Arguably one of the most astute art and cultural critics working today, Hickey’s collection of essays questions and challenges the cultural status quo.He recently announced his retirement from the field of criticism due to the new extreme popularity and over-simplification and commoditisation of art, he said ‘I miss being an elitist and not having to talk to idiots.’Author of popular books such as Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy and The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty, Hickey’s newest body of essays looks at the super collectors, the trope of the biennale, the loss of looking and much, much more!

    

    Herein, John Cage recalls the turning point in his career; Ben Johnston criticizes the operas of his teacher Harry Partch; La Monte Young attributes his creative discipline to a Morman childhood; and much more. The results are revelatory conversations with some of America's most radical musical innovators.

    

    Observe. Ridicule.You run into them every day—the striped-shirt guy, the karaoke master, the dude with a pencil-thin beard, the guy who won’t shut up about his fantasy football team—characters who annoy, irritate, and incense us all. Based on the wildly popular essay on ThePhatPhree.com by Mike Polk, this book is a look inside the heads of the most infuriating douchebags on Earth. It’s the best of ThePhatPhree.com plus more than fifty all-new, hilarious pieces written by some of your favorite writers from this site.Everyone’s (Least) Favorite, The Striped-Shirt Guy…I will valet tonight! I will treat the valet with contempt and make sure that he knows that I am superior to him. I will tell him, “Take it easy on the brakes, champ”! When I do not hook up with a girl at the club, I will say that the place is “full of skanks” and wait in line at another bar, only to strike out again!Your “Cool” High School Teacher…Here are some things I allow in my class that other teachers don’t: eating, drinking,swearing, dancing, smoking, fighting, cell phones, Texas hold ’em, iPods, and sex. Like my Goo Goo Dolls tee? Anyone else here down with the Dolls? No? Me either. I’m just wearing it as a goof.The Guy with Amazing Taste in Music…Personally, I haven’t listened to the radio in fifteen years. If you have ever heard a band on the radio, then I can assure you, I am not a fan. I stopped listening to American music about ten years ago.

    Partially a self-help book, partially a political manifesto, Pickens combines practical advice for those seeking out a creative career while contextualising it for the current time.

    A large part of the artist’s role in today’s professionalized art system is being present. Providing a counterargument to this concept of self-marketing, Herbert examines the nature of retreat, whether in protest, as a deliberate conceptual act, or out of necessity. By illuminating these motives, Tell Them I Said No offers a unique perspective on where and how the needs of the artist and the needs of the art world diverge. Essays on Lutz Bacher, Stanley Brouwn, Christopher D’Arcangelo, Trisha Donnelly, David Hammons, Agnes Martin, Cady Noland, Laurie Parsons, Charlotte Posenenske, and Albert York. Martin Herbert is a writer and critic living in Berlin. He is associate editor of ArtReview and writes for international art journals. Previous books include The Uncertainty Principle (2014) and Mark Wallinger (2011).Design by Fraser Muggeridge studio

    Maybe they’re even suspicious of it. John Coltrane’s saxophonic flights of fancy, Jimi Hendrix’s feedback drenched guitar solos, Ravi Shankar’s sitar extrapolations—all these sounds seem like so much noodling or jamming, indulgent self-expression. “Just” improvising, as is sometimes said. For these music fans, it seems natural that music is meant to be composed. In the first book of its kind, John Corbett’s A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation provides a how-to manual for the most extreme example of spontaneous improvising: music with no pre-planned material at all. Drawing on over three decades of writing about, presenting, playing, teaching, and studying freely improvised music, Corbett offers an enriching set of tools that show any curious listener how to really listen, and he encourages them to enjoy the human impulse— found all around the world— to make up music on the spot.           Corbett equips his reader for a journey into a difficult musical landscape, where there is no steady beat, no pre-ordained format, no overarching melodic or harmonic framework, and where tones can ring with the sharpest of burrs. In “Fundamentals,” he explores key areas of interest, such as how the musicians interact, the malleability of time, overcoming impatience, and watching out for changes and transitions; he grounds these observations in concrete listening exercises, a veritable training regime for musical attentiveness. Then he takes readers deeper in “Advanced Techniques,” plumbing the philosophical conundrums at the heart of free improvisation, including topics such as the influence of the audience and the counterintuitive challenge of listening while asleep. Scattered throughout are helpful and accessible lists of essential resources—recordings, books, videos— and a registry of major practicing free improvisors from Noël Akchoté to John Zorn, particularly essential because this music is best experienced live.           The result is a concise, humorous, and inspiring guide, a unique book that will help transform one of the world’s most notoriously unapproachable artforms into a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

