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Archive for the ‘Sex’ Category

Roberto Bolaño–2666 [Week 1] The Part About the Critics (1 of 3) (2004)

Posted in Big Books, bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Foreign Books, Infinite Summer, Infinite Zombies, Natasha Wimmer, Pixies, Research, Roberto Bolaño, Scholarship, Sex, Starlight Mints, Translation, Travel on January 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STARLIGHT MINTS-Change Remains (2009).

This is the fourth disc from the Starlight Mints.  Their music is hard to describe at any time, but this disc complicates things even further.

The number of genres they cram into this disc is impossible to count.  However, there seems to be a very heavy concentration of a sort of punk/disco feel.  The disco beats (and telltale bass lines) are very strong yet the noisy guitar and instrumentation removes the disco sheen.

And that overall sense sums up the disc fairly well.  It’s got this poppy aspect to it, but there’s a sinister undercurrent.  In my review of their earlier discs, I described them a having a Pixies influence.  And while that’s still true (the sinister part (and the vocals definitely sound like Black Francis)) their sound has evolved away from a grungy rock into a more keyboardy feel.

The opener is a short instrumental that sounds like a cartoony James Bond theme.  The next few tracks have a good 90s alt rock feel (although “Zoomba” mixes it up with some jazzy horns).   But it’s the second half of the disc where the disco sounds really come to the fore.

And, lyrically, the band is all over the place.  It’s always fun to see what’s coming around the corner (as when the rocking “gallop along” comes out of an otherwise mellow dancey track).   Starlight Mints are definitely not trying to sell billions of records, but they are no doubt building a delightful niche fan base. And I’m one of them.

[READ: Week of January 18, 2010] 2666 [pg 1-51]

And so begins the Infinite Summer-like reading of 2666.  I don’t know if this reading group has a catchy title yet (I can’t even think of a jokey one right now), so for now, 2666 it is.

I don’t really know what I’m in for with this book.  And as such, I’m not entirely sure what thee posts are going to turn into.  Unlike with Infinite Jest, which was confusing from the get-go, this novel starts out in a rather straightforward manner.  So, I think for the foreseeable future I’ll do some plot summary and comments.

2666 is divided into 5 books (which were originally supposed to be published independently).  The first book is 161 pages and is called The Part About the Critics.

I had no idea what this book was about.  I’d heard it was a great, difficult read, and that was enough for me.  I like to go into books fairly blindly, so that’s nothing unusual.  The back cover blurb says that it centers around Santa Teresea, which I suspect has something to do with Juarez, Mexico.  So, okay, I get the idea that we’re in for a harrowing tale about murdered women in Mexico.

So, imagine my surprise when the book opens with fifty-plus pages about 4 scholars of a little-known German writer.  And imagine my further surprise when the language of the book is fairly easy to read. (more…)

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John Layman & Dave Dumeer–Armageddon & Son (2005)

Posted in Adventure, Canadian Music, Dave Dumeer, End of the World, Graphic Novel, John Layman, Oni Press, Sci-fi, Sex, Short Books, Supernatural, Technology, Threats, Violence, YA Books, tagged on January 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS–Static Journey Volume 3: Whale Music (2008).

Whale Music is a fantastic album by the Rheostatics, and this collection of live tracks, interviews and banter is certainly a high point in this box set.  The album itself is far more complex than anything they’d done before, and it’s great to hear them play these difficult songs live.

I also found the interviews (which explained the story behind “Queer” and “Dope Fiends and Boozehounds”) to be funny and enlightening.   A big highlight of the disc is the “RDA/Blitzkreig Bop” segue.  Even though there are many punk elements to the Rheos, one tends to forget that they have punk roots.  (A later banter about the Ramones is pretty cool).

I’m sure I’ll say this about the other volumes of this set too, but Volume 3 is completely worth the download!

[READ: December 28, 2009] Armageddon & Son

This is an older Oni comic that I recently picked up.  The premise is a pretty good one.  An orphaned boy (whose name is “Doonald”) discovers that his father is in fact a notorious evil villain intent on blowing up the world (and he also discovers why his name is Doonald).

Evil mastermind Feeney shows up at Doon’s door to enlist his son’s help for his most diabolical plan yet. Doon, whose credit card was denied and whose rent is overdue, is shocked to learn that his father is an evil genius (but is delighted to see the revenge done to the place that denied his credit card).  But Doon is not as shocked as his father is to learn just how useless Doon will be in the evil villain business.  What ensues is a black comedy of foolish villains and evil schemes.

