100 Favorite Songs of All Time (Part 13)

By Paul Rios | Published October 25, 2010

James McNew of Yo La TengoThis post is part of a series counting down my favorite songs of all time. Follow the links at the bottom of this post to read related posts.

40. Broken Social Scene – Stars and Sons

As I’ve lamented before, at some point the phrase “indie rock” ceased being a useful descriptor. Today, it’s something you would say to be vague, like the statement, “Oh yeah, I really like jazz.” There’s no tangible association that comes with music described as indie rock. Instead, there’s a hodgepodge of reference points – lounge pop, whiskey shits, guitar noise, Lou Reed, hand claps, irony, TR-808 beats and so on – that combine in a way so as to suggest something tangible. It is a genre in defiance of genre that exists to project a sort of cosmopolitan aesthetic that could never possibly exist because it would be too busy. This band is guilty of pursuing this approach to music-making, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t like it.

39. Young Marble Giants – Wurlitzer Jukebox

We’ve all grown up with a certain perception of how a studio-recorded pop song should sound. In large part, this standard is based on the evolution of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, which as Spector gladly noted at the time, was a Wagnerian flourish in principle. To put it simply, the goal with most pop music seems to be to fill the track with sound until there is no more space left. This first time I heard the Young Marble Giants, I was a little startled because here was a pop group who wanted to leave as much space as possible on the track. Minimalism is certainly the key here, but the band’s sound is certainly not as oppressive as ambient music.

38. Blossom Dearie – They Say It’s Spring

When I think of iconic voices, I don’t necessarily think in terms of virtuosity. Celine Dion, for example, has a great voice, but I don’t think it’s iconic. It’s such a swell voice that it’s hard to make a distinction between Dion and any other of her ilk. You would never confuse Blossom Dearie for Dion, and that’s precisely why I think Dearie is a great example of an iconic voice. Her voice is a sparrow chirp that’s immediately recognizable, and her choice of tunes often emphasizes the quirkiness of her voice. Admittedly, she’s not quite on the same level of an Anita O’Day or Ella Fitzgerald, but I think that’s why I find her all the more endearing. Against these titans of song, she’s the little jazz bird that could.

37. Otis Redding – Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)

There should be more Otis Redding on this list. This is the only song, and I’m not quite sure why in retrospect. While it probably is my favorite Redding song, I can think of a handful of contenders that could challenge it. But let’s focus here; this song is utterly perfect pop. I would struggle to imagine the type of person who could hate this song. People who don’t like this song probably kick a lot of puppies and steal lollipops from infants. The only bad thing about this song is that it’s not long enough.

36. Yo La Tengo – Blue Line Swinger

You know, in the process of coming up with this list, I’ve really learned a lot about my personal musical proclivities. Sometimes I surprise myself, but I can be quite predictable. This is especially true when it comes to rock and roll. Gnarly guitar skronk? Check. Ethereal female vocals? Check. Free jazz inspired noodling? Check. Welp, I’ll just pen you in at #36.

1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50 | 51-55 | 56-60 | 61-65 | 66-70 | 71-75 | 76-80 |81-85 | 86-90 | 91-95 | 96-100 |

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APE Redux: Dan Clowes and Community Building

By Paul Rios | Published October 24, 2010

Photo by Guillaume PaumierAlthough I barely mentioned it last post, Dan Clowes was also in attendance at last week’s APE. His talk was a “nerdfest,” an hour dedicated to Clowes’ taste in comics and anecdotes about his run-ins with all sorts of comic artists.

Basically, it was an opportunity to hear one of the finest comic artists of this generation just shoot the shit and talk shop.

To the layperson, it would probably be an absolute bore, but for the nerds, it was a pleasure. But if you were among the sorry folks unable to attend APE, do not fret: accounts of this event are now widely available on these very Internets.

On Comic Book Resources, a thorough written account is available. If that weren’t enough, Clowes’ conversation partner and Picturebox honcho Dan Nadel posted audio of the talk on Comics Comics.

