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Stories & SNippets : 2019

…and observations, journals, & musings on music, film, books, art, and pretty things. and life in general.

January 2019

January 09

Playlist : Pixies (x5). Five-track intro to the frenetic loud-soft genius of melody noisemakers The Pixies, from 1988 to 2016.

Caribou
River Euphrates
Gouge Away
Monkey Gone to Heaven
Head On
BONUS : Talent

January 11

Listening to The Greatest Showman soundtrack. The kids love Rewrite the Stars. I am still not weary of Never Enough, and love the growing crescendo of From Now On.

February 2019

February 14

What better thing to be watching than the final episode of The Great British Baking Show on Valentine’s Day? Or “VD Day,” as Becca likes to say, although strictly speaking the syntax is incorrect.

March 2019

April 2019

April 15 Four music haiku

2006

Chasing Cars Monday.
Snow Patrol’s sad sweet anthem
In lonely kitchen.

2017

Swedish electro
can be cold, but Fever Ray’s
Red Trail fave thing.

2018

I worry sometimes.
But less when J.M. Long sings
songs about worry.

2019

I used to run at night.
Much like Cage the Elephant
Then I retired.

May 2019

June 2019

July 2019

If someone spent a Friday night writing until midnight while listening to David Bazan’s mumbled 2016 classic Trouble With Boys thirty times on repeat, would you consider that obsessive? I wouldn’t. Sounds like a smart and wonderful thing to do. I mean, if someone did that. Fine. It was me. Now go listen.

U2’s No Line On the Horizon (2009) isn’t one of their stronger albums, but the title track is one of my fave Bono vocal performances. Try singing along with its sliding between notes whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh chorus. Someday I will stay on key. Until then…I keep practicing. You’re welcome, family.

Of course the best vocal opening of all time unquestionably belongs to Zepp’s 1970 Immigrant Song…and I would also argue that Bad Romance, Lady Gaga’s 2009 melancholic anthem, belongs in the Top Ten of that category. Play on Spotify

Did a smile break out upon my face when I spied an orange-spined hardcover on the top shelf of library stacks and realized although it shared a certain similar loving attention to jacket design aesthetic, it was not, in fact, a companion piece to David Byrne’s lovely ode to travel on two wheels, Bicycle Diaries, and was in fact a lovely ode to libraries by the wonderful Susan Orlean? Yes, a smile did break as I looked around in a moment of panic that fellow bibliophiles might trample me as they desperately stretched to rip it from my hands. That vision did not unfold as book-reading brethren and sisters apparently found other delicious works to quench their literary appetites. So yes, I own a copy. For the next two weeks. Thank you, public libraries. Especially Washougal Community Library.

Your life will undoubtedly be bouncier and better if you listen to a double-blast dance fest of Dizzy Gillespie’s Trumpet Blues and Dave Brubeck’s Rondo à la Turk today. Right now.

If you loved the 2013 chilling thriller Prisoners, you’ll mildly appreciate 2015’s The Secret in Their Eyes. Nowhere near as good, but with a notable cast led by Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a few little twists as they try to solve a 13-year old murder case that hits close to home.

I can’t think of a show I would like to binge-watch less than HBO’s grief-fest The Leftovers. It’s the aftermath of the world surviving after two percent of the population poof! Vanished. But it’s not about that, not really, and it’s more about the process of asking questions than finding answers. Some of the best writing and performances on telly, though I’m not sure the sum is greater than its parts…and there are some parts that dig into your soul and psyche in full on Old Testament emotional brutality. But I finished it months ago and am still thinking about it. Binge? Nah. Took me a long time to finish. Best show about grief and loss I’ve seen.

Tone is so much. How do you make an action thriller where 85% of the stunts are absolutely impossible according to any universe’s laws of physics, yet still find the setup believable enough to care about what’s happening in a non-ironic way? That’s 2010’s Angelina Jolie spy flick, scripted by Kurt Wimmer, who will never top his 2002 Christian Bale sci-fi work of genius Equilibrium.

If you have ever spent a Friday evening absorbed in one of Jorges Luis Borges’ short story collections, such as 1962’s Labyrinths, I can assure you we would be at best great friends and at worst respected archenemies. Layers upon layers of meaning and plot to unravel and deliciously ponder.

Sunset’s Sunshine Hair from 2009 is sooo pretty. Like Beach House and the Byrds murmuring away together in a late night jam session at a villa on the…seashore.

So what if I’ve listened to James Arthur’s Empty Space 27 times over the last week. So what. It reminds me of that one Harry Styles gem from a couple years ago. Sign of the Times. Glossy, super-produced pop sung well by a high-voiced Brit boy. Super sad, super sexy.

