Kyle Munson

A good sort of spin: Record Store Day returns as young fans sustain old tech Vinyl LPs are inconvenient, fragile, and exist outside the algorithms. Somehow their vintage charm keeps enticing young music fans to flock to our beloved independent record stores.

Happy #RecordStoreDay #RSD2025 to all my fellow vinyl junkies.

How bicycling is building a better future (and already is worth $1.4B annually to Iowa) I spent part of my weekend at a pair of events that reminded me of the power of two-wheel culture and how Iowa plays a central role.

Bikes are our ideal transportation!

🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲

The nation’s bicycle “interstate highway” is taking shape, while here in Iowa we’re preparing for the 52nd RAGBRAI route from river to river.

What Elon Musk’s Salute Was All About A gesture associated with the Nazis has a surprising history. But in Germany, there was little doubt about its meaning.

This was well done. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/w...

Also, your timing with “The Brutalist” at the Varsity should be good for an Oscars nomination bump!

Love that idea! … Or maybe Gary Oldman could make it work!

Lifelong creativity: ‘A Complete Unknown’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘other things’ As a movie, how does it feel? Pretty great. But "A Complete Unknown" also evokes thoughts of what it means to stay creative long after the first flush of success.

The new Bob Dylan film is terrific.
While the greatness of Dylan in the ‘60s is deeply embedded in our culture, I’d love to see a little more recognition for the greatness of an older, wearier, and wiser 21st century Dylan, too.

Listen up: How many of my top 10 albums of 2024 have you heard? No. 1 hails from Down Under, and I daresay all of my favorites love to blur genres. When it comes to music, hard to classify can mean easy to love.

🎶 For those inclined to crave peace and unity during the holidays, a music list may be my best offering …

For #GivingTuesday & your year-end gifts, please consider @journalismfdn.bsky.social & its new campaign, “A Digital Future for Local News.” Help #localnews build a bridge to long-term sustainability for the good of communities. www.westerniowajournalismfoundation.com/a-digital-fu...

Ultimate Happy Holidays Playlist

Let me preface this by saying that as a rabid music fan I’m a strong consumer of physical formats and believe in supporting artists through their direct revenue streams.

But I’ve also spent years curating the perfect Spotify holidays playlist—211 hours and counting. Happy holidays to all:

And cool peeps (with exhaustive cinephile libraries) like @johnpemble.bsky.social!

I’m rethinking my phone settings. This may be the most unnecessary push notification ever. News flash: We still can’t predict the future.

#WFH autumn afternoon sunlight

It’s been a grueling autumn for many.