The Pop Culture Addict’s Blog

Say it 3x fast: put it on put it on put it on. Long ago someone taught me that trick to practice rolling my r’s (something I still can’t do). But it occurred to me that it also achieves that soft r, hard l sound that you sometimes hear non-native English speakers who are Asian use for an “r” or an “l.”

What made me think of this was when I recently re-read The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. I remember loving this book way back when – way before I knew New York in any shape or form. I just loved the idea of this cricket hanging out in Times Square. So, now that I am more familiar with NYC, I felt nostalgic for the story and decided to read it again. I thoroughly enjoyed it though I was a little surprised when the two Chinese men keep calling the cricket a “clicket.” But oddly, this did not bother me too much because otherwise, these characters were likeable and well-drawn out. Plus it was first published in 1960 (and then reissued in 1970 which is the edition that exists today). What’s amazing is how the subway and news stands are still set up in the same way 45 years later. But all in all, the story was pretty progressive for the times. George Selden portrayed NYC in its true multi-ethnic, multi-creature splendor. I’m talking about the beautiful friendships between the cricket, the mouse and cat and of course between the cricket and the kid.

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While I’m on the subject of books, I’ve been meaning to stick up for Nick Hornby and his latest. The critics haven’t been kind. But speaking as an ardent fan of High Fidelity and About a Boy, I liked A Long Way Down a lot. It was different. For the record, I read Fever Pitch and had a hard time piecing it together – maybe it’s because I don’t really follow soccer. And I skipped How to Be Good. Actually, I couldn’t get beyond the first few pages of it. But I will try again sometime in the future. I have it. So I’ll read it. What else…I really enjoyed his story in the collection of short stories he edited a while back…Speaking With the Angel. I just think people had high expectations of him after High Fidelity and About a Boy. Those are classics. They make me laugh every time I read them.

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Btw, here are a few other actor-y exercises to loosen up your lips for say an oral defense (see, despite appearances, I haven’t forgotten the purpose of this site) – just say the phrases over and over again:

red leather yellow leather

topeka bodega

and my favorite: abominable abdominals

You can ask your actor friends for more. Singers have them too. These are the ones that I remember from Speak With Distinction (it’s one of those drama school texts) but there are many more around. Did you ever see Chuck & Buck? That movie is not for everyone but I remember there was a funny tongue twister in it. Oh try saying this one without drooling:

Mamma may meet me in Miami by moonlight.

Nothing? It’s just me? Darn it.

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Some Americana and (Post) Teen Spirit


So I don’t even know where this fits into pop culture, but it must. I wanted to list the snacks I saw at a gas station on my way to Big Sur (which I loved, loved, loved!!! I kept hearing that song Big Sur by The Thrills in my head even though it goes something like…”Just don’t go back to Big Sur.”):

Lay’s Dill Pickle Potato Chips

Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Limon Cheese Flavored Cheese Snacks

Doritos Black Pepper Jack Flavored Tortilla Chips

Fritos Chili Cheese Flavored Corn Chips

Fritos Sabrositas Lime ‘N Chile Flavored Corn Chips

I guess I was struck by how artificial (and yet appealing) they sounded and how that contrasted with the nature I was going to take in along the Pacific coast. By the way, I would’ve tried all of them because sometimes “artificial flavoring” hits the spot. But I just got the Lay’s Dill Pickle Potato Chips and thought they were pretty good. I would get them again.

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Incidentally, my friends and I have been on a Keane thing all year. What is it about them and their songs? I remember the New York Times said that their music was angsty, adolescent and anthemic. Of course I paraphrase and possibly make up words (anthem-y?). Somehow half of Hopes and Fears has been released as singles it seems. I mean we all seem to know the tunes. Anyway, we’re keen on Keane. And, I recently got Keens. Apparently all the cool kids are wearing them. I didn’t know. So, am I allowed to sing a little here? I like Everybody’s Changing and not just the words. I like the flow of the whole song:

So little time
Try to understand that I’m
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody’s changing
And I don’t feel the same

Added 8/23/05: So I caught Keane on one of those “spotlight on” shows and they [Tom Chaplin (vocals), Richard Hughes (drums) & Tim Rice-Oxley (piano)] were extremely mellow and earnest. They (really Tom) was saying that they find it ironic that this song about struggle and in a way about their struggle to “stay in the game” as a band was their first big single and first huge success. That song was “Everthing’s Changing.” Also of note, their appearance on SNL will rerun this Saturday, 8/27. Watch out for it.

Added 8/30/05: I think I’ve almost converted my cuz to Keane. She asked me how old they were so we visited a great Keane fansite and learned that Tom Chaplin was born in 1979 making him about 26, Richard Hughes was born in 1975 making him about 30 and Tim Rice-Oxley was born in 1976 making him about 29.

