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Archive for the ‘Threats’ Category

John Layman & Dave Dumeer–Armageddon & Son (2005)

Posted in Adventure, Canadian Music, Dave Dumeer, End of the World, Graphic Novel, John Layman, Oni Press, Sci-fi, Sex, Short Books, Supernatural, Technology, Threats, Violence, YA Books, tagged on January 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS–Static Journey Volume 3: Whale Music (2008).

Whale Music is a fantastic album by the Rheostatics, and this collection of live tracks, interviews and banter is certainly a high point in this box set.  The album itself is far more complex than anything they’d done before, and it’s great to hear them play these difficult songs live.

I also found the interviews (which explained the story behind “Queer” and “Dope Fiends and Boozehounds”) to be funny and enlightening.   A big highlight of the disc is the “RDA/Blitzkreig Bop” segue.  Even though there are many punk elements to the Rheos, one tends to forget that they have punk roots.  (A later banter about the Ramones is pretty cool).

I’m sure I’ll say this about the other volumes of this set too, but Volume 3 is completely worth the download!

[READ: December 28, 2009] Armageddon & Son

This is an older Oni comic that I recently picked up.  The premise is a pretty good one.  An orphaned boy (whose name is “Doonald”) discovers that his father is in fact a notorious evil villain intent on blowing up the world (and he also discovers why his name is Doonald).

Evil mastermind Feeney shows up at Doon’s door to enlist his son’s help for his most diabolical plan yet. Doon, whose credit card was denied and whose rent is overdue, is shocked to learn that his father is an evil genius (but is delighted to see the revenge done to the place that denied his credit card).  But Doon is not as shocked as his father is to learn just how useless Doon will be in the evil villain business.  What ensues is a black comedy of foolish villains and evil schemes.

For indeed, Feeney’s evil plan to destroy the world has been hijacked by his former evil villain team: C.L.A.W.  And, no evil villain wants to see the world blown up by someone else, so he makes it his mission to stop C.L.A.W. from proceeding with his plan to destroy the world.  Which makes him something of a good guy. (more…)

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T.C. Boyle–“My Pain is Worse Than Your Pain” (Harper’s, January 2010)

Posted in Boredom, Canadian Music, Drinking, Harper's, Marriage Trouble, Rheostatics, Short Story, T.C. Boyle, Threats, tagged on January 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Static Journey Volume 1: The Beginning (2009).

This is the first disc from the massive 9 volume set available for FREE here.  It features several different early incarnations of the Rheos. There’s a couple of very new wavey/discoy (those bass lines are very disco!) tracks.  There’s a totally bizarre new wave (skinny tie, as they call it) version of The Who’s “My Generation.”   And there’s several tracks with the Trans Canada Soul Patrol a horn-infused version of the line up that was dissolved around the time that Martin Tielli became a full time member.

There’s a few tracks from Greatest Hits, which work well in context, but the highlight is the tracks from the CBC Brave New Waves Show (“Good on the Uptake” and “Crystal Soup” which are unavailable elsewhere (well, the whole show from this radio broadcast is available at the more than complete Rheostaticslive.com).  In fact, just a little research shows how much music is available for free from the Rheos.  It is a pretty amazing collection of stuff that seems to go beyond tape trading trees of live shows, as the available material is rare and largely unavailable in any other format.

These early incarnations of the Rheos are pretty vastly different from the later quirky, wonderful band.  And, with the absence of Martin on vocals, sometimes its even surprising to realize they are the same guys.  But it’s their history and it’s rather fun.  Plus, there’s a number of interviews, most of which allow you to hear the word “Etobicoke” spoken aloud several times.

[READ: January 4, 2010] “My Pain is Worse Than Your Pain”

I’ve enjoyed T.C. Boyle for years now (back when he was called the preferable (if pretentious) T. Coraghessan Boyle). Although I haven’t really read much from him recently (I have a copy of his short story collection that I haven’t read yet).

