SOUNDTRACK: PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING-Tiny Desk Concert #354 (May 5, 2014).
I heard about Public Service Broadcasting via NPR and I loved their song “Spitfire,” a rocking instrumental with interesting samples scattered throughout. Well, it turns out that live, the rock just as hard. Even though there’s only two of them. There’s J. Willgoose, Esq. on guitar, banjo and electronics and Wrigglesworth on drums. The samples come from British public-service films from roughly the 1940s through the 1960s.
Watching this video, I was stunned at just how much Willgoose is doing, and just how much noise these two guys can make. There’s even a video going on behind them. The only problem here was that the samples were not loud enough.
“Signal 30” opens with samples and samples and then a rocking guitar and solid drums. It amazing watching Willgoose do some many different things while playing the guitar. The change of tone at the middle of the song is great and I love watching him just bang the guitar to keep the notes going (while he is playing the keyboard).
After the song, there is a sample of “Thank you very much” in an arch British voice (the duo don’t speak during the show). “Spitfire” also sounds great hear–the song is surprisingly complex for an instrumental, and for what seems like it might be a novelty band, the song is really solid. After this song, Willgoose had to fetch something and the talking sample said “talk amongst yourselves!” The final track “Everest” has a very catchy riff and some really great drumming. But I love most watching Willgoose play the guitar with one hand and play a solo on the keyboard with the other.
This is definitely a band to check out live.
[READ: June 4, 2014] King of the Flies 1. Hallorave
Hallorave is a dark, violent, sexual comic series written by Pirus and drawn by Mezzo. Both artists are French and have worked together before. This book was translated by Helge Dascher and John Kadlecek (and it was translated very well–I didn’t realize it wasn’t American until they started talking about Euros sometime in the middle of the book.
So this is actually a series of short stories narrated by different people. They seem unrelated, but after a couple of stories, you see the connections. And there proves to be a core collection of characters all living in this suburb (the location is really irrelevant).
The first story starts with Eric (who proves to be the main protagonist) drinking, reading magazines and sitting on a couch on the (dried up and dead) lawn of his mother’s house. He is also jealous of his best friend Damien because he is very hot for Damien’s girlfriend Sal.
That first story introduces us to a visual that will run through the book: Eric sitting with a giant fly head on. The three are going to a Hallorave for Halloween. Eric is King of the Flies, Sal has a giant cat’s head on and Damien is a skeleton. By the end of the party, they are all high (you can seem them feeding each other drugs in the picture below). Eric pledged his love to Sal in front of Damien, and Damien is in a foul mood. He gets in a fight with some other party goers. By the end of the short story, Eric and Sal are having sex (with their costume heads on) and Damien has been hit by a car and killed. That’s the kind of stories we’re getting here. (more…)
There are so many places to listen to free music. But i prefer places where you can (legally) download free music. So here’s a place I’ve just discovered: WNYC Radio’s website which features a section called “Gig Alerts.” The feature talks about a different interesting band playing that night (in New York). After a small blurb, there is (almost always) a free downloadable track. There’s twenty listings per page and 86 pages. Do the math and that’s a lot of songs.
The feature covers virtually every genre, although there is a preponderance of alt- and indie- rock (mostly lesser known bands). If you are interested in new (to you) music and in exploring different artists, this is a great resource for a ton of free music. So, check out Gig Alerts here.
[READ: May 20, 2014] McSweeney’s #44
I was pretty pleased with myself when I got caught up on the McSweeney’s issues. But I remember wanting to take a break when this one came in. I now see it has been almost a year since I read the last issue. So the break was too long and now I have three issues to catch up on again. Sigh. But this one proved to be a great issue to return on.
This is a pretty quintessential issue of McSweeney’s. It’s got letters, some fiction, a special section dedicated to Lawrence Weschler (which includes a lot of art), and a cool, interesting section of plates with full color art. It’s also got an interestingly designed hardcover with a kind of raw cardboard in the back, a slightly raised colorful section for the spine and then a further raised section for the giant 44 on the front cover.
