I had been hearing Maggie Rogers’ name on WXPN and have liked “Alaska” which they’ve been playing. But I didn’t know much else about her.
But reading the blurb reminded me of where I had initially heard of her:
Maggie Rogers became a viral star on the strength of a video in which Pharrell Williams raves about a demo of what’s become her signature song, “Alaska.” Since then, Rogers has signed a label deal, toured extensively and released a sweetly approachable, inventively arranged EP called Now That The Light Is Fading.
For her Tiny Desk debut, Rogers performed all three of the EP’s best-known songs, opening with the recent singles “On + Off” and “Dog Years,” the latter of which she calls “a song for all the pups.” Then, after dismissing her band, she treated us to a few warm words about public radio before introducing “Alaska.”
Maggie has an interesting voice that sounds similar to someone (it’ll come to me), but with a slight country twang. It seems like she could easily fall into the country umbrella but her songwriting goes in a slightly different direction. (I’m also astonished that she looks to be about 18).
She plays three songs (there are 5 on her EP),
“On+Off” starts with a piano intro and Maggie singing. When the middle section kicks in and she plays guitar there a much louder sound. It’s quite catchy. I really like the delivery of the “Ooohs” that she adds. There’s something about the way she does it that sounds very cool.
“Dog Years” is a slower, slightly more country-sounding song, but again the “ooohs” won me over. This time the ooohs are harmonized by her band and it sounds even better. She also demonstrated some wonderful high notes.
Her band leaves for the final song which she starts by telling everyone that “public radio has been a part of her musical discovery–since she used an NPR compilation to DJ her middle school recess.” She’s very sweet.
Th final song is “Alaska” which she says is a song about coming back into your body. It has a really pretty chorus–once again, her voice soaring to lovely high notes. I prefer the recorded version to this solo version, but she sounds great by herself as well.
[READ: June 27, 2017] “Crossing the River No Name”
I was a little concerned about this story because it was set in Khost, Afghanistan and I thought it was going to be an intense war story–and war stories, like sports stories, pretty much end one of two ways.
So it begins on a rainy night in March 2009. The narrator and his patrol are sent to interrupt a group of Taliban. They reached a river and Hal, the leader, called on the best swimmers to swim across and set up the guide rope. They made it across and secured the line. The rest of the patrol got across but when it was the narrator and Hals’ turn they hit trouble.
Hal was afraid of the water. He’d joined the Navy to get over that fear and it worked. Most of the time. He knew of one other example when Hal had had a brief freak out. But this was the second one. The river grew darker and they were pulled under. (more…)
With a name like No BS! Brass Band, you think you know what you’re getting: brass and lots of it. And while that is true, the Band goes way beyond what I anticipated a brass band would sound like (nothing like the far more traditional Canadian Brass for instance).
The blurb states:
Funky and danceable, the NO BS! Brass Band takes after the full black-music continuum you hear in groups like Rebirth or the Hot 8. But it’s also proggy, and a bit brutalizing, and full of pride in a different Southern outpost. The group’s new album is called RVA All Day, after all. [I don’t know what that last line refers to].
Recently, Koehler, Pace and nine other musicians piled into a bus and journeyed up the freeway to NPR Music’s Tiny Desk in Washington, D.C. They blasted us with songs from the new album — it was so loud, you could hear the music on the other side of the building, a floor down.
The band includes: Lance Koehler, drums ; Reggie Pace, trombone ; Bryan Hooten, trombone/vocals ; John Hulley, trombone ; Dillard Watt, bass trombone ; David Hood, alto saxophone ; Marcus Tenney, trumpet ; Sam Koff, trumpet ; Ben Court, trumpet ; Taylor Barnett, trumpet and Stefan Demetriadis, tuba. And they play three super high energy largely instrumental songs that are obviously jazzy but which also have elements of the most fun marching band you’ve ever heard along with some rapping, some chanting and lots and lots of clapping.
The first song is all about “RVA All Day.” And yet since that’s all they chant, I still don’t know what it means. While the whole band plays loudly and powerfully, there’s a few solo moments as well. First a trombone solo followed by a sax solo, then a trumpet and a super wild trombone solo (he gets some truly great, crazy sounds from that thing). And then a huge surprise, midway through the song is a rap through a megaphone.
