Joe Bonomo's Avatar

Joe Bonomo

@joebonomo.bsky.social

essays and rock & roll | sound and sense I write books and NO SUCH THING AS WAS, a music newsletter: https://joebonomo.substack.com/ Open 24/7: https://linktr.ee/joebonomo it's buh-NOH-moh

881 Followers  |  1,073 Following  |  479 Posts  |  Joined: 18.08.2023
Posts Following

Posts by Joe Bonomo (@joebonomo.bsky.social)

C'mon you can do better than that! πŸ˜‰

01.03.2026 17:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

ICYM my latest at No Such Thing As Was: I wrote about multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, his terrific memoir Straight Up, Without Wings, and a still-relevant question he asked a half century ago.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-time-...

01.03.2026 15:32 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Joe McPhee’s Nation Time is an inspiring message that ties in with Amiri Baraka’s It’s Nation Time LP as well as a recorded speech by Jesse Jackson - I wrote about this - in my book β€œListen Whitey! Sounds of Black Power 1965-75” - thank you Joe @joebonomo.bsky.social for diving into this as well

28.02.2026 16:01 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Very cool!

28.02.2026 16:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
What time is it? Joe McPhee's free jazz anthem "Nation Time" feels as relevant now as it it sounded far-out then

Inspired by Joe McPhee's memoir Straight Up, Without Wings: The Musical Flight of Joe McPhee, as told to Mike Faloon, I wrote about McPhee's 1971 free jazz anthem "Nation Time" for my latest at No Such Thing As Was. #WhatTimeIsIt

joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-time-...

28.02.2026 15:05 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
Post image

"Basically, I feel fortunate to have realized what the goal is in life. There's no point in dying having gone through your life without knowing who you are, what you are, or what the purpose of life is. And that's all it is."

25.02.2026 13:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
screenshot of a tv user guide, showing two channels under Tue 8PM:

MSNOW - State of the union
TCM East- Gaslight

screenshot of a tv user guide, showing two channels under Tue 8PM: MSNOW - State of the union TCM East- Gaslight

Masterful Troll, TCM.

24.02.2026 15:19 β€” πŸ‘ 6759    πŸ” 1644    πŸ’¬ 67    πŸ“Œ 98
Post image

ICYM my latest at No Such Thing As Was, I wrote about Peter Holsapple, the dBs, and telling the truth in song.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/its-just-t...

21.02.2026 15:42 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
It's just the way I have to live Peter Holsapple and the dBs' "I Lie" still haunts down the years

In my latest at No Such Thing As Was: Peter Holsapple and the dB's' "I Lie," and how a song can tell us things we didn't know we knew.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/its-just-t...

20.02.2026 14:36 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Monochrome America by Joe Bonomo β€” The Normal School I’m already apprehensive about driving over a body of water when Vega grabs my elbow and whispers to me that we’re riding around in a killer's car, it’s nineteen hundred seventy seven, whole country ...

For my latest at The Normal School: A Literary Magazine, I wrote a few thousand words about Springsteen and Suicide.

www.thenormalschool.com/blog/2026/2/...

18.02.2026 13:21 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

ICYM my latest at No Such Thing As Was: Fred Smith through a prism

joebonomo.substack.com/p/i-live-lig...

14.02.2026 15:09 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
I live light on these shores Some thoughts on Fred Smith (1948-2026)

In today's No Such Thing As Was: some thoughts on Fred Smith (1948-2026)

joebonomo.substack.com/p/i-live-lig...

13.02.2026 14:47 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

ICYM my latest at No Such Thing As Was, I wrote about the Chambers Brothers' extraordinary "Time Has Come Today"

joebonomo.substack.com/p/the-sacred...

07.02.2026 14:58 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The sacred squeal of now The Chambers Brothers' epic "Time Has Come Today" continues to transcends its time and place

In today's No Such Thing As Was, I wrote about the righteous enduring power of the Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today."

joebonomo.substack.com/p/the-sacred...

06.02.2026 14:54 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

ICYM my latest at No Such Thing As Was, I wrote about Andy Partridge and XTC and a few of their extraordinary songs about the ordinary.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/please-be-...

31.01.2026 16:17 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Please be upstanding XTC wrote brilliant pop songs about limits, boundlessness, and the charms of simplicity

In today's No Such Thing As Was, another of my occasional deep dives into the magic of Andy Partridge and XTC.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/please-be-...

30.01.2026 15:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

*1966

23.01.2026 15:55 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

ICYM my latest at No Such Thing As Was, I took a dive into the Animals' remarkable 1996 single "Inside-Looking Out" and its prison work camp source.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/no-more-wa...

23.01.2026 15:11 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I get that!

22.01.2026 18:42 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
No more walls Some thoughts on the Animals' remarkable "Inside-Looking Out"

In today's No Such Thing As Was, I wrote about the Animals' amazing "Inside-Looking Out" single from 1966. And then I dove into its source.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/no-more-wa...

22.01.2026 16:13 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: play along with the Donkeys at "A Bored Game" and watch your fame and fortune lose out to randomness and chance! (Plus: Fran the Fan from Liverpool!)

joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...

16.01.2026 15:03 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
What they wanted The back sleeve of the Donkeys' obscure "What I Want" 45 tells an old story

In today's NO SUCH THING AS WAS: the back sleeve of the Donkey's obscure 1979 single "What I Want" tells a story old as dirt.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...

15.01.2026 15:27 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

I’m so grateful to be teaching the extraordinary stories of Andre Dubus again. They’re wise, compassionate, poignant, brutal. His best, like β€œKillings,” β€œRose,” and β€œA Father’s Story, are profoundly moving. If you haven’t read him, I highly recommend

13.01.2026 20:31 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

"I was gifted with a life that was full of adventure. I've always believed, if you're gifted, that it's incumbent not to think about giving something back."

RIP Bob Weir |

πŸ“Έ: Suzie Katz

11.01.2026 03:58 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

ICYM my latest at NO Such Thing As Was: I wrote about Long Tall Shorty, the great U.K. band that couldn't catch a break.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...

08.01.2026 15:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
In a perfect world Beset by industry and inter-band woes, Long Tall Shorty managed to cut some eternal rock and roll

In today's No Such Thing As Was: some thoughts on Long Tall Shorty, the band that couldn't catch a break

joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...

07.01.2026 16:25 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: I buckled up and hit the skies with Nazz.

joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...

02.01.2026 15:27 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Happy Public Domain Day to all who celebrate

01.01.2026 17:02 β€” πŸ‘ 53    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

If you dig what I do at this newsletter, please consider subscribing (for FREE) or following if you haven't yet, and spread the word!

01.01.2026 15:57 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
If you want to take a ride Blasting into 2026 with Nazz's "When I Get My Plane" and "Rain Rider"

Happy New Year, NO SUCH THING AS WAS subscribers, followers, and readers! Blast with me into the new year with spins of Nazz's "When I Get My Plane" and "Rain Rider."

joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...

01.01.2026 15:57 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0