paperhaus July 1st, 2007
I’ve become marginally obsessed with the 33 1/3 series, despite the fact that none of their authors seem to be headed to Los Angeles. People, I’m here for you. So I drive a little Honda now — it gets me around as well as when I used to jam econo.
Stick with me for this musical interlude. Enjoy a few nuggets from Largehearted Boy’s booknotes: James P. Othmer recommends Cake’s cover of “I Will Survive”; Min Jin Lee’s list includes “And She Was” by The Talking Heads; and Kara Zuaro is all over Okkervil River’s “Listening to Otis Redding At Home During Christmas.”
About this last: Kara Zuaro has written (compiled?) an indie rock cookbook — I Like Food, Food Tastes Good — featuring recipes from Devenra Banhardt, Calexico, Death Cab for Cutie and Eric Bachmann, who fronted Archers of Loaf and does the killer backing vocals on Spoon’s “I Turn My Camera On.” If you’re thinking you might have seen this on the internet, nope: the book is a whole different creature than the old but still charming cooking with rock stars website.
Another semi-obsession is the WFMU arts-n-culture show The Speakeasy. The June 11 show began with the director and DP of the Chet Baker biopic Let’s Get Lost (Bruce Weber and Jeff Preiss, respectively) and ended with an entirely unconnected interview with author Tom Bissell. Now that’s some music and books for ya.
paperhaus June 16th, 2007
I’m about a month late on this, but I’m terribly sad nonetheless. Sea Level Records in Echo Park is closing. A truly independent record store that supported local bands, Sea Level also featured impeccable musical taste. Now it’ll be gone by the time I get back to LA for the summer, so I can’t run there and help and buy music in its last days.
Imagine if the only place we could shop for music were Border’s ((shudder)). In honor of Sea Level, I’m going to walk up the hill here in Seattle and buy something at an independent record store. Wherever you are, I urge you to do the same.
paperhaus May 19th, 2007
Some elements of a road trip you can plan, some you can’t. Among the latter:
- the price of gas
- inclement weather (15 degrees below average)
- evil, tenacious head cold
- NY weekend warrior traffic, if you’re on the 84 anytime on Friday
- NPR pledge week (noooo!)
On the up side, with the internet, any stranger can make their way through miles of windy, wooded streets to the local coffeeshop, the one with acoustic music on weekend nights, slipcovered couches and hearty espresso. Hooray for Molten Java.
Today’s photo, however, is from a diner yesterday. (more here)
After the jump, my spoiler-ridden take on You Don’t Love Me Yet by Jonathan Lethem.
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paperhaus March 23rd, 2007
The Broadway show Good News spawned the hit song The Varsity Drag. This version was recorded by George Olsen and his Music in August of 1927 with baritone Fran Frey on vocals. It went to #4 on the charts. Down on your heels, up on your toes, everybody!
paperhaus January 3rd, 2007
Some people write fast — Joyce Carol Oates, for example, has written 34 novels since 1964. In her own name, that is — she’s also published 11 pseudonymous novels, dozens of short story collections, a couple of YA and kids books, plus a zillion articles and reviews. Thomas Pynchon is not a fast writer: he got started a year earlier and has written just seven books. Seems like quality and speed aren’t really connected.
Case in point, as music producer Rick Rubin tells Esquire:
I was talking to Leonard Cohen, and he was saying it takes him typically three years to write a song. And he said that once he was having a conversation with Bob Dylan, comparing songs of each other’s that they liked. And Bob said, “Well, how long did it take to write ‘Hallelujah’?” And Leonard said, “Three years.” And then he asked Bob, “How long did it take you to write ‘I and I’?” And Bob said, “Fifteen minutes.”
paperhaus December 26th, 2006
Woodstock Festival, 1999. James Brown kicks off the festivities with backup singers dressed likes mermaids, a bit of crazytalk and a whole lotta exacting showmanship. He sang “Sex Machine,” “I Feel Good,” and covered “Foxy Lady” in a nod to Jimi Hendrix. I was there for Woodstock.com, and it was my birthday. Sweet.
The Godfather of Soul was a brilliant artist who changed the course of American music. He was also a madman who was doing PCP at 54 and who knows what else for how long, all the while performing like a master. He died yesterday; now we’ll never have a funky president.
paperhaus December 12th, 2006
Hey kids - it’s time to go through your records. An original Velvet Underground acetate, masquerading as a humble LP, just went for $155,401 on ebay.
What did the owners do? “I immediately took the needle off the record, and realized that we had something special,” Isaacson wrote. Then they “photographed the album, made a digital backup copy of the music, and decided to put it up for auction.” Not sure how one makes a backup digital copy without playing the record. But anyway.
Fonzie, baby. The Fonzarelli slide. All that and more in my collection. Aaaaaayyyyyy.
paperhaus November 16th, 2006
How about the Plug independent music awards, nominated by blogger-types and voted on by, well, me? And you, if you like. And if you like The Hold Steady, Silversun Pickups, Cat Power, Beirut, Grizzly Bear or Joanna Newsom, you’ll like it a lot.
paperhaus October 26th, 2006
A moment of silence for Sandy West, the drummer of The Runaways, who died this week of cancer. Or perhaps, more appropriate, a moment of loud thrashy enthusiastic percussion.
paperhaus October 22nd, 2006
Nevertheless good things are afoot. For example:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s editorializes that Senator Rick Santorum is “the worst of Washington”, endorses rival Bob Casey. It’s the paper’s most-emailed story of the week.
Ed Champion reviews Lisey’s Story, Stephen King’s latest, in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Doesn’t like it much. Steve Almond comes to much the same conclusion over at the LA Times.
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road tops the LA Times’ SoCal bestseller list, clocks in at #7 on the NY Times’. Three cheers for readers in LA!
The Walkmen’s newest is a complete remake of the Henry Nilsson/John Lennon record Pussy Cats, and LosAnjealous scores an excellent (read: atypical) interview.
Kiss Wilco without asking, get a knuckle sandwich. “It’s scary when people come up when you’re trying to sing your heart out,” Jeff Tweedy explains. I love it when sweet-voiced rockers get angry.
Back to sad: Lou Barlow remembers Elliott Smith, includes snapshot of Elliott with Jeff Buckley — both gone now.