Periodical–Prospect

I recently received an e-mail from a nice person at Prospect (a British magazine).  The email asked if I’d like to review their magazine.  After being completely flattered, I said, “Of course!”  And then I waited nervously hoping that the magazine was good and that I wouldn’t have to say anything mean about it, because [...]

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Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney’s Humor Category (2004)

SOUNDTRACK: ONE RING ZERO-As Smart as We Are (2004).
I had this CD sitting around my house for about 4 years.  I had received it as a promo disc from Soft Skull Press (along with several other books on CD) and I just never put it on.  Then one day I was going through all these [...]

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Periodical: Public Libraries

Public Libraries is the magazine you get when you belong to the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association.  As you might gather, this division is for public librarians.
Like American Libraries, this magazine starts with a letter from the President of PLA.    But it’s the Tales from the Front section that I [...]

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McSweeney’s #32

SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Tindersticks [the red one] (1993).
Tindersticks are a fascinating band.  The first distinctive thing about them is Stuart Staples’ voice: a deep rich bass that he uses almost like a whisper.  The second thing you notice is the music.  It’s an orchestral/chamber pop collection of dark rockers with fantastic moodiness to it.  And then you [...]

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Douglas Coupland–City of Glass (2000 & Revised Edition 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: DANKO JONES-Never Too Loud (2008).
Danko Jones is a hard and fast rock band, with a one track mind and a straightforward sound.  They deal in excessive cliches (album titles include: Sleep is the Enemy, We Sweat Blood, Never Too Loud, etc) and play mostly short songs.  And despite all that apparent negativity, I enjoy [...]

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Periodical: American Libraries

You get American Libraries magazine if you’re a member of the American Library Association.  So you can see that the audience is rather specific.
A lot of the magazine is advocating for librarians (and for librarians to attend the annual ALA conference).  (The word advocacy appears about 200 times in each issue).
The magazine opens with letters [...]

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Periodical: The Walrus

I found out about The Walrus while watching an interview with Noah Richler on Book Television (back when I had Canadian satellite).  During the interview, they mentioned that the first issue of this cool new magazine, The Walrus, had just come out.  I was very intrigued; amazingly, the local Barnes & Noble had a copy! [...]

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Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp and Other Essays

SOUNDTRACK: TV ON THE RADIO-Dear Science, (2008).
The problem with TV on the Radio for me is that their first EP is so damned good that anything else they do pales in comparison.  Having said that, Dear Science, comes really close to topping that EP.  I liked Cookie Mountain (their previous disc) but I felt like [...]

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Douglas Coupland–Generation X (1991)

SOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD SCIENCE-Villainaire (2008).
This is probably the most fascinating album that Constellation has released recently.  I’d never heard of The Dead Science, but evidently they have a few disc out already.
The main thing one notices about this disc is the lead singer.  His voice is fascinating: a sort of slow, whispered falsetto laced with [...]

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David Foster Wallace–[Week 14/End] Infinite Jest (1996)

SOUNDTRACK: SONIC YOUTH-”Rather Ripped” (2006).
When Rather Ripped came out, I was really excited by it.  It rocked heavy, it was catchy and it featured a lot of Kim.  I listened to it all the time, and would have said it was my favorite SY disc of this era.  However, listening to Sonic Nurse reminded me [...]

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