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McSweeney’s #11 [It Can Be Free/We Are as Surprised as You Are/Bring Light/…And [x] is free] (2003)

Posted in A.G. Pasquella, Alison Smith, All Songs Considered, Antlers, Ben Greenman, Benjamin Lytal, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Books about writers, Brent Hoff, Culture Shock, Daphne Beal, David Means, Death, Decadence, Demons, Denis Johnson, Doug Dorst, Dow Mossman, Emilio Oliveira, Environmentalism, Essays, Excerpt, Fears, Ian McDonnell, Jeffrey Rotter, Joyce Carol Oates, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Military, Political Humor, Politicians, Robert Olmstead, Russia, Samantha Hunt, Sean Warren, Short Story, Stephen Elliott, T.C. Boyle, Threats, Tom Bissell, Trevor Koski, Violence, Yuck! on December 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

11SOUNDTRACK: THE ANTLERS-Live at the Black Cat, Washington DC, May 11, 2009 (2009).

antlersI 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.

Check out the show here.

[READ: December 16, 2012] McSweeney’s #11

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…)

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Alec Wilkinson–“Music from the Machine” (New Yorker, December 17, 2012)

Posted in Alec Wilkinson, Books about music, Essays, How to Destroy Angels, Johnny Cash, New Yorker, Nine Inch Nails on December 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_12_17_12Sorel.inddSOUNDTRACK: JOHNNY CASH-“Hurt” (2002).

cashI had never heard the Johnny Cash version of this song, but since it was mentioned in the article, I wanted to check it out.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Cash.  I like some of his stuff, but I’m not on board with the whole iconic man in black thing.  But I understand his tough guy schtick.

And that’s why I have a problem with Johnny singing this.  It s just too angsty for what I know from Cash.  Cash is a badass, he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.  I just don’t buy “I hurt myself today to see if I still feel” coming from him.  And I don’t like the delivery of the verses.

On the other hand I like the chorus a lot.  The guitar sounds great here and it is less angsty than the verses: “I will let you down, I will make you hurt.”  That I can buy.  And I like the way he delivers those lines as well.

So I come away from this with a mixed feeling.  And yes, I still prefer the Nine Inch Nails version.

Interestingly, Reznor was really moved by the video, which I have not seen.

[READ: December 20, 2012] “Music from the Machine”

I was a little dismissive of Nine Inch Nails when Pretty Hate Machine came out.  I liked “Head Like a Hole” but felt the whole album was a commercialization of the industrial sound.  And indeed, it was, but I’m less of a purist now, so I can deal with it.

After Pretty Hate Machine, I fell head over heels for NIN, and I think that “March of the Pigs” and all of The Downward Spiral are amazing.  But after The Fragile, I lost interest again.  Perhaps NIN was a phase.

This article reintroduced me to Reznor.  I never really wanted to know that much about him, and thankfully, this piece only gives a little bit of background (unlike some of the really long New Yorker biographies, this one is nice and tidy with some family history but not too much).  It really focuses more on what he has been up to since he put Nine Inch Nails on hiatus (and since he won an Oscar!). (more…)

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Marisa Silver–“Creatures” (New Yorker, December 17, 2012)

Posted in Antlers, Death, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Marisa Silver, New Yorker, Short Story, Threats, Unreliable narrator, Violence on December 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_12_17_12Sorel.inddSOUNDTRACK: ANTLERS-Live at MusicFestNorthWest, September 10, 2011 (2011).

antlermfnwIt took me a few listens to really appreciate this band.  The initial problem is that I thought they were someone else when I downloaded the show.  I was expecting something a bit more chaotic.  But Antlers play rather pretty alt rock–mildly orchestral with soaring vocals (especially on “Hounds,” which really showcases the singer’s range).  But their music is also kind of somber, not my favorite style.

This concert was recorded during MusicfestNorthWest and comes from The Doug Fir.  All of the songs are from their 2011 disc Burst Apart.  Their previous album Hospice was critically acclaimed, but I didn’t want t listen to a concept album about a person with bone cancer.  Anyhow, this set has a retro 90s pop alt rock feel, and any one of these songs could have a been a slow dance hit at goth clubs.

The set is 28 minutes and I have grown to like it quite a bit.  You can check it out here.  I also have a full length concert that I downloaded from them.  I’ll have to see if their music holds up for an hour as well.

[READ: December 15, 2012] “Creatures”

This story was really well done.  When the reveal is finally given at the end I was genuinely shocked.  And not because the author didn’t earn the shock but because of the wonderful way the story was foreshadowed as well as obfuscated.  There were several possible outcomes, but  I didn’t expect the one we received.

