SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).
Ralph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him. He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).
The concert lasted only 6 minutes, but in that time he sang three a capella songs: “Gloryland,” “Turn Back, Turn Back” and “Amazing Grace.”
It’s hard to assess a legend based on this performance. I’ve no idea how good his voice was back in the day. He sounds fine here, albeit understandably quite old. I’d have liked to hear his banjo.
[READ: January 3, 2014] Grantland #8
It is becoming apparent to me that Grantland loves basketball. Like, a lot more than any other sport. This issue had a ton of basketball in it. And, I have to admit I was a little tired of it by the end–there was a lot less pop culture stuff, too. So, it felt especially basketball heavy. I realize of course that the time frame covered was the playoffs, but still.
BILL SIMMONS-“Searching for a Superman”
A lengthy article about Dwight Howard, discussing the pros and cons of signing him again.
MARK TITUS-“How Did He Get So Good?”
A look at Paul George and Danny Green doing better than expected in the NCAA playoffs.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“A Dark Day in Boston”
Pierce wonders about Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing–he says the city will come back stronger. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: An open letter to the Rheostatics (2014).
To Dave, Martin, Tim and assorted drummers:
I’ve been a fan of the Rheostatics for a long time. I recall traveling to Toronto from New Jersey back in the 90s and tracking down Introducing Happiness at Sam the Record Man. And then later driving around the Niagara Falls region listening to the strange and wonderful album. I’ve enjoyed all of the subsequent albums.
You were a unique band with a unique sound. I was sad when you split up, even if that meant that now there were three solo projects to enjoy. Of course, there’s been a lot of bands that have broken up, it’s just part of being a fan. But the thing about the Rheostatics breakup is that you three (or four or five or six) have remained friendly. You’ve done a few reunion shows since the breakup, which I think that’s super cool. It’s especially cool because RheostaticsLive tends to post them after a while so that those of us who don’t make the shows can hear them.
I’ve never seen you guys live, and I imagine I never will. And I’m okay with that. What I’m mostly bummed about is that there will be no more new music from you. You put out approximately ten albums (there’s a few miscellaneous things that are hard to qualify). Those records include soundtracks and live albums and all manner of things, so there’s really seven proper albums (the others are great, don’t get me wrong). Anyhow, my gut feeling is that there needs to be some new Rheostatics music. I know you’ve all been doing solo stuff (and I have it), but sometimes the sum is greater, etc.
Clearly I’m getting at that it’s time for a new album from the Rheostatics. Before you scoff, I’m not talking reuniting for a grand tour, or even any tour, I’m not even talking a live show. Heck, I’m not even talking about you guys hanging out for more than a couple weeks. Just an album of new songs. A decade ago it would have been unthinkable that you would get together for the expense of an album without major label support. But now, the cost is so much lower and with your fan base expanding, I assume it would be easy to recoup the expenses.
So what do you say? Since it seems like everyone is still friendly and creative, maybe you can throw some ideas around in the email, see if there’s anything magical happening. Obviously, if there’s nothing there or you just can’t work together, then don’t continue. No one wants to hear a crappy Rheostatics album. But if there’s even a chance that you guys can throw some ideas together and pull out another “Horses,” or “Northern Wish” or “CCYPA,” or holy cow, “King of the Past,” or, hell, anything you’ve done, then it’s absolutely worth it.
I don’t imagine any of you will read this, but maybe if you google yourselves, Tim Vesely, Dave Bidini, Martin Tielli, you’ll see this and think that, yes, dammit, seven records of Rheostatics music is not enough.
Thanks for the music, Paul Debraski.
[READ: January 26, 2014] Worst. Person. Ever.
I told myself that I wanted to read this book before anyone requested it. And I did. In fact, I wanted to finish it before the weekend was up, which I did as well. It’s nice to meet a minor goal.
The last few Coupland books that I read (see last week) were very dark. Since those books, he has broadened his palette somewhat, including writing a children’s book and some more non-fiction. And then we get this. A vulgar, very funny sendup of modern culture. The introduction to the book says that it was based on a short story that he wrote for McSweeney’s #31 called “Survivior.” That story was written in the style known a biji which they described as
Biji is sort of a notebook, which contains legends, anecdotes, scientific notes and local wisdom. Accounts of everyday life mix with travel narratives as well as lists. It is meant to represent a picture of the culture at the time of writing.
