VAGUE SPACE

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Week 3, Book 3

The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel
By Michael Chabon
464 pages, 2007

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, who wrote one of my favorite novels ever, the great story about writers called Wonder Boys, as well as the award-winning epic tome The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, released another major epic last year that is being released in paperback at the end of this month.  And while The Yiddish Policemen's Union is not quite up to his previous efforts, this lengthy and detailed novel displays Chabon's wonderful flair for language and storytelling, in a fictional narrative about an alternate history of the aftermath of World War II, namely that the Jews settled in Alaska, not Israel.  The story takes place in modern times, as the Jewish settlements in Alaska are about to be turned back over to the United States, and the Jews that have been living in squalid conditions there are being forced to leave.  The story is told through the eyes of Meyer Landsman, a police detective tracking a murder that occurred in the slum-like hotel he was living in, and the results of his investigation - the last taking place at Sitka Central, the police department that polices their own - take Meyer through an intricate and exciting plot, full of twists and turns and interesting characters - all revolving around hard-core Jews who are feeding some end of the world vision about returning to take over their "homeland."  It's a very complicated story, and it's not helped by the somewhat unnecessary inclusion of dozens of Yiddish words, phrases, and names, so it does take some careful reading.  But once engrossed in the story, the reader will be delighted by how Chabon fits all the disparate pieces of the plot together, and a character so vividly drawn as Meyer Landsman makes it all worthwhile.

Blind Blind Blind

The dust and the mess of our mornings, promise that we'll never quit.
So drunk, though our hands surely woven, entire fleets of staggering ships.
Now our ships line the floors of the ocean, and the ocean's breaching the ridge.
And the terrified dreams of our wanderings that once lit our way are now hid...

We want punks in the palace -- 'cause punks got the loveliest dreams,
And our gang is liquored and lovely, and smart and sweet and lean,
And burn with a curious flame, that spits and kicks and shines,
And trumpets the labour of waking and trying...

There ain't none -- sometimes there is -- banged and bitter but cling to it,
Power's the province of miserable pricks, there ain't none, but sometimes there is.
Policemen in parallel lines,
Blind blind blind.
The broken bones of quivering pines, while empty waters rise,
May the light of our striving still shine,
Blind blind blind.
May the light of our striving still shine,
May the light of our striving still shine.

Love the horse or leave the horse,
Love the horse or leave the horse,
Lover oh lover... goddamn you lover,

Some hearts are true.

Ahoy! Ye bland plump boys, go tear wings for vainful gain.
Our homemade choirs, like forest fires, hiss beneath golden rain,
And slip the leash and the chain, and slip the leash and the chain,
'Cause some hearts are true,
But some hearts aren't hardly true,
But some hearts are true.

• Download Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band - "BlindBlindBlind".mp3
• Buy 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

Top 200 Songs of All Time (Part 2)

As promised, here are the copies of songs 101-200 on my all-time list.  Click through for some additional honorable mentions.  The full list can be found here.

101. "Burn Girl Prom Queen" Mogwai

• EP, 1999
  • Download Mogwai - "Burn Girl Prom Queen".mp3

102. "Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean"  Explosions in the Sky

• The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place, 2003
  • Download Explosions in the Sky - "Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean".mp3

103. "If You're Feeling Sinister"  Belle and Sebastian

• If You're Feeling Sinister, 1996
• "But if you are feeling sinister, go off and see your minister.  He'll try in vain to take away the pain of being a hopeless unbeliever."
  • Download Belle and Sebastian - "If You're Feeling Sinister".mp3

104. "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"  Joanna Newsom

• The Milk-Eyed Mender, 2004
• "That means no, from where I come from.  I am cold, out waiting for the day to come."
  
  • Download Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie".mp3 

105.  "Grace Cathedral Hill"  The Decemberists

• Castaways and Cutouts, 2002
• "And the world may be long for you, but he'll never belong to you, but on a motorbike, when all the city lights blind your eyes tonight, are you feeling better now?"
  
  • Download The Decemberists - "Grace Cathedral Hill".mp3

106.  "Shallow End"  Superchunk

• Incidental Music (1991-95), 1995
• "Is that a pearl I'm supposed to keep, 'cause you are putting me to sleep.  Well I know you think you're deep, all right, but you should stay at the shallow end."
  
