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Archive for the ‘Romance’ Category

Tessa Hadley–“Valentine” (New Yorker, April 8, 2013)

Posted in Ben Gibbard, Boredom, Cigarettes, Communists, Death Cab For Cutie, Drugs, New Yorker, Romance, Sex, Short Story, Tessa Hadley, The Postal Service, Virginity (Loss of) on June 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_04_08_13Ulriksen.inddSOUNDTRACK: THE POSTAL SERVICE-“A Tattered Line of String” (2013).

postalI enjoyed The Postal Service record but I wasn’t as big of a Death Cab for Cutie fan at the time.  Now, having enjoyed DCFC so much in the last couple of years, this song sounds much more like a DCFC song but with keyboards (Ben’s voice is so distinctive).

This song has been released with the reissue of the Postal Service album.  It’s not on the original but it also sounds like it might be a remix (the skittery backing vocals make me think remix).

Either way this is a supremely catchy song (Gibbard knows from melody) and when you throw the keyboards and dancey beats on it, it’s even more poppy than DCFC’s stuff.  I wonder why the album wasn’t bigger when it came out.

[READ: April 21, 2013] “Valentine”

Tessa Hadley has written another story that I enjoyed–with that same quaint feeling of love in 1970s England.

The story opens with the narrator Stella and her friend Madeleine waiting at the bus stop.  They are fifteen, have never kissed boys, and think about nothing else (especially since they go to an all girls school).   Madeleine is willowy with long curls a “kitten face” and “luscious breasts” while Stella is small, plump and shapeless.

As they wait for the bus, Valentine approaches (yes I though the title was about the day not a person).  He is in school as well but he is new to them.  Valentine has just moved to the area from Malaya.  And, as he sizes them up, offering them each a smoke, when it comes down to it, amazingly, he chooses Stella.

She likes him because he is different as she is different–they are clearly soulmates.  While her parents (well, Gerry is her stepdad) don’t ‘t approve of him (his hair, his dress, his attitude).  He barely talks to her parents when they interrogate him and then he imitates their voices when they are alone.  Regardless of what others thought or really, because if it, they are soon hanging out all the time.  And soon he is her boyfriend.  And soon enough she had lost weight (because all they did was talk and smoke), they died their hair black (a proto-goth in the hippie 70s) and they basically began to look alike. (more…)

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Heidi Julavits–”This Feels So Real” (Harper’s, November 2012)

Posted in Blur, British Sea Power, Catherine Wheel, Harper's, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Privacy, Romance, Short Story, The Believer on November 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BRITISH SEA POWER-Live on KEXP,  March 4, 2008 (2008).

The four songs from this set come from Do You Like Rock Music?  It’s the only album I have from British Sea Power, so I found the set enjoyable.  The band seems to specialize in a kind of chanted heavy rock.  This is especially noticeable in “No Lucifer” which has a big chanted chorus (the DJ observes that British fans chant a lot better than America fans–which is very true).

The singer’s voice reminds me a bit of Catherine Wheel (deep and kind of smooth, as opposed to high-pitched and/or screamy) and the music has a kind of Blur feel–very English-sounding.  And yet the band is a bit heavier than Blur and much darker as well.

“Atom” is a speedy blast of borderline punk.  “Down on the Ground” has a very catchy riff and “Canvey Island” has a building swelling sound that I really like.  They would never be my favorite band, but I really like this album.

I also enjoyed that the DJ was sort of fawning over the band since they had gotten about two hours of sleep the night before (after their show).  And I must say they sound pretty fine for having no sleep.  Check it out. 

[READ: November 1, 2012] “This Feels So Real”

Heidi Julavits is one of the founders of The Believer magazine, so naturally I’m drawn to her writing. And I have enjoyed most of her short stories (I haven’t gotten around to reading her novels yet).  But I really didn’t like this one.

It is about a contestant on a romantic reality show who has been kicked off the island (or whatever manufactured location they are supposed to be on).  He, Ryan P (for there is another Ryan on the show), really loves Ashley.  But she has given him the symbol that means she is not interested in him.  And we follow him as his love and obsession for Ashley blossoms.

