Rob Miller

Cancelling my subscription after the hiring of David Brooks feels better and better.

Oh my, these sound like MY morning pep talks to myself....

Attn: @durbin.senate.gov and @quigley.house.gov
@quigleyproject.bsky.social

This Illinois constituent agrees. The times call for more than sternly worded letters and wan expressions of consternation. You asked for this job, not f*cking DO it.

A baseball with the signatures of Mickey Lolich and Mickey Stanley

A baseball with the 1970s roaring Detroit Tigers logo, and "Detroit Tigers" above it

Took me a few days, but I found my "Mickey" ball---Lolich and Stanley---from a time when every team, it seemed, had someone named "Mickey" on it. We had two.
RIP #mickeylolich
#baseball #mickeystanley #detroittigers #detroithistory

In the spirit of the Winter Olympics, I shall be attempting a quad axel from my stool during the conversation. @marthabayne.bsky.social will be on hand for the inevitable first aid needs.

#booksky📚 @millerscave.bsky.social #musicbooks #americana #insurgentcountry #oakparkil #dandelionbooks

Book cover of "What Do You Do When You're Lonesome: The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle" by Jonathan Bernstein. Black and white picture of JTE in the center, wearing an old hat and holding a guitar.

Finished this over the weekend. Heartbreaking. Made me sad, angry, but most of all made me miss him. As a person and an artist.
@jonbern.bsky.social did a remarkable job putting this story together.
#justintownesearle #booksky📚 #altcountry #nashville

Me too

Poster for the Second Annual Buck Owens Birthday party tribute at Schubas Tavern in Chicago on Monday, August 12th, 1996. Along with a list of performers

People asking me a lot these (book link in bio) what made Chicago such a haven for #altcountry in the 90s.
Cuz shit like THIS happened all the time. On MONDAYS! Check out that stacked lineup. Good grief.

#chicagoflyers #chicagomusichistory #buckowens #schubas @stevedawsonmusic.bsky.social

A copy of my book "The Hours Are Long But The Pay Is Low" on display on a library shelf.

Look was spotted in the wild at the @ferndalelibrary.bsky.social public library! Makes sense, as 1 one of THE great indie record stores that got me on my path---SAM'S JAMS---was in that city. SUPPORT PUBLIC LIBRARIES!
@illinoispress.bsky.social #robmillerwriting #booksky📚
#detroitmusichistory

#oakpark IL, Heads up!
One week from today! @marthabayne.bsky.social and I take the gloves off and talk about "The Hours Are Long But The Pay Is Low" on @illinoispress.bsky.social
Come for the witty banter, stay for the unrelenting questioning.
#booksky📚 #robmillerwriting #americana #musicbooks

Maybe you should confirm judges who will give a shit about such things.

Or....you know....not bother. Confirm whoever T*ump puts in front of you.

Please, PLEASE...retire early. You have enough money and you clearly don't care about your legacy...

#dumpdurbin

And I will bring the fava beans...

Two literary knuckleheads sitting on stools in front of bookshelves talking. Well, one of us is talking, the other is listening.

Want to thank everyone who came out to City Lit Books in Chicago's Logan Square for @marthabayne.bsky.social grilling me about "The Hours Are Long But the Pay Is Low" on @illinoispress.bsky.social . I left some signed copies behind if you missed it. Support Indie Bookstores!
#booksky📚 #musicbooks

Or feral packs of suburban Cubs fans...

Cartoon drawing of a cave with broken musical instruments and notes spilling out of it. "Miller's Cave: Spelunking into the murky crevices of roots music"

Tune in tmrw 4pmEastern for MILLER'S CAVE! Streaming at www.radioharborcountry.org
You'll hear @jdmcpherson.bsky.social @kdlang.bsky.social #howlinwolf #flatlanders, and all sorts of weird and wonderful tunes. The cure for the common radio
#communityradio #rockabillyradio #americanaradio

Glad you could make it. Hope it was somewhat entertaining. Martha and I had a really good time.

Only 1 in 4 of Chicago’s indie music venues is profitable. Owners say that data spells potential trouble Sold-out shows aren’t enough. Higher costs are undercutting business everywhere, owners say, from juggernauts like Metro to neighborhood venues like the Ramova.

Been worrying about/ saying this for years. From my book (link in bio): "We need to do the work and show up at the clubs...to go the indie venues where creation and refinement take place, where inventiveness is cherished." @blockclubchi.bsky.social #indievenues

www.wbez.org/music/2026/0...

Is this the same brain trust that let Verlander and Scherzer go because they were, um, over the hill?

I'm going back to bed. My head hurts.

May the ghost of Lolich haunt them all.

Hear that @durbin.senate.gov and @quigley.house.gov ?

Illinois is waiting for you.

@quigleyproject.bsky.social

Great sound, no security (or need for it), everyone polite...

Also saw the 5, 6, 7, 8's in a small club in Shinjuku and that was, as the kids say, off the hook. Punk AF.

See you tomorrow Chicago at #citylit

#booksky📚 #logansquare #bookevents #chicagoevents

I'm sure my senator @durbin.senate.gov won't be bothered enough to give them a thumbs down.

Black and white flyer, with fold marks, of an Iggy Pop show in Japan in 1994. Dark pic of the Igster in the center.

Holy cow! Just found this flyer in a box of crapola. #iggypop show in Japan in 94. In Tokyo visiting a friend (and interviewing the 5,6,7.8's for a fanzine!!!). Wild, wild show.
A minor earthquake struck during show---we didn't notice. Building collapsed across the street.
#punkflyers #5678s

Seriously, what is wrong with our IL Senators?

What is in this for them? I get Durbin constantly being out of touch. He just wants his pudding cups and his bags of money, but this from Duckworth...?
What does this get them? Senatorial comity?
Do they know they are being played? Laughed at?

Always a great supporter of indie labels, including mine. And during a time when so many were writing the obituary for record stores.
People like Terry are anchors of their communities. Support them while we have them.
#indiestores #recordstores

In a just world, we all aren’t represented by cowards.

cc: @durbin.senate.gov @quigley.house.gov @schumer.senate.gov

Hey, pay attention @durbin.senate.gov and @quigley.house.gov

Show as much spine as this woman.

"Do it! Or I will ask again!"
Signed, Mike Quigley

Seriously, I mean this, with great concern for your mental well being, why do keep confirming his judges? What level of delusion are you laboring under that this will curry either comity or favor from him or his party?

And then you think we don't notice when you toss out sops like this?

I Watched ‘Melania’ in a Theater at 11:35 a.m. So You Don’t Have To The snacks were horrendous. The movie was worse. But the airless luxury of Amazon's new project makes it an important cultural artifact for our political reality.

"...really the whole film is set in an abstract non-place, a sealed cabin of opulence from which the external world is discernible only at a tranquilized remove."
The best sentence in a review by @brianphillips.bsky.social that is full of many more. Excellent.

www.theringer.com/2026/02/03/m...