SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-35 Rhums (2008).
This is a charming and very French sounding soundtrack. A delightful melody runs throughout the disc (which totals just over 25 minutes).
When Sarah first heard it, she said, “What’s this French music you’re listening to?” And indeed, it is very French-sounding. There are very simple instruments: melodica, acoustic guitars, piano. And that melodica is a prominent sound–giving it a sense of intrigue as well as a sense of solitude (the melodica can sound so yearning). But it’s not all melodica and intrigue; for instance, there’s some delicate xylophone on “Night Time Apartments.”
There are also several snippets from the movie online. Here’s one clip (with Tindersticks score underneath):
Of the new soundtracks releases this one is my favorite. And it’s one that I could see listening to for fun.
[READ: June 16, 2011] “The Rules of Engagement”
This is the final story in The Walrus‘ Summer Reading issue. As I mentioned, the intro states: “We asked five celebrated writers to devise five guidelines for composing a short story or poem. They all traded lists–and played by the rules.” Alexi Zenther was given rules by Sarah Selecky (which I posted below).
I really enjoyed this story, despite the immoral behavior. Susan and her friends from high school (it’s ten years after high school now) are enjoying a foreign vacation for a week. The first thing we see is a man seducing Susan. They call him “Fork” because after a few hours of flirting, he asked, “And now we fork?” Amusingly, for someone who made a living seducing women, he was bad in bed.
The other women also meet and bed these professional gigilos. After sex, one of them simply walked over to the woman’s wallet and took money when he was ready to leave. She notes that he took “probably less than I would have given him if he had asked.”
The women are in various stages of relationships, one woman is divorced, another is serially monogamous and a third is married (that’s the immoral part).
There’s a wonderful diversion in the story that flashes back to Susan’s grandfather Bert. Bert had a U-pick apple stand and the girls worked there for many summers. There’s an especially tender moment in which Susan and Bert are wandering the island and they see a wild horse. And the scene fills Susan (and the reader) with a sense of wonder at her grandfather. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 