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Archive for the ‘Film & TV’ Category

Dennis Etchison–“The Late Shift” (published 1980) [The Ghost Box] (2017)

Posted in Canadian Content, Death, Dennis Etchison, Drinking, Genesis, Halloween, Hingston & Olsen, Hospitals, Huh?, Native Americans, Patton Oswalt, Regrets, Short Story, The Beatles, The Doors, The Ghost Box, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Yuck!, Zombies on October 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“The Unsafe Bridge” (MGM Grand Garden Arena, Friday 10, 31, 2014).

In honor of Halloween, these Ghost Box stories will be attached to a recent Phish Halloween show [with quoted material from various reviews]. 

Known for dawning musical costumes to celebrate [Halloween], Phish broke with tradition last year to offer a set of original music.  The Phish Bill read that Phish’s musical costume would be a 1964 Disney album of sound effects – Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.  But it wasn’t a cover set. Phish played original music set amongst an incredibly psychedelic, theatrical graveyard stage accentuated by zombie dancers and a ghoulish MC.  At the start of the set, the stage was cleared before a graveyard came to the foreground.  Smoke filled the air, zombie dancers appeared, and music filled the venue. A haunted house was brought to the front of the stage, which eventually exploded, and all four-band members appeared, dressed in white like zombies. 

“The Unsafe Bridge” was Phish’s version of a Spaghetti Western soundtrack with elements of Genesis and The Beatles worked in. While the band played these songs, lasers and other effects not usually seen at a Phish show were added to the insane spectacle.

This song definitely a spaghetti western vibe from Mike and some appropriate piano from Page.  Trey plays some simple guitar melodies.  And then a pretty solo.

This piece is nicely catchy but also really short at only 3 minutes.  I could have listened to this one for longer.

[READ: October 16, 2017] “The Late Shift”

Just in time for Halloween, from the people who brought me The Short Story Advent Calendar comes The Ghost Box.

This is a nifty little box (with a magnetic opening) that contains 11 stories for Halloween.  It is lovingly described thusly:

A collection of chilly, spooky, hair-raising-y stories to get you in that Hallowe’en spirit, edited and introduced by comedian and horror aficionado Patton Oswalt.

There is no explicit “order” to these books; however, on the inside cover, one “window” of the 11 boxes is “folded.”  I am taking that as a suggested order.

This story started in an amusing way–kids returning from a 2 AM screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre stop at a convenience store to but some alcohol.  It’s Macklin and his friend Whitey (who is Native American–real name is White Feather).  At the store, the clerk is acting really weird, just repeating “Please, thank you, sorry” and seeming to be really out of it.

They recognize him as Juano, a guy they know from another store, but he seems to have really hit the skids as they say. (more…)

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Chelsea Quinn Yarbro–“Savory, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” (published 1984) [The Ghost Box] (2017)

Posted in Canadian Content, Death, Halloween, Hingston & Olsen, Horror, Patton Oswalt, Phish, Regrets, Revenge, Romance, Short Story, The Ghost Box, W.F. Harvey, Witches on October 26, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“Shipwreck” (MGM Grand Garden Arena, Friday 10, 31, 2014).

In honor of Halloween, these Ghost Box stories will be attached to a recent Phish Halloween show [with quoted material from various reviews]. 

Known for dawning musical costumes to celebrate [Halloween], Phish broke with tradition last year to offer a set of original music.  The Phish Bill read that Phish’s musical costume would be a 1964 Disney album of sound effects – Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.  But it wasn’t a cover set. Phish played original music set amongst an incredibly psychedelic, theatrical graveyard stage accentuated by zombie dancers and a ghoulish MC.  At the start of the set, the stage was cleared before a graveyard came to the foreground.  Smoke filled the air, zombie dancers appeared, and music filled the venue. A haunted house was brought to the front of the stage, which eventually exploded, and all four-band members appeared, dressed in white like zombies. 

The story behind “Shipwreck” is that you are on a holiday cruise when you encounter a dense fog.

“Shipwreck” was similar to other songs performed during the set as it started with a spoken word soundtrack from the original album as the zombiefied actors danced around stage and led into original music. This time around, the quartet unveiled a dreamy progression.

