Chelovek and the Glorius Soundtrack
While writing this week, I've been grateful to Beirut for their splendid 2006 Gulag Orkestar album and particularly the cut, "Prenzlauerberg." I've just grabbed some Golem! (Fresh Off Boat) and The Ukrainians (self-titled,) which should satiate my desire for Eastern European/Gypsy flair. I'm also stoked since Emusic has (and now I have) Lou Reed's Berlin Live at St. Ann's Warehouse. Berlin is one of the classics, and I imagine this live version will soon be joining my writing soundtrack.
Other albums on the soundtrack this week include:
Okkervil River's The Stage Names and The Stand Ins (TSI has good cuts, but it's not totally fucking brilliant like TSN. I am very fond of "Lost Coastlines," "Blue Tulip," and "On Tour with Zykos," but I don't think any of them reach the dizzying heights of "A Girl in Port" or "John Allyn Smith Sails." And dammit, "Plus Ones" is simply far too catchy.)
Frank Black Francis' Bluefinger and Seus (There's more FBF coming soon! Rawk!)
David Byrne & Brian Eno's Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (Unfortunately underwhelming.)
Pedro the Lion's It's Hard to Find a Friend, Winners Never Quit, and the always brilliant classic Control
Secret Machines (self-titled) (Am cozying up and still getting to know.)
Sodastream's Sounds Like a Russian (Great for writing, as I find myself inside the story quickly.)
The Frames' Fitzcarraldo (Good energy; still needs a few more listens.)
The Dears' No Cities Left (Still trying to figure this one out; sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I can only hope it's the album that's uneven or schizophrenic and not me.)
Shostakovich's Symphony #8 (Sweet Jesus, save my soul. I am frequently surprised Armageddon is not upon us all when I'm in the middle of the Eighth. This symphony consumes and subsumes the individual. There remains nothing but a bleak reality. It's a dystopian symphony, dark, relentless. It reeks of war and violence, and I am glad to have been touched by and to have survived each listening.)
#
Chelovek is going well thus far. I'm having a great time, although I very much miss the quick turn around with short fiction and the absolute tightness of the short form.
This is my first time writing Trotsky, and he's been a blast to write. Easier to channel than I expected, too.
Ivan's a prick. Amen.
Violence is a great commodity in the piece (certainly not a first for me.) Frozen bodies of water are more prominent than in anything I've written previously.
The beluga sturgeon will be arriving soon, and I'm still not sure where they'll be taking us. Amen to that, too.
Other albums on the soundtrack this week include:
Okkervil River's The Stage Names and The Stand Ins (TSI has good cuts, but it's not totally fucking brilliant like TSN. I am very fond of "Lost Coastlines," "Blue Tulip," and "On Tour with Zykos," but I don't think any of them reach the dizzying heights of "A Girl in Port" or "John Allyn Smith Sails." And dammit, "Plus Ones" is simply far too catchy.)
Frank Black Francis' Bluefinger and Seus (There's more FBF coming soon! Rawk!)
David Byrne & Brian Eno's Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (Unfortunately underwhelming.)
Pedro the Lion's It's Hard to Find a Friend, Winners Never Quit, and the always brilliant classic Control
Secret Machines (self-titled) (Am cozying up and still getting to know.)
Sodastream's Sounds Like a Russian (Great for writing, as I find myself inside the story quickly.)
The Frames' Fitzcarraldo (Good energy; still needs a few more listens.)
The Dears' No Cities Left (Still trying to figure this one out; sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I can only hope it's the album that's uneven or schizophrenic and not me.)
Shostakovich's Symphony #8 (Sweet Jesus, save my soul. I am frequently surprised Armageddon is not upon us all when I'm in the middle of the Eighth. This symphony consumes and subsumes the individual. There remains nothing but a bleak reality. It's a dystopian symphony, dark, relentless. It reeks of war and violence, and I am glad to have been touched by and to have survived each listening.)
#
Chelovek is going well thus far. I'm having a great time, although I very much miss the quick turn around with short fiction and the absolute tightness of the short form.
This is my first time writing Trotsky, and he's been a blast to write. Easier to channel than I expected, too.
Ivan's a prick. Amen.
Violence is a great commodity in the piece (certainly not a first for me.) Frozen bodies of water are more prominent than in anything I've written previously.
The beluga sturgeon will be arriving soon, and I'm still not sure where they'll be taking us. Amen to that, too.