Joe Bonomo
@joebonomo.bsky.social
essays and rock & roll | sound and sense
I write books and NO SUCH THING AS WAS, a music newsletter: https://joebonomo.substack.com/
Open 24/7: https://linktr.ee/joebonomo
it's buh-NOH-moh
I write books and NO SUCH THING AS WAS, a music newsletter: https://joebonomo.substack.com/
Open 24/7: https://linktr.ee/joebonomo
it's buh-NOH-moh
Pinned
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: play along with the Donkeys at "A Bored Game" and watch your fame and fortune lose out to randomness and chance! (Plus: Fran the Fan from Liverpool!)
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
January 16, 2026 at 3:04 PM
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: play along with the Donkeys at "A Bored Game" and watch your fame and fortune lose out to randomness and chance! (Plus: Fran the Fan from Liverpool!)
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
In today's NO SUCH THING AS WAS: the back sleeve of the Donkey's obscure 1979 single "What I Want" tells a story old as dirt.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
What they wanted
The back sleeve of the Donkeys' obscure "What I Want" 45 tells an old story
joebonomo.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:27 PM
In today's NO SUCH THING AS WAS: the back sleeve of the Donkey's obscure 1979 single "What I Want" tells a story old as dirt.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/what-they-...
I’m so grateful to be teaching the extraordinary stories of Andre Dubus again. They’re wise, compassionate, poignant, brutal. His best, like “Killings,” “Rose,” and “A Father’s Story, are profoundly moving. If you haven’t read him, I highly recommend
January 13, 2026 at 8:31 PM
I’m so grateful to be teaching the extraordinary stories of Andre Dubus again. They’re wise, compassionate, poignant, brutal. His best, like “Killings,” “Rose,” and “A Father’s Story, are profoundly moving. If you haven’t read him, I highly recommend
"I was gifted with a life that was full of adventure. I've always believed, if you're gifted, that it's incumbent not to think about giving something back."
RIP Bob Weir |
📸: Suzie Katz
RIP Bob Weir |
📸: Suzie Katz
January 11, 2026 at 3:58 AM
"I was gifted with a life that was full of adventure. I've always believed, if you're gifted, that it's incumbent not to think about giving something back."
RIP Bob Weir |
📸: Suzie Katz
RIP Bob Weir |
📸: Suzie Katz
ICYM my latest at NO Such Thing As Was: I wrote about Long Tall Shorty, the great U.K. band that couldn't catch a break.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
January 8, 2026 at 3:07 PM
ICYM my latest at NO Such Thing As Was: I wrote about Long Tall Shorty, the great U.K. band that couldn't catch a break.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
In today's No Such Thing As Was: some thoughts on Long Tall Shorty, the band that couldn't catch a break
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
In a perfect world
Beset by industry and inter-band woes, Long Tall Shorty managed to cut some eternal rock and roll
joebonomo.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:25 PM
In today's No Such Thing As Was: some thoughts on Long Tall Shorty, the band that couldn't catch a break
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/in-a-perfe...
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: I buckled up and hit the skies with Nazz.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
January 2, 2026 at 3:27 PM
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: I buckled up and hit the skies with Nazz.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
Reposted by Joe Bonomo
Happy Public Domain Day to all who celebrate
Welcome to the Public Domain, THE PICNIC (1930) 🐕
🐾 Little Rover barked onto the scene as Minnie’s dog in THE PICNIC (1930). He’d get a new name (Pluto) & a new owner, Mickey Mouse, the following year.
Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
🐾 Little Rover barked onto the scene as Minnie’s dog in THE PICNIC (1930). He’d get a new name (Pluto) & a new owner, Mickey Mouse, the following year.
Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
January 1, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Happy Public Domain Day to all who celebrate
Happy New Year, NO SUCH THING AS WAS subscribers, followers, and readers! Blast with me into the new year with spins of Nazz's "When I Get My Plane" and "Rain Rider."
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
If you want to take a ride
Blasting into 2026 with Nazz's "When I Get My Plane" and "Rain Rider"
joebonomo.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Happy New Year, NO SUCH THING AS WAS subscribers, followers, and readers! Blast with me into the new year with spins of Nazz's "When I Get My Plane" and "Rain Rider."
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/if-you-wan...
The subtitle is a bit misleading—Brendan Borrell’s Power Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound is less about Boston founder Tom Scholz’s musical chops than it is about the quagmire of lawsuits that Scholz’s perfectionism brought on.
December 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The subtitle is a bit misleading—Brendan Borrell’s Power Soak: Invention, Obsession, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Sound is less about Boston founder Tom Scholz’s musical chops than it is about the quagmire of lawsuits that Scholz’s perfectionism brought on.
In celebration of Bo Diddley's birthday, here's a NO SUCH THING AS WAS I wrote a couple months back about the Bo Beat in the trippy late 60s.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/bo-diddley...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/bo-diddley...
Bo Diddley and cosmic minds
The eternal Bo Beat received update patches near the end of the tumultuous 1960s
joebonomo.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:03 PM
In celebration of Bo Diddley's birthday, here's a NO SUCH THING AS WAS I wrote a couple months back about the Bo Beat in the trippy late 60s.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/bo-diddley...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/bo-diddley...
ICYMI
"Wait awhile, eternity
Old mother nature’s got nothing on me
Come to me, run to me, come to me now
We’re rolling, my sweetheart, we’re flowing, by God"
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
"Wait awhile, eternity
Old mother nature’s got nothing on me
Come to me, run to me, come to me now
We’re rolling, my sweetheart, we’re flowing, by God"
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
December 25, 2025 at 3:58 PM
ICYMI
"Wait awhile, eternity
Old mother nature’s got nothing on me
Come to me, run to me, come to me now
We’re rolling, my sweetheart, we’re flowing, by God"
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
"Wait awhile, eternity
Old mother nature’s got nothing on me
Come to me, run to me, come to me now
We’re rolling, my sweetheart, we’re flowing, by God"
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
At today's NO SUCH THING AS WAS, Some thoughts on John Prine's "Christmas in Prison," and my Dad, gone a year now.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
Wait awhile, eternity
Some thoughts on John Prine's "Christmas in Prison," and my Dad, gone a year now
joebonomo.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM
At today's NO SUCH THING AS WAS, Some thoughts on John Prine's "Christmas in Prison," and my Dad, gone a year now.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/wait-awhil...
Today at NO SUCH THING AS WAS, the latest in my series of favorite flip sides!
joebonomo.substack.com/p/here-are-e...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/here-are-e...
Here are (even more of) my favorite b-sides
The third in a series in which I dig into my collection for some boss flip sides
joebonomo.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Today at NO SUCH THING AS WAS, the latest in my series of favorite flip sides!
joebonomo.substack.com/p/here-are-e...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/here-are-e...
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS, I revisited Purple Hearts, one of the leading bands of the late-'70s UK Mod Revival scene, to see how their songs have held up. (Spoiler alert: they've held up well!)
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
December 13, 2025 at 3:23 PM
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS, I revisited Purple Hearts, one of the leading bands of the late-'70s UK Mod Revival scene, to see how their songs have held up. (Spoiler alert: they've held up well!)
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
At NO SUCH THING AS WAS I take the occasional deep dive into bands from the U.K. Mod Revival. This time around I revisit Purple Hearts, who debuted in 1979 with the outstanding "Millions Like Us" 45 and stuck around for longer than most bands in the scene.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
Why don't you make up your own mind?
Revisiting Purple Hearts four and a half decades after the U.K. Mod Revival
joebonomo.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:28 PM
At NO SUCH THING AS WAS I take the occasional deep dive into bands from the U.K. Mod Revival. This time around I revisit Purple Hearts, who debuted in 1979 with the outstanding "Millions Like Us" 45 and stuck around for longer than most bands in the scene.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/why-dont-y...
So sad to hear this. Malo was a stunning singer and interpreter, able to inhabit dreamy ballads, upbeat Tex-Mex grooves, and everything in between. The Mavericks' album Trampoline was on high rotation for me and Amy for many years. Today I'll play "Dream River" in his honor.
shorturl.at/VzNtI
shorturl.at/VzNtI
Raul Malo, Lush-Voiced Frontman of the Mavericks, Dies at 60
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
So sad to hear this. Malo was a stunning singer and interpreter, able to inhabit dreamy ballads, upbeat Tex-Mex grooves, and everything in between. The Mavericks' album Trampoline was on high rotation for me and Amy for many years. Today I'll play "Dream River" in his honor.
shorturl.at/VzNtI
shorturl.at/VzNtI
Like scores of others, I was listening to the radio broadcast of Monday Night Football. A few years back for The Normal School: A Literary Magazine I wrote about that night and the emotional fallout.
www.thenormalschool.com/blog/2021/06...
📷 via Neil Fraudstrong
www.thenormalschool.com/blog/2021/06...
📷 via Neil Fraudstrong
December 8, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Like scores of others, I was listening to the radio broadcast of Monday Night Football. A few years back for The Normal School: A Literary Magazine I wrote about that night and the emotional fallout.
www.thenormalschool.com/blog/2021/06...
📷 via Neil Fraudstrong
www.thenormalschool.com/blog/2021/06...
📷 via Neil Fraudstrong
Reposted by Joe Bonomo
Pictured (L-R): Sylvester Stallone, apparently stung by an entire beehive; Paul Stanley, revealing that the KISS makeup was load bearing; and Donald Trump, recently poisoned by the Joker
December 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Pictured (L-R): Sylvester Stallone, apparently stung by an entire beehive; Paul Stanley, revealing that the KISS makeup was load bearing; and Donald Trump, recently poisoned by the Joker
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: I weighed in on the new "demix" of "Real Love" and Beatles as a universal language. Link in bio.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
December 6, 2025 at 2:47 PM
ICYM my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: I weighed in on the new "demix" of "Real Love" and Beatles as a universal language. Link in bio.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
For my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS, I write about the Beatles' Anthology, the new/old/new "Real Love," and the trippiness of time.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
From this moment on
Some thoughts on the Beatles' new/old/new "Real Love" and the trippiness of time
joebonomo.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM
For my latest at NO SUCH THING AS WAS, I write about the Beatles' Anthology, the new/old/new "Real Love," and the trippiness of time.
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/from-this-...
New at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: The Boys' "Brickfield Nights" and the Times' "Piccadilly Circus," two takes on the past
joebonomo.substack.com/p/remember-t...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/remember-t...
Remember those dark nights
The past, two ways: The Boys' "Brickfield Nights" and the Times' "Goodbye Piccadilly"
joebonomo.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
New at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: The Boys' "Brickfield Nights" and the Times' "Piccadilly Circus," two takes on the past
joebonomo.substack.com/p/remember-t...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/remember-t...
“Everyone needs to realize why am I here? It comes in everyone’s life; you ask why am I here? What am I doing? Once you are able to answer that question for yourself honestly, you have smooth sailing.”
RIP Jimmy Cliff
📷: Etolane
RIP Jimmy Cliff
📷: Etolane
November 24, 2025 at 4:14 PM
“Everyone needs to realize why am I here? It comes in everyone’s life; you ask why am I here? What am I doing? Once you are able to answer that question for yourself honestly, you have smooth sailing.”
RIP Jimmy Cliff
📷: Etolane
RIP Jimmy Cliff
📷: Etolane
ICYMI at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: Edwin Starr, George Harrison, and James Baldwin. #Repost
joebonomo.substack.com/p/how-much-t...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/how-much-t...
November 24, 2025 at 3:26 PM
ICYMI at NO SUCH THING AS WAS: Edwin Starr, George Harrison, and James Baldwin. #Repost
joebonomo.substack.com/p/how-much-t...
joebonomo.substack.com/p/how-much-t...
Deadlines are still chirping, so until I can get back in the NO SUCH THING AS WAS saddle, here’s another from the archives.
How much time will it take?
As the 1970s dawned, the great Edwin Starr got to the heart of wanting and waiting
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Deadlines are still chirping, so until I can get back in the NO SUCH THING AS WAS saddle, here’s another from the archives.