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December 9, 2012
Shorties (The Smiths' Songwriting Legacy, Sebastian Faulks on His New Novel, and more)
Salon interviews Tony Fletcher about his new book, A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths.
Let me start with the big legacy question. Morrissey and Marr: Should there be any doubt that this is as significant a songwriting team in rock history? Where do you place them in the pantheon of rock 'n' roll songwriting greats? Is it right after Lennon and McCartney?
I place them right up there. There is a big caveat — the Smiths did not have the success, during the time they were together, as Jagger/Richards or Lennon/McCartney. They didn't have that in the time they were together. What they did do is turn out 70 songs in just over four years. Seventy songs is a phenomenal outpouring — and I've been criticized for daring to suggest that just one of them might not be up to par. The amazing thing about the Smiths in general is it doesn't get old. It just seems almost like the longer the time goes on, somehow the fresher the Smiths sound.
Weekend Edition interviews Sebastian Faulks about his new novel A Possible Life.
27 year-end music lists were added yesterday to the master aggregation yesterday, including Folk Alley's best folk & Americana albums, NYU Local's list of the year's most prolific musicians, and much more.
19 lists were added yesterday to the master aggregation of year-end online "best books of 2012" lists, including Library Journal's nonfiction lists, NPR's best historical fiction, and much more.
The Largehearted Boy books of the year (more lists to come):
my favorite graphic novels of 2012
my favorite nonfiction books of 2012
my favorite novels of 2012
my favorite short story collections of 2012
WA Today profiles singer-sonwgriter Amanda Palmer.
Theatrical, ballsy, bold and fearless, Palmer could be Lady Gaga's older sister. The two share a love of costume and a deep connection with their fans. While Gaga has her Little Monsters, Palmer's fans have helped fund her latest album through a Kickstarter campaign, raising a record $1.2m-plus, and come together on social media and at wild live shows.
DJ Calvin Harris talks dance music with All Things Considered.
The Pushcart Literary Prize has posted its annual literary magazine rankings.
Amazon MP3
Elezea gathers recent articles about the future of online publishing.
Weekend Edition interviews Tracey Thorn about her new Christmas album, Tinsel and Lights.
On her version of 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas'
"To me, it is a real tearjerker of a Christmas song. I find it hard to hear, especially Judy Garland's version, without crying; it's just gorgeous. It's the one that I knew I had to do when I decided to make this record, so then it was just a question of trying to do it justice. I don't think its one of those songs that you can shy away from and do an ironic version; I think you have to just, literally, sort of walk right into all that sentiment and enjoy it."
The Huffington Post recommends gifts for bookworms.
The band All Eyesvisits The Current studio for an interview and live performance.
Amazon MP3
The Los Angeles Times shares a gift guide for fans of the Beats.
Amazon MP3 offers 100 albums on sale for $5 each.
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3 offers over 1,600 albums on sale for $3.99.
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3 offers over 400 jazz albums on sale for $1.78.
Amazon MP3
Follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, 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)
The list of online "best of 2012" book lists
The list of online "best of 2012" music lists
100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads
Atomic Books Comics Preview (the week's best new comics & graphic novels)
Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (the week's best new books)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists
