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Archive for the ‘Violence’ Category

Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind–Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Undergound [New Edition] (2003)

Posted in Anarchy, Anton LaVey, Bathory, Big Books, Black Sabbath, Books about music, Death, Deicide, Depression, Didrik Søderlind, End of the World, Kerrang, King Diamond, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Mayhem, Mercyful Fate, Michael Moynihan, Nazis, Ozzy Osbourne, Possessed, Racism, Religion, Suicide, Supernatural, Swedish Music, The Electric Hellfire Club, The Exorcist, Therion, Threats, Venom, Violence, Wikipedia, Yuck! on December 26, 2010| 3 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: THERION-Theli (1997).

I bought this disc when I was living in Boston and I immediately fell for it.  I seem to recall I was doing a lot of driving at the time, and this mix of extreme metal, orchestral accompaniment and twinned vocals was very captivating.  It was also really fun to play very loud on a dark highway.

I’d read a very good review of this disc that claimed it was a big step forward in styles of thrash/black metal (and if you Google reviews for this album they are pretty universally great).  The disc is exemplified by the track “To Mega Therion” which is almost entirely a full choir singing what I guess is the chorus.  The verses are populated by a guy screaming in a guttural voice who is answered by an almost mechanically twinned voice which sounds great but is even harder to understand.  Follow this with a beautiful piano (!) solo not unlike something Randy Rhoads put together for Blizzard of Oz, and add a pounding double bass drum all the way through (truth be told the album could be a little heavier in the bass) and you get a crazy mix of styles which is catchy and creepy at the same time.

It’s hard to match a song like that.  And, admittedly, the band doesn’t quite manage to do so, but the rest of the album keeps up this orchestral death metal throughout.

Reading about Therion has taught me that this album is something of  touchstone for a new genre of metal, called variously symphonic or operatic metal (I suppose we have this to blame for the Trans Siberian Orchestra?).

In addition to the choirs and guitars there are a lot of keyboards. They are disconcerting when you’re thinking death metal and yet really they add an even fuller sound, even if at times they are not as grand or powerful as anything else.  At times the album seems cheesey, but that may have more to do with thirteen years distance than the music itself.

Anyone who has seen The Exorcist knows that choirs can be spooky.  And when you mix it with the heavy guitars and guttural vocals, you get a really cool sinister yet catchy (and possibly uplifting) album.  There are certainly a lot heavier albums, but this one is pretty stellar.

[READ: Summer of 2010, finished December 12, 2010] Lords of Chaos

My brother-in-law gave me this book for my birthday this year.  I was familiar with it as it is fairly well-known in heavy metal circles as a fascinating read.  And so it was.

This book is basically a history of black metal in Norway and how some bands’ antics went beyond music into burning churches and even murder.  The authors present a pretty neutral account of the story.  They let the main participants (criminals) have their say and the interviews don’t comment on their answers, they just let them tell their side of the story.  The authors also know a lot about the music scene.  Of course, in the end, the authors (thankfully) disapprove of the violence.  It makes for an interesting and somewhat conflicting read. (more…)

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Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job Chrimbus Special (2010)

Posted in Chrimbus, Funny (strange), Holidays, Huh?, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, Violence on December 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Happy Chrimbus everybody!

I wondered long and hard if I should have a special Christmas post this year.  Last year I posted about my most favorite and least favorite Christmas songs.  And this year I thought about posting about my favorite Christmas special episodes, but we didn’t watch that many this year, so that may have to wait until next year.  Then I wondered if I should write about a Christmas book, or if I should completely ignore the holiday.  Or maybe write a wholly inappropriate book review (no, that I saved for tomorrow).

Well, leave it to Tim and Eric and solve my dilemma for me with their Chrimbus special.

Chrimbus is Dec 5, so technically, this is not the right day to celebrate, but since this is the first year of Chrimbus, I wanted to get the word out on that other holiday that happens in December.

When Tim and Eric introduced Chrimbus on the Jimmy Kimmel show (watch part two of the interview below), they explained it is a “lunch holiday” celebrated during the lunch hour.  The highlight of Chrimbus is when Winterman comes.  Winterman inspects your Chrimbus bush.  If your bush is trim and wet, Winterman will give you a present.  Part One of the interview features their core-strengthening exercise routine.

