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What I learned… (24) Why you cannot vote for McCain if you are under 25

September 21, 2008 by Paul Debraski

For reasons that are not clear to me, this upcoming Presidential election is evidently going to be very close.

Think of yourself as an employer (which is what you are in this case).  Do you hire the 72 year old man who thinks things in your company are going great and should continue on the track they’ve been going, or do you pick the 47 year old man with energy, ideas and a plan to make your company even better?  The choice seems pretty obvious…do you want to look to the past or the future.

Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother got me thinking about this election in a slightly different way, especially with his slogan “Never trust anyone under 25.”

If you’re under 25 (or even under 30, let’s be honest) and thinking of voting for McCain, you really need to double and triple check yourself.

Oh, and if you’re eligible to vote and you’re thinking of skipping this election, then this paragraph is just for you.  I’m not going to preach anything about how to run your life, but I want to impress this upon you: it will take just a few minutes to vote.  This election has the potential to impact your future in monumental ways.  You may not even give a moments thought to what your life will be like in twenty years.  But imagine how mad your future self will be if things turn out rotten in twenty years and you think, if I had only voted in 2008, I could have made a difference.  So, go vote.  Your future self will thank you.

Anyhow, there are dozens of reasons not to vote for McCain and you can find them just about anywhere.  But this particular reason is of special interest to anyone under 25:  McCain is not interested in the internet or email.  This is not recent news.  It was stated in an interview with the New York Times in July.  Read this excerpt from July 13, 2008:

Q: But do you go on line for yourself?

Mr. McCain: They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need – including going to my daughter’s blog first, before anything else.

Q: Do you use a blackberry or email?

Mr. McCain: No

Mark Salter: He uses a BlackBerry, just ours.

Mr. McCain: I use the Blackberry, but I don’t e-mail, I’ve never felt the particular need to e-mail. I read e-mails all the time, but the communications that I have with my friends and staff are oral and done with my cell phone.

I highlighted the parts in red that are particularly astonishing.  (And this is before one of McCain’s staffers said that McCain helped to invent the Blackberry.) Continue Reading »

Posted in Barack Obama, Digression, John McCain | 1 Comment »

Cory Doctorow–Little Brother (2008)

September 19, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: BE YOUR OWN PET-Get Awkward (2008).

Be Your Own Pet are a bunch of young kids from Nashville.  Get Awkward is their second album.  According to the liner notes, two of them were born in 1988 and one of them in 1990.  1990!  They play three-chord punk music which focuses primarily on having fun and partying.  I like to think that Black Flag’s “TV Party” might be an influence, but really they sound more like The Muffs than anyone else.   Jemima Pearl is one of those surprisingly cute punk singers who explode in a gruff gravelly voice (although never TOO rough or gravely) which makes all the proceedings quite fun.

The songs are short (only 2 songs are over 3 minutes), fast, and generally fun.  Song titles like “Food Fight,” “Zombie Graveyard Party!” “Bitches Leave” and “Bummer Time” should give you some sense of what the songs are about.  I’m led to believe their first album was a bit more aggressive (enough to get Thurston Moore to sign them to his Ecstatic Peace record label).  But this one keeps pretty well to the three chords (and occasional guitar riff) and fun shouting and singing.

It seems like every few years there’s a new young punk band who takes up the mantle of punk rock and BYOP were the most recent (although their web site says the just broke up).  And it’s cool for young kids to have a new young band to look up to.  Much like the theme of the book below, if you’re over 25 you ‘ll probably just think that this band is ripping off [insert your favorite brash young punk band here] but really who wants to listen to 40 year olds singing about parties and whatnot.  So, if you’re looking for a new young band, then, check them out.  There’s not too much new about them, but then, that’s not the point, is it.

And according to Wikipedia, three tracks were removed because they were deemed too violent (!).  Maybe the album is well suited to this book after all.

[READ: September 16, 2008] Little Brother

I have to get this out of the way:  READ THIS BOOK!  It is fantastic and it will motivate you like nothing I’ve read.  READ IT READ IT READ IT.

Okay, I feel a little better.

I read an interview with Cory Doctorow in American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association.  It was a short interview about this book, and he said such great things in a few paragraphs, that I immediately went to work and checked out the book.   And, wow, what a fantastic book.

