David Peisner
@DavidPeisner
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Writer: NY Times, Rolling Stone, New York mag, Fast Company, etc. Author of Homey Don't Play That!: The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution
Atlanta
Joined November 2009
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Pinned Tweet
In December, I went to Uganda to write about African music star-turned-revolutionary politician
@HEBobiwine
at a fascinating moment in his country's history. That moment now seems like eons ago, but his story is still fascinating. To me, at least.
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1) I can't pretend to know what happened Wednesday morning between Tortuguita and the police, but I did get to know Tortuguita pretty well while I was reporting for
@BitterSouth
. We spoke at length about a lot of things including a commitment to nonviolent resistance
Reflections on the
#AtlantaForest
defender Manuel Teran (“Little Turtle”) the protester killed on Wednesday who was
@DavidPeisner
’s primary source for our story “The Forest For The Trees.” Tonight, David’s perspective on this week’s tragic news.
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From our separate self-quarantines,
@JasonIsbell
&
@AmandaShires
graciously opened a window into their marriage for me--warts and all--to help elucidate the fraught path to Isbell's new album, Reunions, for
@nytimes
.
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In 1991, Janeane Garofalo put on shows at an LA bookstore with
@iamcolinquinn
&
@danagould
. Few showed up but the ones who did included
@mrbobodenkirk
@davidcrosss
@RedHourBen
@kathygriffin
@AndyKindler
@margaretcho
@andydick
. I made them tell me about it.
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5) The fact that, at present, law enforcement has produced neither body cam footage nor reported recovering a gun certainly does not inspire great confidence in their version of events.
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4) Tortuguita's death makes that distance harder to maintain. I find the official narrative of Wed morning's events difficult to swallow, and the speed with which elected officials, including
@andreforatlanta
and
@GovKemp
, endorsed that narrative disturbing if not surprising
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6) That they are also withholding the names of the injured trooper and any other officers who were on the scene that morning is further troubling. Worse, few in city/county/state government seem the least bit interested in holding them to account.
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7) Sadly, this bloody mess was not only the predictable outcome of all the various forces at work in this story, it was actually predicted, over and over, in conversations I've had with people on all sides of this issue. No one wanted it but here we are. And it sucks.
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2) In our conversations, it was clear Tort had thought deeply about these issues in both a moral and strategic way. Sure, they could've been lying to me or could've changed their mind about it, but neither of those things square easily with the person I got to know.
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3) Throughout the reporting on
@defendATLforest
and the controversial plans to build a training center for police on forested land in South Atlanta, I've tried to maintain enough distance from the story to write about it in a way that's fair to those on all sides of the debate
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For my 1st time around people indoors, unmasked, in a year, I was with
@SnoopDogg
@icecube
@TooShort
&
@E40
as they drank cognac, busted each others' balls, and pretended it wasn't weird to be debuting
@Mount_Westmore
on the Jake Paul/Ben Askren undercard
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Vital story from
@sallyhayd
about Ashraf Kasirye, who's been livestreaming
@HEBobiwine
's campaign, documenting efforts to silence Wine. He's now hospitalized after an assault on Wine's SUV.
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Had the idea for this story in 2016. A mere 5 yrs later, it's a reality. I work fast. Much thx to Janeane Garofalo
@danagould
@davidcross
@mrbobodenkirk
@iamcolinquinn
@MikeRoweShow
@andydick
@margaretcho
@kathygriffin
@AndyKindler
@MoonZappa
@megh_wright
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This is an incredibly good story that gets at what should drive everyone nuts about this project—not just the people who are staunchly against this training center construction…
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Is it terrible that I really enjoyed talking to
@Mike_Eagle
as he detailed the worst year of his life?
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The city of Atlanta wants to build a police training center on forested land in SE Atlanta.
@DefendATLForest
activists have moved onto the land to stop them. That's the short version of the story. Here's my not-so-short version
@BitterSouth
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@amandashires
@nytimes
@JasonIsbell
@SoutheasternRec
Thanks so much, Amanda. I literally could not have done it without you. And Jason, of course.
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I spoke to
@sethmeyers
@jordanpeele
@ambermruffin
@jasonsudeikis
@KayKayCannon
@brendanhunting
@ikebarinholtz
(among others) to trace the history of this under-appreciated comedy institution:
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@uugwuu
@useful_noise
Fantastic story about 90s black filmmakers by
@uugwuu
. When I was working on my In Living Color book, I spoke to a few others--Keenen, Robert Townsend, Rusty Cundieff--and their industry tales were equally disturbing. And those guys were the "success stories." Great work, Reggie.
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It’s not only the secrecy with which this entire process has been undertaken, it’s the casual disregard of public input, the laziness and indifference of those who would purport to use public money for this project…
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Living Above The Store: The Mostly True Adventures Of Standup Comedy’s Legendary Frat House via
@DavidPeisner
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I wrote this. If it turns out I didn't screw it up too badly, most of the credit goes to the women I spoke to:
@AndreaWillWrite
@camcountry
@RissiPalmer
@lorieliebig
@amandashires
@MissMargoPrice
@FramLeslie
If I did screw it up, well, I'll tweet a longer list of people to blame.
A new generation pushes Nashville to address racism in its ranks.
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Had a great conversation with
@bigboi
about hip-hop, Atlanta,
@AtlantaFX
,
@XXXTentacion
, gettin' old, and of course,
@KateBushMusic
. via
@billboard
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Fun fact from this story:
@TedLasso
likely wouldn't exist without
@BoomChicago
.
@jasonsudeikis
traced it to conversations he and
@brendanhunting
had wandering around Amsterdam on mushrooms....
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I spent a lot of time and energy untangling this one for
@RollingStone
. My most surprising discovery? Chinese Democracy is actually not that bad.
A group of ride-or-die Guns N’ Roses fans leaked 19 CDs of outtakes from one of the most notorious albums in history — with painful consequences for one superfan.
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@AnandWrites
I wrote about a messy election in which the incumbent constantly uses the power of his office to quell opposition, repeatedly flouts the laws, and is almost certainly not going to concede even if he loses. But this one is happening in Uganda:
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But even those supportive of the training center (or many who may be agnostic about it) should be very concerned about this process, and deeply disturbed about the repressive tactics the police and their political/administrative/judicial allies have deployed against protesters.
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and the impunity with which those with political power and/or money have acted throughout. When I was writing about the conflict, I begged for someone, anyone from the city, the county, the police, the APF to explain their side of it and answer basic factual questions about it…
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I was treated as a nuisance unworthy of their time or attention, despite the fact that I’ve been a DeKalb resident for the better part of 28 years.
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BTW, if anyone anywhere has photos or flyers from Big & Tall, I'd love to see them. We were obviously able to unearth exactly zero of them.
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I will be talking Homey Don't Play That! with the lovely
@angelayee
on Wednesday at WOODstack IVY in Brooklyn. For fans of In Living Color, black comedy, reading, talking or listening, this is a MUST-SEE event. Click thru below to RSVP:
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What happens when you take ambitious American comics, move them to a European city with lax drug laws, and let them go? Most times, probably disaster. But
@BoomChicago
turned this formula into an underground comedy empire. I wrote about it.
via
@vulture
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The eminently quote-able
@BettyeLaVette
:
“At this point, if a man hurt me, I’d smother him in his sleep,” she said, laughing. “I’m singing about the pain I’ve suffered in this business. The ‘you’ is the music industry.”
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Just talked In Living Color and Homey Don't Play That w/
@cthagod
,
@angelayee
+
@djenvy
of the iconic morning show The Breakfast Club, which was among the cooler things I've done in a while. Great questions and I only sounded like a bumbling fool 20% of the time. Okay, maybe 30%.
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Had a long conversation with the funny, charming
@BettyeLavette
about cooking breakfast with the Black Panthers, singing "Blackbird," and the importance of performing the music of her favorite "black birds" in times like these.
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I spoke to Mike Binder, former regular at
@TheComedyStore
about making a documentary about the place that changed his life.
via
@vulture
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Hey, it's not an Oscar nomination, but guess who's insightful tome about the In Living Color and Black comedy was just named one of "The 15 Best Books About TV Comedies" by
@vulture
? I'll give you a hint.
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Among other things, we also talked about: Vic Chesnutt, roly-polies, Dewayne "Lee" Johnson, Destroy All Monsters, his parents' honeymoon, my daughter's artwork, John Baldessari, John Lewis, the nature of time, Athens, and the fallacy that knowing everything is illuminating.
Michael Stipe talks w/
@DavidPeisner
about the
@remhq
days, but also his life and art now, a new book of photography + what’s next. The Michael Stipe Bitter Southerner, Issue No. 2 cover story is finally online. Enjoy!
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Really good story from
@zinoman
about Janeane Garofalo and the trap of Gen X idealism. And I'm not just saying that because he referenced my story about Big & Tall Books. Okay, maybe I am a little.
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I am shocked by this horror, yet in retrospect, the way this situation has escalated feels almost inevitable. That said, it really did NOT have to go this way.
Police killed a forest defender today, someone who loved the forest, someone who fought to protect the earth & its inhabitants.
This is why we organize to stop Cop City. And we will. In honor of their life, and the lives of everyone killed and imprisoned by the police.
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I spoke to
@BradPaisley
@phoebe_bridgers
@TeddyRiley1
@RhettMiller
@lauramarlinghq
@MURS
@EvanLowenstein
@dcfc
's Ben Gibbard & others about the joys and frustrations of performing from their couches and whether anyone can make actual $$ doing it
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I wrote this. I believe it is the greatest book ever written, or at least, the greatest book ever written about In Living Color. You'll have to wait until February 6th to see if I'm right about that.
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My book, Homey Don't Play That! was chosen as 1 of "10 Books All Georgians Should Read" in 2018. So if you're a Georgian and not reading it, you're officially on notice. Just fyi: I will accept buying the book and putting on your shelf as "reading" it.
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@TheOnlyEdAsner
@SteveKandell
@superchunk
If I played some small part in turning
@TheOnlyEdAsner
onto
@superchunk
, that’s pretty much ‘job done’ for me.
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“Whatever mushrooms make you think and feel, it was evident to me Brendan was beyond smitten with European soccer" says
@jasonsudeikis
. They enlisted fellow Boomer
@joekellyjk47
. Below: Hunt, Kelly +
@JordanPeele
@captdope
@NPRedford
and more during the 2002 World Cup at Boom
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Really sad to hear about Paul Mooney. I wrote about him a few years ago, and flew across the country to spend a few days with him. He stood me up completely, which in retrospect seems like a pretty tidy summation of his prickly, uncompromising career.
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@amandashires
@nytimes
@JasonIsbell
@SoutheasternRec
No apologies necessary. My twitter presence is barely more than nominal. As anyone who follows me will attest to.
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Finally, Homey Don't Play That! ascends to its rightful place in the literary canon, alongside works by Kurt Vonnegut, Kingsley Amis, Dorothy Parker and Miguel de Cervantes. My true peers. Thanks,
@vulture
!
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This paragraph now feeling a bit more ominous than intended
We received video confirmation that Atlanta Police has been attacking nonviolent protestors with chemical weapons in the Weelaunee Forest. 1/3
(volume on)
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On 3/29, I'll be "in conversation with" talented writer/actress/comic
@keishaz
at NYC Writer's Guild, where I'll mansplain to her the struggles of black men and women in the TV writing world as only a middle-aged white guy w/no TV writing experience can.
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Not sure what it says about me that I managed to find the dark, self-loathing side of Atlanta's premiere party band. Probably nothing good: Confessions of a Cover Band: Yacht Rock Revue croons the hits you love to hate
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And here's what they look like in all their papery glory....
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@neonflag
@micahinATL
I had the same experience when I was writing about the training center. I spent months trying to get straight answers to simple questions and was shuffled between police and politicians with no one wanting to be accountable to the public.
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Although we've written for many of the same publications, I don't really know
@BrianRaftery
, so this isn't a back-scratch for a buddy. But this excerpt about Fight Club from his new book on the films of 1999 is truly great. Can't wait to read the book. ?
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Abundant thanks to
@MenInBlazers
and
@rogbennett
for putting Homey Don't Play That! in the BaldMart this week and talking it up on the pod! As unexpected of a delight as a Joe Hart save or a clinical Raz Sterling finish!.
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@JeffSharlet
Some may dismiss Broadcast News as a rom-com set in the world of journalism, but I actually think it handles big issues about journalism better than just about any other film. Also, I second "The Insider"
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Story I wrote for
@BuzzFeed
on the complex man behind the end of the world's leading ex-gay ministry.
http://t.co/PkuK8E6Fmh
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Ugh. This is awful. I didn’t know him well but I spoke to Marc several times while researching my book on In Living Color. He was funny, generous, very helpful and relentlessly honest, even when doing so was probably not in his best interest. I’m really sad to hear this.
My sweet sweet brother, Marc Edward Wilmore, passed away last night while battling COVID and other conditions that have had him in pain for many years. My brother was the kindest, gentlest, funniest, lion of an angel I’ve ever known. I love you little brother.
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Every story I've written in the past 8 months has come out this week. This country-rap story is a fave though. I mean, rednecks, ATVs, booze, hip-hop, politics + an uncomfortable racial undercurrent? What's not to like? via
@RollingStone
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How "Wayne's World" introduced Queen to a generation of fans incl.
@AdamLambert
and how it almost didn't:
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Really enjoyed talking to Adam for this and happy to see that the story of Justin Fashanu's complicated life is starting to be told with nuance, compassion and context.
Thank you for kind response to Justin Fashanu piece. Even more excited to say we have now produced a podcast-documentary featuring the voices interviewed, more insight & old friends who got in touch after publication. This is available for FREE.
#LGBTHM21
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If your New Year's Resolution includes changing your career to something you can do from your home, wearing sweatpants nearly every day, but still sounds kinda cool when people ask you about it at parties, let me help make it happen!
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It's not every day that you get to watch country music's biggest star take a piss on the side of his ~4,000-square foot home, and then write about it.
@nytimesmusic
@lukecombs
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The wait is finally over. The literary event of the decade is upon us: Homey Don't Play That!: The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution is available for purchase TODAY! So buy one! Buy many! They make great party favors! via
@amazon
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Thanks to
@svanatten
and
@ajc
for the shoutout! Come out and see me on 9/1, the final date of my world tour! 10 Decatur Book Festival authors you don’t want to miss
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It was so great to get to write about 2 things I love at the same time:
@superchunk
and shouting your discontent at the top of your lungs despite no real reason to think it's going to help: Thanks
@mehpatrol
!
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Loved
@AmosBarshad
's tale of his dinner w/Drake for
@pitchfork
. If we're repurposing tales of access to the now-untouchable, should I dig out my notes from the 3 days I spent on a bus with Kanye in 2004? His piano player then: some dude named John Legend.
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Shameless self-promo alert: The Oral History of the 'Wayne’s World' 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Scene via
@rollingstone
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When
@DougBrod
first told me about the idea for his book several years back, I (like many, I assume) answered, "Starz?" This excerpt is excellent, and makes me excited to read the whole thing so I can start claiming I've been into Starz for decades.
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@tombreihan
Great piece, Tom. Absolutely love Deliverance and have long thought about its under-appreciated influence. Interestingly, when I spoke to Bubba about it, he had very mixed feelings over what the album had wrought in country-rap.
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@HopeAngel_222
@Corey_Feldman
Thanks, hope. Yes, I'd read some of the first descriptions of the place in Corey's book.
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...If this sounds like the life you envision for yourself, I can teach you how to make it happen! After six easy sessions with me at the
@DWritersStudio
, you too can be living the luxurious life of a freelance journalist! Sign up today!
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I wrote this. You should read it. You'll like it. If not, you can DM me, and I'll explain to you how the things you didn't like were someone else's fault. That's my freelancer manifesto.
In a time that has been so devoid of tactile human connections, Arlo Parks's “Collapsed in Sunbeams” is an album that aches with them.
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Do you live in the Atlanta-area? Are you unhappy with your career? Do you wish you could work longer hours for less money?...
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Hey,
@amandashires
and
@jasonisbell
: You're now a commencement speech, and you didn't even have to get dressed up for it: “Our Strength is More Than We Thought”
#HendrixCollege
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This is such a good profile, and an example of just what can be done with the form if editors just get off your back and give you a perfectly reasonable amount of time to turn it in. Well done,
@jonahweiner
!
David Fincher has been waiting his entire career to make “Mank.” But it only took
@jonahweiner
six years to report this profile for
@NYTmag
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I've probably listened to
@arloparks
music more than any other thru the pandemic. I wrote about her and made her talk to me about it (and about some other things). She was a sport. Also amazing photos by
@kalpeshlathigra
that I had nothing to do with.
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Met w/producer
@davecobb7
& spoke to
@JasonIsbell
@ChrisStapleton
@ShooterJennings
@ShaneMcAnally
, then wrote this:
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Fascinating stuff from
@JimFarberMusic
.
From the story:
“Soul!” wasn’t the only attempt to more fairly represent the Black experience in 1968. Two other shows debuted that year, “Say Brother” and the local New York program “Like It Is.”...1/3
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Sad to hear about Carl LaBove. When I was writing about Cresthill, he was funny, thoughtful, and an amazing (and amazingly forgiving) repository of Kinison lore.
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I spoke with the lovely gents in
@tearsforfears
--as well as members of
@softcellhq
,
@UrgeOverkill
&
@TheDoobieBros
--and tried to make sense of why all of them have new albums out (or about to come out). Because that's the kind of thing I sometimes do.
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By popular demand, my intermittent book tour is returning to NYC next Wednesday evening for an event w/ the great
@angelayee
at WOODstack IVY on East 98th St. in Brooklyn. If you live in NYC and aren't there, people will totally notice.
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Yes, I see the irony in sharing this on Twitter, but I loved this story by
@zachbaron
and am at a loss as to how else to express this love.
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Georgia folks: This is a key moment to take climate action
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Great job by
@MarcHogan
here for starting to call the music industry on its promises to, as BMG put it, "scrutinize old record deals for racial unfairness." As if the entire industry wasn't built on racially unfair old record deals.
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Thanks so much
@steveo
! This new book has fewer dudes snorting wasabi or doing backflips while on fire but I think it's still pretty damn good.
One the things I’m most proud of is the book I wrote about my life with David Peisner— he helped make my crazy story into a genuinely great book, and now he’s done the same for the story of In Living Color, get a copy here:
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oh, also: many thanks to
@hannibalburess
who graciously volunteered the details about how he beat
@Mike_Eagle
in a rap battle in college, &
@jacknifelee
who braved a collapsing ceiling in his home to talk to me.
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An in-action (inaction?) shot of my book in an actual bookstore consorting with other books. Wonders never cease. Thanks
@DougBrod
and
@booksaremagicbk
!
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This class I'm teaching will CHANGE YOUR LIFE! Or at least change your plans for 6 Thursdays this winter! Sign up now! (Lesson 1: You can never use too many exclamation points!!!) The Art and Science of Magazine Writing and How to Parlay It Into a Book
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Homey Don't Play That made it into the New York Times Book Review's Summer Reading List! Thanks
@nytimesbooks
!
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My story about
@LAGalaxy
's
@KofiOpare6
and the MLS' future: The Low-Budget, High-Pressure Life Of An MLS Rookie
http://t.co/dbuT6wIdfD
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Conceived of and reported even before
@LindseyGrahamSC
made it suddenly seem necessary: Dara Khosrowshahi and 37 other Iranians who power Silicon Valley
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The surprising rebirth of legendary Latin-music label Fania:
http://t.co/wJDxSndcMh
by
@davidpeisner
via
@FastCompany
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