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Hamilton Morris–“Gaboxadol” [Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest ] (Harper’s, August 2013]

Posted in Drugs, Essays, Hamilton Morris, Harper's, Insomnia, Research, Sleep, The Front Bottoms, Tiny Desk Concert on September 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

aug2013SOUNDTRACK: THE FRONT BOTTOMS-Tiny Desk Concert #297 (August 19, 2013).

frontbotI really enjoyed The Front Bottoms’ “Au Revoir” and was pretty excited to see they had a Tiny Desk Concert.  After watching this, I’m very curious to see what they do in a full band setting because their sound works very well in this stripped down fashion–with acoustic guitars, penny whistle and muted trumpet (!).

Lead singer, Brian Sella, reminds me a lot of Mike Doughty in his speaky/singing way (especially on “Swear To God The Devil Made Me Do It”–although less speaky than Doughty or Cake–there’s just something about his delivery that puts me in mind of them.

He’s also always got a smirk on his face, which makes me like them more.

I’m torn between wondering if they’re a novelty band that I wouldn’t listen to more than a few times or a cool alternative band whose idiosyncrasies only get better with each listen.  I love the way “Twin Size Mattress” has little elements (like the tambourine moment–and the “no fucking way moment) which elevate it above some of the seemingly sillier songs.  Not to mention the lyrics are really good in the song.  Indeed, even though the lyrics are funny, they are often very clever, too.

I really enjoyed all four songs in this set and I have listened to it many times now.  “Au Revoir (Adios)” sounds great.  All four songs comes from their new album Talon of the Hawk.  And the more I listen the more I’m convincing myself to jut get the damned album.

[READ: September 6, 2013] “Gaboxadol”

This essay was actually hard for me to read.  That’s because the first half was all scientific chemistry talk and I really got lost–I don’t really know what GABA receptors are or do and I didn’t even really understand what he was talking about what Stepan Krasheninnikov did in 1755.  And I worried that I wasn’t going to enjoy this at all.

But soon Morris brought it back to an area that dummies like me can enjoy   He talks about the history of Gaboxadol a drug created by Dutch chemist Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen in 1977.  The first time Povl took it (self-experiment was very common until recently) he said it made him feel like he had just had three beers–a very comfortable feeling.

But Gaboxadol never found its niche.  Povl knew it had relaxing qualities but he couldn’t specifically diagnose who would best benefit from it.  It was tried on the mentally ill.  The desired effects did not really arrive–but the side effects made people feel sleepy.  Then it was tried as an analgesic for cancer patients.  It relieved some pain but it made everyone sleepy (you see where this is gong, right?).  It was then tested on patients with anxiety disorder, but the side effects were more powerful that the anti-anxiety effects.

So then the drug was just shelved (were people just less experimental back then?)  It wasn’t until 1996 that Marike Lancel a somnologist in Munich read the research and decided to try it as a sleeping aid.  She realized that Gaboxadol assisted sleep and also had none of the side effects that Ambien had (apparently terrible insomnia once you stop taking it–so I’ll not be taking that, thank you very much).  Merck bought the rights to Gaboxadol for $270 million. (more…)

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Rebecca Curtis–“Herbal Remedies” [Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest ] (Harper’s, August 2013]

Posted in Corporate skewering, Doc Martin, Harper's, Insomnia, Mother Falcon, Rebecca Curtis, Scientists, Sleep, The Dambuilders, Tiny Desk Concert on September 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

aug2013SOUNDTRACK: MOTHER FALCON-Tiny Desk Concert #296 (August 17, 2013)

motherfBy my count there are fourteen people in Mother Falcon (the notes say 17 but I couldn’t see them all)–that’s a lot of people in a Tiny Desk concert.  And they all play an instrument.  I count trumpet, bassoon, three saxophones, three violins, two cellos, an upright bass, accordion, guitar and mandolin (the mandolin player is the lead singer (and a cello player too).

Despite the orchestral set up, the songs are short pop songs but with a lot of, well, orchestration.  The songs have gorgeous instrumental sections, especially in “Marigold” where the riff is powerful and made all the more dynamic by the woodwinds.

