Film Review--Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Traditionally, it’s pretty difficult for me to be moved by horror films, at least in the traditional way. I recognize and appreciate, above all other genres, the artistic sensibilities that horror brings, but I am very rarely scared or shocked by them anymore. That said, there are a few mundane subjects in real life that can still disturb me in film, no matter how many times I see them. Two of these things are doctors and dolls (china dolls, specifically). Why the dolls? I don’t really know, but facts are facts, they are disturbing. This brings us to Eyes Without a Face, the masterpiece of poetic horror from George Franju.

The scenario, another lurid tale imagined by the team of Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (who combined on the screenplays for Diabolique and Vertigo), is about Professor Genessier (Pierre Brasseur), a highly respected and innovative plastic surgeon, who caused an accident that left his daughter Christiane (Edith Scob) faceless (how one suffers no ill-effects except the loss of a face is anyone’s guess, but this is not the issue here). Through his guilt turned obsession, Genessier’s only goal is to restore his daughter’s beauty by any means necessary. This means kidnapping pretty young girls and removing their faces off for transplant. Christiane, watching it all go by faceless in an expressionless white mask and a china doll dress, lilts through her father’s mansion like a ghost, hoping that his disgusting operations will one day restore her beauty. She has become jaded to the procedure and the victims have become little more than meat for her to gaze upon.

We are thrust into the middle of the action, with Genessier’s nurse (Alida Valli, in a wonderfully cold performance) dragging a body and throwing it in a river. With no backstory, we are immediately taken off guard as she then goes to town to pick up another victim. Using the ruse of a room for rent, she brings this college student back to the mansion where she is drugged and prepped for surgery. Watching from above, we witness the removal of the face in an extraordinarily slow and cold sequence which starts with penciling the incision lines and finishing with the unplugging of the skin from the muscles to lift the face off the victim. It is a horrifically realistic scene executed with a nonchalance that only makes it darker and more maniacal. It is almost a relief when, after the face comes off, we see a fairly poor, definitely dated, makeup job; I was close to becoming nauseous, a feeling from a movie I have not felt in maybe 15 years. I was so stressed by the situation that it was all I could do that night to fall asleep.

But, more than just a lurid subject that gets to me personally, Eyes Without a Face is one of the most atmospheric and poetic horror movies I’ve ever seen. Every shot is set up to maximize the dread without resorting to scare tactics. There are no capture and escape sequences, this is horror of a father’s obsessive love for his child, love turned perverse through vanity and pride. What he once was, doting father and respected doctor, is long gone, replaced by cold-blooded kidnapping, murder, and psychosis. It is a simple, beautifully told story that is effective on all levels. Eugene Schuftan’s cinematography, in its muted shades of black and white, looks like a fairy tale and reminds me more of the films of Cocteau and Renoir than anything in the horror realm. In fact, the only movie that really approximates the poetry of this film is Dreyer’s Vampyr, although Eyes Without a Face is significantly more exciting than its predecessor. Maurice Jarre’s oddly ironic score, in combination with a full palette of sound effects gives a claustrophobic feeling of dread. Hearing a chorus of howling dogs every time the doors open seems, at first, menacing because of the implication that they guard something, but becomes utterly horrifying when we find out that the poor animals are the surgeon’s trial-and-error process. This makes the ending, which I will not spoil, all the more satisfying, especially the beautifully ambiguous and ultimately effective final shot.

Unfortunately, Eyes Without a Face was utterly disregarded upon its release, both in its native France and worldwide. There were some critics who lauded its artistic merit, but most dismissed it as shock for shock’s sake which, today, seems laughable (even though I’ve just said how much it horrified me, this is a personal thing and, given that we can watch surgery footage on cable television 24 hours a day, I don’t think everybody would have the same reaction as me). In the states, to build up its shocking nature, it was retitled The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, but failed miserably when it could not live up to the expectations of the grindhouse audiences it played for. It rightfully gained a following after it was remastered and reissued a few years ago, and I would hope serve as a model for young horror filmmakers that the discomfort and oppression of horror can be more effective than the thrills that are too easy.

Criterion’s DVD is typically excellent, with one of the clearest picture restorations you will see and perfectly rendered sound. The special features, though sparse, are exceptionally interesting. First is Franju’s 1949 documentary Blood of Beasts on the French meat factories. Every bit as artistic as Eyes Without a Face, and ten times more disturbing, this had much the same impact in its time as Sinclair’s “The Jungle.” The other is a short interview with Franju on some really cheesy French sci-fi show from the ‘70s. Here, he discusses where the power of terror and dread come from and, consequently, what makes horror effective. He says, in paraphrase, that horror’s role is to accentuate the abnormal for the sake of fright. But, what is abnormality? A normal person doing normal things is normal. Also, an abnormal person doing abnormal things is normal. But the combination of the two gets to the heart of horror. Abnormal behavior by normals is bizarre and unsettling. Normal behavior by abnormals is plain surreal, and both are equally effective in carrying the weight of horror. This, such a seemingly simple statement, is the exact reason why movies like The Hills Have Eyes cannot work and Eyes Without a Face ultimately succeeds.

Historical Image of the Day

Image of California Indians, Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, 1856

"It was serious back then"

This story on forced confessions in Japan is rather disturbing. While not as severe, perhaps, as electric shock to the genitals (a common practice in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and elsewhere during their respective dictatorships) or forcing prisoners' heads under water to extract confessions. Nonetheless, incidents like 17 straight days of 10-hour interrogation sessions and forcing the charged to stop on names of their family members (which, if it is indeed an odd twist on forcing Christians to stomp on the cross, is rather unique) clearly have caused mental and physical stress on innocent people in Japan. One hopes the change to a jury-based system in 2009 will fix things for the most part, but one has to wonder if these fforced (false) confessions are just going to go away that easily.

Friday Guitar Blogging

Nori Bucci.

Lyrad's Random 10

No time to write about a song today. Gotta make it to Wane "the Train." Anyway, here's the deal:

1. Karl Amadeus Hoffman--Miserae (Symphonic Poem) for Orchestra [London PO; Leon Botstein, cond.]
2. Elysian Fields--Black Acres
3. Scorn--Lick Forvever Dog
4. Faith No More--Midnight Cowbow (Main Theme)
5. Chris Cutler--Empty House/Coffee Still Warm
6. Duke Ellington & Ivie Anderson--I'm Satisfied
7. Joao Gilberto & Stan Getz--Corcovado
8. Mildred Bailey--Love Is Where You Find It
9. GoodandEvil--Sweetbitter
10. Hank Williams--Tennessee Border

Want your first national saint? Call me!

Today, the pope canonized the first Brazilian saint. When I was in Costa Rica, there was a big deal about the sainthood of a nun who had helped poor children in the city capital in 2002 (I thought she was canonized, and I definitely remember the big hubbub, but I'll be darned if I can find it anywhere online).

So to all you countries seeking your first saint, just call me - I'll be glad to accept my airfare, and as many weeks paid vacation there until your saint is approved.

Mister Trend's Random 10

Not to rip off too much, but I'm going to offer comments on a song/artist from the Random 10 from time to time, too. However, I'm just going to arbitrarily pick one song/artist from the list each week, instead of sticking with the 1st or 7th or 10th track only.

This week, I just want to comment on Aphex Twin, who is possibly one of the most creative, intelligent, and underappreciated musicians out there. He tends to get doubly ignored, because those who don't like "techno" (in their generally false conceptions of what "techno" is) automatically discount it without hearing it. Even those music-lovers who adore experimental music in jazz, no wave, classical, and elsewhere ignore James's work as an aesthetic endeavor because it's "just techno".

Even worse, within the techno community, many put Richard James (aka Aphex Twin) in the "intelligent dance music" category, which is one of the worst titles of all time. There is really no word to describe his work. Yes, it's based on "techno" instruments (i.e., computers and beatboxes), but he pushes that medium all over the place, from Ambient (Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 1 and 2), to bass to acid to house, while never working in the conventions of any of those forms. His use of beats, beeps, reverb, and computer tones to create haunting soundscapes of all tempos is unrivalled. James is certainly a unique character - his remix album is unbelievable (and humorously, and perhaps realistically, calleed "26 Mixes for Cash"), and the mixes go so far from the original versions of the songs, a journalist asked him if he had even listened in depth to a Nine Inch Nails song he'd mixed. His response (and I paraphrase) - "I don't need to. I know my version is better".

Anyhow, check out some James, and listen to more than one of his albums - they are all over the place. My personal favorite is "Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2", but you can't go wrong with any of his works.

1. "It's Raining" - Quasi
2. "Antitech" - Efterklang
3. "Shoes" - Akron/Family
4. "Daddy Sang Bass" - Johnny Cash
5. "Urubu Malandro" - Radamés Gnattali Sexteto
6. "Start As You Mean to Go On" - Aphex Twin
7. "John McLaughlin" - Miles Davis
8. "Eine Alpensymphonie - Elegie" - Richard Strauss
9. "Tangled Up In Blue" - Bob Dylan
10. "Matamoros Banks" - Bruce Spingsteen

Historical Image of the Day

Statue of Roger Williams

Notes on Argentina (I): The Madres de Plaza de Mayo

"Until Victory, Always dear children!"

Some of the surviving Madres on stage.

Just a handful of photos of the 30,000 disappeared

By pure chance, I happened to time my honeymoon so that I was in Buenos Airs on April 30, 2007, which happened to mark the official 30th anniversary of the first march of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo. As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Madres are one of the more important groups not just in helping Argentina overthrow its own military dictatorship (1976-1983), but also in serving as a model for protest in other parts of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Since the Plaza de Mayo was just 4 blocks from my hotel, I took advantage of the opportunity and attended the official rally, where many of the surviving madres were present.

The rally itself was remarkable. First and foremost, there's just the impact of what these women have done. The images of the disappeared placed on either side of the stage, the signs reminding us of the loss of 30,000 Argentines in the 7-year "dirty war", the youth who rallied around these small, elderly women who changed so much, the chants, the music (everything from tango to hymns to Che Guevar), was almost too much emotionally. There was a political solidarity and activism there that I've never seen anywhere else in my life. It's cliché, probably, but the emotion was actual palpable - some people hugging and crying, others cheering, others just standing in silence and respect to the madres.

Adding to the emotion, for me, was the simple fact that I, as an American citizen, was present. The Argentine dictatorship is one of the most awful, vulgar, horrific things the United States ever supported, with Henry Kissinger verbally giving acting president Jorge Videla a carte blanche to kill whomever he wanted until the "threat" of "subversives" was gone. Being presnt and knowing that government of my country, like in so many countries in the 20th century, had a direct hand in the propping up of one of the most repressive apparati of state terrorism in the history of the Western hemisphere, gave the rally a particularly upsetting and emotional dynamic to me personally.

Between musicians, various political activists would talk. Additionally, between each "set", they often played taped recordings of what the Madres had said in the past, often taking devastating, emotional soundbites from the dictatorship period itself. This was certainly a celebration of what the Madres have done (not just in terms of the dictatorship but in terms of protests against global oppression since the dicatotrship's end, the founding of their cultural center, and most recently, the establishment of their own college to continue the study of human rights and law), but through it all, the sheer emotion and loss (and emotional depression that creates) were palpable throughout. It may have been 30 years, but the disappeared were as present as they were in the height of the dictatorship.

In a sign of how much has changed in 30 years, while the police were present just outside the plaza, there was no violence this time. Some student ralliers who were about to parade made a clear demonstration against the police in front of their faces, but there was no violence, in itself a sign of hope for the country that saw some of its best minds killed by the state.

Overall, the experience, with all the emotion, the people, the music, the message, the banners, everything, it was just so overwhelming and amazing. Without a doubt this was the best part of being in Buenos Aires when I was.

RIP--Diego Corrales

Well, I am very sad to say that, at a mere 29 years old, Diego "Chico" Corrales is dead by wounds resulting from a motorcycle accident. He was one of the most exciting fighters of his generation whose spirit in the ring was an inspiration to a generation of boxers and fans alike. His never-say-die attitute toward fighting led to what many considered the most exciting fight in the last two decades against Jose Luis Castillo, a bloodbath comeback win that showed a rare heart and determination. To think that I will never see him in the ring again is something that is hard for me to think about right now, but that is nothing compared to the shock those around him must feel. Rest in peace, Chico. Your heart, your determination, and you will be deeply missed.

Happenings in Brazil

First, and more briefly, there's a story about the ongoing struggle of indigenous peoples in Brazil to reclaim land they once held. The article, while brief, hits upon all the issues at hand with the indigenous movement in Brazil - efforts to undo decades-old illegal land seizures, the government's past maltreatment of indigenous rights, farmer/indigenous struggles, use of the environment, racism, everything. Additionally, the story has extra interest, given that the recent reduction of the Brazilian government's environmental agency means indigenous peoples will be one of the most important groups at environmental protection. And for those maybe interested in the historical roots of the selling off of indigenous lands and their efforts to reclaim their lands, I give my HIGHEST recommendation that you check out Seth Garfield's book on the Xavante Indians.

Secondly, I would be slightly remiss to mention, in case you hadn't heard, that the pope is in Brazil. Not surprisingly, controversy has immediately erupted, as he goes after abortion again (nothing new here). In a rather novel idea for many United States politicians, Lula has announced that, while he does not personally "morally" approve of abortion, he is openly aware that it is a health need that the state should protect. While this is far from an open "legalize abortion" campaign on his part (which, to be slightly fair, would be a political disaster for him), it's far more than the Catholic Church will acknowledge, and thus, on day one, church and state have already butted heads here.

Of far more interst from the analytical point is exactly what the pope' s visit means to Brazilians. Ever since the 1960s, when Brazil was at the forefront of the budding liberation theology movement, Brazil has often diverged from doctrinal Catholic practices, particularly in philosophy and in liturgical practices (liberation theology hasn't even gone fully away, despite John Paul II's efforts). Many sectors of the media are covering the story from the aspect of "Pope trying to re-gather the flock in the wake of conversions to evangelicism and more evangelical-based liturgical services in the Catholic Church" (yet another example of the Church's efforts to be flexible and modernize to shepherd the flock. In an aside, the media in Brazil hasn't helped, tending to villify evangelical protestant churches and practitioners instead of actually addressing the shortcomings of the Catholic Church. Look, I'm no fan of evangelical religions, but if some guy in the rural areas finally overcomes his 20+-year bout with alcoholism and both he and his family are the happiest they've ever been, all because of evangelical beliefs, I'm not going to tell him, "sorry, you're wrong and damned, socially and spiritually".)

However, what's the most intersting to me is those individuals who are left out of the discussion altogether - the non-practicing (of any religion) in Brazil. I can't tell you how many people from my generation and younger I've talked to who completely refuse any religion. They almost always attribute this at least partly, if not fully, to their Catholic upbringing. And this isn't some teenage rebellion thing - the strictness, devotion, and fanaticism (I doubt Bill Donohue is going to be coming after little old me anyways) of the church (and sometimes of their family members) has not only driven them away from Catholicism, it's driven them away from religion altogether. Programming and shifting practices to the pious behavior of people like Marcelo Rossi don't help, and sometimes hurt even more the youth's interest in religion ("As if Catholicism weren't bad enough, now it's also looking like evangelicism. Get me out of here!"). Certainly, I have also met many people (some from the same traditional Catholic families that others have fled from) who still participate actively in the Catholic church, or in evangelical processes. Yet the tendency to view the Pope's visit as a mission to reconcile the growing presence of evangelicals in (still) dominatingly-Catholic Latin America ignores the complexity of and problems posed by those who have left the church and not gone to any other church. If Catholicism actually wants to address why its numbers are dropping (and if it doesn't, I don't care - I have numerous problems with the Church myself, to put it lightly), the number of converts to non-believing is one more example that, instead of blaming evangelicals, the church should look inwards a little more deeply.

Forgotten American Blogging Hiatus

Sorry to all for the lag in Forgotten American Blogging. Unlike most posts, these take real time (usually a couple of hours at least), and I am trying to finish a dissertation, get two articles out, and move. Not to mention my cat disaster. But it'll be back soon.

Historical Image of the Day

George Mikan

Posada

I am disgusted but not shocked that U.S. district court judge Kathleen Cardone has thrown out all charges against Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Posada, who has admitted to blowing up a Cuban airplane in 1976 that killed 73 people and who masterminded a series of hotel bombings in Havana, is now a free man in the United States.

I cannot really comment on much of why the judge threw out the charges. She claims Posada was treated unfairly in his immigration hearing. Maybe, but I doubt she is so concerned with the thousands of other, non-terrorist, immigrants who are also not treated fairly by the United States. Cardone wrote in her decision, "This court finds the government's tactics in this case are so grossly shocking and so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice." More shocking and outrageous than blowing up an airplane and killing innocent people?

Whether or not the government had a legitimate case against Posada for immigration violations, there is no question that they should immediately deport him to Cuba, Venezuela, or perhaps a third Latin American nation. By keeping Posada in the United States, we are telling the world that we only denounce terrorism when that terrorist has not received CIA training and is not doing what the U.S. desires. We are hypocrites to the rest of the world and we deserve to be fully denounced for giving Posada asylum.

Of course, the fact that Cardone was nominated for her position by Texas Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson and John Cornyn gives us a pretty good idea about why she threw out the charges against Posada, regardless of the actual merits of the case.

My Cat Clio

This is a bad time for lefty bloggers and their cats...

