Harry Styles

Because he’s goofy as fuck.

 

Sinéad O’Connor

Because she’s fucking epic beautiful in maybe a million or more ways.

\

 

David Laid

Because he’s normal and nice and uncomplicated but complex.

 

Christopher Hitchens

Because I miss the hell out of him.

 

Diet Dr. Pepper Commercials

Because nothing is funnier (to me) than a little Prince-looking guy popping out of your washer.

 

Randy Orton “Outta Nowhere” Clips

Because I love Randy Orton and I love people who put him in other people’s videos of other people getting fucked up.

 

Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica Clothes

Because they fit me really well…and because I have this phobia about extraneous strings on clothes, like in the armpits, pockets, and crotches, and I never have to worry about these clothes having these feared strings (and the latter is the real reason I like them).

 

Staying Up Really Late

Because I can’t during the work week. So I fuck it all up by staying up almost all night on the weekends…and then complain about how tired I am all through the week…and then stay up late all over again…but it’s fun, right?

 

*

p.s. Hey. Today the upstanding and long term distinguished local of DC’s blog plus writer and just generally uniquely configured gentleman Misanthrope would like to share some things and folks he likes, really likes, and my educated guess is that he would like, really like you to take a gander and, in the indicated spots, listen to his things/folks then respond according to your own tastes and levels of interest in his outpouring via the comments. Can you do that, please? It would be awfully cool if you did, thank you. And thanks above all to you, Misanthrope. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. That’s his real name? I did not know that. Gisele knows him, but I think he only lets her know him as Leos. What a lovely and informative story, thank you kindly. And … Everyone, Mr. Ehrenstein has wisely added to the Carax post yesterday by linking all of us up with this clip from ‘Holy Motors’ featuring international pop sensation Kylie Minogue. Check it. Oh, and also use this to read about and even purchase the new book by the fine author and expert/historian Bill Reed who also just happens to be Mr. E’s spouse. Bill’s new book is called ‘Perils of Prolificity: Sometimes When I Start Writing, I Just Can’t Stop’, and his books are always ultra-worthy treats. Awesome about Bill’s new book! I’ll get it. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. Yes, indeed, he is indeed. And I believe the Maels are here in Paris working with him right now, as I saw a photo yesterday on Facebook of Russell standing in front of a restaurant that is but a swift 20 second trot from my front door. And some people who work with Gisele are working on the film helping design and build a puppet that is, as I understand it, the star of the film. ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Carax’s film productions are always fraught, so we’ll see how soon his new one gets made, but it is fully financed and soon to be underway, at the very least. Happy to have blasted some past at you. Ha ha, funny about your tag for them, poor things. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! I did like it, and, after hearing it, I remembered it and that I liked it at the time too. Thank you! I almost fully believe my arm is improving now. It’s slow but steady. I hope those stores are selling your mom’s ceramics. They’re so beautiful. I’ve heard of ‘A Mother’s Reckoning’, but I can’t remember what it is. I’ll go find out. My day … oh, I looked at a couple of apartments, one of which was very eccentric in a curious way, but neither of which will work unfortunately. Zac and I have another big day of actor auditions on Thursday, so we started organizing that. I worked on blog posts, which I do every day but rarely mention because making blog posts isn’t very interesting to hear about. If you remember, I reconnected recently with my best friend from high school, and we Skype occasionally, and we had a long, great talk/visit last night. I think that was the totality of yesterday excluding eating and walking and boring stuff. What did your today involve? Have a swell one. ** New Juche, Hey. Work work work, I hear you. Huh, I might have to go back and search the archives for that filmmaker you mentioned. It rings a strong bell, but I’m not coming up with a name immediately. It’s not Kiarostami or Mohsen Makhmalbaf, right? Do you remember how long ago the post was? Was it on this new blog or on my murdered one? ** Chris dankland, Hi, Chris! ‘Holy Motors’ is very worth watching, yep. All of his feature length films are. ‘Pola X’ is really good too. Oh, man, thank you so much for devoting your time and thought to ‘Death Spiral’. I so very, very appreciate it. What I meant to say, if I didn’t, in those interviews, is that I think I might have taken the GIF novel form as far as I can. I could keep making them and refining them, but I don’t feel like I can necessarily push the form into a new, more advanced place, and it’s always been a rule for me with my fiction, written or GIF, that if I can’t do something that I personally believe is expanding what a novel can be within the strictures of my particular talent, I won’t write a novel. It’s also kind of deeply frustrating to me that the GIF novels are doing, or at least attempting to do, quite complex things with narrative and structure and content and stuff, and that so few people seem interested in engaging with them, with what they are and are doing and are about, other than to find their surfaces and the form itself fun or interesting or cool or not. So that probably plays into my ennui about continuing that work too. But as for the idea of the GIF as the language of a new literary form, I’m still very interested in that. ‘Death Spiral’ did advance what I’ve been doing, yeah. I figured out how to play looser with the images but remain tightly controlling of their sequencing/build at the same time, and the narrative in it is better/deeper overall, I think. It’s easily one of my best GIF works so far, I’m pretty sure. Hieroglyphics is a really good way to describe it, yes. I hadn’t thought of that, but, yeah, very much. Well, there are sequences in it that are ‘fucked up’ and kind of ugly in