After the wild dance of Midnight Vultures, Beck entered the 2000s with Sea Change, a very mellow album. It is highly regarded by many, although it’s too mellow for my liking, which is unsurprising give my tastes. (Of course, if you’re in a mellow/sad mood, it’s perfect). Even though I feel like it is quite samey, a closer listen shows as much diversity within these songs as any of his thematic albums. And there are some great sounds that he throws on top of these tracks. Like the Radiohead vibe in “The Golden Age”
“Paper Tiger” has a kind of sleekness to it, with the strings and the bassline that keeps the track interesting. “Guess I’m Doing Fine” is a mopey song that has the potential to be too much ,but never goes that far. It winds up being quite beautiful. “Lonesome Tears” has strings that make it sound a bit like Air (the band). “Lost Cause” is the poppy side of this mellow album—it’s got a super catchy chorus (although is clearly not a happy song) and would be a great ballad on any other album—here it comes across as the peppiest number. “End of the Day” introduces sitar, but it falls a little flat in the middle of the disc.
“It’s All in Your Mind” is a pretty and short song. “Round the Bend” is easily the most depressing song that Beck has ever done. It’s also quite beautiful but, man what a downer. Oh wait, that “most depressing” award would go to “Already Dead” a very sad acoustic song which has Beck singing in an aching falsetto. The darkness is lightened somewhat with the sitar flavored “Sunday Sun” but it still has that aching vocal. And yet it ends with a total musical freak out at the end—noise and feedback and chaos which makes sense in the song but seems so out of place on the record—and yet it’s kind of a welcome relief. “Little One” has a more upbeat vibe (with big drums even). Although it seems to get lost by the end of the disc. As does “side of the Road” which doesn’t really have a lot going for it.
Any one of these songs would be a perfect mellow beck song. But at 52 minutes, the album is a bit relentless. I think what weighs down a lot of these songs is their length. The lengthy strings at the end of “Tears” is very pretty but with several songs pushing 5 minutes, overall it gets to be a bit much. There’s no “bonus” track on this one.
[READ: March 17, 2014] “Diagnose This”
This article by Heidi Julavits (whose novels I keep intending to read but have yet to so far), really appeared to me because of the conceit of self diagnosis. Whenever you go to a doctor, if you have searched your symptoms online (which everyone has) you always feel guilty about bringing it up—like you’re not supposed to investigate these free resources. Now it’s entirely true that looking up your symptoms online is madness—everything leads to cancer. Everything. If you are a hypochondriac, you should never ever do this, but if you are a reasonable person, you can use online medical diagnoses and, more importantly, message boards to see what other people have said about similar symptoms.
In this essay, Julavits talks about her own symptoms for what her doctor diagnoses as possible Ménière’s Disease, a rather rare disease that is more or less worst case scenario. And the doctor tells her not to look it up when she gets home (she looks it up in the parking lot). She doubts that this is an accurate diagnosis. But as she learns when she interviews several doctors and medical school teachers—doctors are not taught to learn gray area thinking. They have to save lives so they may jump to the most serious situation in order to prevent serious damage—even if that conclusion may involve tons of unnecessary and expensive tests. (more…)
What’s most fascinating about these Rheostatics live shows is coming across venues that have no internet presence. I can’t find a photo or anything of Mrs Robinson’s in Kitchener. Did it even exist? Who knows?
The quality of this show is very good although the overall volume is too low. There are also complaints from Dave about his monitor not working. It doesn’t impact the sound for us, but I guess he couldn’t hear very well. The intro of “Michael Jackson” is all messed up, but they play on through it. Then they actually take a pause for an unspecified length of time to fix it (but still do a show that’s over 2 hours long).
Martin and Dave are very chatty for this show. The intro is quite long, with some good banter including a discussion of the weird table in front of the stage which people can use for stage diving or go go dancing. Martin explains the origins of “Junction Foil Ball” (about a guy who makes a ball out of the tin foil in cigarette packs. They make a joke about Don the drummer being from Kirkwood Lake which is where Alan Thicke is from. And a joke about Polkaroo.
