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Archive for the ‘Translators’ Category

Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido–Blacksad (2010) [originally written 2000, 2002, 2005]

Posted in Animals, Anthya Flores, Bart Beatty, Beat Happening, Blawan, Girl Band, Graphic Novel, Guns, Juan Díaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido, Katie LaBarbera, Mystery, Neal Adams, Noir, Patricia Rivera, Racism, Sex, Therapy?, Translation, Violence on March 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

blacksad1SOUNDTRACK: GIRL BAND-Live at Kex Hostel in Reykjavik (November 8, 2014)

girlbandlive This brief concert finally allows us to see just how Girl Band make their unholy noise.  And yes, it is just four guys–guitar (and a whole lot of pedals) bass drums and a vocalist.

“Sexy Wife” has staccato guitars until the real noise kicks in for the chorus (oh, so that’s how he does it).  It’s also fun watching the bassist remain largely calm while still playing some unsuaul high notes on his instrument.  The drummer doesn’t have any fancy gizmos, but he keeps a steady loud beat.  And I love that the singer is quite a pretty fellow in his Oxford shirt and parted hair (but he can scream like the best of them).

“De Bom Bom (their newest single) is just full of noise and more noise (how can you have chords if it’s just staicky noise?) as the bass rumbles along.  This song is intense.

“Heckle The Frames” is a noisy chaotic pile of hardcore (and is about 90 seconds long).  It’s followed by “I Love You” a cover of the Beat Happening song.  For this one, it’s pretty much all bass and drums while the guitarist fiddles with his pedals making a larger wall of noise until he begins playing a ringing open note.  I don’t know the original, but I imagine it’s nothing like this.

“Lawman” shows off just how noisy the bassist can be in the opening moments.  And his riff, coupled with the noisy riff of the guitar, make for such an enjoyable combination.  I love how the song which you assume is over–at about the length of their other songs–suddenly turns into something else altogether–a sort of guitar solo, if you will.

The final song is “The Cha Cha Cha” which is all of 25 seconds.  It’s a pretty great set if you like your music noisy.

[READ: March 19, 2015] Blacksad

This book collects the first three Blacksad volumes: Somewhere within the Shadows (2000), Arctic Nation (2002) and Red Soul (2005).  I’m only bummed that it took me so long between books to read them.  They were translated by Anthya Flores and Patricia Rivera

It’s amazing to see that it takes two or three years between books, but when you look at the visuals, it is completely understandable.  The drawings/paintings in these volumes are simply incredibly.  They are incredibly realistic with exquisite attention paid to detail.  The fact that he can make people with animal heads seem sexy is really a testament to his drawing skills.

Okay so Blacksad is a noirish detective series with a slight twist.  John Blacksad is a cat.  Well, he is a human shaped person with a cat head.  But otherwise he is very much a detective–he is hunky, has smoldering eyes and is a really hard dude. And that first story opens with his former lover dead in her bead.  She is so pretty (and colored in pale fleshtones), that one might be hard pressed to see her as a car (except for the ears).

This mystery is personal and John sets out to find out who wanted his former lover dead. (more…)

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Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido–Blacksad: Amarillo (2014) [translated 2014]

Posted in Bart Beatty, Blawan, Girl Band, Graphic Novel, Guns, Juan Díaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido, Katie LaBarbera, Mystery, Neal Adams, Noir, Sex, Therapy?, Translation, Violence on March 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

amarilloSOUNDTRACK: GIRL BAND-In My Head (2012).

inmyheadI enjoyed “Why They Hide They Bodies Under My Garage?” so much that I immediately went to Girl Band’s bandcamp site to check out their other releases.

They have a bunch of EPs and singles out.  This was their first one.  It’s hard to believe that the band who is so experimental with noise and feedback sounds so different just two short years ago.

I like this single (which is only two songs and which you can get for free from their site), even though it has none of the more noisy elements that would come on later songs). Having said that it’s not like these are sweet ballads.  They are plenty noisy, just in a more conventional indie rock vein.

They actually sound a bit like a Steve Albini project–sharp guitars and feedback (and both songs total 5 minutes)–and an aggressive feel like Therapy? perhaps.

