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Toby Keith - Toby Keith, Greatest Hits 2 [2004]
26 Feb 2008 at 3:22am
Ok, some people are gonna look at this CD and see: TOBY KEITH. Their first thought: arrogant, grandstanding, flag-waving redneck. Others will look at it and think, A brilliant singer/songwriter who isn't afraid to speak his mind. Doesn't matter which side of the fence you lean on. True, this album features Toby's attitude more than anything else (he's written better tunes than these''Stays in Mexico' has to be the worst song he's ever wrote, even if it is infectious). Two ballads ('When Loves Fades' and 'Rock You Baby') are not included on here. The two ballads that are ('You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This,' actually a very well-written song, and 'My List,' which Keith didn't write) are indeed among his better material. The rest of the stuff''The Angry American' was appropriate for its time (who didn't want to put a boot in a certain part of Osama bin Laden's anatomy'), but hasn't aged too well. 'How Do You Like Me Now'!' is now belittled by the attitude of the rest of the material. And there's nothing from SHOCK 'N YA'LL'interesting......... Tags: pop Dolly Parton - The Very Best of Dolly Parton [2007]
26 Feb 2008 at 3:22am
These are the greatest hits of Dolly, which together with those on Vol. 2 represent her most commercially successful songs. It includes catchy pop like Love's Like A Butterfly and 9 to 5 from the movie of the same name, flowing ballads like the duet with Kenny Rogers, traditional country ballads like My Tennessee Mountain Home and Silver Threads And Golden Needles with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, exquisite vocal pop like To Know Him Is To love Him with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, the moving autobiographical story song Coat of Many Colors and passionate country numbers like Jolene and Baby I'm Burning. This is an excellent introduction to the music of one of the most delightful of all female country singers but for longtime fans, the real gems are found on albums like Coat of Many Colors, The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton - 20 Greatest Hits, and on Little Sparrow and The Grass Is Blue.......... Tags: pop Trisha Yearwood - Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love [2007]
26 Feb 2008 at 3:21am
This CD bodes very well for Trisha's continuing collaboration with Big Machine Records. I don't know how it will do commercially, what with the vagaries of country radio,but, artistically it is, for this listener, an unqualified success. Tags: pop PJ Harvey - White Chalk [2007]
26 Feb 2008 at 3:20am
If I'd listened to some of the reviews I've read I would never have bought 'White Chalk,' but now I realize that the reviewers dismissed it because they couldn't hear it. The 'real' PJ Harvey is categorized in the ossified mind as the punky, guitar happy howler of classic work like 'Is This Desire'' She's celebrated for being an artist, but paradoxically criticized for daring to change, to follow her bliss, the reaction akin to that of horrified McDonald's patrons if they bit into Big Macs made of Filet Mignon. The burger might actually be wonderful, but it just wouldn't 'taste right' because it wasn't what they expected. 'White Chalk' isn't 'Is This Desire'' (One of my favorite records), but it's great in its own right. A lot of contemporary music grows tedious by the first minute - O.K., I get it, you want more, Britney - but White Chalk has been my constant soundtrack for the last week, and, despite being only about thirty-four minutes long, hasn't palled a bit. There's a minor key, folksy feel to it, from the acoustic instruments to the restrained, whispery sound of PJ's matchless voice, the lyrics suggesting old murder ballads and overheard confessions. It's autumnal, just right for this time of year, spooky and haunting, a suite of sepia toned chamber music in the key of regret, nostalgia and dread. The same way a whisper makes you listen more actively than a shout,the quiet complexity of White Chalk remains intriguing ' there's something to it, something that moves and engages, shaded rather than hid, making the whole profound and real in a world that so often prefers sameness and plastic pretension........ Tags: pop Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers [2008]
26 Feb 2008 at 3:19am
This album is a showcase of all the things that I hate about Xiu Xiu, and none of the things that I love about them. It's noisy just for the heck of it, almost completely non-melodic, and basically a big spastic mess. If that's why you love Xiu Xiu, then feel free to disregard this review. But for those of us who like our music at least a LITTLE bit accessible, this one's a disaster, and a convincing reason to quit listening to the band. In my opinion, Xiu Xiu is one of those frustrating bands that are capable of great music but rarely deliver. As far as I'm concerned, they reached their peak with Fabulous Muscles, because that album at least had a handful of brilliant frantic-but-listenable songs. Women as Lovers has two, maybe three songs that I can tolerate from beginning to end, and the cover of Under Pressure is the only song I really like. I think I'm pretty much completely over the band at this point, except for the small body of great songs that I love from past albums....... Tags: pop Rod Stewart - The Story So Far: The Very Best of
22 Feb 2008 at 12:26pm
Rod Stewart - The Story So Far: The Very Best of Track list: Disc 2: A Night In Tags: rock Various Artists - Burning Hearts - The Real Sad Songs
22 Feb 2008 at 12:21pm
Various Artists - Burning Hearts - The Real Sad Songs Track list: CD2 Tags: ballads Michael Jackson ? Bad
22 Feb 2008 at 12:18pm
Michael Jackson – Bad Track list: Tags: pop Sheryl Crow - Detours [2008]
21 Feb 2008 at 4:00am
If 2002's sun-drenched 'Come On, Come On' found a nail-biting Sheryl Crow unsure of her position as pop tunesmith or serious singer/songwriter, 2005's 'Wildflower' - her 'art' record as she dubbed it - certified she could straddle the line without compromise. She continues that progression with the aptly-titled 'Detours,' sifting through a myriad of topics like her breast cancer battle, broken engagement to Lance Armstrong and adoption of a baby boy. She may have been sidetracked, but she embraces the rhythm of life, an artist true to form. Crow reunites with Bill Bottrell, producer of her 1993 debut 'Tuesday Night Music Club,' and the results are compelling and thoroughly listenable. Lo-fi opener 'God Bless This Mess' is wall-to-wall Crow, reiterating the song's title line despite hazy post 9/11 life, while the jaunty radio-ready rock of the futuristic blue-collar anthem 'Gasoline' and bouncy single 'Love Is Free' keep the pace......... Tags: alternative Kid Rock - Rock and Roll Jesus [2007]
21 Feb 2008 at 3:58am
Kid Rock's new album isn't as revolutionary as the artist and title proclaim; yet it IS rather pleasing, and is indeed a bit maturer than much of Rock's previous work. The only hints of the rock/rap that will haunt him 'til the day he dies are found in 'Sugar' and 'Don't Tell Me U Love Me''and even then, both songs stand testiment to the fact that Rock doesn't distinguish between musical boundaries. You have to respect him for that, if nothing else. The album's strength, like it's two immediate predessecors, lies in its southern rock backbone. Nowhere is this more clear than on 'All Summer Long,' a melodical melding of Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' and Warren Zevon's 'Werewolves of London' (the opening riff makes me wish Rock would record 'Werewolves;' honestly, he would tear that song up'in a good way). The country blues of 'New Orleans' (a co-write with the one and only David Allan Coe) is another joyous sing-along, and one of Rock's most enjoyable tunes in a long time. 'Amen' gets a bit too serious, but it is still enjoyable; naturally, Rock makes controversial declarations like 'God d*** it, I'm afraid to send my kids to church' and 'Our nation's race relations got me feelin' guilty for bein' white.' The stone-cold country of 'Half Your Age' helps convey the songs hilarious'and scathing'message. 'Blue Jeans and a Rosary' touches upon gospel vibes, as does the previously-mentioned 'Amen.' Even the title track, though lyrically unoriginal, is catchy and listenable......... Tags: alternative Lenny Kravitz - It Is Time For A Love Revolution [2008]
21 Feb 2008 at 3:57am
Kravitz often comes across as a musician who's so meticulous about getting that vintage sound that he forgets to be inspired. That meticulousness can end up making the production just a little too slick. To complicate matters, he's heavy on catchy riffs and anthemic choruses, while often light on lyrics and adventurousness. Personally, I think the single, 'I'll Be Waiting,' is one of the weaker tracks on the album, although it is representative of his sound. I would much sooner take the title song, or 'Bring It On,' 'If You Want It,' 'I Love the Rain,' or 'Dancin' Til Dawn' with its smoking sax solo........ Tags: alternative Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin [2004]