They also introduce Tim Mech (their guitar tech) whose band PEEP-SHOW was one of the winners of Musician magazine’s “Best Unsigned Band Competition” in 1997. He takes a long solo in “Claire.”
This was their last show of 1997, so this wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
[READ: March 3, 2014] Shantytown
This has been my favorite Aira book so far (and I’m now caught up to his English language releases). The plot was simple and interesting, and the fantastical elements really worked with the story instead of overshadowing it (which his stories sometimes allow, but which isn’t really a criticism per se, just a point of fact).
This story begins with Maxi, a kind-hearted, but not terribly smart or sensible young man. He is unemployed, did not finish any real schooling and doesn’t have a lot to do. He has been going to the gym daily, so he is very strong. And he has recently begun helping the garbage scavengers.
These scavengers are people who live in the Shantytown nearby. It is a collection of houses, most very tiny and quickly constructed, where the poorest people live. And many of these people collect and either sell or use rich people’s garbage. They come up every night before a garbage pick up and root through the streets for anything they can use. And Maxi has begun helping them shift their carts Since he is so strong, he finds that none of the their carts are very heavy. And although he has never spoken to any of them and they have not spoken to him, he decided to start helping them and now he gets great satisfaction in carrying their stuff.
The shantytown is an unsavory place where drugs are sold and not too long ago a young girl was murdered. Recently a policeman, Agent Cabezas has been trying to get to the bottom of this whole drug thing. The drug of choice is proxidine which makes things clearer. Even Cabezas himself takes it (even though it is illegal). But there has been a lot of suspicious activity with a man dressed as a pastor who might be a dealer. And then there’s Maxi who is suddenly hanging around the shantytown. And, quite frankly, Cabezas has decided that he’s tired of being a good cop. He is ready to take what is his. (more…)
This show was recorded July 7, 2009. It’s fascinating that it didn’t get posted until four months later.
As the Bowerbirds first started I didn’t think I would like them primarily because of the opening lyrics of “Hooves” “Back to when I was born on a full moon, I nearly split my mama in two.” It just seemed an offputting way to start especially when sung over very simple acoustic guitar. But after the first verse, the band joins in with some Ahhs, which flesh out the song very nicely. The accordion and violin fill in where necessary and make this a much more compelling-sounding song.
The second song, “Teeth” opens with a very full sound–I really like it–bowed double bass, violin, accordion and guitar and when the backing vocals complement the lead vocal, it’s really quite beautiful. “House of Diamonds” is a folkie song, but the final track “In Our talons” (which comes from their first album) is really dramatic, with a some great vocals, a cool section that slows down the tempo and rousing accordion-driven conclusion. (There’s something a bout an accordion that when played right can add incredible tension to a song).
[READ: February 13, 2014] A Visit from the Good Squad
This book made many best of list at the end of 2010. I’ve wanted to read it for some time now, so when I saw it remaindered at Barnes & Noble, I grabbed it (yes, the library is cheaper, but I find that sometimes I will read things more quickly if I buy them).
I was expecting to be blown away by the book. But I wasn’t. At least not at first. And the real reason for that was because I read it over too long of a span of time. There are a lot of intricacies in this book that demand attention. It’s not a difficult book, but the structure of the book is not linear, and there are connections that are made and lost and resumed. And if you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to miss them. I enjoyed it quite a lot and I really liked the way the story filled in parts as it went along (you’ll see why that is significant shortly). And I loved the way the end tied everything together so nicely. But I found that I got even more out of it while writing this recap because it helped me to make connections I initially missed. So definitely read this, but either read it quickly or read it twice in a row.
So this book is set up that every chapter is narrated by or focuses on a different person at a different time in the story’s history. It’s a fascinating way to tell a story for the obvious reasons, but also because most of the characters are interrelated in some way (which was the clever part). And other characters arrive and disappear while still keeping continuity in the story.
There are thirteen chapters, which means 13 stories. Naturally there are more than 13 characters, so this makes for an interesting look at this world.
The first chapter and more or less the thread throughout the stories is Sasha. In the first chapter, (which is third person but in which Sasha is the protagonist), we see her planning to steal the wallet from a woman in the bathroom stall next to hers. She is on a date with a man named Alex, who is new to New York and is still kind of wide-eyed about it. He is amazed when later on he sees that Sasha has a bathtub in her kitchen (which she never uses). Sasha’s chapter is interspersed with her at the therapist’s office as she talks about her kleptomania and about her life as the assistant for Bennie Salazar–THE Bennie Salazar, record producer extraordinaire who discovered The Conduits. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: An open letter to the Rheostatics (2014).
To Dave, Martin, Tim and assorted drummers:
I’ve been a fan of the Rheostatics for a long time. I recall traveling to Toronto from New Jersey back in the 90s and tracking down Introducing Happiness at Sam the Record Man. And then later driving around the Niagara Falls region listening to the strange and wonderful album. I’ve enjoyed all of the subsequent albums.
You were a unique band with a unique sound. I was sad when you split up, even if that meant that now there were three solo projects to enjoy. Of course, there’s been a lot of bands that have broken up, it’s just part of being a fan. But the thing about the Rheostatics breakup is that you three (or four or five or six) have remained friendly. You’ve done a few reunion shows since the breakup, which I think that’s super cool. It’s especially cool because RheostaticsLive tends to post them after a while so that those of us who don’t make the shows can hear them.
I’ve never seen you guys live, and I imagine I never will. And I’m okay with that. What I’m mostly bummed about is that there will be no more new music from you. You put out approximately ten albums (there’s a few miscellaneous things that are hard to qualify). Those records include soundtracks and live albums and all manner of things, so there’s really seven proper albums (the others are great, don’t get me wrong). Anyhow, my gut feeling is that there needs to be some new Rheostatics music. I know you’ve all been doing solo stuff (and I have it), but sometimes the sum is greater, etc.
Clearly I’m getting at that it’s time for a new album from the Rheostatics. Before you scoff, I’m not talking reuniting for a grand tour, or even any tour, I’m not even talking a live show. Heck, I’m not even talking about you guys hanging out for more than a couple weeks. Just an album of new songs. A decade ago it would have been unthinkable that you would get together for the expense of an album without major label support. But now, the cost is so much lower and with your fan base expanding, I assume it would be easy to recoup the expenses.
So what do you say? Since it seems like everyone is still friendly and creative, maybe you can throw some ideas around in the email, see if there’s anything magical happening. Obviously, if there’s nothing there or you just can’t work together, then don’t continue. No one wants to hear a crappy Rheostatics album. But if there’s even a chance that you guys can throw some ideas together and pull out another “Horses,” or “Northern Wish” or “CCYPA,” or holy cow, “King of the Past,” or, hell, anything you’ve done, then it’s absolutely worth it.
I don’t imagine any of you will read this, but maybe if you google yourselves, Tim Vesely, Dave Bidini, Martin Tielli, you’ll see this and think that, yes, dammit, seven records of Rheostatics music is not enough.
Thanks for the music, Paul Debraski.
[READ: January 26, 2014] Worst. Person. Ever.
I told myself that I wanted to read this book before anyone requested it. And I did. In fact, I wanted to finish it before the weekend was up, which I did as well. It’s nice to meet a minor goal.
The last few Coupland books that I read (see last week) were very dark. Since those books, he has broadened his palette somewhat, including writing a children’s book and some more non-fiction. And then we get this. A vulgar, very funny sendup of modern culture. The introduction to the book says that it was based on a short story that he wrote for McSweeney’s #31 called “Survivior.” That story was written in the style known a biji which they described as
Biji is sort of a notebook, which contains legends, anecdotes, scientific notes and local wisdom. Accounts of everyday life mix with travel narratives as well as lists. It is meant to represent a picture of the culture at the time of writing.
