SOUNDTRACK: BELLE AND SEBASTIAN-World Cafe Live [downloaded from NPR] (2006).
This is a live in-studio session promoting The Life Pursuit. David Dye conducts an interview between songs (we learn what “Funny Little Frog” is about and how “Seymour Stein” came to be).
Stuart and Stevie are animated and in good form and the band sounds excellent. On “Funny Little Frog” in particular they sound like they’re really enjoying themselves.
The session is only 25 minutes long, but they play 4 songs: “Funny Little Frog”, “Meat and Potatoes,” “Seymour Stein” and “Sukie in the Graveyard.” It’s worth a listen and it’s available here.
[READ: November 6, 2010] “What Separates Us from the Animals”
For some reason I always put off reading T.C. Boyle stories, even though I invariably enjoy them. And this was no exception. I saw that it was a fairly long story and I waited to read other things in this issue of Harper’s (Susan Faludi–where has she been all these years? and another NASCAR article–my second one in a few months after the article in McSweeney’s, which is pretty surprising since I’ve never seen more than a second of a race).
But back to Boyle. I loved the technique involved in this story. The narrator is a critical woman who makes claims towards being reasonable about her criticisms. And the thing is, her criticisms are entirely justified and yet her attitude makes you want to disagree with her. It’s a very cool conceit–an unlikable narrator whose opinions happened to be your own.
What she’s critical of is the new doctor who arrives on their island (I’m gathering it’s Nantucket). He was picked out of a couple of applicants to be the island’s only doctor, handling basic problems and issues (especially during the summer tourism season) but always with the understanding that serious problems would have to go to the mainland. In addition to his salary he would receive free lodging in an older, historic house.
She met him on the night of his arrival in order to get him set up in the house. She immediately invited him to dinner. He accepted for the following night and arrived at their own beautiful house in paint-spattered jeans and dirty work boots. He ate well and then fell asleep on their couch. Obviously, this did not set things off on the right foot. But what was worse was that this dirty demeanor spilled over into the rest of his life: his car has a flat tire for two months and worse, his examination office is filthy too (something I’m totally on board with criticizing). They’re also concerned with the state of the historic house, which no one has seen yet–what no invitations to cocktails? (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: BBC Sessions (various).
Many many bands that I like have recorded tracks for the BBC. And after several sessions, they tend to get released as BBC Live or BBC Sessions discs. In the last few years, I’ve gotten discs from the Cocteau Twins, Tindersticks, The Beautiful South, Belle and Sebastian and Therapy? One of the first ones I’d every gotten was The Smiths’ Hatful of Hollow. 
SOUNDTRACK: A CAMP-Colonia (2009).
This is the second album from the side project of The Cardigan’s Nina Persson. This disc was created with her husband Nathan Larson from Shudder to Think. Their first album had a country flair to it, but this one eschews that entirely for a pop feel that is entirely different from The Cardigans’ two main styles: the “cheesy” happy pop of “Lovefool” and the bitter guitar pop of their later discs.
SOUNDTRACK: BRITISH SEA POWER-Do You Like Rock Music? (2008).
I’ve heard a lot about British Sea Power over the years, and I’ve enjoyed their smarty-pants attitudes. I think that their first album is most highly recommended. But I was able to get this disc with an autographed booklet from my favorite record store of all time, the long-missed (since they have no locations near me) 
SOUNDTRACK: DARK WAS THE NIGHT-That Disc (2009).
The second disc in this set is a somewhat more raucous affair than the first (which was pretty much all acoustic performances). On the surface, this seemed like the better disc of the two. I like so many bands on this disc: Spoon, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers, Stuart Murdoch, Blonde Redhead.
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.
SOUNDTRACK: BELLE AND SEBASTIAN-BBC Sessions & Live in Belfast 2001 (2008).
Virtually every review of the BBC Sessions says the same thing: these tracks barely differ from the original recordings. And, for better or worse, that is very true. In fact, even the trumpets and other instruments sound so perfect, you tend to forget it’s a live recording. Clearly this sends a positive message about their live playing. But if that’s the case, why would you buy this?
SOUNDTRACK: JUNO Soundtrack (2007).
Late on the bandwagon with this soundtrack. But then, I only really watch movies on TV these days, so I’m often late to the bandwagon.
I Just Read About That... 