Way back in November of 2024, I posted about the Major Label Debut podcast, a show having conversations with artists about their transition into working with a major label. Over the last few years, it's had a ton of great episodes with many very notable artists! They talked to Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum, Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney, Ryan Miller of Guster, and Nels Cline of.. Nels Cline! That's just to name a few.

They also started talking to other people at the intersection of art and commerce. Brendan Bourke of PR firm The Syndicate, Lisa Fancher of Frontier Records, and music lawyer Randy Ojeda - all equally compelling as the artists and producers chats. I'm a fan of the show. I think host Graham Wright does a great job and producers John Paul Bullock and Josh Hook are really making a compelling listen. So, I was quite shocked when they asked me to be a guest! I'm not saying that to feign humility, I just don't consider myself or my store in the same arena as Soul Asylum. hah!

I am flattered and honored to be a part of the show. I also think I did a decent job with my episode and hope people enjoy the chat. Maybe you will too! Give it a whirl.

I mentioned that Bleary has joined the yk Records roster and will be releasing their debut full-length in May. "sugar splint" is already out and, now, "bug" is everywhere. I know I'm biased but I'm a massive fan of every track on this record. The guitars on "bug" remind me of several other "space rock" bands that I adore but not in a derivative way, just sonically similar. It's steeped in huge sound and melancholy vibes; a stellar combination when pulled off this well.

We are in an era where AI tools are emerging at a breakneck pace. It's not far fetched to assume that new tools are launching every day. Regardless of what you feel about AI, the volume is wild. Even more surprising are the number of tools released by big players that I have never heard of.

Case in point, Google Stitch is a text-to-design tool that launched... who knows when? You describe a layout that you wanna see and it churns out a pretty reasonable response; all exportable to Figma. I don't necessarily recommend it for any production project but if you're curious to play around wiht a tool from one of the planets largest tech companies, it's worth a quick spin.

The Unnamed Footage Festival has at least two things going for it. First, it's a film festival focused on "the artistic value of first person narrative filmmaking." Born from an evolution of appreciation for films like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, it's a festival that focuses on horror and beyond. Watch the festival trailer, it's nuts!

Secondly, the website is a full on Windows clone. Given that it's 2026, this is likely been done a thousand times over but I am always impressed when someone can make a website behave like an operating system. It's fun to click around and explore the material rather than having it presented completely linearly. And their demonic looking floppy disk mascot really deserves its own nod of appreciation.

It's a silly thing but Capybara Simulator looks like a sweet and delightful little game. The description sells it nicely:

This game offers relaxing and meditative gameplay. You can simply stand there, soak in the beauty of the jungle around you, and live life as a capybara. You can also do all the things capybaras usually do (mostly just chilling and doing nothing).

And if you've never watched much video actual capybara chilling, I suggest you do so.

Had a nice surprise / shock recently. There's a website called TheFeatures.live that compiles an ongoing repository of bootlegs from the band The Features. They recently added another 19 shows to the overall list. There are a bunch of shows from the college town where I saw them countless times, as well as shows here in Nashville at venues that are long gone. I've been a fan of the band for a long time and remember seeing them for the first time in high school.

In fact, I distinctly remember the very first time I ever saw the band was in 1996 at Rocketown in Franklin, TN opening for Caesar's Glass Box. Much to my surprise, that show is now in the archive. What an absolute shock to see that someone recorded the show, that it survived for 30 years and made it on to this website. Stunning!

I'll pair this with the fact that my very first concert is also somehow on YouTube. That's probably not a big deal for anyone under the age of 40 but it is for me!

I love a thoughtful, heady, exercise about a vintage videogame. Case in point: The Rygar Exercise: Assessing Ancient Themes In Visual Art takes a look at the possible historical influences in the 1986 NES adventure game Rygar. It's actually much shorter than I'd like.. I'd take a hefty 10,000 words on the subject if I could find it.