“In My Head” has a pretty conventional rhythm section (which unusual guitars) and a rocking chorus that is pretty catchy.  By the time the singer starts screaming the chorus the second time around, a lot has  been packed into 2 minutes.  “Conductor” has a thumping bass line that propels the song while the guitars alternate between ringing dissonant chords and a squealy guitar line.  The vocals are almost spoken and sound like someone but i can’t quite place it).  And once again, the chorus is strangely catchy under the noise.

But make no mistake this is still an abrasive bunch.

[READ: December 29, 2014] Blacksad: Amarillo

So I see now that this is actually the fifth book in the series, not the third.  I’m glad I found the fourth volume before reading this one.  I hope to get the first 3 volume set soon.  There’s a wonderful introduction by Neal Adams who puts some context and admiration for these guys’ work.

I enjoyed this story a bit more than A Silent Hell (which was really, really dark).  The fact that this one is so bright on the cover (and while I thought amarillo meant yellow (which it does) it is also set in Amarillo, Texas.

It opens with two lions–both writers–sitting by a pool.  The one writer (who is bigger in general) throws his poetry into the pool out of artistic honesty, while the other sits, aghast.  The poet then tries to throw the other writer’s scroll of a novel into the pool as well, but when the novelist talks about his work he did the poet scoffs and says he should think of it not as work but as poetry.  They depart with hard feelings between them. (more…)

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Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido–Blacksad: A Silent Hell (2010) [translated 2012]

Posted in Animals, Bart Beatty, Blawan, Girl Band, Graphic Novel, Guns, Juan Díaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido, Katie LaBarbera, Mystery, Noir, Record Labels, Sex, Translation, Violence on March 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

blacksad4SOUNDTRACK: GIRL BAND-“Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?” (2014).

girl band I first heard about Girl Band from the NPR Austin 100 list.  This song blew me away.  It is a noisy and unrelenting 8 minutes.  It builds and builds into a chaotic tumult.  And, amazingly, it is a cover of a dance song.

Girl Band is from Dublin and they make some of the noisiest rock I’ve heard in a long time.  Not heavy rumbling death metal noise, but ear-piercing feedback and squalls and sqwaks of sound that are heard to imagine originating with a guitar or bass.

It open with controlled chaos, and clearly some kind of pedal manipulation from the sounds generated by… a guitar?

The lyrics are minimal–a simple repeat of “Why they hide they bodies under my garage?”  These lyrics are repeated, more frenetically with the “music” just squeals of feedback and noise.  The song doesn’t seem to change much, but there are subtle (if that’s the right word) changes in noise and intensity for four minutes until the song sorta stops and then resumes with even more intensity.  It drops out again, but by 6 minutes the song has built to epic intensity, with interesting sounds in between “chants.”

There is pretty much nothing to this song and yet it is amazingly intense.  And not for the faint of heart.

This song is from an earlier compilation release but is getting reissued on their soon to be released EP.  (You can get a lot of their early stuff from their bandcamp site).

The video is creepy as anything too:

You can also hear the original by Blawan, which is similar without the building intensity, I tend to think that Girl Band has done this song a real service.

[READ: December 20, 2014] Blacksad: A Silent Hell

I had gotten the latest Blacksad book at work, so I looked to see if I could find the earlier editions. I couldn’t find the first book right away so I decided to dive in with this book.  It is the second collection, but is apparently the fourth book.  The first collection, simply titled Blacksad collects the first three books together.  The books were originally written in French and were translated by Katie LaBarbera.

I don’t know how much if any introduction there is in that first book, so there’s no context for why these animals are people or people are animals.  And I rather hope there isn’t one.  It’s just a great world where everyone looks human except that their heads are a (very realistic) animal shape.  In fact speaking of realistic, the artwork by Guarnido is amazing–perfectly noir with incredible realism and gorgeous colors (all done with watercolors, I believe).

