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Archive for the ‘Greed’ Category

George Saunders–“Who Are All These Trump Supporters” (New Yorker, July 11 & 18, 2016)

Posted in Consumerism, Corporate skewering, donald tRUMP, Dystopia, Essays, Fears, George Saunders, Greed, Guns, Hillary Clinton, Humiliation, Lydia Loveless, Lydia Lunch, New Yorker, Poverty, Religion, The Byrds, The Knitters, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, X, Yuck! on July 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

CoverStory-KadirNelson-ADayattheBeach3-879x1200-1467305948SOUNDTRACK: LYDIA LOVELESS-Tiny Desk Concert #369 (July 1, 2014).

lovelssI want Lydia Loveless to be a punk singer–Her name is like a combination of Lydia Lunch and a last name that conjures up an asskicking punk.

But not the country singer that Loveless is (even if she is ass-kicking herself). Loveless is a new breed of alt-country which is pretty explicit with noticeably rocking guitar solos.  But her voice is so twangy it’s hard to not call it country (and in fact it’s a bit too much for me to take sometimes).

“Head” features this rather memorable chorus “Don’t stop getting undressed /Don’t stop giving me head.”  It seems especially surprising since Loveless looks like she’s about 12 (she was 23 at the time of this recording).  The buzzy solo is lengthy and more or less runs throughout the song.  Although at some point when Loveless takes her own solo the whole sound seems to fade out and get a little anemic.

Her band is fun with her bassist being very tall and having very long hair playing a very tall upright bass.  And then there’s another guy playing guitar and lap steel.

“Verlaine Shot Rimbaud” has a title that begs for an awesome song.  It’s not an epic masterpiece or anything.  In fact its closer to a pop song, The slide guitar and Loveless’ heavy accent on the chorus place it firmly in the country camp.

“Mile High” has a fun folk riff.  It sounds a lot like The Byrds and the chorus is super catchy.  If I could get her to sing less twangy I would love this song much like I love the punk country of X, or at least the Knitters.

[READ: December 29, 2010] “Who are All These Trump Supporters”

[This essay in the New Yorker also came under the heading “Trump Days.”]

So the title of the essay is a question I myself have been asking as I watch the hatred and vitriol bubble over during the convention.

If there was anyone I wanted to write this piece it would be George Saunders and he is actually the only reason I read it in the first place (I plan to read all of his contributions to the New Yorker eventually, but I’m glad to have read this one when it was timely–I hope it will be utterly irrelevant by the time I get to the rest of his works).  He self identifies as a liberal (although he was a conservative who loved Ayn Rand way back in the Reagan era).  He is a thoughtful and not prone to anger–a perfect foil for the crowd.  And he’s got a great way with words.

So great in fact that I’m just going to be quoting him a lot.  I could have pulled more excellent quotes from the essay, but really you should read the whole thing. (more…)

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Glenn Eichler & Joe Infurnari–Mush! Sled Dogs with Issues (2011)

Posted in #10yearsof01, Advice, Brandy Clark, Dogs, First Second :01, Glenn Eichler, Graphic Novel, Greed, Joe Infurnari, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfunny, Violence, Yuck! on July 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

muashSOUNDTRACK: BRANDY CLARK-Tiny Desk Concert #542 (June 20, 2016).

brandyCountry is pretty much the only genre I really don’t like, and, sadly for me, the genre seems to be seeping over into areas that I like (such as what happened in the alt-country movement in the 90s).  The one saving grace, (and actually major draw), of a lot of this new country is that the songwriters are exploring new lyrical territory.  And in particular, the women are writing sassy, funny, ass-kicking songs.

Brandy Clark (in black leather pants no less) has written for many other singers and finally decided to do her own stuff.

The entire lyric of “Daughter” is hilarious.  It’s an awesome revenge fantasy which, as the blurb suggests, “knows that fate is likely to do more damage to a cad than a key would ever do to his car’s glossy paint job.”

It’s got the great chorus:

I hope you have a daughter and I hope that she’s a fox / Daddy’s little girl just as sweet as she is hot / she can’t help to love them boys who love to love and leave them just like her father / Yes karma’s a bitch so I hope you have a daughter.

The second song is a sentimental song about her dead father.  The melody is very pretty, but I don’t need to hear songs like this.