This story is about guns and children (I know, the timing is terrible).  As the story opens we learn that a couple’s little boy is being violent in school.  He’s three and he is in preschool, but he is running around “shooting” at people with a stick.  He in particular seems to pick on one boy (who he ultimately winds up biting).  The parents feel that the school is overreacting, because they don’t allow their child to play with toy guns and they have never see anything but sweetness out of him. (more…)

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Tony Abbott–Time Surfers series (1996-1997)

Posted in Adventure, Boredom, C., Children's Books, End of the World, Fantasy, History, Mad Scientists, NASA, Phineas and Ferb, Technology, Tony Abbott, Waffles on December 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHINEAS AND FERB-The Twelve Days of Christmas (2009).

12daysTo get you in the mood for the holidays, I present The Phineas and Ferb Twelve Days of Christmas.  Each character gets a wish, even Perry.  And of course, Ferb’s wish on the 12th day is great.

Obviously, Doofenschmirtz is the comic relief of the song (although most of the wishes are funny in themselves).  Doofenshmirtz hilariously wishes for the entire tri-state area and then slowly backs down to one state, admitting he was overreaching at the beginning.

I can’t find a video from the show, but there are plenty cobbled together on YouTube.  Like this one.  Enjoy!

 

[READ: July 2012] Time Surfers series

We’re still working through all of the different Tony Abbott series.  And this series, Time Surfers, is another early collection of eight books about young kids going on adventures.  This series was also difficult to find (although it has recently come back into print (with much better illustrations).  The think I have yet been able to figure out about Abbott’s earlier series–they seem like he planned to do more.  Or more specifically, they seem unfinished.  I wonder if he gave up or if the publishers gave up on him.

So this series seems to have a few arcs in it.  New villains emerge, which is interesting, although as C. pointed out, what happened to Vorg from the first four books, he just seemed to go away.

Book #1, Space Bingo starts the series in an interesting way (Tony Abbott’s exposition is always interesting–indeed all of th ebooks open up with a scene the seems to be one thing but is revealed to be something else).  Ned Banks has moved to a new city far away from his home and his best friend.  He has to start a new school and he’s not too happy about it.  His sister has been calling him Nerd instead of Ned and the nickname is starting to spread, especially since such bad luck things are happening to him in school.  So he does what any clever kid would do–he creates a communicator (and tells his best friend Ernie how to make one) so that they can talk to each other whenever they want (and not have phone charges!).  When Ned turns the communicator on, however, it opens a time portal in his closet and two kids from the year 2099 come flying out. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #41 (2012)

Posted in Aimee Bender, All Songs Considered, Boredom, Cassandra C. Jones, Chris Flynn, Death, Deb Olin Unferth, Drinking, Drugs, Eileen Van Neerven-Currie, Essays, Excerpt, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gracia Lam, Henry Bean, History, J. Malcolm Garcia, Jess Walter, Jesus Christ Superstar, John Brandon, Jowhor Ile, Kelsey Dake, Letters, Marriage Trouble, Matt Rota, Max Shoening, McSweeney's, Memoirs, Native Americans, Racism, Robots, Ryan Boudinot, Sex, Short Story, Sibylla Brodzinsky, Steven Millhauser, Swans, Tara June Winch, Thomas McGuane, Tony Birch, Track, Violence, Viveca Mellegard, War on December 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

41

SOUNDTRACK: SWANS-Live at All Tomorrow’s Parties, October 2, 2011 (2011).

swansatpBefore Swans released this year’s amazing The Seer, they toured supporting their previous album (with a number of songs from The Seer included). This set has two songs from The Seer, “The Apostate” and “The Seer, Pt 1” together they comprise 50 minutes of the nearly two hour show.  The set also includes “No Words No Thoughts” (24 minutes) and “Jim” (a teeny 6 minutes) from 2010’s My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky.  The final track is an eleven minute version of “I Crawled” which goes all the way back to 1984’s Young God EP.

I would never have thought of Swans as a jam band, and yet here they are, with 5 songs in 2 hours.  Although unlike jam bands, they aren’t showing off their musical chops or noodling solos, they are created expressive and moody soundscapes–not as scary as in days of old, but very intense nonetheless.

The set sounds great, although I imagine this would be more enjoyable to watch than to listen to (there a great swaths of music where there’ s not a lot happening).  I wonder what Gira is doing during these stretches.  My friend Phil (or Phillipe Puleo as Gira calls him here) plays drums on the album and on this tour, and I have to say he must be exhausted–man he hits the drums hard.

