Profile Something Better Than Fun By Chandler Fritz “The last time I went fishing with Captain Jehovah I hooked myself under the back of my hand,” Richard Ford said as he scanned the ethnic food aisle at Hannaford’s, searching for a jar of tapenade. “I tried to push it through the underside of my skin so we could cut the barb off. But skin is … Continue Reading
Profile Gamboling With Gamble Rogers By Chandler Fritz The Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound contains over half a million physical recordings stored in individually labeled slipcases so as to be easily retrieved by the hard-working archivists at the New York Public Library. The archive contains recordings of Billy Sunday preaching … Continue Reading
Profile Against the Country By Chandler Fritz The first time I read Against the Country my wife rolled over in bed and swatted at the reading light — it was 4 AM and my laughter had woken her up. I had found the book earlier that afternoon while perusing the stacks at the New York Public Library. Its cover, of simple white font floating on a … Continue Reading
Review American Football By Chandler Fritz Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes, Steve Lamos, and Chris Strong lived a mere five-minute walk from each other’s homes in Urbana, a mid-sized city in a midwestern state that is often thought of as the heartland of America. (The geographic center of the lower forty-eight is actually a solid nine-hour … Continue Reading
Dispatch A Cattleman's Feast By Chandler Fritz Arriving in Nashville to cover July’s 2024 Bitcoin Conference — a celebration of digital currency — my first order of business was to check in at the Music City Center to fetch my press pass. A press pass, like money, used to be a tangible commodity. One could fidget with them on a lanyard or tuck … Continue Reading
Review King of the Capitol By Chandler Fritz Ernest Hemingway found his joie de vivre in the sweat on a wine bottle. I get mine from a cold can of beer. It helps if you’re holding that can of beer at a Marcus King concert, which is where I found myself on a recent Saturday evening up there at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. I … Continue Reading
Report An American Turning Point in Phoenix By Chandler Fritz It’s a bright and sunny Saturday morning in Phoenix, Arizona, and I am driving a cream-colored Hummer H3 with side decals in the style of a Lake Havasu tramp stamp. This car is the real deal. It has shiny, star-shaped hubcaps and a rack of LEDs on the grill that can turn any pedestrian parking lot … Continue Reading
Review The Long Song By Chandler Fritz The Prairie houses that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in the leafy Oak Park neighborhood of Chicago abide by a principle known as “compress and release.” The entrances and hallways of these homes are tight, cramped affairs, often with low ceilings and few windows. Wright’s goal was to compress the … Continue Reading
Profile Cut Worms By Chandler Fritz The latest self-titled record from the Brooklyn-based, Ohio-born band Cut Worms opens with an ending. “Don’t Fade Out,” the instant classic which starts the album, sounds like the track that plays as the credits roll on a movie about summer love: “Don’t fade out / Don’t fade out on me / Stay right … Continue Reading