Ryan says that there is a producer on the show, Chris, who is actually responsible for his departure–that he is the one who executes Ashley’s desires, but Chris seems to suggest that Ryan might want to try again (or so Ryan understands it).  The story then follows Ryan as he follows Ashley (and the other men remaining on the show–including Ryan M, whom Ryan P assumes is really gay).  He tries to avoid the cameras and tries to get closer and closer to his beloved. (more…)

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F. Scott Fitzgerald–The Great Gatsby (1925)

Posted in Boredom, Death, Decadence, Drinking, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marriage Trouble, Military, Romance, Short Books, The Smiths on March 9, 2012| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK:SUPER MORRISSEY BROS (2012).

This is, as the title implies, a Smiths song done in the musical style of Super Mario Bros.  And, why yes, it certainly is.

This song is especially amusing to me as we just got a Wii for Christmas so I am now far more familiar with the Super Mario Brothers musical style than I ever expected I’d be.  The opening notes are spot on and while it is a bit long for something of a joke, at under 3 minutes it never wears out its joyousness..

The little sound effect of scoring points at about the 2 minute mark is as wonderful of a surprise as when you get the unexpected point in the game and it easily sustains the song until the end.

It doesn’t honestly warrant repeated listens, but two or three will certainly make you smile.

Check it out

[READ: March 6, 2012] The Great Gatsby

I knew I’d be reading Gravity’s Rainbow for a while so I wanted some shorter, easier works that I could use as occasional diversions.  I’d read The Great Gatsby in college and really enjoyed it, but clearly, as I learned by reading it again, I didn’t remember anything about it and what I remembered, I’d remembered wrong.

The other thing I was thinking about is that I didn’t read this in high school.  In fact, I didn’t read many books that I know people are supposed to read in high school.  I don’t think it’s because I didn’t feel like reading it (that;s possible), I think it wasn’t assigned to us.  My high school, as I recall, has a weird selection of texts that we read.  For instance, I recall reading Táin bó Cúailnge (and hating it).  Who is reading The Tain (which is an Irish epic) and not Gatsby?  Kids in Ireland, that’s who!

Anyhow, this book is considered number 2 in The Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Ulysses is #1–that’s a 1 and 2 that couldn’t be much more different!) and, as I said it’s on virtually every high school curriculum.

As I was reading it I wondered how well high school students could relate to this story.  There are two cases of infidelity, there’s murder and suicide, there’s bootlegging alcohol and false identities.  I mean, sure they should love it, but how well can they relate to it?

The novel opens with Nick Carraway reciting advice that his father gave him: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantage that you’ve had.”  This is an interesting quote to open with since the quote both applies and does not apply to the great Gatsby who is Nick’s neighbor. (more…)

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Midnight in Paris (2011)

Posted in Anachronisms, Cole Porter, Culture Shock, Decadence, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Man Ray, Midnight in Paris, Political Humor, Romance, Salvador Dali, Time Travel, Woody Allen on March 8, 2012| 2 Comments »

[WATCHED: March 5, 2012] Midnight in Paris

I took a course on Woody Allen’s films in college and, as a result, I had seen everything he had done (and a lot of what had inspired him).  After college, I made a point of seeing everything he released.  Often on opening day.  (My double feature of Deconstructing Harry and Good Will Hunting on Christmas Day is still a highlight).

But after The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, which was okay, but just barely, I basically gave up on him.  I watched Match Point in three parts (no time at the time) and really enjoyed it, but I never really got back on track with Woody.  And then came Paris.

Despite its huge popularity, I knew nothing about this Woody Allen film.  I knew Owen Wilson was playing the Woody Allen character in this one and it was getting amazing reviews.  Now, it’s very true that critics don’t always get Woody Allen, but when they unanimously get his film it’s pretty safe that it’s a good one.

And boy was it ever. (more…)

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Caroline Preston–The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures (2012)

Posted in AC/DC, Belle and Sebastian, Biography, Caroline Preston, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ernest Hemingway, Graphic Novel, Isobel Campbell, James Joyce, Mark Lanegan, Romance, Short Books, The Transatlantic Review, The Velvet Underground, Travel on February 10, 2012| 5 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: ISOBEL CAMPBELL & MARK LANEGAN-Sunday at Devil Dirt (2010).

Sarah bought this disc for me for my birthday a few years ago.  I had a hard time getting into it even thought it was supposed to be amazing.  It turns out that it is amazing, but only when I’m in the right mood.

The is a disc of slow, moody songs.  The closest comparison I can think of is Leonard Cohen (even though all of the songs are actually written by Isolbel Campbell)–this disc is at times more and at times less ponderous than Cohen.

