Tune in for some live Phish talk! I might let slip what I'm planning to do with the newsletter over hiatus.

Reprising my morbid role as the official Grateful Dead Death Correspondent of NES!

It’s a sign, Jerry is risen.

The taper ingenuity needed to capture and repair these recordings is astonishing.

Glow up or blow up? ✨ When consumers feel deeply connected to a brand, even small changes can spark big reactions. Don’t miss Tim Calkins’s #KelloggInsight interview for tips on how to protect your company from rebrand backlash. Read more: kell.gg/979116

10 years ago I went to all 5 of the GD50 Fare Thee Well shows. After the 2 in Santa Clara I was quite disappointed with the lack of Donn,a so I printed up thousands of Let Donna Sing stickers + freely passed them out at the next 3 shows in Chicago. Dig my all-Donna radio show link

Is it “using AI” if I found out I like a Perfume Genius song from that ChatGPT commercial?

one of my absolute fave Donna / Jerry moments — their 1976 cover of the Stones' "Moonlight Mile" doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/1636774...

RIP Donna

For the 6th year in a row, a player named Will Smith has won the World Series 2020 - Will Smith (C), Dodgers 2021 - Will Smith (RP), Braves 2022 - Will Smith (RP), Astros 2023 - Will Smith (RP), Rangers 2024 - Will Smith (C), Dodgers 2025 - Will Smith (C), Dodgers

You’ll have to trust me that the visuals at David Byrne were very cool, because all of my photos look like they’re in a Tim & Eric sketch.

Joyce Carol Oates edition just dropped.

ctrl-F "cocaine"

NBA media is not built to cover a gambling scandal, but Defector is: defector.com/products

Great piece from Marc, and so fun that he spoke to @neddyo.shakedown.social.ap.brid.gy!

Gonna do a quick thread of Halloween-ish stories I’ve written for the Reader, beginning with my latest one:

Everyone else: Is he just making sounds, what language is this? I can't make out any words?? Bob Dylan fans: This is literally the best moment of my entire life right now

Apple Music algorithm successfully replicating a Zappa fan by recommending me 12 FZ albums after I listened to three of his songs this weekend.

What if the Springsteen movie is secretly a Halloween movie? Like it turns out the reason making Nebraska is so hard is that the E-Street Band is being stalked by a murderous scarecrow?

Fiery Furnaces at the Old Town School!

I don't know if you can describe a 34-minute song as an earworm, but I would say "Perseverance Flow" is the most melodically appealing NIS jam yet:

When you think of gaming the system, it usually implies cheating with malicious intent. But when critical resources are scarce, even well-meaning people bend the rules. Research by Prof. James Schummer offers a strategy that can help. #KelloggLeader kell.gg/m4d2

Accessing medical devices in low-resource settings is an ongoing challenge. Kellogg's Rebeca Kirby and Kara Palamountain worked with UNICEF on target product profiles for newborn devices that could address gaps in healthcare and beyond. #KelloggLeader kell.gg/f3gp

From Wemby to illegal poker ring in under 12 hours, the NBA really is the best American sports league.

Companies can tackle social problems without sacrificing the bottom line. A recent case study from Kellogg's @braydenking.bsky.social looks at Italian energy firm E.ON Italia’s successful climate campaign—and how U.S. firms can hit a cultural reset. #KelloggLeader kell.gg/2jhf

Making sure that @drewphish.bsky.social is aware that there's some sick tuba jazz on the new Makaya McCraven EP collection:

Cover art for the upcoming Tonight's the Night 50th is ... atrocious?

Found out today I can run 5k to Jeff Rosenstock’s Worry and the medley gets going right when I start to tire.

I think I need to break up with one of my paid newsletters, and I'm torn over whether I should tell them why. Is it ever helpful or just salt in the wound?

Big problems. No worries? According to research by Kellogg’s Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, people believe a problem is less serious after learning how widespread it is. Understand why—and potential benefits of this phenomenon—at Kellogg Insight. #KelloggLeader kell.gg/0ftu

That’s just the sign of Good Music.

Rainy October day...you know it's ECM time, baby.

When a glow-up turns into a blow-up? In a Kellogg Insight Q&A, branding expert Tim Calkins explains what Cracker Barrel did right in their recent rebranding effort—and what they could have been more aware of. kell.gg/xzl3

roll your own bliss with pro video/audio of last night's natural information society set (starting around 30:00 into the video), beginning with their droned-out version of "naima" www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqES... (another reason @roulettenyc.bsky.social is *thee* best)

I wrote about my Unsound 2025 highlights, including Jim O'Rourke & Eiko Ishibashi, Abdullah Miniawy, Kara-Lis Coverdale, and a Kyoto DJ named 1729 who played two of the best ambient sets I've ever heard futurismrestated.substack.com/p/fr-139-wea...

The latest post in my Stephen Malkmus Series focuses on "Lariat" and considers the rhyme that should be in the Rhyming Hall of Fame, "the best decade ever," and the sense of play that Malkmus finds in his songwriting. reclinernotes.com/2025/10/12/s...

Thanks to the folks at Defector for sharing my commentary/rant about the Google AI commercials, which are an insult to the viewer, to baseball, and to math itself.

I respect the moxie of naming your band Pitchfork.

Chuffed to find that we spoke to Philippe Aghion, one of today's new Economics Nobelists, back in 2022 about creative destruction, innovation, and a more equitable capitalist future.

Managing personal finances may feel like a chore, but everyday spending decisions can make a big difference on your future wealth. Kellogg faculty explain how—and what you need to know about credit, inflation, and 401(k)s at Kellogg Insight. #KelloggLeader kell.gg/78bc15

Oh man thanks to Laura Snapes for the shoutout to my piece—it’s great to hear the band’s reactions! This made my day.

finally finished writing about seeing Elvis Costello earlier this week & what it's like to witness our favorites aging in front of us, as we do the same: jukeboxgraduate.com/elvis-costel...

Two great drones that drone great together.

For all the "Hearts of Fire" sickos, @raypadgett.bsky.social is asking the important questions. Another great interview today: www.flaggingdown.com/p/producer-b...

Another incredible interview by Ray!

This goes for any use of overrated or underrated, because the question is always "by who?" and the answer (if they even bother) never holds up to scrutiny.

Yeah, this has been pretty obnoxious! Surprising reason in the thread though.

Most of the Deliver Me From Nowhere commercials make it look like it's about how much Jon Landau wants to kiss Bruce Springsteen?

I've been haunted by this Duke Ellington cover from James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg since I saw them perform it at Sound & Gravity. It's just fantastic.