This may be the kiss of death for any young reader, but Little Brother is an important book.  And everyone should read it.  And yes, I know it is fiction, but fiction can be a very powerful tool for waking people up to injustice.  Upton SInclair’s The Jungle was instrumental in the creation of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which established the Food and Drug Administration.  Not bad for a work of fiction, eh? Continue Reading »

Posted in Adventure, American Libraries, Be Your Own Pet, Black Flag, Corporate skewering, Cory Doctorow, Dystopia, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Military, NPR/PRI/PBS, Prison, Record Labels, Set at School, Smarty Pants, Technology, The Muffs, Threats, Upton Sinclair, Video Games, War, Wikipedia, WMDs, YA Books | 5 Comments »

Robert Coover–The Case of the Severed Hand [Revisited]

September 16, 2008 by Paul Debraski

[RE–READ September 16, 2008] “The Case of the Severed Hand”

One shouldn’t be afraid of criticism.  Heck, if you’re going to have an opinion you have to expect people will argue with you.  I didn’t like this story when I read it.  But, when Daniel commented, even though the criticism was basically, “I liked the story and you’re a stupid doodyhead” I figured that maybe I missed something.  I searched for the story again, and while browsing, I learned that The L Magazine (which I’ve never heard of) had its Best of New York City Awards and “The Case of the Severed Hand” was voted 1 of 5 BEST SHORT STORIES PUBLISHED BY NYC PUBLICATIONS, although no explanation or review of the story was given.  I’ve also learned that Coover is a highly regarded author and is known primarily for his metafiction.  I had reviewed and enjoyed Stepmother a few months ago.

So, I have now re-read the short story to see if I had indeed missed something.  And, again, I believe I did not.  The first part plays as a tongue in cheek noir and is rather funny.  The end plays as straight private eye stuff and is also rather funny.  And the middle piece was a funny little piece about incest!  I had said that I don’t know the detective genre very well, so aside from the obvious parody aspects of it–or maybe not even parody, maybe just playing withe the genre–I’m not sure how much I’m missing (that a fan of the genre would get).

The thing for me is that the parts don’t work together.  Whatever he was trying to get across between these sections of story was just lost.  And, to be blunt, I just didn’t like it.  If I enjoyed the world of private I’s more, I might have a better appreciation for what Coover is doing, but as it stands, I just don’t like it.

If you think the story works, however, please jot me a line and let me know how.  I’d be very curious to know.

Posted in Funny (strange), Gangsters, Mystery, Noir, Robert Coover, Sex, Short Story, The L Magazine, Violence | Leave a Comment »

What I learned… (23) David Foster Wallace

September 16, 2008 by Paul Debraski

David Foster Wallace, one of my favorite authors, killed himself (apparently) this weekend.  As a fan of his work, I’m pretty bummed about that.  However, I suppose it is somewhat par for the course that a creative person be unhappy (see, well, all of history).  I don’t know a thing about DWF personally.  When I met him at a book signing he seemed happy enough, (well, he seemed exhausted) but how can you tell what a person is like if you meet him for 35 seconds.

In my write up of Julie Hecht, I said she seemed like a person I wouldn’t want to be friends with.  From the very little information I gained about DFW, I suspect I could have been friends with him, although you never know.  Perhaps he was suicidal all the time.  Perhaps he had a depressive personality.  Perhaps he used big words all the time and got really annoying.  I’ll never know for sure, and that’s okay too.

I understand that depressed people can’t see past their depression.  However, the thing that really bugs me about this apparent suicide is that his wife found him hanging.  Now, I don’t know a thing about his marriage, but I can’t imagine how you could ever let your wife find you after you’ve killed yourself.  It seems like an especially cruel thing to do to someone who (presumably) loves you.

Regardless, it won’t effect how I feel about his works, and maybe someday I’ll re-read Infinite Jest.  I guess it’s best if you don’t get to meet your favorite authors after all.

[UPDATE: September 23, 2008]

I’ve been reading the obituaries of DFW, and learned that he had been on antidepressants for years.  While I stand by my above comments, it does explain a lot.  It’s a wonder that he was able to be creative at all.

Posted in David Foster Wallace, Julie Hecht | 5 Comments »

Joshua Ferris–“The Dinner Party” (New Yorker, August 11 & 18, 2008)

September 13, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: KINGS’S X: Faith Hope Love (1990).

When Faith Hope Love came out, I was once again blown away by King’s X.  This album actually diverts quite a bit from the heaviness of the previous two albums.  This is their most prog rock sounding release, introducing all kinds of new instrumentation, including Doug’s by now standard 12 string bass guitar (I got to try one of these at Sam Ash a few years back and it sounds amazing).

Overall this album plays with the softer side of King’s X (although this is contrasted by “Moanjam” a six- minute, guitar-wailing freakout, and the great shouting sing along “We Are Finding Who We Are” showing that the band hasn’t lost their hard edge even if they ware willing to play with different textures).  But the diversity of sounds on the record is what really impresses.  You get a song like “The Fine Art of Friendship” which has so many layers of things going on, it’s hard to absorb on the first listen.

