Exuberance, A Hollow Mask with a Beard Painted On, and the Difference

“You know Louisville is death You have to up and move Because the dead do not Improve” -Silver Jews, “Tennessee” The unifying trend of the music I saw that really affected me in NYC this past weekend was a grappling with tradition, and they either hit it dead on, they transcended, or they flared out in a ball of irony and slavish imitation.  The Nouvellas, still running hot on last year’s self-titled debut record, played the tiny tiki bar Otto’s Shrunken Head on a Wednesday night for the twice-monthly Copycat night, this one...

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Distance and the Gap; Four Photography Shows in NYC

You all know I love Columbus, but the wider range of interesting cultural stuff – especially visual art -  in New York isn’t even up for debate, right? I’ll try to hit the highlights of my four days in NYC but in a few posts, this one’s grouped by medium.  Today’s it’s photographs – Catherine Opie, Robert Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson and a variety of other artists after the jump. Catherine Opie was the biggest find I got from the Wexner Center’s recently closed Hard Targets, somehow she completely slipped under my radar until her photos...

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Scott Woods, Women of the World, Killadelphia, The Scion Rock Fest, and the Absurdity of Writing Poetry

“I’ve driven your highways and backroads, I rode the great dog Through the snow and the sleet and hail, Through the sunlight, through the fog. I’ve heard the ravens call morning up With their little raw saxophones But the darkest of ravens was Nina Simone. Yeah, we’ve all been to hell and come back Where love cut us right down to the bone But walking beside us was Nina Simone.” -Tom Russell, “Nina Simone” I try to see as much as I can, as time and money (and the corollary effect of needing to keep my job)...

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