Sunday, November 28, 2010

Songs from 2010 - Part 4 - Penal Colony

On the cover of Women's 2010 album, Public Strain, a few people walk in a blizzard. Think about what that's like. Women take an otherwise normal pop song with a great hook, slow it down, and accent each downbeat like a heavy step in the snow. Then they mess with it even more, adding fuzz and doubled vocals. "Penal Colony" becomes an otherworldly exercise in restraint.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - Back Cover

So what did everyone think of Cat Plaza #2? If I had to evaluate the issue, I'd say it's a 9.6 It's my Merriweather Post Pavilion to #4's Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. And #3 is Neon Bible. Adieu, 2009. Miss you.

 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 19

I am thankful for this rant by yesterday's birthday boy, Andrew Morrison.

cant' wait till the miami heat start rolling and it silences all the bandwagon haters who failed to support the NBA in its darker years. The same haters who ironically enough only resubmerged as fans because lebron and wade brought the flash back to the game in the first place. Regardless if the heat fail to perform, they will make the playoffs in the east. Even though the heat hating hipsters might temporarily boost ratings, they will soon lose interest as they do for nearly every banner they take up and fail to continue their NBA support allowing historical franchises to fade and collapse.



Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 15-17

Back in the days when I was crushing on David Foster Wallace, I looked in every corner of the internet he occupied, and I found this list you've seen before. A list like this is cool because instead of namechecking authors we know he knew or liked personally, like many other authors do, he turns our attention to books we probably haven't read yet. Some authors (artists, musicians, movie-makers) protect their influences for whatever reason, like we can't figure them out. Gee whiz, I don't read new novels anymore. I like that line too.

In walks Steps by Jerzy Kosinski, hell bent on fucking with your mind and top-10 book list that you keep online or in that list-making brain of yours. When you see Steps in the library, it's going to have a tattered cover, no dust jacket, and it probably hasn't been checked out in 20 years, but that doesn't mean you should pass it up to read HP again. Stop re-reading HP, y'all. 

Characters in Steps are vehicles for carrying out Jerzy's theoretical nightmare-fantasies, and when you read Steps, you'll know where my story came from. Steps gets a 10.0---the original Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.



Monday, November 22, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 14

I'm almost done with Northern Exposure, which is just about the high-point (along with Twin Peaks) of early-90s television. An imaginative, well-acted character show that is funny and moving. I just don't see how a show like Northern Exposure could make it on networks today, and that is a shame. The good television has been relegated to cable and premium TV, and even it isn't as good as Northern Exposure. After all, Northern Exposure cranked out 110 hour-long episodes in just five years and had a big, enthusiastic audience. Bravo, Northern Exposure
 
 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 8-9

Here's a guest post on beer from Marc "never gonna update The Alco-log EVER!" Nardoni.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 5-7

Readers loved pointing out the typos on this one.







Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 4

Confession: I never finished House of Leaves.


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 - p. 2

Dear Readers,

I'm having a crisis. I look at my Blogspot, my old friend, and I just think meh. All my cool readers are on Tumblr. They get to Tumbl all this cool stuff, and I don't think they can Tumbl their favorite Cat Plaza pages. Should I grab at relevance by joining Tumblr, or should I hold my ground and face the day at Blogspot. Decisions, decisions.


 

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Cat Plaza #2 Scans

After the resounding, Da Vinci Code-esque success of Cat Plaza #1, I gave in to the fans and produced a second issue. I kept saying I'd never do it, it was a one-time-only deal, but what are you gonna do? Deprive the fans of their favorite quarterly literature/ hardcore/ comedy zine? That's just cruel. 

Anyway, Cat Plaza #2 came out a year ago. It cost $1, and they're all gone. Gee whiz, Pat, what the heck? How come I didn't get one? 

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Tuesday, November 2, 2010