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Archive for the ‘Violence’ Category

Sherman Alexie–”The Toughest Indian in the World” (New Yorker, June 21 & 28, 1999)

Posted in Books about writers, LGBTQ, Native Americans, New Yorker, Sherman Alexie, Short Story, Superchunk, Violence on October 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SUPERCHUNK-The First Part (1993).

The First Part opens with a guitar riff, very different from the chugga-chugga songs that they’ve played on the other tracks.  In fact, at the end of the verses, the bass backs out entirely leaving an interesting and unexpected sound for the song.

The second song, “Connecticut” is similar in that it also has a guitar riff (and a kind of solo) in the introduction.  The surprise comes at about a minute thirty-five when the guitar solo kicks in and the song suddenly shifts into an all out rocker.  This change is especially surprising since the song is just over 2 minutes long.

“Foolish” plays with a distortion-fueled repetitive riff that keeps the song moving.  It’s really quite infectious and something of a departure for the band.  This whole EP shows quite a leap forward in terms of Superchunk singles.

[READ: September 30, 2010] “The Toughest Indian in the World”

Sherman Alexie is the third author in the New Yorker’s 1999 20 Under 40 collection.

I have read a few Sherman Alexie pieces, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read.  And yet, for some reason, he’s not one of the authors I keep a look out for.

This story is about a newspaper writer. He is Spokane Indian.  We learn a little about his past.  And one thing–his father only ever picked up hitchhikers if they were also Native–is a tradition he follows today.  Even though his girlfriend doesn’t want him to pick up anyone.   We also learn a little about his previous girlfriends (like the white woman who only dated non-white men).

Alexie’s writing style is wonderfully fluid and relaxed during this background information. It’s a very easy read, and quite funny too.  But things change when he meets the titular toughest Indian. (more…)

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Paul Murray–Skippy Dies (2010)

Posted in Big Books, Books about music, Boredom, Death, Drinking, Drugs, Dublin, Ireland, Funny (ha ha), Ghosts, History, Humiliation, Irish Writer, Marriage Trouble, Military, Outer Space, Paul Murray, Pugwash, Set at School, Sex, Smarty Pants, Supernatural, Technology, The Beach Boys, The Divine Comedy, The Duckworth Lewis Method, Violence, Virginity (Loss of), Wikipedia, XTC on October 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE DUCKWORTH-LEWIS METHOD-The Duckworth Lewis Method (2009).

This is a CD released by the combined forces of Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy and Thomas Walsh of Pugwash.  And if that weren’t enough of a sales pitch, the title of the band is a method of calculating cricket scores!  And even more…in concordance with that, this CD is largely about cricket.  Huzzah!  Buncha sellouts.

I don’t know a thing about cricket, but I know about great orchestral pop, and this disc has it in spades.  Some of the more obvious cricket songs are even understandable to non cricketers (the themes of “Jiggery Pokery” are familiar to anyone who has failed in a sport–and musically it sounds like a silent film soundtrack).

“The Age of Revolution” begins with an olde-fashioned soundtrack as well (jazz swing, including tap dancing) but quickly jumps into a dancey discoey verse (the two soundtracks blend surprisingly well in the chorus).  And the revolution?  Well, it has something to do with cricket.  Next, “Gentlemen and Players” is a wonderfully Divine Comedy-esque track complete with harpsichords.

“The Sweet Spot” is another discoey dancey track with some funky bass work (and innuendo whispered vocals).  And “Rain Stops Play” is a fun musical interlude.

“Mason on the Boundary” is the first track that seems distinctly Pugwash-y.  Hannon and Walsh have similar singing styles, and I find it hard to know who is who sometimes.  But this track is clearly Walsh’s and it’s very nice indeed.  Similarly, “Flatten the Hay” has that distinct Pugwash XTC/Beach Boys vibe and it’s quite good.

“The Nighwatchman” is also a very DC type song (it even sounds a bit like “The Frog Princess” but pulls away before being a repeat of that great single by introducing some very 70s sounding strings).  The rest of the disc follows in this same wonderfully orchestrated pop feel.  This a great record that, as far as obscure bands that get no statewide attention go, is top notch.

