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Archive for the ‘Short Story’ Category

Victor Lodato–“Jack, July” (New Yorker, September 22, 2014)

Posted in Drinking, Drugs, Neurotics, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story, Unreliable narrator, Victor Lodato on January 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

922SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Tales from the Punchbowl (1995).

punchbowlTales from the Punchbowl is the final album to feature Tim Alexander on drums (until he came back a decade or so later).  It was never a favorite although it has some really good songs on it.  I feel like their songs were getting a bit too long and kind of dull at this point–all of the songs weren’t fun.

“Professor Nuttbutter’s House of Treats” the opening song, is over 7 minutes long.  It starts off with cheering and what I think of as circus music.  Then the bass comes rumbling in.  After about a minute the proper bass riff begins and the heavy heavy guitar crunching follows.  It’s a surprisingly heavy opening song.  By around 3 minutes, Ler plays a crazy solo and then the song slows down into a jam band sounding song–a bass solo and a normal guitar solo. Around 5 minutes the song turns into something else–a fast bass line with Ler’s repeated solo and Les (I guess) talking over something although it’s kind of inaudible.  It’s a weird way to start the album.  “Mrs Blaileen” is a quietly sung song with a groovy bass and drums.

The two biggest hits on the album were “Wynona’s Big Brown beaver” and “Southbound Pachyderm,.”  I forgot just what a great song “Wynona” is. Anytime Primus does a fun bouncy song you know it’s going to be good.  And between the bass and the guitar this song is just instantly catchy (but because MTV thought it was vulgar they only played it after midnight, so it never became quite the hit it could have).  “Southbound” is a slower song with a smooth bass punctuated by a dissonant riff that is strangely compelling.  At 6 minutes it an unexpected hit, but Primus has been doing the unexpected for ages now.

“Space Farm” is a 2 minute piece of weirdness with a South Park type bass riff and the sounds of, yes, farm animals in space.  I find that I can’t get into “Year of the Parrot” that much.  Not sure why.  I think I don’t like the songs that feature Les’s slow vocals and rhythms, I like the faster more upbeat tracks.  “Hellbound 17 1/2” is called a “theme” and it could feel like a theme song, although the South Park theme is better.

I don’t mention Tim’s drums enough in these songs, but they are great starting point to “Glass Sandwich” which follows up the opening cool drum sequence with a bowed bass.  It’s a little slow as well.  But a song like “Del Davis Tree Farm” brings the excitement back with the weird and unexpectedly poppy chorus.  The next song is “De Anza Jig.”  I love Primus’ goofy song like this one, big wet bass and Ler’s banjo tells a funny story in Les’s cartoon voice.  “On the Tweek Again” is a dark song with a big bass sound and Ler’s effects filled guitars.  The disc ends with “Over the Electric Grapevine” is a great 6 minute song (sometimes when they are long they are really good).  It opens with Les’ bass sounding middle eastern again. The solo in the middle is full of interesting noises (I’m not sure who is making what sound).

There are some great songs on this disc, but I find I don’t listen to it all the way through like I do with their earlier discs.

[READ: January 7, 2015] “Jack, July”

I have enjoyed most of the stories that I’ve read in my recent run through of New Yorker stories.  But I really did not like this one.  I’d say the first reason is because Jack is a meth head and I could not get sympathy for him, especially with the chaotic way the story opened.

I will say that there were a lot of funny moments, in which Jack, while coming down from the meth seems genuinely confused by what’s going on around him.  The crazy mistakes he makes are quite amusing, but considering the whole first part of the story was just Jack trying to get to a house presumably to score more meth was very disappointing.

So Jack walks through the baking Arizona sun.  First he arrives at his “girlfriend” Rhonda’s house.  She tells him he can’t be there [“Jack, who was clearly there, only smiled”].  He walks on to his mother’s house.  But there’ a woman living there (whom he calls Yoga Tights because that is what she is wearing).  She immediately gives him a hard time and calls the cops on him (could be because he climbed in through her window and his pants got caught and were pulled off as he climbed through).  So he runs off with some supplies from her house (“she liked all stores that ended with Mart”). (more…)

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Danielle McLaughlin–“The Dinosaurs on Other Planets” (New Yorker, September 15, 2014)

Posted in Beavis and Butthead, Danielle McLaughlin, Marriage Trouble, Nature, New Yorker, Primus, Sausage, Short Story on January 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ny915SOUNDTRACK: SAUSAGE-Riddles Are Abound Tonight (1994).

Sausage_riddles_are_abound_tonight_cd After Pork Soda, Primus took a little break and Les reunited with the original members of Primus–Todd Huth and Jay Lane (guitars and drums) to make the Sausage album.  The album contains new songs and what I assume is the original version of “The Toys Go Winding Down” which sounds quite different from the Primus recorded version.

