clancy martin in gigantic, funny rumpus links, tao lin in the faster times, more pavement stuff

illustration by andrew bulger

lincoln michel interviewed clancy martin for gigantic. discussed therein, all the great debates: philosophy versus fiction, apollo versus dionysus, thomas pynchon versus denis johnson and minimalism versus lyricism.

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ted wilson wrote something funny about his body for the rumpus. i liked it and thought of this: jack handey's "ideas for paintings."

this was also funny and found thanks to the rumpus (actually thanks to vol. 1 who linked to it, via the rumpus): peanuts by charles bukowski

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illustration courtesy of tao lin

rozalia jovanovic reviewed tao lin's shoplifting from american apparel for the faster times. a highly intelligent and attentive take and contextualization.

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and finally, more pavement news: jason diamond in vol. 1 brooklyn compiled favorite malkmus lyrics from the likes of justin taylor, brad haggert of the crystal stilts, ari messer from the rumpus (it's been a good day for rumpus-related links) and yours truly.

Pavement reunion confirmed

UPDATE (9/18): i will be seeing pavement in central park in exactly one year and three days from now

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Uh, fuck yes. From the Pavement website:

After years of speculation, the most important American band of the Nineties is returning to the stage with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010. Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion.

Described in their own Wikipedia entry as having experienced "moderate commercial success," Pavement's catalog for the Matador, Domino, Drag City and Treble Kicker imprints has come to define in the eyes of many the blueprint for independent rock over the past generation. An evidentiary compilation release is planned to coincide with the touring sometime in 2010.

The first show announced is a New York performance on September 21, 2010 at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. A pre-sale begins at 10:00 AM EDT on Friday, September 18, 2009 (tomorrow). The password for the pre-sale is ZOWEE and the ticketing link is here. The general on-sale is slated for 10:00 AM EDT on Friday, September 25, 2009. Please note that tickets will be available without surcharges from the Nokia Theatre box office in Times Square and from Earwax at 218 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg.

Please visit www.crookedrain.com for details on this on-sale as well as all Pavement news as it develops, or sign up for the mailing list below.

seeing pavement in central park, one year, three days from now

Deerhunter, Pavement, personal update

-If you haven't heard it yet, the new Deerhunter album Microcastle is absolutely fantastic, as is the free bonus LP that comes with it, called Weird Era. In fact I think Microcastle is probably the best album I've heard this year (even the cover art, which is pasted above, kicks ass). I think they have an aesthetic that could be considered noisy, beautiful, fuzzy, and young. I like this aesthetic. I am seeing them next week in Williamsburg.

Here's a link to the Pitchfork review of the album. I didn't read it but I feel like their ratings are, with the exception of Vampire Weekend, usually pretty "accurate", which is to say, "agreeable". They gave the album a 9.2.

And if you like Deerhunter but haven't been to their blog, you could do worse with your time. Dude's prolific -- and generous. The blog is loaded with freebies and demos (look for the song "Requiem for All the Lonely Teenagers with Passed Out Moms"). His "micromixes" are also great (and free).

-I'm really excited about the reissue of Pavement's 1998 album Brighten the Corners, which comes out December 9. I just pre-ordered a copy in order to receive some free shit.

Unfortunately, the song "For Sale: The Preston School of Industry", one of my favorites, isn't among this shit. Apparently, it "cost too much" for Pavement to purchase it from the Dutch TV place where they recorded it.

As consolation, here's the video, of them recording it:



Download of the song available here.

-On the personal front, work continues on The Great Asian-American Novel in Stories. Earlier tonight I did a reading of two very short stories from the book. I read a story called "McDonald's with Mother in Country of Her Birth, Not Mine" and another one called "You". I think the first one got a better response, although I don't think the second one got a bad response. "It was funny," said someone afterward.

If you're interested, I'd be happy to send you an excerpt. I'm looking to have a completed first draft by mid-December.

That is all.