Dude! It's Barzak Day!

Happy Barzak Day everybody!!

This world is full of really incredible people, but few warrant their own international day of celebration. I'm proud to count one of those few, Chris Barzak, supremely worthy of the honor of having a day in his, well, honor, as a good friend of mine.

Chris and I haven't shared a state since our brief summer in Michigan a million years ago (save a few months when I lived in Northern California and he in Southern California - but, ask any expert, those might as well be different states) and so I haven't had the pleasure to see Chris that much lately (which sucks!!). Like many a touring indie rock band, nobody has the time to come to Southern Florida. But, like many of us bloggers, I follow Chris's daily/weekly/whenever-he-feels-like-it occurrences and happenings and interestings at his wonderful blog, which I am very grateful for existing.

Today is a very special day. The release of One for Sorrow, Chris's excellent first novel is a major cause for celebration. I can not wait to read the official version, which I'm sure will take the world (of Good Taste) by storm. Chris has always been somewhat of a hero to me, from the day I met him almost ten years ago, already workshop and writing-seasoned, with superhero namedrop abilities and even greater writing chops. His stories (I've read most of them, I think) over the years has opened my eyes as to what can be done with stories and what should be done.

Even though this is Chris's special day, I feel like celebrating myself! Chris, I only wish you were nearby, so I can toast you with champagne or some good really imported beer. I think I'll do it anyway.

To the first Chris Barzak Day! Cheers!

John From Cincinnati... Over or What?

It's kind of ironic that a confounding series that made only a scant amount of sense is confusing again as to whether or not the series has been axed by HBO. I'm not surprised there's little love for the show from the press, John From Cincinnati is (was?) a complex and confusing conundrum, a beautiful mess.

But, like one writer from the Cincinnati Post, I kept returning to the watch and trying to understand it. If, in fact, last night's somewhat dramatic season finale was in fact its last episode, I will miss trying to decipher the dialouge and the relationships (and the plot!) of this show.

I will not, however, miss it as much as I miss the brilliant "Deadwood." I hope both shows see some new life in the future.

I am, as always, optimistic.

(Update: Some people love this show. And, really, if this guy can grok this much from the episode, you know there's some great stuff under the surface. He might be stretching a bit here and there, but really, it's all there to interrupt. Good job, man!)

Television to Traverse Hallways To

Last night's Big Love was toted by HBO as the most dramatic episode ever in the history of everything (!!!!), but it really wasn't.

Not to say it wasn't a great episode, it was. Every episode in this second season has been amazing, supremely interesting and full of exciting things: Barb had en existential crisis early in the season, Nicki has been excommunicated from her family, Margene had a brush of shocking truth with her mom and fell briefly in love with another woman. Bill's oldests, Ben and Sarah, have been going through their own relationship dramas; Ben reveling in sin and Sarah counting the days until she turns 18 and flees to college.

Bill, meanwhile, has been doing his reckless thing (again). Early in the season, he set out to discover who outed his family as polygamists (in last season's dramatic finale) and, failing that, decided to take out his frustration on Roman Grant and his Juniper Creek ruling council, the UEB. Bill pulled all kinds of hijanks to get a Hendrickson seat on the council, first for his brother and then for himself. All that amounted to getting tipped out that Roman was planning to buy a video-poker company called Weeber Gaming. Bill decided he wanted that company for himself.

Meanwhile, back in Juniper Creek, Bill's brother, Joey, spent some time in prison for a crime his wife committed (which set out Roman Grant's son, Albi, on a revenge pilgrimage that continues to threaten Bill and his family). Bill's mother and uncle have schemed to launder over a million dollars from a dying woman.

And then more bad guys showed up. The Greens. Apparently, a fearsome family of polygamists who had previously been at war with Roman and the UEB, then banished to Mexico, now returned to stake a claim, specifically on - you guessed it - Weeber Gaming. Hijinks have since ensued.

(Spoiler warning for last night's episode follows.)

So that brings us to the big episode, "Kingdom Come," which seeks to bring a lot of the disparate storylines of the season to a closing point so the writers can focus in a little more on individual character stories to finish off the season (sadly, only four episodes remain).

Does the episode succeed? Yes. Does the episode surprise? Not really.

