Fritz

Try this one, too. Bird On A Wire from 1972.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRq13gI0ipE

I feel so fortunate that we saw him play concerts here in Australia. Before 2009 he was an artist I thought I'd never be afforded the chance to see. What a show it was. I felt as though I were at a modern day sermon on the mount.

Leonard, you will be sorely missed. Your words will endure.

Oh my Lord...

I could never get into noir books as much as I love the movie genre. I tried a Jim Thompson once, an Elmore Leonard, they didn't take. Granted, I've never tried Ellroy (is he considered a guilty pleasure read?) , or Raymond Chandler which would be my best bet if I ever want to try noir. Right?

 

I love both Ellroy and Chandler. I went on a Chandler bender last year during summer holidays and just loved it. I think I read everything except for The Big Sleep. They're all really good but I would argue that The Long Goodbye is his masterpiece.

Ellroy is Chandler taken to a whole other level - the seedy underbelly of corruption in police forces, crooked politicians and hoodlums. Amongst actual historical figures Ellroy's fictional characters dwell. There's a whole bunch of early novels where he's honing his craft but he really hit his stride with the series of books referred to as the L.A. Quartet - The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz. They're dense, heavy going, and thick with plot and characters. I'd start with those four books.

All the Fante talk has taken me to one of his I haven't yet read:

But I'm also in the need for some noir. It's been many years so I think I'll re-read this:

 

 

Are there by chance any fans of John Fante's Bandini series here btw?

I loved the Bandini series and there are other great Fante books out there as well which I accumulated after reading Ask The Dust. I went through a phase where I just couldn't get enough of him - Dreams From Bunker Hill was great, probably similar in theme to Ask The Dust from memory. 1933 Was A Bad Year is also wonderful, though shorter. There's a short story collection titled The Big Hunger which I found a little slow going at first but with each subsequent story I found myself devouring it faster and faster - "The rest was a cruise on smooth water" as Bandini himself would say.

Anyway, I'm coming to the end of this:

I love Steinbeck and I've enjoyed this as a change of pace (not normally a reader of non-fiction except for music bios) but I need to dive back into a story again. All the talk in here around Fante, Irving and Carver has got me eager for something but I don't know what yet.

A Prayer for Owen Meany, no question. I was pleasantly surprised to see it already mentioned.

but there was something about Owen...

Yes! Owen Meany. What a wonderful, beautiful book that would be to discover again.

I will add to that:

The World According to Garp - Irving (still cry when I re-read it)

Sometimes A Great Notion - Ken Kesey

David Copperfield - Dickens

No doubt I will think of more to post over the coming days.

Great thread idea!

Just Say Goodbye = acoustic Sonic Youth

I'm really getting into side two.

Shrug and Destroy reminds me of something from the Lost In Translation soundtrack.

Alright, I'm gonna nerd this out hard now that I have a legitimate download (still waiting for my vinyl).

 

"Normal American Kids"

Super intimate.  You can imagine it coming out of the scene in IATTBYH when Jeff was playing solo. It's so simple and crystalline, one of those moments that show Tweedy can sit along side Joni, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Leonard Cohen... distilling feelings into an acoustic guitar and some singing.

 

"If I Ever Was a Child"

This sits in the unassuming, Kinks-ish cheery sounding strummers he's been writing- along side "Summer Noon" and "Taste the Ceiling". The accompaniment is about a thousand times smarter than it seems at first listen. When it opens up a little there's a river of tasty guitar and keyboard flourishes.

 

"Cry All Day"

Pure Laurel Canyon classic folk-rock, yet more spontaneous sounding than its like on Sky Blue Sky. You can hear a persistent Kraut thing pulsing through all the denim.  Glenn is obviously a genius- he seems like he's laying way back until you sit behind a kit and try to play his part note for note, a sign of a master at work.

 

"Common Sense"

Still the weirdest thing on a Wilco full length. Conjures early Modest Mouse and Red Medicine era Fugazi. It feels very fascinating, if not entirely lovable. I can see where people bring up the Wilco book fundamental jams. I'd love to see what they'd do with this live, it sounds like it was really fun to build in the studio.