21 Feb 2008 at 3:56am
Following up a smash hit debut album is possibly harder than getting that first magical recording contract in the first place - the artist oftentimes feels he/she must outdo himself/herself, and fans oftentimes resist any deviation from what has come before. Many young artists crash and burn, never to be heard from again. Avril Lavigne is not among those, and with this really quite incredible sophomore release she cements her place in the present and future of the music industry. While there are echoes of Let Go to be found here, I found this to be a surprisingly different album from its predecessor - the artist has grown as a person, a musician, and a song writer, and the expanding life experiences of this remarkably talented teenager have infused her music with a palpable sense of something quite real and deep that speaks volumes to the listener....... Tags: alternative Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals - Lifeline [2007]
21 Feb 2008 at 3:52am
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals have not been slacking lately: last year they released the double-CD 'Both Sides of the Gun' album, followed by a long world tour. At the end of the European leg of that tour in November 2006, the band holed up in a Paris studio and recorded this album in just a matter of one week (not sure why it then took another 10 months or so before the actual release). 'Lifeline' (11 tracks; 41 min.) brings yet another facet of Ben Harper, this time the relaxed singer-songwriter. This becomes immediately clear on the opener 'Fight Outta You'. Combining folk, soud and country rock, the band brings a more focused effort than on many of its previous studio albums. 'Fool for a Lonesome Train' is similar in tempo and atmosphere to 'Fight Outta You'. 'Say You Will' brings a livelier sound, with glimpses of gospel even, and as such stands apart from the mostly introvert sound of the album. The title track closes the album, and is mostly Ben and acoustic guitar, nothing more, nothing less, a great way to finish up the album...... Tags: pop Kenny G - Greatest Hits (2 CD)
18 Feb 2008 at 1:23pm
Kenny G - Greatest Hits (2 CD) Track list: 01. Ave Marie (4:56) CD 2: 01. I'll Be Home For Christmas (3:29) Diana Ross - All The Great Love Songs
18 Feb 2008 at 1:21pm
Diana Ross - All The Great Love Songs Track list: |
This Week's Interesting Music Releases October 7th, 2008)
6 Oct 2008 at 11:01am
I have been streaming tracks for the last week from Bob Dylan's latest album in his "bootleg" series, Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8, and am looking forward to picking up a copy of the 2-disc release tomorrow. I only wish I could afford the $100+ deluxe edition, which comes with a bonus CD, along with a 150 page book with artwork of every 7" Dylan has ever released. With Christmas (and the end of the year) approaching, the release weeks get deeper and deeper. The new Antony and the Johnsons EP, Another World, is a wonderful teaser for the band's new album. Other new music releases I can strongly recommend include Castanets' City of Refuge, Deerhoof's Offend Maggie, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons' Inside The Human Body, Her Space Holiday's XOXO, Panda and The New Kid Revival, Jolie Holland's The Living and the Dead, Juana Molina's Un Dia, Kate Gaffney's The Coachman, Lambchop's OH (ohio), Land of Talk's Some Are Lakes, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's Not Animal, Marnie Stern's This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That, Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul, Rachael Yamagata's Teeth Sinking Into Heart, and The Streets' Everything Is Borrowed. What a wonderful week to be an indie music fan... As unique a Christmas album as will be released this year is Julian Koster's Singing Saw at Christmastime (and yes, the Music Tapes' founder does play a singing saw on the album). More traditional holiday albums this week come from George Strait, Mannheim Steamroller, and the rockabilly renditions of the Brian Setzer Orchestra's The Ultimate Christmas Collection. Four Black Sabbath remastered albums head up the reissue list this week: Dehumanizer, Heaven & Hell, Live Evil, Mob Rules (all available on vinyl as well as CD). Two Brian Eno/Robert Fripp collaborations are reissued this week, Evening Star, No Pussyfooting, along with MF Doom's MF Doom: Operation Doomsday. What new releases have you excited? This week's interesting CD releases: Agathe Max: This Silver String also at Largehearted Boy: previous CD & DVD release lists tags: music cd list indie album releases This Week's Interesting DVD Releases (October 7th, 2008)
