Air
Baez, Joan
Bauhaus
Beach Boys, The
Bears, The
Beastie Boys, The
Beat Rodeo
Beck
Beirut
Belew, Adrian
Belly
Berlin
Beulah
Big Star
Billy Nayer Show, The
Black Flag
Black Uhuru
Black, Frank
Bottle Rockets
Bowie, David
Bragg, Billy
Brannigan, Laura
Breeders, The
Burrell, Kenny
Butthole Surfers
Buzzcocks
Camper Van Beethoven
Cake
Chilton, Alex
Cleary, Jon
Clinton, George
Costello, Elvis
Coulton, Jonathan
Court and Spark, The
Cracker
Dead Kennedys, The
Dead Milkmen, The
Decemberists, The
Dickies, The
DiFranco, Ani
Doe, John
Dr. John
Eskimo
fIREHOSE
Flaming Lips, The
Fountains of Wayne
Franti, Michael (with Charlie Hunter)
Funky Meters, The
Gabriel, Peter
George, Inara
Gone
Grass Roots, The
Grateful Dead, The
Grizzly Bear
Guthrie, Arlo
Harding, John Wesley
Heat, Reverend Horton
Heron, Gil Scott
Hitchcock, Robyn
Husker Du
Iguanas, The
Jarreau, Al
JayHawks, The
Jazz Butcher, The
Kelly Jones
Living Colour
Lobos, Los
Lovett, Lyle
Marsalis, Wynton
Marley, Ziggy
Mike Viola
Minus Five, The
Morphine
Movie Stars, The
negativland
Newsom, Joanna
Old 97s, The
Oranger
Osborne, Anders
Overwhelming Colorfast
Pavement
Pee
Pere Ubu
Pixies, The
Plays Monk
Polyphonic Spree
Prince
Ramones, The
Redman, Joshua
Reed, Lou
Replacements, The
Residents, The
Richman, Jonathan
Rollins, Sonny
Roy Hargrove
Seagal, Jonathan
Seeger, Pete
Semisonic
Shocked, Michele
Shriekback
Silver Spun Pickups
Sioux, Siouxsie
Sippy Cups, The
Sisters of Mercy, The
Snappin’ Box, A
Squeeze
Stone Temple Pilots
Sugar
Sutton, Tierney
Television
They Might Be Giants
Thinking Fellers Local Union 282
Throwing Muses
Trip Shakespeare
Tyner, McCoy
Uncalled For, The
Uncle Tupelo
Vega, Suzanne
Violent Femmes
Voice Farm
Wailers, The
Wainwright, Loudin III
Waits, Tom
Wilco
Wolfgang Press, The
X
Yellow Man
Yo La Tengo
Young, Neil
Zircus
![[cecil]](http://cecilvortex.com//monkey/graphics/ceciliconm.gif)
![[vortex]](http://cecilvortex.com/monkey/graphics/vortexiconm.gif)
![[cecil2]](http://monkeyvortex.com/graphics/cecil3.gif)
The suspense is killing me.
I should check on my version. (bantam) We're getting to the end of section 2 (The Casino) right?
the deathmarch is turning into a leisurly walk in the woods. let me get my walking stick out.
Just got through the infamous Pudding section. Rib had given me a little piece of history ahead of time that helped put it in some context. On page 235 (p) Pynchon refers to "the smell of Passchendaele." Passchendaele was one of the most nightmarish battles of WWI, a rain-drenched, waste-strewn, mud pit. I assume Pudding's a survivor....
For a little more on Passchendaele (with the most gruesome info left out):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwone/battle_passchendaele.shtml
On page 244 (p) now -- with a fox-trot (ah, sweet fox-trot) dead ahead....
-Cecil
I know a lot more war history than a self-respecting far-leftist should, because for many years I was >cringe< also a boardgamer and wargamer and read up on the scenarios we played. The word "Passchendaele" in GR actually had a physical effect on me; I recoiled from that faster than any of the turd scenes.
Fog of war indeed. Muck and filth of war, more likely--I can almost *smell* the Sunken Road of Antietam despite never having been to the spot. The places where Pynchon makes me most abhor mankind are his sometimes-casual WWI name-droppings.
we may be at odds re the donuts, but on this i think we'd agree: pudding--no longer a comfort food.
read the party scene tonight (page 245-249 (p)) and just, you know, holy crap.
There were way too many favorite lines in that set to list out, but these in particular slayed me:
***
"'Don't try to undermine my confidence in you,'" advises the Large One. "'You're the man.'"
***
"Turns out the projective, a dud, has only torn holes in several walls, and demolished a large allegorical painting of Virtue and Vice in an unnatural act. Virtue had one of those dim faraway smiles."
***
and then there's this gem I had to post on edgewise.info (political site):
"Proverbs for Paranoids, 3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
-cecil "clearly a victim of the hallucinogenic Hollandaise" vortex
yes--i felt downright, well, paranoid when i read proverbs for paranoids 3. couldn't be more accurate for this moment.
also--particularly liked the zoot suit stuff from that same scene and just beyond. the zoot suit riots of '43 did happen--a series of violent clashes between young mexican americans and white servicemen in los angeles, born of big social changes of the era that spiked during wartime and oozed with all the racial tension that comes along with that kind of change. the suit was about style, but also some saw it as a hey-look-at-me-i'm-here symbol of defiance. and some made a connection through the suit to other minorities (malcolm x wore one.) attacks during the riot went both ways, but zoot suiters were certainly sought out for beatings and then stripped of their suits. the police and the military looked the other way for awhile, but ultimately, "order" was restored, and zoot suits were banned on l.a. city streets....so now back to slothrop as he rolls into town in his white zoot and dark glasses, with his justified paranoia and his defiance--one sharp, pleated package.
For comparison:
Pointsman's thoughts at the end of section 2 vs. Mexico's at the end of section 1. Mexico wanting to protect Jessica vs. Jessica wanting to protect Mexico. How each personifies the war.
Fair warning: if you think things are "in a control that is out of control," wait til you are in the zone.
Dr. Vitz