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Archive for the ‘Set in New Jersey!’ Category

Colson Whitehead–“Last Night” (Harper’s, July 2011)

Posted in Colson Whitehead, Death, Excerpt, Gambling, Harper's, Primus, Set in New Jersey!, Zombies on August 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-June 2010 Rehearsal (2010).

Just when I was convinced that Primus were a done deal, I learned that they were not only touring but had just released a free downloadable EP of their recent rehearsals.  It’s got 4 songs: two super oldies, 1 pretty oldie and one not terribly old one (these designations are in terms of albums releases, not length of time ago, as they would all be old ones by that reckoning).

The two oldies are my favorites: “Pudding Time” sounds wonderful–a few updates, and slight improv things, but basically that’s the song that introduced me to Primus.  “Harold of the Rocks” is the other one.  I love Harold, because it is such a weird, crazy song (even by Primus standards).  Lyrically, it’s about some guys who meet the fabled Harold of the Rocks.  Sometime later the narrator meets Harold again.  Harold is currently lit up like an old Christmas Tree and he tells the narrator that he doesn’t remember much about what happened that night.  And that’s pretty much it.  It even mentions Schooly D!  Great stuff.

The other two songs are “American Life” which comes from Sailing the Seas of Cheese.  It’s a deep cut as opposed to the more obvious single, “Jerry was a Race Car Driver.”  It’s nice to hear that song again, as it wasn’t very high-profile, although it is surprising to me that it’s 3 minutes longer than the original.  “Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread” is from The Brown Album, an album I don’t know all that well.  It’s got some good stuff in it, including a pretty good solo from Ler.

This EP features the drumming of Jay Lane, who was in Primus even before “Herb” (who I miss very much) and was in Sausage.  “Herb” by the way, was in A Perfect Circle and THE BLUE MAN GROUP!  Holy cowboys!

Primus sucks!

[READ: July 25, 2011] “Last Night”

This is an excerpt from Zone One, a book Colson Whitehead signed for me at BEA (I really must read it one of these days).

The story opens with something happening on Last Night.  It’s a little confusing, and since no context is provided, it doesn’t make all that much sense until the very end of the excerpt which (the end) blew my mind.

The story concerns Mark Spitz–not Mark Spitz the swimmer (or maybe it is Mark Spitz the swimmer–again, no context), –a teenager who goes to Atlantic City with his friend Kyle.  And for the most part, the story is pretty tame, almost dull (but Whitehead is a great writer and he invigorates what could have been a pretty typical Atlantic City gambling weekend).  The boys gamble, get comped and basically don’t leave the casino for the duration of their stay.

What I love about the story is that little things, meaningless sentences like, “They did not watch the news nor receive news from the outside” [when you are on a casino weekend with buddies you do not check the news] seem innocuous–like little details that would fill out any story.  It’s only later that… (more…)

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Sam Lipsyte–”The Dungeon Master” (New Yorker, October 4, 2010)

Posted in Air, Daft Punk, Dungeons & Dragons, Humiliation, New Yorker, Phoenix, Sam Lipsyte, Set in New Jersey!, Violence on December 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHOENIX–Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009).

It will soon be unsurprising to say that a great album has come from a French band (no offense to the French, but you never used to hear cool music coming from there).  Then we had Air and Daft Punk and now Phoenix.

The first single and leadoff track, the preposterously catchy “Lisztomania” features guitars and keyboards (just so we know they’re not another techno band).  It has a simple but infectious riff as it opens , and it never lets up in catchiness.  “1901” has a chorus that ends with some ayayayayayays that I dare you not to sing along with.

“Fences” has a pretty classic disco feel to it.  It’s followed by “Love Like a Sunset.” Part 1 is a five-minute atmospheric instrumental, and Part 2 follows along similarly.

“Lasso” follows with some more simple background keyboards topped with grinding guitars.  Like “Countdown,” it’s simple and hard not to like.  “Girlfriend” opens with great swaths of keyboards and lots of repeated words in the verses and chorus, making for yet another great single.   In fact, all of the songs are super catchy.