I am moving to Texas. I need to get out of my place by the end of month, from which I will be a bit nomadic until I start my job at Southwestern (and get paid!!).

I have two cats. Torvald is the sweetest cat in the world. He'll adjust fine, so long as I don't kill him first for pawing me in the face at 4 in the morning and demanding that I pet him.

My other cat is named Clio. This is a disaster. Clio is nearly 5 years old. When she was 4 months old or so, my ex-wife grabbed her and threw her in the house. That was the beginning. We wanted to adjust her to living with humans, but that never really happened. I suppose if we had worked with her intensively she might have adjusted. But we didn't, for a variety of reasons I guess. Anyway, I took her when we separated, mostly because my wife wouldn't. So I was stuck with her. Now, she gets along great with the other cats. At the time, she was the 4th cat. The other 3 were all whores for petting. You'd think she would have learned from the other cats that this pets thing isn't such a bad gig, but she didn't.

Along the way, we acquired a live trap, in which I've moved her 3 times now. The last time was close to a year and a half ago. I figured she would have forgotten the experience by now. I guess not.

I was supposed to be in Texas right now to deliver the cats to Lyrad for the summer. Clio won't get in the trap. She hasn't eaten in nearly 48 hours now. The food is in the live trap. If she wants to eat, she knows where it is. But this doesn't seem to be working.

I don't know what to do. I called a vet today. His response was pretty much, "Good luck with that." He suggested I throw a blanket over her, pounce on her, and throw her in a cat carrier. This doesn't seem too likely to work. But if she isn't in there by the time I get home this evening, that's what I'm down to. I can't see her not eat for any longer than this. I feel terrible as it is.

I have to take the cats to Texas this week. If I can't get her by Thursday, I have no other choice than to just put her out. I don't think she'll survive very long. But I don't know what else to do. It's a terrible situation. I don't actually like her, or really have any affection for her at all. But I don't want her to die.

Basically, this really sucks.

UPDATE: I wish I had thought of the idea of taking the other cat to the vet for the tranquilizers. Sadly, it is too late for that. She still wouldn't go into the trap last night. I tried to catch her this morning, with particularly disastrous results. I need to leave for Texas in an hour or so. I'll make one more attempt to catch her. Otherwise, I guess she's out. Sigh.

Historical Image of the Day

McLean Stevenson, close relative of Adlai.

The Clown Show Must Go On

I'm almost finished with Sari Nusseibeh's memoir, Once Upon a Country, I'll try to post a review of it in the next week or so. I can't resist, though, calling attention to this bit of typical Peretzian assholery:

I watched Nusseibeh, so to speak, write the book while he was in Cambridge at the Radcliffe Institute. Well, he didn't exactly write the book alone...and the title page doesn't pretend that he did. And I didn't literally watch him. His co-author was a man called Anthony David, a ghost-writer who followed him around Harvard taking notes. James Boswell to Dr. Johnson. Can't a real intellectual produce his own books?

Indeed, one could ask of Peretz: Can't a real intellectual produce books? Or are "real intellectuals" too busy spending their wives' money to indulge their obsessive anti-Arab bigotry? Needless to say, it's not uncommon for political figures to employ ghostwriters to help them compile and write their memoirs, so Peretz's catty insult would be ridiculous even if Peretz had ever written a book himself.

Good Times

Is there any better to spend an evening than 6 solid hours of grading?

I didn't think so.

Disgusting

David Neiwert reports on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials denying U.N. Human Rights Council representative Jorge Bustamante a permit to visit a concentration camp the government has set up for caught migrant aliens. Neiwert uses the term "concentration camps" as well. He is right to use that term, for that's exactly what this detainee center is. The Right has been quite enamored of concentration camps in recent years, as continued apologists for the Japanese concentration camps during World War II attests to. It is also disgusting that there has been almost no publicity of this camp, or so much about the nation's treatment of immigrants generally.

I am so infuriated by the sheer existence of this place that I almost forgot to mention the outrage of refusing to let UN representatives visit it. Has the United States become the Sudan? Serbia? Burma? Can we honestly say anymore that we have significantly better human rights policies for "undesirable peoples" than these places?

A Shameless Blog Plug

For those of you who fail to fully understand the genius behind the "Marmaduke" comic in the newspapers, might I point you to this blog. It lays it all out there for easy comprehension (and is way funnier, even if it's one of the more bizarre things I've seen lately). It's quite possibly the best 5-second waste of time there is.

Historical Image of the Day

Adlai Stevenson, 1956

Feith on Tenet

In a questionable example of editorial stunt-casting, the apparently still utterly and defiantly clueless Douglas Feith produces this jaw-dropper in his review of George Tenet's new ass-covering memoir:

Anyone can make an honest mistake. But the problem with George Tenet is that he doesn't seem to care to get his facts straight. He is not meticulous. He is willing to make up stories that suit his purposes and to suppress information that does not.

Oh my.

We are also informed that Feith's own ACM will be forthcoming. This presents a problem, as who will be found to review it who has even less credibility than Douglas Feith?

Worst lyrics ever?

Apparently, BBC radio has done a poll of "worst lyrics ever". I have a hard time getting fully behind a list that doesn't include "Yummy Yummy Yummy/I've got love in my tummy" or N'Sync singing "Your soul is like a secret/I just couldn't keep" (the horrors of working at a restaurant in the summer of 1998 - I heard that song to the point of vomiting). Still, I fully support the inclusion of Oasis (everytime I hear how "great" they are, I cite the lyric at hand), and there are some doozies on this list.

Enjoy.

1. Des'ree - 'Life'"I don't want to see a ghost/It's the sight that I fear most/I'd rather have a piece of toast/Watch the evening news"
2. Snap - 'Rhythm Is A Dancer'"I'm as serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer"
3. Razorlight - 'Somewhere Else'"And I met a girl/She asked me my name/I told her what it was"
4. ABC - 'That Was Then But This Is Now'"More sacrifices than an Aztec priest/Standing here straining at that leash/All fall down/Can't complain, mustn't grumble/Help yourself to another piece of apple crumble!"
5. U2 - 'Elevation'"I've got no self control/Been living like a mole now/Going down, excavation/High and high in the sky/You make me feel like I can fly/So high/Elevation"
6. Toto - 'Africa'"The wild dogs cry out in the night/As they grow restless longing for some solitary company/I know that I must do what's right/Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti"
7. Oasis - 'Champagne Supernova'"Slowly walking down the hall/Faster than a cannonball/Where were you when we were getting high?"
8. Duran Duran - 'Is There Something I Should Know?'"And fiery demons all dance when you walk through that doorDon't say you're easy on me you're about as easy as a nuclear war"
9. Human League - 'The Lebanon'"Before he leaves the camp he stops/He scans the world outside/And where there used to be some shops/Is where the snipers sometimes hide"
10. Black Sabbath - 'War Pigs'"Generals gathered in their masses/Just like witches at black masses"

Los Alamos Closes Its Archives

The recent privatization of Los Alamos National Laboratory has been an unmitigated disaster. I know this is surprising--What! Privatization can often be a disaster? Shocking! Employee morale is at an all-time low and massive retirements are likely to start soon.

What concerns me though is the recent decision by the Laboratory to cut off its archives from researchers. As a public institution, run by the University of California, the Laboratory has traditionally been fairly open to researchers. But now they are truly acting like a corporation and refusing even basic archival requests. One of the most important institutions in the history of the United States has now become almost impossible to study. This reflects the general anti-archival information bias of many corporations and the Bush administration. It's a sad day for researchers.

Jackson County, Oregon

Jackson County is not a good place. Although it has the semi-major southern Oregon regional center of Medford, the county has never adjusted to a post-timber economy. In response, Jackson County has closed all 15 of its libraries for lack of funding. Josephine and Curry counties, also in southwestern Oregon, face similar funding declines. All of these counties face tax increases in order to continue basic services.

Of course, local residents blame the decline of the timber industry for these problems. There is some truth in this idea, but it is far more complicated than they care to admit. County Commissioner Dennis C.W. Smith remarks, “The real problem is this segment of absolutists that will not tolerate any use of federal lands for timber resources." This is a less than veiled slap at the environmental community that filed lawsuits which helped severely curtail the timber industry throughout the Northwest in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Smith represents the thoughts of many, but they are wrong. What they don't understand is that the timber industry in the Northwest would be virtually dead now anyway. Globalization was already destroying the region before the spotted owl crisis put the final nail in the industry's economy. An increasing number of raw logs were shipped overseas and cheaper timber was pouring in from British Columbia, New Zealand, the American South, and the tropics. Like many regional industries, timber in the Northwest can't compete in a globalized economy. If the government stripped away all sense of environmental regulation, it is true that the region would see a brief economic revival, but that would be the calm before the storm of its complete collapse when all the timber was gone.

Most importantly in understanding the history of this problem is that the timber industry used the spotted owl crisis to get out of the Northwest. They could blame all these mill closures on environmentalists while moving their operations worldwide. Few timber workers saw that their real enemy was not the environmentalists, who like the timber workers, wanted to see trees remain in the region forever. The enemy was the big timber companies who had severely overcut the region beginning after World War II and reaching a crescendo in the 1980s. All of this undermined the ecological base of the forest, leading to the spotted owl lawsuits and the end of the regional industry. Of course, many small operators did lose everything. But the big multinational corporations that had slowly gained a stranglehold over lumber production over the previous decades did just fine.

Americans still get their wood supplies and they are cheaper than ever. The only people hurt by this were the timber workers of the Northwest. For them, I feel bad. But like old mining towns such as Butte and Leadville, Coquille, Bandon, and Medford need to understand that the industry is not coming back. For them to survive, they need to develop alternative economies. Ashland has done quite well. With Southern Oregon State University and the Shakespeare Festival, they have figured out how to create a successful economy without timber. Others have turned to tourism, which is increasingly tenable, particularly along the Rogue River. It is hard for people to change their ways after growing up understanding that the timber would also be around. Maybe the government needs to play a bigger role in transforming these areas, although they have been involved pretty heavily since the beginning of the Clinton administration. In any case though, it's time to move on.

Of course, there is actually a pretty damn active alternative economy in southwestern Oregon. That is marijuana. Southwestern Oregon and northwestern California provides a huge amount of pot for the nation. Of course, none of this is taxed. But when people talk of the economic decline of the region, they don't mention the very active and lucrative underground economy.

Thanks a ton to Maggie for sending this along

Historical Image of the Day

The less than respectable senator from New Mexico and Interior Secretary, Albert Fall

Duss's Top 10 Rock Albums

In order of release.

The Beatles, (The White Album)
This is the record that really opened the Beatles up for me. I wouldn’t say it’s their best, that’s Revolver, but something about this grand, brilliant, unfocused mess that creates for me the most palpable atmosphere of any of their recordings.

There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Sly and the Family Stone
It’s title an answer to Marvin Gaye’s question, I think it belongs on a list with Gaye’s masterpiece as one of the great protest records. That the tunes so successfully walk the line between traditional songs and loose jams is all the more amazing given that Sly recorded much of the music himself.

Ramones
Rock and roll demi-glace. And on the complete other end of the rock spectrum…

Boston
From the moment I first heard the BOMP!....BOMP!....BOMMMMMM that opens Foreplay at a Christian youth camp seminar about the evils of rock music, I was hooked. This is bloated, grandiose, hook-laden, radio-ready rock in all its unit-moving glory. Four part choir-boy harmonies? Yes. Double, triple, and quadruple tracked guitars? Hell yes. A drummer with one of the most formidable white guy afros ever? Absolutely.

Marquee Moon, Television
Who writes tunes like these? Television comparisons seem to get thrown around like confetti by rock critics these days, and they’re almost always misplaced. Rock hasn’t seen a front line which comes within sight of the technical skill and improvisational brilliance of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, let alone one supported by a back line like Fred Smith and Billy Ficca, since the band broke up in 1978. Except when they’ve reunited and toured.

Learning to Crawl, Pretenders
Chrissie Hynde’s gorgeous vibrato often distracts from her genuinely brilliant songwriting, but I’ve always felt that she deserved a place among rock’s elite. It feels a little odd to nominate this album, as it was the band’s first after the deaths of bassist Pete Farndon and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, both of whom were integral to creating the band’s sound, but I think this is the record in which Hynde truly came into her own as a songwriter. Session guitarist Robbie McIntosh did a great job of staying true to the band’s established sound while still showing off his own impressive skills.

The Joshua Tree, U2
War came very close to being on this list, but the more I thought about, I realized that this is my favorite of the band’s albums. I remember when it came out it seemed to reveal the meaninglessness of so much else that was on pop radio. Every time I hear it I’m still amazed at how effectively the arrangements and production serve the tunes and lyrics. Side A has the hits, but for me it really comes alive on side B. One Tree Hill and Exit are favorites.

You’re Living All Over Me, Dinosaur Jr.
This record was a Road to Damascus moment for me. You know that great footage of Keith Moon's drums exploding? That's what this record sounds like from beginning to end. I mean, these guys were just pummeling their instruments, the songs were roaring, tempo-shifting masterpieces, and the record sounded like it had been mixed through a Speak n’ Spell. I loved that they didn’t scoff at or reject classic rock conventions as a lot of punks tended to, they embraced and reinterpreted those conventions through a kind of country-punk sensibility. God bless J Mascis for liberating the Big Guitar Solo from the metal ghetto.

Truth and Soul, Fishbone
Rock history is full of bands who never got the recognition they deserved, and Fishbone is one of the most egregiously overlooked. At the height of their powers in the late 80s and early 90s, Fishbone were probably the best live rock band in the world. This collection of songs comes the closest of any of their albums to capturing the eclectic, frenetic, always about to fly off the rails brilliance of their live shows. And it kicks off with a Curtis Mayfield cover.

Loveless, My Bloody Valentine
Among guitar-pop aficionados, this album is kind of a secret handshake. It’s rare that I meet someone who knows it for whom it isn’t a favorite. Gorgeous, lush vocals buried underneath stacks of surging and swooning guitars. An unparalleled achievement in the craft of recording, and a truly sublime work of art. I treasure this album so much that I should probably buy a few more copies to stash in secret locations around the country, just in case.

Mister Trend's Top 10 Rock Albums

Here's my list. As Erik Mentioned, this could shift from time to time, but the main thing for me is, none of these has one "filler" track on them. My youth may also lead to a bit of scorn, but I defend every one of these choices with no regrets.

1. Sonic Youth – “Daydream Nation” – I don’t know what I can say about this that I haven’t said in public 1000s of times before. There are many albums out there that have great tracks, start to finish, but there is absolutely nothing like this one. The great, noise-hook chime of “Teenage Riot,” Thurston’s snarl on “Silver Rocket,” the brilliant fuck-off of “The Grudge,” the careening, out-of-control guitars and wails of “Burning Cross the Bridge,” the three Lee tracks (part of what makes the album so great – three Lee Ranaldo songs,) the sheer beauty of “Candle.” And the masterstroke – closing with “Trilogy,” moving from speedy cacophony to slow-burn noise to Kim Gordon coming through the speakers to rip your ears out. Some partisans say Sister is their greatest pre-major label, but Daydream Nation is not only their best – it’s the best.

2. Funkadelic – “One Nation Under a Groove” – this was really hard b/tween this and Maggot Brain, and while I’ve said elsewhere that “Maggot Brain” is the greatest solo ever, I think this is a better album, top to bottom. The rollicking of “One Nation Under a Groove,” the understated beauty of “Groovallegiance”, the long guitar work of “Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The DooDoo Chasers)” [which hides some cutting political commentary behind its scatalogical title, one of Funkadelic’s masterful ways to be critical of society, the government, racism), the funk of “Cholly (Funk Get Ready to Roll)…it’s all just a masterful rock album, start to finish. And “Who Says A Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?!” hit directly upon the issue at hand – funk was as much rock as everything else, and the tune backs that up.

3. Bob Dylan – “Bringing It All Back Home” – This may not be Dylan’s best album. But it’s my favorite (and quite frankly, I think you can make a strong argument for it in the “Highway 61 Revisited”/“Blonde on Blonde”/“Blood on the Tracks” debate). I love the variation from his then-new shift to more rocking material like “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Maggie’s Farm,” while still hanging on to a bit of his earlier work with “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”, as well as political-charged metaphors of “Gates of Eden.” And I absolutely love the zaniness that is the second-take (with the laughter from the prank the studio band played on him on the first take included) of “Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream”.

4. Dinosaur Jr. – “You’re Living All Over Me” – while they certainly aren’t hurting in the reputation department (certainly not as forgotten as Hüsker Dü), I never understood why Dinosaur Jr. didn’t become as mythically great to later generations as the Pixies did. The sheer force of this album – from opener “Tiny Fury Things” to the tempo-change of “Sludgefeast,” from the classic melody shifts of “The Lung” to the paranoia and fear of “Lose,” this album delivered 10 unbelievable songs that sound as advanced and radical today as they did 20 years ago. It’s even more impressive in that it was only the band’s second full-length. And the sheer volume of the album – Spinal Tap talked about turning it up to 11. I think J. Mascis and Lou Barlow and Murph did it. This may be the second-best album of the often-underrated, often-overlooked 80s underground scene.

