Books, video games and lots of music to sustain you in these trying times
Editor’s note: In the aftermath of the unfortunate yet completely understandable and responsible decision to scrap this year’s iteration of Big Ears, the BLANK staff was left grasping at straws for ideas of content that could replace the pre-festival coverage that typically graces our cover each March. It was Bill Foster who suggested that we write about some of our unheralded favorites – music, movies, books and other things that might fly under the radar of most folks – in order to provide our readers with touchstones for exploring new entertainment options during this protracted period of self-isolation. For the last entry in the Homebound series, I’m sharing some of what has prevented me from going (completely) crazy for the last month.
Music
New stuff
The first third of this year has been odd to say the least, but those four months also ushered in a wealth of wonderful new music, and I’ve been able to immerse myself in a lot of it during this semi-self-imposed exile from society. New albums by longtime favorites such as Destroyer, Califone, Tame Impala, Caribou, Thievery Corporation and Pantha du Prince are among those that have stood out the most. The pulsating tribal beats throughout the latter’s “Conference of Trees” are especially moving – both in a literal and a metaphorical sense.
However, I’m of the opinion that it’s the ladies who have made the biggest impact on music thus far this year. New releases from the following female artists are required essential listening for anyone wishing to compile a year-end list for 2020: Waxahatchee, Alice Boman, Soccer Mommy, Grimes, Anna Burch, Frances Quinlan, Torres, Agnes Obel and Katie Pruitt. “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” the first Fiona Apple record in eight years, is imminent, as well, and figures to be an excellent addition to the musician’s sparse yet gripping catalog.
Although we’ll be waiting a while for another Big Ears, you can satiate your more adventurous impulses in the interim with awesome new records by festival alumni such as Dan Deacon, Algiers and Clarice Jensen. The long-promised collaboration between guzheng master Wu Fei and banjo virtuoso Abigail Washburn dropped recently, too, and it is nothing short of remarkable. Sadly, Yves Tumor was a last-minute cancelation at last year’s iteration, but their psychedelic, rocking new album, a genre-defying mashup of disparate styles and influences, more than makes up it.
Post-rock gems
This exploratory genre rewards patience and deep listening – perfect for anyone confined to spending long hours indoors in solitude. Largely wordless yet emotionally resonant, this brand of music is characterized by its grandiose, sweeping beauty and cathartic, blissful releases of tension after minutes of gradual buildup. Often lengthy and fairly meandering, these compositions still generally remain focused on a singular point of reference. I consider this niche genus to be the thinking man’s choice for jammy material.
Perhaps no other band better exemplifies modern post-rock than Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Famously radical and politically active/outspoken, the Montreal collective’s material is starkly confrontational; nothing quite captures the bleak, post-apocalyptic feel of today’s weird reality than “F♯ A♯ ∞,” the group’s 1997 debut. Their most recent trio of albums is well worth checking out, too, but for my money, they hit their peak in 2000 with the stately, staggeringly great “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven.”
For something similar but maybe a bit more palatable, look into GY!BE’s Toronto counterparts Do Make Say Think. Less aggressive and peppier, this band’s output is jazzier and more pop-friendly, as well. Their fourth record, “Winter Hymn Country Hymn” is an uplifting foray into rural soundscapes, featuring guitar freak-outs and flecked with orchestral flair. (Splitting the difference somewhat between the two Canadian groups is Silver Mt. Zion, a punkish Godspeed offshoot that incorporated vocals into its later albums and that has boasted as many name variations as it has active lineups.)
Icelandic giants Sigur Rós have enjoyed a modicum of notoriety stateside for much of their 20-plus years together, having scored multiple soundtracks and their music appearing in several other films, TV shows and advertisements. But to get a true sense of their eminence requires concerted listens to their long plays. Begin with breakthrough “Ágætis byrjun” and continue from there until you’ve exhausted the discography. I guarantee that none of the material will leave you disappointed or wanting for more. There are vocals, but good luck trying to decipher them, as Jónsi Birgisson sings mainly in “Hopelandic,” an impressionistic language he created to suit the sound of each song.