The song is slow and trippy, like a slow sea journey.  And then the samples come in: “Are you too near the shore?” (played forwards and backwards).  Then repeats of “jagged rocks jagged rocks.”

Phish followed the spoken word section with a gorgeous piece of ambient music that was reminiscent of studio jams of the late ’90s.

There’s a kind of threatening low keyboard note while Trey was playing feedback noises.  Then page started a series of fast keyboard trills with many sound effects.

[READ: October 21, 2017] “Savory, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme”

Just in time for Halloween, from the people who brought me The Short Story Advent Calendar comes The Ghost Box.

This is a nifty little box (with a magnetic opening) that contains 11 stories for Halloween.  It is lovingly described thusly:

A collection of chilly, spooky, hair-raising-y stories to get you in that Hallowe’en spirit, edited and introduced by comedian and horror aficionado Patton Oswalt.

There is no explicit “order” to these books; however, on the inside cover, one “window” of the 11 boxes is “folded.”  I am taking that as a suggested order.

I though that this story took a really long time to get where it was going, but once it got there it was really interesting. (more…)

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Ed Piskor–Hip Hop Family Tree 1983-1984 (2015)

Posted in Akrobatik, Beastie Boys, Biz Markee, Books about music, Charlie Ahearn, Chuck D, Digital Undergound, Disco Three, Doug E. Fresh, Dr. Dre, Ed Piskor, Fishbone, Flavor Flav, Graffiti Rock, Graphic Novel, Henry Chalfant, Herbie Hancock, History, Ice-T, Jay Z, Kate Schellenbach, Kool Moe D, KRS-One, Kurtis Blow, Lovebug Starski, Mantronix, Martha Cooper, Melle Mel, Mr. Lif, Newcleus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rick Rubin, Roxanne Shanté, Run D.M.C, Sexism, T La Rock, The Fat Boys, The Furious Five, The Perceptionists, UTFO, Violence, Whodini, Wu-Tang Clan on October 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE PERCEPTIONISTS-Tiny Desk Concert #661 (October 20, 2017).

The Perceptionists are Mr. Lif [Jeffery Haynes] and Akrobatik [Jared Bridgeman] two emcees whose names rock bells among true hip-hop heads. The duo of Boston natives first teamed up as The Perceptionists in the early aughts to release Black Dialogue on El-P’s Def Jux label in 2005. Their side project went into indefinite hiatus soon afterward, but now LLif and Akrobatik are reunited on their new LP, Resolution.

In a world that often appears to be spiraling out of control, their Tiny Desk set provides a much-needed breather.

With sharp, heartfelt lyricism, The Perceptionists critique the current political climate on “Out Of Control.”  There’s some great lyrics in this song.  I especially like

Man, I’m right there with them
Keeping it funky
If I’m African American, tell me which country
Our differences shouldn’t make you wanna hunt me
When in reality every fruit came from one tree

The song has a groovy funky bass from the really animated (H)Ashish Vyas.

On “Lemme Find Out” they rhyme about the symbiotic human relationship with technology.  They say our lives are just so dominated by technology…  Mr Lif wonders “if I am living in the real reality or just a predetermined reality that I’ve been programmed with.”  Akrobatik says, “50 years from know humans are going to have craned necks from [cell phones].”  The track opens with a cool echoing somewhat sinister guitar riff from Van Gordon Martin [“Not known for shit startin’ but his name is Van Martin”]

Once again, I love Akrobatik’s rhymes:

Microchip implanted in my hip
Got me feeling like an alien that landed in a ship
Probed my frontal lobe now I’m standing here equipped
With abilities to flip
But I can’t get a grip on regular shit
I’m about to dodge my competitor’s wit
Hit them with something that they’ll never forget
Deprogram, roll up a hell of a spliff
And smoke Master Kush at the edge of a cliff

I really like the little growls that Mr Lif does at the end of the verses.

The next song is “A Different Light.”  This chorus is great:

Want to crucify me for toughest era in my life?
That’s all right…
Thought the world of you but now I see you in a different light
That’s all right…

The duo’s

conscious ethos is perfectly encapsulated by Ak’s lyrical run.  He raps: “But I’m above all of the melodrama / When they go low / We go high / Michelle Obama.”

