Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Michel Daubert–Tintin: The Art of Hergé (2013)

Posted in Art, Big Books, Biography, Christian de Portzamparc, Foreign Books, Hergé, History, Johnny Cash, Michael Farr, Michel Daubert, Sonic Youth, Technology, Translation, Travel on March 12, 2014| 1 Comment »

tintinSOUNDTRACK: BECK-Stereopathic Soulmanure (1994).

soulmanureDepending on who you believe, this was Beck’s first or second or even third album.  Certainly it was recorded earlier than the other records but who knows what the actual release date was, or if it even matters (it doesn’t).  This album plays like a demo tape of home recordings of a talented folksinger who doesn’t want to be labelled as a folk singer ans is experimenting with all kinds of other sounds, including tape manipulation, home recording and utter noise (there’s a Sonic Youth sound connection here, before they ever did anything together).

But anyway, that’s got nothing to do with this album.  My version has 23 listed tracks and two bonus tracks.  And since I’ve no intention of doing a track by track analysis of the album, I’m going to group some tracks together.

There are a few styles of music on the record.  There are about a half-dozen noise/nonsense tracks–distorted guitar, distorted voices, sometimes sheer noise–like the “bonus” track which is some ten minutes of just nonsense.  There are about a half a dozen tracks that are basically just talk–old home recordings from when he was a kid, and other spoken tracks.  There are even a few tracks from a guy named Ken who is apparently an older guy singing what sounds like hobo songs (which I suspect Beck does not play on at all).

There are also a number of different instruments which (I assume) Beck is playing. He plays banjo very well, there’s an accordion track, and of course guitar.

What sets this apart from being a simple nonsense album is that there are nearly a dozen “real” songs.  There are a couple of well sung country tracks, with a slide guitar. There’s also some anti-folk, rap and live numbers.  These are fleshed out, proper songs–musically complete.  It’s in the lyrics that you can hear Beck fighting the folk/country pigeonhole.  He has three songs that are more or less rapping (like “Loser”).  There’s a couple of songs that were recorded live (in a club with half a dozen people), and are mostly silly.  And then there’s a series of anti-folk songs.  These are pretty traditional sounding songs, but with layers of noise or weirdness that keeps them from being traditional folk.  Like “Satan Gave me a Taco” which is complete song but is obviously quite silly.  And yet, Johnny Cash covered the song “Rowboat” on one of his Americana albums.

None of the recordings sound more than lo-fi, but the good songs all sound good.   It honestly sounds like a guy trying desperately to show off what he can do–and hoping desperately to get accepted by just about any genre.  Except that he clearly has his own identity (as varied as it may be).  This record is certainly not for everybody (as suggested by the incredibly low sales), but if you like Beck’s early experimental stuff, there’s enough really good stuff here that’s worth checking out.

[READ: March 9, 2014] Tintin: The Art of Hergé

Sarah bought me this book for our tenth anniversary (which is “tin”, get it?).  We’ve both enjoyed Tintin over the years, more as an icon than as a collection of stories (which I believe she has not read and which I’ve read about 1/3 of).  The Spielberg film and subsequent video game are both really cool too.  This book is an amazing look at Hergé as an artist and at the Hergé museum, which looks amazing.

When Sarah and I were in Belgium, we went to an animation museum which featured Hergé heavily.  Since it was a decade ago, I actually thought that this book was about that museum, but no, the Musée Hergé opened in 2009 and was designed by French architect Christian de Portzamparc.  The first chapter of the book is dedicated to the Museum, and do de Portzamparc’s designs and execution in the spirit of Tintin.  And I have to say the building looks amazing.  The facade alone is beautiful, and his explorations light and dark and shape look really awesome. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Lucy Knisley–Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (2013)

Posted in Adventure, Big Sugar, Canadian Music, Cook Book, Culture Shock, First Second :01, Food, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Lucy Knisley, Marriage Trouble, Memoirs, Rheostatics, Travel, tagged on March 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

relishSOUNDTRACK:RHEOSTATICS-World Next Door Festival, Winnipeg, MB (September 5, 1998).

wndI was pretty excited to hear this outdoor festival version of the Rheostatics.  I knew the show would be short (and it is at about 45 minutes), but i imagined the entire feel of the show would be different in this setting.  What surprised me is that the recording is taken from a CBC radio broadcast of the show (which in and of itself is pretty cool).  But the recording is terrible!  The sound is bad and there are dozens of stops in the tape.  Bummer (especially when Aliens gets cut off).

