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sfstephenson.bsky.social
Writer. Collaborator. From "little" Washington, NC. Now live in College Station, TX. 2019 Guggenheim fellow in nonfiction. Next book is about jazz pianist Bill Evans and his wife Ellaine Schultz Evans. samstephenson.org
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summer playlist is live! have a great holiday weekend ! open.substack.com/pub/dontrock...

The $1 cassette bin at Breakaway Records in Austin TX today. Something about this is perfect. Time capsule of a sort.

Every once in a while I need this video. I've watched it 4 times in a row tonight. vimeo.com/261974485

Absurdly large Ford pick-up truck in my rear view mirror at a stoplight today. College Station TX.

This book is unusual. Somehow the author manages to create a fresh literary look at the clash of human and non-human landscapes. Brilliant.

I'm looking for examples of people wearing the clothes of someone close to them after the latter have passed away. Young examples all the better. Could come from any source, any genre. Thank you in advance.

I think you can divide American male sports fans into two groups: 1) those watching NBA and MLB last night. 2) those watching the NFL draft last night.

I'm tired of watching baseball players be safe sliding into bags and then over-sliding the bag and being tagged out on the other side.

Sitting here doing emails this morning, this scene strikes me. Sleeping cat and dog, tree on the ceiling, and various ephemera from our lives in this home.

No, you are not using your laptop now.

Sitting at end of bar at a hipster restaurant in Austin, TX, with a birds eye view of kitchen, where the kitchen staff are absolutely carrying the whole operation. Fast non-stop effort. No way an oligarch or suit guy in general could come anywhere near doing this work well. I couldn't.

What's the best writing on Peter Sellars, or an interview with him, or anything involving him and his work? Thank you.

Goo Gone is one of those things you have to buy anew every time because you can't find the one (or five) you bought before.

Somebody’s FedEx box is astray and in peril.

Seeing RB Morris perform tonight at Big Ears. Sends me back to this unforgettable song by him. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ULi...

Back in downtown Knoxville for Big Ears. Feels like coming home. Wistful for years we had our documentary team imbedded in the festival.

Shouldn't Bluetooth be more reliable by now? I have and regularly use my parents' blender that they bought in the 1950s shortly after being married. Still works perfectly, including the original cord.

Sitting at a stoplight in Bryan, TX today, something about the artwork and wear/tear of this municipal utility truck struck me as beautiful. I thought about following it to get a better photo but I didn't have time. I'll keep my eye out for this truck going forward.

I always thought it was a shame Springsteen didn't keep this band together longer. Lots of beautiful ambiguity here, and a more elusive sort of power than the E Street Band presented which was much more straight forward although obviously great. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEKU...

I love so much @justintaylor.bsky.social's discussion of Malamud here, and Paley, too. My high school Eng teacher in rural coastal N.C. hooked me on Malamud with The Natural and then sent me to Malamud forever with The Magic Barrel.

Dear World, last year I acquired 24 hours of The Fall recorded from Boston radio station 1990. Transacted on Twitter, which I'm off now, lost track of man I acquired tapes from. He was student station manager 1990. Is he on here now? Can a friend cast a net on Twitter for me? Thank you.

Grant Green laying down his brand of spiritual jazz. Feelin’ The Spirit gets overlooked sometimes in the onslaught of outstanding early/mid-1960s Blue Note masterpieces. #GrantGreen

Terrific piece on Don Cherry here by Richard Williams. thebluemoment.com/2025/03/10/t...

This new @texashighways.bsky.social essay by @sfstephenson.bsky.social is about so many different things ... 1/ Moving to Aggieland 2/ "Story finding" 3/ BBQ w Lucinda Williams & Mance Lipscomb 4/ Fine art in Houston 5/ Matagorda Stew ... & I think you'll dig it. texashighways.com/culture/essa...

I've got a new piece in @texashighways.bsky.social. Fun to write about our first three years living in Texas, with a bit of autobio, too, and Lucinda Williams makes a cameo. Thanks to editor @hoinski.bsky.social texashighways.com/culture/essa...

That's what makes them so boring. Can you imagine having dinner with one of these guys? At a small table? Maybe even just you and one of them? It would be the least interesting, most boring dinner you ever had in your life. Brain fog boring. Clock going backwards boring. Insufferable.

Posting this Night Lights blast from the past in honor of #GeneHackman, who was Billy Friedkin’s *third* choice to play Popeye in #TheFrenchConnection. (First two choices revealed below) #DonEllis score

If you want to understand how we'll survive this mess, check out Next Comes What by Andrea Pitzer. I help produce this weekly podcast about how now fits into the history of authoritarianism and what we can do to fight back. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/next-comes-what/id1779885475

"Sebald wanted it to be published in every category imaginable." I yearn for a return to the era when bookstores were arranged by publisher, not genre or category. One like that lasted in Durham N.C. until the early 2000's. Kudos @madeleinewatts.bsky.social for this essay.