Chris Richards
@chrisrichards.bsky.social
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Reccos/rants/prayers/curses at thefutureisourstomake.substack.com
Went on a walk with MARTYN to talk about music as something we can step into. His new album, âMusic for Existing,â is truly fantastic
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Music for existing in three dimensions
A walking interview with Martyn.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/music-for-existing-in-three-dimensions
1 day ago
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Hereâs where youâll find me at the WOLF EYES show
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Confessions of a noise show nosebleeder
A review of Wolf Eyes at Rhizome.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/confessions-of-a-noise-show-nosebleeder
4 days ago
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reposted by
Chris Richards
Marc Masters đ”
5 days ago
The Sleeves album on
@12xurecs.bsky.social
is so good and so unlike anything else rn. Great chat btwn them and
@chrisrichards.bsky.social
here.
thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/open-to-an...
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âOpen to any eventualityâ
An interview with Jack Cooper and Tara Cunningham of The Sleeves.
https://thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/open-to-any-eventuality
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I asked THE SLEEVES about the perimeters of their fabulous new album â close, delicate music that invites us to wonder about the borders of existence and/or which string is best
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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âOpen to any eventualityâ
An interview with Jack Cooper and Tara Cunningham of The Sleeves.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/open-to-any-eventuality
5 days ago
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Mina is elite
add a skeleton here at some point
10 days ago
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Jonathan Williger has improved my scene-world-life and his rising experimental music label OUTSIDE TIME can improve yours
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Always coming home
A walking interview with Jonathan Williger of Outside Time.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/always-coming-home
17 days ago
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reposted by
Chris Richards
Andy Beta
18 days ago
D.C. peeps, I'll be in conversation with
@bushmeatsound.bsky.social
this Wed:
add a skeleton here at some point
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Today is my birthday and you can help me celebrate by subscribing to my newsletter THE FUTURE IS OURS TO MAKE where I just wrote about a life-changing bday present given to me at age sixteen â a vinyl copy of âPersonal Bestâ by TEAM DRESCH
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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See a brave tomorrow
The perpetual gift of Team Dreschâs âPersonal Bestâ
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/see-a-brave-tomorrow?r=7evfuk&utm_medium=ios
19 days ago
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Every Sunday morning I send a little thank-you to the paid subscribers of THE FUTURE IS OURS TO MAKE and todayâs is one of the most exquisite songs Iâve ever heard
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Thereâs nothing too good for us
A record to listen to on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/theres-nothing-too-good-for-us?r=7evfuk&utm_medium=ios
20 days ago
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MM on MN HC !
add a skeleton here at some point
22 days ago
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I asked LANDOWNER for advice on surviving tour vis-Ă -vis surviving America
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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One question interview with Landowner
Iâm convinced that Landowner is the only active post-punk band as tightly wound as the national mood.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/one-question-interview-with-landowner
22 days ago
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Thanks to the Musicscope podcast for inviting me to go deep on Q and Not U lore
www.buzzsprout.com/2011780/epis...
25 days ago
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Took a walk with ANALOG TARA and learned so much about the teachings of Pauline Oliveros, the boundaries between rhythm and noise, the long path of electronic musicking and more Taraâs fabulous new recording, Life of the Mother, is out today
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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âGoing where the work needs to goâ
A walking interview with Analog Tara.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/going-where-the-work-needs-to-go
29 days ago
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I drove to NYC to catch the CRAZY SPIRIT reunion and had the kind of transformative experience that I didnât expect
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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How I became a man
A review of the Crazy Spirit reunion at Market Hotel.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/how-i-became-a-man
about 1 month ago
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New album from STATION MODEL VIOLENCE is straight-up inspiring and so was this correspondence with the great punk mind Daniel Stewart
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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âSometimes you need to keep a wound openâ
An interview with Daniel Stewart of Station Model Violence.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/sometimes-you-need-to-keep-a-wound
about 1 month ago
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Introducing a new Sunday morning mini-column for the paid subscribers of THE FUTURE IS OURS TO MAKE Thank you for making this work happen xo xo
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Flirtations with humanity
A record to listen to on Sunday, April 12, 2026.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/flirtations-with-humanity?r=7evfuk&utm_medium=ios
about 1 month ago
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I asked KATIE ALICE GREER about music as place-channeling and her answer really floored me
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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One question interview with Katie Alice Greer
Priests earned their rep as one of the most eruptive D.C.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/one-question-interview-with-katie
about 1 month ago
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I went on a walk with Mac Kennedy of POISON RUĂN in the rain, through the mud, into the future
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Somewhere beyond human measure and control
A walking interview with Mac Kennedy of Poison RuĂŻn.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/somewhere-beyond-human-measure-and?r=7evfuk&utm_medium=ios
about 1 month ago
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This is tremendous
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
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Proof of listening, proof of life: I reviewed 100 recordings for THE FUTURE IS OURS TO MAKE Thank you for reading, for subscribing, for telling a friend
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Who are you going down in history with?