Perhaps the most enjoyable part is when Dave says there’s going to be a double neck guitar war between Martin and Gordie Johnson (he was the front man for Big Sugar, a band I don’t know.  They apparently headlined the festival and he plays a mean double neck guitar).

Strangely enough I can’t find out anything about this festival which apparently doesn’t exist anymore.

[READ: March 5, 2014] Relish

Sarah read and really enjoyed this graphic novel. She said I would like it too and she was right.

This is a collection of memories from Knisley.  She writes about growing up in a family of foodies and how at a very young age she at anything.  She even began to crave unusual foods (in one short piece, she says that as a child she craved sautéed mushrooms).  But what’s cool about the story is that although she was raised in a snobby food way (you she see her father’s reaction to McDonald’s and her mother’s reaction to ketchup) she still appreciated junk food. She says, “Anyone who can fail to rejoice in the enticing squish/crunch of a fast food French fry or the delight of a warmed piece of grocery-store donut, is living half a life.”

At the end of each chapter is a recipe for something from the book.  The recipes are pretty simple, although some of them have extravagant ingredients (like her Chai Tea which sounds amazing, but is frankly too full of expensive ingredients for me to ever make–cardamom pods, star anise? No way.).  However, her recipe for marinated lamb sounds delicious and uses only the most basic ingredients. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Yoko Tawada–The Bridegroom Was a Dog (stories) (1994) [translated 1998]

Posted in Advice, Dogs, Dreams, Fables, Margaret Mitsutani, Rheostatics, Sex, Sexism, Short Books, Short Story, Small Books, Surreal, Trains, Translation, Travel, Yoko Tawada, tagged on March 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

dogSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Music Hall, Toronto, Ontario (May 2, 1998).

musichalThis show sounds different from all of their other live shows on Rheostatics Live around this time.  I don’t know much about The Music Hall, but it sounds like a more formal venue–like a bigger, perhaps seated, crowd.

There is also a string section and the ever reliable Kevin Hearn playing along with them.  Well, string section might be stretching it–there are musicians from UofT playing along with them, including beautiful violins on “Self Service Gas Station” and a surprise flute on “Take Me in Your Hand.”  There’s also a bunch of the musicians playing along on “King of the Past” which means I finally get to hear the great end section with a violin–but it gets cut off!  Agh.

With Kevin playing with them, they showcase some tracks from the Group of 7 release (which they explain didn’t have titles but now sort of do).  So they play “Boxcar Song” and “Yellow Days Under a Lemon Sun.”  They also play “Monkeybird” which they say is from Harmelodia (even though it’s not out yet).

There are a lot of glitches and weird things happening with this tape which is kind of a shame as it is a pretty unique concert.  It’s also only 90 minutes, which might just means a lot of the show was cut off.

[READ: January 3, 2014] The Bridegroom was a Dog

I bought this book years ago based on some recommendation or other.  Then I recently received a new version of it from New Directions.  Their version was just the title story.  This original book (which had the same translator, Margaret Mitsutani) contains the title story and two other longish stories.

Because I just read the other book (and its the same translation) I didn’t re-read “Bridegroom.”  But I did read the other two stories “Missing Heels” and “The Gotthard Railway.”

“Bridegroom” was certainly a weird story.  But “Missing Heels” may be even stranger.  I say this because of what may or may not be deliberate ambiguity in the word heel.  As the story begins the protagonist is stared at by people because of her heels.  I assumed she meant the heels of her shoes.  But by the end of the story it seems that she means the heels of her feet, which is even stranger. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Dave Bidini–For Those About to Rock: A Road Map to Being in a Band (2004)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Dave Bidini, Dave Bidini music, History, Neil Peart, Rheostatics, Rush, Short Books, The Tragically Hip, Travel, tagged on March 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

bidiniSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Bathurst Street Theatre, Toronto, ON (April 4 & 5 1997).

215px-Bathurst_St_Theatre The Rheos played two nights at the Bathurst Theatre and as I was looking at the setlists I was really impressed that in the two nights the band played 44 songs.  Of those 44 only 9 were played both nights.  So they played 26 different songs between the two nights.  That’s cool especially compared to some bands, like Rush, who play literally the same set list every night.  Of course it’s possibly more fair for a fan who can only go to one show, but for fans who will go to both, what a treat.  The first night was a bit more “hit” heavy with “Claire” and “Horses” and “All the Same Eyes.”  Whereas the second night had some other great songs like “Christopher” and “Soul Glue” and a great version of “Shaved Head.”

I have already written about these shows, but in going over them I found that I was very harsh about the April 4th show.  Unfairly so.  I complained about the quality of the sound (which is actually not that bad).  And I complained about the lack of violin in King of the Past which, come on Paul, lighten up, how are they going to play that?  I also accused Dave of being early on the  “King of the Past” first chorus, but it was actually Martin.  Oh well.

In the April 4th show they tell the audience that they are recording a live album  And they engage with a guy in the front row who I wearing a Mr Bean shirt and tell him to take it off.  They say he has an “umber 31” shirt under it I think—no idea what that is.

This is the first mention I’ve heard of Harmelodia, the kids album.  And “Easy to Be with You”‘s lyrics are not settled yet—with California being in place of Harmelodia.  “Dope Fiends” has a drum solo but sadly it is cut off.

I mentioned in the original post that the April 5 show has a lot of tracks that made it to Double Live.  Like “Good Canadian,” the improv piece—man the band was big into smoking, eh?  They also mention the demise of the CBC Radio show Nightlines (which they’d record an album for soon).

They play “Public Square” from their debut album, which sadly gets cut off.  And a fun acoustic version of “Legal Age Life.”

The band is having fun and are so nice–they seem genuinely pleased that people came from a long way to hear them.

Between the two nights, 11 songs made it onto Double Live (there are 29 on the album in total).  They sound pretty different here (mixing and all) so it’s worth checking these out too.

[READ: February 24, 2014] For Those About to Rock

In addition to his hockey books, Dave Bidini has written a number of books about being in a band.  On a Cold Road was his memoir of touring with the Rheostatics and The Tragically Hip.  Since he likes to write and since he’s a musician, it seemed to make sense to have him write a guide for beginning rockers.  This book explicitly states in the first few pages that if you are as old as Bidini, the book is not for you.  I am not quite that old, but I got the point.  But what’s more rock n roll than not listening to the man?  So I pressed on.

The book contains some real-world practical experiences for those who may be just starting out in a band.  He says there was no book like this when he was a kid, so he hopes it’s useful.  And the book ranges roughly between being a fun guide to rocking out and being a cautionary tale about how tedious and unfun being in a band can be (and how many people may try to take advantage of you).  This book is also very specific about being in a touring Canadian band.  He talks about slogging it through cold winters across the Trans Canada Highway, something that young bands from Florida certainly don’t have to deal with.  But his specifics really help to shape the overall completeness of the book, so take his examples and make them your own.

So I play guitar, have never been in a band and while I always thought it would be fun to rock with others, never had any real desire to “tour.”  Is this book still for me?  Why yes, it is.  Because Bidini has been playing music since the early 80s and he has some wonderful stories. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Dave Bidini–A Wild Stab for It: This is Game Eight from Russia (2012)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Dave Bidini, Dave Bidini music, Douglas Coupland, History, Hockey, Rheostatics, Russia, Travel on February 26, 2014| 1 Comment »

wildstabSOUNDTRACK:RHEOSTATICS-The Nightlines Sessions (1998).

nightlinesI have mentioned this disc before, but having listened to some live shows from around this time, it made me want to check out this disc again.  I’ve always thought it was kind of a silly goof of a record without a lot to fully enjoy.  And while the goofy tracks stand out, there’s also a lot of really good music on it.

“The Pooby Song” opens the song and while it is a slight and silly song, it is a fun folky introduction.  What its title means is a mystery to me.  The second song is the first version of “The Junction Foil Ball,” a great track that would later get re-recorded for The Night of the Shooting Stars.  “Frank” is another interesting song with some cool scratchy guitars and a good riff. It doesn’t get played much live, but it could easily fit into their set.

“Majorca” is a pretty song from Tim, although it is very strange (to me) that these Canadians are singing about Majorca (a song they would play live in a few bootlegs).  Another vaguely silly song is the sitar (?) based “Ugly Manhattan,” which makes fun of Wall Street.  Perhaps the most unexpected song is “Trans Jam” a rap which features Farm Fresh and The Subliminal Kid.  It’s quite good, too.

And yes, there is a lot of really silly stuff.   “Henry’s Musical Beard” is a weird 27 second toss off. “Alien Boy” is a goof commercial about mysteries of the unknown.  “Baby, I love You” is introduced as being by MC Vanilli  and the Sedaka Prince.  It’s an absurdly goofy “pop” song which reflects some pop song stylings rather well.  “This is Nightlines” is a profane rambling by Dave about the radio show that’s going off the air.

And yet just as you think the end of the disc is going to be nothing but silly, they play a fantastic version of “Stolen Car” (click track notwithstanding).

It really makes me want to hear the some Nightlines shows.  And, ta da, I recently found Network Effects, a site where a kind soul has been digitizing his taped copied of Nightlines sessions.  That’s pretty cool–more radio stations should take chances like this.

[READ: February 24, 2014] A Wild Stab for It

I found a bunch of Dave Bidini’s smaller books online.  And after reading his book about Keon, it seemed complementary to read this book about Game Eight.

Now, if you’re not Canadian or Russian, Game Eight might be meaningless to you.  You might even somehow think that a game of Canada vs the USSR is an Olympic event.  But it wasn’t.  It was the Summit Series.  Bidini assumes you know what the Summit Series is–this book is pretty explicitly for Canadian hockey fans (meaning pretty much every Canadian) who were alive in the 1970s.  They would all know what Game Eight was and why it was so important.  So, here’s some context from Wikipedia, because again, they summarize it better than I could:

The series was played at the height of the Cold War, and intense feelings of nationalism were aroused in both Canada and the Soviet Union, as well as on the ice.  Known at the time simply as the Canada–USSR Series, it was an eight-game series of ice hockey between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972.  It was the first competition between the Soviet national team and a Canadian team represented by professional players of the National Hockey League (NHL), known as Team Canada. It was the first international ice hockey competition for Canada after Canada had withdrawn from international ice hockey competitions in a dispute with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The series was organized with the intention to create a true best-on-best competition in the sport of ice hockey. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Dave Bidini–Keon and Me: My Search for the Lost Soul of the Leafs (2013)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Culture Shock, Dave Bidini, Dave Bidini music, Dave Keon, History, Hockey, Hockey Night in Canada, Rheostatics, Toronto Maple Leafs, Travel, tagged on February 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

keonSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Alt House, University of Western Ontario, London, ON (January 23 1997).

 westernThis show takes place at the University of Western Ontario, an unusual location for the band, but they had an appreciative crowd.  There’s a long introduction in which Don Kerr is late to get to the drums.  They say that he’s sick and, in fact, they’re all sick, but they don’t sound sick when they play.

 The college atmosphere seems to relax them.  Indeed, Martin tells a very lengthy story about a painter near his home town in Italy (as an introduction to “Motorino”).  He rarely talks much on stage so this banter is a rarity.  Dave asks if the fans like the banter.  He takes a poll.  Songs and banter?  Much cheering.  No banter.  Apparently one vote.  Upon hearing that one vote, Dave says, that guy, security!  Some fans shout “only banter no music,” but the band doesn’t acknowledge that.

