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Brummell & Beau–Manners for Millionaires (1900)

September 4, 2015 by Paul Debraski

mannersmillionSOUNDTRACK: THE MYNABIRDS-Tiny Desk Concert #64 (June 21, 2010).

mynabrodI wish I liked The Mynabirds a bit more than I do, especially after hearing the origin story of the band’s name.  Laura Burhenn says she wanted to create a band that was sort of like Neil Young playing Motown.  She toyed with the name Myna and came up with The Mynabirds and then found out that in the 1960s Neil Young and Rick James had made music together for Motown under the name The Mynah Birds.  Cool.

Burnhenn has a sultry kind of voice, which is nice.  But I don’t really like Motown, so the “ooh la la” in the verses and the whole sound of the chorus of “Numbers Don’t Lie” is not my thing.

I prefer the second song “Let the Record Go” which is a bit faster and more rocking (and I like the oh’s at the end of each verse much more).  The final song is by request from Bob.  It’s the lead off track from the album “What We Gained in the Fire.”  It’s a slow broody opener with interesting lyrics.  It has a R&B feel and is a fine song.

It’s possible that I am confusing them with someone else, but I thought the band was more folky, so this was a little disappointing to me (although they are clearly very good).

[READ: June 19, 2015] Manners for Millionaires

I saw this book at work and thought it sounded really funny.  A 1900 British book about millionaires?  With that obvious pseudonym?

The opening prefatory note says that “the coloured plates specially prepared for this volume had at the last moment to be omitted owing to the unfortunate indisposition of the Academician employed, but rather than disappoint the Public we have inserted instead a few specimen woodcuts from a forthcoming treatise on British Fishes.”

Great, so, silly, nonsensical fun, right?

Well, the problem for me with this book is that it supposes you know a lot about wealth and the aristocracy of England circa 1900.  Gah.  I’m not even exactly sure who the intended audience was for this book. Continue Reading »

Posted in Brummell and Beau, Etiquette, Funny (ha ha), Laura Burhenn, Neil Young, Rick James, The Mynabirds, The Mynah Birds, Tiny Desk Concert | Leave a Comment »

Nina MacDonald–Wartime Nursery Rhymes: A First World War Collection (1918)

September 3, 2015 by Paul Debraski

rhymesSOUNDTRACK: JIMMY CLIFF-Tiny Desk Concert #68 (July 12, 2010).

cliffJimmy Cliff is a treasure in reggae music.  Although I recently leaned that despite his Jamaican heritage and reggae connections, he actually does more than reggae music.  As in this Tiny Desk where Cliff (wearing some amazing glasses) sings and plays acoustic guitar in a more folk-like style.

he plays three songs–two are from the 70s and one in brand new.

“Sitting in Limbo” is classic song that sounds more like a folk song than a reggae song (although the original didn’t sound all that reggae, actually).

“I Got to Move On” is a new song about the present (the present is a gift, that’s why it’s called present).  The simple structure and Cliff’s vocal tone reminds me a bit of “Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

“You Can Get It If You Really Want” is another Cliff classic, instantly recognizable, but somehow sounding more profound with Cliff’s older voice singing it.

I can’t say that I listen to a lot of Jimmy Cliff, but this was a nice sampler of his positive vibe.

[READ: August 31, 2015] Wartime Nursery Rhymes

I love getting these unexpected reprints.  This is a collection of nursery rhymes that were created in 1918.  I don’t know who Nina MacDonald was (there is a foreword, but it doesn’t give any context), but I gather that she is the author of all of these pieces.

And so MacDonald has taken familiar (and unfamiliar to me, although perhaps they were common in England before the first world war?) nursery rhymes and songs and modified them for patriotic use–presumably among children.

There are renditions of all manner of nursery rhymes: “O Dear, What Can the Matter Be?” “Simple Simon”

Or this one of “Little Miss Muffet” Continue Reading »

Posted in Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Jimmy Cliff, Nina MacDonald, Nursery Rhymes, Poetry, Propaganda, Tiny Desk Concert, World War I | 1 Comment »

The Mad World of Sign Language: Adventures in Unfortunate English from the Readers of The Telegraph (2014)

September 2, 2015 by Paul Debraski

madlangSOUNDTRACK: TARRUS RILEY-Tiny Desk Concert #59 (May 11, 2010).

tarrusTarrus Riley is a reggae singer with a delicate voice.  His accompanists are a guitarist and a sax player (on a cheesey sounding alto sax–although somehow it works).  And while the music is still quite reggae in style, it doesn’t sound too much like reggae–perhaps the light guitar strumming removes the backbeat?

