We’re Through Being Cool: techbros, manosphere influencers, Ancient Greek masculinity, and AI
From Jordan Peterson to Andrew Tate, today’s techbros and manosphere influencers are either entirely unconcerned with being cool or, like Elon, exceptionally bad at it. Far from the poster-king Dril, whose ironically-detatched shitposts ruled the platform Elon killed, these influencers…
Good Vibes Only – Latest Introduction
This week the Duke UP faculty board approved the final manuscript of Good Vibes Only: Phenomenology, Algorithms, and Politics of Legitimation for publication. I should have the final manuscript to them for handover to production by Labor Day. To get…
I’m writing on The Breeders’ LAST SPLASH for the 33 1/3 series
The new batch of 33 1/3 volumes were announced today and I’m excited to be among the authors selected this time around. I’ll be writing on The Breeders’ 1993 album LAST SPLASH. Here’s the short description and ToC: The contemporary…
The 2025 Inhailer Indie 500: What independent music/broadcast looks like in the streaming era
The Inhailer 2025 Indie 500 took place this past Memorial Day Weekend, and as usual I have some thoughts on how the composition of this year’s countdown reflects the contemporary status of modern rock/alt/indie/etc. The 2025 chart made a very…
My AMS Lecture at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: “What Is the Modern Rock 500?”
In September 2024 I was honored to give a lecture at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the American Musicological Society’s lecture series. It was about the 36-year-old institution that’s the Modern Rock (now Indie) 500….
The 2025 Indie 500
In 1989 modern rock radio station WOXY started its annual countdown of the 500 best modern rock songs in its library. This tradition continues at Cincinnati’s independent internet radio station Inhailer with the 2025 Indie 500. The week leading up…
Professional Philosophy in the Age of Neoreaction: some unintended consequences of the analytic/continental divide and the ethics of theorizing
In explaining the varieties of contemporary reactionary philosophy to my non-philosopher spouse, I settled on: “dark enlightenment” (DE) is neoreaction that leans continental, TESCREAL is neoreaction that leans analytic. Even though I am firmly of the view that the continental/analytic…
Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM, or Miss Germanotta if you’re nasty
Billed as her “industrial” album, Lady Gaga’s 2025 album Mayhem finally puts words to the aesthetic she’s been developing as her signature pop sound for nearly two decades. I’ve been on record since 2010 saying that her sonic and songwriting…
“Did you ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”: 80s affirmative action backlash and contemporary alt-right masculinities
As Liam’s Bluesky posts above illustrate, the current occupants of the US presidency and vice presidency are seen to be deeply invested in the performance of a masculinity rooted in ressentiment or personal injury, and this style of masculinity is…
What kills you will make your memecoin stronger: injured masculinity and financialized media
As the second quarter of the 21st century unfolds, the music industry has become one where the majority of artists basically work for little to no money, performing labor that socially reproduces musical culture while Spotify and Live Nation make…
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