You're Not Much Use to Anyone - Book Review

Published July 2014

You're Not Much Use to Anyone - David Shapiro A-
A Blogger's Life in New York

David Shapiro's semi-autobiographical novel, You're Not Much Use to Anyone, is like a big screen version of Seinfeld directed by Woody Allen with music by Belle and Sebastian. David Shapiro first gained national attention for starting a blog called "Pitchfork Reviews Reviews." In his novel, the fictional character (also named David) gained national attention for starting a blog called "Pitchfork Reviews Reviews." I like this novel because it's about subjects I'm interested in (blogging and music) and it reminds me of things I love (Seinfeld and Woody Allen). But, the fact that it's based on the author's real life/real events is intriguing. It motivated me to dig deeper after finishing the book. The more I learned about the real David Shapiro, the more I admired the novel. In a Vice interview last year Shapiro admits, "I feel guilty about a lot of stuff because I don't act in a way that's considerate of other people all the time. A friend who a character is based on said I didn't sign up for this, meaning she didn't ask to be the basis for a fictional character who does things she didn't do. And I wonder how I would feel if someone were to write about me in the way that I did about other people."

In the "fictional" story, David is fresh out of college and wondering what to do next. He gets a crappy office job to appease his parents. He meets a girl, he loses a girl, he meets another girl. He starts "Pitchfork Reviews Reviews" via his Blackberry. Not much else happens, but it's the way those things unfolded that made Shapiro's You're Not Much Use to Anyone engrossing. This novel won't blow anyone away. It's a quick and uncomplicated read about a small window of time in a young man's life- a niche novel, or dare I say a guilty pleasure. And I suspect that the David character might drive many readers crazy. He's whiny, self-involved, and annoyingly smart- the kind of guy who could have it all, but he's too blinded by insecurity and lacks enough life experience to embrace the possibilities. 

Recommended to music geeks who read Pitchfork and those who think life/love is a mixtape.

Check out the entire Vice interview by Zach Sokol below
https://www.vice.com/read/david-shapiro-isnt-much-use-to-anyone-256

The Death of Bunny Munro - Book Review

The Death of Bunny Munro - Nick Cave B
A Menace to Society

Published Sept 2009

Nick Cave is a fascinating man, music icon and literary rock star. His second novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, is deviant, dark and hypersexual. I loved the sinister tone of the writing, carefully mixed with black comedy. The protagonist, Bunny Munro, is a traveling salesman and world class cocksman. He tries to f**k nearly every woman he meets and his indiscretion has driven his wife to suicide. The story takes off when our bewildered anti-hero takes his nine-year-old son on a hellish road trip, while he attempts to sell beauty products. It's all very Twilight Zone/David Lynch-esque. Then there is the Kylie Minogue and Avril Lavigne fetish thing. I had to laugh when I read (via RollingStone.com) Cave explaining the correlation between his novel and Minogue's attention grabbing "Spinning Around" music video, "Kylie's hot pants were all the tabloids could talk about. I think she has to take a certain responsibility for this novel, by wearing those hot pants." Lavigne is also mentioned throughout the novel. In the same Rolling Stone article referenced above, Cave admits, "I'm not sure how Avril Lavigne came about, except that I personally like her very much, and something about her physicality seemed to be the right kind of thing for this character."

What the novel lacks in dramatic structure, it makes up for in pure perverse intrigue. Reportedly, two of Cave's influences for The Death of Bunny Munro were the SCUM Manifesto by the radical feminist Valerie Solanas (she tried to kill Any Warhol in 1968) and the Gospel According to St Mark.  With one screenplay under his belt, 2005's The Proposition, this novel was originally meant to be a screenplay for John Hillcoat (Director of the 2009 film, The Road). However, The Death of Bunny Munro obviously ended up being a novel. It was written on the road while touring with his band, the Bad Seeds.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that the audio version is read by the author and comes with an original soundtrack and 3D spatial audio designed for listening on headphones- It's a wicked experience. This novel is definitely not for general audiences. But, if you want to take a walk on the wild side I highly recommend it.

