Andy Zax
@andyzax.bsky.social
Music producer. Adjective deployer. Cultural gerontologist.
Reposted by Andy Zax
Some belated words about Kaleb Horton, who died a year ago today.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
September 23, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Some belated words about Kaleb Horton, who died a year ago today.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
Some belated words about Kaleb Horton, who died a year ago today.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
September 23, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Some belated words about Kaleb Horton, who died a year ago today.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
I was supposed to speak at his memorial last fall, but I got covid and ended up stumbling around my house in a bathrobe instead of trying to say something thoughtful to a roomful of people who felt as grief-stricken as I did.
Late-breaking entry for that best TV shows of the century list.
September 22, 2026 at 5:15 AM
Late-breaking entry for that best TV shows of the century list.
A new scorcher from
@matoswk.bsky.social that is certain to give @dadadrummer.bsky.social a fresh dose of acid reflux.
@matoswk.bsky.social that is certain to give @dadadrummer.bsky.social a fresh dose of acid reflux.
Private Equity's Next Target Is Indie Music
For years, private equity firms have snatched up the catalogues of music's biggest names. Now they're after independent labels.
www.rollingstone.com
September 19, 2026 at 7:48 PM
A new scorcher from
@matoswk.bsky.social that is certain to give @dadadrummer.bsky.social a fresh dose of acid reflux.
@matoswk.bsky.social that is certain to give @dadadrummer.bsky.social a fresh dose of acid reflux.
The greatest triple album since uh…”Escalator Over The Hill”? “Entropical Paradise”? “Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends — Ladies And Gentlemen, Emerson Lake & Palmer”? Yes.
September 18, 2026 at 7:35 PM
The greatest triple album since uh…”Escalator Over The Hill”? “Entropical Paradise”? “Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends — Ladies And Gentlemen, Emerson Lake & Palmer”? Yes.
The only time I’ve ever succeeded in gaining entry to a sold-out show by abject begging.
Got to see the Necks live once years back almost by chance when @andyzax.bsky.social was in town, our plan for something else fell through and I think I said or noticed that they were playing elsewhere. Show was officially sold out but Andy made it clear we were getting in there. (And we did.)
tremendous
September 15, 2026 at 10:01 PM
The only time I’ve ever succeeded in gaining entry to a sold-out show by abject begging.
There’s lots to like about “Violent Saturday”—Lee Marvin obsessively huffing a Vicks inhaler! Ernest Borgnine as an Amish guy! Gorgeous long-take CinemaScope compositions!—but the highlight for me was the selection of paperbacks in the town drugstore (including Henry Kane’s “Report For A Corpse”).
September 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM
There’s lots to like about “Violent Saturday”—Lee Marvin obsessively huffing a Vicks inhaler! Ernest Borgnine as an Amish guy! Gorgeous long-take CinemaScope compositions!—but the highlight for me was the selection of paperbacks in the town drugstore (including Henry Kane’s “Report For A Corpse”).
I’ve worked with two artists who refused to give up their publishing in the 1960s, saw their careers flatline in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but then earned staggering amounts of money when their work was covered and sampled in the ‘90s and ‘00s. #keepyourpublishing
tips n tricks for young songwriters. tagging Damon K because I think you’ll get a kick out of it @dadadrummer.bsky.social
September 1, 2026 at 2:48 AM
I’ve worked with two artists who refused to give up their publishing in the 1960s, saw their careers flatline in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but then earned staggering amounts of money when their work was covered and sampled in the ‘90s and ‘00s. #keepyourpublishing
Reposted by Andy Zax
August 29, 2026 at 11:33 PM
The mighty @lisajanepersky.bsky.social has spoken, kids.
Some Straights and How They Raucous(ed)
The Lion’s Head Tavern: Other Tales of Christopher Street
open.substack.com
August 27, 2026 at 12:40 AM
The mighty @lisajanepersky.bsky.social has spoken, kids.
I somehow managed to miss out for decades on Jon Hassell’s incredible Eno/Lanois-produced ECM album—spiraling minimalist ethno-chug of the highest order—so I am now urging you not to make the same tragic mistake.
