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Archive for the ‘Magazines’ Category

Margaret Atwood–“The Spider Woman” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in Books about writers, China Miéville, Culture Shock, Essays, Fantasy, Fears, Margaret Atwood, New Yorker, Nostalgia, Sci-fi, Squarepusher, Supernatural, Technology, The Future on June 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SQUAREPUSHER-Solo Electric Bass 1 (2009).

Yesterday I said that one Squarepusher CD was enough for me.  I did some digging and found out that he has put out a whole bunch of CDs.  And, to the surprise of me, at least, not all of them are crazy electronic music.   This CD, as the title states, is a collection of electric bass solo songs.  The songs were performed live as part of the Jazz à la Villette 2007 festival and were played on an electric six-string bass with no pedals or effects.

And that is all you get—serious solo bass songs.  The man behind Squarepusher, Tom Jenkinson, is apparently a virtuoso musician (who knew?) and these songs really show off his chops (just listen to the insanity of “Seb-1.05” (catchy title, eh?)).  He can play some impressive Spanish-sounding songs–that would probably sound better on a guitar, but sound more impressive on a bass (“Seb-1.06”).  He’s got some great slap stuff going on (“Seb-1.03”), and he really knows from melody (also “Seb-1.03”).  True, 12 all bass songs can meld into one another, but the crowd really loves it (and like a lot of things, seeing it is probably more impressive than just hearing it).

It’s not exactly “fun” listening (even if you love bass solos).  Only 850 copies of the disc were released, so it’s not like they expected a big audience for this.  But it is pretty neat to hear a) how good he is and b) that his main musical output is noisy electronic noodling.  That gives me even more respect for his electronic output.

[READ: June 5, 2012] “The Spider Women”

Margaret Atwood is another author I wish I had read more of—and I’m getting there.  I often wonder if I should just read an author start to finish and be done with him or her or if that just leads to madness.

Much like Miéville says in the previous essay, children don’t read genres, they just read what they like.  I loved Atwood’s idea that “below a certain age, [children] don’t distinguish between ‘true’ and ‘not true,’ because they see no reason why a white rabbit shouldn’t possess a pocket watch, that whales shouldn’t talk, or that sentient beings shouldn’t live on other planets and travel around in spaceships.”  After all, sometimes reality lives under the bed and has sharp claws. (more…)

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China Miéville–“Forward Thinking” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in Alfred Bester, Anachronisms, Beatrix Potter, Book Reviews, Books about writers, China Miéville, Dungeons & Dragons, Enid Blyton, Essays, Fantasy, Golems, LMFAO, New Yorker, Sci-fi, Skinny Puppy, Squarepusher, The Future, Virginia Woolf on June 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SQUAREPUSHER-“Dark Steering” (2012).

Hot on the heels of a review of LMFAO I get to the other side of the spectrum in electronic music—Squarepusher.   There’s no big choruses, heck there’s no words, but this music shares something with LMFAO.  Well, actually it really doesn’t—except maybe keyboards.

Squarepusher play dark angular music. It’s very electronic and alien (and sounds like it may have been used in the background of Skinny Puppy songs back in the day). It’s abrasive and the sounds are otherworldly and yet in this song, there’s a melody to it.  I have but one Squarepusher CD—that’s probably enough for me.  But I am always interested to hear new music by him.  It’s impressive the way he can take a song that starts out so noisy and get it to sound like real music by the end.  It like the science fiction of music.

[READ: June 5, 2012] “Forward Thinking”

I have read only one book by China Miéville—Perdido Street Station.  I found it to be quite challenging for a bunch of reasons and figured I wouldn’t read more by him.  And yet I find that images from that book stay with me to this day (at least ten years on).  So maybe it’s time to give him another shot.  But where to start?

This entry in the New Yorker’s Sci-Fi issue is written as an “E-mail sent back in time to a young science-fiction fan.”  And I loved it.  I enjoyed how it started (with the author knowing that E-mail doesn’t exist at the time the recipient will get this—so who will it show up?)  And I loved the central question: “How did you get into this stuff?”  The sender knows that the kid will get asked this a lot, but the question should be turned around: “How did you get out of it?”  Because all kids love sci-fi concepts.  It’s just that some move away from it as they get older.

