Over at Lawyers Guns & Money, I interviewed the amazing singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook and the equally gifted filmmaker Katy Chevigny about their wonderful new cinematic collaboration 'The Easy Kind.' One of the best music business films I've ever seen. www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2026/07/some...

Hey man, I don’t know yr particular bag. But I'll say the Paranoid Style 4th of July sale looks damn sweet. Four LPs for 80 bucks for big spenders. Basically an LP for free. Or five bucks off every CD? Celebrate America's Paranoid Style with commerce. C’mon everybody!! theparanoidstyle.bigcartel.com

PARANOID STYLE HEAT WAVE SALE! Is something inside of you burning? Are you flush with passion for the AMERICAN EXPERIMENT? Celebrate 250 years of absolute of the walls insanity with Paranoid Style bargains! 4 LPs/$80! 5$ off all CDs! Get in on this JULY ONLY commerce!! theparanoidstyle.bigcartel.com

It's been seventeen years since I married the most unusual man called Timothy Bracy, a massive repository of professional football information who knows most of the Young Fresh Fellows catalog by heart, and encouraged me to find my voice as the writer in Paranoid Style. Love him.

I wrote about the death at 100 of former long-time Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, the nightmare of the choke-point capitalism he eagerly promoted and the Paranoid Style song I wrote about him in 2019, when he was merely a sprightly 93. Never thought he'd die. theparanoidstyle.substack.com/p/ive-got-a-...

New episode of my podcast 'Known Associates' featuring the rad Amanda Petrusich is up now, LIVE FROM DALLAS! We drink Lone Star beer, discuss her amazing work at the New Yorker, ponder the future of criticism and discuss why hoarding just might be underrated! Go!! southwestreview.com/known-associ...

Over at my periodic Substack 'Please Take My Advice,' I went deep on the Kinks' 'Muswell Hillbillies' 55th anniversary. Topics include style of paranoia, Ray Davies' endless elegance, encroaching techno-feudalism, diet fads and shapes of things to come. theparanoidstyle.substack.com/p/but-in-her...

Over at my Known Associates podcast, my guest is a personal hero: the legendary Graham Parker! Topics include opening for Bob Dylan and meeting Lowell George, recording with Nick Lowe and Mutt Lange and the 50th anniversary of his masterful debut 'Howlin' Wind.' southwestreview.com/known-associ...

Had a wonderful time at Frontera Fest tonight doing a live episode of my podcast Known Associates with the utterly magnetic Amanda Petrusich. Now I'm headed to see Ryan Davis And His Roadhouse band at the historic Kessler Theater. For my money Frontera is the best arts festival going. Thanks to SwR.

Dateline: Dallas, Texas, 4/14. Me and the pure genius Amanda Petrusich at Frontera Fest in conversation for a live edition of my podcast 'Known Associates' brought to you by SWR and New Pony. Only the boldest and bravest need apply. Attend here to watch it live. thewilddetectives.com/events/front...

Happy birthday to the incomparable Merle Haggard, whose wide screen storytelling, staggering eye for poignant detail and working class anthems comprise perhaps the finest American Songbook of all. Here's an essay I wrote about him for Stereogum a handful of years back. stereogum.com/1870888/the-...

I had a total blast interviewing Steve Jenkins from the Dylan Center at the Lyric Theater in Oxford, MS Wednesday night, following a screening of the amazing new ‘12 Songs’ exhibit of rare and unreleased Dylan live appearances. Thanks to Southwest Review and the End of All Music for making it occur.

Unbelievable show at the Birchmere tonight by my eternal inspiration Patterson Hood. A brilliant 90 minutes from "Putting People On The Moon" to "The Van Pelt Parties" to a killer new tune just recorded for the forthcoming DBT record. Now more than ever. So deeply gratifying to see you, old friend.

"There's a case to be made for Elizabeth Nelson as the best rock lyricist of this moment. Nelson and the Paranoid Style are the most persuasive argument I know for the ongoing vitality of rock and roll." Psyched by this rad review of 'Known Associates' on Fresh Air today! www.npr.org/2026/03/06/n...

"Elaborate storytelling, country foot-stomping rock and super catchy examinations of the false promise of American meritocracy." I was truly honored to see the Paranoid Style's 'Known Associates' among the week's featured albums on NPR's New Music Friday! Valhalla awaits! www.npr.org/2026/02/13/n...

