Still one of the most beautiful albums of this (or any other) decade. Myriam Gendron - Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found (2021)

Jennifer Kelly is facing a tough battle against cancer after her diagnosis on Christmas Day, and the costs are overwhelming. Please consider clicking the link below to donate or share it with others who might help. gofund.me/7a7486b6b

One of the unexpected and very sweet, moving perks of getting engaged is that when you tell people you’re engaged, you get to hear their engagement stories. I delight in each one!

The Quiet American Pete Turner, 1958

John Ashbery

2020: First Cow 2021: Memoria 2022: The Fabelmans 2023: The Plains 2024: La Chimera 2025: One Battle After Another

For the past few years, I’ve always started the new year with a Bach recording I haven’t heard before. Today’s is this one, arranged for two violins using Just Intonation tunings: anothertimbre.bandcamp.com/album/bach-t...

My favorite books of the year (that I own). The two throughlines of my reading this year: Pynchon and graphic novels. Not pictured but top of the heap: From Hell, Olivier Schrauwen’s Sunday, Daniel Clowes’s Monica, and (not a graphic novel) Henry James’s The Beast in the Jungle.

Really hit a wall with movies this year: I spent the first half of the year unable to muster much interest in watching anything (except for Andor). Ended up on a Zhangke, Chaplin, and Hitchcock kick this summer that snapped me out of it, mostly. My favorite first watches of 2025:

Police: have you been watching movies? Me: a few Police: a few what?

here's another talk we want to share with you. it's a few chats that all kind of converged around some form of nostalgia. that, and trying to suss out what impediments in our lives are bc of our phones, and what might be just good old-fashioned self-defeat. oh and tamagotchis — remember those?

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Magic Tuber Jam with Elkhorn, Powers/Rolin Duo, Liam Grant, and almost every other musician present at Fly Around Festival in Lansing, NC.

Spending the last few days of summer up in the NC mountains, seeing a host of favorites at the inaugural Fly Around Festival.

Reading Inherent Vice at the local swimming hole

Folgers coffee and a Krispy Kreme donut and the incredible new Ryan Davis album on the stereo this morning: sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com/album/ryan-d...

The great Ozzy Osbourne has gone through the final change on this plane of existence. Here is an arrangement of “Changes” by Black Sabbath that I humbly offer in tribute. RIP.

And for anyone who wishes that someone had recorded a blissed-out 40-minute New Age version of Planet Caravan, I give you... tuluumshimmering.bandcamp.com/album/planet...

#NowWatching One of our local venues runs a film series throughout the year, which is the only chance around Chattanooga to see some classic movies in a theater. Seeing this for the first time tonight.

Keep thinking about this Alan Shapiro poem that A.E. Stallings discussed in her talk on rhyme at the Sewanee Writers Conference yesterday. Never heard of Shapiro but immediately ordered one of his books when we got out.

#NowWatching In honor of Stanwyck’s birthday, my first King Vidor film

Went into this with low expectations, given its reputation, but I ended up knocked out by it. Extremely funny, of course, but also mournful and angry. Has a sentence (or several) every couple of pages that I would just marvel at. I used to hate Pynchon but now I see how wrong I was.

We’re thrilled to share the jacket for Thomas Pynchon’s highly anticipated new novel Shadow Ticket, coming October 7, 2025! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316427...

Sat down this morning and made a list of my favorite albums this year. Hard to pick a singular favorite: maybe the caroline record, maybe The Tubs (certainly my most-listened this year), maybe the John Cage recordings, which sparked a small obsession with his music (the piece "Dream" most of all).

Proust on good books. From "Within a Budding Grove."

July reading plans, to keep me company while continuing to slowly work through Vineland.

In Atlanta for AP training this week and ended up at The Bug Club show tonight with four dear friends. I liked The Bug Club, now I love The Bug Club.

Nels Cline at Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga, TN

JP ETA IVtet @npr.org TD:

Etran de L’Aïr at JJ’s Bohemia in Chattanooga, TN

Rich Ruth at JJ’s Bohemia in Chattanooga, TN

I asked students to memorize passages from Macbeth, a first for me, and today was the deadline, which means I had students approaching me throughout the day to recite Shakespeare. It was delightful, one of the best things that’s happened this school year.

Haven’t spent much time with John Cage’s music until now, but in the past few days I’ve been obsessed with this “Dream” piece on the new Apartment House release: anothertimbre.bandcamp.com/track/dream

My reading spot for the afternoon. Hope to finish Solstad’s Shyness & Dignity this weekend.

I interviewed the phenomenal Kevin Drumm about 10 records from his brilliant catalogue, for @thequietus.com was a real pleasure to learn a little more about his music and the stories behind it. thequietus.com/interviews/s...

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings at The Walker Theatre in Chattanooga, TN

Spent the past weekend at Big Ears festival in Knoxville, TN, seeing about 25 different musical performances over four days. This was my 10th year attending, and it was one of the best times I’ve ever had there.

Tonight’s the last night of Christmas Break for me, so I spent it watching Howard Hawks’ Ball of Fire. Had somehow never seen Barbara Stanwyck in anything until last year; one 2025 project of mine is to watch a lot more movies she’s in.

Can only post a half-complete stack of my favorite books I read this year because I’ve made ample use of the library and interlibrary loan. Nonetheless:

It was that prolonged, flat, cheerless week that follows Christmas. My own existence seemed infinitely stagnant. —Anthony Powell, The Acceptance World

Drone for the holidaze thorsrubberhammer.bandcamp.com/album/last-w...

Enjoyed this little riff on “that lonesome distance proper to country music” from Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones, a late-breaking contender for one of the three or four best books I’ve read this year.

Spent the weekend raving about the new Advance Base album to all my friends, only to discover around 4:00 yesterday that he was playing in Chattanooga last night. Two sets: one of songs that include the word “Christmas” (including John Prine and Bill Fox covers) and one of the new material.

Can’t get over the fact that in March I will watch Eiko Ishibashi play live music in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Finally on summer break as of today, which means I’m thinking up too many ambitious summer projects. One I’d like to stick to is finally exploring Fassbinder’s filmography, starting with this one today:

Fulfilling a dream tonight and seeing Neil Young for the first time with my Dad.

My principal is a voracious reader and has been on a major Hardy kick. When he came to our department meeting in January, he seemed disappointed no one wanted to talk Hardy with him, so I started reading Madding Crowd. It’s become one of the longer reading experiences of my life.

Rough day, felt bad, listened to this record, felt better sophomorelounge.bandcamp.com/album/ryan-d...

In Nashville for the weekend. First stop, of course, is the Belcourt. We’re seeing Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera.