Playist 48 Exposes Some Knit Wits

What an incredible seven-day stretch. It was bookended by the Phillies World Series championship and Barak Obama's historic election. I also had a vacation from work for most of the days. The wife and I took a long walk on the beach (sorry to sound like a bad personal ad) from Carlin Park to Jupiter Inlet/Dubois Park, helped driver voters (OK, voter) to the polls. And we ended the great week with a kayak trip through the Intercoastal at MacArthur Beach State Park.

Here now, this week's Playlist ...

The White Tiger. Aravind Adiga.
I don't know how accurately White Tiger portrays India's caste system, but Adiga gives us a heartfelt, funny and bitter tale of class and greed. The book unfolds as a letter from Balram to the Premier of China. Balram, one of the funniest and oddest literary characters, recounts his life from the days in the hopelessly poor Darkness to his job as a driver/servant. And he explains how he became a murderer, or as he calls himself -- a social entreprenuer. Adiga's debut novel won the Man Booker Prize.

Throughout the book, Balram talks about the four great poets. One of them, Iqbal, is the focus of this week's Wikipedia link.

The World's Most Inoffensive Graffiti
All right, let's hear it for graffiti! No not the spray paint kind. The knitting kind. Yes, there is a group of urban knitters, with names such as knitta please who are doing some incredible "tags." Check it out at Deputy Dog.

Auditorium. The Radar Bros.
I just recently discovered the Radar Bros., but their sound is so familiar, I swear I've heard it before. It's no wonder they've been compared to everyone from Neil Young (hasn't everyone been compared to Shakey?) to Pink Floyd. Jim Putnam reminds me of Smog's Bill Callahan. The Radar Bros. have been tagged "slowcore", but I hear well-written California-drenched, hazy yet roots-enfused pop songs. Auditorium was released earlier this year. Check out When Cold Air Rises and Warm Rising Son on Hear This!