6 Oct 2008 at 10:11am
The eleventh season of The Simpsons hits store shelves tomorrow. Fans of the show are often split about when the series peaked, but any season that includes the brilliant "Tomacco" and "Missionary: Impossible" episodes deserves a spot in my media library, Other television releases worth checking out include Speed Racer: The Complete Classic Series Collection (which comes in a metal car-like case), the adorable Tina Fey in the second season of 30 Rock, the third season of How I Met Your Mother, and the third season of Robot Chicken. Feature film Boy A is one of the most impressive dramatic films I have seen all year. Paranoid Park and Tom McCarthy's The Visitor were also critically well-received and are high in my rental queue. In case you didn't download it legally, Michael Moore's latest film, Slacker Uprising arrives on DVD tomorrow. The documentary I most look forward to is Indyfans and the Quest for Fortune and Glory which explores the fan community of the Indiana Jones film series. Music releases include a 1988 Big Country Moscow concert and the Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1976-1979 (also available individually), What are you adding to your Netflix queue from this week's DVD releases? This week's interesting DVD releases::
also at Largehearted Boy: previous CD & DVD release lists tags: music movies dvd list indie film Shorties (Ryan Adams, Girl Talk, and more)
6 Oct 2008 at 9:04am
Neal Casal talks to the Des Moines Register about the new Ryan Adams and the Cardinals album, Cardinology. "I think this record will be the turning point where fans will really get comfortable with the change," Casal said. "They're still getting all the personality and dynamics he brings, just under a different name. He's in a strong place now that he has a gang, friends and somewhat of a family." Pitchfork interviews Gregg Gillis of Girl Talk. Pitchfork: What about the role of irony in your music, if there is any? What is your actual relationship to the tracks you draw from? Which of them you think, "Oh, this is amazing; this is genius," which of them you think, "This is silly," and which of them you think, "This is a cheesy guilty pleasure." GG: At this point I feel like I've graduated beyond guilty pleasures. I sample everything on this because I like it. Going back to my high school band experience, the bitter teenage years, back then I would sample the music almost to mess it up. Even on the first Girl Talk album, I don't want to say I was approaching it ironically, but I was taking songs that I maybe didn't listen to as much, like [Joan Osborne's] "One of Us", and completely mangling it. But [now], that's not really interesting to me. Pitchfork interviews Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne about his film, Christmas on Mars. Pitchfork: So, tell me about this movie you guys are finally putting out. I guess the big question is, what took you so long? WC: [Laughing] Probably a combination of things. But I think the worst thing that delayed it was really not anything that was bad. I call it "being interrupted by success." You know, we had done The Soft Bulletin, which came out in 1999, and we knew we that were gonna make another record before too long. But in between this, we were still in this mode of kind of just-- not re-creating what we could be, but kind of doing different things. For the longest time in the Flaming Lips we were like, "Make a record, go on tour. Come back, make another record," and you know, I think, frankly, we were kind of like, "There's more to life than just recording records and going on tour." And we thought that if we wanted to do different stuff, we would. So, I think I thought, "Well, why don't we make a movie." Glide Magazine interviews Calexico's Joey Burns. On future collaboration with Iron & Wine's Sam Beam, who sings on "House of Valparaiso": "No real plans right