alex tobin 🍩
@alextobin.nl
pumping irony 🧠 in the Dutch lowlands
scribblings for @aquariumdrunkard.com
always looking for books + music to review
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www.alextobin.nl
scribblings for @aquariumdrunkard.com
always looking for books + music to review
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.alextobin.nl
Pinned
alex tobin 🍩
@alextobin.nl
· Nov 28
The Quiet Revolution: Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock - Aquarium Drunkard
Some records feel impossible to write about. Not because they lack substance, but because they possess too much of it: too much quiet, too much space, too much mystery. They resist language the way wa...
aquariumdrunkard.com
“These tracks behave less like songs and more like weather systems – shifting, gathering, dissolving.”
The lovely people at @aquariumdrunkard.com asked the almost impossible: some thoughts on Talk Talk’s seminal albums ‘Spirit of Eden’ and ‘Laughing Stock,’ two records that mean very much to me.
The lovely people at @aquariumdrunkard.com asked the almost impossible: some thoughts on Talk Talk’s seminal albums ‘Spirit of Eden’ and ‘Laughing Stock,’ two records that mean very much to me.
Not only does the upcoming Joe Pernice album feature Rodney Crowell and Norman Blake; also on it are Aimee Mann and… Jimmy Webb. 🙌🏻
Sunny, I Was Wrong, by Joe Pernice
11 track album
pernicebrothers.bandcamp.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Not only does the upcoming Joe Pernice album feature Rodney Crowell and Norman Blake; also on it are Aimee Mann and… Jimmy Webb. 🙌🏻
Post a pic of the venue where you saw your first concert and the band or artist.
The Go-Go's at Mesa Amphitheater (AZ) in 1984. I was only 12 and convinced grandma (who I was spending the summer with) that I could go unaccompanied. Afterwards, she picked me up in her big blue Ford Econoline.
The Go-Go's at Mesa Amphitheater (AZ) in 1984. I was only 12 and convinced grandma (who I was spending the summer with) that I could go unaccompanied. Afterwards, she picked me up in her big blue Ford Econoline.
January 11, 2026 at 9:55 AM
Post a pic of the venue where you saw your first concert and the band or artist.
The Go-Go's at Mesa Amphitheater (AZ) in 1984. I was only 12 and convinced grandma (who I was spending the summer with) that I could go unaccompanied. Afterwards, she picked me up in her big blue Ford Econoline.
The Go-Go's at Mesa Amphitheater (AZ) in 1984. I was only 12 and convinced grandma (who I was spending the summer with) that I could go unaccompanied. Afterwards, she picked me up in her big blue Ford Econoline.
Blackstar remains an astonishing final statement.
David Bowie’s Blackstar Jazz
aquariumdrunkard.com/2026/01/08/d...
Released 10 years ago today, David Bowie’s Blackstar marked the artist’s most intensive and rewarding collaboration with jazz musicians in the span of his six decade career.
aquariumdrunkard.com/2026/01/08/d...
Released 10 years ago today, David Bowie’s Blackstar marked the artist’s most intensive and rewarding collaboration with jazz musicians in the span of his six decade career.
January 8, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Blackstar remains an astonishing final statement.
Hmm. Now if I could only guess who chose what in the new Locklisted episode by the fine folk at @backlisted.bsky.social ? 🤔
January 3, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Hmm. Now if I could only guess who chose what in the new Locklisted episode by the fine folk at @backlisted.bsky.social ? 🤔
Good riddance, and here’s hoping… ✨ ✨
December 31, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Good riddance, and here’s hoping… ✨ ✨
Reposted by alex tobin 🍩
Haunting festive presence.
December 27, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Haunting festive presence.
Reposted by alex tobin 🍩
Not too shabby, @backlisted.bsky.social!
7 Podcasts for Bookworms
www.nytimes.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Not too shabby, @backlisted.bsky.social!
Anyone Can Wordle.
Stephen Sondheim, Puzzle Maestro
For the late Broadway composer, crafting crosswords and treasure hunts was as thrilling as writing musicals.
www.newyorker.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Anyone Can Wordle.
By no means a novel question, but… any good podcast recommendations? Things that entertain or make you think,
BBC content also welcome. Many thanks! 🙇🏻♂️
BBC content also welcome. Many thanks! 🙇🏻♂️
December 24, 2025 at 4:35 PM
By no means a novel question, but… any good podcast recommendations? Things that entertain or make you think,
BBC content also welcome. Many thanks! 🙇🏻♂️
BBC content also welcome. Many thanks! 🙇🏻♂️
This amused me more than it should have.
