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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park, Tim Wynne-Jones–Click: One Novel Ten Authors (2007)

Posted in Beach House, Boredom, Boxing, Cocteau Twins, David Almond, Death, Deborah Ellis, Eoin Colfer, Gregory Maguire, Linda Sue Park, Margo Lanagan, My Bloody Valentine, Nick Hornby, Roddy Doyle, Ruth Ozeki, Tim Wynne-Jones, Travel, War on February 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

clickSOUNDTRACK: BEACH HOUSE-Teen Dream (2010).

teendreamI didn’t know Beach House until this album got huge raves in end of the year lists.  I decided to investigate it and I was really pleasantly surprised by the album’s Cocteau Twins meets My Bloody valentine feel.  I have recently read that their first two albums were not quite as big and full and orchestral as this album, which meant that this one marked a recording (but not necessarily song stylistic) change for the band.  Part of me wants to hear what the earlier, more homemade version of the band sounds like, and yet I like the full almost orchestrated feel of this album so much that I can’t imagine going back to a less big sound.

The album opens with a delicately reverbed guitar riff—it feels warm and summery and then the angelic voices kick in and the ahhhs launch the song into the stratosphere.  And it pretty much stays there for the whole album.  There’s virtually no bass and only the slightest hints of drums (time-keeping measures rather than percussion).  Well, okay, “Better Times” has drums but even they are mild.  Victoria Legrand’s voice just soars, sometimes in staccato bursts, but mostly in otherworldly seeming falsetto (with occasion moments when she sounds kind of masculine and yet still angelic–it’s an amazing range).  There’s mostly reverbed guitars but on some tracks like “Used to Be” there are keyboards as well.  They’re even more prevalent (and more 80s sounding) on “Lover of Mine.”

Despite the sameness of the songs, the album doesn’t feel like one song repeated over.  The melodies are unique and the composition of the songs really shows a lot of diversity within a format.  Like “10 Mile Stereo” which has a faster pace than the other but still maintains that ethereal vibe.  Or “Real Love” which introduces a piano into the mix, and the song feels a little less ethereal, but only a little.  The album is also not too long.  It’s like a wonderful blast of summer.

The CD comes with a DVD with videos for each song, although I have not watched them yet.

[READ: February 11, 2013] Click

I discovered this story because it was listed in Roddy Doyle’s bibliography on Wikipedia.  I’m somewhat surprised that I’d never heard of it as I know so many of the authors that were involved (indeed, several of them are involved in the 39 Clues, another multiple author series).  This book is billed as a YA book and I guess it is as many of the sections are about teenagers, but some characters grow old and there’s some talk of the bombing of Hiroshima which may be a bit intense (there’s no pictures and no detailed descriptions, but still…).  It is a quick read though, so I guess it can qualify as YA.

The story is about a photographer named Gee (real name George Keane) and how he impacted so many lives.  In the first story/chapter (each chapter is like a short story that contributes to the overall picture and each one of these is written by someone different), written by Linda Sue Park, we learn that Gee has just died.  He left his granddaughter Maggie (who I came to think of as the “main” character, even though she doesn’t appear in every story) a box with seven compartments.  In each compartment was a shell with a clue, suggesting that she should take all of the shells back to where they came from–a subtle encouragement to travel the world.  But Maggie is utterly distressed by Gee’s death and she can’t get off the couch where she used to spend time with him.  Eventually her parents offer to take her to one of those locations–Japan–getting her life started at last. (more…)

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Hergé–Tintin: The Blue Lotus (1936) [translated 1983]

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Culture Shock, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Hergé, Kids Corner, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, Racism, The Doubleclicks, Translation, Travel on February 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

TintinLotusSOUNDTRACK: THE DOUBLECLICKS-“The Internet National Anthem” (2012).

inatThe Doubleclicks are a sister duo from Portland, Oregon.  They are nerdy and fun (perhaps we can think of them as non-accordion, female They Might be Giants?).  Take “The Internet National Anthem”,” a song  with a steady four/four beat, cellos and  a suitably anthemic chorus, that’s all about the internet.

I was introduced to this band from Kid’s Corner, although I feel that perhaps their songs aren’t really for kids (not that they’re inappropriate but they seem more sophisticated than a typical kids song.  Like this song has big words and it is quite funny.  Although in all honesty it’s not laugh out loud funny, just mildly funny.  It’s got the vibe of Garfunkel and Oates, but not the big guffaws.