Mr. Lif says, “Everyone enters a relationship with different levels of expectations.”  Sometimes we are looking too closely at our expectations and not looking at the other person and being present with the situations right in front of us.   The song is mellow with some gentle synths from “Chop” Lean Thomas. The end of the song has a retro flute sound.  There’s also a mellow guitar line that runs through the song.

The song tells the story of Ak’s near-death experience with a pernicious aortic dissection, as well as the betrayal of a close friend during his convalescence.

About that incident, Acrobatik raps:

I don’t need to call your name out – I ain’t trying to embarrass ya
This is not about revenge, it’s more about your character
Or lack thereof, step back there brov
How can you call someone a friend and then attack their love?

The final song is “Early Morning.”  It’s got some great funky bass and some great funky drums from “Tommy B” Benedetti.  They say they hope this resonates with us all.

As the song ends, there’s some great riffs on the guitar and then Ak says, “we can’t  make a crazy exit… don’t wanna knock shit over.”

[READ: February 13, 2017] Hip Hop Family Tree 3

Book three continues the rise of Hip-Hop and bands who really start selling big.

Interestingly, it starts with Rick Rubin setting the tone for hip hop: “Sorry but girls don’t sound good rapping” (said to Kate Schellenbach of Beastie Boys.  And then getting the Boys all dressed in matching tracksuits (Puma).  Kate gets two rather unflattering drawings of her as the Boys tell her that the three boys will be the first white rap group (with Rubin as DJ).

Two art critics also get involved with tagging and graffiti at this time. Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant take photos of the art but find time and again that “legitimate” businesses want nothing to do with this illegal work.  This also accompanies the rise of break dancing–there’s a funny page in which people think that a group of kids break dancing is actually fighting with each other.

But this book really tracks the rise of Run D.M.C., with the promise by DJ Run that he wouldn’t leave Jay behind.  He was good to his word. (more…)

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Al Sarrantonio–“Pumpkin Head” (published 1982) [The Ghost Box] (2017)

Posted in Al Sarrantonio, Canadian Content, Cats, Death, Fears, Halloween, Hingston & Olsen, Patton Oswalt, Phish, Set at School, Short Story, The Ghost Box, Yuck! on October 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“Your Pet Cat” (MGM Grand Garden Arena, Friday 10, 31, 2014).

In honor of Halloween, these Ghost Box stories will be attached to a recent Phish Halloween show [with quoted material from various reviews]. 

Known for dawning musical costumes to celebrate [Halloween], Phish broke with tradition last year to offer a set of original music.  The Phish Bill read that Phish’s musical costume would be a 1964 Disney album of sound effects – Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.  But it wasn’t a cover set. Phish played original music set amongst an incredibly psychedelic, theatrical graveyard stage accentuated by zombie dancers and a ghoulish MC.  At the start of the set, the stage was cleared before a graveyard came to the foreground.  Smoke filled the air, zombie dancers appeared, and music filled the venue. A haunted house was brought to the front of the stage, which eventually exploded, and all four-band members appeared, dressed in white like zombies. 

“Your Pet Cat” was a funk workout with a “Tube”-like beat from Fish and staccato synth stabs from McConnell as the sounds of cats shrieking poured out over the PA.

The announcer says, “From the time of the ancient Egyptians until today, many people have been cat fanciers.”

With a screeching cat sound and a repeating keyboard motif Trey plays five chords in rapid succession with a little air to breathe.  There’s a funky bass from Mike and some grooving from Page.

The song came to a climax when Trey played some wild solos and adding some cat-like noises of his own to the mix.

[READ: October 16, 2017] “Pumpkin Head”

Just in time for Halloween, from the people who brought me The Short Story Advent Calendar comes The Ghost Box.

This is a nifty little box (with a magnetic opening) that contains 11 stories for Halloween.  It is lovingly described thusly:

A collection of chilly, spooky, hair-raising-y stories to get you in that Hallowe’en spirit, edited and introduced by comedian and horror aficionado Patton Oswalt.

There is no explicit “order” to these books; however, on the inside cover, one “window” of the 11 boxes is “folded.”  I am taking that as a suggested order.

I really enjoyed this story although there were so many elements that just seemed so wrong (in 1982!). (more…)

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The Mads Are Back! (ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem PA, October 24, 2017)

Posted in Frank Conniff, Funny (ha ha), MST3K, Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Mads Are Back!, Trace Beaulieu, Walk the Dark Street on October 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 24, 2017] The Mads Are Back! 

