THE recent release of "a new literary history of america," has gotten me thinking again about longtime LA writer steve erickson. this fascinating volume, edited by greil marcus and werner sollors, includes a brilliantly counter-intuitive essay by erickson, which manages to wrap thomas jefferson and john adams around the songs of stephen foster. (he was born on the day in 1826 on which those two … [Read more...]
The Glorious Sprawl of Built to Spill
I KNOW i'm not alone in considering built to spill, the boise band that sometimes offers three guitars blaring in a kind of rough counterpoint, to be one of the key bands of the alt-rock heyday of the 90s. unlike a lot of those groups, they've managed to grow in feeling in each record, even if their style has not changed massively in 10 years or so.they are also one of the greatest live bands in … [Read more...]
Lydia Millet vs. Domestic Realism
ONE of the key impulses of my generation -- what we used to call generation x -- has been the move away from old-school psychological realism into fiction's "borderlands." that's michael chabon's term, and he's generally talking about the wild frontier between literary fiction and fantasy, pulp crime, sci-fi, lovecraftian horror and comics. but lydia millet is less interested in those fan-boy … [Read more...]
Italy vs. Rock ‘n’ Roll
Over the last decade or so, france has launched air, phoenix and a whole host of chanteuses including the heavenly keren ann. sweden has given up komeda, the concretes and peter, bjorn and john. ever germany has the scorpions. (for better or worse.)but italy -- for centuries the most aesthetically minded nation in all of christendom -- has never sent a decent rock band into international orbit.i … [Read more...]
Spike Jonze vs. "Where the Wild Things Are"
BY this point, "being john malkovich" is considered one of the masterpieces of the indie-film movement. but when word started to filter down, 10 years ago, about this project by skateboard/ rock video auteur and the then-unknown screenwriter charlie kaufman, it was hard to imagine this working. a film about living inside a celebrity's brain, directed by a kooky guy who had never made a film longer … [Read more...]
Maurice Sendak and "Where the Wild Things Are"
ONE of the fascinating things about literature -- especially popular literature -- is the way it tracks the contours of the society that produces it. which is a fancy way of saying, maurice sendak books like "where the wild things are" not only reflected those churnings in american culture in the late 50s/early 60s, it helped produce what we learned to call "the 60s."sendak, of course, is in the … [Read more...]
John Lennon and "It’s Only Love"
SIXTY-NINE years ago today, one of the greatest artists of the rock era, and my first cultural hero, was born in a hospital on liverpool's oxford street. especially with the madness over the beatles mono and stereo reissues still fresh, john lennon does not need my defense or explication here. i'll just say that i lost most of my elementary school years blasting my parents' beatles records, and … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday to Dune’s Frank Herbert
TODAY is would have been the 89th birthday of frank herbert, the west coast science fiction writer and journalist, best known for "dune," who died in 1986.when "dune" won the best sci-fi novel poll on my blog -- defeating heinlein's "stranger in a strange land," gibson's "neuromancer," and others -- i wrote a bit about the book, which you can find here. i recently reread herbert's novel and found … [Read more...]
Neil Halstead and Mojave 3
ONE of the most undersung men in british rock music turns 39 today -- take a bow neil halstead!halstead has made an unusual transition -- he first became known as leader of the shoegaze combo slowdive in the late 80s... they are sometimes compared to my bloody valentine and ride. that is a wonderful chapter in english rock, but to me he got better with his next band.mojave 3 -- whose name was … [Read more...]
The Delicate Beauty of the Clientele
SOME days my favorite newish british band is the clientele, a group from england's beautiful south who create an eerie, lonely sound rooted in chiming guitars. they are as english as nick drake but also rooted in west coast light psychedelia of the 1960s -- arthur lee and love, the byrds, perhaps the beach boys or mamas and the papas. they have been over-compared to belle & sebastian because of … [Read more...]