I spent most of last week listening to new music CDs. The two I enjoyed the most are Jessie Ware’s That Feels Good! and Lana Del Rey’s There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.

As the review in the Wall Street Journal says: “The title track on Jessie Ware’s That Feels Good! launches with a clear statement of purpose as friends of Ms. Ware, including Kylie Minogue and Róisín Murphy, whisper the titular phrase repeatedly just before the irresistible beat kicks in. Its groove, powered by a rubbery bassline and surging horns, is a marvel of arrangement—there’s a great deal going on, but the track also feels infectiously light and spacious. And then the following “Free Yourself” adds a hypnotic piano and shouted background vocals to the body-moving mix, while the third track, “Pearls,” combines the force and confidence of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” with the warmth of Donna Summer.” I agree.

I was blown away in 2019 by Lana Del Rey’s “Norman F—ing Rockwell!” It created a world of sound and music that kept me listening to it for weeks. Now Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd arrives with the same level of energy and wonder. This is Lana Del Rey’s 9th album and should rank near the top in quality. She also involves a talented team to boost her music: her frequent partner Jack Antonoff makes many contributions, and Drew Erickson and Zach Dawes, both of whom have worked with Ms. Del Rey on previous albums, appear here on multiple tracks—often to fold in dreamy strings, evoking the billowy arrangements favored by Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood.

If you’re in the mood for some marvelous music miles away from contemporary radio bilge, here are two winners! GRADE: A (for both)

TRACK LIST:

TRACK LIST:

I became a Fritz Leiber fan when I read his classic SF novel, The Big Time (1958).  It was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novelette. The Big Time was published originally in two parts in Galaxy Magazine‘s March and April 1958 issues, illustrated by Virgil Finlay. Then ACE Books published The Big Time and The Mind Spider and Other Stories as ACE Double D-491.

Where The Big Time focuses on “The Change War” where two opposing factions use time travel to wage their conflict, some of Leiber’s short stories in The Mind Spider and Other Stories use elements of the Change War to propel their plots. Probably the most well known of these stories is “The Oldest Soldier” who shows how deadly the Change War can be. I enjoyed the mystery solving aspects of “The Number of the Beast” where a human policeman must solve a case involving alien telepaths. “Midnight in the Mirror World” is not a Change War story, but it has a haunting puzzle dealing with a mysterious Mirror World. I enjoy Fritz Leiber’s SF and fantasy novels, but he’s also adept at writing entertaining short stories. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• x • Foreword (The Mind Spider and Other Stories) • (1961) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 1 • The Haunted Future • [Change War] • (1959) • novelette by Fritz Leiber
• 55 • Damnation Morning • [Change War] • (1959) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 72 • The Oldest Soldier • [Change War] • (1960) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 95 • Midnight in the Mirror World • (1964) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 116 • The Number of the Beast • [Change War] • (1958) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 129 • The Mind Spider • [Change War] • (1959) • short story by Fritz Leiber

I became a fan of Donna Summer the first time I heard “Love to Love You, Baby,” where the final recording lasted over 16 minutes–and according to the BBC, contained 23 “orgasms”!

Love to Love You, Donna Summer, directed by Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, follows the life and career of Donna Summer.  Williams and Sudano did not shy away from exploring difficult aspects of Summer’s life and career.

What makes this documentary different is that Sudano and Williams opted to use Summer speaking in her own words by using audiotapes recorded for her memoir Ordinary Girl (2003). Summer’s journey from singing in a Boston church to her unexpected reign as the Queen of Disco—and the tragedy and spiritual rebirth that followed–makes for a compelling story.

As a teenager, Donna Summer left the United States to join the German cast of Hair. She was still in her teens, a shy, ordinary girl who was suddenly feeling the jolt of the sexual revolution. She lived in Germany for seven and a half years, modeling, acting, falling in love, getting married, and giving birth to a daughter. She met a producer named Giorgio Moroder, and together they created a song called “Love to Love You Baby.” It became one of the world’s premier disco hits.

