James Nevius
@jamesnevius.bsky.social
Writer; NYC historian; playwright; composer; I give online lectures about NYC and other topics and I write odd music.
It’s Bandcamp Friday. To celebrate, I have a new version of SOUND+FURY, my Macbeth soundtrack, both as a digital download and a handsome (and gruesome) CD with a booklet of liner notes. There's no time like the present to celebrate the downfall of a murderous dictator!
jamesnevius.bandcamp.com
jamesnevius.bandcamp.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:02 PM
It’s Bandcamp Friday. To celebrate, I have a new version of SOUND+FURY, my Macbeth soundtrack, both as a digital download and a handsome (and gruesome) CD with a booklet of liner notes. There's no time like the present to celebrate the downfall of a murderous dictator!
jamesnevius.bandcamp.com
jamesnevius.bandcamp.com
I’m checking Bluesky today because I had a vivid dream that my former editor, @plitter.bsky.social, offered my a job at her coffeehouse/bookstore/music venue and all I’m saying is: if that’s a premonition, let’s talk.
February 6, 2026 at 2:56 AM
I’m checking Bluesky today because I had a vivid dream that my former editor, @plitter.bsky.social, offered my a job at her coffeehouse/bookstore/music venue and all I’m saying is: if that’s a premonition, let’s talk.
I keep forgetting Bluesky exists; does anyone have a sane method for following multiple social media accounts?
February 6, 2026 at 2:53 AM
I keep forgetting Bluesky exists; does anyone have a sane method for following multiple social media accounts?
Happy 100th to Electronically Recorded Music
A Revolution in Sound
open.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Becoming Self-Aware Through Chekhov
What happens when you ask A.I. chatbots to become self-aware about their writing? What sort of Pandora's box have I opened?
What happens when you ask A.I. chatbots to become self-aware about their writing? What sort of Pandora's box have I opened?
Becoming Self-Aware Through Chekhov
And other Monday morning thoughts
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Becoming Self-Aware Through Chekhov
What happens when you ask A.I. chatbots to become self-aware about their writing? What sort of Pandora's box have I opened?
What happens when you ask A.I. chatbots to become self-aware about their writing? What sort of Pandora's box have I opened?
We used to be a more violent city.
No Kings...and No Riots
What a difference 150 years makes
open.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:02 AM
We used to be a more violent city.
Another installment in my irregular attempt to write a Substack newsletter. (The main article is free; there are some fun links behind the paywall, which you can access with a free trial.)
Reading Macbeth Out of Order
The virtue of fragmentation
open.substack.com
August 25, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Another installment in my irregular attempt to write a Substack newsletter. (The main article is free; there are some fun links behind the paywall, which you can access with a free trial.)
I guess there *is* a hell.
August 20, 2025 at 12:05 AM
I guess there *is* a hell.
I’m back at it on the Substack: open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...
Blast from the Past
When 10MB could be had for a mere $3400
open.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I’m back at it on the Substack: open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...
Who’s watching the livestream of “Good Night and Good Luck”?
June 7, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Who’s watching the livestream of “Good Night and Good Luck”?
Have a favorite NYC film? I’d love to know what it is. Bonus points if it was made more than 20 years ago and/or features good footage shot south of 14th Street.
"That's the Thing About New York City"
Incitements to Reverie #3 - an occasional series of photos of NYC
open.substack.com
May 20, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Have a favorite NYC film? I’d love to know what it is. Bonus points if it was made more than 20 years ago and/or features good footage shot south of 14th Street.
Remembering our 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death. This post is for paid subscribers, but you can get a free trial if you’d like to read the whole thing!
Abraham Lincoln in New York
Remembering the 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death
open.substack.com
April 15, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Remembering our 16th president on the 160th anniversary of his death. This post is for paid subscribers, but you can get a free trial if you’d like to read the whole thing!
Today is the anniversary of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Read more about it my newsletter and, if you are interested in all things NYC, consider a subscription.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
March 25, 1911
open.substack.com
March 25, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Today is the anniversary of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Read more about it my newsletter and, if you are interested in all things NYC, consider a subscription.
I’ve been reading about outmoded railroads today. There are probably more pressing matters in the world, but I’ve been studying A.T. Stewart’s Garden City, instead.
*this is a post for paid subscribers, but free trials are available to everyone.
*this is a post for paid subscribers, but free trials are available to everyone.
A.T. Stewart's Short-lived Railway
Connecting the City to the Garden to the Sea
open.substack.com
March 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
I’ve been reading about outmoded railroads today. There are probably more pressing matters in the world, but I’ve been studying A.T. Stewart’s Garden City, instead.
*this is a post for paid subscribers, but free trials are available to everyone.
*this is a post for paid subscribers, but free trials are available to everyone.
What does Bing Crosby have to do with the price of grape jelly in Kenosha, WI? Read on…..
Vintage Vinyl, Stroh's, and Grape Jelly
The relative value of goods is hard to measure
open.substack.com
March 7, 2025 at 12:42 AM
What does Bing Crosby have to do with the price of grape jelly in Kenosha, WI? Read on…..
Some brief musings on a new-to-me magazine from the early 20th century
The Pictorial Review
Celebrating the golden age of print
open.substack.com
March 3, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Some brief musings on a new-to-me magazine from the early 20th century
This post is one of the longer essays I share with paid subscribers of “History Will Teach us Something.” If you’d like to read it—and support my ongoing work—consider a free trial or become a paid subscriber today.
ChatGPT is Not Your Friend
Some thoughts on hallucinations
open.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 5:48 PM
This post is one of the longer essays I share with paid subscribers of “History Will Teach us Something.” If you’d like to read it—and support my ongoing work—consider a free trial or become a paid subscriber today.
Until today, I’d never watched the full version of Méliès’s Voyage to the Moon. It’s a delight.
The Voyage to the Moon
Just something to add a bright spot to your day
open.substack.com
February 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Until today, I’d never watched the full version of Méliès’s Voyage to the Moon. It’s a delight.
I'm knee-deep in more films that I can process, but here goes nothing: do you have a favorite film
a) set in NYC
b) depicts a historical period that is not the era in which it was made. (So, for example "The Great Gatsby" works; Lights of New York (from 1928 and set contemporaneously, does not.)
a) set in NYC
b) depicts a historical period that is not the era in which it was made. (So, for example "The Great Gatsby" works; Lights of New York (from 1928 and set contemporaneously, does not.)
February 11, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I'm knee-deep in more films that I can process, but here goes nothing: do you have a favorite film
a) set in NYC
b) depicts a historical period that is not the era in which it was made. (So, for example "The Great Gatsby" works; Lights of New York (from 1928 and set contemporaneously, does not.)
a) set in NYC
b) depicts a historical period that is not the era in which it was made. (So, for example "The Great Gatsby" works; Lights of New York (from 1928 and set contemporaneously, does not.)
Did you sign up for 12 albums for a penny? If so, do you remember what you got?
12 Albums for a Penny!
A look back at mail-order music
open.substack.com
February 4, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Did you sign up for 12 albums for a penny? If so, do you remember what you got?
The Mall, Central Park, 1858
open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...
open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...
The Mall, Central Park, 1858
Before there was the Mall...or even a park.
open.substack.com
February 3, 2025 at 10:46 PM
The Mall, Central Park, 1858
open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...
open.substack.com/pub/jamesnev...
Flow and Ebb and Flow and...
I bought a bunch of classical records sight unseen. Join me as we listen to them….
I bought a bunch of classical records sight unseen. Join me as we listen to them….
Flow and Ebb and Flow and...
The beginning of a musical odyssey
open.substack.com
January 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Flow and Ebb and Flow and...
I bought a bunch of classical records sight unseen. Join me as we listen to them….
I bought a bunch of classical records sight unseen. Join me as we listen to them….
Talking about Edward Hopper later this week.
Edward Hopper's Mythical New York
I’m giving a talk later this week about the painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967), looking at his cityscapes and how he created in his art a New York City that is both real and unreal at the same time.
open.substack.com
January 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Talking about Edward Hopper later this week.
Why do we drop a ball on New Year’s Eve? Read on….
The Ball Drops in Times Square
The origin of our December 31 ritual
open.substack.com
December 30, 2024 at 3:17 PM
Why do we drop a ball on New Year’s Eve? Read on….
Four Thoughts at Christmas -- join me over at Substack, as well.
Four Thoughts at Christmas
Looking back at NYC as the center of Holiday Shopping
open.substack.com
December 25, 2024 at 4:47 PM
Four Thoughts at Christmas -- join me over at Substack, as well.