SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Washing Machine (1995).
After the short blasts and diverse collection fo songs on Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, Washing Machine sounds like almost a different band. For although there are a few shorter pieces here, they also give us the 9 minute title track and the, brace yourself, almost 20 minute “The Diamond Sea.”
Perhaps the most amazing thing about “The Diamond Sea” is that the first 5 or so minutes are probably the catchiest song they’ve ever recorded. It’s a gentle, meandering piece with great chord changes and some of Thurston’s most delicate singing to date. There’s an edited version available which basically just lops off the last 12 or 13 minutes, but keeps the first chunk (including the controlled chaos of the feedback solo) intact. Those last 13 minutes are where SY gets to open up and experiment. It’s all sounds and washes and textures. There very little in the way of feedback squalls, and yet it’s not conventional song structure either. It’s very cool.
The other lengthy song is “Washing Machine” one of their weirdest songs in recent memory with Kim going downtown to buy her”baby a soda-pop.” She talks in a sort of New Yawk accent, exaggerated and almost silly as they discuss washing machines. Actually, I take that back, their weirdest song (for Sonic Youth) is clearly “Little Trouble Girl” as it is a straight up tribute to/mockery of doo-wop songs (with main vocals done by the Pixies’ own Kim Deal).
Two Thurston songs, “Junkie’s Promise” and “No Queen Blues” give him some great lyrics done in a catchy fashion (even is “No Queen” revels in its own dissonance).
But none of the songs are “singles” per se. Even the catchiest among them have portions that are designed to keep casual listeners at bay. Although “Unwind,” another delicate song could easily meet the most sensitive listener’s needs.
But it’s “The Diamond Sea” that points the direction SY would be heading for in the next few years: longer, more abstract pieces.
[READ: August 8, 2009] How We Are Hungry
I really enjoyed Dave Eggers’ first book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. And, obviously, I’ve been a fan of McSweeney’s for years. So, why did it take me this long to read his collection of short stories? I have no idea.
They were really fantastic.
But before getting to them, I want to address the look of this book. I have often commented on the quality of the books that McSweeney’s publishes. But it seems like especially for Egger’s books, they pull out all he stops (and, sure, he’s allowed, it is his company). This book is beautiful. It has an embossed leather (faux?) cover of a gryphon on it. It also comes with a page ribbon and an elastic to keep it closed. It truly is a beautiful book. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Made in USA (1986 released in 1995).
The liner notes explain a lot of what was behind this disc. The then largely unknown Sonic Youth was asked to score a cool indie film, which later became a less cool more mainstream film and ultimately went straight to video.
SOUNDTRACK: FRIGHTENED RABBIT-Midnight Organ Fight (2008).
My friend Jarrett introduced me to this band. He rather casually called it his favorite album of the year, so I figured it was worth checking out.
A few years ago I was visiting my friend Roman. He asked me if I read 
[WATCHED: June 2009] The Power of Nightmares
After the insane hardcore mess of Land Speed Record, this EP is a bit of a change. It’s still pretty hardcore, but now you can tell that the noisiness of the guitar is deliberate. Bob Mould is playing around with multiple layers of feedback and distortion to create a wall of noise that sometimes hides, sometime accentuates the overall sound.
SOUNDTRACK: THE REPLACEMENTS-Hootenanny (1983).
This is the second full length from The Replacements. For a band that just released two punk albums (one’s an EP), naming your new one Hootenanny is pretty ballsy. As is the fact that the first track sounds like, well, a hootenanny (even if it is making fun of hootenannies.)
This is a periodical I haven’t mentioned before. Wholphin is a “DVD Magazine of Rare and Unseen Short Films.” So yes, the reason I hadn’t mentioned it is because it is a DVD and not a book. However, as I have been watching Vols 1-8 over the last few months, I have noticed that a few writerly names keep cropping up in the credits. Plus, it’s got that whole McSweeney’s connection.
film possibly ever by Scott Prendergast called “The Delicious” which you can watch, and I encourage you to, 
Colin Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Decemberists. This is a recording of Meloy’s solo acoustic tour from 2006. The recording is from several venues on the tour, although it is mixed as if it were one concert.
SOUNDTRACK: WRFF 104.5 FM & WRXP 101.9 FM.
The CD player in my car died. I have been listening to the radio these last few days. At first I was a little 
excited at the thought of listening to these stations that I so recently discovered. But let me say, when working outside in the yard, you don’t mind what the stations are playing as much as you do when confined in a car.
I had read this short book about six months ago, but decided to read it again before posting on it. The second time through was a much more satisfying read for some reason.
I Just Read About That... 