So these three songs feel a bit more like pop.

“It Will Come (A Musician’s Life Story)” is a funny, but serious song from a woman to her musician boyfriend.  She has lots of complaints “Why don’t you get a job” “do you mind telling your plans to the landlord?” and he tries to explain how music is his work,

“Lion’s Paw” is not so much about the strength of his belief in Jah as it is about the strength of Jah’s belief in him.  He seems very happy and joyful during the song (sometimes drifting away from the mic while dancing).

“She’s Royal” is a pro-women song.  It’s the most pop sounding of the three.

I’m not a huge fan of reggae, but this is a good collection of sweet, positive songs.

[READ: August 30, 2015] The Mad World of Sign Language

This is a goofy collection of bad English on signs across the world.  It turns out that this is the fourth collection of said signs all generated by readers of the British newspaper The Telegraph.

This book is set up geographically.  They begin in The Americas, then on to UK & Ireland, The Mediterranean, Africa, Middle East, India, China, and end in South East Asia and Australasia.

Now I love this kind of thing, but there were a lot of pictures in this book that were mildly amusing at best.  (Could the fourth collection mean diminishing returns?).  Since this is a UK book there is a lot of mirth at British slang which other countries wouldn’t know anything about–which is kind of unfair, right?).  Anyhow, the signs are funny in a very limited way. Continue Reading »

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Photo Essays, Tarrus Riley, The Telegraph, Tiny Desk Concert | Leave a Comment »

Jane Yolen–Curses! Foiled Again (2013)

September 1, 2015 by Paul Debraski

yolenSOUNDTRACK: BETTY LaVETTE-Tiny Desk Concert #61 (May 21, 2010).

bettyAnother peculiar Tiny Desk is this one from Betty LaVette.  It’s only peculiar because, for licensing reasons, they can only show one of the three songs she sang.

I don’t know much about LaVette, but I immediately loved her voice–rough and sultry and amazingly powerful.  The only song here is her take on “It Don’t Come Easy,” and it’s really great.

With only her voice and guitarist Alan Hill accompanying her, she manages to bring amazing depth to this song.

The other two songs were: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” and “Nights in White Satin.”  While I’m not that interested in “Sun,” I would love to hear her take on “Nights.”

The notes say that at this time they don’t have the rights to play the songs.  It has been five years, and I imagine they are not really pursuing those rights any longer.

[READ: July 28, 2015] Curses! Foiled Again

Since I recently posted the Foiled review I had to run out and get the sequel (also on First Second books)

After a quick “Previously,” we get reintroduced to Aliera’s weapon and its glowing gem and we learn that Avery is beautiful on the outside but an actual troll within.   As with the previous book, the panels are all gray scale until she runs into the mystical beasties.

The problem with this book is that Aliera is mad at Avery for secretly being a troll (fair enough), but there is nothing he can do to get her to listen to him.  So it is actually rather tedious that for the whole book he keeps trying to tell her things but she refuses to listen. Continue Reading »

Posted in Betty LaVette, Fencing, First Second :01, Graphic Novel, Jane Yolen, Ringo Starr, Supernatural, Tiny Desk Concert, YA Books | Leave a Comment »

Chloë Sevigny (2015)

August 31, 2015 by Paul Debraski

chloeSOUNDTRACK: ROGER McGUINN with THE ROCK BOTTOM REMAINDERS-Tiny Desk Concert #62 (June 1, 2010).

mcguinn There are many unusual Tiny Desk Concerts, but this may be the strangest.  Ostensibly, the show is from The Rock Bottom Remainders, an informal and revolving assortment of good-natured authors who masquerade as a rock band for charity.  In this incarnation, they are Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Roy Blount Jr., Kathy Kamen Goldmark and Sam Barry, none of whom brought any instruments.  But leading them is Roger McGuinn, who brought his guitar and the chords to two songs.

The authors (mostly Dave Barry) are funny and self-deprecating, “We’re gonna attempt a song involving actual singing now,”

So McGuinn leads them in a rendition of “Sloop John B.” which they and the audience sing in a fun, campfire sorta way.  On the second song “May The Road Rise To Meet You” the backing singers mostly just sit and watch McGuinn.  And McGuinn seems fine with that.

He of course has a lovely voice.  And at the end, he does  neat little guitar solo.  And they all applaud.

