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Archive for the ‘NPR/PRI/PBS’ Category

Five Dials Number 5 (2009)

Posted in Advice, Alain de Botton, Alberto Fusi, All Songs Considered, Anthea Bell, Biography, Books about writers, Charles Baudelaire, Essays, Excerpt, Five Dials, Gail Armstrong, Howard Goldblatt, J.M.G. Le Clézio, James Attlee, Joe Dunthorne, Johannes Vermeer, Kurt Weill, Letters, Paul Wilson, PJ Harvey, Poetry, Roberto Bolaño, Roger Deakin, Samuel Beckett, Short Story, Violence, W.G. Sebald, Yuck! on May 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PJ HARVEY-Live at the Warfield Theater, San Francisco, April 14, 2011 (2011).

NPR was given permission to share this PJ Harvey concert.  However, they were only allowed to share about half of it.  The show is fairly short to begin with (about 75 minutes) but the downloadable portion is barely 40 minutes.  It turns out that NPR was given the rights to all of the songs from the new album, Let England Shake.

Now, I have no idea how things like this work, why they are only given access to these songs as opposed to the other ones, or why an artist (or management) would not let her fans hear the ten or so other songs she played that night.  Legal restrictions are weird and usually stupid. But as I’ve mentioned before, you shouldn’t complain about free stuff.

So, what we get here is a spliced together concert (it sounds seamless, although they have removed all of the banter (if there was any)).  The album is played in its entirety (although we were not given “Written on the Forehead” which happens to be the song they are playing the most on the radio here), but it’s not played in order.  It was also interspersed with older songs “The Devil” and “Silence” from White Chalk, “The Sky Lit Up” and Angeline” from Is This Desire, “Pocket Knife” from Uh Huh Her, “Down by the Water” and “C’mon Billy” from To Bring Her My Love, (I’d like to hear how she handles the older songs, now that’s she’s singing primarily in the higher register).  And, “Big Exit” from Stories from the City.

It’s pretty clear that Harvey is no longer the young woman who made those first couple albums.  And she sounds strong and confident here.  It’s a great set; the autoharp never sounded better.

[READ: April 20, 2011] Five Dials Number 5

I have been enjoying all of the Five Dials, but this issue is easily my favorite so far.  The “theme” of this issue is translation.  Translators are the unheralded workers in literature, and while I have been trying to give them credit in my posts, I don’t always pay them enough attention (except when a translation is awkward or clunky).

But in addition to the theme (and the really cool interviews with some translators, I thought the fiction was outstanding and I loved Alain de Botton’s Advice column.  The whole issue was great. (more…)

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Wayne Grady–“The Man on the Island” (The Walrus, April 2007)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Boredom, Canadian Content, Culture Shock, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Short Story, The Walrus, Unreliable narrator, Vampire Weekend, Wayne Grady on May 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: VAMPIRE WEEKEND-KEXP performance & interview (2008)

While trolling around NPR’s Favorite Sessions Pages (an amazing place to look for live music!), I found this Vampire Weekend in-studio session from KEXP in Seattle (whose site features some amazing shows that you can listen to (but I don’t think any are downloadable).  This interview and performance was before the band’s debut album had come out (and they had only been playing live for about six months).

So the set has four songs.  All will appear on the debut album, but they sound a little different.  Perhaps it’s the in-studio sound recording or perhaps they play them a tad bit slower, but you can hear the words more clearly (which is cool) and some of the beats are sustained a bit longer.  It’s a wonderful set.

The interview is also fun.  The interviewer is pretty well gushing all over the band.  But he asks interesting questions–it’s amazing to be reminded just how young the guys are.  The DJ also asks about their influences and that’s kind of an interesting discussion, although thy don’t really admit to any specific influences (rats).

It’s a wonderful (if not too brief) session, and well worth a listen.

[READ: March 27, 2011] “The Man on the Island”

I really enjoyed the way this story was constructed. It went through several different teasers before settling down into what the story would ultimately be about.

