Welcome Distractions
New music, book reviews, short stories and more from blog this week
Plus lots of links to other good stuff that didn’t get there (yet)Is this a useful email? Forward it to a friend who might like it.
Hi! You’re here! Thank you.I’ve been thinking about how translation happens in literature this week. I’m working on a longer piece pulling together some articles and insights. It’s unimaginably complicated, and when you stop to think about unforgettable sentences that were written by translators rather than authors, it’s stunning. Two of my favourite reads from 2025 have been translated from other languages. What’s your favourite translated book? (You’re not allowed to say Anna Karenina.)
Is Australian indie the new #dutchindie? I’ve featured a bunch of Aussie acts on the site in the last few weeks, and I have like three more queued up already. I know that scene has been amazing for a long time, but I’m finally beginning to feel like I’ve got a feel for it. Still, #dutchindie will always be my first love.
Would you like a new original short story? I got you covered. James Valle runs Phantom Limb records, and when I covered the Lipsticism release, he reached out about placing a story with Turn & Work. It’s fantastic, and I suspect I’ll be publishing a few more from James in the coming weeks and months.
Got something to share? Lay it on me. And now:
Off the blog: links you shouldn’t miss
You Sound Like ChatGPT: How AI use is changing our spoken language. I’ve never liked the word ‘delve’, and this gives me a real reason for it:
In the 18 months after ChatGPT was released, speakers used words like “meticulous,” “delve,” “realm,” and “adept” up to 51 percent more frequently than in the three years prior
The “Electric Grandma” will provide: Amy “Artificial” Kurzweil’s comic about a Bradbury’s short story “I Sing the Body Electric” is thought provoking. If you haven’t read Bradbury, start with that book.
Attention Hip-Hop: Generative AI is Not Your Friend is a scathing look at how some hip-hop artists have embraced the technology, and how backward the thinking behind it actually is:
“Not only are creatives of every stripe at risk of being replaced by money-hungry companies who’d rather work the robots for cheap labor, the quality of the art and music and literature created with these generators is generally dogshit.”
Death of the Middle Class Musician: I’m not sure where I fall with this article. I agree that the music ecosystem is broken for smaller bands, but there’s a distinction between ‘up and coming’ and ‘not that great at this’ that is difficult to make.
The Forever Dying and the Always Dead; or, Literary Fiction and the Novel: Lincoln Michel with another banger, this time questioning the narrative of ‘the decline of literary fiction’, taking a broader view of pop culture overall:
In this environment, a movie like Wicked—an adaptation of a hit broadway play adapted from a popular novel that reimagined a hit film that was adapted from a popular book—feels like a breath of fresh air just because it isn’t a sequel. (The sequel will be released later this year.)
What got your attention this week? Got a hot take on something? Hit reply and let me know.
On the Blog
Reading:
New short story: In Love with Kenny Spokes by James Valle. It’s great, read it.
On the Calculation of Volume #2: Even better than the first one. Put this series on your TBR right away.
Sao Bernardo is a spellbinding story of a successful jerk. It was written almost 100 years ago but the new translation is brilliant.
We Are Green and Trembling wasn’t what I hoped it’d be. It was too short.
The Shortlist: is back with a vengeance. 11 stories! 3 of them are non-fiction! Start with the T&W original, dammit.
Got a short story? Send it my way
Listening:
Placement is also from Australia, and their debut art-noise-post-punk (whatever, just listen) album is one of the strongest of the year.
The band was kind enough to put together a Backstory piece which is full of stuff I’m going to be digging into.
Isabella Strange’s playful, artsy punk is a ton of fun.
Loose Content is an australian indie band with a broader vocabulary than you.
Starling released a new EP that’s completely DIY but you’d never know it. It’s gorgeous.
Smut’s new record is their best yet. If you miss late 90s alt-rock, this’ll fix you up.
The Setlist: It’s a doozy this week: 36 tracks, about 135 minutes. Standout tracks by The Noisy, For Nina, and Hunk.
Listen on Apple Music or Spotify
What’s on your playlist? Send me your faves
Next week: It’s gonna be a light week. Canada day is July 1, so nothing on Tuesday. The new Warburton record comes out Friday so watch for some stuff around that. Plus another #AussieIndie feature, a couple of posts about the Polaris Music Prize, and books by Jill Ciment and Maria Reva.
And a couple of short ‘best of 2025 so far’ posts, I think.
Suddenly that doesn’t sound like a light week. Even better. PItter patter.
Thanks for being here.
-hugh
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