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Stephen

@sppz.bsky.social
50 followers 100 following 88 posts

Family man, music lover, eMPA student, (former?) bike commuter, hiker, public servant, music lover, poetry lover, public library fan, thinker, left-handed. He/him/his. Opinions are my own.

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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Profound take on population movement l, at least in the U.S. I’m guessing it holds true elsewhere.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Reporter states that the seat in question doesn’t even exist in the Atlanta basketball stadium. Did the accuser not even due the most basic of due diligence?! 🙄🫤🤪😂
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I can hear the deeper influence of jazz, Japanese traditional music, and early experimental electronic music in The Dylan Group, whereas Tortoise brought more Krautrock, experimental classical, and indie rock influences, while certainly veering more toward jazz by ‘TNT’ and ‘Standards’.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
At the time, iirc, the tendency was to compare them with Tortoise. And while that is an obvious touch point, the comparison does both bands a disservice. Listening with today’s ears,
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This was their 4th album (plus one of remixes) in about as many years, and the only one that was pressed on vinyl at any point.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The Dylan Group — Ur-klang Search [Bubble Core/Fat Cat, 2000] Found a nice copy of this great last album from vibes-based “post rock” group that, in my opinion, doesn’t get enough credit for the very fine work they do.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Thoughtful comments here
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
When the lens we didn’t dream of becomes sharply poignant…
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Tracked down a physical copy of this excellent record yesterday at Portland’s great shop, Echoes In Space. Such a beautiful album of ambient IDM. I’ve been playing it over and over this summer on digital formats, now glad to have the record to play at home!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
A close reading of a great, short poem. These 20 Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
These 20 Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures
People-watchers, trainspotters and A.O. Scott agree: Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” is one of the shortest great poems in English.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Sad to say that I was initially unclear as to whether this quote was in reference to Iran or Canada.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
These 8 things are listed in the 2nd section of ‘Goodnight Moon’, but not in the 1st section: Moon Light Clocks Socks Nobody Stars Air Noises Everywhere What is the 1 thing listed in the 1st section that is not listed in the 2nd section? (Yes, I currently can recite this book from memory.)
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Reposted by Stephen
e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 13/08/2026
14 million souls ended in a single year by Elon Musk's cruelty and stupidity Here are some of the comparisons: Rwandan genocide: 800k dead Cambodian genocide: 3 million dead The Holocaust: 7 million dead
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
This is wild timing. And also very frustrating/sad/confusing/bad policy.
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Reposted by Stephen
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/07/2026
"Judge Simon points out that he’s far from the only judge to conclude that, under Trump, the DOJ has forfeited the presumption of regularity it enjoyed for generations. Dhillon live-tweeting her every retaliatory move on social media is just the cherry on top." — @lizdye.bsky.social
publicnotice.co
Harmeet Dhillon demonstrates danger of posting through it
When being terminally online goes wrong.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Ooh, my copy of the new Akusmi is in the mail! How does this one compare with the first two?
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This was at Leach Botanical Garden in outer SE Portland, a gem of a spot in general, but even more lovely with the music tonight. Also caught the closing moments of Patricia Wolf’s lovely live set. In-between DJ sets by Carly Barton. leachgarden.org
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Had a chance to hear beautiful music in a beautiful setting tonight—a short live set by @brianfoote.bsky.social & Paul Dickow, of their recent collaborative work released by Geographic North, at an outdoor venue of a botanical garden. Closing set by Cosmic Tones Research Trio was also amazing!
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Reposted by Stephen
Ben Silverstein ❌👑 @bensilverstein.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Trump's big news is China acquired the publicly available voter file? Bro, DOGE employees took off with our Social Security info on thumb drives.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7833...
cooking.nytimes.com
Seltz al Limone (Refreshing Lemon Seltzer)
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Switzerland has neutralized this game!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
“A lot of what you’re seeing in the bill is catch-up on 30 years of policy that has been stalled because Congress hasn’t had the bandwidth to do any housing legislation,” said Ben Metcalf…. “It is the kind of thoughtful legislating that Congress used to do all the time but now never does.”
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Oregon history shows the way?
static.klipy.com
Explosion Whale
ALT: Explosion Whale