5. Neil Young – “On the Beach” – To me, in some ways this is even more depressing than “Tonight’s the Night.” That album was recorded in a drunken stupor after the death of XXXXX, and the haunting immediacy of his death was felt on that album. However, on “On the Beach,” Young had had even more time to think about things, and his depression may have sunk in even further, leaving him feeling disgusted with his own life (“Vampire Blues”), isolated (“On the Beach”) and resigned to futility in the world (the brilliant criticism of himself and others in album-closer “Ambulance Blues”). Plus, he may have written the greatest and least-cheesey criticism of life in California in “Revolution Blues”. Often overlooked for “Tonight’s the Night,” I can’t find a better album by Young than this one.

6. The Breeders – “Last Splash” – It’s unfortunate that “Cannonball” became so tied to the grunge period, simply because the Breeders end up as one of the numerous grunge-one-hit-wonders in the narrative. However, this album was as original as anything coming out in the first half of the 90s, and showed a lot more variation than its grunge siblings. Everybody knows Cannonball, but there are so many other tracks people should know – the sheer “summer-is-here” joy of “Saints,” the ferocity of “I Just Wanna Get Along,” the banjo (yes, banjo) beauty of “Drivin’ on 9” – nobody else in the early 90s showed themselves not only so willing to try different sounds, but so wonderful in their endeavors. And, like Dinosaur Jr., all this on only their second album. Who knows what would have happened if heroin hadn’t derailed Kim and Kelly Deal in the mid-90s.

7. Pixies – “Surfer Rosa” – It is so hard to pick between this and “Doolittle” for me, but I think the fact that this still sounds as twisted as a pig’s tail now gives it the edge – as if Doolittle is the mildly-less-noisy (emphasis on “mildly”) cousin of “Surfer Rosa.” “Where Is My Mind”, “Broken Face,” “Gigantic,” “Brick Is Red,”….and so much more. And the sheer drugged, speed-burnout of “Vamos”. There has never been anything like the combo of Black Francis’s yelp, Joey Santiago’s guitar matching it, all while Kim Deal and David Lovering push it along with their grinding rhythm section.

8. Bruce Springsteen – “Nebraska” – To me one of the most haunted and haunting albums out there. Lots of people have commented on the blue-collar nature of Springsteen’s lyrics, but they were never as stark, before or after, as they were here. I still consider it rock - it's just rock stripped to its rawest. From the depressed longing of the title track to the jail-narrative of “Johnny 99” to the separation of friends on “Highway Patrolman” to the desperate plea of “Reason to Believe.” Doing this all as demos (just Bruce and his accoustic guitar in the basement on most tracks) was the masterstroke. Lyrics aren’t generally that important to me, but the lyrics here are some of the strongest on any album ever, and the music fits them perfectly.

9. Neutral Milk Hotel – “In the Aeroplane over the Sea” – Much is made about the “newness” of indie rock in the market and magazines, but this album is 9 years old, and is still the best the “indie rock” scene has ever produced. You know you’re in for something different when Jeff Mangum starts by singing, “When you were young you were the king of carrot-flowers,” but the sheer effervescence and conviction in his voice makes it sound as sincere as anything else out there. His voice, surrounded by the horns, accoustic and electric guitars, driven by beautiful melodies, makes Neutral Milk Hotel greater than the sum of their parts, as evidenced by tracks like “King of Carrot Flowers” (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2), “Oh Comely,” “Holland, 1945,” and “Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2”. Like any list like this, there isn’t a single misstep on the album, and Mangum & co. gave a refreshing look on rock in the 90s in the wake of grunge.

10. The Who – “Who’s Next” – I’ve always been a Who guy in the “Who/Led Zepplin” debate (though I admit readily that at least Page and Plant and Jones had the decency to hang up the band after the drummer died). However, some of their work could be spotty, but not this one. As I said when Erik did his list, this is, to me, the greatest “straight-up” rock album ever. And I’m a purist – give me “Baba O’Reilly,” “Bargain,” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Also, while most “re-issued with bonus tracks” albums are garbage, the outtakes from this session are ungodly-good too (especially “Baby Don’t You Do It” and “I Don’t Even Know Myself”). Nobody ever sounded like Townsend/Daltrey/Entwhistle/Moon, and this is them at their best.

Lyrad's Top 10 Rock Albums

Well, here's my list. There's at least one metal hater on this blog who will likely scoff at half my choices, but so be it:

1. T. Rex: The Slider—Although I’ve already discussed The Slider in my Unsung Giants series, I will say again that this is the best album from one of rock’s greatest bands. Their pinnacle financially and creatively, it features some of the most playfully absurd lyrics I’ve ever heard. The album is a ton of fun from beginning to end, all the way to Bolan’s love song to Bolan: “Main Man.”

2. Tom Waits: Rain Dogs—Before Rain Dogs, I’d never have called a Tom Waits album “rock”, but this album completed the change that started with Swordfishtrombones which he’d seldom look back from since. Not a lot of piano blues here, but a lot of minimally orchestrated hard traveling songs featuring the great Marc Ribot and was, in fact, the first album in which I realized that man’s greatness. If there’s a downside to this album, it’s Downtown Train, but that’s Rod Stewart’s fault…fuck you Rod Stewart.

3. The Clash: London Calling—The Clash broke the mold of punk music. There is no band in the genre before or since with the wealth of influences and the ability to meld all of them into their own style. My personal favorite is “Lost in the Supermarket,” which starts with some very fast drumming to go into an extremely airy vocal line that is a satire in the same vein as George Romero’s great Dawn of the Dead.

4. The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St—If the Stones sounded like this every album, I’d own them all. But they don’t, and it’s pretty much this and Sticky Fingers for me. I love, once again, the variation in style that all still sounds like the Stones. Mick Jagger is at his most restrained, and he’d reach this kind of strength again. “Sweet Virginia” to “Torn and Frayed” is maybe the best one-two punch for me in the history of rock.

5. Sepultura: Roots—Simply put, this is the best hardcore album ever produced. But it’s a lot more than. It is the strongest evidence that metal is a rhythmic form rather than a melodic one. The ultra down-tuned guitars become a drone that underlies the complex beats of Max Cavalera on the kit, Carlinhos Brown on various percussion, and field recordings of the Xavantes tribe.

6. Neurosis: Enemy of the Sun—Where much of metal wallows in the gloom and doom of death, Neurosis instead celebrates the power and fury of the universe. The visceral power of the album is offset at the end by “Cleanse,” a thirty minute, trance-inducing combination of percussion, didgeridoo, and field recordings is an amazingly chilling finish to an amazing album.

7. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation—If anybody wants to make me feel like I’m 16 again, play me the first few bars of “Teenage Riot” and I’m on my way to Icky’s Teahouse on 5th and Blair to see Bikini Kill with 300 other people in a venue that, legally, should only hold 50. This is the pinnacle of a great band’s great career.

8. Faith No More: Angel Dust—Faith No More is maybe my favorite rock band of all time, and I am still in love with what singer Mike Patton does today. This album is the reason. Upbeat, bizarre, and hilarious all the way to the cover of John Barry’s theme to Midnight Cowboy. At the point this came out, I had no idea that the ideas of rock music could be stretched so broad.

9. Guns ‘n’ Roses: Appetite for Destruction—There is no argument that this is the best hard rock album released in the 1980s and, exactly 20 years now since its release, there is still no album that more makes me want to jump on the table and rock out to some air guitar. Appetite single-handedly destroyed Glam Rock.2 Although it took a few years for it to completely fizzle, Axl deserves all our thanks.

10. The Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat—Finally, the album that has defined my rock n’ roll esthetic. In 1967, the Beatles were experimenting with acid and sitars, which is cute and all, but Lou Reed, et al, were full blown junkies playing the dirtiest, loudest music ever produced. This is the New York underground on a sheet of vinyl, highly intelligent but highly screwed up at the same time.

Concert Review: Alejandro Escovedo and Drive-By Truckers, March 4, 2007, Lensic Theatre, Santa Fe, NM

I usually avoid Santa Fe at all costs, but a show featuring both Escovedo and the Truckers is something that I must attend.

I forgot about beautiful and intimate the Lensic is. It may not be the best venue for this kind of show because it is seated and these aren't bands to sit and watch. But it is a great theatre.

Anyway, Escovedo led off. I was led to believe that this entire show would be acoustic, as the Truckers set was. But no, Escovedo was fully electric. Like the other 2 times I've seen him, it was just amazing. Escovedo's songs are so beautiful and kick-ass at the same time. This is perhaps the only person in rock and roll who can do amazing covers of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "Beast of Burden" in the same show. For the most part, Escovedo's set consisted of his standard songs. He played "Castanets," "Rosalie," "I Was Drunk," "Everybody Loves Me," and several other standards. I do wish he'd play some of his more obscure tunes a bit more. The first time I saw him, he played a long show and pulled out tunes like "Crooked Frame," which was just great. Of course, when you only have an hour, it's hard to go too deep into the catalog. But even so, every song was just really well-played.

