29

You can stream Ryan Adams' new album 29 here. Sweet.

Bought a House

Bought a house
I bought a house
Look at me

I bought a house

(today's post inspired by Art Brut's "Formed a Band"...and by my new house)

Book #50

In case you're wondering I chose Ernest Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls for the prestigious slot as book #50 on my 2005 reading list. Why? You got me. I was going to pick something clever with 'fifty' in the title but that turned out to be too difficult. Ultimately I guess I chose this one because 1) it's been on my shelf for a while 2) it's an epic 460 pages and 3) I thought reading a classic would be a nice way to cap off my quest.

So far it's been well worth the quarter I spent for it at a local booksale. The copy I have is an old paperback library book that was discarded by Shorewood High School (Go Thunderbirds!). Apparently high school students don't read Hemingway anymore, because judging by the card in the front it looks like only one student ever chose to check it out (kudos to you Alicia Taggart).

eBay Dress Dude...He's Baaaaack

Remember that guy who posed in his ex-wife's wedding dress and posted it for sale on eBay? Well it turns out he's written a "book" (or is that "written" a book?). Much to my surprise, tonight while I was sitting in the ol' Barnes and Noble working my way through book #50 he showed up to do a reading. Oh and you'll never guess what he wearing...okay maybe you will guess...yup, that frickin' wedding dress. Is it just me or are people's 15 minutes getting longer these days? Whither thou Bubb Rubb?

15,000 Hits

Today I got my 15,000th hit since my blog went live last December! In your face space shuttle (which you will note got a big head start by going live in April 1983).

A Cow In Every Pot

It's election day, don't forget to vote*!

I may have to write this guy in, he's a modern day Herbie Hoover.

* - offer not valid in Florida or Ohio.

Voting Is Hot

Okkervil Live

This site has a few live Okkervil River shows for download (the KEXP one is in mp3 everything else is FLAC). Checka-checka-check 'em out.

“You make about one-tenth what the headliner makes. You load in and see that the headliner has smoked salmon with capers and a sushi spread and a bottle of sake in their dressing room, and the promoter forgot your 24 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. You get no soundcheck. You’re not allowed to play at the same volume as the headlining band. The audience is made up almost entirely of kids who just want you to get the hell off stage. But it’s helped us a lot.” -- Will Sheff on being an opening band

Anton Newcombe Rules

The November issue of Harp has a short interview with Anton Newcombe that cracked me up.

"HARP: Is it important for you to be understood?

NEWCOMBE: That would depend on the context of your question. If I was speaking to a doctor, for instance, and describing a medical condition, I would surely want to be understood. On the other hand, if I was creating a secret code, depending on the situation, then I would hope that certain people would not understand anything."

Oh and if you think Anton is interesting in this interview, you should check him out in DIG!, an excellent documentary which follows him and his band Brian Jonestown Massacre as they do battle with The Dandy Warhols. Dude is crazy!

Snow White

Book #49 of my 2005 reading list was Snow White by Donald Barthelme.

This one wasn't really what I was expecting. I knew it was supposed to be an experimental novel reimagining Snow White, but for some reason I was expecting the story to just be a straightforward retelling of the classic fable updated to a modern setting. Instead Barthelme uses a poetic writing style somewhere on the complexity continuum between James Joyce and William Burroughs. It's a very imaginative and unique book, but not a very accessible one.

Since I was ignorantly expecting more of a straightforward story I plowed through the book pretty quickly. In retrospect it's definitely the type of book that's meant to be savored, re-read, and analyzed line by line. I don't generally have the patience for that (also see 'Reasons Why Jamie Doesn't Read Poetry'), but if you do you may enjoy this one. Barthleme's reputation as a writer's writer didn't come from nowhere. As for me, I think I'm going to give 60 Stories a try and see if it's more my style.

You can read a brief excerpt from Snow White here.