What are you reading?: Part 2

[Santos L Helper]

Had part one a few months back, so I thought I'd get an update on what people are reading at the moment. A lot has happened both locally and internationally in that time, so there's been plenty of information to be gathered and new books to be read.
Personally, once I'm back at Uni I pretty much don't get time to read fictional stuff (except for some of the rantings at this site ) so I've been reading plenty of journal articles in the last few weeks. I've recently been learning about nuclear fission and the Chernobyl incident which has been really interesting and introduced me to a new branch of science. The other stuff I've been reading is on youth suicide. I had to put together a 3000 word literature review and that was really tough going, as it's such a tragic problem.
Anyway, that's what I've been reading, I'm interested in what you've all been feeding your mind with lately?

 

[IAMDASH]

Just finished "Are you talkin to me" - Diary of a cabbie during the Sydney Olympics. Good for a laugh. Soon to start Down Under by Bill Bryson. One of the funniest books I have read regarding football is Saturday Afternoon Fever by Matt Hardy. An Australian literary masterpiece.

 

[*miss_magpie*]

Just got thru the Darren Millane story, Pants. Starting on Katharine Kerr's "The Red Wyvern".

 

[Bee]

Argenta 22: Republican Internment and the prison ship.

It deals with the experience of political prisoners in Ireland from May 1922 when martial law was imposed by the British Government in Northern Ireland.

 

[Shinboners]

Just finished "Love In The Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and "Bacchus and Me" by Jay McInerney. Just starting reading the new biography of Serge Gainsbourg.

 

[Macca19]

Just finished 'The Doug Walters Story' which was a great read...just finished 'The Peoples Game - Australia in International One Day Cricket' - which was a good read

Im now reading 'Dynasty - The story of Fos Williams' yet again, and am always about to start reading Papion

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Just finished Eyewitness Nirvana - a day by day account of Nirvana from when they started to Kurt's tragic suicide in 1994, not a bad read, not as good as Come as You Are.

Waiting for my old man to finish Local Rites, the book I gave him for Father's Day.

IAMDASH - where did you get that cabbie book from, sounds like a good read. Bill Bryson Down Under is excellent stuff, as is all his work.

 

[Jars458]

Originally posted by GOALden Hawk
Just finished Eyewitness Nirvana - a day by day account of Nirvana from when they started to Kurt's tragic suicide in 1994, not a bad read, not as good as Come as You Are.

Waiting for my old man to finish Local Rites, the book I gave him for Father's Day.

IAMDASH - where did you get that cabbie book from, sounds like a good read. Bill Bryson Down Under is excellent stuff, as is all his work.

Kurt Kobain is a very bad role model Iwould have thought

All suicide is tragic I agree but how can this guy be a role model when he left his young kid behind

I know you didn't say he was one but with all the poeple wearing his T-shirts I can only assume young people find him to be so.

I will stand corrected if this is not the case.

 

[Chris_23]

I am currently reading 'Brothers In Arms'. It's about the Bikie wars between the 'Bandidos' and the 'Comancheros. A very interesting read.

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Originally posted by Jars458


Kurt Kobain is a very bad role model Iwould have thought

All suicide is tragic I agree but how can this guy be a role model when he left his young kid behind

I know you didn't say he was one but with all the poeple wearing his T-shirts I can only assume young people find him to be so.

I will stand corrected if this is not the case.

Jars458, firstly let me say I am a MASSIVE Nirvana fan, just massive. I have every CD they did, quite a few bootlegs, rarities, limited edition stuff a couple of Kurt T-shirts. They have been my favourite band for 10 years, and probably will always be my favourite band.

Having said, I never have, and never will consider Kurt Cobain a role model - for the reasons outlined in your post. He was a damn fine musician, incredibly talented. But he had a lot of problems that stemmed from his childhood that led to his suicide. I agree though, Kurt is not a suitable role model for young people.

But just because I am such a huge fan of Nirvana and Kurt's songwriting doesn't mean I aspire to be like him - I admire Kurt as a musician and songwriter, not as a person. I can't speak for other people but I know that's the case for me.

