Ben Apatoff
@bapatoff.bsky.social
Author of Body Count (33⅓) and Metallica: The $24.95 Book. Working on a biography of Local H for J-Card Press, scheduled for 2027.
No greater legend than Meshell Ndegeocello. Incredible, funny, lively conversation with one of my all-time favorites. youtu.be/9Z5nLx2giY8?...
Meshell Ndegeocello helped reimagine a classic BB king record - Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
YouTube video by Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
youtu.be
Realizing how similar my love of Steely Dan is to my love of metal; my love of unapologetic mastery and superiority, of being simultaneously, proudly lamer and cooler than everything else
Ministry “Thieves” (1989) Thieves Thieves and liars Murderers Hypocrites and bastards youtu.be/H_Puc8POyfM?...
Ministry - Thieves - (LIVE)
YouTube video by R Frakes
youtu.be
Patrick Monaghan@pkmonaghan.bsky.social · 6h ago“Generative A.I. was not used to create or research any part of this magazine, that shit is for pathetic losers, smooth-brained dipshits, thieves and fascists.”
live nation is actively killing publications that cover new artists while also promoting festivals that almost exclusively cater to nostalgia and legacy acts. these problems are not unrelated.
Leor Galil@imleor.bsky.social · 9h ago“Music publications BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine have been gutted by parent company Veeps... Nearly all the staff at each publication appear to have been laid off yesterday. Veeps, which is now owned by Live Nation, acquired the publications in 2024 or 2025”
Reminded of when Eddie Vedder thanked Pearl Jam's openers the Buzzcocks by saying "If it weren't for them, we'd probably sound like Good Charlotte."
bart@bartsmith.bsky.social · 12h ago"The Madden brothers aka Good Charlotte fired almost everyone from REVOLVER Magazine, BrooklynVegan, and Alternative Press"
Live Nation is swimming in money that they stole from artists and fans. That they would pretend they need to do cost cutting measures is just insulting.
Leor Galil@imleor.bsky.social · 9h ago“Music publications BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine have been gutted by parent company Veeps... Nearly all the staff at each publication appear to have been laid off yesterday. Veeps, which is now owned by Live Nation, acquired the publications in 2024 or 2025”
Daaaamn. “AI is the asbestos we're shovelling into the walls of our technological society. Our descendants will spend generations digging it out again, and the longer the bubble goes on without popping, the longer it will take to repair the damage." www.thenerve.news/p/cory-docto...
Cory Doctorow: The people who tell you ‘AI is changing everything’ are lying
It has become impossible to tell managers mesmerised by artificial intelligence that the tools are not, in fact, helpful. So employees just play along with the fiction to keep their jobs, writes our t...
thenerve.news
I would be thrilled to have a google that worked again! To find recipes that I know real people made and tested! To not have these intrusive ass bots condescendingly asking if they can summarize things for me, as if I'm not a grown ass person who's been reading and comprehending text for DECADES.
Alexander Glass@alexanderglass.bsky.social · 18h agoI have one answer.
re-read the short story in the morning and then this at night... good bookends for the day that is (soon "was") august 4, 2026
Matt Zoller Seitz@mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · yesterday"The events of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” occur today: August 4, 2026. Like so many dates in science fiction, this one probably seemed far away when it was chosen, but once it was finally upon us, it passed like all days." www.rogerebert.com/mzs/silhouet...
Wrote about Tom Waits for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bonus: This is the first time hi-res video of his duet with Neil Young has ever circulated! (The version on YouTube for years looks like it was filmed on a flip phone)
When Tom Waits Came Out of Concert Retirement at the Rock Hall
“They say that I have no hits and I’m difficult to work with. And they say that like it’s a bad thing.”
rockandrollhalloffame.substack.com
Philly: A friend has three Foo Fighters tickets for 8/13 Lincoln Financial Field they can't use. Section 11, row 4, seats 7, 8 and 9. Message me!
Good morning! For the @nytimes.com, I interviewed these two, plus Kid Congo Powers and more, for a story on the Cramps. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/a...
So under this Supreme Court's treatment of U.S. law and presidential power, Joe Biden couldn't forgove my student loans, but perhaps Donald Trump can forgive his own tax debt. Wild.
Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 2d agoFLAG: Trump gets to keep tax immunity for himself, his sons, and the Trump Organization under the new 'deal' struck by Todd Blanche. The new order also reaffirms that Trump won't have to pay any taxes he might have owed the IRS.
Born 100 years ago today, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" on The Ed Sullivan Show
Tony Bennett "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" on The Ed Sullivan Show, November 22, 1964. Subscribe now to never miss an update: https://ume.lnk.to/EdSullivanSubscribe Watch more of Tony…
youtube.com
Damon Wayans is the world heavyweight champ in The Great White Hype (1996) who struggles to get motivated to fight the undeserving white challenger. This month's full episode of the Boxing Movie Podcast is all about this 90s satire of the sport. With guest, author @bapatoff.bsky.social #filmsky
Sympathies for all my metal journalist friends who were enjoying a relaxing Friday night.
Oh, my God. Nicest guy. Was on the Pogues bill at Carnegie with him. His love of music was palpable, infectious, radiant. I’ve seldom seen a musician as connected to the moment of the song as he was that night, in deep communion with the song & the people playing it. So many felt it. Hard loss.
Stereogum@stereogum.com · last wk.Glen Hansard has died in a motorcycle crash at age 56
Reminder (which I only learned this year) that Glen Hansard's in The Commitments, and it holds up well: youtu.be/VSXGeUQc0Co
The Commitments - OFFICIAL TRAILER
YouTube video by RLJE Films
youtu.be
Peter Berg plays the hapless Terry Conklin, the titular Great White Hype from the 1996 movie. Check out the latest episode of the Boxing Movie Podcast where author @bapatoff.bsky.social and I discuss the movie at length! Available on all the major podcast platforms. #filmsky #moviesky