Check out their albums here .

[READ: February 8, 2013] The Blue Lotus

This third (technically fifth) Tintin book is the continuation of Cigars of the Pharaoh.  One of the characters from Pharaoh returns in this book, despite the fact that it is set in China.  This book also continues with Hergé’s having it both way in terms of other races.  His drawings are caricaturey and depending on your sensibilities/appreciation for drawing skills/tolerance are either really racist or simply in poor taste (although it does seem to be that the bad characters of other races are the most offensive–the good people are less crazy).

But despite the visual insensitivity, there are several section where Hergé explicitly talks about tolerance and understanding between races.  Like when Tintin saves the young Chinese boy, Chang, who says he thought all white devils were wicked.  Tintin explains that white people believe stupid things about Chinese people too  (eating rotten eggs, tons of unwanted babies in their rivers, etc.).  Chang says “They must be crazy people in your country).  As it turns out (quoting Wikipedia ), “The Blue Lotus is a pivotal work in Hergé’s career, moving away from the stereotype and loosely connected stories and marking a new-found commitment to geographical and cultural accuracy. The book is also amongst the most highly regarded of the entire Tintin series, and was the 18th greatest book on Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century list.”  It’s quite progressive for the 1930s.

The plotlines from the previous book are continued: there is the poison that makes you crazy, the Pharaoh’s logo shows up and there are Indian characters returning as well.  And by the end Thompson and Thompson, the twin policeman who complicate each others sentences and prove to be more bumbling than we originally thought arrive to capture Tintin (although they believe in Tintin’s goodness–they’re only following orders, you see). (more…)

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Maria Semple–Where’d You Go Bernadette (2012)

Posted in Dentists, Garbage, Letters, Maria Semple, Marriage Trouble, Travel on February 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

bernSOUNDTRACK: GARBAGE-Garbage (1995).

garbageWhen the debut Garbage album came out I was totally hooked.  I was initially skeptical of the album–the sneaky release of “Vow” with no hype (but hype), the Butch Vig connection.  But I heard it and wow.  Then the rest of the album did not disappoint.  I listened to this album so much it’s hard for me to even be objective about it.  For a time this was my favorite album.  My biggest celebrity bummer was when I found out that they were appearing at a Newbury Comics and I went to the wrong one.  By the time I got across town to the real location, the line was huge and the clerk cut off the line about four people in front of me.  Ugh.

I’m not sure what it was about this album–it’s slick, it’s technically overproduced (three producers who spent countless months tinkering with it) but it doesn’t really sound overproduced. It’s an interesting pastiche of pop, grunge, electronic and goth.  It’s a dark album for sure, but it has pop tones all over it.  It’s also musically interesting, like the way the disc opens.  The opening riff of “Supervixen” is a few notes and then just stops                            and then resumes.  It’s weird and off-putting for the opening of an album and it immediately grabs you.

Then you get the sultry goth-lite of “Queer.”  Overtly sexual, dark and sneaky it’s a perfectly naughty radio friendly alt rock song.  This was released during a time when women were ruling alt-rock, so it wasn’t singular in any way, but it certainly led the way for more women fronted gothy bands.  And so did “Only Happy When it Rains” –the surprise mope rock hit.

“As Heaven is Wide” is a really dark song, understandably not a hit, but really sexy and groovy.  “Not My Idea” brings in some of the first non minor key chords–where Manson sings in her sweeter voice until the raucous chorus.  “Vow” seems like such an unlikey first single–the stuttering guitar the nonsinging vocals, it really doesn’t showcase Shirley’s voice all that well.  But as a middle of the album song it’s nice and hard hitting.  “Stupid Girl” was also pretty huge–it’s got some wonderfully raw sounds to keep it from being too treacly (well and the lyrics do too, of course).

“Dog New Tricks” has a lot going on musically underneath Manson’s voice that I still find it really compelling–like the staggered guitars that don’t seem to fit, but do.  “My Lover’s Box” (which I always assumed was called “Send Me An Angel”) is another slow sultry number although the guitar riff is way too reminiscent of Aldo Nova’s one hit (“Fantasy).  “Fix Me Now” is one final loud, oddly upbeat song, followed by the wonderful gothy closer “Milk” which emphasizes keyboards in a way that the rest of the album doesn’t.