The first two songs sounds the most like conventional (what?) Primus with big smashing choruses. The biggest difference on the whole album is in the guitar, which is not just making shapes and noises, it is laying an interesting riff.  And the single “Riddles Are Abound Tonight” sounds absolutely the most like Primus–with interesting guitar sounds and Les’ popping bass (the “ho hoy yea” in the middle is also very Primus).

Another big difference is that Jay Lane’s drumming is a very different style than Tim Alexander’s.  Alexander is a force to be reckoned with–he’s all over tha place, playing weird time signatures and all manner of drums.  Jay Lane is more of a jazzy drummer–he keeps things fairly simple with a lot of hi-hat work.  So yes, even though Les is the same (and the star) in both bands, Sausage sounds quite different from Primus.

It’s also not to say that Huth doesn’t make crazy noises (he was the original Primus guitarist after all)–“Here’s to the Man” has a scorching noise from Huth over Claypool’s fairly conventional bass line.  But this song, as with most of them on the disc are quite long and don’t offer the wide array of sections that most Primus does, which loses its impact after a time.  So even though Les is talking some silly nonsense over the song (which is very hard to hear), it doesn’t make the song much more compelling.

Sausage has more of jam band feel.  As with “Shattering Song,” a 7 minute piece with a conventional drum bass and guitar structure.  It goes on in the same vein for some 4 minutes before turning into the more enjoyable “Kern Kern the butter churn” section, which I wish was longer.  Because I love the Primus release of “Toys” I find “Toyz 1988 to be unsettling in its slowness. Although I do love the opening bass riff.  “Temporary Phase” also has a good thumping bass riff and some noisy guitars.

“Girls for Single Men” is a fun song with a wild bass line.  It has a repeated chorus and a lot of spoken word.  As with a lot of these Claypool solo pieces, if the spoken stuff was just a bit louder, it would be more enjoyable.

“Recreating” i a short song with a cool opening bass section that is primarily based on Les’ whammy bar.  The final song, the 6 and a half minute “Caution Should Be Used While Driving a Motor Vehicle or Operating Machinery”  has a cool repeating bass line and some noisy guitars but it is most notable for all kinds of street noises–jackhammers, air raid sirens and the like.

I don’t love the Sausage album that much, but there is some good stuff here.  And the video for “Riddles” is pretty outstanding (and was actually the basis for the Beavis and Butthead character of Cornholio!)

[READ: January 8, 2015] “The Dinosaurs on Other Planets”

There’s quite a lot going on in this story and I enjoyed very much even if the ending wasn’t entirely satisfying.

The story is set in the house of Kate and Colman an older married couple (they met when he was 40 and their kids are grown).  We learn that they have not shared a bed for about a year.  He moved his lathe into their son’s room and basically just stays there all the time, and while she seems upset by this she doesn’t talk about it.  The only thing that sparks them moving back into the same room is their daughter’s upcoming return visit.

Emer has been living in England (I assume her parents live in Ireland given character names) and she is planning to come to visit for a few days with her son Oisin.  So Kate gets the house ready–she fixes up Emer’s old room and fixes up their son’s room (he is in Japan) for a  bedroom for Oison.

But when they show up, Emer has a man with her as well.  His name is Pavel, and when Cormac (who is none too pleased to have an extra guest) asks Oisin when Pavel is from, Oision (who is 5) says “Chelsea.” (more…)

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Thomas McGuane–“Motherlode” (New Yorker, September 8, 2014)

Posted in New Yorker, Primus, Sex, Short Story, Thomas McGuane, Violence, Yuck! on January 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ny98SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-“Me Llamo Mud” (2010).

me llamo mudThis recording is out of chronological sequence, because it is a re-recording of Primus’ hit “My Name is Mud” done in Spanish.

The big surprise for me was just how different the song sounds–it was recorded in a very different way with the instruments sounding much crisper.  The bass in particular is recorded quite differently.  And Brain is on drums instead of Tim Alexander, although I don’t think their styles are very different on this song.  But I love that those seemingly random guitar parts from Ler are played the same (even if they are recorded differently too).

It’s also impressive to hear Les forcing all those Spanish syllables into his fast wordplay.

¿Adonde va el chico de la ciudad?

[READ: January 7, 2015] “Motherlode”

I tend to think of McGuane’s stories as dark, and this one is no exception.

We start by looking at David Jenkins.  He is in a hotel room with his stetson on.  He goes to get some lunch and while he eats, he gets the sense that a man is watching him closely.