I thought that this style was well suited to Coupland, because he includes all of that stuff anyway. And so he has taken that story and fleshed it out into this full novel.
The worst person ever is named Raymond Gunt. He thinks he’s Jason Bourne, but he’s really just a metaphorical extra in a Bourne movie (one who probably gets killed). Gunt is a cameraman working in England. He is divorced. His wife is a raging harpy (at least from his point of view, which is all we see). Since their divorce, she has become wildly successful in television production. He calls in on her at work and she tells him about a job working as a B cameraman on a show called Survival. He knows that the job must suck or she wouldn’t give it to him, but he needs to work. Of course, he is most upset at the thought of having to work with Americans (Americans are majorly abused in this story). Although by its very nature a B cameraman position is not as good as an A cameraman, Ray needs the work, so he agrees to fly to some godforsaken tropical island to watch beautiful people starve and try to have sex with each other.
On his way out of the building he sees a homeless guy. And since Ray is the worst person ever, he kicks him. But the homeless guy is no pushover and he chases after Ray. He catches Ray in an alley and pummels him, ultimately pushing his face into some garbage. The man is Neal and although he acts crazy, he’s actually quite sharp (why he is homeless is not addressed). After forcing Ray to sing the female verses of “Don’t You Want Me,” Neal gives him this sage advice:
“Stop being a cunt to the world and the world will stop being a cunt to you.”
Advice which Ray simply cannot follow.
When ray learns that he needs a personal assistant, um, slave, he immediately thinks of Neal. So he tracks him down, cleans him up and gives him a job. And off they jet to make some TV.
In the course of the book, a series of crazy things–the kind of things only Coupland thinks of–sidetrack them from Ray’s goal. (His real goal is to get laid, naturally). First, it turns out that Neal, despite being homeless, is a total babe magnet. And throughout the story, as he gets cleaner and fresher, he becomes irresistible This, of course, ruins Ray’s plans of bedding hot women. And as Neal gets cleaner, he becomes less and less Rays assistant and more and more Ray’s equal.
They jet to L.A., (he was supposed to be in first class, but was bumped and is super angry). He also gets in trouble with the airport bartender, Lacey, who comes back to haunt him in ways one could never predict. He gets first class seats on the way to Hawaii and he abuses the privilege. Then, because of unforeseen circumstances, they have to stay in Honolulu (with lots of Spam jokes). And because of those unforseen circumstances, they need to recast the show, which means Ray’s wife has to jet down and be around them. And Ray’s wife, Fiona, is delighted to make Ray’s life miserable. Eventually, they head to their intended island and prepare to set up for the show.
In the meantime, the U.S. has decided to destroy the Great Pacific Garbage Patch–in a very imaginative way. And ray is on hand to witness the destruction. This plan causes all manner of trouble with shipping and airplane traffic. Which has the effect of isolating everyone on the Survivor island–causing a literal survival situation.
Raymond Gunt may not be the worst person ever, but he is pretty darn close. He tries to sleep with anyone. He tries to screw over everyone else (but never seems to get anywhere). And he genuinely likes to torment others. And all the while he repeats his mantra, “I consider myself a reasonable enough citizen.” Despite Gunt’s personality, he (or at least the story) is funny enough that you want to keep reading (and maybe even to succeed in some of his designs). And that made this story a major page turner. And it was very funny as well.
Coupland really gets the feel for writing a British story. It doesn’t read like any of his other books and while it’s not full of crazy accents or overt Britishisms, his main character is defiantly not American. As I said, all Americans are fat, sweaty, stupid and prudish in Ray’s mind.
This is also the worst person that Coupland has ever written. He is such an abominable person with an incredibly filthy mouth. The above quote is just one of just many curses in the book. In fact there’s a whole subplot about how prudish Americans are about people saying “fuck” despite their cavalier acceptance of violence and other things (we say friggin, when everyone knows we mean fucking).