This book opens with Blacksad, a private investigator, and Weekly, a reporter, at a strip club.  (It is disconcerting that the stripper is a leopard woman and that she is really hot (thankfully, it’s only shown from the back because that would get weird).  Weekly is super psyched but Blacksad has other things on his mind.  They are supposed to be meeting Junior Harper but he ain’t showing.

The pull back shows that we are in New Orleans. (more…)

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Alejandro Zambra–“Family Life” (Harper’s, Febraury 2015)

Posted in Alejandro Zambra, Big Sugar, Harper's, McSweeney's, Megan McDowell, Rheostatics, Sex, Short Story, Translation, tagged on March 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

harp febSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Scherzo Pub, Kingston, ON (October 15, 2000).

rheoscerzoThis show has some fun art work to go with it.  The notes say:

“Rare original drawing by local artist “tully” drawn during the october 15 2000 rheos gig at the now defunct scherzo pub, kingston, ontario. the story goes that “tully” goes to shows, does a drawing of the band, and just leaves it on a random table for someone (like me!) to find it. i actually found it on the floor!”

The other joke on the set list over here is the Smoke that carp joke which is from Martin talking about something before the set even starts.

They play a lot of songs from the then unreleased NotSS.  The version of “Four Little Songs” is crazy fun–lots of wildness, and a superfast ending.

In addition to playing “Majorca” they play two songs from Introducing Happiness and then talk about Martin’s guitar with the maple leaf on it.  They challenged Gordie Johnson from the band Big Sugar to put a leaf on his guitar. Dave says that not only did he put the leaf on his guitar (on the back) but he plays O Canada at every show now.

In the middle of “Junction Foil Ball” Dave talks about how much he struggled to get the riff (earlier Martin said Dave was very proud of the riff).  It’s a very lengthy talk with demonstration about the riff–quite amusing.

The end of the show has what sounds like an acoustic unplugged set.  Not quite acapella, but Don is only playing the tambourine.  It sounds like perhaps they are in the crowd or near the crowd or something.

Srheoscerzo2o for “Record Body Count,” the crowd sings along beautifully and “Bead, Meat, Peas and Rice” is also done in this format.  For “Northern Wish” Martin say he’s going to start it acoustic while the rest of the band goes back to their instruments.  It’s a great version of the song. In fact all three are wonderful, and it’s cool to hear them sounding so different.

There’s another long chat from Martin about Burton Cummings and how they saw him playing a casino.  It’s very funny.  Then he insists on a “golden drag” on his cigarette before starting the next song.

The disc ends oddly with “Take Me in Your Hand” also done in that acoustic format as the earlier songs–which makes me think it should have been earlier and was placed at the end by mistake.  It sounds great either way.

This is definitely a great show and one for any Rheos fan to enjoy.

[READ: March 5, 2015] “Family Life”

I had recently read something about Zambra that made me want to read him, and then, here he was in Harper’s.  I like serendipity.

This story was translated by Megan McDowell, and I gather is part of a collection of stories called My Documents which will be out soon from McSweeney’s.

This story is a simple one, although it has an unusual beginning.

Martín is headed to a house for a job.  He is to house-sit for a family while they are away for four months.  I enjoyed the way the family members were laid out for us to meet: in alphabetical order: Bruno, the husband, Consuelo the wife (well, actually not the wife, because they never married although they act like a married couple) and Sofía their daughter.

We learn that Bruno sand Martín ‘s fathers were cousins.  Martin’s father has just died.  They barely know each other, although they did know each other when they were kids.  But Bruno tries to strengthen this familial connection, because it builds trust.  Otherwise they have a stranger in their house for four months.

When Martín arrives Sofi runs past him (“These days kids don’t say hi”) chasing the cat Mississippi.  Consuelo is friendly and gives him instructions, which largely entail looking after the cat (who has a swinging door which is open all the time).  When Martín looks at a large hour glass, Sofi runs up and says it last 12 minutes.

To pass the time Martín plays Sofi in chess.  And when they get bored, he changes the rules so that the object is to get beaten, which Sofi enjoys more.

While Sofi is going to bed, Martín and Bruno talk.  Bruno suggest that he “use the time to have ago with one of the neighbors.”  Martín thinks (but thankfully doesn’t say out loud) that he’s like to have a go with Bruno’s wife.