For indeed, Feeney’s evil plan to destroy the world has been hijacked by his former evil villain team: C.L.A.W.  And, no evil villain wants to see the world blown up by someone else, so he makes it his mission to stop C.L.A.W. from proceeding with his plan to destroy the world.  Which makes him something of a good guy. (more…)

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Ralph Ellison–“Peckerwood” (Harper’s, January 2010)

Posted in Consumerism, Greed, Harper's, Kiss, Racism, Ralph Ellison, Sex, Short Story, Yuck! on December 22, 2009| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: KISS-KISSology: The Ultimate Kiss Collection, Vol. 1: 1974-1977 DVD (2006).

I have just received a used copy of this DVD set and I’m delighted with it.  It made me wonder why I never got it in the first place.  And a little investigation led me to this realization: Kiss released this (and two other) box sets with a different bonus disc depending on which location you bought it from.  So, if you wanted all three bonus discs you had to get three complete sets.  I knew that Gene Simmons was a money grubbing guy, I mean he admits it in every interview he does.  But I can’t get over that he tries to screw over his fans so much.  I mean, only die hard fans will care about the bonus discs, so the most die hard will track down all three sets to get these various shows.  Thanks for all your support, Kiss Army!  What a jerk.

So, obviously, I’m not tracking down all the bonus discs, although it’s somewhat hard to decide which bonus disc to get.  (Actually, I ordered Volume 2 used and I don’t think there was a bonus disc at all.  Whoops).

But on to the set.  I have only watched disc 1 so far.  But I have to say that I’m thrilled to see Kiss in full concert mode right from the start.  Gene always said that he wanted to put on an amazing show.  And they did, right from the start.  Full makeup (which is certainly silly, but it was very different back then).  Pyrotechnics, Gene spitting blood and breathing fire, even Peter’s drum set rising in the air.  They also had this fun synchronization on stage: all three of them rocking left right left (or sometimes Ace going right left right) they must have spent a lot of time practicing).  That’s quite a show 30 years ago.

Some funny things: The story is that Gene has a super long tongue.  I had no idea it was out of his mouth so much in the show.  When he sings a line, he flicks his tongue after every verse.  When he’s not singing it’s pretty much always flapping around.  Frankly, it’s pretty weird.  Paul shakes his head back and forth constantly while singing.  It’s like a hyperactive primping.

On the plus side: I had more or less forgotten that Kiss was actually a band.  They are such a commodity, that I tend to overlook the actual music-playing part these days.  So it’s cool to see them actually playing guitar and bass (and to hear Gene screw up from time to time).  There’s a great spot in the final show of disc 1 where Gene actually sings the wrong words to a song.  Its the third encore and he clearly thinks he’s playing “Rock and Roll All Nite” instead of “Let Me Go, Rock n Roll.”  I’m delighted that they left it in!  And it’s nice to see Peter and Ace actually having fun on stage.  Ace sits on the drum riser and Peter pokes him with a drumstick.  Like a bunch of kids rather than a corporation!

It was also great to see Kiss in their heyday in Michigan, being treated as rock gods.  As a super fan back at the time, I would have probably peed my pants at the opportunity to see them that close (of course I was 8, but you know).

Sarah commented, how many time are they going to play “Firehouse” a song she’d never heard before. (The answer is 6).

A couple minor quibbles: I can’t believe that Paul has been saying the exact same between-song banter for the past 30 years!  I’m also surprised during the early shows that they end a vocal line early (this is most obvious in “She” when they both sing the line “She’s so co-old” but they sing it like “She’s so co–” and they back off.  It’s just weird.  Oh, and when they first started playing, Peter was a maniac, singing really loud and often off key with all kinds of screaming.  He almost ruins “”Black Diamond” in the early shows.  Later on, he calms down a bit and sounds great again.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the discs in the series, to see what they change, if anything, during the Love Gun years.

[READ: January 18, 2009] “Peckerwood”

I actually read this because I thought it was by Harlan Ellison.  I didn’t realize this was Invisible Man Ralph Ellison.

