SOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).
I’d never heard of Maria Taylor before this Tiny Desk Concert. She was part of the duo Azure Ray (who I also don’t know). Then she went solo and as of this recording has released three albums.
Taylor has a pleasant voice (she reminds me of a number of different Lilith Fair singers, although I can’t pinpoint who specifically), but it’s not especially remarkable. The first song “Ladyluck” I found to be nice. The second song “Time Lapse Lifeline” fared better–the guitar melody was a little stronger, and the harmonies really helped.
The final track, “Clean Getaway” is another pretty gentle ballad (the two guitars really help add texture to all of these songs). Although even the end seemed to just stop without actually ending.
I didn’t find Maria Taylor to be terribly memorable. However, the Tiny Desk setting seems to be the best way to hear Taylor as her voice is well suited for an intimate location.
[READ: January 17, 2014] All Families Are Psychotic
I saw recently that Douglas Coupland had a new book coming out in 2014. And I also knew that I had three of his older novels to re-read, so I decided to make this the Winter of Douglas Coupland and read all three of those books before his new one came out. Then I got to work and saw his new book on top of a pile of newly delivered titles. Sigh.
Well, there was still no reason I couldn’t read the other three in a row, possibly even before anyone wanted his new book. So, off I went. And indeed, I finished this book on our little vacation. And even though I’m fairly certain I’ve read it before (it came out just before or after 9/11/01, gasp) I didn’t remember a thing about it.
This book has a title that I’m mixed about. It’s a great sentence, but I’m not sure it’s a great title. And although someone speaks the title in the book, it doesn’t really explain the book very well.
In fact it’s pretty hard to explain the book quickly. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE AVETT BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #18 (June 22, 2009).
I have recently become a fan of The Avett Brothers. Indeed, my first review of one of their songs was very mixed. But I have come around. And this Tiny Desk show is a great example of the power they have in a live setting–especially one as personal as this.
For this set the two brothers (Seth on guitar and Scott on banjo) play a song from their then new album (the beautiful “Laundry Room” complete with amazing harmonies and beautiful cello) I & Love & You. It builds slowly but after about two minutes, it turns into a big (upright bass is included, too) catchy song. And in the last minute it becomes a huge stompin’ track (predating those other banjo bands by a few years).
Scott’s voice is really powerful (Bob Boilen asks if he swallowed an amplifier).
The second song is a the time not released yet, “Down With the Shine” (they joke that they’re then going to play a song they haven’t written yet). It’s full of phenomenal harmonies. And the commentary afterward about traveling with the brothers is very funny.
The final track goes back to their previous EP and is called “Bella Donna,” a pretty ballad sung by Seth–he seems to do the more mellow tracks. It’s a pretty ending to this all too short Tiny Desk Concert.
The Hare was the first of Aira’s books to be translated into English (back in 1998 with this simply gawdawful cover). It has recently been republished by New Directions Press with a far more tasteful cover. The translator, Nick Caistor, is the same although I noticed in an online excerpt that while the English language is the same, the New Directions version has translated a Spanish newspaper (El Grito) into English (The Crap) when it wasn’t translated in the earlier version. But aside from that, it all appears to be the same.
I had been putting off reading this book because it is his largest book (most of Aira’s books are barely over 100 pages, while this one is almost 250) and I’d also read some lukewarm reviews of the book, so I saved it for last. Of course, now he has a newly translated book out, so I decided it was time to read The Hare.
Not the best attitude for a book an it definitely impacted my early reading of the story. And I’ll sum up that impact as saying I thought that the book itself was strangely flat but that the ending was fantastic. Had I been more open t0 the absurdity I think I would have enjoyed the whole thing a lot more. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: BOB & DOUG McKENZIE-“The 12 Days of Christmas” (1981).
This is my preferred old school version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” It was one of the first parodies of the song that I had heard (and I was big in parodies back in 1981).
I loved how stupid they were (on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…a beer). I loved trying to figure out what a two-four was, and it cracked me up that they skipped a whole bunch of days.
I also enjoyed how they continued to snipe at each other throughout the song. Not comedy gold perhaps (that would be “Take Off” recorded with Geddy Lee, but a nice way to start, or end, the season on these “mystery days.”
