The Akashic Books series of all original noir fiction anthologies set in cities around America, which began in 2004 with Brooklyn, has at last touched down here in Pittsburgh.  This 237 page softcover volume contains brand-new stories by Lila Shaara, Terrance Hayes, Stewart O'Nan, Nanvy Martin, Paul Lee, K.C. Constantine, Kathleen George, Rebecca Drake, Carlos Antonio Delgado, Hilary Masters, Kathryn Miller Haines, Aubrey Hirsch, Rom Lipiinski, and Reginald McKnight, each of whom pen a dark tale of crime set in a venerable Pittsburgh area neighborhood.

Read this to learn more:  http://www.spdbooks.org/Producte/9781617750762/office-girl.aspx

We didn't see this one coming, but were happy to get it in!  Inner Ear Studios was THE recording studio of the DC punk/hardcore/alt music scene starting in the late 1970s, through the 1980s, and beyond, recording the who's who of DC area bands and, as its reputation grew,  attracting musicians from around the country.  The Inner Ear of Don Zientara celebrates the close to half a century in which Don Zientara piloted this institution. Taking the form of a hefty, 160 page, 11" x 10" hardcover, coffee-table book, it provides an oral history of the studio featuring testimonials from members of Fugazi, Scream, Fire Party, Shudder to Think, Jawbox, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dismemberment Plan, as well as musicians like Kathleen Hanna, Henry Rollins and others, along with roughly 250 photographs (including some cool polaroids) in both color and black & white.

A great gift for anyone who was part of that scene.

 

FROM THE ARCHIVES

ONE NEW COPY

Here's the write-up from the publisher, Akashic Books:

With words by William S. Burroughs, Michael Stipe, Oliver Ray, Paul Williams, Jutta Koether, Tom Verlaine, Thurston Moore, Jem Cohen, Lisa Robinson, Lenny Kaye, Kim Gordon, Frances Yauch, and Patti Smith.

Photographer Michael Stipe followed friend and fellow musician Patti Smith on tour for two weeks in 1995. Two Times Intro is his intimate and evocative visual diary of her return to live performance, along with portraits of other cultural celebrities, such as Allen Ginsberg, who appeared with her. From 1975’s Horses to 2007’s Twelve, Smith’s creative vision has been a singular, explosive catalyst for artists and musicians worldwide—including Stipe. As William S. Burroughs writes in the introduction, Patti Smith’s “effect on the audience is electric, comparable to voodoo or umbanda rituals, where the audience members become participants, and are literally lifted out of themselves.”

In addition to text by Stipe (including a brand-new introduction for 2011), William S. Burroughs, and Patti Smith, there is also commentary from Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lenny Kaye, Tom Verlaine, and others who have been inspired by Smith’s work.

Get a preview peek at the book HERE.