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Archive for the ‘The Short Story Advent Calendar’ Category

Gina Ochsner–“Cure” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #6] (2016)

Posted in Billie Holiday, Canadian Content, Death, Gina Ochsner, Kat Edmonson, Kristin Chenoweth, Regrets, Religion, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert on December 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: KAT EDMONSON-Tiny Desk Concert #242 (October 1, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

katKat Edmonson is a singer who is often associated with jazz (the word chanteuse is thrown around a lot), although for this Tiny Desk Concert it’s just her singing and Steve Elliot on acoustic guitar.

She has  beautiful voice and at times she can make it sound unexpectedly like Billie Holiday (which certainly explains the jazz angle).

But she doesn’t do that voice on the first song “Hopelessly Blue.”  This makes me think more of Kristen Chenoweth (or am I thinking that because they are both so petite?).  Comparisons aside, her voice is clear and pure and there’s no tricks to it.

“I Don’t Know” opens with a lovely “hoooo hoooo” and a slightly faster tempo.  And her voice sounds a bit more like 70s folksingers (keep in mind that she was only 29 at the time of this recording).

Her speaking voice is high-pitched and sweet as you might imagine, although she sounds quite different as she introduces “Lucky.”  “Lucky” showcases her more Holiday-ish style of singing—as if her accent is from somewhere very other than Texas.  (To hear her even more pronounced version of this singing voice, check out this song).

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Cure”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

This story is about the family of a Pastor living in an area of the country that is dominated by Finnish Laplanders.  The setting is just after the war.

The community has had much loss.  The Pastor’s wife had died. The Tolvi children were very unwell and even the Pastor’s eldest son Arden seems to moving beyond the family.

The Pastor’s sons Lowell and Jonas head down to the canoe by the river and go for a paddle.  They hope to go to the decommissioned fort–a wonderful place to explore for young boys.

While they are paddling, the happen upon a naked lady (!).  She is alluring, and invites them to look into the water to see paradise.  But they resists and head home–promising not to tell anyone about what they saw.

But they go back.  Jonas even brought a sweater for the woman who must have been cold. She invites them again to look into the water and see the next place where it was always lovely.  Lowell peers into the water and sees nothing.   But Jonas puts his head in and says “I saw it!”  And then he has dived into the water.

Arden seems to know about this woman–she is a mythological creature who is far too real.

The end of the story shows the near future of the family–particularly how Lowell moved on.

The story is dark for sure, but the last line is completely energizing, making you wonder what is coming next.

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Deb Olin Unferth–“Pet” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #5] (2016)

Posted in Canadian Content, Deb Olin Unferth, Emmylou Harris, First Aid Kit, Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert, Turtles on December 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: FIRST AID KIT-Tiny Desk Concert #204 (March 28, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

firstThis Tiny Desk Concert is what first introduced me to First Aid Kit.  It was “The Lion’s Roar” that really sold me on this exotic duo with the beautiful harmonies (they are sisters from Sweden–that’s Johanna Söderberg with the lighter hair and Klara Söderberg with darker hair singing lead).

For the first song, “New Year’s Eve,” Johanna plays the autoharp as Klara sings lead.  They both do the lovely harmony chorus.

For “The Lion’s Roar” Klara plays guitar.  And while she sings a lovely lead, it’s Johanna’s haunting low harmonies that really make the song amazing.  The album version has keys but they are not missed in this beautiful rendition.

I also fell in love with “Emmylou,” a song about Emmylou Harris Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash and June Carter.  Klara’s lead is beautiful, but when both sisters sing lead in the second verse it’s stunning.

I have listened to the audio of this many times but haven’t actually watched it for a while.  This looks like it was filmed after hours at the NPR offices.  It is very dark with just one light shining on them.  It’s a shame as it would be fun to see them a little better.  But it also gives the whole recording a kind of subversive feel.

What a great introduction to a great band.

[READ: December 5, 2016] “Pet”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

This is the first story I read in this calendar (I received it on the 5th).  I wasn’t sure if the stories would be thematic or if they would avoid dark subjects (it being advent after all), or if they would just be a box of good stories.

I was pleased that the first story was by Unferth, whom I really like.

This story is told in a very interesting way–a strange sense of removal that comes with the first line: “Somehow they have wound up with these two turtles.”

The “they” are a mother and her teenaged son.  The mother rescued these turtles from her sister.  She was house sitting and saw the turtles down there–pathetic, one rock between them in a dark basement.  And she felt compelled to take them home.  Her sister is all too happy to get rid of them.

Her son is dismissive.  Of the turtles and of her in general.

And the story telling also seems to be dismissive of her, in a way.  The story is not told from her point of view and yet it seems to take on her voice for this paragraph, but it seems to slowly morph into her son’s:

Besides, the turtles aren’t much work.  She has to feed them and check their water temperature and turn the light on and off.  She has to clean the tank each week.  She has to take the tank’s water out, cup by cup, pour it into a bowl, then carry the bowl to the tub, walk through two rooms to do it (drops of dirty water falling on he floor).  She has to empty bowl after bowl….