Evidently, decades after SCTV went off the air, Bob & Doug got an animated TV show (without Rick Moranis). And they made a video of the song. Hosers.
Five Dials Number 29 was the first issue I had read in a while. (I read this before going back to 26-28). And it really reminded me of how great Five Dials is. I don’t know why this isn’t Part 2 after Number 28’s Part 1 (there was no 28b either), but that’s irrelevant. This is an independent collection of great writing. I was instantly surprised and delighted to see that César Aria was included in this issue (I didn’t even know he had made inroads in England).
CRAIG TAYLOR-Letter from the Editor: In Swedes and Open Letters
Taylor’s usually chipper introduction is saddened by the contents of this one. The discussion centers on Sweden and the city of Malmo, where integration is proving to be tougher than they’d hoped. Black skinned people are profiled pretty explicitly. Taylor talks about meeting the writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri (who they subsequently published in issue 21) who deals with issues of race. In March of 2013, Khemiri wrote an open letter to Swedish Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask after she brushed off concerns about racial profiling. The letter went viral including getting translated into 15 languages. So I guess there is some positivity after all. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: PHINEAS AND FERB-The Twelve Days of Christmas (2010).
While The Bird and the Bee has become my new favorite serious version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, this Phineas and Ferb version is my new favorite silly version of the song. Sure it’s especially funny for fans of the show but, as anyone who has seen the show knows, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is comedy gold and so his wishes for Christmas and his updates and concessions (and the fact that he is a traditionalist) absolutely make this worthy of repeat listens.
[READ: December 19, 2013] Five Dials Number 28
Five Dials #28 is vaguely thematic–about heroes. Some items are literal (the writers-as-heroines drawing), some are speculative (my favorite conceit–the stories of quickly killed side characters in movies), and some are unrelated at all–the guy who helped out Will Self. This issue was launched from Sydney, Australia.
CRAIG TAYLOR-A Letter from the Editor: On Heroes and Convicts
Taylor talks about everything mentioned above and then talks about Robert Hughes’ The Fatal Shore and his primer on modern art: The Shock of the New (which has an accompanying documentary series). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE BIRD AND THE BEE-12 Days of Christmas (2008).
I first heard a bit of this song in a Sephora a few years ago. Then they played it on New Girl (in two separate Christmas episodes). But I never knew who the artist was. Then some kind soul pointed me to the band and lo, I found the track.
I don’t know much else about the Bird and the Bee, but this is hands down my favorite rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas. In addition to the great, groovy sound (which reminds me of the Cocteau Twins), I just loved how…different the song sounded. Turns out, according to their soundcloud page, “we changed the song so that every repeat is a completely different progression.” I love it.
The song never gets boring and her voice is simply gorgeous. I only wish it was available for sale or download or something.
[READ: December 16, 2013] Five Dials #27
I was a little harsh on Five Dials Number 26, but overall, it still kept up the greatness that has been Five Dials. And #27 keeps up the excellence. Since Five Dials likes globetrotting, this issue is based in and around Greece, the county that is in tumult.
This one also has letters from Our Glorious Readers. One of the readers sensibly comments that the Berlin issue would keep her busy throughout the winter. Wish I had doled mine out better. I feel that Toronto gets a little knock from the editors who seem to think it is not as cool as Berlin. I also enjoyed the reader’s description of Peter Stamm’s writing as being like skiing.
CRAIG TAYLOR-A Letter from the Editor: On Timelines and Greek Photographs
Taylor talks about the timelines that tend to appear in newspapers, most of which seem to talk about the collapse of something or other (like the Greek economy). After visiting Athens, Five Dials felt it was time to bring some Greek writing to English readers. The letter talks about the contents within and gives good context to Dimitris Tsoumblekas’ photos which are quite good but are even better when you know what they are doing–especially the one about his father. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: BOB DYLAN-Christmas in the Heart (2009).
I have been a dabbler in Dylan over the years. I like his hits, I like some of his albums, but I’ve never been a huge huge fan. So the biggest surprise to me was that Bob Dylan now sounds like Tom Waits. His voice is so crazily gravelly, it’s almost (almost) unrecognizable as Dylan.
