Just North of Something Important

They are apparently playing The Hold Steady at the Outback Steakhouse. Where have you gone, Kevin...

Sep 1st

The plains of Illinois: corn, soybeans, and wind farms stretching out like Apple branded forests,...

Aug 31st

No regrets.

Aug 31st

South Bend

The future in-laws’ friends throw them an anniversary party at a suburban house.  Near the end...

Aug 31st

Farmers' Market

filigree: For the past three hours (whoooo jet lag) I have been obsessing about finding a fucking...

Aug 29th

Later gators

All my shit’s packed up, half of it’s in the car.  Rachel is currently undergoing the...

Aug 29th

To put it a different way

If you could put just one song on a mix for a road trip, what would it be?

Aug 28th

“Just 37 percent of the poll’s respondents correctly...”
— Fivethirtyeight.com quantifies...

Aug 28th

Public sphere - Wikipedia, the free...

Aug 28th

Listen

Evil Cowards (Dick Valentine) - Sex Wars I woke up with this in my head, so now you get it too. ...

Aug 28th

NYT: Message to Muslim World Gets a Pentagon...

Aug 28th

Pro tip

If you are ever fresh-grinding mustard powder, do not clean out the spice grinder by blowing in it. ...

Aug 28th

Oh, New York City.  I’ll miss you.

Aug 28th

Watch

I’m pretty OK with the new Scissor Sisters album sounding this way.  (Though I think they are...

Aug 27th

“I was at a sex party in Mannheim, I was on the dancefloor....”
— Jake Shears talks to...

Aug 27th

Let's be clear on something

The only new and innovative political strategy that the Bush administraiton used that was actually...

Aug 27th

Watch

Being a child of the 90s (primarily), it was very surprising for me to discover that Trio’s...

Aug 27th

Watch

On Sunday, we’re going to talk about our wedding for, oh, probably like 27 hours.  It should...

Aug 27th

Watched the beginning of the Beatles Anthology last night and was reminded that Paul invented twee. ...

Aug 27th

Things I would do if I could #7,362

Take scenes from Mad Men and overlay them with the audience noises from Married…With Children.

Aug 27th

Dinner

Esquites (Mexican sauteed corn, kinda) + whole salt-crusted porgy.  Both highly rec’d, the...

Aug 27th

Aug 27th

Watch

Ever wonder what it would look like if someone who totally missed the point of Harold and Kumar...

Aug 26th

rendit: Columnist George Smart says the “Transformers” star is set to follow in the footsteps of...

Aug 26th

Listen

Four Year Strong - “Love Song” From Punk Goes Pop II, a cover of…well, you know. ...

Aug 26th

drunk on dreams: eastbound & down: the...

Aug 26th

“Scratch off the appetizers and entrees that are most like...”
— Frank Bruni, on the safest way...

Aug 26th

Oh and

Personal request from me: can anyone point me toward, or throw together, a “best of...

Aug 26th

Music and Modern Marketing

Aug 26th

Roadtrip mix

Hey everyone!  We are going on a cross-country road trip starting this Saturday, to get me from NYC...

Aug 26th

Aug 26th

Mary Gaitskill, "Lost Cat"

Aug 25th

Listen

excitablehonky: “Red Dragon Tattoo” — Fountains of Wayne For anybody that ever got a tattoo just...

Aug 25th

itsatrap: via www.toothpastefordinner.com Uh, there...

Aug 25th

“IS THE METRIC SYSTEM IMPREGNATING YOUR CHILDREN?”
— Daily Mail-o-matic |...

Aug 24th

The Social History Of The MP3

Aug 24th

Factoid

There is not a single mainstream country song in the Pitchfork Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s.*  Not...

Aug 23rd

Health care reform

For the record, I’m with Gail Collins.

Aug 23rd

Sunset, Stone Barns Farm, July 10.

Aug 22nd

Turkeys, Stone Barns Farm, July 10.

Aug 22nd

openapplev: The songs that improved or maintained their standing from Pitchfork’s mid-decade list...