As David walks out to his car, Ray, the man who was looking at David, pulls a gun and says that David is going to take them for a drive.  They have an awkward two-hour road trip ahead of them.  Ray uses David’s cell phone to call his girl, whose name is Morsel (I don’t know why that tickled me so much).  After about two hours of driving a man in a small plane lands in front of them on the road and says they’ve missed the turn.  David backs up and heads down the “road” to a small house. (more…)

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Joseph O’Neill–“The Referees” (New Yorker, September 1, 2014)

Posted in Dead Kennedys, Joseph O'Neill, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story on January 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

91SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Pork Soda (1993).

pork sodaPork soda was a surprise hit read any review and they always talk about how it’s the oddest top ten record ever).  Even more unexpected was that the first single, “My Name is Mud” was also huge.  But how weird.   The bass is really low and rumbling–sometime so low that it sounds like drums (which I thought it was in the verses when I first heard it) and the guitar is just crazy cool–buzzing noises all over the place.  And the lyrics–whoo boy–they match the video perfectly.  And yet a big hit–which got them invited to Woodstock that year.

“Welcome to this World’ reminds me of the Dead Kennedys (which is weird, I know).  Not the opening bit of course, but the way Les sings the chorus and the punky chords that accompany it seem very DK to me.   “Bob” is a really dark song about a guy who hangs himself.  The melody is an interesting and compelling one, but man lyrically it is such a downer (Ler’s sirens guitar plays that well).

It is followed by the awesome “DMV.”  Between Les’ cool tapping bass, Ler’s crazy noise-chords and wild solo and Tim’s great drums, not to mention the awesome lyrics about the DMV, this song is a major winner.

“The Ol’ Diamondback Sturgeon” has an interesting bass line and is a kind of mellow song that tells the tale of a big fish in the waters of San Pablo Bay.  Musically the bass sounds Middle Eastern–although there’s no mention in the credits of any instruments other than bass and mandolin, so how does he do it?

I love “Nature Boy” a weird song (aren’t they all) in which he talks about dancing around the house naked.  The verses are quiet while the chorus is quintessential Primus–slapped bass and stop-on-a-dime changes.  At around 3 minutes the song changes tempo into this really fast section with Ler’s insane guitar solo, and then it migrates into an awesomely catchy fast instrumental section which is over too fast.

“Wounded Knee” is a 2 minute percussion piece that Tim Alexander says was inspired by “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”  It’s followed by one of the craziest songs in Primus history–“Pork Soda.”  The bass is a bowed upright bass (but bowed in a way that I’ve never heard before) and Ler’s guitar is basically a one note ringing.  And all the while Les is rambling on about something that you can barely hear.  Until the chorus comes in and you can all grab a can of pork soda.

The next song is “Pressman” which was on Suck on This. It was my least favorite song on that disc and it’s not a lot better here.  It’s a much better sound, but I think it’s long and kind of unremarkable.  But “Mr Krinkle” changes that.  Another bowed bass song (with the weird sounds he gets out of it).  This one had a crazy wonderful video. It’s followed by the bluegrass sounding “The Air is Getting Slippery,” a banjo romp in which the obvious rhymes with luck and pluck are switched with a quiet “forgive me if I hesitate.” It’s followed by a weird banjo solo from Ler.

One of the highlights of the record is the 8 minute instrumental (yes!) “Hamburger Train.  It’s got a lot of slap bass and Ler’s crazy noises all held in place by Tim’s drums.  The biggest difference is that Ler gets a pretty normal solo and Les also does a fast solo.  This was clearly just an excuse to jam for a while and it’s a good listen.

The disc basically opens and closes with “Pork chop’ Little Ditty,” a mandolin song that is under a minute.  Although there a kind of bonus track called “Hail Santa” which is just a sort of woozy bass sound and bells.

It’s an unexpected hit, and one that I have to wonder how many people still play.  If you have it, put it on again.

[READ: January 7, 2014] “The Referees”

I’ve only read one story from Joseph O’Neill before and I enjoyed it a lot.  I also enjoyed this one.  I thought it was nicely funny and also constructed in an unexpectedly amusing way.

The story begins with the narrator talking about meeting up with his fiend Mike.  Mike is complaining about his neighbor.  The asshole known as Gus (real name Gustavus).  Gus is, well was, an alcoholic and he’s trying to make amends.  But Mike knows that Gus is an asshole and doesn’t want to be friends.

The way the story is told, the narrator describes it in the past tense, but then he interjects dialogue as if it is occurring the present.  He even interrupts himself: (more…)

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Tessa Hadley–“One Saturday Morning” (New Yorker, August 25, 2014)

Posted in Death, Drinking, Marriage (Happy), New Yorker, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Primus, Short Story, Tessa Hadley, The Meters, The Residents, XTC on January 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

824SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Miscellaneous Debris (1992).

debrsiAfter the success of Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Primus created this five song EP of covers.  Les had just gotten a new Carl Thompson “rainbow bass” and he used the EP as a way to try it out.

This EP is, interestingly, their most listener friendly release thus far.  In part because they are playing more conventional songs (even if in an unconventional way).  Although they are not the most obvious covers:

Peter Gabriel-“Intruder.”  This is an earlier Peter Gabriel song (when he was still kind of weird).  The Primus version is suitably spooky and weird, but it is a great version.  It sounds a lot like the original, which is creepier than you might expect from Gabriel–but he was a weirdo before he became an adult contempo sweetheart.

XTC-“Making Plans for Nigel”  One of XTC’s more popular songs, this version is faster than the original, but right on and quite fun.

The Residents-“Sinister Exaggerator”  The Residents are quite weird (and may be the one band that is closest in spirit to Primus). This version is indeed pretty close to the original (although you can hear the lyrics better on the original!).

The Meters-“Tippi Toes”  The Meters area n old school funk band.  This is a song with no lyrics.  The Primus version sounds more full than the original (which incorporates Tiptoe Thru the Tulips”)  but it is quite faithful otherwise.

Pink Floyd-“Have a Cigar”  This is clearly the most popular original on the disc.  But Primus do a great job with it (Les is under the impression that Roger Waters didn’t like their version–but what do you expect?). They have a lot of fun with this song–keeping it close to the original (except for Ler’s guitar, mostly) and the twisted lyrics that say “who the hell’s this guy they call Bob Cock?”

So while this is a great introduction to Primus, it is not entirely representative of their sound. And yet, it sort of is as well.  Hence the title.

[READ: January 6, 2015] “One Saturday Morning”

Tessa Hadley continues to impress me with her beautiful stories in which really nothing happens.  It opens with a girl practicing her piano and ends with her and her brother looking at a bug.  And in between something almost happens, but not quite.

Set in the 1960s, Carrie is a ten-year old girl practicing her piano.  Her brother is outside playing cricket and her parents are out shopping for their party that evening.  Carrie hates practicing the piano–the music just doesn’t speak o her.  She also fears that her piano tutor is mad at her because of a childish letter she wrote and may have left at her tutor’s house.

While she is thinking about this, the doorbell rings.  She doesn’t recognize the man right away but she quickly realizes that it his her parents’ old friend Dom.  Dom is a big man, somewhat intimidating but affable. Carrie is intimidated by him though, especially since her parents aren’t around.  He hasn’t been around since he moved a way a few years ago.  But he says he is in town and wanted to visit friends.  She assures him that her parents will be home shortly and invites him in.  But rather than entertain him, she runs upstairs to hide. (more…)

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César Aira–“Picasso” (New Yorker, August 11 & 18, 2014)

Posted in Art, César Aira, Chris Andrews, Foreign Books, Funny (strange), Magic, New Yorker, Pablo Picasso, Primus, Short Story, Surreal, Translation on January 7, 2015| 1 Comment »

CV1_TNY_08_11_14Mattotti.indd SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991).

cheeseHere they come, here comes the bastards again.  Sailing the Seas of Cheese was the band’s major label debut, and they were given a lot of freedom to do whatever they wanted.  Which they did.

The first two songs sort of ease you into the chaos that is “Sgt Baker” a noisy stomp that mocks the military. It’s followed by “American life” a relatively quiet song that is rather sad.  Although I like Ler’s solo at the end (which is rather conventional for him).

But the album really takes of with “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”, Primus’ first real hit.  Which is amazing in and of itself given how weird a song it is and how noisy (and moshy) the middle section is.  Fun drumming opens “Eleven,” a rocking song done in 11/4 time–count it, its crazy!  I just love the lunacy of “Is It Luck?”–the bass is fast and so bizarre while Ler’s guitars are playing one simple dissonant note for much of the song.  “You wanna get lucky little boy?”

“Grandad’s Little Ditty” is basically Les singing in the shower (and one of the few songs I know of which use the word “flatus”).  It leads into the new recording of “Tommy the Cat.”  This time the role of Tommy is played by Tom Waits, which make a slot of sense.  The Primus book has a funny story about Waits singing this (he sent them a version without having heard the song and he sang it through a megaphone).  The bass in the middle of the song is just incredible.

“Sathington Waltz” continues the adventure of Sathington Willoughby, although this is a scattered instrumental with banjos and loud drums (and lots of guests).  “Those Damn Blue Collar Tweekers” is a stomping song with a great riff.  I never knew exactly what it was about (not that its hard to figure out), but the book explains exactly who Les was talking about.

“Fish On” is a 7 minute song (most of the songs on this record are shorter than on Frizzle Fry) with a lengthy intro and outro.  The disc ends with “Los Bastardos” a reprise of the opening bastard music with some samples from The Young Ones and all kinds of friends playing along.  It’s a really fun record with some absolutely classic songs on it.

Shut up you bastards!

