>anyway, on another note, i've finally been introduced to Oscar Wilde. this
>is my spring break, and instead of staying up late into the night doing
>homework or procrastinating the doing of my homework, i've been reading him.
>i started with "A Picture of Dorian Gray" and then read two of his other
>stories: the ghost of canterville, and lord arthur somethingorothers crime.
>i LOVE him. i wonder why on earth i didn't discover him earlier in my life.
>i was just wondering if any of you have anything to say about him. what are
>his other great works? etc. etc.
"The Importance of Being Ernest" immediately pops to mind, though I'd
bet you're just going to read everything. Fine. But when you're
done, I'd recommend starting on the short stories of Saki (aka H.H.
Munro). Somewhat similar, roughly contemporary with Wilde (about a
decade later), but more prolific than Wilde and less consistent. But
witty as sin, provided you can ignore the odd lame misogynistic
fantasy at the expense of suffragettes. The bulk of the stories (I'd
say there are more than 100) are quite good, however.
Since I don't post here much, a few musical asides. To start with
the Importance of Being Ernest. Elections in California yesterday
had a ballot proposition in which rightwingers wanted to change the
legal definition of marriage to be only "between a man and a woman".
Not that same sex unions are recognized in California outside of a
few progressive cities, and even then it doesn't mean much. But the
proposition was meant as a preemptive strike just in case same sex
marriages ever did become legal... Anyway, a college deejay
commented on all this on the radio yesterday, all by way of
introducing a song about...guess who. No, not Oscar, but Ernie, of
Ernie & Bert fame. Or Ernest, as they call him in France, which is
where my friends Mumbly (the authors of the song) come from. Who
didn't mean it as a gay anthem, but what the heck.
I don't know whether new release announcements are appreciated on
this list or not (and half of you probably got the message through
some other list), so I'll keep this real short.
New...CD...by...Cessna...on...Radio Khartoum. Just over a week old.
If interested, check the RK URL at the end of my post, or email me
directly.
Top in my pops this week (and probably for a good time to come): the
7" by Three Berry Icecream on Dogprint. Mayumi who writes the songs
played keyboards and accordion in Bridge, one of my all time favorite
bands. But Bridge had fabulously over the top production, souped up
pastiches of old French Varietie, 50's soundtracks, 60's Brazilian,
and 60's soft rock bubblegum. All of which meant that I was sure I
was going to be disappointed by this 7", which was sure to be done on
a shoestring budget by comparison. The shoestring budget part is
probably true, but no matter, the single is fabulous. The opening
track even manages to sound like a great Bridge song, more shambolic,
but no harm done. And lovely violin ripping all over the place. The
remaining three tracks fall into the Japanese indie cutie category,
but instead of the usual half baked vocals and out of tune
instruments, these are simple, tight, and poignant. Particularly the
B-sides. A pair of waltzing lullabies...I'm charmed.
Now listening to the Lina CD on Apricot which just arrived in the
mail. With much anticipation...the opening track, which I had
already heard on the radio, is dynamite...hoping it's symptomatic of
the rest...
Alexander
Radio Khartoum http://www.radiokhartoum.com
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