rating: 2 of 5 stars Charlaine Harris’ writing improved a little from the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I still only rate the book as ‘ok’. There was very little mystery in the plot — most questions were answered almost immediately after they were presented. It also seems like this book was yet another attempt to introduce some characters for later usage in the series, without providing any real hints as to why they needed to be a part of this book.
On the plus side, this is a pretty darn quick read, and it gives me some hope about the 2nd season of True Blood.
Today, we are especially happy to bring you “People Got A Lotta Nerve,” the first single from Neko Case’s forthcoming album Middle Cyclone (out March 3), because for every blog that reposts the song and/or iLike user who adds it to their profile, Neko Caseand ANTI- will make a cash donation to Best Friends Animal Society.
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was definitely an entertaining read. I really liked Junot Diaz’ style. The story develops from the perspective of multiple different characters, and the writing is in a mix of English and Spanish (which I simply inferred the meanings of) that pulls you a little further into the world of the Dominican main characters. The biggest surprise and maybe even the overall point of the book, though, is that the book serves as a bit of history lesson about the Dominican Republic. I can certainly say that none of the historical elements discussed in this book were ever taught in my History classes.
October 24th, 2008 | Comments Off | Filed in General
Dan is out of town again, so I took a stab at another column on the SportsBubbler’s daily blog. This one was the Afternoon Delight/Weekend Six Pack feature.
October 14th, 2008 | Comments Off | Filed in Music
Those of you who know me well enough to have discussed music fall into one of a few general categories: There’s the “You listen to weird music” group that doesn’t even bother to have music conversations with me anymore, the “Why do you have to be such a music snob?” group which wishes I was more willing to listen to Jack Johnson or go with them to Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews or Cheap Trick concerts, and the “You always listen to cool new bands, what are you listening to now?” group. This infrequent feature is for the last group.
A band I’m currently enjoying a lot is Ra Ra Riot.
Brief Bio
Ra Ra Riot hails from Syracuse, New York. They formed in 2006, appeared at the CMJ Music Marathon the same year. They have one full length album – The Rhumb Line — which they released on August 19th, 2008.
For Fans of (an attempt to describe their sound)
Other than the uber-generic “Indie Rock” description, I would describe Ra Ra Riot’s music as upbeat, dare I say “pop?” If you’re a fan of Vampire Weekend, I think you’ll like Ra Ra Riot just fine.
iTunes Genius Says…
Highlighting Ghost Under Rocks and launching iTunes Genius playlist function pulls in music from my collection by:
Okkervil River
Professor Murder
Rogue Wave
The National
Dr Dog
The Dandy Warhols
Asobi Seksu
Vampire Weekend (see!)
and more
Standout Track
Ghost Under Rocks
Each Year
Dying is Fine
Can You Tell
If you like those tracks, you’ll like the album.
On Tour
Ra Ra Riot was actually in Milwaukee for Summerfest this year, playing the US Cellular stage on July 6th. I didn’t see them (probably because I didn’t really discover them until August).
They are currently playing a few shows on the East Coast before heading to Europe to play several dates with Vampire Weekend.
They are definitely on my radar for their next show in Milwaukee — I’m thinking a show at the Pabst or Turner Hall is coming this winter…
Videos
Performing “Can You Tell” on Letterman on 10/13/2008
Subscribe Feed (RSS)
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