After they leave, Martín discovers a photo of Consuelo and puts it up on the wall.

Martin plans to try a different route every day (different stores, different roads) so as not to make an impression on anyone in the town. But one day Mississippi doesn’t return from his nightly stalking.  Two days go by and Martín grows concerned. So he puts posters up around town.  But when he emails Bruno he doesn’t say anything.

A few days later he sees that someone has posted lost dog posters up over each one of his lost cat posters.  He calls the number (while drunk) and talks to Paz, the woman who put up the posters. He complains about what she has done. The next day she does around moving her posters off of his.  He gets some courage and goes to talk to her about their lost animals.

A week later he sees a dog that looks like hers and he calls her.  They go looking for the dog but don’t find it.  Then, after a month, Mississippi returns. He is beaten up , bloody and gross.  Martín takes him to the vet and gets medicine that he must apply to Mississippi every night.  When Paz calls him, he tells her about the cat and she comes over.

Paz scrutinizes his house–the photo of Consuelo–and he creates and elaborate fiction about his former life with Consuela and their daughter.  How they are broken up and he is reluctant to date.  Later, they have sex and start seeing each other every day.

Things are going quite well, although of course, it is all based on a lie. And the time of Martín’s departure (and Bruno’s family’s return) is coming up.  But the sex is great and he really like her.  She even invites him to go to a wedding with her.

What will happen when it’s time for Bruno and Consuela to return?

This is an unusual story (I guess) to start with because I’m not sure if Zambra’s other fiction is anything like this.  This story was erotic and a bit salacious and was predicated on a lie.  I enjoyed the idea of the main character being someone else and then realizing that he could be that person forever.  (Even if that’s not an original concept).  But Zambra’s handling of the story was really good and I’m interested to read more from him.

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Horacio Castellanos Moya–“The Moronic Inferno” (Harper’s, February 2015)

Posted in Excerpt, Harper's, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Lee Klein, Rheostatics, Talking Heads, Translation, tagged on March 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

harp febSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC (August 18, 2000).

commThe band went back to the West Coast again (man, they’re everywhere).  They must have played a few shows out there, but this is the only one we’ve got. It’s over two hours and the sound is amazing (thanks so much for soundboard recordings).

Michael Phillip Wojewoda is with them on this leg, playing keyboards.  Which allows them to open with “Monkeys Will Come.”   This is the only other place I know of them playing it after Canada Day.  The recording quality is much better than the Harbourfront show so you can really get a good sense of the song.

Tim Vesely gets two songs in a row with “Remain Calm” and “We Went West” (which they have been extending to nearly 7 minutes).

When they play Satan is the Whistler, Dave says they’re not welcome back in Whistler anymore.  The crowd is rowdy and fun, but at one point someone shouts out for a moment of silence for the Russian Sub (I had to look this up, it was the Kursk disaster).  Dave says, everyone prays in their own way.

“Horses” continues to throw in the “Still Waiting” section from the Talking Heads during the middle improv.  And “Dope Fiends and Boozehounds” has a drum solo and an interesting synth part, along with a very brief coda of “Alomar!”

The set has a weird dancey bit at the end, which seems like maybe the songs are out of order.  It’s hard to be sure, but the set is great nevertheless.

One programming note is that the set list states “RDA” but it’s not.  It’s actually “Song of the Garden.”

[READ: March 5, 2015] “The Moronic Inferno”

As I had done with the New Yorker, I had also done with Harper’s.  Namely, I had put off reading several months worth of issues.  So I’m doing a run through of the last eight months or so.  The good news is that Harper’s is a monthly, so there’s a lot fewer issues to worry about.  Although I do find that I typically write about three or four pieces per issue.  The February 2015 issue had two worthy pieces.

This is an excerpt from Revulsion: Thomas Bernhard in San Salvador, translated by Lee Klein.  It is described as fiction, although Moya appears to be a character.

