Favorite Music of 2012

So I threw some stuff up on Frontier Psychiatrist and Windy City Rock already, but here is my personal list. Can do a definite top 10, followed by other favorites.

1) Fiona Apple - the Idler Wheel...



2) Miike Snow - Happy to You



3) Frank Ocean - Channel Orange



4) Grimes - Visions



5) Netherfriends - Middle America




6) Ed Schrader's Music Beat - Jazz Mind



7) Sharon Van Etten -Tramp



8) Liars - WIXIW



9) BBU - bell hooks



10) Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light



Other Favorites:
Delicate Steve - Positive Force
the Evens - the Odds
Guardian Alien - See the World Given to a One Love Entity
Young Magic - Melt
Paper Mice - the Funny Papers
Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II
Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror
Of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks
Chandeliers - Founding Fathers
Dustin Wong - Dreams Say View Create Shadow Leads
Kids These Days - Traphouse Rock

Didn't Listen to Enough, But Still Solid:
Air - Le Voyage Dans la Lune
Jens Lekman - I Know What Love Isn't
Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
Mellowhype - Numbers
Memoryhouse - the Slideshow Effect
Menomena - Moms
Patti Smith - Benga
Passion Pit - Gossamer
Twin Shadow - Confess
Ty Segall - Slaughterhouse
the XX - Coexist
Thee Satisfaction - Awe Naturale

Books I Read in 2012

35 books this year. Next year's goal = 52. All by women, minority, international, or LGQBT writers. Here's to 2013.   

Jennifer Egan - A Visit From the Goon Squad (2010)
Christopher Hitchens - Hitch 22 (2010)
Michel Houellebecq - the Map and the Territory (2012)
Aleksandar Hemon - the Lazarus Project (2008)
Sylvia Plath - the Bell Jar (1963)
Ben Marcus - the Flame Alphabet (2012)
Pico Iyer - the Man Within My Head (2012)
Teju Cole - Open City (2011)
Azar Nifisi - Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003)
Jay-Z - Decoded (2010)
Roald Dahl - the Umbrella Man and Other Short Stories (1996)
Truman Capote - In Cold Blood (1966)
Adam Levin - Hot Pink (2011)
Jonah Lehrer - Imagine (2012)
Mike Royko - Sez Who Sez Me (1983)
Rick Bass - In My Home There Is No More Sorrow (2012)
Michael Czyzniejewski - Chicago Stories (2012)
Franz Kafka - Amerika (trans. 1996)
David Eggers - You Shall Know Our Velocity (2002)
Etgar Keret - Suddenly a Knock on the Door (2012)
Toni Morrison - the Bluest Eye (1970)
David Eggers - a Hologram for the King (2012)
William Burroughs - Naked Lunch (1959)
Toni Morrison - Home (2012)
Zadie Smith - White Teeth (2000)
Zadie Smith - NW (2012)
Michel Houellebecq - the Elementary Particles (1998, trans. 2000)
Michael Chabon - Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000)
Saul Bellow - the Adventures of Augie March (1953)
Peter Orner - Love and Shame and Love (2011)
Junot Diaz - This is How you Lose Her (2012)
Junot Diaz - the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)
Michael Pollan - The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006)
Adam McOmber - the White Forest (2012)
John Kennedy Toole - Confederacy of Dunces (1980)

Ear Relevant: The High School Years (Pt. 1)

So I found some mix CDs I made for myself in high school that had a bunch of awesome music I totally forgot about. This stuff blew my mind in high school and surprisingly holds up pretty well after years of ignoring/forgetting it. Let's start off with some indie tunes for tonight:

The horns in this song are just killer. Classic melody executed wonderfully:




I never got too much into Pinback, but I love the guitar in this. The rapping...eh...




Apollo Sunshine may be one of the most underrated bands around. Very experimental while remaining very poppy. They've been quiet for a few years, but I hope they come back.




