Writer. "BACKBEATS: A History of Rock and Roll in 15 Drummers" is one of Rolling Stone’s Best Music Books of 2025. Also: "Homeplace," about Patsy Cline's hometown. "A Song for Everyone," about Creedence. johnlingan.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqrds3guos24A proper country would revere Short Cuts more than Heat. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Jul 2026 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrds3guos24https://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqoscvlslc2zKudos to the Tiny Desk bookers [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Jul 2026 13:12 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqoscvlslc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqmeryadhc25FYI, Levon Helm’s barn in Woodstock became a venue and studio in the last decade of his life, attracting world class talent. It has remained so since Levon died in 2012, w/ involvement from his daughter, also an acclaimed musician. But every aspect of The Band’s history has to curdle at some point. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Jul 2026 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqmeryadhc25https://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqmdwkcx6c25Seems that the current fracas over Levon Helm Studios has been mostly confined to Instagram, but here is a good primer on the issues. Levon’s daughter Amy Helm has lost her controlling stake and claims that her stepmother, Levon’s widow, is being manipulated. https://theoverlooknews.com/amy-helm-removed-from-management-in-levon-helm-studios-power-shift/14 Jul 2026 13:49 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqmdwkcx6c25https://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqkoq42upc2bI request “Public Castration is a Good Idea” in full. [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Jul 2026 21:57 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqkoq42upc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqjtzjmssc2kThis was really an honor. The producers did an amazing job with the segment and music. Didn't get a chance to say (again) that Andrew Watt should be buried 100 ft underground for making Charlie and Steve Jordan sound like they do on this new album. [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Jul 2026 13:59 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjtzjmssc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqjscllejc2k"The steam drill didn’t want John Henry’s job. Carey Dupont and the Velvet Sundown don’t want mine. They’re just machines. It’s the human beings behind these machines who don’t care about the livelihoods of working people, much less the unfathomable power of music to connect human beings." [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Jul 2026 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjscllejc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqjrsr5mjs2kThis is an article that needed to be written and Owen Lyman-Schmidt took it all the way for @phillymag.com. Fascinating and angering. https://www.phillymag.com/news/2026/07/10/ai-music-streaming-spotify-bots/13 Jul 2026 13:19 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjrsr5mjs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqfpmyugos2tInterestingly, since i haven’t read either in 10+ years, the prose style of The Power Broker, below, reminds me most of David Foster Wallace. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 Jul 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqfpmyugos2thttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mqewl7enas22I’m on the CBC’s Day Six today talking about Charlie Watts! Starts at about 34:00. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/day-6/id392629681?i=100077632516311 Jul 2026 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqewl7enas22https://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mq7vbfq3y22q"The Rock" by Peter Blume at the Art Institute of Chicago. Created for Fallingwater, it was never displayed there and likely would have driven residents to madness. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Jul 2026 14:54 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq7vbfq3y22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mq3t3tdjc22oNausea-inducing stat from this marvelous book: the August 13, 1998, edition of the SF LGBTQ weekly Bay Area Reporter was the first without a reported AIDS death in 17 YEARS. [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 Jul 2026 00:05 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq3t3tdjc22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mq3nzfb74k2qDisappointed in Woody Harrelson. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Jul 2026 22:34 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq3nzfb74k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mpw7htlvy22fOkay05 Jul 2026 18:30 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpw7htlvy22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mpqwrzzlx22ySomeone asks what my fav album is, I almost never think of Bee Thousand. Then I listen to Bee Thousand and wonder how it could be anything else.03 Jul 2026 16:12 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpqwrzzlx22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mpp3vo72kk2jAlso this banger. Wishing everyone a queer as hell holiday. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Jul 2026 22:38 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpp3vo72kk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mpo7nuyqvc2gAnyone who praises their country for having places that are “very convenient to eat [sic] in your car as you’re having a phone call” should be on suicide watch. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Jul 2026 14:12 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpo7nuyqvc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mplwj5sxhs2cMy reading for this heatwave/250th.01 Jul 2026 16:23 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mplwj5sxhs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mpex7v6ejs2jOnly the middle one is genuine but I still have achieved some kind of decor nirvana.28 Jun 2026 21:48 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpex7v6ejs2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mpbth4hsms2d“Erotic fiction” is the official LOC classification even though this book was shepherded by Gayl Jones and edited by Toni Morrison. The Jean Toomer epigraph is the heads up that this is imagistic and experimental, reminiscent of Samuel Delany’s writing about sex and community too. Great stuff. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Jun 2026 16:02 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpbth4hsms2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mp7fyvnuis2wAn actual thrill to see my name in one of Steve’s DC-area listings. I’ll be at @peoplesbooktakoma.com tonight discussing BACKBEATS with their music book club! [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Jun 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp7fyvnuis2whttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mp5jybe2yc2qPoolside with some literary erotica.25 Jun 2026 23:02 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp5jybe2yc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3mp2uhgt4wc2rWhat an honor to have Jonny read and respond like this. Really appreciate someone noting these kinds of connections. That’s what I like most about writing this stuff! [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Jun 2026 21:31 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp2uhgt4wc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3moxn65xflk2a“Clairvoyance as the most unbelievably chic dinner party music” @natalieweiner.bsky.social ❤️🤌🏻🤘🏻 https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/miles-davis-miles-56-the-prestige-recordings/23 Jun 2026 14:43 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3moxn65xflk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/johnlingan.bsky.social/post/3monqdlx7pk2hElederly Woman Behind Multiple Humanitarian Disasters in a Small Town [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Jun 2026 16:13 +0000at://did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/app.bsky.feed.post/3monqdlx7pk2h