Indeed

I worried at a couple points that the third season of The Wire would derail. The scope of this TV novel was sufficiently enormous after season two, and with further additions to an already complicated fictional Baltimore I didn't think they could pull it off. Simon and Burns involve the machinations of the police brass, the mayor's office, and the city council this time around, fleshing out the context of street-level drug operations and police detectives from season one, and the story line never loses its edge despite taking on more bureaucratic themes. Richard Price, George Pelecanos, and Dennis Lehane help add realistic grit.

It's amazing how each of the three seasons is radically different. The first focuses on a loose band of detectives and grunts who try to crack a powerful drug operation, the second focuses on longshoremen and corrupt union officials trying to save a dying local industry by using money from smuggling to bribe politicos, and the third gets more deeply into the politics and corruption while tying up dangling plot lines from the first year. Cha and I are miserable now because Season Four isn't on DVD yet. We'll have to fill in time with Deadwood.

Aside from the great writing, the characters and incredible casting help make this series something special. The gifted but self-destructive Jimmy McNulty; the smooth gangster turned real estate mogul Russell "Stringer" Bell; tough-as-nails and sexy Detective Kima Greggs; the heroine addict and police CI Bubbles; the conflicted and vengeful Deputy Commissioner Rawls--I could go on. My personal favorite character has his shining moment as a righteous Angel of Wrath in season three:




"Indeed."

Tunes

Giving this CD a workout lately. I might like it as much as I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One, which is my favorite Yo La Tengo*. I Am Not Afraid is specifically rooted in the 1960s/very early 1970s, with extended acid jams reminiscent of Ummagumma/Atom Heart Mother/Meddle-era Pink Floyd. There are aesthetically-pleasing nods to John Cale("Black Flowers") and Roger McGuinn ("The Race is On Again"), to Velvet Underground and the pop psychedelics of bands like the Electric Prunes. The album is not stale, however, and manages to innovate while successfully weaving its way through more than a dozen musical styles. The singing is interesting, the harmonies more complex than other YLT I know. There is lots of gorgeous guitar shredding, of course. At times moody, challenging, and mysterious, I Am Not Afraid is not afraid to include pure pop ditties either.

I might be too busy this weekend to see their Friday show at Sonar--hopefully I can get away!

*Tip of the hat to Silenus, who started this.