As an aside, I was quite intrigued by Clowes comments on the community that coalesced around Eightball. In many ways, Eightball acted as a hub that allowed like-minded individuals to connect with each other. Conceptually, it served a purpose that wasn’t that different from what happens when you join a group or follow a hashtag on social networking sites today.

I heard this point reiterated by another elder statesman of independent comics. During his workshop on comics marketing, Larry Marder of Beanworld fame discussed how he polled his audience, connected with them and helped them connect with each other. Like Eightball, a substantial correspondence section provided an outlet for this community. But again, the product helped create a point of reference for establishing a tribe-like niche of comic enthusiasts interested in building up a subset of independent comic culture.

Unsurprisingly, these communities still exist and rally around artists. Although letter pages have mostly disappeared, social networking sites seem to fill that void to some extent and even offer a wider range of interaction with artists. But other new media like blogs and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter also serve to strengthen the role of the community in sustaining an artist and helping facilitate ideas.

I know I look forward to seeing how other young comic creators leverage these tools. Many are already pretty darn good at it, but since a lot of these tools are still very new, there are no best-practices guides and certainly no hard and fast rules. Somebody has to blaze a trail though, right?

Photo: Guillaume Paumier / Wikimedia Commons

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Going APE for the Alternative Press Expo

By Paul Rios | Published October 19, 2010

Lynda Barry's near-sighted monkeyI’ve never been a big fan of comic conventions, but I do like the Alternative Press Expo a lot. For one, it’s technically not a comic convention. The focus is primarily comics-oriented, but you still get a diverse crowd of small press publishers, illustrators, craftspeople and zine makers.

Admittedly though, I do attend for the comics, and this year did not disappoint in that regard. There were plenty of big name artists like Dan Clowes, Lynda Barry, Tony Millionaire making appearances.  But half the fun of an event like APE is finding new stuff and I managed to snag enough sweet mini-comics and self-published works to whet my appetite for novelty.

Michael Deforge's Lose #2Koyama Press was among the novel surprises for me this year. I picked up a couple of titles from this independent publisher based out of Toronto including the pleasantly perverse Lose #2 by Michael Deforge. I’ve seen work by Deforge in Vice and elsewhere, but now that I’ve got his book in my hands, I’m really digging his style. I regret not purchasing Wowee Zonk #3, which also features Deforge and other Canadian comics talent.

Koyama published a collection of diary comics by Dustin Harbin, which I snatched up. But since Darbin was in attendance, I also picked up both issues of his self-published Dharbin! comics. So for fourteen bucks, I got three comics, two doodles and a delightful full-color comic newspaper. You can’t beat that deal with stick. Plus, he doodles a pretty mean doodle, too.

Other finds that tickled me include works by Calvin Wong, Malachi Ward, Esther Pearl Watson and the profoundly disturbed I Want You #2 by Lisa Hanawalt. I picked up I Want You #1 at last year’s APE, so I was thrilled to get the latest issue this year. Same emu-dick-duck-fellatio humor, but now Hanawalt’s with a new publisher. It looks like Pigeon Press is taking over some of the titles from Buenaventura Press, which is great news for fans of bawdy pimple jokes and camel toe slaps.

Lisa Hanawalt's I Want You #2As far as the headliners go, APE 2010 will go down as the year I became a Lynda Barry zealot. I attended both programs featuring Barry and bought her latest book, Picture This. I even waited in line and got it signed, which is something I never do. But I was so impressed by her presentations, I just wanted to stop by and thank her for her wit and insight.

During her spotlight presentation, she walked through Picture This and told anecdotes about her creative process. Specifically, she stressed a sort of physicality to her personal creativity (it’s all about moving your hands, she said) and professed an interest in the space between art and the tangible effect it has in the life of an individual. She continued on these themes as part of the panel on storytelling, which I thought was one of the best panels I’ve seen at APE so far.

To sum it all up, APE rocked. If you missed it, you suck.

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24 Hour Comics Day: The lessons learned

By Paul Rios | Published October 4, 2010

Perhaps with the exception of poetry, comics probably yield the smallest return of any kind of creative effort. Unless you’re Frank Miller, there’s very little money in the business. Critical acclaim, while certainly not unheard of, is usually reserved for the social commentary of non-fiction cartoonists. Hell, most comic artists consider themselves blessed to attract a meager cult following.