“Run Around” has a sing along to begin the song (and again, vocals through the megaphone). It is also lively and a lot of fun. The final song, “Infamous”sounds a lot more jazzy/big band. It’s got a really nice groove. The middle has a section with just tuba and trumpet where the rest of the band claps and shouts “Ho!” and it sounds great. It’s also interesting watching how the different players “store” their instruments in different ways while clapping.
No BS! Brass band will totally make you wiggle your hips.
[READ: August 20, 2016] Shark Life
C. had to pick a book for summer reading and he chose this one. He enjoyed it so much, that he encouraged me to read it too. And I’m really glad I did. Although it wasn’t until writing this that I realized that this book was adapted for young people by Karen Wojtyla. And yet I can’t find any mention of a grown up version of this book anywhere. So who knows.
Anyhow, Peter Benchley (who died in 2006) is the author of Jaws, and this book is full of stories of his life in and on the sea. For, in addition to being an author, Benchley was a diver and explorer. And his tales are both exciting and full of conservationist ideas.
The book opens in 1974. After the success of Jaws, Benchley had been invited to Australia to be on The American Sportsman. He was going to be swimming in a cage with sharks feeding around him. They put him in the cage, strapped all kinds of good food to it and left him there (okay they were close by). But a few things went awry and suddenly things weren’t quite as safe as they could be. The shark got caught in Benchley’s air line and then panicked. And a panicking shark is never a good thing. (more…)
Arturo O’Farrill is not, as I expected, an Irish traditional musician. He is, in fact, a Latin jazz pianist. And the blurb states:
Latin jazz works best when the musicians involved are as fluent in Afro-Cuban rhythms as they are in the deep grooves and advanced harmonics of bebop. Arturo O’Farrill has that pedigree in his DNA: His father, Chico O’Farrill, was part of a groundbreaking group of musicians who created the mash-up of Afro-Cuban music and jazz back in late-’40s New York.
The octet you see in this video is a stripped-down version of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, which is at least twice as large — don’t think I didn’t try to get the whole band behind Bob Boilen’s desk — and dedicated to both preserving the legacy of the elder O’Farrill and documenting the younger musician’s efforts to move the music forward.
The octet includes trombone, trumpet, sax, bongo, conga, drums, bass and of course, piano. And they play three pieces (for quite a long set).
“In Whom…” has a good swinging feel with O’Farrill’s piano running wild. At one point they cut to the conga player and the lady behind him is checking her phone (rudeness even in 2013!). But it’s not all about the piano, there s sax solo and then a fairly lengthy bass solo. Indeed there are many bass solo moments in this concert–Arturo certainly shares the spotlight.
The second song is “Compay Doug.” He explains that “compay” means some who is not family but who is as close as family or maybe even closer. The main melody has a cool fast/slow riff and then there’s another long bass solo. There’s some great conga work in the middle of the song ( you can hear the percussionist use a rain stick, too). Late in the song there a trumpet solo. So even though this is ostensibly a pianist’s performance, there is much more–but don’t be fooled, his piano playing is intense!
The final song is called “Mass Incarceration Blues.” He says many years ago it was called “Blue State Blues,” then it became “Stop and Frisk Blues” and now it’s called “Mass Incarceration Blues.” NPR’s Felix Contreras joins them (he ha so many cameos!). There’s a super fast series of opening piano runs. Then there’s a surprisingly fun (given the name) staccato melody and lots percussion. And, as if to get everybody a moment to shine, this song includes a trombone solo, a sax solo and Felix even gets a conga solo.
[READ: July 5, 2016] Goes for the Gold
This book came out in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Babymouse joins the swim team!
The book begins with her doing a fantastic dive (called the Reverse Messy Whisker Dive) only to wake up in her backyard kiddie pool.
Despite her fantasy of doing dramatic dives, she actually spends all of her time after school reading and eating cupcakes. Her parents insist that she do something–join a team or whatever. She chooses to join the school swim team, “The shrimps.” She figures how hard can it be, “I mean, swimming’s not even a real sport.”
Well not when you wear the suit that Babymouse has on. She is encouraged to wear a proper swimming suit and goggles and a cap (to much amusement of everyone).
But swimming proves to be hard–between trying to go straight, the way the chlorine dries out your fur and the whale living in her locker (Moby-Dick, anyone?), it’s more than just splashing in a pool.
Especially when we see the other team–actual sharks! And is that a giant squid at the bottom of the pool?