Just a few months after seeing MST3K Live, I found out that two more MST3K alum were also touring.  This time it was TVs Frank (Coniff) and Dr. Clayton Forrester or Crow T. Robot (Trace Beaulieu).  I was so excited that they were coming to Bethlehem. I hoped to see both shows, but could only make one.

I didn’t realize that they had been riffing like this together since 2015.  They were clearly having fun and the show was a real treat–even if the movie was possibly the worst film I have ever seen.

Unlike the massive specatcle that was the MST3K tour, The Mads show was far more low-key.  In fact, Frank Coniff and Trace Beaulieu were sitting at the entrance greeting people (I was running late and basically got there just as they were packing up, rats).

We went into the theater (the theater at ArtsQuest is luxurious!), and after a few minutes of screen grabs like the one above, the two came out and stood before us. (more…)

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George Saunders-“‘Borat’: The Memo” (New Yorker, December 4, 2006)

Posted in Acting, Borat, Canadian Music, Consumerism, George Saunders, Military, New Yorker, Pranks, Racism, Sasha Baron Cohen, Sexism, Snoop Dog, Suicidal Tendencies, Therapy, Unfunny, War on October 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THUNDERCAT-Tiny Desk Concert #660 (October 18, 2017).

I had never heard of Thundercat.  Except I probably have:

Thundercat, born Stephen Bruner, is willing and able to shape-shift to fit into just about any box you show him — he just won’t stay in there for long. Whether fusing his talent for jazz while a bassist with punk legacy act Suicidal Tendencies or as a member of Snoop Dogg’s band — maybe running a little too far with a solo here and there — the focus seems to eventually drift his way.

After releasing two brilliant solo albums, he was plucked to work on what eventually became one of the most important works of art released this decade: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. Capitalizing off of the new exposure, he quickly released the EP The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam. That was followed about two years later by Drunk, his most solid project to date.

I didn’t know what to expect in the days leading to the performance, but I was hoping to get what I thought a Thundercat experience would be like. All boxes ended up checked: He arrived wearing a neon pink hoodie with his signature logo plastered about, kickboxing shorts, white chancletas, playing a Nintendo portable gaming console. He and his bandmates Dennis Hamm (keys) Justin Brown (drums) and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (violin), all master musicians in their own right, polished off some bacon croissant sandwiches and proceeded to give us three of the best of what Drunk has to offer.

Overall, Bruner sings with gentle falsetto.  Most of the lyrics are pretty funny, with some pointed lyrics.  But the really impressive thing is that he is playing a six string bass and getting all kinds of great sounds out of it.

I love love love the bass sound that he gets on all of the songs.  And I love that he throws in some fascinating solo moments where he does these incredible runs up and down the fretboard.

The bass is sort of watery on the first track “Lava Lamp.”  It opens with him picking out the melody on chords and some delightful backing ooohs.  The violin is electric and plays these really trippy synthy sounds.

The second song “Friend Zone” opens with watery rubbery chords from the bass and then a great funky bass line while the keys play.  The lyrics are really quite funny:

I’m your biggest fan but I guess that’s just not good enough /
is it because i wear my hair weird or because I like to play Diablo

The next time you call me / I’m just gonna sit and stare at the screen /waiting for the call to end.

If you’re not bringing tacos / you should just turn and walk away.

There’s some really cool squeaking violin notes that add a wonderful texture to overall piece.  And of course, there’s some great fat bass riffs

The chorus goes: “no one wants to be in the friend zone.”  As the song ends, he chuckles.

The final song “Them Changes” has even cooler sounds from the bass.  There’s echo and flange and it sounds like three people playing.  It’s really great, particularly the amazing bass runs.  The violin also has a really trippy echo on it.

Bruner’s bass is tremendous.  And I’m really curious to check out more from this guy.  (In fact, just listening to a few songs from the album, it’s pretty wild).

[READ: January 27, 2017] “‘Borat’: The Memo”

George Saunders is not afraid to attack injustice.  Sometimes he does it with humor.  Sometimes he does it very subtly.  And sometimes he does it in an incredibly unsubtle fashion (but still with humor).

It is clear that Saunders was completely offended by the movie Borat (this is not a timely posting about this piece I know).  But he wasn’t upset simply because Sasha Baron Cohen did rude things or was a little offensive.  He was offended at the very essence of what this movie did.

Disclosure: Sarah and I think the scene where Borat asks a stock boy what this is and the answer is “Cheese” over and over is absolutely hilarious.

So, how does Saunders deal with this movie?  By offering some suggestions for the DVD extras. (more…)

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George R.R. Martin–“The Pear-Shaped Man” (published 1987) [The Ghost Box] (2017)

Posted in Artists, Canadian Content, Cheez Doodles, Death, Fears, George R.R. Martin, Halloween, Hingston & Olsen, Horror, Linda Ronstadt, Patton Oswalt, Phish, Regrets, Short Story, The Ghost Box, W.F. Harvey, Yuck! on October 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“Timber” (MGM Grand Garden Arena, Friday 10, 31, 2014).

In honor of Halloween, these Ghost Box stories will be attached to a recent Phish Halloween show [with quoted material from various reviews]. 

Known for dawning musical costumes to celebrate [Halloween], Phish broke with tradition last year to offer a set of original music.  The Phish Bill read that Phish’s musical costume would be a 1964 Disney album of sound effects – Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.  But it wasn’t a cover set. Phish played original music set amongst an incredibly psychedelic, theatrical graveyard stage accentuated by zombie dancers and a ghoulish MC.  At the start of the set, the stage was cleared before a graveyard came to the foreground.  Smoke filled the air, zombie dancers appeared, and music filled the venue. A haunted house was brought to the front of the stage, which eventually exploded, and all four-band members appeared, dressed in white like zombies. 

This song is not to be confused with “Timber Ho!” the wonderful cover of the Josh White and Sam Gary song.  That one is also known as “Timber (Jerry)” and “Timber (Jerry the Mule).”   This new song is a chilling thrilling track in which “you are an expert woodsman.”  You climb up the branches of a tree and you begin to saw

“Timber” was another guitar-heavy rocker.  It uses the back-and-forth of the saw to set the beat before stating a five note guitar/bass riff with echoes attached on the piano.   The shriek of the plummeting woodsman is added from time to time for dramatic effect.  There’s some good soloing from everybody here, especially when Page and Trey trade off on leads.

[READ: October 16, 2017] “The Pear-Shaped Man”

Just in time for Halloween, from the people who brought me The Short Story Advent Calendar comes The Ghost Box.

This is a nifty little box (with a magnetic opening) that contains 11 stories for Halloween.  It is lovingly described thusly:

A collection of chilly, spooky, hair-raising-y stories to get you in that Hallowe’en spirit, edited and introduced by comedian and horror aficionado Patton Oswalt.

There is no explicit “order” to these books; however, on the inside cover, one “window” of the 11 boxes is “folded.”  I am taking that as a suggested order.

I have not read anything by George R.R. Martin (surprisingly).  So I don’t know how this fits into his general oeuvre.

I actually thought it might be a recent story (I don’t know why I though that).  But there were two things that made it feel dated.  It had a casual sexism that made me bristle.  Nothing too over the top, but just a mild amount that I was surprised by (and which I don’t think I see too much recently) and the guy plays the “new Linda Ronstadt album” (that dated it even more to me).

So this story is long (unsurprisingly). The plot is actually quite simple and easy to encapsulate in a shorter story  But Martin does wonders with ambiance and tension. (more…)

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Adam Corbin Fusco–“N072-JK1” (published 2003) [The Ghost Box] (2017)

Posted in Adam Corbin Fusco, Canadian Content, Death, Fears, Halloween, Hingston & Olsen, Huh?, Patton Oswalt, Phish, Regrets, Short Story, The Ghost Box, Threats, Violence, Yuck! on October 23, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“The Dogs” (MGM Grand Garden Arena, Friday 10, 31, 2014).

In honor of Halloween, these Ghost Box stories will be attached to a recent Phish Halloween show [with quoted material from various reviews]. 

