My Quiet Life

It was in February, actually, that I first picked up The Captive Mind, while in Thomas, WV with Aaron and Claire. I’d imagine it’d be hard not to enjoy a book in that cozy little coffee shop while snow slowly covered the hills, but I think that this one would stand the test nonetheless. It took me a while, though, to finally finish it — coming back to it in my characteristically roundabout way, as I read 6 other books simultaneously.

It is one of the more beautiful books I’ve read in a while. Czeslaw Milosz broke with the Polish communist government in 1953 and wrote this book upon his arrival in Paris. In it, he lays the groundwork for his analysis of the psychological breakdown that occurs in the face of Stalinism. But the bulk of the book is spent demonstrating it in a less weighty and more accessible way: via portraits of his friends and comrades in their turn from poetry and art to outright propaganda in the name of the regime. Alpha (Jerzy Andrzejewski), Beta (Tadeusz Borowski), Gamma (Jerzy Putrament), and Delta (Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński).

What makes his portrait of each so affective is the extent to which he provides a genuine and loving representation of the writer’s gifts and personality. This is no ascerbic rant by a slighted dissident — these people really were his friends. In the introduction, he discusses briefly how he came to his break with the government:

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By refining the digital rotoscope animation process he played with in WAKING LIFE, Linklater has, in effect, made the first animated feature films for adults in the history of cinema.

Kids these days, I swear.

The perfect song.

Henry Mancini’s Lujon is the perfect song. Note to all musicians everywhere: you might as well give up. You’re too late. Henry Mancini already did as much with music as can be done. Everything else is futility.

You can hear a sample of the song here:

This sample includes all of the best parts, from beginning to end. There’s really nothing I can say that does this song justice other than making a heartfelt recommendation that you listen to it. Over and over.

Then go buy Mr. Lucky Goes Latin so you can listen to it some more. And more. And more, over and over.

I’ve had these headphones for over ten years now, and they still sound as good as they did the day I got them. They are hands down the best headphones I’ve ever heard.

I see that I’m not alone in this opinion.

Uncle proposes that Les Claypool is amazinger than Victor Wooten — though the consensus in the comments is where I stand as well. For my money, though, there’s no better bass player than Willie Weeks. His bass solo on “Voices Inside (Everything is Everything) from Donny Hathaway’s Live is my favorite bass solo of all time. It lacks the technical wizardry of someone like Claypool or Wooten, but it’s way more fun. It’s funky, playful, and creative..

Willie Weeks - Voices Inside - Bass Solo

(UPDATE: Bass Player Magazine has a good interview with Willie Weeks about this solo and his career.)

I really haven’t given this album enough blog-love, seeing as how it’s easily in my top 10, maybe top 5 albums. It’s one of the best R&B albums ever made — live or in the studio. The fact that it was live only adds to its impressiveness and charm. It’s also got one of my favorite guitar solos — Cornell Dupree on “We’re Still Friends” (which I think was a hit for Donny Hathaway as a duet with Roberta Flack):

Cornell Dupree - We’re Still Friends - Guitar Solo

And just for fun, here’s a clip from the first track, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On”. If this doesn’t sell you on the album, I don’t know what will:

Donny Hathaway - What’s Goin’ On

Willie Weeks’ bass playing on this track is astounding as well — he plays the hell out of this song without stomping on anyone else. Both Cornell Dupree and Willie Weeks are still successful and active studio musicians — Willie Weeks lives right here in Nashville. Sadly, on January 13, 1979, the year I was born, Donny Hathaway took his own life. Do yourself a favor and honor the memory of Donny Hathaway and the phenomenal talent of the amazing musicians on this record and go buy it. Immediately.

We went to see The New World today, and I really liked it. I am a big fan of The Thin Red Line, and so it only took Sean saying he loved it for me to want to go see it.

The movie is great, the scenery is great — generally everything is great. Except James Horner’s score. Not so great.

“Please kill me.” That’s what I was thinking around the time of the 394th repeat bar of his fucking super-irritating never-ending monotonous orchestral swell. The 10% that didn’t make me want to jam a Bic pen into my ears was quite nice, but it was completely ripped off of something else — either his older stuff from Braveheart or maybe some Dvorak piece I can’t put my finger on. Not only was it terrible, but it was about twice as loud in the mix as it needed to be.

Worst music ever. It was seriously distracting me from enjoying what was otherwise a very beautiful film — and I mean that. Malick’s trademark splicing of exposition with Serene Nature Footage ™ is quite nice. Colin Farrell does a good job, and so does Q’Orianka Kilcher and Christian Bale, although his role was a bit static. Come to think of it, John Smith’s character was a bit flat, too — I don’t think Malick did a very good job of explaining why he was so melancholy and angsty, but it didn’t detract too much from the story as a whole.

On a whim, after reading the Scene’s review, Amanda and I went to Hot Kabobs tonight.

It was great, that’s really all I have to say — cheap as hell, good food, friendly service, and a really cozy little restaurant. We’ll definitely be back. I had a sirloin kabab, and it was great, though I sorta wish I had gone for khoresht, which is what Amanda had, of a split-pea variety. It was really tasty. Next time.

Amanda noted tonight that we really have no reason to go to some stupid chain restaurant ever again — Nashville is increasingly blessed with awesome locally-owned restaurants that are multitudes better and cheaper to boot.

Ichiban: my new favorite sushi restaurant.

Yes, Benkay, you have been usurped. Mostly. Let me get my apologies for Benkay out of the way first. I will concede that Benkay has a better and more comprehensive Japanese food menu (i.e. not just sushi). This is the place I would take someone to get a real introduction to Japanese food in Nashville, and their sushi and sobas are on par with Ichiban. That said, Benkay has two major factors working against it:

1. They are not 1 block within walking distance of me.
2. They are owned by Moonies. (No joke. Search for Benkay.)

But enough about Benkay. Let’s talk about Ichiban. I love this restaurant. It’s not the cheapest place in the world, but I love it. It’s small, cozy and warm. On a cold, blustery December night, there’s no place better to wind up than at the spacious wooden booths at Ichiban, ordering some sake while you wait for a giant piping hot bowl of tempura soba. That, my friends, is fat-man’s heaven, and it’s my little downtown refuge from the cold hard world.

Anyways, the menu is small but solid. The sushi chef is great — everything is fresh and tasty. I usually get the soba with a few rolls of sushi, but they were out of soba the other night so we had the udon, and it was just as good.

Also, I am fairly certain that they put something in their unfiltered sake. I even asked them what brand they used, and verified it’s just Momokawa Pearl unfiltered sake (god’s gift to man) that I buy. But no matter how many times I drink this stuff at home, it’s just not the same as it is at Ichiban, either served in a masu (a presentation that is growing on me) or a wine-glass. It always seems creamier and tastier. A testament to the euphoric effects of atmosphere, I suppose.

Anyways, do yourself a favor and check out this restaurant. And while you’re at it, call me. I’ll meet you there. Seriously, I can be there in 5 minutes.

Amanda and I went to Coco Loco for lunch yesterday. It was a pretty interesting dining experience. Coco Loco is actually a night club converted into a restaurant by day. We sat down at tables right in the middle of the dance floor after being greeted by the hostess over by the bar. The decor is pretty much what you’d expect of a nightclub converted to a restaurant — christmas lights strung up everywhere, animated palm tree light displays, etc. You’d think I would criticize this as cheap or corny, but it works. Suddenly it struck me as we were sitting in this night club converted to a restaurant with a linen table cloth and $10 worth of christmas lights: this is infinitely more comfortable and cozy than the Ikea maple and steel hyper-moden decor of places like Le Peep, where I feel like I’m eating on a fashion show runway or something.

But anyways, let’s get to the good stuff: the food. My favorite by far was just the plaintain chips they brought out as an appetizer. They were served with what was, as far as I can tell, a bowl of chopped garlic in oil (maybe slightly pickled?). It was a fantastic taste combination I would have never thought to put together. We had an empanadilla appetizer, and then we split the “Coco Loco Combo” which is just a sampler of some of the highlights of their menu. Their menu apparently is a hybrid of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Mexican food, but most of the stuff on the sampler is Cuban/Puerto Rican. A beef and a chicken fricasee, rice and beans, fried pork, shrimp (with more garlic, yum) and some fried plantains on the side.

It was a great meal and we got out of there for like $25 (They appear to keep the same menu for lunch and dinner). Give it a try sometime!

Dear American Cafe in the Green Hills Mall,

A Caesar salad is not iceberg lettuce tossed with italian dressing.

Yours,

–Chris

PS. Your restaurant sucks.