But watch Part Two below to learn about Chrimbus.

(more…)

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Wells Tower–“The Kids Are Far-Right” (Harper’s, November 2006)

Posted in Al Gore, Communists, Consumerism, Death, Depression, End of the World, Essays, Faith No More, Fears, Fishbone, Harper's, Violence, Wells Tower, Yuck! on December 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BAD BRAINS-I Against I (1983).

I don’t remember buying this album, but I remember getting it because of the connection to SST records (not because Bad Brains were an amazing hardcore band–I didn’t know that yet).

All of these years later, this album is still pretty astonishing.  The heavy punk blends so well with the reggae-inspired jams.  Perhaps the biggest band where Bad Brains influence is evident is Fishbone (especially their later metal songs).  But you can hear t hem in Faith No More and many other mid 90’s bands as well.

The disc opens with a great off-beat instrumental (“Intro”) which leads into the amazing yell-along “I Against I.”  “House of Suffering” follows with some more speedy hardcore.  Then it all slows down with “Re-Ignition,” the first indication that this is an album unafraid to take risks.  Although the thumpy riff and heavy beats are still there, the vocals are more of a reggae style (especially towards the end).  “Secret 77” follows with a kind of funk experiment (but those drums are still loud and stark–Earl is a maniac!).

Darryl’s bass work is tremendous throughout the disc, and Dr. Know’s guitar is amazing–speeding fast soloing, heavy punk riffs and delicate intricate reggae sections intermingle with ease.  And, of course, we can’t forget about H.R.’s vocals.  He has several different delivery styles from the speedy punk to the reggae deliveries and the all over the place (including high-pitched shrieks on “Return to Heaven”).

The second half of the disc experiments with more diversity, and it is somewhat less punk sounding (although not by much).

Historically, it’s hard (for me) to place exactly how influential they were.  Listening to  the disc today (which doesn’t sound dated in any way) it sounds utterly contemporary in stylistic choices.  Did they come up with the mosh break?  They certainly are the first punk band the embrace Jah (that’s a trend that never really took off though, eh?), but their funk metal sound predates the popular Faith No More style by over a decade.

[READ: November 21, 2010] “The Kids Are Far-Right”

I know I subscribed to Harper’s when this article was published (I distinctly remember the jelly bean portraits of Reagan), but I’m pretty sure I didn’t read it then because the whole idea of it sounded depressing (the subtitle: “Hippie hunting, bunny bashing, and the new conservatism”) was just too much for me in 2006 (and was almost too much for me in 2010).

And so our correspondent (not long after his trip through the Bush/Cheney volunteer minefield) heads out to the twenty-eighth National Conservative Student Conference.  He meets exactly what you would expect: right-wing campus types (several from ultra-religious schools) who are there to learn to hate liberals even more than they already do (and boy do they).

Wells’ article is full of details about all of the speeches and programs, as well as biographical information about some of the attendees.  Most of them just want to get rid of liberals on campus, but some want to go into politics themselves someday (they are viewed with suspicion here).  Many also hate George W. Bush because he raised taxes.  In hindsight what we have here is the origins of the tea party.

The only comforting news to come from the article is that only 400 people attended (but they were willing to spend a few hundred dollars and give up a week of their summer vacation, so it’s still a pretty high number). (more…)

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Téa Obreht–”Twilight of the Vampires” (Harper’s, November 2010)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Built to Spill, Essays, Gustav Flaubert, Harper's, Leptirica, Lydia Davis, Téa Obreht, Vampires, Violence, William T. Vollmann on December 15, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BUILT TO SPILL-There is No Ememy (2009).

I’ve liked Built to Spill for quite a few years (I first encountered them on Perfect from Now On), but they always hang just below my radar when I think about great albums.  Nevertheless, many of their songs have landed on compilations I’ve made.

I listened to this disc a few times when it came out and when I popped it in again today I couldn’t believe how well I knew the whole album and how much I really, really liked everything on it.

This may in fact turn out to be my favorite BtS disc.  It isn’t radically different from other releases of theirs, but there’s some ineffable quality that seems to raise the whole disc above the fray.  The total package is fantastic.  The first few songs are quite short, just over three minutes each (which is surprising after the release of the live album which had so many extended songs and solos (a 20 minute cover of Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer”).

Of course there are a few extended jams as well.  Four songs are over six minutes long (and three of them make up the last four tracks, so the disc does to tend feel a little heavy at the end–although “Things Fall Apart” has a horn solo (!) and “Tomorrow” has some unexpected time changes).  But the first long song, “Good Ol’ Boredom” has a great chugging riff that hold ups to the six minutes very well.  The nearly seven minute “Done” has a wonderfully effects-laden end section. The solo is pretty lengthy, but the backing music/sounds keep the whole thing interesting.  Of course, there’s also “Pat” a two and a half-minute blast of punk abandon.

Doug Marsch has a pretty high voice, but it never grows whiny or annoying, and in fact, it has a kind of gravitas to it.  And it is more than matched by the full band sound on the disc.  Martsch’s lyrics are also wonderfully unexpected [“Is the grass just greener because it’s fake?”].

BTS has made a great album and I’m going to have to revisit their back catalog too.

[READ: November 14, 2010] “Twilight of the Vampires”

This was a banner issue of Harper’s (I’ve felt kind of down on the magazine lately, but it made up for itself this month).  We have the Lydia Davis/Flaubert stories, a lengthy piece by William T. Vollmann and the cover story about Rupert Murdoch (which I won’t be posting about).  In fact, normally I don’t post too much about non-fiction (recent obsessions notwithstanding), but this particular piece was by Téa Obreht, one of this year’s New Yorker 20 Under 40.  Obreht had barely had anything published when they selected her, and so I figured it would be easy to keep tabs on her.  So here’s a nonfiction to add to her two stories.  (And it’s about vampires!)

Obreht is originally from Russia (her family is apparently still there).  As the essay opens, she is going to meet her mother in Belgrade for their trip to Serbia.  Their ostensible reason to travel to the Balkans is to find out about vampires.   (But when her mother injuries herself before the trip is about to commence, it convinces her mother that the whole trip is possessed by devils).

But why travel to the Balkans in search of vampires when her adopted homeland of America is overrun by vampires right now?  Because as she relates, our vampires are rather different from theirs. (more…)

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Sam Lipsyte–”The Dungeon Master” (New Yorker, October 4, 2010)

Posted in Air, Daft Punk, Dungeons & Dragons, Humiliation, New Yorker, Phoenix, Sam Lipsyte, Set in New Jersey!, Violence on December 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHOENIX–Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009).

It will soon be unsurprising to say that a great album has come from a French band (no offense to the French, but you never used to hear cool music coming from there).  Then we had Air and Daft Punk and now Phoenix.

The first single and leadoff track, the preposterously catchy “Lisztomania” features guitars and keyboards (just so we know they’re not another techno band).  It has a simple but infectious riff as it opens , and it never lets up in catchiness.  “1901” has a chorus that ends with some ayayayayayays that I dare you not to sing along with.

“Fences” has a pretty classic disco feel to it.  It’s followed by “Love Like a Sunset.” Part 1 is a five-minute atmospheric instrumental, and Part 2 follows along similarly.

“Lasso” follows with some more simple background keyboards topped with grinding guitars.  Like “Countdown,” it’s simple and hard not to like.  “Girlfriend” opens with great swaths of keyboards and lots of repeated words in the verses and chorus, making for yet another great single.   In fact, all of the songs are super catchy.

Despite the simplicity of the melodies, the songs are always interesting.  And that’s hard to beat.  There’s no surprise that this album was on many lists as one of the best of 2009.

[READ: October 28, 2010] “The Dungeon Master”

Reading this short story reminded me that I really want to read Lipsyte’s new book The Ask, which is supposed to be very good indeed.

The title of the story immediately made me think it would be about Dungeons & Dragons, and I was pleased to see that it was.   The story concerns a group of boys who have their own D&D club after school (as opposed to the school sanctioned D&D club).  Their game meets at the Dungeon Master’s house and there is no, repeat, no touching of the DM’s manual.

