Let's Book Club!: The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy

The Sunset Limited is "A Novel in Dramatic Form", which is to say that's its a play, a conversation, between White, a Professor, and Black, a recovering addict. The setting, the writing, and the mood all kind of fit with McCarthy's other stuff (ie. The Road and No Country for Old Men - I realize there are others but I haven't read any of them), but its definitely not as violent - in as far as its just a conversation set in Black's apartment.

For what it is, its an interesting conversation, but, I feel like it would be a much more interesting in actual play form, rather than just words on a page.

Grade: B-

Up next: Since its Spring Break (woooo!) I might give The Infinite Jest a shot, but I'm thinking I might try and leave that until the summer. Otherwise The Education of a Coach or a book that Liz really liked Cockeyed (the story of a teenager who goes blind - Non-fiction).

1. The Inner Game of Tennis | Timothy Gallwey (134 pages) | A
2. The Last Shot | Darcy Frey (240 pages) | A+
3. The Road | Cormac McCarthy (287 pages) | A+
4. Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell (299 pages) | C+
5. The Last Season | Phil Jackson (304 pages) | B-

Pick of the Week #10: Alela Diane - To Be Still

I've had Alela Diane in the car for about the last week (and I've been driving every day - I know, boo-driving) and I'm wondering whether I might actually like her better than Jenny Lewis/Neko Case/amIforgettingsomeoneelsehere? I'm not sure this comparison is entirely unreasonable, so, let's make the comparison (shall we?) and see how ridiculous it sounds...

Alela Diane: To Be Still has got some very good reviews on Metacritic (so I'm not completely alone in liking this) and would be dramatically higher if it wasn't for a couple of reviews that absolutely ripped the album. My feeling = if you don't like folk/country/singer-songwriter don't write a review about it... I mean, I'm not going to write about how stupid I think... say, Oprah is. At any rate, the (4) user reviews total a 9.5, so what this suggests to me is that if you like sort of thing (folk/country/singer-songwriter) its an album of the highest caliber.

Lewis/Case: On the other hand, by my count Jenny Lewis - while having a much bigger library - has thrown out a couple of stink bombs lately, namely, Acid Tongue (while the song 'Acid Tongue' is probably my favourite song she's done the album was very, very, bland) and the last Rilo Kiley album was pretty craptacular. Case though, as far as I can remember, has released pretty awesome solo albums (Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and Blacklisted) and the last two New Pornographers were good and excellent (Challengers and Twin Cinema). So, that's going to be tough to top.

The verdict: I've looked at the wiki entries for both Jenny Lewis and Neko Case and they are frighteningly impressive: awards, compilations, and apparently Case's Middle Cyclone just debuted at #3 on Billboard... so, Alela Diane (who is only 25) has some catching up to do, and probably isn't going to be as culturally relevant anytime soon, but, I think To Be Still is pretty close to being in the same league as Rabbit Fur Coat and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

That said, as cultural relevance increases so do ticket prices. So, would I rather pay $10 bucks to see Alela Diane from 10ft. or $33.50 (plus $8 - 10) to see Neko Case from 150ft. (with the entire crowd on backing vocals)? I think I'd go see Alela Diane. Part of that, it probably goes without saying, is because I have a negative $15,000 a year income right now, the other part is that I think its just more fun to see music up close - its more personal, you're supporting people who actually need the money/appreciate the attention, plus (as I understand it) you score more cool points when you tell people you're going/have gone to see a band that they've never hear of....

Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: OhbijouPick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands
Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley

Let's Book Club!: The Last Season by Phil Jackson

My computer is still being repaired and its looking like I'm going to get it next week, so, for those of you who are sitting on the edge of your seats you'll probably have to hold tight for another week or so.

The book... is basically a series of diary entries (or more likely adapted, edited, and re-written diary entries) from the 2003-04 Lakers season (this was two seasons after they won their last of three consecutive championships).  It's not exactly a literary masterpiece, but hearing the 'behind the scenes' stories gives some really interesting insight into Jackson's success as a coach, Kobe's melt-downs in the playoffs, and probably a little why Shaq hasn't had won more than he has.  More than anything else, it really drove home how important a team concept is in basketball, and how significant having a system and defining the roles of your players within that system is.  And, I think if you look at the last, say dozen teams that won titles (Celtics, Spurs, Pistons, Lakers - the Heat maybe being the exception) all of them have played good team basketball.

Grade: B- 

Next up: I'm actually already about half finished a 'Novel in Dramatic Form' The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy, because I wanted something a little different.  After that, I've got David Halberstam's book about Bill Belichick The Education of a Coach.  

Pick of the Week #9: Chris Whitley

I couldn't tell you exactly why, maybe it was because I was listening to Ben Harper's first record Pleasure and Pain on Saturday morning (where his sound is a lot more Bluesy) that made me think of Chris Whitley. As soon as that name popped into my head I proceeded to rifle through google videos to see anything I could that had Whitley in it... and I'm not sure whether the videos - at least the live ones - really live up to the recordings, which is strange considering he's such an unbelievable guitarist...