a way I hadn’t dared try before. Another big, overall thing in ‘DS’ that is more developed and ingrained than before is the way actual language works within it. I’ve started working more carefully with GIFs in which the person/face is speaking, and where, if you pay the kind of attention to the work that it asks, you can read the lips of speakers and understand/hear what they’re saying. What they’re saying both in the specific sequences and when added together into a kind of overall narrative ‘conversation’, advances the work’s narrative or trajectory almost the way dialogue does in written fiction, but in a more haunted way than is possible in text-based fiction. A specfic example in ‘DS’ that I’m very proud of world be the Bowie/ouija board/boy sequence, where, if you study the pieces — Bowie’s face and movement, what the ouija board is spelling out, the boy’s face/movement and what he’s mouthing, and the combined  rhythm/movement/sources/etc. — you find this kind of very sad yet comical ‘scene’ that I think is beautiful in and of itself as well as servicing the whole work’s intentions both emotionally and in terms of ‘story’. Gosh, sorry to go on like that. That’s what I guess I’m saying: I take the literary GIF work very seriously. I know that what it and I are asking is very demanding, but I myself love demanding things, so shoot me, ha ha. Anyway, I so appreciate you thinking about that work and asking me about it. Everything you wrote about it makes total sense to me, and relates to what I hope/intend, and, yeah, it’s a joy to know that the piece is working for you in the detail that I’m trying very hard to make happen. Your response is very meaningful, thank you, Chris. Yes, me too, and probably everyone re: trying to negotiate the contant stress and scariness of the news and find what’s mine enough to work with, and how the effect of all of that can be useful or generative or something. Man, it’s insane out there, no? Wow, that quote. That’s not me. I never said or wrote that. I have no idea how that ended up being attributed to me. Not that it’s not an excellent quote, and not that I don’t agree with it, but that just isn’t my voice or language at all. How strange. You have a great morning too, my friend. ** Jamie, Very good day to you, sir! I’m not tired, no, and I’m sorry you were. Although you were perfectly cogent for a sleepy guy. As far as I know, no TV news, but I’m talking with Gisele today, so I’ll see what I can find out. I did enjoy ‘I Apologize’. It did seem early-on to me, like its seams showed, and it felt more like we were playing with the blocks of what we would later figure out how to represent in a much better way, but it does maintain this kind of punky, in-your-face thing that I think is appealing, and it got a great response, so I guess I’m good with it. I hope you have arrived safely back in Glasgow, and feel perky as hell. What happened? Love, me. ** Kier, Hi! Thanks about the gig, pal. No news on the TV thing as far as I know, but I haven’t had an actual conversation with Gisele in about a week, and we’re blabbing today, so maybe there’s some news I don’t know yet. John Tuite interviewed me for VICE about the GIF fiction and ‘Cattle’ a while back. Then he was in Paris recently for Fashion Week and asked if I wanted to hang out, and we did, and I liked him a lot, and we got along really well, and we became instant good friends. It’s cool when that happens. You want another trigger? Hm, what, what … I have to think. Oh, gosh, I’m blanking. Can I think about it today and give you a trigger tomorrow? Is that okay? I promise it’ll be a trigger-y one. Yeah, the auditions are in French. Zac does most of the talking, and I listen and chime in sometimes. I can understand the very, very basics, and it’s useful because can study the way they look and move and seem and so on without the ‘distraction’ of knowing exactly what they’re saying, and, given the way we work with performers, that’s actually very useful. So it works out fine. Nice that you get to go home for a bit. Cool, I’ll go look at the squeaky cat. I’m definitely intrigued by your description. Oh, the farm! Wow, the farm, I remember when you at the farm so much. That takes me back. Yes, weird, about the London phone call event. I forgot all about that. It was put on by Horse Hospital, and they made a phone booth, and anyone could go in the phone booth and call me in LA, and I would talk to them. It was weird, kind of obnoxious, but kind of nice. The only thing I really remember is these two guys who made me listen them having sex, or maybe pretending to have sex, who knows. Ha ha, weird to recall that. I’ll try to have a good Tuesday, and you too, okay? ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Yep, the Sparks/Carax is happening. ** Jeff J, Hi. I think the burning posters is from ‘Les Amants du Pont-Neuf’. No, I haven’t seen ‘Mr. X’. I forgot about it. I want to. I will. Thanks for the reminder. Team Dresch! That’s another band that were excluded only because of my having spaced out. Good call. I’ve only heard The Raymond Brake from that trio you listed. I’ll check the others. Thanks, buddy. ** Misanthrope, The man of the 24 hours! Hello there! Thank you mightily again for today’s enlightening entertainment. I hope that cold’s visit is very short. Like Bible salesman at the front door short. Uh, I have no idea about whether a Latin background improves one’s elocution. Let me … Everyone, While you’re exploring Misanthrope today, also see if you can answer this burning question he has posed. Here he is: ‘I’ve noticed in the reading I’ve done and the interviews I’ve watched and all that, that English speakers, writers, intellectuals, et al, with a good background in Latin seem to have a better command of English and its usage. What do you think?’ ** Steevee, I’ve heard that story about the reason why LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF had a weird US release too, and I think it’s true. Wow, that was a fast turn over on the Kristi Jacobson interview. Everyone, Steevee has interviewed director Kristi Jacobson about her film ‘Solitary’, which is showing on HBO tonight in the United States if you have HBO and are in the United States. In any case, here’s the interview. Thanks. Steve. ** Right. Be with and somewhat inside Misanthrope. See you tomorrow.

 

___________
The Breeders Iris (1990)
‘Pod is the debut album by the American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on 4AD in May 1990. Steve Albini has stated that it is the one album on which he felt he got both the best sound for a band, and the best performance from a band. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain called it one of the most influential albums of his life.’ — collaged

 

____________
Sebadoh As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger (1991)
‘Sebadoh III is imbued with that sense of urgency and the compulsive urge to prove yourself by going in at least five different musical directions at once. The perfect backbone for Barlow’s nervous intensity was Gaffney’s fiendish appetite for “fucking with people” which was also, says Barlow, what made Sebadoh III so different from more well-adjusted contemporaries like Pavement. Speaking of Gaffney’s lyrical brilliance, Barlow says, “I found it legitimately poetic and disturbing. When Eric would start messing around with words, you were like ‘Oh my God, he’s going to come through the speakers and fucking kill me.’ It’s the perfect description of the sheer trauma that is Gaffney’s “As the World Dies the Eyes of God Grow Bigger” and a counterpoint to Barlow’s own musical mission statement, where it’s more about the emotions, than the warping thereof.’ — Gigwise

 

__________
Codeine jr (1992)
‘In contemporary reviews, Peter Paphides wrote in Melody Maker that Codeine’s Barely Real EP was “25 minutes of snowblind glory waiting here if you want them. Each of them is a towering monument to nothingness”. The Alternative Press opined that the EP was not “a progression from the gorgeously devastated Frigid Stars and I couldn’t be happier. Codeine have hit upon a formula so pure and righteous it would be tragic for them to deviate from it.”‘ — collaged

 

