Tag Archives: vladimir nabokov

Poetic Memory: Matthew Specktor (List)

Matthew Specktor

The 19-year-old narrator of Matthew Specktor’s novel That Summertime Sound has two options: return home to L.A. and a family that hardly notices him; or travel to the Heart of the Heart of the Country—Columbus, Ohio—and come of age.

The novel is set against the Columbus music scene of the 1980s, and Specktor is looking to connect with his favorite band. That Summertime Sound reads like an ’80s music encyclopedia, with references to The Feelies, Hüsker Du, Pere Ubu, and others.

To accompany the novel’s release, Specktor’s website features readings by Morgan Freeman (MP3), Jeremy Irons, Gwyneth Paltrow, and other Hollywood icons. Matthew Specktor’s Poetic Memory is below.

Poetic Memory is a regular Owl and Bear feature in which musicians disclose their influences—whether it’s albums, songs, artists, or something random. If you’re interested in being featured here, send us an email. Continue reading

Ever Downloaded a Copyrighted Song? You Owe Infinity Dollars (Links)

pretty face

Ever Downloaded a Copyrighted Song? You Owe Infinity Dollars Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the first woman who was charged with copyright infringement and offered to settle but decided to fight the RIAA, is guilty and owes the recording industry 1.92 million dollars, or $80,000 per song. Get a Life, Holden Caulfield What once seemed like courageous truth-telling now strikes many students as “weird,” “whiny” and “immature.” Playboy Acquires Rights to Serialize Nabokov’s Final Work Every now and then, Playboy publishes something that really does compel people to pick up the magazine for the articles. The latest addition to this list is The Original of Laura, the novella Vladimir Nabokov was scribbling onto index cards until his death in 1977. Photographer Got $30 for Time‘s “New Frugality” Cover Image “How wonderful for you!” a commenter writes on the photographer’s message board. “You get to work and work and work to produce great imagery and a multi-national, multi-billion dollar company with an advertising budget in the tens of millions gets to use your image on the cover for $30.” More Than Just Pretty Faces Ideas of beauty have changed considerably over the last 60 years. Cleavage Power: A Scientific Inquiry A writer takes her endowments to the streets and finds not just leering but also liberation. The KKK in Photos Anthony Karen has photographed today’s Klan for LIFE magazine.