Known for dawning musical costumes to celebrate [Halloween], Phish broke with tradition last year to offer a set of original music.  The Phish Bill read that Phish’s musical costume would be a 1964 Disney album of sound effects – Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.  But it wasn’t a cover set. Phish played original music set amongst an incredibly psychedelic, theatrical graveyard stage accentuated by zombie dancers and a ghoulish MC.  At the start of the set, the stage was cleared before a graveyard came to the foreground.  Smoke filled the air, zombie dancers appeared, and music filled the venue. A haunted house was brought to the front of the stage, which eventually exploded, and all four-band members appeared, dressed in white like zombies. 

A little over ten minutes into the set, after the explosion, the walls of the Haunted House were exposed to show the band dressed in white tuxedos with zombie makeup.

Phish’s contribution to “The Dogs” was a catchy arena rock progression.  This song opens with the narration that as a child you were frightened by a huge snarling dog.  And as the dogs start barking, the band starts rocking.  It’s a big riff jam with some funky bass moments and rollicking piano.

But this is  rocking guitar song with raw chords that really move along and a great solo from Trey.

It ends with the squeaky door closing and a scream.

[READ: October 16, 2017] “N0072-JK1”

Just in time for Halloween, from the people who brought me The Short Story Advent Calendar comes The Ghost Box.

This is a nifty little box (with a magnetic opening) that contains 11 stories for Halloween.  It is lovingly described thusly:

A collection of chilly, spooky, hair-raising-y stories to get you in that Hallowe’en spirit, edited and introduced by comedian and horror aficionado Patton Oswalt.

There is no explicit “order” to these books; however, on the inside cover, one “window” of the 11 boxes is “folded.”  I am taking that as a suggested order.

This was the least satisfying story in the collection.  I read it twice and I still don’t really “get it.” (more…)

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Richard Matheson-“Born of Man and Woman” (published 1950) [The Ghost Box] (2017)

Posted in Canadian Content, Death, Freaks, Hingston & Olsen, Horror, Patton Oswalt, Phish, Regrets, Short Story, The Ghost Box, Violence, W.F. Harvey, Yuck! on October 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-“The Very Long Fuse” (MGM Grand Garden Arena, Friday 10, 31, 2014).

In honor of Halloween, these Ghost Box stories will be attached to a recent Phish Halloween show [with quoted material from various reviews]. 

Known for dawning musical costumes to celebrate [Halloween], Phish broke with tradition last year to offer a set of original music.  The Phish Bill read that Phish’s musical costume would be a 1964 Disney album of sound effects – Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House.  But it wasn’t a cover set. Phish played original music set amongst an incredibly psychedelic, theatrical graveyard stage accentuated by zombie dancers and a ghoulish MC.  At the start of the set, the stage was cleared before a graveyard came to the foreground.  Smoke filled the air, zombie dancers appeared, and music filled the venue. A haunted house was brought to the front of the stage, which eventually exploded, and all four-band members appeared, dressed in white like zombies. 

That same creaking door leads to a more upbeat major-key section on “The Very Long Fuse.”  I love that on the original, the whole track is just the sound of the fuse going off.

For their version, it’s primarily a synth jam.  It’s a rather upbeat jam with a kind of staccato guitar riff and a groovy melody.

You can see a fuse lit and crackling across the front of the building.

Midway through the “narrator” says it’s almost gone out and she’ll blow it to life.  The end says “You though there was going to be a huge explosion, didn’t you.”  And then there is one (although it’s pretty quiet).

Then the top half of  walls crash down and the band is suddenly visible.  That’s a pretty cool live moment.

[READ: October 16, 2017] “Born of Man and Woman

Just in time for Halloween. from the people who brought me The Short Story Advent Calendar comes The Ghost Box.

This is a nifty little box (with a magnetic opening) that contains 11 stories for Halloween.  It is lovingly described thusly:

A collection of chilly, spooky, hair-raising-y stories to get you in that Hallowe’en spirit, edited and introduced by comedian and horror aficionado Patton Oswalt.

There is no explicit “order” to these books; however, on the inside cover, one “window” of the 11 boxes is “folded.”  I am taking that as a suggested order.

This story was quite a change from the other two. (more…)

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George Saunders–“My Guilty Pleasures” (New Yorker, February 3, 2003)

Posted in Car Talk, Death, Funny (ha ha), Gabriel Kahane, George Saunders, Ian Chang, John Philip Sousa, Landlady, New Yorker, Okkervil River, Rogue Collective, Sex, Son Lux, Steely Dan, The Bachelor, Tiny Desk Concert on October 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LANDYLADY-Tiny Desk Concert #657 (October 6, 2017).

