on denis johnson's the laughing monsters (los angeles review of book)
on goncalo tavares' learning to pray in the age of technique (chimurenga chronic)
fela, koffi olomide and p-square; rolling stone south africa [pdf download]
“the first time i heard koffi olomide, I was 17 and learning to drive in cote d’ivoire. my instructor, an irate man, was impatient with my so-so french, which must have seemed to him plain obstinacy. he played music at high volume throughout the lesson. at the end, i pointed to the tape deck and he held up a cassette case. It was 1989, the album was elle et moi, but it was one of olomide’s early monikers, golden star, that stuck with me.”