unicornmeat

So a few weeks ago I popped into the Pratt library real quick to kill some time, and wandered into the YA section. (a favorite of mine as any longtime readers may recall).
Right there on display I found a book that combines all of my favorite things. The Flappers: Vixen, by Jillian Larkin. Could it be? A gossip girl type book set in the 20s? Hell yes.

Although I have a regret that I did not write this book (well I started, years ago, but I never finish things), I was happy enough to just read it, and surprisingly not too disappointed. It had all the sleazy teen scandals but set in my favorite backdrop. So you know, if you like that silly stuff then read it.

Man the one thing about always watching TV on DVDs is that I get this commentary in mind but it’s like 2 years too late for anyone to care even if I did have something original to say.
But man Gossip Girl. I think these teens take it to new heights.
And this is what it’s going to come to. Higher heights of stupid sexy adulthood lived by teenagers. Weird ideas of what love is all about and how people court and make friends and and forgive and interact.
I wish there was some lesson to be learned here.
Aside from the lesson that I have bad taste.

Oh hi. Hi. Happy New Year.
Time flies between these entries. I had another that was half-written and I never published.
I have spent a lot of my time working on jewelry projects, both serious and just for fun.
I’ve been reading.
You know how I love teens.
So I was naturally drawn to this book when I saw it at the bookstore.
I’ve been slowly reading it, taking breaks to read other things. Mainly Chesapeake by James Michener. That book took me forever.
However, if I had a lot of time on my hands and didn’t have a huge pile of other books I wanted to read, I’d read another Michener book.
I enjoyed it partially because of the subject matter.. if you read this blog regularly you know all about my Maryland obsession. This book took place on the Eastern Shore, however, and my east shore experience is overshadowed by my Chincoteague experience.
Anyway, I think Chincoteague should be part of Maryland. The lifestyle is pretty similar, as most of our fishing was done on the Chincoteague Channel and bay as opposed to the frightening Atlantic.
And I have spent my fair share of time on the Chesapeake of course. So the book starts out with Native Americans and gets really sad and swells up with more sadness about slavery, but I think it never again achieves the effectiveness of that first storyline as the Choptanks respectfully live off the largesse of the bay, only to slowly fade away and die off, watching their lands invaded and destroyed.
So it was pretty good anyway. It spanned centuries and sometimes moved nice and slow only to brush over other time periods. Believe it or not I prefer the slow going, detailed storylines to the sweeping encapsulations of decades.
I ended up buying a copy of the book because I’d checked it out from the library maximum amount of times. I will give my copy to my mom now. She will look at it and assume I read it in a week, because I used to be a bright, fast reader. I’m not anymore.
It’s been bothering me how my intelligence has withered away. I’m trying to read more, and learn to retain information like I used to. It’s very frustrating.
I have a feeling that practicing some math would help stretch my brain a little but I never cared for math.
So I’ve been slowly making my way through “Teenage,” barely gaining any knowledge of the subjects covered, but enjoying the book nonetheless.
It’s just chock full of facts about early adolescent murderers and the devastating effects of World War I, and the rise of mass marketing and all that.
While reading about the crappy “Bright Young People” and the fascinating Brenda Dean Paul and the behavior of these people and their influence and portrayals in literature of the period, I decided to put “Teenage” down yet again, and read some of the books mentioned. This might be my way of prolonging the enjoyment of reading this book. Having my cake and eating it, or something.
I just finished Les Enfants Terribles, and I liked it and noticed its similar themes to other things, like Cruel Intentions, which was actually based on a much earlier French novel about decadent assholes, and my favorite movie as a teen, The House of Yes. Not just because of sibling intimacy, but indulged children in suspended adolescence, as well as the male characters reciprocal insanity being somewhat more subtle, bubbling below the surface or whatever.
So next I am reading “This Side of Paradise” and “Vile Bodies.”

I’m hoping this will help me get smarter.
I also checked out two Gossip Girl books because it’s another undertaking I feel obligated to somehow. I guess I enjoy them? I don’t even know. I like talking about them. They’re good for conversations. I tried to talk about Les Enfants Terribles and I just sounded like an ass.

I haven’t done a song in awhile, and I promise I will in the near future. I’ve been busy with all kinds of things: work, metalworking, cooking classes, weekend jaunts with family and friends.
For now I’m going to catch up on other things. First I’ll bring up Archeophone‘s timely release of “Debate 08: Taft and Bryan Campaign on the Edison Phonograph.” I just got this (along with this collection of banned 1890′s recordings!).

The recordings are great and eye-opening, but the booklet that comes with it is not to be missed. If you have any interest in history, politics, or the evolution of recorded sound and its impact on society (I fall into this latter category), I highly recommend this. Archeophone is the BEST. I wish I could afford to own every single thing they released. I’ve got my eye on Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1891-1922.

In modern music news, my mom took me to see The Avett Brothers on Sunday. Holy wow what a show. Those dudes can sing. And scream. And rock a cello and a banjo and break a lot of strings and stir a crowd into a frenzy. According to Wikipedia they’re ‘folk rock’. So if you’re into that kind of thing in any possible way, you might want to check them out.

