Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to cheer on the British cycling team!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Twist and Shout
Adam at Twist and Shout in Denver very kindly sent me this photo of the series displayed in the store: nice to see the Slayer and Richard and Linda books getting the face-out treatment.
Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to cheer on the British cycling team!
Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to cheer on the British cycling team!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Vol. 59: The Afghan Whigs' Gentlemen
I'm very pleased to say that Bob Gendron's brand new book in the series, about Gentlemen, is now on sale at Amazon and all of the other wonderful stores that support 33 1/3.
Here's the back cover copy:
***
"Gentlemen is fraught with the psychological warfare, bedroom drama, Catholic guilt, reprehensible deception, and shame that coincide with relationships gone seriously wrong. Greg Dulli's liquor cabinet confessions are chased with some of the blackest sounding rock ever committed to tape by a white band. Hopped up on primal energy, the mesmerizing R&B, funk, slide blues, garage, and chamber-pop strains are tied to a come-hither soulfulness perfumed with hyssop and stained with nicotine."
To this day, Gentlemen remains as cursed as its controversial narrator, an album out of time even in its time. Drawing on new, in-depth interviews with all of the band members, Bob Gendron dissects the record's charisma, arragements, and lyrics. He also delves into the memories, histories, experiences, and influences of the Afghan Whigs, most notably those driving Greg Dulli, a polarizing frontman whose fierce pretentiousness, GQ appearance, and gloves-off boisterousness concealed deep-rooted mental depression and chemical depedency.
***
Here's the back cover copy:
***
"Gentlemen is fraught with the psychological warfare, bedroom drama, Catholic guilt, reprehensible deception, and shame that coincide with relationships gone seriously wrong. Greg Dulli's liquor cabinet confessions are chased with some of the blackest sounding rock ever committed to tape by a white band. Hopped up on primal energy, the mesmerizing R&B, funk, slide blues, garage, and chamber-pop strains are tied to a come-hither soulfulness perfumed with hyssop and stained with nicotine."
To this day, Gentlemen remains as cursed as its controversial narrator, an album out of time even in its time. Drawing on new, in-depth interviews with all of the band members, Bob Gendron dissects the record's charisma, arragements, and lyrics. He also delves into the memories, histories, experiences, and influences of the Afghan Whigs, most notably those driving Greg Dulli, a polarizing frontman whose fierce pretentiousness, GQ appearance, and gloves-off boisterousness concealed deep-rooted mental depression and chemical depedency.
***
Monday, August 11, 2008
On the tour bus
Good to see that the series is on tour with the nation's NUMBER ONE BAND right now, Sugarland. (Extracted from Alan Light's New York Times artice of July 27th, spotted by my colleague Jane)
“Jennifer and I are both people who had lots of different kinds of friends, ergo, the kind of person who listened to lots of different kinds of music,” said Mr. Bush, 38. “When we grew up, your music really defined your subculture, and we were lucky enough to be observers and cultural anthropologists at that time in our lives. That’s one reason we get along so well, because it doesn’t matter who walks in the door, we’re interested.” (Flaunting his credentials as a music geek, Mr. Bush pointed out a bus shelf packed full of books from the “33 1/3” series, in which writers tell the story of one classic album per volume.)
***
And I'm very sad about the passing of Isaac Hayes over the weekend - was lucky enough to see him play at Brooklyn College back in 2002: an extraordinary voice, wonderful showmanship, and just a magical atmosphere. Perhaps next time around, we'll sign up a book on Hot Buttered Soul...
“Jennifer and I are both people who had lots of different kinds of friends, ergo, the kind of person who listened to lots of different kinds of music,” said Mr. Bush, 38. “When we grew up, your music really defined your subculture, and we were lucky enough to be observers and cultural anthropologists at that time in our lives. That’s one reason we get along so well, because it doesn’t matter who walks in the door, we’re interested.” (Flaunting his credentials as a music geek, Mr. Bush pointed out a bus shelf packed full of books from the “33 1/3” series, in which writers tell the story of one classic album per volume.)
***
And I'm very sad about the passing of Isaac Hayes over the weekend - was lucky enough to see him play at Brooklyn College back in 2002: an extraordinary voice, wonderful showmanship, and just a magical atmosphere. Perhaps next time around, we'll sign up a book on Hot Buttered Soul...
