| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4034 Registered: 05-2005 |
John Connolly - The Whisperers. Finally finishing it, 15 months after I started reading it! | ||
| peter ward Member Username: Peter_ward Post Number: 162 Registered: 06-2005 |
Luke Haines - Post Everything "The Larry David of Rock's" latest book is every bit as entertaining as the last one "Bad Vibes" It's had me in stitches at times, some critics have suggested he displays bitterness but I don't get that, just a series of very funny tales and withering social commentary. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4137 Registered: 05-2005 |
Declan Hughes - The Wrong Kind Of Blood. Irish crime novel, set in Dublin. (Unlike John Connolly, who is a Dubliner but sets his crime writing in America - mostly Maine. I asked him about this and he said he has no plans to set any of his work in Ireland). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4224 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've crossed the border and am now reading Stolen Souls, a crime novel set in Belfast. It's by Stuart Neville. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2315 Registered: 01-2005 |
Jack Kennedy-Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1543 Registered: 10-2008 |
The John Lydon autobiography : Rotten - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs. Not started reading yet as just came yesterday. Diasppointed to realise that this just appears to cover his youth and up to The Pistols demise. I would actually be more interested in his post Pistols work with PIL, but should still be a good read anyway as like MES he is never less than entertaining.. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4251 Registered: 05-2005 |
A story from the New York Times about how on this day in 1915, Alexander Graham Bell inaugurated US transcontinental telephone service. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/ onthisday/big/0125.html#article | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4264 Registered: 05-2005 |
Five weekend newspapers: Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Telegraph, Sun Herald, Financial Times & The Guardian Weekly. (Plus many other newspaper articles online). | ||
| Lewisdhead Member Username: Lewisdhead Post Number: 82 Registered: 01-2007 |
hari kunzru-gods without men | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4316 Registered: 05-2005 |
Stephen King - 11.22.63. Brilliant so far. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 373 Registered: 02-2007 |
Padraig, read 11.22.63 coupla months ago. Interesting isn't it. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4318 Registered: 05-2005 |
It certainly is David. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4332 Registered: 05-2005 |
In addition to Stephen King, I'm also dipping in and out of 101 Irish Records You Must Hear Before You Die by Tony Clayton-Lea (whom I used to work with in Dublin a decade ago) and Irish Blood, English Heart: Second Generation Irish Musicians in England by Sean Campbell. I like how the latter intellectualises the Irish experience in England. I like how the former reminds me of classics I'd forgotten about and lets me know about others I've never even heard of, never mind heard. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4379 Registered: 05-2005 |
Still reading 11.22.63. And loving it. Just got to a brilliant twist I never saw coming. | ||
| Lewisdhead Member Username: Lewisdhead Post Number: 87 Registered: 01-2007 |
The Final Testement-James Frey | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2367 Registered: 10-2004 |
The Ghosts of Europe: Journeys Through Central Europe's Troubled Past and Uncertain Future, by Anna Porter. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 805 Registered: 05-2005 |
A pirate of an exquisite mind: The life of William Dampier. Great. And WHAT a life he lead. Can't wait to read about the times he reached "New Holland"(Australia). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4411 Registered: 05-2005 |
The History of the NME by Pat Long. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 551 Registered: 10-2006 |
Janacek – years of a life The last big classical music biog I read was a wonderful multi-volume life of Mahler – who, like Janacek and my other two favourite composers Dvorak and Martinu was also born in what is now the Czech Republic – and while I’m slightly less of a Janacek nut than a Mahler nut I'm happy to say that this massive work by John Tyrrell is equally as enthralling and engaging, though Janacek is a less loveable figure than Mahler, something of a difficult sod, in fact, particularly in relation to his wife. He has a similarly astonishing work-rate though, emphasising the perspiration percentage in genius. The busy world of Moravian music-making in the late 19th and early 20th century is evoked in rich detail. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4453 Registered: 05-2005 |
Still reading the Stephen King book (it's very long), but today I bought Save What You Can - The Day Of The Triffids by Bleddyn Butcher. It's a biography of David McComb and The Triffids. It's supposed to be very good. It was hideously expensive, even with 20% off in Red Eye Records Pitt St closing down sale. It was $65 before the discount. The author self-publishing it is the reason it's so dear. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4471 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wow. Leonard Cohen manages to be eloquent even when discussing his now jailed ex-manager. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/apr /19/leonard-cohen-manager-sentenced-jail | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 714 Registered: 04-2005 |
John Steinbeck : Cannery Row Superb. I'm amazed that my literary biography of Kerouac has virtually no mention of Steinbeck, as surely this book must have been an influence ? And some of the characters sound straight out of Tom Wait's songs (or maybe that should be the other way round ?) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4500 Registered: 05-2005 |
