Les Claypool–South of the Pumphouse (2006)

SOUNDTRACK: RA RA RIOT-The Rhumb Line (2008). I have a hard time describing this album.  It has a lot of ingredients that don’t make sense individually, yet which work very well. I would almost resort to calling them pretentious rock, but that seems so derogatory.  Vampire Weekend falls into this category of highly literate pop [...]

Read Full Post »

Periodical: Harper’s

I first heard about this magazine from my friend Ailish’s then-boyfriend, Dave (this was sometime in 1993, I would guess).  Dave fancied himself an artiste: he typed his novel on a portable Underwood, loved Henry Miller and read Harper‘s.   I liked him, but was always confused by his pretensions since he didn’t really fit [...]

Read Full Post »

McSweeney’s #4 [Timothy McSweeney's Trying, Trying, Trying, Trying, Trying] (Late Winter, 2000)

SOUNDTRACK: COLIN MELOY-Colin Meloy Sings Live! (2008). Colin Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Decemberists.  This is a recording of Meloy’s solo acoustic tour from 2006.  The recording is from several venues on the tour, although it is mixed as if it were one concert. Meloy is a great frontman, and this [...]

Read Full Post »

That’s Edmonton For You! A free concert featuring leading members of edmonton’s indie rock scene

I’ve been getting a lot of hits from people looking for the Edmonton Folk Festival.  Well, on a moderately unrelated note, I’m passing along this information about an indie rock show in Edmonton.   It’s Saturday June 14th at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park. This is the press release summary: This free concert is conceived, produced and [...]

Read Full Post »

Shalom Auslander–Beware of God (2005)

SOUNDTRACK: BELLE AND SEBASTIAN-BBC Sessions & Live in Belfast 2001 (2008). Virtually every review of the BBC Sessions says the same thing: these tracks barely differ from the original recordings.  And, for better or worse, that is very true.  In fact, even the trumpets and other instruments sound so perfect, you tend to forget it’s [...]

Read Full Post »

Kurt Vonnegut-”Little Drops of Water” (Harper’s, June 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: MP3 Radio Transmitter I was looking for a solution to my broken CD Player and I recalled that there are these mini transmitters that broadcast your MP3 player like a radio station.  The broadcast range is pretty weak, but it’s usually strong enough to go from your player to your car radio.  In theory [...]

Read Full Post »

Salman Rushdie–”In the South” (New Yorker, May 18, 2009)

SOUNDTRACK:  Radio New York, WNYE, 91.5FM. Radio New York is a fascinatingly diverse radio station.  I have probably scanned right by it on many occasions because at the time I scanned onto it, the show was something that I had no interest in.  And yet, several hours before or after, I would have found a [...]

Read Full Post »

Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith–Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009)

SOUNDTRACK: The Core: WVPH, 90.3 FM. The Core is also from Rutgers University.  How do they have two radio stations?  Interestingly, the station is shared with Piscataway High School.  For several hours a day Piscataway High School takes over the airwaves.  Although I admit that I have not listened to any of the PHS stuff [...]

Read Full Post »

Periodical: The Washington Spectator

I don’t even recall where I first heard of The Washington Spectator, or when I even started my subscription (although it is going on at least ten years now). No one else seems to have heard of it, so maybe it’s printed just for me. The Washington Spectator comes out every two weeks. It is [...]

Read Full Post »

Roy Blount Jr.–Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof: Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory

SOUNDTRACK: WRSU 89.7 FM. Coming straight out of Rutgers University in New Brunswick (my grad school alma mater), this was the first station that I happened upon while I was scanning the lower numbers on the radio station. The brief set that I heard was amazing. I heard the end of a song that I [...]

Read Full Post »