Trials of the Monkey: An Accidental Memoir by Matthew Chapman

Matthew Chapman is a screenwriter who also happens to be the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin. In this, his first book, he set out to write about the legendary Scopes Monkey Trial, which occurred in Dayton, TN in 1925, and wound up writing what he accurately calls "An Accidental Memoir."

The centerpiece of the book is an annual re-enectment held in Dover on the anniversary of the original trial. He makes two trips to Dover, one for some background and the other to cover the re-enactment. Hilariously, Chapman gets his date confused and makes his return trip to Dover the week AFTER the mock trial.

Intertwined with with accounts of his two trips to Dover are glimpses from Chapman's life growing up in England, his early exposure to writing and his career as a Hollywood screenwriter. This makes for a fascinating read that tells as much about the author as it does about the legendary creationism vs evolution trial and Christian fundamentalism both past and present.

I've also read Chapman's second book, "40 Days and 40 Nights," in which he covers the more recent intelligent design vs evolution trial in Dover, PA (see my post elsewhere on this blog) and am finding that he is becoming a favorite among current authors. His tendency to inject himself into the story and his ability to find something to like about almost everyone he comes in contact with, regardless of whether he agrees with them or not, make his writing endlessly interesting. He also has an ability to laugh at himself that is a crucial element in any memoir.

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs

I don't know if it's a new thing but, there seems to be a developing genre of authors who's focus is on their own lives, which have been tortured by mental illness and any number of substance abuse problems. Actually, when I stop to think about it, maybe this style has been around longer than I think. Jack Kerouac? Ernest Hemingway?

Whether it is a new genre or not, Augusten Burroughs' writing falls squarely in this realm. "Possible Side Effects" is a collection of hilarious but also often sad essays on Burroughs' life both past and present. His delivery will keep you laughing out loud but the pathos that lies beneath most of his writing will, at times, have you concerned for his safety.

In a lot of ways, Burroughs' reminds be of his fellow gay humorist, David Sedaris but, as hard as this may be to believe, I think Sedaris is more comfortable in his own skin. There is a dangerous edge to most of the writing in "Possible Side Effects" that makes it as powerful, thought provoking and compelling as it is funny.

I really can't say enough good things about this book. When I finished it, I had to resist the urge to simply turn back to the beginning and start again.

Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul by Edward Humes

I just realized that I am WAY behind on my goal of writing about all of the books that I read this year. I actually finished this book back in August, have read two more since and am almost finished with a third. So, without further adieu:

If you've been following my blog this year, you know that the battle between evolution and intelligent design has become something of an obsession for me. It started with Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion" which, I think, lays out a very compelling case that there is in fact no evidence of the existence of God and that the theory of evolution isn't controversial at all. It is settled science.

In "Monkey Girl," Humes does an excellent job of reporting on the 2005 trial in Dover, PA. If you're unfamiliar with the case, the Dover school board had adopted a policy of "teaching the controversy" between intelligent design and evolution and was successfully sued by the parents of several students within the school district. The judge in the case found that intelligent design is not science at all. Instead it is merely creationism with a new name and therefore has no place in science class.

Having read Matthew Chapman's excellent "40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, Oxycontin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania," I was already very familiar with most of the story told by Edward Humes. However, Humes book focuses more on the facts of the trial and the impact on the community where Chapman's focus is more on the individuals involved in the story. "40 Days and 40 Nights" reads more like a memoir where "Monkey Girl" is a piece of journalistic reporting.

Both books are excellent and both are crucial to understanding this important trial in American history. Why do I think it's so important? Because science matters. This is a free country and we have the right to believe whatever we want but a fundamentalist reading of the bible that chooses to ignore established scientific fact, for example that the earth is much older than ten thousand years, isn't faith it is ignorance.

Subject To Debate

I am excited to announce a new blog that I will be writing with my friend John Bertosa. For as long as I've known him, I've thought of John as my "conservative friend." Not that I only have one conservative friend but, John and I have always been able to have interesting, intelligent conversations about politics without devolving to the usual level of "You're wrong!" "Oh yeah, wel YOU'RE stupid!"

After a recent converstation about the presidential election, John and I decided that it would be fun and interesting to start a blog in which we would debate politics from our respective viewpoints. Check it out if you are so inclined.

http://subjecttodebate.blogspot.com/

My Top 10 Albums of All Time! (yes, I am in fact a geek)

A friend and I recently decided to compile our lists of Top 10 Records of All Time which is, sadly, not even the geekiest thing that I've ever done. Anyway, since I spent the last month listening to tons of music to come up with this list, I thought I'd write about it here.

Before I delve into the list itself, I have to say that this was more difficult than I expected it to be. Like most people, my taste in music covers a very wide range of eras, styles and artists and I found it very difficult to crystallize which records are, in my opinion, the best or most important.

I should also mention that the phrase "Top 10 Records of All Time" is inherently ridiculous. Let's not kid ourselves here, if I made this list once a year for the rest of my life, it would probably be a very different list from year to year. Music sometimes has a tendency to come and go in my life.

After careful consideration and much deliberation, I went with the music that had the most impact on me as a listener, as a musician and just as a person. Once I came up with this parameter, I was able to narrow the list down to my definitive top ten, at least for today.

As you would expect, a lot of this music came on my radar in late high school and early adulthood. I've always thought that this is the period when people are most likely to form their musical identity. Everything we hear after that is shaped by those seminal listening experiences. Having said that, there are a few albums that are more recent and there were a lot of near misses that were released in the past ten years or so.

