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Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim & Pop–Nola’s Worlds #2: Ferrets and Ferreting Out (2010)

Posted in Beck, Carol Klio Burrell, Completed Series, Dick Hyman, Erica Olson Jeffrey, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Huh?, Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim, Pop, Supernatural, Trilogy on March 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

nola2SOUNDTRACK: BECK-Odelay! (1996)

220px-OdelayAfter the success of Mellow Gold (and those other releases) we didn’t hear from Beck for a while (there’s a joke about the title of this record referring to the delays in production).

Beck quickly went from one hit wonder to wunderkind with this release which had 5 singles and is generally considered a masterpiece of the 1990s.

I haven’t listened to it in a long time, and I was surprised to hear that “Where’s It’s At” is not the lead track (it’s actually #8).  Rather it’s “Devil’s Haircut” that opens the disc.  And it still sounds fresh and fun (and, it must be said, rather weird–the guitar solo and that screaming at the end are not typical “single” material.  “Hotwax” returns Beck to his folkier roots.  Although it is folk done Beck-style, with funk keyboards and rapped lyrics.  There’s a ton of interesting styles of music in the background (old timey pianos, distorted guitars, even a weird little trippy ending).  While not trying to ape “Loser” at all, there are even lyrics in Spanish.  It’s a simple song that might have been a hit if there weren’t so many other hit-worthy songs on the disc.  “Lord Only Knows” is a fairly conventional song, catchy and simple.

“The New Pollution” was another single.  It’s also pretty unusual for a single–the opening samples (it must be a sample, even though I don’t see credits for it) an old sounding do do, do do do vocal line, (the listed sample is the sax solo from Joe Thomas’ “Venus.”  It’s so hard to know what’s original and what’s sampled with Beck.  “Derelict” is a slow, unusual song which I quite like, although I can see it being the first song on the disc that people didn’t love.  The backing music sounds like it’s played on an old music box.

“Novacane” is a funky rap-style track.  It’s noisy but fun and has some great samples.  “Jack-Ass” was another single.  I especially like this song.  It’s a slow and fairly conventional song with s simple melody and Beck’s mellow vocals–it cuts through the clutter of Beck’s usual cacophony and shows that he can do simple as well (and hints at Mutations).  Even if he does throw in the donkey sounds at the end.  And then there’s 2 turntables and a microphone.

“Minus” has a big noisy bass and guitar–a punk song, if you will.  “Sissyneck” has a great whistling opening which comes from “The Moog and Me” by Dick Hyman.  I really enjoy this country-infused number (it’s strange that I enjoy the less weird songs more, given that the other singles were so much bigger) .  “Readymade” is a slow meandering song with some interesting elements, although it’s probably my least favorite song on the disc.  Especially since it’s followed by the raucous “High 5 (Rock the Catskills), which has some great samples (including Shubert), a noisy chorus (“rocking the plastic like a man from a casket”) and (apparently) a recreation of some old rap (I love the “Ooh, La La Sassoon” and “Sergio Valenti” call outs).

The disc ends with “Ramshackle” a simple folk song that feel slightly out of tune.  It’s a mellow end to this all over the place disc (well, aside from the obligatory “bonus” track which is less than a minute of repeated noise).  Although it is well-known for its sampling and pop creations, it also shows the real diversity of Beck’s songwriting.

Check out the Moog and Me, which has Dick Hyman playing the Moog synthesizer and whistling along.

[READ: March 9, 2014] Nolas’ Worlds #2

Nola’s World is a three-part graphic novel series.  I just noticed in this book that it was originally (in French) called Alta Donna.  This book was translated very naturally by Erica Olson Jeffrey and Carol Klio Burrell.

The book picks up right where book one left off.  Nola is wondering why, after the crazy events at the end book one (which involve a roller coaster and aliens) Damiano hasn’t called or texted her and Pumpkin can’t remember anything that happened.