But it’s back to the funny with the really sassy “Girl Next Door.”  It takes to task another cheating man:

If you want the girl next store then go next door… [much faster] and go right now and don’t look back and don’t turn around don’t call me when you get bored, yeah if you want the girl next door then go next door.

It’s a genius line and I really like the tone of her voice in this song (less twangy and more angry).  It could make me like country more.

[READ: April 1, 2016] Mush!

The title of this book promised a very funny story.  I really didn’t expect the “issues” to be quite so existential.

This book is broken into 10 chapters, with the first one opening on a man and his sled dogs mushing across the frozen tundra (actually Alaska).  We are introduced to The Boss and his Mate and the six dogs (from the dog’s perspective).  And then we see the dogs talking to each other. The crux of their conversation is that they are bored and wish they were running.  The lead dog, Dolly, loves to run, although she is unsure is she is qualified to lead the other dogs.

For some reason Buddy has a really big nose and is rather dumb.

Then we jump inside the house and see some intense friction.  The man of the house is a loner, a rebel, Dottie.  He hates society and doesn’t even like going into the city to get supplies.  His mate, meanwhile, loves him and wants to be with him–she knows the risks and troubles of doing it off the grid, but she also likes to go into town from time to time.  And she misses apricots.  Frankly, he is such a dick that I can’t imagine why she stays with him. (more…)

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JT Petty & Hilary Florido–Bloody Chester (2012)

Posted in #10yearsof01, Adventure, Death, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Greed, Hilary Florido, JT Petty, Murder, Racism, Religion, Robert Ellis, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence on June 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

chester SOUNDTRACK: ROBERT ELLIS-Tiny Desk Concert #534 (May 23, 2016).

robellisRobert Ellis is a singer-songwriter who I was unfamiliar with (a familiar refrain in recent Tiny Desk Concerts).

Ellis is from Texas and his voice rings of country singers.  But his guitar playing and song styles sound more Americana or singer-songwritery than country.  he walks a fine line, which probably means he is loved by neither faction.

He plays three songs.  The first sees both men (him and Kelly Doyle) on electric guitar, with a catchy riff and fun chord progressions.  (Their suits are pretty spectacular too).

After the first song, Ellis says, “I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce my favorite guitar player on the planet, Kelly the Telly Doyle.”  After a pause he smiles and says, “There’s only two of us up here so there’s only two things I could have said” to much laughter.

“Driving” was written about being in Nashville TN and going nowhere. But it is a masterful piece of guitar work with him (on acoustic) and Doyle (on electric) playing these wonderful fast lines that overlap and intertwine and sound amazing together.  The vocal melody line is fast and familiar, but it’s those recurring fast guitar lines that are really wonderful.  And indeed, Doyle does some wonderful pyrotechnics on his electric guitar, including a nice harmonic at the end.

For the final song, “California,” Ellis switches to piano with some more nice guitar harmonics from Kelly.  His voice sounds very familiar on this song–it’s a slower more expansive piece that allows him to sing bigger.  I like the way the chorus seems to work as a continuous melody after it seems like it ought to have stopped.  There’ a real 70s vibe to this song.

I’m always curious to see if I’ll hear more from someone like Ellis after seeing him on the Tiny Desk Concert.

[READ: February 19, 2016] Bloody Chester

This is a story of the Old West.  I don’t especially care that much about the Old West.  It seems so totally unreal that I never know what actually happened.

This story starts out especially dark with a boy named Lady Kate getting beaten up in a bar.  We back up on the story a little and realize that this boy is Bloody Chester.  He was a feared tough guy based on reputation. True, his last name was Kate, but Bloody Chester suited him well.  Until he had an unfortunate experience with a lady of the evening and his reputation changed from Bloody Chester to Lady Kate.  And that’s when the abuse came.

Trying to get by in town is now pretty tough.  He drinks a lot and all he has left is his horse.