My brother in law says I’ve gotta see Rihanna and Childish Gambino’s 50-min Amazon film Guava Island. Bumping it up the list from its previous spot of not being on it.

If you have ever thought about writing a paper deconstructing and contrasting the social metaphors of Peter Pan versus Pan’s Labyrinth, then I can assure you we are already unmet friends.

CW’s The Flash is nowhere near the greatest superhero series. But it is one of the most fun shows I can imagine watching together as a family. Not only is it a great conversation-starter for all number of Physics questions - and I hit the Pause button frequently - but there’s some unexpected emotional heft to various relationships with some little gems of perceptiveness and nuance that is rather beautiful.

Today, I think the three best Pixar films ever are Up, Incredibles, and Toy Story 3. But tomorrow is another day. Oh, I would include WALL*E and Monsters Inc. in the top three as well.

Did I love the Netflix high school romcom ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’? The answer is yes. I didn’t love everything about it, but I loved the tiny ways of subverting expectations and portrayals of often-caricatured roles - e.g. ‘clueless dad of teenage girl.’ Also, that one guy sounds like teenage Mark Ruffalo.

If you have agonized over whether it would be worth four minutes of your day to listen to Bruce Springsteen’s There Goes My Miracle off his brand new album Western Stars, then stop agonizing and go listen. And then take another four minutes and listen again.

July 09

Watching Flash S2E5 with the Olders while the youngest, shirtless, draws quietly at our little white table in the corner. A precious sight.

August 2019

The first three seasons of Veronica Mars: terrific. Edgy, funny, suspenseful, fresh. The fourth season: devoid of charm, wit, suspense, or authentic relationship-development. Sad.

I am rather impressed with the new Futureheads album, Powers, and its angular dance punk that rises from the glory days of 2003-04’s Strokes-Franz Ferdinand and makes a great end-of-summer bouncy score. Try Mortals.

September 2019

September 2 : a Labor Day Monday

A 12-year old reads to her not-yet-1-month old brother on the floor. A 9-year practices archery outside in his pajamas, early. I run my mower hard and it works great until…it doesn’t, and then I’m stuck working on it, fighting down thoughts in my head and words on my tongue. I take a break from that to help my father-in-law put in some cinder block steps on their path outside, and we are helped in enormously entertaining fashion by my shirtless note-quite-3-year old. After his hard work, and after we three men chug some cold beverages together, he goes to check on his sleeping little brother, you know, to make sure no one is waking him up. Somehow, the infant awakes shortly thereafter, and he helps with the ensuing diaper change, comforting and soothing. This is a strong bond in the early stages of forming. It is a long day, and then it is done, and there will be another, and then another, and that always what life is by definition, a day and then another, and that’s a good thing, but not always an easy thing.

September 9

I sneaked a few minutes of reading Sophie’s World while eating apples and cheese.

September 12

Listening to Raveonette’s Dead Sound

October 2019

The Dears’ 1998 is one of the great melancholy anthems of this century. A 2017 gem.
While I wait here / keeping the wolves at bay / I open the door / Find your face / And all that you are packed in one suitcase / Yeah / This is being alive / This is being alive

Speaking of Amy Adams, the darkest, bleakest series I can remember watching, probably…ever is Sharper Objects (with her) which starts a dark gray and tumbles full on down a deep well of emotional and relational brutality, including the unfolding of a particular familial dynamic I will not list, as it would be a major spoiler. You’re welcome. Message me if you just wanna know the end. Or…skip to the Wikipedia entry. It’s dark. And I learned a few more definitions from the DSM-5 descriptions of mental disorders. Amy is terrific. If you’re super sad already, don’t watch. Go with The Sound of Music or The Goonies.

When I think of the worst things in the world that could happen, then trying to remake The Sound of Music is high on the list. Only Julie Andrews, only Christopher Plummer. Period. Not a purist most of the time, but unless Amy Adams signed up, then count me out. Some things don’t need to be redone.

James Arthur / Falling for You

October 11 Friday

There is studying and laundry and nursing and laundry and more laundry and a 33-month old willing to be part of it all, including translating and assisting his baby brother with anything and everything. Also, we have two children in diapers, including the afore-mentioned helper and helpee.

At some point, the overall-clad helper dons a backpack and ends up outside, where I chase his giggling body all around the front yard. Later, we drive to their grandparents and eat vegeburgers. My father swaggers around the house with a bird on his shoulder and tells the story of how he almost died. The bird. My mom reads with her youngest grandson on lap and later helps give him a necessary bath; a bath he needs for reasons which I will not divulge in order to preserve some level of historical dignity.

