If you live in Detroit and you love both math and 311, this was your week.
@austinbloggy
An actual gay with a husband + a two cats named #VeronicaMeows and #StephanieMeows, living in a map hole near Austin, TX. Regional potato chip fan. Venn diagram enthusiast. I talk about music, movies, tv, pop culture, and politics.
If you live in Detroit and you love both math and 311, this was your week.
A garage I parked at last Saturday for $10 using SpotHero is $40 today. π«
Adding this for context and so other people over the age of 30 can relate/understand.
If you look at Sombr's TikTok you will see him lip syncing to the same 30 second section of his latest single like 20 times. This is how you make money as a musician in 2026.
Like instead of bands coming to Austin to play SXSW, they should just be doing choreo and lip syncing to the same 30 second clip of whatever their "focus track" is until a bunch of barely literate teenagers decide it's a trend they need to recreate.
Was trying to explain to a friend who doesn't use TikTok how "Champagne Coast" by Blood Orange got popular on TikTok and as I was explaining it I felt like a crazy person. The way music is discovered and popularized in 2026 feels like a lie/fever dream. I really miss blog culture. I understood that.
SO weird that this published on the same day that they were locked outβ¦and then let in haha
Aaaaand they're back bsky.app/profile/aust...
I remember when their first GoFundMe launched and I was talking to a friend familiar with Red River Cultural District and I said didn't CuC get a bunch of Grants and PPE money? Why do they need a GFM? And my friend said...they spent it all on custom neon for the venue instead of payroll. π«
mcgruff the crime dog on instagram (@mcgruffatncpc) standing next to the text "VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PLEDGE"
crime dog you gotta find some better wording for this
In theory this link will have updated info as it becomes available. bsky.app/profile/aust...
I was strongly considering swinging by the @w1nspear.bsky.social showcase on Saturday...now I'm curious if that will even happen. Who knows? Seems like CuC always manages to squeak their way out of these things.
Dear Cheer Up Charlies, LLC: As you know, DT Land Group, Inc. manages the Premises for the Landlord. This letter is to notify you that you have failed to cure your default. On March 5, 2026, Landlord notified Tenant that they were in default of their lease due to past due rent in the amount of $15,529.04. The failure to pay these amounts constitutes an act of default under the Lease. Landlord provided five (5) days for the Tenant to cure this breach. To date, the Tenant has failed to cure this default and pay the past due balance. Accordingly, Landlord regretfully concludes that it must exercise its legal remedies. As authorized by the Lease, the Landlord has reentered and taken possession of the Premises. In order to secure its possession of the Premises, the Landlord has altered the locks. The Tenant's right to possession of the Premises is terminated, effective immediately. You are not authorized to reenter the Premises until the Lease is formally terminated. The Landlord is also entitled to recover unpaid rent for the balance of the term of the Lease, additional amounts incurred by Landlord due to the Tenant's breach of the Lease, and its attorney's fees. Demand is hereby made for payment. Please be advised that the Landlord is entitled to and shall apply amounts paid against its damages. Any payment tendered shall not operate to reinstate any possessory rights of Tenant, except as provided above. Landlord further reserves its right to proceed with its other remedies under the laws of this state.
Y'all...did Cheer Up Charlies SERIOUSLY get locked out of their venue for non-payment of rent RIGHT when #SXSW is gearing up?! Please say psych.
www.instagram.com/p/DVwUQKzEbV...
Absolutely agree. It's hard to even explain to people who didn't live through it how much pull and influence those blog parties and showcases had. I mean, I got to see Charli XCX with SOPHIE at Gorilla Vs. Bear's Hype Machine party...10 years before mainstream culture had a "Brat summer."
I love Chicago but after growing up in Maine, I refuse to do winter again. Sure they have better public transportation, cheaper cost of living, amazing architecture and museums BUT have you ever slipped on ice and fallen on your ice while carrying groceries?! I'm too old for that.
BTW I'm not saying there aren't great artists performing, I'm just saying there used to be more opportunity for the artists. Now if you're government isn't footing the bill for you or your band to attend...you should probably just not come?
Not to mention the whole blog economy disintegrated. No more Pitchfork Showcase, no Stereogum or Brooklyn Vegan parties. Even Gorilla Vs. Bear tapped out. At keast we'll always have the free alcohol-fuzzed mems.
My favs from 2025 didn't level-up in the last year because there were no talent buyers, touring agents, management agents, or indie labels at their showcases. The days of seeing labels like SubPop, Merge, Carpark, Polyvinyl etc. showcasing their new(ish) signees are gone.
Great piece on #SXSW from @dansolomon.com. This is my first year since 2007 that I won't be attending (not counting 2020 and 2021). As a music diehard, it's just sad that the labels, curators, management groups don't attend anymore.
Wait, so are you saying POTUS lied?!
Gotta be a film party/corporate gig though, right?
Controversial opinion: I prefer spring forward to fall back but tbh Iβd rather just stop changing the clocks.
Yeah Champagne Coast is THE TikTok track but Best To You and Youβre Not Good Enough are also used to a lesser extent. Feel like the majority of the audience was 7yo when Champagne Coast was released. So bizarre.
Went to see Blood Orange last night and the TikTokification of his fan base is so crazy to me. Itβs just nuts how that app can elevate a song thatβs more than a decade old and make an artist whoβs been around for years more popular than ever.
Itβs weird how in 2026 people either donβt read books at all or they read hyper competitively using apps to track how many pages theyβve completed.
While Iβm complaining about groupthink social media trendsβ¦Iβve seen enough vintage photos of children with βThis is who youβre askingβ¦β for a lifetime.
I canβt handle any more CEOs eating burgers on cam. I need it to stop.
Very cool. Very chill. Nothing to see here.
I feel like everyone thinks of his excellent stuff from the 80βs but Iβm such a sucker for his early 90βs Vh1 stuff.