Douglas Coupland Souvenir of Canada (2002), Souvenir of Canada 2 (2004) & Souvenir of Canada [the movie] (2006)

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-The Hungry Saw (2008).
It was the releases of this Tindersticks disc (their first in 5 years) on the venerable Constellation Records (in North America) that inspired my trip through their back catalog. I was completely surprised to see them released on Constellation, as the band doesn’t exactly fit with the label’s stereotypical style (although, [...]

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Alice Munro–”Too Much Happiness” (Harper’s, August 2009) & Charles Foran “Alice in Borderland” (The Walrus, September 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Donkeys 92-97 (1998).
Donkeys is a collection of singles, rarities and unreleased recordings.  It came out just before Simple Pleasure, and has tracks from the era of the first four discs.
With the reissue of those first four discs (and all the bonus tracks therein) and the Greatest Hits collection, it’s not really necessary to [...]

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Periodical–Prospect

I recently received an e-mail from a nice person at Prospect (a British magazine).  The email asked if I’d like to review their magazine.  After being completely flattered, I said, “Of course!”  And then I waited nervously hoping that the magazine was good and that I wouldn’t have to say anything mean about it, because [...]

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David Foster Wallace–comments in The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (2004)

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Trouble Every Day [soundtrack] (2001).
This is the second soundtrack that Tindersticks made for director Clair Denis.  This disc is rather unlike Nenette Et Boni, in that this soundtrack is much more stark.  There are several moments on the disc where there is nothing but silence for several seconds.   “Core on Stairs” features a bass [...]

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Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney’s Humor Category (2004)

SOUNDTRACK: ONE RING ZERO-As Smart as We Are (2004).
I had this CD sitting around my house for about 4 years.  I had received it as a promo disc from Soft Skull Press (along with several other books on CD) and I just never put it on.  Then one day I was going through all these [...]

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Comic Book Tattoo (2008)

SOUNDTRACK: TORI AMOS-Abnormally Attracted to Sin (2009).
It’s been almost a decade since I was blown away by a Tori Amos album.  I feel like she has really been so engaged in the concept of her albums, that she has lost track of the tunes.  And while I don’t hate anything she’s done in the last [...]

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Periodical: Public Libraries

Public Libraries is the magazine you get when you belong to the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association.  As you might gather, this division is for public librarians.
Like American Libraries, this magazine starts with a letter from the President of PLA.    But it’s the Tales from the Front section that I [...]

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David Foster Wallace–”Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young” (The Review of Contemporary Fiction Vol. 8, No. 3, 1988)

SOUNDTRACK: FIONA APPLE-When the Pawn… (1999).
I learned about Fiona Apple from CMJ New Music Monthly before her debut came out.  I was convinced she was just another pretty thing with little talent. But then I heard “Shadowboxer” and I was really impressed by the depth of her voice.  When I got the album, I was [...]

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Periodical: The Walrus

I found out about The Walrus while watching an interview with Noah Richler on Book Television (back when I had Canadian satellite).  During the interview, they mentioned that the first issue of this cool new magazine, The Walrus, had just come out.  I was very intrigued; amazingly, the local Barnes & Noble had a copy! [...]

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The Fifth Column (1996) & The Flexicon (1998)

SOUNDTRACK: ERIC CHENAUX-Sloppy Ground (2008).

It took several listens before I fully enjoyed this disc.  There’s something about Chenaux’s voice that is very calming, almost soporific.  And, since his general songwriting style is kind of ambient and almost formless–with no real choruses or even rhythms, the disc tends to get lost in the ether.  There’s also [...]

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