@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

bourgwick

@[email protected]

writer / WFMU DJ / good ol' grateful deadcast co-host / working on a history of music told through grey area recordings (hachette, 2025ish) / "big day coming" (2012), "heads" (2016), "wasn't that a time" (2018) / jessejarnow.com [searchable]

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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to random

i wrote an afterword about bobby weir for @, though probably could've kept going for a few more days. https://pitchfork.com/features/bob-weir-obituary/

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to random

i got a bit obsessed with the modern lovers this year & attempted to assemble a complete-as-possible 1970-1974 live chronology. it's far from complete, but found lots of fun stuff, including a setlist for what might be the 1st gig & ads for their shows in bermuda. https://jessejarnow.com/2025/12/the-modern-lovers-1970-1974/

what might be a handwritten setlist for the first Modern Lovers show
newspaper ad for the Modern over soppening for the Famous Esso Steel Band
The Winter Ball Boston's Jam'n Jelly Boogie A Very Social Night with the Velvet Underground's MOE TUCKER with The Modern Lovers Jonathan Richman 'n George Thorogood

The Winter Ball Boston's Jam'n Jelly Boogie A Very Social Night with the Velvet Underground's MOE TUCKER with The Modern Lovers Jonathan Richman 'n George Thorogood
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to random

public noisemaking PSA: booing is swell, but hissing really gets the job done. cuts through crowd noise & sounds ominous af.

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

an oxygen mask, but it's just the smell of mass market paperbacks bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

surely one of the all-time most promising starts to a novel i've encountered. ("black hole of carcosa" by @JohnShirley2023 ) (no spoilers.) bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

Special thanks to Ivan Stang and the Subgenius Foundation for the use of JR "Bob" Dobbs, Stang, and "The Fightin' Jesus." Anyone wanting to know more about "Bob" should write to Subgenius, POB 140306, Dallas, TX 75214)
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

almost-perfect stupid beach read for apocalypse-addled gen x'ers. and almost totally different from the movie. same characters, different plot. bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

book rests in sand, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

peter stampfel titled a 1989 album "people's republic of rock and roll," which thomas used as a thing in "vineland" the next year. was he borrowing from stampfel?! can't find any earlier usages in google books or internet archive or the independent voices database of underground newspapers. bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

@tlmoore bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group yeah, i think "people's republic of ___" riffs have been happening for years, but stampfel's album appeared in late '89 & pynchon's book in early '90, which is pretty close for the same variation.

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

loved every counterintuitive twist in thomas gilbert's "how baseball happened," the weirdness of early set against the social/cultural worlds of 19th century /, a perfect complement to john thorn's "baseball in the garden of eden" & lucy sante's "low life." bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

How Baseball Happened book
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

recent-ish reading/rereading. bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

pile of books Das Energi by Paul Williams The Two of Them by Joanna Russ Destinies: The Science Fiction Magazine Playing Changes by Nate Chinen Prankster Memoirs by John Babbs The CAN book by Pascal Bussy & Andy Hall The Bride of Entropy by Robert Hunter Harry Smith: American Magus Music Universe, Music Mind by Robert Street The Last Great Dream by Dennis McNally San Francisco Nights by Scalutti & Seay We Jazz #13 The Original of Laura by Vladimir nabokov Saga #7-#9
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- and rainy sunday hootenannying with the not-quite (grateful) dead boys, live in 1981. was very honored to write liner notes for this, owsley's last time mixing/recording the band before moving to australia in advance of the oncoming ice age. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Sing Out! Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir with Mickey Hart, Billy Kretuzmann, and John Kahn
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- rainy sunday hootenannying with the soft boys, live in 1978 as out-of-time surrealist acoustic barbershoppers. tea-shaded coziness. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Soft Boys, Live at Portland Arms LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- alien sculptures/shapes/sounds by ka baird with a heady all-star para-jazz cast almost completely absorbed into the colors/textures. kinda wish each piece was much longer & more subsuming. https://kabaird.bandcamp.com/album/bearings-soundtracks-for-the-bardos vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Ka Baird, Soundtracks For the Bardos LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- in which animal collective's geologist deconstructs/reanimates a bunch of doug shaw's solo acoustic guitar videos. works much better as a full album than standalone tracks, moving (but not necessarily flowing) through jagged, jeweled terrains. https://geologist.bandcamp.com/album/a-shaw-deal vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

A Shaw Deal LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- picked up a copy of mike heron's "smiling men with bad reputations" after overhearing the below recommendation at the @WFMU record fair. besides the occasional r&b & semi-zep moves, can feel that resonance. the acoustic leaning songs especially feel like rhythmic white rabbit chases, of a kind. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group https://heads.social/@bourgwick/113410610140701676

Mike Heron's Smiling Men With Bad Reputations LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to random

when i saw the reunion tour at the beacon theatre in 2015, brian was half-present at best for most of the show, except when he woke up suddenly in the middle of "marcella" (of all places) & was intensely, wonderfully present for like 2 songs & then kinda drifted off again.

bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

when i interviewed brian a few years before that, i wasn't so lucky & caught him in monosyllabic mode. i think i blew through 20+ mostly softball questions (& a few dorky ones) in like 10 minutes. mildly traumatic!

bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

2 really important to me: lewis shiner's "glimpses" (1993), about dude who time travels to the "smile" sessions & hangs with brian (which i read as an impressionable teen); & timothy white's "nearest faraway place" (1994), using the wilsons/BBs as springboard into deep american . bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

@caravan@heads.social avatar caravan , to VinylRecords group

Coming directly on the heels of and , is a very strong album, some would say the best, but it’s still a bit under the radar. One of my faves and I still need a copy. I saw here in a few years back and it was amazing. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

bourgwick ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

@caravan vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group maybe my most regularly listened-to front-to-back BBs these days, love it so much. "i'd love just once to see you" is such an odd perfect song.

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

into the endless summer vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Beach Boys Endless Summer LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

recent-ish reading/rereading. bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

pile of books Selling the Lower East Side When Push Comes To Shove Neu Klang: the definitive History of Krautrock Saga #6 Icehenge The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys The Hollow Lands The Dark Design The Jewels of Aptor Empire Star Beyond Heaven's River Eon The Fall of the Towers
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bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

@DaveG924 bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group it sure is! it's hollie rose's 1988-1992 tour journal. https://heads.social/@bourgwick/114631592831728030

bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- aw, peaceful departures to cosmic traveler ariel kalma. i wrote notes for this anthology of his '70s recordings. a truly heady & wonder-filled sweetheart, like a french terry riley or something. https://arielkalma.bandcamp.com/album/an-evolutionary-music-original-recordings-1972-1979
many great recent bandcamp jams, too. https://ariel-kalma.bandcamp.com vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

LP on turquoise vinyl plus liner notes titled Instant Kalma
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to random

today, rich & i hit the end of our enjoying the ride deadcast season with some deep head history. thanks to sociologist rebecca adams (& her receipts!) we can pinpoint wide use of “shakedown street” to describe the parking lot scene to summer ’89. https://www.dead.net/deadcast/enjoying-ride-tour /1

screenshot of Rebecca Adams from Deadheads: An American Subculture documentary

screenshot of Rebecca Adams from Deadheads: An American Subculture documentary
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bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

today’s cast gets into the great 1979 show at red rocks, where future dead archivist dick latvala got backstage for the 1st time, yielding his all-time favorite photo of himself. hear the story in his own words, via @dgans (& a bit from bill walton). https://www.dead.net/deadcast/enjoying-ride-tour /2

view of rocks at Red Rocks with sliver of crowd
Kidd Candelario and Robbie Taylor (I think) backstage at Red Rocks
view of Grateful Dead backline at Red Rocks

bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

bill lemke’s new “aging gratefully” book is one of the more beautiful deadhead projects, classical large-format portraits of heads taken in ‘80s parking lots matched with new images. check it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aginggratefullybook/aging-gratefully
& hear bill on today’s deadcast: https://www.dead.net/deadcast/enjoying-ride-tour /3

bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

and, on this deadcast, we’re delighted to feature hollie rose, who just published her actual tour journals, 1988-1992, a singular (primary source!) document about following the dead on the road. check hollie’s book: https://flamingohippie.com/
& hear hollie on today’s deadcast: https://www.dead.net/deadcast/enjoying-ride-tour /4 bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- probably the entire lefty wilbury discography is what they call cheap heat these days. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- my proper canterbury education carries on with henry cow's 1973 debut, like "weasels ripped my flesh" era mothers, but british leftist instead of californian libertarian (not that they really sing much here) & a notch less manic. https://henrycow2.bandcamp.com/album/leg-end vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Henry Cow, Leg End LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- clinging desperately to (& savoring) these last pre-gross nights before sealing in with AC for the summer, aided currently by the calming drones of mike gangloff's newish "april is passing" https://vhfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/april-is-passing vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Mike Gangloff, April Is Passing
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@Jason_W_Karpf@mastodon.social avatar Jason_W_Karpf , to Religion group

Turning the Red Planet green? It's time to take terraforming Mars seriously, scientists say—Space.com

Yes, it will happen. Yes, it will have unexpected consequences. Yes, sci-fi warned us.

@books bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group religion@a.gup.pe icon Religion group

https://apple.news/AKJTu-j5kQlKAEVYcpUGXKQ

bourgwick ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

@Jason_W_Karpf @books bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group religion@a.gup.pe icon Religion group i feel like more of these pro-terraforming optimists really need to check themselves & read "red mars"/"green mars"/"blue mars" by kim stanley robinson, like, immediately.

bourgwick ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

@Jason_W_Karpf @SteveClough @books bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group religion@a.gup.pe icon Religion group "red mars" definitely doesn't meet that description. more about how truly brutal it would be, mimicking (& worsening) terrestrial problems.

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- traveling the spaceways with a 20+ arkestra in summer '76. sounds from the outer territories but also the start of their terrestrial rebound, featuring their earliest known performance of "take the a-train" according to the "earthly recordings..." discography. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Sun Ra & Arkestra Live at Montreux
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- "lilac" is almost certainly my fave later era eno song, & the rest is way more soaring & playful than i remember. maybe i need to revisit the first album with karl hyde? vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Brian Eno and Karl Hyde, "High Life" LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- really great live album by horse lords, 2018-2023. music to make you feel like you're spinning around fast & getting giddy, but without leaving the couch (plus some space zones). https://horselords.bandcamp.com/album/as-it-happened-horse-lords-live vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Horse Lords LP, "As It Happened"
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- saturday night party with the faces on a john peel sunday broadcast from may '71, via trade mark of quality. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

orange LP and sheet with drawing and track information
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

sponsored playlist. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

LP with many tracks titled THE ESP SAMPLER
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- not one of the more essential albums in my own jefferson family cosmology, though it's got some moments, mostly just impressed at the kantner/slick branch's commitment to fun packaging. all lettering/illustrations by grace slick. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

hand drawn liner notes
hand drawn liner notes
hand drawn liner notes

hand drawn liner notes
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- picked up this 2010 EP by doug shaw's highlife at union pool the other eve & had (almost) forgotten what a pure sunshine hit it is, especially "burying stones," though maybe my fave tune ("wet palm trees") is only on the 7-inch, thankfully included, too. doug said he packed all the copies himself & some have (now 15 year old) buds of weed flattened into them. https://highlifehighlife.bandcamp.com/album/best-bless vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Highlife, Best Bless EP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- i will very likely never own an original german can LP, but chuffed to visit with the "tago mago" mysteries via this more modestly priced '70s UK pressing i got at the @WFMU record fair. also love the alternate damo/jaki cover & wish i had a dorm wall so i could hang a poster version. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

tago mago LP with photograph of band shot from behind onstage
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- savoring these last cool evenings before the summer grossness forces me out of the room where the record player lives (& AC doesn't reach). wrote liner notes for the expanded edition of robert hunter's "tales of the great runners" last year & finally getting to properly fire up the outtakes disc. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Robert Hunter's tales of the great rum runners with liner notes titled Sing Along With Rock's Howard Hughes
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- how has kevin ayers never appeared on a wes anderson soundtrack? it's all so perfectly boho/decadent/achy. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Kevin Ayers, Bananamour LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- honored to have written gen-u-ine liner notes for my pal @spacefuzz's latest adventure. https://spacefuzz.bandcamp.com/album/crush-depth-a-dub-sonic-submarine-symphony-in-four-sides vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

excerpt from liner notes

excerpt from liner notes
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- quieting out. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

Brian Eno, Discreet Music LP
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bourgwick OP ,
@bourgwick@heads.social avatar

give it up for a 30 minute LP side, too. extra quiet means extra mastering head room means extra music. enonomics, baby! vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to VinylRecords group

- sure, i like monday night television, but what i really like is discovering that my new turntable belt just needed some time to settle (like we all do) & is perhaps again ready to play records at consistent speeds. also, "beauty trip" might be my favorite post-marquee moon TV song. vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

television self titled LP
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@bourgwick@heads.social avatar bourgwick , to bookstodon group

recent-ish reading/rereading. @bookstodon

Stand on Zanzibar The Pirate Book Border Radio The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Record Store The Best American Comics 2017 The Best American Comics 2012 We Jazz #2, #11 Saga #1-#4 The Art Behind The Tape Beat It!
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