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Archive for the ‘Magazines’ Category

Joseph O’Neill–“The First World” (New Yorker, July 2, 2018)

Posted in Béla Bartók, Final Fantasy, György Sándor Ligeti, Joseph O'Neill, Live at Massey Hall, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Owen Pallett, Short Story, Stanley Kubrick, Travel on July 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: OWEN PALLETT–Live at Massey Hall (December 1, 2015).

Owen Pallett founded the band Final Fantasy (which was pretty much him anyhow).  Since 2010 he has been recording under his own name.  His music is orchestral and complex, but also distinctly weird.  He loves to explore sounds, but he also knows how to throw in some catchy melodies as well.

He says he has played Massey Hall before but this is the first time as a solo performer. He wants to take advantage of the beautiful-sounding room and comfortable seats.

The songs he plays are a mix of new ones and Final Fantasy songs as well.

On “That’s When the Audience Died” (Final Fantasy), he picks out a complicated pizzicato on the violin and loops it (he mutters, I hope that worked) and then he launches a great melody over the top.  He has a great singing voice as well.  The lyrics are consistently clever and interesting.  The end of the song is amazing with the sounds he ekes out of his violin.

He says he took violin lessons but wasn’t into it because the violin leaves a mark on your neck.  He quit it because it ruined all his “sexual dreams,” and he switched to guitar and piano.  He was always really into composing–he loved Béla Bartók and György Sándor Ligeti–he wanted to make music you’d see in a Stanley Kubrick film.

There’s beautiful looping with the pizzicato as he plays the solos live.

“This Lamb Sells Condos” (Final Fantasy) is really quite funny if you know the story behind it, which I didn’t.  But here it is

This song is a comic interpretation of Brad J. Lamb, a figure in the Canadian real estate business (who used to live in the same building as Owen Pallett’s boyfriend), with allusions to elements of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game:

This snarky look at Lamb:

When he was a young man, he conjured up a firemare
Burnt off both his eyebrows and half a head of hair
And then as an apprentice, he took a drowish mistress
Who bestowed upon his youthfulness a sense of champagne chic
His seduction, his seduction to the world of construction
Now his mind will start to wander when he’s not at his computer
And his massive genitals refuse to cooperate
No amount of therapy can hope to save his marriage

Before he did Final Fantasy he played bad country music in bad country bars–because he had a violin.

“Tryst with Mephistopheles” rocks with a band (Matthew Smith and Robbie Gordon) and even some synths.  The drums really propel the song forward.

When he created Final Fantasy he had a guitar, a violin, a bed and some books.  He borrowed a looping pedal and got good with it.  He wanted to be the best violin looper.

“The Riverbed” is with a string quartet and has a fast ripping opening melody–dark and very cool.

He says now that he’s making a record in which he’s not thinking about how to play it live.  He’s just trying to make sounds–not thinking about performance or how to tour it.

So he’s playing new songs in traditional formal.  He conducts the orchestra and sings “On a Path.”  if t his is the “traditional format,” I’m very curious to hear what the non-traditional way is.  It has a fantastic vocal melody and is incredibly catchy.

The final song is “This is the Dream of Win and Regine” (yes of Arcade Fire).  It’s an older Final Fantasy song and has some great references to Montreal:

Montreal might eat its young, but Montreal wont break us.

There’s some great thumping beats throughout until the great dramatic ending.

Pallett had been on my radar, but I’m sold after seeing this show.

[READ: July 3, 2018] “The First World”

This story is bookended in an interesting way.  It starts with the narrator saying that his marriage had come to an end.  An unexpected consequence was that a series of men confided in him about their marriages past or present–not old friends, they stayed quiet, but people he’d had at arm’s length.  A contractor, the dermatologist etc.  People felt free to say wheat they wanted.

And then it was over, the men disappeared for about a decade during which time the narrator remarried.  And then Arty resurfaced.

Arty ran into him on Ninth Avenue and insisted they grab a drink.   He said there was something he’d like the narrator’s opinion on.

Arty had to talk about Gladys, the former nanny of his two girls. Gladys was is nanny for seven years, gave the girls all kinds of love and then left when the kids were old enough not to need her anymore. She got a new job in Chelsea for a younger child.

It was while working for this new family that Gladys lost her husband, Roy.  He had died while in the hospital and they were billing her for one hundred and ten grand.  She didn’t want to fight it because she was waiting for her green card.

Arty’s wife had cut off ties with Gladys (and didn’t want to talk to Arty either).   Not long after the divorce, Gladys rang him up and asked for $500, explaining what had happened to Roy.

She had agreed to a payment plan for the $110,000, but times had been tough.  She asked Arty for $500.

The bulk of the story is Arty’s impassioned telling of Gladys’ story.  How everything seemed to go wrong for her.  She moved back to Trinidad bit was not welcomed with opened arms.  She tried to find work but was unable.  And so regularly, she asked Arty for another loan, a loan that he knew he would never see.

She has even stayed with Arty when he pays for her ticket to visit her grown up son.

The narrator wants to get out of the conversation, but Arty has bought yet another round. The narrator has an amusing aside about how he lost his wallet and paid for his round with cash from his back pocket.

The story is bookended with the narrator returning home. The way the whole piece ends with him imagining his wallet being returned shows how differently two people can live and ponders what their attitudes have to do with it.

