Eric Renner Brown

I've been here 15 years, but the right-wing bile under Musk has become intolerable. I'm not deleting my account and I'm not quitting cold turkey. But I'm going to wind down my activity and focus on posting where the skies are bluer (and my username is erbrown). Please join me!

Let pitchers hit again.

Substacks, even when scaled up into mini magazines, cannot replace traditional publications. Their disappearance is a real loss for culture.

Music writers, journalists, curators, and anyone giving their life to the pursuit of academic and studied artistic perspective should be paid v well. Critics and educated opinions are more important now than ever before as they help weed out the slop and spotlight the brilliance. They provide vital cultural context / consideration behind an artist’s work that so often would otherwise be missed. This thoughtful and deliberate context of a work acts as a bridge between artist and audience, and establishes a greater understanding of an artist’s intentions, scope, and body of work. We should be eager to pay for things that matter.

Addison Beer, Madison Rae, Tate McBeer, Rate McMadison, Addibeer McRaeson, Sonrae Tatebeer, Beerson McRaedibeer, Raebee McRaeson, McSonson Sonbeerson, Beerdison McTate, Taterson Mc

What is Zohran Mamdani’s plan to stop the Dodgers

The Dodgers have handed out over $2.2 billion in contracts in just the last three offseasons. That number alone is more than the total value of half of MLB franchises, including the team they just beat in the World Series. Their projected 2026 luxury tax bill is around $165 million. Not payroll — just the tax. That would rank near the middle of the league in total payroll by itself. That’s insane. Most teams simply cannot operate this way, no matter how smart their front office is or how well they draft. The Dodgers have a massive TV deal, ownership willing to eat historic tax penalties, and the flexibility to treat the luxury tax as a business expense instead of a deterrent. For a lot of franchises, one bad contract sets them back years. For the Dodgers, there’s always another move. MLB doesn’t have a salary cap, and at this point it barely has meaningful guardrails. When one organization can spend more in penalties than some teams spend on entire rosters, the idea of competitive balance starts to fall apart. You can respect what they’re doing and still admit the system is broken. Because this isn’t parity. It isn’t sustainable. At least not for almost every other team. And it’s not healthy for the sport long term. It's making the game boring and more predictable.

American legend. Rest in peace, Bob. pitchfork.com/news/bob-weir-…

Bobby Weir, just 17 years old when he co-founded the Warlocks, was one of the very few people who was at every single Grateful Dead show. Joining up with Jerry and Pigpen in 1964, and soon after Billy and Phil, with Mickey soon to follow, the Grateful Dead were defined by each of the unique musicians and voices these guys brought to the stage. And Bobby was as unique as they come. A guitar player unlike any other, and a songwriter who created some of the most interesting, exciting, and oddly-timed songs in rock history, Bobby was also the unabashed rock star in the Grateful Dead. His list of contributions to the Grateful Dead repertoire is way too long to list, but songs like Sugar Magnolia, Truckin', Jack Straw, Cassidy, Looks Like Rain, Playing In The Band, Weather Report Suite, The Music Never Stopped, Estimated Prophet, Feel Like A Stranger, Hell In A Bucket, and Throwing Stones are just the tip of iceberg of his songwriting magnificence. When Bobby had a spare moment both during the Dead's 30 year performing career and after, he was always working on exciting, different projects like Kingfish, Bobby & The Midnites, Weir & Wasserman, RatDog, The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, Wolf Bros, symphonic collaborations, recordings, performing. He never sat still, and was always moving forward, an inspiration to us all. Watching Bobby do anything was always a joy, as he embraced life around him. First and foremost, his family gave him immense happiness. Being on stage and performing for us all showed us a man who loved to bring smiles to our faces. He didn't do anything halfway, always giving it his all. For 60 years, Bobby has been a huge part of the soundtrack to our lives. His kindness, generosity, and musical contributions have made our world a better place. — David Lemieux Photo by Adrian Boot @ Retro Photo Archive

What a long strange trip it’s been. From trading CDs with strangers on Etree.org to going and seeing whatever shows I could find where Bob was singing or playing. Bob Weir was a part of my life for so long. Thanks for it all. youtube.com/watch?v=l2C443…

God bless Bob Weir

Tonight we will shine in tie-dye to honor the life and legacy of Bob Weir @GratefulDead

RIP Bob Weir, the man whose voice I've heard more on record and in concert that any other. The prophet on the burning shore, a cosmic cowboy who stopped by Earth for a few decades to share his songs. A titanic loss, an immeasurable impact. The music will never stop. Rest easy.

This is now the official account of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Welcome to a new era for NYC.

Lots more new music that I loved in 2025 open.spotify.com/playlist/2SQXA…

Favorites from a great year of shows

My favorite albums and songs – led by Geese's Getting Killed and Alex G's "Afterlife" – of 2025. Alphabetically listed, my essentials separated and bolded

How I feel listening to Stereolab

It's fitting that the cover on AI mindlessly apes an earlier creation and also displaces workers while elevating Silicon Valley plutocrats.