One of the turtles is sick and she takes it to the vet.   But the vet only deals with mammals and has no advice (and charges her $40).  Then she is stuck carrying the turtle with her everywhere else that day–even to her AA meeting, where they all insist she leave with the smelly thing.

She gets some medical advice from a friend and the turtle gets better.  But then it starts fighting with the smaller turtle.

Her son tells her to just leave them in the road and let them get run over.

The story seems to loom as a story of helplessness, but then she sees a ray of hope.  A man from her AA meetings asks her to dinner.  Her son, of course, is dismissive of him as well.  But he is willing to come over and help with the turtles.

And I love that he gives her an answer she was completely unaware of.

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Thomas Wharton–“Bestiary” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #4] (2016)

Posted in Animals, Birds, Canadian Content, Dolphins, Fish, Horses, Laura Gibson, Lions, Monkeys, Penguins, Robert Kroetsch, Short Story, Spiders, Superstitions, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Thomas Wharton, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, War, Yuck!, Zoos on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: LAURA GIBSON-Tiny Desk Concert #200 (March 5, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

gibsonLaura Gibson performed the first Tiny Desk Concert in 2008.  The whole enterprise was started because of her.  Bob had seen her in a club and her quiet music was overpowered by the audience.  So he invited her to play in his quiet office.  And now, here it was 200 shows later and Gibson is back–the first person to headline twice.

Things have certainly changed since then.  There was one camera on her face and another on her guitar.  There was minimal editing and the sound was fine.

Since then they have stepped up the game–multiple cameras, professional lighting and, as Stephen Thomspon writes: Bob’s desk “permanently houses a microphone that’s worth more than my car. (Three hundred dollars!).”

2006 was the release year of her debut album.  She had put out her third album in 2012.  She was quite back in 2006 and is still quiet in 2012.  But for this show she has brought along some help:  Brian Perez – Vocals, Percussion; Matthew Berger – Drums; Johanna Kunin – Vocals, Piano, Flute; and Jill Coykendall – Clarinet.

The songs are very quiet.  “Feather Lungs” begins with some lovely harmony vocals and then Gibson on keyboard.  The flute and clarinet add layers of music which really fleshes out this quiet song. The thumping drum that opens “La Grande” really sets the tone of a much heavier song.  This proves to be a romping song with Gibson on guitar and a lot of intensity behind her.

“Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed” slows things down again, with quiet percussion and Gibson’s delicate guitar and vocals.  She says that the last time she was there it was a Monday morning and there was not much enthusiasm to sing along with her.  But since it’s a Friday afternoon, she invites eveyone to hum a long to “The Rushing Dark.”  Of course, she has backing vocalists so it’s unclear if anyone else joins in, but this a capaella song sounds lovely.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Bestiary”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

“Bestiary” is an interesting “short story” because it is not exactly a short story.  It’s not even exactly fiction.  Rather, after an excellent epigram from Robert Kroetsch “We are the animals who talk the fables in which the animals talk.  We are talking animals, claiming that animal’s don’t talk.”  The piece consists mostly of factual stories about animal behavior.

Each one opens with a title that ties into the piece beneath it. (more…)

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Vanessa Hua–“Just Like Us” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #3] (2016)

Posted in Canadian Content, Craig Finn, Crowded House, Marriage Trouble, Neil Finn, Parenting, Racism, Sex, Short Story, Summer, The Hold Steady, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert, Vanessa Hua on December 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: CRAIG FINN-Tiny Desk Concert #193 (February 9, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

finnCraig Finn opened for My Morning Jacket when I saw them in New York.  However, we arrived late, so I missed him.  I was fairly certain that Craig Finn was actually Neil Finn when I saw his name, so I expected Crowded House, not The Hold Steady.

For this solo venture, Finn has crafted some slow folk songs.  He sings slowly and deliberately on these three acoustic songs.  The melodies are simple and his voice sounds very California to me. He’s accompanied by Ricky Ray Jackson playing a great-sounding echoey slide guitar.  In fact, I feel like Jackson is the highlight of the show.

“Apollo Bay” and “Western Pier” are from the solo album.  They are story songs.  The final song “Jeremiah’s Blues” is not on the record, but it’s fun to challenge yourself.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Just Like Us”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

I really enjoyed this story about a girl and her mom and the struggles they have had.  It opens with the excellent line: “It wasn’t easy to get kicked out of Happy Trails RV Park and Camp.”  The owner put up with a lot.  Including her son, who was rather a layabout.  He was injured in a construction job and is on disability–meaning he doesn’t do anything around the camp either.

Nina was fourteen, part white, part Chinese.  Her father returned to China when she was a baby  and sent them money for the first two years.  And then suddenly he stopped.  So her mama had spent time with many different boyfriends.  Her last boyfriend, Roy, seemed promising until she caught him cheating on her (for the third time).  And after that she decided it was time to get outta California.  So they got in their camper and took off.