And I have to say I was rather disappointed in this story.  Of course, now, re-reading the opening blurb, I see that this is an excerpt from a soon to be published posthumous novel.  So that makes a LOT more sense. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #7

Posted in A.M. Homes, Adventure, Allan Seager, Ann Cummins, Apocalypse Now, Big Books, Books about writers, Cancer as plot device, Chris Ware, Courtney Eldridge, Death, Drinking, Elizabeth Kairys, End of the World, Eric White, Esquire, Food, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Heidi Julavits, History, Humiliation, J.T. Leroy, Joan Fry, John Warner, Katherine Streeter, Magic, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Melinda Beck, Michael Chabon, New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Steven Connelly, The Future, Threats, Tim Bower, Violence, War, William T. Vollmann, Yuck! on December 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BLACK SABBATH-Sabotage (1975).

Sabotage seems to be somewhat forgotten (maybe because of the creepy cover art 0f Ozzy in a kimono and fascinating platform shoes, Bill Ward in red tights with a codpiece (and visible underwear on the back cover), and Geezer and Tony’s mustaches).
But this album rocks pretty hard and heavy.
“Hole in the Sky” is a sort of spastic rocker with Ozzy screaming vocals over the top of the rocking track.
“Don’t Start (Too Late)” is the by now obligatory acoustic guitar piece.  But this one is different, for it has some really wild and unpredictable aspects to it.

“Symptom of the Universe” is another classic Sabbath track, a blistering heavy fast riff with the wonderful Ozzy-screamed: “Yeaaaaaahs!”  It then surprises you by going into an extended acoustic guitar workout for a minute and a half at the end.

“Megalomania” is a slow ponderous piece. Unlike the psychedelic tracks from the previous records, this one moves along with a solid back beat. It also has a great bridge (“Why doesn’t everybody leave me alone?”). They definitely had fun with the effects (echoing vocals, etc.) on this one.  And, like their prog rock forebears, this song segues into another rhythm altogether when we get the wonderfully fast rock segment.  And the humorous point where the music pauses and Ozzy shouts “Suck me!”

“Thrill of it All” is a pretty good rocker, which after a  pretty simple opening morphs into a slow, surprisingly keyboard-fueled insanely catchy coda.  “Supertzar” is a wonderfully creepy instrumental.  It runs 3 minutes and is all minor-keys and creepy Exorcist-like choirs.  When the song breaks and the bizzaro Iommi riff is joined by the choir, you can’t help but wonder why no horror film has used this as its intro music.

“Am I Going Insane (Radio)” is a very catchy keyboardy track.  It clearly has crossover potential (although the lyrics are wonderfully bizarre).  But it ends with totally creepy laughing and then wailing.    “The Writ” ends the album. It’s another solid rocker and it ends with an acoustic coda with Ozzy’s plaintive vocals riding over the top.

Sabotage has some truly excellent moments.  It’s just hard to fathom the amount of prog-rock tendencies they’ve been throwing onto their last few discs (we’ll say Rick Wakeman had something to do with it).

Black Sabbath made two more albums before Ozzy left.  I haven’t listened to either one of them in probably fifteen years.  And my recollection of them is that they’re both pretty lousy.  Maybe one of these days I’ll see if they prove me wrong.

[READ: December 16, 2009] McSweeney’s #7

This was the first McSweeney’s edition that I didn’t buy new.  My subscription ran out after Issue #6 and I never saw #7  in the stores.  So, I recently had to resort to a used copy.

This issue came packaged with a cardboard cover, wrapped with a large elastic band.

Inside you get several small volumes each with its own story (this style hearkens back to McSweeney’s #4, but the presentation is quite different).  7 of the 9 booklets feature an artistic cover that relates to the story but is done by another artist (not sure if they were done FOR the story or not).  I have scanned all of the covers.  You can click on each one to see a larger picture.

The booklets range from 16 to 100 pages, but most are around 30 pages.  They are almost all fiction, except for the excerpt from William T. Vollman’s 3,500 page Rising Up and Rising Down and the essays that accompany the Allan Seager short story. (more…)

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Helen Simpson–“Diary of an Interesting Year” (New Yorker, December 21 & 28, 2009)

Posted in Death, Demons, Drinking, End of the World, Food, Lilac Time, Lisa Germano, Lloyd Cole, Mary Margaret O'Hara, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Sam Phillips, Sex, Short Story, Stephen Duffy, Suddenly, Tammy!, The Believer, The Clean, The English Beat, The Future, The Waterboys, Threats, Tin Tin, Unrest, Violence, Young Marble Giants on December 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer July/August 2009 Music Issue Compilation CD: “Fantastic and Spectacular” (2009).

