The Strange Edge

Alternative Aftermath VII: The Truth About Travolta

2012-01-16T08:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, so here's a whole bunch of new old songs, some of which you might not know, but some of which if you don't know means you should be drowned in a bucket. 79. Sonic Youth - Kool ThingHere's one of those bucket songs. You had better know this one. I just saw it used in the soundtrack of Once Upon a Time (my mom was watching it, I swear). So, even corporate idiots know this song is Kool.

Alternative Aftermath VI: Everything But the Grunge

2012-01-09T08:40:00.002-05:00

Now that I've Grunged myself out, here are 13 more vids, great, mediocre or otherwise, by bands from the Alternative years early and mids 1990s. 66. Matthew Sweet - I've Been WaitingThis guy had a real penchant for taking 60s pop sounds and making them into something completely original. Why didn't he maintain his stature? That's a question for someone else's blog. I'm just here to show you

New Bizarro Author Reviews I: Placenta of Love by Spike Marlowe

2012-01-07T15:43:00.007-05:00

I'm going to do reviews of all eight of 2011's books by the New Bizarro Author series. Mainly I am doing this because I hope to join their ranks in 2012. But also because the books are all damn good and deserve as much publicity as can be mustered (mustard?). We begin with Placenta of Love by Spike Marlowe. This is the tale of a Robo Pirate who goes in search of love, creating for himself a

Alternative Aftermath Grunge Spectacular: Whatever Happened to Grunge?

2012-01-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

There was this sound that came about in the late 80s, matured in the early 90s. It wasn't quite metal, it wasn't quite punk, and it certainly wasn't hardcore. These bands didn't seem to mind feedback and they didn't seem to have the same predelictions for high fashion that their mainstream counterparts possessed. People labeled it the "Seattle Sound" even though their were bands doing it in

Alternative Aftermath V: What Does the World Need Now?

2011-12-26T11:00:00.001-05:00

Does the world not need another young, Australian Nirvana?53. Cracker - Teen AngstDavid Lowry has a message for us kids who had just discovered how much we wanted to change the world (and our first pubic hairs, which we no doubt saved in a scrap book).54. Teenage Fanclub - Star SignI saw these guys rocking out on Saturday Night Live and that is the night I made the conscious decision to become

Alternative Aftermath IV: Was Jerry Really a Racecar Driver?

2011-12-19T12:45:00.003-05:00

40. Primus - Jerry Was a Racecar Driver.Well, Primus seems to think Jerry really was a racecar driver, but I'm still not convinced. Gotta love the weird blend of Devo and Butthole surfer's aesthetics in this video, though. And Primus was actually the first band I ever heard anyone use the word Alternative to describe. 41. Tripping Daisy - My UmbrellaYeah, these guys totally had another song

Alternative Aftermath III: Songs that Rocked

2011-12-12T12:20:00.003-05:00

27. The Breeders - SafariAll around awesome band, awesome video. And this is when Tanya Donelly was in the band, so we can some fun family tree stuff!The Breeders - Safari on MUZU.28. Frank Black - Los AngelesAround the same time that Kim Deal was forming a new version of her band the Breeders with her sister Kelley, Black Francis inverted his moniker and struck out on his own. Video directed by

Alternative Aftermath II: Another 13 Songs I Remember

2011-12-05T13:33:00.006-05:00

I've managed to sit down and squeeze out a second installment, which is a good sign considering the lost-at-sea state of the last year I've had. I have a lot of intentions to do things, and then I manage to watch TV instead. Anyway, here we are: it's the early 90s (though a few of the videos I will post may be from 89 yet still in rotation in the 90s) and the face of the music industry is

Alternative Aftermath I: Remembering the Revolution through Videos

2011-11-30T17:10:00.005-05:00

Those of us in our mid 30s recall the impact of the Alternative Revolution quite distinctly. For me, it got me growing my hair out, wearing a short sleeve shirt over a long sleeve shirt, prowling around every record store I could find, and playing a lot of power chords on guitar. I've put together a bunch of videos that you may recall from early 90s 120 Minutes (possibly also Headbangers Ball

Yeah, Then There's Occupy Wall St.

