New McSweeney's: Like Mail, But Not.

Unsurprisingly, McSweeney's (a fairly unconventional quarterly "journal created by nervous people in relative obscurity") has done something unusual with its latest issue. McSweeney's Issue 17, pictured above, has been designed to resemble a stack of mail. It's described as "an ordinary-looking bundle of mail, stacked and rubber-banded, containing the usual items: a recent issue of Yeti Researcher; a large envelope, called Envelope, containing fine oversized reproductions of new art; a sausage-basket catalog; a flyer for slashed prices on garments that are worn by more than one person at a time; a new magazine of experimental fiction called Unfamiliar; a couple letters... the usual. This might be the strangest and most pleasure-giving issue yet."

It's certainly pretty strange. McSweeney's does have much to offer though, including the following, conveniently located on its website...

Recommended McSweeney's Linkage:

What I Would Be Thinking About If I Were Billy Joel Driving Toward A Holiday Party Where I Knew There Was Going to Be a Piano by Michael Ian Black (very funny)

Michael Ian Black is a Very Famous Celebrity - Links to various McSweeney's pieces by Black

Short Essays on Favorite Songs, Inspired by Nick Hornby's Songbook (Essays are by different authors, about songs by Duran Duran, the Replacements, Kate Bush, U2, and Beethoven, among many others)

Reviews of New Food

John Moe's Pop-Song Correspondences

MP3:Wilco - Box Full of Letters (from A.M.. Love the song, adore Wilco. Their live album, Kicking Television (yeah! kick it!) is due out next month, and Wilco hopes to release a new studio album next year, their first with new band members Pat Sansone and Nels Cline. Both play guitar; Sansone is also a keyboardist)

MP3:PJ Harvey - The Letter (from Uh Huh Her)

MP3:Stars - Elevator Love Letter (from Heart. Love this song, looking forward to seeing the group open for Death Cab next month in L.A.)

MP3:Art Brut - Modern Art (from Bang Bang Rock & Roll)

MP3:Cursive - Art is Hard (from The Ugly Organ. A bit abrasive/screamy at times, but I like it anyway -- I don't tend to love those qualities)