Posts by author
Max Gray
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
First, Grant Snider’s favorite things, in rhyme. In The Last Book I Loved, Richard Kramer delves into the “determined and effective” Judith Schneiderman’s memoir, I Sang To Survive. A “propulsive drive” lies behind the Auschwitz survivor’s writing. “What I love…
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Song of the Day: “Fool”
Perfume Genius is the stage moniker of Seattle-based artist Mike Hadreas, whose buzz-worthy new album reeks of deliberate, inspired songwriting and technical ability. Hadreas showcases his impressive vocal range on this beautiful track from the record, Too Bright, titled “Fool.” The…
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Song of the Day: “Coronus, The Terminator”
Four years ago, LA Weekly called Steven Ellison’s music “spiritual electronica.” Today, in the wake of his fifth release, Your Dead!, the artist known as Flying Lotus is still just as difficult to categorize. The experimental producer and beat-making virtuoso is known…
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
First, take a walk down memory lane with David Hajdu’s visual memoir of his favorite bar, Bradley’s, boasting art by John Carey. And in the Sunday Essay, Jordan Rosenfeld takes a frank look at the many ways a mother’s boldness…
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Song of the Day: “Run Like A Girl”
Lizzie Karr’s influences range from Ani DiFranco to James Brown. The Godfather of Soul’s funkiness is apparent in Karr’s latest single, “Run Like A Girl,” which trades DiFranco-style staccato verses for punchy horn lines. The Bay Area artist recently toured…
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
First off, Grant Snider unfolds one of our most dogged clichés. More than one hundred and fourteen years ago, an uprising broke out in China that eventually became known as the Boxer Rebellion. But according to Jennifer Cheng, the movement…
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Song of the Day: “Passing Afternoon”
The poetry of Sam Beam, otherwise known as Iron & Wine, can sometimes be lost behind the powerful folky melodies that take the forefront of his music. Iron & Wine has come a long way since its first labor of…
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Weekend Roundup
First, feel for Steven Kraan’s Lonely Circle. Then, in the latest The Last Book I Loved, Chris Kubica shares his affection for Krabat, by the Czech writer Otfried Preußler. The story of an adventurous boy who discovers a mysterious, magical grain mill appealed…
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Song of the Day: “I Start To Run”
The arrival of chillier weather means that the joggers among us may need some encouragement to meet our goals. But even the exercise-averse will appreciate the driving mania of White Denim’s single, “I Start To Run.” The Austin, Texas-based four-piece…
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
Meet Invincible Eric. Then, Matthew Daddona reviews Carl Adamshick’s “empathetic” collection, Saint Friend. The poet employs a “smooth and elegiac rhetoric that is more concerned with sonic repetition than it is flawless consistency.” Adamshick’s book is worth a look for…
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Song of the Day: “Let Me Be Mine”
It’s hard to imagine rocking out for more than twenty years, without much of a respite, but that is exactly what Spoon have done. The difficult-to-label rock group that formed before Kurt Cobain’s death recently released their eighth studio album,…
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
This Sunday, Ted Wilson turned five. Happy anniversary, Ted! In the latest “Last Book I Loved,” Michelle King finds a kindred spirit in Sylvia Plath, who, the first time she kissed husband Ted Hughes, allegedly bit his cheek and drew blood.…