Mark Richardson

“The Experiment Requires That You Continue” b/w “450 Volts”

It was an awkward title, acted like “breaking training” was an everyday expression

YouTube video by The Olivia Tremor Control - Topic I Can Smell The Leaves

should be a law that says this tune has to appear in every fall mix youtu.be/p0n9YEARMwg?...

I loved it

Johnny Cash: American Recordings Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we explore Johnny Cash’s 1994 comeback American Recordings.

Man, I remember hopping on the phone with Kaleb for this piece and thinking, "Oh you write almost exactly how you talk." He was so thoughtful & cared about his truth, his blue and funny vision of the world. Loved this piece, one of his many great accomplishments in life pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

this is beautiful

I like all kinds of music

I think there’s a bit of a “You can’t win if you don’t play” mindset where if one track breaks through it could mean the diff. b/t owning a house & renting. there’s a Grouper track from one of her most obscure records that went viral and revenue from that alone prob. covers her expenses for 5 years

Revisiting a Half-Decade Ballot I Filed in 2004 Formative electronic dreams from the new millennium

Love this, from @markrichardson.bsky.social :
“Was the revolution in sound I perceived happening entirely in my own mind?” open.substack.com/pub/markrich...

boooo

feeling good about the car armrest bin curation

Reich - Tehillim

yeah that is a good point - which stood in contrast to earlier REM’s output

he put the drums very high in the mix, as was common then, but he did seem to go easier on the gated snare. “Life’s Rich Pageant” def has the loudest drums of any REM album (also sounds great)

one of my favorite music books of the past few years, doesn’t have the snappiest title but lots of interesting history about how jazz and rock were framed when the genres were in earlier stages

great book

Ah sorry yeah I meant Kelefa

I definitely first heard it on ILM, and when K’s piece hit I thought of it as riffing on an ILM idea

and I think the same goes for pop—it’s expected that if you review pop you care about the genre and are informed about it, where once many dismissed it out of hand

all v interesting points. something important tho under-discussed that @stevenhyden.bsky.social mentioned is how this trend fits with the move from generalist to specialist critics. xgau has viciously panned 100+ metal records because he doesn’t like metal. now, you have a metal fan review those

I'm thinking a sandwich where you put lettuce and tomato on hours before you eat it and wrap it in plastic, and the water soaks into the bread

Amazing! Thanks for sharing.

Forty Years of Thursday Afternoon Brian Eno and the Power of Formats

I wrote a little newsletter about Brian Eno’s Thursday Afternoon open.substack.com/pub/markrich...

still bangs

I picked one up recently that included an insert with William Ackerman’s perspective on home taping

Living Through This, Again | Defector The moment I had long dreaded finally arrived: the day I’d have to dismantle my childhood. I suppose I should consider myself lucky. It took 43 years to get here, to this spring day in 2025, standing ...

crazy good piece by @amyphillips.bsky.social about teenage rock’n’roll dreams and creating building the world you want to inhabit on the walls of your childhood bedroom defector.com/living-throu...

Congrats, looks fantastic. The TOC on its own is enough to spur debate

yeah it’s good for what it is—the JJ Cale mellowness in full effect

RIP Jeremiah Green