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Alice Munro–“Floating Bridge” (New Yorker, July 31, 2000)

August 28, 2019 by Paul Debraski

coverSOUNDTRACK: RA RA RIOT-“Endless Pain/Endless Joy” (2019).

indexIn 2007, Ra Ra Riot released an album of chamber pop loveliness.  There were strings and lots of soaring melodies.  The songs were gentle and sweet and the lyrics were thoughtful.

Twelve years later and I would never have guessed this was the same band.

“Endless Pain/Endless Joy” starts with crashing drums and a fast bass line.  The lyrics are sung in his high register but they are almost whispered, or at least sound like they are far away.  After the first verse, the bass doubles down and the rumble grows.

When the chorus finishes, the guitars come clanging in, angular and discordant, playing a clash of sounds for a few measures before departing.

The second half of the song increases the urgency with the fast paced drums and bass, but it adds lots of backing sounds–synth stabs, guitar swirls and other noises until, with ten seconds left, that clatter comes back–crashing through to the end.

It’s largely the same band members, but wow, what a difference a decade makes.

[READ: August 20, 2019] “Floating Bridge”

Neal and Jinny have been together for over 20 years.  Jinny is 42 and Neal is 16 years older.  She always assumed she’d outlive him. Then she got the news.

The oncologist said the news wasn’t great.

Neal went to pick yup the girl who would be staying with them to help out.  He knew her because she worked in the kitchen of the The Correctional Institute where he worked.

The girls’ name was Helen.  She was tough but Neal tried to break through her shell–that’s the way he was. Continue Reading »

Posted in Alice Munro, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Cancer as plot device, Death, Marriage (Happy), Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Pee, Ra Ra Riot, Short Story | Leave a Comment »

Mac Sabbath (The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair NJ, August 27, 2019)

August 27, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2019] Mac Sabbath

When I saw that Okilly Dokilly was opening for Mac Sabbath I had to check out who this band was.  They’ve been around for a few years and this was their “American Cheese Tour” (that’s a good one).

And so basically, they are a Black Sabbath cover band, but all of their lyrics are about McDonald’s and the fast food industry in general.  So that’s pretty funny.  But that’s not all.  They have taken this concept to an absurd length.   Each band member is costumed or wears makeup.  And the costumes are phenomenal–not cheap little handmade things, but remarkably detailed and well constructed heads and bodies.  The attention to detail is really impressive.

The band members are also completely anonymous, which is also pretty funny.   And that is why they have such great band names:

The lead singer is Ronald Osbourne.
The guitarist is Slayer MacCheeze
The bassist is Grimalice (the least impressive name, it’s Grimace with an Alice in Wonderland hat on, but his other name is brilliant: “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butler.”)
On drums is Catburglar or Criss Cut Fries (he is dressed like the Hamburglar with Peter Criss Makeup).

I didn’t really think too much about the music before the show, I just wanted to see the stage show. Continue Reading »

Posted in Beck, Black Sabbath, Blue Velvet, Friday the 13th, Harlem Globetrotters, Mac Sabbath, McDonald's, Montclair, NJ, Motorhead, Okilly Dokilly, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Criss, Roy Orbison, Set in New Jersey!, Tame Impala, Tony Iommi, Van Halen, Weezer, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Okilly Dokilly (The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair NJ, August 27, 2019) [MAC SABBATH]

August 27, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2019] Okilly Dokilly

When I heard about Okilly Dokilly from The Simpsons, I knew that I would like to see them live.  So, when it was announced that they would be playing with Mac Sabbath (who I’d never heard of), at a venue fairly close to me, I grabbed a ticket.  Hilariously (although not for me), this show apparently sold so poorly that by a week before the event, the venue was literally giving tickets away.  So I signed up for free tickets and then couldn’t get anyone to go with me.  Oh well.

When I saw their video for “White Wine Spritzer,” in the credits of The Simpsons (clip at bottom of page), I loved the idea of a heavy metal band comprised of many Ned Flanders (technically: Head Ned (vocals), Dread Ned (drums), Shred Ned (guitar), Bed Ned (bass) and Zed Ned (synth)).  But I was a little disappointed that the vocals they chose to use were so cookie monster/growly.  I mean, it makes huge comic sense to have Ned sing like that, but it’s disappointing to not be able to understand all of  the lyrics which are “75 per cent made up of Ned Flanders’ quotes.”

But this band is dedicated to their craft 100%. Continue Reading »

Posted in Mac Sabbath, Montclair, NJ, Okilly Dokilly, Santana, Set in New Jersey!, The Offspring, The Simpsons, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Playboy Manbaby (The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair NJ, August 27, 2019) [MAC SABBATH]

August 27, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2019] Playboy Manbaby

When I heard about Okilly Dokilly from The Simpsons, I decided that I would like to see them live.  So, when it was announced that they would be playing with Mac Sabbath (who I’d never heard of), at a venue fairly close to me, I grabbed a ticket.  Hilariously (although not for me), this show apparently sold so poorly that by a week before the event, the venue was literally giving tickets away.  So I signed up for free tickets and then couldn’t get anyone to go with me.  Oh well.  [The band did sell out venues in Florida, so it’s not like no one goes to see them].

Of the three bands, Playboy Manbaby was the one I was least interested in.  But in the end, they were the band I enjoyed the most.

Playboy Manbaby is from Phoenix. Okilly Dokilly is also from Phoenix (and PM used most of Okilly Dokilly’s gear).

They usually have horns, but for this show (and tour?) they were a four piece:  Robbie Pfeffer on vocals, TJ Friga on guitar, Chris Hudson on bass, [with a Big Gay Ice Cream shirt on] and Chad Dennis on drums.  Unlike the other two bands, this band didn’t have a gimmick, they were just a kind of goofy, fun punk rock band. Continue Reading »

Posted in Big Gay Ice Cream, Mac Sabbath, Macaroni Rascals, Montclair, NJ, Okilly Dokilly, Playboy Manbaby, Set in New Jersey!, The Simpsons, Wellmont Theater | Leave a Comment »

Lydia Davis–“Thyroid Diary” (New Yorker, September 25, 2000)

August 27, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Tasered and Maced” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The  Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

The final song of the album features Chris Martin from Coldplay on the vinyl release.  But it’s something else entirely on digital releases.  This is the digital song.

This song is a slow echoing piano-based song that opens with some very familiar lyrics:

Imagine there’s no Heaven, it’s easy if you try

Despite the lyrics, the melody is nothing like “Imagine”  In fact he changes it to his own very Lips-ian idea:

No hell below us, you don’t go anywhere when you die
(I don’t want you to die and I don’t want me to die)

A new melody is added between verses.

Then after the second verse Chris Martin from Coldplay starts singing.  his voice is distant and echoed

And after all we’re only roses when we die, oh, I don’t want to say goodbye
After all we’re only roses in the sky, oh, I don’t want to say goodbye

He sings for all of twenty seconds before Wayne comes back.

I rather wish Chris martin was more prominent , but it is an amusing cameo.

This is such a better album-ender than “Maced and Tasered,”  I can’t imagine why they replaced it (I’ll assume it has something to do with Coldplay lawyers).

[READ: August 20, 2019] “Thyroid Diary”

I have a soft spot for Lydia Davis.  I like her sense of humor and how she works with the mundanity of existence.

But sometimes her stories are too much diary entry and not enough story.  This one is called a diary, but the New Yorker claims it is fiction.  So which is it?  It’s a mildly interesting diary entry (but not focused enough).  However, it’s not very interesting as fiction at all.

I did enjoy the first part.  They are going to a party at their dentists’s house.  The dentist’s his just earned enough credits at the local college to have graduated.  She has been taking tutorials with the narrator’s husband. Continue Reading »

Posted in Coldplay, Dentists, Diary, Gardens, Huh?, Lydia Davis, New Yorker, Short Story, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Translators | Leave a Comment »

J. Robert Lennon–“The Loop” (New Yorker, August 26, 2019)

August 26, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: CALEXICO AND IRON & WINE-Tiny Desk Concert #873 (August 1, 2019).

I saw Calexico live in 2018.  They were fantastic–even better than I hoped they’d be.  Then they put out the song with Iron & Wine “Father Mountain” is one of my favorite songs of the year.  I don’t know what it is about this song–the melody, the vocals, whatever.  I love it.  And the version here is even better.  Sam Beam and Joey Burns’ vocals are perfect together.