2011-11-20T21:01:00.002-05:00

It occurs to me, as well as others, that the Left view the 60s with a romanticized lens of rosy hue. Not only does it seem the OWS movement hasn't caught up with the times, but they also gravely overestimate the impact of the Anti-Vietnam protests of the 60s. I'm not here to bash the OWS movement, but I do think a few things need to be pointed out. I. What the fuck do they stand for? As a

Film Review: The Room

2011-03-28T11:33:00.008-04:00

I finally saw this much talked about film. Every one should see it who enjoys a good bad film. It may surpass Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings as the most stupid movie I've ever seen. What Tommy Wiseau has managed to accomplish here cannot be intentional. There is not a genius alive who could manage to pull off The Room. Wiseau's writing shows clearly how he doesn't have any insight

50 Bizzare Antique Photos

2011-03-28T11:15:00.004-04:00

These pictures will seriously make your day, if you like weird old stuff.

Japan (Remember Them?)

2011-03-14T13:36:00.003-04:00

Earth quakes, tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns are liable to turn Japan from a prosperous, populous nation into a place more fit for Mad Maxes than for respectable, respectful businessmen and school girls. Will Japan take a nose dive, losing many of its great minds, not only to the disaster but to expatriation after the ensuing fiasco? Hmmm...

A Vision of the Future

2011-03-13T16:34:00.002-04:00

Tuesday I got a vision of the future. You can’t control what it is you see when something like that happens. Keep that in mind. The images came to me quickly, so I’ll try to relate them in some kind of sensible order. i. General Overview of the Future In the future things will be cleaner, movies will be better and small children won’t need to be afraid of anything at all.

Reality and Fictonal Stereotypes

2011-03-10T20:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, I've got a blue collar job. I've made other entries that say as much.One thing you notice right away in the world of grocery retail - most people are uninteresting and pretty much unlikeable. I was taking my lunch in the break room the other day when I overheard a coworker's very loud cellphone conversation. This middle aged woman is very plain, with a figure that may have been pleasant

The New Absurdist

2011-03-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

The two men cowered at the corner of the tavern, fearing almost everything in sight. The glasses were dirty, which meant germs, and the patrons mostly had dark skin, which meant danger. Neither germs nor danger were friends to the two men, nor did these men have any friends apart from each other. “I’m very glad you came with me,” said one to the other. “I’m very glad I came with you,” said the

Houses Are Where People Live

2011-03-06T11:00:00.001-05:00

So economic ruin is upon our nation (ie. the USA, but most other nations, too). And the problem is that our economy is basically illusory. I am hopeful that people will cease to view houses as investments are start viewing them again as a place in which to live. There was a time you'd burn a man's house when he died, to kind of honor him and symbolize that he's no longer among the world of the

Exciting Blue Collar Adventures

2011-03-05T11:00:00.004-05:00

I work a blue collar job for numerous reasons, but most practically because I am prone to arrogance, and a job connected with any measurable status would turn me into a living dildo. My current self-made prison is the produce department of a supermarket. My shift begins at 4 AM, which helps me avoid having any sort of normal social life. It gives me plenty of time to be a starving artist,

Bad Days (Extended)

2011-03-04T11:00:00.002-05:00

I.Shards of the children's bones in his teeth, he attempted to claw his way from the sewer, but the walls were too slippery to find a hold. He kept coming back with fistfuls of slime. With nothing else to do, he scraped his palms as clean as he could on the rim of his bucket, allowing the filth to sluggishly drip inside it. He couldn’t remember why he had not brought a ladder, except that they

What Have I Got in My Pocketses?

