SAMUEL CHARTERS

Samuel Charters made a personal quest in the 1950s and 1960s to explore African-American music tradition and to seek out forgotten and undiscovered artists. His field recordings and books represent an important body of work for musicologists, folklorists, and fans of the Blues. He passed away last week at the age of 85. NPR's Fresh Air celebrated Charters with a re-broadcast of his 20-min interview with Terry Gross from 1987, which included great stories about Lightnin' Hopkins and about navigating institutionalized racism during his recording trips. Listen to the program and see the transcript here. New York Times obituary here. Below: Charters' influential first record with Lightinin' Hopkins for Folkways (1959).

ENO: MY SQUELCHY LIFE

Brian Eno's rare unreleased My Squelchy Life finally gets an official vinyl edition! Pressed as a double 12" album, the record will be available on Record Store Day April 18th, 2015. From the Press Release: "First time on vinyl for legendary ‘lost’ Brian Eno album My Squelchy Life. Originally slated for release on Warner Bros in September 1991 and pulled from the schedules at the last moment, in subsequent years it has been heavily bootlegged and entered the lexicon of Eno myth. In 2014 it received an official release as the bonus disc to the expanded All Saints edition of follow-up album Nerve Net. For this exclusive Record Store Day edition it is presented in a deluxe gatefold vinyl edition, including an additional track from the same recording session, “Rapid Eye”, that has never been heard before."

CALVIN AND HOBBES

New Release: A new exhibit catalog featuring 152 pages of original comic art and commentary by Bill Waterson was released on March 10th by Andrews & McMeel. Based on a 2014 retrospective at Ohio State University, Exploring Calvin and Hobbes also includes interviews, Watterson's original syndicate proposal page, and photographs of the artist's studio. Calvin and Hobbes ran from 1985 to 1995 and set a new standard for writing, art, and artist rights in the field of comic strips. More info at Bud's Art Books and Amazon. 

WES ANDERSON X-MEN

Patrick Willems recently completed a wonderful parody short that pays homage to Wes Anderson. Based on the premise of what an X-Men film would look like under Anderson's direction, Willems managed to capture much of the auteur's artistic stamp and movie conventions. Check it out below. Enjoy!