SOUNDTRACK: LATER WITH JOOLS HOLLAND (Ovation TV) (2010–but obviously not really).
I’ve known about Jools Holland for years, and even knew about Later… from some other source (maybe it was on BBC America?). But anyhow it is now being broadcast on Ovation TV (and what is that? I’d never have heard of it except that TiVo found a Flaming Lips show for me).
The premise of Later is that there is one center stage, and encircling it are five or so bands. The bands all face the center (where the camera is) so they get to watch the other bands, too. Each band plays a song or two or three (depending on popularity I guess). And it’s live and fun and generally a good time.
This episode, as I said, had the Flaming Lips on it. I noted that the TiVo info said 2010, but the Lips played songs from At War with the Mystics, so it was more likely 2006. Also on the bill were The Divine Comedy (and I was very excited when it said 2010, because I thought that DC had a new disc out, sigh). The Strokes, Cat Power and a couple other folks rounded out the bill.
It was quite a show, and felt like they packed in a lot more than an hour’s worth of music. The Lips especially pulled of an amazing three song set (scattered throughout the program, by the way) with a ton of scaled back, but still fun live gadgets (oversized hands, confetti etc). And, they did a rocking cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
I asked TiVo to tape more Later. If the diversity of artists here is any indication, I assume you;’e bound to get at least one band you like on every show. Cool.
[READ: January 19, 2010] “The Dime Store Floor”
I don’t often review Personal Histories from The New Yorker, but every once in a while one grabs me. And this is one of them.
I have to assume that everyone feels that smells are highly evocative, so I’m not unique in feeling that scent is super powerful. And yet, I think I tend to overlook smells in my daily life, even though I’m always secretly hoping for one to whack me up the side of the head and say, hey remember this!
And this piece is all about revisiting scents: both intentionally and accidentally.
I really enjoyed the closing where he opens the Old Spice deodorant and flashes back to his father. However, I had one major question/quibble with the author. Well, two actually.
The first was this: “A few years ago, an online store I’d been using ran out of my regular brand of deodorant, and, because I was unable to think of anything else, I switched to Old Spice, the kind my father used.” Okay, that, wait what? You buy your deodorant online? You couldn’t go to any store anywhere and just buy another roll-on? What kind of unique deodorant could this possibly be and conversely how could Old Spice possibly compare?
The second, a little further down: “…went to a local drug store to buy replacement [toiletries]. There I saw that Old Spice deodorant comes in more strength, formulations and scents than I had thought and realized that the one I’d been using High Endurance Pure Sport couldn’t have been my father’s.” Where exactly does David Owen live that he didn’t know Old Spice had a huge line of deodorants out? Go to any store in America, heck open a magazine, you can’t miss it! I myself am monogamous to Tom’s of Maine, and even I know there’s like a half dozen Secret containers on the shelf!
Owen clearly has the internet, so it’s not like he’s unaware of the outside world, and the whole story is about interacting with others, so he’s not a recluse. I’m just baffled by all this. (And Sarah and I had a good laugh too). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: ——-
The CD player in my car died.
I also have 2 CDs in the player, and they won’t play or eject! The one disc is no biggie, Sabotage by Black Sabbath, easily replaceable and for cheap too. The other one, however, is The Tragically Hip’s Live from the Vault Vol. 4 which came free with their new album, 
We Are the Same. I don’t think it’s available anywhere (not even on their website yet). When I go in for my 60,000 mile tune up next month, I’m going to hope they can rescue it.
SOUNDTRACK: THE DIVINE COMEDY-Casanova (1996)
Following Promenade, Neil Hannon released Casanova. Stylistically it is very different. It features more of a band, rather than an orchestra (although it retains an orchestral feel). Perhaps because of this, there were three singles from the album, all of which charted in the UK. “Something for the Weekend” is a wonderfully fun song, full of twists and double crosses, sex and debauchery and, of course, something in the woodshed (all in just over 4 minutes). It’s a fantastic lead off single.
SOUNDTRACK: THE DIVINE COMEDY-Liberation (1993).
This is considered by many to be the “first” Divine Comedy album, even though Neil Hannon released a previous album under the name Divine Comedy (Fanfare for the Comic Muse). He disowned that album, but, as you do, he reissued it several years later after much demand.
SOUNDTRACK: THE DIVINE COMEDY-Promenade (1994).
I heard about The Divine Comedy in the beloved British magazine Q. I used to get every issue up until about two years ago. I enjoyed their reviews, and especially enjoyed learning about bands that were under the radar here. I think the Divine Comedy album that was being talked about was Casanova, but I wound up getting Promenade first. And once I did, I was hooked.
I Just Read About That... 