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Archive for the ‘Oddities’ Category

Roberto Bolaño–Antwerp (2002) [translated 2010]

Posted in bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, cuppa joe, Death, Foreign Books, Huh?, Infinite Zombies, Natasha Wimmer, Oddities, Poetry, Poets, Punks, Roberto Bolaño, Sex, Short Books, The Dead Milkmen, Translation, Unreliable narrator, Violence on April 15, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD MILKMEN-Not Richard But Dick (1993).

After the mature Milkmen of Soul Rotation, they followed up with this mini disc (at 28 minutes it’s probably an EP (even the title suggests that maybe it’s an EP) but it’s not considered one).

This album is a bit more twisted that Soul Rotation, although it still offers some of this newer more mature music.

The two most twisted songs are the largely spoken-word “I Dream of Jesus.”  It’s a rant in which the singer (who now goes by the name Arr. Trad.) talks about his mother keeping Jesus in a bottle, and the ramifications that that can have.  (It also features a sung chorus of “Jesus Loves Me”).  “Let’s Get the Baby High” has vocals that are processed so who knows who is singing.  But the title is pretty much spot on for the content of the song.

And you can pretty guess who is singing “The Infant of Prague Customized My Van.”

Butterfly Fairweather once again sings the bulk of the songs.  And most of them are fast rockers. The first song, “Leggo My Ego” could have been a hit (with the cool keboard opening) and “Little Volcano” probably should have been a  hit, it’s very catchy.

He’s also on vocals for some of those mellow songs (that remind me so much of Dromedary Records’ Cuppa Joe.  In fact, “Not Crazy” could have been done by Cuppa Joe.

The final song is a wonderfully hilarious Lou Reed impersonation with simple guitar chords, and a tin whistle!  It’s a very mellow spoken word piece about “The Woman Who was Also a Mongoose”.

Not Richard But Dick is no longer in print (Hollywood Records really gave DM the shaft).  I’m not sure if it’s worth tracking down at this point, but there’s some interesting and fun stuff on this disc.

[READ: April 7, 2010] Antwerp

Continuing with Roberto Bolaño’s fascinating melange of styles, Antwerp (technically the first “novel” he wrote (circa 1980 although he didn’t have it published until 2002) is a series of numbered sections.  I’ve heard it described as a prose poem, and, given his (at the time) recent switch from poetry to prose, that makes sense.

I had read an excerpt from this some time ago, and I found it difficult to read as excerpts.  Unsurprisingly, I also found the entire thing a challenge as well.  And that’s because, wow, there is so much crammed into these 79 pages, and there are so many different points of view and so many unclear events (written in great detail, but trying to piece those events together…phew) that even after reading it twice, I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on. (more…)

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Roberto Bolaño–Last Evenings on Earth (1997/2001 trans. 2006)

Posted in bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Chris Andrews, Communists, Culture Shock, Death, Dreams, Drinking, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Ghosts, History, Humiliation, Infinite Zombies, LGBTQ, Marriage Trouble, Mystery, Nature, Nazis, Neurotics, Oddities, Poets, Political Humor, Religion, Roberto Bolaño, Romance, Sex, Short Story, Suicide, The Dead Milkmen, Threats, Translation, Travel, Violence, Yuck! on April 14, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD MILKMEN-Soul Rotation (1992).

And lo, the Milkmen grow up.

This disc is not funny (well maybe, a little funny); mostly it is  “thoughtful” (and sometimes absurd).  But what is most striking about it is how mature (mellow) it is.  For this is the first album by The Dead Milkmen on Hollywood Records (a subsidiary of Disney).  This combination raises far more questions than is worth looking at.  But suffice it to say that even though this disc is the Milkmen, its a very different Milkmen.

The most obvious difference is that the majority (10 out of 13) of the songs are sung by the artist formerly known as Joe Jack Talcum, now known as Butterfly Fairweather (perhaps Hollywood knew that “”Punk Rock Girl” was their big hit?).  Past DM records were mostly sung by Rodney Anonymous (who goes by H.P. Lovecraft on this disc).  And his were the heavier, weirder, funnier, absurdist tracks, for the most part.  So, when the first four songs here are sung by Butterfly, you know something different is afoot.  Oh, there’s horns on the disc as well!

The disc feels like a pretty typical alt-rock band from the 90s.  But it’s missing the sass, it’s missing the vulgarity.  Basically, it’s kind of dull.

That’s not to say there aren’t good songs on here, because there are.  “If I Had a Gun” is a great screamy Butterfly song, and “Wonderfully Colored Plastic War Toys” is full of Lovecraft’s snark. As is “The Conspiracy Song” a lengthy rant of absurdity.

