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Archive for the ‘Infinite Summer’ Category

100 Page Tribute to David Foster Wallace–Sonora Review 55/56 (2009)

Posted in Austin City Limits, Big Books, Books about writers, Bret Easton Ellis, Charles Bock, Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Death, Demons, Eschaton, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Greg Carlisle, Harper's, History, Infinite Summer, Jonathan Franzen, Karen Green, Ken Kalfus, Language, McSweeney's, Premiere, Research, Rick Moody, Sonora Review, Suicide, Sven Birkerts, The Decemberists, Tom Bissell, Word usage on January 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DECEMBERISTS-Austin City Limits (2007).

I’ve recently discovered the awesomeness of Austin City Limits.  And in the two or so years that I’ve been watching, I’ve seen some great live shows (even is most bands are reduced to 30 minutes).  This re-broadcast of The Decemberists, however, just blew me away.

The concert comes from The Crane Wife tour, and it is just a wonderful exploration of this fantastic CD.  I’ve liked the Decemberists for years, and have listened to all of their discs multiple times, but there was something about this recording, in particular the wailing guitar work of Colin Meloy (seeing him lying on the floor making crazed feedback was pretty impressive), and the amazing solo work of Chris Funk that gave me even more respect for this wonderful album and the band.

It is highly recommended. For more info see here.

[READ: January 14, 2010] 100 Page Tribute to David Foster Wallace

I was able to order a copy of this journal directly from The University of Arizona and received it not too long ago.  It is a two part issue (55/56) that is chock full of all kinds of things, including this 100 page tribute to DFW.  I intend to read the whole thing, or at least more than just the DFW stuff, but as I don’t see that happening too soon, I wanted to address this tribute section directly.

DFW received his MFA from UA and he was also an editor at Sonora Review.  He also published “/Solomon Silverfish/” there shortly after getting his MFA.  So the tributes make sense from this publication.  All of the tributes here come from varied people and are all either interesting or moving to the Wallace fan. (more…)

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Infinite Summer: Roberto Bolaño–2666

Posted in bolanobolano.com, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Summer, Infinite Zombies, Roberto Bolaño on January 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

I was just about to Publish this post below.  Then I searched for links to the sites mentioned, and I stumbled across an article from the LA Times which said that the cool folks at Infinite Zombies and This Bolaño group are basically doing the same thing (only better).  And, since my idea is fairly half-assed, I’m just going to follow them instead.  Thank you guys!  And you’re even starting right when I wanted to!  Huzzah!

Their schedule is here.  So count me in! (more…)

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60,000

Posted in Against Me!, Alex Stone, Clash of the Gods, David Foster Wallace, David Goldberg, Dropkick Murphys, Evan Goldberg, Flight of the Conchords, Gordon Korman, Gordon Lightfoot, Harper's, Infinite Summer, Jeff Kinney, Jens Lekman, Loudon Wainwright III, Marisha Pessl, McSweeney's, Paul Debraski, Paul F. Tompkins, Pearl Jam, Pierdomenico Baccalario, Pseudonymous Bosch, Seth Rogen, Sonic Youth, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Flaming Lips on December 28, 2009| 1 Comment »

[cue music]:

I saw these stats come sailing in, on Christmas Day on Christmas Day.
I hit 60,000 views on Christmas Day in the mor-ning.

I hit 30,000 views back in March, and I was quite thrilled.  When I started the blog in May of 2007 I didn’t expect to get all that many views, it was more or less a blog to keep track of my books and maybe have other people comment too.  And so, it took nearly two years to get to 30,000.  Imagine how delightful it is to reach the next 30,000 views in the span of just nine months!

So thanks everyone for checking out what I had to say.  And thanks also for all the comments.  As with the first 30,000, I’ve included the stats that have brought me to this hallowed (but random) spot.  And I must add that Infinite Summer, which is underrepresented in my top ten posts, was absolutely essential for this huge spike in views (thanks DFW fans).  But, by far the biggest surprise was the surge that came from the first book(s) on the list below.  I posted about the Ulysses Moore series in April.  And it was by far the most frequently sought and (presumably) read post on the blog.  So, Scholastic Publishing, if you read this, please note the craving that my readers have for the rest of the series!  And please update your site!!

So, anyhow, thanks all.  Listed below are the Top Ten (and a few extra) viewed posts on my blog.  Happy New Year!

(more…)

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David Foster Wallace–possible excerpts from The Pale King: [“Three Fragments from a Longer Thing” (2000); “Good People” (New Yorker, February 5, 2007); “The Compliance Branch” (Harper’s, February 2008); “Wiggle Room” and “Irrelevant Bob” (New Yorker, March 9, 2009)]

Posted in Boredom, David Foster Wallace, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, Infinite Summer, Karen Green, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Short Story, Tindersticks, Work on November 7, 2009| 2 Comments »

paleSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Live at the Botanique, 9th-12 May 2001 (2001).

This is called an “official bootleg.”  It must be very rare as I can’t even find a picture of it online.  My friend Lar must have gotten it for me, as I have never seen the band live and it was (apparently) only available at their shows.  Or maybe I got it online during the tour?  Whatever the case, it’s a great live selection of their later songs.

It’s a cool collection of songs from shows over the course of three days.  It’s also interesting that the track listing is five songs from one gig, then three from the final gig and two from the middle one.  The band sounds great (the live setting always suits them). On this disc, Paula Frazer sings the duet of “Buried Bones” and there are some nice backing vocals from Gina Foster and Viki St. James on the last two tracks.

It’s a rather mellow set list, but the crowd certainly enjoys it.  And, as this is something of a greatest hits (of the more recent tracks), I could listen to it all day.

There appears to have been only one other “Official Bootleg”: Coliseu Dos Recreios De Lisboa – October 30th 2001.  But I’ve never seen it.

[READ: October 25, 2009] “Three Fragments from a Longer Thing,” “Good People,” “The Compliance Branch,” “Wiggle Room” and “Irrelevant Bob”

These are the last pieces of uncollected David Foster Wallace fiction that I had left to read.  I saved this for last because, well, they are supposedly parts of the soon to be released The Pale King.  Some of these pieces are definitely from The Pale King (it states so in the magazine  openings).  A couple are possible contenders for The Pale King, but we won’t know until the book comes out (sometime in 2010, I’m led to believe).  I had read some of these pieces before but it is much more satisfying to read them together.

The strange thing for me about these pieces is that when I read the New Yorker titles initially, there was no indication that the pieces were excerpts.  They treated them as short stories (even giving them titles).  So, when you read them, they feel like something is missing (namely 900 more pages).  And in many respects, I think that’s bad for the author.  Sure its good to get the work out there, but when a story feels unfinished, it leaves a bad taste in the readers’ mouth. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–comments in The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (2004)

Posted in Books about writers, David Foster Wallace, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Infinite Summer, Language, Smarty Pants, Tindersticks, Word usage on November 4, 2009| 3 Comments »

oatSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Trouble Every Day [soundtrack] (2001).

troublThis is the second soundtrack that Tindersticks made for director Clair Denis.  This disc is rather unlike Nenette Et Boni, in that this soundtrack is much more stark.  There are several moments on the disc where there is nothing but silence for several seconds.   “Core on Stairs” features a bass note or two and then even more silence, then one more note and more silence.  On “Room 231,” there are times when the only sound is a gently shaken maraca.  It’s rather eerie (and I’d like to believe it suits the film well).  But predominantly this is a string laden affair, highlighting the sadness of the movie.

The title track, however, contains the full band, including Stuart Staples’ singing.  And it’s a moody, evocative song.  Strings are plucked as Staples croons about trouble.  Actually the title song is broken up into the Opening and Closing Credits.  But they rather thoughtfully include the whole song at the end of the disc as well.

This is not an essential Tindersticks disc (you can get the title song elsewhere).  But if you like your music moody, this is a good one.  It may be a bit too sparse for casual listening, but it certain conjures up some interesting ideas.

[READ: October 27, 2009 ] DFW’s comments in The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus

According to the Howling Fantods I have read all of the uncollected DFW pieces (except for the ones from the Pale King), and so this is my final piece (hooray!). It’s not really anything major.  As you can read from the Fantods’ summary below, this excerpt contains DFW’s comments inside this 1100 page Thesaurus.  Several authors contributed comments to the Thesaurus and all of their comments appear after the entry for the word.  They rest in boxes and are capped off by their initials.  The PDF that you can click on below is 85 pages long.  But if you search for DFW there are only 24 entries.  I copied and pasted them into a Word document that came out to 8 pages long.  So, it’s not unmanageable to read just DFW’s entries.

