Do any of you beautiful people have a good alternative to Substack for using as a newsletter / email platform? I switched to them from MailChimp, as it's currently free. I've got about 2000 newsletter subscribers. Looking for something either free or inexpensive (this is a low-budget operation).

New shirt day (from @harebrained.bsky.social )! Was it worth the 2 folks who cancelled their Sleep Baseball Patreon support when they saw it on the 'Gram? Yes.

Wally McCarthy and Producer Phil broadcast from the end of the world on this bonus episode of the Incoming Podcast (YouTube link here, but you can find it wherever you find stuff). Thanks for having us, @davidsinger.bsky.social !

Why do I find this so relaxing? www.youtube.com/watch?v=we8R...

Mark Borchardt's "Coven" is better than "Clerks". I realize that's damning with faint praise... (I just re-watched "American Movie", and am now watching "Coven" in its entirety for the first time.)

PARTY TIME.

I am watching the black and white version of "Basquiat". I'm a sucker for this kind of movie, and for the record, it looks great in black and white! (A Googler AI tried to tell me the history of why there's a b/w version, but I have not yet gone down that rabbit hole)

New jam from the excellent Wyatt Waddell (Chicago folks - highly recommend going to see this guy live ASAP): youtu.be/dj4Pz2gik6M?...

Just tried to make a list of every domain name I have ever owned (rented?). Was able to remember 7 of them, but I'm sure there are a few more bought on some kind of idiot whim. #itsmytwocents

Learning that nearly every Prince vocal that exists on tape happened with him in a chair hovered over a board, maybe with a guitar or something in his lap - well, this maybe changed a few things about how I viewed the world. Thank you.

In my head, I have a soft spot for Las Vegas. I learned to embrace the horror, I thought! It occurs to me that I have only been to Vegas on a company dime. It was free, and I don't like gambling, generally. There are a lot of great restaurants there! The quail egg dumplings at China Pablano! ok.

I once did the "which-way-are-you-gonna-go?" shuffle with Jose Canseco at a restroom at The Venetian.

"post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, or alice in chains" With apologies:

That GEESE album is great, after all.

TONIGHT! (In case you were looking for something to take your mind off of ... other things) Wherever you get your episodic audio content, probably! (Sleep Baseball)

How many bands have taken a 20+ year hiatus and returned with an undeniable banger? I think the band Hum did this with 2020's "Inlet", which is maybe their best record. Leave your submissions in the comments! #itsmytwocents

Mother of god.

2025 was a weird year, YouTube Music!

Music Nerds! Please help me out: WTF genre is Jim O'Rourke's "The Visitor"? I love that record so much. It's not really all that weird, but it occurs to me I wouldn't know how to explain it! Wait, maybe it is super weird...

Rick Rubin would probably look like a world-class bad-ass if he found a good barber. #itsmytwocents

I have a tape (now a digital file!) of my dad doing his morning radio show from Catskill, New York in 1971 - I just re-discovered it and it's blowing my mind! #itsmytwocents

There's a throw-away dumb joke in the movie My Bodyguard that caused me to go into a laughing fit that took me hours to recover from - I had to start the day over: take a shower, look out a window, etc. And the future Mrs. King still stuck around! OK. Nearly just recreated that moment cuz of this:

The first Prince thing after Purple Rain was "4 The Tears in You Eyes" - a thing that seemed like a concession. And a few months later, you get the combo of "Around the World in a Day", "Paisley Park", and "Condition of the Heart"! It's a miracle so many people stayed with hime! #itsmytwocents

YouTube Rabbit Holes I Have Known and Loved: The sub-genre that is dudes (mostly) riding the rails - jumping on trains and trying to avoid the 'bulls'. #itsmytwocents

It occurs to me I don't truly understand What a Fielder's Choice is. I thought I did, but I do not. Thank you.

EP 044 - now, probably, on the blower of your choice!

Holiday Shopping Spam: Everything in the Sleep Baseball Gift Shop is 10% off for the rest of the year, including these handsome 5x7 Wally McCarthy headshots (they ship free in the US and include a personalized Thank You Note for Mr. McCarthy). Use Promo Code WALLY at checkout.

Sometimes I'll listen to Vin Scully calling some random game (for, you know, "research"). Last week it was a TV call of an early season Dodgers / Giants game from 2013. I'm always amazed at the seemingly effortless, poetic way he went about it. He was 86 years old at the time! Watch this:

LET'S GOOOOO

This seemed like a realistic worst-case-scenario dystopia 14 years (!) ago.

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is the greatest song off all time for, like 2 minutes. I almost don't blame them for fucking it up how they did - you want to keep that delightful train ROLLING! Ok.

Dude... www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcNx...

I'm watching the Billy Joel documentary. I'm more than half-way through it. Thank you.

It's Rain Delay Theater with Producer Phil!

It's nice to have good old friends.

Let's do this!

New in the Sleep Baseball Gift Shop (for the True Heads!). Ok.

Let's all wish "McSnappy" from the Wexford County Zoological society a happy 40th! Episode 041 is now on the air.

Incredible stuff here.

In an heroic effort to totally alienate all my "fans", here's something: Buddy Rich sure played some fast drums. Like, he's probably one of the fastest of all time! I submit that having no feel, and being the World's Biggest Stunod certainly works against his legacy. Thank you for (FYATTM)!

I have a belief that me owning a gun is a terrible idea, living in an apartment in Chicago. If I lived in the sticks, I would probably own a gun. Might still be a terrible idea! #itsmytwocents

Get enough people interested in what you're doing, and you'll eventually get INSANE MAIL - I'm talking about actual, physical things that a human delivers!

There's a cottage industry of young folks reacting to Larry Bird highlights, and it's a delight. #itsmytwocents

Live your life like Mr. Rogers would give you a shout-out.

In general, I am not a fan of the Chicago Air & Water Show. However, due to a Series of Events, in the 1990's I once ended up on the lakeshore with a B-2 Bomber floating over my head, whilst on acid. Hey, that was really something! Thank you. #itsmytwocents

I just cheered as hard as I ever cheer (I'm a Norwegian from the Midwest) after Kittredge's Immaculate Inning. I don't believe I've ever seen one of those in real-time. #itsmytwocents

Fellini's 8 1/2 is so influential it might seem like a cliche if you've never seen it before. It's been aped for over 50 years. I'm trying to think of the musical equivalent, and all I've come up with is Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues" - which is almost impossible to hear with modern ears.

Episode 040, now heading over the airwaves.

BlueSky is officially wearing its Big Boy Pants, as the kids say - I never had a bunch of bot interactions on Mastodon! (I was going to say "MeWe", but that might be an outdated reference. Thank you.) #itsmytwocents

I am not immune to the charms of Primus, but I regard not discovering them when I was 16 something of a blessing. #itsmytwocents