I have to assume Coupland had a ton of fun writing this. And it really comes through. I’m also going to guess that a lot of people’ won’t like this book because Gunt is so reprehensible. But if you can get past that, the story is funny, and makes some pointedly humorous observations about a lot of contemporary life. Like “Survival [sic] is a popular reality TV show… You’re either into this show or you’re not. It’s binary.” or “‘Come on Eileen’ was a single in 1982…What’s weird about this song is that it was so huge at the time and now you listen to it and wonder, what the hell was everyone thinking? Well, that’s pop culture for you.” It even has what seem like Wikipedia entries of things throughout in the book (and a YouTube link which is bizarre to see in print).
I really enjoyed this, and I’m thrilled that Coupland has unleashed his inner black humorist.
Watch him talk about the book with Jian Ghomeshi, a great interviewer
Pete Seeger died last night at the age of 94. I love his anti-war quote: “Sometimes I think [about] that old saying,’The pen is mightier than the sword.’ Well, my one hope is the guitar is gonna be mightier than the bomb.”
When I was a kid, I knew a few of his songs (and didn’t really like them) because of an organ songbook we had (did everyone have an organ in the 70s?). I can remember pounding on the wheezing organ and making up silly lyrics to “If I Had a Hammer” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” It’s amazing to think that these songs, which were written in the sixties, are often seen as eternal classics. It’s also amazing to think that Seeger wrote “Turn! Turn! Turn!” which I never associated with him. Indeed, like Woody Guthrie, much of American folk music can be traced to Pete Seeger (even if he adapted much of it himself).
I really started getting into Seeger when I had kids, as I found his music was fun to teach the kids to sing along to–it was designed for singing along to. In fact, he wrote a ton of children’s music as well. (He released FIFTY-TWO studio albums, along with 22 live albums and 23 compilations). His first solo album was a collection of traditional folk songs for children (he didn’t write them, which may be why it’s confusing to know which songs were actually his). And I don’t even know anything about his first band The Weavers, who had hits with “Goodnight Irene,” “On Top of Old Smokey,” “So Long (It’s Been Good to Know You)” and “Wimoweh.”
I don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed her Tiny Desk Concert. Unlike most of the musicians, she busts out an electric guitar, and although it’s quiet, there’s some good buzzy distortion on it, especially in the first song “Heavy Snow.” And it sounds good with her voice, which is powerful, even if she does seem nervous.
On “Ce Charmant Coeur” she sings in French and then messes up when she admits she’s thinking of other things and is distracted by the intimacy of the setting. Bob and company calm her by saying that she is sweating less than Tom Jones did (and there’s very funny joke about her breasts popping out (they don’t)).
She plays “Tailor.” It seems like she tried earlier and stopped half way through and is now trying again (the Concert itself starts midway through, so I assume that’s what was cut off). It’s a pretty, mellow song (very different sounding from “Heavy Snow”).
For the last song she plays “Consolation Prize” which she says is unlike any she’d written before. There’s a chaotic section in the middle which they agree we can just imagine because shes not going to play it in this setting. The blurb with the show says that she normally rocks out pretty hard–something that I’d like to see.
In looking up Doiron’s past she was on Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop, so I must have seen her name a lot back in the day. I now see she has recorded with all kinds of bands that I like, and I’m curious to hear her more rocking edge (especially since she is so polite and sweet and nervous here).
After finishing the exciting All Families are Psychotic I moved on to his novel with my least favorite title and with a horrendous cover. You’d think that I would remember these books but I had no memory of this one either, and I’m fairly certain I read it within the last ten years.
Coupland must have been in a very dark place with this book as well.
There are four sections, each from a different person’s point of view. This technique of having a person tell his or her story is something Coupland does very well in all of his works–he loves to tell stories about telling stories.
But the darkness about the book is that it is set in a school just as three student gunman come in and shoot up the cafeteria, killing dozens of students, including the first narrator, Cheryl. This was written with the Columbine shootings in mind, although it has nothing specifically to do with Columbine.
In Part 1, Cheryl has already been killed as she is relating this story to us. She tells us about herself and her decision to join Youth Alive! a religious group in school. She and her friends in the group are very moral and are quite clique-y (and they are not widely liked).
The latest thing in Cheryl’s life which has her preoccupied and which has her Youth Alive! group very upset is that she has been spending a lot of unchaperoned time with Jason. Everyone knew they were dating, but it seems to have gone further now. And Cheryl explains to us (but not them) that she and Jason have started having sex. But not until after they rushed off to Vegas and were quickie-married (which no one knows, not even their parents). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).
I’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…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE AVETT BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #18 (June 22, 2009).
I 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.
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…)
Since I have posted about Phish already, it seemed like time to listen to an ICP song. I admit that when their first album came out, they seemed goofy enough to check out their album. I love a cartoony band that is going to “ruin America.” But I had heard that their music was just too awful to enjoy ironically, so I never bothered with them (if I had been a few years younger, I probably would have embraced them wholly). In the book below, Rabin says that their newer stuff is not only a ton better than their early stuff (which he admits is raw and pretty terrible) he says that it is quite poppy.
So I listened to a few of the songs that he mentions (and there are some funny lines), but I decided to focus on this one which Rabin describes as “a groovy throwback number that finds ecstasy in a bleak moral reckoning…finding the joy in the macabre and the celebration in the gothic. Also, it’s catchy as fuck.”
That’s a highfalutin way of saying that they sing about blowing shit up. Lyrically the song seems to be about ICP talking to their fans (in the harshest terms possible, which I guess is affection: “Cuz you’re the evilest pedophiles, rapists and abusers/All together we’ve got fifty thousand of you losers”). It’s an insider tract and if you don’t like it or get it, well, you’re not supposed to.
But aside from the lyrics about rapists and all the cursing, this song could easily be a big hit. It is, yes, catchy as fuck.
But I won’t be listening to more from them.
[READ: January 2, 2013] You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me
Every year my brother-in-law gets me cool and unusual books, most of which I’ve never heard of. This year, he got me this book which I’d never heard of. I was confused by the title (which is confusing). The author’s name sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure—until I saw the A.V. Club connection. So, at first I thought this was going to be about going to interesting shows or basically having something to do with the A.V. Club. But, as the subtitle says, this book is exclusively about Rabin’s travels following Phish for a summer and also going to some ICP Gatherings of the Juggalos.
The theme of the book is how most people have never heard the music of either band, but they have formed opinions not only of the bands, but their followers. Rabin points out plenty of exceptions to the stereotypes, but you won’t be leaving this book thinking much more of the preexisting stereotypes than you already do. Sure, some Phish heads are doctors, and some Juggalos are employable, but the majority are (despite his best efforts) what you think they are. But one of the main messages that he seems to promote in the book is that each of these groups have created tribes around them. And those who aren’t part of the tribe may scoff, but they secretly wish they could be having as much fun as the members of the tribes. And that may in fact be true.
I’ve enjoyed Phish’s music for years, although I’ve never seen them live. And as for ICP, I didn’t even realize they were still around—although that Workaholics episode should have clued me in. Naturally these two bands could not be more polar opposite in terms of music and fanbase (although Rabin did encounter some crossover). So he sets out to show how he can enjoy both groups. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: Random songs at the roller rink (December 29, 2013)
We went rollerskating on Sunday and they played all kinds of pop hits. They played “Dancing Queen” and “YMCA,” sure, but they also played a lot of recent big hits. And I said to myself either I have grown more tolerant of pop songs or pop songs are simply better than they were in the 80s and 90s.
Because I thoroughly enjoyed hearing “Gangnam Style” (perhaps a pop song where you don’t know the words is really the way to go) and “What Does the Fox Say?” (or perhaps when the words are so preposterous). “Blurred Lines” is incredibly catchy (although it would be better without the offensive lyrics). I also enjoyed “Call Me Maybe” which is treacly sure, but the melody is super catchy and “Rolling in the Deep” because Adele kicks ass.
Of course when I looked at the list of #1 hits for 2013, I literally didn’t know any of them (except “Blurred Lines” and “Royals,”) so maybe pop is not what I think it is. Maybe I just like YouTube sensations.
Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding! Happy New Year.
[READ: December 27, 2013] Five Dials #30
I was surprised to get this issue of Five Dials just as I was reading the other recent ones. It allowed me to finish up Five Dials and the year at around the same time. This issue introduces a new graphics editor: Antonio de Luca and he really changes the look of the magazine. (He also used to work for The Walrus). Rather than pictures being centered in the page, they spread from one page to another (which works well online but less so if you print it out). The illustrations are also much bolder.
This is a short issue (which I appreciated). And it does what I especially like about Five Dials–focusing tightly on one thing, in this case Albert Camus, who I like but who I have not read much. It’s his centenary and many things have been said about him, so what else is there to say? They find two things worth saying.
CRAIG TAYLOR-A Letter from the Editor: On Tony, On Dean, On Camus, On Algiers
Taylor talks about the illustrations of the issue–they were spray painted on walls by an Algerian-French collective known as the Zoo Project. The new editor took photos and then Photoshopped away the extraneous stuff to leave us with just the graphics–giving them a permanence that they would normally not have. Taylor also says goodbye to Dean Allen, the outgoing art director. Then he gets to the heart of this issue: Albert Camus and Algiers (where Camus is from). Curtis Gillespie decided to go to Algiers to find out how much the people there know and love Camus (and he found it to be a much more difficult trip than he imagined). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: BOB & DOUG McKENZIE-“The 12 Days of Christmas” (1981).
This is my preferred old school version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” It was one of the first parodies of the song that I had heard (and I was big in parodies back in 1981).
I loved how stupid they were (on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…a beer). I loved trying to figure out what a two-four was, and it cracked me up that they skipped a whole bunch of days.
I also enjoyed how they continued to snipe at each other throughout the song. Not comedy gold perhaps (that would be “Take Off” recorded with Geddy Lee, but a nice way to start, or end, the season on these “mystery days.”
Evidently, decades after SCTV went off the air, Bob & Doug got an animated TV show (without Rick Moranis). And they made a video of the song. Hosers.
Five Dials Number 29 was the first issue I had read in a while. (I read this before going back to 26-28). And it really reminded me of how great Five Dials is. I don’t know why this isn’t Part 2 after Number 28’s Part 1 (there was no 28b either), but that’s irrelevant. This is an independent collection of great writing. I was instantly surprised and delighted to see that César Aria was included in this issue (I didn’t even know he had made inroads in England).
CRAIG TAYLOR-Letter from the Editor: In Swedes and Open Letters
Taylor’s usually chipper introduction is saddened by the contents of this one. The discussion centers on Sweden and the city of Malmo, where integration is proving to be tougher than they’d hoped. Black skinned people are profiled pretty explicitly. Taylor talks about meeting the writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri (who they subsequently published in issue 21) who deals with issues of race. In March of 2013, Khemiri wrote an open letter to Swedish Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask after she brushed off concerns about racial profiling. The letter went viral including getting translated into 15 languages. So I guess there is some positivity after all. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: PHINEAS AND FERB-The Twelve Days of Christmas (2010).
While The Bird and the Bee has become my new favorite serious version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, this Phineas and Ferb version is my new favorite silly version of the song. Sure it’s especially funny for fans of the show but, as anyone who has seen the show knows, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is comedy gold and so his wishes for Christmas and his updates and concessions (and the fact that he is a traditionalist) absolutely make this worthy of repeat listens.
[READ: December 19, 2013] Five Dials Number 28
Five Dials #28 is vaguely thematic–about heroes. Some items are literal (the writers-as-heroines drawing), some are speculative (my favorite conceit–the stories of quickly killed side characters in movies), and some are unrelated at all–the guy who helped out Will Self. This issue was launched from Sydney, Australia.
CRAIG TAYLOR-A Letter from the Editor: On Heroes and Convicts
Taylor talks about everything mentioned above and then talks about Robert Hughes’ The Fatal Shore and his primer on modern art: The Shock of the New (which has an accompanying documentary series). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).
Ralph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him. He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).
I don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.
I Just Read About That... 