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2007 Recommendations:To scope out 2006's recommendations, click here.
December (4th Week)I caught the PBS showing of this and it was amazing - supposedly the DVD has even more footage. I know what I'm asking for for Christmas!
December (3rd Week)"People are strange when you're a stranger." One of those great lyrics that doesn't seem so insightful the first bunch of times you hear it, but then one day you're running errands after work and the snow is turning to slush in the sun and everybody is looking at you like you're the crazy one... The Doors - People are Strange
December (2nd Week)I just saw the new Bob Dylan flick, "I'm Not There." I had mixed feelings - loved some of it, cringed at some of it. But the cover of "Goin' to Acapulco" in the Richard Gere part of the film was a definite highlight for me. It's performed by Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) and Calexico. Touching. Jim James and Calexico - Goin' to Acapulco
December (1st Week)Big Star had a big hit with the song "Thirteen." But check out these lesser known tracks: Big Star - Give Me Another Chance
November (4th Week)Some song lyrics are perfect: Right now I can't read too good Don't send me no more letters no Not unless you mail them From Desolation Row --Bob Dylan, from "Desolation Row"
November (3rd Week)"The Cruise" - A Documentary on Timothy "Speed" Levitch A a little follow up on my Waking Life post a month ago, there's an amazing documentary, The Cruise, that follow one of the personalities in Waking Life: Timothy "Speed" Levitch. Whether you think this guy is too "out there" or you feel he's a kindred spirit, this short DVD is entertaining - and you'll find yourself telling people about it for weeks (saying, of course "Oh, I can't believe you've never heard of it!") Here's a quote to whet your appetite: "The anti-cruise is an attempt to imprison us. At every level of living it exists. Younger cruisers have asked me, "Why?" "Why is the anti-cruise so avaricious and constant in its attempt to stop the cruise? And I have no answer. There is no answer. I mean, it's gravitational, it's a relationship that's made up of reciprocals and pulling gravities. It simply exists. Where there is cruise there is an escort of anti-cruise. But even in a bastion of anti-cruise fodder... there is cruise. Somewhere in there is a sparkle of cruising energy. Deeply sublimated, within the bellowing belly of the beast." Oh, and a little bird told me you can find it in sections on you tube if you want to sample it before you score it from netflix.
November (2nd Week)We need more news articles like this: AVIGNON — A woman who left a lipstick kiss on an all-white painting by the American artist Cy Twombly was convicted Friday of "voluntarily damaging a work of art" and ordered to do 100 hours of community service. The court in Avignon, southern France, also ordered Rindy Sam, a 30-year-old artist of Cambodian origin who lives in France, to pay damages. She must hand over $1,465 to the painting's owner, $730 to the Avignon gallery that showed it and $1.50 to the painter. The owner, Yvon Lambert, had asked for more than $2.9 million in damages, which included the value of the painting and the $47,000 restoration cost. During the trial, Sam argued that she had committed an "act of love" — not vandalism. "I didn't think," she said last month. "When I kissed it, I thought the artist would have understood." Sam was taken into custody after she kissed the painting at an exhibit in Avignon on July 19. Twombly is known for abstract paintings, some of which use repetitive lines, graffiti, letters and words. Born in Lexington, Va., in 1928, Twombly has lived in Italy for nearly a half-century. He won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale in 2001. (AP)
November (1st Week)If you dig art, literature, and music (and who doesn't) check out this blog:
October (4th Week)If I could be anywhere in the world, at least 25% of the time, I would choose to be right here:
October (3rd Week)Here's my favorite clip from the 2001 movie "Waking Life." Sort of a philosophical journey through dreamscape, this film is interesting and insightful (although not particularly action packed). Waking Life - Telescoping Evolution:
October (2nd Week)Check out this lovely line from a Haruki Murakami short story, "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning," I just read today: "This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets, like an antique clock built when peace filled the world." You can find the whole short story (in case you're curious to find out what the something is that he's talking about) in his collection, "The Elephant Vanishes."
October (1st Week)Holy cow, Radiohead was saying that their new album wouldn't be out until next year, and now, not only are they going to release it next week, but apparently you can literally name your own price for the download. Sign up at the website below:
September (4th Week)I seem to be running into a good deal of people who have never listened to the "The Velvet Underground and Nico" album. If you haven't, you should pick it up, give it a listen, and try to guess in what year it was released. Then look at the release date on the jacket - how many years were you off by? 10? 15? More? A definite essential record.