Anytime shows - these days anyway - prophesies something "big" and "huge," it usually means a character getting shot. (Thanks Lost). Well, that's exactly what happened.

After a full hour of drama dealing with Ben's soul and in-fighting between the wives and Bill and an off-camera war between Roman Grant and the Greens, Roman is accosted on a streetcorner in front of his favorite diner and shot twice in the chest by two of Hollis Green's wives. It's pretty dramatic, sure, but it was also inevitable. As the season has progressed, Roman has become less and less the "big bad" and more a friendly character so without unteething the beast, he had to die. But the repercussions, especially in regards to Nicki's mental health, will be fascinating to watch.

As for the other storylines, the sex "thing" between Bill and Margene and Nicki was interesting and brought the show back to the first episodes (remember the Viagra?). But the most interesting storyline for me was Ben's. I had trouble buying all that "I'm not ruined!" type talk, I know they're religious and Mormon's, but any teenager growing up in today's world should not be that squeamish when it comes to sex. Don't they watch MTV? Seriously.

What was very interesting was seeing Ben prepare to live "The Principal" at sixteen, proposing marriage and pre-planning for a second wife. It drove home (to Bill and Barb especially) how absurd his life is and the wrongheadedness of some of his decisions.

Anyway, I think I prattled on enough. For anybody who doesn't watch this show, you can see from my rampant discussion of character motivations and subtleties that is a high quality show, extremely well-written, and well worth everyone's time.

With Thanks to Pitchfork...

And the entire music blogging community:



Kevin Drew - "Backed Out On The..."

(Obvious reference to Broken Social Scene classic, "Time=Cause." The song is called "Backed Out On the Cause" but that would have been a little too close, so he shortened the title a little.)

Little more about Spirit If: it seems to take a lot of ammunition from the great BSS lyric, "My favorite band/is a witch." The album is amorphous and dynamic. It starts with a punch as loud as BSS is capable of. But then chills out until the rocking high of the song above. The casual swagger of the songs on this album reference a lot of what BSS is doing with their albums: exploring new sonic territories, messing with multiple vocal tracks, throwing traditional song structure out the nearest airlock, and the lyrics are all about rebellion and youthful bliss.

I once called Broken Social Scene the best teenage band ever and that idea seems to leak into all their extra-credit work. Kevin Drew is interested in the modern pressures on the young generation, but is quick to paint them all as "Fucked Up Kids," which, of course, they are. Just like all the rest of us.

Ah, Music

So I've been seriously neglecting my Austin blog due to unanticipated musical brilliance in other regards, notably non-Austin bands that have come out with new albums in the last few weeks that have been kicking my ass.

Most recently:

Broken Social Scene Presents... Kevin Drew's Spirit If; the BSS founder's debut (Kevin Drew being one of the only BSS members without a full-time separate band) is essentially a new Broken Social Scene record, complete with horns, explosions of sound, hushed vocals, and borderline manic time changes. Follow this link to download a preview of single-worthy track, TBTF ("Too Beautiful To Fuck") and catch Mr. Drew in his favorite morning-time position.

Interpol - Our Love to Admire

A slightly maligned but worth-the-effort followup to their previous followup, Antics, deserves attention for the first track alone, but also for stretching Interpol's creativity and ability. It doesn't always hit and the album itself seems to fly by without a major emotional impact, but that vapidity is an admirable quality in itself. It has the flow and attention-disorder of a chilly autumn Saturday. The occasional high is worth the price of admission, definitely.

Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor

I absolutely adore this band and their brand of wispy California indie pop. They tend to play it soft with quieter tracks replete with swells and lows, but they also employ a staticky electric guitar that rocks out on cue. Never shy of double-digit album tracks, much like their previous album, this one has almost fifteen tracks to keep us happy and nodding our heads to the beat.

Cute:

Just cause!

John From Cincinnati

After watching six episodes of HBO's newest drama - most at least twice - I can safely, and finally, recommend this show as worthy of your precious time and attention. It struck me today, especially, reading about the show on HBO.com, in writer Steve Hawk's Inside the Episode, where he quotes creator David Milch, "The important point that I'm trying to make is that storytelling has nothing, whatsoever, to do with logic."

Well, obviously. JFC makes very little sense in a conventional way. A stranger wanders into the lives of a dysfunctional family of surfers in Imperial Beach, California and strange things start to happen. Sure, it's not the exquisite and complicated quilt of characters like Deadwood or even the gritty sad reality of NYC cops like NYPD Blue, but as the episodes pass in their slow and deliberate and often bewildering way, I have become as fascinated by the show as it seems the writers of it are. A few of the many great moments will linger in my memory for a long time, I'm sure, so passionate and powerful they are.

And the dialogue! Just like Deadwood, the dialogue is what drives this show. Even though Steve Hawk recommends we watch what the characters do and not what they say, it's what they say that is so weird and strange and interesting. The way the characters interact - in all their verbal violence - is what separates this show from anything else on TV.








For Deadwood fans, there's a particular joy from seeing characters we love from that show on this new Milch show. Particularly one of my favorite Deadwoodians, Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie), playing the heroin-dealin' Hawaiian Freddy. Also great to see Ellsworth, Jim Beaver, playing the pot-growin', spliff-rollin', Vietnam Joe. And, great (in a weird sort of uncomfortable way) to see Deadwood's Frances Wolcott (and first Deadwood role, Wild Bill-murdering Jack McCall) returned playing a nice guy (wow!), Dr. Smith. Also, the latest episode had an all-too-brief cameo from Deadwood's Trixie, Paula McCalomson.

To sum up, John From Cincinnati is not an easy show to like. I didn't recommend it to anyone for the first few weeks it was on, but now I feel confident that anyone who watches it and has the patience to deal with some confusion and some really weird characters, will be in for a very rewarding experience.

Excuse me while I geek out

About Battlestar Galactica, of course! This week, SciFi Channel aired a commercial-length preview of the upcoming BSG TV-movie, "Razor," and it looks amazingly awesome. Exactly what they should be doing at this moment, referencing the rich past and adding layers to future episodes. In case you haven't seen it yet, behold!

Hear! Hear!

Okay, so what's more exciting? A new post on this poor derelict blog, or a new story of mine in a new magazine??!

The latest issue of Say..., titled What's the Combination? containing my story, "Do What You Desire" is finally seeing daylight! (and inevitably, nightlight) The other contributors are some of the finest young science fiction and fantasy writers working today. This is definitely going to be a treat. You can order it here via Gwenda Bond's blog for a very small sum (6 bucks!). I hope you do.

I haven't seen the cover yet so I can't wait to get a hold of the issue or at least someone else to post a scan (hint, hint.)

This will be the first time a story of mine has appeared in print and not in the dubious 72 point of a computer screen. So, yeah, I'm excited.


(PS, I changed the blog's title. Yes, again. And the template. Finally!)

San Francisco Notstalgia (Chapter 838)

From SFGate.com: Why Aren't You Working??

Notice the high volume of writers apparently doing nothing. Good times.

Announcement

So, I'm thrilled. I, along with some trusty compatriots, will be attending the ridiculously awesome Austin City Limits festival in September. The lineup is crazy. So many wonderful bands. So many new artists I haven't even heard of!

Well, to prepare (and since I have the whole summer to think about it..), I decided that I should make it my mission to listen to every single artist on that lineup. And what better motivation (*jokes*) than a blog?! So I started a new one:

AustinCityLimitsArtists.blogspot.com

It will be my way to catalog and comment on every band on that lineup. See that box marked Bands on the right side of that page? Give me a month and it'll be totally full. Obviously, I've started writing about bands that I know and love and will continue to do that while I experiment with new artists. I'm not just going to do one post about each band. The goal is to have a wide range of information and commentary (cause you know I love to wax poetically about music) about every single band.

So, wish me luck. Spread the word. And see you in Austin!!

How To Fight Irrelevance

It would be so easy to write off Wilco.

"They're done!" you can shout. They've been done, you could say, ever since that one really wonderful album sorta took over the world for a year.

They've lost the spark, one could say. Hell, I've said it. I've had the pleasure(?) of seeing them a bunch of times at festivals over the last couple years, first at the Langerado festival in Sunrise, FL, where they seemed to be bored and excited to jump back on a plane and head back up to Chicago. Then I saw them in Chicago at Lollapalooza '06 and this time, I was bored. Little did I know, they were playing mostly stuff of their new album which I hadn't heard yet.

