction account of his time as a public defender (he is still in the system, and is now the legal director of New York County Defender Services).

It seems like the public defender is not always appreciated–he or she stands in the way of putting criminals behind bars.  But De La Pava’s experience (along with many of the accused) shows that he has the really hard but important task of keeping innocent people from unfair punishment. (more…)

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Tobias Wolff–“Awake” (New Yorker, August 25, 2008)

Posted in Big Thief, Fears, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Homer, New Yorker, Russia, Sex, Short Story, Sleep, Tiny Desk Concert, Tobias Wolff on January 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

TNY 8.25.08 cvr.inddSOUNDTRACK: BIG THIEF-Tiny Desk Concert #562 (August 29, 2016).

bigthiefBob Boilen absolutely loves Big Thief’s debut album (it made his top ten this year).  I think it’s really good, but I don’t quite love it the way he does.

But I think their first song, “Masterpiece” is really a great song.  And in this Tiny Desk Concert, they play it with a slightly different feel.  It seems to allow the sounds of the guitars to come through a little more.  Like the album, though, the harmonies are wonderful.

When the video started, the camera focused on just Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, and since the first song starts with just the two of them I wasn’t even sure of the whole band was there.  They are, although it’s odd how isolated the rhythms section looks in this video.

“Paul” is a mellow song with a strangely subdued and yet catchy chorus.  It’s kind of funny to watch Buck Meek really getting down to what is a fairly mellow track–although his guitar parts are pretty cool blasts of music.

“Lorraine” also get a mellow treatment here.  For this version it’s just her singing and playing the guitar.  It works very well in this Tiny setting and her voice really shines.

[READ: March 1, 2016] “Awake”

This story is about a college Economics major who just can’t get enough sex.

Well, that’s how it starts anyhow.  Richard is lying in bed next to Ana.  He moves in close behind her, hinting.  But she moves away quickly (she is actually asleep, so that’s a reflex).  He is annoyed although he shouldn’t be–I mean they did it twice already that night.

So instead of thinking about sex he decides to think about something else.  But what? (more…)

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Richard Ayoade and Avi Korine–The Double (2014)

Posted in Avi Korine, Chris O'Dowd, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jesse Eisenberg, Kim Jung Si, Mia Wasikowska, Noah Taylor, Revenge, Richard Ayoade, The Double, The IT Crowd, Wallace Shawn on June 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

doubleSOUNDTRACK: KIM JUNG MI-“The Sun” (1973).

kjmsunThis song, along with a few other unexpected tracks accompany the score for The Double which was composed by Andrew Hewitt.  Kim Jung Mi is a South Korean singer (singing in Korean) and this track is hers from the 1970s.

Interestingly, the melody is conventionally Western (played on acoustic guitars), but as I said the vocals are all in Korean.  The song has a 70s folk (with orchestra) feel, and while there are a lot of Westernisms about the song, it still sounds “foreign.”

The song is pretty and eventually builds to adding some strings.  However at nearly 7 minutes without a lot of change (lots of La La Las, maybe like “Hey Jude”?), it’s a bit (well, a lot) too long.

[READ: June 13, 2014] The Double

I saw this book at work and immediately grabbed it because I love Richard Ayoade (Moss on The IT Crowd).  I didn’t even know what this was, I just had to see it.  Then I saw that it was that it a play and I was intrigued, especially when I saw that Chris O’Dowd (also from The IT Crowd) was in it.

Then I read the introductions by Korine and Ayoade and learned that this is actually a film.  When I looked online I saw that it opened in limited release last week.  Holy cow!  The film stars Jessee Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska and also features Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor and J Mascis (as a janitor).

The story is based on Dostoevsky’s short story “The Double” (so you know it’s not especially cheery).  And, although I assumed it would still be funny (given Ayoade’s credentials), it is not as funny (at least in print) as one might expect.  The other weird thing was that I kept picturing Moss as the lead character (some lines seem very Moss-like), so should I ever see this it will be weird to hear the lines coming from Eisenberg. (more…)

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