[READ: July 29, 2015] Chloë Sevigny

I saw this book at work and decided to flip through it.  It has an introduction by Kim Gordon and an Afterword by Natasha Lyonne, so that seemed interesting enough.  The rest of the book is photos of Sevigny.  And nothing else.  Although Gordon says that “this book allows us a peek into her teenage bedroom and evokes the visceral thrill of getting dressed.”

I don’t really have an opinion of Sevigny.  Although I noticed that she tends to appear in things that I like–she’s like the cool guest star that appears on fun shows (like Portlandia).  But I don’t really know anything about her.

And I still don’t. Continue Reading »

Posted in Amy Tan, Chloë Sevigny, Dave Barry, Kathy Kamen Goldmark, Kim Gordon, Natasha Lyonne, Photo Essays, Portlandia, Ridley Pearson, Roy Blount Jr., Sam Barry, Sassy, Scott Turow, Sonic Youth, The Rock Bottom Remainders, Tiny Desk Concert | Leave a Comment »

Hope Larson–Mercury (2010)

August 30, 2015 by Paul Debraski

mercurySOUNDTRACK: MOBY & KELLI SCARR-Tiny Desk Concert #58 (May 4, 2010).

moby This is the first of a few Tiny Desk Concerts that break with the format we’ve come to know.

For unclear reasons, there is a video for only one song from this show.  Although there is a full audio feed in which you can hear all of the songs that Moby and Kelli play.  This video is also filmed at night, which is quite different from their usual mid-morning showcase.  It is very dark outside and in the studio, which is also unusual.

The song that they play is “Gone to Sleep,” a song they created for Project Song.  The premise behind Project Song is to write, record and complete a song in 48 hours.  As inspiration, they used the word Sunday and a picture of a man in the woods with clouds for a head (Moby describes him as a pedophile from another dimension).

It’s quite a good song with a really catchy, very Moby chorus.  And the dark video is interesting to watch.

There’s audio where you can learn a bit more about Project Song and how they created their song.  But there’s also audio from the rest of their set, which features covers and Moby originals all done on acoustic guitar.

They play a fun, surprisingly light version of “Ring of Fire” (with audience participation on “trumpet solo”).  Then the do Moby’s “Pale Horses” which is quite nice in this stripped down version.  Their next cover is “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.”  They do an interesting take–it’s almost upbeat and folky, which is unusual.  He switches from “and the colored girls say” to “and everybody here says.”  He also tells a funny story about campaigning for John Kerry and playing that song and seeing Kerry’s wife act horrified and maybe a little turned on by the lyrics.

The final song is CSN&Y’s “Helpless.”  It’s a pretty, very different version from the original.  It’s a good set, especially for those who think of Moby as a more dancey artist.

[READ: June 21, 2015] Mercury

I really enjoyed this book by Hope Larson, one of my consistently favorite graphic novelists.

And this book may be one of her best.  The book drifts back and forth between two timelines in Nova Scotia.  The older timeline is 1859.  We meet the Fraser family living in a house on French hill.  They have just had a visitor, Asa Curry and he seems taken with their daughter Josey.

The modern timeline is set 150 years in the future.  The Fraser family until recently still lived on the property at French Hill.  A few years ago it burnt down and the survivors had to move.

The 1859 story has a black border while the contemporary story has a white one, it a subtle but very cool way of distinguishing the timelines. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, CSN&Y, Graphic Novel, History, Hope Larson, Lou Reed, Moby, Supernatural, Tiny Desk Concert | Leave a Comment »

The Organist: Season 2 (part 2) [podcast] (2014-2015)

August 29, 2015 by Paul Debraski

[LISTENED TO: August 2015] The Organist

organistThe final 10 episodes of The Organist’s second season were of the same caliber of podcast.  I was surprised to see that it ended in March.  And, in a recent Kickstarter from McSweeney’s, the talk about getting funding to make more episodes.  I’d be bummed if they ran out of money to make more of these. Even if I have griped about the repeating, the quality of each episode is really quite good.

Episode 40: Cosmo’s Factory (December 30, 2014)
I was fascinated by this piece because I found the drumming in the song to be nothing special.  I never would have noticed all of the nuances that he fixated on.  And the song really isn’t that interesting.  Drummer Neal Morgan, who has supported Joanna Newsom, Bill Callahan, Robin Pecknold, and others, sat down with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Doug Clifford to dive into ecstatic detail on the arrangement of “Long as I Can See The Light.”