That said, on some of the tracks it works very well–like he’s had too much to drink and is enjoying the revelry of these traditional songs. I imagine him as a benevolent uncle trying to get the family to sing along. And sing along they do. He has a group of backing singers who sound like they are straight out of the forties and fifties (on some songs the women sing incredibly high especially compared to Dylan’s growl). I’m not always sure it works, but when it does it’s quite something.
The first three songs are a lot of fun. However, when he gets to “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” it really sounds like he has hurt himself. He seems to really strain on some of those notes–note the way he pronounces “herald” (heeerald).
The more secular songs fare better with “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” sounding especially Waitsian and being all the better for it. Although I feel that perhaps he made up some lyrics–“presents on the tree?” It’s interesting that in “O Come, All Ye Faithful” he sings the first verse in Latin (I don’t know that I’ve heard any other pop singers do that) and it works quite well.
A less successful song is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in which the music just seems to be too slow for him. His verses end early and it seems like the backing singers are just out in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps the best song is “Must Be Santa.” I love this arrangement (by Brave Combo) and Dylan has a ton of fun with it (and the video is weirdly wonderful too).
“Christmas Blues” is a bit of a downer (as the title might suggest). I’d never heard this song before and Dylan is well suited to it. Dylan’s version of “The Little Drummer Boy” is also very good–he croons gently and his voice sounds really good. I was surprised to hear him do “Christmas Island,” a song I have come to love this year–his version is quite fun as well, with the backing singer doing Aloha-ays.
Finally, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is pitched a wee bit high for him (and the Waits voice is more scary than avuncular here).
So overall it’s a weird collection (to say nothing of the artwork–both the cover and the inside cover), but I think it’s well suited to the day after the festivities.
[READ: December 15, 2013] Five Dials #26
I was shocked to realize who many Five Dials issued I had put off reading (and that this one came out over a year ago!). I knew 26 was a large issue, so I put it off. And then put it off. And then put it off, until Issue 29 came out. (I read 29 before this one, which got me to jump back and tackle this large one).
I have to admit I did not enjoy this one as much as previous Five Dials. The bulk of the issue was taken up with German short stories, and I don’t know if it was the choices of the editors, but (a few) of the stories just didn’t grab me at all. Having said that, there were one or two that I thought were very good. But with this being such a large issue, perhaps it deserved to be spaced out a little better–Weltanschauung fatigue, no doubt.
This issue starts with Letters from Our Glorious readers and other sources.
I feel like this is a new feature for Five Dials (although again, it has been a while). There is applause for the Bears (From Issue #24) and the acknowledgement of Zsuzsi Gartner’s first adoptees of her story ideas (Issue #25 Pt 1). There’s also the amusing story of a guy who got nailed at work for printing the color issue (something I used to do at my old job as well) and a refraining of answering spam.
CRAIG TAYLOR-On Ewen and German
Taylor doesn’t say much in this intro, since the “heavy lifting” is done by Anna Kelly. He does mention Paul Ewen (and his food writing) and the first Five Dials questionnaire (which I assume it is too late (and too far away) for me to submit for that free HH book).
ANNA KELLY
She explains about wanting to know secrets, and how when she was little, learning Pig Latin was a such a huge boon to her secretive life. Then her sister started studying German, and Anna herself was hooked. She says that reading German works in German is like flying. And she wants to share German language writers with us. Of course, we won’t be reading them in German, so there will be no flying. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS-“Quiet Little Voices” (2009).
When you have a book with “Jetpack” in the title, the appropriate band is We Were Promised Jetpacks, no? I’ve heard a lot of good things these guys. But all I knew for certain was that they were Scottish.
I listened to their debut EP, The Last Place You’ll Look, which I liked a little. But I didn’t care for the sound of the EP itself, it was rather flat. A few listens got me enjoying the melodies and such but it never grabbed me. Especially when I compared it to “Quiet Little Voices,” the lead single from their debut full length, These Four Walls.
The vocals are a bit stronger, the guitars and bass are both more clear. The overall feeling is just brighter. Now this may be a sign of selling out (is that something bands still do?), but really I think it’s just a better production for this song. Which has a big chorus (and good backing vocals).
I listened to a few more tracks from These Four Walls and they are all good too. I guess start with the albums and save the EP until after you’ve absorbed the band.
