We have something a little different this week, in the form of The Bushwick Book Club (Seattle). The Seattle designation is an important one, because the original Bushwick Book Club is straight out of Brooklyn. It’s an idea that is simple in concept, if not in execution. The original started with Susan Hwang hosting a night of reading and music at Goodbye Blue Monday. Put simply, local musicians come together to perform original songs based on the book of the month.
Now that idea has inspired a west coast chapter of the club. Hosted by Geoff Larson, a nice collection of Seattle’s musical talent came together last month to celebrate Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Thanks to the magic of the internet, those songs are now available for everyone to hear. If you’ve read the book, there is a lot of fun to be had in the songs. The artists hit on a wide range of themes and images, running the gamut from the comedy of one little Tralfamadorian hand clapping its approval, to the more serious ideas about war. It was an impressive night of music that also raised money for the Seattle Public Library Foundation. You can see all of the songs on the Bushwick youtube page. Here are my two favorite performances to get you started.
First up, Bucket of Honey with “Tralfamadore”. The chorus is so good that after I saw the show it was stuck in my head for a week. Bonus trivia: Annie, from Bucket Of Honey, played Penny in the Seattle version of Dr. Horrible.
And second, “That Ain’t Bad” from Andrew J Nunez. It’s the second song in this video, starting at 5:30. Such a clever use of a small, but important, part of Billy’s adventure.
If you like those, check out the rest of the songs over on the Bushwick youtube page. Next up for the club, The Princess Bride.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Nov 03, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
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I live about a mile from Vonnegut’s childhood home in Indianapolis… I would have LOVED to have gone to this event.
Actually, I would love to go to the next event, too. Living in the Midwest has many downfalls.
*POST AUTHOR*
I could be really mean and tell you that not long before this show I saw the local production of Dr. Horrible. And not long after this show I saw Evil Dead The Musical. But I wouldn’t do that… :P