http://www.rjwheaton.com Music, Books, Other Things Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:06:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Delighted to have been asked to write a short guest post on 2009 in review for the BookNet Canada blog.I also got a contribute some short recommendations for the wonderful folks at the Advent Book Blog. Finally, the Oxford American's 2009 music issue is still on the stands, and it ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2010/december-appearances-online-and-elsewhere/ One of the things I've enjoyed most about 2009 has been my exposure to ambient music. There's more about this to come, but enough to say now that this was quite unplanned. I'm not sure why, or for what reason, I first found myself building upon a collection that had ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2009/gorgeous-ambient-cover-art/ This year's absurdly ambitious (as ever) vacation reading stack: The themes:* Dystopia* Love* MusicAnd my obligatory Summer mainstays:* Modern Library editions (double book score for the Ellison on music)* At least one John McPhee* At least one Western* At least one Gabriel Garcia Marquez* At least one YA lit (double ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2009/vacation-reading/ In preparation for my upcoming contribution to Continuum’s 33 1/3 series, I’ve been rereading everything I’ve read—and written—related to the mid-90s British downtempo scene. I came across an unpublished piece I wrote in 2004 about Stephanie McKay’s debut album, McKay, which was produced by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Earthling’s Tim Saul. ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2009/mckay/ I was actually casting around for a fourth hardcover to round out the weekend’s 4-for-3 offering at World’s Biggest Bookstore when I picked this up. I think I’d noted it after the National Book Award win, but something about the cover—perhaps a similarity to Richard Ford’s Lay of the Land?—made ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2008/shadow-country-by-peter-matthiessen/ I’m a fan of McSweeney’s ability to crank out gorgeous low-priced well-made hardcover books, and issue #29 is no exception: There’s always a nice level of detail, right down to the price sticker. However, I really would like to be able to peel this off without leaving a messy patch of ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2008/note-to-mcsweeneys-watch-it-with-the-stickers-there/ Adding my voice to the chorus of praise for Penguin’s Gothic Reds series. Interviews with talented designer Coralie Bickford-Smith can be found here and here. I’m a big fan of the Red Classics editions: affordable, well-produced mass markets. Their Gatsby is the most pleasant reading edition I’ve had since the mid-90s ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2008/penguins-gothic-reds/ So I am loving—loving—reading these beautiful RSC Modern Library trade Shakespeares. Here’s what they have going for them: Great covers. Read Shakespeare without feeling like you’re a student! Perfect weight. Yes, they feel exactly like the paperback novel you’re used to holding on your hand in the subway every day. Astonishing price. I kid ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2008/modern-library-gets-shakespeare-right/ DaCapo’s Best Music Writing 2006 collection is now available. It looks to be rather an improvement on last year’s rather slim volume, not least because it includes the extended profile of M.I.A. that I wrote for PopMatters.You know what to do. http://www.rjwheaton.com/2006/dacapos-best-music-writing-2006/ Coverage of NXNE over at PopMatters, edited by yours truly. Includes a piece on the festival’s film content:Nostalgia is the dominant emotion in much filmmaking about music. The primary impulse of many biopics, musicals, and documentaries is to memorialize music or musicians who have had a significant impact on the ... http://www.rjwheaton.com/2005/nxne/