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Archive for the ‘Foreign Books’ Category

Roberto Bolaño –“William Burns” (New Yorker, February 8, 2010)

Posted in Adventure, Bob Mould, bolanobolano.com, Chris Andrews, Dromedary Records, Foreign Books, lions.chase.tigers, Mogwai, Mystery, New Yorker, Roberto Bolaño, Short Story, Sigur Rós, Translation, Violence on February 27, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: lions.chase.tigers: To Their Blood EP (2009).

I learned about lions.chase.tigers from the Dromedary compilation Make The Load Lighter.  When I looked them up online I found this site, where you can download their debut EP.  (Normally I’d encourage purchasing the CD to give the band some £, but it ships from the UK and would probably take weeks and cost a fortune in shipping.  So, download and spread the word).

lions.chase.tigers play a fascinating mix of noisy shoegazey guitar rock combined with very delicate quieter ballady bits.  There are only four guys in the band.  I was sure there were at least five maybe six.  They have  one guitar which plays beautiful picked guitar chords (high notes), and another which plays harmonized lower notes and sometimes big power chords.  The drums and bass complement perfectly.  And the vocals offer this great understated focus to these dramatic songs.  I imagine Sigur Rós jamming with Mogwai with vocals by Bob Mould.

All of their songs work to a dramatic climax; the tension builds like a mini epic.  The title track is the most dramatic (with that crazy screaming in the background!), and I think it’s the best track on the EP, but with each listen I hear more in the other songs to like, too.

I’m also delighted that one guy’s last name is the same as another guy’s first name: Fraser Sanaghan (guitar/vocals) and Seoridh Fraser (bass/vocals) [and no I can’t pronounce his first name but I love Gaelic names like that].  There’s also Iain Thomson (vocals/guitar), David Watson (drums).  There’s a live video on their myspace page, which shows that they sound amazing (possibly better?) live.

Scotland has been producing some amazing indie bands over the last few years, and lions.chase.tigers sis definitely a great one to add to that list.

[READ: February 5, 2010] “William Burns”

This was the first short story I’ve read since beginning 2666, (before I decided to find everything I could Bolaño).  I saved this story for last because it is the most recent release.  I initially noted: I’m in the midst of 2666, and lo, here’s a Bolaño story to read (and to hopefully not confuse matters).  It didn’t confuse matters, but I was a little concerned when I saw that it was set in the same town (Santa Theresa) as the bulk of the 2666 action.

One of the things I have grown to like about Bolaño is his multiple layers of removal from the action of the story.  So in this one, William Burns tells the story to a guy named Pancho Monge who tells the story to the narrator who tell it to us.

After that brief introduction, the rest of the story (in Burns’ own words, mind you) come in one long passage with no paragraph breaks.

Burns is living in Santa Theresa and is bored.  (Is there any other state of mind in Santa Theresa?).  He is living with two women and their dogs.  They asked him to stay with them for protection from a man who is coming to kill them.  (And, of course, they are each his lover as well). (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–“The Insufferable Gaucho” (New Yorker, October 1, 2007)

Posted in 4front, bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Chris Andrews, Culture Shock, cuppa joe, Dream Theater, Dromedary Records, Eternal Vision, Footstone, Foreign Books, Funny (strange), Godspeed, Grooveyard, Melting Hopefuls, New Yorker, Oral Groove, Planet Dread, Roberto Bolaño, Rosary, Translation, Translators, Ya-Ne-Zniyoo on February 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: NOTHING SMELLS QUITE LIKE ELIZABETH compilation (1992).

This was Dromedary Records’ first big release: a statement of purpose if you will.  This is a compilation of unsigned Jersey indie bands.  I listened to this all the time as it was being compiled and mastered.  It’s been a while since I listened to the disc start to front.

It’s funny to hear some of these tracks now 18 years later, to see what stands up.

Melting Hopefuls’s “Gondola” has always been a favorite of mine, a weird intertwining vocals/guitars mix.  I’ve no idea what it’s about, but it sounds great.  Oral Groove’s “She’s Still Here” is okay.  The opening riff is pretty great, but the rest of the song isn’t all that memorable.

Planet Dread’s “What We See” is all over the place but manages to be a reasonably cohesive metal song. The time changes are still unexpected and are quite interesting.  This was a band who liked to throw everything into a song, so when the trippy middle section comes in, it sounds almost like a different band until that same crazy riff brings it back to metal territory.  The triangle at the end is a nice touch too.

When this disc came out, Eternal Vision was this huge buzz band, Jersey’s (specifically my home town of Hawthorne’s) up and coming Dream Theater.  And you can hear the talent in this song.  I have to say I much prefer the instrumental section to the parts with vocals.   Bassist Frank LaPlaca (who yes I played little league with) is now in the prog rock band 4front. His bass work has always been amazing and no doubt still is.

Footstone’s “Forbidden Fruit” is one of the poppier/groovier numbers here.  It’s always made me smile, as it’s about office furniture: “That’s not your chair.”  The unexpected funk freak out in the middle is just a bonus.  And cuppa joe’s “Meanings” is one of their lighter songs with some of my favorite lyrics on the disc.  When the song starts I think it’s going to be a bit too twee, and yet it always redeems itself wonderfully.

Ya-Ne-Zniyoo’s “The Man in My Dream” is as peculiar as the band’s name.  Jangly guitars, tribal drums, and cool vocal twists (nice background vocals in particular).  And, like a lot of these songs, there’s a wild middle section, this one with heavy groove guitars.  Ya-Ne-Zniyoo have a disc available on Amazon (at least I assume it’s the same Ya-Ni-Zniyoo).

Godspeed have a really raw, heavy sound on “Child Bride.”  When I was younger I always laughed at the “So soft, it makes me hard” line (that’s mixed quite loudly), but now it seems a little too silly.  However, it’s a good set up for the weird and almost jokey mosh section that ends the track.  I also enjoy any song with a coda that has nothing to do with the rest of the song.

Rosary was my friend Garry’s band. They were a really interesting band out of Hasbrouck Heights.  “Asylum”  holds up quite well.  The guitars sound great and the vocals at the end sound fantastic.  There’s something about the overall mix that’s a little muddy, which I think hides how good this song is.  The disc ends with Grooveyard’s “Child Bright” (huh, two songs with almost the same title).  It’s probably the most metal song of the bunch, even though it has a very jam-band guitar opening.  But with the heavy guitars and strong vocals, (and the “time to die” lyrics), this is easily the heaviest song on the disc.

So, 18 years later, this is still a fun compilation.  I’m not even sure how many of thee bands are still around.  You can hear a few songs on Dromedary Radio.  He might even have a few CD compilations left over, if you ask nicely.

[READ: February 18, 2010] “The Insufferable Gaucho”

This is the longest Bolaño short story of this batch.  This is a slow paced story following a man in his steady decline (or is it?) from urban lawyer to small town rabbit hunter.

As the story opens, we meet Héctor Pereda an irreproachable lawyer and caring father who lives in the wonderful city of Buenos Aires.  His son Bebe and daughter Cuca later accused him of sheltering them from life’s harsh realities.  But when Pereda’s wife died (the kids were 5 and 7) he wanted to respect her memory, so he never remarried (and he didn’t want to burden his children with a stepmother).

Cuca eventually married and Bebe became a very successful writer. Both kids eventually moved away.  And Pereda seemed to age prematurely.  Then the Argentinian economy collapsed.  He couldn’t afford to pay his cook or maid, so he decided he would move to his country house where he could be more frugal.

When he gets out to the country, he find the place to be desoltae.  His house is in terrible disrepair.  He tries to fix it himself, but he finds that he needs to call on the help of some lazy gauchos (who do, in fact, play guitar all day). He buys a horse, meets with people and slowly, slowly starts building a small farm.

By the end of the story he is unrecognizable: unshaven, dirty and dressed like one of the gauchos.  But the real question is, is he happy?

There’s some (to me) unbelievable parts of this story: rabbits attacking people on horseback?  But it occurs to me that Pereda may be going slowly crazy.  Surely his son (and writer friends) think so.

It’s a long story where not very much happens, but I still enjoyed it.  Despite the apparent lunacy, it was a very engaging portrait.

