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Archive for the ‘Marriage Trouble’ Category

Simon Grennan–Dispossession: a novel of few words (2015)

Posted in Anthony Trollope, Carlos Salzedo, Cheryl Riley, Domenico Scarlatti, Graphic Novel, Jan Baetens, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, Ortwin de Graef, Simon Grennan, Tiny Desk Concert, Yolanda Kondonassis on November 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

dispossesSOUNDTRACK: YOLANDA KONDONASSIS-Tiny Desk Concert #96 (December 8, 2010).

yolandaI have mentioned a much more recent Tiny Desk concert from Yolanda Kondonassis in which she duetted with Jason Vieaux (from 2015).  This show is just Kondonassis and her harp.

And it is absolutely gorgeous.

Kondonassis plays three distinct styles of music to show the variety of music a harp can make.  It is amazing to watch her play as well.  She closes her eyes and simply knows where everything is, absorbed in the music.

Her first piece is by Domenico Scarlatti: “Sonata in A Major, K. 208,” which is considered a rather “traditional” harp piece (I love hearing her do the “fast notes” a the end of each section.

She introduces the second piece by saying that she wanted to compose a piece and through meeting a Chinese composer wound up arranging this traditional Chinese piece called “Small River Flowing.”  And it is amazing to hear the Chinese melodies immediately from the high notes.  But perhaps my favorite part of this song is that she hits the low bass notes to make them ring out almost like a gong.  I have never seen anyone do this before with a harp.

She says the final piece is by Carlos Salzedo: “Chanson dans la nuit” which crosses over into almost world music.  And in a short time, it really shows off all of the different sounds and colors that the harp is capable of.  She’s absolutely right.  While the song begins with some very traditional sounding harp music, she seems to also play some harmonics (who even knew you could do that on a harp) as well as some sounds of just her nails running across the strings–bringing a fascinating texture–as well as some very fast, loud chords and indeed, actual percussive sounds as she taps on the body of her (truly beautiful looking) harp.  The song is not as pretty as the others since there is so much going on, but it’s a wonderful song and it’s great to watch her play it.

I never knew I wanted a CD of harp music before, and now I do.

[READ: November 12, 2015] Dispossession

This graphic novel has a fascinating origin.  It is based on the novel John Caldigate by Anthony Trollope.  And in fact, it follows that story pretty faithfully.  However, it eschews massive amounts of the book (the original is quite long) and also adds a subplot of Wiradjuri peoples (which includes dialogue in Wiradjuri translated into English by Cheryl Riley).  There’s also a Postface (which is very helpful for explaining the origin of the story and how Grennan modified the original) by Jan Baetens and Ortwin de Graef.

The subtitle, A Novel of Few Words, proves to be accurate.  For the most part, each page has six panels, and the only words are sparse dialogue.  Grennan really has the story move quickly through these images, which tend to jump ahead pretty quickly.

We first meet John Caldigate.  Caldigate is a wealthy man, soon to be heir to his father’s fortune.  But he is unsatisfied in England.  And he decides to sell off his inheritance and to set off for New South Wales with his friend Ned.  There they will seek their fortune in the gold mines.

There is a woman he has left behind, Hester, the daughter of a local family.  She is certainly desirable, but it’s unclear how Caldigate feels about her because he wishes to find his fortune elsewhere.

Then the men set sail for Australia, two bachelors on a lengthy sea voyage.  Aboard the ship is Mrs Smith, a divorced actress who is also heading to Australia.  Mrs Smith is considered somewhat disreputable aboard the ship–and several people warn him against her.  But he cannot be denied. (more…)

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Salman Rushdie–“The Duniazát” (New Yorker, June 1, 2015)

Posted in Bachman Turner Overdrive, Bidiniband, Jane Siberry, Marriage Trouble, Myths, New Yorker, Old Age, Religion, Rheostatics, Salman Rushdie, Short Story, Talking Heads, The Buttless Chaps, The Who, WNYE 91.5--Radio, New York, tagged on August 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

june1SOUNDTRACK:  RHEOSTATICS–The Media Club, Vancouver, BC, (October 21, 2004).

media clubEvery year, the Rheostatics would perform what they called Green Sprouts Week in Toronto.  In 2004 they did a West Coast version. Five nights in a row at The Media Club (with each show being crazier than the last).  There aren’t always recording available for these shows, but on this leg there are recordings from the third, fourth and fifth nights.

This recording is about 90 minutes and I assume is edited (most of their GSMW shows are quite long and there’s no banter).  There’s also crazy static on a certain instrument, which mars the quality somewhat.

The band has added keyboards, although I’m not sure who is playing them.  Morgan from The Buttless Chaps guests on a nice rendition of “Claire.”  They play a great version of “Jesus Was Once a teenager Too” with a folky breakdown in the middle.  “Take Me in Your Hand” is slow but really good.

There’s goofing on “Song of Flight” with them ending the song quickly and booing and yelling “stinky” I wonder what happened).  “Marginalized” is blistering and “Record Body Count” is a little goofy.  Perhaps the highlight of the night is “Horses” which is an amazing rendition and ends with a few lines and acoustic guitars from “When Winter Comes”

The encore starts with “Pornography” a song later recorded by Bidiniband.  Then there’s some great harmonies on “Dope Fiends and Boozehounds.”

They do a rocking version of Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” which is musically spot on, even though no one really knows the words.  The last few songs are more covers.  A very fast version of Jane Siberry’s “One More Colour,” and then a perfect version of “Takin’ Care of Business” (the guitar and vocals sound right on) which segues into a sloppy/fun “My Generation.”

The Green Sprouts shows often allow the band to mess around a bit which is great for fans.

[READ: July 21, 2015] “The Duniazát”

I generally like Rushdie’s work.  This story is told in the style of a 1001 Arabian Nights tale and consequently I didn’t enjoy it that much.  Although I was interested to find out some details about those stories.  There was originally a Persian book called “One Thousand Stories” which had been translated into Arabic.  In the Arabic version there were fewer than a thousand stories but the action was spread over a thousand nights, or, because round numbers are considered ugly, a thousand nights and one night more.  Huh.

The stories featured a beautiful storyteller knows as Sheherazade, who told her tales to a murderous husband in order to keep him from executing her.

Anyone, in this story, Rushdie tells a similar type tale.

Set in the year 1195, the great philosopher Ibn Rushd (I enjoyed the play on his own name there) was a physician to the Caliph.  But when he started espousing liberal views, he was discredited (sound familiar?).  He wound up living in a village where Jews were forced to convert to Islam and could not speak of Judaism.  So he felt right at home as an outcast. (more…)

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Mark Z. Danielewski–House of Leaves (The Remastered Full-Color Edition) (2000)

Posted in Anne Rice, Architectural Digest, Big Books, Bret Easton Ellis, David Foster Wallace, Death, Drinking, Fears, Funny (strange), Horror, J.G. Ballard, Karen Green, Laura Veirs, Mark Z. Danielewski, Marriage Trouble, Meta, Research, Sex, Stephen King, Thomas Pynchon, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, Yuck! on May 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

houseSOUNDTRACK: LAURA VEIRS-Tiny Desk Concert #49 (March 1, 2010).

lauraI have decided to contradict myself.  I simply cannot keep up with the regular release of Tiny Desk Concerts (sometimes 3 a week), so I’m going to focus on these older recordings for a while and occasionally devote a week or two to new ones.  we’ll see how that works out.

I only know Laura Veirs’ name, but not really anything she’s done.  So I wasn’t really sure what her “solo” work would sound like.  Well, she has a delightful voice and she writes really pretty songs.

She also offers one of the most dramatic screw ups I’ve seen in a live performance. She opens her song “Carol Kaye” with this lovely melody–just her and her guitar.  And then after about a minute, her band comes in with a beautiful harmony–in the wrong key!  The introduction of their voices is so dramatic (to go from her gentle voice to this huge chorus) was really amazing.  So much so that I didn’t quite realize they were in the wrong key at first.  Turns out that Laura put her capo on the wrong fret and it wasn’t until the keyboardist played the right note that they all sounded off.  And his mouth drops opens as he stares at Laura.  She laughs and says “you looked like this terrified Muppet.”