Donna Summer earned five Grammy Awards, three consecutive Number One platinum albums (she is the only artist, male or female, ever to have accomplished this), eleven gold albums, four Number One singles, two platinum singles, and twelve gold singles. Despite her musical success, Donna Summer’s life was rocky. Are you Donna Summer fan? GRADE: A

After reading David Lehman’s The Most Mysterious Romance of Murder (you can read my review here), I decided to go back and reread Lehman’s The Perfect Murder from 1989 (updated version 1999). I remembered I enjoyed The Perfect Murder over 30 years ago. I also remember this:

DAVID LEHMAN’S PERSONAL FAVORITES:

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) — Arthur Conan Doyle

Innocence of Father Brown (1911) — G. K. Chesterton

The Maltese Falcon (1930) — Dashiell Hammett

The Three Coffins (1936) — John Dickson Carr

The ABC Murders (1936) — Agatha Christie

Thou Shell of Death (1936) — Nicholas Blake

The Big Sleep (1939) — Raymond Chandler

A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939) — Eric Ambler

The Big Clock (1946) — Kenneth Fearing

Too Many Women (1947) — Rex Stout

The Eighth Circle (1958) — Stanley Ellin

The Chill (1964) — Ross Macdonald

Long Time No See (1978) — Ed McBain

The Name of the Rose (1983) — Umberto Eco

The Singing Detective (1986) — Dennis Potter

As well has providing a survey of detective fiction, Lehman gives his personal list of great mysteries. How many of these classics have you read? Any favorites? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Colonialism, imperialism, secrets, and mysticism collide in this magic-imbued meditation on the power of words, who wields it, and how translation can be as powerful a weapon as it is a tool. Winner of this year’s Nebula Award for Best Novel, R. F. Kuang’s arcane history of using language and translation as a dominating tool of the British Empire turns traditional history on its head.

Huang explores the evils of imperialism, student revolutions, the history of violence, and terrifying powers as Babel blends magic, lore, and cruelty into a compelling story.

Babel is both smart and witty while the aspects of Huang’s plot center around silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—which has made the British unparalleled in power throughout the world as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

If you’re in the mood for an Alternate History of the British Empire circa 1828, Babel presents a world ruled by the magic powers of translation…and treachery! GRADE: B

“For my mother… [it was] sidelong looks, people moving away from her in the post office or the grocery store; in the man who slapped her across the face while she was walking down the street in Denver her freshman year of college, screaming, ‘You dirty yellow thing, taking jobs away from good American people!'” (p. 101).

Natalie Hodges, whose mother immigrated to the United States from Seoul, Korea in 1966, struggles for assimilation in a hostile country. Natalie’s mother marries and has four children. All the children were encouraged to play musical instruments. Natalie gravitated to the violin at an early age and decided she wanted to be a solo violinist.

The odds of becoming a soloist in the current state of Classical Music is about the chances of making it to the National Football League as a starter. Natalie realizes her dreams would never come true, quits playing the violin, and tries to move on with her Life. But, Natalie returns to the violin and learns to enjoy music again.

My favorite chapter in Uncommon Measure is “Chaconne,” the Bach work that is considered the ultimate piece of music for the violin. Of course, it is incredibly difficult to play. This is Art Scott’s favorite piece of Classical Music. Natalie’s analysis of “Chaconne,” its background, and her trials trying to play the work dazzled me!

Uncommon Measure explores music, disappointment, loss, racism, and perseverance. Very inspiring! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Prelude 13

Un trainmen 17

A Sixth Sense: Notes on Improvisation 46

Symmetry Breaking 79

Chaconne 111

The Still Point of the Turning World 141

Coda: Memory Is a Hologram 173

Acknowledgments 181

Credits 185

Notes 186

Bibliography 195

Just by chance I picked up this Young Adult trilogy at a Library Book Sale. They had a Harry Potter-type vibe. The series title, The Books of Beginning, intrigued me because I love fantasy novels about books (my favorites involve The Necronomicon).

Abandoned by their parents, three children–Kate (the eldest), Michael (the smartest), and Emma (the fighter)–find themselves at the Edgar Allan Poe Home for Hopeless and Incorrigible Orphans operated by the mysterious Stanislaus Pym.

