M. (hristine Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I had forgotten how much I adore this thread. Prompted by my teenage daughter: http://press.uchicag.../bo3750560.html Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I just finished the book "Room". Whoa. What an interesting, somewhat scary, read. Wow. Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 So far, so awesome.Black Flag come off as insufferable assholes -- at least Ginn and Rollins do.The Minutemen -- I still want to hang out with them, Mission of Burma, too. Link to post Share on other sites
thingfishp Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Shit loads of student essays (Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and The Bacchae" and soon to be followed by Chris Bohjalian's Double Bind Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Started reading this the other day before I knew there was a new movie version of it coming out. Link to post Share on other sites
Queen Amaranthine Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Finally got around to reading Wilco: Learning How to Die. Finished it yesterday --lots of stuff to chew on. I found the most interesting and rewarding thing about the book was how Greg Kot was able to fully convey what music really means to Jeff Tweedy. It fuels the fire for my Wilco-love. Someday in the future, it would be interesting to have a part 2, called "Born to Die Alone" or something like that, to pick up after YHF until wherever Wilco goes from here. Link to post Share on other sites
smells like flowers Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Someday in the future, it would be interesting to have a part 2, called "Born to Die Alone" or something like that, to pick up after YHF until wherever Wilco goes from here.I agree, especially because the book ends just as Jeff is getting out of rehab and Ghost is being finalized... really wanted to hear more about that. And the band just keeps doing interesting things that would be great to read about in depth (Solid Sound, creating their own label, etc.) Parts of the book were really sad, though, especially the poor communication whenever a band member was "let go." I felt really sorry for how Ken Coomer was treated after 8 years in Wilco. Ditto for how things worked out for Jay Bennett. I guess that's the danger of learning about the human side of great artists... their failings can be especially disappointing. The same ego that creates beautiful art can't deal with communicating directly to a long-time friend and band-mate, to protect that very ego, it seems. Alas, no one's perfect and that applies to Jeff Tweedy as well as anyone. Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I agree, especially because the book ends just as Jeff is getting out of rehab and Ghost is being finalized... really wanted to hear more about that. And the band just keeps doing interesting things that would be great to read about in depth (Solid Sound, creating their own label, etc.) Parts of the book were really sad, though, especially the poor communication whenever a band member was "let go." I felt really sorry for how Ken Coomer was treated after 8 years in Wilco. Ditto for how things worked out for Jay Bennett. I guess that's the danger of learning about the human side of great artists... their failings can be especially disappointing. The same ego that creates beautiful art can't deal with communicating directly to a long-time friend and band-mate, to protect that very ego, it seems. Alas, no one's perfect and that applies to Jeff Tweedy as well as anyone. I'm not sure I agree about the communication problems being ego-driven. Jeff strikes me as someone who hates confrontation.The Jay Bennett dismissal takes and entirely different tact after watching the documentary and even moreso when listening to the band commentary.Leroy and John had some really harsh comments about Jay.He had basically worn out his welcome. Link to post Share on other sites
smells like flowers Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I'm not sure I agree about the communication problems being ego-driven. Jeff strikes me as someone who hates confrontation.The Jay Bennett dismissal takes and entirely different tact after watching the documentary and even moreso when listening to the band commentary.Leroy and John had some really harsh comments about Jay.He had basically worn out his welcome. Well, isn't fear of confrontation a self-protective measure at its heart? So the ego is involved, in my opinion. I understand things with Jay had really soured (I've watched IATTBYH). However, Greg Kot described a scene early in Jay's career with Wilco, where Jeff had eaten some pot brownies and got way too high and started panicking, and Jay held him and helped him through it. The intimacy of that scene, the emotional vulnerability, just breaks my heart. And it did end very badly for Jay. The whole first third of the book described the dysfunctionality of Jay Farrar's total lack of communication, and to a degree, it seems like Jeff brought that into Wilco in spite of how much pain it had caused him in Uncle Tupelo. My point is that the up-close-and-personal look of the dynamics of people you hold in high esteem doesn't always measure up, and there's a certain regret about that (for me, anyway). The book was a very compelling read, however, and I'm glad I finally got around to it! Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Oh I don't know. You're talking about dudes barely past teenage years who used drugs and drank a lot. Why would you expect their interpersonal/managerial skills to be highly developed? The relationship between Jay Bennett and Tweedy as portrayed in Kot's book seemed classically codependent to me. And in the sad light of Bennett's death, tragic in a Days of Wine and Roses kind of way. Ultimately all just speculation anyway. I wasn't there. I do know guys in their early 20s that drink a lot. I sure wouldn't judge their mature character based on the behavior I see now. Can't blame an egg for not being a chicken. Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Link to post Share on other sites
indy81 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Oh I don't know. You're talking about dudes barely past teenage years who used drugs and drank a lot. Why would you expect their interpersonal/managerial skills to be highly developed? To be fair, wasn't Jeff like 35 years old when Coomer and Bennett were fired? (Sorry for the off-topic. I'm currently reading Background to Danger by Eric Ambler.) Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Thanks for the recommendations, VCers. Man, the kindle makes Christmas shopping for the wife very easy. Our first daughter is due any day now, the Cinderella book should be an interesting, fun read for her and me, both - at least I think it should be.... Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 This was the best novel I've read in years. Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I love this picture of Jeff. He was an adorable little boy! One of my very favorite Christmas presents was a big boxful of new books...10 of them!...from my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Sarah (She & Tom will marry in March) How well she knows me! Being without books is like being without air to me, and I was fresh out of good reading material. These run the gamut in subject matter, and all of them look intriguing. What a nice way to begin a new year! Link to post Share on other sites
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