A dimly-remembered version of the Mr. Belvedere theme song has gotten stuck in my head. It’s a little worrisome. It’s not unlike the process behind Dirty Projectors’ Rise Above, except (a)I am not a classically-trained, conceptually-minded musician; (b)it’s the Mr. Belvedere theme. So I have an old-timey combo making music in the dimly-lit corners of … Continue reading
Category Archives: Culture
Me @ Volume 1- Afternoon Bites: Book art, Dusted and Fluxblog turn ten, Joyland on Greenpoint, and more
- There Is a Documentary About Linotype. We Think This Is Awesome.
- Afternoon Bites: Carl Wilson’s 2011, Emma Straub makes a mix, Justin Davidson on Philip Glass, and more
- Hillary Jordan’s “When She Woke”: A Discussion
- Afternoon Bites: Steve Erickson talks politics, Mikhail Bulgakov gets unreal, Pam Houston on mentoring, and more
October 1, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
The “Mr. Belevedere” Theme Song Is Destroying My Brain
Categories: Culture
August 20, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Culture Links: 20 August 2009
Categories: Books, Comics, Culture, Food, MusicOne: Via Warren Ellis: Brandon Graham’s impressive King City is making a return to print; there’s a preview here. (I have some earlier ramblings on King City here.) Two: Also returning: Kat Bakes, with a post about weddings, cakes, and their union. Three: Shla Scanlon — whose serialized novel I really need to start reading … Continue reading
One: Chris Ruen on DIY, independent media, and ethics. Two: The Chicago Reader on onetime Punk Planet editor Dan Sinker’s new project: CellStories, in which short stories are delivered to subscribers’ phones once per day. The article goes on to discuss the aesthetic benefits of print and digital, as well as the ways in which … Continue reading
June 18, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Reading on Reading: 18 June 2009
Categories: criticism, CultureAs I write this, I’m somewhat pressed for time, and thus don’t have the ability to write up an amazing line of thought connecting the three pieces linked below. However, I suspect that one could be created; were I more professorial, I would write this post up in the form of an essay question. One: … Continue reading
May 13, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Reading on Reading: 13 May 2009
Categories: Books, criticism, Culture, MusicOne: At the excellent new Atlantic Correspondents blog, Hua Hsu discusses limited-edition books/magazines/art. It’s a good argument, and I’m glad to see it made in a high-profile place. (Odd case in point: I just ordered the upcoming issue of Yeti. It’s one of my favorite publications out there, both in the scope and quality of … Continue reading
April 8, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Culture
link in brief: 8 april 2009
Categories: CultureTags:: Culture
1. Scott Esposito at Conversational Reading on bookstores large and small, and the trend pieces that do not necessarily reflect them accurately. 2. Andrew Beaujon on link-based journalism. [via Jessica Hopper] 3. Joshua Clover on pop music and revolution. [also via Jessica Hopper] [Apologies for the delays between posts; home internet service has been spotty … Continue reading
March 31, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: media
in which media is discussed, sometimes contentiously
Categories: CultureTags:: media
Two essays appeared last week, each addressing changes in the media landscape, each presenting a pragmatic kind of optimism present. And yet one sustains its mood and manages to infect the reader with its optimism; the other, unfortunately, is marred by a strange shift into meanspiritedness that First: Robert Christgau on the end of Blender. … Continue reading
March 27, 2009, Author: , 1 Comment
Tags:: criticism, festivals, Music, SXSW
notes on music festivals and urban renewal
Categories: Culture, MusicTags:: criticism, festivals, Music, SXSW
As promised, some further thoughts on Reihan Salam’s “The Hipster Depression”. The first thing that struck me about the piece was that, despite its initial reference to Ian Svenonius’s “Rock, Real Estate, and Alan Greenspan”, Salam’s piece also works as an irreverent companion to Richard Florida’s recent Atlantic cover story on the recession’s effects on … Continue reading
March 26, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: criticism, Politics
notes on culture and politics
Categories: Books, Culture, PoliticsTags:: criticism, Politics
Earlier this week, the Washington Monthly ran a Charles Homans piece on the brief life of Culture11, a site that began its existence as a right-of-center answer to Slate and morphed into something altogether different. (Ta-Nehisi Coates has a good take on why this matters, regardless of where you fall, politically speaking.) The piece as … Continue reading
1. Jeremy Keith on SXSW Interactive. 2. Reihan Salam on SXSW and the Dirty Projectors. (I’ll likely come back to the first of these with a lengthier post.) 3. Christopher Bird on digital comics.
March 18, 2009, Author: , 2 Comments
Tags:: Cleveland, Detroit, New York Times, urban planning
notes on inexpensive homes in industrial cities
Categories: Culture, DesignTags:: Cleveland, Detroit, New York Times, urban planning
Two NY Times pieces, each of which offers a different take on shifts within Rust Belt cities in recent years. I read this Alex Kotlowitz piece on condemned buildings in Cleveland earlier in the month and was devastated by the picture it painted — one of confused institutions and urban collapse, in which abandoned neighborhoods … Continue reading
March 3, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Blake Butler, cover versions, featherproof
in which the remix album concept hits publishing
Categories: Books, CultureTags:: Blake Butler, cover versions, featherproof
Later this year, Featherproof is releasing Blake Butler’s Scorch Atlas, a book about which I’ve already rambled a bit. And, as it turns out, they’re also seeking remixes of one story for a digital collection to be released concurrently with Scorch Atlas. We really hope you’ll join us in killing and reviving Blake’s fiction. It’s … Continue reading
March 3, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: David Simon, journalism, The Wire
in which david simon returns to journalism
Categories: Culture, FilmTags:: David Simon, journalism, The Wire
Via Alan Sepinwall: This piece from The Wire co-creator David Simon on his efforts to learn more about an underreported police shooting in Baltimore is well worth a read. Half-truths, obfuscations and apparent deceit — these are the wages of a world in which newspapers, their staffs eviscerated, no longer battle at the frontiers of … Continue reading
Two interesting links on media and technology to start off the week. First, via Norman Brannon: How to Kill the Music Industry, which examines music file-sharing in a larger context. Also, Christopher Bird on filesharing, fair use, and comics, in response to the recent closure of Livejournal’s scans_daily community.
February 23, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Music, Touch + Go
touch + go fallout
Categories: Culture, MusicTags:: Music, Touch + Go
It’s a frustrating period in culture right now, where the closure of Touch & Go Distribution seems to hover much of what I encounter in art. Example: today’s Lit Mob update brings with it a short piece on what the guys from The End of the World are reading. Understandable enough — especially given that … Continue reading