I listened to this show before I heard The Seer, but it didn’t prepare me for what the album would contain.  Now having heard that album, I appreciate this live show even more–they really master these long songs.  I am going to have to try to see them the next time they swing by.  I admit I used to be afraid at the thought of seeing them because their early music was so intense, but this seems to be a different Swans now, one that an old man like myself could even handle.

The set is no longer available on NPR.

[READ: December 10, 2012] McSweeney’s #41

The cover of this issue has a series of overlapping photographs of lightning.  I didn’t really look at it that closely at first and thought it was an interesting collage.  Indeed, Sarah said it looked like a science textbook of some kind.  But when I read the colophon, I learned that Cassandra C. Jones finds photographs of lightning and (without manipulating them digitally) places them together so that the lightning bolts create shapes.  And indeed, that is what is going on.  And it’s amazing!

The cover’s pictures create a greyhound running (front and back covers show different stages of the run).  There’s also circles and a rabbit running.  It’s incredibly creative and very cool.  You can see some of her work at her site.

The feature of this issue is that there are four stories from Australian Aboriginal Writers, a group that I can honestly say I have never read anything from before.  There’s also beautiful art work accompanying most of the longer stories, three gritty non-fiction pieces and some letters, most of which aren’t very silly at all.

LETTERS (more…)

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Simon Rich–“I Love Girl” (New Yorker, December 17, 2012)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Anachronisms, Art, Death, Funny (ha ha), New Yorker, Pg. 99, Sex, Short Story, Simon Rich, Violence on December 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_12_17_12Sorel.inddSOUNDTRACK: PG. 99 Document #8 (2005).

doc8In yesterday’s post I talked about a pg. 99 concert in which they played the entirety of this album.  Since the album is available for streaming (and download) at Robotic Empire, I figured I’d give it a real listen.

While there’s no mistaking that this is the same band, I was surprised by just how nuanced this recording proved to be.  That almost seems like a joke because it is a blistering punishing punk album, but there are a lot of moments where the band is quiet and there’s only one instrument playing, or when you can actually hear lyrics.

The disc opens with a sampled quote about “Playing whatever you want as sloppy as you want.  As long as it’s good and has passion.”  This album is not sloppy at all–it’ s very noisy and chaotic, but the chops are there–the band is very precise.  I also like the unusual guitar sounds in “Your Face is a Rape Scene.”  “The Hollowed Out Chest of a Dead Horse” sounds much better on album than live–you can really hear all of the diverse parts and the interesting tones that the lack of noise produces.  And the ending is really quite beautiful (maybe if it has been in the middle it could have broken up some of the pummeling).

There are two more songs on the album than were played live.  In the concert, the singer said  that they only learned  those seven songs, which may well be true.  I love the title of the one extra track, “The Lonesome Waltz of Leonard Cohen.”  The Final Track, “The List (FILTH)” has a completely different recording style and sound, so I assume it must be some kind of bonus track.  Indeed, some research tells me that these are both bonus tracks, which makes sense as the end of “Horse” does sound like an album ender.

[READ: December 13, 2012] “I Love Girl”

I’ve said before that I really like Simon Rich’s super short jokes.  And I’m a little less enamored of his longer jokes.  This one was three pages and there was a lot to like about it, but something that kind of bugged me as well.

This “story” is about Oog.  He’s a caveman (duh) and he speaks like a caveman (which mostly means leaving the word “a” out before nouns).  Oog is Rock Thrower.  Oog is not too smart–he can’t make words good and although he understands the numbers one and two, he has trouble with three and four.  And forget about five.  But Girl is smart.  And once in school Girl helped him with his math by saying that four was just two twos.  He still doesn’t understand what she meant.

Oog loves Girl.  But Girl belongs to Boog.  Boog is an artist.  He draws pictures of horses and demands respect from everyone.  He also has sex with Girl right in front of everyone. (more…)

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James Stokoe–Wonton Soup (2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Content, Food, James Stokoe, Oni Press, Pg. 99, Pranks, The Future on December 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

wonton

SOUNDTRACK: PG. 99-Live at The Black Cat, Washington DC, August 31, 2011 (2011).

Ipg99 don’t know anything about pg. 99 but this was a reunion show that they headlined (even though their set is only 25 minutes long).  This concert is the entirety of their album Document #8 (from 2005),   pg. 99 plays noise noise noise so much noise.  It all sounds a bit like a blur with screamed vocals ad thundering drums.  In fact, the drums are really the only thing that lets you know there are tempos and time changes in the songs.  As befits a loud band whose songs you can’t understand, Pg 99 have wonderful song titles like “More Complicated Than a Sci-Fi Flick” (2 minutes long).