But The Shrimps are very good and when Felicia Furrypaws dismisses swimming as not even a real sport, Babymouse has second thoughts–or at least would rather stay up late eating cupcakes. Will she feel guilty about letting her team down? Of course, she will.
Virtually no infomation is given about Diaz in the blurb for her Tiny Desk Concert.
“My Sweetest Sin” opens as a one minute acapella song before she sits down at the piano and is accompanied by Carolyn Cardoza strumming away intently on ukulele for “Crazy Love.” Her voice sounds lovely by itself but it sounds even richer when accompanied by the spare instrumentation.
“Lover’s Sway” goes through several genres. It opens with a jaunty showtune vibe and then slows down for the verses. And then indeed it gets jaunty once again, in a very different way.
For the final song, “I Love You Madly” she switches to guitar. She says it was her first love song because she used to write a lot of depressing songs. This is a pretty, mellow song and she at times sounds a bit like a country singer and a bit like Natalie Merchant. It’s a little too slow and long for my tastes, but it is very pretty.
Diaz is quite a talent with a nice range of styles.
[READ: February 24, 2016] “East Wind”
This is the story of Vernon, who had moved to an unspecified busy waterfront town just a few months earlier. A recent spate of vandalism had caused some beach huts to be burned down. The town was horrified, but he didn’t mind so much because it improved his view to the sea.
He is sitting in a restaurant, and when the waitress asks if he’s done he replies with the cryptic, “All the way from the Urals.” When the waitress is understandably confused he says that’s where the wind comes from.
The waitress, a strong-looking woman, pronounces it Oorals. He assumes she is Eastern European, perhaps Polish. He jokes with her that they should o for a swim. She replies, no swim, although he hadn’t actually meant it.
He became a regular there. And on another occasion he said to her that they should run away and live in a beach hut. “I do not think,” she replied. But then he asked her out and she said yes. (more…)
Yesterday I posted about “Weird Al”‘s new song “First World Problems” which parodies the Pixies’ style. I didn’t know that Al liked the Pixies, but he’s evidently quite a fan. And the feeling is mutual. Here’s a video from 2009 of Al singing lead on the Pixies’ track “I Bleed.”
Al is totally passionate about the vocals. The more professional looking video has an audio the mix is a little odd, as Al is so much louder than the band, that his intensity really sticks out, even though I’m sure the rest of the band was just as loud. Indeed, there’s a fan video that is mixed better (which I have posted below, even though the more professional one has the welcoming introduction for Al).
I like that he starts with the spoken style (even if his spoken voice is not as menacing as Francis’). And then when the actually rocking part kicks in, Al, keeps up just fine.
[READ: July 1, 1014] “Kilifi Creek”
This story starts out with an interesting technique–speaking about the main character in third person but with great insight and almost a judging attitude into her mindset: “It was a brand of imposition of which young people like Liana thought nothing showing up on an old couple’s doorstep, the home of friends of friends of friends…. mature adulthood–and the experience of being imposed upon herself–might have encouraged her to consider what showing up as an uninvited impecunious house guest would require of her hosts.”
Indeed, Liana is traveling around the world and has stopped at various people’s houses for free room and board for a week or so, all in the name of young exploration. In most instances, she gives the lucky family a few days’ notice. And she felt she repaid the families not with money but with brightness and enthusiasm.
This particular family was on the Kenyan coast, their name: Henley. “Regent Henley carried herself as if she used to be good-looking and her husband Beano (a ridiculous name for anyone so old) was a big game hunter. They were wealthy by African standards and their native help often had little to do, Liana even considered that her arrival would give the help something to occupy themselves with.”
She was staying for six nights. But rather than doing any major exploring, she spent most of her mornings writing things online to her friends, and most of her afternoons in a bikini, coming to and from the Kilifi Creek behind the Henley’s house. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: BECK-“I Just Started Hating Some People Today” / “Blue Randy”(2012).
A few years ago, Beck suffered from a debilitating back injury that required spinal cord surgery. This limited his output significantly over those years. It also gave him a chance to re imagine releasing music. And so around 2012 he started releasing singles with no albums attached.
This first one is a collaboration with Jack White and is and astonishingly traditional country song.
The song has big fiddles and twangy vocals. Then the drums kick in and a big old bass notes sounds and…it’s even more country. There are big, fun verses (about murder, naturally) and a slide guitar solo.
