War of the Worlds

No Speed Limit on the Lost Highway

Recently, a small crew from Southwest Review was lucky enough to fly to San Francisco to meet up with American writer Barry Gifford. We joined him for a screening of Lost Highway at the Roxie as part of a David Lynch retrospective, and then, the next day, novelist and SwR film columnist William Boyle interviewed Barry. In the wake of Lynch’s passing earlier this year, Barry talked about his friendship with Lynch and their various collaborations. The conversation unspooled as conversations with Barry often do—he’s not only a great writer but a great talker. He spins, ducks, weaves, paints with words, makes life make sense. There are beautiful detours aplenty. Talking to Barry feels like traveling. He grew up on the road, staying in hotels, traveling from Chicago to Miami and Key West with his mother, traversing the American South, even spending time in Havana, Cuba, and it’s an energy you can feel in his storytelling. With Barry, there are no dead ends, only destinations you didn’t know you were headed for.  From Southwest Review and New Pony, this is the third SoundStory: No Speed Limit on the Lost Highway. This SoundStory was produced by Robert Rea and Greg Brownderville. It was recorded, edited, and mixed by Greg Brownderville. Mastering and additional mixing were done by Clay Jones. The introduction was written by William Boyle. The theme music is ”Spearman 1974“ by Hayden Pedigo. The outro music was written and recorded by Prelude Films. Big thanks to the Department of English at Southern Methodist University and to Jaguars in the Attic Studios. And a very special thank you to Barry and Mary Lou Gifford.

A Crack in the Pavement

The second installment in our SoundStory series, A Crack in the Pavement explores the legacies of Mexican rock star Rita Guerrero and Mexican poet Sergio Loo, and how their lives intertwine. A Crack in the Pavement was written and hosted by Greg Brownderville, Executive Producer of SoundStory. A Crack in the Pavement was recorded and produced by Spencer Kenney and Greg Brownderville. It was sound-designed, mixed, and mastered by Spencer Kenney. Spencer Kenney also recorded the acoustic cover of the Joy Division song “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” The theme music for SoundStory is ”Spearman 1974” by Hayden Pedigo. Special thanks to Alejandro Springall for letting us use his film studio in Coyoacan for conducting interviews and to Jaguars in the Attic Studios in Dallas, TX. Special thanks also to Jonathan Minila, Alex Otaola, Julián Herbert, Carolina Hernandez, Iliana Vargas, Annie McDermott, New Pony Managing Editor Robert Rea, Associate Editor Sylvia Georgina Estrada, Marketing Director Kieran Danielson, and translator Alex Olvera. Thanks also to Steve Keene for the custom art for Sergio Loo’s poem “A Song for Rita” in the fall 2024 special music issue of Southwest Review, to Julie Savasky for overseeing the print design, and to James Kelleway for web services. Big thanks to Southern Methodist University, especially to the Department of English and to Elizabeth Loboa and Daniel Eady in the Provost’s Office. SMU’s support makes all of this possible.

Henry Crow

by Charlie Parr (to accompany his short story published in the fall 2024 special music issue of Southwest Review)

War of the Worlds

This episode, titled “War of the Worlds,” is the first installment in a new series called Soundstory, a collaboration between Southwest Review and Jaguars in the Attic. This first Soundstory is an audio adaptation of Gabriela Alemán’s story “War of the Worlds”—translated by Dick Cluster—which appears in the winter 2022 issue of Southwest Review. sound design, mixing, and mastering: Spencer Kenney production: Spencer Kenney and Greg Brownderville voice acting: Gabriel Giron Vives story selection: Bobby Rea visual art: Sam Ward print design: Julie Savasky web design: James Kelleway theme music (“Spearman 1974”): Hayden Pedigo marketing and socials: Kieran Danielson The executive producer of Soundstory is Greg Brownderville (EIC of Southwest Review). The Soundstory version of  “War of the Worlds” was recorded at Jaguars in the Attic Studios in Dallas, Texas. For more content from Southwest Review, subscribe to the magazine here [http://southwestreview.com/subscribe/]: http://southwestreview.com/subscribe/ Visit the magazine’s website here [http://southwestreview.com]: http://southwestreview.com For more content from Jaguars in the Attic, subscribe here [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCod3M7HH761oLI99JScMGNA] (YouTube) or here [https://open.spotify.com/show/6Y1SlOQj2RtN00maVaKcOW?si=25df468b46144646] (Spotify) or here [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-greg-brownderville-dimension/id1651654240] (Apple Podcasts). And go here [https://firebones.org] to experience Fire Bones, an online narrative series combining cinematic video, podcasts, music, poetry, and visual art to tell the story of Amra Boustani’s mysterious disappearance.