[READ: January 5, 2015] “Picasso”

The ever prolific César Aira had a new short story in The New Yorker (he usually writes novella length pieces, but this appears to be an actual short story (3 pages)) which is a little different.

In the story, the narrator says he was in the Picasso museum enjoying the artwork when a genie came out of his bottle of Miracle Milk and offered him a choice: Would he rather have a Picasso or be Picasso.  I enjoyed this twist on the typical three-wishes genie (he even mention how most people are prepared to ask for more wishes), and that this was totally unexpected.

To me, the answer was obvious from the start, Picasso was a pretty unhappy guy, why would I want to be him?  Of court, as the narrator goes through the options, he says that if you were Picasso you would automatically have all the Picassos.  Plus, he says that he himself has a pretty unhappy life, so Picasso would be a step up.

The narrator reviews Picasso’s life and output, but ultimately he decides that owning a Picasso would give him the financial security to allow himself to write his novels.

As soon as he thinks that, a painting appears on the table in front of him.  It is clearly a Picasso.  He spends the next few paragraphs describing the painting and then comes upon a “meaning” for it.  It’s an interesting look at a Spanish fable or joke.  The fable involves a queen who is lame and her servants who want to tell her without actually telling her.  The punchline of the joke comes down to “Su Majestad, escoja” which translates as “Your Majesty, choose” or if the last word is broken up (into es coja) “Your Majesty is lame.”  It’s a pretty elaborate painting or what amounts to a joke (and I have no idea if this is a real painting or not).

As the story comes to an end, the final paragraph introduces a whole new aspect of the story which was hilarious and unepxetced.  It was a great twist.  I do have to wonder if this is part of a bigger story because although it feels complete, I could easily see him following this character further.

This was translated by Chris Andrews.

For ease of searching I include: Cesar Aira

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Paul Theroux—“Action” (New Yorker, August 4, 2014)

Posted in Boston, MA, New Yorker, Paul Theroux, Primus, Rush, Short Story, Threats on January 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ny ayg4SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Frizzle Fry (1990).

frizIt always made me laugh that this album opens exactly the same as Suck on This–with the opening drums to Rush’s “YYZ.” But it quickly bends into the propulsive bass of “To Defy the Laws of Tradition.”  For many, this was their first listen to Primus, and hearing the crazy noise of Ler’s guitar come roaring out of the speakers followed by Les’ insane bass line and Tim’s wild drumming–it’s unlike anything I’ve heard before or since.  And then later to hear the tapping of the bass notes during the chorus–it’s certainly defying laws of rock tradition.

The lyrics of “To Defy” are interesting to me (if Christmas didn’t come, who would cry more the child or the stores?).  I also always loved the lyrics of “Groundhog’s Day” (“lingering taste of toothpaste made the milk go down a bit funny”).  I like the fidelity of this recording better than Suck on This (all five re-recorded songs actually).  This song also gives Ler a lot of pace for a long solo. “Too Many Puppies” is one of the earliest song  Les wrote (although I believe it was different in speed at the time).  It is a loud song in which Ler’s guitar stays hidden for a while then bursts forth full of noise and chaos at opportune moments.

“Mr. Knowitall” is also full of great lyrics (“they call me mr know it all, i am so eloquent, perfection is my middle name and whatever rhymes with eloquent”) and a really groovy bass with interesting “lead” guitar work.  I feel like the drums get a prominent place in “Frizzle Fry” (the drums are great all the way through, but they really shine here).  Of course the fast section at 4:40 is pretty amazing, too.

The opening to “John the Fisherman” is different than on Suck on This and it is crazy the sounds he get out of that bass. The quality of this recording (and the video) are great.

“You Can’t Kill Michael Malloy” is  26 second piece that was composed and performed by Matt Winegar (according to the Primus book the song is actually much longer and Les wishes he had played the whole thing here).  It leads to the slow intro of “The Toys Go Winding Down” which features one of my favorite triplet-filled bass lines ever.  It also features some great bowed bass from Les.

I love that “Pudding Time” opens with such a great amount of noise and that the bass is actually more of a percussive instrument for the verses.  “Sathington Willoughby” is another weird little song (25 seconds) that gave them a chance to play with banjos.  It serves as a great intro to the wild drums of “Spaghetti Western.”  This is the strangest song on the disc (which is saying a lot).  It’s almost an instrumental with Les reciting a little story about watching Spaghetti Westerns on TV (the way the boots are all reverbed out).

“Harold of the Rocks” is such a great song and this version sounds great–you can really hear what Ler is doing.  It ends the album in a fun way.

Frizzle Fry is still one of my favorite albums, and it still sounds totally weird and unique all these decades later.  I was marveling at how long this album is and how long many of the songs are–quite an auspicious “debut.”

