False Spring, Music Writing, & ‘House of Leaves’

I’m the only person in town who seems to be happy about the false Spring. It’s going to be 62 degrees tomorrow so everyone who didn’t like the sudden snowfall we had Saturday night should be happy again. It all melted away yesterday anyway. I read that it warming up so quickly isn’t good for the plants & animals so even though I like hearing the birdsong so early, I don’t like that some of our nature relatives won’t survive because of this odd weather. Is it really so odd anymore though? I feel like this winter especially everyone started to pay attention to what’s really going on with the earth & the climate. We’ll see.

My husband & I had a really fun weekend catching two shows for The Jam Files & I am very happy with my write-ups. I’m going to tackle an article on lo-fi reimagined albums, specifically in the emo/hardcore/pop punk scene, this week & hopefully get a lot of reading done. (I’m reading 4 books right now, 3 with a deadline & 5th book I have to finish before it’s due back at the library as well. I constantly do this to myself.)

One of the books is a reread for Michael’s reading discussion called House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. This book is so dense & complex but it was very difficult to put down the first time I read it (aside from the times it terrified me too much). This time it’s still terrifying me but I’m taking it at a slower pace & appreciating it so much more. I’m going to get into it a little bit here so skip ahead if you haven’t read it yet or don’t care to read about it:

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Michael, if you’re reading this (and chances are you will be), I have a difficult time trusting these narrators as well, especially Zampano. The long unnecessary list of photographers he wants us to check out just for the purpose of the footnote explaining that it was all pretty much BS proves that I can’t rely on him at all. To me it makes the reader think, “Is all of this a hoax? What’s Zampano’s purpose in his analysis then?” Not only do I get the found footage Blair Witch Project vibe, I also get a little bit of The Ring vibe too. Everyone involved with this tape is seemingly going to enter into their own nightmare, much like Navidson, Green, & their children are. How? Is it the tape? Is it the house? Is it whatever might be lurking within those hallways that, by the laws of physics, should not exist?

The book is a dizzying, disorienting journey & I love it so much. I often read through the footnotes as I go along because I like the juxtaposition. Found footage is one of my favorite genres of film so having an analysis (analyses?) of what could essentially be labeled as a fictionalized found footage film in book form is right up my alley. Also, Truant’s notes entertain me to no end. For those of you who want to check it out I encourage you to do so & if you want to get in on the book discussion the reading schedule is HERE.

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I’m still a busy little bee but I’m resting when I need to. I’m happy to report that my eye is all better & that the antibiotics weren’t too rough on me.

When real Spring officially arrives I can’t wait to get the ole e-bike out & do some birding. When I was outside on my porch earlier, a pack of about six or seven squirrels ran by me & made me jump because they startled me. Silly creatures. I love seeing little chipmunks scurrying around too.

I’m already making some summer plans. There’s fun things hopefully happening in July & plenty of live music in town to go see. Jackson & I are counting down the days til our Grand Rapids trip on the 26th to see Fallout Boy & Jimmy Eat World, & we have two local gigs scheduled to cover next month, plus I have a couple of interviews of musicians lined up. I really missed doing this kind of thing & am glad to be getting into it again. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun, & that’s really all that matters to me.

If you haven’t yet, please check out The Jam Files. We’re just getting started, but we have a lot of ideas for the future & we really love putting energy into something we’re both so passionate about.

Catch you all on the warm side!

Featured Image by Thomas from Pixabay