A first: I left a show before the headliner I’d bought tickets to see because I hated the openers so much

Rest in power one of the great songwriters of our time m.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cF...

What a wild interpretation!

What a treat to get to make music with these people again

every sports team is a Ship of Theseus

Low-key casting coup in the Springsteen movie is Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase as a more convincing young Max Weinberg than Max’s actual drummer son would have been

FWIW the weed store by me if absolutely dominated by the camo crowd

Are we making a distinction between “dog-walking” and “boat-racing”?

Anyone goofing on kids for the six-seven thing should look deep in their soul and ask whether they ever thought or said quietly to themselves "nice" after seeing the numbers six-nine

The loneliest path

The other example of this that comes to mind americanmusicclub1.bandcamp.com/album/love-s...

Extraordinary when a great band who had gone away after a couple impeccable albums returns as if no time had passed at all wearegoodluck.bandcamp.com/album/big-dr...

these colors don't run 🫡

Remarkable to have a playoffs where it does seem like the better team won in each round

For this weekend’s Fall Books issue, the @wsj.com asked if I’d write about the new Talking Heads bio

It's the Fall Books double-issue at the WSJ and it's terrific. Moira Hodgson on Susan Orlean, Hugh Eakin on Douglas Cooper, Franz Nicolay on Talking Heads, Anna Mundow on John Banville, Kyle Smith on Marty McFly, Gioia Diliberto on Jane Birkin, Thomas Mallon on Updike! www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

“Sixers,” 2023

This book is terrific; if you haven’t already read it, here’s your chance to listen to it:

“Band People” audiobook is out today (weirdly, with a stock-image cover, but whatever) wherever you get your listening!

Wear earplugs

This is such fun, thanks @franznicolay.bsky.social Everyone else, tomorrow is Bandcamp Friday, go get it

The conspiracy theory I kind of believe is from the cabdriver who told me these things were mechanical Turks being driven by kids with joysticks in Indonesia.

I had a discussion with Shahzad Ismaily in advance of his upcoming concert at the Walker Center: walkerart.org/magazine/sha...

Mookie come to the Teragram this weekend

@mattsargent.bsky.social thinking of making a coffee but figured I should check with you

Getting asked for a tip by an automated touchscreen, that’s a new one

Love it when friends have new books, but especially when they’re really good—congrats @melikhovo.bsky.social & @jasondiamond.bsky.social!

The Railway Children 2:

Twiddle-and-fuss music

Militia vibes from this festival runner crew

Impeccable band name/album title combo

Textbook Nord shame

Profoundly honored to have "Band People" reviewed by the great Simon Frith in the new issue of Popular Music: “An important and illuminating book…Nicolay brilliantly uses his interviews to illustrate the complexities” (full text in replies) resolve.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Teach the controversy

Still floors me every time after all these years @franznicolay.bsky.social is a master of his craft

Humming “Perfect Day” as I pull into the Sam’s Club parking lot to buy toilet paper in bulk

HEY WE'RE THE BEAVER DECEIVERS ONE TWO THREE FOUR

Fully diminish a band: AC/EbGb

Piano rolls of despair

New @fishboneband.bsky.social goes harder than it had to and I’m into it

I’m playing this ABC No Rio benefit in Brooklyn next Saturday the 23rd

Region’s foremost Yo-Yo Ma tribute

“organ grinders and other street nuisances”

RIP to Flaco Jimenez, one of my early accordion inspirations. Here's a chunk of Les Blank's film "Chulas Fronteras" with Flaco making music in the Tex-Mex borderlands in the 70's. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXrw...

here's to Mike Garson at 80. One of Bowie's essential musicians. The isolated piano track of "Aladdin Sane": www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOcy...

Shit I better head to the platform

For a euro more I’ll tell you it’s big

I wrote a little more about musicians’ unions outside North America, and outside the capitalist world, here: open.substack.com/pub/pianofig...