[READ: January 5, 2015] “Action”

I have basically blown off the New Yorker since last summer and have now made it my resolution to read all the issues I missed from last year in a timely fashion.  So here I’m starting with August.

I often like Paul Theroux’s stories, although I don’t really have a sense of his style overall.  This story proved to be very simple but incredibly detailed.

It is about a boy, Albert, who works for his father in his shoe store.  Albert’s father was a widower and a very economical man–he would often only speak in one word sentences, especially to Albert (“‘Where?’ meaning, “Where have you been?'”).  His father worried about him, but didn’t really show it.  Rather, he monitored everything that Albert did.  He made sure that Albert was working most of the time that he wasn’t in school (even when the store wasn’t busy).  So Albert had no social life.

Albert did have one friend (whom his father greatly disapproved of) named Eddie.  Albert liked Eddie especially because Eddie often said “I’m a wicked bad influence.”  Eddie knew all about Boston and showed Albert around to places that his father would have been very upset by.  Of course, Albert had no money so he never went in these places, he just knew of them.  Eddie also introduced Albert to his “girl” Paige, whom he described as easy. (more…)

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Charles Dickens–The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New One In (1844)

Posted in 19th Century, Charity, Charles Dickens, Christmas, Christmas Album, Death, History, It's a Wonderful Life, My Morning Jacket, Short Story, Supernatural on January 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

books SOUNDTRACK: MY MORNING JACKET-Does Xmas Fiasco Style: We Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (2000).

mmjxmasWe heard a song from this on WXPN the other day and Sarah bought it for me for Christmas.  I have really liked My Morning Jacket’s newer music, and I like their earlier stuff, but a little less.  This seems to fall somewhere in between.

This also seems to be about the worst actual Christmas album that I like very much.  There is virtually no Christmas feel to it, even if many of the songs feature the word Christmas somewhere.  Basically My Morning Jacket are doing their own thing, and they sound great–lengthy jams of acoustic alternative rock and Jim James’ soaring vocals.  It’s a lovely piece of music, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas (so it was nice to end the Christmas music posts with it).

There are six songs “Xmas Curtain” would be released on their second album the following year (so they made this after releasing one album!).  It is a cool song although it seems to be more about criminals than Christmas.  There are lovely harmonies and a strange steel drum sound for the melody.  “I Just Wanted to Say” is a slow guitar picked song.  It does reflect holiday sentiment: “wishing you happy holidays.” Once again gorgeous chorus and harmonies.  Although there’s a long instrumental section at the end which kind of makes it lose the Christmas spirit (the song is over 6 minutes long).

“Christmas Time is Here Again” is really the first explicit Christmas song. It’s a lovely song and kinda feel Christmasey.  Of course, if they  wanted a nice simple Christmas song it should end at 3:40.  But rather they tack on a lengthy (very pretty) instrumental section. I love what they play, but it make you lose sight of the earlier part of the song even if the lyrics do repeat again. The bells are nice at the end.

“New Morning” is a Nick Cave song, not exactly Christmasey but very pretty.  The other very Christmasey song is “Santa Claus is Back in Town.”  This is apparently an Elvis song (the backing vocals of “Chris-mussss”) give it a very fifties sound.  This could also easily end at 4 minutes, but they tack on a bunch of guitar nonsense at the end for an extra minute and a half.  These little flourishes aren’t bad, and this is clearly a fun fan record, but you’re not going to get on a Christmas compilation with all that extra business.

The final song is a “hidden track.”  It is the lengthy instrumental from “Christmas Time is Here Again” but played by itself (with the whole band).  As I said, it’s lovely.  Of course it’s fades after 2 minutes, but then gets louder and runs a total of 7 minutes–those jokesters.

[READ: December 10, 2014] The Chimes

I didn’t know this story at all.  It turns out to be more of a New Year’s story than a Christmas story, despite it being in the Christmas Books book.

The story is centered around Toby Veck, known as Trotty because of his usual walk.  Trotty is a messenger.  But his main feature is that he is obsessed with the chimes, the Bells, at the churchtower.  He believes that they speak to him.  It sounds like he sleeps out under the bells, but I gather that he actually just spends most of his time outside so he can be a messenger to others.