I felt like the beginning of the book was a little too pre-teen angsty for me, but it quickly snapped out of it and moved on the to fun and weirdness that this series presents in spades. We basically learn that Damiano and Inez are avoiding Nola because she can’t know their secret.  We also learn (and I guess we knew this already but I missed it) that the man controlling the aliens at the end of book one is Nola’s father. –WHAT??! (more…)

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“Some Instructions” (The Believer, November/December 2013)

Posted in Alexander Waterman, Ann Liv Young, Ant Hampton, Beck, Brian Belott, Brian McMullen, Buddy Wakefield, Christian Bok, Dawn Kaspar, Dynasty Handbag, Fluxus, Funny (strange), George Brecht, Huh?, Jericho Brown, John Beer, K. Silem Mohammad, Lauren Brincat, Luke Dischbeck, Matthew Dickman, Matthew Zapruder, Noah Eli Gordon, Olivia Plender, Sarah Rara, Sasha Archibald, The Believer, Zubair Ahmed on March 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

beelievrSOUNDTRACK: BECK-“Beercan” (1994).

I beercanhad forgotten how much I liked “Beercan” as a song until I played Mellow Gold again.  It’s incredibly catchy, has some wonderfully weird elements (like the sample of the girl saying “I’m Sad” over flamenco music), and deserved to be heard more.

The B-sides for this single really run the gamut of everything Beck does.  The first track “Got No Mind” is a reworking of “Pay No Mind.” It’s done as a very simple folk song.  The words are largely different and the music is played differently, but the chords are the same.  It’s an interesting conceit to redo a song almost entirely like that.  The second song “Asskiss Powergrudge (Payback ’94)” is just a dirty slow abusive song. The guitar strings are totally muted, just making noise.  The vocals are slowed and sludgy.  And it’s just heaps of abuse.

“Totally Confused” is also on the “Loser” single and is such a pretty, mellow folk song (with Anna and Petra from That Dog singing backing vocals).  And the final song, “Spanking Room” is just a pile of sheer noise and feedback.  It is loud and crazy and goes on for some 5 minutes.  There’s a “bonus” track of which I have learned is called “Loser (Pseudo-Muzak Version).” It’s Loser sampled and played behind some weird keyboard “muzak.”  It sounds like it was done live in a small club.  Really weird.

[READ: February 28, 2014] Some Instructions

This little booklet came with the Believer 2014 Art Issue.  It is called “Some Instructions.”   It is inspired by George Brecht, a Fluxus artist who is credited with creating the written form of performance art (called the “event score”).  Brecht was bored by didactic instructions in art so his creations were utterly open to interpretation.  The example they give is his “Three Chair Events” which is in its entirety:

  • Sitting on a black chair. Occurrence.
  • Yellow chair.  (Occurrence.)
  • On (or near) a white chair.  Occurrence,

–Spring 1961

This is the kind of thing that I think i would have enjoyed in college, being pretentious an d obnoxious, now I realize it is just navel gazing and (in many of the examples below) barely even thought out.  You can kind of see what Brecht was getting at (although why he needed to do more than one or two is beyond me), as a kind of thought-provoking questioning of what we know of as art.  But some of these below are just, well, stupid. (more…)

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Jason Jägel–Topsy Turvy (2012)

Posted in Beck, Graphic Novel, Huh?, Jason Jägel, Lemony Snicket, Mad Scientists, McSweeney's on March 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

topsySOUNDTRACK: BECK-Mellow Gold (1994).

mellowAnd then “Loser” happened and because of this preposterous song, over a million people have purchased a very peculiar album.  After listening to Soulmanure and One Foot, you can really see that Mellow Gold is a sort of greatest hits, or perhaps a most-commercial-potential collection from that period.  What’s especially strange about the album is that it includes scenes from the photo shoot for Soulmanure in the booklet.  I have also learned that “Loser” was done as something of a one-off, a goof that Beck threw together on the day of the recording–while the lyrics sure seem like it, the music is pretty spectacular–that slide guitar is instantly memorable.

The album does some very interesting things with stereo recording, which I never really noticed until I was listening with one earphone in–it rather changes the song, and that one channel may have more of the out of tune guitar noises too.

