It’s Towel Day, friends: the day hoopy froods carry their towel in remembrance of the greatest sci-fi parody writer ever, Douglas Adams. Since I hotlinked this image from Lemon.ly, I’m sending you there for the details.
We Lost A San Francisco Legend Today:RIP Kathi Kamen Goldmark
It is perhaps odd for me to write a eulogy for Kathi Kamen Goldmark because in truth I 
barely knew her. I can say this: she always volunteered to speak or answer questions for the NCBPMA, and because of her friendliness and approachability she was one of the first local producers I knew by name. She was one of those vivacious people that seems to be everywhere, and always smiling to boot. Being a producer is a tough job, and yet she never hesitated to answer a question or offer an explanation about why a certain guest would or wouldn’t be a fit for her show. She somehow managed to do this job while writing books and performing in the literary group the Rock Bottom Remainders.
As I’ve embarked on this journey in the Bay Area publishing world, I always imagined the day when Kathi and I would be friends. Not because she was some milestone of important authors (though she was!) but because she had that kind of warmth that made me think I could do this, that the writing and publishing scene isn’t a clique, but a community.
In the coming weeks there will be numerous posts from people who knew her well, that will explain better than I ever can why the loss of this luminary light will affect the Bay Area forever. I only wish to contribute this to make it known how many lives she touched, even among her acquaintances. It breaks my heart to know that I will never be able to tell her what a role model she was for me, and for so many others. But perhaps if you are reading this now, it will remind you of all the lives you may touch, and the special place you may find if you keep following your dreams. A space that is all your own—like Kathi, whose presence in the literary world is irreplaceable. Kathi Kamen Goldmark, you are missed.
ZOMG I’M THE FEATURED AUTHOR THIS WEEK ON PROTAGONIZE
$&ADFYF@!#$% Stop everything! You know Protagonize, that nifty site where writers go to share their stories online? (You don’t eh? Check it out.)
THEY PICKED ME AS THEIR FEATURED AUTHOR THIS WEEK. I’m so psyched. Look, here’s proof.
This must be what it feels like to get picked as Student of the Week in school.
What better time for you to have a look at the novel I’ve been posting there since February? Best to get reading it before there’s spoilers everywhere. đ
RIP Maurice Sendak, Author of Where the Wild Things Are
If you were born in the 80s or any time thereafter, you probably loved Where the Wild Things Are when you were a child. Which means today is a sad day for you. Did you know Maurice Sendak was gay? And snarky? Is the “Wild Rumpus” a euphemism for sex? Check out this interview Stephen Colbert did with Maurice Sendak.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1 | ||||
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And if you want more, here’s an interview with Maurice on NPR’s Fresh Air With Terry Gross.
Rules for Shows #4: If You Love it, Leave it Home
Rule #4
You know what drunk people at concerts like to do? They like to take things and throw them into the air. Stuff like beach balls, balloons, other patrons. Barring that, the hat off your head will do. Drunk people spill liquor all over you, and the floor. They stomp around like mad, crushing everything under their feet into the dark, mushy muck of rock and roll. Which is why there is a different dress code at a rock show. It's understood that you are there to get dirty. Possibly, if things go especially well, you will fuck shit up. Do not wear your grandmother's brooch to a rock show. Do not wear your dead cousin's cufflinks. You will lose it, you will cry like a baby, and we're all going to laugh at you.
Writing the First Chapter of A Novel
Two Chapter Ones
Novelling never seems to go as planned. When I started this novel, I told myself I would spend as much time on the later chapters as on the opening ones. Everyone spends forever writing their first chapter, of course because it is the first thing people read. I’ve also discovered that writing the first chapter is one of the hardest things to write. Why? Because what the reader wants is exactly the opposite of what the author wants. The writer wants to introduce you to their world: who these characters are, where they live, what they’re in search of. The reader hasn’t decided yet whether she cares about any of those things. The reader wants to know what happened: what’s the story? What’s the conflict? Where is this going? Complicating things further, the reader really does need some of that background information. Well into the novel, they know what the characters look like, where they live, what kind of world the story inhabits. So the author has this challenge: they must get the reader involved in the story right away while sneaking in little details that give the reader something to picture. When my reading group first looked over my story, I realized they didn’t know diving in whether the world was going to be suburban or fantasy, if it takes place today or fifty years ago. Thus every detail in chapter one matters, because the readers is starting from nothing. Not only do you have to sneak them in, you have to give just the right details in just the right order.Â
The other challenge of first chapters is that they often a depict the world before the adventure began. Even Indiana Jones, as exciting as his life is, begins his story teaching at his university. Or take The Goonies: that action-packed story begins at home. Why even show the part before the kids discover the treasure map? Why not begin the story in the middle of the action, when they sneak into the cafe? The answer is that we want to know who these kids are, how they are like us, so we feel like this adventure could happen to us too. The problem comes in that many (most?) writers get lost in this set-up, taking too long in the introductions.Â
Naturally, I’ve been tweaking Chapter 1 all along, but today I finished my first total rewrite. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like rewriting chapters. I already did the work, I’d rather revise than start from scratch. But I finally found the hook I needed. The main problem I had was that I wanted to start the story with the lead character waking up from a dream, which limits the options for the scene. In trying to imagine how to make the scene more exciting, I kept imagining her awakening somewhere strange, like in the back of truck. But I couldn’t make that work. I know that mortal peril is the best hook to interest the readers, but how could I put my character in mortal peril when she’s just awoken in the safety of her room?Â
I also asked myself what exactly I needed to convey in this scene, for the reasons above. The main thing I wanted to get across was that the protagonist is depressed, but her boyfriend is even more so. I thought I had shown this, but it didn’t seem to me like the readers were getting it, not to the extent that I needed. And the answer to the question: “How can I show that this guy is really unwell?” also gave me the answer to the question “How can I endanger the characters and hook the reader right away?”Â
Then I went through the old chapter one and I highlighted all the stuff that I thought I wanted to keep in the first chapter. Despite having whittled the chapter down to what I thought were the “essentials,” it was surprising when I did this how little I highlighted. I may keep some of the other content for later chapters. I stuffed most of the keeper-stuff into the beginning, and then rewrote the chapter without so much as a glance at what I had before.
Are you curious?
I’d love your feedback, especially if you like the old chapter one better.
Crazy San Francisco: Adults Race Big Wheels Trikes Down the Curviest Street in America
Lombard Street in San Francisco is known as the “curviest in America,” but city residents know that’s a big lie. Vermont Street in Potrero Hill is the curviest street in San Francisco, and therefore in the US. Good thing too, because if it were in some other city they probably wouldn’t spend every Easter dressing up in costumes and racing down dangerous curves on the tiny Big Wheels tricycles designed for Kindergarteners.
Why Authors Need Twitter
I wrote an article for Opportunities Planeet on why artists, authors, or anyone who needs to market a product should be on Twitter.
For Anyone Looking to Market a Product, Twitter Can Be Even More Important Than Facebook
Twitter is the second-most popular social network in the world, and the ninth most-most popular website worldwide. But I believe for marketing, Twitter is the most important social media account to have. First let me say I’m comparing Twitter to Facebook not because they are the most similar, or because I think you should neglect to promote yourself on Facebook. I compare Twitter to Facebook because most people see Facebook as an important part of their marketing strategy, while neglecting the little blue bird. Sure, Facebook is the second-most popular website in the world. But most of the people who use it expect it to be a personal space. Facebook is where people share photos of their vacation and videos of kittens. You are expected to have one profile for all the different “hats” you wear, encompassing what you do at work, how you spend your free time, what music enjoy and what stories you’ve been reading…the whole kit and caboodle. Twitter allows you to brand yourself. You can have a multitude of Twitter profiles and no one frowns upon it as they would if you had a variety of Facebook personae. This means if you’ve written the book Zombies With Guns you can have a Twitter feed that focuses exclusively on weapons, ammo, and surviving the zombie apocalypse. On Facebook, your friends and family would be irritated by your constant stream of zombie and gun info, because they are not your target audience. On Twitter, your account is specifically for that purpose, so all of your followers would be people interested in that kind of content. Sure, you can get fifty of your friends to like your company on Facebook, but on Twitter those followers are not your pals but potential customers. Facebook has created a number of ways to compete with this advantage. They created groups, then changed, them, and are now getting rid of them. They created company pages. But in my experience, it is harder to gain followers of a Facebook company page than a Twitter page, even though many more people are on Facebook! That’s because people go to Facebook to talk to people they already know in real life. People go to Twitter to find out what’s going on in the world and to receive updates on their favorite subjects.