I honestly can’t tell what Jack White’s contribution is, but evidently it is “punk vocals.” And those punk vocals come near the end. Because at 3:45, it turns into a blistering fun country punk mess, which lasts for just a few seconds. And then it morphs into a weird, string-filled kinda sexy song with a hot-sounding lady telling us she’s going to kill us.
The straightness of the country is only weird because of the straightness of the punk at the end. It’s clear Beck wanted to have fun with this track, and so he did.
The B-side is another country song. This one is of a more spoken word quality, but it still has the country vibe (and slide guitar). His voice sounds decidedly more country than I have heard from him. Even Beck fans may be confused by just how country this is, and yet he definitely has country content in his earlier releases.
[READ: April 1, 2014] “The Navigator”
This is an interesting story that has a fascinating structure. It seems like the story is told in third person. It is the story of a man, Walter Ehrlich, who nearly died in 1972 when he caught pneumonia. He had been swimming every day in Lake Ontario, but the doctors told him that that was unsafe, so he had a pool put in is backyard and he swam there every day that the winter didn’t freeze the water.
He also had a passion for ballrooms, and built one in his garage (this section is quite magical).
After a few paragraphs, the narrator reveals himself and the story is suddenly in first person. The narrator knows about the man through his wife’s family. Walter was close to his father-in-law (the story of how they met is also funny). Indeed, there are photos of Walter visiting his wife’s family when she was just eight or nine years old. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).
Ralph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him. He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).
The concert lasted only 6 minutes, but in that time he sang three a capella songs: “Gloryland,” “Turn Back, Turn Back” and “Amazing Grace.”
It’s hard to assess a legend based on this performance. I’ve no idea how good his voice was back in the day. He sounds fine here, albeit understandably quite old. I’d have liked to hear his banjo.
[READ: January 3, 2014] Grantland #8
It is becoming apparent to me that Grantland loves basketball. Like, a lot more than any other sport. This issue had a ton of basketball in it. And, I have to admit I was a little tired of it by the end–there was a lot less pop culture stuff, too. So, it felt especially basketball heavy. I realize of course that the time frame covered was the playoffs, but still.
BILL SIMMONS-“Searching for a Superman”
A lengthy article about Dwight Howard, discussing the pros and cons of signing him again.
MARK TITUS-“How Did He Get So Good?”
A look at Paul George and Danny Green doing better than expected in the NCAA playoffs.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“A Dark Day in Boston”
Pierce wonders about Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing–he says the city will come back stronger. (more…)
After Angel Rat, original bassist Blacky left the band. That’s never a good sign. After the tour for this album, original singer Snake left the band. That’s an even worse sign. I still can’t quite figure out exactly why Snake left (personal problems) but he went on to form the band Union Made. For a very detailed history of the band, check out this very cool timeline at Voivod dot net.
The Outer Limits got a pretty big release. I have an original copy that came with 3D glasses and all of the illustrations in 3D. But I was a little disappointed in Angel Rat and I don’t think I gave The Outer Limits much of a chance. It was no Nothingface. But the band was always morphing. Since Angel Rat went very commercial, this album brought things back into the prog realm (with a 17(!) minute song) but also had a lot of commercial songs.
The album opens with “Fix My Heart” which starts out much heavier than anything on Angel Rat. It’s also got some metal guitar pyrotechnics (squeaks and harmonics). Snake’s voice isn’t quite as pretty as on Angel Rat either—he growls a bit, but maintains his nicer voice overall. Nevertheless, “Fix My Heart” is a pretty commercial enterprise (as the title might even suggest). There’s some good “spacey” guitars sounds which bode will for the sci-fi angle of the album (and there’s some cool effects that reward headphone use). “Moonbeam Rider” starts with a very classic rock sounding riff and then morphs into a kind of pretty, mellow verse. But the interstitial guitar is all speed. It’s a nice mix of fast and slow. This song features some interesting bass work—nothing fancy but for the slow parts it is actually keeping the beat instead of the drums. The bassist was a studio musician for this album. There’s also what sounds like a bong during the pre-guitar solo section (the solo is fairly traditional).
“Le Pont Noir” is a mellow, slow guitar song with a very cool delay effect and Snake’s whispered vocals. The bridge gets heavy with a wonderfully weird Piggy guitar riff. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album.