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So, how happy are we about Anapod? I know someone who lost/misplaced his entire iTunes library on his computer but with the help of Anapod was able to upload everything from his iPod back onto his computer. So the best places to find it are:

http://ipodlounge.com/

or

http://www.redchairsoftware.com/

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Living among our amassed riches…

Another lovely image from Big SurI have a nice quote from Henri Matisse today. I went to see the Matisse exhibit at the Met recently. It was called “Matisse: The Fabric of Dreams His Art and His Textiles” and focused on his fascination with fabrics from Northern Africa among other places. Anyway, one theme was to have a female model amidst many Moroccan fabrics of variegated patterns. My brother said, “I don’t like that. It’s too messy to look at at.” And I had to point out that Matisse said of these paintings that his goal was to convey an “…impression of happy calm…a more or less amiable serenity in the balance of deliberately amassed riches.” (This was posted next to “Odalisque with Gray Culottes” 1926-27.)

I like that idea a lot. It can be applied to say one’s apartment or one’s blog or whatever else one may create that others may not see the same way. So I must now return to the “amiable serenity in the balance of [my] deliberately amassed riches.”

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Before I sign off, let me toss in that I’ve been watching “30 Days” on FX with great interest. I think Morgan Spurlock does a good job of taking “issues” and making them entertaining to think about and watch. It’s a good show to watch with other people so you can yell at the tv together in horror and disbelief. Fun stuff.

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I am so enamored with this band. Though I’ve seen them before, I feel like I never really heard them for what they were until now. They put on such a good show and it was pure joy to be there.

As evident, my m.o. is to cast a very wide pop culture net and check out what looks decent. Then I feast on what is tasty. Perhaps this is related to the universal fear of plateau-ing, not fulfilling one’s potential, falling into a rut and staying there. At any rate, I love my old school music to no end, but staying open to what’s new is the spice of my pop culture life.

The gems: Well, let me start with the venue. Everyone I know who’s familiar with the Mercury Lounge loves it. It’s intimate but not claustrophobic. The sound is always solid and it’s easy to find a good place to stand. There is also some seating along the walls for those who’d rather engage in chair-dancing.

What makes Tammany Hall stand out is the song-writing and their undeniable talent which exudes on-stage (and in the studio). They aren’t one of those bands where you’re not sure where one song ends and the other begins because after listening to them for 15 minutes, their output still sounds like the same uninspired background noise. Also, it makes a big difference if you look like you’re having fun and happy to be there. It makes the audience happy to be there. And the band was definitely having a good time. They have great presence and are very kinetic.

The show was to celebrate the release of their new album Marathon. I liked all the new songs. I sort of didn’t consider the songs previously released on Shiner (an EP of sorts) as completely new so there were only a few songs I didn’t know at all. I was very impressed with Beyond An Ocean. It has the “eternal present” concept that Gavin Smith and Richard T. Jameson spoke of regarding films that I reinterpreted to apply to pop culture (i.e., to quote myself, “Pop culture’s ‘eternal present’ is all of pop culture influencing what’s next and how what once was is still as relevant as what is and what will be.”). As I listened to this song, first I felt, this is very of-the-moment and right now. Then the sound enveloped me and I thought, this song has real lasting power. I can’t wait to hear it again to explore this reaction more. The other new song I can remember distinctly is Nightmare On The Make. I remember the title because it is in the vein of those catchy, upbeat, just-telling-it-like-it-is songs I have a penchant for (like Foo Fighters’ The Last Song which I cannot get enough of). I have to hear it again to say more but I just remember being amused and being caught up in the music. What more do you want from a song?

I’ve already expounded on the title track Marathon. (Click here and scroll down to the end.) Suffice it to say that I think it has all the elements of a “crank it up so I can hear it full out” tune.

They are like me and like their old school as much as their new school so they performed a good number of older joints like The Jello Song which has grown on me over time along with Sullivan Street and Wait For Jane.

So this is full disclosure time: I felt like I could truly appreciate all the great aspects of Tammany Hall and their music after having taken a hiatus from them. I felt like my earlier gushing was justified. Anyway, this revelation made me reflect on life and realize (again) that this is what we aspire to do in our existence. We want time to pass and to be able to value and understand how people, places and experiences contribute to our time on this planet.

Nothing makes sense until it’s over. – from Jean-Luc Godard’s “In Praise of Love”

A good friend and fellow PCA recently asked me what my favorite books were. As a voracious reader with a terrible memory for plot (this may account for why I treat favorite books like favorite albums and read them over and over again), I said my list changes constantly. It depends on when you ask me. This is just a long preamble to telling you that right now, Tammany Hall NYC and their music rank up there among my favorite pop culture things. It’s not over yet but it makes sense to me why I like them so much and I promise you, you will too!

Edit: Listen to clips (2 minutes each) of songs from Marathon.

Added: 8/1/05
So uncharacteristically, I only just finished listening to the whole album. Remember back in the day when you got an album and immediately listened to it from start to finish? I was just telling my brother about how I read this article about the rebirth of the single with iTunes, etc. People are moving away from the album experience. Anyway, aside from everything else I said earlier in this highly subjective review, I really like Coffee and Cake. I have also developed a thing for Be Safe. It’s so cool when that happens. I liked it before. But then one day, in the recent past, I was like, oh, I hear something different today and the way I feel about it has changed. And this is about an old song but the same thing has happened with Giddy in the Sun.

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