I thought that this style was well suited to Coupland, because he includes all of that stuff anyway. And so he has taken that story and fleshed it out into this full novel.
The worst person ever is named Raymond Gunt. He thinks he’s Jason Bourne, but he’s really just a metaphorical extra in a Bourne movie (one who probably gets killed). Gunt is a cameraman working in England. He is divorced. His wife is a raging harpy (at least from his point of view, which is all we see). Since their divorce, she has become wildly successful in television production. He calls in on her at work and she tells him about a job working as a B cameraman on a show called Survival. He knows that the job must suck or she wouldn’t give it to him, but he needs to work. Of course, he is most upset at the thought of having to work with Americans (Americans are majorly abused in this story). Although by its very nature a B cameraman position is not as good as an A cameraman, Ray needs the work, so he agrees to fly to some godforsaken tropical island to watch beautiful people starve and try to have sex with each other.
On his way out of the building he sees a homeless guy. And since Ray is the worst person ever, he kicks him. But the homeless guy is no pushover and he chases after Ray. He catches Ray in an alley and pummels him, ultimately pushing his face into some garbage. The man is Neal and although he acts crazy, he’s actually quite sharp (why he is homeless is not addressed). After forcing Ray to sing the female verses of “Don’t You Want Me,” Neal gives him this sage advice:
“Stop being a cunt to the world and the world will stop being a cunt to you.”
Advice which Ray simply cannot follow.
When ray learns that he needs a personal assistant, um, slave, he immediately thinks of Neal. So he tracks him down, cleans him up and gives him a job. And off they jet to make some TV.
In the course of the book, a series of crazy things–the kind of things only Coupland thinks of–sidetrack them from Ray’s goal. (His real goal is to get laid, naturally). First, it turns out that Neal, despite being homeless, is a total babe magnet. And throughout the story, as he gets cleaner and fresher, he becomes irresistible This, of course, ruins Ray’s plans of bedding hot women. And as Neal gets cleaner, he becomes less and less Rays assistant and more and more Ray’s equal.
They jet to L.A., (he was supposed to be in first class, but was bumped and is super angry). He also gets in trouble with the airport bartender, Lacey, who comes back to haunt him in ways one could never predict. He gets first class seats on the way to Hawaii and he abuses the privilege. Then, because of unforeseen circumstances, they have to stay in Honolulu (with lots of Spam jokes). And because of those unforseen circumstances, they need to recast the show, which means Ray’s wife has to jet down and be around them. And Ray’s wife, Fiona, is delighted to make Ray’s life miserable. Eventually, they head to their intended island and prepare to set up for the show.
In the meantime, the U.S. has decided to destroy the Great Pacific Garbage Patch–in a very imaginative way. And ray is on hand to witness the destruction. This plan causes all manner of trouble with shipping and airplane traffic. Which has the effect of isolating everyone on the Survivor island–causing a literal survival situation.
Raymond Gunt may not be the worst person ever, but he is pretty darn close. He tries to sleep with anyone. He tries to screw over everyone else (but never seems to get anywhere). And he genuinely likes to torment others. And all the while he repeats his mantra, “I consider myself a reasonable enough citizen.” Despite Gunt’s personality, he (or at least the story) is funny enough that you want to keep reading (and maybe even to succeed in some of his designs). And that made this story a major page turner. And it was very funny as well.
Coupland really gets the feel for writing a British story. It doesn’t read like any of his other books and while it’s not full of crazy accents or overt Britishisms, his main character is defiantly not American. As I said, all Americans are fat, sweaty, stupid and prudish in Ray’s mind.
This is also the worst person that Coupland has ever written. He is such an abominable person with an incredibly filthy mouth. The above quote is just one of just many curses in the book. In fact there’s a whole subplot about how prudish Americans are about people saying “fuck” despite their cavalier acceptance of violence and other things (we say friggin, when everyone knows we mean fucking).