[READ: July 5, 2013] You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack
Gauld makes comics like no one else I know. Most of his people are silhouetted or are the most rudimentary designs–simple triangle-shaped clothes, circle heads with dots for eyes and little else–maybe a nose if it’s profile. (Okay, there’s a bit of Chris Ware, but more like a much more relaxed Chris Ware). And the wonderful thing is just how much he can convey with these painstakingly simple drawings.
The content of his comics is usually quite clever and often literary. While I admit there were some I didn’t get (Like the Eric Gill cartoon–shame on me?–Aha: “[Gill’s] personal diaries describe his sexual activity in great detail including the fact that he sexually abused his own children, had an incestuous relationship with his sister and performed sexual acts on his dog.” Geez, now the comic is very funny.). There were some in which I liked the set up but would have preferred something funnier (like the Tom Waits comic–shame on him?)
But overall this collection was really enjoyable. And I laughed a lot. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: WXPN (88.5 Philadelphia) and wxpn.org online-Prog rock Marathon (2012-??).
Every January, Dan Reed plays a prog rock marathon on WXPN. This year I was able to enjoy portions of it. I rather wish the playlist was still available (you can search, but only by artist), because I’d love to rave about the tracks they played (like the live “Supper’s Ready.”)
I was delighted by the great mix of songs they played and (as I learned from reading this book) I was surprised by how many prog artists I didn’t even know.
In 2014 I’ll be listening again and maybe this time I’ll copy the playlist to document what I’ve missed.
[READ: July 7, 2013] Yes is the Answer
This book was sitting on a cart outside of my cube. I was intrigued by the title (it didn’t have that trippy cover, so I didn’t know what it was). But “Yes is the Answer” was calling me. Especially when I looked at the cover and saw that the cover had an excerpt from a William Vollmann story in which the protagonist plays In the Court of the Crimson King (track 5) for Reepah and watches her face as they band went Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!.
Quoting Vollmann (from The Rifles), playing King Crimson? What could this book be? Then I saw the subtitle and I knew I had to read it all.
I’m not going to review these essays because that would be like making a radio edit of a side long track, but I’ll mention the band the author focuses on and any other relevant details. (more…)
I always thought File Under: Easy Listening was a very funny title. But it’s possible that people took it too literally as it didn’t sell all that well. And in Mould’s autobiography he says he didn’t have much time to write songs for this disc and he thinks it suffered. Of the three Sugar discs, this is definitely the weakest, although there are some great moments on it.
The disc opens with “Gift” which has some ragged distorted guitars. It’s got some noises and grungy sounding solos showing that FU:EL was a joke. Although, the overall sound is kind of a cleaner version of the angry songs on Beaster. “Company Book” is kind of a pounder, until the voice comes in and you realize…it’s not Mould! It’s got a catchy chorus, but after the kind of underwhelming opener, it’s a strange place for a song that’s also not so dynamic. Especially when it’s followed by “Your Favorite Thing” another great pop song from Mould—not top tier but a really strong second tier (although that bright, simple guitar solo is a real winner). “What You Want It To Be” is a another decent song (the addition of that extra guitar playing the melody line really makes the song shine. “Gee Angel” is also a high point. A catchy song, but which never quite reaches the heights of the previous albums.
“Panama City Hotel” has the same feel as the opening of Beaster: bright acoustic guitars and a similar riff. But it never really goes anywhere, and the 4 minutes seem. The “do do do do’s” that open “Can’t Help You Anymore” are certainly the brightest spot on the album, and a big pop song as well. “Granny Cool” has a nicely abrasive riff although it seems kind of mean spirited. It’s funny that he tucked “Believe What You’re Saying” at the end of the album. It’s a minor song but it sounds so bright on this album after the other songs. It’s really quite pretty.
And the closer, “Explode and Make Up” is one of Mould’s great angry songs. Unlike Beaster, this one has a happy acoustic field—bnright guitars with that raging distorted guitar underneath. It’s a great slow burner of a song and at five minutes it ends a somewhat lackluster album in a great way.
