Renee Lott–Festering Romance (2009)

SOUNDTRACK:CBC Radio 3 I listened to CBC Radio 3 briefly when I had Sirius Radio, but I just learned that I could listen streaming online.  In addition to playing (as they say) Independent Canadian Music, they also have a really multifunctional website where you can input any band’s name, read about them and listen to [...]

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J.D. Salinger (January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010)

J.D. Salinger died two days ago.  I was saddened to hear this, but I think mostly because he’s everyone’s favorite recluse, and there are so few people actively avoiding fame these days. Everyone loves Catcher in the Rye (somehow there are three copies of it in our house).  In fact so many people say it [...]

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Jennifer Egan–”Safari” (New Yorker January 11, 2010)

SOUNDTRACK: DINOSAUR JR.-Farm (2009). I’ve been a fan of Dino Jr since my friend Al introduced me to Green Mind (I had missed the “classic” line up but caught this newer incarnation).  And I loved it.  I have enjoyed just about everything that J. Mascis has put out (although yes, there have been a few [...]

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Jamie S. Rich & Marc Ellerby–Love the Way You Love Side B: “Songs of Devotion”

SOUNDTRACK: BRITISH SEA POWER-Do You Like Rock Music? (2008). I’ve heard a lot about British Sea Power over the years, and I’ve enjoyed their smarty-pants attitudes.  I think that their first album is most highly recommended.  But I was able to get this disc with an autographed booklet from my favorite record store of all [...]

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Kevin Barry-”Fjord of Killary” (New Yorker, February 1, 2010)

SOUNDTRACK: NO FORCEFIELD-Lee’s Oriental Massage 415-626-1837 (2000). I was terribly disappointed with the second No Forcefield album (so why did I get this one?  Because I got them both used at the same time for $1 each).  And I can’t help but think Id have been so much more disappointed in it had I listened [...]

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Pierdomenico Baccalario–Ulysses Moore–No More?

[UPDATE October 18, 2010]: Check out the comment below from Sydney Veldhuis who is offering to do some of the translating if Scholastic won’t! Currently in the U.S. there are four volumes of the Ulysses Moore series published in English.  There are nine original books in the series (in Italian).  Readers of this blog have [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–2666 [Week 1] The Part About the Critics (1 of 3) (2004)

SOUNDTRACK: STARLIGHT MINTS-Change Remains (2009). This is the fourth disc from the Starlight Mints.  Their music is hard to describe at any time, but this disc complicates things even further. The number of genres they cram into this disc is impossible to count.  However, there seems to be a very heavy concentration of a sort [...]

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Jim Massey & Robbi Rodriguez–Maintenance, Vol. 3: Fighting Occupants of Interstellar Craft (2008)

SOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Live from the Bowery Ballroom (2003). This is a live EP released just after Failer.  I assumed that the Bowery was the New York one, but I just leaned that it is a Ballroom in Vancouver.  The CD has three live tracks, two from Failer and a cover of an AC/DC song (!). [...]

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Jan Van Meter, Christine Norrie & Ross Campbell–Too Much Hopeless Savages Part Three

SOUNDTRACK: NO FORCEFIELD-God is an Excuse (2001). I was looking up what Larry LaLonde, guitarist for Primus, had been up to while Primus seems to be on hiatus.  I hadn’t heard a word from him, so I was surprised to see that he had released two albums with a band called No Forcefield. I looked [...]

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T. Coraghessan Boyle–”A Death in Kitchawank” (New Yorker, January 18, 2010)

SOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Failer (2003). I really enjoyed Edwards’ Asking for Flowers.  So much so that I decided I had to track down her earlier discs, too.  This is her debut album (aside from a self released demo type EP that I don’t think is available anymore).  And, no doubt, it will get re-released one of [...]

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