Liner Notes

Since CDs nudged LPs aside I've heard a number of folks - critics, pundits and casual music fans alike - lament the end of what was, I guess, an age of great album cover art.

Well, um... ok. I pretty much cut my musical teeth on cassettes, which as I recall had little more space than a postage stamp for this kind of thing.

I do miss liner notes though. My parents did not have a large record collection, which is probably another reason the whole idea of cover art leaves me cold. Anyway, they had two records which were pretty much in constant rotation - Meet The Beatles and The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: In Person At Carnegie Hall. I spent hours listening to these records, more often than not with the cardboard cover balanced on my knees, flipped over so I could read the liner notes on the back. These notes, which related various anecdotes about the bands and the songs on the record in a casual but knowing manner, seemed to me like a glimpse into another world, adult world.

Nowadays, the little booklets nestled in the front of the CD jewel case rarely contain anything more interesting than lyrics and various and sundry thank yous by the artist(s). An exception to this general rule was the CDs by Johnny Cash. Whether it was an album of new content, or a compilation of older material, a Cash CD alsways had something worht reading inside. This makes sense, see as 'the Man in Black' won two Grammies for his liner notes. Some examples...

June Carter Cash wrote these notes, recounting how Elves sort-of-kind-of introduced her to Johnny Cash, for the compilation Love.

Here are the liner notes to Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison - these won one of the two grammies I mentioned above. (He won the other Grammy, oddly enough, for the notes to Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline.

Steve Earle contributed these notes to the re-issue of the At Folsom Prison.

And these are the liner notes to American Recordings, Cash's first record with Rick Rubin.

The Year in Books III: 2005

Here are parts one and two; now, on with the countdown....

44. Majic Man - Max Allan Collins
I think that this was the last Nathan Heller mystery I read last year, the end of a fiction bender of sorts. The pleasure of the Heller mysteries is not the prose or the characterization - both of which are solid but not superlative - but Collins' clever way of mixing real history into his fast-moving plots. This volume of the series is set in 1949 and finds Heller working for Secretary of Defense James Forrestal and looking into strange doings at Roswell, New Mexico.

45. Five Days In London May 1940 - John Lukacs
John Lukacs' believes that the pivotal moment of WWII, THE turning point, came in the spring of 1940, when Winston Churchill was called to form a government as Prime Minister. England alone could not defeat Hitler's Germany, but by keeping England in the war - preventing Hitler from making a clean sweep in the west - Churchill denied Hitler the chance for victory.

Lukacs also believes that this turn of events was not, as popular myth would have it, inevitable - that Churchill's government could very easily have fallen or been forced into negotiations with Nazi Germany. In short, when Churchill assumed power he was on very shaky ground. Lukacs shows how over the course of those five days Churchill grabbed the reigns of power and steered his cabinet away from a negotiated peace.

46. Songbook - Nick Hornby
I like Nick Hornby's writing. I like pop music. So this book was pretty much inevitable. Songbook is a light and enjoyable read - the print equivalent of listening to Hornby himself talk about his many musical enthusiasms.

47. In The Moon of Red Ponies - James Lee Burke
By the way, and in case you didn't know, we're living in what amounts to a Golden Age of Crime Fiction. New work from Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Michael Connelly, and James Crumley are all available at your local book store, along with this title from James Lee Burke. In the Moon of Red Ponies takes place in the Bitterroot Mountains features Billy Bob Holland, an ex-Texas Ranger turned attorney. Prior to reading this, the fourth of Burke's novels featuring Holland, I had never really taken a liking to the character, preferring Burke's earlier creation Dave Robicheaux. But in this book Holland intermingles with some very striking characters, including a psychotic rodeo clown who's found Jesus, characters that set In the Moon of Red Ponies above its predecessors.

48. Thunder Run - David Zucchino
Think Black Hawk Down in Baghdad. Zucchino was a reporter who accompanied the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade (Spartans) of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) on their 'thunder runs' into Saddam's capital. Going against the conventional doctrine that armor shouldn't operate in urban areas, the Spartans seized and held ground in the middle of Baghdad. Zucchino, a Pulitzer winner, brings the battles to vivid life.

49. Oh, Play That Thing - Roddy Doyle
This is the second volume of a cycle Doyle dubs 'The Last Round Up.' I'm not sure if there is a third volume forthcoming. The first volume took the protagonist Henry Smart from childhood in the slums of Dublin, through the Easter Rising and the Tan War, to his departure from Ireland on the eve of civil war. Oh, Play That Thing picks with Henry's adventures in New York and points west, where he runs elbows with the likes of Louie Armstrong and Dutch Schultz. The introduction of these historical elements makes the books of The Last Roundup a big departure from Doyle's earlier work such as the The Commitments.

50. Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Gichin Funakoshi
A biography of the Okiniwan sensei who was largely responsible for exporting the art of karate to Japan, and modernizing the teaching of modern arts. This is not a book I'd recommend to the general reader; it's likely to be of interest only to someone practicing karate or another art.

51. Drama City - George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos should be declared the poet-laureate of Washington DC - he's that good. Now that we have that out of the way, let's admit Drama City is a solid 'B' effort - not quite up to the standards set by The Sweet Forever and Shame the Devil. Still, a 'B' from Pelecanos is better than an 'A' from most authors.

52. Lord of Samarcand - Robert E. Howard
The name 'Robert E. Howard' probaby draws a blank from most of you. Robert who? Now if I say 'Conan the Barbarian' - that's a different story. Conan, like Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, and James Bond, is a character who has lived on and crossed over into different media long after the author and creator of the character laid down his pen.

In a brief writing career, lasting barely a dozen years before his suicide at the age of thirty, Howard wrote hundreds of stories for the pulp magazines of the 20s and 30s. In addition to the sword and sorcery of the Conan stories, Howard also wrote horror, western, boxing, detective and adventure stories. Lord of Samarcand is a collection of historical adventure stories set against the back drop of the Crusades.

Howard is one of my favorite authors. One of these days I'll get around to the giant post(s) about this man and his work that's been percolating inside my head.

53. The Barbaric Triumph - Don Herron (ed.)
A collection of critical essays on the works of Robert E. Howard. There's not much to say about this one - either you know and love the man's works, and will therefore find these essays fascinating, or you've never heard of Howard or read any of his many stories.

Six on Screen

I've come across this twice so far today, so I figured I ought to hop on the bandwagon. Feel free to follow suit.

1. Earliest Film Related Memory
Going to see Candleshoe in the theater, which left little impression on me as I can't recall a thing about the film beyond the title and Joy Foster's presence. On the other hand, for some reason I have a vivid memory of the preview of Gray Lady Down that showed that day.

2. A Favorite Line from a Movie
Just one? That makes this a little difficult, but for old time's sake I'll go with I have a bad feeling about this. From Star Wars. Of course.

3. Jobs You Would Do If You Could Work in the Biz
I don't know if this job exists, but I'd like to the 'sound track guy' i.e. the guy in charge of deciding which songs will be used in a movie.

Also, I have no idea what the 'best boy' or the 'gaffer' does, but I kinda like the titles. Who wouldn't want a business wth gaffer emeritus emblazoned on it?

4. Three Directors I Like
That's easy: Sam Peckinpah, John Woo, and Ridley Scott.

5. Screenwriter I Love
For lack of a better answer I'll say Tarantino, but on the whole I don't pay much attention to screenwriters. Sorry, screenwriters.

6. A Movie I'd like to Re-Make or a Property I would Like to Adapt for Film
Let's see, for a re-make I'll go with Zulu. Yes, it'd be a touch sell in these PC times, but it's a great (and true) story. And the battle scenes could be greatly improved with today's technology.

Best of Both Worlds

Now this is the ideal home improvement project. It combines two great things: books and booze. It solves every bibliophile's dilemma: how do I store all these books that I'm unable to stop acquiring? And where will I put my drink?

Bookbat: it's the next big thing.

Get Yer Kilts Heah!

I remember way back in the months leading up to Heather's wedding, there was some talk about some of us wearing kilts to the grand occasion. The idea was discarded because, among other reasons, you can't just go out and rent a kilt, and they're quite expensive to purchase.

But now I learn, thanks to this gentleman, that you can now purchase an economy kilt for the low low cost of $44.00. Oh Frabjous day!

While I don't anticipate any formal type opportunies for kilt-wearing in the immediate future, I can't help but think that a kilt would be useful item to add to my wardrobe. You know, for lounging about the place, or entertaining and such.

Easy on the Eyes

I'm talking about the shirt of course; that's a boss shirt.

The Demon Rum

Yesterday's New York Times featured a 'Letter From Britain' discussing the British culture of booze. Since this article is behind a pesky wall o' registration, allow me to present to you the highlight:

Drink also featured heavily in the life of George Brown, a Labor foreign secretary in the 1960's, who is once said to have stumblingly invited a guest in flowing purple robes at a reception in Peru to dance. But it was not to be.

"First, you are drunk," the guest is said to have replied. "Second, this is not a waltz; it is the Peruvian national anthem. And third, I am not a woman; I am the Cardinal Archbishop of Lima."