They play the song again, this time perfectly–and the harmonies are truly lovely.  As is the violin that swirls throughout the song.

“When You Give Your Heart” is another lovely song in which Viers’ voice and the violin play the same lilting melody.

“Sun is King” has some more lovely (that’s the word to describe her, clearly) harmonies–she has picked a tremendous backing band.  And they sound great in this small setting.

It’s hard to believe that the whole set (miscue and all) is only ten minutes long.

[READ: May 1, 2015] House of Leaves

I read this book when it came out in 2000.  I had the “2 Color” edition which the t.p,. verso explains has as features: “either house appears in blue or struck passages and the word minotaur appear in red (I had the blue version).  No Braille.  Color or black & white plates.”

The Full Color edition (which is the same price, amazingly) differs in this way:

  • The word house in blue, minotaur and all struck passages in red
  • The only struck line in Chapter XXI appears in purple
  • XXXXXX and color plates

So basically the full color edition isn’t really that big a deal although the three or four full color plates are much nicer.

Why do I have both?  Well, I bought the two color when it came out and then I won a free book at the library and there was this full color edition, so I brought it home.  I was amused to find that the previous owner had deciphered a clue in the back of the book (the first letters of sentences spell out a secret message).  She (it looks like woman’s handwriting) wrote out the secret message, which I appreciated as I didn’t feel like figuring it out.

ANYWAY.

This book had a huge impact on me when I read it.  Although I forgot a lot of the details, the overwhelming effect of the book has stayed with me an I never forgot the central conceit of a house that opened secret passages and expanded or contracted at will.  For, make no mistake about all of the accolades, this is a horror story.  One accolade, from Bret Easton Ellis: “One can imagine Thomas Pynchon, J.G. Ballard. Stephen King and David Foster Wallace bowing at Danielewski’s feet, choking with astonishment, surprise, laughter awe.” [Ellis will not be bowing apparently, and actually I can’t imagine Pynchon bowing before anyone].  It’s a very cool horror story with all kind of textual experimentation and twists and turns, but it’s still a pretty damned scary story.

The experiments are many and varied and they begin right from the start, as the title page lists Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves by Zampanò with an introduction and notes by Johnny Truant. The forward from the editors notes: “The first edition of House of Leaves was privately distributed and did not contain Chapter 21, Appendix II, Appendix III or the index.

This is all nonsense of course. (more…)

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Jill Sexsmith–“Airplanes Couldn’t Be Happier in Turbulence” (The Walrus, May 2015)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Horses, Humiliation, Jill Sexsmith, King Kong, Marriage Trouble, Neurotics, Rheostatics, Ron Sexsmith, Short Story, The Walrus, tagged on May 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

2015-05SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Ted’s Wrecking Yard Toronto, ON (May 30, 2001).

twyFor this final show with Don Kerr, the band played for what seems like ever.  Darrin says he edited out any quiet bits so the show could fit on two discs, which it does.  And even at that it’s still about 2 and a half hours long.

Only five songs are repeated from the previous night (and they are all from the new album, except “Stolen Car,” which Martin sings on this night) and “Take Me in Your Hand” which is pretty awesome.  There’s also no Kevin on this night, so the set is full of a few of the more rocking songs (as opposed to the Harmelodia stuff).

 After a rocking “Fat” they play two rarely played songs “Remain Calm” and “The Idiot.”  But the set list is just a perfect collection of the songs that I love most: “Aliens,” “King of the Past,” “Saskatchewan,” “California Dreamline,” “Fan Letter to Michael Jackson” and “Horses.”  Wow.

Some notes: “There’s an awkward introduction to “The Idiot” which they hadn’t played in a long time.  The “Aliens”/”King of the Past ” pair is great.  I also loved the way they run right into “Mumbletypeg” while Martin is still feed backing the previous song.  “Horses” has an angry chant from Dave (the “facts” chant) and you can really hear DB wailing on the acoustic guitar at the end of “Stolen Car.”