[READ: March 31, 2013] McSweeney’s #20
McSweeney’s #20 is an issue that I have read before. At least I think I have. My recollection is that it was the last one I read before I started writing about them on this blog. I was hesitant to read it soon again, which is why I waited until now. And while I remember the issue itself (with all of the art), I didn’t remember the stories. So who knows if I actually read it six years ago.
Anyhow, this issue comes jam-packed with art. Every fourth page has full-color artwork on it–many of them are quite famous. It makes for a very beautiful book.
In between these artworks are a number of stories–ranging in size from 2 pages to 30-some pages. There are no letters, and the explanatory and copyright information is on the cover of the book–which would be fine, except that it is covered up by a kind of 3-D artwork. I wonder if the whole text is available anywhere?
The book also comes with a separate pamphlet–an excerpt from Chris Adrian’s Children’s Hospital. I intend to read the novel eventually so I didn’t read the excerpt–although maybe if I put off the novel for six years I should just read the excerpt now. (more…)
I didn’t know that Beaster, the Sugar EP was recorded at the same time as Copper Blue. Mould’s biography was very helpful in explaining all the details of the timing and styling behind these two recording. As well as how the super pop of Copper Blue could be followed right on the heels with the very very dark EP of Beaster.
I have often thought of this disc as being really dark and insular and Mould confirmed as much—he was really airing out some demons with this disc. But they thought it would be better to put them all in one place rather having them bounce around the poppier full length. What must fans (like myself) have thought to hear this dark album after the pop of Copper Blue. I mean just look at the cover!
I hadn’t listened to this in a long time, so I was surprised by how cool “Come Around” sounds—Mould’s acoustic guitar high in the mix with some appropriately grungey guitars in the background. There are lyrics but for the most part I think of it as just Mould making sounds with his mouth.
It’s followed by the blistering “Tilting.” It’s got superfast drumming with aggressive guitars, it’s like we’re back to the early Hüsker Dü punk sound (with a little more clarity). The drumming is great in this track. The song ends with a preacher being interrupted by dissonance and what sounds like electronic interference. And this song morphs into “Judas Cradle” one of Mould’s darkest songs. It’s very claustrophobic-feeling with echoed vocals, lots of feedback and lots of compression on the overall sound—quite different from the big open sound of Copper Blue. And yet for all of that, the chorus, “Have you seen the Judas Cradle, ah”is really quite catchy.
“JC Auto” has some buzzsaw guitars which make it seem like it’s going to be quite an angry song and yet the bridge is quite welcoming (all this talk of holidays) and then the chorus is amazingly fun to sing along to (Mould always finds pop in anger): “Passing judgment on my life you never really got it right/I can’t believe in anything / I don’t believe in / Do you believe in anything / Do you believe me now… Look like Jesus Christ / act like Jesus Christ I Know I Know I Know Here’s Your Jesus Christ I’m Your Jesus Christ I Know I Know I Know.” And, as always, I love when Mould repeats his lyrics in the background (the “I Know I Know” surfaces throughout the end of the song).
“Feeling Better” has weird synth blasts that kind of works in the song but sounds out of place on this record. This song flips between really aggressive guitars and a very bright poppy chorus. At 6 minutes this song is a little long (because it’s primarily repeating itself by the end), whereas Judas Cradle and JC Autos’ 6 minutes are well justified.
The final song “Walking Away” is a strange one. It is comprised entirely of organs (church organ it sounds like) with Mould delicately singing “I’m walking away back to you” The end starts to wobble giving a bit of a nauseous feeling but then it’s over. So even in his most downtrodden and questioning, Mould still has the chops to write some great music. Down be put off by the cover, Beaster is a great album.
[READ: March 28, 2013] McSweeney’s #16
After the fairly straightforward Issue 15, McSweeney’s was back to fun with Issue #16. The issue opens up into a kind of quad gatefold which has , in order–a comb, a book, another book and a deck of cards.
The main book contains nine stories, by the typical McSweeney’s roster at the time. The other booklet contains a lengthy story by Ann Beattie. The deck of cards is for Robert Coover’s “Heart Suite” and the comb is a comb. It’s a nice one, although it has never touched my hair.
SOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).
I’d never heard of Maria Taylor before this Tiny Desk Concert. She was part of the duo Azure Ray (who I also don’t know). Then she went solo and as of this recording has released three albums.
I Just Read About That... 