I have no sense of what the full book is like, but this expert (which is barely a whole page) is one long paragraph with the character of Vega ranting at Moya.  The rant is all about how horrible San Salvador has grown.   (more…)

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Vladimir Nabokov–“The Man Stopped” (Harper’s, March 2015)

Posted in Blue Rodeo, Gennady Barabtarlo, Harper's, Luke Doucet, Rheostatics, Russia, Short Story, Translation, Veal, Vladimir Nabokov, tagged on March 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

harp marchSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Cowichan Theatre, Duncan British Columbia, (January 23, 2000).

cowichanWhoops, slightly out of order here, but no one’s counting.

This third night in BC was at the Cowichan Theatre.  This night was held as a benefit for the Women’s Coalition Institute’s campaign against GM food.  Luke Doucet’s band Veal opened, there were families and young kids in the crowd and Dave even talks about buying some art that was for sale.

Amazingly, the band plays nine songs that they hadn’t played the two previous nights.  The only bad thing about this show is that 6 songs are missing from the posted recording (including a night-ending “Shaved Head.”)  But the set still clocks in at an hour and fifteen minutes.

I found the audio a bit muffled on this recording.  In fact, for the first few songs I thought Martin was hard to hear.  Especially on “Stolen Car.”  But he seems to get louder as the show goes on.

There’s a joke about Martin’s shirt–(like he took Greg Keelor’s shirt (Keelor was in Blue Rodeo).  Martin admires his “cowboy look” and jokes about big city folks.  There’s also a funny bit later about the Beatles where he seems to forget George Harrison’s name and says he was going to call him “Gino.”

Martin was still experimenting with the slower opening of “Northern Wish” here, which sounds cool.  “Claire” sounds great (it’s the first time they played it in the three nights) although I wish the quality were a little better.  There’ s great noisy solo inserted into it as well.  And “Self Serve Gas Station” totally rocks.

It’s a shame that “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” was cut off, along with the end oft he set but it s a good sampler of some different songs.

[READ: March 5, 2015] “The Man Stopped”

The introduction to this story says that it may be the last complete unpublished short story by Nabokov.  It was written in 1926 and is believed to be a parody of the then current crop of Soviet writers who wrote in an ornamental pseudo folky style.  The story is full of “rustic idiom” which has been translated to very rough English idiom by Gennady Barabtarlo.

Given that Barabtarlo describes the story as a parody I expected it to be funny, but to my ear it isn’t.

Indeed, it’s a very simple story of a man on a journey who is constantly set upon (verbally) by the locals. (more…)

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Karl Ove Knausgaard [Knausgård]–“My Saga: Part One” (New York Times Magazine, February 25, 2015) [translated 2015]

Posted in Biography, Diana Gameros, Drinking, Foreign Books, Ingvild Burkey, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Karl Ove Knausgård, Peter van Agtmael, The New York Times Magazine, Tiny Desk Concert, Tiny Desk Contest, Translation, Travel, Yuck! on March 3, 2015| 1 Comment »

01cover-articleLarge-v3SOUNDTRACK: DIANA GAMEROS-“Ligerita” (Tiny Desk Contest Runner-Up 2015).

ligeritaLast week, a Tiny Desk Contest winner was announced. This week, All Songs Considered posted ten runners up that they especially liked.  And I want to draw extra attention to a couple of them.

Diana Gameros doesn’t do anything flashy or fancy in this video.  She simply plays the acoustic guitar (amazingly) and sings.  And man, does she have a beautiful voice.  Even more impressive is the way her guitar begins as delicate finger-picked melody in the verses and then transforms into a rollicking Spanish guitar style beauty for the chorus—the way she uses her right hand for the chord playing is great.

This is an absolutely beautiful song, and I was happy to read that she was recently featured on Alt.Latino.

I’m not sure what relaxing location she is in, but it’s nice little room. And even her cat—Lulu—seems to have enjoyed the song.

[READ: February 26, 2015] “My Saga Part One”

I didn’t know that Karl Ove had written this piece for the New Yorke Times magazine until someone brought it to my attention.  I was pretty excited to read it because Book Four of My Struggle isn’t due out until April and I think I’m going through Karl Ove withdrawal.