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Another spot to hit, if yr out at Speck’s is Too Many Records. And then, at the other end of town, is Dig Vinyl, in Sellwood, which has an awesome jazz selection.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Yeah, it’s a fundamentally different store now, good in a different way. I took my teen there for a midnight Mitski listening party and have been back with them a few times for digging sessions.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Some that you noted are favs (Clinton St, chiefly among them), but also: • Musique Plastique (artsy goodness) • Echoes in Space (stupendous techno and out electronic selection) • Exiled (breadth of choices in the used bins) and • My Vinyl Underground (an indie pop haven)
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Amazing stores in this town, now and in the past…and yet there are still others that I currently love that are not on yr list. We have a wealth of spots, for sure!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘The Wire’ and ‘M*A*S*H’ and ‘Ted Lasso’ are basically all the entertainment I need.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
At the root like re-doing 5&50 (or elements thereof)? At the root like a sales tax? At the root how?
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Judging by what else is in the stacks, they’ll be able reset just fine.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Jackie-O MF ‘Fig. 5’ is super underrated!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Whoa, that was fast! 🤯💨 They’ve been working on music projects together, but with larger groups, for a long time (see Fontanelle’s s/t (2000) and ‘Style Drift’ (2002) or most(?) Nudge releases). And Paul Dickow’s ever-mutating Strategy guise is one of my favorite ongoing music projects.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Even though I’ve only heard the initial track released from it, I think Foote/Dickow ‘High Cube’ on Geographic North is going to be a stellar release. foote-dickow.bandcamp.com/album/high-c...
foote-dickow.bandcamp.com
High Cube, by Foote/Dickow
6 track album
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
‘94–‘96 was an amazing treasure of musical mastery from Stephin Merritt. (‘Holiday’ and ‘The Charm of the Highway Strip’ in ‘94; The 6ths’ album, ‘Wasps’ Nests’, in ‘95; and ‘Get Lost’ in ‘96.) Sooo many perfect and lovely songs among the bunch.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Awesome notice. Thanks! I had the great privilege of opening for Deadbeat a couple of lifetimes ago—he’s a gem of a guy and knew all the weird records I was playing in the opening set.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
This is good work to review more deeply. “America’s problems are solved problems. Just not here.”
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
It’s one of my top 5!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
So so good! Looking forward to seeing them in March with JP IVtet!!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Good AOTY list from one of this little corner of the Internet’s finest listeners. As always, so much to discover within for me.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
I’ve been watching for your list, as I often like your plays. As always, so many that I’ve only heard of and plenty unknown to me. I will definitely have the Djrum album on my list—1 of a few “electronic” albums I really enjoyed this year. Also will have SML, Takuro Okada, & Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
That Smoke Point record was so good! I’d love to hear another from them.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
It’s my wife’s story, but it goes something like this: when she was young, her dad decided to burn the Xmas tree in the fireplace, whole. There was a sap abundance and a small backdraft fireball which rocketed up the mantle. Somehow, a cherub stocking hanger survived, with a soot-blackened face.
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Reposted by Stephen
@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
This is an incredible LIE being told by the guy that manages the agency that oversees the ACA. It's obscene how easily, how frequently and how dramatically these Trump folks lie to us. ✅Fact check from the extremely reliable @kff.org (& no, KFF did not retract this.)
ACA Insurers Are Raising Premiums by an Estimated 26%, but Most Enrollees Would See Sharper Increases in What They Pay if Enhanced Tax Credits Expire

Percent change in gross and net premium payments, 2026
20406080100%
26%
114%
Increase in insurer premiums (gross)
Increase in enrollee premium payments (net of tax credit)
Source: KFF analysis of ACA Marketplace premium data
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Granted, I did make that comment before scrolling further in my feed and seeing the news that DeJohnette has passed away. No disrespect meant to his excellent work and life!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
I know this post is about DeJohnette, but just want to point out that anything with Joe Henderson on it is a winner.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Age verification? When I bought my first computer, they tried to upsell me to 8MB of RAM at the store.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Love the closing line tonight, @hcrichardson.bsky.social!
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Love the closing line tonight. Thanks, as always, for the cogent and clarifying recap of events, @hcrichardson.bsky.social.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Momma’s new album is good! At number 2 on this list is a pleasant surprise. Nice to see the new Caroline album noted, as well as Horsegirl—both are also standout albums to me, so far this year.
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Stephen @sppz.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
@wired.com has been doing great reporting on the technocratic aspects of the present administration.
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