Click here to say you'll be stopping by for the party. The book is out the same day: Thursday, Nov. 2. Pre-order at Bloomsbury or Amazon if you can't make the party. (Also, please consider buying from your local bookstore.) Here's the excellent cover:
I had the great fortune to interview Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs last month for PopMatters. I don't conduct interviews very often, but as a Whigs fan since 1994, I jumped at the chance. It came a difficult time for Dulli and everyone in the Whigs/Twilight Singers extended family--it's explained in the article--so I… Continue reading The Latest: An Interview with Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs
My July column, "Algiers and the Political Structures of Noise," is up at PopMatters: read it here. I've been a fan of the band Algiers since their debut self-titled album. Nobody else sounds like they do: a bucketful of warm soul and cold techno-punk...or is it cold soul and warm techno-punk? Their fusion is utterly… Continue reading The Latest: Algiers at PopMatters
One of these days I'll get this thing right. Anyway, updates:My latest post at PopMatters, this one concerning the new album by Chastity Belt, I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone. This calls back to a piece I wrote last year about the Felice Brothers and "termite art."My book is being finished up. One… Continue reading Catching Up Again
I've emerged from my burrow after a busy fall and winter. Apparently, the last time I posted was August 24th. Since then I have:1) gotten married. Best day of my life.2) finished my manuscript for Nothing Has Been Done Before and sent it to Bloomsbury.3) become addicted to political news again.4) tried to buy a… Continue reading April Is for Updates
So I can finally announce the big news I've been keeping hush-hush: Next fall, Bloomsbury will publish my book of music criticism! The working title is NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE. The book explores the concept of the "new" in American popular music since 2000 and argues for a different way of engaging with that… Continue reading Nothing Has Been Done Before To Be Published by Bloomsbury
The Blind Engineer EP is out, today is Aug. 12, CCAD awaits, so I'm shifting back into non-summer mode. Boombox is playing some Times New Viking, Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell, Rae Sremmurd, and Frank Hutchison. My latest column is up at PopMatters re: Protomartyr's "The Devil in His Youth" and how it now seems… Continue reading Back On It
My band Blind Engineer's new EP is now available for online streaming, download, and hard-copy purchase (CD only). Two choices: Bandcamp or Mingo Town Music.Our release show is Friday July 29 at Ace of Cups with Sin Shouters and Betsy Ross, two great local bands.Also, we'll be playing live in-studio at WCBE 90.5 on Wednesday,… Continue reading Blind Engineer EP Update
My short story "Ring Around the Moon" is in the new issue of 2 Bridges Review. The online issue hasn't been uploaded yet, but I understand it should be shortly. Hard copy in photo below (next to cat card for my birthday from my fiancee). Demand that your bookseller carry 2 Bridges!"Ring Around the Moon"… Continue reading My Short Story “Ring Around the Moon” in 2 Bridges Review
My new column is up at PopMatters. It's one of those survey-the-land kinds of pieces, reflecting on where we're at as a country. Specifically it considers Fantastic Negrito's song "Working Poor" from his new album The Last Days of Oakland and what the song does--not just what it's about.I want to clarify that my interest… Continue reading Summer of ’16: Fantastic Negrito’s “Working Poor”
Robert Loss 