SOUNDTRACK: TV ON THE RADIO-Dear Science, (2008).
The problem with TV on the Radio for me is that their first EP is so damned good that anything else they do pales in comparison. Having said that, Dear Science, comes really close to topping that EP. I liked Cookie Mountain (their previous disc) but I felt like they put so many elements into the mix that it detracted from the best part of the band: Tunde Adepimbe & Kyp Malone’s vocals.
And so, on Dear Science, the vocals are back up front where they belong. This disc is a lot less busy, which may seem a little like selling out, but instead, it just heightens the complexity and originality of the band’s work. The disc rocks hard but it also heightens some really cool jazz and dance elements. But it all comes back to the melodies and vocals for me. And on Dear Science, they pretty much outdo themselves.
And you can dance to it!
[READ: September 30, 2009] Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp and Other Essays
After reading David Foster Wallace’s essay in this book, I looked at the other articles here and decided to read the whole thing. And I’m really glad I did. It’s an interesting book full of, funny and often thought-provoking pop culture articles circa 1996. As with some of the other pop culture/political books that I’ve read several years after they were relevant, it’s often weird to look back and see what things fully occupied the popular landscape at the time. And, when a piece is completed dated, it’s pretty obvious, and sometimes unintentionally funny. But there are many pieces here that are timeless (or at least hold up for a decade), and those are still really good reads.
This book also does a good job of summarizing the tenor of the defunct Might magazine. A dose of irony, a splash of humor and a lot of criticism of what’s trendy.
The strange thing to me about this book, though is the targets that they chose to go after sometimes. Rather than critiquing right-wing attitudes or corporate shenanigans (which they do touch on), they really seem to be after pop and rock celebrity. For instance, there are two separate articles which take a potshot at Eddie Vedder (this was around the time of the Ticketmaster fiasco which didn’t put him in the best light but which could hardly be seen as only self-serving). This seems rather unfair, unless his sincerity could really be called into question by a bunch of ironic jokesters. Magazines like Radar and Spy used to do snarky articles like this. I’d always thought that Might was a little better than that. But indeed, there’s one or two pieces here that have a holier- (or perhaps indier)-than-thou attitude. Which may have been fine in the 90s but which seem petulant now.
But aside from those, the irony-free pieces are very enjoyable. (more…)
I’m not sure how I first learned about 
Mental Floss
Next comes the ubiquitous letters. This also contains the occasional feature of Readers and Their Famous Friends, which shows pictures of readers celebrities (pretty much the only celebrities they ever talk about). This is followed by the letter from the editor. Neely Harris (I have yet to determine if Neely is a boy or a girl and I’m not going to look it up either, somehow it’s more fun trying to imagine) is very funny and always sets a good tone for the magazine. 
SOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Garbage (1995).
I was thinking about how IJ reminds me so specifically of a place and time (I instantly think of the apartment I was in when I started reading it). And there are also some discs that I was crazy about at the time too.
It is incredible serendipity that I did the JOI filmography during this week as this week’s readings actually count on knowing a bit about it. And since I had just reevaluated it, I was aware of a thing or two during Hal’s viewing scene.
Week 10 starts off seeming like a lot of nothing is happening. There’s a few post-Event scenarios. Until we get to November 14th, and a whole lot goes on. A whole lot! 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century (1999). 
This SYR recording consists of Sonic Youth’s interpretations of 20th century composers’ works. Some of the composers are obscure, but a few are more or less household names: John Cage, Yoko Ono, maybe Steve Reich. I knew a few of these composers from Kronos Quartet, but for the most part the pieces are all new to me. Since I don’t know the original pieces I have no idea how faithful they are.
It took me going to Seattle to learn about 
ten. For reasons known only to my head, I was convinced that Sasha was a black woman. Little did I realize that he is not. And that he was in a band that I have a CD of called Ui. He is an excellent resource for all things music, whether I like the artist he’s talking about or not. Some entries are 
Radar Magazine
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-EVOL (1986).
Ah, EVOL. Here’s where Sonic Youth became Sonic Youth. Who knows how much Steve Shelley had to do with it, but he shows up and the band becomes amazing. The cover art is pretty darn scary and yet the music inside is amazingly beautiful. While by no means a commercial album, the album is chock full of melody.
[WATCHED: June 2009] The Power of Nightmares
Back oh, fifteen years ago, I subscribed to 
I Just Read About That... 