Whatcha reading?

[Silent Majority]

26) Stranded: Rock n Roll for a Desert Island - Edited by Griel Marcus. 1979. Paperback. Like any collection of music writing, this book, that asked the white men and few women who were making a living by their pen about rock music what their desert island album would be, has a mixture of life affirming, genius and utter time wasting shit. The former makes up for the latter, easily.

27) Lux in Tenebris - Bertolt Brecht. Paperback, from Collected Plays: One. 1919. The title means Light in Darkness. A cynical little one acter about a man who is using STD education to run a brothel out of business and his nasty motivations once revealed. The translation job is brilliant here, keeping a feel of the time and place with a sense of living, semi-colloquial English. I love the writing.

[Dr. Medulla]

26) Stranded: Rock n Roll for a Desert Island - Edited by Griel Marcus. 1979. Paperback. Like any collection of music writing, this book, that asked the white men and few women who were making a living by their pen about rock music what their desert island album would be, has a mixture of life affirming, genius and utter time wasting shit. The former makes up for the latter, easily.

Presumably Marcus contributes a piece. And just as presumably it’s a record that causes the universe to pause, reorient itself by a heartbeat, and then resume, thereby altering the physics of all existence. Let’s go with Astral Weeks or Blonde on Blonde.

[Silent Majority]

26) Stranded: Rock n Roll for a Desert Island - Edited by Griel Marcus. 1979. Paperback. Like any collection of music writing, this book, that asked the white men and few women who were making a living by their pen about rock music what their desert island album would be, has a mixture of life affirming, genius and utter time wasting shit. The former makes up for the latter, easily.

Presumably Marcus contributes a piece. And just as presumably it’s a record that causes the universe to pause, reorient itself by a heartbeat, and then resume, thereby altering the physics of all existence. Let’s go with Astral Weeks or Blonde on Blonde.

He does not! Christgau does a bit on the New York Dolls debut which I really enjoyed, Nick Tosches (who's bio of Jerry Lee was a lot of rock myth fun) did a bullshit job on Stones' Sticky Fingers. Most of them mentioned Dylan, as someone they considered but dismissed as their choice, but none actually picked one. I had read the piece on Astral Weeks quite a few times in one of the Lester Bangs compilations but my favourites were Ariel Swartley on the Wild Innocent and The E-Street Shuffle and, especially, Ellen Willis on the Velvet Underground.

[Dr. Medulla]

26) Stranded: Rock n Roll for a Desert Island - Edited by Griel Marcus. 1979. Paperback. Like any collection of music writing, this book, that asked the white men and few women who were making a living by their pen about rock music what their desert island album would be, has a mixture of life affirming, genius and utter time wasting shit. The former makes up for the latter, easily.

Presumably Marcus contributes a piece. And just as presumably it’s a record that causes the universe to pause, reorient itself by a heartbeat, and then resume, thereby altering the physics of all existence. Let’s go with Astral Weeks or Blonde on Blonde.

He does not! Christgau does a bit on the New York Dolls debut which I really enjoyed, Nick Tosches (who's bio of Jerry Lee was a lot of rock myth fun) did a bullshit job on Stones' Sticky Fingers. Most of them mentioned Dylan, as someone they considered but dismissed as their choice, but none actually picked one. I had read the piece on Astral Weeks quite a few times in one of the Lester Bangs compilations but my favourites were Ariel Swartley on the Wild Innocent and The E-Street Shuffle and, especially, Ellen Willis on the Velvet Underground.

Huh, well I'll be!

[Silent Majority]

29) Sus - Barrie Keefe. Play, in paperback. 1979. Keefe is best known for his screenplay for the classic British film the Long Good Friday, a work I find essentially flawless. A rewatch of that sent me investigating his other work and this play about a black man who believes he's been brought in under sus, that is, suspicion, by the police on the night Thatcher was elected, caught my eye. It's disgustingly relevant and absolutely true to life.

30) The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol II - Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neil. 2003. Paperback. I loved this as the second edition of a popular, accessible comic book. Moore clearly built up some affection for the character Hyde in the meantime and made him the loveable, unlikely hero of this set. The romantic interlude between Lucy and Quartermain didn't ring true for me, but it's a small stain on a great, fun work. The appearance of Moreau was the absolute highlight for me.

31) Butterfly Brain - Barry Cryer. Audiobook. 2004. A gag man of the old school, ready to drop the names of every professional comedian he ever saw down the pub (and he saw them all), it's hard not to like Cryer. He wrote this in his mid seventies and he managed, by being professional, reliable and likable rather than hilarious, to build a cosy and enviable life of pretty much ple

32) Talking Heads - Alan Bennett. Kindle. 1998. These monologues were written for the TV in the late eighties and nineties. I can react against the affectionate condescension that Alan has for what he likely thinks of as Ordinary People. Bennett's characters aren't allowed to understand their circumstances so I'm ambivalent about his work. The quality is so damn high, there's no stopping reading them but I miss Victoria Wood's - a similar writer - uncomplicated affection for her characters. Alan is a darker writer, more honest in a lot of ways. I was always more in tune with the dessicated glamour of Alan Bennett's long ago collaborator, Peter Cook, from Beyond the Fringe in the sixties, but I could see myself working through his canon. With doggedness rather than cheer, as he might say.