Despite the simplicity of the melodies, the songs are always interesting.  And that’s hard to beat.  There’s no surprise that this album was on many lists as one of the best of 2009.

[READ: October 28, 2010] “The Dungeon Master”

Reading this short story reminded me that I really want to read Lipsyte’s new book The Ask, which is supposed to be very good indeed.

The title of the story immediately made me think it would be about Dungeons & Dragons, and I was pleased to see that it was.   The story concerns a group of boys who have their own D&D club after school (as opposed to the school sanctioned D&D club).  Their game meets at the Dungeon Master’s house and there is no, repeat, no touching of the DM’s manual.

We quickly learn that the DM is a sadistic bastard.  He has killed off his younger brother’s character at least 30 times (and the brother keeps making a new character in his place: Valentine the 19th, Valentine the 20th etc).  But unlike in real D&D where you die from ogres and dragons, Valentine has died from, for instance, rectal cancer (how do you roll for that?).

There’s a lot of speculation about just how crazy their DM really is (rumors abound: he flashes some girls at the ice rink, he set his own feces on fire).  And, of course there’s talk that he spent some time in Bergen Pines.  And just where is his mother anyway? (more…)

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Junot Díaz–”Otravida, Otravez” (New Yorker, June 21 & 28, 1999)

Posted in 20 Under 40, All Songs Considered, Junot Díaz, Language, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Set in New Jersey!, Short Story, The Decemberists on November 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DECEMBERISTS-Live at the Newport Folk Festival [excerpts] (downloaded from NPR) (2010).

The Decemberists played at the Newport Folk Festival this year. NPR audio has an excerpt for free listen/download on their audio site.

They say that they were not going to play the entire Hazards of Love album at this show, as had been their wont on this tour.  I’m not sure what their entire set consisted of, but the three excerpts here include: “The Crane Wife Pt 3,” “Yankee Bayonet” and a very extended “Sons and Daughters.”

It surprises me how well The Decemberists work in a live setting.  I think of their music as  complex and convoluted with strange instrumentation, and yet, perhaps because of the theatricality of it all, it all sounds great in a live setting.

I can’t really imagine them releasing a proper live album, so for those of us who don’t get to concerts much, this is the next best thing (the recording quality is excellent–I only wish it was their whole set).

[READ: October 12, 2010] “Otravida, Otravez”

Junot Díaz is the next writer in the 1999 New Yorker 20 Under 4o issue.

I didn’t like this story in the beginning because I couldn’t tell for quite some time the gender of the narrator.  Normally this doesn’t make a difference, but when the narrator climbs into bed with the man in the room, I had a hard time deciding if this was a subversive act or just a straight act of romance.  [I admit that since the author was male, I assumed the narrator was male, too].

It turns out the narrator is a woman (there is a clue when he says “Yasmin,” but in the first read I was unclear if he was saying her name or just a name in general).

In fact, to me, the entire beginning was very strangely set up and it took a few paragraphs (when she describes her job) before I felt the flow really took off.  However, once it did I found this story fascinating and convoluted in a very good and clever way. (more…)

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Rick Moody–Garden State (1992)

Posted in Books about music, Boredom, Cigarettes, Depression, Drinking, Drugs, Peter, Bjorn & John, Rick Moody, Set in New Jersey!, Sex, Short Books, Suicide, Swedish Music, Unlikable main character, Violence, Wikipedia on October 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PETER, BJORN & JOHN-Living Thing (2009).

After the raging (relative) success of Writer’s Block, with their crazily catchy whistling song, “Young Folks”, PB&J could have gone in any direction.

And I was quite surprised when the opening song of this follow up (actually, there’s an instrumental disc in between) opened with single note and drum sounds and virtually a capella vocals.  But unlike a typical a capella song, the thudding notes were kind of dissonant and unpleasant.  And there wasn’t much more to the song than that.

Even the second song starts out starkly.  A single piano note plays a simple riff.  The verse kicks in with some simple electronic drums (and again minimal accompaniment).  And this sparseness is the main musical theme on the disc.

And I have to say it took almost a half a dozen listen before I really enjoyed what they were doing.  They are eschewing the pop structure that won them popularity and they’re shifting their melodies to the vocal lines rather than the instruments (I guess).  It’s a risky proposition, but it pays off.

Take “Nothing to Worry About.”   It opens with what sounds like a distorted children’s choir singing the chorus at full volume.  But then it settles down into, again, a simple drum and vocals song with just a hint of instrumentation.  (Did they get all their music out on the instrumental?  I don’t know I’ve not heard it).  Even the title track is sparse guitar noises and clicked drums.  But, man, is it catchy (it reminds me in a weird way of Paul Simon).

And then, continuing my contention that the best and catchiest songs always have curses in them, “Lay It Down” with the chorus, “Hey, shut the fuck up boy, you’re starting to piss me off” will stick in your head for days.

The end of the disc (the last three songs) are considerably mellower.  They’re less catchy, but they use the starkness very well.

Initially I really didn’t like this album.  It had none of the immediacy of the previous disc.  But I found myself really enjoying it.  I wouldn’t want all of their albums to sound like this, but it was an enjoyable twist on a good formula.

[READ: October 7, 2010] Garden State

I mentioned the other day that I just found out about this book when looking up information about Rick Moody.  I was so excited to read a book set in Haledon (two towns from where I grew up) that I checked it out and begin it immediately (it’s only 200 pages, so that helped too).  But I have to say I was really disappointed with the book (even if it did win the Editor’s Book Award).

My first gripe is about the supposed setting in New Jersey.  I have no problem with fictionalizing an area.  Writers do it all the time.  But Moody fictionalizes the area in two ways to suit his thesis, and as a lover of New Jersey and a former resident of the region, I found the lack of reality to be very upsetting.

The first minor, and I have to say really weird thing is that despite the real towns included (Haledon, Paterson, Paramus) he makes up towns nearby–Fleece, Tyre– and he makes up a river–The Dern River.  He also plays around with the names of the highways that run through the state, constantly referring to the non-existent Garden State Thruway.  Now, again, there’s no problem with making things up, but nobody in the story ever goes to Fleece or Tyre, the Dern River doesn’t come into play aside from being a river that people refer to (it’s not a renamed Passaic river, because that’s included in the story, too).  So, why make up random town names?  Why say that you drive from Haledon to the edge of Paterson near Boonton, when that is not geographically correct (or relevant to the story)?  It just seems like he didn’t have access to a map. (more…)

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The Brothers Moon & Grounds for Sculpture

Posted in 19th Century, Art, Chakaia Booker, Edouard Manet, Grounds for Sculpture, Keith Haring, Set in New Jersey!, Seward Johnson, Sonic Youth, The Brothers Moon on June 20, 2010| 4 Comments »

I very rarely deviate from my usual topics of books, music and TV.  But today, Father’s Day, the family and I went to a local(ish) restaurant that was so good (and so local(ish)) that I wanted to shout about it.

It’s called The Brothers Moon.  It’s in Hopewell, NJ.  It seems pretty clear that they don’t need the business, as they were pretty hopping today, but it’s pretty far off the beaten path, so I think they can use the publicity.

I had first heard of them when I was looking up local sustainable food places.  While I was searching for a local CSA, I discovered The Brothers Moon because, as their site states, “Support Local, Go Local! The Brothers Moon proudly supports sustainable farming and local businesses.”  Which gets my vote on principle alone. (more…)

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E.L. Doctorow–“Edgemont Drive” (New Yorker, April 26, 2010)

Posted in Boredom, Cars, Death, E.L. Doctorow, Metallica, New Yorker, Nostalgia, Set in New Jersey!, Short Story on May 1, 2010| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: METALLICA-Kill ‘Em All (1983).

Although I don’t think I remember exactly when this disc came out, I was pretty big into heavy metal (the heavier the better) back in 1983.  I can remember this was my freshman year of high school, and I’m fairly certain I bought this LP pretty soon after it came out (thanks to the awesome radio show mu-mu-mu-mu-mu-metal shop).

