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Archive for the ‘Magazines’ Category

Padgett Powell–“Afraid to be Men” (Harper’s, June 2010)

Posted in Carla Bozulich, Constellation Records, Evangelista, Fears, Funny (strange), Harper's, Padgett Powell, Short Story on May 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: EVANGELISTA-Prince of Truth [CST061] (2009).

This is the second disc by Evangelista, the band fronted by Carla Bozulich. This disc continues in the vein or the previous disc, which is a little disappointing.

The disc is chock full of a lot of noise: stringed instruments, textures, layers, but they all add up to very little.  Bozulich’s voice is in another location entirely.  On most of the songs, there’s no real connection.

Two songs in the middle, “You Are a Jaguar,” and “Iris Didn’t Spell” are more reasonable attempts where Bozulich’s wild vocals are wedded to a more standard musical composition.  And those tracks work pretty well.  But when there’s so much directionless stuff floating around on the disc, it’s hard to want to listen to it.

[READ: May 25, 2010] “Afraid to be Men”

This is a conversation between two men.  They are given no context and are speaking abstractly.  These two things combines make for a less than satisfying read.

Admittedly, this piece is excerpted from a longer piece called “Manifesto.”  I’m not planning to read the longer piece, so I’ll never find out of context is given. (more…)

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Billie Livingston–“Do Not Touch” (The Walrus, June 2010)

Posted in Billie Livingston, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Fears, The Walrus on May 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK:  RUSH-Beyond the Lighted Stage (film) (2010).

Okay, so I haven’t seen this yet, but I’m delighted to be able to add the link to the trailer.

This film is an in depth look at Rush’s history.  There’s interviews with all three of them (Neil speaks!) as well as all kinds of fans.  According to the website, it will air one day only, June 10 in the US and Canada, June 7th in the rest of the world.  It’s only playing in 4 theaters in NJ, and there’s a slight chance I can get to it.

Otherwise, I’ll have to wait for the DVD. But those 2 minutes of trailer were very exciting!

[READ: May 24, 2010] “Do Not Touch”

This story works a lot like an onion.  It starts in one place, then it sort of burrows in through a series of layers.

We open with the narrator falling for Thomas because he seems nervous (she find this an attractive quality in everyone).  He is a music reporter, and she is able to assist him with information about Diana Krall.  Soon enough, she has moved in with him.

But things aren’t great.  And then, one day, when she brings a watch to a jeweler, she marvels at the man’s delicate touch and his charm.  And she rummages through the house to find more watches for him to fix.

One of these watches she found at the zoo.  No one claimed it, so she kept it.  It is engraved and is quite old.

The story more or less culminates on a return visit to the zoo, where it takes a decidely different turn.  The narrator watches a woman makes a connection with a primate; a connection that aleinates her son.  And as the narrator watches this scene, she makes a personal decision.

What I loved about this story was watching the onion unfurl in just a few paragraphs.  The only problem I had was that I felt the onion didn’t unfurl all the way.  Many decisions were reached, but I’m unclear what her final decision will be.

Nevertheless, this story was very enjoyable.

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Roddy Doyle–“Ash” (New Yorker, May 24, 2010)

Posted in Drinking, Frightened Rabbit, Funny (ha ha), Irish Writer, Marriage Trouble, Natural Disasters, New Yorker, Roddy Doyle, Sex, Short Story on May 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FRIGHTENED RABBIT-The Winter of Mixed Drinks (2010).

I enjoyed Frightened Rabbit’s previous disc ever so much: a twisted blend of rocking folk music and very dark lyrics.  The fact that a number of these songs were used in Chuck was a treat for me.

I’ve never heard their first disc, so I don’t know how much their songwriting changed from disc 1 to disc 2.  But there’s a pretty huge leap from disc 2 to disc 3.

The most notable track has got to be “Swim Until You Can’t See Land.”   And it’s notable for having a really rocking and catchy and undeniable chorus.  They liked it so much, they reprise it later in the disc (with new instrumentation and such) on “Man/Bag of Sand.”

The rest of the disc sounds like Frightened Rabbit, but like the full band version.  There’s just so much music, that it actually distracts a bit from the lyrics (on the previous disc, the lyrics were certainly more of the focus).  There’s even a string arrangement on “Living in Colour.”

And yet despite all of these changes, they never lose what makes FR special: that voice and that outlook.  Although I’m sure I would have enjoyed if this disc was similar to the previous one, I’m always delighted to see a band take some chances and try something different.  And here they did, and it works wonderfully.

[READ: May 19, 2010] “Ash”

On April 14, Iceland’s volcano Eyjafjallajokull erupted.  And here, barely a month later, Roddy Doyle has written a story in which that eruption plays a role.  I’m impressed enough that he could get a coherent story written in that short amount of time, but I’m amazed that it was squeezed so quickly into The New Yorker‘s fiction schedule.  Admittedly, I don’t know how The New Yorker does anything, so I don’t know if they had a slot open (doubtful) or if they had to push back other stories (unlikely) or maybe he was slotted to give them something else, and whipped this out instead?  Beats me.  Whatever the reason, I was really surprised to see this here. (more…)

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Kaitlin Fontana–“The Flight Album” (The Walrus, May 2010)

Posted in Books about writers, Canadian Content, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Kaitlin Fontana, Memoirs, The Beatles, The Walrus, Word usage on May 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-A Hard Day’s Night (1964).

Despite my CD player trying to eat this disc, I still managed to listen to the whole thing.

This album came out just a few months after their second disc.  But it is quite a leap forward musically.  Rather than the simple rock and roll sound of the first two discs, there’s more depth of sound (attributable to George’s 12 string guitar?)  Perhaps also because of the use of the 4 track, rather than the 2 track mixer.  Also, Lennon and McCartney wrote all of the songs, so they weren’t bogged down by covers,

At first I thought that I had gotten to my first Beatles disc where I knew all the songs.  But that turned out not to be true.  I knew the first half of the disc (the songs that are in the movie).  But when we got to the second half (and I learned that the US version was different in that in included George Martin’s score for the movie (!)) there were a couple of tracks I didn’t know at all.

With the tracks sequenced as they are, you don’t get a big crunching finale at the end of the disc, like on the first two.  However, those first few songs are pretty classic (even if “Can’t Buy Me Love” completely contradicts the sentiment of “Money” from the previous album.  This is a really enjoyable fun disc from start to finish, even the songs I didn’t know.

I was pretty certain that after this disc, I’d recognize all of the songs.  But I had one more surprise waiting for me.

I also brought the movie home from the library one night but I couldn’t get through most of it.  Guess you had to be there.

[READ: May 13, 2010] “The Flight Album”

This is a memoir of the a Vancouver author’s stay in New York City.   I wasn’t really sure how interesting this story would be, I mean, there are a million stories in the City, so why should this transplant’s story be worth reading?

The piece starts with the author’s awkward assimilation to New York (and the almost offensive Dave Chapelle joke she relates to a cabbie).  His mild reaction lets her know that maybe she can make it there.

For me the best part was the author’s insert of Shit: A Guide to Canadian Usage.  The most notable difference between Canadians and Americans, she has found, is that Canadians use the word “shit” all over the place, and in many ways that Americans do not (in fact it is more all purpose than fuck.  The things that started it all was her use of the phrase “What the shit.”)  It is quite a funny section. (more…)

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Pasha Malla–“1999” (The Walrus, May 2010)

Posted in Books about music, Canadian Content, End of the World, Gnarls Barkley, Minnesota, Pasha Malla, Prince, Sex, The Walrus on May 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PRINCE-Purple Rain (1984).

I resisted Prince for most of my high school and early college years.  He was just so, so, so.  Well, actually I think he was just so popular.  Plus, my freshman year of college, someone on our floor used to blast this CD at full volume every time he did laundry.  It was pretty oppressive.

As I grew less strident, I learned to appreciate his talent (and his absurdity), and even to like Purple Rain.  And when I divorce Prince from the hype, the overplay, the excess, the quirks (yes, I’m talking 2 U) this is a damn fine record.

It’s also somewhat surprising that it was as big a hit as it was.  Musically, it’s all over the place (or is that something for everyone?).  I think in today’s specialized market, this may not have sold as well (or else it would be like Gnarls Barkley and be a hit regardless).

“Let’s Go Crazy” is poppy sure, but it rocks really hard (and showcases Prince’s guitar virtuosity).  But it’s the  second half of the disc that is just berserk with great music. “When Doves Cry” has that insane guitar solo opener.  The rest is simple keyboard pop (until the ecstatic screams at the end).  “I Would Die 4U” is the poppiest thing on the disc.  And the disc ender, “Purple Rain” is just a great rock track.  Delightfully pretentious in the beginning, full-bodied by the middle.  It’s quite genre defying.

I’m obviously not the biggest Prince fan in the world.  I have a few discs from this period (and the greatest hits).  It’s more than enough Prince for me.  And while I don’t listen to this disc while I do laundry, sometimes, when it’s warm, I’ll open the windows and crank this up.