I’m not sure that this is the entirely of his contribution to the book.  (I assume it is, as I wouldn’t imagine The Fantods would skimp on us, but I’m also not going to find the book to confirm either.

“The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus”. Compiled by Christine A. Lindberg. Oxford University Press; October, 2004. [NOTES: This is an actual (1100-page plus) thesaurus for writers. Scattered throughout are ‘Word Notes’ wherein various authors, DFW among them, discuss usage and that forever quest for the perfect word. Read selections featuring DFW here.]

Basically what you get here is DFW’s knowledge about word usage.  Anyone who has read his work knows he’s practically memorized the OED.  And with his familial love of grammar, he is  stickler for using words correctly.  Which makes him kind of a prig, except that he’s not a prig; he’s very funny.  And the examples he cites are great! (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–“Order and Flux in Northampton” (Conjunctions No. 17, Fall 1991)

Posted in Conjunctions, David Foster Wallace, Funny (ha ha), Infinite Summer, James Joyce, Romance, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Tindersticks on October 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

conj17aSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Bloomsbury Theatre 12.3.95 (1995).

bloomsburyThis is a rare and out of print live CD from an early Tindersticks show.  My friend Lar found it used for me in Ireland (thank you!).  But it turns out he found it for me about a week before it was reissued as a bonus disc with the Second Tindersticks CD.

It’s a great concert, with Tindersticks in fine form.  After the amazing creative success of the second disc, the band sounds energetic and Stuart Staples’ voice is fantastic. Live Tindersticks don’t sound drastically different from the record, but there is a very cool “close and intimate” vibe to  this show that makes the songs sing a little more.

Normally, I’d encourage anyone to try and find this disc, but since it has been reissued with the second disc, it’s worth getting that package instead.

[READ: October 25, 2009] “Order and Flux in Northampton”

This is the final uncollected DFW short story that I hadn’t read yet (not including the excerpts from The Pale King).   And it’s a very good one!  The story is chock full of DFW’s awesome character descriptions and hilarious word play.  He also has a bit of fun with James Joyce, which is always a treat.

This story concerns three characters who live in Northampton, MA.  Barry Dingle is a severely cross-eyed hippie who owns The Whole Thing, one of two local health food stores.   He harbors unparalleled love for Myrnaloy Trask. Myrnaloy works at Collective Copy, the copy shop next to The Whole Thing.  Barry has never talked to her, but he fell madly for her when he saw her reflected in a bus window.  But Myrnaloy is only interested in Don Megala, a professional student (he’s on his seventh unfinished PhD). (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–“/Solomon Silverfish/” (Sonora Review no. 16, Fall 1987)

Posted in Cancer as plot device, David Foster Wallace, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Infinite Summer, Marriage (Happy), Mystery, Nénette et Boni, Neurotics, Short Story, Sonora Review, Threats, Tindersticks on October 27, 2009| 2 Comments »

sonoraSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Nénette et Boni [soundtrack] (1996).

boniAfter releasing two albums of atmospheric brilliance, Tindersticks were called upon to score the music for the film Nénette et Boni.

And this disc answers the question of whether it is Stuart Staples’ voice that is the driving force behind the band.  And the answer is, indeed not.  This disc is almost entirely instrumental (except for “Tiny Tears” which is a different version from the second disc and is here titled “Petites gouttes d’eau”).  The band brings the same atmospheric/noir quality to this disc that they bring to the ir previous works, but you get to hear it in all of its glory (since you’re not trying to figure out what Stuart is talking about).

I haven’t seen the film, so I can’t say how well it works for the film.  But I feel like I know the film quite well from the tone and music (and what I think may be sounds from the film) that are present.  If you like the band musically, you absolutely cannot go wrong here.  There’s not a bad track on the disc.  Even the half dozen or so tracks that are only about a minute (this is a soundtrack after all) are quite evocative.

I read a brief description of the film online, and I’m not entirely sure I want to see it.  But I sure do enjoy listening to the music.

The reissued disc comes with a bonus disc called Marks Moods.  Marks Moods was a promo disc sent out to film producers to showcase just what the band could do (again, without Stuart’s vocals).  So this is another moody instrumental disc.  The difference is that there are many songs from other discs that are done (or re-done, I can’t be entirely sure) as instrumentals.  The four tracks with vocals are “Sleepy Song,” “Don’t Look Down,” and “Buried Bones” which is actually a duet.  And then there’s “For Those…” one of my favorite songs which seems to crop up all over the place but never on an actual album.