  • Download Superchunk - "Shallow End".mp3

107.  "Reel Around the Fountain" The Smiths

• The Smiths, 1994
• "It's time the tale were told of how you took a child, and you made him old.  You made him old."
  • Download The Smiths - "Reel Around the Fountain".mp3 

108.  "Your Ex-Lover is Dead"  Stars

• Set Yourself on Fire, 2005
• "God that was strange to see you again, introduced by a friend of a friend, smiled and said 'yes I think we've met before', in that instant it started to pour; captured a taxi despite all the rain, we drove in silence across Pont Champlain, and all of the time you thought I was sad, I was trying to remember your name..."
  • Download Stars - "Your Ex-Lover is Dead".mp3 

109.  "Between Planets"  The Jesus & Mary Chain

• Automatic, 1989
• "Suicide standing, sucking in her cheeks, too much lips and too much eyes, she hasn't slept for weeks."
  
  • Download The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Between Planets".mp3

110.  "Homeboy"  Adorable

• Against Perfection, 1993
• "I want to drown beneath the waves, I want to dig myself a shallow grave, and hold you up for all to see.  I want to cut you up, I want to make you bleed, ever so slowly."
  
  • Download Adorable - "Homeboy".mp3

111.  "Sometimes"  James

• Laid, 1993
• "Sometimes, when I look deep into your eyes, I swear I can see your soul."
  • Download James - "Sometimes".mp3
  •  

112.  "Kim, You Bore Me to Death" Grandaddy

• Concrete Dunes, 2002
• "And so she explains her theories, her feet propped up on new pillows, and her roommate behind her playing bongos.  Kim, you bore me to death!"
  • Download Grandaddy - "Kim, You Bore Me to Death".mp3

113.  "All My Little Words"  The Magnetic Fields

• 69 Love Songs, Volume 1, 1999
• "You said you were in love with me, both of us know that that's impossible, and I could make you rue the day, but I could never make you stay."
  • Download The Magnetic Fields - "All My Little Words".mp3

114. "Like a Friend"  Pulp

• This is Hardcore, 1998
• "Come on in now, wipe your feet on my dreams.  You take up my time, like some cheap magazine, when I could have been learning something, oh well, you know what I mean.  I've done this before.  And I will do it again.  Come on and kill me baby, while you smile like a friend."
  • Download Pulp - "Like a Friend".mp3

115.  "People Who Died"  Jim Carroll Band

• Catholic Boy, 1980
• "Bobby got leukemia, 14 years old, he looked like 65 when he died, he was a friend of mine."
  
  • Download Jim Carroll Band - "People Who Died".mp3 

116.  "Head On (The Jesus & Mary Chain)"  Pixies

• Trompe Le Monde,
• "And the world could die in pain, and I wouldn't feel no shame, and there's nothing holding me to blame.  Makes you want to feel, makes you want to try, makes you want to blow the stars from the sky."
  • Download Pixies - "Head On".mp3 

117.  "Secret of the Easy Yoke"  Pedro the Lion

• It's Hard to Find a Friend, 1998
• "The devoted were wearing bracelets, to remind them why they came, some concrete motivation, when the abstract could not do the same.  But if all that's left is duty, I'm falling on my sword.  At least then I would not serve an unseen, distant lord."
  • Download Pedro the Lion - "Secret of the Easy Yoke".mp3 

118.  "I See a Darkness"  Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

• I See a Darkness, 1999
• "Well I hope that someday buddy, we'll have peace in our lives, together or apart, alone or with our wives.  If we can stop our whoring and pull the smiles inside, and light it up forever, and never go to sleep.  My best unbeaten brother, this isn't all I see... I know I see a darkness."
  
  • Download Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "I See a Darkness".mp3
  • 
    

119.  "We Dance"  Pavement

• Wowee Zowee, 1995
• "Check that expiration date, man, it's later than you think."
  • Download Pavement - "We Dance".mp3

120. "Paper Thin Walls"  Modest Mouse

• The Moon and Antarctica, 2000
• "These walls are paper thin and everyone hears every little sound.  Everyone's a voyeurist, they're watching me watch them watch me right now."
  • Download Modest Mouse - "Paper Thin Walls".mp3
  • 
    

 

 

It's the Economy, Stupid

We all hate Bush, or at least the rational or even partly rational among us.  But most of us have focused our anger - rightly - on the Iraq war, the horrible lack of planning and execution, the outright lies the led to it, the cover up of the gross negligence that caused 9/11, the gross negligence that caused the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the gross negligence in almost all areas of government, the illegal wire-tapping and taking of our personal privacy, the illegal torture and rendition of prisoners, the complete and utter lack of transparency in anything this secretive government has done, the embarrassing drop in America's standing throughout the world, a lack of response to the health care crisis, a lack of response to the environmental crisis, and of course, the fact that our president comes off in every speech look like a complete fucking idiot.  BUT..... beyond all that, is the way this president has ruined our economy. 

Gas prices were hovering at just over a dollar when Clinton left office.  Now they're approaching $3.50 -- and have been for several years.  I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten a 300% raise since 2000, so my salary isn't exactly keeping up with oil inflation.  Of course, that's just one of the factors helping to plunge our economy into a recession right now.  But the truth is, while our economy has mostly held steady since the Clinton years, there's been almost no actual growth, no growth in jobs, and no growth in wealth except for the very richest among us.  In fact, middle class actual incomes have dropped by almost 2% since 2000.  That's fucking incredible.  We are economically worse off than we were 8 years ago, despite living in the richest country in the world.  Again, embarrassing.  And that doesn't even mention the deficits that Bush's policies have left behind.  I think Sheldon Whitehouse, Democratic senator from Rhode Island, said it best on the floor of the Senate in the video below.  I don't have anything to add.  I'm just hoping and praying our country doesn't go back to the well for a 3rd term in the name of John W. McCain.  Can we really afford another 4 years of hopelessly outdated and failed economic policies???  Even if McCain actually hires competent people to run FEMA and the litany of wars that he wants to execute, will it really matter if we're all out looking for work?  I guess we can all join the military or some defense contractor.  That's about the only thing the Bush economy has been remotely good for.

New Album Review Quick Shots

I haven't had time to probably review all the new albums I've been listening to lately, so instead, we're going with a one paragraph blurb about whether or not the releases met the expectations of my discerning ear.  Here are the results:

Destroyer:  Trouble in Dreams
Rating:  7.7 (out of 10)   A sprawling record veering between musical styles between songs and in the midst of tracks, conveying Dan Bejar's continued brilliance as a songwriter while broadening his range.  Album openers "Blue Flower/Blue Flame" and the sublimely beautiful "Dark Leaves Form a Thread" provide a great punch to start the affair, and 4th track "Foam Hands" is one of the most beautiful tracks Bejar has ever written.  Things bog down in the lengthy middle section, as both "My Favorite Year" and "Shooting Rockets" drag over six minutes, and each song's moments of wonder are somewhat lost in the meandering refrain.  "Introducing Angels" and "Rivers" make a recovery, but the closing songs don't exactly leave much of a mark.  In the end, a little editing was needed, but this is one of Bejar's better albums.  Recommended.

• Download Destroyer - "Trouble in Dreams".mp3
• Buy Trouble in Dreams

The Mountain Goats:  Heretic Pride
Rating:  8.2 (out of 10)  My initial thoughts on the album were not as positive, but the recording has grown on me, and can firmly take its place as one of the best albums of 2008.  Opener "Sax Rohmer #1" is one of the greatest tracks of the year (and my most played) - a pure burst of pop beauty hearkening back to "If You See the Light" from John Darnielle's last effort (the otherwise disappointing Get Lonely) and sets the stage for a strong string of instant classics, including the wonderful title track, the solid "Autoclave", the magical "In the Craters of the Moon" and the group of excellent tracks on the second half, including "Lovecraft in Brooklyn", "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature" and "Michael Myers Resplendent." 

• "When the house goes up in flames, no one emerges triumphantly from it; when the scum begins to circle the drain, nobody is a winner." - "Michael Myers Resplendent"
• Download The Mountain Goats - "In the Craters of the Moon".mp3
• Buy Heretic Pride

Direct TV

I made the switch this weekend and I am now a satellite television customer.  And for the first two days at least, I couldn't be happier.  The picture is perfect on my new TV, the channel choices are staggering, and the Hi-Def is wonderful.  I was watching Dave Lieberman on the Food Network in HD and deep in the back of his refrigerator during one of the scenes was a carton of chicken broth.  I could read the ingredient list on the carton.  It wasn't even in the foreground!  Unbelievable.  Ever since I bought my new Samsung 50" TV I've been somewhat disappointed in the picture.  While things looked brilliant during basketball games and most HBO movies, the standard definition channels looked horrible (worse than on my old TV) and even some of the hi-def channels didn't look so good (particularly TNT and TBS).  And since Comcast only had a couple dozen hi-def channels -- most of them pay channels that I no longer pay for -- I became increasingly frustrated with watching television.  I literally spent hours playing with settings on the television to try to find better picture quality.  Even a show like Lost -- the only show I'm watching right now on a major network -- had portions that looked bad -- interior scenes especially, leaving me quite angry.  I tried watching Disturbia on DVR from HBO (I'd seen it before) and the scenes inside Shia LaBeouf's room with the dark brown paneling behind him were unwatchable.  Pixellation all over the place -- big ugly black squares where the paneling was supposed to be, and all the settings in the world weren't going to help it.  Either I had a bad TV or a bad connection.  Fortunately, it appears as if it were the latter. 

Big East Domination

After the first two days of the tournament, the Big East is 7-1 and the rest of the conferences are... not as good.  Mike and the Mad Dog apparently both picked Clemson in the Final Four (really?) but Villanova dispatched them as the 12 seed and will face Siena on Sunday for a shot at the Sweet Sixteen.  What do Siena and 'Nova have in common?  Both teams lost to the 'Cuse this year.  Sadly, we were a little busy destroying Clemson's ACC brethren Maryland in the 2nd round of the NIT to participate tonight, but it's still good to see the Big East do so well.  The only loser?  UConn, who happens to be my most hated Big East rival, so although I was rooting for them for betting purposes, I can't say I'm that disappointed in the loss.  But 8-0 would have been a fine first round. 

I didn't put up any fight about Syracuse not making the Big Dance this year after losing to Villanova in the 1st round of the Big East tournament.  Unlike last year's complete and utter debacle, I truly didn't think we deserved to make it.  But as I was watching Oregon get killed by Mississippi State tonight, I heard the announcer give the record for the Ducks.  18-13.  Syracuse's final regular season record:  19-13.  Syracuse had a better record than a #9 seed from the Pac-10.  Oh but what about RPI?  Syracuse, 55.  Oregon, 58.  But Oregon must have finished strong, right?  No, they lost in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, just like the Cuse.  What the fuck?  A fucking 9 seed.  Are you fucking kidding me?  At 18-13?  Was anyone bitching about this on Monday?  I wasn't paying much attention, but Jesus.  Are you saying that Villanova was the last major in, and Oregon would have been fine if there were one more conference upset -- say Illinois winning last Sunday?  Unbelievable.

 

Hulu.com

Okay, I don't know what this site is or where it came from and I'm sure the presence of so many NBC and FOX shows, along with the (brief) commercials means this is just a big conspiracy from a bunch of big corporations to take down the powerfully people-powered YouTube express, BUT... BUT... any show that can offer me entire episodes of Arrested Development on my computer, for free, is not so bad in my book.  They also have The Office, like every episode of every season, and 30 Rock and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and so far, season 1 of only the greatest show not named Seinfeld to ever appear on broadcast television.  So yeah, check out Hulu.com.  Has anyone in this family ever even seen a chicken?  Come on!!

Obama Speech Reviews, Part 2

If you haven't done in yet, please do yourself a favor and listen to Obama's speech on race yesterday in Philadelphia, in its entirety.  Obviously I wasn't the only one touched by this amazing moment and I hope my readers - of all stripes - take the chance and take a listen.  Politics as theater has for a long time not served this country well.  This was not politics.  And it says nothing about what he may or may not be able to accomplish as president.  But to doubt that he has the ability to succeed after watching this speech would be beyond me.  This is a once in a generation opportunity to change our nation.  Let's not miss it.  I've included a bunch of media reviews of the speech below the fold.  I couldn't find a single person who wasn't blown away.

Oh, and by the way, Obama gave another great speech today (PDF), setting out his plan for Iraq, which was just about as equally impressive and important as his race speech.  He also ripped into McCain for his confusion over the differences between Shiites and Sunni and between Iran and al Qaeda.  In 2008.  John McCain - Mr. "Let's Stay in this War for 100 Years" Military Guy.  Doesn't. Know. Who. We're. Fighting.  Seriously.  And he made this mistake for 3 straight days before Joe Lieberman corrected him on stage.  Seriously.  This is the guy who is running EXCLUSIVELY on his experience in dealing with the Iraq war.  Seriously.  He doesn't know the difference between Shiites and Sunni.  Seriously.  I wish I were joking.

Obama '08

The Obama Speech on Race

It's all over the news right now and how you view it may help shine a light on how you should be viewed yourself.  To wit, right wing hatemonger Rush Limbaugh:

On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said that Barack Obama was now "the candidate of race."

He said Obama "is not an agent of racial healing, he is a product of it."

He accuses of Obama of wanting to be the nation's racial-healer-in-chief, rather than its commander-in-chief.

Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve (accused of being a racist book):

I read the various posts here on "The Corner," mostly pretty ho-hum or critical about Obama's speech. Then I figured I'd better read the text (I tried to find a video of it, but couldn't). I've just finished. Has any other major American politician ever made a speech on race that comes even close to this one? As far as I'm concerned, it is just plain flat out brilliant—rhetorically, but also in capturing a lot of nuance about race in America. It is so far above the standard we're used to from our pols.

Oliver Willis:

One of my personal maxims has been that politicians will disappoint you. The ones you like will have personal failings, while the ones you detest will fail time and time again. With Senator Obama, for the first time in my life, I have watched a political leader who I don’t worry if he’ll be up to the task.

It’s like you had Michael Jordan in his prime or Joe Montana with 2 minutes to go. It’s that feeling where you say to yourself: Ok, breathe, he’s got it.

 

Chill, Barack’s got it.

 

Judge for yourself: