Mark Blankenship

Nerdy response incoming! "Space Man" was such a big hit on the British chart (where it peaked at #2) that it was included on a volume of Now! That's What I Call Music! That likely triggered its inclusion on "coffee shop" style playlists around the world.

And finally, Geeta Gandbhir is nominated for two different films this year: The Perfect Neighbor in Documentary Feature and The Devil is Busy in Documentary Short. She is running things in the doc categories!

Robert Kaplow, nominated for his screenplay for Blue Moon, worked as a high school English teacher in New Jersey for over 30 years. He retired in 2014. He kept teaching, even after his novel Me and Orson Welles was turned into a 2008 film.

Three actors have a gap of over 20 years since their last nomination:

Amy Madigan. (40 years. Nearly a record! Only Judd Hirsch waited longer, I think.)

Kate Hudson. (25 years)

Benicio del Toro. (21 years)

Nicholas Pike, who was nominated for writing a song in the movie Viva Verdi, has a long history as a composer for B-horror projects. His credits include

Critters 2: The Main Course
Tales from the Crypt on HBO
The Shining miniseries from 1997
C.H.U.D II: Bud the C.H.U.D.

Natalie Portman got her fourth Oscar nomination today, for producing the animated film Arco

Here's a thread of deep cut Oscar trivia about today's nominations...

Many thanks to @cole.fyi for taking these photos and making me feel like a halfway normal person during the photo shoot!

When you’re playing NYT Spelling Bee and you know the word is spelled “facsimile,” but you try “facimile” juuuust in case.

The view from my TV: @sarahdbunting.bsky.social delivering wit and wisdom on ABC’s new doc series DIRTY TALK

I miss her, too! She's welcome to visit any time.

Yesterday she barked at @markblankenship.bsky.social for an hour and a half. Today, she is in love with

AND THEN YOU BEAT HIS ASS WITH “CORIOLANUS”

cc @markblankenship.bsky.social @cole.fyi

You’re playing Zero. “A Shakespearean Tragedy” comes up. You’re sitting with this guy

My Top 40 Songs of 2025: #10-1 The best (of the best) songs of the year!

The countdown concludes! Here are my top 10 songs of the year, featuring at least one track that made me laugh out loud. lostsongs.substack.com/p/my-top-40-...

My Top 40 Songs of 2025: #40-26 It's the year's dopest tunes!

As is my custom, I am counting down my top 40 songs of the year. Here's the first batch of songs, including punk, country, and new music from the lead singer of Fun. lostsongs.substack.com/p/top-40-son...

I write sparse, brutal tales about life on ALF’s home planet under the pen name Melmac McCarthy

As a kid, I thought the reference to Mother Hubbard was just the cleverest thing.

At long last, @sarahdbunting.bsky.social and I are able to investigate Madonna's music.

Don't Date Brandon | Crime Seen episode 174 Crime Seen is the true crime review podcast that gets to the heart of how true crime stories are told. Join Mari Forth @maritalks2much.bsky.social and Sarah...

If you think you have a nightmare ex, these woman may have you beat! This week on @crimeseenpod.bsky.social we watched “Don’t Date Brandon” with guest @markblankenship.bsky.social go check it out now! #TrueCrime #TrueCrimepodcast #DontDateBrandon

crimeseenpod.com/episode/dont...

The Lost Songs Project | Mark Blankenship | Substack This is a music newsletter that rediscovers forgotten hit songs. What made the tunes popular back then? Why are they still awesome now? We're gonna find out. Click to read The Lost Songs Project, by M...

There goes @markblankenship.bsky.social bringing me joy with his newsletter again. You need to subscribe to The Lost Songs Project: lostsongs.substack.com

My Top 100 90s Songs: #100-81 We begin our journey through the decade's best music

I am counting down my top 100 90s songs, because obviously it needs to be done. The first batch of songs includes Paula, Phil, Heavy, and Jade. lostsongs.substack.com/p/my-top-100...

Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs: Billy Joel’s “The Stranger,” Ranked (with Dan Rogge!)

William Joel has engrossed us again! @sarahdbunting.bsky.social and I team up with our good pal Dan Rogge to rank the songs on Billy Joel's album THE STRANGER. bleav.com/shows/mark-a...

YouTube video by Vaughan Slinn Waiting For Guffman Libby Audition

Turns out I can still recite this entire monologue. youtu.be/7jQ0SbWYdgQ?...

At various points in my life, I had both of these phones, so you know my conversations were COOL.

Print media alert! I was fortunate to write the companion book for the vinyl cast album of the GYPSY revival. Available now!

"The Subway," Chappell Roan (2025) Thoughts on 2025's most exciting song

I wrote about why this is the most exciting song of 2025: lostsongs.substack.com/p/the-subway...

Throughout my life, I've had such a complex relationship with mayonnaise. Currently, it's a love affair, but I've been through this cycle enough times to know it could end at any second.

I just saw Final Destination: Bloodlines. My favorite thing is how the film is supposedly set in America, but half the cast sounds more Canadian than the cashier at Ottawa's second-largest Tim Horton's.

Hi. Hello. I will never stop writing text messages in complete sentences with punctuation. Thank you for loving me as I am.