Friday, September 24, 2010

7 Recent Pleasures

JOHN HANLON, Brooklyn NY
1. The Paris Review has posted all of their author interviews, 55 years worth, online for free. Hooray!

2. The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
Ross’ overview of 20th Century classical music combines cultural history, music theory and composer biographies but still reads like a novel.

3. Rat Girl: A Memoir by Kristin Hersh
Normally I read only one book at a time. But The Rest Is Noise is too big to carry in my bag every day, so Hersh’s memoir has been my subway reading. It covers just one year of her life, a time when she was a college student and Throwing Muses was just starting out.

4. Fission by Film School
Still not sure how I feel about the poppiness – I preferred it when they built beautiful monuments of sound and noise – but I like it.

5. “Back Up Plan” by Big Boi
I know there are other tracks on this album, but this is the only one I seem to listen to, perhaps because part of it reminds me of Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman.”

6. Caribou at Webster Hall, September 22, 2010
The new album doesn’t really translate live but the old stuff is still incredible to experience with a room full of other people.

7. Trying to explain the appeal of going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show to my seventeen year old nephew
An exercise in futility, but it made me happy I was the right age to appreciate it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

John, the first time the boys and I watched Rocky Horror together, I was gleefully explaining the plot points and what the audience would say and do at certain points (and reliving my youth). They literally sat open-mouthed with shock that I was enjoying such a "crappy" movie. Oddly, somehow their reaction actually increased my enjoyment.