For ease of searching I include: Bolano

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Roberto Bolaño –“Gómez Palacio” (New Yorker, August 8, 2005)

Posted in bolanobolano.com, Chris Andrews, Culture Shock, Dromedary Records, Foreign Books, Funny (strange), Moxy Fruvous, New Yorker, Poets, Roberto Bolaño, Short Story, Supernatural, The Mommyheads, The Replacements on February 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE MOMMYHEADS-Flying Suit (1994).

The Mommyheads continue the Dromedary catalog’s streak of consistently poppy indie rock.  Throughout the disc, the The vocals are gentle and falsettoed, setting kind of a trend on the label thus far.

What sets this disc apart from a lot of comparable acts of jangly, light-on-the-bass 90s rock is the subtle complexity of the songs.  Even though most of the songs are fairly simple pop confections, there’s usually an unexpected moment that pops up, making things a little more than what they appear.

The opening chords of “Sandman” are, well, weird, angled and minor, but they somehow lead into a very poppy catchy verse about a sandman.

“Saints Preserve Us” opens with a crazy, no wave guitar lick that, somehow, is matched by a vocal line.  And yet, they can’t resist a smooth an catchy bridge, even if it is only two chords long.  Meanwhile, “Spiders” sounds like a long lost Moxy Fruvous track, kinda funny but kinda serious at the same time.

The only thing odd about “Bottom Out” is how normal it is…a fairly simple, undeniably catchy little pop song that would have fit in very nicely on the Juno soundtrack

“Annabell Ann” plays with the listener’s head by sounding for all the world like an orchestral pop song with a weird arrangement until the chorus pops in with poppy chords and harmonies.  And what of “Worm”?  An opening set of bizarre chords that sounds like it’s coming from next door, followed by a delightfully obscure jazzy bassline.  The song wanders around into interesting corners for a few minutes before ending just as suddenly.

The wonderfully titled “Henry Miller is Dead” shows the heavy side of the band, with noisy guitars and raucous lyrics until the very gentle bridge grounds the song back into familiar Mommyheads sound.  The disc ends with “Valentine’s Day” a gentle sorta jokey sounding song about, well, Valentine’s Day.  It sounds like an even indier version of something off of The Replacemnets’ Hootenanny disc.

The disc is less than half an hour long, making it close to an EP.  But it’s a wonderful half an hour.  You can hear the tracks on Dromedary Radio.

[READ: February 17, 2010] “Gómez Palacio”

This short story comes from Last Evenings and Other Stories, and was translated by Chris Andrews.

Bolaño is from Chile and Mexico City, and he seems to have a rather disparaging view of small Mexican cities.  Gómez Palacio is a small Mexican city where the narrator is assigned to teach a short term writing workshop.  The narrator is a poet himself.  His class is attended by only 5 people, none of who are very good.

The bulk of the story concerns his relationship with the director of the Arts Council where the class was held.  She has bulging eyes and is quite short.  Yet every day she picks him up from his seedy motel and drives him to school.  While driving one day she asks him to take the wheel but he doesn’t drive.  Regardless, he drives down the road until a car pulls over in front of them.  The director says that it’s her husband.  She then regales him with a story about her unhappy marriage. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–“Luz Mendiluce Thompson” (Harper’s, March 2008)

Posted in Bagatelle, bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Chris Andrews, Dromedary Records, Foreign Books, Harper's, Nazis, Roberto Bolaño, Short Story, The Dead Milkmen, Translation on February 23, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CUPPA JOE-Nurture (1995).

Fuzzy guitars, distortion, rocking noise and…that delicate voice.  cuppa joe breaks out their harder side with this album. What’s nice about this full length is the way the band really pushes the boundaries of its indie pop sound.  They explore different styles but never go so far as to lose their identity.  It’s most notable in the bass, which sounds so different on different songs, quick and jazzy on “Swinging on your Gate” full of high notes and full on “Broken Arms.”

And, of course, “Bottlerocket” is back for another go.  This sounds like a re-recorded version than the EP, louder and fuller.  And frankly, after writing a song like this how do you compare?

But just showing some of the diversity on the disc, “Sitting Limit” has some major distortion on the guitars.  It’s funny how almost deadpan the vocals are in comparison.  I’ve finally concluded that the vocals sound kind of like the alternate leads singer from The Dead Milkmen (Joe Jack Talcum, the one who sang “Punk Rock Girl”).  In fact, a few of their slower songs sound like Talcum’s ballads.

