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Archive for the ‘New Yorker’ Category

Téa Obreht–“Blue Water Djinn” (New Yorker, August 2, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Atlantic, Death, New Yorker, Rheostatics, Short Story, Supernatural, Téa Obreht, tagged on August 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Barrymore’s, Ottawa, ON, February 2, 1996 (1996).

This is one of the other early shows from the Rheostatics.  It’s an audience recording.  And what that means is that there are a  few voices (young girls mostly) which have been immortalized and whose conversation has been listened to by many many people over the last 12 years.

The recording quality is okay. (And hearing somebody ask, “What do you think?” is charming.)

But the real reason to check out this download is for their cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.”  The rest of the show is definitely staticky; it’s hard to make out the nuances of the songs, which is a bummer. But on some of the tracks, the band is louder than the crowd (the remastering work is actually quite good) it’s a good (and very long) show.

[READ: August 28, 2010] “Blue Water Djinn”

Téa Obreht is the author with the most to prove in the list of 20 Under 40 authors.  Her first book doesn’t come out until next year! And as far as I can tell her only other published fiction is the short story “The Laugh” in the Atlantic (which I will likely read next week).  So, I’m rooting for her!

Nevertheless, this story is one that I wouldn’t have read based on the opening section.  Although it discusses a dead Frenchman, the remainder of the introduction is about a young boy who lives at the hotel which his mother owns.

There was just something that didn’t interest me about the setting.

The story proceeds with the hotel workers seeking the body of the Frenchman (his clothes were found piled on the beach).  They assume he has drifted off to sea.  The boy lingers at the edges of the workers (he is forbidden from swimming in the sea while his mother is away).   (more…)

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C.E. Morgan–”Twins” (New Yorker, June 14 & 21, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, C.E. Morgan, Canadian Music, Dave Bidini music, New Yorker, Racism, Rheostatics, Short Story, The Tragically Hip, tagged on August 4, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Record Runner, Ottawa ON, November 29, 1996 – In Store Acoustic (1996).

In Dave Bidini’s book On a Cold Road (which I am reading now), he writes how bad in store record appearances really are.  You don’t play your own equipment, typically (no room), you have to play stripped down versions of the songs. People are shopping around you.  And, the punch line (see end of the review).

Despite that, this set (a pit stop after opening for the Tragically Hip the night before (and later the same night, too)) is really fun.  Martin Tielli says that they’re usually not up so early (it’s 2PM).  They play a couple of acoustic numbers and then invite someone in the crowd to sing “The Ballad of Wendell Clark Pts 1 & 2,” and a young lady does an admirable job.  They also throw in “Bud the Spud.”

Then the take some more requests, and tell the crowd that they have a new shirt out (with Chickadees on it).  But they tell them not to buy it at the HIP show, because they had to sell the shirts for $40 (what the HIP charge).  They’ll be back in a couple of months and they’ll sell them cheaper.

The punchline at the end of the show is when they say that their albums are available at the store.  And when they ask someone if that’s true, it turns out that they have one copy of their new album and one copy of an old one.  (“enough for everyone,” quips Tielli).

You can download it here.

[READ: July 29, 2010] “Twins”

I didn’t like this story in the beginning.  In fact, if I hadn’t promised myself I’d read all 20 of the 20 under 40 authors, I probably wouldn’t have finished it.  The exposition felt too long, too detailed, and without a lot of focus.  In fact, it wasn’t until about four pages into the story that it really caught my interest.

The story is about twins, born to a single black mother from a white father.  One of the babies, Mickey (named after his father Mike) is white, while the other boy, Allmon, is black.  But other than that they look alike.

And the interesting part for me came when the mother (Mike is long out of the picture at this point) is walking with the kids and they see a yard sale.  The host of the sale can’t help but comment about the two kids.  And she asks one question after another until she goes too far.  The way this scene played out was very emotional, very powerful, and it really brought the story to life. (more…)

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Nora Ephron–“The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut” (New Yorker, July 5, 2010)

Posted in Adventure, Chanée & N'evergreen, Eurovision, Funny (ha ha), New Yorker, Technology on July 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: CHANÉE & N’EVERGREEN-“In a Moment Like This” (2010).

Denmark’s entry into Eurovision is Chanée & N’evergreen.  This song is shockingly bland.  It doesn’t have any of the weird quirks of Romania, and isn’t inspired in anyway that I can see.  The song’s verses are way too disturbingly similar to “Every Breath You Take” which morphs into a chorus that sounds too disturbingly similar to Abba.

See it here.