Sky Blue Sky comes out officially on Tuesday, May 15. It's been floating around the internet for the last few months and it's rightfully gathered a lot of attention. It's an amazing album. But you can't compare it to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This is the concession those people who keep wanting to write them off need to make: This is a different band. This is not the band that spawned those huge indie/country anthems and ballads with their stirring string sections and electronic influences. This is not even the same band that struggled with those preconceptions while trying to find something new in 2005's A Ghost is Born.

On Sky Blue Sky, they sound more confident than ever before (yes, even more than Summerteeth!). But, like I said, it's a different band. In some ways, they've embraced more of the country influences that informs their music. In other ways, they've become a tighter, more cohesive, band. The additions of two new member seem to have allowed Wilco to find a new voice. In A Ghost is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, they always seemed to be attempting "mainstream" or "crossover" appeal and approval. With this album, they've stopped reaching for the stars (they're already there) and shifted their focus to a barebones rock sound. A couple times on this record, they remind me of My Morning Jacket, which is definitely a good thing.

I'm lucky enough to say that I will see them again in the near future. I'm going to be attending the Austin City Limits festival in September and will see dozens (130?) great bands. And even though I've seen Wilco at a couple festivals and one kickass gig at the Warfield in San Fran long time ago, I can't help but be excited to see these indie-rock legends again.

New!

I've been meaning to change the title of this blog for a while. I wanted to pick a new template but all the choices on this new version of Blogger suck. I'm hoping to get inspired to post more here soon about music and writing.

In the meantime, read this, if you haven't already.

Between Silence..

Music!

Galactica

Season 3 is over with much more to come. And this season, more than the previous ones, has left off with many many lingering questions and mysteries to ponder and debate until new episode start to air (I think they learned a lesson from LOST..)

Some points:

Chief Tyrol, Sam Anders, Col. Tigh, and Tori: Are they Cylons? Have they been programmed with some kind of trigger to make them Cylon sleeper agents (note: they were all on New Caprica, we know Col. Tigh was in prison there, is that where whatever happened to them took place?) Or has Cylon "skinjob" technology evolved so far that they can now create clones and replace people?

Baltar: What do you think of his acquittal? Is it justified? Does he deserve to die? Or, like Lee pointed it, should he be forgiven like the rest of the God-forsaken survivors of the colonies? And who were those religious people he was with at the end of the episode, are they in way connected to the Sagitarians or Tom Zarek?

President Roslyn: The cancer's back, now what? Taking Kamala again seems to allow her to see visions she wasn't able to when she was "sober." Will she take another blood transfusion from Hara or will she continue to let the cancer go so she can use her visions to guide the fleet to Earth?

Further, what was up with those visions of Caprica Six, Athena, and Rosyln in the Kobol Opera House? What's the significance of their connection with Hara?

Romo Lapkin (Baltar's lawyer): Will we ever see him again? (I hope so.) And what was that "other business" he had to deal with?

Starbuck: WTF? The episode when she "died" was one of the most maligned hours of Galactica history. Fans were in a tizzy, pissed about her death, the way it was handled, everything. I thought the episode, "Maelstorm," was boring and the episode when poor Kat died was so much more dramatic. But now she's back and been to Earth. Again, WTF?

Pegasus: Do you miss it as much as I do?

New Caprica: A great storyline that has had widespread repercussions. Do you think we'll get another flashback episode on that planet?

What caused the fleet-wide power failure when they reached the Nebula? And how did the Cylons beat them to it?

I'll post more when I think of them!

Updates

The orchids are doing great. Yay!

I just got a new job, working for an uber-cool design store for kids called Genius Jones. I'll be working on their website and the warehouse. I haven’t started yet. My old job convinced me to stay through March, even though they aren’t giving me anything to do, really (hence, this blog will definitely be more active over the next few weeks. Yay?).

Working in a very structured, hierarchical, office (*adjusts tie*) for almost two years now has been an… interesting experience. There’s been some wonderful moments of camaraderie and I’ve made some great friends in the process. There’s been some truly awful moments when the weight of eighteen bosses made me feel like the lowest ranked ant in the back of the food line. Doing what I’ve been doing – Events, although mainly the computer work involved – has been exciting. There’s a certain pressure and excitement with the idea of having some massive event the next day and trying to make sure every little piece is sent to the right place and the right person.