So this was a nice re-introduction to the man.  I was surprised by the setting of this story (snow covered desolate mountain cabins) as I think of him as more of a desert/southwestern writer.

This story is about a fairly despicable character.  On a drunken bender one night, the narrator sneaks over to his recently widowed neighbor, Lily, to “surprise” her.  It’s pitch dark and freezing cold, so he’s in a ski mask slinking around on her roof.  Oh, and just to make it worse, he’s currently married. (more…)

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McSweeney’s #7

Posted in A.M. Homes, Adventure, Allan Seager, Ann Cummins, Apocalypse Now, Big Books, Books about writers, Cancer as plot device, Chris Ware, Courtney Eldridge, Death, Drinking, Elizabeth Kairys, End of the World, Eric White, Esquire, Food, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Heidi Julavits, History, Humiliation, J.T. Leroy, Joan Fry, John Warner, Katherine Streeter, Magic, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Melinda Beck, Michael Chabon, New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Steven Connelly, The Future, Threats, Tim Bower, Violence, War, William T. Vollmann, Yuck! on December 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BLACK SABBATH-Sabotage (1975).

Sabotage seems to be somewhat forgotten (maybe because of the creepy cover art 0f Ozzy in a kimono and fascinating platform shoes, Bill Ward in red tights with a codpiece (and visible underwear on the back cover), and Geezer and Tony’s mustaches).
But this album rocks pretty hard and heavy.
“Hole in the Sky” is a sort of spastic rocker with Ozzy screaming vocals over the top of the rocking track.
“Don’t Start (Too Late)” is the by now obligatory acoustic guitar piece.  But this one is different, for it has some really wild and unpredictable aspects to it.

“Symptom of the Universe” is another classic Sabbath track, a blistering heavy fast riff with the wonderful Ozzy-screamed: “Yeaaaaaahs!”  It then surprises you by going into an extended acoustic guitar workout for a minute and a half at the end.

“Megalomania” is a slow ponderous piece. Unlike the psychedelic tracks from the previous records, this one moves along with a solid back beat. It also has a great bridge (“Why doesn’t everybody leave me alone?”). They definitely had fun with the effects (echoing vocals, etc.) on this one.  And, like their prog rock forebears, this song segues into another rhythm altogether when we get the wonderfully fast rock segment.  And the humorous point where the music pauses and Ozzy shouts “Suck me!”

“Thrill of it All” is a pretty good rocker, which after a  pretty simple opening morphs into a slow, surprisingly keyboard-fueled insanely catchy coda.  “Supertzar” is a wonderfully creepy instrumental.  It runs 3 minutes and is all minor-keys and creepy Exorcist-like choirs.  When the song breaks and the bizzaro Iommi riff is joined by the choir, you can’t help but wonder why no horror film has used this as its intro music.

“Am I Going Insane (Radio)” is a very catchy keyboardy track.  It clearly has crossover potential (although the lyrics are wonderfully bizarre).  But it ends with totally creepy laughing and then wailing.    “The Writ” ends the album. It’s another solid rocker and it ends with an acoustic coda with Ozzy’s plaintive vocals riding over the top.

Sabotage has some truly excellent moments.  It’s just hard to fathom the amount of prog-rock tendencies they’ve been throwing onto their last few discs (we’ll say Rick Wakeman had something to do with it).

Black Sabbath made two more albums before Ozzy left.  I haven’t listened to either one of them in probably fifteen years.  And my recollection of them is that they’re both pretty lousy.  Maybe one of these days I’ll see if they prove me wrong.

[READ: December 16, 2009] McSweeney’s #7

This was the first McSweeney’s edition that I didn’t buy new.  My subscription ran out after Issue #6 and I never saw #7  in the stores.  So, I recently had to resort to a used copy.

This issue came packaged with a cardboard cover, wrapped with a large elastic band.

Inside you get several small volumes each with its own story (this style hearkens back to McSweeney’s #4, but the presentation is quite different).  7 of the 9 booklets feature an artistic cover that relates to the story but is done by another artist (not sure if they were done FOR the story or not).  I have scanned all of the covers.  You can click on each one to see a larger picture.