After the globe-spanning CD in last year’s issue, the 2009 Believer CD returns to the dominant musical style of the first few.  This disc is a collection of unreleased, acoustic songs from the editors’ favorite singer-songwriters.

And, wow, check out the bands that are represented here: Sam Phillips, The Clean, The Waterboys, Lloyd Cole, Young Marble Giants, The English Beat, Lisa Germano, Unrest, Suddenly, Tammy!, The Lilac Time and Mary Margaret O’Hara.  It’s an amazing collection of artists who agreed to release these songs only to this Believer compilation.

The liner notes ask a few questions of each artist so you get a nice peek into their working styles.  And for a few of them you find out what they’ve been up to for the last few years.  Although, sadly Mary Margaret O’Hara (sister of actress Catherine O’Hara!) only mentions that you can get a copy of her only released album Miss America directly from her.  And since I thin it’s a great album, I’ll pass along her email for ordering purposes only: m2oh8 @ hotmail.com.

So, what do we get in this collection?  Sam Phillips provides a fantastic drum-heavy, 90 second song.  Robert Scott’s song is a delightful, simple acoustic track.  I’ve always liked The Waterboys, but Mike Scott tends to go on and on, and this track is no exception.  It’s very very catchy but it’s over 10  minutes long!  The consistently excellent Lloyd Cole doesn’t disappoint.  Phil Wilson’s poppy number is very good.

I’m surprised that I don’t have any Young Marble Giants in my collection, and Stuart Moxham’s song here makes me want to see what I’m missing.  I swore that Dave Wakeling of The English Beat was Bob Mould on this song, but as soon as I saw who he was I recognized that English Beat voice in a more intimate setting.

Mark Robinson of Unrest also records as Cotton Candy, and this absurdly poppy ditty (the only duet on the disc) provides the title of the disc and one of the truly happiest moments. Except, of course, for Beth Sorrentino from Suddenly, Tammy! whose song “Such a Beautiful Day” is absolutely wonderful.  And if it is any indication of the greatness of Suddenly , Tammy!  then their absence from the msuicial scene is a real shame.

Stephen Duffy who records as Tin Tin and The Lilac Time writes songs that are instantly memorable and catchy as anything.  This one is no exception. And the Mary Margaret O’Hara song is not quite as out there as you might expect from her, but it’s really quite good.  I wonder what she has been up to for decades now.

There’s a secret bonus track from a brand new New Zealand band called Haunted Love.  When this issue went to print they were about to release their first EP, and this track doesn’t even appear on that (it’s THAT secret!).  It’s a great song and I hope good things come to them.  It is also not acoustic, but everyone can break their own rules once in a while right?

This is another string compilation from The Believer.  The track listing is here.

[READ: December 16, 2009] “Diary of an Interesting Year”

So this story is, indeed, a diary.  It is written in several entrees.  And, as we learn from the first entry, the diary itself was a gift to the writer from G. for her 30th birthday.  And, although we don’t learn it from the first entry, we quickly discover that global warming predictions were accurate and, basically the earth as we know it is no more.

But what I liked about the writing was that it revealed this global catastrophe somewhat subtly.

(more…)

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Ben Schott–Schott’s Miscellany 2009: An Almanac (2008)

Posted in Aesop Rock, Airlines, Art, Authors, Barack Obama, Ben Schott, Bible, Bill Fox, Bob Dylan, Books about music, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Collecting, Comedians, Consumerism, Contests, Death, Dip-in Books, Drinking, Drugs, Explosions in the Sky, Film & TV, Food, Foreign Books, Games (Non Video), Grizzly Bear, History, Holidays, I'm from Barcelona, Language, LGBTQ, Lightning Bolt, Magik Markers, Military, Morality, Nature, Nico, Of Montreal, Oxford Collapse, Poetry, Prison, Racism, Religion, Reykjavik!, Roger Federer, Sex, Smarty Pants, Sports, Sufjan Stevens, Technology, The Future, Travel, TSA, Violence, War, Word usage on December 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer June/July 2007 Music Issue Compilation CD: Cue the Bugle Turbulent (2007).