One thing that makes Escovedo so wonderful to see live is his great band. In particular, Brian Standefer on cello is a particular delight. Standefer, a native of Albuquerque, shows why the cello should be central to rock music. No instrument can provide as much atmosphere, while rocking hard at the same time. I wonder why cello isn't used more. I guess it's because you have to sit while playing it, which isn't very rock and roll. But it adds so much to the music. Escovedo was one of the first bands to feature the cello in the mid 90s, and not too many have picked up on it since. I've seen a couple of bands with cellos, usually opening acts that I can't remember, but I've never seen it used and thought that it shouldn't be there.

After an hour, Escovedo was over. Like every time I see Escovedo, I felt like my head had been blown off with awesomeness. And to think that the Truckers were coming up was kind of hard to wrap my mind around.

The Truckers are doing a different kind of tour this time. Called "The Dirt Underneath," they are playing acoustic shows which highlight the great songs they do and not so much the power chords that draw many of their fans to them. It was a little weird seeing the Truckers for the first time without Jason Isbell, who just left the band. Ultimately, him not being there didn't make that much of a difference in the overall quality of the show, but I sure would like to see songs like "Goddamn Lonely Love," "Sink Hole," "Outfit," and "Decoration Day" played acoustic. Plus, there was an empty chair next to Patterson Hood. That chair was for when the steel player, John Neff, moved to play regular guitar, but it seemed like an empty chair of mourning. Or that's how I felt about it.

On the other hand, the Truckers currently have keyboard legend Spooner Oldham playing with them. A stalwart of the Muscle Shoals sound, Oldham played on many legendary soul recordings in the 60s and moved on to record with Dylan, Neil Young, and many others. At times, it was clear that they were still working Oldham into the band and particularly on louder songs, his work got a bit lost. But on the quieter songs, he added an incredible amount of atmosphere to the music. It was an honor to see him play.

The acoustic thing worked pretty well. It particularly is great on Patterson Hood's songs. Hood's voice is a bit thin and in the electric show it's hard to hear the words over the loud music. That wasn't such an issue with acoustic, though even when they played loudly here, sometimes it was a bit hard to make out. I don't know that I'd want to see them play acoustic every time I saw them. Hell, I love the rockin' part of that band as much as anyone. But it was quite a treat last night.

While the Truckers played a lot of past songs, they also mixed in a ton of new ones. These sound good. I would guess they played 6-7 new songs and probably every one of them is better than most of the songs off the last album. It's hard to comment too much on new songs after hearing them once, but both Hood and Mike Cooley's new material seemed very good. Some of the songs are really intense, others kind of downers, but that's the band for you. Interestingly, they only played one song off A Blessing and a Curse, the last album. That was Cooley's "Gravity's Gone" which was clearly the album's best tune (though I think his "Space City" is an underrated gem). Perhaps they are looking at that work as kind of failure and are moving on from it. Incidentally, Escovedo may kind of be doing the same thing as he only played 2 songs from his last album, which also came in a bit below expectations.

As for the songs I knew, they played several you might expect--"Carl Perkins' Cadillac," "Women Without Whiskey," "The Sands of Iwo Jima." But they also pulled in a couple I did not expect, such as "Heathens" and "Sounds Better in the Song," These last two I never got into so much on the album, but they worked great in this acoustic set. The best was the end. When Cooley went with "Get On The Plane" during the encore, I thought that this was a great way to end the show. But then Hood followed with "Angels and Fuselage," the last song off their classic album Southern Rock Opera. It works great in the acoustic setting, it's a hell of a song, and was totally riveting live. That's a way to end a show.

I don't really know how I could see a better night of music. I suppose Isbell being there or the show being electric might have been better. Really the only way to improve though would have been to add Dave Alvin to the bill and make it an all-day affair.

Kit Carson and Western History

I was more than a bit shocked by these admissions on the progressive side of the blogosphere that people didn't know who Kit Carson was. In some of the various posts relating to this, quite a few people in comments admit that they don't know who he is either.

This is disturbing to me on multiple levels. One thing I find remarkable about it all is that the progressive side of the blogosphere has such great knowledge of American history. These are people who can debate the intricacies of Reconstruction policy or the details on American legal history or the Great Society or nearly everything else. But in thinking about all this, I realized that none of these increasingly important thinkers ever make western history central to their larger narratives of American history.

Why is this? Have we western historians not done a good job in recent years demonstrating that our stories are central to any narrative of American history? I really wonder. In the late 1980s and 1990s, western history hit a high point. 4 of its leading scholars won MacArthur Grants. Western history books were taught in all sorts of courses that did not center on the west. But by the late 1990s, it was clear that this upswing had hit its high point. When I was taking western history graduate seminars in the late 90s and early part of this decade, the focus was almost exclusively on the debates of the New Western History, and while occasionally newer works were read, it was hard to see what overarching narrative they were pushing.

Western history is as important to understanding American history as African-American history, legal history, political history, gender history, or any of the subfields that are more generally studied today. I think the importance of the Native American experience goes without saying. If there is one subfield within western history that remains central to everyone's narratives of American history, it's this. But also, the majority of Chicano history in the United States is in the American West. Environmental history tells many of its most vital stories in the West. The history of extractive industry is largely western--mining, lumber, cattle, ranching, etc. Moreover, what examinations of western history provide is a view into the rawest of American history. It is in the American West where many of the pat cliches of American history fall by the wayside and American greed is seen at its fullest. At the same time, the American West has produced far more than its share of myths that have shaped certain ideas about American identity that are worth studying.

I'm going to just provide a brief list of 9 books that I think are key for any understanding of western history. You can disagree with these and argue for others, but I stand by these selections.

1. Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest. This is actually a bit complicated, since Limerick has sold out hard. In fact, she's sold out as hard as one can. She has moved from this amazing work to attacking Bill Moyers in the press after he went after James Watt. Why? She is friends with Watt now!!! Whoa. But this 1987 work shows the centrality of racial prejudice and environmental exploitation in American history and is a must read for anyone serious about making western history part of an overarching progressive narrative.

2. William Cronon, Nature's Metropolis. Arguably one of the 10 best books I've ever read. Cronon shows how the West became part of an overall American capitalist nation by examining how products came and went from Chicago to its surrounding hinterlands. It's basically applicable in one way or another to any American city. It does a lot of other amazing things too, particularly relating to the abstraction of the environment into products. It's just great.

3. Richard White, The Middle Ground. Some would include his western textbook, It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own," but I find that less satisfying that The Middle Ground. About the Ohio Valley when it was the American West, it shows how Native Americans were able to make a go of it with the British and French but the Americans with their greed and rapacious desire for land completely crushed these civilizations after the American Revolution. A first rate book and very depressing.

4. Donald Worster, Rivers of Empire. Many people have read a similar book, Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert. Both books deal with the creation of water empires in the American West. Reisner's is a better read but Worster places the American water empire in a broader theoretical context. Some have questioned his use of theory, but in any case, it shows how undemocratic the American West has been in order to control water. He also shows the precarious state of the West and how no society has been able to control water and expand its civilization forever. Scary.

The first 4 are sort of classics of the New Western History that made the American West so central to narratives of American history in the 80s and early 90s. The last 6 are also highly recommended.

5. Gunther Peck, Reinventing Free Labor--an excellent look at environmental and labor history in the West and how different immigrant groups struggled to survive here.

6. Karl Jacoby, Crimes Against Nature--a superb look at how our National Parks were carved out of human-occupied areas and how narratives became constructed about these places that they were somehow "natural" and not affected by humans, when in fact these are as human-constructed of places as any city.

7. Sarah Deutsch, No Separate Refuge--a great book about how Hispanos of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado found their lives thrown upside down by the onslaught of American capitalism. It also provides an excellent gendered analysis of these issues.

8. Susan Johnson, Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush--one of the best books I've ever read on western history. Johnson demonstrates the complexities of life in the gold fields, the level of exploitation and racism, environmental damage, and even levels of homosexuality. You can't ask for more from a book.

9. Mike Davis, City of Quartz. Davis is just a great writer. Prolific as hell too. This is a first rate book about class, race, and ecology in Los Angeles. A great book that discusses what I would argue are a lot of core themes in western history and their effects on the present. I'd also recommend Ecology of Fear, also about LA. Also, his Late Victorian Holocausts is a scary book about how imperialist policies created famine in the developing world.

Vodka

Scott is right about the disturbing replacement of gin in martinis for vodka. In fact, a martini with vodka is not a martini, as Scott points out.

I'd go a bit farther though and lament the domination of vodka for my generation's mixed drinks. Frankly, when drinking hard alcohol, one should have to be aware of the existence of alcohol. Otherwise, we are 15 and drinking wine coolers.

I have no particular problem with the occasional vodka drink, but seriously, the preponderance of vodka bugs me an awful lot. Particularly because it has come largely at the expense of gin, the greatest alcohol ever invented.

Also, the whole martini phenomena, particularly when had with vodka, smacks of the worst kind of hipster pretentiousness.

Historical Image of the Day

Ella Baker

Stop the Madness

I link to this otherwise very good profile of Michael Chabon and his new book to ask, nay beg, for a moratorium on the use of "tucking into" when referring to a meal. This should only ever be used if one is using a steak or pancake for a blanket.

Affordable Meds in Brazil

While we hear much of the gouging of drug prices in the States (see: the manifold stories of the elderly going to Canada or Mexico to get their medicines), the U.S. isn't alone. American drug companies charge absurd amounts of money throughout the world in an effort to gouge consumers. Which is why it's great news that Brazil has recently overridden the patent of Merck's AIDS drug. As the article points out, instead of having to spend 580 dollars (about 1100 reais, or almost three minimum wages) a year on drugs, AIDS victims now can buy their medicine from an Indian pharmaceutical company for $170. This is doubly good for the government, because it will be saving $237 million that it can put elsewhere up until the contract expires (2012), and, perhaps more importantly, it shows a willingness to not be bullied by the fear of trade retaliation from the U.S. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the recent dependency of the U.S. on Brazil to push its ethanol program didn't embolden Brazil on this, but there's no real way of knowing right now. Still, it's good to see Brazil bucking the will of the greed of pharmaceutical companies and turning to cheaper-yet-viable options. If only the U.S. could do the same...

Lyrad's Random 10

I must first thank John Zorn's Tzadik label for introducing me to Serge Gainsbourg through their Great Jewish Music series, which opened my eyes to a then to me unknown portion of filthy pop music.

That said, Gainsbourg was a force in European pop music for forty years until his death in 1991, churning out hundreds of excellent songs that broke taboo after taboo. The subject matter is decidedly, purposefully transgressive, something which I greatly appreciate (see his track "Lemon Incest," sung as a duet with his daughter Charlotte, now a fairly successful actress). "Qui est 'in' qui est 'out,'" first appeared on his 1968 album Initials B.B. which featured his then lover Brigitte Bardot (he also made a duet album with another girlfriend, Jane Birkin, in which they recorded his only American charting hit, "Je t'aime...moi non plus" and a full album with his daughter, featuring the above mentioned "Lemon Incest").

1. Serge Gainsbourg--Qui est "in" qui est "out"
2. Sepultura--Dusted
3. Charlie Barnett--Take My Word
4. The Five Harmaniacs--It Takes a Good Woman (to Keep a Good Man at Home)
5. John Hatcher--Grub Springs
6. The Pixies--Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons
7. John Zorn--Midnight Streets (from The Bribe)
8. T. Rex--Electric Slim and the Factory Hen
9. Stevie Ray Vaughan--Ain't Gone 'n Give up on Love
10. Plastic Noise Experience--String of Ice

Mister Trend's Random 10

I came home from my trip to Argentina, which was a great time with great food (more posts soon) to find out they had also cut off my light (not a great time), thus allowing me to spend my first post-honeymoon night as a married man at my mother-in-law's place. Additionally, I am now involved in a court action against Brazil's light company (also more posts soon). However, I (temporarily, at least) have my power back, so here's the random 10.

1. "Ela disse-me assim" - Maria Bethânia
2. Bachiana Brasileira No. 6 for Flute and Bassoon - Fantasia - Heitor Villa-Lobos
3. "Lives" - Modest Mouse
4. "Two Hearts Beat as One" - U2
5. "Let the Good Times Roll" - Ray Charles
6. "My Rough and Rowdy Ways" - Jimmie Rodgers
7. "Come on you Slags" - Aphex Twin
8. "She Is Suffering" - Manic Street Preachers
9. "Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning" - A Silver Mt. Zion
10. "Knives Out" - Radiohead

Historical Image of the Day

Americans biking in the wilderness, 1890

Erik's Random 10

Truth be told, I've just started listening to a lot of Dizzy Gillespie lately. In fact, it's only been in the last year that I've began fully indulging in the classic players of jazz. I've been a fan of mid-60s to the present jazz, particularly the more experimental stuff for the last decade or more, but, with a limited budget, I've not invested in these classics.

Related to this, I wonder why more people don't listen to Gillespie today. The jazz canon is kind of weird. For hard-core jazz fans, Gillespie is core. But for a lot of people who are getting into jazz but also buy in a lot of other genres, Gillespie gets left behind. So does Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, even Ornette Coleman. It's all about the Miles and Coltrane. Why is that? Especially Coltrane. Miles is great beyond words, at least until the 1970s. And I recognize that John Coltrane is a key person in the history of jazz and he made some great music. But is his work really better than that of Ellington? Armstrong? Rollins? No, I don't think so. Yet, Coltrane, at some undetermined point, became the first person the jazz novice turns to. When did this start? And why?

1. Dizzy Gillespie, Bye Bye Blues
2. The Grateful Dead, Candyland/Cumberland Blues
3. John Prine, Paradise
4. The Allen Brothers, Midnight Mama
5. Byron Berline, Ragtime Annie
6. Willie Nelson, Bloody Mary Morning
7. Jose Antonio Ramos w/Pancho Amat, De Isla La Isla
8. The Who, Behind Blue Eyes
9. Joe Ely, Jericho (Your Walls Must Come Tumbling Down)
10. Tommy Jarrell, Dance All Night With A Bottle In Your Hand

Historical Image of the Day

Aldo Leopold

Catron County Scares Me

OK, so every state has its redneck counties. California has them, New York has them, Massachusetts has them. But of course we focus on particular places where scary white people live. These rednecks usually get split into 2 camps--the southern racist kind and the western militia kind. The western militia style are said to live in the northern Rockies and particularly in northern Idaho. And there are a lot of these people up there. Randy Weaver lived there. Mark Fuhrman moved there after the OJ trial.

But I'll take southwestern New Mexico's Catron County and put it up against anything Idaho can throw at us. These are some of the most anti-government radicals you will find anywhere. For a decade now, they have been vigorously fighting the federal government's attempt to reintroduce wolves into the Southwest. In the northern Rockies, wolf reintroductions have been a tremendous success, with wolves spreading throughout the region, even with killings of packs that take out too much livestock.

But it's been a total disaster in New Mexico and Arizona because ranchers down there want all the wolves there. Catron County and surrounding areas still believe it is 1880 and that wolves are there to eat your children. Literally. I have heard these arguments made by the wife in a ranching family with my own ears.

Last week, a female wolf was released in Catron County. Local residents are already claiming that the wolf killed 2 cows and they want it dead. They are also threatening to do it themselves, a federal crime, if the government doesn't take care of it.

Now it is possible that the wolf did kill these cows. That's what wolves do after all. And cattle are so stupid that wolves see them as easy pickings. But these aren't cows hanging out behind your yard. These cattle are grazing on Forest Service land. And there are lots of reasons cows die out there. Just because a cow dies, doesn't mean that it was taken out by a wolf.

On the other hand, let's just say the wolf ate these cows. Who cares? There is no, and I mean absolutely ZERO, economic future in ranching these forests. Ranchers are trying to get out all over the place. Globalization and factory farms have completely undermined these ranchers. They are hanging on for cultural reasons more than any. In fact, so many ranchers are looking to get out that environmental organizations are offering to buy their grazing permits and retiring them in order to get cattle out of the forests. This has infuriated western rancher's associations, which are trying to get legislation passed making this illegal, and of course taking the one financial option many ranchers have away from them.

So if the wolf killed the cattle, good. The cattle don't belong there anyway. The wolves do. If ranching was a legitimate economic option in these places, that might be different, but it's not. It's too bad these ranchers are losing their culture and traditions, but I don't see how it's the government's responsibility to prop these people up, particularly at the cost of undermining forest ecosystems, of which the wolf is a vital part.

Ethanol

Ilan Goldenberg is absolutely right. Ethanol is no solution to climate change or getting us off foreign oil supplies and the experiment needs to stop now. Goldberg points us to a report showing that to get enough ethanol to fill one tank of an SUV, a person could live for a year. For one tank. Plus, recent studies have shown that the improvement on climate change emissions over gasoline are marginal at best and that widespread burning of ethanol may cause more air pollution.

Basically, ethanol is not a tenable idea. The price of corn has skyrocketed because of it, making it harder for cultures of corn-based poor people to pay for food. And even if we used all of our corn to make ethanol, it would add up to 12% of our yearly gasoline use.

Historical Image of the Day

Arnold, Nebraska, 1906

Ten Favorite Rock Albums

I have no idea why I was thinking of this, but I decided to jot down my ten favorite rock albums. If you ask me this question tomorrow, the list will be different. Also, I can't really say these are the 10 Best Albums Ever, which is how these things are often constructed.