33) James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media - James Acaster. Audiobook. 2022. Not a self help book but a long, shaggy dog story that's a delivery system for Acaster's whimsical nice boy humour. A little like a John Swartzwelder novel in its freewheeling form. Overlong, by at least half, but a good time if broken up properly.

34) Triggers: A Life in Music - Glen Matlock. 2023. Kindle. You can't help but like Glen Matlock. At least, you can't once you've medically removed the worst of John Lydon's poison tongue from your skull's innards. Unlike John, a man he doesn't have much interest in being compared to, Glen isn't a star. He's a hardworking musician with good politics - he mentions the idea of Rotten in a MAGA hat onstage at a potential future Pistols reunion and dismisses it as a fascist symbol - and some interesting stories to tell in an understated, low key kind of way. The conceit of this book is that songs trigger memories and I made a playlist as I went. I liked this, good luck to him. I saw him onstage with Blondie and, as much as his singing voice doesn't connect with me, I hope to see him live in an acoustic setting at some point.

[Dr. Medulla]

34) Triggers: A Life in Music - Glen Matlock. 2023. Kindle. You can't help but like Glen Matlock. At least, you can't once you've medically removed the worst of John Lydon's poison tongue from your skull's innards. Unlike John, a man he doesn't have much interest in being compared to, Glen isn't a star. He's a hardworking musician with good politics - he mentions the idea of Rotten in a MAGA hat onstage at a potential future Pistols reunion and dismisses it as a fascist symbol - and some interesting stories to tell in an understated, low key kind of way. The conceit of this book is that songs trigger memories and I made a playlist as I went. I liked this, good luck to him. I saw him onstage with Blondie and, as much as his singing voice doesn't connect with me, I hope to see him live in an acoustic setting at some point.

Saw him doing the acoustic thing maybe a decade ago. He isn't a commanding presence. Alas and alack and all that.

[Silent Majority]

34) Triggers: A Life in Music - Glen Matlock. 2023. Kindle. You can't help but like Glen Matlock. At least, you can't once you've medically removed the worst of John Lydon's poison tongue from your skull's innards. Unlike John, a man he doesn't have much interest in being compared to, Glen isn't a star. He's a hardworking musician with good politics - he mentions the idea of Rotten in a MAGA hat onstage at a potential future Pistols reunion and dismisses it as a fascist symbol - and some interesting stories to tell in an understated, low key kind of way. The conceit of this book is that songs trigger memories and I made a playlist as I went. I liked this, good luck to him. I saw him onstage with Blondie and, as much as his singing voice doesn't connect with me, I hope to see him live in an acoustic setting at some point.

Saw him doing the acoustic thing maybe a decade ago. He isn't a commanding presence. Alas and alack and all that.

I can believe it. Reasonable fellas are rarely charisma powerhouses.

[Dr. Medulla]

34) Triggers: A Life in Music - Glen Matlock. 2023. Kindle. You can't help but like Glen Matlock. At least, you can't once you've medically removed the worst of John Lydon's poison tongue from your skull's innards. Unlike John, a man he doesn't have much interest in being compared to, Glen isn't a star. He's a hardworking musician with good politics - he mentions the idea of Rotten in a MAGA hat onstage at a potential future Pistols reunion and dismisses it as a fascist symbol - and some interesting stories to tell in an understated, low key kind of way. The conceit of this book is that songs trigger memories and I made a playlist as I went. I liked this, good luck to him. I saw him onstage with Blondie and, as much as his singing voice doesn't connect with me, I hope to see him live in an acoustic setting at some point.

Saw him doing the acoustic thing maybe a decade ago. He isn't a commanding presence. Alas and alack and all that.

I can believe it. Reasonable fellas are rarely charisma powerhouses.

I think that was it. He was just too laid back. I couldn't tell for certain if it was just disinterest, just another stop in the endless tour, but I now think that it's just fundamentally Matlock—a decent guy who enjoys the work but doesn't have the ego to do the star turn.

[Dr. Medulla]

Finished up my big ass re-read of Brubaker/Phillips. My favourite series remains Fatale, which would be a superb tv series. Sleeper has gone down a little in my estimation—it was my first exposure to them, but it feels a little clunky now—but The Fade Out has jumped quite a bit. It was a bit of a shrug for me the first few times, but the romance of noir grabbed me more this time. Kill or Be Killed is still the only series of theirs that just doesn't hit the mark. I'm not even sure what the point of it all is.

Bouncing off The Fade Out, I'm giving this a re-read after about a quarter century:

Dan Moldea, Dark Victory. Was Reagan mixed up with the Mafia back in the old days? Say it ain't so, Ronnie, say it ain't so.

Almost done with Wills' Nixon Agonistes, too. Just a half hour left. Not sure what I'm going to listen to after that.

