The first Corin Tucker Band album, 2010’s 1,000 Years, was dominated by moody, thoughtful songcraft—quite a left-turn coming after Tucker’s last album (to date) with groundbreaking trio Sleater-Kinney, 2005’s furiously distortion-heavy The Woods. But now, 1,000 Years’ follow-up, Kill My Blues (Kill Rock Stars), is another sonic shift. The guitars are louder, the textures more extreme, and Tucker’s lyrics on the album cover an amazing gamut—from clarion calls to teenage memories to more elliptical pieces. At times, the LP brings to mind S-K’s post-September 11 album, 2002’s One Beat, a collection of rock anthems for troubled times. Throughout Kill My Blues, Tucker writes—and the band plays—like something important is truly at stake on every song. The Corin Tucker Band—which also includes drummer Sara Lund, guitarist Seth Lorinczi and bassist Mike Clark (as well as touring bassist Dave Depper)—will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on the group.
Tucker: State Of Wonder is a book by Ann Patchett. I wish I had written it! I am a reader and a fan of novels in general, but one of my main complaints is the lack of plot in adult contemporary literature. I get bored after two chapters, even if the writing is excellent. Not with this novel. The book opens with the mysterious death of a scientist, who has gone to Brazil to help with groundbreaking research being done in the Amazon jungle. Patchett’s heroine is Marina, a 42-year old researcher who worked with the dead scientist and is tasked with unraveling the mystery. Marina has a lot of interesting unresolved issues herself, but the storyline steals the show here. It’s a true swashbuckling, snake wrestling, find-out-you’re-made-of adventure for grown-ups.
Video after the jump.
