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Archive for the ‘Harper’s’ Category

Alice Munro–“Too Much Happiness” (Harper’s, August 2009) & Charles Foran “Alice in Borderland” (The Walrus, September 2009)

Posted in 19th Century, Alice Munro, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Charles Foran, Don H. Kennedy, Dreams, Essays, Harper's, History, Marriage Trouble, The Walrus, Tindersticks on November 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

harpersaugSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Donkeys 92-97 (1998).

donkeysDonkeys is a collection of singles, rarities and unreleased recordings.  It came out just before Simple Pleasure, and has tracks from the era of the first four discs.

With the reissue of those first four discs (and all the bonus tracks therein) and the Greatest Hits collection, it’s not really necessary to get this for these rare tracks.  (I admit that I haven’t actually checked to see if all of the tracks here are now available elsewhere…there seems to be a number of different mixes and versions of songs, so I’ll let someone else do the legwork).

However, if you’re disinclined to get the reissued discs for whatever reason, this is a great collection of songs that are worth having for any Tindersticks fan.  And, interestingly, it works quite well as an introduction for the newbie: it features several of the most accessible songs from the first few discs.  But, for fans, the highlights include their great cover of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”  Also “Plus de Liaisons” a French version of  “No More Affairs.”  It also has the fabulous duet with Isabella Rossilini (“A Marriage Made in Heaven”) and another version of “For Those”  (I’m not entirely sure how many versions of that song exist, but there’s got to be about 3 or 4.

This disc is probably easy to track down cheaply since all the tracks are available elsewhere now (although my copy came from my friend Lar and has the Euro symbol on the Used sticker to prove it). Or, maybe it’s now totally rare and out of print and is hugely expensive.  Either way, it’s still a great collection of tracks.

[READ: November 5, 2009] “Too Much Happiness”

It’s a little lame to lump these two pieces together, but the Charles Foran article isn’t something I would review on its own.  Nevertheless, it is a very interesting look at Alice Munro’s hometown, and the Self-Guided Tour of Points of Interest in the Town of Wingham Relating to Alice Munro sounds like a fun thing to do if you’re in Ontario.  (Even if Munro herself is never actually there).

But onto Munro’s story.

I’ve only read a few stories by Alice Munro (they’ve all been reviewed here).  And yet, I’ve come to think of her as writing a certain type of story.  And this one does not conform to any of my notions of a Munro story.

First, it’s rather long. Second, it’s not set in Canada.  And third, it’s a historical piece about a real person.  There’s an author’s note at the end of the story which informs us that she learned about Sophia Kovalesky when she was looking up something else in the Encyclopedia Britannica (which I find charming in and of itself).  So, all of this seems to be something of a departure for her (at least from what I’ve read). (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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Donald Barthelme–“The Balloon” [reading of an incomplete version]

Posted in Consumerism, David Foster Wallace, Donald Barthelme, Funny (strange), Harper's, Postmoderism, Salon.com, Short Story, The Sins, Tindersticks on October 30, 2009| 2 Comments »

actsSOUNDTRACK:  TINDERSTICKS-What is a Man (2000).

manThis is a soundtrack to a TV mini-series called The Sins (which I know nothing about).  The song (for there is only one) is a cover of a Four Tops song (which I do not know).  The “B-side” is an instrumental version of said song.

And, sadly, that’s all that comes on this disc.  It’s a good song, yes, but at a combined total of about 5 minutes, it’s rather skimpy as a disc (Hey that’s what singles used to be back in the day).  Normally I don’t encourage the downloading of tracks (I’m more of a physical medium kind of guy), but I think if you’re looking for this for this particular song, you’re much better off just downloading it.  I don’t think it’s available on any other discs.

[READ: October 24, 2009] “The Balloon”

[UPDATE: November 25, 2009]  For the new review of the story, click here.

I just received a copy of Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts and have learned that the version of “The Balloon” that I read and which I linked to below is NOT the entire story.

