MUSICAL DISCOVERIES
Ali Love: Mr. Love has been encouraging me to throw my bone up to the sun for years, in his turn as Chemical Brothers vocalist. Now he is breaking out on his own. Hed Kandi brought his infectious killer solo effort "Diminishing Returns" to my attention a few months ago. Then MixMag directed my ears to his second single, "Love Harder," which is currently rocking my headphones with a Jake Shears-esque vocal full of sex and longing. Plus, the Bottin remix of "Smoke & Mirrors" has me pumped to hit the dance floor. I can't wait to see what other goodies Ali Love has on offer when his full album is released later this year.
Holy Ghost!: Holy Ghost! isn't exactly a *discovery* as I've been listening too "Hold On" for ages. I have tried to recall how I originally found out about these talented guys and I can't quite place it, but it can surely be chocked up to their DFA affiliation, though on the other hand I feel like they may have preceded my LCD Soundsystem obsession. Who knows! Anyway, their repertoire has expanded beyond the one (fantastically catchy) song, and after seeing them opening for LCD two nights in a row, I can enthusiastically endorse them as a live act as well. Great things to come from this electro outfit for sure.
Amos Lee: Recommended by one of my friends with exceptionally good taste (not that that narrows things down). I've only listened to Lee's MySpace stuff so far, but I like what I hear. He immediately reminded me of James Morrison, and those kinds of vibes are always welcome.
MINI MIX
It's all about the love this month
"Love Sweet Sound" -- Groove Armada
"Love Harder" -- Ali Love
"Cupboard Love" -- Hot Leg
"Smoke & Mirrors (Bottin mix)" -- Ali Love
"All the Lovers" -- Kylie Minogue
"Stars Come Out" -- Calvin Harris
"Lights Out" -- Rick Astley
FILMS
City Island
The Losers
Iron Man 2
Solitary Man
Looking for Eric
NETFLIX QUEUE
Magnum Force
Mrs. Brown
Carnal Knowledge
The Enforcer
Patriot Games
The Contender
American Gigolo
COOKING
temporary office space has caused me to put lunch items on hiatus and instead become the muffin man
Bran and berry muffins
Lemon-poppy seed muffins
Peach muffins
Molten chocolate cakes
BOOKS
Lush Life, Richard Price
With it's clear allusions to the Keith McNally empire both on the cover and in certain characters and settings, I was expecting this book to be a scathing satire of hipster life on the LES. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is a caring and human look at typical, unglamorous New Yorkers and a distinctly non-Law & Order account of police work in the city. This is the rare book of late of which I wanted to keep turning the pages. The characters were just larger than life enough to make them compelling yet believable fictional subjects, and the settings were places for which I grasped a true feel. Price does not glamorize or glorify New York, but nor does he put it down. He represents the city that those who live here know and love. He brings to light those dark facets that generate everyday wonder on the same sidewalks you've been down a million times before.
Possession, A.S. Byatt
While I wasn't exactly head-over-heels for this book, I do admire Byatt for taking on such an ambitious project. Not only is the central story of the novel well written and compelling, but also Byatt created the works and letters of two fictional poets, as well as letters and journal entries of their family members. Each character has a distinct voice, and all the disparate parts fits together neatly into one coherent whole. It is an ambitious work, successfully executed. The reason I didn't love the book as much as I had hoped is that the letters, poems, and journal entries often went on too long and became a distraction from the story. While some number of these supporting "documents" are needed to bring the historical characters to life, an egregious number of them feels heavy and stifling. I would have liked to know more about the modern day characters who were not given as much attention as their subjects of study, and yet were just as interesting and compelling.
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
These young adult distopian fantasy novels are extremely compelling and atmospheric. Collins keeps the action moving at a non-stop pace using highly evocative writing to paint a picture of her future world. On top of it all, these books raise intriguing moral questions and force the reader to reflect on both current societies and those past. Panem (Collins's fictional replacement of America) closely resembles the Roman empire in many ways, while the Hunger Games themselves are a more sadistic version of Gladiatorial games. Katniss, the heroine of the story, is faced with many difficult decisions, each of which place the reader in her shoes, in turn forcing me to consider what I would do in such situations. While not as deep as Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, these books present the reader with many challenging ideas. I can't wait for the third and final book, which is being released in August.
Consider the Lobster, David Foster Wallace
I had really only encountered David Foster Wallace on NY Mag's Vulture blog and took him for a bit of a cult figure who might be reminiscent of John Kennedy Toole (must be the three-name thing), and thus decided to avoid reading him, while at the same time paying attention to all the bits of gossip related to him and his work. Finally, a friend recommended I read Consider the Lobster, as it is one of said friend's favorite books. Because I trusted this friend's taste much more than that of the friend who had recommended Confederacy of Dunces, I decided to give it a go. I am pleased to report that I did indeed enjoy this collection of essays, especially those about John Updike ("Certainly the End of Something or Other, One Would Sort of Have to Think"), dictionaries and word usage ("Authority and American Usage"), and John McCain's 2000 campaign ("Up, Simba"). And then there was the delicious irony of having to stop reading the title essay, "Consider the Lobster," in order to eat a lobster dinner during Memorial Day weekend on the Vineyard. It felt good to read a book written by a smart person for the enjoyment of other smart people, though it did sort of make me feel like I was back in Prep school, trying to out-clever everyone else.
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