I’ll miss my boss, Alysa, who has been like the best sudden friend I’ve ever had. When I came to interview here in summer of ’05, I never thought I would be welcomed as part of a large family so warmly. People here – when they’re not stressed out by crazy demands of donors – are truly kind and friendly and have been nothing but super-accommodating to me. I’ll miss them all.

As for my writing, it’s been sporadic at best. Somnolent, more accurately. I feel like I have stories to tell, large ideas I want to spread throughout the world. But I am severely unmotivated. I’m not sure why. It’s nice to see 23 Small Disasters online and popping up on blogs. That’s been the biggest motivator for me in a while. True, it’s been only a couple days, but I’ve been thinking about writing more during these last few days than I have in a year. So, wish me luck, and hopefully you’ll see more By Elad Haber soon!

Orchids

A new addition to the apartment. The question is how long can I keep them healthy and looking this good?

Disasters In Full Light

Faster than a speeding bullet, 23 Small Disasters has appeared on our collective word-playground at the lovely Ideomancer. It features little interconnected pieces by Ben Rosenbaum (The Editor), Christopher Barzak, Mehgan McCarron, Greg van Eekhout, Kinii Ibaura Salaam, and Tim Pratt.

Please check it out, give it a read, and tell us what you think. I'm quite proud of my contributions to the piece, but prouder still to be in such great company.

New Album Roundup

It’s been a little less than two months since I posted
my most anticipated albums of early 2007 and I’ve
gotten quite a few already with a lot more
forthcoming. Some early thoughts:



The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

A few tracks are reminiscent of the best Funeral
had to offer, but with a double dose of layering and
crazy time changes. Notably, “The Well and The
Lighthouse” shines like a wonderful beacon in a murky
sea. The country-themed-anthem “(Antichrist Television
Blues)” is a great, memorable, song, although the
sudden ending is a surprising choice for such a
nuanced band. The subtle “Oceans of Noise” is
hypnotic.

Arcade Fire aren’t in the business of wild
experimentation or plunging brand new depths of sound.
Funeral was amazing because it seemed to be a
culmination of years of indie rock from a wide
spectrum of artist. Neon Bible is a worthy sequel, but
may not surpass its predecessor. Then again, I’ve only
had it less than a week.



Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City

This album has some moments of utter brilliance, but
overall, it’s not as loaded with new ideas and new
directions as the sublime Silent Alarm. A lot of
complaints around the web are focused on the
production which seems to be very pop-friendly with
waves of screeching guitars underlying wild choruses.
I agree. Another major attraction of the debut was the
assured production stylings that made such brilliant
songs like “Banquet” possible. This album doesn’t
reach for these heights, but is satisfied with calmer
fare.

I think Bloc Party need to decide what kind of band
they want to be. Are they an indie rock band, always
experimenting and striving for new heights? Or are
they simply a brit-pop band more interested in radio
airplay than pushing boundaries? This album reflects
that indecision and suffers for it.

On the plus side, though, Bloc Party has released a
bevy of B-sides in the last month, a few of which are
definitely of the more experimental tinge than a lot
of the album tracks. So, there’s still hope!



Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Some Loud Thunder

This is definitely going to be the most controversial
album of the year. The first track alone has sparked
loads of talk on the blogs and the music sites. It’s
the title track, which I first heard at their
Langerado performance and fell in love with on a
recording from French radio. It’s a sweet, simple,
song. On the album, though, they decided to up the
volume on the vocals past a, well, listenable
clipping, so that it comes out muffled, crunchy, and
thundery. It’s a strange decision. It definitely puts
you off the first time you listen to it. After a
while, though, it starts to grow on you (reminds me of
Alec Ounsworth’s voice) and the beauty of the song
shines through.

Other tracks have a boozy, drugged-out, rhythm that
feels very Clap Your Hands. The band sound more like
what they sound like live than the surprisingly clean
production on their debut. The choices they make are
extremely daring (far from the pop-friendly Bloc
Party) and they don’t always succeed. But there are
moments when the guitars flare up and the vocals chug
along and the drums echo and it’s truly an amazing,
original, sound. I look forward to more time spent
with this album.

Still waiting on new albums by Earlimart, Air, and The Shout-Out Louds.

A Recent Hobby

I've been having some fun lately with flower arranging.

Some pics: