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Archive for the ‘Ska’ Category

Roberto Bolaño–2666 [Week 13] The Part About Archimboldi (2 of 4) (2004)

Posted in Adventure, Big Books, bolanobolano.com, Books about writers, Communists, Culture Shock, Death, Fears, Foreign Books, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Gustav Courbet, History, Humiliation, Infinite Zombies, Military, Natasha Wimmer, Nazis, Newspapers, Paul Simon, Roberto Bolaño, Romance, Sci-fi, Sex, Ska, Suicide, Translation, Travel, Vampire Weekend, Violence, Wikipedia, Yuck! on April 19, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: VAMPIRE WEEKEND-Contra (2010).

I absolutely loved Vampire Weekend’s debut album (and still do).  It was my favorite record of last summer and always makes me think of summer fun and hijinx.  Critics trotted out the “world/ethno/Paul Simon” vibe when discussing the album.  But I really didn’t hear it.  I mean, yes  I suppose it was there but the album felt more like a punky ska album of fun.

On this, their follow up, it’s as if they took all those critics to heart and decided to make the album that everyone was describing. This disc emphasizes all of the ethnic music sounds,  and downplays the guitars and more rock elements.  I was a little disappointed by this on the first listen or two.  However, subsequent listens showed me that the songwriting was still there and it was just as strong.

There’s still lots of rocking elements, it’s just that they are hidden under the other divergent influences.  But for the most part, the album is still bouncey and full of fun summer tunes.  There are three songs that slow down the pace, “Taxi Cab” and “Diplomat’s Son” (at 6 minutes, it’s a little long).  And the final song “I Think Ur a Contra” is a bit too divorced of beats (it works as an end to the disc, but I’d never listen to it on purpose).

The rest of the disc however, is very enjoyable, and I find that the 7 other songs work just as well as anything off the debut. “Horchata” is a delightfully fun world music treat (I hear Paul Simon, yes, although come on, Graceland came out 24 years ago!).  “White Sky” has delightfully catchy falsetto screams.  “Holiday” is practically classic ska and “Cousins” has a delightfully tricky guitar riff.

This feels like a band who has matured and experimented and yet not lost track of who they are.  I’m really looking forward to their next release.

[READ: Week of April 12, 2010]  2666 [pg 702-765]

Last week I concluded that

It almost seems as though Bolaño is saying that even Nazi Germany is better than Santa Teresa.

Oh how wrong I was.  Despite the fact that I found the bulk of this section enjoyable and fascinating (twisted and dark certainly, but fascinating nonetheless), the ending killed me.  The opening’s entire writers among writers, within writers, with communist party members and secret diaries was completely captivating.  And then it is all shattered by the reality of WWII. (more…)

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Peter Behrens–“Feel This” (The Walrus, December 2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Drinking, Fishbone, Marriage Trouble, Peter Behrens, Ska, The Walrus, War on January 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

boniwalrus-dec08SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Set the Booty Upright Bonin’ in the Boneyard single (1990).

This is a slight remix EP of their classic “Bonin’ in the Boenyard.”  The two remixes of the song (Bonin’ in the Jungle) and (New and Improved Bonin’) are okay (really nothing beats the original which is not included).  But the 3 other songs are fun b-sides.  “Love and Bullshit” is particularly good (even at under 2 minutes). It’s fast and furious.   “In the Name of Swing” is a jazzy romp with a few different sections for fun, and it features the nonsense that the band members talk and shout to each other in the background.

This is not essential by any means.

[READ: December 26, 2008] “Feel This”

This story about a brother returning from WWII has more depth than it might at first appear.  As we learn that the brother, Jack, has returned from the front under special circumstances, we see the family’s reaction to how he was discharged…honorably? …dishonorably? …or something else.

But really the story is about the family’s father, and how he handles disappointment (grief not really being an option for him). (more…)

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Heidi Julavits–“The Santosbrazzi Killer” (Harper’s, January 2009)

Posted in Fishbone, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Harper's, Heidi Julavits, Short Story, Ska, Supernatural, The Believer, Threats on January 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

haroers109SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Truth and Soul (1988).

truthsoulFishbone opens up yet another album with a fantastic one-two punch. Truth and Soul is  Fishbones’s perfect blend of ska, punk and hardcore.  This album has a few heavy moments but it was recorded before they got the heavy metal into their system.

The disc opens with “Freddie’s Dead.”  Which is just a blast of rocking funk.  It is catchy, it is fun to sing along to, and it rocks. It’s followed by “Ma and Pa” a fantastic ska song that is darkly humorous [“Hey Ma and Pa, what the hell is wrong with y’all?”].  It also features great vocal effects throughout the song: grunts and groans in place of beats and notes.  It’s just fantastic. These are probably two of the best songs of the late 1980s. The following two songs slow things down a bit, with “Pouring Rain” being a 5 minute long ballad.

