SOUNDTRACK: JACK WHITE-“Sixteen Saltines” (2012).
I really liked the first White Stripes album. After that things were just a little too samey to me. So I pretty much stopped listening to him. This new album is all the rage (as is everything he does), and this is a song that NPR picked as one of their favorites of the year so far.
And as with everything Jack White does, it’s immediately fun. It’s also simple as anything, with a raw and aggressive sound–just like everything else he does. I usually don’t mind when an artist plays the same stuff over and over, I mean it’s called a signature after all, but for some reason it bugs me with him. Or maybe I just don’t like him as a “person.”
Anyhow, I can’t deny that this song is fun (the vocals done in a kind of R&B vein (sounding like Michael Jackson a bit?) and the addition of keyboards half way through are a nice touch. But I can’t say that I’ll remember the song much after it’s over.
[READ: June 16, 2012] “Black Box”
I have been meaning to read Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad for quite some time. But in the meantime, I’m happy to have read this short story, which I assume is nothing at all like her novels.
“Black Box” is written in a series of small numbered black boxes. And each box contains a number of statements in the second person. It’s a striking and unusual way to concoct a story. I didn’t really think it would be all that intriguing because the tone is so matter of fact and instructional. But I was thrilled with how much of a story Egan created out of this style. And, yes, it is a full story.
So Box number one begins: “People rarely look the way you expect them to, even when you’ve seen pictures.” Then, “The first thirty seconds in a person’s presence are the most important.” Then, “If you’re having trouble perceiving and projecting, focus on projecting.” Then, “Necessary ingredients for a successful projection: giggles; bare legs; shyness.”
So, what is this? instructions? advice? quips to live by? Well, it turns out that they are instructions to a “beauty.” And this beauty is working for her country, to take down a bad guy. She is a spy, although not a professional spy, she’s just a beauty doing her country’s work. The instructions show (in a very unexpected way) how the story unfolds: “‘Shall we swim together toward those rocks?’ may or may not be a question.” And so, “you” and your Designated Mate swim to an island where sex in inevitable. “Begin the Dissociation Technique only when physical violation is imminent.” For indeed, “you” are married, but your husband approves of this mission, for the good of United States and the world.
As the story unfolds, the reader realizes that this is not just a beautiful woman who has been called into the service of he country, but something a little more. “If you are within earshot of his conversation, record it.” Well, how will she do that one wonders. “A microphone has been implanted just beyond the first turn of your right ear canal.”
Cool.
The story gets more complicated, with more revelations coming, as it runs through the boxes. “Your Field Instructions, stored in a chip beneath your hairline, will serve as both a mission log and a guide for others undertaking this work.” So are these lines instructions from her or by her?
While the plot is a more or less conventional espionage story (I kept picturing a scene from Chuck), the way it is told makes the story that much more exciting. Especially with the matter of fact revelations: “Slim, powerful men often move with catlike swiftness.” Is this told during her downtime? “If your limbs are sore and your forehead scraped and raw, don’t dwell on why.”
Slowly a backstory emerges as to why this particular beauty is engaged in this particular job–family concerns, both parental and spousal (I would like more information about her spouse!). But the action proves fast and intense (these declarative sentences have a matter of factness about them that makes the scenes fly by and the outcome completely uncertain. And the ending was awesome.
This story was original and exciting and makes me want to read Goon Squad even more.
[…] Gripes found “Black Box” stronger in print form. Further positive write-ups come from Paul Debraski; Rosabel Tan; Aaron Riccio; J Chance; and Catie […]