I have to assume Coupland had a ton of fun writing this. And it really comes through. I’m also going to guess that a lot of people’ won’t like this book because Gunt is so reprehensible. But if you can get past that, the story is funny, and makes some pointedly humorous observations about a lot of contemporary life. Like “Survival [sic] is a popular reality TV show… You’re either into this show or you’re not. It’s binary.” or “‘Come on Eileen’ was a single in 1982…What’s weird about this song is that it was so huge at the time and now you listen to it and wonder, what the hell was everyone thinking? Well, that’s pop culture for you.” It even has what seem like Wikipedia entries of things throughout in the book (and a YouTube link which is bizarre to see in print).
I really enjoyed this, and I’m thrilled that Coupland has unleashed his inner black humorist.
Watch him talk about the book with Jian Ghomeshi, a great interviewer
SOUNDTRACK: BILL CALLAHAN-Tiny Desk Concert #21 (July 13, 2009).
Bill Callahan (formerly known as Smog) plays beautiful slow ballads. He has a deep, calming, gorgeous voice. And his songs have a very traditional acoustic feel (even when he plays electric guitar). He is excellent at what he does.
But I’m afraid I just don’t really like his style all that much. I can absolutely appreciate why he is so well-regarded, because even as I’m listening to this Tiny Desk set I keep thinking how good everything he is doing is. Man, his voice is so interesting, and his music is so pretty (the strings add a very nice touch).
But I just can’t imagine myself ever choosing to listen to his album.
In fairness, a song on a mix tape would probably be awesome, and I did enjoy the three songs here: “Jim Cain,” “Rococo Zephyr” (great title, and my favorite of the three) and “Too Many Birds.” And I can imagine if I was ever on a mellow music kick that this would be where I’d start. So if you enjoy pretty, mellow music done incredibly well, Bill Callahan is definitely your guy. I feel like he is not as well-known as he ought to be, so check him out.
[READ: January 23, 2014] Eleanor Rigby
Completing three Douglas Coupland novels in two weeks may seem daunting, and it is especially so when the books are as dark as these have been. (With Coupland’s follow up book, JPod, he would go in a different direction and kind of break the darkness somewhat. And the new book which just came out seems like it is more humorous than dark). This book is perhaps the most insular of his career and perhaps the most insular book I’ve read. The title is puzzling (and is ultimately revealed), although Coupland says that he was inspired by wondering what happened to Eleanor Rigby after the (Beatles, duh) song was over.
So in this story, the main character is named Liz Dunn. Liz is a blank. She claims that she is so dull that if she were an extra in movies, she would be asked to leave the scene because she is too devoid of character to even be an extra. (Actually, Liz lays the self-pity on a little too thickly throughout the book–we got the point). Liz has a brother, who is an accomplished world traveller, and a sister who lives nearby and pops in to check on her once in a while. Both are married and have their lives together, unlike Liz who lives by herself in a room with no personality at all.
Liz’ sister is beautiful and got up to all kinds of trouble in school and William has always been successful, but Liz was…nothing. She didn’t like to do much. And she pretty much holds herself up as the antithesis of her sister. She watches movies all the time in her living room. And then she goes to sleep. She works at a well paying but dull job and she has saved a ton of money because she never spends it on anything.
As the story starts, she is getting wisdom teeth out. She takes a week off from work, but he boss (the Dwarf Whom I Report To) calls to say that someone will bring some work over to keep her busy. She has bought a bunch of tear jerker movies in hopes of riding out the painkillers with them. And then she gets a phone call. A man named Jeremy has her name on his medic alert bracelet and he is in the hospital.
Liz doesn’t know who he is, but then takes a guess and goes to see him in the hospital. And it turns out to be…her son. (more…)
I don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed her Tiny Desk Concert. Unlike most of the musicians, she busts out an electric guitar, and although it’s quiet, there’s some good buzzy distortion on it, especially in the first song “Heavy Snow.” And it sounds good with her voice, which is powerful, even if she does seem nervous.
On “Ce Charmant Coeur” she sings in French and then messes up when she admits she’s thinking of other things and is distracted by the intimacy of the setting. Bob and company calm her by saying that she is sweating less than Tom Jones did (and there’s very funny joke about her breasts popping out (they don’t)).
She plays “Tailor.” It seems like she tried earlier and stopped half way through and is now trying again (the Concert itself starts midway through, so I assume that’s what was cut off). It’s a pretty, mellow song (very different sounding from “Heavy Snow”).
For the last song she plays “Consolation Prize” which she says is unlike any she’d written before. There’s a chaotic section in the middle which they agree we can just imagine because shes not going to play it in this setting. The blurb with the show says that she normally rocks out pretty hard–something that I’d like to see.
In looking up Doiron’s past she was on Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop, so I must have seen her name a lot back in the day. I now see she has recorded with all kinds of bands that I like, and I’m curious to hear her more rocking edge (especially since she is so polite and sweet and nervous here).
After finishing the exciting All Families are Psychotic I moved on to his novel with my least favorite title and with a horrendous cover. You’d think that I would remember these books but I had no memory of this one either, and I’m fairly certain I read it within the last ten years.
Coupland must have been in a very dark place with this book as well.
There are four sections, each from a different person’s point of view. This technique of having a person tell his or her story is something Coupland does very well in all of his works–he loves to tell stories about telling stories.
But the darkness about the book is that it is set in a school just as three student gunman come in and shoot up the cafeteria, killing dozens of students, including the first narrator, Cheryl. This was written with the Columbine shootings in mind, although it has nothing specifically to do with Columbine.
In Part 1, Cheryl has already been killed as she is relating this story to us. She tells us about herself and her decision to join Youth Alive! a religious group in school. She and her friends in the group are very moral and are quite clique-y (and they are not widely liked).
The latest thing in Cheryl’s life which has her preoccupied and which has her Youth Alive! group very upset is that she has been spending a lot of unchaperoned time with Jason. Everyone knew they were dating, but it seems to have gone further now. And Cheryl explains to us (but not them) that she and Jason have started having sex. But not until after they rushed off to Vegas and were quickie-married (which no one knows, not even their parents). (more…)
Since I have posted about Phish already, it seemed like time to listen to an ICP song. I admit that when their first album came out, they seemed goofy enough to check out their album. I love a cartoony band that is going to “ruin America.” But I had heard that their music was just too awful to enjoy ironically, so I never bothered with them (if I had been a few years younger, I probably would have embraced them wholly). In the book below, Rabin says that their newer stuff is not only a ton better than their early stuff (which he admits is raw and pretty terrible) he says that it is quite poppy.
So I listened to a few of the songs that he mentions (and there are some funny lines), but I decided to focus on this one which Rabin describes as “a groovy throwback number that finds ecstasy in a bleak moral reckoning…finding the joy in the macabre and the celebration in the gothic. Also, it’s catchy as fuck.”
That’s a highfalutin way of saying that they sing about blowing shit up. Lyrically the song seems to be about ICP talking to their fans (in the harshest terms possible, which I guess is affection: “Cuz you’re the evilest pedophiles, rapists and abusers/All together we’ve got fifty thousand of you losers”). It’s an insider tract and if you don’t like it or get it, well, you’re not supposed to.
But aside from the lyrics about rapists and all the cursing, this song could easily be a big hit. It is, yes, catchy as fuck.
But I won’t be listening to more from them.
[READ: January 2, 2013] You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me
Every year my brother-in-law gets me cool and unusual books, most of which I’ve never heard of. This year, he got me this book which I’d never heard of. I was confused by the title (which is confusing). The author’s name sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure—until I saw the A.V. Club connection. So, at first I thought this was going to be about going to interesting shows or basically having something to do with the A.V. Club. But, as the subtitle says, this book is exclusively about Rabin’s travels following Phish for a summer and also going to some ICP Gatherings of the Juggalos.
The theme of the book is how most people have never heard the music of either band, but they have formed opinions not only of the bands, but their followers. Rabin points out plenty of exceptions to the stereotypes, but you won’t be leaving this book thinking much more of the preexisting stereotypes than you already do. Sure, some Phish heads are doctors, and some Juggalos are employable, but the majority are (despite his best efforts) what you think they are. But one of the main messages that he seems to promote in the book is that each of these groups have created tribes around them. And those who aren’t part of the tribe may scoff, but they secretly wish they could be having as much fun as the members of the tribes. And that may in fact be true.
I’ve enjoyed Phish’s music for years, although I’ve never seen them live. And as for ICP, I didn’t even realize they were still around—although that Workaholics episode should have clued me in. Naturally these two bands could not be more polar opposite in terms of music and fanbase (although Rabin did encounter some crossover). So he sets out to show how he can enjoy both groups. (more…)
A Picture of Nectar plays with expectations of Phish somewhat (as many as could be formed after two albums). This album has sixteen songs, with half of them at 3 minutes or less. These include the pretty jazz instrumental “Eliza,” “Poor Heart” which is a slide guitar filled short country-ish romp, “Manteca” thirty seconds of nonsense. “Magila” is a jazz instrumental which has solos by both piano and guitar. “The Landlady” is another instrumental, but one that is a rocking guitar workout. “Faht” is a pretty, simple guitar piece with birds playing in the background
After somewhat anemic recordings, A Picture of Nectar feels a lot more full. “Llama” bursts out of the gate sounding very complete with all of the instruments at the same power and breadth. “Cavern” has a pretty ridiculous drum sound—very big and echoey and the pace is a little slower than is typical live, but it sounds very good. “Stash” clocks in at 7 minutes and it sounds very similar to the albums (although there are a still a bunch of silly voices like the one who says “Please don’t do that.” “Guelah Papyrus” (no idea what that name is about) sounds fine here—very much like the live versions, full and fun.
“Glide” features the “glad glad glad” chorus in multipart harmony that makes this song seem like a barbershop number and sounds wonderful. The longest song on the album is perennial favorite “Tweezer.” The song is very much like the live versions except that the middle section has a crazy noisy breakdown which is a little disconcerting. The solo then moves into a typical jam for Phish which really shows what they would do with this song live. “The Mango Song” is a fun piano based jaunty number that highlights the band’s harmonies. It sounds really good too. “Chalk Dust Torture” sounds different because the voice is very different. It sounds like Trey through a processor of some sort, or possibly somebody else singing.
The album ends with “Tweezer Reprise” because the song is so good it needs a proper ending. This is another successful album from Phish.
[READ: September 20, 2013] “East Texas Lumber”
I wasn’t sure I would like this story about an unsuccessful guy in East Texas. But I really did.
The narrator is Brian, a guy who has not been very successful since he got out of school. He’s trying to save up to be a locksmith, but in the meantime he’s working at East Texas lumber. And he’s thankful to divine providence for sending a tornado which helped him get the job.
A tornado ripped through their town and because of all of the rebuilding, the lumber store needed extra help, and that’s where Brian came in. Even though on his first day he crushed some drywall and put a nail in his foot, they kept him on. He was paired with Jimmy, a goof who had been working there for a long time. Jimmy liked to smoke pot and go to parties, but he was the only one willing to partner up with potential liability Brian.
On this day their boss has given them a cushy job. Deliver two loads of shingles to two different locations. This was easy work—a lot of driving and no lumber to stack. And it should get them back around 4, which is just enough time to goof off for the last hour, and get to The Hangout by 5 PM. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING-Tiny Desk Concert #354 (May 5, 2014).
I heard about Public Service Broadcasting via NPR and I loved their song “Spitfire,” a rocking instrumental with interesting samples scattered throughout. Well, it turns out that live, the rock just as hard. Even though there’s only two of them. There’s J. Willgoose, Esq. on guitar, banjo and electronics and Wrigglesworth on drums. The samples come from British public-service films from roughly the 1940s through the 1960s.
SOUNDTRACK: WNYC SOUNDCHECK GIG ALERTS (2009-).
I don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.
I Just Read About That... 