Miéville includes a few key moments in (his) sci-fi history: Page 40 of “The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher” by Beatrix Potter.  What?  Indeed, for this is the first time that (you) will be ware of knowing something the protagonist doesn’t—that there’s  fish coming up to get him.

Next is Chapter 13 of Golem100 by Alfred Bester.  I have never heard of this book.  Although Miéville does warn us about it—he read it far too young and there’s some sadistic violence in it, what attracted him (and me, now) is the disrespect for text—part of the story is a musical score, another is a picture.  It sounds cool.  And of course it is long out of print. (more…)

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Ursula K. Le Guin–“The Golden Age” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in Anachronisms, Books about writers, Concert, Fantasy, History, Michael Chabon, Neil Young, New Yorker, Playboy, Sci-fi, Sexism, Squeeze, Tarkio, The Decemberists, Ursula K. Le Guin on June 6, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: TARKIO-Live on KGBA (from Omnibus) (1998).

Tarkio released an album called Live on KGBA in 1998.  Omnibus collects 4 songs from that release (according to various websites, the other tracks include “Kickaround” “Neapolitan Bridesmaid” “Helena Won’t Get Stoned” “Caroline Avenue” and “Candle”  (from the I Guess… album) “Weight of the World” (from Sea Songs) and “Whipping Boy” (the only song that’s not elsewhere on Omnibus).  This live record was distributed in some fashion way back when and there are copies floating around the internet.  I’m not willing to risk a virus by clicking on these links though, so I’ll stick with the few tracks on Omnibus.

The sound is excellent, and the full collection would no doubt be a welcome addition to anyone’s Tarkio fandom.

“Carrie” has a very Neil Young feel, from the rough acoustic guitars to the aggressive strumming technique.  It doesn’t sound like any Neil Young song in particular but you can imagine Neil looking on and smiling.  Even the solo is kind of Neil-ish (electric guitar over the acoustic main song).  “Am I Not Right?” sounds like a newer Decemberists song—there’s some very cool abrasive chords at the chorus “Knowledge!”  “Mess of Me” is a boppy acoustic number that’s fun to sing along to.  It opens kind of like the Decemberists song “The Infanta” but quickly turns into something else entirely.  “Goodbye Girl” is a cover of the Squeeze song done with a dominant banjo.  Although it lacks the original’s punch, it works well as a folk number.

[READ: June 5, 2012] “The Golden Age”

I feel like I’ve really been missing out by not reading any Le Guin.  The more I read from her now, the more I feel like I should be dropping everything and reading her output.  And I will read at least some of Earthsea eventually.

But in the meantime, I can enjoy pieces like this.  She talks about how science fiction has never really been considered “literature” and how it’s always been relegated to the genre ghetto.  Be that as it may, she’s also disappointed when science fiction writers try to deny their ghetto by saying, “Pay no attention to the spaceships…[this] is Literature.”  She thanks Michael Chabon for smashing down at least some of the ghetto walls.

Which allows her to look back at the past and the early Science Fiction Writers of America conventions.  She remembers the fun talk and open mindedness—except for a notable few who were deeply conservative, a surprise for a group of men who were supposed to be looking forward, not back.  And yes…men.  There were very few women sci-fi writers back in the fifties (in “The Golden Age”).  Indeed one SFWA member wanted to create a members-only necktie! (more…)

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Ray Bradbury–“Take Me Home” (New Yorker, June 4 & 11, 2012)

Posted in Books about writers, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Essays, History, New Yorker, Ray Bradbury, Sci-fi, Short Story, Tangled, Tarkio, The Decemberists, The Replacements, Time Travel on June 5, 2012| 4 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: TARKIO-three song demo (from Omnibus) 1997.

These three songs are part of a demo released in 1997.  I actually assumed that Omnibus would have collected all of Tarkio’s releases (how many more can there be?), but I learned that “omnibus” means “a book containing reprints of a number of works.”  So there ya go.

Nearly every review of Omnibus complains about the size of the release.  Some complain that the songs are too long (which is something else entirely), but many seem to suggest that 27 songs is too many for this collection.  I don’t quite understand this attitude, because if it were the collected works, there would be no reason to complain.  As such, I suspect I am the only person who wishes there was a little bit more–like why not the other two songs from this demo?

