iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Well, it looks like I'm back to the blogging thing, sorta. I have a substack now. Here's my first post. braydenk.substack.com/p/coming-out...

braydenk.substack.com

coming out of retirement

sociology, higher ed, books, and too many concerts

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

And Tweedy added another impressive volume to his songwriting catalogue. This album really brings home what makes his solo work different from Wilco. I really enjoyed the backup singing by Sima and Macie

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

It took a while for Geese to sink in, but once they did I became a big fan. Cameron Winter is a crooner with impressive songwriting skills. But for me the secret sauce to the band is percussion. the drumming is unlike anything else in rock right now

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Fust stole my heart at their Hideout show with their sincere lyrics and country sound. Florry is the sort of sweaty, bar music that we just don’t have enough of these days. Tobacco City is a gorgeous harmonic duo that calls back to Gram/Emmylou.

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

my 25 favorite albums of 2025. A good year for country-twinged indie rock. Wednesday remains at the top for me as a blend of shoegaze, country vibes, and gothic storytelling. I don’t know how they’ll evolve now that Lenderman has left the band, but this album is close to perfect.

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Good piece. And I strongly agree with you that smart pieces are the most interesting and fun to read. I’d rather read a smart, negative review of a band I like than a bland, positive review of that band. It gets the fan juices flowing and makes me reflect on my own fandom.

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

The past few months haven’t been easy. I’ve found myself looking for escape. Increasingly, I’ve been diving into Love’s Forever Changes as my preferred means, whatever that means.

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

In the future, every article about wealthy donors raising money for research should be required to mention how the current administration’s budget policies are undermining that effort and making it nearly impossible for health care research, in particular, to make progress

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

that Tobacco City album has been my most played this past month

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

lots of good books on this list but I would have included Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore if I’d had a vote

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Finished the latest episode of the excellent podcast A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, which focuses on the final years of The Beach Boys and it made me revisit the underrated Surfs Up album. God, that album just tears me up. Til I Die is a classic.

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Just finished listening to this absolutely beautiful and devastating episode. I thought I knew everything about The Beach Boys but man, i did NOT. Thank you for this incredible series about the end of The Beach Boys. I’m in awe.

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Reposted by @braydenking.bsky.social

Matt Grossmann @mattgrossmann.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

How policymakers and experts failed the COVID test Stephen Macedo & Frances Lee find that policymakers and experts deterred alternatives and suppressed dissent, leaving us with today’s increased distrust of health and political authorities www.niskanencenter.org/how-policyma...

niskanencenter.org

How policymakers and experts failed the COVID test - Niskanen Center

Five years after the COVID lockdowns, the performance of government and policy experts is not looking great in retrospect.

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Harvard announcing a hiring freeze feels like a harbinger of more bad things for higher education

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braydenking.bsky.social @braydenking.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

I’m not sure @jlkucinskas.bsky.social intended this book to be as relevant as it now is. This is a great book that speaks to our current moment. Go get it!

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