“Marfa” has vocals by the female lead (who plays guitar–I don’t see any band member names on the NPR site).  The strings really dominate here and remind me of the way The Dambuilders used strings–even though there is no heavy guitar.  The strings feel like they are playing rock songs rather than being used as background for a rock song.  “Dirty Summer” is a sing-along track with no real words–lots of oh ohs.

motherfalWatching one of the members climb on the desk to sing louder was pretty fun.  It was also cool hearing how excited they were to be on the Tiny Desk.  Check it out.

They sound really great and, although I have to suspect that they must be more dynamic live than on record–how could they not be?

[READ: September 6, 2013] “Herbal Remedies”

Curtis is a holistic nutritionist.  I was a little concerned that this whole essay was going to be about prescribing alternative medicines to people to help them sleep (that’s only part of the article–and sadly there’s no quick suggestions either).  Actually, I’m normally all for herbals, but I’ve been watching Doc Martin lately and, man, he really rails into the herbalist on that show.  I’m generally torn about herbal remedies–I absolutely believe in science, but I have no faith in corporations.  So I believe scientists find cures for things and then corporations mess with them and make us need more than we do.  And I also feel like old herbal remedies probably work to an extent and yet they have also not been scientifically proven.  What’s a skeptic to do?

Anyhow, the switch comes when Curtis admits that while her patients can’t sleep, she has no problems with it.   Except that she doesn’t want to sleep, she hates it.  She even slept with the light on (until her business associate warned that it ruins your “kidney jing.)”

She talks about what it’s like to sleep in different men’s beds.  I liked the descriptions–the way each bed and each man makes her feel a different way in the bed–like a princess, or someone who wakes up several times a night so she can cuddle again or, like a safe and secure person who can sleep uninterrupted all night long. (more…)

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Christine Smallwood–“Bed-Wetting” [Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest ] (Harper’s, August 2013]

Posted in Christine Smallwood, Essays, Fears, Green Day, Harper's, Sleep, The Who on September 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

aug2013SOUNDTRACK: GREEN DAY-¡Quatro! (2012).

quatroIf you have the hard copy of the three Green Day CDs, you’ll notice the back cover lists a fourth disc, ¡Quatro!.  I wasn’t really sure what ¡Quatro! was supposed to be, but I have recently found out that it is a documentary DVD/CD.  For those keeping track, Jason White who was a touring guitarist with the band for years and who has recently become a full-fledged member of the band, is on the cover.

According to press releases and such, ¡Quatro! will give a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process that resulted in the trilogy and their various live shows across the U.S.

It seems as though the release date is up in the air (no doubt because of the state of the band), although some of the material premiered as early as last November.  And their official site only says “in 2013.”  I probably won’t watch it as I find this kind of thing self-indulgent and pointless; however, some of these videos can be entertaining.  Indeed, if it had come as a bonus disc to one of the other three discs I probably would have watched it.

At any rate, the official trailer for ¡Quatro! is available on YouTube

And there’s a few other snippets (which were probably shown on VH1.

[READ: September 6, 2013] “Bed-Wetting”

Bed-wetting is fairly common, especially for those who are potty training.  Smallwood talks about all of the ways throughout history that people have tried to deal with it.  She gives this list (which I have abbreviated here):

  • Plugging the urethra
  • Constriction of the penis with bandages, strings, adhesives, or vises, one of which was described as a “formidable rat-rap looking instrument”
  • Eliminating sugar
  • Removing the child from school
  • Injecting the bladder with gaseous carbonic acid

(and I have left out a few of the more crazy ones).

By the late nineteenth century, naturally, Westerners began connecting bed wedding with masturbation (other symptoms of masturbation: flushed cheeks, paleness and paralysis).  At this time, victims were subjected to cold baths, hard beds and even whipping (which may have caused sexual fantasies but certainly didn’t help with bed wetting).

A fascinating piece of information—boys are more prone to night time wetting while girls are more prone to day time. (more…)

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Deb Olin Unferth–“Neighbors” [Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest ] (Harper’s, August 2013]

Posted in Deb Olin Unferth, Essays, Fears, Green Day, Harper's, Heidi Julavits, Insomnia, Prison, Sleep on September 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

aug2013SOUNDTRACK: GREEN DAY-¡Tre! (2012).

treThe third and final album of the trilogy is called ¡Tre! (and yes I enjoyed that they named this one ¡Tre! as opposed to ¡Tre! and put Tre Cool on the cover—not exactly the most clever thing around, but it made me smile and makes me think that they only did three albums so they could have this title/cover combo).  And, yes, this is my least favorite of the three discs.  It feels like a bonus disc—songs that don’t really belong anywhere else. It’s kind of an album full of ballads (but that would suck) so they made it mostly ballads with other things too.

Like “Brutal Love”  a slow ballad (complete with horns) that builds into a standard rocker (it’s got a very “rock and roll” vibe).  Many punk songs are really just rock and roll played fast and this is certainly one of those songs.  (I don’t care for that kind of punk so much).  “Missing You” is a another mid-tempo rocker–the kind they do very well.

“8th Avenue Serenade” has another cool sound (as in different from the rest of the album).  “Drama Queen” is an acoustic guitar ballad with creepy creepy lyrics. It’s probably my least favorite Green Day song ever.  “X-Kid”seems even more simple than other Green Day songs (does Billie Joe throw anything away?)  It sounds like a classic rock song form the mid 80s.  “Sex, Drugs & Violence” brings the disc back some with a fun poppy rocker.  “A Little Boy Named Train” sounds a lot like “Carpe Diem” from ¡UnoI (same chords, just played slower—although the verses do change it a bit.

“Amanda” a mid tempo rocker and “Walk Away” is another slow song that sounds like classic rock.  “Dirty Rotten Bastards” clocks in at over 6 minutes!  It’s got several short sections in it though (which makes it more fun). The first part is the melody of The Marines Song.  “99 Revolutions” is so catchy it even has a chorus with only drums (that lowest common denominator of songs that is guaranteed to get the crowd to sing along).

So yes, there are a few good songs in this collection, but they could have easily scraped out the good ones and dumped them on the first two discs and just put Tre’s picture on the back of both of them.

[READ: September 6, 2013] “Neighbors”

Unferth, like Julavits, writes a kind of narrative piece about sleeplessness.  It’s hard to imagine her living the way she does, but if you’ve read her memoir, she has certainly slept in worse places than a Chicago slum.  It turns out that her downstairs neighbor, Maximilian, would turn on his TV late at night and leave it on all night. The odd thing was that he had no electricity in his apartment—he ran an extension cord to the light in the foyer.  When Unferth would get fed up with the noise, she would go downstairs and unplug the cord.

But then Maximilian’s girlfriend Dorothy moved back in.  The two of them fought nightly—loud screaming fights that were worse than the TV noise (when Unferth unplugged the TV, Dorothy found an electricity source elsewhere, although Unferth couldn’t figure out where).

She makes a very interesting distinction about the type of noise that might wake you up as compared to visceral fighting of your neighbors.  From things like jets and trains (or a fire engine, like at my house): “You may lose sleep over them, but you won’t lose sleep over them.”  Whereas hearing your neighbors screaming at each other is far more disturbing. (more…)

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A. Roger Ekirch–“Segmented Sleep” [Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest ] (Harper’s, August 2013]

Posted in A. Roger Ekirch, Green Day, Harper's, Insomnia, Lady Cobra, Sleep, Soundgarden, The Allman Brothers Band, The Strokes, The Who on September 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

aug2013SOUNDTRACK: GREEN DAY-¡Dos! (2012).

Wdoshile I was writing about these songs the words “stupid” and “dopey” came up a lot and I realized that of this trilogy of albums, this may be the dopiest (I mean, look at the cover).  I assume that’s on purpose.  We know that Green day was taking a break from their serious albums and operas to make dopey punk rock.  But between the lyrics and the riffs, this one is really quite dopey.  Charmingly so.

¡Dos! opens with “See You Tonight” a tinny guitar sound that makes me think they’re goin to bust into The Allman Brother’s “Jessica,” but no, it remains a folky song that lasts for 90 seconds before it bleeds into “Fuck Time” a knuckleheaded, big drummed bluesy riff that  reminds me of Soundgarden’s “Big Dumb Sex” except that it might actually be serious.  And it may be the least sexy song about sex I’ve ever head.  “Stop When the Red Lights Flash” ups the speed even further (although they manage to have catchy verses that seem to recall The Who again).  “Lazy Bones” changes the tone somewhat, bringing in some nice ringing guitars (sounding more like The Strokes than punk) and a prettier feel (in the verses anyhow).  It’s probably my favorite on this disc.

