New from Eric Benet 💃🏾

We're just asking questions! www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/doe...

Rip City!

I'm beginning to suspect that for #bezos and his mega-rich media-gutting ilk, the #WaPo's "Democracy dies in darkness" slogan was once a warning. But when your personal fortune eclipses the GNP of entire nations it becomes an aspiration.

who the fuck WANTS their posts to go viral, have you ever had that actually happen? it's like getting a winning pull on a slot machine if wasps started pouring out the bottom instead of quarters

Hey friends: I'm teaching a live 90 minute online class on December 18 to share what I've learned about artistry, identity and authenticity from Bruce Springsteen, the subject of two (2) books I've written, TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND and BRUCE. Join us!

Hey @actblueorg.bsky.social : Two years after I filled in your form to stop getting texts and emails I still receive dozens of unsolicited fundraising pitches from random campaigns each week. Your org is a scam and a scourge. I will never contribute to anything affiliated with you. Congrats!

Hey fellow authors: Remember when composing your author bio that just because you're writing about yourself in the third person most readers will still know that the person describing you as "legendary" and "beloved" and "the world's leading (fill in the blank)" is actually: You.

@actblueorg.bsky.social: Hey fyi, the relentless fundraising solicitations, literally hundreds and hundreds, I’ve received from every D campaign in the USA, thanks to your giving my info to anyone willing to pay for it, means I will never ever give money to any campaign affiliated with you.

The assassin turns out to be the same guy it always is: a random crazy with snakes in his head and a legally-obtained battlefield weapon in his hands. He doesn’t have beliefs, let alone a manifesto. He has a disease and a society that mistakes the power to kill for freedom. #kirk

Here's our fantastic chat with @peteramescarlin.bsky.social about his definitive R.E.M. biography. We took in Seattle, Athens, and New Jersey in a winding and got some insight into why the book is constructed in an atypical way for a biography and why rebuilding 1970s Athens was important!

Well! Some news! @brucespringsteen.net @doubledaybooks.bsky.social

Hey I got to talk about @brucespringsteen.net and TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND with @davidhepworth.bsky.social on Word in Your Ear! @doubledaybooks.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytuw...

We'll be running an excerpt from it soon, but I wanted to give a huge shout-out to @peteramescarlin.bsky.social’s amazing book 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run.' Every Springsteen fan needs to buy it now: www.amazon.com/Tonight-Jung...

As Born to Run approaches the 50th anniversary of its release, here is a great @npr.org Fresh Air with Terry Gross interview with author @peteramescarlin.bsky.social - www.npr.org/2025/08/07/n...

Happy pub day to @peteramescarlin.bsky.social and “Tonight in Jungleland,” the story of someone putting in the work because it mattered more than anything in the world. It’s inspiring, sharply written, fantastically reported. bookshop.org/p/books/toni...

1002! Peter Ames Carlin hear Kreative Kontrol ⬇️ 🍎: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e... 💰: www.patreon.com/posts/ep-100... ☁️: overcast.fm/+AA3_nvaastY vk: bit.ly/4moe7Ni 🌲: linktr.ee/vishkhanna @peteramescarlin.bsky.social @doubledaybooks.bsky.social @brucespringsteen.net

And now it's here! TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND, the Making of 'Born to Run' is published today by @doubledaybooks.bsky.social. Here are just a few of the early reviews. Tour dates start TONIGHT in Seattle. @brucespringsteen.net

Gay friends! Especially you guys: looking for a romantic, orientation-specific love song for your wedding or just for date night? Here's Bob Dylan's performance of "She's Funny That Way," revised to "He's Funny That Way." It's lovely! (and so are you!) open.spotify.com/track/2o8d8E...

Two weeks til TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND. Pre-order now and you'll get yours on pub day! (I'm pretty sure) @brucespringsteen.net @doubledaybooks.bsky.social

TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND rolls into town in 2.5 weeks and the critics have already spoken! (Some of them, anyway) @brucespringsteen.net @doubledaybooks.bsky.social

Interested in @brucespringsteen.net and BORN TO RUN? My new book TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND is coming Aug 5 and the book tour starts that same day! Here are dates on the west and east coasts!

thinking about the part in one of his bios (either the autobio or the amazing @peteramescarlin.bsky.social one) where he talks about how dennis and carl went away, and he doesn't know where they went. and i keep thinking "now he knows"

Deeply recommend this by @peteramescarlin.bsky.social. Reverential and referential both but with lots of moments that will have you cackling. (“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…”) What a life, what a man.

The state Kristi Noem is from gets 40x as much representation in the United States Senate as the state Los Angeles is in. They take billions of dollars of tax money from our state every year. And yet it's not enough. They won't stop until they occupy our territory and destroy our freedom.

Our nonfiction list includes amazing work by Raxkingisdead.bsky.social‬, @peteramescarlin.bsky.social‬, @authormiriamtoews.bsky.social‬, ‪@calfraser.bsky.social‬, @melissafebos.bsky.social‬, @hco96.bsky.social‬ and others. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/30/arts/summer-2025-best-books-to-read/

Kirkus just dropped its review of TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND and it came with a big star: “Born To Run was a triumph, installing Springsteen in rock’s canon, but this book thrives in exploring the hard work that preceded it. An admirably comprehensive study of a masterpiece and its creation.”

