Joe Levy

No, no, I mean the Landau who needed the person on the other end of the phone to know that Ahmet Ertegun made Phil Collins juice the drums on "In the Air Tonight" because *that's what Ahmet does.* Oh . . . wait . . . it's the same guy. (At least the Donna Summer sessions are temporally accurate.)

My sister liked the Springsteen movie. I didn't. Life goes on. But the thing from that movie I simply can't shake: Why is a John Lennon biography from 1988 on the bookshelf of Jon Landau's office in 1982?

YouTube video by BobbyScarlet THE POOH STICKS - YOUNG PEOPLE (THE GREAT WHITE WONDER)

Now's the time to have faith in what we can do.
youtu.be/EjyHwqmtG-U?...

The Best Comedy Specials to Watch This Month: Critic’s Picks Streaming specials from Beth Stelling, Jim Jefferies, Fabrizio Copano, Ralph Barbosa and the late Ken Flores are September's must-see comedy shows

Over at Billboard, I wrote about five new comedy specials, including Beth Spelling's insanely great "The Landlord Special," which will take up less than 30 minutes of your life and enrich it greatly.

www.billboard.com/lists/best-c...

YouTube video by Prince - Topic Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vq3...

Hell yeah

Billboard’s Top 15 Musical Comedians Right Now (Critic’s Picks) Music Comedians: Bridget Everett, Morgan Jay, Bo Burnham, Reggie Watts and Riki Lindhome and more top talent today.

If you need a laugh right now (and who among us doesn't?) wrote about funny people for ‪@billboard.com‬.
www.billboard.com/lists/music-...

Um…it gets better. Although it also gets worse. (Found most of it super interesting/illuminating. But some of of it is daffy

Jon King hitting a microwave with a baseball bat at the Gang of Four concert at Sony Hall in NYC.

Saw @gangoffour.bsky.social last night with @rxgau.bsky.social and @audiation.bsky.social, and one of us wrote about it. (It was not me.) robertchristgau.substack.com/p/gang-of-tw...

💔

'Amplified': Inside the Ultimate Immersive Experience of Rock History The creators of 'Amplified, the Immersive Rock Experience' at Las Vegas' Illuminarium talk about making rock history into a groundbreaking show.

This project has been bubbling for the last two years. Excited to see it out in the world at last.
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

The Big Lookback: David Johansen "Kid Patriarch Makes His Move," The Village Voice, June 12, 1978

Published June 1978 in "The Village Voice," the David Johansen piece “Kid Patriarch Makes His Move” is just about as close as I’ve ever come to writing one of those formulaic staples of arts journalism, a celebrity profile.
robertchristgau.substack.com/p/the-big-lo...

That story about leaving the phone off the hook to listen to Evans play is also in John Swzed's Miles bio, "So What," where it's told by Dave Liebman.

For years now, there's only been one really reliably apt Grammy Awards category, and naturally it's got nothing to do with recordings. It's Best Music Film, and I looked at all five of this year's noms for Observer. Thanks to @joelevy.bsky.social for making it happen.
observer.com/2025/01/one-...

Netflix And Max Are Betting Big on Wrestling — Here’s Why Underneath this half-fake bloodsport where the blood is real and the sport is not you’ll find non-stop economic intrigue, reality-show gossip, and a constantly shifting narrative. All of whic…

In which I try to explain to normal people why I'm obsessed with professional wrestling, and why Netflix spent $6B on WWE.
observer.com/2025/01/netf...

RIP Jimmy, Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy . . .

BC106 - Top 10 (all media) of 2024 Some films, some sets, some sanity

My all-media Top 10 of the year is now up. open.substack.com/pub/michaela...

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Gift of Lenore Tawney, 1963 © 2016 Agnes Martin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

White Flower by Agnes Martin, 1960

https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137332

The suspense . . .

Current mood

He likes to scratch.

I mean all the data these fuckers have scraped off me for the last 15 years and they really think I’m gonna stand here saying “YOLO tango” into my watch.

FFS . . .

Brooklyn Drill Trio 41’s “Chill Guy” Is the Platonic Ideal of Meme Rap This surprisingly relaxed track is a dissociative vibe—whether you know the chill guy in question or not.

Brooklyn drill trio 41's latest single turns the Chill Guy meme and Gia Margaret's "Hinoki Wood" into a dissociative bop for the ages. Seriously--It's a vibe

Sign...Times Super Deluxe 8CD DVD | Prince Official Store I feel that were on the brink of something. It is going to be strict and wild and pretty. Prince, 1986 More than any other release in his four-decade-long recording career, Prince's iconic double alb...

PSA for anyone who might want it: the Sign O’ the Times 8CD/DVD box set from 2020—maybe the best posthumous Prince release yet—is on sale through his official store today only for $50 (originally priced around $160) store.prince.com/product/5QCD...

Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker & Tucker Zimmerman Podcast interview with Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker and Tucker Zimmerman about their collaborative album Dance of Love

Great pod from the great Jenny Eliscu talking with the artists behind one this year's greatest albums.
jennylsq.com/2024/12/05/b...

Spanx, but for uncertainty about the future

Thriving on a Riff A new take on an old song, by the Sullivan Fortner Trio.

Late last night, I was seized by the impulse to tell you what’s so exciting about the new lead single by the Sullivan Fortner Trio. It sort of boils down to six notes in sequence, along a B-flat blues scale. But it’s so much more.