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Archive for the ‘Gangsters’ Category

David Foster Wallace–[Week 2] Infinite Jest (1996)

Posted in Big Books, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Drugs, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Hawaii Five-0, Hüsker Dü, Hill Street Blues, Infinite Summer, Meta, Postmoderism, Set at School, Suicide, Technology, The Who on July 2, 2009| 7 Comments »

jestSOUNDTRACK: HÜSKER DÜ-Zen Arcade (1984).

zen arcadeWhen I was younger and more amused by things like this, it amused me that Hüsker Dü’s first three records were a live album an EP and a double album.  They just couldn’t put out a regular old LP?

It also amused me that they put out a song on this disc that was almost as long as their EP and was even almost as long as their Live record.  Such was the difference of Zen Arcade.

In reading about it lately I have learned that it is sort of a concept album (Someone even called it the Quadrophenia of 80s punk).  I gather I simply never paid enough attention to the lyrics to realize that (although it does explain “Hare Krshna”).  There’s also a lot of talk about how influential this disc was.  That may also be true, although I can’t say for sure.

Perhaps the most notable thing is how the disc is not just straight punk. Up to this point the Hüskers had released fast, straight ahead punk.  Distorted guitar and often screaming vocals.  And indeed, Zen Arcade starts off that way “Something I Learned Today” is a classic Hüsker Dü pop punk song.  It’s got a cool opening bassline and super distorted guitars, and yet its got a sing along chorus.  And “Never Talking to You Again” continues Grant Hart’s streak of great catchy punk.  This one includes acoustic guitar, though, just to break things up a bit.  It’s with Track 5 “Dreams Reoccurring” that you know things are going to be very different this time around.  This 2 minute song is full of reversed guitars sounds and all kinds of weird tape mixing.  It’s quite trippy and unlike anything else that the band had done.

As we near the middle of the disc, “Whats Going on Inside My Head” and “Masochism World” are absolute punk vocal shredders (so you know they’re not really going soft).  As the disc ends, “Turn on the News” plays around with recorded Newscasts, not a new concept, but new for them.  And then, of course, the final track, “Reoccurring Dreams,” a reprise of “Dreams Reoccurring” that goes on for 13 minutes of squalling feedback and demented solos (with a cool, if disconcerting, guitar motif).

One of my favorite facts about the disc is that it was all recorded in one take (except for, as the liner notes point out, 2 tracks that started too fast) and there were no overdubs.  It was mastered just as quickly so that the whole thing to about 85 hours to make.  It’s amazing that anything done that quickly can be that good.  But such is the case of this disc.  There’s a clunker or two in the mix, but how could there not be with all that energy bouncing around?

[READ: Week of June 29, 2009] Infinite Jest (to page 151)

After Reading the Infinite Summer site, I see that I got at least one thing wrong.  Mario is in fact not Hal’s younger brother, but is Hal’s older, but not oldest, brother.

I ordered 2 copies of IJ for our library since we did not have any (!).  I’ve been sneaking peeks in the second copy which has the above cover.  And an intro by Dave Eggers, which I enjoyed.

Also, when I dropped my old copy, a whole bunch of small squares of paper fell out: notes that I took the first time through.  I started to look at them but it revealed too much so I stopped.  I’m going to try and read this as purely as possible.

So, surprisingly (or perhaps un-) new characters are coming fast and furious in week two, (up to page 151). (more…)

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Art Spiegelman–Be A Nose (2009)

Posted in Art Spiegelman, Funny (strange), Gangsters, Graphic Novel, McSweeney's, Memoirs, Noir, Oddities, Roger Corman, The Flaming Lips on April 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

noseSOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-UFOs At the Zoo [DVD] (2007).

zooI’m not going to review the musical portion of the DVD per se…you can download the MP3s with the DVD, and I intend to give the music a good listen once I get it converted to CD.  So, this is a review of the movie itself (with comments about the music too, of course).

The movie is a concert film interspersed with interviews with Lips fans.  I’ve read that many people dislike the format of the film in which the band plays a few songs and then they cut away to the gushing fans.  In some ways, it is a bit annoying that you don’t get  the whole concert in one fell swoop.  But, you can always fast forward over the talky bits.  Someone suggested making that part a special feature, but would anyone watch it if they weren’t in it?  Well, maybe.  That said, with repeated watching, it’s probably not too much fun to hear the various punters say how much they love the Lips (although the behind the scenes parts stand up to repeated watching).

