THE DVD that came with Issue #11 was listed as a “Deleted Scenes” bonus feature for this issue. The colophon of the book explains in great detail what they wanted to do and how they went about doing it all. And that’s all quite amusing in itself.
Now, of course, there are no “deleted scenes” up front. The DVD is, at first glance, authors reading from the works in the book. But as you scroll down the menu, there are some deleted scenes, as well as behind the scenes features and audio commentary. All in all there’s about two hours worth of stuff crammed in here and some of it is quite interesting.
DELETED SCENES
This is where the authors read from their works. They each read between 3 and 6 minutes, with some of them reading different sections (Samantha Hunt), but most of them reading a chunk. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE ANTLERS-Live at the Black Cat, Washington DC, May 11, 2009 (2009).
I mentioned that I was uncertain about my appreciation of this band. And I wondered how they would hold up to a longer show. The answer is surprisingly well. The sound quality of this set isn’t great–the levels seem way too loud (not sure if that’s the band or the recording) and I really can’t understand the words, but the music is very moody and evocative and I like it quite a lot.
This set comes from the album Hospice, which is a concept album about a person dying of bone cancer (with lyrics like “they told me that there was no saving you” and song titles like “Kettering”). Earlier descriptions made me think the album was a major drag to listen to– I mean the subject alone is exhausting–but musically it’s a different story. There’s lush strings and interesting guitars. And, at least live, the band can make a holy racket.
I’m a little surprised by the number of keyboard errors in “Atrophy.” I mean an occasional bum note is fine, but there’s a bunch in that track. It’s very weird. But that is made up for by the vocals which are angsty and impassioned, especially on the final song “Cold War.” The NPR site has three tracks available for viewing and I must say that watching the band is more exciting than just listening to them. But I have really gained an appreciation for The Antlers.
This crazy title for this Issue/Post comes because the cover and spine of the book are all text. Indeed, the book is gorgeously bound in black leather(ish) with shiny gold print. Each author gets a summary of his or her work and a note that he or she is free (see each story below).
I did not read Issue #10 yet because it came out as a thrilling paperback, and I’ve been putting it off for a reason even I can’t quite fathom. I anticipate reading that one last. Again, no idea why. In some ways, Issue #11 picks up where Issue #9 left off. There’s lots of text on the cover, there’s letters and everything else that makes it look like McSweeney’s. But as I said this one seems more somehow. It’s the hardcover. And, it’s also the DVD that accompanies the book. I have a hard time believing I’ve owned this book for almost ten years and never watched the DVD but I finally got around to it. More on that soon.
This issue contains letters, fiction, non-fiction and a play that picks up from Issue #9 (more…)
Субито (pronounced Subito) is from the Ukraine. They’re a bunch of miners and they play music. In addition to this cover, which is generating some meme buzz on the internet, they have a few other songs (and videos) of note.
This cover is notable in that the only real difference between this song and the original is the prominence of the button accordion. The vocals are nearly identical (he’s got his German goth down perfectly), and the rest of the band plays quiet heavily (I love the triangle instruments!). But the accordion changes the entire texture and tone of the song. It’s still ominous (I mean, those vocals!) but the accordion adds an air of whimsy that undermines the menace and yet also somehow makes the rest of the song seem even more menacing.
Of course the video is quite silly which leads one to assume that they’re not taking their version too seriously and yet their playing is impeccable and their backing vocals are right on.
So, yes, I rather like this song, and I like being able to include the word Субито in my post.
[READ: November 10, 2011] “The Good Samaritan”
Joyce Carol Oates has a wonderful way of turning her stories into something dark. Even if it starts out in a rather innocent light.
This story is set in 1981 on a train coming from Utica, NY. The narrator, Sonia, finds a woman’s wallet stuffed into the seat of the car. The story begins with Sonia thinking about the woman, wondering what she’s like, looking at the photos of herself and her family and sort of daydreaming what it would be like to be older and married. It’s only after a brief reverie that she, a poor college student, checks the money to see what’s there. (About $25). She hopes that the woman is old enough to give her a reward, but assumes she is not.
Sonia is to be heading home to help her mother with her ailing grandmother, something she’s not looking forward to. So she decides that she will return the wallet to the woman who, after all, lives only a few blocks from the station.
What is wonderful about this story is that this innocent setup masks the real story, which is never fully explored, but is hinted at enough to keep us all guessing. When Sonia arrives at the house, the woman’s husband is home and he seems….surprised that Sonia has brought this wallet home. She feels sympathy for him when he begins to explain that his wife ran off and must have dropped this wallet on this train while she was fleeing. Sonia wants to help the man in some way. He invites her inside and she thinks of all the things she could do for him–stupid things like make dinner or maybe even look at her things to see is she can help figure out where her wife went. She suggests this last idea and he accepts. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: KANYE WEST-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).