“Decline” offers some vocal harmonies which bring an interesting depth to the song (which in this case is much lighter in the jangly guitars) and almost sounds like a demo.

“Poster” stands out for its deep almost punk bassline and aggressive (relatively) vocals (and fr the fact that it’s under 2 minutes long).  It’s funny how much more intense the vocals can sound on these tracks.  And just when you think you have them figured out as a pop band with punk leanings, they throw in a song like “long Walk” with some wild music lines and an almost world music influence.

Even as the disc comes to a close, “Beauty of of an Unshared Thing” is like a long lost 90’s college radio gem.  It’s got the wash of guitars, the great bassline and a propulsive beat.

Listening carefully to the lyrics, the word that comes to mind most is earnest.  A song like “Self Confidence” is a mellow song about empowerment.  Or “Medium Well” with the line  “A kiss means so much more when it doesn’t taste like alcohol.”

The bonus track on the disc is a cover of an old Irish song by the band Bagatelle.  The song “Second Violin” is astonishingly catchy.  Given my proclivities, I prefer the harder rocking stuff on the disc, and there is certainly plenty of that.

It’s going to be re-released from Dromedary, with extra bonus tracks!

[READ: February 17, 2010] “Luz Mendiluce Thompson”

This story is taken from Nazi Literature in the America.  It’s translated by Chris Andrews.

The book is evidently a collection of fictional biographies of Nazi writers who live in the Americas.  The contents is simply a list of names (and this is the only one I have read, so I can’t confirm that the rest of the collection is like this).

But, lo, that summary is true of this piece.  Luz Mendiluce, born in Berlin 1928, died in Buenos Aires in 1976.  Her proudest memory and most sacred possession is of her being dandled on Hitler’s lap.  This is the photo she would rescue if her house was on fire.

And this story, which is quite easily my favorite short fiction by Bolaño thus far is a fast paced, exciting and strangely moving portrait of this fascist poet. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–“Praise to the Highways” (Harper’s, December 2009)

Posted in Black Sabbath, bolanobolano.com, cuppa joe, Dromedary Records, Footstone, Foreign Books, Harper's, Natasha Wimmer, R.E.M., Roberto Bolaño, Translation on February 21, 2010| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: FOOTSTONE-Wobbles from Side to Side EP (1994).

Footstone is like Dromedary’s punk brother of cuppa joe.  Their guitars are loud and heavy, their songs are fast and very catchy.  And yet, their vocalist almost feels out of place in such a heavy outfit: he’s almost soft spoken.  And this makes their whole sound very compelling.

This EP, available as a free limited time download here, was originally a 7 inch with two tracks. The download offers an extra bonus track.

“Mountain Man” is the a side and it opens with a blast of guitar heavy punk.  As it progresses, intertwining and harmonizing vocals add an amazing depth.  The b side, “Belly” opens with a wonderfully almost sinister guitar riff that is quickly discarded for some straightforward powerchord verses.  (Yes, the cool opening riff comes back at the end).   Although the band sounds in no way like R.E.M., I find the occasional backing vocal that pops up to be oddly reminiscent of Mike Mills’ great harmonies.

The bonus song, “Airbag” is 5 minutes of poppy guitar rock.  The opening chords remind me of Sabotage -era Black Sabbath, but the poppy bridge changes the direction altogether.  This song might do being a little shorter, but how can you complain about a free bonus song?

I have a hard time figuring out what any of these songs are about, although clearly in “Belly,” they don’t like something anymore, and there’s a very clear line about stuffing something back into his Levi’s, although exactly what is a mystery.

Footstone has a full length available from Dromedary too, and they put on a mean live show.

[READ: February 17, 2010] “Praise to the Highways”

This short story comes from the soon to be translated collection Antwerp. Natasha Wimmer (who translated The Savage Detectives and 2666) does the translation here too.

I’ve read a few of Bolaño’s short stories, and I have to say that as a group, I’m more than a little confused by them. Sometimes they seem to be about very specific incidents which I know very little about. Other times, they seem to be very abstract:glimpses of scenery that speed by and then vanish.

