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April 25, 2006
Note Books - Andrew Rieger
Since its inception, Elf Power has been one of my favorite powerpop bands. Andrew Rieger and company always put on an explosive live show and have a social conscience to match their musical chops. Thanks to Andrew for taking the time to submit a "note books" essay and sharing his reading on the day the band's newest album, Back to the Web, is released.
Some free and legal Elf Power music downloads:
"An Old Familiar Scene" [mp3] from Back to the Web
"Evil Eye" [mp3] from Walking With the Beggar Boys
"Never Believe" [mp3] from Walking With the Beggar Boys
"The Winter Is Coming" [mp3] from The Winter Is Coming
2001-02-03, Ann Arbor [mp3]
^ "The People Underneath" [mp3]
2000-10-22, KVRX [mp3]
In his own words, here is Andrew Rieger's "note books" submission:
Here are a few books that I've enjoyed reading lately. Most of my friends and family that I've recommended them to have loved them, so I thought I'd pass them on to the readers of Largehearted Boy. Here goes:
1. The Mole People Jennifer Toth (Non-Fiction)
An in-depth look into the lives of the people living in the tunnels beneath New York City's subway system. Some of these folks are loner drug addicts living in makeshift huts in total isolation,while others have made functional communities with rows of shanties, running water, and electricity, housing hundreds of people. A fascinating and heartbreaking read. Inspired the Elf Power song "The People Underneath" from our album "The Winter is Coming."
2. The Road to Los Angeles John Fante (Fiction)
One of my all time favorites, The Road to Los Angeles is the hilarious tale of Arturo Bandini, the pigheaded young man working low paying menial jobs, while dreaming of becoming the great writer he knows he's destined to be. His profanity laced diatribes against his co workers and family are truly brilliant, and despite his arrogance, you find yourself loving the little guy.
3. Crazy From the Heat David Lee Roth (Non-Fiction)
David Lee Roth's stoned, meandering memoir is an endearing head scratcher. His ridiculous antics are laid out in intricate detail. A favorite scene finds Van Halen playing a huge outdoor festival in California with over 100,000 in attendance. A plane flies overhead, and the announcer tells the crowd, "Van Halen are sky diving into the stadium!" Professional sky divers wearing long haired wigs sky dive into a field right next to the stage in plain view of the crowd. They get into a van, in which the real Van Halen has been sitting the whole time wearing identical sky diving jumpsuits. The van drives up to the stage and Van Halen gets out and runs onstage, having just pretended to sky dive into the stadium! The crowd goes berserk! Genius!
4. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Phillip K. Dick (Fiction)
The dense, confusing but wonderful story of a futuristic world where off world colonists entertain themselves by combining hallucinogenic drugs and robotic sex toys to enter strange new realities! Apparently, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were planning on making this into a movie right before John was killed!
5. A Father's Story Lionel Dahmer (Non-Fiction)
Jeffrey Dahmer's father describes Jeffrey's childhood. Lionel chooses to leave out the gory details of the murders, instead focusing on Jeffrey's early family life and development. A very candid and interesting version of these morbid events. Lionel reveals Jeffrey's mother Joyce's dependence on heavy painkillers during pregnancy, at which time she thought she was being followed by UFO's and had recurring dreams of being savagely killed by a giant black bear. A very intriguing read.
see also:
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2005 Edition)
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2004 Edition)
tag: books
