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Loerke
member since 12/09/2006
I'm a guy
About me: "... there was in Loerke the rock-bottom of all life. Everybody else had their illusion, must have their illusion, their before and after. But he, with a perfect stoicism, did without any before and after, dispensed with all illusion. He did not deceive himself in the last issue. In the last issue he cared about nothing, he was troubled about nothing, he made not the slightest attempt to be at one with anything. He existed a pure, unconnected will, stoical and momentaneous. There was only his work." -D.H. Lawrence, WOMEN IN LOVE
User Votes: 3529 Helpful / 254 Funny / 415 Agree / 33 Disagree
Profile for Loerke
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Loerke's Favorite Stuff
Music
My listening habits change every month or so, but there are a few bands I keep coming back to, like Television, Pavement, and Silkworm.

Assortment of my favorite tracks of the last thirty years in music, with many doubtless left out: Helium – "Superball"; Bottomless Pit - "Leave the Light On"; The New Year – "Gasoline"; Television – "Venus" and "The Dream’s Dream"; Tom Verlaine - "There's a Reason"; Pavement - "Gold Soundz"; Malkmus – "Church on White"; Neil Young – "Powderfinger"; Yo La Tengo – "Tom Courtenay"; Magnetic Fields - "I Don't Want to Get Over You."

Check out the reissue this month of Tom Verlaine's Dreamtime. Originally released on vinyl in 1981, it was the closest Verlaine came to a commercial breakthrough, topping at #177 on the Billboard list, which explains why you can find the vinyl at many used record stores. Yet for kids of the compact-disc age like me, a marketing fluke caused Dreamtime to vanish into the ether. There's more information in my review here, and you can buy a copy at Collector's Choice here. Even if you don't like it, you can console yourself with the thought that you're probably buying Tom a warm meal.




A continual favorite is Mary Timony. A great guitarist, not to mention a hottie, Timony continues to rock. From 1995:

I dunno, I guess there's just something about a woman with an electric guitar. She just keeps getting better.

The Moaners' blues is less original, but just as haunting in its different way:
Yes, they are even better than The White Stripes.
Books
Melville
Twain
Most stuff in Harper's

Anyone interested in history and politics may want to become inaugural subscribers to Lapham's Quarterly, the new journal of Harper's editor emeritus Lewis H. Lapham. Here's the deal: Each issue will compile historical sources on such topics as WAR, FINANCIAL PANIC, etc. Wanna bone up on your Tacitus or your Pope Urban II? The first issue is set to come out October 2007. The website is here. I haven't been so geeked up about a magazine since, um, Bolingbroke's Craftsman. And that's pretty geeky.
Movies
movies:
Bowfinger
Female Trouble
Inside Man
Jules and Jim
La Dolce Vita
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Naked Gun
Office Space
Tampopo

TV:
Arrested Development
Colbert Réport
Six Feet Under

stars:
Cary Grant
Bruce Campbell
Heather Graham
Katharine Hepburn
Laura Linney
Julianne Moore

I also have a somewhat sick and unexplainable interest in celeb-reality shows, as you can tell from my lists.

I'm a baseball nut. Basketball is the most beautiful sport ever played but I'm waiting for the NBA to have some kind of a revival. College sports are ridiculous but I admit I watch March Madness with great pleasure. In the NFL my one guiding principle is hatred of the Manning family.
Compliments for Loerke
513 days ago
Wiseguy wrote:

Excellent reviewer, newbies check him out. BTW, I like the song by Mary Timony, the band has a great sound.

527 days ago
HelloKitty09 wrote:

His work is very fierce!

530 days ago
HelloKitty09 wrote:

As Lisa from Top Chef would say "I won't smile until Loerke is in the top 10, dagnabbit! What else can I say? Except that he inspires me to be a better writer.

694 days ago
Donovan wrote:

We may not always agree but Loerke is always respectful and courteous in his posts. I wish him the very best! God bless you and your wife!

862 days ago
CanadaSucks wrote:

one of perhaps two or three names that I actually give a shite about remembering or taking the time to read a review. . .the guy knows something about D.H. Lawrence, Twain, and Melville - seems way too bright for this place. . .and anyone who takes a few minutes to investigate Baltasar Gracian can drink at my table. . .oh, he's much nicer than me as well. . .

866 days ago
numbah16tdhaha wrote:

Thanks for the high opinion. Try the myspace link on my page if you need a numbah pic fix!

886 days ago
oscargamblesfro wrote:

This reviewer has a broad range, covering everything from politics and social issues to authors, popular culture, and music. A highly skilled writer with a good sense of humor, Loerke's reviews are never the type of submissions you'll skip over: the reviews are of a quality that simply can't be passed over regardless of one's level of interest or knowledge of the subject in question.

1011 days ago
Victor83 wrote:

When it comes to politics, I don't think Loerke and I could agree on the definition of "election day". However, he is obviously intelligent and well-read. He backs his arguments with sources and does not resort to personal attacks.

1041 days ago
magellan wrote:

One of the better writers on the site. Funny, smart, what's not to like?

1057 days ago
GreggOrange wrote:

Possesses a solid intellectual and critical mind as well as being more sensitive than most. Agree with the majority of his opinions even if some of the topics he might be critiquing I might be unfamiliar with.

By the Numbers