NYC Comptroller Brad Lander: "I don't think the line for the [Democratic] party right now is between progressives and moderates; I think it's between fighters and folders."

Best characterization ever of social media? "Participatory disinfotainment" (from Richard Seymour's book Disaster Nationalism)

One block over from the White House: the aspirational security line setup

‘What sort of reconstruction, by now inevitably a radical one, of actually existing liberal democracy would be required to put an end to the oligarchies it has spawned?’ Perry Anderson on regime change in the West: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

I had a great conversation with Mack Hagood about music in the lives of American soldiers for his indispensable podcast Phantom Power. phantompod.org/david-suisma...

Jasmine Crockett speaks for me (and multitudes, and oy, WATCH THE VIDEO!)

If you need a break from the headlines, I'll be giving a talk on music and soldiers to the University of Cambridge's Centre for Geopolitics next Monday, 12pm ET, online and free. You can register here. www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/events/5644-2/

Here’s a short piece I wrote about music & the Iraq War, for the website Good Authority. It's an annotated playlist of 7 remarkable recordings to help understand that war, from hip hop to classical to experimental collage. Guaranteed to be new to most people! goodauthority.org/news/good-pl...

Hilarious and brilliant protest radio this morning: @wfmu.bsky.social's Joe Belock let the Band's "Cripple Creek" skip on the line "To the Gulf of Mexico" . . . for four minutes.

Gig alert. I’ll be talking about my new book Instrument of War in a webinar hosted by the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge on Mar 3. The event will be on Zoom and open to the public. Registration info in the comments below. www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/events/5644-2/

A blast from the past (2023)

“I will not give into the lies. I will not give into the fear.”

Thanks, @adamrothman.bksy.social for the plugs--not just the book but my website for the book too

DC-area folks: on Feb 7, I will be in convo with Jeremy Braddock about my new book Instrument of War and his brilliant new book about the Firesign Theatre at People’s Books in Takoma Park. I would love to see you there! peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/firesi...

I'm delighted that the History News Network has just published an excerpt from my book Instrument of War. It's from the chapter on the war in Vietnam, "Demythologizing the Rock-and-Roll War." www.hnn.us/article/not-...