Still reading Stephen King's 11.22.63 but am almost finished. I would be finishing it right now if I hadn't read on my phone about Adam Yauch dying. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 722 Registered: 04-2005 |
Interesting in-depth article about the creation (and confusion around) Big Star's third http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/may /03/big-star-third-chaos?intcmp=ILCMUSTX T9390 Personally I find them well overrated, and that release has a fair number of tracks I skip over, but there are undoubtedly some real classics and moments of greatness in there too. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 723 Registered: 04-2005 |
And just finished Christos Tsiolkas' "The Slap", which has to be one of the worst books I've ever read. I'm not quite sure why I even bothered finishing it. Badly written, deliberately offensive and boringly meandering are three of its best qualities. I find myself asking how this ever got published. The only time I remember having the same feeling was while reading Christopher Brookmyre's first novel. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2418 Registered: 10-2004 |
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by Timothy Snyder | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 578 Registered: 10-2006 |
Stewart Lee - How I escaped my cetain fate Really out of touch with British comedy, so that names that Lee drops like Russell Brand and Joe Pasquale mean very little to me, but nevertheless this book reduced me to tears twice this afternoon, till my wife was worried for my health. Then I had a shower, still laughing, and shampooed with the shower gel by mistake. The only guy in Italy who attempted stuff like this was simply banned from TV and has virtually vanished altogether. Music crosses cultures easier than comedy, perhaps. Lee is very smart and very funny. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4584 Registered: 05-2005 |
This interesting extract from a new book on Barack Obama http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may /25/barack-obama-the-college-years | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4585 Registered: 05-2005 |
Very funny, and accurate, article about having a Catholic education. (I had priests and brothers rather than nuns though). http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch ive/2012/06/dumb-kids-8217-class/8981/ | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4600 Registered: 05-2005 |
American friends on this board, be very afraid of the next deplorable step in the Republicans' culture wars. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/sunday -review/the-debate-over-the-american-com munity-survey.html?src=recg | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4648 Registered: 05-2005 |
Waiting for a signed copy of Mike Scott's biography to arrive. In the meantime there's an excellent excerpt here http://www.mikescottwaterboys.com/waterb oys-adventures-book.php | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4662 Registered: 05-2005 |
This imbecile, who says that though she has more than 11,000 songs on her hard drive, has only paid for 15 CDs in her lifetime. (I buy more than than that in a week, several times a year). http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/0 6/16/154863819/i-never-owned-any-music-t o-begin-with People like her infuriate me. There is a thoughtful response from David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven) here http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012 /06/18/letter-to-emily-white-at-npr-all- songs-considered/ | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1875 Registered: 10-2008 |
... slightly related http://thequietus.com/articles/09126-mor e-than-music-record-shop-archive | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4670 Registered: 05-2005 |
Skagboys - Irvine Welsh. A prequel to Trainspotting, which was written at the same time. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 386 Registered: 02-2007 |
Spooner - Pete Dexter. This is the best book Ive read in ages. Wonderfully funny and heartbreaking story of Spooner, strange oddball character encountering all manner of funny/sad incidents as he grows up. Only half way thru but incredible wrting. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4699 Registered: 05-2005 |
Mike Scott - Adventures Of A Waterboy. Absolutely fascinating. I got a signed copy! Interview with Mike Scott and Steve Wickham here http://www.rte.ie/radio1/miriammeets/ | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 735 Registered: 04-2005 |
Another lovely and thoughtful birthday present, in the form of a book containing all the Peanuts strips issued in ’61 and ’62 (the year of my birth). I’ve been annoying the hell out of my partner by laughing out loud reading it. Schulz was a genius in terms of being able to pack so much into 4 little boxes. All humanity is in there. Forward by Diane Krall in which she mentions her husband identifies most with Pigpen. Personal hygiene problems then Elvis? | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2236 Registered: 09-2006 |
Agreed, Andrew, and that volume you've got is right in the midst of his golden period (which lasted much, much longer than most artists golden periods). I've been buying each volume as it comes out, even though they're now up to the 80s and he's beginning to burn out a bit. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1961 Registered: 10-2008 |
I need to get out more. Or maybe this guy does? http://thequietus.com/articles/09698-smi ths-morrissey-heavy-metal | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 625 Registered: 10-2006 |
The Lost - Daniel Mendelsohn A labrynthine, globe-circling investigation through the stories and secrets, lies and legends, of the author's family tree as he tries to discover the truth about what happened to six relatives during the Holocaust. Overwhelmingly involving, a book you really want to call in sick for the day in order to go on with. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4827 Registered: 05-2005 |