The 2007 Believer disc smashes the mold of folkie songs that they have established with the previous discs in the series.  The theme for this disc is that there’s no theme, although the liner notes give this amusing story:

one decaffeinated copy editor (“the new guy”) made a suggestion: “The Believer CD should be composed of eight a.m. music/breakfast-substitute jams, like that commercial from a while back with the guy who gets out of bed over and over again while ELO plays over his morning routine. You should tell all of the bands to write/contribute songs worth listening to within three minutes of waking up.”

So, without a theme, they just asked artists for some great songs.  There’s one or two tracks written especially for the disc (Sufjan Stevens, Lightning Bolt).  There’s a couple B-sides.  There are some wildly noisy raucous songs: and three of them come from duos!  No Age offers a very noisy blast of feedback.  Magik Markers play a super-fast distortion-fueled rocker, and Lightning Bolt play 5 minutes of noise noise noise.  Oh, and there’s even a rap (Aesop Rock)!

Tracks 3-7 are just about the 5 best songs in a row on any compilation.  Oxford Collapse plays a catchy and wonderfully angular song with “Please Visit Your National Parks.”  It’s followed by a song from Sufjan Stevens that sounds NOTHING like Sufjan Stevens, it’s a noisy distorted guitar blast of indie punk.  I’m from Barcelona follows with a supremely catchy horn driven song that would be huge on any college campus.  Aesop Rock comes next with a fantastic song.  I’d heard a lot about Aesop Rock but had never heard him before, and he raps the kind of rap that I like: cerebral and bouncy.  This is followed by Reykjavik! with a crazy, noisy surf-guitar type of song.  It reminds me of some great college rock from the early 90s.

Of Montreal, a band I’ve been hearing about a lot but who I’ve never heard (and didn’t think sounded like this) plays a wonderfully catchy two minute love song that sounds ironic, but which likely isn’t.  The melody is straight out of the Moody Blues’ “Wildest Dreams,” and yet it is still fun and quirky.

There’s a couple instrumentals as well: The Clogs do a cool, mellow instrumental and Explosions in the Sky do one of their typically fantastic emotional tracks.  Also on the disc, The Blow contribute a delightfully witty song and Bill Fox, a singer I’d never heard of (but who has a great article about him in the magazine), really impressed me with his Bob Dylan meets Nico delivery.  The disc ends with an alternate version of a song by Grizzly Bear.

This is definitely my favorite Believer disc thus far.  See the full track listing here.

[READ: Throughout 2009] Schott’s Miscellany 2008

This year’s edition of Schott’s Miscellany is very much like last year’s edition (see that review here).  I mean, it is an almanac after all.  However, it is a wondrous testament to Schott that even though I read every word of the 2008 edition, I was able to read every word of the 2009 edition and not feel like I was duplicating myself very much.

Obviously the news, facts and events of 2008-09 are different from last year.  And since Schott’s writing style is breezy and fun with a hint of sarcasm and amusement thrown in, you don’t get just a list of facts, you get sentences with subtle commentary on the facts.  And it’s a fun way to re-live the past year.  Plus, the Sci, Tech, Net section discusses science stories that sounded really impressive and important which I can’t believe I didn’t hear about at the time. (more…)

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Ian McEwan–“The Use of Poetry” (New Yorker, December 7, 2009)

Posted in Colin Meloy, Constantines, Death Cab For Cutie, Ian McEwan, New Yorker, Romance, Sex, Short Story, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, The Believer, The Mountain Goats, The Walkmen, TV on the Radio, Universities, War on December 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer June 2004 Music Issue CD (2004).

Every year since 2004, The Believer magazine has published a Music Issue which comes with a CD.

I recently received the 2009 CD, but I thought it might be fun to go back through the previous ones and see what kind of music they put on them since the beginning.  I was delighted to see how many bands I like now that I was either introduced to or SHOULD have been introduced to by these discs.

The inaugural issue was a fantastic collection of then-underground alt-rock (the issue also featured interviews with a few of the artists–you can see the Colin Meloy interview here).

The collection contains all previously released songs (I think).  But for me it was a great introduction to a number of bands that I didn’t know: The Walkmen, The Mountain Goats, Ted Leo + Pharmacists.  It also contained a new release by a band I did know, The Constantines.   And, this was my introduction to a band that turned out to be one of my new favorites: Death Cab for Cutie.

