Episodes
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Episode 71 - Year in Review 2022 with Evan Stephens Hall of Pinegrove
Monday Jan 23, 2023
Monday Jan 23, 2023
In this episode, we talk with prolific reader and accomplished musician Evan Stephens Hall from the band Pinegrove. We discuss his top books of the year and go through a few of our own favorite reading experiences from 2022.
Here is the David Foster Wallace & Richard Powers Q&A we mention.
The Pinegrove songs featured in this episode are Alaska and Habitat.
Thank you to Rough Trade Records, Pinegrove and Evan Stephens Hall for permission.
Here are our Concavity Show Best Songs of 2022 playlists:
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2022/pl.u-EdAVv5dCaMJB7j
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BwuTDJq2LoU8ZzdSDXSK5?si=052f5d25ed514b43
Evan, top books mentioned:
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines (Gaines stamp!)
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Public Library by Ali Smith (and Autumn!)
Breaking and Entering by Joy WIlliams
Leave Society by Tao Lin
Dave, top books mentioned:
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyaasi
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Autoportrait by Jesse Ball
Liberation Day by George Saunders
Matt, top books read this year:
Robert Crews by Thomas Berger
Literary Alchemist by Steve Paul
We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper
Airport Music by Mark Tardi
Zol by REYoung
Evan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evanstephenshall/
Pinegrove website: https://pinegroveband.com/
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
Monday Dec 12, 2016
Episode 22 - Discussing David Foster Wallace with Nicolas Giacobone
Monday Dec 12, 2016
Monday Dec 12, 2016
In this episode with talk with Academy-Award winning screenwriter and DFW fan Nicolás Giacobone. Nico is best known as the co-writer of Iñarritu's Birdman and Biutiful, but he's also a writer of fiction and a serious reader.
If you have not seen the movie Birdman, it is strongly advised that you do so.
In this episode we discuss his grandfather's filmography, literary influences, Manu Ginobli, and many other things.
Books and writers mentioned include Alberto Laiseca, John Updike, Don DeLillo, George Saunders, and Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter among others.
Contact us: concavityshow@gmail.com
Show notes:
00:042 - background and introductions
02:16 - writing for television is painful
03:41 - Like Ed Wood, he was his own extra
09:08 - Homer and Dostoevsky and Cervantes
22:22 - movie writing is collaborative by nature
28:19 - San Antonio Spurs and ego
32:20 - In Latin America, everything is sold with a handshake
33:40 - Treating writing like work
35:08 - Ruth Reichl and DFW
43:40 - Never wrote another novel
49:00 - Six minute takes
53:01 - Tortured artist whose biggest obstacle is himself
54:00 - Free time and they write bullshit
57:07 - Aaron Swartz's theory of IJ
1:04:26 - We can't do math
1:08:11 - Plenty of good books are forgotten
1:12:01 - The 160-page version of CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
1:15:19 - Sergio de la Pava
1:22:06 - The Internet as a tool
1:28:00 - Mario Bellatin
1:32:32 - Moving past Bolaño's influence
1:36:46 - Make fun of Shakespeare
1:37:59 - Comparing Birdman and Infinite Jest
1:39:56 - IJ is impossible to film
1:45:55 - Easter egg: technical difficulties
Thursday Jan 07, 2016
Episode 6 - 2015 Year in Review
Thursday Jan 07, 2016
Thursday Jan 07, 2016
In this episode we go almost completely OFF TOPIC and wrap up 2015 by discussing our favorite books, movies, music, TV shows, and games of the year.
Tuesday Oct 27, 2015
Episode 2 - Discussing David Foster Wallace and The End of the Tour
Tuesday Oct 27, 2015
Tuesday Oct 27, 2015
In this episode, we spend most of the show discussing James Ponsoldt's film "The End of the Tour." If you have not seen the movie yet, there are spoilers of a sort.
Show Notes
(00:00) - Intro
(00:30) - End of the Tour (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_end_of_the_tour_2015/)
(02:39) - James Ponsoldt
(04:20) - Jason Segel’s Performance
(07:42) - Faithfulness to The Book
(08:00) - David Lipsky
(09:54) - Jesse Eisenberg’s Performance
(10:53) - Lipsky and Wallace’s Relationship
(13:33) - The Facade of Fame vs. Authenticity
(15:00) - Success, Fulfillment, and Happiness
(17:25) - Today’s Relevance
(19:30) - Self-Promotion in Writing
(22:00) - Should It Exist (http://biblioklept.org/2013/12/13/although-of-course-you-end-up-riffing-obliquely-on-how-a-david-foster-wallace-road-trip-movie-is-a-terrible-idea/)
(23:47) - The Denunciation from Wallace’s Estate
(24:52) - “Saint” Dave
(28:39) - Wallace’s Portrayal Too Happy/Sad?
(36:45) - DFW’s Cultural Relevance
(37:26) - Other Adaptations
(41:30) - The Novel’s Cultural Relevance
(43:19) - 20th Anniversary of Infinite Jest
(46:49) - Wallace and Feminism
(48:08) - Final Thoughts on The Movie
(51:37) - The Director James Ponsoldt
(54:44) - Outro
People Mentioned
David Foster Wallace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace)
David Lipsky (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lipsky)
James Ponsoldt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ponsoldt)
Jason Segel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Segel)
Jesse Eisenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Eisenberg)
Don DeLillo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_DeLillo)
Cormac McCarthy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy)
Thomas Pynchon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon)
Edwin Turner (Biblioklept) (https://twitter.com/biblioklept)
Brian Eno (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno)
Bonnie Nadell
D.T. Max (http://dtmax.com)
Michael Schur (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schur)
John Krasinski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Krasinski)
Chris Ayers (Poor Yorick Ent.) (http://pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com)
Mary K. Holland (https://faculty.newpaltz.edu/maryholland/index.php/cv/)
Robyn O’Neil (robynoneil.com)
Parquet Courts (https://parquetcourts.wordpress.com)