Bob Schaefer
@bobszilla.bsky.social
A hot cuppa tea on a cold winter's day. Chicagoan, architect, listener, reader, traveler, time waster
Reposted by Bob Schaefer
america could be such a cool fucking place if we’d just let it be
February 9, 2026 at 1:32 AM
america could be such a cool fucking place if we’d just let it be
I love you Bad Bunny
February 9, 2026 at 1:33 AM
I love you Bad Bunny
Music can heal us. Dancing can heal us.
February 9, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Music can heal us. Dancing can heal us.
The beautiful game
February 9, 2026 at 1:14 AM
The beautiful game
My feed: Dunkin WTF
February 9, 2026 at 1:02 AM
My feed: Dunkin WTF
Reposted by Bob Schaefer
February 9, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Ratboys have always seemed like the coolest, friendliest people who also happen to make great music, and this long conversation with Julia really captures that.
The new Ratboys joint is easily my favorite album of the year thus far, and I had a great time talking to Julia Steiner about every song on the record.
Ratboys' 'Singin' To An Empty Chair': The Story Behind Every Song
Every Ratboys album is good. The Chicago indie rockers have been in the game for six albums and 16 years, and they’ve only gotten better at their sound, which carries echoes of emo and pop-punk and al...
stereogum.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Ratboys have always seemed like the coolest, friendliest people who also happen to make great music, and this long conversation with Julia really captures that.
Turning the camera back toward my favorite city.
February 1, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Turning the camera back toward my favorite city.
Welcome February! Sunrise today from 31st Street Beach.
February 1, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Welcome February! Sunrise today from 31st Street Beach.
OMG. I cannot pre-order this fast enough. One of my favorite eras of music. And it will look great sitting next to 'Rip It Up and Start Again' on an overflowing bookshelf.
My new book Still In A Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers, and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984-94 is out in June on @whiterabbitbks.bsky.social . It's a love letter to the music of my youth and a flashback to the most exciting time of my writing life. Pre-order geni.us/StillInADream
January 29, 2026 at 7:25 PM
OMG. I cannot pre-order this fast enough. One of my favorite eras of music. And it will look great sitting next to 'Rip It Up and Start Again' on an overflowing bookshelf.
Numero Group Magnolia CDs first quarter: Should, Pot Valient, Majesty Crush
January 27, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Numero Group Magnolia CDs first quarter: Should, Pot Valient, Majesty Crush
I much prefer National Weather Service Chicago’s descriptor “absolute unit” for the winter storm instead of Fern or Fran or whatever the hell the Weather Channel is calling it.
January 24, 2026 at 1:53 PM
I much prefer National Weather Service Chicago’s descriptor “absolute unit” for the winter storm instead of Fern or Fran or whatever the hell the Weather Channel is calling it.
Hey buddy
January 20, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Hey buddy
Insult to injury
🏈 LAR 20 - 17 CHI
FINAL
👎 That's Antigami! 20-17 is the most common result in NFL history. This score has happened 301 times before.
Last time: Dec 28, 2025
Miami Dolphins defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers
FINAL
👎 That's Antigami! 20-17 is the most common result in NFL history. This score has happened 301 times before.
Last time: Dec 28, 2025
Miami Dolphins defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers
January 19, 2026 at 3:08 AM
Insult to injury
I love when my Bluesky feed is full of OH MY GODs and Holy Shits
January 19, 2026 at 2:39 AM
I love when my Bluesky feed is full of OH MY GODs and Holy Shits
For you architecture heads, don't limit your Chicago Architectural Biennial excursions to the Cultural Center. This is a fun visit. And yes, its setting in failed North Michigan Avenue retail is a vital part of the experience.
There hasn't been much coverage, but the 840 Michigan Avenue Annex of the Chicago Architectural Biennial is way cool and a must-visit. Check out my photo tour of how over 30 fun and informative installations interact within a former H&M flagship.
arcchicago.blogspot.com/2026/01/an-a...
arcchicago.blogspot.com/2026/01/an-a...
An Annex That's Anything but Secondary: The Chicago Architecture Biennial Reanimates Dead Retail at 840 North Michigan
One Point Perspective Study No. 2, Luftwerk, photo Pablo Gerson, courtesy CAB No one’s writing about it, but it's an absolute trip. When the...
arcchicago.blogspot.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:55 PM
For you architecture heads, don't limit your Chicago Architectural Biennial excursions to the Cultural Center. This is a fun visit. And yes, its setting in failed North Michigan Avenue retail is a vital part of the experience.
I know there are far more important and disconcerting things in our world right now, but I'm adding being on a condo board of a 100 year old building on the night of historic January rain to my upset list.
January 9, 2026 at 3:57 AM
I know there are far more important and disconcerting things in our world right now, but I'm adding being on a condo board of a 100 year old building on the night of historic January rain to my upset list.
I really enjoyed today’s visit to the Art Institute of Chicago for the first viewing of ‘Bruce Goff: Material Worlds’ (yes, I’ll be back). Mostly I was fascinated by the untitled visual art compositions and their bold color abstractions.
January 5, 2026 at 2:12 AM
I really enjoyed today’s visit to the Art Institute of Chicago for the first viewing of ‘Bruce Goff: Material Worlds’ (yes, I’ll be back). Mostly I was fascinated by the untitled visual art compositions and their bold color abstractions.
Distracting myself from the matters at hand with a large crowd at @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social for a double feature of two Barbara Stanwyck pre-code films, ‘Night Nurse’ and ‘Baby Face’
January 3, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Distracting myself from the matters at hand with a large crowd at @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social for a double feature of two Barbara Stanwyck pre-code films, ‘Night Nurse’ and ‘Baby Face’
Thinking about the new year and listening to Wussy and hoping we get new music from Lisa and Chuck that includes this gorgeous song. youtu.be/3B4NmSusS7U?...
Wussy Duo - Indiana Wants Me Too DEMO (Lyric Video)
YouTube video by Wussy
youtu.be
January 3, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Thinking about the new year and listening to Wussy and hoping we get new music from Lisa and Chuck that includes this gorgeous song. youtu.be/3B4NmSusS7U?...
I'm going back to bed.
January 1, 2026 at 4:42 PM
I'm going back to bed.
Thirty years ago today. The perfect ending to one of the greatest newspaper comic strips ever.
January 1, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Thirty years ago today. The perfect ending to one of the greatest newspaper comic strips ever.
Shout out for his guitar on Lloyd Cole's self-titled 1990 solo debut and 'Don't Get Weird On Me Babe'
Also commemorating the birthday of Robert Quine, guitarist extraordinaire.
You know him from his work with the Voidoids and with Lou Reed; but also with Jody Harris, Matthew Sweet, Eno, Zorn, Ribot, yesterday's birthday girl Marianne Faithfull (Strange Weather), Tom Waits, et. al.
No one like him.
You know him from his work with the Voidoids and with Lou Reed; but also with Jody Harris, Matthew Sweet, Eno, Zorn, Ribot, yesterday's birthday girl Marianne Faithfull (Strange Weather), Tom Waits, et. al.
No one like him.
December 31, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Shout out for his guitar on Lloyd Cole's self-titled 1990 solo debut and 'Don't Get Weird On Me Babe'
Everybody's doing it, so why not? There are lots of hypotheticals and circumstances that would change some of these colors, and even the "worst" states have progressive enclaves. In some cases, I don't like extreme heat or cold, or being 4-8 hours from other states (hi Alaska!).
December 31, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Everybody's doing it, so why not? There are lots of hypotheticals and circumstances that would change some of these colors, and even the "worst" states have progressive enclaves. In some cases, I don't like extreme heat or cold, or being 4-8 hours from other states (hi Alaska!).
I missed this yesterday in the holiday hubbub. It's great writing on a great band, one whose catalog is worth dipping into at any point in their chronology, and one whose absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. Never stop being you, Bradford Cox (and please come back).
Happy Boxing Day! I wrote about why Deerhunter were the greatest indie rock band of their generation (despite Bradford Cox hating “indie rock”), why I barely covered them in my book about indie’s mainstream glow-up, and how badly I want them to come back:
Deerhunter Hated "Indie Rock" And Were The Greatest Indie Rock Band Of Their Generation
The latest B-side from my book SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS examines Bradford Cox and friends' formidable legacy against a backdrop of indie rock gentrification
suchgreatheights.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
I missed this yesterday in the holiday hubbub. It's great writing on a great band, one whose catalog is worth dipping into at any point in their chronology, and one whose absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. Never stop being you, Bradford Cox (and please come back).