And demo is a rather unfair name for this, because it sounds wonderful.  (I suspect a demo from 1997 could be recorded with much better equipment than a demo from say 1984).  And these three songs are really something.  I suppose also, listening to these songs in this manner–not as a two disc set but as an original demo of three songs, makes them seem like maybe there isn’t too much of a good thing.

“This Rollercoaster Ride” opens with an interesting pseudo Middle Eastern violin.  But it quickly settles down into a very catchy rock/folk song.  It sounds very Decemberists, and it’s extremely catchy.  “Following Camden Down” is a beautiful song (the reminds me of The Replacements’ “Skyway”).  Meloy’s voice sounds subdued and not as immediately notable as he normally does.  It’s a wonderful little song.  “Slow Down” is a bouncy folk number (with dominant violin).  It’s got a rocky alt feel, although it still reads as traditional folk.

True, none of these songs reach the delirious heights of the best Decemberists songs, but they’re a nice step towards the kind of music Meloy and friends would put out next.

[READ: June 5, 2012] “Take Me Home”

This issue of the New Yorker is devoted to Science Fiction (see the cover).   In addition to five stories (which I assume are science-fiction-y) we also get five (more or less) one-page pieces from masters of the genre (genre being a dirty word, we’ll find).  When I first saw the names of these writers, I thought they were each creating a cool one-page story.  So I was a little disappointed to realize that these are “personal histories” with sci-fi.  But I shouldn’t have been disappointed, because even though these are short, they are really impactful–and come on, they’re classic writers.

I’m surprised by the fact that I haven’t read more Ray Bradbury.  I know I’ve read Fahrenheit 451 and I’m sure I’ve read some of his stories, but I haven’t even scratched the surface–he has written so much!  Indeed, I was surprised to hear that he was still alive (in fairness, he is 92).

This piece begins with Bradbury’s recollections of his introduction to sci-fi with Buck Rogers (1928) and John Carter of Mars (not Disney’s creation, but a series of stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs). (more…)

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Science News Letter for March 25, 1939

Posted in Albert Einstein, Death, Egyptology, Essays, History, Mac Lethal, Nature, Research, Science News Letter, Universities on June 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MAC LETHAL-“You’re vs. Your” (2012).

Mac Lethal is a YouTube sensation (he did the pancakes video that I liked quite a bit).  And, yes, he does actually have albums for sale.  He raps really fast (so fast that I wondered if it was sped up–I don’t believe so).  I am 100% behind the sentiment of this song (possessive vs contractions, this is something you used to know).

I’m a grammar freak, so it bothers me when I see these common mistakes made.  It’s nice to hear a song about it (even if it’s not a terribly catchy song or anything).

I like his name dropping and his lecture is pretty effective.  I’m a little confused by the big dick reference/joke at the end of the song…it’s not really relevant.  But his fast tongue is really impressive.  As for his singing….mmm, stick to rapping.

I like the T-shirt!

[READ: May 15, 2012] Science News Letter

I’ve mentioned before when my company sends out links to articles that are interesting or cool.  This is the second time a link to a Science News Letter has gone out.  I swear if I had time, I would love to read all of these.  I wonder how often it was published?

This letter has only two articles in it–one from Physics and one from Archaeology.

The Archaeology one is called “Find Sacred Kitten in Bronze Cat Coffin.”  And indeed, two metallurgy experts were cleaning a bronze cat (which had “bronze disease”) and inside of it they found the bones of a fetal cat.  This was one of the first times that actual bones were discovered in one of these cat idols.  There’s even a (kind of creepy) picture of the bronze statue with the far creepier caption: Cat Coffin.

The Physics article is headlined: Fifth Dimension is New Realm Entered by Professor Einstein”  What?  How cool is that… “Professor Einstein!”  Einstein died in 1955, so it’s not weird that he’d be in a Science Letter.  But still!  Einstein talking about his current theories?!  The subtitle is “Celebrating Sixtieth Birthday, Scientist Wants New Dimension To Account for Electro-Magnetic Effects.” (more…)

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Richard Ford–“The Bank Robbery” [excerpt from Canada] (Harpers, June 2012)

Posted in Canadian Content, Cars, Concert, Excerpt, Harper's, Phish, Richard Ford, Short Story, The Simpsons on June 1, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHISH-Live Bait Vol 6 (2011).

