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Archive for the ‘Magazines’ Category

Mary Miley Theobald–“A Cup of Hot Chocolate, S’good for What Ails Ya” (Colonial Williamsburg: The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Winter 2012)

Posted in 18th Century, 19th Century, Colonial Williamsburg, Essays, History, Mary Miley Theobald, Quasi, The 3Ds on April 3, 2012| 4 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: QUASI-“Beautiful Things” from Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers (2009).

I’ve had this CD for a pretty long time just waiting for me to devote some time to listening to it.  The collection is a compilation of non-Merge label bands covers songs by Merge bands.

Quasi was a great band (I guess they are still together, so they are a great band).  I have their records from around the turn of the century (I love writing that!).  Sam Coombs and the wonderful Janet Weiss comprise the band (there’s a bassist, Joanna Bolme, added in 2007). And they sing wonderful, political alt-pop.

This is a cover of a song by the New Zealand band The 3Ds.  I don’t know the original (although I do know (and like) a few songs by them–mostly from the Topless Women Talk about Their Lives soundtrack.  This version has heavy keyboard prominence, but he sweet verses (sung largely by Janet with Tom doing backing vocals) are interspersed with some cool buzzy guitar solos.

  I just found the original online, and the cover is pretty accurate–although the Quasi version is a bit more dynamic.  Nevertheless, it makes me want to listen to The 3Ds a bit more.

[READ: March 15, 2012] “A Cup of Hot Chocolate, S’good for What Ails Ya”

Have you ever wanted to read about the history of hot chocolate?  No, of course not.  No one has.  And yet, when I started flipping through this article, Theobald introduced plenty of ideas that I found not only interesting but compelling.

Theobald explains how the Aztecs called this (at the time) very hearty, spicy and bitter) drink cacahuatl.  The Aztecs got the drink from the Mayans, who got it from the Olmecs.  The first Europeans to try this drink loathed it (one even called it a drink for pigs).

It was the conquistadors who mixed cacahuatl with sugar to make what we now know as chocolate.  Chocolate was a luxury back then–time consuming and difficult to make.

The Spaniards found the drink very hearty–hearty enough to be considered a meal.  This put Catholics in a tizzy about the state of the item.  They feared that if it was food it could not be consumed on fast days–it was ultimately deemed a drink.  The drink made its way through Europe and into England.  The first known English recipe called for sugar, long red pepper, cloves, aniseed, almonds, nuts, orange flower water and cacao. (more…)

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Rivka Galchen–“Into the Unforeseen: A romance of César Aira” (Harper’s June, 2011)

Posted in Books about writers, César Aira, Essays, Figurines, Harper's, Mercury Rev, Rivka Galchen, Short Books on March 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FIGURINES “The Air We Breathe” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

Figurines are from Denmark.  This song has a very distinctive Mercury Rev feel (late-period  Mercury Rev) with high pitched vocals and delicate intertwining melodies.

The verses are done on simple piano and the bridge has some nice harmonies.  This is a cool alt rock song that stands up to repeated listens.

[READ: March 28, 2012] “Into the Unforeseen”

The timing of this article is quite amazing.  Having really enjoyed Galchen’s short story, I decided to see what else she had written.  It’s not a lot, but she has written three things published in Harper’s–two essays and one short story.  This first essay is all about César Aira.  I didn’t even know who Aira was when it came out in 2011, but now, I get to read it again having just finished another of his novels.  (The essay concludes with information about Varamo, a novel that was just recently translated into English which I picked up at the library, yesterday).

This essay is about the week that Galchen spent with Aira in and around Aira’s home (but not his birth town of Coronel Pringles which he kind of jokingly forbids her from seeing.  Galchen loves Aira’s writing (and has a kind of crush on him, although they’d never met before).  She doesn’t say in this article but she was a Spanish language major, so she has clearly been reading his books in Spanish.

She lets us know that the day before she met Aira, her ten-year relationship ended (she hints at the reason but is quite discrete).  She brings this up because of an emotional moment later in the article.  And that’s what I loved about this article–it was personal and really invited the reader in to experience this meeting with her.   (more…)

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César Aira–An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter (2000) [translated 2006]

Posted in 19th Century, César Aira, Chris Andrews, Foreign Books, Johann Moritz Rugendas, Nature, Robert Krause, Roberto Bolaño, Short Books, Translation, Travel, Uncut, Under Byen on March 30, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: UNDER BYEN-“Samme Stof Som Stof” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

Under Byen is a Danish band and has only one song on Viva Piñata.