_________
Jawbreaker Bivouac (1992)
‘Unfortunately, it’s not 1991 anymore. Kids no longer pledge undying allegiance to full-length albums. Steve Jobs has made it so they can create their own compilations. This allows them to sensationalize the thought that a jumbled group of songs can merge together to deliver one blank slate of relevance. They customize their angst by selecting any particular slew of artists they want to remind them why they’re confused, enraged, or heartbroken. Jawbreaker made records that meant something to them, not their fans’ dwindling attention span.’ — Consequence of Sound

 

__________
Superchunk Mower (1992)
‘After pushing the buzzsaw abandon of their earliest records to its logical extreme on the masterful No Pocky for Kitty, Superchunk begins reinventing itself with their third full-length, On the Mouth, a record as invigorating as it is frustrating. Without sacrificing any of the energy or conviction of past efforts, many of the disc’s 13 songs harness Mac McCaughan’s breathless pop-punk melodies into tighter, more demanding contexts — highlights, like the singles “Mower” and “The Question Is How Fast,” introduce a new arsenal of shifting rhythms and explosively tense dynamics which reveal unexpectedly limitless possibilities within the classic Superchunk approach.’ — Jason Ankeny

 

___________
Babes In Toyland Bruise Violet (1992)
‘”Bruise Violet” is the second single by Babes in Toyland from their album, Fontanelle. In an interview, Bjelland was asked if the song “Bruise Violet” was written about Courtney Love, since one of Hole’s hits was entitled “Violet”. Her response was no, firstly because “Violet” was released two years later (though Hole had been playing the song regularly since 1991), and secondly that Violet was a muse that both she and Love wrote about. It was released on purple 7″ vinyl and features early or not produced versions of the song.’ — collaged

 

____________
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 Wide Forehead (1992)
‘The band achieved their greatest critical and commercial success in the mid-nineties when they signed with the influential indie rock label Matador Records. It was during this time that Thinking Fellers produced their most prominent albums, Lovelyville, and the critically lauded college radio hit Strangers from the Universe. Despite its relatively poor production values, Mother of All Saints is considered by many fans the group’s masterpiece.’ — last.fm

 

_________
The Lemonheads Rudderless (1993)
‘Obviously the aimless “ship without a rudder” is figurative. I think it’s probably like “Evan Dando without his drug buddy is like a ship without a rudder”. That’s just my thought.’ — this is that song

 

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Trumans Water Fuller Piston Vinegar (1993)
‘There are plenty of reasons why rock has never been as fertile an improvisational canvas for musicians as jazz — chief among them, the hold of the 4/4 beat, the transience of attention spans (on the part of musicians and audience alike) and the fact that most aspiring bands would rather build a beer-can wall than a vertically soaring head. Despite a receding indie-rock orthodoxy, this San Diego quartet manages to successfully navigate the waters of improv with minimal listing toward the shores of pomp or shambling into silly lo-fi wankery.’ — Trouser Press

 

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Fugazi Rend It (1993)
‘As i mentioned this song is sung by Gui and more than likely written by him. his lyrics are often introspective, poetic and open to interpretation.. Embrace (his original claim to fame) was one of the original outspoken EMO bands im the early 80’s, very progressive… Many people speculate of his enhanced and progressive mindset and possible use of “drugs”. Rend it – end it.. Of off of Fugazi – in on the kill taker… Open up the the case and remove the cd and you will see “i will not lie” hand written (supposedly from a dumpsterdived journal of a mentally unstable person) .. did they write it, or did they find it? Why did they include it… For a band with such content i cant turn a blind eye to it.’ — PDU

 

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Sugar Tilted (1993)
‘Rarely has a band rocked out with such bleak intensity and utter conviction. A vast cathedral of noise and despair, erected and demolished in half an hour flat, this is an song which has to be heard to be believed.’ — The Times

 

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The Flaming Lips Pilot at the Queer of God (1993)
‘When he [a former coworker of Wayne’s from Long John Silver’s who joined the army and served as the inspiration for the song] would come back from his duties, I felt like he was changed for the better. He went away and he was a hick, a chauvinist, but he came back and he’d surprise me with the things he would say about this woman, a lesbian pilot who flew Blackhawk helicopters and shot missiles and stuff. He was really impressed with her.’ — Wayne Coyne

