Tosh Berman's Blog, page 254

"ATTA" By Jarett Kobek

Semiotext(e) 978-1-58435-106-1


In the end I think Jarett Kobek's "Atta" is the only book one really needs to read regarding September 11.  It's a tragic and sad tale.   Atta was one of the key figures who was the "soldier" or "Terrorist" who flew the plane into one of the towers on that clear September day.  Which I hope by the way, over time, that date becomes just a date and not a memory of the incident, that opened up Pandora's Box of 21st Century tragedies - Iraq War, etc and etc.

Atta, by all means a close-minded fellow, is repulsed and fascinated by American culture.  For me, the most interesting part of this narrative is his thoughts on Walt Disney and one of his films.  He saw it with his fellow thugs, and was totally repulsed by what he saw on the screen.  When they started to have articles in the media about Atta, I remember the Disney fixation and how that sort of became a focus of sorts.  Kobek did an excellent job in getting into Atta's head, especially his thoughts on architecture as well as popular media and the Urban Landscape, both his home in Egypt as well as in the U.S./Europe.     It's amazing how suspenseful the book is, especially we know the narrative already.  This handsomely designed little book is an important work, yet depressing.  But one has to go through the pain (at times) to get to a truth of some sort.   Essential book!

"On Paris" by Ernest Hemingway

An iconic writer writing about an iconic city at an iconic time of history.  But nevertheless this is not an essential book by Ernest Hemingway, but an interesting one because he captures the world of Paris in a series of snapshots.  For some, the political history will be obscure, but one does feel the excitement of living in a foreign land at that time.

The mixture of French politics, cultural news, and daily life is a nice mixture for this book.   All the pieces are actual articles that he wrote for a Canadian paper - and some are very short, and then there are others that are two or three pages long.  For me the main strength of the book is when he covers the daily life of a Parisian.  For whatever reasons I was charmed about the lack of good manners of Parisians on public transportations, such as the bus.  Also he politely rages against the American visitor or tourist in Paris.  It sort of reminds me of the boring issue of 'hipsters' in a community.  Everything stays the same except for architecture, decay, and wars.

"Nilsson: The Life of a Siinger-Songwriter" by Alyn Shipton

Harry Nilsson is a fascinating music artist. For me, he was someone that was around, but never the focus on any scene. On one hand he had direct contact with The Beatles (who admired Harry's work greatly as well as a friend) and on the other he was very much in tuned with the pop music market. In one way he can be seen as the bridge between music underground and music 'overground. He was very much the professional music songwriter and yet on his solo recordings took great chances. And I think now because he did took those chances, he is much and greatly admired. 

Born in Bushwick Brooklyn (one would think there should be a stature of him at the Bushwick station) from a troubled family family came a songwriter who wrote incredibly moving songs about the bonding of friendship and parent & child. "Me And My Arrow" is without a doubt one of the great songs about a human and his dog. And as they about the milkman whistling a tune, I do the same for this song whenever I take a walk around the neighborhood. That song works on so many levels. Alyn Shipton's biography captures the essense of this talented man, who it seems was loved by his friends and family, but had .... a hard life of sorts. With respect to drinking, that seems to me close to the glory years of Errol Flynn and WC Fields. Him and Ringo, Keith Moon, and others... being in the same room with them doesn't sound like it is good for one's health, but nevertheless a lot of fun. The fact that one meets Harry for lunch usually means they get back home about two days later, is all part of his incredible personality and sense of fun and wonder. 

It is unusual for Oxford to do a biography on a contemporary music figure, but this is a superb book. A must for all Nilsson fans of course, but also for the causal curious music geek who wants to know what it was like to be in the center of the pop world during the late 1960's and '70's. The later years are kind of sad, but without a doubt he was a remarkable figure in American music as well as iconic in his stance as the ultimate party boy. But in the end one is left with the albums, and that is a great journey to go on. Make sure you have this book as you take that trip...

Tosh Berman in the Current Issue of L.A. Record (Regarding "Sparks-Tastic" and other subject Matters)

Once there is an illustration of one's self, I feel I made the big time. Illustration by Amy Hagemeier http://akhhka.blogspot.com/ for L.A. Record, which by the way has a fantastic interview with yours truly regarding "Sparks-Tastic" and other subject matters.

"Castaways of the Image Planet" by Geoffrey O'Brien

I can't think of anything more enjoyable than reading a collection of essays by Geoffrey O'Brien. As a writer, I look up to him, because it seems he has it all. Good taste, good job (he's the editor-in-chief of the Library of America) and a lover or observer of pop culture. "Castaways of the Image Planet is mostly about film, but I feel he goes beyond that medium to write about culture that has spawn from the film aesthetic. 

His commentary on Bing Crosby, The Marx Brothers, Mike Leigh, and Japanese Manga comics are my favorite in this collection. And again he's a guy who knows a lot, and can articulate the essence of his subject matters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read film criticism, but also how a writer approaches his subject matter. So in one word, great.