Classic Saddle Creek coming up. Rilo Kiley knows how to tug at the heartstrings.

Sunday Funday, 12.09.12

Despite crummy weather all damn day, managed to make the best of it.

Started off with a book fair at the Empty Bottle. Picked up stuff from Curbside Splendor, Another Chicago Magazine, The Handshake, Two With Water, Artiface and a couple novels. May have over done it:

 Only spent about 20 minutes there before I booked it to Saki. Caught the second half of the last song by Foxygen. Managed to catch all of Angel Olsen's set. Amazing voice and range, fantastic presence for just her and a twelve string acoustic. Picked up John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard Again! Features Pharoah Sanders. Haven't listened yet, but I'm sure it's gonna be bizarre. Grabbed a burger at Longman & Eagle, undoubtedly one of the best restaurants around.

As is customary for when I go to the Metro, it has to rain. As it did for Liars:

Another tweet complaining about how it always rains when I go to the Metro.
— Hjortzy (@and_hertz) July 20, 2012

and Spiritualized:

Ominous thunder is ominous. Always seems to rain when I go to the Metro.
— Hjortzy (@and_hertz) May 4, 2012

earlier this year. While there's no tweet commemorating it, I'm positive it was raining when I went to see Boris last fall. As if going to Wrigleyville wasn't miserable enough. Oh well. Full review of the show (of Montreal, Wild Belle, and Foxygen) is up on Windy City Rock. Of Montreal is the @horse_ebooks of live music. They played 'Oslo in the Summertime' and 'The Past is a Grotesque Animal' so all is right in the world. 

Mo Yan

Mo Yan first came to my attention (as most likely many others, even if they won't admit it) when he was awarded to Nobel Prize for Literature in October. He is a Chinese author, who has had some books translated into English, but apparently not enough to become as big as other Eastern writers, such as Murakami (who many were disappointed got snubbed for the prize). But now he almost seems inescapable. Particualarly today there have been a few pieces I've stumbled upon, as he gave his acceptance to the prize earlier on.

To get yourself acquainted with him, here is a piece called "Bull," which is excerpted from the forthcoming novel Pow! It was published in China in 2003, but just now being translated into English. For a more behind the scenes take, here's an interview the New Yorker did with the translator Howard Goldblatt.

(tangent: Yan teaming up with Goldblatt reminds me of this article: Oh, To Be Jewish in China)

As for the articles of today:

Salman Rushdie calls out Mo Yan as a "patsy of the regime."

Beijing Cream comes in with two. They shared an essay by Anna Sun (looking into relation with Walk The Moon's Anna Sun) on his "diseased language." There is also this Red Sorghum flashmob in a strip mall in Stockholm.

I haven't read any full novels by him yet, but Pow! is certainly on my list when it's released next year.

Ear Relevant

Front Psych completed our top 50 albums of 2012. I'll throw my personal list up here eventually. 

Re-discovered this gem last night. Whatever happened to Kaada anyway?




Also, went to Logan Hardware this week and picked up High Energy Plan by 999. Forgotten punk rock classic:



And now that I have tickets purchased, getting excited about New Year's Eve at the Hideout. Chandeliers and the Eternals. Gonna get weird with it.

Ran Dumb Lean Kiss

So having a day off and a slight hangover meant I scoured the Internet, reading interesting shit, which I pass on to you. Also some stuff book marked from the past few days. Check it out:

The Atlantic says I can have as much coffee as I want. No take backs.

Bookstores aren't dead. Neither is vinyl.

Speaking of vinyl, We Listen For You made me feel guilty for not physically purchasing my favorite album of the year.

Surprise, surprise, the mainstream art world sucks.

Fiction on Twitter. It's possible, but rather silly unless you happen to catch it in real time. Elliott Holt did her best though.

Camus, 100 years later.

Vice interviewed Syrian poet Mohamad Alaaedin Abdul Moula as an Arab Henry Miller.