Oh, an it’s even more fun with headphones!

[READ: October 9, 2010] Skippy Dies

Wow, there’s a lot going on in this book.  It’s exhausting just trying to think of all the topics covered: boarding school life, failed romance (two big ones), life as a teacher, the appeal of pop singer Bethani, the Catholic priest sex scandal, drugs of all kinds, sneaking into a girls’ school, World War I, institutional cover ups, M-theory–which is pretty much the entire universe, and donuts.

But let’s start at the beginning.  Yes.  Skippy dies.  In the first couple of pages.  And what’s fascinating about this is that we don’t care.  I mean, in the scene where he dies, he’s not even the major character.  But then Skippy turns out to be more or less the glue of the book once the story proper begins.

Skippy resides at Seabrook school in Dublin (the best, most prestigious Christian academy in the country–sorry Gonzaga).   His roommate is Ruprecht (perhaps the strangest major character name I’ve read in a long time).  Ruprecht is a large boy who is incredibly smart (he will single-handedly raise the school’s average on the year’s final exams).  He is a computer geek who is obsessed with aliens and SETI.  And he hopes to be able to communicate with the other world by using techniques suggested in M-Theory.  The book does an admirable job explaining M-theory and string theory.  I’m not going to take up space here, but there’s a fine description at Wikipedia (or, if you don’t like Wikipedia, here’s an academic explanation that is written for the lay person).

Anyhow, Skippy and Ruprecht are two of a few dozen boys who reside full time at the school.  (Most of the other kids are day students).  And they have a cadre of half a dozen friends that they hang out with who make jokes at each other’s expense.  It’s a very realistically written entourage.  Mario is Italian and claims to have had sex with many many women (thanks to his lucky condom which he has had for three years).  Dennis is the ballbreaker.  He’s the abusive one (but by most standards, he’s not a bad guy).  And a few other hangers on.

This story of dorm life is a good one.  The boys are funny, their stories believable, even if they are all eccentric in their own way.  And then, one day, Skippy sees a girl playing frisbee at the girls’ school across the way (Ruprecht has a telescope which he uses for the stars, while eveyrone else uses it for the girls’ school).  And Skippy winds up becoming rather obsessed with the unknown “frisbee girl.”

This girls’ school plays a part in the story in another way too.  Carl and Barry are the Seabrook’s thugs.  When Barry hits upon the idea of selling ADD meds to the locals (as diet pills), it’s the girls’ school that he mostly preys on.  For yes, this story is also about drugs. (more…)

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Iain Banks–The Wasp Factory (1984)

Posted in Bret Easton Ellis, Death, Drinking, Iain Banks, Rapeman, Threats, Unlikable main character, Violence, Yuck! on September 30, 2010| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: RAPEMAN-Two Nuns an a Pack Mule (1989).

One of Steve Albini’s many groups, Rapeman made one album and an EP (both are included on the CD).  Probably the most striking thing about this CD is Albini’s guitar which is so sharp it practically hurts (and when your guitar is more notable than the lyrics from a band named Rapeman, you know that sound is pretty striking).  [You can hear hints of this sound on Nirvana’s In Utero (which Albini produced), particularly the screamy parts of “Scentless Apprentice”.  The template is the same, although Nirvana’s drums are much much bigger. And, of course, Albini leaves the sonic edge really sharp for himself].

Although the guitar is what really stands out on this disc, the album would be far less interesting if the rhythm section wasn’t so strong.  The bass is mixed really well, running lines that are never in concert with the guitar lines but which blend nicely and provide some needed low end.  And the drums are sharp and punctuate the noise perfectly.

The opening of “Monobrow” is squeaks and feedback (I wonder if you could even write the music for it).  When the rhythm kick in, it gives a herky jerky momentum.  There’s an interesting twist on a song like “Trouser Minnow” which is written from a woman’s perspective (and yet she’s not an exemplary woman either) so you can read it a couple of ways.  Of course, the opener, “Steak and Black Onions” is unequivocal: “Why don’t you snuff it man, you plant-eating pussy.”