Okay, without further adieu, here, in order, is my Top 10 Albums of All Time:

1) The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies (1971)

This one was actually an easy choice. It's one of those records that has always spoken to me. I remember hearing it for the first time, the day my brother brought it home from the store, and thinking that I didn't really need to hear anything else. I could just play this glorious album over and over for the rest of my life. It's combination of blues, country and British rock influences has probably shaped me as a songwriter more than anything else I've ever heard.

2) Muddy Waters - Hard Again (1977)

I was around twelve years old the first time I heard this record and it completely fucked me up. I was at once terrified, confused and inspired. Up to that point, I really had no idea what "The Blues" was. A few months earlier, I had convinced my mother to buy me a harmonica and an instruction book by Tony "Little Sun" Glover called "Blues Harp: An Instruction Method for Playing Blues Harmonica." I'd spent the time in between pouring over the book and trying desperately to figure out what it all meant and who all of these people - Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters - were. Wandering through my local library, I happened to notice a section of the record racks labeled "Blues" and "Hard Again," which was new at the time, was the very first record on the stack. I checked the album out of the library, took it home and proceeded to blow my mind for the next two weeks. People often talk about music or literature or films that changed their lives, this album, more than any other, did that for me. It's the reason I started playing music and in the blues, it gave me the style of music that has always defined me as a performer and songwriter.

3) Bob Dylan - Desire (1976)

For years, my favorite Dylan record was always "Blood On The Tracks" but, at some point this album took over my consciousness. It includes some of Bob's strongest songwriting which, given his incredible track record, is really saying something. "One More Cup of Coffee," "Joey," "Isis" - every song here is a masterpiece. Interestingly, the Bob Dylan album that came the closest to knocking this one off this list was "Modern Times," which is also his most recent work.

4) The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street (1972)

I almost didn't include this album on the list because I think it occupies a space that is, sonically speaking, very similar to Muswell Hillbillies. But how could any self respecting fan of rock music not include this album? Mick and Keith and company were firing on all cylinders and the music has a depth of feeling that has rarely been approached by anyone else. I should note that this album is by far best enjoyed in it's original vinyl format. The Stones did an amazing job of arranging each of the double album's four sides as if they were self contained entities. That vibe gets lost a bit when you don't have to pause to flip the record over.

5) Johnny Cash - The Sun Years (recorded as singles in the 1950s)

I don't know whether to rave about the breathtaking quality of songs like "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk The Line," "Mean Eyed Cat" and "Big River," or about the guitar playing of Luther Perkins who, along with Carl Perkins (no relation) and Scotty Moore, was among the first true guitar heroes in rock and roll. Yes, I said, rock and roll. Johnny may be primarily known as a country artist, but this music is rock and roll plain and simple. More than fifty years after it's release, it still sounds dark and brooding and, most of all, dangerous. When Johnny says he killed a man "just to watch him die" we not only believe him, there's no guarantee that he might not do it again. No artist has worn his demons on his sleeve more than the great Johnny Cash and these recordings are where it all started.

6) Neil Young - On The Beach (1974)

For some reason, this has never been one of Neil's most famous albums and it never seems to get the credit it deserves. It's dark mix of blues, country and stoned rock is at once comforting and extremely unsettling. "Revolution Blues," "For The Turnstiles," "Vampire Blues" - even the song titles are dark and mysterious. Every time I play this album, which is often, I want to cover a different song from it. I keep wanting use cliches like "dark masterpiece" because I really don't have words to describe how much I love this record.

7) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads (1996)

In the mid 1990s, Johnny Cash made an appearance at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas and chose Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds as his impromptu backing band for the occasion. This may be all that needs to be said about Nick and his gang of dangerous men and women. I bought this album in the late 90s, after buying, and loving, it's follow up "The Boatman's Call." At that point, I'd been listening to music for over twenty five years and I really didn't think anything could shatter my preconceptions like this album did. If you don't already own it, stop what you're doing right now and go buy this record. Then buy everything else Nick Cave has ever done.

8) The Who - Who's Next (1971)

As a kid I played this album so much that I actually wore out multiple copies of it. Even after hundreds, possibly even thousands of plays, it still hasn't lost it's appeal. I'm listening to it as I type this and it still moves me in new and different ways each and every time I hear it. As much as I love rock music, much of it is nowhere near as important in the scheme of "great art" as we'd all like to believe. "Who's Next" is one of the exceptions. If you needed an album to give to an alien race as an example of just how good rock music of the late 20th century could be, this would be your best choice.

9)Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Last DJ (2002)

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are the great American rock and roll band and this is quite simply their crowning achievement. Taking aim at the decline and fall of rock radio in particular and the music business in general, Petty conjures the finest songs of his career. The record is nothing short of a bitter sweet masterpiece. Songs like "Dreamville" and "Blue Sunday" are as powerful as any that the genre has ever produced.

10) Bob Marley & The Wailers - The Complete Upsetter Singles (recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s)

While I love all of Bob Marley's music, these sides, which pre-date international stardom by a year or two, are the most powerful music in his considerable cannon. Virtually all of these songs found their way onto later Marley albums but these raw recordings, produced by Jamaican mastermind/crazy person Lee "Scratch" Perry, are his greatest moment. Much like the Elvis Presley records of the 50s, they witness the birth of a new music, in this case reggae. Bob was writing songs constantly and hearing his excitement, passion and joy as this music literally unfolds before his ears is as close to a religious experience as music is probably capable of.