Kill ‘Em All has always been a touchstone for thrash metal.  And listening to it now, it’s hard to believe that the Metallica of 2010 is the same band.  Or, more to the point that this bunch of kids would have grown into this same bunch of adults.

Kill ‘Em All is raw. Really raw.  And yet it sounds (even at this stage) well mixed and very professional (no mean feat given the rather silly cover art).  The guitars, even though the distortion is cranked up, do not sound muddy.   The vocals are mixed perfectly so you can actually understand (most of) the growly lyrics (this is before James Hetfield learned how to sing).  The drums are really fast (possibly one of the fastest bpm at the time).  And of course, Cliff Burton kept wonderful rhythm while Kirk Hammett was soloing all over the place.  And while “Anesthesia–Pulling Teeth” is kind of a silly addition on a thrash album, it does showcase Cliff’s bass work.

The amazing thing is that this twenty-seven year old album still sounds relevant in the metal world.  And no doubt it will continue to influence young metal bands in the future.  And for a fantastic review of this disc (and an awesome selection of best-of-1983 releases), check out wallnernotweller.  This is what my site would look like if it were only about music.

[READ: April 22, 2010] “Edgemont Drive”

I haven’t read much E.L. Doctorow, but I’ve liked what I read.  And it was nice to read someone who writes so differently from the kind of things I’ve been reading lately (Bolaño etc).  It was especially nice because I was fairly certain where I the story was going to go and it didn’t go anywhere near where I expected. (more…)

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Stephen Fry in America: Fifty States and the Man Who Set Out to See Them All (2009)

Posted in Cars, Culture Shock, Essays, Fishing, Food, Fugazi, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Ghosts, Gods, Greed, History, Humiliation, Late Late Show, LGBTQ, Magic, Minnesota, Nature, Nostalgia, Oddities, Political Humor, Prison, Religion, Set in New Jersey!, South, Stephen Fry, Stephen Fry in America, Summer, Travel, Word usage, Yuck! on April 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FUGAZI-13 Songs (1990).

I was so blown away by that first Fugazi disc that I immediately ran out and got this collection of their first two EPs.

The strange thing to me is that even though I enjoy the disc, nothing on it really stands out as all that memorable.  I feel like Repeater was such a strong release that these earlier tracks pale somewhat.

I’ve listened to this disc a number of times over the last few days and nothing really stands up and grabs me like Repeater still does.

I wound up buying two more Fugazi discs after this, but I’m pretty sure the reason I stopped buying their music was from this same feeling: the songs were all good, rocking, indie music, but there was nothing terribly memorable about them.

[READ: April 15, 2010] Stephen Fry in America

I first heard about this book when Stephen Fry appeared on The Late Late Show.  This book was very casually plugged as Fry’s attempt to visit every State in the U.S.  It turns out that this book is the companion piece to a six part BBC TV series of the same title (which I have not seen).  Although the TV series makes the existence of this document much more understandable.  Because although everyone wants to travel to every state in the union, the only way it would ever be accomplished in the fashion is for a TV show (even a book wouldn’t get quite this treatment if there were no TV show).

Stephen Fry was almost born in America (in New Jersey, in fact, where he believes he would have been Steve, rather than Stephen).  And he has always felt a connection to the States.  So, Stephen Fry, (in my head the quintessential Brit) brings a film crew and his classic British Big Black Taxi to see all of the States.  He begins in Maine and travels in an interesting manner, zig-zagging across the country.   He tends to visit the places/events/sites that each state is known for.  And, like any good TV show, he participates in the activities (he lobsters, he rides horses, his deals blackjack) and makes a tit of himself. (more…)

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Dear Stephen Fry, Re: New Jersey

Posted in Essays, Gambling, History, LGBTQ, Paul Debraski, Salt Water Taffy, Set in New Jersey!, Stephen Fry on April 16, 2010| 4 Comments »

Dear Mr Fry,

I’ve been a fan of your comedy for years. When I saw on The Late Late Show that you had a (relatively) new book called Stephen Fry in America, I was thrilled that you were presumably getting some attention Stateside. I immediately rushed out to get your book.

I have now read all of the first section (New England and the East Coast) and some of the second section (South East and Florida).  And while I intend to write a full post about your book (which is very amusing), I think you owe my great state of New Jersey a big whopping apology.

I admit that in the introduction, you say that we may not enjoy everything you say about a state, or that you probably didn’t visit our town or some other way of saying that we shouldn’t be cross about what you write.  And I was prepared for that.  But, of all the states I’ve read so far, New Jersey is the only one that you had NOTHING good to say about it.  You called it a hell and couldn’t wait to leave.  But worse than that, the only place you talk about in New Jersey is Atlantic City as if that gambling meccas was somehow indicative of the entire state.

Everyone knows that Atlantic City is disgusting and horrifying.  But the reason for it has nothing to with New Jersey itself.  The reason is twofold: gambling and Donald Trump.  And the rest of our fine state has no gambling (aside from the lottery, but who doesn’t) and we aren’t owned by Donald Trump. (more…)

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Junot Díaz–“The Pura Principle” (New Yorker, March 22, 2010)

Posted in Boredom, Cancer as plot device, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Drugs, Junot Díaz, Language, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Punks, Set in New Jersey!, Short Story, Smarty Pants, The Dead Milkmen, Violence, Word usage on April 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD MILKMEN-Big Lizard in My Backyard (1985).

My friend Alison said the other day that she had “Bitchin’ Camaro” stuck in her head.  And soon thereafter, so did I.  So Philadelphia’s Dead Milkmen are a bratty punk band.  They skewer all kinds of things: pop culture, racists,  right wing pigeons, junkies and, quite possibly, music itself.

This first record showcases quite a breadth of song styles.  Although they stay comfortably within the realm of two-minute punk, they plays “blues,” “jazz,” and even “surf.”  Interestingly, their guitars are quite treble-filled which is a bit unusual for a punk band (typically pretty bass heavy). And yet a song like “Swordfish” (“I believe in swordfish!”) has a pretty wild and creative bass line running through it.

But I think the Milkmen are most well-known for their lyrics.  So Big Lizard starts in right away with lyrics that could easily offend the wrong target: ‘Cause we hate blacks and we hate Jews/And we hate punks but we love the F.U.s.”  Of course, the chorus reveals the truth: This is a tiny town and we don’t want you hanging round.”

“V.F.W.” stands for veterans of a fucked up world.  “Beach Song” opens up like a beach song until you get the bratty, screamed lyrics: I don’t wanna be on the beach NO FUN!.”  Of course, “Violence Rules” tackles a real issue: “violence rules, guns are cool and we’ve got guns in our school.”  And there’s the twisted, “Takin’ Retards to the Zoo.”

We also get one of my favorite catchy lyrics (from “Nutrition”): “I’ve got nowhere to go/Just hang out on the street/My folks say I’ve got no ambition/ At least I give a shit/About the stuff I eat/Yeah! I care about nutrition.”

Only 6 of the 21 songs are over 2 minutes, so musical styles definitely come fast.  Rodney Anonymous’ vocals are snotty and funny (even when the lyrics aren’t especially funny, the delivery is).  We only get one song with Joe JAck Talcum singing (he’s the whiny guy).  It’s so hard to tell if his delivery is serious at all, and yet I find it very endearing (and he’ll get much more prominence on later discs).  So, this disc is fairly simple, but it works very well for what it is: in your fast, bratty music, that is quite often very funny.  It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good.

And it features “Bitchin’ Camaro.”  I’m going to go to a hardcore show and see F.O.D.

[READ: March 23, 2010] “The Pura Principle”

I have been intending to read Díaz’ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for quite some time.  I just haven’t yet.  So I was pleased to get a chance to read one of his short stories to get a feel for his writing.