In a fairly random order from 10 to 1.

10. King Crimson, Red. Now, I could be made fun of for this. And God knows King Crimson made some horrible albums (shall we start with Lizard, anyone?) but they also have a few gems. A recent listening to Red made me remember how kick ass this is.

9. Talking Heads, Remain in Light. I'm not sure what I can say about this album that hasn't already been said. For me, it's their best work, though I know others disagree.

8. Neil Young, Tonight's The Night. This album rarely appears as people's favorite Young album. But I think it's a virtually flawless work. I love a lot of his work, including the new Live at Massey Hall album. But this is great. And "Albuquerque" may be the best song ever written about New Mexico.

7. Drive By Truckers, Decoration Day. It's a really hard call between Decoration Day and The Dirty South. They're both great and really I find them fairly interchangeable. While I think The Dirty South is more consistent, Decoration Day's highs are higher. So that's what we're going with. A first rate album that benefits from the addition of the now departed Jason Isbell from the band.

6. Alejandro Escovedo, A Man Under the Influence. Escovedo's best work. Frankly, I find most of his albums slightly less than what they should be. But A Man Under the Influence is virtually perfect. Recorded just before he nearly died, it captures a veteran rocker at his height. And "Castanets" is one of the best songs ever while "Wave" and "Rosalie" are amazing works about immigration.

5. Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life. It's hard to choose just one great Stevie album. But Songs in the Key of Life, and particularly the first disc, is just mindblowingly great. Most of his albums, even the greatest ones, have a song or two that I don't care for much. Not here.

4. The Band, Music from Big Pink. I always see The Band as one of the great tragedies of rock and roll. Those first two albums are so transcedent. But for guys who had toured forever, even with Dylan, they really couldn't deal with stardom. Everyone stopped writing except for Robertson, the songs became lesser versions of previous songs, the drug use got out of control, and the music went to shit. Plus, they couldn't let loose live. But Music from Big Pink--well, wow! I can see why this blew everyone's mind in 1968. The second, self-titled, album is equally good, but I like these songs just a little better, particularly those sung by Richard Manuel, whose voice is just so, so sad. Much like his tragic life.

3. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. His greatest album. And it's not even really that close. I wish "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" wasn't on the album. It's a fine enough song but doesn't really fit here. It also doesn't make a damn bit of sense. But every other song pushes the overall narrative of this album forward. Again, what can I say that hasn't already been said.

2. The Who, Who's Next. I don't really go for the big English acts of the 60s and 70s so much. I mean, they're all pretty good I guess. But I can't get that excited over a Zeppelin, Cream, or Floyd album much these days. It's the same for The Who, except for Who's Next, which is freaking fantastic. My favorite song is "My Wife," sung by John Entwhistle. Everytime I hear it, it makes me mad that Daltrey and Townsend decided to play the night after he died.

1. Marvin Gaye, What's Going On. One of the best albums ever in any genre. There is literally nothing wrong with this album. It's perfect. Of course, Barry Gordy didn't want to record it because it was actually about something. But Gaye did it anyway. Not only the best rock album, but probably the best soul album and certainly the best political album ever made.

Greatest DVD Release Ever

Well, maybe that's an overstatement, but this new 2 disc set of silent baseball footage and fictional film looks pretty amazing. Dave Kehr describes it as "a thinly disguised attempt to smuggle some lesser-known early films onto the DVD market." Fine by me. If a few baseball fans watch these films and realize how cool silent film is, great.

As for me, I'm moving the 1st disc up to #1 on my Netflix list.

Don't Be A Jerk When Boarding a Plane for London

Writer Peter Kurth relays the harrowing tale of his ill-fated flight to London in which, after acting like a complete American jerk, was incarcerated in London's Wormwood Scrubs on charges of endangerment (and various other vagueries). It's both a sad and enfuriating story told mainly in excerpts from a diary he kept during his two month stay, one where an openly gay, HIV-positive man is placed among some of London's worst criminals for having a nearly expired passport, having a father who converted to Islam, and the aforementioned jerkery. Very scary stuff....

A New Job

Remarkably, Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas has decided to hire me to teach environmental history for the next 1-2 years. Given this school's high reputation, the fact that the two people I know who went there absolutely loved the place, and that it is 25 miles from Austin, I'd say this is a mighty fine first job.

Of course, I'll be moving to Texas this summer, which is of course the best time to do it weather wise...

And I also now get to find out which are more annoying, Cowboys fans or Longhorns fans.

Historical Image of the Day

Dred Scott

The 2007 NFL Draft

I love the NFL draft. Since I enjoy football far, far more than any other sport, the draft is a great gift during the off-season to get me a little primed for the coming year. Plus, it's the only time you get to see highlight footage of offensive linemen which, while may be some pretty dull footage for some, is fantastically enjoyable to yours truly. Anyway, just a few thoughts on the proceedings:

--Poor Calvin Johnson, who was definitely the best player in the draft. Unfortunately, he was drafted by the Lions who can't seem to comprehend the idea that taking players which your team needs is more important than taking players who are flashy. Matt Millen, listen close, because I shouldn't have to tell you this: football is a team sport, in which every position is important. Wide receivers are not the pinnacle of a football team. The upside of this pick is that, after Johnson's stature is ruined by two straight 4-12 seasons, Denver should be able to pick him up cheap.

--Best draft? The Cleveland Browns, hands down (there ya go Mr. Trend). I don't believe that they'll be a force in '07, but look forward to '08. Taking OT Joe Thomas at the third pick, and then shrewdly trading their way back into the first round to pull Brady Quinn is a masterstroke. Anybody who says they were crazy to not take Quinn at #3 is crazy. They wouldn't have Thomas had they squandered their first pick and they have Quinn anyway, so they obviously knew something others didn't. I just hope Romeo Crennel has the opportunity to see this through to the finish. Other honorable mentions include Dallas (unfortunately, although it will make me laugh to see a bunch of hopeful rookies disenfranchised by the wretch that is Wade Phillips), San Francisco (especially for LB Patrick Willis, who will make an impact a la Shawne Merriman, and New England (which has little to do with who they picked and more for being able to score Randy Moss for a 4th rounder).

--Worst draft? I'm torn between Tennessee (who may as well have not drafted at all) and the Eagles (who traded down with the division rival Cowboys). I guess I'm leaning toward Philly for the ludicrous move with Dallas to get into the second round to draft a 4th quarterback...ridiculous. Expect the downward trend of the Eagles to continue toward rivalling Washington for most wretched.

--Other draftees of note: the Saints pick up RB Antonio Pittman. Why? Many are saying it is because they are looking at a future without Deuce McAllister. These people are wrong. I truly believe they are hedging their bets with Reggie Bush. Maybe I am just a hater, but they guy did nothing last year and it remains to be seen whether he can play with the pros, or if he's just better than a bunch of 18 year old amateurs. Minnesota picks up Adrian Peterson, who is still an unknown commodity, much like Willis McGahee of a few years ago, who became viable. I think he'll be quite good with the Vikings, but I'm not convinced that the team will be any better. While the Raiders' pick of JaMarcus Russell and TE Zach Miller were both correct picks, they trade Randy Moss away. Now, with no receivers, they expect a quarterback with a cannon arm to succeed with no go-to target? No dice and I'm glad; I am afraid of a team with Russell to Moss, not Russell to whatever jerk they field in the same position.

--Denver's selections are a mixed bag for me. I'd question the choices more had Shanahan not had such an otherwise stellar off-season, and I've learned not to question his choices. But they gave away the farm to draft (Denton, TX native) Jarvis Moss. Don't get me wrong, they needed a DE (they got two), but they likely would have been able to get him anyway. With all their moves and drafts, they look to have one of the toughest defenses in the league (if they can get another top flight linebacker, they may well have the best).

--On a final note, I can't be more digusted with the issue of "character" in this draft. We always hear when somebody is a really nice guy or a huge criminal but, this time, there was more discussion of the players' character than ability. Listen, if I wanted to watch a bunch of nice guys playing sports, I'd watch the Mathalympics. I want to watch football, and the idea of being nice on the field means nothing to me. The real issue here is fear of Commissioner Roger Goodell and his apparant penchant for suspending players, which I find abhorable. No matter what Pacman Jones may have done, he's been convicted of nothing, but there's no outcry for the lack of justice. Will Goodell levy the same punishment on Michael Vick if he's implicated in this (admittedly, disgusting) dog fighting issue? Maybe, but if Tom Brady gets a DUI, I guarantee he'll get off scot free. I honestly fear that if Goodell continues on this hardline path, that there will be a strike, something we did not see for the entire career of Paul Tagliabue who, without unjust suspensions, Tagliabue turned the NFL into a true international organization. Goodell seems to be bent on the moral conservatism that has become a hallmark of our political system.