SOUNDTRACK: KISHI BASHI-Live at the 9:30 Club May 1, 2012 (2012).
I had never heard of Kishi Bashi before this concert. Kishi Bashi is a one man band headed by K. Ishibashi. He plays violin and sings and, as is the trend it seems, he records and loops his own beats and melodies. Whether or not this is overdone by others, Kishi Bashi does an amazing job. His songs are powerful and his soaring falsetto is fantastic.
I find myself singing lines from “Atticus in the Dessert” all the time. And who could resist the title “I am the Antichrist to You.” Hearing him pull this stuff off live is really impressive. When he’s not sampling and beatboxing, his violin is gorgeous–I never really understood the folks who could violin and sing at the same time, but he does it wonderfully. He’s got a funny, charming stage presence and this whole brief set is really enjoyable. Check it out (audio and video!).
[READ: September 1, 2012] Elliot Allagash
I really enjoy Simon Rich’s humorous pieces. But somehow I totally missed that he had written a novel (or two–the second one came out in August).
This novel eschews Rich’s humor style–there’s no absurdist takes on life–and focuses on a plot. The plot is pretty straightforward. Seymour Herson is a middle school loser–everyone picks on him. In a nice twist on the high school loser, Seymour’s family is pretty cool. They play Monopoly every Friday night, they eat together and are generally supportive of each other. While they might be somewhat geeky, they are not played as straw men for Seymour’s problems.
At his school there are three rows of lunch tables. The popular kids sit at the first row. The rest of the kids sit at the second row. And Seymour sits in the final row. By himself. In part that is his plan, so he can score a minimum of 5 chocolate milks at lunchtime without the other kids seeing. Then one day Elliot Allagash sits next to him. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 