now, but for him, the invitation is always open. I know he's got a ton of projects but he's an amazing musician and writer and painter, and also a great arranger. When I was in Austin some time back we had dinner and celebrated his youngest daughter's first birthday and I told him "If you're interested, I have a couple of songs and would love to have you add some vocals." And "House of Valparaiso" was an easy fit for him?his vocals are so rich and such a wide spread that if he adds three vocals it sounds like six people. He adds so much, and I love that." The New Yorker features new short fiction by Yiyun Li, ?Gold Boy, Emerald Girl.? PopMatters interviews Nellie McKay. The New York Times examines the use of video games to lure children to reading. Five Chapters is serializing the first chapter of a novel-in-progress by Ted Heller. Keane is streaming its new album, Perfect Symmetry (out October 14th), at last.fm. The Grand Rapids Press reviews recently published rock and roll books. We Make Zines is a "place for zinesters - writers and readers." The blogger behind Condemned to Rock 'n Roll has posted his graduate thesis online, "Does NME even know what a music blog is?: The rhetoric and social meaning of MP3 blogs." MakeUseOf.com lists the best sites to get free e-books. Mike Smith (founder of the excellent UK mp3 blog Nothing But Green Lights) has joined the team at The Morning News writing a regular music column. Neil Gaiman talks to Minnesota Public Radio about the inspiration behind his new novel, The Graveyard Book. also at Largehearted Boy: daily mp3 downloads tags: music books popculture indie news Daily Downloads (Mercury Rev, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, and more)
6 Oct 2008 at 8:02amToday's free and legal mp3 downloads: Hush Arbors: "Follow Closely" [mp3] from Hush Arbors (out October 21st) Marcio Local: "Samba Sem Nenhum Problema" [mp3] from Luaka Bop's 3 Inches of Music Series (LBOP-3003) (out October 14th) Mercury Rev: free and legal Strange Attractor album [mp3]* The Organ: "Let the Bells Ring" [mp3] from Thieves (out October 14th) Religious Knives: "Downstairs" [mp3] from The Door Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt: "Fast Forward Regrets" [mp3] from Luaka Bop's 3 Inches of Music Series (LBOP-3001) (out October 14th) Rockwells: "Microkorg" [mp3] from Place & Time (out December 2nd) TK Webb & the Visions: "Closed Captioned Slang" [mp3] from Ancestor Yonlu: "I Know What It's Like" [mp3] from Luaka Bop's 3 Inches of Music Series (LBOP-3002) (out October 14th) Today's free and legal recordings of live shows, rarities, and demos available via bittorrent: Bob Dylan: 1997-08-31, Kansas City [ntsc dvd]* Broken Family Band: 2008-10-04, Vienna [flac]* Bruce Springsteen: 2008-10-04, Philadelphia [flac]* Jason Isbell: 2008-10-04, Muscle Shoals [flac]* Leonard Cohen: 2008-10-04, Berlin [flac]* Lucinda Williams: 2008-10-03, New York [flac]* Neil Young: 2008-06-22, Firenze [pal dvd]* Okkervil River: 2008-08-09, Haldern [pal dvd]* Old 97's: 2008-10-03, Carrboro [flac]* REM: 2008-10-01, Madrid [flac]* *registration required also at Largehearted Boy: previous mp3 and bittorrent downloads 2008 Lollapalooza downloads Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases) tags: music download indie mp3 bittorrent 30 Down, 22 To Go "Potential" (52 Books, 52 Weeks)
5 Oct 2008 at 11:17pm
Potential is subtitled, "The High School Comic Chronicles of Ariel Schrag," and captures the cartoonist in a brutally honest fashion during the emotionally challenging time of young adulthood. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this graphic novel is that it is an actual memoir, drawn and written by Ariel Schrag while she was in high school. The emotion and drama of falling in love, finding out who you really are, and what you love is tangible in this book, as is the heartbreak and awkwardness of growing up. For one month, enter the coupon code "LHB001" at Atomic Books and receive 15% off this title. My next book is Armegeddon in Retrospect, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. also at Largehearted Boy: 52 Books, 52 Weeks (2008 Edition) tag: books nonfiction thoreau graphicnovel comics Shorties (Robert Pollard, Pretenders, and more)
5 Oct 2008 at 9:57am