I had originally written a review under the impression that it was different song (the CD and even iTunes confuses this song with “Kiss ME” by Uncut.  And you can see my initial impression below).  Now, knowing that this band is not singing in English changes a lot about my perception of what the sounds actually are.

This is one of the few remixes on the disc where I listened to the original first (to make sure I had the right song).  The original is an interesting mix of peculiar instruments and some cool soundscapes.  This remix chops it up into pieces and puts it back together.  It’s an interesting twist on the song but man, the original is so much better.

[Here’s my original thoughts, when I read a bit about the song when I thought it was by the band Uncut and I thought that it was not a remix.  And I saw that they were described as a poppy fuzzy band.

this song comes from one of their official releases.  “Kiss Me” is not a remix but it sure sounds like one.  It is kind of warped and the sounds feel manipulated in crazy ways. The vocals are mostly moans and noises. But it has a catchy beat and some interesting sounds. This is a weird song, and I’m not sure how it fits in with the rest of the album.  I do kind of like it, but I wouldn’t hunt them down for more.

Of course, now that I know it’s supposed to sound like that, I change my tune completely. And I will hunt down some other songs for comparison.

[READ: March 23, 2012] An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter

This is the third novel from Aira that New Directions has released (translated wonderfully by Chris Andrews). It’s the first one they published and the first one of his that I had heard of.  I actually heard of it long before I knew of Aira because the Preface is by Roberto Bolaño.  And if you do a search for Bolaño, this title always comes up.

And so now I finally got to read this mythical essay.  Sadly, it turns out to be an essay called, “The Incredible César Aira” which was recently published (2011) in Between Parentheses–bad timing for me.  It also has nothing to do with this novel specifically

But on to the novel itself.

This short book is about the German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas.  Little did I know that he was real.  He was a landscape painter (a profession which became obsolete with the invention of cameras) and he was very well-regarded.   Twice during his career he went to the Americas to paint the land.  On his second journey (from 1831-1847) he went to Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina, which resulted in thousands of paintings.

The opening of the book is rather philosophical (and a little dry).  But after about ten pages, the book picks up with the titular episode.  Rugendas and a German painter named Robert Krause set off in 1837 from Chile.  They got on well.  Rugendas was far superior technically and Krause, although also quite talented, was always respectful.  Rugendas had sold prints and books and his Picturesque Voyage through Brazil was printed on wallpaper and China. (more…)

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Rivka Galchen–“Appreciation” (New Yorker, March 19, 2012)

Posted in Canadian Content, Consumerism, David Foster Wallace, Juliana Hatfield, Language, New Yorker, Now, Now, Rivka Galchen on March 29, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: NOW,NOW-“Dead Oaks” (2012).

How do you make a song that I want to listen to over and over again?  Easy chord changes?  Sure.  Add instruments as the song goes on?  Absolutely.  Have a simple chorus that’s easy to sing along to?  Indeed.  Bring in a harmony vocal to repeat the chorus?  Definitely.  But the best way?  Do all of those thing and make your song 90 seconds long.

Holy cow.   This song starts with simple acoustic guitars and a charming girly voice (not unlike Juliana Hatfield).  At 40 seconds the drums kick in for the chorus.  After one run through, a harmony vocal comes in with all of the “oh oh ohs” that make this chorus so irresistible.  And just as the song shifts back to the guitars for the verses…it ends.

And I had to listen to it again and again.  As will you.

[READ: March 27, 2012] “Appreciation”

The first thing I thought when I read this story was that it was like David Foster Wallace.  Superficially because it opens with a lengthy segment about finances and taxes and the IRS (which was the subject of his unfinished novel The Pale King).  But once the story started going, it had mannerisms that were similar to DFW’s occasional style–a kind of detached narrator (no names are given in the story) coupled with a very formal style and excessive detail (repeating information, including which “she” the pronoun refers to in parentheses after the pronoun, etc)..

None of this is to say that the story is bad or a rip off of DFW’s style.  Just that I noticed it immediately.  In the Q&A that accompanies the story, no mention is made of DFW.  So perhaps that style has simply been assimilated.  Which is cool.

