2008-05 Vital Source Mag – May 2008
No more gilding the lily
“To gild refined gold, to paint the lily… is wasteful and ridiculous excess.” —Shakespeare, from King John (1595): This morning my son and I were planning his 10th birthday party. I live in East Town Tosa, a neighborhood that straddles the border between affluent aspirations and working class reality. His first few years of school, in the early 2000s, I was frequently faced with extravagant birthday parties and gift-giving that felt like either intense competition between parents or the setting of an unhealthy precedent. Of course, everyone’s intentions were good, but it still bugged me. So each year when Harry’s turn to “celebrate” came, I sent a note to parents asking that he not receive gifts in excess of $20 and informing them that we would not open presents at the party, but would send thank-you’s afterward. To my surprise, a few parents whispered their approval in my ear, though just a few took up the call. Harry’s parties get great reviews – we’ve done a backyard campout, a day at Miller Beach, an all-night Star Wars movie-thon (complete with light saber battles in the living room) and my favorite – inviting three boys over to pick up all the sticks in my yard, then burning them in the fire pit while roasting marshmallows. Two for one, everybody wins! And here’s what you don’t see at his get-togethers: boys comparing the gifts they brought; begging for more tokens when they run out first; crying quiet tears in the back seat because they didn’t win a big prize at the arcade. The reason is simple: contentment truly is more about imagination than money. And Harry’s story is a metaphor for what I see all around me these days. Over the last decade, so many fools (yeah, I said it) have spent up their available credit simply because they could, blindly swallowing fantasy stories about an ever-expanding economy and America’s lifestyle entitlement. They believed it was okay to pay way too much for a house because interest rates were low; they justified gas-guzzling, expensive-to-insure, high-payment vehicles for the flimsiest of reasons, which in fact came down to no more than, “It’s shiny and I want it like an Oompa Loompa – now.” At the same time, over 40 million citizens were without health insurance and 13 million children were living below the poverty line. If put to the question, only the most megalomaniacal of conservative thinkers could believe the situation was good for the future of the nation. It just goes to show another apparent deficiency in our education system: the lack of emphasis on cautionary tales. The Panic of 1893, the 1907 Bankers Panic (the 4th in 34 years), the Crash of 1929, the Great Depression, the 1973 oil crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the 1990 oil crisis leading to the Gulf War, five recessions in less than 30 years. The list is incomplete, but long enough to establish a pattern: We rise, we fall. As individuals we don’t control market […]
May 1st, 2008 by Jon Anne Willow
R.E.M.
“Accelerate” is the perfect title for this recording. After eight years of this millennium mired in a slow gear, seemingly lost on some road in the countryside of musical exploration, R.E.M. has picked up the pace and returned to the path they pretty much paved. This recording is thicker, brighter and much more confident in every aspect: songwriting, production and musicianship. The composition is pure and lean, with 11 tight songs that keep the focus on substance. It all works. Starting off with “Living Well is the Best Revenge,” Michael, Peter and Mike (with exemplary playing from second guitarist Scott McCaughey and drummer Bill Rieflin, whose work is the most urgent and propulsive in the band’s history) lay it all out for the listener. Co-Producer Jacknife Lee has situated each instrument in an incontrovertible sonic space/place. There’s a fresh sound throughout, yet it’s undeniably authentic to the band’s history. Beyond all the subtext of their redemption and rebirth, R.E.M. has not just crafted songs that are cohesive as a collection; they also stand up alongside much of their best work. And like the rest of R.E.M.’s best work, they have captured their muse in each song: four minutes or less of absolute essence. The back-to-back middle passage of “Accelerate” and “Until the Day Is Done” are prime examples: each of a different ilk, both undeniable in their certainty.
May 1st, 2008 by Troy Butero
Fever Marlene
Milwaukee’s Fever Marlene have a serious work ethic – they’ve unflaggingly made their presence known since taking up residence in their Historic Fifth Ward creative/living space, absorbing the industriousness of their neighborhood. Scott Starr (guitars, keys, vocals) and Kevin Dunphy (drums, vocals), a duo whose sound is more fleshed out than many a four- or five-piece can claim, received solid praise for their 2007 release Civil War, and their songs spin through the airwaves of local radio stations not just because they’re “Milwaukee music,” but because their music is that good. With White China, Starr and Dunphy are striding it out after a run of successful previous releases. Recorded in the infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York City, Fever Marlene have returned home to release it on their very own Rev Pop label. Dense with pianos, synthesizers, strings and various percussion and held together by Starr’s expressive tenor and Dunphy’s lovely shadow-harmonies, White China shows that the band is comfortable enough to make slight alterations, but clever enough to stick to the formula. On “Oh Berlin,” the piano intro sets an echo-y Motown backbeat, but when brassy guitar chords and Starr’s soft voice kick in, the effect is anything but dated. The sincerity of the songs lies in the vocals and lyrics, and the instrumentation follows suit by default. The upbeat “Lemon King Mahoney” and country-tinged “How Do You Love?” are diversions from the duo’s blanket of rainy-day pop. “Check for Pulse” gets closer with its looped beats and distantly drawled-out guitars – the only thing missing is the hushed sound of raindrops. White China is not Fever Marlene’s pluckiest album, but it is solidly pretty and genuinely enjoyable. Starr and Dunphy have proven that they are more than capable of the songsmith careers they have chosen.
