Of Note Newsletter
@ofnotenewsletter.bsky.social
Music writing worth reading, delivered at the beginning of each month.
Subscribe at https://buttondown.com/of_note
Edited by Justin Anderson-Weber (@jlweber.bsky.social)
Based in Chicago, Illinois.
Subscribe at https://buttondown.com/of_note
Edited by Justin Anderson-Weber (@jlweber.bsky.social)
Based in Chicago, Illinois.
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
ESS does a lot for artists here in Chicago and abroad. Space and opportunity to perform, resources to create, education to grow, and they also do the important work of archiving and maintaining our history.
They've got that real Chicago spirit of just getting things done.
Any amount helps!
They've got that real Chicago spirit of just getting things done.
Any amount helps!
Close the Feed Back Loop
Let’s get loud. Over the next 10 days, we’re asking you to invest what you can into the idea that experimental art—art at the front line of defining what comes next—is a valuable part of our culture.
...
ess.app.neoncrm.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:33 PM
ESS does a lot for artists here in Chicago and abroad. Space and opportunity to perform, resources to create, education to grow, and they also do the important work of archiving and maintaining our history.
They've got that real Chicago spirit of just getting things done.
Any amount helps!
They've got that real Chicago spirit of just getting things done.
Any amount helps!
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
As y'all (especially here in Chicago) think about your year end giving, consider right now the Experimental Sound Studio (ess.org).
There's a lot going on and arts orgs can get left out, but we need art, especially challenging art
Until 11/21, there's match on new donations so your $ goes further
There's a lot going on and arts orgs can get left out, but we need art, especially challenging art
Until 11/21, there's match on new donations so your $ goes further
Close the Feed Back Loop
Let’s get loud. Over the next 10 days, we’re asking you to invest what you can into the idea that experimental art—art at the front line of defining what comes next—is a valuable part of our culture.
...
ess.app.neoncrm.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:33 PM
As y'all (especially here in Chicago) think about your year end giving, consider right now the Experimental Sound Studio (ess.org).
There's a lot going on and arts orgs can get left out, but we need art, especially challenging art
Until 11/21, there's match on new donations so your $ goes further
There's a lot going on and arts orgs can get left out, but we need art, especially challenging art
Until 11/21, there's match on new donations so your $ goes further
The team at Broccoli have put together a new music magazine, Heartbeat.
I’m excited to check it out. They always do beautiful work.
broccolimag.com/products/hea...
I’m excited to check it out. They always do beautiful work.
broccolimag.com/products/hea...
Heartbeat Magazine: Music, Sound, Emotion
Heartbeat is more than a music magazine. This stunning, singular publication celebrates the emotion of sound through genre-defying stories that span nature and art, venturing into the past and looking...
broccolimag.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The team at Broccoli have put together a new music magazine, Heartbeat.
I’m excited to check it out. They always do beautiful work.
broccolimag.com/products/hea...
I’m excited to check it out. They always do beautiful work.
broccolimag.com/products/hea...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
i wrote a lil thing about Rosalía's Lux and Catholicism, finally putting the 17 years i spent in CCD to good use. my mom is still mad i don't go to Mass anymore tho
Rosalía is going for the rafters, as though she went to confession and her penance was to spend it in the dusty library of Gaudí’s Basílica de la Sagrada Família, paging through ancient texts as God peered at her soul through a portal on a stone spire
Rosalía's Orchestral Benediction
Plus: a must-hear album from a virtuosic avant-rock quartet, the fiery return of an essential Chicago rap collective, and more.
www.hearingthings.co
November 11, 2025 at 6:43 PM
i wrote a lil thing about Rosalía's Lux and Catholicism, finally putting the 17 years i spent in CCD to good use. my mom is still mad i don't go to Mass anymore tho
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
For years, advertising has been how Stereogum made money to pay its writers. While we made progress moving away from that model, Google AI search has decimated the business almost overnight. Today we relaunch with a greater focus on subscription. We’d love your support: stereogum.com/2478838/ster...
November 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
For years, advertising has been how Stereogum made money to pay its writers. While we made progress moving away from that model, Google AI search has decimated the business almost overnight. Today we relaunch with a greater focus on subscription. We’d love your support: stereogum.com/2478838/ster...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
“What makes good ambient music is that the creator of it does not think of it as ambient music. They think of it as something much grander—something that you would not want on a playlist that somebody falls asleep to.”
Claire Rousay Breaks Down 7 Perfectly Produced Songs
The ambient experimentalist dissects records by faves including Elliott Smith and Charli XCX, and details the process behind her twilit new album, ‘A Little Death.’
www.hearingthings.co
November 8, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“What makes good ambient music is that the creator of it does not think of it as ambient music. They think of it as something much grander—something that you would not want on a playlist that somebody falls asleep to.”
