FRESH AIR
On the Set with Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling parodied TV talk shows on The Larry Sanders Show, which ran on HBO from 1992 to 1998 and is now out in a four-DVD box set. It’s called Not Just the Best of “The Larry Sanders Show” — in part
because it features eight hours of extras, including essentially unedited conversations with stars who made guest appearances on the Larry Sanders sofa.
Patti Smith, All Covered Up Since she began her recording career in the ’70s, Patti Smith has never been shy about recording covers of her favorite songs, such as Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” Now she’s released an album consisting entirely of other people’s songs — a dozen covers, originally recorded by acts as diverse as the Doors, Nirvana and the Rolling Stones, under the simple title Twelve.
Englander’s ‘Special Cases’: A First Novel of Last Resorts It’s been eight years since Nathan Englander‘s award-winning short-story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, was published. Since then, he’s been working on a novel, and if nothing else his knack for intriguing titles is intact: His debut novel, set in Buenos Aires during the Argentina’s ’70s-era “dirty war,” is called The Ministry of Special Cases. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Also, check out Phawker book critic Mavis Linnemann’s interview with Nathan Englander]