Lit Randomness: JD Salinger lawsuit explained, Blood Meridian soundtrack, Tobias Bengelsdorf & Fiction at Work, the last of the media tycoons & more

When we say lit randomness, we mean randomness as we go high and low and all the brows in between with this one. Oh, and a review of Joe Meno's new one to pop up later.

Update: JD Salinger's crazy lawsuit explained: At Slate.


Blood Meridian soundtrack by Lucero frontman, Ben Nichols: At Popmatters.
I'll be honest: I haven't read Blood Meridian, so I'm not a good southern hipster, but this convergence seems really promising.

Interview w/ Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf of Fiction at Work: At Orange Alert.
This is my Chicago story to make up for the fact that I thought I saw a Printers Row Lit Fest review somewhere, but now can't find it. Someone tell me if there is one.
The best: "OA: What's next for Tobias Bengelsdorf?
TAB: I don't know. Maybe something more lucrative than writing for no money. I might take up industrial espionage. Do you know any secrets?"

Conde Nast is a big magazine company that is slowly falling to oblivion, because they don't grasp the Internet: At NY Mag.
Actually, I take that back. They are doing some things right. The idea that personalities can still drive magazines is viable. Look at HuffPo, I mean she named it after herself.

Required Van Reading from So Many Dynamos: At Buzzgrinder.
The best: The Dirt – Motley Crue
The first half is interesting, when they are at their most vile and disgusting. Then it gets boring when they get old and rich. Still, definitely worth reading. More after the jump...

New vid: Hammer No More The Fingers "Fall Down, Play Dead"

Was looking for a reason to write about Hammer No More The Fingers (HNMTF) again, so here's a good one. The alt-grunge-power-rock trio from Durham, NC just let out on all of us unsuspecting souls a new video of "Fall Down, Play Dead." The song is from their new record, Looking for Bruce out on Church Key and recorded by J. Robbins. This is one of those songs that makes you yell: "Tight rhythm section! Tight rhythm section!" and "Oh, awesomeness is here!" Don't quite get the moving mobile device/concert poster conceit---but there's a nice teaser at the end that says "To Be Continued." One day, one glorious day, all these great mysteries of HNMTF will be explained!

This song reminds me of that one time I was watching HNMTF and the owner came in and shut them down for being too loud and Duncan wore the cheesiest neon-patterned shirt I had ever seen and I had thought I had died and gone to indie rock/basketball heaven because I could simultaneously watch the band and the Eastern Conference Finals on the biggest, nicest flat screen ever--and I was only like 5 feet from both of the action-filled events. Wait, that was last weekend.

Here are some more dates for the band--they play all the freakin' time so hear them or book a show for them.

Jun 5 2009 ASHEVILLE, North Carolina @ New French
Jun 6 2009 COLUMBIA, South Carolina @ The Whig
Jun 12 2009 WINSTON SALEM, North Carolina @Wherehouse
Jun 13 2009 PITTSBORO, North Carolina TRKfest @ Piedmont Biofuels
Jun 15 2009 HIGH POINT, North Carolina @ NCBF
Jun 19 2009 CHARLOTTE, North Carolina @ Tremont w/ Lights Fluorescent More after the jump...

A Sure Thing: Black Dice on tour & mp3

Rolling through town will be Black Dice, but it's no gamble. The densely layered electronic/experimental/funk makes a Black Dice experience an intense experience. Like going headfirst down the waterslide while the chlorine rushes up your nostrils and all that's left to think about is the pounding of the psychedelic plastic and last night's lasagna. Their latest, REPO, just popped this past April and is their fifth proper release. What makes this even cooler is that some dates are with Animal Collective. The intensity or the weirdness will know no bounds.


Here's the mp3 of "Glazin" and a vid after the dates.

Sat 06/06/09 The Library Oxford MS (w/ Animal Collective)
Sun 06/07/09 Bottletree Birmingham, AL
Mon 06/08/09 State Theatre St. Petersburg FL (w/Animal Collective)
Tue 06/09/09 Culture Room Fort Lauderdale FL (w/ Animal Collective)
Wed 06/10/09 Club Firestone Orlando FL (w/ Animal Collective)
Thu 06/11/09 The Earl Atlanta, GA (w/ Awesome Color)
Fri 06/12/09 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC (w/ Awesome Color)

More after the jump...

Happily Together: Post Honeymoon has no guitars! Oh my!

No guitar! It's a rock 'n' roll revolution! Post Honeymoon is a husband and wife duo of Nick Kraska and Rachel Shindelman. But this isn't any crappy 80s synth, though there is this New Wave backbeat meets new post-punk. Topped with Shindelman's sultry croon on the mellow songs while others embrace surprisingly angry space-punk beats. It's soft and rough, mellow and angry. Like when an angry mosquito lands in a tranquil glass of lemonade. Yeah, just like that.

Their s/t album comes out from Two Thumbs Down Records on June 9. In the mean time, catch these mp3's and dates.

mp3: Post Honeymoon "Night Guard"

mp3: Post Honeymoon "First World Problems"

06/04 Nashville, TN @ Sky House

06/05 Memphis, TN @ The Buccaneer

06/06 Birmingham, AL @ Greencup Books

06/08 Athens, GA @ Go Bar

06/09 Savannah, GA @ The Wormhole

06/10 Chapel Hill, NC @ The Nightlight

More after the jump...

Rain or Shine: Black Moth Super Rainbow & School of Seven Belles in the south

Here we go now. The Pittsburgh, PA electronic-melodic-voice-distorting-did-I-say-electronic? miasma of sound is coming around. The Black Moth Super Rainbow is full of happy, shiny people in a mesmerizing way. Some may say "psychedelic" or "I had a lava lamp like that once." Think Flaming Lips or Beck if he had more of a band or a faster-paced Deerhunter. Some may say it's like the lightbulb that won't stop flickering and renders all watchers powerless under its spell. Or maybe they're like when a fire alarm won't stop and everyone eventually becomes use to it and a dance party breaks out. Even more like that.


Their new album is Eating Us out from Graveface Records and just hit the street last wk and they're on tour w/ School of Seven Belles. Here's an mp3 medley of their BMSR's new songs and a vid of "Sun Lips" after the dates.

June 4 Little Rock, AR-----Sticky Fingerz
June 5 Nashville------------Exit/In
June 6 Columbus, OH-----Skullys
June 19 Knoxville, TN------Pilot Light
June 20 Birmingham-------City Stages Music & Arts Fest
June 21 Newport, KY-------Southgate House


More after the jump...