Stevo on Instagram: "HEAT : CHRISTMAS CHAT ... Just 2 fellas havin a chat at Chrimbo 🎅🏼
My version of the famous scene 😎
#lipsync #comedy #funnyedits #funnyvideos #funny #movieedit #asda #sausage #c...
18K likes, 609 comments - stevostonko on December 14, 2025: "HEAT : CHRISTMAS CHAT ... Just 2 fellas havin a chat at Chrimbo 🎅🏼
My version of the famous scene 😎
#lipsync #comedy #funnyedits #funnyvi...
www.instagram.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:55 AM
This amused me more than it should have.
Not quite sure how I feel having a cheese “named” after me. 🤔
December 18, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Not quite sure how I feel having a cheese “named” after me. 🤔
This one's for @iammilliam.bsky.social.
Tchotchkes, by Tchotchke & The Lemon Twigs
track by Tchotchke & The Lemon Twigs
thelemontwigs.bandcamp.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:45 PM
This one's for @iammilliam.bsky.social.
The latest installment of one of my favorite AD regulars, courtesy of Eric Hehr (currently on a mean tear!).
Gene Ammons :: Nice an’ Cool (1961)
aquariumdrunkard.com/2025/12/16/g...
Midnite jazz. Nice ‘an Cool is nothing if not a “mood album,” the overall unity of the quartet eclipsing any one section of the arrangement.
aquariumdrunkard.com/2025/12/16/g...
Midnite jazz. Nice ‘an Cool is nothing if not a “mood album,” the overall unity of the quartet eclipsing any one section of the arrangement.
December 16, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The latest installment of one of my favorite AD regulars, courtesy of Eric Hehr (currently on a mean tear!).
One of the best delivers his most wide-ranging overview yet. ✨ ✨
I wrote about my 30 favorite albums of the year (plus 45 more) futurismrestated.substack.com/p/the-best-a...
The Best Albums of 2025
Did someone say something about abundance?
futurismrestated.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
One of the best delivers his most wide-ranging overview yet. ✨ ✨
Head down today to start working on a long-form piece about two of my all-time favourite LPs for @aquariumdrunkard.com. I may be a while. 🤿
Above the noise, behind the glare
I know you're listening out there somewhere
Above the noise, behind the glare
I know you're listening out there somewhere
December 15, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Head down today to start working on a long-form piece about two of my all-time favourite LPs for @aquariumdrunkard.com. I may be a while. 🤿
Above the noise, behind the glare
I know you're listening out there somewhere
Above the noise, behind the glare
I know you're listening out there somewhere
US Army basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. The drill sergeants told us we could go to see a movie or pick up garbage and do push-ups all afternoon. Cue a theater full of buzz-cut and homesick young men all crying their eyes out at the not-so-great… The Bodyguard!
December 13, 2025 at 6:39 AM
US Army basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. The drill sergeants told us we could go to see a movie or pick up garbage and do push-ups all afternoon. Cue a theater full of buzz-cut and homesick young men all crying their eyes out at the not-so-great… The Bodyguard!
Had I not been asked to write my recent Talk Talk feature, ‘Hats’ would surely have hovered at the top of my list. Luckily, Eric Hehr is again at his best here (for @aquariumdrunkard.com).
The Blue Nile :: Hats - Aquarium Drunkard
The Blue Nile’s Hats is filled with lovesick people and nocturnal places, existing in a perpetual state of starless nights and slanted rainfall. The album evokes a liminal metropolis bathed in the amb...
aquariumdrunkard.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Had I not been asked to write my recent Talk Talk feature, ‘Hats’ would surely have hovered at the top of my list. Luckily, Eric Hehr is again at his best here (for @aquariumdrunkard.com).
Dive in and discover…
Aquarium Drunkard :: Year In Review 2025
aquariumdrunkard.com/2025/12/08/a...
Looking back to look ahead. Our list arrives in the spirit of sharing, and we’re back with our annual Year In Review. As always the following is unranked and unruly. Let it blurb.
aquariumdrunkard.com/2025/12/08/a...
Looking back to look ahead. Our list arrives in the spirit of sharing, and we’re back with our annual Year In Review. As always the following is unranked and unruly. Let it blurb.
December 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Dive in and discover…
The grabbing hands grab all they can.
December 6, 2025 at 9:49 AM
The grabbing hands grab all they can.
A small encore…
Talk Talk - I Believe in You (Official Video) [HD Upgrade]
YouTube video by Talk Talk band
youtu.be
December 2, 2025 at 4:47 PM
A small encore…