Fashion Is No Ordinary Word
Take the passion of rock and the power of pop and our generation was given a new kind of love song.
It's September already? Again?? You have got to be joking. Let me re-check the calendar. Jesus Christ. I was not prepared for this. But I like to tell myself I am nothing if not adaptable, so I'll lay out the big questions facing me as the harvest moon approaches and we can move on from there:
1) What is the general shape of my two dynasty league teams in Fantasy Football? Why do I have two dynasty league teams? Is there no basement to my degeneracy? Why am I so excited to see if Romeo Doubs pans out? How badly am I going to beat the "Murder Boners" in week one league play in the one called "The League?" (Answer: I'm going to drub them.)
2) What is the actual release date of the Mekons’ Rock 'N' Roll? I mean, September 1989, but what date?? Why does this information elude me? (More on this later.)
3) What is it about September that I find so damned exhilarating and anxiety provoking? Why do I constantly want to jump for joy and scream for help? “September gurls/ I don’t know why…”
Look folks, I think you can see where all this preamble is headed. It's newsletter time.
DISCLAIMER:
Please Take My Advice is a freewheeling escapade into the written word, with occasional photos. It is not a drinking game. If you want to tie one on, that is entirely your own decision -- don’t blame Please Take My Advice if you end up confused in a municipal park. Please Take My Advice is pending board certification. That process is byzantine. No further comment will be made available on the certification process until the process reaches its full resolution. Appropriate dress is required at all times for Please Take My Advice. The dress code is not specified. Use common sense.
And now, having taken care of the small print and the particulars, we are off!
We’re one full month out from the release of the Paranoid Style’s For Executive Meeting, and I couldn’t be more blown away and touched by the response. Thank you to each and every one of you that has purchased a copy, which I am told is a startlingly large number. There’s no percentage in being coy about this: when you create something you feel proud of, and the response is borderline overwhelming, it's an incredibly gratifying feeling. Amongst a surfeit of thoughtful responses to my record, I wanted to mention this long and profoundly insightful essay by Tris McCall, who I consider one of the great music writers working. I candidly couldn’t have been more surprised or grateful, and I strongly encourage you to check it out when time permits.
In other Paranoid Style news, I was delighted to be the subject of the most recent edition of the Southwest Review’s Guest List feature, where all manner of things got hashed out, ranging from Raymond Chandler to David Berman to why it was exactly the Paranoid Style was named the Paranoid Style, and the dudes who told me it was a bad idea. This was a ton of fun. Like, full-sized hippo fun. If you aren’t familiar yet with the Southwest Review, you would be well advised to amend that state of affairs. There are few literary and culture sites doing work this good these days.
What else? We’re now just one month away from our Rare Public Appearance at the 1000th edition of NPR’s Mountain Stage. What an honor. The date is October 9th, the time is in the evening and the consequences will be monumental. I’m telling you, folks: this is big casino and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m spinning like a top just thinking about it. I’ve loved Mountain Stage for years and the idea of being a part of it fills me with gratitude. I do so hope you’ll tune in.
Back to the Mekons for a minute, precise release date or no, it’s been thirty-three years this month since they unleashed their LP Rock ‘N’ Roll which I didn’t hear until many, many years after the fact, but which I can say meaningfully altered the frame for what I thought a rock band could be. Not one second of the Paranoid Style would be possible without it, and I hope everyone will give it a spin or three to commemorate that seismic, visionary achievement. Here’s a piece I wrote about it for the Ringer a few years back that refers to Oliver North as a “degenerate, shitbag opportunist” and conveys many more sentiments close to my heart. God bless the Mekons.
That’s all for now and thank you for your careful attention. Follow along for news on more articles, tour dates, sundry anecdotes and other “developments.” Hang tough and I will too. The midterms are coming up fast. (Oh, and see you in hell Murder Boners.)
Love,
Elizabeth