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January 26, 2012
Shorties (Craig Finn, Nathan Englander, and more)
Craig Finn talks to the Dallas Observer about his new solo album Clear Heart Full Eyes.
Capital New York profiles author Nathan Englander.
People recognize Englander. They recognized him in the coffee shop where he was interviewed, and they know his name from The New Yorker, where he's published a number of stories. But despite such notoriety, Englander keeps a lower profile than many of his contemporaries, not a chronic over-blurber like Shteyngart, not behind a non-profit or an indie press like Dave Eggers or a genre-dabbler like Michael Chabon, and not yet the winner of any of the big prizes or a presence on the lecture circuit. He appears to be more content teaching masters students how to write fiction at Hunter College than getting his face on the cover of Time.
Surf-Drift interviews John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats.
Drift: So many of your past albums have been tied together by themes. Is there anything like that on the next one, tentatively titled Transcendental Youth?
JD: There is, but I’m really reluctant to say what it is. I can do it in one word, but if I do people are going to get all excited and probably think the wrong thing. It's kind of about Satan, bit not the Church of Satan or anything like that. It takes place in a town in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s about the things inside that do evil to you. Which is to say when you're depressed and your mind is your worst friend, or you can't get a clear picture because there’s something inside you that won't let you see things clearly. So the short answer is it's about the devil, but it's also about a cast of characters living in the same town, all of whom are sort of last-chancers.
Three Guys One Book interviews author Matthew Norman.
The Rumpus interviews musician Momus.
The Free Music Archive gathers music blogs' responses to the MegaUpload shutdown.
The Telegraph profiles Rodrigo y Gabriela.
Has there been a more romantic musical story than that of the two Mexican heavy-metal aficionados – lovers as well as musical collaborators – who traded in their electric guitars and amps for a life of acoustic adventure on the road: blowing into Europe via Dublin, busking the streets, then setting festivals alight with their incendiary blend of metal-inspired riffing, jazz dexterity and latin rhythm. With stocky, pointy-bearded Rodrigo taking the lead, and clear-browed Gabriela more rhythmic and intuitive, their talents and personalities feel at once clearly defined and fused into one entity.
Smithsonian Magazine interviews Eric Klinenberg about his new book, Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone.
Nonstop Sound lists five egregious Oscar music snubs this year.
Bookworm interviews photographer Annie Leibovitz about her new book, Pilgrimage.
The Quietus excerpts from Matt Ingram's new book 100 Lost Rock Albums From The 1970s.
Stumptown Trade Review lists seven things independent comics did first.
Nerve ranks every Guided By Voices album from worst to best.
Pop Candy reviews the new webcomic by author Jeff VanderMeer, The Situation.
Fresh Air looks back on The Smiths discography and the band's recently released box set.
From April 16th -30th, publisher Angry Robot Books features open book submissions for epic fantasy as well as science fiction and fantasy YA novels.
Drowned in Sound interviews Air's Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin about scoring Georges Melies' 1902 silent film Le Voyage dans la Lune.
The Wall Street Journal reviews William Patry's new book, How to Fix Copyright.
Win three of my favorite New York novels and a $100 Threadless gift certificate in this week's Largehearted Boy contest.
Amazon MP3
Follow me on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Stumbleupon for links (updated throughout the day) that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns.
also at Largehearted Boy:
previous Shorties posts (daily news and links from the worlds of music, books, and pop culture)
List of Online "Best Books of 2011" Lists
List of Online Year-End 2011 Music Lists
100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads
Atomic Books Comics Preview (the week's best new comics & graphic novels)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (the week's best new books)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists
