If you only have time to read one contemporary German writer, it ought to be Jenny Erpenbeck. The author of three novels and several short story collections, her last novel Go, Went, Gone was a masterful statement on the immensity… Read More
Like all of Pallbearer’s records, Forgotten Days is resonant with arched, dramatic melodies in the classic heavy metal tradition. Conceptually, it insists on confronting hard truths about time, memory, identity, and death. There are emphases throughout that are new for… Read More
The title of Diana Darke’s 2020 book, Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, promises the reader that they are about to embark on a provocative, revisionist reading of architectural history. The choice of words is meant to… Read More
The term “The Blue of Distance” comes from Rebecca Solnit’s acclaimed 2005 nonfiction book A Field Guide to Getting Lost. It refers to the phenomenon of faraway mountains appearing blue due to light particles getting lost in the distance. Filmmaker… Read More
Apparently, the title of the latest outing for these titans of righteous noise-making, 2R0I2P0, translates as “2020 R.I.P.” Too damn right. I can’t think of a better double-act to read the last rites. 2R0I2P0 is, in fact, the seventh album-length… Read More
Prolific, Hamburg-based producer Farhot has not been back to Afghanistan since leaving it as a child with his family during the Soviet-Afghan War. Distance notwithstanding, though, his music speaks to the deep connection he feels to his homeland. On Kabul… Read More
Calico Jim‘s songs take place mostly in rural North Georgia, where James “Pony” Bradshaw has lived for the past 15 years. The location is essential. It helps shape the characters’ temperaments and behaviors. It’s a place where people say things… Read More
“…Well, I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer The future’s uncertain And the end is always near…” – Jim Morrison, Roadhouse Blues (1970) Silence. A battered old Ford screeched rounding our corner. Darkness screaming, and the… Read More
When Sharon Jones tapped her feet on stage, singing and shaking in a glitter dress, the dust from everyday life turned into sparkle to let us shine. Backed by the Dap-Kings, her powerful yet kind voice, energy, and down-to-earth attitude… Read More
Steven Wilson has long been one of the most distinguished and adventurous, yet heavily scrutinized, artists in modern art/progressive rock. Be it the harsher trajectory of Porcupine Tree’s 2000s output, the avant-garde nature of 2012’s Storm Corrosion, or the unpredictability… Read More