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James Joyce–[Week 3] Ulysses (1922) [Aeolus, Lestrygonians, Scylla and Charybdis]

July 26, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: DING DONG DENNY O’REILLY & THE HAIRY BOWSIES-publocked (1996).

My friend Lar introduced me to this ol’fella (he may have even sent me this CD, as I can’t imagine where I’d have found it on my own).

Ding Dong Denny is the alter ego of Paul Woodfull (who created the Joshua Trio a U2 tribute/pisspull).  And, as I know precious little else about the man, I’ll let the more enlightened pass along the details.

Publocked is a lowbrow amalgam of all kinds of Oirish nonsense.  It’s vulgar and crass and often quite funny.  (Some of the bits stand up to repeated listening–the songs more than the chatty bits, although the chatty bits are especially funny).

Take “The Ballad of Jayus Christ” which sounds like a pretty standard simple ballad until you realize what he’s singing:  “Jaysus O Jaysus As cool as bleeding ice…It’s funny you never rode, coz its you I do my shouting for each time I shoot me load.”

But it’s not all blasphemy.  The “single” “Flow River Flow” is a very sensitive track about the benefits and majesty of the sacred waters (with tin whistles and everything): “When I was just a young man, I sit on the river bank  I loved your gentle water so much I’d have a wank”  With the glorious swelling chorus: “Flow river flow, fuck off to the sea, go where you are wanted, to the deserts of Gobi”

True, now, that’s all kind of crass.  But Ding Dong takes a political stance, too. Take “Spit at the Brits.”  “We Spit at the Brits an we showered’em in a lovely shade of green…we spit at the brits, and then they blew us all to smithereens.”

And what Irishman could ignore the Famine.   “The Potatoes Aren’t Looking the Best” is a view of the famine through the eyes of a farmer.  Shite.

Not everything is a winner, “I Get A Round” is a “cover” of “I Get Around.”   The lyrics are changed to reflect being in a pub (get it?).  And “My Heart Gets So Full (You’d Swear I Had Tits)” is pretty funny, especially since it’s played as an oh so serious ballad, but there’s not much in the world that’s funny for 7 minutes.

So, yes, it’s not quite Joyce, but then Joyce does talk about masturbating by the water, so it’s all equal, right?

[READ: Week of July 26, 2010] Ulysses: Episodes 7-9

Before I begin, I want to make sure that everyone has checked out Ulysses Seen.  It’s an illustrated rendition of the book.  The details are exquisite and you’ll no doubt pick up things that weren’t as apparent in the proper text.  The only bad thing I can say about it is that it’s not finished yet.  So far Robert Perry has only completed Episode One, and it sure looks like that took a long time (it’s really stunning); but between the details ion the drawing and the extensive reader’s guide that comes with it, one can perch there for quite a while.

I admit that this week’s slog through Ulysses was rather unpleasant for me.  The three episodes included here were massive doses of stream of consciousness.  I actually found them exhausting to read.  Not to mention, in terms of plot advancement, they’re rather paltry. Continue Reading »

Posted in Big Books, Comedy Album, History, Huh?, Infinite Zombies, Irish Writer, James Joyce, Language, Religion, Scholarship, Smarty Pants, Socratic Dialogue, William Shakespeare | 9 Comments »

Periodical: Smithsonian

July 25, 2010 by Paul Debraski

Our family visited Washington DC and went to a few museums.  We talked about subscribing to Smithsonian magazine (and getting a membership to the museums), but we put it off.  Then I received an offer in the mail to subscribe to the magazine and get a membership all for $12.  So we did.  And I’m thrilled with the magazine.

I recall subscribing to this magazine many years ago (turns out it was about fifteen years ago) as I distinctly remember reading, savoring and the keeping the September 1995 issue which featured a cover about James Gurney’s Dinotopia.  The cover is still blazed in my memory (even if I can’t find a better picture than this online).