The link below is an outstanding (short) interview with Nick Cave courtesy of WIRED via Youtube. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNhBkBdROxk



Neon Repairman - Album Review

Released Spring/Summer 2015

Neon Repairman - Freedy Johnston B
Darkness is My Friend

In 1992 Freedy Johnston released Can You Fly, a terrific album that sounds as good today as it did 20 years ago. A year later he released Unlucky, a flawless six-song EP that featured a popular cover of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman." Primed for a breakout commerical hit, This Perfect World (his major-label debut) dropped in 1994 and brought Johnston the attention he so rightly deserved. In 1995 Rolling Stone magazine named him "Songwriter of the Year," and the Kansas native closed out the 90s by releasing two more brilliant albums, Never Home and Blue Days Black Nights. Johnston was surely on his way to becoming one of music's most important artists for years to come.

Fast-Foward to 2014, Neon Repairman, his first new album since 2010's Rain on the City, was successfully crowd funded and set for a late 2014 or early 2015 release. The current musical landscape looks nothing like the 90s, but ultimately this new album is vintage Johnston- albeit, a slow burn. IntialIy, with my hopes and expectations sky high, Neon Repairman didn't blow me away as a whole. But, there were enough hooks to keep me listening. After four or five spins, songs that didn't intially grab me were suddenly becoming my favorites, i.e., "Baby, Baby Come Home," "Summer Clothes," and "A Little Bit of Somethin' Wrong." This album may not break any new ground; however, all the things that make Johnston special are showcased here- great songwriting, interesting characters and a vulnerability that feels truly authentic. His fans won't be disappointed. Fans of the genre (acoustic-based/singer-songwriter/Americana) should check out Neon Repairman and/or one of the albums I mentioned above.

Favorite Tracks: Neon Repairman, TV in My Arms, Summer Clothes, Baby Baby Come Home, A Little Bit of Somethin' Wrong

The Poem She Didn't Write And Other Poems - Book Reiew

The Poem She Didn't Write And Other Poems - Olena Kalytiak Davis B-
Sassy, Sexual & Postconfessional


Published Dec 2014

This is the kind of book I might re-read in five years and think that it's brilliant. But, for now it feels sorta hit-or-miss.
Favorite poems:
Sonnet (seized)
Look at Lesbia Now
Mean, Manly and Meant
Sonnet (stopped)
Summer Fiction
Sonnet (full-court press)
Methow 19:19

For more about Olena Kalytiak Davis and The Poem She Didn't Write and Other Poems, check out this link via The New Yorker from last December http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/08/you-and-me-both

I'll See You in My Dreams - Movie Review

I'll See You In My Dreams (PG-13) 92 mins A-
Comfortably Numb

Starring: Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, Sam Elliott, Rhea Perlman, June Squibb, Mary Kay Place, Malin Akerman

I'll See You In My Dreams created a lot of buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival and now I see why. Co-written by Marc Basch and director Brett Haley, this romantic dramady about a gracefully aging widow is quietly one of the best films of 2015 so far.

Carol (Blythe Danner) is a preppy, upper middle class, retired school teacher whose husband died 20 years ago. She has comfortably settled into a drama-free life with an unvaried routine. A routine that mostly consist of golf and hanging with her three besties played by Rhea Perlman, June Squibb, and Mark Kay Place. But, Carol's life is interrupted when her dog becomes ill and has to be euthanized. Consciously or unconsciously she realizes how lonely her life is and befriends her new pool boy, Lloyd (Martin Starr). This relationship is easily the most complex and intriguing to me. However, that friendship is slightly complicated when she is swept off her feet by the most eligible silver fox around, Bill (Sam Elliot).

I'll See You In My Dreams may appear to be tailor-made for the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel set. However, anyone who can appreciate an honest, sensitive, and realistic film about the uncertainty of aging, loving and dying will love this film. Not to mention, this film might be the most memorable of Blythe Danner's career which spans 40+ years.

