Author Archives: James Greer

About James Greer

James Greer is the author of the novels Artificial Light(LHotB/Akashic 2006) and The Failure (Akashic 2010), and the non-fiction book Guided By Voices: A Brief History, a biography of a band for which he played bass guitar. He’s written or co-written movies for Lindsay Lohan, Jackie Chan, and Steven Soderbergh, among others. He is a Contributing Editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books.

The Time We Recorded “Game of Pricks”

Posted on January 12, 2013 by James Greer

James Greer played bass — somehow — on the classic track from the Guided By Voices album “Alien Lanes.” Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Music | Tagged Alien Lanes, beer, Game of Pricks, garage bands, Guided By Voices, James Greer, Ohio, Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout | 3 Comments

Turnover City – A Listicle

Posted on January 5, 2013 by James Greer

Or, eighteen of the things James Greer learned while watching Capital One’s Bowl Week on ESPN over the holidays. Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Sports | Tagged banks, Bud Light, college bowl week, College football, commercials, Doug Flutie, Infinite Jest, insane analysts, Jimmy Fallon, Nelly, Oregon Ducks, Peyton Manning is kind of a dick, SUperchunk, TD Ameritrade, UPS, Wes Anderson | 1 Comment

Marking Time

Posted on December 29, 2012 by James Greer

James Greer’s brief history of time, and the instruments that measure it. Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Science | Tagged BITC, Casio, Dogme 95, in sync, Logic, Michael Bay, NLE, Pro Tools, SMPTE, the history of time, time, water clocks | Leave a comment

Robots!

Posted on December 15, 2012 by James Greer

James Greer glimpses the future at the Media Lab at MIT…and lives to tell the tale. Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Tagged John Hockenberry, malevolent robots, Media Lab at MIT, robots, Technology, the future | Leave a comment

The Time I (Almost) Defined a Generation

Posted on December 8, 2012 by James Greer

In which James Greer, then a music writer at SPIN, moves in mysterious ways. Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Popular Culture | Tagged Bob Gucchione Jr., Generation X, Jane's Addiction, Lollapalooza, Nevermind, Nirvana, Perry Ferrell, Slacker, spin, u2 | 1 Comment

Black Hole In My Head: The Science of the Soul

Posted on November 24, 2012 by James Greer

The soul, life after death, out-of-body experiences, reincarnation: modern science proves it’s all bunk…or does it? James Greer investigates some eternal questions. Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science | Tagged 21 grams, afterlife, life after death, life everlasting, OBE, out-of-body experience, reincarnation, science is just another religion, the soul | 9 Comments

Taylor Swift and Guys Writing About Music: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Posted on November 17, 2012 by James Greer

Is Taylor Swift being taken too seriously, or are certain music writers just sexist? James Greer investigates. Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged Jessica SImpson, Justin Bieber, Lizzy Goodman, Mark Guarino, Mumford And Sons, Salon, sexism, Taylor Swift | 6 Comments