Read the rest of the article
at Opportunities Planet
Best Music of 2011: Best Indie Rock Part II
Here’s the second half of my Best Indie Rock of 2011 selections.
Image credit: roman-noir.com Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme (B.) – The Black Queen / Memories of Retrocity
Grouplove – Naked Kids (3:29)
I’m a sucker for harmonies and handclapping. Both are in abundance. This is one of those bands I discovered because cool DJs keep remixing them. I look forward to getting to better getting to know their sound in 2012.
Gauntlet Hair – Top Bunk (4:43)
That echoey guitar and croon combination creates some surreal magic in âTop Bunk.â Sounds like: Animal Collective made a mainstream surf album. And what’s with that drum that sounds like an explosion at the bottom of the ocean? How are they producing that dub-step worthy bass out of an ordinary drum kit? If you like music that sounds like the soundtrack Venice Beach surfers hear as they drown, get this whole album, because it’s equally, oddly, delish. Â Just for fun, here’s a video of âTop Bunkâ made with old Shwarzaneggar movies. It’s well-produced but I can’t imagine it’s official, what with copyright and all.
Handsome Furs – Repatriated (4:48)
The word âmatureâ comes to mind: musicians that have been doing this for a while and have put some thought into the lyrics and how it all comes together. The guitarist plays around a bit, showing off but not too much, while the percussion trades off with a variety of synth melodies. Sadly, I haven’t heard the rest of this album, so please share in the comments if you can tell us if the other songs are as good as âRepatriated.â If this song ended at 3:40 it would still be one of the year’s best, but it goes on for another minute just to make sure you know: Handsome Furs know how to rock.
Heartsrevolution – I.D. (3:54)
In the proud tradition of Le Tigre, Heartsrevolution is an indie pop band fed on the mother’s milk of riot grrrl punk rock. âI.D.â goes back and forth between the identity politics of war and pop music. It’s framed as a prayer so when she says âI think we got a bad connection… Can you hear me now CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? NOW?â the urgency is to a savior that doesn’t seem to be listening. My favorite part is where she puts a new spin on that pop-shlock icon when she says that her fear âis that the world will be filled with Britney Spears. ‘It’s Britney Bitch. And I’m not that innocent.’ We’re not that innocent.â But she’s not (only) talking about pop music fans, she’s talking about the claims about American jingoism’s good-vs.-evil motif. She’s saying we know the war cries are a bunch of BS. Suffice to say, there’s a lot more going on in this band than a bunch of crystal bling on a pink ice cream truck. If you like electro but wish you could find something with a bit more substance, Heartsrevolution may be the flavor you crave.
I.D. “LYRICS VIDEO” from HEARTSREVOLUTION on Vimeo.
Jon Fratelli – Rhythm Doesn’t Make You A Dancer (3:15)
Jon Fratelli can’t seem to get his shit together. First the Fratellis make it big, and he quits the tour because he got too effing âtired.â Then he formed the truly fantastic Codeine Velvet Club, and quits it before they have a chance to build any kind of legacy. But what he lacks in caffeine/direction he makes up for in talent. It’s straightforward indie rock, with rollicking guitars, âWhoah-ohs,â and charming lyrics about life on the road and the women he meets along the way.
Mister Heavenly – Bronx Sniper (3:39)
You can listen to Mister Heavenly’s entire album on Youtube, which is how I can tell you it’s a solid work with ample variety between songs. I wanted to pick one song from Out of Love and while I think âBronx Sniperâ is my favorite, the songs are so wonderfully different from one another you may find another suits you better. It’s no surprise, as Mister Heavenly is made of folks from The Shins, The Unicorns, Islands, Man Man and Modest Mouse. They even got Michael Sera to play bass for them on tour. Something good is bound to come of such a combination, and it seems that they’ve lent their talents in equal proportions.