Yesterday was my coworker Jay’s last day here, so I’m writing about this Phish bootleg set in his honor.

So these Live Bootleg Series are fun in that they’re a free sample of live songs–warts and all–from various shows in the band’s touring history.  These shows are primarily 1993-1996, with a 1988 song and two from 2003 thrown in for good measure.  The opening of “The Curtain” into “Tweezer” is from Red Rocks.  In fact, the first 8 songs are from Red Rocks at different times in their career (I like that they meld the shows together like this).  From 1996, “The Curtain” sounds amazing, so it’s really surprising how badly Trey messes up the opening guitar riff of “Tweezer.”  It’s so bad I would have thought he might have considered starting over!  But after an ugly beginning the band settles in for a 17 minute version.  “Split Open and Melt” also comes 1994.  The band sounds great on this song.  This is one of my favorite jam sections–it goes in a really weird direction.  And, there’s great bass and a guitar solo.  “It’s Ice” and “The Wedge” are from 1993 (touring their 4th official release!).  They sound really on for these songs.

Next comes a trio of songs from 1995 that always go together: “Mike’s Song” (everybody’s favorite), “I am Hydrogen” and “Weekapaug Groove.”  The middle of the “Mike’s Song” jam gets a little weird (some of their slow sections can sound very strange especially if people overhear them out of context), but they bring it back very nicely.

“The MOMA Dance’ and “Limb by Limb” are from 2003.  And they are fantastic.  “McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters” actually comes from the Colorado ’88 CD, but it’s a fun addition within this set.  It certainly sounds older than the others, but not radically out of place.  It’s followed by “Ghost” from 1997.   “David Bowie” has a lot of fun in the intro–the begin playing several different songs, including “Mike’s Song” and several other intros before finally settling into “DB.”  The jam also gets pretty dark, but I love at the end when the conventional shredding solo keeps getting interrupted by a strange minor key riff.  Similarly, “Wilson” takes a really long time to get going, including a nice little nod to “The Simpsons” in the intro.  And then there’s a really long pause before the “blap boom” part comes in.  It’s a fun version of the song.  The disc ends with a wild version of “Run Like an Antelope” from 1993.

It’s a pretty great set, and not bad for free.  You can download it here.

[READ: May 25, 2012] “The Bank Robbery”

I’ve never read Richard Ford.  I have a copy of Independence Day but I never read it. I hear it’s great.

So, here’s this excerpt from Ford’ new novel called Canada.  As has been said before, you can’t really write a review of  an excerpt.  However, a excerpt can get you excited about a book.

And that’s what this did.  It doesn’t make me want to pre-order Canada or anything, indeed, I’m not even sure how this excerpt can relate to the rest of the story as it’s pretty self-contained, but I loved the way it was written and the tone and pacing that Ford employs.

This excerpt opens with the narrator recollecting what he knows about the bank robbery.  The one that his parents committed.  His parents are pretty normal people, except for one thing—they actually thought they could pull of a bank robbery.  I love this section:

Conceivably many of us think of robbing a bank the same way we lie in bed at night and delicately plot to murder our lifelong enemy….  [details excised].  After which we conclude that though it’s satisfying to think we could murder our enemy in ambush…only a deranged person would carry out such a plan.  That is because the world is set against such acts…At which point we forget about our plan and go to sleep….  But for my parents this kind of thinking didn’t occur. (more…)

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Maile Meloy–“The Proxy Marriage” (New Yorker, May 21, 2012)

Posted in Bows, Huh?, Long Fin Kille, Maile Meloy, Marriage (Happy), Military, Missoula, MT, Mogwai, New Yorker, Short Story, The Guardian on May 31, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: MOGWAI-Earth Divison EP (2012).

Oh wait, this isn’t the Mogwai EP.  What CD did I put in?

Holy crap, it IS the Mogwai CD.  And it opens with a beautiful piano and violin ballad called “Get to France.”  While it’s true that Mogwai has always been about melody (under the noise), I never expected this.  It sounds like a gorgeous soundtrack to a sad film.  It’s followed by “Hound of Winter” a gentle ballad of acoustic guitars and strings.  I know that Mogwai has a softer side, it’s just surprising to hear it all at once like this!

“Drunk and Crazy” is more like it.  It opens with a wall of guitar noise which…vanishes after about two minutes into a gentle, dark string section (strings are by Luke Sutherland of Bows and Long Fin Kille).  And while the distortion never entirely goes away (it’s evident in the piano), it is certainly pushed to the background until about 90 seconds later when it begins to overtake the track again.  It’s nowhere near as dynamic as their best stuff, but it really showcases what Mogwai can do in just over 5 minutes.

The EP ends with “Does This Always Happen?”  While it reintroduces electric guitars, it’s still a mellow song–a pretty electric guitar riff repeated while piano stabs and chords flesh out the tune and strings make it a fuller song.

None of  these songs will become “classics” (although Does This Always happen?” sounds the most like  a Mogwai song).  But it’s always great to hear them expand what they can do.   And these EPs give them a chance to show off some new styles.

To learn more about these tracks, read Stuart’s explanation of them at The Guardian.

[READ: May 25, 2012] “The Proxy Marriage”

I love Maile Meloy and I was crazy excited when I saw that she had a story in this issue.

Meloy writes stories that seem simple—they avoid a lot of the trappings of contemporary stories, indeed, they often feel like they are set in the past, even if, like in this one, they are very current.  Part of that is setting.  She tends to write about people and family interactions, which don’t require a time frame.  She also tends to set her stories in unlikely places—Montana, for instance, where not too many stories are set.  Of course, this one is set in Montana for a good reason.  It is the only state that allows double proxy marriage.  Which is what?  In a proxy marriage, if your beloved can’t make it, you can have a stand-in for him or her do the speaking and signing.  In a double proxy marriage, neither person is present but they agree to let proxies serve for them.  Why on earth would you do this?  Well, this is common in military cases, where one member is serving overseas and the other doesn’t live in Montana—this allows the non-military person to get all of the military benefits that a spouse is entitled to.  Since Montana allows this, and since this story is set soon after the 9/11/01 attacks, it all jibes.

But this story is really about unrequited love.  And I have to say, now that I’m an adult, that unrequited love sucks.  I mean, true it sucks when you’re in it too, but I hate stories that romanticize the idea that you should hold fast to the belief that this person who doesn’t  think about you that way will somehow come around. It happens a lot in stories (and always swells the heart) but when have you ever heard of it happening in real life?  Most of the time the person isn’t worth it , but realistically, once you have left school (it always happens in school) that person has found someone new and that’s the end of it.

This story’s unrequited lover is William, a shy awkward boy who plays the piano.  The girl he pines for is Bridey Taylor, with golden curls and dreams of being an actress.  William never asked her out.  Bridey was popular and other boys asked her out—and William suffered through every one.   But they were friendly—she sang while he played piano, and he helped her with school work.   Then the 9/11 attacks happened.  And this is where the story gets interesting.  Because although neither of  the main characters are not directly involved in the attacks, when the requests start coming in for proxy marriage, Bridey’s father, who was willing to perform them, asked William and Bridey to be the proxies. (more…)

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Peter Stamm–“Sweet Dreams” (New Yorker, May 14, 2012)

Posted in Arcade Fire, Canadian Music, Constellation Records, Death, Fears, Mercury Rev, Michael Hofmann, New Yorker, Peter Stamm, Short Story, Siskiyou, Translation on May 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SISKIYOU-Keep Away the Dead [CST083] (2011).

I really enjoyed Siskiyou’s first album. This album updates the sound and makes it a bit bigger.  And yet somehow the album still sounds fragile.

The album is full of songs that are catchy, but not really easy on the ear.

The first song reminds me of Arcade Fire.  Something about the ringing guitar and crescendos.  But the recording feels more like a demo, much more intimate that Arcade Fire.  “Where Does That Leave Me” is an even more spare number, just vocals and guitar although it slowly builds.  “Twigs and Stones” is the first song that sounds like the bulk of the album—where Colin Huebert’s vocals really come to the fore.  His vocal style is loud and verging on the whiny (again, like Arcade Fire).  This song also has a lot of other instruments that percolate to the top—reminding me of older Mercury Rev.

“Revolution Blues” is the standout track for me, it’s incredibly catchy (and fun to try to sing in his eccentric voice).  The accordion and the minor key intensity is really powerful.  I guess it’s a shame that it was written by Neil Young, then (although the Siskiyou version is much better).  “Dear Old Friend” is a more country sound (which for me is shorthand for slide guitars), but it keeps the same style and feel as the other songs.  “Fiery Death” is the first song where percussion makes itself known very loudly.  It’s a cool introduction of loud thumping.  “Sing Me to Sleep” is a 2 minute lullaby and “Dead Right Now” is a 2 minute coda that ends the album nicely.

The disc is short (about 30 minutes) but a lot of emotion and craft is packed into it.  It’s really enjoyable.

[READ: May 24, 2012] “Sweet Dreams”

I’m always disconcerted when a story is in English but is set in another country.  Well, that’s not exactly right.  When it seems like it’s set in another country because the author is from that other country and he or she is writing about that other country without specifying it (usually because it is translated).  It’s very Amerocentric, but perhaps everyone thinks a story is set in their town unless told otherwise.  So I didn’t realize that this story was originally written in German (it was translated by Michael Hoffman), but it felt like it was taking place in Europe.  I actually guessed France, until later on it was revealed to be Switzerland.

There’s something cool about stories that are written elsewhere, especially if you don’t know the place well, it allows for almost anything to happen.  A couple riding a bus in Europe doesn’t mean the same thing as a couple riding a bus in, say Tallahassee.  But having set up that distinction, this story is about love.  And love is universal.

The story is written from the point of view of Lara, a shy bank worker.  She has been dating Simon for several months and they have recently moved in together.  They should be in the first bloom of love—on their own for the first  time (they never felt comfortable fooling around at their parents’ houses)—but her shyness in particular won’t loosen.  She doesn’t like him to see her naked, and they are very reserved in their love-making.  And from the start Stamm places a dark tone over the story.  The get a place in the town that he likes but it’s pretty run down.  He hadn’t brought much to the apartment, and he seems critical of some of her purchases.  He even comments that “forever is a long time” when she says that the towels she bought will last forever.  And then on the bus, a man, dressed in a long black coat stares at Lara over and over.  It may be innocent, but it’s still disconcerting.

When they get home, she takes a bath (she won’t let him in the bathroom) and asks him to go to the restaurant downstairs to buy a bottle of wine.  She finishes the bath and he’s not back yet, so she reads the paper.  Which is full of more grim news.  When she reads about a dead body found in the lake nearby and since we know she doesn’t feel comfortable about the restaurant downstairs, we know something bad has happened. (more…)

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Rivka Galchen–“The Future of Paper” (This Land, March 2011)

Posted in Books about writers, Rivka Galchen, Short Story, The Flaming Lips, The Future, This Land on May 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS Walkthrough (2012).

This is not a review of the album, because I haven’t listened to it all yet.  This is a link to a hyper video in which Oklahoma’s Wayne Coyne rambles on and on about the new Flaming Lips Record Store Day 2012 album.

For a lead singer and frontman, he seems strangely uncomfortable here–barely looking at the camera (unless, as the comments say, he’s stoned).   He explains all of the details of the album and who they’ve collaborated with.  He also explains about the super rare and crazy expensive ($2500.00) vinyl that will contain the collaborator’s blood mixed into the vinyl.  Ew.

There’s not much in the way of samples of the music, but with just a few clicks around you can find a bunch of the songs.

And no, I didn’t buy the $2500.00 version.  Although since I see that they are already selling for $75 on ebay, I wish I had purchased an extra copy of the regular version.

[READ: May 1, 2012] “The Future of Paper”

This Land is an Oklahoma-based publication with a lot of content online. It is inspired by Oklahoman progressive thinkers (the name comes from Woody Guthrie).  It’s a pretty neat online resource, with all kinds of good articles (and a TV show apparently).  Rivka Galchen is on the Editorial Board.

This is the final article by Rivka Galchen that I have uncovered.  I don’t really know what this is—although the fact that it was also collected in The Last American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books, helps to discern more of its intention.  When I say I don’t know what it is, I don’t mean I’m completely ignorant, what I mean is, it’s a strange little meditation to get published.

I enjoyed the opening in which the avian flu is eventually transmitted to paper cranes and then ultimately all books.  For this is how the books died. (more…)

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Lorrie Moore–“Referential” (New Yorker, May 28, 2012)

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Canadian Music, Constellation Records, Esmerine, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Hospitals, Lorrie Moore, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, Silver Mt. Zion on May 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: ESMERINE-La Lechuza [CST080] (2011).

This album is a wonderful surprise.  I had not heard of Esmerine before this CD (they have put out two previous records on a different label).  All I knew about them was that violinist Becky Foon (who is all over the Montreal scene and who is really good) was one of the founders of this band.  So I expected some epic instrumentals ala all of the Constellation Recordings bands that she has played with (Godspeed, Silver Mt Zion, etc).

I was delighted by the opening fast marimba notes of “A Dog River”.  I’m not sure if the marimba can play minor key notes, but the melody that co-founder Bruce Cawdron plays is uplifting and mesmerizing.  When Becky adds her strings, it takes on a new element–a kind of wistfulness.  Then at nearly 3/4 of the way in, some loud guitars come in to give the whole song a feeling of urgency.  And all the while it is very filmic.  It’s a wonderful opening.  “Walking Through Mist” is a much slower piece, and the marimba adds contextual pacing–they’re still not minor key or sad marimba notes, but they are not as uplifting as on the first track.  “Last Waltz” introduces a vibrato’s piano as the primary instrument.  It is at once unsettling.   It’s also the first of three songs with vocals.  The vocals work well on this song–they fit the mood perfectly–especially the wordless singing at around 4 minutes.  But I have to admit that I like the instrumentals better.  The same can be said for “Snow Day for Lhasa” (another song with vocals) which I find a little too slow to be impactful (it actually reminds me of a very slow version of Broken Social Scene’s “Lover’s Spit”).

“Trampolin” introduces a harp and some vibrant percussion.  It’s uplifting and feels like a perfect song for a theatrical dance company to perform to.  “Sprouts” is an uplifting new-agey sounding track.  By itself it might veer uncomfortably into the new age scene, but amidst the songs of the album it works very well.  “Little Streams Make Big Rivers” returns to that slower sound from earlier.  But this song is short and feels like a slow building march.  By the half way mark when the drums kick in, the song is unstoppable.  The album proper ends with “Au Crépuscule, Sans Laisse” a slow filmic song that returns the album to the quiet sound it was toying with earlier.

I mentioned Lhasa earlier.  Lhasa was a Canadian singer who had international fame (from my own experience, I know that X-Files creator Chris Carter wanted to go see her live–I know this because I was friends with his assistant and she told me the tale of trying to find tickets for this show).  I checked out her stuff but it wasn’t for me.  Anyhow, Beckie and Bruce were supposed to tour with Lhasa for her 2010 album, but sadly, she died of breast cancer (at 37, Jesus), right after the album came out.  So this album is dedicated to her.  The final song “Fish on Land” is a previously unreleased version of a Lhasa song that was made with Bruce and Beckie.  I wish I liked it more, but as I said, she’s not my thing.

I absolutely love the instrumentals on this album and I’m going to have to check out their earlier releases, too.

[READ: May 24, 2012] “Referential”

This story is like a kick to the stomach.  When you’re lying on the floor.  After you’ve thrown up.  And I mean that as very high praise indeed.

You know you’re in for trouble when the story opens: “For the third time in three years, they talked about what would be a suitable gift for her deranged son.”  We quickly learn that the woman’s son was fine until he was about twelve years old when he stopped brushing his teeth and began muttering to himself.  By then Pete had been dating the woman for about six years.

Pete and the woman had been coping with her son’s placement in the institution for over three years now.  There were so many rules they had to follow when visiting the boy–almost nothing could be brought in for fear of its being used as a weapon–even the homemade jam was taken because it was in glass.  Similarly, the woman has stopped wearing accessories, as a kind of solidarity–she would just have to remove them anyway.  She is now aging naturally and (she fears/admits) not very prettily.  An amazing slap in the face comes at the end of the first section with this amazing sentence:  “‘To me, you always look so beautiful,’ Pete no longer said.”  [Ouch!].

Pete has lost his job and is clearly unable to handle the strain of her son any longer (there’s a wonderfully painful scene where the boy asks Pete why he hasn’t come to visit lately). (more…)

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