Weekend Music Roundup

The sights and more importantly, the sounds of summer have reached my secluded corner of the globe with a ferocious roar today. I had been lulled by a few cooler days into thinking I'd escape the dog days. Faced with the brutal heat, I have no choice but to fend off my undying hatred of the season with music. Luckily the right set of tunes has the power to make me forget the fact that I'm slowly melting. So here's this week's choices for avoiding the punishment nature has chosen to dish out:

Dogs - The Other Side: This double disc compilation collects all the singles, b-sides, and otherwise forgotten tracks by the dynamite London outfit. Fast and angry, with meaningful lyrics that are catchy and easy to sing along to...this band is what I wished more punk sounded like. As is the case with most comps of this kind, it's not as strong as their albums, but still a worthwhile addition.

I Am Oak - On Claws: The second album from Dutch folk outfit that brought us 2008's great Ols Songd. This a very strong follow-up, a little moodier than the first and more depth in my opinion. There are a number of Dutch indie bands playing beautiful American style indie music these days and I Am Oak are definitely one of the better ones. Theirs is a early '70s style folk...I know folk tends to be a broad terms.

Karen Elson - The Ghost Who Walks: Okay, so I was thinking the same thing you are. A model making an album, who happens to be Jack White's wife, put out on his label with him playing on it. Sounds like a vanity project, right? But oh my god, it's so not. I've listened to this album a few times and like it better each time (and I liked it quite a bit the first time). Her voice is beautiful and the songs sound like catchier Cold Mountain tracks. Very americana and very very good. This is the album I always wished Jenny Lewis would make.

The Ledford Family - Songs We Love to Sing & Play: What a gem this record was when I found it in the vinyl stacks of the local music peddler. A family, from grandparents to children, recorded this roots album on several different kinds of dulcimers, some of Homer's own invention. These are the kind of lost American roots songs that were very regional, many that have become lost to time. Beautiful record, for fans of such things as The Anthology of American Folk Music.

The Rascals - Rascalize: This 2008 Britrock album features Miles Kane, the other half of The Last Shadow Puppets (Alex Turner's side project from Arctic Monkeys). This album from the now-disbanded Rascals, is more inline with The Last Shadow Puppets album than anything the Arctic Monkeys have done. It has the same sort of grandiosity while remaining hook-driven indie rock. Miles sounds like a sure ringer for Alex on here, which doesn't hurt either. A very good album for fans of British indie rock.

The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion: For the past several years, Australia has produced a whole crop neo-psychedelia bands (The Dolly Rocker Movement being my favorite). So why shouldn't New Zealand have a turn? This is the bands previous album, they have a new one out now which I haven't heard. Not unlike a lot of other bands playing this kind of lo-fi psychedelic music, it's not the best example of the genre but certainly not the worst. A good listen, though I have to admit it's not something that really captures the attention. But while writing, I sometimes just want a mood album and this satisfies that adequately.

Buddy Holly - Reminiscing: Released in 1963, this is the first full-length LP released after Buddy's untimely death. It's a little more rockabilly than many of his earlier hits, showing a slightly different side of his genuis. "Slippin' and Sliddin'" and "I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down," are easily top 20 Buddy songs for me. In my opinion, you can never go wrong putting on some Buddy Holly. Forget Elvis, this is the King right here.

The Virgineers - The Virgineers: The one and only album from the band, released in 1999. I only discovered this recently and was surprised by the Syd Barrett-y or more pyschedelic Kinks sound of the songs. I wasn't aware of any one doing that kind of sound then. Nowadays, there's tons. This is a very playful album, made by obvious music fans. It's just a really fun listen and sounds great. "13B Hawthorne Street" is one of my favorite songs of the summer so far.

Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender: Being a huge fan of Ys and Have One On Me, I was thrilled to get this, the singer-songwriter's first album from '04 from my friend the dANIMAL. This is very much a Joanna Newsom album, her voice and musical style sort of assures that. But this is a much less ambitious album than the two that followed. There are no 10 plus minute epics and no real attempt at making an "album." By that, I mean this is a more a collection of songs than a unified statement (as most albums are). That's not a knock on it...these are all great songs and it's a must-have for fans of her style of folk...however, I definitely think she's progressed and gotten better with each album she records.

Babyshambles - Wet Your Whistle and Get Bombed: There are certain bands, Nirvana comes to mind, whose demos and raw recording sessions reveal a level of authenticity and emotion that don't necessarily come across on the studio albums, even though the studio albums happen to be great. Pete Doherty's work is like that as well. When you hear him stripped of all production, strumming an acoustic guitar and working out his songs, you can hear a completely different side to the music. This bootleg captures a recording session pre-Shotter's Nation and is simply amazing. Another session, from a similar time and of equal beauty is The Whitechapel Sessions. Both are worth seeking out for anyone who likes unplugged style music.

Finally, A Good Cartoon to Watch

Cartoons.

I love cartoons.

So my recent trouble in finding any good new cartoons on the air has represented an extreme cultural crisis in my world.

No good cartoons!?! Will the end of the world not be far behind?

Honesty break here: There are a handful of cartoons to come out over the past few years that I do actually like. Kid vs. Cat is a brilliant cat-and-mouse update that is sure to leave any cat owner in stitches. I thought Skunk Fu was also brilliant, but sadly, it doesn't seem to be on anymore. Star Wars: Clone Wars is very entertaining too, but different than a real cartoon cartoon. And of course, Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the best epics of our time. But surely there had to be more...

The other day, I was flipping around and discovered the wonderful Charlie & Lola show on Disney Channel. It's been on for a few years I believe, but for whatever reason, I never watched it. I'd always been curious. I'm a huge fan of the Lauren Child picture books the show is based on. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato and I Am Not Sleepy... are both hilarious stories. I love the characters and the art style is very appealing to me. Back in my bookseller days, I tried very hard to sell these with mixed results despite the series being quite popular in the UK.

I admit to being nervous watching children's shows based on books. Typically the art is ruined and the characters "hipped" up for advertisers. I was shocked (and very impressed) at the integrity Charlie & Lola has for the books it's based on. The show actually plays out very much like a written story. The jokes are subtle and come about do to outstanding writing and not cheap gags. And each episode unfolds slow and careful, but always to a rewarding end. If writing children's books is something you're planning on doing, this would be a great show to watch. It has a great ear for authentic dialogue and interaction. (Oh, also...no commercials!)

Most cartoons these days assume crude equals funny and noisy equals action. Even more upsetting is that many books are moving in that direction. It was quite refreshing to find this show on the air. You don't have to be loud and obnoxious to offer something that is funny and entertaining. It's also educational without beating you over the head with it like those nauseating children's shows like Dora. Of course, the funny British-isms help. There's just something about kids with accents that cracks me up. But maybe that's just me.

The Great Rabbit Wars Pt. 25

Field Report from Second Human Offensive 004 (access previous Communications)

Our campaign finally reached the remains of the Underground Human Settlement after weeks of bloody battles. Any hope of finding remnants of civilization were dashed nearly immediately upon arrival. The communications bunker, located above the main entrance tunnels, had been devastated long before our arrival. The building had been sabotaged and destroyed from inside, obviously at the hands of humans, whether internal strife or collaboration with the Rodent Army is indeterminable. The powerlines had been precisely cut - the work of rabbits undoubtedly.

The access tunnels had been open for some time, either by mass exodus or invasion. The atmosphere surrounding the compound appears toxic. Initial checks of the air quality show extremely high levels of methane and nitrogen. The only humans we encountered were the piles of dead near the main tunnel and the random body found barricaded inside the few underground buildings that had not been burned. We did find packs of feral children, if they could still be called that, seemingly living in the ventilation system. These creatures were violent, nearly blind, and even more lacking in humanity than the rabbits under General Nippon's command.

Signs inside the High Human Council offices point to utter collapse of all systems in the last days of the settlement. As we feared, having been completely cut off, the settlement could not sustain law and order. It seems that a good many people deserted in the final days, taking what refuge was to be found above ground. There was mention of gang activity, a group referring to themselves as Fival's Pets. We assume the feral creatures we discovered are the remnants, but if so, they have mutated extensively since the fall of the settlement.

After we retrieve any valuable information and technology, we will abandon this condemned place. There is no war here anymore. There is no liberation. We will return home and recommend total annihilation of the continent. Erasing this mistake from history is the only option left.

(Tune in next Story Time Tuesday for the next installment)

Monday Morning Glory

One of the things I love about writing is the way it can be looked at from under a microscope or through the lens of a telescope because there so many elements that make up really great writing. So far in this series, I've looked at perfect phrases, sentences, stanzas, but there's also the paragraph. Sometimes a complete thought needs several sentences to shine (and sometimes a whole book). Here is a paragraph that never fails to move me:

There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . . And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . . So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

— Hunter S. Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

This works on every level. A compact, clearly expressed journalistic point of view on a time and culture told in breathtaking prose. The imagery is intense. The overwhelming sense of defeat and sadness is tangible. And that final metaphor is simply brilliant.

Without a doubt, this is a paragraph that has had a strong influence on my own writing, not just stylistically, but also grammatically. I think its influence is easiest seen in my first two novels Pure Sunshine and Tomorrow, Maybe. One of the reasons this quote meant so much to me was that during the writing of both of those books, the W. era in the nation and Giuliani era in my city, I was feeling quite similar to Hunter in that passage. In the '90s counter-culture, there was also that feeling that we were doing something, changing things simply by the way we chose to live. We had decided not to live by the rules that had been set up for us by people we didn't think understood us.

Strides had been made, or I believed they had, and I was watching them all being rolled away like the last big wave. I kept thinking about Hunter S. Thompson's quote and couldn't help but think history had repeated itself in a way. But I didn't believe in giving up and turning Yuppie like previous generation had (many have though, a great many). I believed we could still chose to ignore and disobey what we knew to be unjust. This idea of rejecting those forces is very strong in both of my early novels...the idea of discovering your own morality and defining a more fair world for ourselves.

Weekend Music Roundup

For a few reasons, not the least of which is the teetering towers of CDs in my office, I haven't listened to that many new things this week. Which has been great in many ways, allowing me to spend more time with some releases I've been neglecting. It's also allowing me to pass along some albums that have been waiting their turn to make the Roundup for months in some cases. Not surprisingly given the melting heat staring me in the face today, the good majority of this list has a summertime feel. Enjoy them with a beer and a BBQ.

Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly: I picked up this Finnish picture disk vinyl the other weekend at the local record shop for a cool $10. Eleven songs of pure heaven. Nearly all my jammy jams are on this. "Everyday", "Oh Boy", "Maybe Baby" "That'll Be the Day" and well you get the point. The sound quality is great too and it's my only Buddy on vinyl, so I have to admit, I'm proud of if.

Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair: An nu-disco album from 2008 that I'd been wanting to hear for a long time after a catching a video back in that bygone year. The thing that makes this record so interesting is Antony's signing (of Antony and the Johnsons). Now, I really hated the Antony and the Johnsons album. I thought he sounded like a dying cricket. But combined with the electronic beats and horns on here, I think his voice works beautifully. A great indie dance album.

The Detroit Cobras - Tied & True: I missed this 2007 release when it came out. I have most of their albums before this one and enjoy them all. Another strong set of garage revival, but I've always felt the Cobras bring something a little different to the genre. Their songs definitely have many nods to Detroit's other legacy, infusing a Motown groove to their garage rock. The mixture is always enjoyable. This is their last album to date, if it remains so, it's a strong way to go out.

