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Archive for the ‘Radio’ Category

Zadie Smith–“Take It or Leave It” (New Yorker, November 4, 2013)

Posted in Food, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Lee Ranaldo, New Yorker, Sonic Youth, Zadie Smith on February 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_11_04_13Brunetti.inddSOUNDTRACK: LEE RANALDO AND THE DUST-Live at KEXP (December 8, 2013).

leeThis show was recorded before the holidays in 2013.  For some reason, it wasn’t posted online until Jan 31.  But whatever the reason, I’m glad it was featured.

During the dissolution (or whatever) of Sonic Youth, much has been made of both Thurston and Kim’s new projects.  But Lee Ranaldo tends to get lost in the shuffle (which is probably how he likes it).  During the break, Lee has been plugging away on two solo albums.  His latest one, with The Dust, is more of a band effort, with contributions from everyone: Steve Shelley (talk about getting lost in the shuffle, poor Steve) on drums, Tim Lüntzel on bass and Alan Licht on guitar.  Licht plays some wonderful guitar solos and sounds (although Lee handles most of the weird sounds).  I think what’s interesting about these songs is that although they feel like Sonic Youth, they have a “pretty” guitar solo which really changes the overall feel of the song.

Ranaldo has written (and sung) some of my favorite Sonic Youth tracks.  I always assumed that his tracks sounded great when they were balanced with the rest of the album.  But these songs sounds very Ranaldo and they are all fantastic.

The first song, “Keyhole” is part beautiful melody and part beautiful noise.  Ranaldo writes chords that work perfectly together and yet which don’t sound like an obvious pairing.  And his vocal phrasing is always perfect for the music he makes–his voice is not spectacular but it is really quite perfect.  The second song, “Off the Wall” has the most commercial-sounding chorus I’ve heard from a Sonic Youth alum.  I almost don’t like it, although the rest of the song is very cool.

They play a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock n Roll” which fits in perfectly with their sound (even if Lee doesn’t hit the falsetto “fine fine” notes).  The final song, “The Rising Tide” is perhaps my favorite.  Clocking in at 10 minutes, this song is expansive and full of textures and sounds.  It goes in a  bunch of different directions and is really fantastic.

There’s a very long interview in the middle of the four songs, in which we learn what Lee has been up to, about how Hurricane Sandy affected him and about The Dust’s tour in India.  Lee’s an engaging talker and the interview flies by.

I don’t have any of Lee’s solo albums, but I think this one Last Night on Earth (and it seems like perhaps the previous one, Between the Times and the Tides) are total keepers.  You can watch the whole show below.

[READ: January 5, 2014] “Take It or Leave It”

I was surprised and pleased to see a piece from Zadie Smith in here.  Her article is mostly a comparison of take out food in New York and in London (or more broadly, the U.S. and England).

She tells how the first time she ordered Chinese food in New York, she wondered why the delivery guy just stood there after getting paid.  So she closed the door on him.  Her companion was shocked.  They just don’t tip delivery people in England.  British people grumble about it when they come here and have to tip.  They say that people should be compensated fairly for their work (although Smith notes that no one actually says if delivery boys are fairly paid in England) .

She says that a guy comes to your door, gives you food, gives you change and leaves (sometimes without even taking off the motorcycle helmet).  And they never say to have a nice day.  (“Have a good one” is the best you’ll get). (more…)

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Jeffrey Eugenides—“Find the Bad Guy” (New Yorker, November 18, 2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Drinking, Jeffrey Eugenides, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, Swedish Music, The Tallest Man on Earth, Tiny Desk Concert, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on January 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_11_18_13Tomine.inddSOUNDTRACK: TALLEST MAN ON EARTH-Tiny Desk Concert #26 (September 14, 2009).

tmoeI was not aware of The Tallest Man on Earth before hearing him on All Songs Considered.  And then WXPN started playing one of his songs, so he became somewhat familiar to me.  I have since listened to some of his concerts and this Tiny Desk Concert and I really like him a lot.

So the Tallest Man on Earth is Kristian Matsson, a Swedish folksinger with a great guitar picking style and a deep powerful gritty voice.  He plays three songs in this set.  “I Won’t Be Found” has wonderful fast guitar picking that contrasts wonderfully with his simple singing melody.  It’s a great song.  As is “The Gardener” which sounds very different.  This one is largely strummed–a bouncy, jaunty strum. It seems to contain the origin of his unusual stage name (or perhaps it just a fun allusion to it).

“Pistol Dreams” has more great finger picking (and reminds me a little of Richard Thompson).  It’s a sweet song, and his gruff voice once again provides excellent contrast.

