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Archive for the ‘Pearl Jam’ Category

Joshua Ferris–“The Valetudinarian” (New Yorker, August 3, 2009)

Posted in Death, Funny (ha ha), Godspeed You Black Emperor, Joshua Ferris, Neutral Milk Hotel, New Yorker, Old Age, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Sex, Short Story on August 5, 2009| 1 Comment »

nySOUNDTRACK: Living with Music: A  Playlist by Joshua Ferris (New York Times September 19 2007).

ferrisWhile searching for Joshua Ferris (see below) I came across this playlist from The New York Times.  While I don’t agree with everything on the list, indeed, I haven’t heard of about half of the songs, I was delighted by several of his selections: Neutral Milk Hotel, Pearl Jam, and of course, Godspeed! You Black Emperor.  I also really enjoy the unusual Pink Floyd selection, too (Meddle being a favorite album of mine).

What I enjoy most about the list is that he tacks on a book that you might read that somehow ties to the song (I don’t know what the specifics are as I have yet to read any other “Living with Music” Playlists).  But it reminds me of an inverse of this very blog.

The article is available here.

[READ: August 3, 2009] “The Valetudinarian”

I knew the name Joshua Ferris sounded familiar, but couldn’t remember exactly why. Then I remembered that he wrote Then We Came to the End which I liked quite a bit. So I looked him up and found out that in addition to that novel, he’s only had a few short stories published in total. And now I’ve read two out of the seven. In terms of ratio of books read, that practically makes him my favorite author!

I should have looked up the definition of the title of this one: valetudinarian
which basically means invalid. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–[Week 3] Infinite Jest (1996)

Posted in Allstonians, Big Books, Books about writers, Boredom, Boston, MA, Canadian Content, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, David Foster Wallace, Drinking, Drugs, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Infinite Summer, James Joyce, Morrissey, Pearl Jam, Postmoderism, Prison, R.E.M., Racism, Religion, Russell Brand, Set at School, Smarty Pants, Suicide, The Smiths, WYYY 109 FM: The Largest Whole Prime on the FM Band on July 10, 2009| 2 Comments »

jesySOUNDTRACK: MORRISSEY-Years of Refusal (2009).

years ofI’ve been a fan of The Smiths for years.  And I think that Morrissey’s debut, Viva Hate, is on par with much of the Smiths’ catalogue.  Over the years his output has been mixed, but with Years of Refusal he comes fighting back with a really solid disc.  The disc is so good that if one had no idea of who he was, one could easily get into it with no preconceived notions of Morrissey, The Smiths or any of that glorious past.

From the start, the disc rocks out. That’s right, Morrissey totally rocks, with a real attitude.  “Something is Squeezing My Skull,” in addition to being quite funny, has one of Moz’s most loudly sung choruses in like, forever.  The martial beat of “Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed” showcases Moz’s “political” songwriting without ever losing its catchiness.  “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris” is a pretty classic Morrissey song, complete with a simple picking guitar riff.

“All You Need Is Me” has some great squeaky guitars and recalls Morrissey’s own “I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me”), while “When Last I Spoke to Carol” has a Mexican feel, which is different for him.  And “That’s How People Grow Up,” the single, has one of those classic Morrissey lines in which he subverts expectations with a left-field word choice: “So yes there are things worse in life than never being someone’s sweetie.”

The end of the album is full of longer songs which tends to skew the rollicking feel of the disc. (In the first 8 songs only 3 are over 3 minutes while the last 4 songs are each over 4 minutes).  Nevertheless, “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore” is a wonderfully caustic song and the album closer, “I’m OK By Myself” is just fantastic, and I find myself singing “I don’t need you, or your morality” because they way he sings it gets stuck in my head for days.

There’s also a bonus disc which includes an interview with Russel Brand which is very funny indeed.

Welcome back Morrissey.  Well done, sir.

[READ: Week of July 6, 2009]  Infinite Jest (to page 227).

While looking for this cover of Infinite Jest (the one that I most associate with the book even though I never owned a copy with this cover), I noticed that Powell’s Books is selling a first edition hardcover copy of IJ for $450. The copy that I am currently reading is also a first edition hardcover.  If anyone wants to send me like $400 for it, just let me know!

On my Week Two post, I had a comment that criticized me for giving out spoilers.  While I disagree, I will preface this and future posts by saying that I will certainly be discussing what has happened in the week’s read (including footnotes endnotes and future footnotes endnotes if they are referred to in current footnotes endnotes), I will not intentionally reveal any spoilers.