I’ve been reading some different reviews of this album, and it’s amazing how people single out songs as being particularly religious.  “Six Broken Soldiers” is mentioned as being Christian.  Now here’s the lyrics, I personally don’t even know what they mean, much less whether they are Christian

i don’t care if you’re sick
what can i possibly do with an American library
and a contract on you
I’ve got six broken soldiers in the trunk of my car
two of them speak; four go to bars
rods in the closet a six shooter in hand
a caged up gorilla and three local bands
fluently the parrot speaks
six languages not known to men
a sixpence and a quarter
as the audience he scan.

But aside from that, the album isn’t preachy about its beliefs, and frankly, it’s easy enough to forget what the songs are about, since the melodies are so infectious.  And, I didn’t even mention one of the greatest alt-rock singles of the 1990s: “It’s Love.”  It’s an amazingly catchy and infectiously happy song.  The harmonies are just stellar.

This is the last King’s X album to dabble in these prog-stylings.  The next bunch are really heavy affairs, quite a departure from this one.

[READ: September 07, 2008] “The Dinner Party”

I enjoyed this story very much.  It felt like a contemporary update of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf with a twist. Continue Reading »

Posted in Edward Albee, Eyes Wide Shut, Funny (ha ha), Joshua Ferris, King's X, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Pregnancy, Religion, Short Story | 2 Comments »

Alice Munro–“Face” (New Yorker, September 8, 2008)

September 9, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: KING’S X-Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (1989).

I loved Out of the Silent Planet and never thought there’d be anything better.  But then just a year later, King’s X put out Gretchen Goes to Nebraska.  It ranks up there with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in terms of weird titles the belie how wonderful the contents really are.  I still have no idea what the title actually means, but that’s okay.  I put on the disc, and relish the music.

The opening is as otherworldly as the cover.  It starts with a sitar chord that plays long and slowly fades…into a great high pitched bass line.  And, then comes the dissonance once again.  The dissonance isn’t quite as harsh this time around, but it plays off the other instruments even more.  And just as the dissonance ends, you get the harmonies.  All of the elements of King’s X are back, and even better!

The next song, “Over My Head” is just an amazing bit of music.  It incorporates everything: gospel sing- alongs, great guitar riffs, he even mentions his grandma!  Fabulous.  “Summerland” may even top “Goldilox” in terms of fantastic ballads.  The harmonies on it are simply through the roof.

I’m going through the song list and there’s not a bad song to be found.  There’s still overtones of Christian rock in evidence, but the message becomes even more about spirituality than simple Christianity as on “Mission”: “What’s the mission of the preacher man, some are true, some do lie.”  There’s also the great “Pleaides” a song not sung by Doug Pinnick, which allows Ty to let his voice shine through.  The disc ends with “The Burning Down” a song that encapsulates the mellower side of King’s X, including an extended instrumental denouement which plays more with fun instrumentation (and shouts of Ow Sigh Planet).

Brilliant.

[READ: September 7, 2008] “Face”

I’ve talked about Alice Munro a few times lately, so I’ll skip any introduction and get to the heart of the matter.  This story concerns a young man born with an enormous birthmark on his face: the entire side of his face is covered with the  purplish mark.  His father is utterly repulsed by him, and as far as the narrator can recall, only looked him in the eye once when he was born, and that was it.  His mother tried to protect him by home schooling him until he was old enough to go to college.  By the time he went to school, he felt he was old enough to withstand any of the abuses that would be hurled at him.  Although, frankly, the disdain of his father was worse than anything the kids could dole out. Continue Reading »

Posted in Alice Munro, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Canadian Content, King's X, New Yorker, Short Story | Leave a Comment »

Gary Shteyngart–Absurdistan (2006)

September 5, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: KING’S X: Out of the Silent Planet (1988).

I just got the newest King’s X CD XV a little while ago, and I really liked it.  I figured I’d go back to the beginning and see how much they’ve changed over the last twenty (!) years.

When I first heard Out of the Silent Planet, I was blown away.  I had never heard anything quite like it.  It had heavy heavy bass (I always said it was like Black Sabbath, but that’s not really accurate), but they also had beautiful harmonies like late-period Beatles.  Add to that Doug Pinnick’s amazing gospel/soulful voice.  And top it off with some great acoustic guitar playing and unusual instruments.  Amazing. The heaviness is more of a dissonant sound that has become more popular in the last few years: complex chords that are played very heavily.   I wouldn’t say that King’s X had anything to do with that popularity, but I heard it from them before I heard others do it.

The one thing that really struck me about the album was just how dissonant some of those chords are. I always think back on the album, which I’ve listened to hundreds of times, as being sweetly harmonic, and yet really the chords are quite aggressive.  And the riffs are in a dark, minor key.  Which is why those beautiful harmonies make such an impression.

The other thing that really struck me was how religious the record is.  Now, when it first came out I didn’t really think of the religious aspects of the disc.  There really weren’t any Christian metal bands back then, (except for Stryper) at least not on the cultural radar, and they didn’t proclaim their religiosity overtly, so I just didn’t see it.

But starting from the title: Out of the Silent Planet is a book by C.S. Lewis (of Narnia fame).  And much as Narnia is a thinly veiled Christian allegory, so is Out of the Silent Planet.  You can read Narnia and not see the Christianity in it, but once you know its there, it’s unavoidable.  Same with this album.  The lyrics are not overtly Christian, but there’s enough symbolism to tell that when he sings about You, it’s not romance, but God he’s singing about.  A verse like “Sometimes my cup is empty; I wish that it stay full; cause I am always thirsty; I can’t get enough of you” can be secular or religious depending on your point of view, and I think that makes the album great.

Plus, it’s got the fantastic “Goldilox” a beautiful song, no qualifications needed.  It’s a gorgeous ballad.  but lest you think that it’s all sweetness, the album closer “Visions” ends with an unqualified thrash out…which comes after the song should end properly.  Ty Tabor’s guitar work is pretty amazing.

Wow, it’s a great album.

[READ: maybe December 2006/January 2007] Absurdistan.

I read this book a couple years ago, certainly before I started keeping this blog, but while I was working at the library.  My memory of it was fuzzy.  But when I referenced it in the Petropolis write up I was sorry that I hadn’t written about it.  As I’m reading the details of the book in a book review, much of it is flooding back, so I feel comfortable saying a few words about it.  Plus, I just did a fascinating thing: I skimmed the book for details.  It was fun to “read” this entire book in about two hours.  I got lots of great details, remembered parts of it, and enjoyed re-reading some of the funnier parts. Continue Reading »

Posted in Anya Ulinich, Black Sabbath, C.S. Lewis, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dystopia, Funny (ha ha), Gary Shteyngart, King's X, Meta, Military, Religion, Russia, Sex, The Beatles, Violence, War | Leave a Comment »

Joe R. Lansdale–“Steppin’ Out, Summer ’68” (1992)

September 3, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: STRIPPER’S UNION-Local 518 (2005).

This is a collaboration between Craig Northey from The Odds, and Rob Baker from The Tragically Hip.  Really, it comes across as a showcase for Craig Northey because, and I mean no disrespect, I’m not sure that Rob Baker has a very distinctive guitar style.  Or, put it this way, I couldn’t pick Baker’s guitar our of an audio line up.  And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.  I think it really highlights his wide range of skills.  This is evidenced also by how different The Hip sounds on different albums.  Their last 3 are vastly different.

And so, this collection allows Baker to showcase his varying styles, and probably some things he doesn’t do in the hip, and it allows Northey to sing in some styles that he doesn’t always use.  Basically, it’s a good chance for both guys to stretch out.

My first thought when listening was that the album was just a collection of good rock songs.  But as I’ve listened more, I find quite a lot of fun and interesting things going on.  The two opening tracks are pretty rocking, with “Full Flow Angry Boy” being a good shout-along.  The album changes as it moves along: “Bullet Proof White Limo” is a smooth, almost creepy song.   “Give up and Go Away,” co-written by Kid in the Hall, Dave Foley, has some great shouted “Hey’s” which always make a song fun to sing along with. “The Radio (foggy hill)” is one of those songs that seems simple and is easy to ignore, but once it gets inside of you it sticks (Imagine a droning singalong of “Na-na-na-na-na-na-na goes the radio”).

In general, Northey is a witty lyricist, and this album is no exception. The lyrics aren’t always easy to hear, but some of my favorites include:

Gang vocal with the fist up, into German porn; Peter Band caught fire, warming up for Korn.

We did 22 bucks a head; That’s better than the Grateful Dead; They picked our stock of swag so clean; As they raged against the old machine.

When I was born your time was through, now it’s my generation too; I care so I rehearse, cause everybody knows the words.

You don’t get a sense for the catchy melodies with these snippets but you do get a sense for the tone and themes.  There’s a lot of songs about being in a band, but they aren’t really navel gazing.  I mean, I’ve never been in a band, but I enjoyed the lyrics.

Any fan of The Odds or The Hip should track this down, but really, anyone looking for a diverse collection of well-crafted songs should really give this one a try. You can check out the disc from Maplemusic. There’s even a band website (which hasn’t been updated in over two years!)

[READ: August 19, 2008] “Steppin’ Out, Summer ’68”

My coworker recommended this story to me, as one of the only stories that ever made him laugh out loud (he claims he has no sense of humor). Continue Reading »

Posted in Bubba Ho-Tep, Canadian Music, Craig Northey, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Joe R. Lansdale, Sex, Short Story, Stripper's Union, The Kids in the Hall, Violence, Yuck! | Leave a Comment »

J.M. Kearns–“The Eagle Has Landed” (The Walrus, July/August 2008)

August 31, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: MIKE FORD: Satellite Hotstove (2007).

I was going to say I didn’t know what the name of this album meant, but then, while looking for a photo of it, I discovered it’s a part of Hockey Night in Canada. Shame on me for not knowing that.

Anyhow, Mike Ford is a member of the fabulous Moxy Fruvous.  He has released a few solo albums, and this one I just picked up from MapleMusic.

This is a very solid folk album.  Mike wrote some of these on the Trans-Canada train, so as you might expect there’s a lot of Canada packed into the 8 songs. Although Ford and Fruvous liked to throw humor into their songs, there’s no much of that here.  “Huge on the Luge” being the exception, which is very funny and quite silly (and was actually written in 2001).

The rest of the album deals a lot with Canadian water images: The Eastern Gap in Toronto, The Credit River in Ontario, The Seaway in the St Lawrence, and The Fraser River in BC.  And, there’s the rather obviously titled Saskatchewan (not a cover of the Rheostatics song).

I’m very fond of the song “Late of October,” a sweet celebration of Autumn, which is probably my favorite season, too.  There’s not a lot more to say about this record.  Mike has a great voice, perfect for folk songs, and his lyrics are thoughtful.  If you’re looking for good folk music by someone you may not have heard of before, definitely check this one out!

[READ: July 5, 2008] “The Eagle Has Landed”

The Walrus is a magazine I’ve subscribed to since Issue 2. It’s a great general magazine from Canada. They cover everything from politics to the environment, to arts and culture, and they don’t only cover Canadian issues.  It’s one of my favorite magazine.   They write about things that I don’t think I care about and then I find my self totally engrossed by it. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Hockey Night in Canada, J.M. Kearns, Moxy Fruvous, Political Humor, Rheostatics, The Walrus, Time Travel, Violent Femmes, War, WMDs | Leave a Comment »

Kurt Vonnegut–Player Piano (1952)

August 30, 2008 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK: YO LA TENGO-I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006).

I’ve liked Yo La Tengo for a really long time.  And not only because they’re from Hoboken and play Maxwell’s pretty much every week.  I wouldn’t call them a favorite band, but most of their singles from the 1990s are some of my favorite songs.  I find that they don’t really release great albums, and they don’t really release bad songs: they release great songs and good songs, and their albums are made up of some combination of these.

The great title of this album, is something of a misnomer, as you might expect a riled up and raucous record.  And the first song, the nearly 11 minute squealing guitar rave-up “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” goes along with that premise.  But some of the middle songs like the piano ballad “I Feel Like Going Home” and the 8 minute instrumental ballad “Daphnia” are mellow, and rather pretty.  In fact, the album is kind of all over the place.  Some songs really stand out: “Mr Tough” and the long opener and closer are really great.  The middle is a bunch of solid, well-crafted songs.  For some reason, not too much left an impression on me, even though I enjoyed the disc while I was listening to it.

[READ: July 18, 2008] Player Piano

When Kurt Vonnegut died, I made a note to myself to read more, if not all, of his books. I had read Slaughterhouse Five and Time Quake maybe one or two others, but I figured I’d make the effort and start from the beginning.

Player Piano was his first book. And what a way to start. The time is the future, after the next war; the second industrial revolution. Machines now do most of the work that people used to do. In fact, machines now determine what job you are allowed to do. If your IQ is tested high enough, you can become an engineer (or manager) of the machines. If not, you get assigned to the Reeks and Wrecks: Reconstruction & Reclamation Corps, or basically, manual labor: fixing the roads and other maintenance projects. It imagines a future in which machines can do everything. And, it’s pretty horrible. Continue Reading »

Posted in Consumerism, Dystopia, Funny (ha ha), Kurt Vonnegut, Marriage Trouble, Technology, Universities, Yo La Tengo | 2 Comments »

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