I hope to hear more from The Tallest Man on Earth.  Check it out.

[READ: January 30, 2014] “Find the Bad Guy”

This story was surprisingly dark (I don’t think of Eugenides as quite so dark).  It starts out with the narrator talking about the house that he and his wife have owned for 12 years.  And yet they still haven’t gotten the smell of the previous owners completely out of it.  (There’s a nice payoff to this idea later in the story).

But that’s not the point.  The point is that he has recently been kicked out of his house—given a restraining order, in fact.  But since he knows the plans of his house he knows that he can stand right where he is—just inside the front fence—and know that he’s not too close.

The story has trappings of being current—he plays Words with Friends with his daughter (her name is mrsbieber), which I found to be just slightly out of touch.  But that’s irrelevant.

The narrator is Charlie Daniels (not that one—he goes by Charlie D to avoid confusion, especially since he works in music).  He met his wife at a radio station.  She worked at a country station, although she didn’t like country music.  Johanna was from Germany (her name was Lübeck, but everyone pronounced it Lubbock).  But the thing about her was that she was very tall (not that tall in Germany, she said).  And Charlie D was suave, so he asked her clever things like how the weather was up there and if she ever played basketball.  She didn’t fall for this, of course, but then one day she asked if they could get married so she could get a green card.  He said sure. (more…)

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“Her Big Break: The New Yorker Says Yes to Alice Munro” (The Walrus, January /February 2014)

Posted in Alice Munro, Arkells, AroarA, CBC Radio 3, Dan Mangan, John K. Samson, Kathryn Calder, Library Voices, Moxy Fruvous, New Yorker, The Darcys, The Walrus on January 26, 2014| Leave a Comment »

2014-01SOUNDTRACK: NOBEL PRIZE PLAYLIST-CBC Radio 3 (2013).

cbcIn honor of Alice Munro’s Nobel Prize, CBC radio has a playlist of “Literary Music.” Now, I have made many literary playlists over they years myself (including “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors” by Moxy Fruvous which is not included here), but this one consists of a few bands that I don’t know (and two that I do).

  • Library Voices–“Generation Handclap”
  • The Darcys–“Pretty Girls”
  • Kathryn Calder–“Right Book”
  • AroarA–“#6”
  • Arkells–“Book Club”
  • Dan Mangan–“Road Regrets”
  • John K. Samson–“When I Write My Master’s Thesis”

Samson is the only artist I know well, although I know Dan Mangan a little.  It’s a good listen and I’m sure if you scrutinize the lyrics you’ll find their literary worth.

Listen here.

[READ: January 18, 2014] “Her Big Break”

I’ve been a fan of Alice Munro for a while, and I’m always happy to see her in the New Yorker.  Strangely, I have never read any of her collected short stories.  Maybe some day….

When Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature, I imagined she’d get a lot more press.  And then I realized that it’s a literature prize.  And she’s Canadian.  So, perhaps a few columns in Canada’s The Walrus is all she’ll get.

But this article, which is really entirely this below letter and a brief introduction, explains that on November 18, 1976, Charles McGrath, a fiction editor at The New Yorker, sent Alice Munro her first acceptance letter from the magazine for her story “Royal Beatings.”  Soon after this, she signed a first-reading agreement with the magazine, which I gather means that they will see any of her short stories before she can send them anywhere else.

I am including this letter in its entirety because I assume that most people, like me, have never actually seen an acceptance letter from a magazine for a piece of fiction (I have several rejections).  But even if you have seen an acceptance letter, I can’t imagine that it will every be as thoughtful and considerate as this one.  i also love that as recent as 1976 The NEw Yorker was kind of prudish about their fiction.  I mean, now, the cursing is rampant, but back then the fiction was a more genteel breed.

I have not read “Royal Beatings,” but you can bet I’ve added it to my short list. (more…)

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Mark Tatulli–Desmond Pucket Makes Monster Magic (2013)

Posted in C., Children's Books, Dav Pilkey, Funny (ha ha), Kids Corner, Mark Tatulli, Short Books, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Decemberists, The Plants on January 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

desmond SOUNDTRACK: THE PLANTS-“Aziphrale” (2013).

plantsThe Plants are Kids Corner favorites. And why not they are Philadelphia locals.  I have enjoyed several of their songs but I wasn’t familiar with this one.  And so I was surprised that it made the Top ten Kids Corner Countdown.

This song is another story song. It’s about a Chinese dragon called Aziphrale.  It has a cool horn sound, reminding me of some mellow ska or like the Squirrel Nut Zippers.  The song is bouncy and jaunty and has a kind of moral to it, which is always nice.