They once again mention martin’s new Chickadee banner and they even throw in some jokes about chickadees in “Four Little Songs.”

This show they explain that they get a little bored playing older songs so they like to mix them up a little.  “Record Body Count” sounds rather different and it has a very pretty guitar outro by martin that leads into the intro of “Michael Jackson.”

The opening band was People From Earth, the band that Martin’s brothers were in.  I can’t find out much about them and I can’t find any music from them, but I’m very curious to know what they sound like.

This is a really enjoyable show.  The recording level is a little too quiet at times, but the sound is quite good.

[READ: February 24, 2014] Keon and Me

This rush of Rheostatics music has had me investigating what the band has been up to since they split up.  They have all released some solo records, and Dave Bidini seems to have devoted a lot of his time to writing as well.  In addition to his column at the National Post, he has written a dozen or so books.  I’ve already read his two earliest books (which were about touring and hockey respectively) and thought I’d read some of his other books too (about baseball, hockey, touring, hockey, hockey, music etc).  I thought about reading his third book, but then–amazingly coincidentally–his newest book, Keon and Me was staring at me from a pile of new books at work.

How exciting!  Sure it was out of sequence, but that was fine.

The only problem (and the reason I wasn’t too too excited to read it in the first place) was that I had no idea who Keon was.  I had gleaned that he was Dave Keon, a hockey player.  But I’d never heard of him.  It turns out he was the captain of the Toronto maple Leafs in the 70s, during the Leafs’ heyday.  Aside from his achievements, which were quite impressive, what was most impressive about Keon was that he only got into one fight in his entire career–and that was in his last game with the Leafs–which garnered him a 2 minute penalty.  That’s pretty impressive given that it was the era of goons and thugs when fighting was often more important than hockey.

But this book isn’t really a biography of Keon.  Rather, it is a memoir of Bidini growing up and loving Keon.  And of his fanaticism to the Leafs (who have sucked ever since Keon left).  It is also the story of young Dave Bidini, grade schooler, who was bullied by the classroom thug (and biggest Flyers fan). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Chinelo Okparanta—“Benji” (New Yorker, November 11, 2013)

Posted in Chinelo Okparanta, Dark Meat, Humiliation, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Sex, Short Story, The Swell Season, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Virginity (Loss of) on January 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_11_11_13Blitt.inddSOUNDTRACK: DARK MEAT-Tiny Desk Concert #25 (August 31, 2009).

darkmeatFor those keeping track, I wrote about Tiny Desk Concert #24 (The Swell Season) quite some time ago.

Dark Meat is a ramshackle band which I had not heard of before this Tiny Desk Concert.  The blurb says that they have had as many as 20 people in their band and often play loud rambunctious music.    In this Tiny Desk Concert, there are only 8 of them (they have reduced for this tour), but they’re still a huge band for a Tiny Desk.

This concert is an acoustic jam –mandolin, guitars, trombone and piccolo—and is apparently quite different from their usual show.  As such, I can’t really imagine what they typically sound like, because they sound like a pretty solid folk band.

Initially I wasn’t all that impressed, but after a couple listens I found myself getting into their sloppy fun folk rock.  I enjoyed their first song, “The Faint Smell of Moss” a little more than the others because of the great backing vocals, and the possibly slightly off sounding trombone.  The second song, “Dead Man” is long, but it has a fun middle second in which the singer invites the office to sing along (and howl like dogs).  “When the Shelter Came’ is a rambling track which I think actually suffers from the trombone at the end.

I don’t know anything else about the band, but I imagine them playing folk festivals.  I’ll be they’re fun to see live, although I can admit that i didn’t find their songs all that memorable.

 [READ: January 22, 2014] “Benji”

“Benji” is the story of wealth and idleness.  As the story opens, we learn that Benji, now 40 years old, is the last remaining male in the family.  His mother, Mrs Anyaogu  is telling her guest that Benji must choose someone to marry because anyone who remains unmarried, even a man, is suspect at that age.

Then we meet the guest who Benji’s mother is speaking to—a woman named Alare.  Alare also got married pretty late—in her thirties–to a man who was about 40.  Her husband was not wealthy—he was a gardener.  And this was something of a sore subject in their marriage,  Of course, he must have also felt the embarrassment of his employment, but that was his lot in life.

Alare and Mrs Anyaogu became friends when Alare’s congregation had disintegrated because of a scandal with the pastor and she joined Mrs Anyaogu’s Deep Life church.

Alare was aware of the wealth that the Anyaogus possessed, but she hadn’t witnessed it until today.  While the house was beautiful, she felt that the furnishing were tacky—not entirely, but enough.  Nevertheless, the lunch was nice and the food was delicious.  The groundskeeper, Godwin, kept the garden beautiful and Benji complimented the man on his loyalty and hard work. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Douglas Coupland–All Families Are Psychotic (2001)

Posted in Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Diff'rent Strokes, Disease, Douglas Coupland, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Maria Taylor, Marriage Trouble, NASA, Nostalgia, Outer Space, Parenting, Religion, Surreal, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence on January 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

familiesSOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).

mariaI’d never heard of Maria Taylor before this Tiny Desk Concert.  She was part of the duo Azure Ray (who I also don’t know).  Then she went solo and as of this recording has released three albums.

Taylor has a pleasant voice (she reminds me of a number of different Lilith Fair singers, although I can’t pinpoint who specifically), but it’s not especially remarkable.  The first song “Ladyluck” I found to be nice.  The second song “Time Lapse Lifeline” fared better–the guitar melody was a little stronger, and the harmonies really helped.

The final track, “Clean Getaway” is another pretty gentle ballad (the two guitars really help add texture to all of these songs).  Although even the end seemed to just stop without actually ending.

I didn’t find Maria Taylor to be terribly memorable.  However, the Tiny Desk setting seems to be the best way to hear Taylor as her voice is well suited for an intimate location.

[READ: January 17, 2014] All Families Are Psychotic

I saw recently that Douglas Coupland had a new book coming out in 2014.  And I also knew that I had three of his older novels to re-read, so I decided to make this the Winter of Douglas Coupland and read all three of those books before his new one came out.  Then I got to work and saw his new book on top of a pile of newly delivered titles.  Sigh.

Well, there was still no reason I couldn’t read the other three in a row, possibly even before anyone wanted his new book.  So, off I went.  And indeed, I finished this book on our little vacation.  And even though I’m fairly certain I’ve read it before (it came out just before or after 9/11/01, gasp) I didn’t remember a thing about it.

This book has a title that I’m mixed about.  It’s a great sentence, but I’m not sure it’s a great title.  And although someone speaks the title in the book, it doesn’t really explain the book very well.

In fact it’s pretty hard to explain the book quickly. (more…)

Read Full Post »

César Aira–The Hare (1991) [translated 1998]

Posted in César Aira, Funny (ha ha), Nick Caistor, Romance, Short Books, Supernatural, Surreal, The Avett Brothers, Tiny Desk Concert, Translation, Travel, Violence, Yuck! on January 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

hare1SOUNDTRACK: THE AVETT BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #18 (June 22, 2009).

avettI have recently become a fan of The Avett Brothers.  Indeed, my first review of one of their songs was very mixed.  But I have come around.  And this Tiny Desk show is a great example of the power they have in a live setting–especially one as personal as this.

For this set the two brothers (Seth on guitar and Scott on banjo) play a song from their then new album (the beautiful “Laundry Room” complete with amazing harmonies and beautiful cello) I & Love & You.  It builds slowly but after about two minutes, it turns into a big (upright bass is included, too) catchy song.  And in the last minute it becomes a huge stompin’ track (predating those other banjo bands by a few years).

Scott’s voice is really powerful (Bob Boilen asks if he swallowed an amplifier).