Aside from a couple of inexplicable word changes (!) the version online leaves out the final four paragraphs.  And, with Barthelme’s prose being so dense, that’s quite a lot of information.

This changes my reading of the story quite a lot as there is now a DIFFERENT ENDING!  So I have to more or less disown this review.  But I will leave it up for posterity.  I’ll include a new review when I finish the short story collection.

[original review commences here]

David Foster Wallace in a Salon.com interview, said that this was “which is the first story I ever read that made me want to be a writer.”  I have recently read a few Barthelme pieces (that were in Harper’s) and I found them to be weird, kind of interesting, but nothing inspirational.

But, heck, why not see what got DFW going?

So this story was, in fact, very cool. It was written before the pieces that were in Harper’s, and, as with most artists who end up in a weird and out-there place, he started off in a reasonably normal place.  In other words, this story is actually something of a story with a beginning and sort of an end.  There’s no plot, per se, but the story does lead somewhere. (more…)

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Donald Barthelme–“Among the Beanwoods,” “Heather,” “Pandemonium” (Harper’s, November 2007)

Posted in Donald Barthelme, Flash Fiction, Funny (strange), Harper's, Jill Sobule, McSweeney's, Missoula, MT, Postmoderism, Short Story on October 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

harper novSOUNDTRACK: JILL SOBULE-California Years (2009).

caliSo Jill Sobule had the first hit single called “I Kissed a Girl” (that was sung by a woman).  And it was sort of a novelty hit, which is the kiss of death for any songwriter.  After most people forgot about her, I followed her career for a while.  And I found her follow up to “I Kissed a Girl,” Happy Town, to be a superb album and the follow up to that one, Pink Pearl ,was also really good.  And then she fell off my radar.

California Years is the first album that she self-released (and self-financed).  And it finds Sobule in find voice.  Her voice still sounds fantastic: strong and dusky, with a sly wink. When I first listened to the disc, I enjoyed it immensely.  Further listenings have revealed some flaws to me, which have lessened my enjoyment somewhat.  But before I nitpick, I’ll mention the highlights.

The first three songs are just top of the line.  “Palm Springs” opens the disc with a wonderful air of freedom.  “San Francisco” is another cool folky song, typical Jill.  These two are followed by one of Sobule’s excellent rocking/sarcastic/snotty songs, “Nothin’ to Prove” (catchy and snarky!).

After a few tracks, “Wendell Lee” resumes the fun with a list of all the people she’s dated and what they’re up to now.  “Mexican Pharmacy” & “Spiderman” are two fun/funny songs that close the disc nicely.  The final track is a list of all the people who gave her money to make the record.  It’s a catchy little tune even if you’ll never even try to remember the lyrics.

But there are a few clunkers on the disc. “Where is Bobbie Gentry,” when I first heard it, it was fun to guess that Bobbie had written “Ode to Billie Joe” (I didn’t know she had written it).  And this sort of update to that song (which I actually don’t like that much anyhow) sounded like a good idea, but on repeated listens it seems forced and rather silly (especially the “I was the baby…”) line.

There’s another weird song in the middle section: “Empty Glass.”  What’s weird about it is that Sobule doesn’t normally hold notes for very long, she’s more of a quick singer.  And I think her voice doesn’t really hold up to the chorus of “empty glass.”  My final gripe is with “Bloody Valentine” which begins with the exact same chord structure and vocal melody line as the first song on the disc.  Whenever it comes on I start singing “Palm Springs.”  It also ends with a weird little “rocking” section which simply doesn’t suit the disc.

So, overall it’s something of a mixed bag.  But the highs outnumber the lows by a long shot, and the highs are quite high.

[READ: October 13, 2009] “Among the Beanwoods,” “Heather,” “Pandemonium”

I’ve had these stories lying around for quite some time.  When I first saved them it was because I had just read McSweeney’s #24 which had a Donald Barthelme section in it.  I had read these short pieces then, but they didn’t leave that much of an impact on me, so I decided to re-read them now.

“Among the Beanwoods” & “Heather” are from the 1970s.  And “Pandemonium” was written just before his death in 1989.