But beyond style, there’s a lot to like about this story.  The title is a clever play on words.  The story is about a mother and a daughter.  The mother has paid for a lot of the daughter’s expenses in her life, including buying her a house which was worth much more when they sold it.  And so, with the title we have two meanings of the word “appreciate.” (more…)

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P.W. Wilson–“Sea-Seprents and Scientists” (The North American Review, Vol. 237, No 3, March, 1934)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Canadian Music, Essays, Laura Barrett, Loch Ness Monster, Oddities, P.W. Wilson, Religion, Research, Scientists, The North American Review on March 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LAURA BARRETT-“Deception Island Optimist Club” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

This is a musically simple song–it appears to be played entirely on, I gather, a thumb piano or kalimba.

The melody is complicated, however.  And Barrett’s voice is beautifully naked.  I especially like the way her voice doesn’t follow the musical melody exactly–she plays around with sounds and ideas a little bit.

I also just found out this neat little piece of information: Her first public performance was a cover of “Smells Like Nirvana” at a “Weird Al” Yankovic

kalimba

tribute concert.  Okay, who even knew there were “Weird Al” tribute concerts?

I’m very much intrigued by this woman, and you can hear a whole bunch of her stuff at her CBC Radio 3 site.

Oh, and that Weird Al song?  You can hear it (there’s no video) right here:

[READ: March 20, 2012] “Sea-Serpents and Scientists”

This was the second archived article that my company sent around for enjoyment.

I like any article about sea serpents, especially The Loch-Ness Monster.  But I was really surprised at the attitude taken in this article.  It actually seemed like it might be a joke, although upon further consideration, I believe it is entirely serious.

As the introductory line says, “The emergence of a fabulous monster in Loch Ness is greeted with debatable reserve by men of science.”

The first paragraph taught me something i did not know: The Loch Ness Monster’s name is Bobby!  And while Wilson says he is not going to “offer a belated biography of Bobby, the sea serpent of Scotland, as he swims like a submarine in Loch Ness,” he is sure going to take scientists to task for not investigating him.

Wilson does not argue that Bobby exists, indeed he claims not to be an expert, “All my life I have abstained strictly from the alcoholic inducements which on these occasions are said to contribute to what around Loch Ness, is called ‘perfect visibility.'”  Although I gather he does believe in him.

Rather, his point is that scientists have dropped the ball by not even looking into “by far the most interesting event in the modern annals of natural history.” (more…)

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Albert Boime–“Roy Lichtenstein and the Comic Strip” (Art Journal, Vol 28, No 2, Winter, 1968-1969)

Posted in Albert Boime, Art Journal, Canadian Music, Comic Strips, Essays, Roy Lichtenstein, Talking Heads, The Acorn on March 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE ACORN-“The Flood Pt. 1” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

The Acorn are a folk band from Ottawa.  This song sounds a lot like later Talking Heads.  Talking Heads are not really a band that many other bands sound like.  And yet they have such a distinctive sound that when a band sounds like them it’s hard not to think “another Talking Heads.”

Having said that, this is a fun and interesting song.  It has a world music feel in the rhythms.  And the vocals are in the vein of David Byrne (but not aping him or anything like that).  The big difference from the Talking Heads comes near the end of the song when a second voice (who sounds a bit like Bono) comes in to do harmonies.

All in all it is a very satisfying song.

[READ: March 20 2012] “Roy Lichtenstein and the Comic Strip”

This is the first of three new articles that my company send around as samples of interesting articles that we have archived.

I’ve always enjoyed Lichtenstein’s comic-book-style art.  It’s kind of pop and very commercial, and I’ve always appreciated it, even if I didn’t really like the comics that he took his inspiration from.

Despite my enjoyment of his work, I never really bothered to investigate how he did it.  I wasn’t sure if he just took a comic page and blew it up or added color or what.  But it turns out that he did actually recreate the pictures from scratch.  This article shows side by side some original cartoon panels and then Lichtenstein’s version.

In most of them he keeps things relatively the same.  But even in those it is quite clear that he is redoing the art with his own lines and style–he is not copying the faces, he is simplifying them even further in some cases or making them more beautiful in others.  You can see that he has changed little things to make them more artistically satisfying–stretching out a window to connect characters, removing background images or zooming in more in a frame to make the image more striking–although the are always recognizable as the original.   The most drastic change, and the focus of the article, is his use of the balloon quote. (more…)

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John Ralston Saul–“The Archduke’s Assassin” (Harper’s, April 2012 & Brick, Winter 2012)

Posted in Abba, Brick, Communists, Harper's, History, John Ralston Saul, Julee Cruise, Sally Shaprio, Short Story, Swedish Music, Violence, War on March 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SALLY SHAPIRO-“I’ll Be By Your Side” (Extended Mix) & “He Keeps me Alive (Skatebård Mix)” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

These two tracks also came from the Viva Piñata compilation.  “I’ll Be By Your Side” has a very Euro dance-sound to me (updated ABBA, perhaps?).  It sounds so incredibly 80s to me.  Unlike most of the other tracks, this is an extended mix, not a remix, so I assume this is what the real song sounds like, too.  It’s a fine little pop song (catchy chorus) although I don’t need an 8 minute version of it.