Don gives a nice thanks (he says he’s about to cry) and they open “Take Me in Your Hand” with a jaunty “Ob La Di” riff and lyrics about Don.

There’s a lot of banter, including an Ed the Sock joke (“Don Kerr fired by Ed the Sock.”)  It’s a wonderful ending to a wonderfully time with Don Kerr.  Incidentally, Ted’s closed in 2001 as well, and the band, who played many multinight sets there moved their Green Sprouts Week to The Horsehoe.

This is a great show, and the sound is outstanding.  And since Don is leaving to play with Ron Sexsmith, here’s a story by Jill Sexsmith (presumably unrelated).

[READ: April 25, 2015] “Airplanes Couldn’t Be Happier in Turbulence”

I enjoyed the way this story began with some very down to earth information and then ends in a preposterous and yet still strangely believable situation.  It’s about exasperation and the need to do something, anything, when everything feels out of control.

Madison (it’s hard to believe that there are grown women with that name) has wanted to scale the Empire State Building ever since she watched King Kong as a kid.  Her husband, Frank, is a grounded individual, an actuary who is full of facts and statistics.  When she says she want to go there, he says “There’s a 0.28 percent chance of getting pistol whipped” in New York City.  He also quips, I suppose you want a  pony, too.  She jokes that she does, although she is afraid of horses–especially ponies, the “kneecap biting form of the horse” (I can attest to this, having been bitten on the kneecap by my neighbors supposedly nice pony).

Madison has never taken a vacation from her job.  She is anxious at the thought of empty days in front of her.  Her boss and coworkers keep trying to get her to go.  This year for her birthday she and Frank are going to New York City.  Her boss throws a going away party even though two of the four days are on the weekend. (more…)

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John Layman & Rob Guillory–Chew: Volume Seven : “Bad Apples” (2013)

Posted in Chastity Belt, Food, Graphic Novel, John Layman, Marriage Trouble, Rob Guillory, Sex, Violence, Yuck! on February 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

chew7SOUNDTRACK: CHASTITY BELT-Fuck Chastity Belt (2012).

chasThis is the worst music you will ever hear.
Chastity Belt is the worst band to ever exist.

So says the Chastity Belt band camp site for this EP.  Which also states that: The album was produced by Peter Richards. Peter Richards is deaf in one ear.
The cover photo was taken by William Newman-Wise. William Newman-Wise is blind in one eye.

Chastity Belt are not the worst band I have ever heard, not by a long shot.  But they sure do love to provoke, like their band photo (see below).  And the fact that is you try to look them up online, you will find many many images that you don’t want to see (not their band photo).

This four song EP is pretty representative off their full length album–intertwining guitars, catchy (if not vulgar) choruses, and a lead singer’s voice that soars above the music (and reminds me a bit of Grace Slick, although not exactly).  The band comes from Walla Walla Washington.  That and the cover photo reminds one of the Pacific Northwest riot grrrl scene, and there is so me of that slightly abrasive and yet still catchy feel to their music.

The biggest difference seems to be that although their lyrics are feminist and take-no-shit, there is still some humor in the lyrics too.  Not that the original riot grrrl scenes wasn’t funny, but it was much more intense, and unlike to include lines like: “God damn, that boy is hot damn, he makes me so stupid crazy and drunk.”

Of the four songs, I like them all, but the second, Dodge Ram is the least exciting for me, although I do like the “lead” guitar line that runs through the track (perhaps 4 minutes is too long for the song?).  “God Damn” is a great lead off track a simple guitar riff played slowly with an air of sloppiness that may be more of the recording sound (which is a bit staticky).  The segue into chorus really pretty.

On a far more serious tone is “A Bloody Spiral of Unyielding Fury” which is not a super fast belligerent death metal song, in fact it starts with a rather sweet high-pitched guitar melody.  But then lyrically, the chorus of “he wants me dead but I don’t want to die” informs the rather scary song about a guy with a knife (yet always with that rather happy guitar riff).

The one thing I don’t like about the record is the rather tinny sound of it.  There is bass, but it’s not very loud, and the two guitars are certainly turned up in the mix (and play mostly the high strings).  Having said that, “James Dean” (which also appears on their full length) has a much fuller sound, bigger chords and some of the most straightforward lyrics yet (all in Julia Shapiro’s keening voice)

chastityYou’re a slut
I’m a whore
we’ve fucked everyone before
Oh boy, when I fuck you
you make me feel like a prostitute
yeah, when you fuck me
I make you feel just like James Dean

You can check the EP out on their bandcamp site.

On this recording, Chastity Belt was On this record: Julia Shapiro, Lydia Lund, Annie Truscott, and Gretchen Grimm.

[READ: January 21, 2015] Chew: Volume Seven

After the horrible events at the end of Book Six, Book Seven was a chance for Revenge!

Tony Chu has not taken the event of book six lightly, and he is ready to get the bastard–the “vampire”–who has caused such distress to his family.  In fact, things are so serious that Tony (and Colby) have been reinstated to the FDA (and their boss doesn’t seem to mind).

And remember the high priestesss from the church of the super ova? (I had forgotten about her, but she’s back with all those writings in the sky and whatnot).  Well, she is looking to cause a lot of trouble.

But not everyone is happy that Colby has been transferred back. His former boss at the USDA is terribly sad to see her bed partner go. Of course, Colby’s new boss (who was his old boss) is suddenly also quite keen on having him back…I love how that is resolved with a nod and wink from the authors several chapters later. (more…)

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John Layman & Rob Guillory–Chew: Volume Six: “Space Cakes” (2012)

Posted in Alvvays, Canadian Music, Food, Graphic Novel, John Layman, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Marriage Trouble, NASA, Rob Guillory, Sex, The Decemberists, Violence, Yuck! on February 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

chew6SOUNDTRACK: ALVVAYS-Live at KEXP (December 2, 2014).

alvvays I’ve been enjoying the Alvvays album quite a lot.  They will be opening for The Decemberists this summer, so this was a good way to hear what they sound like live.

The band (pronounced Always) is from Canada and they play four songs and have a little chat.

The four songs are all on their debut album and while none of them are mind blowingly original, they scratch an itch that I have for poppy 90 s alt rock (female singer division).

Molly Rankin has a delicate voice that blends in beautiful with the washes of music (guitars and keyboards).  They remind me a bit of Lush, although less rocking.  There’s a bit more angst and yearning in her voice and lyrics.

Their hit is “Archie, Marry Me” but I find the other three songs, “Ones Who Love You,” “Dives” and “Party Police” to be just as catchy and delightful.  In fact I think the best song in this set may be “Party Police.”  The only real downside to this set is that they don’t have a live drummer.  No idea why, and it doesn’t really detract from the performance, it just makes it a but flatter than it might be.  I assume they’ll have a live drummer when I see them this summer.

[READ: January 22, 2015] Chew: Volume Six

Volume Six brings a very exciting return and a devastating loss to this awesome series.

The good news first: POYO!

The book opens with Toni (Antoinelle), Tony Chu’s sister in bed with Paneer, a man who is in love with her.  She, of course, needs to bite him to see what his future holds (which rather freaks him out).  Toni is (like her brother), cibovoyant and can read the future of everything she eats.

Toni is asked by her other brother Chow to help with a case.  A guy has out-bid him for a painting and he fears that the guy is just going to destroy the masterpiece.  As an agent of NASA surely Toni agrees she must help.  It turns out the artist is a sabopictor–his paintings taste delicious.  Of course it turns out that Chow has an ulterior motive–the guy has also stolen his cookbook, that’s all he cares about–he doesn’t care about the painting at all.  Toni is annoyed, but always happy to see her brother.

While she is visiting Tony in the hospital (from injuries suffered in book 5), Caesar walks in. Caesar used to work with Tony and he is quite certain that he recognizes Toni from somewhere (I loved this ongoing joke and that we keep flashing back to the number of times they met (and even hooked up) in their lives).

Then Toni gets called onto another case, involving mutated chicken frog (chogs) and a gangster named D-bear.Poyo-rules-the-Chew-roost-in-Secret-Agent-O31R1IQP-x-large

Of course the real excitement comes from the interlude which features POYO! the cybernetically enhanced rooster.  He is on a mission to stop Dr Albrecht Regenbigen, a ranapuliva who can recreate the meteorological phenomenon in which animals rain from the sky.

Back in our main story Poyo proves to be a great partner for Colby especially in the story of Judy Heinz-Campbell a victuspeciosian, who can craft a concoction out of food that temporarily changes your appearance (useful for supermodels and supervillains).

The final book shows the unthinkable–a wedding for Toni and Paneer?  Or something much more horrific and unimaginable.

I’m not sure I can forgive this series. Book 7 better bring something happy.

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John Layman & Rob Guillory–Chew: Volume Five: “Major League Chew” (2011)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Fantastic Negrito, Food, Graphic Novel, John Layman, Marriage Trouble, Rob Guillory, Sex, Tiny Desk Concert, Tiny Desk Contest, Violence, Yuck! on February 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

chew5SOUNDTRACK: FANTASTIC NEGRITO-“Lost in a Crowd” (TINY DESK CONTEST WINNER 2015).

negrtitoFantastic Negrito won this year’s Tiny Desk Concert contest.  About 7,000 people submitted entries and Negrito was chosen.

On the surface this song is pretty simple–a basic blues riff and some simple percussion, but man there’s some gritty power and conviction in this performance.  The way he sings “rage” in a late verse is really great.  I also really like the way the chorus is so very different–it really changes the dynamic of the stomping verses.

A couple other things I like about this song: the drums appear to be done on a box, but they sound great and there’s a super cool piercing sound he gets when he claps.  This was a really good song and I’m looking forward to his upcoming Tiny Desk Concert.

[READ: January 19, 2015] Chew: Volume Five

I had been enjoying Chew so much that I’m shocked that I not only forgot about it but forgot about it for over three years!  This is the trouble with annual publications.  I’ve decided to try to find all of the series that I forgot about, so if you can think of something I’ve ignored for a while, let me know.

The good thing is that there have been four more books published since I last read them, so I get to indulge in four whole books rather than just one at at time.

As this book opens we learn that Tony Chu’s boss is super happy because he finally got rid of Tony Chu–his most hated agent.  That’s right Tony Chu is now a traffic cop and his partner, Colby, has been transferred to the USDA–and his partner is a lion.  If this whole USDA/FDA business seems weird, it is, and you need to get caught up on the series and the poultry ban. (more…)

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J. Robert Lennon–“Breadman” (New Yorker, January 19, 2015)

Posted in Humiliation, J. Robert Lennon, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story on February 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

1-19SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Green Naugahyde (2011).

greenAfter the EP and tour, the reunited Primus (with Jay Lane still on drums) made Green Naugahyde.  And the album sounds fantastic.  They veer away from the longer jammier songs and get back down to business–it’s also notable that Ler contributed music to a number of songs.  I reviewed it a while back when it came out and I’m pretty much all in agreement with what I said then.  I was a little critical of a few things which I find less annoying now.  I still admit to not loving Les’ deeper singing voice, but it seems here to stay.

Some thoughts from the original post edited with new feelings added

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.

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.  “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.  It’s funny and frenetic.

“Tragedy’s A’ Comin’” is classic Primus, a funky rubber bass line, and group vocals.  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.  There’s a live break in the middle of the song which is unusual and seems mostly to be for a bass solo.

When I recently wrote my thoughts on “Eyes of the Squirrel” they were exactly the same.  It 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” I like less this time around, although it does have an earworm quality to it.

So after two meh songs, the rest of the disc is great.  “Lee Van Cleef” is a fun 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, it’s one of my favorite Primus songs.  As is “Extinction Burst” which 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.  And on top of that, the outro is just great.

I have to agree with my earlier assessment: this makes for one of Primus’ best releases overall.

[READ: January 29, 2015] “Breadman”

I haven’t read a lot of J. Robert Lennon, but everything that I’ve read I have enjoyed.  And I would like to read more from him.  This story was fantastic, both in the plot and the way it was written.

It starts more or less in the middle with the narrator saying that “Of course he’d seen them, his customers.”  He proceeds to describe exactly the kind of people you’d imagine would line up in front of an artisanal bake shop.  He says he wouldn’t have gone there in a million billion years, but “My wife sent me.”

And of course he was late.  Which means he was there ten minutes before the store opened, but if you got there less than 30 minutes ahead of opening time you were pretty much guaranteed to miss out on the special focaccia.  (The fact that the store is inside another store front is a wonderful detail).

While waiting on line for bread, he made a joke about Soviet Russia which didn’t go over well.  Clearly the Breadman was far too good for jokes like that. (more…)

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Kevin Canty–“Story, with Bird” (New Yorker, October 6, 2014)

Posted in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bill Laswell, Blade Runner, Bootsy Collins, Boredom, Buckethead, Drinking, Kevin Canty, Limbomaniacs, Maceo Parker, Marriage Trouble, Network, New Yorker, Praxis, Primus, Public Enemy, Sex, Short Story on January 14, 2015| 1 Comment »

 oct6SOUNDTRACK: LIMBOMANIACS-Stinky Grooves (1990).

limboSo this album was a favorite of mine in college (amazingly you can’t find very much about it online–I kind of assumed it was huge, but apparently only in my head).  Why does it fit here?  Because the drummer, Brian “Brain” Mantia is who replaced Tim Alexander on Primus’ next few albums.

The Limbomaniacs album is a big stupid funk rock album that is absolutely college age appropriate (if not terribly sexist).  It’s about sex, butts, porn, poop and getting funky.  You can’t play any of the songs on the radio: “Butt Funkin’,” “Porno” (which has a good riff) “That’s the Way” (which is much more vulgar than I realized) or “The Toilet’s Flooded” (with a great big ….).

The biggest surprise about this album , which is clearly kinda dumb fun, is that it attracted such big names to it. It was produced by Bill Laswell and has vocals from Bootsy Collins and sax from Maceo Parker.  This record must have come out before you had to pay for samples, because they seem to be sampling everything, most of it to good use–2001, Blade Runner, William S. Burroughs and Public Enemy.

Probably the best songs on the disc are the ones that are a bit cleaner (like they emphasized the music over the lyrics) “Maniac” with some good horn samples and quotes from Network, is fun and funky–catchy as anything and still sounds good.  “Free Style” is a fun dancey song (with a sax solo from Parker).  “Shake It” is also a fun song (to me it sounds like a college party–although I guess kids these days don’t listen to funk rock).

“Pavlov’s Frothing Dogs” has extensive samples from a William S. Burroughs story, which works interestingly well.

The little you can find out about them online suggests that the band was well-respected musically (but quickly disbanded after a lot of local success).  I find these songs to be rather simple in structure and performance so it seems hard to imagine them inspiring anyone.  And yet, Laswell is involved and immediately started using Brain on drums in his “supergroup” Praxis.  (The Limbomaniacs also introduced Laswell to Buckethead who was a friend) and Buckethead is in Praxis as well.

I more or less know what happened to everyone in the band.  Mirv, the guitarist went on to form M.I.R.V., but I’m not sure what happened to Butthouse the singer.  This album is a totally time capsule for me.  And the little voice at the end of “The Toilet’s Flooded” made me laugh like I was 20 years old again.

[READ: January 9, 2014] “Story, with Bird”

It’s fun to read a two-page story from time to time.  This story felt quite elliptical–a lot happened, but all in a rather quick way.

As the story begins, we know the couple’s relationship is about to end.  As a last ditch effort at staying together, they decided to give up drinking–but it didn’t really work (obviously).