August 24, 2026 at 11:18 PM
I somehow managed to miss out for decades on Jon Hassell’s incredible Eno/Lanois-produced ECM album—spiraling minimalist ethno-chug of the highest order—so I am now urging you not to make the same tragic mistake.
What I’ve been doing to distract myself while waiting since 8AM (and still waiting…) for the AT&T repair guy to show up.
August 22, 2026 at 10:16 PM
What I’ve been doing to distract myself while waiting since 8AM (and still waiting…) for the AT&T repair guy to show up.
Fantastic “wow, did they ever get this one right” reissue of the debut Magical Power Mako LP from 1974: it fuses about 17 different strains of past/present/future Japanese psychedelia into a semi-impenetrable whole. Allegedly a full-analog job; sounds fab. Highly recommended to “Faust Tapes” fans!
August 21, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Fantastic “wow, did they ever get this one right” reissue of the debut Magical Power Mako LP from 1974: it fuses about 17 different strains of past/present/future Japanese psychedelia into a semi-impenetrable whole. Allegedly a full-analog job; sounds fab. Highly recommended to “Faust Tapes” fans!
News @bowiesongs.bsky.social can use.
August 19, 2026 at 6:19 PM
News @bowiesongs.bsky.social can use.
This is a great Marsh obit, although the fact that Tom's obsessed-over-as-a-teen copy of the Rolling Stone Record Guide was the second edition--which omits the phrase--and not the first--where it appears hundreds of times--is probably (mercifully) what's kept him from titling it "Now Deleted."
My tribute to Dave Marsh, the first rock critic I ever read and one I still read to this day.
Dave Marsh (1950-2026)
A salute to the first rock critic I ever read and one I still read to this day.
sterlewine.substack.com
August 18, 2026 at 7:59 PM
This is a great Marsh obit, although the fact that Tom's obsessed-over-as-a-teen copy of the Rolling Stone Record Guide was the second edition--which omits the phrase--and not the first--where it appears hundreds of times--is probably (mercifully) what's kept him from titling it "Now Deleted."
Okay, okay, fine, I’ll admit it: you’re an even bigger Slapp Happy fan than I am.
August 17, 2026 at 6:13 AM
Okay, okay, fine, I’ll admit it: you’re an even bigger Slapp Happy fan than I am.
I only met Dave Marsh once: we were seated next to each other on a post-SXSW flight from Austin to JFK and ended up having a hyper-entertaining four-hour conversation/argument. I’d spent my adolescence disagreeing with his takes, but I walked off the plane thinking “that guy is fucking awesome.”
August 15, 2026 at 6:59 PM
I only met Dave Marsh once: we were seated next to each other on a post-SXSW flight from Austin to JFK and ended up having a hyper-entertaining four-hour conversation/argument. I’d spent my adolescence disagreeing with his takes, but I walked off the plane thinking “that guy is fucking awesome.”
I defy you to find an album with a more on-the-nose set of “Attention, people of the future: this album is from 1973!” track titles than the Richard Davis LP I’m presently listening to.
August 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
I defy you to find an album with a more on-the-nose set of “Attention, people of the future: this album is from 1973!” track titles than the Richard Davis LP I’m presently listening to.
Reposted by Andy Zax
40 years ago this week, my nemesis Bleecker Bob sold me the first copy off the plane from London of this dreadful LP. Unlike all of the other imports that Bleecker Bob mocked me for buying from him during this era, his low opinion of this one was accurate and his mockery was entirely deserved.
August 4, 2026 at 2:10 AM
40 years ago this week, my nemesis Bleecker Bob sold me the first copy off the plane from London of this dreadful LP. Unlike all of the other imports that Bleecker Bob mocked me for buying from him during this era, his low opinion of this one was accurate and his mockery was entirely deserved.
40 years ago this week, my nemesis Bleecker Bob sold me the first copy off the plane from London of this dreadful LP. Unlike all of the other imports that Bleecker Bob mocked me for buying from him during this era, his low opinion of this one was accurate and his mockery was entirely deserved.
August 4, 2026 at 2:10 AM
40 years ago this week, my nemesis Bleecker Bob sold me the first copy off the plane from London of this dreadful LP. Unlike all of the other imports that Bleecker Bob mocked me for buying from him during this era, his low opinion of this one was accurate and his mockery was entirely deserved.
Reposted by Andy Zax
Peter Hammill is my favourite vocalist of all time. The Hendrix of the voice? Nah. The Olivier. Nobody conveys the range and depth of emotion that he does. Even by his standards this performance is fucking extraordinary.
West is Mike & Susie…
West is Mike & Susie…
Bawling. Oh my.
Prog is serious, it's fun, it's as deep as the Mariana Trench, & as shallow as a puddle.
Not sure this proms faff(to many, prog is faff) was necessary, but if it makes one timid person a bit braver, like prog did for me, then, great.
West is Mike & Susie.
youtu.be/zpsHoGUiZSI?...
Prog is serious, it's fun, it's as deep as the Mariana Trench, & as shallow as a puddle.
Not sure this proms faff(to many, prog is faff) was necessary, but if it makes one timid person a bit braver, like prog did for me, then, great.
West is Mike & Susie.
youtu.be/zpsHoGUiZSI?...
Peter Hammill, Refugees. BBC Proms 2026, Sat 18 Jul 2026. #peterhammill #vandergraafgenerator
YouTube video by Lupus Dystopian Hope Music
youtu.be
July 24, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Peter Hammill is my favourite vocalist of all time. The Hendrix of the voice? Nah. The Olivier. Nobody conveys the range and depth of emotion that he does. Even by his standards this performance is fucking extraordinary.
West is Mike & Susie…
West is Mike & Susie…
Anthony Newley is one of those strange, hidden-in-plain-sight figures like Lee Hazlewood or Rod McKuen--massively successful, then ignored and/or misunderstood for decades. "The Strange World of Gurney Slade" was at least three or four decades ahead of its time. Now that it's back, don't miss it.
Extremely pleased to see that the UK-based boutique TV/film Blu-ray firm @networkonair.bsky.social is officially back (under new management, in essence, after shutting down a couple of years ago). The webstore is back up and that mean you can get this amazing, crucial release once more.
Strange World of Gurney Slade (The) [BLU-RAY]
A sitcom star wanders through a bizarre landscape of his own creation in this surreal comedy.
networkonair.com
July 22, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Anthony Newley is one of those strange, hidden-in-plain-sight figures like Lee Hazlewood or Rod McKuen--massively successful, then ignored and/or misunderstood for decades. "The Strange World of Gurney Slade" was at least three or four decades ahead of its time. Now that it's back, don't miss it.
Reposted by Andy Zax
“Zoetrope vinyl” will be to the thrift stores of the 2030s what Magic Eye books were to the thrift stores of the aughts.
July 16, 2026 at 3:44 PM
“Zoetrope vinyl” will be to the thrift stores of the 2030s what Magic Eye books were to the thrift stores of the aughts.
Had dinner with my folks at a place with a piano player.
The guy launched into an extended Sound Of Music medley, forcing me into an anxiety spiral of: “Please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd,’ please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd.’” (My most-hated song.)
Then he played “The Lonely Goatherd.”
The guy launched into an extended Sound Of Music medley, forcing me into an anxiety spiral of: “Please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd,’ please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd.’” (My most-hated song.)
Then he played “The Lonely Goatherd.”
July 16, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Had dinner with my folks at a place with a piano player.
The guy launched into an extended Sound Of Music medley, forcing me into an anxiety spiral of: “Please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd,’ please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd.’” (My most-hated song.)
Then he played “The Lonely Goatherd.”
The guy launched into an extended Sound Of Music medley, forcing me into an anxiety spiral of: “Please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd,’ please don’t play ‘The Lonely Goatherd.’” (My most-hated song.)
Then he played “The Lonely Goatherd.”