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Our far-flung correspondents
Last week we had a period of time in which Blogger locked up the blog because it had been identified as a spam blog. According to Blogger, a spam blog can be recognized by "irrelevant, repetitive, and nonsensical text."
We got the message! So you may notice we have added some fresh blood to the blog, and Claire will now be chiming in from time to time to tell us how to get CHE@P M3dZ from C@NADA. Just kidding.
We've also received a couple of pictures of 33 1/3 store displays in the last week. The first is from Grimey's record store in Nashville, Tennessee.
And for those of you in San Francisco, you can get what you're looking for at the Booksmith.
We got the message! So you may notice we have added some fresh blood to the blog, and Claire will now be chiming in from time to time to tell us how to get CHE@P M3dZ from C@NADA. Just kidding.
We've also received a couple of pictures of 33 1/3 store displays in the last week. The first is from Grimey's record store in Nashville, Tennessee.
And for those of you in San Francisco, you can get what you're looking for at the Booksmith.
Monday, August 04, 2008
CBC's Talking Books on Let's Talk About Love online at last!
CBC's popular radio program Talking Books finally posted an online version of their show on Carl Wilson's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste.
The show is hosted by Ian Brown and this segment features guests Noreen Golfman, Jonathan Garfinkel and Beatriz Hausner. Together they delve into questions of cultural shame in general and the weirdness of music critics in particular. Listen here
The show is hosted by Ian Brown and this segment features guests Noreen Golfman, Jonathan Garfinkel and Beatriz Hausner. Together they delve into questions of cultural shame in general and the weirdness of music critics in particular. Listen here
The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia - new in Paperback
I'm very pleased to say that Michael Gray's wonderful Bob Dylan Encyclopedia is now, finally, available in paperback around the world.
Many, many entries have been updated from the original hardcover edition, which was published to great acclaim just over two years ago - and there are some brand new entries in the paperback, too.
The culmination of decades of Dylan-related research, this revised and updated paperback edition is simply one of the most entertaining and provocative reference works you could ever hope to read.
Many, many entries have been updated from the original hardcover edition, which was published to great acclaim just over two years ago - and there are some brand new entries in the paperback, too.
The culmination of decades of Dylan-related research, this revised and updated paperback edition is simply one of the most entertaining and provocative reference works you could ever hope to read.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Odds and ends...
* Douglas Wolk offers up an appreciation of the mighty ukelele (via fellow champion of the uke Ed at the Dizzies). And here's part II. I would like to second the request for a recording of the clarinet and uke version of "Marquee Moon."
* We were talking about the Big Star 33 1/3 in a meeting the other day and that reminded me that I needed to finally get around to watching the Oxford American DVD that came with the "Best of the South" issue. It was excellent, and it contains some lost 8mm footage of the recording of #1 Record set to a demo version of "Thank You Friends" which is pretty sweet. Among other gems, the print issue also has an ode to my onetime employers at the Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas by Katy Henricksen. You'll have to pick up the issue to read/watch, but here's a trailer to whet the appetite:
Oxford American Best of the South DVD #2 from Oxford American on Vimeo.
* And this just keeps cracking me up:
* We were talking about the Big Star 33 1/3 in a meeting the other day and that reminded me that I needed to finally get around to watching the Oxford American DVD that came with the "Best of the South" issue. It was excellent, and it contains some lost 8mm footage of the recording of #1 Record set to a demo version of "Thank You Friends" which is pretty sweet. Among other gems, the print issue also has an ode to my onetime employers at the Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas by Katy Henricksen. You'll have to pick up the issue to read/watch, but here's a trailer to whet the appetite:
Oxford American Best of the South DVD #2 from Oxford American on Vimeo.
* And this just keeps cracking me up:
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Man on Wire
I haven't seen it yet, but James Marsh's documentary Man on Wire was released theatrically in the US on Friday, and it sounds riveting. To coincide, here's a section from Hayden Childs' very recent volume in the series, about Shoot Out the Lights. This is taken, of course, from the chapter about the song "Walking on a Wire" (as well as the earlier Thompson composition, "The Great Valerio").