The rest of the songs drift between mellow and alt-rock rockers.  And it works as a product of the alt rock 90s.  It’s just not much of a DM album.

[READ: April 8, 2010] Last Evenings on Earth

I have been reading Bolaño’s short stories for a while now.  And so I have read a couple of the stories in this collection already. The stories in this collection were taken from his two Spanish collections of short stories: Llamadas telefônicas (1997) and Putas aseinas (2001).  And I have looked at about a dozen sources but I can’t find which stories came from which original collection (I like  to know these hings).  I can’t even find a table of contents for the original books.  Anyone want to help out?

I enjoyed these stories more than I expected to.  I have read some of his stories in The New Yorker and elsewhere, and I’ve been okay with them, but this collection blew me away.  Whether it’s being immersed in his writings or just having them all in one place, I was thrilled by this book.

There so many delightful little things that he does in his stories that I find charming or funny or something.  Like that his narrators are usually two or three people removed from the details.  Or if they’re not, they act like its been so long they doesn’t need to get all the details right:  “U insults and challenges him, hits the table (or maybe the wall) with his fist” (“Days of 1978”).

I also get a kick out of all the stories with the protagonist named B.  Which seems a not so subtle way of saying he’s the narrator (even though I ‘m sure these things never happened to him quite like it says (despite all the biographical consistencies with his own life).

The opening story “Sensini” has the narrator working as a night watchman at a campground (much like Enric in The Skating Rink…a bit of biography perhaps?).  A number of his stories are simply biographies of interesting characters (something he went to extremes with in Nazi Litearture in the Americas): “Henri Simon LePrince” a failed writer in Post-WWII France.  “Enrique Martin” a delightfully twisted story about jealousy (aren’t they all, though?) and acting impulsively and foolishly (aren’t they all though?).  This one featured  a riddle that I’m not even sure we’re meant to get:

3860+429777-469993?+51179-588904+966-39146+498207853

which the narrator thinks is a word puzzle. (more…)

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State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America (2008)

Posted in Alexander Payne, Alison Bechdel, Anthony Bourdain, Anthony Doerr, Big Books, Blue Öyster Cult, Books about writers, Carrie Brownstein, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Culture Shock, Dagoberto Gilb, Dave Eggers, Death, Demons, Dip-in Books, Dreams, Drinking, Election, Essays, Fishing, Food, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Ghosts, Greed, Heidi Julavits, History, Holidays, Jacki Lyden, Jhumpa Lahiri, John Hodgman, Jonathan Franzen, Joshua Ferris, LGBTQ, Louise Erdrich, Lydia Millet, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, Minnesota, Myla Goldberg, Natural Disasters, Nature, Newspapers, Nostalgia, NPR/PRI/PBS, Oddities, Racism, Religion, Rick Moody, Rush, S.E. Hinton, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Sarah Vowell, Set in New Jersey!, Sex, Sleater-Kinney, South, Supernatural, The X Files, Travel, Violence, War, Wayne's World, William T. Vollmann, WPA on March 18, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT-compilations and live releases (1978-2010).

For a band that had basically two hits (“Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Burnin’ for You”) and maybe a half a dozen other songs that people might have heard of, BOC has an astonishing number of “greatest hits” collections.

Starting in 1987 we got Career of Evil: The Metal Years (1987), Don’t Fear the Reaper (1989), On Flame with Rock n’ Roll (1990), Cult Classic (which is actually the band re-recording their old tracks (!)) (1994), and the two cd collection Workshop of the Telescopes (1995).  There’s even Singles Collection, (2005) which is a collection of their European singles & Bsides.

This doesn’t include any of the “budget price” collections: E.T.I. Revisited, Tattoo Vampire, Super Hits, Then and Now, The Essential, Are You Ready To Rock?, Shooting Shark, Best of, and the 2010 release: Playlist: The Very Best of).

The lesson is that you evidently won’t lose money making a BOC collection.

I don’t know that any of these collections are any better than the others.

The 2 CD one is for completists, but for the most part you’re going to get the same basic tracks on all of them.

And, although none of them have “Monsters” for the average person looking for some BOC, any disc is a good one.

Regardless of the number of hits they had, BOC was tremendous live.  And, as a result, there have also been a ton of live records released.  Initially the band (like Rush) released a live album after every three studio albums. On Your Feet or On Your Knees (1975) Some Enchanted Evening (1978) and Extraterrestrial Live (1982) were the “real releases.”