[revbob]

Finished up my big ass re-read of Brubaker/Phillips. My favourite series remains Fatale, which would be a superb tv series. Sleeper has gone down a little in my estimation—it was my first exposure to them, but it feels a little clunky now—but The Fade Out has jumped quite a bit. It was a bit of a shrug for me the first few times, but the romance of noir grabbed me more this time. Kill or Be Killed is still the only series of theirs that just doesn't hit the mark. I'm not even sure what the point of it all is.

Bouncing off The Fade Out, I'm giving this a re-read after about a quarter century:

Dan Moldea, Dark Victory. Was Reagan mixed up with the Mafia back in the old days? Say it ain't so, Ronnie, say it ain't so.

Almost done with Wills' Nixon Agonistes, too. Just a half hour left. Not sure what I'm going to listen to after that.

I swear I recall Jello mentioning the Reagan/Mob book in one of his spoken word things. Probably the piece "What Reagan Didnt Know"

[Dr. Medulla]

Finished up my big ass re-read of Brubaker/Phillips. My favourite series remains Fatale, which would be a superb tv series. Sleeper has gone down a little in my estimation—it was my first exposure to them, but it feels a little clunky now—but The Fade Out has jumped quite a bit. It was a bit of a shrug for me the first few times, but the romance of noir grabbed me more this time. Kill or Be Killed is still the only series of theirs that just doesn't hit the mark. I'm not even sure what the point of it all is.

Bouncing off The Fade Out, I'm giving this a re-read after about a quarter century:

Dan Moldea, Dark Victory. Was Reagan mixed up with the Mafia back in the old days? Say it ain't so, Ronnie, say it ain't so.

Almost done with Wills' Nixon Agonistes, too. Just a half hour left. Not sure what I'm going to listen to after that.

I swear I recall Jello mentioning the Reagan/Mob book in one of his spoken word things. Probably the piece "What Reagan Didnt Know"

Yup, that's the book. I've also read Moldea's book on RFK's assassination, which, as I recall, goes a long way, exploring all the possible conspiracies, and then concludes, yeah, Sirhan did it all by himself. Which, yup, that's what I think, but it's odd for one of these investigative crime reporters to conclude, "Nothin' to see here, folks."

[Silent Majority]

34) Triggers: A Life in Music - Glen Matlock. 2023. Kindle. You can't help but like Glen Matlock. At least, you can't once you've medically removed the worst of John Lydon's poison tongue from your skull's innards. Unlike John, a man he doesn't have much interest in being compared to, Glen isn't a star. He's a hardworking musician with good politics - he mentions the idea of Rotten in a MAGA hat onstage at a potential future Pistols reunion and dismisses it as a fascist symbol - and some interesting stories to tell in an understated, low key kind of way. The conceit of this book is that songs trigger memories and I made a playlist as I went. I liked this, good luck to him. I saw him onstage with Blondie and, as much as his singing voice doesn't connect with me, I hope to see him live in an acoustic setting at some point.

Saw him doing the acoustic thing maybe a decade ago. He isn't a commanding presence. Alas and alack and all that.

I can believe it. Reasonable fellas are rarely charisma powerhouses.

I think that was it. He was just too laid back. I couldn't tell for certain if it was just disinterest, just another stop in the endless tour, but I now think that it's just fundamentally Matlock—a decent guy who enjoys the work but doesn't have the ego to do the star turn.

Stuff I'd admire and respect as a neighbour or mutual acquaintance is exactly what I don't need from my rockstars. And, honestly, vice versa.

[Silent Majority]

Finished up my big ass re-read of Brubaker/Phillips. My favourite series remains Fatale, which would be a superb tv series. Sleeper has gone down a little in my estimation—it was my first exposure to them, but it feels a little clunky now—but The Fade Out has jumped quite a bit. It was a bit of a shrug for me the first few times, but the romance of noir grabbed me more this time. Kill or Be Killed is still the only series of theirs that just doesn't hit the mark. I'm not even sure what the point of it all is.

Bouncing off The Fade Out, I'm giving this a re-read after about a quarter century:

Dan Moldea, Dark Victory. Was Reagan mixed up with the Mafia back in the old days? Say it ain't so, Ronnie, say it ain't so.

Almost done with Wills' Nixon Agonistes, too. Just a half hour left. Not sure what I'm going to listen to after that.

Well, I had some fun with rappin' RONNIE
Runnin' from the mob, I'm Clyde, he's BONNIE
Horse in my bed, I refused their OFFER
We'll get buried like Jimmy HOFFA

adam_yauch_a_h-300x168.jpg (14.44 KiB) Viewed 315 times

[Dr. Medulla]

Turns out I had the audio version of Dark Victory, so I'm listening to that now. But I'll stick with Moldea and re-read his RFK assassination book for my tub book. I am entering … the Moldea Zone!

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm almost two hours into Dark Victory and am bored silly. Just an endless parade of 1930s music biz figures and mobsters having conversations and making deals. It may be true, but it's a dull story.