I have a bunch of Calexico records and they’re all terrific, so it’s surprising to realize:

Joey Burns and John Convertino (drums) had just about seen it all. Their band, Calexico, has been around for nearly a quarter-century, and in that time together they’ve churned out a long string of albums and collaborated with countless musicians on countless projects. But they’d never set foot behind the Tiny Desk until the day we recorded this performance.

By contrast, their pal Sam Beam — best known as the man behind Iron & Wine, with whom Calexico had just released a new album called Years to Burn — was already a Tiny Desk veteran. Beam recorded a solo set as Iron & Wine in 2011, then returned with singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop six years later, and he took great pains to gently tease the Calexico guys for taking so long. (“It’s fun to be back,” he noted between songs, adding, “Isn’t it, Joey?”)

Up next is “Midnight Sun.” Joey Burns sings lead (he wrote this) and there’s great slide guitar from pianist Robert Burger.  Jacob Valenzuela provides a lovely muted trumpet solo and bassist Sebastian Steinberg switches to a guitar for this song.

As Sam introduces everyone, he says, “I’m Sam.  Three timer (cough cough).  I think I’ve officially made it so they can’t invite me back.”

Calexico and Iron & Wine first made a record together back in 2005, when they released In the Reins, and took 14 years to release a follow-up.

“He Lays in the Reins” is a quieter number.  Valenzuela sings a verse in Spanish, which is a nice addition, as is his unmuted trumpet solo.

This is great.

[READ: August 29, 2019] “The Loop”

Boy I loved this story until the end.  The end which is sort of the point (or at least the title) of the story.

Bev was divorced and her only child was off at college.  She had just lost her job as an adjunct teacher.  She sold her house and bought a two-bedroom apartment.  She didn’t need money right away so she volunteered for Movin’ on Up.  The organization takes castoffs from the well to do and delivers them to those in need.

She drove the van and two teenagers (typically string men) would help to move the furniture.  The details of this situation are really interesting, particularly the attitudes of the people who receive the gifts.

On this Saturday, the teenage’ boy didn’t show up so she only had one volunteer, a girl named Emily.  Since the pickups weren’t too large, Bev figured they could handle it. Continue Reading »

Posted in Calexico, Huh?, Iron & Wine, J. Robert Lennon, New Yorker, NPR/PRI/PBS, Sam Beam, Short Story, Surreal, Teenagers, Tiny Desk Concert | Leave a Comment »

J. Robert Lennon–“No Life” (New Yorker, September 4, 2000)

August 25, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Tasered and Maced” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The  Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

The final song of the album features Chris Martin from Coldplay on the vinyl release.  But it’s something else entirely on digital releases.  This is the digital song.

This starts as a buzzy feedback wall of noise.  Then comes a simple synth riff over which Aaron Behrens tells a story about cops busting into a party and macing everyone.

He was drunk and decided to fight the cop.  The cop turned around and maced him in the face.  So he ran.

He says Friends will stop chasing you after a while, but copes don’t stop.  They caught him and tasered him.  Hence maced and tasered.

Musically thus piece is interesting to listen to, but the story doesn’t really hold up to repeated listens.

[READ: August 20, 2019] “No Life”

This story concerns parents looking to adopt.  But it is handled in a unique (to me) way.

As the story opens we meet Edward and Alison.  Once happily married (having sex everywhere) they were soon desperate to get pregnant (sex became a chore).  Now they have given up on getting pregnant. But neither one will ever refuse sex (even if they don’t want to have it) because it means they have given up.

So they are looking to adopt.

I’ve never heard of a setup like this, but maybe it happens all the time:

Prospective adoptive parents are invited to a picnic where all of the potential adopted children are playing.  The adults are told to act natural and speak to the children casually.  Never say things like would you like to come home with us and try to keep things as upbeat as possible. Continue Reading »

Posted in Adoption, Coldplay, Drinking, Huh?, J. Robert Lennon, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Racism, Sexism, Short Story, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends | Leave a Comment »

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, August 24, 2019)

August 24, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 24, 2019] Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

I recall being puzzled by the name of this band back ages ago when they were sometimes known as Ted Leo + Pharmacists.  It seemed like a cataloging nightmare.  But I can get over that and simply enjoy that Ted has fun with his band name (sometimes written as (TL/Rx)).  But this night they were billed as Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.  The Pharmacists have, as of late been a six piece:  Chris Wilson on drums, James Canty on guitar and keyboards, Marty Key on bass, Ralph Darden on guitar, and Adrienne Berry on saxophone and vocals and percussion.

After the bristling punk of Control Top, I wasn’t sure what Ted Leo would bring.  I know he has roots in punk, but surely not that much punk.  And, thankfully, he didn’t try to match Control Top, because that’s not his thing.  It is awesome that he brought them along, though.

Ted’s older songs were punky in the way that Billy Bragg’s early songs were punky–literate, angry and thoughtful–all to a catchy melody.  His newer songs are a bit more reflective (doom folk he called it).

He and the band came out and set things up and when he picked up his guitar people clapped and shouted.  He put a finger up–patience–and then they all left again for a couple of minutes. My only gripe about the show was that they made Control Top cut their set one song short because of time, and then Ted and Co. waited about ten minutes after their gear was set up to come out on stage–they could have played that one last song.  But that’s okay, Ted made up for it.   Continue Reading »

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Control Top, Jersey City, NJ, Ted Leo, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Control Top (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, August 24, 2019) [TED LEO]

August 24, 2019 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: August 24, 2019] Control Top

I have wanted to see Ted Leo for a while.  In fact I almost saw him July 1 at Boot & Saddle, but that was a hectic week for me.  The opening band for that show was Tact, a Philadelphia band.  I was sure that after missing that show I’d have to wait a while for him to come around again.

But then he announced a brief tour that stopped in his once home state of New Jersey.  And I got to go to White Eagle Hall.  I love the venue.  It has great sound and it’s pretty close.  But man the lighting is terrible for taking pictures.

The opening band for this little tour was Control Top, another Philadelphia band.  Philly has been producing some great bands of late and Control Top is definitely one of them.

I was surprised by this billing because they couldn’t be any different.  It’s true that Leo has roots in the punk scene but Control Top is pure screaming punk through and through. like on “Black Hole”

I listened to their album before the show and was pleased by their roaring sound and the intense vocals of Ali Carter.

But I was totally unprepared for the guitar theatrics of Al Creedon.  He didn’t do anything fancy but the noises that he wrung from that guitar were just unbelievable.  Even moreso was that he could come out of squalling noises like in “Type A” and jump right into a pretty or unexpectedly light riff.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Control Top, Jersey City, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Tact, Ted Leo, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, White Eagle Hall | Leave a Comment »

Julian Barnes–“The Story of Mats Israelson” (New Yorker, July 24, 2000)

August 24, 2019 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS AND HEADY FWENDS-“Girl, You’re So Weird” (2012).

2012 saw the release of this very strange collaborative album.  Whether The Flaming Lips had entered the mainstream or if people who’d always liked them were now big stars or maybe they all just liked doing acid.  Whatever the case, The Lips worked with a vast array of famous (and less famous) people for this bizarre album.  Here it is 8 years later. Time to check in.

This song is around 3 and a half minutes.  It starts out crashingly loud with a catchy synth melody that will later be used for the vocal line.  Then it quiets down to a sneaky/spooky synth melody.  The vocals fit into the spooky sound in as it seems like Wayne is singing in a kind of strangled way.  It’s possible that the lyrics weren’t made up on the spot.  But who knows:

Girl, you’re so weird, your pain and your fear
Has paralyzed your mind, I wish you’d get high
You’re so tight, you’re always thinking right
Tonight, when it’s late, you should smile, masturbate
So, girl, you and me can watch each other pee
With holographic shirts we’ll shine under blacklights
Lights, lights, lights, lights, lights, lights

The guest on this is New Fumes.  I don’t know anything about him except that he has played with the Lips in the past.  This song feels like filler except that the sounds between verses are really cool.

It also feels pretty much like the end of a record.  But there’s one more song to come

[READ: August 20, 2019] “The Story of Mats Israelson”

This story was enjoyable but sad.  I had read the first six or so pages and then had to put it down for the night.  I was looking forward to finishing it because the first few pages were so good.  But the last couple pages really emphasized a sadness I did not expect.

The story is written as if it is from a long time ago.  In this small Swedish village, people earned their spots–in church pews, or where to keep their horses.  If you took that spot you were shunned.

This village is full of gossip. The gossip is my favorite part of the story. Continue Reading »

Posted in Death, Hospitals, Julian Barnes, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, Sweden, The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends | Leave a Comment »

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