And it’s here that I admit that I really don’t know all that much about Barthelme (even having read the McSweeney’s issue).   And I can also admit that I don’t really “get ” him. (more…)

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Ludmilla Petrushevskaya-“Hygiene” (Harper’s, October 2009)

Posted in Death, Fables, Harper's, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, My Morning Jacket, Plague, Short Story, Yuck! on October 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

harperoctSOUNDTRACK: MY MORNING JACKET-Acoustic Citsuoca (2004).

mmjThere was a lot of fanfare when this EP was re-released recently (at least I think it was re-released; there was a lot of fanfare about it recently whatever the case). This is a live acoustic performance which features 5 songs from MMJ’s earlier recordings.

I’ve become a pretty big fan of MMJ over the last few years, but I haven’t really delved into their back catalog all that much.  As such, this album doesn’t blow me away, because to me, these aren’t different versions of the songs.  They’re just the versions of the songs.

That said, the disc is very enjoyable, and the band, especially Jim James, sound in great form.  If you’re a fan of the earlier discs, this is probably a stellar addition to the collection, especially since (as I’m led to understand) the early discs are full of reverb and all kinds of fun things like that.  And this is a very stripped down recording.   (Although I have to admit that I think “Sooner” sounds an awful lot like “Sweet Jane”).

If you’re new to the band, I recommend either their newer discs or Okonokos, the live disc, where the band really rocks out.  It’s a great introduction to latter day MMJ.

[READ: October 12, 2009] “Hygiene”

scaryThis story is listed as coming from the book There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales.  Which sounds pretty cool.  But I only have this one story to mention.  And, it seems to fit in quite nicely with the title of the book.

“Hygiene” is set in a city in Russia.  As the story opens, a stranger rings the Family R’s door and informs them that a plague is coming.  They should stay housebound, and not speak to anyone.  And, most importantly, they should stay away from mice (who as we all know, are carriers).  He also confides in them that he is one of the few people who has survived the plague.  If they agree to pay him some money he will happily go out and get them supplies on a regular basis. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1999)

Posted in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Chris Knox, David Foster Wallace, Demons, Digression, Flash Fiction, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, Infinite Summer, John Krasinski, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Meta, Record Labels, Sex, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Snapper, Straightjacket Fits, Suicide, Superette, Supernatural, The 3Ds, The Bats, The Believer, The Chills, The Clean, Topless Women Talk About Their Lives, Violence on September 29, 2009| 1 Comment »

hideousSOUNDTRACK: TOPLESS WOMEN TALK ABOUT THEIR LIVES soundtrack (2006).

topI learned about this soundtrack from a very cool article in The Believer (the beginning of which is online here).  In the piece, the author claims to have never seen the film (he was given the soundtrack by a friend) and he doesn’t want  to change his associations with the music by watching the film.  And now, I too can say I have never seen the film, and likely never will.  And I really enjoy the soundtrack too.

The soundtrack is sort of an excuse to showcase a bunch of bands from New Zealand’s Flying Nun record label.  Featured artists are The 3DS, The Bats, The Clean, Superette, Snapper, The Chills, Straightjacket Fits, and Chris Knox.

It’s nigh impossible to give an overarching style to these songs.  Even when the bands have multiple songs on the soundtrack, they are not repetitive at all.  Even trying to represent a genre would be difficult.  The opener “Hey Suess” is almost a surf-punk song, while Chris Knox’s gorgeous “Not Given Lightly” is a stunning ballad.  There’s a cool shoe-gazer song “Saskatchewan,” and some great simple indie rock (a bunch of other tracks).

The only thing these bands have in common is that they’re all from New Zealand.  And as with any large body of land, no two bands are going to sound alike.  Nevertheless, all of the bands fall under the indie rock umbrella.  It’s a great collection of songs that many people probably haven’t heard.  It’s worth tracking down for the great collection of tunes and, if all you know about New Zealand is The Flight of the Conchords.