The booklets range from 16 to 100 pages, but most are around 30 pages.  They are almost all fiction, except for the excerpt from William T. Vollman’s 3,500 page Rising Up and Rising Down and the essays that accompany the Allan Seager short story. (more…)

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Helen Simpson–“Diary of an Interesting Year” (New Yorker, December 21 & 28, 2009)

Posted in Death, Demons, Drinking, End of the World, Food, Lilac Time, Lisa Germano, Lloyd Cole, Mary Margaret O'Hara, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Sam Phillips, Sex, Short Story, Stephen Duffy, Suddenly, Tammy!, The Believer, The Clean, The English Beat, The Future, The Waterboys, Threats, Tin Tin, Unrest, Violence, Young Marble Giants on December 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer July/August 2009 Music Issue Compilation CD: “Fantastic and Spectacular” (2009).

After the globe-spanning CD in last year’s issue, the 2009 Believer CD returns to the dominant musical style of the first few.  This disc is a collection of unreleased, acoustic songs from the editors’ favorite singer-songwriters.

And, wow, check out the bands that are represented here: Sam Phillips, The Clean, The Waterboys, Lloyd Cole, Young Marble Giants, The English Beat, Lisa Germano, Unrest, Suddenly, Tammy!, The Lilac Time and Mary Margaret O’Hara.  It’s an amazing collection of artists who agreed to release these songs only to this Believer compilation.

The liner notes ask a few questions of each artist so you get a nice peek into their working styles.  And for a few of them you find out what they’ve been up to for the last few years.  Although, sadly Mary Margaret O’Hara (sister of actress Catherine O’Hara!) only mentions that you can get a copy of her only released album Miss America directly from her.  And since I thin it’s a great album, I’ll pass along her email for ordering purposes only: m2oh8 @ hotmail.com.

So, what do we get in this collection?  Sam Phillips provides a fantastic drum-heavy, 90 second song.  Robert Scott’s song is a delightful, simple acoustic track.  I’ve always liked The Waterboys, but Mike Scott tends to go on and on, and this track is no exception.  It’s very very catchy but it’s over 10  minutes long!  The consistently excellent Lloyd Cole doesn’t disappoint.  Phil Wilson’s poppy number is very good.

I’m surprised that I don’t have any Young Marble Giants in my collection, and Stuart Moxham’s song here makes me want to see what I’m missing.  I swore that Dave Wakeling of The English Beat was Bob Mould on this song, but as soon as I saw who he was I recognized that English Beat voice in a more intimate setting.

Mark Robinson of Unrest also records as Cotton Candy, and this absurdly poppy ditty (the only duet on the disc) provides the title of the disc and one of the truly happiest moments. Except, of course, for Beth Sorrentino from Suddenly, Tammy! whose song “Such a Beautiful Day” is absolutely wonderful.  And if it is any indication of the greatness of Suddenly , Tammy!  then their absence from the msuicial scene is a real shame.

Stephen Duffy who records as Tin Tin and The Lilac Time writes songs that are instantly memorable and catchy as anything.  This one is no exception. And the Mary Margaret O’Hara song is not quite as out there as you might expect from her, but it’s really quite good.  I wonder what she has been up to for decades now.

There’s a secret bonus track from a brand new New Zealand band called Haunted Love.  When this issue went to print they were about to release their first EP, and this track doesn’t even appear on that (it’s THAT secret!).  It’s a great song and I hope good things come to them.  It is also not acoustic, but everyone can break their own rules once in a while right?

This is another string compilation from The Believer.  The track listing is here.

[READ: December 16, 2009] “Diary of an Interesting Year”

So this story is, indeed, a diary.  It is written in several entrees.  And, as we learn from the first entry, the diary itself was a gift to the writer from G. for her 30th birthday.  And, although we don’t learn it from the first entry, we quickly discover that global warming predictions were accurate and, basically the earth as we know it is no more.