Random listenables
The music of Jenny Hval defies both convention and categorization, but listening without interruption to one of the Norwegian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist’s albums is akin to awaking from a lucid dream and not being able to tell the difference between the two spheres of existence. Layering evocative spoken-word passages over electronic pop structures that range from gently pulsating to violently throbbing, the resulting product is always engrossing, usually beautiful and sometimes a little strange and/or scary, but it is unique and ideal for zoning out.
Kamasi Washington creates equally absorbing jazz music of mammoth proportions, as evidenced by the title of “The Epic,” his first widely available release from 2015. Once you let it sink its teeth into you, the freeform masterpiece will take hold and won’t let go for the duration of its nearly three-hour runtime. The length may make an active listen seem like a daunting task, but the album is so transfixing that the time passes by quickly and the endeavor feels effortless.
One more hefty chunk of audio for a period of time in which we have an abundance of it is “Murder Most Foul,” the new single from Bob Dylan. Clocking in at just shy of 17 minutes, the delicate piano-and-strings-based ballad addresses the Kennedy assassination and allows the legendary performer to wax poetic about that tragic event – as well as various other aspects of American culture both past and present – as only he can. Devastating listeners with one incisive turn of phrase after another, it is an exceptional, incredibly touching piece of art that deservedly earned Dylan the first No. 1 hit of his long and storied career.
Other media
Knoxville historian and author Jack Neely. Photo courtesy of Knox County Public Library.
Books
Given the economic downturn as a result of COVID-19, now might be a good time to celebrate civic pride by discovering or revisiting some of Knoxville’s finest literary works. Cormac McCarthy is arguably East Tennessee’s most brilliant writer, and “Suttree” is inarguably one of the Scruffy City’s most beloved novels. Because it is set mainly in and around downtown, it’s a fun exercise to hunt down on a map which existing buildings served as haunts for the fictional titular character and his cast of whiskey-soaked and tobacco-stained cohorts as you read about their escapades.
The same can be done with James Agee’s “A Death in the Family,” which also takes place in and around the author’s hometown. Bonus points for taking an urban hike (while maintaining proper social distancing habits, of course) to see if you can identify the specific locales described in each book. Along the way, you might spot some local businesses still open in limited capacities that could use your patronage, as well as a few that will be in need of brisk sales once everything gets back to (whatever will count as being) normal.
Finally, you can explore Knoxville further by brushing up on the collected works of foremost local historian Jack Neely, who wrote a plethora of stories about various aspects of the city – including quite a lot about some of its more sordid affairs – that were published in two “Secret History” volumes. He has written a few other standalone books, as well, most notably one about Market Square and another about the Tennessee Theatre.
Video games
With its realistic gameplay and a host of intangible elements that combine for an immersive and enjoyable gaming experience, FIFA 20 (or any of the other editions after 2016, when the latest engine was introduced) is the closest thing to the actual beautiful game that I’ve played digitally. And with leagues across the globe currently shut down, it’s really all we soccer fans have at the moment to even come close to fulfilling our footy fix. Thank goodness it delivers so well.
I’ve been a fan of this EA Sports franchise since the last millennium. Like a lot of people do with Madden (or did with the NCAA football games when they were still being produced), I eagerly await each new version to see what tweaks have been made to improve upon previous editions. This year’s title, which may be the best one yet, offers enough options to satisfy just about everyone’s appetite for the game. The new Volta mode, which allows users to progress through a narrative revolving around street soccer, is different from anything that’s preceded it; it also is extremely entertaining.
The mobile market is saturated with tons of freemium games of varying quality, but continually blowing money on even the best of them seems like a really bad idea in the midst of a pandemic-induced recession. Games like Woody Puzzle and Wordscapes, which feature easy gameplay, minimal ad interruptions and few if any at-cost upgrades, offer a welcome reprieve from those kinds of apps.
The “wooden” interface of the former is graphically basic yet oddly comforting. (I’m guessing it probably has something to do with childhood development and blocks.) I’ve found in recent weeks that playing it provides zen-like relaxation benefits, even if it’s when I’m simultaneously suffering through the most combative of political debates or the most harrowing of press briefings.
Nature lovers will appreciate the stunning photographs adorning the background of the latter game. Language aficionados will enjoy hours of fun spent creating words from random letters, and puzzle fiends will like how those words specifically fit into the crossword-like displays. Neither game requires users to possess a competitive edge, really; both simply offer mildly challenging problem-solving exercises for folks of all ages.
