A watershed moment: Fuzzy Needle’s Friday picks
Greetings Fuzzy Needle friends,
On Tuesday, we got news of a long-awaited political revolution from the heart of the greatest city in the world, a popular mandate on the way forward from traditional electoral politics. I’m talking, of course, about Shannon “Hotdog” Phillips’ reelection to mayor of Sunset Beach, North Carolina.
No but seriously, what a wild Election Day. Friends in Atlanta might know that the first nonbinary person was just elected to city council. Friends in Richmond may be cheering on the election of the first female governor of Virginia. And our dear friends in New York City are probably just now waking up from the post-victory party slumber. Wherever your politics lie, the election of the first Muslim mayor of NYC is nothing short of a watershed moment.
I’ve heard from many, many North Carolinian political organizers this week (Democrat and Republican), and all they can talk about is Zohran Mamdani. How did he do it? How can we capture that same energy in North Carolina? To me — and I realize no one asked me but whateva — the answer is simple. You can capture that same energy by talking to your neighbor. I believe Mamdani’s success largely comes from his total unwillingness to leave anyone behind. He assembled a gargantuan political coalition of everyone from freelance writers to dollar van drivers, and refused to back down on supporting any of them. We live in a spiritually lonely time, and so a radical opposition to disposability politics seems as good an antidote as any.
If you’re local to Durham or Wilmington, I hope you voted. If not, I hope you still try to be a good steward of your city today and every day. There is no shortage of need in this world, and if we all do our part, we can meet it all.
Anyways. Y’all wanna buy a book? I got some recommendations…
On the Calculation of Volume - Solvej Balle
The first in a seven-book series about a woman’s life within a continuous time loop beginning and ending on November 18th. Balle published this book in the original Danish back in 2020, but the English translation came out only last year. I love the surge in Scandi literature we’ve been experiencing at the shop — if you picked up one of our copies of Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval, you’d probably enjoy this one, too.
What Was Mine - Ann Beattie
God, what a beautiful cover. Beattie won the PEN/Malamud Award for her short fiction in 2000. This is a collection of 12 of her best and most dreamy, nostalgic short stories, mostly focused on strange interpersonal and familial relationships.
Oracle Night - Paul Auster
A slightly spooky read for those of you who aren’t quite ready to put your jack-o-lanterns to rest. Auster weaves a tale of a writer who is possessed by a blue notebook and slowly loses his grip on reality.
My Antonia - Willa Cather
Everybody gather round the newsletter to hear Nikolai sing the praises of Willa Cather once again. (You can also read someone else do it in this great Bookforum review.) This book is about being a boy who loves to queen out with the girls, but it’s also about the strength of the working class and immigrants, but it’s also about the emptiness and ferocity of the land.
Farewell - Direct Control
Originally from North Carolina, thrash rockers Direct Control relocated to Richmond and cut this cool ass record. Vocalist/guitarist Brandon Ferrell sounds raw and vibrant here.
Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics - Brian Eno & Jon Hassell
Hassell, a trumpetist and composer, pioneered this idea of “fourth world” music, which combined modern technological approaches to music with traditional techniques from all over the world. The result is something that truly sounds like nothing else. This collaboration with Brian Eno is my favorite from both of them. We’ve got it on wax (in extraordinary condition, too) at the shop.
Some awesome CDs - Some awesome artists
Some of you take full advantage of our vast and inexpensive CD collection… but some of youse do not! And I think that’s a shame, because look at the four CDs I literally just yanked off a random shelf: a brainrot demo tape from hardcore group Claudia’s Symptoms, a bloghouse flavored French pop record from rinôçérôse, Arto Lindsay’s collaboration with Brian Eno, Bill Frisell and RYUICHI SAKAMOTO (!!), and a Miles Davis Quartet joint. Come on, y’all.
Leaves in the Gutter - Superchunk
North Carolina stand up. This is another awesome CD in our collection by a band that will be performing alongside Wilmington’s very own Tercel (and Noise Complaint, and Sean and Her Dilemma) at Port City Blitz tonight. Come grab this CD for a quick study sesh before the show.
I Drive a Valence - Bill Callahan
Definitely one of the more interesting things we’ve got in the shop right now — a book of lyrics by the singer/songwriter Bill Callahan (aka Smog) which also include 116 of his very own illustrations. It reminded me a lot of the musician and visual artist John Andrews. He did a beautiful show at the shop recently which featured a series of his hand-painted animations. If you’re a fan of this combination of music and visual art, this book is definitely worth a look.
Tangled Envisioning - James Rettig
This is the book you need to buy. Friend of the shop James Rettig presents a chapbook collection of his music essays for Stereogum (including a brand-spanking-new one) via our very own Folkstone micropress.
Cool happenings round Wilmington:
Wow y’all there really is so much going on this weekend. First up, we have the aforementioned Port City Blitz, taking place tonight and tomorrow at Waterline Brewing. It’s all ages, and you can buy tickets + find more information here.
Also tonight is the fourth annual Suck Fest at Reggie’s, featuring Pearl, Lawn Enforcement, and other great bands. It starts at 6pm. You can find out more here.
ALSO tonight is two fab openings at the Cameron Art Museum — one is the museum’s collection, and the other is From the Mountains to the Sea. Our friends at Fort Lowell Records will be spinning some tunes, and they’ll have some fun liquor tastings and other things going on from 6pm to 9pm. More info here.
Mad Mole Brewing is presenting a vinyl market tomorrow afternoon from 1 to 4pm, and we’ll be there. More info here.
Our buddy Scott is presenting a screening of Everybody’s Thirsty, which he describes as a low-budget Requiem for a Dream reboot. Awesome. That’s Nov. 16th here at the shop. Doors open at 7:30 pm. More info here.
And just a note for those of you who haven’t heard yet: our dear friends and champions Taylor Salvetti and Maggie Boyd Hare will be shutting down Folkstone Slow Bar on Nov. 30th. Maggie and Taylor will definitely still be familiar faces at the shop, but if you haven’t gotten the chance to try Wilmington’s best cortado yet, this is the month to do it. We’re proud of them for creating this wonderful little corner of Wilmington and excited to see what they do next.
If you have an album or book you bought at Fuzzy that you’d like to shout out in the next newsletter, send us an email and tell us why you love it. And as always, remember to check us out on eBay and on Discogs. Have a great weekend, Wilmington.
— Your friends at The Fuzzy Needle