In Book One, The Emerald Atlas (2012), Kate, Michael, and Emma find they’ve been transported 15 years into the Past where the evil Countess seeks one of The Books of Beginning: The Emerald Atlas. The Books of Beginning can enhance the Countess’s already impressive magic powers. Only Kate can stop her acquisition of the book and its unique power to manipulate Time. GRADE: B

In Book Two: The Fire Chronicle (2012), is my favorite book in The Books of Beginning trilogy. Michael is tested in his quest to find The Fire Chronicle, the magic book that controls health and Life. Where Harry Potter had He-Who-Must–Not-Be-Named (aka, Lord Voldemort), Kate, Michael, and Emma have the evil Dire Magnus to contend with. The The Books of Beginning have the power to change the world…or destroy it. I love the section where Michael has to deal with a dragon! GRADE: B+

In Book Three, The Dark Reckoning, Emma finds out she’s the only one who can become the Keeper of Reckoning (aka, The Book of the Dead). Emma has to travel to the Land of the Dead to find the book, learn how to use it, and together with Kate and Michael and their magic books, save the world. All in all, The Books of Beginning are a satisfactory fantasy trilogy. If you enjoyed the Harry Potter series, you’ll enjoy The Books of Beginning. GRADE: B

I first hear Beth Orton’s Trailer Park (1996) near the end of the 20th Century. I heard Orton’s cover of The Ronettes‘ “I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine” and that blew me away. I immediately bought a copy of Trailer Park and played it several times in a row. I loved the songs and the lush musical accompaniments. I’ve listened to all of Beth Orton’s CDs and the later ones are more acoustic and austere. I prefer the fuller sound of Trailer Park .

Sticking with fuller sounds, I just picked up a copy of Eldorado: A Symphony (1974) with the Wizard of Oz cover recently. Eldorado is the first complete ELO concept album; bandleader Jeff Lynne conceived the storyline before he wrote any music. The plot follows a Walter Mitty-like character who journeys into fantasy worlds via dreams, to escape the disillusionment of his mundane reality. Lynne began to write the album in response to criticisms from his father, a classical music lover, who said that Electric Light Orchestra’s repertoire “had no tune”. The influence of The Beatles is prevalent, especially in the melody of the verse of “Mister Kingdom” which to some degree resembles the Beatles’ “Across the Universe.”

Eldorado marks the first album on which Jeff Lynne hired an orchestra; on previous albums, he would overdub the strings.^[2] Louis Clark co-arranged, with Lynne (and keyboardist Richard Tandy), and conducted the strings. The group’s three resident string players continued to perform on recordings, however, and can be heard most prominently on the songs “Boy Blue” and “Laredo Tornado”. Mike de Albuquerque departed early on in the recording process, as touring made him feel separated from his family. Lynne plays most of, if not all, the bass tracks and backing vocals for the album, but de Albuquerque still featured on the final release as well as getting credited. Kelly Groucutt replaced him for the subsequent tour, when cellist Melvyn Gale also joined (replacing the departing Mike Edwards). “Eldorado Finale” is heavily orchestrated, much like “Eldorado Overture”. Jeff Lynne said of the song, “I like the heavy chords and the slightly daft ending, where you hear the double bass players packing up their basses, because they wouldn’t play another millisecond past the allotted moment.”

Are you a fan of Electric Light Orchestra or Beth Orton? GRADE: A (for both)

TRACKLIST:

All tracks written by Ted Barnes, Ali Friend, and Beth Orton except where noted.

TRACK LIST:

All tracks are written by Jeff Lynne.

I’ve been a fan of Theodora Goss’s writing for years. I loved Goss’s The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (you can read my review here). Now there’s The Collected Enchantments with dozens of long and short stories about magic and fantasy and fairy tales.

Some of the stories in The Collected Enchantments retell and recast familiar fairy tales in a new light like “Goldilocks and the Bear,” and “Rapunzel”. And then there’s more classic stories told in a different style: “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Thumbelina,” and “Medusa Gets a Haircut.”

I found The Collected Enchantments…enchanting and so will you! Theodora Goss is a gifted storyteller and this book is filled with delights! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Introduction: Why I Write Fantasy — 11
• Why You Might Be a Witch –16
• The Rose in Twelve Petals — 18
• The Ogress Queen — 32
• Rose Child — 34
• The Rapid Advance of Sorrow — 37
• Lady Winter — 42
• Shoes of Bark — 44
• Miss Emily Gray — 46
• The Witch — 56
• Binnorie — 59
• The Wings of Meister Wilhelm — 60
• The Egg in Twelve Scenes — 80
• Vivian to Merlin — 84
• In Autumn — 86
• Seven Shoes — 89
• The Clever Serving-Maid — 92
• Princess Lucinda and the Hound of the Moon — 94
• The Cinder Girl Burns Brightly — 107
• The Stepsister’s Tale — 110
• Lily, With Clouds — 112
• The Gold-Spinner — 118
• Rumpelstiltskin — 120
• Singing of Mount Abora — 122
• The Dragons — 135
• Thumbelina — 139
• In the Forest of Forgetting — 140
• Autumn’s Song — 146
• Green Man — 147
• Sleeping With Bears — 148
• Goldilocks and the Bear — 154
• The Bear’s Wife — 158
• Professor Berkowitz Stands on the Threshold — 160
• Persephone in Hades — 172
• The Princess and the Peas — 174
• Blanchefleur — 178
• Rapunzel — 210
• The Sorceress in the Tower — 211
• Fair Ladies — 213
• Swan Girls — 228
• The Gentleman — 231
• Christopher Raven — 233
• Ravens — 247
• The Fox Wife — 249
• Reynalda — 252
• Mr. Fox — 254
• The Mysterious Miss Tickle — 256
• Lessons with Miss Gray — 259
• The Witch-Girls — 281
• The Witch’s Cat — 283
• Pip and the Fairies — 285
• Tam Lin Remembers the Fairy Queen — 292
• The Fairies’ Gifts — 294
• Snow, Blood, Fur — 295
• When You Have Lost Yourself — 298
• The Mermaid’s Lament — 300
• Conversations with the Sea Witch — 301
• Diamonds and Toads — 307
• Medusa Gets a Haircut — 310
• The Other Thea — 312
• Mother Night — 334
• The Red Shoes — 337
• Red as Blood and White as Bone — 339
• Girl, Wolf, Woods — 356
• In the Snow Queen’s Castle — 358
• A Country Called Winter — 360
• How to Make It Snow — 376
• Snow White Learns Witchcraft — 380
• How to Become a Witch-Queen — 383
• Mirror, Mirror — 388
• The River’s Daughter — 399
• Saint Orsola and the Poet — 401
• The Nightingale and the Rose — 419
• Your House — 426

White House Plumbers is an American satirical political drama television miniseries created and written by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck and directed by David Mandel, based on the 2007 book Integrity by Egil Krogh and Matthew Krogh. The 5-episode series stars Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Domhnall Gleeson, Kiernan Shipka, and Lena Headey and it premiered on HBO on May 1, 2023. A new episode is released every Monday.

G. Gordon Liddy and his associate, Howard Hunt, who led the disastrous espionage operations later known as the Watergate scandal, considered their actions as patriotic. This miniseries from co-creators Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck presents the two wacky “Dirty Tricks” specialists motivated by their extreme loyalty to the country and President Nixon. But this leads to Liddy and Hunt’s shady and clumsy work with Daniel Ellsberg (The Pentagon Papers) leak and then the Watergate break-in. And their superiors, like Attorney General John Mitchell and White House Counsel John Dean, supported and funded them. In White House Plumbers John Dean is both a co-conspirator and accessory to the political shenanigans that later brought down Nixon.

Justin Theroux  in his role of G. Gordon Liddy goes over the top with the tar-black, openly fake-looking mustache of Liddy. Theroux revels in the dangerous craziness of his character displaying the agent’s troubling love of Hitler’s speeches, guns, and propensity to keep his hand over a flame as a gesture of his trustworthiness and toughness.

Woody Herrelson delivers a blend of comedy and tragedy with his role as Howard Hunt attempting to rein in Liddy’s nutty actions. At the same time, Hunt’s family is in crisis and his financial problems increase. Herrelson’s controlled performance balances the wild escapades of Liddy.

I was surprised to learn the actual Watergate break-in was the FOURTH attempt by the Plumbers to access files in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) office. If you’re interested in the bizarre and twisted story of the Watergate break-in, White House Plumbers reveals the actual true events in all their humorous yet disturbing detail. GRADE: A–