Read on Twitter
I'm following Fielding's thread because I want to read some suggestions, too, especially in fields not my own. But I'll gladly tick off a few I've especially enjoyed—with no slight intended toward any others. https://twitter.com/fieldinghope/status/1341786214127575045
Obviously, @toneglow is for me the media story of 2020. The resourceful, indefatigable @misterminsoo transformed an excellent blog into a humane, joyous community of disparate voices celebrating vital artists underrepresented elsewhere. Mandatory follow. https://toneglow.substack.com/
I enjoy the curious randomness @zombiesfj pursues, and always find edifying links worth following. https://substack.sashafrerejones.com/
The premise of Farm to Avitabile, in which flutist and @hubnewmusic founder Michael Avitabile proposes to pair listening suggestions and recipes, is literally tantalizing. https://mikeavitabile.substack.com/
The depth of humanity @modernistwitch has expressed in The Parts of a Body are noble and illuminating, painful and sometimes awkward. As long as Jes is writing, I'll be reading. https://jes.substack.com/
Speaking of awkward and painful and personal and all that, Welcome to Hell World by my erstwhile Boston comrade @lukeoneil47 is filled with anguish and revelation. It's an ugly beauty I sometimes have to force myself to consume, but always worth it. https://luke.substack.com/
Of course, Music Journalism Insider ( @JournalismMusic) is an imperative resource: the story of the stories, the gateway to more tales, and the inspiration for my own dive. https://musicjournalism.substack.com/
Dada Strain, by Piotr Orlov ( @raspberryjones), lends a global perspective to the intersection of dance music, community, and visceral joy. https://dadastrain.substack.com/
First Floor by @ShawnReynaldo, is a well-filled, personable, and useful electronic-music digest… https://firstfloor.substack.com/
Some of my absolute favorites in the classical music world have been fairly quiet lately. These include Industry, in which @seatedovation has granted entrance to his process of writing a book about @bangonacan and the economics of new music… https://industry.substack.com/
Another is The Classical Alternative, where @DougShadle essentially provides the deluxe Blu-ray commentary track for his own public musicology… https://classicalalternative.substack.com/
And a third is Undone, in which my close friend and forever comrade @ogiovetti goes long on various and sundry topics, from Syrian culture to The Case of Domingo. https://oliviagiovetti.substack.com/
I've not had the pleasure of personal exchanges with @MarissaRMoss, but @natalieweiner is a favorite: one of the most resourceful and fearless writers I know. Don't Rock the Jukebox, their joint venture into country music, is a winner. https://dontrocktheinbox.substack.com/
Another stone-cold essential is More Fire, where @ComplexMusic staff writer @andrejgee pulls no punches covering the intersection of rap, race, and social justice. https://morefire.substack.com/
From the Desk of @aliciakennedy is an extraordinary mix of "culture, climate and cocktails." It's about food, food service, culture, society, and other big ideas—and right now it's on pause, while Kennedy ponders the implications of mass success. https://www.aliciakennedy.news/
I read several politics Substacks, though less diligently than I should. Some of them send regular pleas for money, which I wish I were in a better position to accommodate. I'm not going to name names.
I follow a few veterans with interest, like Robert Christgau on And It Don't Stop… https://robertchristgau.substack.com/
As well as veterans of more recent vintage, like Lars Gotrich ( @totalvibration) of @nprmusic, whose Viking's Choice always provides fresh listening recommendations. https://vikingschoice.substack.com
A Substack from the in all ways extraordinary Matthew Guerrieri ( @sohothedog), optimistically titled Soho the Dog Weekly, has been silent since July. One lives in hope… https://sohothedog.substack.com/
CABBAGES, the busy, buzzy rap Substack from Gary Suarez ( @noyokono), is a constant companion and a consistent joy. https://cabbages.substack.com/
There are SO MANY MORE. According to Substack Reader, the platform's recently launched aggregator, I'm signed up for something like 50 different Substacks. Some are inactive, some are hyperactive, some haven't started rolling in earnest just yet.
I'm grateful to see old friends like @MBrodeur and @jgrossnas hitting the platform, as well as newer comrades and connections like @joffaloff and @milnerwords. And I'll always be eager to see more!
I agree with the notion that we're back in the world of individually siloed blogs, with their distinctive quirks and well-defined specialties. That's the format where I cut my teeth, showed my blemishes, and grew up in public, and it's not a bad thing to come back 'round again.
What I miss most about the blogosphere, though, is the outright, intentional linkage, the intersection, the mutual regard and support. Bloggers knew each other, cited each other, sniped at each other. Right now, Substacks feel a lot more isolated and airtight.
Substack has expressed an intent to address this very issue, and I think that's part of what the Substack Reader (a.k.a. the new RSS) is meant to do. I hope it continues. I hope the sense of interaction and connection that made blogs so HUMAN can be ported into this new medium.
That's my say, and again: if I follow you and omitted you inexcusably – here's to you, @TuskIsBetter!! – I apologize. https://tuskisbetter.substack.com/
Thank you for reading me, and for reading, period.
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