Whatcha reading?

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Bankrobber
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Bankrobber »

Pretty grim, Doc.
I'm so punk, I don't even take my leather jacket off when it catches fire. Which it does frequently, because of how fucking punk I am.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Bankrobber wrote:
05 Nov 2019, 9:41pm
Pretty grim, Doc.
It's marvellous satire, set in a fictional English community that is stuck in the 1970s and under the thumb of welfare state totalitarianism and Satanic powers, but this collection seems less wryly cynical than despairing. Trump and Brexit, I wonder, have taken the playfulness (dark as it was) from the project. It's still incredibly effective in technique and effect but any laughter is seriously muted now.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

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78) Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, And Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton - Howard Reich. Kindle. A brilliant story of the dude who, the author argues convincingly, pretty much invented jazz and then later died in penury. What I found especially compelling was a well written portrait of a genius artist at work. I read this for research as a character in my novel comes from the same place and was the same age as Jelly Roll, but I'd recommend the book as beautiful on its own terms.
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 1:20pm
78) Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, And Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton - Howard Reich. Kindle. A brilliant story of the dude who, the author argues convincingly, pretty much invented jazz and then later died in penury. What I found especially compelling was a well written portrait of a genius artist at work. I read this for research as a character in my novel comes from the same place and was the same age as Jelly Roll, but I'd recommend the book as beautiful on its own terms.
I'm for sure gonna read this.

I just finished reading Macbeth (this guy Billy Shakes knows his way around a phrase, imho) and am now reading that new book on Manson. Just started it, so can't confirm how much of it I buy.
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Marky Dread wrote:
01 Nov 2019, 11:33am
Dr Medulla...

Here you go as promised.
Shirt arrived and looks great. Thanks again for fixing it up!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Bedtime book:
Image
One of those books I've just never gotten around to reading.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Flex
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Flex »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 2:48pm
Bedtime book:
Image
One of those books I've just never gotten around to reading.
I remember reading this back in high school and thought it was really interesting - I can't recall if it puts forth an aggressive enough thesis for your taste in these sorts of books - but as a historical telling of music scenes I knew very, very little of it was pretty interesting to me.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 2:58pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 2:48pm
Bedtime book:
Image
One of those books I've just never gotten around to reading.
I remember reading this back in high school and thought it was really interesting - I can't recall if it puts forth an aggressive enough thesis for your taste in these sorts of books - but as a historical telling of music scenes I knew very, very little of it was pretty interesting to me.
The early going suggests that it's very breezy, very popular history, so I'm not expecting an argument (beyond "deejays are important"). I'm reading this one for entertainment and maybe future lecture ideas.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 2:47pm
Marky Dread wrote:
01 Nov 2019, 11:33am
Dr Medulla...

Here you go as promised.
Shirt arrived and looks great. Thanks again for fixing it up!
Nice one mate. Glad to be able to help. :approve:
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 2:48pm
Bedtime book:
Image
One of those books I've just never gotten around to reading.
I picked up "Our Band Could Be Your Life" on your rec, and will be reading it after this weird French book on Massive Attack, Tricky's autobio that just came out, and John Doe's second book on LA punk.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Kory wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 5:50pm
I picked up "Our Band Could Be Your Life" on your rec, and will be reading it after this weird French book on Massive Attack, Tricky's autobio that just came out, and John Doe's second book on LA punk.
Hmmm, didn't know he'd written a second one. I'm dl-ing the audio version and will slot that right after the Westlake novel I'm listening to.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Silent Majority »

Flex wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 1:43pm
Silent Majority wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 1:20pm
78) Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, And Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton - Howard Reich. Kindle. A brilliant story of the dude who, the author argues convincingly, pretty much invented jazz and then later died in penury. What I found especially compelling was a well written portrait of a genius artist at work. I read this for research as a character in my novel comes from the same place and was the same age as Jelly Roll, but I'd recommend the book as beautiful on its own terms.
I'm for sure gonna read this.
As usual, getting a bit of context allowed me a way into the music, let me realise how exciting it is.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Kory
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Re: Whatcha reading?

Post by Kory »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 6:15pm
Kory wrote:
07 Nov 2019, 5:50pm
I picked up "Our Band Could Be Your Life" on your rec, and will be reading it after this weird French book on Massive Attack, Tricky's autobio that just came out, and John Doe's second book on LA punk.
Hmmm, didn't know he'd written a second one. I'm dl-ing the audio version and will slot that right after the Westlake novel I'm listening to.
It just came out this summer, I believe.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

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Re: Whatcha reading?

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79) William Howard Taft - Jeffrey Rosen. Kindle. I'd pretty much nailed down Taft from Edmund Morris' amazingly in depth Roosevelt trilogy and Doris Goodwin Kearns's dual bio of the pair as part of her book on muckraking journalism. But I hadn't read a Taft biography so the President Project brainworms wouldn't let this be. Taft was a contemptible colonial toad in the Phillipines and a strict constitutionalist as President. This book, written by a Republican who distrusts Trump, posits Taft's time on the Supreme Court as the kind of redemption our protagonist himself viewed it as. I don't see it - he continued to look after the big business interests. You get a good sense of the dude, admirable in such a short book. This is the penultimate book in my longrunning (started 2014) frankly pointless project to read at least one biography of every American President. Just got Warren G Harding and then it's all done. Wrapped up.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Whatcha reading?

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Silent Majority wrote:
11 Nov 2019, 10:18am
Just got Warren G Harding and then it's all done. Wrapped up.
I've read one book on Harding, an older one called The Available Man. Read it in the late 80s, so I can't offer an opinion on its value, but if you're having trouble finding a Harding bio, there you go.

(I have a bit of a soft spot for Harding in that he was a bit of an amiable dunce who rose on his good looks and desire and ability to please. That is, he wasn't actively malicious, but a willing dupe (tho he was undoubtedly a racist and a womanizer, but hardly unique in that regard). And he never had a false impression of himself, admitting that he wasn't fit to be president and never should have even been nominated let alone be elected. Years later, Arthur Schlesinger Jr said that Harding was fondly remembered by millions as the worst president in the history of the republic.)
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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