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.
Here’s a story that I like to tell: I was raised Catholic, but about as progressive as was possible. My dad’s sisters (Irish Catholic, so there were a bunch of ‘em) pretty much all became cloistered nuns for a while - not because they were devout, but because it was the way they could get a postsecondary education, growing up in a blue-collar household. They all became successful, independent women, and then left the convent.
I have a dozen great stories about my aunts, some from when they were still in the convent. Like the one about how, when my best friend in high school came out as gay, it helped convince my one aunt to leave the Church - she couldn’t bring herself to believe that he was imperfect, so the Church must be wrong.
Just an all-round awesome group of women.
So while I didn’t completely avoid the shitty parts of Catholicism, I got the good, wholesome, service-oriented stuff like the golden rule. (And the shame! I got the shame in spades.) My dad told us kids to never take the Bible at face value, that at best it was an old book written in a different era and by people that didn’t have a clue about modern times.
All that to say that I’m probably the perfect audience for Boyfriend’s new record In the Garden. It’s a reinterpretation of the story of the Garden of Eden, with Eve cast as the central character. It’s not a satire or parody — it’s a genuine, good-faith inquiry into how that story could be retold in a way that doesn’t perpetuate the patriarchy. It’s also a damn good pop record that made me laugh out loud a lot.
Boyfriend was kind enough to provide a Backstory post of books that she felt were key to the project, so once you’ve checked out the record, read about the backstory. Boyfriend is a creative genius, and I hope this gets a full stage play treatment.
In other news:
Off the blog: links you shouldn’t miss
Is Dua Lipa the best literary interviewer? I always watch her interviews. She clearly has a great team of researchers behind her, but her questions show that she’s deeply engaged in the material. I’ve loved more than one recommendation from her Service95 club.
The Fyre Festival of the book world: This story is funny except if you’re one of those attendees.
Do We Really Need More Male Novelists? It feels like this comes up every few months, but this is a pretty interesting read. Here’s a Deloitte study on it, which points a finger at publishers.
Though women dominate the fiction charts, Richard Osman’s novels took the top two spots for the most books sold in the UK last year. While the 2024 Booker prize shortlist featured five women and one man, the 2023 list had more people called Paul than women.
Based on a True True Story? Using infographics to calculate the truthiness of movies. Spend a minute with this one, click around. It’s really well done, and ambitious as hell.
Chrysalis is a new literary magazine for and by trans youth: it hasn’t published anything yet, but add it to your watchlist.
The Rise of the Submission Industrial Complex: LitHub digs into the fees that are turning the short story writer’s gig into a side hustle. This was an eye-opener for me.
The higher the prestige, the more likely it is that writers are paying just to be considered. So while submission fees might seem like a small nuisance, they’re actually acting as a filter. Not for quality, but for who can afford to participate.
The AI Jobs crisis is here, now. Brian Merchant (Blood in the Machine) pivots off this Derek Thompson piece about how recent college grads aren’t finding work. If this is a sign of what’s to come, how should we adapt?
Want out of prison early? Navigate the drug treatment labyrinth: a piece by Kevin Light-Roth (author of the brilliant short story Zen), that sheds light on another aspect of why it’s insane to let for-profit companies run prisons.
What got your attention this week? Got a hot take on something? Hit reply and let me know.
On the Blog
Reading:
Kim Gordon’s memoir is great - as important an artist as she is, her approach to her art is the same as your approach to your job everyday: show up, work hard, do well.
The short stories of Jennifer Hudak are absolutely worth your time. Pick any one on the post as a starting point, she’s a brilliant writer.
Laurent Binet’s Perspective(s) is a 15th Century murder mystery involving Michelangelo and several other figures from the era. Your enjoyment likely depends on your knowledge of the subject matter. I didn’t love it.
The Shortlist: The five stories - two nonfiction, three fiction, are all stunners, but they’re also somewhat grim. Themes of trauma, self-harm, abortion, displacement by genocide, and other ugly things. That wasn't deliberate, and it's completely fair to skip this week if you're feeling vulnerable. I'll do my best to bring some lighter fare next week.
Got a short story? Send it my way
Listening:
Boyfriend’s In the Garden is a record I’ve been listening to for weeks. It’s a kind of a stage play soundtrack, a reinterpretation of Adam and Eve, but centring Eve. It’s so good. Give it a listen. Plus the Backstory she provided is fascinating.
Girls to the Front is a compilation of Dutch punk bands fronted by people that aren’t cis men. If you like loud music at all, there’s bound to be something that you’ll like.
Hooky & Winter are two artists (three, I guess, Hooky is a duo) who put out a weird, wistful, lo-fi EP recently. It’s less than 15 minutes, but I bet you play it more than once.
Lonnie Gunn is kind of a new, queer take on Courtney Love’s obsessive grunge from 1995.
The Setlist: standout tracks from some excellent band names: Weak Knees, Scott Evil and Italy 3000. It’s 29 songs, 90ish minutes.
Listen on Apple Music or Spotify
What’s on your playlist? Send me your faves
Next week: great records from Anna Justen, Farmer’s Wife and Soot Sprite, plus the graphic novel of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. And a new Backstory.
Thanks for being here.
-hugh
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