John Waters says “if you go home with someone and they don’t have books, don’t fuck ‘em.” I agree, and always make a beeline for the bookshelves when I’m in someone’s apartment. I used to subconsciously curate my bookshelves for this eventuality before I worked in publishing, but since I’ve been in the biz for about five years now (and Rachel more than that) we have lots of books that aren’t necessarily representative. We got rid of probably ten or so boxes of what we could live without when we moved, which would’ve been anathema five years ago but you learn to let go. Also, I love YA and space operas, but you don’t keep those after you’re done with them. Anyway, I got a new camera, thought I’d turn the other cheek and share some of our shelves.
A new decade, a different direction; experiments with cursive and “British humor”.
Hit play and then click somewhere outside of the slideshow to read sans buttons etc:
The thrilling follow-up to The Monsters (1988)
Hit play and then click somewhere outside of the slideshow to read sans buttons etc:
By a young Nick Courage, working under the first of many surnames.
Hit play and then click somewhere outside of the slideshow to read sans buttons etc:
While I was avoiding hungry vendor stares at the NYC Zine Fest last summer, Rachel – again – was being an admirable astronaut on spaceship earth and making awesome finds. Can’t remember the provenance of this poem either (outside of “from an egg”). If it’s from you, holla at your boy.
Rachel bought a cigarette shaped poem from a vending machine at NYC Zine Fest last summer. We can’t remember provenance outside of that since it’s been so long (if it’s you, let us know) – but it was worth the wait!
An ancient one-track/one-take favorite (talked about in AMR Podcast #8 alongside “Fierce Love”, if you’re hungry for context, and played on that old, broken junior guitar Bat and me used to have). Lyrics also included @ that link. And as long as this is a thing, I’m cobbling together these YouTube videos from the extreme back catalog largely because a lot of heart – although, admittedly, not much time – got put into these songs when we only had a handful of people following us around the internet; not ready for them to die just yet. Also, I might as well cop to it: I’m a sucker for B-sides and always like the old stuff better.
One thing i love is: mounting context. like this song i recorded – one take, ten minute deal after one of those long days everyone’s been having… (more after the jump)
Last thursday, in between jobs, i decided to go to MoMA. The context, for those i haven’t completely scandalized yet, is that (contemporary) art museums usually turn my heart into a fist. Not from lack of reverence, either. More, the whole experience always just feels so gauche. All the coughing and social compulsion and culture, and meanwhile poor Gaea, by Lee Krasner (1966) is up next to a room full of shaky Rothko imitations and it all just seems so backwards and embarrassing.
And if you haven’t already, check out the video for the typewriter songs and the great night train memory chain! If you like any of this stuff, as always, feel free to repost or whatever. I wanna do another New School talk about something I know nothing about, and I feel like facebook reposts’ll get me there! Recontextualizing the (Largely Marginalized) Czech New Wave in a Post-Post Modern Era in 3.2.1…
suffocation song (2005):
typewriter song pt. 1 and 2 (2006)
A (relatively newish) friend just called me n-train… not knowing about the night train express florida punk in drublic rituals i used to instigate and preside over so many years ago. And it all came flooding back. Well, sort of. So if you have any great Night Train Express memories, pls. post them in the comments. I’ve mostly forgotten those nights and need a jump.
PS. i just found this completely unaltered photo of me chugging night train in the Common Ground parking lot before an against me! show about five or six years ago. I think, that night, they were playing with Bitchin’, The Grabass Charlestons, and Reactionary Three (who I missed because I was parking lot hanging). Fun days!
The first – amazing! – submission to the AMR YouTube Contest, by way of Mark Fullmer (whose book of micropoetry, Tweet Tweet: a mysticotelegraphic fistbump panegyric to the american open road odyssey, is coming out shortly).
If you’re interested in participating, here’s the invitation! Fun!
I feel like I’m losing my YouTube perspective… so am inviting you to make a music video for “don’t be yourself (live)” and win an AMR shout out extraordinaire!*
Easy enough, right? Post links to your YouTube video in the comments. If I get more than one I’ll post a poll; if not, congratulations – you win!
If you need inspiration: this is my cobbled together “oeuvre”… the early videos are notable because I didn’t have a digital camera and they’re literally cobbled together from extant vids.
Good luck, godspeed. This should be fun if anyone’s up for a two and a half minute challenge!
*Some sort of fitting, victor-dependent tribute. Probably musical, though!