On to Week 3 of Infinite Summer.  And at this point I not only feel good about the book, I feel somewhat refreshed. This whole week’s worth of reading has been fairly easy and often very funny.  We’re past the initial shock that you’re running a marathon, and are into that 3rd or 4th mile where you just start to feel good and enjoy the scenery.  I also hate to admit this, but I really want to peek ahead into the next week’s reading.  But no, I am going to pace myself!

I also have a question for faithful readers who are actually trying to map the location of the book.  I lived in Brighton, MA, very close to Boston College as well as in a location nearer to Allston, MA.  I have a vague sense of exactly where Enfield is supposed to be located, but if anyone has used the details in the book to map out where Enfield would be, do pass it along (someone has probably created a Google Map for it, but I haven’t actually checked).

This week’s reading had a lot of lengthy sections that focused on one person/issue for multiple pages which is either great or terrible depending on how you like this book broken up.  And TA DA!  The Chronology is spelled out very clearly! (more…)

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McSweeney’s #3 [Timothy McSweeney’s Windfall Republic] (Late Summer, Early Fall 1999)

Posted in Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Ana Marie Cox, Books about writers, Brent Hoff, Cancer as plot device, Colleen Werthmann, Consumerism, David Foster Wallace, David Letterman, David Mamet, David Steinhardt, Essays, Flash Fiction, Fresh Step, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gary Greenberg, Glengarry Glen Ross, Holidays, J. Robert Lennon, John Warner, Jonathan Lethem, Ken Foster, Komar and Melamid, Lawrence Weschler, Lucy Thomas, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Meta, Might, NYPD Blue, Oddities, Outer Space, Partisan Review, Paul Collins, Paul Maliszewski, Pearl Jam, Political Humor, Rick Moody, Sarah Vowell, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Steven Amick, Suicide, Supernatural, T.Z. Parsa, Threats, Tom Tomorrow, TRL, Unabomber, Violence, Wikipedia, Zev Borow on May 13, 2009| 1 Comment »

mcsweeneys3SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Riot Act (2002).

riotactThis album seems to get overshadowed by the anti-George Bush track “Bu$hleaguer.” Evidently many people were turned off by this track, and that may have had an impact on sales. Of course, I’m sure many other people were introduced to the band by this song, too. Regardless, the rest of the album shouldn’t be judged by this track, as it is rather unusual.

This disc is the first one to feature a dedicated keyboardist, “Boom” Gaspar.  He’s present on all of the live discs from this concert tour, and it is quite disconcerting the first time you hear the audience yell “Boooooooooooom” when he comes out.  But he plays a mean organ solo.

“Can’t Keep” opens the disc sounding unlike other PJ tracks.  It has a vibe like Led Zeppelin III–almost a world-acoustic feel.  “Save You” rocks out with the classic chorus, “And fuck me if I say something you don’t wanna hear.  And fuck me if you only hear what you wanna hear.  Fuck me if I care.”  A great fast song with a cool bassline.  “Love Boat Captain” feature Boom Gaspar’s first contribution to a song: lots of organ.  It’s a rather touching song, a gentle piece, except for a center part which rocks out. “Cropduster” features a delicate chorus after a skittery verse.  If you are familiar with Matt Cameron’s contributions to the band, you’ll not be surprised by the unusual sound of this song.

“I Am Mine” starts a section of three great songs. This one is acousticy and uplifting.  “Thumbing My Way” is a pretty PJ ballad.  Then “You Are” has a really funky wah wahed sound on almost the whole song.  Three great tracks in a row.

Not that “Get Right” is bad.  It just doesn’t quite fit the mood of the previous three.  Rather, this is a punk blast that feels more than a little off-kilter (another Cameron track, of course).   “Help Help” begins the really weird section of the disc with this peculiar song (catchy chorus though).  It’s followed by “Bu$hleaguer” a spoken word rant, with an abstract chorus.  The chanting aspect is interesting, th0ugh.  “Arc” is a short chant, no doubt reflecting Eddie’s duet with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

“1/2 Full” returns to the “proper” songs with this sloppy jam.  The verses are quiet but the choruses rock.  “All or None” is another mellow disc ender, this one has some good subtle drumming that really propels this jazzy song.

At this point in Pearl Jam’s career, we get yet another solid effort.  You more or less know what to expect on their releases although there’s always a surprise.

