Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace discussion

Once again, I am shamelessly borrowing Ian Graye's excellent idea of adding a music thread to a book discussion group. Group members have excellent taste in music as well as literature, and I am looking forward to some creative links here!

ETA: Jason has created a collaborative playlist on spotify, so that group members who are Spotify users can help to create and listen to an Infinite Jest group playlist. Here's the link:
http://open.spotify.com/user/ancatdub...
Thanks Jason - great idea!

Kris wrote: "Once again, I am shamelessly borrowing Ian Graye's excellent idea of adding a music thread to a book discussion group. Group members have excellent taste in music as well as literature, and I am lo..."

YES! but i can't help until i start reading. :/

can't wait to see what we create...

The video for this song is admittedly and directly inspired by Infinite Jest according to the band themselves.

Decent tune (The Decemberists are usually hit or miss for me, this one is meh): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJpfK7...

Oh, nice! Wow. And I LOVE that video.

Here's Hal's mixtape as imagined by the folks at Flavorwire:

http://www.flavorwire.com/171793/lite...

http://open.spotify.com/user/ancatdub...

No problem!

Bird Brian wrote: "The feel of "Sour Times" (Portishead) goes well with how I feel about a lot of Don Gately's scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niIcxM..."

Added! (since I know you don't have Spotify)

Ooh, Portishead and Station to Station, great choices. Also, love Christiane F.

Someone should also go through the Lipsky and pick out DFW's pop music picks, hah.

This song also makes me think of DFW - Arcade Fire's "We Used To Wait" from "The Suburbs" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nTjn1...

Okay, but can you add tracks, Moira?

I have spotify but I'm an idiot with things. How do you add tracks to someone else's list? Or is that not what you're talking about?

Yeah, I made the list "collaborative" so you should be able to drag tracks into it as if it were your own. Click the link and "subscribe" to it and it should dock to your Playlists. (the link is in message 1, above.)

Oh okay--I will have a look when I get home and subscribe to it.

Even through I haven't read IJ yet, I love the music you are posting so far. Portishead, Bowie, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire are all great choices. Can't wait to see where this goes.

I see Kris and Marieke have joined the playlist. It is working!

Jason wrote: "I see Kris and Marieke have joined the playlist. It is working!"

i don't know how to add stuff yet, but i have spent the whole evening cooking and now i'm eating it...so i haven't tried to figure out how to add things.

did you want to add the tracks from the literary mixtape?

How much fun this is to create music libraries to go along with these great reads!

Jason wrote: "Okay, but can you add tracks, Moira?"

I didn't see this til just now - I'll see if I can add tracks today (should be able to, no?).

Radiohead — “Subterranean Homesick Alien”

We’re going to go even further and say that OK Computer would be Hal’s favorite album of all time. There may be a few seventeen year old boys who didn’t love that album, but we’re pretty confident there are zero seventeen year old boys who read the Oxford English Dictionary for fun who didn’t love that album.

Haaaah, flavorwire, you send me. - That worked! Was able to add it.

Also hah, some people tried this already -

http://skylightbooks.blogspot.com/201...

http://nightlypudding.wordpress.com/2...

I can't believe I didn't think of 'Videotape'! Totally classic. The Dar Williams is a pretty good pick, too. Boy, that pudding person is awfully fond of Badly Drawn Boy, tho.

Nice, Moira! I see you on my spotify. Coo`.

So many great links already! I love all these IJ playlists people make. I'll have to do one myself when the time comes to read.

For some reason this song came to mind (with the infinite thing and all): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-EW-C...

Stephen, do you have Spotify?

Yes, I believe so..... I don't use it that often. But I'd love to connect with the playlist you got going there.

Try to connect & see if you can add that Modest Mouse track.

I just activated Spotify and have joined your playlist, Jason. Great idea!

I have no idea how to use Spotify yet, but will be very interested in following the list as it develops.

Yay Jim - so glad you're here. :)

Thanks so much, Kris!

Jason wrote: "Nice, Moira! I see you on my spotify. Coo`."

