A.M. Homes' The Safety of Objects
Few write about contemporary suburban life as knowingly as Homes. And while her work since this hilarious collection of short stories has gotten darker and more serious, her melding of the mundane with the absurd remains achingly true. The stories within The Safety of Objects are as vivid as they are perverse -- think mini versions of a Todd Solondz film, except affecting instead of cruel. I nearly retracted this pick when Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi told MOJO that it was his current read of choice. I changed my mind after he revealed this tidbit: "It's a gay book ... a real girly book. I wouldn't recommend them (the stories) to the boys in the band. My girlfriend turned me on to her." Ahh, Nick.

Robert Christgau
Often dubbed the "dean of Rock criticism," this Village Voice lifer conveys more in a sentence than many can in paragraphs. Little known outside of Voice junkies and music geeks, Christgau's Consumer Guide column has been a Voice staple since 1969 -- that's 34 years of spot-on, often laugh-out-loud, sentences. His sarcastic tone turns off many, most notably and unsurprisingly the artists themselves (Lou Reed went as far as to mention the writer on his 1978 record, Lou Reed Live: Take No Prisoners.) Yeah, I admit his hyper-intelligent, caustic prose style leaves those not in the know often scratching their heads, but trying to keep up is half the fun. And despite giving up his music editorship at The Voice a few years back, Christgau's current columns and essays find him as playful, open-minded and fearless as ever. Proof? His recent piece on the cult of Radiohead was the best evaluation yet on the endlessly bantered about band. The dean, indeed.

NPR's Fresh Air commentators
A refreshing oasis amid the culturally vapid desert that is contemporary radio, Fresh Air is exactly what its name suggests. Literary critic/professor Maureen Corrigan is especially enticing to the ear: Her expressively voiced commentaries are often as interesting as the books she's dissecting. David Edelstein (film critic for Slate) and the since departed John Powers (now the entertainment editor at LA Weekly) are nearly as seductive. Like Corrigan, their crackling prose and expressive deliveries often overshadow their assigned subjects. In fact, Powers' description of Bill Murray's "rueful, pockmarked visage" in Rushmore retains a permanent spot in my cortex to this day.

Pitchfork
Logging on to Pitchfork (www.pitchforkmedia.com) is like opening a new present each day. The online music 'zine is every indie boy and girl's dream come true, delivering daily news updates, essay-length reviews and features on everything from burgeoning buzz acts of the moment (Interpol) to the most obscure and esoteric of noisemakers (Xiu, Xiu). And they're even starting to diversify. The most recent addition is We Are the World, a brief section that reviews new singles, including such non-indie fare as Beyonce and Hilary Duff. It seems even the snide Pitchfork gang has succumbed to that special species known as the publicist. Is anyone safe?

Ray Carney's Cassavetes on Cassavetes
Director/provocateur Harmony Korine calls it the best film book ever written. Remarkably, that's dangerously close to the truth. Cassavetes on Cassavetes exhaustively examines the dilemma of moviemaking: How can an art form that relies on so many people and so much money remain true to its creator's original intent without ending up a compromised, watered-down piece of studio product? This is how. Carney spent more than a decade researching Cassavetes on Cassavetes, interviewing the filmmaker several times and talking to virtually everyone associated with his dozen, little-seen films. The result is a penetrating first-person account of a man and his endless pursuit of emotional truth. John Cassavetes believed in movies as an art form. After reading Carney's Cassavetes on Cassavetes, you will too.

Lester Bangs' Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader
After a fine biography by Jim DeRogatis and an even finer portrayal by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Almost Famous, what's left to say about Bangs these days? He's no longer a writer; he's a cultural bookmark. Reading the recently published Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste is like being transported to another a time and place. Therein lies Bangs' gift: Very few capture their immediate surroundings as vividly or as passionately as this guy. That he wrote mostly about music is inconsequential.

Kirk Varnedoe
I first came across Varnedoe a few years back when he was a guest on the aforementioned Fresh Air. A couple of days later I caught him on PBS' Charlie Rose Show. The impact of the double exposure was immense. Varnedoe talked about art history as if his life depended on it. Ultimately, it did. The former MOMA curator died in early August, communicating his passion to the very end. While I recommend his many published works, nothing compares to Varnedoe's spoken words. His affecting voice and spontaneous, Jazz-like verbal riffs were as inspiring as the art he loved. I never witnessed one of his lectures in person. My bad.

Paul Auster's Leviathan

Film Comment
Unlike fellow film glossies Premiere and Movieline, Film Comment ditches predicable puff pieces and goes straight for the jugular. This is a magazine for movie lovers who emphasize artistry over industry while nimbly sidestepping the elitist tone of many European mags. The bimonthly's mantra is "smart about movies," which they are in abundance. Of course, what would you expect of a publication that counts J. Hoberman, Howard Hampton, Phillip Lopate, Chuck Stephens, Harlan Jacobson, Amy Taubin and a host of other talented writers as contributors. Perhaps as telling, Film Comment is published by The Film Society of Lincoln Center -- i.e., no worries about pesky sales numbers. Even Editor-at-Large Kent Jones' lacerating attack on David Thomson's A New Biographical Dictionary of Film was entertaining and thoughtful, if ultimately off base. That's what's so great, and rare, about Film Comment: They have strong, knowledgeable opinions and aren't afraid to dispense them. Start listening.

Peter's Principles Peter Block makes other cities jealous of Cincinnati By Stephanie Dunlap (September 3, 2003)

Lost in Space Supporters of alternative arts spaces -- from Laura Hollis to Ed Stern -- try to weather the tough times By Steve Ramos (August 27, 2003)

A 360-Degree View Symphony, opera and ballet get back to basics in long-range planning By John Fox (August 27, 2003)

more...

Fall Arts Preview Don't tell us there's nothing to do (August 27, 2003)

Hooked on Sonics Kim Gordon talks about how some things change and some stay the same (June 18, 2003)

Concept Junkie Mike Ladd returns with his latest exploration in contradiction, The Majesticons (May 21, 2003)