SOUNDTRACK: THE SWELL SEASON-Strict Joy (2009).
I bought this disc for Sarah after it came out. I didn’t think that I would enjoy it that much because while I loved the movie Once, I wasn’t sure if I needed more from Glen and Marketa. But then I found a whole slew of free concerts from NPR and I became hooked on the band.
The disc opens with “Low Rising” (what I think of as the “Van Morrison” song). It gets better with each listen. It’s a slow ballad which is followed by “Feeling the Pull,” a more up-tempo song that really highlights Marketa’s beautiful harmonies. “In These Arms” is a gorgeous song. The verses are downbeat and somber “if you stay…with that asshole…it will only lead to harm” but again the harmonies are gorgeous. “The Rain” is a more rocking tune (within reason, of course). It has an interesting middle section that quiets down, but it’s a solid folk rocking song.
“Fantasy Man” is Marketa’s first lead vocal song on the disc. I like her voice but sometimes I find her lead songs to be a bit too wispy, too quiet. I like this song, but it feels long (and at 5 minutes, it is). “Paper Cup” is one of Glen’s quiet ballads. It’s a pretty song. “High Horses” is one that I didn’t know from the live sets, I guess it’s not too popular with the band, but I think it’s strong. It runs a little long but that’s because it has a cool middle section that keeps building and building with more instruments and voices. “The Verb” is another song that I didn’t know. It has a cool intensity to it and while it doesn’t stand out as a hit, it’s certainly an enjoyable song.
“I Have Loved You Wrong” is another pretty Marketa song, but again it’s very slow and very long. I don’t think I could buy her solo album because although her voice is lovely and her melodies are nice, they’re just so ephemeral I can’t really get into them. “Love That Conquers” is an interesting song. It sounds nothing like The Swell Season (must be the banjo). It’s a nice addition to the album and should maybe have been placed a little earlier to break up the sound style a bit more. “Back Broke” ends the disc very strongly. Although I think the song works better live (with audience participation), the melody and tone of the song are somberly beautiful.
There are moments of this disc when it turns out to be what I feared the whole disc would be–bland folkiness. But overall this is an enjoyable album for a rainy day. And Hansard really has an amazing voice. However, I really like them better live.
[READ: December 26, 2011] Third Reich
I was pretty excited when I heard about this book, although I must admit I was a little concerned by the title. Bolaño has a kind of weird Nazi fascination. There is Nazi Literature in America and then a whole section of 2666 is given over to Nazi Germany. He doesn’t like Nazis or anything but he writes about them a lot and it can be a little exhausting. So it was with some relief that I learned that Third Reich is the name of a game that the main character plays. It is a kind of historical reimagining kind of game (I guess like Risk but more specific and with more at stake). It is set during the time of the Third Reich and the players represent various countries (or perhaps even powers).
I am giving up on explaining the game from here on because a) there’s a lot about the game in the book and b) I’m not sure if it wasn’t explained very thoroughly or if I just missed out on exactly what was happening. During the book he talks about Hexes 65 through 68 and so on. So I assume the map of the world is a hex grid. But he never gives any context (or even a picture!–and this makes sense as it’s written as the diary of a well-regarded player who is not trying to teach us the game). So while I understand the general tenets and play of the game (there’s a die (or dice) and tokens that reside on the board), the specifics are completely nebulous. But that’s okay. Because the game specifics don’t impact the book, but the game overall is at the heart of the book. I think it’s neat that Bolaño invented a game (and several others games are named, but no details are given). He is clearly very gifted at inventing people, games, things.
But as I said, the game is only a part of the book and in fact, the game details don’t enter into the book until about half way through. (more…)