Then, in 1994 we got Live 1976 as both CD and DVD (which spares us nothing, including Eric Bloom’s lengthy harangue about the unfairness of…the speed limit).  It’s the most raw and unpolished on live sets.  2002 saw the release of A Long Day’s Night, a recording of a 2002 concert (also on DVD) which had Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma an Allan Lanier reunited.

They also have a number of might-be real live releases (fans debate the legitimacy of many of these).  Picking a concert disc is tough if only because it depends on the era you like.  ETLive is regarded as the best “real” live disc, although the reissued double disc set of Some Enchanted Evening is hard to pass up.  Likewise, the 2002 recording is a good overview of their career, and includes some of their more recent work.

If you consider live albums best of’s (which many people do) I think it’s far to say that BOC has more best of’s than original discs.  Fascinating.  Many BOC fans believe that if they buy all the best of discs, it will convince Columbia to finally reissue the rest of the original discs (and there are a number of worthy contenders!) in deluxe packages.  I don’t know if it will work, but I applaud the effort.

[READ: October 2009-February 2010] State By State

This is a big book. And, since it’s a collection essays, it’s not really the kind of big book that you read straight through.  It’s a perfect dip in book.  And that’s why it took me so long to get through.

I would love to spend a huge amount of time devoting a post to each essay in the book.  But, well, there’s 51 (including D.C.) and quite a few of them I read so long ago I couldn’t say anything meaningful about.  But I will summarize or at least give a sentence about each essay, because they’re all so different.

I’ll also say that I read the Introduction and Preface last (which may have been a mistake, but whatever).  The Preface reveals that what I took to be a flaw in the book was actually intentional.  But let me back up and set up the book better.

The catalyst for the book is the WPA American Guide Series and sort of Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley.  The WPA Guides were written in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration.  48 guide books were written, one for each state.  Some famous writers wrote the books, but they were ultimately edited (and many say watered down) by a committee.  I haven’t read any of them, but am quite interested in them (and am looking to get the New Jersey one).  Each guide was multiple hundreds of pages (the New Jersey one is over 800).

State By State is written in the spirit of that series, except the whole book is 500 pages (which is about 10 pages per state, give or take).  And, once again, famous writers were asked to contribute (no committee edited this book, though).  I’ve included the entire list of authors at the end of the post, for quick access.

So I started the book with New Jersey, of course.  I didn’t realize who Anthony Bourdain was until I looked him up in the contributor’s list (I’m sure he is thrilled to hear that).  And his contribution was simultaneously exciting and disappointing,.  Exciting because he and I had quite similar upbringings: he grew up in North Jersey (although in the wealitheir county next to mine) and had similar (although, again, more wealthy) experiences. The disappointing thing for me was that Bourdain fled the state  for New York City (and, as I now know, untold wealth and fame (except by me))  I felt that his fleeing the state, while something many people aspire to, is not really representative of the residents of the state as a whole.

And that dissatisfaction is what I thought of as the flaw of the book (until I read the Preface).  In the Preface, Matt Weiland explains that they asked all different authors to write about states.  They asked some natives, they asked some moved-ins, they asked some temporary residents and they asked a couple of people to go to a state for the first time.  In reality, this decision makes for a very diverse and highly entertaining reading.  In my idealized world, I feel like it’s disingenuous to have people who just stop in to give their impression of an area.  But hey, that’s not the kind of book they wanted to compile, and I did enjoy what they gave us, so idealism be damned.

For most of the book, whenever I read an essay by someone who wasn’t a native or a resident of a state, I assumed that there weren’t any famous writers from that state.  I’ve no idea if that played into anything or not.  From what I gather, they had a list of authors, and a list of states (I was delighted to read that three people wanted to write about New Jersey-if the other two writers ever decided to put 1,000 words  to paper, I’d love to read them (hey editors, how about State by State Bonus Features online, including any extra essays that people may have wanted to write).

From New Jersey, I proceeded alphabetically.  And, I have to say that I’m a little glad I did.  I say this because the first few states in the book come across as rather negative and kind of unpleasant.  Alabama (written by George Packer) comes across as downtrodden, like a place you’d really have to love to live there.  Even Alaska, which ended up being a very cool story, felt like a veil of oppression resided over the state (or at  least the part of the state that Paul Greenberg wrote bout.)  But what I liked about this essay and the book in general was that the authors often focused on unexpected or little known aspects of each state.  So the Alaska essay focused on Native fisherman and the salmon industry.  Obviously it doesn’t do justice to the rest of that enormous state,  but that’s not what the book is about.

The book is meant to be a personal account of the author’s experiences in the state. (more…)

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Shite’s Unoriginal Miscellany by A. Parody (2003)

Posted in Ben Schott, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Colin Meloy, Collecting, Dip-in Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), History, Language, Nature, Oddities, Research, Short Books, The Decemberists on February 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: COLIN MELOY-Sings Sam Cooke (2008).