[READ: July 17, 2010] “The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut”

I haven’t read any of Steig Larsson’s books, and I probably never will.  And as such I’m sure this parody would be even funnier if I had.  I don’t generally like Nora Ephron’s pieces, but I was kind of tickled by this one.

I assume that the characters are the ones in the book (and there must be some kind of history, right?).  But unlike the crazy excitement of the novels, in this one, Kalle needs his umlaut fixed on his Apple computer.  She demurs until he argues: (more…)

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Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum–“The Erlking” (New Yorker, July 5, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Eurovision, Fables, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), New Yorker, Paula Seling and Ovi, Sarah Shun-lein Bynum, Short Story, Supernatural, Toilets on July 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PAULA SELING & OVI-“Playing with Fire” (2010).

Now this is what I think of as a Eurovision song.  It’s Romania’s entry and it came in third!  The video is a live version (I assume).  And it is deliciously over the top right from the start.  Paula & Ovi face each other while the backing singers punctuate all of the lyrics.

Even the opening beat feels very Euro to me (whatever that means).  But when they start singing at each other, “Girl Girl Girl…” “Boy boy boy…” and they get to the chorus about burning the place down, the theatricality hits its peak.  I really don’t like this song, and yet after listening to it three times for this review, I find it maddeningly infectious.  Just like Eurovision.

And I would be remiss for not acknowledging the outrageous high not she hits in the middle.  I don’t think it’s particularly effective in the song, but it is impressive.

[READ: July 17, 2010] “The Erlking”

This was a fascinating story that went in two very different directions (and which feels like it’s part of a longer story).

There are two characters in the story Ondine–a young girl who only answers to “Ruthie”– and Kate, her mom. As the story opens, Ruthie’s mom is dragging her to the Elves’ Faire at the local Waldorf school.  Her mom feels bad that she never even considered sending Ruthie to the school (they had tried with the Jewish Montessori school, but were not accepted).  SHe had heard a story about a nine year old who knew the entire Mongol empire but still sucked his fingers.  She gets the awesome line: “Everybody has to go into a 7-Eleven at some point in life, operate in the ordinary universe.”

She figures that she can introduce Ruthie to some fun and imaginative things by bringing her here.  As the story continues, we learn a lot about Ruthie’s mother’s concerns and fears of inadequacy (some are common and relatable, some are over the top, and others are pretty unusual).

(more…)

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Nicole Krauss–“The Young Painters” (New Yorker, June 28, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Death, Eurovision, maNga, Nicole Krauss, Short Story, Wikipedia on July 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: maNga-“We Could be the Same” (2010).

I don’t know much about music from Turkey.  I also don’t know all that much about music from the Eurovision contest; however, I’m led to believe that the music is generally pretty poppy and treacly.  So I’m rather surprised that the second place winner is this alt metal rocker from Turkey (of course it was over 70 points behind Lena at number 1).  If this was 1983, this song would probably be riding up the American charts (of course, maNga throw in some turntable & hip hop scratches, so we know the song is at least circa 1993).  It’s got some pretty lite-metal guitar riffs and a big, loud chorus.

As with all Eurovision songs, it’s a plea for peace.  I think it’s a love song, too.  (Perhaps it’s a Romeo and Juliet deal).  Lyrically it’s suspect, but the video (with flags waving and men in balaclavas) is visually interesting.

The whole package is satisfying, and I’ delighted to see that they have two albums out already.

[READ: July 15, 2010] “The Young Painters”

The most interesting thing about this issue of the New Yorker (which is not to detract from the short story) is that there were 21 pages of ads for Canada.  I couldn’t get over how many maple leafs there were in here, especially since there was nothing in the issue itself (contentwise) that would suggest a Canadian connection.  Most of the ads were for doing business there.

Another interesting thing was the article about the Eurovision song contest, which took place a few weeks ago.  Since America’s not in it (hence Eurovision), we don’t pay any attention to it, but it’s a fun musical extravaganza, especially if you like ponderous songs sung in broken English (and who doesn’t?).

But on to the short story.  I found this story a little confusing to start with.  I think I was confused because the story begins with a woman saying that she is married to a man (named S.) and that they were invited to a party at a dancer’s house.  Then she describes her husband and then describes the apartment, all in a few sentences.   So at first I thought they were in their own house and I was confused that they had a painting she had never seen before.  Rereading the paragraph clarified things quickly, and it makes a lot more sense when you get the setting straight!

Otherwise, this was a fascinating story about a successful writer.  She and her husband went to the dancer’s house where they remarked on a painting.  The dancer reveals the fascinating story behind the painting to the entire dinner party.  The writer, being utterly transfixed by the story and feeling that it was not told in confidence, decided to write a short story about it. (more…)

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Ted Walker–“The Peaches” (New Yorker, October 12, 1968)

Posted in Donald Barthelme, Eurovision, Lena, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, Ted Walker, Wikipedia on July 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LENA-“Satellite” (2010).

The 2010 Eurovision song winner is from Germany and her name is Lena.  I can’t say that I’ve listened to the contests much in the past, but this year, I enjoyed the raging discussion about these pop gems.

“Satellite” is really darn catchy.  Lena’s voice is totally fascinating.  She affects a very broad English accent (although I can’t decide from where) while singing this insanely catchy song.  The lyrics are, by default, silly.  But the couplet “I bought new underwear, they’re blue, and I wore them just the other day” is pretty darn cute.

And Lena herself is adorable.  I didn’t see any of the live show, but her video is quite fetching.  What happens to Eurovision winners anyhow?  Will we ever hear from Lena again?

[READ: June 30, 2010] “The Peaches”

I read this piece because when I printed out the Barthleme story, I printed extra pages just to be safe, and how about that, I got whole other story.  I’d never heard of Ted Walker before, although it appears that he was quite well regarded in his time.

The thing that strikes me most about this story is that it was published the year before I was born, and it’s shocking how different of a husband and father he is just 40-some years ago.

In many ways I was so distracted by his attitude towards his wife (and her reaction to their life) that I never really got involved in the story.  I will say that the peach tree metaphor throughout the story is quite good, but it is especially powerful as the story nears the end. (more…)

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Donald Barthelme–“Kierkegaard Unfair to Schlegel” (New Yorker, October 12, 1968)

Posted in Bison B.C., Canadian Music, Donald Barthelme, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Huh?, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, New Yorker, Søren Kierkegaard, Soren Kierkegaard on July 15, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BISON B.C.-“Two Days Booze” (2010).

Bison B.C. are a hardcore metal band from Vancouver.  I was surprised to hear them on CBC Radio 3, but that’s one of the great things about the online radio station: the diversity is amazing!

Bison B.C. is heavy with growling vocals that I didn’t understand at all.  In between bombastic notes, they had include some guitar riffs that broke the bombast.  The biggest surprise comes at around the 4 minute mark (quite a long song for the genre, although it seems that all of their songs are at least 5 minutes) when the song slows down to a few single notes (and a quiet bass). That’s when the choir (?) of male voices sings an Oh, oh section.

I listened to a few songs from their earlier discs, and it seems that they are going in a far darker direction with this new one.

[READ: June 30, 2010] “Kierkegaard Unfair to Schlegel”

Before I start let me say that this article was my first chance to plumb the depths fo the New Yorker online (subscriber back issues services) and it’s really awesome.  I printed out some great looking ads from the fifties and sixties!  I also enjoyed looking at the very first issues of the magazine.

This short story article was bandied about among David Foster Wallace fans as being a pioneer for Brief Interviews and other DFW stylings.

It opens with an answer to a question, which appears to be a therapy session. And it’s quite funny.  But from there, the story gets broken down into several sections. Each one is more Q&A (except the 4th one which is just a series of Qs. (more…)

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Salvatore Scibona–“The Kid” (New Yorker, June 14 & 21, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Airlines, Canadian Music, Marriage Trouble, Military, New Yorker, PDF Format, Salvatore Scibona on July 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PDF FORMAT-“Waiting for M1D1 Interface”

I cracked up at the name of this band: PDF Format.  And then I heard the music, which sounds pretty much like what a PDF might sound like if you tried to play it in iTunes.  It is one of the most over the top electronic sounding songs I’ve heard in a long time.  It’s very processed, very retro and surprisingly catchy.

It’s an instrumental, it’s pretty long and it has three distinct sections, the third of which is very pretty and, while synthy, is not really electronic sounding at all.  Other songs, which are not instrumental include “Report on Water” which is a fascinating mix of crazily processed vocals (like an old computer voice) and very analog vocals.  Again, very catchy once you get passed the oddness of the processed sound.

I just listened to the wonderfully titled “SYSTEM OVERRIDE /// EROROOEROO ($($” which rocks and is catchy and very cool.  Initially I wasn’t all that impressed by this guy, but after a few listens, it’s really great.  And good luck searching for them online…with those song titles and that band name, you’ll be amazed at all the weird things that come up.

[READ July 6, 2010] “The Kid”

This was a confusing story.  I’m not sure what it was that confused me so much, whether it was the character names, the fact that it started with one character and then focused on another or just the fact that the “kid” in the story is deliberately trying to confuse people.

It opens with a kid in an airport.  No one knows what language he speaks, and although they try many different ones, he simply doesn’t answer or respond to anything they say.

The story then jumps to follow Elroy Heflin, an American solider assigned to Latvia.  While in Latvia, he begins dating a woman named Evija.  He is deployed elsewhere but finds himself sending money to her to support their son Janis, whom he never sees. (more…)

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ZZ Packer–“Dayward” (New Yorker, June 14 & 21, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Canadian Music, Death, New Yorker, Racism, Shad, Slavery, ZZ Packer on July 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SHAD-“The Old Prince Still Lives at Home”(2007).

Canadian rapper.  Oxymoron?  Not at all.  I had heard about Shad from CBC Radio 3.  The single, “Yaa I Get It” is fantastic.  And I have ordered his new CD TSOL based on it.  (No idea what TSOL stands for).

CBC Radio 3 contains a whole bunch of tracks from his first two discs.  His music is kind of slow and loping, but it’s his lyrics that are really fantastic.  He’s clever, funny and very thoughtful.  “Yaa I Get It” has this opening couplet: “Maybe I’m not big, coz I don’t blog or twitter, heh, not that I’m bitter.”  Or this amusing couplet from “I Don’t Like to”  “I don’t really like to start verses with I you  know, but… iTunes eyepatch, I’m in the same boat where the pirates be”

This earlier album sounds a bit more R&B to me, but there’s a few really great tracks on it.  “The Old Prince Still Lives at Home” reminds me of the Fresh Prince’s style (a comical look at the waste of time that is the dentist).  But he takes it a step further when, midway through the song the music stops.  Shad explains that he couldn’t afford the whole beat.  And they just “have to vibe with it” until the end.

It’s a bit gimmicky, but he’s right, the track is really strong.

[READ: July 4, 2010] “Dayward”

The photo opposite this story is of a terrifying Rottweiler bearing its fangs.  I mention this because it is so striking (the other stories mostly had drawings to accompany them.  This photo is also scarily appropriate for the story, which is about two young slaves escaping from their master.  The kicker is that slavery has already been outlawed, but who says the masters have to let them go peacefully?

When Lazarus told his mistress that he and his sister were going to reunite with their family in New Orleans, she told them that they would have half a day’s start and then she’d release the dogs on them.  Evidently she wasn’t joking. (more…)

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Gary Shteyngart–“Lenny Hearts Eunice” (New Yorker, June 14 & 21, 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Death Cab For Cutie, Dystopia, Funny (ha ha), Gary Shteyngart, Humiliation, New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, Technology, The Cardigans, The Salteens on July 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE SALTEENS-“Frequency” (2010).

I immediately enjoyed the poppy sensibilities of The Salteens. And I knew I’d want to listen to them on CBC Radio 3 again.  There are quite a few tracks available online there.

This one comes from their new EP, Moths.  A little research shows that they’ve actually been around for quite awhile and even appeared on Yo Gabba Gabba! (early 21st century’s badge of coolness).  It is very poppy, features male/female duet vocals and is immensely catchy.

It’s so catchy, in fact that I played their CBC radio songs over and over.  While I liked some better than others (I wasn’t too keen on “Sunnyside Street”), their twee pop was so joyful that I found myself singing along.  They are definitely twee, but not treacly, and in that respect that are very indie sounding (like a less bummed out Death Cab for Cutie or an early Cardigans).

Their arrangements are always pretty simple, but they range from guitars to keyboard to horns (“Nice Day” is almost all drums with the simplest piano and occasional horns).  And it contains the humorous couplet: “I know you think that I’m gay, but I just play the part”

[READ: July 5, 2010] “Lenny Hearts Eunice”

I’ve really enjoyed Shteyngart’s novels, so I was pleased to see him included in 20 Under 40.  This short story is set in another of his future dystopia, complete with a shlubby main character.

It opens with the obvious (yet very satisfying in this case) technique of a diary entry.  This works really well because the narrator is so strong (not physically) and quirky.  Lenny begins this diary because he is in love with Eunice Park, a young Korean woman with whom he shared a moment (and later an intimacy).  And he intends to win her over.

Lenny is a Research Coordinator of the Post-Human Services Division of the Staatling-Wapachung Corporation, a corporation bent on making everyone (especially its employees) immortal.  Of course, since Lenny is an older, out of shape nebbish, who has just spent a year in Rome gorging on carbs, his future looks bleak.  Rome is where he met Eunice by the way. (more…)

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