“Pay No Mind” has some crazy lyrics, although they do work, and, frankly, it’s a great acoustic folk song.  The noises and weirdness in the song make it more fun, but the melody is great on its own.  I can’t tell if his voice is slowed down or not, but the harmonica sounds great and raw.  “Fuckin’ with My Head” has a great garage rock sound (with more harmonica, this time distorted beyond all reason).  The verses are noisy but the chorus is so delicate.  “Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997” has a guitar which sounds decidedly out if tune.  It is probably the most anti-folk song on a major label album.

“Soul Suckin Jerk” has a cool funky bass line over a crazy noisy beat and weird effects.  It is also super catchy despite the crazy out of tune guitars and excessive feedback.  “Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)” opens with a fight (“c’mon motherfucker”).  Despite the chaos and vulgarity, it’s a very catchy song–the downward melody of “Shit kicking, speed taking, truck driving neighbor downstairs” is hard to resist.  That song is followed by one that opens with, of course, a music box and is called “Sweet Sunshine.”  It is the most distorted and unpleasant song on the album–as far from catchy as you can get and yet it still sounds completely Beck.

“Beercan” is a surprisingly awesome single tucked at the bottom of the album (even if it does have ear-splitting feedback in the middle. “Steal My Body Home” slows things down incredibly, a technique Beck would use a lot over the years–making a song sound very different by spacing it out more.  Especially when the solo comes in and there’s more out of tune guitars and a kazoo.

“Nightmare Hippie Girl” is a funny folk song (the lyrics are great), and again the melody is catchy and boppy.  It’s followed by one of my favorite songs on the album “Mutherfucker” which is a noisy piece of nonsense with the screeched chorus “Everyone’s out to get you motherfucker”.  It would get annoying really fast, but at 2 minutes, it’s an amusing and kind of fun to sing along to.  The album ends with “Blackhole” a slow and somewhat epic (5 minutes) acoustic song.  It feels big and the melodies evoke an epic song.  It’s quite pretty.  Naturally, there’s an obligatory piece of nonsense as a “bonus” track (apparently titled “Analog Odyssey”).  It’s just a minute or so of noise and is not worth mentioning).

Although this album is much more polished than the other to (the production is very clean which really lets all those weird elements stand out) it still shows Beck as a weird, freakish musician–extremely talented with a great ear for melody but someone who is not afraid to be loud and noisy just for the heck of it.  Mellow Gold is still an interesting listen twenty years later.

[READ: March 1, 2014] Topsy Turvy

Topsy Turvy came as a separate book with my copy of Lemony Snicket’s 29 Myths.  It was originally an insert in McSweeney’s 40.  At the time I said this:

This is an inserted graphic novel.  It has very simple illustrations, which I liked, although I didn’t really follow the story at all.

Since it is now its own entity, I’ll give it a bit more.

The book has a drawing per page.  Most pages have one word or  a few words.  Like “Nighttime” and “Some Are Awake” and “Size is Uncertain.”  The story invites us to see the people who are awake making potions to turn things into other things. (more…)

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Lemony Snicket–29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy (2014)

Posted in Beck, Children's Books, Funny (strange), Huh?, Lemony Snicket, Lisa Brown, McSweeney's, Oddities on March 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

29mythsSOUNDTRACK: BECK-One Foot in the Grave (1994).

beckoneIt’s pretty well established that Beck’s Mellow Gold came out before One Foot in the Grave, although the recordings for Grave may have been earlier.  This is Beck’s other indie label release that came out just as he was selling millions with DGC (One Foot in the Grave is another one that has barely sold 100,000 copies).

I have the earlier release with 16 songs, but it has since been re-released with 16 bonus tracks.  The album was recorded with Calvin Johnson at his Dub Narcotic studios.

In contrast to the chaos of Soulmanure, this album is a lot more focused on Beck’s anti-folks style.  And while there are some silly freakouts, the disc is largely a straightforward indie folk release.  The disc even opens with a traditional track.  And he has another song that sounds traditional (with slide guitar) but isn’t.

Sometimes the guitars are out of tune or overly twangy, but the songs are all serious and real, not noisy freakouts or nonsensical whaling.  That’s not to say there’s aren’t a few silly songs. “Cyanide Breath Mint” is certainly weird  and “Ziploc Bag” is a cacophonous blues song.