September (3rd Week)During a discussion about great titles for poems, this one was brought to my attention: Autobiography of the Cab Driver Who Picked Me Up At a Phoenix Hotel to Catch a Four A.M. Flight and Began to Speak in (Almost) Rhyming Couplets I got two problems. One, by Rebecca McClanahan, from Deep Light: New and Selected Poems, 1987–2007
September (2nd Week)Usually I like to post something with some real cultural value, but I'm in a wasting time kinda mood, and if you are too then check out this flash game. The old adage: "5 minutes to learn, a lifetime to master" applies to this one. Be warned though, your productivity will tank severely.
September (1st Week)Here's a great music blog: The Rawking Refuses to Stop. He has good, sensible reviews of recent albums and tours. He posts tons of great Mp3s. And what really got me is that he sees the influence of the Left Banke on artists like Elliott Smith and Jens Lekman. I'll post a link to his homepage here along with a few Mp3 posts that you'll want to check out: The Rawking Refuses to Stop - Homepage The Rawking Refuses to Stop - The National (live - the White Sessions) The Rawking Refuses to Stop - Elliott Smith Covers (Be sure to scope out the 'further reading' section about halfway down the page to find other Elliott Smith gems) The Rawking Refuses to Stop - Radiohead live tracks (Rawking's prediction of which Radiohead songs will be on their 7th LP to be released in early '08)
August (4th Week)Quick, what's the best song ever? Just off the top of your head... okay, if you couldn't come up with a song right away, let me suggest a default answer for you for when this question comes up and you're drawing a blank: "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians. You know how people always say that Casablanca is the best movie because it has it all (romance, Nazi bad guys, unpredictability, etc...)? Well, "96 Tears" is the same way. First of all it sounds way ahead of its time ('66), but also, like Casablanca, it's a bit hard to pin down. It's a bit melancholy, but not overly so. It seems almost bubble gummy, but that's not quite it either. The best part about having this track in your pocket for a default answer is that it's a song that people from all generations know, making it a good answer in just about any crowd. Go ahead, give it another listen. (as always, left click to listen, right click to save) "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians
August (3rd Week)Have you ever heard that if you start "Dark Side of the Moon" at the third MGM lion's roar at the beginning of "Wizard of Oz" the album works perfectly as a soundtrack for the classic movie? Well, yes, it does work alright, but in my opinion not closely enough to say that it was created with that intention. Still it's fun to try. The problem is that there are different versions of both the album and the movie out there, each with slightly varied running times. If you're interested in doing it the old fashioned way, do a little research at this Wikipedia page: The Dark Side of the Rainbow. Otherwise, the much easier (but grainer) way would be to truck on over to You Tube and type in: "The Dark Side of the Rainbow". It's broken into about seven different clips - The transition from "The Great Gig in the Sky" to "Money" is my favorite part.
August (2nd Week)Here's and interesting and fairly extensive essay on my favorite Bob Dylan song, "Visions of Johanna." I can't totally agree with everything the author says Dylan is trying to do - but as he points out in the essay, he's just trying to prove that songs like this hold up to a critical reading. Well he certainly has my vote. Visions of Infinity by Jonny Thakkar
August (1st Week)In my recent Netflix binge of Naomi Watts movies I received one I'd never heard of named "Stay." Intrigued enough after my first viewing to watch it a few more times - and although it felt a little weird for the sake of being weird the first time through, I'm really liking it more and more every time I see it. The soundtrack suits the movie perfectly and the acting by Watts and Ryan Gosling (and to a lesser extent, Ewan McGrregor) is pretty good. But, the absolute gem of this movie is the cinematography. To enhance the dreamlike feel, there are subtle but trippy transitions between scenes and effects like the one that's used near the end of the film on the bridge are breathtaking. If you care to look at the psychology of the Ryan Gosling character, you'll find that it explains and enhances just about every scene in the movie after your second time through. This one's a real quality sleeper.
July (4th Week)I'll try not to ruin this with explanation or hype. This is simply one of my favorite poems:
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July (3rd Week)Michel Gondry has made some of the best music videos ever, and now the studios have let him make the kind of movie that really suits him: it's quirky, creative, endearing, and low budget. If you're in the mood for a little something different, something that's adult not because of the language and violence - but because a younger audience simply wouldn't care for it, check out "The Science of Sleep."