It opens with a taxi driving through Bridgetown in Barbardos.  The passenger, a reporter from Canada, asks the driver, Calvin Braithwaite, to drive him all over the island on a special commission.  Braithwaite agrees, and they spend the reporter’s few days in Barbados together.  When the reporter leaves, he asks for Calvin’s email address and phone number, for possible follow-up.

This introduction leads us to assume that the story is about the reporter.  And also that Calvin is “the man on the island.” (more…)

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Nicholson Baker–“Why I’m a Pacifist” (Harper’s, May 2011)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Buke and Gass, Death, Harper's, Military, Morality, Nazis, Nicholson Baker, Racism, Religion, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence on May 16, 2011| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BUKE AND GASS-Tiny Desk Concert #95 (December 6, 2010).

Buke and Gass’ album Riposte made the NPR’s 50 Favorites of 2010.  I listened to a track and liked it but I wasn’t blown away by it.  Nevertheless, I wanted to check out this Tiny Desk concert because I was sure it would be interesting.  And so it is.  And it makes me like them infinitely more–enough to check out their whole album.

The initial attraction to Buke and Gass is their homemade instruments (and if you watch the video, you can kind of see how they work, except I want to know more details (there must be foot pedals of all kinds to make these exquisite sounds)).  Arone Dyer sings and plays a modified baritone ukulele (who even knew such a thing existed) and makes incredibly squalling, cool effects come from it.  Aron Sanchez plays a modified guitar/bass hybrid (there’s bass and guitar strings-the bass are filtered through one amp, while the guitar goes through another).  And someone is playing a tambourine and a bass drum (I think it’s Sanchez with his (unseen) feet).

The songs are weird but incredibly catchy.  Dyer’s voice is wonderful, and perhaps the most amazing thing is that she seems to be playing guitar harmonies to complement her voice and it makes it sound like there are two singers.  It’s also amazing how much noise they make with these two instruments.

The whole set is wonderful and if they can do this on live, I can’t wait to see what the can do with studio magic. Now, just what the hell does their name mean?

[READ: April 15, 2011] “Why I’m a Pacifist”

I enjoyed Nicholson Baker’s earlier works quit a bit, but I have missed a lot of his more recent releases.  Nevertheless, Baker is unafraid of controversy and I enjoy reading what he has to say.

In this article he defends his belief in pacifism. What’ surprising to me is that in his biographical introduction he talks  about his earlier life as a red-blooded Young Republican.  I never would have figured that Baker has such a past, but he evidently did. When he grew out of that phase, he opened himself up to the possibilities of pacifism (which his wife thoroughly supported). (more…)

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Yannick Murphy–Here They Come (2006)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Boredom, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, McSweeney's, Sex, The Head and the Heart, Unlikable main character, Unreliable narrator, Yannick Murphy, Yuck! on May 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE HEAD AND THE HEART-SXSW, March 18, 2011 (2011).

Just months after their in-studio session, The Head and the Heart played South by Southwest.  This set seems somehow louder than the in-studio (which seems a very common phenomenon–the bands just seems to be quieter in-studio somehow, even if they are playing hard, it still seems subdued, which isn’t bad at all, just odd).  So here, the band really lets loose (or maybe it’s because they’ve been playing no for six extra months?) and they sound like they’re really having fun.

Their sound is loud and (somewhat) chaotic, and it really suits them.  The set list is similar to the in-studio (they also play “Cats and Dogs” which segues into “Coeur d’Alene”).  “Ghosts” and “Lost in My Mind” are also here (“Lost” sounds great in this rambling, somewhat shambolic format).  They also play “Down in the Valley.”  Added to the set are “Winter Song” and “River and Roads.”  These two songs feature vocals by violinist Charity Thielin, and I have to admit I don’t love her voice.  Perhaps it’s in this context or that she is mixed a wee bit to loud (because I didn’t dislike her voice in the in-studio).  As I said, I haven’t heard the studio version yet, so I’ll chalk it up to a very large crowd.

But otherwise the set is outstanding, and I’m becoming a huge fan of the band.

[READ: March 28, 2011] Here They Come

I had been thinking about reading this book for a while (the blurbs on the back are quiet compelling) but I kept putting other McSweeney’s books in front of them (I had hoped to finish an entire stack of McSweeney’s novels before The Pale King came.  But it shipped two weeks early and threw off my plan).

I have read two pieces by Murphy in previous McSweeney’s issues, but looking back they didn’t prepare me for this strange story. And the strangest thing is the point of view of the narrator (but more on that later).

This is actually a simple enough story.  Set in New York over an unspecified time period (there’s a couple of winters and a couple of summers, but I’m not sure if it’s new seasons or flashbacks), the (as far as can tell) unnamed narrator girl leads a pretty crap existence.

Firs there is John, the hot dog vendor.  He’s a married man from a middle eastern country (his family is back there).  And basically the narrator lets him feel her up (for what it’s worth on a flat chested 13-year-old) for free hot dogs and candy bars.  She doesn’t seem to upset by the groping and keeps going back to pass the time with him.

Then there is her brother, an obnoxious boy who walks around in a silk dragon bathrobe all the time. When he is not smashing things with his guitar when he walks past the furniture, he is smashing things in his room or threatening to shoot himself with their old, unloaded gun.

Her mother works all the time but really can’t afford to take care of them or feed them.  And she says “Merde” night and day (she is French).  But worse is her mother’s mother, la mere, who stays with them from time to time.  la Mere seems like she has money but she never gives them any. (more…)

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Five Dials Number 4: I Remember 5 November 2008 (2008)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Craig Taylor, Five Dials, Hari Kunzru, History, J. Robert Lennon, Kevin Brockmeier, Liz Phair, Lydia Millet, Michael Martone, Nina Chakrabarti, Noam Chomsky, Paul Maliszewski, Political Humor, Robin Yassin-Kassab, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Short Story, The Future on May 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LIZ PHAIR-Exile in Guyville Live October 6, 2008 (2008).

Like all indie rock hipsters I loved Exile in Guyville when it came out.  And like all indie rock hipsters, I hated that Liz Phair later made an album that is had the top cover below.  I didn’t even care anymore when she made the album with the second cover below.

The irony of course is that Liz made Guyville because she was sick of the hipster boys who were living in Chicago at the time.  And now it was the same hipster boys (only older) who were dismissing her for selling out.  (At least, that’s what I get from the interview that’s attached to the end of the concert and this separate interview from around the same time).

But regardless of my hipster cred (and subsequent loss of same) I really didn’t like Liz’s new pop style (but good for her for still being hot, right?).  In fact, I hadn’t even really listened to her since 2000 anyhow so when she came out with her pop albums I just kind of shrugged.

So, what’s up with this return to Guyville?  Well, the interviews mention her needing some closure on the rough time in her life when she made the record.  And also feeling that since could actually play her guitar now, it was worth giving fans (and herself) the experience of actually enjoying playing the album live.  So, good vibes and happy feelings all around (and sex and sex and more sex).

The concert is the entire Guyville album, played start to finish, with occasional banter in between.  And she is quite faithful to the original (she even has a special guest sing the “Every time I see your face, I get all wet between my legs” line on “Flower.”  The main flaw with the concert is that the bassist hits a number of flat notes and also on at least two songs is either out of tune or just mixed too loud or something.

The other flaw is directly related to Liz saying how much better she is at performing.  Because as the set opens, her voice sounds really off on the first couple of songs.  In the interview, she says that she still feels uncomfortable on stage until about the fourth song. And maybe that’s what’s happening on 6′ 1″ or, quite possibly, she can’t hit those notes anymore (her voice is considerably higher on her newer songs and 6′ 1″ is a low register, almost flat singing style and she just doesn’t seem comfortable doing it).  Indeed, by the fourth or fifth song, she seems more comfortable and seems to be having more fun and the set moves pretty smoothly from there.