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T. Coraghessan Boyle–“The Fugitive” (New Yorker, July 4, 2016)

Posted in Illness, New Yorker, PJ Morton, Raccoons, Short Story, T.C. Boyle, Tiny Desk Concert, Unlikable main character on July 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PJ MORTON-Tiny Desk Concert (July 2, 2018).

I have never heard of PJ Morton.  So the opening of this show made me smile a little

So many people didn’t want me to be myself.  But I decided I was going to be PJ not natter what people told me.

Commendable, to be sure, but I had a hard time believing anybody cared what he did.  But I absolutely love the way this became the chorus:

They’d say PJ you’re not mainstream enough /Would you considers us changing some stuff or everything about who you are / No offense but were just trying to make you a star.

And then this awesome chorus:

But I must admit I’m claustrophobic / I have a hard time trying to fit into your small mind.

That’s fantastic (the song is called “Claustrophobic”).

Staying true to his own musical vision has always come first for PJ Morton. So when he expressed his desire to squeeze a 10-piece string section behind the Tiny Desk for his three-song performance, we were more than happy to oblige him.

Morton showed off the soulful Fender Rhodes chops that helped him earn a mentor in Stevie Wonder and membership to Maroon 5, while backed by percussion, bass and the same Matt Jones Orchestra that accompanies him on his soulful solo releases, Gumboand Gumbo Unplugged.  That’s: Matt Jones (Matt Jones Orchestra Conductor), Clayton Penrose-Whitmore (Violin), Arianne Urban (Violin), Olya Prohorova (Violin), Alexandria Hill (Violin), Danielle Taylor (Violin), Istvan Loga (Viola), Caitlin Adamson (Viola), Seth Woods (Cello), Malik Johnson (Cello), Victor Ray Holms (Bass),

That’s all well and good but who is he?

Well,

The preacher’s kid with the gospel roots wound up collecting two 2018 Grammy nominations for music from Gumbo, his fourth studio LP. Ironically, those industry accolades came as a direct result of Morton choosing to go his own way.

And what did people want him to do that was un PJ?

One record exec interested in signing him even suggested pairing Morton with popular West Coast hip-hop producer DJ Mustard. “It was so far off base,” he told NPR’s Michel Martin last January. Instead, he started his independent music label, Morton Records, with the vision of creating a new Motown in his hometown.

“Go Thru Your Phone” has a real Stevie Wonder vibes, particularly in the way he sings the end.  For this invites his girls The Amours (Jakiya Ayanna, Shaina Aisha) to sing with him.  In addition, we get Brian Cockerham (bass) and Ed Clark (percussion) playing some groovy funk.

He says the song is about “going through phones.”  It also has gentle pizzicato strings.  I don;t love his singing voice, but there is a great melody in the chorus.

He ends with “First Began.”  Again I don’t love his voice (there’s a Stevie Wonder thing going on again) in the verses but the sounds when the orchestra kick in are wonderful (including that low note and the wood block).   And yes, his Fender Rhodes is right on.

I am certainly interested in hearing his studio album.

[READ: January 8, 2017] “The Fugitive”

I have recently come around completely to Boyle’s writing  I’ve really enjoyed just about everything that I’ve read from him (and he gets published a lot).

But this one reminded me a lot of Rachel Kushner’s “Fifty-Seven” in that the main character does some horrible things.  He makes terrible decisions that impact other people. And while the circumstances of his initial trouble are unfortunate, I can’t feel bad for him and I’m not sure if I’m supposed to.

This is the story of a (legal) Mexican immigrant with little English (perfect for July 4th). He had contracted a very strong strain of tuberculosis.  He was told to take pills every day and come in for shots–that was the only way to cure it.  This could have gone on for up to 3 years.  But after three months, he was feeling better and quit taking the medicine.

Now he’s back, with Health Services.  They tell him that his condition has gotten worse and he is heavily contagious.  He must wear a mask in public as well as take medicine every day and come in for a daily injection.  This could also last for three years.  He agrees to it.  But the moment he gets off the bus, he goes into a bar, takes off his mask and drinks several beers, coughing all the while.

He has a job–doing gardening work–and he is treated fairly well on the job. But the medicine is wearing him down.

There’s an interesting parallel in the story in that part of his gardening job was to catch critters that damage the lawns. The first time he caught a live raccoon (the homeowners didn’t want to use poison), it was up to him to kill it.  “What are you going to do, take it home and train it to walk on a leash?”  And, yes, he is not unlike a trapped animal as well.

But still, if he follows the procedures he has a chance of getting better.  If he doesn’t, he could infect the rest of the population.  So, when he deliberately doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do and then fights back against the agents when they try to bring him in again, it’s hard to have sympathy–even if you feel bad for what happened.

If I was supposed to feel sympathy for him, it failed.

 

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Rachel Kushner–“Fifty-Seven” (New Yorker, November 30, 2015)

Posted in Alejandra Ribera, Canadian Music, LGBTQ, Live at Massey Hall, Murder, New Yorker, Prison, Rachel Kushner, Ron Sexsmith, Violence, Yuck! on July 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ALEJANDRA RIBERA-Live at Massey Hall (February 5, 2016).

I had never heard of Alejandra Ribera before. She has a beautiful deep voice that can really soar.

I love that she sings in English and Spanish (in the same song) and sometimes, because of her delivery it’s hard to tell which language she is singing.

