Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘NPR/PRI/PBS’ Category

David Bezmozgis–“Rome, 1978” (The Walrus, April 2011)

Posted in Culture Shock, David Bezmozgis, Excerpt, Fears, Nazis, Religion, Short Story, The Sound of Young America, The Walrus, Threats, Travel, Trenchmouth on June 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: TRENCHMOUTH-Vs the Light of the Sun (1994).

I learned about Trenchmouth from an interview with Fred Armisen on The Sound of Young America.  He informed us that he was the drummer in Trenchmouth before he was on SNL.  And he and Jesse Thorn had an amusing discussion about how he was sure they would make it big.  I can’t recall if they played a snippet of the band or not, but it’s a pretty laughable thought that Trenchmouth might be his claim to fame.  Because they are awesome, but they are totally NOT commercial.

In fact, just a few seconds into the lead-off track “Washington! Washington!” will tell you how noncommercial they are.  (It’s a sort of fast heavy punk version of prog rock–jazzy guitars, independent bass, wonderful drumming (Armisen kicks ass) and the screamed hyperkinetic vocals of Damon Locks (he’s passionate, man).

There’s a lot of atonal work here (“Washington! Washington!” opens with drums and Lock’s ragged voice), and once the guitars kick in, it actually makes the song more confusing.  “A Prescription Written in a Different Language” opens with wavering harmonic notes before busting into a full on punk noisefest.  The album lurches around to different styles of weird noise rock (most of the songs are quite short, although “A Man without Lungs” runs over 6 minutes).

But before making it sounds like this is a mess of a record, a few listens will reveal the sanity beneath the chaos.  There are even some discernible choruses: “Here Comes the Automata”‘s “Everybody needs protection” and “Bricks Should Have Wings”‘ “Let the bricks fly” are fun to sing along to.  Similarly, the guitar work that opens “Set the Oven at 400” is rather conventional and quite pretty.

This disc is not for most people, but Trenchmouth is a cool band that has been unfairly lost to the annals of history.

[READ: April 4, 2011] “Rome, 1974”

I had received a pre-pub of Bezmozgis’ novel The Free World, but I haven’t read it yet.  I am interested in Bezmozgis’ writing and was planning to read the book.  As it turns out this “story” is really an excerpt from the novel.

The story is about the Krasnansky family, a Jewish extended family emigrating from the Soviet Union to Italy.  The opening scenes detail the physical hardship that such a move would have taken (it’s played for somewhat comic effect when the large duffel bags are thrown off the train).  There is much dissent among the family members although they sem to settle in well–except for patriarch Samuil who is disconcerted by everything and unhappy to have left the communist country he feels comfortable in. (more…)

Read Full Post »

L. M. Montgomery–Emily of New Moon (1923)

Posted in 19th Century, Canadian Content, Children's Books, Low, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Morality, Poetry, Set at School, Tiny Desk Concert on June 6, 2011| 4 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: LOW-Tiny Desk Concert #129 (May 22, 2011).

In March, I reviewed (and loved) Low’s new single, “Try to Sleep.”  That song and two others are presented here in this Tiny Desk concert.

The band for this gig is just Alan Sparhawk on guitar and vocals and his wife Mimi Parker on backing vocals (and thigh slaps).  It’s a very stripped down sound, but it really suits these songs (I don’t know the originals of the other two–“Nightingale” and “Something’s Turning Over”) which all come from their new album C’mon.

Their harmonies are wonderful (they are quite striking on “Something’s Turning Over” where I thought she was playing a keyboard, but it is her voice!) and the melodies are pretty terrific too.   As I said last time, I’ve never really listened to Low very much (I’ve been sort of turned off at the idea of their being spare and depressing).  Strangely, this session which is just the two of them is the opposite of spare.  I don’t know if this is a good introduction to the band, but it’s a wonderful introduction to this album.   And it’s a surprisingly catchy collection of songs from a bunch of ol’ mopesters.

Although, perhaps the biggest surprise comes at the end of the show when, before leaving, Sparhawk starts playing “Sweet Home Alabama” and Parker even gets the “turn it up” part right.

I wasn’t expecting to listen to this more than once or twice, but I’m really entranced by this session.

[READ: May 10, 2011] Emily of New Moon

Sarah loves the Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon book series.  She still has the books from when she was a kid (the copy I read has her signature and phone number (several area code changes ago) written on the inside front cover).  After reading the L.M. Montgomery biography, I figured it was time to look into these books. I was going to start with Anne, but we watched the movie not too long ago so I decided that I’d start fresh with an unknown subject.

