Pillow Flight
I don’t know where my pillows went. Last time I saw them they were under the door. But they’re gone now. Obviously this is a problem. Those pillows had been doing good work for me. Those pillows…
World Views
Hey Jake I think we’ve hit an impasse. First of all, I went to your party the other night, and you were the only one there. Yes, I got there late, and yes, JR had been…
An Open Letter to the Creators of Downton Abbey
Dear Sir or Madam: Although my open letters are usually, in keeping with the genre, quite critical of their subject, I must say that on this cold grey winter Monday morn, you, Downton Abbey, have filled…
21 Jump Street, Bellflower, and the Hipster Fantasy
There’s a scene in the new 21 Jump Street in which, on their first day back at high school, Channing Tatum ticks off every clique for Jonah Hill as they pass them: “Those are the jocks……
33 Years in the Key of Jangle
A buddy of mine recently asked me to introduce him to some new old music. He’s a sideman for one of the other artists on tour, and, like me, he’s a bit of an outsider—in his…
Mercury Schmercury
You can tell the outdoor temperature by counting how many windows I’ve opened in my studio here at the Millay Colony. I have five windows, all screened, which—coupled with my room’s extensive book collection, which includes…
Homecoming
I spent most of December in my hometown of San Antonio, TX, my first trip back since July. This marked my ninth Christmas since high school, and more than ever, I was struck by how strange…
Life’s Too Short: Recognizably Gervaisian
If you’ve seen Seinfeld since Curb Your Enthusiasm shambled into the pantheon of great American comedy series, you may have found yourself thinking: Wait a second… George Costanza is just a short Larry David who lives…
Reference
Dear Jake, my upright friend, my friend with endless ideas for social entrepreneurship, my friend with a wife and therefore a reasonable chance to procreate at the socially expected time, my friend all around, my friend from…
The Roots Keep Growing
Concept albums are notoriously tough to pull off, but with the Roots’ eleventh album Undun, the legendary crew has triumphed, using a boatload of artists and instruments to craft a focused, sonically surprising, socially-relevant tragedy more…
Review: Seth Timbs
We played up and around the Northwest this weekend, and low vitamin-D combined with the dreary similitudes of the hockey arenas of winter touring left me reaching for the medicine of earnest music. I chose a Tennessean…
Pop Music for Music Listeners: 2011 in Review
While I sit here watching BET with my father in my grandmother’s house in Fuquay-Varina, NC, I’m overcome with self-loathing. I hate being white. I hate my fragile, pasty skin, I hate my foppish lankiness, and…
Introduction
Before sending my first letter to Jake, I ought to provide the reader with some details about this person I’ve chosen to be the sole beneficiary of my wisdom and experiences. Because the reader might wonder…
Review: Bill Ryder-Jones
Bill Ryder-Jones is the ex-lead guitarist for neo-psychedelic Brit-rockers, The Coral. His debut solo album, If…, is a soundtrack to an imaginary adaptation of Italo Calvino’s po-mo masterpiece, If on a winter’s night a traveler… There…
Tim Tebow
Don’t think just because I’m a lifelong Broncos fan I was one of those people chanting “Tebow” at the beginning of the 2011–2012 NFL season. I didn’t (and don’t) want him as our starting quarterback. But I…
Currency
I went out on a date last night. She’s a singer from Spokane, and she’s in town to meet a mutual friend of ours to co-write. We’re in Vegas—ugh. I’m there to fake-play on the ACAs,…
Alex Gilvarry Indicts Williamsburg
Alex Gilvarry’s debut novel, From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, is about a young Filipino who comes to New York to conquer the fashion world. The story takes place in the aftermath of September 11th,…