In our morning reading: fiction from Paul Yoon, thoughts on translated books, and more.
Morning Bites: Werner Herzog’s Memoir, Zadie Smith’s Latest, Brando Skyhorse Interviewed, and More
In our morning reading: inside Werner Herzog’s memoir, talking music with Woods, and more.
Morning Bites: Jonathan Lethem Interviewed, Downtown Boys, Rios de la Luz Nonfiction, duncan b. barlow, and More
In our morning reading: interviews with Jonathan Lethem and duncan b. barlow, an interview with Rios de la Luz, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Hamilton Leithauser, Kim Fu Nonfiction, Buffalo Wings Explored, and More
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Hamilton Leithauser, two interviews with Jason Diamond, new nonfiction from Kim Fu and Anna Hezel, and more.
Music Notes: Neil Young, Woods, Health and Crushed Butler
1. The question isn’t if Woods have put out the best album of the summer, it’s whether At Echo Lake is the best album to bubble up out of the Brooklyn underground this year. It’s really hard to say, and to be honest, I shouldn’t even make a statement like that — it’s barely June! 2009’s Songs of Shame has stayed on my turntable since I made the proclamation that it was one of the best albums of the year, […]
Favorite Song Today, “Youth” by Beach Fossils
I fell pretty hard for Beach Fossils last year when I heard their first single. The newest offering by the Brooklyn band still reminds me of a jangly New Order, but also make me think I’m listening to the younger brother of Woods. Listen: Beach Fossils, “Youth”
New Woods Album, At Echo Lake, out in May
Songs of Shame by Woods was one of my favorite albums of 2009, so the bands forthcoming, At Echo Lake is without a doubt one of the albums I’m most anticipating this year. Listen: Woods, “I was gone” “At Echo Lake feels like a diamond-sharp distillation of the turbulent power of their live shows, in much the same way that The Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star” single amplified and engulfed the planetary aspect of their improvised takes. Some of the material […]
Bites: Literary award kvetching, Bradbury paints, Obama is the big winner, Woods do Daytrotter, and more
Remember yesterday when I said more Jewish people will kvetch about Amos Oz or Philip Roth not getting the Nobel Prize for Literature? Tablet mentions the Tribe losing out, talks about Herta Mueller, and ties it all up with “Also intriguing: the Times notes that her father served in the SS during World War II.” Lit. Ray Bradbury was a regular Bob Ross. The Forward talks about Elie Wiesel’s “meandering, sometimes, narcissistic ruminations” on medieval French commentator of the Talmud […]