There’s a lot of great songs on here, and it would make a great hanging-out-at-a-party-with-friends soundtrack.  There’s not a lot of diversity on the disc which is a bit of  a bummer (although it’s good for a mellow party).  However, the 19 second blast of “You Got the Right” by the Tiny Hawks does break things up a bit.

But with a great collection of songs it would be wrong to complain.  For a complete listing (and another review) check out this page.

[READ: December 9, 2009] “The Use of Poetry”

Ian McEwan writes fantastically engaging stories about relatively simple things, oftentimes relationships.  And he has these relationships so well sussed out that a simple six-page story like this can pack in a ton of humanity.

In a post some time ago I wrote about how World War II affected Britain much more than it affected the U.S.  And, how artists of a certain age have found great drama from the war.  This story is no exception.  Except that the war veteran is not the main character.  But I loved this summary of the main character’s dad, the typical “stoic British man.”

Like many men of his generation, he did not speak of his experiences and he relished the ordinariness of postwar life, its tranquil routines, its tidiness and rising material well-being, and above all, its lack of danger–everything that would later appear stifling to those born in the first years of the peace.

That’s an amazing encapsulation of a generation of men.  And it rings very true to me.  But what’s more amazing is that that description is not even about the main character Michael, it’s about his dad, Henry. (more…)

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Javier Marías–“While the Women Are Sleeping” (New Yorker, November 2, 2009)

Posted in Demons, Foreign Books, Funny (strange), Javier Marias, Marriage (Happy), New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, Summer, Tindersticks, Violence on November 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

nySOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Simple Pleasure (1999).

tinderTindersticks changed a bit with this disc.  And it’s evident from the moment the opening track kicks in: “Can We Start Again” is the most upbeat (musically) song they’ve ever done.  (Even if lyrically it’s not exactly puppies and rainbows).  And it is a truly magnificent song.  The next track, “If You’re Looking for a Way Out” has Staples singing so emotionally, his voice almost seems to break.”

As the disc proceeds, new aspects of the Tindersticks come into view.  The biggest change is an influx of soul stylings.  Staples actually croons from time to time; but the two biggest soul aspects are the groovy keyboards (not unheard of on previous discs, but very prominent here) and some gorgeous female backing vocals.  Indeed, “From the Inside” is propulsive instrumental with very 60s-sounding organ.

“If She’s Torn” sounds like a beautiful long-lost soul song, especially with the delicate keyboard notes that sprinkle down as the songs ends.  The final two tracks “I Know That Loving” and “CF GF” prominently feature the backing vocalists and they end the disc on a glorious note.

This disc is considerably shorter than their previous ones.  It seems like rather than making an epic mood piece, they settled down to make a more simple soul, almost pop record (although surely not pop by conventional standards).

This was the first Tindersticks disc I bought and it remains one of my favorites.

[READ: October 29, 2009] “While the Women Are Sleeping”

I have not read any Marías before.  And I was delighted by the multifaceted nature of this story.

It begins rather lightly with a man and his wife people-watching on a beach.  He needs glasses but, as this is the beach, he doesn’t wear them (no facial tan lines!).  So, he squints at people until, through some fascinating physics, he looks through his wife’s straw hat and is able to see much better.  (The image of a man with a straw hat held to his face is quite amusing).

After relaxing and spying for a few days, a new couple appears on the beach.  She is stunningly beautiful and is pretty much always naked on the lounger (this is Europe after all).  Her boyfriend is a considerably older, overweight, balding man.  He spends his entire time on the beach filming her, every inch of her, while she rests/sleeps/checks for blemishes. (more…)

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Chris Ware–“Unmasked” (New Yorker, November 2, 2009)

Posted in Chris Ware, Demons, Graphic Novel, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Sex, Tindersticks on November 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

nySOUNDTRACK: TINDERTSICKS-“curtains” (1997).

curtains“Rented Rooms” from Curtains is another one of my favorite songs. It is dark yet sensual at the same time: “We had to go find somewhere else more… you know.”  The disc itself works similarly to their first two discs.  It’s not as long, and is a little less dynamic.  But it is still unmistakably Tindertsicks.

The album has a lot more strings on it (not that it didn’t have strings before, but they feature more prominently here).  And they add a new dimension of tension and intensity to the proceedings. “Don’t Look Don’t ” has sections that sound like a scary action movie. “Desperate Man” returns to that gorgeous flamenco-tinged music that they played with on the first disc.

