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Hi! You’re here! Thank you.

In Ontario, where I live, we just elected another term to the idiot brother of the crack-smoking former mayor of Toronto. But I’m not gonna talk about that. So it goes.

Yesterday I spoke on the phone with Kevin Light Roth, who wrote a devastating piece for The Small Bow last month. He’s been in prison for the last 22 years (since he was 19!), and he’s got a lot of writing that he wants to get out there. I’m going to see what I can do to help, and that might include publishing some of his fiction on t&w. He’s connecting me with another incarcerated guy that runs a writing program for inmates. Who knows what’ll come from it, but I think it’d be an honour to participate in a program like that. If you have ideas you’d like to share, please send them my way.

That’s the most interesting part of my week by such a wide margin that I’m done here. Onto the links:

“I was miserable in that helicopter…I thought that I was going to have a stroke”

This is an entertaining piece in NYT about a scammer cut from the Anna Delvey cloth, this time acting as an ‘art adviser’. You’ll learn lots about how rich people trust ~vibes~ in the art world.

“Smashing Pumpkins all were pissy on stage”

Stereogum published a great excerpt from an upcoming oral history of Lollapalooza. I think that’ll find its’ way here soon.

Pig butcher? I hardly pig-know her (sorry)

I thought I new this story about a bank guy getting crypto scammed, turns out it was a different guy.

“I’m one of the most violent people on earth”

I try not to be political here, so you should read El Akkad’s books American War and What Strange Paradise. Then read these interviews in LitHub and Toronto Life about his new book (which you’ll see on the blog in due time).

“…not only were we loaded, but the rabbit was loaded too!”

On a lighter note, this interview with Grace Slick is just one banger after another:

Gold on Bluesky

RiotGrlErin on BlueSky keeps going on sprees posting magazine covers with Muppets photoshopped in. They’re brilliant.

Reading:

Some diverse books this week: The Keith Haring biography is a great look at NYC art world in the 80s.

The Unclaimed is another nonfiction book about what happens when someone dies in Los Angeles without a next of kin.

And The Noise of Time was the rare Julian Barnes book that I can’t recommend.

The Shortlist is six short stories, including one that I thought was too grim to include last week. It’s been on my mind since.  

Listening:

This week’s music features were Chicago art rock act Bimbo, German/American post-punk from SMILE, more indie rock from Amsterdam with Mood Bored, and Swedish indie rock weirdos Clutter.

The Setlist is 29 songs and like 95 minutes long. Some really great stuff there. Standout tracks by STARNAMEDSUN, Baby Nova and Verry Gerry.

Hit the red button below to dig in. It’s long and it’s good. Apple Music or Spotify

Get the playlists

Something you think I should hear or read? Reply or click here.

Next week is Bandcamp Friday, make some room on your credit card. I’ll share my list of purchases in the next newsletter.

There’s a new record from Fright Years that I’ve been looking forward to, and a new EP from blog fave HANNAHBELLA. I have a couple of super mysterious artists I’m learning about too. I also read a great biography of Pete Rose that I’ll be writing about.

Thanks for being here.

-hugh

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