“Deep Inside” follows with a blast of punk and call and response vocals.  And “Mighty Long Way” is an upbeat, keyboard heavy track about friendship.  It also has a great guitar riff (and really shows off the wailing guitar solos that will come up on later records).

This all leads to the majesty of “Bonin’ in the Boneyard” (the lyric sheet for this states: “If you can’t figure this one out, then you are lame!”).  This song is just an amazing horn-filled, bass slapping riot of a good time.  In general I don’t like horns in rock, but there is something about horns and ska that are just perfect.  And I could listen to this horn section all night long.

“One Day” comes next.  It’s less hectic, but contains more great guitar work and some great harmony vocals.  It’s a very catchy song about racism.  “Subliminal Fascism” is another short song that shows some of  their newly found metal leanings.  “Slow Bus Movin'” deals more overtly with racism, and yet its comical use of western-style music is something of a surprise.

“Ghetto Soundwave” and “Change” end the album with another one-two shot of greatness.  “Soundwave” is a fantastic horn-filled song.  And “Change” is a truly beautiful ballad.

Truth and Soul is a great album.

[READ: December 29, 2008]: “The Santosbrazzi Killer”

I’ve been meaning to read Julavits’ novel The Uses of Enchantment for some time, but it keeps getting pushed back by other titles.  So, this is my first exposure to her as anything other than editor of The Believer.  And I enjoyed this story very much.

The main character is a overseer–she travels to a Cincinnati-based subsidiary research outfit and criticizes them.  At some point in the story she admits she’s pretty much an asshole: officious, nitpicky, antisocial, and really quite unpleasant (Sample: “I arrived with my insulated travel mug filled with clearly superior off-site coffee”).  On this particular trip something different happens: she gets to stay in a different hotel than her usual place: The Tuck Inn.

After doing her job (and making everyone very tense), she returns to her hotel and inquires about a place to eat.  The concierge explains that there’s a bar/cafe downstairs.  The snooty waiter/bartender offers her a “bible” of a menu (with at least 476 pages).  Among her choices are: the Grinning Necrophiliac and the Vengeful Subsidiary (which she requests, but is not allowed to have due to the bartender’s lack of an essential tool).   And so, she settles on the titular Santosbrazzi Killer.

After waiting some time, a gentleman sits down.  He explains that what she ordered was not so much a drink as, well….  I’m not going to give it away.  From this point the story gets very interesting: the tension mounts, and yet the dark humor never departs.  It was a very enjoyable story.

It also introduced me to a new verb: to jick.  It is used throughout the story.  Initially it described the action of clicking a ball point pen.  But as the story progresses, the verb is used in a few different places (usually denoting a sound), with the meaning always being relevant.

Assuming this is representative of Julavits’ work, I’m looking forward to reading her novel one of these days.

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Jonathan Lethem–“Lostronaut” (New Yorker, November 17, 2008)

Posted in Cancer as plot device, Epistolary Novel, Fishbone, Jonathan Lethem, New Yorker, Outer Space, Selecter, Ska, Technology, The Specials, Threats on January 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

ny1117SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-In Your Face (1986).

inyourfaceFishbone’s first full length starts out with two great songs.  “When Problems Arise” has the great stop/start techniques that Fishbone uses so well, as well as a great riff and some fantastic funky bass playing.  The second track “A Selection” has  a great ska feel, and could easily be The Specials or Selecter; however, Fishbone throw in a bit of humor (“No toothpaste?”) to make the song their own.

The rest of the album is good, but it stands in the shadows of its follow up.  (And, actually a bit in the shadow of the preceding EP).   The album admirably mixes up styles throughout.  It includes some of Fishbone’s lightest, most soul/gospel songs like “Movement in the Light,” but it also has some rocking tracks, especially the ending pair: “‘Simon Says’ The Kingpin” and “Post Cold War Politics” (the two songs together are less than two and a half minutes).

My copy still has the Used: $5.99 sticker on it, and I know I got it much later in my Fishbone appreciation.  But really the only problem with the disc is that Truth and Soul and The Reality of My Surroundings are just so good, this one can’t compare.  It’s a good stepping stone though.

[READ: December 26, 2008] “Lostronaut”

The title tells you pretty much all you need to know about this story.  “Lostronaut” is set up as a series of letters from Janice (an astronaut) to her boyfriend, Chase.  Janice is an astronaut at a space station called Northern Lights.  Things are going pretty badly for all on board, and each letter tells of the deterioration of both ship and spirit. (more…)

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