The one major problem I had with this story is that Chester looks like he’s about 12 years old–like the other young people.  While I’m not doubting that young kids did horrible things in the Old West, they seem too young for everything that happened (especially the lady of the evening). (more…)

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Ludmilla Petrushevskaya–“The Story of a Painter” (New Yorker, January 18, 2016)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Anna Summers, Art, Books about writers, Damien Jurado, Greed, Humiliation, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, New Yorker, Russia, Short Story, Surreal, Tiny Desk Concert, Translation on January 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

1182016SOUNDTRACK: DAMIEN JURADO–Tiny Desk Concert #114 (February 28, 2011).

damienI had always assumed that Damien Jurado was someone else entirely.  I had no idea that he was (as the blurb describes him) “a big dude playing sad songs.”

And he is.

For this Tiny Desk it’s just him and his guitar.  He keeps his eyes closed tightly as he sings these sad songs.  His guitar playing is simple–just strummed chords and his voice is simple as well–there’s no tricks.  It’s all about his songwriting.

I liked all four of these songs: “Cloudy Shoes,” “Newspaper Gown” (that was my favorite), “Arkansas,” and “Beacon Hill.”

The strangest thing about him was how uncommunicative he seemed to be–almost nervous.  He barely spoke and when he did it was hard to hear.  And as soon as the set was done he immediately stood up to leave.

Although he does say it’s “nice.”

His songs were lovely although I don’t think I’ll be seeking him out anytime soon.

[READ: January 12, 2016] “The Story of a A Painter”

This story was translated by Anna Summers and, as the title suggests, it is about a painter.

But this story delves into surreal territory pretty quickly.  It may even be a fairy tale as the opening line is “There once lived a painter….”

This painter has had some bad fortune as of late.  His landlord promised to get him a lot of money if he would sell his large apartment.  But the landlord sold the place and kept the money (a lawsuit is pending).  Then the landlord offered him a place under the stairs–no running water–which the painter accepted.  But he can’t pay the landlord, so the landlord gives him grief every day.

On another day a man asked if he would rent him his “apartment.”  The painter said yes for money up front.  The man gave him the money then moved his entire family into the tiny, below-the-stairs place and planned to never leave.  Now the painter was destitute and homeless. (more…)

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Kelly Sue DeConnick & Valentine De Landro–Bitch Planet: Extraordinary Machine (2015)

Posted in Canadian Music, Corporate skewering, Death, Fears, Graphic Novel, Greed, Humiliation, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kimberle Crenshaw, Marriage Trouble, Racism, Sci-fi, Sexism, Threats, Unfinished series, Valentine De Landro, Violence on January 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

bpSOUNDTRACK: GRIMES-“Kill v. Maim” (2015).

grimesI don’t know Grimes very well at all.  When I first heard this song I didn’t really know what to think, but after repeated listens, I think it’s great.

It opens with a synth riff (and air horns) and one of Grimes’s many voices (this one is kind of childlike).  But by the end of the second line, she screams “they don’t know me” and that seems to set up the various personas in this song.

It’s the pre-chorus that I find so catchy–sung like the cheerleader chant “B-E-H-A-V-E aggressive.  B-E-H-A-V-E nevermore.”  And then the super fast chorus (with her voice lifted to an incredibly high pitch).

There’s a slower section with what I assume is her natural voice (which is quite lovely).  But it’s soon back to the fun chorus.  I need to hear more from her, but if this is her only good song, that’s okay.  It’s angry and you can dance to it.  Welcome to 2016!

[READ: December 20, 2015] Bitch Planet

This series is a great manifesto for the new year–don’t take shit from anybody.

Kelly Sue DeConnick is a force to be reckoned with.  In addition to presenting Captain Marvel as a woman (in the amazing series of that name) and making some other cool looking series that I intend to read, she has created this feminist masterpiece.  Bitch Planet addresses violence and injustice against women and the whole “prison culture” that is always titillating for men.  It pushes Orange is the New Black to even further extreme that a comic book can.

Designed in a retro style by Valentine De Landro, the book comes complete with ads for “crap” in the back of each issue.   Which you may actually be able to buy. (more…)

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A Christmas Carol [McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, December 10, 2015]

Posted in 19th Century, A Christmas Carol, Acting, C., Charity, Charles Dickens, Funny (ha ha), Ghosts, Greed, McCarter Theatre, Play (Drama), Princeton, NJ, Short Story on December 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 10, 2015] A Christmas Carol

xmasLast night we attended McCarter’s production of A Christmas Carol for the second time (first time was two years ago).  We went specifically because it is the last time that they are doing this particular performance of the show (it has been the same for 16 years).  Next year they will be doing something entirely new.