It even features a lengthy pirate section with people sailing a ship across the sea–(perhaps making future Decemberists fans?).

It’s an engaging story and a good song–a sea shanty about gold and dragons, what could be better?  And I actually thought it was quite different from their other song that I reviewed–Monster Under My Bed, but that song is also a story and features prominent horns and is bouncy and jaunty.  I bet they’d be fun to see live.

[READ: January 5, 2014] Desmond Pucket Makes Monster Magic

Although this book is about a sixth grader, C. loved it and encouraged me to read it.  Which I did.  And it is quite enjoyable.  It reminds me of Captain Underpants in spirit. But it’s very different in execution.

Desmond Pucket is a kid who loves horror movies and special effects.  And he is a great artist and creator.  Which doesn’t always fly in school.  So he gets an F on his math test but he draws a cool picture on the back.  The teacher tells him that if he spent as much time on his math as on his drawing, he’d get straight A’s.  Sigh. (more…)

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Mark Haddon–Boom (or 70,000 light years) (2009)

Posted in Children's Books, Fantasy, Kids Corner, Mark Haddon, Ratboy Jr., Set at School, Short Books, Technology, UFOs on January 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

boomSOUNDTRACK: RATBOY JR.-“Champion of the Universe” (2013).

ratboyRatboy Jr was also in the Top Ten of WXPNs 2013 Kids Corner countdown (and was also on the Kids Corner CD).  This is a fun song told in a story.  It opens slowly with acoustic guitars and tells the story of a young boy with a very big head who wants to be a luchador.

When the chorus comes around, it kicks into full Mexican style swing with horns and flamenco style guitars.  Young Santos goes to a store where he gets a beautiful red wrestling mask.  And we all sing “La Cabeza Grande, champion of the universe!” in full chanting chorus (complete with yips and yee hees!).

I actually wish the songs was about five minutes longer.  But at just under 4 minutes it tells a good story and is super catchy.

[READ: January 2, 2014] Boom

I’ve read one adult book by Mark Haddon (but not his famous Curious Incident…).  I didn’t know that he wrote kids books at all.  But when this came out I learned that this was originally published in 1992 under the title Gridzbi Spudvetch! (and yes it was in English).  He says in the Foreword that kids and teachers loved it, if they were able to pronounce it (and that with a title like that he was lucky that 23 people bought it).

So it went out of print.  But fans said he should get it back in print.  So he decided to rename it a more reasonable name.  He also says the technology in the book was horribly out of date (which shouldn’t really matter, but if you’re going to update it, you might as well do it all).  And as since he was updating, he decided to rewrite, as he puts it, “every sentence.”  So I gather the story is the same, but it’s a very different book (and me being me, I’m very curious to read the original).

But now with the simple name of Boom, we get this fast paced and very enjoyable story.  (And yes, gridzbi spudvetch is still in the book). (more…)

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Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck [#8] (2013)

Posted in Babies, Children's Books, Death Cab For Cutie, Dogs, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Jeff Kinney, Kids Corner, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Parenting, Poo, Set at School, Short Books, Yuck! on January 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

hardluckSOUNDTRACK: LUCKY DIAZ AND THE FAMILY JAM BAND-“Thingamajig” (2013).

luckyThis song made the XPN Kid’s Corner Top ten.   When the played it on the radio, I was surprised at how ..quiet it was.  Even now listening to it, it just seems like all of the sounds are at the same level, it all kind of blends together, which is a shame because the song is really kind of fun.

Now that I’ve listened a few times I like it more.  It actually has a kind of Death Cab for Cutie feel.  The bass is particularly nice, but of course the fun part is the lyrics (a thingamajig, a whatchamacallit, who what where why).

So a couple of listens and I’m won over by the song.  I wish it was a bit more dynamic in the production, but it’s a catchy little number.  And I’m curious to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.

[READ: December 27, 2013] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

Clark was so excited for this book!  This is the first one that he knew about before I did.  We decided to save it for a Christmas present, and man was he chomping at the bit.  He even borrowed it from a friend (because there were 100 people on the waiting list a the library).  And yet, even though he had already read it, when it arrived on Christmas, he was still really excited.  And has already read it four times.

And what was sweeter was that he really wanted me to read it.  He thought it was the best one yet.