    He seeks conversions, not just votes. This Spotlight Story from TIME explores the Gospel of Bernie Sanders.

    His wife, his best friends… all have died, leaving him to care for four grieving children. From the ruins of the past, he’s built a loving, tight-knit family – one he would die to protect. Paige Hall arrives in town, fleeing her own demons. With hardly a penny to her name, she struggles to build a future for herself and her son Jake. Babysitting the unruly Fairburn clan brings in her some much needed extra cash. Her new boss's rugged good looks don’t make it the worst job in the world either… But when he discovers a lost ruin deep in the desert, he uncovers a threat that may destroy every Shifter in the Southwest, setting the stage for a gathering of strong Alpha allies, the likes of which the Shifter world has rarely seen. Can this unlikely pair overcome their own fears to make a new start together, and to form the core of this new team? As they struggle to navigate their growing passion they are propelled down a dangerous path that will pull in not only the First Flight of Dragons, but also a strange mix of Alpha Shifter Wolves and Dragon and more, as well as their potential Mates. Will these Alphas and the ladies that are drawn to them be able to overcome their differences and each find a love that binds? Can they come together as a team and learn the secrets of the mysterious Aegis relic in time to save everything - and everyone - they hold dear, before it's too late...? This collection contains: Damaged Daddy Bear Alpha Protector Dragon Damaged Lost Wolf Captive to the Chimera Alpha Dragon Reborn There is also a short preview of the first story from the Burning Falls Shifters series... This shifter romance collection which contains no cheating, no cliffhangers and of course an HEA ; ). If you enjoy Terry Bolyryder, Harmony Raines, T.S. Joyce and Zoe Chant, well we think you will enjoy this ; )! Warning: This ebook contains mature themes and language and is meant for 18+ readers only.

    

    Danger. Destiny. Little did Renee know that this is what she would find at Gottfried Academy. Then she meets Dante, and discovers that the school has more than one dark secret. Intelligent, elusive and devastatingly gorgeous, most people can't decide whether they love, hate or fear him. All Renee know is that when they're together, she's never felt more alive - or more afraid. Life and death collide in this ebook bundle containing the first two books in Yvonne Woon's bestselling Dead Beautiful romance trilogy. "Raises gothic romance to dizzy new heights; a dazzling debut." - Pocklington Post on Dead Beautiful "If you loved Twilight you'll love this book...A welcome addition to the paranormal romance genre." - The Overflowing Library on Dead Beautiful "A fantastic and unique story with plenty of mystery, intrigue and romance." - Secret Lives of Fiction Lovers on Dead Beautiful "Romantic, suspenseful and...will leave readers wanting more." - Kirkus Reviews on Life Eternal "I would suggest holding onto your seat because you're about to fly off. Amazing." - Dark Readers on Life Eternal

    

    

    It comes from the Latin radix, radicis, meaning radish, a root vegetable.”—BK LorenWinner of the Colorado Book Award, these meditative essays range in subjects from a transcendental encounter with a pack of coyotes ironically juxtaposed with her neighbor’s claim that nature “has gone out of vogue,” to Loren’s mother’s slow yet all-encompassing deterioration from Parkinson’s, and the unexpected way the Loma Prieta earthquake eroded her depression by offering the author a sense of her small place in a wild and worthwhile world.Loren has an empathetic and gentle approach to the world. In detailing the intricacies of human relationships and consciousness—fear of death and time, cooperation born of clashing viewpoints, tradition’s beauty even when destructive, a love of language, a sense of loss amid the fast-paced materialistic world—she peels back the film of popular thinking in order to expose herself to the secrets so few of us ever see.