Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring

After some success with his small, downloadable books for Chicago-based Featherproof Books, Zach Plague has returned with his debut novel, Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring Boring, that is anything but…well, boring.

The Art of Screaming!: Total Training for Vocalists on the Edge

Renowned singing teacher Susan M. Carr‘s technique for The Art of Screaming! was first developed in 1978 and has since been refined during the grunge music scene. Since then, Carr has worked with bands such as Minus the Bear, Mastodon, and Sunny Day Real Estate.

RTX: JJ Got Live RaTX

Led by vocalist Jennifer Herrema, formerly of noise rockers Royal Trux, RTX‘s JJ Got Live RaTX is a 1980s hair-banging dream, as Herrema shouts and snarls and guitarist Jaimo Welch grinds out smoking mountains of molten crunchy stuff.

Song of Brooklyn: An Oral History of America’s Favorite Borough

Song of Brooklyn gathers the voices of diverse citizens, past and present, unknown and famous — Spike Lee and Norman Mailer among them. In it, each person gives testimony to one of the most socially relevant and important areas that helped define the United States and continues to do so.

Commentaries on the Golden Path: Tom Waits

For ALARM columnist Andrew Williams, Tom Waits is an ambassador for a different reality, fighting against against mindless consumption, thoughtless disposal, and homogeny

Oneida: Preteen Weaponry

Oneida‘s Preteen Weaponry is both a stand-alone piece and the beginning of a larger triptych to be known collectively as “Thank Your Parents.”

As a studio document of what Oneida does live, this album shows the band flexing its improvisational space-rock muscles in a controlled setting.

31 Knots: Worried Well

So tight that merely listening to it raises shoulders to ears, Portland trio 31 Knots mixes the dissonance of Sonic Youth, the time signatures and stop-start changes of Fugazi, and the deconstructed funk of Talking Heads to create a nervous, hysterical din that reads like Michel Foucault having a nervous breakdown.

Another Kind of Record: The Merger, The Incident, and The Girl

Pat O’Neil has long been a mainstay of the Los Angeles art scene as a renowned experimental filmmaker and as an influential professor at CalArts.

For his first book, O’Neil compiles dozens of collage drawings and altered digital prints to create an ambiguous work whose bold designs speak louder than the sporadic text ever could.

Nisennenmondai: Neji/Tori

Nisennenmondai is the Japanese term for “Y2K bug,” and, yes, the band does sound like the end of the world.

Originally self-released in 2004 and 2005 respectively, Neji/Tori are a maelstrom of furious drumming, completely blown/ fuzzed-out bass, and screaming guitar that sucks your ears into a vortex of noise.