This first part of the story (because of course it would have to be in two parts) was, I have to admit, a little disappointing.  It features everything that I’ve come to expect from Karl Ove–minutiae, history, shock at people who are unlike him, and a general misanthropy.  But it almost feels like Karl Ove lite–like the Times asked him to write a piece like My Struggle, but, you know, more suitable for a newspaper.  Which may even be how they phrased it.  Of course, it may also be the translation.  Unlike the books, this was translated by Ingvild Burkey.  It’s not that the translation is bad, it seems perfectly fine to me, but the story isn’t as compelling in some way, and perhaps Don Bartlett knows how to capture Karl Ove’s voice better? (more…)

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Julie Maroh–Blue is the Warmest Color (2010) [translated 2013]

Posted in Death, Dreihunderttausend Verschiedene Krawalle, Drinking, Germania, Graphic Novel, Ivanka Hahnenberger, Julie Maroh, Laibach, LGBTQ, Sex, The Rolling Stones, Translation on February 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Cover_Blue_Angel_MarohSOUNDTRACK: LAIBACH-Sympathy for the Devil (1988).

sympathyAfter recording Let It Be, Laibach decided to tackle another sacred cow–the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.”  “Sympathy” is my favorite Rolling Stones’ songs and even so, I love this incredibly different version of that song.

The Laibach version does everything that they did to Let It Be–changing tempo, deep spoken vocals, marching beat and chanting and they do it eight times.

This is an album/EP (it’s 50 minutes long) and it features several (quite different) versions of the song as well as some recordings by Laibach side projects Dreihunderttausend Verschiedene Krawalle and Germania.

I’ve broken the track listing down by artist, although on the disc, they are interspersed a bit more which adds to the variety.

Laibach: “Sympathy for the Devil” – Done in a big bombastic style–with deep spoken words.   I love the way the horns (after the second or third verse) bring in this cool militaristic/triumphant feel.
Laibach: “Sympathy for the Devil (Time for a Change)” – This version isn’t that different.  The music is minimal–the keyboards are stripped away, although the triumphant horns seem louder and the hoo hoos seems to be more present in the mix.  There’s some wild orchestration in the middle and some very cool tubular bells at the end as well as an instrumental denouement.  I think I prefer this version.
Laibach: “Sympathy for the Devil (Dem Teufel zugeneigt)” – Features some quotes from Kennedy and is spoken in German (with sitar (!) accompaniment).  The remaining verses are done in the original deep voice.

300.000 V.K.: “Sympathy for the Devil (Anastasia)” or “Anastasia” – Sirens open this song as pianos lull us into a sense of peace before the chaos of sampled music and loud beats takes over.  Even though it has really nothing to do with “Sympathy” the “oh ohs” from the Laibach version are also sampled.
300.000 V.K.: “Sympathy for the Devil (Soul to Waste)” – Vocals slowed down even more, sounding deeper than Laibach (in fact he kind of sounds like Andre the Giant).  I’m not even sure what he’s saying in the beginning (the “Sympathy” lyrics do kick in properly at some point).  It does have the same feel as the Laibach version but faster and even more dancey.  The female backing hoo hoos are a nice lightening touch.  There’s also a rocking guitar solo.
300.000 V.K.: “Sympathy for the Devil (Soul to Waste – instrumental)” –Just an instrumental dance version of the above, probably the least interesting on the disc.  Twice as long as the non instrumental version.

Germania: “Sympathy for the Devil (Who Killed the Kennedys)” – This song opens with an interviewer asking if someone has a theory about who killed Kennedy.  The answer is a sullen no.  This interviewer pops up throughout the song repeating the questions and then asking about mixing drugs.  There are all kinds of samples buried in the mix (I hear “All You Need is Love”).  The lyrics are whispered by a female vocalist while the original Jagger vocals are played quietly behind her.  The deep male voice comes in too.  The music is kind of a discoey dance version of the Laibach bombast.
Germania: “Sympathy for the Devil (Who Killed the Kennedys – instrumental)” – Only has a little of the spoken word business–it is basically just a dance remix.