Aug 21st

jsj: I want to read your opinions on this. And click through...

Aug 21st

dhk: hokorii: alumina: Oh dear God. HAHAHAHAHAHAH...

Aug 21st

CIA hired Blackwater to help hunt al Qaeda...

Aug 21st

Dear Canadians

Before you make fun of America for its awful debate about health care reform, recall where your...

Aug 20th

I like the woman from Seattle on this season of Top Chef,...

Aug 20th

By the way, I consider the German experimental electronic musician who shares my name to be my...

Aug 19th

My persona results, “Mike Barthel” v....

Aug 19th

Watch

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story Todd Haynes’ retelling of Karen Carpenter’s life...

Aug 19th

2000s

tomewing: barthel: So someone is going to do a statistical analysis comparing the placement of a...

Aug 18th

2000s

So someone is going to do a statistical analysis comparing the placement of a single/album in...

Aug 18th

Watch

Boy Crisis - Ganglion of Lightning (1983) (via Matt Leyes, for the 1-2 of you that will mean...

Aug 18th

Pete Campbell's Boner Party contribution

Aug 18th

Behind the Burner: Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Aug 17th

goldenfiddle: As you’ve never seen her: unless you have the...

Aug 17th

Nick’s Lake

Aug 13th

I can see why you might not get too worked up over Les Paul dying.  His music is fine enough but has...

Aug 13th

Watch

Prince, “The Cross,” live on the LoveSexy tour.  This is the kind of thing that makes me...

Aug 13th

I was kind of surprised that the most popular individual...

Aug 13th

I Used to be Cool, but Now I'm a Bride.

Aug 11th

Confidential to Vicky (and, uh, openly to everyone else): if...

Aug 11th

Today I hollered 'GET A JOB, HIPPIE' at...

pterodactyls: It taking a ride in a bike trailer. You would’ve done the same thing. I was sitting...

Aug 11th

pourquoi-pas: ok ok ok… so I’m catching up on movies I’ve...

Aug 11th

“when i write, i try to use female-gendered pronouns as much...”
— think on this.: gender neutral...

Aug 11th

czupcaks: Back at the Galeries de Paléontologie et...

Aug 10th

But enough about you

I know I haven’t been posting much of substance lately (though looking back through the...

Aug 10th

Watch

rendit: “Don’t gush, don’t gush” I told myself after we escaped the din and were able to make out...

Aug 10th

clapclap.org: Bueller. Bueller.

Aug 7th

A Kernal of Truth

Radio stations in Seattle play a lot of Nirvana.  Radio stations in Boston play a lot of House of...

Aug 7th

I could be misreading this

But I think a good way of describing the kind of people I’m friends with is that they care...

Aug 7th

rendit: How has no one done an Al Gore SOCIALISM poster that reads ‘WHY SO SUPER SERIAL?’ at the...

Aug 7th

China seals off NW town as plague kills 2nd...

Aug 6th

Harry Estrin, 1909-1928.  Harry was a commie!  A bunch of...

Aug 5th

Esther Stein, 1913-1956.

Aug 5th

Fannie Slutsky, 1902-1931.

Aug 5th

Aug 5th

Aug 5th

Aug 5th

Waldheim Jewish Cemeteries - a set on Flickr

Aug 5th

“Capitalism is what people do if you leave them alone.”
— Kenneth Minogue [h/t doll]...

Aug 5th

Watch

drewarthur: I think this is the moment we all knew the Jason Segal-Neil Patrick Harris combo was...

Aug 4th

Watch

Art Brut covering “Wonderwall” at the Acoustic Lakeside Festival. “For the second...

Aug 3rd

“Q: How would you describe your vocal style? A: Just really...”
— Shirtless, Peerless: An...

Aug 1st

It’s always reassuring to remind yourself what everyone was sure about six months ago.

Aug 1st

Aug 1st

Aug 1st

Another simple explanation for Obama’s success.

Aug 1st

Aug 1st

Aug 1st

Aug 1st

Aug 1st

Aug 1st