Reviews of films, books and CDs that deserve a second look

BOOK

LOVE IS THE ONLY STORY:
TALES OF ROMANCE
Ed. Ben Schrank
Lyons Press, 2003
$19.95

Many a time it's the title that intrigues, and so it was with this compilation of short stories. Fifteen authors, of varying repute, agreed to be included in this edition. Many of them I had heard of, some I had read elsewhere and some I had no idea who they were. Italian postmodernist Italo Calvino is represented with "The memoirs of Casanova" which was so underwhelming that I was worried that I would be put in a bad humour by the rest of the book. Then I read George Saunders' "The barber's unhappiness," a simple story of a middle aged man living with his mother and daydreaming about finding the right girl. He met finally a woman at a driver's ed school. She has such a pretty face he falls in love immediately, but when she stands up she's -- shall we say -- a bit on the disproportionate side. I was back in the mood for love. Many others were well-represented, such as Charles Bukowski, with "The most beautiful girl in town" and Isaac Babel with "The kiss."

Yet the best short story for me was by Anton Chekhov. His story, over a century old and in translation from the Russian, stood out as the warmest and most touching. This simple tale of a married man in his late 30s and a much younger married woman with her dog starts out in Yalta and reconnects in Moscow, where both of them realize that "the end was still far, far away and that the hardest, most complicated part was only just beginning."

Isn't that always the way it is. -- Dr Marcus Martin

FILM

LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA
Dir: Aki Kaurismäki
Sputnik Oy, 1989

A group of men with outrageous black pompadours and equally outrageous winkle-pickers gather in a draughty barn on the Siberian tundra. An unsmiling man sits on a crate in the corner while a fur-coated mustachioed man lurks nearby. The pompadours play a mix of surf and folkloric music complete with accordian and full brass section. When they finish the seated man turns to the fur coat and says: "Take them to America -- people there will swallow any kind of sh%#."

And so opens Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's 1989 indie classic, a kind of Siberian Spinal Tap. The Leningrad Cowboys are real and they are the most untalented band in the world. They make grown club owners weep and have never heard of rock n' roll. It's going to be a rough trip. They buy an enormous Cadillac from fellow indie filmmaker/used car salesman Jim Jarmusch and set off in search of a Mexican wedding gig. Along the way their tyrannical manager Vladimir keeps all the beer to himself, occasionally tosses a bag of onions their way to keep them alive, and they meet their long-lost be-quiffed cousin pumping gas in rural Texas. It's an atmospheric road movie laced with humour, America seen through the eyes of monosyllabic Euro teddy boys brimming with naivete and love for the tractors they left behind.

Kaurismaki, Finland's top export after Nokia, won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival 2002 for his latest flick "The man without a past." Leningrad Cowboys Go America had two documentary sequels, Total Balalaika Show (1993) and Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994). -- Toss Taylor

POP

TRANSIENT RANDOM-NOISE
BURSTS WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Stereolab
Elektra, 1993

London-based quintet Stereolab, coined as one of the most influential independent bands of the early 90s, is the epitome of the indy-pop genre, and nothing like its mainstream contemporaries. Political Marxist lyrics mixed with ethereal pop melodies and 60s-inspired rock drones is what separates Stereolab from the rest of the pack. Their first major label release is a testament to both their style and influence. Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, released in the fall of 1993, was an underground and college hit in both the US and UK. Dominated by more experimental sounds, the album shifts from sensual, smooth tracks to more bouncy pop tunes. The band's signature sound is highlighted by lead-vocalist Laetitia Sadier's hypnotic voice. Songs like "Pack Yr Romantic Mind" and "I'm Going Out of My Way" showcase Ms Sadier's vocal ability and the harmony she achieves with back-up vocalist Mary Hansen. Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements is an album that's worth a listen. There is something soft and melodic about the music and this album highlights the band at its best. It's the perfect album to pop in the CD player on a sunny Sunday morning.

-- Carla Sparks

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