“He Keeps Me Alive” feels like  Julie Cruise song–straight out of Twin Peaks–until the bouncy synths come in (I can’t imagine what the remix did as it sounds so much like the other song).  The one possible remix element is the vocals, which get very synthesized near the end.

Both of these songs have that Europop feels that I like much more than American pop.   I had been puzzled by the name of the singer, because her name clearly wasn’t coming from where I though the music came from.  Well, Wikipedia tells me “Sally Shapiro is the pseudonym of a Swedish vocalist and the name of the synthpop duo composed of Shapiro and musician Johan Agebjörn.”  At least I got the Abba connection right!

[READ: March 22, 2012] “The Archduke’s Assassin”

This is an excerpt from Saul’s upcoming novel Dark Diversions (it was also published in Brick, although I read it in Harper’s).  What’s fun about this excerpt is that I have literally no idea what direction the rest of the novel could go.  This appears to be a self-contained incident and while it seems pretty clear who the protagonist is, it’s hard to speculate how much more of the book would be about him or his friends or even the excerpt’s titular assassin.

It begins with a discussion of Yugolslav politics circa 1987–how the official inflation rate of 50% is indeed official, which means mythological.  The setting is the Writers’ Union, a nineteenth century stone palace which housed the best restaurant in Yugoslavia.  The food was great, as was the gossip.

The narrator’s friends were all mixed race (in other words typical Yugoslavs).  But for the moment they were all Serbs.  The discussion moves to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and how the narrator should meet the man responsible.  When he replies that Gavrilo Princip died in prison in 1918,  his friend Dana corrects him and says she is talking about Vaso Čubrilović.  Čubrilović was one of several people who conspired to assassinate the archduke.  As of 1987 he was the only one still alive.  [He is a real person.  He got 13 years in prison, eventually became a history professor and died for real in 1990].

The narrator goes to meet the man at the University.  After a brief theoretical discussion of history, Čubrilović says that he believes that technology will save the future, that software will lead the way.  The narrator ponders this later over a meal and wonders if a new mythology is needed to distract people in a time of political emptiness.

There isn’t a lot to the excerpt–it’s not profound or anything, but it does what an excerpt should–it whets your appetite for more.  The writing is excellent and the topic is intriguing.

I enjoyed that the story mentions some Serbian dishes like kesten-pire sa šlagom (chestnut pureé with cream and chocolate) and  žito sa šlagom (crushed wheat, walnuts and dried raisins with cream).

For ease of searching, I include: Skatebard, Johan Agebjorn, kesten-pire sa slagom, zito sa slagom, Vaso Cubrilovic, pinata

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Roberto Bolaño–“I Can’t Read” (Harper’s, April 2012)

Posted in Canadian Music, Chris Andrews, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, Marriage (Happy), Roberto Bolaño, Short Story, Translation, You Say Party! We Say Die! on March 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: YOU SAY PARTY! WE SAY DIE!-“Monster (RAC Remix)” and “Like I Give a Care (Octopus Project Remix)” from Viva Piñata! (2008).

Viva Piñata is a free CD compilation that I received I think when I ordered a Tokyo Police Cub CD.  It celebrates “5 years of ass-whippin’ at Paper Bag Records.”  It came out in 2008, so presumably, Paper Bag Records has now been whippin’ ass for 9 years.

You Say Party! We Day Die! (that’s a name that seems to be trying too hard) is from British Columbia, Canada and they seem to be a noisy keyboard band.  “Monster” is a keyboard-heavy poppy song.  Of course, since this is a remix I have no idea what the original sounds like.  The lead singer has a cool deep voice (a more poppy Kim Gordon, perhaps?).  But this song is dominated by the propulsive synths.

“Like I Give a Care” has a remix that is even more intense, overeffected, noisy and chaotic with a great propulsive bass.  It also seems like most of the song has been stripped, leaving just a chorus repeated.  As a remix it works fine.

I’ve often complained about remixes–if I like a song, why would I want to hear a remix of it?  This is the opposite.  I’ve never heard the song before and the remix is kind of fun. I’m intrigued to hear what they actually sound like.

[READ: March 22, 2012] “I Can’t Read”

Another month, another excerpt from a new posthumous Bolaño release.  This latest book is called The Secret of Evil which Harper’s says will be out this month (we’ll see about that).  The Secret of Evil is evidently a collection of unfinished pieces that Bolaño was working on when he died.

This particular story certainly seems finished, so who knows what the rest of the book will be like.

I am particularly fond of this kind of story from Bolaño–it reads like nonfiction (and maybe it is).  It seems to be a true account from his life (written in first person and about his family)–it’s a personal, relaxed style in which he muses about things and events.  It is also set during his first trip back to Chile since leaving in 1974 (a subject he mines quite well).

This one starts with the line: “This is a story about four people.”  The first two people he talks about are his son Lautaro and a new friend that his son made named Pascual.  Lautaro was eight and Pascual was four, but since Lautaro was desperate for someone to play with, he overlooked the age difference and made a holiday friend. (more…)

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Lynn Crosbie–“The Life of a Zombie,” “The Forest,” “Snoopy,” “Life with Billy Joel” (The Walrus, April 2012)

Posted in Canadian Content, Environmentalism, Flash Fiction, Lynn Crosbie, Primus, Rush, Short Story, The Walrus on March 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS Green Naugahyde (2011).

Primus is back with their first full length album since 1999.

As  they have done before, this album opens with a brief instrumental “Prelude to a Crawl” which sort of sets the tone for “Hennepin Crawler.”  As soon as “Hennepin” opens you know that this is classic Primus–bass loaded and crazy rhythms.  But it’s also apparent that Les is bringing some of the weird effects he’s been playing with in his various other bands to Primus–the bass is wonderfully distorted with crazy effects.  I love that he’s also playing harmonics on the bass.  It’s really hard to tell what is the guitar and what is the bass on this song.

The only problem I have with this song, and a few others, is that Les is singing in a low(er) register.  And since the bass is so prominent, it makes it really hard to hear the vocals.  Either that or they are mixed especially low.  Primus lyrics are usually just as weird as the music, and it’s always fun to hear what’s on Les’ mind.  So it’s a shame that they are buried.  It also means that the music has to stand on its own.  It often does this, but they do put extra effort into instrumental sections, so a section that feels like an instrumental because  the lyrics are so quiet means it’s not quite as interesting as it could be,

Having said that, there’s some great musical ideas here.  I love the riff of “Last Salmon Man” (again, the lyrics are hard to decipher) and the way it changes from verse to bridge.  Although at 6 minutes it’s a bit too long.  “Eternal Consumption Engine” is a great title.  It’s the first song where Les’ old vocals come back, and it’s nice to hear him.  Although I admit the “everything’s made in China” refrain does go on a bit long.

“Tragedy’s A’ Comin'” is classic Primus, a funky rubber bass line, and group vocals (although again, that bass lead vocal is hard to hear).  I think what I really like about it is the openness of the music–so that you can really hear the fun things that original drummer Jay Lane  is doing.  (I was bummed that Herb wasn’t here, but Lane is really great).

“Eyes of the Squirrel” is probably my least favorite song which is a real shame because the opening bass riffs are INSANELY wonderful!  I don’t know how anyone can play that fast.  I really like the way the song opens.  But it just seems to drag.  “Jilly’s on Smack” is one of those weird Primus songs that worms its way into you–the song is mostly quiet little noises and whispered vocals.  But there’s a cool instrumental break (and on this song, too, the drums sound great).

It’s the second half of the album that totally kicks ass.  “Lee Van Cleef” is a great stomper about missing Lee.  “Moron TV” is infectiously catchy (especially the dang a dang a dang a dang dang part) and the lyrics are wonderful.  The spoken word/jam section is also really fun.

“Hoinfodaman” is awesome and listening to Les pitch for fake products is hilarious.  It also features what may be a first for Primus: guitars in the lead melody line.  I especially love the crazy (and I think rather funny) guitar line that works as the bridge.