It is a cold cold New Year’s Eve night.  His daughter, Meg, brings him a large feast of tripe (she drags out his trying to guess what it is).  He is thrilled at the boon of such a feast.  While he is enjoying the food, she reveals that she is going to get married to her fiancee Richard the next day. Trotty seems concerned by this but before he can say anything, he is interrupted by Alderman Cute and his associate Mr Filer.  The Alderman basically gives them all a hard time.  He criticizes Trotty for eating tripe (which he says is the most wasteful of all foods?!), he criticizes the poor in general (and talks about arresting just about everyone) and he criticizes Meg and Richard for planning to get married.  He says that Richard could do much better and that if they do marry they will just wind up poor with unwanted children.  What a dick. (more…)

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Anthony Bourdain–“Christmas Story” (Lucky Peach, No. 13: The Holiday Issue: Winter 2014)

Posted in Anthony Bourdain, Christmas, Christmas Album, Dorie Greenspan, Food, Lisa Hanawalt, Lucky Peach, Mark Ibold, Peter Meehan, Short Story, Travel, Yuck! on December 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

peach13SOUNDTRACK: ULTRA LOUNGE: CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS Hi-Fi Holiday Cheer from Santa’s Pad (1996).

xmastails1Because I am a total hipster, I love these Ultra Lounge collections.  Actually, I don’t think we were called hipsters when these collections first started coming out, but I have loved all of them.  And I especially love these Christmas ones.  Indeed, this may be my favorite Christmas album of all.

I’d say in part it’s because I great up listening to big band and I can totally imagine my parents being into this back in the day.

BILLY MAY-“Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” opens with a crazy yelling of all of the reindeer names.  Then a funny, almost drunken, sounding horn version of the song with weirdly shouted phrases throughout. It really sets the mood.  PEGGY LEE-“Winter Wonderland” is a more familiar and traditional version of the song—it’s delightful although it’s hard to reconcile with that earlier piece.  RAY ANTHONY-“Christmas Trumpets / We Wish You A Very Merry Christmas” is a wonderful sorta cheesey version of “Jingle Bells” and other songs on trumpets.  LOU RAWLS-“Christmas Is” Rawls’ voice, which I don’t love in general works well for this song.  I like the big horns in the middle.  JIMMY McGRIFF-“Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town / White Christmas” this is some fun, easy listening Hammond organ instrumental.  It is 6 minutes of ice rink spectacular.

JULIE LONDON-“I’d Like You For Christmas”  The backing vocalists singing the tune of “Jingle Bells” (but slowly) and then Julie sings a slow romantic song that I’m unfamiliar with. Not my fave—too slow and I don’t care for the backing responders.  AL CAIOLA- “Holiday On Skis” but this is a zippy and fun instrumental on guitar.  KAY STARR-“(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag” is a fun silly song and I like this version.  HOLLYRIDGE STRINGS- “Jingle Bells / Jingle Bell Rock” I love this swinging string version that is fun and a little off with the musical runs.  I would like more by the Hollyridge Strings who are known for their easy listening renditions of classic songs.

DEAN MARTN-“I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” I love this classic version.  EDDIE DUNSTEDTER-“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/Jingle Bells Bossa Nova” a wonderful ice rink version with a bossanova flair–the best way to hear the first of these two songs (instrumentally).  RAY ANTHONY AND HIS BOOKENDS “Christmas Kisses” wonderfully cheesey and fun song about kisses for Christmas.  I didn’t know this song before this version.  JACKIE GLEASON-“I’ll Be Home For Christmas / Baby, It’s Cold Outside”  The first bit is a somber, pretty instrumental version of the song, it is strangely mingled with a wild whistling version of the second song.  Gleason is wonderfully campy.  NANCY WILSON-“What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” Sweet version. I think I like Nancy Wilson a lot more than I realized.  CAPITOL STUDIO ORCHESTRA-“Cha-Cha All The Way”  The best Christmas song ever.

NAT KING COLE-“The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” I love this song very much and Nat’s version is the best. I’m not exactly sure it belongs on this compilation, but I never don’t want to hear it.  LES BROWN AND HIS BAND OF RENOWN-“The Nutcracker Suite” I love this whole version of various Nutcracker pieces (it’s clear that Brian Setzer used this as the basis for his swinging version). I love the Nutcracker in general but this is so much fun.  FRED WARING-“Ring Those Christmas Bells” This opens with various songs thrown together by a jolly group of carolers. Then a jolly version of “Ring those Christmas Bells” another song I don’t know but which I like a lot.  THE CONTINENTAL-“Violets For Your Furs”  This is a strange “bonus” track in which over soap opera music an accented Lothario comes on to a woman with violets for her furs.  Weird. PEGGY LEE/NAT KING COLE./NANCY WILSON-“Toys For Tots”  weird “toys for tots” refrain, but nice vocals from the trio asking for help with the program (who knew it was that old?).  The final track is JOHNNY MERCER-“Jingle Bells” which is a fun Christmas Card from Capitol Records–I wonder who received this?

[READ: December 26, 2014] “Christmas Story”

After reading enough Lucky Peaches I have learned that chefs are bad-tempered, foul-mouthed individuals, who relish good living and big eating (and drinking).  So it should come as no surprise that Bourdain as a fiction writer lives up to that essence in his stories (vulgarities abound and there’s lots of good food).

