Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion by Edward J. Larson

If you have been reading my blog over the past year or so, you are aware that I have had more than a passing fascination with the battles in the American courts over the teaching of Intelligent Design, aka Creationism, in high school science class. Having read multiple books on the famous 2005 case in Dover, PA (check the archives of this blog if you're interested in reading my thoughts on those books) I decided that I would turn some of my attention to the trial with which it is most often compared, the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, TN.

I ran across Edward J. Larson's Pulitzer prize winning account of the trial in a display my local library set up to honor Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and was absorbed by this book from start to finish. Although Larson's account of the case is exhaustively detailed, it is also beautifully written and highly worth reading.

Frost/Nixon: Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews by David Frost

Before I delve into my thoughts on this book, I'd like to apologize for the long delay since my last post. This was going to be my year of blogging weekly. Ah well. My wife and I had our first child the second week in February and, needless to say, things have been a bit busy. Hopefully, I can get back on track with more regular blogging. Thanks.

Richard Nixon's resignation has always been an oddly fascinating moment for me. I was almost ten years old when he resigned and for some reason, the event left it's mark. Back in the late 90s, when the Bill Clinton impeachment comedy was playing out in Congress, there were a lot of people saying that what Clinton had done, essentially lying about cheating on his wife, was "worse than Nixon." Curious to see if they were correct, I found myself reading everything that I could get my hands on about the Watergate scandal. After watching the recent movie, "Frost/Nixon," David Frost's account of these historic interviews became yet another addition to my ever growing "Nixon Library."

While the movie was a fascinating story based on the real events, the book itself is less than fascinating. I did find parts of it interesting and worth reading but, much of it was tedious. The problem isn't with the story, Nixon was a tremendously flawed and endlessly fascinating individual, but with Frost's writing which is perfunctory at best.

The last third of the book is devoted to long excerpts from the actual interview transcripts. Again, parts of this are fascinating and I'm sure it would be riveting to actually watch or hear the interviews however, much of the dialogue is stilted and just doesn't transfer well to the printed page.

Because I have a strong interest in the Nixon administration, I am unwilling to entirely write this book off but I will say that those with only a casual interest in the Nixon administration should probably skip this one. This is a rare case where I really think the movie is better than the book.

Amoeba's Secret by Paul McCartney

It is always interesting when an artist of Paul McCartney's stature and accomplishment goes on a late career roll. Often, a string of records that would have been heralded as a watershed period earlier in an artist's career is downplayed or simply ignored. It's as if we take the genius of legendary artists like McCartney for granted. Before we can acknowledge the greatness of their current music, we require them to eclipse not only their finest work but, even more difficult, our memory of their finest work, which is tangled up in nostalgia for wherever we happened to be in our lives when we first heard it.

Beginning with the release of "Driving Rain" in 2001 and carrying through "Chaos and Creation In The Backyard," "Memory Almost Full" and especially last year's incredible "Electric Arguments" (released under his now not so secret alter ego The Fireman) McCartney has been quietly making the best music of his post Beatles career and some of the best music of his entire career. I don't know if it was the death of his longtime wife Linda or a new found desire to prove that he is still a vibrant, adventurous artist with something to say but Paul McCartney has without a doubt made some of the best music of the decade.

"Amoeba's Secret" is a four song live ep that was recorded at a rare in-store appearance Paul made with his band when "Memory Almost Full" was out. It includes a rocking version of "Only Mama Knows," from that same album, a rare live airing of an obscure Wings b-side called "C Moon," the playfully nostalgic "That Was Me" and a rambunctious airing of "I Saw Her Standing There." The thing that really jumps out at you is just how much fun McCartney, his band and the audience are having. It's really hard to believe that this is a man in his sixties and hard to think of a time when he has ever sounded better.

For those of you who have been ignoring what amounts to a period of rebirth for one of the most important artists of the rock era, do yourself a favor and spend seven dollars on this funky little ep. Or better yet, you can buy the download for a mere four. Either way you won't be disappointed.

The Best American Short Stories 2007, Edited by Stephen King, Series Editor Heidi Pitlor

When I was a kid, even before I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a short story writer. Not an author or the more generic title of "writer," but specifically a short story writer. As an adolescent, I would sit in my room and read the short stories of O. Henry, Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe and pretty much anyone else I could get my hands on. I certainly read lots of novels and probably more nonfiction than someone my age would usually read but, it was the short stories that made me dream of one day becoming a writer.

