Letters From the Wasteland

I'm on a vacation at the moment, doing a whirlwind tour of New Jersey and Delaware; suffice to say I'm not in it for the locations so much as the company.

In the midst of my first train ride, approximately 24 hours of locomotive transport, I managed to get almost no reading done, but I did notice that I am absolutely addicted to a few songs, and they're a pleasantly diverse trio.

First, I spent the train ride learning the words to "Sabotage" by Beastie Boys. Or, at least, I attempted to. I didn't get much past the first verse, but I have that one down pat. I've been listening to more of Beastie Boys in the last few weeks; I'd forgotten how uniformally excellent their music is, particularly from Paul's Boutique on. More intriguingly, I'd forgotten how relaxed most of it is, something that tends to escape your mind when you're most familiar with their singles.

Second, I continued my love affair with Pet Shop Boy's "Can You Forgive Her?," which is possibly the finest song dealing with supressed homosexuality ever written; the other contender for that prize is "The Night I Fell In Love," which is also by PSB, so, either way, they get the trophy. "Can You Forgive Her?" is epic electro-pop, with crashing arrangements and a great, catchy melody. I've been in love with it for two months now, and I show no signs of slowing down.

Third, finally, most crucially, my favourite song in the world right now is "Lisztomania" by French alt-poppers Phoenix. It's got a great melody, enervating guitar lines that come at you from every direction, brilliant train-of-thought lyrics that manage to capture... I don't know what it is, but it's somewhere between the struggle of the creative process and the comfort of a lonely heart. Brilliant, no question about it.

That's about all, for now. I had wonderful company on the first 20 hours of my trip, so I didn't get a lot of reading done, as there was conversation to be had, but I imagine I won't be so lucky the second time around, and will have a number of books to review. I'm about fifty pages from finishing The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett's first Discworld book. I also saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last night, I'll review that later today.

...more serious than they had bargained for.

About a week ago, I posted a list of albums and books I would be reviewing. I may have lied.

Well, no, I didn't lie so much as I was misinformed.

The point is, I listened to a few albums, and didn't find them worth reviewing. I couldn't tell you why, but Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, by Phoenix, Dark Days/Light Years by Super Furry Animals, and I Feel Cream by Peaches (Yes, I listen to Peaches from time to time) didn't stir in me any feelings which screamed for a review. They're all quite serviceable, though. Particularly Super Furry Animals. On the bright side, I'm now 3/4 into From Dawn to Decadence, which is daunting, but, as I keep saying, worth the effort. I'll definitely not get to reviewing that before I go on vacation next Monday, but the review should be a good one; that's not referencing the opinion of the book, but the quality of the review.

I've finished A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, just a few minutes ago, a book which I enjoyed fully. The book is a comedy, in a manner of speaking; Mark Twain was a subversive man, certainly, and his writing never draws out a laugh so much as a constant series of wry chuckles. Then again, that's how I like it.

The only hard time I had with the book, which I'm not giving a full review only for it's age (First published in 1889, Grade: A-), was in the language; Twain was writing in a time when English was different than it is now, for starters, and then add to that passages written in the tongue of the peoples of the 500's, when most of this tale is set. Within the first fifty pages, though, I had a fairly firm grasp of the happenings, and it was entertaining from start to finish. There are flaws, but they come only from the scope of what Twain pursued; this is the book where he seemingly attempted to do everything, and express every feeling he had related to the concept of a monarchy. At times, the book feels too blatant in its commentary, but you begin to accept it as a part of the narrator's voice... it just so happens that the narrator and Mark Twain have everything in common when it comes to opinions of government. It is a clever book, exceptionally conceived and written, and it's deservedly a classic. I will be reading more Twain in the near future.

I'm currently engaged in a marathon, wherein I'm going to try to read 1,000 books in the next 10 years. This will include a large variety of books, everything from Dr. Seuss to Tolstoy will be counted, though there will be limits. There will be many reviews and, I suspect, at least a few essays to come out of this. That's all for now, Future Leaders.