One Final Interview

I forgot that I had also been interviewed by Juliana Barbassa for an article that she wrote on Fresno poetry. I think that this was the last interview, and it was the hardest one to put together, what with her and my busy schedule. And then I did a photo shoot, which was cool because I'd never thought that anybody would want to take a picture of me.

Poetry Foundation Interviews

The interview mentioned in this post came out almost twenty months ago, when I was in the middle of doing a bunch of interviews after my book got a little bit of attention.

A few weeks, ago, I was interviewed by the Poetry Foundation regarding my nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and that interview, along with those of my fellow nominees, is up on their website as of today.

At first, I didn't really want to read my interview (because I'm easily embarrassed and I'm not any good at dealing with any kind of attention), but I pre-cringed (in case I had said something particularly lame), read it, and I managed to get through that experience without having to change my phone number or move to South Dakota.

I Was Interviewed

This is about another one of the interviews that I did during the early part of 2006.

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by Vida en el Valle about my book and the whole NBCC thing. I was told that the interview would be out the following Wednesday, but that Wednesday came and went, and then so did the next one. Finally, I had thought that the interview just wasn't going to come out at all, and especially not since I had already lost the NBCC Award and Vida en el Valle didn't have much of a story anymore.

But, unaccountably, the interview is in print in the Fresno area and online everywhere as of 8 March 2006. If you don't get down in Spanish, here's the English version.

An Interview in the Boxcar Poetry Review

You're going to have to dig around in the archive to find this interview, which was in the very first issue.

Eduardo C. Corral, a fellow poet, interviewed me via e-mail a few weeks ago, and the interview's finally online.

I look pretty tough in the accompanying picture because my new thing is to try to look hardcore at all times, even when I'm having a good time. In fact, at my big bro's birthday party a few weeks ago, a friend of ours wanted to take my big bro's and my picture, but I had him wait until I could stop laughing and "thug up."

My favorite part of the interview? The goatee discussion.

Fresno Famous Interview

As far as I can remember, this is the last interview that I did, in relation to my book, that's still currently available on the internet. There was an interview in the Fresno Bee, but good luck finding it, and another one that I did while I was in Madison for a reading, but I have no idea if it even ever came out.

Oh, and the reading's long past. As the opening act, I read first, and then Brian absolutely killed. It was an honor to read with him.

Ever since the NBCC nomination thing, I've been interviewed a couple of times about my book, which has been cool (though I'm usually completely stressed out during the actual interviews because I can't stop worrying that I'm sounding like a nitwit and that I will be haunted forever by an unfortunate turn of phrase), but I'm pretty sure that, after doing this last interview, that the media interest has come to its end, unless I go on some type of "rampage" or find an interesting way to die.

If you're in the Fresno area next Thursday, come to Brian's and my reading.

This Is So Depressing

Can I get that with sprinkles?

The Year in Music, 2005

This post went up at the end of 2005. There's a lot of great music on here, though some songs have fallen out of the rotation and their play counts haven gone up very much in the past twenty-one months. It's sad how that happens.

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It's the time of year when I run out of material, which explains yesterday's list of libraries where you can find my book. I know, pretty lame.

I do have a few things on which I'm working, but I'm mostly concentrating my energies these days on my annual winter depression. This year's is going pretty well, and we're projecting that I should enter the bottommost level of despair during the first week of February.

So, here's another list, this one of the hundred most-played songs that were downloaded during 2005.

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Song Title:    Artist:    Play Count:    Date Added:

I Do Love You (Single)    Billy Stewart    168    1/17/05 11:20 AM

Blues Run the Game    Jackson C. Frank    166    2/6/05 9:40 PM

Tears All Over    A Girl Called Eddy    124    5/15/05 1:43 PM

Hope There's Someone    Antony & The Johnsons    115    12/29/05 6:31 PM

Tugboat    Galaxie 500    115    1/17/05 11:52 AM

Heartbeats    Jose Gonzalez    114    12/4/05 6:10 PM

Shout to the Top    The Style Council    108    6/28/05 10:09 PM

Passionate Kisses    Lucinda Williams    107    2/4/05 9:01 PM

Hey There Lonely Girl    Eddie Holman    99    1/17/05 11:20 AM

As You Turn to Go    The 6ths & Momus    94    9/4/05 5:56 PM

I Can't Make Me    Butterfly Boucher    93    1/23/05 12:54 PM

I Confess    The English Beat    87    3/6/05 2:19 PM

Isn't It a Pity    Galaxie 500    81    1/17/05 11:52 AM

I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do    Dee Dee Warwick    80    5/1/05 4:46 PM

Flowers    Galaxie 500    78    1/17/05 11:52 AM

If I Were a Carpenter    Tim Hardin    76    2/6/05 9:40 PM

Don't Leave Me This Way    Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes    71    4/10/05 5:01 PM

Dry the Rain    The Beta Band    65    9/4/05 5:56 PM

Casimir Pulaski Day    Sufjan Stevens    65    8/1/05 7:14 PM

Show and Tell    Al Wilson    64    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Before We Begin    Broadcast    64    5/1/05 4:46 PM

Let Go    Frou Frou    64    10/16/05 3:41 PM

Before Today    Everything But the Girl    62    2/11/05 8:12 PM

Devil's Broom    Joseph Arthur    62    6/7/05 11:02 PM

Save Me    Aimee Mann    60    6/7/05 8:46 PM

Say Hello    Deep Dish    60    9/25/05 4:27 PM

Tea and Sympathy    Janis Ian    60    4/10/05 5:01 PM

Come Undone    Duran Duran    58    1/16/05 9:14 PM

Cherry Chapstick    Yo La Tengo    55    2/5/05 9:38 PM

1 Thing    Amerie with Nujabes    52    6/28/05 12:20 PM

Light    Talvin Singh    48    11/6/05 6:56 PM

So. Central Rain    R.E.M.    46    1/16/05 9:14 PM

I Can See Clearly Now    Johnny Nash    45    2/7/05 2:44 PM

Fuck and Run    Liz Phair    44    11/20/05 3:46 PM

In the Deep    Bird York    42    10/1/05 3:15 PM

Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair    Burl Ives    41    7/27/05 10:17 PM

Make Love Fuck War    Moby & Public Enemy    41    6/29/05 1:53 AM

Till I Gain Control Again    Emmylou Harris    39    6/5/05 4:01 PM

You Get What You Give    New Radicals    39    4/17/05 2:19 PM

Baggage    Eva Cassidy    36    7/23/05 11:57 PM

Get Free    The Vines    36    8/9/05 8:17 PM

Black Is Black    Jimmy Ruffin    35    5/1/05 4:46 PM

Summer In Paris    DJ Cam    34    8/9/05 8:17 PM

You Make Me Feel Brand New    The Stylistics    31    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Song to the Siren    This Mortal Coil    31    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Always On My Mind    Willie Nelson    31    1/5/05 9:39 PM

Don't Wanna Know About Evil    Beth Orton & William Orbit    30    9/4/05 5:56 PM

Breathe    Telepopmusik    30    8/9/05 8:17 PM

Man in the Box    Alice In Chains    29    6/28/05 1:00 AM

Turn My Way    New Order    29    10/1/05 4:15 PM

Black is Black    Rugantino Band    28    7/5/05 7:26 PM

Shelter from the Storm    Bob Dylan    27    2/6/05 9:40 PM

Lips Like Sugar    Echo & The Bunnymen    26    6/22/05 12:27 AM

Inside and Out    Feist    26    6/28/05 10:09 PM

More Than This    Roxy Music    26    7/27/05 10:17 PM

Got Your Money    Ol' Dirty Bastard & Kelis    25    6/28/05 10:09 PM

Space Lullaby    Black Bombay    24    11/6/05 7:12 PM

Love Brought Me Back    DJ Rogers    24    5/8/05 12:23 AM

It Should Have Been You    Gwen Guthrie    24    5/20/05 5:28 PM

Maybe Tomorrow    Stereophonics    24    10/1/05 3:15 PM

The Time We Lost Our Way    Thievery Corporation & Loulou    24    9/25/05 4:27 PM

Make It with You    The Whispers    24    6/7/05 11:02 PM

C'Mere    Interpol    23    9/25/05 4:27 PM

If I Ever Feel Better    Phoenix    23    8/9/05 8:17 PM

Black Is Black    Pomelo    23    7/5/05 7:26 PM

Feel Like Makin' Love    D'Angelo    22    7/5/05 7:26 PM

A Lack of Color    Death Cab For Cutie    22    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Lowdown    Boz Scaggs    21    5/20/05 5:28 PM

Forever Young    Bob Dylan    20    6/19/05 8:52 PM

Everybody's Talkin'    Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes    20    5/22/05 3:06 PM

Too Young    Phoenix    20    10/16/05 3:35 PM

Heartbeat (Tahiti Lab Remix)    Tahiti 80    20    8/9/05 8:17 PM

Song to the Siren    Tim Buckley    20    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair    The Twilight Singers    20    12/10/05 7:08 PM

Eminence Front    The Who    20    5/8/05 12:23 AM

As Tears Go By    All Tomorrow's Party    19    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Strong Culture    Asian Dub Foundation    19    11/6/05 6:56 PM

Tugboat    British Sea Power    19    8/9/05 8:17 PM

Lotus Mix    Electric Lotus    19    11/6/05 6:56 PM

Needle in the Hay    Elliott Smith    19    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Gymnopedie No. 1     Erik Satie    19    11/23/05 6:07 PM

Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me    Gladys Knight & The Pips    19    10/8/05 6:17 PM

Last Tango In Paris    Gotan Project    19    8/9/05 8:17 PM

Hello It's Me    The Isley Brothers    19    5/22/05 3:06 PM

Solitary Man    Johnny Cash    19    7/6/05 12:54 PM

Such Great Heights    The Postal Service    19    9/24/05 2:57 PM

I Belong to You    The Rance Allen Group    19    5/8/05 12:23 AM

It's Too Late    Billy Paul    18    5/22/05 3:06 PM

Back in the Day    Erykah Badu    18    9/3/05 2:43 PM

Blues Run the Game    John Renbourn    18    10/8/05 6:17 PM

There She Goes    The La's    18    3/27/05 4:08 PM

Blue Monday    New Order    18    2/7/05 2:44 PM

Bizarre Love Triangle    New Order    18    4/10/05 5:01 PM

Here's Where the Story Ends    The Sundays    18    6/5/05 4:01 PM

Lovergirl    Teena Marie    18    5/15/05 1:43 PM

Better Things    Dar Williams    17    6/19/05 8:52 PM

Times Like These    Foo Fighters    17    6/5/05 4:01 PM

Don't Walk Away    Jade    17    2/11/05 8:12 PM

One In a Million You    Larry Graham    17    4/10/05 5:01 PM

Aeroplanes    Serge Gainsbourg    17    8/9/05 8:17 PM