A few tech related items for ya:

• The o16g Manifesto - a long treatise on "outcome engineering," aka o16g. It's a manifesto on the future of AI assisted engineering. It can be a bit heavy-handed, as manifesto's tend to be, but does have plenty of principles that resonate with my experiences. I can't say I agree with it entirely - nor do I think anyone should be dishing out such platitudes about the future - but I do think it's worth reading.
• Your App Subscription Is Now My Weekend Project - semi-related to the above; Roberto Selbach talks about writing his own AI-assisted software to replace all of his subscription software. He's not saying it's the scalable future for everyone to write and ship their own custom code but it does give a peek at the future maybe you don't have an app store with a bunch of apps you're forced to subscribe to (you'll just be forced to subscribe to an AI :sadtrombone:).
• I Doesn’t Reduce Work - It Intensifies It - very unfortunate this is behind a paywall but you likely get the gist from the headline. This piece by Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye speaks on how AI's ability to empower everyone to do everything is not making lives easier, its adding more work to everyone. This can be combated with some good internal policies on how you work with AI but it also seems like the sort of thing companies would shy away from because they want employees doing 100x more.
• The political effects of X’s feed algorithm - a research paper on what happens to two months of exposure to X's algorithmic feed. The TLDR? X is bad for you! Dr Jacobs points out:

  And something we may not have known that this paper shows is that once a person gets into the right wing silo, we’ve lost them. Changing to the chronological feed does not bring them back.

  More reasons for you to quite X already if you have not. Please.

My wife loves New Orleans. We started going a few years ago and I was also struck by how different it feels there. Aesthetically it is unlike anywhere else I've been in the United States - different vegetation, architecture, vibes. It's a city known for partying and drinking (as Nashville is now) but it's a city rich with intense history of the French, African, Spanish, Caribbean and dashes of so many others. There is a partying culture there as well but t wasn't until I attended a proper Mardi Gras that something unique struck me; a feeling of unbridled, unencumbered joy. It took me a minute but I understood why she was enamored.

That feeling wasn't the alcohol. It wasn't anything spurred on by chemical forces in the slightest. Standing on the sidelines of a walking parade, I saw hundreds of people in DIY costumes marching to a brass band. I've seen hundreds more people celebrating Beans, wildly inventive costumes made from legumes and embracing puns. I've seen a pop-up parade of the outlandishly positive - marching joyfully against crimes in Palestine. I've seen floats beyond my imagination - Macy's is amateur hour after you've seen a blocks long alligator. I'd heard the term "joyful noise" before but you can feel it from every corner during Mardi Gras.

Then I saw this post that articulated the defiant nature of embracing joyfulness in a time that is riddled with misery. It sounds like a message on a stitched pillow: "Embrace Joy." But so what? It hit me just right. This isn't about ignoring the pains of the world but remembering to celebrate the positive things, community and allowing goodness to overcome that heft. In a place riddled with its own set of unique pains, New Orleans somehow manages to let that goodness out.

I post this primarily to share these words and hope that you'll find some way to integrate this into your life. Even if its just a few days a year.

A smattering of interesting things to read.

• Berkley scientists hone in on 100 SETI signals - you may recall the SETI@home project, a global undertaking to put idle computers to work analyzing data from signals captured from space. Every computer in every computer lab in college would run this and I always admired the crowd sourced endeavor to try and understand data coming from other worlds.
  
  This article talks about how the project ended in 2020 and how Berkley continues the work by looking at 100 of the signals that are of particular interest. Great history and insight into the project.
• The WAYMO World Model - there are fewer companies that need to be on the forefront of AI and visual computer learning than automated driving cars. I have plenty of hesitation thinking about getting into an autonomous vehicle but I gotta respect the amount of learning going on with the process. Waymo has introduced a World Model based on their massive amounts of mining that will hopefully improve the technology across the board.
  
