STUFF THAT DOESN'T SUCK VOL. 2

The wait is over, the oft delayed, never requested second volume of  STUFF THAT DOESN'T SUCK is here! Anyway, here's some good stuff I''ve been digging lately.

JONATHAN COULTON

As a rule, I can give or take comedy singer/songwriters, so despite endorsements from the likes of Neil Gaiman and John Hodgman, it took me a while to get around to sampling geek troubadour Jonathan Coulton. I watched a (poorly animated) youtube video of his semi-autobiographical song "Code Monkey" and thought it was pretty good but wasn't blown away. However, as days went by I frequently found myself humming the tune and decided he deserved a closer look. A month later I have 20 of his songs on my ipod. That's more than The Rolling Stones.
For those unfamiliar, Coulton is a former computer programmer who left his job to concentrate on his music and has become a genuine Internet sensation. The subject matter of his songs leans towards the geeky, lots of sci-fi and other pop-culture subjects, so I admit I'm inclined to find him interesting, but that's not to suggest that he's a novelty, or even a niche, performer. His lyrics are always insanely clever, but also insightful and, as often as not, emotionally poignant. The melodies are simple, elegant and hard to resist. If he has any precedents, I would say he leans more towards They Might Be Giants or early Bare Naked Ladies rather than someone like Weird Al, for example.
Some of his best tunes include, the afore mentioned "Code Monkey",ostensibly about a disgruntled programmer but really a profound statement of loneliness and dissatisfaction, "Skullcrusher Mountain", a moving story of unrequited love from the POV of a super villain, "Mandelbrot Set", a rocker about fractal geometry, "Shop Vac" a scathing indictment of the suburbs with a catchy Beatle-esque chorus, and "Ikea" about....well you can guess, and perhaps my favourite "Re: Your Brains" sung by a zombie but really more about the syntax of business speech than brain eating. I also recommend, "The Future Soon", "I Crush Everything", "That Spells DNA" and "Chiron Beta Prime".
Funny, astute, eloquent and crazy smart, this man is no novelty artist.

WTF with MARC MARON

I could, and probably will sometime, devote an entire post to my addiction to comedy podcasts. For know, however, I think I'll stick to my current favourite, "What the Fuck" hosted by Marc Maron. Mercurial, cerebral, occasionally aggressive and admittedly self-absorbed Marc Maron is a veteran stand-up comic with a lot of friends and acquaintances in the industry, and therefore a seemingly endless supply of fascinating interview subjects. However, Maron's "complicated" personality and his need to dig deep into what makes himself and his friends tick, prevents WTF from becoming a dull, self-congratulatory exercise in mutual admiration. The interviews are, of course, frequently hilarious but also a bit confrontational, often confessional and always (ALWAYS) interesting.
Some of the best include, a two part conversation with Louis C.K. which is as much about healing the rift in their friendship as it is about Louis' career, a drop dead funny, but slightly contentious chat with Patton Oswalt, illuminating interviews with the likes of Sarah Silverman, Dave Attell, Maria Bamford and Joe Rogan and a really good recent show featuring Conan O'Brian at his sharpest and most outspoken.
I'd particularly like to single out three interviews with comics who, I confess I do not like or respect, but still proved to be compelling interview subjects. In a two part interview with notorious joke stealer Carlos Mencia, we're introduced to a man who is clearly a bully and a blowhard but also deeply insecure and filled with self-loathing. Maron's conversation with legendary 80's hack Gallagher, which ends with an abrupt walk out, exposed just what a shallow bitter failure he (Gallagher) is as both a comic and a human being. Finally his interview with Dane Cook (Dane Cook!) was surprisingly engaging and articulate and left me still not a fan of his comedy but with a new found respect for his professionalism and work ethic.
So, if you're at all interested in the art, business and craft of comedy this is a must listen, but even if you aren't particularly, this is still a series of unique and penetrating interviews with interesting people. As for me, I always have at least two episodes on my iPod.

MOTHER LONDON

This book has been something of a holy grail for me the last few years. I'm a longtime admirer of Michael Moorcock's fantasy/sci-fi work, in particular, the brooding Elric stories and the trippy adventures of Jerry Cornelius, but I'd always been curious to read "Mother London". A complex "literary" novel championed by the likes of Peter Ackroyd, Iain Sinclair and Alan Moore, this book is often cited as Moorcock's masterpiece and, frustratingly, has been out of print in North America for years.Well, browsing in a second hand book store last month, I was delighted to come across the trade paperback edition pictured above, in excellent readable condition. Happy to report the book was not a disappointment, of anything it surpassed expectation.
"Mother London" is an intricate and eloquent portrait of the city of London from the Blitz through the 1980's, told from the point of view of three main characters, coma survivor Mary Gasalee, writer David Mummery and magisterial dance hall performer Josef Kiss. All three are wonderful complex people whose unique abilities and points of view provide the richest possible canvas for Moorcock's profoundly  humanistic vision of a great city and her people.
I will say however, this is not really a novel for readers who demand a strong sustained narrative. This is more a series of character driven vignettes with a complex shifting time line. Certainly, the narrative is there but it is a simple and elegant one that only emerges gradually. I wouldn't call this book a difficult read, not a showcase for affected or ornate language certainly, but it does require patience due to it's lack of a conventional plot. If you have this patience you'll find "Mother London" a rewarding and moving experience.
I think this is one of the great unsung and under appreciated English novels of the last half century.