The show begins with her talking about Massey Hall and how the trajectory from the [working in? a] bar to this moment is unexpectedly fast and natural (because when you’re in it, you’re in it) but it has been overwhelming with ‘pinch me’ moments.

She says, “I used to have a poster on my wall with all of these goals… to get played on the CBC and to play at Massey Hall.”

The band is minimal and they create terrific sounds with just (primarily) an acoustic guitar from Jean-Sebastien Williams and upright bass from Cedric Dind-Lavoie)

The first song “La Boca” has the acoustic guitar and upright bass moving briskly with her voice soaring (but low) on top of it–really mesmerizing.  She sings parts in Spanish.

“Goodnight Persephone” has a muted picked guitar and bowed upright bass (it opens in vaguely Velvet Underground “Heroin” way until the bowing becomes bigger and deeper).  Alejandra sings to Persephone in a wonderful wounded, pleading voice.  The ending build with the refrain “keep this light burning bright for me.”

Before starting the next song, “No Mi Sigas” she tells us (not the audience) that when she was a young girl, she had crushes on girls and at the time she knew it wasn’t okay so she started writing poetry that was metaphorical and laden in imagery so no one would know what she was writing about.  And now she’s older and it doesn’t matter who she is writing about but she has still taken this approach and it’s why all of her love songs are in Spanish because she lives in Canada.

It’s only a shame that they cut off part of this beautiful song so much while she is talking.  She plays guitar as well in this sultry love song while Jean-Sebastien plays some wonderful leads.

“I Want” is an award-winning song and her voice really reaches deep to sing it.  She sounds great in this moody piece.  And the lyrics are very cool too: “There’s so much labor just in breathing lately.”

“Carry Me” is a bit more uptempo and she sings with that great style of hers–I’d never guess she was Canadian, even with the line “all the snow in Montreal couldn’t bury this.”

Turns out she is of Argentine and Scottish descent but was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, and has been professionally based in Montreal, Quebec.

The bridge of this song is quite compelling with the three of them singing just notes the rise through a scale–strangely compelling.  And then Ribera gives a great whistling solo–which people want to applaud for (and should) but no one does.

In the last segment, she says that before playing music publicly she had gone through a nasty depression.  She had seen that Ron Sexsmith was playing at Massey Hall and she wanted to go see him.  But the depression was too powerful and she checked into St Mike’s across the street.  She had checked in for a time and then one night went to the stairs to smoke and saw the Ron was playing at Massey Hall that night.  That was the pivotal moment–she was so close–and she decided to get on the other side of that door.

Once again, it’s a shame she talks over so much of her song “Led Me To You” which starts quietly but builds to a great powerful ending (with her on guitar again).

This series has been excellent in introducing me to new artists, and Ribera is a great one I hope to explore more.

[READ: January 9, 2017] “Fifty-Seven”

If you were paying attention, you’ll notice that I have been posting these old New Yorker stories on the date that they were published (no matter what the year).  There have been some exceptions (like when there was more than one story in an issue), but I thought it would be a fun thing to keep up).  I am making an exception for this because when I read this story and the one after it I felt like they were connected in some way.  So I’m moving this to July  because there’s a ton of stories to go in November.

I feel like this story was trying to make a point.  And I didn’t like it because of that.  Although I will say that it seems like Kushner really did a lot of work (unless she happens to know this much about the penal system).

This is the story of a murderer.  It is third person but from his point of view. (more…)

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George Saunders–“Little St. Don” (New Yorker, July 2, 2018)

Posted in #ITMFA, #RESIST, Dave Matthews Band, donald tRUMP, Funny (ha ha), George Saunders, Idiots, Liars, New Yorker, Phish, Tiny Desk Concert on July 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DAVE MATTHEWS-Tiny Desk Concert #760 (June 27, 2018).

Dave Matthews Band superfandom is one of those entities that I just don’t get.  I know they had a pretty big hit back in the day, but I was really shocked a few years ago that they had a following like Phish with people seeing him/them dozens of times.

I don’t really dislike them, but I don’t really like them either.  I appreciate the musicianship and chord progressions that they play but I have a hard time with his lyrics–when they are not (somewhat) insightful, they are awfully questionable.

But to me their sound isn’t unique enough to build a fellowship out of.  Perhaps it’s a live thing and you have to see it for yourself.

So here is Dave himself–just him and his acoustic guitar(s). He sings five songs.  I don’t know if this is like heaven for DMB fans or if they prefer the whole live shebang.

He talks about getting used to singing

by himself since he is touring with his band:

We sound good at the moment but more importantly we feel good.  It’s a different feeling to play by myself.  I have to get used to it, you know first you have to get used to being alone because I’m used to having [various mugging over-the-top sounds and faces about a band making big rock sounds] but for me it’s just [makes wimpy sounds of playing a tiny guitar] a little thing”

This leads to uproarious laughter.  And that’s the one thing I don’t like about this Concert.  The music is fine, his voice sounds fine, but he is mugging for the audience so much and, presumably all Daveheads (or Dmbheads?–I kid) are hanging on his every word which they all deem hilarious.  I hate being with sycophantic fans who think any statement is a gut buster (this happened recently with someone I saw live–not every statement is one to quote on instagram).

The first two songs are from their new album.  After the first song, “Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin),” he complains about his voice even though it sounds fine:

“Singing shouldn’t be such a struggle.  Some people make it look so easy [sings nonsense in operatic style]. I’m like [ggggg ggg].”  Crazy laughter ensues.  After “Here On Out,” he states inexplicably, “That was a close one” and the laughter rolls on.

Dave plays a full five songs–nearly 25 minutes:

when Matthews shed his backing players to swing by the Tiny Desk for a solo gig, he couldn’t just knock out three songs and bail. Instead, he played a set so long — so defiantly un-Tiny — that his between-song banter could have filled a Tiny Desk concert on its own.

“Don’t Drink the Water” is probably my favorite Dave song.  I especially love the way the song is mostly mellow but then turns into a great dark section at the end.  Indeed, it’s the dark section that I really like, not so much the earlier part.

He says that “The last administration sent a bunch of artists to Havana to have a party.  I’m not sure if that’s was the goal… [hamming it up] go down there and… culturally…. vibe.”   I wish he’d elaborated more on that.

There’s two final songs, “Mercy” and “So Damn Lucky” on which he hits some great powerful falsetto notes.  His voice is really quite good in this setting.  I suspect this is probably a real treat for fans, so if you;re one, you should check it out.

[READ: July 3, 2018] “Little St. Don”

When you have a subject who is so contemptible so utterly crass and repulsive, a “person” who does the most unconscionable things and still manages to have supporters, it is impossible to make him look bad.

Even if you are trying comedy.  How do you try to make someone look worse than they actually are when they are lower than scum, when they treat people like animals, when they think it is okay to mock the handicapped, to brag about grabbing women, when they are willing to let people die for their own insipid and un-thought-through ideas?

This living piece of excrement has a sudden flash to destroy the lives of thousands of people and two days later decides to blame it on someone else.  And, for reasons that no one can explain, people actually believe this liar, this clearly unsound lunatic.

So how does a subtle and thoughtful writer go about making comedy about this lying dictator? (more…)

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Michael Pietsch, Zadie Smith, George Saunders and Don DeLillo–“Always Another Word” (Harper’s, January 2009)

Posted in David Foster Wallace, Death, Dictionary, Don DeLillo, Eulogy, Five Dials, Funkadelic, George Saunders, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Harper's, Infinite Summer, Language, Michael Pietsch, Mighty Mouse, Parliament, S.W.A.T., Søren Kierkegaard, Sun Ra, The Doors, Word usage, Zadie Smith on July 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: GOLDEN DAWN ARKESTRA-Tiny Desk Concert #761 (June 29, 2018).

They came marching in from off stage in robes and masks, with instruments and face paint, in more colors than have ever been in one place.

And they began the first song with a cacophony of keyboards and percussion before playing the discofied funk of “Children of the Sun.”

There’s horns from “Malika” (Sarah Malika Boudissa–Baritone Sax, Vocals), and “Zumbi” (Chris Richards–Trombone, Vocals) who set the melody going while the percussion from “Lost In Face” (Rob Kidd–Drums–who does indeed have a mask covering his face) and “Oso the Great” (Alex Marrero-Percussion) keeps things moving.

There’s a slowdown in the middle with just bass “Shabuki” (Greg Rhoades-Bass), and keys from the leader himself “Zapot Mgawi” (Topaz McGarrigle-Vocals, Organ, Synth).

Throughout the songs you can hear some wah wah guitar from “Yeshua Villon” (Josh Perdue-Guitar) and vibes–a persistent instrument which sounds otherworldly and perfect.  They come from “Isis of Devices” (Laura Scarborough-Vocals, Vibraphone).  Behind her, dancing throughout the song is “Rosietoes” (Christinah Rose Barnett-Vocals, Tambourine).

So what do we know about this band?

The blurb says:

It was a late night at an unfamiliar club in Austin, Texas when the spirit, sound, lights and costumes of the Golden Dawn Arkestra put a huge, dreamy smile on my face. It took more than three years to get ten of the players and performers in this band (there are often even more) to my desk. I tried to transform the bright daylight of the NPR office with some of my handy, previously used holiday laser lights. But honestly, it wasn’t until their psychedelic jazz kicked in that the office transformation felt real. Band leader, Topaz squawked through his megaphone to join them on their journey, while singing “Children of the Sun.”

Topaz told me that the band’s inspiration for both the name and the spirit of the musicians is loosely based on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The organization, devoted to the study of the occult and paranormal activities, has been around since the 19th century.

Both of Topaz’s parents were heavily into spiritual movements and what happens here falls somewhere between high art and a circus, with music that feels connected to Sun Ra’s jazz, the extended musical adventures of The Doors and the surprise elements of Parliament-Funkadelic. You can dance and/or trance, or sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

Before “The Wolf” he apologizes for an outbreak of cold on their planet.  But he wants to remind us that we are all human beings from the same planet and that we are all from stardust and vibrations. Together we can change the planet.

We would like there to be more light and love in the universe.  We must all stand together.  This is our fight song for that.

It moves quickly with the horns playing away and t he percussion flying.

The final song “Masakayli” opens with bongos from “Oso the Great” and clapping from everyone (including the audience).  The horn melody sounds a lot the theme from S.W.A.T. (there’s nothing wrong with that).  I feel like the guitar was kind of quiet through the other songs, but you can really hear “Yeshua Villon” on this one, especially the guitar solo.

