This is Where I Used to Live

About to fall asleep for the last time in GH. Spent the day assembling semi-disposable Swedish furniture. Realized the relevance of many childhood years spent playing with Lego. Tomorrow, I move downtown. More so. I am tired, and excited, and nostalgic for the parts of my life that I am about to leave behind.

More to come soon.

Chuck Palahniuk :: Survivor

“The first rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club. The second rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.” If ROCKET SOUP had existed six months ago, I would have posted a short review of Chuck Palahniuk’s first novel, “Fight Club.” The just of this short review would have been that, while being a fantastic first work by an up and coming author, “Fight Club” was a slight bit disappointing; it was too similar to its silver screen adaptation. (Although, of course, by no fault of its own.) Not having a silver screen adaptation, Chuck Palahniuk’s second novel, “Survivor,” immediately sidesteps this criticism; although I think that it goes much further than that. “Survivor” is the tale of Tender Branson, last surviving member of the so-called Creedish Death Cult, ultra-sensationalized media messiah, and last passenger of flight 2039. (The tale is a first hand account, read into the flight recorder as flight 2039 makes its terminal journey to crash into the Australian outback.) A satire of modern American life, “Survivor” maintains the dark ambiance of Palahniuk’s earlier work. The scope of the story seems to grow exponentially as the plot twists and turns at break-neck speed; don’t get too comfortable, or your head will be spinning next chapter. And, as with “Fight Club,” Palahniuk has littered “Survivor” with examples of his prowess to write succinct yet quite memorable passages. One of my favorites, taken from “Survivor:”

“And maybe this is just a trick of the light, but I’ve eaten almost the whole lobster before I notice the heart beat.”

All things told, “Survivor” has to be one of the better novels that I’ve read in the past few years. I can’t recommend it to everybody, strong themes of suicide and exploitation may make it uneasy for the faint of heart, but if you enjoyed “Fight Club,” and are looking for a good, quick, read, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a copy.

More to come soon.

Björk :: Volta

A Björk review 91 days after a Björk release. It took a while, but I have to lay the blame on the Smashing Pumpkins, and Queens of the Stone Age, and every other band / artist that / who released fantastic material in the months following May 8, 2007. Björk’s sixth full-length studio album, “Volta,” has barely found space on my rotation as of late, but not for lack of quality. “Volta,” while not departing completely from the experimental nature of its predecessor, “Medulla,” does feel like a callback to Björk’s earlier solo work; “Debut” or “Post.” At points, that is. Most succinctly, it seems as if Björk is perfecting her mix of layered vocals and orchestration with heavy beats and a dose of hip-hop production. (Timbaland is a collaborator on three album tracks.) Sound interesting? Well, it’s Björk. Perhaps that is, really, the only way to describe it. The Smashing Pumpkins write / play rock music. Dave Brubeck writes / plays jazz music. Björk writes / plays Björk music. Anyhow. Highlights include; “Wanderlust,” with its layered vocals, heavy metal horns, and beats, and “Vertebrae by Vertebrae,” with its foreboding horns, and crazy Björk vocals. (Honorable mention goes to “Declare Independence,” a set of annotated instructions on how to start a country.) Downsides include the teletubby-like cover artwork, and two duets with Antony Hegarty. (Perhaps I just haven’t reached that age where I can properly enjoy a *smarmy* love duet.) As a whole, “Volta” does not disappoint, but does not necessarily surpass Björk’s previous releases. (I give it 6.0 out of 10.0 slices of hot pizza.) If you are a die-hard Björk fan, buy “Volta,” no question. If not, try listening to “Homogenic,” or “Post,” or “Debut,” or “Medulla” first; you won’t be disappointed.

More to come soon.