The bird in the title is a bird which flew into their house.  She tried to attack it to get it out, but he used the more pacifist approach of turning off the lights and leaving the windows opened so the bird could leave on its own.  They fought about who was right, but his way did work. (more…)

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Danielle McLaughlin–“The Dinosaurs on Other Planets” (New Yorker, September 15, 2014)

Posted in Beavis and Butthead, Danielle McLaughlin, Marriage Trouble, Nature, New Yorker, Primus, Sausage, Short Story on January 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ny915SOUNDTRACK: SAUSAGE-Riddles Are Abound Tonight (1994).

Sausage_riddles_are_abound_tonight_cd After Pork Soda, Primus took a little break and Les reunited with the original members of Primus–Todd Huth and Jay Lane (guitars and drums) to make the Sausage album.  The album contains new songs and what I assume is the original version of “The Toys Go Winding Down” which sounds quite different from the Primus recorded version.

The first two songs sounds the most like conventional (what?) Primus with big smashing choruses. The biggest difference on the whole album is in the guitar, which is not just making shapes and noises, it is laying an interesting riff.  And the single “Riddles Are Abound Tonight” sounds absolutely the most like Primus–with interesting guitar sounds and Les’ popping bass (the “ho hoy yea” in the middle is also very Primus).

Another big difference is that Jay Lane’s drumming is a very different style than Tim Alexander’s.  Alexander is a force to be reckoned with–he’s all over tha place, playing weird time signatures and all manner of drums.  Jay Lane is more of a jazzy drummer–he keeps things fairly simple with a lot of hi-hat work.  So yes, even though Les is the same (and the star) in both bands, Sausage sounds quite different from Primus.

It’s also not to say that Huth doesn’t make crazy noises (he was the original Primus guitarist after all)–“Here’s to the Man” has a scorching noise from Huth over Claypool’s fairly conventional bass line.  But this song, as with most of them on the disc are quite long and don’t offer the wide array of sections that most Primus does, which loses its impact after a time.  So even though Les is talking some silly nonsense over the song (which is very hard to hear), it doesn’t make the song much more compelling.

Sausage has more of jam band feel.  As with “Shattering Song,” a 7 minute piece with a conventional drum bass and guitar structure.  It goes on in the same vein for some 4 minutes before turning into the more enjoyable “Kern Kern the butter churn” section, which I wish was longer.  Because I love the Primus release of “Toys” I find “Toyz 1988 to be unsettling in its slowness. Although I do love the opening bass riff.  “Temporary Phase” also has a good thumping bass riff and some noisy guitars.

“Girls for Single Men” is a fun song with a wild bass line.  It has a repeated chorus and a lot of spoken word.  As with a lot of these Claypool solo pieces, if the spoken stuff was just a bit louder, it would be more enjoyable.

“Recreating” i a short song with a cool opening bass section that is primarily based on Les’ whammy bar.  The final song, the 6 and a half minute “Caution Should Be Used While Driving a Motor Vehicle or Operating Machinery”  has a cool repeating bass line and some noisy guitars but it is most notable for all kinds of street noises–jackhammers, air raid sirens and the like.

I don’t love the Sausage album that much, but there is some good stuff here.  And the video for “Riddles” is pretty outstanding (and was actually the basis for the Beavis and Butthead character of Cornholio!)

[READ: January 8, 2015] “The Dinosaurs on Other Planets”

There’s quite a lot going on in this story and I enjoyed very much even if the ending wasn’t entirely satisfying.

The story is set in the house of Kate and Colman an older married couple (they met when he was 40 and their kids are grown).  We learn that they have not shared a bed for about a year.  He moved his lathe into their son’s room and basically just stays there all the time, and while she seems upset by this she doesn’t talk about it.  The only thing that sparks them moving back into the same room is their daughter’s upcoming return visit.

Emer has been living in England (I assume her parents live in Ireland given character names) and she is planning to come to visit for a few days with her son Oisin.  So Kate gets the house ready–she fixes up Emer’s old room and fixes up their son’s room (he is in Japan) for a  bedroom for Oison.

But when they show up, Emer has a man with her as well.  His name is Pavel, and when Cormac (who is none too pleased to have an extra guest) asks Oisin when Pavel is from, Oision (who is 5) says “Chelsea.” (more…)

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