Oberhofer – Away FRM U (3:42)
This single appeared in 2010 but it didn’t get released on Amazon til 2011, so it’s fair game by my rules. Oberhofer sounds a bit under-produced in a world of Britney Spears, and that’s a good thing. It sounds like they recorded it on the second take, capturing all of Oberhofer’s emoting, whistling, and glockenspiel-tapping in its random, glorious splendor.
Oh No! Yoko – Go Alien (3:22)
Initially âGo Alienâ sounds like a Jonsi clone, which we could stand to have a few more of, so that’s fine. But twenty seconds in, some banging drums and guitar-slapping let us know that this isn’t all going to be lullaby music. I like that the build-ups and breakdowns in this song don’t fit the standard chorus-to-refrain ratio. Where most songs kind of do the same thing for a minute and then give you a repetitive refrain, Oh No! Yoko seems to change course every thirty seconds, taking you on a nice ride.
Patrick Wolf – The City (4:12)
Patrick Wolf put out a ton of material in 2011. Most of it struck me as a pretentious but I’d listen to it again. Perhaps his seriousness keeps âThe Cityâ from slipping too far into bubblegum territory. It’s a new wave love song in the tradition of Crowded House or Tears For Fears. I love the piano melody, and only wish it were louder in the mix.â The Cityâ harkens to the days when a saxophone was a perfectly fine backing instrument for a rock song.
Pete & the Pirates – Come To The Bar (5:40)
Hey, who uses this much flanger anymore, or at least uses it well? This song is an anthem, a song to dedicate to your friend who’s just gotten out of a long-term relationship or failed the bar exam. It seems all these years we’ve been in need of a song that proclaims âGet back into the rhythm of things and come to the bar!â So thanks for that, Pete.
Polarsets – Leave Argentina (3:23)
Polarsets have put out one of my top-5 favorite albums of 2011, and âLeave Argentinaâ is just one song worth checking out (See my Best electro of 2011 list for a few others). The first thirty seconds of this song are nothing to get excited about, which makes the contrasting burst of sound all the more compelling when he breaks into the refrain. There’s all kinds of bells and electronic percussion and general exuberant wackiness. The refrain of âLeave Argentinaâ is one of many reasons Polarsets is one of the bands to keep an ear on in 2012.
Scattered Trees – Four Days Straight (3:43)
It’s a simple guitar melody, some slow drums, occasional handclaps, and a few well-placed backup harmonies. When simplicity works, it’s all the more effective (see: The XX), and this Chicago band has pulled off a song just as catchy as some of the pop numbers with double the instruments, clappers, and singers.
The Submarines – Fire (4:19)
I haven’t had a chance to listen to the rest of their latest album, but âFireâ is a sign that The Submarines are just as good as they were on the last one (which is worthy of blowing your milk money). It’s hard to believe it only takes two people to make songs this infectious. Maybe the synergy comes from the fact that they’re married. Maybe it is because singer Blake Hazard is a Harvard-grad whose great-grand-pappy wrote The Great Gatsby. Whatever the case, I hope this couple stays lovey-dovey long enough to get the fame they deserve.
Aren’t they cute?
The Black Keys – Lonely Boy (3:12)
This is probably the most over-played song on this list, but The Best Indie Rock of 2011 wouldn’t be complete without it. Thank goodness we have the Black Keys to pick up where the White Stripes abandoned the cause of reminding us of rock and roll’s long-time love affair with the blues. The Black Keys are back with another album, chock full of guitar-bragging in the fine tradition of Billy Gibbons and Angus Young.
The Go! Team – Buy Nothing Day (3:58)
The Go! Team are happy to present another album of songs for cheerleaders to rock-out to. If you’re looking for songs to do kartwheels and splits by, this is the one for you, and this here’s the finest track. Bonus points for naming their title track after the anti-consumerist holiday, though from vague lyrics are more likely to inspire a round of beers than a revolution. There’s a terrific Go! Team remix in my Best Dance Songs of 2011 list.