It’s a great debut, an album that I still regard very highly even if I don’t listen to it all that often anymore.

[READ: February 3, 2013] Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Sarah brought this book home and said I would like it.  And I was able to read a few pages when she ran into a store and it was very funny so I couldn’t wait to read the whole thing (despite the rather stupid cover).  Maria Semple was a writer for Arrested Development among other shows and recently turned her pen to novels (this is her second book).

One of the delights of this book was having literally no idea where it was going.  Meaning that by the end of Part Two (there are six parts), I really had no idea where it would end.  By the time it ends it all makes sense, but it wasn’t telegraphed, which is pretty cool.  This book also ties nicely to Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore.  In Penumbra, much of the action took place at and around Google.  In Bernadette, much of the action takes place in and around Microsoft.  Based on these two fictionalizations, it sounds like Google is a more enjoyable place to work as Google gave you free food made to your specifications whereas in Microsoft all they had was free candy machines (and lots of layoffs and jealousy that they can’t use an iPhone).

The story is narrated by Bee, and eighth grader who scores all S’s on her private school report card (S is the highest you can get, since they don’t believe in grades).  The note accompanying the report card raves about Bee’s intelligence, generosity and helpfulness around the school).  That night at the dinner table, Bee tells her parents what she wants for getting such a great report card (she had always wanted a pony, but has changed her mind): She wants to go to Antarctica on a cruise with the family.

This presents a problem for Bee’s mother Bernadette because she pretty much never leaves the house.  Well, she does, but only to drive Bee to school.  She has recently started outsourcing her life to a woman in India (for 75 cents an hour). The woman does literally everything for her, including making reservations at a restaurant 1/2 a mile from Bernadette’s house.  But Bernadette wasn’t always like this.  Indeed, she was once a future star in the architecture field until the tragic event that changed everything for her.

That change inspired a move with her husband, Elgie, to Seattle (a city which she now loathes–in great detail) where he found a job at Microsoft.  He thrived there and soon was put in charge of the Samantha 2 project–a program that allows you to interact with all your devices using only your mind (his TED talk is the fourth most viewed ever!). (more…)

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Hergé–Tintin: Cigars of the Pharoah (1934) [translated 1971]

Posted in Adventure, Africa, Ben Folds, Children's Books, Culture Shock, Egyptology, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Hergé, Kids Corner, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, Ralph's World, Star Wars, The Board of Education, Travel, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on January 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

cigarsSOUNDTRACK: THE BOARD OF EDUCATION-“Why is Dad So Mad?” (2012).

dadI heard this song on Kids Corner and I am frankly shocked that it didn’t make the top ten songs of the year (kids have no taste).  Why is dad so mad?  Because of what George Lucas has done to the Star Wars movies!   “Why does dad get so mad about Star Wars.  Mr Lucas what have you done?”

 The lyrics are so good I didn’t even really notice the music at first (check out: “and I wonder why it’s so bad that Greedo shoots first at Han.”  “He’s always excited when those yellow words come on, but by the end he’s mad about that new Ewok song.”

But the music is great too.  It has a kind of Ben Folds vibe (in the slow piano section) mixed with a little Ralph’s World, but the whole package is a wee bit heavier–the guitars are a  little distorted (but not very) and the pace is brisk and fun.

The song is also full of cool spacey sound effects (and a nice nod to the soundtrack).  The chorus is catchy and poppy.   A wonderful song.  I’m going to investigate The Board of Education a bit more.  In the meantime, check out Why is Dad So Mad?.

[READ: January 19, 2013] Cigars of the Pharoah

This second (technically fourth) Tintin book was a lot more focused than In America, which, although excellent, tended to ramble all over the country.

This book sees Tintin in the Mediterranean Sea on a cruise.  The action starts right away when a bumbling man named Dr Sarcophagus, an Egyptologist, crashes into Tintin saying that he lost his valuable papyrus.  The papyrus blows out to sea, but the Dr says, that indeed it wasn’t the valuable papyrus at all, which is safely in his coat.  It’s a weird moment, but we slowly learn that the Dr is more than a little absent minded.  Nevertheless, the papyrus has a map on it that he believes will lead to the undiscovered tomb of the Pharaoh Kih-Oskh (nice joke there).