The second song is a the time not released yet, “Down With the Shine” (they joke that they’re then going to play a song they haven’t written yet).  It’s full of phenomenal harmonies.  And the commentary afterward about traveling with the brothers is very funny.

The final track goes back to their previous EP and is called “Bella Donna,” a pretty ballad sung by Seth–he seems to do the more mellow tracks.  It’s a pretty ending to this all too short Tiny Desk Concert.

Watch it here.

[READ: January 10, 2014] The Hare

The Hare was the first of Aira’s books to be translated into English (back in 1998 with this simply gawdawful cover).  It has recently been republished by New Directions Press with a far more tasteful cover.  The translator, Nick Caistor, is the same although I noticed in an online excerpt that while the English language is the same, the New Directions version has translated a Spanish newspaper (El Grito) into English (The Crap) when it wasn’t translated in the earlier version.  But aside from that, it all appears to be the same.

I had been putting off reading this book because it is his largest book (most of Aira’s books are barely over 100 pages, while this one is almost 250) and I’d also read some lukewarm reviews of the book, so I saved it for last.  Of course, now he has a newly translated book out, so I decided it was time to read The Hare.

Not the best attitude for a book an it definitely impacted my early reading of the story.  And I’ll sum up that impact as saying I thought that the book itself was strangely flat but that the ending was fantastic.  Had I been more open t0 the absurdity I think I would have enjoyed the whole thing a lot more. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Adam Rex–The True Meaning of Smekday (2007)

Posted in Adam Rex, Aliens, Big Books, Cats, Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Happy Smekday!, Home, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Super XX Man, Technology, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel on January 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

smekdaySOUNDTRACK: SUPER XX MAN-Tiny Desk Concert #12 (January 27, 2009, recorded Oct. 22, 2008).

superxxI included the recording date because this is the first one that actually mentions the recording date.  I had always known that the shows were recorded before they were posted, but i had no idea they were so far apart.

Super XX Man is another “band” that I only know about because of NPR.  Scott Garred is Super XX Man (pronounced Super Double X Man), and he has recorded most of his albums at home.  Interestingly, he is also a music therapist in the maximum-security wing of the Oregon State Hospital—the location where they filmed One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  His job is helping psychiatric patients cope with drug addiction, severe mental illness and other assorted disorders.

I’m not sure exactly what his recorded output is like (he has been recording for 15 years and had recently recorded with a band for Volume XII: There’ll Be Diamonds), but this solo venture is just him with a guitar.  He has a very nice voice and his melodies are simple and catchy.

“There’ll Be Diamonds” is a very nice catchy song—very positive.  The second song, “Big Balloon,” is for the newly admitted patients at the hospital.  It is a very tender look at people who are dealing with something quite traumatic.

“Collecting Rocks” comes from Volume VI, and is based on a story his grandfather told him a while ago.  It’s an incredibly sweet song about two people in love.  But it’s also fun how he gets the room to sing along at the end.  I imagine that NPR employees are more docile than his usual audience.

[READ: January 5, 2014] The True Meaning of Smekday

I have known Adam Rex first as an illustrator.  Then I knew him as a children’s picture book author.  And now, the other day, I saw that he also wrote larger children’s books.  In the library I saw Unlucky Charms. I was going to grab it but then I saw that he was “the author of” other books.  So, being the kind of person I am, I decided to read his first novel first, which was this one.

This novel combines art (photographs—which are drawn by Rex), comics (as drawn by an alien) and a school story written for a time capsule (as such, the font is in a weird sans-serif that I found bothersome to read (man I am really getting old)).

Anyhow, I thought this book was very very funny on so many level.  There were pop culture jokes, there was great dialogue and there were fun internal jokes.  There were some sophisticated jokes and some really juvenile jokes.  And they all combined to make for a very good read.

The only problem with the book was that it was so damned long.  No one needs to write a 422 page book about an alien invasion.  The story could easily have lost 100 pages and not been harmed at all.  And I say that because I loved the beginning and I devoured the end, but I felt rather adrift in the middle. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »