In the beginning, I read _Nerve_ for the true-life, galvanic contributions of Lisa Crystal Carver, probably best known as zine editor of both _Dirt_ and _Rollerderby_. Carver's ripostes were meat-rich, heartful and intelligent, whether she was mooning over the entries for her "Date With Lisa" contest, with her boyfriend sitting next to her, or considering the effects of a manipulative, womanizing father. My guess is that a lot of this, in some form, can be found in her 2005 _Soft Skull Press_ autobiography _Drugs Are Nice: A Post-Punk Memoir_. Two kids of her own, an alleged GG Allin courting and helming a bashing, something-collective known as Suckdog: Carver has seemingly done everything light-and-dark and summoned the guts to write about it. Intrigued as I was with her weekly diary entries, then a regular column on _Nerve_, I acquired her contact information from one of the editors of the site and posed an interview request. I remember Carver's flattered, gracious response, as well as my disappointment in the decision of the initially receptive editorial outlet to, on second thought, take a pass. Not long after that I moved out of the apartment and the city I was living in at the time, without my computer. In fact, I didn't have access to the internet for a long while. But when I was finally able to check in with the site, I found in Carver's stead skillful, direct essays from some of my favorite writers, including Rick Moody, Mary Gaitskill and Neal Pollack. Ideally, _Nerve_ essays and/ or features begin with a crumb of memory or a scrap of a napkin and end up taking us somewhere relatable, sometimes disheveled. Might be about sex or it might not, but the writer's voice could hardly be described as emotionally removed. Maybe even more impressive is how _Nerve_ has expanded upon the same rapport with its "A&E Lounge," a banner under which Book, Music, Film and TV coverage is assembled. Aptly congruous with the site's other departments - read: intelligently and engagingly conveyed - the "Music Lounge" alone now boasts an archive of pieces, including interviews with Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, Belinda Carlisle, Greg Gillis a.k.a. Girl Talk, as well as essays about finding personal meaning in The Shangri-Las and what can possibly be gleaned from Barry Manilow about the '70s, '80s and today (Mary Gaitskill and the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle respectively). Here are some personal favorites:This is probably one of the best interviews I've read, lending considerably to John Darnielle's wide-ranging acumen. Still, as a writer you have to impart, in addition to staying apace. The second link is to one of the singer's own essays for the site. http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/mountaingoats/ http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/crushstory/ An interview with Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, drummer for the Roots, wherein the "hip-hop as woman metaphor" is discussed. I would like to hear more from Thompson and less from Akon, please. http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/theroots/ I'll close here with the titular Swedish singer, Sarah Assbring a.k.a. El Perro del Mar. Solitary vacation, a bout with depression. The amply reflective songwriter answers the sort of questions you would probably ask after listening to her self-titled debut (over a cup of tea on the Lower East Side). I love the video for "God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get)." Winsome animation and girl-group sad, pretty. _Chickfactor_ would be all over this, you know it.
Spencer Owen says
Two of the better contributors to cyberspace, Ahmir Thompson and John Darnielle. Nice.
And what in the devil is up with Akon? Can he stop?
In the beginning, I read _Nerve_ for the true-life, galvanic contributions of Lisa Crystal Carver, probably best known as zine editor of both _Dirt_ and _Rollerderby_. Carver's ripostes were meat-rich, heartful and intelligent, whether she was mooning over the entries for her "Date With Lisa" contest, with her boyfriend sitting next to her, or considering the effects of a manipulative, womanizing father. My guess is that a lot of this, in some form, can be found in her 2005 _Soft Skull Press_ autobiography _Drugs Are Nice: A Post-Punk Memoir_. Two kids of her own, an alleged GG Allin courting and helming a bashing, something-collective known as Suckdog: Carver has seemingly done everything light-and-dark and summoned the guts to write about it. Intrigued as I was with her weekly diary entries, then a regular column on _Nerve_, I acquired her contact information from one of the editors of the site and posed an interview request. I remember Carver's flattered, gracious response, as well as my disappointment in the decision of the initially receptive editorial outlet to, on second thought, take a pass. Not long after that I moved out of the apartment and the city I was living in at the time, without my computer. In fact, I didn't have access to the internet for a long while. But when I was finally able to check in with the site, I found in Carver's stead skillful, direct essays from some of my favorite writers, including Rick Moody, Mary Gaitskill and Neal Pollack. Ideally, _Nerve_ essays and/ or features begin with a crumb of memory or a scrap of a napkin and end up taking us somewhere relatable, sometimes disheveled. Might be about sex or it might not, but the writer's voice could hardly be described as emotionally removed. Maybe even more impressive is how _Nerve_ has expanded upon the same rapport with its "A&E Lounge," a banner under which Book, Music, Film and TV coverage is assembled. Aptly congruous with the site's other departments - read: intelligently and engagingly conveyed - the "Music Lounge" alone now boasts an archive of pieces, including interviews with Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, Belinda Carlisle, Greg Gillis a.k.a. Girl Talk, as well as essays about finding personal meaning in The Shangri-Las and what can possibly be gleaned from Barry Manilow about the '70s, '80s and today (Mary Gaitskill and the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle respectively). Here are some personal favorites:This is probably one of the best interviews I've read, lending considerably to John Darnielle's wide-ranging acumen. Still, as a writer you have to impart, in addition to staying apace. The second link is to one of the singer's own essays for the site. http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/mountaingoats/ http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/crushstory/ An interview with Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, drummer for the Roots, wherein the "hip-hop as woman metaphor" is discussed. I would like to hear more from Thompson and less from Akon, please. http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/theroots/ I'll close here with the titular Swedish singer, Sarah Assbring a.k.a. El Perro del Mar. Solitary vacation, a bout with depression. The amply reflective songwriter answers the sort of questions you would probably ask after listening to her self-titled debut (over a cup of tea on the Lower East Side). I love the video for "God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get)." Winsome animation and girl-group sad, pretty. _Chickfactor_ would be all over this, you know it.
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