Emily is a 12-year-old girl whose mother has died and whose father is deathly ill.  Indeed, within a chapter or two, Emily finds herself an orphan.  I don’t know a thing about 100 year old adoption laws in Canada, but the upshot is that someone from Emily’ mother’s family, the Murrays, will take care of her until she is old enough to do so on her own.  However Emily’s mother ran off with a boy when she was very young (which was a disgrace to the family name), and Emily herself is a willful and strong child.  Frankly, no one wants her.  So, with Emily eavesdropping, the Murray clan discusses her future and decides to make her draw straws for her fate. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Austin Clarke–“Where Are the Men?” (The Walrus, June 2008)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Austin Clarke, Canadian Content, Culture Shock, Death, Fujiya and Miyagi, Short Story, The Walrus, Threats, Violence, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on June 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FUJIYA AND MIYAGI-Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC April 30, 2007 (2007).

I was turned onto Fujiya & Miyagi through a sampler CD from WXPN (the song “Ankle Injuries” was included).  “Ankle Injuries” has such a simple template.  It’s an electronic song, full of washes and beats–nothing too high or low–with the repeated lyrics (sort of whispered) “Fujiya, Miyagi.”  I kind of forget that there are other lyrics, since that “chorus” is repeated some seventy times during the song.  The rest of the lyrics are also whispered (but mixed loud so they are audible) and are sort of weird, rambling nonsense.

It’s slick and catchy and with the simple lyrics, it’s really easy to sing (or whisper) along.  The problem is that pretty much all of their songs (in this live NPR show, anyhow) sound like this.  That’s dismissive and not entirely true, but they all tend to follow this similar template: smooth, catchy keyboard melodies and whispered vocals.

The thing is that it works quite well, and the show is kind of fun.  And yet, it’s also rather repetitive.  This seems to be the kind of show that I need to be in the mood to enjoy.  It also makes me glad I didn’t buy the album.  I think little doses are enough for me.

This concert (available from )

[READ: April 1, 2011] “Where Are the Men”

This is  another story that, once I was about halfway through, I remembered reading the first time.  This one in particular was quite memorable because of the middle section.  But let’s go back to the beginning.

As the story opens, a woman is talking, out loud, to herself.  Her name is Eye-Dora; she’s in a dark basement and sees searchlights flooding into her room.  But she herself is dark: her skin is dark, her house is dark so she feels safe.

She is from Barbados, a single mother (her husband left many years ago and is now dead) with a son who wears a robe and now goes by a muslim name.  Eye-Dora is pissed.  She is pissed at the state of black men in Toronto.   She is pissed that a black man is going through her garbage and leaving it strewn all around.  She is pissed that a black man was killed for wandering down the street claiming to be Jesus.  She is pissed. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jaspreet Singh–“Mont Royal” (The Walrus, September 2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Arranged Marriage, Canadian Content, Culture Shock, James Joyce, Jaspreet Singh, KUT 90.5 FM--Austin, TX, New Yorker, Romance, Sharon Van Etten, Short Story, The Walrus on June 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SHARON VAN ETTEN-Live at SXSW (2011).

Sharon Van Etten has a lot of sessions at NPR.  Not too many are downloadable, but this one is.  This is a fascinating set because it’s a special breakfast show for KUT. (See in the picture she’s doing Java Jive).  (She also plays a show later that night, but it’s not available here).

The set is four songs (all from Epic) on acoustic guitar.  The really different thing about this set than any of the other things I’ve heard from her is that her voice sounds really gravelly (like she just woke up–which she may have, almost all of her between song banter is about how it’s early–it’s either endearing or annoying).  Normally, Sharon has a really amazing voice–high and soaring.  This time it’s much  raspier.  But the interesting thing is that it works well.  She never misses a note and it brings an interesting growly tone to these (somewhat) angry songs.

It’s a great (although brief) set.

[READ: March 30, 2011] “Mont Royal”

This is a very brief (three column) story that reads like a stream of consciousness piece.  And that is appropriate because it not only references Ulysses, it actually quotes the end of the novel.

There are many fascinating things about this story.  First off, it is written in direct address: “When I moved to the city, ladies, …” but we never find out who the ladies are.  Second, it begins with the humorous idea that the narrator–upon moving to Montreal–believed for many years that the cross on the to of Mont Royal was a plus sign (he is an engineer). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Camilla Gibb–“The Principles of Exile” (The Walrus, July/August 2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Books about writers, Camilla Gibb, Canadian Content, Fears, Firewater, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Letters to Cleo, Religion, Short Story, The Walrus, Violence, Yuck! on May 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FIREWATER-Performance from KEXP, July 3, 2008 (2008).