She has a good rapport with the audience.  Humility was never her strong suit, and it shows, which makes me her a little less likable, but she still has good banter.

When the album is over she comes back for a brief encore.  She plays two songs solo (which are okay).  And then the band comes back for two of her other hits: “Supernova” and “Polyester Bride” which both sound fantastic.

Listening to Exile in Guyville again was great, the songs hold up really well.  I’ll have to pull her old CDs out and listen to the originals again (the concert is mixed a little low, but–good on NPR–all of the bad words are left in!).  The NPR page also said that Guyville had gone out of print until it was reissued recently.  Is it really possible that Matador let it go out of print?

[READ: April 22, 2011] Five Dials Number 4

The conceit behind this issue is “Eleven writers tell us Exactly What Happened …Days Before It Happened.”  And the authors tell us in past tense what happened on the fateful night of the election between Obama nad McCain.  (even though they are written some time before it has happened).

This issue is short again (all of 14 pages), but with such a tidy topic, the fourteen pages are packed with information.  There are eleven authors who write about the election.  Most are just a couple of paragraphs, so I’m not going to try to summarize them.  I’m going to say their predictions for what happened and (in one case) the uncanny accuracy.

CRAIG TAYLOR-A Letter from the Editor “On Elections and Chomsky”
He lays out what the point of this speculation fiction is: “We’ve become tired of the uncertainty and of the waiting.  It’s time someone told us exactly how this election ends.”   And also, Chomsky is almost 80, and he’s still vibrant. (more…)

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Tobias Wolff–“Her Dog” (The Walrus, November 2006)

Posted in Adam and the Ants, All Songs Considered, Death, Duran Duran, Short Story, The Walrus, Tobias Wolff, Yeasayer on May 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: YEASAYER-Live at SXSW (2008).

I have the latest Yeasayer album (which got huge praise in 2010), but not their first album from which all of these live songs come.  These songs sound so very different from the 2010 songs that I have a hard time believing it’s the same band.

These songs have a rhythm-heavy, almost percussive feel to them (maybe like Adam and the Ants).  And their lead singer sounds a bit like the singer from Duran Duran.  The songs are all electronic sounding and are not easy listening by any means, but at the same time they are not discordant or noisy.

My favorite part of the show, though, was when they thank NPR and David Dye.  One of the guys says that his sister taught David’s daughter and the other band member quickly jumps in to say that that’s a boring story.  It’s quite amusing.

I really like their new album, and I’m a little cool to these earlier songs.  The band sounds good live, but I just couldn’t really get into these songs.  Although after a few more listens, I recognize some catchy bits.

There’s an interview at the end which is quite informative, explaining how the band creates their music (they enjoy the creative process more than the touring process).  In one instance they talk about sampling a rehearsal section and then cutting it up and reworking it into a new song.  So basically, Yeasayer are a bunch of studio geeks playing around.

[READ: March 18, 2011] “Her Dog”

This was a very short (barely two page) story that packed an amazing amount of story into such a short space.

As the story opens we learn that Victor is her dog.  When Grace and Joe bought Victor together, Joe made it clear that the dog was all hers (he didn’t want a dog).  And although she did all of the work (even walking him in the rain when she had a cold), they also walked Victor together at the beach on the weekend.  And then (with no explanation), Grace died and Victor was Joe’s dog.  (All of this in the first paragraph!) (more…)

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Peter Behrens–“The Smell of Smoke” (The Walrus, October 2006)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Martha Wainwright, Neko Case, Peter Behrens, Romance, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, Virginity (Loss of) on May 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MARTHA WAINWRIGHT-Live at the 9:30 Club (2006).

This show had Martha Wainwright opening for Neko Case (a nice bunch of Canadians, eh?)  I’m not sure if the set is truncated or not (she claims to be hungover) but it’s only 30 minutes.  I guess that’s not terribly short for an opening act, but it seems on the brief side–although it is 9 songs.

