Ben Tanzer's Blog, page 245

Yesterday we brought you McClanahan madness, and today we bring you Masciotra madness. No need to thank us though, that's just how we roll.

The highly anticipated release of TBWCYL, Inc. favorite David Masciotra's book Working On a Dream - The Progressive Political Vision of Bruce Springsteen is rapidly approaching and while we plan to share whatever we hear and see about said release, whenever we hear and see it, we thought we would start with this quite engaging interview David just did on Lakeshore Drive with Len Clark, because we're pretty sure you will enjoy it. In fact, we're pretty sure it might even change your life, if...

McClanahan madness.

There is much McClanahan happening out there right now and while we totally promise to read Stories II and report back soon, in the interim we thought we would offer you a review and stuff at HTML GIANT from the Sam Pink and an interview by Jen Michalski at the JMWW blog. We should add here, that we honestly believe that this ought to suffice for the moment, but if you in any way disagree you know you can always take this up with management. We're good like that.

"I belong to the staggering evening. I belong to the sweltering nights. I belong to the girl that's leaving. But all we're gonna do is fight tonight."

We in no way want The Hold Steady to feel threatened, much less Avail, Jon Langford, The Beastie Boys, Bruce Springsteen, El-P, Billy Bragg, Wilco, Girl Talk, Jamey Johnson or Bob Dylan, but we cannot deny that seeing Ike Reilly tonight at the Schubas changed our life just a little, and we sort of think that if you have the chance to see him, you should, like immediately, because he just might change your life as well. For reals.

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted." Martin Luther King, Jr.

[PANK]. Haiti. Donate. Hit it.

[PANK:] is doing a most excellent thing. Between January 13, 2010 and February 13, 2010 it is donating all direct sales of its magazines and forthcoming chapbook How to Take Yourself Apart, How to Make Yourself Anew by Hobart's Aaron Burch to the relief efforts in Haiti. We think this is awesome. We have made our purchase. And we hope that if you can afford it, you will consider doing so as well. It may not change your life, but it may most definitely change someone else's.

How about a Deckfight Bosworth Ross mash-up with a nice dollop of love for I Am Richard Simmons? Well that, and a ml press {first year} shout-out?

We thought this might be your cup of tea. And here's what we have. The most excellent Deckfight gave the always well bearded Mel Bosworth a the chance to riff on the five best things he has recently read. He not only gave a very generous shout-out to our ml press chapbook I Am Richard Simmons - feel free to read the below excerpt - but to the quite fine and recently blurbed here Charactered Pieces by Caleb J. Ross as well. We are quite appreciative. We also think Mel has quite good taste. We...

The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live, full of John Grey and scrounging for change. Or something like that.

The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live and scrounging for change. Or something like that. We have a new poem The Couch in Ben's Bachelor Pad by John Grey, which we are way excited about, and, as always, photo action from Adam Lawrence, a music selection from Jason Behrends and "Cadillac tax" prose love from Pete Anderson. We hope you enjoy this edition and we appreciate all shout-outs and links. And maybe one more thing, we recently had a cup of coffee with Dispatch

Yet another inadvertent riff touching on intersections among This Zine Will Change Your Life, the Outsiders Writers Collective and/or those we love.

Long-time BFF and TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Tim Hall has a new story collection titled One Damn Thing After Another being released by the Outsider Writers Collective and Press and it is now available for pre-order. Which is cool. You know what else is cool, besides you of course. We hear that Tim's most excellent story Further Notes on the Impossibility of Everything which originally ran in This Zine Will Change Your Life may actually be included in the collection. Crazy, right? Totally.

This (Chap) Book Will Change Your Life - The Sagging: Spirits & Skin by Jason Fisk.

TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Jason Fisk is the kind of dude who is not going to want us to tell you how stirring it is to read The Sagging: Spirits & Skin, much less blog about it, but to that we say too bad man, because these poems about missed connections, lost babies and violence, both seen and unseen, need to be consumed and we hope that by riffing on them today we will help spread the word. We would add, that this is now the second collection we have read that contains a piece originally...

Continued Top Ten madness. Music. Indeed.

We're not sure how good a year this has been for the music and truth be told, we are very much looking forward to the coming year and releases from The Beastie Boys, Arcade Fire and Jamey Johnson. That said, it wasn't exactly a bad year either, though please note that we still expect some constructive feedback from the David Masciotra and would in fact be disappointed if we do not receive said feedback.

(1) Ike Reilly/Hard Luck Stories. We love him. Do you hear that Ike? Do you?

(2) Kid...