There’s a line that I really enjoyed: “She turned on the radio…the lead singer wailed about a small-town girl escaping into a lonely world–the coincidence of a song about our lives.” (more…)

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Anakana Schofield–“Under the Taps” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #2] (2016)

Posted in Anakana Schofield, Anna Calvi, Bathtubs, Blue Velvet, Canadian Content, Courtroom, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert on December 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: ANNA CALVI-Tiny Desk Concert #189 (January 26, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

calviAs with many artists on Tiny Desk Concerts, I thought that Anna Calvi was someone else (conflating two other names I’m sure).  But I certainly didn’t know this British guitarist born in 1982.

I find it unsettling that Calvi doesn’t take off her overcoat.  The drummer leaves his hat on, but that’s another thing altogether.  It seems odd that a woman who rocks would remain in her coat seeming very unrelaxed.

She plays three songs in under ten minutes and it’s a shame that the audio is mixed so poorly on this one, because the drums are louder than just about anything else and you really can’t hear her voice all that well.

“River To The Sea” is a cool instrumental that really shows off her guitar skills.  She’s all over the fretboard with different tempos and sounds.  It’s slow and moody (with a neat echo effect) until the end when there’s some really cool fast soloing.  I love the section where she’s playing some crazy looking chords on the high notes and that she emphasizes the individual strings and the chords at the same time—it’s great to watch (and to hear).

For the next two songs, it becomes apparent that she has on jeans and that she doesn’t seem quite a stiff and bundles as he coat suggests.  Phew.  “Surrender” has a very moody surf guitar feel.  This comes from the way she plays and the harmonium chugging along behind her.    Her singing style is very moody as well—I could see this song appearing in Blue Velvet.  Calvi has a captivating voice, but it is mixed way too quiet (it’s also embarrassing that there appears to be about 10 people watching her).

“Jezebel” is a rocking song, staying in that same vibe of 1950s surf guitar.  I like the way she plays the three brash chords at the end of each section.  She really belts out the last few words—I wish she was mic’d better throughout the show.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Under the Taps”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

This story started out in a very confusing way.  Set in Ireland, it opens with the narrator saying “This is what I intend to say tomorrow in court.  Be assured.”

It jumps to third person to give some context: she was the middle child, she had to learn to wait.

Then it jumps to the present.  She has brought her statement (what we are reading) to her solicitor.  He didn’t look at it when he filed it away.  He believes that she should compromise–it’s the only way to get her off.  But she will not compromise. (more…)

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Kevin Wilson–“Hunger Strike” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #1] (2016)

Posted in Canadian Content, College, Food, Kevin Wilson, Screaming Females, Set at School, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert on December 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: SCREAMING FEMALES-Tiny Desk Concert #186 (January 17, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

scremfemScreaming Females are a band from New Brunswick, NJ.  They’re a trio who has been around for about ten years and they play (as their name suggests) loud punk.  The band is fronted by Marissa Paternoster who sings and shreds guitar solos like nobody’s business.

The band is typically pretty loud, but in this tiny desk not only are they quieter, they look rather small—all crowded in behind the desk–standing inches away from each other.  Although I understand they play in all kinds of tiny basement clubs in New Brunswick, so this is probably nothing new.

What I really liked about “It All Means Nothing” is that bassist King Mike plays chords while Paternoster is shredding so it doesn’t sound spare.  And while she is playing some simple chords, he’s wandering the fret board playing some interesting riffs as well.  There’s not too much to say about drummer Jarrett Dougherty because he is reduced to a floor tom and rims shots.

Paternoster has an unusual vocal delivery—very pronounced vowels–in her singing.  It’s especially noticeable in this quieter setting.

It’s interesting that she sings loudly and brashly and plays a great solo (with some cool basswork accompanying) at the end of the song; however, when Bob asks her who the picture is on her strap, she seems so quiet and insecure.  It’s hard to believe that she can front this band, but seems so nervous about talking.

“Little Anne” is a quieter song that’s predominantly a guitar melody and drums.  She sings along with this lovely melody for a few verses.  And just as the bass comes in and it seems the song will take off, it abruptly ends.

The final song they play is “I Don’t Mind It.”  It seems like this song might normally blast, but in this set, they hold back. It still sounds great.

I was given their most recent album (the one that came out a couple of years after this set) and I really liked it.  I’m going to have to go back and explore their more brash earlier songs.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Hunger Strike”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

I wish I had gotten this collection on time (it arrived on the 5th). I especially wish that because this story was a great way to start the calendar.

I know a lot of contemporary stories are rather downers.  Well this had just the right amount of humor in a futile situation that I really enjoyed.

Even the premise is pretty funny.  A college professor has been fired for looking at porn on his computer.  And four of his students are outraged–who did it hurt if he did that?  What was the big deal?  And even worse, his replacement has turned their class Pop Culture in the Late 20th Century from comic books and summer blockbusters into photojournalism in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Outrage!

And so these four freshmen decide to go on a hunger strike until the teacher is rehired.  (more…)

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