[READ: September 24, 2009] Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

After finishing Infinite Jest I wasn’t sure just how much more DFW I would want to read right away (of course, seeing as how I have now read almost all of his uncollected work, that is a rather moot point).  But when I saw that John Krasinski (of TV’s The Office) was making a film of this book, I had to jump in and read it again.

Obviously, there are many questions to be asked about this film ().  Is it going to be based on all the stories in the book?  (Surely not, some are completely unrelated).  Is it going to be just the interviews? (Probably, and yet there’s no overall narrative structure there).  And, having seen the trailer, I know structure is present.  I’m quite interested in the film.  In part because I didn’t LOVE the stories.  Well, that’s not quite right.  I enjoyed them very much, but since they weren’t stories per se, just dialogue, I’m not afraid of the stories getting turned into something else.  The text isn’t sacred to me, which may indeed make for the perfect set-up for a film.

Anyhow, onto the stories.

The obvious joke is that the author of Infinite Jest has created a book with “Brief” in the title!  But indeed, many of these stories are quite brief.  Some are only a couple of paragraphs (which true, from DFW that could still be ten pages).  But, indeed, most of the interviews in the book are brief too (except the final one in the book, which is nearly 30 pages).   (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–short uncollected pieces (with titles): “Other Math” (1987); “The Empty Plenum: David Markson’s ‘Wittgenstein’s Mistress'” (1990); “Rabbit Resurrected” (1992); “The Nature of the Fun” (1998); “F/X Porn” (1998); “Peoria (4)” (2002); “Peoria (9) ‘Whispering Pines'” (2002); “Deciderization 2007” (2007)

Posted in Aliens, Book Reviews, Canadian Music, Concept Albums, Constellation Records, Corporate skewering, David Foster Wallace, David Markson, Essays, Harper's, Infinite Summer, James Cameron, Land of Kush, Robots, Sci-fi, Shalibi Effect, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Terminator, Terminator 2, Thomas Pynchon on September 26, 2009| 2 Comments »

dfwshelfSOUNDTRACK: LAND OF KUSH-Against the Day [CST058] (2008).

kushLand of Kush is a huge orchestra created by Sam Shalibi.  Shalibi is a maniac of independent releases, creating everything from orchestral pieces to solo records all with his unique blend of middle eastern tinged music (featuring his oud playing).

This album is inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day, a book I have not read.  As such, I can’t say if the music works with the book, or indeed if the songs with lyrics have anything to do with the book at all.  The liner notes essay that Shalibi wrote reveal his deep appreciation for the book and how it made him hear this music.  Pretty neat.  Against the Day the book is over 1,000 pages, so I won’t be getting to it anytime soon.

The CD has 5 tracks: three of them about 8 minutes, one at 14 minutes and the centerpiece comes in at 21 minutes.  To read more than I’m going to say about this band and the album, check out the Constellation Records page.

In general, I find Shalibi’s music to be fascinating, but sometimes a bit much.  He is not afraid to pull out all the stops.  And I think that’s to his credit.  He does free jazz, psychedelic and middle eastern phrasing, often within one song.  And while it’s often very enjoyable, it can also be exhausting.

And that is the case with this disc. The 21 minute “Bilocations” is such a brilliant piece of music.  The main musical line is just fantastic: middle eastern instruments playing a sort of James Bond type suspense theme.  And the vocals are simply amazing.  The singer (and I regret to say I’m not sure which one she is) is snarling and sexy and brings the whole piece to life.  I’ve never heard anyone say “economics” with such emotion before.  And I enjoy probably the first 15 or 16 minutes of it.  The last five drifts into a sort of solo for voice which gets a bit tiresome, actually, especially after the intensity of the first part.

And yet it is then followed up by the last two songs, each about 8 minutes long, again with fantastic motifs that propel these weird and wild pieces beyond the middle eastern psychedelic soundscapes into actual songs.

Despite my amorphous criticisms (I think that the disc is just too long to appreciate in one sitting (and I find middle eastern music is hard for me to digest in more than small doses)) this is my favorite of Shalibi’s releases.  And some day I hope to read the book, too.