“Wild One” is one of their rockier ballads.  It could probably do with being about a minute shorter, but the backing vocals are pretty cool.  “Makeout Party” is  stupid fun (with some wild solos, and even a bass solo section).   “Stray Heart” is a fun boppy song with, yes, a big arena-friendly chorus).  “Ashley” is a fast punky song (that plays high guitar notes rather than big chords).

“Baby Eyes” has  good harsh sound in the riff (a rare minor chord)–although again those verses are bright and happy.  “Nightlife” is the one glaringly odd song.  It has a silky bass line and a really interesting sound.  But it also feature an extensive rap by Lady Cobra (who I’ve never heard of).  The rap is just as silly as Armstrong;s lyrics, but somehow since she is speaking them so clearly (rather than hurriedly singing them) they seem even dumber.

“Wow! That’s Loud” is a wonderful title for a fast spirited song, with a dopey riff and some fun soloing sections (unusual for Green Day).  The disc ends like it began with an acoustic type ballad.  This one is called “Amy” and it is pretty much the quintessential sweet Green day ballad.

Although I liked this one, I preferred the first disc overall.

[READ: September 6, 2013] “Segmented Sleep”

I’m repeating this intro because of the content of this essay.  The timing of this Folio, entitled “Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest” is quite spooky.  I myself have been having middle of the night insomnia.  I seem to battle this occasionally.  This recent bout seems to be accompanied by a stomach upset.  So I have this really unfair cycle.  My stomach is bothered by caffeine, so it keeps me up at night and when I wake up groggy and with a headache, I need the caffeine to get me somewhat stabilized (and I’m not a big caffeine drinker—a cup of tea, maybe two a day).  But that seems to upset me during the night.  I am also really strangely accurate with my insomnia.  It is almost always between 2 and 2:30 AM. So, yea, here’s other people interested in sleep deprivation.

[begin new content] Although Julavits’ piece read like a story, Ekirch’s has a much more academic style.  Turns out that he wrote about a history of sleep for his dissertation and for part of his book At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past.  This short essay focuses on “segmented sleep.”  It turns out that in pre-industrial nights, sleep was segmented: a first and second sleep bridged after midnight “by an hour or more of wakefulness in which people did practically everything imaginable.”  This second sleep is mentioned in Odyssey and Aeneid.

In the 1990s a sleep study was done.  Males were deprived of artificial light at night for a few weeks.  They began sleeping in segments as well.  This seems to be a natural circadian rhythm to our lives.  Indeed, It was in the 1800s that segmented sleep gave way to one longer sleep—when lighting and industry came to dominate our lives.  And we felt compelled to be awake when it was light out so we could be more productive. (more…)

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Heidi Julavits–“Restlessness” [Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest ] (Harper’s, August 2013]

Posted in Green Day, Harper's, Heidi Julavits, Sleep, The Who on September 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

aug2013SOUNDTRACK: GREEN DAY-¡Uno! (2012).

unoLast year Green Day announced that they were going to release three back to basics albums (a sort of antidote to their operas and concept albums).  And lo, there they came: one, two and three.  Oh and in the meantime, Billy Joe Armstrong had a kind of mental breakdown or something.

I’ve enjoyed Green Day’s releases since Dookie–they write simple pop/punk songs that are fun to sing along to.  Not all of them are winners, but many are.  Billy Joe has a knack for a pop hook. So when I say I liked all three of these records, it is with the understanding that these aren’t genius records, they are fun, kind of silly records.  Or, as I like to sum them up: simple three chord pop punk with supremely catchy choruses.

¡Uno!, the first one, is comprised of a lot of these simple, catchy rockers.  There are super fast rockers like “Nuclear Family” “Let Yourself Go” “Loss of Control” (with the fairly lame bridge of “we’re so crazy, oh so crazy now”–even by Green Day standards, that’s pretty lame) and “Angel Blue.”

There’s also slower rockers (which last longer) like “Stay the Night” “Carpe Diem” (with pretty harmonies and falsetto) “Troublemaker” and “Fell for You” (which if it was slower and sung by a girl group would be a perfect girl group song from the 1950s–except for the “pissed the bed line” of course).

Then there’s the jittry “Kill the DJ”, a song I instinctively dislike, (because of the stupid chorus) but which is undeniably catchy.  Even the Green Day songs I don’t really like I find myself singing along two after a couple of listens.

