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Archive for the ‘Paul Debraski’ Category

Vladimir Nabokov–“Natasha” (New Yorker, June 9 & 16, 2008)

Posted in Loudon Wainwright III, New Yorker, Paul Debraski, Russia, Short Story, Vladimir Nabokov on November 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

ny060913SOUNDTRACK: [REVISITED] LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III-Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up (2008).

loudoWe used Loudo’s “Daughter” from this soundtrack in the birthday video that we made for my daughter.  (We also used Dolly Parton’s “Shine” for the first half).  Because we were listening to the song, I listened to the rest of the disc as well and wanted to make a few extra comments from the last review.

Overall, the disc seems much more upbeat lyrically than his usual fare.  He’s almost always funny, but on this disc, the humor isn’t as sarcastic.  Also, his voice seems gentler, too.  Is this the dawning of a kinder Loudon?  I haven’t heard his latest disc, so I don’t know.  But I really enjoy this whole disc.  The only exception is two tracks which are full band with backing vocals.  There’s something about the tracks being so polished that seem to take away from Loudon’s voice…and really its all about a guy with a guitar. But it’s a small complaint given how good the rest of the disc is.

As for our daughter’s video, we spent I’d say about ten or twelve hours editing, syncing, and making sure the video was more than just picture one, fade, picture two, fade.  We’ve made a video for each of the kids birthdays, but we’re especially proud of this one.  You can see it here:

[READ: November 25, 2008] “Natasha”

I read this story a few months ago, but felt I should re-read it given how little I remembered. So, I re-read it last night.  I think I was surprised by it because of how un-complicated it was (especially compared to Nabokov’s novels).  Well, I learned that the story was written in the 1920s, long before he had written Lolita or Pale Fire, or anything in English.  (more…)

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Paul Debraski–Complex Sentence (1999/2000)

Posted in Foals, Gang of Four, King Crimson, Modest Mouse, Paul Debraski, Set at School, Set in New Jersey!, The Futureheads, X-Ray Spex on June 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FOALS-Antidotes (2008).

This CD had been getting a lot of buzz just before I ordered it. And then, the day after I ordered it I saw a review that really trashed the record. Uh oh, I thought.

But then I played it. Aside from the cover, which I can’t stand, there’s nothing I dislike about the disc. Immediately, I thought it sounded like a cross between King Crimson and Gang of Four. And then I heard more sax and had to add X-Ray Spex in for good measure.

The guitar lines as the disc opens sound so much like they could be King Crimson song…and this continues throughout the record…and then when the rhythm guitars come in you think, oh, Gang of Four (or the Futureheads if you must). And then you hear them together and it blows your mind a little bit.

For those of you who live in the twenty first century, the CD probably sounds closest to Modest Mouse: angular guitars, somewhat shouty vocals, but they don’t have the fluidity that Modest Mouse has. Not that that’s a complaint, just an observation. I’ve listened to this CD a bunch of times now, and I don’t dislike anything on it. Each listen brings out someone new that I hear. One of the reviews I read suggested that they used to a more prog rock band, but were giving up that aspect of their music. And yet, if you reference King Crimson, it’s impossible to think you’ve given up prog rock. I don’t know what The Foals describe their music as, and it is totally not for everybody, but I think it’s pretty wonderful.

[WRITTEN: Some time in the late 1990s] Complex Sentence.

In my previous post (Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog) I said that I had written a short story about diagramming sentences. I took some creative writing classes a decade or so ago, when I had a lot of free time. I churned out quite a few stories, and then hit the wall that is job, family and kids. Sadly, I don’t have exact dates for when I wrote these stories (what kind of writer doesn’t keep track of when the stories were written for pity’s sake). But maybe if I can ever hack into more poor old Macintosh and uncover the original files it will give me some idea of their origin.

And so, the critic exposes himself to the critics. (more…)

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Robert Coover–Stepmother (2004)

Posted in Boston, MA, Fantasy, Lemonheads, McSweeney's, Paul Debraski, Robert Coover, Short Books on May 15, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The LEMONHEADS-The Lemonheads (2006).

I was a big fan of The Lemonheads back when they were riding the wave of indie pop fame back in the 1990s. Evan Dando was a poster boy of hunkiness, and he was paired with alt-pop-queen Juliana Hatfield. (Immortalized in the Barenaked Ladies song “Jane” in the line “no Juliana next to my Evan.”) I even lived near them in beautiful Allston, MA (although I never saw them). Sarah and I even used “Into My Arms” as the entrance song at our wedding reception.

Having a favorite band disband when they are doing pretty well is always a mixed blessing; obviously you don’t want them to break up, but you also don’t want to see them descend into badness.

But even weirder is what appears to be the inevitable reunion. So many 90s bands are reuniting for better or worse: Dinosaur Jr, Meat Puppets (although they never really went away), The PIxies (with no album…yet) and even the grandfathers: The Police. I’m not big into the “reunion” thing, as it mostly seems to be just a cash in, and I have yet to get the Dinosaur Jr. record–even though I loved them back then, and I hear it’s very good (and I still may get it)–but I had to go for the Lemonheads.

And I’m really glad I did. I regret not getting the solo Evan Dando records that came out (and are now out of print) because it’s clear that he hasn’t lost a thing. The songs on this record (even though they are not all written by Dando) sound like classic Lemonheads. The main difference is that the guitars are a bit louder, having something of a grunge feel that the Lemonheads never had even during the height of grunge (even though they were punkier on their early releases). The melodies and vocals feel like the Lemonheads, but something about it says “it’s been a while and we’ve learned some new tricks”

Right from the start though, it’s like welcoming back an old friend. Dando’s voice sounds great. The supremely catchy verse/chorus structure falls right into place, and the lyrics go from funny to vulgar and back. There’s not a bad song on the collection. They’re mostly short (about 3 minutes) and range from fun rollickers like “Black Gown” and “Poughkeepsie” to darkly countryish “Baby’s Home.” There’s even a few solos by head Dinosaur Jr man J Masics (which of course makes me want to get the new Dino Jr record). (more…)

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Yet another blog about me

Posted in Digression, Paul Debraski on May 16, 2007| 2 Comments »

Since my wife Sarah has been having such a grand time with her book reviews blog, I thought I’d do the same. So, let’s summarize… My name is Paul Debraski I started reading a long time ago, but not as long as some, I’m sure. The first books I recall reading for fun were the Lord of the Rings quadrilogy back in high school. Before then, books didn’t really hold a lot of interest for me. How I morphed into an English/Philosophy Major in college and then a Librarian by profession is a curious, twisted tale with treacherous turns, eerie alleyways and spooky sidewalks. Or, I just couldn’t get a job as a cartoonist.

My secret passion was to be a cartoonist, as in a daily stripper. In grammar school I started the best cartoon in the world: WDOG in New Jersey. (For those of you keeping track, you should be able to date this strip to coincide the height of popularity of the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati; you should be able to determine where I lived, and that the characters were canine.) I created my ensemble, I had my setting, and I had absolutely nothing to write about. I wonder where that one unfinished strip is now? This dearth of subject matter has kept me from writing many things over the years, including a blog. This will be my third attempt, but since I actually have something to write about this time, I think it’s a keeper. In fact, I believe that this paragraph has more words than all of my other blogs combined. Phew.

Several Christmases ago I gave my wife a “keeping track of books you read” journal. Because she was one of those people who did that. Then, for Christmas last year, she gave me a beautifully decoupaged notebook, and I started keeping track of the books that I read. And, now, I’m going to keep track of them and write brilliantly insightful things about them right here. This will come in handy for me, and will be especially poignant when you get to the review of Good Omens somewhere in the next few weeks.

So, what do you have to look forward to: literature, graphic novels, hilarious commentary, useful hyperlinks and wry observation. I’ll bet you can’t wait!

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