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I like the Bolano translations: Natasha Wimmer especially. I have the notion that women seem to make better translators but maybe that's just a kind of sexism on my part. Often I'm frustrated reading so many translations and I resolve to rather read prose written in English in the original but...

So - all the fossil fuels are coming out of the ground aren't they? Is there any other course of events because I can't see it.

Christ. How do you find the time? How do you make sense of it? I feel I can't continually move from one book to another or I go insane. I have never been able to keep up a reading habit like that. Total laxity. I'd be happy with 1/4 of that I think.

i think it's related to how much the media entirely is onside with the Tories and their austerity discourse. They've been practically vilifying Miliband for his modest critique of it, just imagine what it would be like if he actually disagreed entirely with its assumptions. 'Economics of the...

Can anyone point me towards some good trap mixes? I know I'm about ten years behind on this but I just heard that 'Turn Down for What' tune and now I'm addicted. I want more.

Well I don't think that always holds true. I think thematic content, cultural assumptions are important in determining to what extent someone from a given culture can legitimately 'do' a certain kind of music. Blues is a powerful example because it is about oppression. I don't know if hip-hop...

I think the fundamental difference is that the blues is kind of born out of a unique experience of oppression which the musician is attempting to represent via his music. In this sense the blues is quite self-consciously historicised music. Classical music on the other hand is probably much...

Not all the time. I think I enjoy reading more when I do it. How often and how much do people read? I find I go through phases but I've never been one of those people who always has a book on the go. I'm kind of jealous.Sort of feel like I should get into the habit, 30 pages a day or so but I...

That's a function of the deficit though isn't it? As in, getting the deficit to 0 would merely stop the debt from increasing, it wouldn't reduce that at all.

Good post. I don't have anything to challenge you with luka as I have no sense of cultural identity tbh.

Who decides whose culture is whose? What are the determining factors?

What if you don't have a culture? Should you just not bother doing anything?

Well, I'll believe it when I hear it. I don't know what forward thinking stuff would even sound like nowadays. But yeah I think part of it is 'no secrets' anymore either.

I think that's just an illusory effect of Scotland being something of a recognised self-contained entity that tends to vote in one way. The West Midlands would have as much power if they voted as a bloc, as Scotland tends to do. Also, it only has the possibility to prop up one or other...

Isabella Allende, Jonathan Safran Foer....hmm

He seemed a bit star-struck aha. I like how the Tories totally fucked themselves by believing their shtick about Miliband being this utterly repellent social disaster though. People must have thought he was doing well if he didn't shit himself during the hustings for all they talked that up.

Weirdly I thought the Brand interview he came across as pretty well. Kind of honest and relatively un-spun, though that maybe just a reflection of how almost hyper-real politics and the media in this country has become. Politicians seem to be becoming judged explicitly on how well they can spin...

Would love to read this guy do some more essays or writings or something, as good as I'm sure the films he's making are I kind of enjoy just reading about art more than I do actually taking it in. He is really great to listen to as well, ridiculously erudite and impassioned. Kind of annoyed that...

I kind of feel like the same thing holds true for all forms of media. I wonder why anyone would want to start a blog anymore knowing that literally anything you could say has already been said. Maybe that's just defeatism but it feels true. The endless rush of information produces a sense that...

I dunno if this has been mentioned, but isn't one of the changes that's taken place over the last 5 or so years is that 'underground' cache just can't really exist anymore. If you want to hear or find out about any kind of music it's only a click away. I can't imagine anyone growing up now...