Then the band’s second Pink Floyd cover appears. This time it’s the even more obscure “The Nile Song.” They have rather heavied this one up with crunching guitars and Snake’s distance screaming filling in the void (although in fairness the original vocals are also screamed). It’s not as dynamic or exciting as “Astronomy Domine,” but it’s still a cool cover. “The Lost Machine” starts off heavy with Away’s double cymbal work (a noisy splash and a fast ride cymbal). Then Piggy’s guitars have a slight delay on them which makes the opening chords sound especially odd. The bridge is a place for Piggy to show off some more weird spacey chords and some very cool guitar riffs. There’s even a spoken word narrator in the middle of the song that explains the “mission” “Time Warp” opens with a very bright and up beat sounding verse. But it quickly disintegrates into (intentional) musical chaos as the narrator gets lost in space.
This all leads up to the 17 minute “Jack Luminous.” If anyone doubted their prog rock leanings, this should dispel that immediate. 17 minutes, multiple parts, a sci-fi epic, it is prog (but heavy prog) at its finest. There are some incredibly catchy parts as well as some less catchy parts, and sections seem to change every two minutes or so. The slow down at 10 minutes is very cool—different guitar effects and the suspenseful bass line. There’s repeated sections as well, which means if you like some guitar line (the spacey part near the end) it comes back! It’s not quite as dynamic as say 2112, but it’s a very successful sci-fi epic.
“Wrong Way Street” returns to the normal and more conventional. The bass that opens the song sounds great and the chords are fairly conventional–the chorus is even really catchy. “We Are Not Alone” is a break-neck metal song, The drums are super fast, the guitars are relentless and the chorus even has an echoed “Hey!” that gets you to sing along. The song also features a cool slow, almost jazzy bass and drum section that lets Piggy throw some soloing in before returning to the fast paced verses.
There’s lots of theories about what happened to Voivod after this album. The success they had achieved earlier was now gone and the band seemed like they couldn’t decide to be metal or prog or is they should go for more pop music. The problem of course is that they were too weird to get mainstream acceptance anyway.
So Snake left and then there were only two original members. The next step would be a drastic one.
[READ: July 9, 2013] Grantland #7
This issue seemed to come hot on the heels of #6. But I enjoyed it just as much. A few notes: no Jeremy Lin in this issue. Lots of LeBron James, three articles about soccer! And a few pop culture moments that I had forgotten about.
REMBERT BROWNE AND DUSTIN PARKER-“The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament JUST. GOT. REAL.
Leonard Cooper didn’t know the final Jeopardy answer but he still won and he made a hilarious joke at the end (in cartoon format);
BILL SIMMONS-“Daring to Ask the PED Question”
Simmons talks a lot about PED’s in this forum. Of course, to me PED is my initials. For him (and sports fans) it is performance enhancing drugs. He asks why sports doesn’t do more about it. There are so many people who do it that every time we see someone who might be doing it or who suddenly has a good season, we assume they are doing them too. It would be a service to the players and the fans to have rigorous testing or none at all.
CHRIS RYAN AND ROBERT MAYS-“The NFL Coaches Family Portrait By the Numbers”
A silly analysis of a photo of NFL coaches.
WESLEY MORRIS-“Jodie Foster’s Big Night”
What exactly did Jodie Foster say at the Golden Globes? (This was in January and everybody talked about it and now it’s September and I’ve completely forgotten about it—funny ephemera of pop culture).
JONATHAN ABRAMS-“Out of Africa”
A serious look at trying to bring basketball to Africa. How the culture and language problems make it very difficult to establish any real cohesion in the diverse country. But there are a few examples of boys coming from Africa and benefiting from host families and then heading back to help those who love basketball back home. The main focus is on a 15-year-old Alexis Wangmene who came to the States (and left his family!) to try to gain an education and basketball skills. It’s a heartfelt story.
MOLLY LAMBERT-“Modern Love”
About the show Catfish which just goes to show we can sink even lower as a culture.
CHUCK KLOSTERMAN-“Mental Health Protocol”
About Royce White again. Last time there was a lengthy look at him. Now we get to hear that he thinks that everyone has some kind of mental health issue.
ANDY GREENWALD-“Eat Bray Love”
How cooking shows have gone from educational to crazy and annoying. He dislikes Top Chef and the new Anthony Bourdain show The Taste (which he says is awful) but he likes a decent show called Chopped.
ZACH LOWE-“The Fragile Science of Basketball Chemistry”
Sure the Heat were great this year, but it’s the way they evolved as a team, creating chemistry, that is so impressive.
RAFE BARTHOLOMEW-“The Pariah”
Timothy Bradley beat Manny Pacquiao in a disputed judges call. Instead of rising to fame, he has been avoided like the plague.
BILL SIMMONS-“The All-Manti Te’o Mailbag
Remember that crazy story about the football guy with the dead girlfriend who turned out to be fake? I never really understood the story and while they spend a lot of time talking and theorizing about it I still don’t get it. Did they ever find out the truth about it?
CHRIS BROWN-“Speak My Language”
When you play for the Patriots, you learn their way of doing things—it is simple and efficient, a streamlined version of what other coaches try to do.
KIRK GOLDSBERRY-“The Evolution of LeBron James”
Using diagrams, we see how much of a different player James is in just the last few years with The Heat. This article has made me want to watch James in a game while he is at his peak. So, Heat vs Bulls at the end of October, you’re on my schedule.
SEAN McINDOE-“The Non-Hater’s Guide to the NHL”
Even people who hate everyone in the NHL (which is everyone) can agree that there are some players who are universally admired: Martin Brodeur, Pavel Satsyuk. Teemu Selanne, Jarome Iginla, Jonathan Toews, Martin St. Louis, Gabriel Landeskog, Patrick Elias (Devils get two!), Ryan Smyth, Steve Sullivan, Saku Koivu, Henrik Lundqvist.
ALEX PAPPADEMAS-“God Needs a Hobby”
A look at Dan Harmon and his podcast Harmontown. Harmon seems like he might be a crazy alcoholic, but he’s also pretty darn funny.
MARK TITUS-“Duke’s Ignominious Son”
Everybody hates Christian Laettner, but that’s only because he’s pretty and he made The Shot
MARK LISANTI-“Three Days in Austin”
Dealing with the craziness of the South by Southwest film festival. Sounds awful.
HUA HSU-“The Alien Has Landed”
Soccer legend Ronaldo returns to Old Trafford
BILL SIMMONS-“The Greatest Action Franchise That Ever Was”
Live blogging the Fast and Furious 6 trailer. I admit I may have to see these films after reading this.
ZACH LOWE-“Lights, Camera, Revolution”
There’s some kind of new technology that will change the NBA forever. I pretty much don’t care.
TESS LYNCH-“Nostalgia Bites”
Watching old Real World episodes shows how much things have changed in reality TV, but also how much certain behaviors are not new.
BRIAN PHILLIPS-“Maradona, Then and Now”
Maradona was an amazing kid—at 15 he was remarkable at his ball control. Now at 52 he’s a crazy loon. What exactly happened in between?
ANDY GREENWALD-“From Big to Small, From Movie to TV”
Why not make Men in Black into a TV show—with some other film recommendations.
AMOS BARSHAD-“How Soccer Explains Israel”
I didn’t expect to enjoy this but I found it very interesting. An Israeli soccer team has signed two Muslim players and it has caused incredible animosity and even arson. How this look at a team is like a microcosm of the whole Israeli situation.
LOUISA THOMS-“Back to School”
Missy Franklin won a ton of medals in the Olympics. And then she went back to high school. What’s it like to be on her team at Regis Jesuit?
WESLEY MORRIS-“Run, Frank, Run”
Frank Ocean apparently wasn’t as huge as I thought he was.
MALCOLM GLADWELL AND CHUCK KLOSTERMAN–“The Lies He Told”
More about Manti Te’o. This discussion was a bit more helpful about what happened and how crazy it is.
CHRIS RYAN AND REMBERT BROWNE-“A List of Possible Reasons for Rob Gronkowski’s Arm Infection”
Hypothetical humor.
JORDAN CONN-“The Invisible Man”
Marc Gasol is extremely respected by scouts and agents, but the fans all think of him as Pau Gasol’s chubby little brother.
REMBERT BROWNE-“French Quarter Lessons”
While in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Browne decided to go to a bunch of used bookstores. This is very funny and enjoyable.
JAY CASPIAN KANG-“Fiercely Disputed”
Mike Tyson’s one man show is weird and strangely affecting.
KATIE BAKER-“Do Svidanya to All That”
Several NHL players went to Russia’s KHL during the lockout. And some don’t want to come back.
CHRIS RYAN-“The All-Star Circus”
NBA All-Star weekend is a crazy circus (and sounds worse than the above SXSW festival).
