Category: Andrew Earles

They will be comprised of a very simple question, presented openly, to a band/artist/writer or others that I deem worthy. These questions will not be accusatory or fun-poking. They are honest inquiries.

DROP THE FLAG!!!

1. An open question to the members of the band, Vietnam. Why did you chose the word “Vietnamâ€Â as a band moniker?

Well, I don’t, as Bleachy would say, “feel so good.â€Â

On that note, look forward to major updates/news on Earles and Jensen Present: Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1 and 2!!

This feature turned out nice. I wrote the entries for Courtney Love and Paul Stanley.

I reviewed the new Liars album in the September issue of Spin. For readers that are not writers, I want to stress how hard it is to compose a decent 90-word review, if “decentâ€Â is in fact what I managed. It’s an art I have yet to master.

Dave Dunlap Jr. wrote this great piece in the Washington City Paper. Chingo Bling was impossible for me to explain (on this site) until now. Get on the Novelty Rap train, or bus!!!

The inbox this week had a few YouTube suckerpunches.

Hey look, it’s the check fraud version of GBV/Bob Pollard!!

Make sure to watch this interview. Not allowed: Do not view these and respond with some sort of “this is so inept that it outsider art/savant/experimental!!â€Â No, this is exactly what it looks like.

Now, the mirth disappears. Reason 561 why I stay within 500 yards of most indie films. I can’t bring myself to comment.

And reason 781 that I’m glad to be a writer.

The new issue of Harp Magazine just hit the stands, and boy was I excited to see myself featured (in a big way) in the masthead. Boy was I looking forward to reading my lengthy spread on Scharpling and Wurster, plus my smaller piece on David Cross. Boy was I horrified to learn that, in the “History of the Comedy Duoâ€Â sidebar, I made a HUGE mistake. As David Greenburger (of Duplex Planet fame) was quick to point out in a letter to the editor, my entry for Coyle and Sharpe contains quite the error.

I listed the wrong one as being deceased.

I can be a frustratingly oblivious person. I forget keys, I forget to buy cat litter, I forget appointments, I forget to write shit down, I forget birthdays, I forget people’s names….

The horrible thing is, I know the work of Coyle and Sharpe. I KNOW WHICH ONE IS DEAD. It was a quasi-dyslexic mistake. I flipped them for a split sec….in my mind.

It’s foul-ups like these that pry my brain apart. I will obsess over it for days.

Therefore, this is an open apology to the alive-and-well Mal Sharpe. Absorb their official website here.

So, follow my saga as every previously cracked or open freelance door slams shut, as e-mails and pitches to editors are not returned, as my ten years of writing leaks any of the remaining water that it held.

Be sure to catch my byline in future issues of American Jail, where I’ll be reviewing indestructible phone receivers and tables that can be thrown around a room.

 

The desire to blog about the cruise has been replaced by the NEED to post my thoughts on this show. Why don’t you watch some YouTube?

Now, I can’t honestly say that Slacker Cats is funny or notably clever, but I watched it. A full hour. Perhaps I was a tad amazed at the crude nature of the show, it being on ABC Family and all (with Wal-Mart spots). It’s Heathcliff (the cartoon), South Park, and Ordinary People (there was a funeral scene) all rolled into one!!

You know, it had moments. I hope it succeeds (it won’t). I’m behind anything cat-related. Most dogs are pests.

Back home, yet still relaxing. Exhausted. 

Some highlights. Don’t expect much tonight.

1. We met the lady that invented The Swiffer. She sold it to Proctor and Gamble.

2. Rented scooters in Key West. Recommended. That’s the only time that I will ever ride a scooter. The Hemingway House is worth it. Short and cheap.

3. The best cabbies in the world? Nassau.

4. No more cruises for a while.

Check the new issue of Harp for my pieces on both Scharpling/Wurster and David Cross. See the new issue of Vice for a few humorous record reviews.

 

My first cruise post. Many more will follow. Get ready to BUST A GUT!!! We’ve dove some possible bad things. I will entertain you (my readers) with anecdotes that will destroy your minds!!!! Stay tuned!!!

I have no excuse for my poor posting frequency.

Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records and subject of 24 Hour Party People, just died.

On Monday morning (8/13), I leave on a cruise that will stop off in the Bahamas and Key West. My birthday is the 15th. B-day on a cruise. Look for a blow-by-blow of this experience in the next issue of Chunklet.

Yes, The Wire is the greatest TV show ever. I’ve had two run-ins with The Wire today. Sadly, I was reading a Pitchfork interview with Patton Oswalt, and he gave major props to the show. Check out his latest album; it’s the tits. Do not check out his music recommendations, as they fall into the standard alt-comedian fare (TV on the Radio, the Alarm Clocks reissue…one of the worst 60’s psych interests ever, and well, I forgot). He does make fun of the “I don’t own a TV/TV is garbage/TV is bad for societyâ€Â people – something I can always get behind. Patton also gives props to Tom Scharpling’s Best Show on WFMU, though I doubt he’d speak to me for over five minutes, even after finding out that I spent ‘01 to ‘06 contributing to the show.

So next week is going to be thin. The computer rooms/libraries on cruise ships can be a real hassle.

A quick guide to cruise writing:

Klosterman: Boring (I might actually read IV)
David Foster Wallace: Great

This is old, but worth reading. Idolator continues to be one of the only music sites that doesn’t irritate the shit out of me.

This has also been around for a while, but shows a type of non-fiction that I’d like to see more of. Eugene’s book, a project that will see the light of day in November (cuz Harper Collins read this piece and approached him….THAT’S how you get a book deal, and he deserves it), will be based on this feature. Maybe all of the pussies are starting to get to me.

I’m not so hot at fighting. If action needs to be taken, I’d rather hit someone with a chair. Over the past three years, I’ve challenged at least four musicians to a fight, in print, and in my Magnet column “Where’s The Street Team.â€Â I find it funny. Some people just need to be punched, like Anton from the Brian Jonestown Massacre, who anyone could take down, or Liam Lynch (actually, I think I wrote that he needed to be “hit in the back of the neck with a roll of quartersâ€Â), who I probably wouldn’t hit but might personally tell him he’s a merchant of shit re: movies and music.