Looking back over what I've written about the late Sonny Rollins over the years, and I found this: "If you tried to simplify jazz sax to a model as simple as a tree, the trunk would be Coleman Hawkins, with Sonny Rollins standing on his shoulders [like Newton]. Everyone else is just a branch."

Due to some logistical issues, I didn't get Music Week up on Monday, but I sent out a sneak peek with 8 reviews to my Notes on Everyday Life subscribers (the full thing will be up in a couple days): open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

Pick Hit: Carsie Blanton & the Burning Hell: Everything Is Great! (2026, self-released): Political songs for a time when the president is insane and we're getting there too. [10] carsieblanton.bandcamp.com/album/everyt...

Music Week: 39 albums, 3 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 41 albums, 6 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Loose Tabs: 331 links, 23399 words: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

New Notes on Everyday Life post: The Real Road to Serfdom (based on Tim Wu's book, "The Age of Extraction"): open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

Music Week: 31 albums, 4 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I dusted off my March 2003 "day of infamy" post about the Bush invasion of Iraq, adding some notes and context, as it remains pretty relevant today: open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

Link to Phil Overeem's latest monthly album list, most of which I'll be checking out soon (although Anthony Joseph's "The Ark" made my latest Music Week; I also subscribed to his Substack): livingtolisten.blog/2026/05/01/g...

Music Week: 47 albums, 8 A-list, long intro follows up on recent writings: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I wrote a fairly substantial piece on Explaining Inflation, and sent it out to my Notes on Everyday Life Substack: open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

Trita Parsi expects an Iran deal framework soon, and Israel to try to sabotage it. He adds: "If he really wants the deal, Trump will have to be tougher on Netanyahu than he has ever been before." Hard to do when Trump has the attention span (and possibly the spine) of a moth.

Music Week: 33 albums, 7 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Loose Tabs: Trying to decipher the madness of the Trump-Netanyahu wars, with 255 links, 17438 words covering 24 days: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

While I admit that "TACO" is funny, not least because it takes a bully down a notch, but we should also be clear that what appears to be "chickening out" are actually rare moments of sanity: they invariably involve backing away from taunts and plans that are truly insane, and often evil.

Music Week: 33 albums, 5 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Iran War: The Big Question: How does this end? Or does it end at all? Link: open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

"Why did Trump go along with the attack? Because he wants to be seen as a tough guy, and he thought that killing the Ayatollah would make him a hero (which he needed as his polling continued to tank). Also because he’s stupid and gullible." Link: notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/iran-war-t...

I published a Substack essay on "Iran War: The Three Questions," which covers the basics everyone needs to know: open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

Music Week: 38 albums, 7 (+1) A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I added some updates (look for red change bars) to Sunday's Loose Tabs post, pushing it over 25k words: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 45 albums, 5 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Desperately trying to keep up with the news in Loose Tabs (255 links, 22276 words), probably more than half on Trump, Netanyahu, and their Iran war: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: Delayed, but making up for it with 52 albums, 11 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I've written a fairly long piece on Trump's war against Iran, reason and decency. I called it "Days of Infamy," although I point out that for Americans it is more a Day of Ignominy. Link: open.substack.com/pub/notesone...

Pick Hit: Dead Pioneers: Dead Pioneers (2023, self-released): Bad Indian, Doom Indian, Tired of World Up My Ass, just 4 of 12 songs in 22:01. [9] deadpioneers.bandcamp.com/album/dead-p...

Music Week (wrapping up February): 38 albums, 2 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Minor update to Friday's "Loose Tabs," including recognition (but not much detailed reporting) of the lastest "day of infamy": tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Loose Tabs, stretching out over 34 days, to 365 links, 25049 words, yet some stories still leave me speechless: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week returns: 42 albums, 11 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I noted and archived Robert Christgau's February Xgau Sez on his website: robertchristgau.com/xgausez.php?...

Dan Ex Machina released a new song on ICE: danexmachina.bandcamp.com/track/ac-ai

All the Music Week that's fit to publish this week: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Sunday morning listening from the Delmore Brothers: "You Can't Do Wrong and Get By": www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-kR...

Music Week: 34 albums (short week), 1 A-list (promoted), strange times: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Viz. Trump's Board of Peace, let me refer you back to my Oct. 17 review of Trump's "Peace Plan for Gaza": notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/gaza-war-p...

I added a few thousand more words to Loose Tabs, mostly on breaking stories, including the murder of Alex Pretti, Mark Carney's Davos speech, and the truly sinister "Board of Peace": tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 53 albums, 3 A-list. Link: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Loose Tabs: Picked this up after finishing my jazz poll, but took me almost two weeks to catch up (459 links, 31382 words, and who knows how much I still missed?): tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Zack Beauchamp does a good job of explaining how Trump was never a dove but he doesn't quite get to why: the problem is endemic to conservatives, who are always quick to use violence to defend their precious hierarchy: www.vox.com/politics/474...

Here's my introduction to the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. I hoped to write more about Francis Davis, but cut it short as the main thing was to provide a table of contents for the rest of the articles: artsfuse.org/322847/the-2...

Music Week: 49 albums, 3 A-list; notes on the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I've unlocked the ballots and results for the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. The articles are published at ArtsFuse. Links to them can be found on the poll website, here: hullworks.net/jazzpoll/25/

New Notes on Everyday Life (Substack) post: Editing Help Needed. Could be viewed as a desperate "Hail Mary" pass, but I'm a big believer in the "open source" lesson about "more eyeballs." Link: notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/editing-he...

Saddened to hear that Rebecca Kilgore just died. Here's a sample from one of her best albums: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H81-...

Woke up this morning with "Surabaya Johnny" rattling through my brain. Not sure which recent version triggered those thoughts, but when I got to my computer, I played first Lotte Lenya then this remarkable version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukrE...

Music Week: 40 albums, 7 A-list, long introduction, much to say here: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week, or at least the start of one, as I mostly talk about what needs to be done to wrap up the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll, and some help I could use in doing so. The week's albums will be added when I get a bit of time: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Pick hit: Arkady Gotesman: Music for an Imaginary Ballet (2000-25 [2025], NoBusiness): Lithuanian drummer, samples 25 years of remarkable free jazz, mostly duos which he turns into a seamless masterpiece. [9] nobusinessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-...