April 17, 2005

the EMP and the Ukraine King

Well, I did say they'd be sporadic. Getting back to something like equilibrium, but those who are looking here for MP3s might want to check back in another month or two, I'm realizing.

David Barker reports that he's started a blog covering the 33 1/3 series that includes my Live at the Apollo. Good timing for it: I just got the four new ones in the mail (haven't yet permitted myself to read them), and spent the last few days at the Experience Music Project's pop conference, also attended by fellow 33 1/3 authors Franklin Bruno, Daphne Brooks, Erik Davis, Andrew Hultkrans, J. Niimi and Michaelangelo Matos.

My paper, on Coca-Cola ads in the '60s (specifically the "Things Go Better with Coke" campaign, in which dozens of pop stars recorded original songs that sounded like new singles rather than jingles... until they morphed into the "Things Go Better With Coca-Cola" jingle), seemed to go over pretty well. Also very much enjoyed the Drew Daniel/Greil Marcus/David Thomas triple-threat (best phrase from Drew's paper on nostalgia for Darby Crash: "a frothy milkshake of lube and formaldehyde"), Peter Mercer-Taylor's close analysis of a Cradle of Filth song, and Joe Gore and Elise Malmberg's must-see-to-appreciate history of Clubbo Records, among others. Really regretted missing Daphne Carr's disco-polo piece, the Hua Hsu/Josh Kun/Jody Rosen panel, and Ned Sublette on New Orleans. Was delighted to finally meet Shayla Hason, after several years of multiple people telling me I had to meet her (and more than ten years after I'd seen the last few shows of her amazing band Laito Lychee). Came home with over two dozen amazing-looking CD-Rs from fellow attendees, some of them CD-Rs of MP3s. If I am seen in public at any time in the next three months without music playing either on speakers or my headphones, please correct me. Spent all of my evenings during EMP doing stuff with little or nothing to do with the music industry, which was gratifying somehow, and this morning seeing Rebecca and Brian and Buck, which was great too.

My review of Michel Houellebecq's H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life ran in the Times Book Review today; was very happy to see it next to Daniel Handler's Lovecraft review.

Posted by Douglas at April 17, 2005 9:35 PM | TrackBack
Comments

it was really excellent to finally meet you too!

Posted by: hason on April 18, 2005 3:56 PM
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