Much-loved New York anti-folker Jeffrey Lewis has formed a band, The Bundles, with fellow indie icon Kimya Dawson, plus Jack Lewis, Anders Griffen and Karl Blau. Here Jeffrey, Kimya, Jack and Anders give us their recent recommendations:
Favourite Book:
Jeffrey: “Slice Harvester, a hilarious ‘zine by a New York guy who is writing reviews of one plain pizza slice from every single pizzeria in NYC. There’s thousands!”
Kimya: “The Kids Are All Right, a memoir by the Welch siblings. Dan was my number one crush in middle school, so maybe I am biased.”
Jack: “Running after Antelope by Scott Carrier: A story about brothers, nature and going crazy by a frequent contributor to the NPR show This American Life, a podcast we listen to on tour as much as possible.”
Anders: “I’ve just started reading Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by esteemed historian and prize-winning author Robin D.G. Kelley. This promises to be a fascinating read as it has already in the first chapter began to put Monk’s roots in context while illuminating America’s past so eloquently and with a rare sense of realism.”
Favourite Album:
Jeffrey: “I finally got my hands on ‘The Ultimate Prophecy’ by JD Blackfoot (1969). Side A is typical late ’60s rock, but it’s all about Side B’s high-octane heavy acid rock awesomeness. You can’t beat an album side that starts with somebody loudly declaring ‘THIS is the ULTIMATE prophecy!’”
Kimya: “Tin Tree Factory, ‘Admire The Mess’ – Johnny D is a member of the Olympia free choir and he is magic. This album makes me cry and laugh and cry and hoot and holler.”
Jack: “Vapors: ‘Islands.’ Just when I thought my love affair with the Unicorns was over.”
Anders: “I am constantly working on other people’s music – learning songs, listening to rough mixes, etc. I’m not sure I’ve been listening to many albums of late. Definitely been listening to a lot of Diane Cluck – rehearsal recordings and rough mixes from our Fall 2008 tour which should be released this summer. Also listening to a lot of John Ludington – a really amazing songwriter if you’ve never heard him (and he’s just as amazing if you have heard him) – songs that I will be recording in the coming months. There is also a great Dufus album on the way if we can ever get this thing mixed; it’s sounding really cool and the music is great.”
Favourite Movie:
Jeffrey: “On my flight to Australia the other week I watched about six movies, and the one that blew me away the most was the Michael Jackson This Is It documentary. I don’t know if you have to be a Michael Jackson fan to love this movie, but then again who isn’t a Michael Jackson fan?”
Kimya: “A few weeks ago I thought I was going to see ‘Where The Wild Things Are and until the film actually began I didn’t know I had walked into Precious. I stayed and watched. My soul was ripped to pieces. But what wouldn’t appeal to me about a troubled fat black girl mama trying to make better for herself?”
Jack: “Bad Lieutenant – Port of Call New Orleans. Youth in Revolt. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus…”
Anders: “Gosh, another area I’ve been missing out.”
Favourite TV Show:
Jeffrey: “I don’t have a TV – which I know is like in the book Stuff White People Like, where we like saying “I don’t have a TV!” – but I always enjoy Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Kimya: “Glee, dammit. Sure do Love me some Glee. I also like Big Love and Breaking Bad. Just started watching Strangers With Candy again. That’s some good shit.”
Jack: “I watch all my TV online, so not having a TV doesn’t stop me: The Sarah Silverman show, Curb…”
Anders: “I don’t watch much TV, but I’m a big New York Rangers hockey fan. However they’ve made it difficult to be a fan as they’re an almost unbelievable disappointment. If they could get it together I would be watching them more.”
Favourite Gadgets:
Jeffrey: “Going on tour before we bought a GPS it was like being pretty much guaranteed to get at least a little bit lost and frustrated every single day, having a GPS as a touring band is an incredible improvement, like one small step for a band, one giant leap for bandkind.”
Kimya: “Electric toothbrush.”
Jack: “I just bought a mini-disc recorder at a yardsale for five dollars, not sure if it works”
Anders: “My iPhone I suppose. I don’t think I’m into gadgets as a rule but since I’m always listening to tunes it’s convenient to have my media player and phone rolled into one. Despite complaints of dropped calls I’ve had no difficulties or complaints in NYC.”
Favourite Website:
Jeffrey: “It’s not very imaginative to just say YouTube, but the 30-second clip Mega Wicker Man should convince anybody that YouTube is still hard to beat as a forum for silly/brilliant human creativity. Also I love that you can “attend” lectures at high-end universities on YouTube, this was very educational for me when I was recently researching the Peloponnesian War, I took a whole semester’s worth of Yale lectures on ancient Greece right in my own bedroom, on my own schedule, for free – incredible!”
Kimya: “Etsy. There have been days I have looked in the mirror and everything from the top of my head to my ankles is from Etsy (except for my bra). Those are proud days. Handmade rules.”
Jack: “Huffingtonpost.com. Porn for liberals. Sometimes literally porn.”
Anders: “Favorite website? No.”
The Bundles ’eponymous album is out now.
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Clash Magazine Issue 50
This is an excerpt from an article that appears in the 50th issue of Clash Magazine. Pick it up in stores from May 7th. |