[READ: May 7, 2009] McSweeney’s #3

This is the third volume of McSweeney’s print journal.  This one, like the first two, is a white, softcover edition.  If you click on the cover above it will take you to the flickr page with a larger picture.

[UPDATE: September 25, 2009]

It has just come to my attention that David Foster Wallace DOES have a  piece in this magazine.  (See my comment on the Notes from the authors).  His piece runs on the spine of the book and is called:
“Another Example of the Porousness of Various Borders (VI): Projected but not Improbable Transcript of Author’s Parents’ Marriage End, 1971” (which is also available in his book Brief Interviews with Hideous Men under the title “Yet Another Example of the Porousness of Certain Borders (VI)”).

The piece itself is almost shorter than the whole title and is basically a funny argument about which parent would get the double-wide trailer and which parent would get him.  Pretty funny stuff, and even funnier for being on the spine.

Okay, back to the issue.

[end UPDATE]

The opening colophon on this one explains the price increase (from $8 to $10).  It’s because this is a longer issue, it has color plates (foldouts!) and because of a sad but amusing anecdote of a lost bag with $2,000 cash.
There’s also notes about some stories (the Hoff & Steinhardt pieces are true) and an apology of sorts for running a story about the Unabomber.

And an actual (presumably) envelope sent from the titular Timothy McSweeney, as a way of verifying the authenticity of the title of the journal.

The final page of the colophon shows a sample of how long it will take for them to respond to submissions (which should not be funny fake news).  And it ends with a half a dozen or so random questions, which they do answer: ARE THE RIVERS THAT FLOW FROM HOT SPRINGS HOT? They are often very warm.  DO THEY GIVE OFF STEAM? Yes, and they smell vaguely of sulfur. MARTIN VAN BUREN: He had a certain charm.  etc.

LETTERS PAGE:

JONATHAN LETHEM
Ride with Jonatahn Lethem and the Mad Brooklynite as he narrates Manhattan’s superiority complex when it comes to the other boros.  Funny stuff. (more…)

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Laurence Sterne–The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1769)

Posted in 18th Century, A Cock and Bull Story, Digression, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Humiliation, Irish Writer, Laurence Sterne, Meta, Pearl Jam, Pregnancy, Smarty Pants, Steve Coogan, Unreliable narrator on May 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

tristramshandy2SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Binaural (2000).

binauraBinaural bursts forth with the rampaging “Breakerfall” and “God’s Dice.”  The latter pauses only briefly for a chorus break.  They are followed by “Evacuation,” a song that sounds a bit off kilter in this studio version but which blasts off on the live version. It’s got a great shouty chorus too.

“Light Years” is another wonderfully singalongable PJ track. The verses are delicate and, while the choruses don’t build, they are still very catchy.  “Nothing as It Seems” is a haunting track that is dark and fantastic.  The opening guitar riff sounds like it’s coming from the middle of a desert, and the rest of the song is great and great sounding too.  “Thin Air” is another mid- tempo song that doesn’t wear out its welcome, and is fun to sing along to as well.

“Insignificance” is one of the great stop/start songs in PJ’s history. The staggered guitar work builds and stops, builds and stops and just gets better as it goes along.  “Of the Girl” is one of those moody pieces that on previous discs sounded kind of throwaway, and yet this song has enough interesting nooks in it that it never gets dull.  It doesn’t really ever bust out into big chorus, but the subtle changes are just as powerful.  “Grievance” is also fantastic. Another staggered type of song with powerful lyrics and rocking verses and choruses. And when played live, this song is a behemoth.

“Rival” is one of those weird little songs that PJ throws in.  An experiment that works more than some of t heir others.  Followed by “Sleight of Hand” one of their more impressive ballads.  Even though the chorus isn’t dramatically different, it’s still very powerful. “Parting Ways” is one of their best album enders in a long time. It’s another slow one, yet it doesn’t meander. There’s some nice guitar interplay that keeps the song interesting.

And then there’s “Soon Forget” a little number played on a ukulele.  For another band this would be a gimmick yet Eddie’s sincerity pulls it off quite nicely. There’s also a hidden track at the end (evidently called “Writer’s Block”) which is the sound of a typewriter typing.

This was the disc that got me back into Pearl Jam, and it really is a great album. Most of their first barrage of live discs came from this tour, which may explain why I like these songs so much (I heard them all about 70 times, right?), but it’s a great place to start for latter-day Pearl Jam.

