Better Than Friday - 181
Good afternoon everyone, wishing you a nice weekend.
All is fine here, finishing up 'A Sport and a Pastime' by James Salter - A story detailing the evolution of an intensely erotic relationship. The writing is very impressive.
1. Book to read: Yoga by Emmanuele Carrère
A book by a French author (a friend of Houellebecq) about, I believe, himself, and how shortly after an attempt to gather material for his new book, an introduction to Yoga, while on a silent retreat, his entire life, which seemed to have been going so well, completely falls apart.
Looks to be a great dark comedy.
2. William T. Vollmann Interview
Strange Character. I've heard great things. Looking forward to reading him.
3. 'Old Norse' Youtube Channel
Yeah Old Norse Poetry sounds fucking rad.
4. Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos
Love Ribot. Iconic guitar sound.
Here's a terrific album from these guys.
Also, he recently wrote a book.
Ribot previously played guitar for Tom Waits.
One of my favorites they did together is Hoist That Rag.
Phenomenal, legendary electronic music from Underworld.
Shocked I haven't already posted it. NOTHING sounds like this...Pioneering.
Listened to it a lot in Detroit.
Ibis. These guys are everywhere here.
Comments (9)
I've been obsessed with the two Ribot albums with Los Cubanos for a couple of months now, absolutely fantastic music for working in kitchens. Ribot is one of the all-time greats. For anyone playing the guitar interested in grasping some of his playing style I recommend Eric Haugen on YouTube, good stuff there! Check out the version of Bella Ciao with Ribot and Waits as well!
And Cliff, I can’t believe you haven’t read Vollmann yet. Read The Dying Grass. What. A. Book.
Underworld brings me back. I used to listen to a lot of Underworld and Orbital back in the nineties. I still listen to them both, but something about hearing that song tonight totally transported me back to being a teenager and trying to get my friends into electronic music.
How about Leftfield - Leftism (LP), which came out 1 year after Dubnobasswithmyheadman? It has John Lydon and couple other massive vocal tunes...
Emmanuel Carrere wrote a seemingly Kafka-inspired novel called The Moustache. The ending is so gnarly and the film disappointingly omits it.
If you like Salter, Light Years is a must. It's very different and a more mature work than A Sport and a Past TIme imo. I also love his short story collection, Dusk and Other Stories. He's one of my favorite writers.
I read Yoga last month. It's a bizarre, fascinating read, especially if you like Houellebecq. The self loathing memoir parts are less enjoyable than his writing on yoga and meditation in my opinion. It's still well worth your time.
Vollmann! Fuck yeah
A friend gave me Atlas and Rising Up and Rising Down recently. He said I had to read them. I plan to dive in after I finish Dhalgren and a few smaller things.