October 20

I accidentally watched the premiere episode of Watchmen the night it came out, and I’m not sure what made me happier: the fact that it was really good (hyper-suspenseful foreshadowing), or the fact that for the first time in a decade or so I watched the premiere episode of something before my brother Jamey. Does this and Amazon’s The Boys signal the next wave of superhero series? Don’t know. But already looking forward to episode 2.

November 2019

…and now am into Washington Black.

I finally finished Lincoln in the Bardo. It was a hard one to get into. All these mini-narratives woven throughout, and figuring out what was happening amidst the context of the larger story was difficult. But about two-thirds of the way through, there begins a luminescent final act that is filled with some of the most beautiful passages and ideas; some conveyed in terse and crude language, others in elegant and verbose musings. A hefty work unlike any other. If you read it, read it slow, and be patient.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s 1981 morose masterpiece Architecture & Morality.

On one of my a-ha listening kicks. Yep, the Norwegian threesome most famous in the States for Take On Me. A fabulous song, but whoever still thinks of them as one-hit wonders has no idea just how deep, prolific, and strong they’ve been through four decades of making synth-pop gems that stick.

Working through George Saunders’ Man Booker-winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo. A challenging start. Took me a while to figure out who was who and what was happening and follow the narrative structure the book is based around. Have to admit I slogged through the first hundred pages, but gradually picked up interest…and starting around p. 190 there are some beautiful, beautiful pieces and passages. Unlike anything else.

Please don’t make me admit this: I accidentally watched Nic Cage in The Humanity Bureau and I am a worse person for it. So much worse than a horrible movie: a boring movie. Not bad in the ‘going big and striking out.’ Just tepid, cliche, and mediocre in every way. I don’t want to talk about how I accidentally saw it. The whole thing. I’ll save it for a full blog post. Someday.

Amazon’s Modern Love anthology about…love. So delicious, so much deeper and layered than I imagined beforehand. Fave so far. Episode 1’s father-daughter-channeling When the Doorman Is Your Main Man…or Episode 4’s disintegrating marriage opera Rallying to Keep the Game Alive…or Episode 5’s second date beautiful disaster At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity. A wonderful look at love in different forms.

December 2019 

David Nannon’s dialogue with legendary author Ursula Le Guin appropriately titled “Conversations On Writing.” Full of observations on genre, style, and most of all humanity. Sample, regarding point of view: “…if you read only contemporary stuff, always third-person limited, you don’t realize that point of view in a story is very important and can be movable.” (p.36) / 2018

Honestly, I don’t think Shane Black’s take on Predator (“The Predator”) is terrible. I dug it. Still tough to top Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Idiot.

Today, I might have to say Arrival is my favourite film of the decade.

I should probably start listening to some stuff besides 80s synth pop (my choice) and Christmas music (everyone else’s choice).

Watched the first two episode of Fleabag, per my sis Lanessa, and uh, a bunch of telly critics, and oh wow, it is deftly and very funnily written. Hilarious, emotionally brutal and uncomfortable, very sharply written and acted.

Watched part of the first episode of the new Netflix Dennis Quaid Christmas show. The name escapes me, but it seems to be channeling a much less funny and much less charming fusion of Friends and Party of Five.

The first verse of Jeff Lynne’s Down Came the Rain. Achingly, devastatingly, matter-of-fact beautiful.

December 01

To share a song on a foggy morn. Some mornings the only thing I feel like listening to is Jeff Lynne.

December 09

Impeachment hearings in Judiciary Committee. Mesmerizing. Who am I to judge…yet where do Doug Collins and Jim Jordan belong, but in a special place in cells not far from their idol, his royalty the Donald, for crimes against rule of law, truth, and basic human decency?

A two year old not feeling well, so in and out of the school and classroom, a short jaunt to a waterfall and snack, accompanied by a too short nap for both and none for me. A fast drivethru dollar cuppa joe, race down to wee Becca for a quick bite (lunch) for a certain three month old, more coffee, crying boys, back to school.

Morning

I hope I can learn to love Mondays again. She was making lunches for us all - that would be my wife - and I kissed her. She apologized for her morning breath, but joke’s on her: she smells good.

December 10

Followup: party went well, our 9-year old son leaped into playing Concentration with the girls, had to run a forgotten phone down to one girl, lots of good treats. Most important: a grateful daughter who relished the opportunity to share her space and family by hosting friends.