We quickly learn that the DM is a sadistic bastard.  He has killed off his younger brother’s character at least 30 times (and the brother keeps making a new character in his place: Valentine the 19th, Valentine the 20th etc).  But unlike in real D&D where you die from ogres and dragons, Valentine has died from, for instance, rectal cancer (how do you roll for that?).

There’s a lot of speculation about just how crazy their DM really is (rumors abound: he flashes some girls at the ice rink, he set his own feces on fire).  And, of course there’s talk that he spent some time in Bergen Pines.  And just where is his mother anyway? (more…)

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Jim Shepard–”Boys Town” (New Yorker, November 8, 2010

Posted in Death, Jim Shepard, Kids Are People Too, Military, Neurotics, New Yorker, Patti Smith, Short Story, Violence, Wonderama, Yuck! on December 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PATTI SMITH: “You Light Up My Life” (Live on Kids Are People Too) (1979).

While browsing YouTube, I found a bunch of fun videos from the kids’ programs Wonderama and Kids Are People Too.  And that’s where I found this video of Patti Smith, of all people, singing this dainty pop confection.

Her introduction to the kids is weirdly wonderful (she says she wanted to be a missionary).  And the kids ask some pretty good questions (I would think she was too scary to be on this show back then, but no one says anything remotely risqué).  And she seems to genuinely want to inspire the kids.  It’s really quite cool.

I listened to the original just now for the first time since the 70s, I’m sure.   Although the first verse doesn’t sound drastically different from Patti’s version, once the chorus kicks in, Patti transforms this song into an angst-filled song of loss.  And man, can Patti sing.

Check it out here.

[READ: November 7, 2010] “Boys Town”

When I first saw this author’s name I thought it was Jean Shepherd author of In God We Trust…All Others Pay Cash (otherwise known as A Christmas Story).  And  I thought that maybe it was going to be a quaint look at growing up.

It isn’t. (more…)

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour [Book 6] (2010)

Posted in Adventure, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Fantasy, Foo Fighters, Graphic Novel, Led Zeppelin, Oni Press, Queens of the Stone Age, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Them Crooked Vultures, Video Games, Violence on December 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THEM CROOKED VULTURES-Them Crooked Vultures (2010).

So whose group is this?  Dave Grohl’s? Josh Homme’s? John Paul Jones’? (This question is kind of answered in the excellent Austin City Limits episode).  But while the question is a but silly, it’s also not.  This band sounds like Josh Homme (who pretty much makes into gold whatever he does) playing his own blend of rock over what is undeniably Led Zeppelin’s bassist.

There are times when it is so evident that JPJ played classic Led Zep riffs that you almost think Vultures are just ripping off Led Zeppelin.  Until you realize it’s the same guy and therefore it’s totally okay.  And Dave Grohl…after years away from the drums, it’s like he has a new vengeance to beat the crap out them.  I don’t know if his style is unmistakable, but once you know it’s Grohl, it’s very obvious that it’s him.

And the songs are really great.  A cool mixture of Homme’s Queens of the Stone Age sleaze within a solid, classic rock framework.  Many of the songs have monster, stomping riffs that are catchy and fantastic.  The longer songs (5 are over 5 minutes) loosen the band up a bit, with some jamming and fun middle sections.  But when they’re not jamming, the music is tight and fast and loud, and they play off of each other wonderfully.  There’s not a bad song in the bunch.

A few times while listening to the disc, I’ve felt that maybe it was a tad long (66 minutes of non-stop music).  But since this is ostensibly a one-off project, why shouldn’t they pack the disc full of everything they can?  Of course, if they can make a second album, that is as cool and interesting as this, I’ll welcome it right away too.

[READ: November 23, 2010] Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

I have yet to see the movie of Scott Pilgrim (primarily because I never get to the movies anymore, but also because the DVD hasn’t come back at my library yet).  But I’m pretty psyched that I was able to read the final volume before seeing the movie. [I’m also hugely embarrassed to be so out of the loop that I didn’t realize the book came out BEFORE the movie–come on!]

But now, behold, the climax of this excellent series.

To summarize: Scott Pilgrim (the guy with the sword up on the cover) is in love with Ramona Flowers.  But in order to win her completely he must battle her seven evil exes.  The battles are video-game inspired (and are consequently surreal and funny).  And the revelation of the individual exes is also amusing.

This final volume is somewhat surprising in its contemplativeness.  While longing and depression are par for the course in the series, this volume was surprising for its early lack of action (leading up to the final showdown of course). The great news is that O’Malley handles this non-action with skill, and scenes of Scott moping and slouching around are amusing, not dull.  There’s also a great deal of introspection (again, handled deftly).  All of this navel gazing makes sense because at the end of Vol. 5 Ramona disappeared with neither explanation nor clue. (more…)

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Chang-rae Lee-”The Volunteers” (New Yorker, June 21 & 28, 1999)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Chang-Rae Lee, David Bowie, Death, History, Military, New Yorker, Pornography, Sex, Short Story, Superchunk, Violence, War on November 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SUPERCHUNK-1,000 Pounds (2000).

This EP has four tracks: an acoustic version of the title song and, for the first time that I’m aware of, a cover track.

“1,000 pounds” is another great Superchunk single.  It’s boppy and catchy and there’s more and more instrumentation thrown into the mix–acoustic guitars, more strings, a crazy sounding guitar solo with effects I don’t recognize.  It’s also another song where the title is sort of thrown into the chorus without making it sound like the focus of the chorus–another fun Superchunk trick.

The acoustic version subverts the original somewhat with a strange swing vibe.  And speaking of vibes, there are actual vibes in the song.  It almost sounds like a different song entirely.

The second song, “White Noise” is a no longer novel twist to a Superchunk song (they’ve been throwing in so many twist to their sound that it’s impossible to pin them down to anything).  There’s a cool guitar and bass line that sound, somehow, unlike anything else they’ve done.  The soloing is also pervasive, running throughout the verses.  It’s a very cool song.

The big surprise comes in their cover of David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters.”  Their version is noisy and feedback-filled with crazy guitar solos throughout some of the choruses.  It’s full of reckless abandon and is one of their craziest track in some time.  And really it sounds almost nothing like the original.

It’s a great EP and worth tracking down.

[READ: October 10, 2010] “The Volunteers”

Chang-rae Lee is the next writer in the New Yorker’s 1999 20 Under 40 collection.

This story is set during World War II.  However, unlike most WWII stories that I have read, this one is told from the point of view of Japanese soldiers (specifically, it is narrated by a Korean-born, Japanese-raised medic).

The narrator, Lieutenant Kurohata, is friendly with an inferior soldier, Corporal Endo.  He and Endo are from the same town so they have a friendship which, when they are alone, supersedes their ranking differences (although Kurohata is a little uncomfortable about that).  Endo, like many soldiers, is somewhat obsessed with a series of photos of naked women.  He is constantly trading for new ones and then showing them (surreptitiously) to Kurohata.  Kurohata is not terribly impressed with the behavior–he seems more mature in general–although he also implies that he is not very sexual–and he finds the whole proceedings somewhat beneath him. (more…)

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William T. Vollmann–”The Saviors” (New Yorker, June 21 & 28, 1999)

Posted in 20 Under 40, Anarchy, Big Books, Communists, Death, New Yorker, Russia, Short Story, Superchunk, Threats, Violence on October 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SUPERCHUNK-“watery hands” (1997).

Even though I enjoy the manic energy of early Superchunk, I find myself really enjoying the later, more “sophisticated” songs.

“Watery Hands” continues this more “sweet” sound that Superchunk has been exploring.  It also includes a cool break that offers a little bass solo as well as even more keyboards (so it seems that the keyboard experiment pleased them).

Meanwhile, the final song, the “watery wurlitzer mix” of water hands is a goofy track, probably the first throwaway track on a Superchunk EP.  And yet, having said that it’s a catchy and silly little ditty, heavy on the wurlitzer and oddball keyboard sounds, which all but eliminates the original, except for faint traces of guitar that pop up here and there.

The middle track “With Bells On” is a decent mid-tempo song.  Nothing terribly exciting but even unexciting Superchunk is usually pretty good.

[READ: October 9, 2010] “The Saviors”

William T. Vollmann was the next writer in the New Yorker’s 1999 20 Under 40 collection.

I have heard a lot about Vollmann.  And I have read a few articles by him.  But I’m sort of daunted by his output.  And this is the first piece of his fiction of that I’ve read.

I don’t know if this is representative of his work, although from what I understand it kind of is.  This is historical fiction loaded down with details (some details which I have to assume he’s made up).  This story compares the lives of Fanya Kaplan and Nadezhda Konstantinova Krupskaya.  (As with so many Russian based stories, those names are hard to keep straight as the story goes along).

In the first paragraph we learn that Fanya Kaplan tried to assassinate Lenin on August 30, 1918.  She was captured and later executed on September 3.  In the second paragraph, we learn that Nadezhda Konstantinova Krupskaya was Lenin’s wife. (more…)

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Rick Moody–Garden State (1992)

Posted in Books about music, Boredom, Cigarettes, Depression, Drinking, Drugs, Peter, Bjorn & John, Rick Moody, Set in New Jersey!, Sex, Short Books, Suicide, Swedish Music, Unlikable main character, Violence, Wikipedia on October 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PETER, BJORN & JOHN-Living Thing (2009).

After the raging (relative) success of Writer’s Block, with their crazily catchy whistling song, “Young Folks”, PB&J could have gone in any direction.

And I was quite surprised when the opening song of this follow up (actually, there’s an instrumental disc in between) opened with single note and drum sounds and virtually a capella vocals.  But unlike a typical a capella song, the thudding notes were kind of dissonant and unpleasant.  And there wasn’t much more to the song than that.

Even the second song starts out starkly.  A single piano note plays a simple riff.  The verse kicks in with some simple electronic drums (and again minimal accompaniment).  And this sparseness is the main musical theme on the disc.

And I have to say it took almost a half a dozen listen before I really enjoyed what they were doing.  They are eschewing the pop structure that won them popularity and they’re shifting their melodies to the vocal lines rather than the instruments (I guess).  It’s a risky proposition, but it pays off.

Take “Nothing to Worry About.”   It opens with what sounds like a distorted children’s choir singing the chorus at full volume.  But then it settles down into, again, a simple drum and vocals song with just a hint of instrumentation.  (Did they get all their music out on the instrumental?  I don’t know I’ve not heard it).  Even the title track is sparse guitar noises and clicked drums.  But, man, is it catchy (it reminds me in a weird way of Paul Simon).

And then, continuing my contention that the best and catchiest songs always have curses in them, “Lay It Down” with the chorus, “Hey, shut the fuck up boy, you’re starting to piss me off” will stick in your head for days.

The end of the disc (the last three songs) are considerably mellower.  They’re less catchy, but they use the starkness very well.

Initially I really didn’t like this album.  It had none of the immediacy of the previous disc.  But I found myself really enjoying it.  I wouldn’t want all of their albums to sound like this, but it was an enjoyable twist on a good formula.

[READ: October 7, 2010] Garden State

I mentioned the other day that I just found out about this book when looking up information about Rick Moody.  I was so excited to read a book set in Haledon (two towns from where I grew up) that I checked it out and begin it immediately (it’s only 200 pages, so that helped too).  But I have to say I was really disappointed with the book (even if it did win the Editor’s Book Award).

My first gripe is about the supposed setting in New Jersey.  I have no problem with fictionalizing an area.  Writers do it all the time.  But Moody fictionalizes the area in two ways to suit his thesis, and as a lover of New Jersey and a former resident of the region, I found the lack of reality to be very upsetting.

The first minor, and I have to say really weird thing is that despite the real towns included (Haledon, Paterson, Paramus) he makes up towns nearby–Fleece, Tyre– and he makes up a river–The Dern River.  He also plays around with the names of the highways that run through the state, constantly referring to the non-existent Garden State Thruway.  Now, again, there’s no problem with making things up, but nobody in the story ever goes to Fleece or Tyre, the Dern River doesn’t come into play aside from being a river that people refer to (it’s not a renamed Passaic river, because that’s included in the story, too).  So, why make up random town names?  Why say that you drive from Haledon to the edge of Paterson near Boonton, when that is not geographically correct (or relevant to the story)?  It just seems like he didn’t have access to a map. (more…)

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