Matt McGuire - Dark Dawn. The author is an Irish guy who lectures in the University of Western Sydney. This crime novel is set in Belfast. It's great so far. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 649 Registered: 10-2006 |
Mozipedia - Simon Goddard Cultural amnesia - Clive James Two bumper compendiums of fascinating stuff, the kind of thing you decide to dip into and then emerge bleary eyed and shaky several hours later. Goddard's book seems to emphasise that, however dearly I love most of the man's music, personality-wise the High Court judge got it about right. Will that stop me investigating Moz's favourite Rome pizzeria when I'm next there? Probably not. Meanwhile, in the CJ book, a lengthy discussion of Richard Burton's haircut in Where Eagles Dare is worth the price alone. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4914 Registered: 05-2005 |
Revealed: what the Queen really thinks about the big issues http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/ 2012/sep/30/queen-opinions-abu-hamza-dav id-mitchell | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4938 Registered: 05-2005 |
And this, from the New Yorker, is even funnier. http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2012/10/0 8/121008sh_shouts_rudnick | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 854 Registered: 05-2005 |
Steve Kilbeys blog! What a hoot. He got a royalty cheque from America for $400 and so he's spat the dummy and quit the Church! Interesting reading! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4965 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wow, that's extraordinary Geoff. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4995 Registered: 05-2005 |
Gangnam Style - a reflection on the philosophy of horsey dance. Great article. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/entertai nment/music/gangnam-style--a-reflection- on-the-philosophy-of-horsey-dance-201210 12-27i8r.html | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 1114 Registered: 08-2004 |
Felix Baumgartner's freefall escapade's. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 855 Registered: 05-2005 |
Head On / Repossessed - Julian Cope. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5035 Registered: 05-2005 |
Fab - An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney by Howard Sounes. Got it for $5 in a local newsagents on Friday. Just flicking through it so far. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 522 Registered: 01-2007 |
Neil Young-Waging Heavy Peace-he is great company, wry sprawling warn | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 664 Registered: 10-2006 |
Dirty life and times - Crystal Zevon Well, a more rock n roll biog than this, one couldn't ask for. I'm always astonished what the human body can withstand, at least for a certain length of time. Like Keith Moon, one of those strange mixtures of wild charm and ruthless aggression.More details about the actual songs and recordings would have been welcome, but that would have been a different sort of book. | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 600 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yellow Birds - Kevin Powers stunning and beautiful novel about Iraq war written by author who served as machine gunner in Iraq for 2 years and went on to gain M.F.A in poetry from University of Texas. One of the best books I have read this year and one of the best books on war I have read in my life | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5055 Registered: 05-2005 |
Underground, Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube by Andrew Martin. Very interesting so far. (Does this officially make me a train spotter?). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5072 Registered: 05-2005 |
Interesting article on the current economics of the music industry, written by Damon Krukowski, formerly of Galaxie 500. http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/8 993-the-cloud/ | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 610 Registered: 05-2005 |
Very interesting article Padraig and frightening too, difficult to see a way forward for most new bands (and alot of existing ones) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5075 Registered: 05-2005 |
The new Paul Weller history magazine from Uncut, which includes lots of old Jam/Style Council/Weller interviews from Melody Maker, NME and Uncut. It's excellent (even if it got the length of time between between The Jam's first and second album wrong - it was six months, not eight). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5079 Registered: 05-2005 |
Brilliant article on Massive Attack's Blue Lines http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/oct /28/massive-attack-blue-lines-remaster | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5083 Registered: 05-2005 |
Time magazine's US presidential election special issue. Really well put together. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 685 Registered: 10-2006 |
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen Franzen piles disappointment upon despair upon defeat upon disillusion till frankly the reader is reduced to a pitiful whining thing begging for mercy...as with The Corrections, a smidgen of very meagre not-quite-hopelessness is squeezed out towards the end...But he does it all brilliantly and keeps the pages flying over. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2059 Registered: 10-2008 |
