Mike Scott is pop’s only literate lyricist who would dare take on the stately iconography of William Butler Yeats. Forget about the living proof provided by his band the Waterboys as they tackle the Irishman’s prickly poems through a series of 14 daringly diverse arrangements on the new An Appointment With Mr. Yeats (Proper American). You’d know that if you’ve listened to Scott’s richly robust catalog of Waterboys albums made since 1983, or even read his recently released book, Adventures Of A Waterboy. Though imbued with an intellectual curiosity beyond that of the most wizened scholar, Scott has long found himself inspired by Yeats’ vivid world-weary lyrical textures and smartly grammatical manner. On the other hand, he’s a big Twitter fan. Go figure. Scott will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
I always have three or four books on the go, sometimes more. I’ve been reading since I was five years old, and if there is ever a world championship read-in, I’l be qualified to represent Scotland. But when I do interviews rock journalists sometimes ask me what I’ve been reading, and I often go blank. It’s as if the sheer volume of what I read short-circuits my memory. I always have to look on my shelves before I can answer the question. So today I’ve taken a peek and here are three books I’ve read and greatly enjoyed recently:
1. Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. A kooky novel about computer geeks and ancient bibliophiles set in the near future. Witty, sharp and homely all at once. A three-day read.
2. Voodoo Histories by David Aaronovitch. Get tongue-tied when some fantasist with a grievance starts lecturing you how the moon-landings were faked, or that 9/11 was a White House plot? Sigh no more. British journalist Aaronovitch dismantles these and other modern follies with surgical precision and a satisfying and total absence of mercy.
3. The Cat Behind The Hat: The Art Of Dr. Seuss. A grand doorstop of a book containing more than 300 glossy pages choc-filled with Dr Seuss’s fabulous art, from his razor-sharp anti-Hitler cartoons of the late 30s through sketches for classics like Oh The Places You’ll Go and Green Eggs And Ham, to many examples of previously unpublished work. A treasury of magic by an American original.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj-dcDsDmOA