[READ: September 19th ish 2009] short uncollected pieces

This is my second (and final, I think) review of multiple DFW uncollected pieces.  There are a few uncollected pieces left that I’m going to read, but they’re all longer and will likely deserve their own post.  Most of these pieces are very short, and I don’t have all that much to say about them.  But, heck, I’m a pseudo-complestist, so I want to have them all here.

All the text in bold, including the links comes from (where else?) The Howling Fantods.  Thanks! (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–various uncollected essays (1987-2007)

Posted in Books about writers, Bookworm, Boston Phoenix, Consumerism, David Foster Wallace, Don DeLillo, Essays, Fleet Foxes, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, History, Infinite Summer, McSweeney's, NASA, Rolling Stone, Salon.com, Short Story, The New York Times on September 25, 2009| 5 Comments »

dfwshelfSOUNDTRACK: FLEET FOXES-Sun Giant EP (2008).

sungiantMy friend Jarrett introduced me to the Fleet Foxes with their self-titled CD.  I recently picked up the Sun Giant EP and it is just as good as the main CD.  It opens with a beautiful a capella introduction to “Sun Giant” in multipart harmony that melds into a nice folksy song.

The remaining 4 songs all contain these harmonies, although some rock harder than others (within their style of orchestral folk).  Orchestral folk implies a “bigness” that the band never really strives for.  In fact, some songs sounds downright pastoral.

“English House” is great for so many reasons: the fantastic guitar lines, the breaks in the song proper, just everything.  But the track “Mykonos” is probably my favorite Fleet Foxes song of all.  It has such a wonderfully catchy pre-chorus and then an even more fantastic post-chorus.  Simply amazing (even if I don’t know what they’re saying).

The EP is a great introduction to this fantastic band.

[READ: Mid-September 2009] uncollected essays

I don’t normally like to have a bunch of things appear in one post.  But this post is going to be about those small, uncollected pieces that aren’t really long enough to warrant their own entry (letters, interviews, etc).  I tracked down most of these pieces from The Howling Fantods, but I also got a few from The Joy of Sox.  You’ll notice that many of these pieces are stored at http://theknowe.net/dfw and yet I can’t figure out how to access the files there directly, so Howling Fantods links are what we get.

The text in bold comes from The Howling Fantods site (I hope they don’t mind that I swiped it).  The text underneath is my review/opinion/idea. (more…)

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Jonathan Lethem–“The Dreaming Jaw, The Salivating Ear” (Harper’s, October 2009)

Posted in Books about writers, Boredom, Death, Harper's, Jonathan Lethem, Meta, Mystery, Smarty Pants, Sonic Youth, Violence on September 17, 2009| 2 Comments »

harperoctSOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Murray Street (2002).

murray stAfter NYC Ghosts and Flowers, I put off getting this disc.  I was getting a little bored by the meandering, somewhat glacial pace of the last two discs, and figured that was the trend they’d be continuing (especially since there are only seven songs on here!).

And yet when my friend Lar told me I absolutely had to pick it up, I consented, as he’s rarely wrong.  And he was not wrong here either.  Murray Street continues in a vein  similar to the last few discs, but it includes what the others were missing: amazing melodies!

It opens with “The Empty Page,” a reasonably upbeat sounding song with some wild choruses.  “Disconnection Notice” is one of their slower pieces, also cooly catchy, which doesn’t meander as it gets to where it’s going.

“Karen Revisited” is an eleven minute piece from Lee.  It begins, typically, as a beautiful Lee song.  However, the last six or so minutes are taken up with a deconstructing noise mess.  (There’s cheering at the end of the song leading me to suspect it was recorded live).  I don’t so much mind the noisy end part, but it’s so disparate from the first part that I wish they were two separate songs.

“Radical Adult Lick Godhead Style” is an absurd free form piece of lyrical nonsense which rocks tightly.  “Plastic Sun” stands out for being sung by Kim, by being very dissonant, and by being only two minutes long.

The album closer, “Sympathy for the Strawberry” is another long, slow, expansive piece, and yet the melody grabs you right from the start and won’t let you go.  Fantastic.

This reigning in of styles forecasts good things ahead on their next few discs as well.

[READ: September 13, 2009] “The Dreaming Jaw, The Salivating Ear”

This short story is quite short and quite surreal.  And I am amazed at how much time I spent with it.

As it opens, there is a weird an unsettling scene about a man who has killed someone in his blog.  I felt that the story was trying to be deliberately surreal by having this person get killed online, and yet that doesn’t seem to be the case.  The story remains weird and deliberately confusing until you get about 2/3 of the way through.  Then it all becomes clear and warrants a second read through. (more…)

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Four Letter Word: Original Love Letters (2007)

Posted in A.L. Kennedy, Anachronisms, Audrey Niffenegger, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Chris Bachelder, David Bezmozgis, Death, Demons, Douglas Coupland, Dreams, Fantasy, Francine Prose, Gautam Malkani, Geoff Dyer, Gods, Hari Kunzru, Harper's, Humiliation, Illusion, Jeanette Winterson, Jonathan Lethem, Juli Zeh, Leonard Cohen, LGBTQ, Lionel Shriver, Margaret Atwood, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby, Nick Laird, Peter Behrens, Phil LaMarche, Religion, Romance, Sam Lipsyte, Sex, Short Story, Sigur Rós, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Super Furry Animals, Supernatural, Technology, Tessa Brown, The Walrus, Ursula K. Le Guin on September 3, 2009| 1 Comment »

LoveLettersSMSOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 7: J’accuse Ted Hughes/Agnès B Musique (2008).

syr7The first side of the disc (for it was only released on vinyl) is a ballsy blast of music.  Ballsy because it was the opening track of their live set at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2000.  And who opens up their set at a festival that features bands like Super Furry Animals, Sigur Rós, and Stereolab (basically a who’s who in awesome Brit-rock) with this 22 minute shriek of noise?

The set was so derisively received that the cover of the NME (hilariously reproduced on the cover of the LP) stated “Goodbye 20th Century, Goodbye Talent.”

The noise is palpable: squeals and squalls and all manner of feedback.  Kim even gets a strange little spoken word section in the middle.  I would think fans might have enjoyed it for 5, maybe even 10 minutes, but by 23 it’s pretty numbing.  The rest of the set included instrumentals from the not yet released NYC Ghosts and Flowers.  It almost seems like the set was payback for the invitation.

The B-side is an 18 minute “soundtrack” of sorts.  Agnes B. is a French clothing designer and yet somehow the music feels like it could be for some scary kids’ movie.  It has a number of creepy elements to it.  I kept picturing people sneaking around a little cottage.

The liner notes are written in Arpitan, a steadily-declining-in-use language spoken mostly in Italy and Switzerland.

Not for the faint of heart (or the vinylphobic).

[READ: August 31, 2009] Four Letter Word

I read about this book in The Walrus and then I ordered it from Amazon.ca as it doesn’t seem to be available in the US.

The book is a collection of “love letters.”  What is so very interesting about the collection is the varied nature of the letters themselves.  It’s not just: “I love you XOXO” (of course).   There are letters to mothers, stepmothers, mountains, and the Earth itself.  There are letters of love, lust, anger and respect.

I was most attracted to the book by the great list of authors, some of whom I read religiously and many others whom I just really like (and of course a bunch who I’ve never heard of).

It’s hard to review a collection of short stories that is as varied as this, especially when the pieces are this short (as most of them are).  And, I guess technically, they aren’t even short stories.  They are just letters. I would never base my opinion of these authors from this work.  Although some of the authors that I know well definitely retain their signature style.  There were only one or two letters that I didn’t enjoy, but for the most part the entire collection is very good.  And if you like any of these authors, it’s worth checking out.

I’m going to list all of the authors, mention who the letter is to, and any other salient features (without trying to give anything away–several letters have a surprise in them)! (more…)

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