July (2nd Week)Here's a fun little writing app - it's called the gender genie and all you have to do is cut and paste a sample of text into the site and it will tell you what it believes the sex of the author is. It will tell you how it scored the sample (you might be interested to see which words are more male or female in our language). Be sure to try it on a sample of a first person narrative with a protagonist of the opposite sex from the author: The Gender Genie
July (1st Week)At a recent jaunt to the MIA this painting really caught my eye. To be honest, I'd never heard of James Ensor before and I'm not a huge fan of the other stuff I've explored of his since, but that almost heightens the dare I say... intrigue of this painting. Click on the image below to travel to the MIA's website, which allows you to zoom in on specific parts of the painting (check out the demon peeking out of the left side).
June (4th Week)If you're interested in learning the mechanics of poetry, this book covers a ton of ground in very few pages. Be warned though: you'll forever be counting stresses and syllables and you may never find yourself reading a poem without trying to tweak a word hare and there again.
June (3rd Week)The Cars' first album is so tight and simple - yet somehow profound and ahead of its time. There are a few tracks on this disc that are already ones you turn up when you hear them on the radio, but the deep cut gem is "Moving In Stereo." If you're not familiar with the song, borrow your uncle/aunt/older sibling's copy of this record and let 'er rip!
June (2nd Week)Do they put video screens on tombstones yet? Well, if so, put the music video for Radiohead's "Just" on mine. Yes, there are more amazing music videos out there (pretty much anything by Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze), but this is one of those pieces of art that you can really fall in love with. The link below is to a YouTube version of the video, which I hesitate to even put up there because it's so grainy, but perhaps you'll be inspired to rent 7 Television Commercials which has several awesome Radiohead music videos on it including "Just."
June (1st Week)As I've stated before I always reserve the right to throw a bit of my own work on the recommendations page. So, click here to be whisked away to the page that holds the first two chapters of my new book. Enjoy!
May (4th Week)The beast is out of its cage! That's right, Ben Hesse's book, Memoirs of a Gaijin, has hit the stands and it's time to score your copy. It's quite and enjoyable read and it's parceled up nicely for those of you who prefer your reading in small doses. The book spans Ben's year teaching in Japan and believe me when you're done with the book you'll feel like you've just lived the ups and downs (and often sidwayses) of a year abroad - he captures the right details to make this book a real treat for those who are thinking of teaching abroad, and those (like me) who had considered it and want to know what they missed out on.
May (3rd Week)Thanks to it's posting on Wikipedia's James joyce page, my font of Joyce's handwriting has been making the rounds. I've been getting really positive feedback from Joyce fans and Joyce scholars (is there a difference?) alike. I've even gotten responses from a couple profs whose Joyce books I've read - nice to give something back to them. But no response tickled me like this one (I'll let the picture do the talking):
That picture comes from Tom who is starting in on his creative writing MFA next semester. This line from Finnegans Wake accompanies a Joyce portrait on his bicep. Awesome. If still haven't downloaded the font for your own Joyce tattoo (or just a quote for your wall, wuss), click here.
May (2nd Week)This is a must have that you won't find at your local record shop. This is a recording later dubbed "The Typewriter Tape." Janis Joplin on vocals, Jorma Kaukonen (of Jefferson Airplane) on guitar and Jorma's wife, Margareta, on yes, the typewriter. The audio fidelity is a little lacking, but that's a small price for the convergence of three of the best sounds in the world: Janis, Jefferson Airplane, and a clacking typewriter. As always, right click each track and choose "save target as" to score these cuts. 1 - Trouble In Mind 2 - Long Black Train 3 - Kansas City Blues (false start) 5 - Hesitation Blues 6 - (strumming) 7 - Nobody Knows You
May (1st Week)Here's a quote I stumbled on from the Pulitzer American Indian author N. Scott Momaday. It's from his book of prose poetry / Kiowian stories, The Way to Rainy Mountain: "A single knoll rises out of the plain in Oklahoma, north and west of the
Wichita Range. For my people, the Kiowas, it is an old landmark, and they
gave it the name Rainy Mountain. The hardest weather in the world is there.
Winter brings blizzards, hot tornadic winds arise in the spring, and in
summer the prairie is an anvil's edge. The grass turns brittle and brown,
and it cracks beneath your feet. There are green belts along the rivers and
creeks, linear groves of hickory and pecan, willow and witch hazel. At a
distance in July or August the steaming foliage seems almost to writhe in
fire. Great green and yellow grasshoppers are everywhere in the tall grass,
popping up like corn to sting the flesh, and tortoises crawl about on the
red earth, going nowhere in the plenty of time. Loneliness is an aspect of
the land. All things in the plain are isolate; there is no confusion of
objects in the eye, but one hill or one tree or one man. To look upon that
landscape in the early morning, with the sun at your back, is to lose the
sense of proportion. Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is
where Creation was begun."