For all the Cathal lovers, a rare interview http://thequietus.com/articles/10815-cat hal-coughlan-microdisney-fatima-mansions -north-sea-scrolls-interview | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3078 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for that, Kevin. I do find it a bit "through the looking glass" when they go on about Coughlan's not being able to do music for the past 15 years. He's done four solo albums plus his digital only first solo album. They figure among my favorite records. And I love "Everybody's Fantastic!" "Sun" is the song of the day for me for every day every summer. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5100 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, Grand Necropolitan was released on CD, but wasn't available for very long. http://www.discogs.com/Cathal-Coughlan-G rand-Necropolitan/release/2416397 | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5101 Registered: 05-2005 |
I'm reading the interview now. Coughlan does not have a "Cork city accent", as the interviewer asserts. He is from County Cork, not the city. He even refers to it as a village later in the article! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3079 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thank you for that information Padraig. I absolutely did not know that. And I found an allegedly new copy in New York. Very helpful since the digital version I have is dreadful sounding. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5103 Registered: 05-2005 |
Where did you get it Randy? I don't have it. All I have is the low carb mp3 version that you probably have. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3083 Registered: 03-2005 |
Padraig, I ordered the one and only copy somebody was selling on Amazon Marketplace on the US website. You might want to check the U.K., French and German versions of Amazon. It may be a case of dumb luck. I never ever thought there was such a thing so I never looked for it and, as you can readily imagine, not very many people in the States will be aware of Coughlan. But don't feel bad, it wasn't cheap. I sprung for $30 for it. Totally worth it in my view. I paid more for some of the Microdisney CDs. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2061 Registered: 10-2008 |
Low carb mp3? That's brilliant! Never heard that one before. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5124 Registered: 05-2005 |
You've never heard it before because I just made it up! Now go make it an internet meme! "Low carb mp3 version" (© Pádraig Collins, 2012) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5125 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, you got a bargain. The only copy I can find anywhere online is going for $115.18 on Gemm. Also, in case you haven't seen it, I mentioned something you'll be interested in on the Last 20 Records... thread. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 463 Registered: 03-2007 |
Padraig, the link you posted on 29th shows that there is a copy for sale on Discogs for about £16.00 plus shipping. Seller has good feedback ( 100% on 57 sales.) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5127 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've never bought anything from Discogs Hugh. Have you used it? | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 464 Registered: 03-2007 |
Thirty eight purchases to date and never a problem but then again I only buy from Sellers with very high feedback and always use PayPal. It is very similar to GEMM and lots of small independent record companies/labels use it to sell their goods. I think Kevin may also have used it. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5130 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thanks Hugh. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2064 Registered: 10-2008 |
I use Discogs all the time. I find that you can buy stuff cheaper there than you can on Amazon. In fact just this morning I plugged a few gaps in my Cathal collection by purchasing Viva Dead Ponies for £3.25 and Valhalla Avenue for £4.99. The cheapest on Amazon were £10 and £11. For vinyl lovers Discogs is heaven sent, even obscure albums can be picked up for £3 or £4 sometimes as there are sellers from the US and all over Europe. if you are wary Padraig, it appears to be strictly controlled on an ebay-esque type style. Everything is through Paypal as well, again this gives you decent protection. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3085 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for the info folks. I saw the one on Discogs but didn't try it since I haven't ever bought anything through that site. And then US Amazon had something located in the States for only a little more and supposedly new. But I will now keep Discogs in mind as an option. I hop across the different nationalities of Amazon all the time because they do NOT always have the same Marketplace sellers and sometimes something will be much cheaper on one Amazon than on another, in spite of increased international postage costs. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 688 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yes, I'm not sure how Amazon organise these things - I just bought an American book from Amazon Italy, around £5 cheaper than from Amazon.uk, zero shipping costs, but being sourced from England.Weird. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5155 Registered: 05-2005 |
Brilliant, true story of an Australian fraudster. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/who-can-it-be- now-20121126-2a25w.html | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5170 Registered: 05-2005 |
The story of the recording of Fairytale Of New York. I thought I knew the whole story already. I didn't. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec /06/fairytale-new-york-pogues-christmas- anthem | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5196 Registered: 05-2005 |
The latest New York Times film reviews. The review of On The Road is eloquent and accurate (it was out months ago in Australia). The review of Not Fade Away is intriguing. I'm looking forward to it opening in Sydney, whenever that is (I'd not previously even heard of it). http://www.nytimes.com/pages/movies/inde x.html | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5203 Registered: 05-2005 |
Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/ 2012/dec/20/bernstein-murdoch-ailes-petr eaus-presidency An extraordinary story. |