William T. Vollmann ~ Last Stories and Other Stories
I’m proud to have read the complete works of William T. Vollmann. Actually, that’s not quite true: his 7-volume treatise on oppression, the canvas of which is world-and-history wide, Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means (2003) I only read in its 700+ page distilled version, although I do…
Reed Farrel Coleman ~ Hurt Machine
Like many of the books I choose to read, most if not all are matters of associations and recommendations among writers themselves. Reed Farrel Coleman has been a name in the crime genre that’s become familiar by accolades among his peers, but it wasn’t until I actually spied him among the ardent admirers of Megan…
Brahms ~ Intermezzo in b-flat minor, Op. 117, No.2
From the Top celebrated our 300th show with a live taping at our broadcast home, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. For my breakpiece, I played Brahms’ b-flat minor Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 2 Stream below:
Joni Mitchell ~ The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey
From the Top did a live taping at San Francisco Conservatory on Valentine’s Day. As rarely happens on the show (we try and include a national palette of musicians on every program), we featured kids all of whom came from the Bay Area. There are just too many talented kids at SFCM-Prep!. The program also…
David Mitchell ~ The Bone Clocks
Cloud Atlas was the most highly and often-recommended book of 2004. It was a ricercare of characters far-flung across time, space and sensibility, all connected inevitably and with impassioned, inspired prose. Awe-struck, I since then have read all of David Mitchell‘s work except for a recent volume inspired by the author’s autistic son. Ghostwritten (1999),…
Danny Elfman ~ Unknown Piano Solo
February 20th saw a dream come true for all of us at From the Top: film composer non-pareil, Danny Elfman appeared as Guest Artist at our live taping of the show at UC/Denver’s College of Arts and Media. I’ve wanted to have Danny on the show ever since we became friends years ago, and even…
My Music for Mark Z. Danielewski’s eBook Version of His Prose-Poem/Road Novel, Only Revolutions
working on mixed versions of the 90 tracks i composed for each chapter of MZD’s tale of perpetual teens, Hailey & Sam, coming out this July. about 2hours of music, all told. this is one of my faves:
Madison Smartt Bell ~ Devil’s Dream
Continuing my OCDevotional traversal of Madison Smartt Bell‘s complete works (thanks to Stona Fitch and Concord Free Press for introducing me to his work via their printing of MSB’s ZigZag Wanderer, his latest collection of short stories), I just finished his novelized biography of military auto-didact, the famous Confederate leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Devil’s Dream….
John Fante ~ Ask the Dust
Connecting with Ann and Stona Fitch is always an occasion for fine food, film and fiction. As the executors of Concord Free Press, they are tireless in their championing many of the brightest, unsung lights of American literature. It was through their advocacy that I came to devote myself to reading the complete work of…
Jeremy Robert Johnson ~ Skullcrack City
I first came to know of Jeremy Robert Johnson‘s work through the generous and encouraging daisy-chain of recommendations/collaborations/consanguine-writer’s blog-nexes which began for me with Chuck Pahlaniuk and continued through OCDevotional binge-readings of the work of Stephen Graham Jones and Carlton Mellick III, among others. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a novel from JRJ, and…