But this album is more consistent.  Calvin Johnson sings vocals on the album with him (I don’t actually know which voice is his as there are a number of people credited with vocals).  There’s a deep voice doing backing vocals on some tracks and there even a duet, on “Forcefield” in which Beck does not do lead vocals.

Probably the best song is “Asshole” which has a good melody and has lyrics that are somewhat surprising given the title: “She’ll do anything to make you feel like an asshole.”

It’s tough to say that the album is a precursor to Sea Change, because it is so lo-fi and under-produced and because the lyrics are more absurdist/funny, but the vibe is strong enough to make Sea Change a possibility rather than something that came out of left field.

[READ: March 1, 2014] 29 Myths of the Swinster Pharmacy

In continuing with the McSweeney’s McMullen’s children’s books series, this one is yet another weird book that my kids didn’t really like.  I enjoyed it, but felt that the ending lacked somewhat.

Lemony Snicket books are often peculiar, and it seems like he’s really pushing the levels of what counts as a story with some of his books.

I love the conceit of the story–these two kids just don’t understand what is up with this building–what do they sell? And in trying to learn more about it, they have come up with all of these notions.  Some of them are funny, some are absurd, some are serious, some are even true.  But there’s no real sense of completion at the end, which is kind of a bummer. (more…)

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Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim & Pop–Nola’s Worlds 1: Changing Moon (2010)

Posted in Completed Series, Erica Olson Jeffrey, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Huh?, Mathieu Mariolle, Minikim, Pop, Supernatural on March 11, 2014| 2 Comments »

nola1SOUNDTRACK: BECK-“Loser” singles (1994).

loserBeck has a new album out so I decided to listen through his back catalog for some context.  Which meant going back to “Loser” and beyond.  The first few things he put out all came around the same time.  So even though there are dates for when things were recorded, it’s not always clear what really came first.  Since the three full lengths all came out in 1994 and this single came out before Mellow Gold, I have arbitrarily decided to start here.

I own two “Loser” singles.  They both have the same cover, although one was an import.  The first one was the obligatory “this song is huge” single.  The second was because it had the delicious B-side “MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack.”

The US CD features 4 B sides, which really demonstrated the variety of styles that he would bring to the album.  They don’t quite span the gamut of the things he had recorded on his other records, but you hear the catchiness and the weirdness as well as the utter chaos (at the end of “Fume”).

All of the songs are well-produced but not glossy.  “Corvette Bummer” seems like it should have been on the album.  “Soul Sucking Jerk (Reject)” is a different version than the album version.  It’s less interesting musically (it’s quite stripped down) and the chorus is really quite different.  I prefer the album version, but it’s interesting to hear this variant.  “Fume” is a funny song about huffing fumes (I thought Scientologists were anti-drugs).  It’s a silly song that is kind of anti-folk until the screaming noise that takes up the large portion of the end.

My UK single also has “Corvette Bummer” but it includes the mellow folky song “Totally Confused” which really shows the more folky side of him that he demonstrated before releasing Mellow Gold (and later on subsequent albums).  “MTV” is a bizarrely wonderful song. It starts off as a kind of spontaneous (so many of his early lyrics seem spontaneous) dis of MTV.  After a verse, the song stops, the engineer asks, what’s the matter, and then the song morphs into a lounge piano song also called “MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack.”  Beck totally morphs his singing voice into a lounge lizard style and the song just gets goofier and weirder  It’s a wonderful B-side.  And these two singles really show what early Beck would be all about.

[READ: March 9, 2014] Nolas’ Worlds #1

Nola’s World is a three-part graphic novel series. I never would have guessed it was originally French (true, author Mathieu Mariolle’s name should have clued me in, but you never really know).  Anyhow, it was translated very naturally by Erica Olson Jeffrey.

The book is set in Alta Donna, a beautiful peaceful paradise on the water.  Which is utterly boring.  Nola’s parents are divorced and Nola’s mom works so much that Nola barely sees her.  (her parents are peripheral to the story but essential to Nola).  No unrelated, she also tends to be late for school a lot.

