David Foster Wallace–possible excerpts from The Pale King: ["Three Fragments from a Longer Thing" (2000); "Good People" (New Yorker, February 5, 2007); "The Compliance Branch" (Harper's, February 2008); "Wiggle Room" and "Irrelevant Bob" (New Yorker, March 9, 2009)]

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Live at the Botanique, 9th-12 May 2001 (2001).
This is called an “official bootleg.”  It must be very rare as I can’t even find a picture of it online.  My friend Lar must have gotten it for me, as I have never seen the band live and it was (apparently) only available at their shows.  [...]

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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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Ian Frazier–”Fanshawe” (New Yorker, November 2, 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Asking for Flowers (2008).
I first heard of Kathleen Edwards because of her duet with John Doe on “The Golden State.”  I thought her voice was great and I wanted to hear more.  I picked this album because it was her newest.
My first impression was mild.  I thought initially, great, I’ve gotten yet another [...]

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David Foster Wallace–”Order and Flux in Northampton” (Conjunctions No. 17, Fall 1991)

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Bloomsbury Theatre 12.3.95 (1995).
This is a rare and out of print live CD from an early Tindersticks show.  My friend Lar found it used for me in Ireland (thank you!).  But it turns out he found it for me about a week before it was reissued as a bonus disc with the Second Tindersticks [...]

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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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David Foster Wallace–”/Solomon Silverfish/” (Sonora Review no. 16, Fall 1987)

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Nénette et Boni [soundtrack] (1996).
After releasing two albums of atmospheric brilliance, Tindersticks were called upon to score the music for the film Nénette et Boni.
And this disc answers the question of whether it is Stuart Staples’ voice that is the driving force behind the band.  And the answer is, indeed not.  This disc is [...]

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George Saunders–”Victory Lap” (New Yorker, October 5, 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: PLACEBO-Battle for the Sun (2009).
I’ve been a fan of Placebo since their first disc came out (I had to hunt it down after reading a great review in Q magazine).  Imagine my surprise when they took off with their next album and the huge single “Every You Every Me.”
Battle for the Sun is their [...]

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Zsuzsi Gartner-”Summer of the Flesh Eater” (The Walrus, September 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: NEKO CASE-Middle Cyclone (2009).
I first learned of Neko Case through The New Pornographers.  Their song “Letter from an Occupant” blew me away.  But when I’d investigated her solo work, I learned she was more of a country singer than anything else.  Reviewers said that Middle Cyclone broke from that mold a little into more [...]

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Jimmy Gownley–Amelia Rules: The First Three Trade Paperbacks (2006)

SOUNDTRACK: FEIST-Let It Die (2004).
I’ve recently discovered Feist through Broken Social Scene.  I know that she is huge (and “1,2,3,4″ is a really great song that we used for our son’s 4th birthday video), but it took me a while to catch on.
This first album (technically her second, but her first was released only on [...]

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