David Berman: Amidst American Water, Part II Interview
The following is a partial transcription of a series of interviews conducted by Paula Crossfield with the late David Berman.
Paula Crossfield: Before, we were talking about your process. In particular you were talking about “Smith and Jones” - looking at it as a way in to describing your writing process. You described working at The Whitney, and your twenty-lines-a-day, and having ten years' worth of books. And then you started describing the actual nuts and bolts of how you were working on American Water so maybe we can go back to that. ...Read more
David Berman: Amidst American Water, Part I Interview
The following is a partial transcription of a series of interviews conducted by Paula Crossfield with the late David Berman.
Paula Crossfield: Hi, David?
David Berman: Hey Paula.
PC: Thank you so much for taking the time and for getting back to me so quickly.
DB: I was just reading about your Kickstarter campaign and I was wondering how it went?
PC: Well, we got it. We got $100,000 for our little food blog that I’ve been working on for 5 years and now I can make it a sustainable job, and hire somebody, and pay my writers which I’m really excited about! ...Read more
Art or Artist? Questions for a Scene Culture Piece
Daniel Johnston’s most famous single piece of work is his album Hi, How Are You. It was recorded in his brother’s garage and features a makeshift recording apparatus made from a chord organ and a couple of tape recorders strapped to a weight bench. Johnston started out as a musical scavenger, shrugging off structure he completely disregarded convention to create something unique in this album. The result is songs like Big Monkey Business, Walking The Cow and Hey Joe that absolutely lie on the right side of lo-fi genius. ...Read more
Old Town Road: Yee Haw Utopia Culture Piece
This article was previously published in Incite Journal.
A little while ago, I was having a discussion with my friends in which we attempted to identify the landmark moments in music that defined the last decade. One thing we all agreed upon was that Old Town Road by Lil Nas X was a cultural touchstone that careered though the musical landscape. This led me to return to the song. ...Read more
Trouser Economics Thought Sprawl
This article was previously published in Incite Journal and The Guildford Dragon.
A few weeks ago I was adrift amongst the aisles of Marks & Spencer. I don’t get paid very much, my rent is high, and my trousers had rips in all the wrong places. I was contemplating whether or not I could justify buying a new pair. I decided that I could proceed in three ways: ...Read more