THE READING LIST — The Contender

The Day the Music Burned The New York Times. I was late to the incredibly sad tale of the fire at Universal’s backlot. It destroyed the master recordings of many of the greatest artists of the twentieth century (and obscure ones we’ll never discover). Jody Rosen’s remarkable consideration of cultural loss and the indifference of the digital age.

David Berman Returns The Ringer. Hard to read John Lingan’s incredible profile of Dave Berman who died this week. He wrote so many terrific songs with lyrics that made you think you were discovering English—they were full of mayhem, a bittersweet knowingness and a wonderful strangeness. In light of what happened this hopeful piece is underlined by a sense of foreboding. It stings when he says, “I take pride in the fact that I can walk away from things.” A major loss.

The Quasi-Religious, Damn-Near-Irrational Appeal of Bamboo Fishing Rods Bloomberg. Angling legend and writer John Gierach details the irrational obsession with bamboo rods. Another thing to obsess over.

The Wild Carnival at the Heart of Skiing’s Most Dangerous Race The New Yorker. The strange and decadent doings at Hahnenkamm, the world’s most dangerous downhill race. Nick Paumgarten’s story from a few months back is a history of the skiers, the social setting and his own effort to make it to the bottom of the slope. Terrific.

BONUS: The New York Times obituary of Harley Race, “The Greatest Wrestler On God’s Green Earth.”

THE READING LIST is a regular series about good stories on the internets.