Listicles, tweets, your ex’s Facebook status, picture of dogs wearing costumes — the internet offers no shortage of entertaining stuff to look at. But there’s plenty of substantial writing out there, too, the pieces you spend a few minutes reading and a long time thinking about after you’ve closed the tab. In this weekly feature, Flavorwire shares the best of that category. This time around, Teju Cole does something awesome on Twitter (again), the Hispanic contribution to New York City Hardcore, and much more.
Nate Silver, Ezra Klein, and several other well-known journalists have started their own websites. And while they might know politics and doing math, Bell thinks they could use a lesson in diversity.
“These Signs Shall Follow Them” by Win Bassett, Guernica
Think you know about the Signs Followers of southern Appalachia? You know, the folks who dance around with dangerous snakes, and walk really close to death in their intense worshiping rituals? Yeah, you probably don’t. That’s why this piece is such a fascinating read.
From fighting with the marines in Iraq to the MFA program at Hunter College, Klay took all he saw and turned it into Redeployment, one of the must-read books of the first part of the year. He talked with Jennifer Percy at BuzzFeed about his experiences, his process, and the book.
“Hispanics Causing Panic In The Early NYHC Scene,” Quixotic Dreams
Ever give much thought to just how many of the most important bands in New York’s punk and hardcore scenes came from Latino backgrounds? No? Well, you should. Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags, Token Entry, and some of the most important bands to ever play CBGB are all mentioned.
“A Piece of the Wall” by Teju Cole
Teju Cole continues to be the writer who utilizes Twitter to its fullest potential, with this essay that he started live-tweeting yesterday. We were so fixated, we had to put down our copies of his forthcoming book, Every Day Is for the Thief, to keep up.
“How to Smell” by Emily Gould, The New Yorker
Emily Gould got curious about perfume criticism after reading Barbara Herman’s book, Scent and Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Perfume.