SOUNDTRACK: THE TEA PARTY-“Isolation” (2020).
It seems like a number of bands have been covering Joy Divison’s “Isolation” lately. It is appropriate after all.
The Tea Party are a Canadian band known for its sound, which blends classic rock and influences from many countries around the world. I like that they are referred to as “Moroccan Roll.”
Musically this songs sounds quite a lot like the original. I don’t think of The Tea Party has being especially synthy, but they get the synth sound pretty spot on. Usually The Tea Party has all kinds of middle eastern instrumentation, but there’s nothing like that here.
Jeff Martin has a deep resonant voice that often sounds like Jim Morrison. Here he gets the same tone as Ian Curtis, but his voice is much better, much more full than Curtis’. In fact, the whole song sounds bigger–a sound that befits a band that is often compared to Led Zeppelin rather than an indie British club band.
The original certainly conveys “isolation” better (I mean, it is Ian Curtis after all), but this version sound great too and it really rocks.
[READ: May 11, 2020] “The Resident Poet”
I was surprised to realize that I had never read anything by Katherine Dunn. Her novel Geek Love is one of those books that I feel is always mentioned as being notable. I always assumed it was about nerds. I just found out it is about carnies–circus geeks. My mind is blown.
If I was wrong about the entire premise of her most famous book, I clearly have no idea what the rest of her output is like.
I didn’t realize she was the author of this story (I saw the author’s name but didn’t connect her to anything). I doubt that knowing she wrote it would have made me think any differently about the story. Mostly because I don’t know what to think about the story.
Essentially this story follows a college-aged woman as she deliberately degrades herself for a poet who comes to teach at their school. But she seems empowered by her degradation, so I’m not sure how to read it. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 