A memorial for the novelist Robert Stone (1937-2015) from a former student.
11.06.2013
Lou Reed cared about art long after he could have stopped caring. Art is what drove him and fueled his work, what inspired him and made him so inspiring. And in this cultural moment where fame and page views often trump all other claims to attention, that is huge.
03.01.2012
I spent this past August at Denniston Hill, for which I curated a month's worth of residents & to which this mix is dedicated. If you are so inclined, go read/watch a bit about my experience there, so as to complement your listening experience.
02.15.2012
I find Bon Iver's records eminently listenable. But I also find they lack some unnameable quantity of soul.
01.23.2012
This is the imaginary soundtrack to a film that, knowing the film business, will never get made. You can read about the script online.
01.03.2012
Back on the grid again, after a holiday week in Amsterdam & Barcelona, which brought some deep thoughts on life online & off as well as some literal fireworks.
11.28.2011
The internet-era chanteuse Lana Del Rey is the subject of much speculation, consternation and affection. Anyone who cares about the odd little independent music subculture I exist in—as odd, I'd venture, as the academic subculture—is atwitter about her.
09.30.2011
Here are some more-poised than usual thoughts on the first ten years of this record label-like thing I've been running. To cover the entire bodily spectrum in a single mixed metaphor, I'd like to think this piece is a bit less of a gut-level kneejerk response than I usually muster, a bit more of a heady, meditative deep thought.
09.21.2011
This mixtape is probably the closest I'll ever get to attempting to start a dance party.
09.12.2011
On September 12, 2001, I wrote a thing about the day before. (Though I was living in Brooklyn at the time, that week I just happened to be in Los Angeles.) Here it is with some pictures I took when I returned to New York.
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Alec Hanley Bemis
Alec Hanley Bemis lives in Brooklyn, NY but spends a lot of time in California. He obtained his B.A. in History from Yale University. His writing has appeared in LA Weekly, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Spin, AsthmaticKitty.com, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. In 2001, he co-founded Brassland, a record label that documents the work of a growing community of musicians, including The National and Nico Muhly. Currently he continues to run Brassland, consults for the UK-based music company All Tomorrow's Parties, co-manages The Dirty Projectors, and acts as general manager at Cantaloupe Music. In the past, he has taught in New York University's graduate journalism program, produced projects for the new media-design firm, Funny Garbage, and written for Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve.