Robert Christgau's Xgau Sez Q&A for October is up on his website now: robertchristgau.com/xgausez.php?...

Music Week: 24 albums, 3 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 50 albums, 4 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Err, no, the new further thoughts on "Cooking Chinese (Again)" are here: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

More thoughts on my "Cooking Chinese" post: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

New Notes on Everyday Life post, on how a working class clod from Kansas learned to cook Chinese: notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/cooking-ch...

A stray reference led me to the Bandcamp for About Time Records, and I wound up listening to everything there. The pick hit is this solo album by Revolutionary Ensemble drummer Jerome Cooper: "The Unpredictability of Predictability." about-time-records.bandcamp.com/album/the-un...

Music Week: 33 albums, 2 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I sent out a new letter through Notes on Everyday Life, called "More Thoughts About Loose Tabs": notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/more-thoug...

Music Week: 36 albums, 6 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 39 albums, 8 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Loose Tabs: A big one: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

New Notes on Everyday Life: More Thoughts on Bernie Sanders and Capitalism, where I examine his "Real Politics Is Smart Politics" issue list, and put him (and Trump) into a context where a revolution is brewing but we don't know how: notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/more-thoug...

Music Week: 38 albums, 10 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 35 albums, 8 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Pick Hit: Cam Pierce: A Thousand Lonely Horses (2025, self-released): Western-oriented country singer-songwriter, has the voice and songs, even offers a free download. [9] www.campiercemusic.com/1000lonelyho...

Must-read article on what the Trump administration is really all about: isn't everything else, no matter how outrageous (and sure, we're talking insanely, ridiculously outrageous) just distractions to divert your attention from the real con? prospect.org/power/2025-0...

Music Week: 44 albums, 8 (+2) A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Pick Hit: Jason Kao Hwang: Myths of Origin (2022 [2025], True Sound): top violinist, for improvising string orchestra and drum set, every bit as glorious as you'd expect. [9] jasonkaohwang.bandcamp.com/album/jason-...

Newly posted on Notes on Everyday Life: Bernie Sanders Finds It's OK to Talk Like an Old Lefty - a few comments on his book (and political life): notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/bernie-san...

I haven't done anything with Substack Notes yet, but I got an email digest and clicked on a Richard Kamins item - substack.com/@richardkami... - and virtually everything that followed in the feed proved interesting, unlike all my other social media feeds (skipped the videos, of course).

Music Week: 38 albums, 6 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Pick Hit: Dylan Hicks & Small Screens: Avian Field Recordings (2025, Soft Launch): Songs with ambient interludes that reward listening when you notice, and are enjoyable when you don't. [9] dylan-hicks.bandcamp.com/track/avian-...

Pick Hit: Maria Muldaur: One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey (2025, Nola Blue): Another great blues tribute, she finds the risque songs you'd expect and makes them even more salacious. [10] mariamuldaur.bandcamp.com/album/one-ho...

Loose Tabs: scattered news and view collected over 28 days (20699 words): tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I wrote about Sheila Jordan in Notes on Everyday Life: notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/sheila-jor...

I swear I don't make a habit of keeping track of every moron on right-wing payrolls, but I instantly recognized the name of Trump's pick to launder BLS stats (and/or destroy the department), one EJ Antoni. Chris Lehman explains: www.thenation.com/article/poli...

Pick Hit: Sheila Jordan with Roni Ben-Hur & Harvie S: Portrait Now (2023 [2025], Dot Time): Dead now at 96, but at 94 she was still able to sum up a lifetime of brilliance. [9] dottimerecords.bandcamp.com/album/portra...

Music Week: 33 albums, 1 A-list, further notes on everyday life: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Kicking off my Notes on Everyday Life newsletter with a bit about which stories we think matter, and those we'd rather pretend didn't exist. Link: notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/four-stories

Music Week: 38 albums, 5 A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

HM: Doseone & Height Keech: Wood Teeth (Hands Made, EP): 6 blistering songs (12:13) of metal-edged hip-hop protest music. [8] doseone.bandcamp.com/album/wood-t...

Music Week: 35 albums, 3 (+2) A-List: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Wasn't easy, but I've edited my initial "Coming soon" Substack Notes on Everyday Life page (had to use Chrome; still have much to figure out, but serves as a mission statement): notesoneverydaylife.substack.com/p/coming-soon

All week I've been meaning to tend to my new Substack account: edit the "Coming Soon" page, review the settings, not sure what else (needs some planning), but when I tried today, literally nothing there is working. Anyone know what's up? notesoneverydaylife.substack.com

Music Week: 33 albums, 5 (+4) A-list: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

New Loose Tabs: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Music Week: 32 albums, 1 A-list, more poll wrap up, and looking forward: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

I wrote a rather personal debriefing about my work on the Mid-Year 2025 Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll, including what it was like to work with and without Davis, how I see the poll, and where I see it going. tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Pick Hit: Antonio Borghini & Banquet of Consequences: Resta Chi Va (2024 [2025], We Insist!): Bassist-led sextet offers a feast with saxophones (Tobias Delius & Pierre Borel). [9] weinsist.bandcamp.com/album/resta-...

I just checked, and on X my tweet announcing the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Mid-Term Poll, a project I've worked a solid month on, has 33 views in 6.5 hours. A similar Jan. tweet had 352. No idea about my post here. Link again: artsfuse.org/313711/the-a...

ArtsFuse has published my introduction and overview of the Mid-Year 2025 Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll, along with an essay about the poll by Jon Garelick. Complete results, including 113 ballots, are also available. My piece: artsfuse.org/313711/the-a...

Music Week: 57 albums, 11 A-list: another big jazz week: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...

Pick Hit: Dee Dee Bridgewater + Bill Charlap: Elemental (2025, Mack Avenue): Standards singer shows us what she can do with just a bit of piano accompaniment. [9] deedeebridgewater.bandcamp.com/album/elemen...

Pick Hit: Sinsuke Fujieda Group: Fukushima (2025, SoFa): By "spiritual jazz" they mean sounds like Coltrane, only groovier. [9] sofa-records.bandcamp.com/album/fukush...

Pick Hit: Freedom Art Quartet: First Dance (2025, self-released): Obscure group founded 1991 by Lloyd Haber and Omar Kabir, with one 2003 record, regroup for a thrilling freebop extravaganza. [9] freedomartquartet.bandcamp.com/album/first-...

I got this email yesterday, from the Social Security Administration, applauding passage of Trump's death-and-desolation bill. It finally convinced me that the federal government has given up all pretense of public service and turned into one "big, beautiful" propaganda ministry.

In 2024 I hadn't noticed any mid-year jazz lists, so I ran a poll. All About Jazz jumped in front, and they've outdone themselves this year, with 3 picks each from 55 contributors. Our poll (~110, 10 in both), is still a week out, but this is a good appetizer: www.allaboutjazz.com/best-jazz-al...

Music Week Pick Hit: Motian & More: Gratitude (2022-23 [2025], Phonogram Unit): Paul Motian tribute (with a side of Monk) from Portugal. [9] hernanifaustino.bandcamp.com/album/gratit...

Just so you know, I added a fairly large amount of material (3200 words) to Friday's Loose Tabs post, on many of the big stories of the day: tomhull.com/ocston/blog/...