We were pretty staggered by the pricing (last time we got super cheap seats but they were pretty far into the corner which ruined some of the magic).  But there was a Black Friday special and we had awesome seats (the woman next to me was mad that we paid literally half her price, muhahaha, Scrooge alert!).  But wow, what seats!

The show felt more magical and more moving than last time (I was a blubbery mess by the end).  It was awesome to see that the entire set was crooked (a great, disconcerting effect).  And to really see the sets come forward and the spirit of Christmas future as soon as he came out, those were very cool moments.  T. asked if we can sit in the front row next year.

2015-12-10 20.47.46It was also interesting to see who was different in the cast this year.  I recognized a few returning members–James Ludwig is awesome as Fred, Scrooge (Graeme Malcolm) was the same (and was awesome–I loved the way he did little things, like kick a rug into place, which were “accidents” but were totally in character).  And there were clearly some new faces and new actors.   You can see the whole cast at the McCarter site.

And I just read (in New Jersey Stage) that apparently many in the cast are quite well known:

Boasting a gigantic list of Broadway, regional and international credits, the cast of A Christmas Carol includes Leah Anderson, Allison Buck, Billy Finn, Kathy Fitzgerald, Nike Kadri, David Kenner, January LaVoy, James Ludwig, Bradley Mott, Anne O’Sullivan, Sari Alexander, Gabriel Bernal, Andrew Clark, Jean G. Floradin, Heather Gault, Michael John Hughes, Sophie Lee Morris, Gregory Omar Osborne, Patrick Roberts, Daniella Tamasi, and Arielle Taylor.

I just re-read what I had written two years ago and found that I felt exactly the same.  So for the rest of the post I am going to keep everything the same (with a few updates).

It’s like a Christmas tradition. (more…)

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Claire Cock-Starkey–How to Skin a Lion: A Treasury of Outmoded Advice (2015)

Posted in Africa, Anachronisms, Birds, Claire Cock-Starkey, Disease, Elephants, Essays, Etiquette, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Greed, Guns, History, How to, Lions, Los Lobos, Nature, Tiny Desk Concert, Yuck! on November 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

skin SOUNDTRACK: LOS LOBOS-Tiny Desk Concert #90 (November 10, 2010).

loslobosI don’t really know all that much about Los Lobos.  I frankly got sick of them because of “La Bamba” (which came out 20 years ago!) and I don’t think I’d ever heard much else by them.  So I wound up enjoying this Tiny Desk much more than I anticipated.

The one big problem with this tiny desk is that the drummer is playing one of those plastic mail bins and it sounds awful.  Especially on the first song.  I think anything would have had a better drum sound than that.

I really enjoyed the first song “Burn It Down.”  It has a propulsive minor key structure and an excellent bass line.  I would never have guessed it was Los Lobos, but that may be because it’s not the singer I most associate with them (he sings on the next two songs).

“Yo Canto” is a cumbia, sung by a different guy (in Spanish) who also plays lead guitar.  The mail bin sounds better on this song because of the placement (and use of) a cowbell.  The singer sounds amazing.  I rather like the riff that underlines the song.

Those two songs are from their then latest album.  And the band sounds really good all these years on.

The final song is “Don’t Worry Baby.”  It has the same singer as the middle song (this time in English) although it is a pretty standard blues song that I found just okay.  It also features a bunch of saxophone.  I didn’t realize that it was from their major label debut in 1984! and is something of a classic.

So three songs, all of them enjoyable, from a band I didn’t really think I’d enjoy.  The funniest part is just before the show stops and someone asks, “Okay, where’s the beer?”

[READ: October 1, 2015] How to Skin a Lion

This book sounded awesome–I love outdated things that we can laugh about now (because I’m a superior git, of course).

But this book proved to be not all that funny.  The outmoded advice wasn’t treated comically exactly (well, some was), rather it was looked at rather seriously–some as good advice that still stands, some as crazy advice that is way outmoded and a few things that are, yes, just comical.

Cock-Starkey (insert joke here) says that this is a collection of materials from the vast archives of the British Library.  It culls from medieval manuscripts, Victorian manuals and self-help guides from the early 20th century.  She explains that the book aims to reveal the secrets of lost arts, remind us of how modern conveniences have changed our lives, recall the complexities of etiquette, highlight changing attitudes and beliefs and furnish us with still useful tips and guidance.

