Music

I pride myself on being a glutton for punishment when it comes to this sort of thing, but this is beyond the pale. twitter.com/SPIN/status/10…

The most honest music is spare, quiet, slow. It gives its maker nowhere to hide.

New wrinkle: Going to @xoxo would mean missing @thejesuslizard in Philly BUT I’d be able to see @AndrewWk while in Portland… 🤔

My dream didn’t quite accuse the government of engineering a hurricane to bankrupt the acclaimed rapper Nelly, but the implication was there

Not many people will be qualified to advise on this, but my September now requires a choice between @thejesuslizard and @xoxo. Help! 😫

My afternoon earworm is Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do It for You),” but thankfully it is the @mattsinger & @r_emmet karaoke version.

However it all eventually ends for me, I’m just glad I got to be here for Reign in Blood.

Hello, dear reader!

June is gone, but its links remain.

It was a relatively busy month on my site! I had an unexpected reason to revisit an animated student film I made 20 years ago, wrote about designing better concert listings, chronicled my experience learning about the future of typography at the Ampersand conference, and offered middling reviews of the year’s most celebrated horror films, A Quiet Place and Hereditary.

This month’s links are the sort… See more →

This is just stupid enough that I’d consider spending a limited amount of actual money on it. mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/us/…

Can’t overstate what Vinnie Paul’s superhuman drumming meant to me as a teen. His father has now outlived his whole family. So, so sad. RIP.

Not gonna pretend I’m not onboard with the Degrassi TNG reunion in the new Drake video. youtu.be/rIhx2wZ8jnA

I’m an avid consumer of live music, and New York City offers a ton of concert options on any given night, so I spend a lot of time poring over listings to make sure I don’t miss anything good. One of the primary ways I find out about shows is email marketing; I probably average about two dozen emails each week from various venues and promoters. And I can’t help wondering how much easier it… See more →

In my dream, it wasn’t until my live debut as the new Jesus Lizard guitarist that I realized I don’t know how to play any of their songs.

The prize for visuals goes to this iconic Tim Cappello performance, serving up his sax with a side of beefcake. youtube.com/watch?v=fDrTT5…

I’ll start: INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart.” Sax solo by Kirk Pengilly. youtube.com/watch?v=T2CmcW…

Tell me your favorite rock/pop saxophone solo.

Hello, dear reader!

May is gone, but its links remain.

The only thing I published on my site this month was a brief, snarky review of a 69-year-old movie (nice), but if all goes well in June, I’ll have a couple of substantial posts about creative projects (new and old) coming your way.

The links below include some meaty reporting on politics and a triptych of opinion pieces on our culture wars’ state of discourse.… See more →

PSA: According to the t-shirt in front of me on the jetway, the band Tesla is still kickin’ ass.

Madonna’s “Vogue,” so I guess I’m a poser. twitter.com/Swank0cean/sta…

Got an email about my JetBlue reservation, started singing “this is not your boarding pass” in the style of Mission of Burma. youtube.com/watch?v=Dymnx8…

Never realized how much dancing I do at my standing desk at home until I got a standing desk at work.

👨🏾‍💻👩🏼‍💻🕺🏻👨🏽‍💻👩🏻‍💻

First time in the @philauu basement in a decade (to see @KINGTUFFY) and it feels as familiar as ever, like no time has passed at all.

when youre sitting there like what should i listen to and then youre like duh bad brains

I’ve decided to let you all know that Yanni is stuck in my head and I’m generally fine with it. youtube.com/watch?v=JfSSQ3…

“Glover forces us to relive public traumas and barely gives us a second to breathe before he forces us to dance.” newyorker.com/culture/cultur…

“It would be nice if those [using] their talents as entrée into another realm would do so with the same care […] they took in their craft.” twitter.com/TheAtlantic/st…

Hello, dear reader!

April is gone, but its links remain.

I’ve been obsessed with my current personal project lately (more on that soon), so apart from a handful of very brief movie reviews, I didn’t do much writing in April, though the web designers in the audience might want to take a look at my notes from last week’s Generate conference.

The links this go-round include some gems for Prince fans on the second anniversary of… See more →

It is a perfect spring day outside and I’m the guy cleaning his apartment with the curtains closed, listening to Concrete Blonde.

Talking Heads’ “Sugar on My Tongue” except it’s “Broccoli in My Teeth”

Sweet Jesus I will be spending a lot of time with the annotated discography just launched by the Prince Estate. princeestate.com

“He realized he had to socially handicap himself to be the artist he wanted to be […] he had to be a complete enigma.” twitter.com/guardian/statu…

Prince’s original 1984 recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was just released for the first time. 💜 pitchfork.com/news/listen-to…