THE FUTURE IS OURS TO MAKEâs quarterly review of significant recordings
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/who-are-you-going-down-in-history
about 1 month ago
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Honored by the laughs-tears-joys-fears that cellist JANEL LEPPIN shared in this interview which felt as broad as her music
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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âWe gotta get our forces togetherâ
An interview with cellist and composer Janel Leppin
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/we-gotta-get-our-forces-together
about 2 months ago
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I saw GUTTERED on Saturday night and felt gratitude for our scene and hope for the young
thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/when-the-s...
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When the shoegaze revival comes home
A review of Guttered at Rhizome.
https://thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/when-the-shoegaze-revival-comes-home
about 2 months ago
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Didnât intend for this to become movie week with my newsletter but my friends in BLACK EYES invited me to see âUndertone,â a horror movie about sounds (and podcasts)
thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/at-the-mov...
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At the movies with Black Eyes
My comrades invited me to see âUndertone.â Hereâs what we heard.
https://thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/at-the-movies-with-black-eyes
about 2 months ago
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If the best thing about awards season is arguing for the snubbed, hereâs one last shout for NALA SINEPHROâs exquisite soundtrack to âThe Smashing Machineâ
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Snub concussion
How Nala Sinephroâs original score transformed the âThe Smashing Machineâ
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/snub-concussion
about 2 months ago
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You, an adult, donât have to like the music of âKPop Demon Huntersâ
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Every grown-up gets a trophy
You, an adult, donât have to like the music of âKPop Demon Huntersâ
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/every-grown-up-gets-a-trophy
2 months ago
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Glad this story is being told but Iâm extremely disappointed that it fails to mention that The Washington Post has laid off nearly all of its arts critics A decades-deep legacy of arts coverage has been destroyed here and it hurts our city and our world
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/b...
2 months ago
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I asked the NYHC lifers in SHINING SEA about their most vivid New York noise memories and was transported by their answers
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One question interview with Shining Sea
When a friend told me Adam Nathanson was playing in a new group that sounded âmore out thereâ than his previous hardcore outfits, I reflexively started imagining âout thereâ as a place.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/one-question-interview-with-shining?r=7evfuk&utm_medium=ios
2 months ago
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I owe so much of my sense of self to FUGAZI and I tried to explain why
thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/i-will-not...
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I will not lie I will not lie I will not lie
Listening to â and looking at â a Fugazi album that didnât exist
https://thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/i-will-not-lie-i-will-not-lie-i-will
2 months ago
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The jazz of KELAN PHIL COHRAN keeps passing my life like a comet
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Can we listen to âWhite Nileâ again?
Three encounters with the life-broadening jazz of Kelan Phil Cohran
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/can-we-listen-to-white-nile-again
2 months ago
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Iâd like to be dancing when the world ends, just not to this new STURGILL SIMPSON record
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Disco Stu vs. the apocalypse
As Johnny Blue Skies, Sturgill Simpson wants to party like it's the end of the world
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/disco-stu-vs-the-apocalypse
2 months ago
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Haunted by JUSTIN BIEBER singing to himself
thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/man-in-the...
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Man in the mirror
The lingering image of Justin Bieber singing to himself at the Grammys
https://thefutureisourstomake.substack.com/p/man-in-the-mirror
3 months ago
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Everyone calls HEAVENLY âtweeâ but I wondered if they like harsh music
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One question interview with Heavenly
By the time the great British band Heavenly first rattled my ears in the late â90s, their music seemed to have become synonymous with the word âtwee.â I loved the sound, but the language felt too tigh...
https://substack.com/home/post/p-189328741
3 months ago
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New writing about new D.C. MUSIC
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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Permanent head flex
Listening to free car, harDCore and the shape of D.C. music to come
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/permanent-head-flex
3 months ago
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At the movies with CHARLI XCX
substack.com/@thefutureis...