The last three songs change the tempo of the album a bit and each song stands out in its own way.  “Sweet 16” is a big ol’ ballad (with really falsettoed vocals).  It’s a pretty standard ballad from them, not quite as lighter-raising as their huge ballads, but this could have been huge if marketed right.  Along similar lines is “Rusty James” their more uptempo radio hit—big choruses, backing vocals a wonderful bridge—three chords and a major hit.  You have to be really jaded not to tap your foot to this one.  And the final track, “Oh Love” feels like a big 70s rocker (reminiscent of the Who).

There’ a lot of cursing on this album (mostly of the “we don’t give a  fuck” or “you’re a stupid motherfucker” variety).  And while I don’t object to that in principle, it comes across as really lazy songwriting.  Of course, this is a 40 minute album of pop punk and three chords, so it’s not exactly an unlazy album to begin with.

Of the three this is my favorite.

[READ: September 6, 2013] “Restlessness”

The timing of this Folio, entitled “Are You Sleeping? In search of a good night’s rest” is quite spooky.  I myself have been having middle of the night insomnia.  I seem to battle this occasionally.  This recent bout seems to be accompanied by a stomach upset.  So I have this really unfair cycle.  My stomach is bothered by caffeine, so it keeps me up at night and when I wake up groggy and with a headache, I need the caffeine to get me somewhat stabilized (and I’m not a big caffeine drinker—a cup of tea, maybe two a day).  But that seems to upset me during the night.  I am also really strangely accurate with my insomnia.  It is almost always between 2 and 2:30 AM. So, yea, here’s other people interested in sleep deprivation.

Julavits writes about her vacation home in Maine.  Her family spends a few months there each year and it often happens that she is simply hunting the house for sleep while her family snores on.  Beginning at 12:20, she leaves Husband bed and heads off to the other options: Child One, an uncomfortable futon; Child Two: a single air mattress (“basically [a] pool toy for houses”). (more…)

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Adam Johnson–“Nirvana” (Esquire, August 2013)

Posted in Adam Johnson, Batman, Canadian Music, Esquire, Kurt Cobain, Marriage (Happy), Nirvana, Short Story, Technology, Voivod on September 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

esqSOUNDTARCK: VOIVOD-Dimesnion Hatröss (1988).

hatrossDimension Hatröss takes the advances from Killing Technology and moves them even further into craftsmanship and prog excellence.  In the Killing Technology band photo and in this one, Blacky had shaved part of his head—which was pretty outrageous for a metal band in the late 80s.  It’s just a small visual showing how the band was different from other metal bands.

It also opens with some interesting sounds—a swirling noise that coalesces into a fantastic solid heavy riff—a confident metal riff that is more sophisticated than most of their output already.  And then a cool noisy chord from Piggy lets you know that this album is going to be…different.  And so it is, a wonderful mix of metal and prog rock chords (and long songs)  all used as the background of a sci-fi story of The Voivod.  The dissonance is amazing on the album—Piggy is playing chords that seem like they shouldn’t come from a guitar.

“Tribal Convictions” is a little less harsh than “Experiment” and you can really hear Snake has been honing his singing skills.  There’s even multiple tracks of vocals (including a deep voice singing along on this track).  And there are so many different sections—and the first that stands out on the album is Piggy’s echoed guitars just before the “who’s the God” section.  Or the repeated chords that open the fantastic “Chaosmongers”—sounding for all the world like electronic malfunction.  And yet for all of the experimentation, the songs are still heavy—the chorus of this song is very fast and full of Away’s noisy splash cymbal.  My favorite parts comes at around 2:15 where Piggy plays these great fast chords and Blacky plays a very cool accompanying bass line.  Indeed, Blacky’s bass sounds great on this record.  And when that riff repeats later in the song, it’s followed by a great concluding section.

“Technocratic Manipulators” is a fast heavy song—a very traditional sounding metal song until the “that’s not for me” comes in with a  huge time change that last… for one measure.  I love how the song ends with a repeated section of “I’d rather be…” until the final line, “I’d rather…think.”

Then comes one of my favorite Voivod songs with the awesome title “Macrosolutions to Megaproblems.”  It opens with some increasingly dissonant chords, but also features some loud chanted singalong sections followed by a ringing guitar solo that sounds like a siren.  All within a few seconds of each other.  It also has the thoughtful bridge, “You better shake up your mind, coz if you’re just staying blind, integrity you won’t find.” And another super cool dissonant chord sequence on the high notes of the guitar—I don’t know how Piggy thought of these sequences.  Just to top it off, the ending sequence is a series of descending chords, each one odder than the last.

“Brain Scan” has a cool riff at the end of each verse that is actually surprisingly major chord bright—amidst the chaos of the rest of the song (more great bass from Blacky and some crazy sounds of a brain scan—Snake’s voice processed?).  “Psychic Vacuum” is one of the songs where I have to wonder how they can switch to different sections so fast.  “Cosmic Drama” opens with a distant echoic riff and then nothing but heaviness.  And yet it keeps up that sci-fi experimental feel.  This is one of the great heavy metal records of the 80s.  technically brilliant playing, odd time signatures and yet still some really catchy music.

The CD has an addition of the Batman theme song.  It’s a very odd addition and has no place on the record, but I’ve always liked it because it is so weird. (It’s also only 1:45).

[READ: August 29, 2013] “Nirvana”

I was apprehensive about reading this story because I tend to dislike Esquire fiction. But Adam Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Orphan Master’s Son (which I haven’t even heard of), so I figured this must be better than the male bonding stories that usually appear in Esquire.

And so it was.

This also happens to be the second stories about a virtual reality President that I’ve read in a few days.  How about that.

So this story is set in some kind of future.  And in this future the President has been assassinated (and has been dead for three months).  The story seems like it is set in the near future (so I kept imagining Obama as the dead President and I wonder if others do too).  But something is odd, because the protagonist has been whispering to the President (and evidently the President is talking back to him).  However, what’s more significant to the narrator is his wife. (more…)

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Zadie Smith–“Meet the President!” (New Yorker, August 12 & 19, 2013)

Posted in Boredom, Death, Kathleen Edwards, Live from Mountain Stage, New Yorker, Short Story, Technology, The Future, Zadie Smith on September 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_08_12_13RussoGate.inddSOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Live from Mountain Stage (April 16, 2013).

Kkedsathleen Edwards is one of my favorite country/folkie performers.  I love her song craft and the beautiful way she sings.  And I’d love to see her live if she ever comes around.  Although she explains during this Mountain Stage show that it was near the end of her tour and she sounds….tired. Or perhaps just mellow.

I love the five  songs she plays “Asking for Flowers,” “Change the Sheets,” “House Full of Empty Rooms,” “Chameleon/Comedian,” and “Soft Place to Land,” but they all seem so…quiet.  I think of Edwards as kind of a rowdy performer—she can wail with them all, but everything seems dialed back here somewhat.  “Empty Rooms” is so quiet (and it is a mellow song, but even more so here).  But even  “Change the Sheets” which has a bridge and chorus that just blows me away the way it rocks and “Comedian” which ends with such wonderful anguish on the record, are both much more mellow here.

She has a very funny sequence talking about female singers and how she wants to create a Canadian ladies band called Modern Beaver (and she is apparently serious about it, and even has songs for them (as of summer 2013), but no time or energy to get it done.  Maybe for Xmas?

Any Kathleen Edwards is good Kathleen Edwards, but I’m looking forward to the next rowdy set I get to hear from her.

[READ: August 28, 2013] “Meet the President”

This is a most unexpected story from Zadie Smith.  It is set in the future and features a technology that allows the wearer to be fully absorbed into a virtual space.

It opens with a boy, Bill Peek, standing on a barren beach in England.  While his family may have once come from this area, that was immaterial, he considers himself a global child, accompanying his father on inspections.  But this part of England is a wasteland and only those who could not afford to leave England were still there.

Bill is pleased to have the beach to himself so he can plug in.  But then he is approached by an old lady with a young girl.  The girl, Agatha, is simple.  And both of the women talk to Bill even though he is doing his best to ignore them while he interacts with his virtual goggles.