And “Fast One” has crazy demented strings as the song chugs along quite fast.  “Bearsuit” is a whimsical (!) look at sex.

“Buried Bones” is a gorgeous duet.  (Female singers complement Staples’ voice so well).  While “(Tonight) Are You Trying to Fall in Love Again” is another great uptempo string-filled song.  The disc ends with a trio of great tracks.  The beautiful “I Was Your Man” the sinister (I’ve never heard a band make a piano sound so sinister) “Bathtime” and the closer, “Walking”

The reissue comes with a bonus disc of alternate versions of songs from the disc (and some that didn’t make it). Yet another version of “For Those…”  It also has two versions of “Rented Rooms” (the orchestral version is quite fascinating). “Paco’s Theme” is a great instrumental. “Shadow” has that flamenco thing in spades as well.  Probably the best addition is “A Marriage Made in Heaven” a beautiful duet with Isabella Rossellini.

Curtains is something of a transitional record for Tinderstciks, and it’s not quite as awesome as the first two, but it is full of top notch songs.

[READ: October 29, 2009] “Unmasked”

I’ve enjoyed Chris Ware’s work  for years.  His cartoons are meticulous, fascinatingly detailed, often with crazily-sized boxes and sometimes hard-to-follow linear styles.  They are almost universally sad.  And I can’t get enough of them.

This one is the first I can remember in a long time that focuses on adult-adult relationships.  That’s not precisely true, as many of his stories deal with familial themes and the problems of growing up.  But, and perhaps that’s because this was a shorter piece (I’m more familiar with his longer multi-character-filled stories, the main characters are a woman and her mother.  (Her daughter is with them, and her husband is working). (more…)

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Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney’s Humor Category (2004)

Posted in A.M. Homes, Aaron Naparstek, Amy Fusselman, Ben Greenman, Books about writers, Chris Bachelder, Christopher Monks, Clay McLeod Chapman, Corporate skewering, Daniel Handler, Darin Strauss, Dave Eggers, Demons, Denis Johnson, Digression, Dip-in Books, Dreams, Ezra Pound, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Humiliation, J.M. Tyree, Jake Swearingen, Jim Stallard, John Hodgman, John Moe, Jonathan Ames, Jonathan Lethem, Keith Pille, Kurt Luchs, Lawrence Krauser, Margaret Atwood, McSweeney's, Mike Bullard, Myla Goldberg, Neal Pollack, Negativland, Neil Gaiman, One Ring Zero, Paul Auster, Political Humor, Postmoderism, Rick Moody, Sci-fi, Sean Carman, Sex, Smarty Pants, Sports, Stephany Aulenback, Summer, Supernatural, Technology, They Might Be Giants, Tim Carvell, Todd Pruzan, Violence, Zev Borow on October 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

createdSOUNDTRACK: ONE RING ZERO-As Smart as We Are (2004).

orzI had this CD sitting around my house for about 4 years.  I had received it as a promo disc from Soft Skull Press (along with several other books on CD) and I just never put it on.  Then one day I was going through all these promos to see if any were books I wanted to listen to.  It was then that I actually read the disc label and saw that it was a band with lyrics written by some of my favorite authors.

I liked the disc so much I wound up buying it because the packaging is truly cool.  It’s a little booklet and it features an interview with the band and some really cool insights into how the songs came about, how they got the writers to submit lyrics, and the cool fact that One Ring Zero became McSweeney’s house band, accompanying writers during their weekly readings.

One Ring Zero is comprised of two guys (and guests).  And for this disc they split the tracks in half and one of them wrote melodies for 8 songs and the other guy wrote melodies for the other 8.  I’m not sure that I could tell the song writers apart by their styles, though.

But sure, the lyrics are probably great, but what does the band sound like?  Well, in the introduction, they are described as specializing “in the sort of 19th century, gypsy-klezmer, circus-flea-cartoon music you mainly hear in your dreams.” And, yep, that is a good summary of things.  The band uses water pipes, claviola, slide whistle and a theremin (among other homemade instruments).

And so, as with other McSweeney’s things, I’m going to list all of the lyricists with their titles.  But lyrically it’s an interesting concoction.  The authors were asked to write lyrics, but not necessarily songs.  So some pieces don’t have choruses.  Some pieces are just silly, and some pieces work quite nicely.  But most of them are really poems (and I can’t really review poems).  They’re fun to read, and it is fun to see what these authors made of this assignment.