This song ends with the jamming circus atmosphere that really takes off with a trippy keyboard solo from Topaz as “Rosietoes” plays with a light up hula hoop and “Zumbi” parades through the audience trying to get everyone hyped up.

It’s a tremendous spectacle and should bring a smile to your face.  Next time these guys are in town, I’m there.

[READ: February 2, 2018] “Always Another Word”

These are the same remarks that were included in Five Dials Issue Number 10.

But since it has been some time since I posted them and since I am being a completist here, and since it has been nine years since Infinite Summer, I’ll cover these four in somewhat more details

Michael Pietsch
speaks about being DFW’s editor. He says that Dave loved to communicate through letters and “the phone messages left on the office answering machine hours after everyone had departed.”  He says he loved Dave’s letters and tore into them hungrily.  He gives examples of some communiques about cuts and edits of Infinite Jest.

I cut this and have now come back an hour later and put it back

Michael, have mercy.  Pending and almost Horacianly persuasive rationale on your part, my canines are bared on this one.

He continues that David’s love affair with English was a great romance of our time.  How he was so excited to be selected to the American Heritage Dictionary‘s Usage panel. But that was surpassed by his own mother’s excitement about it,

Michael thinks he may have tried to use every word in the dictionary at least once.  When he, Michael, suggested a book that opened with the word “picric,” David’s instant response was “I already used that!.”

Zadie Smith
addresses the critics of BIWHM who thought the book was an ironic look at misogyny. She felt it was more like a gift.  And the result of two gifts.  A MacArthur Genius grant and a talent so great it confused people.  His literary preoccupation was the moment the ego disappears and you’re able offer your love as a gift without expectation of reward.

She says that she taught students to read BIWHM alongside Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling.

The most impassioned recommendation he gave her was Brain Moore’s Catholics, a novella about a priest who is no longer capable of prayer. Don’t think of David as a God-botherer–think of it as ultimate value.

You get to decide what you worship, but nine time out of ten it turns out to be ourselves.

For David, Love was the ultimate value, the absurd, the impossible thing worth praying for.

George Saunders
speaks of reading BIWHM and finding that it did strange things to his mind and body.  He says it was like if you were standing outdoors and all of your clothes were stripped away and you had super-sensitive skin and you were susceptible to the weather whatever it might be–on a sunny day you would feel hotter; a blizzard would sting.

The reading woke him up, made him feel more vulnerable, more alive.  And yet the writer of these works was one of the sweetest, most generous dearest people he’d ever known.

He met Dave at the home of mutual friend in Syracuse.  While he feared that Dave would be engaged in a conversation about Camus, and he would feel humiliated, Dave was wearing a Mighty Mouse T-shirt and talked about George and his family, asking all about them.

Saunders says that in time the grief of his passing will be replaced by a deepening awareness of what a treasure we have in the existing work.  The disaster of his loss will fade and be replaced by the realization of what a miracle it was that he ever existed in the first place.   But for now there is just grief.

For now, keep alive the lesson of his work:

Mostly we’re asleep but we can wake up. And waking up is not only possible, it is our birthright and our nature and, as Dave showed us, we can help one another do it.

Don DeLillo
says that Dave’s works tends to reconcile what is difficult and consequential with what is youthful, unstudied and often funny.  There are sentences that shoot rays of energy in seven directions.

It’s hard to believe that in September, he will be dead ten years.

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Mary Gordon–“I Do Something That I Don’t Understand” (Harper’s, June 2018)

Posted in Airplanes, Blaxploitation, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Eric B & Rakim, Harper's, Huh?, Kingfish, Luke Cage, Mary Gordon, Rakim, Tiny Desk Concert on June 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RAKIM-Tiny Desk Concert #759 (June 25, 2018).

I have been really delighted with old-school rappers bringing live bands with them to the Tiny Desk.  And Rakim brings a huge band with two violins, two horns, in addition to the standard set up of keys, guitar, drums and bass.

It’s really the live drums that make the songs–the complex rhythms, hi-hats and awesome stops and starts that make the songs flow so well.

I remember Rakim from Eric B & Rakim

It had been nearly a decade since Rakim released new music, but that drought ended Friday when the godfather of rap lyricism and one half of the revered duo Eric B & Rakim released a new song, “King’s Paradise.” The track was written for Season 2 of Marvel’s Luke Cage, which premiered on Netflix the same day, but it wasn’t entirely new to select NPR staff; they heard it days earlier when the God MC performed at the Tiny Desk.

The New York rap icon wasn’t the only legend in the building that day. Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest — who produced and co-wrote “King’s Paradise” with keyboardist Adrian Younge under their new project The Midnight Hour — played bass, and rising blues torchbearer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram sat in on guitar.

Rakim starts with the new song “King’s Paradise” which

pays homage to the heroes of the Harlem Renaissance as well as its fictional superhero, the bulletproof Luke Cage. Rakim tipped his hat to Philip Payton Jr., Joe Lewis, Lena Horne, Malcolm X, Maya Angelou and Louis Armstrong, before concluding with a few bars about the comic book-inspired series.

The live guitar solo totally rocks a well–it’s a nice addition.

When they finish, Younge tells Rakim, “you a legend, with Ali on bass, we need to get into some classics.”

