SOUNDTRACK: JAPANDROIDS-“Fire’s Highway” (2012).
I regret dismissing the suggestions of the NPR folks the other day. As the more I dig into their suggestions, the more I like–seems their selections are better than their descriptions of said selections. Take this description of the Japandoids’ album: “snarling punk meets the fist-in-the-air anthemics of Born to Run-era Springsteen and his modern-day equivalents in The Gaslight Anthem.” I’ve never really liked Springsteen (I know, a Jersey boy, too). I think it’s more about production (and saxophone) than anything else. So, comparing bands to him is never a sell for me (even if it may be true). To me, this sounds much more like a low-key Arcade Fire (with literally no pretensions to anything–I mean, there’s only 2 Japandroids). Granted, Arcade Fire owe a lot to Springsteen too, but they do something different with his sound, which is why I like them. [I’m not going to be able to argue my way out of this].
Anyhow, this song is a four minutes of punky guitars and a stupidly catchy chorus. The fact that it’s only two guys makes it all the more remarkable that it sounds like a full band. And perhaps, the biggest difference for me is the singer’s voice which feels very early 90s alt rock/punk. Whatever it is, I’m a fan and will certainly be listening to more of this album.
[READ: June 14, 2012] “The Clockwork Condition”
Like most young men of a certain bent, I loved A Clockwork Orange. I’ve watched it dozens of times and I’ve read the book. What I especially like about the story is that my feelings about it change as I get older—which, while not the point exactly, is certainly a theme in the story–how age makes things seem different. The most important thing I learned from this article is that there was an epilogue in the British version of the book that was not available in the American version (or the film). And it seems to be pretty important. What a strange thing to leave out.
Incidentally, Burgess wrote the book in 1962 and the film came out in 1973, which is why he was wrote this in 1973. He says he was asked about Issues that arose from the film. And he talks a lot about them.
But he also gives a lot of background. The title of the book comes from the expression “as queer as a clockwork orange” which is Cockney slang for something so weird it subverts nature. It was a perfect title for an idea he was going to write about—how people suggested using aversion therapy to change juvenile delinquent behavior.
So this article goes on for a pretty long time, raising all kinds of questions. It’s really articulate and fascinating and really makes me want to re-read the anti-authoritarian novels I read in high school: 1984, It Can’t Happen Here, Brave New World. He even talks about B.F. Skinner, who proposed that aversion therapy (which is what Alex gets in the book/movie) was wrong and that positive reinforcement was always more effective. Skinner worked with animals (Burgess jokes about that) and the whole “you get more flies with honey” attitude works better for training animals he says. The same is true for people. Besides, aversion therapy removes freewill. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 