“It’s not one of these bands that gets up and plays their old album and tries to revisit the past. I guess I’m trying to distinguish it from that notion of trying to be some kind of nostalgia thing where people get to experience “the good old days” or some shit.” Brad Cohan talks Swans (and more) with Michael Gira.

• Alexander Chee on his upcoming readings, his upcoming novel, and the aging infrastructure of New York State.

• Jenn Northington talks dystopia: what it means and how it’s losing that meaning.

• David Raposa looks at five albums from the catalog of the sadly-on-hiatus Absolutely Kosher Records. Might we also recommend Life Without Buildings’ Live at the Annandale Hotel?

• If you’ve ever wondered what a lycanthropic Walt Whitman would look like, Richard Swift has an answer for you.