 

[Santos L Helper]

Originally posted by GOALden Hawk


Jars458, firstly let me say I am a MASSIVE Nirvana fan, just massive. I have every CD they did, quite a few bootlegs, rarities, limited edition stuff a couple of Kurt T-shirts. They have been my favourite band for 10 years, and probably will always be my favourite band.

As a person who spent many years in a popular Adelaide band, I must ask how you can call yourself a massive fan when you buy 'bootleg albums'? These are exactly that.............bootleg. None of the money goes to the band it just goes to these leaches who take money from the artists who deserve it. Real fans would boycott 'bootleg albums'.

 

[Chris_23]

He didn't suicide......i'll take it to the grave!

 

[Dippers Donuts]

For some reason I've got about 5 books on the go at the moment. A Bob Dylan biography (not bad); a bio on J. Edgar Hoover (he was one sick puppy, used to dress in womens clothes etc); a book on the Pyramids (and how they seem to be far, far older than Egyptologists think and how they weren't built as tombs but rather pointers to the stars); a golf book (of course!) and a book about how life was in the year 1000 (fascinating)

CYA

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Originally posted by Santos L Helper


As a person who spent many years in a popular Adelaide band, I must ask how you can call yourself a massive fan when you buy 'bootleg albums'? These are exactly that.............bootleg. None of the money goes to the band it just goes to these leaches who take money from the artists who deserve it. Real fans would boycott 'bootleg albums'.

A good point Santos...and normally I would not buy such a thing, but unfortunately with Nirvana only releasing one live recording (which missed many of their best live performances) it is the only way I get can get access to the tracks.

Geffen was planning to release a boxed rarities set a couple of months ago, and they had received permission from Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. In fact, Dave & Krist spent some time remastering a couple of songs from Nirvana's last recording sessions made during the In Utero tour. One of these new songs is currently only available as Nirvana played it live once in Chicago. The recording quality is terrible, but it was obviously a great song, that Hole subsequently played live on their Unplugged sessions.

Unfortunately, Courtney Love is currently battling Geffen over her contract with Hole, and as a result, she has blocked the release of the Nirvana rarities set, much to the dismay of fans such as myself. Until this dispute is resolved and Courtney allows the set to be released, fans such as myself have no option but to buy bootlegs to hear the songs.

 

[Macca19]

Originally posted by Santos L Helper


As a person who spent many years in a popular Adelaide band, I must ask how you can call yourself a massive fan when you buy 'bootleg albums'? These are exactly that.............bootleg. None of the money goes to the band it just goes to these leaches who take money from the artists who deserve it. Real fans would boycott 'bootleg albums'.

I agree. I dont like bootleg albums...nor do i like people who download full albums off napster or Audio Galaxy.

However i do have one bootleg. A live recording of the Slipknot concert at Thebby Theatre last year. I went to the concert loved it, and decided to buy the live recording of it too.

GOALden Hawk - i actually thought they had two live albums. MTV Unplugged and that Live on the Banks of the Muddy something. Or is that a bootleg?

 

[Shinboners]

Originally posted by Santos L Helper
As a person who spent many years in a popular Adelaide band, I must ask how you can call yourself a massive fan when you buy 'bootleg albums'? These are exactly that.............bootleg. None of the money goes to the band it just goes to these leaches who take money from the artists who deserve it. Real fans would boycott 'bootleg albums'.

I used to buy a few old Joy Division and New Order bootlegs because there was no way that I could see Joy Division play live (for one thing, Ian Curtis was dead) and there didn't seem to be much of a possibility of seeing New Order tour (in the end they did, in 1987...I was too young to attend their 1985 gigs). The bootleg recordings were the closest thing I had to experiencing these bands and their live performances. There was also the ridiculously rare first (and unreleased) Joy Division/Warsaw album which I have on bootleg.

It is a tricky issue with bootlegs...and by extension, Napster and other file sharing technologies because as you have pointed out, the band does not get a share of the money. I have no qualms with buying bootleg live recordings. But I don't download music and burn them onto CDs. The musicians have put their time and effort into creating music that I enjoy, and thus, they deserve a reward for their efforts. Downloading and buring a CD without payment to the musician is simply stealing.

 

[Jars458]

And the remainning Nirvana members would really be stuggling for two pennies to rub together??????


