A friend of ours recently revealed that he decided to become a social studies teacher because of Sarah Vowell. And anyone who has read Assassination Vacation or The Wordy Shipmates will have no trouble understanding that sentiment. Vowell has a talent for reintroducing you to the kid you were when you did four separate book reports on Johnny Tremain, while also reminding you of what's so amusing about the current world we inhabit. Bring up Sarah Vowell to someone not as familiar with her and the conversation will always come back to that voice of hers, heard in years past on This American Life or in The Incredibles. more ›

Nick Hornby is the sort of author you find yourself trying to remember, "Is he just super popular or is he actually a really good writer?" You know that the movies High Fidelity and About a Boy were solid, and maybe you could even be charmed into liking the dumb Red Sox movie with Jimmy Fallon if you started dating someone who found it to be an innocuous rental. So it ended up being a pleasant surprise when we picked up his just-published sixth novel, "Juliet, Naked," and found the pages just started breezing by. Hornby is once again dealing with music obsession and the distance that exists in the personal relationships of the obsessive types most of us know, or possibly are. more ›

Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart and guest, essayist Sarah Vowell, wondered about the GOP's relationship with NYC. (Jezebel calls it's a frenemy relationship), since the Big Apple is both the center of the East Coast liberal elite/media elite/elitist media and where 2,751 people died on September 11, 2001. more ›

We interviewed hundreds of people this year, from long-time rockers to the designer of New York’s subway map. Here are a few conversations you may have missed:

• On the day Radiohead’s In Rainbows was released exclusively online, musician Jonny Greenwood talked about the “experiment.” more ›

What started off as an excellent concert lineup just got better and better as the date approached. The additions of Spoon's Britt Daniel and Kevin Drew were a bonus treat. Music, reading and charity aside, perhaps the biggest wow moment was show headliner Jim James' new closely cropped haircut. The My Morning Jacket front man sheared his trademark Muppet locks since the last time we've seen him about. Not that it affected the music in any way, which nearly stole the show from some other very capable performers. Check out more thoughts and pics at BV and Stereogum, and check out our interview with 826NYC's Sarah Vowell. (pic via Muzicspy's flickr) more ›

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. more ›

MUSIC: Scottish indie sensations Camera Obscura bring their pop and their rock to the Seaport tonight. They're joined by The Last Town Chorus. After that, there's only one more show down there this season! more ›

, humorously chronicled her pilgrimage to locales connected to three slain American presidents (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley). Vowell will be appearing this Sunday as part of a fundraiser for 826NYC (tickets); she’ll be talking “with/to/about” comedian Eugene Mirman. (Demetri Martin hosts the event, which also features musicians Grizzly Bear, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and Feist, among others.) Gothamist recently spoke with Vowell about 826NYC, politics and gluten. more ›

After GBH announced that Courtney Love was to play a free show at Hiro Ballroom, the biggest question besides what she'd sound like or how badly would Hiro screw up the crowd control, was what type of raucous scandal would Love cause during the set. Would she be trashed? Would she get into a fight? Would she show at all? Well, to the pleasant surprise of any real fan, the show went on without a hitch, and Love played a solid set of some old favorites as well as a bunch of new songs, many of which were co-written by professional hitmaker Linda Perry. Check out Freshbread for some pics (like the one above), and Ephemerist and Productshop for some more reviews. more ›

There are some great benefits happening around town tonight, we suggest you hit one, or both, up if you have the time. more ›

. The book and the evening are both in support of the Writing Lab at 826NYC. more ›

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