This appears to have been something of a find back in the day.  I’m not sure if it was really worth hunting down, but it is a nice bonus to this disc.

[READ: October 18, 2009] “/Solomon Silverfish/”

The last few uncollected DFW stories that I read were a little less than satisfying.  So I wasn’t looking forward to this one very much.  But man, was it good.  It seems to be a hearty precursor to Infinite Jest (without the endnotes).  It even has a character named Wardine!

The story is typographically a little odd.  The title and “section” headings are in backslashes.  (I have no idea if that signifies anything other than a typographical choice of DFW or the magazine).  The section headings are the names of the character whose point of view the section is.  So, when the story opens we see /Solomon/.

But aside from that, the most unusual thing in the story is that it is written in the voice of a very Jewish individual.  For Solomon Silverfish speaks in an almost stereotypical Jewish vernacular.  Solomon is married to Sophie Shoenweiss, a Jewish woman who is dying of breast cancer.  As the story opens, Solomon is fielding a phone call (at 2 in the morning) from Sophie’s brother Ira.  Ira has just been caught with his third DUI and he’s begging his brother-in-law, a fine public defendant, to bail him out (again). (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–“Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young” (The Review of Contemporary Fiction Vol. 8, No. 3, 1988)

Posted in Books about writers, Bret Easton Ellis, CMJ New Music Monthly, David Foster Wallace, Essays, Fiona Apple, Infinite Summer, Lorrie Moore on October 21, 2009| 1 Comment »

reviewSOUNDTRACK: FIONA APPLE-When the Pawn… (1999).

when the pawnI learned about Fiona Apple from CMJ New Music Monthly before her debut came out.  I was convinced she was just another pretty thing with little talent. But then I heard “Shadowboxer” and I was really impressed by the depth of her voice.  When I got the album, I was pretty much blown away.

When When the Pawn came out it was mocked for its absurdly long title.  (Even Janine Garofalo got in on the mocking, for which, shame on her because even if Fiona made some bad decisions, she was still a young woman who was fighting for the causes of good).

But looking beyond the title, For When the Pawn, shows Fiona’s voice getting stronger and more subtle, and her songwriting is truly amazing.  She used the assistance of Jon Brion, multi-instrumentalist and all around dabbler in fun sounds.  And he creates a soundscape of weird instruments, crazy sounds and an enveloping sounds that keep the album an item unto itself.

I haven’t listened to the disc in quite a while, but playing it again, i was impressed by the audacity of some of the musical choices, especially for a “pretty young thing” with a successful (and disturbing) video on the charts (“Criminal“).

The crazy noises that start off the disc (carnival-like keyboards, electronic squeals) sound a mile away from the jazzy sounds of “Shadowboxer” but Fiona’s voice comes in and you know that she’s still her, and her voice sounds even richer.  There’s a wild disconnect on “To Your Love” with the delicate vibes (!) that fill the bridge and the rough sounds in the chorus (not to mention the crazy wordplay: “My derring-do allows me to dance the rigadoon Around you But by the time I’m close to you, I lose my desideratum and now you”‘).  And then “Limp,” an amazing musical concoction:  more delicate jazzy openings followed by a raucous chorus with the wonderful put down: “So call me crazy, hold me down / Make me cry; get off now, baby- / It wont be long till you’ll be / Lying limp in your own hand.”

And that’s just the first three songs.  The rest of the disc sways between mellow jazzy numbers, beautiful ballads, and rocking scorchers, but it is always fueled by a dissonance that counters Apple’s voice perfectly.

Another can’t miss track is “Fast as You Can,” a wonderfully propelled track that bounces along jauntily until it hits an amazingly fast syncopated chorus.  And the production is so clean, the drum clap before the bridge is striking.  The disc ends with a couple of delicate songs.  “Get Gone” is  delightful jazzy song (complete with brushed drums).  It remains pretty mellow until Fiona breaks from a pause with a brutal “fucking go!”  And finally, the delicate ending of “I Know” brings the disc to a close.

Ten years later, this disc is still a gem.  One can only hope it gets rediscovered so a new legion of fans can enjoy its masterful music.  And for the full title of the disc, check the bottom the post….

[READ: October 16, 2009] “Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young”

This article opens with a note that Evan Martin found this article but noticed that it wasn’t online.  It was mentioned in Steven Moore’s essay “The First Draft Version of Infinite Jest.”  So he retyped it and it is now hosted on theknowe.net.  Here’s the write-up & link from The Howling Fantods:

“Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young”. The Review of Contemporary Fiction Vol. 8, No. 3, 1988. [NOTES: Read it here.]

This is a fascinating article in which DFW looks at the state of fiction circa 1987.  Specifically, he is responding to criticisms that the popular authors of the day, collectively Conspicuously Young, all fall into three very basic and uninspired cliche-filled boxes:

  • Neiman-Marcus Nihilism
  • Catatonic Realism
  • Workshop Hermeticism (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–“Crash of ’69” (Between C & D, Winter, 1989)

Posted in Canadian Music, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Summer, Kathy Acker, Short Story, The Trews on October 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

cdSOUNDTRACK: THE TREWS-No Time for Later (2008).

trewsI was surprised by this disc.  The cover is mildly shocking, but more just tasteless (and one that I won’t leave lying around), but it’s mostly shocking because it is so inappropriate for the music contained within.  The music is such basic rock and roll–the kind that I didn’t think anyone made anymore.  It’s almost retro in its boogie woogie Black Crows style of rock.

I had gotten their first disc, House of Ill Fame when it came out.  That disc is also a simple, rocking disc, but it has rough elements that keep the listener interested.  But No Time is so much more polished it practically shines with smoothness.  It’s funny how a little bit of smoothing can make such a difference.

The 21st century music listener is possibly somewhat aghast at this disc because it is so un-raw, un-edgy, so basic.  And yet for all of its weird retro rock stylings, releasing a record like this in 2009 is rather original.  And I  realize that if I had heard this twenty years ago I would have thought it was a great rock record.  So I put that listening cap on and found out that yes, I could rock out to this disc.

In fact, I feel like after track 4 the disc really takes off:  “Paranoid Freak” is a great rocking tune, and hearkens back to the raw writing style of their first disc (even though the song itself is not raw sounding at all).   “I Can’t Stop Laughing” has a great chorus, one built for arenas.  The only really questionable song is their “political” one, “Gun Control.”  Sure, I agree with the sentiment, but such a pointedly simplistic and, frankly, preachy song isn’t really good for anyone.

It’s become something of a guilty pleasure because I can’t think of a record less cool than this one.  There’s simply nothing here for an indie rocker to latch on to.  And yet I still like it.

But the whole time it’s so hard to imagine that this disc came out in 2009.

[READ: September 27, 2009] “Crash of ’69”

This was an early piece by DFW and here’s the write-up from The Howling Fantods (appreciation just assumed at this point) which tells a pretty interesting origin for this story.

“Crash of ’69”. Between C & D, Winter 1989. [NOTES: Between C & D was an experimental literary magazine literally printed on circa 1989 dot matrix printer-paper and sold in a plastic bag. Finding a copy of “Crash of ’69” (in any shape) took work and many thanks go out to those who tracked it down. That being said, it was kind of a mess. A lovingly restored copy is available here.]

Turns out that there is a book of the Between C & D stories.  I can’t find out very much about it, but I’m going to try and interlibrary loan it and see what else I can discover.  If I’m reading what little information I have correctly, it appears that Kathy Acker & DFW may be published in the same book (which is of course funny given his review of her work here).

But on to this short story.

As with much of his short fiction, “Crash of ’69” comes across as rather experimental.  Each paragraph or so is headed by a character’s name (there are three in total, I think, although the female character’s description in the heading changes each time she speaks. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–“The Planet Trillaphon as It Stands in Relation to the Bad Thing” (Amherst Review, 1984/Tin Roof #40, 2009) [UPDATE]

Posted in Amherst Review, David Foster Wallace, Death, Drugs, Infinite Summer, Neurotics, Suicide, Tin House on October 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

tinI’m popping this updated review into its own post because it’s quite different from my original review and it seems like it should be by itself.

The first time I read this story, I was too conscious of DFW’s own fight with depression and his suicide.  And since this piece is about someone with depression (and it’s in the first person) it really seemed a little too nonfictiony to be actual fiction.

As I thought about it more, though, I realized that this was not a nonfiction piece.  There were obviously things that didn’t happen to DFW; even if they seemed thinly veiled, this narrator was obviously not him.  So I decided to re-read the story with this new attitude. (more…)

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