Looking for Books #3: Summer Reading, Nonfiction Style

Many of you are undoubtedly planning some sort of summer getaway, whether it be to the beach, the city, or the country. Having a literary traveling companion is a must for me, especially if I'm flying somewhere. If you're of a like mind, here are a few engaging nonfiction reads that won't put a lot of stress on your brain cells:

• 40 Watts from Nowhere - Sue Carpenter. Carpenter runs a pirate radio station out of her LA apartment. That station, KBLT, garners a cult following and soon attracts celebrity guest DJ's until the FCC catches up with Carpenter. A picture of what life would be like in a world without Clear Channel.
  
• Electroboy - Andy Behrman. Behrman's memoir recounts his fight against bipolar disorder. He offers a probing look at the disorder's effects on his life, particularly at the wildly compulsive (and sometimes shocking) acts the disease pushed him to commit.
• The Miracle of Castel di Sangro - Joe McGinniss. Crime novelist McGinniss, having fallen in love with soccer during the 1994 World Cup, spends a season with a rural Italian soccer team. A story of "the little soccer team that could," mixed with intrigue worthy of one of McGinniss's crime novels.

As seen in INtake

The other blog to which I contribute, Hoosier Beer Geek, was featured as part of the cover story in this week's INtake. Many thanks to Jim Walker for the great piece that he wrote on us and the finer points of beer. It's wonderful to see beer being recognized as possessing as much character and depth as wine. I also strongly encourage you to read Jim's other column from this week's edition, in which he notes that it would do us staid Hoosiers some cultural good to try new things.

Lyrics in Focus #4: "(These are the) Good Old Days" (2007)

A few days ago, my friend Bryan and I were kvetching about the state of music today, particularly about the type of music that mp3 blogs specialize in--that ubiquitous but semi-amorphous musical category, "indie rock." These sorts of conversations happen when, like us, you're approaching forty but you still somewhat pathetically cling to the last modicum of your youth by making sure you keep abreast of what's happening in music today. Sad, I know, but I can't help that it's true (and yes, I am excited about the new White Stripes album). Besides, what's the alternative--listening to the radio? No thank you.

Anyway, Bryan and I both agreed that the proliferation of mp3 blogs makes it nearly impossible to keep up with all of the new music being released every week. We also agreed that the type of indie rock these blogs promote has become homogeneous. Same old same old, you know? What really rankles me is that some of these artists take themselves so seriously, almost to the point of self-parody. Isn't fun what good music is all about?

So I've been hunting for fun music. What's more, I've been looking for music that is not only fun, but innovative as well.

Enter Josh Dolgin, the Canadian musician better known as Socalled. Last week, Socalled released his second album, Ghettoblaster, on the consistently excellent JDub label (once home to Matisyahu). Ghettoblaster contains Socalled's unique melding of hip-hop, soul, Balkan gypsy music, traditional klezmer, and calypso. Socalled even throws down rhymes in Yiddish. Further, the album has to feature one of the most diverse rosters of guest artists, from underground rapper C-Rayz Walz to octogenarian actor and Yiddish folk singer Theodore Bikel to Montreal country singer Katie Moore.

While this mix sounds like it would be a musical disaster, it works well--astoundingly well. And even when Socalled slips into social criticism, he still does it only half-seriously. Take, for example, the second track on the album, "(These are the) Good Old Days." In this song, Socalled takes a clever lyrical swipe at modern Western culture:

One, two, one two ready go!

These are the good old days
La la la la la, la la la la la

My God’s gonna kick your god’s ass
You’re too dumb and I’m the head of the class
Stop waitin’ around for something better
The boys think it’s better the tighter the sweater
F*** it, take what’s hers, don’t sweat it
You can own it all, just pay on credit
Two to the left then four to the right
You’ve got to fight for your right to fight

Forever never better than late
Sharpen up blades to obfuscate
You can own it all right now, why wait?
Eat what’s on your plate then eat the plate
Say what you can while you’re still allowed to
Every silver lining’s got its cloud too

These are the good old days
La la la la la, la la la la la
These are the good old days
La la la la la, la la la la la

Truly these are the good old days
Where man, woman, and child can log onto the Internet and text message each other across their own house
Where there is any form of contraceptive from solid to liquid to gas
We have reached the point of civilization like the Incans reached when they had gold roads and the Egyptians reached when they had, like, magical buildings and secret things
So, what you do is you go kiss whoever you kiss, grab whatever you grab
Because these truly are the good old days and it does not get any better than this
And when it does you wake up and you’re dead

These are the good old days
Na na na na na, na na na na na
These are the good old days
Na na na na na, na na na na na

These are the good old days
Na na na na na, na na na na na
These are the good old days
Na na na na na, na na na na na

My dog’s gonna sniff your dog’s ass
I’m too dumb and you’re the head of the class
Stop waitin’ round for something better
The boys think it’s better the tighter the sweater
F*** it, take what’s hers, don’t sweat it
You can own it all, just pay on credit
Two to the left then four to the right
You’ve got to fight for your right to fight

Forever never better than late
Salivate, never satiate
You can own it all right now, why wait?
Eat what’s on your plate then eat the plate
Say what you can while you’re still allowed to
Every silver lining has its cloud too

These are the good old days
Na na na na na, na na na na na
(C’mon now)
These are the good old days
Na na na na na, na na na na na …

Socalled conveys these lyrics over a rollicking klezmer beat, backed by Moore's silky vocals and occasional interjections by a choir of schoolchildren. It is this addictive song that sets the tone for the whole album, which is ripe for repeated listening by the listener just to catch all of the album's layered nuances.

Check out the song for yourself.

"(These are the) Good Old Days" mp3

Sample more tracks from Ghettoblaster at L.A. Weekly. Highly recommended is "Ich Bin a Border by Mayn Vayb," which is the third track provided for listening and which features 92-year-old lounge legend Irving Fields.

Happy Fathers Day

Congratulations to my fellow beer geeks Chris and Jason for being recognized as first-rate fathers.

Yesterday, I brainstormed to name the one literary father that all dads should emulate. After mulling over the possible choices, I nominate the rare dad who was on a first-name basis with his children:


Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Why Atticus Finch? For those few who have never read Harper Lee's classic novel, the reasons are simple. Atticus stood for--and taught--his children moral values that, for some reason, get buried in today's American culture while many who claim to have "family values" focus instead on bitterly divisive "moral" issues. Atticus practiced and taught his children the virtues of peace, humility, and helping those who are less fortunate than we are. Simple values, yes, but also the most important for humankind.

"I have to pee like a racehorse."

Time to veer into the world of the disgusting...

How many times did you hear this expression in high school or college? If you hung out with the same sort of people that I did--drunken fraternity guys who drank lots of cheap beer--then you heard it a lot. In case you've ever lain awake in the early morning hours wondering where the expression came from, Slate's Explainer has your answer.

The Van That Thought Out Loud

I stopped into Mo'Joe Coffeehouse on the way to the office today to pick up a cup of decaf. After getting my cup of "no fun" (as one of my friends likes to call it), I went over to the area of the coffeehouse where they put event flyers and the like. Sitting there was this intriguing postcard with the photograph posted above. On the back was this message:

The Van That Thought Out Loud is a roaming billboard for your ideas, expressions, thoughts and intentions. It is yours, a vehicle for you the individual to rant or whine, be profound or idiotic, wild or lame. It's just this easy...

First, email your post to the vehicle along with your name, birthdate and present location to thevanthatthoughtoutloud@gmail.com.

Second, wait. I will post a list of names with dates when their phrases will be on the van for all to witness.

Third, wait again (see, you really don't have to do anything) for the image of your thought spelled on the van to be posted for all the world (who can log online) to see.

What are you waiting for?

I don't know whether to call this "installation art" or something else. Be that as it may, photographs of the van will apparently be posted here.

The curious history of church signs

Slate has a piece on the history of church signs that is very much worth the read.

And sorry for the slight blogging hiatus. Work deadlines, you know. That, and writing beer reviews.