The (He)art of the Memoir: GIRL IN A BAND by Kim Gordon

Rock and roll memoirs can be tricky. Maybe you want to know about the grit and the decadence, but beyond that, the genre might not offer up much else. There’s always the temptation of secrets from venue green rooms and recording studios, little tidbits that reveal a bit about the band and their beloved music. On the rare occasion these books can be a great read, but most are a slog through formulaic confessionals. Marianne Faithful, Kristin Hersh, and even Marilyn […]

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Afternoon Bites: Jess Walter’s Latest, Sonic Youth’s Live Album, “Minimum Wage” Returns, Nick Cave Protest Song, and More

“For all that Walter is frequently lauded as a humorist, the best stories in We Live in Water play the simple emotional chord of men just trying to do their best.” Alison Hallett on Jess Walter’s new collection We Live in Water. Hyperallergic on Nick Cave’s protest song. Richard Nash on the business of literature. “This is the beautiful paradox of Sonic Youth: making their instruments sound like everything that a guitar ought to be capable of creating, while simultaneously using them in […]

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Band Booking: Lee Ranaldo

It might not be necessary to write an introduction for Lee Ranaldo, so I’ll state the obvious and mention he’s one of the founding members of Sonic Youth.  What I’ve always respected about Ranaldo and his now-former bandmates is their ability to move across musical genres and artistic mediums, and somehow have it work out.  As musicians, Sonic Youth always strove to work with various artists from Cypress Hill to Yoko Ono, and the members’ various interests outside the group included fashion, zines, […]

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Morning Bites: Brideshead vs. Downton, n+1 Personals profiled, Stephen Elliott’s “Cherry,” and more

Brideshead Revisited Vs. Downton Abbey in a really bloody battle at Page Views. N+1 Personals gets profiled by New York magazine. Have you seen the preview for Stephen Elliott’s Cherry? Now Salman Rushdie thinks the whole assassination attempt on his life thing was B.S. Luc Sante on Patti Smith.  Again, we repeat: Luc Sante on Patti Smith at the New York Review of Books. Cooking with Sonic Youth (before Kim and Thurston broke up) and Evan Dando at Flavorwire. Follow Vol. 1 […]

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