There are some distinctly more complicated sections than just hardcore like in “In Love with an Apparition” which has a quiet opening (for about 2 seconds).  And in the middle of the song, there is a much quieter part with just gentle guitar and vocals (although I still cannot make out any lyrics).  “Your Face is a Rape Scene” (no idea if that’s an offensive title or not as I can’t hear the lyrics), starts with a cool rumbling bass solo before being overtaken by the chaos of the band.

The show proves to be kind of funny because the singer is constantly telling the crowd that the show is over (“last number guys” after three songs), they play three songs that last just over a minute each “Life in a Box,” “Ruiner of Life,”  and “We Left as Skeletons.”  Those are followed by the two-minute “Punk Rock in the Wrong Hands,” a kind of call and response of noise.  “Ballad of Circling Vultures” starts off kind of like a ballad, with slow bass notes and feedback that continue for over a minute before the final minute is breakneck hardcore (with apparently everyone screaming something different).

It’s also funny to me how polite the band is–thanking everyone so much for coming and telling everyone to be careful on the way home (the weather was quite bad).  Obviously the band doesn’t want their fans to get hurt, but it’s nice to hear them say so.

The set ends with the surprisingly long “The Hollowed Out Chest of a Dead Horse,” which clock s in at over 6 minutes.  Amid the noise and chaos there are some melodic sections too.  You can hear the whole 26 minute set here.

The whole of Document #8 is streamable here.  It’s not that different from the live set although you can hear lot more of the dynamics there (but really not any lyrics).

[READ: December 12, 2012] Wonton Soup

This graphic novel is billed as a “Space Trucker Opera,” and indeed it kind of is, but it’s more like Iron Chef in Space.

The novel is set in the surprisingly not too distant future when space is colonized, aliens are everywhere and different species intermingle with regularity.  The main characters are James Boyo, a punky/gothy looking guy with really darkly lined eyes (this effect is used quite a lot in more underground comics and although I don’t fully understand it, I do like it) and Deacon Vans, a dreadlocked space truck driver who only has sex on his mind (the age for this book is 13+, which might even be a little young for some of the language in the beginning of the book).

As the story opens, the pair are on a delivery, but Boyo is more interested in finding the perfect Wonton Soup, which is rumored to be at a particular joint out in space.  They prepare the Wontons in the precisely perfect way (stuffing the space chicken’s head tendrils into its body before cooking it).  But Boyo can’t enjoy his Soup because the first bite that he eats contains a metal probe which sends an urgent message from the captain of a ship under attack.  The receiver of the message is the chosen one!

He pushes the beacon to the guy next to him and walks out.  (That cracked me up). (more…)

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Adam Blade–First Hero [The Chronicles of Avantia #1] (2010)

Posted in Adam Blade, Adventure, All Songs Considered, Children's Books, Fables, Fantasy, Fears, Magic, Mates of State, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats on December 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

first herpSOUNDTRACK: MATES OF STATE-Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington DC, April 4, 2009 (2009).

mos930I enjoyed the Tiny Desk show from Mates of State quite a lot.  And this concert which is a full band (and occasionally just the husband and wife duo) was equally fun.

They play 15 songs in about an hour, some are short but there are a couple longer ones as well.    The band plays big songs with large hooks–a couple of listens and you are singing along with them.  They perform a kind of orchestrated synth pop, and while the songs are sweet-sounding, there is more to them than just hooks.

Most of this concert comes from their 2008 album Re-Arrange Us.  There’s a few tracks from  2003’s Team Boo as well.  All in all it’s a great show.  There are a bunch of songs on here that should be huge, they’re so catchy.  But Mates of State remain under the radar.  Discover them here.

[READ: November 3, 2012] First Hero

After finishing the available Beast Quest books, I learned that there was another Avantia series called The Chronicles of Avantia (four books so far).  Since Clark enjoyed the Beast Quest series so much, we decided to check this one out, too.

Well, wow is it a different beast altogether. First off, the book is much bigger.  Second, the words are more complicated and third, the action is much more violent.  This is not your second grader’s story of trudge, trudge, trudge, defeat (but not kill) the beast and then gain a prize.  Rather, our hero must avenge his father’s death before the villain literally destroys the cities of Avantia looking for the Mask of Death.

The action takes place long before the action of the Beast Quest series–so long before that they may as well not be related except for the land (although we haven’t heard of these towns either).  Even the beasts are different.

The main character in this series is a boy named Tanner.  He is the Chosen Rider of a phoenix-Beast called Firepos.  What’s interesting is that some of the story is told from Firepos’ point of view.  The main bad guy in the story is a guy named Derthsin.  Derthsin killed Tanner’s father (when Tanner was 7) and also kidnapped his mother.  There’s nothing too explicit about the death (except that Tanner witnessed it–yipes!)  The death is revisited and is certainly uncomfortable reading to a  7-year-old.   Tanner was raised by his grandmother Esme.  Esme, too, is killed by Derthsin (this one of a bit more graphic and Tanner is present) and boy was that awkward. (more…)

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Stephen Marche–“Flesh and Numbers” (The Walrus, December 2012)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Content, Conor Oberst, Death, First Aid Kit, Joan Baez, Prostitution, Sex, Short Story, Stephen Marche, The Walrus on December 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

decwalrusSOUNDTRACK: FIRST AID KIT Live at Newport Folk Festival July 28, 2012 (2012).

jacobs-folkfest-44I discovered First Aid Kit through NPR and I liked the two or three songs so much I bought their album, The Lion’s Roar.  And here’s a full set at Newport Folk Festival.

There’s three members of First Aid Kit, two sisters and a boy drummer all from Sweden.  I don’t know if coming from Sweden has any impact on their singing, but their voices are extraordinary  especially when they harmonize.  “Blue” is one of their great songs and it sounds amazing live.

They also do a stunning cover of Joan Baez’ “Diamonds & Rust,” and on their final track, “King of the World,” Conor Oberst gives a guest vocal (he’s on the album too).

Lyrically, the band is interesting too.  I love the premise of “Emmylou” and the phrasings in “The Lion’s Roar.”  In this show, they dedicate “Hard Believer” to Richard Dawkins, so the band are definitely not lightweights.

It’s a great set and a wonderful introduction to this compelling Swedish band.  I hope they get some more airplay in the States.  You can check it out here.

[READ: December 10, 2012] “Flesh and Numbers”

Stephen Marche publishes a lot of stories in The Walrus, and I find that I’m hit or miss about him.  And, indeed, I was even hit or miss about this story.  I feel that Marche is often trying to go for shock in his stories–and this one has two kinds of shock in it.

The first is that a husband pays his wife for a blow job.  (A bright red Canadian $50).  And later he starts paying her a $50 every time they have sex.  This all begins because she wants to buy a pair of boots that she deems too expensive.  The story kind of looks at the idea of prostitution and power roles in marriage, but only glancingly.

The story talks about their financial situation (they are both successful, although there is a marked discrepancy in who makes how much and how they divide up the bills).  But once this casual money-for-sex situation arises, she finds that she is enjoying the feeling of getting the money.  Indeed, since he always pays with a red 50, she stars getting mildly turned on whenever she sees them in her daily life.  They both find that they are having sex more and doing more interesting things in bed.  In fact, hen the new iPad comes out she offers anal sex as an option for more cash. (more…)

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The Moscow Ballet–The Russian Nutcracker (RVCC Arts, Bridgewater, NJ, December 8, 2012)

Posted in Ballet, Branchburg, NJ, C., Children's Books, E.T.A. Hoffman, Fables, Fantasy, Moscow Ballet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russia, RVCC Arts, T., Toys on December 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 8, 2012] The Russian Nutcracker

nutcrackWe decided to take the kids to see The Nutcracker this year.  Fortunately, it was being performed at our beloved RVCC by the Moscow Ballet!  I saw The Nutcracker performed by the Boston Ballet about a dozen years ago, and the performance was stunning (it was also expensive).  This performance was definitely scaled down compared to that one, and it was also shorter (which was good for our kids).

I honestly don’t remember all that much from the Boston Performance (except that when the tree gets bigger, I was blown away).  There wasn’t much blowing away with this show.  As I say, it was scaled down tremendously–the stage itself was about half the size.  But that said, it was charming and the performers–especially the men–were amazing.

I really enjoyed the opening which was quite simple, with the families approaching the castle for the Christmas party–it was fun seeing the adults dressed as kids skipping about while the proper adults strolled casually.  Typically the first act is longer than the second and it’s certainly less exciting.  I don’t know the ballet well enough to know if they cut any of the scenes, but it didn’t seem quite as long as I remembered.  The kids were a little less excited by the grown up fancy ball dancing, but they held up very well.

I enjoyed the sequence where Masha (she’s not Clara in The Russian Nutcracker–I wonder just how different the two are) and her brother have a fight over the Nutcracker.  Masha’s brother was quite funny and the broken Nutcracker was amazing in his life-less-ness.  Indeed, all of the “toys” were incredible. (more…)

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