Younge then led the nine-member backing band through two of Rakim’s undeniable classics: “Paid in Full” and “Know the Ledge.” For the former, drummer David Henderson rolled right in with the unmistakable breakbeat, — originally sampled from The Soul Searchers “Ashley’s Roachclip.”

Rakim introduced the song by encouraging everyone to “Put your hands up and rub your money fingers together.”  I was surprised at how short that song was (the whole set is not even ten minutes).

They do one more “classic with some band fun…. some blaxploitation type stuff.”

Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who’s been playing bass since age 19 despite being known for his production and DJ work, provided the low end for “Know The Ledge.”

This was my favorite song of the bunch. The flow was great with some sinister edges and great horn sounds.

Rakim released his first single 32 years ago, yet the timbre of his voice and Dali Llama aura remain strong. Let’s hope this is the beginning of another renaissance.

The full complement of musicians includes

Rakim (vocals), Adrian Younge (keys), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (bass), Jack Waterson (guitar), David Henderson (drums), Loren Oden (vocals), Saudia Mills (vocals), Angela Munoz (vocals), Stephanie Yu (violin), Bryan Hernandez-Luch (violin), DeAndre Shaifer (trumpet) , Jordan Pettay (saxophone), Joi Gilliam (vocalist), Christone Ingram (Kingfish) (guitar)

[READ: May 21, 2018] “I Do Something That I Don’t Understand”

I don’t know how often a title of a story pretty much sums up the whole thing, but this sure does.  And, as the title is kind of vague and not compelling, so is the story.  Luckily it is quite short.

In this story a woman opens, “Today I did something and I have no idea why I did it.”  This seems to be stated as if it were a revelatory, singular experience.  I can’t even begin to count the days when I have done something and don’t know why I did it.

Hers is a bit more theatrical than some, but not that drastic.  She is on an an airplane and sees a woman who almost gets hit by a bag from the overhead compartment. The man who took the bag down did not apologize but the woman looked as if she was certainly expecting one””‘well-bred’, the woman looked.”

And so, rather than going to the car that was awaiting for her, she followed the woman and her schlub of a husband to their next gate. (more…)

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Louise Erdrich–“The Flower” (New Yorker, June 29, 2015)

Posted in Francis Poulenc, From the Top, From the Top, Henryk Wieniawski, Louise Erdrich, Mark Summer, Native Americans, New Yorker, Ojibwe, Religion, Sex, Sexism, Short Story, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence on June 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FROM THE TOP-Tiny Desk Concert #758 (June 22, 2018).

From the Top is a radio show (and podcast) which showcases young, talented classical musicians.

For over 20 years, From the Top (distributed by NPR) has built an impressive platform to celebrate the music, lives and stories of youngsters playing classical music. That’s right. Young people in this country love classical music.  We invited three talented From the Top musicians to the Tiny Desk. No squeaky violins here. These kids are terrific players.

From the Top alum Derek Wang is our good-natured emcee, in addition to serving as a sensitive accompanist for two of the pieces.

The first piece is played by 12-year-old violinist Kaia Selden–sparks fly (and bow hairs, too) when  she tears into

  • Henryk Wieniawski: “Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16”

A bouncy piano opens up this amazingly fast violin piece.  Selden plays with fire and passion as her fingers fly over the fretboard for these incredibly fast notes and runs.  It’s stunning how composed and confident she is.

She explains that the song is a tarantel, a kind of dance, named after when you are bitten by a tarantula–you have to dance really fast and crazy to get the venom out of your system.

Up next is cellist Noah Lee who uncovers fascinating new sounds on his instrument

  • Mark Summer: “Julie-O”

The piece opens with plucked notes and strummed chords.  He pays what sounds like rock riffs and then after a minute or so he picks up the bow and begins playing the instrument conventionally–with some quick runs and cool sounds.  Then he adds new sounds–slapping the strings with just his left hand and then using his right percussively.  There’s some more plucking notes and full chords before ending with more bowed music.  It’s a mesmerizing solo piece.

The third musician is Javier Morales-Martinez who makes his velvety clarinet sing in elegant music:

  • Francis Poulenc: “Clarinet Sonata, II. Romanza”  The

The juxtaposition of piano and clarinet is quite lovely and Javier greats some amazing sounds out of the instrument,.

Javier says that when he was 7 or 8 he used to play music with his dad from Mexico.  He was later introduced to classical music and has been playing it ever since.

It’s an inspirational set from amazing young musicians.

[READ: February 9, 2016] “The Flower”

Erdrich had a short piece in the previous issue of the New Yorker, and here she gets a full short story.

I was really surprised to find this story set in 1839 in Ojibwe country (although I see that Erdrich has written extensively about Okibwe country, so that’s my bad, clearly).

The story is a fairly simple one.  There is an older Ojibwe woman, Mink, who is wailing and carrying on, demanding the trader’s milk –a mixture of raw distilled spirits, rum, red pepper and tobacco–from Mackinnon.  It was driving Mackinnon crazy, but Mink was from a family of healers and could not be denied.

The other man in the tent was Mackinnon’s clerk, Wolfred Roverts who was trying his best to get the sound out of his ears. Wolfred aged 17 was from Portsmouth New Hampshire.  He missed his home terribly but there was no life for him back there. (more…)

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Nadine Gordimer–“Tape Measure” (Harper’s, December 2007)

Posted in Flash Fiction, Fugazi, Funny (strange), Harper's, Janel and Anthony, Lakshmi Singh, Nadine Gordimer, NPR/PRI/PBS, Postmoderism, Short Story, Tapeworms, The Messthetics, Tiny Desk Concert on June 28, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE MESSTHETICS-Tiny Desk Concert #757 (June 20, 2018).