[READ: April 2007] The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

I read this book a long time ago, in college, based on the recommendation of my friend Gene.  I really enjoyed it and found it quite funny.  Then, last year, I watched Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, which is sort of a film adaptation of Tristram Shandy.  A post about this movie could be just as long as the movie itself, but the short version is that the hilarious Steve Coogan is an actor in a production of the film of Tristram Shandy.  As they are filming Tristram Shandy, the camera follows Coogan, the actor, as his neuroses get the better of him in both his professional and personal life.  This Coogan stuff has absolutely nothing to do with the book, making the whole proceeding weird and wonderful. (more…)

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Philip Roth–The Plot Against America (2004)

Posted in Dystopia, Free Speech, Nazis, Pearl Jam, Religion, Set in New Jersey!, South, Threats, Violence, War on May 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

plotSOUNDTRACK:  PEARL JAM-Live on Two Legs (1998).

2legsThis is the first official Pearl Jam live release.  It is compiled from a number of different concerts, yet it flows pretty seamlessly. It highlights how much faster many of the songs became during their live shows.  This increased their power almost uniformly.

This disc also works as, not really a greatest hits, because there are plenty of hits left off the set list [most of Ten, notably] but maybe a greatest hits of all the non-Ten songs.

A track listing would be the most sensible way to cover what’s on here, since  it is uniformly solid and enjoyable.  And I don’t have too much to say about each track.

Corduroy-Vitalogy
Given to Fly-Yield
Hail Hail-No Code
Daughter-Vs
Elderly Woman-Vs
MFC-Yield
Go-Vs
Red Mosquito-No Code
Even Flow-Ten
Off He Goes-No Code
Nothingman-Vitalogy
Do the Evolution-Yield
Betterman-Vitalogy
Black-Ten
Fuckin’ Up–This song bears a mention as it is a cover.  This is their first recorded cover of a Neil Young song.  Later, this song and “Rockin’ in the Free World” became staples of their live shows.  On here, they play a gorgeously sloppy rendition of this track.  It perfectly encapsulates the record: raw energetic and more than a little vulgar.  Perfect.

The set list also belies the fact that No Code isn’t as popular of a disc as the others.  There are three tracks from each of their records (except Ten which has two).  And the No Code tracks sound as good as the rest.

This is a good representation of Pearl Jam around this time, and it’s a good place to investigate their live sound (until you’re willing to take the plunge into the 72 self released live discs).

[READ: 2004 or 2005] The Plot Against America

DIGRESSION: I read this book a few years ago, and I didn’t remember the details all that well.  However, the overall story had a pretty big impact on me–especially in that it made me want to read more Philip Roth.  So, I’m going to include it here.  Some of my summary comes from other sources, but I do include my own recollections too.

I’ve never read Philip Roth before reading this novel.  Despite all of his famous works, he’s always slipped under my radar.  But the urgency and political nature of this book made me want to read it right away.

What was so interesting to me about the novel was that, even though it is a fictionalized account of things that didn’t actually happen, I didn’t know a lot of the history behind the story.  And so I actually wound up learning a bit of American history from this novel. (more…)

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Italo Calvino–“Two Cosmicomics” (Harper’s, May 2009)

Posted in Anachronisms, Fables, Funny (strange), Harper's, Italo Calvino, Marriage Trouble, Martin McLaughlin, New Yorker, Outer Space, Pearl Jam, Short Story, Supernatural, Time Travel on April 29, 2009| 2 Comments »

harpers-maySOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Yield (1998)

yieldThis Pearl Jam disc is something of a return to form after the experimentation of No Code.  Part of me feels bad that they experimented less, because I do enjoy a band’s wild side, and yet these songs are uniformly fantastic, and they include some of my favorites by Pearl Jam.

“Brain of J” bursts out of the speakers, as one of their heavier opening tracks.  Catchy and fast.  “Faithful” starts as a ballady song but the choruses once again build into a great sing along.  “No Way” is a more experimental sounding song.  It’s right in the middle of their speeds, but the guitar has a mysterious echo on it that gives it an eerie feel. “Given to Fly” is a classic: slow, building, anthemic.  “Wishlist” is another of Sarah’s favorites: a simple, catchy melody that builds and builds.