[READ: May 14, 2010] “1999”

This story opens with the line “I wouldn’t fuck [the artist formerly known as Prince] if he was the last man on Earth.”  This turns out to be excellent foreshadowing.  The year is 1999, morphing into 2000.  And the unthinkable has happened.  There is no one left on the planet.  Except for the voice of TAFKAP on the radio, exhorting women to cum 2 him and b with him.

Although Sonya wouldn’t fuck him, several other women in the story most certainly would.   And so, the story follows four different women, each with her own agenda as they travel across the continent to Minnesota, to Paisley Park. (more…)

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Nathan Englander–“Free Fruit for Young Widows” (New Yorker, May 17, 2010)

Posted in Death, Holocaust, Nathan Englander, Nazis, New Yorker, Short Story, The Beatles, War on May 14, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Beatles-With the Beatles (1963).

Reading the liner notes to these discs gives me a greater appreciation for what the Beatles did.  They put out these first two records in the span of eight months and recorded both of the discs in a matter of like 26 hours each.  That’s pretty amazing.

I’m also starting to think that mono may be the way to go with these early discs.  I mean I’m a stereo guy, but I’m listening to these discs in the car, and it’s weird to have all the instruments on my side and all the vocals over by the passenger seat.

As for this disc itself, again, I was surprised by how many songs I didn’t know on it.  It’s also funny to hear so many cover songs (although it makes sense this early in their career).  Especially since, for the most part, their originals are quite a bit better.  It’s also funny how many of these covers I think of as Beatles songs.  Especially, “Money.”  This disc closer is like “Twist and Shout” in that it really rocks the house down at the close of the disc.  It’s not quite as intense as “Twist” but it’s close.

The only real dud on the disc is “Roll Over Beethoven” which is remarkably stiff for a song about rock and roll.

Whether it’s the production or the amount of time they spent in the studio, this disc sounds more accomplished than the first.  And I can really see  what all the excitement must have been about.  Four good-looking guys singing about love.  What could be better than that?

[READ: May 11, 2010] “Free Fruit for Young Widows”

After reading the Holocaust-based story in McSweeney’s (post coming soon), and the Holocaust section of 2666, the last thing I was ready for was another Holocaust story.  And what a doozy this one is.

Sometimes, when reading a Holocaust based story, I worry that my emotions about the Holocaust will overshadow the quality of the story.  In other words, is it a cheap ploy, an easy setting to get a reaction from the reader.  This story definitely is not. (more…)

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The Review of Contemporary Fiction: Summer 2009 | Vol. XXIX (2009)

Posted in Absinthe, Book Reviews, Christopher Miller, Damion Searls, Don DeLillo, Flann O'Brien, Georges Perec, Hüsker Dü, n+1, Nikolai Gogol, Review of Contemporary Fiction, The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Therapy?, Thomas Pynchon, William H. Gass on May 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THERAPY?-Lonely, Cryin’ Only [single] (1998).

I have a few Therapy? singles, but I wanted to mention this one specifically because it has two “new” recordings on it.  The first is of “Diane” the Hüsker Dü song that they first recorded on Infernal Love.  The second is of “Teethgrinder” their first “hit” off of Nurse.

I’m always intrigued when bands reinterpret their own songs, but I have to say that these two remakes are disappointing.  “Diane” is slowed down quite a lot and is very very crisp.  But it rather removes some of the creepiness of the original (and it’s a very creepy song).

As for “Teethgrinder,” the original of that song is stellar.  Any changes can only be for the worst.  And that’s the case here.  There’s so many great, weird sounds from the original (and those sounds make it wonderful) that without them, the song is fine, but nothing awesome.

Fortunately these tracks are b-sides and not really official or anything.

[READ: May 4, 2010] The Review of Contemporary Fiction

This is my first exposure to this journal.  The only reason I bought it was for the main (and only) title in the book–Damion Searls’ ; Or The Whale (which I’m reading now and will review shortly).

The rest of the journal contains Book Reviews and ads for forthcoming publications.  Since I didn’t plan to talk about that back matter in ; Or The Whale, I ‘ll do it here.

There are 22 book reviews in the back of this journal (which itself is 368 pages and only costs $8.00!).  Each book is not quite an academic book, but certainly not popular fiction or non-fiction.  There are a lot of French writers (either in translation, or of books about them).  There’s also some reviews of books that were long out of print (Robert Walser’s The Tanners and two works by Breyten Breytenbach).

