Staff Picks

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown [Book]

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The first odd thing I noticed about this novel is that it’s told in the first person plural. It’s a clever and engaging device for sisters talking about themselves and each other, and kept me attentive to whose point of view I was reading as it shifted from the inside of a character’s head to one, two or three characters collectively observing another. The voice is opinionated, familiar, loyal, funny, and often jealous or spiteful as siblings are about each other. Not much happens (three adult sisters move home as their mother struggles with cancer; they find themselves to be more than they thought) but plot doesn’t much matter as the book is about personalities, family relationships, and how we evolve through involvement with others. A rich vein of Shakespeare runs through Weird Sisters in the naming of characters, the professor father’s constant quoting, and the cast of literary archetypes that inhabit these contemporary, believable women.

The Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet [DVD]

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The Triplets of Belleville animator/director takes on an unrealized script of the late French comedian, writer and director Jacques Tati in the Illusionist. This remarkable, melancholic film features an animated Tati in the role of the magician named Tatcischeff (Tati’s actual last name) at a time when vaudeville performances are beginning to become a passé form of entertainment.

On a trip to Scotland for an appearance, Tatcischeff meets a young girl who winds up following him to London. The magician takes her under his care and winds up going broke funding her desire for expensive clothing. The two also come into contact with several eccentric and delightful characters surrounding the changing 1960’s entertainment industry.

What we have in the Illusionist is a funny, elegant and moving film which marries the essence of Jacques Tati’s brilliance and the stylish animation of Sylvain Chomet.

A Wizard, A True Star by Todd Rundgren [Music CD]

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Todd Rundgren, hot off the heels of Something/Anything? and its hits “Hello It’s Me” and “I Saw the Light”, released an experimental album called A Wizard, A True Star in 1973. The record is a strangely assembled pastiche of synthesizer driven pop songs, homages to Disney soundtracks and wacky Spike Jones records, soul covers and dark, personal compositions.

Nearly all of the songs run together on this recording creating a frantic, but inspired listening experience. Ever the innovative musician and producer, Rundgren’s engaging arrangements and subtle overdubs make this record a gratifying headphone listen.

Live at the Star Club Hamburg by Jerry Lee Lewis [Music CD]

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Live albums are always tricky; sure, a lot of your favorite songs appear on the track listing, but often the magic isn’t quite there. Artists often issue live recordings as an inexpensive way to fulfill contracts with their record labels. A certain magic can be missing from the original studio recording or you’re just left with poor sound quality.

Live at the Star Club Hamburg happens to be one of the exceptions to this trend. Backed by the Nashville Teens, Jerry Lee Lewis delivers one of the fiercest live concerts that has ever been captured on tape. The piano, much like the drums, is an instrument where physicality can be a variable. A musician’s force has much to do with the overall sound. Jerry Lee, sounding possessed (and possibly a little in the bag), pounds like a piano with fury and rage like it’s his last night to raise hell on Earth.

For some context, it’s 1964 and the the British Invasion is in full force. The Beatles had taken Hamburg by storm a couple of years back. Army stints, jail time, religious conversion and death put an end to most of the original 1950’s rockers. The Killer also had his share of controversy when he married his 13 year old cousin while still legally bound to another woman. The days of chart topping hits probably seemed like a distant past.

What does Jerry Lee do then? Well, he heads out to a small stage in Hamburg and plays one of the most aggressive sets ever heard. The crowd is in a frenzy throughout his set chanting “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” while he rolls over songs that were personal hits like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and popular favorites of his contemporaries such as “Long Tall Sally”, “Matchbox” and “Hound Dog”. Essentially, he’s delivering a similar song selection as the Liverpudlians brought with them to Germany; only Lewis is far more aggressive and is perhaps trying to prove that he’s an original rocker.

Fans of 50’s rock n’ roll will certainly enjoy this record. I also feel comfortable recommending Live at the Star Club Hamburg to fans of more raw groups like the Stooges or the MC5.