 

_________
Melvins Joan of Arc (1993)
‘Houdini is a great gateway to this clan of weirdos. If you like heavy shit you will probably enjoy anything these guys did up until around the turn of the century, IMO. If you like weird shit and/or the “noise” genre then I highly recommend this band.’ — Encyclopaedia Metallum

 

__________
Dinosaur Jr. Not the Same (1993)
‘somehow his axe and his voice sing the same tune, momentarily transmuting his self-pity into simple sadness’. — Robert Christigau

 

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Polvo Tragic Carpet Ride (1994)
‘More experimental than indie rock’s “accessible” success stories, Polvo could never establish a broad listenership — even after their later, more song-driven releases that stand up to the class of their genre.’ — allmusic

 

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Drive Like Jehu Here Come The Rome Plows (1994)
‘Opening an album with a song as bracingly great as ‘Here Come the Rome Plows’ would be a shot in the foot for almost any other band, with its snakepit verses and a chorus that goes from balled-up fists to open arms and back again before you can take a breath.’ — Brendan Reid

 

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Lilys High Writer At Home (1994)
‘Eccsame the Photon Band marks Kurt Heasley’s Lilys shift to a slower, moodier, and more spaced-out sound. “I went closest to what my 23 year-old brain could stand with Eccsame— to the edge of my own mortality and sanity”, Heasley says. “as far as the period, the energy, the zeitgeist of what we were intending, that was the only time we ever did it.”’ — collaged

 

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Sonic Youth Tokyo Eye (1994)
‘Recorded by a likely baffled Butch Vig (the production sounds more Alien Lanes than Siamese Dream), the album is full of short, jarring songs with atmosphere to spare. Bonus: to save money, Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star was recorded over the band’s previously used master tapes (a common practice), so if you turn the album up real loud, you can hear Sister leak through during quiet parts!’ — Consequence of Sound

 

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Sentridoh Chokechain (1994)
‘As Sebadoh grew in popularity and critical acclaim, Barlow continued work on the Sentridoh side project, which featured mostly home-recorded material similar to his output on the first three Sebadoh albums, but often recorded solo and with a less consistent sound quality.’ — collaged

 

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Shudder To Think X-French Tee Shirt (1994)
‘This zeitgeist shift was in full swing in 1994, even if the pendulum seemed to have gone as far as it could with Nirvana’s 1993 swansong, In Utero, a clawed hand to the eardrums that puzzled or repulsed more people than it charmed. And pop music, no matter its coating, is supposed to be about charm. Which makes “X-French Tee Shirt,” a 1994 single by the Washington, D.C.-based band Shudder To Think, that much more bizarre. It was released on Epic, a major label, with the ostensible intent of being sold and making money.’ — AV Club

 

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Portastatic Polaroid (1994)
‘Mac McCaughan manages to be extremely prolific yet maintain a high level of quality, and on I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle he created an idiosyncratic masterpiece. The guitar twangs out pretty but dissonant melodies while McCaughan sings oblique lyrics deep in the mix.’ — allmusic

 

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Weezer Holiday (1994)
‘”Holiday” belies strong influences from the things Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo was interested in at the time of 1993. Cuomo expressed in a fan interview in 2006 that the famed beat poet Jack Kerouac was one of his favorite philosophers at the time. In the notable breakdown of the song (the band often refers to these as “Beach Boys Breakdowns”), Cuomo sings the line, “On the road with Kerouac”, a reference to Kerouac’s seminal work On The Road. The opening line, “Let’s go away for a while,” is also likely inspired by the Beach Boys track “Let’s Go Away For a While” from the Pet Sounds album, which Cuomo was also hugely influenced by.’ — Weezerpedia

 

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Pavement Grounded (1995)
‘Wowee Zowee is the third studio album by Pavement. The album showcased a more experimental and spontaneous side of the group, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the more traditional rock sound of 1994’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Rolling Stone speculated that the relative success of their previous album (having sold 169,000 copies by this time[citation needed]) was a reason for this album’s eclectic nature; the magazine’s review claimed Pavement were afraid of success. Stephen Malkmus refuted this, attributing the stylistic shift to excessive marijuana consumption.’ — collaged