The one surprise is the inclusion of a sort of meta-science fiction title by Christopher Miller called The Cardboard Universe.  It’s an encyclopedic guide to a sci-fi author whose initials are PKD. (Phoebus K. Dank–although Dank does have a fictional character called Phillip K. Dick).  It sounds great and yet it is an encyclopedic-style book of over 500 pages.  I’m just not sure if I’m up for it.

I’ll probably never read any of the books reviewed (I barely have time for the stuff I really want to read), but they all sounded interesting in one way or another.   For the entire list of books reviewed and more info on the journal, click here.

After the Book Reviews, there’s a Books Received list.  I assume this is all of the books that they were asked to review.  I wonder if they’ll review all of them?   The only author I recognized in the list was A.S. Byatt.

There’s then a few ads for like-minded publications: n+1, Chicago Review, Trickhouse, which looks fascinating, and Absinthe (new European writing).  There’s also a listing for new books from University of Delaware Press about Don DeLillo’s Underworld, Thomas Pynchons’ Mason & Dixon and William Gass’s The Tunnel (which I really ought to read as that book was a mystery to me).  There’s even critics I recognize in these essays!

The final pages are ads for forthcoming books from Dalkey Archive Press (the publishers of The Review of Contemporay Fiction).  I know Dalkey for a few obscure titles (mostly from Flann O’Brien, but others as well).  The books in this list are from the Dalkey Archive Scholarly Series and include titles like Phantasms of Matter in Gogol (and Gombrowicz); Reading Games: An Aesthetics of Play in Flann O’Brien, Samuel Beckett, and Georges Perec (which I admit sounds really interesting, but which I will likely never read).  The final title in the list is called Don’t Ever Get Famous: Essays on New York Writing after the New York School.  I’m curious about this one.  The book blurb mentions a number of writers that I’ve never heard of, so I can’t decide how to take that title.  I only wish the blurb explained it.

If I were more studious, if I worked in academics, if I didn’t read so many other things, I would definitely subscribe to this journal.  But as it stands, I’ll be just getting just this one (and maybe an occasional other one if the mood strikes me).

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Dagoberto Gilb–“Uncle Rock” (New Yorker, May 10, 2010)

Posted in Dagoberto Gilb, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, The Beatles on May 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-Please Please Me (1963).

I was never a big fan of the Beatles.  I think I was too young for them.  By the time I got into music, the Beatles were passe.  I’ve always enjoyed the later psychedelic stuff, but that “rock n’ roll” stuff was never my thing.

Sarah on the other hand was a huge Beatles fan.  HUGE!  When the remastered discs came out I got Sarah all of them over a few different holidays.  And, I thought it would be worth it for me to see what this Fab Four was all about.

The first thing I noticed about this disc was how many songs I didn’t know on it!  Now, I was fairly certain that I knew every Beatles song.  I mean, I’ve listened to classic rock radio since I was about 10, so how could I not have heard every Beatles song?  But in this disc, I did not know: “Misery,” “Chains,” “Boys” (how could I never have heard Ringo’s first ever vocal attempt?), and “A Taste of Honey.”  Shocking.

I’m still not a huge fan of this period, although after listening to the disc a few times I do see what the fuss is about (the liner notes also helped contextualize for me).  For some reason, I really don’t like the harmonica sound on a number of tracks (“Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me”).

But having said that, “Please Please Me” is a really great song–the harmonies are tremendous.  And the liner notes led me to understand that this style of pop/rock n’ roll was fairly new to audiences back in 1963.  Contextually, “Twist and Shout” must have sounded like Metallica to them.  John is screaming his head off, the ah’s (in 4 part harmony) with John’s high pitched scream must have had people running in fear.  Even now, 47 years later, that song still packs a wallop.

And, man was George funny looking back then.

[READ: May 5, 2010] “Uncle Rock”

This very short story started out simply enough: Erick’s mother is clearly very hot, and she gets hit on, like, all the time.  Since his mom is single, she considers many of these suitors, and if he is dressed sufficiently well, she will even accept his request for a date.

Erick is 11 and doesn’t speak to the suitors.  He doesn’t give a reason for this (his mother says it’s because he doesn’t speak English so well, but that’s not true).   Over the course of the story, we learn that Erick’s mom has dated quite a diverse group of men, and in many ways Erick has benefited from their largesse.