May 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
Happy Trails
It’s official: you have no good excuse to stay home this summer. Okay, we take that back. If you want to stay home this summer, you’re welcome to. But there’s a ton to do around here, so we want to make sure you have plenty of ideas for ways to enjoy yourself. Look, we hear you. Times are tight. Fuel costs are insane, which means prices for everything else are insane, too. Consumer confidence is at an epic low, and everywhere we turn, another flawed system we’ve trusted for too long seems poised to collapse: the housing market, health care, energy, the American dollar. We’re still at war. We’re facing down a mighty sense of global unease. And, increasingly, we’re called to task on the bad shape our planet is in, thanks to a hundred odd-years of industrialization, exponential growth and the unchecked exploitation of our natural resources. It’s too soon to determine the consequences of humanity’s reckless abandon, but they could be dire – even disastrous. We know that if we don’t curb the depletion soon, we’ll be helpless when things start to get really nasty. It’s enough to make you hunker down in your cellar with some canned goods and a few good books and say, “See you at Christmas.” But here’s the good news: Wisconsin is amazing. We mean it: rich natural beauty, a diverse cultural landscape, a wide swath of arts offerings. It sounds tired, but it’s true. And thankfully, traveling lightly in Wisconsin – whether you want to kayak, see Shakespeare outdoors, hear a bluegrass band or just eat some chocolate – is easy. It’s good for your wallet and for the world at large. In fact, there has never been a better time to gain perspective, to reconnect with yourself, your family and the land we all share, to learn, to be an active, fearless member of society. We are so anxious for you to have a good summer that we’ve spent some time and thought putting together this idea book of low-stress, low-cost, low-impact summer leisure options. It’s a starting point, so browse and brainstorm. Grab some Post-Its or take some notes. Tread lightly this summer, but please, whatever you do, never forget that fun is a top priority. FOR THE ACTION/ADVENTURER You might think of the rugged north woods or the towering bluffs of the driftless zone when you think of adventure travel in the Badger State, but you don’t have to go that far. Get in gear with Bike to Work Week, brought to you by the Bike Federation of Wisconsin, May 11 – May 16. It’s not just a healthier and more conscious way to conduct a daily commute; there are events planned throughout the city for every day of the week, including a Mother’s Day ride along the lakefront, a morning cruise downtown with the Mayor, daily coffee breaks at the Alterra Foundry, mid-week bar trivia, and a grand finale meet-up at Jackalope Lounj and bike-in to the movies […]
May 1st, 2008 by Amy Elliott
Exercising Ideals
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” Dave Casillas, of the newly founded Echo Base Collective, is not only familiar with this proverb; he is actively trying to live by it. “People don’t appreciate what they have. They’ve got cars, but don’t treat their cars with respect; they don’t drive respectfully. Bike riders, too. They should stop at stop signs instead of plowing through them.” This motivated 23-year-old isn’t merely preaching Utopianism. Echo Base Collective (Milwaukee’s second bike collective – the other is at 2910 W. Clybourn Street) is located in the industrial environs of Walker’s Point, between Milwaukee’s Third Ward and Bay View. It’s an exercise in idealism, but with the proper pushes from the right people, it could become a place where anyone can not only find a bicycle to get them out of doors and into a more active lifestyle, but also learn how to maintain their own bikes and help build bikes for others. Casillas’ motivation comes from his own volunteer experiences and via a cross-country biking expedition that introduced him to collectives on the west coast. He was impressed with what he encountered there. “In Portland, there are four different free bike programs. [In Milwaukee] I’ve gone through the hard work of finding the space and providing the ability to create something. It’s up to everyone else to own up to the fact that they can better their community and own lives.” Ready The collective, a bare-bones space for the moment, houses over 50 bicycles, both kids’ and adults’, mostly donated by The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and salvaged from Casillas’ own scouting for discarded bikes. They hang from racks on the wall of the collective, ready to be worked on; many wait in storage. The trick is to find enough people to pitch in and make them all working machines. “I’m very motivated, more so than most people,” Casillas says of his mindset towards his collective. “When someone says, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll totally help you,’ I would have to go to their house, wake them up, drag them out and probably dress them just to get them to come down. I’m really looking for people who are motivated enough to take their own initiative.” “[The other collectives I’ve worked in before] have already been established for two or three years,” explains Casillas. “Starting out is the hardest part – it’s as grassroots as you get. I need teachers, people who just want to sweep the floor – anything – even to sort through all these tires. I want to create an environment where you can just enjoy the company of other people.” Set This is the bottom line from which Casillas is building the foundation of the collective: enjoying the company of others and developing mutual respect through hard work. “I pretty much started Echo Base as a facility to put a bike between every pair of legs – […]
May 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