 

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Archers of Loaf Floating Friends (1995)
‘Vee Vee is very much a product of its time. The idea of the rock band acting as the rock critic doesn’t exist as it did back then.’ — Drowned in Sound

 

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Unwound Swan (1995)
‘Seattle’s Unwound, the vehicle for Justin Trosper’s epileptic sermons, learned the lessons of Sonic Youth, Fugazi and Jesus Lizard and applied them to the brutal, harrowing vision of Fake Train (1993), broadening the lexicon of hardcore with techniques that borrowed from the blues as well as from the avantgarde, while maximizing the emotional impact.’ — Piero Scaruffi

 

____________
Guided By Voices Redmen and Their Wives (1996)
‘Fans of Guided By Voices put their support behind various albums when concerning the greatest GBV album of all time. Vampire On Titus, Propeller, Alien Lanes, Bee Thousand, and sometimes even Mag Earwhig! all have their supporters. I am not alone when I throw my support behind the perfect Under The Bushes Under The Stars.’ — The Rock Robot

 

___________
Cat Power Nude as the News (1996)
‘The song is autobiographical and tells the story about an abortion that Chan Marshall had when she was twenty.’ — RS

 

____________
Red House Painters Mistress (piano version) (1996)
‘If you haven’t listened to Red House Painters before then be warned its some of the saddest music.’ — ISO50

 

____________
Swirlies Sunn (1996)
‘From their full-length masterwork, 1996’s They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons.’ — kd

 

_____________
Tobin Sprout To My Beloved Martha (1996)
‘A self-taught musician, Sprout played with and was a major collaborator to the Dayton, Ohio band Guided By Voices. Employing a four-track recorder and a home studio he contributed to the unique lo-fi sound of Guided by Voices and he was a member of the band from 1987 through 1997.’ — collaged

 

____________
Girls Against Boys Crash 17 (X-Rated Car) (1996)
‘My favorite song is “Crash 17 (X-Rated Car)” because it sounds like danceable Joy Division.’ — starling

 

______________
Chavez Unreal Is Here (1997)
‘Chavez’s music is intellectual guitar rock — riffs are fractured and self-consciously asymmetrical, winding in on themselves and then turning inside out.’ — allmusic

 

__________
Yo La Tengo Sugarcube (1997)
‘We hole up in a room and work for a really long time. Then we come out and blink our eyes because it’s sunny out.’ — Ira Kaplan

 

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Robert Pollard Subspace Biographies (1998)
‘Not only one of Pollard’s great songs, but inspired (holy shit!) by my novel ‘Guide”. — DC

 

_________
Pinback Rousseau (1999)
‘The band’s moniker is a reference to a character in the 1974 film Dark Star (played by Dan O’Bannon, who also co-wrote the film), directed by John Carpenter. Audio samples from this film are used frequently in the band’s early works.’ — collaged

 

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Low Starfire (1999)
‘I think I can safely say that this is the best song ever written about two best friends who want to start their own ambulance service. Broken bodies all the time. Let’s take a ride.’ –– Crave

 

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The Microphones What Happened to You? (1999)
‘The Microphones is the name of a project that Anacortes, WA’s Phil Elvrum has headed since the late 90s. Its sound is best described as lo-fi “fuzz folk,” ranging from drum-crashing, bass-thrashing sonic freakouts, strummy classical guitar love songs, angelic vocal choirs, and almost-whispered vocals over harmoniums and bell kits.’ — last.fm

 

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Mercury Rev You’re My Queen (1999)
‘An unfashionably self-indulgent and earnest song, not for everyone, and maybe not even for some Mercury Rev fans, but in its own personal, insular way, it’s another triumph.’ — all music