But what I liked about the writing was that it revealed this global catastrophe somewhat subtly.

(more…)

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JR Walsh–“An Insurrection” (Esquire, November 2009)

Posted in Boredom, Consumerism, Contests, Corporate skewering, Esquire, Kate Bush, Marriage Trouble, Short Story, Threats on November 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

esquireSOUNDTRACK: KATE BUSH-Aspects of the Sensual World (1989).

This was the first CD single that I can remember acquiring.  I got it from the radio station at school, and I felt like I was in on a big secret having all of these bonus tracks.

There are five songs on this disc.  The original “The Sensual World” and an instrumental version of the song.  The three bonus songs are pretty rocking songs that fit nicely with this era of Kate’s output.  “Be Kind to My Mistakes” sounds like it should be a sweet ballad, but no, it’s all percussion-heavy and fun.  And “I’m Still Waiting” is even more intense, with some of Kate’s over the top vocals added in.

The final track, “Ken” is the theme song to The Comic Strip Presents short film The GLC.  It’s a wonderful theme song, even if the film is a parody.  It’s got a singalong “da da da” chorus and fist pumping backing vocals and all sorts of fun things.  You can see the “preview” for the film along with Kate’s song, on YouTube.

This disc is something of a trifle compared to her full CDs, but it’s an easier way to get these tracks than buying This Woman’s Work!  When The Sensual World came out I assumed that Kate cut off all her hair (judging by the cover), but this cover belies that.  I wonder which one is a wig.

[READ: November 13, 2009] “An Insurrection”

This story won the Esquire fiction contest.  I fully intended to submit a story to this contest, but, well, I forgot.  I didn’t write a word for it (although I did spend a few days thinking about what I would write about).  If I had won the contest, I would of course have wanted people to read my story, so I felt it was the least I could do to read the winner’s story.

And I’m a little mixed about it.

I’m not at all certain why there was such emphasis placed on the fact that it was a post- 9/11 scenario.  The jokes about cashing in on people’s insecurities about terrorism were fine but it didn’t really warrant all of the set up about when the story took place. (more…)

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Pseudonymous Bosch–This Book is Not Good For You (2009)

Posted in Chocolate, Funny (ha ha), Kate Bush, Magic, Marriage Trouble, Mystery, Nature, Pseudonymous Bosch, Smarty Pants, Summer, Technology, Threats on November 21, 2009| 1 Comment »

boschSOUNDTRACK–KATE BUSH-The Dreaming (1982).

dreamingThis disc focuses Kate’s intensity somewhat.  I was just reading that it was nowhere near as popular as her previous discs in England (where she had been number 1 many times), although, interestingly it made the charts in the US because of college radio airplay.

The disc is still experimental (there’s all kinds of weird things going around) but it feels kind of claustrophobic.  The disc opens with the manic percussion of “Sat in your Lap” (this song also features the gamut of Kate’s diverse vocal talents: whispered verses, shrieking bridges and bellowing chorus).

“There goes a Tenner” is about a robbery (and is sung with an East End accent).  There’s also the weird and wonderful “Suspended in Gaffa” (recently covered by Ra Ra Riot).  “The Dreaming” is about Australia (and is sung in an Aussie accent).

Meanwhile, “Houdini” breaks briefly from its raging vocals into a mellow string-filled middle piece (with more of that gorgeous fretless bass). The cover of the disc shows a “scene” from the song (she’s slipping a key into Houdini’s mouth).

The disc ends with the outrageous “Get Out of My House.”  It is a scary, crazy song with Kate shrieking like a madwoman and the male vocalist turning into a donkey (hee-hawing as he goes).

I have always enjoyed this disc.  It is a wonderful step between the all-over-the-place crazy of Never for Ever and the gorgeous controlled beauty of Hounds of Love. It’s not afraid to showcase Kate’s crazy side (okay, really crazy side), and yet it still keeps a sense of humor (and has some wonderful melodies as well).

[READ: November 13, 2009] This Book is Not Good for You

I’ve been a fan of the Pseudonymous Bosch books since the beginning.  I love the whole concept of the series (that even the author is being persecuted by the bad guys and can’t give out any real names, not even his own).  This book is no exception.  The mystery concerns the adventure of our heroes: Cass, Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji in their fight against the Midnight Sun, who….   Well, I have to be honest, I’m not entirely clear exactly what the Midnight Sun are up to.  I’m not even sure that not knowing is a bad thing.  We know that  they are mysterious, that they are all very old (they have gained knowledge of a formula for eternal youth), and they really don’t like our heroines or the Terces Society that they belong to.  But aside from that I’m not sure what their long term goal is.  It may have been mentioned in the previous books, but at this point, I just know they’re bad.

This volume has an added element of fun in that the author himself is under attack from the Midnight Sun in the very pages of the book!  (They drug him and at one point even slip an extra piece of paper into the book (which tells the reader that the Midnight Sun is being misrepresented by Bosch).

But really, the story is all about chocolate.  Bosch himself is a chocolate gourmand (he disdains milk chocolate and especially white chocolate, although he doesn’t have a problem with vanilla per se).  There’s a thorough guide to chocolate in the index.  There’s even chocolate recipes! (more…)

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Lars Brown–North World (2008)

Posted in Adventure, Anachronisms, Dungeons & Dragons, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Gross Pointe Blank, Kate Bush, Lars Brown, Oni Press, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats, Violence, YA Books on November 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

northSOUNDTRACK: KATE BUSH-Lionheart (1978).

lionheartSomething about the late 70s seemed to make artists very prolific (perhaps it was studio pressure to capitalize on an artist’s success, hmmm?) Here’s Kate Bush’s 2nd record in about 10 months.

And, yea, the cover shows off her budding theatricality (the tour that accompanied these albums (which is available on DVD) is crazy for the performance art).

There are some great tracks on the disc, although for the most part it feels like it was kind of rushed.  But despite that sense, there are some things that Bush introduced on this record that would remain with her throughout her career.  Her voice is layered a lot more (although it is still unbelievably high–the opening words of  “Symphony in Blue” are rather astonishing.)

She has also developed a wonderful ethereal sound.  Unlike new age artists whose ethereal style is without substance, Kate is definitely grounded (somewhere).  A song like “In Search of Peter Pan” with its twinkling pianos is absolutely suited to the fantasy she evokes (and when the chorus comes around, the real sense of foreboding in Peter Pan kicks in.  (So, yes, she may be out there, but she certainly knows what she’s doing).

And there’s the rather clever underpinnings of the seemingly trivial song “Wow.”  It’s another song where a sinister musical basis lurks underneath the seemingly silly chorus: “Wow wow wow wow wow, unbelievable” (which is actually pretty snarky in context).  But really it’s the cool vocals tricks (the deep almost subliminal “uh-huh” for instance) that introduces something new, and intriguing, and something she would explore more on later releases.

This is followed by the rocking (in Kate terms) “Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake.”  It has some pretty aggressive guitar in it which is matched with delay and echo.  It’s another element that foreshadows the kinds of sounds she would use extensively on future discs  (oh, and she really gets a good banshee wail later in the song).

And, of course, the final track “Hammer Horror” is fantastic, with a great sense of theatricality, befitting the song’s inspiration.

It’s Kate next album that blows me away every time, but I am still fond of these first two.

[November 5, 2009] North World

I really enjoyed the premise of this graphic novel.  The main character Conrad is a sword wielder straight out of Dungeons & Dragons (there’s even a panel which shows the same characteristics that you roll for in the game: Str–7, Agl–5, Stm–8 etc.).  He is a low level fighter (but he’s quite good and has defeated some huge animals) but he is seeking glory, fame and minstrels singing heroic songs about him.

And yet he dresses like a contemporary guy (button down shirt and jeans) and clearly lives in a twenty-first century world. (more…)

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Rick Spears & Chuck BB–Black Metal (2007)

Posted in Books about music, Chuck BB, Concept Albums, Death, Demons, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Oni Press, Possessed, Primus, Rick Spears, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats, Violence, YA Books on November 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

blakcSOUNDTRACK: POSSESSED-Seven Churches (1985).

7Back in high school I was really into heavy metal.  And I got into something of a contest to find the heaviest, scariest metal bands around.  (To counter the guy in class who was into Stryper, naturally).  Well, I think I hit the jackpot with this album.

larry
Larry in Possessed

This is brutally fast speed metal.  Growling vocals, staccato super fast drums and a general sense of doom.

The song titles tell it all: “Burning in Hell,” “Holy Hell,” “Pentagram,” “Satan’s Curse” and “Death Metal.”  Allmusic.com states that this is the first death metal album.  So, how about that?

larrry
Larry (in the middle) in Primus

At this point, though, I think it is most notable for featuring Larry LaLonde on guitars.

LaLonde went on to be the guitarist for Primus for many many years.  So, he turned in his upside down cross and fake blood for purple hair and an alternative rock gig.

And I’ve got the pictures to prove it.

[READ: November 3, 2009] Black Metal

This graphic novel comes from the beloved Oni Press.  It’s the story of the brothers Stronghand, adopted siblings who live and breathe black metal.  They are notoriously evil and their past precedes them. They have been to five schools in four years and, as the story starts, we see them on their first day at Ronald Reagan Jr High.  (Which at first I thought was actually “Ronald Reagan Junior” High School, which would have been even more hilarious.)

By lunchtime, they have intimidated everyone with their black metal stares.  But, when someone questions their manhood, they strike back and are instantly expelled. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–“/Solomon Silverfish/” (Sonora Review no. 16, Fall 1987)

Posted in Cancer as plot device, David Foster Wallace, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Infinite Summer, Marriage (Happy), Mystery, Nénette et Boni, Neurotics, Short Story, Sonora Review, Threats, Tindersticks on October 27, 2009| 2 Comments »

sonoraSOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Nénette et Boni [soundtrack] (1996).

boniAfter releasing two albums of atmospheric brilliance, Tindersticks were called upon to score the music for the film Nénette et Boni.

And this disc answers the question of whether it is Stuart Staples’ voice that is the driving force behind the band.  And the answer is, indeed not.  This disc is almost entirely instrumental (except for “Tiny Tears” which is a different version from the second disc and is here titled “Petites gouttes d’eau”).  The band brings the same atmospheric/noir quality to this disc that they bring to the ir previous works, but you get to hear it in all of its glory (since you’re not trying to figure out what Stuart is talking about).

I haven’t seen the film, so I can’t say how well it works for the film.  But I feel like I know the film quite well from the tone and music (and what I think may be sounds from the film) that are present.  If you like the band musically, you absolutely cannot go wrong here.  There’s not a bad track on the disc.  Even the half dozen or so tracks that are only about a minute (this is a soundtrack after all) are quite evocative.

I read a brief description of the film online, and I’m not entirely sure I want to see it.  But I sure do enjoy listening to the music.

The reissued disc comes with a bonus disc called Marks Moods.  Marks Moods was a promo disc sent out to film producers to showcase just what the band could do (again, without Stuart’s vocals).  So this is another moody instrumental disc.  The difference is that there are many songs from other discs that are done (or re-done, I can’t be entirely sure) as instrumentals.  The four tracks with vocals are “Sleepy Song,” “Don’t Look Down,” and “Buried Bones” which is actually a duet.  And then there’s “For Those…” one of my favorite songs which seems to crop up all over the place but never on an actual album.

This appears to have been something of a find back in the day.  I’m not sure if it was really worth hunting down, but it is a nice bonus to this disc.

[READ: October 18, 2009] “/Solomon Silverfish/”

The last few uncollected DFW stories that I read were a little less than satisfying.  So I wasn’t looking forward to this one very much.  But man, was it good.  It seems to be a hearty precursor to Infinite Jest (without the endnotes).  It even has a character named Wardine!

The story is typographically a little odd.  The title and “section” headings are in backslashes.  (I have no idea if that signifies anything other than a typographical choice of DFW or the magazine).  The section headings are the names of the character whose point of view the section is.  So, when the story opens we see /Solomon/.

But aside from that, the most unusual thing in the story is that it is written in the voice of a very Jewish individual.  For Solomon Silverfish speaks in an almost stereotypical Jewish vernacular.  Solomon is married to Sophie Shoenweiss, a Jewish woman who is dying of breast cancer.  As the story opens, Solomon is fielding a phone call (at 2 in the morning) from Sophie’s brother Ira.  Ira has just been caught with his third DUI and he’s begging his brother-in-law, a fine public defendant, to bail him out (again). (more…)

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McSweeney’s #32

Posted in Adventure, Anthony Doerr, Chris Adrian, Chris Bachelder, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Death, End of the World, Heidi Julavits, J. Erin Sweeney, Jim Shepard, LGBTQ, McSweeney's, Natural Disasters, Plague, Salvador Plascencia, Sesshu Foster, Sheila Heti, Short Story, Technology, The Future, Threats, Tindersticks, Wells Tower on October 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

32SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Tindersticks [the red one] (1993).

tsTindersticks are a fascinating band.  The first distinctive thing about them is Stuart Staples’ voice: a deep rich bass that he uses almost like a whisper.  The second thing you notice is the music.  It’s an orchestral/chamber pop collection of dark rockers with fantastic moodiness to it.  And then you notice the lyrics: dark songs of lost (and decayed) love.

Yet despite the description of chamber pop, the nad is really much darker than chamber pop suggests.  The band has a very noir sound: organs that penetrate through walls of sound, tinkling pianos suring hushed moments.  The horns and strings add dark atmospherics (strings zing like a Hitchcock movie).  And the minor key chords are rich and loud.

You also get a song like “Whisky and Water” which genuinely rocks hard (loud guitars are featured).  Or a simple acoustic guitar driven song like “Blood.”  Throughout the disk you get these fantastic melodies that play off of Staples’ voice and the twisted lyrics.  “City Sickness” and “Patchwork” are just two of the tracks that are very catchy.

And then there’s the fantastic “Jism” with its awesome noir organ.  Or “Raindrops” with its accents of vibes and the beautiful piano trilling at the end (and the detailed and emotional lyrics: What we got here is a lazy love / It mooches around the house / Can’t wait to go out / What it needs, it just grabs / It never asks / We sit and watch the divide widen / We sit and listen to our hearts crumble”).  “Her” follows up with a wonderfully flamenco-infused spaghetti western number.

And lets not forget “Drunk Tank” a propulsive song that is as sinister as it is catchy.  Oh heck, I could just keep raving.  But there’s 22 songs!   Four songs are about a minute each, and the disc is about 75 minutes (not bad for a debut!).  And the disc never loses momentum or its sense of purpose.

What really distinguishes this disk is the mood of the music.  Like the best soundtracks, you can feel the emotions and imagery with the music alone, but when you add Staples’ evocative lyrics and powerful voice, it’s a deadly potent combination.

The disc was reissued a few years ago with a bonus disc of demo tracks.  The demos are surprisingly rich (they’re not at-home recordings or done without accompaniment) so they don’t differ that dramatically from the originals.  But they have a slightly less polished feel, which doesn’t hurt the band at all. There’s also a demo of the fantastic “For Those…” which doesn’t appear on the original disc.

I have to thank my friend Lar for getting me into this band. (Thanks Lar).

[READ: October 19, 2009] McSweeney’s #32

The concept for this issue is this: McSweeney’s asked several authors to “travel somewhere in the world–Budapest, Cape Town, Houston, any sleepy or sleepless outpost they could find–and send back a story set in that spot fifteen years from now, in the year 2024.”

And so, all of the stories are vaguely sci-fi-ish in that they are future related, but they are all grounded very heavily in reality, in particular, the reality of individuals trying to live in this future world. (more…)

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