I guess I still carry this dream around or at least the love for great short fiction. While cruising the Amazon Kindle Store trying to choose a new book to read on my beloved Kindle reading device (if you don't know what that is and you're even a semi serious reader, you owe it to yourself to visit the Kindle page at Amazon) I ran across a new collection of short stories by Stephen King. I've always loved his short fiction so, I clicked the link to read the descriptions and reviews of the book. In the description it mentioned that King had rekindled (that's probably an unfortunate pun, since I was reading about this on my Kindle) his interest in writing short fiction while editing the 2007 edition of the popular "Best American Short Stories" series.

While I still plan to read King's new collection, my interest immediately shifted to this anthology. One of the great things about Stephen King is that he is not only a gifted writer, no matter what the literary snobs sometimes think, but he is also one of the world's foremost fans of fiction and his selections for this yearly collection did not disappoint.

The titles and authors of the powerful stories in this book are too numerous to mention here so I'll just say that there wasn't a week story in the bunch and there were several which had me thumbing to the author notes at the back of the book to find out what else they had written. I hadn't read one of the annual best of books for several years and I had forgotten how strongly they reaffirm my belief that short fiction is not dead and, like blues or jazz in clubs all over the world, is still being practiced and honed to a fine art in dozens of literary magazines just outside the window of mainstream fiction.

The question is, did this collection make me want to be a short story writer again? I would say yes but that particular dream has never completely died.

Already Free by The Derek Trucks Band

The first time I ever heard The Derek Trucks Band was a few summers ago when I saw them open for the Allman Brothers Band at the Plain Dealer Pavillion in Cleveland, Ohio. They were already onstage when we arrived at the venue and I just remember being enveloped by the sound of this singing slide guitar. At first it sounded like the ghost of Duane Allman risen from the dead but as I found my seat and settled in to the music, it started to feel like a completely different thing. The band had elements of blues, jazz, world music, jam band music and pretty much any other style you can think of. At one point, they played a version of the John Coltrane arrangement of "My Favorite Things" that changed the way I looked at that song. The next time I listened to Coltrane play it, I found myself thinking about that live rendition, with Derek Trucks' slide guitar taking role of Coltrane's saxophone.

The next day I bought "Songlines," which was their current album at the time, and was pretty much astounded by it. I had heard Trucks play with the Allman Brothers many years before - I think he was still a teenager - and he sounded good but his playing was a little immature. Young musicians, especially those roaming into blues and jazz territory, often sound like they need to live a little bit to flesh out the blood and guts in their playing. By the time "Songlines" came out, which was 2006, Trucks had been on the road as a member of the Allman Brothers for ten years or so, first sharing guitar duties with Dickey Betts and later with Warren Haynes. His playing had not only matured, it had moved far beyond his early musings as a near perfect imitator of Duane Allman into a full throated, distinct voice to be reckoned with.

Two years later, we have "Already Free," which takes the passionate, unique jazz and blues of "Songlines" many steps further and sees the band developing into a force to be reckoned with. The album was recorded in Trucks' home studio, with the whole band playing together in one room. From the opening cover of Bob Dylan's "Down In The Flood" through the deep south gospel groove of "Sweet Inspiration" and the introspective, funk/blues of "Get What You Deserve" this album positively crackles with electricity. The record is a bit of a mixed bag of blues, jazz, gospel, alt country etc., but the distinct personality of the band and that slide guitar somehow hold it together as a cohesive listening experience that works best when taken as a whole, as opposed to playing just a song or two.

2008: A Look Back At My Year In Blogging

At the beginning of 2008, I decided that I wanted to write more and I thought that this blog would be as good a place as any to get that ball rolling. Because I've always loved to read, it made sense to write about the books I read on my blog. Before this year, activity on this blog was sporadic at best but, in '08 I wrote here more regularly than ever before and also began co-authoring the Subject To Debate blog with my friend John Bertosa.

I read, and wrote about, 18 books in the past year, which is actually a little less than I thought I would. I was hoping to be in the neighborhood of two per month. I've never kept track of the number of books that I read in any other year so, I really don't have anything to compare that number with. I also wrote four additional posts that weren't about books. This year, I plan to continue writing about each book I read but I also plan to write about each new album I purchase. I think I'll probably stick to new releases but, who knows, I may try to write about every piece of music I buy. Over the course of any given year, I buy a lot of music so, that would be a tall task.

In terms of sheer numbers, I wrote 22 posts on this blog in 2008, which is ten more than I've ever written in a single year before. I also wrote twelve posts over at Subject To Debate. So, a total of 34 posts in one year isn't too bad. I know there are plenty of people who write on their blogs once a day, sometimes two or three times a day but, as I said, my history has been pretty sporadic so, I feel good that I've kept it up a bit more regular this year.

