Chris and Stefanie formed Big Harp in December 2010, and released their debut album, White Hat, in 2011. They will release their sophomore album, Chain Letters, on January 22 via Saddle Creek. More at http://bigharp.com/. *** Prologue Outside I can hear the palm rats scraping their way up the rough trunks of the Mexican Fans (Washingtonia robusta) in […]
Author’s Playlist: The Alligators of Abraham by Robert Kloss
Below is a list of songs that Robert Kloss has recommended for his novel, The Alligators of Abraham. BOOK I “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” by Pete Seeger Hopefully the early pages of my novel mirror the enthusiasm and optimism of this song, confetti-strewn streets, marching bands, a kiss stolen from the farm girl down […]
Love Dumb: KISS (1974): “Strutter” (In which Paul Stanley Begins the Long Journey of Confusing the World as to His Sexuality) by Ryan Werner
Love Dumb is a series in which Ryan Werner describes the music catalogue of the band KISS. This installment considers Strutter, the third single off of the band’s eponymous debut album. *** “Strutter” makes considerably less sense than the song it started out as, a little Gene Simmons 60’s psych-rock ditty called “Stanley the Parrot.” This is significant, […]
Never Once Considering How In The World She Was To Get Out Again: A Mix For Going Down The Rabbit Hole by Marissa Landrigan
Marissa Landrigan‘s work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Rumpus, Guernica, Orion, Fringe, Diagram, Precipitate, and elsewhere, and she is a regular nonfiction contributor at The Nervous Breakdown. She received her MFA in Creative Writing and Environment from Iowa State University, where she completed a food memoir tentatively titled The Vegetarian’s Guide to Eating Meat. […]
A Review of Tashaki Miyaki
On Monday July 2nd, Tashaki Miyaki played a free set at the Bootleg Bar in LA. Their name is a mouthful, and especially funny because the band is comprised of two angelic white girls (who, as the rhythm section, were funnily enough wearing flow-y white dresses like angels) and your stereotypical white hipster dude on […]
Anybody Can Really Bring A Song: A Conversation with Poets & Peasants
Poets & Peasants are a nine-piece band, comprised of Knox College students. Based in Galesburg, Illinois, their sound incorporates a wide range of instruments including upright bass, banjo, and violin. Their EP, All Towards Which We Grow will soon be followed by their first full-length album, due out from International Sock Monkey in the summer […]
Great Moments in Popular Music, in Motion: Justin Bieber, My World 2.0, “Baby” by Manjula Martin
Baby, baby, baby. All the twelve-year-old girls in France like this pretty young man’s pop song, but not Marie, because she’s too cool. The second day of my visit to her father, I give her a blank notebook and a tin box with pictures of bicycles on its lid, marooned items from my heavy baggage […]
So Warm and Old Sounding: A Conversation with Jake Hill
Jake Hill is a singer/songwriter from Plymouth, Massachusetts, from across the country, and from down the street. He has miles on his voice, blisters on his fingers, and stories to tell. He has released a number of albums, including Motel by the Side of the Road, New Men Old Boys, Any Kinda Work Today, In […]
Reading the Groove: Micah Ling
Robert Stapleton’s Reading the Groove offers brief conversations with writers about the intersection of music, rhythm, language, inspiration, and occasional bad taste. To go to the column page, please click here. Micah Ling is the author of two books of poetry, Sweetgrass and Three Islands. She teaches at Franklin College and Butler University. In 2011 she claimed the Emerging […]
35MM, A Musical Exhibition: A Conversation with Ryan Scott Oliver
Ryan Scott Oliver is a 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient and wrote the music and lyrics forMrs. Sharp, the song cycle Out of My Head, Quit India, and the music for Angus Oblong’s The Debbies. His new musical, 35mm (based on the photography of Matthew Murphy) premieres March 7. More at http://www.35mmTheMusical.com/tickets/. *** UFR: Your new song cycle is 35mm, a […]