I was surprised by this as the whole first section is about how lost Greg feels now that Rowley has a girlfriend, Abigail.  I can’t really imagine how he related to that as it’s not an issue for an 8-year-old (in fact the whole series is skewed a little old for an 8-year-old, but he still loves it).  Mostly Greg isn’t so much jealous that Rowley has a girlfriend so much as he is jealous that she is keeping Rowley from being Greg’s slave, I mean, friend.  Normally, Rowley walks in front of Greg to look out for the (newly added, I think) Mingo kids who threaten anyone who comes close to their wood (which is on their way to school) or for dog land mines–the scene where the dog figures out how the electric fence works is so funny.  And speaking of dogs, Clark absolutely cracked up about the joke with the little dog Sweetie who sniffs herself if you make a raspberry sound near her. (more…)

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Maxwell Eaton III–The Flying Beaver Brothers: Birds vs. Bunnies (2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adventure, Allan Sherman, Children's Books, Dan Zanes, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Kids Corner, Maxwell Eaton III, Ratboy Jr., Sara Hickman, Short Books, The Board of Education, The Doubleclicks, The Plants, Trout Fishing in America on January 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

bbbSOUNDTRACK: KIDS CORNER Top Ten of 2013 (2014).

kidsEvery year I’m curious to see what the kids who vote for Kids Corner music will pick as their top ten.  It is usually reliably silly.  But this year I have to say I was a bit disappointed in their selections.  Here’s the Top um, Eleven (two were tied of tenth) from 11 to 1.

  • Allan Sherman – You Went The Wrong Way Old King Louie
  • Dan Zanes – Turn Turn Turn
  • The Plants – Aziphrale
  • Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – Thingamajig
  • Shine And The Moonbeams – Bully Bully
  • Trout Fishing In America – My Sister Kissed Her Boyfriend
  • Weird Al Yankovic – The Saga Begins
  • The Doubleclicks – Worst Superpower Ever
  • Ratboy Jr. – Champion Of The Universe
  • Sara Hickman – Radiation Man
  • The Board Of Education – Why Is Dad So Mad?

I am especially surprised by Allan Sherman as I can’t imagine that too many kids would enjoy that song (which is funny if you know your history, but not really otherwise) and while I love Dan Zanes, “Turn Turn Turn” is not exactly a rollicking fun Top Ten song.  I actually dislike “Bully Bully” and while I love Trout Fishing in America and like “My Sister,” it’s certainly not their best song (and this list isn’t just new songs obviously).  The rest of the list is quite good, though.

And it’s a great choice for number one.  But next year, kids, more silliness!

[READ: January 1, 2014] The Flying Beaver Brothers: Birds vs. Bunnies

We were unreasonably excited to see that there was a new Flying Beaver Brothers book out!  We loved the first two quite a lot, so any return of Ace and Bub is a good thing.  But to also have the return of a nasty villain is quite nice too.

Yet it’s not all the same faces, because this time there are birds and bunnies causing havoc with our heroes.

Bob and Bob (the penguins who get a brief cameo) are rebuilding Beaver Island and Bub and Ace are heading there in a boat.  But a storm rages and makes them crash.  They walk around an island where they are quickly captured by an angry bunch of bunnies who accuse them of being bird spies (those are real?).  Indeed, the birds have been playing a  very loud sound that hurts the bunnies ears and makes them go underground.  So the bunnies are fighting back with a wind machine that makes the birds leave the sky.  Both of these machines were funded by a mysterious fellow named Wally (unbeknownst to the others). (more…)

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Tony Abbott–Goofballs #5: The Ha-Ha-Haunting of Hyde House (2013)

Posted in Adventure, C., Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Kids Corner, Mystery, Short Books, T., The Hipwaders, Tony Abbott, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on December 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

goof5SOUNDTRACK: THE HIPWADERS-Dewey Decimal System (2007).

hipwadersA bouncy bass line introduces this song about the Bookmobile crashing into your house.  The librarian gives him a card and teaches him how to use the library.  The bridge is very sweet, especially compared to the silly, bouncy “Dewey Dewey Dewey Dewey Dewey decimal system” part.

Then the clever song teaches you the basic categories of the Dewey Decimal System.    That section musically reminds me of School House Rock.  It’s kind of a harsh switch from the School House Rock section to the Dewey Dewey section, but that Dewey part is so catchy that it’s a fun change.

It’s an enjoyable song (and informative too).  This song appears on the WXPN Kids Corner CD.

[READ: October 23, 2013] Goofballs #5: The Ha-Ha-Haunting of Hyde House

Goofballs #5 continues this enjoyable series.  This one seemed to be even funnier than the others (more jokes per page!).  I enjoyed this joke which was if not laugh out loud funny is certainly smile-worthy: “The official Goofball definition of toddler is someone too short to reach a doorknob but not too short to reach a cupcake.”