"Mod: A Very British Style" by Richard Weight

Bodley Head Isbn: 9780224073912



The cover and title is basically a magnet and it pulled me in right away. But as I read it there are two mistakes that really bothered me.  One is claiming that Boris Vian was married to Juliette Gréco (he wasn't) and that the Beatles met Elvis at Graceland (they didn't meet there).  The author Richard Weight is a historian, so this is a major mistake on his part or his research assistants.  So as you can gather, "Mod" is the history of that cult, but it goes beyond Mod to what the author feels is their influence on future cultural movements.   I think the book at this point over extends the subject matter or loses the object of desire that is Mod, when focusing on almost every music and youth movement in the U.K. after the golden era of Mod.

When he writes of the original Mod figures of the 60's and before that decade, its very interesting. But he wonders off the beaten path to write about the entire history of British pop culture.   Mod to me was a very unique movement at a very specific time.  It would have been much more interesting if he just focused on that world and nothing else.  Also the author seems distant to his subject matter.  I got the feeling that he isn't really into music or culture - more of a historian looking at his subject matter.   There are other great books out there on the subject matter of Mod, but this one isn't part of that pack.

It doesn't have the colorful appreciation from someone like Andrew Loog Oldham, or even the wit and charm of Simon Napier-Bell.  Mod is a big subject matter, and hopefully there will be more books in the near future.   But this is a very dry history on a fascinating world.  At its best it can serve as an introduction and hopefully the reader will do their own research to track down authors, personalities, and other book titles.  His suggested reading on Mod Culture is good, but not large enough, which is ironic because this book is pretty hefty in the page and text department.

"Wonder While You Wander" by Tosh Berman Part Two: Loree Fox, Wallace Berman, Tempo Music Store

Wallace Berman and Loree Foxx in the Front of Tempo Music Shop on Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
Interior of Tempo Music Shop on Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
Artwork by Wallace Berman (age 16 or 17) for Dial Records, Los Angeles
Loree Foxx Photo by Wallace Berman
Loree Fox by Wallace BermanI'm currently working on a childhood memoir "Wonder While You Wander," and this serves me as a scrapbook of ideas/images/etc.  

Los Angeles Review of Books: "In The Words Of Sparks... Selected Lyrics" edited by Ron Mael & Russell Mael

Los Angeles Review of Books did a focus on "In The Words Of Sparks... Selected Lyrics" With three lyrics plus a short introduction by yours truly for this specific great website.
read it here: http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=1824

"Singin' In The Rain" by Peter Wollen

A BFI Book published by Palgrave Macmillian ISBN 9781844575145
My first introduction to "Singin' In The Rain" was when Alex was raping a woman in "A Clockwork Orange."   My second visit to "Singin'..." is  Peter Wollen's small book length study of the Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen film.   Strange enough, for a hardcore cinema fan like myself I have never ever seen this film.   Yes, I have seen every Fred Astaire movie at least twice, but "Singin' In The Rain" never!  Yet, that didn't stop me from enjoying this critical adventure into the world of Gene Kelly.

I read this book today, in one gulp on my couch, in a temperture that is around 90.  Therefore by an open window with a slight breeze I was taken into an artificial world that Gene Kelly made - a world that was beautiful.   At least conveyed in the text.   This book works on many levels.  One Wollen argues the importance of dance as an art, but also as an equal companion to the cinema art.   Griffith to Chaplin and of course the Kelly/Astaire world had made a language for the film world that was and is totally open to dance.   Wollen writes about the beauty of this combination, but with a strong critical eye.  Also his in depth almost frame-by-frame look at the famous Kelly dance of the leading song here, is playful and informative.  On top of that the reader also gets the political world of the early 1950's and how that played out in the Gene Kelly world.  The book is an enlarged 70mm snapshot of a specific time with a very specific film with an iconic artist.  Strange enough there isn't that many critical studies on Gene Kelly's work, which is a shame.  But with this back in print....

And Wollen adds a kick-ass annotated bibliography that's extremely informative.  It is sort of like him taking you by the hand and showing you the book titles that are important.  For Dancers who need information regarding the dance history, this is a good book to pick up.  For everyone else... well I am going to see the film!  Peter Wollen wrote a beautiful tribute, analysis, and dance/film history in one slim 87 page book that has no wasted space.  Essential!

"Lucy In The Mind Of Lennon" by Tim Kasser

Oxford University Press, 9780199747603


A very odd book by Tim Kasser who is a Professor of Psychology, on the subject matter of John Lennon and his wonderful song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds."  First of all, a Psychologist looking into Lennon's mind seems so un-rock n' roll like.  Two, it sort of creeps me out that someone can do this without actually meeting or talking to the patient of sorts - Mr. Lennon.

So basically Kasser is getting his information second and third hand, and I think he's reading too literally into a work that's art - which in mind comes from numerous places in the Lennon brain and out there in the world.  There is nothing wrong in writing a book like this, but it is also not that interesting.  I think Kasser states the obvious, and it would have been more interesting if he focused on the culture or the roots of this song.  And maybe in his eyes he did that, but I feel "Lucy..." is about the '60's, London life, as well as the world of Carroll (Alice) and Lennon's insecurity.  I think Lennon was a genius in getting something raw and polishing the work till it becomes something else.  And I would say he did that for his brilliant debut solo album as well.  It is personal, but on a bigger plane it is about feelings, and pop songs are basically the graveyard and platform for 'feelings.'   Lennon knew that, and that is what made him the artist that he is.