I said that the last Tintin book wasn’t quite for kids and the same is true here.  Two men, Thompson and Thompson (more on them) accuse Tintin of smuggling opium and cocaine (again, did kids read this in the 30s?).  Thompson and Thompson are funny in that they look alike and when one says something the other twists the words slightly to radically alter their meaning while using most of the same words.  Anyhow, they “arrest” Tintin, but as in America, he escapes in an unlikely way and meets up with Dr Sarcophagus.

Tintin, Snowy and Sr Sarcophagus escape some violent deaths in a number of funny ways (like when the sheik who hates Westerners recognizes Tintin from his adventures (he even has a book–although in this later edition it is actually a book that came out after this one.

In another scene, Tintin rescues a woman who is being beaten, only to find out that he is actually on a film set.  Later, he winds up on a ship of smugglers, is forced to enlist in the Arabian army and is eventually made to face a firing squad. (more…)

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Kevin Canty–“Mayfly” (New Yorker, January 28, 2013)

Posted in Fishing, Kevin Canty, New Yorker, Short Story, Travel, Unlikable main character, Vampire Weekend on January 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_01_28_13Colombo.indd

SOUNDTRACK: VAMPIRE WEEKEND-“Arms” (Live) (2013).

TVampire-Weekend-608x287his track is a bootleg-quality live recording of a new Vampire Weekend song which may or may not be on the new album.  The sound quality is lousy, but you can hear all of the elements of the song.

It sounds like Vampire Weekend, but a bit slower than I’m used to.  I love Vampire Weekend more than I should, and while I’m open to them changing, I’ll be bummed if they turn into a different band (as their version of  “Unbelievers” on Jimmy Kimmel suggested).

Every VW album deserves a ballad, but I hope it’s not all slow songs–VW gives you pep!

You can hear it here.

[READ: January 23, 2013] “Mayfly”

This story opens with a beautiful and sad image–thousands of butterflies flying across a street on their annual migration to Mexico.  And hundreds of them getting hit by cars–smashing into windshields and grilles.

James, the driver of the car is not happy about it, but hi co-pilot (in the car and soon in life) Molly is distraught.  She demands he pull over.  Which he does, only to see that tractor trailers and other cars are not pulling over and are similarly smashing into the butterflies.  Finally James says there’s nothing they can do, so they continue on through the carnage.

They arrive at their destination–James’ old friend Sam and his wife Jenny’s house.  Sam and Jenny have three kids, including a new baby.  And they weren’t expecting James until the next day, but they welcome James and Molly warmly.  They have dinner and drinks and a nice time catching up.  James has a business trip to Denver the next morning, but he’ll be back that night.  They agree that Molly can accompany him since she wanted to visit a friend in Denver.  James and Jenny stay home. (more…)

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César Aira–The Seamstress and the Wind (1994) [translated 2011]

Posted in Adventure, Books about writers, Canadian Music, César Aira, Constellation Records, Elfin Saddle, Fables, Fantasy, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Poker, Rosalie Knecht, Short Books, Supernatural, Surreal, Translation, Travel on January 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

seamSOUNDTRACK: ELFIN SADDLE-Devastates [CST087] (2012).

elfinElfin Saddle continues their streak of oddly juxtaposed music that works very well.   The band specializes in a kind of Middle Eastern folk music (there’s a lot of Jewish-style singing), but with Emi Honda singing Japanese-style vocals it really alters the overall sound.  They also use a lot of raw sounding “instruments” many of which are found or quite simply, junk.  Check out the instrumentation list: Jordan McKenzie: voice, guitar, half-accordion, drums, varied percussion, membrane pipes, organs, piano, pvc processing, tapes, phonographs, speakers, etc.  Emi Honda: voice, ukulele, drums, half-accordion, musical saw, extra percussion.  It’s that extra percussion and etc. that you hear a lot, rattling around in the background of these songs.

They play complex rhythms (with lots of low end drumming) underneath ethereal noises (music boxes and the like).  And all the while, Honda and McKenzie trade off their unusual vocals.  It’s mesmerizing.  When the band really starts rocking, like in “The Changing Wind” you hear how well it all works together, and how well the two play off each other.  The slower pieces, like “Boats” are very cinematic, probably because everything sounds so real–you can see the items that are making these odd sounds.