One thing I had been told about Oscar Wao was that it mixes English, Spanish, Spanglish and a kind of ghetto slang which makes the book shall we say, more difficult to read if you’re a suburban gringo like myself.  But hey it’s set in New Jersey, so at least I know the towns he’s talking about!

This story is like a short story version of that summary of the book.  The writing is indeed in English, Spanish and Spanglish (and when the second sentence–the crux of the story– is “No way of wrapping it pretty or pretending otherwise: Rada estaba jodido” you know this is not your typical English short story.  I still don’t have an exact translation for that sentence (and it took a while to realize that Rafa was a person’s name) but I got the gist, and I was delighted by how much I followed the story. (more…)

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Joyce Carol Oates–“I.D.” (New Yorker, March 29,2010)

Posted in Alex Lifeson, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Peart, New Yorker, Rush, Set in New Jersey!, Short Story on April 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RUSH-Hemispheres (1978).

Or maybe this is my favorite Rush album.

And what’s not to like?  A naked man on the cover, a 20 minute song (in 6 parts (which is a sequel to a previous song!)), and a 9 minute instrumental.  It’s prog rock heaven.

The “title” track is a continuation of a song from the last album (and so is called Cygnus X-1 Book II; Hemispheres)).  It’s a thoughtful look at balancing the two halves of the brain: love and reason.  In true epic style, the forces are represented by Apollo, bringer of Wisdom and Dionysus, bringer of Love.  Apollo teaches the people how to fend and care for themselves.  They’re thrilled and delighted with themselves until they feel kind of empty inside.

Dionysus arrives: he teaches them love and music, dancing and drinking.  And they embrace this wholeheartedly.  But this leads to cold and starvation.

And so, as is natural, the people were split with the two sides coming forth [hey this sounds familiar].  And of course, they fight each other.

It gets a little confusing from there when the spaceship from Part 1 arrives and after telling his story of going through the black hole it unites the fighting forces (You can also hear musical snippets from Part 1).  And yet, musically it works wonders.  The epilogue is a peaceful, well-written acoustic bit that sums up the themes of the song quite nicely.

The second side has three tracks: “circumstances,” a short, heavy rocker that I have always loved.  I think the main reason is because each time they enter the chorus, Neil plays either 1, 2 or 3 cymbal crashes depending on which verse they’re in (math geek!).

The next song, “The Trees,” is another classic.  Starting quietly, with a classical style acoustic guitar, we learn that there is trouble in the forest.  As the song rocks to an end, the trees are all keep equal by hatchet, axe and saw.  Over the years I’ve thought of many different explanations for this song.  And to me that’s the mark of a good story.

The final song is probably my favorite Rush song.  “La Villa Strangiato” is a 9 minute instrumental with a dozen sections and is subtitled “An Exercise in Self-Indulgence.” It is a tour de force showcasing all their skills.  I was delighted that they had started playing it live again on their more recent tours.  And, I was even more delighted to see that the middle section featured Alex telling a ranting, random, crazy story.  Alex has always been very silly, but it hasn’t come out all that much musically. So, this was a great opportunity for him to let loose.  I have no idea what he was rambling about in any of his bits, but the snippets I’ve heard have all ben quite funny.

This was definitely the heyday of prog rock, and yes, it is sadly missed.

[READ:  March 28, 2010] “I.D.”

It’s been a little while since I’ve seen a Joyce Carol Oates story anywhere.  For a time, it seemed like I read one every few days.  So it’s nice to have her and her gruesome stories back.

This story focuses on a young girl, Lizette.  As the story opens we learn that she is feeling the effects of a beer buzz and it is making her 7th grade math class drag on.  (We later learn that she had about a quarter of a can of beer, but that’s still too much at 13)!

She is currently concentrating very hard on getting a napkin with her lipstick print to classmate, J.C.  J.C. has been left back and he is baaaad.  Lizette is wearing lipstick because her mother didn’t come home last night.  In fact, Lizette is not sure when her mom last came home.  It’s been a few days at least. But then, her mom has left her alone before, so she’s not terribly concerned. (more…)

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