This story, which invokes highways in the title is one of these latter type of stories. It’s only two pages in the magazine and it is broken into 5 sections: “Cleaning Utensils,” “The Bum,” “La Pava Roadside,” “Summer,” and “Working-Class Neighborhoods.”  Each section is a paragraph. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–“Self-Portrait at Twenty Years” (Harper’s, November 2007) & “My Life in the Tubes of Survival” (Boston Review September/October 2007)

Posted in Adventure, bolanobolano.com, Boston Review, cuppa joe, Death, Demons, Dromedary Records, Foreign Books, Laura Healy, New Yorker, Poetry, Prison, R.E.M., Roberto Bolaño, They Might Be Giants, Translation, Violence, War on February 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CUPPA JOE-Busy Work EP (1993).

This EP was one of the first releases on the Dromedary label.  It contains 3 songs.  Whenever I think of cuppa joe, I think of them being a somewhat lightweight band; charming and fun, but lightweight.

And I think most of this is due to the lead singer’s voice.  It’s quite delicate and veers towards, but never quite reaches whiny territory.  Comparisons to They Might Be Giants are not unfounded.

But the thing is that, musically, the band plays a wonderfully diverse selection of styles, some of which emphasize the singer’s delicate voice, and others which play in a wonderful contrast to it.

Take their brilliant first song on the EP, “Bottlerocket”.  The chords are masterful and intriguing as the song opens, moving towards a fast, propulsive verse and an insanely catchy chorus (with backing vocal harmonies!).  It’s a tremendous song, and cuppa joe could easily rest on their laurels after creating such a masterpiece.

The other two songs on the EP are more of that delicate style that I think of as distinctly cuppa joe.  “French Toast” is a very quiet little ditty about, yes french toast.  It’s catchy and seems to be an ideal b-side, sounding almost like a demo.

The third track, “Surface Area” starts out almost as an homage to R.E.M. “I am Superman” with the jangly guitars and all, but the jazzy bassline totally changes the tone of the song.  Overall it splits the difference of the other two, being a fully realized song that gets a surprise lift from loud and raucous guitars about halfway through.

It’s a really great representation of this cool indie band.  And it will be available for download in a few days right here.

[READ: February 17, 2010] 2 Poems

These are the first two Bolaño pieces that I found while looking around online.  These poems are very likely published elsewhere.  However, since I’m not a big reader of poetry, I don’t think I’ll be reading his poetry collections in full.

Both poems were translated by Laura Healy. While it’s impossible to know if she did a good job of translation (since I can’t do it myself), all I can comment on is the quality of the English words. And in both cases, she chooses very exhilarating words to convey these images. (more…)

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Daniel Zalewski–“Vagabonds: Roberto Bolaño And His Fractured Masterpiece” (New Yorker, March 26, 2007)

Posted in Adventure, bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Communists, Dada, Daniel Zalewski, Death, Drugs, Foreign Books, Harper's, History, Marriage (Happy), Military, Nazis, New Yorker, Political Humor, Roberto Bolaño, Smarty Pants, Translation on February 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

[READ: February 18, 2010] “Vagabonds”

After reading Infinite Jest, I got totally het up about reading all of David Foster Wallace’s works. Of course, I discovered that he had an awful lot of uncollected works (which were all conveniently gathered in one location by a much bigger DFW fan than I). Since I’m reading 2666 as part of an online group, I wondered if I would be similarly obsessed with Bolaño’s output.

Well first, I’m not loving 2666 as much as I did Infinite Jest (but I’m only 1/3 of the way through, so that may change).  But, on a more literal note, there seems to be very few short stories literred around the place. A very cursory search revealed a couple things in Harper’s and a couple things in the New Yorker, but very little else.  Now, I assume that’s primarily because his stories need to be translated first, so there’s possibly a bunch of uncollected Spanish stories, but as for English ones?  Well, let’s just say that scouring the globe for a complete list of short stories in English that are not part of a previously released collections is something of a dificult task.

In fact, further investigation into the stories from The New Yorker and Harper’s shows that these stories are either already released or soon to be published in translated collections.

One of the things I found in my search was this article which is more or less a review of Bolano’s, The Savage Detectives.  However, in true New Yorker fashion, it is also a detailed overview of Bolaño’s life as well. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–2666 [Week 4] The Part About Amalfitano (2004)

Posted in Big Books, bolanobolano.com, Boredom, Colin Meloy, Death, Demons, Foreign Books, Funny (strange), Infinite Zombies, Mystery, Natasha Wimmer, Newspapers, Roberto Bolaño, Scholarship, Set at School, Supernatural, Translation, Violence on February 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SAM COOKE-Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 (2003).

After reviewing Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke, I decided to check out Sam Cooke himself, since I said I didn’t know anything about him.  Well, it turns out that I was totally wrong about that.  I checked out this disc from the library and was rather surprised to realize that I knew at least a dozen songs by Cooke.  And not just that he sang songs which I knew–they were his versions that I knew.

Granted some of my knowledge comes from Animal House, but that’s neither here nor there.

I’m not even sure what to classify Cooke’s music as, and maybe it’s not necessary to do so.  Back in the day it would have been played on oldies stations (but they seem to play songs from the 60s and 70s now).  Is it soul, R&B, rock?  I dunno.

So, Sam Cooke sang “You Send Me” (darling, you) “Cupid” (draw back your bow); “(What a) Wonderful World” (don’t know much about history); “Chain Gang” (that’s the sound of the men working on the).  And later songs like “Twisting the Night Away.”

And big surprise, who knew he wrote the great Cat Stevens hit: “Another Saturday Night” and the party anthem “Having a Party” (hey mr dj keep those records playing).

This disc has 30 song and runs about 80 minutes, and I admit that at least half of them were just okay.  The genre really doesn’t appeal to me all that much (although I can clearly tell that he was a pioneer writer (with a great voice to boot)).  I could see myself listening to (and enjoying) this disc as background music, and little else.

Nevertheless, it was really cool to learn that it was the same guy who sang all those songs, and I can now put a name to the songs in Animal House and other 50’s era movies.

[READ: Week of February 8, 2010] 2666 [pg 163-228]

This week’s read is all about Amalfitano.  In fact, this week’s read was an entire “Part” and to learn all about Amalfitano in one go.  This Part exists irrespective of the previous part, although there will be one single item that we saw in Book 1 that indicates that this Part is set before the action of Part 1.  Well, actually, it is all clearly set before Part 1, but there is one detail that carriers over from there.

As the book opens, Amalfitano wonders what the hell he is doing in Santa Teresa.  And that question is never really answered satisfactorily for him or for us (we learn why he is currently there, but he seems to dislike it so much there’s no really compelling reason why he stays). (more…)

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Peter Kuper–Diario de Oaxaca: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico (2009)

Posted in Culture Shock, Foreign Books, History, Larry LaLonde, Les Claypool, Mad Magazine, Marriage (Happy), Memoirs, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, Nature, Peter Kuper, Pig Hunt, Primus, Violence on February 9, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LES CLAYPOOL-Of Fungi and Foe (2009).

Claypool was asked to score a video game called The Spore Wars and, at around the same time, to score a movie called Pig Hunt.  According to the liner notes of the disc, he used the templates that he made for the scores and fleshed them out to make this album.

This was the first Claypool solo album I’d bought in several years (since 2002’s Purple Onion).  I’d heard “Mushroom Men” on the radio and really liked it, so I decided to get the disc.  And I have to say overall I’m a little disappointed.

Now, I’ve been a Primus fan for years (I even saw them right after Suck on This) so I know what I’m getting with Les.  And yet, maybe I don’t anymore.  The disc is very percussion heavy, with lots of rather long songs.  And although I love long songs, I love long songs that aren’t the same thing for 6 or so minutes.  I also rather miss Claypool’s voice.  He doesn’t sing a lot of these songs in his typical falsetto.  There’s a lot of very deep voiced, rather processed sounding voices here (it works great on the muh muh muh muhshroom men, but not so great elsewhere).  Because when you combine that with the bass and percussion, it’ really hard to hear what he’s on about (and Claypool lyrics are half the fun).

Plus, we know that with Primus’ own brand of weirdness, a little goes a long way.  So, hearing the same bizarro riff for 4 minutes can be trying.

Despite the criticisms, the disc is good in small doses.  The first 4 tracks are all really solid.  But that 5th track, “What would George Martin Do?” just sucks all the life out of the disc.  The same goofy riff for 6 minutes with completely unintelligible lyrics.  Ouch.   But “You Can’t Tell Errol Anything” picks up the pace somewhat with a wonderful Tom Waits-ian soundtrack.  The addition of Eugene Hutz on insane wailing vocals brings a wonderful new level of dementia to the disc.

Throughout the disc there some amazing bass riffs (of course) and some really cool effects thrown onto the bass (and other instruments).  But the overall feel of the disc is just too samey.  I think the music would probably work really well as soundtrack music, but it lacks a little something by itself.

I’m not suggesting that Claypool needs to be more poppy, because that’s hardly it (although he does have an amazing gift for clever hooks), but it’s possible that he needs an editor.  Was that the role Ler played in Primus?  Who will ever know?

[READ: February 5, 2010] Diario de Oaxaca

Wa-HA-Ca (that’s how you pronounce Oaxaca (the first question I had)).

I ordered this book for our Spanish collection without really knowing what it was about.  When it arrived I had a hard time deciding where to catalog it…is it a graphic novel?  a biography?  It’s bilingual so does it even go in the Spanish collection, which has much less circulation than our English collection?  As I flipped though the book, it looked really cool, so I decided to just read it and figure it out for myself.

Peter Kuper is, among other things, the drawer of Mad Magazine’s Spy vs Spy since about 1997.  Sometime in 2006, Kuper decided to go on sabbatical from the politics of George W. Bush.  He and his family packed up and moved to Oaxaca, Mexico for two years.  While he was there, the city experienced a semi-annual teacher’s strike.  However, this particular strike turned bloody when the President of Oaxaca turned his soldiers against the strikers. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–2666 [Week 1] The Part About the Critics (1 of 3) (2004)

Posted in Big Books, bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Foreign Books, Infinite Summer, Infinite Zombies, Natasha Wimmer, Pixies, Research, Roberto Bolaño, Scholarship, Sex, Starlight Mints, Translation, Travel on January 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STARLIGHT MINTS-Change Remains (2009).

This is the fourth disc from the Starlight Mints.  Their music is hard to describe at any time, but this disc complicates things even further.

The number of genres they cram into this disc is impossible to count.  However, there seems to be a very heavy concentration of a sort of punk/disco feel.  The disco beats (and telltale bass lines) are very strong yet the noisy guitar and instrumentation removes the disco sheen.

And that overall sense sums up the disc fairly well.  It’s got this poppy aspect to it, but there’s a sinister undercurrent.  In my review of their earlier discs, I described them a having a Pixies influence.  And while that’s still true (the sinister part (and the vocals definitely sound like Black Francis)) their sound has evolved away from a grungy rock into a more keyboardy feel.

The opener is a short instrumental that sounds like a cartoony James Bond theme.  The next few tracks have a good 90s alt rock feel (although “Zoomba” mixes it up with some jazzy horns).   But it’s the second half of the disc where the disco sounds really come to the fore.

And, lyrically, the band is all over the place.  It’s always fun to see what’s coming around the corner (as when the rocking “gallop along” comes out of an otherwise mellow dancey track).   Starlight Mints are definitely not trying to sell billions of records, but they are no doubt building a delightful niche fan base. And I’m one of them.

[READ: Week of January 18, 2010] 2666 [pg 1-51]

And so begins the Infinite Summer-like reading of 2666.  I don’t know if this reading group has a catchy title yet (I can’t even think of a jokey one right now), so for now, 2666 it is.

I don’t really know what I’m in for with this book.  And as such, I’m not entirely sure what thee posts are going to turn into.  Unlike with Infinite Jest, which was confusing from the get-go, this novel starts out in a rather straightforward manner.  So, I think for the foreseeable future I’ll do some plot summary and comments.

2666 is divided into 5 books (which were originally supposed to be published independently).  The first book is 161 pages and is called The Part About the Critics.

I had no idea what this book was about.  I’d heard it was a great, difficult read, and that was enough for me.  I like to go into books fairly blindly, so that’s nothing unusual.  The back cover blurb says that it centers around Santa Teresea, which I suspect has something to do with Juarez, Mexico.  So, okay, I get the idea that we’re in for a harrowing tale about murdered women in Mexico.

So, imagine my surprise when the book opens with fifty-plus pages about 4 scholars of a little-known German writer.  And imagine my further surprise when the language of the book is fairly easy to read. (more…)

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