“Extinction Burst” ends the album on a major high note.  The harmonics from the bass jump into the really heavy main riff.  And Ler’s bizarrely fiddly guitar section is great–easily comparable to any of Les’ fiddly nonsense.  I don’t know how these guys make their instruments sound like this.  And the drums are a great complement once again.  The truly amazing part comes at the end.  The outro of the song is very Rush-like, except that Ler’s guitar chords go high when you expect low, which is awesome, and his solo is insane–all the while Les is being Les.

The disc ends with the 58 second reprise called “Salmon Men” which reintroduces the fishy theme.

It’s great to have Primus back.  It’s also great to hear them exploring different styles like funk! (within their own weird style).  Even the songs I don’t like that much are still enjoyable.  This makes for one of Primus’ best releases overall.

[READ: March 21, 2012] “The Life of a Zombie,” “The Forest,” “Snoopy,” “Life with Billy Joel”

I haven’t read Crosbie before, so I don’t know if she typically writes these really short (yup, I’m going to say it) flash fictions.  I’ve mentioned many times that I sort of love and hate flash fiction.  It seems like as the genre develops it revels even more in what is not stated.  Sometimes this works really well, and other times it just seems to ask too much of the reader–especially if you don’t have time to get invested in a character.

“The Life of a Zombie” is strangely titled because it’s actually about the life of a woman dating a zombie.  The story (half a page in total) goes into Lynn’s previous bad dates as well as the men she met through a dating service (including a criminal and a man on hid death bed).  The zombie has more life than either of them.  She just has to keep him from eating her brains, but otherwise they have a nice time and have just moved in together.

It’s hard to critique a story because it doesn’t do what you want it to, but I will anyway.  I had hoped this story would have been more deadpan–not so much that should couldn’t get anyone else but how it really is to be in love with a zombie.  It could have been funny through playing it straight.  And, yes, longer would have been better here as it was it kind of felt like a one note joke. (more…)

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Michael J. Lombardi–“ΦΒΚ: Love of wisdom, the guide to life” (Colonial Williamsburg: The Journal of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Winter 2012)

Posted in 18th Century, 19th Century, Ben Folds, Colonial Williamsburg, Essays, History, Michael J. Lombardi, Set at School, War on March 21, 2012| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: BEN FOLDS-Free Folds Five E.P. (2011).

With the purchase of Ben Folds’ Imitation of Myself, I received a free download of this E.P.  It contains five tracks: three demos and two live tracks.

The demos are for “Underground” (1992), “Stevens Last Night in Town” (1994) and “Song for the Dumped” (1994).  Demos are a strange thing.  For fans of a song it’s interesting to hear an original version, especially if it is radically different.

These demos are not radically different although there are certainly some differences.  “Underground”‘s opening spoken bits sound more comical and less sung (it’s clearly just not mixed well).  And “Steven” has a strange spoken word section during the instrumental break.  It’s also less manic than the official release.

The most drastic change is in “Song for the Dumped” in which the chorus ends not with the humorous “and dooooooon’t forget my black T-shirt” but with the more abrasive (and Ben said harder for him to sing) “you fuuuuucking whore.”  So these demos are interesting for knowing that these songs were pretty much always meant to sound a certain way (and that even Ben has limits for how much he’ll curse).  But the official releases are better.

The live versions are both from solo shows.  “Narcolepsy” (1999) and “Dr Yang (2008).   Ben live is always a fun prospect.  He puts on a fun show and often stretches the songs out with fun jams.  “Narcolepsy” is notable for the incredibly buzzy bass guitar that they’re playing.  Neither one of these songs features any jams, but they both have a heavier, more intense feel than the studio versions.

Since the Imitation of Myself included live songs and demos, these make a nice addition to the set.  Although they’re certainly not essential.

[READ: March 15, 2012] “ΦΒΚ: Love of wisdom, the guide to life”

My family has traveled to Colonial Williiamsburg for our last few vacations.  We don’t spend all of our time there (Busch Gardens is just down the road, after all), but we have really enjoyed the history.  So last year I sent them a nominal fee and got some kind of membership coupon.  And then about a week ago, we received this magazine.  I don’t know why it took so long to get to us and I don’t know how many more we’ll receive.  I wasn’t even sure if I was going to read anything in it (I like Colonial Williamsburg, but probably not enough to read a whole magazine about it).  But I was delighted by the content of the magazine.  And I’ll mention a few of the other articles in the near future.

This one is about the origins of ΦΒΚ, Phi Beta Kappa.  It’s something I never even thought about, but once I started reading it, I found it really interesting. (more…)

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