CHUCK KLOSETRMAN AND ALEX PAPPADEMAS-“The Nobituary”
There was a serious rumor that David Bowie was on death’s door. Klosterman and Pappademas imagine writing his obituary.
DAVID SHOEMAKER-“Glenn Beck vs. WWE”
The WWE has always had racists as part of the act. What happens when some goons start acting like the Tea Party?
DAVID JACOBY-“The Pure Heart Meets The Bachelor”
Jacoby’s grandmother watches The Bachelor and he feels badly for her.
STEVEN HYDEN-“Is This It?”
The Strokes’ fifth album had just come out [really?]. It could be their last, but Hyden thinks their last two have been quite good.
BILL SIMMONS-“The Heat in Hindsight”
The Miami Heat came close to breaking the longest winning streak in the NBA. Simmons looks at the fallout and who “wins” and “loses” in the effort.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“Bleu, Blanc et Rouge”
I had no idea that Charlie Pierce was a Canadiens fan!
KATIE BAKER-“The Ethics of a Family Plan”
Is it ethical to pretend that you are married to your roommate to get a family discount a ta gym? Hell yes.
EMILY YOSHIDA-“A Dark Force”
J.J. Abrams is going to direct the next Star Wars films. Why, when sci-fi is so multifaceted and so different is everything coming down to J.J. Abrams?
SEAN FENNESSEY-“The Case Against Justin Timberlake”
Timberlakes’s previous album was amazing. Then he took years off to make (bad) film and (good) TV. His star would only continue to rise if he stopped making music and only hinted that he would make another album. But the release of his new album (which isn’t that good) can only hurt him.
BRYAN CURTIS-“Waiting for Bettman”
While many New Yorker’s didn’t care about the NHL strike, Canadian writers camped out waiting for Bettman to announce the strike was over.
WESLEY MORRIS-“30 Rock Landed on Us” 30 Rock was many things, but it dealt with racial issues (at least between blacks and whites) better than any show.
RANY JAZAYERLI-“Fall of the Evil Empire”
The New York Yankees look like they won’t make the playoff this year (this was written in March and as of my writing this they have a slim chance at getting the wild card slot). It will be the firs time in a while, perhaps, just perhaps, it’s the start of a new drought for the Evil Empire.
BILL BARNWELL-“The Master Raven”
Ozzie Davis knows how to pick players for the Baltimore Ravens.
REMBERT BROWNE AND DUSTIN PARKER-The Best Chappelle’s Show Sketches of All Time”
Done as a series of cartoons (by Parker); Browne picks his eight favorites:
Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Prince
Wayne Brady’s Show
Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Rick James
Black Bush (especially now that Obama is president)
Clayton Bigsby: Black White Supremacist
Making the Band (P. Diddy)
The Racial Draft (Tiger Woods Now 100% Black)
The Niggar Family (uncomfortable and hilarious no matter how many times you watch it).
Once again, there’s another great issue of Grantland. Once again, I wish they would follow up on some of their speculative stories. But it’s fun to have a time capsule of events that occurred just a few months ago and yet which I have totally forgotten about.
And here’s the cover of The Outer Limits in non 3D style (which I haven’t see before)
I loved Version 2.0 but never really absorbed just how poppy it was. So Beautiful Garbage took me by surprise. It seem like more of a natural progression if you listen in sequence but it’s impossible to imagine that the buzzing guitars of “Queer” would morph into something like “Can’t Cry These Tears” in just two albums. “Tears” is practically girl groupy, it is so poppy and Spektorish. Yes, there are some buzzy guitars, but wow. What’s more surprising though is the amount of manipulation that is done to Manson’;s voice. Garbage was always about deconstruction and technology–they always mixed genres, but “Til the Day I Die” uses some pretty generic voice scratching as if trying for a pop hit. Or more specifically a dance hit.
The single from the album, “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)” doesn’t even sound like Garage–Manson’s voice is so treacly it has to be processed (and indeed it was sped up for the song). “Shut Your Mouth” also seemed to head straight for the dancefloor and the rather anemic introductory sounds of “Androgyny” were a surprise. What’s weird is that even the aggressive guitar riff is really so wimpy compared to the earlier albums. Which is not to say that the song is bad–the riff, wimpy though it may be is still a good one and the chorus is catchy as anything. It’s just a different audience.