There’s a new boy at school named Damiano.  He’s a good-looking and interesting guy.  He also has a sister Ines, who seems to get away with whatever she wants–in school, out of school, everywhere.  And Nola makes it her mission to find out what is going on with them. (more…)

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Lemony Snicket–“Who Could That Be at This Hour?” : All the Wrong Questions #1(2012)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Heywood Banks, Huh?, Lemony Snicket, Mystery, Seth, Word usage on January 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

snicketSOUNDTRACK: HEYWOOD BANKS-“Toast” (1995).

toastI found this song when I was reading an article about Chris Christie.  Someone said he’s toast after his recent scandal.  And someone else posted this video.  Evidently it is taken from a morning radio show (ew), but the song is funny despite the morning nimrods laughing along.

I prefer the audio quality of the radio version, but I like this live version better (the dark toast intolerant joke is very funny (it’s new to this version)–as is the punchline to the Eifel Tower verse).

The excitement that he brings to this nonsense is wonderful.

[READ: September 20, 2013] Who Could That Be at This Hour?

I have a few books lingering around from last year that I have yet to write about.  This is one of them.  I’m not sure how a book gets neglected in my writing.  Usually I feel like I need to devote some time to it and I feel like I don’t have enough time at the moment.  And then it gets pushed back and back until months have gone by and then I wind up writing a half-assed review anyhow.

Alas.

So this begins a new series from Lemony Snicket.  It is a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it is a very early prequel.  The main character is a thirteen year old Lemony Snicket who has just finished school and is on his way to a certain destination when all of his plans are thwarted.  And the way the opening is written is confusing and funny at the same time.  Like, “You’ll see her soon enough in any case, I thought, incorrectly.”  Or that he is given a note from a stranger which says to go out the bathroom window.  When he gets into the bathroom he finds a small package: “It was a folding ladder.  I knew it was there.  I’d put it there myself.”  Young Snicket is sitting with his parents–they insist he drink his tea while he waits for the train.  But while he is waiting, a woman breezes into the station and drops a note in his lap.

The mysterious letter writer turns out to be S. Theodora Markson.  She is to be Snicket’s chaperone.  Snicket uses the “a word which here means…” trick from the Unfortunate books but there’s a funny twist

“I’m contrite, I said, a word which here means–”
“You already said you were sorry,” S. Theodora Markson said.  “Don’t repeat yourself.  It’s not only repetitive, it’s redundant and people have heard it before.” (more…)

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Manami Okazaki & Geoff Johnson–Kawaii! Japan’s Culture of Cute (2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Bob Atcher, Christmas Album, Culture Shock, Cute, Food, Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Huh?, Kawaii, Manga, Punks, The Dinning Sisters, Violence on December 23, 2013| 1 Comment »

kawaiiSOUNDTRACK: BOB ATCHER AND THE DINNING SISTERS-“Christmas Island” (1950).

xmascocktailThere is something so charming and wonderful about white people co-opting Hawaiian music in the 50s.  I know fully well that there is nothing ‘authentic” about the whole AH-LOH-HA-AY business and that they have made it smooth and “sexy” for “bachelor pads” and all of that.  I know that I should be offended on everyone’s behalf.  And yet I can’t be.

I find bachelor pad kitsch to be fun (Esquivel’s Christmas Album is a perennial favorite), and so I was delighted to be introduced to this song from the 2007 NPR Holiday show.  I actually don’t know anything about Bob Atcher or the Dinning Sisters, but this song is a delightful trip through faux Hawaiian music–slide guitars and a very hula-feeling rhythm.

It even features Santa arriving on a canoe.  Yup, the whole simplification of Hawaiian/island culture is in poor taste, but man, it’s such a swinging and trippy take on a Christmas song.  And I’m sure no islanders were hurt in the making of the recording.  Aloha-ay.

[READ: December 15, 2013] Kawaii!