The main reason I couldn’t get into it is because the first two songs are really really slow.  “The Seafaring Song” is almost comically slow–as slow as Lanegan’s voice is deep.  And yet there is a very nice melody (and beautiful accompaniment from Campbell).  “The Raven” sounds like an old Western movie.  Indeed, a lot of the disc sounds like an old Western.

“Salvation” introduces the first real up-front melody. “Back Burner” has a very old school chanting chorus which is quite a change for this album (although at 7 minutes, it does drag a bit).

“Who Built the Road” is very much like a Leonard Cohen duet (especially the La la part) while “Come On Over (Turn Me On)” is like a sexy Serge Gainsbourg duet (the album really picks up around here).  “Shotgun Blues” is a big sexy blues (surprising for Campbell who sings lead) while “Keep Me in Mind, Sweetheart” is a country-style ballad.

By the time that “Sally, Don’t You Cry” comes on, I find that I have more or less had enough of the disc.  But that is the last official song.  My copy has five bonus tracks after two minutes of silence. But the bonus songs mix things up a bit more.  “Fight Fire with Fire” is a jaunty piano based song (although it’s still pretty slow-paced).  It’s funny to hear them talking about AC/DC albums in this slow piano song.

“Violin Tango” is just what the title says while “Rambling Rose, Clinging Vine” is probably the most upbeat song on the disc. Finally “Hang On” feels the most like a song from her old band Belle and Sebastian (by way of The Velvet Underground).  It’s also the only one she sings solo.

So yes, I do like this album quite a lot. Lanegan is a perfect foil for Campbell’s sweet voice and songwriting. They made another disc together, maybe I’ll get that in another couple of years, too.

[READ: February 5, 2012] The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt

This was a wonderful book that Sarah brought home and told me I had to read.  And I’m so glad I did.

The Scrapbook is a very simple story–it’s a biography of a lady named Frankie Pratt from the ten or so years after she gets out of high school.  She went to high school in Cornish, New Hampshire in the early 1920s; that’s when this scrapbook starts.  Over the decade, Frankie goes to college, gets a job in New York City, travels to Paris and then returns home.  That is the basic plot, but that simple summary does a grave, grave injustice to this book.

For Preston has created a wondrous scrapbook.  Each page has several images of vintage cutouts which not only accentuate the scene, they often move the action along.  It feels like a genuine scrapbook of a young romantic girl in the 1920s.

Check out the picture on the right.  Every page is like that–full of old photographs or ticket stubs, candy wrappers or advertisements.  And a few words here and there that Frankie has typed to move the story along.  It is a wondrous trip down vintage lane.

Now, as I said, the story is pretty simple (but it is befitting a scrapbook).  It showcases the highlights of Frankie Pratt’s life.  How she meets a man who wines her and dines her and treats her fine, until he reveals a shocking secret.  How she got out of Cornish, New Hampshire and went to Vassar (I admit I found this first section a little slow, but I was so absorbed in the look of the book that I didn’t really mind).

Once she gets to Vassar though, things are much more interesting because Frankie, small town girl with no money, is introduced to the rich sophisticates who attend Vassar–New York and Boston socialites.  She even rooms with one woman (who sends her down a path of debauchery and potential loss of scholarship).

Frankie longs  to be a writer, and she heads to New York to work on a magazine.  There she meets a man who wines her and dines her and treats her fine, until he reveals a shocking secret. (more…)

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Alice McDermott-“Someone” (New Yorker, January 30, 2012)

Posted in Alice McDermott, Kwan Jai and Kwan Jit Sriprajan, My Morning Jacket, New Yorker, Romance, Sex, Short Story on February 3, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KWAN JAI & KWAN JIT SRIPRAJAN-“E-Saew Tam Punha Huajai” (1960s-1980s).

This song is the basis for My Morning jacket’s “Holdin’ on to Black Metal.”  It’s not the inspiration…it’s the exact song.  In fact, it could even be a cover, except with completely different lyrics.  Well, I say completely different lyrics without knowing what the original lyrics are, although it translates as “Advice Column for Love Troubles” which “Holdin’ on to Black Metal” certainly is not.

This original is a tad slower and, perhaps, a tad stiffer (which is funny that it’s on a collection called Siamese Soul).  The riff is pretty cool, and in this version they use (what I assume are) Thai flourishes the keyboards are just all over the place, bringing in a crazily noisy texture.  The vocals are all in Thai (I assume).  But what’s amazing is that the opening vocal melody is copied exactly by MMJ (and then MMJ take it in a very different direction).

After that opening riff, the similarities in vocals end, as the singer (I am so vague about this because I can’t find anything about this album anywhere) takes off on a more conventional non-Western singing style.  I prefer the MMJ version, but this is a fun little addition to Circuital.

Check it out and be surprised.

[READ: January 31, 2012] “Someone”

I normally don’t like titles like this one.  “Someone” seems to show a real dearth of imagination, and it doesn’t really inspire anyone to want to read the story.  Having said that, the title actually proves to be quite apt, albeit only after reading the whole thing.

I haven’t read any McDermott stories before, although I have heard of her, but I have no idea if this is the kind of story she normally writes.

This one is set in 1937.  Marie is 17 and has just been asked by Walter Hartnett what is wrong with her eye.  What’s wrong with her eye is that the sun makes it squint involuntarily.  Walter tells her not to do that, that it makes her whole face look funny.  This must be a charming pick up line circa 1937 because later that day Marie and Walter go on a date.

The story quickly flashes forward to the present–we see Marie examining her squint in the mirror. She also thinks back to when her daughters started dating and she warned them: (a rule that I agree with): “If he looks over your head while you’re talking, get rid of him.”  But the daughters didn’t want to hear another story about Walter Hartnett.  So we get to hear it instead.

On that first date, Walter invited Marie upstairs for a minute.  We all know what getting invited upstairs means, but did it mean that in 1937?  Well, Walter does live with his mom, so maybe not.  But his mom is not home, and there’s beer in the fridge.  And soon enough Marie is having her first kiss.  And Walter doesn’t take it slow.  He’s already moving on to second base–with kissing and biting and….  And then they hear the door open downstairs.  Marie is stunned.  (more…)

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Junot Díaz–“Alma” (New Yorker, December 24 & 31, 2007)

Posted in Humiliation, Junot Díaz, New Yorker, Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Sex, Short Story, Sonic Youth, Ulver, Until the Light Takes Us on December 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ULVER-Perdition City: An Interior Soundtrack (2000).

Uver’s previous EP hinted at what would come next–electronic ambient tunes.  But it didn’t quite prepare anyone for this–a soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist.  And yet with a title like Perdition City, you can pretty well anticipate the music that’s coming: think noir.

It is more electronica, and yet it is not just electronica.  The opening song “Lost in Moments” has a saxophone (!) solo.  And the song sounds like a perfect David Lynch/noir soundtrack to a dark and stormy night. 

What’s novel about the approach are the electronic noises and eccentric drum beats that punctuate the track.  The second track, “Porn Piece or The Scars of Cold Kisses” is broken into two parts: the first is a low, rumbling section with skittery noises and the second part has soulful singing (Garm, the only consistent member of Ulver (who goes by a different name on just about every record) has a surprising range of voices at his disposal).

“Hallways of Always,” “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “The Future Sound of Music” are sort of ambient tracks.  “Hallways” is quiet while “Future” grows in volume and chaos as the song proceeds.  “Tomorrow” is the most menacing of the three, projecting a state of noise and tension.  The interesting thing about these tracks is that although they seem like pretty conventional electronic instrumentals, they are actually fairly complicated in detail.  Some of the electronic pieces go on a bit too long, but as they are meant to be atmospheric rather than narrative, I guess that’s okay.

“We Are the Dead” bring in vocals again.  This time, it’s a spoken word narration over distorted radio voices.  And “Dead City Centers” also brings back some vocals.  Although only after about 4 minutes of noises and tension.  This time the vocals are more ominous (as the music grows more intense).

“Catalept” is the most interesting track on the disc–a remix of music from Psycho.  While the final song “Nowhere/Catastrophe” is an actual song–verses and vocals!  It’s a fairly soft song but it has moments of darkness that are quite cool. 

As a soundtrack this works wonders.  And if Ulver wanted to get into the soundtrack business, apparently their model of “making up your own soundtrack” worked.  Since this release they have recorded the soundtracks for two external films. 

As an overall release it’s a bit all over the place–jazzy sax, electronica, spoken word.  The mood is pretty consistent though, and although I don’t think I would do what the liner notes recommend: “This is music for the stations before and after sleep.  Headphones and darkness recommended,” I still enjoyed it.

[READ:  November 5, 2011] “Alma”

This is a very short story that falls pretty squarely into standard Junot Díaz territory (he says, having read like four pieces by him). 

I’m fascinated by these stories because Díaz is all about women being super hot and yet they are never objectified.  Well, in some ways they are of course–he lingers over their bodies as he describes them, but they are never just a body.  They are often smart or interesting, they are strong and powerful, and even when they are victimized (some by cheating boyfriends, others by far worse), they either fight back or get themselves to safety.  It’s nice to read about powerful women,even if the point of view is from her boyfriend.

This is the story of a young man falling hard for a hot woman (with a beautiful ass).  What fascinates me about Junot Díaz’s stories is that the women that his narrators fall for are Dominican, but they are also alternative to their culture.  So in this case, Alma is a “Sonic Youth, comic-book-reading alternatina” which makes me like her already. (more…)

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Tessa Hadley–“A Mouthful of Cut Glass” (New Yorker, June 6, 2005)

Posted in Culture Shock, Marriage (Happy), New Yorker, Romance, Short Story, Stars, Tessa Hadley, The Kopecky Family Band, Tiny Desk Concert on July 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KOPECKY FAMILY BAND-Embraces EP (2008).

I learned about Kopecky Family Band from NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.  When I investigated further, I found that I could download this EP for free. I compared their Tiny Desk show favorably to The Head and the Heart.  This earlier EP has a bit more punky edge to it (as their other stuff may as well–Tiny Desk doesn’t really lend towards punk).

And so this EP leads me to compare them more towards Stars.  But perhaps we’ll call them a more acoustic version of Stars.  There is some wonderfully intense musical construction on this EP, and the dynamic of the duel vocalists really bring great tensions.

This is a wonderful EP.  The strings belie the rather heavy chords  (especially on “Trainwreck”) and the harmonies throughout are really infectious.

[READ: June 30, 2011] “A Mouthful of Cut Glass”

I’ve really enjoyed Tessa Hadley’s recent stories in The New Yorker.  So I decided to go back through their archives and read the other stories of hers that they have published.  It turns out that she has been published in the New Yorker since 2002.  But many of the earlier stories were collected in her previous collection which I’ll read one of these days.  But rather, I started with the first ones that have yet to be collected.

“A Mouthful of Cut Glass” is a conflation of two expressions, neither of which I was familiar with: “talking through a mouth full of plums” and “an accent like cut glass.”  The malaprop came from the protagonist’s boyfriends’ mother.  And yet, I say protagonist as if Shiela is the real protagonist.  The story quite clearly opens with Neil.

In 1952 Neil was born into a very poor household.  But over the years, he was able to rise above his sattion and become a successful University student.  It was at University that Neil met Sheila.  Sheila grew up in a vicar’s house with a gaggle of brothers and sisters.  The two of them hit it off very well and began a serious relationship. (more…)

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Zadie Smith Introduces The Burned Children of America (2003)

Posted in A.M. Homes, Aimee Bender, Amanda Davis, Arthur Bradford, Consumerism, Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Death, Decadence, Fears, George Saunders, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Safran Foer, Judy Budnitz, Julia Slavin, Ken Kalfus, Matthew Klam, Mogwai, Myla Goldberg, Oddities, Rick Moody, Romance, Sam Lipsyte, Sex, Shelley Jackson, Short Story, Stacey Richter, Technology, The Future, Threats, Zadie Smith on June 30, 2011| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MOGWAI: GovernmentCommissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 (2005).

It’s unlikely that Mogwai will ever release a greatest hits (well, someone probably will, but the band themselves don’t seem likely to do so).  As such, this compilation of BBC Recordings will certainly work well as one.

As I’ve mentioned many times, the BBC recordings are universally superb.  The quality of the recordings is unmatched.  And, typically the band takes the sessions very seriously.  The major different between these sessions and the official studio release is that the band is playing these songs live.  They are mixed well and sound great but they are live, so you can catch occasional subtle differences.

Mogwai, despite their seemingly improvised sound (all those noises and such) can recreate everything they do perfectly, and their live shows are tight and deliberate (except for the occasional moments where they really let loose).

The ten songs here span their career and are not played in chronological order.  This allows all of these wonderful songs to play off the tensions of each other.  And it shows that their later songs, which are less intense than their earlier ones, are still quite awesome and in a live setting don’t really lack for intensity after all.

The highlight of this disc is the scorching eighteen minute version of “Like Herod.”  The original is intense and amazing, and this live version allows them to play with the original in small ways, including allowing the quietness to really stretch out before they blow the speakers off the wall with the noise section of the track.