I GREATLY ENJOYED @peteramescarlin.bsky.social's amazing biography, The Name of This Band is R.E.M. This is not just a MUST READ for R.E.M. fans but a captivating cultural history of late 20th century US. Also a good dive into Georgia and UGA history. My recommendation on this #IndieBookStoreDay

Did you know the Boss has never had a #1 hit...or has he? Listen to the Garage to Stadiums podcast Springsteen episode with our guest author @peteramescarlin.bsky.social on all major platforms or watch and subscribe on YouTube. #Bruce #BruceSprinsteen

Hey look you can get 25 percent off my new book TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND, about the making of @brucespringsteen.net's BORN TO RUN, but ya gotta act fast! Pre-order now! (if that works for you)

Friends: My website has been gussied up with news & info about TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND, my new book about the making of @officialbruce.bsky.social's BORN TO RUN. Stay tuned for updates about events, interviews and more! www.peteramescarlin.com

Hey can I fly Aer Lingus to Oral Roberts U? Asking for a friend. Who is a smirking child. And lives inside me. Thanks.

Men of my generation: sorry about the hair loss (I know the feeling) but that tight white goatee isn’t the answer. Thanks.

THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS R.E.M author, @peteramescarlin.bsky.social 🎶🎸sits down with Garage to Stadiums podcast! They dive into how an onstage near-tragedy changed the band forever and more. Listen to the interview: bit.ly/3FdZsUI

Do you have a cell phone? Are you in a public place? On a call? Do you have it on speaker as loud as it can go and talking while holding the phone as far from your face as possible? STOP DOING THAT. It’s super fucking annoying. Thanks.

954! Peter Ames Carlin on R.E.M. hear Kreative Kontrol ⬇️ 🍎: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e... whole ep: www.patreon.com/posts/ep-954... vk: bit.ly/4gYF32S 🌲: linktr.ee/vishkhanna @peteramescarlin.bsky.social @remhq.bsky.social @doubledaybooks.bsky.social @michaelstipe.bsky.social

I fucking love @remhq.bsky.social, and the new biography by @peteramescarlin.bsky.social is an absolute gem.

Podcast fun! @remhq.bsky.social enthusing! @rollingstone.com rhapsodizing! I had a great talk with the terrific music writer Brian Hiatt for RS's Music Now! podcast, and now you can listen in! Here's the Apple link: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Here's Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1UmP...

It’s only Red Bull if it comes from the Redbulle region of France, otherwise it’s just sparkling bull piss

Just left Whitney Matheson’s virtual book club discussing @peteramescarlin.bsky.social’s new (and fantastic) REM book. Can’t wait for the next book club and Peter’s next release about Born To Run!

I need to follow more people here. So I put it to you: who should I follow? Who’s funny and smart and posting regularly but no more than, say, a handful of times a day? Thanks for your help.

Great interview about writing about a great band (and a great book). Read this and grab The Name of This Band is R.E.M. I was never a fan of the band, but I am now. The book did that @peteramescarlin.bsky.social.

I had a fun conversation about THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS R.E.M. with @whitneymatheson.bsky.social and now she's posted an extract on her Substack in advance of her book club session about the book. Check this out, join her group and join in the discussion! whitneymatheson.substack.com/p/q-and-a-au...

…you can block them by the dozens, day in and out, but there would always be more. Eventually my feed was at least 50 percent phony accounts. What it showed was not just disregard for users, but actual contempt. It’s short-sighted and stupid and will eventually collapse. I’m happy to be here now.

…and the transparent greed of needing to build further upon a 12-figure personal fortune is, frankly, scary. Then came the tidal wave of AI bot accounts. The phony photos accompanied by dumb computer-generated jokes. Under account names like OLD PEOPLE UNITE! or FOOTBALL FANZ….

…but then it got worse. And worse. I don’t even know the many ways they scrape my profile for saleble info. I was much less happy with the political feints Zuck pulled…being conservative is fine. Lots of people are. Some of them are even well-intentioned. But the amorality of his pivot this fall…

I bailed on #Facebook. I joined in 2007 and was a regular from 2009 or so. It could be super fun, and a great resource in both social and professional terms. Of course they had to monetize it, and the ads and etc would diminish the experience. But hey, nothing’s free. For many years it was…fine.

Here’s news: my next book is finished! It’s TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND, a deep dive into the making of @officialbruce.bsky.social’s #BornToRun. It’s coming on August 5, in time for BTR’s 50th anniversary. @doubledaybooks.bsky.social

Nice namecheck of NZ Flying Nun bands in 'The Name Of This Band is R.E.M.' by @peteramescarlin.bsky.social (Harper Collins, 2024).

AOC: Trans girls are girls. And for all the folks that are so concerned, thank you for your concern for women for the first time. I don't know who has been to gym class, I’ve played co-ed sports all the time