Continuing the short shots...

From the West Chester Public Library I grabbed a book that turned out to be a whole lot shorter than I'd expected: God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a quick one - one tape long and not even a complete second side at that - which turns out to make sense because it's a collection of 90-second shorts that Vonnegut wrote for WNYC, an NYC NPR station. In the book, Vonnegut transcribes after-life interviews that he conducted from near-death experiences guided by the titular physician.

It's not the finest thing that Vonnegut's written, but I don't think it's meant to be. It's quick, light-hearted (for the most part), and funny.

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I didn't grab the version with that little sticker in the bottom corner because I wanted to have the Beastie Boys' Solid Gold Hits to play at school. I'm a big fan of the Beastie Boys, and as such, there's probably no reason for me to pick up the album. It's got fifteen hits from the Boys but no new or rare material for fans - even the DVD (which I declined) doesn't have anything too rare since they've already released a collection of their videos.

The album is very good. It's got great songs all around, and there's a lot to be said for that if you don't already own all their albums. And, heck, if you don't own the Beastie Boys albums, go out immediately and get the full, vulgar version of this one since it's a quality greatest hits collection. If, on the other hand, you've already got their stuff, give this a pass unless you want the clean versions to take to school and play so you won't lose your job.

Oh, and the cover picture is a classic.

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Just to keep the Matrix a rockin', I threw the original Weezer album into the player. It's been a decade or more since the original release of the disc that's come to be known as the Blue Album since Rivers and the boys have come out with a green self-titled album. I haven't had a chance to pick up the deluxe edition (with a bunch of b-sides on the second disc), but the full original album still rocks amazingly well. It's got a half dozen songs that could've been charting hits, and there isn't a bit of filler on the cd at all.

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Randy Newman is a national treasure. He is one of the finest songwriters of the past half century (if not full century). His skills range far and wide, from wholesome songs ("You've got a Friend in Me") to movie scores (Avalon) to racial commentary ("Rednecks" and "Sail Away") to comedy ("It's Money that I Love" and "Political Science"), and he ia amazingly adept at every genre.

On The Randy Newman Songbook, vol 1, one of my favorite of his albums, with Newman playing and singing his songs solo, stripping them back to just his voice and a piano. These aren't his greatest hits - though some of his best-known songs are here - but rather the songs that he seems to enjoy most, that he wanted to look back at. BY taking away his sometime sacharine arrangements, we are left to enjoy and laugh at Newman's words which are absolutely amazing.

He's a phenomenal artist, and if this really is the first of a promised three-volume set to be eventually released, I'll definitely be picking up the others when they appear. This is one of my favorite albums right now, and it's always high on my playlists.