Even though I’m a fan of Mogwai, I don’t hear a radical difference between these versions and the originals.  Or should I say, it’s obvious which song they are playing.  There are some obvious subtleties and differences as befitting a live album, but unlike some live discs you don’t immediately notice that this version is “live.”

And that works well for both fans of the band (because as you listen and you hear the subtleties) and for newcomers–(because you’re not listening to weird, poorly recorded versions or versions that are for fans only).  And so, you get ten great Mogwai tracks.  Just enough to make you want to get some more.

[READ: June 11, 2011] The Burned Children of America

I found this book when I was looking for other publications by Zadie Smith.  This book kept cropping up in searches, but I could never really narrow down exactly what it was.  As best as I can tell, it is a British version of a collection of American authors that was originally published in Italy (!).  Editors Marco Cassini and Martina Testa work for minimum fax, an Italian independent publisher.  In 2001, they somehow managed to collect stories from these young, fresh American authors into an Italian anthology (I can’t tell if the stories were translated into Italian or not).

Then, Hamish Hamilton (publisher of Five Dials) decided to release a British version of the book.  They got Zadie Smith to write the introduction (and apparently appended a story by Jonathan Safran Foer (which was not in the original, but which is in the Italian re-publication).  This led to the new rather unwieldy title.  It was not published in America, (all of the stories have appeared in some form–magazine or anthology–in America), but it’s cool to have them all in one place.

The title must come from the David Foster Wallace story contained within: “Incarnations of Burned Children,” which is one of his most horrific stories, but it sets a kind of tone for the work that’s included within (something which Zadie addresses in her introduction): why are these young successful American writers so sad?  So be prepared, this is not a feel good anthology (although the stories are very good).
Oh, and if you care about this kind of thing, the male to female ratio is actually quite good (for an anthology like this): 11 men and 8 women.

ZADIE SMITH-Introduction
Zadie Smith was a fan of David Foster Wallace (she wrote a  lengthy review of the ten-year anniversary of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men which is republished in her book Changing My Mind), so she is an ideal choice to introduce this book.  Especially when she provides a quote from DFW’s interview in 1995 about how living in America in the late 90s has a kind of “lostness” to it.  With this in mind, she sets out the concerns of this collection of great stories: fear of death and advertising.

Zadie gives some wonderful insight into each of these stories. The introduction was designed to be read after the book, and I’m glad I waited because while she doesn’t exactly spoil anything, she provides a wonderful perspective on each piece and also offers some ideas about the stories that I hadn’t considered.  And it’s funny, too. (more…)

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Simon Rich–“Trade” (New Yorker, May 30, 2011)

Posted in Baseball, Funny (ha ha), Humiliation, Mogwai, New Yorker, Romance, Simon Rich on June 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MOGWAI-5 Track Tour Single (2001).

I usually am able to track provenance of my discs pretty well, but this one I am only largely certain came from my friend Lar (sorry Lar, the memory is not what it used to be).  But where else would I have gotten a CD from a Mogwai show if I’ve never seen them live?

This promotional bauble is a delightful collection of 5 songs (duh).  The first three are studio recordings that were pretty much unavailable elsewhere (I read some sit that explained where you could’ve gotten them beforehand, but let’s just say unavailable).  And the live tracks were also unreleased.

The three studio tracks, “Close Encounters,” “Drum Machine” and “D to E” are very pretty, rather delicate instrumentals.  I would say that they are uncharacteristic of Mogwai, except that Rock Action was a pretty mellow album.  Nevertheless, even for Mogwai these are especially mellow and pretty.

The final two tracks are live: “You Don’t Know Jesus” is from Rock Action, and this live version is a bit more dramatic than the album release.  The final track is the amazing “New Paths to Helicon (Part II),” a song which never suffers from a lack of drama.

This is a pretty great tour artifact.

[READ: May 30, 2011] “Trade”

I was a little skeptical of this Simon Rich piece because I find that sports metaphors don’t always pan out, especially for a (somewhat) longish comedy piece.  But Rich manages to make the whole thing not only funny but also fit within the confines of the metaphor.

For this is the story of a breakup told as if it were a baseball trade.

Josh is traded by his girlfriend Kate.  He is devastated; he thought he was doing very well on her team.  But when he speaks with his brother Craig (who offers condolences and a trade story of his own), he realizes that his relationship numbers were not up to stuff.   But Josh is really devastated when he finds out who he was traded for (when he meets the man to exchange Kate’s apartment keys). (more…)

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