But there’s definitely a sense of humor to all of this.  In “Up beat” Albini gets angry and suggests that he’d beat a guy up.  It ends, “I suppose I’m not too threatening presently.  But wait till I start Nautilus.”  There’s also something funny (I think) about them covering ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid.”  Funny or not, this version rocks like no one’s business, and it shows that Albini can actually play the guitar, not just make noise.

The Budd EP was recorded live.  I love the description of the review here.  It sounds less screechy (and more bass heavy), but no less menacing.

[READ: September, 16, 2010] The Wasp Factory

I bought this book many many years ago (I found a card in the pages from when I used to live in Brighton, MA (circa 1992) as a “bookmark.”  But I think that the bookmark must have been not a real placeholder as nothing in the book was familiar, I just knew that it was supposed to be a dark, disturbing book.

And so it is.

The story concerns Frank, a 16-year-old who lives on an island outside of Scotland (my knowledge of Scottish geography is awful, so I don’t know exactly what he meant by an island, but suffice it to say that Frank’s family is isolated where they live).  Frank is a disturbed individual.  As the story opens, we learn that death and carnage follow Frank everywhere.  In fact, Frank admits responsibility for three of these deaths. (more…)

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James Joyce–Ulysses Episodes 13-15 (1922) [audiobook 2013–Donal Donnelly and Miriam Healy-Louie]

Posted in Big Books, Donal Donnelly, Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Huh?, Humiliation, Infinite Zombies, Irish Writer, James Joyce, Language, Prostitution, Sex, Unreliable narrator, Violence, Yuck! on September 13, 2010| 2 Comments »

[LISTENED TO: Week of September 6] Ulysses

This week I almost finished Episode 15.  I’ve just finished where Bella turns into Bello and things get really weird.  And I have to say that this Episode, for all of its craziness, is masterfully handled by Donal Donnelly.  I’ve already raved about his vocal stylings in the earlier chapters, dealing with so many different men.  But in this chapter he proves to be very dextrous at male and female voices, with a very delicate voice for some and an incredibly masculine woman’s voice for Bello (very well done indeed).  He has also proven himself to be a treat with sound effects (of which there are many here).  I won’t say for certain that it makes this insane Episode a lot clearer, but it certainly makes it easier to follow.

Back to Episode 13. The Gertie section is written in a style that is supposed to be romantic, very quick and flowy.  And Donal really nails it.   After the business of Episode 12, the lightness of 13 is wonderful, and it really brings to life the scene, especially when the rockets go off.

One thing I picked up this time is that Bloom assumes that he knows exactly when Blazes and Molly consummated their affair.  Even re-reading it now, it wasn’t quite as clear as the way he read it aloud:

Funny my watch stopped at half past four. Dust. Shark liver oil they use to clean could do it myself. Save. Was that just when he, she?
O, he did. Into her. She did. Done.
Ah!

So, yes I suppose it’s obvious, but sometimes reading along you just don’t pick things up.  And it took the way he read it for me to realize just what those short sentences meant. (more…)

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Anthony Doerr–The Shell Collector (2002)

Posted in Anthony Doerr, Fishing, Ghosts, Lucas, Marriage Trouble, Nature, Short Story, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Real Tuesday Weld, Violence on September 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE REAL TUESDAY WELD-“Cloud Cuckooland” (2007).

My friend Andrew linked me to the video for this song (after I showed him the video for “Lucas with the Lid Off.”   I’d heard of The Real Tuesday Weld, but never heard them, and I hope this is indicative of the rest of their (his?) stuff.

The video (which is hilarious and weird) supplies a wonderful videotrack to the music, but, unlike some other recent videos that I have watched, it doesn’t make a lame song seem interesting.

I likened this song to what I wanted the Squirrel Nut Zippers to sound like: playing old-timey music but with a real sense of silliness.  (The Zippers are great but are often too straight for me).  Rather than vocals, there’s a  sort of nonsensical sound-making.  And there’s some even some human beatbox in the track.

And it’s all over a very bouncy soundtrack that fits well with the black and white “movie” of the video.

It’s very cool.  Check it out here.

