SOUNDTRACK: ELEANOR FRIEDBERG-“Stare at the Sun” (2013).
I don’t know Eleanor Friedberg, who is part of the Fiery Furnaces. This song is fast and bright. It’s a pretty standard rock song with bright guitars, and there is definitely folk feel to it.
The real selling point of the song is Friedberg’s voice. She sounds a bit like a 60’s-era male with a high voice (indeed, she reminds me a little of Russel Mael from Sparks). Maybe I’ll think of her as a mix of Kirsty MacColl and Sparks.
I like this song. It’s not amazing, but it has a real bouncy summer feel. An enjoyable romp that bears repeated listens.
[READ: May 21, 2013] “Art Appreciation”
I read this story in two parts. And when I finished the first part (about four pages in–the paragraph that ended “and he kissed her there for the first time”), I thought it was a delightful story. A sweet story of young romance. True, the main character is a bit of a douche: “Henry Taylor had always known he would have money one day, and this confidence was vindicated when his mother won the lottery.” But I thought that maybe Eleanor, Ellie, would somehow make him a better person. And that sweet kiss seemed like a wonderful start.
The year is 1961, the place is Australia (it took me a little time to figure that out). Henry is a gambler–but a mostly winning gambler–he goes to the dog tracks on Friday nights, the horses on Saturday. But Henry, who is 28, is also a working man–a mid-level employee at an insurance firm. And even after his mother won the lottery he didn’t quit his job (it was of course douchey to assume that his mother would somehow give him the money but that’s what he thought). Despite his confidence about the money, he also didn’t want to show off about it.
Ellie had recently started working in Henry’s office. She was very attractive and he thought that “now that he had money, he would marry her” (geez, he gets douchier by the minute). Soon enough he has asked her out. And she happily accepts. Ellie is 20.
Finally one Sunday Henry’s mother says that she is moving to Victoria with her sister and giving him the house–she wants to see him settled. He imagined selling the house and buying something closer to the city.
That night he visited Kath. Kath is his un-serious girlfriend. He tells her that their fun is over, that he is dating Ellie now so this will be their last fling. He also has the douchiness to tell her that he has won the lottery.
Soon we learn what the title refers to, Ellie goes to art appreciation classes on Friday nights. She asks Henry to walk her to class, which he does. Henry stays for this one and doesn’t like it. He sits with another bloke who asks if he was dragged there, too. But she is so excited by the class, art is her passion. They have a nice dinner together and they kiss for the first time.
And I thought that was nice.
But there’s more. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: NEKO CASE-Middle Cyclone (2009).
I first learned of Neko Case through The New Pornographers. Their song “
I Just Read About That... 