I'm hoping that I can continue writing steadily in 2009. Actually, I'd like to get on more of a weekly schedule with this blog. Maybe having a deadline will help keep me focussed. Anyway, however it goes for me blogging this year, I want to thank anyone who has taken the time to read some of my writing in the past twelve months. I hope you've enjoyed and I'd love to hear from you.

Black Sabbath's Master of Reality: 33 1/3 by John Darnielle

For those who are not familiar with it, 33 1/3 is a series of short books published by Continuum. Each book focuses on a different rock album. The subject of this book is, you guessed it, Black Sabbath's classic "Master of Reality."

I haven't read any of the other 33 1/3 books but, from what I've read about them, most take the form of either critical essays or rock journalism on the making of the record in question. John Darnielle, who is himself a musician being the singer, songwriter and principle member of a band called The Mountain Goats, has crafted something entirely different and ultimately more satisfying. "Master of Reality" is a short novel about a troubled teen in a psych ward who is a devoted fan of Black Sabbath.

Darnielle chooses to tell the story from the perspective of his main character, who's name is Roger. The first half of the story is Roger's journal while a 16 year old patient at a psych ward in 1985. Later, the story is picked up in the form of a letter from Roger to one of his therapists, written ten years after the main events of the story took place.

Although the character in the story was several years younger than me (five to be exact) and I never spent any time in a psych ward, it was impossible for me not to empathize with his passion for music in general and Black Sabbath in particular. In many ways, I think that Black Sabbath's role has always been to speak to the troubled teenager that many of us once were and that still seems to live inside. His passionate pleas to his therapist, whom he assumes is reading the journal, to give him back his Black Sabbath tapes, or at least "Master of Reality," made me think of the hours and hours I spent as a teenager listening to and talking about music. For that matter, it made me think of the huge amounts of time I still spend in these endeavors as an adult.

To put it simple, this little book blew me away. It is a very quick read but I wanted to turn back and reread it as soon as I had finished. In the reading and rereading, I found myself thinking about periods of my life that I hadn't thought about in a long time. Like Roger, I have changed greatly since my misspent youth as a troubled teen but, also like Roger, I look back on that time of my life with a complicated mixture of pain and affection. In this wonderful little book, John Darnielle has perfectly captured the complexity of those feelings while also conveying the dark masterpiece that is Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality."

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

This is a book that I probably would've never picked up on my own but, Amazon offered it briefly as a free download so, I decided to check it out. It is a fairly standard serial killer thriller but, don't let that dissuade you from reading it. "The Surgeon" is gripping suspense and Gerritsen is a gifted story teller.

The story centers around a serial killer in Boston who performs living dissections on his female victims. At times, the story is extremely grizzly but the juxtaposition of descriptions of the Surgeon's exploits with those of a female surgeon, who is the focus of the killer's wrath, give the novel a context that is often missing in suspense fiction.

It is unfair to compare the writing in a mystery or thriller to that of a more "literary" genre, however, it is Tess Gerritsen's writing which propels this story. The believability and vulnerability of her characters pulls the reader in and the sections of the book told from the perspective of the killer border on tortured genius. "The Surgeon" had me clicking through the pages as fast as I could read them and at the end of the day, that is the job of a successful suspense novel.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (with an introduction by Robert DeMott)

Like most people, I first read Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" in high school. It was one of four books that we read in a class called "20th Century Literature." For most of the class, it's very length and breadth made the reading of the book a daunting task. I was the geek in the corner who literally lapped the class, reading the entire book twice in the time that everyone else read it once.

Although this isn't my first time to re-read this classic, I was drawn to it this time by all of the correlations that are currently being made in the media between the Great Depression and today's financial crisis. First and foremost, "The Grapes of Wrath" is the quintessential dust bowl ballad of American literature. Steinbeck was able to capture the struggle of the migrant farm worker in 1930s America in a way that makes it not only accessible but also resonant to readers far removed from the events of the novel.

In this reading, which is either my third or fourth reading of the book, I can't remember for sure, I was struck more than ever by the power of the expositional or background chapters, which alternate with the narrative chapters on the plight of the Joad family. In his fascinating and informative introduction, Robert DeMott compares these chapters to jazz riffs, which is as appropriate a comparison as I can think of. The writing throughout the book is powerful and moving but, it is in these "interchapters," as Steinbeck called them, that the author really flexes his muscles as a writer.

I was also moved by the never ending resolve of the Joad family in the face of what amounts to a constant assault on their human dignity. There is an underlying goodness to most of the characters in the book that, while it may be old fashioned, is a powerful assessment of the ability of human beings to rise to an occasion or at least to band together in defeat.