  If that sounds like something you have no interest in, I recommend you go visit the page just for the GIFs. There's an elephant approaching a WAYMO that gives you an idea of how they're visualizing and understanind a myriad of outlandish (yet plausible) scenarios.
• What Stanley Kubrick got right about Artificial Intelligence - I read this on a Bloomberg guest pass but you can read the first part of it on Reddit if you need to. A nice essay from Ian Watson about how Kubrick understood actual artificial intelligence and embraced that for A.I..

I've been a fan of John Rafman's 9 Eyes for a long time. If you're unfamiliar, it's a repository of strange and surreal images captured by the Google Street View car (hence, 9 eyes) that Rafman stumbled across. The archive goes back some 16 years and every page of it is worth spending time with.

Admittedly, I have not kept up with Rafman's work outside of this. I was not even aware that he was a fine artist! His website is seemingly straightforward but contains many subtle secrets - just be sure to tap that Kool-Aid man.

Despite all that, I found myself on Rafman's Instagram glued to his short film, Report a Concern, Ep 2 - Oak Run, CA. It's six clips that tell a somewhat scary, somewhat surreal and altogether blurry tale about Rafman, 9 Eyes and someone he managed to capture in a tragic moment.

From a storytelling standpoint, it's riveting. From a storymaking standpoint, it's extremely clever. There's lots of AI being used here but the tone of the story, the distinctive look and the blurred-for-anonymity security footage angle of it all works incredibly well together. I know there are lots of big feels about AI in filmmaking but this feels like a prime example of great usage of it. Tho I'm sure there are some that would argue against that.

I wish this was viewable in some format that wasn't an Instagram clip but I suppose that delivery method plays into it all as well.

I've posted about Davis before and if there are future releases, I'm sure I'll post about Davis again. His latest release, Beacon Hill, builds on the practices of the prior release, Rime, combining ambient soundscapes, a touch of noise and something entirely unique. "Ambient" is a bit of a misnomer in this scenario because it's not music that falls entirely to the background. The presence of these compositions are active and felt - particularly "Broken" and "Blackout Lullaby", as they are giving undeniably active and optimistic vibes.

Much of the EP does have a foreboding and dark vibe but not in an oppressive or punishing ways. These songs can lean into something unseen and creepy but that tension itself is engaging.

The cover art is apt - a bright light amongst the incredibly dark surroundings.

You can finally surf the Gibson in search of your very own garbage file to brag to Acid Burn, Phantom Freak, Cereal Killer, Lord Nikon and Crash Override. Just keep your eyes peeled for The Plague!

If that's all gibberish to you, you have now have weekend plans.

If my own archives are to be trusted, I've been listening to Bleary since 2018 - right before the release of their debut EP Gates. It's an excellent blend of influences - some shoegaze, some dream pop, loads of harmonies and that yearning indie melancholy. Listen to "Sour" and tell me that's not an apt description! Fast forward to 2026 and I am happy to announce that Bleary has joined the yk Records roster and will be releasing their debut full-length album in May. The record has all the same sonic elements from the Gates EP but they've evolved everything - better production, songwriting, et al. It's exactly what you want a band to do!

Can't wait for people to hear the whole thing as we roll it out over the new few months. The first single, "sugar splint," is now available everywhere. Do me a favor and give it a listen and, if you like it, save it and share it!

I still watch SNL most weeks, tho usually on Sunday morning and never on Saturday night. Like a lot of people, I find the whole culture there fascinating. Even if you don't find the show very funny, the work environment is captivating. The week before the show seems brutally difficult and the broadcast itself seems impossibly complicated!

This 360 Weekend Update gives you a little glimpse at the production as it is happening. It's all great to see but I'm mostly blown away by the cue cards. The idea that someone still writes down every line that is spoken on a piece of paper is ridiculous. I'm sure there's an argument against teleprompters but its just one of the many things that makes the show continuously impressive to me.

Another reason for slower than usual posting in January 2026 was my involvement with this Good Signal fundraiser featuring the return of Glossary and The Features - two bands that have not played live in a decade.