I loved Firewater when their first two albums came out and I even saw them once open for Letters for Cleo (a great show by both bands).  Then I more or less lost touch with them.  And it turns out that lead Firewater dude Tod A. had been out of the country for a while.

The interview (and concert) with them details his distaste for the Bush administration and his decision to get the hell out of the country for a while.  So he spent three years traveling around India, Turkey, Pakistan and then returned with this album.  I wasn’t aware of any of that, or even that they had a new album out in 2008.

Firewater had a very cool (and reasonably original) sound when they came out back in 1996.  They had a middle eastern vibe even back then which they blended nicely with theatrical pomp and a whole lot of punk.  They threw everything together into a rollicking good time (even if the lyrics were very dark indeed).

The 2008 album The Golden Hour seems a bit more upbeat (touring the world did him good) although it hasn’t changed the overall style of the music.  This live set includes several new musicians for Firewater, and their array of skills (and instruments) is great.  But the most surprising thing to me is how friendly and jovial Tod A. is.  As I said, I knew the band as being kind of angry, so hearing him be fun (and inviting the KEXP volunteers to sing gloriously chaotic backing vocals on “Beirut”) is really cool.

In total the band does four songs: “Hey Clown,” “Electric City,” “6:45,” and “Borneo.”  I think the biggest surprise for me is how short the songs are.  Not punk short, but more like pop song length.  And super catchy as well.

It’s a welcome return to a great band.  Although I see they haven’t released anything else since 2008.

[READ: April 4, 2011] “The Principles of Exile”

This was a fascinating and very sad story which had multiple layers and went in many unexpected directions.  It was really great.

As the story opens, Manny is sent to get some “special” cheese from a shop.  The cheese is called halloumi, and the best kind is made in a bucket behind their counter.  He is sent for this cheese because his mother is making a special dinner.

The dinner is in honor of Monsieur Sarkis’s new book.  There was a fatwa leveled against Sarkis for his previous book.  And that previous book (naturally) went on to be a best seller.  Well, Manny’s father had the publishing rights to the book (normally his publishing house was on the verge of bankruptcy, so a huge best seller was a big deal for them).  They didn’t even mind the fatwa.

Until it started to affect them personally. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Five Dials Number 6: The Obscenity Issue (22 May 2009)

Posted in Advice, Alain de Botton, All Songs Considered, Art Spiegelman, Battles, Books about writers, Craig Taylor, Culture Shock, D.H. Lawrence, Essays, Five Dials, Free Speech, Helmet, History, Morality, Paul Maliszewski, Play (Drama), Poetry, Pornography, Religion, Sex, Steve Toltz, Tomahawk, Violence, War on May 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BATTLES-“Ice Cream” (2011).

My friend Lar told me about Battles way back in 2007.  I listened to the concert he sent me, and it was great. But my memory of the band was that they were really heavy (the drummer was in Helmet and Tomahawk for cripessakes).

But they’re not so much heavy as noisy and crazy.  And this track is a head-spinning amalgam of keybaords, unsettling rhythms, processed guitars and singing from Argentinean techno producer Matias Aguayo.  The lyrics sound like they are not English, but they are (with heavy effects on them).

The song is weird, indeed. But after just one listen, I was totally hooked.  It’s catchy and bouncy and very sunny and it’s a real joy to listen to.   I absolutely must go back and check out their debut Mirrored.

Listen at NPR.

[READ: April 28, 2011] Five Dials Number 6

Five Dials Number 5 was an excellent issue that I enjoyed immensely.  They followed it up with Number 6, which deals with a subject that I was very passionate about in the early 90s: censorship/obscenity.  When I was in high school and college, the PMRC was the big bogeyman for advocates of free speech (of which I am one).  I still advocate passionately for freedom of speech (now that I’m in a library, the issue can be part of my daily life), but it seems like there are so many more important issues in the world, that stickers on a record seem kind of silly.

Nevetheless, as this issue reminds us, those who control what is said control what we hear.  And that’s true for music and books, as well as our everyday news.  So, free speech should never be taken lightly.  Although this issue looks largely at obscenity in England, they also pull up some good information from Jello Biafra as well.

CRAIG TAYLOR-A Letter from the Editor: On John Mortimer and Obscenity
John Mortimer appears later in the issue. He was the lawyer who defended Lady Chatterly’s Lover against accusations of obscenity.  And Taylor points out that Mortimer’s attitude was that he “understood the silliness of censorship.”  And with that attitude, he was able to work to convince juries of that silliness.  The rest of the issue looks at important cases of censorship over the years, from The Dead Kennedys to NWA (it’s nice to be reminded about how “dangerous” they were when they came out).  He also laughs at the lame attempts at putting adult content on network TV (Fudge you!). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Zadie Smith–2 book reviews (Harper’s, May 2011)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Book Reviews, Books about writers, Death, Edouard Levé, Essays, Harper's, Language, Marriage Trouble, Peter Stamm, Pokey LaFarge, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Suicide, Tiny Desk Concert, Zadie Smith on May 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: POKEY LaFARGE-Tiny Desk Concert #122 (April 20, 2011).

I had never heard of Pokey LaFarge before this Tiny Desk concert was sitting in my download folder.  In fact, the notes on the page say that they had never heard of him before they saw him wandering around SXSW.  And then he climbed onstage and played a great set.

LaFarge plays an old-timey style of music.  It’s a kind of Squirrel Nut Zippers retro sound.  As with the Zippers, I love their music in small doses.  And so, this Tiny Desk set is a perfect little sample of LaFarge’s music: happy, bouncy, jazzy.  There’s an upright bass solo, songs about being happy and singing “La La La” and other upbeat stuff.  It’s quite satisfying.

Especially if, as the notes say, you use it as a kind of antidote to the raucous music that you generally listen to.  A Pokey LaFarge song will perk you out of any self-inflicted gloom.  I just don’t need to hear more than three.

[READ: April 15, 2011] 2 book reviews

It looks like Zadie Smith has become a regular fixture at Harper’s.  I’m undecided if I’m going to review all of her book reviews from now on (perhaps I’ll lump some together in one post).  But in the meantime, I’m mentioning this one primarily because she reviews the story that I mentioned in yesterday’s post: Edouard Levé’s Suicide. (more…)

Read Full Post »

David Rakoff–Fraud (2001)

Posted in Adventure, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Culture Shock, David Rakoff, David Sedaris, Environmentalism, Funny (ha ha), Garbage, Humiliation, Lush, Masturbation, Metric, The Daily Show, This American Life, Travel on May 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: METRIC-Fantasies (2009).

I was hooked by the song “Gold Guns Girls.”  I liked it so much, I bought the disc, and I was absolutely not disappointed.  This disc reminds me of all of the best things about late 90s alt rock (one of my favorite musical periods).  There are echoes of later period Lush, or of Garbage or some other slickly produced commercial alt-rock.

I’m led to understand that this disc would merit cries of sell-out from older fans (their earlier stuff it a bit rougher, I gather), and yes, this is a pretty commercial release, but I don’t mind.  The songs are all top-notch: great songwriting, catchy choruses, wonderful production.  And there’s something slightly uncommercial about the lyrics which I think is what keeps this album from being too slick for its own good.

I have listened to this disc dozens of times at this point and I never get tired of it.  And, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go back and get some of their earlier releases too.

[READ: May 15, 2011] Fraud

I’ve seen Rakoff on the Daily Show, and his name has been cropping up in various places lately.  So I decided to read his actual published work to see what he was all about.

Fraud is his first book.  It is mostly funny, although it also dwells on serious matters by the end of the book.  In many ways Rakoff is like a slightly wilder, slightly edgier version of David Sedaris (the two have a long history of friendship and working together, so this may not be totally surprising).

I’m not going to compare him to Sedaris in any meaningful way, just to say that there are similarities of temperament and style; I don’t think either one of them is hilarious, but that I enjoy both of them and often laugh pretty hard at their material.

I’m also not going to review each essay in this book.  It seems to be constructed in a vague sort of narrative arc.  Well, actually, the second half of the book has the narrative arc (I suspect that the essays that were published previously were modified slightly and that the new essays allude to some of the incidents mentioned there.

The first few essays of the book are the funnier ones (insert joke about Woody Allen’s early funny movies here), and they stick more to the idea of Rakoff as a “Fraud.”  In them, Rakoff, a Canadian ex-pat (he’s from Toronto), somewhat neurotic, gay, New York Jew goes to different locations where he is an atypical person and then reports on them. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Marni Jackson–“Bob Dylan Goes Tubing” (The Walrus, July/August 2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Bob Dylan, Broken Bells, Canadian Content, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Marni Jackson, Short Story, Summer, The Walrus on May 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BROKEN BELLS Live at SXSW, March 17, 2010 (2010).

The only disappointing thing about this download from NPR’s All Songs Considered is that it consists of only three songs now.  I guess the band (or more likely the label) didn’t want the whole show streaming or downloadable, so they let us have three songs (the original show was ten).

But three is better than nothing.  The excerpt includes “The High Road,” “The Ghost Inside” and “October.”

The band sounds great in this setting.  I’m unclear just who all is playing live, but the page says that the live band is a six piece (with Danger Mouse jumping from drums to keyboards and back again).  They reproduce the songs very well, but at the same time they’re not just mimicking the album.

It’s a nice teaser to want to see them live.

[READ: April 4, 2011] “Bob Dylan Goes Tubing”

Today is Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday.  It’s not often that I get a story that coincides with a day quite so nicely.  Happy birthday, Bob.

This begins as a delightfully weird little story and develops into a strangely profound story about family and celebrity.

A family is renting a vacation home by Lake Sturgeon for the summer.  The mother notices a man on a raft who is floating towards them.  And she says that from a distance the guy looks like Bob Dylan, only older.  (He is older, her husband ponts out).

When the man gets closer, he reveals himself to indeed be Bob Dylan.  Well, he doesn’t reveal himself to be Dylan, he just is Dylan. And he accepts their hospitality and doesn’t make a fuss.  He thinks that he’s on a different lake (Lake Kashagawigamog), but he seems content where he is.

And that’s when their son Ryan, introduces him to the fun of tubing.

There is a lot of humor to the story (it was a National Magazine Award Nominee in the humor category), but it’s not a very funny story.  Obviously the premise of Bob Dylan tubing s quite funny, but as the story continues its proves itself to be not so funny.

For Dylan won’t leave. He stays in their house, and the family is basically paying for his food and cigarettes.  (Okay, that is quite funny).  He’s a good companion for the family (especially Ryan, whom he is teaching to play guitar), but he has never once offered to pay for anything.  (No even a cheque when he leaves?)

As the story and the summer draw to a close, some of Dylan’s loneliness is revealed.  And the story ends on a poignant yet positive note.

It’s really quite a nice story.  I wonder what won the Award that year.

It’s available here.

Read Full Post »

Nadia Kalman–“The Counterpart” (The Walrus, July/August 2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Broken Social Scene, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Feist, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Metric, Nadia Kalman, Short Story, The Walrus, World Cafe Live on May 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE-World Cafe March 2, 2006 (2006).

Broken Social Scene played at the World Cafe not long after their release of Broken Social Scene (their 3rd album).  This download is primarily an interview between World Cafe’s David Dye and BSS’s Kevin Drew & Brendan Canning, but there’s also three songs that the band played for the session (it’s impossible to know how many songs they played in total, because the songs were recorded prior to the interview–I’m not even sure how many members played live as they were never introduced.)

The songs sound interesting in this recording.  I haven’t listened to the album in a long time, so I don’t recall if these versions sound like the disc; however, these three tracks are fascinating for how quiet they seem to be, despite the fact that there are so many people in the session.  “Something for the Holidays” has at least one violin, a horn section, guitars and several vocalists, and yet it’s rather quiet.  Not mixed quiet mind you, but like everybody is whispering (even the horns).  It makes for an amazingly intimate session.

“Major Label Debut” is a bit more stripped down, but there are clearly a lot of people playing.  The final track, “Ibi Dreams of Pavement” really sounds like a Pavement song in the beginning.  The slightly out of tune violins work perfectly, and whoever is singing has a Stephen Malkmus thing down quite well.

The interview is fascinating (and quite lengthy).  They discuss the origins of the band, how fifteen people can play and tour together and the amazing success that so many of the individuals of the band have had (Feist, Metric etc).  There’s also an explanation about the origin of the title and the sounds of “Ibi Dreams of Pavement.”

It’s a good session and is certainly going to get me to listen to their discs again.

[READ: April 4, 2011] “The Counterpart”

This bizarre story can certainly be called Kafkaesque, if for no other reason than that the narrator, Aleksey, wakes up from a night of drinking to find out that his nose is gone.  Not torn off, not bloody, not broken, just gone.  His face is now flat with two holes for breathing.

This bizarre incident no doubt stems from his childhood hatred of his large Semitic nose (despite his being a Christian) and the years of abuse he received about it.  First he thinks his lover, Tatiana, is somehow responsible.  But when she comes over she is just as surprised as he.  Nevertheless, she is insistent that he must carry on as normal, for he must improve his lot (and thereby hers).

Because Aleksey is not faring so well (nose aside).  He has not been given tenure, his wife and child have left him and he is stuck translating poor Russian works into English.  Tatiana has set up a job interview for him and the interview is today.  But how can he go with no nose? (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »