Candace Williams discussed her poetry collection I Am the Most Dangerous Thing with Electric Literature.
I love thinking about repetition. Repetition can happen on the basis of sound, stanza structure, word, and/or constraint. For example, ghazals and sestinas both employ repetition. The repetition and heritage of the ghazal lends itself to an entirely different kind of rumination than what I achieve with a sestina.
Stream a new song by Sheer Mag.
This week’s Largehearted Boy newsletter shared an back-to-school playlist as well as the usual links, likes, and weekly recap.
Pitchfork, Bandcamp Daily, BrooklynVegan, and Paste recommended the week’s best new albums.
Ben Purkert talked to Electric Literature about his debut novel The Men Can’t Be Saved.
I’ve always been attracted to the absurd character who has an over-inflated sense of self. I think part of why I go to fiction is because I want to spend time with someone who is a little ridiculous, who doesn’t see themselves entirely clearly.
Stream a new song by Bill Callahan.
Shondaland listed August’s best books.
Jason King remembered Sinead O’Connor at NPR Music.
Director Randall Park discussed adapting Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel Shortcomings with Above the Line.
Stream a new song by superviolet.
Vulture listed the best books of the year so far.
Howard Fishman discussed his book, To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse, with Weekend Edition.
She was a trailblazing pioneering music maker in the 1950s, whose music has only recently been discovered and given the recognition it deserves.
Patrick deWitt talked books and reading with the Guardian.
My comfort read
The poems of Frank O’Hara are good in moments of crisis. Poetry in general, really. It forces a slow read, cautious and wondering, waiting for the moment when a poem suddenly becomes itself…
Stream a new song by Jobber.
Hannah Sloane recommended novels about men breaking hearts and acting despicably at Electric Literature.
The duo Stolen Jars discussed their new album I Won’t Let Me Down with Paste.
Jamel Brinkley talked to Shondaland about his new story collection Witness.
…I’ve just been thinking a lot about time. Time is so funky and weird. I think that’s why there are a lot of ghost or ghost-ish stories in the collection, or at least a few of them. Because to me, a ghost is about time becoming unsettled. It’s the experience of time that isn’t the usual experience of time, just neatly organized past, present, future.
Stereogum reconsidered Ween’s Quebec album on its 20th anniversary.
Megan Nolan discussed her debut novel, Acts of Desperation, with Our Culture.
Because I had absolutely no experience writing fiction, I didn’t feel like I had the authority to write in this more traditional, novelistic style when I was first starting out. Because Acts is tonally similar to some of my journalism, it was an easier place to start from. Having had that experience of Acts coming out and going well, it let me feel confident enough to try this new style, this style of what I originally wanted to do.
Scott McCaughey & Peter Buck covered Drivin N Cryin’s “MacDougal Blues.”
The Toronto Star examined the state of Ontario’s indie publishers.
Vulture listed the best albums of the year so far.
Stream a new song by Lisel.
The Cut interviewed singer-songwriter Bethany Cosentino.
Pitchfork shared a series of infographics about the rise in concert ticket prices.
The Guardian profiled bands touring with no original members yet.
Bandcamp Daily explored the state of punk and post-punk music in the country of Georgia.
Ted Leo covered Big Country’s “Inwards.”