***
I like to imagine myself perched on a point impossibly high over this next song. Even up here, the sound of the raging emotion below is an undeniable roar, but as long as my footing holds, I can take a breath and appreciate my surroundings. To walk up here is to be untouchable, a superman or an angel.
That's not what I am, though, nor anyone else. Everyone will slip and fall eventually. So let's take a minute before the inevitable. Don't be afraid.
I am reminded of a moment back in 1974. It was early in August, and Bonny and I were staying with a friend in New York. The heat was like the whole city was sinking into the fiery center of the earth. Bonny and I had been out drinking late the night before, and we hadn't been in bed long when the phone began ringing. I was awake at the first ring, but unwilling to move, a little drunk still. A friend had given Bonny and me his bed while he crashed on the floor. Was his name Joe? I don't recall.
Anyway, Joe got to the phone, and I remember how loud he shouted, "Wow, okay!" before he hung up. He smashed open a closet and came up with a telescope, then glanced over and saw that I was looking at him. "No time! C'mon!" he yelled, all jittery. I thought the building might be on fire, but somehow (and this shames me to this day) didn't think of Bonny, still asleep on the bed, until we were on the stairs.
But that's when it struck me, the wrongness of our route. We were headed up, not down. I remember yelling at him, about a floor above me, but he didn't break stride. Then we were on the roof. He was pointing up between a couple of buildings, the telescope already steady on a tripod while he made obscure adjustments to it. He looked into it for what seemed like forever, although it was probably only a minute or so. Then he pulled back, almost as if it were hot, gasping for a second before turning to me. I remember my recoil from his expression. Here I was, still heaving, gulping air, bone-dry deep in my chest, and my fight-or-flight reflex was a full-on throb in my fingertips. My friend looked insane, his face of full of something I'd never seen in someone so unflappable and urbane.
He gestured toward the telescope with one hand and pointed up with the other. I followed his finger to the barely visible area between the giant, unfinished World Trade Center towers, which seemed miles away. I was dubious, but I put my eye to that telescope.
A couple of seconds later, I saw - how to describe this? - a vague mark in the sky that suddenly, horribly, unmistakably resolved into the shape of a man. A man in that impossible space. Unfalling. Suspended. A man, and nothing else, in the sky, a quarter mile above New York City.
I looked at my friend and he looked at me. And we laughed like mystics sharing a particularly ecstatic vision.
Later, the news told us the man's name was Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who'd pulled similar stunts in Paris and in Sydney. No, not stunts. Exhibitions. Sermons, even. The whole thing felt like an elaborate morality play for my benefit. Be better at life, Petit had said to me. Tens of thousands of people saw him up there, but I was young and narcissistic, and I thought his message was for me. Be better.
***
***
I like to imagine myself perched on a point impossibly high over this next song. Even up here, the sound of the raging emotion below is an undeniable roar, but as long as my footing holds, I can take a breath and appreciate my surroundings. To walk up here is to be untouchable, a superman or an angel.
That's not what I am, though, nor anyone else. Everyone will slip and fall eventually. So let's take a minute before the inevitable. Don't be afraid.
I am reminded of a moment back in 1974. It was early in August, and Bonny and I were staying with a friend in New York. The heat was like the whole city was sinking into the fiery center of the earth. Bonny and I had been out drinking late the night before, and we hadn't been in bed long when the phone began ringing. I was awake at the first ring, but unwilling to move, a little drunk still. A friend had given Bonny and me his bed while he crashed on the floor. Was his name Joe? I don't recall.
Anyway, Joe got to the phone, and I remember how loud he shouted, "Wow, okay!" before he hung up. He smashed open a closet and came up with a telescope, then glanced over and saw that I was looking at him. "No time! C'mon!" he yelled, all jittery. I thought the building might be on fire, but somehow (and this shames me to this day) didn't think of Bonny, still asleep on the bed, until we were on the stairs.
