I saw and heart Sir Paul do “Maybe I’m Amazed” tonight. A dream I’ve had since I was a smitten middle schooler. Was he pitchy? Maybe. was it still sublime? Completely.

Today our first All Songs Plus episode for subscribers is up! Please consider paying less than the price of a latte for this series. Because it's irresistible, this new ep is all about "A Thousand Miles" by the great Vanessa Carlton! Check it out here: www.npr.org/2025/11/05/n...

Thanks for making this readable! In this newsletter I explore the idea of songs/artists making it "if there's any justice," and what exactly creates the unfair circumstances in the pop marketplace.

I just saw an influencer use the phrase "the message life." Please tell me this is not a thing.

yes!!

Zandi Holup is touring with Steve Earle right now and it totally makes sense, she's telling outlaw stories from a woman's point of view, love her voice www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Ot...

This is a perfect spooky season song love it @brosaleigh.bsky.social www.undertheradarmag.com/news/premier...

I know it's wayyyy too early for Xmas music but I'm working on something so I'm listening to it and it's bonkers how Ella drops a shard of a MURDER BALLAD into her version of Rudolph www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5i...

Laufey has competition. Great production by my neighbor Jordan Lehning www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-V...

New Jobi Riccio single, this rocker just gets fiercer by the minute www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JIP...

My partner is awesome

Thank you Lars!!! Please do listen, I think this is really fun if I say so myself

So excited that @gailanndorsey.bsky.social is back -- her first solo recording in over two decades! This arrangement feels like a 21st-century take on late 1960s soul pop and therefore is PERFECT for right now www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgAk...

Love Mike’s reactions here. I knew him when he was a teenage metalhead and that is real love for KISS and the Spaceman!

An army of former video (and record and book) store clerks roars NO!! hanging out in such stores was the best. even chains if that’s all you had

Ever since this, that Louvre heist was inevitable #karma hypebae.com/2021/6/netfl...

Come on down! Both of these books are extraordinary

Looking for books that look at a brief crucial period in an artist's life--like @elijahwald.bsky.social 's Dylan Goes Electric or @peteramescarlin.bsky.social 's latest on Springsteen + Born To Run (or @warrenzanes.bsky.social on the Boss/Nebraska). Would love suggestions esp on nonmusic subjects

My colleague Sheldon Pearce's obituary for D'Angelo www.npr.org/2025/10/14/n...

D'Angelo was remarkable in so many ways. I'm saddest right now, as a fan, that we won't be getting an eccentric late period from him. His contributions remain inestimable but what he would have made in his 50s and onward, I just know it would have been amazing. RIP

If not for Diane Keaton, I'd have never worn a tie. RIP

If you enjoy rock and roll and harmony and power pop cuteness and fun and live in Atlanta or Charlotte go see the Oracle Sisters on the last 2 dates of their U.S. tour. They are Paris-based so this is your chance

A good time to think about frogs as disruptors throughout history. From Aristophanes to Sondheim and beyond www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACz6...

So depressing. I learned how to be a baby cinéaste at fabulous palaces like the Egyptian. (RIP the Seven Gables, the Grand Illusion, the Neptune as a movie theater, the Harvard Exit...)

A small good thing: Rickie Lee Jones is jamming live in her living room right now with one guy on guitar and another on accordion, singing in harmony while her dog wanders in and out: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

This is a story, music writers

Really honest, beautifully wrought piece. Karly is the queen of the telling detail. www.vulture.com/article/wedn...

This is a very good piece on Showgirl and its fallout, and I didn't know about the viral tweet that inspired "Wood" -- knowing that exists really changes how I think about it www.newyorker.com/culture/crit...

This explains the films of Guy Maddin

And this is where I say my current synth pop playlist is totally inspired by your great book RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN. Read it everyone its the Bible on post-punk!

Since y'all enjoyed yesterday's synth pop hit of yore here's another one that defines bop www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdTj...

What if we all did something like this instead of trashing each other online (I am speaking to myself above all)

apropos of nothing this song slaps www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWc_...

And if you want something lush and dreamy and sexy to listen to/watch, including some Ophelia imagery, there's a new song/video by Azam Ali www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiR9...

Anyway I encourage you to take a break and listen to this new album from Say She She, I promise it's a remedy saysheshe.bandcamp.com/album/cut-re...

It's pretty funny given the pile-on that just over a month ago the big online debate about music writers is that they aren't mean enough. Blood is actually delicious, huh fam?

This is the truest thing I’ve read on the Internet in a while

I think it's sexist to continually characterize Taylor Swift as someone playing the victim. Let her be what she clearly wants to be: THE VILLAIN

It may be Tay Day (again) but it's also Pop Conference Day of Engagement! The great @danyelsmith.bsky.social is our leader this year so you wanna be there!! Weird link but here's the call 5bad542b-805c-4b1e-a8a3-7347d2520a14.usrfiles.com/ugd/5bad54_d...

I always really enjoy reviewing Taylor Swift's work and try to give it a measured read. I think Swift is a serious artist deserving a serious response! So here's my Showgirl review www.npr.org/2025/10/03/n...

Oh hell no

perfect Beatles shot -- Paul ready to charm your pants off, Ringo all sweetness, George seeking something, John about to GO OFF

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This is a good idea for Taylor Week

This is exciting music and it has more than a million views after less than a day but ya know, it's not from the U.S. so it's probably not on a lotta radars here. Def watching the rise of Simiran Kaur Dhadli www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0wT...

Raye really channeling some Funky Divas energy here www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK5T...

There’s a movie about this, it’s called Gattaca

Appreciate this, Phil!!

A measured, clear and unimpeachable argument to calm the f down about this whole ”poptimism” business. Well done my friend thank you!!

Interested in the poptimism debate? Watch your feeds tomorrow, a friend o mine has something coming!!