Sam Bennett
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hallofnotes.bsky.social
Sam Bennett
@hallofnotes.bsky.social
Popular music lecturer, researcher and musicologist focusing on nostalgia led internet based music scenes. Passionate about culture, with a particular interest in horror, professional wrestling and overly specific music genres. He/Him. All views my own.
I recently gave a talk on the concept of the ‘post-digital’ within music, which I’ve just posted to Substack. I’ve always been gently wary of the modern social media landscape, but am aware that ‘non-digital’ is not an option, so what are the options? Link below.

open.substack.com/pub/hallofno...
The Post-Digital in the Modern Music Industry
Physical Media, Authenticity and the Avoidance of Digital Approaches
open.substack.com
May 14, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Mulholland Drive opened my eyes to film wider than ever before, but simply listening to David Lynch was enough to sense his magical energy.

Through his passing, we have lost not just a beautiful director, but a beautiful soul.

If we were all a little more like him, what a world it would be.
January 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Unfortunately these fears were not unfounded. The Netflix/WWE content is very limited indeed, with the vast majority of the old library not present.

No WCW, no ECW, limited archives for TV content. I’m sure we’ll be drip-fed more, but until today, we had a lot of this available, and now it’s gone.
The upcoming changes to the WWE provision in the UK sound disastrous. “Select programming” tells me that we’re very unlikely to get the archives of weekly historical programming the Network currently carries.

I’m sure Netflix have little interest in that, and even less in adding to the archive.
January 1, 2025 at 12:13 PM
When are we having a critical reappraisal of Leo Sayer? Long overdue, and some of his albums are an absolute who’s who of session players - Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Lee Ritenour, Michael Omartian, Larry Carlton, Ross Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel…the list goes on.
December 26, 2024 at 2:46 PM
If you’re going to listen to someone who knows their onions about Yacht Rock, listen to Hollywood Steve.

However, if you’re looking for something less reliable, here are my top 5 underrated Yacht-adjacent tunes.
THREAD OF RELEVANT YACHT ROCK PLAYLISTS TO PIN TO MY PROFILE
First off, here is a long, roughly chronological history of yacht rock I put together to trace how the genre evolved over time. Not so much Officially Certified, but always relevant to the sound in some way
open.spotify.com/playlist/3ut...
YACHT ROCK: A PURIST'S HISTORY
Playlist · hollywoodsteve · 678 items · 5.3K saves
open.spotify.com
December 2, 2024 at 8:10 PM
Went to see Conclave at the cinema yesterday - engrossing stuff. Even if the idea of a bunch of cardinals politicking over the papacy doesn’t immediately grab you, you may be surprised.

Excellent performances and a standout script. A little slow in places, but not dreadfully so.
December 1, 2024 at 4:57 PM
In a world of AI and increasingly short form content, I think we sometimes need a little reminder that it’s a wonderful thing to spend time learning.

I revisited a 1980 article by Isaac Asimov earlier which has seemed relevant for what feels like forever at this point. I’ll share some quotes below.
November 26, 2024 at 11:32 PM
Finally got around to watching The Substance. It’s every bit as good as I’d heard - remarkably visuals, performances and direction. Not for everyone, but essential for anyone with a taste for body horror.

Some more thoughts here: boxd.it/7TMByr
A ★★★★½ review of The Substance (2024)
For a while earlier this year, it seemed like The Substance was the only film people were talking about. That’s down in part to the media I follow and company I keep, but nevertheless, the noise was o...
boxd.it
November 25, 2024 at 4:58 PM
Very excited to see the wonderful Villagers tonight. One of the finest songwriters working now - evidenced by the manner in which his material stands up to minimal arrangement.

This excellent rendition of 'Again' strips away the instrumentation and lets the melodic shifts shine through.
Villagers - Again (Live)
YouTube video by VillagersVEVO
youtu.be
November 24, 2024 at 4:59 PM
The upcoming changes to the WWE provision in the UK sound disastrous. “Select programming” tells me that we’re very unlikely to get the archives of weekly historical programming the Network currently carries.

I’m sure Netflix have little interest in that, and even less in adding to the archive.
November 22, 2024 at 7:07 PM
1/ I’m aware this topic has been done to death on here, but HarperCollins’ decision to allow some of their books to be used to train AI is pretty scary.

It comes across as very much a decision made because they feared that others would have done it anyway, so they may as well get there first.
November 20, 2024 at 6:30 PM
If you're in the mood for utter nonsense of the sword and sorcery variety, and haven't seen Luigi Cozzi's Hercules...well I wouldn't say I *recommend* it, but several moments of it are must see.

Some brief thoughts: boxd.it/7PU7a5
A ★★½ review of Hercules (1983)
Diabolically bad stuff, but entertaining nevertheless. Ferrigno of course looks superhuman, but outside of that the film engages the viewer in spite of him. To be fair, it’s not like he’s surrounded w...
boxd.it
November 18, 2024 at 6:49 PM
Thanks to those of you who have followed me here - I’m trying to make a habit of checking out the profile of everyone does…

…however, without a bit of blurb or any posts, it’s hard to know what you’re all about. Give us the info!
November 18, 2024 at 3:22 PM
Just got back from my first ever pro wrestling training session. I’m sure most people know this, but for those that don’t - everything hurts. The ropes hurt, the turnbuckles hurt, the mat hurts.

An arm drag looks like almost nothing on TV. That hurts too.

Still, had a great time.
November 17, 2024 at 6:19 PM
Here’s to hoping the Bluesky is the platform that I finally settle down on.

#promosky

Interests:

• Nostalgia and Retrofuturism
• Genre Film, B Movies and Horror
• Professional Wrestling
• Cultural Studies
• Music Categorisation
• Archives
November 13, 2024 at 11:55 PM