Catcher, Perks, Teen Literature & Hipsters

Everyone knows by now that J.D. Salinger died not too long ago. The only book that anyone's ever read by him is The Catcher in the Rye. I read it, but not when I was supposed to - I was never assigned it in high school or anything. I read it when I was maybe 18 or so, without being prompted by a teacher. Maybe that's why I didn't like it that much.

If you've never read it, you can read it here - if you're the type that can read whole books online, I suppose. Interesting about books with a very distinct style, like this one - when I first looked at that site and read the first page, I was even more turned off than I was when I first read the book. But after a few pages I felt myself being hooked. I suppose that's what makes a good writer? 

click to enlarge.

I saw the above comic on Andrew Lorenzi's comic blog. I'm not sure if I "get" what he's trying to say, comparing Robin and Holden in this way. I wonder what it was like growing up as a kid in the city during the golden age of comic books, and feeling like you connected with them, maybe because you didn't have television or movies so accessible. 


Makes me wonder, as someone who found comics later in life - did kids growing up reading Batman connect with Batman, or did they connect with Robin? Why did all of those old comic book superheroes have kid sidekicks? Reminds me of Kavalier & Clay and how Clay was accused of corrupting kids' minds with the "homosexual" subtext of his comic book creations.

I remember not really liking Catcher until the end, and I think that's because I knew right away that Phoebe was my favorite character. I think she, unlike Holden, isn't a phony. I haven't read the book in a while, so I don't remember why I liked her so much. But I remembered thinking, man if Phoebe was my age she'd be the kind of girl I'd want to date. Apparently she's a big deal, I didn't remember thinking about it much before.

All I Want Is Love Eternally... Is That So Much To Ask?


One of my new favorite bands is local Seattle group Hey Marseilles. I saw them play at Mayor Mike McGinn's Inauguration Party earlier this month and fell in love. Their orchestral, melodic, surprisingly agile tunes are a pleasure to listen to.

[mp3] To Travels & Trunks

Why can't you see heaven won't wait for us?
Salutations and prayers are too laborious
All I want is love eternally,
with your heart facing me.

Reminds me of another song I've heard recently - Hot Chip's new song, "One Life Stand:"

[mp3] One Life Stand


I only wanna be your one life stand.
Tell me do you stand by your whole man?

These dudes really want to be in long-term relationships, and they're not afraid to sing about it. We know that members of bands are always ahead of the curve on culture, whether it's fashion or lifestyle choices. Is this a mark of the new post-gender norm that twenty-somethings will pick up on next week, and tweens will be embracing in 2015?

"Casual Reading"

I'm going to change the flavor of this blog. It will no longer be a journal; I'm going to use an actual journal for that. I was inspired by (of all blogs) hipster runoff; it's going to be nothing like that but will be similar in the sense that it's going to be cultural commentary. This will hopefully increase my blogging output as well: a music, art, and written word commentary/critique each week, hopefully. We'll start with this comic (click to enlarge):


When I first read this comic (visit the secret knots, this artist is AMAZING) I figured that the two were strangers, and that it was an absurd tale about someone who began reading over a stranger's shoulder on the subway and got so enthralled with the story that he couldn't stop when it was time for her to get off the train.

But when Lisa read it, she assumed that they were in a relationship, and that the book was a metaphor - that they were "on the same page," so to speak, and that when the book ended, the relationship ended. The ending of the comic makes a lot more sense in this context.