A Modest Construct

Posts tagged `music`

¶ The Gold Bug Variations

The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers: Publisher: Harper Perennial; Year: 1992; Pages: 640

With the exception of Powers’ latest novel (which, admittedly, felt more like a novella, for him), or at least everything of his that I’ve read, invariably contains two parallel plots, one current and one historical, that converge around some central idea. The Gold Bug Variations is no different, and it may be easily be Powers’ most well-known work, and I daresay his most lengthy and daring.

To put it glibly, The Gold Bug Variations draws connecting lines between genetics, music (specifically Bach’s Goldberg Variations), and to some degree, computer science. While the book certainly has a long reach, its ultimate impact fails to be quite as impressive as it promises to be.

¶ Juliet, Naked

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby: Publisher: Riverhead; Year: 2009; Pages: 416

Like a lot of readers, my impression of Nick Hornby is most influenced by High Fidelity, which is still widely considered his best novel. I can’t say for certain, but I suspect that the book’s popularity has not a little to do with its treatment of minutiae: the plot itself is somewhat tepid romantic comedy fare, but the tangents about pop records are delivered with such a characteristic force that one can’t help but pay attention.

Juliet, Naked attempts to recapture some of that juju. It’s the story of Tucker Crowe, a somewhat obscure indie musician from the 70s and 80s who very suddenly left the music scene (and any sort of public persona) after a mysterious incident in the bathroom of a Minnesota nightclub. For the next twenty years, a gaggle of his most devoted fans have speculated about his life, the cause of his exit, the merits of his music, and theories about his current whereabouts. To readers somewhat familiar with the indie rock scene, that kind of underground obsession is a familiar phenomenon—the tendency of the fanatical is to impose genius upon the mysterious. Hornby’s status as a cognoscente of the pop music scene gives the story a certain sense of slick verisimilitude that works well.

¶ Friday Random Ten CLXXXII

The “swing and a miss” edition

Missy Higgins – [On A Clear Night #09] Peachy
Mogwai – [Come on Die Young #02] Cody
Opeth – [My Arms, Your Hearse #02] April Ethereal
Joaquin Rodrigo – [Concierto de Aranjuez (Romero) #10] Invocation et danse: 2. Allegro moderato: Polo
Nightingale – [I #02] Still In The Dark
Foo Fighters – [There Is Nothing Left To Lose #09] Headwires
Swarm Of The Lotus – [When White Becomes Black #09] Episode Infinity
Jason Falkner – [Presents Author Unknown #05] She Goes To Bed
Michael Jackson – [Bad #04] Liberian Girl
Gustav Mahler – [The Complete Symphonies CD9 #01] Symphony No.7 in E Minor – 1a. Langsam (Adagio)

§3604 · February 20, 2009 · 4 comments · Tags: Friday Random Ten, memes, music

¶ Friday Random Ten CLXXXI

The “Eastwood Charts” edition

Nine Inch Nails – [The Downward Spiral #04] March of the Pigs
Nine Inch Nails – [With Teeth [5.1] #12] Beside You In Time
Virgos Merlot – [Signs of a Vacant Soul #12] Disregarding
Beirut – [The Flying Club Cup #02] Nantes
Sergio – [Swords #02] The Spendthrift
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – [Nocturama #03] Right Out Of Your Hand
John Vanderslice – [Pixel Revolt #09] Dear Sarah Shu
Mogwai – [Happy Songs for Happy People #02] Moses? I Amn’t
Mew – [And The Glass Handed Kites #05] Apocalypso
Grails – [Doomsdayer's Holiday #01] Doomsdayer’s Holiday

§3598 · February 13, 2009 · (No comments) · Tags: Friday Random Ten, memes, music

¶ Friday Random Ten CLXXX

The “Is it summer yet?” edition.

Zao – [Legendary #04] Suspend Suspension
Pain of Salvation – [Entropia #12] Plains Of Dawn
Cave In – [Perfect Pitch Black #09] Tension In The Ranks
Paul Hindemith – [The 3 Piano Sonatas #03] Sonata No.1 III.Lebhaft
Ben Folds – [Ben Folds Live #11] Army
Leaves – [The Angela Test #04] As We Walk
Feist – [Let It Die #09] Secret Heart
Five Pointe O – [Untitled #05] Freedom?
Nine Inch Nails – [The Fragile CD1 #11] La Mer
Enslaved – [Below The Lights #04] Queen Of Night

§3578 · February 6, 2009 · (No comments) · Tags: Friday Random Ten, memes, music