Recently I was interviewed for our local community paper's book column about my 2017 book, Nothing Has Been Done Before. Read it here! I enjoyed chatting with Mandy Shunnarah about the continuing relevance of "the new" in music culture, and we even took a related detour into musical genres. If you want to learn more… Continue reading Revisiting Nothing Has Been Done Before
Um, been a while. That means I've been busy.Updates are best found at the website for my book, Nothing Has Been Done Before.Here are a couple of direct links, though:Review of Nothing Has Been Done Before at PopMatters.An expanded version of the talk I gave this past week at the Prince from Minneapolis conference.
I'm thrilled to be giving a free author talk about Nothing Has Been Done Before at the Bexley Public Library this coming Thursday, December 7, from 7pm to 8pm. Bexley is just east of downtown Columbus. The library has hosted some terrific authors.Click here and say you'll be there. I'll have copies of the book… Continue reading Upcoming Author Talk in Columbus
I created a website full of resources for my new book, Nothing Has Been Done Before: Seeking the New in 21st Century American Literature. Go here and bookmark:http://nothinghasbeendonebefore.comThe site includes audio and visual, a complete discography, outtakes, and more. Those resources won't update much--though I'm still building the annotations for the discography--but I'll update it… Continue reading Nothing Has Been Done Before Has a Website
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'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
Scattered updates must mean I'm busy, which is a good thing. My article "Scenes of Love and Theft: Bob Dylan, Piracy, and Cultures of Transgression" for the Los Angeles Review of Books should be up today. It reviews two new books: Elijah Wald's Dylan Goes Electric! and Stephen Witt's How Music Got Free. (Edit: Here's… Continue reading Scenes of Love and Theft and the Midwestern Work Ethic or Something
Here's a picture of our dining room table, which is rarely used for dinner. Instead, it's a work table where Jamie fixes up some of the clothes she sells on Etsy and where I type a bunch of words. The tiny sandwich is what I had for lunch the other day: ham and provolone on… Continue reading Tiny Sandwich
Robert Loss 