SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-“I Believe in Miracles” (2003).
On December 2, Pearl Jam announced that their fan club holiday singles will be released to streaming services. Their first holiday single was released back in 1991. It was “Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time).” They are rolling out the songs one at a time under the banner 12 Days of Pearl Jam.
These releases are coming out as a daily surprise.
Recorded in Santa Barbara California on October 28, 2003 this is a song that the band has played many times live. I actually forget that its a Ramones song because of how un-Ramones their version is.
They do play it loud and rocking, but this version is a quieter, acoustic version. It’s also kind of slow so you can hear all the words.
There’s two lengthy acoustic guitar solos (very different from the Ramones) as well. And of course, Eddie sounds nothing like Joey Ramone.
Despite the different style of play, this cover is quite faithful to the original. But this acoustic version is particularly cool and the crowd is really into it.
[READ: December 11, 2019] “The Wild Man of Mississippi”
This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my fourth time reading the Calendar. I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable. Here’s what they say this year
The Short Story Advent Calendar is back! And to celebrate its fifth anniversary, we’ve decided to make the festivities even more festive, with five different coloured editions to help you ring in the holiday season.
No matter which colour you choose, the insides are the same: it’s another collection of expertly curated, individually bound short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.
(This is a collection of literary, non-religious short stories for adults. For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.)
As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check back here to read an exclusive interview with the author.
Want a copy? Order one here.
I’m pairing music this year with some Christmas songs that I have come across this year.
I know Jack Pendarvis exclusively from McSweeney’s issues–particularly from the Letters columns–and The Believer.
I’m a little sad to say that overall my impression of his writing is not great. I wrote this a long while back:
Pendarvis writes my least favorite piece in The Believer. His monthly column Musin’s & Thinkin’s is a faux hillbilly column that is purposefully absurd and in my mind really really forced.
However, I did enjoy some of his short stories, which seem to be, not exactly parodies, but anachronistic tales that play around with the expectations of formula.
This story continues in that vein.
The titular Wild Man of Mississippi is an author and he is very much aware of his persona as The Wild Man of Mississippi.
As the story starts he is heading to near the Canadian border to read to a college class. He couldn’t fit into his peacoat and had his tailor move the buttons: “an identifying feature of peacoats seemed to be the faraway buttons. Well, fuck that.”
The tailor was late and thanked him for his patience. How presumptuous to think he had patience. After several other small indignities, he is booked on American Airlines–not his first choice. Continue Reading »
I have seen Kevin Devine twice. The first time was in 2017 when he opened for Frightened Rabbit. The second time was earlier this year when he did a brief solo tour with John K. Samson. The second show was so good–he was so full of energy as a headliner, that I knew I’d see him again. But I really wanted to see him with The Goddamn Band (hilarious name).