Before buying this album I really only knew of Kanye West as a loudmouthed guy who tweeted a lot and told off George Bush. But then everyone was raving about this album (Pitchfork gave it a 10 out of 10!). So I decided to check it out. And I can’t get over how great an album it is.
Now I’m going to start this review by mentioning a few things I dislike about rap as a genre. 1) I dislike all of the “guests” that appear on a record–I bought the album because for you, not your friends. 2) I dislike excessive use of “unh” and “yeah” at the beginning of a track; when you have nothing to say–let the backing music flow, save your voice for actual words. 3) Rap is still terribly misogynist and vulgar–I’ve nothing against vulgarity per se (I do have something against misogyny) but excessive use is lazy, and it stands out much more in a rap song since you’re saying the words not singing them.
The Kanye West album is guilty of all three of these things, and yet I still think it’s fantastic. The first reason is because it goes beyond a lot of rap by introducing real musical content into the songs. This is not an “all rap is just a beatbox” dismissal of rap, it’s an observation that rap tends to be more about the lyrics and the musical accompaniment can get kind of lazy. West’s songs have (beautiful) choruses, strings, and samples that augment the rest of the song, as opposed to samples that ARE the song. And Kanye West’s voice is great. His delivery is weird and twisted, a little cocky but more funny, with a twisted attitude that is really cool–and to my rather limited palate of rappers, it’s original.
The opening of the disc “Dark Fantasy” has a chorus singing “Can we get much higher” which is catchy and cool (and is used in the promo for The Hangover 2). The switch from this opening to the rapping works well (aside from the FOUR “yea”s). Although I don’t love the yeahs, I love his delivery, and that he occasionally ends lines with these weird “hunh” sounds, that are wonderfully emphatic.
The guests start showing up on track 2, but even the guests can’t detract from the excellent guitars of the song (and the cool solo). And I’ll say about the guests that I like some of them, but for the most part I’d rather hear Kanye.
“Power” samples King Crimson’s, “21st Century Schizoid Man”; anyone who samples King Crimson is alright with me. But to use it so perfectly, to make it part of your song is real genius. It works musically as well as within the overall concept of the album.
“All of the Lights” (with the pretty piano intro) features scads of guests including John Legend, The-Dream, Elly Jackson, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Kid Cudi, Elton John (!), and Rihanna. I can hear some of these people but not Elton John (why would he agree to be on a track where you can’t even hear him?). It is a beautiful pop track nevertheless.
“Monster” is a monster of tracks with yet more guests (I like that some of these guests break with the typical guest, like Bon Iver (!)). And I really like Nicki Minaj’s verse. [I’m not familiar with her work at all (in fact I keep wanting to say Minja instead of Minaj) but her verse with the wonderfully crazy vocal styling she displays is weird and cool and very powerful–I would like to check out her solo album, but the samples I heard weren’t that interesting]. It also has a great repeated chorus of being a “motherfucking monster.”
It’s followed by the even more catchy “So Appalled” (with FIVE guest rappers–some of whom I’ve never heard of but who do a good job. I love Cyhi da Prince’s lyrics: “I am so outrageous, I wear my pride on my sleeve like a bracelet, if God had an iPod, I’d be on his playlist” or “So call my lady Rosa Parks/I am nothing like them niggas baby those are marks/I met this girl on Valentine’s Day/fucked her in May/she found out about April so she chose to March” or this line, “y’all just some major haters and some math minors.”
“Devil in a New Dress” opens with a bunch of “unhs” (which I dislike) but this is nice ballad in the midst of all of the noise (and it has some clever lyrics). It morphs right into “Runaway” one of the more audacious singles I can think of. The piano melody is so simple (a single note to start) and the lyrics show Kanye as a loser in relationships. It’s a surprisingly thoughtful song for a song with a chorus that goes: “Lets have a toast for the douchebags, let’s have a toast for the asshole; a toast for the scumbags every one of them that I know. You been putting up with my shit for way too long…runaway fast as you can.” It gets even more audacious when you realize the last 4 minutes of the song are a solo with distorted voice. And the video…the video is 35 minutes long!