Bring the Noise

I have been tagged. I am the proverbial it.

Very well then. Though it may prove difficult to limit myself to come up with the full five this game requires, here are my weird habits.

1. I like to dip my potato chips.

Now , you're probably thinking, what's so weird about that? Lots of people dip their potato chips.

True, but they dip their chips in, well, dip. Me, I prefer soup. Minestrone or tomato soup to be exact. The potato chips are always Cape Cod potato chips. Of course.

So yes. Instead of soup and bread, I have soup and chips.

2. I store my t-shirts in specific categories.

There are three piles in my t-shirt draw. First, there is the 'A-list' pile. These are my favorite t-shirts, the first to be worn (if they're not reserved for certain occasions, like my Red Sox t-shirts.) Next we have the 'mid-list' pile. There's nothing wrong with these t-shirts - some of them are pretty cool - they just don't quite make the cut for the A-list. Still they get quite a bit of wear. Finally, we have the 'C-list' pile. These are the old and worn t-shirts, the bland and boring t-shirts. These are the ones worn for any kind of dirty task, such as painting, or resorted to when I'm low on clean clothes to wear due to cutting it close with laundry day.

I can't recall exactly how long I've been storing my t-shirts in these fashion. I know it's been at least since college, as I can recall my then girlfriend laughing hysterically when I explained I was folding and putting away my t-shirts so deliberately.

3. I keep lists concerning books.

I'm sure I've blogged of this before, but what the hell. I keep lists concerning books. Actually I keep three lists concerning books. I am the Rainman of books and lists.

I have a notebook - an old composition book - wherein I list the books that I have read each year. The current notebook goes back to 1998; other, older notebooks go back to '91 or '92.

I also carry about one of those ever-so-handy Moleskin notebooks. In addition to random scribblings, favorite quotes and disjointed reminders, this notebook contains two ongoing lists: one of the books I'd like to find (for reference when I'm digging through a stack at the used book store) and one of the (many many) books I own that I haven't read yet.

There you have it: I am insane. Anyone want to hang out? Bwa-ha-ha-ha.

4. I always read two books at once.

Here we are with the book thing again. As an aside, please take note that I find great comfort in the description of bibliophilia as 'the gentle madness.' Really, I'm not in the least bit dangerous.

Anyways... I always have two books going at any time, one each of fiction and non-fiction. So I can, you know, switch back and forth, depending on my mood.

5. I cannot remain still and/or quiet while watching the Red Sox play.

During the course of nine innings I am compelled to jump, dance, pace, yell, hide my face and otherwise make a spectacle of myself. Even when on my best behavior I'm prone to sudden outbursts of profanity.

Bonus Fun Fact:

I loathe the band Green Day. Loathe them. I hate the fact that their extraordinarily derivative music is considered significant in any way. I hate the fact that the ignorant mistake them and their shite for punk. I abhor their moronic political posturing.

Thanks, I feel better now.

Oops, almost forget - I'm supposed to tag five others to do their own lists. I tag Heather, la whisky, Chris, and my cousin.

Return of the Drunkard

Well well well. In the immortal words of Jim Anchower: hola amigos, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya but.....

...but I really have no excuse. Not a terribly valid one anyway, beyond the holidays being an insanely busy time of year, personally and professionally. And the fact that when it comes to this here blog, well, I just haven't been feelin' it lately. I don't think it helps that when I switched hosts the old www.obcurorama.com/obscurorant address ceased to function properly (you now have to add a .html to the end) , leading half of my already meager readership to conclude that I'd vanished.

So maybe I'll try get some more words down in the coming weeks. Or at least finally finish the series concerning the adventures of Bunny and I across America. And finish the short reviews of books consumed in 2005.

Yes, I know I've made similar promises before. What can I say? My word is no good unless I give to you in person. But maybe I mean it this time.

Anyway, speaking of reading, it has come to my attention that some people are in the habit of making New Year's reading resolutions. In that spirit, here are my reading resolutions for 2006.

First and foremost, I resolve to read more of the books that I already own. My 'to read pile' has grown at an insane rate, to the point it could be more accurately referred to as a 'to read wall' or a 'to read fort made out of books.' If I were snowbound in my apartment for oooh, two years, I can say with all honesty I would not run out of books.

It might be wise for me to shrink the ratio of unread to read books, before, you know, buying more books.

On that same note, less trips to the library this year. Borrowed books are still new books, and a distraction from the ones I already own. The bi-annual library book sale should probably be avoided like the work of the devil, since I have yet to walk away from one of those with anything less than a half-dozen new additions to my own library.