iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Keith Pilapil Lesmeister @keithlesmeister.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

such an honor to receive this generous blurb from Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social, who grew up in the Upper Midwest and understands the stories in ASK ME ABOUT THE MONEY in ways unique to our sense of living in this particular region. Preorders available for the next month.

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Forget Cool @forgetcool.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Forget Cool, but don't forget to check out Issue 1, featuring totally rad writers like @mlfaliveno.bsky.social! forget.cool/issue-1/issu...

Forget Cool graphic with an Issue 1 Author Spotlight shining on Melissa Faliveno

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Steve Fox @stevefoxwrites.com · 29/06/2026

Arrived. Hemlock by @mlfaliveno.bsky.social

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Steve Fox @stevefoxwrites.com · 05/06/2026

Essay collection Tomboyland by @mlfaliveno.bsky.social now on my desk.

Cover image of essay collection Tomboyland by Melissa Faliveno

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Tonight! This is going to be super fun! writer.org/event/fuller...

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Substack tourney recap coming your way this weekend but we wanted to invite you to our HIT REPEAT UNTIL I HATE MUSIC ZOOM book launch TUES 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern. Register: tinyurl.com/hitrepeat

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

HAIL QUEEN CELINE. It’s an honor to have fallen to these champs!

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Cammy! @camelliagrass.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I'm gonna plug the Xness anthology at my reading tonight 🫡

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James Charlesworth @jamcharlesworth.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

The @marchxness.bsky.social anthology we've all been waiting for is finally here! So thrilled to have my essay on "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" of Dirty Dancing fame included in this much-anticipated mixtape of phenomenal writing. Get yourself a copy today!!

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Manic Pixie Soccer Mom @meganc.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

The March Xness Anthology is here! Thank you SO MUCH to @splitlippress.com and to everyone who's contributed to the Xness anthology and the tournament as a whole ❤️🎸🥁

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Amy Rossi @mossyair.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

It’s time! I am beyond honored my extracurricular essay on how grunge did NOT kill glam metal is included among such stellar work!

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Matt Bell @mdbell79.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

The @marchxness.bsky.social anthology is out today! I love this tournament, and I’m so glad to have one of my essays from years past got included: “The Best Christian in the World,” about Creed’s “My Own Prison” and my own fallout with Christianity, among other things. So much good writing in here!

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

OH SHIT LET'S GOOOOOO

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Erin Keane @erinkeane.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

If you love music writing, you need this anthology. I'm beyond honored to have my (favorite) March Xness essay included: "There Are Many Atlantic Cities, and One Belongs to Levon Helm," on The Band's Springsteen cover and my (felon, dreamer, liar, dead) dad, a fellow son of New Jersey.

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

It's here! Super stoked for this anthology and to have an essay in it—the first I ever wrote for @marchxness.bsky.social, on the Creatures’ Exterminating Angel, Virginia Woolf, misogyny, and learning to trust myself as a musician. I love this tournament and community, and so glad to be part of it!

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

THAT'S THE BUZZER! MARCH SADNESS 90S EDITION HAS CROWNED A NEW CHAMPION! FINAL SCORE: CELINE DION, "My Heart Will Go On" and @mfitejohnson.bsky.social 784, Ben Folds Five, "Brick" and @cicilybennion.bsky.social 474. Congratulations to both our finalists for an outstanding game.

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cicilybennion.bsky.social @cicilybennion.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I had a blast repping Brick all month! We didn’t get the gold but I look better in silver anyway. And for my post game snack, you better believe I’m eating one of these Brick cookies. Great game, @mfitejohnson.bsky.social! 🧱

Sugar cookies cut and frosted to look like bricks.

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cicilybennion.bsky.social @cicilybennion.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

It’s mid-morning where I live and I’ve spread the word about my @marchxness.bsky.social essay on Brick to everyone and in every way I know. The game is not over, but it does feel now as if it’s out of my hands. We’re down by over 300 votes, but I can honestly say I’m happy.

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Enjoying this shade from Cicily Bennion's video this am which is simultaneously cast on Canada and the US: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKLf...

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

This final feels pretty inevitable to me, especially as an Xennial. Both essays are so good, and so sad, and this is a true 90s heartbreaker of a matchup. My Heart Will Go On is iconic, but Brick devastated an entire generation, and still makes me cry every time. I've gotta go Brick for the win.

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Manic Pixie Soccer Mom @meganc.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

The road has been winding, full of surprise and (appropriately, I guess) heartbreak, but the March Sadness: 90s Edition Championship game is HERE

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

And allow us to remind you that it's release week for Hit Repeat Until I Hate Music: the March Xness anthology. It's like this whole tournament got shrunk down into book form! Thanks to @splitlippress.com for bringing this beauty into the world: www.splitlippress.com/product-page...

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Martin Seay @martinseay.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Tomorrow's the big @marchxness.bsky.social final! Seems like now or never for catching up on the rest of the pre-tournament essays! Shall we?

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

MARCH SADNESS 90S EDITION FINAL FOUR FINAL SCORE BEN FOLDS FIVE 389, Ani DiFranco 348 ! The championship is set for MONDAY. Until then, stay strong!

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Erin Dorney @erindorney.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

518 Zine Fest tomorrow! I turned my @marchxness.bsky.social essay into a zine and I'll have some copies there ❤️‍🔥

A drawing of a green moth reading a zine, highlighting the 518 Zine Fest on March 28 from 12-4PM in Albany, NY. The moth's wings have all of the tablers listed, and the Albany skyline can be seen in the background.

A spread from Erin's zine on heteronormativity and Paula Cole's Where Have All The Cowboys Gone showing a woman on a horse going off a cliff with men chasing her. Erin is holding the zine in her room, you can see her feet and some other zines on the floor.

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James Charlesworth @jamcharlesworth.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Collective Soul & I are still way behind & NEED YOUR VOTE in the Elite Eight of @marchxness.bsky.social! ICYMI Last week my wife, Laura, & I did a cover & I'm unearthing it again to spur the comeback! READ & VOTE "THE WORLD I KNOW" BY NOON ET TODAY!! 👇 marchxness.com#/elite8-coll...

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Martin Seay @martinseay.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Man, the essays have been great this year! The songs have been pretty good too! But the real @marchxness.bsky.social heads know that from the Elite 8 on it's about the ground game, & people are SHOWING UP. This one's semi-close—but if you're leaning Team Brick, better start pushing buttons.

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

If you find yourself mourning Round Here’s @marchxness.bsky.social loss today and need a little more Counting Crows content (plus a good dose of Third Eye Blind, and driving around Midwestern back roads, and plenty of sadness), here’s a little something else! kenyonreview.org/piece/drivin...

kenyonreview.org

Driving Around Central Ohio in my Dad’s ’07 Chevy Listening to the CDs of my Youth; or, Put the Past Away; or, August and Everything After - The Kenyon Review

Already have an account? Log in Join KR for even more to read. Sign up for a free account and read any five pieces a month. Sign Up and Read […]

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

More delightful cover action! Ani but make it flute is a genius move. Also I feel like we might actually be able to field an Xness marching band?

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Well this is rad and sad and weird and artful and a little creepy and it’s definitely swaying my vote. The Xness cover game is really bringing it this year and I love it.

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Jason Thayer @thejasonthayer.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Will Ben Folds' brick shatter my dreams of making it to the Final Four? I've got a synth'd out "Glycerine" cover on deck that begs to differ... marchxness.com#/elite8-fold...

marchxness.com

March Sadness 90s Edition

A yearly March Madness-style tournament of essays about songs we love (and occasionally loathe)

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James Charlesworth @jamcharlesworth.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Collective Soul & I are down big at the half but hope still lingers on! We've been here before & have shown we're a 2nd half team--still plenty of time for a comeback! Still plenty of time to READ & VOTE "THE WORLD I KNOW" by Noon ET Wednesday! @marchxness.bsky.social marchxness.com/elite8-colle...

marchxness.com

3/24, Elite 8: (6) Collective Soul vs (13) Ani DiFranco — March Sadness 90s Edition

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The final minutes of our @marchxness.bsky.social Elite 8 battle ticked down as I hit the road to Richmond, but trust that I said goodbye while blasting August and Everything After and singing along loud. Great game to @mfitejohnson.bsky.social & the Celines, and thanks for the love, Team Crows! 🐦‍⬛🖤

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Sejal Shah @sejalshah.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

These are both such terrific @marchxness.bsky.social essays! Congrats to @mfitejohnson.bsky.social on winning this round and amazing run to @mlfaliveno.bsky.social whose video and singing were just beautiful & knocked my socks off.

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The two remaining 1 seeds showed their quality here. Congrats to GnR and Celine and @mfitejohnson.bsky.social and @erinkeane.bsky.social! We send our condolences and appreciation for a tournament well played to @mlfaliveno.bsky.social and Cheryl Graham. You rocked it.

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Martin Seay @martinseay.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

We can hold two thoughts at once: 1) the voice & wind covers of "Heart"—good song!—are AMAZING & a true gift to the @marchxness.bsky.social community; more please; and 2) the fact that a bassoon cover got flagged as an IP violation perfectly reflects its bothersome wigit-iness. Vote Crows.

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Erin Dorney @erindorney.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I bought "August and Everything After" from a spinner rack in Wegmans at midnight as a teen. It was the only place open 24-hours in my rural town and my girlfriends would all drive there to browse magazines and the bulk candy aisle. Heaven. You've got 4 hours to vote! @marchxness.bsky.social

marchxness.com

3/23, Elite 8: (3) Counting Crows vs (1) Celine Dion — March Sadness 90s Edition

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Erin Keane @erinkeane.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

This is what we did before selfies, children! We set up timers and developed that FILM under red light in CHEMICALS I can still SMELL IN MY BRAIN.

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Ander Monson @angermonsoon.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Good time to vote Counting Crows and Kate Bush to close the gap here

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March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The Celines showed up in the second half; where those Crows at

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It's looking pretty bleak, Team Crows! Just two hours left to vote, and we're getting pummeled out there. Dig deep! Do it for the loneliness & yearning! For driving around the backroads at night! For angsty self-portraits in photography class! @marchxness.bsky.social marchxness.com#/elite8-crow...

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Erin Keane @erinkeane.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I have been sending every Counting Crows round to one friend who is a hand-to-god superfan of the band — a love he has now passed on to his kid, who goes with him to shows — for voting and that's just one more thing I love about @marchxness.bsky.social, servicing our friends' hyperfixations.

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

The crows are in the trees this morning, and the cat watches from her window. A good omen for today’s Elite 8 @marchxness.bsky.social matchup? We hope so! Still a few hours to vote Round Here! 🐦‍⬛🐈‍⬛🖤 marchxness.com#/elite8-crow...

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

More hot cover action to come when I'm back home, but for now vote Counting Crows today in the Elite 8! marchxness.com#/elite8-crow...

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Here we go, Team Crows! We’re up today in the @marchxness.bsky.social Elite 8 and need your help against a high priestess of sad! (Though I maintain Round Here is sadder.) Read the essays and vote! 🐦‍⬛🖤

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Melissa Faliveno @mlfaliveno.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

This Blink/Bush matchup is the heartbreaker of my Xennial dreams. Sixteen Stone was one of my favorite albums as a thirteen-year-old, but Adam’s Song was my saddest 90s pop punk anthem, and when I saw Blink for the first time a couple years ago man did I weep. Blink forever!

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Moira 🫡 @moirajo.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

ADAMS SONG AND SAPPY HIVE WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!

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