But that's when it struck me, the wrongness of our route. We were headed up, not down. I remember yelling at him, about a floor above me, but he didn't break stride. Then we were on the roof. He was pointing up between a couple of buildings, the telescope already steady on a tripod while he made obscure adjustments to it. He looked into it for what seemed like forever, although it was probably only a minute or so. Then he pulled back, almost as if it were hot, gasping for a second before turning to me. I remember my recoil from his expression. Here I was, still heaving, gulping air, bone-dry deep in my chest, and my fight-or-flight reflex was a full-on throb in my fingertips. My friend looked insane, his face of full of something I'd never seen in someone so unflappable and urbane.
He gestured toward the telescope with one hand and pointed up with the other. I followed his finger to the barely visible area between the giant, unfinished World Trade Center towers, which seemed miles away. I was dubious, but I put my eye to that telescope.
A couple of seconds later, I saw - how to describe this? - a vague mark in the sky that suddenly, horribly, unmistakably resolved into the shape of a man. A man in that impossible space. Unfalling. Suspended. A man, and nothing else, in the sky, a quarter mile above New York City.
I looked at my friend and he looked at me. And we laughed like mystics sharing a particularly ecstatic vision.
Later, the news told us the man's name was Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who'd pulled similar stunts in Paris and in Sydney. No, not stunts. Exhibitions. Sermons, even. The whole thing felt like an elaborate morality play for my benefit. Be better at life, Petit had said to me. Tens of thousands of people saw him up there, but I was young and narcissistic, and I thought his message was for me. Be better.
***
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The League Table, June 2008
Below is the sales chart for the series, showing *lifetime* global sales positions of all the books in the series, from September 2003 through to the end of June. Clearly this gives an advantage to the older volumes - and since many of those are still selling well, it's tough as nuts for some of the newer titles to catch up.
That said, we've seen some big moves recently from the books on My Bloody Valentine and Bowie, while the Radiohead and Rolling Stones books are showing some serious legs at this point in time. Further down the chart (and really, there's no shame at all in being down there!), we've seen some great starts from the volumes on Tom Waits, Slayer, and Sabbath. And, of course, Celine continues to power along nicely - if that book continues to pick up undergrad course adoptions, who knows where the fun will end?
***
1. Neutral Milk Hotel
2. The Kinks
3. The Smiths
4. The Rolling Stones
5. Radiohead
6. Velvet Underground
7. Joy Division
8. The Beatles
9. Pink Floyd
10. Led Zeppelin
11. The Beach Boys
12. David Bowie
13. My Bloody Valentine
14. Love
15. Beastie Boys
16. DJ Shadow
17. Bob Dylan
18. Neil Young
19. Pixies
20. Jimi Hendrix
21. Jeff Buckley
22. The Replacements
23. Dusty Springfield
24. The Band
25. Prince
26. R.E.M.
27. Sonic Youth
28. Bruce Springsteen
29. The Ramones
30. Celine Dion
31. Elvis Costello
32. Captain Beefheart
33. James Brown
34. Magnetic Fields
35. Steely Dan
36. Nirvana
37. The Who
38. Guided By Voices
39. The Byrds
40. Stone Roses
41. Minutemen
42. Jethro Tull
43. Sly and the Family Stone
44. Abba
45. Belle & Sebastian
46. The MC5
47. Tom Waits
48. Black Sabbath
49. Joni Mitchell
50. Nick Drake
51. Stevie Wonder
52. U2
53. Slayer
54. PJ Harvey
55. Guns N Roses
56. Throbbing Gristle
57. A Tribe Called Quest
58. Patti Smith
59. Richard and Linda Thompson
***
That said, we've seen some big moves recently from the books on My Bloody Valentine and Bowie, while the Radiohead and Rolling Stones books are showing some serious legs at this point in time. Further down the chart (and really, there's no shame at all in being down there!), we've seen some great starts from the volumes on Tom Waits, Slayer, and Sabbath. And, of course, Celine continues to power along nicely - if that book continues to pick up undergrad course adoptions, who knows where the fun will end?
***
1. Neutral Milk Hotel
2. The Kinks
3. The Smiths
4. The Rolling Stones
5. Radiohead
6. Velvet Underground
7. Joy Division
8. The Beatles
9. Pink Floyd
10. Led Zeppelin
11. The Beach Boys
12. David Bowie
13. My Bloody Valentine
14. Love
15. Beastie Boys
16. DJ Shadow
17. Bob Dylan
18. Neil Young
19. Pixies
20. Jimi Hendrix
21. Jeff Buckley
22. The Replacements
23. Dusty Springfield
24. The Band
25. Prince
26. R.E.M.
27. Sonic Youth
28. Bruce Springsteen
29. The Ramones
30. Celine Dion
31. Elvis Costello
32. Captain Beefheart
33. James Brown
34. Magnetic Fields
35. Steely Dan
36. Nirvana
37. The Who
38. Guided By Voices
39. The Byrds
40. Stone Roses
41. Minutemen
42. Jethro Tull
43. Sly and the Family Stone
44. Abba
45. Belle & Sebastian
46. The MC5
47. Tom Waits
48. Black Sabbath
49. Joni Mitchell
50. Nick Drake
51. Stevie Wonder
52. U2
53. Slayer
54. PJ Harvey
55. Guns N Roses
56. Throbbing Gristle
57. A Tribe Called Quest
58. Patti Smith
59. Richard and Linda Thompson
***
Monday, July 14, 2008
Los Angeles, we are spoiling you
Not only do you get multiple helpings of Darnielle, if you live in L.A., but at the end of August you get the chance to attend a very special event - a tour of Tom Waits' Los Angeles, hosted by our very own David Smay, author of the 33 1/3 on Swordfishtrombones.
It all takes place on Saturday August 30th, and concludes with a book reading at Metropolis Books, featuring not only David Smay but also Kim Cooper reading from her Neutral Milk Hotel book, and Hayden Childs reading from his brand new book about Shoot Out The Lights. I've been told that tickets for the tour are shifting in a spirited fashion, so if you want to be part of this, you might want to head over here, and reserve yourself a spot.
It all takes place on Saturday August 30th, and concludes with a book reading at Metropolis Books, featuring not only David Smay but also Kim Cooper reading from her Neutral Milk Hotel book, and Hayden Childs reading from his brand new book about Shoot Out The Lights. I've been told that tickets for the tour are shifting in a spirited fashion, so if you want to be part of this, you might want to head over here, and reserve yourself a spot.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Attention Los Angeles!
John Darnielle will be doing another reading in the LA area TONIGHT, July 10 at 7pm, at the wonderful Book Soup. Or rather, around the corner at Pi Restaurant on 8828 Sunset Blvd. (upstairs).
As John wrote on the Mountain Goats blog, "if you missed last month's L.A. one, c'mon out for this one, and if you caught it, I promise not to do the exact same reading; I have a few ideas for how I might be able to mix it up a little."
Details can be found here at the Book Soup website.
For those of you outside of LA, here is a nice long interview with John from L Magazine.
Edit: And one more review and interview from the Hipster Book Club for good measure.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Vol no.58: Shoot Out the Lights
I'm delighted to announce that book number 58 in the series has now been published in the US and Canada, and will be available in the UK very shortly. It's about Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights, and is written by Hayden Childs. Here's the back cover copy:
***
Richard had been married for nearly a decade to Linda, who sang his songs with empathy and clarity and who, moreover, put up with his quest for truth and self-knowledge, and bore his children, and loved him throughout. And yet she was no longer the love of his life. Richard's career was older than his marriage. But the previous three albums he had made were muddled. Two had sold poorly, leading to his record label dropping him. His last one had never been released. He was thirty-two and had no record contract. His career appeared to be in a long slide toward oblivion. The choices Thompson faced were nothing short of Hell. So he cut Shoot Out the Lights, an album about his own little inferno.
Shoot Out the Lights was the last album that Richard and Linda Thompson recorded together as husband and wife. It is a testament to the power of simple production and lyrical directness, yet behind those qualities its eight songs run through a gamut of deep emotion: despair, loss, fear, betrayal, indifference, and, ultimately, existential abandon. Hayden Childs weaves the story of this astonishing record from the perspective of a man who is obsessed with it, a man who is living and reliving his own trip through Hell.
***
Hayden is guest-blogging this week over at Powells, and you can read the first post right here. It's a treat for any fans of the Fall.
***
Richard had been married for nearly a decade to Linda, who sang his songs with empathy and clarity and who, moreover, put up with his quest for truth and self-knowledge, and bore his children, and loved him throughout. And yet she was no longer the love of his life. Richard's career was older than his marriage. But the previous three albums he had made were muddled. Two had sold poorly, leading to his record label dropping him. His last one had never been released. He was thirty-two and had no record contract. His career appeared to be in a long slide toward oblivion. The choices Thompson faced were nothing short of Hell. So he cut Shoot Out the Lights, an album about his own little inferno.
Shoot Out the Lights was the last album that Richard and Linda Thompson recorded together as husband and wife. It is a testament to the power of simple production and lyrical directness, yet behind those qualities its eight songs run through a gamut of deep emotion: despair, loss, fear, betrayal, indifference, and, ultimately, existential abandon. Hayden Childs weaves the story of this astonishing record from the perspective of a man who is obsessed with it, a man who is living and reliving his own trip through Hell.
***
Hayden is guest-blogging this week over at Powells, and you can read the first post right here. It's a treat for any fans of the Fall.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
33 1/3 x 3 in NYC tomorrow night!
I'm very pleased to say that three of our backlist titles in the series will be getting a deserved turn in the spotlight tomorrow evening. The event kicks off at 7.30pm sharp on Thurs June 26th, at SOLAS BAR, on Ninth St. btw 2nd and 3rd Aves.
Much more information follows below:
***
33 1/3 is a series of short books about a wide variety of albums, by artists ranging from James Brown to the Beastie Boys. Launched in September 2003, the series now contains over 50 titles and is acclaimed and loved by fans, musicians and scholars alike. St. Mark's Bookshop will invite 33 1/3 Authors LD Beghtol (Magnetic Field's 69 Love Songs), Franklin Bruno (Elvis Costello's Armed Forces) and Elisabeth Vincentelli (Abba's Abba Gold) to the Solas stage.
About our readers:
LD BEGHTOL (MAGNETIC FIELDS' 69 LOVE SONGS) is the singer/musical director for the experimental pop outfit LD & the New Criticism and is one-half of the bicoastal musical project Moth Wranglers. In 1998 Beghtol was invited by songwriter/producer Stephin Merritt to collaborate as a guest musician and designer on the Magnetic Fields' 1999 triple-CD boxset, 69 Love Songs (for which he wrote the 33 1/3 book). Beghtol has written extensive about the arts and culture for Time Out, The Village Voice, Chickfactor, the Advocate and other publications
FRANKLIN BRUNO (ELVIS COSTELLO'S ARMED FORCES) is a singer-songwriter, academic, writer, and blogger originally from Upland, California Civics, the first album by Bruno's new band, The Human Hearts, was released by Tight Ship Records in 2007. In addition to his own recordings, he also records with The Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle as The Extra Glenns. Bruno writes music criticism for The Village Voice, Time Out New York and Salon.com. He received a doctorate in philosophy from UCLA and currently is a visiting professor of philosophy at Bard College.
ELISABETH VINCENTELLI (ABBA'S ABBA GOLD) is Arts & Entertainment Editor at Time Out New York. She also contributes to the New York Times, the LA Times and Slate. She considers Sweden to be her own personal Holy Land of Pop Music, with Stockholm as its Mecca.
Signed books will be available at St. Mark's Bookshop before the reading. All St. Mark's Bookshop events are free to the public. It begins Thursday, June 26th, at 7:30PM sharp, at SOLAS BAR (232 E. Ninth Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues).
***
Much more information follows below:
***
33 1/3 is a series of short books about a wide variety of albums, by artists ranging from James Brown to the Beastie Boys. Launched in September 2003, the series now contains over 50 titles and is acclaimed and loved by fans, musicians and scholars alike. St. Mark's Bookshop will invite 33 1/3 Authors LD Beghtol (Magnetic Field's 69 Love Songs), Franklin Bruno (Elvis Costello's Armed Forces) and Elisabeth Vincentelli (Abba's Abba Gold) to the Solas stage.
About our readers:
LD BEGHTOL (MAGNETIC FIELDS' 69 LOVE SONGS) is the singer/musical director for the experimental pop outfit LD & the New Criticism and is one-half of the bicoastal musical project Moth Wranglers. In 1998 Beghtol was invited by songwriter/producer Stephin Merritt to collaborate as a guest musician and designer on the Magnetic Fields' 1999 triple-CD boxset, 69 Love Songs (for which he wrote the 33 1/3 book). Beghtol has written extensive about the arts and culture for Time Out, The Village Voice, Chickfactor, the Advocate and other publications
FRANKLIN BRUNO (ELVIS COSTELLO'S ARMED FORCES) is a singer-songwriter, academic, writer, and blogger originally from Upland, California Civics, the first album by Bruno's new band, The Human Hearts, was released by Tight Ship Records in 2007. In addition to his own recordings, he also records with The Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle as The Extra Glenns. Bruno writes music criticism for The Village Voice, Time Out New York and Salon.com. He received a doctorate in philosophy from UCLA and currently is a visiting professor of philosophy at Bard College.
ELISABETH VINCENTELLI (ABBA'S ABBA GOLD) is Arts & Entertainment Editor at Time Out New York. She also contributes to the New York Times, the LA Times and Slate. She considers Sweden to be her own personal Holy Land of Pop Music, with Stockholm as its Mecca.
Signed books will be available at St. Mark's Bookshop before the reading. All St. Mark's Bookshop events are free to the public. It begins Thursday, June 26th, at 7:30PM sharp, at SOLAS BAR (232 E. Ninth Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues).
***
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I Shot a Man in Reno
You may like to know about a non-33 1/3 book we're publishing in August (in the US) and October (in the UK). Written by Graeme Thomson, it's called - and please take a deep breath before reading this, it really does help - I Shot a Man in Reno: A History of Death by Murder, Suicide, Fire, Flood, Drugs, Disease and General Misadventure, as Related in Popular Song.
It's a great book, and Graeme is also running a blog to go along with it, where he's looking at the myriad ways in which pop deals with the subject of death. Please do check out the blog, right here.
It's a great book, and Graeme is also running a blog to go along with it, where he's looking at the myriad ways in which pop deals with the subject of death. Please do check out the blog, right here.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
REIGN IN BLOOD
I'm very pleased to say that Reign in Blood, book number 57 in the series, is now on sale around the US. (Actually, Amazon already sold their initial copies, but there are lots more currently shipping to them, and to the usual stores who support the series.)
D.X. Ferris, the book's kick-ass author, put a huge amount of work into this one, as you can see from this list of people interviewed during his research:
All members of SLAYER
Producer Rick Rubin
Engineer Andy Wallace
Cover artist Larry Carroll
Russell Simmons
MC Serch
Tori Amos
PANTERA's Phil Anselmo
Rob Arnold (CHIMAIRA)
Matt Bachand (SHADOWS FALL)
Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE)
Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX, S.O.D.)
Karl Buechner (EARTH CRISIS, FREYA, PATH OF RESISTANCE)
Corey Bing (FISTULA, KING TRAVOLTA)
Anders Björler (AT THE GATES, THE HAUNTED)
John Comprix (BEYOND FEAR, RINGWORM)
Brann Dailor (MASTODON)
Glenn Danzig (MISFITS, SAMHAIN, DANZIG)
Katon W. De Pena (HIRAX)
Dave Ellefson (ex-MEGADETH)
Jack Endino (producer of NIRVANA, HIGH OF FIRE, SOUNDGARDEN)
Rick Ernst (director of the documentary "Get Thrashed")
Tony Foresta (MUNICIPAL WASTE)
Angela Gossow (ARCH ENEMY)
Page Hamilton (HELMET)
Dwid Hellion (INTEGRITY)
Larry Herweg (PELICAN)
Killick Erik Hinds (a composer who recorded an instrumental version of the entire "Reign" LP, solo, on a H'arpeggione)
Gene Hoglan (DARK ANGEL, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, PITCH BLACK FORECAST)
Gary Holt (EXODUS)
Eugene Hütz (GOGOL BORDELLO)
Ill Bill (rapper-producer who wrote the song "The Unauthorized Biography of Slayer" in honor of his favorite band)
Bill Kelliher (MASTODON)
Dan Lilker (NUCLEAR ASSAULT, BRUTAL TRUTH, S.O.D.)
Roger Miret (AGNOSTIC FRONT)
Nergal (BEHEMOTH)
Buzz Osborne (MELVINS, FANTOMAS)
Tim "Ripper" Owens (BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST)
Trevor Perez (OBITUARY)
Bill Peters (host of WJCU's "Metal on Metal" since 1982)
Dave Peters (THROWDOWN)
Lars Göran Petrov (ENTOMBED)
Trevor Phipps (UNEARTH)
Matt Pike (HIGH ON FIRE, SLEEP)
Henry Rollins (ROLLINS BAND, BLACK FLAG)
Paul Romano (visual artist best known for his MASTODON album covers)
Jim Root (SLIPKNOT)
Rat Skates (ex-OVERKILL, director of "Born in the Basement")
Devin Townsend (DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
Kat Von D (tattoo artist, star of "L.A. Ink")
Andy Williams (EVERY TIME I DIE)
Deryck Whibley (SUM 41; SLAYER's Kerry King contributed a solo to SUM's "What We're All About")
Sean Yseult (WHITE ZOMBIE, ROCK CITY MORGUE)
Enjoy!
D.X. Ferris, the book's kick-ass author, put a huge amount of work into this one, as you can see from this list of people interviewed during his research:
All members of SLAYER
Producer Rick Rubin
Engineer Andy Wallace
Cover artist Larry Carroll
Russell Simmons
MC Serch
Tori Amos
PANTERA's Phil Anselmo
Rob Arnold (CHIMAIRA)
Matt Bachand (SHADOWS FALL)
Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE)
Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX, S.O.D.)
Karl Buechner (EARTH CRISIS, FREYA, PATH OF RESISTANCE)
Corey Bing (FISTULA, KING TRAVOLTA)
Anders Björler (AT THE GATES, THE HAUNTED)
John Comprix (BEYOND FEAR, RINGWORM)
Brann Dailor (MASTODON)
Glenn Danzig (MISFITS, SAMHAIN, DANZIG)
Katon W. De Pena (HIRAX)
Dave Ellefson (ex-MEGADETH)
Jack Endino (producer of NIRVANA, HIGH OF FIRE, SOUNDGARDEN)
Rick Ernst (director of the documentary "Get Thrashed")
Tony Foresta (MUNICIPAL WASTE)
Angela Gossow (ARCH ENEMY)
Page Hamilton (HELMET)
Dwid Hellion (INTEGRITY)
Larry Herweg (PELICAN)
Killick Erik Hinds (a composer who recorded an instrumental version of the entire "Reign" LP, solo, on a H'arpeggione)
Gene Hoglan (DARK ANGEL, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, PITCH BLACK FORECAST)
Gary Holt (EXODUS)
Eugene Hütz (GOGOL BORDELLO)
Ill Bill (rapper-producer who wrote the song "The Unauthorized Biography of Slayer" in honor of his favorite band)
Bill Kelliher (MASTODON)
Dan Lilker (NUCLEAR ASSAULT, BRUTAL TRUTH, S.O.D.)
Roger Miret (AGNOSTIC FRONT)
Nergal (BEHEMOTH)
Buzz Osborne (MELVINS, FANTOMAS)
Tim "Ripper" Owens (BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST)
Trevor Perez (OBITUARY)
Bill Peters (host of WJCU's "Metal on Metal" since 1982)
Dave Peters (THROWDOWN)
Lars Göran Petrov (ENTOMBED)
Trevor Phipps (UNEARTH)
Matt Pike (HIGH ON FIRE, SLEEP)
Henry Rollins (ROLLINS BAND, BLACK FLAG)
Paul Romano (visual artist best known for his MASTODON album covers)
Jim Root (SLIPKNOT)
Rat Skates (ex-OVERKILL, director of "Born in the Basement")
Devin Townsend (DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
Kat Von D (tattoo artist, star of "L.A. Ink")
Andy Williams (EVERY TIME I DIE)
Deryck Whibley (SUM 41; SLAYER's Kerry King contributed a solo to SUM's "What We're All About")
Sean Yseult (WHITE ZOMBIE, ROCK CITY MORGUE)
Enjoy!
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