So even though these versions are all basically variations on a theme (and yes 50 minute scan get a little maddening), the variety is pretty impressive (especially since they reuse many of the parts in the different versions).  No one is going to love this version more than the original, but all these years later, I still think it’s pretty cool.

To see the original Laibach version in all its glory, check out this video which I’ve not seen before:

 

[READ: January 17, 2015] Blue is the Warmest Color

I was intrigued enough by Maroh’s Skandalon, that I wanted to check out her earlier book, Blue is the Warmest Color.  I had no idea that it was a really big deal or that it has been made into a movie.

This book, which was translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger, is about a woman who is sure of her sexuality until she meets a woman who changes her mind.

The book is incredibly moving and touching, and it is told in a way that gives you the (sad) end right up front, although the end is not exactly what you think it is.  It’s incredibly well done.

As the book opens up, we see that a woman is riding a bus to go to her lover’s house.  There are superimposed words from her lover’s diary which says that when the woman on the bus (Emma) reads these words, the writer will be dead.  As the first sequence ends, we read: “I love you Emma, you are my life.  Signed Clementine.”  Emma has gone to Clementine’s parents house (where Clementine was living) to retrieve the diary.  Her parents are not happy with Emma.  And they seem to blame her for Clem’s death.

The book is kind of a visualization of Clementine’s diary from when she received it on her 15th birthday until her final entry. (more…)

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Julie Maroh–Skandalon (2014)

Posted in David Homel, Drinking, Drugs, Graphic Novel, Julie Maroh, René Girard, Sex, The Beatles, Translation on February 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

skandSOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES-Abbey Road (1969).

220px-Beatles_-_Abbey_RoadWithout knowing the history of The Beatles and their recordings, you’d never know the acrimony that was created by this record and Let It Be.  This record doesn’t really seem all that different from their other records, but it in part caused the band to break up.

The opening of “Come Together” is unique in music, it sounds so unusual and so unlike the Beatles.  I love it.  This song seems to be psychedelic in lyrics but very standard rock in music.  It’s a cool mix.   “Something” is a beautiful song (I had no idea it was written by Harrison!)

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is another goofy Paul song–he really was quite silly.  I like it, it’s fun.  But the other Beatles hated it–Lennon said it was “more of Paul’s granny music” and left the studio for two weeks.  Harrison was also tired of the song, adding “we had to play it over and over again until Paul liked it. It was a real drag”. Starr was more sympathetic to the song. “It was granny music”, he admitted, “but we needed stuff like that on our album so other people would listen to it.”

Even though “Oh Darlin!” is not usually my style (doo wop), I really like the song a lot–probably because of how raw McCartney gets his voice by the end.  “Octopus’ Garden” is of course a goofy fun song–Starr wrote it.  It takes some of the seriousness out of the album, but it’s always fun to sing along to.

“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is quite a shocking song especially after “Octopus.”  I’ve always liked the way the end cuts off seemingly in the middle of nowhere–even Clark last night listening to it said That was weird about the end.  It’s a fairly simple song (there are hardly any words), with a bluesy section a kind of prog rock section and it goes on forever.

“Here Comes the Sun” is a song that I knew as a kid which I never connected to the Beatles until I was in college.  My mom loved the song, but didn’t really like the Beatles, so I’ve always just assumed it was some folk song.  It’s a really pretty song (by Harrison).

“Because” has an interesting chord progression and is very cool with the multilayered voices.

“You Never Give Me Your Money” is a fun bouncy song that begins as a mellow piano song and then turns very jaunty.  Then comes some great guitar solos and a rocking ending.  This song begins what is considered the medley at the end of the album.  This song itself has so many parts that it could be a medley itself.  The remaining songs are all between 1 and 2 minutes all blend into each other.

Starting with “Sun King” which is quite pretty with lovely harmonies and Italian lyrics at the end.  I never knew “Mean Mr. Mustard” was called that.  It’s a bouncy song about a nasty guy.  It quickly jumps to the fast “Polythene Pam” which is barely over a minute.  Then come four songs written by McCartney, “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” a super catchy song with great harmonies–it’s just under 2 minutes long and it merges into “Golden Slumbers” which I always assumed was just the introduction to “Carry That Weight” (as they always seem to get played together on the radio–which makes sense since together they are 3 minutes long).  The medley ends with “The End” which features a Ringo Starr drum solo and a rocking guitar solo.

At the end of the album and not part of the medley is “Her Majesty” a 38 second song.

Abbey Road is a pretty near perfect album.  There’ s a couple of goofy songs which kind of undermine the intensity of the record, but they are also really fun to sing along to, so that makes it okay in my book.

[READ: January 7, 2015] Skandalon

Maroh wrote and illustrated this book (translated by David Homel) about a rock star and his attempts to deal with (or not) the increasing fame he gets.

The artistic style she uses is really interesting–I assume it is all painted with very heavy paints.  It is occasionally “sloppy” but it is always effective and quite powerful in the images it creates.  It also reads very European to me, which I find interesting (given that she is in fact French).

As the book opens, we a singer Tazane on stage with his adoring fans.  And then, at a pres conference he plays up his diva act and walks out on a question he finds impertinent.

In the tradition of the Wall and Jim Morrison, Tazane tries harder and harder to get a reaction out of his fans, or maybe just to alienate the  fans and the press. He sings songs with lyrics like “I feel nothing about people.  I feel nothing about myself.”  And his “public image” (a phrase he hates) gets damaged every time he speaks. (more…)

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Etgar Keret–“One Gram Short” (New Yorker, December 1, 2014)

Posted in Drugs, Etgar Keret, Nathan Englander, New Yorker, Primus, Short Story, Violence on January 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

dec12014SOUNDTRACK: PRIMUS-Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People (2003).

animalsWhile the EP section oft he release was disappointing, the DVD portion was fantastic.

In addition to all of the band’s videos (which have held up quite well), there’s commentary for all three guys on some of them.  But beyond that, they have compiled most of the footage from the previously released VHS recordings: Cheesy Home Video and Horrible Men, as well as the fan only Horrible Swill.

And for the real fan, there’s all kinds of live performances, some dating all the way back to 1986, with the original band playing together.

  •      “To Defy the Laws of Tradition,” “Too Many Puppies” and “Frizzle Fry” from a campus radio show in 1989.
  •      “Groundhog’s Day” and “Mr. Krinkle” from New Years Eve 1993.
  •      “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers” and “My Name is Mud (Bootleg Quality)” from Woodstock 94.
  •      “Pudding Time” and “Southbound Pachyderm” from 1995.
  • “Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread” for HBO in 1998.
  • “Lacquer Head” Family Values Tour 1999.

and these rarities:

  • “Sgt. Baker” – Recorded at a rent party  sometime between 1986 and 1988
  • “Groundhog’s Day” – Recorded at the Omni in Oakland in late 1988
  • “Tommy the Cat” – Recorded by Bob Cock and the Yellow Sock.

That’s a great collection of stuff for any Primus fan.

[READ: January 20, 2015] “One Gram Short”

Keret seems to specialize in short stories.  This one was just over two pages (translated from the Hebrew by Nathan Englander).

It opens with a man who confesses to only going to a certain coffee bar because he thinks the waitress is cute.  He wants to ask her out but is afraid that “the movies” sounds like too big of a commitment, plus if she says no, that’s the end of them.  He understands that she likes smoking pot so he figures he’ll ask her to share a joint with him.

The problem is that he doesn’t have any.  So he contacts his old friend (whom he hasn’t talked to in years).  The friend immediately tells him that he’s dry–the whole country is dry.  “They closed the Lebanese border on us because of the trouble in Syria, and they closed Egypt because of all that al-Qaeda shit.”  The narrator is a bit put off that his friend assumes he’s calling for pot (even if that is why).  He emphasizes that all he wants is enough for one join so he can smoke with this girl but the friend can’t help him.

The next day though, his friend calls back with a deal.  He knows of a guy who has a prescription for medical marijuana.  But he doesn’t like the stuff, so he’s not using it–he has like ten grams.  And he wants to meet with the two of them. (more…)

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