I’m fascinated by manga and the whole, as the subtitle says, Japanese culture of “cute.”  I don’t really get it.  I mean, I get it, that cute things are cute, but the whole cultural love of cute is so peculiar to me–especially when reading this book and seeing that it is a cultural explosion of cuteness.  This book was a great introduction to so many different aspects of this culture. (more…)

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Diane Williams—“Living Deluxe” (Harper’s, June 2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Black Sabbath, Diane Williams, Fuzz, Harper's, Huh?, Queens of the Stone Age, Short Story, Ty Segall, Unreliable narrator on October 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 harper juneSOUNDTRACK: FUZZ-“Sleigh Ride” (2013).

fuzzHow can some 3 minute songs seem like they take a long time and others feel like they are about a minute long.  “Sleigh Rode” is one of those songs that is over before you know it.  With a big old fuzzy guitar riff opening the song it sounds straight out of classic rock.  Then the verses come in with faster riffing (like a less heavy Black Sabbath) and a sleazy kind of vocal.  It reminds me of a more garage band/sloppy Queens of the Stone Age.

This is (yet another) band from Ty Segall. Robin Hilton from NPR says that Segall had put out some 6 solo albums and is in a half a dozen bands as well (and he’s only 26).  he normally sings and plays guitar, but he plays drums in this band.

While I don’t actually know anything else by him, I really enjoy this piece of fuzzy distorted sleaze pop. and may need to see what he is other releases are like.

[READ: September 20, 2013] “Living Deluxe”

Diane Williams wrote Vicky Swanky is a Beauty which I did not really like.  It was experimental and flash fiction which I am growing to like less and less.  This short piece (which is actually longer than anything in Vicky Swanky, I believe), is from a collection in progress.  I’m not sure if that means that this is finished or not (it’s hard to tell with her).

This story deals with a woman who has taken money from her mother (and sister and brother) because her mother “knew I needed to be a person with flair” (I liked that line).

The thing about the rest of the story is that the narrator acts like a five year old telling a story.  The details that are added are not necessarily relevant to the story.  So we get two paragraphs on a man sneezing, a few paragraphs on her cat, and a couple of paragraphs about Leonard da Vinci.  These details might be relevant to the story.  But interspersed with these details are things that impact the taking-money storyline—that her sister took something that was hers (the Da Vinci bit is about a present she gave to her sister). (more…)

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Dorthe Nors—“The Heron” (New Yorker, September 9, 2013)

Posted in Birds, Death, Dorthe Nors, Huh?, Julie Hecht, Kiss, Martin Aitken, New Yorker, Short Story, Translation on October 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_09_09_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: KISS-Alive III (1993).

alive iiiI’m aware that there are questions about the real “live” nature of the first two Kiss Alive albums.  This naturally makes me suspect the nature of the live-ness of this one as well.  Not that I don’t think the songs are live, but I have to question the volume of the fans, who at times sound artificially enhanced.  I’ve also read that the “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” was taken from the soundboard during soundcheck with cheers added later.  If that’s true I have to give credit to Paul for being so “into it” during soundcheck.

back in the 70s, Kiss made a point for Alive II to not duplicate any songs from Alive!.  Obviously Kiss are much more mercenary now than they were back then–duplication is part of their thing now.  But since this is the first live album since the 70s, there’s a lot of new material to choose from.  Nevertheless, this probably shows a realistic set list for the time, so there are going to be some overlap from the 70s, and that’s okay.  And the band sounds quite good (this was 20 years ago it’s hard to believe).

“Creatures of the Night” is a rousing opener.  It’s hard to imagine they didn’t open with “Detroit Rock City” and end with “Rock n Roll Al Nite”.  “Deuce” is one of their best songs, so it’s a welcome old song.  Then there’s some questionable choices.  “I Just Wanna” is a bad song with a very obvious vocal line.  But it came from the then current album and it’s got the “naughty” singalong section (which was apparently dubbed out to avoid a Parental Warning sticker).  Despite all of the entendre in Kiss, they’ve never really been explicit, so the “I just wanna fuck” seems weird for them (especially when you know how many kids have been going to their tours recently).