This is the story of Ricky, a chef whom the narrator learned from.  Ricky was a lifer in the business, having worked first in the army and then as a line cook and for the past two decades as head chef for a club.

Ricky had a sixth sense–he could look at a crowd and determine what they were going to order before they even knew it.  He would be able to determine that they needed more shrimp or if the crowd was just a simple pigs in blankets bunch just by the way they walked in.

Ricky liked the narrator and so gave him Christmas off this one year–a rarity in any chef job.  The narrator was psyched until his wife said that they should cook and serve Christmas dinner, real traditional-like, to their families.  The narrator said he could do a room of 200 easily but a dinner for 12 freaked him out.

So he asked Ricky’s advice.

And the bulk of the end of the story is Ricky’s suggestion for what to cook (it’s like a huge long recipe).  I appreciated the idea that putting stuffing in a turkey is like a breeding ground for bacteria.  But I really liked his idea that you should cook two turkeys, a big one and small one.  The small one is the stunt turkey.  When it is cooked, you bring out the stunt turkey to the table but you have already carved the larger turkey so that moments later you bring in the bird all carved up and everyone oohs.  But more importantly, with two turkeys you know you will always have enough food.

It worked for the narrator, and would probably work for you, too.

(more…)

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Charles Dickens–A Christmas Carol: In Prose: Being A Ghost Story of Christmas (1845)

Posted in 19th Century, A Christmas Carol, Charity, Charles Dickens, Christmas, Christmas Album, Danú, Ghosts, History, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, Patrick Kavanagh, Short Story, Supernatural on December 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

books SOUNDTRACK: DANÚ: An Nollaig in Éirinn: Christmas in Ireland Live in Concert (2010).

danu cdWe saw Danú perform a Christmas show last year.  The show was wonderful, so we bought the CD.

The CD is a live show much like the one we saw, so not only is it a Christmas album, but it’s a nice memento of the show.  Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh’s voice is beautiful–a soaring, angelic sound and the performance of the band is amazing.

The disc is a mix of beautiful ballads (Irish specific and those familiar to all) and rollicking instrumentals.  The ballads, most sung by Muireann include “The Wexford Carol” (a traditional song); “Angels We Have Heard on High” (gorgeous–with audience participation); “Le Coinnle na nAingeal” a lovely, slow ballad about putting candles in the window

n Irish and English) and “Le Coinnle na nAingeal.”  She even got the audience to sing along to some of the Irish words in “The Boys of Barr na Sráide” and, of course, we all chimed in on “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

The rollicking numbers include “The Slide Set” (Scartaglen Slide and two reels: “The Hunters Purse” and “The Reconciliation”); “Round the House Set” (some fun dance numbers); and “The Polkas.” “Apples in Winter/The Frost is All Over” is a charming instrumental, the second half of which is all about the button accordion (amazing playing!).

Some other songs include “A Christmas Childhood” is a spoken poem by Patrick Kavanagh set to a piano melody.  “The Boys of Barr na Sráide” is an anthem from Kerry in which boys hunt for a wren on the feast of St Stephen. It is a slow song and the was much audience participation when we saw them.  “Miss Fogarty’s Christmas Cake” is a very funny tale about a deadly Christmas Cake–a fun sing along with silly lyrics.

The show and disc end with “Oíche Chiúin/Silent Night” a lovely rendition that segues into an amazing bodrhan solo (Martin O’Neill is fantastic–the sounds he gets out of this one drum are staggering).  It ends with a whooping song called “Contradiction.”  The encore is a beautiful duet called “The Parting Glass” and, since no Irish set should end in a mellow way, “The Christmas Eve Reel” ends with a wonderful stomping song.

The show was fantastic and the CD is great too.  There’s no between-song banter, which is a shame, but which also keeps the set a reasonable length.  It’s a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas, even if there’s not many familiar Christmas songs.

[READ: December 10, 2014] A Christmas Carol

Obviously, I know A Christmas Carol.  Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley, the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future etc.  I have seen the play, I have listened to Patrick Stewart’s reading and I’ve seen nearly every movie and TV version. But I have never actually read it.

I found the story to be really enjoyable.  And for Dickens, the story is pretty compact. There are few moments where he throws in a lot of extra bits and pieces, but the action moves pretty swiftly.

I think one thing that I was surprised by was that Scrooge is moved by the very first spirit that comes along.  In my memory he isn’t that impressed by the first one, but in the story he is ready to give in after his trip to his childhood.  I was also surprised to see that Scrooge’s nephew plays a pretty big role at the end. In my memory (or maybe in condensed versions—or the Grinch, anyhow), Scrooge eats with the Cratchits.  But no, he sends them the goose with no word given (and we never see their reaction) and then has dinner with the nephew who invited him early in the story (Dickens is nothing if not tidy in cleaning up loose ends). (more…)

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