Tosh Berman's Blog, page 166

"The Dead All Have The Same Skin" by Boris Vian (Vernon Sullivan) TamTam Books

The Dead All Have The Same SkinBy Boris Vian. Introduction by Marc Lapprand. Translated by Paul Knobloch.Vian’s second noir novel under the Vernon Sullivan pseudonym is a brutal tale of racism in postwar New York City, as protagonist Daniel Parker is blackmailed by a long lost brother. Also included is the short story “Dogs, Desire and Death,” and Vian’s account of the controversies surrounding his previous novel I Spit on your Graves.
PRAISE AND REVIEWSLiterary HubAppropriation and racial confusion themselves become motifs; the book reads like the nightmare of a person having an extreme identity crisis.
PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKSBOOK FORMAT
PAPERBACK, 8.5 X 5.70 IN. / 137 PGS / ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 2/29/2012
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: SPRING 2012 P. 47    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780966234657 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $17.00 CDN $20.00

"Red Grass" by Boris Vian (TamTam Books)

Red GrassBy Boris Vian. Introduction by Marc Lapprand. Translation by Paul Knobloch.Boris Vian (1920–1959) was a magnificent jack-of-all-trades--actor, jazz critic, engineer, musician, playwright, songwriter, translator--not to mention the leading social light of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés scene. His third major novel, Red Grass is a provocative narrative about an engineer, Wolf, who invents a bizarre machine that allows him to revisit his past and erase inhibiting memories. A frothing admixture of Breton, Freud, Carroll, Hammett, Kafka and Wells, Red Grass is one of Vian’s finest and most enduring works, a satire on psychoanalysis--which Vian wholly and vigorously disapproved of--that inflects science fiction with dark absurdity and the author’s great wit. Much in the novel can be regarded as autobiography, as our hero attempts to liberate himself from past traumatic events in the arenas of religion, social life and--of course--sex. Red Grass is translated by Vian scholar Paul Knobloch.
PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKSBOOK FORMAT
PAPERBACK, 5.75 X 8.5 IN. / 230 PGS.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 11/30/2013
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: SPRING 2013 P. 69    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780966234695 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $15.95 CDN $17.50

"Lun*na Menoh" A Ring Around The Collar" (TamTam Books)

Lun*na Menoh: A Ring Around The CollarIntroduction by Leslie Dick.For 14 years, Los Angeles–based artist, fashion designer and musician Lun*na Menoh has been exploring the many unexpected possibilities of the dirty shirt collar, producing paintings, sculptures, music, DVDs, performance art and fashion shows inspired by this lowly, ubiquitous aspect of clothing. The collar is a fashion boundary--the dividing line between what is hidden by clothing and the body that emerges from the cloth--and the stains commonly found there often confound sartorial panache, a fact which Menoh takes as the mischievous starting point for her work. Lun*na Menoh: A Ring Around the Collar documents the paintings included in this series, as well as Menoh’s performance art and fashion shows. Included with this book is a flexi-disc with two songs by the artist’s band, Les Sewing Sisters, and an introduction by acclaimed author Leslie Dick.
PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKSBOOK FORMAT
HARDCOVER, 8.5 X 11 IN. / 48 PGS / 40 COLOR / FLEXI DISC.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 10/31/2014
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: FALL 2014 P. 138    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780985272418 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $59.95 CDN $70.00

"In The Words of Sparks... Selected Lyrics" by Ron Mael & Russell Mael (TamTam Books)

In The Words of Sparks...Selected LyricsEdited by Ron Mael, Russell Mael. Introduction by Morrissey.Sparks--the long-running duo of Ron and Russell Mael--are among the most respected songwriters of their generation, their songs ranking alongside those of Ray Davies (The Kinks having been a formative influence), George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim. Formed in Los Angeles in 1971, Sparks have issued over 20 albums and scored chart hits with songs such as “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us,” “Cool Places” and “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth.” While their musical style has changed dramatically over the course of 40 years--embracing the British Invasion sound of the 60s, glam rock, disco (they teamed up with Giorgio Moroder for 1979’s “No. 1 in Heaven”) and even techno--their work has consistently stretched the boundaries of pop music and the song form. Sparks continue to break new ground: they are currently working on a project with filmmaker Guy Maddin and are soon to embark on a world tour. Now, for the first time, the Mael brothers have chosen their favorite Sparks lyrics (to some 75 songs), editing and correcting them for presentation in In the Words of Sparks. As James Greer--novelist and former member of Guided by Voices--comments, “Sparks-level wordplay is a gift, and more than that, an inspiration.” This book also includes a substantial introduction by fellow Los Angeles resident and longtime fan, Morrissey.

PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKS BOOK FORMAT
HARDCOVER, 4.25 X 6.75 IN. / 200 PGS.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 10/31/2013
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: SPRING 2013 P. 50    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780985272401 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $24.95 CDN $27.50

"Gainsbourg The Biography" by Gilles Verlant (TamTam Books)

Gainsbourg: The BiographyBy Gilles Verlant. Translated by Paul Knobloch.When Serge Gainsbourg died in 1991, France went into mourning: François Mitterand himself proclaimed him “our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire.” Gainsbourg redefined French pop, from his beginnings as cynical chansonnier and mambo-influenced jazz artist to the ironic “yé-yé” beat and lush orchestration of his 1960s work to his launching of French reggae in the 1970s to the electric funk and disco of his last albums. But mourned as much as his music was Gainsbourg the man: the self-proclaimed ugly lover of such beauties as Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, the iconic provocateur whose heavy-breathing “Je t’aime moi non plus” was banned from airwaves throughout Europe and whose reggae version of the “Marseillais” earned him death threats from the right, and the dirty-old-boy wordsmith who could slip double-entendres about oral sex into the lyrics of a teenybopper ditty and make a crude sexual proposition to Whitney Houston on live television. 
Gilles Verlant’s biography of Gainsbourg is the best and most authoritative in any language. Drawing from numerous interviews and their own friendship, Verlant provides a fascinating look at the inner workings of 1950s–1990s French pop culture and the conflicted and driven songwriter, actor, director and author that emerged from it: the young boy wearing a yellow star during the German Occupation; the young art student trying to woo Tolstoy’s granddaughter; the musical collaborator of Petula Clark, Juliette Greco and Sly and Robbie; the seasoned composer of the Lolita of pop albums, Histoire de Melody Nelson; the cultural icon who transformed scandal and song into a new form of delirium.
PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKSBOOK FORMAT
PAPERBACK, 8.5 X 5.5 IN. / 400 PGS.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 7/31/2012
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: SPRING 2012 P. 46    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780966234671 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $24.95 CDN $27.50

"Evguenie Sokolov" by Serge Gainsbourg (TamTam Books)

Evguenie SokolovBy Serge Gainsbourg. Translated by John Weightman, Doreen Weightman.Serge Gainsbourg's sole foray into fiction, Evguenie Sokolov describes an artist who uses his intestinal gases as the medium for his scandalous artwork. What once was a smelly and noisy problem in his social and sex life becomes a recipe for success in the early 1980s art world.
PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKSBOOK FORMAT
PAPERBACK, 7 X 5 IN. / 137 PGS.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 2/29/2012
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: SPRING 2012 P. 46    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780966234619 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $17.00 CDN $20.00

'Autumn in Peking" by Boris Vian (TamTam Books)

Autumn in PekingBy Boris Vian. Introduction by Marc Lapprand. Translated Paul Knobloch.Autumn in Peking takes place in an imaginary desert called Exopotamie, where a train station and a railway line are under construction. Homes are destroyed to lay the lines, which turn out to lead nowhere. In part a satire on the reconstruction of postwar Paris, Vian’s novel also conjures a darker version of Alice in Wonderland.
PRAISE AND REVIEWSLiterary HubBeauty and ugliness define the two poles of Vian’s outlook. As a literary writer, the man who moved in the same social orbit as Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, Vian wrote absurdist fantasias filled with eccentrics and romantic dreamers. His novels can get dark, but they are full of puns, slapstick, and comedy. Love and weird beauty figure in Autumn in Peking, where a number of people, obsessive types, build a train station and railway tracks in a desert no one visits.
PUBLISHER
TAMTAM BOOKSBOOK FORMAT
PAPERBACK, 8.75 X 5.5 IN. / 284 PGS.PUBLISHING STATUS
PUB DATE 2/29/2012
ACTIVEDISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. EXCLUSIVE
CATALOG: SPRING 2012 P. 47    PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780966234640 TRADE
LIST PRICE: $18.00 CDN $20.00
http://www.artbook.com/9780966234640.html

Matthew Edwards & The Unfortunates - "Folklore" (Gare du Nord Records)

Matthew Edwards & The Unfortunates - "Folklore"  (Gare du Nord Records)

Matthew Edwards, I think, is the son or nephew of David Bowie or/and Howard Devoto.   Just the opening song "Birmingham" alone can bring him to the world of champions.  A beautiful song with a gorgeous lyric.  A narrative of sorts, but more of a mysterious Alain Robbe-Grillet plot.  Devoto's Magazine comes to mind mostly due to that Edwards and his group The Unfortunates know an excellent orchestration.  They work as a unit and serve Edwards' vocals and songs.  My type of band.

"When We Arrived at the Mountain" has a Bowie era "Man Who Sold The World" vibe, but by no means is Edwards digging into another's world.  The music here is very much part of his DNA, and he's a great singer and lyricist.  Weary of the world around him, he's romantic, but one gets the feeling that the singer/narrator will get burned again.  It's an album of reflection, but very pop and there lies the beauty of "Folklore."

The playing on the album is very layered, and hearing the organ on "I can Move the Moon" is very Zombies-like in that it conveys a storm among the aural delights that are this song.  The electric organ on some of the songs drives me wild.  This is a very sophisticated world that Matthews is skipping into, which is a landscape of memories, some regret, but the eyes are going toward the future as well.   "Folklore" is easy to the ears, but the tunes will stick in one's head for a long while.  Ten songs that move from one end to the other with economy and taste as if  Marcel Proust made a rock record.    Noir-pop played excellently, and Edwards is going to take his band and music on another plane.  It's a remarkable album.  This and Perfume Genius are the only new music that I love at the moment.

Sparks - What The Hell Is It This Time? (Official Video)

Sparks' new video for their new song "What The Hell Is It This Time?"  And yes, we have to be selective in what and when we ask for God's assistance.

Glenn Gould - Liszt Transcription of Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No....

A stunning interpretation of Liszt's transcription of Beethoven's 7th Symphony.