The Great Spanx Sex Experiment. Julieanne Smolinski is "ha-ha funny."

Last but not least, this makes me nostalgic for Shanghai. Enjoy:


SHANGHIGHSPEED | 上海延时摄影 from Tiny Carousel on Vimeo.

The Lit Log: Gene Wagendorf III

This is the fifth in a series called the Lit Log, where I ask people to document what and how they read. If you would like to contribute to the Lit Log, hit me up at andhertz [at] gmail.

Gene Wagendorf III was a music writer at Windy City Rock. He also contributed words to the online travel guide UPChicago, the graphic novel review site Trading Opinions and was a guest blogger for FeelTrip Studios. His poetry has been published in Kill Poet, ditch, O Sweet Flowery Roses, Vowel Movements and Robot Communism. He is survived by his dog, Whiskey, and a version of himself with slightly less of a Bill Hicks-complex.

How many books (approximately) do you read a year: That's tough. To get it out of the way early- I'm an avid reader of of graphic novels/comics. Obviously that medium offers a completely different reading experience than traditional, text only literature, especially in regards to time. I tend to read one or two "book books" a month, but I can plow through six trades of The Walking Dead in one night. The short answer is between 12-20 books a year and maybe 30-40 graphic novels.

How many book do you read at a time: I tend to do a lot of juggling. At any given time my bag has a novel, a graphic novel and either a collection of poetry or short stories in it. What I'm in the mood for changes so frequently that I always like to be prepared.

The last great book you read: This might be cheating since it's a book I've read several times, but I recently reread Tom Robbins' Still Life With Woodpecker. Like a lot of Robbins' work it's highly quotable, self-indulgent, whimsical, hilarious and thought-provoking. Oh, and sexy. Few authors manage to get me erect and get me thinking on the same page. I often forget I have the ability to do both at the same time until I read a great book.

Your desert island book: Charles Bukowski - Tales of Ordinary Madness. It is, in my opinion, his best collection of short fiction. It's packed with the drunk curmudgeon yarns that people expect from Buk, but there are also surprising moments of tenderness and fantasy. There's a few peeks behind the curtain - stories that lend a little insight into his more practical life as a writer. The stories work together towards a strange end, both debunking Bukowski myths and furthering them at the same time. It's self-deprecating and depressing while also being strangely funny and uplifting. The man was a walking contradiction, a tough, angsty booze-hound with a poetic soul and crushing sensitivity. Tales of Ordinary Madness shows off both of those sides, and is a perfect introduction to Bukowski for whatever uninitiated are left.

Best music to listen to while reading: To paraphrase Rob Gordon, when I'm reading I just want something I can ignore. That is, I don't want some catchy pop song I know all the words to. I'll get distracted, want to sing-a-long, or dance or whatever. New Order might be the worst music to read to. Can't do it. I tend to go for something relaxed, or at the very least something instrumental. Thurston Moore's record 'Trees Outside The Academy' is always a good pick; there's some hypnotic acoustic guitar work that, working with his relatively smoky croon, allows me to get lost in the page. Mazzy Star's 'So Tonight That I Might See' is another good one. Not to sound pretentious, but jazz tends to be perfect. Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck- something with a seductive groove and won't be distracting.

Best music to listen to while writing: Like when reading, when writing I don't want to be jarred or taken out of the moment. Abdullah Ibrahim is a favorite because his compositions keep my mind on its toes. Banyana has this structured freedom to it, like anything can happen within these intuitive segments. It helps the creative juices flow without being too jarring. As far as rock goes, a band like Explosions in the Sky has been a recent favorite for writing. I'm a late comer to the band, but like just about the rest of the human race I find their music inspiring. It has a drive to it that's more majestic than it is aggressive, and there's an incredible feeling that comes with finishing a paragraph or a thought right at one of their climaxes and taking a drag off of a cigarette during the settling. Those are the moments that make blogging seem almost glamorous. Almost.

Ear Relevant

The Evens (Ian MacKaye) released a new album last week (The Odds) that will probably be next to ignored for how late in the year it was released. What a shame. 
Cartright is one of the bands that keeps Austin weird. If you listen to one track, make it 'Necessarily Afraid:'


I first heard this gem by Massive Attack at a random bar in  a Beijing hutong. It was the middle of the afternoon, it was dank as hell, and I was getting way too cocky in a game of War I was playing with my girlfriend.



Speaking of China, Carsick Cars are amazing.Check out some tunes on their soundcloud.

Last but not least, been listening to the Waking Life OST a lot. That time of the year. I dare you to fall asleep to this:

Beijing / NYC / Israel / Chicago

Here are links to all of the travel essays I wrote for Frontier Psychiatrist (which we titled "你好, Hello, Shalom") during that crazy five weeks of travel.

Beijing (Part One)
Beijing (Part Two)
Pre-Sandy NYC
Israel (interviews with Yoav, Maya and Kobi)
Chicago

The Lit Log: Sophie L. Nagelberg

This is the fourth in a series called the Lit Log, where I ask people to document what and how they read. If you would like to contribute to the Lit Log, hit me up at andhertz [at] gmail.

Sophie is an editorial publication assistant at Agate Publishing as well as the singer/bassist in Videotape, who released the shoegazy / noise-pop This Is Disconnect earlier this year.

How many books (approximately) do you read a year: I generally read 2-3 books per month, so, if my math skills are correct, around 24-36 books per year. But who's counting?  

How many books do you read at a time: I prefer to read one book at a time, but that never happens! Never. It bothers me to start something new when the first is not finished. Even if I don't like a book, I hate to put it down because I feel as though I'm cheating—like I don't deserve to put it on my bookshelf(s). I'm currently reading Songdogs by Colum McCann, but I've completed two novels by Shay Youngblood in the mean time. I'm also currently reading a lot of old newspapers and a published journal from the early 1900s.   

The last great book you read: The last book I read that I will not shut up about is Bonnie Jo Campbell's Once Upon a River. One of my former professors gave me her two short story collections: Women and Other Animals and American Salvage, both of which I really fell in love with. I saw Campbell speak at Printer's Row this year and she told a story about a woman, whom she based a character off of, coming up to her and saying something like, "I had no idea you understood my struggles until I read it." I can't think of a better compliment to an author. That was very inspiring.

Your desert island book: The dictionary.  

Book to read while cooking: Sometimes, I read recipes and directions in cookbooks with absolutely no intention of cooking. I really wouldn’t read a novel or anything of that sort while cooking. I need to concentrate—on both tasks—separately.   

Autumn book: What is an autumn book anyway?  

Do you ever judge a book by its cover: Yes! And why shouldn't I? I work at a book publishing company. The fact is--people judge books by their covers all the time. A cover should convey a message. I think it should be a representation of the writing. But then again, I have misjudged…Really though, I'll judge a book by the paper it's made out of. Sorry.  

Are you satisfied with your literary intake: No, I'm not satisfied with anything.   

Thoughts on contemporary state of literature: Clearly, the way people are reading is undergoing rapid transition. At first, I was hesitant of e-books and e-reading devices, but I've really had a change of heart. I mean, Agate makes ebooks, in-house, so I better like them. We're partnered with the Chicago Tribune, so we use content from their digital archives, and you know, make books! It's really fascinating. I'm extremely excited to be a part of the process. I've gotten to work on biographical ebooks on Charlie Trotter and Grant Achatz, to recipe books, to popular column collections. Also, as far as the whole paper vs. digital thing, some content just makes more sense in digital form. So, there.

Another thought on the state of literature: I'm a big fan of short (short) fiction and flash fiction, something that has been on the rise. I hope this kind of fiction will become more widely accepted. And by widely accepted, I mean, I want that quirky collection of flash fiction to be on the best-seller's table at Barnes & Noble. A particular writer that comes to mind is Lydia Davis. I tried to emulate basically all of her collection, Almost No Memory. Most of these stories are only one paragraph, but each one is unique and complete.

You Think It Be Like It Is...BUT IT DON'T: The Clash

This section used to be called You Think It's Like This, But Really It's Like This. @mayorbrowntown rejected my idea for a Mirah themed title, so I'm gonna go ahead and give him credit for this one.

If you're reading this, you probably already know the Clash are my favorite band. If you don't know, now you know. Just look at the banner above. I mean, come'on! Who else do you know that has a double LP of London Calling, the sticker still on it that it was for £5? That's what I thought.

While many people may consider themselves Clash fans as well, I've spent waaaaay too much time in the deep cuts to not pass these along. So while 'London Calling' and 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' are all fine and dandy, 'First Night Back in London' is probably my favorite song by them. Not to mention their dub experiments that opened my ears to the genre as a whole. So let's dive into some of it, shall we?

First Night Back in London:



Version Pardner (dub version of Junco Partner):



Bankrobber (prod. by Mikey Dread):



Justice Tonight / Kick It Over: 


 ...and just for kicks, This Is Radio Clash music video:

The Lit Log: Andrew Adair

This is the third in a series called the Lit Log, where I ask people to document what and how they read. If you would like to contribute to the Lit Log, hit me up at andhertz [at] gmail. 

Andrew Adair is Head of Production at the non-profit indie film organization, Artists Public Domain.

How many books (approximately) do you read a year: 4-5
How many book do you read at a time: 2
The last great book you read: Tinkers
Your desert island book: In Cold Blood
Book that reinforces your attitude about America: Infinite Jest
Autumn book: Tinkers
Are you satisfied with your literary intake: I could always use more.
Thoughts on contemporary state of literature: Much of it is a little too self-aware/self-serving or desperate to break new narrative ground. I wish more authors would just try to tell a unique story classically or even just a classic story classically.

(more random links)

First and foremost, for the seven of you that will read this, please donate to the Rockaway Renegades, a volunteer group  my cousin is helping out with in New York for post-Hurricane Sandy relief. 

Pitchfork interviewed Patrick Stickles, frontman for Titus Andronicus. I really haven't gotten into their new album but dude is fascinating.

Nick Offerman gives advice to people that can't grow facial hair like we can:




For the NSFW segment of the week, music video for Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra song "Do It With a Rockstar." Hairy armpits, glitter fights, lotsa makin' out. Directed by Thee Wayne Coyne:



To end on a more somber note, Robert Loerzel discusses Chicago violence in 2012. 

Edit: OK, should end on a more positive note. Try this tranquil drawing exercise: Silk. 

Rand Dumb Lean Kiss

Eternal Rocks Beneath, by Paul Brainard

Nursing a hangover the majority of the day allowed for plenty of time on Twitter and reading random stuff. Here's some of the more interesting rabbit holes I went down:

Hypnotizing New Animated GIFS from RRRRRRRRROLL (via Colossal)

Literature vs. Traffic in Melbourne (via Lost at E Minor)

Drawings and Paintings from Brooklyn artist Paul Brainard (The Birth of Tim Tebow is a NSFW personal favorite)

This is the one that did me in. Know Your Meme page on Barack Obama. Be careful of all the links on the bottom. So much time wasted.

Of Montreal, one of my favorites, has a kickstarter to help out their feature length documentary. Anyone have $2500 they can give to me to give to them?

I bookmarked these videos on creativity. Haven't watched yet, will later tonight.

You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This: The Kinks

Naturally, most people know the Brit-rock band for "Lola" and "You Really Got Me", but Something Else By the Kinks is a great fucking album that even non-fans should know about. That's not to say their hits aren't solid, but Something Else was totally unexpected when I first heard it. A great find.

Fun Fact: I heard the Weird Al parody "Yoda" before I had heard "Lola." Relistening to "Lola" makes me further realize how wildly clever Ray Davies was.

You Think It's Like This:





But Really It's Like This:

Kickstarter

Yo! I'm flat broke, but these are some local Kickstarter's that deserve some $$$. Check 'em out:

The Kickstarter Letters by David David Katzman

What is The Kickstarter Letters?
I funded the entire print run of my second novel, A Greater Monster, through a Kickstarter project.* As a reward, I wrote each of my 128 contributors a stream-of-consciousness email or handwritten letter. This book is a signed & numbered handmade, hardback collection of 52 of those letters.

Lost in Concert: Volume One

About Lost in Concert:

Music has been an integral part of each of our lives since long before we could differentiate between harmony and melody, put together a quality playlist or sneak into an all-ages show. Music makes a great day extraordinary and a bad day bearable. It turns moments into memories and gives large groups of people a reason to dance like no one’s watching. Music is a universal language that everyone is fluent in; concerts are the live manifestation of that music. When artists get on stage, the hours, days, weeks and even years of blood, sweat and tears put into their work gets to be experienced by the audience in its purest form without the benefit of a post-production safety net or a second take. It’s their chance to create a community and connect on a personal level that other mediums just don’t possess. It can be a great show or a poor performance, but it’s an experience you won’t soon forget. Eventually, though, like everything else in life, the memories will fade and the details will get fuzzy. Musicians use music as a vehicle for expression to paint their picture; we use music as the canvas by layering and combining pictures and words to create our own visceral experience. Rather than just seeing it and reading about it, you get ripped out of your seat and you get to feel it.

World Book Night

You don't know what World Book Night is? That's ok, I didn't either until after it happened this year. making sure not to make the same mistake twice, I signed up for their mailing list, and woke up to an email this morning about the 2013 edition. As per their website:

World Book Night U.S. is a celebration of books and reading held on April 23, when 25,000 passionate volunteers across America give a total of half a million books within their communities to those who don’t regularly read. In 2012, World Book Night was celebrated in the U.S., the UK, Ireland, and Germany and saw over 80,000 people gift more than 2.5 million books.

This year's books include titles by Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, Sandra Cisneros, Paul Cohelo, David Sedaris, Tina Fey, and many more.  For more about the organization, check out their about page, and find you how you can get involved.

The Lit Log: Eric Rivera

This is the second in a series called the Lit Log, where I ask people to document what and how they read. If you would like to contribute to the Lit Log, hit me up at andhertz [at] gmail. 

Eric Rivera (b. 1984) is from a cornfield in Indiana, a small, impoverished country in the U.S. Middle West sector. He spends his time drawing and printing comic books, riding his bike & running around, and making music in Energy Gown, a Chicago experimental music group. He can't go home again.

How many books (approximately) do you read a year:  Hmmm...I probably read anywhere from 2-6 books a month, but I don't usually finish most of them.
How many book do you read at a time: 2 or 3
The last great book you read: Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos by Samuel M. Steward, PhD.
Your desert island book: Survivalist Handbook of some kind...
Autumn book: The Secret Life of Salvador Dali by Salvador Dali; CF's Power Mastrs 1-3 (re-reading at the mo')
Best bathroom reading: National Geographic back issues from 1961-1970, 1990-1992; Ivan Brunetti's Anthology of Graphic Fiction Vols. 1 & 2
Are you satisfied with your literary intake: No.
Thoughts on contemporary state of literature: I really dislike this Believer school of contemporary writers, it just feels like this upper class of over educated, under experienced, East Coast, white, liberal to the point of actual conservatism, most importantly, basically bad writers. That being said, David Foster Wallace is one of my favorites. My other favorites are all dead. Wait, he's dead too. I genuinely forgot that for a second. My other favorites are LONG dead, then. To further defend my sweeping dismissal of all contemporary authors, though, I should say that in any art form, most of the people in each field are making basically bad work. And the nature of the world today is such that most of those..."hacks," let's call them, are really over-educated. Whether music, painting, acting, whatever...And it is our burden to work through the tangle of modern junk and figure out what is worth our collective memory and consumption. Then you start wondering how that truth affects the execution of the work itself. How can one author's book stand out in a sea of true junk? I dunno. I have to leave for work and can't finish this thought right now.

