Here's the first time Mahler was mentioned in passing in a Peanuts cartoon, in 1959, right as he was becoming a bigger household name.

Still mostly kinda works.

Dang, when your music CD had computer extras on it, you KNEW it was going to be good.

So the first commercial recording of Mahler 1 is on archive.org, recorded 1940 & reissued 1949. After some revisions, M. published the score in 1898, just 42 years before this recording. So it's like if I put out a recording today of something released in 1984—U2's Unforgettable Fire or something.

(Listening to the record this morning, here's one part I got to know very well....)

Also, in 2009 I was *very* into downloading as many legally free mp3s as possible, and Amazon gave away a cheeky album called "I love the 80s," but it was all symphonies from the *1880s*, and it included Mahler 1. Apparently it's still available at www.classicalarchives.com/newca/#!/Alb....

Like here's the Mahler 1 I know best. When I was in college, the library was giving away all their old records, and a professor of mine let me in for early-bird professor-only access. I walked out with like 30, including this one. It's been on in the background for 25+ years of studying.

So I went back. I pulled every Mahler symphony and awkwardly stacked them on the floor. Then right there, I opened a Reddit thread about folks' favorite recordings and Alex Ross's list at therestisnoise.com/a-mahler-list/ and picked one recording of each symphony.

I'm excited to announce a new publication! With Ben Lauren, I co-edited a collection called Can I Ask a Question? A Dialog About Sonic Rhetoric, Professional Writing, Creative-Critical Scholarship, and Process. It's online free at manifold.as.uky.edu/projects/can...

#4c16: Houston. The best conference art I've ever seen, hung noticeably on every podium, like we were in a retro future world. cccc.ncte.org/cccc/review/... Also it was humid.

This is called "So Kati Likes Horror Movies." Thanks for the fun and food, Stitch n Spin!! #4c26

Plus, the Stokes building has 10th-floor views, filled with comfy seats, books to browse, and informational plaques about the buildings you can see from up here. I'm freaking out it's so cool.

Hoping others at #4c26 will discover the beauty and wonder of the public library nearby. Especially excellent if you love Robin Hood, international chess sets, Superman. Special collections area is a museum, and the building is priceless.

If you're hanging around #4c26 to the end, please join the Sound Studies & Writing Collective for a free Saturday workshop on audio storytelling from 2-5 p.m. All are welcome, including BEGINNER-beginners. We'll walk you through recording a brief story of your own and editing in music. WE'RE FUN.

YOU: Since you're a full professor, Kyle, I bet you'll pay huge prices and stand in long lines to buy lunch at #4c26, right? ME: lol no. #lunchpackinglife

Look I know the world is falling apart in every way but can I at least be happy that this $2 CD has the magic ability to get me through the end of a long afternoon?

Kurt Vonnegut, Fates Worse than Death, beginning of chapter IV, p. 49.

Here's Kurt Vonnegut, speaking in 1974.

So I probably should have known that my office building was having its ceiling tiles replaced before I decided to work on campus today, but on the plus side I'm now living my best life in this library carrel, illegally playing Bach cello suites on the (empty) quiet floor, 10/10 would recommend.

Here's Kurt Vonnegut covering the 1972 Republican National Convention for Harper's.

Here it is, p. 65, if anyone is looking for it.

Here's what the building looked like, via www.lostcolleges.com/baltimore-me... (thanks to a LIBRARIAN). Imagine: now when I read his letters about his studies, I can imagine him in this building.

E.g. they helped me find this 1896 map showing Baltimore Medical College's actual location, which doesn't QUITE fit the description in the city directory. So grateful I got to walk Uncle Chet's daily commute, imagine the old city. That changed how I looked at every building in the city.

From Devon Fitzgerald, B.16. True words. #4c25

Sure, the world is falling apart, but just for one night, I'd like instead to think about Moiraine's hat in the new episodes of The Wheel of Time.

Riven (Cyan Worlds, 1997, 2024)

Yes, the world is falling apart, but at least Pee-Wee's Playhouse is now streaming free on Kanopy. Thank the Lord for library cards.

Somehow I feel like Brian Eno would appreciate my water-damaged copy of his Apollo album.

I KNOW that #4c25 isn't until April, but if you're making plans / buying plane tickets, consider ending the conference with this free Saturday afternoon workshop on audio storytelling, hosted by the Sound Studies & Writing Collective. Relaxed, creative, productive, community-building.