Robert Pollard talks to the Chicago Sun-Times about his songwriting and collage artwork. The reason it works, Pollard said, is because he doesn't approach anything he does as a conventional songwriter. "I consider myself a collage artist," he said. That claim is now validated by the publication of Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard (Fantagraphics Books), a 141-page hardcover book collecting more than two decades of Pollard's collage work, an art form he learned much like a child would: by gluing together images torn from vintage magazines to create unexpected visuals embedded with political undertones and comic jabs. The Guardian calls for the west to publish more Chinese literature. Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show talks to the Tennessean about the inspiration behind the band's new album, Tennessee Pusher. "This record is certainly full of messed-up dudes with bloody gums, and people selling their babies for food, and people selling their souls for a high," Secor says. "We tried to take a snapshot of the guy down at the bus station and the America that he lives in. The machine that churns out country music is totally removed from the people for whom it was intended. Country music is for busboys and bus riders and hitchhikers and prostitutes. It's for the destitute. It's not for big business, big machines, big sales and big-box stores." Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders talks to the New York Daily News about the band's new album, Break Up the Concrete. "The sound made by that original band [with James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, who both died in the early '80s] has always been the true spirit of the Pretenders," she says. "I lost my two best friends back then. So I feel like I have no choice in the matter. I have to keep this music alive." The Boston Globe profiles author Donald Hall, who has just published his memoir, Unpacking the Boxes: A Memoir of a Life in Poetry. The Salisbury Post attends a reading by Clyde Edgerton, who is also performing music on his book tour. see also: Edgerton's Largehearted Boy Book Notes essay for his latest novel, The Bible Salesman In the New York Daily News, Jim Farber examines the hipness quotient of the soundtrack to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. The Reading Eagle profiles book cover designer and author Chip Kidd. "Even though we are in an art gallery and I love this show," remarks Kidd, "I don't really think of myself as an artist, I think of myself as a graphic designer. I still have to make stuff but in most cases it is somebody else's work of art, which is the book, the prose. The design is the main subject, not me. It's supposed to attract your attention to pick up the book and read it." GamesRadar lists the best videogame storylines ever, NPR's Weekend Edition excerpts from Doris Lessing's new book, Alfred & Emily. At the Chicago Tribune Turn It Up blog, Greg Kot explains vinyl's revival in the iPod age. The Austin American-Statesman interviews cartoonist Art Spiegelman. If you were convinced that the audience would have accepted it, would you have done 'Maus' with the seams showing? I don't think "Maus" would have come into existence if there'd been an audience saying, "Yeah, Spiegelman, you're making it impossible for me to understand! I love stuff I can't understand!" (Laughs.) Prior to starting to work on "Maus" I was interested in communicating emotional states the way paintings and poems might and communicating thought in terms of the diagramming possibilities that comics had. And, you know, there didn't seem to be a lot of people interested in that. They'd much rather hear about Charlie Brown's kite again. And I can't do that kind of comics. also at Largehearted Boy: daily mp3 downloads tags: music books popculture indie news Daily Downloads (Explosions in the Sky, Ryan Adams, and more)
5 Oct 2008 at 8:35amToday's free and legal mp3 downloads: Explosions in the Sky: 2007-03-29, Minneapolis [mp3,ogg,flac] Matt Nathanson: 2008-10-03, Towson [mp3,ogg,flac] Medeski Martin & Wood: "Free Go Lily" [mp3] from Radiolarians I The Midway State: "Never Again" [mp3] from Holes Old School Tie: "Fireflies" [mp3] from Mystery Sound Playground Ryan Adams: 2008-10-02, Indianapolis [mp3,ogg,flac] Smashing Pumpkins: 2007-11-09, Columbia [mp3,ogg,flac] We Are Wolves: "Fight and Kiss" [mp3] Today's free and legal recordings of live shows, rarities, and demos available via bittorrent: Bob Dylan: 2008-05-28, Fyn [flac]* Bon Iver: 2008-09-30, Cologne [flac]* Breeders: 2008-09-03, London [dvd]* Cold War Kids: 2007-06-01, Sydney [flac]* Lush: 1996-05-17, Hollywood [flac]* Noel Gallagher: 2007-03-26, London [flac]* Paul Weller: 2008-10-02, Eindhoven [flac]* Replacements: 1981-01-30, Minneapolis [flac]* Suede: 2002-10-18, Berlin [flac]* *registration required also at Largehearted Boy: previous mp3 and bittorrent downloads 2008 Lollapalooza downloads Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases) tags: music download indie mp3 bittorrent 29 Down, 23 To Go "Thoreau at Walden" (52 Books, 52 Weeks)
