If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Winnie the Pooh’s most mournful pal, Eeyore.
Last week we ran a post on the people who we thought were rock ‘n’ roll’s most underrated lyricists — artists who don’t get the credit they deserve for their writing, either because they’re better known as guitarists/producers/crazy performers, or just because they’re generally underappreciated. We got some great feedback, and some excellent suggestions in the comments section, and all was very congenial. But last week’s post does raise one obvious question: If those were rock ‘n’ roll’s most underrated lyricists, who are its most overrated? We’ve taken the plunge and put together a list of the latter. Again, to be clear, this isn’t meant to be any sort of definitive list of worst lyrics or lyricists — Des’ree, your throne is secure — just those who we reckon don’t get enough scrutiny for being either a) not that great or b) not quite as great as people seem to think they are. So, what say you, readers? Are there more names you’d like to nominate? Or do we just need to join the witness protection program?
Today at Flavorpill, we couldn’t decide which we wanted more: a crazy octopus chair or a Stephen Colbert sofa. We learned four reasons why zombies will overtake vampires in 2011. We bookmarked Full Stop, a new website that’s “committed to an earnest, expansive, and rigorous discussion of literature and literary culture.” We wondered what Richard Simmons was doing hanging out in this tree. We discovered that the original name for softball was “kitten ball,” and that volleyball was once known as “Mintonette,” thanks to our friends at Mental Floss. We were amused by one 31-year-old man’s angst-ridden love for Conor Oberst. We swooned a little over this hilarious but sweet speech Bill Murray gave about Sofia Coppola at the National Board of Review Awards last night. We just said no to this Simpsons porn parody. And finally, we were sad to hear that Showtime had passed on The Kennedys miniseries — but probably not as sad as Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear are.
The debut album from Monsters of Folk melds the considerable talents of M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.
The Monsters moniker was given to the group by fans during a tour five years ago, and it fits: at nearly an hour, the debut feels nothing like a side project. With Bright Eyes’ Mike Mogis rounding out the quartet, M.O.F. perfectly balance each member’s distinct voice — as on sultry standout “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.),” in which Ward’s honeyed growl plays beautifully off James’ falsetto. Read More »
Conor Oberst is the only musician who, at age 29, can sing, “Dementia you better treat me good,” without the slightest bit of irony. After hearing Outer South, the sophomore release from Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, one can only wonder if dementia has indeed set in. There are no remnants of the boy who, when love pissed him off, once sang, “I want a lover I don’t have to love/I want a girl who’s too sad to give a f*ck.” Oberst, the once emotive child prodigy, has grown into a beer-guzzling rocker at 30. A lyrical analysis and our thoughts on why the album is an abomination, after the jump… Read More »
While there’s certainly debate amongst our music nerds as to whether Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst is this generation’s Dylan or a coffee-house cretin whose voice has yet to progress beyond pre-pubescence [Editor's note: I wonder which side Andy's on...], we have to give him credit. He’s spent the last 15 years meticulously working his way out of Omaha, and the resulting indie-emo empire has brought the concept of DIY to a whole new generation. A free gift to lovers and haters alike, Phil Schaffart’s One Of My Kind: The Story Of The Mystic Valley Band 60-minute Oberst documentary is now available online. We welcome reviews in the comments.