I ordered this CD from the Decemberists website.  (Sadly Colin singing Morrissey is no longer available).   This is, as the title states, Colin Meloy singing Sam Cooke songs.

I don’t know much about Sam Cooke (although I knew a few tunes from this disc).  And, in my head, Sam Cooke doesn’t have a “catalog” of songs, like, say, Morrissey does. So, this came across as a disc of standards.  And as such it’s very good.

If you like Meloy, you’ll like this.  If you don’t, this isn’t going to covert you.  It’s basically just him and his acoustic guitar (and an occasional backing vocal) singing these songs.

I have always liked “Cupid” so it’s nice to have a rendition of it.  As for “Summertime,” I’m not sure why that’s considered a Sam Cooke song since it comes from Porgy and Bess.  I didn’t know the other three songs, but they’re all quite good, uptempo jazzy numbers.

This EP makes me want to investigate a Sam Cooke Greatest Hits, to see what I’ve been missing.  And maybe that was Meloy’s point all along.

[READ: January-February 2010] Shite’s Unoriginal Miscellany

I had ordered a couple of Schott’s Almanacs from the UK, because I thought it would be fun to see what was different about them from the U.S. versions (quite a lot actually).  And while browsing for them, I found this parody of the series.  So, for a few dollars used, I ordered it too.

Now any book that bills itself as “extensively researched, eccentrically compiled and irresponsibly written” pretty much lets you know what you’re getting.   And it does conclude its summary by saying, “more than 250 pieces of useless, misleading and possibly dangerous information.”  So, what might you expect?

This is a very strange parody of the series because it does three things at the same time:  1) It provides actual lists of actual things (which are, indeed, useless and silly).  2) It provides nonsensical/hypothetical questions (more on that shortly).  And 3) It has stuff that is clearly made up and intended to be funny (but often isn’t) (more…)

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Ross Campbell–Wet Moon 2: Unseen Feet (2006)

Posted in Arcade Fire, Austin City Limits, Boredom, Canadian Music, David Lynch, Demons, Drinking, Funny (strange), Goths, Graphic Novel, LGBTQ, Oddities, Ongoing, Oni Press, Ross Campbell, Set at School, Sex, South, The X Files, Twin Peaks, Universities on February 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ARCADE FIRE Austin City Limits (2007).

Recorded in support of Neon Bible, this concert blew me away.  I enjoyed Neon Bible quite a lot, but seeing the band in this concert setting was really amazing. The band was so exciting live.

From Win Butler’s intense performance (both on stage and in the audience) to his wife, Régine Chassagne’s multi-instrumental extravaganza (even if she does look like Susie Essman when she’s about to go off on a foul-mouthed tirade).  To the exhausting and exhaustive rest of the band.  They never stop.  Even when they’re not playing anything, the are happy to join in on a random drum or cymbal.

Plus, how many bands do you get to see play the hurdygurdy?

There’s just so much going on onstage with this band (and of course they throw in little video screens as well!).  And when Win grabs his mike stand and moves literally into the audience to finish one of the last songs, it was really invigorating (and would have been very exciting to have been in the front row there).

Even though it was televised, I felt like I was there.  Oh, and it wasn’t just the theatrics, the band sounded amazing too.  If I ever get the chance I hope to see them live, myself.

[READ: February 11, 2010] Wet Moon 2

I finally received Wet Moon 2 & 3 in the mail the other day.   I was quite excited to get to them.  And Volume 2 did not disappoint.

It is very apparent from Volume 2 that Campbell is in it for the long haul.  Which is one way of saying that not very much “happens” in this book.  Several plot threads from book 1 are teased out a bit, but nothing conclusive happens anywhere.

But that’s not to say that nothing happens at all.  We learn the identity of the long-haired person whom Cleo runs away from in book one (an ex). We learn a little back story (and about a curious upside-down contraption from the person with no hair (who is named Fern).  We learn that Wet Moon is full of more and more bizarre characters, and that there’s an FBI agent around town.  We also learn that another Cleo Eats It sign has been found, although we don’t know anything more about who did it.

(more…)

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Lars Brown–North World Vol 2: The Epic of Conard (2009)

Posted in Adventure, Anachronisms, Boredom, Culture Shock, Demons, End of the World, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Kiss, Kiss Meets the Phantom/Attack of the Phantoms, Lars Brown, Magic, Oddities, Oni Press, Supernatural, Threats, Violence, YA Books on February 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Attack of the Phantoms (1978).