“Cup of Coffee” removes all of the dancey/techno and is a simple ballad. And it sounds like the Garbage of old. It’ a very pretty, sad song. “Drive You Home” is also a beautiful natural-sounding ballad.
But “Breaking Up the Girl” is the closest to the Garbage sound of old(ish) it could easily have come from 2.0. “Nobody Loves You” has a much more interesting guitar based sound as it opens–implying something grand. But after the opening, the song slows down into a more dark feel. “Uncountable” returns to the dance floor (and even has some”uh uh”s).
So, overall this is a weird and unsatisfying album. It sounds like they gave up on the rock side of things because their poppy songs were such a hit. But at the same time it sounds like their hearts just aren’t in it. Even Manson’s lyrics are kind of lame. Which is not to say the album is a disaster, it’s just…different.
[READ: February 6, 2013] “The Embassy of Cambodia”
In Zadie Smith’s previous piece in the New Yorker (which was an excerpt from her novel), she broke her story into a series of small sections. It was unexpected from her. And now she has done it again. The story has as a basic plot point a game of badminton. Accordingly, all of the chapters are listed as a badminton score (a one-sided rout actually): 0-1, 0-7, 0-21.
The sections are mostly brief and kind of bounce back and forth between the main character of the piece, Fatou, and the citizens of Willesden (represented by a a single person–who took it upon herself to represent them, even if they didn’t want her to). This unnamed narrator gives background information about Willesden and the eyes of the community who watch Fatou go about her business. The narrator also talks about the titular embassy and how it’s not that unusual to see a building like it on their street, even if they never really see anyone Cambodian going into it,
The only thing that people can really see from the outside of the embassy is the shuttlecock which can be glimpsed over the top of the wall that surrounds the embassy Clearly there is some kind of field there, although no one has ever seen it. They just see the birdie arc over (and then get slammed back).
And Fatou enjoys watching it and imagining the people inside. For Fatou is a housekeeper and sort of child watcher for a family that lives down the street (the Derawals). Fatou is African and her prospects are bleak. She is not paid to work for them–she gets free room and board in exchange for her services. In fact she does not even know where her passport is (Mr Derawal took it and she hasn’t seen it since). At one point, after reading an article about a slave girl, she even wonders if she might be a slave. (She decides she is not). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: WYE OAK-May 29, 2011, Sasquatch Festival (2011).
I don’t know all that much about Wye Oak. This concert from Sasquatch has a very shoegazery vibe–like a more sultry Cocteau Twins. This concert has a vibrancy and bounce that I like quite a lot. The first half of the show comes from their most recent album Civilian. Singer Jenn Wasner’s voice has a deep resonance that makes it sounds like high notes are not easy for her, but she manages them anyhow. The songs are mostly a kind of indie rock, with fuzzy guitars. Although “Dogs Eye” is a lot heavier with an interesting keyboard sound tacked on top.
The older songs aren’t quite as dynamic or interesting, even in this setting. The whole show flows really well, but the beginning is a bit more exciting.
The strange thing is that her speaking voice sounds so southern when they’re just from Baltimore.
[READ: November 28, 2012] “Member/Guest”
This story is about Beckett, a fourteen-year old girl, and her friends. They are members at a resort in the Hamptons, a resort they have been coming to since she was little. I rather liked this description of her friends, “They were like a favorite TV show that had gone all ridiculous, yet you stayed tuned, hoping that the silly plots would get better.” But rather than getting better, the girls were talking about what was in the shorts of Brad Sawyer and Justin Miller. Natalie, the sexual oracle, (she showed them a Trojan the other day) predicted that it would look like Barbie’s leg.
The girls are naughty and vulgar (and rather funny). Clio says they should all get out their Barbies for practice–their moms would be so happy to see them rediscovering their childhood toy! There’s another funny sequence when Beckett sees her parents. Her dad calls her toots and her mom mocks him saying “I didn’t know we were suddenly at the Copa.” (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MAGGIE ROGERS-Tiny Desk Concert #642 (August 7, 2017).
I had been hearing Maggie Rogers’ name on WXPN and have liked “Alaska” which they’ve been playing. But I didn’t know much else about her.
A few years ago, Beck suffered from a debilitating back injury that required spinal cord surgery. This limited his output significantly over those years. It also gave him a chance to re imagine releasing music. And so around 2012 he started releasing singles with no albums attached.
I Just Read About That... 