Martha is a bit cranky as the set opens, (or maybe that’s just her speaking voice) but she kind of warms up and is a funny chatterer.  Seven of the songs come from her debut self-titled full length (which I don’t own). One song is new (“So Many Friends” which appears on I Know You’re Married…) and one comes from an EP (“New York, New York, New York”).

Martha has a unique voice that I find hard to describe.  It can easily polarize listeners–some will find it way too exotic.  It comes as a special surprise after she has just bantered with the audience in her low gravelly voice when it busts out with her higher (perhaps nasally) voice. I think once you get used to her voice it brings a special resonance to the lyrics.

She is also not afraid of the four letter word.  The final song, crowd favorite “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole” is just one of the obscene things that she sings here.  The funny thing is that she never sounds angry when she’s singing these lines.  He voice is charming (and yes odd) but never angry.  It’s a weird mix, but one that I like.

This is a good introduction to her music (and Neko Case on the same page).

[READ: March 18, 2011] “The Smell of Smoke”

Unlike “What He Saw” which was erotically charged but hard to believe, this Walrus story–which is even more erotically charged and, on the surface utterly unlikely–was easier to believe as a story.

Green is a fourteen year old boy.  Maggie is his twenty-one year old neighbor.  As happens in a story like this, she seduces him.  And they spend most of the summer having crazy sex.  This all seems really unlikely, but I’ll throw in the detail that it’s 1968 and her parents are away quite a lot (which also seemed to happen a lot then).

The story is told in third person from Green’ point of view.  And, despite the horny teenage fantasy story that this really is, the writing is tender and sweet and fairly believable.

For me the nice thing about the story was that although it eventually had to end, it never ended because they got caught or had any kind of scandal.  Rather, she went off to college.  But it doesn’t just end there. (more…)

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Michael Winter–“What He Saw” (The Walrus, June 2006)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Michael Winter, Sex, Short Story, Stars, The Walrus, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel on May 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STARS-Tiny Desk Concert #108 (February 3, 2011).

Stars are a wonderful Canadian band who play pop songs with a very dark undercurrent.  They’re the kind of band that’s so easy to sing along to until you realize just what you’re singing.

This is the shortest Tiny Desk show that I’ve heard so far–it’s barely ten minutes in total.  The performers are singers Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell with an acoustic guitar accompaniment.  And they sound wonderful.

They play two songs from their newest album The Five Ghosts (which I have only streamed online and have to admit I didn’t love as much as their earlier discs).  The songs sound wonderfully impassioned in this strip down format.  (Perhaps I didn’t give Ghosts a fair listen).  They also play one old, classic song, “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” which sounds great as well.

It’s a nice little dose of unplugged Stars.

[READ: March 17, 2011] “What He Saw”

This was a very short (less than three pages) story and the whole process seemed to be so effortless, that I wound up being disappointed by it.

It’s a very simple story of a couple on vacation.  They have a fight (again) and she storms off the beach into the water leaving Gus by himself with his sketches (he’s an artist).  She swims out as far as she can–to the rope that cordons off the yachts that are docked there.

When she reaches the rope, she sees a couple on a buoy by the boats.  She swims to the couple and starts chatting.  She learns a bit about them and then sees that not only is she topless (it is Europe after all), but that they are both bottomless as well.  She has clearly interrupted something, but they don’t seem to mind.  Indeed, the man seems to be encouraging her to come closer to them. (more…)

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Five Dials Number 3 (2008)

Posted in Advice, Alain de Botton, All Songs Considered, Annie Hall, Art, Craig Taylor, David Rakoff, Essays, Five Dials, History, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jonathan Safran Foer, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Margaux Williamson, Meat Puppets, Nirvana, R.B. Kitaj, Sheila Heti, Short Story, Simon Prosser on May 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MEAT PUPPETS-KEXP in studio November 10, 2009 (2009).

According to my stats, this is my 1000th post.  Wow!

I had liked the Meat Puppets somewhat when I was into SST back in the 80s, then I really got into them in the late 90s (when Nirvana introduced us to them).  I thought Too High to Die was a great album.  But they kind of fell from those heights (and Cris Kirkwood fell into serious trouble–drugs and jail) by the end of the decade.  So Curt Kirkwood continued without Cris and I kind of didn’t care anymore.

This session from 2009 sees the return of Cris (who came back for their 2007 album) with songs taken from their 2009 album, Sewn Together.  I don’t know what the album sounds like but this session is heavy on the country feel.  The new songs seem quite mellow, and a bit less bizarre than some of their earlier songs.

They sound good though.  Even with the drummer playing garbage cans and recycling bins.  As a sort of encore, they play “Plateau” (a Nirvana cover, ha ha).  About midway through, Curt messes up the lyrics and gives up singing.  But they play the extended coda regardless.

Curt doesn’t come across as the nicest guy in the world, but he’s been through enough to not give a toss what anyone thinks.  I’m glad the Puppets are back together and recording, but I don’t think I’ll be delving too deeply into their new stuff.

[READ: April 19, 2011] Five Dials Number 3

Five Dials Number 3 ups the page quantity a bit (26 in total) and also includes several art print reproductions  from Margaux Williamson, an artist who is mentioned in one of the articles.   This issue really solidifies the quality of this magazine.  It also introduces the possibility of correspondence with the readers.

CRAIG TAYLOR-On Alibis and Public Views
As mentioned, this letter introduces the idea that people are writing to the magazine.  Sadly there is no letters column (even if Paul F. Tompkins hates letters to the editor, for this magazine, I thought they’d be interesting).

CHERYL WAGNER-Current-ish Event: “The Ballad of Black Van.”
This is a true account of Wagner’s life in post-Katrina New Orleans, where a man in a black van is squatting in abandoned properties and selling everything imaginable.  And there’s no cops to help.  It’s a sad look at the state of New Orleans.

DAVID RAKOFF-A Single Film: Annie Hall
I haven’t read much David Rakoff, but he persist in amusing me whenever I do (hint to self: read more by David Rakoff).  This is an outstanding piece about the beloved film Annie Hall.  It’ s outstanding and goes in an unexpected direction too. (more…)

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Ludmilla Petrushevskaya–“A Withered Branch” (The New Yorker, April 18, 2011)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Anna Summers, Books about writers, Culture Shock, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, New Yorker, Short Story, The Head and the Heart, Translation, Travel on May 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE HEAD AND THE HEART-KEXP in Studio, September 14, 2010 (2010).

My saga of The Head and the Heart continues.  Sarah had ordered me the disc for Christmas, but the self-released CD had gone out of print.  This is because Sub Pop was going to re-release the record sometime in the new year.

Well, NPR loved the album, so why wouldn’t they have more recordings by them?  (This is one of the great things about enjoying new bands…they are far less likely to restrict listening and downloading abilities online).  So, this session (September) was recorded shortly after they released their album (July).  I have still yet to hear the actual album, but I have fallen in love with these songs.

This set (which has some very brief interview portions) is five songs. The band sounds great, with wonderful harmonies.  The first two songs “Cats and Dogs” and “Coeur d’Alene” meld together seamlessly, and it works wonders.  “Lost in My Mind” is an amazingly catchy single: the “whoo whoos” (which sound not unlike a train) are wonderfully catchy (in a Mumford and Sons kind of way).

They also play “Ghosts” (another catchy catchy song) and the non-LP song “Down in the Valley” (which has the slightly uncomfortable opening lyrics: “I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade”).

This neo-folkie revival has generated some great bands, and The Head and the Heart are yet another one.

[READ: April 14, 2011] “A Withered Branch”

This is a very brief short story (a page and a half) translated by Anna Summers.

A young woman hitchhikes into Vilinus.  She is picked up by a trucker and is unbothered until they get to a rest stop.  While they are having dinner, one of the drivers wonders who she will sleep with that night.

But that is the prelude to the story.  When she arrives in the city, she meets a woman of about fifty who, when the narrator asks if there is any place to stay, offers her own house to the (dirty and sweaty) stranger/narrator. (more…)

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