Notwithstanding, the medium has a couple things going for it. For one, it’s definitely a growth industry. The audience for the form is always widening. And even if comics always seem to be on the cusp of a new golden age, the promise offered by new technology offers new avenues of exploration heretofore unknown by the medium.

More importantly, comics are incredibly easy to make. In my opinion, this is the major attraction of the medium. It’s one of the few mass-produced art forms that can be executed with very little editorial oversight (for better or worse). On top of that, producing a comic requires very little overhead, especially compared to other storytelling media like film, novels and television. All you need is a paper, a pen and an idea. Everything else – talent, fancy equipment, a strong grip on reality – is kind of superfluous.

24 Hour Comics Day takes this idea to an extreme. You can read more about the history behind the challenge and the rules of engagement elsewhere, but the general idea is very simple: create a complete, 24-page comic in 24 hours. It’s eminently doable, and it’s a great exercise for both writers and artists.

Although I’ve been dying to take on the challenge for a while, this is the first year I actually participated. The lessons learned?

The first hour is probably the most crucial.

Given the time constraints, you obviously have to maximize the use of your time. That said, next time I will spend this first hour doing more creative loafing. While the comic I created is a nice bit of goofy fun, next time, I’d rather create something I can sharpen into a more polished story. Nobody expects you to devise the entire arc of Anna Karenina in a day, but the ideas that germinate in the first hour dictate the rest of the story. If you immediately run with the first idea that pops into your head, I think it’s more likely that you’ll end up with a disjointed tale. That’s not a bad thing necessarily. Still, I’d rather come out with something that matches my interests a little closer next time.

The group is good.

I spent my 24 hours at Empires Comics Vault in Sacramento. First, major kudos to the management for hosting a well-run event. Secondly, I think the group event situation offers a strong foundation for producing this type of work. The atmosphere was very friendly and supportive, which helps as much in the first hour as it does at Hour 20. I got a couple ideas from my tablemates early on and I think I subconsciously pulled some ideas out of things I overheard. I tend to be easily distracted, too, so the pressure of working in a public place was a good influence. I think I was less likely to surf the Internet, especially knowing the guy at the other table was already on page 11 while I was struggling through page five. While I’d consider working in a quieter environment next time, a little camaraderie turned out to be a good thing.

Format will affect your creative course.

I started doodling in my sketchbook, and ended up drawing the entire comic there. Initially, I was going to do it on Bristol board, but it felt like there was less pressure in the sketchbook. Additionally, given the larger page size of Bristol board, I may have not been able to complete the story if I was working on a larger surface area. That said, I might have “tried” harder to come up with something useable if I was working on Bristol board. I also had to adjust to the smaller page size with simple four-panel layouts.  Although repetitive, the simple layouts required very little thought, which worked to my advantage.

At some point, your instincts will kick in.

Some of the more interesting aspects of my story came on some strange whim. I think the idea to include the poet Fernando Pessoa as zombie killer was an interesting choice. If anything can be salvage from this train wreck, it might be the characters that followed from that decision. Blind Maggie and The Conversationalist provided a nice divergence from the cowboys, aliens and zombies that came before. And I think I managed to tie Pessoa into the 24 hour comics theme with the quote from his poem “Don’t try to build in the space you suppose” on the final page. Or something.

Take your time.

Time is not a luxury afforded by this challenge. But next time, I’m going to go slower, take on more complex layouts and use more ink. I’m going to spend the whole first hour plotting. I’m going to play with using Oblique Strategies and Random Story Generators. I’ll develop my characters a little further. Yes, this is a grind, but it should be fun. And I think a large part of the challenge is developing your technique with the hope that when it comes to creating more polished work, you can retain the spontaneity and energy, without sacrificing mindfulness.

There are probably other things I could probably ramble on about. Honestly, I’m still a little woozy from the event, so I’m still not sure how coherent I am. But I do feel encouraged about applying the ideas and lessons learned from this event to more complex, developed stories.