I'm actually on last.fm more - well, I was on there even more when you could ACTUALLY STREAM MUSIC, ahem. http://www.last.fm/user/the_red_shoes Spotify's cool except the free version has those ads! Ack.

Also maybe kinda cliched but to me this is soooo Gately. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=... (Gately fans, represent!)

I shouldn't even mention this, because I am completely ignorant of rap (except for Public Enemy) but I suspect Wallace would probably be...exasperated at the whiteness of our musical list so far, considering that when he lived in Boston he and Mark Costello actually wrote a book about rap...and as I say I am absolutely the last person to remedy this situation, but. I can only observe & describe. Bravo to all of you for getting the ball rolling....

JSA, the link to the Spotify list is in message 1. It is in "collaborative" mode so feel free to subscribe to it and add whatever you think fits the IJ theme—lily white or not.

I just made a contribution to the Infinite Jest playlist. Hopefully that gets some of the white out.

Stephen M wrote: "I just made a contribution to the Infinite Jest playlist. Hopefully that gets some of the white out."

lol...i'm going to check it out in a moment. i haven't tried adding anything yet, but at some point i'll get up the courage. :)

Bird Brian wrote: "I think Nina Simone's You Don't Know What Love Is is fitting to Joelle Van Dyne's character."

Oh, beautiful choice. I was also maybe thinking "Awfully Deep" by Roots Manuva, it's a great song about insomnia. - "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash? Heh.

D'accord—I have bravely added Queen Latifah (for Avril of course). "Who you callin' a bitch?!" May throw some N.W.A. in there later....

Bird Brian wrote: "Thanks, Moira. I don't know the two you suggested, but will check them out!"

Here you go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ChjLM...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlxKxM...#

Roots is great.

Anybody else have a hopeless crush on like Mark Lanegan? Lots of stuff about addiction and misery. But catchy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lthYaP...

I think two of the top groups/musicians I associate with this book are Radiohead, and Tom Waits. Heh.

another one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZflanL...#

Moira wrote: "Anybody else have a hopeless crush on like Mark Lanegan? Lots of stuff about addiction and misery. But catchy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lthYaP...

I think two of the top gro..."

Love, love, love ML.

We are like music twins! That is pretty awesome.

Oh yeah, Kris did you see THIS? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4QXgd... Phenomenal.

I am trying to remember if there are songs about tennis. Or Federer. All my mind yields up is "Take the Skinheads Bowling," whoops no.

Moira wrote: "Oh yeah, Kris did you see THIS? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4QXgd... Phenomenal.

I am trying to remember if there are songs about tennis. Or Federer. All my mind yields up is..."

Oh yes :) <3 PJH. I got to see this tour.

Well, there's the group Tennis....

Kris wrote: "Oh yes :) <3 PJH. I got to see this tour.

YOU DID. WOW.

Well, there's the group Tennis.... "

All they need to do is write an ode to Federer! Heh....didn't he just lose big or something? Aww.

Cream - Anyone for Tennis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB2f6-...

Dan Bern wrote....a whole album of tennis songs? Apparently. I did not know that. An ex of mine is super hot on him, so I uh tend to avoid his work.

Wait WAIT WAIT, HOLD THE PHONE, apparently we can solve the Unbearable Whiteness and the tennis problems AT THE SAME DAMN TIME: http://www.britishtennis.com/lyrics/

DFW I just listened to goddamn Pavement for you, I hope you're happy on your cloud joking with Kafka and Wittgenstein.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vBRRK...#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg9uvP...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9kLy8...


....man, I give up here. I am just not a sports person.

....wtf Spotify doesn't have Videotape (or any of In Rainbows?) on it? Hunh.

Spotify definitely has its weaknesses.

Jason wrote: "Spotify definitely has its weaknesses."

MY GOD, they don't have Picture Books by the Kinks, either. Oh well. Hah, uh, I filled up the playlist with stuff from here, some of my stuff, some of the songs on playlists from other websites (linked earlier).

even so, nice work, Moira! i'm looking forward to listening to all those new additions tomorrow.