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. I hope it goes without saying that I would love to know what 90s US indie rock songs especially got — or get if you weren’t around or paying attention then — to any of you, if you feel like it. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Thanks, man. It’s a relatively minor but ultra-annoying/itchy malady that I hope is peaking and will very soon be on its way back into wherever it hibernates in my body. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, cool, thanks! Oops, the Conner film has already been removed since you found it yesterday. Grr. I think a case could be made for ‘Rubber Soul’ being their first ‘serious’ album, not that I’m making it. ** Bernard, Hi, B. Yeah, that one turned out really nicely, didn’t it? One of those ‘I wonder if …’ ideas that lived up to my fantasy. Thank you. Let me pass along your alert just in case. Hold on. Everyone, Listen to and heed Bernard Welt’s words, if they apply to you, please. His words: ‘On my way to Asheville Monday to work on this online arts thing. BENEFIT / LAUNCH PARTY, Wednesday Feb 8, if there’s anyone here in the Asheville area: “REVOLVE, in the River Arts District’s Cotton Mill Studios, is quickly becoming known as the reigning spot in town for bringing the Asheville art world into conversations happening in the global art and academic world.” Will be hosting musicians and performances; I’ll be contributing reviews, essays.’ Up until around the mid-80s, there were a couple of great rep houses in LA that showed experimental films like Lipsett’s consistently, thank god. If it weren’t for them, I’d probably think Nicolas Refn was an experimental filmmaker. Well, probably not, but you catch my drift. I feel terrible for jumping the gun about Tom Raworth. Strange, I read a long obituary about him on the Small Press Distribution site that … Hold on, let me check … Yeah, it has been deleted. I’m very happy that course has been reversed. I totally relate to the singing thing about writing, although I get pretty obsessive about the tune afterwards. I’m pretty sure I’ll be here in June, or for the bulk of it at least, barring a shortish work- or fun-related jaunt elsewhere. Hooray! I’ll help you with that stuff in any way I can, of course. Generally in the past I’ve just used calamine lotion on the impetigo, but calamine lotion is strangely very hard to find over here, so I’m using some kind of ointment that’s meant for herpes, to which impetigo is kind of related. Usually it just fades out after taking its unsweet time. I really don’t want to go the doctor/antibiotics route, but we’ll see. Supplements? Uh, hold on, I have to go in the kitchen and check the titles. At the current time: Vitamins B, C, D; Ginger, Turmeric & Bromelan; Chromium Piconate; MSM. Have a super swell weekend, B-ster. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! Oh, the interviewing sounds great and, yeah, really pleasurable. It reminds me a little of what auditioning actors is like since Zac and I are mostly just interested to watch them talk and see how they look/ react/ behave when talking about things, whether it’s something very personal or something they like or don’t like, so you end up learning a fair amount about the auditioners. Thanks about my arm. Like I said, it’s mostly annoyingly itchy, but it does impact my immune system so it does make me feel a little bleah too. Anyway, hope spring eternal that it’ll be better by Monday. Yes, the guy loved the script and totally got it and said yes to playing the main role in our film! We’re extremely happy, and he’s really sweet and cool, and it’ll be fantastic to work with him. So, great news for us! Now onwards and upwards re: the rest of the cast. Gosh, I hope your weekend goes really, really well. Tell me what happened, and take good care between now and Monday! ** James Nulick, Hi, James. Really good to see you, man, and I’m really glad you’re doing okay and hanging in there. The guy accepted our offer to play the part, yes, and we’re excited. He’s perfect, and it’s going to be so great. Much love back. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. I think you said you’re going to uploiad some or all of your old ‘Tea With Tosh’ shows, right? I would so love to see your interview with Conner. And the rest. The gif stack was kind of meditative, right? It made me feel peaceful, which is not an easy state to be in these days, Thank you! ** Raymond, Hi. Ha, I didn’t think about people seeing the post on their phones, but I only use my phone for calling and texting and shooting photos/videos. I do think it probably needs a laptop or a tablet at least to work properly. Yes, you are certainly correct in thinking I am ultra-intrigued by that thing you saw on TV. Wow. I’m going to see if I can locate something about it with ‘trusty’ google. Very sorry to have RIP-ed Tom Raworth when he is apparently still very much