Technically, not exactly a soundtrack, but I do talk about the music, so it counts.

I don’t think I was allowed to see Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park movie when it came on TV in 1978.  I have seen it many times since then, and have enjoyed its cheesiness each time.  But it has been many years since I last watched it (it was on a recorded VHS tape, so it’s at least ten years).  Imagine my delight to see that it was included on the KISSOLOGY Vol 2 DVD.

Except, rather than the TV movie, what they have included is the “European theatrical” release (did this really get shown in theaters in Europe?  Judging by the poster that I placed here, yes.).

I can’t really compare the two as it has been so long, but I knew there were a few differences right off the bat.  The most obvious to me was the inclusion of Kiss solo songs over random (sort of appropriate) scenes.  The use of “Radioactive” when Gene is crushing things was inspired.  And “Fractured Mirror” works well anywhere in the movie.  The Peter songs seem out of place, and I’m not entirely sure about connecting Abner Devereaux to “Mr. Make Believe” but I guess that’s the least of the movie’s problems, right?

This version also has some lengthy concert scenes with the band rocking out in front of stock footage of fans.  I simply don’t reall if this was included in the original, but I think one of the sonsg actually sounded live (while the others were clearly mimed).  According to various internet sites, Attack also removes a lot of Ace’s dialogue.  This seems very likely, as I thought he had a lot more bad puns.  And I had to wonder if that’s why they included this version rather than the Phantom of the Park (since Gene seems to dislike Ace so much).

What really strikes me about the movie though is how much Kiss is NOT in it.  I mean, it’s at least 30 minutes before they show up at all (we get some delightful scenes with Chopper and his 30-year-old-teenage thugs).  They do some concerts but, since they are the crux of the plot, you’d think they’d have more than a few actual lines.  Of course, it’s not a very good movie, so what’s the point in nitpicking?

Like how all of a sudden, she’s hanging out with the band while they’re all sitting around.  And Paul is playing acoustic guitar and Peter crooning “Beth.”  I’d love to get a copy of the guitar version of “Beth,” though!  Or how the whole concept of the Kiss talismen is not even introduced until like the last 15 minutes of the movie.

It’s of course all worth it to hear the supremely awesome robot Kiss band’s song “Rip and Destroy” (to the tune of “Hotter Than Hell”) which the fans at first hate but quickly come around to.  And then decide that it would be a good idea to rip up the theme park (which we sadly do not get to see).

Of course, watching this version makes me want to see the original TV version just to see what the differences were, but it sounds like that DVD will never see the light of day.  I wonder if I still have that VHS tape anywhere?

[READ: January 15, 2010] North World Vol 2.

As Volume 2 of this saga opens, we see Conrad settling down.  He has retired his sword, moved home with his dad and begun working in his dad’s business as an accountant.

But he really can’t settle down.  The local thugs are still plotting revenge against him and his coworker, Kailee (a kick ass witch), shows up wondering why he hasn’t completed his assignment yet.  His assignment?  Conrad was tired of slaying evil giant animals, so he took a bigger assignment.  Go to Coeur de Lac to fight a demon summoner.  The problem is that Couer du Lac is where he’s from, and where he ran away from many many years ago.

He’s conflicted about going home, but when he gets back to Couer de Lac, he realizes that things seem not quite right. (more…)

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Mark Barrowcliffe–The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange (2009)

Posted in Adventure, Black Sabbath, Books about writers, Boredom, Collecting, Culture Shock, Demons, Dreams, Drugs, Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Freaks & Geeks, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gods, Hawkwind, History, Kiss, Magic, Manuals, Marillion, Mark Barrowcliffe, Memoirs, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Nazis, Oddities, Racism, Religion, Saxon, Set at School, Smarty Pants, Summer, Supernatural, The Young Ones, Violence, Wikipedia on January 1, 2010| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-Alive! (1975).

This was the first Kiss live album and was the album that broke Kiss worldwide.  I’m not entirely sure why a live album of songs that didn’t sell very well would do better than the original studio albums, but so it was.

And, yes, the live recording is pretty awesome.  It is clearly a collection of greatest hits off their first three records, and the band sounds on fire: the songs are heavier and faster and largely more consistent than some of the odder tracks on the original records.

There has been considerable controversy about whether the album was overdubbed.  Wikipedia lists a few different possibilities for what originally recorded sounds were kept for the disc.  It never occurred to me that the disc might be overdubbed (and honestly that doesn’t bother me all that much).  But since I had the pleasure of watching Kissology recently, and I could see the state of their vocals live, it would surprise me entirely if the vocals were not overdubbed.  Not because the band didn’t sound good live (they did), but because they were very sloppy with their vocals, consistently leaving off the ends of lines and things like that, and the disc sounds perfect.

Of course this is all nitpicking.  Alive! is a fantastic document because the live versions add a lot of punch to the originals.  But on top of that, you get fun extras like the drum solo and banter of the 12 minute “100,000 Years” as well as Paul’s drinking banter: “I know there’s a lot of you out there that like to drink…vodka and orange juice!” (How can you pass that up?).  It’s hard to pick highlights from such a good record, but “She” is a particular one with Ace’s wild guitar pyrotechnics.  Right on to the end, the disc is a rocking good time.

It’s also funny to hear that “Rock And Roll All Nite” is not the final encore; rather it is the next to last track with “Let Me Go Rock n Roll” being the BIG FINISH.  That’s the last time that THAT would happen!

[READ: December 28, 2009] The Elfish Gene

I happened to pass this book in the New section of my library and I loved the title.  I read the blurb, made a mental note of it, mentioned how much I liked the title to Sarah and then more or less forgot about it (although, actually, I still see it every day, as it’s always facing out, cover forward).

Imagine my surprise to see that Sarah got it for me for Christmas!

So, yes, this is the best parody-titled book that is not a parody or a make-a-buck joke book that modifies a popular title.  Rather, it is a memoir of a British guy who spent his teen years utterly absorbed in Dungeons & Dragons.  But I must disagree with the Christian Science Monitor’s review as “laugh out loud funny.”  I only laughed out loud once in the book (the dog walking scene is hilarious), but that’s because I don’t think it was meant to be funny (at least I hope it wasn’t).

I’ve said before that I’m not a big fan of memoirs in general.  I find them mostly to be a big “so what,” and often without the subtlety required for a good novel.  But the topic here was delicious enough for me to dive right in.  And I think that this book, which I absolutely enjoyed, sort of proves my theory.

Barrowcliffe has done nothing worthy of anyone caring about.  He’s just a guy who played D&D, so when checking out the book, you kind of feel, so what?  Plus, the book is completely unsubtle, with him summarizing his attitude over and over and over.  But nevertheless, I could not put it down. I was hooked from the opening and was totally intrigued all the way to the end.  (I even put down the book I had been reading to speed right through this).

And yet, Barrowcliffe himself is so unlikable.  And not, as he suggests, because of the D&D. (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Unseen Academicals (2009)

Posted in Black Sabbath, Corporate skewering, Death, Discworld, Douglas Adams, Dreams, Drinking, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Gods, Magic, Oddities, Project Runway, Racism, Red Dwarf, Religion, Sports, Supernatural, Terry Pratchett, Universities on December 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BLACK SABBATH-Vol. 4 (1972).

When I was younger I liked this Sabbath album a lot more than I do now.  There are some absolutely stellar tracks on here, but most of the songs are a rather peculiar for Black Sabbath.  It showcases ballad-y nature that Ozzy would have for some of his biggest hits twenty years later.

“Wheels of Confusion” opens the disc with a fascinating bluesy sounding guitar solo that turns into a straightforward rocker.  But, as it’s 8 minutes long, there’s a lot of twists and turns.  And it ends with a two and a half minutes of upbeat guitar soloing (with a tambourine keeping the beat!).

“Tomorrow’s Dream” opens with a rocking bendy guitar riff  but in the middle the chorus turns the song into a delicate ballad.  This is followed by “Changes” a full-on piano ballad (!).  It’s catchy, no doubt, and I loved it when I was younger, but I’m not entirely sure it passes the test of time.  This is followed by “FX” which is literally almost two minutes of echoing blips and bleeps, some of which go back and forth on the headphones.  It’s a very strange addition to any disc and is really the perfect example of “filler” unless by some chance this was majorly cutting edge at the time.

This is redeemed by “Supernaut” one of the all-time great Sabbath tunes.  It’s heavy, fast and features a great guitar riff.

“Snowblind” is a another fantastic song.  A great riff, and of course, it’s totally pro-cocaine!  How can you tell?  Well, because at the end of the first verse, you can hear a very unsubtle whisper of “cocaine.”  My, how the band has changed in just a couple of years.  This song also features a ballady mid-section.  It also features an awesome middle bit that rocks very hard (and can be summed as: don’t tell me what to do).  The drugs hadn’t deteriorated Sabbath’s songwriting yet, but give it a couple more records!

“Cornucopia” is one of the weird songs that you find on the second side of a Sabbath album.  It’s a got an awesome slow, doomy opening riff which then turns into a speedy rocker.

When I was kid I really liked “Laguna Sunrise” and I still do.  It’s a pretty acoustic guitar number (with keyboards or strings or something).  After “Changes” you’re not surprised by anything that Sabbath will throw at you, but this song is really shockingly delicate.

“St. Vitus Dance” is probably the most schizophrenic Sabbath song.  The opening guitar riff is so incredibly upbeat, happy and boppy; who knows what will come from it.  And then the verses turn dark and edgy with lyrics about a breakup.  And then the happy guitar bits come back!

The disc ends with “Under the Sun/Everyday Comes and Goes.”  It is once again another wonderfully sludgy guitar riff that turns into a fast rocker (“I don’t want no Jesus freak to tell me what it’s all about!”).  After the verses, you get this wonderfully weird guitar solo that’s like an ascending scale on acid.  Fun!  About three minutes in, it turns into “Everyday…” an uptempo rocker that’s not out of place with the other half of the song, but which does seem like an odd placement.

This disc was strangely experimental for Sabbath.  And, while it’s nice to see them not getting stuck, some of their choices were certainly weird.  And yet all Sabbath fans seem to regard this disc pretty highly (I think it’s the iconic cover that we all remember so fondly).

[READ: December 10, 2009] Unseen Academicals

Terry Pratchett knows football (soccer)??!!  In all the years of Discworld books, I don’ think there has been any mention of football (or even any sport).  Who knew he had a 400 page book about football in him?

Oh, and what is wrong with US book publishers?  Look at the utterly lame US cover at the top here.  First of all, the book is about soccer…why are they reaching for the ball with their hands??  Second, look here at this awesome UK cover by Paul Kidby (the official illustrator of Discworld).  Does he not have publishing rights in the US?

American readers, check out this cover.  It is awesome!  It gives you the whole cast, it gives a wonderful graphic of just what you’d be up against when you play this team.  Look, there’s the Librarian!  And, of course, the drawing is great.  Well, at least we have the internet.

But back to the football.  As with any Pratchett book it’s not just about football.  There is a whole bunch of stereotype-busting, inner-strength growing, pop-culture raspberrying, and general hilarity as well.  Oh, and Rincewind is back!  Hooray! (more…)

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Douglas Coupland–Souvenir of Canada (2002), Souvenir of Canada 2 (2004) & Souvenir of Canada [the movie] (2006)

Posted in Books about music, Books about writers, Boredom, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Collecting, Constellation Records, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Douglas Coupland, Drinking, Drugs, Essays, Fishing, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), History, Hockey, Hockey Night in Canada, Memoirs, Nanaimo Bar, Nature, Nostalgia, Oddities, Photo Essays, Poutine, Rush, Souvenir of Canada, The New Pornographers, Tindersticks, War on November 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

socSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-The Hungry Saw [CST055] (2008).

hungryIt was the releases of this Tindersticks disc (their first in 5 years) on the venerable Constellation Records (in North America) that inspired my trip through their back catalog. I was completely surprised to see them released on Constellation, as the band doesn’t exactly fit with the label’s stereotypical style (although, realistically with the last dozen or so releases, Constellation has really expanded the kind of music they release).

And this is a fantastic Tindersticks release!  There’s not a bad song on the disc. And, even though nothing is as immediately gripping as say “Can We Start Again,” the disc contains some of the band’s strongest songs.  “The Hungry Saw” is simply amazing, both lyrically and in its catchy (yet creepy) chorus.  But the highlight is probably “Boobar, Come Back to Me,” a song that begins slowly and builds gloriously, including a call and response segment that makes this song really swagger.

“Mother Dear” features a strangely comical musical episode.  In an otherwise very mellow piano based track, right in the middle of the song, come slashing, somewhat atonal guitar chords.  It’s as if a more rocking song is trying to overtake the mellow track.  (The coup is rebuffed, though).

The biggest thing to note about the disc is that longtime co-songwriter Dickon has left the band.  And so, some of the co-writing duties have been taken up by David Boulter.  While it is obviously sad that Dickon has left, Staples seems revitalized on this disc, and Boulter’s additions (especially his quirky instrumentals) bring a new point of view to the proceedings.  Also of note is something of a return to the orchestral style (albeit a much more understated version).  However, different songs emphasize different aspects: horns on one, strings on another, but always underscored by the ubiquitous Hammond organ.

It’s not a radical departure or anything like that.  It’s more of a continuation after a well earned vacation.  And it’s certainly their strongest release since their first four.