Back in the beginning of 2025 when the government defunded public radio, Matt Pelham of The Features reached out and mentioned he'd like to do something to give back. He was confident he could get The Features to agree to a show, we just needed to find the venue to do it in!

I joined forces with Caroline Bowman-Schneider to create Good Signal, an entity that we could use to promote shows that benefit good causes. We snagged the venue Eastside Bowl because it has 3 stages, allowing us to have bands in two rooms and DJs in another. We booked 14 additional bands, 11 DJs from community and public radio and got to it! The first show sold out immediately (less than 12 hours) and the second in just a few days.

We got some nice press coverage ahead of the show, including this stellar piece from Sean Maloney about why it all exists. After the show, PJ Kinzer wrote a wonderful summary coupled with a ton of great photos from Eric England.

The shows themselves - 2 nights, 3 stages, 16 bands total, 11 DJs and hundreds of familiar faces - were unbelievably cathartic and enjoyable and positive. Especially in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern, which many were still feeling. I can't put into words how joyous it felt to see two bands - Glossary and The Features - play for the first time in a decade and the audience remembered every word of every song, singing it right back at them. Glossary frontman Joey Kneiser said it well, "we're here to help you forget about the world for a little bit." We can't ignore the reality of the world around us but a little reprieve now and again goes a long way.

I am beyond grateful for literally everyone involved. The bands, the venue, the DJs, the sponsors, the attendees, the people who worked merch for us so we could watch the show, et al. It's insane how many people it takes to pull of an event but I think that is a large part of why it all felt so good. Together we go further.

Been a bit behind on posts because of Winter Storm Fern. The big wintery mix moved in on January 24th and in the early morning of January 25th, a tree cracked in half in my backyard and the power went out. Nashville Electric Service has had a controversial time getting everyone restored. I was without power for 9 days.. but fortunately I have an office to sleep in!

Anyway, in true blog format (web log), I am marking down this passage of time. From Jan 25th through Feb 3rd, my wife and I with our three cats slept in my little office. What a time we had but I'm real glad it's over.

Fabien Sanglard is living his best 1996 fantasy, building a Quake PC. I would love to say that I'm immune to the dopamine of nostalgia but that would be a lie. Seeing a lineup of SoundBlaster cards, a PC motherboard and a keyboard with its own speaker just hits right.

And if you enjoy building the PC, don't forget to enjoy booting it up.

Back in early January of 2025, I stated that I would be working on a new version of this site and doing so in the open - making changes along the way instead of doing all the work ahead of time. So, how's that going?

We're over a year later and I would not say that this is a fully launched new version. There's no subpages, there's no comments and the jury is still out on if I even like this layout or typography. Redesigning is hard, especially when you don't really have a plan.

All that said, I am still able to post here and I feel like I've added more tools for myself to make that easier. So, that's a big win. I'm using AI to help me improve some ancient code that I would have never been able to overhaul on my own (comments may actually happen again!). Subpages are nice but if you're actually still reading this, the content is what you care about - which still exists!

So, yea, thanks for riding along. I'll keep poking at it. Hopefully it won't be another year until I can call this "done" but, honestly, not a big deal if it is!

I've been hanging around on the music platform Nina Protocol for awhile. I add yk releases and try to get a feel for the platform. For such an early stage platform, there are some impressive adopters. The majority of music I have encountered on there has been some form of bedroom electronica - not a bad thing in the slightest!

That said, I recently ran across Hop's debut album - You Would Like That and I'm totally smitten! It's a smidge of electronic flavor but it's avant garde, it's pop, it's ambient, it's chaotic, it's immersive. It's a lot of things but all blended masterfully. Nina doesn't have an embed, so lets use the Bandcamp. I was enjoying from the start but once the third track started - an 8-minute long escapade called "Testicle Wing" - I was completely hooked. The gentle vibe of the song mixed with that psychedelic narration is just perfect.

Great record and I look forward to hearing more from hop! I may even pick up that cassette with beaded charm.