The scurried focus of preparing for a 12-year old’s Christmas party. I started a group thread to text the other parents yesterday. All moms. Haven’t heard a peep. Although Becca has directly from one. #dad

Sean from Said the Gramophone released his songs of the year last night. #smalljoys

I want time. A little bit more time and space to focus. That’s what I want for Christmas.

December 12

A Countess feeling unwell, marooned at home with two young lads in a reversal of yesterday. I resume coffee drinking after a 24-hour sabbatical, and treat my stomach to a few fistfuls of nuts and accidental bacon sample at TJ’s. The kids in fine spirits, we finish third A Christmas Prince, a certain someone zonked out on purple couch. It pours outside. And, oh yes: impeachment hearings wrapping up in House after 13 hours of contentious lunacy. The lunacy being that somehow our dear president is not in fact the most brazen example of self preservation and corruption this country has seen in power in a long, long time.

A two hour conversation with Jeff and Mick, Trump supporters who “…don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him besides the socialist Democrats.”

Trying to squeeze in a short nap in the drivers seat of our Honda in the parking lot while the rain gushes down. My neck is linked but too tired to care after feeling miserable yesterday with two young boys while out and about and sleeping minimally last couple nights.

December 13

A long, long December night leading into a Friday the 13th. Out with a two-year in the living room all night; throwing up but with the sweetest disposition in between episodes. Finally gave up on trying to sleep and watched Shane Black’s take on Predator. Trademark him. Decent. Two vomit episodes today, morning and night, cranking through laundry and trying to school. Losing my patience with certain nine-year olds more than I want to admit, dammit. A very long day, a very slow day, I’m sorry to say I did not grab all I could out of it. Oh, after losing my appetite for a chunk of the week I am inadvertently at 158. Yikes.

December 16

A Monday in which a child must be stripped down in a cold parking lot in order to remove excrement from diaper and clothes, post-consult. Working with children in Mrs. R’s class on writing; one young man not happy with my suggestion that his story could perhaps use some unexpected element, as opposed to having everything transpire predictably. “well the chicken is a fire-fighting chicken, he puts out fires so that’s what he’s supposed to do!” No interest in my help after that.

December 22

I will write at greater length about both these books soon, but the 1-2 punch of Washington Black followed by Where the Crawdad Sings is significant. Entirely different, but masterful stories with page-turning plots that are slowed down only by the beautiful characterizations and rich descriptions of place, people, and the relationships - or lack of them - that drive us to do what we must do.

December 23

An almost 3-year old boy softly, slowly peruses a Christmas activity book in his pajamas at the table. An energetic 9-year old rehearses forward rolls and other feats of athleticism on his small bed. Later, those same two boys do chores: respectively, dishes and sweeping. This is how you get good at things. And life. Small tasks done well over time. A 4-month old snuggles up with his Dad-applied swaddle for a pre-Christmas nap. Two brothers - the same duo from chores previous - practice percussion on tambourine and then segue to drawing. Should a 2-year old be using Sharpies? In our world…well, perhaps the answer is different than in other households, and that’s okay. Shortly thereafter, a 12-year old sister joins. Hot chocolate is drank, drunk. A 2-year shirtless artiste holds a black Sharpie in each hand, holding and hoarding; the black ones with fine tips and good ink are gold in this fam.

Later, the trio helps fold laundry. If there is not great cheer, at least there is also not great gloom. To head off the gloom, I read with a couple boys before nap; an occasion not greeted with great joy, but nonetheless inevitable under the harsh directorship of myself. The elder clasps firmly, gently, firmly, firmly, his little brother’s hand, ensuring he knows, he knows he is loved and protected and shepherded through all roads and times, good and bad, conscious and slumbering. Finally they drift off, aggressively in tune with hilarious discord at their father’s (me) making them nap during daylight hours. But as such is their fate. I FaceTime beloved people in Toronto and then am reminded of the sudden awakening of a slumbering boy; a boy displeased with the missing presence of both me and his younger charge.

I smile as I walk past a 9-year old reading a little book of 20th century chronology while using our water closet’s facilities. I hope he always keeps an interest in what has come before and in the broader scope of existence outside our social and physical ecosystem.

To close out the day, there is more laundry and diaper changing and matching elf pajamas and some laughing, interspersed with a handful of giggles and a couple chortles. I like being these people’s dad. It is a good life and I have much to make my heart bounce.

December 29

Delicious tofu scramble. And some good coffee on a Sunday. House maintenance and looking after a sick girl. Puzzle with a fresh three year old. A niece and nephew who are our family and it feels so right having them here with us. A half hour playing at the river before farewell. Fixing a bookcase. The Black Stallion with kids, Marriage Story and cake with Becca.