This has been my favorite Tiny Desk Concert in a long time.  I heard about The Messthetics recently, how they were the bassist and drummer “from D.C.’s pioneering punk band Fugazi crisscrossed with the brilliant, skillful and younger guitarist Anthony Pirog.”   And it’s such a great band name.

I was intrigued that they play only instrumentals, especially coming from such a political punk band.  I also never imagined they’d play a Tiny Desk Concert.

It was Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day when this somewhat loud and sometimes frenetic band came to play at my desk. I couldn’t help but wonder if The Messthetics would inspire some eight-year old child in the office to one day become a musician, one who’d go on tell the tale of seeing these D.C. legends at an office when they were a kid.

Bob knows about Pirog (I’d never heard of him):

I’ve seen Anthony in a number of settings around town, including the brilliant duo he has with his wife, cellist Janel Leppin called Janel and Anthony. His playing can be understated and over-the-top all at the same time. It never feels self-indulgent and his music always serves the song.

But how did he get together with Fugazi?

Drummer Brendan Canty saw the guitarist perform once and they eventually formed a band. Together, Brendan and bassist Joe Lally are a brilliant pulse of energy and that allows Anthony the freedom to fly. The instrumental music they make is memorable, relatable and transcendent.

“Radiation Fog/Crowds and Power” opens slowly with some washes (and mallets on the cymbals).  “Radiation Fog” is but a minute long and then they launch some heavy rocking chords interspersed with a rapid fire four-note sequence that changes and morphs as the song takes off.

I love the way they back away from the heaviness and allows Canning and Lilly to play a solid steady rhythm while Pirog plays some great emotive solos.  Through the middle of the song, the tempo slowly increases and the intensity builds as they run though those four not patterns again and again.

As the song nears the end, Canning counts off 1-2-3-4 and they play that four-note pattern really fast to the end.

After a crashing conclusion like that it’s funny that Lally quietly says “Thank you.”   And then “I am Lakshmi Singh.”

They follow with “The Inner Ocean” which opens with some looped harmonics and other cool guitar sounds as the rhythm section joins in.  This song is slower and moodier with some cool high notes on the bass.  Halfway through the song gets bigger with so low bass notes and more soloing from Pirog.  I love the way his solo builds and builds to the screaming point before the song backs down again.

“The Weaver” also opens quietly.  It is a shorter piece, only three minutes and doesn’t have all of the parts of the other songs.  But it’s a nice showcase that these punks can also play beautiful melodies.  I hope they come back to the area since I missed them back in January.

[READ: October 7, 2017] “Tape Measure”

This is another one of those stories that feels more like an exercise than a story.

This entire piece (far longer than enjoyable) is about the life of a tapeworm.  A sentient, thoughtful tapeworm who appreciates its host and is angry about the host’s desire to get rid of it.

In itself that’s not a bad premise, but the tapeworm is particularly verbose. (more…)

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Paul Theroux–“Upside-Down Cake” (New Yorker, June 27, 2016)

Posted in Khalid, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Paul Theroux, Reunion, Short Story, Tiny Desk Concert on June 27, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KHALID-Tiny Desk Concert #756 (June 18, 2018).

I feel like I know who Khalid is, like maybe he has collaborated with someone I know, but I assumed he was a rapper.

But nothing could be further from the truth.  For this Tiny Desk it’s Khalid and his acoustic guitarist Jef Villaluna.  Khalid sings and his voice is accented (Jamaican?) even though his speaking voice is not.  But all of that is somewhat dwarfed by some biographical details.

Before Khalid performed “Location,” his debut single that’s now four-times platinum, at the Tiny Desk, he told the audience the story of how he wrote the track during his senior year of high school not knowing where music would take him. (FYI: He graduated in the Class of 2016. Feel old yet?)

He looks much more than 20 years old as he sings “Young Dumb & Broke” which I actually like a lot more than “Location.”  But he seems like such a nice kid that I was instantly won over by him.

About “Location” he says he wrote it geared toward his senior prom (!) and it was only the sixth song he’d ever written.

And before singing “Saved,” Khalid explained that this was one of the first songs he ever wrote and remembers that when he put it up on SoundCloud, a rude commenter tried to diminish his talent.

He talked about how much the guy hated the song and really trashed it.  Khalid said he could confront the guy but that guy didn’t deserve his attention.  So he wrote another song and another song…  “‘I honestly couldn’t tell you what that guy is doing with his life but he’s not doing this,'” Khalid said with a contagious laugh.”

Khalid finished his set with a mini bow and a peace sign to the audience, but made sure to squeeze in time for some of the diehard fans in the crowd of NPR employees and their guests — many of whom were gleeful teens, some just as awkward, angsty and wide-eyed as he when penning his first songs in high school. He understood.

I’m not sure what his fully formed music sounds like–I can; imagine that these acoustic rendition would gather 4 million fans, but I imagine if you’re a fan of his originals, these stripped down versions are a real treat.

[READ: July 22, 2016] “Upside Down Cake”

This story seems like a fairly typical story of a family dinner which is doomed from the start.  But Theroux masterfully inserts a conflict which isn’t fully revealed until the end of the story.

The story begins with the narrator, Jay, talking about how visiting an aged parent always feels like it has an air of farewell to it.  He is thinking this because he is going to his mother’s 90th birthday.  He and his six siblings and their spouses will gather together and have a party that’s meant to note feel like a funeral.

Much of the story is this sibling’s perspective on the party–watching his siblings and their spouses act poorly in their own ways.  It’s not outrageously funny or anything, but there is a lot of smug smiling to be had at the way people behave around family.

There was even a dead sibling–a girl whom their mother never forgot about–and for whom a place was reserved at every meal.  Then there was Franny and Marvin (ill at ease out of his security guard uniform), Fred’s wife Erma (sighing and snatching at her hair), Rose’s husband Walter (playing with his camera as a way of ignoring everyone) Jonty’s little girl Jilly was there–she was the center of attention. There was Floyd in his black fedora (if you’re strong enough to scream, it can’t hurt that much, was it you who said that mother?)  They were till waiting for Hubby and his wife Moneen and Gilbert.

The last time they had all gathered like that was at their father’s funeral seven years ago.  Now, they all looked “bigger and droopier.”

The talk is full of teasing–gentle and otherwise and a lot of abuse hurled at mother’s cooking –although done in such a way that she assumed it was a complement.

And it seems like the story is just going to be this–an awkward dinner that people can’t wait to leave,  But then half way through the meal, Charlie and Julie come in with their son Patrick.  It seems that jay is the only one who knows him and he introduces the family to everyone, “their presence delighted me.”  He goes to grab Angela’s chair but everyone stops him.  He asks if she is in the bathroom and Mother says she’s in heaven.

After the party they all called each other to talk and complain.  Jay knew that if no one was saying anything to him directly then they were complaining behind his back.  Even mother complained that Jay had invited Charlie and his family to this dinner.

So just who is this Charlie who has everyone so upset?

There were so many possibilities and yet I never would have guessed the answer.  And the way it was presented was terrific.

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Colson Whitehead–“Wow, Fiction Works!” (Harper’s, February 2009)

Posted in Books about writers, Colson Whitehead, Cuba, Essays, Excerpt, Funny (ha ha), Harper's, Nelson Todd-Nelson, Raymond Carver, Tiny Desk Concert, Yissy García & Bandancha on June 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: YISSY GARCÍA & BANDANCHA-Tiny Desk Concert #755 (June 15, 2018).

Yissy García & Bandancha from Cuba give jazz just what it needs–a wicked turntablist (and some amazing drumming from Yissy García herself).

The blurb tells us:

There is a sonic revolution happening in Cuba these days. A new generation of musicians are taking the training they received in Cuba’s fabled classical music academies to new heights by incorporating not just jazz, but hip-hop, funk and any manner of experimental music. Yissy García and Bandancha may be the best example of that vanguard.

I love that the opening song, “Última Noticia” (which runs about 7 and a half minutes) starts with static and a tuning of radio stations (in Spanish).  Then the jazz begins–piano, trumpet, bass, turntables and Yissy’s fast and complex drumming.

The compositions (all by García) are modern and reflect the cosmopolitan attitude that is common in big city life in Cuba. For example,

About 2 and a half minutes in, the song goes from smooth jazz to a really funky riff (with great scratching and a cool catchy trumpet solo (it is still jazz after all).  But it’s a lot of fun to see Yissy, with her Mohawk and somewhat shaves head playing cowbell and the rims of the drums.

After a lengthy piano solo, it’s Yissy’s turn to show off her chops:

“Ultima Noticia” is highlighted by the riffs thrown back and forth between drummer García and the turntablist, DJ Jigüe. The command of time and imagination García displays in her first drum solo of the set is simply astonishing.

It’s followed by “Universo” which features a rap in Spanish.

The rapping on “Universo” reminded me of Cuba in the early 1990s when hip-hop entered the national consciousness as the Soviet Union left the island to fend for itself economically. On this track, it’s a celebration of the universal goodness we all share.

The song is slower, more commercial with a grabbing riff by the trumpet and that smooth rap.  It’s also got a great 1970s sounding keyboard solo (very Stevie Wonder

The band winds up their time behind the desk by going back to Cuba’s African roots for a rumba-soaked jam “Te cogió lo que anda” which has sampled Afro-Cuban drums and rhythms. The complexity of the music meshes lockstep with passionate singing and dancing.

He plays lots of samples on the keyboards, including a repeat of “habla…”  But when the trumpeter sings in his rich voice, the whole song comes together.

[READ: February 2, 2018] “Wow, Fiction Works!”

I’ve really enjoyed Colson Whitehead’s works and this essay makes me like him even more.

This is part of a talk given at the Tin House Writers Workshop, the whole thing was called “James Root on How to Read”

He starts by saying that in his writing classes he teaches people how to write but for this lecture he will teach them how to read.

“By returning to the beginning of the sentence to perform close reading, we unlock its essence. I learned this skill at university.”  I imagine the humor was evident more in the reading, but the deadpan is just wonderful.

He speaks of Raymond Carver and a line from Carver that has stick with him for years.  After a lengthy build up, he says: “As Carver put it, channeling the sublime: ‘He lifted the cup.’  This is minimalism at its well-marbled finest.” (more…)

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