As with many things, I find that as an adult (and a dad) I enjoy this sort of magazine a lot more than I did as a recent college grad.  It was also fascinating to learn in the new 40th anniversary issue that the magazine started not long after I was born.  It’s like we grew up together (but I ignored it for years). Continue Reading »

Posted in Animals, Art, Bob Dylan, Books about writers, Christo, Essays, Gilmore Girls, Harper Lee, History, James Gurney, Mark Twain, Milton Glasser, Smithsonian | Leave a Comment »

Porter Fox–“The Last Stand of Free Town” (The Believer, June 2010)

July 24, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: AVI BUFFALO-“What’s In It For” (2010).

I received an email from Amazon telling me that their top 50 CDs of the year (so far) were online.  The second disc was by Avi Buffalo.  I’d never heard of Avi Buffalo, but they were on Sub Pop, so that’s a good sign.

I was going to listen to a sample, but saw that they had a video for “What’s In It For” on the Avi Buffalo page.

Avi himself looks about 12, which is disconcerting.  But his voice is really angelic (he sounds like one of those high voiced singer like from The Shins or Band of Horses or, indeed like Grant Lee Phillips) In fact, this song could be a B0H outtake.   And as such, that’s a good thing.

I’m not sure just how original the band is, and I’m also not sure if they are tagging onto this high-voiced folkie bandwagon (he doesn’t have a beard at least, so that’s a relief; of course, he may not be old enough to grow one).

A sampling of the rest of the songs shows more diversity than the “single?” indicates.  And, indeed, this looks like a great, quirky summer release.

[READ: July 20, 2010] “The Last Stand of Free Town”

Even though I read all the articles in The Believer, I don’t often talk about them, mostly because they are non-fiction, and I don’t tend to talk about non-fiction articles for whatever reason.

But anyhow, I’m mentioning this because it ties pretty directly to the Insurgent Summer story Letters of Insurgents that I and others are reading.

This article is about the pacifist commune that has existed in Christianshavn (part of Copenhagen, Denmark) since 1971:

That year, a group of squatters overtook an abandoned army base east of Prinsessegade, barricaded the roads, outlawed cars and guns, and created a self-ruling micro-nation in the heart of Copenhagen. They called the eighty-five-acre district Christiania Free Town, drew up a constitution, printed their own currency, banished property ownership, legalized marijuana, and essentially seceded from Denmark. The traditionally liberal Danish government allowed the settlement at first, dubbing Christiania a “social experiment.” Then it spent the next three decades trying to reclaim the area. Thirty-nine years and a dozen eviction notices later, the nine hundred residents of Free Town represent one of the longest-lasting social experiments in modern history.

Note that Christiania was founded in 1971 and Letters is from 1976, so something must have been in the air. Continue Reading »

Posted in Anarchy, Avi Buffalo, Band of Horses, Communists, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Fredy Perlman, Free Speech, Grant Lee Phillips, History, Insurgent Summer, Porter Fox, The Believer, The Shins | Leave a Comment »

Fredy Perlman–[Week 7] Letters of Insurgents (1976)

July 23, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-“Horses” (1991).

I have mentioned the Rheostatics a lot.  I’ve even talked about this song in Melville.  And yet it works so well as a companion to this book.

It starts slowly enough, a simple acoustic guitar with the lyrics:

Word came down and it crashed through my door
From the twenty-first floor
I was thinkin’ about leavin’ early for lunch
When he told me to shut off my press
His face turned green and his white shirt was wet
Like he’d just seen an accident
We threw our masks into a pile, the trucks pulled away for good

The band kicks in a slow beat  as the song builds:

A bus pulled in and I waved at it
Before I knew what it was
We ran in its tracks chasing its tires
But the gates had been riveted shut
I looked for the foreman; his number was empty
Up to Red Deer to stay
We gathered some signs and we sparked up a fire
Gordie got burned on the high-voltage wire

A quick intense bridge:

The first thing she’ll ask me is: “How did it go today?”And I’ll tell her.

The song builds in intensity with some wild screaming guitars until finally settling down to the quiet beginning

I thought there was strength in a union
I thought there was strength in a mob
I thought the company was bluffing
When they threatened to chop us off
Ah, these guns will wilt the winter will seize
And all the bonfires will go out
The company knows when they can afford to be bold
I wish I could, I wish I could, I wish I could

All along the ringing repeated chorus: “Holy mackinaw Joe! (Holy mackinaw).”

I’m not sure if this references a specific event or not.  (Surely someone can tell me that).  But you can listen to it here.  Or, find any of the live renditions on youtube.

There’s an interview with Dave Bidini of the Rheos who tells the interviewer that he also used to do music interviews.  And once he interviewed Neil Peart who, after much chatter, asked Dave if he knew the song “Horses” by the Rheos.  Dave humbly said that he wrote it.  And Neil said that on their last tour he used to come off stage and listen to “Horses” at full blast.  (And that’s how they got Neil to play on the Rheos’ subsequent album).  Neat, huh?

[READ: Week of July 16, 2010] Letters of Insurgents [Sixth Letters]

Insurgent Summer is till moving along, but the insurgents have been quiet lately.  I hope the insanity of these letters and invocations of the devil will bring up the chatter.

Yarostan opens his letter with the most heartfelt emotions.  And yet, anyone who thought (as I did) that there might be some kind of rekindling of romance between the two will be sorely disappointed: Continue Reading »

Posted in Anarchy, Big Books, Canadian Music, Dave Bidini music, Epistolary Novel, Fredy Perlman, Funny (strange), Insurgent Summer, Marriage Trouble, Neurotics, Religion, Rheostatics, Sex, Supernatural, Technology, Violence | 2 Comments »

Tom Bissell–“Cinema Crudité: The mysterious appeal of the post-camp cult film” (Harper’s, August 2010)

July 22, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: SAFURA-“Drip Drop” (2010)

Azerbaijan came in 5th in this year’s Eurovision contest.  And they did it with this monstrosity of a song by Safura.  She sounds like so many pop chanteuses, pulling out all the stops on high notes, vibrato and even a fascinatingly accented English.

But just as I’m about to dismiss this song out of hand, she throws in this weird chorus of pizzicato “drip drops.”  Even they are not very compelling, but the juxtaposition of these two parts of the song are surprising enough to make the song interesting.

But I think that’s enough Eurovision for me.  And I didn’t even make it to the song by Latvia with the lines: “I’ve asked my Uncle Joe/But he can’t speak/Why does the wind still blow?/And blood still leaks?/So many questions now/With no reply/What for do people live until they die?/  Only Mr God knows why/But his phone today is out of range”

[READ: July 19, 2010] “Cinema Crudité”

This article is about cult films, although it focuses a lot on a film that I’ll never watch called The Room.  I had heard about the film in Entertainment Weekly a month or so ago.  They joked about its status as a midnight film that all manner of celebrities swear by: David Cross, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill etc.

This article goes into much greater depth than the EW piece did about what the film is actually like.  The author really points out all of its flaws and incongruities and everything else about the film that is awful.  And then he says that he’s watched it at least 20 times and couldn’t wait to interview the auteur behind it.

The article is great, by the way, Bissell did an excellent job. But I still don’t want to watch the film. Continue Reading »

Posted in David Cross, Entertainment Weekly, Essays, Eurovision, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, MST3K, Paul Rudd, Safura, Sex, The Room, Tom Bissell, Yuck! | 3 Comments »

Nora Ephron–“The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut” (New Yorker, July 5, 2010)

July 21, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: CHANÉE & N’EVERGREEN-“In a Moment Like This” (2010).

Denmark’s entry into Eurovision is Chanée & N’evergreen.  This song is shockingly bland.  It doesn’t have any of the weird quirks of Romania, and isn’t inspired in anyway that I can see.  The song’s verses are way too disturbingly similar to “Every Breath You Take” which morphs into a chorus that sounds too disturbingly similar to Abba.

See it here.

[READ: July 17, 2010] “The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut”

I haven’t read any of Steig Larsson’s books, and I probably never will.  And as such I’m sure this parody would be even funnier if I had.  I don’t generally like Nora Ephron’s pieces, but I was kind of tickled by this one.

