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Of Note 025: The Final Of Note

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-025-the-final-of-note/

Published: May 31, 2026 22:21

Howdy folks! This will be the final issue. I’ve decided to move my attention and efforts to some new projects and, at 2 years and 25 issues, it seems like a fitting time to wrap up this newsletter. Of Note was an idea I had many years ago, but it wasn’t…

Of Note 024: Fake Fans, Low's Debut, and Alice Coltrane's Cosmic Life

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-024-fake-fans-lows-debut-and-alice/

Published: April 7, 2026 01:57

Howdy folks! Another month and another round of gratitude for your patience. I took my annual trip to the Big Ears festival in Knoxville at the end of last month and so I was slow getting back into my regular schedule. Big Ears is my favorite festival. It…

Of Note 023: Concerts during ICE terror, Bad Bunny's symbolism, catching up on Hanif Abdurraqib

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-023-concerts-during-ice-terror-bad-bunnys/

Published: March 7, 2026 20:52

Howdy folks! Work, vacation, and life have all conspired to delay this month’s issue. Thank you for your patience! It’s been a long, hard winter. Here in Chicago, they said it was a winter to make transplant regret moving to the city, after several years…

Of Note 022: Bowie's Blackstar anniversary, Marisa Dubice interview, Justin Townes Earle biography

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-022-bowie-dubice-JTE/

Published: February 1, 2026 19:06

Howdy folks! The new year has kicked off with a wealth of great music writing. This month’s selections have put me in a time machine or some kind of liminal, in-between space. Nate Chinen gives us a new perspective on Bowie’s Blackstar and how it might…

Of Note 021: Farewell Letters, Podcast Themes, and Why Sound Matters

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-021-farewell-letters-podcast-themes-and/

Published: January 1, 2026 18:46

Howdy folks! Happy New Year! Wishing you and yours all the best as we enter the second half of the 2020s. December is always a month filled with reflection and lists. So many lists. I make it a point not to recommend lists in the December issue because,…

Of Note 020: John Darnielle, Hallogallo, and John Prine

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-020-john-darnielle-hallogallo-and-john/

Published: December 2, 2025 03:58

Howdy folks! I’ll keep this short this time around since I’m already running behind. From November, I loved a supersized magazine feature (Grayson Haver Currin on John Darnielle), a very short memoir (Tom Piazza on John Prine), and a wonderful scene report…

Of Note 019: Getting Vulnerable with Amanda Shires, Sudan Archives, and Jeff Tweedy

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-019-getting-vulnerable-with-amanda-shires/

Published: November 3, 2025 14:27

Howdy folks! October featured a glut of great music writing, far too much to ever include here. The pieces that resonated with me highlighted how musicians often have something that sets them apart from the rest of us: being comfortable with being…

Of Note 018: An Interview with Chris DeVille, author of Such Great Heights

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-018-an-interview-with-chris-deville/

Published: October 1, 2025 13:39

Howdy folks! I’ve got an Of Note first for you this month: Chris DeVille, author Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion, sat down with me for an interview to talk about his great survey of how “indie” became a…

Of Note 017: Quick Reads Inspired by Ben Ratliff's Run The Song

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-017-quick-reads/

Published: September 2, 2025 13:20

Howdy folks! Typically, I highlight a couple of feature length stories each month, but not this time. This month, I read Ben Ratliff’s Run The Song: Writing About Running About Listening, which is made up of 39 short essays. I found the other pieces…

Of Note 016: Tyler Childers, Brian Eno, and Sly Stone as Themselves

https://buttondown.com/of_note/archive/of-note-016-tyler-childers-brian-eno-and-sly/

Published: August 2, 2025 13:46

Howdy folks! For many of us, life is a long lesson in being ourselves. For some lucky folks, it just comes naturally. And it just so happens that many of those folks make music. Maybe that’s why, as a recovering people pleaser, I’m drawn to stories about…