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
We're running a special promotion right now to mark our 5th anniversary!
$5/month newfeeling.ca/nfisfive
$55/year newfeeling.ca/nfisfive360
The annual rate also earns you a copy of our forthcoming print anthology, featuring some of our favourite articles over the last 5 years.
$5/month newfeeling.ca/nfisfive
$55/year newfeeling.ca/nfisfive360
The annual rate also earns you a copy of our forthcoming print anthology, featuring some of our favourite articles over the last 5 years.
November 8, 2025 at 3:17 PM
We're running a special promotion right now to mark our 5th anniversary!
$5/month newfeeling.ca/nfisfive
$55/year newfeeling.ca/nfisfive360
The annual rate also earns you a copy of our forthcoming print anthology, featuring some of our favourite articles over the last 5 years.
$5/month newfeeling.ca/nfisfive
$55/year newfeeling.ca/nfisfive360
The annual rate also earns you a copy of our forthcoming print anthology, featuring some of our favourite articles over the last 5 years.
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
For the morning crowd looking for about 4,000 words on contemporary youth subculture
Since 2022, Horsegirl, Lifeguard, and Friko have gone global—but what happened with the teen scene they grew out of? I talked to 18 different people about the Hallogallo scene now
chicagoreader.com/music/music-...
chicagoreader.com/music/music-...
What happens when a teen rock scene grows up? - Chicago Reader
The Hallogallo scene has produced international successes—Horsegirl, Friko, Lifeguard—as its grassroots DIY spirit spreads beyond Chicago.
chicagoreader.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:58 PM
For the morning crowd looking for about 4,000 words on contemporary youth subculture
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
Of Note 019 is out!
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Of Note 019: Getting Vulnerable with Amanda Shires, Sudan Archives, and Jeff Tweedy
Howdy folks! October featured a glut of great music writing, far too much to ever include here. The pieces that resonated with me highlighted how musicians...
buttondown.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Of Note 019 is out!
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Of Note 019 is out!
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Of Note 019: Getting Vulnerable with Amanda Shires, Sudan Archives, and Jeff Tweedy
Howdy folks! October featured a glut of great music writing, far too much to ever include here. The pieces that resonated with me highlighted how musicians...
buttondown.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Of Note 019 is out!
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Highlights include:
@natalieweiner.bsky.social on Amanda Shires
@jawnita.bsky.social on Sudan Archives
@ericdharvey.com response to "Such Great Heights"
@carynrose.bsky.social on Electric Nebraska
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Taylor Swift LLC & Alex Farrar
Jeff Tweedy on himself
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
I interviewed billy woods for CABBAGES.
You can read a healthy preview for free, but the full interview (kind of a long one) is for paid subscribers. I hope you'll consider becoming one for as little as $5.
www.cabbageshiphop.com/billy-woods-...
You can read a healthy preview for free, but the full interview (kind of a long one) is for paid subscribers. I hope you'll consider becoming one for as little as $5.
www.cabbageshiphop.com/billy-woods-...
billy woods' American Horror Stories: An Interview
With an Armand Hammer x Alchemist follow-up en route, the Backwoodz Studioz maestro talks 'Golliwog' and more.
www.cabbageshiphop.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I interviewed billy woods for CABBAGES.
You can read a healthy preview for free, but the full interview (kind of a long one) is for paid subscribers. I hope you'll consider becoming one for as little as $5.
www.cabbageshiphop.com/billy-woods-...
You can read a healthy preview for free, but the full interview (kind of a long one) is for paid subscribers. I hope you'll consider becoming one for as little as $5.
www.cabbageshiphop.com/billy-woods-...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
hello friends, loved ones, and haters, I wrote a long piece about the last 25 or so years of "indie," inspired by @chrisdeville.bsky.social's fine new book
open.substack.com/pub/ericdhar...
open.substack.com/pub/ericdhar...
October 27, 2025 at 12:00 PM
hello friends, loved ones, and haters, I wrote a long piece about the last 25 or so years of "indie," inspired by @chrisdeville.bsky.social's fine new book
open.substack.com/pub/ericdhar...
open.substack.com/pub/ericdhar...
This is an incredible story from Courtney Kueppers from @wbez.org
Her son was killed by a bullet in Chicago. Now, his memory lives on in song
A Chicago Symphony Orchestra program pairs musicians with grieving mothers to create original songs in honor of Chicagoans lost to gun violence. "You need to tell the story of your child," said one pa...
www.wbez.org
October 24, 2025 at 3:24 AM
This is an incredible story from Courtney Kueppers from @wbez.org
DRTI is worth it. I could include links from them in the newsletter every month.
we've lost a fair number of subscribers since moving to ghost (but are obviously still happy we did!) - as a reminder most of our content is free, and even being a free subscriber means a lot to us if you'd consider it www.dontrocktheinbox.com
Don't Rock The Inbox
A country music newsletter.
