The Moors by Ben Marcus

 (Madras Press, 2011)

I have for nearly five and a half years now worked within a corporate office setting, in different capacities, for the same company. I am, as of my writing this, in preparation to leave this setting in one week, to move out of my home state, to attend “graduate school”. (I don’t know why I put it in quotes. Really, I am attending graduate school. In “Literary Arts”.)

And I wonder sometimes how the office has influenced me and if it has at all influenced the way I write and what I might write about. Honestly, I can’t imagine myself writing anything of fictitious worth about an office space. Regardless, one of my probably biggest literary influences, Mr. Ben Marcus, has in fact written up a story about a bland, all-too-familiar, cubicle-flooded space, and has done so incredibly.

Things I Saw at the Pitchfork Music Festival (2011)

This is the second time that Erin I have attended the Pitchfork Music Festival (the first time being in 2009), and while the bands have always been a big draw, we attended primarily tell sell our humble screen-printed rock n’ roll posters at the coinciding Flatstock Poster Festival. Even so, with there being two of us, there is always the opportunity for one of us to sneak off to see some one band or another, and this year was no different.

Here is what I saw / what I learned / observed:

EMA – It’s a hot Friday afternoon (the afternoons only got hotter as the weekend wore on) and the awkwardness of EMA in glare of sun was more than apparent. This music is definitely better suited for brick-lined basements. Still, despite it all, she managed to pack some punchiness into her dark, gothic, grit-punk, and her half-baked rock moves were definitely amusing (albeit in a humorously awkward way). All I really was planning to do was watch her set until she played “California”, but she played “California” last so I ended up seeing the whole set. Good move, EMA, good move. “California” ended up being pretty anticlimactic and yet it still gave me chills – I’, not going to pretend to understand why.

Heather E. Day

In Chicago, Pitchforking and Flatstocking this weekend.  Saw an amazing career survey of Mark Bradford at MCA Chicago.  Received an email from Heather E. Day:

"Surfer's Hymn" by Panda Bear

Video after the jump.

"Last Known Surroundings" by Explosions in the Sky

Video after the jump.

Lauren Clay

Michele Armas

:::Notable American Music:::

John Maus - We Must Become Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

(Ribbon Music, 2011)

Since my iPod broke, music listening has mostly be relegated to the internetz.  Thank you Altered Zones for upping this little bit of majesty:

John Maus: We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves by alteredzones

-----------------------------

Apache Dropout - S/T

(Family Vineyard, 2011)

Some explosive, garage-burning bliss:



--------------------

Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

(Sub Pop, 2011)

Oh, and if you haven't already, believe the hype (or, "my bi-annual hip hop obsession"):

Shabazz Palaces Sampler by subpop

RIP Cy Twombly

Sarajo Frieden

Guim Tio Zarraluki

The Little Friends of Printmaking

New stuff from The Little Friends of Printmaking up at Rotofugi in Chicago. Check it: