SOUNDTRACK: DO MAKE SAY THINK-Other Truths [CST062] (2009).
I’ve always enjoyed Do Make Say Think’s CDs. They play instrumentals that are always intriguing and which never get dull.
But this CD far exceeds anything they have done so far (and they’ve done some great work). There are only four tracks, and they range from 8 to 12 minutes long. Each track is named for a word in the band’s name: Do, Make, Say, Think. And each one is a fully realized mini epic.
“Do” sounds like a gorgeous Mogwai track. While “Make” has wonderfully diverse elements: a cool percussion midsection and a horn-fueled end section that works perfectly with the maniacal drumming. “Say” is another Mogwai-like exploration, although it is nicely complemented by horns. It also ends with a slow jazzy section that works in context but is somewhat unexpected. Finally, “Think” closes the disc with a delightful denouement. It’s the slowest (and shortest) track, and it shows that even slowing down their instrumentals doesn’t make them dull.
It’s a fantastic record from start to finish. This is hands down my favorite Constellation release in quite some time.
[READ: December 2009 – January 13, 2010] McSweeney’s #33.
The ever-evolving McSweeney’s has set out to do the unlikely: they printed Issue #33 as a Sunday Newspaper. It is called The San Francisco Panorama and, indeed, it is just like a huge Sunday newspaper. It has real news in (it is meant to be current as of December 7, 2009). As well as a Sports section, a magazine section and even comics!
[DIGRESSION] I stopped reading newspapers quite some time ago. I worked for one in college and have long been aware that the news is just something to fill the space between ads. I do like newspapers in theory, and certainly hope they don’t all go away but print issues are a dying breed. When I think about the waste that accompanies a newspaper, I’m horrified. Sarah and I even did a Sunday New York Times subscription for a while, but there were half a dozen sections that we would simply discard unopened. And, realistically that’s understandable. Given how long it took me to read all of the Panorama, if you actually tried to read the whole Sunday paper, you’d be finished the following Sunday (or even two Sundays later).
Their lofty goal here was to show what print journalism can still do. And with that I concur heartily. Even if I don’t read the newspaper, the newspapers as entities are worth saving. Because it is pretty much only print journalism that finds real, honest to God, worthy news stories. TV news is a joke. There is virtually nothing of value on network TV. Fox News is beyond a joke. CNBC is sad (although Rachel Maddow is awesome!) and even CNN, the originator of all of this 24 hour news nonsense still can’t fill their airtime with non-sensationalized news.
Obviously, there are some decent internet sites, but for the most part they don’t have the budget to support real news investigation. You either get sensationalized crap like Drudge or rebroadcasts of real news.
So, print is the last bastion of news. And you can see that in journalistic pieces in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Walrus, Prospect and, yes, in newspapers.
But enough. What about THIS newspaper? Oh and unlike other McSweeney’s reviews I’ve done, there is NO WAY that I am writing a thorough comment on everything in here. There’s just way too much. Plus, there are many sections that are just news blurbs. Larger articles and familiar authors will be addressed, however. [UPDATE: January 18]: If, however, like Alia Malek below, you bring it to my attention that I’ve left you out (or gotten something wrong!) drop me a line, and I’ll correct things.
There is in fact a Panorama Information Pamphlet which answers a lot of basic questions, like why, how and how often (just this once, they promise!). There’s also a Numbers section which details the size, scope and cost of making this (it shows that with an initial start up, anyone could make a newspaper if they talked enough about what the readers were interested in). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Nightline Sessions (1998).
This is a fascinating document for any Rheostatics fan. I wound up buying it at the same time as Double Live, even though I couldn’t tell exactly what it was because it was really cheap.
I found out about 
SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH: A Thousand Leaves (1998).
This CD actually ties to the book because the crossed out title on the CD is “mille feuille” and the first song is called “Contre le Sexism.”
SOUNDTRACK: MORRISSEY-Years of Refusal (2009).
I’ve been a fan of The Smiths for years. And I think that Morrissey’s debut, Viva Hate, is on par with much of the Smiths’ catalogue. Over the years his output has been mixed, but with Years of Refusal he comes fighting back with a really solid disc. The disc is so good that if one had no idea of who he was, one could easily get into it with no preconceived notions of Morrissey, The Smiths or any of that glorious past.
SOUNDTRACK: MOXY FRÜVOUS-Bargainville (1993).
I first heard Moxy Früvous on an NPR weekend morning show. They performed “Johnny Saucep’n” (a tongue twisting a capella marvel) live and it blew my mind. And, lest I forget, these 4 guys do AMAZING a capella. Amazing. Their harmonies are simply magnificent. I immediately went out and got whatever their latest album was (Live Noise, I expect). And I worked my way back from there.
SOUNDTRACK: MP3 Radio Transmitter
I was looking for a solution to my broken CD Player and I recalled that there are these mini transmitters that broadcast your MP3 player like a radio station. The broadcast range is pretty weak, but it’s usually strong enough to go from your player to your car radio. In theory this allows for everyone to be their own tiny radio station which I find utterly cool.
SOUNDTRACK: Radio New York, WNYE, 91.5FM.
SOUNDTRACK: The Core: WVPH, 90.3 FM.
SOUNDTRACK: WRSU 89.7 FM.
Coming straight out of Rutgers University in New Brunswick (my grad school alma mater), this was the first station that I happened upon while I was scanning the lower numbers on the radio station.
I hadn’t heard of this book, although actually I’m sure I had–but I ignored it. Roy Blount Jr is on 
I Just Read About That... 