"When I first heard Lucinda Williams, a million doors blew open in my mind. I suddenly knew what I had to do." Thanks to Magnet for this interview about the Paranoid Style's blazing, outlaw history and for debuting our cover of the great lady's "Passionate Kisses". magnetmagazine.com/2026/02/11/m...

Mark your calendars. Gird your loins. Bandcamp's listening party for the new Paranoid Style LP 'Known Associates' is THIS THURSDAY at 7 pm. Here's me and my associate @williammatheny.bsky.social from somewhere down the line. Ask him questions. RSVP here. theparanoidstyle.bandcamp.com/merch/known-...

For the tough, the stouthearted and the intrepid: we are one week from the release of the new Paranoid Style LP 'Known Associates' on Bar-None Records, and Bandcamp Friday is the perfect opportunity to preorder your copy! Tape yr knuckles up and dive in! theparanoidstyle.bandcamp.com/album/known-...

Happy birthday to the deeply complicated, profoundly inspiring human problem that's Mr. Warren Zevon. Perhaps more than any single figure, he informed what kind of songwriter I felt I should be. Here's a piece I wrote about him for Oxford American a few years back. oxfordamerican.org/web-only/mtv...

"At once rousing and mournful and positively buzzing with the erotic friction of sin and salvation." It was my distinct pleasure to write about Belle & Sebastian's 1996 masterpiece "If You're Feeling Sinister" for Pitchfork, an LP which lit a path for outsiders like me. pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

Eleven irresistible songs about union politics, class warfare, golf tournaments, streets of fire, the loss of our country and how and if to carry on. The Paranoid Style's 'Known Associates' from @barnonerecords.bsky.social is available for preorder here: theparanoidstyle.bandcamp.com/album/known-...

I am not sure if it's a bigger compliment to have been asked to write the liner notes for Bob Dylan & The Band's "The 1974 Live Recordings" box set, or for it to be acknowledged by the Deems Taylor Awards as one of the best critical essays of 2025. Anyway, I got a rad certificate. So deeply honored.

Happy birthday to the inimitable Charles Portis, my favorite fiction writer. Re-posting this digressive multi-thousand word meditation on his astonishing novel 'Dog Of The South,' first published over at the Ringer. "It's a shame how we neglect our poets." www.theringer.com/2019/02/01/b...

New episode of my podcast Known Associates, featuring the rad cultural critic Jessica Hopper! Tune in to hear about her vital new Lilith Fair documentary on Hulu, plus her work as an editor at the University of Texas press! She's a force of nature and I love her. southwestreview.com/known-associ...

A holiday gift recommendation for music lovers! The recent book 'That Gun In Your Hand' by @jasonschneidermedia.com is a rollicking, rigorously researched history of the murder-ballad standard 'Hey Joe' and its mysterious and obscure author Billy Roberts. Rad stuff. asterismbooks.com/product/that...

ICYMI! New Paranoid Style rage-out "White Wine Whatever" available now, courtesy of SWR. "What you hear is me and several men amidst a hard midday hangover venting a grab bag of frustrations." Proof of concept: A studio photo of me that day deranged with no sleep. southwestreview.com/track-premie...

A big honor for the Paranoid Style to be featured on this week's edition of NPR's 'The Great American Folk Show.' Tune in for tales of Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon and the debut of the never previously released track "Still Creepy After All These Years." news.prairiepublic.org/the-great-am...

I had a wonderful time over at the Kreative Kontrol podcast, discussing the new Replacements' 41st anniversary 'Let It Be' boxset alongside industry legend Peter Jesperson, Rhino Records' visionary A&R man Jason Jones and the courteous Vish Khanna. Listen and buy! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

"Following the circus of Watergate, the pointless slog of Vietnam and the utter debasement of counterculture ethos, his idiosyncratic trip came into bold relief." Happy 80th birthday to Neil Young. Here's a piece I wrote about the 'On the Beach' for the Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

LAST REMINDER! The Paranoid Style is making a Rare Public Appearance at the Pinhook in Durham on Sunday 11/9 opening for the Hypos. A reporter once told me I sang “Surly songs of insurrection.” I never disputed it. Paranoid Style at practice. Take a look and then get yr. ticket.