Bites: Taylor on Sampsell, Jersey Shore Vs. Joshua Ferris, Iggy Pop Writes a Letter, and More

Justin Taylor pens a “peer review” of Kevin Sampsell’s wonderful book, A Common Pornography. “Some of it’s funny, and some of it’s touching, and some of it’s sad–and a lot of it is two or more of these things at once–but I think what it really succeeds at doing is creating an atmosphere that encompasses all of those states without forcing the reader to choose one” Boston Globe reviews a new Gabriel García Márquez biography. Jersey Shore vs. Joshua Ferris: […]

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Bites: Cassette From My Ex, Sartre and The Slugger, Sontag’s Opinions, Jamie Stewart Tells a Story, and More

Boston Globe talks to Jason Bitner of Found Magazine and Cassette From My Ex. Mark McGwire and Sartre. New York Tyrant passes a note through HTMLGiant. Deckfight is reading Faulkner. Susan Sontag and her opinions. Roky Erickson + Will Sheff =’s mind blown Blonde Redhead + Dungeons & Dragons is also pretty cool. Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu tells a story. Find us on Twitter and Facebook for more news.

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Best Song Right Now: “Castaways” by Shearwater

I used to think of Shearwater as only the band that had a strong connection to one of my favorite groups, Okkervil River.  Giving a listen to the song “Castaways”, which will be included on their upcoming album, The Golden Archipelago, I’m totally revisiting that flawed theory. Go to the Matador blog, and listen to it.

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Bites: Attempt at bad poetry leaves me unfulfilled, Raymond Chandlers LA, up yours Barnes and Noble, Will Sheff helps Norah Jones, and more

By Jason Diamond Come on city of my birth (that being Chicago), this is the worst poetry you can do? No sonnets about Mike Ditka? Not a single haiku on Hot Dougs? Seriously people, come on! If I ever needed one quote from The Awl to sum up the love I feel for that website, then I have found it with “If our Congress can be measured on a scale of feces (and it should), Senator Byron Leslie Dorgan is […]

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