Episode 41: A Funeral for Everyone I Knew (January 6, 2015)
This week they finally get around to the Greta Gerwig piece they mentioned in Episode 38.  It is Funeral for Everyone I Knew, a new radio play by novelist Jesse Ball.  Starring Greta Gerwig and Whip Hubley, the play follows the dark machinations of a dying man, and his elaborate plans for his own funeral.  Frankly it wasn’t really worth the wait, and Gerwig isn’t in it enough. Continue Reading »

Posted in Devendra Banhart, Greta Gerwig, Hua Hsu, Matmos, McSweeney's, Meredith Monk, Miranda July, Mobb Deep, Nicholson Baker, Nick Antosca, No More Road Trips?, Rick Prelinger, Ross Simonini, Sam Lipsyte, Studs Terkel, The Organist, Wye Oak | Leave a Comment »

The Organist Season 2 (part 1) [podcast] (2014)

August 28, 2015 by Paul Debraski

[LISTENED TO: August 2015] The Organist

organistFor the second season of The Organist, they switched formats from the once a month 45-55 minute long amalgam of stories of last year to a one story an episode, once a week format.  The length hovers around 20 minutes now with some shows being much longer and others being much shorter.  It doesn’t make too much of a difference if you listen all at once as I did, but I can see that if you’re listening when they come out that a weekly podcast would be more satisfying.

However, they have also opted to have an “encore” episode every fourth episode in which they take one of the segments from an earlier episode and play it on its own.  How disappointing would it be to tune in and get a repeat?  And why on earth would they repeat things if all of the previous episodes are available online?  It’s very strange and frankly rather disappointing.  I mean, sure, it’s nice to have the new introductions, but it’s not like you’re getting some kind of special version when they repeat it.  It’s exactly the same.  And, boy, they tend to repeat some of my least favorite pieces.

Also the website now gives a pretty detailed summary of the contents of each episode, so you get a good sense of what’s going to happen. Continue Reading »

Posted in Alena Smith, Amber Scorah, Andy Kaufman, Big Black, Carrie Brownstein, Daniel Fishkin, David Wain, Dylan Thomas, Edgar Oliver, Ezra Pound, Fiona Apple, Frank, Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band, Fred Armisen, George Saunders, Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Greta Gerwig, Harmony Korine, James Franco, James Joyce, Jon Ronson, Judy Blume, Lena Dunham, Magnetic Fields, Mal Sharpe, Meredith Monk, Mike Mills, Neko Case, Nick Antosca, Optiganally Yours, Rachel Dratch, Ross Simonini, Silver Jews, Solex, Sonic Youth, St. Vincent, Stephin Merritt, Sun Foot, Tao Lin, Teenage, The Collectors, The Motherhood Archives, The Organist, The Wire, This American Life, Thomas Lennon, Tig Notaro | Leave a Comment »

Jenna Pizzi and Susan Sprague Yeske–The Pork Roll Cookbook (2015)

August 27, 2015 by Paul Debraski

porkSOUNDTRACK: THE FRONT BOTTOMS-“Mountain” (2011).

fb The Front Bottoms have a new album coming out.  I’ve liked a lot of their songs and decided to dig a bit deeper in their catalog, and that’s when I discovered this song which led me to realize that they are from New Jersey (Woodcliff Lake, in fact).  As a New Jersey band they clearly grew up eating Taylor Ham sandwiches.  And so they get the honor of being attached to this book.

The Front Bottoms are a fun lightly punk pop band.  The singer Brian Sella sings slightly off kilter and sometimes is speaking more than singing. And their music is energetic and sorta sloppy (but not actually sloppy at all) and it all stems from a great ball of fun that the band seems to be having.  The songs are largely guitar and drum, although they have added keyboards and the occasional trumpet to flesh out these simple ditties.

This particular song has some rollicking drums, an introductory trumpet and simple strummed guitars.  It also features this perfect lyric:

“I bought fireworks, a big bag in Pennsylvania, I’m gonna light ’em up when I get home to Jersey.  They’ll probably arrest me they’ll probably ruin my whole summer.”

Their new album is coming out in a few weeks and features the super catchy song “Laugh Til i Cry.”

[READ: August 22, 2015] The Pork Roll Cookbook

I saw this book at the library and had to check it out.  I love pork roll, it’s a treat that my father loved and which my family simply doesn’t eat often enough.  Of course, since we’re from North Jersey we called it Taylor Ham.

I wasn’t really interested in pork roll recipes because, well, you really only ever need to eat it with egg and cheese on a roll (or bagel).

But the beginning of the book gives a fascinating history of this local delicacy which barely makes it beyond the New Jersey border. Continue Reading »

Posted in Cook Book, Jenna Pizzi, Pork Roll, Set in New Jersey!, Susan Sprague Yeske, Taylor Ham, The Front Bottoms | Leave a Comment »

Larry David–Fish in the Dark (2015)

August 26, 2015 by Paul Debraski

fish SOUNDTRACK: CHAPPO-Future Former Self (2015).

chappoCHAPPO opened for The Flaming Lips, and I enjoyed them enough to get their CD. Since I bought it, I have listened to it nonstop.  While I enjoyed their live show, I never expected the subtle nuances that were present on the disc.  It’s entirely possible that the band’s sound got lost somewhat in the huge open-air stadium that they played in.  They also rocked pretty hard live, so I was surprised by the more psychedelic sound they achieved on disc.

I feel like they achieved an interesting mix of psychedelia and Britpop, which I would never expect.  The album opens with “Hello” a gentle psychedelic song with whistling and a jaunty melody.  I like the unexpected riff that comes in the verse before returning to the really catchy opening melody again.  About half way through the song changes into something bigger—a very cool switch which turns the seemingly simple ditty into something even more interesting.

“Hang On” is wonderfully catchy single. Opening with washes of keyboards and a cool guitar riff, the vocals are gentle and then the bridge comes in and the song lifts to a new level. And then the chorus comes in and things get even bigger. It’s wonderfully crafted.  I saw this song live and while it was good live, and it was definitely fun.  After a quiet moment (with interesting processed vocals), the big chorus returns and you can’t help but sing along.

“I’m Not Ready” switches gears pretty radically, with a chugging riff and 70s synths thrown over the top. The chorus is much more guitar heavy but is not heavy itself–sort of the way the Cars sound.  “I Don’t Need the Sun” shifts gears again with more interesting keyboard sounds sprinkled over the sunny guitar lines.  The lyrics to this one get stuck in my head all the time.

“Run Me Into the Ground” opens with seemingly contradictory keyboard notes and guitar riff. They come together nicely into a pretty verse which all melds into a huge grabbing chorus.  “Mad Magic” opens with a kind of disco/reggae guitar line and Alex Chappo’s falsetto for certain notes.  I love the lyrics to this one too: “My wife is indispensable she will succeed because she has to she will succeed with magic.”  A multilayered chorus really complements the opening riffs and the lines “we’ll be floating while they are coasting” is very cool.

“Hey-O” has a simple catchy gesture with a group singing Hey-O Hey-O that reminds me a bit of Of Monsters and Men.  “Something’s Ringing” is a delicate ballad with a lot of falsetto (and I find Alex’s to me unusual pronunciation of some of the words strangely compelling). I like the way the odd helicopter sound ends the song as it takes off.

“Orange Afternoon” has a sleazy guitar sound and vocal that reminds me a bit of Suede. But the chorus changes direction entirely getting  brighter and brighter.  But moments of that sleaze come back and intersperse interestingly with the bright guitars.

“Ghetto Weekend” is a trippy song to end with.  There’s talking going on, and also a languid guitar.  But it’s interfused with guitar soloing which is echoed and at times seems to not stop. But the switch to the bridge is a great change of pace from the mellow opening—it a great trick, the kind that CHAPPO does so well.

I can’t think of another band that I saw live without knowing their music and was subsequently even more blown away by their album which of course makes me want to see them again in a  more intimate venue.

[READ; June 22, 2015] Fish in the Dark

I’m not sure if I would have known this play was by Larry David just by reading it, but since I knew it was by him, I could tell unmistakably that it was David’s writing (and voice) while I was cracking up.

One wonders why David chose to write a play as a opposes to a screenplay, but then, by doing this it allowed him to get away from his normal characters (even if these ones act just like the characters in anything else he has done).

This is the story of a family.  Norman (played by Larry David) is a put upon husband.  His wife doesn’t want to sleep with him anymore (she has a very funny rejoinder to him in the first scene).  His mother is overbearing (and hates his wife).  His brother, Arthur, is wealthy, recently divorced and is living it up thinking only about himself.  And he just received a phone call that his father is one the verge of death. Continue Reading »

Posted in CHAPPO, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Funny (ha ha), Larry David, Of Monsters and Men, Play (Drama), Sex, Suede, The Cars, The Flaming Lips | Leave a Comment »

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