April (4th Week)Step 1: Realize that Bob Dylan 1961-1966 is most influential 5 years any modern musician has ever given to the human soundscape. Step 2: Beg, borrow or steal the Bob Dylan Scrapbook. I found it for 30 bucks. It's chock full of replicated ticket stubs, handwritten lyrics and handbills. How cool is that?
April (3rd Week)Whoo! The Black Angels were in top form. Definitely don't miss 'em if they're stopping in your town any time soon and if you like it heavy, pick up their album: Passover. This week's recommendation however is the debut album for the band that opened for the Angels - Vietnam. Their self titled disc feels like it's what Nashville Skyline would have been if Dylan would have kept evolving with The Band. High praise, yes, but give it a listen and see if you don't agree. Stop by their website (http://www.vtnm.net/) for tour dates, interviews and links to sample tracks. In the meantime, check out one if my favorites from their album, "Hotel Riverview".
April (2nd Week)In preparation for the upcoming Black Angels show at the 7th Street Entry here in Minneapolis I'll post one of their songs to whet your appetite. These guys are like a slightly heavier Doors. (The Black Angels) - Young Men Dead
April (1st Week)Poking through the Wikipedia page on the Ginsberg poem "Howl" I found an interesting explanation of the line: "Who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas and Blake-light tragedies among the scholars of war." The wiki page says "Ginsberg had an important auditory hallucination in 1948 of William Blake reading his poems 'Ah, Sunflower,' 'The Sick Rose,' and 'Little Girl Lost.' Ginsberg said it revealed to him the interconnectedness of all existence. He said his drug experimentation in many ways was an attempt to recapture that feeling." Well, my ears perk right up whenever I hear the word "interconnectedness". It's like a red flag that says "Hey, listen up, this person has something important to say." I found readings of these William Blake poems on the Librivox website and I've posted them here (along with "Little Boy Lost," my favorite of his other poems): William Blake's: "Ah, Sunflower" William Blake's: "The Sick Rose" William Blake's: "Little Girl Lost" William Blake's: "Little Boy Lost"
March (4th Week)I was reading up on Radiohead's Kid A album and it seems that they listened to one album obsessively while they were recording Kid A. That album, Talk Talk's Laughing Stock. I had never heard it before, but it successfully blew my mind on the second listen.
March (3rd Week)Noticing that these recommendations have been mainly music and movies lately, I'd like to swing things back to the literary. So, for you, an astounding (and lesser known) Tennyson poem: "To_______"
March (2nd Week)Neon Bible came out on Tuesday and I'm just going to come right out and say it: this album is The Arcade Fire's OK Computer. This album is this decade's OK Computer. This album is this decade's Soft Bulletin. Neon Bible is that good. I love, love, love their first album "Funeral" and I was so sure that Neon Bible would be a bit of a let down, but I have to say that, unbelievably, they've topped Funeral. They've done with this record what I try to do with my writing: to create a world with strong themes/metaphors that, when you look closer and closer, begin to dissolve into one another. Like a great book, once you immerse yourself in this album - you can use their very tight and self-reflexive themes and apply them to the expansive world outside the disc. The fear Neon Bible's lyrics convey about living in a world of emptiness and blackness and the instinct to reach for something bright - if even something a bit gaudy, are top notch. I'll post two things to check out here. One is a NY Times article that gives some pretty interesting insight into how The Arcade Fire came to make this album. The other is a link to an NPR posted concert that you can download, played only about a month ago. Click here to read the NY Times Article in PDF. Click here to go to the NPR page where you can download a recent Arcade Fire concert. (You can stream the concert with the links toward the top of the page or download it from a link about a third of the way down the NPR page)
March (1st Week)It's time for me to drop an Mp3 bomb on you. These are all "demo" recordings of Alec Ounsworth, the lead singer and sole songwriter for Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah. I would start by listening to the "Underwater (You and Me)" track. If it's not to your liking you can safely skip over the rest of the tracks, but if you dig it, feel free to grab all these tracks as they're all pretty sweet. As always with the Mp3 files, you can left click to listen to one within your browser or right click and chose "save link as" to download the tracks to your computer. Also, a side note: I've scrounged to find these demo tracks, but I know there are at least 4 more out there - if you have these, pass 'em on to me and I'll post them here. (Alec Ounsworth) - Underwater (You and Me) (Alec Ounsworth) - Over and Over (Alec Ounsworth) - I Think I'd Like to Go Back to Heaven (Alec Ounsworth) - Details of the War (Alec Ounsworth) - Telling the Truth (and Going Away) (Alec Ounsworth) - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (Alec Ounsworth) - Wings of Stone (Alec Ounsworth) - Dee, Oh Dee (Alec Ounsworth) - Heavy Metal (Alec Ounsworth) - Pass Along This Way (Alec Ounsworth) - Poor Humpty Dumpty (Alec Ounsworth) - WXPN Interview
February (4th Week)Did you watch SNL this week? Yes, yes, that Dwight guy from the office was pretty funny - but much more importantly The Arcade Fire was the guest band. I'll have to admit that as excited as I was to be able to DVR the performance and watch it all week while eating breakfast, a big part of me got that empty feeling that comes when you're talking to some jerk at a party and he's telling you how much he likes "Kid A" and Elliott Smith. Oh, well, you've got to wish your bands some success, the lame-os hearing about your favorite bands too is inevitable. Imagine my surprise on Saturday night though, when The Arcade Fire proceeded to suck. I mean the songs were great but they just couldn't bring the insane energy that they do during a full set (I saw their inspire perfomance at First Ave. Oh well, maybe they'll stay small for a while longer - not the worst thing in the world. But, I digress. If you want to see what The Arcade Fire is all about, you could search YouTube, or do yourself a real favor and Netflix the concert film "Coachella: Disc 1." There's only one song by each band, but that means you get to see a ton of bands. The Flaming Lips performance on this DVD might be the coolest thing ever recorded onto video, so you might want to check that one out too.
February (3rd Week)If you're an aspiring writer, you should give this literary agent's blog a read. It's entertaining and insightful. It's nice to know that not all literary agents are baby boomer generation New Yorkers - no offence to any prospective NY baby boomer agents for my newly finished book : ) Nathan Bransford's Blog: http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/index.html
February (2nd Week)There's something truly special when you are the person in your music buddy circle to discover a great album. You are forever linked to that album in their eyes. I still remember bringing Sigur Ros to them, and I could tell you exactly who played the Redwalls for me first and who had Elliott Smith spinning in the background in college. Well, it's time for that rare unveiling of an album that I had never heard of (even though it's from 1980) and that I would like to bring to the forefront. Right click on the cover to download an mp3 of one of the 25 fantastic tracks on this disc.
February (1st Week)I love, love, love the Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah self-titled album. So much so that I almost didn't want their second album to come out...what if it sucked? What if it was really good, but still not as good as their first? Worry not, their new record: Some Loud Thunder is as luscious as we all hoped.
January (4th Week)I can't even say exactly why, but this album cover is simply sweet (the album is cool, too). I bet you'll agree.
January (3rd Week)What? You heeded last weeks suggestion and saw Children of Men? And you're still craving a good albeit violent movie? Okay, all you can handle...If you've never seen American Psycho, it's about time. Half slasher movie, half satire on the Regan-era business world, all delightful - this baby is a playful romp through the world of stock firms, hookers, axe murdering, Huey Lewis, and fine dining. Don't rent this one at grandma's house, but really, this is a clever, and hilarious movie that tries to push you away with over-the-top sex and violence, but never quite succeeds. Also, if you dig it, please end all conversations with: "I have to return some videotapes." so that all of us American Psycho fans can identify each other.
January (2nd Week)If you can stomach a violent movie, this one will be worth your while. Clive Owen delivers (as expected) but really from to bottom, we get treated to top notch acting, not to mention some really innovative cinematography. Children of Men is quite a departure from your typical P.D. James story, so fans of her novel, be warned. I can't think of a movie that is more sci-fi that feels absolutely realistic, come to think of it, it's even hard to think of a movie that is less sci-fi that is more realistic.
January (1st Week)Yes, Janis Joplin is good...okay, you got me, she is AMAZING. But the band she started with: Big Brother and the Holding Company, doesn't get near the props they deserve. This album will show you what they can do. You've probably heard "The Combination of the Two" and "Piece of My Heart," but the real gem is "Ball and Chain."
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