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THE ELECTRIC REVIEW is an on-line book and music broadside
dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts and academia. The magazine will
offer monthly critiques of recent book and music releases, offering readers a
broad sampling of material while presenting writers and musicians of all genres
a more equitable chance for publicity.
In pursuit of this, reviews are written not so much in a
formula style, but rather in a manner meant to stress the underlying
themes of the material: our goal is simply to make the reader excited about
the possibilities these books and records hold.
The need for the Electric Review is obvious and
long over-due.
Artists, no matter how big the name, are at the mercy of the devious
corporate politics that drive our mainstream media. Those writers with small
publishers, or those whose work bears a "non-commercial" label, often receive no
attention at all -- their efforts wholly undiscovered, their books wallowing in
waste in putrid obscurity.
But the immorality of this system pierces still deeper: An artist held back
from public view has, in reality, been intentionally silenced. His
tongue's been cut out. It's a crime levied against our collective soul against
our collective conscience. And this, then, brings us to the relevant mission of
the Electric Review - to allow writers and musicians a platform
through which to reclaim their voices, presenting them with the
opportunity to be heard.
The Electric Review focuses on all aspects of book
publishing, and each "issue" of the Review contains critical analysis
on books from various subject areas (including textbooks in all academic
fields). In addition, new authors and works of fiction are given special
consideration as a means to promote books and writers who otherwise would be
ignored by the conventional print media. The same approach is taken when
reviewing music, as we attempt to expand the things you see and hear.
In sum, this is a non-commercial
site: Existing like the poetry of Kenneth Patchen or Robert Duncan, its sole
objective to scale the naked mountains of pure intellectual enlightenment
(my sole and complete purpose to inspire the bloom of eternal imagination while
helping to shed light on the sacred paths of both Nation and Self).
 BIOGRAPHY:
John Aiello has been a practicing journalist for over 25 years, with an abiding
interest/expertise in the Beat Generation and post-20th century poetics. In the
course of his career, he has published material on the fine arts (books, music,
film and popular culture), in addition to science, psychology, biology,
medicine, religion, business, law, government, the social sciences, the
Constitution, civil rights, abuse of power by police, and corruption in the
insurance industry (as a consultant). Educated at College of The Siskiyous,
Southern Oregon State University and San Francisco State University, Aiello has
published his work in the San Francisco Chronicle, (as well as the San Francisco
Examiner /Chronicle - Sunday Edition), Jack Magazine (with links to
Big Bridge), McClure-Manzarek.com, Larry Keenan's Dead Beat Picture
Gallery (introducing Keenan's photo feature), the San Francisco Daily
Journal, the American Muse, the Siskiyou Pioneer, the San Jose Mercury News,
Consumer Health Interactive, the Beat Page, the Auburn Journal, Auburn Journal
Extra, the Mount Shasta Herald, the North Bay Bohemian, The University of
California, San Francisco Medical Center's international website (for the
complete article, see the link:
www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/profiles/h.html),
California Wine and Food, BookZen,
North American Precis Syndicate, Taste California Travel, TNT's Drama
Lounge, Chico News & Review, Reno News & Review, the Redding Record
Searchlight, Wavelength Magazine, Griots.net, the Sacramento Bee and the Los
Angeles Daily Journal. He was also the National Correspondent for the
American Muse and contributed significantly to both the magazine's genesis and
evolution before it ceased operations in 2002. Additionally, countless reviews
written by Aiello have been excerpted and used by publishers, authors and record
labels in the course of marketing their products. Aiello's work is known among
writers, publishers, literary agents and publicists who trust that his critiques
will be fair-minded and thorough and his knowledge of the subject matter
complete. Many well-established and award-winning authors have championed his
work, including Michael McClure, Michael Baughman and Peter Sussman, as well as
the late Herb Caen, the late Richard Hemp, the late Arthur Hoppe, the late Allan
Temko and the late Allen Ginsberg. In the summer of 2001, Aiello retired from
his position at the San Francisco Chronicle, having spent over 14 years working
in the newsroom there. Presently, Aiello continues to publish The
Electric Review (having launched the magazine in 2003),
further showcasing some of his journalism in various print-based newspapers and
on-line magazines throughout the country. In addition, Aiello is preparing a
book-length manuscript of his own poetry for commercial publication.
 FROM RAT'S NOTEBOOK is a column from the desk of the Editor, and
content here will evolve naturally, according to the natural progression of the
mind. In some issues, subject matter will parallel a general interest topic of
the day: news items, music, literature, art; in other issues, perhaps a poem or
a story whereby upon conclusion you rise up stark from your numb bed --
thinking.
More from Rat's Notebook...
NOTICE TO PUBLISHERS, RECORD
LABELS AND WRITERS:
The Electric
Review makes every effort to offer a balanced and fair representation
of books and music available to the public. Our goal is to offer a broad
sampling of material from myriad sources in an attempt to broaden the scope of
the reader’s interest. However, due to the sheer number of queries the magazine
receives, we are not able to feature every single title that is submitted for
review consideration, nor will we ever promise or guarantee coverage for an
author or performer or publishing house.
Our
policy is to review material based on The Editor's
discretion, without consideration of the size of the publisher or the purported
scope of an author's influence. Instead, our reviews are written based on merit
as we seek to bring notice of the best books being published to our readers. The
same system is in place for our coverage of music-related products. ~The
Editor
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