[READ & WATCHED: October 2009] Souvenir of Canada, Souvenir of Canada 2 & Souvenir of Canada (the movie)

I got the first Souvenir of Canada when it came out.  (I was on a big Coupland kick and may have even bought it in Montreal).  I didn’t get #2 when it came out, probably because I didn’t really invest a lot of effort into the first one.  But after recently reading City of Glass, I wanted to get a little more involved in Coupland’s visual art.  So, I picked up #2 and, while investigating this second book, I discovered that he had made a film of the books, too.

Coupland explains in the introduction that this book is his personal vision of what Canada is like. It is designed for Canadians as something of a nostalgia trip, but it is also something of an introduction to unseen Canada for non-Canadians.  And so, what you don’t get is pictures of mounties and Tim Hortons and other things that fit the stereotypical Canadian bill. Rather, you get things that are significant to Coupland (and maybe the average Canadian born on the West Coast in the 60s). (more…)

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Jonathan Lethem-“Procedure in Plain Air” (New Yorker, October 26, 2009)

Posted in Egyptology, Funny (strange), Jonathan Lethem, Kate Bush, New Yorker, Oddities, Short Story, The Bride Wore Black, The Innocents on November 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

nyoct26SOUNDTRACK: KATE BUSH-Never for Ever (1980).

neverWith this disc, Kate Bush totally blew me away.  The leap from Lionheart to Never for Ever is monumental.  And Never for Ever was the first record by a solo British female to go to number 1.  Even 29 years later, this album still sounds fresh, current, a little bonkers, and totally amazing.

Kate is still pretty out there (there’s some wild screams and howls on a lot of songs), but she has really mastered the art/prog rock sound.  The disc starts out with “Babooshka” a wild romping rocker that, once again, sounds simple, even silly (chorus: “all yours babooshka babooshka babooshka ya ya”), but which has a rather sophisticated premise (of a married couple looking to cheat on each other but actually dating themselves).  The next song “Delius (Song of Summer)” shows some of the fun new sonic elements she’s added to her repertoire.  She adds a deep bass vocal singing along with her (it’s as absurdly deep as her voice is high). The “ta ta ta” section, the operatic chorus, and the jaunty piano play off each other perfectly.  I have no idea what the song is about, but I adore it.

“All We Ever Look For” has a wonderful part where footsteps walk across your headphones and open different doors.  Behind each door is a different sound (a chorus singing (but I can’t place what), birds singing, the rapturous applause, until the song kicks back in.  It’s very cool.

Side Two opens with “The Wedding List” a wonderfully weird, intense song that has interesting whispery bits (headphone friendly again) but then ends with awesome banshee howls. It’s inspired by François Truffaut’s film The Bride Wore Black.

But for me the song that distinguishes this disc is “Violin.”  It’s an ode to, yes, the violin, (chorus: Get the bow going! Let it scream to me: Violin! Violin! Violin!) and it is theatrically over the top.  It references Paganini (which completely makes sense).
but it also features a blistering electric guitar solo.  It’s entirely possibly that listening to the song a lot leads to madness, but I’m okay with that.

It’s followed by the dreamy delicate, “The Infant Kiss” which, lyrically is about a woman who falls in love with a little boy because the spirit of an adult man is inside him.  (Yea, that’s pretty wild, but it’s inspired by the film The Innocents). The disc ends with “Breathing” a look at life after a nuclear blast. It’s creepy and weirdly compelling and absolutely catchy (“chips of plutonium are twinkling in every lung”).

Musically, the disc contains a wonderful variety of sounds and textures.  Kate has her bassist play some awesome watery fretless bass, and there’s some great use of the Fairlight CMI (the first digital sampler).  There’s orchestration, synths, analog instruments, whistles and pianos and all manner of things.  Why, her brother Paddy alone plays: Harmonica, Mandolin, Balalaika, Sitar, Koto, Banshee, Saw and Mando.

And there’s not a bad song on the disc.  There is so much experimentation that it runs the risk of losing track of itself, but Kate is an artist and she knows exactly what she wants.  And she keeps the disc from getting out of control.

On her next couple of discs, she picks the best experiments and embellishments and really fine tunes her sound.  But for me, it’s the courageousness of this disc that makes it one of my favorites.  You have to suspend some disbelief, to really enjoy the disc but if you get it, it’s pretty amazing.

[READ: November 5, 2009] “Procedure in Plain Air”

I feel like this story is political but I can’t tell just how political it is trying to be.  The simple premise is that, while hanging out in front of his local coffee shop, Stevick watches a jumpsuited group of men dig a large hole in the street.  They block of much of the road, but cause somewhat minimal commotion with their efficiency.

Once they have finished, the jumpsuited men force a similarly jumpsuited man (who is bound and gagged) into the hole.  The rest of the story concerns the narrator’s interest and ultimate involvement in the situation. (more…)

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