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| From | Judith Beeman <beeman@istar.ca> |
| Subject | a few good MUSICAL READS |
| Date | Mon, 02 Aug 2004 11:52:54 -0700 |
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It's BC DAY here today in my Province. There's something about the
libraries being closed that makes me salivate for a good book. Here's a
few of my summer picks, one just ordered from the library.
Any other good reads out there?
But first: Here's the other stuff I've been reading (well, listening to
mostly being an audio book addict). I've just finished the fourth volume
of the terrific Western Berrybender series by Larry McMurtry. Want some
old west comedy, drama, a zillion deaths and romance without the
coldness of Cormac McCarthy? Look no further McMurtry uh rocks. I also
am just finishing the new Carl Hiaasen, Skinny Dip (cover art by Charles
Burns) and he's just as great as evah.
THE OTHER LIFE OF BRIAN by Graham Parker has turned out to be my
surprise summer read. I think it's terrific, not so the Amazon reviewers
below, the kind of book I've been turning back to over the past 4 weeks
(I'll likely renew it for a third round being such a slower reader...I'm
savouring it). I haven't read CARP FISHING ON VALIUM Parker's first book
which introduces us to ex-Soulbilly rocker Brian Porker, but will likely
get to that next. The book is so over-the-top that it works. The
descriptions of the 'egg shape headed' fellow from Slade are priceless.
FROM AMAZON: Few authors are as qualified as British singer-songwriter
Parker (formerly the front man for the Rumour) to explore the fate of a
one-hit wonder after the glow of fame fades away, but Parker's second
novel (after The Great Trouser Mystery) is an erratic, overwritten
account of a has-been rock star's tours to such unlikely locales as
Sweden, Greenland and Tasmania. Brian Porker is Parker's musical alter
ego-a cynical, middle-aged former front man for the Soulbilly Shakers,
who lives in Vermont in idyllic semiretirement with his wife. When the
royalties from Porker's cheeky '70s hit single about having sex while
standing up begin to fizzle out, Porker's scurrilous agent, Tarquin
Steed, convinces him to tour some backwater locations to boost his cash
flow. The tour gets off to a bizarre start: Porker is approached by a
Baha'i religious leader, and her followers track him throughout the
novel after they notice his physical resemblance to their founder.
Meanwhile, the Swedish leg of the tour is a qualified success, and
Porker finds himself signed on for follow-up ventures to Tasmania and
Greenland. The strained musical scenes are desultory, and Parker adds a
silly subplot (Porker and his quirky soundman, Carruthers, acquire a
rare marsupial dog coveted by a wealthy English nobleman). Parker pens a
few funny chapters, but his florid, overblown writing requires the
underpinning of a more compelling plot, and while Porker is a solid
character, he's not up to carrying the novel.
I've just ordered LIT RIFFS: WRITERS 'COVER' THE SONGS THEY LOVE from my
local branch (newly aquired I'll get if first). It sounds great. Info
below. I see Amazon has used copies going for $7.50 and up. Beats
watching a movie of musicians smoking and drinking coffee?
FROM AMAZON:
Following in the footsteps of the late great Lester Bangs -- the most
revered and irreverent of rock 'n' roll critics -- twenty-four
celebrated writers have penned stories inspired by great songs. Just as
Bangs cast new light on a Rod Stewart classic with his story "Maggie
May," about a wholly unexpected connection between an impressionable
young man and an aging, alcoholic hooker, the diverse, electrifying
stories here use songs as a springboard for a form dubbed the lit riff.
Alongside Bangs's classic work, you'll find stories by J.T. LeRoy, who
puts a recovering teenage drug abuser in a dentist's chair with nothing
but the Foo Fighters's "Everlong" -- blaring through the P.A. -- to
fight the pain; Jonathan Lethem, whose narrator looks back on his lost
innocence just as an extramarital affair careens to an end -- this to
the tune "Speeding Motorcycle" as recorded by Yo La Tengo; and Jennifer
Belle, who envisions a prequel to Paul Simon's "Graceland" -- one that
takes place at a children's birthday party replete with a real live
kangaroo.
With original contributions from Tom Perrotta, Nelson George, Amanda
Davis, Lisa Tucker, Aimee Bender, Darin Strauss, and many more --
riffing on everyone from Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen to the White
Stripes, Cat Power, and Bob Marley -- this is both an astounding
collection of short stories and an extraordinary experiment in words and
music.
regards, Judith
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