Although she also points out that readers should be advised that some pieces of advice contained herein have stood the test of time better than others. (more…)

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Berkeley Breathed–Academia Waltz and other profound transgressions (2010)

Posted in Berkeley Breathed, Bloom County, Bob Dylan, Dave Bidini music, Doonesbury, Earl Campbell, Fantasy, Fears, Feminism, Football, Free Speech, Funny (ha ha), Gender, Gods, Greed, Guided By Voices, Humiliation, Kevin Hearn, LGBTQ, Martin Tielli, Nature, Neil Young, Political Humor, Punks, Racism, Religion, Rush, Scott Walker, Selina Martin, Set at School, Sex, Sexism, Smarty Pants, Star Trek on October 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

academiaSOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-“We didn’t even suspect that he was the poppy salesman.” (2001).

popptI wrote about this album once before, and while I made notes about it after listening to it again, I found out that they were pretty much exactly what I thought of the record four years ago.  So I’m going to simply repost the review here, but I’m going to add some new notes seamlessly intermingled.

Martin Tielli’s first solo disc is a proper solo release: it’s almost all him on acoustic guitar and his gorgeous alto voice.  I hadn’t listened to this disc in a while and I was delighted by how much of the disc I knew so well.

The opening track, “I’ll Never Tear Your Apart” is deceptively simple: beautiful harmonic’d guitars and his gentle voice.  There’s a great video to go with it here.  That is followed by the wonderful “My Sweet Relief” which sounds like a great Neil Young folk song: great verses an a strong chorus.  Lyrically, though, it is all Tielli.  “Double X” highlights Tielli’s beautiful acoustic guitar work.  It’s another great story song, this one about a destitute person hanging under a superstore with a K and an M.

“Voices in the Wilderness” is a simply beautiful song, a lovely guitar melody and Tielli’s high voice singing along.. I also love that the lyric  (mis)quotes Rush very nicely: “‘If you choose not to be free you still have made a choice,’ said a high and squeaky voice.”

“Farmer in the City” is the only track that Tielli didn’t write.  It’s a nearly 8-minute song by Scott Walker.  I had never listened to the original, but having now done so, I find the Walker version to be far superior.  Walker’s voice is so eccentric and wonderful.  So even though I love Martin’s voice, he just can’t compare to the original.   Also find Martin’s version to be just a little spare (the Walker version has lovely strings. Kevin Hearn plays celeste and Selina Martin plays wine glasses on the track.

It’s followed by the delightful “World in a Wall” which uses mice in the wall as a metaphor for a broken relationship (with wonderful detailed lines like: She’s like a mouse, I know she’s around It’s a gnawing sound. Leaves little brown poohs from a little pink bum.”

This is followed by “That’s How They Do It in Warsaw” which is the first really rocking song (it has bass and drums) and a voiceover in Polish by Kasia Zaton.

It’s coupled with a slightly less rocky but still loud track “How Can You Sleep?” (which makes another fun musical allusion, this time about Guided by Voices). It has a co-songwriting credit from Dave Bidini and has a kind of vocal allusion to Bob Dylan, although I doubt it is about him.

“She Said ‘We’re On Our Way Down’” is a song that I really want to enjoy more.  But It is so spare and Martin’s vocal line is so abstract, that I can never really get int it. But the guitar riff is really powerful and cool.  And yet, the song seems to eschew melody but then a gorgeous guitar or vocal line shines through and really sounds brilliant.  “From the Reel” is a beautiful, aching acoustic ballad.

The disc ends with the odd, seven minute “Wetbrain/Your War.”  The first part (wet brain) is kind of slow but it builds into a beautiful dark song about addiction.

This is a really beautiful album, although there are moments when I fell like Martin gets too delicate, it’s amazing to hear just what he can do when he’s on his own.

[READ: October 19, 2015] Academia Waltz

Way back a long time ago I was pretty excited to read all of the Bloom County reissue books.  Somehow I only got through Books 1 and 2, although I see now that five volumes were released in total.

Presumably at the end of that run, (which technically ended in 2011) comes this volume.  Academia Waltz is the strip that Breathed wrote back in college.  This book collects some (but apparently not all) of the strips.  It’s odd to not collect them all since there is also an art gallery with all kinds of original pieces (complete with edits and scribbled notes) that duplicate many of the earlier strips.

The first part collects pieces from Academia Waltz the 1979 collection.  The second part comes from Bowing Out, the 1980 Collection. (more…)

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Jonathan Franzen–Freedom (2010)

Posted in Basketball, Big Books, Birds, Books about music, Bright Eyes, Canadian Music, Christmas Album, Conor Oberst, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Crash Test Dummies, Death, Decadence, Drinking, Drugs, Environmentalism, Greed, Humiliation, Jonathan Franzen, Marriage Trouble, Minnesota, Morality, Neurotics, Political Humor, Poo, Punks, Religion, Sex, Yuck! on December 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

freedomSOUNDTRACK: CRASH TEST DUMMIES-Jingle all the way… (2002).

ctdEven though the Crash Test Dummies are often seen as a joke band or a one hit wonder (which I guess they are), I’ve liked them for a while (their earlier stuff a lot more than their later stuff, admittedly).  But it seemed like they’d have a fun take on Christmas music.

And it starts out in a comical sort of way with Brad Robert’s deeper-than-ever voice reciting about his life in Los Angeles, where it is warm and sunny at Christmas time.  I like that he rhymes 24th with up north.  The spoken section is quite loud in the mix (it sounds like he is right in your ear).  Unfortunately, that is the case when he starts singing too–he is uncomfortably loud in the mix and it sounds like he is holding back because of it–he doesn’t sound great and his voice sounds more comical than interesting.  Which is a shame because the music (with cheesey keyboards) is great.

Roberts sings lead on about half of the songs.  Ellen Reid sings lead on the other half except for a couple where they split lead duties.

The rest of Robert’s songs include: “Jingle Bells” (which is certainly comical–it sounds like a chain gang song with the “Hey!s” sounding almost like a prison chant).  It’s weird and cool though (even if his voice is once again too loud in the mix).  “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” has his voice mixed much better–he seems to be really singing.  And this version–a loungey/jazzy rendition is much great fun.  “God King Wenceslas” sounds proper (with Reid’s close backing vocals).  It has a pretty penny whistle keeping the song going.

Ellen Reid has a great voice and I love hearing her sing.  But in the first two songs she sings lead on in this disc she sounds like she is singing too slowly.  “O Little Town of Bethlehem” especially sounds like the music is going to pass her up at any minute.  I also don’t like the country vibe of the song.  “In the Bleak Midwinter” is also (intentionally) slow, which I don’t like.  Perhaps I just don’t like this song (although I do think the melody is lovely).  “The Little Drummer Boy” is beautiful and Robert’s bass backing vocals are perfect.  “Silent Night” is done in a countryish style, but I like this version.  Although normally this song can make me cry, this version absolutely does not–too honky tonkish.

The final song, “The Huron Carol” is quite formal and proper–just Reid and a piano opening the song.  It sounds very holy, very pretty.  When Robert’s bass backing vocals come in, it adds more depth to the song.  And it’s a lovely way to end.

[READ: October 30, 2014] Freedom

I read this a couple months ago and then got so caught up in reading other things that I never got around to posting about it.  And that’s a bummer because I really liked the book a lot and I fear that I won’t remember everything I wanted to say about it.

I had read a couple of excerpts from the book in the New Yorker (quite some time ago).  They were helpful in grounding the story for me, but they didn’t prepare me for the breadth of the story.  It follows one family, the Berglunds, through several decades, focusing on each of them in great detail as they navigate through the Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and a smidge of the Obama years.

The Berglunds are a liberal family.  They were among the first white families to move onto their urban street in St. Paul, Minnesota (after white flight to the burbs).  Patty is a charming (some say smug) homemaker and Walter is a lawyer (public defendant, naturally).  They have two kids, Jessica and Joey.  Patty dotes on Joey to an embarrassing degree (Joey is embarrassed by it, Jessica is infuriated by it and even Patty is kind of embarrassed when she really thinks about it).  At the same time she is rather neglectful of Jessica.  Naturally, Jessica becomes quite the success (loves reading, committed to the environment), while Joey rebels and finds all kinds of ways to disappoint them and make money.  (This isn’t a bad thing, but the family has plenty of money and Joey doesn’t need to (especially not the way he goes about it).  Not to mention Walter and Patty are not into the money for money’s sake thing.