The music is definitely not pop, but with just a listen or two, you can really appreciate what they’re doing.  If you like your folk a little noisy or your rock a little experimental, this is a great record to check out.

[READ: January 13, 2013] The Seamstress and the Wind

Things that I have said about every book of Aira’s that I have read: they are all short, he writes a lot of books (according to Wikipedia he has written at least 45 books since this one came out about twenty years ago), and they are all nonlinear.

And so it is with this 130 page book.

As the book opens, a young boy named César Aira is playing with his friend in the back of their neighbor Chiquito’s truck.  They are playing a game of ghosts when suddenly, César finds himself walking in a trance back to his house.  Turns out his friend Omar couldn’t find him for hours (and when César snaps out of it, indeed hours have passed).  And yet, despite this story, it turns out that really Omar is missing (what? who knows?).  Omar is the son of the local seamstress, Delia Siffoni.  She is sewing a wedding dress for the art teacher, Silvia, who is (scandalously) pregnant.  When she hears that her son is missing, she freaks out and calls out a search party.

She concludes that Omar was hiding in Chiquito’s truck when he left for Patagonia.  So she takes a taxi to chase after Chiquito.  Since the dress is due to be finished right away, she takes it and her supplies with her in hopes of finishing it on the road.  When Ramón, Delia’s husband realizes what she has done, he chases after her.  And when Silvia realizes that her dress is driving away in a taxi she follows Ramón.  And so it becomes a road novel in which none of the characters are together.

By the end of the story there has been a terrible accident with a taxi crashing into a truck.  There has been a poker game where one of the two women has been lost in a bet (unbeknownst to her) and we have met The Wind (Sir Ventarrón) who helps the seamstress with her problems.  Indeed, Sir Ventarrón becomes an integral part of the story, including a flashback when Sir Ventarrón assisted a snowman in his quest for eternal life (yes). (more…)

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Hergé–Tintin in America (1932) [translated 1962]

Posted in Adventure, Africa, Children's Books, Culture Shock, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Hergé, Kids Corner, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, The Diggity Dudes, Travel, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on January 13, 2013| 2 Comments »

tintin americaSOUNDTRACK: THE DIGGITY DUDES-“My Science Project” (2012).

diggityThe Diggity Dudes are getting a lot of airplay on Kids’ Corner on WXPN.  I like them in theory but I don’t really like the style of music they play–it’s a little too generic.  That being said, I do rather like the lyrics of this song.

It’s all about doing, yes, a science project.  “Measure twice or you’ll have a disaster.”  The problem is that the verses are done in a  rap style that’s not very good.  And the rhymes are awful.

I give them credit for writing about cool subjects for kids (like “To the Library” which I would have reviewed but they didn’t have it playing on their site).  But if they weren’t a kid’s band, I wouldn’t like them at all.  Despite that, I imagine they put on a great live show–they seem like they’d be a lot of fun.

[READ: Jauary 10, 2013] Tintin in America

I have known of Tintin for years (Sarah and I even have an inside joke about the boy journalist).  When we went to Brussels, we went to the art museum and saw the history of Hergé’s works (Hergé’s real name is Georges Prosper Remi) and the tons of souvenir Tintin things that are for sale. And yet I’d never read any of his stories.

I saw some in the library and decided to check out volume one.  Interestingly, this volume starts with Tintin in America. While reading it I quickly determined that this was not the first book in the series.  Indeed, America is the third book after Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo (neither of these two are readily available in the US–the first because Hergé later felt it was too crude to redo for collections and the second because the depiction of Africans was deemed offensive).  So, most collections begin with this book (which is only a little odd because he is already well-known and the story seems to start in the middle because he dealt with some of these thugs in book 2).

But on to America. (more…)

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César Aira–The Literary Conference (2006) [translated 2010]

Posted in Books about writers, Carlos Fuentes, César Aira, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Katherine Silver, Mad Scientists, Sci-fi, Short Books, Sonic Youth, Translation, Travel, William S. Burroughs on January 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

literarySOUNDTRACK: CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING-“Burroughs” (2013).

chelsea-light-moving-albumChelsea Light Moving is Thurston Moore’s new band [no comments about the state of Sonic Youth/Kim Gordon will be included in this post].  I don’t know anything about the other members of the band; I’ve not heard of any of them.  “Burroughs” is one of four new songs streaming on the Matador Records site.

The song is spot on for the noisy/sloppy style of Sonic Youth.  Fans of Sonic Youth will certainly detect some differences–the counterpoint of Lee Ranaldo is definitely absent, indeed, the entire low end sounds very different from what SY would create given this song.  But man, if you’re jonesing for some chaotic noise, this song has it in spades.

Moore is capable of creating some traditionally beautiful songs (see his Trees album), but here it’s all about discord.  The song is over six minutes long and the last 3 or so are devoted to some noisy guitars in both chords and solos.

While SY has not shied away from long songs, this song doesn’t feel like an epic–it’s not multi part or “extended” exactly.  It’s a fairly straightforward rock song with an extended solo section.  It’s really great.  I’m looking forward to the whole album (and I love the cover, too),

[READ: March 23, 2012] The Literary Conference

This has been my favorite Aira book so far.  And that’s probably because it is wonderfully over the top, mixing fantasy, sci-fi, genetics and literature.  All in 90 pages.

The story is about César Aira, translator.  He has been invited to a literary conference in Venezuela.  While there, he solves the age-old problem of The Macuto Line.  The Macuto Line is, essentially a rope which is attached to a pirate treasure.  For generations, people have tried all kinds of  things to impact this line–but it has proven to be unsolvable and indestructible.   Aira happened to be staying near the Line in a hotel.  He claims that he is no genius, but it just happens that the elements of his life have given him the exact information he needs to solve the puzzle.  And with a simple touch of the rope, the treasure is his.

But that’s just part 1 and has nothing to do with the rest of the story, really.  For despite his newfound wealth, he will still be attending the literary conference.  Primarily because he knows that Carlos Fuentes will be there (Fuentes is a real person, a Mexican author who died in 2012).  For, you see, Aira is planning to clone Fuentes in his bid to take over the world.  (In addition to being a translator, Aira is a mad scientist). (more…)

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McSweeney’s #12 [Unpublished, Unknown &\Or Unbelievable] (2003)

Posted in Aimee Bender, Aleksandar Hemon, Alicia Erian, All Songs Considered, Andrea Deszo, Andy Lamey, Ann Cummins, Ashley Warlick, Ben Ehrenreich, Boredom, Chad Simpson, Darin Strauss, David Ebershoff, Dean Wareham, Death, Douglas Coupland, Drinking, Drugs, Emma Forrest, Essays, Excerpt, Frank Ocean, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gabe Hudson, Glen David Gold, Henry Bean, History, J. Malcolm Garcia, J. Robert Lennon, James Boice, Jennifer Egan, Jess Walter, Jessica Francis Kane, Jill Bialosky, John Henry Fleming, Jonathan Lethem, Judy Budnitz, Julie Orringer, Katie Roiphe, Laird Hunt, Letters, Marc Nesbitt, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Memoirs, Myla Goldberg, Native Americans, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Peter Orner, Prince, Rachel Sherman, Racism, Rene Nuijens, Rhett Miller, Rick Moody, Robots, Roddy Doyle, Ryan Boudinot, Salvador Plascencia, Sarah Raymont, Set at School, Sex, Shann Ray, Short Story, Sibylla Brodzinsky, Stacey Richter, Steve Almond, Steve Stiefel, Steven Millhauser, Tara June Winch, Travel, Valerie Sutton, Violence, Virginity (Loss of), War, Wythe Marschall on December 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

12SOUNDTRACK: FRANK OCEAN-“Bad Religion” (2012).

frankoI didn’t know anything about Frank Ocean until I started looking at all of the  Best Albums of 2012 lists.  He was on everyone’s list and was pretty near the top of all of them.  So it was time to check him out.

It  turns out that he’s affiliated with the Odd Future collective, whom I’ve talked about in the past.  But he’s also been on a lot of big name records.  Channel Orange is his debut album (that’s not a mixtape) and the big surprise seems to be that this song (which he sang live on Jimmy Fallon) is about a male lover.  And I guess that’s progress.

So Ocean sings a slow R&B style, and I have to say his voice reminds me of Prince a lot.  Which is a good thing.  I really like this song.    It has gospelly keyboards (but in that Purple Rain kinda way).  And a really aching vocal line.  It’s really effective and it’s really simple.  And I think that’s what I liked best about this song and others that I’ve heard–he’s really understated.  Crazy, I know.

