Dave Mandl

Night of Joy, Williamsburg. #photography

I want to get the little jingle that plays when the washing machine is done replaced by Side One of "Tubular Bells." So instead of having to wait fifteen seconds before you can take your wash out of the machine, you'll have to wait twenty-six minutes.

Myriam Gendron playing a lovely black Les Paul at the benefit for Jennifer Kelly at Union Pool. Huge turnout for the show. Yay!

I feel like I've seen David Ellison somewhere before. Can't quite put my finger on it.

Beautiful friends: I'm playing in a couple of shows in NYC later this week. Come if you can.

1. This Thursday, 3/26, a 65th-birthday celebration for Steve Holtje (keyboard player and head of ESP-Disk) at Young Ethel's featuring three exciting groups. (See flyer.)

Neo-psychedelic garage, Schenectady Ave. #photography

Seen in the wild: 1978 Pontiac Firebird, for sale.

Here's a tiny peek at WFMU's amazing playlist system. You can see the number of "likes" for each track I played last night: likes in this show and likes in all shows. So most of these songs have never been played (or were never favorited) in other shows. The Eno tracks are an obvious exception.

I sold this Sunn Concert Bass amp over the weekend. I bought it when I was 17, at the legendary Manny's on 48th St. I lugged this beautiful beast to venues all over NYC (along with a large speaker cabinet), and I'll miss it. It has a lifetime warranty, but the company went out of business years ago!

This week's installment of my radio show, "It's Complicated" (an hour of prog and prog-adjacent music), swings your way tonight at 7:00 ET. Hear it at 91.1 FM in and around NYC, on the web at https://wfmu.org, or via the glorious @WFMU@c.im app. (Pictured: Mosaik.)

Bill Orcutt at Roulette last night. I'm sorry this is the only photo I got, because everyone who played in the show was so good. Kris Gruda's solo set in particular was mind-blowing: hilarious (the best improv always is) and technically flawless takes on Monk, Ornette, and more.

My band Time Trout plays live on Dan Bodah's show, "Vocal Fry," 2-NIGHT at 8 p.m. on @WFMU@c.im. Tune in and expect the completely unexpected.

Thanks to all the exceedingly generous listeners who pledged to @WFMU@c.im during my show last night.

Thanks also to volunteers Ben and Liz, who cooked an amazing meal for everyone, including this vegan "prog lasagna" for me.😛

RE: @dmandl@mastodon.social

Taking to the airwaves in just a few minutes with a special fundraising edition of "It's Complicated," with my co-host Therese! Tune in and help us out with a donation and keep @WFMU@c.im alive for another year. Listen at https://wfmu.org. Pledge at: https://pledge.wfmu.org/donate/GX

New U(t)recht Ave. #photography

Williamsburg.

2. This Friday, 3/27, I'm playing with the Eljin Marbles, on a bill with our friends Life in a Blender. This show is at Caveat, 21A Clinton St. in Manhattan. This is an early show—doors at 5:30 and music at 6!

"I won't even consider living in a building that doesn't put an 'e' at the end of 'pointe.'"

"Do you have any special skills?"

"Does the ability to spread cream cheese on a piece of matzo without cracking the matzo count?"

Your periodic reminder that the Merriam-Webster app is free and easy to use and has very minimal advertising. It's the best* US dictionary, though I guess other online dictionaries may be OK for various special purposes.

*You may disagree!

Prospect Heights. #photography

Clinton Hill.

I stop into Smiling Pizza all the time when coming home on the F or G train because it's right by the subway station and open very late. But in fact their pizza is fantastic.

One song WFMU's band is performing this year is an African tune chosen by resident expert Rob Weisberg. We've done a few of these, and let me tell you, they're hard. Structure so loose it's hard to detect any pattern. Leader seems to have the musicians change from A to B when the mood strikes him.

From an interview with Stephen Shore in the new issue of Hotshoe (UK-based photography mag). Every photographer knows how important light conditions are, but considering barometric pressure also makes a lot of sense. Hotshoe is here: https://www.hotshoemagazine.com/

RE: @dmandl@mastodon.social

Reposting for the West Coast people who were sleeping when I first posted this.

Tune in to this week's installment of my radio show, "It's Complicated" (an hour of prog and prog-adjacent music), tonight at 7 ET! Hear loads of exhilarating music you may never have heard before (and also this Moody Blues album)! Listen at https://wfmu.org or via the free @WFMU@c.im app.

Just saw "Amadeus" for the first time (thanks MoMA) and it is indeed a masterpiece. One thing I got from the film that apparently no one else did is that Tom Hulce's acting (not just the famous laugh) seems intentionally fake and irreverent, like he was the only one not acting in a period film...

I saw the term "royal plural" long before I saw "royal 'we.'" "Royal plural" makes more sense because it also includes the word "our"—it's not just the word "we." (For example, "Our bath is almost ready.") But you never see "royal plural," and that bugs me. #copyediting

Brownsville. #photography

McDonald Avenue. #photography

RE: @dmandl@mastodon.social

"Music that creates a scene beats music that creates a feeling" is a good description of musical psychogeography, an idea I've been obsessed with forever (though music that creates a scene can also create a feeling).

The ICP (where I'm taking a class) has actual old-school water fountains. No need to buy a bottle of water if I just want a little drink.

It's obviously not the worst thing about Trump's Middle East war (that would be the potential end of the world), but if you think a big hit to the stock market will only hurt rich people I'm afraid you're mistaken.

KA-POW! WFMU's annual Fundraising Marathon has begun, and tonight (7 p.m. ET) I'll be raising money on the air with my colleague Therese. If you appreciate what @WFMU@c.im and I do, support amazing listener-sponsored radio. Pledge to my show tonight or right now: https://pledge.wfmu.org/donate/GX

This is clever.

Sixty minutes that will make your day. Here's the playlist and archive (and real-time listener comments) from last night's radio show, which featured music from Setna, U Totem, Bellbird, the Moody Blues, and so much more: https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/162478 @WFMU@c.im

Never seen this unusual use of the word "across" to mean "au courant with" or "aware of." Or course it could just be a typo. #copyediting

Seen yesterday: creative uses for (1) excess bumper tape and (2) excess contact paper. (Had to check with my ex-wife on the term "contact paper," which I haven't heard in decades.)

I always thought, "How can these private-equity guys possibly need all that money they're paid?" Now we know. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/business/jeffrey-epstein-leon-black.html

Intelligent, well-written article on the Orlando-based band Lost Noises Office, referencing everything from library music to Delia Derbyshire to Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan: https://www.thetonearm.com/the-paleo-futuristic-cabaret-of-lost-noises-office/

East Flatbush. #photographie

Brooklyn Terminal Market.

The far-right-lunatic/neo-nazi term "ZOG" (Zionist Occupied Government, meaning the US) is about to go mainstream, and I'm not very surprised. I just saw it on IG, where some journalist claims that Trump *doesn't want* this war, but has been coerced by Israel. This is Antisemitism Classic.

The New Yorker: "[The UK] is a country obsessed with hierarchy and one's place in it." OK, this is a jokey piece, but this stuff about class in England is as tired as "The food is terrible there!" (which hasn't been true for ages). Check the class hierarchies here in the US.

People are underestimating Trump-Houdini's ability to wriggle out of anything: attempting a coup, being credibly accused of raping teenage girls, physically destroying part of the White House. Let's hope the war ends soon, but don't be so sure that Trump won't declare victory and be taken seriously.