FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE ARE OBJECTIVELY BAD

Somehow I totally forgot to plug this, and I can't even believe it.  My friend and editor Garrett Cook recently took the helm of a UK literary journal, Imperial Youth Review. I was tapped to face off with co-editor Chris Kelso in a "good reviewer/evil reviewer" series of columns. You can guess by history here at CIMTB which side of the equation I was on.

You can buy the print edition of issue 1 here, and it features my first column "Florence and The Machine Are Objectively Bad." There's lots of other great content too. Here's a sample:

What’s the verdict, then?  I am a proponent of liking what you like, and not being ashamed of it.  Discovering that I was able to enjoy things without irony, without them being a guilty pleasure, is one of the formative experiences in my life as both artist and critic.  So how can that jibe with the vitriol I’ve been slinging so far?  Well, hey... you can listen to Florence and the Machine if you like them.

You’ll just be dead fucking wrong.

Also, check out the Imperial Youth Review blog. In a moment of inspired insanity Garrett has allowed me to embark on a strange musico-literary project, a dark thing that perhaps should not have been, a little thing I like to call "Every Steely Dan Song Ever." I'm going through every Steely Dan song in order and writing microfiction inspired by the tunes. It's fucking weird, if I do say so myself.

Check it out, everybody... you'll love it!

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KIZUNA: FICTION FOR JAPAN

Hey kids, another non-music post here. This one's for a good cause! And I'd like to think the awesomeness of my last interviewee makes up for it...

I'm sure you've all heard about the tragedy in Japan, earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear plants wrecking shit like a boss. Well, it's always good to chip in in whatever weird way you can. I've mentioned that 9/11 benefit Iggy Pop tribute nite that I shared with the fabled DJ Greg- part of the reason I bring it up is that the good feelings it engendered have stuck with me in a very positive way. That's why I jump at the chance to bend my creative energies to a good cause, like Children of Mercy. Or now, Kizuna.

Kizuna: Fiction For Japan is the brainchild of Brent Millis, a friend and literary colleague of mine who is an American expatriate living in Japan with his wife and kids. So they felt the earthquake pretty keenly. Brent got the idea to put out a charity anthology, and it steamrolled from there. This anthology features some great stuff: big names like Michael Moorcock, John Shirley, Trent Zelazny, and Robert Price; Bizarro fiction stalwarts like Ash Lomen, Bradley Sands, David Agranoff, Andersen Prunty, and Garrett Cook; more international authors than you can shake a stick at; and of course, something by yours truly.

I'm particularly happy with my piece, "The Norwegian Makes Lemonade", part of my 'Norwegian' cycle of stories, which are seeing a hat trick of publication this year. Having read the rest of the anthology, I'll say that anyone who likes flash fiction, horror, scifi, absurdism, or just plain reading in general, will not be disappointed.

So, everyone, check out Kizuna: Fiction For Japan. It's a bit pricier than the average Kindle download, but it's 75 stories by some great authors, and an amazing share of the proceeds go to benefit... you guessed it, suffering Japanese orphans. You can't go wrong there.

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology) > US

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology) > UK

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology) > DE

Oh, and for you Luddites out there, a print edition is forthcoming.

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