Bill is deep in his world, creating his avatar (which has breasts and a tail) and by arming himself with grenades and knives.  He is trying to create the landscape.  Other users wondered whether you should augment the area around you or use a more or less barren world as your basis.  Bill has chosen the barren world and learns that it is three miles to the White House. (more…)

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Grantland Quarterly, Number 6 (2013)

Posted in Advice, Alex Pappademas, Amos Barshad, Andy Greenwald, Baseball, Basketball, Big Books, Biking, Bill Barnwell, Bill Simmons, Books about music, Books about writers, Boxing, Breaking Bad, Brian Phillips, Bryan Curtis, Charles P. Pierce, Charlie Pierce, Chess, Chris Ryan, Chuck Klosterman, Contests, Cycling, Daniel Kellison, Dave McKenna, David Jacoby, Denzel Washington, Drugs, Essays, Fiona Apple, Football, Golf, Grantland, Harris Wittels, Hockey, Homeland, Hua Hsu, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jay Caspian Kang, Jonathan Abrams, Judd Apatow, Katie Baker, Ke$ha, King Crimson, Kirk Goldsberry, Louisa Thomas, Mark Lisanti, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Molly Lambert, Nostalgia, Olympics, Paul Thomas Anderson, Rafe Bartholomew, Rembert Browne, Robert Fripp, Robots, Shane Ryan, Soccer, Sports Illustrated, Taylor Swift, Tennis, The Avengers, Violence, Voivod, Zach Lowe on August 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

grantldnSOUNDTRACK: VOIVOD-Killing Technology (1987).

killingAs I said, this album’s art looks much better.  And you can hear from the first notes that this album is better produced and is going to be a lot more interesting than the previous two.  It’s hard to know just how much of a leap this is from Rrröööaaarrr because that album was so muddy–maybe there were gems of guitar chords under all that noise.  Like the previous openings, there’s a sort of prologue to the album.  But unlike the previous album’s swirls, this one is beeping with a computer voice announcing “we are connected”

The opening chords are heavy, but man they sound clear—like they weren’t recorded underground.  You can also hear all of Piggy’s weird higher notes—he’s playing complicated chords, not just solo notes.  And when the chorus of “Killing Technology” rolls around, it offers stop and start rhythms and Snake’s voice even goes up an octave at the end.  But the first real indication that Piggy is on to something new comes in the bridge. Underneath the robotic voice, Piggy is playing some really strange-sounding chords.  The story is that he had been admiring Robert Fripp’s guitar work and so he added some of those King Crimson-y angular weird chords to his repertoire.  And he melds them perfectly with the heavy thrash that the band had been playing.

Lyrically also, this album has moved away from killing and headaches.  “Killing Technology” while having “killing” in the title is a very different subject:

The star wars have started up
The new invention is coming out
Making a spider web over the atmosphere
To make them sure that we can’t get out of here

Computers controlling your functions
Seems like we got electronic alienation
Trading children for a new kind of robot
Waiting for the old people to disappear

Quite a departure from Rrröööaaarr’s “Fuck Off and Die”

Stand up, right now, kill

No pleasure, the pain comes down here
No return, don’t look back, there’s no tomorrow
And if you’re a fucker and don’t believe it
I’d say fuck off and die, fuck off and die

“Overreaction” leans more towards the heavier side—Snake screams a bit more—but the subject (nuclear disaster) is thoughtful.  Then comes their first truly amazing song: “Tornado.”  Not only building like a tornado, this song allows them to talk about violent imagery without resorting to bloodshed. It’s even scientific:

Cumulonimbus storms arrive
Lightning flashes a hundred miles around
Electrical collision course
Creates the elephant trunk

But the best part is the chorus—it’s simple enough (just the word Tornado repeated) but it’s completely catchy and sing-alongable with bright major key chords.

“Forgotten in Space” features some great drumming from Away—he’s really quite underrated both in speed and technique—which explands even more on later albums.  “Ravenous Medicine” is another highlight—an interesting series of uncomfortable chords opens this track about scientific research.  It’s a pretty fast, heavy song.  Although not too complicated except for the occasional breaks as the story progresses.

“Order of the Blackguards” is another fast song, but this one has so many parts that if you don’t like one, just wait a few seconds for the next one.  “This is Not an Exercise” ends the disc proper.  The middle section has a great heavy riff.  But it’s the beginning of the ending sequence which is so perfectly sci-fi that really sets the tone of the album and looks towards the next one.  It’s cool to think of Piggy playing these spacey chords on his guitar.  And when Blacky’s bass rumbles in to resume the song, it’s quintessential Voivod.

By th way, this disc is a concept album as well.  There’s a “Killing Side” (the first three songs) and a “Ravenous Side.”  The strange thing about the CD though is that they have added two tracks from their Cockroaches EP which is nicockroachesce.  But they put one song at track 4 (the end of side one).  How odd to put a bonus track in the middle of a sequenced album.

The EP came out before the album and it has a slightly different feel from the album proper.  Although as a step towards Killing Technology it’s perfectly in sync.  “Too Scared to Scream” is heavy and has some interesting time changes—I love the way the song feels like it is crashing to a halt around 3:30.   “Cockroaches” feels like more traditional metal.  It opens with drums and Piggy playing a typical sounding metal solo.  Then the riffing starts and it’s very heavy indeed. Even the staggered section near the end sounds like a mosh section more than the prog time changes that Voivod uses on the album proper.  The song ends with Snake screaming as the cockroaches are coming.  A good ending to the EP and a pretty good ending to the disc.

The whole album has a very mechanical and robotic feel—the chords that Piggy plays just sound like mechanical failure, it’s very well constructed and foreshadows the music of their future.

[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #6

Grantland #6 covers from Sept 2012-Dec 2012.  Despite the short time frame, this is the largest issue yet.  And it maintains all the quality that I’ve come to expect from the book/magazine thing.  Which means, I love the writing (especially about people/sports I’m not that interested in).  And it also means that the editing is typically crap.  In this issue the editing was crap more because they simply forgot to remove mention of hyperlinks.  At least I assume that’s why sentences like “See here for ____” are included in any given article.  But yes, there are some very simple typos that Word would correct pretty easily.

But beyond that, I really enjoyed this issue.  And I’m finding it amusing how much certain people and shows crop up in a given time frame.  So this is a four month period and Kobe Bryant still dominates (there will never be an issue without at least one Kobe article).  But this time Homeland is the big show (since Breaking Bad has been on hiatus I gather).  Basketball remains the favorite sport here (even though they speak of football as being the most popular sport).

Chuck Klosertman and Charlie Pierce continue to write thoughtful (sometimes funny) articles.  And I like how there is still talk of Jeremy Lin even if Linsanity has gone away somewhat. (more…)

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Daniel Alarcón–“The Idiot President” (New Yorker, October 6, 2008)

Posted in Acting, All Songs Considered, Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, Political Humor, Prison, Screaming Trees, Short Story, Swervedriver, Weed on August 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

TNY 10.6.08 palin cvr.inddSOUNDTRACK: WEED-“Silent Partner” (2013).

weed-deserve-0f8161c881e522aba0f28701cda87e9a558f9727-s1This song started off a recent All Songs Considered podcast and it starts with a bang–a big wall of fuzzy guitars and the vocals mixed way back in the song.  It has a very early 90s vibe–a slow song despite the loud buzzy guitars.

It reminds me of a lot of bands from that 90s era–Swervedriver, Screaming Trees–although it has a few moments (bridges maybe) in which the guitars plays faster, almost a heavy metal riff.  And yet the chorus is expansive (if still distorted)–bringing together a lot of interesting elements.  And I love the way the song ends with nearly 30 seconds of feedback.

I definitely want to hear more from these guys.

[READ: August 9, 2013] “The Idiot President”

This story seems to be referenced in Alarcón’s recent short story “Collectors.”  In “Collectors” we meet Henry, the author of the play “The Idiot President” and we hear how he was jailed for performing the political piece.

In this story, apparently written five years before “Collectors,” we meet an actor who has worked with Henry and who has acted in “The Idiot President” (which was well received by audiences, especially the big reveal at the end).  They were in an acting troupe called Diciembre and for this “tour” three of them–Henry, the narrator and Paralarga–went to small villages to perform the play.

While Henry and Patalarga were in Diciembre for real, the narrator knew he was going to be leaving the country soon.  His brother lived in California and promised him a visa…soon.  So the narrator just assumed that nothing he did had any real consequence.  And while traveling around and acting seemed like a good idea, doing it in the winter with very little in the way of provisions was not the best idea.  He lost weight and was always chilled and sickly.

There are a number of brief episodes in this story (which I assume is actually an excerpt). The first involves Tania.  Tania is Patalarga’s second cousin and Henry’s ex-wife (from many years ago). After their performance in Tania’s city, she sings for them during the after party (with a beautiful voice that the narrator falls in love with).  It is clear that the narrator is bewitched by her–while the other two just seem bemused by everything.  She takes pity on him and walks him back to his bed.  And just when he thinks she is “interested,” she makes it clear that she was just walking him to his bed. (more…)

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