"The Grapes of Wrath," is by no means a happy story and the ending is probably as far from the classic "happy ending" as could be imagined. It is, however, a story that is often moving and at times inspiring. If it's been awhile since you've read it, you should revisit this masterpiece of American literature. If you've never read it, then stop fooling around on the Internet, get yourself a copy of this book and read it.

Vote For Barack Obama (If You Haven't Already)

I spent yesterday afternoon hanging around on the mall in downtown Cleveland, waiting to hear Barack Obama speak. Four years ago, I spent most of the night before the election in the same place waiting to hear John Kerry make his final pitch for the presidency. While there was a sense of deja vu to yesterday's event - thousands of democrats, Bruce Springsteen performed etc., - the differences couldn't have been more palpable.

Both crowds felt like rock concert crowds but Kerry's crowd felt like a Springsteen concert while yesterday's rock star was the candidate, Barack Obama. There were vendors wandering about selling t-shirts, buttons and rally towels. Near where I was standing, dozens of parents cheerfully boosted their children up on top of what appeared to be a very wobbly structure for a better look. I don't condone putting children in danger but it did say something about the historic nature of the event. There was a sense of this being something that we've never seen before.

I don't remember seeing a more diverse crowd at any event I've ever attended. There were old people, young people, white people, black people, Hispanics, Asians, hippies, preppies, gays, straights and even a few football fans spilling over from the Browns game. I don't believe that his ability to unite diverse groups of people is reason enough to elect Barack Obama president but I think it's a start. There has never been a president or public figure in my lifetime that has galvanized the American population in this way.

So, if not for his ability to unite diversity, why should you vote for Barack Obama? Because it's time for America to take the plunge. To put our money on the horse that has the most potential instead of the one who has been in the game the longest. A vote for John McCain is a vote in support of the politics of misdirection. We must, once and for all, repudiate the idea that half truths and outright lies are just part of a so called "tough campaign." The attempts by the McCain campaign to characterize Barack Obama as a terrorist who hates America or a Socialist are at least as repugnant as the legendary Willy Horton incident that sunk the campaign of Mike Dukakis back in 1988. The difference is that this time they don't seem to be working.

So if you haven't already voted, get to the polls early tomorrow and stand in whatever length of line you need to and cast your vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. It's time to have a president who can inspire us to actually be the greatest country in the world instead of merely mouthing those words that we've been told since childhood. Use your voice to cast a vote for leadership over cynicism, hope over fear, ideas over character assassination and hope over anger.

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.

What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception by Scott McClellan

When I heard that the former White House press secretary had written a "tell all" book on his years with the Bush administration, I was interested in much the same way that rush hour drivers are interested in an accident on the other side of the freeway. I knew that McClellan had been press secretary through some of the most harrowing days of the Bush administration and felt a bit sorry for him because I believed that he had been lied to on numerous occasions by the President himself as well as the inner circle of the administration. I didn't expect the book to be enlightening but I found myself wanting to read about the carnage.

It was no surprise that this book was ruthlessly attacked by those within and close to the Bush administration. The book was mostly characterised as an angry response by a bitter former employee. At first, this actually made some sense to me. But then I thought about the interviews that McClellan had given around the time he resigned from his post. At that time, he seemed like a loyal Bushie who had simply reached burnout. So why would he change his tune a year or so later?

The reasoning became more apparent when I read the preface to "What Happened." According to the author, it wasn't until he began the process of reflection that the writing of a memoir requires that he began to formulate the views he chose to include in the book. This felt honest to me so, I decided to plunge in and see what he had to say.

The crux of this book, which I think is being left out of much of the discussion surrounding it, is the concept of the "permanent campaign" and it's negative effects on our government, society and citizens. McClellan recounts his political career prior to the White House and his years in the Bush administration from the perspective that we have gone horribly wrong in our approach to government. By treating every issue as if it were a campaign and making governing decisions entirely based on the way they will play to a particular political base, we have lost sight of the true function of government.

Although his writing isn't always as eloquent as I'd like it to be, I think Scott McClellan makes some very important points in this book. There are a lot of voices shouting for the end of bipartisanship and the removal of money from politics but, McClellan speaks to these issues with a unique inside viewpoint that gives his message and it's ability to add to the dialogue an added resonance. The fact that McClellan is, for the most part, a political conservative, helps to enforce his point that the "permanent campaign" reaches far beyond ideas of liberal or conservative, republican or democrat. It is, to steal a phrase from the Nixon era, a cancer on the heart of our political system.

