Writer, singer, composer and poet Rick Moody first gained widespread acclaim with his 1994 novel, The Ice Storm, a portrait of dysfunctional suburban life that plays out over the course of a long Thanksgiving weekend. In 1999, The New Yorker named Moody one of America’s most talented new writers, with a voice that constantly pushes the stylistic boundaries of modern literature. He has published five novels, three collections of short fiction and two nonfiction works. He also performs with the Wingdale Community Singers, an acoustic band that blends the sounds of old-time folk, gospel and bluegrass, with hints of rock and baroque chamber music to augment their arch, literary lyrics. Their most recent album is Night, Sleep, Death, released only on LP by Drag City. Moody will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Moody: I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but I not only think that the Roots are the best band qua band on earth, better than the Rolling Stones, better than Metallica, better than any other band on earth, excepting maybe Tinariwen or Huun-Huur-Tu or the Orchestre National de Jazz or the Necks, I also think that Questlove is one of the best drummers on earth, and one of the smartest all-around brilliant thinkers about music anywhere on earth, and I thought his essay about Trayvon Martin was one of the most essential pieces of rhetoric on that subject. I have just dipped into the book, but am waiting for my week of vacation to read it as I am waiting for few other things.