As I started watching this video I said to myself, Is that Son Lux’s drummer (Ian Chang)?  Look at the way he is drumming, it must be him.  And it is!

I had never heard of Landlady but I was instantly intrigued that Chang was playing with them.

The Brooklyn-based band’s songs are the initial creation of leader Adam Schatz, who observes the world with fresh, almost alien eyes.  Landlady is also a band of brilliant musicians who carefully craft their playing to serve the songs. Each player on their own might seem to be making quirky sounds or playing odd rhythms, but together they create head-turning tunes.

The opening track for Landlady’s Tiny Desk performance, “Cadaver,” has its origins in a friend of Schatz’s who went to medical school, and the years she spent examining a single cadaver over and over and even more specifically about a tattoo on that cadaver’s buttocks.

“Cadaver” opens with prepared piano sounds although the song quickly resolves itself into a kind of quirky Steely Dan vibe.  I love that Chang is using big soft bright blue brushes on the drums and that he even plays the desk and everything else around him during the slightly noisy middle section.

After the song, Schatz is very funny.  “Thanks for coming to work today I think a lot of us are actually very impressed by people who actually go to work.  Afterwards we’ll have all sorts of questions.  So know that while you’re looking at us wondering how do they do it.  Know that we’re looking back at you… wondering how do we do it.”

“Solid Brass” opens with some lovely guitars.  This song feels like something Gabriel Kahane might have constructed.  The chorus begins with just the piano and him singing “My voice is lower in the morning” over and over.  And then the whole band joins in on that simple sentiment.  That chorus melody is repeated but with other different simple ideas: “your legs are shorter in the evening.”  After that chorus, the guitarist Will Graefe plays some wildly distorted noises while the piano has stopped and only Ryan Dugre on the bass is there to keep it going.

For their Tiny Desk Concert they came in as a foursome but also recruited the Washington D.C. string quartet, Rogue Collective to flesh-out their sound on the third song, “Electric Abdomen.” That cut, which seems to be about being uncomfortable in your own skin, sounds like it came from a long-lost tape from The Beatles during a session for Abbey Road, full of wonder and, like this Tiny Desk performance, worth digging deep into.

Schatz introduces the quartet: “These are our new friends Rogue Collective.”  [Alexa Cantalupo (violin); Livia Amoruso (violin); Deanna Said (viola); Natalie Spehar (cello)].  One of them jokes: “Not Rouge Collective.”  Schatz quickly replies: “That’s us.”

He tells us:  “They learned all the music.  That was very nice of them.  This is hard.   You get nervous when you’re not used to being nervous.  So I thought I’d say that out loud.  A lot of people come here and they don’t seem nervous.  Top artists of today…  Who are some of the….  Like John Philip Sousa.  Guys like them they act all macho and they think they can just nail it.  But its hard and it puts us in a vulnerable place and I think that’s the point of this.

“So I want to say ‘Thank you, Bob and everyone for putting us in this compromising position.’

“I’d like to dedicate this last song to one of the most important pieces of Public Radio that was ever produced.  A program that changed the world and you can’t imagine the world before it existed.  So I’d like to dedicate this song and the rest of our lives to Car Talk, which basically raised me.  They were like to extra parents.”

“Electric Abdomen” opens with the sound of vibes and prickly guitar.  Then the strings fill in and the guitar sounds great and.  And, yes, it has s decidedly Abbey Road feel to it–the guitar sound especially.

I enjoyed this set immensely and watched it many times.   And I was only saddened to discover that Landlady (and Okkervil River) played a show in Philly the night before I watched this video.  Sigh.  That’s a lovely pairing.

[READ: January 24, 2017] “My Guilty Pleasures”

Many times in short New Yorker pieces, the jokes are topical, which means they don’t always hold up well.  And, sometimes, they get stuck in one thing and don’t really move beyond that.

George Saunders is usually pretty good at getting his topical jokes to move beyond whatever he is spoofing.

But he also likes to really hammer home one idea for a while.  Like this one, in which his guilty pleasure is watching reality shows (all based around The Bachelor). (more…)

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