J&J Interview Road Trip; Plus, Kevin Sessums, On The iPod and New Books

Josh and I are just about to head out the door for a little road trip. It's going to be great to get out of the city for the day and breathe and hang out where it's greener and quieter.

The bonus to our little road trip is that it involves stopping at a well-known person's house in the afternoon to shoot a Towleroad TV interview before we head back to the city.

Who might this person might be? A few clues:

This morning we were so excited when we were flipping through the New York Times and saw our amigo Kevin Sessums's book Mississippi Sissy featured in the Book Review's Paperback Row. It's kind of crazy because every time we go into a bookstore now we see Kevin's smiling face looking up at us from the front-of-store book tables. From the NYT:

"Growing up in small-town Mississippi in the 1960s and ’70s, Sessums always felt different, he says in this memoir. But coming to terms with his homosexuality was only one challenge he faced: both his parents died by the time he was 9, and 10 years later he discovered the body of his mentor, who had been brutally murdered." 

On The iPod

Mariah Carey | "Side Effects" | E=mc2

I have to say that "Touch My Body" wasn't really for me. When I heard it as the first single I was a little worried about E=mc2. But as soon as I heard "Side Effects" it's been only love for Mimi. Try it once and you'll want it again.

Marie Digby | Unfold

It's been a while since I downloaded a full album and actually enjoyed each track. Marie hit my radar last year with her YouTube acoustic version of "Umbrella" (6 million hits and counting) and now with self-written songs like "Paint Me In Your Sunshine" and "Better Off Alone" I'm hooked. She's pop-ish, but not painfully so.

David Cook | "Always Be My Baby" | American Idol Studio Version

Oh my god, I'm so ashamed. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally listening to this song on my walk to work. They turned it into a full four-minute song and, um, it's really kind of good. It's ready to be dropped into a movie or TV show stat. This kid is going to sell some albums.

Now On Our Bookshelves

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July (paperback May 6)

"July's single emotional register is familiar from her film Me and You and Everyone We Know, but it's a capacious one: wry, wistful, vulnerable, tough and tender, it fully accommodates moments of bleak human reversals. These stories are as immediate and distressing as confessionals." --Publishers Weekly

Mothers and Sons by Colm Toibin

"Nine stories explore what happens when mothers and sons confront one another as adults. Wistful, touching and complex." --Publishers Weekly

Comments

[Matt]

Would love to hear what you think of Mother's & Sons. I read it last year and really didn't like it. Actually, it was a selection for my book club and nobody liked it.

No one belongs here more than you. I have been wanting to read for months.

[m@]

As always, I love your serial post style. A handful of tidbits and joy in each post. Can't wait to hear about this mystery trip and interview. Congrats on the recent success with Towleroad TV!

m@
mattsign.blogspot.com

[AlanEfflux]

[Alan correctly guessed who we interviewed today, so we thought we'd excise the answer for now to hold a little suspense until later this week. Nice work, Alan! :) J&J]

[Roy]

I love Cruise Control and Migrate also! Such a good album!

[Justin]

SO happy to see you shoutout miranda july's book of short stories. she is beyond brilliant. i bought the hardcover copy last year when it came out and plan on buying the paperback as a gift for every birthday party i attend this year. such a good one.