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Nick McCabe recommended Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division in Music (curated)

 
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
1979 | Rock
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"My eldest brother had Closer. I was listening to that from about ten-years-old onwards. Once I started to save money – working on a farm with my other brother, doing the milk round with him – that was the first time I had my own cash floating around and that money used to go on records. Unknown Pleasures was one of my first purchases. That was a key moment for me. It was my record. It hadn't been passed down. It was a completely new record in the household. That was me getting that experience first-hand, and it was such a brilliant record to have that with. The sleeve is another Peter Saville classic. The production on it is incredible. I know the band weren't happy with it, but to me it's a complete masterpiece. The use of space is evocative of Lancashire I think. The whole thing has this dank… I'm going to wheel out all the clichés now about empty warehouses and all that, but it is familiar territory for me where I'm from. Those smashed glasses at the end of 'I Remember Nothing', and the synth drones. I think that was around the time I got my first Roland synthesiser and it was another polarising moment. Something very powerful crystallised about what I wanted to do at that point. All I was capable of doing with that synth was making this huge powerful drone sound. It pointed the way. Having that induction – sat with the headphones on late at night... Music in the seventies was full of opposites. The stuff we heard on the radio was the friendly aspects of music. I wasn't looking for that. I was looking to be disturbed by it and that's something that I haven't really lost throughout my life."

Source
  
Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries
Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries
Tonya Kappes | 2018 | Mystery
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Campground Isn’t the Only Thing That Needed Fixing
Mae West’s life has turned upside down. Unbeknownst to her, her husband Paul was running a Ponzi scheme. When the dust from the FBI raid settles, Mae is left with no money, no home, and no friends. All she has is an RV and a campground in Kentucky. She heads there, hoping to figure out what she wants to do next with her life while she sells the place. However, when she arrives, she finds the place has been neglected and needs a lot of work. Then Paul escapes from prison and turns up dead in the campground’s lake. With Mae a logical prime suspect, she begins to work to clear her name. Can she do it?

I grew up camping, and I wanted to love this series set at a campground. Unfortunately, the flaws were just too many. The plot was good, including a logical killer and motive. However, there is a major plot hole in the final quarter of the book – one big enough to drive an RV through. Then there’s the law enforcement character who is supposed to be FBI but acts more like the local sheriff. The characters are pushing the edges of quirky, but they definitely grew on me. There are multiple issues with the grammar, something I am usually able to ignore pretty well, but here they were pretty bad. I think most of the flaws could have been fixed with a good, solid edit, but instead the book feels like it was rushed out. It is a quick read, and includes three delicious recipes and some household tips at the end. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, I will have to keep driving until I find a better campground cozy series.