“Pilate” is a rather confusing song: “Like Pilate, I have a dog”  Okay.  A gnashing rocking chorus with verses that are actually catchier.  “Do the Evolution” quickly became my favorite Pearl Jam song from the live sets.  This studio version is a little slower, and to me it sounds off.  But it’s such a weird little song, what with the “choir” singing “alleluia” and yet it is just a perfectly tidy punk song.  Certainly one of my favorite PJ songs.  The next untitled song (a red dot) is one of those weird, forgettable tracks that PJ throws on their albums, it’s less than a minute of steel drum inspired chanting.  It’s quickly followed by another of my favorite songs “MFC” a rocking song that sounds like its subject matter (driving).

“Low Light” is a slow song that builds, but it is a very full song; the whole band plays, keeping it from being dull. “In Hiding” has a great guitar opening and one of those great Pearl Jam singalong choruses. “Push Me, Pull Me” is another weird little track, that reminds me of some of the Who’s wackier numbers. “All Those Yesterdays” ends the disc on a quirky song.  It’s catchy but not as catchy as some tracks.

The album ends with an untitled hidden track. It’s a Middle Eastern style guitar solo. Amazon says the song is called “Hummus.”

I really enjoy this disc, it’s a shame it took me so long to discover it as I had given up on PJ after No Code.  But now it ranks as one of my favorites.

[READ: April 24, 2009] “Two Cosmicomics”

I’m not sure why all of these Calvino stories are appearing in magazines all of a sudden.  But after the one in the New Yorker not to long ago, I figured I’d give this one a try, too. (more…)

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Craig Boyko–“The Intruder” (The Walrus, May 2009)

Posted in Canadian Content, Craig Boyko, Meta, Pearl Jam, Short Story, The Walrus, Threats, Violence on April 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

walrusSOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-No Code (1996).

nocodeI’d always sort of liked this disc because of its principles–I believed that the title came about because there is no barcode on the disc.  Pearl Jam is always tilting at some windmill or another, and I can support that.

I’ve also learned that this is PJ’s least popular and lowest selling album.

And I can see why.  Although there are a number of great songs on the disc, the overall tempo is somewhat flat.  The disc is also quite varied, without any of the really typical Pearl Jam songs on it.  None of this is necessarily a bad thing, but it adds up to a Pearl Jam disc that doesn’t rock as hard as the others, and sounds rather unfamiliar.

“Sometimes” starts off the disc very slowly.  Something of an anomaly in itself for PJ. The song is strong but it doesn’t really build.  This is a stronger track live, where the atmospherics kick in better.

“Hail Hail” is a typical Pearl Jam number, perhaps the only one on the disc.  It’s pretty fast and furious and features some great bass work.  “Who You Are” was the first single, a slow Middle-Eastern tinged song.  The drums are also quite different on this track, as they are more tribal than rocking.  It’s a really enjoyable song but it’s not the kind to attract the masses.

“In My Tree” and “Smile” form the middle/mellow sound of this album.  Neither one has very loud guitars, although the chorus of “Smile” allows Eddie to give a good yell “I miss you already.”  (It also features a Neil Youngesque harmonica).  “In My Tree” features what sounds like a zither(!), and comes with more tribal drumming.

“Off He Goes” is one of the mellowest songs PJ have done.  The live song tends towards more emotion.  Its a great song, but it loses a bit in this studio recording.

On what would be the second side, Pearl Jam flexes its punk muscle: “Habit” and “Lukin” are some of the heaviest/hardest songs they’ve done.  And live, they are even faster.  The songs themselves are great, yet they really stick out on this mellow disc.

“Red Mosquito” is another midtempo rocker, although the guitar solo is pretty scorching.  “Present Tense” begins very slowly and sparsely.  It takes a long time to build although the conclusion is satisfying.

Another anomaly for this disc is the new vocalist: Stone Gossard sings “Mankind,” a pretty straight ahead rocker, that only stands out because of Gossard’s unusual voice.  It’s always funny to hear them play it live as it’s something of a unique treat, even if the song itself isn’t amazing.

I guess really the problem comes at the end…the disc just sort of fades away.  Neither of the last two songs is bad, but neither is really memorable.

I hate to dismiss the album as I do because the good songs are very good, it just feels kind of hodgepodgey.  There is talk of a lot of dissent within the band at the time of this recording and maybe that has something to do with it.