So none of oyu guys have ever taped records of CD's either???

Give me a break.

 

[Shinboners]

Originally posted by Jars458
So none of oyu guys have ever taped records of CD's either???

Of course I have. I have received plenty of mixed tapes from friends and I send out plenty of them to friends.

However, mixed is the key word here. The thing I've found is that when I get a mixed tape, there will often be bands that I've never previously heard but I like enough so that I go out and buy their music. It works the other way as well....nothing better than hearing from someone who has received my tape and said, "Yeah, I loved Comet Gain, Club 8, and Brittle Stars and I went and bought their CDs".

Unless I have a recording that has been deleted by the record company, I don't make full copies of albums for people.

 

[Captain Random]

Just finished The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy. It wasn't a patch on American Tabloid, unfortunately. And it wasn't a bootleg copy

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Originally posted by Macca19


I agree. I dont like bootleg albums...nor do i like people who download full albums off napster or Audio Galaxy.

However i do have one bootleg. A live recording of the Slipknot concert at Thebby Theatre last year. I went to the concert loved it, and decided to buy the live recording of it too.

GOALden Hawk - i actually thought they had two live albums. MTV Unplugged and that Live on the Banks of the Muddy something. Or is that a bootleg?

Yeah, but Unplugged is slightly different as it wasn't an actual concert, it was a TV performance that was always intended to be released as an album. Originally the plan was to have a double album with Unplugged and Muddy Banks, but they ended up separating the two. Muddy Banks has some great tracks, but also missed a lot of their best performances and at times is a bit disjointed - but a good album all the same.

 

[pedrothelioness]

Im reading Big Brother skateboard mag and a textbook on forensic science......called crime and culpribility..its a bit heavy handed and i jump everytime i hear a noise in bed ..maybe i shouldnt read it before bed time

 

[pedrothelioness]

Downunder by bill byrson is real good. I read it whilst i was overseas's backpackin and was home sick. I had a bit of a chuckle in many train carriages outloud whilst everyone was tryin to sleep whilst readin the book.
Only problem was it was in hardcover when i was over there..so it cost me a god damn fortune~! and weighed a ton. I had to leave it over there when i came back...to many books on German history, band cds and hoodies to take home with me.
His other books are worth a read..but think downunder is prob his best

 

[Jars458]

Originally posted by Shinboners


Of course I have. I have received plenty of mixed tapes from friends and I send out plenty of them to friends.

However, mixed is the key word here. The thing I've found is that when I get a mixed tape, there will often be bands that I've never previously heard but I like enough so that I go out and buy their music. It works the other way as well....nothing better than hearing from someone who has received my tape and said, "Yeah, I loved Comet Gain, Club 8, and Brittle Stars and I went and bought their CDs".

Unless I have a recording that has been deleted by the record company, I don't make full copies of albums for people.

So what of those who listen to the tapes but love the music and DONT buy the CD's??


Thiefs

Burn them at the stake I say!!!

 

[Uncle Steve]

When version 1 of this thread was doing the rounds, some people recommended "He Died With A Felafel In His Hand".

So I bought it.

I was disappointed. Many of the individual anecdotes are funny enough, but they really aren't cobbled together in a coherent way. There is no underlying story. Furthermore all the real-life snippets which are interwoven with the story are frustrating to read. What continuity there is in the novel is wrecked when one has to pause to read these snippets.

Some others mentioned Bryson's "Down Under" - I was disappointed with this too. His experiences in country towns are interesting enough, but he visits some of the most interesting places in Australia without actually doing anything there. Fancy driving all the way to Adelaide to sit in the Duke of Wellington and read a book, or catching the Indian-Pacific all the way to Perth only to ignore the place when getting there.

On the other hand, Bryson's "Neither Here Nor There" was fantastic. His appreciation of Europe is mostly (not completely) spot on, but thoroughly amusing.

Only other book I read lately was another French language comic book (Tintin). Nothing beats comics as a study aide for foreign language!

 

[Agent 86]

Just knocked off The Genesis Code by John Case & started The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsom.

Shinboners, just wondering what you reckon about d/ling & burning whole cd's of tapes that you already own?