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I think Iâm gonna die in this house
Charli XCXâs post-Brat misadventures in Hollywood
https://substack.com/@thefutureisourstomake/note/p-188374200?utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web
3 months ago
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The message I took from last nightâs BAD BUNNY performance: we continue
open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
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An end zone dance in the shape of infinity
Notes on Bad Bunnyâs halftime show in the middle of a national crisis
https://open.substack.com/pub/thefutureisourstomake/p/an-end-zone-dance-in-the-shape-of?r=7evfuk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
3 months ago
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If it clarifies what was lost this week: Philip Kennicott and Monica Hesse remain as arts critics at The Washington Post Eliminated: art critic arts editor arts/film editor classical critic pop critic television critic theater critic all editors/reporters in Book World including two book critics
3 months ago
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Iâve been laid off by The Washington Post Serving as this newspaperâs pop music critic for the past 16-plus years has been my privilege, my joy Endless solidarity to my righteous colleagues, endless gratitude to our faithful readers
3 months ago
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When the world outside THE GRAMMYS is too loud to ignore:
wapo.st/4qcNw7q
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Column | The most important sound at this yearâs Grammys? Free speech.
With trophies in hand, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and SZA spoke out against ICE during an awards show where the musical performances felt secondary.
https://wapo.st/4qcNw7q
3 months ago
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reposted by
Chris Richards
Travis M Andrews
3 months ago
BREAKING: Trump plans to close Kennedy Center for about two years, starting in July Follow
@janaykingsberry.bsky.social
's and my coverage here. The piece will be continually updated:
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
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Trump plans to close Kennedy Center for about two years, starting in July
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the Kennedy Center could temporarily close for roughly two years to undergo construction.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/02/01/kennedy-center-trump-closure-construction/
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A new record by NICE BREEZE is stuck on my turntable for the following reasons
wapo.st/3YL6VkF
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Review | Nice Breeze is taking its lo-fi sound to new heights
On its terrific vinyl debut, âEverything Disappears, the D.C. indie trio sounds messy and mannered, hungry and wise.
https://wapo.st/3YL6VkF
4 months ago
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âKeep Your Ear to the Ground,â the amazing new history of D.C. punk zines by our comrade John Davis, is now available direct through Dischord
dischord.com/band/john-da...
4 months ago
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I write for readers and will email you anything I write for the newspaper, just ask
4 months ago
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I donât listen AI-GENERATED POP MUSIC because I have control over what I listen to
wapo.st/49eOEAP
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Column | My year of not listening to AI-generated pop music
Because it isnât music. And resistance is easy.
https://wapo.st/49eOEAP
5 months ago
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New NIONTAY reminds us that December is when the best rappers donât care about making the yearâs best rap album
wapo.st/4pRuyUh
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Column | December brings great rap albums. Accept the gifts.
The holidays are the perfect time listen to new hip-hop. On his latest, Niontay shows why.
https://wapo.st/4pRuyUh
5 months ago
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In THE D.C. SCENE, yesterdayâs music still sounds like tomorrow Here are five amazing records that got remastered, resurfaced and/or reissued in 2025
wapo.st/4aWEGXh
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5 recordings from D.C. artists that make yesterday sound like tomorrow
Remastered and resurfaced music from Bad Brains, Bratmobile, Danny Gatton, Glo-Worm and Music Inc. are among the yearâs best reissues.
https://wapo.st/4aWEGXh
5 months ago
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Here are my TOP TEN ALBUMS of 2025
wapo.st/4a2eWIL
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Column | The top 10 albums of 2025
The yearâs best albums include ambitious pop from RosalĂa and Addison Rae, inventive rap from Playboi Carti and Bruiser Wolf, and more.
https://wapo.st/4a2eWIL
5 months ago
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1:02:57 âWe gotta feed Ross a snackâ
5 months ago
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It feels better to wonder if GEESE are important than to know it
wapo.st/3XdmAsc
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Column | Geese is the best new band youâre sick of hearing good things about
For the acclaimed young New York quartet, rock and hype feel tightly intertwined.
https://wapo.st/3XdmAsc
6 months ago
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In his recently anthologized DESCENES and DISCORDS fanzines, Howard Wuelfing captured the harDCore scene in its predawn light
wapo.st/4obgyTD
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Howard Wuelfing chronicled the dawn of D.C. punk. The stories still echo.
A hefty new double anthology of the rock writerâs Descenes and Discords fanzines captures the start of a scene â locally and nationally.
https://wapo.st/4obgyTD
6 months ago
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Last night, PLAYBOI CARTI gave one of the greatest arena performances Iâve ever seen â even if I could barely see it
wapo.st/43vhET0
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Review | Playboi Carti might be the greatest vanishing act rap has ever seen
On his current arena tour, the Atlanta rap visionary practically disappears into a swirl of thick fog, big noise and deep meaning.
https://wapo.st/43vhET0
6 months ago
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