I assume that the characters are the ones in the book (and there must be some kind of history, right?).  But unlike the crazy excitement of the novels, in this one, Kalle needs his umlaut fixed on his Apple computer.  She demurs until he argues: Continue Reading »

Posted in Adventure, Chanée & N'evergreen, Eurovision, Funny (ha ha), New Yorker, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum–“The Erlking” (New Yorker, July 5, 2010)

July 20, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: PAULA SELING & OVI-“Playing with Fire” (2010).

Now this is what I think of as a Eurovision song.  It’s Romania’s entry and it came in third!  The video is a live version (I assume).  And it is deliciously over the top right from the start.  Paula & Ovi face each other while the backing singers punctuate all of the lyrics.

Even the opening beat feels very Euro to me (whatever that means).  But when they start singing at each other, “Girl Girl Girl…” “Boy boy boy…” and they get to the chorus about burning the place down, the theatricality hits its peak.  I really don’t like this song, and yet after listening to it three times for this review, I find it maddeningly infectious.  Just like Eurovision.

And I would be remiss for not acknowledging the outrageous high not she hits in the middle.  I don’t think it’s particularly effective in the song, but it is impressive.

[READ: July 17, 2010] “The Erlking”

This was a fascinating story that went in two very different directions (and which feels like it’s part of a longer story).

There are two characters in the story Ondine–a young girl who only answers to “Ruthie”– and Kate, her mom. As the story opens, Ruthie’s mom is dragging her to the Elves’ Faire at the local Waldorf school.  Her mom feels bad that she never even considered sending Ruthie to the school (they had tried with the Jewish Montessori school, but were not accepted).  SHe had heard a story about a nine year old who knew the entire Mongol empire but still sucked his fingers.  She gets the awesome line: “Everybody has to go into a 7-Eleven at some point in life, operate in the ordinary universe.”

She figures that she can introduce Ruthie to some fun and imaginative things by bringing her here.  As the story continues, we learn a lot about Ruthie’s mother’s concerns and fears of inadequacy (some are common and relatable, some are over the top, and others are pretty unusual).

Continue Reading »

Posted in 20 Under 40, Eurovision, Fables, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), New Yorker, Paula Seling and Ovi, Sarah Shun-lein Bynum, Short Story, Supernatural, Toilets | Leave a Comment »

James Joyce–[Week 2] Ulysses (1922) [Calypso, Lotus Eaters, Hades]

July 19, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: THE DUBLINERS-30 Years A-Greying (1992).

The Dubliners were an Irish folk grew founded in 1962.  Probably the most notable thing about the band was lead singer Ronnie Drew’s voice, which out-gravels Tom Waits in depth and impact.

I don’t know a heck of a lot about them as a band or their impact on traditional Irish music, but Wikipedia tells me that they were a major force in the export of trad music.  So there.

So if you like traditional Irish music (that’s not as “pretty” as some artists).  The Dubliners are a good resource.)

When I bought this album many many years ago, I was under the impression that it was a greatest hits with extras.  In fact it’s not (although there are a number of classic trad songs here).  The selling point is that there are a lot of guest vocalists (The Pogues, of course, among others).

But I think a cheaper, shorter compilation would be the way to go, (you’d definitely want “Finnegan’s Wake” for instance).  And I have to say I was a bit surprised by the inclusion of “The Rose” (even if The Hothouse Flowers are on it, too).

Nevertheless, if trad Irish music is what you’re after, The Dubliners are your man.  And they’re named after the Joyce book, too.

[READ: Week of July 19, 2010] Ulysses: Episodes 4-6

I would be remiss if I didn’t include a link to the Infinite Zombies discussion about Ulysses. There’s some great stuff there!

This week’s reading introduces us to Leopold (Poldy) Bloom.  We meet his wife Molly and learn about their daughter Milly (who is away) and their son Rudy who died in childbirth.  The most notable thing about these three Episodes is that, despite the continued use of interior monologue, they sound so different.  Whereas Stephen’s was very intellectual (ineluctable modality of the visible, and all), Leopold’s is much more visceral.  He focuses quite a lot on excrement and organs.  And of course, there’s Bloom’s very introduction:

Episode 4 “Calypso”
“Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls” (45). Continue Reading »

Posted in Big Books, David Foster Wallace, Death, Demons, Dublin, Ireland, Hothouse Flowers, Infinite Zombies, Irish Writer, James Joyce, Religion, The Pogues | 8 Comments »

Nicole Krauss–“The Young Painters” (New Yorker, June 28, 2010)

July 18, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: maNga-“We Could be the Same” (2010).

I don’t know much about music from Turkey.  I also don’t know all that much about music from the Eurovision contest; however, I’m led to believe that the music is generally pretty poppy and treacly.  So I’m rather surprised that the second place winner is this alt metal rocker from Turkey (of course it was over 70 points behind Lena at number 1).  If this was 1983, this song would probably be riding up the American charts (of course, maNga throw in some turntable & hip hop scratches, so we know the song is at least circa 1993).  It’s got some pretty lite-metal guitar riffs and a big, loud chorus.

As with all Eurovision songs, it’s a plea for peace.  I think it’s a love song, too.  (Perhaps it’s a Romeo and Juliet deal).  Lyrically it’s suspect, but the video (with flags waving and men in balaclavas) is visually interesting.

The whole package is satisfying, and I’ delighted to see that they have two albums out already.

[READ: July 15, 2010] “The Young Painters”

The most interesting thing about this issue of the New Yorker (which is not to detract from the short story) is that there were 21 pages of ads for Canada.  I couldn’t get over how many maple leafs there were in here, especially since there was nothing in the issue itself (contentwise) that would suggest a Canadian connection.  Most of the ads were for doing business there.

Another interesting thing was the article about the Eurovision song contest, which took place a few weeks ago.  Since America’s not in it (hence Eurovision), we don’t pay any attention to it, but it’s a fun musical extravaganza, especially if you like ponderous songs sung in broken English (and who doesn’t?).

But on to the short story.  I found this story a little confusing to start with.  I think I was confused because the story begins with a woman saying that she is married to a man (named S.) and that they were invited to a party at a dancer’s house.  Then she describes her husband and then describes the apartment, all in a few sentences.   So at first I thought they were in their own house and I was confused that they had a painting she had never seen before.  Rereading the paragraph clarified things quickly, and it makes a lot more sense when you get the setting straight!

Otherwise, this was a fascinating story about a successful writer.  She and her husband went to the dancer’s house where they remarked on a painting.  The dancer reveals the fascinating story behind the painting to the entire dinner party.  The writer, being utterly transfixed by the story and feeling that it was not told in confidence, decided to write a short story about it. Continue Reading »

Posted in 20 Under 40, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Death, Eurovision, maNga, Nicole Krauss, Short Story, Wikipedia | Leave a Comment »

Ted Walker–“The Peaches” (New Yorker, October 12, 1968)

July 17, 2010 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: LENA-“Satellite” (2010).

The 2010 Eurovision song winner is from Germany and her name is Lena.  I can’t say that I’ve listened to the contests much in the past, but this year, I enjoyed the raging discussion about these pop gems.

“Satellite” is really darn catchy.  Lena’s voice is totally fascinating.  She affects a very broad English accent (although I can’t decide from where) while singing this insanely catchy song.  The lyrics are, by default, silly.  But the couplet “I bought new underwear, they’re blue, and I wore them just the other day” is pretty darn cute.

And Lena herself is adorable.  I didn’t see any of the live show, but her video is quite fetching.  What happens to Eurovision winners anyhow?  Will we ever hear from Lena again?

[READ: June 30, 2010] “The Peaches”

I read this piece because when I printed out the Barthleme story, I printed extra pages just to be safe, and how about that, I got whole other story.  I’d never heard of Ted Walker before, although it appears that he was quite well regarded in his time.

The thing that strikes me most about this story is that it was published the year before I was born, and it’s shocking how different of a husband and father he is just 40-some years ago.

In many ways I was so distracted by his attitude towards his wife (and her reaction to their life) that I never really got involved in the story.  I will say that the peach tree metaphor throughout the story is quite good, but it is especially powerful as the story nears the end. Continue Reading »

Posted in Donald Barthelme, Eurovision, Lena, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Short Story, Ted Walker, Wikipedia | Leave a Comment »

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