44

Some favorites of mine from the other day:

President-Elect Willard "Mitt" Romney (via Young Chicago Republicans)

Man Who Eats Breakfast At Dunkin' Donuts Every Morning And Enjoys The 'Saw' Films Allowed To Vote (via the Onion)

Really hope this doesn't end: Mitt and Rob

The command center. HuffPo, MSNBC, NYT, CNN, Google, Fox News. NBC on the tv too. twitter.com/and_hertz/stat…
— Hjortzy (@and_hertz) November 7, 2012

RT @bobbyfinger: NATE SILVER IS PROBABLY SITTING ON A TOILET RIGHT NOW PLAYING ANGRY BIRDS WITH A RESTING HEART RATE OF 60 BPM.
— Philip Montoro (@pmontoro) November 7, 2012

"Um...rape.Rape?RAPE!(raperaperape)..." Todd Akin's concession speech, probably.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) November 7, 2012

Time to call the Missouri senate race a legitimate wrap. #FuckYouToddAkin
— Matt LeMay (@mattlemay) November 7, 2012

Bartender refuses to serve Herman Cain any more drinks.
— Teju Cole (@tejucole) November 7, 2012

LOL someone just posted on FB: "Hey West Coast? Obama REALLLLY likes the Kendrick album. Vote accordingly"
— Ernest Wilkins (@ErnestWilkins) November 7, 2012

jpg of the night. #Obama2012 twitter.com/kellyoxford/st…
— kelly oxford (@kellyoxford) November 7, 2012

Happy Freedom Day, Y'all

Tonight:

At the Observatory. Ono. Energy Gown. Wishgift. No Safari. Be there:

Kill a Cyclist, Get a Ticket

On Wednesday morning, a cyclist along Augusta Boulevard was fatally hit by a truck making a right turn. The truck driver was only ticketed. The full story and links can be found on Grid Chicago.

I'd like to think of Chicago as fairly bike-friendly, but I feel always feel a tinge of hesitancy to suggest it as such. Amenities for bikes aside (Emanuel is big into expanding bike lanes), the fact that there is so much tension between bikes and cars is the main reason it's hard to call this a bike-friendly city. Especially after cycling in Beijing, where most Chicago (and American) drivers and cyclists would probably get too frustrated at the lax traffic laws, it's difficult to place exactly where Chicago lies on the bike-friendly scale. I rarely feel in danger on a bike, but I feel like I'm more conscious on my bike than many of people passing me by on Milwaukee Ave. Really, there's no reason to be going so fast on a bike on a road that doesn't have a segregated lane. Many bikers have the same mentality as the drivers they claim to hate. Why speed up to get to a red light? Why try to overtake a car when you know they can accelerate faster? And calm down: that cab honked at you as a warning that he's there. Take out your headphones and use all of your senses and be aware of your surroundings.

Generally, I think no driver wants to murder a cyclist; likewise, no cyclist actually has a death-wish. And I'll even admit there are as many bad cyclists as there are bad drivers. Everyone's got some place to be apparently, and the slightest thing that gets in one's way elicits a weird sense of entitlement from both sides of the road. That said, I'll run a stop sign or red light if I deem it safe. I'm not talking about Six Corners, but there are plenty of low-traffic areas I ride through often enough that there's no reason to come to a complete stop and then go uphill on a bike. I don't believe bikes and cars should have the same laws, but I do think that more cyclists should adhere to traffic law basics.