December 30

Sick girl sidelined. A nine-year old boy who steps up big time and helps out. A fresh three-year with exponentially evolving command of language and humor. A four-month old who wants me to hold him sunup to sundown. Or until mom is home. I timelapse clouds and make a good salad. Becca and I eat cake and finish the beautiful and sad Marriage Story.

December 31

A decade comes to a close. A meeting at cascade coffeehouse to keep the coffers not empty. A stop by a roaring river in the drenching rain that leaves me exhilarated. Sick children. A good film (see below) with a sister, two mothers, some mini pizzas, and my beloved immediates. The year ends, the next begins. And thus it goes.

If you love Mark Twain, rivers, and stories that have grit while still showing the unlikely beauties of strangers on a road trip becoming family…then you’re not gonna wanna miss Peanut Butter Falcon. One of my favourite stories and buddy films of the year.

——

2019 Movies I Like or love

Most Dear

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Avengers : Endgame
The Gentlemen
I See You
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Toy Story 4
The Two Popes
Us

Honorable mention

1917
Captain Marvel
Ford V Ferrari
Judy
Late Night (Apple TV)
The Lighthouse
Monos
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Spider-man: Far From Home
Troop Zero
Uncut Gems

Best of the rest : all ages

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Onward
Toy Story 4
Troop Zero

Kids

Frozen II
Missing Link

Guilty pleasures

Crawl (Prime)
Ready or Not (HBO)

Wanted to like / overrated / disappointing

Booksmart
High Flying Bird
The Irishman
Shazam!
Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Not great, but worth a once-through

The Aeronauts (Prime)

Disappointing and/or underwhelmed

The Irishman
Joker

Holiday

Want to see

Ad Astra
Always Be My Maybe
The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
American Woman
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Art of Self Defense
Atlantics
Blinded by the Light
Brittany Runs a Marathon
Climax
Dark Waters
Doctor Sleep
Dolemite Is My Name
Downton Abbey
Family
Fighting With My Family
Freaks
Hala
Harpoon
High Life
The Highwaymen
The Hole in the Ground
Honey Boy
Hotel Mumbai
Hustlers
Judy & Punch
Just Mercy
The Kid Who Would Be King
The Last Black Man In San Francisco (Prime, doc)
Light of My Life (Prime)
Little Monsters (Hulu)
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (doc)
Meeting Gorbachev (doc, Herzog!)
Memory: The Origins of Alien (doc)
Midsommar (Prime)
Miles Davis: Birth of the cool
The Mustang
The Nightingale (Prime)
Portrait of a Lady On Fire
Plus One (with Jack Quaid)
Queen & Slim
The Report (Prime)
Rocketman
Ruben Brandt, Collector
Rust Creek (Prime)
Skin
The Souvenir
Styx
The Truth (La Verite)
Villains
Waves
Western Stars (Springsteen doc)

——

Back to Film Index by Year

ESSENTIAL MUSIC OF 2019

Albums

Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars
Cage the Elephant - Social Cues
The Futureheads - Powers
The Hold Steady - Thrashing Thru The Passion
Idlewild - Interview Music
UNKLE - The Road: Part II / Lost Highway
Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

Honorable mention

James Arthur - YOU
Charley Crockett - The Valley
Chvrches - Screen Violence
Jeff Lynne’s ELO - Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out Of Nowhere
Meow Meow & Pink Martini - Hotel Amour
Ravens & Chimes - The Empty House
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
Hawksley Workman - Median Age Wasteland

The greatest songs of 2019

1. Confusion in the Marketplace - the Hold Steady

2. Down Came the Rain - Jeff Lynne’s ELO

3. Drive Fast (The Stuntman) - Bruce Springsteen

4. The Search - NF

5. Seventeen by Sharon Van Etten

6. There Goes My Miracle - Bruce Springsteen

2019 PLAYLISTS BY MONTH

January

Seventeen by Sharon Van Etten
Asking for a Friend - Chvrches
The Search - NF

February

coming soon

March

Chasin’ Wild Horses - Bruce Springsteen

April

Down Came the Rain - Jeff Lynne’s ELO
Drive Fast (The Stuntman) - Bruce Springsteen
Sleepy Joe’s Cafe - Bruce Springsteen

May

Hello Sunshine - Bruce Springsteen

June

Do You Feel It - Slow Pulp

July

August

When I Grow Up - NF

September

Confusion in the Marketplace - the Hold Steady
There Goes My Miracle - Bruce Springsteen

October

November

Pressure to Party - Julia Jacklin
Sundown - Bruce Springsteen

December

2019 Blog Posts Below