{"id":1324,"date":"2012-04-26T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nowthissound.com\/ntsib\/?p=1324"},"modified":"2014-11-05T22:00:39","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T03:00:39","slug":"a-good-read-a-good-listen-and-a-good-drink-rubber-city-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nowthissound.com\/ntsib\/2012\/04\/26\/a-good-read-a-good-listen-and-a-good-drink-rubber-city-review\/","title":{"rendered":"A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Rubber City Review"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Tim Quine blowin' harp with Bo Diddley<\/p><\/div><\/center><\/p>\n

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.<\/p>\n

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Though he’s been vilified in the press (see “blues-snob uncle” in Rolling Stone<\/i>‘s profile of the Black Keys<\/a>, January 19, 2012), Tim Quine, the head honcho at the Rubber City Review<\/i><\/a>, has been nothing but kind and supportive to us up here by the lake. I learned of RCR when a link to the Akron-based music blog was posted to the Black Keys’ Myspace page (shush), and I was immediately taken not only with Tim’s deep and wide knowledge of music ranging everywhere from blues to western swing to jazz, but also with what a good read it was. No dry scholar Mr. Quine, his prose is generous with engaging information and abundant humor.<\/p>\n

I’m very happy to have him here, sharing some wonderful recommendations with us. <\/p>\n

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Good Read:<\/b>
\nStraight Life: The Story of Art Pepper<\/i><\/a>
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always had this weakness for West Coast jazz: guys like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz and Paul Desmond. But my favorite is Art Pepper\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 The cool, seductive sound of his horn always knocks me sideways. So of course I had to dive right into \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Straight Life,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the riveting autobiography that he co-wrote with his wife Laurie. Most of it is a harrowing account of his life as a heroin addict, including brutally honest stories of various acts of crime, his time in prison and his eventual recovery. Much like Miles Davis, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to reconcile the man with his music. And I found Pepper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s account of his legendary session with Miles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rhythm section especially mind-blowing. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been strung out for some time and hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even played in six months. In fact, the mouthpiece of his sax practically fell apart in his hands when he tried to clean it only hours before the gig (he ended up taping it together before heading out the door). But he somehow pulled himself together to record a jazz classic, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d owned the album for years before reading the book\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 It still shocks me that he could play so flawlessly (with three guys he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never met before, by the way) while struggling with so many demons.<\/p>\n

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