My goal is to have another full-length comic complete by this year’s end. Knowing that I can squeeze 24 pages out in a single day makes that task a little less imposing.

Download my 24 Hour Comic, “All of the Above, as a PDF.

Read the comic in this post.

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All of the Above: a 24-hour comic

By Paul Rios | Published October 4, 2010

On Saturday, I took the 24 Hour Comics Day challenge. The goal: create a 24-page comic book in 24 hours. No planning allowed, just spontaneous creativity.

The good news is that I completed the challenge with my sanity intact (mostly). The bad news is that the comic won’t be winning me any Eisners anytime soon. Really, it’s pretty bad.

Of course, quality isn’t the first concern here. The whole challenge is mainly an exercise for the creative muscles, andunderstand the craft. This is the first time I’ve taken the challenge, and I learned a lot. Expect a post about the lessons learned tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, feel free to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I present All of the Above, a tale of post-apocalyptic intrigue. Read through the gallery below or download the comic in PDF form if you like.

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Dieter Rams and ten principles of good writing

By Paul Rios | Published September 29, 2010

Dieter Rams via flickr user JforthIn the field of industrial design, Dieter Rams is practically Moses. He did his best to lead his people to an aesthetically-pleasing promised land by offering ten commandments of good design, a list of principles that governed his approach to his craft.

I was thinking about these principles the other day. I’m no industrial designer, but they strike me as very useful ideas. In fact, with a little manipulation, they can provide a strong basis for guiding any creative endeavor.

For example, let’s take the word “design” out of each principle and insert the word “writing” and see what happens:

Good writing is innovative

Innovation is at the root of all interesting writing. We remember those writers capable of taking form or genre and elevating it in unique ways. The writer is an alchemist, mixing and matching the familiar in unfamiliar ways. Good writing acknowledges the fact that innovation is not an end in itself, but rather a means for transforming the novelties of contemporary culture into meaningful expression.

Good writing makes a piece useful

Contrary to popular belief, most good writing doesn’t stem from aspirations of self-expression. Good writers sit down to write something useful, either intuitively or intentionally. Good writing emphasizes the purpose of a particular piece, no matter if the purpose is to inform, entertain or enlighten. Moreover, good writing disregards elements that detract from that purpose.

Good writing is aesthetic

To paraphrase John Gardner, the good writer develops an eye for what works based off his or her carefully informed standards. And though the laws of aesthetics are fluid ideas, we understand universal beauty and acknowledge the power of a turn of phrase. Good writing takes advantage of certain aesthetic qualities and speaks to our appreciation of language, thereby captivating the reader.

Good writing makes a piece understandable

To risk stating the obvious, all good writing helps develop our understanding of the world. For example, in the case of a journalistic or non-fiction piece, good writing helps effectively convey an idea and helps instruct, inform or explain. Bad writing hinders the usefulness of a piece because it places a barrier between the reader and the writer, in effect crippling the efficacy of communication.

Good writing is unobtrusive

Adjectives and adverbs maintain a tenuous relationship with good writing. Ornate sentences often display the intelligence of the author at the expense of the reader’s desire to take an active part in understanding a piece. Good writing is restrained, if only to allow the reader the pleasure of maximizing the potential of his or her own imagination.

Good writing is honest

Good writing does not attempt to manipulate the reader by neglecting objectivity or dissenting opinion. In both fiction and non-fiction, the writer must strive for a balance that properly expresses the complexity that exists in our lives. The writer should not abridge the truth, even if it comes into conflict with his or her own expectations or beliefs. This is the difference between creating a simple melodrama and a truthful rendition that clarifies the “eternal verities” of our world.

Good writing is long-lasting

To mangle the words of the poet Mary Oliver, the ideas conveyed in good writing are carried in a superior language that speaks to some truth about the human condition. Time is meaningless to good writing because this truth endures without regard to changing mores or fashionable ideas. By appealing to something essential to our nature, good writing avoids becoming antiquated.

Good writing is thorough, down to the last detail

Good writing strives to envelop the reader in a dream. In fiction, the writer attempts to piece together events and details in a way that is convincing or engaging. Decisions about characters and settings cannot be arbitrary. Obviously, in non-fiction, the need to maintain a certain level of verisimilitude in a written account is all the more important. Good writing effectively portrays each moment through careful observation of behavior, setting and occasionally, the suspension of disbelief.

Good writing is as little writing as possible

In the words of Rams, back to purity, back to simplicity. Use as few words as possible and concentrate on what is essential. A good writer is willing to self-edit and eliminate the inessential.

Good writing is environmental-friendly

Okay, so – uh – frankly, I don’t know how this applies. Publish your next novel as an e-book. I’m grasping at straws here, people.

What are your principles of good writing? If you can’t think of any on your own, maybe check out “Ten rules for writing fiction,” and get some perspective from writers who, well, are actually writers.

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100 favorite songs of all time (Part 12)

By Paul Rios | Published September 26, 2010

A Young Brian EnoThis post is part of a series counting down my favorite songs of all time. Follow the links at the bottom of this post to read related posts.

45. Wire – Outdoor Miner

When it comes to punk rock, I’ve always preferred bands like Wire because they seem to exist outside of the context the stereotypes of that era. Moreover, at the time they seem absolutely unconcerned with the demands of authenticity that go hand in hand with that subculture. In the beginning, the band adopted a sound that was as aggressive and nihilistic as any of their British punk contemporaries. Yet album after album, the band reinvented itself. That’s a risk very few punk rock groups were willing to take due to limitations in talent, skill or creativity.

44. Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind

As I sorted through my Bob Dylan albums, I was having a hard time choosing a song I really loved. Lyrically, many songs came to mind. A Dylan phrase can sauté in the brain for years before some glimmer of personal meaning is expressed. That’s the power of many of his tunes, really. But as a whole, very few of his songs resonate with me. Many feel emotionally distant, too cool, a little sterile, even if they are impressive exercises in energy and profundity. But then there’s “Blood on the Tracks,” an album that feels like a very tangible release of emotion. Many have speculated about the inspiration for these songs; most assume that the content stemmed from Dylan’s separation from his wife. Dylan himself has said the short stories of Anton Chekov helped spark the album. This song – a rambling first-person narrative filled with descriptions of bitterness, death and destiny – may be strong evidence of both claims.

43. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Enola Gay

I’m generally not a fan of synthpop, but I think very highly of this band. Many synthesizer-based bands of the 80s were artless exercises in kitsch. And while I will concede that fun and kitsch is definitely a key part of the formula, too much kitsch is always grating to me. As their name suggests, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark approached the genre with a healthy dose of pretension, which created an interesting equilibrium for at least a couple albums. So as contemporaries generally swung too far in one direction either creating morose tunes for people dressed in black or super-fabulous neon dance tunes, OMD presented a nice medium of accessibility. “Enola Gay” is bouncy and ready for the dance floor, but it’s also pretty much about the bombing of Hiroshima. So there’s that.

42. Tindersticks – Buried Bones

I would argue that Stuart Staples has one of the great voices of this generation, and this is just one instance of his delightful marble-mouthed delivery. Like many Tindersticks songs, this tune reeks of a drunken elegance that only Staples could pull off. Ann Magnuson accompanies Staples on this track, and the two perform like actors using each verse to build the romantic tension. Then there’s the swooning arrangement replete with soaring strings that give this duet an air of oblivion. In many ways, this song is an excellent example of a modern take on the classic Saccharine Underground sound, a style of pop that relied heavily on ornate arrangements a sticky sweet melodies.

41. Brian Eno – Burning Airlines Give You So Much More

Brian Eno’s early albums are pop masterpieces in my mind. His unique vision encompasses an eccentric approach to lyricism, experimentation with technology and an ability to maximize the talents of his collaborators. More than a musician, he is a facilitator and conceptualist. A Svengali to some, perhaps. I could gush and gush about the guy, but I think his music speaks for itself. This song comes from his sophomore solo release, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), an album that was initially inspired by postcards celebrating a Maoist Chinese opera of the same name. It’s a fairly bucolic ditty about espionage, airports and escape with some awesome backup harmonies sung by Robert Wyatt.

1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50 | 51-55 | 56-60 | 61-65 | 66-70 | 71-75 | 76-80 |81-85 | 86-90 | 91-95 | 96-100 |

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Video games, comic books and the First Amendment

By Paul Rios | Published September 23, 2010

Fredric Wertham Here’s something from the funny books that’s pretty serious: last week, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court case Schwarzenegger v. EMA.

The case stems from a California law that would ban the sale or rental of any violent or explicit video game to minors. The law would also legally require video game makers to label games with mature content.

It’s an interesting case that will inevitably raise some questions about the medium as an art form. Questions about the aesthetic value of video games have been hashed out over and over, most recently in a dialogue of sorts instigated by Roger Ebert. Are video games art? And more importantly, do video games deserve the same reservations afforded to other artistic expressions like music or film?

I would argue yes, but this is coming from someone who grew up with video games. Somehow, I’m not sure the SCOTUS will maintain the same perspective.

In regards to the amicus brief, you may wonder what this has to do with comics. Well, as Larry Marder writes, the comic book industry faced similar struggles in the 1950s when a psychiatrist named Fredric Wertham led a crusade against perceived immorality in comics. This period, well-documented in the book “The Ten-Cent Plague” by David Hadju, went a long way toward crippling the creative flexibility of the medium and watering down the industry as a whole.

As an aside, for a little bit of historical documentation of this period of comics history, you can find some interesting audio from the television show The Author Meets the Critics featuring Wertham. He appeared on the show at least twice, once in a debate with Al Capp and once in defense of his article “The Comics… Very Funny.”

Perhaps the most striking thing about these debates is that you could remove the references to comics and insert references to video games and ne’er an eye would blink.

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100 favorite songs of all time (Part 11)

By Paul Rios | Published September 22, 2010

Gram Parsons' Nudie Suit via Flickr user jbcurioThis post is part of a series counting down my favorite songs of all time. Follow the links at the bottom of this post to read related posts.

50. Gram Parsons – In My Hour of Darkness

Throughout his career, Gram Parsons strived to create a sound he envisioned as “Cosmic American Music.” Those familiar with his oeuvre know that he succeeded in this task. His music is one part Nashville, one part Neptune, a mélange of folk, rock and country injected with a heaping dose of psychedelia. Detractors may nip at the sincerity of his devotion to the Country and Americana part of the formula, but the honky tonk hippy never really strayed far from his roots. Tunes like this one or his signature song, “Hickory Wind,” testify to the fact that underneath the Nudie suits and esotericism, Parsons was just a simple country boy.

49. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Me and Mia

I could do without uplifting songs. Most of the time, they’re pretty condescending. Oh, but if you could only live up to your potential! No thanks, I’ll wallow in my own abject mediocrity, if you don’t mind. Admittedly, that veneer of cynicism sheds the moment I hear the muted chords that kick off this song. All those horrible music critic aphorisms – bristling energy, gangly speed, gnarly something or other – probably apply here. Coupled with the unbridled lyrical optimism, and it’s almost enough to give a guy ambition. Yeech.

48. James Carr – The Dark End of the Street

This brooding soul masterpiece captures the talent of one of the genre’s great also-rans, James Carr. Carr avoids the histrionics here, but still manages to effuse the emotions and drama appropriate for an illicit love affair. And that tempered baritone delivery is perfectly matched here by a sinuous arrangement of twinkling piano melodies and towering brass. The sound epitomizes the rugged grace of southern soul, a dialect that strove to a rare sort of heaviness that could only be derived from the sweat and blood of oppression and a sanctified fear of damnation.

