The Jolly Boys!

Mento masters from Jamaica... They're my new sort-of heroes.

Pay attention to Red Hen Press!

Located in sunny Pasadena, California, Red Hen Press is a small publishing company that prints a lot of interesting fiction and poetry. Here's their web site:

http://www.redhen.org/

And one of their better-known books:

http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Clothes-Summer-Brenner/dp/1597091634/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1298182827&sr=8-2

And a Publishers Weekly article about their poetry publishing:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/45949-red-hen-press-works-to-keep-poetry-relevant.html

So check 'em out. There's a reason I'm talking about Red Hen Press. Sure, they're an interesting looking independent publisher... but there are other reasons, too.

Recent reviews at PopMatters.com

Hey kids, I've been busy lately scrawling book & record reviews at PopMatters.com. It's a great site, and here are some of my thoughts over the past few weeks, starting with some bare-bones rock & roll...

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/135216-tina-sparkle-welcome-to-the-no-fun-house/

For those of you who prefer your musical a trifle more placid, these Benedictine nuns might suit your tastes better:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/135986-the-benedictine-nuns-of-notre-dame-de-lannnonciation-voices/

Here's some highbrow lit that I quite liked:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/135614-bound-by-antonya-nelson/

An unlikely combination of Kore (African harp) and cello that works really well:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/136162-ballake-sissoko-and-vincent-segal-chamber-music/

Eye candy for six-string freaks:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/135296-star-guitars-by-dave-hunter/

Low-fi alterna-rock from small town Washington state:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/135681-solvents-forgive-yr-blood/

And finally, appealing to the lowest common denominator in all of us:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/131714-four-color-fear-by-greg-sadowski-ed/