As for the rest of the set…the stage show is pretty amazing.  The set is designed to look like a UFO landing on stage which then turns into the lighting backdrop.  (And the behind the scenes on the construction of the UFO are funny and make it a little scary that people are actually inside of it. )

The concert is comprised mostly of “hits” from At War with the Mystics, Yoshimi and Bulletin.  Of course, they bust out “She Don’t Use Jelly” and the classic “Love Yer Brain (which sounds a lot better here than the on The Fearless Freaks).

What’s cool about the DVD is seeing how much fun Wayne and Steven seem to be having (Michael is always pretty stone-faced so it’s hard to know what he’s thinking).  Throughout the show, Wayne shoots rockets loaded with streamers and confetti out over the crowd in what seems cathartic and also lots of fun.  And if of course, it’s pretty amazing to watch Steven play all of the different instruments, seemingly at the same time.  When I saw the Lips they didn’t have a drummer, just a videotape of a drummer, so it’s nice to see the addition of Kliph on drums.

The only problem I had with the set, and I’ll be able to go into this more when I listen to the MP3s was that I found Wayne’s voice to be in pretty bad shape.  It seemed as if he was sick or had a sore throat.  I’ve always been amazed at Wayne’s voice, so i was surprised to hear it sounding less than wonderful.

One assumes he went on with the show even if he was sick because of the great opportunity to play an at home concert at the ampitheatre at the Oklahom Zoo.  My friend Abdallah, an Oklahoma native, says he has been to many concerts there and it’s a great venue.  So, if you’ll never get to see the Lips live, this is a decent substitute.

[READ: March 25, 2009] Be A Nose

This collection is a sampling of the sketch books that Spiegelman has been working on throughout his artistic life.  Struck by the usefulness of keeping a sketchbook, Spiegelman has attempted to do just that on several occasions.  Yet his notes indicate that he always fails to keep up with it.  Sometimes he just gives up, other times he decides it’s a waste of time.  This collection shows the three most complete sketchbooks that Spiegelman has ever kept. (more…)

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Colson Whitehead–“The Gangsters” (New Yorker, December 22 & 29, 2008)

Posted in Boredom, Christmas Album, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Holidays, New Yorker, Sufjan Stevens on January 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

TNY 12.22&29.08 cvr.inddSOUNDTRACK: SUFJAN STEVENS–Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage-Songs for Christmas Vol. VIII (2008).

sufjan-viiiI downloaded this disc from an online source.  And no I don’t feel bad about it because it wasn’t officially released, so no one is losing money.  If it ever gets released I’ll surely buy it.

Volumes VI and VII are unavailable anywhere, so maybe when he finishes vol X, Asthmatic Kitty will release another box set of his Christmas EPs.

So this disc is a radical departure from the five volumes in the box set (who knows what he got up to from 2006-2007).  It is so different that I had to wonder if it is actually his release or just an internet prank. I mean, the cover is crazily different, the title is outrageous, and the music is…well, I’ll get to that.  On the other hand, Sufjan’s voice is so distinctive, that it’s hard to see how anyone could have pulled that off.

The title certainly implies space-age keyboardy stuff and that is exactly what you get.  There are virtually no acoustic instruments at all (except for “Christmas in the Room,” which is done mostly on piano.)

The traditional songs include: “Angels We Have Heard on High”  which has a fully electronic sound, but which works very well with the ethereal nature of the song.  “Do You See What I See” on the other hand is very mechanized.  It has vocals processed through a robot voice for some of the song.  And the backing vocals seem to be deliberately dissonant. The chorus, on the other hand is still quite cool.  “Good King Wenceslas” has the same electronic robot type voice, but that voice performs the entire song.  It’s disconcerting at best.  “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” is a keyboardy instrumental, with space effects thrown in for good measure.  “Joy to the World” is next to last.  It runs over seven minutes and is very mellow.  As with his previous recording of the song, I don’t care for the pacing of this version.  It’s very slow and meandering for what I often think of as a, well, joyous song.

“Christmas in the Room” is an original that is sung by someone other than Sufjan (no liner notes for the download).  It’s the only song that is not electronic, being done on a piano (although there are some keyboard flourishes in the background). “The Child with the Star on His Head” is a 13 minute (!)  song that is primarily instrumental. The first half of the song is very mellow (with gentle horns and a mellotron, I think).  The last 7 minutes are a cycle of the same refrain (with la la las) and a gorgeous trumpet solo (!).  The final three minutes are sort of a keyboard winding down, almost like a space ship lullaby.  It’s a beautiful piece even if it is wholly unexpected on a Christmas EP!

[READ: January 6, 2009] “The Gangsters”

I enjoyed this story immensely.

This line sort of sets up the basis of the story: “According to the world, we were the definition of paradox: black boys with beach houses.” (more…)

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Heidi Julavits–“The Santosbrazzi Killer” (Harper’s, January 2009)

Posted in Fishbone, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Harper's, Heidi Julavits, Short Story, Ska, Supernatural, The Believer, Threats on January 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

haroers109SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Truth and Soul (1988).

truthsoulFishbone opens up yet another album with a fantastic one-two punch. Truth and Soul is  Fishbones’s perfect blend of ska, punk and hardcore.  This album has a few heavy moments but it was recorded before they got the heavy metal into their system.

The disc opens with “Freddie’s Dead.”  Which is just a blast of rocking funk.  It is catchy, it is fun to sing along to, and it rocks. It’s followed by “Ma and Pa” a fantastic ska song that is darkly humorous [“Hey Ma and Pa, what the hell is wrong with y’all?”].  It also features great vocal effects throughout the song: grunts and groans in place of beats and notes.  It’s just fantastic. These are probably two of the best songs of the late 1980s. The following two songs slow things down a bit, with “Pouring Rain” being a 5 minute long ballad.

“Deep Inside” follows with a blast of punk and call and response vocals.  And “Mighty Long Way” is an upbeat, keyboard heavy track about friendship.  It also has a great guitar riff (and really shows off the wailing guitar solos that will come up on later records).

This all leads to the majesty of “Bonin’ in the Boneyard” (the lyric sheet for this states: “If you can’t figure this one out, then you are lame!”).  This song is just an amazing horn-filled, bass slapping riot of a good time.  In general I don’t like horns in rock, but there is something about horns and ska that are just perfect.  And I could listen to this horn section all night long.

“One Day” comes next.  It’s less hectic, but contains more great guitar work and some great harmony vocals.  It’s a very catchy song about racism.  “Subliminal Fascism” is another short song that shows some of  their newly found metal leanings.  “Slow Bus Movin'” deals more overtly with racism, and yet its comical use of western-style music is something of a surprise.

“Ghetto Soundwave” and “Change” end the album with another one-two shot of greatness.  “Soundwave” is a fantastic horn-filled song.  And “Change” is a truly beautiful ballad.

Truth and Soul is a great album.

[READ: December 29, 2008]: “The Santosbrazzi Killer”

I’ve been meaning to read Julavits’ novel The Uses of Enchantment for some time, but it keeps getting pushed back by other titles.  So, this is my first exposure to her as anything other than editor of The Believer.  And I enjoyed this story very much.

The main character is a overseer–she travels to a Cincinnati-based subsidiary research outfit and criticizes them.  At some point in the story she admits she’s pretty much an asshole: officious, nitpicky, antisocial, and really quite unpleasant (Sample: “I arrived with my insulated travel mug filled with clearly superior off-site coffee”).  On this particular trip something different happens: she gets to stay in a different hotel than her usual place: The Tuck Inn.

After doing her job (and making everyone very tense), she returns to her hotel and inquires about a place to eat.  The concierge explains that there’s a bar/cafe downstairs.  The snooty waiter/bartender offers her a “bible” of a menu (with at least 476 pages).  Among her choices are: the Grinning Necrophiliac and the Vengeful Subsidiary (which she requests, but is not allowed to have due to the bartender’s lack of an essential tool).   And so, she settles on the titular Santosbrazzi Killer.

After waiting some time, a gentleman sits down.  He explains that what she ordered was not so much a drink as, well….  I’m not going to give it away.  From this point the story gets very interesting: the tension mounts, and yet the dark humor never departs.  It was a very enjoyable story.

It also introduced me to a new verb: to jick.  It is used throughout the story.  Initially it described the action of clicking a ball point pen.  But as the story progresses, the verb is used in a few different places (usually denoting a sound), with the meaning always being relevant.

Assuming this is representative of Julavits’ work, I’m looking forward to reading her novel one of these days.

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Greg Hollingshead–“Whyte Avenue Blue,” David Bergen–“Just the Thing,” Charlotte Gill–“Terminal City,” Donna Morrissey–“Red Carpet Caper,” Michael Winter–“Beyond the Overpass,” Heather O’Neill–“The End of Pinky” (The Walrus, January/February 2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Charlotte Gill, David Bergen, Donna Morrissey, Gangsters, Greg Hollingshead, Heather O'Neill, King's X, LGBTQ, Michael Winter, Noir, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, Threats, Violence on October 29, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KING’S X-Ogre Tones (2005).

No one should be made to feel ALONE! And with that Kings X are back.  It’s the most aggressive scream I’ve heard from King’s X (and it comes from Ty, not Doug no less).

After what seemed like something of a hiatus with Black Like Sunday and Live All Over the Place, King’s X seem rejuvenated and excited to be rocking out.  Despite the hardcore opening scream of “Alone,” the song is their catchiest single yet.  Lyrically the song is about tolerance and compassion.  Its also pretty short (just under 3 minutes), as are the next 4 songs.  It’s as if they had these great ideas and just had to get them out.  “Stay”  returns to the style of old King’s X, with a minor change: it’s the vocal harmonies that are dissonant not the guitars.  “Hurricane” also tinkers with the formula where part of the chorus revels in their harmonies of old and the other part plays with a new aspect: gang vocals, bringing power rather than subtlety.  “Fly” is yet another great shoulda-been a single.  And “If”is yet another Stellar ballad, where Doug sings verses and harmonies bring in the chorus.

A controversial song (for fans anyway) is “Bebop.”  This is one of their experimental tracks, and it kind of hearkens back to some of the tracks off of Bulbous with very staccato guitars, unusual bass lines and the nonsense lyrics of “Bebop be alive ya’ll. Awhop boba lo bop a wop bam boom!.”  While it’s not their best work, it’s certainly catchy as anything, and I give them credit for throwing in some experimentation.  And frankly, it’s pretty fun if you loosen up a bit.

The next few tracks play with the basic formula of the album, until you get to “Sooner or Later” which, lets Ty noodle around on the guitar for 5 or 6 minutes, like an extended jam off of Faith Hope Love.  “Mudd” ends the album proper with a really touching, sweet song.  It could easily fit on Gretchen.

The last two songs I don’t really count.  “Goldilox (Reprise)” is, as you might guess a remake of “Goldilox.” I don’t know why they’d remake one of their most beloved songs.  Aside from the fact that they’ve been playing it since 1987, and the band has changed their style somewhat, they could show everyone what it would sound like if they made it now.  Otherwise, why bother.  It does sound good, mind you, but the original sounds better.  The last track, “Bam” is a historical recording of Thomas Edison’s phonograph.  It’s a weird way to end a record.  But nothing can take away from the fact that King’s X are back in form and they still sound great.

[READ: October 24, 2008] “Whyte Avenue Blue,” “Just the Thing,” “Terminal City,” “Red Carpet Caper,” “Beyond the Overpass,” “The End of Pinky”

I had put off reading these stories because I was in the middle of a couple of other things at the time.  When I finally got around to reading them (and they’re all very short…about a page or two each) I had forgotten that the “theme” behind the stories was noir.  When I started reading them, I kept thinking…none of these stories is even remotely believable.  It’s like the authors are trying really hard to craft stories that are transgressive, almost beyond belief in some way.  Well, when I re-read the sub-heading for the stories, I realized: “The Walrus asked Canadian novelists to sketch their cities as grittier, sexier, and darker than you might ever have imagined…”  So that explained it. (more…)

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Robert Coover–The Case of the Severed Hand [Revisited]

Posted in Funny (strange), Gangsters, Mystery, Noir, Robert Coover, Sex, Short Story, The L Magazine, Violence on September 16, 2008| Leave a Comment »

[RE–READ September 16, 2008] “The Case of the Severed Hand”

One shouldn’t be afraid of criticism.  Heck, if you’re going to have an opinion you have to expect people will argue with you.  I didn’t like this story when I read it.  But, when Daniel commented, even though the criticism was basically, “I liked the story and you’re a stupid doodyhead” I figured that maybe I missed something.  I searched for the story again, and while browsing, I learned that The L Magazine (which I’ve never heard of) had its Best of New York City Awards and “The Case of the Severed Hand” was voted 1 of 5 BEST SHORT STORIES PUBLISHED BY NYC PUBLICATIONS, although no explanation or review of the story was given.  I’ve also learned that Coover is a highly regarded author and is known primarily for his metafiction.  I had reviewed and enjoyed Stepmother a few months ago.

So, I have now re-read the short story to see if I had indeed missed something.  And, again, I believe I did not.  The first part plays as a tongue in cheek noir and is rather funny.  The end plays as straight private eye stuff and is also rather funny.  And the middle piece was a funny little piece about incest!  I had said that I don’t know the detective genre very well, so aside from the obvious parody aspects of it–or maybe not even parody, maybe just playing withe the genre–I’m not sure how much I’m missing (that a fan of the genre would get).

The thing for me is that the parts don’t work together.  Whatever he was trying to get across between these sections of story was just lost.  And, to be blunt, I just didn’t like it.  If I enjoyed the world of private I’s more, I might have a better appreciation for what Coover is doing, but as it stands, I just don’t like it.

If you think the story works, however, please jot me a line and let me know how.  I’d be very curious to know.

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Robert Coover–“The Case of the Severed Hand” (Harper’s, July 2008)

Posted in 21 Jump Street, Agent Orange, Gangsters, Harper's, Mystery, Noir, Northern Exposure, Robert Coover, Threats on July 19, 2008| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: AGENT ORANGE on 21 Jump Street (1987).

Sarah and I are watching 21 Jump Street on DVD.  We were both fans of the show when it came out, but our only thought about it was to sing JUMP every once in a while.  So, we got Season One and have been very pleasantly surprised at how good the show is.  It holds up surprisingly well: the story lines are a bit over the top, and some very basic logical issues like: they go to a different high school every episode, just how many high schools are in this town?  And, what town in the world is as pervaded by so many different teen criminal masterminds?  But, once you get past that (and the egregious late 80’s fashion) the stories are really compelling.

Anyhow, the music on the original was very good, but like many DVDs, (Northern Exposure, I’m looking at you) the original scores could not be obtained so they have lame background music.  (Don’t even get me started on the bullshit factor of THAT).  But the last episode of Season One features music by Agent Orange (it’s about punks, you see).  I assume the band on screen is Agent Orange (although the singer isn’t the band’s singer, so maybe not).  Anyhow, there are several scene in a punk club, and the Agent Orange songs are really good.  I never got into them back in the day, probably because they only really put out two albums, but I am now intrigued enough to see what they were like.  I’ll likely be getting and reviewing their debut, which sounds very promising.

[READ: July 2, 2008] “The Case of the Severed Hand”

This was the only story out of all of the magazine stories I just read that I did not like. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #27 (2008)

Posted in Art, Art Spiegelman, Cancer as plot device, Ernest Goes to Camp, Gangsters, Graphic Novel, McSweeney's, Midnight Oil, Mikel Jollett, New Yorker, Stephen King, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Alarm, The Church, Torture Porn, Unlikable main character, Yuck! on June 1, 2008| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT-4 songs from My Space (2008).

Since the author of one of the stories below is the singer in this band, I thought I’d listen to them and see what they were all about. With a name like that I was expecting some kind of hardcore band. And that is NOT this band! They don’t have a record out yet, but they have some songs on MySpace here. The first song “Sometime Around Midnight” made me think of a couple of bands from the 90s: The Church and Midnight Oil, and possibly The Alarm. The vocals are mixed loudly in the mix, and there is an earnestness about the vocals which made me think of those bands. The second one, “Papillion” has a keyboard solo (!) over some fairly raucous simple melodies. The third song “This is Nowhere” is a fun indie rocker with a good staccato riff and a cool/spooky chorus harmony. And the fourth song “Innocence” was rocking and bouncy. I can’t get over the use of keyboards on songs where you wouldn’t expect them. I enjoyed these songs quite a bit, and will certainly check out the CD when it’s released.

[READ: May 30, 2008]: McSweeneys #27

This volume contains three books in a slipcase. Even though each is a small paperback, the overall package is quite nice. The slipcase has many tiny holes in it to look like skyscraper windows (or Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti). (more…)

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McSweeneys #26 [“New Stories from Overseas”, “New Stories from Our Shores”, and “Where to Invade Next”] (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Canadian Content, Consumerism, Contests, Daredevils, Discworld, Gangsters, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Political Humor, Short Story, The Riches, War, WMDs on April 8, 2008| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: JOSE GONZALEZ-In Our Nature (2007).

