John Paul Meyers
@johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social
Ethnomusicologist. Associate Prof. of Af-Am Studies at UIUC. Midwestern repatriate. My book, "Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in Popular Music," is out now! https://www.amazon.com/Same-Old-Song-Enduring-American/dp/1496850874/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8
"Casablanca 3: The Search for Sam" took me out.
December 6, 2025 at 8:57 PM
"Casablanca 3: The Search for Sam" took me out.
As I have said before, our conviction that "November Rain" by GNR rules is the only thing Trump and I have in common.
December 4, 2025 at 5:45 PM
As I have said before, our conviction that "November Rain" by GNR rules is the only thing Trump and I have in common.
Not the point, but when was this post written by Mek? Jacob Frey just got re-elected as mayor of Minneapolis a few weeks ago.
December 1, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Not the point, but when was this post written by Mek? Jacob Frey just got re-elected as mayor of Minneapolis a few weeks ago.
I'm the person with a middle income salary and a modicum of job security. I should be the one to deal with this.
December 1, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I'm the person with a middle income salary and a modicum of job security. I should be the one to deal with this.
I thought the grad student handled it very professionally, but they shouldn't have been in a position to bear the brunt of this manufactured outrage. I'm tenured, and I'm telling all of my TAs that if they get an assignment like this, "LET ME HANDLE IT."
December 1, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I thought the grad student handled it very professionally, but they shouldn't have been in a position to bear the brunt of this manufactured outrage. I'm tenured, and I'm telling all of my TAs that if they get an assignment like this, "LET ME HANDLE IT."
Legendary recording, done in my hometown of Fargo, ND. I don't think my grandparents were at this performance, but they would have gone to others at the Crystal Ballroom. www.inforum.com/lifestyle/ar...
75 years after Fargo show, recording keeps Duke Ellington's music alive
FARGO - It was 75 years ago Saturday that Duke Ellington taught Fargo how to swing. Four decades later, an amateur recording from that cold night shared Fargo's lesson with the world.
www.inforum.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Legendary recording, done in my hometown of Fargo, ND. I don't think my grandparents were at this performance, but they would have gone to others at the Crystal Ballroom. www.inforum.com/lifestyle/ar...
We're getting ours put in on Wednesday, apparently the last scheduled spot this calendar year for our installer (before the federal incentives end). Hopefully the next Dem president will reinstate the federal tax credit for these. Seems like a no-brainer.
November 29, 2025 at 12:32 AM
We're getting ours put in on Wednesday, apparently the last scheduled spot this calendar year for our installer (before the federal incentives end). Hopefully the next Dem president will reinstate the federal tax credit for these. Seems like a no-brainer.
I went to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square on the afternoon of 9/11. It was closed.
November 25, 2025 at 3:14 AM
I went to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square on the afternoon of 9/11. It was closed.
I am deeply troubled . . . by Cindy's misuse of "your."
November 16, 2025 at 1:10 AM
I am deeply troubled . . . by Cindy's misuse of "your."
Intertia from, I don't know, 10+ years ago has kept me with Tidal. At some point it was the only service that had Prince's music. I've found it pretty good to navigate, though obviously less useful for sharing than Spotify, since all my students use that.
November 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Intertia from, I don't know, 10+ years ago has kept me with Tidal. At some point it was the only service that had Prince's music. I've found it pretty good to navigate, though obviously less useful for sharing than Spotify, since all my students use that.
I mean, Gayle seems fine? Unless I'm missing something.
November 13, 2025 at 3:58 AM
I mean, Gayle seems fine? Unless I'm missing something.
Hey man, I'm trying to eat lunch over here!
November 12, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Hey man, I'm trying to eat lunch over here!
Me neither, but if we're not talking about her (good, bad, or otherwise) she doesn't make money.
November 11, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Me neither, but if we're not talking about her (good, bad, or otherwise) she doesn't make money.
Two women's home basketball games at my employer. $12 GA tickets, pep band, t-shirt canon, silly promotions and games on the scoreboard.
November 3, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Two women's home basketball games at my employer. $12 GA tickets, pep band, t-shirt canon, silly promotions and games on the scoreboard.
This looks fantastic! Looking forward to reading everything here! I hope the journal gets the kind of durable institutional support that has sometimes been lacking from Black art-focused journals, such as BMRJ and Callaloo.
October 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This looks fantastic! Looking forward to reading everything here! I hope the journal gets the kind of durable institutional support that has sometimes been lacking from Black art-focused journals, such as BMRJ and Callaloo.
Saw him last week in Urbana. I thought the drummer was amazing. Could have done without the 10 minute vocoder solo. :)
October 26, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Saw him last week in Urbana. I thought the drummer was amazing. Could have done without the 10 minute vocoder solo. :)
Should definitely do it! I loved teaching adult beginner students. You can really make a lot of progress, if you're motivated to practice a bit every day (or most days).
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Should definitely do it! I loved teaching adult beginner students. You can really make a lot of progress, if you're motivated to practice a bit every day (or most days).
Oh no, that means I have to grade midterms now!
October 21, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Oh no, that means I have to grade midterms now!
Looks like cursed AI. Why are there two basses, one of which seems to have the bell of a brass instrument growing out of it? Why does one of the f-holes of the bassist on the edge go out all the way to edge of the instrument's body, creating a chunk of wood susended in mid-air?
October 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Looks like cursed AI. Why are there two basses, one of which seems to have the bell of a brass instrument growing out of it? Why does one of the f-holes of the bassist on the edge go out all the way to edge of the instrument's body, creating a chunk of wood susended in mid-air?
Here are the last two pages on D'Angelo from my book. Not trying to self-promote here, but @upmississippi.bsky.social and Craig Gill did a great job with this book. So if you found this writing about D'Angelo interesting, you'd probably like the rest of it. www.amazon.com/Same-Old-Son...
October 14, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Here are the last two pages on D'Angelo from my book. Not trying to self-promote here, but @upmississippi.bsky.social and Craig Gill did a great job with this book. So if you found this writing about D'Angelo interesting, you'd probably like the rest of it. www.amazon.com/Same-Old-Son...
Jimi Hendrix and Joe Biden are almost exactly the same age. Hendrix is 7 days younger.
October 8, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Jimi Hendrix and Joe Biden are almost exactly the same age. Hendrix is 7 days younger.
Literally, wtf does he mean by this: “But the military of the 2020s has been as overburdened by the imperatives of progressivism as schools were by the duties of racial integration in the 1970s.”
October 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Literally, wtf does he mean by this: “But the military of the 2020s has been as overburdened by the imperatives of progressivism as schools were by the duties of racial integration in the 1970s.”