The Dispossessedby Ursula LeGuin I love Sci-Fi. I really do. I like to think of myself as a sci-fi guy. I’m not just talking movies and TV shows (the good ones, at least), but I try to actually do the work and read the classics. I’m waiting to meet a guru of the genre one day who can guide me to the real classics, and lesser known greats. Until then, I’m stuck going for the obvious choices. Of course, Isaac...

Run the JewelsRTJ4 4XLP Deluxe Edition + Instrumentalsphoto: turntablelab.com Is there any hope left for the youth? In a year filled with turmoil, the stakes have never been higher. If there ever was a time to educate ourselves it’s now. But, what’s the song of the summer? WAP. Meanwhile, Run the Jewels have released the smartest album of the year and it’s not getting anywhere near the attention it should. There was a period in the mid-2000s where I almost...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Crash Test Kid LP by Sammy Brue. After releasing a debut album which, while obviously ambitious, ultimately yielded results which were “just okay” followed by an EP that revealed a greater-than-average Blind Melon influence, Sammy Brue clearly upped his dose of Fuckitol, just cut loose and bravely elected to just have fun when it came to making Crash Test Kid. Through the eleven cuts on his sophomore LP, Brue lets each...

The Selected Works of Eugene V. Debs, Vol. I: Building Solidarity on the Tracks, 1877–1892by Eugene V. Debs, Tim Davenport (Editor), David Walters (Editor) Look, I try my hardest not to hate on books, but I have to draw the line somewhere. Going in, I was expecting to fully love The Selected Works of Eugene Debs. He’s a fascinating historical figure, has fought for the rights of the disenfranchised, was America’s most prominent socialist, founded the IWW, and ran for...

Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacementsby Bob Mehr Sure, we’ve reviewed this book already, but something this awesome deserved to be revisited. So, here’s a special edition of I Wanna Be Literated. I don’t quite understand why I never made this book a priority. I’m a very big Replacements fan and this is quite possibly the definitive biography on the band. Also, it’s critically acclaimed (5 stars on Amazon!?) and my favorite podcasts talk about its greatness (Bob...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Ghosts of West Virginia LP by Steve Earle and The Dukes. I confess that – for a variety of reasons, many of which are not rooted in rational or critical thinking – I have never really given Steve Earle a whole lot of my time. Some of that has to do with the politics and soapboxes, but suffice it to say that it has just never happened; I’ve never walked up...

Go to Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthoodby Lucy Knisley I’ll be the first to admit that becoming a dad has made me soft. It comes as a surprise because I’ve been a cynical bastard for most of my life. And although I never wanted to become the guy who flaunts picture of his kid to people – and I still haven’t exactly – I will expound on stories of my kid when asked. I’m...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Smell The Magic 12” reissue by L7. As a critic, I am not often given to crossing music with politics (unless, of course, I’m reviewing something like an album which has a political slant about it – like a Bob Dylan album or perhaps one by Rise Against) – but sometimes the moment just feels right – and listening to L7’s Smell The Magic EP inspires that sensation handily. “How could...

The Flaming Lips American Head (Warner Brothers) From the moment they have the opportunity to hear American Head, there’s no doubt that Flaming Lips fans will rejoice at the band’s return, for several different reasons. Some fans will just be happy the band is back with new music. Other fans will be thrilled that, for for the first time in over a decade, the Flaming Lips have returned to a more rockist permutation of their sound (last time was on...

BeckColors The man Beck Hansen is an enigma. The only thing you can predict about him is that he’ll do something completely unpredictable. His catalog is consistently all over the place in a way that there’s something for everyone if they explore it. Myself, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Beck for being the first artist to expose me to good music. With Odelay, he taught me that if you put in the work, music can open new...