 

"Nope"

Back porch poets, Dylan's in the basement mixing up some stubble and surrealism. This is what a barbecue in weird America should sound like.

 

"Someone to Lose"

Reminds me of the faint impression I have of a Tweedy song from the St. Vincent soundtrack. I think at this point Jeff could write a couple dozen of these breezy numbers, maybe he already has and is smart by sprinkling them throughout.  The chorus guitar hooks brings it from pleasant/solid to memorable.

 

"Happiness"

So so sad. Not to be combined with other medications or alcohol.

 

"Quarters"

The second most intimate number to "Normal American Kids". Another example of the Wilco boys being more of an ensemble than a band. More of a, "I'll wait and then add this sound at a key moment," than a "here's my riff" kind of accompaniment. The most Loose Fur of any of them, the transformation is not unlike "Chinese Apple", tense into gorgeous. Weird little song.

 

"Locator"

The only one that sounds a little more Star Wars than Schmilco to me.  It's really effective on side B amongst the more introverted stuff. The paranoia and wiry layers are so cool. I feel like they should have gotten Iggy Pop to do a part on it.

 

"Shrug and Destroy"

This is the only one I don't love (but still like it). Feels like one of the ones that float by towards the end of Sukierae. Plenty of headphone treats, and some of the coolest piano playing, I'll be curious to read the liner notes to see if Mikael or Pat cooked that up.

 

"We Aren't the World (Safety Girl)"

What a punk rock piss-taker of a title and hook. The shaky keys/guitars remind me a lot of Summerteeth and YHF b-sides. This is the first track that warrants the "chamber-pop" term that some reviewers have dropped. Another example how when you zero in on Stiratt you realize you were taking for granted how great his feel is, and how much motion he's giving the track. Also the piano reminds me of "Sunday Morning" by the Velvet Underground.

 

"Just Say Goodbye"

Such a beaut.  This song sounds like autumn to me.

Hey, this is a great assessment of the record. Nicely done.

I'm about to put the vinyl on for my fourth listen. I'm digging it more every time I play it through.

Vinyl at home - 85%

CDs in the car - 10%

Online at home - 5%

I'm kind of obsessed with these three albums:

Born in 1972. I remember John Lennon's death. My Dad was very quiet and played Beatles records all day.

A new album preceded by a film the night before the album's release. I'm looking forward to this:

http://nickcave.com/music/nickcaveandthebadseeds/skeleton-tree/

http://www.onemoretimewithfeeling.film/

^ Cool album cover.

This is the collection of short stories, right? I'm a Steinbeck fan but have never read this. It's chock full of good writing, I presume?

Yes, beautiful writing. It is early Steinbeck, though. He hadn't fully hit his stride.

Now reading:

A much underrated record.

I put this on tonight on a whim. I haven't listened to Nick for a while. This was the first Bad Seeds record I bought (back in 1990). Listening to it tonight I was struck by how devastatingly good it is. It holds up beautifully over 26 years.

I'm very sad to read this. I've listened a lot to Guy Clark over the years, covered a number of his songs, and was hoping I'd get to see him live one day. Not to be. What a songwriter.

Thanks for the music, indeed.

From a blog a good friend of mine writes. I like his reasoning as to why Bob's been pursuing his covers of standards for the last couple of records. It gives me hope for what's potentially to come.

http://www.thevintagerecord.com/Bob_Dylan_Frank_Sinatra.html

I'm not usually a guy that uses a lot of pedals, but I needed to put together something with a wider sonic pallet for a new band I'm playing in. Once I pulled out all the pedals I was going to use, I realized I was going to need a pedalboard; having pedals loosely strewn all over the place just wasn't going to work. I looked at various commercially available boards before deciding to save some money and build my own. I started with an IKEA Hejne shelf and took it from there. Finished it off a few weeks ago. Used it at band practice a few days later, man what a difference having an organized board makes. I ended up making a few tweaks the other day, removed a few pedals, added a few and here's where I'm at now:

 

That is one of the most neatly arranged pedal boards I've ever seen. A pleasure to look at.