Books:

American Vaudeville As Seen by Its Contemporaries
Totally cool. Got this from the Pratt Library. This was full of reprints of old timey articles related to vaudeville, culled from autobiographies, newspapers, trade publications, and more. It’s divided into sections such as beginnings, stars, decline, legacy, etc. See, this is why the Pratt Library rules. Because I wouldn’t have found this book if I hadn’t been browsing around that place. And this is my favorite kind of stuff, “contemporary” time capsules. Truly it added to my mental vaudeville experience.

Gossip Girl books 2 & 3: “You Know You Love Me,” “All I Want Is Everything“

I am so embarrassed when I ask for these at the library. For some reason some of them aren’t always out for the picking so I have to have the nice lady go get them. Asking for “You Know You Love Me” was the worst.
But obviously I keep coming back for more. It takes like 45 minutes to read one of them so I kind of break up the nonfiction with it.
On to my summary:
More hijinx. Lets see.. uh this goth girl Vanessa takes a video of her friend Dan’s little sister Jenny “doing what looks like the nasty” in the park with Blair’s ex Nate in the park. But Vanessa didn’t know it was Jenny she was just being an artful filmmaker. So Vanessa’s older sister Ruby lent Vanessa’s camera to a friend and the video got on the internet. And Dan was devastated that Jenny and Vanessa were such sluts so he wrote a poem about it and it got published in the New Yorker.
Serena and Blair became friends again and went on vacation to St. Barts, wherever that is, and some rock star fell in love with Serena but she was all like “whatevs.” Actually I forget what else happened because I simultaneously started renting the TV show and watching those but basically they’re all great and totally scandalous good times.
Seeya later xoxo.. unicornmeat.
That’s a little Gossip Girl joke for you.
I haven’t had any comments or emails lately… is anyone out there? Did I ever post that video of me singing from 2003?

Rank Ladies: Gender and Cultural Hierarchy in American Vaudeville
by M. Alison Kibler
I just can’t get enough vaudeville lately.. this book satisfied my obsessive urge, although it didn’t entirely live up to the title. A few female performers were showcased, but it could have used more commentary on the subject from actual women in vaudeville.
Ruth Budd, a strong and outspoken acrobat, was my favorite part of the book. Her life sounded pretty interesting and even included a controversial engagement to a female impersonator. Which stirred people because since she was strong, they already thought she was totally a lez. She actually was really pretty, judging from the pictures in the book. Anyway, she was neat.
There was lengthy explanation of the fact that the moral cleaning-up of vaudeville was therefore seen as a “feminization,” since at the time, women represented moral judgment and offended sensibilities. That was new to me. There was a lot of quoting from actual reports written by theater owners, which was a totally awesome source. The footnotes were worth reading.

Gossip Girl #1: A Novel
by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Remember, I love teens! I want to start familiarizing myself with the modern-era of teen “literature”, starting of course with this seminal work of the new millennium. Man, did you know that the girl Serena in this book goes to an art opening and gets her anus (or maybe bellybutton) photographed? Then the artistic anus portrait is displayed on buses and cabs. But Serena doesn’t care, she’s so cooool. All the guys love her. She’s the prettiest.
Because of this, I sympathized with the bitchy character Blair. I know all too well what it’s like to be outshined. Blair’s boyfriend is even secretly in love with Serena. That sucks!
The “gossip girl” gimmick was pretty pointless but I guess without it the book would lack ‘zing’. I was embarrassed to check this out from the library but it’s important for my education. I’m glad I took the plunge.

Hi pals. I’m still alive.
I’ve moved into a new place and am settling down.
I want to continue this blog but probably not as a music blog.
I might just write about teens.
I’m serious… like teen movies, books, etc.
90210, Foxes, The O.C., Mean Girls, Molly Ringwald…
This is what I’m into.

I love songs about teenagers. I love movies about teenagers. Magazines, too.
Last night I watched “Mini’s First Time.” Damn! I think I liked it. Not as much as “Foxes,” and “The Craft,” but more than “Foxfire.” About on par with “Thirteen.”
Teens. The word is even fun to say. And fun to sing. That’s why I love this Reparata & the Delrons song, “Whenever a Teenager Cries.” Blue birds don’t fly, the stars don’t shine so bright.. it seems the whole world dies. Yeah, ok.
Her voice is so awesomely whiny. The teenage melodrama brings to mind “So Young” by the Ronettes.
You can find other Reparata & The Delrons songs on such compilations as Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found,” (doy), or their own best of CD.
As for this second version of “Whenever A Teenager Cries,” by The Jeans… I have no idea where I got this mp3. I can’t find too much about this song. It just doesn’t convey the urgency of the Reparata & The Delrons version. Step it up Jeans! This is TEENAGERS we’re talking about. Teens.

Reparata & The Delrons
Whenever A Teenager Cries

The Jeans
Whenever A Teenager Cries