Now I do not like R&B, it’s one of the few genres that I just don;t get.  And yet there’s something about this album (the tracks I’ve listened to) that is really compelling.  It’s not awash in over the top R&B trappings, and it doesn’t try too hard.  It’s just Frank  (not his real name) and his voice over some simple beats.  A friend of mine recently said that all of a sudden she “got” this album, and  I think I may have to get it as well.

[READ: December 30, 2012] McSweeney’s #12

At the beginning of 2012, I said I’d read all of my old McSweeney’s issues this year.  I didn’t.  Indeed, I put it off for quite a while for no especial reason.  Now as the year draws to an end, I’m annoyed that I didn’t read them all, but it’s not like I read nothing.  Nevertheless, I managed to read a few in the last month and am delighted that I finished this one just under the wire.  For those keeping track, the only issues left are 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 10, 38, (which I misplaced but have found again) and 42, which just arrived today.  My new plan in to have those first four read by Easter.  We’ll see.

So Issue #12 returns to a number of different fun ideas.  The cover:  It’s a paperback, but you can manipulate the front and back covers to make a very cool 3-D effect (by looking through two eyeholes) with a hippo.  The colophon/editor’s note is also back.  Someone had complained that he missed the small print ramble in the beginning of the book and so it is back, with the writer (Eggers? Horowitz?) sitting in Wales, in a B&B, and hating it.  It’s very funny and a welcome return.

As the title suggests, all of the stories here are from unpublished authors.  They debate about what exactly unpublished means, and come down on the side of not well known.  And so that’s what we have here, first time (for the mos part) stories.  And Roddy Doyle.

There are some other interesting things in this issue.  The pages come in four colors–each for a different section.  The Letters/Intro page [white], the main stories [pink], the Roddy Doyle piece (he’s not unpublished after all so he gets his own section) [gray] and the twenty minute stories [yellow].  There’s also photographs (with captions) of Yuri Gagarin.  And a series of drawing that introduce each story called “Dancewriting”–a stick figure on a five-lined staff.  They’re interesting but hard to fathom fully.

LETTERS (more…)

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Mac Barnett–It Happened on a Train [Brixton Brothers Book #3] (2011) [audiobook 2011–Arte Johnson]

Posted in Adventure, Arte Johnson, Audiobooks, Children's Books, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Mac Barnett, McSweeney's, Noir, Spies, Trains, Travel on December 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: December 2012] It Happened on a Train

brixton3After the raging success of Brixton Brothers Books 1 and 2 we were thrilled to get to Book 3.

Twelve-year old Steve Brixton has given up on being a detective.  His hero, the author of the Bailey Brothers mysteries has proven to be a thief and a liar and he wants nothing to do with the man anymore.  So he has bundled all of his Bailey Brothers books–his favorite books in the world–and put them in the trash.

His chum, Dana, is not that upset about the closing of the agency, especially since he has now been dating a girl named Dana (“other Dana” as Steve calls her).  Other Dana has gotten Dana into a book series about wizards and dragons which Steve simply cannot believe.

This 3rd novel proves to adhere well to the title–it does all happen on a train.  Well, most of it anyhow.  The boys have been invited to the Model U.N. meeting in San Diego.  After last book’s fake debate club ruse, Steve’s mother is very suspicious of the Model U.N., especially since no one has ever heard of it.  [It turns out that my school had a model U.N., but most of us had no idea what they did either–imagine my surprise to see that very organization appear in an episode of Community!]  The story checks out and Rick (jerk) takes this as an opportunity to bond with Stevie Brix (what, you don’t get it) by tagging along for the nine-hour train ride.

Before the train ride gets underway, Steve is approached by a surfer dude who is looking for help.  Steve hears the man’s case but tells him that he has retired (a recurring joke).  It took us a while to get to the end of the story and we had all but completely forgotten about this plot point by the time we got to the end.

Anyhow, on the train, Steve winds up talking to a girl, Claire, whose uncle is a private detective.  The girl is nice but thinks it doesn’t make sense that 12-year-old Steve is retired.  Steve is annoyed by her, and has mixed feelings about her.  But he sees that she has left her book behind, so he finds her to give it back.  But she is nowhere to be seen. (more…)

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