2011-03-03T17:35:00.003-05:00

I promise you, things are really turning around.Egypt and Tunisia are on their way to becoming more democratic than the USA. Libya is on its way to being powder keg for WWIII. The US is on its way to becoming a third world hellhole (and aren't I glad I don't have a Government job now?). Fates are really turning around. And I've got some really solid ideas for a short story collection that

Weird Fiction Finds (Vol. 1)

2010-08-03T14:54:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty much stealing this directly from Jeff VanderMeer, but it's hardly such a revolutionary idea as can be owned by any one man. Here are some books that I have found on my journeys, as are worth being pointed out to connoisseurs of weird fiction, old Sci-Fi/Fantasy cover art, etc. The Gray Prince by Jack Vance. Awesome cover art. And get this: the cover advertises it as "A Fantasy Epic"

Pulp Fiction: My Space Opera and the Return of Marlowe and Winston

2010-06-28T14:11:00.005-04:00

Space OperaI've always wanted to write a space opera ever since I was a wee lad who wished he could get a hold of some old Buck Rogers stories and the Flash Gordon serials. In the late 80s in Carroll County, MD, this just wasn't going to happen. The cultural imaginations of space travel before people had even been to the Moon was simply fascinating to me. Now I'm a grown man and I have almost

New Story at The New Absurdist

2010-06-03T15:58:00.002-04:00

A slightly modified version of a writing exercise I had to do in my college Creative Writing course. "Eudora Welty vs. The Burnvictim." I submitted it over at the New Absurdist because 1) I don't think anyone will give me money for it and 2) it is a neat site for absurd stuff. I guess I've always tended toward the absurd, even if I don't abide by the strictest definition of absurdism: a

Update, May 20th

2010-05-20T10:40:00.005-04:00

In the wake of my niece getting married (congrats, Jenn & Johnny!) I feel another burst of creative optimism. I have several ideas that I am working on or will be working on in next couple weeks. "Fisherman's Greek" is a dark tale of love, the sea and revenge. "In a Winter Garden" is my first real attempt at a full-fledged fantasy story set in a secondary world of beauty and bloodshed. "The

What's New May 1st, 2010

2010-05-01T12:33:00.014-04:00

So, I've got a new official header picture featuring "Creation of Birds" by Remedios Varo (thanks to Kilby). I find her style fits right into The Strange Edge. Can't believe I didn't know about her paintings until a few weeks ago. Anyway...Movie RecommendationJust saw Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Terry Gilliam's latest film and Heath Ledger's last film (RIP), now available on DVD. The best

New for Earth Day

2010-04-22T14:50:00.005-04:00

Writing news:I submitted "The Story of Job" to Cafe Irreal, a site which specialized in irrealism, something in which I'm pretty sure I dabble in most of my work, esp. my philosophy and politics. Keep your fingers crossed for me. (For those of you who are new to irrealism and take the time to read the essay, keep in mind that when the author refers to physics, he is using the term very broadly

Something New (Story of Job)

2010-04-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

I got an idea for something new while at work the other day. I've nearly completed it and hope to have something to submit by the end of this week. When the muse comes upon me, I can write so quickly that I'm glad I took a typing class in high school. I can't imagine how hunt-n-peckers can possibly write anything longer than a drabble. But here's a little slice of "The Story of Job," tale of

The Kiss ( A Writing Exercise from a Couple Years Ago)

2010-04-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty basic exercise in which you have two characters in a restaurant and one of the characters must dare the other character to kiss someone else in the restaurant. My results were fun, if flawed. But, if you want something to read, here ya go.The KissAfter the lunch rush ended, which had consisted of only six patrons to begin with, the pizzeria was vacant except for the four: James,

A Brief Lipogram Exercise

2010-03-16T21:07:00.000-04:00

Inspired by Peter Crates and written without the letter E. Reads a bit like something translated.“That girl is a fucking idiot,” I say. Out of my mouth words pour without my thinking about what could soon pass. Thomas says it’s unfair. Alan says I’m myopic. I don’t know. Might just paint that saying on my car and allow thinking to go on without my input. In minds along this road who look

Searching for Weird

2010-03-15T11:40:00.000-04:00

I'd like to make this blog a central stop for weirdness, not just of my own, but for any weirdness that may interest a chap like me. If anyone is there reading this, suggest something weird for me to check out and enjoy, possibly even suggest to others or review for my blog. But I only want REAL weirdness. I don't want a picture of a turd on the American flag or a sketch from Robot Chicken (

