You should read Ann Patchett.  Bel Canto is one of the best books I’ve read in many years.  The story of a hostage situation in an unnamed South American country, this novel is immersive and beautiful and completely original.  Another of Patchett’s novels, Run, is a less unique tale, focusing on a Boston family and [...]

If you learn one thing from Pixar, it is how to write without fear.  The folks over there don’t care how their ideas sound to focus groups.  They know without a doubt that they can tell a good story and that’s what they do. I mean, look at their latest creation, Up.  I saw it [...]

Lucinda Williams’ voice will break your heart.  It doesn’t really matter what she is singing about — that breathy gravelly voice will take you down every time.  While you’re with Williams, you’ll spend a lot of time in cars and broken down homes, moving from city to city in the deep South.  It may crush [...]

Hi, my name’s Mike and I watch American Idol.  I used to qualify that statement by adding quickly that I didn’t buy any of the music put out by former Idols.  But I can’t say that anymore.  In the last year, there has been an explosion in Idol music on the Ipod, including a major [...]

There are a couple of things that I always do before reading a book.  Before buying it, actually.  First, I check out the Acknowledgments.  I’m always curious who writers thank.  And particularly who their agents are and if recognition was in order.  Next I’ll usually flip to the last page.  My wife is convinced that [...]

Let’s take off our purist hats for a moment.  I would generally agree that if you like a band or artist, you should buy whole albums, rather than only the most popular songs.  An album represents a certain period in that artist’s creative life, and therefore it should be respected as an intended whole.  As [...]

On the surface, these two books don’t seem to have a lot in common.  Then We Came To The End is a postmodern romp through today’s office cubicle culture told with Ferris’ tongue firmly lodged in his cheek.  Barrett’s book, The Air We Breathe, is a historical novel set at a tuberculosis sanitorium in the [...]

Today I’ve got short takes on three artists I like that have a problem.  They are all prone to the esoteric and downright bizarre song titles.  (And yes, I know I live in a glass house, being someone whose blog titles tend toward the lengthy and parenthetical).  Still, there is a line between intelligently appropriate [...]

OK, so suppose that you are really bored and want to learn something new about your music collection.  Suppose that you wanted that something new you learn to be completely trivial and of no real consequence.  You with me?  Good.  Then, try this. Go into ITunes and alphabetize your entire collection by song title.  Yeah, [...]