This week’s (kinda late) newsletter has first impressions of the new iPhone 14 Pro, some thoughts on iOS 16, and some commentary on one of the better release weeks this year. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed this week, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (September 18th, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter has some thoughts on the chaos of trying to order the first pressing of New Found Glory’s Coming Home and the unfortunate industry practices that lead to these dustups. I also share some commentary on music released this week and some entertainment I’ve enjoyed. As always, there’s a playlist of ten songs I recommend, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (September 10th, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter has some thoughts on my first live concert in over two years (Dashboard Confessional and Andrew McMahon), some brief commentary on other music and entertainment I consumed over the past week, and a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (September 3rd, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter has some thoughts on music released this week and random commentary on other entertainment I consumed over the past week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I think are worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (August 27th, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter has first impressions of the upcoming Death Cab for Cutie album, a realization I’ve been tying my shoelaces the “wrong” way, and some other thoughts on music and entertainment I consumed over the past week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (August 20th, 2022)”
About eight years ago, I was sitting at a picnic table looking out at the lake near my house. I was listening to Catch For Us the Foxes, not a record for a sunny day, feeling the wood grain under my fingertips, in search of a little hope. It had rained so vehemently the night before that the level of the lake was up over ten feet. The sun shone so bright and the earth was so freshly washed that the greens of the trees and the blues of the water were the most vibrant I’d ever seen at this park. The water flowing through the dam was roaring loud enough to be heard over my music. The temperature was perfect in only the way a day after rain breaks the weather pattern can be.
“Tie me up! Untie me! All this wishing I was dead is getting old. It’s getting old! It goes on, but it’s old.”
I’ve written about my experiences with depression before and the albums that have helped along the way. But I’ve never written about mewithoutYou, or Aaron Weiss in particular, and how important they’ve been in that same journey. They were never a band I could easily talk about or explain; for me, they always had to be experienced to be understood. In large part, I think I’m having trouble finding the words because, quite frankly, I’m not saying goodbye. I’ll be listening to these records for the rest of my life. So I guess I’m saying thank you.
Read More “A Farewell to mewithoutYou”
For years I worked from a giant 6-foot-long plastic table that I’m pretty sure I bought at Target. It was big enough for two (hilariously small by today’s standards) monitors, and I used to have a bunch of sticky notes, diagrams, papers, and stuff all over it while working on AbsolutePunk. It was mostly a means to an end. I needed a place to work, and I put most of the money I could spend into the website or my computers. Over the years, my setup has changed quite a bit. I finally got a “real” desk made of wood and everything. And my back greatly appreciates an ergonomic chair.
My wife, Hannah, started a new job a few months ago. Her office is a few blocks from where we live, within walking distance, and she has her own private office. With many of her co-workers still working from home, she discovered she liked going into the office regularly because it helped her focus and stay in “work mode.”1
This change led to me rethinking how I wanted my office at home, which we had been sharing during the pandemic, to be set up. My computer was over eight years old and needed an upgrade, so I figured that if I was going to upgrade the computer, I might as well think through the entire space, since I spend 9-10 hours a day in there, to make it precisely the office I’d always wanted.
And because I have a blog, I figured I’d blog about it and share some photos and links for future reference.
Read More “The New Home Office”Unsure if my playing music constantly during work hours has any connection to this, but I’m going to assume the answer is yes.↩
This week’s newsletter has a rant about Alexa, some thoughts on the new Pale Waves and Young the Giant albums, and some other random bits about other music and entertainment I consumed over the past week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I liked, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (August 13th, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter looks at those Blink-182 rumors and what I’ve heard through the grapevine. Plus, some early impressions of the new albums from Armor for Sleep and The Early November, and some thoughts on other new music out this week I’ve been enjoying. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I liked, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (August 6th, 2022)”
We are back!
This week’s newsletter is filled all the way up with thoughts on music from the past few weeks, including some Butch Walker first impressions, commentary on life with COVID, and all the stuff I’ve listened to and watched since we last talked. There’s also a playlist of ten songs worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (July 30th, 2022)”
We’re now a little over halfway through the year, but some staff commitments (and a COVID infection) ended up delaying the publication of our mid-year lists. Below, you will find both our combined staff top 30, as well as individual lists from our contributors and moderators. We hope you find something new to love.
Note: You can share your own list in our music forum.
Read More “The Best of Albums of 2022 (So Far)”
This week’s newsletter has some thoughts on new music from Anberlin, some computer projects from last weekend, and my usual commentary on entertainment consumed over the past week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I think are worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (July 2nd, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter tries to make up for missing last week by being jam-packed with treats. We have brief first impressions of the new albums from The Midnight, The Wonder Years, The Interrupters, and Yours Truly, and we have some thoughts on other music and entertainment I’ve been enjoying the past couple of weeks. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I think are worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (June 25th, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter has some thoughts on the announcements at this year’s WWDC, some thoughts on music and entertainment I enjoyed this week, and the usual ten-song playlist of tracks I think are worth your time. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (June 11th, 2022)”
This week’s newsletter has early first impressions of the new The Dangerous Summer album, some thoughts on other music I listened to over the past week, and my usual rundown of entertainment commentary. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (June 5th, 2022)”