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 (yet)Too much? Not enough? Let me know what you think.
Hello! You’re here! Thank you.
It’s Bandcamp Friday today. Get your wallets out to support great art and good causes. Start with the True Names benefit compilation. I’ll have my other Bandcamp recommendations out before noon eastern today, on Bluesky and Instagram. I apologize in advance for the complaining I’m going to do about the shipping costs of LPs from Europe.
If there’s a theme to all of the stuff this week, it’s personal identity. The True Names benefit (and the origin of that name), PANIK FLOWERS’ anxious dreamgaze music inspired by the singer’s mental health issues, the transgender characters in Torrey Peters’ Stag Dance, and several of the short stories, there’s a lot of personal exploration going on.
Maybe it’s no coincidence; I’ve alluded to this before, but my teenager is transgender, and with the recent election in Canada combined with whatever f*ckery is going on south of the border, it’s been a ride. I can tell you that receiving gender-affirming care has literally been a lifesaver. At some point I’ll write a long piece about this, but I’m glad to be Canadian right now, and I’m glad our election went the way it did earlier this week. It sickens me to see how trans identities have become fodder for the culture wars.
On a lighter note, I listed the Best of April: Five books, five new artists, 10 singles and a couple extra things to check out.
In other news:
Off the blog: links you shouldn’t miss
This review of a new book on the shallowness of tech bros called More Everything Forever has me stoked to pick it up.
Last month I included a story about a wiener dog on the lam in Australia. After almost 2 years, she’s home!
Lit Hub and Electric Lit are both leaving Twitter for Bluesky. Good work! If you haven’t done it, you should consider it.
“Sixteen years later, X is a dystopian shadow of itself, a vanity project of a destructive, dangerous billionaire—and a very bad place for literature (and most everything else).”
Is True Crime Keeping Me In Prison? This piece is really thought-provoking and a damning take on American media.
28 slightly rude notes on writing. This is pretty inspirational stuff:
“Some people think that writing is merely the process of picking the right words and putting them in the right order, like stringing beads onto a necklace. But the power of those words, if there is any, doesn’t live inside the words themselves…The beauty ain’t in the necklace. It’s in the neck.”
Ribbon Skirt is a good band, and here’s a good performance. They got a great review on Pitchfork but I did it first, and I like mine better:
What got your attention this week? Got a hot take on something? Hit reply and let me know.
On the Blog
Reading:
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters is every bit as good as you’ve heard
Ghosts by Edith Wharton is 100 years old but reads like a modern collection of spooky tales
Container by Derek Fisher is a wild collection of versatile, weird-as-hell short stories
The Shortlist: The lost chapter of Susie Boyt’s flawless novel Loved and Missed is in Granta. Read it here. Plus 7 other short stories.
Got a short story? Send it my way
Listening:
I’m all over the place this week:
True Names is a compilation to benefit trans youth. The music is like Matador Records circa 1999, but you should buy this even if you don’t care for the music. Matt O’Connor, the person behind the project, shared some book recommendations.
PANIK FLOWER released a new EP that just rips. It’s one of my favourites of 2025. They also provided The Backstory for the record. This band only has like 500 Spotify listeners. That’s criminally low. Check them out, will you?
X & Yde released an EP recently that was lost on a hard drive for half a decade. We’re lucky it was found, it’s exotic and great.
Emma Bradley’s EP is very Imogen Heap-y and has a great story behind it
The Setlist: standout tracks from The Vorgs, Starling and Bindy. It’s 31 songs, 110 minutes.
Listen on Apple Music or Spotify
What’s on your playlist? Send me your faves
Next week: A wild concept album with a Biblical theme (!) that I can’t get enough of. And more #dutchindie music. I think I’m going to do some research about the Dutch indie scene. There’s something in the water over there.
Thanks for being here.
-hugh
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