[READ: April 24, 2009] “The Intruder”

This story started out a little slow, progressed into an adrenaline rush, twisted into something potentially comic and then inverted itself in the last sentence. (more…)

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Pierdomenico Baccalario–Ulysses Moore series, books 1-4

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Egyptology, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Homer, Meta, Mystery, Pearl Jam, Puzzles, Supernatural, Threats, Time Travel, Wikipedia on April 25, 2009| 101 Comments »

masksSOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Vitalogy (1994).

vitalI always think of this as the “weird” Pearl Jam disc.  Mostly that’s because the contents are certainly weird (in that it’s made up like an old book, including excerpts from the book in the liner notes).  But also because it has some of Pearl Jam’s strangest songs on it, especially “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me,” easily one of the weirdest songs in their canon, and possibly the weirdest song on a major label.  It’s 7 minutes of samples and scratchy guitars.  And it’s more than a little creepy.  The disc also contains “Bugs” an accordion-based rant about, well, bugs. and “Aye Davanita” a sort of Eastern chanting type piece.

And so I tend to let these oddities overshadow the fact that Vitalogy is an amazing album full of some of Pearl Jam’s classic tracks.

The disc opens with “Last Exit” a song that packs in everything that Pearl Jam is known for: rocking guitars, a great chorus and a great guitar solo.  It’s followed by PJ’s ode to vinyl singles, “Spin the Black Circle,” a fast and furious punk song, not unlike “Whipping.”  Next is “Not For You” a slow builder that ends in some raucous screaming.  And “Tremor Christ”, whatever that means, continues in this rocking vein.

Then we get to “Nothingman” the first ballad on the record.  I never really cared for this song all that much, although after rocking out this record, I’ve been singing “Nothingman” for the last few days.  I guess I do actually like it.  I think the live version tends to have more oomph, though.

“Corduroy” is another classic Pearl Jam song, it opens slow, but builds to an infinitely singable chorus…no idea what corduroy has to do with the sing though.

“Better Man” is a wonderful ballad and is one of Sarah’s favorite songs.  It’s always a crowd pleaser .  The album ends with “Immortality” (except for “Foxymophandle…”) a great song of longing that really comes alive live.

And so, Vitalogy really is an amazing record. The eccentricities of the disc do not overshadow the great music at all, and it is easily one of the best.

[READ: May 2007 & April 21 & 22, 2009] Ulysses Moore Books 1, 2 & 3 & 4

I started this series almost two years ago.  In the midst of Sacred Games, I needed a break and this little series seemed ideal.  It’s a suspenseful mystery about three kids on the island of Kilmore Cove.  I had intended to read the third book, but it didn’t come out until a  few months later, and, believe it or not, my library never got a copy of it.

I had intended to write about the series back in May of 2007, and yet I didn’t.  Now that I’ve finished the fourth book, and will continue to read the series, I’ll start the write ups now.  (According to Wikipedia, there are eight [UPDATED: 11/16 there are now NINE] books in the series already, although only 4 have been translated into English at this point).

Scholastic doesn’t seem to know what to do with this series, which is a bit of a shame.  In fact, there’s very little about this series online.  I couldn’t even find a cover picture of books 3 or 4 that matched the style of 1 and 2.  (Leading me to believe that they were never released in hardcover).  It’s marketed as  a good series for fans of Spiderwick, and I guess that’s true, but they are not doing much to gain an audience for it. (more…)

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The Book of Other People [edited by Zadie Smith] (2007)

Posted in A.L. Kennedy, A.M. Homes, Adam Thirwell, Aleksandar Hemon, Andrew O'Hagan, Andrew Sean Greer, Chris Ware, Colm Tóibín, Consumerism, Daniel Clowes, Dave Eggers, David Mitchell, Drinking, Edwidge Danticat, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), George Saunders, Hari Kunzru, Heidi Julavits, Irish Writer, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Safran Foer, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Meta, Nick Hornby, Pearl Jam, Posy Simmonds, Pregnancy, Racism, Set in New Jersey!, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Supernatural, Toby Litt, Unreliable narrator, Vendela Vida, Violence, Zadie Smith, ZZ Packer on April 21, 2009| 1 Comment »

bookpeopleSOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Vs. (1993).

vsTen was a solid record, and although it had diversity within it, overall the sound was pretty consistent.  On Vs., Pearl Jam mixed it up sonically and otherwise.

It opens with “Go,” a track that rocks harder than anything on Ten but which retains a great Pearl Jam chorus.  “Animal” is also loud, with Eddie’s voice sounding incredibly rough and raw.

