Red Sox just won their 12th game in a row, are now over .500 for the first time since they won the first game of the season. A month ago they were 14 games under .500

Totally dumb on Marte's part but even dumber is that everyone in the world except the umpire knows that's not strike 3 and unless one person immediately challenges it, it just stands and we all just have to accept a game ending when it shouldn't.

Life is good again.

Well-done look back at SY's "Goo" by Reed Jackson. "As a major-label debut, Goo was an unqualified artistic success, bolstering a beloved underground band’s ambitions without losing the idiosyncratic vision which fueled that ambition."

Arne "Fig" Newtons

If yr having baseball withdrawal like me remember the Northwoods Baseball Radio Network, a series of fictional radio baseball broadcasts that are quite the balm. www.sleepbaseball.com

Excellent interview. "if I had a band that people were already talking about, all it really took was sending out the email to the 30-to-50 most important blogs, and within 30 minutes, it would be everywhere. That just does not happen anymore."

My monthly deeper-dive into a single Good Experimental Music release for July is on Michael R. Bernstein's "In A Lost World," for paid subscribers, you can become one if you'd like! www.goodexperimentalmusic.com/a-good-exper...

A very good home run derby + players in the ASG are wearing their own team's unis and not ones made for the game = baseball rules

Today on The Music Book Podcast, we talk to @craigrobertson.bsky.social about his great biography of a massively important musician, "Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly," out now in NZ and coming soon in the US on Auckland University Press themusicbookpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2120946/epis...

I did the right thing the other day and bought a one-month sub to a regional paper b/c it had an article I wanted to read. The paper's site never worked on three different browsers, I went back and forth with support many times, they finally said they couldn't help anymore, great job everyone.

I loved Some Velvet Sidewalk back in the 90s when they were a shambling punk band and now after a 30 year gap they're more a shambling version of Crazy Horse and I love that too. somevelvetsidewalk.bandcamp.com/album/critte...

Albert Ayler would've turned 90 today, born when Marshall Allen was 12 years old.

Mississippi Records is putting out a comp of Portland 80s indie-punk band NEO BOYS including their 1980 7-inch & 1982 12", plus a great booklet w/a new interview and tons of pics and flyers. It's out 7/27 but doesn't seem to be on their site yet, I'll add a link when it appears.

always a must-read!

Some wild score lines from last night: Mets at Braves: Braves up 3-2 in the 8th, Mets up 5-3 top 9, Braves tie 5-5 bottom 9, Mets up 7-5 top 10, Braves score but lost 7-6 bottom 10 Astros at Nats: Astros up 6-1 top 3, Nats tie it 6-6 bottom 3, Nats up 12-6 bottom 5, Nats win 12-11

Nationals were down 6-1 in the 3rd, now up 12-7 in the 7th. It's fun having the highest scoring offense in MLB even if the team overall is decidedly mediocre.

🎉🎉 Don’t forget, today is Bandcamp Monday, where 100% of the money you spend on the music you love goes directly to management consultants working on new ways to implement lean synergies within the Songtradr Holding Group. If you have a special Bandcamp Monday release, go ahead and post if below! 👇

Marlins were up 8-0 on A's with a perfect game going into the 8th, won 9-8.

Health Care in the US has gotten so bad that there's only one dentist.

The Dodgers have a 14 game lead on the 2nd place team in their division. No 1st place team in the AL has that big a lead on the LAST place team in their division.

I have become addicted to MLB Big Inning on a level that should concern me but does not at all.

Today on the Music Book Podcast, we talk to @barrywalters.bsky.social about his great new book "Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000," out now on @vikingbooks.bsky.social. (Now with photo!) themusicbookpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2120946/epis...

Today on the Music Book Podcast, we talk to @barrywalters.bsky.social about his great new book "Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000," out now on @vikingbooks.bsky.social. themusicbookpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2120946/epis...

June installment of my Good Experimental Music roundup is up today, free for anyone to read. Subscribe if you wanna get this in yr inbox every month, and try a paid sub if you want a bonus post too! www.goodexperimentalmusic.com/good-experim...

Next week on The Music Book Podcast, @barrywalters.bsky.social by tells us about his great new book “Might Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000,” out now on Viking.

Ever since my Nationals won the 2019 WS, baseball gods have been kicking their ass. Now they’re finally good again and baseball gods are still kicking their ass.

Weird to me when someone says they don’t like podcasts because there are so many bad ones. Might wanna reconsider liking music then.

Apparently the Diamonbacks saw the Mets give up 15 to the Phillies and said, man that's nothing

Did anyone else see Backrooms and think, shit you could rent this place out to like 100 different bands for practice space

Favorite album of 2026 so far outofyourheadrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dance-...

Who's got some 2026 indie pop records to recommend? My faves lately are recent releases by the Laughing Chimes, the Spatulas, and Touch Girl Apple Blossom.

Tonight I wrote some notes about a band in a google doc and happened to mention a person who used to be in a band, checked instagram half hour later and the person was recommended for me to follow, gotta get off google docs asap

The Onion published this in 1999, LOL. Totally seems like a headline you could see today and easily believe. theonion.com/new-e-toilet...

New episode of The Music Book Podcast, talking with Steve Lowenthal about his great biography “Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist,” published in 2014 by Chicago Review Press. themusicbookpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2120946/epis...

A fun game to play is to imagine all the "it"s in Slate headlines refer to the same thing and try to figure out what thing could possibly meet all these criteria.

My monthly deeper-dive into one good experimental release is up now on goodexperimentalmusic.com, exploring "Paiva River Songs" by Niblock Hooker Soldier First. Post for paid subs only, you can become one for just $3/mo or $30 year, thanks! www.goodexperimentalmusic.com/a-good-exper...

I've been doing food diary/calorie counting and it's weirdly similar to following pitch counts in MLB games, like after breakfast I'll be like, well I'm probably not going to last six innings today

I still love and respect Third Man Records/Books but lately every time I get an email or see a post from them I wanna say "Ok, sure, I'll buy something...IF YOU BRING BACK MAGGOT BRAIN MAGAZINE."

Hey I wrote something for the esteemed @aquariumdrunkard.com for the first time! Review of Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe's excellent new album on Kou, "Manifestations in the Shadow of an Uncertain Land." aquariumdrunkard.com/2026/06/12/r...

I did not know until reading @alshipley.bsky.social's movie diary that Terrence Malick is pictured on the back cover of a Carly Simon album!?I? Remember back when there was only the one pic of Malick that everyone used? This one was there the whole time. narrowcast.blogspot.com/2026/05/movi...

Barry Walters' new book "Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000" is incredible. Here's an excerpt, a chapter on Sylvester, who I did not know started his very first LP with a cover of Neil Young's "Southern Man"! www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/pride-2...

LOL Nationals were ahead 9-1 in the 8th and only needed to get 6 outs to win. They only got three and lost 11-10 on a walk off grand slam. why do I watch baseball.

The new Alan Braufman album is jazz comfort food in the best possible way. Not saying there's no edge to it but lots of stuff to just sit down comfortably inside of and enjoy. alanbraufman.bandcamp.com/album/anthem...

In person???