A House, a Street, a City : the Story of 17 Summer by Lu Stone [Book]

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Published as part of Northampton’s 350^th Anniversary Chapbook Series, Lu Stone’s remarkable history of the house and street she called home is a fascinating portrait of the many interwoven stories which make up our neighborhoods. Finely illustrated and impeccably researched, the book is a rich tapestry of the many lives whose fates crossed in the neighborhood in the 110+ years before she purchased the house in 1983. The subjects range from working class families and Olympic athletes to Lewis Warner, the President of the Hampshire County National Bank who suddenly absconded with hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bank in 1898. The book remains one of the finest examples of a ‘people’s history’ we have in the region, of dusty stories forgotten through the ages but rediscovered through neighbor’s anecdotes, dusty old newspapers, library microfilm and aging photographs cherished by relatives. The house in question, which sits today mere yards from 7-Eleven and Dunkin’ Donuts, around the corner from the generic strip that is present-day King St., stood on the edge between a neighborhood of working class families and the stately homes and towering trees of 19^th century King St. The book provides a priceless snapshot of local history, illuminating lives forgotten, reviving cherished memories and in the process helping us to understand the town’s history as a whole. This book is, as always, available to borrow from the library’s collection but is also, along with others from the 350th Anniversary Chapbook series, available for purchase at the Forbes Circulation Desk.

Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon [Music CD]

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The Plastic Ono Band LP is commonly referred to as the “Primal Scream” album as John and Yoko were going through Arthur Janov’s Primal Scream therapy during the album’s creation in 1970. While Lennon’s lyrics had been hinting at the pain of his childhood since “Help” and “I’m a loser”, on Plastic Ono Band he becomes overtly confessional and addresses directly the disillusionment and isolation of fame and the overwhelming pain of his youth. The cryptic and surreal wordplay that characterized many of John’s contributions to the Beatles albums of the late 60’s is abandoned here and the results are split equally between straightforward quiet love songs (“Hold on”, “Love” and “Look at Me” which more closely resemble his fingerpicked contributions from 1968 such as “Julia” and “Dear Prudence”), filthy distorted rockers (“I Found out” and “Well, Well, Well” which share the heavy tube distortion sounds of “Revolution” and “Cold Turkey”) and epic declarations of loss and rebirth (“Mother” and “God”, both of which feature ‘simple’ piano/bass/drums arrangements). Released in October 1970, in the wake of Altamont, Manson and Kent State, “Plastic Ono Band” addresses the disillusionment of the end of the sixties, the break-up and dispelling of the Beatles myth and the tragedies of John’s childhood. Opening with the intense primal therapy of “Mother” (in which John finally overtly addresses his feelings of abandonment as a child and his mother’s sudden death just as they were reconciling) and closing with the myth-busting “God”, the album is easily Lennon’s most cohesive solo work. Lennon famously hated the sound of his own voice unadorned, and was constantly imploring producers to swathe it in reverb or other effects, and his most famous Beatles contributions were often dense, sonically experimental psychedelic studio creations. On Plastic Ono Band, stripped of daft wordplay and overproduction (Phil Spector, who produced half the sessions, is most notable here for his uncharacteristic restraint), with exceptional accompaniment by Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and Klaus Voorman, Lennon produces his most complete raw and honest solo work.

Anthem for Doomed Youth by Carola Dunn [Book]

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The 19th Daisy Dalrymple mystery was my introduction to this cozy murder series. Daisy is an aristocratic young mother whose husband is a Detective Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard. Set in 1920s London, the mystery revolves around some veterans of the ‘Great War’ whose bodies were found secretly buried in Epping Forest. The heroine possesses curiosity, common sense, intuition and a sly sense of humor. The period setting is engaging and the unraveling of the plot complicated enough to keep turning the pages. With the lead character’s appeal and just the right amount of Anglophilia, this was fun enough for me to borrow another one.

Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience [Music CD]

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You find yourself alone, lying in a field of flowers. You’ve just been awoken by the distant pounding of what sounds like a tympani. Looking ahead, your feet seem miles away and a group of bunnies are gnawing on your blue jeans. Jimi once rapped, “Ho hum. I’m as good as bunnies- and you know how good bunnies are.” Just shake ‘em off, brother or sister; they’re just hungry after a long, hot summer night. The drum fades and nature, and in fact everything you hear as well, is moving backward. Fear not, you’re in Electric Ladyland, friend. Have you ever been?

Take out that note from your back pocket. No matter the urge to call the telephone number written on there, trust me, you don’t want to see Little Miss Strange again. Rip it to shreds.

Spend the next fifteen minutes drying yourself off from the still raining, still dreaming sky with the Experience in concert, floating somewhere in the the astral plane. “Voodoo Chile” is the jam. Look left and see a Marshall stack and a white Fender Strat resting comfortably. It’s been tuned and awaiting on you, man. Put the strap on over your shoulder (and make sure you’re going lefty), pick the open A-string (that’s the second heaviest on the axe), let it ring and move on over toward the amplifier. Things will start buzzing and feeding back some brilliant musical colors and waveforms. Mitch and Noel should be launching off that any minute now.

A singular door will appear in the middle of the field somewhere behind you. Open it and look out into outer-space with those Gypsy eyes. Grab the burning midnight lamp, step out and be mindful of the crosstown traffic. Mr. Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” is your soundtrack… and your guide, baby.

Keep the sounds of Electric Ladyland steady and you’ll find your way.

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury [Book]

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A science-fiction classic, The Martian Chronicles tells a story of the colonization of Mars through a series of short stories and vignettes. Bradbury imagines Mars as the home of an ancient and beautiful civilization, doomed to fall when it encounters the shortsighted and destructive people of Earth. Despite the gloomy prospects for all involved, Bradbury’s stories are full of humor, and make for a quick and very enjoyable read.

Interestingly, these stories have been the subject of several radio dramas and audio productions; I first encountered them listening to Relic Radio’s science-fiction podcast, where they are still available to download, and here at the library you can find radio theater versions on audio tape (Old Time Radio: Science Fiction).

How To Wrap Five Eggs by Hideyuki Oka, photographs by Michikazu Sakai [Book]

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This is a beautiful book containing handsome black and white photographs of simple products packaged in simple materials: rice straw, bamboo, ceramics, paper, and even leaves. The boxes, wrappers, and casks depicted in this volume are all hand-made and most of them are quite wonderfully elegant, from the humble eggs of the title, to utilitarian jars of miso, and expensive casks of sake meant as souvenirs and gifts.

Black Books [DVD]

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Irish comedian Dylan Moran stars in the BBC television series Black Books. The show was written and created by Moran and the folks who brought us Father Ted.

Bernard Black, a cranky and boozy book shop owner, wants absolutely nothing to do with his customers and does very little to aid his decaying store. He’s joined by his friend and neighboring shop employee, Fran and Manny, his hapless, but loveable (possibly unpaid) employee. We join these three on many madcap adventures and exercises in generally poor customer service. While a fair amount the gags fall under the customer/employee dynamic or displays of tremendous laziness, we also get a fair amount of surreal humor.

The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman [Book]

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The sometimes actor, television presenter/personality, unlicensed internet judge and humorist, John Hodgman, has a brilliant collection of nonsense in the universe called The Areas of My Expertise. Fear not, his writings do not simply float in the nebulous; it’s all compiled in a BOOK!

In it we find delightful and ridiculous made up facts and anecdotes concerning hobos (he provides 700 hobo names), werewolves and various bizarre historical factoids. It’s also filled with entertaining lists (“Nine Presidents Who Had Hooks For Hands”) and dubious advice (see the amusing section on effective attack ads or “How To Win a Fight” ). This book is excess at its best.

ps- If you enjoy this volume, there’s more.