It’s on the 3rd track that PJ begin to really mix it up with their first ballad: “Daughter,” their first acoustic track.  It’s catchy, and really works with Eddie’s voice.  I can never listen to the next track “Glorified G” without thinking of my college roommate who spoiled it for me.  And I’ll spoil it for you because every time you hear the chorus you will now think “glorified version of a pelican.”  It’s not my favorite song anyway, as the chorus is kind of weird, but the verses are really strong and do redeem this track.

“Dissident” and “Blood” continue the great rocking vein.  Although they are quite different from each other, (“Blood” being much harder) they both showcase Pearl Jam’s excellent rock aesthetic.

The track between them, “W.M.A.” is the other track on the disc that shows Pearl Jam’s experimental side.  It’s percussion heavy and seems like a rambling track…it works much better live, actually.

“Rearviewmirror” on the other hand is PJ at their best, a fantastic rocking (but not too heavy) song with a great chorus, and excellent vocals by Eddie.   Its complement is “Elderly Woman…” which highlights the other end of PJ’s spectrum: a sort of ballad that rocks more than you might think.

“Rats” and “Leash” are two rough, almost punk songs that continue to mix up the tempo and tenor of the disc.  “Rats” seems to get ignored a lot even though its chorus is a good one, and “Leash” is another angry song that’s, again, enjoyable live.

“Indifference” ends the disc and it’s a song that I wasn’t all that excited about initially.  However, again, after hearing the live versions, I gained a much better appreciation for the song and now I really enjoy it.   All in all Vs, is a great step forward for Pearl Jam, strangely enough pulling them away from arena anthems and into more intimate areas.

[READ: April 16, 2009] The Book of Other People

I discovered this book by searching for A.M. Homes in our catalog.  I was surprised I had never heard of it.  The premise of this collection, put out by McSweeneys and benefiting 826 is that each author was asked to make up a character.  The requirement was that the story would be named after the character.  There were no other rules.  And as such, you get a wide variety of stories about all different characters: people and otherwise.  In fact, it’s surprising what a diverse collection of stories have arisen from this rather simple concept.

bookpeople2Zadie Smith is the editor and she wrote the introduction.  I like to cover all of the written pieces in the book, but there’s not much to say about the introduction except that it fills you in on the details of the collection.  She thanks Sarah Vowell for the idea but I gather that the rest of the work was done by her.

I’m not grousing about the different covers this time, I’m just showing the UK one.  It has the same basic set up, including pictures by Daniel Clowes, but as you can see, it’s slightly different.

And check out this roster of talent that has written (or drawn) a story: it’s like a who’s who of contemporary young writers. (more…)

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Helen Humphries–“The Whole Story” (The Walrus, April 2009)

Posted in Books about writers, Canadian Content, Helen Humphries, Pearl Jam, Short Story, The Walrus on April 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

walrus-409SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Ten [remixed] (2009).

ten1Pearl Jam reissued Ten this year with a new mix by Brendan O’Brien, the producer who has mixed the bulk of their catalog.  So, this gives everyone a chance to hear what it would have sounded like if it were released after Vs., or something like that.

The great news is that he barely changed anything on the record.  In fact it still sounds fantastic and rocks just as hard as the original.  Really there are two notable differences: the guitars sound a lot cleaner (word is that the band has been displeased with how much reverb was on the original recording).  And cleaning up the reverb has the same effect as if you had a copy of the tape and listened to it 100 times and then bought a new copy…everything sounds clear and bright and amazing.

This clean up allows you to hear a lot of the subtleties that were lost in the original mix: acoustic guitars and some bass parts come through, as does Eddie’s vocal track.  And that’s another feature of the remix: Eddie’s vocals are very clear.  Some of those lyrics where you never quite understood what he was saying are now clear, and his voice is closer in the mix, like he’s in the room with you.

There’s a few other minor changes, mostly in the end of songs, where one aspect is louder than it used to be.  Or, for instance the harmonic notes in the beginning and end of “Jeremy” are a little quieter.

All in all, there’s nothing revolutionary about this mix, it just makes the disc sound better.  I listened to the disc several times this weekend, and I really enjoyed it.

[READ: April 14, 2009] “The Whole Story”

This is a brief story about writer’s block.  The narrator is spending time in an artists’ colony as a way to be away from the world and finish her novel.

As the writers’s block and procrastination sets in, she finds new ways to not write her novel: playing piano, drawing swans, wandering around the grounds.  It is only when she actively helps some of the other artists, that she feels that she herself is no longer broken.

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