Keith Harris
@usefulnoise.bsky.social
Creeping socialist. Premature anti-rockist. Oldest living Racket editor. Saving my labor for insane reading. Subscribe to Racket, or at least read it. https://racketmn.com/author/keith-harris
Pinned
Keith Harris
@usefulnoise.bsky.social
· Dec 20
The Year In Music 2024: Accepting Sadness as a Gift in the Age of the Oligarchs - Racket
In 2024, my favorite music didn't always prepare me for the fight ahead, but it always reminded me what was at stake.
racketmn.com
Please forgive me, I have committed a "year in music" essay.
RIP Béla Tarr. I took a first date to see Werckmeister Harmonies once and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do that. (Unless that's what they're into, I guess.)
January 6, 2026 at 1:59 PM
RIP Béla Tarr. I took a first date to see Werckmeister Harmonies once and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do that. (Unless that's what they're into, I guess.)
cannot believe we are however many years into this and people are still screaming "DON'T GET DISTRACTED" whenever the president does another crime
January 6, 2026 at 3:14 AM
cannot believe we are however many years into this and people are still screaming "DON'T GET DISTRACTED" whenever the president does another crime
Reposted by Keith Harris
For the new issue of Rolling Stone, I wrote about how American Idol has largely pivoted into faith-based music and become a launching pad for contemporary Christian pop stars. Carrie Underwood (a judge on the show) has seemingly had a lot to do with this shift.
'American Idol' Comes to Jesus, Finds Rebirth in Faith-Based Music
'American Idol' is turning to faith music, creating new stars and building a new audience.
www.rollingstone.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:55 PM
For the new issue of Rolling Stone, I wrote about how American Idol has largely pivoted into faith-based music and become a launching pad for contemporary Christian pop stars. Carrie Underwood (a judge on the show) has seemingly had a lot to do with this shift.
Reposted by Keith Harris
“We used to have a happy-hour group that would go out once a month,” Don, a Northstar conductor, remembers. “We either meet at Cowboy Jack’s or Tootsie’s. Some of the people were close to being family."
Meet the People Who'll Miss the Northstar the Most - Racket
As the Northstar ends its run, let's hear from the riders and workers who know it best.
racketmn.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:50 PM
“We used to have a happy-hour group that would go out once a month,” Don, a Northstar conductor, remembers. “We either meet at Cowboy Jack’s or Tootsie’s. Some of the people were close to being family."
Not (thankfully) the 2 political scientists I would have guessed, for a change.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced this morning that he is ending his campaign for a third term. MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with two political scientists about Walz’s announcement and the race to replace him.
Walz ends his campaign for a third term: What it means for Minnesota politics
MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with two political scientists about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to drop his campaign for reelection.
www.mprnews.org
January 5, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Not (thankfully) the 2 political scientists I would have guessed, for a change.
re: Klobuchar
She's the political version of some sort of CBS NCIS show that you think is terrible but it keeps pulling in good ratings and is in its 16th season.
January 5, 2026 at 5:02 PM
re: Klobuchar
Reposted by Keith Harris
if you want to see a massive geographic gap on display in real time, read the posts on tim walz right now and compare the perspectives from minnesotans and from everyone outside the state
January 5, 2026 at 4:26 PM
if you want to see a massive geographic gap on display in real time, read the posts on tim walz right now and compare the perspectives from minnesotans and from everyone outside the state
OK, I'll be governor.
January 5, 2026 at 1:59 PM
OK, I'll be governor.
A new thread for #2026eggplant90s. To catch you up, every Sunday night I listen to an album from the '90s album as I cook myself up a big pot of eggplant and other vegetables.
January 5, 2026 at 2:49 AM
A new thread for #2026eggplant90s. To catch you up, every Sunday night I listen to an album from the '90s album as I cook myself up a big pot of eggplant and other vegetables.
Reposted by Keith Harris
ICE vs ice at 44th and Hiawatha earlier today.
January 2, 2026 at 11:47 PM
ICE vs ice at 44th and Hiawatha earlier today.
Norm back.
It’s absolutely crazy how awful X, or Twitter, is now. The Grok stuff is just the tip of the iceberg. I went over there for five minutes to do my banking and it was absolutely appalling.
January 3, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Norm back.
Reposted by Keith Harris
NEW year, NEW episode, NEW guest! We dive into the deep end of DEEP RED (1975) with @usefulnoise.bsky.social! Mama mia!
icbymmwt.libsyn.com/deep-red-197...
icbymmwt.libsyn.com/deep-red-197...
I Can't Believe You Made Me Watch That: Deep Red (1975) feat. @usefulnoise
Happy New Year! We're ringing in 2026 with a NEW episode of our nasty podcast with a NEW guest, film critic Keith Harris! And you know we're not gonna bring Keith here unless we've got a movie worth c...
icbymmwt.libsyn.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:50 PM
NEW year, NEW episode, NEW guest! We dive into the deep end of DEEP RED (1975) with @usefulnoise.bsky.social! Mama mia!
icbymmwt.libsyn.com/deep-red-197...
icbymmwt.libsyn.com/deep-red-197...
This still makes a lot of sense to me.
Privatizing government is a win for greedy middlemen, fraudsters • Minnesota Reformer
Privatization has played a key role both in Minnesota’s recent public policy failures.
minnesotareformer.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:19 PM
This still makes a lot of sense to me.
