So, after yesterday’s stunning setup, today I shall deliver the coup de grâce, establishing forever the artistic and affective poverty of the Steely Dan oeuvre. Ahem. I can’t think of any way to get where I’m going, but obliquely. Here’s a first attempt: a few days ago I mentioned, in a different context, the “title” [...]
So as promised/threatened yesterday, three songs that operate roughly along the lines of the songs suggested by [correction!] faithful fcrp reader Steve: Songs that seem to be moving in one direction, carrying us merrily along, only to dart suddenly in another direction. Or in which a single word or phrase has an undue amount of [...]
FCRP regular Ken suggested a topic some time back that I’ve been musing on, and hope that it might interest—or amuse—you to muse on it to. To wit: “Pivotal lyrical lines where the wording reverses or puts in question the accepted or common meaning or understanding of the balance of the lyrics.” The examples Ken [...]
I mentioned my college’s station yesterday, KDVS at UC Davis, and should at least follow up that breadcrumb. What I remember most, I suppose, is a 2-hour-plus-long live interview with David Thomas from Pere Ubu—Davis, California, to Cleveland, Ohio. In the middle of the day. Back when one had actually to pay exorbitantly for “long [...]
There are laments aplenty for the demise of American radio, and popular music stations especially. If there’s one thing I’m allergic to, it’s nostalgia: whenever I encounter an argument that implies that such-and-such was better back in the good old days, I’m immediately suspicious. When it comes to popular music radio, though, I’m afraid I’d [...]
A few weeks ago, a reader posted a comment asking, in essence: How do I do it? A burning question for many fcrp fans, I know. A question that surely calls to mind Elvis Costello’s “My Science Fiction Twin”: His almost universal excellence Is starting to disturb me They asked how in the world he [...]
So, whereas High Fidelity the film boasts a soundtrack—albeit a smart and powerful one—High Fidelity the novel features a full score. It’s an intelligent investigation of what happens when your life is “scored” by rock & roll—how its narratives are incorporated into the deep structure of a rock fan’s life. A soundtrack is nothing more [...]
The best example of Dick’s missionary zeal in the film is the brief lesson he gives his girlfriend-to-be, Anaugh (pronounced Anna), on the musical genealogy of Green Day. In Dick’s humble opinion, they’re a piquant mix of the Clash and Stiff Little Fingers. Dick’s not without male condescension, and he shares the characteristic young man’s [...]
[Starting today and continuing for the next two, I'm republishing an essay that first appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education last September, assuming that most readers of fake chinese rubber plant aren't also subscribers to the Chronicle. Hope you enjoy! --KD] At my high school—Taft High, Woodland Hills, Calif., also the alma mater of Jane [...]