PAUL AUSTER-“Natty Man Blues”
A rollicking opening that lopes around with the nonsensical lyrics, “There ain’t no sin in Cincinnati.” This one feels like a twisted Western.

DANIEL HANDLER-“Radio”
A supremely catchy (and rather vulgar) song that gets stuck in my head for days.  “Fucking good, fucking good, fucking good…”

DARIN STRAUSS-“We Both Have a Feeling That You Still Want Me”
A Dark and somewhat disturbing song that is also quite fun.

RICK MOODY-“Kiss Me, You Brat”
A delicate twinkly piece sung byguest vocalist Allysa Lamb *the first female vocalist to appear) .  Once the chorus breaks in, it has an almost carnivalesque tone to it.  This is the only song whose lyrics were written after the music.

LAWRENCE KRAUSER-“Deposition Disposition”
A twisted song that works as a call and response with delightful theremin sounds.  It has a very noir feel.

CLAY McLEOD CHAPMAN-“Half and Half”
This is a sort of comic torchy ballad.  Lyrically, it’ a bout being a hermaphrodite (and it’s dirty too).  Vocals by Hanna Cheek.

DAVE EGGERS-“The Ghost of Rita Gonzalo”
This has a sort of Beach Boys-y folky sound (albeit totally underproduced).  But that theremin is certainly back.

MARGARET ATWOOD-“Frankenstein Monster Song”
This song begins simply with some keyboard notes but it breaks into a very creepy middle section.  It’s fun to think of Margaret Atwood working on this piece.

AARON NAPARSTEK-“Honku”
This song’s only about 20 seconds long.  It is one of a series of haikus about cars, hence honku.

DENIS JOHNSON-“Blessing”
The most folk-sounding of all the tracks (acoustic guitar & tambourine).  It reminds me of Negativland, somehow.  It is also either religious or blasphemous.  I can’t quite be sure which.

NEIL GAIMAN-“On the Wall”
A tender piano ballad.  The chorus gets more sinister, although it retains that simple ballad feel throughout.  It’s probably the least catchy of all the songs.  But lyrically it’s quite sharp.

AMY FUSSELMAN-“All About House Plants”
An absurdist accordion-driven march.  This is probably the most TMBG-like of the bunch (especially when the background vocals kick in).

MYLA GOLDBERG-“Golem”
This song opens (appropriately) with a very Jewish-sounding vibe (especially the clarinet).  But once that intro is over, the song turns into a sinister, spare piece.

A.M. HOMES-“Snow”
This song opens as a sort of indie guitar rock song.  It slowly builds, but just as it reached a full sound, it quickly ends.  The song’s lyrics totally about twenty words.

BEN GREENMAN-“Nothing Else is Happening”
This song has more of that sinister carnivalesque feel to it (especially when the spooky background vocals and the accordion kick in).  The epilogue of a sample from a carnival ride doesn’t hurt either.

JONATHAN AMES-“The Story of the Hairy Call”
This song has a great lo-fi guitar sound (accented with what sounds like who knows what: an electronic thumb piano?).  It rages with a crazily catchy chorus, especially given the raging absurdity of the lyrics.

JONATHAN LETHEM-“Water”
This track is especially interesting. The two writers each wrote melodies for these lyrics.  So, rather than picking one, they simply merged them. It sounds schizophrenic, but is really quite wonderful.  The two melodies sound nothing alike, yet the work together quite well.

[READ: Some time in 2004 & Summer 2009] Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans

This was the first collection of McSweeney’s humorous stories/pieces/lists whatever you call them.  Some of the pieces came from McSweeney’s issues, but most of them came from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

The humor spans a great deal of categories, there’s some literary, some absurd, some nonsensical and, most amusingly, lists.  The back of the book has an entire selection of lists, but there are also some scattered throughout the book as well (I don’t know what criteria was used to allow some lists to be in the “main” part).

As with the other McSweeney’s collections, I’m only writing a line or two about each piece.  For the lists, I’m including a representative sample (not necessarily the best one, though!)

Overall, I enjoyed the book quite a lot (which is why I re-read it this year).  There are puns, there are twisted takes on pop culture, there are literary amusements (Ezra Pound features prominently, which seems odd).  It spans the spectrum of humor.  You may not like every piece, but there’s bound to be many things that make you laugh. (more…)

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