I first heard of him when I was living in Korea (the good one) through NPR's 'All Songs Considered' and his cover of the Flaming Lips 'Mountainside' (which, I have since found out is on his first post-humeous release Reiter Inn - to be purchased by me momentarily). After hearing about him, and since I couldn't get ahold of any of his music, I had completely forgot about him...

So after reading more on Whitley (i.e. his wikipedia entry) I went out and bought Dirt Floor (since Living with the Law and Reiter Inn weren't there) and I've been really, really enjoying it. In part I think, because its something different - I don't listen to a lot of Blues - but also because its really good.

The executive summary: He may look like a more coked out version of Kid Rock, but he plays a hell of a guitar.

Sean, this seems like something you might be into... have you heard him?

A couple of videos, just to give you an idea...
"Scrapyard Lullaby"


"Hellhound On My Trail (Live - Robert Johnson cover)"



Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou
Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands

The (belated) Best of February

The Best on TV: 24
I watched the first two seasons of 24 in approximately a week (a couple of years after they aired on TV) - bear in mind there are 24, 40min episodes - and was absolutely hooked. Then, I went through a phase where I got sick of the twist, after twist, after twist, etc. format, the fact that Jack Bauer only whispers or yells, and got off it after the end of S4(?).

After Mark wrote about the 24 movie I watched it, and fell back in love with the Jack Bauer Power Hour. I've learned to just appreciate it for what it is, an action-packed-ass-kick fest, and, honestly, since FNL ended (on DirectTV at least) this is the show that I most look forward to each week...

Best Movie: Fired Up!
... yeah, yuk it up... you snobs! I think a good comparison that someone suggested to me was American Pie meets Bring it On!... just go rent (download) it and tell me I'm wrong.

Best Live Set: Adele Diane
(As documented here) which was a little bit of a surprise, but I think she had a voice comparable to Jenny Lewis or Neko Case.... I still need to get my hands on her new album.

Best News Story:
I had written something about how Stephen Harper looked like a 14 yr old girl who had just seen Zach Efron when he was doing his Ottawa press conference with Barack Obama, but Shaq calling Chris Bosh a transvestite is WAY funnier (thanks Andrew)...

Best Book
Slam by Nick Hornby, which wasn't near as good as anything I read in January, but, whatever.

Best Album
I feel like its been a little bit of a weak month, which may have nothing to do with the actual music put out and more to do with the fact that I just hate winter. March, I understand, from various news reports, will be much warmer. This is a good thing.

At any rate, maybe because its fresh in my mind but I'm going to go with Gentlemen Husbands' Something Along the Lines of 'A Lesson in Unprofessionalism'....

Best Song
The acoustic version of Metric's "Help I'm Alive"

Let's Book Club!: Slam by Nick Hornby

... was a nice story, but wasn't anything special. If you have a sister who shops at big box stores, I'd buy it a used book store and give it to her. Or, alternately, if you want to scare someone you know out of an unwanted pregnancy.

Grade: B-

Up next: I'm excited to say that I got a Toronto Library card over the weekend, so, (up next) is a couple of lieberry books: Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book and The Last Season by Phil Jackson.

Pick of the Week #8: Gentlemen Husbands

Gentlemen Husbands (the Greater Cobourg Area, On). Huh. I'm not really sure what to make of the name... does it mean that they're good to their wives? I think they may be getting an e-mail from this guy (me) to figure out what that's all about...

... I just looked up where Cobourg was (I mean, is)... and, it appears to be an hour east of Toronto... who knew there was anything between Toronto and Kingston?

... the EP (Something Along the Lines of 'A Lesson in Professionalism)... it reminds me a little bit of Cuff the Duke(originally from Oshawa)'s first album Life Stories for the Minimum Wage, although it makes me think that Cobourg is a much nicer place. LSftMW was, if I recall correctly, kind of dark/depressing/reminiscent of Oshawa, while the GH EP seems much more "glass half full". On LSftMW Cuff the Duke gives off this 'God, we need to get the hell out of Oshawa vibe', but the GH EP says to me 'We're from Cobourg, and we run this shit...' (ironically, on "Riding in Cars" they actually do say something like 'we need to get out of this town').

To me, this is what good music is about. Its about telling your story - whatever it is - and being honest about it. And the Gentlemen Husbands tell a really fun, compelling, story about: girls, blue collar work, drinking, and being young in the country (or in Cobourg). Right now I'm feeling like the GH's EP is the musical equivalent of Tim Riggins (from Friday Night Lights). I'm also feeling like there are approx. 3 people who read this who are going to appreciate the Tim Riggins comparison... anyways... I'm adding this band to the list of smaller Canadian bands that I cheerlead for, which includes, but is not limited to: Black Hat Brigade, The Golden Hands Before God, Ketch Harbour Wolves, Rah Rah, Ohbijou, Sunparlour Players, etc. So, expect to hear more about them from me in the future.

Apologies for not having any mp3s, but my computer is completely F'd.

If you're interested in hearing them go visit their myspace. You can steam their EP in its entirety there.




Pick of the Week #1: Ketch Harbour Wolves
Pick of the Week #2: Rah Rah
Pick of the Week #3: Glasvegas/Animal Collective
Pick of the Week #4: Bruce Peninsula
Pick of the Week #5: The Antlers
Pick of the Week #6: The Darcys
Pick of the Week #7: Ohbijou