Video: The Ballad Of Hollis Wadsworth Mason Junior at the Bushwick Bookclub

Every month, a bunch of Brooklyn hipsters/book nerds get together at a bar for a program of local artists performing songs inspired by a selected book. It's called the Bushwick Bookclub, though it's less a bookclub and more an open mic night meets school book reports meet Iron Chef. This month the musician's not so secret ingredient was Watchmen, so Geekanerd was on the scene.

The evening saw a full hour and a half of music, and while as with any open-mic night there will be varying degrees of quality, it was definitely a good time. There was also at least one truly great song that got right to the heart and soul of one of Watchmen's most endearing characters.

Here is that song, The Ballad of Hollis Wadsworth Mason Junior by Franz Nicolay, who you may recognize as the keyboardist for The Hold Steady (among other things). In his introduction to the song, Nicolay explained he was drawn to Hollis both because of his verbose name and because he considers him "the book's most sympathetic character."

This is of course but a low-fi excerpt from the full song, but hopefully the Bookclub will post a classier full version on their MySpace before long.

More video highlights and photos, after the jump...

Here's my second favorite song of the night, which was by the host of the evening, who made many salient observations about how all the lady characters in this book are, how shall I put this, literal or figurative whores? Preoccupied by sex to an extent that is not likely healthy, let's leave it at that. I'll transcribe the lyrics because they're just so spot on.

Laura I don't believe you when you say that you're upset
By those folks who died for take-out tandoori
One minute you're crying, the next you're undressed
Which could be kind of deep or kind of whore-y

Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh
You never liked the life
Uh huh, uh huh
What is that in your pipe?
Uh huh, uh huh
She was raised to fight
Uh huh, uh huh
What IS that in your pipe?

Some dude in the audience explained later that it's some sort of super tabacc that Doctor Manhattan invented, which actually makes a lot of sense...but still. Look at this crap. It's clearly a meatball:



These girls came in awesome pseudo-costume to sing their musicalization of John and Laurie's heavy metaphysical conversation on Mars. Their introduction also contained the best line of the night; "I'm John and this is Laurie. You can visit us on Facebook, under relationship it says 'It's Complicated'."

The crowd.

This all happened at a Bushwick bar called Goodbye Blue Monday, by the way.

Weekanerd NYC - Free Hold Steady, Comic Book Pundit Explosion, Pirate Bowling

Monday, September 17, 2007

• The Hold Steady
  
• 5:30 @ 7 World Trade Center, Manhattan
  

Did you know that the Hold Steady produced a comic book that illustrated lyrics from their brilliant 2006 release, The Boys And Girls In America? See them for FREE at this outdoor show, along with The Old 97s and Illinois. Admission on a First-Come basis.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

• Comic Book Club feat. iFanboy
  
• 8pm @ The PIT, 154 W. 29th Street, NYC
  

How much comic book fandom can you handle? This meeting of minds between NYC's hottest trios of comic criticism is likely to create some sort inter-dimensional black hole, or will possibly usher forth some matter of uber-nerd. So you'll want to be there for that.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

• Bowl Like A Pirate
  
• Laurel Lanes, 2825 Rt 73 South, Maple Shade, New Jersey(!)
  

ARR! Any scoundrel with his wits about him knows the 19th o' Sieptembree be International Talk Like A Pirate day. Gather a crew and a stout vessel, for this port lie in the black uncharted waters of Nova Jersii. Fer yer trouble ye get bowling, costume contests, and piratey drink specials at the local tavern. Hail (856) 778-7467 to make sure this actually be happening. Pirates be a notoriously unreliable lot.