Archive for October 25, 2006

In the City

October 25, 2006 / / 6 comments

I heard this amazing song on the radio. It’s called “In the City” by a band called Milton.

The lyrics describe the panolopy of experiences and sensations involved in walking in New York City. I felt moved by it, and I think no one has ever nailed down the contrasts quite so urgently and beautifully.

You know what’s great about the Internettubes? I couldn’t find the lyrics anywhere, so I looked up the band’s MySpace page and wrote to them and explained how moved I was and asked for the lyrics. They sent them! (Lyrics below the fold.)
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Literary Interval

October 25, 2006 / / 2 comments

I interrupt your regularly-scheduled blog for this literary interval.

I am currently reading The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. I came to this sorta backwards, having loved Brick, and noticed that it was practically a remake of Huston’s The Maltese Falcon, and then Brick’s writer-director said his biggest influence on the film was Hammett, and there it was in the bookstore, so…

What is remarkable about this book is how fresh and modern it sounds. Sometimes I pick up an older book and I feel like I’m plodding through an earlier style of writing that doesn’t agree with me. F. Scott Fitzgerald does that to me. So does Ian Fleming, but I put up with it because it’s important to me. But Hammett is immediate, lively, and sly. He’s stylized without being overblown, he’s dialogue-heavy without being melodramatic, he’s funny but not ironic. The whole thing breezes by and it’s wonderful.

I am definitely going to read more Hammett, and also give Raymond Chandler a try.

 
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