Reposted by Keith Harris
Reposted by Keith Harris
Very short🧵: At the start of 2025, I reflected on Zivilcourage—a German word that, to me, describes how everyday people can be more powerful than soldiers in battle. It's not about heroism, but small acts of standing up. Refusing to laugh at a cruel joke, blowing a whistle, walking a kid to school.
January 1, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Very short🧵: At the start of 2025, I reflected on Zivilcourage—a German word that, to me, describes how everyday people can be more powerful than soldiers in battle. It's not about heroism, but small acts of standing up. Refusing to laugh at a cruel joke, blowing a whistle, walking a kid to school.
Reposted by Keith Harris
Okay, one more fun bit: when Zohran was handed the leather ledger that he needed to sign to make his swearing-in official, it was handed to him by Ali Najmi. Ali’s 2015 city council campaign was Zohran’s formal introduction to city politics, when he began by knocking doors for Ali. The part I love…
January 1, 2026 at 5:40 AM
Okay, one more fun bit: when Zohran was handed the leather ledger that he needed to sign to make his swearing-in official, it was handed to him by Ali Najmi. Ali’s 2015 city council campaign was Zohran’s formal introduction to city politics, when he began by knocking doors for Ali. The part I love…
New Year's Day is probably the most special holiday of the year to me. A day dedicated to the proposition that people, things, the world can and do change, a day that those of us who get stuck in our ways need more than anyone.
January 1, 2026 at 6:02 AM
New Year's Day is probably the most special holiday of the year to me. A day dedicated to the proposition that people, things, the world can and do change, a day that those of us who get stuck in our ways need more than anyone.
All right, let's do one of those Best Things I Wrote This Year threads before it's next year.
Let's start here:
Let's start here:
What I Saw at This Weekend’s Minnesota MAHA Fest Scared the Hell out of Me - Racket
Over 1,000 Christian opponents of modern medicine descended on Alexandria, MN, to testify that drugs, doctors, and Satan were making us all sick at the 7th annual Freedom Summit.
racketmn.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:19 PM
All right, let's do one of those Best Things I Wrote This Year threads before it's next year.
Let's start here:
Let's start here:
Reposted by Keith Harris
When Nick Shirley arrived to "test" if he could enroll his son "Joey" in Minneapolis day cares, his viral video omitted that he showed up with an entourage of masked men acting like security, multiple vehicles including vans, cameras, and men who wouldn't identify themselves. One day care owner /
December 31, 2025 at 4:21 PM
When Nick Shirley arrived to "test" if he could enroll his son "Joey" in Minneapolis day cares, his viral video omitted that he showed up with an entourage of masked men acting like security, multiple vehicles including vans, cameras, and men who wouldn't identify themselves. One day care owner /
FREE MABEL
Woman Arrested in Nation-Wide Hobby Swindle (1947)
10 1/2 5th St. N (Lincoln Hotel)
Source: Hennepin County Library
Mabel West, 42-year-old expectant mother arrested for operating a confidence game with her husband in several cities, was caught at the Lincoln Hotel while her husband, Clifford ...
10 1/2 5th St. N (Lincoln Hotel)
Source: Hennepin County Library
Mabel West, 42-year-old expectant mother arrested for operating a confidence game with her husband in several cities, was caught at the Lincoln Hotel while her husband, Clifford ...
December 31, 2025 at 5:10 PM
FREE MABEL
Reposted by Keith Harris
About 18 seconds into this news story the reporter says the police AI report writing software erroneously wrote that someone turned into a frog. Yet this is the headline they’re going with.
December 29, 2025 at 8:56 PM
About 18 seconds into this news story the reporter says the police AI report writing software erroneously wrote that someone turned into a frog. Yet this is the headline they’re going with.
Reposted by Keith Harris
Richard Hell & The Voidoids 1979 from Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong's GoNightclubbing Archive
vimeo.com/76000067
Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004)
vimeo.com/76000067
Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004)
Richard Hell & The Voidoids 1979 from Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong's GoNightclubbing Archive
This is "Richard Hell & The Voidoids 1979 from Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong's GoNightclubbing Archive" by GoNightclubbing,Ltd. on Vimeo, the…
vimeo.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Richard Hell & The Voidoids 1979 from Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong's GoNightclubbing Archive
vimeo.com/76000067
Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004)
vimeo.com/76000067
Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004)
Minnesota, I have returned with delicacies from the East.
December 31, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Minnesota, I have returned with delicacies from the East.
Reposted by Keith Harris
WCCO debunks the content of a "viral video" produced by right wing YouTuber known for his prank videos.
youtu.be/dvOkwPxsvLs?...
youtu.be/dvOkwPxsvLs?...
What to know about fraud allegations at Minnesota day cares
Visits from federal agents on Monday in Minneapolis come days after a blogger posted a video alleging fraud at daycare sites. It's a video that's been seen now more than 100 million times on X.…
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 6:43 AM
WCCO debunks the content of a "viral video" produced by right wing YouTuber known for his prank videos.
youtu.be/dvOkwPxsvLs?...
youtu.be/dvOkwPxsvLs?...
Cool thing about being an old guy is that when you're a little constipated you might just have some stool softener left over from your last colonoscopy prep.
December 30, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Cool thing about being an old guy is that when you're a little constipated you might just have some stool softener left over from your last colonoscopy prep.