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Archive for the ‘McSweeney's’ Category

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

Posted in A.M. Homes, Aaron Naparstek, Amy Fusselman, Ben Greenman, Books about writers, Chris Bachelder, Christopher Monks, Clay McLeod Chapman, Corporate skewering, Daniel Handler, Darin Strauss, Dave Eggers, Demons, Denis Johnson, Digression, Dip-in Books, Dreams, Ezra Pound, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Humiliation, J.M. Tyree, Jake Swearingen, Jim Stallard, John Hodgman, John Moe, Jonathan Ames, Jonathan Lethem, Kurt Luchs, Lawrence Krauser, Margaret Atwood, McSweeney's, Mike Bullard, Myla Goldberg, Neal Pollack, Negativland, Neil Gaiman, One Ring Zero, Paul Auster, Political Humor, Postmoderism, Rick Moody, Sci-fi, Sean Carman, Sex & Violence, Smarty Pants, Sports, Stephany Aulenback, Summer, Supernatural, Technology, They Might Be Giants, Tim Carvell, Todd Pruzan, Zev Borow on October 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

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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McSweeney’s #32

Posted in Adventure, Anthony Doerr, Chris Adrian, Chris Bachelder, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Death, End of the World, Gay/Lesbian, Heidi Julavits, J. Erin Sweeney, Jim Shepard, McSweeney's, Natural Disasters, Plague, Salvador Plascencia, Sesshu Foster, Sheila Heti, Short Story, Technology, The Future, Threats, Tindersticks, Wells Tower on October 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Tindersticks [the red one] (1993).
Tindersticks are a fascinating band.  The first distinctive thing about them is Stuart Staples’ voice: a deep rich bass that he uses almost like a whisper.  The second thing you notice is the music.  It’s an orchestral/chamber pop collection of dark rockers with fantastic moodiness to it.  And then you [...]

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Donald Barthelme–”Among the Beanwoods,” “Heather,” “Pandemonium” (Harper’s, November 2007)

Posted in Donald Barthelme, Flash Fiction, Funny (strange), Harper's, Jill Souble, McSweeney's, Missoula Montana, Postmoderism, Short Story on October 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: JILL SOBULE-California Years (2009).
So Jill Sobule had the first hit single called “I Kissed a Girl” (that was sung by a woman).  And it was sort of a novelty hit, which is the kiss of death for any songwriter.  After most people forgot about her, I followed her career for a while.  And I [...]

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Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp and Other Essays

Posted in Bill Clinton, Books about music, Books about writers, Boredom, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Dip-in Books, Donnell Alexander, Drinking, Drugs, Eddie Vedder, Essays, Free Speech, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Glasgow Phillips, Gods, History, Jess Mowry, M. Doughty, Marc Herman, Martha McParlin, McSweeney's, Michael Moore, Might, Missoula Montana, Oddities, Paula Kamen, Political Humor, Racism, Religion, Research, Sex, Sex & Violence, Smarty Pants, Soul Coughing, Supernatural, TV on the Radio, Technology, Ted Rall, The Future, Travel, Tripp Hartigan, Wikipedia, Zev Borow on October 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: TV ON THE RADIO-Dear Science, (2008).
The problem with TV on the Radio for me is that their first EP is so damned good that anything else they do pales in comparison.  Having said that, Dear Science, comes really close to topping that EP.  I liked Cookie Mountain (their previous disc) but I felt like [...]

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David Foster Wallace–Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1999)

Posted in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Chris Knox, David Foster Wallace, Demons, Digression, Flash Fiction, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, Infinite Summer, John Krasinski, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Meta, Sex, Sex & Violence, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Snapper, Straightjacket Fits, Suicide, Superette, Supernatural, The 3Ds, The Bats, The Believer, The Chills, The Clean, Topless Women Talk About Their Lives on September 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: TOPLESS WOMEN TALK ABOUT THEIR LIVES soundtrack (2006).
I learned about this soundtrack from a very cool article in The Believer (the beginning of which is online here).  In the piece, the author claims to have never seen the film (he was given the soundtrack by a friend) and he doesn’t want  to change his [...]

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David Foster Wallace–various uncollected essays (1987-2007)

Posted in Books about writers, Boston Phoenix, Consumerism, David Foster Wallace, Don DeLillo, Essays, Fleet Foxes, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Harper's, History, Infinite Summer, McSweeney's, Rolling Stone, Salon.com, Short Story, The New York Times on September 25, 2009 | 4 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: FLEET FOXES-Sun Giant EP (2008).
My friend Jarrett introduced me to the Fleet Foxes with their self-titled CD.  I recently picked up the Sun Giant EP and it is just as good as the main CD.  It opens with a beautiful a capella introduction to “Sun Giant” in multipart harmony that melds into a nice folksy [...]

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Jessica Anthony–The Convalescent (2009)

Posted in Anachronisms, History, Jem Cohen, Jessica Anthony, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Neurotics, Short Films, Silver Mt. Zion, Sonic Youth, Threats, Violence, Wikipedia on September 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR 6 Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui (2005).
This CD sees Sonic Youth playing an instrumental background to three silent films from Stan Brakhage.  It reminds me of the Jem Cohen DVD in which A Silver Mt Zion play the music for the silent Cohen film.
Now obviously, we don’t see the films on the CD.  In [...]

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Lydia Davis–Samuel Johnson is Indignant (2005)

Posted in Black Sabbath, Death, Demons, Essays, Flash Fiction, Funny (strange), History, Lydia Davis, Marriage Trouble, McSweeney's, Merzbow, Research, Short Books, Short Story, Sonic Youth on September 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-SYR8: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth (2008).
This final (so far) SYR release is another live recording and it sees the bands joined by saxophonist Mats Gustaffson and electronic wunderkind Merzbow.  This EP comes from the 2005 Roskilde Festival in Denmark (and the language is all written in Danish).  According to the SY website, [...]

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Dave Eggers–”Max at Sea” (New Yorker, August 24, 2009)

Posted in Boredom, Children's Books, Dave Eggers, Funny (strange), McSweeney's, Meta, New Yorker, Oddities, Short Story, Sonic Youth, Spike Jonze, Threats, Violence on August 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-TV Shit (1993).
This is a funny little addition to the SY catalog. It is essentially four covers of a song by Youth Brigade called “No Song II” (which is from Dischord records, Possible EP here).
The original song is one second long, with the band shouting “No”
So, covers of it are obviously absurd.  [...]

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Dave Eggers–How We Are Hungry: Stories (2004)

Posted in Adventure, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, Egyptology, Marriage (Happy), McSweeney's, Pixies, Sex & Violence, Short Story, Smarty Pants, Sonic Youth on August 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-Washing Machine (1995).
After the short blasts and diverse collection fo songs on Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, Washing Machine sounds like almost a different band. For although there are a few shorter pieces here, they also give us the 9 minute title track and the, brace yourself, almost 20 minute “The [...]

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