alive. Have a lovely weekend, sir! What are you up to? ** Steevee, Hi. Just ointments at the moment. Like I told someone up above, it usually just comes suddenly, lasts a while, gets worse, gets better, and recedes, and I don’t have to get too warlike with it. But, like I also said, I haven’t had it in decades, and I guess I’m older now, so I don’t know if that will make it tougher to get rid of. I got what you were saying about Linklater, yeah. It just seems like there are people who have latched so severely onto the very legitimate issue of white privilege that they get incredibly hair-trigger in their accusations and don’t evaluate, contextualize, explore, etc. their targets before they launch their accusations, so they end up sometimes just seeming like the self-appointed art police force. I haven’t heard Nadine Khouri. Her thing doesn’t sound like mine — I don’t even like Erykah Badu — but I will try her work out with wide eyes. Best of luck to both of us re: our itchiness. ** Jeff J, Thanks, Jeff. Yeah, that GIF stack was one of those ideas whose almost overly simple conception ended up being its gift or something. Mm, I don’t remember that story about Bruce Conner wanting to destroy his films, but I could be blanking. Yes, we scored the lead performer we so hoped we would. Super happy. Yes, there are, in addition to the lead guy, three main characters who appear throughout the film. Two of them are ideally in their early-ish 20s, and the third is in late 20s or early 30s. Then there’s a fourth character who appears about halfway through the film and is prominent from that point on. That character is ideally in mid-teens. Then there are a number of minor characters, some with signicant parts and some quickies. They range from adult age to one maybe 10 year-old. And, of course, a bunch of extras. Right now we’re hunting for all of the roles, but especially for the four lead-ish characters. Now that we have our lead guy, it’s good because we can test them with him and see if the chemistry and the look of them together is interesting enough. I’ve only heard recorded Parquet Courts, and it didn’t overly excite me, but, if they come through Paris, I’ll try to see them. Thanks, man. ** Kier, Hey! Ha ha, that video is great. Another one of those ‘so simple it shouldn’t work, but it does’ things. Awesome. Everyone, your lips will move in an upward direction if you click this and watch a short video that Kier recommends. Dude, we got the lead guy we dreamed of getting! So it’s on! And you’ll get some video and pix and stuff of him from us before too long! Excited! Oh, way cool that the Sebadoh song did the writer trick. Another hopefully inspiring thing? Hm. What to do? Okay, this might not work at all, but how about this video. It’s of this model/writer John Tuite who has recently become a good friend of mine. There’s something about the video that seems wrong or secretive or something to me. I hope that works, I’m not sure. Itching sucks. And it’s ugly. But, luckily, small and not in anyone else’s face. I don’t remember impetigo lasting more than maybe a week at most. Best weekend, buddy. ** Jamie, Hi, Jamie! Cool. Yeah, that gif stack worked kind of mysteriously well, right? I was surprised. You have impetigo too? Weird, hugs. On your face? Oh, man, that’s unlucky. Mine has stuck discretely to near my elbow since it dawned when I was, like, eight years old or something. Yeah, it has a weird general effect in addition to the itching that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I don’t like whatever it is one little bit. Yes, we got the lead guy for our film! Thrilling! And the other person we tried yesterday — a very cool 15 year-old girl — could very easily have her role too, although that’s not absolutely for sure yet. So, not bad. Concentrating on Robbe-Grillet and Sarraute is a glorious concentration. That’s really exciting. Really, 30th of August? If that becomes firm, I’ll make sure to be here. Well, we just have to fit Euro Disney in. I can easily find a way if you guys can. Wow! I hope and trust entirely that your Saturday Writing gang meet up today is going to be blast. It was, right? I was right, right? Oh, fuck, I now have two days to think up three worthy questions for you, and I guarantee you will be saddled with them come Monday. Scout’s honor. (I was a Boy Scout when young, and, ‘once a Scout, forever a Scout’, so that means something.) Hurtling love, Dennis. ** H, Hi. Thank you about the post. Yes I do know and like Jess’s work. I met him once or twice in the early 80s, I think, with Robert Duncan. A very interesting artist for sure. I’m curious to read what you write about him, when and should that opportunity arise. ** Okay. A bunch 90s indie rock that I liked, and, in some cases, still do like, for you to fish through, and, should you be so inclined, to respond to with fave past indie rock nuggets of your own. Sound fun? See you on Monday.