I first heard Jose Gonzalez, as pretty much everyone did, in the Sony commercial. The one where thousands of superballs are dropped down a San Francisco street to the accompaniment of Gonzalez’ “Heartbeats”. It was a beautiful piece of video. And the song was really perfectly suited. A mellow ballad, which happened to be a cover of a song by a band called The Knife.

The rest of the album was similar: soft, beautifully played acoustic songs, hushed vocals, just very pretty.

Gonzales’ follow up doesn’t mess with the formula too much. He adds another player or two, to include some harmonies, and he does another cover (Cocteau Twins’ “Teardrops”) but overall the feeling is much the same. The Cocteau Twins cover is interesting for me because I have mentioned another Cocteau Twins cover in a review (by the Deftones) and this is yet another take on what I always assumed was an uncoverable band. This version strips the song down to its bare essentials but keeps the gorgeous melody intact. It’s quite striking.

There’s nothing especially fancy about Gonzalez’ guitar playing…he’s not trying to wow anyone with his virtuosity, which is nice. However, he is a very accomplished classical guitarist. He uses the classical techniques in his pop songs, and he tends to play certain notes harder than others bringing a natural percussion to his otherwise mellow fingerpicking. So, while I say there’s nothing fancy about his playing, it is still quite beautiful. His voice hasn’t changed either, it still retains that peaceful, serene feeling.

It’s funny then to read the words to his songs many of which come across as protest songs. Not about anything in particular but about human nature, and the animals that we can often be. The record is a really string collection of songs. It’s also quite short, about 35 minutes, which also seems fitting somehow: get in, say what you want, and get out.

Of the two records, I prefer the first one, possibly because I know it better, but I think it’s because in the follow up, the extra players detract somewhat from Gonzalez’ singular nature. Not that they do great harm, and surely he needs to evolve his sound, but I feel like with the addition of others, something is lost. Despite that, this one easily gets a 4.5 out of 5 where as Veneer got a 5 out of 5.

[READ: March 2008]: McSweeney’s #26

This was a great “issue.” I enjoyed all three parts of it. (more…)

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Gordon Korman–Son of the Mob (2002)

Posted in Adventure, Barenaked Ladies, Gangsters, Gordon Korman, Gordon Lightfoot, Moxy Fruvous, Set at School, Short Books, The Sopranos, YA Books on April 4, 2008| 8 Comments »

sonmob.jpgSOUNDTRACK: GORDON LIGHTFOOT-The Complete Greatest Hits (2002).

gordon.jpgIn keeping with the Gordon theme of this post, I’m going to mention Gordon Lightfoot. He is an iconic Canadian folk singer that I was sure I must have heard in the past. He seemed to be mentioned a lot recently, so I decided to get a hits collection and see what’s up. I was somewhat surprised to see that I knew only one song by him (“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”) and one other one “For Lovin’ Me” because it was covered by Peter, Paul and Mary.

So, after a few listens, I find that Lightfoot’s melodies are really strong, and I found myself singing along to most of the catchy choruses. It’s interesting to see his career evolve over the years: from the 2 minute folkie to some longer, more complex songs, to the 70s AM radio songwriter, to the very unfortunate 80s period, and finally back to basics in the 90s.

I know I won’t need any other records by him, but he’s a great addition to my folk collection. This album seems to cover a track or two from most of his records (although he was quite prolific). I prefer the earliest, most spare folk tracks, especially the “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” but some of his later songs, while more produced, are even catchier: “Summer Side of Life” “Sundown.” And, even though some of these later songs are a little cheesey (in a 70s AM radio way), they’re still pretty good: “Cotton Jenny” and “Daylight Katy.” But still, the highlight is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” what a great great song. And what a great great mustache too!

[DIGRESSION]: There’s a song on Moxy Fruvous’ b record called “Gord’s Gold” which I never understood. It was only after investigating Gordon Lightfoot that i realized he has two greatest hits records called “Gord’s Gold.” The Moxy song must be some kind of light footed parody of Mr Gordon. Also, Barenaked Ladies’ first record is called Gordon, and in the back of the liner notes they list all kinds of famous people named Gordon.

We figure that Gordon must be the quintessential Canadian name. I was surprised to find out that Gordon Korman is from New York.

[READ: March 2008] Son of the Mob

This is the YA book that Sarah has talked to me about the most. When we were first dating she used this book in her booktalks to the local teens in school. A booktalk is a compelling introduction to a book, designed to whet your appetite for more. Her booktalk for this title stuck with me, even if I didn’t remember the whole thing. But I knew I’d be checking this one out. (more…)

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