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| notes from underground - societal whispers all the news that print will fit. |
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Tuesday, May 24, 2005 np: sleater-kinney - the woods more on that in a second. in midsts of the recent, sad passing of frank gorshen (the wonderful character actor/impressionist who played the riddler on the original adam west batman tv series) and the release of the third season of batman: the animated series on dvd, i was doing some reading up on character voices from the animated series on IMDB. i've always loved the fact that mark hamill was the voice of the joker (and what a voice!), but little did i know how many other famous folks graced the microphones of that series. a brief, but heady, list: adrienne barbeau (catwoman), kate mulgrew, richard moll (harvey dent), ed asner, ron perlman (clayface), katherine helmond, micky dolenz, tim curry, heather locklear, roddy mcdowall (the mad hatter), loretta swit, bud cort, john rhys-davies, adam west, ernie hudson, marilu henner, levar burton, sen. patrick leahy and adam ant. i loved that cartoon as an adolescent and i still do. the dark, psychological aspects of some of the episodes were really intelligent and forward thinking for a 'kids show.' it expected a lot of the kids that watched it and i think it rewarded those who took the time to think about what was going on. educational and entertaining. -- sleater-kinney's the woods was released today. it had slipped out on the net some time ago, but the band's pleas for people not to download it did earn some sympathy from me. aside from the fact that i don't really download nearly as much as i used to. so i waited for today. and i'm glad. this is just after one listen through, mind you, but my initial reactions in single words: loud, distorted, powerful. this is their loudest, most abrasive and most forward thinking record to date. the production is marvelous and it makes this record leap out of the grooves. it literally makes the powerful roar of past albums like dig me out seem pitiful in comparison and that is something. i've always loved this band, but i felt that the records didn't come out enough. their energy was there but the production limited it. i thought in the past that it was their two guitar/no bass set up that did that. i was wrong. they just needed the right production and lord, have they found it. this record is fantastic. it will definitely be in my year end top 25 list, way, way up in the list. -- and now, because i can, and because i was thinking of it the other day, my hemmingway immitation piece i wrote for my rhetoric and composition class my senior year of college. Ketchum by Josh Neas “And me without a jacket to wear,” said the Norwegian. “You will be fine,” Rick said. The Norwegian looked at the bartender. He pushed his glasses up his nose and sniffed deeply. He had a cold. He turned towards the window of the bar. “It as if I am unprotected.” Rick shrugged and dried highball glasses. The Norwegian walked from one window to the next. He stamped his feet and adjusted the neck of his shirt. He frowned at his steamed up glasses. He removed them and wiped them with the tail of his shirt. Rick turned up the heat. “How can you survive in such weather,” the Norwegian asked. He looked at Rick. Rick was counting bar tabs. “Huh?” “How can you enjoy living in this weather?” “What weather?” “This,” said the Norwegian. He pointed out the window. “Oh,” said Rick. The Norwegian stood up straighter. He became angry. He turned back to the window. Two men walked into the bar and glanced from side to side. They came up to the barstools and took seats. One ordered a steak and eggs. The other man ordered coffee and a newspaper. He turned and looked at the Norwegian. “Do you like fjords?” The Norwegian stood staring out the window. “I said, do you like fjords,” repeated the man. The Norwegian turned. One man sat staring at him and eating eggs. The other man just stared. “What’s it like to live around fjords?” “I would not know,” said the Norwegian. “What do you mean?” “I don’t live near any.” “Oh.” “What do you mean, ‘oh?’ What is with you guys and that word? ‘Oh?’” The man turned back to the bar and did not answer. The Norwegian left the bar. He slammed the door as he left. He walked into the weather without a jacket. Rick looked up from his racing form and mumbled. “What’s that,” the steak and egg eater asked. “Damn Norwegians,” said Rick. The man with coffee lit a cigarette. “Not here, please,” said Rick. “Take it out to the fjords.” The men laughed and the smoking and coffee drinking man went outside. The Norwegian was standing near a hitching post. “Where is your horse,” the Norwegian said and patted the post. The man took a drag from the cigarette he was holding. He tapped the ash from the end. “Where is your fjord,” the man asked. He smiled and laughed. “What is this business? I am not from Scandinavia or anything. I don’t understand,” said the Norwegian. “You are kidding,” said the man. “What if I just assumed you were Russian? How would you like that?” “I am Russian.” “That is beside the point.” “It is your shirt, man. Your shirt.” The Norwegian tugged out the tail of his shirt. It read ‘I’ and ‘Fjords’ with a picture of a heart between the two words. It also read ‘Norway’ in blue letters. “This is why you think I am Norwegian?” “Your accent is from Lillehammer also.” “I am from Idaho. Not Lillehammer.” The man shrugged and took a final drag from his cigarette and put it out against the hitching post. “Same thing.” The man walked inside and left the Norwegian in the weather he despised. posted by J. Neas | 5/24/2005 11:05:00 PM
Comments:
Oh my, yours is ridiculously better than mine in its "Hemingway-esq-ness". I remember that assignment being one of the most challenging (or annoying) parts of the course for me, although entertaining. I am definitely a Faulkner girl, in style and preference. I remember Jeff's comment on my piece was something to the degree of "good try, I know this must have been hard for you."
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*grin* especially for this part: "What if I just assumed you were Russian? How would you like that?" "I am Russian." # posted by
 : 4:37 PM, May 27, 2005 |
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