[READ: August 27, 2010] The Shell Collector

I have really enjoyed the two short stories that Doerr has written for McSweeney’s.  So much so that I decided to track down this collection of short stories.  And I’m delighted that I did.

Doerr’s stories are set all over the world (he himself has lived in Africa and New Zealand, although he is now from Idaho and grew up in Ohio) and there is so much diversity in this collection that I couldn’t believe he had this much information at his disposal.

One of the interesting things is that quite often the main character is named “The Shell Collector” of “The Hunter” while everyone else in the story has a name.  It’s an interesting conceit which brings at once a distance to the person and yet an immediacy to what he “is.”

“The Shell Collector” features a man who works with shells, specifically with the creatures that live in them (most of which are poisonous).  One day, a reporter is stung by a cone shell (that crawled from the ocean into his house) and goes into deathly coma.  The cone shell is a predatory sea snail called a geography cone has twelve kinds of venom in its teeth.  The woman was pronounced incurable, and yet twelve hours of catatonia later she emerged claiming to have had a religious experience.  From then on, the shell collector’s life is turned upside down. (more…)

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Terry Moore–Echo #23 & #24 (2010)

Posted in Adventure, Pearl Jam, Sleater-Kinney, Technology, Terry Moore, The Future, Violence on August 31, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Halifax, Nova Scotia, Metro Centre, September 22, 2005 (2005).

This show came as a free download if you purchased Pearl Jam’s Backspacer CD.

Pearl Jam live shows really showcase the band’s strengths.  And no shows are better than when they go to a place for the first time.  This was their first trip to “Halifax to the Max” and the band sounds fantastic.

Even when Eddie Vedder forgets the words in the first verse of a song “Breath” (which he says they don’t normally play and hadn’t yet played in on the tour) and just shouts “FUCK!” the band continues and the songs starts again as if nothing happened (the crowd wildly supportive of course).

There’s also some surprise treats, like the often overlooked “Glorified G” (not anywhere close to being one of their best songs, but fun in a live setting).  I especially liked the snippet of Sleater-Kinney’s “Modern Girl” that the toss in at the end of “Not for You.”  Although the inclusion of “Bow wow wow yippe yp yippe yea” in “Blood” is certainly odd.

Eddie in particular has a lot of fun with the locals when he demands that they bring him a can of Keefe’s Irish Stout.  He gets sillier and sillier with them (describing what he assumes the beer must be like) until one is finally procured for him.  And the bit about “fetch me a new guitar, I shan’t be playing this one” was a great set up for a joke.

The only complaint is that my downloaded version ends with Bu$hleaguer but the setlist suggests that there should be two more songs (“Fortunate Son & Rockin’ in the Free World”).  Bummer, although I’ve heard those songs on enough bootlegs to not really miss them.  (New comments added February 26, 2011).

[READ: August 26, 2010] Echo: 23 & 24

The series continues to grow in intensity and depth.  After something of a cul de sac in episodes 21 & 22, number 23 burst forth with new excitement.

The biggest news (ha ha) is that the alloy is making Julie grow.  The revelation is done rather humorously because, as we knew already, she needed clothes.  And when Ivy buys her her normal size, the clothes are simply too small (which Ivy has a mocking field day with).  [The whole of Issue 23 is devoted to some female fighting.  Terry seems to have an ear for this sort of fighting because it sounds very believable. Although it did make me uncomfortable that his two main characters, both of whom are female devolve into this sort of sniping, at least it didn’t get really ugly.] (more…)

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Anonymous–“Los Malos” (Harper’s, September 2010)

Posted in A House, David Noriega, Death, Drugs, Essays, Fears, Harper's, James, Roberto Bolaño, Violence on August 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: A HOUSE-I Want Too Much (1990).

I Want Too Much saw a bit of a stylistic shift from the sort of generic indie rock of the first album.  Dave Couse’s voice begins to really come into its own with a lot of yelping and higher notes.

The album overall is more experimental, a good stepping stone towards I Am the Greatest.  This is probably the last A House record I bought (from Amoeba Records!).  And again, had I bought it in 1990, I think I would have loved it.