4 Oct 2008 at 7:31pm
Thoreau at Walden distills Henry David Thoreau's life and philosophies into a deceptively simple to read graphic novel. John Porcellino's delicate line drawings are as big a part of Thoreau's story as the text, capturing the moments with beauty and charm. Perhaps the book's greatest asset is its varied audience, both children and adults will appreciate this wonderful, slim volume. For one month, enter the coupon code "LHB001" at Atomic Books and receive 15% off this title. My next book is Potential, by Aeriel Schrag. also at Largehearted Boy: 52 Books, 52 Weeks (2008 Edition) tag: books nonfiction thoreau graphicnovel comics Shorties (Sarah Vowell, Fleet Foxes, and more)
4 Oct 2008 at 9:45am
The Wall Street Journal interviews Sarah Vowell about her new book, The Wordy Shipmates. WSJ: You describe the subjects of "The Wordy Shipmates" as "the dreary religious fanatics who founded New England nearly 400 years ago." That's not exactly selling your topic. Ms. Vowell: Really? Who doesn't love a good dreary religious fanatic? I hope I make a case for them as more interesting than that, but there's something about dreary people that's also a crackup. They could be so nitpicky. When Roger Williams and John Cotton get into a pamphlet fight, it's just two people who agree about almost everything bickering until one of them finally dies. It was very high school. I found their human capacity for pettiness and jealousy extremely entertaining. The Boston Herald profiles Fleet Foxes. Pecknold says neither his voice nor his band?s sound are yet where he wants them to be; he?s unhappy with a lot of his vocal takes on the record. But the group is already capable of conjuring hypnotic and ethereal Americana: Think Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and My Morning Jacket on shuffle after an Ambien and acid cocktail. Drowned in Sound interviews Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew. The Vulture lists the best "one crazy night movies" of all time. The Boston Globe offers an illustrated map to locations in the city featured in David Foster Wallace's novel, Infinite Jest. Mario Vargas Llosa talks writing with the Guardian. "When I write, I write with freedom but I need a solid base," he explains. It's a requirement that will see the 72-year-old writer travel to Congo later this year as part of the research for his next novel. The trip will allow him to "get to know the scenery," he explains, "to smell it, to feel it", but above all will give him a "bedrock of security that allows me to invent and to write. I'm not looking for historical precision but for something to shake me out of my insecurity." NPR is streaming a recent performance by Over the Rhine. The Scotsman profiles the multi-faceted actor Michael Cera. Yet Cera seems less like a hot new Hollywood property than a young boho guy exploring his options. He recently got his own apartment in Los Angeles after years in hotels, and he has a short story coming out in McSweeney's, Dave Eggers's literary journal. He talks with something resembling excitement about the band Bishop Allen and the cult comedy series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (though unlike most fans, he has appeared on it). He is finishing the music for Paper Hearts, a partly fictional, partly documentary film about the meaning of love that was written by, and stars, Cera's girlfriend, Charlyne Yi, a comedian who has been compared to Andy Kaufman but is best known as the stoner chick on the couch in Knocked Up. The Los Angeles Times profiles Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. She's angry about mistreatment of animals, the economy and the paving over of small-town America. That last subject inspired the title of the Pretenders' first album in six years, "Break Up the Concrete," which uses a throbbing Bo Diddley beat under Hynde's message advocating the destruction of the substance that's encasing ever more of the planet. | |