“Unholy” fares much better.  It’s one of their cooler new songs.  Paul introduces “Heaven’s on Fire” in a fairly amusing way (and he can still ht those notes).  I don’t especially like that song or “Lick it Up,” but they will always be their bigger hits, so they get played.  Obviously I’m delighted to hear “Watching You” which they do very well.  I dislike “domino” lyrically quite a lot and I feel like Gene’s delivery here is disinterested at best (is it possible he is as disgusted by the lyrics as I am?).  But the song rocks musically.  “I Was Made for Loving You” is updated and sounds far less discoey.  “I Still Love You” is a great concert staple and it’s nice to have it on record.

Probably the biggest surprise on the disc is that “Rock n Roll All Nite” is not the encore (or maybe it was in concert, but it’s not last on the album.  I’d be delighted to see them and have this not be the encore.  I’d also be delighted if I never heard “Lick It Up” again.  I don’t know why this song irks me so much, but it does.  And in this live version, hearing Paul state “I wanna lick you” just creeps me out.  “Forever,” cheesy ballad and all, sounds pretty great live.   but “I Love It Loud” which is a great song sounds off here—too many backing vocals or something?  “Detroit Roock City”sounds great of course, although it’s funny to hear it have an introduction.

The disc is pretty much over for me here because I don’t like “God Gave Rock n Roll to You II” although this version is fine.  And the very end of the disc is, strangely, “The Star Spangled Banner.”  It’s a whole band version (without words) but  simple cannot imagine them doing it live for any reason.

So, this proves to be a pretty decent live album.  Not quite up to the stellar heights of Alive! and Alive II, but a worthy addition to the series.

[READ: September 15, 2013] “The Heron”

This story begins with the statement that the best place to feed herons is in Frederiksberg Gardens because they are tame.  The tone is very much like Julie Hecht–all matter of fact and somewhat indignant.

The story continues to talk about herons and the strange man who often stands on the paths that lead to the Chinese Pavilion. The narrator avoids this man by walking around to Damhus Pond (where the suitcase with the woman’s body chopped up inside of it was found).  He imagines the man who found it (well, technically the dog found it) was never the same again (nor, no doubt was the dog).  Despite the grisly scene (the narrator has never found anything there) he walks out of his way by the pond to avoid the herons.  And the strange man. (more…)

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David Gilbert–“From a Farther Room” (New Yorker, July 22, 2013)

Posted in Babies, David Gilbert, Doc Martin, Funny (strange), Huh?, John Martyn, Lucy Punch, Marriage Trouble, Martin Clunes, New Yorker, Oddities, Parenting, Portishead, Short Story, Yuck! on August 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_07_22_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: JOHN MARTYN-“Glory Box” (1998).

martynI learn about music from the most random places.  The other night we were watching the British dramedy Doc Martin (starring Martin Clunes and the wonderfully awful Lucy Punch).  Punch’s character was talking to a boy who is interested in her.  She mentions Portishead and how great “Glory Biox” is (true) and then they talk about John Martyn’s cover and how it’s even better (not quite).

I’ve heard of Martyn, but only barely.  The boy says that he has all of Martyn’s albums (which seems surprising as he has a lot).

I can’t guess too much about Martyn from this cover, but I’ll guess he’s a bluesy guy.

The cover captures the essence of “Glory Box” and then runs it in a totally new direction–low and rumbly (voices and guitars).  Interestingly, he shifts the song to the male perspective which makes the entire song have a totally different meaning.  Neat trick, that.

I don’t love bluesy music as a rule, but I really like this version.  Not enough to get his other music–and I do like the Portishead version better–but it’ still a nice discovery.

[READ: August 1, 2013] “From a Farther Room”

This story starts off pretty sanely and then quickly jumps in the realm of Wha??

As the story opens we meet Robert Childress.  He is a married man with children.  His family is away for the weekend and his wife has given him her blessing to go out and have fun.  He meets Stearns, a bachelor who takes him out eating and drinking and drinking.  There is talk of a strip club and lap dances but that idea is nixed.  Nevertheless, Childress is very drunk–so much so that he takes a limo home (at what cost?) and then has the bed spins during the night–with the expected result.

So far so normal.

The weirdness comes when he is awoken by his dog.  The dog who is nudging some… thing on the floor.  Which, when Childress looks more closely, reveals itself to be… alive.  Right where he threw up.  Did he throw up a living creature? (more…)

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