Haruki Murakami–”Town of Cats” (New Yorker, September 5, 2011)

SOUNDTRACK: TOM WAITS-Closing Time (1973).  This is the first official Tom Waits release.  There’s a couple “Early Years” collections which are really fascinating for how much he doesn’t sound like the 21st century Tom Waits, but these at least show glimpses of the man to come.  There are some songs on here that I knew of [...]

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Alice Munro–”Dear Life” (New Yorker, September 19, 2011)

SOUNDTRACK: TOM WAITS-Live Glitter and Doom tour, Atlanta GA, July 5, 2008 (2008). I downloaded this concert–which was recorded at the Fox Theater in Atlanta Georgia from NPR.  In the introduction, Bob Boilen says the concert is over two hours, but the page says (and the download comes in) at about 1 hour and 45 minutes, which is [...]

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Maragret Peterson Haddix–Into the Gauntlet [The 39 Clues, Book Ten] (2010)

SOUNDTRACK: PEPPER RABBIT-”Alison” (2011). Pepper Rabbit had NPR’s Song of the Day on September 19th.  “Alison” opens with a kind of circus organ pumping out a steady, thumping beat.  The beat continues until the quieter stated chorus: “You will know my name.”  The song is, as circuses are, light and bouncy with an air of the sinister [...]

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The Best American Non Required Reading 2002

SOUNDTRACK: DINOSAUR JR.-Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington D.C. October 8, 2009 (2009). This was one of the first shows I downloaded from NPR.  I’ve been a fan of Dinosaur Jr. since my friend Al turned me on to Green Mind back in college. This is an amazing show created by the original Dino Jr. members.  [...]

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Linda Sue Park–Storm Warning [The 39 Clues, Book Nine] (2010)

SOUNDTRACK: JUNE TABOR & OYSTERBAND-”Bonnie Bunch of Roses” (2011). Two artists that I have heard of for years but who I have never really listened to. This was described in the NPR music review as something The Decemberists might sing.  And indeed, it has a very Decemberists feel to it (which makes sense as this is [...]

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Issac Newton–Letter to the Publisher (Philosophical Transactions, March 26,1672)

SOUNDTRACK: REAL ESTATE-”Beach Comber” (2009). I found this song through a fascinating series of clicks.  Yesterday’s song from Real Estate was a pick for Fall.  And next to it was a link entitled Ridgewood, N.J., Why Here? Why Now? I grew up right next to Ridgewood and I spent a lot of time there as [...]

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Anna M. Shih–”The Patented Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich: Food as Intellectual Property” (Gastronomica, Winter 2002)

SOUNDTRACK: REAL ESTATE-”It’s Real” (2011). Right from the start, the combination of the fuzzy guitar picking and the whacking drums was a major draw for me.  Finding out that these guys are from Ridgewood, NJ (a town away from my hometown) was a little icing.  This is a charming little pop ditty.  It propels along [...]

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Jared Diamond–”Animal Art: Variation in Bower Decorating Style among Male Bowerbirds Amblyornis inornatus” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, May 1986)

SOUNDTRACK: FANFARIO-”Replicate” (2011). This is the final Fall Music song I’m going to mention.  “Replicate” was Robin Hilton’s song of choice for the fall, and I can see what he liked about it–there’s a lot of unusual sounds going on (in many ways it reminds me of Sparks or maybe sort of early Depeche Mode, although no one [...]

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Suzanne Toczyski–”Jean-Baptiste Labat and the Buccaneer Barbecue in Seventeenth-Century Martinique” (Gastronomica, Winter 2010)

SOUNDTRACK-LOS CAMPESINOS!-”By Your Hand” (2011). I’ve enjoyed Los Campesinos!’s records in the past and I’m pretty excited about the prospect of a new release.  This song doesn’t deviate too far from their previous releases although to my ear it sounds a bit more musical (more instruments, more vocals) and less abrasive.  The basic elements are still [...]

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John E. Fawcett–”A Hobo Memoir, 1936″ (Indiana Magazine of History, December 1994)

SOUNDTRACK: GRINGO STAR-”Shadow’ (2011). This song was forecast as a great Fall song on NPR.  The band’s name is perhaps too cutesy, but the music is interesting.  The verses are jangly and in no way prepare you for the Beatlesesque (ie., soaring harmonies) chorus that follows.  There’s not a lot to the song, and on my [...]

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