They warned me this would happen: I would leave New York for Chapel Hill, and I would have to give up certain people, places and things. Of course, there’s no replacing the people, or The City’s thrum, pulse and vibe, which I mostly didn’t miss. I even got used to knowing that a decent pizza […]
David Klein
Bio: David Klein lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and two sons. His first book, If 6 Was 9 and Other Assorted Number Songs, is available at his website.Link: http://www.if6was9thebook.com/Twitter: http://twitter.com/DKleinandFall
Posted inNews
Barefootin’
The man who delivers my newspaper each morning takes a perverse pride in locating the nexus where the unpaved road ends and our driveway begins; this allows him to lay the paper right there and say in good conscience that he did not just leave it in the street. It’s actually a good thing, though, […]
Posted inNews
We regret to inform you
I was feeling satisfied at having completed a series of quotidian duties when I was hit with a dose of pure parental dread: My youngest son’s camp had called while I was out. Something had happened, but they wouldn’t say what. My brother, who had answered the phone, reported that the caller said he could […]
Posted inNews
Down in the hole
Al Wilson isn’t as well remembered as some of music’s other Wilsons, but his 1968 R&B hit “The Snake” seems the ideal soundtrack for these pollen-laden weeks. In “The Snake,” a benevolent woman spots a half-frozen, limbless and scaled creature along a lakeside path. “Take me in, tender woman,” he entreats. She brings him home […]
Posted inNews
Keeping his edge
When James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem announced that his Madison Square Garden concert on April 2 would be the band’s final performance, it set off a wave of scrambling. The show sold out in something like eight minutes. Acknowledging the weighty circumstances, Murphy requested that audience members wear black, white or a combination thereof. The […]
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The mourning rituals of Facebook
“You remember Mr. Conway?” “Who?” “Mr. Conway. Lived up on Sunset?” “Hmm…” “Used to usher at the Methodist church on the Falls Road?” “Lloyd’s scoutmaster? That Mr. Conway?” “Yep, that’s him.” “Oh, sure. Mr. Conway. Nice man. What about him?” “Dead.” My wife’s grandfather had a memorable way of keeping his family apprised of the […]
Posted inCulture
“I’m just a black man trapped in a white woman’s body”: Questions for Marshall Chapman
Photo by Anthony Scarlati There may not be a harder-working woman in country music than Marshall Chapman. She’s a musician, songwriter, journalist and actress. In her four decades-plus on the scene, she’s played with, or had her songs performed by, or interviewed such luminaries as Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Joe Cocker and dozens of other […]
Posted inArt
Leslie Dunton-Downer discusses the rapidly evolving English language
The English Is Coming! By Leslie Dunton-Downer Simon & Schuster; 326 pp. If The English Is Coming! by Leslie Dunton-Downer sounds like a Palinism, maybe that’s the point. Languageespecially Englishis malleable, and what initially sounds wrong can also make its own kind of sense and even end up as the norm. The ostensible subjectthe ascendancy […]
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Deer hunt
I had just breakfasted on the only dependably authentic bagel in Chapel Hill (boiled per the age-old recipe, not some tepid dough-ring pretender), so I’ll admit I was in a sort of reverie. The dueling sensations of digestion and the glide down Weaver Dairy combined for a subtly exquisite moment in my rain-beaded cocoon. Righteous […]
Posted inBooks
Rosanne Cash keeps composure, discusses new memoir
Composed: A Memoir By Rosanne Cash Penguin; 256 pp. Grammy-winning recording artist Rosanne Cash appeared at Meredith College on Aug. 13 to promote her new memoir, Composed. She also responded to an e-mailed set of questions from Indy contributor David Klein. In the following interview, she discusses her feelings about the film Walk the Line, […]