Since we don't have all the details of the story at hand, it's hard to say who's at fault. As the victim was in his 50s, I'm making the assumption that he was a seasoned rider, and probably over the phase where he feels the city is his own personal playground. As we don't know what kind of truck it is, it's hard to say what visibility he had. But just a $500 ticket doesn't seem to suffice. Accidents will happen, but negligence is preventable.

For further tips on bike safety check out this link. Wear your helmet, peeps.

Sounds

Kids These Days released Traphouse Rock as a free download.

Ono released their first recorded tunes for the first time since 1986. Albino is streaming on bandcamp.


Here's a(n absurd) new music video from Moon Furies...



...and an equally absurd on from Archie Powell and the Exports:

The Lit Log: Shannon Aliza

This is the first in a series called the Lit Log, where I ask people to document what and how they read. If you would like to contribute to the Lit Log, hit me up at andhertz [at] gmail.

Shannon is currently trolling the streets of Beijing with a Leica lens at earthisboring.blogspot.com.

How many books (approximately) do you read a year:  I'd like to say more than ten novels, but time and space are hard to gauge.
How many book do you read at a time: I read one at a time. I like to read graphic novels in one sitting, if possible.
The last great book you read: Winter Journal by Paul Auster was the perfect book to read at the time I was reading it. Auster is my literary soul mate. He opened up fiction for me with the New York Trilogy. Philip K Dick is noted for his mind-bending-ness, but I don't think Auster is as recognized for fucking with peoples brains. Similar to ALL Haruki Murakami novels, The New York Trilogy has always stuck in my veins in a way I feel both uncomfortable with and excited by. Winter Journal is the type of autobiography I would write about myself if I were to do that kind of thing.
Your desert island book: Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut
Prison cell book: Hardboiled Wonderland and The End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Autumn book: Autumn is both exciting and depressing. I tend to read new things in the fall, rather than reread or go back to old favorites. I just finished The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith and will start NW soon.
Are you satisfied with your literary intake: No, absolutely not. I would love to have more time to read, but I have photos to take and the state of my existence in China to contemplate.
Thoughts on contemporary state of literature: The biggest disappointment to me this year in the literary world, was when Jonah Lehrer was discovered to have MADE UP information in his book Imagine. He is a young, smart, relevant guy who has completely discredited himself (he was often a guest on RadioLab-- the best podcast around!). The news of this broke just after the Mike Daisy incident on This American Life. Smart young people need to step up their game. Success is such a smack in the face and really seems to signify not needing to work hard anymore. I don't think I can trust a writer who isn't tortured. Not that I want David Foster Wallace type smart and tortured writers, but there is an element of truly hard work that goes into really great novels. A lot of people in their twenties are too into themselves to see the world on a larger scale-- to see that their laziness effects others. Look at all of the literary prizes that are given out almost solely to an older generation (Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending won the 2011 Booker Prize. A totally incredible novel that largely takes place in the 60s).  They are working hard to stay relevant. Does it really take 30 years of writing to achieve literary acclaim? Absolutely not. Most people we admire these days (Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises when he was 27, Mary Shelley was 21 when she wrote Frankenstein, and Kerouac wrote On the Road when he was 25 ) were young. Unfortunately, young writers, especially those who have not graduated from esteemed MFA  or ivy league thesis programs are incredibly overlooked. What I LOVE about contemporary literature is that there are so many venues for writers who are not in the mainstream to get their work into the public sphere. Small start up literary zines like The Logan Square Literary Review or websites like McSweeneys and The Diagram are all amazing ways to showcase writers who are honing their craft. Most of the writers are unknown because they have 9-5 jobs, do not come from privilege, and have to hermit away their time to make their way. Similar to the days of the Beat Poets, writers nowadays have to create communities inside their hometowns/cities and become big from there. One of the most exciting readings I went to in Chicago was a poetry reading done by two guys who were touring around the country, just like musicians, from reading to reading and selling their books. It was great.