The Naked And Famous – Girls Like You (6:04)
The Naked And Famous – Punching In A Dream (3:58)
The Naked And Famous – Young Blood (4:06)
Three reasons for three songs by Naked & Famous :
- they’ve put out arguably the best album of 2011.
- âYoung Bloodâ is arguably the best song of 2011.
- they’re the up-and-coming band to watch for 2012.
Naked & Famous makes songs that are instantly likeable that I never seem to tire of. Add these to your heavy rotation, serve them at breakfast lunch, and dinner. They will only grow in your favor.
The Raveonettes – Evil Seeds (4:17)
When it comes to dark, shoegaze-y rock born of some shadow-world version of 50s LA surf-rock, the Dum Dum Girls are not alone. The Raveonettes have produced another album for people who like their guitars with maximum fuzz.
The Wombats – 1996 (4:20)
The Wombats make rock music that’s as close as it can be to being described as âcuteâ without crossing the line into twee. â1996â is a full-blown nostalgia trip for twenty-somethings. If you liked âLet’s Dance to Joy Divisionâ or âKill the Directorâ or âMy Circuitboard Cityâ here’s more of the same.
The Ting Tings – Hang It Up (3:24)
I didn’t want to like this song because I overplayed The Ting Tings’ first singles until I was sick to death of girl rap-singing over guitar and a catchy beat. I thought I was through with all that, but âHang It Upâ refuses to be ignored. I forget to not like it, catch my head nodding, and when the guitar breaks out 1:40 I’m all âsweeeeet!â My apologies, Ting Tings. You still got it.
Those Dancing Days – Fuckarias (2:55)
Fast drums and shrill synth and then it’s all over too quickly. Another in the category of great-bands-from-Sweden, Those Dancing Days are an all-girl rock band in the tradition of the Go-Gos and Sleater-Kinney. While their last single was more in the pop tradition of the Bangles this songs shows that Those Dancing Days can rock out like the late-90s girl groups.
Speaking of Sleater-Kinney, the Portlandia star is still making music, with her band Wild Flag. Perhaps should have been on my Best-of list, no?
Tune-Yards – Bizness
The first time I heard TuNe-YaRdS I thought they were some sort of Afro-Carribean revival. And maybe they are, despite the fact that singer Merrill Garbus is not an African dude, but a petite woman as white as a stationary shop. It’s not really cleary what genre TuNe-YaRdS is trying to be, which is half of what makes them so great. The other half is that crazy voice, that swoops off in a thousand directions, at times pretty, at times raucous, at times soulful, but never predictable.
Zoey Van Goey – You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate
You know how your best friends are your partners in crime? How half the amazing pranks, road trips and crazy antics of your life only happened because of some off-hand brag or dare you had to live up to? It’s about time someone wrote a song about it. âYou Told the Drunks I Knew Karateâ is a fun and clever duet in the tradition of alt-folk story-telling. If you like Hello Saferide or the Moldy Peaches, be sure to give this one a listen.
Fun With the Freelance Calculator
I've known for a while that Freelance Switch offers this super-nifty calculator that will help you determine how much money you should charge per hour based on your cost of living and quantity worked. I hadn't really taken advantage of it yet, because when you first get started as a freelancer there's about a million and one things on your to-do list that don't make money directly, and this was nowhere near the top of the list. But last night I made up for it by running the calculator several times, and recording the output. Putting the data I pulled from the calculator, I made three separate charts: the first was based on bare-bones survival (no eating out, no health insurance, etc.), the second was based on a decent living (hiring a bookeeper, budgeting for retirement) and the third was for "making it' (budgeting for concerts, higher rent, decent Christmas gifts). Considering each chart, I plugged in different combinations of potential hours worked per day (my hours are on the low side because I'd like to devote a few hours daily to my blog or novel). This gave me hard numbers for how much I need to work to survive/succeed as a freelancer. Or conversely, how much I need to charge to work the hours I want to work. I think this will help motivate me to either work harder or negotiate harder for more pay. It may also allow me to not stress out and work 24/7 because I know when I'm making a living wage.Â
I thought I'd share this as it is a way of using the freelance calculator that maybe you haven't thought about.Â