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Archive for June, 2008

Paul Debraski–Complex Sentence (1999/2000)

Posted in Foals, Gang of Four, King Crimson, Modest Mouse, Paul Debraski, Set at School, Set in New Jersey!, The Futureheads, X-Ray Spex on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FOALS-Antidotes (2008).
This CD had been getting a lot of buzz just before I ordered it. And then, the day after I ordered it I saw a review that really trashed the record. Uh oh, I thought.
But then I played it. Aside from the cover, which I can’t stand, there’s nothing I [...]

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Kitty Burns Florey–Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences (2007)

Posted in Abba, Books about writers, Funny (ha ha), Gertrude Stein, Guster, Jens Lekman, Jose Gonzales, Kitty Burns Florey, Marcel Proust, Peter Bjorn & John, Smarty Pants, Swedish Music, The Cardigans, The Cure, The Hives on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PETER, BJORN & JOHN-Writer’s Block (2006).
My friend Eugenie told me about these guys: 3 Swedish songwriters whose names are, indeed Peter, Bjorn and John. This is their 3rd CD and I’m not even sure what I thought they would sound like except that Eugenie has great taste. I think I thought they would be [...]

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Christine Norrie–Cheat (2003)

Posted in Alexisonfire, Art, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Christine Norrie, Graphic Novel, Marriage Trouble on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ALEXISONFIRE-Crisis (2006).

I was watching the Juno Awards one night and saw that Alexisonfire were going to be on. I’ve been curious about them for awhile, and was thrilled. And, wow, what an impact. First off, I’m very surprised that a band that is this aggressive would be on the Juno Awards (but [...]

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Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007) & Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008)

Posted in Boston, MA, Children's Books, Dropkick Murphys, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jeff Kinney, Set at School, Short Books, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on June 21, 2008 | 5 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: DROPKICK MURPHYS-The Meanest of Times (2007).

Ever since The Pogues, traditional Irish music has been matched to a punkish attitude. The Dropkick Murphys take this one step further in that they are pretty much a hardcore band, and yet they throw in heaps of Irish attitude, channeled through growing up in Boston, Ma. [...]

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Hope Larson–Gray Horses (2006)

Posted in Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Foreign Books, Graphic Novel, Hope Larson, Propagandhi, Set at School, Universities, Weakerthans on June 18, 2008 | 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: THE WEAKERTHANS-Left and Leaving (2000).
The Weakerthans are an interesting band from Winnipeg. They were formed by the founding one of the members of Propagandhi, a fantastic, very political punk band. And it’s clear that even though the sound of the Weakerthans is very different, the tone is quite similar. John Samson writes wonderfully [...]

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Corey Sutherland Lewis (The Rey)–Peng (2005)

Posted in Corey Sutherland Lewis (The Rey), Digression, Graphic Novel, Live, NPR/PRI/PBS, Pink Floyd, Sirius Radio, Sports, Stone Roses, Supernatural, The Stone Roses, TiVo, WRXP 101.9 FM on June 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK-WRXP, 101.9, New York City
Since I’ve been talking about Sirius radio, I also wanted to mention this excellent station that was just added to our local lineup. WXRP 101.9 used to be smooth jazz. Then when they realized that people like rock, they went to this new format. It is something of [...]

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Faith Erin Hicks–Zombies Calling (2007)

Posted in 28 Days Later, Art Spiegelman, Canadian Content, Cherry Garcia, Consumerism, End of the World, Faith Erin Hicks, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Grateful Dead, McSweeney's, Phish, Scream, Set at School, Sirius Radio, Supernatural, Technology, Universities, YA Books, Zombies on June 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: Sirius Radio-The Grateful Dead Channel
I’ve never been a big fan of the Dead (even though I like Phish quite a bit). I never really got into the subculture, and really the music seemed peripheral to their fanbase. I recall being very disappointed when I bought What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been [...]

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Bryan Lee O’Malley–Lost at Sea (2006)

Posted in Bryan Lee O'Malley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, David Bowie, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, NPR/PRI/PBS, Short Books, Sirius Radio, Universities, YA Books on June 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK-SIRIUS RADIO
We bought Sirius Radio for my mother-in-law a couple years ago. One day we found the radio safely unplugged and tucked away in the closet, so we took it home with us. We tune it in from time to time, and in general have found it to be quite enjoyable. I’ve [...]

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Lewis Black–Nothing’s Sacred (2006)

Posted in Books about writers, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Lewis Black, Memoirs, Political Humor, Rush, Short Books, Smarty Pants, Sparks, The Daily Show, WMDs, War on June 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: Sparks-Sparks (1972).
I first got into Sparks when I was working at Tower Records in Paramus, NJ. My coworker Tommy used to play Sparks’ then current album Plagiarism (an album of covers of their own songs!) and it was so weird and intriguing, that I bought it for myself. Since then I have [...]

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Kate Clinton–What the L (2005)

Posted in Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Kate Clinton on June 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: OLU DARA-In the World: From Natchez to New York (1998)

A friend of mine (Hi Jon!) made me a copy of this CD several years ago, and I just found it again and popped it in. I was delighted with how much I enjoyed it. I’d never heard of Olu Dara before, and I [...]

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