Word: faulknerisms
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...deep South dead since 1865 and peopled with garrulous outraged baffled ghosts...and the Quentin Compson who was still too young to deserve yet to be a ghost, but nevertheless having to be one for all that, since he was born and bred in the deep South...--William Faulkner Absalom, Absalom...
...fellow Southerner and I went to Anderson Bridge not long ago in search of the plaque commemorating Compson's mythic jump. Years ago a group of Faulkner fans are said to have placed a bronze plaque on the side of the bridge that saw Compson's tumble. It is also said that not long ago, a group of equally ardent fans stole the plaque. We did not know that as we approached the bridge, eager to pay homage to the desperation Compson felt; I understood a bit of his confusion...
Leland has almost succeeded in putting together the perfect postmodern Southern novel--you can taste the chunks of Faulkner, Warren, and Flamingo Road that he has dropped in his literary Cuisinart and spread across the pages. The only thing is, Leland has ground his sources so fine that Mrs. Randall lacks the kind of semi-mocking tone that gives the post-modern credo its camp appeal. Instead, Leland has invested his novel with the virtues of the great Hollywood dramas of the 20's and 30's, where plots and characters you had seen many times before were distilled...
...Faulkner seems to have custom-penned this piece of blithe, bopping banality for the California girl-group; he should have donated it to them outright. His shouting vocals don't belong on the same song as their syrupy harmonies, and the Bangles certainly don't belong on the Hoodoo Gurus' album...
Still, most of the songs are colored by the country twang of Davis' guitar and voice and the punk insistence of the rhythm. Like William Faulkner, Dash Rip Rock seems ambivalent about its southern roots, but that ambivalence makes its art richer. Plus, Dash Rip Rock must be a killer live band, but until it comes to the Northeast to play--and thereby to incite riots--Dash Rip Rock will suffice as a substitute...