What was also funny, but strange funny, was that lead Goofball Jeff Bunter started finding clues without evening having a case.  Jeff is heading to the library for Fun Day for the toddlers.  But when he sees a woman walking out of store with pink balloons, he deems it  a clue. How can that possibly be?  Well, he is the detective, after all.

It’s also nearly Halloween.  And of course the other Goofballs are there.  Brian is there in a tuxedo (which he imagines he can wear for Halloween.  He also has a top hat that is way too big for him (although he assumed that since he brain is so big it should have fit).  And the other Goofballs and Goofdog are there to help out, of course. (more…)

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Tony Abbott–Goofballs #4: The Mysterious Talent Show Mystery (2013)

Posted in Adventure, C., Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Kids Corner, Moona Luna, Mystery, Pistolera, Short Books, T., Tony Abbott, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on December 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

gb4SOUNDTRACK: MOONA LUNA-“Vamos! Let’s Go!” (2012).

Moona_Vamos_cover-300x267This song opens with a surf guitar lick and then is dominated by keyboard chords.

The first verses are sung in Spanish (by a delicately voiced woman).  The chorus of “vamos, let’s go” is super fun and easy to sing along to.  But the second half of the song is sung in English (I assume it’s the same words–my Spanish is okay).

It’s a simple song, catchy as anything and you learn some Spanish too!  And check out how cute that cover is.

I also just learned that Moona Luna is a side project of the band Pistolera whom I’ve heard of but not heard.  This one came on the Kids Corner 25th Anniversary CD.

[READ: October 23, 2013] Goofballs #4: The Mysterious Talent Show Mystery

Goofballs #4 proved to be my favorite of all of the Goofballs because the main new character in the book is a redhead named T. (just like my daughter!)  [I secretly believe that Tony Abbott read our blog and saw a picture of T. and decided to name a character after her–even if it was C. who was the one who read all the Droon books with me].

Our four goofy sleuths Jeff Bunter, Mara Lubin, Kelly Smitts, and Brian Rooney are of course present and this time they are preparing for a talent show.  This year’s new director of the talent show is T. Rinkle, a genuine goofball in her own right.  For one thing, she has scheduled the Talent Show for Friturday!  And worse yet, no matter how good (or bad) someone’s talent is, Ms Rinkle tells them that they are great.

But then things get really weird–things start happening which seem like the Talent Show will never happen.  A giant tuba goes missing, the costumes come back in all the wrong sizes and the scripts are missing pages.  What is going on? (more…)

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Tony Abbott–Goofballs #3: Superhero Silliness (2012)

Posted in Adventure, C., Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Kids Corner, Lunch Money, Mystery, Short Books, T., Tony Abbott, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on November 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

gb3SOUNDTRACK: LUNCH MONEY-“Ate too Much of My Favorite Food” (2009).

lunchmoneySurely everyone has experienced this horrible feeling–you love some kind of food so much that you eat too much and get sick.  My example was peanut butter Rice Krispie treats, an invention that I assume was my mothers.  They were sooooo good.  But I have never eaten them since that day (over 30 years ago.  In fairness, no one has offered them to me either).

So this is a fun song–opening with snapped fingers and a solo female voice before the horn fueled simple melody comes in.  I enjoyed the way the “ba ba ba” section turned into baba ghanoush.

There’s a shout-out section about the foods that did you right and wrong.  My only quibble with the song is that the foods that they list are really strange–foods that no one thinks of as their favorite foods–zucchini??, creamed spinach??.  Even gummy bears?  Where’s the heavy foods that kids actually overeat?

Lunch Money has another song called “I Love My Library” that I may have to check out.  This one came on the Kids Corner 25th Anniversary CD.

[READ: October 25, 2013] Goofballs #3: Superhero Silliness

This book introduced me to a word that I evidently should have known for some time: derder.  A derder is the cardboard roll inside of toilet paper or paper towels.  You put your lips up to it and go “der der der” and it’s a musical instrument.  Seriously.

But what does that have to do with Superheroes?  Well, in this case, plenty.

The kids are on line at Pizza Palace, the site of their very first mystery (which we never saw).  Luigi, the owner, had named a pizza after them for their brave deeds–cheese, garlic, pineapple and peanut butter.  And now it was one year after that deed and he was adding a new mystery topping.  Everyone was waiting to see what it would be when a lino pulled up to the line and called the Goofballs over.  It is Randall Crandall’s driver and he says that Randall Crandall needs their help.

Randall has the world’s largest collection of derders and he is afraid that someone is planning to steal it.  He is having a superhero costume party and he fears that the thief will try to steal them during the party. Will the Goofballs come dressed in original superhero costumes and catch the thief?

Will they ever! (more…)

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