The sentiment of that song is erased by the next one, “Hell of a Life”. It opens with a great distorted guitar riff and lyrics about sex with a porn star. “Blame Game” is a surprisingly honest song about being nasty to your girlfriend (“I’d rather argue with you than be with someone else”). It features a sample of Aphex Twin’s (!) “Avril 14th”. And it’s quite a sad but lovely track. It ends with a very long skit by Chris Rock. I like Chris Rock, but this dialogue is kind of creepy because the woman who Rock is talking to (about the great sex she gave him) seems to be a robotic sample–why not have an actual woman talk to him?
The final track, “Lost in the World” has a lengthy intro by an auto-tuned Bon Iver. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the disc, especially the end, where the processed vocals get even weirder but accent the beat wonderfully. This track morphs into what is the actual final track, “Who Will Survive in America” which is basically a long recitation from Gil-Scot Heron. It works great as an album closer.
So, despite several things I don’t like about the disc, overall, it’s really an amazing release. And I can overlook the few things I dislike because the rest is so solid. I can’t decide if it’s worth looking for his earlier releases. How can they live up to this one?
[READ: May 6, 2011] McSweeney’s #37
This is the first McSweeney’s book where I’ve had to complain about the binding. The glue peeled off pretty quickly from the center cover. Fortunately, the back cover held up well. I’m guessing it’s because there’s an extra book tucked into the front cover which prevents the book from closing nicely when it’s removed.
But aside from that, the design of the cover is very cool. It is meant to look like a book (duh), but actually like a 3-D book, so the bottom right and top left corners are cut on diagonals (this makes for a very disconcerting-looking book inside–with triangles cut across the top). The artwork inside is also cool. In keeping with this appearance, each two page spread looks like a book with a spine drawing in the gutter of the pages). And the bottom of each page has lines making it look like the bottom of a book. (The illustrated margins are by SOPHIA CARA FRYDMAN and HENRY JAMES and there are interior paintings by JONATHAN RUNCIO).
The front matter is wonderful. Although it gives the usual publishing information, the bulk of this small print section is devoted to counteracting all the claims that the book is dead. It offers plenty of statistics to show that not only are the public reading, they are reading more than ever. The introduction also goes a long way towards arguing against the idea that people are reading less now than in the past. When was this “golden age” of readers? There’s also the wonderfully encouraging news that 98% of American are considered literate.
And what’s not to like? A naked man on the cover, a 20 minute song (in 6 parts (which is a sequel to a previous song!)), and a 9 minute instrumental. It’s prog rock heaven.
The “title” track is a continuation of a song from the last album (and so is called Cygnus X-1 Book II; Hemispheres)). It’s a thoughtful look at balancing the two halves of the brain: love and reason. In true epic style, the forces are represented by Apollo, bringer of Wisdom and Dionysus, bringer of Love. Apollo teaches the people how to fend and care for themselves. They’re thrilled and delighted with themselves until they feel kind of empty inside.
Dionysus arrives: he teaches them love and music, dancing and drinking. And they embrace this wholeheartedly. But this leads to cold and starvation.
And so, as is natural, the people were split with the two sides coming forth [hey this sounds familiar]. And of course, they fight each other.
It gets a little confusing from there when the spaceship from Part 1 arrives and after telling his story of going through the black hole it unites the fighting forces (You can also hear musical snippets from Part 1). And yet, musically it works wonders. The epilogue is a peaceful, well-written acoustic bit that sums up the themes of the song quite nicely.
The second side has three tracks: “circumstances,” a short, heavy rocker that I have always loved. I think the main reason is because each time they enter the chorus, Neil plays either 1, 2 or 3 cymbal crashes depending on which verse they’re in (math geek!).
The next song, “The Trees,” is another classic. Starting quietly, with a classical style acoustic guitar, we learn that there is trouble in the forest. As the song rocks to an end, the trees are all keep equal by hatchet, axe and saw. Over the years I’ve thought of many different explanations for this song. And to me that’s the mark of a good story.
The final song is probably my favorite Rush song. “La Villa Strangiato” is a 9 minute instrumental with a dozen sections and is subtitled “An Exercise in Self-Indulgence.” It is a tour de force showcasing all their skills. I was delighted that they had started playing it live again on their more recent tours. And, I was even more delighted to see that the middle section featured Alex telling a ranting, random, crazy story. Alex has always been very silly, but it hasn’t come out all that much musically. So, this was a great opportunity for him to let loose. I have no idea what he was rambling about in any of his bits, but the snippets I’ve heard have all ben quite funny.
This was definitely the heyday of prog rock, and yes, it is sadly missed.
[READ: March 28, 2010] “I.D.”
It’s been a little while since I’ve seen a Joyce Carol Oates story anywhere. For a time, it seemed like I read one every few days. So it’s nice to have her and her gruesome stories back.
This story focuses on a young girl, Lizette. As the story opens we learn that she is feeling the effects of a beer buzz and it is making her 7th grade math class drag on. (We later learn that she had about a quarter of a can of beer, but that’s still too much at 13)!
She is currently concentrating very hard on getting a napkin with her lipstick print to classmate, J.C. J.C. has been left back and he is baaaad. Lizette is wearing lipstick because her mother didn’t come home last night. In fact, Lizette is not sure when her mom last came home. It’s been a few days at least. But then, her mom has left her alone before, so she’s not terribly concerned. (more…)
Many many years ago, I discovered Might magazine. It was a funny, silly magazine that spoofed everything (but had a serious backbone, too). (You can order back issues here). And so, I subscribed around issue 13. When the magazine folded (with issue 16–and you can read a little bit about that in the intro to Shiny Adidas Track Suits) it somehow morphed into McSweeney‘s, and much of the creative team behind Might went with them.
The early volumes (1-5 are reviewed in these pages, and the rest will come one of these days) are a more literary enterprise than Might was. There’s still a lot of the same humor (and a lot of silliness), but there are also lengthy non-fiction pieces. The big difference is that McSweeney’s was bound as a softcover book rather than as a magazine. And, I guess technically it is called Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern as opposed to Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. (more…)
It took me going to Seattle to learn about The New Yorker magazine. I was visiting my friend Rob and he was really surprised that I didn’t read the magazine all the time (my reading always seems to surprise people, see The Believer.)
Upon my first read of the magazine, I was surprised to see that the first twenty pages or so are taken up with upcoming shows: films, concerts, sports, everything. I actually wondered how much content would be left after all that small print.
Since then I have learned that Sasha Frere-Jones writes columns in here quite often. For reasons known only to my head, I was convinced that Sasha was a black woman. Little did I realize that he is not. And that he was in a band that I have a CD of called Ui. He is an excellent resource for all things music, whether I like the artist he’s talking about or not. Some entries are here. This audio entry about Auto-Tune is simply fantastic.
But of course, there’s a lot of content. And the first thing you get are letters. I don’t think I have EVER looked at the letters section. (more…)
This EP has Sandro Perri, mastermind behind Polmo Polpo, playing previously released songs by Polmo Polpo. Why? You may ask. To rework them entirely, of course. The original pieces were electronic and very textured, creatively designed that you almost forget there are songs underneath. And so Perri has brought back the songs underneath the songs, creating an acoustic soundtrack that brings out the subtlety of the originals.
And yet, that’s not exactly correct either. Because three of these tracks appear on the Polmo Polvo release Like Hearts Swelling, in much longer versions. In fact, “Sky Histiorie” drops from 13 to 4 minutes. Indeed, aside from lyrics, the songs are almost unrecognizable except as kernels of ideas from the original.
This is a delicate EP, acoustic and either solo or with suitable accompaniment. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it might get you hooked.
[READ: March 5, 2009] “Pumpkin Head”
As Hadley is waiting in her house, a pick-up truck pulls into her driveway. She vaguely recalls asking Anton Kruppev to stop by. And yet she is full of trepidation while the truck sits in her driveway. As the driver gets out of the car she sees that it is in fact a large pumpkin-headed man. The pumpkin head becomes more sinister as it gets nearer and nearer, unspeaking. Although surely it must be Anton, for that is his truck. Lest you think that JCO has gotten all surreal, the pumpkin head is actually a jack -o-lantern carved out by Anton and worn on his shoulders.
Despite her obvious nervousness, Anton laughs off the joke and presents her with the very large jack-o-lantern as his gift to her. Hadley ‘s thoughts wander as Anton offers to do some work around her house.
Hadley is recently widowed and while she’s not terribly attracted to Anton, his rugged good looks and physical strength let her ponder some possibilities. After inviting him in for a drink, she immediately regrets it.
Anton wanders around her house scrutinizing all of her things, her prizes, her memories of her husband. And, as he drinks more, he grows more belligerent. Belligerent about the head of his laboratory who has stolen Anton’s work (and gotten him fired in the process) and against America itself (a supposedly tolerant nation).
JCO pervades the story with tension. Every move that Anton makes, from his initial awkwardness to his eventual drunkenness is fraught with meaning. And yet the whole time, you get the feeling that Hadley’s just being foolish in her fear. You want her to lighten up. She knows this guys, he’s harmless, almost childlike. But even though she doesn’t let up her guard, her worst fear comes true.
SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Give a Monkey a Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe (1993).
I had actually forgotten about this album, because it was so overshadowed by Truth and Soul and Reality….. When I put it on I wasn’t expecting much (Fishbone had something of a precipitous decline around this time). So, I was amazingly delighted with how much I remembered this album and how much I enjoyed it (which shows to me that I must have listened to it a lot back in college).
This album is much much heavier than anything they’ve done up to this point (I can’t speak for the releases that came after it). It does have some variety of songs, but not nearly as much as their previous releases. The other notable thing is that there’s no short songs on it. There’s none of the one minute songs that they’ve put throughout their discs.
“Swim” was the single from the album and it is heavy and moshy. The video, I seem to recall, was a lot of people crowd surfing. “Black Flowers” slows things down a bit, but unlike previous ballads, this one is still pretty loud. It’s got a great catchy melody, but it’s still quite dark. “Servitude” reminds me of some of King’s X’s s darker moments, with their riffs and dark harmonies. (This just shows how Fishbone is much more metal on this release). Their first “lighter” song is the return to ska with “Unyielding Condition.” It’s a nice let up from the heaviness, and is still catchy. “Lemon Meringue” is the other lighter moment, with a nice bass riff included.
Funk returns with “Properties of Propaganda” and the repeated chants of “Fuk This Shit on Up.” “The Warmth of Your Breath” is hardcore insanity, the type of song that would have been about 2 minutes on another disc sort of overstays its welcome, although the often repeated line “may your dog’s colon be familiar with the warmth of your breath” while barely audible can’t help but raise a smile. And even though “Drunk Skitzo” features Branford Marsalis, it’s still too long for such silliness.
So, it’s really the first half of the disc that I liked a lot…I guess some discs run too long.
I never got a Fishbone CD after this one. The reviews were pretty lousy by then. But of course, the reviews of this one were lousy too, so maybe I’m, selling their later output short.
[READ: January 3, 2009] McSweeney’s # 29
My cover for this book happens to be red. Huh.
This issue comes as a hardcover book. There are planets on the cover, including a die cut hole that shows the moon of the next page.
On the bottom of every page of the book are matchbox labels. Most of them are Eastern European in origin. They were collected by Jane McDevitt, a web designer in the UK. Some of the images are available on her Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/maraid. They are a pretty cool collection of images. And, they brighten up all the work . (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: STARS-Do You Trust Your Friends (2007).
Stars released Set Yourself on Fire in 2005. It was a surprisingly good and catchy pop album from a band I hadn’t heard of before. It was lyrically downbeat, and yet the choruses were sweeping and grand. A great paradox of a record that I liked very much.
Well, they gave the master tapes to a whole bunch of their Canadian band friends and had them remix or redo the songs. This collection is interesting in that the collective work is very strong and everybody makes a remix that is fresh and interesting. I didn’t know too many of the bands before hand (only The Dears) so the sound was pretty new to me. The Dears do an interesting thing with their track: they split their song into two songs, since the original had two distinctive parts. It’s a fun thing to hear.
Most of the roster comes from the Arts & Crafts label, so that may give you an idea of the sound; they include some dance remixes, some indie rock remixes and some straight ahead pop ones. Obviously, the original is better if only for the overall continuity, but this is an interesting and enjoyable listen in and of itself.
[READ: June 30, 2008] “Suicide by Fitness Center”
Joyce Carol Oates must talk in her sleep, and she must have a dictation service that records all of it. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RUSH-Hemispheres (1978).
Or maybe this is my favorite Rush album.
It took me going to Seattle to learn about 
ten. For reasons known only to my head, I was convinced that Sasha was a black woman. Little did I realize that he is not. And that he was in a band that I have a CD of called Ui. He is an excellent resource for all things music, whether I like the artist he’s talking about or not. Some entries are 
SOUNDTRACK: SANDRO PERRI-Plays Polmo Polpo [CST042] (2006).
This EP has Sandro Perri, mastermind behind Polmo Polpo, playing previously released songs by Polmo Polpo. Why? You may ask. To rework them entirely, of course. The original pieces were electronic and very textured, creatively designed that you almost forget there are songs underneath. And so Perri has brought back the songs underneath the songs, creating an acoustic soundtrack that brings out the subtlety of the originals.
SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Give a Monkey a Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe (1993).
I had actually forgotten about this album, because it was so overshadowed by Truth and Soul and Reality….. When I put it on I wasn’t expecting much (Fishbone had something of a precipitous decline around this time). So, I was amazingly delighted with how much I remembered this album and how much I enjoyed it (which shows to me that I must have listened to it a lot back in college).
SOUNDTRACK: STARS-Do You Trust Your Friends (2007).
I Just Read About That... 