Periscope Depth

blueprint for a monument

New post up on Overthinking It about a happier 10-year anniversary from this past Sunday: the release of Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint: The shadow of Biggie’s absence was growing more and more notable. Someone needed to step up and become unofficial chairman of the East Coast once more. And by critical consensus, attention fell on [...]

let me take you on a journey through carmel city

The longer I work in marketing, the less comfortable I am with “eighteen to thirty-five” as a demographic. I wouldn’t want to spend 2 minutes in an elevator with most 20-year-olds, and I have to spend another 5 years in the same demo as them? There’s nothing I have in common with them aside from [...]

that’s a one hot album every ten year average

Sean reminded me this morning that it took Illmatic seven years to sell one million copies. Widely considered the best hip-hop album of the 90s, and it wasn’t certified platinum until 2001*. Add to that the fact that the release of Jay-Z’s The Blueprint was overshadowed by planes flying into buildings that morning**. Add to [...]

out to rock the globe while it’s still here to rock

I spent the better part of yesterday listening to classic hip-hop while I worked. I was a latecomer to the genre and my exposure was limited to the commercially successful stuff of my adolescent years – Nas, Biggie, Tupac, Jay-Z and the gangsta tip. Only very recently have I opened my mind to the true [...]

rooftop, like we bringing 88 back

I love the man, but seeing Nas at House of Blues this week was one of the worst concert experiences I’ve ever had. The tickets claimed doors at 7:30, show at 8:30, but there was still a line around the block at 8:15. A third of the second-story mezzanine had been blocked off to form [...]

youuuuuuuuuu

Soulja Boy. That was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it?

now what you hear is not a test

Why does my race (white people) have to ruin everything cool? Everything cool? Item the first: from the upcoming VH1 documentary series, “Lords of the Revolution,” each episode highlighting a controversial figure of the late 60s. Episode 101 is about Muhammed Ali: In an era defined by protest and turbulence, perhaps nobody captured the attention [...]

'cause I'm as ill as the convict who kills for phone time

If you’re not already subscribing, you should check out this week’s Overthinking It podcast, in which four white guys and an Asian argue about rap music. We also sling terms like “racially normative” around and, at one point, call Mozart “soulless and technical.” It’s the most controversial podcast I’ve ever been on; don’t miss it. [...]

there ain't no need for ya

I have a real problem with pop songs that coast to success by sampling really, really good songs. The most recent example of this is M.I.A.’s breakout hit, “Paper Planes.” The backing track comes from The Clash’s classic ur-ragga of post-colonial blues, “Straight to Hell.” Take one good song, a catchy hook (“all I wanna [...]

I ran like a cheetah with thoughts of an assassin

Observed in Target this past Thursday: a scruffy white guy in his late-20s with an oversized sweatshirt, depicting one of Snow White’s dwarves giving a fist jab to the Grim Reaper, under the motto “COUSINS.” I stared unabashedly at the guy until I recognized the dwarf as Sleepy, and then I was like, oh, yeah. [...]

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  • Periscope Depth

    The website of John Perich, author of TOO CLOSE TO MISS and editor for Overthinking It. He's learning about writing, marketing, publishing and promotion, and he encourages you to learn along with him.

    perich@periscopedepth.com

  • TOO CLOSE TO MISS




    "... opens with a bang and never relents ..."
    "... from chapter one, I couldn't put the damn thing down ..."
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    Mara Cunningham knew that sleeping with a married man was a bad idea. But when her lover shows up in the hospital after his wife and son are murdered, the rumors about her turn dangerous. Now she's the prime suspect in a double homicide, and the real killers will stop at nothing to silence her ...

    Buy the book that readers are calling "a great, suspenseful thriller" at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.



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