April 3, 2020

CD Review

Carla Ulbrich - The Loud Album

That said, Carla can get loud all by herself. On track one, over fuzz-tone guitar, she rams "Things That I Trust More Than You," down an obviously lying offender's throat, like "tap water from Flint" and "gas station sushi."

On track two, she lampoons a buyer who overspends on questionable bargains at "The Dollar Store," because "It only costs a buck." Things like, "batteries that suck" and "A book by Simon Cowell." The enthusiastic buyer derides another shopper buying only pencils and paper as deranged ("Who does THAT?!!")

For the most part, as a satirist, Carla chooses to vocalize as someone resembling an imaginary Southerner, somebody's sharp-tongued aunt Willa Mae who bakes biscuits to die for, but can spot B.S. in a heartbeat and shred it with a verbal shotgun.

One track that exposes her true honeyed tone is "Fat Elvis." The thudding drums and snarling lead guitar sit low in the mix to allow Carla's silky vocal to glide over lyrics describing The King's questionable dietary choices ("peanut butter and bananas in a milkshake") as well as the souvenir and impersonator industry he spawned.

Song parodies are are a staple in the musical satirist's repertoire and Carla uses them like a scalpel.

"Take Me Out to the Overpriced Ballgame" is a one-line mouthful in a song, but the observational humor is brilliant. The play-by-play commentary turning into product commercials, in particular:   "Syndergaard is in a tight spot … and if you're in a tight spot, you can lose up to 20 pounds in your first month with Nutrisystem!"

"Stuck at 13" parodies Billy Joel's "Always a Woman to Me," "… blaming farts on the dog, she will always be stuck at 13."

Our new social reality presents some real difficulties for singer/songwriters, but we'll need humor more than ever and Carla Uhbrich will be here to provide it.

You can buy Carla’s albums here: https://carlaulbrich.com/buy-stuff

Book Review

Jim Infantino 

The Wakeful Wanderer's Guide to the New New England & Beyond (2018)

My desire to reconnect with that song led me online to discover his not-so-recent futuristic novel. I downloaded the Kindle version and embarked upon a roller coaster mind-ride through Jim's fertile imagination.

As a touring musician with his band, Jim's Big Ego, when a story idea struck, his first impulse has always been to write a song. Jim's inventive lyricism pushes his insistent drive to create something new and original. When the inspiration for a longer story struck, he needed to write a novel.

The premise of "Wakeful Wanderer's Guide" deals with a future in which a cataclysmic tide has changed human living conditions. Society has evolved to include a way of communicating through nonverbal "thexting," a combination of thought and texting. The trials of the central figure, Marto, a wandering historian, illustrate the ways in which society might deal with technology, nature and human hostility. Jim presents a more positive way of living that chooses a system of "merit" accounting instead of credit.

As he states in the "About" section in the Kindle version: "Like the present, the future will be a mix of good and bad. I try to imagine the good that might arrive in spite of all the bad because imagination is the first par of creation.

Acoustic Live recommends purchasing the Kindle edition (are book stores regarded as "essential right now?) so you too can embark on a memorable journey.

https://www.amazon.com/Wakeful-Wanderers-Guide-England-Beyond-ebook/dp/B07CT4Y7LJ