Lovely and amazing.

Everyman - Book Review

Published May 2006

Everyman - Philip Roth B+
The Life and Death of Everyman

Everyman is my favorite Philip Roth novel to date. It made me squirm in my seat, it entertained me, and it made me reflect on my own mortality. Dark but effective.

The link below is a 2006 NPR interview with Philip Roth. Enjoy! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5390578

5 Flights Up - Movie Review

5 Flights Up (PG-13) 91 minutes C+
Love and Real Estate
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Diane Keaton, Cynthia Nixon

Alex (Freeman) and Ruth (Keaton) Carver are an aging couple who have survived racism, 40 years of marriage, and the mean streets of New York. But, can they survive the New York real estate market? What was once their run-down apartment in a crime ridden Brooklyn neighborhood, is now a highly sought after gem in a trendy gentrified neighborhood. Adapted from Jill Ciment's 2009 novel, Heroic Measures. I found 5 Flights Up interesting and timely considering today's real estate frenzy. However, for general audiences this film is nothing more than mild entertainment and gentle fun.

Recommended for Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman fans.

The New York Times book review of Heroic Measures http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/books/review/Macy-t.html?_r=0

 

Welcome to Me - Movie Review

Welcome to Me (R) 105 mins B-
Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me

Starring Kristen Wiig, Wes Bentley, Linda Cardellini, Joan Cusack, Loretta Devine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Thomas Mann, James Marsden, Tim Robbins and Alan Tudyk

Alice Klieg (Wiig) has borderline personality disorder.  She hasn't turned off her television in 11 years. Welcome to Me is an awkward dark comedy about the power of mental illness and millions of dollars. Alice, an infomercial and Oprah addict, wins the lottery and goes off her meds. What follows is a funny, but sad train wreck that you can't stop watching.

Directed by Shira Piven (Jeremy Piven's older sister), Welcome to Me is not as dark as last year's Skelton Twins which starred Wiig in a dramatic role. But, it is a little unsettling because I felt like I was laughing at a mentally ill person. That's not to say the film is cruel...it isn't. But, there are moments when sh*t gets real and you realize that you're laughing at someone's pain and tragedy. I liked this film despite it feeling thin and hollow at times. Wiig fans probably won't be disappointed. Everyone else should proceed with caution.

Eating Animals - Book Review

Published Sept 2010

Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer B
The Truth About Meat

Being a vegetarian, I thought it was important to read Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals. Foer, author of the novels Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, was motivated to write this (his first non-fiction) book because of the impending birth of his son. Within the first few pages Foer writes, "Feeding my child is not like feeding myself: it matters more." He also goes on to claim that Eating Animals "is not a straightforward case for vegetarianism." However, if you ever considered vegetarianism this book will provide plenty of ammunition for going veg.

In the book Foer consciously tries not to be preachy or heavy-handed. He includes a variety of opinions and viewpoints. He applauds small family farms who strive to treat their animals humanely in life and in death. But, Foer also reveals a lot about factory farming and it's hard to get past that cringeworthy systematic abuse and torture of animals. Not to mention the destructive effect factory farming is having on the environment. Eating Animals is not a straightforward case for vegetarianism. Foer knows that most people will never give up meat (he's had his own struggles). Not eating animals is a personal choice. Whether you are considering a vegetarian lifestyle or not, this book should make you think twice about the face on your plate.

The First Bad Man - Book Review

 

Published Jan 2015

The First Bad Man - Miranda July A-
Her First Great Novel
 
What can I say about Miranda July? She is truly one of a kind- a visionary artist. The First Bad Man, her first novel, is deliciously odd, surprisingly sexual, devastatingly smart and laugh-out-loud funny. Highly recommended for those who like their fiction a little weird and a little deviant.

Additionally, check out the link below - a review by Lauren Groff of the New York Times.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/books/review/the-first-bad-man-by-miranda-july.html?_r=0