Aspen Michael Taylor - God Land
Regular readers of this blog will need no introduction to the work of Aspen Michael Taylor, an artist who never fails to amaze me. 2009 will see the unveiling of his new masterpiece, the feature film, God Land. From the shots I've seen so far, I know it's going to be something very, very special.
Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light
The only problem with Antony and the Johnsons is the waiting. Because there are so few other artists currently producing music like that of Antony Hegarty and his band, it’s pretty much impossible to get a similar fix from anywhere else. So I waited. The last album gave me shivers and lived closely with me for a long time. From the first few listens, The Crying Light will be doing the same over the next couple of years.
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
It took a while for Animal Collective to completely win my favour. The name and the reviews had often sparked my interest, but each time I tried out their records something always seemed to miss the mark of my tastes – it’s hard to put my finger on now, but there was a certain something lacking, a slight inconsistency that stopped them clicking with me properly. That changed with Strawberry Jam – their previous and seventh album. I saw them play in Paris in October 2007 too, which further cemented them in my mind as very definite favourites. This meant that the follow up to Strawberry Jam – Merriweather Post Pavilion – had me chomping at the bit. And disappoint it didn’t. Sprawling, engulfing, dreamy pop sounds drowning in one of the most delightfully buoyant blurs this side of a good acid trip.
Harmony Korine - Mister Lonely
Harmony Korine is a filmmaker who unfortunately suffers from the fact that sometimes his reputation as some sort of enfant terrible precedes that of his work. Thankfully Mister Lonely has arrived and finally put another notch on his creative belt. A Michael Jackson impersonator feeling lost and directionless in Paris, meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator who invites him to live in a commune populated exclusively by celebrity impersonators in the Highlands of Scotland. Korine manages to forge sadness, hilarity and darkness and hope from the surrealist ingredients of his latest movie.
Mark Gluth - The Late Work of Margaret Kroftis
Dennis Cooper (whose Ugly Man is another of the books I am most looking forward to this year) has steadily been carving out a very unique imprint in association with Akashic publishing. Via Little House on the Bowery he has selected and edited a unique series of novels from new North American writers that has released outstanding work from the likes of Derek McCormack, Trinnie Dalton and Travis Jeppesen. This year will see the release of the latest in the series: The Late Work of Margaret Kroftis, the debut novel from Mark Gluth. Mark Gluth is an astoundingly exciting writer with a wonderfully tight, idiosyncratic style. The prospect of his first novel has me salivating.
Jason Burns - The Day Doesn't Care
Last year Mal-O-Mar issued its first release - the incredible second book from Ariana Reines. This year I'm hoping to get my hands on The Day Doesn't Care, by Jason Burns, a phenomenal writer who I have so much admiration and respect for that words barely cover it. I want this book so bad.
2 comments:
I'm gonna give Animal Collective a second chance after what you just said about them. Like you, I read reviews and stuff that made me figure I could like them but when it came to their songs, they never seemed to do the trick for me.
Take care,
M.
I want all this stuff. Did i tell you i saw them play recently? Also deerhunter are playing soon up here.
Give us a shout soon man and thanks for commenting and stuff re: the workshop much appreciated
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