How NOT to Write a Novel

2010-03-11T16:17:00.000-05:00

Had to give a quick plug to this little gem, How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman --which, by the way, is worth reading even if you aren't planning on writing a novel. Several times I have laughed out loud at the examples of errors they use to illustrate what to avoid when writing a novel. There are lots of books on how to

The Sounds of Inspiration

2010-03-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

I've just made myself a playlist to listen as I work on my novel. For many people, it is way easier to write while listening to music that lacks vocals (something to do with processing language, but ask your local psychologist to be sure), so my list is mostly instrumental. I wanted stuff with an alien feel, so there's everything from stock French educational film scores of the early 80s to

The Strange Edge: Have I Stumbled upon a New Idear?

2010-02-18T19:07:00.000-05:00

In my reading, my searching out what's going on in fiction, I've run across a lot of unusual subgenres/movements/effects. Two in particular have caught my eye: Slipstream and New Weird. For those who are unfamiliar, my brief overview. Slipstream is a style or effect in fiction that relies on cognitive dissonance to make the reader feel strange. This can come in the form of unreliable

Need to Write More Stories

2009-11-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

So, via Duotrope's Digest I've found many, many, many publications who may or may not ever want to publish a story by me, G. Arthur Brown. I've found many magazines and e-zines that I never knew existed, plus many that probably shouldn't exist. The stumbling block I've hit now is that a lot of the ones that really seem worthwhile won't accept simultaneous submissions (industry jargon for they

Dream People 32 Now Online

2009-11-01T23:05:00.000-05:00

The whole issue seems really tight. And through accident of alphabet I am at the top of the list. Be sure to tell the team at The Dream People that you really think they did a good job in choosing A Public Luncheon. Tell them that G. Arthur Brown is the coolest dude writing. Draw funny mustaches on their faces while they aren't looking.

Writing a Novel

2009-10-28T17:53:00.000-04:00

So, I've started on a novel. Anyone who has ever written a novel or tried to write a novel knows that you start writing a novel long before you WRITE anything. Where to begin? Well, you need a premise. That much my pet chameleon can, and did, tell me. "Gary," he said, "you need a premise before you can write a novel." I gave him some lizard food and set about coming up with a premise. And

"A Public Luncheon" @ The Dream People

2009-09-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

So, my flash fiction story "A Public Luncheon" will be in issue #32 of The Dream People, to be released sometime in October. TDP is, of course, the online magazine illustriously savaged by Editor-in-Chief D. Harlan Wilson, whose short fiction is something I really enjoy (haven't read any of his novels yet, though).

Oh, Yeah

2009-07-13T21:32:00.000-04:00

Words and Images will be publishing my short story "Last Night with the Marvel" in their 2010 edition. It will be my first time in print, so I'm feeling rather self-congratulatory. Here's a quote from the story to tide us over:

Jeff VanderMeer's Zany Blog Action

2009-07-13T21:08:00.000-04:00

Jeff VanderMeer famous author of blah-blah-blah and husband of editor Ann VanderMeer plays host to a blog which is currently housing a rather heated (and longwinded) debate about the genre/literary divide, which was originally sparked by something somewhat inflamtory J.M. McDermott said.In a more recent post, Jeff has quoted me alongside Hal Duncan, Nick Mamatas, Scott Bakker, and others. The

Marla Chronicles Vanish in a Puff of Logic

2009-06-24T22:47:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes. They have served their purpose. Or rather, they didn't serve their purpose as well as they might have, and so other tactics became necessary. Or hell -- maybe they served a couple auxiliary purposes. Don't worry, none of the money is going to the N. Koreans.

"The Tortoise in the Hair"

2009-05-06T19:57:00.000-04:00

You can read my flash fiction piece "The Tortoise in the Hair" at Flash Fire 5000.I swear, it's weird.

2009-05-06T18:08:00.000-04:00

Here, in the future, will be stuff related to my writing. I'll post links to people who publish my writing and sometimes links to other writing that I like and think people who like my writing might also like, like ya know?