It is only when we meet her new boyfriend, Roque (known as Uncle Rock) that Erick’s life appears to settle down, and the story shifts dramatically. (more…)

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Woody Allen–“Will the Real Avatar Please Stand Up” (New Yorker, May 10, 2010)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Jack Black, Meat Loaf, New Yorker, Sex, Tenacious D, The Pick of Destiny, Warren Beatty, Woody Allen, Word usage on May 7, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: MEATLOAF with JACK BLACK-“Like A Rose” (2010).

My friend Matt is the biggest Meat Loaf fan I know.  He may be the only person in the United States who owns all of Meat Loaf’s CDs (yes, he has ones other than those two Bat Out of Hell discs).  So it came as no surprise to me when he sent me a link to a new Meat Loaf song.  What surprised me was that Jack Black is singing a duet with him!

The Meat Loaf/Jack Black connection is not new; Meat Loaf appeared in The Pick of Destiny.  And Meat Loaf and Jack Black are both waaaaay over the top.   So, really, the pairing makes a lot of sense.  And, when you put the two together, it’s amazing how well their voices work.

I’ve always loved Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, but I don’t have a lot of patience for the rest of his music.  He played a show at my college, and I left mid way through (mostly because the acoustics were godawful and he sounded terrible, although also because he didn’t play anything I knew–that is until after I left when he played like all of Bat Out of Hell).  But since then I have seen him in a Storytellers setting (also in Scranton) and he put on a hell of a show.

The song itself is pretty good.  It starts with a rocking acoustic guitar (not unlike Tenacious D) and then turns into a metal rocker (like Tenacious D).  Meat Loaf’s voice sounds a bit like a preacher (and to my ears, Jack is not loud enough in the mix).  Lyrically, it’s not that great (I can do without the “bitch” bit) but it’s a good rocker.

It’s available here.

[READ: May 5, 2010] “Will the Real Avatar Please Stand Up”

I think I’m missing something with this title.  Because I’m sure that you, like me, were expecting this to have something to do with the James Cameron film that is sweeping the nation.  And yet, this is actually about Warren Beatty and his claim that he has slept with some 12,000 women.  [Heh, heh, I just looked up the definition…very funny.  Sorry for my ignorance].

After an introduction (which may be in the persona of Allen himself–quite the rarity), the story follows a young woman as she looks to be next in line–number 12,989!

The story was quite amusing.  The character herself is not terribly well drawn (she’s hot and defiant and definitely not going to sleep with him).  But the story itself comes to life when we get into the Beatty mansion and learn that he has helpers to take care of so many of those pesky things that will keep his numbers down: foreplay, cuddling etc. (more…)

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Ben Loory–“The TV” (New Yorker, April 12, 2010)

Posted in Ben Loory, Boredom, Green Day, Infinity, Meta, New Yorker, Postmoderism, Short Story, Technology, Therapy?, Tom Waits on May 5, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THERAPY?-High Anxiety (2003).

I hadn’t listened to this disc in a long  time, and I was delighted by how much I remembered (and liked) it.  This was the last Therapy? album that received a release in the U.S.  And it is a solid collection of heavy alternative metal with some seriously catchy bits thrown in for good measure.

“If It Kills Me” could have been a huge hit with a killer chorus and amazing hooks.  As could “My Voodoo Doll” (an outrageously poppy song).  Even the penultimate song “Last Blast” starts out with a low rumbling bassline, but when the chorus comes in it’s warm and catchy (even if again it’s lyrically not warm).

But what’s amazing is how good the whole disc is.  Their previous disc was something of a muddle of styles and textures.  It was an interesting but not entirely successful experiment.  But High Anxiety returns to what Therapy? does best: raw, and noisy alt-metal with really catchy melodies.  Most of the time I don’t even care what Andy Cairns is singing about (it’s usually pretty dark) because regardless, it’s sure fun to sing along.

The final track is a 9 minute crazy mess.  It opens with Cairn’s Tom Waits-ian vocals and a pounding guitar line.  It stops after a few minutes and then picks up again with that pounding guitar line (repeating a little much, honestly, but it is a cool riff).  Then after 7 minutes there’s a new bonus track which is practically like Green Day, it’s so poppy.

This is definitely one of their best discs.

[READ: April 25, 2010] “The TV”

This (very) short story begins with a wonderful concept: a man wakes up one day and calls in sick from work.  He turns on the TV and sees himself, his actual self, finishing his actual job.

The man is transfixed, obviously.  I mean who wouldn’t be?  He tunes in the next day and watches himself drive to work, sit down and begin doing his job–more efficiently than he himself had been doing it!  The credits even indicate that yes, the man is the man.  Amazing. (more…)

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