James Hunter - People Gonna Talk: British soul man playing his own brand of '60s soul with authenticity. This album is solid, though almost a little too retro for my taste in that it really doesn't bring anything new to the genre. That said, it's always nice to hear good soul being played. "Mollena" is an absolute fantastic song.

J Mascis + Friends - Sing + Chant for Amma: In 2005, Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis made this freak folk album that consists of six 5 minute plus songs. I have to admit to a mild interest when I picked this up but ended up falling in love with it. It strikes me as a experimental extension Green Mind (which I'm not afraid to admit is my favorite Dinosaur Jr. album). One of my favorite finds of the last few months to be sure.

The Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin': Steve Winwood's pre-Traffic outfit's fourth and probably best known album. This is '60s British soul and played very well. The album suffers from too many toss off tracks, but the stand outs are dynamite. "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me" are my personal favs. I always find it interesting to hear where certain musicians started before ending up in legendary bands. Definitely pales to Traffic, but good stuff nonetheless.

L7 - Smell the Magic: The 1990 album that proceeded '92s more mainstream Bricks Are Heavy is a raw blitz of riot grrrl rock. Smartly, the album clocks in just around 30 minutes and that's all it needs. Any more would probably take away from the furious pace. This is easily their best album in my opinion and ranks up there with riot grrrl's other top albums from Hole, Bikini Kill, and Babes in Toyland. "Shove" is such an anthem of early '90s angst.

Uriah Heep - Fantasy: With a cover like this, I can't help but have expectations of pure '70s hard rock bliss. Unfortunately, that's only half the story. Certainly at it's best, this 1975 album sounds like a darker Bowie meets Zeppelin and those songs are pretty darn great. At it's worst, it's straight '70s bar blues and the uneven mixture just didn't work for me as a whole. I'd stick to their earlier catalog.

David Bowie - Hunky Dory: Let me start in defending myself (sort of) for not having this album. I have a huge Bowie catalog and this one slipped through mostly because I have versions of the songs in multiple places. However, having listened to this masterpiece, there really is no excuse for not having it before. Every song is amazing from the opener "Changes" to the brilliant closer "The Bewlay Brothers." Easily one of Bowie's three best albums.

Death in Vegas - The Contino Sessions: A British trip-hop band, with the key word being band. A full band playing music that I suppose falls into the trip-hop category for lack of anything else at the time of their inception of the late '90s. This 1999 album is quite awesome. The guesting vocalists shine on many tracks, most notably Bobby Gillespie (of Primal Scream) whose song sounds like it could come off Kasabian's first album. For all you Explosions in the Sky fans out there, check out Death in Vegas.

Oh, How We Dread

I think there's an assumption out there that somehow the whole publishing process gets easier once you've established yourself as a writer. That's only partially true. It allows that you can usually get someone to at least read your next manuscript. But in the creative world, you're only as good as your current project.

I still get this deep dread inside me whenever I send off a manuscript. I never send out anything that I don't think is good, but that's no guarantee that anyone else will agree. I sent off the manuscript for my new novel to my publisher last month. In my opinion, it was the best thing I'd ever written, but I was extremely nervous about the reaction it might receive fro a variety of reasons, some real and others a creation of my own self-loathing. Earlier this week, I got a response:

"This novel is beautiful, poignant, authentic and really conveys the horror (and the comfort) of the schizophrenic mind."

There is still work to be done, but a positive start certainly makes revisions seem easier to tackle. After spending so much time and energy on something, there's nothing worse than thinking you'd have to start over from scratch or that the story you invested so much life into is suddenly deemed worthless. Thankfully, I dodged another one...

Where The Sidewalk Ends

On a trip to Florida in early spring, I inadvertently discovered the place where the sidewalk ends. To the disappointment of imaginative children everywhere, it doesn't drop off into a world of wonder. It leads to a patch of crab grass just off the pavement of a public parking lot. Now you know why it is I prefer to live in fiction.

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

Shel Silverstein