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hajdu

Some of my favorite comic books are the horror anthology comics published by EC Comics in the 1950's. This book focuses on that era of comics and specifically on how a wave of hysteria built up to the point that government forces pushed many of the publishers, writers out of the business for good.

Although the two are probably inextricable, I was more interested in the history of the comics from that era than I was in the story of their downfall. David Hajdu, in a writing style that can best be described as "dry," chooses to emphasise the latter, in exhaustive detail.

While the book was interesting, it was also, at times, a bit tedious and therefore took me a very long time to get through. I found it to be almost textbook like in it's approach. All in all, not a terrible book and possibly of great interest to those looking to learn more about 1950's comic books and their place in our culture. It just wasn't quite the book I set out to read.

Ten Books In Four Months

I don't know if ten books in four months is anything to brag about but, I feel good that I've read that many and actually kept up with writing about them here. You may have noticed that I write about the books in spurts. That's because I tend to read them faster than I can write about them. Well, faster than I am writing about them anyway. If you look at the past few entries, it looks like I've read three books in a week but, in actuality, I've ready three books since the end of March.

Looking back through the books I've read so far, it's interesting to me how much science fiction I've read. I generally read a wider variety of fiction types but, I guess sci fi is just what I'm gravitating towards at the moment. I also think it's interesting that there seems to be a balance between social commentary/politics and fiction. I'm not really sure what that means but, it must mean something I guess.

Anyway, I hope people are enjoying reading about what I'm reading. I'd love to see more comments so, don't be shy. Also, I will be doing more of the other writing that I've done here, particularly the automatic fiction which I find particularly rewarding.

Galaxy Blues by Allen Steele

This book was originally serialized in Azimov's Science Fiction Magazine, which is where I read it. Instead of reading it in the four monthly installments, I waited until all four issues had been published and then read the entire book.

I was completely unfamiliar with Allen Steele's writing and found this book to be, for the most part, an enjoyable sci fi diversion. I tend to lean towards more thought provoking science fiction but occasionally, a good old fashioned adventure story is a welcome change.

One of the best elements of Steele's writing is his emphasis on character development. Often, so called, "hard" science fiction spends too much energy on the technology and world building aspects of the genre and nowhere enough time on the characters who are living through the story. Obviously, strong characters are almost always an essential part of good fiction but, sadly, this is sometimes overlooked by modern science fiction writers.

The only flaw to this book is that the actual adventure itself gets a little boring and predictable at times. For the most part, Allen Steele's story telling instincts and the likability of his characters manage to hold the book together and make it worth reading.

"Galaxy Blues" seems to be part of or related to a series of books that Steele has written about a fictional planet called Coyote.

The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby

Dismayed by the rapid decrease of reading, writing and intelligent discourse in America, Susan Jacoby has crafted an engaging, at times humorous, often depressing and always thought provoking book on the present, past and future of intellectualism in America.

I came into this book thinking that the author would be "preaching to the choir" and was surprised to come away looking hard at my own life for ways to change. Although I am an avid reader and consider myself, probably quite pompously, to be an intellectual, when I really started looking at how I spend my time, I found that there is room for improvement. Like most Americans, I still spend far too much time watching television, playing video games and surfing the web and nowhere near as much time as I'd like reading, thinking, creating or engaged in thought provoking conversation.

I have begun to make some changes in how I spend my free time but, as I read this book I kept thinking, "How can we change this trend?" The answer isn't so simple but, like fighting global warming, doing something is better than doing nothing. So, I hope anyone reading this will consider cutting by one third the time they spend each day watching television, reading more books, experiencing more life and, most important of all, doing all you can to encourage and help the children in your life to do the same. If you have children of your own, read to them every day and when they are old enough to read themselves, take them to the library every week. Make reading and talking and thinking the central aspects of your family life.

No, I haven't completely forsaken television or video games and this blog is proof that I still see the Internet as part of my entertainment/information mix. However I am trying to recommit myself to not only being an intellectual but to celebrating intellect and reason. I hope you will do the same and reading Susan Jacoby's book is as good a place to start as any.

At the beginning of this year, I made the decision to write about the books I read on this blog. My reasons at the time were to create a record, for me as much as anyone else, of the books that I read and what I thought of them. I also hoped it would cause me to read more books than I ordinarily would. I don't know if that's happened or not but, after reading "The Age of American Unreason," I feel like I have a new reason for writing about books in this space. As much as anything else, blogging is about the exchange of ideas, which gives us a unique opportunity to further the dialogue in this country. Here's hoping my little corner of the blogosphere can achieve that goal in some small way.