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:30 AM
DRTI is worth it. I could include links from them in the newsletter every month.
Great cause and opportunity to be of service in Chicago from one of the best labels going right now.
Tickets are $15 per usual. Friends around the world who would like to support this effort: we encourage you to buy a ticket to this event as well, because 100% of ticket income will be split between Latino Union of Chicago and OCAD to help them with their ongoing support of migrant families.
October 22, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Great cause and opportunity to be of service in Chicago from one of the best labels going right now.
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
D'Angelo speaking out about the physical and emotional burden of maintaining a nearly unobtainable physique and sexy image as a Black male artist should be taught in labor studies. It absolutely impacted how I analyze pop culture.
GQ Profile Of D'Angelo Explores The Perils Of Being Sexy
Visit the post for more.
uproxx.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:31 PM
D'Angelo speaking out about the physical and emotional burden of maintaining a nearly unobtainable physique and sexy image as a Black male artist should be taught in labor studies. It absolutely impacted how I analyze pop culture.
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
10 years ago, I stayed up all night with D’Angelo, two nights in a row. R.I.P. to a straight-up genius.
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
The Second Coming of D'Angelo
How soul's lost superstar D'Angelo reclaimed his mojo and finally released the epic 'Black Messiah.'
www.rollingstone.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:19 PM
10 years ago, I stayed up all night with D’Angelo, two nights in a row. R.I.P. to a straight-up genius.
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
he's even on record stating his thoughts on this www.theguardian.com/culture/musi...
October 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
he's even on record stating his thoughts on this www.theguardian.com/culture/musi...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
wrote about some classic songs by D'Angelo with my colleagues here. huge, irreplaceable loss in music www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
D'Angelo: 12 Essential Songs
Remembering D'Angelo's greatest songs, including "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," "Lady," "Brown Sugar," "Devil's Pie," "The Charade," and more
www.rollingstone.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
wrote about some classic songs by D'Angelo with my colleagues here. huge, irreplaceable loss in music www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
"[Neo-soul] was never just about melody or groove, but it was about community, collaboration, and communion. These were artists who... turned vulnerability into power ... intellectual and sensual, political and personal, sacred and messy all at once."
It’s hard to put into words what it means to lose D’Angelo. Not just the man, but the sound, the feeling, the very essence of soul that he embodied.
Remembering D’Angelo and the Eternal Rhythm of Neo-Soul | Black Girl Nerds
It’s hard to put into words what it means to lose D’Angelo. Not just the man, but the sound, the feeling, the very essence of the man
blackgirlnerds.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:06 PM
"[Neo-soul] was never just about melody or groove, but it was about community, collaboration, and communion. These were artists who... turned vulnerability into power ... intellectual and sensual, political and personal, sacred and messy all at once."
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
Indeed,this was a great one.
Read @weketchum.bsky.social on Black Messiah
D'Angelo And The Vanguard's 'Black Messiah' Turns 10
Black Messiah was a long time coming for fans of D’Angelo’s music, but for the artist himself, it was a product of urgency — at least in the last few months approaching its release. D’Angelo had been ...
www.stereogum.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Indeed,this was a great one.
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
My colleague Sheldon Pearce's obituary for D'Angelo www.npr.org/2025/10/14/n...
D'Angelo, R&B's reluctant icon, has died at 51
The expressive singer made just three albums, including his 1995 debut, Brown Sugar, but retreated from the public after each. He had been battling cancer, according to a statement from his family.
www.npr.org
October 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
My colleague Sheldon Pearce's obituary for D'Angelo www.npr.org/2025/10/14/n...
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
still proud of this piece, which attempts to complicate one of the things d'angelo was (unfairly) best known for
October 14, 2025 at 8:43 PM
still proud of this piece, which attempts to complicate one of the things d'angelo was (unfairly) best known for
Reposted by Of Note Newsletter
In light of D’Angelo’s passing, today feels like the right time to revisit his genius. My BFF’s @faithp.bsky.social book honoring Voodoo is a heartfelt tribute to his artistry.
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/dangelos-...
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/dangelos-...
October 15, 2025 at 12:26 AM
In light of D’Angelo’s passing, today feels like the right time to revisit his genius. My BFF’s @faithp.bsky.social book honoring Voodoo is a heartfelt tribute to his artistry.
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/dangelos-...
www.bloomsbury.com/ca/dangelos-...