The book opens that there was some “news” about Walter. He and Patty had moved to Washington DC two years earlier.  He clearly did something bad (we won’t find out until much later).  But that serves as an introduction to the Berglunds.  And then we go back to see them, years earlier, settling into St Paul. (more…)

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Alex Ogg–Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables The Early Years (2014)

Posted in Alex Ogg, Dead Kennedys, Greed, History, Political Humor, Punks, Religion on November 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

dk SOUNDTRACK: DEAD KENNEDYS-Demos (1978).

demosI didn’t know these demos existed until I saw them mentioned in this book.  They are obviously not meant for public consumption (Jello sounds like he’s straining on a few songs, like “Kill the Poor). But it’s impressive just how good the band sounds and how fully formed the ideas are.

I also enjoy how some of the songs are played a wee bit slower which changes the vibe of the lyrics somewhat (especially “California Uber Alles” and “Holiday in Cambodia”).

“Kepone Kid”s is a slightly different version of “Kepone Factory” (same basic music but different lyrics.)  “Forward to Death” is pretty much the same.  “California Uber Alles” is much slower and perhaps a a bt more menacing.  “Your Emotions” is pretty similar to the version I’m familiar with.  “Kill the Poor” is also pretty much the same

“Holiday in Cambodia” is the most drastically different.  In addition to being slower, Jello sings the first verses in a flat monotone.  At first I thought that perhaps he wasn’t giving his all, but then it seemed like a deliberate choice–which makes it seems somewhat more sinister a the end–where he goes nuts in the Pol Pot section (even crooning it at one point).

“Kidnap” is new to me–a kind of football chant about kidnapping someone (hard to get the actual lyrics from this demo).  “The Man with the Dogs” has that great creepy echoed guitar opening and sounds a lot like the final product (with Ray having some awesome fun with feedback and noise at the end).  “I Kill Children” is even more disturbing without the “God” quote at the beginning.

“Dreadlocks in the Suburbs” is a reggae song (!).  I can’t really make out the lyrics, but I’ll bet it’s funny.  “Rawhide” is a little sloppier than I’m used to, but it really gets to what they are trying to do with the cover.  “Mutations of Today” has a very strange guitar set up–intertwining guitar riffs (I assume the second is by 6025) and a very long intro before Jello sings (really oddly even for him) about Mexican monster babies.  It’s not a favorite and seems more improvised than anything.  “Cold Fish” is simple punk song.  I’m not quite sure what its’ about although it seems to be about killing someone (and seems more like a goof than a song).

“Forward to Death” appears again.  This later version is a bit more loud and full sounding.   And “Viva Las Vegas” ends this set with a fun romp of a cover–it sounds great and raw in this demo.

So it’s interesting to hear these early versions of their songs.  There’s a few insights (and I understand that the drummer Ted likes the slower versions of those two big hits) and a few surprises.

[READ: November 16, 2014] Dead Kennedys

When I was a young punk I loved the Dead Kennedys. Jello Biafra was THE MAN! And he still is, although I am less politically motivated as I used to be. I have a bunch of his spoken word albums and all of the DK’s output. I distinctly remember buying Frankenchrist on vinyl at the Flea Market in Elmwood Park and feeling nervous as he slowly put the album in a bag while my parents waited for me to be done.

I haven’t really thought about the DKs that much for a few years. I knew there was some kind of litigation about something, but I didn’t care all that much. Then I saw this book and I thought it would be a fun read. And it was.

I have no idea who Alex Ogg is, although he seems to have some kind of insider information about the band. And this book is comprised of quotes from the band members, recollections from others who were there and all kinds of photos.

As the subtitle says, this is the early years. So it really only covers the band’s formation to the recording and release of Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.

Because Jello was the frontman and was very very outspoken, he was always the main focus of the band for me.  Although I knew the names of the other guys, I never really thought about East Bay Ray or Klaus Flouride or Ted or 6025 or D.H. Peligro.  And honestly I never really thought about the DKs as musicians—I knew I liked the music and that some of it was pretty weird, but I never really thought about it like I did with other bands that I wanted to play. (more…)

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