As it is, it reminds me, once again, of the era (in fact, this album reminds me a lot of James circa 1990).  The lyrics are slightly more deep than on the first disc, but I honestly can’t say that the songs really stick out for me.

I may have come to the party too late for this one.

[READ: August 20, 2010] “Los Malos”

This was something of a banner issue of Harper’s for me.  I’d been kind of down on the magazine over the last several months as I felt the really good stuff just hadn’t been here.  But this issue was packed with great articles.

I was keenly interested in this article because I have recently read Roberto Bolaños’ 2666.  That novel is concerned with the senseless and random killings of so many women around Juarez, Mexico.  That news story seemed to be just catching on in the mainstream press when it was supplanted by this new horror story that border cities in Mexico are hotbeds of drug-related murders (of men and women).  Strangely, I don’t know if the Juarez situation has calmed down or if this is a concurrent mass murder scenario along the border. (more…)

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Fredy Perlman–[Week 11] Letters of Insurgents (1976)

Posted in Anarchy, Anthrax, Big Books, Comedy Album, Fears, Fredy Perlman, Huh?, Humiliation, Insurgent Summer, Punks, Racism, Suicide, Unlikable main character, Violence, War, Yuck! on August 20, 2010| 6 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH-Speak English or Die (1985).

S.O.D. was a side project of Anthrax.  It was an over the top (and hilariously un-PC) collection of super fast (and super short) punk songs.  A lot of the “mosh” sound that Anthrax was experimenting with around this time is in place here (“Milano Mosh” for instance).  So it’s an interesting mix of speed metal and punk.

The lyrics were, as they say, designed to piss everyone off.  And they do.  Song titles like “Speak English or Die,” “Pre-Menstrual Princess Blues,” “Pussy Whipped,” “Fuck the Middle East” and “Douche Crew” pretty much give you a taste of the music.

And yet, Anthrax are silly.  So you know that the band is a parody (even if people took them seriously).  And the best way to tell about the serious intentions of the band are by other songs (and their duration): “Anti-Procrastination Song” – 0:06, “Hey Gordy!” – 0:07, “Ballad of Jimi Hendrix” – 0:05 (entire lyrics: “He’s dead”) and of course “Diamonds and Rust” (Extended Version) – 0:05.  There’s also a song about “Milk” which laments the fact that all of the milk in the fridge has been drunk.

My favorite track is “What’s That Noise.”  The band plays the opening chords of a song and this static crackles in.  Billy Milano slowly goes absolutely insane screaming about the noise, yelling at the band to stop playing.  It still makes me laugh, 25 years later.

[READ: Week of August 20, 2010] Letters of Insurgents [Last Letters]

Yarostan’s final letter is a long one, but it is justifiably long. And in some ways it makes up for all the weird incest stuff that I had to read.   Although really nothing could make up for that.

The beginning of the letter is taken up with Mirna and Yara’s “prank” at Jasna & Titus’ engagement party. There so many details to include that I’m just going to summarize. (more…)

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James Joyce–[Week 6] Ulysses (1922) [Circe]

Posted in Aerosmith, Big Books, Death, Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Fears, History, Irish Writer, James Joyce, Marianne Faithfull, Masturbation, Political Humor, Prostitution, Run D.M.C, Sex, Sinéad O'Connor, The Chieftains, The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Unreliable narrator, Violence on August 16, 2010| 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: THE CHIEFTAINS-The Long Black Veil

Like the Dubliners, The Chieftains are a bunch of old men who play traditional Irish music.  Unlike the Dubliners, they have gained a fan base beyond the trad scene.  This album in particular features a great deal of crossover material.

Guest singers include: Sting (singing in Irish!), The Rolling Stones, Sinéad O’ Connor, Marianne Faithfull,Van Morrison and Tom Jones (!)

The Sinéad tracks are really great, as she uses her voice wonderfully on the spare musical tracks. “The Foggy Dew” is particularly powerful, and “He Moved Through the Fair” isn’t too shabby either).

Sting’s track is very Sting (with trad accompaniment); Mick Jagger sings the title track, but it doesn’t do a lot for me.  Van Morrison is Van Morrison, regardless of who he’s playing with.  And Tom Jones is so over the top on “Tennessee Waltz” that it’s hard not to laugh with him.

The song with no guests, “Changing Your Demeanor” is a cute Oirishy song with deedly-ee-ayes.

It’s the final song, “The Rocky Road to Dublin” (which I’ve already said is a favorite by other artists) that fares the worst here.  About midway through the song, The Stones seem to burst in (think Run DMC & Aerosmith but a lot older) and play a really sloppy version of “Satisfaction” while The Chieftains are playing their trad song.  Nobody fares well in this version and it’s a shame to have included it on an otherwise good disc.

This is not really a good place to hear the Chieftains as a trad outfit.  It’s certainly more of a showcase album.  But it might work as a crossover introduction to some of these songs.  And yes, the album is very adult contemporary…there’s not a lot of rocking going on here.

[READ: Week of August 16, 2010] Ulysses: Episode 15 [Circe]

This is the Episode I remember most from my previous reads.  I didn’t remember the details, mind you, just the absolute insanity of it.  This is also the place where you can look if you’ve ever wondered why this book was brought up on obscenity charges.  Those first few chapters, with the outhouse and the impure thoughts are mild; even Bloom’s masturbation, while controversial doesn’t hold a candle to all of the insanity that is contained within this Episode.

It was also the only week where we read just one Episode.  And that’s because it is loooooong.  True, it is written in play form (ie, lots of white space), but it is still about 4 times longer than any other Episode.  And man is it a doozy.

I’ve already read that Daryl was just going to write WTF about this Episode.  Of course, that’s sort of what I felt about the previous one, so I guess it’s no surprise that I did enjoy the nonsense of this one.  I’ve always had a great appreciation for the absurd, so this is right up my alley.  This is not in any way to suggest that I understood it, even a little.  But there were parts that I laughed at and parts that I smiled at and parts that I practically blushed at.  Good fun!

Of course, the big question in this chapter is (aside from what the hell is going on and why is it so long) what’s real and what’s Bloom’s fever dream.  This is preceded by the big question of why Bloom is having these fever dreams (or whatever they are).  I’ve been under the impression that he is drunk (but my tenuous following of the previous chapter makes me a little unsure just how drunk he was or if he drank at all.)

In a nutshell what happens is that Stephen (and Lynch) go to the red light district.  Bloom follows behind.  Bloom had a massive memory flashback/acid trip/freak out, and then he “rescues” Stephen (and his money) from the brothel.  He can’t save Stephen from getting punched in the face by a soldier, but he is able to keep him from getting arrested (with Corny Kelleher’s invaluable help).  Bloom, despite his inaction, then offers to take Stephen home.   (more…)

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Stanley McChrystal–“In the Line of Duty” [excerpt] (Harper’s, September 2010, originally published 1974)

Posted in Death, Harper's, Military, Quiet Riot, Stanley McChrystal, The Pointer, Violence, War on August 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: QUIET RIOT-“Cum on Feel the Noize” (1983).

I heard this song on  the radio the other day.  When it came out, I rushed out to buy it…it was one of the first metal albums I was going to buy.  I went to the local Pathmark (!) and the total of the album came to $6.66 (!).  How cool! How metal!

I loved this song so much.  But now 26 years later (!), it’s just kind of embarrassing (although not as embarrassing as their outfits in the video!).

By the way, who was the first band to have a clap along drum and vocals only part in a rock song anyhow?  They have a lot to answer for in the 80s metal department.

[READ: August 12, 2010] “In the Line of Duty” [excerpt]

Yes, this is General David McChrystal, who gave the unprecedented interview in Rolling Stone which got him fired.

McChrystal was managing editor of The Pointer, the literary magazine of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where this was published in 1974. I admit I would not have read this if it weren’t McChrystal (I don’t really like military fiction).

This was  a really good piece.  It concerns an officer named Gewissen (a fascinating name which means either Conscience or Certain, depending on the part of speech) in an unspecified country where there are Arabs (but not oil-rich Arabs like he’d expected). (more…)

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