Songs of Our Lives: “Off to War”
This is fault-line music, dangerous in an unassuming way.
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Posts Tagged: 1980s
The Real People: A Conversation with Rebecca Makkai
Rebecca Makkai discusses her forthcoming third novel, The Great Believers, how she arrived at the book’s structure, and the story and its characters.
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Living Proof: A Review of Wild Wild Country
The story of Rajneeshpuram is told in a series of events and everything within it is true. But it is not real. It does not come alive.
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President of Smut
Our country has always been ruled by and for the privileged, but never has this glaring injustice in the system been made so shamelessly clear.
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David Biespiel’s Poetry Wire: 21 Poems That Shaped America (Pt. 15): “Southern History”
We can’t hide from our history and we can’t pass it on to future generations.
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Lone Star Cinema
In clinging to a set of memories that fade more every day, maybe I’m also clinging to an idyllic version of my own past.
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Slang and Swagger: Riffing with Jeff Chang
Jeff Chang discusses his latest book, We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation, his work in hip-hip journalism, and the beauty and humanity of political protest.
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Conversations with Writers Braver Than Me: Jason Diamond
Jason Diamond discusses his memoir Searching for John Hughes, confronting his childhood abuse, avoiding his parents, and writing about all of it.
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The Sunday Rumpus Essay: I Died of Dysentery
The glorious ways we fifth graders died in Mr. Mosher’s computer class. We strove to die in the most imaginable permutations possible.
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Sound & Vision: Ken Freedman
Allyson McCabe talks with Ken Freedman, the general manager of WFMU (the longest-running freeform radio station in the US), about the relevance of radio, technological innovation, and a just-launched morning show.
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Wanted/Needed/Loved: Kurt Wagner’s One-of-a-Kind Hat
I try not to think about fashion. It’s more that I want to settle on something to wear so I don’t have to think about it.
...moreThe Rumpus Interview with Paula Whyman
Paula Whyman discusses her debut collection You May See a Stranger, discovering truth in fiction, and how memory interferes with good storytelling.
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The Rumpus Review of Seoul Searching
Seeing is a critical part of normalizing, and though it seems like a rudimentary expectation, it’s important for American audiences to see Korean-Americans simply living their lives.
...moreFlannel-Soaked Nostalgia
Is there any fabric more well-loved than flannel? At Vela Magazine, Sonya Huber discusses the significance wearing flannel had to her teenage self in the 1980s Midwest: Flannel hid the shape of a woman, yet it revealed as we pushed our breasts against its grid; it protected us from scrutiny. Inside flannel’s soft tent, I […]
...moreSitting Pretty
With a flair for the both the juiciest and most humanizing parts of the story, Soraya Roberts over at Hazlitt pens a sweeping indictment of/love letter to John Hughes: Thirty years on, however, we’ve dropped the rose-coloured glasses, and our response to realizing he sold us out to suburbia echoes Molly Ringwald’s response in Vanity […]
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Sound & Vision: Tim Barnes
Internationally recognized percussionist, composer, sound designer, and audio archivist Tim Barnes talks with Allyson McCabe about how his musical career has developed and changed, and what he’s up to now.
...moreWhat’s Lit Got to Do with It
We remember the 80s as decidedly uncool, art included. But shoulder pads and good writing aren’t mutually exclusive: The labels didn’t matter. What mattered was revealing the world and its beleaguered citizens rather than torturing them with edifying or otherwise aspirational myths that no one could (or should) hope to live up to.
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David Biespiel’s Poetry Wire: Primal Talk
One of the thrills of being a writer is becoming aware of the wildness that percolates inside of you. If you’ve learned to listen, you’re able to hear it.
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The Rumpus Interview with Cote Smith
Cote Smith talks about his debut novel, Hurt People, growing up in a prison town, using rejection as motivation, and brotherly love.
...moreThe Rave Story
To mark the launch The Rave Story, an exhibit at London’s Club Aquarium showcasing art and memorabilia surrounding the UK rave scene of the ’80s and ’90s, Dazed Digital has published its own chronicle of rave history. The article locates rave’s cultural resonance in a revolutionary inclusivity: The creation of the rave scene was the social revolution that began to […]
...moreDan Weiss’s Morning Coffee
(Dan Weiss is out on tour with his band The Yellow Dress. He’ll be back on August 3rd.) Despite Tipper Gore’s fears, 80s metalheads grew up to be well-adjusted adults. This vintage movie preview shows that 1982 might have been the best year for sci-fi flicks. A fisherman in Maine made a catch that was […]
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The Rumpus Interview with Alysia Abbott
Alysia Abbott discusses craft and love in her new memoir, Fairyland, set in the ’70s and ’80s during the AIDS crisis in San Francisco.
...moreThe Oregon Trail, Gen Two
Caulk your wagon. One of your oxen has died. You are only able to carry 200 pounds of meat. You have died of dysentery. Press spacebar to continue. Compared to the hurly-burly fantasia of contemporary video games, the pixilated challenges of the early-version Oregon Trail may seem beyond twee. But at the time, the game […]
...moreA Different Breed of Family Portraits
Check out Slate’s new photo blog Behold and its showcasing photographer, Leon Borensztein, who has a humorous and unsettling portfolio of portraits. Originally from Poland, Borensztein’s portraits are a sarcastic take on the American Dream, and although the series was shot in the ‘80s, many of the photos embody a certain timelessness.
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