47. The Velvet Underground – What Goes On

When John Cale left The Velvet Underground in 1968, a void consumed the band. Without his amplified viola and tempestuous avant-garde ideas, the band shifted toward a quieter, folksier sound for their third album. So while a song like “What Goes On” could have ended up akin to past fare like “White Light, White Heat,” instead, it became svelte. The guitars ring clean, and the organ drone provides an interesting contrast to the furious atonal screeches that previously provided texture to the band’s tunes. And while the spasms of sound of White Light, White Heat helped define a path forward for nascent noise rockers, here we have the blueprint for something else. It was this something that predicted the proto-punk sound of Jonathan Richman, the nervous pulse of The Feelies and the jangle of R.E.M. To put a phrase on it, this is the sound of the loudest something barely heard.

46. Pavement – Summer Babe [Winter Version]

The problem with rock and roll is that it is a completely subliminal art. The finest conveyance of the form is often manifested as an expression of koan-like simplicity. To know it is to speak the language of the soothsayer, the precocious pinheads, the ingenious nitwits and clever cretins. Three chords and the truth. On the other hand, the active conceptualization and conscious development of rock and roll as an intellectual exercise inevitably produces such atrocities as Emerson, Lake & Palmer or Phil Collins. As children of western rationality, it is especially difficult to defeat this inclination to kill simplicity with excessive scrutiny. And so I salute those who stuff a sock in the mouth of Socrates and abide by the most witless inclinations. If I could, I would bathe in this font of nonsense, noise and snot for a season.

1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50 | 51-55 | 56-60 | 61-65 | 66-70 | 71-75 | 76-80 |81-85 | 86-90 | 91-95 | 96-100 |

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Giving Into Consumerism: Northwest Road Trip Edition

By Paul Rios | Published September 19, 2010

Treasures from the NorthwestEleven days and more than 1,600 miles later, I’m back in Sacramento after a nice tour of the Northwest. The trip was somewhat spontaneous, and so it turned out to be a bit of a whirlwind, each day filled with music, books, films, food, strangers and long days of driving.

Like a typical tourist, I spent a lot of time gawking at plenty of local attractions. But oddly enough, I also ended up doing a lot of shopping. I’m no shopaholic, but I’ve never shied away from perusing the shelves of an interesting five-and-dime or specialty store. And it turns out both Seattle and Portland has those in droves.

Finding the interesting stores proved to be easy enough. Yelp is a good resource, of course. I knew some places like Powell’s Books in Portland and the Fantagraphics Bookstore in Seattle just from reputation. But sometimes, you just have to hoof it around a city and see what you stumble on.

That’s how I found de Medici Ming Fine Paper in downtown Seattle. A fascinating little store dedicated to everything paper, I ended up poking around at the neat sketchbooks and journals, but walked away with a typical Moleskine watercolor notebook.

Likewise, I found Atlas Clothing in Seattle on accident. My goal was to get away from the downtown area and visit Half Price Books, but I managed to get off the track somehow. After realizing I was about five blocks in the wrong direction, I decided to make the most of it and pop into this sweet vintage store.

They had a Gloverall duffle coat that was a couple sizes too big and a couple pairs of nice loafers, but the real attraction for me was the used records selection. The small, but expertly-curated collection boasted a bunch of gems like After the Heat and The Correct Use of Soap.

And surprisingly, the prices weren’t all that outrageous. I ended up buying a couple of John Cale albums in great condition, one of which was the appropriately-titled Vintage Violence.

Back in Portland, I stopped by a few interesting stores as well. Yelp helped me track down Rerun, a small thrift store packed with all sorts of cast-offs. Amongst the vintage kitchenware and furniture, I snagged two small keepsakes: a couple of stereogram cards from the late 1890s and an old International Union of Operating Engineers button.

A brief conversation about vintage eyeglasses also led me to Hollywood Vintage, a store housed in a former car dealership. Aside from the wide array of spectacles, this place had the largest selection of men’s clothing I’ve ever seen at one of these places. Think classic hats, suits, ties and coats with a scent comparable to that of your granddaddy’s closet.

But my biggest haul was books. I brought enough reading home to last me until next summer. The list of titles, I like to think, is suitably diverse. Interactions of Color by Joseph Albers, Jimbo’s Inferno by Gary Panter, Akhenaten, Dweller of Truth by Naguib Mahfouz among others are all nestled nice and cozy in a stack on my desk, awaiting proper use.

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